Description:A brake cooling system for a vehicle
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brake cooling system for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system that actively cools vehicle’s brake system with the help of vehicle’s air suspension system's waste pressurized air.
Background of the Invention
When friction brake systems are used frequently in busy metropolitan applications and on steeply sloping downhill roads, a significant amount of heat is continuously stored in the brake drum or disc (also known as the friction brake) of electric buses. This causes the brake temperature to rise quickly. It is difficult to dissipate heat over time via heat radiation and heat convection, and the brake's heat fade phenomena manifests itself more readily because the disc brake system is located in a small space in the wheel rim and the drum brake pads are installed in a small space inside the brake drum. Braking efficiency would decrease as a result of this event, endangering the bus's ability to brake.
Electric buses, especially those operating in crowded urban areas with heavy traffic, require frequent braking. This frequent braking relies heavily on the friction coefficient between the brake lining and the drum or disc. However, as the braking time and temperature increase, this friction coefficient gradually decreases, leading to a significant decline in braking performance, particularly at higher temperatures. During normal operation, brake temperatures can reach 150-200°C, rising even higher, above 250°C, during peak hours with frequent braking. This issue becomes even more critical in hilly areas with steep descents, where brakes experience rapid temperature increases.
When the vehicle’s driver applies the brakes, the vehicle’s kinetic energy transforms into heat generated by friction. The brake discs absorb the majority of this heat – around 90% – while the brake pads handle the rest. From there, heat spreads to surrounding brake components like the calipers, rims, and wheels, and also dissipates into the air. If this heat can't escape quickly enough, your brakes will overheat. This reduces their stopping power and, over time, can cause issues like brake fade, warped rotors, and accelerated pad and rotor wear.
A Chinese patent CN106763308A discloses a kind of vehicle water-cooled disc brake apparatus, including braking clamp body, brake disc, brake pad, cooler, cooler copper sheet, the braking clamp body inner right side is provided with the groove of horizontal direction, piston is provided with the groove, the piston inner side and braking clamp body inside left are provided with cooler, the cooler copper sheet is arranged on cooler inner side by screw, the brake pad is arranged on cooler copper sheet inner side, brake pad copper body is provided with brake pad, the brake disc is arranged between two brake pads, brake disc both sides are provided with brake disc copper ring. CN106763308A passes through copper heat conduction principle, using engine coolant absorption brake heat, additional tank for coolant is not needed, simple structure, it is easy to use, good cooling results, long service life, the heat resistant property declines performance of vehicle can be effectively improved.
However, it relies on using engine coolant for cooling brake system, but this mode increases cost due to extra parts and higher maintenance cost.
Therefore, in order to address the above problems, there is a need of novel brake cooling system that utilizes waste air from the bus's air suspension and pneumatic tanks which is typically released into the environment, is redirected towards the brakes to cool them down.
There are various other solutions that have been provided according to the existing arts, but all these solutions still have challenges because of their limited applications and inefficient functioning and high costs. It is, therefore, important to work on the alternative solution to develop a brake cooling system for vehicles that enhances the efficiency, braking performance and life of brakes and obviates the complexity and challenges of the prior arts.
Summary of the Invention
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this summary intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter’s scope.
Both the foregoing summary and the following detailed description provide examples and are explanatory only. Accordingly, the foregoing summary and the following detailed description should not be considered to be restrictive. Further, features or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, embodiments may be directed to various feature combinations and sub-combinations described in the detailed description.
It is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a brake cooling system for a vehicle which is cost effective.
It is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a brake cooling system for a vehicle which utilizes waste air of the environment for controlling temperature of the disc brake or drum brakes.
It is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a brake cooling system for a vehicle which ensures safety of the bus by regulating temperature of the brake.
It is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a brake cooling system for a vehicle which provides an adaptive brake cooling solution.
As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art that the present disclosure has broad utility and application. As should be understood, any embodiment may incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed aspects of the disclosure and may further incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed features. Furthermore, any embodiment discussed and identified as being “preferred” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Accordingly, while embodiments are described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present disclosure and are made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure. The detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the scope of patent protection afforded in any claim of a patent issuing here from, which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It is not intended that the scope of patent protection be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.
