Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Toyoda Iron Works Co., Ltd.

Hino Motors, Ltd.

Daisuke Teramoto

Akira Tsujiko

Takuichi Arai

Tomitaro Hara

Sachie Yuasa

Keiko Wasada

Takeshi Abe

Yohei Shindo

Christopher M Higgins

Hyuga Atsumi

Tsuyoshi Yano

Tetsuo Nuruki

Jessica A Riffe

Nathaniel P Jordan

Hiroyasu Kosaka

Masanori Izumoto

David Lafayette Minock

Katsuya Igarashi

Kazuhiro Fukazawa

Hideyuki Yoshioka

Youhei Yamamoto

Nobuaki Kitaura

Kayoko Hasegawa

A reinforcement, joined by welding to a vehicle structural member having a closed cross section, comprising a curved section at least in part of its length, a top wall having opposite edges, and a pair of lateral walls extending from the edges to form ridge lines, wherein the top wall and the lateral walls form a U-shaped cross section. The lateral wall includes a base surface and a plurality of welding projections at intervals along its length, each welding projection having a raised surface for welding. Each welding projection is raised from the base surface of the lateral wall toward the vehicle structural member. The lateral wall further includes a bead between the welding projections within a curved section to prevent or suppress wrinkles from forming during press forming. The bead is raised from the base surface of the lateral wall toward the vehicle structural member.

Reinforcement for a vehicle structural member

An elongate vehicle reinforcement member having a U-shaped cross section, wherein the member is disposed inside and welded to a vehicle structural member, wherein the vehicle structural member includes opposite base lateral walls, the vehicle reinforcement member including: opposite reinforcement lateral walls extending in vehicle height and width directions, each having an outward edge on an outer side in vehicle width direction and an inward edge on an inner side; and a reinforcement connecting wall connecting the outward edges of the lateral walls, each lateral wall together with the connecting wall forming a ridge, each lateral wall including a row of welding projections, each protruding outward over the entire width of the lateral wall, each welding projection having a raised welding surface wherein the reinforcement lateral wall is welded to the base lateral wall, the welding projections in each row being arranged at intervals along vehicle height direction.

Vehicle reinforcement member and vehicle center pillar

The front pillar includes a pillar outer panel and a pillar inner panel. The pillar outer panel is disposed on an outside in a vehicle width direction. The pillar inner panel is disposed on an inside in the vehicle width direction. The pillar outer panel and the pillar inner panel form a closed cross-section. A cowl extends in the vehicle width direction and includes a cowl-side bent portion. The cowl-side bent portion is an end of the cowl on the outside in the vehicle width direction that is bent toward a rear side in a vehicle front-rear direction, and laid and welded on the outside in the vehicle width direction of a front end of the pillar inner panel.

Vehicle front structure and assembly method of vehicle front structure

Deformation of a vehicle compartment is suppressed at the time of a small overlap collision. A front pillar lower structure () includes a gusset () joined to a lower end portion of a pillar reinforcement (). In the gusset (), a front wall (B) and a lower wall (C) extend from a side wall (A) located on the outer side in a vehicle width direction of a rocker reinforcement. The front wall (B) covers the rocker reinforcement () from the vehicle front side, while the lower wall (C) extends toward the vehicle rear side from a lower end of the front wall (B) and is joined to a lower surface of the rocker reinforcement (). Since the strength of a joint portion () between the pillar reinforcement () and the rocker reinforcement () can be improved by the gusset (), it is possible to prevent or suppress breakage of the joint portion () at the time of a small overlap collision so that deformation of a vehicle compartment () due to such breakage can be suppressed.

Automobile front pillar lower structure

There is provided a vehicle lower section structure including a rocker that extends in a vehicle front-rear direction at a vehicle width direction outer side, a tunnel section that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction at a central portion in the vehicle width direction, a pair of dash cross members that extend in the vehicle width direction at a lower side of a dash panel, that are separated by the tunnel section, tunnel reinforcement that is disposed at a lower side in the vehicle up-down direction that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction, wherein a first front flange is formed at a front end of the dash cross member in the vehicle front-rear direction, and wherein a second front flange is disposed at a position opposing the first front flange across the dash panel or a floor section.

