Description:DESCRIPTION
Technical Field
[001] This disclosure relates generally to braking systems in automobiles, and more particularly to method and system for detecting brake system faults.
BACKGROUND
[001] Braking system in a vehicle may comprise different types of brakes, such as drum brakes, disc brakes, etc. Braking system is critical to vehicle safety, therefore, required effective monitoring. The effectiveness of the braking system may reduce due to various factors such as wear and tear of various components such as seals, boots, pistons etc. leading to leakage of braking fluid, and leakage of vacuum in booster assembly which in turn may lead to hardening of the brake pedal and so on. Also, operations-related failures such as heat, and water splashing on friction pad lead to brake ineffectiveness.
[002] Tracking the effectiveness of the braking system becomes essential in order to avoid any injury and damage to the driver, passengers and pedestrians. Conventional brake system failure tracking systems include various sensors attached to hydraulic brake lines to indicate the failure of the brake system once happened. However, the monitoring of failure of braking by using sensors does not provide sufficient time for the driver to be alerted to take any corrective action.
[003] In a brake system, many of the failures are progressive i.e. the failure are caused due to wear and tear over period of operation before leading to a sudden or absolute failure. Therefore, it is imperative to take a pre-emptive action based on the onset of failure to avoid accidents as a result of a failure of the braking components. Thus, there is a requirement for an effective fault detecting and monitoring system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an embodiment, a method of detecting brake system faults is provided. A controller of a vehicle may perform the method to determine braking characteristic of a braking system of the vehicle over a predefined period. In an embodiment, the braking characteristic may be determined by recording one or more braking instances over the predefined period. In an embodiment, each of the one or more braking instances may include recording a brake pedal travel distance based on a brake force exerted on a brake pedal and a corresponding deceleration force that may be exerted by the braking system as a result of the brake force. The method may further include detecting a type of brake system fault from a plurality of brake system faults based on a deviation of the braking characteristic with respect to a safe-braking cluster. The method may further include determining a direction of the deviation with respect to the safe-braking cluster. In an embodiment the direction of the deviation of the braking characteristic from the safe-braking cluster may correspond to at least one of the plurality of brake system faults. In an embodiment, the safe-braking cluster may be determined based on historical braking data. The method may further include determining a severity of the type of brake system fault based on the deviation.
In another embodiment, a system of detecting brake system faults is disclosed. The system may include a controller which may determine braking characteristic of a braking system of a vehicle over a predefined period. In an embodiment, the braking characteristic may be determined by recording one or more braking instances over the predefined period. In an embodiment, each of the one or more braking instances may include a brake pedal travel distance based on a brake force which may be exerted on a brake pedal and a corresponding deceleration force which may be exerted by the braking system as a result of the brake force. The controller may further detect a type of brake system fault from a plurality of brake system faults based on a deviation of the braking characteristic with respect to a safe-braking cluster. The controller may further determine a direction of the deviation with respect to the safe-braking cluster. In an embodiment the direction of the deviation of the braking characteristic from the safe-braking cluster may correspond to at least one of the plurality of brake system faults. In an embodiment, the safe-braking cluster may be determined based on historical braking data. The controller may further determine a severity of the type of brake system fault based on the deviation.
[002] 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 DRAWINGS
[003] 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.
[004] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a brake fault detection system, in accordance with an embodiment of the current disclosure.
[005] FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of the fault detection device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[006] FIG. 3A illustrates a plot of historical braking data, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[007] FIG. 3B illustrates illustrates a plot of braking characteristics with respect to the plot of historical braking data, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[008] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method of detecting brake system faults, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[009] 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 that, such 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.
[010] The terms "including", "comprises", "comprising", "comprising of" 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.
[011] Presently, in addition to conventional practices, sensors can be installed in various braking components to track the working and effectiveness of the braking components and alert a driver in case of failure of the components. However, the alert generated may not give enough time to the driver to take preventive action to avoid an accident. Therefore, the present invention provides a brake fault detection device for detecting a type of brake fault efficiently and initiating preventive actions in time to minimize the chances of accidents.
[012] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram indicating a brake fault detection system 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the current disclosure. The brake fault detection system 100 may include a fault detection device 102 also interchangeably referred to as a brake fault detection device 102. By way of an example, the fault 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 fault detection device 102 may be communicatively coupled to a controller 110 which in turn may be connected to an engine electronic control unit (ECU) 118 of an engine management system (EMS), an ABS/ESP ECU 120 and a DTC register 122 of a vehicle (not shown) and electronic stability program ECU through a wireless or wired communication network or a combination of both. In an embodiment, the ABS/ESP ECU 120 may be connected to the braking system 114 through a wired connection.
[013] 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 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.
