Torque sensor and brake assembly

Technical field

The present utility model relates to the technical field of sensors, in particular to a torque sensor and a brake assembly.

Background art

Referring to Fig. 3, an existing brake assembly comprises a brake disk 12, a brake caliper 14, a caliper support 16 and a mounting bracket 18, wherein the brake disk 12 is securely connected to an axle (not shown), the brake caliper 14 is mounted on the caliper support 16 in such a way as to be capable of performing a clamping action, the mounting bracket 18 is securely mounted on the vehicle body, and the caliper support 16 is securely connected to the mounting bracket 18. In the prior art, the caliper support 16 and mounting bracket 18 are fixed together by bolts.

Summary of the utility model

In view of the above, the present utility model provides a torque sensor and a brake assembly, which are convenient to install.

First of all, according to one aspect of the present utility model, it provides a torque sensor, having a sensor head and a transmission part, wherein the sensor head comprises a base, a sensor chip element and a casing, the casing being substantially columnar, and the casing having a receiving space provided therein for receiving the base, the sensor chip element and at least a portion of the transmission part; the casing is made of a high-strength metal; a first fixing end, a second fixing end and a deformation part located between the first fixing end and second fixing end are formed on an outer surface of the casing, for the purpose of mounting the torque sensor on a vehicle body, and the deformation part is magnetic, and configured to generate a magnetic field.

According to a feasible embodiment, the casing is made of high-strength alloy steel, high-strength stainless steel or universal high-strength bolt material.

According to a feasible embodiment, an external thread is provided on an outer surface of at least one of the first fixing end and second fixing end; or external threads are provided on outer surfaces of both the first fixing end and the second fixing end.

According to a feasible embodiment, the casing further comprises at least one protruding shoulder, disposed between the first fixing end and second fixing end; a sunken region is provided between the first shoulder and second shoulder, thereby forming the deformation part, the depth of the sunken region being related to the deformation that the deformation part is capable of experiencing.

According to a feasible embodiment, the casing comprises a first shoulder and a second shoulder, wherein the first shoulder is close to the first fixing end, and the second shoulder is close to the second fixing end.

According to a feasible embodiment, the sensor chip element is securely disposed on the base, and is a torque information acquisition component in the torque sensor.

According to a feasible embodiment, the sensor chip element is an integrated circuit element having the function of sensing a change in magnetic field; the sensor chip element is close to the deformation part, and configured to detect a change in magnetic field caused by minute deformation experienced by the deformation part when subjected to a force, and convert the change in magnetic field to an electrical signal, for example a voltage signal, a resistance signal and/or a capacitance signal, corresponding to the size of a torque acting on the torque sensor. According to a feasible embodiment, the casing sensor chip element is provided with a pin, and the transmission part is connected to the pin of the sensor chip element.

In addition, according to another aspect of the present utility model, a brake assembly is also provided, comprising a brake disk, a brake caliper, a caliper support and a mounting bracket, wherein the brake disk is securely connected to an axle, the brake caliper is movably mounted on the caliper support, the mounting bracket is securely mounted on a vehicle body, and the caliper support is securely connected to the mounting bracket; one or more of the torque sensor as claimed in any one of claims 1 - 7 is fitted between the caliper support and the mounting bracket, securely connecting the caliper support and the mounting bracket.

According to a feasible embodiment, the caliper support is provided with a first mounting hole, the mounting bracket is provided with a second mounting hole, the first fixing end is screwed into the first mounting hole of the caliper support, and the second fixing end is inserted into the second mounting hole of the mounting bracket.

According to a feasible embodiment, corresponding to the provision of an external thread on an outer surface of at least one of the first fixing end and second fixing end, a corresponding at least one of the first mounting hole and second mounting hole is provided with an internal thread, for mating with the external thread; or internal threads are provided in both the first mounting hole and the second mounting hole, for mating with corresponding external threads of the first fixing end and second fixing end respectively.

