Hydraulic brake system with enhanced braking force for rear wheels

Abstract

A hydraulic brake system operates so that under anti-lock control, the braking forces for the rear wheels are enhanced in order to reduce braking loads for the front wheels. Further, upon the occurrence of a malfunction of the anti-locking control, the hydraulic pressure which is supplied to the front and the rear wheels is equalized in order to prevent the rear wheels from locking. In preferred embodiments, a small hydraulic pressure is supplied from a master cylinder to the front wheels while a large pressure is supplied from a brake booster to the rear wheels. Due to the large fluid pressure, the braking forces of the rear wheels are enhanced so that the rear wheels might tend to lock easily. However, anti-lock control can be performed effectively in order to avoid the rear wheels from locking. Upon the malfunction of the anti-lock control, a switching valve is operated so that the brake pressure which is supplied to the front and the rear wheels is equalized. The switching valve operates so that the braking forces of the rear wheels are mutually reduced in comparison to the braking forces of the front wheels. Therefore, it is also possible to prevent the rear wheels from locking if the anti-lock control fails. Thus, the vehicle stability is maintained even if the anti-lock control fails.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.