Patent Description:
Brake systems of machines are typically configured to provide a predetermined brake performance. The predetermined brake performance may, for example, be a measure of the distance and/or time required by the brake system to bring a machine from a predetermined speed to a halt. Machines are typically required to meet certain standards of braking performance based upon certain conditions, such as when braking on a certain inclination, when the machine has a certain load and the like. Such machines may include hauling machines, such as dump trucks, off-highway trucks, on-highway lorries/trucks, mining trucks, articulated haulers, earth-moving machines, such as backhoes, loaders, dozers, shovels, motor graders, wheel tractor scrapers, excavators and other such vehicles.

It may be desirable to continuously monitor the brake performance of a brake system during its operation and over time. A common approach is to perform visual, static checks on the brake system to determine whether it meets certain criteria, such as a predetermined brake pad wear or the like. Alternatively, <CIT> discloses determining the effectiveness of a vehicle brake system. Vehicle mass is manually or automatically measured, brake system pressure is measured during deceleration of the vehicle, road slope is measured and air friction and engine friction of the vehicle is measured. A predicted deceleration of the vehicle is calculated based upon data representing these parameters under comparable circumstances. Brake effectiveness is calculated using the predicted deceleration and a measured actual deceleration. However, further improvements may be required to improve the accuracy and reliability of brake performance determinations.

<CIT> relates to a method for monitoring the braking performance of a vehicle. The method includes, for at least some of the braking events: determining a braking demand; determining vehicle deceleration; defining a first data set of braking events, wherein each braking event in the data set includes a determined braking demand and a determined vehicle deceleration; applying a statistical trend analysis method to the data set to generate a vehicle deceleration and braking demand trend; providing a vehicle deceleration and braking demand reference; and comparing at least one trend value with at least one reference value. Apparatus for implementing the method is also disclosed.

<CIT> relates to a method of monitoring aircraft brake performance and apparatus for performing such a method. A brake performance monitoring system operates by an energy differential calculated from brake demand energy and energy absorbed during a braking operation. A significant differential would be reported as a possible problem with the braking system.

The present invention provides a method of monitoring brake performance of a brake system of a machine according to the method claim <NUM>. The brake system providing for decelerating the machine. In the method, a brake engagement is detected when the brake is activated to decelerate the machine. Once the brake engagement is detected, data associated with the performance of the brake system, such as the rate of deceleration, time to bring the machine to a stop, and/or the like may be measured.

In embodiments of the present invention, the rotation of the wheels of the machine are monitored during the braking of the machine to detect whether any of the machine's wheels stop rotating, such as during a wheel lock/skid. If the rotation of at least one of the machine's wheels is detected during the deceleration/braking of the machine and before the machine has been brought to a stop, then the braking event is processed as an invalid braking event, wherein the data collected for the braking event is rejected or the generation of brake performance data associated with the brake engagement is prevented. Data from braking events in which a wheel lock/skid is not detected is used to analyse the performance of the machine's brake system. In this way, braking event data associated with a random variable, a wheel lock/skid, is not used in the brake system monitoring.

The present invention further provides a system comprising a machine that includes a brake system and a control system for monitoring the brake performance of the brake system according to the apparatus claim <NUM>.

The control system detects a brake engagement for decelerating the machine monitors the wheels of the machine for a wheel lock of at least one wheel of the machine during the brake engagement. If a wheel lock resulting from the brake engagement whilst the machine is moving is detected, a signal is sent to the control system and in response to detection of the wheel lock the performance data associated with the brake engagement is rejected or the generation of brake performance data associated with the brake engagement is prevented.

In embodiments of the present invention in which the machine is undergoing a test braking event, e.g., the machine's brake system is being activated to analyse the performance of the brake system, the brake system may be deactivated and a new braking event may be performed and data collected. For autonomous machines, the occurrence of a wheel lock and a geographical location of the machine when the wheel lock occurred may be used to identify locations to be used for testing the machine's brake system.

In embodiments of the present invention, the braking event data collected from braking events in which no wheel lock occurred is used by the control system to analyse the performance of the machines brake system. This analysed braking performance data may be used to: control the machine's brake system in subsequent braking events; schedule maintenance of the machine's brake system; and/or trigger a warning of brake system malfunction.

The present invention provides a computer readable medium storing computer executed instructions for performing the method set out in the present invention. The method of the present invention may comprise operating the control system to perform the method.

By way of example only, embodiments of a method and system of the present invention are now described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings, in which:.

The ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment(s) only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing description of the preferred exemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements, without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the claims. Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments may be practised without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. A process is terminated when its operations are completed, but could have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function. Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term "storage medium" may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. The term "computer-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine readable medium such as storage medium. A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc..

