US 12,409,826 B2
Trailer brake control module
Ulrich Couppee, Coppenbrügge (DE); Lukasz Drelich, Czestochowa (PL); Robert Otremba, Ronnenberg (DE); Karl-Heinz Riediger-Janisch, Hannover (DE); Pawel Swiatek, Wroclaw (PL); and Leszek Toma, Wroclaw (PL)
Assigned to ZF CV Systems Europe BV, Brussels (BE)
Appl. No. 18/032,575
Filed by ZF CV Systems Europe BV, Brussels (BE)
PCT Filed Oct. 21, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/079556
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 19, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/083855, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 28, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0398973 A1, Dec. 14, 2023
Int. Cl. B60T 15/20 (2006.01); B60T 13/26 (2006.01); B60T 13/68 (2006.01)
CPC B60T 15/203 (2013.01) [B60T 13/263 (2013.01); B60T 13/683 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A trailer brake control module (300a; 300b; 300c) for a towing vehicle (502) facilitating braking of a towed vehicle or trailer (504), comprising:
a pressure supply port (P11);
a trailer control pressure port (P22);
a primary control port (P42) for receiving either directly or indirectly a control brake pressure for operating the trailer brake control module (300a; 300b; 300c), wherein the primary control port (P42) receives the control brake pressure from a pneumatically operated supply of pressure medium;
a pneumatic control pressure line (308.1) providing alternative control brake pressure for operating the trailer brake control module (300a; 300b; 300c), wherein the pneumatic control pressure line (308.1) receives the alternative control brake pressure from an electronically operated supply of pressure medium; and
a relay valve (310; 516) that is activated using either:
the control brake pressure received at the primary control port (P42), or
the alternative control brake pressure from the pneumatic control pressure line (308.1),
wherein on activating the relay valve (310), the pneumatic pressure received at the pressure supply port (P11) is connected to the trailer control pressure port (P22),
wherein the trailer brake control module (300a; 300b; 300c) is additionally provided with a braking rate rebalancing unit that maintains the difference of the braking rate between said towing vehicle and said trailer within a permissible threshold range;
wherein the trailer brake control module (300a; 300b; 300c) further comprises a double check or select-high valve (308) for supplying one of the control brake pressure and the alterative control brake pressure depending on the magnitude of each of the brake pressures, wherein the brake pressure which has the higher magnitude is supplied to the relay valve (310).