Estimation device, brake control device, and estimation method

Abstract

An estimation device (18) estimates an amount of wear of a friction material of a mechanical brake device (30) comprising: a pressing mechanism that generates a mechanical brake force by pressing, by means of a rotational force of a motor (31), the friction material against a rotating body that rotates when a vehicle is traveling; and a gap adjustment mechanism that performs a mechanical operation for bringing the friction material close to the rotating body so as to maintain a gap between the friction material and the rotating body within a target range, the gap existing in a state in which the pressing operation of the pressing mechanism is stopped. The estimation device (18) includes a determination unit (19) and an estimation unit (20). The determination unit (19) determines the presence or absence of the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism on the basis of a starting rotation amount, which is a rotation amount of the motor (31) from when the motor (31) starts rotating until when the friction material contacts the rotating body. The estimation unit (20) estimates an amount of wear of the friction material on the basis of the number of times that the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism has been performed.

Description

Estimation device, brake control device, and estimation method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an estimation device, a brake control device, and an estimation method.

[0002] Railway vehicles are equipped with mechanical brake devices that generate mechanical braking force by pressing a friction material against a rotating body that rotates while the railway vehicle is traveling. The friction material wears each time it is pressed against the rotating body. As the friction material wears, the gap between the friction material and the rotating body increases when the mechanical brake device is stopped. This increases the time from when the mechanical brake device starts operating until the friction material comes into contact with the rotating body and mechanical braking force is generated. In other words, the responsiveness of the mechanical brake device decreases. In order to maintain the responsiveness of the mechanical brake device by performing maintenance on the friction material at the appropriate time, a device that estimates the amount of wear of the friction material is used. This type of wear amount estimation device is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0003] The wear amount calculation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 obtains the rotational angle position of a component of a gap adjustment mechanism that adjusts the gap between the friction material and the rotating body from a signal obtained from a rotational sensor attached to the component, and calculates the wear amount of the friction material from the rotational angle position.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-97958

[0005] In order to determine the amount of wear of the friction material using the wear amount calculation device disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to install a rotation sensor in the gap adjustment mechanism provided in the mechanical brake device, which makes the structure of the mechanical brake device complex.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an estimation device, a brake control device, and an estimation method that are capable of estimating the amount of wear of the friction material of a mechanical brake device with a simple configuration.

[0007] To achieve the above object, an estimation device according to the present disclosure estimates the amount of wear of a friction material in a mechanical brake device that includes a pressing mechanism that generates a mechanical braking force by pressing a friction material against a rotating body that rotates while the vehicle is running using the rotational force of a motor, and a gap adjustment mechanism that performs a mechanical operation to bring the friction material closer to the rotating body, thereby maintaining a gap between the friction material and the rotating body within a target range when the pressing operation of the pressing mechanism is stopped. The estimation device includes a discrimination unit and an estimation unit. The discrimination unit determines whether or not the gap adjustment mechanism has performed mechanical operation based on the startup rotation amount, which is the amount of rotation of the motor from when the motor starts rotating until the friction material contacts the rotating body. The estimation unit estimates the amount of wear of the friction material based on the number of times the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism has been performed.

[0008] The estimation device according to the present disclosure determines whether or not a mechanical action has been performed by a clearance adjustment mechanism of a mechanical brake device to bring the friction material closer to the rotating body, based on the rotational speed of the motor at startup that generates the power to press the friction material against the rotating body, and estimates the amount of wear of the friction material from the number of times that mechanical action has been performed to bring the friction material closer to the rotating body. As a result, an estimation device that can estimate the amount of wear of a friction material with a simple configuration is obtained.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a brake control system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mechanical brake device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of a mechanical brake device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of wear of a friction material provided in a mechanical brake device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of a clearance adjustment mechanism provided in a mechanical brake device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a brake control device according to the first embodiment;

[0010] Hereinafter, an estimation device, a brake control device, and an estimation method according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0011] (Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 describes an estimation device that estimates the amount of wear of a friction material in a mechanical brake device that is mounted on a railway vehicle and generates a mechanical braking force using the rotational force of a motor, and a brake control device that includes the estimation device. In Embodiment 1, the railway vehicle is decelerated by the mechanical braking force generated by the mechanical braking device. A brake control system 100 shown in Figure 1 includes a mechanical braking device 30 that generates a mechanical braking force using the rotational force of a motor 31, and a brake control device 1 that controls the mechanical braking device 30. Note that Figure 1 shows only the components of the mechanical braking device 30 that are related to electrical control.

[0012] The brake control device 1 includes, for example, a target brake force determination unit 11 that determines a target brake force, which is a target value of the brake force, from a brake command obtained from an operation unit 41 provided in the driver's cab, a target mechanical brake force determination unit 12 that determines a target mechanical brake force, which is a target value of the mechanical brake force by the mechanical brake device 30, from the target brake force, a brake control unit 13 that controls the mechanical brake device 30 in accordance with the target mechanical brake force, and an estimation device 18 that estimates the amount of wear of the friction material of the mechanical brake device 30.

[0013] To avoid complicating the diagram, Fig. 1 shows one mechanical brake device 30 as the control target of the brake control device 1, but the brake control device 1 controls multiple mechanical brake devices 30. A mechanical brake device 30 is provided for each wheel of a railway vehicle, for example. In Fig. 1, the brake control device 1 includes one brake control unit 13, but the brake control device 1 may include a brake control unit 13 for each brake control unit, specifically, for each wheel, axle, or bogie.

[0014] As shown in Figures 2 and 3 , the mechanical brake device 30 controlled by the brake control device 1 having the above configuration generates a braking force by pressing a friction material 50 against a rotating body 60 that rotates when the railway vehicle is running. A mechanical brake device 30 is provided for each rotating body 60. The friction material 50 is a brake shoe, a brake pad, etc. The rotating body 60 is a wheel, a disc rotor, etc.

