Patents by Inventor Thorsten Ullrich

Thorsten Ullrich 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).

  • Publication number: 20260125035
    Abstract: A braking system with flexible architecture and a method for operating such a braking system for a motor vehicle are disclosed. The braking system can include a brake pedal with a pedal sensor for detecting the driver input and electrically controllable wheel brake modules. The pedal sensor can be connected to an electronic control unit, which generates control information for the electronic power unit from the braking information of the pedal sensor. The electronic power unit is used to control the wheel brakes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2023
    Publication date: May 7, 2026
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Martin Baechle, Achim Netz, Mathias Haag
  • Patent number: 12509045
    Abstract: A brake system for a motor vehicle includes an electrohydraulic partial brake system with hydraulically actuated wheel brakes and an electromechanical partial brake system with electromechanically actuated wheel brakes. The brake system includes two control units and two energy supplies which are independent of one another, a first one of the control units being configured to control the electromechanical partial brake system, and a second one of the control units being configured to control the electrohydraulic partial brake system. The first control unit is supplied with energy exclusively by way of a first one of the energy supplies and the second control unit is supplied with energy exclusively by way of a second one of the energy supplies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2025
    Assignee: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Robert Bachmann, Martin Baechle, Roman Büchler
  • Publication number: 20250360900
    Abstract: A brake system and method for controlling a braking system comprises transmitting pedal-sensor data to a brake control unit, calculating preprocessing data with the brake control unit, transmitting the preprocessing data to a vehicle controller, calculating control information for at least one electromechanical wheel brake from the preprocessing data in the vehicle controller, and transmitting the control information for the electromechanical wheel brake to a brake control unit. The at least one brake control unit determines whether the control information received from the vehicle controller falls below a safety threshold before forwarding the control information to the at least one electromechanical wheel brake, and, overwrites the control information before forwarding to the at least one electromechanical wheel brake when the control information is below the safety threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2025
    Publication date: November 27, 2025
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Martin Baechle
  • Publication number: 20250360901
    Abstract: A brake system for a motor vehicle comprising a brake pedal having at least one pedal sensor for capturing a driver brake request using pedal sensor data. The brake system has four electromechanical wheel brakes, two brake control units, and a vehicle regulator. The brake control unit calculates preprocessing data from the pedal sensor data and makes the data available to the vehicle regulator via a signal connection. The vehicle regulator calculates control information for the wheel based on the preprocessing data. The brake system comprises two primary wheel brake modules which are each arranged on a vehicle wheel and in each case one of the electromechanical wheel brakes and one assigned brake control unit are integrated. The pedal sensor is connected to both brake control units via in each case one separate brake request signal line. A control method for such a brake system is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2025
    Publication date: November 27, 2025
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Martin Baechle
  • Publication number: 20250353480
    Abstract: An electrohydraulic brake control device for hydraulically actuable wheel brakes has an electrically activatable hydraulic pressure source, an inlet valve for each of the hydraulically actuable wheel brakes, an outlet valve for each of the hydraulically actuable wheel brakes and a pressure medium reservoir. For at least one of the hydraulically actuable wheel brakes, the brake control device has a pressure build-up wheel connection and a pressure release wheel connection. Also, a brake system for a motor vehicle having such a brake control device and a method for operating such a brake system are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 8, 2023
    Publication date: November 20, 2025
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Martin Baechle
  • Patent number: 12427963
    Abstract: A braking system for a motor vehicle has a plurality of hydraulic brake units for braking each braking one wheel of the motor vehicle and a first electric parking brake actuator for braking a first wheel and a second electric parking brake actuator for braking a second wheel. A first control device comprises a first hydraulic controller which is designed and set up to drive the plurality of hydraulic brake units. In order to ensure parking brake redundancy, the first control device has a driver for driving the first parking brake actuator. A second control device is also provided, which comprises a driver for driving the first parking brake actuator and a driver for driving the second parking brake actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2025
    Assignee: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Brenn, Roman Büchler, Thorsten Ullrich
  • Patent number: 12403880
    Abstract: A hydraulic braking system has a vacuum brake booster, an ESC system with a hydraulic pump for generating braking force in a wheel-specific manner in a plurality of wheel brakes, an ESC control device for driving the hydraulic pump and a hydraulic pressure sensor for determining a hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic braking system. For electrified vehicles, an electric vacuum pump is provided for supplying the vacuum brake booster, wherein the ESC control device is designed to drive the electric vacuum pump logically and electrically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2025
