Patent Description:
Irrespective of concrete brake type or cylinder type (electric, hydraulic, mechanic) any relative displacement between housing and actuation member requires a gap inbetween and that gap requires a sealing system which includes a flexible boot comprising interfaces concerning the periphery with bellows arranged between the said interfaces so that ingress of foreign substance is flexibly avoided. A general problem with respect to those cylinders is their inexpensive durability under improved resistance against corrosion. That task is not easy to achieve because wheel cylinder are mostly located in relatively basic (low level) niches which means that the cylinders are placed in an area which is exposed to weather and dirt. Well protection against contamination with foreign substance, such as dirt, fluid, gravel or mixtures thereof is key. A conventional dust boot is an example for regular components of conventional wheel cylinders on hydraulic drum brakes, electric parking brakes and combined brakes. Such boot is responsible to avoids dust entrance to the wheel cylinder interior. That prevents damages concerning sealing or guidance between actuation member (mostly a hydraulic sealed piston) and cylinder. A defective boot may cause con-tamination of hydraulic brake fluid or risk that brake fluid leaks and spoils the exterior. High pressure spray cleaning systems may be of significant danger due to possible ingress of cleaning fluids. While most known hermetically closed cylinder sealing systems fulfil the major sealing requirements sufficiently, at least as far as protection against ingress of foreign substance is concerned, some new test results show possible drawbacks, especially under service brake applications, including deficits under high temperature use in connection with air or gas that may be enclosed in a room under the bellows of the boot. Under exposure to exhaustive brake operation and/or extreme environmental conditions and or limited cooling the temperature in the interior of a drum brake wheel cylinder can increase above <NUM>. Such increase of temperature together with conventional hermetically closed boots may lead to an increase of internal pressure in the room formed in between boot, actuation member (piston) and housing. With increasing of the temperature (pressure) in the interior of the room, conventional boot expands in balloon-like manner due to the thermal expansion. Such additional stress may either promote the boot interfaces flipping out of their seat or alternatively may cause fatal error due to rupture of the elastomere boot. The both errors end in handicapped sealing functions.

In improving sealing <CIT> discloses a drum brake cable actuation interface member with a sealing system including a boot device that comprises two interface sections that are each mounted from radially outwards (centered radially outwardly) on periphery and wherein one of the interface sections is perforated. The flexible boot has bellows between the interface sections and allows relative displacement between actuation member and housing. Brake cable linkage may be introduced from a backside of the housing. The interface section integrates a tiny through hole orifice, which provides constant pressure equalization between internal and external of the boot. Consequently such hermetically open boot design avoids uncontrolled flipping action. For this reason an extra supplemental shielding wall is suggested, which is arranged on the radially outer housing interface portion of the boot, for extra protection against ingress of rainwater or spray water e.g. washing fluids.

<CIT> discloses heat resistive and also robust mounting improvement for drum brake wheel cylinders together with a housing having a cylinder bore provided therein, a piston operable in said bore and forming therewith fluid pressure chamber, one end of said housing adjacent said cylinder having a cylindrical recess formed therein of larger length and diameter than said cylinder bore whereby a protective shoulder is provided, the annular inner surface of said recess having a predetermined controlled micro finish of greater roughness than said cylinder bore, a link pin in engagement with said piston and extending through and beyond said cylinder for actuation of a brake shoe, so that an annular wheel cylinder boot is integrated in the housing. The packaging, especially the length of the assembly, is improvable and test programs reveal weakness with respect to protection against contamination, especially weakness in protection against ingress of fluids like rainwater, pressurized spray washing water or weakness in passing salt-spray-corrosion-tests. That weakness appears in connection with uncontrolled flipping of the boot.

<CIT> discloses a boot-type seal having a seal and a valve. The seal has a first seal member which is configured to sealingly engage a first surface, and a second seal member which is configured to sealingly engage a second surface. The valve is coupled to the seal and is operable in a first condition, which inhibits fluid communication therethrough, and a second condition, which permits fluid communication therethrough. The condition of the valve changes from the first condition to the second condition in response to a fluid pressure exerted on a side of the seal that exceeds a predetermined threshold pressure. A brake assembly that incorporates the boot-type seal is also disclosed in this document.

<CIT> discloses bellows (<NUM>), situated on a guide member of a disc brake, the end of said bellows comprising a continuous sealing lip, which in a functional position sealingly abuts the guide member. The bellows is designed such that the sealing lip is rigidly connected to the adjacent series of folds.

