Brake monitoring system and method
First Claim
1. A brake monitoring system for a vehicle having an engine control module, comprising:
- a brake actuator for actuating a brake pad;
an actuator sensor for monitoring a stroke of the brake actuator and generating a stroke signal indicative of a condition of the brake actuator;
a brake pad wear sensor for detecting pad wear of a brake pad and generating a wear signal indicative of a condition of the pad wear;
a controller interactive with said actuator sensor for receiving the stroke signal and said brake pad wear sensor for receiving the wear signal, said controller evaluating the stroke signal and the wear signal and determining a fault condition, the fault condition being one of a plurality of fault conditions associated with the stroke signal and the wear signal, and generating a warning signal corresponding to the fault condition; and
said controller distinguishing whether the fault condition is a fault condition that renders the motor vehicle unsafe to operate, the fault condition being one of the plurality of fault conditions associated with the stroke signal which comprise a dragging brake fault condition, a non-functioning brake fault condition and an overstroke fault condition, and signaling the engine control module to adjust engine speed in response to the fault condition corresponding to the fault condition that renders the motor vehicle unsafe to operate.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A brake monitoring system and method for a vehicle having multiple axles and a plurality of brake actuators and an engine control module, each brake actuator being associated with one of the axle. The system include sensors for measuring, in real-time, brake pressure and brake lining wear, and generating first and second signals. The first and second signals are received and stored in a chassis communications module. The chassis communications module detects fault condition of the brakes as a function of the first and/or second signals and for recording the fault condition, the fault condition being one of a brake monitor warning and a brake lining warning and provides an indication of status via warning lights.
32 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A brake monitoring system for a vehicle having an engine control module, comprising:
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a brake actuator for actuating a brake pad;
an actuator sensor for monitoring a stroke of the brake actuator and generating a stroke signal indicative of a condition of the brake actuator;a brake pad wear sensor for detecting pad wear of a brake pad and generating a wear signal indicative of a condition of the pad wear; a controller interactive with said actuator sensor for receiving the stroke signal and said brake pad wear sensor for receiving the wear signal, said controller evaluating the stroke signal and the wear signal and determining a fault condition, the fault condition being one of a plurality of fault conditions associated with the stroke signal and the wear signal, and generating a warning signal corresponding to the fault condition; and said controller distinguishing whether the fault condition is a fault condition that renders the motor vehicle unsafe to operate, the fault condition being one of the plurality of fault conditions associated with the stroke signal which comprise a dragging brake fault condition, a non-functioning brake fault condition and an overstroke fault condition, and signaling the engine control module to adjust engine speed in response to the fault condition corresponding to the fault condition that renders the motor vehicle unsafe to operate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of monitoring a brake system of motor vehicle having brake actuators for actuating brake pads, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring individual movement of each brake actuator and generating an actuator signal indicative of a condition of each brake actuator; monitoring wear of each brake pad and generating a wear signal indicative of a condition of each brake pad; monitoring pneumatic pressure applied to each brake actuator and generating a pneumatic pressure signal indicative of a pneumatic pressure applied to of each brake actuator; determining a fault condition by evaluating the actuator signal, the wear signal, and the pneumatic pressure signal, the fault condition being one of a plurality of fault conditions associated with the actuator signal, the wear signal and the pneumatic pressure signal; and distinguishing whether the fault condition is a fault condition that renders the motor vehicle unsafe to operate, the fault condition being one of the plurality of fault conditions associated with the actuator signal which comprise a dragging brake fault condition, a non-functioning brake fault condition and an overstroke fault condition, and generating an engine control signal in response to the fault condition corresponding to the fault condition that renders the motor vehicle unsafe to operate and modifying engine speed of the motor vehicle by transmitting the engine control signal to an engine control module of the motor vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification