Anti-lock brake device for use with a brake rotor disc

Abstract

A disc brake assembly includes a rotor with an ABS tone ring insert assembly that functions as a rotation indicator in an anti-lock braking system. The insert is positioned in the hat of a rotor disc in a spaced relationship and is mounted to the mounting flange of the rotor disc. Forming the ring insert separately from the rotor disc also allows different coating materials to be used on the tone ring that may be more heat resistant. The ring insert assembly can be made of powder metal or made as a cast iron cylinder with a toothed cap made of powder metal having a corrosion resistant coating. Cost savings can be realized along with high performance when only a portion of the assembly if made of powder metal and coated.

Claims

1. A tone ring assembly for use in an anti-lock braking system, said tone ring assembly comprising: (a) a cylindrical spacer having a first end and a second end; and (b) a molded powder metal cap, said cap having an engaging portion and a radial flange extending from the engaging portion, said radial flange having a ring of teeth spaced about a surface thereof, said surface of said radial flange having a corrosion resistant layer comprising electroless nickel, wherein the engaging portion is fixed to the second end of the cylindrical spacer, said molded powder metal cap being structured and arranged to be independent of and spaced from a cylindrical body of a brake rotor disc.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the engaging portion is press fit within the second end of the cylindrical spacer.

3. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising an annular groove in the second end of the cylindrical spacer and a knurled engaging portion on said cap.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical spacer is cast iron.

5. The assembly of claim 1, in combination with a brake rotor.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the brake rotor is a hat type rotor with a braking disc mounted on one end of a cylindrical body and a mounting flange mounted on the other end of the cylindrical body.

7. The assembly of claim 1, in combination with a brake rotor, wherein the assembly is retrofit in an anti-lock braking system.

8. The assembly of claim 1, in combination with a vehicle.

9. The assembly of claim 1, in combination with a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of at least 5,000 pounds.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is described in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the rotor disc assembly in accordance with this invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the rotor disc assembly of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a top view of the rotor disc assembly of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of rotor disc assembly of FIG. 1;

(6) FIG. 5 is an exploded side view in partial section taken along line A-A of FIG. 3;

(7) FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial side view of in section taken along line A-A of FIG. 3;

(8) FIG. 7 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 1;

(9) FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of a prior art rotor disc assembly;

(10) FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the rotor disc assembly of FIG. 8;

(11) FIG. 10 is a sectional side view taken along line B-B of FIG. 9; and

(12) FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of section C of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) Various aspects will now be described with reference to specific forms selected for purposes of illustration. It will be appreciated that the spirit and scope of the apparatus, system and methods disclosed herein are not limited to the selected forms. Moreover, it is to be noted that the figures provided herein are not drawn to any particular proportion or scale, and that many variations can be made to the illustrated form. Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-11, wherein like numerals are used to designate like elements throughout.

(14) The disc brake rotor assembly described herein is preferred for use on vehicles, including automobiles, racing vehicles, trucks, heavy duty trucks, motorcycles and the like. The vehicles particularly suitable for use with this invention can include those vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of about 10,000 pounds and above, especially delivery trucks and buses. However, the inventive concepts discussed herein can be used in any type of application that uses rotary brakes, including automotive, other types of motorized vehicles, or railcars. The invention is especially applicable for retrofitting in existing vehicles.

(15) FIG. 1 shows a brake rotor disc assembly 10 in accordance with the invention. The brake rotor disc assembly 10 includes a rotor disc 12 having a pair of opposed braking plates 14, 16 with friction material on the surface of each plate and a hat portion 18 for connection to a wheel hub (not shown) as is known. The hat portion 18 is defined by a cylindrical body 19 and a mounting flange 20. The mounting flange 20 has a series of openings 21 to receive fasteners for connection to the wheel hub. Another series of openings 22, best seen in FIG. 3, are provided on the outer edge of the mounting flange 20. Preferably, the openings 22 are formed as counter bores. The rotor disc 12 shown in FIG. 1 is a ventilated disc with vanes 24 formed between the braking plates 14, 16; however, this invention can be employed in single plate discs as well, as would be readily recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art. The rotor disc 12 is preferably made of cast iron. However, any conventionally known material may be used, including a composite.

(16) In accordance with this invention, an independent toothed ring insert assembly or ABS tone ring insert is coupled to the rotor disc 12. The toothed ring insert can be formed as a single piece in which the ring has teeth formed on a radial flange. With a single piece, any suitable material could be used. For example, the insert could be made entirely of powder metal with a corrosion resistant coating formed thereon. Alternatively, the insert could be made by molding a steel stamping into a high temperature resistant plastic or rubber. To reduce costs and offer additional material alternatives, the insert could be formed in two pieces. This configuration is illustrated in the drawings, but it will be recognized to those of ordinary skill in the art that the design of a one-piece insert would be similar except that the two pieces would be a unitary piece.

(17) Referring to FIGS. 1-7, a toothed ring insert 26 is shown coupled to the rotor disc 12. The insert 26 is formed in two pieces. The first piece is a cylindrical portion or spacer 28 having an annular side wall with a series of axial counter bore threaded openings 30 formed in one end. The other end has an interior annular groove 32 formed therein. Preferably the cylindrical spacer 28 is formed of cast iron, which is durable and relatively low cost. The second piece is a cap 34 that is formed as a toothed ring. The cap 34 is formed as a radial flange 36 including a ring of spaced teeth 38 and an axial engaging portion 40. The cap 34 is made with highly accurate geometry to form well defined teeth that interact with the ABS sensor. The teeth 38 can be any type of sensing formations, such as serrations, alternating peaks and valleys, or openings. Preferably, the cap 34 is made by stamping, molding with powder metal or by machining. For cost purposes, a powder metal part or stamped part is preferred.

(18) This assembly takes advantage of the lower cost of the cast iron cylindrical spacer 28 and high geometric accuracy and heat resistant magnetic properties of the powder metal cap 34 by connecting the two pieces together to act as the tone ring insert assembly 26. The coupling can be achieved by a press fit, bolt, screw, pin, snap ring, thread or tongue and groove. One method of connection would be to use a protruding lip on the cap that is press fit within the spacer 28 to engage the annular groove 32. Alternatively, the annular groove in the spacer 28 could be formed as an exterior annular groove with the same connecting effect. As best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, a preferred method of connection is to knurl or serrate the axial engaging portion 40 and press fit the portion 40 into the groove 32 of the spacer 28. Of course, any type of known connecting method can be used to achieve an integral component formed of two separate pieces. For example, connection can be made by a bolt, a pin, a snap ring, threads, or tongue and groove.

(19) Another advantage of using two pieces for the tone ring insert 26 is that only the cap 34 needs corrosion resistant coating to protect the geometry of the teeth 38 and prevent corrosion build up to ensure accurate readings from the ring. This reduces costs as the cast iron spacer 28 does not need a coating. A preferred coating is an electroless plating process, as is known in the art. For example, electroless nickel can be used for corrosion resistance. Of course, any suitable coating can be used, including any electro-plating, electroless-plating or metallurgical plating. In the case of a one piece insert, the entire piece could be coated if desired.

(20) The ring insert 26 is assembled with the rotor disc 12 by inserting the ring insert 26 into the hat portion 18, as seen in FIGS. 6-7. A plurality of fasteners is used to connect the ring insert 26 to the mounting flange 20 by extending through openings 22 into threaded openings 30. By this, the ring insert 26 is fastened to the rotor disc 12 at the wheel mounting face, which is the farthest point from the heat generating friction faces 14, 16 and is least susceptible to thermal deformation. As seen in FIG. 6, the ring insert 26 is independent of and spaced from the cylindrical body 19, which provides some thermal insulation to the ring insert 26, especially as compared to conventional integral toothed rotors in anti-lock brake assemblies. Also, since the ring insert 26 is fastened to the mounting flange 20 and sits within the hat portion 18, radially inwardly from the braking plates 14, 16, any twisting or bending experienced by braking plates 14, 16 due to thermal stresses induced during braking would not be translated to the ring insert 26. Additionally, by forming the ring insert 26 separately from the rotor disc 12, the choice of coating materials for the cap 34 is expanded as the coating material for the teeth does not need the friction quality required by the braking plates 14, 16.

(21) The assembly 10 can be originally manufactured or retrofit on vehicles into existing brake rotor systems to replace ABS systems that no longer provide accurate readings due to incorrect geometries and/or corrosion. First, the cap 34 is fixed to the spacer 28 to assemble the tone ring insert assembly 26. The assembly 26 is then secured to the mounting flange 20 of a brake rotor disc 12 with the fasteners as described above. The entire assembly 10 is then installed in place of a conventional brake rotor. Of course, if a one-piece insert is used, the entire insert is simply installed to the mounting flange of the brake rotor disc. Since the toothed cap 34 is formed with a high precision process such as stamping, molded from powder metal, or machined, the geometry is highly accurate. The corrosion resistant coating on the toothed cap 34 ensures that corrosion will not occur and compromise the geometry of the teeth or interfere with sensor readings. Accordingly, a highly reliable brake rotor disc assembly 10 can be retrofit into an existing vehicle at a relatively low cost.

(22) It can be appreciated that the ring insert 26 functions in the same manner as known toothed rings associated with brake rotor discs with anti-locking braking systems. The rotation of the teeth 38 is sensed by an anti-locking sensor to assess whether the wheel is slipping. The braking action is adjusting accordingly. Using this invention, however, will provide a more accurate and reliable reading since corrosion of the teeth is minimized and the teeth can be formed with high precision. This invention will also provide a longer service life for brake assemblies, especially in large vehicles, such as delivery trucks and buses and allow degraded tone rings to be easily replaced.

(23) The invention is not limited to those embodiments described herein and may encompass various changes and modifications. It will be understood that the various modifications shown herein can be used in any combination. It is also possible to eliminate various components of the assembly and still have an effective connection. Further, different materials may be used to obtain similar results.