Vehicle brake safety system apparatus and methods

A safety system for use with a brake mechanism of a vehicle, the safety system adapted to monitor conditions at a plurality of stations at the vehicle to determine whether vehicle movement should be permitted, the safety system comprising:

• a management mechanism adapted to apply the brake mechanism to inhibit vehicle movement;
• a plurality of sensors adapted to be at stations in the vehicle and adapted to sense conditions at the stations;
• a solid-state controller operatively connected to the management mechanism and to the plurality of sensors, wherein the controller is adapted to receive signals from the plurality of sensors and, in response to signals from the plurality of sensors indicating a condition that is unsafe for vehicle movement, to actuate the management mechanism to apply the brakes, wherein the vehicle comprises a hydraulic master cylinder having a piston for increasing brake fluid pressure in a brake fluid line connected to a hydraulic brake mechanism, and a primary piston rod operated by a foot pedal in a driver's cab for powering the piston, wherein the management mechanism comprises a secondary piston rod in the master cylinder adapted to move the piston to increase hydraulic brake fluid in the brake fluid line, and an actuator for powering the secondary piston rod.

A safety system for use with a brake mechanism of a vehicle, the safety system adapted to monitor conditions at a plurality of stations at the vehicle to determine whether vehicle movement should be permitted, the safety system comprising:

• a management mechanism adapted to apply the brake mechanism to inhibit vehicle movement;
• a plurality of sensors adapted to be at stations in the vehicle and adapted to sense conditions at the stations;
• a solid-state controller operatively connected to the management mechanism and to the plurality of sensors, wherein the controller is adapted to receive signals from the plurality of sensors and, in response to signals from the plurality of sensors indicating a condition that is unsafe for vehicle movement, to actuate the management mechanism to apply the brakes, wherein one of said plurality of sensors is a vehicle motion sensor, and wherein the controller does not actuate the management mechanism to apply the brake mechanism if the vehicle motion sensor signals the controller that the vehicle is moving above a certain speed.

A safety system for use with a brake mechanism of a vehicle, the safety system adapted to monitor conditions at a plurality of stations at the vehicle to determine whether vehicle movement should be permitted, the safety system comprising:

• a management mechanism adapted to apply the brake mechanism to inhibit vehicle movement;
• a plurality of sensors adapted to be at stations in the vehicle and adapted to sense conditions at the stations;
• a solid-state controller operatively connected to the management mechanism and to the plurality of sensors, wherein the controller is adapted to receive signals from the plurality of sensors and, in response to signals from the plurality of sensors indicating a condition that is unsafe for vehicle movement, to actuate the management mechanism to apply the brakes, wherein the controller comprises a signal validation circuit that validates signals from the sensors for acceptance by the controller only if the signals arrive at the controller, uninterrupted, for a predetermined minimum duration of time.

A method of controlling brakes in a vehicle comprising:

• providing a plurality of sensors at locations on the vehicle, the sensors adapted to sense conditions the make vehicle movement unsafe;
• providing a controller that responds, to signals from the plurality of sensors indicating an unsafe condition, by actuating a management mechanism that applies vehicle brakes;
• wherein the controller validates the signals from the plurality of sensors after the signals are uninterrupted for a certain amount of time and wherein the controller only actuates the management mechanism in response to validated signals.