[0015] The mechanical brake device 30 comprises a motor 31 driven by power supplied from the brake control device 1 and rotating a drive shaft 31a, a reducer 32 that slows down the rotation of the motor 31 and increases the torque to output, a pressing mechanism 33 that is connected to the drive shaft 31a via the reducer 32 and generates a mechanical braking force by pressing the friction material 50 against the rotating body 60 with the rotational force of the drive shaft 31a, a gap adjustment mechanism 36 that adjusts the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 by mechanically moving the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60, and the friction material 50 attached to the pressing mechanism 33.

[0016] The pressing mechanism 33 is a rotary-linear conversion mechanism having an output shaft 34 to which a friction material 50 is attached and a holding member 35 that holds the output shaft 34. In response to the rotation of the motor 31, the output shaft 34 moves linearly in a direction toward or away from the rotating body 60.

[0017] The mechanical brake device 30 is equipped with a load cell 37 attached to one end of the output shaft 34 and measuring the pressing force, which is the force with which the pressing mechanism 33 presses the friction material 50 against the rotating body 60, and an encoder 38 attached near the motor 31 and outputting a pulse signal corresponding to the rotation of the motor 31.

[0018] The motor 31 is, for example, a three-phase induction motor driven by three-phase AC power supplied from the brake control device 1. As the motor 31 rotates, an output shaft 34 of the pressing mechanism 33 moves linearly, causing the friction material 50 attached to one end of the output shaft 34 to move toward or away from the rotating body 60.

[0019] When the mechanical brake device 30 is stopped, in other words, in a stopped state in which the pressing mechanism 33 has stopped its pressing operation, the friction material 50 is separated from the rotating body 60, as shown in Fig. 2. The distance between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 at this time is defined as W1. The distance between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 is expressed, for example, as the shortest distance between the end face of the friction material 50 facing the rotating body 60 and the end face of the rotating body 60 facing the friction material 50. The position of the end of the friction material 50 attached to the output shaft 34 when the pressing mechanism 33 has stopped its pressing operation is defined as the initial position of the friction material 50.

[0020] When the mechanical brake device 30 starts to operate, specifically, when the motor 31 is driven by the power supplied from the brake control device 1 and rotates in the forward direction, the pressing mechanism 33 moves the output shaft 34 toward the rotating body 60 in response to the rotation of the motor 31. As a result, the friction material 50 attached to the end of the output shaft 34 is pressed toward the rotating body 60. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3 , the friction material 50 moves to a position where it abuts against the rotating body 60, and is pressed against the rotating body 60 by the pressing mechanism 33.

[0021] When the friction material 50 is repeatedly pressed against the rotating body 60 as described above, the friction material 50 wears and becomes thinner. As a result, as shown in Figure 4, the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 when the pressing mechanism 33 is stopped becomes wider than the gap in Figure 2. In Figure 4, the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 when the pressing mechanism 33 is stopped is defined as W2. In this case, the gap W2 is greater than the gap W1.

[0022] The clearance adjustment mechanism 36 performs a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60, thereby maintaining the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 within a target range when the pressing mechanism 33 is stopped pressing the friction material 50. The target range is a range of values ​​that the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 can assume in order to obtain the responsiveness required of the mechanical brake device 30. The clearance adjustment mechanism 36 is an existing mechanism, such as the gap adjustment mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1. Specifically, the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 has, for example, a ratchet that rotates in conjunction with the movement of the output shaft 34 when the friction material 50 moves away from the rotating body 60 and stops rotating when the output shaft 34 moves toward the rotating body 60.

[0023] When the friction material 50 is worn, the distance that the output shaft 34 moves from the state in which the friction material 50 abuts the rotating body 60 as shown in Fig. 5 to the state in Fig. 4 when the brake is released is greater than the distance that the output shaft 34 moves when the output shaft 34 returns from the state in Fig. 3 to the state in Fig. 2. In other words, the distance that the worn friction material 50 moves from the position in Fig. 5 in which it abuts the rotating body 60 to the initial position is greater than the distance that the unworn friction material 50 moves from the position in Fig. 3 in which it abuts the rotating body 60 to the initial position.

[0024] When the rotation angle of the ratchet corresponding to the movement of the output shaft 34 when the friction material 50 separates from the rotating body 60 and returns to its initial position becomes equal to or greater than a threshold value corresponding to the number of ratchet teeth, the ratchet teeth that mesh with the holding member 35 become misaligned. The threshold value is, for example, an angle obtained by dividing 360 degrees by the number of ratchet teeth. As the ratchet teeth that mesh with the holding member 35 become misaligned, the positions of the output shaft 34 and the friction material 50 move closer to the rotating body 60 when the pressing mechanism 33 stops pressing. In other words, the initial position of the friction material 50 moves closer to the rotating body 60.

[0025] As described above, the gap adjustment mechanism 36 performs a mechanical operation to move the friction material 50 attached to the output shaft 34 closer to the rotating body 60 due to the misalignment of the ratchet teeth. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 , the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 becomes narrower than the state shown in FIG. 4 . In FIG. 6 , the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 in a stopped state in which the pressing action of the pressing mechanism 33 has stopped is designated as W3. At this time, the gap W3 is approximately the same size as the gap W1. As a result, the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 in a stopped state in which the pressing action of the pressing mechanism 33 has stopped is maintained within the target range, thereby suppressing a decrease in the responsiveness of the mechanical brake device 30.

[0026] The load cell 37 measures the pressing force, which is the force with which the pressing mechanism 33 presses the friction material 50 against the rotating body 60, and sends the measurement result to a target mechanical braking force determination unit 12 provided in the brake control device 1.

