Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki

Katsuji Watanabe

Yasuo Shimizu

Atsuhiko Yoneda

Shigeru Yamawaki

Yasuhiro Terada

Yasuharu Ohyama

Koichi Suyama

Takashi Miyoshi

Tsunehiko Fukatsu

Ryoji Toyofuku

Tsuyoshi Matsuo

Tetsuro Hamada

Yoshihiro Oniwa

Yutaka Arimura

Masaki Izawa

Takahiro Aoki

Katsuhiro Saito

Yoeru Kono

Yousuke Tanaka

A magnetostrictive torque sensor device which detects a torque applied to a rotary shaft is provided. The magnetostrictive torque sensor device includes a magnetostrictive portion provided on a surface of the rotary shaft, a coil and a cylindrical back-yoke disposed in outer periphery of the coil. The coil includes a bobbin arranged in outer periphery of the magnetostrictive portion, and a wire wound around the bobbin. A slit is provided on the back-yoke.

Magnetostrictive torque sensor device, manufacturing method thereof, and vehicle steering apparatus

An electric motor having a rotation shaft includes a motor housing into which the electric motor is accommodated, at least one pair of rolling bearings positioned in the motor housing and rotatably supporting both ends of the rotation shaft, and a displacement restriction member provided inside the motor housing and restricting a displacement of the rolling bearing in an axial direction of the rolling bearing. Each rolling bearing includes an inner race, an outer race, and rolling elements rotatably supported between the inner race and the outer race. The inner race is press fitted without any gaps onto an outer peripheral surface of the rotation shaft, and the outer race is press fitted without any gaps into a bearing attachment portion provided inside the motor housing.

Electric motor and electric power steering apparatus

The torque sensor includes a plurality of coil units having a substantially cylindrical shape, the coil units including a plurality of detection coils arranged to face a magnetic characteristic change portion formed on a rotary shaft. The coil units include a first coil unit and a second coil unit, and the first coil unit and the second coil unit are disposed in the axial direction of the shaft. The first coil unit and the second coil unit are fixed in an integrally molded resin. Thereby, there is provided a torque sensor having a high productivity and an easy configuration and a method of manufacturing the torque sensor.

Method of manufacturing a torque sensor

An electric power steering apparatushas an electric motorfor supplying an auxiliary force to a steering force inputted from a steering wheel, and transmits the steering force including the auxiliary force to a steered road-wheelat least partially via a rack-and-pinion mechanism, thereby performing steering of a vehicle. The rack-and-pinion mechanismincludes: a pinionprovided at a pinion shaftconnected to the steering wheel; a rackthat is provided over a predetermined width at a rack shaftconnected to the steered road-wheel, and that is engaged with the pinion; and a rack guidefor urging the rack shafttoward the pinion. A pressure angle &#x3b1;of a tooth root of the rackis set to be greater than a pressure angle &#x3b1;of a tooth tip of the rack

Steering apparatus

An electric power steering device is configured to transmit an auxiliary torque to a steering unit of front wheels, and includes: an operator; an electric motor configured to generate the auxiliary torque in accordance with at least a steering torque generated by input from the operator; the steering unit of front wheels which includes a pinion shaft; and a rotation terminating mechanism which provides a motion terminating end of the operator, the rotation terminating mechanism being disposed between the operator and the pinion shaft.

Electric power steering device

An electric damper which does not transmit unbalance wheel vibration to a vehicle body is provided. A low-pass cutoff frequency setting unit and a high-pass cutoff frequency setting unit respectively set the cutoff frequencies for band-stop filters to a frequency band corresponding to unbalance wheel vibration based on a signal indicating a vehicle speed from a vehicle speed sensor, and a function as a band-stop filter comprising a low-pass filter computation unit, a high-pass filter computation unit and an adder is computed for a displacement rate of the vertical motion of a wheel calculated by a differentiating unit in a damper control unit. A damper control amount computation unit calculates a control amount of controlling an electric motor for a motor-driven damper based on the calculated filtered displacement rate, and outputs a control signal to a motor driving unit through a driving circuit output unit.

