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US 12,655,879 B2Granted
Brake system and method
AssigneePoli S.R.L.
InventorsRoberto Boffelli, José Manuel Saraiva Carvalho
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An adapter of a brake system includes a body that extends around a portion of an axle of a vehicle system. The body may include an interior portion that is positioned between a center passage of the body and an exterior portion of the body in a radial direction away from the center passage. A hub coupling feature is positioned on the interior portion of the body and may be coupled with a portion of a wheel hub of the vehicle system. A brake disc coupling feature is positioned on the exterior portion of the body and may be coupled with a portion of a brake disc assembly. The wheel hub and the brake disc assembly are incompatible such that the wheel hub is prohibited from being directly coupled with the brake disc assembly.
Claims18
An adapter comprising:
- a body having plural surfaces configured to extend around at least a portion of an axle of a vehicle system, the body comprising an interior portion and an exterior portion, wherein the interior portion is positioned between a center passage of the body and the exterior portion in a radial direction away from the center passage;
- a hub coupling feature positioned on the interior portion of the body, the hub coupling feature configured to be coupled with a portion of a wheel hub of the vehicle system, the wheel hub operably coupled with the axle of the vehicle system;
- and
- a brake disc coupling feature positioned on the exterior portion of the body radially outward from the hub coupling feature, the brake disc coupling feature including an exterior protrusion extending away from an exterior surface of the body in a direction away from the center passage of the body such that the exterior protrusion forms at least a portion of the radially outermost surface of the body, the brake disc coupling feature configured to be coupled with a segment of plural segments of a brake disc assembly, the brake disc assembly comprising plural segments disposed around a perimeter of the body, wherein the exterior protrusion comprises a first side and a second side facing away from the first side along a center axis of the axle, wherein the exterior protrusion is configured to extend into a pocket defined radially inward along a centerline of the brake disc assembly such that the first side and the second side of the exterior protrusion are bounded by the segment of the brake disc assembly and accommodate expansion of the segment of plural segments to stabilize the wheel hub regardless of an imbalance caused by expansion of the segment of plural segments, the brake disc assembly configured to control a rotational speed of the axle,
- wherein the hub coupling feature and the brake disc coupling feature allow the brake disc assembly to be operably coupled with the wheel hub.
2 more elements
A method comprising:
- coupling a portion of a wheel hub of a vehicle system with a hub coupling feature of an adapter, the adapter including a body having plural surfaces configured to extend around at least a portion of an axle of the vehicle system, the body comprising an interior portion and an exterior portion, the interior portion is positioned between a center passage of the body and the exterior portion in a radial direction away from the center passage, the hub coupling feature positioned on the interior portion of the body, the wheel hub operably coupled with the axle;
- and
- coupling a brake disc coupling feature of the adapter with a segment of plural segments of a brake disc assembly, the brake disc assembly comprising plural segments disposed around a perimeter of the body, the brake disc coupling feature positioned on the exterior portion of the body radially outward from the hub coupling feature, the brake disc coupling feature including an exterior protrusion extending away from an exterior surface of the body in a direction away from the center passage of the body such that the exterior protrusion forms at least a portion of the radially outermost surface of the body, wherein the exterior protrusion comprises a first side and a second side facing away from the first side along a center axis of the axle, wherein coupling the brake disc coupling feature of the adapter with the portion of a brake disc assembly comprises positioning the exterior protrusion within a pocket defined radially inward along a centerline of the brake disc assembly such that the first side and the second side of the exterior protrusion are bounded by the segment of the brake disc assembly and accommodate expansion of the segment of plural segments to stabilize the wheel hub regardless of an imbalance caused by expansion of the segment of plural segments.
A brake system comprising:
- a wheel hub operably coupled with an axle of a vehicle system;
- a segmented brake disc assembly configured to control a rotational speed of the axle, the segmented brake disc assembly comprising a segment, wherein a pocket is defined in the segment defined radially inward along a centerline of the segment;
- and
- an adapter having a body extending around at least a portion of the axle, the body including an interior portion and an exterior portion, the interior portion being positioned between a center passage of the body and the exterior portion in a radial direction away from the center passage, the body comprising a hub coupling feature positioned on the interior portion of the body, the hub coupling feature configured to be coupled with a portion of the wheel hub of the vehicle system, the body comprising a brake disc coupling feature positioned on the exterior portion of the body radially outward from the hub coupling feature, the brake disc coupling feature including an exterior protrusion extending away from the body of the adapter in a direction away from the center passage such that the body has a varying diameter about a perimeter of the body and the exterior protrusion forms at least a portion of the radially outermost surface of the body, wherein the exterior protrusion comprises a first side and a second side facing away from the first side along a center axis of the axle, the exterior protrusion configured to extend into the pocket of the segment of the segmented brake disc assembly such that the first side and the second side of the exterior protrusion are bounded by the segmented brake disc assembly and accommodate expansion of the segment to stabilize the wheel hub regardless of an imbalance caused by expansion of the segment.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.