It is to be understood that the following invention provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present invention.

These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Moreover, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed interposing the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact.

The present invention generally relates to monitoring the performance of a brake system of a machine and systems comprising control systems configured to perform such methods. The brake performance may be determined based upon a predicted deceleration and a measured deceleration during a brake engagement. The predicted deceleration may take account of the rolling resistance and windage losses of the machine. The brake performance data may be filtered to exclude data resulting from brake engagements in which a skid occurs. The performance may be monitored by identifying substantial changes or increases in rates of change of the brake performance over a longer time-period. The performance may also be assessed and/or analysed further by determining a brake delay between the operator instructing a brake engagement and the brake system actually engaging.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment of a system <NUM> of the present invention comprising a machine <NUM>, which is illustrated in further detail in <FIG>. The machine <NUM> may be any type of machine or vehicle, such as the illustrated articulated hauler. In other embodiments, the machine <NUM> may comprise any other type of hauling machine or vehicle (i.e. configured predominantly for transporting bulk material), work and/or material handling machine or vehicle (i.e. configured to perform work), such as a dump truck, off-highway truck, on-highway lorry/truck, mining truck, articulated hauler, backhoe, loader, dozer, shovel, wheel tractor scraper, drilling machine, motor grader, forestry machine, excavator and the like. The machine <NUM> may comprise at least one work tool <NUM> for performing work, such as a dump body as illustrated, a bucket, shears, a fork, hammer, plow, handling arm, multi-processor, pulveriser, saw, shears, blower, grinder, tiller, compactor, trencher, winch, auger, blade, broom, cutter, planer, delimber, felling head, grapple, mulcher, ripper, rake or the like.

The machine <NUM> may comprise an engine system <NUM> configured to drive at least one wheel <NUM> to move the machine <NUM> across a terrain <NUM>. The at least one wheel <NUM> may drive tracks attached thereto or the like. The engine system <NUM> may comprise at least one power unit <NUM> (e.g. an internal combustion engine, electric motor and/or hydraulic motor) configured to drive a powertrain <NUM>. The powertrain <NUM> may comprise at least one transmission, torque converter, transfer gear, output shaft, axle or the like for transferring power from the engine system <NUM> to drive the at least one wheel <NUM>.

The machine <NUM> comprises a brake system <NUM>. The brake system <NUM> may be for decelerating the machine <NUM> as it moves across the terrain <NUM>. The brake system <NUM> may be of any suitable type, such as an air brake system or a hydraulic brake system, and may be configured to selectively apply a braking force to the at least one wheel <NUM> and/or powertrain <NUM>. The brake system <NUM> may comprise at least one pad, at least one rotor, at least one drum, at least one piston and/or the like. In the case of an air brake system, it may comprise an air distribution system, including a brake chamber, containing pressurised air for controlling the application of the brake system <NUM>. In addition to the brake system <NUM>, the machine <NUM> may comprise alternative means for reducing its speed, such as an engine braking system or a hydraulic retarder.

The system <NUM> comprises a control system <NUM>, which may be configured to perform the methods of the present invention. The control system <NUM> may comprise a controller <NUM>, which may comprise a memory <NUM>, which may store instructions or algorithms in the form of data, and a processing unit <NUM>, which may be configured to perform operations based upon the instructions. The controller <NUM> may be of any suitable known type and may comprise an engine control unit (ECU) or the like. The memory <NUM> may comprise any suitable computer-accessible or non-transitory storage medium for storing computer program instructions, such as RAM, SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, RDRAM, SRAM, ROM, magnetic media, optical media and the like. The processing unit <NUM> may comprise any suitable processor capable of executing memory-stored instructions, such as a microprocessor, uniprocessor, a multiprocessor and the like. The controller <NUM> may further comprise a graphics processing unit for rendering objects for viewing on a display <NUM> of the control system <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may also be in communication with least one machine communication module <NUM> for transferring data with an external computing system <NUM> via a wired or wireless network <NUM> (such as Ethernet, fibre optic, satellite communication network, broadband communication network, cellular, Bluetooth). The external computing system <NUM> may comprise computing systems, processors, servers, memories, databases, control systems and the like.

The controller <NUM> may be communicatively connected (via a wired or wireless connection) to the power unit <NUM>, powertrain <NUM> and/or brake system <NUM> for providing control signals thereto and receiving sensor signals therefrom in order to control the operation of the machine <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may communicate with at least one input device, such as the display <NUM>, a joystick, a button and a brake input <NUM>, for receiving an input and controlling the machine <NUM>. As illustrated, a brake input <NUM>, which may comprise a brake pedal, may be in communication with the controller <NUM> and/or brake system <NUM> for controlling the actuation and engagement of the brake system <NUM> to decelerate the machine <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may receive operating condition data indicative of at least one operating condition of the machine <NUM> by being communicatively coupled with at least one sensor and/or with the power unit <NUM>, powertrain <NUM> and/or brake system <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may process the received operating condition data to determine further operating condition data and may store the operating condition data on the memory <NUM>. The at least one operating condition and operating condition data may comprise at least one of:.

