Patent ID: 7467693
Filing Date: 2008-12-23
Classification: F16D

Abstract:
1. In a brake pad assembly comprising a pair of friction pads mounted on a pair of backing plates, a rotor, and a brake pad return spring having a pair of spring members, each spring member terminating in an engagement leg, each engagement leg engaging a respective backing plate to apply a restoring force to urge the friction pads away from the rotor in a non-braking state, the improvement wherein the rest orientation of each of said engagement legs is such that each of said engagement legs must be rotated from said rest position to engage said respective backing plate, each respective spring member being thereby placed in torsion to apply a first moment to said respective backing plate about a longitudinal axis of said respective backing plate that counteracts a moment in each said respective backing plate caused by application of said restoring force, wherein at rest said engagement legs are coplanar, non-parallel and diverge along directions that intersect, and each leg forms an acute angle with respect to the bisector of the angle of intersection, wherein each said engagement leg is received in a respective opening having a diameter larger than that of said each engagement leg, wherein upon engagement of the engagement leg with the backing plate the opening for receiving the engagement leg includes an axis that is non-parallel to an axis of the engagement leg.