Additionally, it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which an ordinary artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that the meaning of a term used herein—as understood by the ordinary artisan based on the contextual use of such term—differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term, it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan should prevail.

Furthermore, it is important to note that, as used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. When used herein to join a list of items, “or” , “/” denotes “at least one of the items,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Finally, when used herein to join a list of items, “and” denotes “all of the items of the list.”
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a brake cooling system for a vehicle, comprising a pneumatic piping system connected to exhaust ports of height control valves of an air suspension system of the vehicle, and means for directing waste air from the air suspension system through the pneumatic piping towards brake drums or discs of the vehicle for cooling purposes, and wherein said brake cooling system further comprises of an air duct mounted at the end of the pneumatic piping for facilitating proper distribution of pressurized air over a larger area of the brake system to enhance cooling efficiency and regulate the temperature of the brakes.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a brake cooling system for a vehicle, comprising a pneumatic piping system connected to exhaust ports of height control valves of an air suspension system of the vehicle, and means for directing waste air from the air suspension system through the pneumatic piping towards brake drums or discs of the vehicle for cooling purposes, and wherein said brake cooling system further comprises of an air duct mounted at the end of the pneumatic piping for facilitating proper distribution of pressurized air over a larger area of the brake system to enhance cooling efficiency and regulate the temperature of the brakes, wherein the amount of available waste air for cooling depends on road conditions and the number of bumps encountered, providing an adaptive cooling solution.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a brake cooling system for a vehicle, comprising a pneumatic piping system connected to exhaust ports of height control valves of an air suspension system of the vehicle, and means for directing waste air from the air suspension system through the pneumatic piping towards brake drums or discs of the vehicle for cooling purposes, and wherein said brake cooling system further comprises of an air duct mounted at the end of the pneumatic piping for facilitating proper distribution of pressurized air over a larger area of the brake system to enhance cooling efficiency and regulate the temperature of the brakes, wherein said brake cooling system further comprising an electric controlled air suspension (ECAS) or manual height control valves, wherein the pneumatic piping is connected to exhaust ports of each height control valve to redirect excess air pressure from the height control valves towards the brake drums or discs for cooling purposes.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a brake cooling system for a vehicle, comprising a pneumatic piping system connected to exhaust ports of height control valves of an air suspension system of the vehicle, and means for directing waste air from the air suspension system through the pneumatic piping towards brake drums or discs of the vehicle for cooling purposes, and wherein said brake cooling system further comprises of an air duct mounted at the end of the pneumatic piping for facilitating proper distribution of pressurized air over a larger area of the brake system to enhance cooling efficiency and regulate the temperature of the brakes.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a brake cooling system for a vehicle, comprising a pneumatic piping system connected to exhaust ports of height control valves of an air suspension system of the vehicle, and means for directing waste air from the air suspension system through the pneumatic piping towards brake drums or discs of the vehicle for cooling purposes, and wherein said brake cooling system further comprises of an air duct mounted at the end of the pneumatic piping for facilitating proper distribution of pressurized air over a larger area of the brake system to enhance cooling efficiency and regulate the temperature of the brakes, wherein the vehicle includes high-performance vehicles, such as electric buses and heavy-duty trucks, experiencing demanding braking situations generating higher heat.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 shows a system for active cooling brake system with the help of air suspension’s waste pressurized air.
Detailed Description of the Invention
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While many embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure contains headers. It should be understood that these headers are used as references and are not to be construed as limiting upon the subjected matter disclosed under the header.
Referring to Figure 1, there is provided Height Control Valve (1) for maintaining height of vehicle, Air Spring (2) for carrying the load of the vehicle, HCV Exhaust pipe (3) for carrying exhaust pressurized air to brake system, Disc brake rotor (4) and Disc brake caliper (5) for controlling /stopping the vehicle and Air Duct (6) for air distribution to cover larger area for cooling.