[0027] The encoder 38 is provided for each motor 31 and outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the rotation of the motor 31 to the speed control unit 14 of the brake control unit 13 and the determination unit 19 of the estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 1.

[0028] The brake control device 1 that controls the mechanical brake device 30 having the above configuration will be described below. The operation unit 41 shown in Fig. 1 has a master controller that outputs a brake command indicating a deceleration to the target brake force determination unit 11. The master controller outputs a brake command indicating a deceleration corresponding to a notch according to the brake operation by the operator to the target brake force determination unit 11.

[0029] The target braking force determination unit 11 determines a target braking force, which is a target value of the braking force, for each vehicle or bogie from the deceleration indicated by a brake command that instructs the railway vehicle to decelerate. For example, the target braking force determination unit 11 obtains the weight of the vehicle from a load compensation device (not shown) and determines the target braking force for each vehicle by multiplying the vehicle weight by the deceleration indicated by the brake command. The target braking force determination unit 11 sends the determined target braking force to the target mechanical braking force determination unit 12.

[0030] The target mechanical brake force determination unit 12 calculates a target mechanical brake force, which is a target value of the mechanical brake force by each mechanical brake device 30, from the target brake force. For example, the target mechanical brake force determination unit 12 calculates the target mechanical brake force of the mechanical brake device 30 provided for each wheel from the target brake force for each vehicle. The target mechanical brake force determination unit 12 acquires the pressing force of the mechanical brake device 30 from the load cell 37 of the mechanical brake device 30, and calculates an actual mechanical brake force that corresponds to the mechanical brake force that is actually generated. The target mechanical brake force determination unit 12 performs feedback control based on the actual mechanical brake force, adjusts the value of the target mechanical brake force, and sends the adjusted target mechanical brake force to the brake control unit 13.

[0031] The brake control unit 13 includes a speed control unit 14 that calculates the target torque of the motor 31 from the target mechanical brake force, a torque control unit 15 that generates a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal to obtain the target torque from the target torque and the actual torque of the motor 31 and outputs the PWM signal, and a power conversion circuit 16 that converts the power supplied from the power supply device 42 into power to be supplied to the motor 31 provided in the mechanical brake device 30.

[0032] The speed control unit 14 acquires the target mechanical braking force from the target mechanical braking force determination unit 12. The speed control unit 14 determines the number of pulses per unit time from the pulse signal output by the encoder 38 of the mechanical braking device 30. The speed control unit 14 determines the number of rotations per unit time (unit: rpm) of the motor 31 from the resolution of the encoder 38 and the number of pulses per unit time. The speed control unit 14 determines, from the target mechanical braking force, a target pressing force that is a target value of the pressing force with which the mechanical braking device 30 presses the friction material 50 against the rotating body 60.

[0033] The speed control unit 14 determines a target torque, which is a target value for the torque of the motor 31, from the target pressing force and the parameters of the mechanical brake device 30. The parameters of the mechanical brake device 30 are used to convert the pressing force into the torque of the motor 31. The speed control unit 14 is assumed to have information about the parameters of the mechanical brake device 30 stored in advance. The speed control unit 14 adjusts the target torque determined as described above in order to gradually increase the rotation speed of the motor 31, and outputs the adjusted target torque to the torque control unit 15.

[0034] The torque control unit 15 obtains the target torque of the motor 31 from the speed control unit 14 and obtains the measured value of the output current of the power conversion circuit 16 from the current sensor 17. Specifically, the torque control unit 15 obtains the measured values ​​of the U-phase current and the V-phase current from the current sensor 17 and determines the value of the W-phase current from the measured values ​​of the U-phase current and the V-phase current. The torque control unit 15 determines the actual torque of the motor 31 from the U-phase current, the V-phase current, and the W-phase current. The torque control unit 15 performs feedback control based on the target torque and the actual torque to generate a PWM signal for obtaining the target torque. The torque control unit 15 outputs the PWM signal to each of the multiple switching elements included in the power conversion circuit 16.

[0035] The power conversion circuit 16 has a plurality of switching elements controlled by a PWM signal supplied from the torque control unit 15. Through the switching operation of the plurality of switching elements, the power conversion circuit 16 converts the DC power supplied from the power supply device 42 into three-phase AC power, and supplies the three-phase AC power to the motor 31 of the mechanical brake device 30.

[0036] The power supply device 42 converts power supplied from a current collector (not shown) into power to be supplied to the power conversion circuit 16, and outputs the converted power to the power conversion circuit 16. The power supply device 42 receives DC power from a current collector that obtains power from a substation via a power supply line, and includes an inverter that converts the DC power into AC power, and a rectifier circuit that rectifies the AC power into DC power.

[0037] The estimation device 18 has a determination unit 19 that determines whether or not the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60, based on the startup rotation amount, which is the amount of rotation of the motor 31 from when the motor 31 starts rotating until when the friction material 50 comes into contact with the rotating body 60, and an estimation unit 20 that estimates the amount of wear of the friction material 50 from the number of times the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed the mechanical operation. The startup rotation amount indicates, for example, the number of times the motor 31 has rotated from when the motor 31 starts rotating until when the friction material 50 comes into contact with the rotating body 60.

[0038] The estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 1 having the above configuration calculates the number of mechanical operations performed by the gap adjustment mechanism 36 to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 from the rotation amount at startup of the motor 31, and estimates the amount of wear of the friction material 50 of the mechanical brake device 30 from the number of mechanical operations performed by the gap adjustment mechanism 36 to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60. This eliminates the need to provide a rotation sensor in the mechanical brake device 30, and makes it possible to estimate the amount of wear of the friction material 50 with a simple configuration.

