Method and system for detecting and providing information representative of particulate emissions due to use of brake system of vehicle

Abstract

A method for detecting particulate matter emissions due to the use of a braking system of a vehicle and providing information representative of said particulate matter emissions, comprises the steps of: during the travel of the vehicle:-acquiring, by means of a portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle, identification data of the vehicle entered by the driver of the vehicle; -acquiring driving data (DG) of the vehicle during the travel of the vehicle by means of a plurality of sensors of a portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle; storing, by means of at least one data processing module of the portable electronic device in the vehicle, the acquired driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) in at least one memory module of the portable electronic device in the vehicle as a first time sequence (S-DG) of points, in which points the driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) are stored, each point has respective driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) associated with that point; -transmitting, by means of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle, driving data (DG) of the vehicle stored as a first time sequence (S-DG) in at least one memory module of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle to the remote computer; -performing, by a data processing unit of the remote computer (200), a first process on the received driving data (DG) of the vehicle to determine a representation of the driving data (DG) of the vehicle as a second time series (S-EF) of points, each point representing an actual braking event (EF), each point having a respective driving data (DG) of the vehicle associated with that point; for each braking event represented by the points of the second time series (S-EF), the method comprises the following steps: performing, by a data processing unit of the remote computer (200), the following:-by applying a first physical quantity (G1; tR) on the basis of a first calculation module (M1) for calculating the first physical quantity (G1; tR) of the vehicle, a first subset (S1) of driving data (DG) of the vehicle in a point of a second time series (S-EF) corresponding to the braking event (EF) and one or more of a plurality of information (PI) from a source external to the remote computer (200) and the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle, the plurality of pieces of information (PI) include first information indicating an environment in which the vehicle travels, second information (I2) indicating a road condition in which the vehicle travels, and third manufacturing information (I3) of the vehicle (1); -applying a second physical quantity (G2; G3) for the brake system of the vehicle; tR) for determining a second physical quantity (G2; TR) on the basis of a second determination calculation module (M2) for determining the second physical quantity (G2; tR) for determining: a second subset (S2) of driving data (DG) of the vehicle in a point of a second time series (S-EF) corresponding to the braking event (EF) and one or more of a plurality of information (PI) from a source external to the remote computer (200) and the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle; by applying a third calculation module (M3) for particulate emissions (EP); determining one or more values representative of particulate matter emissions (EP) due to a braking event (EF) based on: a third subset (S3) of driving data (DG) of the vehicle in points of a second time series (S-EF) corresponding to the braking event (EF), a value (PR) of a first physical quantity of the vehicle braking system, a value (TR) of a second physical quantity of the braking system, and a second subset of driving data (DG) of the vehicle in points of a second time series (S-EF) corresponding to the braking event (EF); and one or more of a plurality of information (PI) from a source external to the portable electronic device (2) in the remote computer (200) and the vehicle; -providing the driver with the aid of a portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle the determined one or more values representative of the particulate emissions (EP) due to the braking event (EF).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and an associated system for detecting particulate matter emissions resulting from use of a vehicle's braking system and providing information representative of the particulate matter emissions. Background Art

[0002] For some time, the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been working to reduce particulate matter emissions (EP) by providing guidelines, regulations and standards.

[0003] Road transport is certainly one of the sectors where some of the largest sources of particulate matter can be identified.

[0004] In this area, the main regulatory and technical efforts in recent years have focused on reducing exhaust emissions due to exhaust gas, while few measures have been taken to limit so-called non-exhaust emissions, such as those originating from brake wear (where particulate matter is caused by material wear due to sliding contact between brake pads and brake discs during braking) and tire wear.

[0005] Non-exhaust emissions depend on the technology, i.e. the materials used and the overall configuration of the brake system, on the one hand, and on the driver's braking style on the other.

[0006] In fact, from this point of view, it has been demonstrated that certain parameters that are exclusively controlled by the driver, such as the pressure applied to the braking system by means of the brake pedal and the braking speed, significantly influence the particle emissions of the braking system.

[0007] Therefore, a very promising approach for reducing wear emissions from the entire brake system consists in focusing on driving style and braking method in addition to design and structural improvements of the brake system. In fact, with the same brake system, particulate emissions can vary greatly depending on driving style and the driver's braking method.

[0008] It would therefore be desirable to have the option of utilizing a method for "teaching" the driver how to brake properly to reduce emissions, based on the ability to provide the driver with information about the braking method and the resulting impact on particulate matter emissions, even in real time while driving.

[0009] In this regard, currently known solutions are to characterize the driving style in terms of efficiency in reducing non-exhaust emissions, for example by making the driver pay attention to his braking behavior in order to reduce non-exhaust emissions caused by the braking action of the braking system.

[0010] For example, methods are known which calculate the particle emissions of a braking system by modeling the braking system itself with the aid of a semi-empirical algorithm derived starting from its dynamic bench characteristics.

[0011] Operationally, such methods are based on the presence of physical sensors in the vehicle for measuring physical quantities required to estimate the emission level of the braking system, such as vehicle speed, and / or vehicle acceleration / deceleration, and / or vehicle braking system temperature, and / or brake pressure, and / or vehicle motor torque, and / or brake torque, vehicle inclination.

[0012] These sensors transmit the detected physical quantities to a control unit of the vehicle, which is configured to: execute the aforementioned pre-stored algorithm to provide information representing the particulate matter emissions caused by the use of the vehicle's braking system, for example, to provide an index proportional to the particulate matter emissions estimated based on the applied model, which index can be displayed by the driver on an on-board computer or other electronic device in the passenger compartment.

[0013] These implementation methods also have drawbacks.

[0014] Firstly, the fact that the above algorithm must necessarily be stored in the control unit of the vehicle means that the vehicle must be taken to a dedicated centre during installation, which means that the vehicle cannot be used during the configuration period.

[0015] Furthermore, the fact that the above algorithms reside physically on the vehicle requires that any software updates must be performed manually at an authorized center.

[0016] Therefore, in addition to the vehicle being out of service during the entire period during which the authorized center carries out the update, it is inevitable that there are often algorithms in the control unit that are not always updated to the latest version, with the risk of experiencing a reduction in the accuracy and precision of the implemented method. In practice, updates are performed to make corrective or ameliorative changes, as well as to adapt to new market trends or comply with the introduction of new regulations. Frequent updates are therefore preferred.

[0017] Furthermore, the versatility of the above methods is severely limited by the fact that the accuracy of the available algorithms increases with the specificity of the vehicle parameters that depend on the vehicle itself (characterized by brand and model) and the corresponding braking system (characterized by size, material, etc.), while unfortunately these parameters, as well as the installed physical sensors and the corresponding accuracy, vary from vehicle to vehicle.

[0018] Furthermore, each control unit with which a vehicle is equipped has specific software characteristics (firmware), and it is inconceivable to install specific algorithms in each control unit based on the technical specifications of the individual vehicle in question.

[0019] Therefore, to date, for implementation on any vehicle, the algorithms available in the above-mentioned methods of the related art are limited to utilizing physical quantities detectable by a very limited set of physical sensors present on average on most vehicles.

[0020] Finally, if additional physical sensors are required in addition to the sensors already installed on the vehicle and connected to the control unit (if not directly present in the control unit), the configuration or update time will be increased (and thus increase vehicle downtime), inevitably leading to avoiding configuring the vehicle to make the above method implementable.

[0021] In view of the foregoing, there is a strong need today for methods and systems for detecting particulate matter emissions caused by the use of a vehicle's braking system and providing information representative of said particulate matter emissions so as to allow drivers to improve their driving and braking style to reduce the vehicle's non-exhaust emissions, these methods and systems being more accurate, precise, versatile and capable of being continuously updated in a simple and timely manner. Summary of the invention

[0022] The object of the present invention is to design and provide a method for detecting particulate matter emissions caused by the use of a vehicle's braking system and providing information representing said particulate matter emissions, which method can at least partially eliminate the shortcomings mentioned in the above-mentioned reference related technology, and in particular, the method allows the driver to improve his driving and braking methods to reduce the vehicle's non-exhaust emissions. The method is more accurate, precise, versatile and can be continuously updated in a simple and timely manner.

[0023] This object is achieved by a method for detecting particle emissions caused by the use of a braking system of a vehicle and for providing information representative of said particle emissions according to claim 1 .

[0024] The invention also relates to a system for detecting particle emissions caused by the use of a vehicle's braking system and for providing information representative of said particle emissions, said system being suitable for implementing the above-mentioned method.

[0025] Further advantageous embodiments of the method and the system are the subject matter of the respective dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Further characteristics and advantages of the method and system of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment given by way of indicative, non-limiting example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0027] - Figure 1A method according to the invention for detecting particle emissions caused by the use of a braking system of a vehicle and for providing information representative of the particle emissions is shown with the aid of a block diagram;

[0028] - Figure 2 A system according to the invention for detecting particle emissions caused by the use of a vehicle's braking system and providing information representative of said particle emissions is shown from a logical point of view with the aid of a functional block diagram;

[0029] - Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The components of the system for the present invention are shown from a logical point of view with the help of corresponding functional block diagrams;

[0030] - Figure 6 The sequence of operations performed by components of the system of the present invention is illustrated with the aid of block diagrams;

[0031] - Figure 7 shows an example of a user interface included in the system of the present invention for displaying to a user information indicating particulate matter emissions caused by use of a vehicle's braking system, and

[0032] - Figure 8 The method according to the invention for detecting particle emissions caused by the use of a braking system of a vehicle and for providing information representing the particle emissions is illustrated with the aid of a block diagram.

