Asmo Co., Ltd.

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Mazda Co., Ltd.

Kazukiyo Okada

Yoshinobu Toyoda

Kazuyuki Hirai

Motoya Yamamoto

Yutaka Okuda

Daisuke Mukai

Nobuo Kondo

Shigeki Okabe

Takashi Tsuchida

Kozo Odoi

Seiichi Omoto

Takahiko Tanaka

Akira Tsunoda

Tatsuo Maeda

Toshio Shinohara

Takayuki Nakamura

Nobuyuki Yamamoto

A control apparatus for a movable vehicle roof panel determines the position of the panel in a tilt open state and evaluates whether the panel is in normal tilt-open range of positions or has, via inertia, traveled beyond those normal positions. The control apparatus allows movement to the closed position if movement beyond a permissible range has been achieved through roof panel inertia.

Controller for a moving member and method for setting a reference position of the moving member

A control apparatus rotates a drive motor reversely to reverse the moving direction of a roof glass when movement of the roof glass is obstructed by a foreign matter caught between the roof glass and a frame while the roof glass is moving toward the closing position, sets a home position of the roof glass by setting the count number to a predetermined value with the roof glass placed in a predetermined position. The control apparatus performs setting of the home position again when a reverse action of the roof glass has been carried out, because of catching of the foreign matter in the roof glass, a number of times equal to or greater than a specified number. An abnormality detecting device detects an abnormality in which the reverse action of the roof glass is not carried out within a specified time period. When the abnormality is detected, the control apparatus avoids setting the home position again.

Controller for a moving member including an abnormality detecting device

A control apparatus for a roof glass specifies the selection position of the selection switch when an output voltage from the selection switch is determined to be included in any of the allowable ranges predetermined respectively for the selection positions of the selection switch. The selection position of the selection switch is settled when the specified selection position has not changed even when a predetermined time passes after specifying of the selection position of the selection switch. When those selection positions which have been settled at a time of making the current decision and at a time of making a previous decision satisfy predetermined conditions, the roof glass is allowed to operate to a position corresponding to the selection position of the selection switch settled at a time of making a current decision.

Apparatus and method for controlling movement of a movable member

An actuator for a locking mechanism which locks a shiftable lever in a locked position or a released position. The actuator includes a lock member which is shiftable between a locking position and an unlocking position for causing the lever to be locked in position or to be released from said locking position. A drive mechanism continuously forces the lock member toward said locking position. A drive mechanism causes a rotatable cam to rotate a predetermined distance in a preselected direction. The rotatable cam positions the lock member in the locking position or the unlocking position. The cam is specially designed to permit the lock member in the lock position, to be shifted to the unlocking position against the action of the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism includes a motor for rotating the cam in a predetermined direction, and a control circuit for controlling the power supply to a motor, in order to control the rotational phase angle of the cam.

Shift lock actuator and control circuit therefor

An actuator for a locking mechanism, which locks a shiftable lever in a locked position or a released position. The actuator includes a lock member which is shiftable between a locking position and an unlocking position for causing the lever to be locked in position or to be released from said locking position. A drive mechanism continuously forces the lock member toward said locking position. A drive mechanism causes a rotatable cam to rotate a predetermined distance in a preselected direction. The rotatable cam positions the lock member in the locking position or the unlocking position. The cam is specially designed to permit the lock member in the lock position, to be shifted to the unlocking position against the action of the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism includes a motor for rotating the cam in a predetermined direction, and a control circuit for controlling the power supply to a motor, in order to control the rotational phase angle of the cam.

A windshield wiper control system has a motor connected to a shaft for driving a wiper in a normal and a reverse directions. A wiper position detector includes a plurality of detector levers for providing output detection signals indicative of the position of the wiper. A storage device stores combinations of the output detection signals in a time-sequential order. A data generation device arranges the stored output detection signals from the detector, in predetermined time-sequential combinations, and prepares detection data therefrom. An indexing device compares the detection data prepared by the data generation device with corresponding combinations of stored output detection signals, and indexes the relative positions of the wiper resulting from such comparison.

Windshield wiper control with time sequential indexing of wiper position

An electric driving device for openable members in which an openable member is opened and closed by rotation of driving shafts provided on right and left sides. The device includes a motor which rotates the driving shafts via a reduction mechanism, and switching relays which switch the rotational direction of the motor. Open and close command switches command the opening and closing of the openable member and a rotation synchronization sensor associated with the motor generates pulses synchronized with the rotation of the motor. A mechanical stopper limits the rotation of the driving shaft which is rotated via the reduction mechanism of the motor and a motor lock detecting means detects locking of the motor by detecting the pulse width generated by the rotation synchronization sensor. Also, an actuation stopping arrangement stops the actuation of an actuation device which supplies current to the motor if a signal is generated by the detection apparatus that detects locking of the motor.

Electric-driving device for openable members

A multiple signal transmitting apparatus for automobiles includes a plurality of switches mounted on the steering wheel of an automobile, a multiplexing circuit mounted on the steering wheel for multiplexing the output signals of the switches, at least one light-emitting device mounted on a moving part rotatable together with the steering wheel so as to be arranged on a circumference lying in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of rotation of the steering wheel and concentric with the central axis of rotation to generate a light signal in response to the multiplexed output signal of the multiplexing circuit, at least one light-sensitive device mounted on the surface of the steering wheel bearing portion facing the light-emitting device to receive the light signal from the light-emitting device and generate an output signal, and a decoder circuit mounted on the body portion of the automobile to decode the output signal of the light-sensitive device to generate signals corresponding to the output signals of the switches.

Multiple signal transmitting apparatus for automobiles

A method of and an apparatus for indicating a remaining fuel quantity for vehicles, designed to digitally indicate the quantity of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of a vehicle. The method of and the apparatus for repeating the operations of performing sampling detection of an amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of a vehicle, determining a center value for a plurality of remaining fuel quantity values detected by a microcomputer, determining limit values each thereof being apart from the center value by a predetermined amount, using any subsequent detected value exceeding the limit values as a new limit value, computing an average value of a predetermined number of detected sampling values, and indicating it on a display.

Growing community of inventors

Kosai, Japan

Kazukiyo Okada