Patent Description:
The present invention relates to a brake dust collector, and more particularly, to a brake dust collector for collecting dust caused by friction between a brake pad and a disc during a braking operation.

As the importance of environmental protection is emphasized, environmental friendliness has become a big issue in the automobile industry, and regulations on pollutants emitted from automobiles are also being continuously strengthened.

Meanwhile, pollutants emitted from vehicles may be largely classified into pollutants emitted from an exhaust system and pollutants emitted from a non-exhaust system. The pollutants emitted from the exhaust system are pollutants contained in exhaust gas, which is generated when an engine of a vehicle is driven, and are already subject to regulations, while the pollutants emitted from the non-exhaust system are expected to be subject to corresponding regulations.

Specifically, among the pollutants emitted from the non-exhaust system, dust generated due to abrasion caused by a frictional force between a brake pad and a disc during vehicle braking contains a large amount of harmful substances, so that a method for minimizing the dust is required in line with the fact that regulations on harmful dust and fine dust are gradually tightening.

In addition, since a fixed-type caliper brake including a monoblock caliper usually provides relatively stable braking power even in high-speed repetition, vehicle models to which the fixed-type caliper brake is applied are relatively high-performance vehicles and a large amount of dust is generated between discs and brake pads, and thus a method of reducing the dust is required all the more urgently.

Meanwhile, in order to meet the requirement, the conventional dust collector is provided as a separate device for dust collection on one side of a caliper housing, which reduces aesthetics and also reduces maintainability because the device body should be removed from the vehicle to clean or replace the filter.

<CIT> discloses a brake dust waste collector comprising a rotor that is turned by motion of a vehicle, a caliper and brake pads attached to the caliper, and at least one filter disposed within ring sectors. The rotor has an inside face periphery, an outside face periphery and an outside diameter periphery. The ring sectors have opposite side walls, opposed ring sectors end openings and ring sector interiors. Further, the ring sectors are disposed proximate to the rotor so as to cover an area not occupied by the caliper, and each ring sector houses a filter consisting of a axial inner filter in an inner ring sector and a axial outer filter in an outer ring sector. When the vehicle is in motion, a rotational turning of said rotor is a predominant driving force that moves air, filtered air and brake dust into said axial inner filter and said axial outer filter within said ring sectors.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a brake dust collector capable of effectively collecting dust that is generated by friction between a disc and a brake pad and discharged to the outside of a housing.

It is one of the ideas of the present invention to provide a brake dust collector capable of improving dust collection efficiency by filter modules provided in a leading portion and a trailing portion, respectively.

It is still another idea of the present invention to provide a brake dust collector capable of facilitating management of a filter module by enabling the filter module to be cleansed by washing liquid and the like even in a state where the filter module is mounted on a housing.

It is yet another idea of the present invention to provide a brake dust collector capable of collecting dust through a tangential air flow generated by rotation of a disc without a separate flow control element for dust induction.

It is yet another idea of the present invention to provide a brake dust collector capable of preventing deterioration in aesthetics by omitting a device for dust collection provided separately from a housing.

It is yet another idea of the present invention to provide a brake dust collector capable of minimizing stiffness degradation of a housing caused by a filter module inserted into the housing.

Additional objects and ideas of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The present invention provides a brake dust collector in accordance with claim <NUM>.

In accordance with the present invention, a brake dust collector includes: a pad module including a pair of brake pads that are respectively disposed on both sides of a disc rotating together with a wheel and are in close contact with or separated from the disc according to a forward and backward movement of a piston; a housing provided to cover a part of the disc by forming a pad module seat provided between a leading portion and a trailing portion and to which the pad module is coupled, and filter module seats at inner sides of the leading portion and the trailing portion, respectively; and a filter module fixed to each of the filter module seats by a fastening member that penetrates and fastens from one side to the other side of the housing.

The pad module may further include: pad springs provided between both ends of the brake pad and the pad module seat; a shim pad provided between the brake pad and the piston; and guide pins provided in guide holes formed at both sides of an upper portion of the brake pad and configured to guide the forward and backward movement of the brake pad.

Each of the pad springs may include: a guide pin locking portion provided in an upper center part and locked to a center part of the guide pin; a housing locking portion provided at an upper end and locked to the housing; and pad supports provided on both sides of a lower end of the brake pad and configured to support each side of the lower end of the brake pad.

The housing may further include: pad module exposure portions provided on both ends of the pad module seat to penetrate upwards, respectively; and a pad spring support provided at the pad module exposure portion and configured to seat the housing locking portion.

