Lucas Industries Limited

Lucas Industries Public Limited Company

Trw Limited

Peter Martin

Alan Leslie Harris

Gregor Poertzgen

Salvatore Oliveri

Andrew W Kingston

Mark Ian Phillips

Barry John Bridgens

Robert L Ferger

Mark Leighton Howell

James Henton Wilson

Michael John Holt

Karl Friedrich Worsdorfer

An electro-hydraulic braking system of the type which operates normally in a brake-by-wire mode wherein hydraulic pressure is applied to braking devices at the vehicle wheels in proportion to the driver's braking demand as sensed electronically at a brake pedal, and which, if the brake-by-wire mode should fail, at least as far as the front brakes are concerned, operates in a push-through mode wherein hydraulic pressures are applied to the braking devices at the front wheels of the vehicle by way of a tandem master cylinder coupled mechanically to the brake pedal, wherein, in the situation where push-through operation has been selected at the front brakes but the rear brakes are continuing to be operated under EHB, a rear brake demand is calculated as a &ldquo;multiple average&rdquo; from the expression: &lsqb;P &plus;(P &plus;P )/2&rsqb;/2 where P and P are signals from the master cylinder and a front brake sensor in the same push-through circuit and P is a signal from the front brake sensor in the other circuit.

Rear-axle demand for use with front push-through in electrohydraulic (EHB) braking systems

An electro-hydraulic braking system of the type capable of operating in a brake-by-wire mode wherein hydraulic pressure is applied to braking devices at the vehicle wheels in proportion to the driver's braking demand as sensed electronically at a brake pedal, wherein when it is detected that there exists within the system a prescribed category of non safety-critical fault, it is arranged that the driver is caused to experience a modified, different to usual, travel/force behaviour characteristic through the braking pedal when braking.

Driver warning of braking malfunction in electro-hydraulic (EHB) braking systems

An electro-hydraulic braking system for motor vehicles. The system includes a brake pedal and a braking device associated with at least one vehicle wheel which is brought into communication with an electronically controlled valve arrangement in order to apply hydraulic fluid under pressure to the braking device. A fluid pressure accumulator fed by the pump provides a pressurized hydraulic fluid which can be passed to the braking device by way of an electronically controlled valve arrangement in order to apply hydraulic fluid in proportion to the driver braking demand as sensed at the brake pedal in the &ldquo;brake by wire&rdquo; mode. A first device within the system provides a level of fluid pressure supply within the electro-hydraulic system whose highest value is less than that sufficient for the maximum possible braking demand level which may be required. A second device within the system recognizes a braking demand level which exceeds that which can be achieved by the highest value of fluid pressure available by the first device and establishes a higher level of fluid pressure supply within the system for controlling the brakes in accordance with the driver's demanded braking level.

Electro-hydraulic braking systems

A vehicle hydraulic braking system of the brake-by-wire type is disclosed in which proportional solenoid-operated valves (12, 13) are adapted to control the pressure in wheel brake actuators of the brakes (8, 9) on a single axle of a vehicle, and a balance valve (20) is provided to enable individual hydraulic brake circuits to be hydraulically connected so that the pressure applied to each brake is guaranteed to be substantially the same, a first one (13) of the proportional valves (12, 13) is adapted to be isolated so that the hydraulic circuit is fed by a second, single, proportional valve (12). Applying both brakes under the control of a single proportional valve ensures that any fluid leakages are balanced since substantially equal brake-applying pressures are generated. An alternative vehicle hydraulic braking system of the brake-by-wire type is also disclosed in which a control module (3) is provided which is adapted to select between at least a first control mode (104) in which more than one of the proportional valves (12, 13) is adapted to be controlled in parallel and a second control mode (103) in which only one of the proportional valves (12, 13) is operated to control the pressure in the wheel brake actuators.

Vehicle hydraulic braking systems of the brake-by-wire type

A brake pedal (1) for actuation of a brake cylinder (10) of a motor vehicle, comprises a lever (2), having at an end portion of one lever (3) a stepping plate (4) for actuation by a driver, and an articulation location (5) for introducing actuation forces into the brake cylinder (10), characterized in that the lever (2) comprises a first rotational axis (6) and a second rotational axis (7), the lever (2) rotating about the first rotational axis (6) during a normal actuation, and the lever (2) rotating about the second rotational axis (7) during an emergency actuation.

Brake pedal actuator for motor vehicle and actuation unit therefor

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Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom

Peter Martin