Vehicular brake control apparatus

• US 20100131168A1
• Filed: 11/17/2009
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Maruyama, Tasuku
• Granted Patent: US 9,393,938 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/96
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle

Abstract

Even when main brakes are released after auxiliary brakes are operated, a kickback applied to a vehicle body can be made small in order to obtain a riding comfort.

When auxiliary brakes 17 perform a braking operation while a vehicle is being stopped by a braking operation of main brakes 10, a VDC_ECU 2 rapidly reduces a target brake fluid pressure Pbf to a first fluid pressure value Pbf1 that can maintain a stop condition of the vehicle (S11 to S13), and then, gradually reduces the target brake fluid pressure Pbf before releasing the braking operation of the main brakes 10 (S14). Since the brake fluid pressure is gradually reduced when the target brake fluid pressure Pbf becomes equal to or lower than the first fluid pressure value Pbf1, a kickback applied to the vehicle can be reduced, comparing to a conventional technology in which the pressure is rapidly reduced.

Claims

1. A brake control apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

a main brake controller configured to control a brake fluid pressure supplied to main brakes provided to four wheels of the vehicle according to a traveling condition of a preceding vehicle so as to automatically stop the vehicle using a braking operation of the main brakes and maintain the stop condition; and

an auxiliary brake controller configured to control parking auxiliary brakes provided to right and left front wheels or right and left rear wheels of the vehicle to perform a braking operation so as to maintain the stop condition of the vehicle,

wherein when the auxiliary brakes perform the braking operation while the brake fluid pressure is being supplied to the main brakes to stop the vehicle, the main brake controller rapidly reduces the brake fluid pressure to a predetermined fluid pressure value and then gradually reduces the brake fluid pressure before the main brakes are released.

2. The brake control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein the fluid pressure value is set to a limit value that can maintain the stop condition of the vehicle or a value slightly higher than the limit value.