Patent ID: 7567042

Claim:
A regenerative braking method for a vehicle having an electric motor comprising: the electric motor to convert a kinetic energy of the vehicle into an electric energy so as to brake the vehicle by regenerative braking; a reservoir to store brake oil therein; a master cylinder; normal open type entrance valves and normal close type exit valves provided at entrances and exits of respective wheel cylinders; a plurality of hydraulic pumps to pump the brake oil to the respective wheel cylinders; a motor to operate the plurality of hydraulic pumps; and opening/closing valves provided on hydraulic lines connecting the reservoir to suction sides of the respective hydraulic pumps, the regenerative braking method generating a residual amount of braking needed after subtracting the amount of regenerative braking, which corresponds to an amount generated by the electric motor, from a vehicle operator's desired braking amount, wherein, during a regenerative braking operation, based on a pressure difference between a pressure in the master cylinder and wheel pressures, the entrance valves of driving wheels are controlled to realize an operator's pedal feeling, and the exit valves of the driving wheels are controlled to allow the wheel pressures to follow a target pressure.