The IMU <NUM> may comprise the inclination sensor <NUM>. The inclination θ may be determined based upon the outputs of the IMU <NUM> and at least one wheel speed sensor <NUM>. In particular, the acceleration or deceleration of the at least one wheel <NUM> may be determined via the at least one wheel speed sensor <NUM> and the inclination θ determined by accounting for such acceleration or deceleration of the at least one wheel <NUM> in the output of the IMU <NUM>.

The operating condition data collected by the control system <NUM> may be transferred to the external computing system <NUM>, which may perform the method of the present invention.

Thus the control system <NUM> may be considered in the present invention to comprise the external computing system <NUM>, which may have instructions stored thereon for performing the methods disclosed herein in a similar manner to the controller <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a method <NUM> of monitoring the brake performance of the brake system <NUM> of the system <NUM> of the present invention. The brake performance may be indicative of the effectiveness of the brake system <NUM> at slowing the machine <NUM> upon engagement of the brake system <NUM>, such as the distance or time required to bring the machine <NUM> to a halt from a predetermined speed. The brake performance may vary throughout the lifecycle of the brake system <NUM>, such as due to standard wear of components such as brake pads. The brake performance may be assessed substantially continuously during the normal operation of the machine <NUM> by the control system <NUM>. The brake performance may be determined by the control system <NUM> by determining an actual deceleration (AD) and a predicted deceleration (PD) of the machine <NUM> during a brake engagement. In particular, the brake performance (BP) may be determined as a value: <MAT>.

The operator may apply the brake system <NUM> via the brake input <NUM> at step <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may initially detect a resulting brake engagement at step <NUM>. The brake engagement or brake event may be a single instance of application of the brake system <NUM> to slow the machine <NUM>. The brake engagement may be detected based upon the operating condition data from at least one of the brake input sensor <NUM>, at least one brake system pressure sensor <NUM> and/or at least one wheel speed sensor <NUM> indicating that the brake system <NUM> has been engaged. The brake engagement may be detected based upon the operating condition data from a plurality of wheel speed sensors <NUM> in order to improve accuracy and account for instances where, for example, different axles to which each wheel is attached being operating at lower speeds due to operation of a differential in the powertrain <NUM>. The brake engagement may also be detected based upon the operating condition data from a brake system pressure sensor <NUM> located in the brake system <NUM> at or close to the brake input <NUM> for detecting the application at the brake input <NUM> by the operator and/or from a brake system pressure sensor <NUM> located in the brake system <NUM> at or close to the at least one wheel <NUM>, such as in fluid actuating a brake calliper or piston, for detecting the application by the brake system <NUM> to slow the at least one wheel <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may also determine that the engine brake and/or hydraulic retarder are engaged, which would invalidate the brake performance data, the control system <NUM> may reject or not generate the brake performance data.

The control system <NUM> may determine the actual deceleration of the machine <NUM> during the brake engagement at step <NUM>. The actual deceleration may be determined based upon deceleration data received at the controller <NUM> from the IMU <NUM> and/or wheel speed sensor <NUM> during the brake engagement.

The predicted deceleration may be determined by the control system <NUM> based upon at least one operating condition of the brake system <NUM> measured during the brake engagement and a brake map stored on the memory <NUM> of the control system <NUM>. The brake map may comprise a table, graph or the like storing data for enabling the calculation of the predicted deceleration based upon the at least one brake system operating condition. The brake map may be populated from test data obtained from operating the machine <NUM> or a similar machine <NUM> during testing at a predetermined (e.g. optimum or <NUM>%) brake performance, such as when the brake system <NUM> is fully serviced with unworn components. The method <NUM> may comprise generating the brake map from test data at step <NUM>. The test data may indicate the braking force (BF) associated with actual measured deceleration (AMD) of the machine <NUM>, mass (M) of the machine <NUM>, brake system operating condition (BSOC) and a constant (k) indicating the relationship between the brake system operating condition and the braking force: <MAT>.