According to a feasible embodiment, the mounting bracket comprises a bottom face, and a supporting face protruding inside the second mounting hole, the supporting face being configured to support the second shoulder; the distance between the supporting face and the bottom face is substantially equal to the distance between a bottom face of the first shoulder and a top face of the second shoulder; the first shoulder is configured to abut a surface of the caliper support, the second shoulder is configured to abut the supporting face, and a bush is provided between the second fixing end and the second mounting hole.

According to the design concept of the present utility model, the torque sensor of the present utility model is fitted between the caliper support and the mounting bracket, and can not only be used to detect the size of braking torque, but can also securely connect the caliper support and mounting bracket together in place of a bolt in the prior art; there is no need to alter the structure of the existing brake assembly, installation is convenient, the overall cost is low, and detected signals are stable and reliable.

Brief description of the drawings

The technical solution of the present utility model will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, but these drawings have been designed merely with the aim of providing an explanation, and are only intended to conceptually illustrate the structure here, so did not need to be drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the torque sensor according to the present utility model.

Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the embodiment of the torque sensor shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial three-dimensional schematic drawing of the mounting position, on the existing brake assembly, of the embodiment of the torque sensor shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partial schematic sectional view of the mounting position, on the existing brake assembly, of the embodiment of the torque sensor shown in Fig. 1.

Detailed description of the invention Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, the three-dimensional structure of an embodiment of the torque sensor according to the present utility model is shown schematically as a whole. In this embodiment, the torque sensor 1 is provided with a sensor head and a transmission part 3; a detailed explanation is given below by means of this embodiment.

The sensor head of the torque sensor 1 in this embodiment comprises a base 101, a sensor chip element 102 and a casing 2. A receiving space is provided in the casing 2, for receiving the base 101, the sensor chip element 102 and at least a portion of the transmission part 3. The casing 2 is made of a high-strength metal, for example high-strength alloy steel, high-strength stainless steel or universal high-strength bolt material, etc. The casing 2 is substantially columnar, and comprises a first fixing end 21, a second fixing end 22 and a deformation part 25 which are integrally formed. The first fixing end 21 and second fixing end 22 are used for mounting the torque sensor 1 on the vehicle body; the deformation part 25 is magnetic, and is configured to generate a magnetic field. The use of the casing 2 is not restricted by the vehicle model/motor vehicle model.

Preferably, an external thread is provided on an outer surface of at least one of the first fixing end 21 and second fixing end 22. In this embodiment, external threads are provided on outer surfaces of both the first fixing end 21 and the second fixing end 22, in order to facilitate the mounting of the torque sensor 1 on the vehicle body.

The casing 2 comprises a first shoulder 23 and a second shoulder 24, both being disposed between the first fixing end 21 and second fixing end 22, wherein the first shoulder 23 is close to the first fixing end 21, and the second shoulder 24 is close to the second fixing end 22. A sunken region is formed between the first shoulder 23 and second shoulder 24, thereby forming the deformation part 25; the sunken region facilitates deformation when subjected to a force. The depth of the sunken region is related to the deformation that the deformation part 25 is capable of experiencing. The depth of the sunken region is set according to the deformation requirements of the deformation part 25.

The sensor chip element 102 is securely disposed on the base 101, and is a torque information acquisition component in the torque sensor. The sensor chip element 102 is for example an integrated circuit element having the function of sensing a change in magnetic field. The sensor chip element 102 is close to the deformation part 25, and configured to detect a change in magnetic field caused by minute deformation experienced by the deformation part 25 when subjected to a force, and convert the change in magnetic field to an electrical signal, for example a voltage signal, a resistance signal and/or a capacitance signal, corresponding to the size of a torque acting on the torque sensor 1.

The sensor chip element 102 is provided with a pin; the transmission part 3 is connected to the pin of the sensor chip element 102, in order to form an electrical pathway for exchanging signals with the sensor chip element 102, and thereby send out torque information detected by the torque sensor 1. In this embodiment, the transmission part 3 in the torque sensor 1 takes the form of a cable harness, but it should be understood that in actual applications, the transmission part 3 could also employ for example a rigid plug-connector, various types of terminal or another part, component or device, etc., in order to provide the abovementioned transmission channel.

