Brake caliper of a disk brake for a utility vehicle

This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2012/067169, filed Sep. 4, 2012, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from German Patent Application No. 10 2011 114 107.7, filed Sep. 22, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are herein expressly incorporated by reference.

The invention relates to a brake caliper of a disk brake for a utility vehicle.

The brake caliper, as part of a disk brake, serves essentially to receive functional parts required for the operation of the disk brake. These include, for example, an application device, which is arranged in a receiving chamber of the brake caliper, and brake pads, which are positioned on both sides of a brake disk and which are pressed against the brake disk during braking.

The two brake caliper halves which receive the functional parts, one of which forms a housing and other forms a caliper back, are connected to one another by tension braces, which furthermore absorb mechanical loads that occur during braking.

The application device mentioned includes a brake lever, which is covered over in relation to the external environment by a lever dome formed on the housing.

In addition to receiving the functional parts, the brake caliper also serves to protect them from the effects of weather and from dirt, especially since the brake disk is installed in an unprotected region of a vehicle rim, which is heavily exposed to dirt.

However, the brake caliper itself is subject to abrasive wear, particularly in certain areas, owing to its exposed position, leading ultimately to a reduction in the service life of the disk brake overall, especially since the brake caliper is designed as a casting and therefore the worn areas cannot be replaced.

Of course, this drawback is not acceptable, particularly from an economic point of view, especially since cast-iron brake calipers are designed for a significantly longer life than they actually achieve in practice due to the loading mentioned.

Moreover, said abrasive wear on the brake caliper can lead to a creeping reduction in the operational reliability of the disk brake since the tension braces, for example, are exposed to a considerable tensile loading, for which they are appropriately dimensioned.

In the case of wear-induced weakening of the tension braces, therefore, fracture may occur, making the entire disk brake incapable of functioning, with the resulting consequences, which do not need to be detailed.

It is the underlying object of the invention to develop a brake caliper of the type in question in such a way that its service life is optimized and the operational reliability of the disk brake overall is improved.

With very low outlay in terms of design and manufacture, the invention provides a brake caliper, the service life of which is no longer determined by factors extraneous to the system.

Although there is abrasive wear on the brake caliper, as before, it is only on the protective elements fitted, the positioning of which is known from practical experience.

Thus, in practice, it has been found that the areas of service-related wear, namely of abrasive wear, are found particularly on the tension brace which is on the leading edge, in relation to the rotating brake disk, and on the lever dome.

Corresponding protective elements are now provided here, and these are preferably designed as formed sheet metal parts and can be produced in a particularly simple manner by punching.

As a result, these protective elements can be provided at extraordinarily low cost, all that is required for fastening them being fastening means. Particularly suitable for this purpose are screws, which are screwed into prepared threaded holes in the tension brace and the lever dome.

In the case of a pneumatically actuated disk brake, a flange, on which a brake cylinder can be secured, is formed on the rear of the lever dome. This flange can also be used to fix the protective element, using the screws by which the brake cylinder is connected to the flange.

According to another concept of the invention, it is envisaged that protective elements on the tension brace should be designed in the manner of a plate-shaped stirrup with laterally formed fastening lugs, wherein this tension brace protector projects laterally outward over virtually the entire length of the tension brace.

The protective element for the lever dome, referred to as a lever dome protector, is preferably of horseshoe configuration and forms a stripper, e.g. for ice adhering to the rim, which would otherwise be stripped off by the lever dome, as is the case in the prior art.

In order to obtain protective elements with as long a life as possible, these are composed of a wear-resistant material, in particular an appropriate metal, wherein, as mentioned, these protective elements can be replaced when required at any time without major effort, thus ensuring that the brake caliper achieves the desired service life without problems, or at least without service-related external influences on the potential areas of wear.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a brake caliper according to an embodiment of the invention in a perspective plan view

FIG. 2 shows a perspective bottom view of the brake caliper of FIG. 1 .

In the figures, a caliper 1 of a disk brake for a utility vehicle is shown, said caliper being composed substantially of cast iron and having two tension braces 4 , which are arranged parallel and at a distance from one another, that bridge a brake disk transversely to the direction of rotation thereof in the assembled position. The tension braces 4 connect receptacles for functional parts arranged on both sides of the brake disk to one another, wherein one receptacle forms a caliper back 3 and the other receptacle forms a housing 2 having a lever dome 5 formed thereon.

According to this embodiment of the invention, a replaceable protective element is fastened at each potential area of service-related wear.

In the example shown, one protective element is secured as a tension brace protector 6 on the underside of the tension brace 4 situated at the leading edge in relation to the direction of rotation of the brake disk (not shown) in normal operation, wherein the direction of rotation is indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 .

As FIG. 2 , in particular, very clearly shows, the tension brace protector 6 is of stirrup-shaped design, having a bar 13 and angled connection lugs 14 , 15 at the ends, which each have a hole 17 for the passage of a screw, preferably a cap screw, which can be screwed into a nut thread (not shown) of the tension brace 4 , allowing the tension brace protector 6 to be replaced without problems.

In the transition zone to the bar 13 , the connection lug 15 of the tension brace protector 6 which is remote from the housing 2 has a bevel 16 to match the contour of the tension brace 4 in this region.

FIG. 1 shows very clearly that the bar 13 projects outward beyond the tension brace 4 , providing effective protection for the tension brace 4 from dirt thrown up by a rim.

The lever dome 5 , likewise recognized as a potential area of service-related wear, is likewise protected by a protective element, formed by a lever dome protector 8 . This is of horseshoe configuration and, on the one hand, is supported on the housing region adjacent to the lever dome 5 and, on the other hand, is secured on a flange 7 , to which a brake cylinder is connected in operation.

The lever dome protector 8 , with two legs 9 extending approximately parallel to one another and a convexly curved web 9 connecting them, has lugs 11 angled outward at the free ends of the legs 10 , with through holes 12 for the passage of fastening screws.

The height of the lever dome protector 8 is dimensioned in such a way that it projects above the lever dome 5 at least slightly, and effective protection of the lever dome 5 is achieved as a result.

In principle, of course, there is the possibility also of attaching protective elements to regions of the brake caliper 1 other than those shown if practical experience shows that this is necessary.

The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

1 brake caliper

2 housing

3 caliper back

4 tension brace

5 lever dome

6 tension brace protector

7 flange

8 lever dome protector

9 web

10 leg

11 lug

12 hole

13 bar

14 connection lug

15 connection lug

16 bevel

17 hole