Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] This disclosure relates generally to the field of automobiles, and more particularly to a method for monitoring brake pad wear level in a vehicle.
BACKGROUND
[002] Braking system is an essential and crucial safety component in a vehicle. It ensures a safe driving experience for a user by enabling deceleration from a higher speed to a lower speed and ensuring that the vehicle runs at safe speeds. Since braking systems utilize frictional forces to enable deceleration of the vehicle they may eventually wear out and hence require regular maintenance. In disc braking systems, brake pads may rub against the brake disc to create friction in order to slow the vehicle. Therefore, due to friction the brake pad may wear out with time which may lead to a brake failure in the vehicle. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor wear level of the brake pads to avoid a possibility of brake failure due to complete wearing out of the brake pad.
[003] Related art provides utilization of mechanical wear indicators which may create a squeaking noise once the brake pad has worn out to a particular level and indicate to the driver that the brake pads require replacement. However, such mechanical wear indicators are required to be replaced along with the brake pad and if not detected by the driver may cause damage to the rotor. There have been many innovations for monitoring a rate of wear of the brake pads, however constraints due to ease of utilization, cost extensive maintenance, and ineffective sensing techniques could not be satisfactorily optimized.
[004] Therefore, there is a requirement for a relatively simple, non-destructive, and a cost-effective system for monitoring brake pad wear level of the vehicle.
SUMMARY
[005] The present disclosure pertains to a method for monitoring brake pad wear is disclosed. The method may include a controller that may determine, at a first time instant, an initial residual pressure of a brake fluid contained in a brake fluid reservoir Further, the controller may determine at the first time instant an initial odometer reading of a vehicle. In an embodiment, the brake fluid may be transmitted to a brake pad fluid reservoir based on a corresponding brake pad wear. The controller may be configured to determine, at a second time instant, a current residual pressure of the brake fluid contained in the brake fluid reservoir and a current odometer reading of the vehicle. Further, at the second time instant, the controller may determine a delta residual pressure based on the current residual pressure, and the initial residual pressure, a delta distance based on the current odometer reading and the initial odometer reading, a brake pad wear rate category based on the delta residual pressure and the delta distance, and a brake pad wear level based on the delta residual pressure using a predefined mapping. In an embodiment, the predefined mapping may be determined based on the brake pad wear rate category.
[006] In another embodiment, a system for monitoring brake pad wear is disclosed. The system may include a controller that may determine, at a first time instant, an initial residual pressure of a brake fluid contained in a brake fluid reservoir Further, the controller may further determine at the first time instant an initial odometer reading of a vehicle. In an embodiment, the brake fluid may be transmitted to a brake pad fluid reservoir based on a corresponding brake pad wear. The controller may be configured to determine, at a second time instant, a current residual pressure of the brake fluid contained in the brake fluid reservoir and a current odometer reading of the vehicle. Further, at the second time instant, the controller may determine a delta residual pressure based on the current residual pressure, and the initial residual pressure, a delta distance based on the current odometer reading and the initial odometer reading, a brake pad wear rate category based on the delta residual pressure and the delta distance, and a brake pad wear level based on the delta residual pressure using a predefined mapping. In an embodiment, the predefined mapping may be determined based on the brake pad wear rate category.
[007] In an embodiment, the controller may be configured to generate a set of predefined mappings corresponding to the brake pad wear rate category using historical data. In an embodiment, the brake pad wear rate category may include high, medium, and low.
[008] In an embodiment, the controller may be configured to generate a brake pad wear alert in case the brake pad wear level is above a predefined wear threshold level.
[009] In an embodiment, the controller may generate a brake fluid leak alert in case the delta residual pressure is determined as greater than a predefined pressure threshold level.
[010] In an embodiment, the controller may be configured to determine the initial residual pressure and the current residual pressure of the brake fluid based on a height of the fluid inside brake fluid reservoir from a pressure sensor of an ESP of the vehicle.
[011] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[012] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles.
[013] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for monitoring a brake pad wear level in a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[014] FIG. 2 illustrates a functional diagram of a brake pad wear detection device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[015] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary representation of a brake system in a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[016] FIG. 4 illustrates a graph depicting volume of brake fluid removed from the brake fluid reservoir and the pressure determined by the pressure sensor, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[017] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method for monitoring brake pad wear level in a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[018] The foregoing description has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which forms the subject of the claims of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying other devices, systems, assemblies, and mechanisms for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art such that equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristics of the disclosure, to its device or system, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.