In this embodiment, the transmission part 3 is directly connected to the pin of the sensor chip element 102; in other embodiments, the transmission part 3 may be connected to the pin of the sensor chip element 102 via an intermediate connection member (not shown). In order to form a more sturdy overall structure, an injection molding process for example or another method may be used to join the base 101 and the transmission part 3 to form a single body.

In use, another end of the transmission part 3 may be connected to one or two electronic control units.

A brake assembly comprises a brake disk 12, a brake caliper 14, a caliper support 16 and a mounting bracket 18, wherein the brake disk 12 is securely connected to an axle (not shown), the brake caliper 14 is mounted on the caliper support 16 in such a way as to be capable of performing a clamping action, the mounting bracket 18 is securely mounted on the vehicle body, and the caliper support 16 is securely connected to the mounting bracket 18. The caliper support 16 is provided with a first mounting hole 160, and the mounting bracket 18 is provided with a second mounting hole 180, for the purpose of securely connecting the caliper support 16 and the mounting bracket 18. The numbers of first mounting holes 160 and second mounting holes 180 are set according to actual mounting requirements. The mounting bracket 18 comprises a bottom face 1802, and a supporting face 1801 protruding inside the second mounting hole 180; the supporting face 1801 is configured to support the second shoulder 24. The distance between the supporting face 1801 and the bottom face 1802 is substantially equal to the distance between a bottom face of the first shoulder 23 and a top face of the second shoulder 24. Preferably, corresponding to the provision of the external thread on the outer surface of at least one of the first fixing end 21 and second fixing end 22, a corresponding at least one of the first mounting hole 160 and second mounting hole 180 is provided with an internal thread, for mating with the external thread. In this embodiment, internal threads are provided in both the first mounting hole 160 and the second mounting hole 180, for mating with the corresponding external threads of the first fixing end 21 and the second fixing end 22 respectively.

When assembly is performed, one or more torque sensors 1 according to the present utility model are fitted between the caliper support 16 and the mounting bracket 18, instead of one or more bolts in the prior art. Specifically, the first fixing end 21 is securely inserted into the first mounting hole 160 of the caliper support 16, such that the first shoulder 23 abuts a surface of the caliper support 16, and the second fixing end 22 is securely inserted into the second mounting hole 180 of the mounting bracket 18, such that the second shoulder 24 abuts the supporting face 1801. In this embodiment, the first fixing end 21 is screwed into the first mounting hole 160 of the caliper support 16, the second fixing end 22 is inserted into the second mounting hole 180 of the mounting bracket 18, the second fixing end 22 is fixed in the second mounting hole 180 by means of a bush 182, and a nut 181 is then screwed onto the second fixing end 22, thereby connecting the caliper support 16 and the mounting bracket 18 securely together.

The brake assembly further comprises brake pads arranged on the brake caliper 14, piston assemblies and other structures; the structure and operating principles of the brake assembly are familiar to those skilled in the art, so are not described superfluously here.

In use, when the brake caliper 14 applies a braking force to the brake disk 12, the brake disk 12 subjects the caliper support 16 and mounting bracket 18 to a tangential force, which causes the deformation part 25 of the sensor head between the caliper support 16 and the mounting bracket 18 to experience minute deformation, causing a change in magnetic field; the sensor chip element 102 detects the change in magnetic field caused by the minute deformation, and converts the change in magnetic field to an electrical signal, for example a voltage signal, a resistance signal and/or a capacitance signal, thereby detecting the size of the braking torque acting on the brake disk 12.

According to the design concept of the present utility model, the torque sensor 1 of the present utility model is fitted between the caliper support 16 and the mounting bracket 18, and can not only be used to detect the size of braking torque, but can also securely connect the caliper support 16 and mounting bracket 18 together in place of a bolt in the prior art; there is no need to alter the structure of the existing brake assembly, installation is convenient, the overall cost is low, and detected signals are stable and reliable.

Although the present utility model has been explained and described here with reference to specific embodiments, the present utility model is not limited to the details shown. Moreover, these details may be modified in various ways within the scope of the present utility model.