Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

K. K. Tube Forming

Yanagawa Seiki K.k.

Noboru Ashikawa

Masami Takano

Akihito Ohhashi

Yoshiki Noro

Tetsuro Hamada

Karl Friedrich

Toyoshi Yasuda

Hiroshi Nakayama

Kouji Yamaguchi

Tetsurou Hamada

Kazuhiko Shimada

Heribert Lanzer

Toshiyuki Yumoto

Takafumi Tsurumi

Hiroyuki Shimada

Shoji Tokushima

Suehiro Hasshi

Masanobu Nakamura

Hisashi Kunii

Makoto Sumi

Toshifumi Yamamoto

Herwig Leinfellner

Makoto Watanabe

Shunji Sakuma

Naoya Akama

Takefumi Hiramatsu

Kiyoshi Oikawa

Bunsho Yaguchi

Masahiro Akioka

Tetuya Komori

Naohisa Shibata

Ken Mizokawa

Tadayoshi Nakamura

Tetsuro Saruwatari

A suspension arm for a vehicle is provided, the suspension arm including an L-shaped arm body having a first end portion, an intermediate portion, and a second end portion. The first end portion is adapted to pivotally connect the arm body to a vehicle. The intermediate portion has a bulge formed thereon which is adapted to pivotally connect the arm body to the vehicle. The second end portion is adapted to connect the arm body to a vehicle wheel knuckle. The arm body is formed from a single piece of pipe material having a closed cross-section.

Suspension arm, and process for producing the same

A shift control system for a vehicle transmission with multiple gear trains and a main shaft connected to an engine crankshaft through a clutch. The shift control system allowing shifting without disengaging the clutch. In conducting a shifting operation through a roller synchro mechanism associated with a gear train, the number of revolutions per minute of the engine crankshaft is promptly decreased through at least one of an ignition control device and a fuel supply control means to synchronize the number of revolutions per minute of a main shaft and a counter shaft of the transmission when the number of revolutions per minute of the main shaft is larger than the number of revolutions per minute for synchronizing with the counter shaft and the number of revolutions per minute of the engine crankshaft is increased to synchronize the number of revolutions per minute of the main shaft and the counter shaft when the number of revolutions per minute of the main shaft is less than the number of revolutions per minute for synchronizing with the counter shaft. This enables a prompt shifting.

Shift control system

An electronically controlled transmission in which a shift actuator for driving a sleeve of a roller synchro mechanism and a throttle actuator for an engine are electronically controlled. The shift actuator is comprised of a drum type actuator of a simple structure comprising a shift drum and a shift fork. The use of the roller synchro mechanism ensures that only a small driving force for the shift drum is required, which makes it possible to provide a reduction in size of the shift actuator. In addition, a shift lever for operating a shift switch for producing the shifting instruction signal is mounted on either left or right side of the steering wheel. This ensures that the shifting-up and shifting-down signals can be produced by one of the driver's hands, leading to an improvement in operability of the shift lever.

Electronically controlled transmission and steering wheel located shift

A vehicle transmission of the type having a main shaft and a parallel counter shaft with a plurality of selectable gear trains therebetween. The axis of the engine crankshaft is disposed perpendicular to intermediate portions of the main shaft and the counter shaft, with the low speed gear trains and high speed gear trains positioned on opposite lateral sides of the crankshaft. This results not only in a reduced size of the transmission in the axial direction of the crankshaft but also in a reduced lateral size of the transmission, as compared with a transmission in which the crankshaft is connected in series to the transmission main shaft. A synchro mechanism is mounted on the counter shaft and a shift drum for operating the synchro mechanism is positioned parallel to the counter shaft. This insures a space for disposition of the synchro mechanism between gears of the relatively large diameter gears on the counter shaft and ensures a smooth shifting operation, without an increase in the lateral size of the transmission due to the shift drum.

