Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Koyo Seiko Company, Ltd.

Masataka Izawa

Osamu Tsurumiya

Masaru Abe

Ikuo Nonaga

Hiroshi Kamakura

Makoto Murata

Hiroki Nakajima

Yoshimichi Kawamoto

Takahiro Kurehashi

Yoshikazu Tsuchiya

Yoshinori Kinoshita

Yukihiro Fujiwara

Minoru Kobayashi

Mitsuhiko Nishimoto

Takashi Kohata

Mitsunori Kawashima

Kazuyuki Yoshida

Kazuki Yamoto

Yasuhiko Awamura

Takahiro Aoki

A driving assistance apparatus including a display part, a distance measurement part measuring inter-vehicle distance from a subject vehicle to a preceding vehicle and a microprocessor. The microprocessor is configured to perform acquiring traffic light information including switching information on a traffic light and position information on the subject vehicle with respect to the traffic light, deriving a recommended driving for the driver based on the traffic light information and the position information, and controlling the display part so as to notify the driver of information on the recommended driving, the controlling including controls the display part so as to display a first image corresponding to the recommended driving when the inter-vehicle distance is larger than a predetermined value and to display a second image as warning information together with the first image when the inter-vehicle distance is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

Driving assistance apparatus

The reception unit receives the traffic light information at least a transition between first and second light colors of a traffic light at an intersection and turn-on times of the first and the second light colors, using a wireless signal received from a server via a transceiver. A position acquisition unit acquires a position of a vehicle. A passing speed range calculation unit calculates a speed range in which the vehicle is allowed to pass through the intersection in accordance with light colors of the traffic light, based on the traffic light information and on the position of the vehicle. The messaging unit outputs a message of driving assistance information including suggestions for deceleration or a passage possibility through the traffic intersection. A vehicle behavior storing unit stores content of the message and a behavior of the vehicle corresponding to the content of the message in a behavior memorizing unit.

Driving assistance system for vehicle

A vehicle driving assistance system capable of providing a driver of a vehicle with appropriate driving assistance when the vehicle is approaching an intersection. If a traffic signal includes multiple aspects that are in accord with the directions of traffic movement at an intersection, an identifier determines whether an intended direction of movement (an intention to turn right or left) at the intersection has been received from a driver through an identifying device. If the identifier has received an intended direction of movement, an aspect (a right-turn or left-turn arrow aspect) for which assistance is provided through communication by a reporter is identified. The reporter then assists the right or left turn of the vehicle for the intersection in step S. If the identifier does not receive an intended direction of movement from the driver, the reporter assists only a straight-ahead movement of the vehicle in step S

Vehicle driving assistance system

An electric power steering apparatus which quickly returns the steering wheel to the neutral position with a satisfactory steering feeling by switching a steering wheel return control for assisting the steering wheel return and a steering wheel convergence control for converging the steering wheel to the neutral position by braking a motor, according to the steering condition such as the rotational speed of the steering wheel is fast or slow when returning the steering wheel to the neutral position even when the vehicle speed is equal.

Electric power steering apparatus

An electric motor control system has a motor driver comprising a bridge of switching elements, a pair of failure detectors, and a microcomputer. The motor driver is connected between a battery and an electric motor that is connected between the switching elements. The switching elements are turned on and off according to drive pulse signals supplied from the microcomputer for supplying a pulsed current to the electric motor. The failure detectors monitor the electric energy supplied to the electric motor to detect a period of time in which the supplied electric energy is free of pulses, and supply a signal indicative of the detected period of time to the microcomputer. Based on the signal from the failure detectors, the microcomputer detects a failure when the detected period of time exceeds a predetermined period of time.

Electric motor control system

A four wheel steering system for a motor vehicle with steerable front and rear road wheels, a steering angle sensor for detecting a front wheel steering angle through which the front road wheels are steered, a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of the motor vehicle, a rear wheel steering mechanism for steering the rear wheels, and a controller for controlling the rear wheel steering mechanism to steer the rear road wheels based on the detected front wheel steering angle and the detected vehicle speed when the front road wheels are steering. The controller controls the rear wheel steering mechanism to steer the rear road wheels in a direction which is opposite to the front road wheels if the detected vehicle speed is relatively low, and also controls the rear wheel steering mechanism to steer the rear road wheels in a direction which is the same as the front road wheels if the detected vehicle speed is relatively high. Furthermore, the controller controls the rear wheel steering mechanism to increase a rear wheel steering angle which through the rear road wheels are steered as the front wheel steering angle increases if a change in the front wheel steering angle is relatively small, and controls the rear wheel steering mechanism to reduce an increase in the rear wheel steering angle if a change in the front wheel steering angle is relatively large.