[019] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusions, such that a system or a device that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.
[020] Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, same numerals have been used to refer to the same or like parts. The following paragraphs describe the present disclosure with reference to FIGs. 1-5. It is to be noted that a gas spring may be employed in any system/s including but not limited to a vehicle or for industrial, household, aerospace, medical, civil/architecture industries.
[021] In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 1 which illustrates a block diagram of a system 100 for monitoring a brake pad wear level in a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 100 may include a controller 110 operatively coupled with a brake pad wear detection device 102, also interchangeably referred as a wear detection device 102. By way of an example, the wear detection device 102 may be implemented in any computing device which may be configured or operatively connected or implemented in a server (not shown). The wear detection device 102 may be communicatively coupled with a controller 110 which in turn may be connected to an engine electronic control unit (ECU) 124 of engine management system (EMS), an ABS/ESP ECU 120, and a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) register 122 of a vehicle (not shown) and an electronic stability program (ESP) 120 through a wireless or wired communication network or a combination of both. In an embodiment, the controller 110 may be connected directly to the braking system 112 (explained in detail later) and an odometer 118 through a wireless or wired communication network or a combination of both. The wear detection device 102 may include a processor 104 communicatively coupled with a memory 106, and one or more input, and output device 108 that may include, but not limited to, an infotainment device, one or more switches for operating the infotainment device by a user or users 116.
[022] In an embodiment, the wired or the wireless network or a combination thereof can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, control area network (CAN), local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, the internet, Wi-Fi, LTE network, CDMA, 5G network, etc. Further, the wired or wireless network can either be a dedicated network or a shared network. The shared network represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, CAN, CAN FD, PSI5, LIN, FlexRay, Common Industrial Protocol (CIP), Open Platform Communication (OPC) protocols, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), etc., to communicate with one another. Further, the wired or wireless network can include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, etc.
[023] In another embodiment, the wear detection device 102 may also include an input/output device 108 that may be configured to receive inputs, and transmit outputs from/to a user(s) 116 in form of, but not limited to, a touch, a gaze, a gesture, and voice commands, etc. In an embodiment, the input/output device 108 may be configured to provide an output to the user 116 in a form of a visual indication, an alarm or a voice notification or a combination of all. In an embodiment, the input/output device 108 may be wirelessly connected to the wear detection device 102 through a wireless network interface such as Bluetooth®, infrared, or any other wireless radio communication known in the art. In an embodiment, the input/output devices 108 may be connected to a communication pathway for one or more components of the wear detection device 102 to facilitate the transmission of inputted instructions and output the results of data generated by various components such as, but not limited to, processor(s) 104 and memory 106.
[024] In another embodiment, the wear detection device 102 may include one or more processors 104. The one or more processor(s) 104 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, single board computers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, graphics processing units, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate data received from a memory 106. Among other capabilities, one or more processor(s) 104 are configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 106 of the wear detection device 102. The memory 106 may store one or more computer-readable instructions or routines, which may be fetched and executed to create or share the data over a network service. The memory 106 may be a non-volatile memory or a volatile memory, where examples of non-volatile memory may include, but are not limited to a flash memory, a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), and Electrically EPROM (EEPROM) memory. Examples of volatile memory may include but are not limited to Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM). The memory 106 may also store various vehicle information such as, design manuals, operational parameters, emergency parameters, etc. that may be captured, processed, and/or required by the system 100. In an embodiment, the wear detection device 102 may be connected to a cloud server comprising one or more processors 104 and the memory 106 in the form of a cloud database.
[025] In an embodiment, the controller 110 may be operatively coupled to a braking system 112 of the vehicle, where one or more functions of the controller 110 may interchangeably be performed based on control signals generated by the processor 104. The braking system 112 may include various types of brakes such as but not limited to, disc brakes, drum brakes, etc. In case a braking pressure is applied by the user 116 on a brake pedal, a brake fluid contained in a brake fluid reservoir of a hydraulic brake system may be transmitted to each of the brakes. Accordingly, the braking pressure may be transmitted as hydraulic pressure and transmitted to the various brakes such as, but not limited to, disc brakes and/or drum brakes. In an embodiment, the brake may include a brake pad which may act as friction material between a caliper piston and the rotor/disc and rubs against it in order to resist a motion of the rotor/disc mounted on a hub.
