Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd.

Sumitomo Riko Company Limited

Masaru Murayama

Yuuki Saitou

Atsushi Muramatsu

Koichi Hasegawa

Tomonori Hayakawa

Junichiro Suzuki

Hirokazu Yamamoto

Rentaro Kato

Kazunobu Hashimoto

Katsuhiko Nakano

Tetsuyoshi Shibata

Mitsuyoshi Kondo

Shinya Sube

A sensor-equipped seat includes: a sensor device, disposed between a seat frame and an opposite pressure receiving surface of a seat cushion; and an elastic support member, interposed between the seat frame and the sensor device and elastically supporting the sensor device. The sensor device includes: a sensor body, having a detection surface; and a housing, accommodating the sensor body, including a window frame for forming a window opening, exposing the detection surface of the sensor body at the window opening, and supported by the elastic support member. The elastic support member has an elastic modulus set equal to or greater than an elastic modulus of the seat cushion.

Sensor-equipped seat

A sensor-equipped seat () is provided with a seating-surface seat cushion () that comprises: a first seating-surface seat cushion () having an accommodation recess (); and a second seating-surface seat cushion () which is accommodated within the accommodation recess (). Disposed between a first pressing surface () of the accommodation recess () in the first seating-surface seat cushion () and a second pressing surface () of the second seating-surface seat cushion () is a flexible sensor () that detects seating condition of a seated person or biological information of the seated person. The first seating-surface seat cushion () and the second seating-surface seat cushion () are pre-compressed in the stacking direction. Pre-compression is applied to the sensor () by compressive reactions of the first seating-surface seat cushion () and the second seating-surface seat cushion ().

Provided is a conveying apparatus having simple mechanical and electrical configurations. The conveying apparatus includes: a conveying member that has a dielectric layer having insulating properties and made of an elastomer and a pair of electrode layers placed on both front and back sides of the dielectric layer and having conductive properties, and that is divided into a base portion and a conveying portion being more easily elastically deformed than the base portion and having on its surface a conveying path on which an object to be transported is transported; and a power supply unit that applies between the pair of electrode layers a voltage that changes periodically with time. The conveying portion is elastically extended and contracted with the base portion as a starting point according to a change in the voltage, so that the conveying apparatus transports the object on the conveying path.

Conveying apparatus

An electricity accumulation device includes an electricity accumulation element, an outer jacket material configured to house the electricity accumulation element, and a deformation sensor disposed on an expansive surface of the outer jacket material. The deformation sensor includes a sensor membrane having a base material made of an elastomer or a resin and conductive fillers filling the base material, the sensor membrane being subjected to bending deformation along with expansion of the outer jacket material, and a pair of electrodes connected to the sensor membrane. A three-dimensional conductive path is formed in the sensor membrane through contact between the conductive fillers. An electric resistance is increased along with an increase in amount of deformation of the sensor membrane from a natural state. The electricity accumulation device senses expansion of the outer jacket material on the basis of variations in electric resistance along with bending deformation of the sensor membrane.

Electricity accumulation device

A bending sensor includes a high resistance layer; a low resistance layer having a crack and a lower electrical resistance than the high resistance layer in a state where the crack is closed; an insulating layer between the high and low resistance layers; and a plurality of electrode portions connecting electrically in parallel the high resistance and low resistance layers. In an OFF state where a bend amount is small, the crack is unlikely to open and a combined resistance of electrical resistances of the high resistance layer and the low resistance layer is output as OFF resistance from the plurality of electrode portions. In an ON state where the bend amount is large, the crack is likely to open and at least the electrical resistance of the high resistance layer is output as ON resistance higher than the OFF resistance from the plurality of electrode portions.

Bending sensor

Provided are a bending sensor that is less dependent on an input speed of a strain and in which a response delay is unlikely to occur, and a deformed shape measurement method using the bending sensor. The bending sensor is configured to include a base material; a sensor body arranged on a surface of the base material and containing a matrix resin and conductive filler particles filled in the matrix resin at a filling rate of 30% by volume or more, and in which three-dimensional conductive paths are formed by contact among the conductive filler particles, and electrical resistance increases as an deformation amount increases; an elastically deformable cover film arranged so as to cover the sensor body; and a plurality of electrodes connected to the sensor body and capable of outputting electrical resistances. In the sensor body, cracks are formed in advance in such a direction that the conductive paths are cut off during a bending deformation.

Bending sensor and deformed shape measurement method

A purpose is to provide a sensor assembly and a sensor module having a flexible sensor element that uses polymer material and having a component such as the sensor element and the like that hardly deteriorates and is superior in durability. A sensor assembly includes a sensor element and an exterior packaging bag enclosing the sensor element. The sensor element includes a sensor thin film made of resin or elastomer, and at least one pair of electrodes connected to the sensor thin film. The exterior packaging bag is made from laminate films having a metal foil and two resin layers arranged sandwiching the metal foil.

Sensor assembly and sensor module

An automotive impact absorbing member integrally formed of synthetic resin material having lengthwise shape that extends with a constant hollow cross section. The impact absorbing member includes: plate-shaped rib portions each extending in a direction perpendicular to an impact load input direction; and load transmitting portions connecting with rib portions at either widthwise end thereof for transmitting a widthwise direction component force of the impact load to the rib portions. At least one of the plate-shaped rib portions has a thin portion of minimum thickness dimension situated in a widthwise center section thereof, and has a pair of gradual change portions situated to either side of the thin portion in a width direction and which increase gradually in thickness dimension outwardly in the width direction.

Automotive impact absorbing member

An object of the present invention is to provide an impact absorbing member capable of reinforcing a desired reinforcement object portion. The impact absorbing member includes a long impact absorbing body which absorbs energy at the time of a collision by being deformed itself and a mounting member which is disposed at a reinforcement object portion of the impact absorbing body so that it is deformed along deformation of the reinforcement object portion at the time of the collision and mounted to a mounting object member. When the reinforcement object portion is deformed at the time of the collision, the mounting member is deformed along deformation of the reinforcement object portion. Due to that deformation, the mounting member can reinforce the reinforcement object portion.

Impact absorbing member

An impact-absorbing member includes tabular ribs extending in a direction orthogonal to an impact load input direction, and disposed spaced apart in the impact load input direction and parallel to one another; and a load transmitting member connected with width-wise opposite ends of the respective tabular ribs to extend between the tabular ribs on a diagonal with respect to the impact load input direction, for transmitting to each of the tabular ribs an impact load in a form of tensile load directed in a lateral direction, wherein differing levels are established for at least one of: tensile stiffness in the plurality of tabular ribs per se; and transmission efficiency of the tensile load by the load transmitting member, so that load-deformation characteristics of some of the plurality of tabular ribs differ in the impact load input direction.

Growing community of inventors

Komaki, Japan

Masaru Murayama