Next-gen brake system is optimized for future E/E architectures
The MK C2 is smaller and lighter than the currently offered model. Nevertheless, it offers higher availability and better performance and new functions, Continental promises. It is said to be easier to integrate into smaller vehicle models and complete vehicle platforms with different drive concepts and installation space conditions. The vehicle-specific application has also been simplified. It contains fewer components, which has a beneficial effect on costs. The transition to a multi-logic architecture with two independent partitions and thus a redundant fallback level increases system availability, especially with regard to automated driving. Among other things, MK C2 already offers the brake functionality for highly automated valet parking as a basic system.
Like MK C1, the new brake is a “brake-by-wire” system in which the brake pedal is decoupled from the actual pressure generation. This opens up advantages that are becoming increasingly important in new vehicle designs: In a normal driving style, electricity can be generated by recuperation in more than 80 % of all deceleration situations in an electric car. For the driver, the brake pedal should always feel the same, even though the wheel brakes are not applied at all. In automated driving, on the other hand, the MK C2 with its very high dynamics can build up brake pressure in just 150 ms as soon as the automation or an assistance system requests it – this also happens without the driver being unsettled by a pedal reaction. The MK C2 is designed for automated driving according to SAE Level 3 or higher.
With an additional hydraulic brake extension as a redundant fallback level, the MK C2 is designed for highly automated driving.
Future braking systems must be able to do more than just decelerate the vehicle safely. They must also contribute to the efficiency of the vehicle – and they must meet new requirements for automated driving. This includes providing highly dynamic braking pressure at any time when active driving safety requires it. In an electrified vehicle, the seamless blending of regenerative braking (recuperation) and wheel braking in the MK C2 enables up to around 30 percent higher recuperation efficiency compared to hybrid braking systems without a simulator pedal. This alone means that the MK C2 can achieve up to 5 g less CO2 emissions per kilometre driven.
The MK C2 is the door opener for future braking systems and motion control solutions. In particular, it supports the first step towards the braking systems of the future – the transition to a true brake-by-wire. With the complete separation of pedal and pressure generation without a fall-back level, there is an immense integration advantage: the braking system no longer necessarily has to be mounted directly on the bulkhead at a specific point in front of the driver to enable the mechanical fall-back level. Instead, an MK C2 with electronic pedal supports new vehicle concepts with different interior concepts and dimensions.
Paving the way for future braking system applications, the MK C2 has a modularised design and is thus scalable. The intelligent modular principle applied to the MK C2 reduces the application effort required to adapt the brake to different vehicle segments and models.
Depending on the customer’s requirements, the MK C2 can be used with a mechanical pedal (and hydraulic return level) or with an electronic pedal (without hydraulic return level as MK C2 EP version). In the MK C2 EP version, the driver steps on a decoupled electronic brake pedal. Sensors detect the driver’s braking request, and the system’s electric motor then generates the hydraulic pressure.
Thanks to the multi-logic architecture and the redundant fallback level, functions can be maintained even in the event of a fault and the driver can continue to be supported. The parking brake, for example, can also be controlled redundantly and a mechanical transmission lock for standstill protection can be dispensed with, says Continental.
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