Vehicle lower section structure

A vehicle body lower structure includes: a floor connected to a dashboard panel, extending toward the vehicle rear side; a tunnel provided at a vehicle width direction center portion extending from the dashboard panel through the floor in the vehicle front-rear direction; a dashboard cross member joined to the dashboard panel, spanning in the vehicle width direction between a front end of the tunnel and a vehicle side section; and an under floor brace provided to a front end portion of the tunnel, extending in the vehicle width direction at the opposite side to the cabin, including both ends extending further toward the vehicle width direction outside than the front end portion of the tunnel and are fixed to the dashboard panel, the ends being located in positions facing vehicle width direction inside ends of the dashboard cross member via the dashboard panel.

Vehicle body lower structure

Provided is a secondary battery system which can accurately detect a state of a secondary battery system (such as a secondary battery state and a secondary battery system failure). The secondary battery system () includes dV/dQ calculation means which calculates a dV/dQ value as a ratio of a change amount dV of a battery voltage V of a secondary battery () against a change amount dQ of an accumulation amount Q when the accumulation amount Q of the secondary battery () is changed. The secondary battery system () detects the state of the secondary battery system () by using the dV/dQ value.

Secondary battery system

A battery control system controls an external charging unit in a vehicle including a vehicle body, engine, motors, secondary battery, and the external charging unit, and includes a degradation detecting unit that detects degradation of the secondary battery, during charging of the second battery by the external charging unit.

Battery control system and vehicle

A method and system for disengaging a drive rod in a door after an impact to the door. An automobile having a door with a door handle, a drive rod, a latching system, a striker, and a drive rod striking member. The drive rod striking member can be positioned adjacent the drive rod. Upon impact to the door, the drive rod is disengaged from the door handle and/or the latching system through inertia, through the drive rod striking member impacting the drive rod, or through any other disengagement mechanisms. The drive rod striking member prevents the drive rod from re-engaging with the latching system. The disengagement of the drive rod prevents the drive rod from controlling the latching system to disengage from the striker, either through deformation of the door, or through actuations by the door handle.

Method and system for disengaging a drive rod in a door after an impact to the door

A control method for a lithium ion secondary battery includes performing a charging step of charging the lithium ion secondary battery with a predetermined quantity of electricity when the battery voltage of the lithium ion secondary battery has decreased to a lower limit battery voltage that is set at a value that falls within a range higher than (B&#x2212;C) V and lower than or equal to (B&#x2212;C+0.2) V where a maximum value of a positive electrode potential of a flat portion in a discharge positive electrode potential curve is B (V) and a negative electrode dissolution potential is C (V). It is possible to suppress a dissolution of a negative electrode current collector of the lithium ion secondary battery to prevent the service life of the lithium ion secondary battery from shortening because of an internal short circuit.

Control method for lithium ion secondary battery, and lithium ion secondary battery system

The invention provides a method of diagnosing a malfunction in an abnormal voltage detecting apparatus, which includes breaking an electrical connection between a secondary battery () and an abnormal voltage detecting apparatus () and connecting the abnormal voltage detecting apparatus to a direct current voltage generating portion () that is different from the secondary battery (), applying direct current voltage that has a predetermined voltage value that is outside of a normal voltage range to the abnormal voltage detecting apparatus () using the direct current voltage generating portion, and determining that there is a malfunction in the abnormal voltage detecting apparatus if the abnormal voltage detecting apparatus does not determine that the voltage is abnormal.

Method of diagnosing a malfunction in an abnormal voltage detecting apparatus, secondary battery system, and hybrid vehicle

A method and system for disengaging a drive rod in a door after an impact to the door. An automobile having a door with a door handle, a drive rod, a latching system, a striker, and a drive rod striking member. The drive rod striking member can be positioned adjacent the drive rod. Upon impact to the door, the drive rod is disengaged from the door handle and/or the latching system through inertia, the drive rod striking member impacting the drive rod, or any other disengagement mechanisms. The drive rod striking member prevents the drive rod from re-engaging with the latching system. The disengagement of the drive rod prevents the drive rod from controlling the latching system to disengage from the striker, either through deformation of the door, or through actuations by the door handle.

Growing community of inventors

Toyota, Japan

Daisuke Teramoto