Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Alchemica Corporation

Advics Co., Ltd.

Toyoda Iron Works Co., Ltd.

Other

Minebea Company, Limited

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Aisin Seiki Company, Ltd.

Hiroshi Isono

Takayuki Yamamoto

Kaoru Ishida

Toru Matsuura

Yasuji Mizutani

Kenji Abe

Takanobu Nasu

Aizoh Kubo

Nobuyoshi Sugitani

Noboru Fujiwara

Katsumi Nawata

Akihiko Miwa

Junya Ota

Hidekazu Sasaki

Yuji Nagasawa

Motoshi Suzuki

Hirofumi Nitta

Michio Suzuki

Yoshihide Sekiya

Noboru Noguchi

Naoki Komatsu

Hiroyuki Fujikawa

Masaaki Nishiwaki

Satoshi Wakamatsu

Yoshitomo Denou

Yoshio Shimura

Shigeru Sakamoto

Masakazu Chiba

Chiaki Sumi

Yasukuni Ojima

Naoya Iesato

Hirofumi Otsuka

Naoki Yabusaki

Shigehiro Yoshiuchi

Kazumi Nagayama

Yutaka Ohnuma

Masakuni Suzuki

Takaaki Hyoudou

Takashi Hayashihara

Koichi Takeuchi

Yutaka Onuma

Kei Takakuwa

Ryutaro Misumi

Yosuke Yamasoe

Takahiro Kodaira

Kazutoshi Nishii

Yoichi Kato

Masashi Ohta

Koichi Kondo

Masanobu Horio

Tomohisa Hayakawa

Keisuke Seto

Junya Oota

Yukihiro Shiomi

Naotaka Nishida

Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi

Yoshihiro Osawa

Yuki Sonoda

Kenji Itoh

Kouichi Sawada

Yosuke Akita

Minoru Nakajima

A vehicle control apparatus executes a yaw moment control to control a yaw rate of a vehicle to a target yaw rate by adjusting braking or driving forces applied to wheels of the vehicle and a speed difference control to control front and rear wheel speed differences within predetermined ranges by adjusting the braking or driving forces. The vehicle control apparatus executes the yaw moment control to the front wheels when the front wheel speed difference is within the predetermined range and executes the speed difference control to the front wheels when the front wheel speed difference is not within the predetermined range. The vehicle control apparatus executes the yaw moment control to the rear wheels when the rear wheel speed difference is within the predetermined range and executes the speed difference control to the rear wheels when the rear wheel speed difference is not within the predetermined range.

Vehicle control apparatus

A downsized differential assembly having a simple structure, which can be mounted easily on automobiles. The differential assembly comprises a set of first to third gears arranged coaxially while being allowed to rotate relatively to one another. A first eccentric gear meshes with the first gear, a second eccentric gear meshes with the second gear, and a third eccentric gear meshes with the third gear, while being supported by an eccentric member in such a manner as to rotate around an eccentric axis which is offset from a rotational axis. Gear ratios between the first to third gears and the first to third eccentric gears are set to different values so that rotational speeds of the first gear and the second gear are reduced slower than that of the eccentric member.

Differential assembly

A vehicular differential device includes a differential rotation mechanism, and a torque input member that receives drive torque, the drive torque is distributed and transmitted to a first drive shaft and a second drive shaft. The differential rotation mechanism includes an input gear that rotates as a unit with the torque input member, an output gear that rotates as a unit with the first drive shaft, a first gear and a second gear that rotate as a unit, and a carrier that supports the first gear and the second gear, the carrier being configured to rotate as a unit with the second drive shaft. The gear ratio between the input gear and the first gear is different from that between the output gear and the second gear. During differential rotation, the first drive shaft and the second drive shaft are rotated in opposite directions.

Vehicular differential device

An electromagnetic brake device presses a pressing plate against a brake rotor along an axis via a friction material by the electromagnetic force of an electromagnetic actuator. The electromagnetic brake device includes a support member that is disposed on the opposite side of the pressing plate to the brake rotor and that is supported by a housing so as to be displaceable along the axis and non-rotatable around the axis, and a shaft member that transmits a force in the direction along the axis between the pressing plate and the support member. An electromagnetic coil and an armature of the electromagnetic actuator are spaced apart from the pressing plate between the pressing plate and the support member, the electromagnetic coil is supported by the housing, and the armature is supported by the support member.

Electromagnetic brake device

A planetary gear unit includes a first gear, a second gear, and a third gear arranged coaxially while allowed to rotate relatively. A first planetary gear and a second planetary gear are integral, and a third planetary gear and a fourth planetary gear are integral. The planetary gears are rotatably supported by a carrier. The first planetary gear is meshed with the first gear, the second planetary gear is meshed with the second gear, the third planetary gear is meshed with the second gear, and the fourth planetary gear is meshed with the third gear. A gear ratio between the first planetary gear and the first gear is different from a gear ratio between the second planetary gear and the second gear, and a gear ratio between the third planetary gear and the second gear is different from a gear ratio between the fourth planetary gear and the third gear.

Complex planetary gear unit

A downsized differential assembly having a simple structure, which can be mounted easily on automobiles. The differential assembly comprises: a first gear as an internal gear; a second gear as an external gear; a first eccentric gear as an external gear meshed with the first gear; a second eccentric gear as an internal gear meshed with the second gear; a supporting member supporting the first eccentric gear and the second eccentric gear; a first motion translating mechanism translating revolving motion of the first eccentric gear into rotary motion of the first rotary shaft; and a second motion translating mechanism translating revolving motion of the second eccentric gear into rotary motion of the second rotary shaft. Gear ratios between the first gear and the first eccentric gear and between the second gear and the second eccentric gear are different, and the first rotary shaft and the second rotary shaft are rotated in opposite directions.

