Mazda Motor Corporation

Sumitomo Light Metal Industries, Ltd.

Kazuki Fujise

Toshihiro Hara

Tetsuro Butsuen

Takeshi Takagi

Koji Tobita

Tohru Yoshioka

Hiroki Uemura

Yasunori Yamamoto

Ayumu Doi

Tomohiko Adachi

Keizo Nanba

Satoshi Morioka

Kenichi Okuda

Satoru Matsuoka

Hiromichi Sano

Takeaki Baba

Kouzou Hirota

Ken Kawamura

Yoshio Takeshima

Yoshiaki Kinoshita

Naoyuki Hikida

Atsuo Muneto

An integrated controller for a vehicle comprises a contact preventive device for detecting a distance between a vehicle and an obstacle and a relative speed, and deciding whether the vehicle may come in contact with the obstacle based on the results of detection so as to perform automatic braking or automatic steering, and a characteristic changing device for causing the suspension or steering characteristic of the vehicle to be changed. The control part of the characteristic changing device changes the suspension or steering characteristic based on information from the control part of the contact preventive device when operating the contact preventive device. In case the characteristic changing device is an active suspension device, the control part changes the suspension characteristic so as to increase a control gain when performing automatic braking and to inhibit the vehicle from being rolled when performing automatic steering. Consequently, it is possible to early change the suspension characteristic when operating the contact preventive device. Thus, the running stability of the vehicle can be enhanced.

Integrated controller for vehicle

A contact preventive system for vehicles using an automatic braking device and an automatic steering device together. Contact forecasting mechanism forecasts the contact of a vehicle with an obstacle. When the contact of the obstacle is forecasted, automatic braking control mechanism operates the automatic braking device. Environment detecting mechanism detects the change of environment such as a friction coefficient of a road. Automatic steering control mechanism operates the automatic steering device to alter the advance direction of the vehicle when a possibility of contact is caused by the change of environment during automatic braking. Thus, contact can be avoided.

Contact preventive apparatus for vehicles

An automobile seat assembly includes a seat cushion subassembly and a seat back subassembly coupled with the seat cushion subassembly to represent a generally L-shaped configuration. A holding device is installed in the seat cushion subassembly and is deformable in response to the sitting of a seat occupant on a sitting area of the seat cushion subassembly and holds the sitting area in a deformed shape resulting from the seat occupant sitting on the sitting area. An actuating device installed in the seat cushion subassembly actuates the holding device. A detecting device detects the actual sitting position of the seat occupant on the sitting area. A control device is operable to operate the actuating device a predetermined time after the detecting device has detected the actual sitting position of the seat occupant on the sitting area.

Automobile seat assembly

A honeycomb panel structure for thermal and acoustic insulation and for load bearing capability has a honeycomb panel which comprises a honeycomb core laminated with two facing plates, and a pair of housings. Each housing has a channel to engage and support a edge of the honeycomb panel. A first neutral axis passes through the center of gravity of the honeycomb panel and extends in the direction of the panel. A second neutral axis passes through the centers of gravity of the housings and extends parallel to the first neutral axis. The first and second neutral axes are spaced apart in a vertical direction so that the structure has much higher flexural rigidity.

Honeycomb panel structure

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Kazuki Fujise