Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Japanese National Railways

S.k.g. Co., Ltd.

Hiroshi Nakashima

Tadashi Terazawa

Toshiaki Hamada

Yoshinori Taguchi

Yuichiro Sakakibara

Masanobu Ishikawa

Takehiko Fushimi

Jun Mihara

Kazutaka Kuwana

Naoji Sakakibara

Masumi Nishikawa

Shinsuke Sakane

Mitsuhide Sakamoto

Akio Hashimoto

Hideo Inoue

Shinichi Tagawa

Hiroshi Naito

Yasuo Uehara

Hitoshi Terada

Satoshi Yamada

Eisuke Hatano

Takashi Mitsumoto

Kohji Hiro

To provide a light guide member such that more uniform brightness can be ensured in a wide region. A light guide member according to the present invention that receives light through side surfaces and outputs the light through main surfaces includes recesses formed by a machine in at least one of the main surfaces in a groove-like or dot-like shape, the recesses having bottom surfaces formed of molten material at the deepest part of the recesses. Thus, there can be provided the light guide member that has the groove-like or dot-like recesses with the bottom surfaces formed by a molten mark and that can output light with more uniform brightness through the main surfaces when a wide region is observed.

Light guide member and method of manufacturing light guide member

A fluid pressure source apparatus includes a pump, an accumulator for receiving pressure from the pump, a pressure switch for detecting the pressure in the accumulator, an electric motor for driving the pump, and a motor control device for driving the motor when the pressure switch detects a low pressure. A current detecting device detects a motor current value of the motor and a control unit determines whether the accumulator or the motor is experiencing an abnormality based on the motor current value. The control unit determines whether the motor current value occurring during a first set time following the start of driving of the motor is greater than a first set value. If the motor current value is not greater than the first set value, the control unit determines that the current detecting device is experiencing an abnormality. If there is no such abnormality information, the control unit compares the motor current value with predetermined values. If the motor current value continues to be less than a lower limit value for at least a predetermined length of time, the control unit determines that there is a low pressure abnormality. If the motor current value continues to be greater than an upper limit value for at least a predetermined length of time, the control unit determines that there is a motor lock abnormality.

Fluid pressure source apparatus

A vehicle motion control system for a vehicle for maintaining stability of a vehicle when the vehicle is in motion includes braking device for applying a braking force to each wheel of the vehicle. The system includes a lateral acceleration sensor for sensing a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and a yaw rate sensor for sensing a yaw rate of the vehicle. A vehicle slip angular velocity is calculated on the basis of output signals of the lateral acceleration sensor and the yaw rate sensor and then a vehicle motion condition is determined on the basis of the vehicle slip angular velocity. The braking device is actuated to apply a braking force to at least one of the wheels on the basis of the vehicle motion condition and irrespective of depression of the brake pedal in order to maintain the stability of the vehicle in motion. An abnormal condition of at least one of the lateral acceleration sensor and the yaw rate sensor is determined on the basis of the vehicle slip angular velocity.

Vehicle motion control system

The present invention is directed to a vehicle motion control system for maintaining vehicle stability, even in the case where the vehicle is tilted when the vehicle is in turning motion, wherein a braking force control unit is provided for controlling a braking force applied to each of front and rear wheels of the vehicle. The system includes a tilt detection unit which detects a tilt of a normal axis of the vehicle to its vertical axis, and a turn determination unit which determines a turning condition of the vehicle including a turning direction thereof. A yaw moment control unit is provided for controlling the braking force controlling unit to produce a yaw moment in a direction opposite to the turning direction of the vehicle in response to the tilt detected by the tilt detection unit when the turn determination unit determines that the vehicle is turning.

The invention is directed to a pressure supply system which has a fluid pump, an electric motor for driving the fluid pump to supply a hydraulic pressure in proportion to a current fed to the motor, and an accumulator for accumulating the hydraulic pressure supplied from the fluid pump. The pressure supply system includes a current detection device which detects the current fed to the motor, and a malfunction detection device which detects a malfunction of the pressure supply system on the basis of the output of the current detection device. The malfunction detection device is adapted to determine that the malfunction occurs when an increasing rate of the current fed to the motor is less than a predetermined rate, preferably after a predetermined time elapsed from the time when the current initially fed to the motor. The pressure supply system may further include such a warning device as a lamp or a buzzer, which will be activated when the malfunction detection device detects the malfunction of the system.

Pressure supply system having a malfunction detection device

The invention is directed to a pressure accumulating control system for use in a pressure supply apparatus which has a fluid pump, an electric motor for driving the fluid pump to supply a hydraulic pressure, and an accumulator for accumulating the hydraulic pressure supplied from the fluid pump. The system includes a pressure detection device for detecting the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator, and a continuous control device for feeding a current to the motor continuously. The continuous control device is adapted to feed the current to the motor continuously, when the pressure detected by the pressure detection device becomes less than a predetermined lower limit, and is adapted to terminate the continuous feeding of the current to the motor, when the pressure detected by the pressure detection device exceeds a predetermined upper limit. The system further includes an intermittent control device for feeding a current to the motor intermittently by a predetermined cycle of time. The intermittent control device is adapted to terminate the continuous feeding of the current to the motor, and is adapted to feed the current to the motor intermittently, when the current is continuously fed to the motor by the continuous control device for a period longer than a predetermined time.