The brake map may comprise a plurality of such values at a plurality of brake system operating conditions. The brake system operating condition may comprise the brake system pressure from at least one brake system pressure sensor <NUM> (which may be located in the brake system <NUM> at or close to the brake input <NUM> for detecting the application at the brake input <NUM> by the operator), the force applied to the brake pedal from the brake input sensor <NUM>, the position of the brake pedal from the brake input sensor <NUM> (which may have a direct relationship with the brake system pressure) and/or the like. The brake map may provide values for a combination of different brake system operating conditions.

In order to determine the predicted deceleration the method <NUM> may comprise retrieving the brake map from the memory <NUM> at step <NUM>. The method <NUM> may comprise receiving, at the control system <NUM>, data indicative of at least one brake system operating condition during the brake engagement at step <NUM> and the mass at step <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may determine, based upon the brake map, the braking force corresponding to the measured brake system operating condition and mass at step <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may determine, based upon the output from the inclination sensor <NUM> (which may be the IMU <NUM>) and the wheel speed sensor <NUM>, the inclination θ of the machine <NUM> at step <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may determine, at step <NUM>, the drag forces (DF) acting on the machine <NUM>, such as aerodynamic drag and engine friction. The drag forces may be estimated from various operating parameters measured during the brake engagement such as the machine speed, engine rotating speed and power unit output torque. As a result, predicted deceleration may be determined at step <NUM> based upon the brake map, at least one brake system operating condition, mass, inclination θ and drag forces as (where g is gravitational force): <MAT>.

In alternative embodiments the predicted deceleration may not take into account the drag forces and/or inclination θ. Further alternatively, the predicted deceleration may instead be based upon a value provided by an operator via at least one input and/or based upon a minimum acceptable deceleration stored in the memory <NUM>.

The control system <NUM> may determine the brake performance at step <NUM> and store the brake performance for the brake engagement as brake performance data on its memory <NUM> at step <NUM>. The brake performance data may be communicated to the external computing system <NUM> via the network <NUM>. If the brake performance falls below a minimum brake performance threshold an alert may be provided to the operator via the display <NUM>, a light or the like at step <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may repeat method <NUM> continuously by continuing to collect brake performance data for a plurality of brake engagements during the normal operation of the machine <NUM> and store them as brake performance data on the memory <NUM> for later retrieval, processing and/or display <NUM>.

The control system <NUM> may determine a parasitic loss decelerating the machine <NUM> during the brake engagement. The parasitic loss may comprise an estimated rolling resistance and/or estimated windage losses. As a result, the control system <NUM> may account for additional forces acting in the deceleration of the machine <NUM> in addition to the brake system <NUM>.

The control system <NUM> may also estimate the rolling resistance of the machine <NUM> during the brake engagement or just prior to the brake engagement and determine the brake performance based upon the estimated rolling resistance. The rolling resistance may comprise energy losses resulting from contact between the terrain <NUM> and the at least one wheel <NUM>, such as due to deformation of the at least one wheel <NUM> and/or terrain <NUM>.

The rolling resistance may be estimated based upon at least one operating condition of the machine <NUM> measured before the brake engagement and/or during the brake engagement. The rolling resistance may be calculated a plurality of times along a plurality of positions and/or continuously along a route of travel of the machine <NUM> and may be calculated using any suitable known method. The rolling resistance may be estimated based upon an estimated driving force Fdrive of the machine <NUM>, inclination data from the inclination sensor <NUM> and/or from the IMU <NUM>. The estimated driving force Fdrive may be an estimation or calculation of the force applied by the machine <NUM> where the at least one wheel <NUM> and/or track contacts the terrain <NUM> in order to move the machine <NUM>. The estimated driving force Fdrive may be determined from lookup tables stored on the memory <NUM> based upon at least one operating condition. The estimated driving force Fdrive may be determined based upon an estimated driving torque or engine power driving the at least one wheel <NUM>, which may be determined from the engine speed, transmission ratio, powertrain efficiency and the like, and the known radius of the at least one wheel <NUM>.

An effective inclination θeff may be estimated based upon the estimated driving force Fdrive using: <MAT>.

The effective inclination θeff may comprise the actual inclination θact of the machine <NUM> and an estimated rolling resistance inclination θRR: <MAT> θact may be determined based upon the inclination data from the inclination sensor <NUM> and/or from the IMU <NUM> and the wheel speed sensor <NUM>, and, as a result, the estimated rolling resistance inclination θRR determined. The estimated rolling resistance inclination θRR may therefore be used as an indication of the rolling resistance experienced by the machine <NUM>.

Alternatively, the rolling resistance may be estimated from a map indicating the estimated rolling resistance of the terrain <NUM> across which the machine <NUM> travels. The map may be generated by estimating the rolling resistance as the machine <NUM> and other machines <NUM> travel over the terrain <NUM> prior to the brake engagement. The map may store the estimate of rolling resistance as estimated rolling resistance inclinations θRR. The control system <NUM> may retrieve the map from its memory <NUM> and or via the network <NUM>, locate the machine <NUM> on the map via the navigation system <NUM> and subsequently retrieve the corresponding rolling resistance.

