Patent Description:
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 a 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.

An example of state of the art dust collectors is shown in document <CIT>.

Therefore, 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.

To this end, the present invention provides a brake dust collector in accordance with claim <NUM>. Advantageous embodiments are subject to the dependent claims and will be set forth in the description which follows and the drawings.

It is one of the ideas of the present invention to provide brake dust collector including a housing that partially surrounds a brake module, and at least one filter module. The brake module comprises a disc that is rotatable about a rotational axis and that has opposite side surfaces or friction surfaces, and a pair of brake pads that are moveable into contact with the side surfaces of the disc to brake the disc. The housing extends along a circumferential direction that extends about the rotational axis. The housing comprises a first portion or leading portion forming one circumferential end region of the housing, and a second portion or trailing portion forming an opposite circumferential end region of the housing. At least one filter is detachably mounted to the housing in at least one of the trailing portion or the leading portion of the housing.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a brake dust collector includes: a brake module including a pair of brake pads that are respectively disposed on both sides of a disc configured for 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 including a base bracket fastened to the brake module, an inner housing fastened to the base bracket, and an outer housing fastened to the inner housing and configured to cover a part of the brake module by providing filter module detachable portions in a circumferential direction of the disc in a leading portion and a trailing portion, respectively; and filter modules provided to be detachable from the filter module detachable portions, respectively.

Each of the filter module detachable portions may be provided across the inner housing and the outer housing.

Each of the filter modules may include a filter cover detachably provided for the filter module detachable portion and at least one filter provided inside the filter cover.

One side of the filter cover may be detachable from the outer housing and the other side of the filter cover may be detachable from the inner housing.

The filter may include a main filter provided in the circumferential direction of the disc inside the filter cover, and a sub filter provided to a side of the inner housing inside the filter cover, and the sub filter may be fastened to an inner side of the inner housing.

The filter module may further include a dust cup provided below the filter, and the dust cup may be fastened to an inner end of each of the leading portion and the trailing portion. Generally, a dust cap may be provided that has an opening, wherein the dust cap may be positioned adjacent to the filter with respect to the circumferential direction of the disc, and the opening of the dust cap may face the filter to collect dust escaping from the filter.

The filter module may further include at least one guide wing that is provided on a side surface or a circumferential surface of the disc and induces a fluid flow to the filter, and the guide wing may be provided to be angle-adjustable for the filter.

The housing may further include a plurality of heat dissipation holes provided between the filter module detachable portions.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a brake dust collector includes: a brake module including a pair of brake pads that are respectively disposed on both sides of a disc configured for 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 formed to cover a part of the brake module by providing a filter module detachable portion in a circumferential direction of the disc in at least one of a leading portion or a trailing portion; and one or more, in particular, two filter modules detachably provided for the filter module detachable portion.

The housing may comprise a first filter module detachable portion formed in the leading portion and a second filter module detachable portion formed in the trailing portion, and wherein a first filter module is detachably fastened to the first filter module detachable portion, and a second filter module is detachably fastened to the second filter module detachable portion.

The filter module may include a filter cover detachably provided for the filter module detachable portion and at least one filter provided inside the filter cover.

One side of the filter cover may be detachable from one side surface of the housing and the other side of the filter cover may be detachable from the other side surface of the housing.

The filter module may further include a dust cup provided below the filter, and the dust cup may be fastened to at least one of an inner end of the leading portion or an inner end of the trailing portion.

The housing may be provided as a monoblock integrally formed with a case of the brake module.

The housing may further include a plurality of heat dissipation holes.

According to the present invention, as the brake dust collector has a filter module provided in one or both of a leading portion and a trailing portion, the brake dust collector is capable of improving dust collection efficiency by a filter module.

It is a further advantage of the invention that filter cleaning and replacement is facilitated and maintainability is improved because a filter module is provided detachable from a housing.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the brake dust collector is capable of further improving dust collection efficiency by a dust cup that is provided at a lower side of a filter module to finally collect dust discharged to the outside of a housing.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the brake dust collector is capable of further improving dust collection efficiency by a guide wing that is provided inside a filter module to control a fluid flow.

