Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho

Keiji Aoki

Tadashi Hattori

Shinichiro Tanaka

Eturo Yasuda

Shinji Ikeda

Yoshihiro Segawa

Susumu Sato

Takayoshi Nakatomi

Toshiyuki Takimoto

Masaki Mitsuyasu

Takehisa Yaegashi

Tokuta Inoue

Toshiyasu Katsuno

Akihide Tachibana

Yoshiki Chujo

Eisaku Akutsu

Masahiro Mio

Toshio Tanahashi

Norihiko Nakamura

Yoshihiko Hyodo

Yasunori Taga

Kenji Goto

Mamoru Kobashi

Sunao Kitamura

Masaomi Nagase

Masahiro Ohba

Takeru Yasuda

Hideaki Namba

Kenji Sasaki

Hiroshi Yoshida

Yoshinori Taguchi

Masaru Shimizu

Hideya Yamadera

Mitsuo Kawai

Eiichi Kamei

Shinichi Sugiyama

Mitsuo Kikkawa

Shoichi Doi

Mamoru Takata

Kohichi Hasegawa

Masahiko Miyahara

Yukiya Katoh

Sinichi Matsumoto

Shigeru Uenishi

Kenzo Hashikawa

Hiromitsu Kimpara

Nobuo Tabara

Yoshikazu Motogami

Hisashi Matsumoto

Hiroyuki Hoshiba

Sinichiro Tanaka

Masanobu Yamashita

A guideway transit system which can reduce a scale of an infrastructure while maintaining ride comfort for passengers of a vehicle is provided. The guideway transit system includes a noncontact vehicle guiding system and a contact vehicle guiding system. The noncontact vehicle guiding system detects information relating to a lateral position of a vehicle on a road and steers the vehicle to move along a predetermined path on the road based on the detected information. The contact vehicle guiding system which restricts a lateral position of the vehicle by a contact between a guide wheel which laterally projects from the vehicle and a guide wall provided on a side of the road. The guideway transit system further includes a controller which prohibits steering of the vehicle by the noncontact vehicle guiding system when a lateral position of the vehicle is restricted by the contact vehicle guiding system. An automated vehicle which is used in the guideway transit system is also provided.

Guideway transit system and automated vehicle used in this system

A vehicle running management system manages running states of vehicles on a predetermined lane of a road, the predetermined lane being provided for automatically driven vehicles each of which has a communication function and a running control function, the vehicle running management system comprising a vehicle entrance detecting unit for detecting movement of a vehicle from a lane adjacent to the predetermined lane to the predetermined lane, and a control information communication unit for, when the vehicle entrance detecting unit detects the vehicle which has entered the predetermined lane, transmitting control information based on existence of the detected vehicle to an automatically driven vehicle behind the detected vehicle, so that the automatically driven vehicle can perform the running control based on the control information.

Vehicle running management system

A traveling guidance system provides a traveling vehicle with various types of data indicating the flow of traffic to smooth travel. The speed and pass time data of the preceding vehicle is sent to an electronic wave tag laid on a road surface. The electronic wave tag then sends the data to the succeeding vehicle when it passes over the electronic wave tag. Furthermore, the received data is sent to a control center through communication equipment, which predicts the occurrence of traffic congestion based on the speed and pass time data of vehicles at each point and sends the prediction to electronic wave tags at points where the occurrence of traffic congestion is predicted. Traffic data from the control center is sent to passing vehicles through the electronic wave tag and each passing vehicle controls its travel based on the traffic data.

Vehicle traveling guidance system

A lane change detecting system includes an emission unit for emitting a predetermined signal, the emission unit being provided in a boundary between lanes of a road so that the predetermined signal emitted by the emission unit is affected by a mobile body which crosses the boundary between the lanes, a receiving unit which is provided in the boundary between the lanes for receiving the predetermined signal emitted by the emission unit and outputting a receiving signal corresponding to the received signal, and a determination unit for determining, based on a state of the receiving signal from the receiving unit, whether a mobile body crossed across the boundary between the lanes.

