Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha

Yamaha Corporation

Nobuo Hara

Tatsuya Nagata

Yukihide Fukuhara

Takeshi Toyota

Masanori Negoro

Yasuhiro Oomura

Yasunobu Harazono

Yu Shibuya

Masashi Matsuo

Yasuhiko Asahi

Toshio Iwai

Shuhei Kanehara

Satoshi Ishikawa

Takayuki Suzuki

Shidehiko Miyashiro

Kazuhiro Nishida

Yutaka Mizuno

Masayuki Hirano

Eiichirou Tsujii

Hiroaki Ogata

Hirokatsu Ogawa

Tsunero Hamada

Hiromi Fukuda

Hirokatsu Muramatsu

Masaya Suenari

Hiroyuki Morita

Hidekazu Tsuboi

Kenichi Watanabe

Yasufumi Takagi

Toshio Takeuchi

Naoyuki Hosono

Takafumi Nonaka

Yuu Shibuya

Satoshi Kasai

Tatsuro Katakura

A leaning vehicle including a vehicle body frame, at least one steerable wheel, a handlebar, of which the manipulation by a rider generates a steering torque, a steering actuator steering the at least one steerable wheel, a roll rate sensor detecting a roll rate of the vehicle body frame, and a steering actuator controller. The steering actuator controller includes a torque estimation section that receives an input to thereby generate an estimated value of the steering torque, and a current determination section that obtains a control current based on the estimated valued of the steering torque generated by the torque estimation section, and outputs the control current to the steering actuator to control the steering actuator. The input of the torque estimation section includes the roll rate obtained from the roll rate sensor, but is free from any value of the steering torque detected by a torque sensor.

Leaning-vehicle-steering-actuator controller and leaning vehicle

A leaning vehicle including a vehicle body frame that is configured to lean leftward and rightward respectively when the leaning vehicle is turning left and right, a steerable wheel supported by the vehicle frame body, a steering mechanism steering the steerable wheel, and a posture control actuator device. The posture control actuator device includes a posture control actuator that outputs power to control posture of the vehicle body frame, and an angular rate sensor that detects an amount of change per unit time of a rotation angle of the vehicle body frame around a rotation axis thereof, the rotation angle changing as the vehicle body frame is rotating around the rotation axis. The posture control actuator device is supported by the vehicle body frame, and is attachable to and detachable from the vehicle body frame. The posture control actuator and the angular rate sensor are not displaceable relative to each other.

Posture control actuator unit and leaning vehicle

A leaning vehicle including a vehicle body, at least one front wheel, at least one rear wheel, a leaning device that causes the vehicle body, the at least one front wheel and the at least one rear wheel to lean leftward or rightward at the left-turn or right-turn of the leaning vehicle, a steering handle rotatable counter-clockwise or clockwise to turn the at least one front wheel left or right, a lean actuator supplying power to the leaning device, and a control unit that controls the lean actuator in accordance with an amount of rotation of the steering handle detected by a steering-handle rotation sensor. The control unit is configured to, when the steering handle is rotated within a particular rotation range, control the lean actuator to restrain the vehicle body, the at least one front wheel and the at least one rear wheel from leaning.

Leaning vehicle

A straddled vehicle includes a vehicle body frame, a steering shaft supported by the vehicle body frame, a handlebar that includes a left grip and a right grip and is connected to the steering shaft, a steering wheel, and a steering assist device that applies assist force in a same direction as that of a steering torque that has been input to the handlebar by a rider to the steering shaft. The steering assist device causes the assist force to decrease as speed of the vehicle increases in a first vehicle speed zone and causes the assist force to increase as the speed of the vehicle increases in a second vehicle speed zone that is higher than the first vehicle speed zone.

Straddled vehicle having handlebar

A leaning vehicle includes an actuator control unit that causes an actuator to generate an actuator torque in a counterclockwise direction based on a bar-handle-rotation-moment change amount in the case where a bar-handle-rotation-moment change amount in the counterclockwise direction is generated by a rider performing one operation of a right-grip-pushing-force increasing operation, a left-grip-pulling-force increasing operation, a right-grip-pulling-force reducing operation, and a left-grip-pushing-force reducing operation. The actuator control unit causes the actuator to generate an actuator torque in a clockwise direction based on a bar-handle-rotation-moment change amount in the case where a bar-handle-rotation-moment change amount in the clockwise direction is generated by a rider performing one operation of a left-grip-pushing-force increasing operation, a right-grip-pulling-force increasing operation, a left-grip-pulling-force reducing operation, and a right-grip-pushing-force reducing operation.

Flexibility in design of steering characteristics is enhanced in a leaning vehicle including two front steerable wheels. A vehicle includes a body frame, a left front wheel, a right front wheel, a rear wheel, a leaning mechanism, a steering mechanism, and a leaning-responsiveness-adjusting mechanism. The leaning mechanism includes arms rotatably supported by the body frame. The arms rotate with respect to the body frame so that the body frame leans. The steering mechanism mechanically transfers rotation of the handle to the left front wheel and the right front wheel. Accordingly, the body frame leans in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the handle. The leaning-responsiveness-adjusting mechanism controls a motor by using an instruction value based on a time derivative value of a physical quantity generated by a motion of a rider affecting leaning of the body frame to thereby adjust responsiveness of leaning of the body frame.

