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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 2006-01-0476

Development of Compact Hydraulic

Brake Booster
Takashi Kurokawa, Seiichi Kojima, Akitaka Nishio,
Hiroyuki Matsumori and Shigemitsu Nohira
ADVICS Co., Ltd.

Reprinted From: Brake Technology 2006

(SP-2017)

2006 SAE World Congress

Detroit, Michigan
April 3-6, 2006

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2006-01-0476

Development of Compact Hydraulic Brake Booster

Takashi Kurokawa, Seiichi Kojima, Akitaka Nishio,
Hiroyuki Matsumori and Shigemitsu Nohira
ADVICS Co., Ltd.

Copyright © 2006 SAE International

ABSTRACT help apply additional force to brakes. The advantages of

the hydraulic booster are:
An Integrated type Hydraulic Brake Booster has the
following benefit; • Reduced pedal effort at high deceleration.
• Fast braking response to pedal input.
- With high pressure source, it can provide strong • No dependence on engine vacuum signal.
stopping power for Base Brake, especially beneficial for
heavier vehicle, and precise brake control for Vehicle Hydraulic Hydraulic
Booster Booster
Dynamics Control.
Pressure

Pressure
- With integrated brake control unit, it will provide
packaging flexibility and easy installation at vehicle
Vacuum Vacuum
assembly plants. Booster
Booster
At this time, we developed a new Hydraulic Brake Pedal force Time
Booster, which is smaller and lighter than previous Fig.1 Advantage of the Hydraulic Booster
model even with additional integration of the ECU. This In previous models, in order to streamline system
report is to introduce the technology used for New configuration for improved vehicle packaging, we have
Hydraulic Brake Booster to reduce weight and size, in integrated the power supply unit that generates and
addition to the contribution to Base Brake Performance reserves high hydraulic pressure and the control valve
and Vehicle Dynamics Control. unit that controls braking pressure, into a hydraulic brake
booster. With this integration, we have achieved some
INTRODUCTION packaging improvement, by reducing wiring and piping
installation efforts.
The hydraulic brake booster is a widely used part for
vehicle brake systems, especially for heavyweight
vehicle applications. It increases the power and
effectiveness of the brake system, ensuring vehicle Booster unit
stability and safety on the road. Recently, we have
developed a new small-sized, lightweight hydraulic
brake booster with an integrated Electronic Control Unit
(ECU) that has substantially enhanced vehicle
packaging. This paper introduces the new technologies
that have made it possible.

DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

Brake systems that utilize a vacuum booster are widely

used. The vacuum booster taps into the vacuum created Power Control valve
by the engine, and uses this to assist braking. On the supply unit unit
other hand, in the hydraulic brake booster system,
electric-pump-generated high-pressure fluid is utilized to Fig.2 Brake system diagram
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To achieve further packaging improvements, it has been replacing the existing rubber seals. Fig.5 shows the
necessary to integrate the ECU into the booster unit. metal bellows type accumulator which seals the gas with
However, given the size of the current product, along only a metal plate.
with the limited space available in the engine
compartment, that was not feasible. So we have set out The current Hydraulic Booster has two pressure
to develop an all-new small-sized, lightweight, ECU switches to control the accumulator pressure. We have
integrated hydraulic booster unit, from the ground up, replaced the two switches to a pressure sensor to
with a goal of enhancing vehicle packaging. improve accuracy of pressure control. That helps to
reduce the gas volume.
DEVELOPMENT TARGETS
L=152mm
Gas
The targets for the development of a new small-sized, Chamber
lightweight, ECU-integrated hydraulic brake booster Gas 122mm
volume
were as follows: L Rubber
seals Structure
• The hydraulic brake booster shall be of the
configuration that includes the ECU as an integral
part. Floating piston type Target
• The hydraulic brake booster with ECU shall be of Fig.4 Accumulator target size
the size that occupies a space no larger than the
space occupied by the existing vacuum booster and
master cylinder. Without Accumulator With Accumulator
• The hydraulic brake booster with ECU shall be of pressure pressure
the weight that is equivalent to or less than the Gas
existing vacuum booster and master cylinder (8kg chamber
or less).
Pressure
See Fig. 3 for the target size. To achieve the targets, our chamber
main focus has been on the reduction of the
accumulator Dimension “L” and control valve Dimension
“W” on which the ECU will be mounted. Fig.5 Metal bellows accumulator
Target size (10.5” Current DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SEAL
Vacuum booster size) W
Hydraulic
booster In order to use the new metal bellows, it was necessary
to have the backup chamber shown in Fig.6. When the
hydraulic booster is left un-powered for a long time (i.e.,
overnight), the hydraulic pressure inside the accumulator
L will reach zero. Without the back up chamber, the
pressure difference between the gas chamber and the
hydraulic pressure chamber will degrade and cause
damage to the metal bellows.
ECU
Accumulator To prevent this damage from happening, the
Control valve unit
Pump accumulator is designed so that the back up chamber is
Motor formed when the pressure in the hydraulic pressure
chamber becomes low. This back up chamber will have
Fig.3 Target size
the same pressure as the gas chamber, therefore
REDUCTION OF ACCUMULATOR SIZE minimizing the stress applied to the metal bellows. In
order to maintain the pressure in the back up chamber, it
was necessary to develop a new seal that will withstand
Fig. 4 shows an example of a floating piston type
high pressure.
accumulator with a target value. To reduce Dimension
“L” to the target value, it has been necessary to reduce
This pressure holding function calls for a long-term
the gas volume that occupies a large portion of the
durability and, for this reason, we have employed a
accumulator.
gasket-type seal of a material that is less vulnerable to
deterioration with age than other typical materials. To
The size of the piston type accumulator, which was quite
ensure resistance to high pressure, the lip shape of the
large, was partly due to an allowance that was made for
gasket has been designed to prevent stress
an estimated amount of gas that could leak from the
concentrations, making reference to the results of FEM
rubber seals. We have cut the accumulator size down by
preventing gas leakage with new metal bellows
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analysis that tried many variations of major seal REDUCTION OF CONTROL VALVE UNIT SIZE
dimensions as parameters.
Fig. 9 shows an example of a size reduction target value
In additions, to ensure sealing strength we have for control valve unit. We have set the target Dimension
employed a design that has a metal plate inserted on the “W” that includes ECU at the same dimension as the
inside. In this case, it is important to select a good existing control valve unit dimension without ECU.
bonding material to ensure the adhesive strength
required between the metal plate and rubber material. To reduce Dimension “W” to the target value, it has been
necessary to reduce both Dimension “W1”, the block
Seal body, and Dimension “W2”, the casing on which ECU
will be mounted.
Metal

Control valve unit

W=102mm
Lip ECU (imaginary) ECU 76.5mm
W2 Case
Back up chamber Case
W with
Metal bellows ECU
Fig.6 Seal for backup chamber
W1 Block
body
So we have used a two-layer adhesive made up of
Target
prima and cover coat layers. For the prima layer that
adheres to the metal plate, phenol-based adhesive has Fig.9 Control valve unit target size result
been used because of the strong hydrogen bonding
capability and strength of the material itself. For the
cover coat, to enhance molecule bonding on either side, REDUCTION OF BLOCK BODY SIZE
EPDM-based adhesive has been used for good mutual
diffusion effect, having solubility parameters similar to Fig. 10 shows the section diagram of the block body.
both phenol and EPDM. At the same time, an optimum For the previous ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) and
combination had to be found so that deterioration with ESC (Electronic Stability Control), a 3-port solenoid
age would be minimal. Having done all this, we have valve with 3-layers of hydraulic passages is used for
achieved the required boding strength for sealing. switching from the master cylinder (M/C) pressure to
active pressure.
Metal
Hydrogen bond The employment of a 2-port solenoid valve with 2-layers
Prima
Glue Molecular bond of hydraulic passages seemed to be a good solution to
Cover coat reduce Dimension “W1.” However, the problem was that
Molecular bond two 2-port solenoids were required to maintain the
EPDM
necessary functions and capabilities of one 3-port valve.
Fig.7 Glue
We have overcome this challenge by developing a 1ch
RESULTS directional control valve as per Fig. 11 that does not call
for the addition of another solenoid valve. This has
The employment of the pressure sensor and metal reduced Dimension “W1” by 34%.
bellows, coupled with the said seal design, has made it
possible to reduce Dimension “L” by 30% and the weight
by 55%. 3 port valve 2 port valve
Floating piston type Metal bellows type
W1=
Target size W1=
41mm
122mm 27mm

