Abstract:
A final drive assembly is driven by an electric motor and includes a park and service brake arrangement including a shared disc brake pack that is compressed by a preload exerted by a compression spring arrangement defined by a stack of Belleville springs for establishing an engaged park brake condition in the absence of pressurized brake actuating fluid being routed to a park brake piston. An electrical control is provided for computing disc brake pack wear based on a stored load curve of the stack of Belleville springs containing information correlating preload amounts to various compressed heights of the stack of Belleville springs, and on the magnitude of a drive signal sent to the electric motor for causing sufficient drive torque to be developed for causing the rotor discs of the engaged disc brake pack to slip relative to the stator discs.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to vehicle service and park brakes, and, more particularly, relates to devices for indicating brake wear of a brake disc pack of a service and park brake assembly embodied in a final drive assembly including an input drive shaft driven by an electric motor. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Routine service on many types of machines and vehicles involves checking the status of the brakes, in particular, the wear of brake pads or disks forming part of the brakes. Much effort has been made by designers to arrive at a good method for measuring brake wear. Additionally, there are regulations in some areas that mandate regular capacity checks on park brakes. 
     The issue, especially in wet brakes used in construction equipment having final drives embodying speed reduction gearing, is that checking the amount of wear visually or mechanically is difficult due to the brakes being housed at a location inboard of the final drive gears, wheel drive hub and spindle or axle. Tests to determine the reliability of parking brakes are becoming routine but have the drawback that most are pass/fail type tests with a failure requiring that the machine be shut down until the condition giving rise to the failure is remedied. 
     It is known to monitor the wear of a disc brake pack forming part of a park and service brake assembly used to brake a wheel of an industrial, off-road vehicle without requiring the disassembly of the brake assembly. This monitoring is done by using a depth gauge to measure the movement of the brake piston required for engaging the disc brake pack when the latter is new and comparing this value with subsequent measurements made during the service life of the disc brake pack. If the difference between the two measurements is within a specified wear limit, the disc brake pack need not be replaced, but if the difference exceeds the wear limit, new disc plates are required. Such a brake monitoring arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,822, issued Feb. 5, 1980. This wear measurement arrangement has the disadvantage that the brake piston for effecting engagement of the brake disc pack must be located so as to be accessible for permitting its movement to be manually measured, thus placing design constraints on where a park and service brake assembly may be placed when used with a final drive arrangement. This wear measurement has the further disadvantage of requiring the operator to dismount the cab and manually perform measurements, which is time-consuming. 
     Another known way of monitoring the wear of a vehicle wheel disc brake pack is to use an electronic control unit which receives wear value output signals from a distance sensor mounted on one or more brake lining supports, which measures the distance of the mount from the braked element. The electronic control unit has in memory an allowable wear value to which the measured wear value is compared, with the control unit emitting a warning signal when the measured wear value equals the allowable wear value. Also, the measured wear value can be indicated in a wear indicator apparatus. A less direct way of measuring wear is by storing a family of characteristics in the memory of the electronic control unit which correlate the brake lining temperatures, brake lining thickness and strength of the electronic signal fed to a brake torque control apparatus. On the basis of this stored family of characteristics, the electronic control unit forms a wear value signal from the strength of the signal fed to the braking torque control apparatus and the indicated brake lining temperature, which wear value signal characterizes the thickness and thus the wear of the brake lining. Thus, in a sense, the temperature sensors are also wear value transmitters, the transmitted wear value signal being converted into readings on a scale, if desired. U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,606 discloses such a wear monitoring apparatus. 
     It is also known to determine the integrity of a vehicle wheel braking device in an arrangement wherein the torque producing capability of the drive system is sufficiently large to override the braking toque produced. In this arrangement, the brake is first applied, and then sufficient torque is applied to the drive shaft to cause the brake to slip so that the drive shaft rotates a predetermined rotational distance, one revolution for example, about its axis. Slipping the brake causes relative motion between the brake plate and the reaction plate. This relative motion generates a braking torque between a brake-applying member and the reaction plate, the relative motion being measured and compared to reference values to verify brake functional integrity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,158 discloses such a brake integrity monitor. This manner of checking brake integrity has the drawback of requiring a sensor arrangement for determining the relative rotation between the brake-applying member and the reaction plate, which adds additional cost to the final drive arrangement. 
     What is desired then is some way to be able to reliably and economically measure wear of a disc brake pack of a vehicle service and park brake arrangement embodied in an electric motor driven final drive in a location making it difficult to visually or mechanically inspect the disc brake pack and to predict brake failure so that a customer is alerted to the need for servicing the brakes in order to avoid brake failure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a novel way of determining brake wear, especially the wear of discs of wet brakes which form part of a service and park brake assembly and are driven by an electric motor. 