Transmission for vehicle

A retainer retaining a plurality of rollers therein so as to permit their slight movement in a radial direction is disposed between cam grooves provided on the outer periphery of an inner cam secured to a rotary shaft and a roller abutment surface formed on the inner periphery of a gear relatively rotatably carried on the rotary shaft, and a dowel-admission groove is defined in a side of the retainer. A dowel provided in a sleeve can enter the dowel-admission groove. The groove is defined between the adjacent rollers retained in the retainer, or at least part of the inner cam, the rollers and the retainer are disposed in a recess made in the gear, thereby achieving a reduction in axial dimension of a roller synchro mechanism. In addition, the retainer is comprised of two components: a body portion and a cover plate, thereby facilitating their machining, and a slide contact portion is formed on the outer periphery of the body portion and is tightly fitted to the roller abutment surface of the gear, so that the retainer may be dragged by the gear, thereby providing a prompt engagement of the rotary shaft with the gear.

Roller synchro mechanism

A motor vehicle such as a four-wheel drive vehicle having a first axle shaft which is driven by a drive source and a second axle shaft which is driven by the same drive source, each of a pair of wheels associated with the second axle shaft being powered by way of individual variable torque transmitting devices, further comprising: a steering condition sensor; and a control unit which reduces a torque transmission ratio of one of the variable torque transmitting devices corresponding to the inner one of the wheels of the second axle shaft when the steering condition sensor has detected a steering angle greater than a prescribed value. Thereby, the problem of the tight turn braking can be avoided without losing the advantages of four-wheel drive. Other driving conditions such as braking and acceleration as well as an excessive temperature increase in each of the variable torque transmitting devices may be taken into consideration in carrying out the control of the variable torque transmitting devices which preferably consist of viscous couplings. Each of the viscous couplings is provided with means for externally varying the torque transmission ratio thereof and transmits torque between input and output thereof at a level which is substantially proportional to the speed difference between input and output thereof.

Four-wheel drive motor vehicle having a controlled differential device

A dog clutch mechanism includes a case, first and second rotatable shafts rotatably disposed coaxially in the case, the second rotatable shaft having an annular groove defined in an outer periphery thereof, a dog piece fixedly mounted on the first rotatable shaft and having first dog teeth confronting an end of the second rotatable shaft, a hub axially slidably mounted on the second rotatable shaft and having second dog teeth meshingly engageable with the first dog teeth, the second dog teeth being movable out of meshing engagement with the first dog teeth under a thrust force in response to relative torque transmission between the first and second rotatable shafts. The hub has guide holes extending radially therethrough toward the second rotatable shaft and a plurality of balls are retained respectively in the guide holes are and engageable in the annular groove. A sleeve is axially slidably disposed on an outer periphery of the hub for engaging the balls and pressing the balls into at least the annular groove.

Dog clutch mechanism

An automobile has a final reduction gear unit including an orthogonal converter gear train, a speed reducer gear train, and a differential gear train which are mounted on one side of the engine of the automobile. The orthogonal converter gear unit includes a drive bevel gear coupled to a first rotatable shaft for rotation about the axis thereof, and a driven bevel gear mounted on a second rotatable shaft normal to the first rotatable shaft and rotatable about the axis of the second rotatable shaft. The speed reducer gear train includes a drive cylindrical gear mounted on the second rotatable shaft, and a driven cylindrical gear held in mesh with the drive cylindrical gear and mounted on a third shaft for rotation thereabout, the third rotatable shaft lying parallel to the second rotatable shaft. The differential gear train has four bevel gears combined with the driven cylindrical gear for distributing power from the engine of the automobile transmitted to the driven cylindrical gear, to road wheels of the automobile.

Final reduction gear unit for an automobile

An automotive vehicle includes a body with an engine compartment. Its power train includes: an engine with a crank shaft and at least one cylinder, mounted within the engine compartment with the crank shaft extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and with the cylinder extending generally horizontally; a transmission device with a power input shaft, coupled to the engine with the power input shaft substantially coaxial with and rotationally driven from the engine crank shaft; and a differential device, driven from the transmission device, with an axial center line which is located generally below the center line of the crank shaft. Thereby, the engine compartment arrangement can be made compact and low in height, and further the moments of inertia of the vehicle about its yaw and pitch axes can be kept low.