L=152mm 3 ports valve type 2 ports valve

107mm

Fig.10 Block body

2.9kg 1.3kg
Fig.8 Accumulator result
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concern. On the other hand, in the case of the ECU

integrated booster unit, a waterproof seal is a must to
protect the ECU board from deterioration. Unlike the
case of the unit without ECU, sealing quality
enhancement is imperative. Rust from electric and
crevice corrosion are the contributing factors that were
considered for the failure of preventing water ingress. To
prevent electric corrosion, we have changed seal
material from EPDM to Si-based material. Meanwhile,
3 ports
valve (2ch) to prevent crevice corrosion, we have changed the lip
shape from single-lip to double-lip. The single-lip shaped
seal is used for the hydraulic booster without ECU
because it does not call for strict water-tightness. This
3 ports valve type type of seal is vulnerable to damage, even to
microscopic holes on the surface of seal, with rust
possibly developing in a short period of time due to
crevice corrosion, thus allowing water to get inside the
system. This is unacceptable for the ECU integrated
unit. The employment of double-lip shaped seal in place
of the existing single-lip shaped seal has made it
possible to drastically slow the rate of crevice corrosion
growth, effectively preventing water from getting inside
2 ports the system.
valve (1ch)

2 ports valve type

Fig.11 Brake system diagram
Single lip Double lip
REDUCTION OF ECU CASING SIZE

Fig. 12 shows the cross sectional diagram of ECU

Seal Seal
casing. The ECU integrated casing needs to be
completely waterproof. The existing sealing method
uses a partition that is inserted between the ECU and
Corrosion
coil chambers for waterproofing, making Dimension
“W2” larger due to the thickness of the partition.
Electrolyte diffuse
To reduce the casing Dimension “W2,” we have Fig.13 Crevice corrosion
removed the partition between the coil and ECU by
improving the performance of rubber seal used between RESULTS
ECU case and the block of valves.
The employment of the newly developed 2-port valve
(1ch) and completely waterproof seal, accounts for the
Coil ECU Partition ECU successful integration of the ECU into the system. It has
cut dimension “W” by 27%, exceeding the original target
W2= W2= or the dimension equivalent to the total of the existing
61mm 47mm block and casing, excluding ECU. And at the same time,
it has cut the weight by 35%.
Seal Seal
(Simple waterproof) (Complete waterproof) 3 ports valve and 2 ports valve and
partition type seal type
Partition type Seal type
ECU (imaginary)

Fig.12 ECU seal W=

102mm W=
74mm
Waterproofing with seal: Challenges and solutions

In the case of the hydraulic booster unit without ECU, 3.1kg 2.0kg
simple seal is used for waterproofing the coil chamber Fig.14 Control valve unit result
because the water-tightness of coil is not a great
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CONCLUSION

We have developed a new ECU integrated hydraulic

brake booster system, accomplishing or exceeding the
size and weight targets we have set based upon the
existing vacuum brake booster system. The following
are the main contributing factors for this achievement:

• Metal bellows replacing the existing piston in the

high pressure accumulator.
• A newly developed 2-port (1ch) switching valve.
• Complete waterproofing of ECU with seal design.
• Introduction of other technologies to reduce size.

New

Current

10.5” Vacuum
booster size
Mass
kg
11.4
8.0 8.0

Current New Vacuum

booster
system

Fig.15 Result

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to express our thanks to the people of the

Engineering and Inspection Departments at our
company, ADVICS Co., Ltd., who have committed
themselves to this development project, and to the
people of the Production and Production Engineering
Departments at Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd., the manufacturer.

REFERENCES

1. Yasuo Konishi,et al SAE 980602

Development of Hydraulic Booster Unit for Active Brake
control

2. Satoshi Kaminaka, et al JSAE Annual congress

20055193
Small size and light weight Hydraulic Booster