[026] Accordingly, the level and pressure of the brake fluid in the brake fluid reservoir 304 may reduce. This may lead to a reduction in a height (H) of a free surface of the brake fluid resulting in a decrease of the brake fluid pressure sensed by a pressure sensor enabled in the ESP 120 of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the controller 110 may determine include software executable controllers which may be implemented on a hardware platform or a hybrid device that combines controller functionality and other functions such as visualization. The control software or algorithms executed by automobile controllers may include coding or algorithm to process an input signal read from the vehicle components or industrial devices or sensors, etc.
[027] Accordingly, the brake wear detection device 102 may monitor the brake pad wear by determining an initial residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 contained in the brake fluid reservoir 304 of the braking system 112. Further, the brake wear detection device 102 may determine an initial odometer reading of the vehicle. The initial residual pressure and the initial odometer reading may be determined by the controller 110 at a first time instant such as during starting of a vehicle when the brakes have not been applied for a long time. Further, the controller 110 may determine a current residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 contained in the brake fluid reservoir 304and a current odometer reading of the vehicle at a second time instant.
[028] In an embodiment, the controller 110 may periodically determine the residual pressure and the odometer reading at predefined time intervals and may consider the last reading measured as the initial residual pressure and the initial odometer readings and the recently recorded reading as the current residual pressure and the current odometer reading.
[029] Accordingly, the brake wear detection device 102 may determine a delta residual pressure based on the current residual pressure and the initial residual pressure. The brake wear detection device 102 may further determine a delta distance based on the current odometer reading and the initial odometer reading. Accordingly, the brake wear detection device 102 may determine a brake pad wear rate category based on the delta residual pressure and the delta distance. In an embodiment, the brake pad wear rate category may include high, medium and low. Further, the brake wear detection device 102 may determine the brake pad wear level based on the delta residual pressure using a predefined mapping. In an embodiment, the set of predefined mappings may be generated using historical data.
[030] Referring to FIG. 2, a functional block diagram 200 of the wear detection device 102 is illustrated that may include a sensor module 202, a characterization module 204, a history characterization module 206, a clustering module 208, a wear determination module 210 and an alert module 212. The sensor module 202 may capture one or more information from one or more sensors associated with various components of the vehicle and functionally connected to the controller 110. The sensors may include, but are not limited to, a pressure sensor, an acceleration sensor/accelerometer, a speed sensor, a torque sensor, a time sensor, a voltage sensor, a yaw rate sensor, and an odometer 118, etc. In an embodiment, the vehicle information captured by the sensor module 202 may include, but is not limited to, a pressure of the brake fluid in the brake fluid reservoir of the braking system 112, slope/gradient information, a distance traveled, a speed information, etc. More information about the functional block diagram 200 may be explained in conjugation with FIG. 3 described below.
[031] FIG. 3 illustrates a braking system 112 of FIG. 1 in a vehicle, in accordance with some disclosure. The braking system 112 may include a hydraulic system to transmit the braking pressure applied on a brake pedal 302 by a driver. The braking system 112 includes a brake fluid reservoir 304 as explained earlier which may contain brake fluid 305. The braking system 112 may be in a fluid connection with one or more brakes 306. In an embodiment, the brake 306 may be, but not limited to, disk brakes or drum brakes etc. In an embodiment, the brake 306 may include a brake pad fluid reservoir also referred as caliper cylinder 307 interchangeably in which the brake fluid 305 may be filled due to transmission from the brake fluid reservoir 304. In an embodiment, an initial level of the brake fluid 305 may be determined at a non-braking initial time instant such as when the vehicle is started or at an ignition point. In an embodiment the level of the brake fluid 305 may be depicted by the height “H”.
