Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd.

Toyoda Koki Kabushiki Kaisha

Harunori Shiratori

Atsushi Watanabe

Hiroshi Kawakami

Kenichi Kikuchi

Fumio Kishida

Koichi Sugihara

Yoshiharu Inaguma

Keiichi Nakamura

Yoshio Yamazaki

Masaru Ishikawa

Tsuneo Tanaka

Yasuo Oguni

Yoshikazu Tsukamoto

Isao Ichihara

Takaharu Yoshimi

Yoshikazu Moriya

Junichi Hori

Hisami Kato

A power-assisted steering system includes a changeover valve unit comprising an input shaft to be rotated by the driver's steering effort applied thereto, an output shaft operatively connected to a hydraulic power cylinder associated with the steering system, a valve assembly for controlling the supply of fluid under pressure from a hydraulic pump to the power cylinder in response to relative rotation between the input and output shafts; and a hydraulic reaction mechanism for applying a reaction force to the input shaft in accordance with a hydraulic reaction pressure applied thereto. The reaction mechanism includes a reaction fluid chamber to be constantly applied with a predetermined small quantity of fluid under pressure and to be applied with a hydraulic pressure caused by relative rotation between the input and output shafts through a throttle. The system is arranged to increase the hydraulic pressure in the reaction fluid chamber in accordance with an increase of travel speed of the vehicle.

Power-assisted steering system

A control system for a hydraulic tandem pump assembly including a primary pump for supplying fluid under pressure to a power-assisted steering device and a secondary pump for supplying fluid under pressure to a hydraulic motor of an engine cooling fan, which pumps are mounted on a common drive shaft for rotation therewith. The control system includes an electrically operated flow quantity control valve disposed within a communication passage between the secondary pump and the hydraulic motor to bypass fluid under pressure discharged from the secondary pump into an inlet passage connecting a fluid reservoir to the secondary pump, a temperature sensor arranged to detect an ambient temperature of a prime engine of the vehicle for producing therefrom an output signal indicative of the ambient temperature, and an electric control apparatus connected to the sensor to control an electric current applied to the control valve in response to the output signal from the sensor in such a manner that the control valve is conditioned to bypass a large part or the entirety of fluid under pressure discharged from the secondary pump into the inlet passage when the ambient temperature of the engine is below a predetermined value.

Control system for hydraulic tandem pump in motor vehicle

This height adjustment system includes: a source of pressurized working fluid; several fluid pressure actuated wheel suspension units, each of which resiliently pushes a one of the wheels of the vehicle downwards with respect to the body thereof, according to the amount of pressurized working fluid supplied to it; a passage means for conducting supply of working fluid from the source to the wheel suspension units; several valve means, provided at intermediate points of the passage means, for controlling flow of working fluid therethrough; and a flow divider means which has an inlet and two outlets, one of the outlets being communicated to a first set of the wheel suspension units for a first set of the wheels of the vehicle and the other of the outlets being communicated to a second disjoint set of the wheel suspension units for a second disjoint set of the wheels of the vehicle. This flow divider is incorporated at an intermediate point of the passage means, provides a branch point of the passage means, and receives supply of pressurized working fluid at its inlet and divides this supply between its two outlets in a ratio which is substantially independent of the pressures at these two outlets. Optionally, this flow divider may be controllable with regard to the ratio in which it divides the fluid input to it through this inlet between these two outlets.

Vehicle height adjustment system providing uniform height control

An upper support for a wheel suspension assembly of a vehicle having a shock absorber. The upper support comprises an inner member connected to a piston rod of the shock absorber, an outer member disposed concentrically with the inner member and fixed to the vehicle body, and a resilient member interposed between the inner and outer members. The outer member consists of two annular halves which are fixed together with their outer peripheral flanges in abutment with each other. Stopper means are provided preferably on the outer member for limiting an axial elastic deformation of the resilient member. One or both axial end portions of the resilient member held in the outer member have an annular groove concentric with the inner member and a plurality of bosses equally spaced along the annular groove. The bosses are axially outwardly projected from an annular abutment portion of the resilient member which is radially inward of the annular groove. The ends of the bosses are in constant abutment on the stopper means and the annular abutment portion comes into contact with the stopper means upon application of high loads to the resilient member. The resilient member preferably has air vents communicating the annular groove with outside atmosphere.

Upper support in vehicle suspension systems

A shaft member oscillatably supporting a suspension arm and inserted into slots provided respectively in a pair of spaced arm supporting members secured fixedly to a chassis comprises a bolt and a hollow shaft for receiving the bolt. A disk-shaped cam is disposed on one end of the hollow shaft. The hollow shaft is provided on the other end with a non-round fit portion. An engaging member having a non-round hole into which the fit portion is inserted is provided with a cam surface having the same profile as that of the disk, a tool engaging portion outside this cam face and a threaded portion into which is screwed the bolt. The bolt is screwed into the threaded hole of the engaging member from the outside of the cam and fastened temporarily. When the engaging member is turned with a tool, the cam faces of the cam and engaging member engage respective guide walls provided on the arm supporting members and rotate to move the shaft member along the slots.

Alignment adjusting device for vehicle

A stabilizer mounting member comprising a tubular cushion member and a bracket member, wherein the tubular cushion member has lobe portions projecting radially outwardly at its opposite axial ends, while the bracket member has corresponding recesses which receive these lobe portions, wherein the projecting height of the lobe portions is greater than the depth of the recesses so that the cushion member is more tightly gripped at its opposite axial ends than at its middle portion so as to prevent entry of mud, sand or the like between the cushion member and the stabilizer.

Stabilizer mounting means

An apparatus for sensing air-pressure drop in an automobile tire which comprises an air chamber having an internal air pressure maintained substantially equal to that of a tire under normal conditions and a sensor displaceable in accordance with differences in pressure between the air chamber and the tire. The apparatus is mounted in the inner end of the air valve of the tire, and when the air pressure in the tire drops to a certain level below an initial air pressure setting, the sensor is displaced. Sensor displacement is detected and an appropriate signal is provided to the driver.

Apparatus for sensing air-pressure drop in a tire

A receiving case for receiving a gas bag is formed of a side wall portion secured to a fixed member and a lid surface portion thinner than the side wall portion by the use of a material having a comparatively high hardness and a ductility. Further, the lid surface portion is formed with fragile portions contiguous to one another. At the inflation of the gas bag, the receiving case for the gas bag is prevented from scattering in the form of broken pieces, and the gas bag is prevented from being damaged by a sharp edge otherwise arising at the fracture surface of the receiving case.

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Toyota, Japan

Harunori Shiratori