Patents by Inventor Helmut Wolff

Helmut Wolff has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10214190
    Abstract: A method for operating a hydraulic braking system of a motor vehicle includes generating a force for displacing a brake piston of a wheel brake of the brake system via a pressure generator and an electromechanical actuator to actuate the wheel brake. The pressure generator and the actuator are controlled to collectively generate a total clamping force at the wheel brake in order to enable a parking brake function. During the enabling procedure, an operating current of the actuator is monitored to determine a functional capability of the braking system, and the pressure generator is controlled such that the hydraulic pressure is modulated for a predeterminable period of time to unload or to load the actuator. The operating current of the actuator during this time period in order to determine the functional capability of the braking system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Edith Mannherz, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20190023247
    Abstract: A method for providing a brake force in a vehicle includes actuating an electric brake motor, which overrides an idling function, generating a hydraulic braking power, and re-actuating the electric brake motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2017
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Inventors: Frank Baehrle-Miller, Dieter Blattert, Helmut Wolff, Edith Mannherz
  • Publication number: 20180326961
    Abstract: A method for releasing a first electric motor-actuated brake device for a vehicle includes actuating a second brake device for the vehicle in a clamping direction with a first brake device in a clamped state in order to produce a predetermined clamping force on a brake piston that is associated with the first brake device and the second brake device in common. The method further includes actuating the first brake device in a release direction before the second brake device reaches the predetermined clamping force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Publication date: November 15, 2018
    Inventors: Helmut Wolff, Andreas Englert
  • Publication number: 20180229710
    Abstract: A method for verifying the parking brake force in a vehicle includes comparing a travel of a brake booster with a reference travel. The method further includes producing an error signal in case of a predetermined deviation between the travel of the brake booster and the reference travel. The vehicle includes a hydraulic vehicle brake with a brake booster and an electromechanical brake mechanism with an electric brake motor for producing a braking force to displace a brake piston.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Publication date: August 16, 2018
    Inventors: Frank Baehrle-Miller, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180178771
    Abstract: A parking brake for a vehicle includes an electric brake motor, a transmission, and a brake piston. The transmission transfers a drive movement of the motor to the brake piston. The transmission has a transmission efficiency that steadily increases as a temperature in the transmission rises.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2016
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Inventors: Helmut WOLFF, Simon HAUBER
  • Publication number: 20180154880
    Abstract: An automated parking brake for a motor vehicle having at least one brake device is configured to adopt at least two states. In a first state, no clamping force is established by the parking brake, and in a second state, a clamping force is established by the parking brake. A transition point defines a transition between the two states. An identification of the transition point is carried out during a releasing process of the parking brake.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2016
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Applicant: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Helmut Wolff, Andreas Englert, Tobias Putzer
  • Publication number: 20180148028
    Abstract: A method for operating a hydraulic brake system of a motor vehicle includes enabling a parking brake function by actuating a pressure generator and an actuator such that the pressure generator and the actuator together generate a total clamping force at a wheel brake, and actuating the pressure generator based on a movement of an actuator element and/or a brake piston, the movement generated by the actuator. The brake system includes the wheel brake having the brake piston, a brake pedal device, the pressure generator configured to actuate the wheel brake, the actuator assigned to the wheel brake and having the actuator element configured to actuate the wheel brake. A force that displaces the brake piston in order to actuate the wheel brake is generated by the pressure generator and/or the actuator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Frank Baehrle-Miller, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180148033
    Abstract: A method for operating a hydraulic brake system of a motor vehicle includes checking a functional capability of the brake system by detecting a plurality of idle travel values of an actuator before the actuator generates a clamping force, and comparing the idle travel values with a plurality of expected idle travel values of the actuator that are determined as a function of an actuation of a pressure generator. The brake system includes a wheel brake having a brake piston, a brake pedal device, the pressure generator configured to generate a pressure generator force that moves the brake piston in order to active the wheel brake, and the actuator assigned to the wheel brake and configured to generate an actuator force that moves the brake piston in order to activate the wheel brake. The pressure generator and the actuator are actuated such that together they generate a total clamping force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Edith Mannherz, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180148020
    Abstract: A method for operating a hill hold controller of a motor vehicle including at least one parking brake. The parking brake is disengaged according to an actuation of a gas pedal of the motor vehicle. The disengagement of the parking brake is released according to a variable representing a road gradient. The release to disengage the parking brake is granted, independently of the variable and/or the availability of the variable, when the gas pedal of the motor vehicle reaches or exceeds a predefinable release position by way of the actuation thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Frank Baehrle-Miller, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180148021
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method for operating at least one parking brake of a motor vehicle, which parking brake can be activated and deactivated in an automated manner, wherein, for the purpose of automated operation of the parking brake, state values of the motor vehicle are monitored and compared with prespecifiable conditions, and wherein the parking brake is activated when a first group of the conditions is met and is deactivated when a second group of the conditions is met. It is provided that the parking brake is activated only when all of the conditions of the second group can be successfully checked for compliance or non-compliance with the respective condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Edith Mannherz, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180148023
