Patent ID: 8201896

Claim:
A vehicle brake apparatus comprising: a wheel cylinder configured and arranged to generate a braking force with a fluid pressure of a fluid transmitted from a fluid source; a pump disposed in a first channel between the fluid source and the wheel cylinder, and configured and arranged to selectively rotate in one of a first direction that generates the braking force in the wheel cylinder and a second direction that does not generate the braking force in the wheel cylinder; a first valve configured and arranged to selectively close the first channel between the pump and the wheel cylinder; a brake control section configured to control the first valve to open the first channel between the pump and the wheel cylinder and control the pump to rotate in the first direction so that a discharge pressure from the pump is transmitted to the wheel cylinder when the braking force is increased in accordance with a brake operation by a driver, control the first valve to close the first channel between the pump and the wheel cylinder when the braking force is maintained in accordance with the brake operation by the driver, and control the pump to rotate in the second direction when the brake operation by the driver is not performed, the vehicle is traveling and the first valve is open to open the first channel; and a diagnosis section configured to diagnose abnormalities in the pump based on a rotation state of the pump that is determined while the pump is controlled to rotate in the second direction.