According to still another embodiment, the brake dust collector is capable of preventing aesthetics of a housing from being reduced by a filter module that is separately provided at one side of the housing.

According to yet another embodiment, the brake dust collector is capable of further improving heat dissipation performance when exhausting heat caused by friction between a disc and a brake pad to outside of a housing.

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 embodiments are 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, and <FIG> is a view illustrating a state where a filter module of the brake dust collector i is separated.

In addition, <FIG> are a front perspective view, a rear perspective view, and a bottom perspective view, respectively, which illustrate the brake dust collector.

Referring to <FIG>, a brake dust collector according to the present invention includes a brake module <NUM>, a housing <NUM> provided to cover a part of the brake module <NUM>, and filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' detachably provided in the housing <NUM>. Although <FIG> show a first filter module <NUM> and a second filter module <NUM>', the invention is not limited to this configuration, and there may be provided only one filter module or more than two filter modules.

More specifically, the brake module <NUM> includes a pair of brake pads <NUM> and <NUM>' that are respectively disposed on both or opposite sides of a disc D rotating together with a wheel. The brake pads <NUM>, <NUM>' are movable into close contact with or separated from the disc D, i.e., with opposite side or friction surfaces of the disc D, according to a forward and backward movement of a piston. Herein, various driving methods including a hydraulic method and an electromechanical method using a motor may be applied to the forward and backward movementof the piston. The friction surfaces of the disc D define lateral or axial sides of the disc D.

Meanwhile, the housing <NUM> is formed in a cover shape to cover a part of the brake module <NUM>. For example, the housing <NUM> may comprise an overall arc shape defining a housing circumferential direction. The housing <NUM> includes a leading or first portion <NUM> formed on a first side and a trailing or second portion <NUM> formed on a second side. Generally, the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM> may be spaced to each other along the housing circumferential direction. In addition, the housing <NUM> includes filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' coupled to the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' in the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, respectively.

As illustrated in <FIG>, each of the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' may comprise an opening or hole penetrating the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, respectively. The respective opening may extend along the housing circumferential direction or along a circumferential direction of the disc D. Further, a plurality of seats 203a and 203a' may be provided at an outer circumferential surface of the housing <NUM> adjacent to the holes in order to attach and detach the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>'.

Optionally, the housing <NUM> may comprise a base bracket <NUM> fastened to the brake module <NUM>, an inner housing <NUM> fastened to the base bracket <NUM>, and an outer housing <NUM> fastened to the inner housing <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the base bracket <NUM> is fixed to the brake module <NUM> by a fastening member such as a bolt and the like. Optionally, the base bracket <NUM> may be formed to cover only a part of the brake module <NUM>, e.g., the base bracket <NUM> may be formed to cover a lower portion of a first lateral side of the brake module <NUM>. Thereby, heat generated by the operation of the brake module <NUM> can be smoothly discharged.

The inner housing <NUM> has an overall arc shape and is fixed to the base bracket <NUM> by a fastening member such as a bolt and the like. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the inner housing may be provided to cover an upper portion of the first lateral side of the brake module <NUM>. Optionally, the inner housing <NUM> may be formed to expose a part of the brake module <NUM> so that heat generated by the operation of the brake module <NUM> can be smoothly discharged.

The outer housing <NUM> has an arc shape corresponding to the inner housing <NUM>, is fixed to the inner housing <NUM> by a fastening member such as a bolt and the like, and is provided to cover an upper portion of a second lateral side (opposite to the first lateral side) of the brake module <NUM>.

The filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided in the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM> through the inner housing <NUM> and the outer housing <NUM>, respectively. In addition, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the seats 203a and 203a' may be provided on the outer housing <NUM> and the inner housing <NUM>, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the housing <NUM>, the base bracket <NUM> and the inner housing <NUM> may be integrally formed, or the inner housing <NUM> and the outer housing <NUM> may be integrally formed. In addition, in the housing <NUM>, the base bracket <NUM>, the inner housing <NUM>, and the outer housing <NUM> may all be integrally formed.

Furthermore, the housing <NUM> may be provided as a monoblock that is integrally formed with a case of the brake module <NUM>.