The piston may be installed in a piston insertion portion provided on the pad module seat, and the shim pad may be fastened to the brake pad.

The guide pin may include a fixing member fastening hole provided at a head side; and a fixing member inserted into the fixing member fastening hole to prevent the guide pin from being separated from the housing and the brake pad, and may be coupled to a guide pin fastening hole provided in the pad module seat and the guide hole.

The housing may further include an exposure groove provided at an end of each of the leading portion and the trailing portion so that one end of the filter module is partially exposed.

The filter module may be fixed to the filter module seat with an end of the pad module being spaced at a predetermined interval from the pad spring or may be fixed to the filter module seat with an end of the pad module being supported by the pad spring.

The filter module may include fastening member through holes, which are penetrated by the fastening members at both ends, and may be fixed to the pad module seat by the fastening member fastening through a fastening member fastening hole provided on the pad module seat and the fastening member through hole.

The fastening member may be provided with a bolt penetrating the fastening member fastening hole on one side and a nut fastened to the bolt exposed to the fastening member fastening hole on the other side.

The filter module may include a filter made of metal with corrosion resistance and heat resistance.

The housing may be provided as a monoblock further including at least one or more heat dissipation holes that are provided as a heat exhaust passage and a fluid flow passage, respectively, in the leading portion and the trailing portion.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a brake dust collector includes: a pad module including a pair of brake pads that are respectively disposed on both sides of a disc rotating together with a wheel and are in close contact with or separated from the disc according to a forward and backward movement of a piston; a housing provided to cover a part of the disc by forming a pad module seat provided between a leading portion and a trailing portion and to which the pad module is coupled, and a filter module seat at an inner side of the trailing portion; and a filter module fixed to the filter module seat by a fastening member penetrating and fastening from one side to the other side of the housing through a fastening member fastening hole provided on the filter module seat.

The housing may further include an exposure groove provided at an end of the trailing portion so that one end of the filter module is partially exposed.

The housing may be provided as a monoblock further including at least one or more heat dissipation holes that are provided as a heat exhaust passage and a fluid flow passage on the filter module seat.

The fastening member may be provided with a bolt penetrating the fastening member fastening hole on one side, and a nut fastened to the bolt exposed to the fastening member fastening hole on the other side.

The filter module may be fixed to the filter module seat at a predetermined interval from the pad module.

These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:.

The following embodiment is provided to fully convey the present invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown herein but may be embodied in other forms. The drawings may omit the illustration of parts not related to the description in order to clarify the present invention, and slightly exaggerate the size of the components to help understanding.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view of a brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, and <FIG> and <FIG> are perspective views each illustrating a state where the brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is coupled. In addition, <FIG> is a sectional view illustrating a housing cross section of the brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, and <FIG> is a sectional view illustrating a cross section of the brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In addition, <FIG> and <FIG> are sectional views illustrating a thickness of a conventional brake housing in which a filter module is omitted, and a thickness of a housing with a filter module in the brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, a brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention includes a pad module <NUM>, a housing <NUM> in which the pad module <NUM> is embedded, and a filter module <NUM> coupled to each of a leading portion <NUM> and a trailing portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM>.

More specifically, the pad module <NUM> includes a pair of brake pads <NUM> that are respectively disposed on both sides of a disc D rotating together with a wheel and are in close contact with or separated from the disc D according to a forward and backward movement of a piston <NUM>, a pad spring <NUM> provided between both ends of the brake pads <NUM> and the housing <NUM> to facilitate the forward and backward movement of the brake pads <NUM>, a shim pad <NUM> provided between the brake pad <NUM> and the piston <NUM> to prevent noise and vibration which occur during the forward and backward movement of the piston <NUM>, and a guide pin <NUM> configured to guide the forward and backward movement of the brake pad <NUM>.

The brake pad <NUM> includes a backplate provided on a side of the piston <NUM> and a friction layer provided to touch the disc D. Herein, the backplate and the friction layer may be integrally formed. In addition, the brake pad <NUM> includes a guide hole <NUM> penetrated by the guide pin <NUM> on both sides of an upper portion.

The pad spring <NUM>, which is a leaf spring, includes a guide pin locking portion <NUM> provided in an upper center part and locked to a center part of the guide pin <NUM>, a housing locking portion <NUM> provided at an upper end and locked to the housing <NUM>, and a pad support <NUM> provided at a lower end and configured to support a lower end of the brake pad <NUM>, and facilitates the forward and backward movement of the brake pad <NUM> by preventing vibration during the forward and backward movement of the brake pad <NUM>. Herein, the guide pin locking portion <NUM>, the housing locking portion <NUM>, and the pad support <NUM> may each be provided by bending a corresponding part of the leaf spring.