Lane change detecting system for mobile bodies and mobile body detecting

A vehicle running guidance system using magnetic markers for the purpose of reducing the number of magnetic markers to be laid on a road surface. The magnetic nails are laid as magnetic markers on a road. The radio wave generator tags are also laid. The radio wave generator tags transmit road curve data for a distance of about 100 m in the running direction. Power for the radio wave generator tags is supplied from a magnetic generator on a vehicle. On the vehicle, the relative displacement from a magnetic nail is detected by a magnetic sensor, and at the same time the road curve data from radio wave generator tags is received by a radio wave receiving device. The controller determines the amount of steering, based on relative displacement with respect to magnetic nails and road curve data, and supplies it to the actuator. Transmission of road curve data contributes to reducing the number of magnetic nails.

Vehicle guidance system

A communications infrastructure system for vehicles. The communications infrastructure system includes an infrastructure including a plurality of beacons sequentially positioned along a road wherein the beacons transmit respective ones of a repeated series of at least three kinds of signals. The communications infrastructure system also includes a communications apparatus provided with a vehicle, which communications apparatus comprises a receiver for receiving a signal transmitted by the beacons, a unit for discriminating the kind of signal, a memory for recording a past record of the kind of signal, and a signal generator generating a signal corresponding to the past record.

Communications infrasturcture system for vehicles

A vehicle guiding system enables a plurality of vehicles to run in a platoon with minimum assistance from drivers, and is intended to enhance effective use of from auto-drive lane. When the vehicle runs in the platoon, a front running vehicle detects its displacement from a magnetic nail, and calculates a steering amount to be corrected (i.e. control variables). The front running vehicle not only controls its own movements on the basis of the control variable data but also transmits them to a following vehicle. The following vehicle does not detect its displacement from the magnetic nail, but controls its steering amount on the basis of the received control variable data. The first following vehicle transfers the control variable data to a further following vehicle. The further following vehicle simply receives the control variable data from the following vehicle, and does not calculate its own control variables. This reduces a distance between the vehicles which is necessary for each vehicle to perform such calculation.

Vehicle guiding system

The invention is directed to a throttle control apparatus for use in an internal combustion engine. The apparatus includes an accelerator operating mechanism, a driving source, and a supporting member secured to an end portion of a throttle shaft extending out of a housing. A rotor is rotatably mounted on the throttle shaft, and connected with the driving source to be rotated thereby. A movable member is mounted on the throttle shaft between the rotor and the supporting member to be axially movable. A connecting member is disposed for connecting the movable member with the supporting member, and biasing the former toward the latter. An electromagnetic coil is disposed to face the rotor. There is provided an engaging member which has a base end mounted on the movable member for supporting the engaging member rotatably within a predetermined angle range. A driving member having an end face engageable with the engaging member is mounted rotatably about an axis parallel with the axis of the throttle shaft, and connected with the accelerator operating mechanism. The engaging member has an axial length engageable with the end face of the driving member only when the movable member is positioned at the side of the supporting member.

Throttle control apparatus

The invention is directed to a throttle control apparatus for controlling an opening of a throttle valve in an internal combustion engine, in response to operation of an accelerator operating mechanism. The apparatus includes a motor, a clutch, and a control circuit which controls the clutch to selectively take one of a first position of the motor engaged with the throttle valve and a second position disengaged therefrom. There is provided a first detector for producing a first signal corresponding to an amount of operation of the accelerator operating mechanism. Also provided is a second detector for producing a second signal corresponding to an opening angle of the throttle valve. Independent of the control unit, it is determined in accordance with the first and second signals if there is an abnormality, in which the throttle valve opens at an angle more than a predetermined angle when the accelerator operating mechanism is positioned at its initial position. When the abnormality continues for more than a predetermined time period, a signal indicative of the abnormality will be produced, and the clutch will be caused to disengage the motor from the throttle valve. When the signal indicative of the abnormality is continuously produced after the clutch disengages the motor from the throttle valve, the supply of fuel to the engine will be cut off.