[014] The fault detection device 102 may also comprise input/output devices 108. In an embodiment, an input/output device 108 may be configured to receive inputs from a user 116 in form of, but not limited to, touch, gaze, gesture, voice commands, etc. In an embodiment, the input/output device 108 may be configured to provide output to the user 116 in 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 fault detection device 102 through wireless network interfaces 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 fault 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.
[015] The fault detection device 102 may comprise one or more processors 104. The one or more processor(s) 104 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, single board computer, 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, the one or more processor(s) 104 are configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory 106 of the fault 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. 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 brake fault detection system 100. In an embodiment, the fault detection device 102 may be connected to a cloud server comprising the one or more processors 104 and the memory 106 in form of a cloud database.
[016] In an embodiment, the controller 110 may be connected to a braking system 114 of the vehicle through the ABS/ESP ECU 120. In an embodiment, the functions of the controller 110 may interchangeably be performed by the processor 104. The braking system 114 may include various types of brakes such as but not limited to, disc brakes, drum brakes, etc. A brake force may be applied by a user 116 on a brake pedal 112. The pedal 112 may be connected to a master cylinder of a hydraulic brake system having brake fluid in the braking system 114. The brake force may lead to depression of pedal 112, the pedal 122 in turn may be connected to the piston of the master cylinder of the hydraulic brake system. Based on the brake force, pedal 112 may travel a distance leading to the movement of the piston, which in turn may transmit hydraulic pressure to the various brakes such as, but not limited to, disc brake and/or drum brake via a friction material i.e. pad or liner respectively. Accordingly, the vehicle may be decelerated due to the brake pressure. In an exemplary scenario, due to some leakage in the hydraulic brake system or wear and tear of the friction material in the brakes or the pedal 112, the brake force exerted by the driver on the pedal 112 may not be transmitted effectively to the brake system 114.
[017] In an embodiment, one or more sensors may be associated with the pedal 112 and the braking system 114 to determine braking data in a braking instance. The one or more sensors may determine the braking data such as, but not limited to, brake force exerted by the user 116 on the pedal 112 and the position of the pedal 112 or the distance travelled by the pedal 112 based on the brake force. The one or more sensors may further determine a deceleration of the vehicle as braking data, based on the brake force exerted on the pedal 112. 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 transmit the braking data and the vehicle information to the fault detection device 102.
[018] Accordingly, the fault detection device 102 may determine braking characteristics by recording braking data for braking instances detected over a pre-defined period of time or for a pre-defined distance traveled by the vehicle. The fault detection device 102 may determine the braking characteristic based on the recorded braking data and the vehicle information. In an embodiment, the fault detection device 102 may determine a plot of the braking characteristic of the vehicle based on recorded braking data for braking instances detected over the pre-defined period of time or for the pre-defined distance travelled by the vehicle.
[019] The fault detection device 102 may determine a historical braking data of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the historical braking data may be determined based on historical braking data and historical vehicle information of the historical braking instances which may be recorded by the controller 110 from the one or more sensors previously. In an embodiment, the historical braking data may be pre-stored in the memory 106 of the fault detection device 102. In an embodiment, the historical braking data may comprise of braking data recorded for a pre-defined historical period. In an embodiment, a plot of the historical braking data may be determined by plotting the historical brake pedal travel distance versus the corresponding historical deceleration force for each of the historical braking instances recorded for the pre-defined historical period in order to train the controller 110. From, the plot a safe-braking cluster may be determined by determining a lower threshold, an upper threshold and a median of the historical braking data. In an embodiment, the safe-braking cluster may be pre-defined based on the pre-stored historical braking data in the memory 106. In an embodiment, the safe-braking cluster may be pre-defined by an OEM during the manufacturing of vehicle based on the vehicle properties such as vehicle type, engine type, etc. In an embodiment, the fault detection device 102 may determine one or more predetermined clusters each relating to a brake failure zone from a plurality of brake failure zones which may be pre-defined. Each of the one or more predetermined clusters may relate to a brake failure zone and may be determined based on the safe braking cluster. In an embodiment, the plurality of brake failure zones may be predefined in the fault detection device 102 may include, but not limited to, a blue zone, an orange zone and a red zone. In an embodiment, the plurality of brake system faults may be pre-defined such as, but not limited to, pedal hard, brake ineffective, brake aggressive, and/or pedal spongy.
[020] In an embodiment, the fault detection device 102 may determine a type of brake system fault based on a direction of deviation of the braking characteristic on the plot with respect to the safe-braking cluster. In general, a direction of deviation of a median of the current braking characteristic with respect to the median of the historical braking characteristic may be determined to determine a type of brake system fault depicted by the braking system 114. In an embodiment, a plurality of regions may be defined in the plot with respect to the median of the safe-braking cluster in 360° defining a plurality of angular regions each depicting a type of brake system fault. In an exemplary embodiment, each angular region may extend for a pre-defined angle with respect to a point on the median of the safe-braking cluster. Further, in case, the mapping of the direction of deviation of the braking characteristic with respect the plurality of angular regions may depict a type of brake system fault.
[021] In an embodiment, a plurality of brake failure zones or fault zones may be pre-defined and saved in the memory 106. The plurality of predefined brake failure zone may include, but not limited to, a blue zone, an orange zone or a red zone.
[022] Further, the fault detection device 102 may determine a severity of the type of brake fault based on an amount of deviation of the braking characteristic from the safe-braking cluster. In an embodiment, the one or more predetermined clusters in which the braking characteristic map may depict a brake failure zone of the braking characteristic.
