The present invention provides methods and apparatus for engaging the brake pedal of a vehicle using only the weight of the device, allowing a single person to check for proper functioning of the vehicle's brake lights without having to further attach the device to a seat or steering wheel of the vehicle, and methods of using the same. The device may include an elongated arm or lever, an attachment member at one end of the arm for engaging it with the brake pedal, and a weighted member at the opposite end of the arm for providing downward force against the brake pedal. The attachment member may comprise a bracket with one or more widths, allowing the device to securely engage with brake pedals of varying sizes and thicknesses, such that the same bracket may be used to engage a relatively small and thin brake pedal of a car, or a larger, thicker brake pedal of a commercial vehicle such as a bus or a semi-truck.

An electromechanical actuator for use in a hydraulic braking circuit of a vehicle comprises an electric motor having a stator and a rotor, and a linear actuator that is located within the motor. The linear actuator comprises an elongate shaft having a screw part at one end carrying an external thread that extends along a portion of the shaft, and a fixing part at the other end shaft, the linear actuator further comprising a drive nut that surrounds the screw part of the shaft and is located at least in a retracted position inside an enlarged bore of the first portion of the rotor body, the drive nut being connected to the screw part through a set of balls that engage the threads of the drive nut and screw part, and the fixing part of the shaft includes a tapering portion that engages a complimentary tapering portion of the bore in the second portion of the rotor body.

A braking apparatus of a vehicle including: a brake pedal position detector configured to detect a position of a brake pedal; a piston displacement detector configured to detect a displacement of a piston installed in a main master cylinder; a rear wheel circuit pressure detector configured to detect pressure supplied to a rear wheel circuit; a front wheel circuit pressure detector configured to detect pressure supplied to a front wheel circuit; a motor driver configured to drive a motor to move the piston; and a controller configured to receive the position of the brake pedal, the displacement of the piston, rear wheel circuit pressure and front wheel circuit pressure, determine a fail of a circuit isolation valve, and perform fail safe driving by operating the motor driver and a normal operating valve to supply pressure to only one of the rear wheel circuit and the front wheel circuit.

A brake apparatus, for electrically driven motor vehicles, includes a traction motor at an axle of a vehicle, which traction motor is used both as drive motor and as brake system with recuperation of brake energy, a first piston-cylinder unit, which is actuatable by means of an actuating device, in particular brake pedal, a second piston-cylinder unit, which is actuatable by means of an electromotive drive and a non-hydraulic gearing apparatus, in particular spindle drive. The piston-cylinder units are connected via hydraulic connecting lines to wheel brakes of the motor vehicle. A pressure chamber of the first piston-cylinder unit is connected to two wheel brakes of a vehicle axle, and a pressure chamber of the second piston-cylinder unit is connected to a vehicle axle for active brake force feedback control and recuperation control in interaction with the traction motor.

A method for operating a brake installation of a vehicle. A first electrically controllable pressure provision device provides brake pressure for actuating hydraulically actuatable brakes. A first electronic open-loop and closed-loop control unit, and a first pressure detection device, measures brake pressure provided by a primary brake system. A secondary brake system between the primary system and a part of the wheel brakes has a second electrically controllable pressure provision device provides brake pressure for actuating at least the part of the brakes. A second electronic open-loop and closed-loop control unit, and at least one second pressure detection device, the signals of which are processed in the second electronic open-loop and closed-loop control unit. The secondary system monitors the primary system based on signals from the second pressure detection device and on a predefined brake pressure demand to build up a brake pressure corresponding to the predefined brake pressure demand.

A motor vehicle brake system includes at least four hydraulically actuatable wheel brakes, a main pressure medium reservoir, at atmospheric pressure, a first electrohydraulic brake control device, which, for each of the four wheel brakes, includes a wheel-specific outlet, and a second electrohydraulic brake control device, which, for each of the four wheel brakes, includes a wheel-specific inlet, connected to the wheel-specific outlet of the first brake control device, a wheel-specific wheel outlet, connected to the wheel brake, and a hydraulic wheel connecting line, connecting the inlet to the wheel outlet. The second brake control device includes a first pump with a first pressure side and first suction side. The first pressure side connected to a first and second wheel connecting line, and a second pump with a second pressure side and second suction side. The second pressure side connected to the third and the fourth wheel connecting line.

An electrohydraulic brake system of an off-road vehicle includes a first hydraulic brake circuit for a first vehicle axle; a second hydraulic brake circuit for at least one second vehicle axle; a respective wheel brake for each vehicle wheel per vehicle axle; an electronic control unit having a brake force distribution function; a brake signal generator; at least one central brake force distribution valve per brake circuit, a signal input of the control unit for registering a braking signal of the brake signal generator; and at least one signal output of the control unit per brake force distribution valve. A brake pressure for applying a hydraulic pressure fluid to the brake cylinders of the wheel brakes on the respective vehicle axles can be fed to the respective brake circuit by the control unit in conjunction with the central brake force distribution valve and the brake signal generator.

A braking apparatus of a vehicle may include: a first master cylinder configured to create hydraulic pressure as a brake pedal is pressed; a second master cylinder configured to create braking pressure through a piston which is pressed by the hydraulic pressure created by the first master cylinder and a nut moved by rotation of a motor; and a control unit, configured to: calculate a required displacement position of the nut based on a pedal stroke of the brake pedal, and update the required displacement position based on a displacement position of the nut at a dead stroke end point where the pedal stroke moves away from a dead stroke section of the first master cylinder.

An electric brake system and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. The electric brake system includes a hydraulic control device, a sensing unit, and a controller. The hydraulic control device generates hydraulic pressure using a piston operated by an electric signal generated in response to a displacement of a brake pedal. The sensing unit detects driver's braking intention. When an electronic stability control (ESC) of a vehicle operates, the controller calculates a change amount of stroke of the piston needed to output brake pressure corresponding to the driver's braking intention, and acquires the calculated stroke change amount so as to boost pressure of each wheel at a predetermined slope.

A vehicle brake system, wherein an electric brake device is configured such that a clearance exists between a friction member and a rotary body when no braking force request is made, and wherein a controller is configured to: execute, for a hydraulic brake device, from a time point of generation of the request, a braking-force-request-dependent control for generating a hydraulic braking force in accordance with a degree of the request; and execute, for the electric brake device, (a) a clearance removing control for removing the clearance, which is executed from the time point of generation of the request till a time point when the degree increases up to a threshold degree, and (b) a braking-force-request-dependent control for generating an electric braking force in accordance with the degree of the request, the control being executed after the time point when the degree becomes equal to the threshold degree.