Vehicle brake system

Claim 2

A brake system for a vehicle, comprising: (a) a brake actuating member (10); (b) means (58) for sensing the position of the brake actuating member; (c) means (80) for determining a desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle on the basis of the sensed position; and (d) means for adjusting the actual rate of deceleration of the vehicle to the desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle.

Claim 3

The system of claim 1, wherein the adjusting means comprises: (a) means (60) for sensing the actual rate of deceleration 6f the vehicle; (b) means (80) for comparing the desired and actual deceleration rates; and (c) means for controlling the actual deceleration rate on the basis of the result of the comparison.

Claim 4

A brake system for a vehicle, comprising: (a) a brake pedal (10); (b) means (58) for sensing a depression force applied to the brake pedal; (c) means (80) for determining a desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle on the basis of the sensed depression force; and (d) means for adjusting the actual rate of deceleration of the vehicle to the desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle.

Claim 5

A brake system for a vehicle, comprising: (a) a brake pedal (10); (b) means (58) for sensing a depression force applied to the brake pedal; (c) means (80) for determining a desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle on the basis of the sensed depression force; and (d) means for adjusting the actual rate of deceleration of the vehicle to the desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle.

Claim 6

The system of claim 3, wherein the adjusting means comprises: (a) means (60) for sensing the actual rate of deceleration of the vehicle; (b) means for comparing the desired and actual deceleration rates; and (c) means for controlling the actual deceleration rate on the basis of the result ' of the comparison.

Claim 7

A brake system for a vehicle, comprising: (a) a brake pedal (10); (b) means for applying a braking force to the vehicle when the brake pedal is depressed; (c) a power booster (14) for enhancing the braking force to an adjustable degree; (d) means (58) for sensing the depression force applied to the brake pedal; (f) means (80) for determining a desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle on the basis of the sensed depression force; (g) means (60) for sensing the actual rate of deceleration of the vehicle; (h) means (80) for comparing the desired and actual deceleration rates; and (i) means for increasing and decreasing the degree of enhancement of the braking force when the actual deceleration rate is less than and greater than the desired deceleration rate respectively.

Claim 8

A brake system for a vehicle, comprising: (a) a brake pedal (10); (b) means for applying a braking force to the vehicle when the brake pedal is depressed; (c) a power booster (14) for enhancing the braking force to an adjustable degree; (d) means (58) for sensing the depression force applied to the brake pedal; (f) means (80) for determining a desired rate of deceleration of the vehicle on the basis of the sensed depression force; (g) means (60) for sensing the actual rate of deceleration of the vehicle; (h) means (80) for comparing the desired and actual deceleration rates; and (i) means for increasing and decreasing the degree of enhancement of the braking force when the actual deceleration rate is less than and greater than the desired deceleration rate respectively.

Claim 9

The system of claim 5, wherein the power booster includes: (a) a reference pressure chamber (50) supplied with a reference pressure; (b) a adjustable pressure chamber (48) supplied with an adjustable pressure; and (c) a power piston (44) subjected to the pressure differential between the reference and adjustable pressure chambers, the degree of enhancement of the braking force depending on the pressure differential applied to the power piston.

Claim 10

The system of claim 6, wherein the increasing/decreasing means comprises: (a) a three-way valve (62) having first, second, and third ports (64, 66, 68), the three-way valve being changeable between first and second positions, the first port being connected to the second port and being disconnected from the third port when the three-way valve is in its first position, the first port being disconnected from the second port and being connected to the third port when the three-way valve is in its second position, the first port being in communication with the adjustable pressure chamber, the second port being supplied with the reference pressure; (b) means (74) for generating a working pressure different from the reference pressure; and (c) means for supplying the working pressure to the third port of the three-way valve.

Claim 11

The system of claim 5, further comprising means for maintaining the degree of enhancement of the braking force as it is when the actual deceleration rate is equal to the desired deceleration rate.