Nissan Motor Company Limited

Yorozu Corporation

Moritsune Nakata

Tokiyoshi Yanai

Yutaka Aoyama

Hirotsugu Yamaguchi

Masafumi Nakayama

Hiroshi Tonomura

Yoshihiro Kawabe

Megumu Higuchi

Manabu Sato

Yasuji Shibahata

Hideo Ito

Shinji Kawano

Masatoshi Aoki

Hiroyuki Shiozawa

Yasuhiko Kobiki

An underfloor structure for automobile capable of reducing aerial resistance under a floor of the automobile and improving its cooling capability against heat-radiant parts such as break units, a transmission etc. The underfloor structure includes an undercover for closing an underside of a high-pressure section. The undercover consists of a pair of ducts which communicates with the high-pressure section to thereby discharge heated air contained therein toward rear wheels of the automobile and a narrow part which is arranged between the discharging parts to narrow an air flow flowing from a front of the automobile along an underside of the undercover. In one form of the ducts, they are formed so as to face lateral sides of the automobile, respectively.

Underfloor structure for automobile

In order to effectively cool an underfloor part, such as a transmission or a rear differential, and improve the aerodynamic conditions of the rear wheels, a front under member serving as a bottom of a front part of the vehicle is formed with left and right air passages for discharging inside air in the front part of the vehicle toward the rear wheels, and a middle air passage for contracting an outside underfloor air stream coming from the front of the vehicle, and directing the underfloor air stream along the center line of the vehicle.

Vehicle underfloor structure

The instantaneous centers of rotation of the front and the rear suspensions of a vehicle are defined by an intersection of lines drawn parallel to the axes of the inboard ends of the respective upper and lower links and passing through the ball joints provided at the outboard ends of the respective upper and lower links. The instantaneous centers of rotation of the front and the rear suspensions are located at approximately the same height and distance on either side of the center of gravity of the vehicle.

Vehicle suspension system

A control system for an aerodynamic equipment of an automotive vehicle, which is effective to prove higher cornering stability of the vehicle.

Aerodynamics control system for automotive vehicle

A bell crank is pivotally mounted on a suspension link. One end of the bell crank is connected with an essentially horizontal shock absorber while the other is connected with a pull rod. As the road wheel undergoes vertical displacement the bell crank rotates while also undergoing vertical displacement along with the link it is mounted on. The lever ratio established between the shock absorber and the link thus changes.

Vehicle suspension

This automotive vehicle power-steering system can positively compensate for resistance to the return of a steering linkage from an operating position to its neutral rest position after the vehicle turns a corner, and can enhance a steerability of the vehicle. The system includes a controller ordering a power-assist actuator to reduced the steering angular deviation of a steering wheel to zero when the controller receives a zero-level signal from a steering torque sensor and non-zero-level signal from a steering angular deviation sensor. The method for the system includes a step of controlling the power-assist actuator to generate a return-assist force counteracting the resistance and variable according to vehicle conditions.

Automotive vehicle power-steering system and method

An input shaft and an output shaft can rotate relative to each other. Pressure supplied to a pressure-responsive actuator depends on the axial position of a movable valve member. A transmission arrangement serves to move the valve member only in the axial direction as the input and output shafts rotate relative to each other. The valve member and each of the input and output shafts are wholly outside one another.

Power steering system

An inventive electrical motor-assisted power-steering system is compact while still providing adequate steering assist force. The system can also act as a manual steering system in the event of failure of an electrical motor. The system includes a steering gear with a shaft rotated manually via a steering shaft, a worm driven by the electrical motor operating in response to rotation of the steering shaft, and a worm wheel fixed to the steering gear shaft and meshing with the worm. The lead angle of the worm is selected to be larger than the friction angle between the worm and the worm wheel so that the worm wheel can drive the worm freely if the motor should fail.

Electrical motor type power-steering system

In a vehicle the steering system includes a steering gear housing transversely mounted relative to the vehicle body by means of a plurality of gear housing mount insulators. Each of the gear housing mount insulators elastically supports the gear housing in such a manner as to allow transverse displacement of the gear housing with respect to the vehicle body. A damper is provided to restrain the transverse displacement allowed by the gear housing mount insulators.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Moritsune Nakata