Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of controlling brakes (62, 66), comprising steps of: detecting the position of an expander piston (46) constituting an antilocking modulator (22); detecting the torque of a rotative drive source (24) for driving said expander piston; computing a braking force for each of said brakes from said detected position of said expander piston and said detected torque of said rotative drive source at said detected position; estimating friction coefficients of a road surface from said computed braking force; and carrying out the optimum braking by estimating a target slip ratio from said estimated friction coefficients.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
97 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein a crank angle of a crank pin (34) held in engagement with said expander piston (46) is detected as said step of detecting the position of said expander piston, a terminal current value of a d.c. motor (24) is detected as said step of detecting the torque of said d.c. motor serving as said rotative drive source, and caliper pressure is computed as a driving force for each of the brakes from said crank angle and said terminal current value to thereby carry out said step of the optimum braking.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of controlling brakes, comprising steps of: detecting the position of an expander piston (46) constituting an antilocking modulator (22); detecting the torque of a rotative drive source (24) for driving said expander piston; computing a braking force for each of said brakes from said detected position of said expander piston and said detected torque of said rotative drive source at said detected position; estimating friction coefficients of a road surface from said computed braking force; and carrying out the optimum braking by estimating a pressure increasing and reducing rate from said estimated friction coefficients.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
97 words
A method according to claim 3, wherein a crank angle of a crank pin (34) held in engagement with said expander piston (46) is detected as said step of detecting the position of said expander piston, a terminal current value of a d.c. motor (24) is detected as said step of detecting the toroque of said d.c. motor serving as said rotative drive source, and caliper pressure is computed as a driving force for each of said brakes from said crank angle and said terminal current value to thereby carry out said step of the optimum braking.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
101 words
A method of controlling brakes, comprising steps of: detecting the position of an expander piston (46) constituting an antilocking modulator (22); detecting the torque of a rotative drive source (24) for driving said expander piston; computing a braking force for each of said brakes from said detected position of said expander piston and said detected torque of said rotative drive source at said detected position; estimating friction coefficients of a road surface from said computed braking force; and carrying out the optimum braking by estimating a target slip ratio and a pressure increasing and reducing rate from said estimated friction coefficients.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
97 words
A method according to claim 5, wherein a crank angle of a crank pin (34) held in engagement with said expander piston (46) is detected as said step of detecting the position of said expander piston, a terminal current value of a d.c. motor (24) is detected as said step of detecting the toroque of said d.c. motor serving as said rotative drive source, and caliper pressure is computed as a driving force for each of said brakes from said crank angle and said terminal current value to thereby carry out said step of the optimum braking.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
135 words
A method of controlling brakes, comprising steps of: determining a braking force for each of said brakes at the time that a wheel acceleration/deceleration has reached about zero; computing friction coefficients of a road surface from said determined braking force; averaging the present friction coefficient, the previous friction coefficient and friction coefficients prior to said previous friction coefficient when a slip ratio determined at the time that said wheel acceleration/deceleration is substantially zero is converging to the previously-determined slip ratio; and stopping a process for averaging said present friction coefficient, said previous friction coefficient and said friction coefficients so as to start a process for averaging new friction coefficients including the present friction coefficient when the slip ratio determined at the time that said acceleration/deceleration is substantially zero is diverging from said previously-determined slip ratio.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein said step of computing the friction coefficients is executed for every wheel and said step of weighting and averaging said computed friction coefficients is executed in accordance with the number of computations of said friction coefficients for every wheel.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
102 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein said step of computing said friction coefficients is executed for every wheel (192L, 192R, 194L, 194R) of a four-wheel vehicle (190), said step of weighting and averaging said friction coefficients is executed for every right front (192R) and rear wheel (194L, 194R) and left front (192L) and rear wheel, and said friction coefficients of said right front and rear wheels and said friction coefficients of said left front and rear wheels are weighted and averaged when the differences between said former respective friction coefficients and said latter respective friction coefficients fall within a predetermined range.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
102 words
A system (20) for controlling brakes (62, 66), comprising: means (38) for detecting the position of an expander piston (46) constituting an antilocking modulator (22); means (72) for detecting the torque of a rotative drive source (24) for driving said expander piston; means (72) for computing a braking force for each of said brakes from said detected position of said expander piston and said detected torque of said rotative drive source at said detected position; and means (72) for estimating friction coefficients of a road surface from said computed braking force and estimating a target slip ratio from said estimated friction coefficients.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
101 words
A system (100) for controlling brakes, comprising: means (38) for detecting the position of an expander piston constituting an antilocking modulator (22); means (72) for detecting the torque of a rotative drive source (24) for driving said expander piston; means (72) for computing a braking force for each of said brakes from said detected position of said expander piston and said detected torque of said rotative drive source at said detected position; and means (72) for estimating friction coefficients of a road surface from said computed braking force and estimating a pressure increasing and reducing rate from said estimated friction coefficients.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
105 words
A system for controlling brakes, comprising: means (38) for detecting the position of an expander piston (46) constituting an antilocking modulator (22); means (72) for detecting the torque of a rotative drive source (24) for driving said expander piston; means (72) for computing a braking force for each of said brakes from said detected position of said expander piston and said detected torque of said rotative drive source at said detected position; and means for estimating friction coefficients of a road surface from said computed braking force and estimating a target slip ratio and a pressure increasing and reducing rate from said estimated friction coefficients.