     An object of the invention is to determine final drive brake wear by comparing a break-free torque required for causing a worn disc brake pack of a spring-engaged park brake to slip to a break-free torque required for causing a new disc brake pack to slip, these torques been determined by a command signal sent for causing rotation of an output shaft of an electric drive motor of the final drive, and by determining a corresponding loss in preload of the brake-applying spring arrangement and determining the difference in length of the spring arrangement existing at the new and worn disc brake pack conditions, and determining brake disc wear from this difference in length. 
     The foregoing object is achieved by providing a load curve relating to the spring arrangement used for biasing the brake pack into its engaged condition, the load curve plotting the preload exerted by the spring arrangement as a function of the length of the brake-applying spring arrangement, storing this load curve in a memory of an electric controller, then determining the break-free torque required to cause slippage between the rotor and stator discs of the brake pack as a function of the command signal being sent to the motor at the time slippage takes place, and by using this torque in a calculation determining the load which was exerted by the spring arrangement corresponding to the break-free torque, and then using this load to enter the stored load curve to arrive at the spring arrangement length existing at the time of the test, this length being compared with a stored length of the spring arrangement of a new brake stack so as to derive a brake disc wear amount. In the present disclosure, the brake arrangement comprises a 2×6 stack of Belleville springs. This wear amount is displayed for the operator, and if desired, is compared with an allowable wear amount stored in memory, with a signal being given to alert the operator when the measured wear equals the allowable wear. 
     Thus, it will be appreciated that the ability of the electric controller to easily derive a break-free torque value from the command signal being sent to the motor at the time slippage occurs in the disc pack makes it possible to determine the break-free torque without requiring any other measuring device. 
     This and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the ensuing description together with the appended drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram showing a controller network for controlling operation of electric motors for driving four ground wheels of a work vehicle. 
         FIG. 2  is a longitudinal sectional view of a vehicle final drive arrangement adapted for being driven by one of the electric motors shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one of the rotor discs of the disc brake pack shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a view showing a load curve of a 2×6 stack of Belleville springs charting preload versus stack height. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a motor control system  10  for controlling four identical wheel drive Motors (MOT  1 )  12 , (MOT  2 )  14 , (MOT  3 )  16  and (MOT  4 )  18  having output shafts coupled for respectively delivering torque for driving four identical Final Drives (FD  1 )  20 , (FD  2 )  22 , (FD  3 )  24  and FD  4 )  26  for driving front and rear pairs of drive wheels (not shown) of an industrial vehicle such as a loader, for example. The electric Motors  12 ,  14 ,  16  and  18  are preferably 3-phase switched reluctance motors, but need not be. 
     The motor control system  10  includes an Operator Interface Control Unit (OICU)  27  including Control Input Devices (CIDS)  28  such as throttle and brake test input buttons, for example, by which an operator may send out various control signals. The OICU  27  also includes a Display (DISP)  29  and an Alert Device (AD)  30 , the latter being an audio or visual alert device such as a buzzer or light, for example, by which an operator is alerted to certain operating conditions. Control signals or instructions sent from the OICU  27  are coupled to a Vehicle Control Unit (VCU)  32 , which acts in response to these signals or instructions to forward appropriate control signals or instructions on to a Transmission Control Unit (TCU)  34 , provided for controlling the operation of the wheel drive motors  12 ,  14 ,  16  and  18 , and for this purpose is coupled to an Engine Control Unit (ECU)  36  of an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)  38 . It is here noted that, of these control units, at least the VCU  32  includes a Memory (M)  33  and a Processor (P)  34  having a purpose explained below. The ICE  38  is coupled for driving a gear train contained in a Gearbox (GB)  40  coupled for driving a pair of identical Generators (GEN  1 )  42  and GEN  2 )  44  with the gears of the gear train being selected for increasing the speed of the generators, for example, by a ratio of 3:1 over that of the output speed of the engine. 
