Apparatus and method for electronically controlled hydraulic actuator

An improved hydraulic pump assembly for use in an anti-lock braking system in an automobile comprising:

• a hydraulic valve subassembly including a plurality of valves;
• a plurality of toroidal coils, each of the valves extending through the center of a corresponding coil;
• an electronic control unit applying an electric current to individual coils to actuate the corresponding valve;
• the improvement comprising a coil mounting subassembly including;
• a coil wiring board mounted between the hydraulic valve subassembly and the electronic control unit, the coils being mounted on the coil wiring board with traces on one side of the coil wiring board extending between coils and corresponding terminals also mounted on the coil wiring board, the terminals interconnecting the coil wiring board to the electronic control unit, the opposite side of the coil wiring board having a substantially continuous conductive layer to form a electrical shield on one side of the electronic control unit.

An improved hydraulic pump assembly for use in an anti-lock braking system in an automobile comprising:

• a hydraulic valve subassembly including a plurality of valves;
• a plurality of toroidal coils, each of the valves extending through the center of a corresponding coil;
• an electronic control unit applying an electric current to individual coils to actuate the corresponding valve;
• the improvement comprising a coil mounting subassembly including;
• a coil wiring board to which the individual coils are soldered;
• a plurality of pins for connecting the coils to the electronic control unit, traces on the coil wiring board connecting the coils to corresponding pins;
• a mounting frame open four sidewalls, the frame and the coil wiring board sealing the hydraulic valve subassembly from the electronic control unit when the electronic control unit is positioned on the opposite side of the coil mounting subassembly from the hydraulic valve subassembly, whereby the coils can be initially soldered to the coil board before the coil mounting subassembly is attached to the electronic control unit.

An improved hydraulic pump assembly for use in an anti-lock braking system in an automobile comprising:

• a hydraulic valve subassembly including a plurality of valves;
• a plurality of toroidal coils, each of the valves extending through the center of a corresponding coil;
• an electronic control unit applying an electric current to individual coils to actuate the corresponding valve;
• the improvement comprising a coil mounting subassembly including;
• a coil wiring board to which the individual coils are soldered;
• a plurality of pins for connecting the coils to the electronic control unit, traces on the coil wiring board connecting the coils to corresponding pins;
• a mounting frame open on the top and bottom and having four sidewalls, the frame including an annular sealing rim;
• and
• a seal positioned between the coil wiring board to seal the hydraulic valve subassembly from the electronic control unit when the electronic control unit is positioned on the opposite side of the coil mounting subassembly from the hydraulic valve subassembly, whereby the coils can be initially soldered to the coil wiring board before fabrication of the coil mounting subassembly.

A method of fabricating an electronically controlled hydraulic assembly including valves actuated by solenoid coils to seal an electronic control subassembly from a hydraulic subassembly comprising the steps of:

• soldering a plurality of solenoid coils to a wiring board to form a coil wiring board subassembly;
• testing the coil wiring board subassembly for electrical continuity and integrity before assembling the coil wiring board subassembly to other subassemblies to complete the hydraulic subassembly;
• mounting the coil wiring board subassembly to a peripheral frame and positioning a peripheral seal between the peripheral frame and the coil wiring board, the peripheral seal surrounding the plurality of solenoid coils,
• mounting the electronic control subassembly to the top of the peripheral frame and the hydraulic subassembly to the bottom of the peripheral frame with the wiring board forming a sealing bulkhead between the electronic control subassembly and the hydraulic subassembly.