Articulating brake component mounting plate for wheel alignment correction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10260580-B2
Application number	US-201615756317-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 16, 2016
Priority date	Aug 31, 2015
Publication date	Apr 16, 2019
Grant date	Apr 16, 2019

Abstract

An apparatus for a vehicle is provided that includes and axle and an articulating brake component mounting plate carried by the axle. The articulating brake component mounting plate has an inner portion and an outer portion, and the position of the outer portion is adjustable with respect to the inner portion. Either the inner portion or the outer portion defines an adjustment nut aperture. An adjustment nut is located in the adjustment nut aperture.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
an axle;
an articulating brake component mounting plate carried by the axle, wherein the articulating brake component mounting plate has an inner portion and an outer portion, wherein the position of the outer portion is adjustable with respect to the inner portion, wherein either the inner portion or the outer portion defines an adjustment nut aperture, wherein the articulating brake component mounting plate has an adjustment nut located in the adjustment nut aperture; and
a spindle, wherein the inner portion has a spindle aperture that receives the spindle, wherein the spindle aperture has a spindle aperture axis, wherein the articulating brake component mounting plate has an engagement pin that has an engagement pin axis, wherein the adjustment nut engages the engagement pin, wherein the spindle aperture axis is perpendicular to the engagement pin axis, and wherein the outer portion rotates relative to the inner portion about the engagement pin axis to expose a bottom surface of the inner portion and the adjustment nut is tightened to fix the positioning of the outer portion to the inner surface such that the bottom surface of the inner portion is exposed, wherein the bottom surface is an exterior surface of the inner portion.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adjustment nut is tightened in order to lock the position of the outer portion relative to the inner portion, and wherein the adjustment nut is loosened in order to allow adjustment of the position of the outer portion relative to the inner portion, wherein the adjustment nut aperture is located at the inner portion and is not located at the outer portion.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the outer portion has an outer portion protrusion that has a first curved surface and a second curved surface that are both convex in shape, wherein the inner portion has a receiving recess that has a first curved surface and a second curved surface that are both concave in shape, wherein the outer portion protrusion is disposed within the receiving recess, wherein the first curved surface of the outer portion protrusion engages the first curved surface of the inner portion, and wherein the second curved surface of the outer protrusion engages the second curved surface of the inner portion.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 , wherein the inner portion has an engagement pin aperture that extends from the receiving recess to the adjustment nut aperture.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a first brake pin and a second brake pin, wherein the inner portion has a cam aperture, and wherein the outer portion has a first brake pin aperture into which the first brake pin is disposed, and wherein the outer portion has a second brake pin aperture into which the second brake pin is disposed.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a limiting pin attached to either the outer portion or the inner portion, wherein the articulating brake component mounting plate has a limiting pin groove defined in the other one of the outer portion or the inner portion that is not attached to the limiting pin, wherein the limiting pin is disposed within the limiting pin groove and limits rotation of the outer portion relative to the inner portion.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6 , wherein the limiting pin is attached to the outer portion, and wherein the limiting pin groove is defined in the inner portion, wherein the limiting pin groove extends about an arc length.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 7 , wherein the outer portion has the engagement pin that has the engagement pin axis, wherein the limiting pin has a limiting pin axis, wherein the engagement pin axis is parallel to the limiting pin axis.

9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising:
brake shoes that have a brake shoe frictional pad;
a brake drum that has a brake drum inner surface;
wherein the outer portion carries the brake shoes and wherein the axle has an axis, wherein the inner portion has a spindle aperture axis that is coaxial with the axis of the axle, wherein the outer portion is oriented with respect to the inner portion such that the brake shoe frictional pad directly faces the brake drum inner surface.

10. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising:
a brake rotor that is coaxial with an axis of the axle;
a caliper bracket that is carried by the outer portion;
a caliper brake that is carried by the caliper bracket, wherein the caliper brake has a pair of caliper brake pads, wherein the outer portion is oriented with respect to the inner portion such that the caliper brake pads directly face opposite sides of the brake rotor.

11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adjustment nut aperture extends completely through the inner portion and is completely spaced from the bottom surface such that no portion of the adjustment nut aperture is defined by the bottom surface.

12. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising:
a spindle sleeve disposed onto the spindle, wherein the spindle sleeve has a spindle sleeve outer surface with an outer surface of revolution about a spindle sleeve outer surface axis, wherein the spindle sleeve has a spindle sleeve inner surface with an inner surface of revolution about a spindle sleeve inner surface axis, wherein the spindle sleeve outer surface axis and the spindle sleeve inner surface axis are oriented at an angle to one another that is greater than 0 degrees.

13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the outer portion has an outer portion exterior surface, and wherein the inner portion has an inner portion exterior surface, wherein a vernier scale is located on both the outer portion exterior surface and the inner portion exterior surface and is used to calculate an angular orientation between the inner portion and the outer portion.

14. An apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
an axle;
an articulating brake component mounting plate carried by the axle, wherein the articulating brake component mounting plate has an inner portion and an outer portion, wherein the position of the outer portion is adjustable with respect to the inner portion, wherein the inner portion defines an adjustment nut aperture and the adjustment nut aperture is not located at the outer portion, wherein the articulating brake component mounting plate has an adjustment nut located in the adjustment nut aperture,
wherein the adjustment nut is tightened in order to lock the position of the outer portion relative to the inner portion, and wherein the adjustment nut is loosened in order to allow adjustment of the position of the outer portion relative to the inner portion;
a spindle, wherein the inner portion has a spindle aperture that receives the spindle, wherein the spindle aperture has a spindle aperture axis, wherein the articulating brake component mounting plate has an engagement pin that has an engagement pin axis, wherein the adjustment nut engages the engagement pin, wherein the spindle aperture axis is perpendicular to the engagement pin axis, and wherein the outer portion rotates relative to the inner portion about the engagement pin axis to expose a bottom surface of the inner portion and the adjustment nut is tightened to fix the positioning of the outer portion to the inner surface such that the bottom surface of the inner portion is exposed, wherein the bottom surface is an exterior surface of the bottom portion;
brake shoes that have a brake shoe frictional pad;
a brake drum that has a brake d

Assignees

• Michelin & Cie

Inventors

• Merrill Zachary Alexander

Classifications

• F16D2055/0012

  integral with vehicle suspension · CPC title

• F16D2055/0008

  Brake supports · CPC title

• F16D55/00 Primary

  Brakes with substantially-radial braking surfaces pressed together in axial direction, e.g. disc brakes (similar clutches F16D13/38) · CPC title

• B60G2204/61

  Adjustable during maintenance · CPC title

• B60G2200/4622

  Alignment adjustment · CPC title