    Assignee: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Tibor Toth, Martin Kraft, Manfred Liebl, Bernd Zielke, Stefan Daffner, Andreea Cenuse
  • Publication number: 20250100528
    Abstract: A brake system for a motor vehicle includes an electrohydraulic partial brake system, an electromechanical partial brake system, a redundant power supply, and an actuating device (124). The actuating device is configured to determine an actuation signal quantifying a brake request as a result of an actuation by a vehicle driver. The brake system includes a brake control unit (118) with at least two mutually independent partitions. Both partitions are each configured for controlling the electromechanical partial brake system and the electrohydraulic partial brake system on the basis of an actuating signal received from the actuating device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2022
    Publication date: March 27, 2025
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Martin Baechle
  • Patent number: 12151665
    Abstract: A method for operating a braking system of a vehicle, wherein the braking system comprises a primary hydraulic braking system and a brake actuation unit hydraulically decoupled from the primary braking system. The brake actuation unit comprises at least two sensor arrangements which are configured to detect, independently of one another, actuation information of the brake actuation unit describing a brake request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Martin Brenn, Martin Baechle
  • Publication number: 20240326768
    Abstract: A brake system for a motor vehicle for hydraulically actuatable wheel brakes has a pressure medium reservoir, which has a first and second reservoir. A first port is assigned to the first reservoir chamber and a second port is assigned to the second reservoir chamber. The first and the second reservoir are at least partially separated from one another. An electrically activatable hydraulic pressure source formed by a cylinder-piston arrangement comprises a replenishment port for the replenishment of pressure medium from the pressure medium reservoir and an equalization port for hydraulically connecting a pressure space to the pressure medium reservoir when a piston is in a specified position. A pressure port of the pressure source is connected to hydraulic output ports of the wheel brakes. The replenishment port is connected via a replenishment valve to the first port and the equalization port is connected to the second port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2022
    Publication date: October 3, 2024
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Harald Biller, Thorsten Ullrich, Christian Courth, Tobias Scheller, Holger Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20240286595
    Abstract: A brake system for a motor vehicle includes an electrohydraulic partial brake system with hydraulically actuated wheel brakes and an electromechanical partial brake system with electromechanically actuated wheel brakes. The brake system includes two control units and two energy supplies which are independent of one another, a first one of the control units being configured to control the electromechanical partial brake system, and a second one of the control units being configured to control the electrohydraulic partial brake system. The first control unit is supplied with energy exclusively by way of a first one of the energy supplies and the second control unit is supplied with energy exclusively by way of a second one of the energy supplies.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2022
    Publication date: August 29, 2024
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Robert Bachmann, Martin Baechle, Roman Büchler
  • Patent number: 12065112
    Abstract: A braking system having wheel brakes, a pressure supply device connected to the wheel brakes, a master brake cylinder actuated by a brake pedal and connected to the wheel brakes, and a brake fluid reservoir having a first and a second reservoir chamber separated by a partition wall, wherein the first reservoir chamber is connected to the pressure supply device, via which the pressure supply device is supplied with pressure medium, and the second reservoir chamber is connected to the master brake cylinder, via which the master brake cylinder is supplied with pressure medium The braking system is operated in a first operating mode when the first filling level is reached and a second operating mode when the second filling level is reached, and a hydraulic fallback level if a lowest filling level is reached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG
    Inventors: Martin Brenn, Thorsten Ullrich
  • Publication number: 20230365111
    Abstract: An electrohydraulic brake controller comprises at least two first and two second output ports for at least four wheel brakes, s hydraulic pressure source, a first electronic open-loop and closed-loop control unit, a second electronic open-loop and closed-loop control unit, an inlet valve for each first and second output port, and an outlet valve for each first and second output port. A pressure chamber is connected via a first pressure activation valve to a brake line section to which the at least four inlet valves are connected. If the first electronic control unit fails, an electromechanical actuator is activated by the second electronic control unit and builds up pressure to actuate the wheel brakes. If the second electronic control unit fails, the electromechanical actuator is activated by the first control unit and builds up pressure to actuate the wheel brakes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Harald Biller, Ulrich Linden, Martin Baechle, Thorsten Ullrich, Marius-Vasilica Adam
  • Publication number: 20230294650
