Systematic Approach to Design Hand Controlled Parking Brake System for Passenger Car 2015-26-0078

This paper is an attempt to compile a systematic approach which can be easily incorporated in the product development system used in the design and development of parking brake systems for passenger cars having rear drum brakes, which in turn can effectively reduce the lead time and give improved performance. The vehicle GVW, percentage gradient and maximum effort limits (as per IS 11852 - Part 3), tire and drum brake specifications were taken as front loading. This data is used for target setting of functional and engineering parameters, such as lever pull effort, lever ratio and angular travel of lever. Design calculations were performed to obtain theoretical values of critical parameters like lever effort and travel. The comparison between target and theoretical values give the initial confidence to the system engineer. Further, the outcome was taken to conceptualize the hard points of lever on vehicle for ergonomics. The problem faced during the design phase is to maintain system efficiency, which has been explored in terms of system configuration, cable construction types, routing schemes etc. Various trials and validation tests are provided to correlate with the theoretical model.

Our effort to put together every significant aspect with industry practice and design philosophy indeed creates a frame work which can deliver a fully functional parking brake system with fewer iterations, delivering desired performance while meeting effort targets.