Electric parking brake system

• US 6,905,181 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2003
• Issued: 06/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Makoto, Kichima, Yutaka, Takei, Katsuyuki, Bessho, Makoto, Iwagawa, Yoshihiro, Miyakawa, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Douglas C.
• Application Number:
  US10/691,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20040113489A1
• Time in Patent Office: 601 Days
• Field of Search: 303/3, 303/20, 303/191, 303/115.2, 30312203-12207, 303/155, 303/162, 180/271, 477/186, 188156-165, 188/265, 188/2.D, 701/76, 701 70- 71, 701/80, 701/92, 792/219.4
• US Class Current: 303/155
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 13/746 and mechanical transmission of the braking action
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/107 with electrical power assistance
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17616 Microprocessor-based systems

Abstract

An electric parking brake system that includes a parking brake, and an electric motor, wherein the parking brake is activated by the electric motor. Operation of the parking brake is controlled such that a vehicle is decelerated at a target deceleration of a predetermined magnitude when an operation command to operate the parking brake is issued by a driver via an operation switch while the vehicle is running. If a service brake fails while a vehicle is running, when the driver depresses the operation switch to issue the operation command to a parking brake to brake the vehicle, the parking brake is controlled such that the vehicle is decelerated at the target deceleration of the predetermined magnitude set on the basis of the number of times of depressing the operation switch.

Claims

1. An electric parking brake system comprising:

a parking brake, and

an electric motor, wherein

the parking brake is activated by the electric motor, and

operation of the parking brake is controlled such that a vehicle is decelerated at a target deceleration of a predetermined magnitude when an operation command to operate the parking brake is issued by a driver while the vehicle is running,

the operation command is issued based on the operation of an operating member by the driver, and

the predetermined magnitude of the target deceleration is set based on an amount of operation of the operating member, wherein

the operating member comprises a switch which changes over from a non-command position to an operation command position when depressed by the driver and which is held at the operation command position only while kept depressed by the driver,

a number of changeovers from the non-command position to the operation command position constitutes the amount of operation, and

when the switch continues to be situated at the operation command position even after a vehicle body deceleration increases to the target deceleration, the target deceleration is increased.

2. The electric parking brake system of claim 1, wherein

an upper limit value for the target vehicle body deceleration is also set in advance, and

operation of the parking brake is controlled such that the vehicle body deceleration does not exceed the upper limit value so set when the operation command to operate the parking brake is issued by a driver while the vehicle is running.