Non-recirculating ball-nut drive for electromechanical brake

A ball-nut assembly for an actuator assembly of a vehicle brake, comprising:

• a spindle rotatable about an axis and including an exterior track winding extending around the spindle and an inner recess extending axially into the spindle;
• a piston integrated with a nut including an interior track winding and being positioned over the spindle so as to be movable along the axis in response to rotation of the spindle for applying the vehicle brake;
• a cage provided between the track windings and including a flange and openings for receiving bearing balls sized to at least one of roll and slip interference free within the track windings;
• a cage return mechanism provided in the inner recess of the spindle, comprising:
• an end cap having a base provided in the inner recess of the spindle and a flange extending radially outward to an end surface of the spindle for interfacing with the flange on the cage to prevent relative rotation therebetween during brake application and a flange;
• a biasing member for biasing the end cap towards the spindle;
• a thrust bearing for allowing generally free rotation of the end cap;
• and
• an axle secured to the spindle for coupling the end cap and the biasing member to the spindle, wherein the cage moves axially and rotationally from a start position in a first direction with the nut relative to the spindle in response to brake application to load the cage return mechanism, and wherein in response to releasing the brake the cage return mechanism unloads to automatically move the cage in an opposite second direction back to the start position.