[0033] It is noted that the same numerical or alphanumeric references will be utilized to indicate the same or similar elements in the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Referring now to the aforementioned figures, reference numeral 100 designates a system as a whole for detecting particulate matter emissions caused by use of a vehicle's braking system and providing information representative of said particulate matter emissions according to the present invention, hereinafter also referred to as a detection and providing system or simply as a system.

[0035] For the purposes of this specification, "vehicle" means any vehicle or motor vehicle, including commercial vehicles or motor vehicles, having two, three, four or more wheels, Figure 1 It is shown schematically only and is indicated as a whole by reference numeral 1.

[0036] Furthermore, by “brake system” is meant the totality of all components (mechanical and / or electric or electronic, also including brake fluid) which contribute to producing the service brakes of the vehicle or to producing the parking brakes of the vehicle.

[0037] Reference Figure 1The system 100 includes a portable electronic device 2 in a carrier, which is also referred to as the portable electronic device 2 hereinafter.

[0038] The portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle is a portable electronic device of the driver (e.g., a smartphone, tablet computer, smart watch, etc.) on which a software application (application or app) may be installed, which makes the portable electronic device 2 an integral part in the implementation of the system 100, as described below.

[0039] A portable electronic device “in a vehicle” means that the portable electronic device 2 is present in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 so that the portable electronic device 2 can be freely moved within the passenger compartment during a trip of the vehicle 1 (for example, placed on a passenger seat—if empty—or in a tool box or other holder of the vehicle 1) or the portable electronic device 2 is attached to the vehicle, for example, to the dashboard.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, the portable electronic device 2 includes at least one data processing module 3, for example, at least one data processing module 3 is a microprocessor or a microcontroller.

[0041] The portable electronic device 2 further comprises at least one memory module 4 operatively connected to the at least one data processing module 3 .

[0042] At least one memory module 4 may be located inside at least one data processing module 3, or at least one memory module 4 may also be located outside at least one data processing module 3 (for example, Figure 1 shown).

[0043] It is noteworthy that at least one memory module 4 is configured to store one or more program codes (also including the software applications introduced above), and the one or more program codes can be executed by at least one data processing module 3 to perform various functions of the portable electronic device 2 including the functions required to implement the system 100 of the present invention.

[0044] The portable electronic device 2 further comprises a user interface 5 (display), which is operationally connected to the data processing module 3 .

[0045] The user interface 5 is configured to allow a driver to interact with the portable electronic device 2 and in particular, during implementation of the system 100 , to allow the driver to view information representing particulate matter emissions due to use of the vehicle's 1 braking system.

[0046] Figure 5 An example of a user interface 5 of a portable electronic device 2 is schematically shown in FIG.

[0047] The portable electronic device 2 is configured to acquire identification data DV of the vehicle 1 input by a driver of the vehicle 1 .

[0048] The identification data DV of the vehicle 1 can be input by means of a user interface 5 on the portable electronic device 2 installed in the vehicle 1 , in particular by means of a software application as described below, so as to enable their use in the system 100 .

[0049] As described further below, identification data DV of the vehicle 1 are necessary for the implementation of the system 100 .

[0050] The identification data DV of the vehicle 1 includes information identifying the type of the vehicle, and the information includes:

[0051] - Brand of vehicle 1;

[0052] - the model of vehicle 1;

[0053] - The segment of vehicle 1.

[0054] Back to Figure 1 The portable electronic device 2 further comprises a plurality of sensors 6 (shown schematically as a single block in the figure for simplicity of representation), and the plurality of sensors 6 are operably connected to the at least one data processing module 3 .

[0055] The plurality of sensors 6 are configured to acquire driving data DG of the vehicle 1 during a trip of the vehicle 1 .

[0056] The plurality of sensors 6 include at least one GPS module, a magnetometer (compass), an accelerometer and a gyroscope with which the portable electronic device 2 is equipped.

[0057] The driving data DG of the vehicle 1 during the journey of the vehicle 1 and during possible movements of the portable electronic device 2 that can be acquired by the plurality of sensors 6 include:

[0058] - Position of vehicle 1 (latitude and longitude);

[0059] -Speed ​​of vehicle 1;

[0060] - acceleration of vehicle 1;

[0061] - The altitude of vehicle 1.

[0062] In this regard, at least one data processing module 3 of the portable electronic device 2 is configured to store the acquired driving data DG of the vehicle 1 as points of a first time series S-DG in at least one memory module 4 of the portable electronic device 2, wherein each point of the points of the first time series S-DG has corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with the point.

[0063] Refer again Figure 1 The portable electronic device 2 comprises at least one data communication module 7 , which is operatively connected to at least one data processing module 3 .

[0064] At least one data communication module 7 includes one or more data communication units, which are configured to allow the portable electronic device 2 to establish at least one direct wireless connection directly with another device (for example, with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC or similar technology), and to establish at least one wireless connection with a data communication network, the data communication network being connected to the portable electronic device 2 via a wireless communication interface. Figure 1 As shown schematically in the figure and indicated by reference symbol NTW, the data communication network is, for example, the Internet, for remote communication with other remote devices or equipment.

[0065] In this regard, the portable electronic device 2 is configured to establish a data communication channel with the vehicle 1 in a wireless manner, for example, by using Bluetooth technology, by means of at least one data communication module 7 .

[0066] Furthermore, the portable electronic device 2 is configured, by means of at least one data communication module 7, to transmit data to a remote computer described below, by means of a data communication network NTW.

[0067] Back to Figure 1 , the system 100 also includes a remote computer 200, for example, the remote computer 200 is a cloud server or an internal data center.

[0068] The remote computer 200 is configured to perform data communication with the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle by means of the data communication network NTW.

[0069] Reference Figure 1 The portable electronic device 200 includes at least one data processing unit 201 , for example, the at least one data processing unit 201 is a microprocessor or a microcontroller.

[0070] The remote computer 200 further comprises at least one memory unit 202 operatively connected to the at least one data processing module 201 .

[0071] The at least one memory unit 202 may be located inside the at least one data processing unit 201, or the at least one memory unit 202 may be located outside the at least one data processing unit 201 (for example, Figure 1 shown).

[0072] It is worth noting that the at least one memory unit 202 is configured to store one or more program codes, which can be executed by the at least one data processing unit 201 to perform various functions including those required to implement the system 100 of the present invention.

[0073] Returning to the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle, the portable electronic device 2 is configured to send the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 stored in at least one memory module 4 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle as a first time sequence S-DG to the remote computer 200 during the journey of the vehicle 1.

[0074] The data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to perform a first processing on the received driving data DG of the vehicle 1, thereby determining points representing the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 as a second time series S-EF, each point representing an actual braking event, and each point having corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with the point.

[0075] Furthermore, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to store the points of the second time series S-EF, each point representing an actual braking event EF, in the memory unit 202 of the remote computer 200 .

[0076] By way of example, the second time series S-EF is stored in a table, each row of which represents a point in the series representing a braking event EF. The row will contain the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 corresponding to the braking event.

[0077] This table may be obtained by processing a previous table previously stored in the memory unit 202 of the remote computer 200 , wherein each row corresponds to a point of the time series S-DG received from the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle.

[0078] The rows (sequence points) in the table correspond to acquisitions made at fixed time intervals (eg, every second).

[0079] For example, a braking event lasting 10 seconds would be represented by driving data GD of vehicle 1 corresponding to 10 points in the sequence.

[0080] Therefore, the table containing the second time series S-EF as a set of driving data GD of the vehicle 1 present on 10 rows may contain the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 corresponding to the braking event in one row.

[0081] According to the embodiment, also with particular reference to Figure 6 , the at least one data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 performs the first processing, including the following operations.

[0082] The data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to apply at least one noise reduction filter FK (e.g., a Kalman filter) to the received points of the first time series S-DG (raw vehicle driving data DG 1) to reduce noise and improve its quality, thereby obtaining points of an intermediate time series S-DG', in which each point has driving data DG of vehicle 1 associated with the point.

[0083] Furthermore, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to identify within the filtered first intermediate time series S-DG′ points corresponding to braking events EF based on the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with each point by means of applying a set control logic LC.

[0084] For example, such identification can be performed by comparing the deceleration data of the vehicle 1 with a deceleration threshold value. The deceleration threshold value can be a fixed value, or the deceleration threshold value can also be a variable value as a function of the vehicle speed 1.

[0085] According to another example, such identification can be performed by acquiring representative data of the brake pedal travel of the vehicle 1 , if this data is available because it is provided by an electronic control unit and / or specific sensors of the vehicle 1 .

[0086] In addition, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 unit is configured to determine the points of another intermediate time series S-EF' by aggregating the identified points corresponding to the braking event EF, each point of the other intermediate time series S-EF' corresponding to the actual braking event EF, and each point having corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with the point.

