Nippon Soken, Inc.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Akihiro Izawa

Toshihiko Igashira

Yasuyuki Sakakibara

Seiko Abe

Tohru Yoshinaga

Kiyohiko Watanabe

Kiyonori Sekiguchi

Osamu Fujishiro

Hisasi Kawai

Takaaki Itou

Kazuhiro Sakurai

Kouji Yoshizaki

Toshihiro Takada

Tetsuo Nagami

Masakatsu Sanada

Yukihiro Shinohara

Yasuyuki Kawabe

Hiroshi Hirayama

Masahiko Ogai

Hiroaki Ichikawa

Kenichi Harada

Masahiro Takigawa

Kenichi Hirada

An electrically heatable catalytic converter for internal combustion engines is provided. This catalytic converter includes a honeycomb multi-layered core member wound around an electrode. The multi-layered core member consists of a plurality of flat metal foil sheets and a plurality of corrugated metal foil sheets arranged alternately and bonded to each other for preventing the core member from telescoping in the direction of exhaust gas flow, especially, during high-load engine operation.

Electrically heatable catalytic converter

An electrically heating catalytic apparatus that quickly heats catalyst to an activation temperature even when the engine is started at a low temperature below the catalyst activation temperature. The apparatus employs an electrically conductive catalyst carrier that is electrically heated. The carrier is provided with local hot spots to be energized. Since the heat is locally generated, the heat capacity of the catalyst carrier is small to shorten a temperature increasing time.

Electrically heated catalytic apparatus

An electrostrictive actuator which can be used, e.g., in a distributor type fuel injection device of a diesel engine has an electrostrictive actuator for generating an electric charge upon reception of a load and an electric circuit unit connected to the electrostrictive actuator. The electric circuit unit has an electric charge changing means for changing the electric charge of the electrostrictive actuator in the state of generation of electric charge due to a load exerted on the electrostrictive actuator and thereby constricting the electrostrictive actuator, and an electrical charging means for charging the electrostrictive actuator in the state of constriction due to the operation of the electric charge changing means when the load exerted on the electrostrictive actuator is reduced and thereby extending the electrostrictive actuator.

Electrostrictive actuator device and fuel injection device using same

A fuel injection system comprising a fuel injection pump, at least one fuel injection nozzle connected thereto, and a control device for varying the rate of injection of the system according to varying engine parameters. The control device has a variable volume chamber, the volume of which is varied by a piston located by a piezoelectric actuator. The variable volume chamber and a pumping chamber of the pump is intermittently connected by a passage which is specifically designed in such a manner that the fluid communication between the chambers, during the delivery stroke of a pump plunger, is provided only for an initial stage of the delivery stroke. A rate of injection is controlled in the initial stage to perform a pilot injection. In the subsequent stage, in which there is no need for rate-of-injection control, the variable volume chamber is isolated from the pumping chamber in order to relieve the piezoelectric actuator from an excessively high fuel pressure that would cause degradation of the piezoelectric elements.

Diesel engine fuel injection system with a rate-of-injection control

A piezoelectric fuel injector for use in fuel injection systems of spark-ignition engines is provided with a normally closed valve assembly in the form of a reed valve. The valve assembly includes a valve plate having one or more outlet ports having an overall cross-sectional flow area sufficient to ensure an unobstructed flow path therethrough. The valve assembly also includes a generally flat, thin, resilient closure member cooperating with the valve set of the valve plate. The pressure wave created in the fuel in the pumping chamber upon excitation of the piezoelectric actuator propagates into the outlet ports to directly reach the thin closure member, which readily resiliently yields to permit a desired amount of fuel to be injected into the engine cylinders. The fuel injector is particularly suitable to be operated by a high-frequency drive signal in order to ensure precise metering of fuel quantity over a wide range of engine operating conditions.

Piezoelectric low-pressure fuel injector

Growing community of inventors

Nukata-gun, Japan

Akihiro Izawa