Automotive vehicle power train

A multi-speed transmission having a plurality of forward speed gear trains and at least one reverse speed gear train wherein two parallel shafts, one fixed and the other movable along its axial direction, are mounted within the transmission casing. Shifting forks are mounted on said shafts to selectively engage the forward and reverse speed gear trains. For example, for a multi-speed transmission having five forward speeds and one reverse speed, a first shift fork is slidably mounted on a stationary shaft to selectively engage the first and second gear trains, a second shift fork is slidably mounted on the slidable shaft to selectively engage the third and fourth gear trains and a third shift fork is mounted on the slidable shaft so as to be slidable in only one direction to engage the fifth speed gear train. Movement of the slidable shaft in the direction opposite that which engages the fifth speed gear train acts to engage the reverse speed gear train. The shift forks are retained in their selective position by retaining mechanisms which have retractable protrusions engageable with notches in the shafts.

Multi-speed transmission

In a driving gear for front and rear wheels of automobile, comprising an engine with a crank shaft disposed in the direction of width of the car body, a transmission means supported on an engine case at one side axially of said crank shaft, a clutch provided between the engine and the transmission, a first differential gear coupled to the transmission, a second differential gear transmitting one output of the first differential gear to left and right wheels on the front or rear, a third differential gear transmitting the other output of the first differential gear to left and right wheels on the rear or front, the improvement wherein the first differential gear is of planetary gear type, the second differential gear is of bevel gear type, both the first and second differential gears are provided on both sides of a position corresponding to said clutch on the same axis parallel to said crank shaft.

Driving gear for front and rear wheels of automobile

A driving gear for all-wheel-drive vehicles, comprises a transmission provided with a plurality of shafts parallel with an axis of a vehicle. An interaxle differential gear has an axis parallel with the shafts in the transmission and adapted to output the driving force from the transmission in a divided manner. An interwheel differential gear is provided concentrically with the interaxle differential gear and adapted to apply one output therefrom in a divided manner to right and left wheels which are closer to the transmission. A bevel gear train is interposed between a driving shaft and the interaxle differential gear. The driving shaft is provided so as to cross the axes of the two differential gears at right angles thereto and apply the other output from the interaxle differential gear to right and left wheels which are more distant from the transmission. Finally, a housing is provided in which all the parts are held. The housing consists of a combination of a plurality of sections of which all of the boundary surfaces extend in parallel with one another and at right angles to the axes of the shafts in the transmission.

Housing for a driving gear for all-wheel-drive vehicles

In a transmission of the type which includes a main transmission mechanism equipped with gear trains of a plurality of transmission stages disposed between an input shaft capable of being connected to a crank shaft of an engine and an output shaft parallel to the input shaft and a sub-transmission mechanism transmitting the driving force from the input shaft to a driven gear of the output shaft via gear trains of other transmission stages, and which is supported so as to project from an engine case along the axis of the crank shaft, the improvement wherein an output gear common to said main and sub-transmission mechanisms is disposed at the end of the output shaft on the engine side and the driven gear is disposed on the output shaft in the proximity of the output gear.

Transmission/subtransmission mechanism

A four wheel drive gear box having a planetary internal differential concentric with a reduction gear driven by an output gear of a transmission, a planetary carrier driven by the reduction gear, a ring gear driving a first shaft concentric with the reduction gear, a sun gear driving a second shaft which carries a gear which drives, via other gearing, an inter-wheel differential, the first shaft driving the other inter-wheel differential, a support member enclosing the inter-axle differential and connected with the reduction gear, and a connecting member between the ring gear and the first shaft.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Noboru Ashikawa