[0039] The hardware configuration of the brake control device 1 having the above-described configuration is shown in Figure 7. The brake control device 1 includes a processor 81, a memory 82, and an interface 83. The processor 81, the memory 82, and the interface 83 are connected to one another via a bus 80. The functions of each unit of the brake control device 1 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software and firmware are written as programs and stored in the memory 82. The processor 81 reads and executes the programs stored in the memory 82, thereby realizing the functions of each unit described above. In other words, the memory 82 stores programs for executing the processing of each unit of the brake control device 1.

[0040] The memory 82 includes, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory), magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, mini disk, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc.

[0041] The brake control device 1 is connected to the operating unit 41, the power supply device 42, and the mechanical brake device 30 via an interface 83. The interface 83 has an interface module that complies with one or more standards depending on the connected device.

[0042] The process of estimating the wear amount of the friction material 50 performed by the brake control device 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 1 starts the process shown in Fig. 8 when the railway vehicle starts operation and the brakes are released. Specifically, when a lift switch is operated to bring a pantograph, which is an example of a current collector, into contact with an overhead wire, which is an example of a power supply line, and the brakes are released, the estimation device 18 starts the process shown in Fig. 8.

[0043] The determination unit 19 determines whether the motor 31 has started rotating based on the pulse signal output by the encoder 38 (step S11). Specifically, the determination unit 19 determines whether the amplitude of the pulse signal is equal to or greater than a start threshold at which it is considered that the motor 31 has started operating. The start threshold is determined, for example, according to a value that the amplitude of the pulse signal can take immediately after the motor 31 starts rotating.

[0044] If the amplitude of the pulse signal is less than the start threshold and the motor 31 is deemed to have stopped rotating (step S11; No), the process of step S11 is repeated.

[0045] When the amplitude of the pulse signal becomes equal to or greater than the start threshold and it is determined that the motor 31 has started to rotate (Step S11; Yes), the discriminator 19 counts the number of pulses in the pulse signal (Step S12).

[0046] The determination unit 19 determines whether or not the friction material 50 has come into contact with the rotating body 60 (step S13). When the friction material 50 comes into contact with the rotating body 60, the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 decreases rapidly. Therefore, the determination unit 19 determines whether or not the friction material 50 has come into contact with the rotating body 60 based on the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 acquired from the speed control unit 14.

[0047] The discrimination unit 19 detects the timing at which the friction material 50 comes into contact with the rotating body 60 from the pulse signal. Specifically, the discrimination unit 19 repeatedly acquires the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 from the speed control unit 14 and stores the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 in a storage device (not shown). The discrimination unit 19 calculates the amount of decrease in the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 from the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 acquired from the speed control unit 14 and the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 acquired and stored immediately before from the speed control unit 14.

[0048] If the decrease in the rotation speed of the motor 31 per unit time is within the target fluctuation range, the determination unit 19 determines that the friction material 50 is separated from the rotating body 60 (step S13; No), and the above-described processing is repeated from step S12. The target fluctuation range is set to a range that includes possible values ​​of the fluctuation in the rotation speed of the motor 31 when the friction material 50 can be considered to be separated from the rotating body 60.

[0049] If the decrease in the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 is not within the target fluctuation range, in other words, if the number of rotations per unit time of the motor 31 decreases suddenly, the discrimination unit 19 determines that the friction material 50 has come into contact with the rotating body 60 (step S13; Yes), and calculates the startup rotation amount, which is the number of times the motor 31 has rotated from the time the motor 31 started rotating to the time the friction material 50 came into contact with the rotating body 60, from the resolution of the encoder 38 and the integrated value of the number of pulses (step S14).

[0050] The determination unit 19 determines whether or not the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 is mechanically operating based on the startup rotation amount calculated in step S14 (step S15). As shown in Fig. 9 , the startup rotation amount increases as the amount of wear of the friction material 50 increases due to the operation of the mechanical brake device 30, and decreases when the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 adjusts the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 by performing a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60.

[0051] The horizontal axis in Fig. 9 indicates the estimation timing at which the estimating device 18 estimates the wear amount of the friction material 50, specifically, the timing at which the estimating device 18 starts the wear amount estimation process in Fig. 8. The vertical axis in Fig. 9 indicates the startup rotation amount obtained in step S14 of the wear amount estimation process.

[0052] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the timing corresponding to the state in which the amount of wear of the friction material 50 is sufficiently small and the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 is W1 is defined as estimated timing T1. The startup rotation amount at this time is defined as R1. Specifically, R1 is the number of rotations of the motor 31 from the state in FIG. 2 in which the brake is released to the state in FIG. 3 in which the friction material 50 abuts against the rotating body 60. The timing at which the estimating device 18 starts the wear amount estimation process after estimated timing T1 is defined as estimated timing T1'. The startup rotation amount at estimated timing T1' is defined as R1'. Because the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 widens due to wear of the friction material 50, the startup rotation amount R1' is greater than the startup rotation amount R1.

[0053] As shown in Figure 4, the timing corresponding to the state where the friction material 50 has worn and the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 is W2 is defined as estimated timing T2. The amount of rotation at startup at this time is defined as R2. Specifically, R2 is the number of rotations of the motor 31 from the state in Figure 4 where the brake is released to the state in Figure 5 where the friction material 50 abuts against the rotating body 60.