Four wheel steering system

A four-wheel steering system on an automobile has front road wheels steerable by a steering wheel and rear road wheels steerable by an electric motor and normally biased to a neutral steering position by a spring. The electric motor is energized by a motor driver to steer the rear road wheels through an angle depending on running conditions of the automobile. The electric motor has a winding and two sets of brushes or connecting terminals connected to opposite terminals of the winding. One of the two sets of connecting terminals is connected to the motor driver. The other of the two sets of connecting terminals is connected to a short-circuiting circuit parallel to the motor driver. In the event of a failure, a controller controls the short-circuiting circuit to short-circuit the winding of the motor through the other set of connecting terminals. The short-circuiting circuit comprises a plurality of relays having respective contacts connected in series between the connecting terminals of the other set. The motor driver can also short-circuit the winding of the motor through the one set of connecting terminals in the event of a failure.

Four-wheel steering system with steering motor short circuit control

A front and rear wheel steering system for a motor vehicle with steerable front and rear road wheels includes a front wheel steering mechanism for steering the front road wheels in response to a steering action effected by a steering wheel of the motor vehicle, a neutral positioning mechanism for normally urging the rear road wheels under a resilient force to a steering neutral position, a rear wheel steering mechanism having an electric motor for steering the rear road wheels out of the steering neutral position, and a controller for controlling an electric current supplied to the electric motor depending on the steering action of the steering wheel. The controller reduces the electric current supplied to the electric motor and subsequently holds the reduced electric current while the motor vehicle is at rest and no steering action is effected by the steering wheel. Preferably, the controller controls the electric current supplied to the electric motor to reach a value which enables the electric motor to produce an output force smaller than the resilient force produced by the neutral positioning mechanism.

Front and rear wheel steering system for motor vehicles

A PWM motor drive control circuit for an electric power steering system, comprising: a bridge circuit having four arms each defined by a transistor; a main control unit for producing a continual direction control signal and a torque control signal of a variable duty ratio to activate the electric motor in a desired direction at a desired torque according to a steering command signal supplied thereto; a sub control unit for producing a second direction control signal according to the steering command signal; and a gate drive control circuit for transmitting the first direction control signal and the torque control signal to the transistors only when the first direction control signal produced by the primary control unit coincides with the second direction control signal produced by the sub control unit. Thereby, the reliability of an electric motor powered steering system can be improved with a simple circuit structure even when the torque control signal consists of an extremely high frequency variable duty ratio signal.

Motor drive control circuit

A four-wheel steering system for a motor vehicle steers motor vehicle rear wheels based on a steering angle ratio between front and rear wheels based on a vehicle speed, and a front wheel steering angle. The steering angle ratio is of a negative value or a relatively small positive value when the vehicle speed is in a medium speed range or a high speed range and the front wheel steering angle is in a relatively small range. The motor vehicle is controlled to turn well when the front wheel steering angle is in the relative small range while the motor vehicle is running in the medium and high speed ranges.

Four-wheel steering system for motor vehicle

The steering operation of a motor vehicle with steerable front and rear road wheels is controlled by steering the rear road wheels with an actuator such as an electric motor which produces a steering force dependent on a deviation of the actual rear wheel steering angle from a target rear wheel steering angle. The rear road wheels are thus controlled with a characteristic dependent on the coefficient of friction of a road on which the motor vehicle travels and the steering speed at which the motor vehicle is steered. Typically, a steering control method comprises the steps of detecting the steering angle of the front road wheels, determining a target steering angle for the rear wheels based on the steering angle of the front road wheels, detecting the actual steering angle of the rear road wheels, calculating a steering angle deviation of the actual rear wheel steering angle from the target steering angle, determining a rear wheel steering force based on the steering angle deviation, and steering the rear road wheels to the target steering angle with the determined rear wheel steering force.

Growing community of inventors

Tochigi, Japan

Masataka Izawa