Two front wheel reverse steering leaning vehicle

A leaning vehicle includes: a body frame; a right wheel and a left wheel; a linkage mechanism including arms rotatably supported on the body frame; a left-right tilt angle control mechanism configured to control a tilt angle of the body frame in a left direction or in the right direction by adjusting a rotation of the arms with respect to the body frame; and a control section. The control section controls the left-right tilt angle control mechanism to change the tilt angle of the body frame in the left direction or in the right direction in accordance with an input to the leaning vehicle from a rider while the leaning vehicle is stopped.

A leaning vehicle includes a body frame, a right wheel and a left wheel, a linkage mechanism including arms rotatably supported on the body frame, buffer devices, a left-right tilt angle control mechanism configured to control a tilt angle of the body frame by adjusting a rotation of the arms with respect to the body frame, a buffer control mechanism configured to suppress motion of the buffer devices, and a control section. The control section determines whether to cause the left-right tilt angle control mechanism to perform roll angle control during traveling toward stop, and performs control of causing the buffer control mechanism to suppress motion of the buffer devices in a period in which the vehicle speed is in at least a part of a low-speed traveling range and in at least a part of a period in which the left-right tilt angle control mechanism.

A leaning vehicle includes a body frame, a steered wheel and a non-steered wheel, a motor, a left-right-tilt-angle-detection-section, and a control device that controls the motor to apply a steering force to the steered wheel. The steering force steers the steered wheel to turn the leaning vehicle rightward in a case where the body frame tilts rightward, and steers the steered wheel to turn the leaning vehicle leftward in a case where the body frame tilts leftward. Alternatively, the steering force steers the steered wheel to turn the leaning vehicle leftward in the case where the body frame tilts rightward, and steers the steered wheel to turn the leaning vehicle rightward in the case where the body frame tilts leftward.

A leaning vehicle includes an actuator, a left steerable front wheel, a right steerable front wheel, a steering mechanism and a leaning mechanism. The steering mechanism includes a first center steering shaft, a second center steering shaft disposed at the front side of the first center steering shaft, and a center steering shaft rotation interlocking mechanism that interlocks rotation of the first center steering shaft with rotation of the second center steering shaft. The actuator is provided between a left end and a right end of a link member of the leaning mechanism in the left-right direction. At least one part of the actuator is provided at a position that overlaps with a movable range of the center steering shaft rotation interlocking mechanism as viewed from the up direction or the down direction.

A leaning vehicle includes a vehicle body, a left wheel, a right wheel, a leaning mechanism, a leaning drive mechanism and a leaning brake mechanism. The leaning drive mechanism includes a drive source. The leaning drive mechanism includes a gear, rotary shafts, and a gear casing member. The leaning brake mechanism includes a brake member and a resistance applying member. The gear and the rotary shaft of the leaning drive mechanism and the brake member of the leaning brake mechanism are supported by the vehicle body in a rotatable manner by way of the gear casing member of the leaning drive mechanism.

A leaning vehicle includes a linkage mechanism including arms rotatably supported on a body frame, a left-right tilt angle control mechanism configured to control a tilt angle of the body frame by adjusting a rotation of the arms with respect to the body frame, and a control section. The control section controls the left-right tilt angle control mechanism to cause the tilt angle of the body frame to approach a target value based on information on at least a vehicle speed. The control section updates the target value in accordance with an input to the leaning vehicle from a rider concerning a tilt of the body frame, and controls the left-right tilt angle control mechanism to cause the tilt angle of the body frame to approach the updated target value in a period in which the vehicle speed is in at least a part of a low-speed traveling range.

A saddle riding type vehicle includes left and right front wheels that unlock a linkage more surely when the vehicle starts. The vehicle includes a linkage that connects the left and right front wheels to a vehicle body frame, a lock that locks or unlocks the linkage, a lock controller that controls the lock, a wheel speed sensor that detects a vehicle speed, and a vehicle speed change rate obtainer that obtains a vehicle speed change rate. The lock controller unlocks the linkage via the lock if the linkage is locked by the lock and at least one of the vehicle speed and the vehicle speed change rate satisfies an unlocking condition.

Saddle riding type vehicle

A vehicle with two front wheels includes an EPS that makes it difficult for a rider to feel a sensation of physical disorder while realizing a vertical angle suppression function. The EPS is configured to apply an assisting force to a steering effort transmission mechanism. The vehicle further includes an EPL configured to apply a turning effort to a cross member of a link mechanism to turn the cross member relative to a vehicle body frame, and a control unit configured to control the EPS and the EPL. The control unit determines an EPS command value that determines a magnitude of output torque of the EPS and an EPL command value that determines a magnitude of output torque of the EPL according to a physical quantity including at least a vehicle speed and a vertical angle, and controls a ratio of the EPL command value to the EPS command value.

Vehicle with lean control

A leaning vehicle includes a body frame including a headpipe, a front wheel, a steering torque transmission including a steering shaft supported by bearings, a handlebar assembly, and a front wheel connector that transmits a steering torque, and a steering torque detector. The steering torque transmission includes a torsional deformation element upstream of a portion of the steering shaft supported by the most upstream bearing in a steering torque transmission path, and which is easily twisted and deformed by a steering torque input from grips on the handlebar assembly. The steering torque detector detects at least a portion of the steering torque input into the steering torque transmission based on a torsional deformation of the torsional deformation element.

Growing community of inventors

Shizuoka, Japan

Nobuo Hara