[023] In an embodiment, based on the detection of the brake failure zone of the braking characteristic, the fault detection device 102 may transmit a control signal to the controller 110 or the input/output unit 108 in order to take a preventive action based on the severity of the type of brake system fault detected.
[024] In an embodiment, an action may be predefined for each of the predefined brake failure zones. In an exemplary embodiment, in case the brake failure zone for the braking characteristic is determined to be a blue zone then the fault detection device 102 may generate a control signal for the controller 110 to register braking data of the braking characteristic, the type of braking fault and the severity of the braking fault in the DTC register 112 of the ECU of the vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, in case the braking failure zone for the braking characteristic is determined to be an orange zone then the fault detection device 102 may generate a sound notification and/or a visual notification outputted from the input/output device 108. In an embodiment, the input/output device 108 may include one or more speakers to play a sound notification. In an embodiment, the input/output device 108 may include a display screen to display a visual notification. In an exemplary embodiment, in case the brake failure zone for the braking characteristic is determined to be a red zone then the fault detection device 102 may generate a control signal for the controller 110 to deactivate acceleration or reduce power to engine of the vehicle by sending control signals to the engine ECU 118 and activate ABS/ESP system by sending control signals to the ABS / ESP ECU 120. In an embodiment, the ABS / ESP ECU 120 may be signaled to pump and pressure up the brake system 114 and keep it ready for next brake application. Or cycle the brake oil by dumping the oil in a sink and re-circulating the brake oil, to reduce the brake fluid temperature and maintain the brake oil in fluid state.
[025] In an embodiment, controller 110 may 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 input signals read from the vehicle components or industrial devices or sensors, etc.
[026] In an embodiment, the fault detection device 102 may assign a level of severity to the type of brake system fault detected. Based on the level of severity the brake failure zone may be determined. Each brake failure zone may correspond to a predefined range of deviation amount of the braking characteristic with respect to the safe-braking cluster. Accordingly, a higher level of severity may depict a red zone, and a low level of severity may depict a blue zone. In an embodiment, the level of severity may also be dependent on the vehicle information detected by the controller 110 in real time.
[027] Referring now to FIG. 2, a functional block diagram 200 of the fault detection device 102 is illustrated. In some embodiments, the fault detection device 102 may include a sensor module 202, a characterization module 204, a history characterization module 206, a clustering module 208, a failure type determination module 210, a severity determination module 212, a brake failure zone determination module 214 and a preventive action module 216.
[028] The sensor module 202 may capture vehicle information from one or more sensors associated to the vehicle. The sensors may include, but not limited to, pedal travel sensors, pressure sensors, hall sensors, speed sensors, torque sensors, weight sensors, voltage sensors, gas sensors, GPS sensors, parking sensors, etc. In an embodiment, the vehicle information captured by the sensor module 202 may include, but not limited to, position information, altitude information, distance traveled, speed information, etc.
[029] The characterization module 204 may detect the braking instances based on the vehicle information captured by the sensing module 202. The characterization module 204 may record braking instances for a pre-defined period of time for which the vehicle is monitored. In an embodiment, the characterization module 204 may record braking instances for a pre-defined distance traveled by the vehicle. For each of the braking instances detected during the pre-defined period of time or the pre-defined distance traveled, braking data may be captured by the characterization module 204. The braking data for each braking instance may include, a brake pedal travel distance traveled by the pedal 112 based on a force applied on the brake pedal 112 by the user 116 and the corresponding deceleration force exerted by the braking system 114. The characterization module 204 may characterize braking characteristics as shown in FIG. 3B, by plotting the braking data of each braking instance captured for the predefined period of time.
[030] The characterization module 204 may comprise a history characterization module 206 and a clustering module 208. The history characterization module 206 may characterize historical braking data by determining a plot. In an embodiment, the historical braking data may include historical braking data saved in the memory 116 which may include historical braking instances detected for a predefined historical time period. In an embodiment, the predefined historical time period may be the lifetime of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the plot of the historical braking data may include plotting historical pedal travel distance and the corresponding historical deceleration force for each of the historical braking instances captured during the historical predefined time period.
[031] FIG. 3A illustrates a plot 300A of the historical braking data, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The plot 300A may be generated by the history characterization module 206 by plotting historical pedal travel distance vs. historical deceleration force for each historical braking instance captured during the historical time period. In an embodiment, the historical pedal travel distance may be plotted on the x-axis and may be determined in mm and the deceleration force may be plotted on the y-axis and determined in gravity units. In an embodiment, the clustering module 208 may determine a median 302 of the plot 300A, a lower threshold level 304 and an upper threshold 306. Based on the lower threshold 304, the upper threshold 306 and the median 302, the clustering module 208 may define a safe-braking cluster 308. The safe-braking cluster 308 may characterize a region in the plot 300A which may correspond to braking instances that may be considered as normal braking instances and the braking system 114 may be considered to not depict any brake system fault. The clustering module 208 may define one or more clusters based on the safe-braking cluster 308 or the lower threshold 304, the upper threshold 306 and the median 302. Each of the one or more clusters may correspond to a brake failure zone from the plurality of brake failure zones pre-defined by the fault detection device 102. In an embodiment, the plurality of brake failure zones may include a blue zone 322, an orange zone 324 or a red zone 326 as depicted in plot 300A of historical braking data, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an the safe-braking cluster 308 may be pre-defined in the fault detection system 102. The clustering module 208 may define one or more clusters each corresponding to one of a plurality of brake failure zones, based on the safe-braking cluster. As shown in FIG. 3A, the one or more clusters may correspond to a blue zone 322, an orange zone 324 and/or a red zone 326.
