New Generation Foundation Brake Developments

New concepts in foundation brake systems have been developed for passenger motor vehicles to meet the growing demands upon vehicle performance, safety and economy including the advent of anti-lock braking systems that require higher operating pressures and load insensitivity.

The “pad guided” caliper is a new disc brake which has transferred the housing support function from a pair of guide pins to specially designed backing plates on the pads. This design coupled with a patented slip joint connection between the pads and the housing provides a unique caliper alignment capability reducing brake drag caused by complementary taper pad wear, and/or anchor bracket misalignment.

A new integral disc brake has also been developed which incorporates an automatically adjusted parking mechanism based on the principle of a collar locking onto a shaft under an eccentric load. This “lock actuator” integral parkbrake caliper mechanism (1)* is inherently self-adjusting and load insensitive and offers excellent serviceability, reliability, and efficiency.