Hydraulic brake and steering assist system

In a hydraulically assisted braking and steering system of a vehicle having a hydraulic pump communicating with a hydraulic steering assist device and including a hydraulic brake assist device coupled in series between the pump and the hydraulic steering assist device such that a primary supply of hydraulic fluid fed to the hydraulic steering assist device for its operation passes first through the hydraulic brake assist device, and wherein the improvement comprises:

• a flow splitter disposed in series between the pump and the hydraulic brake assist device and communicating directly with the steering assist device, said flow splitter being operative to sense brake assist pressure of fluid fed by the pump to the hydraulic brake assist device and in response to sensing that the brake assist pressure has reached a predetermined brake assist control pressure which would result in a sudden, temporary drop of the primary supply of fluid to the hydraulic steering assist device, being further operative to direct a supplemental supply of bypass fluid around the hydraulic assist device directly to the hydraulic steering assist device to counteract the drop in the primary supply and thereby minimize any change in steering effort felt by an operator of the vehicle during sudden hard braking conditions.