A ceramic substrate and a metallic layer formed thereon are bonded closely by means of a bonding layer formed between the ceramic substrate and the metallic layer. The ceramic substrate comprises either alumina or a ceramic containing alumina, and the metallic layer comprises either molybdenum (Mo) or an alloy composed of molybdenum (Mo) and at least one of titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr) and niobium (Nb). The bonding layer comprises composite oxides of aluminum and at least one of titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr) and niobium (Nb) and formed by either a process of (1) forming an intermediate layer comprising at least one of titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr) and niobium (Nb) between the ceramic substrate and the metallic layer, and subjecting the laminated substance to a heat treatment to a cause a reaction between alumina and the intermediate layer; or (2) forming an alloy layer comprising an alloy of molybdenum (Mo) and at least one of titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr) and niobium (Nb) directly on the ceramic substrate, and subjecting the laminated substance to a heat treatment to cause a reaction between alumina and at least one of titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr) and niobium (Nb) contained in the alloy layer.

Ceramic substrate having a metallic layer thereon and a process for

A throttle control apparatus for engines comprises two throttle actuators for driving two corresponding main and sub throttle valves mounted in series in an intake pipe of an engine. An observer, to which the modern control theory is applied, presumes an opening degree of the main throttle valve in a normal condition, which occurs a predetermined time later, from an accelerator depression amount, which represents a throttle opening command, and an opening degree (angular position) of the main throttle valve. A failure detector quickly finds, from a deviation between the presumed opening degree of the throttle valve at the predetermined later time and an actual opening degree of the main throttle valve, that the main throttle valve has failed. When a failure occurs, the control of the sub throttle valve is started, making it possible to effect the throttle opening control with improved reliability.

Throttle control apparatus for engines

A fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine wherein an oxygen sensor for detecting a limit electric current is employed for providing a signal indicating an oxygen partial pressure in the gas introduced into the engine. The sensor detects an amount of air newly introduced into the engine. In addition to a map for calculating a basic fuel injection amount from the oxygen partial pressure, a second map is provided for calculating the basic fuel amount from a parameter such as a degree of opening of the throttle valve. A degree of activation of the oxygen sensor is determined by detecting the impedance of the sensor. When it is determined that the oxygen sensor is not activated, the second map is employed in place of the first map to calculate the basic fuel amount based on the degree of opening of the throttle valve.

Internal combustion engine having electric controlled fuel injection

A control device for an internal combustion engine having an oxygen sensor, and calculation means for calculating a weight of oxygen fed to the internal combustion engine. The oxygen sensor outputs a signal corresponding only to a density of oxygen contained in intake gas fed to the engine. The oxygen sensor has a diffusion layer having pores through which oxygen molecules pass, the pores having a diameter less than or equal to the mean free path of the oxygen molecules contained in the intake gas.

Device for controlling an internal combustion engine

A control apparatus of a throttle valve in an internal combustion engine having a manually operable accelerator pedal. The control apparatus comprises a spring biasing the throttle valve in the opening direction, a first operating mechanism including an accelerator link mechanically connected to the accelerator pedal and a second operating mechanism including an electric motor. The first and second operating mechanisms can operate the throttle valve against the spring and independently of each other, the first operating mechanism thereby defining an upper limit of the degree of opening of the throttle valve in a predetermined relationship with the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal, and the second operating mechanism defining the degree of opening of the throttle valve within that upper limit.

Control apparatus of a throttle valve in an internal combustion engine

A prism has at least two optical planes and one of the planes is a boundary plane with mixed fuel. On one of two planes, a light emitting element is mounted and illuminates light to the boundary plane through the prism. A light receiving element receives light reflected from the boundary plane and converts the reflected light into electrical signals. Then a detector modifies the electrical signals from the light emitting element according to the detecting result and outputs them as detecting signals representative of the fuel mixture ratio. The temperature of the mixed fuel may be detected by a temperature sensor in which case the electrical signals are also modified to compensate for temperature changes of the mixed fuel.

Apparatus for detecting fuel mixture ratio

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Susono, Japan

Keiji Aoki