The brake performance may be determined by incorporating the expected deceleration resulting from the estimated rolling resistance into the calculation of the brake performance at step <NUM>. The estimated rolling resistance may be determined at step <NUM> and may be incorporated using the effective inclination θeff. The result is that the predicted deceleration may be determined as follows (optionally including the drag forces): <MAT>.

The brake performance may subsequently be calculated as disclosed above based upon this predicted deceleration incorporating the rolling resistance and an alert provided to an operator should the brake performance exceed a threshold value.

The control system <NUM> may also estimate the windage losses of the machine <NUM> during the brake engagement and determine the brake performance based upon the estimated windage losses. The windage losses may be in rotating components (e.g. shafts, gears, clutches) of the engine system <NUM> (in at least one of the powertrain <NUM>, including axles, torque converter, transmission thereof or the power unit <NUM>), brake system <NUM> or any other rotating components of the machine <NUM> in contact with oil. The oil may be brake cooling oil, gear lubricating oil, hydraulic oil and the like. The windage losses may comprise energy losses resulting from, for example, oil in the powertrain <NUM> thrown against the rotating components and/or wind generated within the powertrain <NUM> due to the rotation of such components. The viscosity of the oil, and therefore the temperature of the oil, may therefore affect the windage losses. In particular, during warmup of the engine system <NUM>, the oil may increase in temperature such that the windage losses vary. Such variations may be amplified in heavier machines <NUM> with heavier weight oil around the rotating components. The control system <NUM> may account for such variations in windage losses in order to improve the accuracy of the brake performance assessment.

In particular, the control system <NUM> may store windage loss data on the memory <NUM> representing the power loss due to windage losses at a plurality of oil temperatures and a plurality of rotational speeds of the rotating components. The windage loss data may be collected by testing the rotating components at the plurality of oil temperatures and rotational speeds and determining the associated power loss.

The control system <NUM> may be configured to determine at least one oil temperature and at least one rotational speed of at least one rotating component during the brake engagement from at least one oil temperature sensor <NUM> and at least one engine system component speed sensor <NUM>. Therefore, the control system <NUM> may at step <NUM> estimate the associated power loss based upon the at least one oil temperature, at least one rotational speed and the windage loss data. In particular, the control system <NUM> may estimate the power loss resulting from a plurality of rotating components by measuring each of their associated oil temperatures and rotational speeds. The resulting windage braking force (WBF) decelerating the machine <NUM> may be determined based upon the estimated power loss (PL), the wheel speed (WS) and the known wheel radius (Rw), which may be stored on the memory <NUM>: <MAT>.

The resulting deceleration (DW) due to windage losses may therefore be determined as: <MAT>.

The result is that the predicted deceleration may be determined as follows at step <NUM> (optionally including the drag forces and the rolling resistance): <MAT>.

The brake performance may subsequently be calculated as disclosed above based upon this predicted deceleration incorporating the windage losses and an alert provided to an operator should the brake performance exceed a threshold value.

The control system <NUM> may determine that windage loss in all or part of the powertrain <NUM> should not be taken into account in determining predicted deceleration when the windage loss in all or part of the powertrain <NUM> will not affect the deceleration. In particular, if the transmission is in neutral such that no power is transferred the control system <NUM> may only account for the windage loss between the decoupling point of the transmission (e.g. a clutch or torque converter) and the at least one wheel <NUM>. Thus, if decoupling between components in the powertrain <NUM> is detected the control system <NUM> may at step <NUM> estimate the associated power loss based upon the at least one oil temperature, at least one rotational speed and the windage loss data only for the at least one component of the powertrain <NUM> between the decoupling and the at least one wheel <NUM>. The rest of the method may be as discussed above. Whether a decoupling has occurred may be detected by at least one powertrain speed sensor and/or other sensor for determining whether components are coupled or decoupled in the powertrain <NUM>.

The control system <NUM> may also determine brake performance accounting for brake engagements in which at least one rejection condition occurs. The at least one rejection condition may be a skid in which at least one wheel <NUM> locks or stops rotating whilst the machine <NUM> continues to move along the terrain <NUM>.