[032] In an embodiment, the brake fluid 305 may travel to one or more brakes pad fluid reservoir or caliper reservoir 307 associated to the brakes 306 in order to transmit the braking pressure to a caliper piston 312 coupled with a brake pad 308. In an embodiment, the brake pads 308 may be pushed by the caliper piston 312 against a rotor 310 that may be rotating while the vehicle is in motion. Accordingly, the braking pressure may be transmitted to the rotor 310 and the friction between the brake pads 308 and the rotor 310 may cause the vehicle to slow. Due to the frictional forces between the brake pads 308 and the rotor 310, thickness of the brake pads 308 may reduce 308 due to wear and tear. Further, the brake 306 in non-braking condition may have a clearance distance between the brake pads 308 and the rotor 310 in order to allow efficient running of the rotor 310 and also allowing for an equal braking effort to be applied. In case the brake pads 308 wear out, the clearance distance may increase and accordingly more braking pressure may be required to make the brake pads 308 rub against the rotor 310. To avoid such situation and to keep the clearance distance constant the amount of the brake fluid 305 from the brake fluid reservoir 304 to the brakes caliper reservoir 307 may be increased so as to move the piston 312 at a position such that the clearance level is constantly maintained. Consequently, this may lead to a decrease in level of the brake fluid 305 contained in the brake fluid reservoir 304. Accordingly, the decrease in the level of the brake fluid 305 may be sensed by a pressure sensor 314 of the ESP 120 of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the pressure sensor 314 may measure brake fluid pressure in the brake fluid reservoir 304 based on a height of the brake fluid level from the pressure sensor 314 based on a principle of fluid dynamics. Accordingly, a pressure exerted by the brake fluid 305 at a bottom of brake fluid reservoir 304 may be directly proportional to a density of the fluid, an acceleration due to gravity, and a height of a free surface of the brake fluid 305 from the bottom of the brake fluid reservoir 304. Thus, due to a decrease in height of the brake fluid 305 in the brake fluid reservoir 304, pressure exerted by the brake fluid 305 would also decrease. This decrease in the pressure of the brake fluid 305 may be determined based on periodic measurement of pressure by the pressure sensor 314. Further, a brake pad wear rate or a degree of wear of the brake pads 308 may be determined by the wear detection device 102 based on change in pressure of the brake fluid 305 and the distance traveled by the vehicle. In an embodiment, the distance traveled by the vehicle may be measured based on odometer readings 118 taken at two time instances when an initial residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 may be measured and when the current residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 may be measured.
[033] Further, in an embodiment, as the height of the brake fluid 305 in the brake fluid reservoir 304 decreases, it may lead to a reduction in a pressure of the brake fluid 305, which may be sensed by the pressure sensor 314. Accordingly, the controller 110 may determine a delta residual pressure based on a difference of the current residual pressure and the initial residual pressure that is a pressure exerted by the brake fluid 305 at a bottom or any other part of the brake oil reservoir 304 at a first instant and at a second time instant respectively. The first instant may be an initial condition when the one or more brake pads 308 are installed in the vehicle or at ignition point when the vehicle is just started. The pressure sensor 314 may also be configured to not transmit a pressure of the brake fluid to a controller 110 in a state when the brake pedal 302 is pressed so as to incorporate only a residual pressure of the brake fluid in the brake fluid reservoir 304 for determination of the delta residual pressure of the brake fluid 305. On determination of the delta residual pressure, the controller 110 may be configured to determine a brake pad wear level based on a predetermined mapping based on the historical data and accordingly a brake pad wear rate category may be determined.
[034] Referring back to the FIG. 2, one or more sensors of the sensing module 202 may be associated with the brake pedal 302, and the braking system 112. The one or more sensors in the sensor module 202 may determine the braking data such as, but not limited to, braking pressure exerted by the user 116 on the pedal 302, and the position of the pedal 302 or the distance travelled by the pedal 302 based on the braking pressure. The one or more sensors in the sensor module 202 may further determine residual pressure of the brake fluid at predefined time period or after predefined distance travelled by the vehicle and when there is no braking pressure exerted on the brake pedal 302. The controller 110 may determine vehicle information such as, but not limited to, a current vehicle speed, parking brake status, vehicle altitude data, etc. The controller 110 may receive the sensor data from the sensor module 202 and may transmit the sensor data to the wear detection device 102 via the controller 110.