[0054] When the brake is released in the state shown in FIG. 5 , the power conversion circuit 16 included in the brake control unit 13 of the brake control device 1 stops supplying power to the motor 31. When the power supply to the motor 31 is stopped, the rotation of the motor 31 stops, and the pressing mechanism 33 stops pressing the friction material 50 against the rotating body 60. After the motor 31 stops rotating, the motor 31 rotates in the reverse direction, and the output shaft 34 moves away from the rotating body 60, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 4 . When the rotation angle of the ratchet corresponding to the movement of the output shaft 34 when returning from the state shown in FIG. 5 to the state shown in FIG. 4 becomes equal to or greater than a threshold value, the ratchet teeth engaging with the holding member 35 become misaligned, and the position of the output shaft 34 when the pressing mechanism 33 stops pressing approaches the rotating body 60. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 , the position of the friction material 50 when the pressing mechanism 33 stops pressing approaches the rotating body 60.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 6 , the timing corresponding to the state in which the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 is narrowed to W3 as a result of the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 performing a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 is defined as estimated timing T3. The startup rotation amount at this time is defined as R3. Specifically, the number of rotations of the motor 31 from the state in FIG. 6 to the state in FIG. 5 is R3. As shown in FIG. 9 , the startup rotation amount R3 is smaller than the startup rotation amount R2. As described above, the startup rotation amount immediately after the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 performs a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 is smaller than the startup rotation amount immediately before the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 performs a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60.

[0056] The estimating device 18 estimates the amount of wear of the friction material 50 using the existing gap adjustment mechanism 36 that maintains the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 within a target range. Specifically, the determining unit 19 determines whether the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 based on the startup rotation amount calculated in step S14 as shown in FIG. 8 , from the change over time in the startup rotation amount. More specifically, the determining unit 19 stores the startup rotation amount calculated in step S14 in a storage device (not shown). The determining unit 19 determines whether or not the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation by comparing the startup rotation amount calculated in step S14 with the startup rotation amount calculated at the estimation timing immediately before the startup rotation amount, in other words, the startup rotation amount calculated in step S14 when the wear amount estimation process shown in FIG. 8 was most recently performed.

[0057] If the absolute value of the decrease in the startup rotation amount when the immediately preceding startup rotation amount is used as a reference is equal to or less than the decrease threshold, it can be determined that the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has not performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60. If the absolute value of the decrease in the startup rotation amount when the immediately preceding startup rotation amount is used as a reference is greater than the decrease threshold, it can be determined that the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60. The determination unit 19 sends the determination result, indicating whether the absolute value of the decrease in the startup rotation amount is greater than the decrease threshold, to the estimation unit 20. The decrease threshold is determined according to the number of rotations of the motor 31 corresponding to the amount by which the output shaft 34 moves toward the rotating body 60 when the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 performs a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60.

[0058] When the determination unit 19 determines that the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 because the absolute value of the decrease in the startup rotation amount is greater than the decrease threshold value (step S15; Yes), the estimation unit 20 estimates the amount of wear of the friction material 50 from the number of times the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed the mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 and the movement distance of the output shaft 34 per mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism 36, in other words, the movement distance of the friction material 50 (step S16). It is assumed that the estimation unit 20 previously stores information about the movement distance of the output shaft 34 per mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism 36 to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60.

[0059] The estimation unit 20 integrates the number of times that the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60, according to the determination result obtained from the determination unit 19. The estimation unit 20 estimates the amount of wear (unit: millimeters) of the friction material 50 by multiplying the integrated value of the number of times that the gap adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 by the distance that the friction material 50 has moved in one mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism 36. The amount of wear of the friction material 50 is the total amount of wear that has occurred since the friction material 50 was attached to the mechanical brake device 30 and operation of the mechanical brake device 30 began. The estimation unit 20 sends the amount of wear of the friction material 50 to an external device (not shown).

[0060] If the discrimination unit 19 determines that the absolute value of the reduction in the rotational amount at startup is less than or equal to the reduction threshold value, and therefore the gap adjustment mechanism 36 is not performing a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 (step S15; No), the estimation unit 20 does not perform the processing of step S16.

[0061] When the processing of step S16 is completed, or when the determination unit 19 determines that the absolute value of the decrease in the startup rotation rate is equal to or less than the decrease rate threshold and therefore that the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 is not performing a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60 (step S15; No), the estimation device 18 terminates the estimation processing. The estimation device 18 repeats the estimation processing shown in FIG. 8 at a predetermined estimation timing, for example, every day when the railway vehicle starts operating. In other words, the determination unit 19 included in the estimation device 18 determines whether or not the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 is performing a mechanical operation from the startup rotation rate when the mechanical brake device 30 operates for the first time after the railway vehicle starts operating.

[0062] As described above, the estimating device 18 included in the brake control device 1 according to the first embodiment determines whether or not the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60, based on the startup rotation amount, which is the number of rotations of the motor 31 from when the motor 31 starts to rotate until the friction material 50 comes into contact with the rotating body 60. The estimating device 18 estimates the amount of wear of the friction material 50 from the number of times the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 has performed a mechanical operation to bring the friction material 50 closer to the rotating body 60. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a rotation sensor in the mechanical brake device 30, and it is possible to estimate the amount of wear of the friction material 50 of the mechanical brake device 30 with a simple configuration.

[0063] Second Embodiment The configuration of the estimation device 18 is not limited to the above example. The estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 2 shown in Fig. 10 includes an output unit 21 that outputs a warning when the amount of wear of the friction material 50 reaches or exceeds a wear threshold value, in addition to the configuration of the estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 1 according to the first embodiment. The estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 2 according to the second embodiment will be described below, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0064] Similar to the first embodiment, the determination unit 19 included in the estimation device 18 detects the timing at which the motor 31 starts to rotate from the pulse signal output by the encoder 38. Unlike the first embodiment, the determination unit 19 detects the timing at which the friction material 50 contacts the rotating body 60 from the current flowing through the motor 31.

[0065] When the amount of wear of the friction material 50 estimated by the estimation unit 20 becomes equal to or greater than the wear threshold, the output unit 21 outputs a warning to a display device provided, for example, in the driver's cab, indicating that the amount of wear of the friction material 50 is equal to or greater than the wear threshold.

