WO1995029831A1

WO1995029831A1 - A brake-system module for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO1995029831A1
Application number: PCT/BR1995/000026
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Alexandre Pastor Wagner; Alcides Boschiero Junior
Original assignee: Indústria Freios Knorr Ltda.
Priority date: 1994-04-29
Filing date: 1995-04-28
Publication date: 1995-11-09
Also published as: BR9401647A

Abstract

The present invention refers to a brake-system module, particularly pneumatic, hydraulic or mixed (pneumohydraulic) brakes for heavy vehicles, such as lorries, buses, railway cars, etc. The main objective of this invention is to provide a new conception of assembly of brake systems in vehicles, which drastically reduces the assembly and maintenance costs of the brake systems. According to the invention, such an objective is achieved by the provision of a brake-system module for a vehicle (1, 50, 100, 200) which embraces a definitive valve assembly and other pneumatic, hydraulic or mixed components (6-11, 55, 105-109, 205) which are common to all or almost all specific brake systems for each type of chassis. Such components (6-11, 55, 105-109, 205) are in fluid connection to each other and disposed on a support (5, 52, 101, 200), forming a standard module which is easily secured to the chassis of the vehicle and pneumatically connected to the other components of the brake system.

Description

Title: "A BRAKE-SYSTEM MODULE FOR A VEHICLE"

Technical Field

The present invention refers to a brake-system mod¬ ule, particularly pneumatic, hydraulic or mixed (pneumo- hydraulic) brakes for heavy vehicles such as lorries, buses, railway cars, etc.

Background Art

As known from the prior art, pneumatic brakes make use of compressed air supplied by a compressor associated to the motor of the vehicle and include several valves, filters and other components which form a pneumatic circuit.

These several components are fixed in an unevenly distributed manner on the chassis of the vehicle and, for this reason, it is necessary to use various types of supports, a great number of bolts, nuts and washers as well as long stretches of hoses for securing these components to the chas¬ sis of the vehicle, in which a great number of securing holes should be made.

Besides, the assembly lines suitable for this ser- vice should have various stations for subassembly, systems for tightness tests for each valve and a complex network of pro- grammings. On the other hand, the fact that the various com¬ ponents of the brake system are scattered about the chassis of the vehicle makes its maintenance difficult. For the above reasons, the assembly and maintenance of the brake systems of the prior art are very expensive and little practical.

Disclosure of Invention

The objective of this invention is to propose a con- ception of assembling brake systems in vehicles which will eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, thereby drastically reducing the assembly and maintenance costs of the brake sys¬ tems.

According to the invention, such an objective is achieved by the provision of a brake-system module which em¬ braces a definite valve assembly and other pneumatic compo¬ nents that are common to all, or almost all, specific brake systems for each type of chassis. Such components are con¬ nected to each other and form a standard module which is eas- ily secured to the chassis of the vehicle and pneumatically connected to the other components of the brake system.

The brake-system module for vehicle made in accord¬ ance with this invention comprises at least one inlet and one outlet for fluid and a plurality of components of the said brake system in fluid connection to each other and disposed on a support, said module being securable to a vehicle.

Brief Description of Drawings

The brake-system module of this invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompa- nying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a brake-system module for a vehicle, which represents a first preferred embodiment of this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a variant of the first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-section view of a brake-system module for a vehicle, which represents a second preferred embodiment of this invention; and

Figure 4 is a partial cross-section view of a modu- lar block of a brake system which represents a third preferred embodiment of this invention. Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

As shown in figure 1, the present inventive concept can be embodied through a brake-system module for a vehicle 1 comprising a substantially parallelepiped-shaped housing 2, made preferably of metallic plates 3, among which there is a base-plate 5. The various components 6 through 11 of a pneu¬ matic brake system are secured to this base place 5, for in¬ stance by means of bolts (not shown).

Since the brake systems vary depending upon the ve- hicle, in both quantity and nature of the elements, as well as regarding the connections of the latter to each other, the modular systems which correspond to the preferred embodiments of this invention include only those components that are com¬ mon to all of them, or at least to a great number of pneumatic brake systems used today.