    Abstract: A method for operating a hydraulic braking system of a motor vehicle includes generating a force for displacing a brake piston of a wheel brake of the brake system via a pressure generator and an electromechanical actuator to actuate the wheel brake. The pressure generator and the actuator are controlled to collectively generate a total clamping force at the wheel brake in order to enable a parking brake function. During the enabling procedure, an operating current of the actuator is monitored to determine a functional capability of the braking system, and the pressure generator is controlled such that the hydraulic pressure is modulated for a predeterminable period of time to unload or to load the actuator. The operating current of the actuator during this time period in order to determine the functional capability of the braking system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2017
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Edith Mannherz, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180126969
    Abstract: A method for operating a braking system of a motor vehicle with at least one hydraulically actuable wheel brake, a brake actuation device for hydraulically actuating the wheel brake, an electric brake booster for setting a predefinable hydraulic braking boost, and at least one parking brake assembly includes monitoring the motor vehicle to detect standstill and monitoring the parking brake assembly to detect activation thereof. The method further includes reducing a braking boost set by the brake booster if standstill of the motor vehicle has been detected and an activation of the parking brake assembly has been detected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2017
    Publication date: May 10, 2018
    Inventors: Dieter Blattert, Edith Mannherz, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180086325
    Abstract: A method for determining the functional capability of a brake system with a wheel brake and a movable brake piston includes setting first and second braking forces on the brake piston with a hydraulic pressure generator and an electromechanical actuator, respectively, to set a parking brake force at the wheel brake. The method further includes actuating the actuator to set a third braking force on the brake piston with a value lower than the first and second braking forces. The hydraulic pressure generator is then actuated to set the first braking force after the third braking force is set. The actuator is then actuated to set the second braking force after the first braking force is set. The functional capability of the brake system is determined when the operating current during application of the second braking force temporarily corresponds to an open-circuit current of the actuator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: Edith Mannherz, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180050678
    Abstract: A method for determining a leakage in a hydraulic brake system in a vehicle includes evaluating a suspected leakage in the hydraulic brake system and taking into account an actuation of an automated hand brake during the evaluation of the suspected leakage. The hydraulic brake system has a hydraulic footbrake and the automated hand brake has an electromechanical actuator. The hydraulic footbrake and the automated hand brake are configured to act on the same brake piston.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2017
    Publication date: February 22, 2018
    Inventors: Helmut Wolff, Dieter Blattert, Edith Mannherz
  • Publication number: 20180038432
    Abstract: A method for maintaining a brake system in a vehicle with a hydraulic vehicle brake and an electromechanical brake device with an electric brake motor includes preparing the brake system for maintenance operations by actuating the electric brake motor to displace a transmission member into a retracted position that is remote from a brake starting position in which a brake lining is located adjacent to a brake disk of the wheel brake device. The method further includes actuating the electric brake motor to displace the transmission member in the direction of the brake starting position after completion of the maintenance operations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Inventors: Dieter Blattert, Edith Mannherz, Frank Baehrle-Miller, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20180029574
    Abstract: A method for operating an automated parking brake in a motor vehicle with a hydraulic actuator for generating a hydraulic force component and an electromechanical actuator for generating an electromechanical force component, includes overlaying the hydraulic force component and the electromechanical force component to achieve a total clamping force for a parking brake process. The method further includes setting, on occurrence of a first condition, a first hydraulic pressure level, and setting, on occurrence of a second condition, a second hydraulic pressure level. The method also includes holding substantially constant the set first hydraulic pressure level with the hydraulic actuator until the occurrence of the second condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Publication date: February 1, 2018
    Inventors: Edith Mannherz, Helmut Wolff
  • Publication number: 20170341633
    Abstract: A method for braking a vehicle includes at least reducing a hydraulic brake pressure in at least one wheel brake device disposed on a vehicle axle in response to an at least partial failure of a brake boosting of a hydraulic brake with at least one first brake circuit and at least one second brake circuit. The method further includes operating an electric brake motor of an electromechanical braking device to produce a braking force on the at least one wheel brake device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2017
    Publication date: November 30, 2017
    Inventors: Dieter Blattert, Edith Mannherz, Frank Baehrle-Miller, Helmut Wolff
  • Patent number: 9701290
    Abstract: A method is used for operating a braking device of a vehicle, in particular a parking brake device. The braking device comprises an electromotive actuator that displaces an actuator element either into a clamping position for subjecting a brake disk to a clamping force or into a release position for releasing the brake disk. A brake disk temperature is determined in order to activate the actuator depending on the determined brake disk temperature. The brake disk temperature is determined depending on at least one actuator current value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Baehrle-Miller, Dieter Blattert, Helmut Wolff, Simon Hauber
  • Publication number: 20170174196
    Abstract: A method for adjusting the brake pedal counter force in a vehicle with a hydraulic vehicle brake and an electromechanical brake device includes modulating the brake pressure during the simultaneous operation of the hydraulic vehicle brake and the electromechanical brake device such that the brake pedal counter force follows a predetermined target profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Publication date: June 22, 2017
    Inventors: Dieter Blattert, Helmut Wolff
  • Patent number: 9434361
    Abstract: A method for releasing a brake device for an automatic parking brake, a corresponding device, and a control device enable safely releasing the parking brake without stress on components. A method for actuating a parking brake with a brake device having a brake caliper housing with a chamber configured to receive a fluid, a brake piston, a spindle and a spindle nut, includes determining a first hydraulic driver-applied pre-pressure in the chamber during a mechanical application process of the parking brake. The method further includes comparing the first driver-applied pre-pressure to a predetermined pressure threshold value via the control device; and building up a hydraulic support pressure in the chamber in order to unload the spindle when the first driver-applied pre-pressure is above the pressure threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Simon Hauber, Helmut Wolff