Disc brake pad for a vehicle
A vehicle disc brake pad having a backing plate and a friction pad that includes a complex edge profile formed from a plurality of undulations on at least one side edge of the periphery. Each undulation includes a wave crest and a wave trough that extend toward and away from the periphery of the backing plate, respectively. The brake pad may provide improved thermal management and wear resistance, thereby improving the life span of the brake pad, particularly when used with heavier vehicles such as trucks, crossover vehicles, and sports utility vehicles.
1. A brake pad, comprising:
a backing plate; and
a friction pad supported by the backing plate, the friction pad having a friction surface at least partially defined by a peripheral edge of the friction pad and having a continuous peripheral sidewall extending between the peripheral edge and the backing plate, wherein the peripheral edge comprises a plurality of peripheral side edges including a top peripheral side edge and a bottom peripheral side edge, wherein the top peripheral side edge and the bottom peripheral side edge both include a complex edge profile, each complex edge profile having a plurality of undulations with each undulation including a wave crest and a wave trough, and wherein the complex edge profile of the top peripheral side edge and the complex edge profile of the bottom peripheral side edge are each configured to direct airflow in a cooling pattern along the continuous peripheral sidewall in accordance with the wave crests and the wave troughs of the undulations of each complex edge profile during use of the friction pad, wherein the friction pad includes one or more grooves extending along the friction surface between one or more portions of the peripheral edge, wherein the one or more grooves are configured to direct airflow in a cooling pattern along the friction surface during use of the friction pad, and wherein the friction pad has a semi-elongated shape, an elongated shape, or a non-elongated shape in which either the top peripheral side edge, the bottom peripheral side edge, or both, being longer than another peripheral side edge.
2. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein each wave crest and each wave trough of each undulation extend within a plane of the friction surface toward and away from a periphery of the backing plate, respectively.
3. The brake pad of claim 2 , wherein the backing plate includes a notch that corresponds in location with the wave crest or the wave trough of at least one of the undulations in one of the complex edge profiles of the peripheral edge of the friction surface.
4. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad includes a curved groove that extends from a wave trough of one undulation to a wave trough of another undulation.
5. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad includes a curved groove that extends from a wave crest of one undulation to a wave crest of another undulation.
6. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad includes a curved groove that extends from a wave crest of one undulation to a wave trough of another undulation.
7. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the friction surface further includes one or more chamfered surfaces.
8. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad has the non-elongated shape and a compactness between 0.0479 and 0.0578, inclusive.
9. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad has the semi-elongated shape and a compactness between 0.0394 and 0.0495, inclusive.
10. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the friction pad has the elongated shape and a compactness between 0.0330 and 0.0470, inclusive.
11. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the area of the friction surface to the area of the peripheral sidewall is between 1.18:1 and 2.49:1, inclusive.
12. The brake pad of claim 1 , wherein the peripheral edge of the friction pad comprises a complex edge profile that includes between 4 and 13 undulations, inclusive.
13. The brake pad of claim 12 , wherein the complex edge profile includes between 7 and 9 undulations, inclusive.
14. A friction pad, comprising:
a friction surface having a continuous peripheral edge including a top peripheral side edge, a bottom peripheral side edge, a left peripheral side edge and a right peripheral side edge that together form the continuous peripheral edge, wherein at least one of the top peripheral side edge or the bottom peripheral side edge is longer than either the left peripheral side edge or the right peripheral side edge;
a complex edge profile on the top peripheral side edge of the friction surface, wherein the complex edge profile includes a plurality of undulations with each undulation including a wave crest and a wave trough; and
one or more curved cooling grooves extending from the top peripheral side edge to the bottom peripheral side edge and curving at least partially toward the left peripheral side edge or the right peripheral side edge along the friction surface, wherein the complex edge profile of the top peripheral side edge is configured to direct airflow along the continuous peripheral edge and toward the cooling groove during use of the friction pad.
15. The friction pad of claim 14 , wherein the left and right peripheral side edges each include at least a portion of one or more complex edge profiles, and one or more undulations of the left peripheral side edge mirror the one or more undulations of the right peripheral side edge.
16. The friction pad of claim 14 , wherein the top peripheral side edge includes more undulations than any other peripheral side edge of the friction surface.
17. The friction pad of claim 14 , wherein the bottom peripheral side edge includes at least a portion of a complex edge profile and the bottom peripheral side edge includes more undulations than any other peripheral side edge of the friction surface.
18. The friction pad of claim 14 , wherein the cooling groove starts or terminates in a wave trough of the complex edge profile.
19. The friction pad of claim 14 , wherein the bottom peripheral side edge includes a complex edge profile, and each of the complex edge profiles include a plurality of undulations with each undulation including a wave crest and a wave trough.