In addition, the housing <NUM> may further include a plurality of heat dissipation holes <NUM> that are provided to penetrate any one or more surfaces excluding the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' toward the disc D and discharge heat generated when the brake module <NUM> is operated.

Meanwhile, the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' include filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>' provided to be detachable from the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>', and at least one or more filters <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided inside the filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>'.

Herein, the filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>' may have a cover shape formed to entirely cover the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>', in particular, the opening of the respective filter module detachable portion <NUM> and <NUM>'. Optionally, the filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>' may include a plurality of filter cover heat dissipation holes <NUM> and <NUM>' provided to discharge heat generated when the brake module <NUM> is operated. Herein, the heat dissipation holes <NUM> and <NUM>' may be utilized not only as exhaust passages of heat but also as fluid passages to induce an air flow according to rotation of the disc D to the filters <NUM> and <NUM>'.

In addition, the filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>' may be coupled to and separated from the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' by an easily detachable fastening member such as a bolt and a pin or a detachable structure such as a rib for fastening and a corresponding groove.

As a means to collect dust that is generated by friction between the brake pads <NUM> and <NUM>' and the disc D, the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' are formed to entirely cover the holes of the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>'. The filters <NUM> and <NUM>', generally, may be positioned within the holes of the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' or so as to cover the holes of the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>'. The filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>'may be positioned on the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' such that they cover the filters <NUM> and <NUM>'. Hence, the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided on an inner side of the filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>'. Generally, the filters <NUM>, <NUM>' may be positioned to face the disc D. Various shapes and various materials, which are already publicly known, may be applied to realize the filters <NUM> and <NUM>'. In addition, the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' may include brackets for fastening to the filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>' or the housing <NUM>.

In addition, the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided using various materials including metals that have durability strong against high-pressured washing liquid flowing into the filter cover dissipation holes <NUM> and <NUM>' for cleansing and sufficient corrosion resistance and heat resistance against pollutants and hot temperatures.

More specifically, the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' include main filters <NUM> and <NUM>' provided in a circumferential direction of the disc D and sub filters <NUM> and <NUM>' provided at one side or both sides of the disc D. Generally, the main filters <NUM>, <NUM>' may be positioned to face a circumference or circumferential surface of the disc D, and the sub filters <NUM>, <NUM>' may be positioned on one of the lateral or axial sides of the disc D. As exemplarily shown in <FIG>, the sub filters <NUM>, <NUM>' may be positioned on lateral sides of the main filters <NUM>, <NUM>' with respect to an axial direction extending transverse to the housing circumferential direction.

The main filters <NUM> and <NUM>' may be detachably provided on inner surfaces of the filter covers <NUM> and <NUM>'.

In addition, the sub filters <NUM> and <NUM>' may be detachably fastened to the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' or detachably fastened to the housing <NUM>, e.g., to a side portion of the housing <NUM>. As exemplarily shown in <FIG>, the sub filters <NUM> and <NUM>', may be detachably fastened to the side portion of the housing <NUM> and, when the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' are separated from the housing <NUM>, may be exposed to the outside and detachably provided.

Accordingly, the brake dust collector may not only effectively collect dust generated by friction between the disc D and the brake pads <NUM> and <NUM>' but also significantly improve maintainability including cleansing and replacement since the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' are provided to be detachable from the housing <NUM>.

Meanwhile, in the brake dust collector, the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided in only one of the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, and one of the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' may accordingly be provided to be detachable therefrom.

In addition, since the trailing portion <NUM> is normally formed to extend lower than the leading portion <NUM>, the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>', which are formed in the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, respectively, may be a little different in shape, and in response thereto, the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' may also be a little different in shape.

Meanwhile, <FIG> is a view illustrating a state where dust is collected by the brake dust collector, <FIG> and <FIG> are views illustrating an optional guide wing of the brake dust collector and a fluid flow induced or redirected by the guide wing, and <FIG> are views illustrating the guide wing of the brake dust collector and the fluid flow induced or redirected by the guide wing.

Referring to <FIG>, a further brake dust collector is described as follows.

The filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' may further include dust cups <NUM> and <NUM>' provided at end sides or circumferential ends of the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, respectively.