A compact geared speed reducing unit having a simple structure that can establish a large speed reducing ratio. The geared speed reducing unit comprises: a first rotary shaft and a second rotary shaft arranged coaxially; a fixed first sun gear; a second sun gear rotated integrally with the second rotary shaft; a first ring gear meshing with the first sun gear; a second ring gear rotated integrally with the first ring gear and meshed with the second sun gear; and an eccentric carrier supporting the ring gears such that the ring gears rotate around an eccentric axis and revolve around a common rotational axis of the rotary shafts. A gear ratio between the first sun gear and the first ring gear and a gear ratio between the second sun gear and the second ring gear are set to different values.

Geared speed reducing unit

A downsized torque vectoring device in which a passive rotation of an actuator is prevented. A torque vectoring device comprises: a differential mechanism that allows a differential rotation between a first rotary shaft and second rotary shaft; an actuator that applies torque to the differential mechanism to rotate the rotary shafts at different speeds; and a reversing mechanism that allows the rotary shafts to rotate in opposite directions. The reversing mechanism comprises a first control gear set and the second rotary shaft arranged coaxially around the rotary shafts, and gear ratios of the first control gear set and the second control gear set are set to different values. A speed increasing gear set and a speed reducing gear set are arranged between a prime mover and an output shaft of the actuator, and ring gears of the speed increasing gear set and the speed reducing gear set are connected to each other.

Torque vectoring device

A pedal device includes a first link, a second link, and a return spring that biases the first link toward a standard position at which a pivot angle of the first link is zero. A ratio of a pivot angle of the second link to the pivot angle of the first link is maximum when the pivot angle of the first link is a reference angle. A target acceleration/deceleration of a vehicle is calculated so that in the range in which the pivot angle of the first link is smaller than the reference angle, a target deceleration of the vehicle increases as the pivot angle of the first link is smaller, and in the range in which the pivot angle of the first link is larger than the reference angle, a target acceleration of the vehicle increases as the pivot angle of the first link increases.

Braking/driving force control apparatus for a vehicle

A three-row wheel vehicle having front, center and rear wheels has laterally spaced front pivot links each pivotably connected at a middle to a vehicle body, laterally spaced swing arms each swingably connected to a front end of the front pivot link and rotatably supports the front wheel at a lower end, laterally spaced rear pivot links each pivotably connected to the vehicle body at a middle and rotatably supports the rear wheel at a rear end, laterally spaced force transmission mechanisms each configured to convert a rearward force transmitted from the front wheel to the swing arm into an upward force and transmit the upward force to the front pivot link on a front side of the middle, and laterally spaced connecting links each pivotably attached to a rear end of the front pivot link and a front end of the rear pivot link.

Three-row wheel vehicle

A three-row wheel vehicle having front, center and rear wheels has laterally spaced leading arms each pivotably connected to a vehicle body, laterally spaced swing arms each connected to the front end of the leading arm swingably in the front and rear direction and rotatably supporting the front wheel at the lower end, and laterally spaced connecting links each attached at one end to the swing arm pivotably around an axis and attached at the other end to the vehicle body pivotably around another axis; heights of the axes are different when the vehicle is on a horizontal flat traveling road; and each connecting link is arranged to apply a reaction force including an upward component to the swing arm when a rearward force acts from the front wheel to the one end via the swing arm.

A steering wheel heater includes: a base material that is wound around a steering wheel; a heater wire that generates heat by an electric current flowing through the heater wire; and a sewing thread that is used to sew the heater wire to one surface of the base material. A plurality of through holes that have a diameter smaller than a sewing pitch of stitches of the sewing thread used to sew the heater wire are formed in the base material.

Steering wheel heater

A drive force control system to increase a yaw rate greater than the yaw rate achieved by rotating a steering wheel to a maximum angle. A target yaw rate is calculated based on a steering angle of the steering wheel. A first predetermined torque and a second predetermined torque are calculated based on a difference between the target yaw rate and an actual yaw rate. When the steering angle of the steering wheel exceeds a first predetermined angle, a first correction torque to correct the first predetermined torque and a second correction torque to correct the second predetermined torque are calculated n accordance with the steering torque.

Drive force control system

A vehicle drive system configured to achieve a required driving force of braking force without changing an orientation of a vehicle in the event of slippage of a wheel. The vehicle drive system comprises: a torque generating device; a differential mechanism that allows a relative rotation between a right wheel and a left wheel; a differential restricting device that restricts a differential rotation between the right wheel and the left wheel; and a steering mechanism that controls a turning angle of pairs of the wheels. A first controller controls the relative rotation between the right wheel and the left wheel to be smaller than a predetermined value and second controller further controls a turning angle of the wheels controlled by the steering mechanism.

Vehicle drive system

A downsized torque vectoring device that is easily to be mounted on an automobile. The torque vectoring device comprises: a differential mechanism that allows a first driveshaft and second driveshaft to rotate at different speeds; an actuator that applies a control torque to the differential mechanism to rotate the first driveshaft and the second driveshaft at different speeds; and a reversing mechanism that allows the first driveshaft and the second driveshaft to rotate in opposite directions. A gear ratio of a first gear train and a gear ratio of the second gear train are different from each other.

Growing community of inventors

Mishima, Japan

Hiroshi Isono