[035] In an embodiment, the controller 110 may be configured to determine the speed of the vehicle and obtain a pressure of the brake fluid 305 when the vehicle is in a state of the rest, as pressure of the brake fluid may change in a state of motion of the vehicle. Further, the controller 110 may determine a slope or inclination or gradient of a surface level on which the vehicle may be parked or moving so as to determine a residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 mitigating an effect of acceleration due to gravity on a pressure of the brake fluid 305. In another embodiment, a least count of the pressure sensor may range from 0.05 to 0.015 so as to increase accuracy in the determination of a pressure of the brake fluid 305.
[036] The characterization module 204 may generate historical data based on previously determined residual pressure readings and odometer readings and the corresponding brake pad wear determined. Further, the characterization module 204 may characterize reference information or mapping information for the brake pad wear rate determined for each of the previously determined residual pressure readings and odometer readings. Further, brake pad wear level may also be determined based on vehicle information such as model information, location information, etc. In an embodiment, the characterization module 204 may record historical data for predefined period based on the information captured by the sensor module 202. The one or more information captured may include a delta residual pressure of a brake fluid 305, a delta distance based on a current odometer reading, a brake pad wear category, and a brake pad wear level, a speed of the vehicle, a deceleration of the vehicle, a percentage of the remaining brake pad 308, etc.
[037] The clustering module 208 may determine brake pad wear rate category based on the historical data determined by the characterization module 204. The clustering module 208 may create clusters for each of brake pad wear categories such as high, medium and low. The brake pad wear category of high may depict higher brake pad wear rate, the medium category may depict medium level of brake pad wear rate and the low category may depict low brake pad wear rate of a vehicle. Accordingly, based on the brake pad wear rate, a driver behavior may also be determined. In an embodiment, when the brake pad wear rate category is determined as high the driver behavior may be determined as aggressive. In an embodiment, when the brake pad wear rate category is determined is determined as medium or low, the driver behavior may be determined as not aggressive.
[038] Referring again to the FIG. 2, the wear determination module 210, may determine a delta distance of the vehicle on a basis of the current odometer reading, and the initial odometer reading for calculating a distance travelled by the vehicle corresponding to the current brake pad wear level. Further, a ratio of the delta pressure with respect to the delta distance may be determined by the wear determination module 210that may indicate a brake pad wear rate and may also be used to determine a driving behavior of the user 116. In an embodiment, the driving behavior of the user 116 or driver may be categorized into one or more categories such as aggressive or not aggressive corresponding to a brake pad wear rate of high or medium or low. In an embodiment, driver behavior may be indicative of how driver is driving the vehicle. Additionally, in an exemplary condition if a delta residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 is determined greater than a predetermined threshold level then it may indicate a leakage in the brake system 112 of the vehicle.
[039] Now referring to FIG. 4, a graph 400 depicting volume of brake fluid 305 removed from the brake fluid reservoir and the pressure determined by the pressure sensor, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The characterization module 204 may characterize delta residual pressure based on the graph. The graph 400 represents pressure of brake fluid 305 in the brake fluid reservoir 304 with respect to a volume of the brake fluid 305 removed from the brake fluid reservoir 304. A locus point 412 may illustrate, an initial residual pressure representing a pressure of the brake fluid 305 in the brake fluid reservoir 304 depicting a pressure value of 0.0474 bar at null or zero ml removal of the brake fluid from the brake fluid reservoir 304. Further, a point 414 may represent a pressure value of 0.0305 bar after an approximate removal of 50 ml brake fluid 305 from the brake fluid reservoir 304. Further, at locus point 416, a final residual pressure value of 0.0171 bar of the brake fluid 305 is shown after an approximate removal of 150 ml brake fluid from the brake fluid reservoir 304.
[040] Referring back to FIG. 2, the wear determination module 210 may determine brake pad wear rate based on determination of a delta residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 and the delta distance which may be the distance travelled by the vehicle between time instant of measurement of the initial residual pressure and the time instant of measurement of current residual pressure. The wear determination module 210 may determine the brake pad wear rate category based on a mapping of the delta residual pressure value with respect to the historical data.
