Electronic stroke sensor for air disc brake
First Claim
1. A vehicle brake monitor assembly for an air disk brake, comprising:
- a brake actuator including a pushrod projecting from inside a chamber of said brake actuator, said pushrod releasably actuating a lever arm of a caliper thereby moving the disk brake into a braking position when said pushrod is in an extended position and releasing the disk brake from the braking position when said pushrod is in a retracted position;
said pushrod including a pushrod shaft and a contact member biased in a telescoping relationship relative to said pushrod shaft and said lever arm of the caliper abutting said contact member thereby counteracting a bias of said contact member during normal operation of said brake actuator;
a pressure sensor for detecting pressure from actuating a brake pedal;
a sensor integrated with said assembly proximate said contact member, said sensor sensing movement of said contact member relative to said lever arm and to said pushrod shaft by sensing movement of indicia disposed upon said contact member for determining a condition of said brake actuator including a hanging brake and an overstroke condition when movement of said indicia is inconsistent with the pressure from actuating the brake pedal.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle brake monitor assembly for an air disk brake includes a brake actuator having a pushrod projecting from inside a chamber of said brake actuator. The pushrod releasably actuates a lever arm of a caliper thereby moving the disk brake into a braking position when the pushrod is in an extended position and releasing the disk brake from the braking position when the pushrod is in a retracted position. The pushrod includes a pushrod shaft and a contact member biased in a telescoping relationship relative to the pushrod shaft and the lever arm of the caliper abuts the contact member counteracting the bias of the contact member. A sensor is integrated with the assembly proximate the contact member and detects movement of the pushrod relative to the lever arm and to the pushrod shaft.
31 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A vehicle brake monitor assembly for an air disk brake, comprising:
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a brake actuator including a pushrod projecting from inside a chamber of said brake actuator, said pushrod releasably actuating a lever arm of a caliper thereby moving the disk brake into a braking position when said pushrod is in an extended position and releasing the disk brake from the braking position when said pushrod is in a retracted position; said pushrod including a pushrod shaft and a contact member biased in a telescoping relationship relative to said pushrod shaft and said lever arm of the caliper abutting said contact member thereby counteracting a bias of said contact member during normal operation of said brake actuator; a pressure sensor for detecting pressure from actuating a brake pedal; a sensor integrated with said assembly proximate said contact member, said sensor sensing movement of said contact member relative to said lever arm and to said pushrod shaft by sensing movement of indicia disposed upon said contact member for determining a condition of said brake actuator including a hanging brake and an overstroke condition when movement of said indicia is inconsistent with the pressure from actuating the brake pedal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of monitoring the stroke of a brake actuator of an air disk braking system having a pneumatic chamber actuating a pushrod for exerting force on a lever arm of the air disk brake, said pushrod including a pushrod shaft and a contact member disposed in a telescoping relationship with said pushrod shaft, said method comprising the steps of:
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detecting pressure generated by actuating a brake pedal; detecting a length of extension of said pushrod by sensing variation of a sensible medium disposed upon said pushrod thereby distinguishing between a normal and an overstroke condition of said pushrod; and detecting contact between said pushrod and said lever arm of said air disk brake by determining the length of telescopic extension of said contact member relative to said pushrod shaft by sensing variation of said sensible medium thereby identifying a hanging brake condition by identifying if separation has occurred between said contact member and said lever arm when the length of telescopic extension of said contact member is inconsistent with the pressure generated by actuating said brake pedal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A vehicle brake monitor assembly for an air brake, comprising:
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a brake actuator having a pushrod slidably extending from a chamber of said brake actuator, said pushrod actuating a lever arm of the air brake thereby moving the vehicle brake into an actuated position when said pushrod is disposed in an extended position and allowing the brake to move into a retracted position when said pushrod is disposed in a retracted position;
said pushrod comprising a pushrod shaft and a contact member having a telescoping bias from said pushrod shaft for releasably contacting the lever arm of the air brake;a pressures sensor for detecting pressure from actuating a brake pedal; an optical sensor transmitting a light signal toward said contact member and detecting a variation in an amount of reflectivity from said contact member with said controller determining which of a plurality of conditions of said brake actuator is present including an overstroke and a hanging brake condition, which is dependent upon telescoping position of said contact member, and the pressure is inconsistent with the amount of reflectivity detected from said contact member. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification