Mazda Motor Corporation

Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Kouji Tobita

Tuyoshi Morishita

Kenji Miyake

Yukihiro Kanemaru

Masayoshi Matsuo

Kazuhiro Takagishi

An improved electric parking brake system for a vehicle capable of controlling the brake-applying and releasing operations of a parking brake in an optimal manner in accordance with the gradient of the road on which the vehicle is stopped. The inventive parking brake system comprises in combination: a parking brake; an electromagnetic element in the form of a motor for controlling application and release of the parking brake; a command-signal producing device operable to alternatively feed a brake-application command signal or a brake-release command signal to the electromagnetic element; a gradient sensor adapted to detect the gradient of the road on which the vehicle rests for sending out a signal indicative of the gradient detected; and a controller adapted to receive the signals from the command-signal producing device and the gradient sensor for controlling the brake-applying operation and/or the brake-releasing operation of the electromagnetic element in a manner such that the parking brake can be operated optimally in accordance with the gradient of the road.

Electric parking brake system for a vehicle

A piston for internal combustion engines has piston ring grooves at least one of which is totally or partly defined by an embedded body of a Fe based sintered material containing Ni and Cu. The sintered material is of a density of 5.5 to 6.8 g/cm.sup.3.

Aluminum based alloy pistons for internal combustion engines

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Kouji Tobita