[0087] Furthermore, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to apply a correctness and consistency check filter FC to the further intermediate time series S-EF' to eliminate points corresponding to errors, thereby obtaining points of the second time series S-EF (final data set).

[0088] For example, if speed data for vehicle 1 are present in the driving data DG of vehicle 1 associated with a point in the further intermediate time series S-EF', such data can be compared with the maximum allowed speed value for the type of vehicle 1 declared by the driver, and if the speed data are unrealistic (e.g. much higher) relative to the maximum allowed speed value for the type of vehicle 1, such point will be removed from the further intermediate time series S-EF'.

[0089] Back to Figure 1 , Figure 2 In the system 100, for each braking event represented by a point of the second time series S-EF, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to: determine the value of the first physical quantity G1 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 by applying a first calculation module M1 based on: a first subset S1 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points of the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF and one or more of a plurality of information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0090] The multiple information PI include: first information I1, second information I2 and third information I3, the first information I1 represents the environment in which the vehicle 1 is traveling on the route, the second information I2 represents the road conditions in which the vehicle 1 is traveling on the route, and the third information I3 represents the production of the vehicle 1.

[0091] The first calculation module M1 is an algorithm or a mathematical model representing a so-called “virtual sensor” for determining the value of a first physical quantity G1 of the vehicle's braking system.

[0092] The first subset S1 of driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to be used as input in the first algorithm or mathematical model M1 depends on a first physical quantity G1 which can be determined by the first algorithm or mathematical model M1 .

[0093] The first information I1 representing the environment in which the vehicle 1 is traveling on the route includes so-called environmental data, for example, the environmental data is:

[0094] - relative to the external temperature of the vehicle 1;

[0095] - Weather conditions;

[0096] - humidity level outside the vehicle 1;

[0097] -PM 10 Level (the mass of particles in the air with a diameter of 10 microns or less, in mg).

[0098] The first information I1 is detected at the location of the vehicle 1 as indicated by the GPS inside the portable electronic device 2 present in the vehicle 1 .

[0099] It is worth noting that the first information I1 may be obtained from the remote computer 200 by querying a specific external service that is reachable (eg, by means of a corresponding network address known to the remote computer 200).

[0100] The second information I2 indicating the road condition of the vehicle 1 on the route includes:

[0101] - The type of road the vehicle is transiting on (urban, suburban, freeway, etc.);

[0102] - the slope of the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling;

[0103] - the height of the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling;

[0104] -Road traffic conditions.

[0105] The third information I3 indicating the production of the carrier 1 includes:

[0106] - the weight of the vehicle 1;

[0107] - Technical specifications of the braking system of the vehicle 1 (eg brake disc size, brake caliper type, wheelbase of the vehicle 1 , center of gravity of the vehicle 1 , etc.).

[0108] It is worth noting that the second information I2 may also be obtained from the remote computer 200 by querying a specific external service that is reachable (eg, by means of a corresponding network address known to the remote computer 200).

[0109] The third information I3 is determined by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 based on the identification data DV of the vehicle 1 input by the driver into the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 by means of the user interface 5 .

[0110] It is worth noting that one or more of the plurality of information PI to be used as input in the first calculation module M1 depends on a first physical quantity G1 determinable by the first calculation module M1 .

[0111] The following will refer to Figure 3 An embodiment of determining the first physical quantity G1 is described.

[0112] Back to Figure 1 and Figure 2In the system 100, for each braking event represented by a point of the second time series S-EF, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to: determine the value of the second physical quantity G2 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 by applying a second calculation module M2 based on: a second subset S2 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points of the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF and one or more of the multiple information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0113] The second calculation module M2 is an algorithm or a mathematical model.

[0114] The second calculation module M2 is an algorithm or a mathematical model representing a so-called “virtual sensor” for determining the value of a second physical quantity G2 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 .

[0115] The second subset S2 of driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to be used as input in the second calculation module M2 depends on a second physical quantity G2 which can be determined by the second calculation module M2 .

[0116] It is worth noting that one or more of the information I1 of the plurality of information PI to be used as input in the second calculation module M2 depends on a second physical quantity G2 which can be determined by a second algorithm or mathematical model M2.

[0117] The following will refer to Figure 4 An implementation method for determining the second physical quantity G2 will be described.

[0118] Back to Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the system 100, for each braking event represented by a point in the second time series S-EF, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is also configured to: determine one or more values ​​representing particulate matter emissions EP by applying a third calculation module M3 for particulate matter emissions based on: a third subset S3 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the point in the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF, a value PR of a first physical quantity of the vehicle's braking system 1, a value TR of a second physical quantity of the braking system 1, and one or more of the multiple information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0119] In an embodiment, the one or more values ​​representative of the particulate matter emission EP that can be determined by means of the third calculation module M3 include: a value V1 representing the mass of particulate matter particles (PM 10level - the mass of particles in the air with a diameter of 10 microns or less, in mg); and / or a value V2, which represents the number of particles in the air with a diameter less than or equal to the set value (PN 10 level—the number of particles in the air that have a diameter of 10 microns or less).

[0120] The third calculation module M3 is an algorithm or a mathematical model.

[0121] The third calculation module M3 is an algorithm or mathematical model representing a so-called "virtual sensor" for determining a value V1 and / or a value V2, the value V1 representing the mass of particulate matter particles (PM) having a diameter less than or equal to a set value. 10 level), the value V2 represents the number of particulate matter particles (PN 10 level).

[0122] The third subset S3 of driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to be used as input in the third calculation module M3 depends on a first physical quantity G1 determinable from the first calculation module M1 and a second physical quantity G2 determinable from the second calculation module M2 .

[0123] It is worth noting that one or more information I1 of the plurality of information PI to be used as input in the third calculation module M3 depends on the first physical quantity G1 determinable by the first calculation module M1 and the second physical quantity G2 determinable by the second calculation module M2.

[0124] The following will refer to Figure 5 Embodiments of determining the at least one value representative of the particulate matter emission EP are described.

[0125] It is worth noting that the data processing unit 202 of the remote computer 200 is configured to store the value of the first physical quantity G1 determined by the first calculation module M1, the value of the second physical quantity G2 determined by the second calculation module M2, and one or more values ​​representing particulate matter emissions EP determined by the third calculation module M3 in a corresponding database (inside or outside the remote computer 200).

[0126] At a general level, it is noteworthy that the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to associate one or more of the multiple information PI with pre-prepared data from a corresponding database (internal or external to the remote computer 200) to obtain values ​​and / or calculation coefficients to be provided to the first calculation module M1, the second calculation module M2 and the third calculation module M3.

[0127] In other words, a table of data corresponding to one or more of the multiple information PI is related to a table of data from a corresponding database, and by cross-referencing these data with each other, specific corresponding calculation coefficients to be used for combinations of cross-referenced data can be obtained.

[0128] “Associating” means assigning and binding one or more of the multiple information PI to the data in the corresponding database previously prepared to obtain the values ​​and / or calculation coefficients to be provided to the aforementioned first calculation module M1, second calculation module M2 and third calculation module M3, so that they can enrich the values ​​estimated / calculated by the corresponding calculation modules (“virtual sensors”).

[0129] For example, a database containing representative weather data can be obtained by performing experimental tests under controlled conditions using a specific (climate-controlled) bench that can reproduce different weather situations in terms of humidity and the presence of snow or rain.

[0130] Based on the driver's declaration of brake disc / brake pad material pairs associated with the brake system installed on the vehicle 1 , a database containing representative data representing experimental parameters of the vehicle is prepared.

[0131] For example, such a database relates to the make and model of the vehicle 1 .

[0132] For example, if the driver declares that he owns a vehicle 1 of brand A and model B, the type of braking system of vehicle 1 can be traced from the above database, which involves the use of set materials and the set experimental coefficients related to particulate matter emissions can be obtained.

[0133] When determining the one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission EP, the data processing unit 202 of the remote computer 200 will use the aforementioned set experimental coefficients in the first calculation module M1 , the second calculation module M2 and the third calculation module M3 for the vehicle 1 declared by the driver.

[0134] Back again Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the system 100 , the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to provide the driver with one or more values ​​representing the determined particulate matter emissions EP due to the braking event EF in real time.

[0135] In an embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, the first physical quantity G1 is the temperature TR of the brake system of the vehicle 1 .

[0136] “The temperature TR of the brake system of the vehicle 1 ” means the temperature of components of the brake system of the vehicle 1 , for example, components of the brake system such as the front brake disc, the rear brake disc, brake calipers at each corner of the vehicle 1 , brake fluid, and the like.

[0137] In this embodiment, the first subset S1 of the vehicle's driving data DG includes:

[0138] -Vehicle 1's speed VC.

[0139] In this embodiment, among the multiple information PI:

[0140] - the first information I1 comprises weather conditions CM;

[0141] - The second information I2 includes the slope PD of the road on which the vehicle 1 passes;

[0142] - The third information I3 includes: the weight of the vehicle 1; the technical specifications ST of the braking system of the vehicle 1.

[0143] By way of non-limiting example, if the temperature TR of the braking system of the vehicle 1 is the temperature of a brake disc (for example, the front part), this temperature TR can be determined from a function obtained by multiplying the history of the kinetic energy dissipated on the brake disc (sum) by the thermal capacity (CP) of the material, from which function the heat transfer coefficient (h) multiplied by the time elapsed since the previous braking (t b ), the temperature TR is also shown in the following formula:

[0144]

[0145] In an embodiment, combined with the above embodiment, as Figure 4 As shown, the second physical quantity G2 is the pressure PR present in the brake system of the vehicle 1 , for example the brake fluid pressure in the master cylinder.

[0146] In this embodiment, the second subset S2 of the vehicle's driving data DG includes:

[0147] -Vehicle 1's speed VC;

[0148] - acceleration AZ of the vehicle 1;

[0149] -Deceleration DZ of vehicle 1.

[0150] In this embodiment, among the multiple information PI:

[0151] - the first information I1 comprises the temperature TE outside the vehicle 1;

[0152] - The second information I2 includes the slope PD of the road on which the vehicle 1 passes;

[0153] - The third information I3 includes: the weight of the vehicle 1; the technical specifications ST of the braking system of the vehicle 1.

[0154] As a non-limiting example, the pressure PR present in the braking system of the vehicle 1 (e.g., the brake fluid pressure in the master cylinder) can be determined as the product of the system coefficient δ and the average deceleration (Avg_deceleration) of the vehicle, wherein the system coefficient δ can be directly derived from vehicle parameters known from an external database (e.g., brake caliper size), and the pressure PR present in the braking system of the vehicle 1 is also shown as follows:

[0155] PR = δ·average deceleration

[0156] In an embodiment, combined with the above embodiment, as Figure 5 As shown, the third calculation module M3 takes as input the temperature value TR determined by the first calculation module M1 and the pressure value PR determined by the second calculation module M2.

[0157] In this embodiment, the third subset S3 of the vehicle driving data DG includes:

[0158] -Vehicle 1's speed VC;

[0159] - acceleration AZ of the vehicle 1;

[0160] -Deceleration DZ of vehicle 1.

[0161] In this embodiment, among the multiple information PI:

[0162] - the first information I1 comprises weather conditions CM;

[0163] - the second information I2 does not contain any information;

[0164] The third information I3 comprises: technical data DM concerning the material of the brake pads and the brake disc of the vehicle 1 .

[0165] By way of non-limiting example, the value representative of the particle emission EP is determined as a function of the linear combination of two factors, a first factor being a function of the temperature TR of the brake disc at the end of braking, α(TR), and a second factor β being a function of the average deceleration of the vehicle, β(Avg_deceleration), to which is added a term γ known per se, which term depends on the properties of the material of the brake disc, and the value representative of the particle emission EP is also as follows:

[0166] EP=α(TR)+β(Avg_deceleration)+γ

[0167] In summary, it is worth pointing out that knowing the technical specifications of the vehicle 1 allows accurate knowledge of its weight, which has an impact on the calculation of the change in the kinetic energy of the vehicle 1 associated with a braking event.

[0168] Furthermore, knowing the local and instantaneous values ​​of parameters related to the external environment (eg temperature, humidity rate, etc., outside the vehicle) allows modeling the heat exchange phenomena between the brake disc and the external environment in a more accurate way.

[0169] This has a significant influence on the temperature values ​​that the disc can reach when braking.

[0170] In the case of acquisitions of electric or hybrid vehicles implementing regenerative braking, it is possible to identify with the aid of corresponding calculation modules (algorithms or mathematical models) which events identified as braking events actually involve physical contact between brake pads and brake discs.

[0171] This information, as input for the module to calculate the first physical quantity (eg temperature), helps to calculate the temperature reached by the brake disc more accurately.

[0172] In an embodiment, combined with the above embodiment and as Figure 2 As shown, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine a braking evaluation index IV based on the determined one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission EP caused by the braking event EF.

[0173] The braking evaluation index IV indicates the driver's braking performance.

[0174] By way of example, the braking evaluation index IV may be calculated by using the following formula:

[0175] IV=a·X 2 +b·X+c

[0176] in:

[0177] - X is the difference between the final temperature TR of the brake disc (obtained from the first calculation model M1, the “virtual thermal model sensor”) and the initial temperature Ti (obtained from external ambient temperature data or from a sensor physically mounted on the vehicle 1);

[0178] – “a”, “b” are coefficients depending on the above average acceleration / deceleration and initial temperature Ti;

[0179] – On the other hand, “c” is the particulate matter emission EP.

[0180] In an embodiment, in combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to provide the driver with the determined braking evaluation value IV.

[0181] In an embodiment, in combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to provide the determined braking evaluation index IV to the driver in real time.

[0182] In an embodiment, in combination with any of the two aforementioned embodiments, the determined braking evaluation index IV can be provided to the driver with the aid of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1. In particular, the determined braking evaluation index IV can be provided to the driver with the aid of application software installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or the determined braking evaluation index IV can be provided to the driver with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 that is operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0183] For example, the braking evaluation index IV is displayed on the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 by means of a graphic indicator (such as a traffic light, a speedometer, etc.).

[0184] In an embodiment, in combination with any of the aforementioned embodiments, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine a factor F-EP of particulate matter emissions of the vehicle 1 during a set driving process based on one or more values ​​representing particulate matter emissions EP caused by a braking event EF determined for each braking event EF present along a set route.

[0185] For example, the emission factor E-EP is expressed as a value V1 that represents the mass of particulate matter particles (e.g., PM) along a set route that have a diameter less than or equal to a set normalized value. 10 / km).

[0186] In this embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine the distance covered by the vehicle 1 within a set route.

[0187] In an embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine, with the aid of an additional computing module M4, the distance covered by the vehicle 1 during a set route based on a plurality of vehicle position data 1 contained in the driving data DG of the vehicle acquired by a plurality of sensors 6 of a portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0188] If the acquisition frequency of the vehicle's driving data DG is greater than a set reference frequency value, by way of non-limiting example, the set reference frequency value is every 3 seconds, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine the distance covered by the vehicle 1 in the set journey by summing the geometric distances of the position values ​​acquired at a single time.

[0189] On the contrary, if the collection frequency of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 is lower than the set reference frequency value due to external factors (such as the absence of GPS signal, the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 has been discharged, compliance with driver privacy protection regulations, etc.), the set composition route will be displayed as a dotted line instead of a continuous line, and therefore the distance covered by the vehicle 1 in the set trip cannot be accurately and reliably determined because it does not correspond to the actual distance covered by the vehicle 1.

[0190] Therefore, in order to make it more accurate, it is necessary to provide an estimate of the distance covered by the vehicle 1 in a set journey that is as accurate as possible.

[0191] In an embodiment, in combination with or in lieu of the aforementioned embodiments, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine the distance covered by the vehicle 1 during a set trip as the distance between the start and end point of a possible route, which distance is obtained by utilizing an external service (e.g., an API, application programming interface, available to a third party), which allows the vehicle route to be correctly reconstructed despite the fact that there are not so many points between the start and end points.

[0192] In an embodiment, as an alternative to the previous embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine the distance covered by the vehicle 1 in a set journey by means of a distance correction model.

[0193] Starting from a sufficiently large set of examples in which errors occurred taking into account the actual distance traveled and the length of the polyline obtained by connecting GPS signal points on the map, the distance correction model is configured to estimate the errors made for each road category (urban, suburban, highway, etc.).

[0194] Therefore, the distance correction model provides correction parameters that can be applied to the analyzed route by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 to calculate the distance actually covered by the vehicle 1 in a set trip, starting from the distance determined based on the broken line determined by the points obtained from the GPS signal.

[0195] As previously mentioned, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to provide the driver in real time with the determined one or more values ​​representative of the particulate matter emissions EP caused by the braking event EF.

[0196] In an embodiment, the determined one or more values ​​of the particulate matter emission EP caused by the braking event EF may be provided to the driver in real time with the aid of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1. In particular, the determined one or more values ​​of the particulate matter emission EP caused by the braking event EF may be provided to the driver in real time with the aid of a software application installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or the determined one or more values ​​of the particulate matter emission EP caused by the braking event EF may be provided to the driver in real time with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0197] In an embodiment, in combination with any of the above embodiments, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is further configured to provide the driver with the determined factor F-EP of the particulate matter emission.

[0198] In an embodiment, in combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to provide the driver with the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emission in real time.

[0199] In an embodiment, in combination with one of the first two embodiments, the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emissions may be provided to the driver with the aid of a user interface 5 of a portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1. In particular, the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emissions may be provided to the driver with the aid of application software installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 around the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emissions may be provided to the driver with the aid of a display module in the vehicle 1 that is operably connected to a remote computer 200 via a data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0200] In an embodiment, in combination with any of the aforementioned embodiments, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is further configured to provide the driver with the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2.

[0201] In an embodiment, in combination with the aforementioned embodiment, the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2 can be provided to the driver with the aid of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1. In particular, the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2 can be provided to the driver with the aid of application software installed therein so as to use the portable electronic device 2 around the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2 can be provided to the driver with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 which is operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0202] In an embodiment, in combination with any of those described above, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to provide the driver with further information representative of the driver's driving performance of the vehicle 1 .

[0203] Additional information indicating the driver's driving performance of the vehicle 1 includes:

[0204] - a single completed route;

[0205] - Global route indicator;

[0206] - History of recorded routes.

[0207] Information about individual completed routes can be viewed on a map.

[0208] In this case, it involves projecting both the intermediate quantities and the final quantities calculated by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 onto a map to view their spatial trends through a color scale.

[0209] This type of display allows the driver to monitor the actual usage of the vehicle 1 and its associated emissions with good spatial and temporal resolution.

[0210] A global route indicator may be displayed as a numerical value corresponding to the particulate matter emissions associated with the selected route.

[0211] Such a value may correspond to an emission factor, an average value of a brake evaluation index for the braking included in the selected route, or a PM value for the braking included in the selected route. 10 or PN 10 The sum of the quantities.

[0212] Furthermore, it is possible to display the average values ​​over the route for certain quantities of interest, such as brake disc temperature or brake system pressure, among those values ​​calculated by the algorithm.

[0213] On the other hand, for the recorded trip history, the driver can select a time window and view the distribution of emission factor values ​​related to the trips performed within the time interval and some statistical indicators (such as maximum, minimum, average).

[0214] The driver can access the above display on a display module operatively connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW and / or with the help of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 .

[0215] Such a display module may also be a portable electronic device 2 in the carrier 1 .

[0216] In further embodiments, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to provide the driver with further information indicative of the driver's driving style.

[0217] Additional information indicative of the driver's driving style includes:

[0218] -Driver's driving performance and local particulate matter emission levels (PM 10 ) situation. It is worth noting that the particulate matter emission level (PM 10 ) Local concentration data that vary in space and time.

[0219] - at the end of the trip, the total particulate matter emissions can be divided into two parts: a first part essentially due to the characteristics of the vehicle 1 and the braking system of the vehicle 1, and a second part due to the driving style of the driver. It is worth noting that the division is achieved by creating a target particulate matter emission curve customized for the vehicle 1 based on speed and acceleration limit values. Everything exceeding the particulate matter emission budget thus calculated is attributed to the driving style;

[0220] - Results of a clustering algorithm that groups drivers into homogeneous groups according to their braking style based on the collected driving data DG of the vehicle 1 .

[0221] In an embodiment, in combination with the aforementioned embodiment, additional information representing the driver's driving style may be provided to the driver with the aid of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1. In particular, the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 may be used in the implementation of the system 100 with the aid of application software installed therein to provide the driver with additional information representing the driver's driving style, and / or the display module of the vehicle 1 may be operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above) to provide the driver with additional information representing the driver's driving style.

[0222] according to Figure 1 In another embodiment shown by the dashed line, the system 100 further includes a second set of sensors 8 mounted on the vehicle 1 .

[0223] The second set of sensors 8 is configured to acquire at least one value of a further physical quantity G3 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 .

[0224] In this embodiment, the system 100 further comprises a communication device 9 installed in the vehicle 1 , the communication device 9 being operably connected to the second set of sensors 8 installed in the vehicle 1 .

[0225] The communication device 9 is operatively connected to the remote computer 200 by means of a data communication network NTW.

[0226] The communication device 9 is configured to provide said at least one value of the further physical quantity G3 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 to the remote computer 200 .

[0227] In this embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 is configured to determine the at least one value representing the particulate matter emission EP also based on the value of the additional physical quantity GR3 by applying the third determination calculation module M3 for particulate matter emission.

[0228] Thus, if the further physical quantity G3 is one or the other of the first physical quantity G1 or the second physical quantity G2, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 will have this value available without having to determine it with the aid of the corresponding calculation module (M1 or M2).

[0229] Now referring to the aforementioned figures and the block diagram in Figure 9, a method 800 for detecting particulate matter emissions caused by using the braking system of vehicle 1 and providing information representing particulate matter emissions caused by using the braking system of vehicle 1 is described according to the present invention, which is hereinafter referred to as only a detection and providing method or simply a method.

[0230] It is worth noting that the components and information mentioned below in the description of the method have been previously described with reference to the system 100 and thus will not be repeated for the sake of brevity.

[0231] Method 800 includes the symbolic step of initiating a STR.

[0232] The method 800 comprises the following steps: acquiring 801 identification data DV of the vehicle 1 input by a driver of the vehicle 1 via a portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 .

[0233] The portable electronic device 2 in the carrier 1 and the identification data DV of the carrier 1 are defined and described above.

[0234] The method 800 further comprises the step of acquiring 802 driving data DG of the vehicle 1 during the trip of the vehicle 1 via a plurality of sensors 6 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 .

[0235] The multiple sensors 6 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 and the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 are defined and described above.

[0236] Method 800 also includes the following steps: storing 803 the acquired driving data DG of the vehicle 1 as points of a first time series S-DG in at least one memory module 4 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 through at least one data processing module 3 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1, wherein each point in the points of the first time series S-DG has corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with the point.

[0237] The method 800 further comprises the step of sending 804 the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 stored as a first time sequence S-DG in at least one memory module 4 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 to the remote computer 200 by the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 during the journey of the vehicle 1 .

[0238] The remote computer 200 and the first time series S-DG are defined and described above.

[0239] The method 800 also includes the following step: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 performs 805 first processing on the received driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to determine the representation of the vehicle driving data DG as points of the second time series S-EF, each point representing an actual braking event EF.

[0240] Each point has associated corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 .

[0241] The second time series S-EF is defined and described above.

[0242] As already explained above, the second time series S-EF is stored in the memory unit 202 of the remote computer 200 by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 .

[0243] according to Figure 8 In the embodiment shown by the dashed line, the step of performing 805 the first processing on the received driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to determine the representation of the vehicle driving data DG as points of the second time series S-EF, each point representing an actual braking event, comprises the following steps:

[0244] - applying 806 , by at least one data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 , at least one noise reduction filter FK (e.g. a Kalman filter) to the received points of the first time series S-DG (raw driving data DG of the vehicle 1 ) to reduce noise and improve quality, thereby obtaining points of an intermediate time series S-DG′, each of which has associated driving data DG of the vehicle 1 ;

[0245] - identification 807 of the points corresponding to the braking events EF based on the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with each point, by means of the application of the set control logic LC, within the first filtered intermediate time series S-DG′, by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200. This identification is previously written;

[0246] - determining 808, by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200, points of a further intermediate time series S-EF′ by grouping together the identified points corresponding to the braking events EF, each of the points of the further intermediate time series S-EF′ corresponding to an actual braking event EF, each of the points having corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with it;

[0247] - Applying 809 the correctness and consistency check filter FC to the further intermediate time series S-EF' by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 to eliminate the points corresponding to errors, thereby obtaining the points of the second time series S-EF (final data set).

[0248] Examples of applications of correctness and consistency checking filters FC were described previously.

[0249] Overall return to Figure 8 In the method 800, for each braking event represented by a point of the second time series S-EF, the method 800 includes the following steps: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 determines 810 the value of the first physical quantity G1 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 by applying a first calculation module M1 based on: a first subset S1 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points of the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF and one or more information from a plurality of information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0250] The multiple information PI include: first information I1, second information I2 and third information I3, the first information I1 represents the environment in which the vehicle 1 is traveling, the second information I2 represents the road condition in which the vehicle 1 is traveling, and the third information I3 represents the production of the vehicle 1.

[0251] The first calculation module M1 is an algorithm or a mathematical model (“virtual sensor”).

[0252] The first subset S1 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to be used as input in the first algorithm or mathematical model M1 depends on a first physical quantity G1 which can be determined by the first algorithm or mathematical model M1 .

[0253] An example of the first subset S1 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 is given above.

[0254] The first information I1 , the second information I2 , and the third information I3 have been described above.

[0255] It is worth noting that one or more of the plurality of information PI to be used as input in the first calculation module M1 depends on a first physical quantity G1 determinable by the first calculation module M1 .

[0256] Thereafter, again for each braking event represented by a point of the second time series S-EF, the method 800 includes the following steps: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 determines 811 the value of the second physical quantity G2 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 by applying a second calculation module M2 based on: a second subset S2 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points of the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF and one or more of the multiple information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0257] The second calculation module M2 is an algorithm or a mathematical model (“virtual sensor”).

[0258] The second subset S2 of driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to be used as input in the second calculation module M2 depends on a second physical quantity G2 which can be determined by the second calculation module M2 .

[0259] An example of the second subset S2 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 is given above.

[0260] It is worth noting that one or more of the plurality of information PI to be used as input in the second calculation module M2 depends on a second physical quantity G2 determinable by a second algorithm or mathematical model M2.

[0261] Thereafter, again for each braking event represented by a point of the second time series S-EF, the method 800 comprises the following steps: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200, by applying a third calculation module M3 for particulate matter emissions, determines 812 one or more values ​​representing particulate matter emissions EP based on: a third subset S3 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points in the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF, the value PR of the first physical quantity of the vehicle's braking system 1, the value TR of the second physical quantity of the braking system 1, and one or more of the multiple information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0262] According to various embodiments, one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission EP are provided above.

[0263] The third calculation module M3 is an algorithm or a mathematical model (“virtual sensor”).

[0264] The third subset S3 of driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to be used as input in the third calculation module M3 depends on a first physical quantity G1 determinable by the first calculation module M1 and a second physical quantity G2 determinable by the second calculation module M2 .

[0265] An example of the third subset S3 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 is given above.

[0266] It is worth noting that one or more information I1 of the plurality of information PI to be used as input in the third calculation module M3 depends on the first physical quantity G1 determinable by the first calculation module M1 and the second physical quantity G2 determinable by the second calculation module M2.

[0267] Back again Figure 8 In the method 800 , in general, the method 800 comprises the following steps: providing 813 the driver in real time, by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 , one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emissions EP caused by the braking event EF determined.

[0268] Thus, method 800 includes the symbolic step of ending the ED.

[0269] In an embodiment, combined with any of the embodiments described above and as Figure 8As shown by dotted lines, method 800 includes the following steps: the data processing unit 202 of the remote computer 200 stores 814 the value of the first physical quantity G1 determined by the first calculation module M1, the value of the second physical quantity G2 determined by the second calculation module M2, and one or more values ​​representing particulate matter emissions EP determined by the third calculation module M3 in a corresponding database (inside or outside the remote computer 200).

[0270] In an embodiment, combined with any of the embodiments described above and as Figure 8 As shown by dotted lines, method 800 includes the following steps: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 associates 815 one or more of the multiple information PI with pre-prepared data of the corresponding database stored in the corresponding memory unit 202 to obtain values ​​and / or calculation coefficients to be provided to the first calculation module M1, the second calculation module M2 and the third calculation module M3.

[0271] Examples of such databases are provided above.

[0272] In an embodiment, in combination with any of those described above, the first physical quantity G1 is the temperature TR of the vehicle brake system 1 as described above.

[0273] In this embodiment, the first subset S1 of the vehicle driving data DG includes:

[0274] -Vehicle 1's speed VC.

[0275] In this embodiment, among the multiple information PI:

[0276] - the first information I1 comprises weather conditions CM;

[0277] - The second information I2 includes the slope PD of the road on which the vehicle 1 passes;

[0278] - The third information I3 includes: the weight of the vehicle 1; the technical specifications ST of the braking system of the vehicle 1.

[0279] In an embodiment, in conjunction with the previous embodiment, the second physical quantity G2 is the pressure PR present in the brake system of the vehicle 1 (eg the brake fluid pressure in the master cylinder).

[0280] In this embodiment, the second subset S2 of the vehicle's driving data DG includes:

[0281] -Vehicle 1's speed VC;

[0282] - acceleration AZ of the vehicle 1;

[0283] -Deceleration DZ of vehicle 1.

[0284] In this embodiment, among the multiple information PI:

[0285] - the first information I1 comprises the temperature TE outside the vehicle 1;

[0286] - The second information I2 includes the slope PD of the road on which the vehicle 1 passes;

[0287] - The third information I3 includes: the weight of the vehicle 1; the technical specifications ST of the braking system of the vehicle 1.

[0288] In an embodiment, in combination with the previous embodiment, the third calculation module M3 takes as input the temperature value TR determined by the first calculation module M1 and the pressure value PR determined by the second calculation module M2 .

[0289] In this embodiment, the third subset S3 of the vehicle driving data DG includes:

[0290] -Vehicle 1's speed VC;

[0291] - acceleration AZ of the vehicle 1;

[0292] -Deceleration DZ of vehicle 1.

[0293] In this embodiment, among the multiple information PI:

[0294] - the first information I1 comprises weather conditions CM;

[0295] - the second information I2 does not contain any information;

[0296] The third information I3 comprises: technical data DM concerning the material of the brake pads and the brake disc of the vehicle 1 .

[0297] In an embodiment, combined with any of those described above and as Figure 8 As shown by dashed lines in FIG. 8 , the method 800 further comprises the step of determining 816 a braking evaluation index IV by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 based on the determined one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emissions EP caused by the braking event EF.

[0298] The braking evaluation index IV represents the driver's braking performance, as defined above.

[0299] In an embodiment, in combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the method 800 includes the following step: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 provides the driver with the braking grade index IV determined in 817 .

[0300] In an embodiment, as shown in combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the step of providing 817 the determined braking grade index IV to the driver is performed in real time by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 .

[0301] In an embodiment, in combination with any of the two aforementioned embodiments, the determined braking evaluation index IV is provided to the driver with the aid of a user interface 5 of a portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1, in particular, the determined braking evaluation index IV is provided to the driver with the aid of application software installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 around the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or the determined braking evaluation index IV is provided to the driver with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 that is operably connected to a remote computer 200 via a data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0302] For example, the braking evaluation index IV is displayed on the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 by means of a graphic indicator (such as a traffic light, a speedometer, etc.).

[0303] In an embodiment, combined with any of the embodiments described above and as Figure 8 As shown by the dotted line in the figure, the method 800 also includes the following step: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 determines 818 a factor F-EP of the particulate matter emission of the vehicle 1 during the set driving process based on one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission EP caused by the braking event EF determined for each braking event EF existing along the set route.

[0304] As mentioned above, the factor F-EP for particulate matter emission is expressed as a value V1 that represents the mass of particulate matter particles (e.g., PM) along a given route that have a diameter less than or equal to a given normalized value. 10 / km).

[0305] In this embodiment, again as Figure 8 As shown by the dashed line, the method 800 further includes the following step: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 determines 819 the distance traveled by the vehicle 1 during the set journey.

[0306] In an embodiment combined with the aforementioned embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200, with the aid of an additional computing module M4, determines the distance covered by the vehicle 1 during a set journey based on a plurality of position data of the vehicle 1 included in the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 acquired by a plurality of sensors 6 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0307] If the acquisition frequency of the vehicle driving data DG exceeds a set reference frequency value, by way of non-limiting example, the set reference frequency value is every 3 seconds, the distance covered by the vehicle 1 in the set journey is determined by summing the geometric distances between the collected position values.

[0308] In a further embodiment, in combination with or as an alternative to the preceding embodiment, the distance covered by the vehicle 1 during a set journey is determined by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 as the distance between the start and end point of a possible route, which distance is obtained by using an external service (as described above).

[0309] In a further embodiment, as an alternative to the above-described embodiment, the distance covered by the vehicle 1 during a set journey is determined by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 with the aid of a distance correction model.

[0310] Examples of distance correction models were described previously.

[0311] In an embodiment, in combination with any of the aforementioned embodiments related to the factor F-EP of particulate matter emission, the method 800 further comprises the step of providing the driver with the factor F-EP of particulate matter emission determined in 820 by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 .

[0312] In an embodiment, as shown in combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the step of providing 820 the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emission to the driver is performed in real time by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 .

[0313] In an embodiment, in combination with any of the two aforementioned embodiments, the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emissions is provided to the driver with the aid of a user interface 5 of a portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1, in particular, the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emissions is provided to the driver with the aid of application software installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or the determined factor F-EP of particulate matter emissions is provided to the driver with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 that is operably connected to a remote computer 200 via a data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0314] In another embodiment, in combination with any of the above embodiments, the step of providing 813 to the driver one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emissions EP due to the braking event EF determined is performed in real time by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 .

[0315] According to an embodiment, in combination with the aforementioned embodiment, one or more values ​​of particulate matter emissions EP determined to be caused by the braking event EF may be provided to the driver (in real time or non-real time) with the aid of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1. In particular, one or more values ​​of particulate matter emissions EP determined to be caused by the braking event EF may be provided to the driver (in real time or non-real time) with the aid of a software application installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or one or more values ​​of particulate matter emissions EP determined to be caused by the braking event EF may be provided to the driver (in real time or non-real time) with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0316] In an embodiment, combined with any of the embodiments described above and as Figure 8 As shown by dashed lines in FIG. 8 , the method 800 further includes the following step: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 provides 821 the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2 to the driver.

[0317] In an embodiment, in combination with the aforementioned embodiment, the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2 can be provided to the driver with the aid of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1. In particular, the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2 can be provided to the driver with the aid of application software installed therein so as to use the portable electronic device 2 around the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or the determined value of the first physical quantity G1 and the determined value of the second physical quantity G2 can be provided to the driver with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 which is operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0318] In an embodiment, any of the embodiments described above may be combined and as Figure 8 As shown by the dashed line, the method 800 further includes the following step: the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 provides 822 additional information indicating the driver's driving performance of the vehicle 1 to the driver.

[0319] The additional information representing the driver's driving performance of the vehicle 1 has been defined and described above.

[0320] According to an embodiment, in combination with the aforementioned embodiment, additional information representing the driver's driving performance of the vehicle 1 is provided to the driver by means of a display module of the vehicle 1 which is operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above), and / or additional information representing the driver's driving performance of the vehicle 1 is provided to the driver by means of a user interface 5 of a portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1, in particular, additional information representing the driver's driving performance of the vehicle 1 is provided to the driver by means of a software application installed therein for use in the implementation of the system 100 with the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0321] Such a display module may also be a portable electronic device 2 in the carrier 1 .

