Method of detecting wear and temperature of a braking member of a vehicle, corresponding detection unit and computer program product

A method of detecting wear and temperature of a braking member of a vehicle, comprising:

• sensing resistance values of a set of detection electric circuits arranged in ordered sequence along an axis of a detection sensor, wherein each detection circuit of said set of detection electric circuits comprises a respective wear detector of the braking member, and each detection electric circuit in a subset of said set of detection electric circuits comprises a respective temperature detector of the braking member, wherein a first detection electric circuit of said set of detection electrical circuits of said ordered sequence is arranged towards a rubbing surface of said braking member and a last detection electric circuit of said set of detection electrical circuits of said ordered sequence is arranged towards a support back plate of said braking member;
• producing an N-bit binary sequence, N being a number of said detection electric circuits, wherein the bits of said N-bit binary sequence are orderly associated, from a most significant bit to a least significant bit, to said ordered sequence of said set of detection electric circuits, and wherein each bit of said N-bit binary sequence takes on a first logic value if a corresponding detection electric circuit is electrically continuous and a second logic value if the corresponding detection electric circuit is electrically interrupted;
• identifying, in said N-bit binary sequence, a most significant bit amongst the bits having said first logic value, and determining a wear degree of said braking member as a function of a position of said identified bit in said N-bit binary sequence;
• identifying, in a subset of said N-bit binary sequence corresponding to said subset of said set of detection electric circuits, a further most significant bit amongst the bits having said first logic value, and determining the temperature of said braking member as a function of a resistance of the temperature detector associated to the detection electric circuit corresponding to said further most significant bit;
• storing a set of allowable cases for said N-bit binary sequence;
• comparing said N-bit binary sequence to said stored set of allowable cases;
• and
• producing an error message if said N-bit binary sequence does not correspond to any of said stored set of allowable cases.