Among these common components the line filter 6, the pressure regulator 7, the protection valve or four-circuit valve 8, an automatic drain valve 9, an air drier 10 and a relay-valve 11 stand out. Such components 6 through 11 are connected to each other through hoses 15, in order to form the desired pneumatic circuit.

It should be pointed out that the mentioned compo¬ nents 6-11, as well as the pneumatic circuit formed thereby are known from the prior art, for which reason they are not included in the inventive concept described now.

The pneumatic inlets and outlets 16 of the circuit enclosed in the housing 2 have connection devices (not shown) for hoses (also not shown), which connect said circuit with the compressor of the vehicle and with the other components of its brake system. Such connection devices can be provided with a thread or can be of the snap-fit type, for instance, those manufactured by Voss.

Preferably, the housing 2 has a cover (not shown), which is disposed parallel to the base plate 5, when closed. The housing 2 can be secured by means of bolts to supports foreseen on the longeron of the chassis of the vehicle, be¬ tween its back and front axles, or still directly on said longerons.

Thus, it can be seen that the utilization of the module 1 greatly facilitates the assembly and maintenance^" work of brake systems, since it eliminates the steps of intercon¬ necting and securing the components already included in said module 1 to the chassis of a vehicle. Figure 2 shows a brake-system module 50 comprising a housing 51, also preferably made of metallic plates 52. Unlike the brake-system module 1 illustrated in figure 1, all the components 55 of the pneumatic brake system which integrate the present module 50 are secured directly to one of the plates 52, which renders a base plate unnecessary, to which said components 55 are secured by means of bolts.

The securing of the components 55 to the plates 52 is preferably effected through connection devices 56, which connect the module 50 to the compressor of the vehicle and to the rest of its brake system. Such connection devices 56 can be provided with a thread or be of the universal type or still of the snap-fit type, as for instance those manufactured by Voss.

However, it can be seen that the fastening of the components 55 to the plates 52 can also be carried out by means of bolts.

Naturally, cover and base plates (not shown) can be secured to adequate edges of the plates 52, for the purpose of closing the housing 51, thus protecting the components 55 against the environment.

The housing 51 can be dimensioned so that at least some of the components 55 will be pneumatically interconnected through the rigid connectors 57, in order to guarantee the fastening of the components 55. There are also provided hoses 58 which connect some components to the connection devices 56.

As already mentioned, the housing 51 can be secured through bolts to supports foreseen on the longeron of the chassis of the vehicle, between the back and front axles, or still directly to the said longerons. The second preferred embodiment of this invention, illustrated in figure 3, is a brake-system module 100 which comprises a distributing plate 101 having a support face 102 to which, for instance, the components 105 - 109, which are common to various specific types of pneumatic brake systems, are secured through bolts.

The module 100 includes a pressure regulator 105, a test connection 106, a magnetic valve or solenoid valve 107, two distributing valves 108 and a two-way valve 109. Such com- ponents 105 and 109, as well as the circuit formed thereby are in themselves known from the prior art, for which reason they are not part of the scope of the present invention.

According to this invention, such components 105-109 are pneumatically connected to each other through the tubes 115, formed in the distributing plate 101 itself, thereby mak¬ ing the use of hoses for interconnection of the components 105-109 unnecessary.

The tubes 115 are formed in the distributing plate 101 already at the time of their casting or subsequently by machining processes.

Although the distributing place 101 is preferably parallelepiped-shaped, in order to facilite its handling, it can have other shapes without departing from the inventive concept described now. In the same way as the brake-system modules 1 and

50, the pneumatic inlet and outlet 116 of the brake-system module 100 have connection devices 117 for hoses (not shown), which connect the circuit formed by the components 105-109 to the compressor of the vehicle and with the other components of its brake system.

Such connection devices 117 can be provided with a thread or can be of the snap-fit type, as for instance those manufactured by Voss. Moreover, the connection devices 117 can be positioned on any of the faces of the distributing plate 101.

