Toyoda Koki Kabushiki Kaisha

Fukami Imai

Hisaaki Wakao

Yutaka Mori

Yoshiyuki Shibata

Yasushi Yamada

Tatsuya Inagaki

Yukihiko Kanayama

Kiyoshige Kato

Susumu Koike

Satomi Ito

An offset value setting processing, in which whether or not all wheel velocities of front wheels and rear wheels are 0 km/h is determined and whether or not a pressing amount of an accelerator pedal is 0% is determined. If it is determined that the vehicle velocity is 0 km/h and that the pressing amount of the accelerator pedal is 0%, a current detection signal voltage at that time is set to an offset voltage. Thus, the offset voltage value is reset and set again if such a condition is established. Consequently, the offset voltage value including the amount of an error due to a temperature drift is set up, thereby preventing drop in control accuracy due to that error.

Method for regulating offset of current detection signal in driving power transmission controller

An abnormality detection apparatus, which reduces erroneous detection of an open abnormality of a relay, includes a microcomputer that activates the relay and determines whether the output voltage of the relay is less than a threshold value. When the output voltage is less than the threshold value, the microcomputer repeats the activation of the relay and the determination. The detection unit detects the occurrence of an open abnormality when the repetition number exceeds two.

Apparatus for detecting abnormality of relay

A four-wheel drive vehicle provides a torque distribution clutch mechanism which directly transmits the driving force generated from the engine to one of two front wheels or two rear wheels, and which transmits it to the other wheels therethrough in order to control the engaging force in accordance with a traveling status of the four-wheel drive vehicle. The vehicle further comprises a tight corner judging structure, a normal mode setting structure, a low friction road judging structure and a tight mode setting structure. The tight corner judging structure judges whether the vehicle travels at a large turning angle or not, and the normal mode setting structure sets a normal mode to control the engaging force when it is judged by the tight corner judging structure that the vehicle does not travel at the large turning angle. Further, the low friction road judging structure judges whether the vehicle travels on a low friction road or not, and the tight mode setting structure for setting a tight mode to control the engaging force in a condition that it is judged by the tight corner judging structure that the vehicle travels at the large turning angle when it is judged by the low friction road judging structure that the vehicle dose not travel on the low friction road.

Four-wheel drive vehicle

A torque distribution control device for a four-wheel drive vehicle has a torque distribution device for distributing the drive power transmitted from an engine to either of the front wheels or the rear wheels as prime drive wheels, to other wheels as sub-drive wheels. The control device judges whether or not an abnormality is involved in wheel speed signals which are input from wheel speed sensors associated respectively with the front and rear wheels. A normal-state method of calculating a command torque which is applied to the torque distribution device to vary the drive power transmitted to the sub-drive wheels, is then altered to an abnormal-state method of calculating the command torque based on data which does not include one wheel speed signal involving the abnormality when the same occurs with one of the wheel speed signals, whereby the vehicle is enabled to continue the four-wheel drive even when the abnormality occurs.

Torque distribution control device for four-wheel drive vehicle

A temperature sensing apparatus comprises a temperature sensor, a current measuring device and temperature detection circuit. The temperature sensor contains a thermal resistor that is disposed near a motor and outputs voltages acting to the thermal resistor. The current measuring device measures quantity of current that is applied to the motor. The temperature detection circuit detects temperature of the motor according to the output voltages from the temperature sensor. And, the temperature detection circuit judges whether a predetermined quantity of current is applied to the motor during a predetermined time. When the predetermined quantity of current is applied to the motor during the predetermined time, the temperature detection circuit compares a temperature detected by the current measuring device with a predetermined temperature. When the detected temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature, the temperature detection circuit decides a wire of the thermal resistor breaks.

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Kariya, Japan

Fukami Imai