     The Generators  40  and  42  are preferably 3-phase interior permanent magnet synchronous generators, but need not be. Respectively coupled to the Generators  42  and  44  are identical circuits defining Generator Inverters (GEN  1  INV)  46  and (GEN  2  INV)  48 , these generator inverters acting, when commanded by the TCU  35 , to generate a regulated DC Bus voltage. The Inverter  46  is coupled to first and second identical circuits defining Motor Inverters (MOT  1  INV)  50  and MOT  2  INV)  52 , and, similarly, the Inverter  48  is coupled to third and fourth identical circuits defining Motor Inverters (MOT  3  INV)  54  and (MOT  4  INV)  56 . A motor field protection circuit is provided for Motors  12  and  14  and includes a Resistor Grid (RES GRID  1 )  58  electrically coupled to a Grid Inverter (GRID INV  1 )  60 , which is electrically connected to the Motor Inverters  50  and  52 . Similarly, a motor field protection circuit is provided for the Motors  16  and  18  and includes a Resistor Grid (RES GRID  1 ) electrically connected to a Grid Inverter (GRID INV  2 )  64 , which is electrically coupled to the Motor Inverters  54  and  56 . Finally, the TCU  35  is electrically coupled to electrically responsive Park Brake Valves (PB 1  V)  66  and (PB 2  V)  68 , with the Valve  66  being hydraulically coupled to the Final Drives  20  and  22 , and with the Valve  68  being hydraulically coupled to the Final Drives  24  and  26 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown details of the final drive assembly  20  of  FIG. 1 , with it being noted that since all of the final drive assemblies are identical, the details shown here apply to all of the final drives. Specifically, the final drive assembly  20  includes a spindle  70  on which a wheel hub  72  is rotatably mounted by axially inner and outer tapered wheel bearings  74  and  76 , respectively. A drive shaft  78  extends centrally within the spindle  70  and wheel hub  72  and has an axially outer end coupled for driving the wheel hub  72  through the agency of a two-stage planetary reduction unit  80  located within an outer end region of the hub  72 . An axially inner end of the shaft  78  is coupled for receiving driving torque from an output shaft of the electric motor  20  by a shaft coupler sleeve (not shown). 
     A park and service brake assembly  82  is provided for selectively braking rotation of the wheel hub  72  relative to the spindle  70 . The brake assembly  82  comprises a disc brake pack  84  located within an axially outer end region of the spindle  70  and including a plurality of rotor discs  86  (eight being used in the present embodiment) having a splined connection with an annular cylindrical portion  88  of a first stage planet carrier  90  of the reduction unit  80 , the cylindrical portion  88  extending axially inwardly through the disc brake pack  84 . Interleaved with the rotor discs  86  are a plurality of stator discs  92  respectively having generally semi-cylindrical mounting ears (not shown) formed about a circumference thereof and respectively received within axially extending complementary shaped recesses (not shown) formed interiorly of, and extending axially inwardly from an outer end of, the spindle  70 . Bolted to an axially outer end of the spindle  70  is an annular reaction plate  94 . An annular pressure plate  96  also has a circumference provided with a plurality of generally cylindrical mounting ears (not shown) formed about a circumference thereof and received within certain ones of the aforementioned recesses formed interiorly of the spindle  70 . A stepped brake piston bore  98  is provided in the interior of the spindle  70  at a location axially inwardly of the pressure plate  94 , with axially outer and inner bore portions being located on opposite sides of, and being larger than, a center bore portion. An annular service brake piston  100  has a stepped outer surface with radially outer and inner portions being respectively mounted for sliding within the axially outer and middle bore portions of the bore  98 , with an axially outer annular surface of the service brake piston  100  being engaged with the pressure plate  96 . Shown having an annular axially outwardly facing surface engaged with an annular inwardly facing surface of the service brake piston  100  is an annular park brake piston  102  having a stepped outer surface with radially outer and inner portions being respectively mounted for sliding within the axially inner and middle bore portions of the bore  98 . An inside surface of the park brake piston  102  is also stepped and defines an axially inward facing annular surface  104  bearing against an axially outer end of a stack of Belleville springs  106 , the present embodiment having six pairs, with every other pair being reversed so as to form a so-called 2×6 stack, and with one end of the stack being located partly within an inner end portion of the park brake piston  102 . 
     An input quill  108  includes a tubular cylindrical hub portion  110  projecting through the stack of Belleville springs  106  and having an inner end joined to an inner end plate portion  112  which extends radially and is joined to an axially outwardly projecting, annular cylindrical mounting portion  114 , with the hub portion  110 , plate portion  112  and mounting portion  114  cooperating to define an axially outwardly opening receptacle receiving an inner end portion of the stack of Belleville springs  106  with an inner end of the stack bearing against an axially outer surface of the plate portion  112 . The mounting portion  114  of the quill  52  is tightly received within an inner end section of the spindle  70  and is held in place by a snap ring  116  engaged with an annular end surface of the quill  52  and received in an annular groove provided in the spindle  14 . 
     The park and service brake assembly  82 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , is in a park brake engage condition wherein the disc brake pack  84  is held in a compressed braking condition by the stack of Belleville springs  106  acting serially through the park brake piston  102  and the service brake piston  100 , noting that the stack of Belleville springs  106  are partially compressed so as to exert a preload force compressing the brake pack  84 . 