    Abstract: A braking system for a motor vehicle has a plurality of hydraulic brake units for braking each braking one wheel of the motor vehicle and a first electric parking brake actuator for braking a first wheel and a second electric parking brake actuator for braking a second wheel. A first control device comprises a first hydraulic controller which is designed and set up to drive the plurality of hydraulic brake units. In order to ensure parking brake redundancy, the first control device has a driver for driving the first parking brake actuator. A second control device is also provided, which comprises a driver for driving the first parking brake actuator and a driver for driving the second parking brake actuator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Brenn, Roman Büchler, Thorsten Ullrich
  • Publication number: 20230126121
    Abstract: A braking system for a motor vehicle has a first and a second parking brake A first and a second control device each have a driver for driving at least the first and/or the second parking brake actuator. The first control device has a first arbitration unit to data whether a parking brake action should be carried out. The second control device has a second arbitration unit to receive parking brake request data and to ascertain from the received data whether a parking brake action should be carried out. The result of the second arbitration unit is fed to the first arbitration unit as parking brake request data and the result of the first arbitration unit is transmitted to the driver of the first and/or second control device for driving the first and second parking brake actuators.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Brenn, Thorsten Ullrich
  • Publication number: 20230086943
    Abstract: A hydraulic braking system has a vacuum brake booster, an ESC system with a hydraulic pump for generating braking force in a wheel-specific manner in a plurality of wheel brakes, an ESC control device for driving the hydraulic pump and a hydraulic pressure sensor for determining a hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic braking system. For electrified vehicles, an electric vacuum pump is provided for supplying the vacuum brake booster, wherein the ESC control device is designed to drive the electric vacuum pump logically and electrically.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Applicant: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Tibor Toth, Martin Kraft, Manfred Liebl, Bernd Zielke, Stefan Daffner, Andreea Cenuse
  • Publication number: 20220169222
    Abstract: A method for operating a braking system of a vehicle, wherein the braking system comprises a primary hydraulic braking system and a brake actuation unit hydraulically decoupled from the primary braking system. The brake actuation unit comprises at least two sensor arrangements which are configured to detect, independently of one another, actuation information of the brake actuation unit describing a brake request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Applicant: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG
    Inventors: Thorsten Ullrich, Martin Brenn, Martin Baechle
  • Publication number: 20220073048
    Abstract: A braking system having wheel brakes, a pressure supply device connected to the wheel brakes, a master brake cylinder actuated by a brake pedal and connected to the wheel brakes, and a brake fluid reservoir having a first and a second reservoir chamber separated by a partition wall, wherein the first reservoir chamber is connected to the pressure supply device, via which the pressure supply device is supplied with pressure medium, and the second reservoir chamber is connected to the master brake cylinder, via which the master brake cylinder is supplied with pressure medium The braking system is operated in a first operating mode when the first filling level is reached and a second operating mode when the second filling level is reached, and a hydraulic fallback level if a lowest filling level is reached.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Applicant: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG
    Inventors: Martin Brenn, Thorsten Ullrich
  • Patent number: 10752228
    Abstract: A method for operating an electrohydraulic brake installation for a motor vehicle having at least first, second, third and fourth hydraulically actuatable wheel brakes, a first brake system including a master brake cylinder actuatable by a brake pedal and hydraulically connected by at least one electrically actuatable isolating valve to the four wheel brakes, and including a first electrically controllable pressure provision device hydraulically connected to the four wheel brakes via at least one electrically actuatable sequence valve, and a second brake system including a second electrically controllable pressure provision device hydraulically connected to the first and the third wheel brake, and including in each case one isolating valve for the first and third wheel brake. The isolating valve is arranged in each case in a hydraulic connection between the first brake system and the corresponding wheel brake.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. oHG
    Inventors: Thomas Peichl, Holger Schmidt, Thorsten Ullrich
  • Publication number: 20190241167
    Abstract: A method for operating an electrohydraulic brake installation for a motor vehicle having at least first, second, third and fourth hydraulically actuatable wheel brakes, a first brake system including a master brake cylinder actuatable by a brake pedal and hydraulically connected by at least one electrically actuatable isolating valve to the four wheel brakes, and including a first electrically controllable pressure provision device hydraulically connected to the four wheel brakes via at least one electrically actuatable sequence valve, and a second brake system including a second electrically controllable pressure provision device hydraulically connected to the first and the third wheel brake, and including in each case one isolating valve for the first and third wheel brake. The isolating valve is arranged in each case in a hydraulic connection between the first brake system and the corresponding wheel brake.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2017
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Inventors: Thomas Peichl, Holger Schmidt, Thorsten Ullrich