The present invention relates to a method of casting the fiber-reinforced caliper. In more detail, the invention concerns a simple method of tucking up the reinforced material of an assemblage of inorganic fiber with matrix metal into the bridge portion of a caliper by casting to make it possible to improve the characteristics of caliper and at the same time to decrease its weight.
For the body of a caliper, a part of the disk brake for a car, FCD (ductile cast iron) has been used generally up to this time, but a change to aluminum has been investigated to satisfy the recent requirement of the lightening in weight, mass production being partly realized. However, the caliper made from aluminum alloy by casting has a shortcoming that it can be used only in light duty, since the rigidity is lowered compared with the caliper using FCD and, in particular, the reduction in the strength at high temperature that it causes.
From the viewpoint of functionality, a so-called fist type caliper can be divided into three portions; the bridge portion receiving the axial force of piston, the cylinder portion guiding the piston to keep the fluid pressure and the guide portion guiding the caliper in parallel with the axis of rotor. Among these, the portion where the strength is needed particularly is the bridge portion. The invention is one, wherein fiber with a high tensile strength and elasticity is tucked up into this bridge portion by casting to reinforce and improve the shortcoming of the caliper made from aluminum alloy aforementioned. In particular, a simple and exact method has been discovered by the inventors as the method to tuck up the assemblage of fiber by casting, by which the rigidity and the strength at high temperature of the caliper can be improved.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds