Patent ID: 8668465

Claim:
A hydraulic system comprising: at least one hydraulic main pump driven by a power supply, the at least one hydraulic main pump being a variable displacement pump; and at least one hydraulic boost pump selectively driven by said power supply, the at least one hydraulic boost pump being a fixed displacement pump; wherein the at least one hydraulic main pump and at least one hydraulic boost pump are configured to supply an output fluid flow to at least one hydraulic consumer; wherein, in a low fluid flow mode, the at least one hydraulic boost pump is not driven by said power supply such that the at least one hydraulic main pump supplies the output fluid flow to the at least one hydraulic consumer; wherein, in a high fluid flow mode, the at least one hydraulic boost pump is driven by said power supply so that the at least one hydraulic boost pump and the at least one hydraulic main pump supply the output fluid flow to the at least one hydraulic consumer; wherein the output fluid flow to the at least one hydraulic consumer is higher in the high fluid flow mode than in the low fluid flow mode.