Therefore, the method <NUM> may comprise at step <NUM> detecting that a skid has occurred during the brake engagement. For a multi-wheel machine, a skid comprises at least one of the wheels of the multi-wheel machine ceasing to rotate while the machine is moving forward. Such a skid invalidates all-of the data associated with a braking event, even though one or more of the machine's wheels of the machine may be turning, because the skid introduces a variable regarding the deceleration of the machine that is not related to the effectiveness/operation of the brake system. Consequently, all data determined for a braking event in which a skid of one or more wheels of the machine is detected is rejected or brake performance data associated with the braking event may be prevented from being generated and the data is not used for analysing brake performance/status.

Skidding may be detected using any suitable method or apparatus, such as a known anti-lock brake system (ABS). Skidding may be detected based upon the output from the IMU <NUM> indicating that the machine <NUM> is decelerating and the output from the at least one wheel speed sensor <NUM> indicating that the wheels are not rotating during the brake engagement. When a determination that at least one wheel has stopped turning during a braking event, all-of the data measured during the braking event is rejected or brake performance data associated with the braking event may be prevented from being generated, even data associated with wheels that kept rotating, and the braking event data is not processed. In some embodiments, there may be a threshold value for an amount of time that a wheel must cease turning before an event is categorized as a skid since in off road operations conditions may be such that the majority of braking events may involve some amount of skidding by the machine. In some embodiments, where a skid comprises a wheel ceasing to rotate for a matter of seconds or less, a skid factor may be applied to the overall skid event data to normalise the data for the detected skid or an indicator may be associated with the data indicating a short skid occurred during the braking event. Since the machine comprises multiple wheels, data associated with a skidding wheel cannot simply be nulled or removed from the braking event data.

The method <NUM> comprises, at step <NUM>, rejecting brake performance data associated with the brake engagement or preventing the generation or storing of brake performance data associated with the brake engagement. The control system <NUM> may not process or reject the relevant operating condition data of any one of steps <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> to generate brake performance data associated with the brake engagement. Alternatively, the control system may not perform the step <NUM> of calculating the brake performance or the step <NUM> of storing the brake performance on the memory <NUM>. Hence brake performance data utilised for assessing the brake performance of the brake system <NUM> does not comprise brake performance data for a brake engagement in which a skid occurs.

Alternatively, the control system <NUM> may still determine a brake performance associated with the brake engagement via method <NUM> but will reject the brake performance. The control system <NUM> may store on the memory <NUM> brake performance data comprising a brake performance and a rejection marker associated with the brake performance if the brake performance relates to a brake engagement in which a skid occurs. The control system <NUM> may disregard the brake performance with an associated rejection marker during further analysis of brake performance data related to a plurality of brake engagements.

The at least one rejection condition may also be based upon the estimated rolling resistance and/or windage losses. In a similar manner to that discussed above, the control system <NUM> may determine at step <NUM> estimating the rolling resistance and/or windage losses. At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may reject brake performance data associated with the brake engagement or prevent the generation or storing of brake performance data associated with the brake engagement if the rolling resistance exceeds a rolling resistance threshold value and/or if the windage losses exceed a windage loss threshold value. As a result, the brake performance can be assessed taking into account where the rolling resistance or windage losses may have resulted in unreliable brake performance data.

In embodiments of the present invention, wheel rotation sensors monitor the rotation of the wheels of the machine. When rotation of at least one wheel of the machine ceases during a braking event, e.g. while the machine is decelerating during the braking event, a signal is sent to the control system <NUM>. When the control system <NUM> receives a signal that one of the machines wheels has locked/skid during the brake event, the control system <NUM> may invalidate the braking event and rejects all data associated with the braking event or prevents brake performance data associated with the braking event being generated.

In some embodiments of the present invention, upon receiving a brake lock/skid signal, the control system <NUM> may stop the braking event and/or implement/schedule a new brake event to monitor the brake system. For example, where the machine comprises an autonomous machine, the control system <NUM> may control the machine to drive to a location and/or speed for a new braking event and then control the machine to undergo the new braking event.

In some embodiments, data concerning the wheel lock/skid, such as geographical location of the machine, conditions of the braking event, operation of the brake system and/or the like may be used in subsequent braking events to avoid wheel lock/skidding.

In some embodiments, the control system <NUM> may determine brake performance accounting for skids, rolling resistance and/or windage losses continuously during normal operating of the machine <NUM> and/or during the testing of the machine <NUM> to populate the brake map for calculating the braking force for use in the predicted deceleration calculations.

The control system <NUM> may also determine brake performance by processing the brake performance data indicating the brake performance over a plurality of brake engagements. The control system <NUM> may identify a brake performance event based upon a change of the brake performance between at least two brake engagements and a threshold value. If a brake performance event is identified the control system <NUM> may provide an alert to an operator.

