Patent ID: 11951961
Assignee: ZF ACTIVE SAFETY GMBH
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 8:
9. A testing method comprising the steps of:
providing a fluid reservoir having first, second and third chambers, the third chamber being formed by a main chamber and a guiding chamber in fluid communication with the main chamber;
providing and maintaining a first sensing element in the guiding chamber;
providing a plunger within an integrated brake controller at a first retracted position and switching a first plurality of solenoid valves into a closed position while a second plurality of solenoid valves are switched to an open position to create a first open flow path from a plunger chamber to the fluid reservoir;
moving the plunger from the first retracted position to a second extended position thereby exhausting fluid from the plunger chamber into the fluid reservoir via the first open flow path so as to move the first sensing element higher relative to a second sensing element fixed to the fluid reservoir; and
moving the plunger from the second extended position back towards the first retracted position thereby generating a negative pressure in a fluid passageway which connects the third chamber of the reservoir to the plunger chamber so that a fluid stream flows from the third chamber into the plunger chamber via the fluid passageway, the fluid stream directly drawing the first sensing element vertically downward within the guiding chamber toward the fluid passageway such that the first sensing element moves vertically downward in the guiding chamber relative to an upper surface of the fluid in the guiding chamber, the first sensing element moving vertically from an upper position to a lower position relative to the second sensing element as the first sensing element is drawn vertically downward; and
generating a signal from the first and second sensing elements and transmitting the signal to a control unit.