Emergency braking of a vehicle using compound parking and service braking

A brake system controller for a heavy vehicle having both a pneumatic first brake system and a pneumatic second brake system, the controller comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the brake system controller to:

• in response to obtaining an indication that a request for emergency braking of the heavy vehicle is imminent:
• instruct the first brake system to increase an air pressure in the first brake system, such that an additional air pressure increase needed before the first brake system starts to generate brake force is smaller than before the increase;
• instruct the second brake system to decrease an air pressure in the second brake system, such that an additional air pressure decrease needed before the second brake system starts to generate brake force is smaller than before the decrease;
• in response to receiving the request for emergency braking of the vehicle:
• instruct the first brake system to further increase the air pressure to above a first pressure threshold above which the first brake system starts to generate brake force;
• and
• instruct the second brake system to further decrease the air pressure to below a second pressure threshold below which the second brake system starts to generate brake force;
• and
• after receiving the request for emergency braking of the vehicle and while still performing the emergency braking of the heavy vehicle using the first brake system, increase the air pressure of the second brake system to above the second pressure threshold again.

A computer program product for brake management in a heavy vehicle having both a pneumatic first brake system and a pneumatic second brake system, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when run on processing circuitry of a brake system controller of the heavy vehicle, causes the brake system controller to:

• in response to obtaining an indication that a request for emergency braking of the heavy vehicle is imminent:
• instruct the first brake system to increase an air pressure in the first brake system, such that an additional air pressure increase needed before the first brake system starts to generate brake force is smaller than before the increase;
• instruct the second brake system to decrease an air pressure in the second brake system, such that an additional air pressure decrease needed before the second brake system starts to generate brake force is smaller than before the decrease;
• in response to receiving the request for emergency braking of the vehicle:
• instruct the first brake system to further increase the air pressure to above a first pressure threshold above which the first brake system starts to generate brake force;
• and
• instruct the second brake system to further decrease the air pressure to below a second pressure threshold below which the second brake system starts to generate brake force;
• and
• after receiving the request for emergency braking of the heavy vehicle and while still performing the braking of the heavy vehicle using the first brake system, increase the air pressure of the second brake system to above the second pressure threshold again.