<CIT> describes a disc brake piston cap interposed between a caliper and a piston to protect the piston. The cap comprises a bead with the inner ply engaged in the groove of the piston and a molded insert fixed to the annular groove of the caliper.

<CIT> discloses a brake wheel cylinder assembly comprising a housing having a cylinder bore provided therein, a piston operable in the bore and forming therewith fluid pressure chamber, one end of the housing adjacent of the cylinder having a cylindrical recess formed therein of larger diameter than the cylinder bore, and whereby a shoulder is provided.

<CIT> discloses a hydraulic brake double-piston wheel cylinder for vehicle, which consists of a cylinder body, a piston provided with a seal, a spring, a sealing component, a top block, a shield, an oil inlet hole, an air bleed hole and an air bleed valve.

<CIT> shows a drum brake comprising a backing plate installed opposite a drum that rotates along with a wheel, a pair of brake shoes installed in both sides of the drum to generate brake force via friction with an inner surface of the drum when pushed outward, and a wheel cylinder located between one end of each of the pair of brake shoes to push the pair of brake shoes outward. Break pistons are provided with seals.

<CIT> discloses a drum brake with brake pistons provided with seals.

An object of the present invention is a sealing system improvement, together with optimized thermal design. Specific further object is improvement in protection against ingress of foreign substance e.g. fluid which means inhibit internal corrosion or spoil. Consequently improved substance protection against ingress of foreign substance, while avoiding the drawbacks of the prior art are major objects of the present invention. Also an actualized, reasonable, easy to mount, valuable and by the way cost responsible designchange concerning the sealing system is requested, which especially avoids risk for ingress of substance when flipping action occurs.

According to the present invention, all problems are solved by a sealing system that is provided with pressure relief valve means and with integrated pressure relief valve function which is normally closed and automatically and temporarily changes in a controlled, limited and also reversible manner into open status for pressure relief when pressure is not equal between interior and exterior. Accordingly the invention provides for pressure balance between interior and exterior. Balance avoids or limits boot deformation and consequently flipping of the boot. The invention is linked with the exclusive benefit, that dust boot drop out from cylinders exterior housing seat is effectively eliminated.

More specifically the pressure relief valve mode is changed automaticly, selfdriven, without supply of external energy, especially currentless but still in a predetermined, controlled matter, so that the benefits are earned suprisingly simple in serial applications.

The pressure relief means of the sealing system integrates relief valve spring elasticity wherein the relief valve elasticity which is integrated in the elastomere, flexible dust boot, and that peripheral interface of the dust boot integrates relief valve body means, so that a part of the radially grooved counterpart seat of housing and/or acutating member/piston integrates a relief valve seat of the respective relief valve. In more detail the pressure relief valve body in the interface section of the boot may be configured as a separate recessed portion of the boot, and wherein the recessed portion is connected with interior but separated from exterior. Consequently the periphery of the boot may be unchanged and all mechanical design change may con- centrated on a change of the elastomeric boot. When the boot is made from rubber or other elastomere material, such designchange is relatively easy so that a cheap change of the boot during maintenance will allow that conventional cylinders (including their periphery) will effectively earn all benefits of the present invention.

Proslotion a tooling of the boot is simplyfied, as the boot according to the invention includes a recessed portion in its interface section, that is embodied as a longitudinal slot section which is arranged in parallel or antiparallel with the linear displacement direction of the actuation member. The effect of the latter is an extended slot length so that improved sealing function against ingress of foreign substance is achieved.

Elasticity in valve function is easily changed by simple change of thickness of an orthogonally arranged end wall/diaphragm. The end wall/diaphragm is provided with a specific, given resilience, and that the resilience of the end wall corresponds with the necessary elasticity of the relief valve means. Consequently the end wall may be designed with reduced wall thickness in compare with an average wall thickness of the boot.

Performance of the relief valve may effectively be improved when an interface portion integrates multiple recessed portions and/or slot sections. The same applies when pressure relief valve means are integrated only on the first interface portion,or integrated only on the second interface portion or alternatively integrated on both interface portions. Further adaption is possible, when multiple slot sections and/or interface portions are regularily arranged, especially under equivalent distance and with equivalent angle to each neighbour on the boot. It is further beneficial when pressure relief valve means are in- tegrated in all interface sections of a boot.

Although a broad variety of other applications in other brake system arrangements and applications remain still possible, the invention is explained in more detail with focus on one preferred example concerning boot embodiments <NUM>,<NUM> as applicable in a drum brake wheel cylinder arrangement, which is explained in more detail in the following detailed description of the drawing.

