Brake monitoring system for heavy vehicles
First Claim
1. A brake monitoring system for use on a motor vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes plural, powered brakes mounted adjacent a wheel carried on an axle, and wherein each brake include a brake actuator shaft and a mechanism for shifting the brake actuator shaft between a brake-off position and a brake-applied position, comprising:
- a sensor connected to each brake actuator shaft on the motor vehicle for monitoring the position and travel of the brake actuator shaft and for generating and transmitting a brake condition signal representative of a safety condition of the brake associated with the brake actuator shaft, wherein said brake condition signal includes quantitative information about the length of travel of the brake actuator shaft;
a data processor connected to sensors associated with brakes for each axle for receiving, interpreting, storing, and upon request, transmitting said brake condition signal, wherein each data processor includes an auto-address mechanism to identify its position on the vehicle;
a master station, wherein said master station includes a display for identifying a particular vehicle brake, a quantitative indication of the travel on the brake actuator shaft associated with the particular brake, and visual indicating devices which include plural indicating mechanism indicia which are indicative of said safety condition of a particular brake, including visual and auditory indicating devices connected to said data processor for warning a vehicle operator of said safety condition of the brakes on the vehicle, wherein said visual indicating devices provide both quantitative and qualitative output to the motor vehicle operator for every brake on the vehicle, wherein said master station includes a function selector located in said master station for selecting the various axles on the vehicle for display of brake condition for a selected axle, wherein power is applied to said master station upon vehicle startup, and interlocks are provided to prevent driver disablement of the system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A brake monitoring system for use on a motor vehicle includes a sensor connected to each brake actuator shaft on the motor vehicle for monitoring the position and travel of the brake actuator shaft and for generating and transmitting a brake condition signal; a data processor carried in an axle box associated with each axle and connected to sensors associated with brakes for the axle for receiving, interpreting, storing, and upon request, transmitting the brake condition signal, wherein each data processor includes an auto-address mechanism to identify its position on the vehicle; and a master station, wherein said master station includes a display for identifying a particular vehicle brake, a quantitative indication of the travel on the brake actuator shaft associated with the particular brake, and wherein said visual indicating devices include plural indicia which are indicative of said safety condition of a particular brake.
27 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A brake monitoring system for use on a motor vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes plural, powered brakes mounted adjacent a wheel carried on an axle, and wherein each brake include a brake actuator shaft and a mechanism for shifting the brake actuator shaft between a brake-off position and a brake-applied position, comprising:
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a sensor connected to each brake actuator shaft on the motor vehicle for monitoring the position and travel of the brake actuator shaft and for generating and transmitting a brake condition signal representative of a safety condition of the brake associated with the brake actuator shaft, wherein said brake condition signal includes quantitative information about the length of travel of the brake actuator shaft; a data processor connected to sensors associated with brakes for each axle for receiving, interpreting, storing, and upon request, transmitting said brake condition signal, wherein each data processor includes an auto-address mechanism to identify its position on the vehicle; a master station, wherein said master station includes a display for identifying a particular vehicle brake, a quantitative indication of the travel on the brake actuator shaft associated with the particular brake, and visual indicating devices which include plural indicating mechanism indicia which are indicative of said safety condition of a particular brake, including visual and auditory indicating devices connected to said data processor for warning a vehicle operator of said safety condition of the brakes on the vehicle, wherein said visual indicating devices provide both quantitative and qualitative output to the motor vehicle operator for every brake on the vehicle, wherein said master station includes a function selector located in said master station for selecting the various axles on the vehicle for display of brake condition for a selected axle, wherein power is applied to said master station upon vehicle startup, and interlocks are provided to prevent driver disablement of the system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A brake monitoring system for use on a motor vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes plural, powered brakes mounted adjacent a wheel carried on an axle, and wherein each brake include a brake actuator shaft and a mechanism for shifting the brake actuator shaft between a brake-off position and a brake-applied position, comprising:
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a sensor connected to each brake actuator shaft on the motor vehicle for monitoring the position and travel of the brake actuator shaft and for generating and transmitting a brake condition signal representative of a safety condition of the brake associated with the brake actuator shaft, wherein said brake condition signal includes quantitative information about the length of travel of the brake actuator shaft; a data processor connected to sensors associated with brakes for each axle for receiving, interpreting, storing, and upon request, transmitting said brake condition signal, wherein each data processor includes an auto-address mechanism to identify its position on the vehicle, wherein said auto-address mechanism includes a protocol wherein an address signal is sent from a master station to the first axle box; the first axle box reads the address signal and determines that it is the first axle box in the system based on the content of said address signal and addresses itself as axle box one;
the first axle box modifies said address signal to a second address signal and sends it to the next downstream axle box which reads the second address signal and determines that it is the second axle box in the system based on the content of said second address signal and addresses itself as axle box two, and wherein the protocol is repeated until all axle boxes are addressed; anda master station, wherein said master station includes a display for identifying a particular vehicle brake, a quantitative indication of the travel on the brake actuator shaft associated with the particular brake, and visual indicating devices which include plural indicating mechanism indicia which are indicative of said safety condition of a particular brake, including visual and auditory indicating devices connected to said data processor for warning a vehicle operator of said safety condition of the brakes on the vehicle, wherein said visual indicating devices provide both quantitative and qualitative output to the motor vehicle operator for every brake on the vehicle, wherein said master station includes a function selector located in said master station for selecting the various axles on the vehicle for display of brake condition for a selected axle. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification