Vehicle braking apparatus, and methods of use and manufacture thereof
First Claim
1. A brake system for use with a vehicle that includes front and rear wheels that are configured for rotation on a surface upon which the vehicle travels, the brake system comprising:
- multiple brake assemblies including a front brake assembly provided at the front wheel, and a rear brake assembly provided at the rear wheel;
a brake modulator that is configured to cause each of the brake assemblies to engage and thereby reduce speed of rotation of the associated wheel, via one of a normal mode in which the brake assembly substantially continuously reduces speed of rotation, and a pulsing mode in which the brake assembly sporadically modulates speed of rotation;
a sensor that is configured to sense at least one condition relating to interaction between at least one of the wheels and the surface upon which the vehicle travels; and
a controller that receives data from the sensor and that is configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause the front brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of the front wheel via one of the normal mode and the pulsing mode based on the sensed data, the controller also being configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause the rear brake assembly to modulate a braking force applied to the rear wheel until the rear wheel slips, and then to instruct the rear brake assembly to reduce the speed of rotation of the rear wheel via the pulsing mode if the front brake assembly is engaged in reducing the speed of rotation of the front wheel via the pulsing mode.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Some embodiments are directed to a brake system for use with a vehicle. The brake system can include a sensor that is configured to sense at least one condition relating to interaction between at least one wheel of the vehicle and a surface upon which the vehicle travels. A controller can receive data from the sensor and be configured to instruct a brake modulator to cause a front brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of a front wheel via one of a normal mode and a pulsing mode based on the sensed data. The controller can also be configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause a rear brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of a rear wheel via the pulsing mode if the front brake assembly is engaged in reducing the speed of rotation of the front wheel via the pulsing mode.
10 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A brake system for use with a vehicle that includes front and rear wheels that are configured for rotation on a surface upon which the vehicle travels, the brake system comprising:
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multiple brake assemblies including a front brake assembly provided at the front wheel, and a rear brake assembly provided at the rear wheel; a brake modulator that is configured to cause each of the brake assemblies to engage and thereby reduce speed of rotation of the associated wheel, via one of a normal mode in which the brake assembly substantially continuously reduces speed of rotation, and a pulsing mode in which the brake assembly sporadically modulates speed of rotation; a sensor that is configured to sense at least one condition relating to interaction between at least one of the wheels and the surface upon which the vehicle travels; and a controller that receives data from the sensor and that is configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause the front brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of the front wheel via one of the normal mode and the pulsing mode based on the sensed data, the controller also being configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause the rear brake assembly to modulate a braking force applied to the rear wheel until the rear wheel slips, and then to instruct the rear brake assembly to reduce the speed of rotation of the rear wheel via the pulsing mode if the front brake assembly is engaged in reducing the speed of rotation of the front wheel via the pulsing mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A control assembly for a brake system for a vehicle that includes front and rear wheels that are configured for rotation on a surface upon which the vehicle travels, the brake system including multiple brake assemblies including a front brake assembly provided at the front wheel, and a rear brake assembly provided at the rear wheel, and a brake modulator that is configured to cause each of the brake assemblies to engage and thereby reduce speed of rotation of the associated wheel, via one of a normal mode in which the brake assembly substantially continuously reduces speed of rotation, and a pulsing mode in which the brake assembly sporadically modulates speed of rotation, the control assembly comprising:
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a sensor that is configured to sense at least one condition relating to interaction between at least one of the wheels and the surface upon which the vehicle travels; and a controller that receives data from the sensor and that is configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause the front brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of the front wheel via one of the normal mode and the pulsing mode based on the sensed data, the controller also being configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause the rear brake assembly to modulate a braking force applied to the rear wheel until the rear wheel slips, and then to instruct the rear brake assembly to reduce the speed of rotation of the rear wheel via the pulsing mode if the front brake assembly is engaged in reducing the speed of rotation of the front wheel via the pulsing mode. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of operating a brake system for a vehicle that includes front and rear wheels that are configured for rotation on a surface upon which the vehicle travels, the brake system including multiple brake assemblies including a front brake assembly provided at the front wheel, and a rear brake assembly provided at the rear wheel, and a brake modulator that is configured to cause each of the brake assemblies to engage and thereby reduce speed of rotation of the associated wheel, via one of a normal mode in which the brake assembly substantially continuously reduces speed of rotation, and a pulsing mode in which the brake assembly sporadically modulates speed of rotation, the method comprising:
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sensing at least one condition relating to interaction between at least one of the wheels and the surface upon which the vehicle travels; instructing the brake modulator to cause the front brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of the front wheel via one of the normal mode and the pulsing mode based on the sensed at least one condition; and instructing the brake modulator to cause the rear brake assembly to modulate a braking force applied to the rear wheel until the rear wheel slips, and then to instruct the rear brake assembly to reduce the speed of rotation of the rear wheel via the pulsing mode if the front brake assembly is engaged in reducing the speed of rotation of the front wheel via the pulsing mode.
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Specification