Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo K.k.

Naotake Kumagai

Minoru Tatemoto

Mitsuhiko Harara

Tadao Tanaka

Masanaga Suzumura

Yasutaka Taniguchi

Sunao Chikamori

Hiroki Abe

Shozo Takizawa

Masaaki Kato

Nobuya Furukawa

Hisamitsu Koga

Nobuyuki Kawamura

Shinichi Takeuchi

Tomiji Owada

Shunichi Wada

Setsuhiro Shimomura

Kazuyoshi Kobayashi

Mitsunori Maruyama

Tokushige Inuzuka

Hiroyuki Takada

Tomiji Ohwada

Ikuo Saga

Itoh: Yoji

Shunzou Oshima

Yoji Itoh

Tasutaka Taniguchi

Tetsuya Tada

According to the present invention, the operating amount of the brake is detected, and the target value of the regenerative torque is set in accordance with the detected operating amount. In the meantime, the change in the detected operating amount along with time is detected, and the rise speed of the regenerative torque is set in accordance with the detected change along with time. The regenerative torque is controlled in accordance with the set target value of the regenerative torque and the set rise speed.

Regenerative control apparatus of electric vehicle, which obtains

Regenerative control apparatus of electric vehicle

Braking control system for electric automobile

A fuel use limiter-equipped hybrid electric car has a battery unit chargeable by an external charger, an electric drive motor capable of driving wheels by electric power from the battery unit, an internal combustion engine for driving a generator to supply electric power to the electric drive motor, and a controller for controlling operations of the electric drive motor and internal combustion engine. The hybrid electric car is further provided with a fuel-use-state detector for detecting a change in a parameter, which change corresponds to a quantity of fuel used by the internal combustion engine since charging of the battery unit by the external charger. The controller limits at least one of an output of the electric drive motor and that of internal combustion engine when from results of a detection by the fuel-use-state detector, the change in the parameter is found to have reached a predetermined value.

Fuel use limiter-equipped hybrid electric car

A hybrid electric vehicle is equipped with a combustion engine for driving a generator or a combustion engine for driving vehicle wheels. The hybrid electric vehicle has a battery unit, an electric drive motor, the combustion engine directly or indirectly usable for driving wheels, and a controller for controlling operations of the electric drive motor and the combustion engine. The hybrid electric vehicle is further provided with a microcomputer for determining whether or not the battery unit meets a predetermined specification. When the battery unit is determined as failing to meet the predetermined specification by the microcomputer, the controller limits an output of the electric drive motor or the combustion engine.

Control system for inhibiting unintended use of hybrid electric vehicle

A remaining capacity meter is provided for an electric vehicle battery. This meter is suited for use in the detection of a remaining capacity of the electric vehicle battery. The meter includes a full charge detection device for detecting whether the battery has been brought into a fully-charged state, a remaining capacity setting device for setting, as a full-charge-time capacity, the remaining capacity of the battery at the time of detection of the fully-charged state by the full charge detection device, a discharge/charge-based correction device for correcting the remaining capacity, which has been set by the remaining capacity setting device, while integrating, with respect to time, a current discharged from or charged into the battery, and a deterioration-based correction device for correcting the fully-charged capacity, which has been set by the remaining capacity setting device, by a deterioration-based correction quantity corresponding to the number of chargings and battery temperatures at the time of the respective chargings. A method for the detection of the remaining capacity of such an electric vehicle battery is also described.

Remaining capacity meter and detection method for electric vehicle

Wheel suspension units each having fluid spring chambers are arranged in a vehicle suspension apparatus. A roll control quantity determined in accordance with the relationship between a vehicle velocity and a steering angular velocity, i.e., inlet solenoid valves and exhaust solenoid valves, are controlled in accordance with a solenoid ON/OFF time, thereby controlling the roll of a vehicle.

Vehicle suspension apparatus

A microcomputer performs roll control and communication control. In roll control, when the steering state detecting means and vehicle velocity detecting means detect a factor which causes a roll state of the vehicle body, a second control signal is produced to open desired supply and exhaust control valve so as to supply a preset amount of fluid to the fluid spring chambers of contracted suspension units and to exhaust a preset amount of fluid from the fluid spring chambers of stretched suspension units. In communication control, a first control signal is supplied to the communicating means to open the communication control valve when the steering state sensor detects that the steering angle falls within a preset steering angle and to close the communication control valve otherwise. After generation of the first control signal, when the steering state sensor detects that the steering direction of the steering wheel is in a return direction toward the neutral position and the steering angular velocity is lower than a preset steering angular velocity, a third control signal is supplied to the communicating means so as to open the communication control valve. When the steering state sensor detects, a third preset time after a second preset time from the generation of the third control signal, that the steering angle has reached the preset neutral range, a fourth control signal is produced to close the communication control valve for a fourth preset time.

