Tokai Trw & Co., Ltd.

The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Tokai Cold Forming Co., Ltd.

Kinoshita Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Michio Abe

Naoyuki Maeda

Seiichiro Kumagai

Hirotaka Kanazawa

Takeshi Tanaka

Naoaki Horiuchi

Shigemitsu Tokunaga

Robert M Lynas

A rotary connector is provided which includes a rotatable case having an inner cylindrical shaft, a fixed case having an engaging portion engaged with an end portion of the inner cylindrical shaft and coupled with the rotatable case with a clearance therebetween, and a spirally wound flat cable housed in the fixed and rotatable cases, the flat cable being allowed to loosen and tighten to thereby permit a predetermined number of rotations of the rotatable case relative to the fixed case. A projection protruding radially inward is provided at the engaging portion, such that a radially extending clearance is defined between the projection and the end portion of the inner cylindrical shaft.

Rotary connector

This invention pertains to a rack and pinion type steering gear for an automobile and a method for cutting rack teeth in the gear. The gear comprises a housing, a pinion rotatably supported within the housing and operatively connected to a steering wheel and a rack bar supported within the housing for slidable movement in the axial direction and rotation and provided with rack teeth in engagement with the pinion. The rack teeth are formed on the rack and along a varying pitch line so that the axial movement amount of the rack varies as the pinion rotates.

Rack-pinion steering gear and method for cutting rack teeth

A power steering device of an automotive vehicle, comprises an engine of the vehicle, a steering pump driven by the engine, an actuator, a control valve connected to both the steering pump and the actuator for controlling the amount and direction of power fluid supplied from the steering pump into the actuator in response to the steering operation of the steering wheel, a centrifugal clutch having an input shaft and an output shaft for receiving the power from the engine at the input shaft and transmitting the power to the steering pump from the output shaft when the vehicle speed is low or zero, and spring means for causing the centrifugal clutch to cut off the power transmission from the input shaft to the output shaft when the vehicle speed is so high that the centrifugal force of the centrifugal clutch is larger than the biasing force of the spring means.

Power steering device

Method for cutting rack teeth

A rotation detecting apparatus for a power steering system of a vehicle is described which comprises a control valve coupled to a steering shaft of a steering wheel of the vehicle for controlling a flow of power fluid supplied to a power cylinder for powering a steering operation, a rotator magnet secured on an input shaft of the control valve to rotate therewith as a body, a concentric-circle shaped stator coil adapted to face to the rotor magnet, and a casing functioning also as an iron core yoke mounted on a housing of the control valve for receiving the rotor magnet and the stator coil and supporting the stator coil, whereby, when the input shaft is rotated in response to the steering operation of the steering wheel, an electromotive force is produced so as to detect a displacement in rotation of the input shaft.

Rotation detecting apparatus

An electric-oil pressure power steering system for a vehicle is described which comprises an oil pump driven by an electric motor for supplying power fluid to a power cylinder, a steering wheel connected to a control valve for controlling the supply of the power fluid, and an electronic switching device for controlling the supply of electric power to said motor in response to the change of a vehicle speed, said electronic switching device including a means for controlling continuously the supply of the electric power and a means for controlling discontinuously or variably the supply of the electric power.

Power steering system

A power steering apparatus includes a power steering fluid supply pump which is driven through a clutch. A sensor detects changes in vehicle speed and effects operation of the clutch to decrease the rate at which the pump is driven in response to an increase in vehicle speed. When the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined speed, the clutch is disengaged and the pump is not driven. When the clutch is disengaged, the steerable vehicle wheels are turned without power assist.

A power steering system including a power cylinder and a hydraulic pump for supplying a hydraulic pressure to the power cylinder through a control valve to produce a hydraulic assisting force. A control device is provided to drive the hydraulic pump only when one or both of the vehicle power clutch disconnecting member and the brake actuating member are actuated under a vehicle speed lower than a predetermined value.

Power steering system for road vehicles

An electrically driven oil pressured power steering apparatus is disclosed herein. The apparatus comprises an oil pump driven by an electric motor for supplying a working oil to a power cylinder, a control valve for controlling the supply of the working oil and a manipulating apparatus and an electronically operated on-off means which, in common, control a power supply to the electric motor. In the apparatus, a state of power steering is shifted to a state of manual steering in accordance with a stop of the electric motor effected by the electronically operated on-off means.

Electrically driven oil pressured power steering apparatus

An improved apparatus for igniting a lien air-fuel mixture includes a spark plug having a straight longitudinally extending main electrode and a side electrode disposed adjacent to and electrically insulated from the main electrode. An attraction plug is mounted in the cylinder head at a location offset to one side of and adjacent to the spark plug. The attraction plug includes a straight longitudinally extending central electrode and an insulator which at least partially encases the central electrode for electrically insulating the central electrode and for isolating the portion of the central electrode disposed in the combustion chamber from the atmosphere in the combustion chamber. The central electrode has a longitudinal axis which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the main electrode of the spark plug. In addition, the central electrode has an end portion which is disposed adjacent to the main electrode of the spark plug. An electrical potential is applied to the central electrode of the attraction plug to establish an electrostatic field in the combustion chamber without establishing a corona discharge in the combustion chamber. In addition, an electrical potential is applied to the main electrode to establish a spark between the main and the side electrode to ignite fuel particles attracted to the vicinity of the spark plug by the electrostatic field from the attraction plug.