As illustrated in <FIG>, which is a graph of brake performance <NUM> against brake engagements over time <NUM>, the control system <NUM> may identify a step brake performance event <NUM> based upon a step change in and/or a rate brake performance event <NUM> based upon a rate of change of the brake performance. The step and rate brake performance events <NUM>, <NUM> may be identified when the brake performance are above the minimum brake performance threshold <NUM>, below which an alert is provided to the operator.

The system <NUM> may perform the method <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may process the brake performance data stored on the memory <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may comprise brake performance data related to at least <NUM>, at least <NUM>, at least <NUM>, at least <NUM> or at least <NUM> brake engagements. The brake performance data may be related to brake engagements during active testing in which the machine <NUM> is operated under known conditions (e.g. a proving grounds type test). Alternatively or additionally, the brake performance data may be related to brake engagements during normal operation of the machine <NUM> and may take into account the drag forces, rolling resistance and/or windage losses as disclosed above.

At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may identify in the brake performance data at least one step and/or rate brake performance event(s) <NUM>, <NUM>. The step brake performance event <NUM> may be identified by the control system <NUM> based upon a step change in brake performance between at least two brake engagements and a magnitude of the step change exceeding a fixed step change threshold value. The rate brake performance event <NUM> may be identified by the control system <NUM> based upon a rate of change of the brake performance between at least two brake engagements exceeding a rate of change threshold value.

The fixed step change threshold value and/or fixed rate of change threshold value may be stored in the memory <NUM> and may be indicative of a step change magnitude or rate of change magnitude above which an issue with the brake system <NUM> may have occurred. The rate of change threshold value may comprise a fixed rate of change threshold value. The rate of change threshold value may be a past rate of change threshold value based upon rates of change of brake performance during brake engagements prior to the brake performance event. For example, the past rate of change threshold value may be an average rate of change of brake performance over a plurality of prior brake engagements, such as at least <NUM> prior brake engagements, at least <NUM> prior brake engagements and at least <NUM> prior brake engagements.

At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may, in response to detecting at least one brake performance event, provide an alert to the operator. The control system <NUM> may therefore identify an issue with the brake system <NUM> before the brake performance falls below the minimum brake performance threshold <NUM>.

The control system <NUM> may further monitor the brake performance by determining the brake delay of the brake system <NUM>. The brake delay may be the system <NUM> response between the operator instructing the machine <NUM> to engage the brake system <NUM> and the brake system <NUM> engaging to decelerate the machine <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a graph showing the machine speed <NUM> against distance <NUM> in which the machine speed <NUM> remains at a constant <NUM> between a first time instance <NUM> at which an input is provided by the operator to instruct the machine <NUM> and a second time instance <NUM> at which the brake system <NUM> engages. The machine <NUM> subsequently decelerates <NUM> to a halt at a third time instance <NUM>. The brake delay may be the time period between the first and second time instances <NUM>, <NUM> and the effect of the brake delay on brake performance may be the distance travelled <NUM> by the machine <NUM> during the brake delay. The control system <NUM> may determine the brake delay and may provide an alert when the brake delay is substantially impacting the brake performance, such as by the distance travelled exceeding a threshold distance and/or the brake delay exceeds a brake delay threshold value.

The system <NUM> may therefore perform method <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. At step <NUM> control system <NUM> may detect an input via the brake input sensor <NUM> indicating that the operator is instructing the machine <NUM> to decelerate via the brake input <NUM>. The input may be an actuation of a brake pedal and the input may be detected based upon an output from a brake pedal position sensor. At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may operate the brake system <NUM>, or the brake input <NUM> may operate the brake system <NUM> directly, to engage the brake system <NUM> in response to the input and thereby initiate a brake engagement. At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may detect the engagement of the brake system <NUM> in response to the input. The engagement of the brake system <NUM> may be detected based upon an output from the at least one wheel speed sensor <NUM>, such as by the output from the at least one wheel speed sensor <NUM> indicating that a reduction in a wheel speed has been initiated. The brake engagement may also be detected based upon the output from a brake system pressure sensor <NUM> located in the brake system <NUM> at or close to the at least one wheel <NUM>, such as in fluid actuating a brake calliper or piston, for detecting the application by the brake system <NUM> to slow the at least one wheel <NUM>.

At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may calculate the brake delay as the time period between the detection of the input and the detection of the engagement (e.g. the start of the engagement) of the brake system <NUM>. The brake delay may be detected based upon a clock within the controller <NUM>. At step <NUM> the control system <NUM> may store the brake delay on the memory <NUM> as brake performance data, which may be in addition to brake performance data determined as disclosed above.

