Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Denki K.k.

Koyo Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Meiji Gomu Kasei

Hajime Kozuka

Hiroshi Yoshida

Mitsuharu Morishita

Tadayuki Hara

Naoki Saito

Isao Yamamoto

Shinichi Kohge

Masayoshi Onishi

Hiromasa Ozawa

Yasuaki Hata

Masahiko Noguchi

Shojiro Omuro

Toyoshi Sakano

Masao Murai

Tadashi Yagi

Kazuo Mitarai

Takahiro Yoda

Yoshimi Kotake

Kazuo Kitamura

Terutsugu Ijima

Youichi Furuya

Yoichiro Honda

Metallic hose joint

A vehicle steering apparatus includes a steering wheel which has an annular boss portion with an axis and is rotatably supported on a vehicle body side member, a steering shaft, and a non-rotatable member provided in the steering wheel, which is coupled to the vehicle body side member by shafts. The rotation of the steering wheel is transmitted to the steering shaft by a mechanism including a pinion portion having an axis, formed at an end portion of the steering shaft on a side of the steering wheel, and a ring gear portion having an axis, formed on an inner surface of the boss portion and meshed with the pinion portion, the axis of the ring gear portion being eccentric with the axis of the pinion portion and concentric with the axis of the boss portion. The coupling member extends through a gap between the ring gear portion and the pinion portion.

Vehicle steering apparatus

A linear-movement potentiometer having an operating rod 25 projecting at both ends from a substantially hermetic casing and connectable at one end 26 to a drive member, and first and second bearings 33, 34 disposed between the casing and the operating rod for supporting the operating rod for a linear sliding motion relative to the casing. A sealing arrangement is provided between the casing and both ends of the operating rod. A sliding variable resistor assembly 38 including a resistor and a contact relatively slidable with each other is disposed within the casing, and one of the resistor and the contact is operatively connected to the operating rod for establishing a relative sliding movement between the resistor and the contact. A cover 54 may be sealingly secured to the casing for covering the end of the operating rod, and the operating rod may have an air passage 28 axially extending therethrough.

Linear-movement potentiometer

Power steering apparatus

A steering control apparatus for a vehicle includes a rockable auxiliary link for connecting an knuckle arm of a knuckle and the outer end of a tie rod of a steering unit to each other so that the relative position therebetween is variable. A rotor is rotatably mounted on the knuckle. A vehicle height detection link is connected between the rotor and a lower arm of a suspension of the vehicle so as to rotate the rotor in accordance with changes in the vertical stroke of the suspension. A control link is connected between the rotor and the auxiliary link so as to rock the auxiliary link in response to the rotation of the rotor, thereby changing the distance between the outer end of the tie rod and the steering axis of the knuckle.

Steering angle control apparatus for vehicle

Power steering apparatus with unitary torque sensor and worm driving

A motor-driven type power assisted steering control apparatus has a torque sensor which is provided with first and second displacement-electric signal converting units and a control unit which is adapted to break a motor current and to interrupt application of a voltage to an electromagnetic clutch as soon as abnormality in the torque sensor is detected on the basis of the electric signals of the first and second displacement-electric signal converting units.

Motor-driven type power assisted steering control apparatus

A torque detector for a motor-driven power steering system wherein a drive lever that engages the outer circumference of a second ring gear and a detection lever on a potentiometer for detecting a linear displacement of the drive lever are connected via a spool, and a pin supported in the spool is coupled to the drive lever as if they were connected together by a universal joint.

Torque detector for motor-driven power steering system

A power steering system including an input shaft coupled to a steering wheel, a torsion bar for transmitting rotation of the input shaft to an output shaft, a power cylinder coupled to the output shaft, an oil path switching valve for switching oil paths to the power cylinder in accordance with the difference of turning angle between the input shaft and the output shaft, a high pressure oil path for supplying working oil delivered from an oil pump to the power cylinder via the oil path switching valve, a low pressure oil path for returning the working oil from the power cylinder to an oil tank via the oil path switching valve, a reaction piston for exerting a restraining force between the input shaft and the output shaft to limit the difference of turning angle therebetween, a control oil path extending from the midway of the high pressure oil path to the reaction piston, a pressure control valve for controlling oil pressure in the control oil path extending to the reaction piston to a level not higher than a predetermined highest pressure, a return side orifice for communicating the control oil path between the pressure control valve and the reaction piston with the low pressure oil path, and a solenoid for actuating the pressure control valve by means of its plunger for generating an axial force which varies in accordance with a car speed and takes substantially a certain strength at every given car speed.

