Method and plant for the thermal treatment of friction elements, in particular brake pads

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10845121-B2
Application number	US-201615579681-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2016
Priority date	Jun 5, 2015
Publication date	Nov 24, 2020
Grant date	Nov 24, 2020

Abstract

A method and plant for the thermal treatment of friction elements including a convective heating step which is performed within a convective tunnel oven. The friction elements are arranged laid, in an orderly manner, upon a plurality of trays each tray having a perforated resting plate upon which the friction elements are laid in a position next to one another only, but not overlapped. The trays are piled on top of each other whilst being kept distanced from one another in a stacking direction by an amount that is greater than the thickness of the friction elements. Groups of piled up trays containing the friction elements are arranged side by side on belt conveyor means that pass through the tunnel oven in order to transport the friction elements therethrough.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for the thermal treatment of formed friction elements in which the formed friction elements are transported through a convective oven, the method comprising:
i) conveying friction elements from a forming station in which each friction element has been formed by pressing a block of friction material onto a metal support;
ii) arranging the formed friction elements in an orderly manner upon a plurality of trays, each tray having a perforated resting plate upon which a number of the formed friction elements are laid in a position next to one another in non-overlapping fashion;
iii) stacking the plurality of trays on top of each other whilst being kept distanced from one another in a stacking direction by an amount that is greater than the thickness of the arranged friction elements in the same stacking direction, and forming groups of the stacked trays, each of the trays comprising a plurality of resting feet cantilevered from longitudinal sides of the trays, each of the resting feet comprising an upper end and a bottom end in which the upper end of the resting feet includes a seat having an opening sized to receive the bottom end of corresponding resting feet of a stacked tray, thereby enabling the groups of stacked trays to be formed and broken down; and
iv) convectively heating the arranged friction elements within a convective tunnel oven having a burner and a conveyor passing through it, in which the formed groups of the stacked trays having the arranged friction elements are placed side by side on the conveyor, such that by advancing the conveyor the arranged friction elements are transported through the convective tunnel oven in a direction (D 1 ) of travel; wherein during the convective heating step the arranged friction elements are heated, by the burner, to a temperature of between 140° C. and 300° C., thus causing a controlled circulation of a flow (F) of burned gases, due to forced convection, within the convective tunnel oven;
the flow (F) of burned gases being divided into a plurality of overlapping flows (F1-n; F2-m), said plurality of overlapping flows being opposite to one another and transversely directed in the direction of travel (D 1 ).

2. The method according to claim 1 , in which the flow of burned gases (F) is produced by sucking environment air, then sucking the combustion products using at least one pair of extractors positioned at or near respective opposite ends of the convective tunnel oven.

3. The method according to claim 1 , in which the friction elements include brake pads.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
v) removing each of the formed and thermally treated friction elements from the uppermost tray of a group of stacked trays;
vii) removing the uppermost tray from the group of stacked trays, by pulling the bottom end of the cantilevered resting feet from the opening of the seat of the upper end of the tray beneath the uppermost tray; and
viii) repeating steps v) and vi) until all of the formed and thermally treated friction elements and trays are removed from the group of stacked trays.

5. A method for the thermal treatment of friction elements wherein friction elements are transported through a convective oven, the method comprising:
i) arranging the friction elements in an orderly manner upon a plurality of trays, each tray having a perforated resting plate upon which a number of the friction elements are laid in a position next to one another in non-overlapping fashion;
ii) stacking the plurality of trays on top of each other whilst being kept distanced from one another in a stacking direction by an amount that is greater than the thickness of the arranged friction elements in the same stacking direction, and forming groups of the stacked trays;
iii) convectively heating the friction elements within a convective tunnel oven having a burner and a conveyor passing through it, in which the formed groups of the stacked trays having the arranged friction elements are placed side by side on the conveyor, such that by advancing the conveyor the arranged friction elements are transported through the convective tunnel oven in a direction (D 1 ) of travel; wherein during the convective heating step the arranged friction elements are heated, by the burner, to a temperature of between 140° C. and 300° C., thus causing a controlled circulation of a flow (F) of burned gases, due to forced convection, within the convective tunnel oven; the flow (F) of burned gases being divided into a plurality of overlapping flows (F1-n; F2-m), said plurality of overlapping flows being opposite to one another and transversely directed in the direction of travel (D 1 ), and
in which the friction elements are arranged on the trays and then taken from the trays by means of at least one pair of manipulation robots having at least three numerically controlled axes of movement arranged as a first manipulation robot at a first end of the convective tunnel oven which has an inlet opening into the oven and a second manipulation robot at a second end of the convective tunnel oven, opposite to the first end which has an outlet opening from the convective tunnel oven; the trays being taken empty by the first manipulation robot at the first end, being deposited empty onto the conveyor, a first tray directly laid on the conveyor and subsequently filled by the first manipulation robot with a plurality of friction elements, and the subsequent trays piled on top of the first tray and filled with friction elements by the first manipulation robot one at a time to form a group of piled up trays; the friction elements being taken from the trays by the second manipulation robot at the second end, and the empty trays are removed from the conveyor one at a time by the second manipulation robot and arranged upon a belt conveyor, positioned externally below the convective tunnel oven, and by means of the belt conveyor the empty trays are carried back to the first end to be taken one at a time by the first manipulation robot.

6. A plant for the thermal treatment of formed friction elements, each of the formed friction elements comprising a block of friction material pressed onto a metal support the plant comprising:
a tunnel convective oven presenting an inlet opening at a first end and an outlet opening at an opposing second end and a conveyor which passes through the tunnel convective oven, the conveyor having an extension in length that is greater than that of the tunnel convective oven, in order to have first and second opposite ends of the conveyor arranged externally to the convective tunnel oven, from which the conveyor emerges through inlet and outlet openings, respectively;
a plurality of trays, each tray having a perforated resting plate designed such that a number of the formed friction elements can be laid directly onto the perforated resting plate in a position next to one another in overlapping fashion;
the trays being designed to be piled on top of each other whilst being kept distanced from one another in a stacking direction by an amount that is greater than the thickness of the formed friction elements in the same stacking direction, each tray having a plurality of resting feet cantilevered from longitudinal sides of the tray, each of the resting feet comprising an upper end and an elongated bottom end, the upper end including a seat having an opening sized to receive the elongated bottom end of a vertically stacked tray;
the conveyor being designed to be loaded, at its first end, with groups of piled up trays containing the formed friction elements and to carry in a direction of travel (D 1 ) a plurality of groups of piled up trays arranged side by side through the tunnel convective oven beyond the outlet opening, at a controlled speed; wherein

Assignees

• Itt Italia Srl

Inventors

• Ferrero Sergio
• Regis Pierluigi
• Laureri Francesco

Classifications

• F16D69/00

  Friction linings; Attachment thereof; Selection of coacting friction substances or surfaces (clutching elements F16D13/60; braking members F16D65/02) · CPC title

• C21D9/0056

  Furnaces through which the charge is moved in a horizontal straight path (C21D9/0043 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C21D9/0068

  for particular articles not mentioned below · CPC title

• F27B9/36

  Arrangements of heating devices · CPC title

• F16D2250/00

  Manufacturing; Assembly · CPC title