The control system <NUM> may, at step <NUM>, operate the machine <NUM> based upon the brake delay. The control system <NUM> may provide an alert to the operator based upon the brake delay exceeding a brake delay threshold value indicative of an issue with the brake system <NUM> and/or control system <NUM>. The control system <NUM> may also process the brake delay with the brake performance data associated with the brake engagement and identify a brake performance issue with the brake system <NUM> as being related to a component causing the brake delay. For example, if the brake performance falls below a threshold value, and the brake delay exceeds the brake delay threshold value, the control system <NUM> may determine that the brake performance issue with the brake system <NUM> relates to at least one component causing the brake delay.

In a further aspect, the method may further comprise a brake test step, wherein the machine is moved to a brake check location and carrying out a brake test. The brake test may comprise at least one brake engagements carried out at the brake check location. The brake test step may comprise determining brake performance for the brake engagement or for a plurality of brake engagements performed at the brake check location. The brake performance during the one or more brake engagements may be compared to a known optimal brake performance at the brake test location. The optimal brake performance may be determined by testing.

Surface conditions of the surface over which the machine will travel during the brake test at the brake test location may be known. Surface conditions may comprise drag or friction properties of the surface, inclination of the surface etc. The surface conditions for the brake check location may be stored by or otherwise accessible to the control system. The surface at the brake test location may be configured to provide optimised conditions for braking.

The brake test step may comprise engaging the brakes while the machine is travelling at specified speed and/or using a specified braking force. The control system may be configured to carry out the brake test step automatically. The brake test step may be carried out according to a schedule, for example after a predetermined number of brake engagements or after a predetermined elapsed time since the previous test or maintenance event. The machine may comprise an automated vehicle.

In any aspect of the present invention, determining brake performance based upon a predicted deceleration may comprise rejecting generated brake performance data associated with a brake engagement or preventing the generation of brake performance data associated with the brake engagement.

In any aspect of the present invention, determining brake performance may occur during a plurality of brake engagements.

According to the invention, rejecting generated brake performance data comprises rejecting all brake performance data for a brake engagement in which a rejection condition occurs such that it is not processed for calculations relating to future or ongoing brake performance (i.e. it is excluded from the calculation of the brake performance over a plurality of brake engagements). Additionally, or alternatively, excluding brake performance data may comprise preventing generation of the brake performance data for that brake engagement.

In any aspect of the present invention, brake performance data may comprise a brake performance calculated using a predicted deceleration. In any embodiment, determining the brake performance may comprise detecting an actual deceleration of the machine during the brake engagement and determining the brake performance based upon the actual and predicted decelerations.

The method <NUM> may thus take rolling resistance and windage losses into account when determining the brake performance of the brake system <NUM>. The brake performance data may therefore be a more accurate representation of the state of the brake system <NUM> and thereby lead to more accurate servicing and earlier identification of brake performance issues. The accuracy of brake performance data may be particularly improved if the machine <NUM> is an off-highway machine, which may encounter higher rolling resistances due to the variation in the type of terrain <NUM> (e.g. soil, sand etc) and higher windage losses due to the use of heavier oil.

The method <NUM> may thus take into account whether skidding occurred during the brake engagement, whether the rolling resistance exceeded a rolling resistance threshold and/or whether the windage losses exceeded a windage loss threshold value. Such events may result in the associated brake performance data being unreliable. The control system <NUM> may enable the assessment of brake performance without such unreliable data by rejecting it. The brake performance data for a plurality of brake engagements may thus be more reliable and, by excluding such unreliable data from test data, the brake map may be a more accurate basis for determining the predicted deceleration.

The method <NUM> of longer term trend analysis may enable the use of the brake performance data as a prognostic rather than only for determining maintenance intervals. In particular, brake performance issues may still occur when the brake performance are above the minimum brake performance threshold <NUM>. The identification of brake performance events <NUM>, <NUM> may provide, in addition to the minimum brake performance threshold <NUM>, further means for identifying brake performance issues.

Excluding brake performance data for a brake engagement in which a rejection condition occurs from ongoing calculation of brake performance by rejecting or preventing generation of the brake performance data for that brake engagement may reduce processing requirements for ongoing brake performance calculations.

Claim 1:
A method of monitoring brake performance of a brake system (<NUM>) of a machine (<NUM>), the method comprising:
detecting a brake engagement for decelerating the machine (<NUM>);
detecting a wheel lock of at least one wheel (<NUM>) of the machine (<NUM>) during the brake engagement and resulting from the brake engagement whilst the machine (<NUM>) is moving; and
in response to the detection of the wheel lock, rejecting brake performance data associated with the brake engagement or preventing the generation of brake performance data associated with the brake engagement;
wherein rejecting generated brake performance data comprises rejecting all brake performance data for the brake engagement such that brake performance data for the brake engagement is not processed for calculations relating to future or ongoing brake performance.