Disc brakes caliper and support structure

A sliding caliper disc brake comprising:

• i. a disc which is rotatable about its central axis;
• ii. a torque plate;
• iii. a caliper slidably connected to the torque plate;
• iv. directly and indirectly operated friction pad assemblies carried by at least one of a pair of members comprising the caliper and torque plate, each friction pad assembly comprising a friction pad carried by a pad backing plate;
• v. a pair of drag taking abutment guides for the directly and indirectly operated friction pad assemblies, said abutment guides being carried by the torque plate and by the caliper, respectively, and being positioned to prevent lateral displacement of the friction pad assemblies in response to drag forces generated upon engagement of the pads with the brake disc when the disc is rotating;
• vi. a single guide pin mounting the caliper for axial sliding movement relative to the torque plate, said guide pin being:
• a. of cylindrical section;
• b. firmly fixed to one of said pair of members comprising the torque plate and the caliper;
• c. a snug fit in a cylindrical hole in the other of said two members;
• d. not directly contacted by either of said pad backing plates;
• e. adapted such that relative sliding between said caliper and torque plate is effected by relative sliding between said guide pin and said hole, and
• vii. a single pad retention pin which:
• f. extends through and operatively engages aligned apertures in the caliper, the torque plate and both said pad backing plates such as firstly to directly prevent any movement of the pads relative to the caliper and torque plate, in any mode in a plane perpendicular to said central axis of the brake disc, which is not prevented by said drag taking abutments, and secondly to directly prevent pivoting of the caliper about said single guide pin relative to the torque plate;
• g. is axially located with respect to one of said pair of members by a locking means;
• h. is axially withdrawable upon release of the locking means to facilitate the removal of said pad assemblies to be removed without breaking the sliding connection between the caliper and torque plate;
• and
• i. is unprotected by boots and sealing means at any aperture through which it passes.

A sliding caliper brake device for operatively cooperating with a rotary disc which is rotatable about its central axis comprising a torque plate, a caliper, a single guide pin mounting the caliper for axial sliding movement relative to the torque plate, directly and indirectly operated friction pad assemblies each comprising a friction pad carried by a pad backing plate, a pair of drag taking abutment guides for the directly and indirectly operated friction pad assemblies, respectively, said abutment guides being carried by one of a pair of members constituted by the caliper and the torque plate and being positioned to prevent lateral displacement of the friction pad assemblies in response to drag forces generated upon engagement of the pads with the disc when the disc is rotating, and at least one pad retention pin which extends through and operatively engages aligned apertures in the caliper, the torque plate and at least one of said pad backing plates such as firstly to directly prevent any movement of the pad carried by said at least one backing plate relative to the caliper and torque plate, in any mode in a plane perpendicular to said central axis of the disc which is not prevented by said abutment guides and secondly to directly prevent pivoting of the caliper about said guide pin relative to the torque plate, and wherein the caliper further includes a pair of laterally projecting lugs having coaxially aligned apertures for slidably receiving said single guide pin, a first bush which supports one end of the guide pin in one of said caliper apertures, the other end of the guide pin being received in the other caliper aperture with a screw-threaded connection therebetween, a boss on the torque plate having an axial bore therein which receives said guide pin whereby to support the caliper for axial movement relative to the torque plate, a pair of longitudinally abutting bushes which support the guide pin in said bore in the torque plate boss, and a first flexible boot connected between said first bush and one of said pair of longitudinally abutting bushes and a second boot connected between the other of said pair of longitudinally abutting bushes and an annular recess in the guide pin.