     Referring now also to  FIG. 3 , there is shown one of the rotor discs  86  having braking material  118  applied to opposite faces thereof (only one face shown), noting that the opposite faces of the stator discs  92  are smooth and have no braking material applied to them. In order for the disc brake pack  84  to have adequate life, it must be operated as a wet disc brake pack, and for the purpose of providing paths for cooling fluid to pass between the rotor and stator discs  86  and  92 , the braking material  118  contains a checked pattern of fluid flow grooves  120 . A typical thickness for the braking material  118  is 1 mm when the rotor discs  32  are new, this thickness being the unworn depth of the grooves  120 . 
     During use, the various components of the disc brake pack  84  of each of the Final Drives  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26  will undergo wear, especially the braking material  118 . This wear can be monitored by a methodology taking advantage of the fact that the Final Drives  20 ,  22 ,  24  are respectively driven by the electric Motors  12 ,  14 ,  16  and  18 , and that the stack of Belleville springs  106  is provided for applying a normal force the park brake pack  84  of each of the final drives. While the described final drive construction is preferred, it is to be noted that a final drive having a different compression spring arrangement would also benefit from the principles of the invention. Specifically, a compression spring arrangement wherein a plurality of individual compression springs are arrayed annularly for biasing the park brake piston could be used. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a typical load curve  122  for the 2×6 stack of Belleville springs  106 , the curve plotting the preload exerted by the stack of springs for various stack heights of the springs. Located on the curve  122  is a data point A corresponding to the resistance offered by the stack of Belleville springs  106  when the stack has been fully compressed by fluid pressure acting on the park brake piston  102 . As indicated by the data point A, the stack of springs  106  offer a resistance of about 71,000 Newtons (N) and have a compressed height of about 73 mm, this height being at a point just before the stack becomes solid. Also shown is a data point B which corresponds to a condition wherein the disc brake stack  84  is new and the park brake is “ON”, with all brake control pressure being released. At data point B, the preload offered by the stack of springs  106  is approximately 69,000 N with the stack height of the springs being approximately 81 mm. Another data point located on the curve  106  is data point C which is a point corresponding to a condition wherein the disc brake pack  84  is considered worn out for safe vehicle operation, noting that this occurs when the preload exerted by the stack of springs  106  is approximately 58,000 N, with the spring stack height being about 93 mm. Thus, assuming that all of the wear of the disc brake pack  84  occurs in the braking material  118  comprising opposite faces of the each of the eight rotor discs  84 , and that the thickness of the material  118  on each face is 1 mm, it can be determined that, when new, the rotor discs have a total of 16 mm of braking material, with approximately 75% or 12 mm of the braking material  118  being worn away when the worn out condition of the disc brake pack  84  exists. Thus, it is desirable for an operator to be notified when less than 75% of the braking material  118  has been worn away in order for maintenance to be scheduled before the disc brake pack  84  reaches the worn out condition. For example, a condition where half the braking material  118  is worn away could be considered and this condition is indicated by data point D on the curve  122  which occurs with the preload exerted by stack of springs  106  being approximately 64,000 N at a stack height of about 89 mm, indicating that 50% of the braking material  118  of the brake pack  31  has worn away. 
     Preparations for testing the integrity of the park brakes and/or the wear in the disc brake pack  84  of each of the Final Drives  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26  includes placing the load curve  122  of the 2×6 stack of Belleville springs  106  in the Memory  33  of the Vehicle Control Unit  32 . In addition, a value equal to the holding force required to be exerted by the park brake to meet ISO 3405/MSHA braking requirements without brake slippage would be stored in the memory along with a preselected minimum spring holding force value at which the operator is to be alerted that steps need to be taken to service the disc brake pack  84 . Also, if desired, a look-up table (not shown) containing operating data, such as current versus torque data, or the like, relating to the identical Motors  12 ,  14 ,  16  and  18  could be placed in the Memory  33 . 
     Operation for measuring brake wear of each of the Final Drives  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26  is done with the vehicle located on a substantially level location with the park brake engaged and the engine  38  idling. The operator initiates the testing of the park brakes by sending a test request signal from the Operator Interface Control Unit  27  to the Vehicle Control Unit  32  which, in turn, sends a signal to the Engine Control Unit  36 , by way of the Transmission Control Unit  35 , causing the speed of the ICE  38  to increase from the idle speed, this speed being 1800 rpm, for vehicle embodying the present invention, for example. The TCU  35  also sends a command signal to the Generator Inverters  46  and  48  to generate a regulated DC bus voltage. The TCU  35  then causes an electrical signal to be sent to the Park Brake Valve  66  causing it to couple pressure fluid to the park brake pistons  102  of the Final Drives  20  and  22 , thereby effecting release of the park brakes by compressing the stacks of Belleville springs  106 . The TCU  35  then sends a signal to the OICU  27 , by way of the VCU  32 , that lights an indicator light at the Display  29 , or actuates some other device, to alert the operator that conditions are set for running the park brake test. 