[032] FIG. 3B illustrates a plot of braking characteristics with respect to the plot of historical braking data, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[033] In an embodiment, a plurality of brake system fault types may be pre-defined in the fault detection system 102. The plurality of brake system faults may include, but not limited to, a pedal spongy fault, a brake aggressive fault, a brake ineffective fault and a pedal hard fault, etc. The failure type determination module 210 may map the braking characteristic 318 determined by the characterization module 204 during the predefined period on the plot 300B and determine a median 320 of the braking characteristic 318. The failure type determination module 210 may then determine a direction of deviation of the median 320 from the median 302 in order to determine a type of brake system fault as described earlier. In an embodiment, a plurality of directions may be predefined with respect to a type of brake system fault. For example, in case the median 320 may deviate diagonally upwards as illustrated by arrow 312, a brake aggressive fault type may be determined. In an embodiment, in case the median 320 may deviate towards the positive x-axis as illustrated by arrow 310, a pedal spongy fault type may be determined. In an embodiment, in case the median 320 may deviate towards the negative y-axis as illustrated by arrow 316, a pedal hard fault type may be determined. In an embodiment, in case the median 320 may deviate diagonally towards the negative y-axis and positive x-axis as illustrated by arrow 314, a brake ineffective fault type may be determined.
[034] The severity determination module 212 may determine the severity of the brake system fault depicted by the braking characteristic 318. The severity of the brake system fault may be determined based on a deviation amount of the median 320 of braking characteristic 318 from the median 302 of safe-braking cluster 302. Accordingly, the brake failure zone determination module 214 may determine a brake failure zone of the braking characteristic 318 based on the severity of the brake system fault determined by the severity determination module 212. In an embodiment, a plurality of clusters may be predefined by the fault detection device 102 corresponding to a blue zone 322, an orange zone 324 and a red zone 326. Accordingly, the brake failure zone determination module 214 may determine the braking characteristic to be one of a blue zone 322, an orange zone 324 or a red zone 326, based on the severity of the brake system fault determined.
[035] The preventive action module 216 may accordingly generate one or more control signals based on the brake failure zone determined by the brake failure zone determination module 214 for the braking characteristic 318. The preventive action module 216 may generate a control signal for the controller 110 to register braking data of the braking characteristic 318 in the DTC register 112 of the ECU of the vehicle, in case the brake failure zone is determined to be a blue zone 322. In an embodiment, the preventive action module 216 may generate a control signal for the fault detection device 102 to generate a sound notification and/or a visual notification outputted from the input/output unit 108 in case the brake failure zone for the braking characteristic 318 is determined to be an orange zone 324. In an embodiment, the preventive action module 216 may generate a control signal for the controller 110 to deactivate acceleration of the vehicle by sending control signals to the engine ECU 118 and activate ABS/ESP system by sending control signals to the ABS / ESP ECU 120, in case the brake failure zone for braking characteristic 318 is determined to be a red zone 326.
[036] In an embodiment, the preventive actions taken by the preventive action module 216 may not be limited to the ones defined above, other preventive actions may be taken as per regulations of the automobile industry.
[037] Referring now to FIG. 4, a flowchart 400 illustrates a method of detecting brake system faults, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[038] FIG. 4 is explained in conjunction with FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. Each step of the flowchart 400 may be executed by various modules, same as the modules of the fault detection device 102.
[039] At step 402, a controller 110 may determine braking characteristics of a braking system of a vehicle over a predefined period. In an embodiment, the braking characteristic 318 may be determined by recording one or more braking instances over the predefined period. In an embodiment, each of the one or more braking instances may include a brake pedal travel distance based on a brake force exerted on a brake pedal 112 and a corresponding deceleration force exerted by the braking system 114 as a result of the brake force. In an embodiment, the braking characteristic 318 for the one or more braking instances detected over the predefined period may be plotted as depicted in FIG. 3B.
[040] At step 404, a type of brake system fault from a plurality of brake system faults may be determined based on a deviation of the braking characteristic with respect to a safe-braking cluster.
[041] At step 406, a direction of the deviation with respect to the safe-braking cluster 308 may be determined. In an embodiment, wherein the direction of the deviation corresponds to at least one of the plurality of brake system faults. In an embodiment, the safe-braking cluster 308 may be determined based on historical braking data.
[042] At step 408, a severity of the type of brake system fault may be determined.
[043] At step 410, based on the severity of the type of brake system fault, a brake failure zone may be determined as one of a blue zone 322, an orange zone 324 or a red zone 326.
[044] At step 412, in case the brake failure zone is determined to be blue zone 322, the preventive action module 216 may generate a control signal for the controller 110 to register braking data of the braking characteristic, the type of braking fault and the severity of the braking fault in the DTC register 112 of the ECU of the vehicle.
[001] At step 414, in case the brake failure zone is determined to be orange zone 324, the preventive action module 216 may generate a control signal for the fault detection device 102 to generate a sound notification and/or a visual notification outputted from the input/output unit 108.
[002] In an embodiment, At step 416, in case the brake failure zone is determined to be red zone 326, the preventive action module 216 may generate a control signal for the controller 110 to deactivate acceleration of the vehicle by sending control signals to the engine ECU 118 and activate ABS/ESP system by sending control signals to the ABS / ESP ECU 120.
[003] 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 sake of clarity.
[004] 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."
[005] In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.
[006] 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:
CLAIMS
I/We Claim:

1. A method (400) of detecting brake system faults, comprising:
determining (402), by a controller (110), braking characteristic (318) of a braking system (114) of a vehicle over a predefined period,
wherein the braking characteristic (318) is determined by recording one or more braking instances over the predefined period, and
wherein each of the one or more braking instances comprising a brake pedal travel distance based on a brake force exerted on a brake pedal (112) and a corresponding deceleration force exerted by the braking system (114) as a result of the brake force;
detecting, by the controller (110), a type of brake system fault from a plurality of brake system faults based on a deviation of the braking characteristic with respect to a safe-braking cluster (308);
determining, by the controller (110), a direction of the deviation with respect to the safe-braking cluster (308),
wherein the direction of the deviation corresponds to at least one of the plurality of brake system faults,
wherein the safe-braking cluster (308) is determined based on historical braking data; and
determining (412), by the controller (110), a severity of the type of brake system fault based on the deviation.

2. The method (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining the braking characteristic (318) comprises plotting the brake pedal travel distance and the corresponding deceleration for each of the one or more braking instances recorded over the predefined period.

3. The method (400) as claimed in claim 1, comprising determining, by the controller (110), a plot (300A) of the historical braking data by plotting historical brake pedal travel distance and a corresponding historical deacceleration force for each historical braking instances from the historical braking data.