[0322] In an embodiment, any of the embodiments described above may be combined and as Figure 8 As indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 8 , the method 800 further comprises the step of providing 823 , by the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 , to the driver further information representing the driver's driving style.

[0323] The additional information representative of the driver's driving style has been defined and described above.

[0324] In an embodiment, in combination with the aforementioned embodiment, additional information representing the driver's driving style is provided to the driver with the aid of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1, in particular, additional information representing the driver's driving style is provided to the driver with the aid of application software installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 around the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and / or additional information representing the driver's driving style is provided to the driver with the aid of a display module of the vehicle 1 that is operably connected to the remote computer 200 via the data communication network NTW (as described above).

[0325] According to another embodiment, in combination with any of the above embodiments and as Figure 8 As shown in dashed lines, the method 800 comprises the step of acquiring 824 at least one value of a further physical quantity G3 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 by means of a second set of sensors 8 installed in the vehicle.

[0326] In this embodiment, the method 800 further comprises the step of providing said at least one value of the further physical quantity G3 of the vehicle braking system 1 to the remote computer 200 via a communication device 9 installed in the vehicle 1, said communication device 9 being operably connected to said second set of sensors 8 installed in the vehicle.

[0327] In this embodiment, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 also determines 812 at least one value representing the particulate matter emission EP based on the value of the additional physical quantity GR3 by applying a third determination calculation module M3 for particulate matter emission.

[0328] Thus, as mentioned above, if the further physical quantity G3 is one or the other of the first physical quantity G1 or the second physical quantity G2, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 will obtain this value available without the need for determination by means of the corresponding calculation module (M1 or M2).

[0329] With reference now to the accompanying drawings, an example of implementation of a method for detecting particulate matter emissions caused by the use of a vehicle's braking system and providing information representative of said particulate matter emissions according to the present invention will be described.

[0330] The driver inputs identification data DV (eg make and model) of the vehicle 1 by means of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 , which identification data DV will then be captured by the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 .

[0331] During the journey of the vehicle 1 , the multiple sensors 6 of the portable electronic device 2 on the vehicle 1 acquire driving data DG of the vehicle 1 , such as the position (longitude and latitude) of the vehicle 1 , the speed of the vehicle 1 , the acceleration of the vehicle 1 , and the altitude of the vehicle 1 .

[0332] The data processing module 3 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 stores the acquired driving data DG of the vehicle 1 as points of a first time series S-DG in at least one memory module 4 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1, wherein each point in the points of the first time series S-DG has corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with the point.

[0333] The portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 is configured to send driving data DG of the vehicle 1 stored as a first time series S-DG in at least one memory module 4 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 to the remote computer 200 during the journey of the vehicle 1 .

[0334] The data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 performs a first processing on the received driving data DG of the vehicle 1 to determine a representation of the vehicle driving data DG as points of a second time series S-EF, each point representing an actual braking event EF.

[0335] Each point has associated corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 .

[0336] In more detail, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 performs the following:

[0337] - applying, by at least one data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200, at least one noise reduction filter FK (e.g., a Kalman filter) to the received points of the first time series S-DG (raw driving data DG of the vehicle 1) to reduce noise and improve quality, thereby obtaining points of an intermediate time series S-DG', each of which has associated driving data DG of the vehicle 1;

[0338] - identifying within the first filtered intermediate time series S-DG′, by means of applying a set control logic LC, the points corresponding to the braking events EF based on the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with each point;

[0339] - by grouping together the identified points corresponding to the braking events EF, an intermediate time series S-EF′ of further points each corresponding to an actual braking event EF is determined, each point having a corresponding driving data DG of the vehicle 1 associated with it;

[0340] - Applying the correctness and consistency check filter FC to the further intermediate time series S-EF' in order to eliminate the points corresponding to errors and obtain the points of the second time series S-EF (final data set).

[0341] The data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 stores the second time series S-EF in the memory unit 202 of the remote computer 200 .

[0342] For each braking event represented by a point of the second time series S-EF, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 determines the value (e.g., temperature) of the first physical quantity G1 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 by applying a first calculation module M1 (algorithm or mathematical model) of the first physical quantity G1 based on: a first subset S1 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points of the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF and one or more of a plurality of information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0343] The multiple information PI include: first information I1, second information I2 and third information I3. The first information I1 represents the environment in which the vehicle 1 is traveling, the second information I2 represents the road conditions in which the vehicle 1 is traveling, and the third information I3 represents the production of the vehicle 1.

[0344] The first subset S1 of the vehicle driving data DG comprises the speed VC of the vehicle 1 .

[0345] The first information L1 includes weather conditions CM.

[0346] The second information I2 includes the slope PD of the road on which the vehicle 1 passes.

[0347] The third information I3 includes: the weight MS of the vehicle 1 ; and the technical ST specifications ST of the braking system of the vehicle 1 .

[0348] Thereafter, again for each braking event represented by a point of the second time series S-EF, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 determines the value (e.g., pressure) of a second physical quantity G2 of the braking system of the vehicle 1 by applying a second calculation module M2 (algorithm or mathematical model) for the second physical quantity G2 based on: a second subset S2 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points of the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF and one or more of the multiple information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0349] The second subset S2 of the vehicle driving data DG includes: the velocity VC of the vehicle 1 ; the acceleration AZ of the vehicle 1 ; and the deceleration DZ of the vehicle 1 .

[0350] The first information I1 includes the temperature TE outside the vehicle 1 .

[0351] The second information I2 includes the slope PD of the road on which the vehicle 1 passes.

[0352] The third information I3 includes: the weight MS of the vehicle 1 ; and the technical ST specifications ST of the braking system of the vehicle 1 .

[0353] Afterwards, again for each braking event represented by a point in the second time series S-EF, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 determines one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emissions EP by applying a third calculation module M3 (algorithm or mathematical model) for particulate matter emissions based on: a third subset S3 of the driving data DG of the vehicle 1 in the points in the second time series S-EF corresponding to the braking event EF, a value PR of a first physical quantity of the vehicle's braking system 1, a value TR of a second physical quantity of the braking system 1, and one or more of the multiple information PI from a source external to the remote computer 200 and the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1.

[0354] The third subset S3 of the vehicle driving data DG includes: the velocity VC of the vehicle 1 ; the acceleration AZ of the vehicle 1 ; and the deceleration DZ of the vehicle 1 .

[0355] The first information L1 includes weather conditions CM.

[0356] The second information I2 does not contain any information.

[0357] The third information I3 comprises technical data DM concerning the material of the brake pads and brake discs of the vehicle 1 .

[0358] One or more values ​​representing particulate matter emission EP are provided above, and the one or more values ​​representing particulate matter emission EP include a value V1, which represents the mass of particulate matter particles (PM 10 Level - the mass of particles in the air with a diameter of 1 micron or less, in mg).

[0359] The data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 provides the driver with a value V1 in real time with the help of the user interface 5 of the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1, and the value V1 represents the mass of the particulate matter particles having a diameter less than or equal to the set value. In particular, the data processing unit 201 of the remote computer 200 provides the driver with a value V1 in real time with the help of the software application installed therein to use the portable electronic device 2 in the vehicle 1 in the implementation of the system 100, and the value V1 represents the mass of the particulate matter particles having a diameter less than or equal to the set value.

[0360] The data processing unit 202 of the remote computer 200 stores the value of the first physical quantity G1 (temperature) determined by the first calculation module M1, the value of the second physical quantity G2 (pressure) determined by the second calculation module M2, and the value V1 representing the mass of particulate matter having a diameter less than or equal to a set value determined by the third calculation module M3 in a corresponding database.

[0361] It is noteworthy that the objects of the present invention have been fully achieved.

[0362] In fact, after collecting the vehicle's driving data at a prescribed collection frequency, the vehicle's driving data is sent to a remote computer that executes the algorithm, thereby relieving the portable electronic device in the vehicle (the driver's smartphone) from performing such tasks, thereby not limiting the memory and battery therein, but being able to utilize a more powerful processor to perform the calculation part.

[0363] Additionally, each software update is managed on the remote computer side, minimizing issues for users.

[0364] Furthermore, the level of particulate matter emissions linked to the vehicle's braking system is determined using vehicle driving data detected by sensors on a smartphone in the vehicle and determined with the aid of a computing module (so-called virtual sensors), i.e. an algorithm or mathematical model that increases the informativeness of the initial data, the accuracy and precision of the results obtained by using data sources (databases, APIs, experimental parameters) external to the physical medium on which the calculations are performed.

[0365] To meet possible needs, those skilled in the art may modify and adjust the embodiments of the methods and related systems described above, or replace the elements with other elements with equivalent functions, without departing from the scope of the appended claims. All of the above features may be implemented without considering the other embodiments described because they belong to possible embodiments.