Pressure accumulating control system

The invention is directed to a pressure monitoring system for monitoring a hydraulic pressure which is supplied from a fluid pump and accumulated in an accumulator. The pressure monitoring system includes an electric motor which drives the fluid pump to supply the hydraulic pressure in substantially linear proportion to a current fed to the motor, a current detection device which detects the current fed to the motor, and a pressure estimation device which estimates the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator in response to the current detected by the current detection device. A malfunction detection device may be provided for detecting a malfunction on the basis of the output of the pressure estimation device.

Pressure monitoring system

A system for controlling a steering angle of a vehicle, such as a steering angle of a rear steering wheel, the system having a yaw rate sensor for detecting a yaw rate of the vehicle, an actuator electrically controlled to change the steering angle of the vehicle, and a controller for controlling the actuator to control the steering angle on the basis of an input which includes at least a component derived from the detected yaw rate. The controller includes a detector for detecting an abnormality of a value of the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate sensor, and a limiter for limiting an amount of change in the steering angle to within a predetermined tolerable range when the abnormality is detected.

Vehicle steering control system wherein steering angle change is limited

A throttle control method for an internal combustion engine wherein a motor is connected through a clutch mechanism to a throttle valve which is constantly biased toward a closed position by a return spring. The motor is controlled in accordance with an output signal from a throttle sensor which detects the degree of opening of the throttle valve. This arrangement controls the amount of intake air into the internal combustion engine. The clutch mechanism is engaged and disengaged in accordance with a running condition of the vehicle and an operating condition of the internal combustion engine. An operating condition of the motor, the throttle sensor, the clutch mechanism and the return spring, is detected by activating the motor and the clutch mechanism, and when an abnormality is detected in at least one of the devices, both the motor and the clutch mechanism are deactivated.

Throttle control method for internal combustion engine

Disclosed herein is a throttle controller that uses a clutch means to connect a throttle operation means to a driving means under normal acceleration control. The controller allows the driving means to regulate the opening of the throttle valve independent of an accelerator operation mechanism. This makes it possible to start and run the vehicle smoothly in response to accelerator pedal operation, as well as to provide diverse kinds of control including constant speed drive control. In particular, a second control means independent of a first control means allows a driving control means to control the clutch means, thereby reliably providing constand speed drive control irrespective of accelerator pedal operation.

Throttle controller

A throttle controller has a first detecting device for outputting a signal corresponding to an amount of the accelerator operation of an accelerator operating mechanism; a second detecting device for outputting a signal corresponding to an opening of a throttle valve; a first controlling device for permitting drive control by a drive controlling device in such a manner that a clutch device separates a throttle opening and closing device from a driving device, when an output signal of the first detecting device is a signal representative of an amount of operation not more than a predetermined amount of accelerator operation and when an output signal of the second detecting means is a signal representative of an opening exceeding a predetermined throttle opening; and a second controlling device disposed in parallel with and independently of the first controlling device and adapted to permit control of the driving of the clutch device by the drive controlling device, the second controlling device permitting control of the driving of the clutch device by the drive controlling device in such a manner that the clutch device connects the throttle opening and closing device and the driving device, when an output signal of the first detecting device is a signal representative of an amount of operation not more than the predetermined amount of accelerator operation and when an output signal of the second detecting device is a signal representative of an opening exceeding the predetermined throttle opening.

A motor driving apparatus includes a motor, a signal generating device for generating a Pulse Width Modulation binary signal, a control device for applying a current to the motor, a current detecting device for detecting the current applied to the motor, and a current blocking device for blocking the current applied to the motor for a predetermined time when the current applied to the motor exceeds a predetermined value. The current blocking device is synchronized at an alternative cycle of the binary signal, whereby it is possible to limit the current applied to the motor during the overload of the motor.

Motor driving apparatus

A motor driven power steering apparatus includes a steering mechanism having a torque detector for detecting torque applied to the mechanism through a steering wheel. An electric motor is connected to the steering mechanism through an electromagnetic clutch. The current in the electric motor is monitored and if it becomes excessive, a control circuit is activated to deactivate the clutch. The electric motor is disconnected from the steering mechanism at the time the engine of the vehicle is starting and at other times during operation of the vehicle to determine if excess current flows through the motor which would be indicative of a malfunction of the electric motor.

Motor driven power steering apparatus

A motor assisted steering apparatus has its wheels oriented with respect to a car body in response to a combination of a steering force which is supplied by a manual operation and a driving force developed by an electric motor which is energized in accordance with the steering force. The existence of an abnormality is annunciated when the relationship between the manual steering force and the operational condition of the motor deviates from a predetermined relationship. For example, the existence of an abnormality is annunciated when the motor is energized even though a steering wheel is not substantially operated, when the motor is energized for rotation in a direction which causes the wheels to be turned to the left even though the steering wheel is turned to the right or vice versa. The existence of such abnormality is detected by monitoring the manual steering force and the operational condition of the motor, without requiring any addition of sensors which have no direct connection with the operation of the apparatus.

Abnormality detector for motor assisted steering apparatus

A tilt steering mechanism, a telescopic steering mechanism and a seat attitude adjusting mechanism are controlled in their attitudes by an electric motor such that the respective attitudes are automatically set into a retreat attitude where the driver easily gets on and off a vehicle upon boarding/alighting, and into a driving attitude assumed before retreat upon the completion of boarding. Whether or not the driver is about to get on and off the vehicle is judged in accordance with the status of an ignition switch, status of a door switch, vehicle speed, status of a parking brake, shift lever position of a transmission, etc. A change speed of attitude is monitored during energization of the electric motor and, if the change speed is less than a predetermined value, this is judged as the presence of overload and the electric motor is stopped.

Growing community of inventors

Nishio, Japan

Hiroshi Nakashima