Nissan Motor Company Limited

Masahiko Tabe

Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

Akira Yamaguchi

Gousuke Wakana

Go Fujimaru

A front structure for a vehicle comprises a power unit mounted at a front end of the vehicle, a steering gear box provided in front of or behind the power unit in the vehicle, and a suspension member supporting the steering gear box, the steering gear box being situated at a bottom surface of the suspension member so as to move beneath the power unit when the front end of the vehicle is deformed due to a frontal collision.

Automobile front portion structure

A vehicle height control system is provided which serves to adjust fluid pressures in actuators disposed between a vehicle body and suspension members supporting wheels respectively for leveling the vehicle body at a standard height. The height control system is operable to deactivate height level control when a vehicle is raised above a standard height level, with a jack for example, during parking for preventing a bottom of the vehicle body from contacting with any protrusions of a road surface by being subsequently jacked down with an extremely decreased height level.

Height control system when vehicle is jacked up

A vehicle height control system is provided. This height control system is directed to establish fluid communication between right and left suspension actuators or between front and rear suspension actuators, balancing fluid pressures in the actuators for leveling a vehicle body when height level difference between right and left wheels or between front and rear wheels is greater than a first threshold value within a given period of time after an ignition switch is turned off. The height control system then blocks the fluid communication when the height level difference lower than a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value is maintained for a preselected period of time for preventing the fluid communication between the actuators from being blocked, and instantaneously terminating the height control when the height level difference becomes smaller than the second threshold value due to variation in vehicle load caused by passengers getting in or out of a vehicle and/or baggage loaded into or unloaded from a baggage compartment.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Masahiko Tabe