Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Kansai Paint Company, Ltd.

Nippondenco Co., Ltd.

Katsunori Ito

Susumu Akiyama

Masumi Kinugawa

Katsuhiro Ina

Yoshihisa Sato

Tiaki Mizuno

Tomoaki Abe

Toshitaka Yamada

Yuji Hirabayashi

Norio Omori

Takao Saito

Atsushi Suzuki

Yuzi Hirabayashi

Kazuaki Minami

Tetsuo Tanigawa

Hidemichi Tanabe

Toshikazu Ina

Masahiro Ohba

Hideya Fujisawa

Hisamitsu Yamazoe

Naoki Maeda

Masanori Naganoma

Keiji Ambo

Kazuhide Sato

Hiroshi Murata

Hideki Matsuura

Koji Mori

Nobuo Kondo

Eiichi Senda

Naoki Ishii

Hitoshi Hibi

Yoshiaki Ukai

Kunihiko Suzuki

Tsutomu Tabe

Shuukichi Hayashi

Akiyo Tsukamoto

Susumu Akiyoma

Yoshihisa Satoh

Yugi Hirabayashi

Shigenori Asai

Nobuyoshi Ohta

A method for forming a multilayer coated film on an object includes steps (1) to (3) below. A first colored coating material is applied to the object, thereby forming a first colored coated film (step (1)). The first colored coating material includes an iron-oxide-coated aluminum pigment and a quinacridone pigment and has a light reflectance property at specific wavelengths. A second colored coating material is applied to the first colored coated film, thereby forming a second colored coated film (step (2)). The second colored coating material includes a perylene pigment and has a specific hue. A clear coating material is applied to the second colored coated film (step (3)). A color difference &#x394;E between the first colored coated film and the multilayer coated film is in a range of 20 to 30.

Method for forming multilayer coated film

An electric power transmitting device transmits electric energy from one coil to another coil through an inductive coupling therebetween. One of the coils has an end bent in the axial direction of the coil. When the other coil is to be inserted into said one coil, it can be inserted in not only the axial direction of said one coil, but also a direction transverse to the axial direction through the bent end of the coil. Said one of the coils is typically housed in a holder, and the other coil in the grip of a gun-shaped, hand-held bar-code scanner. When the grip is inserted into a groove defined in the holder, the coils are magnetically coupled to each other, thus providing an inductive coupling. The bar-code scanner can easily be placed on and removed from the holder.

Electric power transmitting device with inductive coupling

A plurality of control units are connected via a common signal line through which they communicate. Each control unit is operative to control an apparatus according to certain information the control unit normally receives directly through an exclusive signal line by operation of a directly-inputting device. A check is made to determine whether the directly-inputting device is operating normally. If not, then the required information is inputted from its source indirectly through another control unit by way of the common signal line.

Communication control system

Control units are mutually connected by separate common signal lines. A data link is provided between the control units via a preselected one of the common signal lines. A check is made as to whether the preselected common signal line is operating normally or abnormally. When the preselected common signal line is operating abnormally, the preselected common signal line is replaced by another common signal line in the data link.

A plurality of control systems mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, and provided for different controlled objects are respectively made of control computers. These control computers are linked by a common data bus. These computers exclusively execute, for example, an engine control, a transmission control, a brake control, a suspension control, and a auto drive control. The data bus is further connected to a diagnosis computer. Each control computer detects a signal from the sensor provided corresponding to each controlled object, and outputs the detect signal to the data bus. Each control computer executes the logical operation for its control on the basis of its detect signal and various data transferred to the data bus. The diagnosis computer supervises an operating state of each control system on the basis of the data transferred to the data bus. When an abnormality is detected, the diagnosis computer stores this data in a large-capacity memory, and displays the abnormality.

Overall diagnosis apparatus for vehicle-mounted control devices

A communication control unit for controlling communication between an electronic control unit and other equipment or other electronic control units, the communication control unit functioning to judge whether or not the operation of the electronic control unit is normal and, if it is judged that the electronic control unit is operating abnormally, the communication control unit acts to reset the electronic control unit to an initial operating status in order to attempt recovery from the abnormal condition, while halting transmission by the electronic control unit until it is judged that the electronic control unit has commenced to operate normally.

Communication control unit providing isolation of failure condition of

A data network system for a vehicle having a plurality of separate and distinct control computers carrying out a predetermined control function of the vehicle and a data communication line for communicating data among the control computers. One of the control computers determines the number of the other computers which are linked with the data communication line, and in response to that number a data transfer rate output from each of the control computers to the data communication line is determined.

Network system for data communication in a vehicle

Sensors detect parameters. Control units control vehicle equipments in accordance with the detected parameters. In each of the control units, at least one of the detected parameters and internally produced data is converted into serial data as communication data, and serial data is converted into other form data. A transmission medium connects the control units via a serial data link. Serial interfaces are associated with the control units respectively. Each of the serial interfaces includes a connection terminal connected to the transmission medium, an input terminal and an output terminal both connected to the associated control unit. Each of the serial interfaces inputs serial data from the associated control unit via its input terminal and outputs the inputted data to the transmission medium via its connection terminal. Each of the serial interfaces inputs serial data from the transmission medium via its connection terminal and outputs the inputted data to the associated control unit via its output terminal.