In a vehicle suspension apparatus having air spring chambers between the vehicle body and the respective wheels to perform height and position control modes by controlling supply control valve means for supplying air to the air spring chambers and exhaust control valve means for exhausting air from the air spring chambers, the vehicle suspension apparatus has a high-pressure reserve tank connected to the respective chambers through the supply control valves, a first compressor for supplying compressed air to the high-pressure reserve tank, a low-pressure reserve tank connected to the respective chambers through the corresponding exhaust control valves and the suction port of the first compressor, and a second compressor for supplying atmospheric air to the high-pressure reserve tank through a check valve and a drier arranged between the check valve and the second compressor. In the position control mode, the compressed air is exhausted from the chambers to the low-pressure reserve tank through the exhaust control valves. In the height control mode, the compressed air is slowly exhausted from the corresponding chambers through the exhaust control valve means via the drier, thereby regenerating the drier during height down control.

In a vehicle suspension apparatus, front and rear wheel suspension units respectively have air spring chambers. Air is supplied to predetermined air spring chambers from an air source through a supply control valve, and at the same time air is exhausted from remaining air spring chambers through an exhaust control valve. Three-directional valves are inserted between the respective air spring chambers and the exhaust control valve. One end of a front wheel communication path is connected to the front left wheel three-directional valve and the other end of the path is connected to the front right wheel three-directional valve. Similarly, one end of a rear wheel communication path is connected to the rear left wheel three-directional valve and the other end of the path is connected to the rear right wheel three-directional valve. The air passing through the supply control valve is supplied to the front wheel air spring chambers through the front wheel communication path or to the rear wheel air spring chambers through the rear wheel communication path. Each of the three-directional valves can take the first position where the air spring chambers communicate with the supply control valve or the second position where the air spring chambers communicate with the exhaust control valve, thereby decreasing the numbers of valves and paths so as to perform position control.

In a vehicle suspension apparatus comprising communication control means for producing a disabling control signal for disabling the communicating solenoid valves when conditions are satisfied that the velocity detected by the velocity sensor exceeds a preset velocity and the steering angle detected by the steering sensor exceeds a preset steering angle and for producing an enabling control signal when the conditions are not satisfied, and roll control means for producing a control command signal for opening desired ones of the supply and exhaust control valves for a preset control time in order to supply a preset amount of fluid to contracted fluid spring chambers along a roll direction and for exhausting a preset amount of fluid from stretched fluid spring chambers when the conditions are satisfied, the preset velocity as one of the conditions determined by the communication control means is set to have a first value when the communicating solenoid valves are enabled and to have a second value larger than the first value when the communicating solenoid valves are disabled. With this apparatus, passengers experience uniform centrifugal force sensations when roll control is started and cancelled. Discomfort experienced by passengers during and after roll control is reduced to a minimum.

A vehicle suspension apparatus has air spring chamber provided at a suspension unit for supporting a rear wheel, air supply means for supplying air to the air spring chamber of the suspension unit for supporting the rear wheel through supply opening and closing valve, air exhaust means for exhausting air from the air spring means of the suspension unit for supporting the rear wheel, a parking brake sensor for detecting the operated state of a parking brake, and a shift position detecting sensor for detecting the shift position of an automatic transmission having a fluid drive unit for transmitting drive power to wheels. The parking brake sensor detects whether or not the parking brake is engaged. The shift position detecting sensor detects whether or not the shift position of the automatic transmission is operated from any of parking position (P) and neutral position (N) to running position (D, L, 2) to raise the vehicle height of the rear wheel side to supply air to the air spring chamber of the rear wheel side. The fact that the shifting position of the automatic transmission is operated from either the parking position (P) or the neutral position (N) to the running position (R) is detected to exhaust air from the air spring chamber of the rear wheel side to lower the vehicle height of the rear wheel.

A suspension device for automobile performs changing-over of the damping force of a shock absorber and the spring constant of a suspension spring by an output from an acceleration sensor or an output from a road clearance sensor mounted on the vehicle body. The changing operation is not performed by magnitude of an output but is performed only when an output greater that a predetermined level continues for a predetermined time period to avoid unnecessary change-over operations of the suspension characteristic during cruising a rough road.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi, Japan

Naotake Kumagai