     The TCU  35  then automatically sends a signal back to the OICU  27 , by way of the VCU  32 , that energizes a portion of the Display  29  by which the operator is requested to raise the loader boom (not shown) of the loader above a pre-set threshold height so that a valid brake test may be run. After this action is completed, the TCU  35  sends a signal, by way of the VCU  32 , back to the OICU  27  requesting the operator to press a throttle, which forms part of the Control Input Devices  28 , when ready for the test to begin. 
     Once the operator presses the throttle of the CIDS  28 , a signal is sent from the OICU  27  to the TCU  35 , by way of the VCU  32 , which causes the current supplied to the Motor Inverters  54  and  56  to be controlled by sequential switching the stator phases of the Motors  16  and  18  so as to incrementally increase a magnetic force on the respective rotors of the motors tending to rotate the rotors from one position to the next. The incremental increase in the magnetic force tending to rotate the motor shafts continues until the sufficient torque has built up to overcome the resistance to rotation caused in the brake disc pack  84  of each of the Final Drives  24  and  26  by the preload of the stack of Belleville springs  106 . Once the torque applied to the motor shaft  78  of each of the Final Drives  24  and  26  equals the break away or break free torque, the rotor discs  86  will slip relative to the stator discs  92 . This causes the torque requirement to immediately drop, indicating that the immediately previous torque output of the respective motors  16  and  18  is the break free torque, with these values being recorded by the TCU  35  and sent to the Memory  33  of the VCU  32  where a break free torque value is calculated or determined from a look-up table placed in the Memory  33  based on the strength of the current being sent to the motor at the time of break away. Using this break free torque, the corresponding force (Fw) exerted by the stack of Belleville springs  50  is back-calculated by the Processor  34  of the VCU  32  using the equation: Fw=Torque/(Re)(μ)(Nf) where:
         Torque is Brake Torque Capacity (Nm) determined by multiplying the Motor Input torque by the Final Drive Ratio;   Re is the Effective Friction Radius (mm) of the brake rotor discs (122 mm in the instant case);   Fw is the Spring working Height Apply Force (N);   μ is the Coefficient of Friction of the brake material (0.100 for the brake material  64 ); and   Nf is the Number of Friction Interface Surfaces (16 in the instant case where 8 rotor discs  86  are used).
 
The calculated force Fw (spring preload) is then used to enter the stored load curve  106  of the 2×6 stack of Belleville springs  106  to arrive at the corresponding stack height, this height being compared with that of a stack of new springs in order to determine the amount of wear that the disc brake packs  84  of each of the Final Drives FD  24  and FD  26  have experienced. This calculated spring preload is then compared to the spring load which has been stored in the Memory  33  as that at which the operator is to be alerted that steps need to be taken in the near future for servicing the brake packs  84 . If the calculated spring load is equal to, or less than, that loaded in memory, then the VCU sends an alert signal to the Alert  30  of the OICU  27 .
       

     Once the test of the park brakes of the Final Drives  24  and  26  is complete, the TCU sends respective signals releasing the park brakes of the Final Drives  24  and  26  and applying the park brakes of the Final Drives  20  and  22 . The steps stated above following the release of the park brakes of the Final Drives  20  and  22  and the application of the park brakes of the Final drives  24  and  26  are then followed for testing the park brakes of the Final Drives  20  and  22 . 
     In case of daily tests of the park brakes made to determine if the park brakes meet the safety standard set forth in the ISO 3405/MSHA braking requirements for a particular vehicle, it is not necessary to control the current supplied to each of the motors to incrementally increase the magnetic forces tending to rotate the motor rotor or shaft until the break away or break free torque is reached. Rather, it is necessary only for the Processor  34  of the VCU to continuously compute the holding force from the incrementally increasing induced torsional forces and compare these computed forces to the holding force stored in the Memory  34  and being that required to meet the ISO 3405/MSHA braking requirements. Once the computed force equals or exceeds the stored force, the operator is informed that the tested brakes have passed the test. The stack height of the 2×6 stack of Belleville springs  106  corresponding to the computed holding force is automatically retrieved from the stored load curve  122 , and while the break away torque has not been reached, the stack height will give some indication of wear so that operator has some idea as to when to schedule service. 
     Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.