Patent ID: 8672420

Claim:
A system for evacuating gas from a brake booster of a motor vehicle having a vehicle drive unit, said system comprising: a first conduit adapted to be connected fluidly to the brake booster; an electric pump connected fluidly to said first conduit, and controllable to evacuate gas from the brake booster via said first conduit; a second conduit; a first electric valve fluidly connecting said first and second conduits to each other; a mechanical pump connected fluidly to said second conduit, and adapted to be driven by the vehicle drive unit to evacuate gas from the brake booster via said first conduit, said first electric valve, and said second conduit; a control unit operatively associated with said electric pump and said first electric valve, and configured to control operations of said electric pump and said first electric valve according to a working state of said mechanical pump; and a pressure sensor operable to detect pressure in said first conduit, wherein said control unit is further operatively associated with said pressure sensor, and is configured to determine the working state of the mechanical pump according to at least the pressure detected by said pressure sensor; wherein said control unit is configured to deactivate said electric pump if the pressure detected by said pressure sensor is below a predetermined threshold; and wherein said control unit is configured to cause said first electric valve to block fluid communication between said first and second conduits therethrough when one of a first condition, where said control unit control unit determines that said mechanical pump is in a non -operational state, and a second condition, where said control unit determines that said mechanical pump is in an operational state and that the pressure detected by said pressure sensor is below the predetermined threshold, is satisfied.