Claims

1. A method (800) for detecting particulate matter emissions caused by use of a braking system of a vehicle (1) and providing information representative of said particulate matter emissions, said method comprising the following steps, during a trip of said vehicle (1): - acquiring (801) identification data (DV) of the vehicle (1) input by the driver of the vehicle (1) through the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1); - acquiring (802) driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) during the journey of the vehicle (1) by means of a plurality of sensors (5) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle; - storing (803) the acquired driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) as points of a first time series (S-DG) in at least one memory module (4) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1) through at least one data processing module (3) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1), wherein each point in the first time series (S-DG) has corresponding driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) associated with the point; - sending (804) the driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) stored as a first time series (S-DG) in the at least one memory module (4) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1) to a remote computer (200) by the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1); - performing (805) a first processing on the received driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) by means of a data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200), thereby determining points representing the driving data (DG) of the vehicle as a second time series (S-EF), each point representing an actual braking event (EF), each point having corresponding driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) associated with the point; For each braking event represented by a point of the second time series (S-EF), the method (800) comprises executing, by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200), the following steps: - Determining (810) the value of a first physical quantity (G1; TR) of the braking system of the vehicle (1) by applying a first calculation module (M1) based on: a first subset (S1) of driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) in a point of the second time series (S-EF) corresponding to a braking event (EF); and one or more of a plurality of information (PI) from a source external to the remote computer (200) and the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1), the plurality of information (PI) comprising first information, second information (I2) and third information (I3), the first information representing an environment in which the vehicle (1) is travelling, the second information (I2) representing a road condition in which the vehicle is travelling on a route, and the third information (I3) representing the production of the vehicle (1); - determining (811) the value of a second physical quantity (G2; TR) of the braking system of the vehicle (1) by applying a second calculation module (M2) of the second physical quantity (G2; TR) based on: a second subset (S2) of driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) in the points of the second time series (S-EF) corresponding to the braking event (EF); and one or more of a plurality of information (PI) from a source external to the remote computer (200) and the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1); - determining (812) one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission (EP) caused by the braking event (EF) by applying a third calculation module (M3) for particulate matter emission (EP) based on: a third subset (S3) of driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) at points in the second time series (S-EF) corresponding to the braking event (EF), the value (PR) of the first physical quantity of the vehicle braking system (1), the value (TR) of the second physical quantity of the braking system (1), and one or more of the plurality of information (PI) from a source external to the remote computer (200) and the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1); - providing (813) the driver by means of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1) with one or more values ​​determined to be representative of the particulate matter emissions (EP) caused by the braking event (EF).

2. The method (800) according to claim 1 comprises the following steps: the data processing unit (202) of the remote computer (200) stores (814) in a corresponding database the value of the first physical quantity (G1; TR) determined by the first calculation module M1, the value of the second physical quantity (G2; PR) determined by the second calculation module (M2), and one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission (EP) determined by the third calculation module (M3).

3. According to the method (800) described in any one of the preceding claims, the method comprises the following steps: through the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200), one or more of the multiple information (PI) are associated (815) with pre-prepared data of the corresponding database stored in the corresponding memory unit (202) to obtain values ​​and / or calculation coefficients to be provided to the first calculation module (M1), the second calculation module (M2) and the third calculation module (M3).

4. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The first physical quantity (G1; TR) is the temperature (TR) of the braking system of the vehicle (1).

5. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The second physical quantity (G2; PR) is the pressure (PR) present in the braking system of the vehicle (1).

6. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the steps of: - determining (816) a braking grade index (IV) by said data processing unit (201) of said remote computer (200) based on said determined one or more values ​​representative of particulate matter emissions (EP) caused by said braking event (EF); - providing the determined braking grade index (IV) to the driver by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200).

7. The method (800) of claim 6, wherein: The step of providing (817) the determined braking grade index (IV) to the driver by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200) is performed in real time.

8. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims 6 and 7, wherein: The determined braking grade index (IV) is provided to the driver by means of a user interface (5) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1), and / or the determined braking grade index (IV) is provided to the driver by means of a vehicle display module (1) operably connected to the remote computer (200) via a data communication network (NTW).

9. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of determining (818) by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200) a factor (F-EP) of the particulate matter emission (EP) of the vehicle (1) during the set route based on one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission (EP) caused by each braking event (EF) present along the set route.

10. The method (800) according to claim 9, further comprising the step of determining (819) by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200) the distance travelled by the vehicle (1) during the set route.

11. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims 9 to 10, comprising the step of providing (820) the determined factor of particulate matter emissions (F-EP) to the driver by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200).

12. The method (800) of claim 11, wherein: The step of providing (820) the determined factor (F-EP) of the particulate matter emission by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200) is performed in real time.

13. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims 11 and 12, wherein: The determined factor of particulate matter emissions (F-EP) is provided to the driver by means of a user interface (5) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1), and / or the determined factor of particulate matter emissions (F-EP) is provided to the driver by means of a vehicle display module (1) operatively connected to the remote computer (200) via a data communication network (NTW).

14. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The step of providing (813) to the driver, by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200), one or more values ​​determined to represent the particulate matter emissions (EP) caused by the braking event (EF) is performed in real time.

15. The method (800) of claim 14, wherein: One or more values ​​determined to represent the particulate matter emissions (EP) caused by the braking event (EF) are provided to the driver by means of a user interface (5) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1), and / or one or more values ​​determined to represent the particulate matter emissions (EP) caused by the braking event (EF) are provided to the driver by means of a vehicle display module (1) operably connected to the remote computer (200) via a data communication network (NTW).

16. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the steps of: providing the driver with the determined value of the first physical quantity (G1; TR) and the determined value of the second physical quantity (G2; PR) by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200), and displaying the determined first physical quantity (G1; TR) and the determined second physical quantity (G2; PR) by means of the user interface (5) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1). TR) and the determined value of the second physical quantity (G2; PR) are provided to the driver, and / or the determined first physical quantity (G1; PR) is displayed by means of a vehicle display module (1) operatively connected to the remote computer (200) via a data communication network (NTW). The value of the second physical quantity (TR) and the determined value of the second physical quantity (G2; PR) are provided to the driver.

17. According to the method (800) described in any one of the preceding claims, the method further comprises the steps of: providing the driver with additional information representing the driver's driving performance of the vehicle (1) by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200), providing the driver with additional information representing the driver's driving performance of the vehicle (1) by means of a vehicle display module (1) operably connected to the remote computer (200) via a data communication network (NTW), and / or providing the driver with additional information representing the driver's driving performance of the vehicle (1) by means of the user interface (5) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1).

18. According to the method (800) described in any one of the preceding claims, the method further comprises the steps of: providing (823) additional information representing the driver's driving style to the driver by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200), providing the additional information representing the driver's driving style to the driver by means of a user interface (5) of the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle (1), and / or providing the additional information representing the driver's driving style to the driver by means of a vehicle display module (1) operably connected to the remote computer (200) via a data communication network (NTW).

19. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of: - acquiring (824) at least one value of a further physical quantity (G3) of the vehicle's braking system (1) by means of a second set of sensors (8) installed in the vehicle (1); - providing (825) at least one value of a further physical quantity (G3) of the vehicle braking system (1) to the remote computer (200) via a communication device (9) installed in the vehicle (1), the communication device (9) being operatively connected to the second set of sensors (8) installed in the vehicle (1), - The data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200) also performs a step of determining (812) one or more values ​​representing the particulate matter emission (EP) caused by the braking event (EF) by applying a third determination calculation module (M3) for particulate matter emission (EP) based on the value of the other physical quantity (GR3).

20. The method (800) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The step of performing (805) a first processing on the received driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) to represent the driving data (DG) of the vehicle as points of a second time series (S-EF), each point representing an actual braking event (EF), comprises the following steps: - applying (806) by at least one of the data processing units (201) of the remote computer (200) at least one noise reduction filter (FK) to the points of the received first time series (S-DG) to reduce noise and improve quality, thereby obtaining points of an intermediate time series (S-DG'), each of which has driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) associated with it; - identifying (807) by the data processing unit (201) of the remote electronic processor (200), within the filtered first intermediate time series (S-DG'), points corresponding to braking events (EF) based on the driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) associated with each point, by means of applying a set control logic (LC); - determining (808) by the data processing unit (201) of the remote computer (200) points of a further intermediate time series (S-EF') by grouping together the identified points corresponding to the braking events (EF), each point of the further intermediate time series (S-EF') corresponding to an actual braking event (EF), each point having corresponding driving data (DG) of the vehicle (1) associated with it; - applying (809) a correctness and consistency check filter (FC) to said further intermediate time series (S-EF') by said data processing unit (201) of said remote computer (200) in order to eliminate points corresponding to errors, thereby obtaining points of said second time series (S-EF).

21. A system (100) for detecting particulate matter emissions caused by use of a braking system of a vehicle (1) during a journey of the vehicle (1) and providing information representative of the particulate matter emissions, the system comprising: - a portable electronic device (2) in the carrier (1), the portable electronic device (2) comprising: - at least one data processing module (3); - at least one user interface (5); - a plurality of sensors (6) operatively connected to the data processing unit (3); a remote computer (200) configured to transmit data with the portable electronic device (2) in the vehicle by means of a data communication network (NTW), the remote computer (200) comprising at least one data processing unit (201), The system (100) is configured to perform a method according to any one of the preceding claims for detecting particle emissions caused by use of a braking system of a vehicle (1) and providing information representative of the particle emissions.

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