As described above, the piston <NUM> is a device of advancing and retreating the brake pad <NUM>, and although <FIG> illustrates that the piston <NUM> is coupled to the brake pad <NUM>, the piston <NUM> may be installed into a piston insertion portion <NUM> in advance, which is provided at an inner side of the housing <NUM>, when the pad module <NUM> and the housing <NUM> are coupled. In addition, various methods such as a hydraulic method, a mechanical method, and the like may be applied to the piston <NUM>.

The shim pad <NUM> is a plate for preventing noise, vibration, and the like, which are caused by the forward and backward movement of the brake pad <NUM>, and is fastened to the brake pad <NUM> to be provided between the brake pad <NUM> and the piston <NUM>. To this end, the shim pad <NUM> includes at least one bent portion that can be fixed to the brake pads <NUM> at an upper portion and a lower portion, respectively. Accordingly, when the pad module <NUM> is coupled to a pad module seat <NUM>, the shim pad <NUM> is located at the side of the piston <NUM> which is inserted into the piston insertion portion <NUM>.

The guide pin <NUM> includes a fixing member fastening hole <NUM> provided at a head <NUM> and a fixing member <NUM> such as a fixing pin and the like, which is inserted into the fixing member fastening hole <NUM> and prevents the guide pin <NUM> from being separated from the brake pad <NUM> and the housing <NUM>.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in <FIG>, the housing <NUM> includes a plurality of heat dissipation holes <NUM> provided all over the surface, which includes the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, as a fluid flow passage, which exhausts heat caused by friction between the brake pads <NUM> and the disc D to the outside of the housing <NUM> and induces a fluid flow generated according to rotation of the disc D to the filter module <NUM>, and a housing fastening portion <NUM> provided at one side of the housing <NUM> to fasten the housing <NUM> to a car body and the like.

Accordingly, the brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment may collect dust through a tangential air flow generated by rotation of a disc without a separate flow control element for dust induction.

More specifically, the housing <NUM> further includes the pad module seat <NUM> provided between the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM> to enable the pad module <NUM> to be inserted into the housing <NUM>, filter module seats <NUM> formed to extend from both sides of an upper portion of the pad module seat <NUM> toward the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, and fastening member fastening holes <NUM> provided at both ends of each of the filter module seats <NUM>.

In addition, the housing <NUM> may be provided as a monoblock which is formed as an integral type to improve marketability through design.

The pad module seat <NUM> includes a piston insertion portion <NUM> provided on the pad module seat <NUM> and in which the piston <NUM> is inserted and installed, a guide pin fastening hole <NUM> provided so that the guide pin <NUM> may be penetrated and fastened from one side to the other side of the housing <NUM>, a pad module exposure portion <NUM> formed to penetrate from an upper side to a lower side at both ends of the pad module seat <NUM>; and a pad spring support <NUM> provided at the pad module exposure portion <NUM> to enable the housing locking portion <NUM> to be supported.

Herein, the guide pin fastening hole <NUM> may be formed in the pad module exposure portion <NUM> to enable the guide pin <NUM>, which penetrates the guide pin fastening hole <NUM> and the guide hole <NUM> through the pad module exposure portion <NUM>, to be identified at the upper side of the housing <NUM>.

The filter module seat <NUM> has an overall arc shape and is formed to extend from one end of each of the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM> to the pad module exposure portion <NUM>. In addition, as illustrated in <FIG>, the filter module seat <NUM> includes an exposure groove <NUM> provided at one end of each of the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM> to facilitate mounting of the pad module <NUM> and checking whether the pad module <NUM> is mounted.

The fastening member fastening hole <NUM> is formed to penetrate from one side to the other side of the housing <NUM> at both ends of the filter module seat <NUM> so that the filter module <NUM> is fixed to the filter module seat <NUM>. Herein, the fastening member fastening hole <NUM> may be provided as a hole to which processing such as tapping for fastening a bolt or the like, which may cause a decrease in stiffness of the housing <NUM>, is not applied.

Meanwhile, the filter module <NUM> is a filter that collects dust generated by friction between the disc D and the brake pad <NUM>, and maintains its shape even against high-pressured washing liquid flowing through the heat dissipation hole <NUM> for cleaning, and may be provided using a metal material with excellent corrosion resistance and heat resistance.

