Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Satoshi Taguchi

Mitsuaki Hirakawa

Kiyoshi Handa

Takeo Kiuchi

Kazuhiko Kitano

Yutaka Hiki

Akihiro Yamamoto

Kenji Fukuda

Norio Komura

Naoki Uchiyama

Toru Nakasako

Katsunori Nakaya

Kazuya Miwa

Shigekazu Fueta

A gas liquid centrifugal separator includes a cylindrical vessel having an axis extending in a vertical direction, an exhaust port in a top wall of the vessel which discharges gas separated from a liquid-gas mixture, a drainage port provided in a bottom wall of the vessel which discharges liquid separated from the liquid-gas mixture, and an introducing port in a peripheral wall of the vessel which introduces the mixture into the vessel. Gas-liquid separation is conducted by an inverted conical liquid surface formed in an upper separating chamber of the vessel as a result of the mixture traveling circumferentially along an inner peripheral surface of the vessel.

Gas liquid centrifugal separator

A four-wheel drive vehicle is provided in which the main driven wheels are driven by an engine via a torque converter and the auxiliary driven wheels are driven by an electric motor. The response of the vehicle to the operation of the accelerator is improved by suppressing in advance the slip of the main driven wheels due to an excess output of the engine. The main driven wheels are driven by an engine via a torque converter and auxiliary driven wheels are driven by an electric motor. The vehicle is started by the output of the electric motor in the region in which the speed ratio of the torque converter is small (that is to say, the region in which the efficiency is low) such as when the vehicle is starting, and when it enters the region in which the speed ratio of the torque converter exceeds 0.8 and the efficiency exceeds 85% the drive of the electric motor is stopped or suspended and the vehicle is made to travel by means of the output of the engine.

Driving force control system for four-wheel drive vehicles

When the remaining capacity of a battery on a hybrid vehicle is smaller than a threshold value or the battery is unable to output the amount of electric energy required to propel the hybrid vehicle with a propulsive electric motor, the engine is started by a generator which operates in a motor mode. After the engine has been warmed up, the generator operates in a generator mode to generate electric energy which is supplied to the battery and the propulsive electric motor. The threshold value for the remaining capacity of the battery is greater as the atmospheric pressure is lower. Therefore, if the hybrid vehicle is running under a low atmospheric pressure such as on a highland, the electric energy is supplied from the generator to the battery and the propulsive electric motor at an early stage where the capacity of the battery is relatively high. The generator also starts to generate electric energy when the battery is unable to output an amount of electric energy sufficient enough to propel the hybrid vehicle.

Electric generation control system for hybrid vehicle

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Satoshi Taguchi