[041] The alert module 212 may configure the controller 110 to generate a visual and/or audio alert in case the brake pad wear level is determined greater than a predefined wear threshold level. The alert module 212 may generate an alert if thickness of the brake pads 308 is determined below predefined threshold level based on the break pad wear rate and the historical data. In an embodiment, a warning notification may be displayed on an infotainment device of the input/output device 108 of the vehicle.
[042] Referring now to FIG. 5, a flowchart 500 illustrates a method of monitoring brake pad wear level in a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At step 502, the controller 110 may determine at a first time instant, an initial residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 contained in the brake fluid reservoir 304 and an initial odometer reading 118 of a vehicle. At step 504, the controller 110 may determine at a second time instant a current residual pressure of the brake fluid 305 contained in the brake fluid reservoir 304 and a current odometer reading 118 of the vehicle.
[043] Further at step 506, the controller 110 may determine a delta residual pressure based on a difference of the current residual pressure and the initial residual pressure. Further, at step 508, the controller 110 may determine a delta distance based on a difference of the current odometer reading and the initial odometer reading. At step 510, the controller 110 may determine a brake pad wear rate category based on the delta residual pressure and the delta distance. Further, at step 512, the controller may determine a brake pad wear level based on the delta residual pressure using a predefined mapping based on the brake pad wear rate category.
[044] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for the sake of clarity.
[045] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should typically be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."
[046] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
, Claims:I/We claim:
1. A method (500) for monitoring brake pad wear, comprising:
determining, by a controller (110), at a first time instant:
an initial residual pressure of a brake fluid (305) contained in a brake fluid reservoir (304) and an initial odometer reading of a vehicle,
wherein the brake fluid (305) is transmitted to a brake pad fluid reservoir (307) based on a corresponding brake pad wear;
determining, by the controller (110), at a second time instant:
a current residual pressure of the brake fluid (305) contained in the brake fluid reservoir (304) and a current odometer reading of the vehicle;
a delta residual pressure based on the current residual pressure and the initial residual pressure;
a delta distance based on the current odometer reading and the initial odometer reading;
a brake pad wear rate category based on the delta residual pressure and the delta distance; and
a brake pad wear level based on the delta residual pressure using a predefined mapping, wherein the predefined mapping is based on the brake pad wear rate category.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
generating, by the controller (110), a set of predefined mappings corresponding to the brake pad wear rate category using historical data, wherein the brake pad wear rate category comprises high, medium, and low.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
generating, by the controller (110), a brake pad wear alert in case the brake pad wear level is above a predefined wear threshold level.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
generating, by the controller (110), a brake fluid leak alert in case the delta residual pressure is greater than a predefined pressure threshold level.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the initial residual pressure and the current residual pressure of the brake fluid are determined by the controller (110) based on a height of the brake fluid (305) inside brake fluid reservoir (304) from a pressure sensor of an ESP of the vehicle.

6. A system (100) for monitoring brake pad wear, comprising:
a controller (110) configured to:
determine, an initial residual pressure of a brake fluid (305) contained in a brake fluid reservoir (304), and an initial odometer reading of a vehicle,
wherein the brake fluid is transmitted to a brake pad fluid reservoir (307) based on a corresponding brake pad wear;
determine, at a second time instant:
a current residual pressure of the brake fluid (305) contained in the brake fluid reservoir (304), and a current odometer reading of the vehicle;
a delta residual pressure based on the current residual pressure and the initial residual pressure;
a delta distance based on the current odometer reading, and the initial odometer reading;
a brake pad wear rate category based on the delta residual pressure, and the delta distance; and
a brake pad wear level based on the delta residual pressure using a predefined mapping, wherein the predefined mapping is based on the brake pad wear rate category.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controller (110) is configured to generate a set of predefined mappings corresponding to the brake pad wear rate category using historical data, wherein the brake pad wear rate category comprises high, medium, and low.

8. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controller (110) is configured to generate, a brake pad wear alert in case the brake pad wear level is above a predefined wear threshold level.

9. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controller (110) is configured to generate a brake fluid leak alert in case the delta residual pressure is greater than a predefined pressure threshold level.

10. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the initial residual pressure, and the current residual pressure of the brake fluid (305) are determined by the controller (110) based on a height of the brake fluid (305) inside brake fluid reservoir (304) whose pressure can be measured by the Pressure sensor present inside ESP hardware.