Accordingly, the brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment may enable the filter module <NUM> to be cleansed by washing liquid and the like even in a state in which the filter module <NUM> is mounted on the housing <NUM>.

In addition, the filter module <NUM> includes, when being coupled to the filter module seat <NUM>, a fastening member through hole <NUM> provided at a position corresponding to the fastening member fastening hole <NUM>, and a fastening member <NUM> that fixes the filter module <NUM> from the housing <NUM>.

Herein, the fastening member <NUM> may be provided with a bolt penetrating the fastening member fastening hole <NUM> on one side and a nut fastened to the bolt exposed on the fastening member fastening hole <NUM> on the other side, and thus may serve as a fastening member of the housing <NUM> and the filter module <NUM> and a stiffness reinforcing member of the housing <NUM>, and various other means may be applied.

Accordingly, the brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention may minimize stiffness degradation of the housing <NUM>, which occurs since a thickness D2 of the housing <NUM> due to the filter module <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG> is thinner than a thickness D1 of the conventional housing <NUM> without the filter module as illustrated in <FIG>, by the fastening member <NUM>.

In addition, when the filter module <NUM> is inserted into the filter module seat <NUM>, an end of the pad module <NUM> is supported by the pad spring <NUM> so that excessive insertion may be prevented.

In addition, when the filter module <NUM> is fixed to the filter module seat <NUM> by the fastening member <NUM>, for the smooth forward and backward movement of the brake pads <NUM>, the filter module <NUM> may be provided to be spaced apart from the pad spring <NUM> at predetermined intervals.

Meanwhile, although not illustrated, a brake dust collector in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention may be provided with the filter module <NUM> in only one of the leading portion <NUM> or the trailing portion <NUM>. Herein, since the typical air flow generated by the rotation of the disc D is induced from the leading portion <NUM> to the trailing portion <NUM>, the filter module <NUM> may be more advantageously provided in the trailing portion <NUM> than in the leading portion <NUM>.

In addition, as described above, when the filter module <NUM> is provided in the trailing portion <NUM>, the filter module seat <NUM>, the exposure groove <NUM>, and the fastening member fastening hole <NUM>, which are intended to fasten the filter module <NUM> to the housing <NUM>, may be provided on a side of the trailing portion <NUM>, and may be omitted on a side of the leading portion <NUM>.

Accordingly, the brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment may further minimize stiffness degradation of the housing <NUM> caused by the filter module <NUM>.

In addition, when the filter module <NUM> is fixed to the filter module seat <NUM> by the fastening member <NUM>, for the smooth forward and backward movement of the brake pads <NUM>, the filter module <NUM> may be provided to be spaced apart from the pad module <NUM> at predetermined intervals.

Accordingly, the brake dust collector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention may add a dust collection function without significant change in design compared to a conventional monoblock caliper brake without a dust collection function, and thus may minimize stiffness degradation of the housing.

A brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment can effectively collect dust generated by friction between a disc and a brake pad and discharged to the outside of a housing.

A brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment can improve dust collection efficiency due to a filter module provided in each of a leading portion and a trailing portion.

A brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment can facilitate management of a filter module by enabling the filter module to be cleansed by washing liquid and the like even in a state in which the filter module is mounted on a housing.

A brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment can collect dust through a tangential air flow generated by rotation of a disc without a separate flow control element for dust induction.

A brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment can omit a device for dust collection separately from a housing and thus prevent decline of aesthetics.

A brake dust collector in accordance with the present embodiment can minimize stiffness degradation of a housing caused by a filter module inserted into the housing.

Claim 1:
A brake dust collector assembly comprising:
a brake dust collector,
a pad module (<NUM>) including a pair of brake pads (<NUM>) that are respectively disposed on both sides of a disc (D) rotating together with a wheel and are in close contact with or separated from the disc (D) according to a forward and backward movement of a piston (<NUM>);
a housing (<NUM>) provided to cover a part of the disc (D) by forming a pad module seat (<NUM>) provided between a leading portion (<NUM>) and a trailing portion (<NUM>) and to which the pad module (<NUM>) is coupled, and filter module seats (<NUM>) at inner sides of the leading portion (<NUM>) and the trailing portion (<NUM>), respectively; and characterised by
a filter module (<NUM>) fixed to each of the filter module seats (<NUM>) by a fastening member (<NUM>) that penetrates and fastens from one side to the other side of the housing (<NUM>).