Patent ID: 11965568
Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  B | IPC B  F

Claim 17:
18. A system comprising:
a magnet configured to move in response to a movement of a wear pin indicator of a brake assembly of a vehicle;
a sensor configured to generate position data corresponding to the magnet, the position data indicating a relative linear position of the wear pin indicator, wherein the position data corresponds to an estimated remaining useful lifespan of the brake assembly; and
an energy harvesting device configured to generate an electrical signal based on an operation of one or both of the brake assembly and the vehicle, wherein the energy harvesting device is configured to deliver at least a portion of the electrical signal to the sensor,
wherein the energy harvesting device includes a thermoelectric device comprising:
a set of thermoelectric elements connected to a hot node of the thermoelectric device, wherein the set of thermoelectric elements are configured to generate the electrical signal based on a temperature gradient between the hot node and a cold node of the thermoelectric device, and wherein a magnitude of the electrical signal depends on a difference in temperature between the hot node and the cold node;
a phase change material (PCM) heat pipe configured to deliver thermal energy from the hot node to the cold node; and
a connector device configured to connect the PCM heat pipe to the cold node, wherein an element of the brake assembly comprises the cold node.