[0066] As in the first embodiment, when the railway vehicle starts operation, the estimation device 18 starts the processing shown in Fig. 11. The processing of steps S11 to S12 of the estimation processing shown in Fig. 11 is the same as the processing of steps S11 to S12 performed by the estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 8. After step S12 is completed, the determination unit 19 acquires a measured value of the U-phase current from the current sensor 17, and determines whether or not the friction material 50 has come into contact with the rotating body 60 based on whether or not the amplitude of the U-phase current is equal to or greater than a current threshold value (step S17).

[0067] When the friction material 50 contacts the rotating body 60, the contact between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 prevents the motor 31 from rotating, and therefore, the current supplied to the motor 31 to drive the motor 31 increases. Therefore, the determination unit 19 acquires a measured value of the U-phase current from the current sensor 17 and determines whether the amplitude of the U-phase current is equal to or greater than a current threshold. The current threshold may be set to a value greater than the amplitude of the U-phase current when the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 are separated from each other. If the amplitude of the U-phase current is less than the current threshold, the determination unit 19 determines that the friction material 50 is separated from the rotating body 60 (step S17; No), and the above-described processing is repeated from step S12. If the amplitude of the U-phase current is equal to or greater than the current threshold, the determination unit 19 determines that the friction material 50 is in contact with the rotating body 60 (step S17; Yes), and the processing of step S14 is performed. The processing of steps S14 to S16 of the estimation processing shown in FIG. 11 is similar to the processing of steps S14 to S16 performed by the estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

[0068] The output unit 21 acquires the wear amount of the friction material 50 estimated in step S16 from the estimation unit 20. The output unit 21 determines whether the wear amount of the friction material 50 is equal to or greater than the wear threshold (step S18). If the wear amount of the friction material 50 is equal to or greater than the wear threshold (step S18; Yes), the output unit 21 outputs a determination result indicating that the wear amount of the friction material 50 is equal to or greater than the wear threshold to a display device provided in the driver's cab (step S19). The wear threshold may be determined according to the thickness of the friction material 50 at the start of use. As an example, the wear threshold may be set to half the thickness of the friction material 50 at the start of use. If the wear amount of the friction material 50 is less than the wear threshold (step S18; No), the output unit 21 does not perform the process of step S19.

[0069] When the processing of step S19 is completed or the output unit 21 determines that the wear amount of the friction material 50 is less than the wear threshold value (step S18; No), the estimation device 18 terminates the estimation processing. The estimation device 18 performs the estimation processing shown in Fig. 11 every day, for example, at the start of operation of the railway vehicle. In other words, the determination unit 19 included in the estimation device 18 determines whether or not there is mechanical operation of the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 from the startup rotation amount at the time of the first operation of the mechanical brake device 30 after the start of operation of the railway vehicle.

[0070] As described above, the estimation device 18 provided in the brake control device 2 according to the second embodiment determines whether or not the gap adjustment mechanism 36 is mechanically operated from the amount of rotation at startup, estimates the amount of wear of the friction material 50 from the number of times the gap adjustment mechanism 36 is mechanically operated, and, if the amount of wear of the friction material 50 is equal to or greater than the wear threshold, outputs a determination result indicating that the amount of wear of the friction material 50 is equal to or greater than the wear threshold. This makes it possible to prompt maintenance work on the friction material 50.

[0071] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The timing at which the estimation device 18 performs the estimation process is not limited to the above-described example and may be arbitrary. As one example, the estimation device 18 may perform the estimation process when the railway vehicle returns to the depot and the mechanical braking device 30 operates. As another example, the estimation device 18 may perform the estimation process when the mechanical braking device 30 operates immediately after a timing determined, such as every week or every month.

[0072] The method by which the discrimination unit 19 detects the timing when the motor 31 starts to rotate and the timing when the friction material 50 contacts the rotating body 60 is not limited to the above example. As one example, the discrimination unit 19 may acquire a brake command input to the target braking force determination unit 11 from the driver's cab and detect the timing when the brake command is acquired as the timing when the motor 31 starts to rotate. As another example, the discrimination unit 19 may detect the timing when the target mechanical braking force output by the target mechanical braking force determination unit 12 becomes greater than 0 as the timing when the motor 31 starts to rotate.

[0073] As another example, the determination unit 19 may detect the timing when the amplitude of the current flowing through the motor 31 becomes greater than 0 as the timing when the motor 31 starts to rotate. When the determination unit 19 detects the timing when the motor 31 starts to rotate and the timing when the friction material 50 contacts the rotating body 60 based on the current flowing through the motor 31, the mechanical brake device 30 does not need to include the encoder 38. In this case, the speed control unit 14 only needs to estimate the position and speed of the rotor of the motor 31 from the current flowing through the motor 31 and the voltage applied to the motor 31.

[0074] The determination unit 19 may determine whether or not a mechanical operation of the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 has occurred based on the ratio of the startup rotation amount to the immediately preceding startup rotation amount.

[0075] When the friction material 50 is a brake shoe and the rotating body 60 is a wheel, the discrimination unit 19 may acquire information indicating whether or not the wheel has been ground, for example, from the driver's cab, and determine that the mechanical operation of the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 is not occurring when the mechanical brake device 30 is first operated after the wheel has been ground. When the wheel, which is the rotating body 60, is ground, the wheel diameter becomes smaller, and the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 increases. Therefore, when the mechanical brake device 30 is operated immediately after the wheel has been ground, the travel distance of the output shaft 34 increases when the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 change from a state in which they are in contact with each other to a state in which the pressing mechanism 33 stops pressing, and the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 performs mechanical operation. This mechanical operation of the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 is due to wheel grinding, not wear of the friction material 50, so the discrimination unit 19 determines that the mechanical operation of the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 is not occurring when the mechanical brake device 30 is first operated after the wheel has been ground. This improves the accuracy with which the estimation device 18 estimates the amount of wear of the friction material 50 .

