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US 2010/0193299 A1Published application
Brake retraction utilizing active material actuation
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsDomenic Certo, Alan L. Browne, Paul W. Alexander
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A braking system comprising a reconfigurable caliper piston adapted for, and a method of, retracting a brake pad utilizing active material actuation.
Claims20
A caliper adapted for selectively retracting a brake pad from a rotor, said system comprising:
- an open cylinder securable relative to the rotor;
- and
- a piston interiorly translatable within and relative to the cylinder, and including
- an outer shell,
- a member translatable relative to the shell and fixedly attached to the pad, such that the member is configured to cause the pad to translate between a deployed condition, wherein the pad engages the rotor, and a retracted condition, wherein the pad is spaced from the rotor, when the member is caused to translate relative to the shell, and
- an active material element operable to undergo a reversible change in fundamental property when exposed to and occluded from an activation signal, so as to activate and deactivate the element respectively, and drivenly coupled to the member, such that the member is caused to translate as a result of the change.
3 more elements
A method of selectively retracting a brake pad from a rotor, said method comprising:
- a. applying a pressure to a surface fixedly attached to the pad, so as to cause the pad to translate in a first direction and engage the rotor;
- b. terminating the pressure;
- c. activating an active material element drivenly coupled to the surface opposite the pressure, wherein the element is operable to undergo a reversible change in fundamental property when exposed to or occluded from an activation signal;
- and
- d. causing the pad to translate in a second direction opposite the first and disengage the rotor, as a result of activation.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.