Mazda Motor Corporation

Kiyonobu Takahashi

Kengo Iwata

Masanobu Kosaka

Mitsuhiro Yamoto

Tetsuhiro Yamashita

Hideto Yamada

Kouji Hosoda

Takashi Goto

Yasunori Sasaki

Takanori Kume

Akira Nakayama

Hirohito Yasumatsu

Takanori Kadoma

Ryota Mitote

Disclosed herein is a vehicle control device reducing a driving force generated by an engine of a vehicle to prevent the vehicle from colliding with a forward obstacle. The vehicle control device includes an ECU configured to control the driving force, an ultrasonic sensor configured to detect the forward obstacle in front of the vehicle, and a monocular camera configured to take an image of an area in front of the vehicle. The ECU determines the presence or absence of the forward obstacle in front of the vehicle based on the image taken with the monocular camera while the vehicle is travelling, and changes an upper limit of the driving force in accordance with a combination of whether or not the ultrasonic sensor has detected an object and the presence or absence of the forward obstacle determined based on the image taken with the monocular camera.

Vehicle control device

The seat heater control device is provided for a vehicle including a vehicle body, a vehicle seat and a seat heater. The seat heater control device includes: an electrostatic sensor provided in the vehicle seat and configured to measure capacitance between the electrostatic sensor and the vehicle body; and a controller configured to control an operation and/or an operational temperature of the seat heater, based on a measured value of the electrostatic sensor. The controller is configured to cause the seat heater to operate at a relative higher temperature when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than a first threshold and lower than a second threshold. The controller is configured to cause the seat heater to operate at a relative lower temperature when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than the second threshold.

Seat heater control device using electrostatic sensor

The object is to provide an occupant detection device that can accurately detect whether there is a passenger, even when a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone or the like is placed on a vehicle seat. The occupant detection device is provided for a vehicle including a vehicle body, a vehicle seat and an in-vehicle battery. The occupant detection device includes: an electrostatic sensor provided in the seat and configured to measure capacitance between the sensor and the vehicle body; an interrupting unit configured to interrupt a function of the in-vehicle battery; a controller configured to temporarily activate the interrupting unit when a measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than a predetermined threshold; and a judgement unit configured to judge that there is a passenger when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than the predetermined threshold even while the interrupting unit is activated.

Occupant detection device using electrostatic sensor

A braking device for a vehicle comprises an accelerator-opening detector, a distance detector, an obstacle detector, and an ECU which is configured to perform the process of executing automatic braking when the distance detected by the distance detector is a specified distance or less during traveling of the vehicle, cancelling the automatic braking when the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator-opening detector is a specified opening or greater, and prohibiting the cancelling of the automatic braking when the front obstacle is detected by the obstacle detector while the vehicle stops or travels at a low speed which is a specified speed or less. Thereby, the braking device for a vehicle which can surely reduce the damage caused by the vehicle's collision with the front obstacle can be provided.

Braking device for vehicle

The automobile pedal supporting structure includes a first bracket, the front end of the first bracketbeing fixed on a dash panel, and the rear end of the first bracketbeing fixed on a vehicle-side memberwhich is more rigid than the dash panelso that the first bracketcan be removed from the vehicle-side member, and a second bracket, the front-end lower part of the second bracketbeing pivotally attached to the first bracketso that the second bracketcan swing, the rear-end upper part of the second bracketbeing fixed on the vehicle-side memberso that the second bracketcan be removed from the vehicle-side member, and an operation pedalbeing pivotally attached to the second bracketso that the operation pedalcan swing, in which the first bracketand the second bracketare placed to substantially overlap each other, the rear-end upper part of the second bracketare fixed together with the first bracketon the vehicle-side member, and a turn promoting memberis provided, which is connected from the vehicle-side memberthrough the rear-end outside of the first bracketto the upper part of the second bracketand promotes a turn of the second brackettoward the vehicle-lower side by a backward movement of the first brackettoward the vehicle-rear side.

Automobile pedal supporting structure

Growing community of inventors

Hatsukaichi, Japan

Kiyonobu Takahashi