The brake cooling system taps into waste air from air suspension system through pneumatic piping connected to the exhaust ports of each height control valve. This air is then directed towards the brake drums or discs for cooling purposes. This ingenious approach effectively regulates the temperature of the brakes, enhancing braking performance and ensuring the safety of the bus. Additionally, the amount of available air depends on road conditions and the number of bumps encountered, offering an adaptive cooling solution.
Further, the air suspension system employs Electronic Controlled Air Suspension (ECAS) or manual height control valves to maintain the bus's ride height. When the bus dips too low, the leveling valve opens, allowing compressed air to inflate the bellows. Conversely, when the bus reaches its desired height, the valve closes. Excess air pressure is then released back into the environment. This process, happening at all four corners of the bus (front and rear), generates significant amounts of pressurized air that are currently wasted.
Referring to Figure 1, the active air cooling system for brakes employs air suspension’s height control valves outlet (3) actively force pressurized waste air over the brakes system to cool them down. Pneumatic routing is done from Height control valves exhaust port (3) to brakes rotor, which carries pressurized air till brakes. In the case of Manual Height control system, there are a total of three height control valves in a vehicle. In case of Electronically controlled air suspension, there are in total four height sensors. From all these height control valve’s exhaust ports pneumatic routing is taken out towards each brake module System. At the end of the piping system, an air duct (6) is mounted which facilitates proper air distribution over larger area to enhance cooling. This system can be used in high-performance vehicles, such as Electric buses and heavy-duty trucks, which experience more demanding braking situations that generate higher heat.
If road condition is good then there will be less air supply, therefore, cooling efficiency may be reduced.
The present invention is particularly beneficial for high-performance vehicles like electric buses and heavy-duty trucks due to high braking demands. The brake cooling system utilizes waste air to offer an efficient and environmentally friendly cooling solution.
By effectively cooling the brakes, this system could help maintain consistent and reliable braking performance, even during demanding situations. The active cooling helps to prevent brake fading by keeping the brakes within their optimal operating temperature range.
Further, readily available waste air could be a more cost-effective solution compared to traditional active cooling methods. Further, airflow direction is optimized so as to ensure forced air effectively reaching the hottest brake components for optimal cooling. Also, the system's safety and reliability in various operating conditions is verified and ensured that it doesn't interfere with other vehicle functions.
Further, the active air brake cooling system of the present invention uses height control valve’s waste air for specific vehicle types encountering demanding braking situations.
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, some embodiments have been illustrated by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail above. The intention, however, is not to limit the invention by those examples and the invention is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives to the embodiments described in this specification.
The embodiments in the specification are described in a progressive manner and focus of description in each embodiment is the difference from other embodiments. For same or similar parts of each embodiment, reference may be made to each other.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above description was in respect of preferred embodiments and that various alterations and modifications are possible within the broad scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention with the necessary modifications.
Based on the description of disclosed embodiments, persons skilled in the art can implement or apply the present disclosure. Various modifications of the embodiments are apparent to persons skilled in the art, and general principles defined in the specification can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments in the specification but intends to cover the most extensive scope consistent with the principle and the novel features disclosed in the specification. , Claims:We Claim:
1. A brake cooling system for a vehicle, comprising:
a pneumatic piping system connected to exhaust ports of height control valves of an air suspension system of the vehicle; and
means for directing waste air from the air suspension system through the pneumatic piping towards brake drums or discs of the vehicle for cooling purposes, and
wherein said brake cooling system further comprises of an air duct mounted at the end of the pneumatic piping for facilitating proper distribution of pressurized air over a larger area of the brake system to enhance cooling efficiency and regulate the temperature of the brakes.
2. The brake cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amount of available waste air for cooling depends on road conditions and the number of bumps encountered, providing an adaptive cooling solution.
3. The brake cooling system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an electric controlled air suspension (ECAS) or manual height control valves, wherein the pneumatic piping is connected to exhaust ports of height control valve to redirect excess air pressure from the height control valves towards the brake drums or discs for cooling purposes.
4. The brake cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in case of a vehicle with the ECAS, height control sensors are located at all four corners of the vehicle, allowing for efficient cooling of all brake modules.

5. The brake cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes high-performance vehicles, such as electric buses and heavy-duty trucks, experiencing demanding braking situations generating higher heat.