Lean air-fuel mixture attraction method and attraction electrode plug in

A ball joint mounting structure for mounting a ball joint in one of two structural members to be joined together by the ball joint is disclosed. The mounting structure comprises self-caulking engaging means provided by the hollow cylindrical housing of the ball joint and on the cylindrical portion of said one structural member. As the housing is being press fitted into the cylindrical portion, at least one of the ball joint and member plastically deforms to thereby firmly secure the ball joint to the one member.

Structure for mounting ball joint

An improved method and apparatus for effecting the ignition of a relatively lean air-fuel mixture includes a pair of electrode gaps at which strong electrostatic fields of relatively long duration are established to accumulate fuel particles in a portion of a combustion chamber adjacent to a spark gap. In one embodiment of the invention, one of the electrode gaps is enclosed so that the atmosphere in this gap is not affected by changes in the pressure and composition of the atmosphere in the combustion chamber. By maintaining the atmosphere in the electrode gap separate from the atmosphere in the combustion chamber, an electrostatic field of substantially constant strength can be maintained at the enclosed electrode gap after the establishment of a corona discharge at an electrode gap exposed to the atmosphere in the combustion chamber. In another embodiment of the invention, both of the electrode gaps are exposed to the atmosphere in the combustion chamber. This embodiment of the invention enables strong electrostatic fields and corona discharges of relatively long duration to be established by providing a secondary or floating electrode which is electrically insulated from both a main electrode surface and a third or tertiary electrode surface.

Method and apparatus for accumulating fuel particles in a portion of a

This invention pertains to a rack and pinion type steering gear for an automobile comprising a housing; a pinion rotatably supported in said housing to receive turning effect from a steering wheel of the automobile; and a rack meshed with the pinion and slidably supported in the housing, the rack being connected to a tie rod which is in turn connected to the front wheels of the automobile. The pinion comprises first and second pinion portions rotatable separately from each other and having spiral gear teeth provided reversely to each other, respectively, the first pinion portion being connected to the steering wheel and the second pinion portion being meshed with the rack. The steering gear further comprises reduction or steering ratio variable means including a variable steering ratio sleeve rotatably and axially slidably supported in the housing, having a spiral internal gear meshed with the first pinion portion and being connected to the second pinion portion so as to transmit the turning effect to the second pinion portion, and variable sleeve spiral motion means provided between the engaging surfaces of the housing and the variable sleeve and having a guide groove of variable lead angle and a pin engaged with the guide groove.

Rack and pinion type steering gear

An internal combustion engine ignition apparatus includes a secondary spark plug having a center electrode to which a high voltage is applied. A cylindrical peripheral electrode surrounds the center electrode and has peripheral openings. Upon the formation of a corona discharge due to the high voltage applied to the center electrode, a strong ionic wind and convection of an air-fuel mixture are produced. The ionic wind causes fuel constituents to be gathered in the vicinity of the peripheral electrode thus preventing production of hydrocarbons due to cooling or quenching of the fuel on the combustion chamber wall. Initial ignition of the air-fuel mixture is by means of a main spark plug. The resultant flames are propagated to the corona discharge portion of the secondary spark plug. The corona discharge is then changed to secondary continuous spark discharge, to thereby positively fire the stratified air-fuel mixture. In another embodiment of the invention the auxiliary combustion chamber has a generally spherical configuration. The spherical auxiliary combustion chamber wall directs the extremely lean air-fuel mixture along a relatively long arcuate path back to outer side areas of the entrance to the auxiliary combustion chamber. The flow out of the auxiliary combustion chamber of the extremely lean air-fuel mixture from which fuel particles have been electrostatically precipitated, is further promoted by forming secondary openings in the wall of the auxiliary combustion chamber. The flow of the very lean air-fuel mixture to either the main or secondary openings in the wall of the auxiliary combustion chamber may be still further promoted by forming arcuate grooves on the inside of the auxiliary combustion chamber wall. The establishment of a corona discharge in either a main or auxiliary combustion chamber is promoted by forming a central electrode with a plurality of projections which extend toward a peripheral electrode which circumscribes the central electrode.

Ignition method and apparatus for internal combustion engine

A conical spring washer is constituted by a conical spring washer body, a plurality of spaced lock pawls extending downward from the lower contacting surface of the body, and each of the lock pawls has a gradually sloped face in the tightening direction of a nut or the head of a bolt and a sharply sloped face in the loosening direction of the nut or bolt head.

Growing community of inventors

Kasugai, Japan

Michio Abe