As already known from the technique, a pressure interruptor (not shown) can be associated to the test con¬ nection 106, which interruptor actuates when the pressure at determined critical points of the circuit exceeds predeter- mined values. Thus, any abnormality or loss of function of the brake system can be reported to the driver by means of a sound or light signal.

In addition, the distributing plate 101 and the com¬ ponents 105-109 secured thereto can be partly or totally in- volved by a rigid protecting envelop (not shown). Moreover, the distributing plate 101 can be fixed through bolts to supports provided on the longeron of the chassis of the vehi¬ cle, between its back and front axles, or directly to the 5 longerons of the chassis.

A third preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in figure 4 and is a modular block of a brake sys¬ tem 200, preferably metallic, inside which cavities 201 are formed, which enclose, at least in part, the components 205

10 common to the various specific types of pneumatic brake sys¬ tems, which are pneumatically connected to each other through tubes 210, also formed in the modular block 200 itself.

As illustrated in figure 4, it is not possible to imbed each of the pneumatic components 105 entirely in the

15 block 200, since their adjustment and connection elements must be projecting outwardly. However, the fact that at least part of these components 205 are formed integral in the block 200, as well as their interconnection tubes 210, results in signif¬ icant advantages, avoiding the use of hoses for connecting the

20 components 205. Besides, the manufacture and maintenance of the modular blocks of brake systems 200 are quite simpler than those of the prior art.

According to this invention, the cavities 201 and the tubes 210 are formed in the block 200 at the moment of

25 their casting, or subsequently through machining processes.

In the same way as the modules of the brake systems 1, 50 and 100, the pneumatic inlet and outlet 215 of the modu¬ lar block 200 have connection devices 216 for hoses (not shown), which connect the circuit formed by the components

30 205-207 to the compressor of the vehicle and to the other com¬ ponents of its brake system.

Such connection devices 216 can be provided with thread or can be of the snap-fit type, as for instance those manufactured by Voss. Moreover, the connection devices 216 can

35 be positioned on - any one of the faces of the modular block 200.

In addition, the modular block 200 can be secured, through bolts, to supports provided on the longeron of the chassis of the vehicle, between its back and front axles, or directly to the longerons of the chassis.

In view of the above considerations, it can be seen that the present invention does not relate to technical and functional features of the brake system themselves, be it with regard to its various components or the circuit which the lat¬ ter form when interconnected.

The present invention refers basically to a new con¬ ception of a brake-system module having a support to which components common to a great number of specific brake systems are secured. Such a module is mounted on a chassis of a vehi¬ cle in a simple and rapid manner, and the maintenance of said components is greatly facilitated.

According to some preferred embodiments of this in¬ vention, the components present in said module are connected to each other through tubes formed in the support itself.

On the other hand, one should bear in mind that the present inventive concept can be applied without relevant al¬ terations to hydraulic or mixed (pneumo-hydraulic) brake sys¬ tems. Finally, the embodiments described above are given only by way of example, the scope of this invention being de¬ fined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A brake-system module for a vehicle (1, 50, 100, 200), particularly usable in pneumatic, hydraulic or mixed brake systems, characterized by comprising a plurality of com- ponents (6-11, 55, 105-109, 205) of said brake system in fluid connection to each other and disposed on a support (5, 52, 101, 200) and at least one inlet and one outlet for fluid (16, 116, 215); and additionally in that the module (1, 50, 100, 200) is fastenable to a vehicle.

2. A module (100, 200) according to claim 1, charac¬ terized in that the components (105-109, 205) of said brake system are connected to each other through tubes (115, 210) formed inside the support (101, 200).

3. A module (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the components (6-11) of said brake system are con¬ nected to each other through hoses (15).

4. A module (1, 50, 100, 200) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the inlet and the outlet of fluid (6, 116, 215) are operatively associated to snap-fit devices (56, 117, 216).

5. A module (200) according to claim 2, character¬ ized in that said support includes a modular block (200), in which cavities (201) are formed, which house at least part of respective components (205) of said brake system.

6. A module (50) according to claim 1, characterized by comprising a housing (51) formed by plates (52), the compo¬ nents (55) being secured directly to the plates (52).