A drum brake system according to the present invention may principally be designed in simplex, duplex, duo-servo or other constructive mechanical configuration. A drum brake systems according to the invention may generally be operated in different functions according to very different functional modes e.g. in service brake mode and/or in self-locking parking brake mode, and/or in emergency brake mode in redundancy to a service brake system.

A drum brake system comprises two opposed and relatively to each other expandable brake shoes that may frictionally cooperate in brake actuation with the circumferential friction surface of a rotatable brake drum that stands in association with a rotatable vehicle wheel (not shown). A wheel cylinder <NUM> is configured as linear drive, e.g. expander that may include hydraulic, mechanic and/or electromechanical subsystems e.g. an electromotive actuator with drive train e.g. gears in stages and /or rotation-to translation exchange, together with other suitable brake periphery e.g. drum brake linkage means. Each cylinder <NUM> comprises at least single or opposed displaceable actuation members <NUM>,<NUM>.

The cylinder <NUM> is generally rotationally fix to a drum brake stator which may be designed in typical anchor plate shape or alternatively designed as axle component. In the preferred embodiment the cylinder <NUM> may be designed as a hollow solid body arranged with mechanical interface with comprising the mounting socket <NUM> and integrated internal thread <NUM> for externally
threaded mounting means such as screws. In case of electric and/or hydraulic drive means configuration each cylinder is arranged with electric and/or hydraulic port means <NUM> that may be designed as interface connector e.g. internal thread, bleeding valve means <NUM> in the vertically uppermost portion of a hydraulic chamber <NUM>, the hydraulic chamber <NUM> standing in permanent hydraulic connection with the hydraulic port <NUM>, longitudinal cylinder bore <NUM> and also with two opposed hydraulic action member pistons that are allocated for sealed axial relative displacement within the cylinder bore. Each actuation member piston carries its own sliding lip seal member <NUM>,<NUM>. Finally a compression spring member <NUM> may be allocated interposed in axially between the two actuation member pistons so that the both pistons are generally and flexibly spread apart from each other for safeguarding the nominal hydraulic chamber volume when the brake system remains driveless under brake release condition. The ends of the compression spring member <NUM> may be allocated in opposed blind bores <NUM>,<NUM> of the both actuation member pistons.

The cylinder comprises an annular flexible ring shape sealing boot <NUM>,<NUM> that integrates at its first end a housing interface <NUM> including a radially inwardly directed flange <NUM> which is elastically snapped and thereby sealingly allocated in a radially lowered position from radially outwardly into a radial groove of a seat <NUM> that is arranged on the outer surface of the expander housing <NUM>. A second end of the ring shape sealing boot <NUM>,<NUM> is configured with a member interface <NUM> including a radially inwardly directed flange <NUM> that is elastically snapped and thereby sealingly allocated in a radially lowered position from radially outwardly into a groove of a seat <NUM> that is arranged on an outer surface of the actuating member (piston) <NUM>,<NUM>. Consequently the both seats <NUM>,<NUM> and interface portions <NUM>,<NUM> form an overlapping, lowered, meander-shape mechanical interacting sealing system for improved mechanical spray water resistance, which is additive to flexible, elastomere sealing means/functions that are integrated in each flange <NUM>,<NUM> of the boot <NUM>,<NUM>. Consequently the described sealing system provides the generally hermetical (dustproof, liquidtight, gastight) sealing function between interior (e.g. "dry" room <NUM>,<NUM>') and exterior E.