The dust cups <NUM> and <NUM>' may have a cup shape with overall top open and are intended to prevent dust not collected by the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' or dust escaping from the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' from being finally discharged to the outside of the housing <NUM>. That is, generally, the dust cups <NUM>, <NUM>' may be formed as open containers positioned adjacent to the filters <NUM>, <NUM>' to collect dust escaping from the filters <NUM>, <NUM>'.

Thus, the brake dust collector may further minimize the discharge of dust contained in the air flow, which is generated according to a rotating direction of the disc D, as illustrated in <FIG>, to the outside of the housing <NUM> through the leading portion <NUM> or the trailing portion <NUM>.

In addition, the dust cups <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided to be fastened to the housing <NUM> or provided to be fastened to the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' so as to be separable from the housing <NUM> together with the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>'.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' may further include at least one or more guide wings <NUM> and <NUM>' that are provided adjacent to a side surface or a circumferential surface of the disc D and configured to induce or direct a fluid flow to the filters <NUM> and <NUM>'.

More specifically, a guide wing <NUM>, which is provided adjacent to the side surface of the disc D, induces an air flow from one side surface or both side surfaces of the disc D to an inner side of the housing <NUM> according to a rotating direction of the disc D, as illustrated in <FIG>, so that dust contained therein may be effectively collected by the filters <NUM> and <NUM>'.

A guide wing <NUM>', which is provided adjacent to the circumferential surface of the disc D, may be positioned at one lower side of each of the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' and induces an air flow from the circumferential surface of the disc D to the filters <NUM> and <NUM>' according to a rotating direction of the disc D, as illustrated in <FIG>, so that dust contained therein may be effectively collected by the filters <NUM> and <NUM>'.

In addition, the guide wings <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided to be angle-adjustable for the filters <NUM> and <NUM>', respectively and may further improve heat dissipation performance by inducing the air flow generated according to rotation of the disc D to the filter cover heat dissipation holes <NUM> and <NUM>'. For example, the guide wings <NUM>, <NUM>' may be rotatably mounted and an angle of rotation may be varied relative to a reference position.

Meanwhile, in the brake dust collector according to one embodiment of the present invention, the filter module detachable portions <NUM> and <NUM>' may be provided in only one of the leading portion <NUM> and the trailing portion <NUM>, and one of the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' may accordingly be provided to be detachable therefrom.

In addition, in the brake dust collector , each of the filter modules <NUM> and <NUM>' may include any one of the dust cups <NUM> and <NUM>' and the guide wings <NUM> and <NUM>' or include both the dust cups <NUM> and <NUM>' and the guide wings <NUM> and <NUM>'.

A brake dust collector according to the present invention can effectively collect dust that is generated by friction between a disc and a brake pad and discharged to the outside of a housing.

A brake dust collector according to the present invention can improve dust collection efficiency by filter modules provided in a leading portion and a trailing portion, respectively.

A brake dust collector according to the present invention can facilitate filter cleaning and replacement and improve maintainability by providing a filter module detachable from a housing.

A brake dust collector according to one embodiment of the present invention can further improve dust collection efficiency by a dust cup that is provided at a lower side of a filter module to finally collect dust discharged to the outside of a housing.

A brake dust collector according to one embodiment of the present invention can further improve dust collection efficiency by a guide wing that is provided inside a filter module to control a fluid flow.

A brake dust collector according to one embodiment of the present invention can prevent aesthetics of a housing from being reduced by a filter module that is separately provided on one side of the housing.

Claim 1:
A brake dust collector comprising:
a brake module (<NUM>) including a pair of brake pads (<NUM>,<NUM>') that are respectively disposed on both sides of a disc and that are in close contact with or separated from the disc according to a forward and backward movement of a piston;
a housing (<NUM>) configured to cover a part of the brake module, wherein the housing extends along a circumferential direction of the disc and includes a filter module (<NUM>,<NUM>') detachable portion
(<NUM>,<NUM>') formed in at least one of a leading portion and a trailing portion of the housing (<NUM>); and
at least one filter module (<NUM>,<NUM>') detachably fastened to the filter module detachable portion (<NUM>,<NUM>').