4. The method (400) as claimed in claim 3, comprising:
determining, by the controller (110), a lower threshold (304), an upper threshold (306), and a median (302) from the plot (300A);
identifying a safe braking cluster (308) in the plot (300A) based on the lower threshold (304), the upper threshold (306), and the median (302).

5. The method (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of brake system faults comprises a pedal spongy fault (310), a brake aggressive fault (312), a brake ineffective fault (314) and a pedal hard fault (316).

6. The method (400) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the severity of the type of brake system fault is determined, by the controller (110), by determining an amount of the deviation of a median (320) of the braking characteristic (318) from the median (302).

7. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, comprising determining, by the controller (110), a brake failure zone from at least one of: a blue zone (322), an orange zone (324) or a red zone (326) based on the severity of the type of brake system fault.

8. The method (400) as claimed in claim 7, comprising:
registering, by the controller (110), the type of brake system fault and the severity of the type of brake system fault in a memory (122) of the controller (110), in case the brake failure zone is determined as the blue zone (322).

9. The method (400) as claimed in claim 7, comprising:
generating an alert notification, by the controller (110), in case the brake failure zone is determined as the orange zone (324).

10. The method (400) as claimed in claim 7, comprising:
disabling acceleration of the vehicle, by the controller (110), in case the brake failure zone is determined as the red zone (326).

11. A system (100) of detecting brake system faults, comprising:
a controller (110) configured to:
determine braking characteristic (318) of a braking system (114) of a vehicle over a predefined period,
wherein the braking characteristic (318) is determined by recording one or more braking instances over the predefined period, and
wherein each of the one or more braking instances comprises a brake pedal travel distance based on a brake force exerted on a brake pedal (112) and a corresponding deceleration force exerted by the braking system (114) as a result of the brake force;
detect a type of brake system fault from a plurality of brake system faults based on a deviation of the braking characteristic (318) with respect to a safe-braking cluster (308);
determine a direction of the deviation with respect to the safe-braking cluster (308),
wherein the direction of the deviation corresponds to at least one of the plurality of brake system faults, and
wherein the safe-braking cluster (308) are determined based on historical braking data; and
determine a severity of the type of brake system fault based on the deviation.

12. The system (100) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the controller (110) is configured to determine the braking characteristic (318) by plotting the brake pedal travel distance and the corresponding deceleration for each of the one or more braking instance recorded over the predefined period.

13. The system (100) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the controller (110) is configured to determine a plot (300A) of the historical braking data by plotting historical brake pedal travel distance and a corresponding historical deacceleration force for each of historical braking instances from the historical braking data.

14. The system (100) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the controller (110) is configured to:
determine a lower threshold (304), an upper threshold (306), and a median (302) from the plot (300A);
identify a safe-braking cluster (308) in the plot (300A) based on the lower threshold (304), the upper threshold (306), and the median (302).

15. The system (100) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the plurality of brake system faults comprises a pedal spongy fault (310), a brake aggressive fault (312), a brake ineffective fault (314) and a pedal hard fault (316).

16. The system (100) as claimed in claim 15, wherein the controller (110) is configured to determine the severity of the type of brake system fault by determining an amount of the deviation of a median (320) of the braking characteristic (318) from the median (302).

17. The system (100) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the controller (110) is configured to determine a brake failure zone from at least one of: a blue zone (322), an orange zone (324) or a red zone (326) based on the severity of the type of brake system fault.

18. The system (100) as claimed in claim 17, wherein the controller (110) is configured to:
register the type of brake system fault and the severity of the type of brake system fault in a memory (122) of the controller (110) in case the brake failure zone is determined as the blue zone (322).

19. The system (100) as claimed in claim 17, wherein the controller (110) is configured to:
generate an alert notification in case the brake failure zone is determined as the orange zone (324).

20. The system (100) as claimed in claim 17, wherein the controller (110) is configured to:
disable acceleration of the vehicle in case the brake failure zone is determined as the red zone (326).