Electric damper

A rack-and-pinion steering apparatus in which a steering gear box for transmitting an operation of a steering wheel to road wheels includes a pinion operatively connected to the steering wheel, a rack bar which has a rack meshing with the pinion, and which is operatively connected to the road wheels, a housing slidably supporting the rack bar, a cylindrical rack guide slidably fitted into a guide hole formed in the housing, and a spring member causing the rack guide to abut on a rear part of the rack bar opposite to the rack by biasing the rack guide. A reaction force, which the rack guide receives from the rack bar, acts on the rack guide in such a way as to cause a rotational moment of the rack guide about an axis different from an axis of the rack guide.

Rack-and-pinion steering apparatus

Worm gear mechanism includes a driving worm, a torque delivering worm wheel meshing with the worm, and an auxiliary worm wheel superimposed on the torque delivering worm wheel. The auxiliary worm wheel has a pitch diameter greater than that of the torque delivering worm wheel. The auxiliary worm wheel is biased against the driving worm wheel via a biasing member in the form of a leaf spring.

Worm gear mechanism and electric power steering apparatus equipped with the worm gear mechanism

This magnetostrictive torque sensor includes: a shaft made of a magnetized material; a magnetostrictive portion provided on the shaft at a position distanced for a predetermined length from an end of the shaft; a detection coil that is arranged so as to face the magnetostrictive portion, and detects a change in a magnetic characteristic of the magnetostrictive portion; and a plating made of an nonmagnetic material, that is provided on the end of the shaft.

Magnetostrictive torque sensor and electric power steering apparatus including the same

A worm gear mechanism includes a worm, a torque-transmitting worm wheel meshing with the worm, and an auxiliary worm wheel disposed concentrically with the torque-transmitting worm wheel. The auxiliary worm wheel has a pitch circle diameter set to be greater than a pitch circle diameter of the torque-transmitting worm wheel and hence meshes with the worm in a meshing phase different from that of the torque-transmitting worm wheel. A screw thread provided on the worm actually meshes with teeth of the torque-transmitting worm wheel along a length defined as an actual meshing length. The screw thread has an effective length reduced to be approximately equal to the actual meshing length.

Worm gear mechanism having worm, torque-transmitting worm wheel and auxiliary worm wheel and electric power steering apparatus including the same

An electric power steering apparatus includes a worm gear mechanism for transmitting the torque generated by an electric motor to a steered road wheel of the vehicle. The worm gear mechanism has a worm gear made of metal and a worm wheel formed of plastic material and meshing with the worm gear. The worm gear has a tooth profile including a dedendum part formed in an involute shape and an addendum part formed in a circular arc shape with a center located on a line of action.

Electric power steering apparatus equipped with worm gear mechanism

Torque sensor with a resin housing and a method of manufacturing the same

Worm gear mechanism is provided which includes a worm, a torque-transmitting worm wheel and an auxiliary worm wheel. In order to secure a sufficient face width of the torque-transmitting worm wheel, a pitch diameter of the auxiliary worm wheel is set to be greater than a pitch diameter of the torque-transmitting worm wheel. Thus, undesired backlash can be eliminated by the auxiliary worm wheel meshing with the worm with a different meshing phase from the torque-transmitting worm wheel.

Electric power steering apparatus includes an electric motor for producing steering assist torque corresponding to steering torque applied to a steering system, and a worm gear mechanism for transmitting the steering assist torque to the steering system. The worm of the worm gear mechanism has a pressure angle greater than a pressure angle of the worm wheel, so as to reduce an actual meshing pitch circle diameter of the worm in the worm gear mechanism.

Electric power steering apparatus

A cable type steering system includes an operation cable having an outer tube and inner cable slidably received in the outer tube. A drive pulley coupled to a steering wheel for rotation and a driven pulley coupled to a steering gear box for steering wheels for rotation are connected to end portions of the inner cable. A steering torque inputted to the steering wheel is transmitted to the steering gear box via the inner cable of the operation cable. At least one of a first portion of the system extending from the drive pulley to a first position of the outer tube and a second portion of the system extending from the driven pulley to a second position of the outer tube is accommodated within a waterproof space formed by a cover, such as a rubber cover or a cover molded of synthetic resin.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Katsuji Watanabe