Kabushikikaisha Equos Research

Equos Research Co., Ltd.

Munehisa Horiguchi

Akira Mizuno

Nobuaki Miki

Masao Ando

Masataka Ueno

Noriyuki Takada

Fumihiko Sakakibara

Takashi Naito

Kenji Kato

Katsunori Doi

Takumi Tachibana

Masahiro Hasebe

Hisanori Shirai

Hitoshi Kamiya

Koji Kobayashi

Yasuhiro Suzuki

Hideto Miyazaki

Masaki Okada

Minoru Abe

Susumu Okawa

Toshio Fukuda

Hidemi Kato

Taizo Yamamoto

Koichi Shiraishi

Kazuo Isogai

Yosuke Ando

Motohiro Nakashima

Takafumi Miyake

Ryuji Azuma

Tsukasa Hosokawa

Takayuki Matsuno

Shinichiro Mizote

Noboru Nakano

Kazuhisa Ozaki

The vehicle includes: a vehicle body rotatable about a roll axis; one or more front wheels; a front wheel support supporting the one or more front wheels turnably to a turning direction about a turning axis; one or more rear wheels; an operation input unit to be operated to input a turning direction; a lean angle changing unit for changing a lean angle of the vehicle body in a vehicle width direction about a lean axis different from the roll axis; and a lean control unit for controlling the lean angle changing unit.

Vehicle

A vehicle body having three or more wheels including at least a steered wheel with a trail and a pair of wheels provided in the vehicle width direction; an operation input part inputting a turning direction; an inclining part inclining the body; and a steered wheel controller controlling the steered wheel steering angle. When the vehicle speed is lower than a predetermined speed, it travels in a first mode in which the steered wheel controller controls the steered wheel steering angle according to an operation input part input, and the inclining part inclines the body according to an operation input part input. When the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed, it travels in a second mode in which the steered wheel controller makes the steered wheel freely turnable, and the inclining part inclines the body according to an input from the operation input part.

A camber angle changing mechanism is provided with a base member connected to the vehicle body side, a motor provided to the base member and generating rotational driving force, a rotating power transmitting mechanism that transmits the driving force of the motor, a transmitting member connected to the power transmitting mechanism through a first connecting section, a movable member for rotatably supporting the wheel, connected to the transmitting member through a second connecting member, and changing the camber angle of the wheel by being pivoted relative to the base member by the driving force of the motor; transmitted from the transmitting member, and a device for switching between a first state in which the second connecting section, the first connecting section, and a gear rotation axis are rectilinearly arranged in that order from the wheel side and a second state in which the second connecting section, the gear rotation axis, and the first connecting section are rectilinearly arranged in that order from the wheel side.

Camber angle changing mechanism

A motor vehicle has a body, a wheel rotatably supported and coaxially disposed on the body, and an occupant riding portion supported by the body. The motor vehicle is provided with a body attitude detector for detecting an attitude of the body and a body attitude controller for controlling the body attitude detected by the body attitude detector, wherein, in response to an inertial force or a centrifugal force generated by acceleration, deceleration or a turning motion of the motor vehicle, the occupant riding portion is moved so as to balance the inertial force or the centrifugal force. The motor vehicle further includes an occupant attitude controller for controlling an attitude of the occupant riding portion in accordance with a detection value detected by the body attitude detector.

Motor vehicle with dynamic balancing occupant riding portion

A control device corrects the alignment of wheels of a vehicle during travel to improve fuel consumption performance. Operating conditions of a suspension device (alignment adjustment device) are controlled by alignment control while the vehicle is traveling, and when the alignment of the wheels is adjusted, travel resistance of the vehicle increases or decreases. The control device detects the travel resistance of the vehicle based on the value of an electric current supplied to a wheel drive device (electric motor), and the alignment of the wheels is adjusted so that the travel resistance of the vehicle decreases. As a result, the alignment of the wheels during travel is adjusted to a correct state to improve fuel consumption performance.

Control apparatus

A vehicle control device which can provide compatibility between a high grip performance and fuel efficiency is provided. When a camber angle of a wheelis adjusted to a negative camber, ground contact pressure in a first treadis increased and ground contact pressure in a second treadis decreased. Accordingly, the high grip performance is provided. On the other hand, when the camber angle of the wheelis adjusted to a positive camber, the ground contact pressure in the first treadis decreased and the ground contact pressure in the second treadis increased. Accordingly, a rolling resistance becomes low, and fuel saving is achieved. In this manner, by adjusting the camber angle of the wheel, the compatibility can be provided between conflicting performances of the high grip performance and the fuel saving.

Vehicle control device

A vehicle control device which can at least provide compatibility between a high grip performance and fuel efficiency or compatibility between quietness and fuel efficiency is provided. When a camber angle of a wheelis adjusted to a negative camber, ground contact in a first treadis increased and ground contact in a second treadis decreased. Accordingly, the high grip performance or the quietness is provided. On the other hand, when the camber angle of the wheelis adjusted to a positive camber, the ground contact in the first treadis decreased and the ground contact in the second treadis increased. Accordingly, a rolling resistance becomes low, and fuel saving is achieved. In this manner, by adjusting the camber angle of the wheel, the compatibility can be provided between conflicting performances of the high grip performance or the quietness and the fuel saving.