An interface <NUM>,<NUM> of the boot additionally comprises normally closed pressure relief valve means and implicit pressure relief valve function which means that the valve body automatically and temporarily changes in predetermined position into open status under a pressure gradient decline in direction from interior of room <NUM>,<NUM>' to exterior E with respect to the room <NUM>,<NUM>' which is separated inbetween boot <NUM>,<NUM> and housing <NUM>. Consequently the sealing system allows predetermined, controlled and by this way also limited, directed, overpressure release e.g. gas blow out from the room <NUM>,<NUM>'into the exterior E. In more detail a very specially designed section of the boots flanges <NUM>,<NUM> manages directed blow out when integrating additional feature and function, as its valve body is temporarily allowed to be temporarily lifted above its opposed valve seat nutground section. The process is ended when the bootintegrated elastomere check valve function terminates as it closes under equal pressure between room <NUM>,<NUM>' interior and exterior E. With other words the boots <NUM>,<NUM> "valve body" flange portion automatically returns after blow out into its sealed normally closed sealing position with respect to the seat <NUM>,<NUM> in the nutground section. All that function is performed automatically with elastomere elasticity of the inventive boot <NUM>,<NUM> only under the influence of pres- suregradient. Consequently the invention works selfmotivated, without supply of external energy, especially currentless. In the embodiment according to the present invention the pressure relief valve body (flange portion) of the boot integrates a separate recessed slot/channel shape section <NUM>, and wherein that recessed portion <NUM> is normally connected with internal room <NUM>,<NUM>' and also normally sealingly separated from exterior Eby flexible, thinned diaphragm/end wall <NUM>. The radially inner, integrated, recessed, portion <NUM> in the flange <NUM>,<NUM> is embodied as a longitudinal slot section which is arranged in parallel with the axial, linear displacement direction of the actuation member <NUM>,<NUM> and wherein each diaphragm is arranged as a flexible end wall <NUM> that is arranged generally orthogonal with respect to the axial axis of displacement. Each end wall <NUM> is provided with a specific, predetermined re- silience, and that the resilience of the diaphragm/end wall <NUM> corresponds with the necessary elasticity with respect of the pressure difference control. The end wall/diaphragm <NUM> may especially be designed with reduced wall thickness in compare with an average wall thickness dm of the boot <NUM>,<NUM>. An interface section <NUM>,<NUM> of a boot <NUM>,<NUM> may comprise multiple pressure relief valve sections, which means that one interface portion <NUM>,<NUM> may integrate multiple recessed portions <NUM> and/or slot sections. In <NUM> this case the multiple valve body portions/slot sections <NUM> are preferably regularily arranged, and they may especially be under equal distance and in circumferential direction be arranged with equal angle to each other/neighbour slot. The behaviour of the valve function may be influenced by the overall number of the slots, the area/size of the slots, and the elasticity of their diaphragm/end wall <NUM>.

<FIG> concentrate on further valuable detail variations with respect to a boot <NUM> that are disclosed in example in connection with the first embodiment of the boot <NUM>. More specifically <FIG> a,b show antiparallel slot <NUM> design modification comprising inclined slot orientation with regard to the central axis of displacement. <FIG> a,b disclose irregular applications of the inclined slot <NUM> design modification. It is clear that all disclosed features in examples, embodiments and modifications may be combined in variety, also in connection with the boot <NUM> embodiment.

Claim 1:
Flexible dust boot (<NUM>,<NUM>) for automotive brake cylinder (<NUM>), wherein the cylinder (<NUM>) has a housing (<NUM>) and drive means for linear actuation of a linear actuation member (<NUM>, <NUM>) that is disposed in a cylinder bore (<NUM>) of the housing (<NUM>), and the linear actuation member (<NUM>, <NUM>) relatively movably guided with respect to the housing (<NUM>), with the boot (<NUM>,<NUM>) comprising flexible bellows (<NUM>) between two concentrical interface portions (<NUM>, <NUM>) with different diameter for flexible sealed protection of an internal room (<NUM>) that is separated from an exterior surrounding by the boot (<NUM>,<NUM>), so that the boot (<NUM>,<NUM>) provides sealed relative displacability between actuation member (<NUM>, <NUM>) and housing (<NUM>), and protects against ingress of foreign substance from exterior to interior of the housing (<NUM>), and wherein the both interface portions (<NUM>, <NUM>) rest from radially outwards on their respective counterpart seats (<NUM>, <NUM>) in grooves on housing (<NUM>) and actuation member (<NUM>, <NUM>), said interface portions (<NUM>, <NUM>) respectively including a radially inwardly directed flange (<NUM>, <NUM>) which is elastically snapped and thereby sealingly allocated in a radially lowered position from radially outwardly into a radial groove of the seat (<NUM>, <NUM>), whereby the boot (<NUM>,<NUM>) is provided with pressure relief valve means and with integrated pressure relief valve function which automatically and temporarily changes into open status under a pressure gradient decline in direction from interior to exterior, with respect to the boot (<NUM>,<NUM>), whereby the pressure relief valve body in the interface section (<NUM>,<NUM>) of the boot (<NUM>,<NUM>) integrates a separate recessed portion (<NUM>), and wherein the recessed portion (<NUM>) is connected with interior but separated from exterior, whereby the recessed portion (<NUM>) in the interface portion (<NUM>,<NUM>) is embodied as a longitudinal slot section which is arranged antiparallel or in parallel with respect of the linear displacement direction of the actuation member (<NUM>, <NUM>), the recessed portion (<NUM>) is separated from exterior via an end wall (<NUM>) of the flange (<NUM>, <NUM>), and wherein the end wall (<NUM>) is arranged orthogonally with respect to the linear displacement direction of the actuation member (<NUM>, <NUM>).