Bicycle hydraulic braking system of the disc type and related components and methods
AssigneeCampagnolo S.r.l.
InventorsMario Meggiolan, Filippo Bove, Stefano Rubini
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hydraulic disc braking system is disclosed. The system has a manually operated control device for a cyclist to issue a braking command. The system has a master cylinder assembly having a membrane dividing the hydraulic fluid tank into a variable volume filled chamber and a complementarily variable volume empty chamber. A membrane detector senses the presence of the membrane relative to a predetermined position in the tank and/or a meter measures the distance of the membrane from the ceiling of tank.
Claims19
A manual control device for a bicycle hydraulic disc braking system, comprising:
- a manual actuator configured to issue a braking command, and
- a master cylinder assembly comprising:
- a cylinder, and
- a piston movable by reciprocating motion inside the cylinder against the action of
- a return spring,
- a hydraulic tank comprising:
- a bottom,
- a ceiling, and
- a membrane in contact with a free surface of hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic tank, the membrane dividing the hydraulic tank into a variable volume chamber for the hydraulic fluid and a complementarily variable volume empty chamber, said hydraulic tank being fluidically connected to the cylinder, wherein the piston is displaced inside the cylinder in response to the actuation of the manual actuator, and a membrane detector comprising:
- one or more detectable members borne by the membrane;
- and
- at least one sensor configured to detect the presence of the membrane in a predetermined position in the tank, and/or a meter of the distance of the membrane from the ceiling of the hydraulic tank.
A method for controlling a bicycle hydraulic disc braking system, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a braking system comprising:
- at least one control device comprising:
- a manual actuator configured to issue a braking command and
- a master cylinder assembly, comprising a cylinder, a piston movable by reciprocating motion inside the cylinder against the action of a return spring, as well as a hydraulic tank comprising a bottom, a ceiling, and a membrane dividing the hydraulic tank into a variable volume filled chamber and a complementarily variable volume empty chamber, said tank being fluidically connected to the cylinder, wherein the piston is displaced inside the cylinder in response to the actuation of the manual actuator, and
- a membrane detector comprising at least one sensor for sensing a presence of the membrane in a predetermined position in the tank and/or a meter of the distance of the membrane from the ceiling of the tank and
- a respective hydraulic braking device fluidically connected to the master cylinder assembly,
- b) evaluating, with processing means, a position of the membrane in the tank based on the output of said membrane detector, and
- c) evaluating, with processing means, the wear and/or the presence of at least one friction element in the hydraulic brake caliper and/or sealing of a hydraulic fluid based on the position of the membrane in the hydraulic tank and/or of its displacement speed over time,
- wherein evaluating wear of the at least one friction element comprises establishing that the wear is higher than a predetermined maximum wear threshold when the distance of the membrane from the ceiling of the hydraulic tank is larger than a predetermined maximum distance threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.