Power steering system

An electromagnetic solenoid for a fluid control valve includes a cylindrical casing accommodating a solenoid coil and having an end wall formed at its one end and which is open at its other end, the open end of the casing being closed by an end cap. A fixed iron core is disposed in and fixedly mounted on the casing. An output rod is disposed in the casing with its one end extending outwardly through the casing end wall for connection with a valve member of the fluid control valve. The output rod slidably extends through the fixed iron core and is supported on its opposite ends by a slide bearing disposed in the end wall of the casing and by a slide ball bearing disposed in the end cap member. A movable iron core is received in the solenoid coil for axial sliding movement and is firmly mounted on the output rod in a face-to-face relation with the fixed iron core at a location such that the distance between the center of the movable iron core and the slide ball bearing is less than the distance between the center of the movable iron core and the slide bearing. The output rod and the slide bearing in the casing end wall are formed of a non-magnetic material. In one embodiment, the end wall of the casing has a fluid passage formed therethrough for providing fluid communication between the interior of the casing and the outside. In another embodiment, the slide bearing in the end wall of the casing has a fluid passage formed therethrough for providing fluid communication between the interior of the casing and the housing bore.

Electromagnetic solenoid

An electromagnetic solenoid for use with a fluid control valve is disclosed in which a fixed iron core and a casing for housing a solenoid coil can be fabricated separately from each other without difficulty, and in which the configuration and the clearance between the fixed iron core and a movable iron core or the length of the extension of the fixed iron core from an end wall of the casing can be readily changed in accordance with the desired magnetic attraction characteristics thereof as required. The cylindrical casing has an end wall formed at its one end and is open at its other end, the open end being closed by an end cap member to form a yoke for a magnetic circuit. The fixed iron core is adapted to be separably connected with the end wall of the casing. An output rod is disposed in the casing with its one end extending outwardly through the end wall of the casing, the output rod slidably extending through the fixed iron core and being supported at its opposite ends by the end wall of the casing and the end cap member through a pair of slide bearings for axial sliding movement. A movable iron core is received in the hollow of the solenoid coil and fixedly mounted on the output rod in a face-to-face relation with the fixed iron core. The end wall of the casing has an insertion bore formed therein, and the fixed iron core has its one end firmly fitted into the insertion bore.

Electromagnetic solenoid with a replaceable fixed iron core

A known power steering system of the type in which movement of a steering wheel is transmitted via a torsion bar to an oil path switching valve to actuate a power cylinder in a desired steering direction by switching a high pressure oil pump to the oil path switching valve and a low pressure oil path extending from the oil path switching valve to an oil tank and a part of working oil flowing through the high pressure oil path is led to a reaction piston to restrain torsion of the torsion bar, is improved by providing a main orifice disposed in the high pressure oil path and a control oil path branched from the upstream side of the main orifice in the high pressure oil path and communicating with the reaction piston. A pressure control valve is interposed in the control oil path for controlling the oil pressure so as to be equal to or lower than a predetermined highest pressure, and a bypass is provided for bypassing the upstream side and the downstream side of the main orifice. A device for increasing the oil pressure is provided in the bypass for closing the bypass to increase the oil pressure in the overall control oil path only when the oil pressure on the downstream side of the pressure control valve is equal to or lower than a predetermined lowest value.

The known power steering system of the type that movement of a steering wheel is transmitted via a torsion bar to an oil path switching valve to actuate a power cylinder in a desired steering direction by switching a high pressure oil path extending from an oil pump to the oil path switching valve and a low pressure oil path extending from the oil path switching valve to an oil tank and a part of working oil flowing through the high pressure oil path is led to a reaction piston to restrain torsion of the torsion bar, is improved in that the power steering system comprises a control oil path branched from the high pressure oil path and communicating with the reaction piston, a pressure control valve interposed in the control oil path for controlling an oil pressure to be equal to or lower than a predetermined highest pressure, a flow rate control valve provided on the downstream side of the pressure control valve for controlling a flow rate depending upon a car speed, a first orifice for communicating the downstream side of the flow rate control valve to the low pressure oil path, and a pilot oil path for transmitting a pilot pressure generated on the upstream of the first orifice to the pressure control valve.

A power steering system for a vehicle having a power cylinder to which a hydraulic fluid delivered from a pump driven by an engine is supplied through a fluid passage switching valve includes a pressure control valve provided in a branched fluid passage extending from a high pressure fluid passage between the pump and the switching valve to a reaction piston in the switching valve, and having a degree of opening controlled by a pilot pressure, and a pilot pressure control valve provided in a low pressure fluid passage having one end connected through an orifice to the branched fluid passage downstream of the pressure control valve and another end leading to a fluid reservoir.

A hydraulic power-steering system for vehicles, comprises a hydraulic directional control mechanism interposed between an input shaft and an output shaft. A rotor provided in the housing of said hydraulic directional control mechanism without receiving any hydraulic reaction, rotates integrally with said output shaft, and a spool valve is fitted in said rotor to perform directional control of hydraulic fluid flowing from a pump to a steering cylinder. An input pin fixed to said input shaft circularly rotates in order to drive said spool valve and also serves as a stopper pin for engaging said input shaft with said output shaft directly when manually steering.

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Hajime Kozuka