Communication system for vehicle

A system for controlling the operating condition of an engine in which a temperature sensing element constitutes an airflow measuring device disposed in an intake air passage of the engine. The temperature sensing element is supplied with a heating current in response to a start pulse signal produced with every one-half period of each combustion cycle of the engine. A comparator delivers an output signal when a reference temperature set on the basis of the air temperature measured by an auxiliary temperature sensing element is reached by the temperature of the temperature sensing element. A pulse signal indicative of the time interval between the generation of the start pulse signal and a rise in the output signal of the comparator is delivered as an airflow measurement signal. The average airflow quantity responsive to one combustion cycle of the engine is detected, and a correction factor K is calculated from the difference between two airflow rate data measured in each combustion cycle and the average airflow quantity. Based on the correction factor K, the injection quantity, injection timing and the like are calculated.

Control system for determining the quantity of intake air of an internal

A control system for an engine has a temperature sensitive element as part of a device for measuring the air flow in an air intake manifold to the engine. Further, a first pulse signal is generated, corresponding to the rotation of the engine, for controlling the setting of a flip-flop. A transistor is conducted in the set state of the flip-flop to supply a heating electric current to the element. The element supplied with the current is raised to the temperature that corresponds to the air flow in the manifold. When the temperature of the element is raised until the specified temperature difference to the air temperature (measured by a sub temperature sensitive element) is set, the temperature difference is detected by a comparator, and the flip-flop is reset by the detection signal. A pulse-shaped signal corresponding to the set state of the flip-flop is produced as a measurement output signal, supplied as one detection signal of the operating state of the engine to an engine control unit, and the current to the element is controlled to be supplied by the pulse-shaped signal.

Control system for an engine having an air intake passage

An engine control apparatus has an air flow rate measuring device for measuring an intake air flow rate. A temperature sensing element having a temperature characteristic and constituting the device is arranged in an intake pipe. The device generates an output pulse signal having a pulse width T corresponding to the intake air flow rate. An engine control unit has the one-dimensional map for storing the relationship between the engine speed N and the pulse width to of the signal corresponding to the air flow rate. This data to is read out from the one-dimensional map in accordance with the engine speed N. Subsequently, the data to is subtracted from the data T to calculate a time duration t. The unit also has a two-dimensional map for storing the relationship between each time duration t and the corresponding rate G/N in correspondence with each of the present engine speeds. A corresponding rate G/N is read out from the two-dimensional map in response to the calculated time duration t. The resultant rate G/N is used to calculate fuel injection quantity.

Engine control apparatus

A heat generating element having a thermal characteristic such that its resistance varies in response to changes in temperature is provided in the intake pipe of an engine. A heating power, the voltage of which is set by a reference voltage source, is supplied to the heat generating element via a transistor. The supply of this heating power is controlled by a start pulse signal periodically generated by a set flip-flop circuit when the ignition switch is on. When the heat generating element reaches a predetermined temperature, the supply is cut off by the flip-flop circuit. A measurement signal having a pulse width corresponding to the time period of heating power supply is generated from the flip-flop circuit. The opening of the ignition switch is detected and a one-shot multivibrator is driven to produce a burn-off signal having a pulse width to which the burn-off period corresponds. This burn-off control signal turns the transistor on and heating power is supplied to the heat generating element and the voltage of the reference power source is reduced so that the voltage of the heating power is switched to a low level.

Heat-wire type air flow measurement apparatus

An air flowrate measuring apparatus with a heat wire measures the flow rate of the air flowing through the intake pipe of an engine. The apparatus has a temperature sensitive element which has a specific temperature-resistance characteristic and is disposed in the intake pipe. Constant heating voltage is applied to this element in response to a start signal, thus heating the element. When the temperature of the element rises to a specified value, the application of the voltage is stopped. At the same time, a pulse signal whose width corresponds to the period of applying the voltage is generated. The signal is supplied to an interface circuit through a drive circuit driven by a reference voltage which has been also used to control the heating voltage. The interface circuit comprises two wave-shaping circuits. The first wave-shaping circuit has a filter means of a small integration time constant. The second wave-shaping circuit has a filter means whose integration time constant is large enough to remove noise from the input signal.

Heat wire type air flowrate measuring apparatus

An engine control system has a heater and a temperature measuring element with a temperature-resistance characteristic. The heater and element are provided in the intake pipe of an engine. Heating, which initiated by a start pulse signal generated by an engine control unit in synchronism with engine rotation is supplied to the heater through a transistor. When the heater temperature has reached a reference temperature preset in accordance with the intake air temperature measured by the element, a comparator generates an output to deenergize the heater. The period of supplying the heating power is represented by a pulse signal from a flip-flop. This pulse signal is supplied as an airflow measurement signal to the engine control unit. The engine control unit calculates the basic fuel injection quantity and determines if the starting of the pulse signal received by the control unit falls within a predetermined period from the starting of the start pulse signal. If the starting has fallen outside the predetermined period, the output signal is considered to have been generated in response to a noise signal. In this case, a normal output signal next to the output signal generated in response to the noise signal is corrected.

Control system for an engine having air passage

The intake airflow rate supplied to an internal combustion engine is measured and an obtained airflow rate measurement signal is used for detecting the operating state of the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine is electronically controlled, and an airflow rate measuring unit includes a heat-generating element having a temperature-resistance characteristic. A heating current which rises in correspondence with a signal synchronous with rotation of the engine is supplied to the heat-generating element. The heating current is controlled to rise when the heat-generating element is heated to a predetermined temperature, and the heating current duration indicates the airflow rate measurement signal. A burn-off command signal is generated so as to burn off dust attached to the heat-generating element. The command signal is used to generate a periodic signal having a preset effective duration. The pulse signal sets a continuous supply of the heating current to the element for the pulse duration, so that the heat-generating element is heated to a temperature for burning off dust attached thereto.

Measuring apparatus for internal combustion engine

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Aichi, Japan

Katsunori Ito