[0076] In the first and second embodiments, the amount of rotation at startup is expressed as the number of times that the motor 31 rotates from when the motor 31 starts to rotate until the friction material 50 comes into contact with the rotating body 60, but it may also be expressed as the rotation angle, rotation distance, etc. of the motor 31 during the period from when the motor 31 starts to rotate until the friction material 50 comes into contact with the rotating body 60.

[0077] In the first and second embodiments, the amount of wear estimated by the estimation unit 20 is expressed as the thickness (unit: millimeters) of the worn friction material 50, but it may also be expressed as the ratio of the thickness of the worn friction material 50 to the thickness of the friction material 50 at the start of use.

[0078] The output unit 21 may output the determination result to the display device regardless of the determination result. Specifically, when the amount of wear of the friction material 50 is less than the wear threshold, the output unit 21 may output the determination result indicating that the amount of wear of the friction material 50 is less than the wear threshold to the display device.

[0079] The configuration of the mechanical brake device 30 is not limited to the above example. As an example, the gap adjustment mechanism 36 is not limited to the above configuration and may have any configuration as long as it can maintain the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 within a target range.

[0080] 12 , the mechanical brake device 30 may include a force-assisting mechanism 39 in addition to the pressing mechanism 33. In this case, the pressing mechanism 33 is a rotary-to-linear motion conversion mechanism that slides using the rotational force of the motor 31, and presses a force point 39 a of the force-assisting mechanism 39.

[0081] The force-amplifying mechanism 39 is a lever mechanism that amplifies the force applied from the pressing mechanism 33 to a force point 39a and outputs the amplified force from a point of action 39d. Specifically, the force-amplifying mechanism 39 has an arm 39c that can rotate around a fulcrum 39b. A holding member 40 is attached to a point of action 39d located at the end of the arm 39c on the opposite side of the fulcrum 39b from the force point 39a. The holding member 40 holds the output shaft 34.

[0082] 13 , when a force is applied from the pressing mechanism 33 to the force point 39a, the arm 39c rotates around the fulcrum 39b, and the output shaft 34, which is held by the holding member 40 attached to the application point 39d of the arm 39c, moves toward the rotating body 60. As a result, the friction material 50 is pressed against the rotating body 60. When the friction material 50 is worn by the operation of the mechanical brake device 30, the clearance adjustment mechanism 36 performs a mechanical operation to maintain the gap between the friction material 50 and the rotating body 60 within a target range, as in the first and second embodiments.

[0083] The boosting mechanism 39 is not limited to a lever mechanism, but may be, for example, a toggle mechanism, a link mechanism, or the like.

[0084] The estimation device 18 may be a device independent of the brake control device 1. In this case, the estimation device 18 may be realized by the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 7 , specifically, a processor 81, a memory 82, and an interface 83 independent of the brake control device 1.

[0085] As shown in the first and second embodiments, the estimation device 18 may be realized as one function of the brake control devices 1 and 2. In this case, the estimation device 18 may be realized by a processor 81, a memory 82, and an interface 83 that are common to the target brake force determination unit 11, the target mechanical brake force determination unit 12, and the brake control unit 13.

[0086] The estimation device 18 is not limited to estimating the friction material 50 of the mechanical brake device 30 mounted on a railway vehicle, but may also estimate the friction material 50 of the mechanical brake device 30 mounted on a streetcar. The estimation device 18 may also estimate the friction material 50 of the mechanical brake device 30 mounted on a railway vehicle that decelerates by at least one of a mechanical brake force and an electric brake force.

[0087] The brake command output by the operation unit 41 is not limited to a service brake command, but may also include an emergency brake command, a safety brake command, a parking brake command, and the like.

[0088] The target braking force determination unit 11 may acquire a braking command not only from the operation unit 41 but also from a train information management system, an ATS (Automatic Train Stop) device, or the like.

[0089] The core part of the control processing system, which includes the processor 81, memory 82, and interface 83, can be realized using an ordinary computer system rather than a dedicated system. For example, the brake control devices 1 and 2 that perform the above-described processing may be realized by storing and distributing a computer program for executing the above-described operations on a computer-readable recording medium (such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), or a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc-Read Only Memory)), and installing the computer program on a computer. Alternatively, the brake control devices 1 and 2 may be realized by storing the computer program in a storage device of a server device on a communication network and downloading it to an ordinary computer system.

[0090] When the functions of the brake control devices 1 and 2 are realized by sharing the functions between an OS (Operating System) and an application program, or by collaboration between an OS and an application program, only the application program portion may be stored on a recording medium, storage device, etc.

[0091] It is also possible to superimpose a computer program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, the computer program may be posted on a bulletin board system (BBS) on the communication network and distributed via the communication network. The computer program may then be started and executed under the control of an OS in the same way as other application programs, thereby executing the above-described processing.

[0092] The hardware configuration of the brake control devices 1 and 2 is not limited to the above example. As an example, as shown in FIG. 14 , the brake control devices 1 and 2 may be realized by a processing circuit 84. The processing circuit 84 is connected to the operation unit 41, the power supply device 42, and the mechanical brake device 30 via an interface circuit 85. When the processing circuit 84 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 84 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. Each unit of the brake control devices 1 and 2 may be realized by a separate processing circuit 84, or each unit of the brake control devices 1 and 2 may be realized by a common processing circuit 84.

