Central hydraulics brake system

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides a pressure control solenoid valve (pressure regulator) based vehicle braking system which utilizes pressurized hydraulic fluid that is produced by a conventional hydraulic system.
The hydraulic system generally consists of a reservoir, a hydraulic pump, a control valve and an accumulator to provide a source and a reservoir of pressurized hydraulic fluid.
The hydraulic pump is independently electric motor driven or combined in an integrated hydraulic system with the vehicle's power steering or other hydraulic systems.
To assist the pressure regulator in maintaining essentially zero leakage, the braking system according to the present invention implements an enable valve to conserve pressurized fluid and to maintain accumulator charge for default power assisted braking.
The system utilizes hydraulic intensifiers which allow a substantial part of the hydraulic system to operate at lower pressure while providing the required higher pressure for system braking.
This feature assists in lowering the overall braking system costs.
The hydraulic intensifiers provide a natural fluid isolation between the low pressure side of the intensifier and the high pressure braking side, which provides for the use of two different fluids if desirable.
The braking system utilizes a pilot operated hydraulic lock valve to provide essentially zero leakage or a mechanical intensifier lock to lock the intensifiers.
As a result, pedal fall away is prevented during manual braking and during selected system default modes.
Locking the intensifier also permits the utilization of pressure regulators with larger clearances and wider tolerances than otherwise possible.
This helps hold down overall system costs.
The enable valve is preferably pilot operated.
This preferred feature contributes to system affordability in addition to enabling the hydraulic braking system only when needed for power braking, anti-lock braking situations or traction control situations.
The braking system also preferably includes an enable solenoid valve that provides electrical control of the enable valve and the pilot operated hydraulic lock valves simultaneously