By bending and stretching a link mechanism, both left and right wheels of a vehicle can be inclined toward inside of cornering to generate a camber thrust as a lateral force, i.e. an increase in cornering force. Further, by bending and stretching the link mechanism, the passenger compartment can be inclined in accordance with inclination of a connecting link, and thus the center of gravity of the vehicle can be moved toward its inner wheel during cornering. By preventing lifting of the inner wheel during cornering, cornering performance is improved. Because the passenger compartment is inclined toward the inner wheel during cornering, centrifugal force is less likely to be felt by the occupant.

To provide a vehicle which can move independently as an own independent vehicle and can run integrally in linkage with another vehicle. A plurality of single-seat vehicles which can move independently are combined and they move integrally while a predetermined formation is maintained through linkage among respective vehicles. One of all the vehicles moving in linkage serves as a host vehicle and an occupant in the host vehicle becomes a driver in the linkage moving. A host vehicle 1 runs with speed/direction according to running operation conducted by an occupant. Simultaneously therewith, the host vehicle 1 instructs following vehicles 2 to 4 to synchronize (follow) the host vehicle. The host vehicle 1 transmits a speed, a direction, and a relative position to the host vehicle to the following vehicles 2 to 4 as moving information in order to synchronize the following vehicles with the host vehicle (maintain linkage relationship). The following vehicles 2 to 4 move based upon a follow-up instruction and feed status information including speeds and directions of the following vehicles, and their own positions back to the host vehicle 1 as own vehicle information.

A separator of a fuel cell, which is inserted between single cells, each single cell having an electrolyte sandwiched between electrodes, in order to stack the single cells together, includes gas diffusion portions which are arranged so as to cover a surface of the electrodes and in which are formed multiple air holes for gas diffusion, and spacer portions which form parallel divided gas passages on the back side of portions of the gas diffusion portions which cover the surface of the electrodes. The gas diffusion portions and the spacer portions are integrally formed by bending a wire mesh member to have a rectangular corrugated plate shaped cross-section. As a result, the air holes are formed evenly between the electrodes and the separator and high contact pressure is ensured by the contact of the fine wire mesh, thereby making it possible to both have the gas diffuse evenly and reduce the power collection resistance.

Separator and fuel cell using that separator

A vehicle has a drive wheel, a seat, an attitude sensor, a balancer movable relative to the seat, a drive control, an attitude control for controlling the attitude of the seat by moving the balancer and a main controller. The main controller calculates a torque Tfor tilting the seat and a torque Tfor moving the balancer forward, compares Twith Tmax (the maximum torque which can be generated by the balancer), and outputs commands to the drive control and the attitude control. When the calculated torque Texceeds Tmax, responsive to a command for Tmax, the attitude control moves the balancer to generate a reaction torque corresponding to Tmax, and the main controller supplies an adjustment torque value Tfor the drive wheel. The drive control controls the drive wheel in accordance with the drive command and the adjustment torque value T

A vehicle control device and a vehicle are provided with compatibility between high grip performance and fuel efficiency. When a camber angle of a wheel is adjusted as a negative camber, the ground contact pressure on a first tread is increased and the ground contact pressure on a second tread is decreased, thus providing the high grip performance. On the other hand, when the camber angle of the wheel is adjusted as a positive camber, the ground contact pressure on the first tread is decreased and the ground contact pressure on the second tread is increased, thereby reducing rolling resistance and achieving fuel saving. By adjusting the camber angle of the wheel, compatibility can be provided between high grip performance and fuel saving which otherwise conflict with each other.

The present invention provides a novel method for generating braking force in a wheel. In a vehicle having wheels, a wheel control device for controlling the wheels is provided with an actuator for performing an operation to vary a slip angle of the wheels, and a controller for controlling the actuator to increase the braking force of the wheels by increasing the slip angle absolute value of the wheels such that a lateral force is generated in the wheels relative to a ground contact surface of the wheels.

Wheel control device and control device

A fuel cell includes a separator (B) interposed between adjacent unit cells (A). A mixed fluid of air and water is supplied to an air electrode () of each unit cell. The separator includes a mesh conductor () on at least a surface facing the air electrode of the unit cells, and the mixed fluid passes through the mesh conductor. Water is retained on the mesh portion of the conductor. With this configuration, it is possible for the unit cell to be cooled by the release of latent heat when the water is evaporated by the heat of unit cell, without any clogging which inhibits contact between the electrode and the air.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell system includes at least one fuel cell stack having a fuel chamber including a fuel electrode (anode), an air chamber including an oxygen electrode (cathode), an electrolyte layer interposed between the fuel electrode and the oxygen electrode, and a pressure regulating valve for regulating supply pressure of fuel gas (hydrogen gas) supplied to the fuel chamber. The pressure regulating valve sets the supply pressure of the fuel gas when the fuel cell stack starts up power generation at a level higher than the supply pressure of the fuel gas during normal power generation in which the fuel cell stack is generating electric power.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Munehisa Horiguchi