[0093] Some of the functions of the brake control devices 1 and 2 may be realized by dedicated hardware, and other functions may be realized by software or firmware. For example, in the brake control devices 1 and 2, the brake control unit 13 may be realized by a processing circuit 84 shown in Fig. 14, and the target brake force determination unit 11 and the target mechanical brake force determination unit 12 may be realized by a processor 81 shown in Fig. 7 reading and executing programs stored in a memory 82.

[0094] The present disclosure allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of equivalent disclosures are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0095] 1, 2 Brake control device, 11 Target braking force determination unit, 12 Target mechanical braking force determination unit, 13 Brake control unit, 14 Speed ​​control unit, 15 Torque control unit, 16 Power conversion circuit, 17 Current sensor, 18 Estimation device, 19 Discrimination unit, 20 Estimation unit, 21 Output unit, 30 Mechanical braking device, 31 Motor, 31a Drive shaft, 32 Reducer, 33 Pressing mechanism, 34 Output shaft, 35, 40 Holding member, 36 Gap adjustment mechanism, 37 Load cell, 38 Encoder, 39 Power boost mechanism, 39a Force point, 39b Support point, 39c Arm, 39d Point of action, 41 Operation unit, 42 Power supply unit, 50 Friction material, 60 Rotating body, 80 Bus, 81 Processor, 82 Memory, 83 Interface, 84 Processing circuit, 85 Interface circuit, 100 Brake control system, W1, W2, W3 intervals.

Claims

1. An estimating device for estimating the wear amount of a friction material of a mechanical brake device including a pressing mechanism that generates a mechanical braking force by pressing the friction material against a rotating body that rotates during the running of a vehicle with the rotational force of a motor, and a gap adjusting mechanism that maintains the distance between the friction material and the rotating body within a target range by performing a mechanical operation of bringing the friction material closer to the rotating body, the estimating device comprising: a determining unit that determines the presence or absence of the mechanical operation of the gap adjusting mechanism from the starting rotation amount, which is the rotation amount of the motor from when the motor starts rotating until the friction material contacts the rotating body; and an estimating unit that estimates the wear amount of the friction material from the number of times the mechanical operation of the gap adjusting mechanism for bringing the friction material closer to the rotating body is performed.

2. The estimating device according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit obtains the starting rotation amount from the integrated value of the number of pulses of a pulse signal output by an encoder provided for each motor from the timing when the motor starts rotating until the timing when the friction material contacts the rotating body, and determines the presence or absence of the mechanical operation of the gap adjusting mechanism from the obtained starting rotation amount.

3. The estimating device according to claim 2, wherein the determining unit detects at least one of the timing when the motor starts rotating and the timing when the friction material contacts the rotating body from the pulse signal.

4. The estimating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determining unit detects at least one of the timing when the motor starts rotating and the timing when the friction material contacts the rotating body from the current flowing through the motor.

5. The estimating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determining unit detects the timing when the motor starts rotating from a brake command for instructing deceleration of the vehicle or a target mechanical braking force, which is a target value of the mechanical braking force by the mechanical brake device corresponding to the deceleration indicated by the brake command.

6. The estimating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determining unit repeatedly obtains the starting rotation amount and determines the presence or absence of the mechanical operation of the gap adjusting mechanism from the change over time of the starting rotation amount.

7. The determination unit repeatedly obtains the rotational amount at startup at a determined estimation timing, and determines the presence or absence of the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism from a comparison between the rotational amount at startup and the rotational amount at startup obtained at the estimation timing immediately before the estimation timing at which the rotational amount at startup was obtained. The estimation device according to claim 6.

8. The estimation unit estimates the wear amount of the friction material from the number of times the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism has been performed and the moving distance of the friction material due to one mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An output unit that determines whether or not the wear amount of the friction material estimated by the estimation unit is equal to or greater than a wear threshold determined according to the thickness of the friction material at the start of use, and outputs a determination result. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:

10. The determination unit determines that the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism does not occur during the operation of the mechanical brake device for the first time after the wheel, which is the rotating body, has been trimmed, based on information indicating the presence or absence of trimming of the wheel. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The determination unit determines the presence or absence of the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism from the rotational amount at startup during the operation of the mechanical brake device for the first time after the start of operation of the railway vehicle, which is the vehicle. The estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A brake control device for controlling a mechanical brake device including a pressing mechanism that generates a mechanical braking force by pressing a friction material against a rotating body that rotates during vehicle travel with the rotational force of a motor, and a gap adjustment mechanism that maintains the distance between the friction material and the rotating body within a target range by performing a mechanical operation of bringing the friction material closer to the rotating body, the brake control device including: a target braking force determination unit that obtains a target braking force from a brake command instructing deceleration of the vehicle; a target mechanical braking force determination unit that obtains a target mechanical braking force, which is a target value of the braking force by the mechanical brake device, from the target braking force; a brake control unit that obtains a target torque of the motor that generates power for the mechanical brake device to press the friction material against the rotating body from the target mechanical braking force, converts the power supplied from a power supply device into power for supplying the motor according to the target torque, and supplies the converted power to the motor; and an estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. An estimation method for estimating the wear amount of a friction material of a mechanical brake device including a pressing mechanism that generates a mechanical braking force by pressing a friction material against a rotating body that rotates during vehicle travel with the rotational force of a motor, and a gap adjustment mechanism that maintains the distance between the friction material and the rotating body within a target range by performing a mechanical operation of bringing the friction material closer to the rotating body, the method comprising: determining the presence or absence of the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism from the amount of rotation of the motor at startup, which is the amount of rotation of the motor from when the motor starts rotating until the friction material contacts the rotating body; and estimating the wear amount of the friction material from the number of times the mechanical operation of the gap adjustment mechanism for bringing the friction material closer to the rotating body is performed.

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