Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyoda Koki Kabushiki Kaisha

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

Jtekt Corporation

Shoichi Shono

Atushi Sato

Yoshikazu Motozono

Akihiro Yanaka

Mitsuhiro Miura

Masafumi Uchihara

Morihiro Matsuda

Masaaki Tabata

Motoyasu Yamamori

Toshiaki Hamada

Jun Muto

Akihiro Ueda

Fumiki Tanahashi

Yoshiyuki Hashimoto

Osamu Watanabe

Naoto Hasegawa

JongGap Kim

Norimi Asahara

Jonggap Kim

Masatoshi Nakatsu

Junji Kawamuro

Kenji Harada

Yoshikazu Tachiiri

Yasunori Okada

Masaki Kanatani

Yukihiko Kanayama

Isao Hasegawa

Assuming that a transformer has a primary to secondary winding turn ratio 1:N, VR denotes a voltage of regenerated power, VCd denotes a discharge final voltage of a first battery connected with a transformer-primary-side center tap, VCc denotes a charge final voltage of the first battery, VBd denotes a discharge final voltage of a second battery connected with a transformer-secondary-side full bridge circuit, VBc denotes a charge final voltage of the second battery and Drain denotes a lower limit of a duty ratio D of a transformer-primary-side full bridge circuit, an apparatus determines upon (VBd/N)&#x2266;VR&#x2266;(VBc/N) that the first and second batteries may be able to be charged with regenerated power and determines upon VCd&#x2266;VR&#x2266;(VCc/Dmin) that the first battery may be able to be charged with the regenerated power.

Electric power conversion apparatus and method of controlling the same

A power conversion apparatus includes a transformer; a primary side full bridge circuit provided on a primary side of the transformer; a first port connected to the primary side full bridge circuit; a second port connected to a center tap of the primary side of the transformer; a secondary side full bridge circuit provided on a secondary side of the transformer; a third port connected to the secondary side full bridge circuit; and a control unit configured to cause an upper arm of the secondary side full bridge circuit to operate in an active region in a case where a capacitor connected to the third port is charged with a transmitted power transmitted to the secondary side full bridge circuit via the transformer from the primary side full bridge circuit when power of the second port is stepped up and the stepped up power is output to the first port.

Power conversion apparatus and method for starting up the same

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system for executing a fuel saving based on a learned value of fuel consumption obtained from an actual running of the vehicle. The control system makes an assessment of a fuel saving control by learning fuel consumption within a predetermined learning zone including a zone where the fuel saving control is executed and determines whether or not to execute the fuel saving control based on a result of the assessment.

Vehicle control system

A vehicle control system is provided. The vehicle control system is applied to a vehicle having a clutch device to selectively connect and disconnect a power transmission route between a prime mover and drive wheels, and configured to disconnect the power transmission route during running to allow the vehicle to coast. The vehicle control system is comprised of: a vehicle speed detection means; an execution means that executes a coasting control when an operating amount of an accelerator is reduced to be smaller than a predetermined value during running, by bringing the clutch device into disengagement to disconnect the power transmission route so as to allow the vehicle to coast; an updating means that updates a lowest speed of the vehicle during execution of the coasting control; and a termination means that terminates the coasting control by bringing the clutch device into engagement to connect the power transmission route, when a difference between a current vehicle speed and the latest lowest vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value.

Provided is a vehicle control apparatus that can improve a gasoline mileage without imparting the sense of discomfort to a driver. When an ECU determines that the brake is turned ON during an N inertia travel control ('YES' in step S), the ECU stores a current position and a current vehicle speed in a learning DB (Step). Next, the ECU matches a data of the current position and the vehicle speed similar to the data of the current position and the vehicle speed stored this time, with reference to the information associated with a section inclusive of the current position (Step S). Thereafter, when the ECU determines that there are equal to or more than a predetermined number of similar cases ('YES' in step S), the ECU sets the section referenced in the step Sas an N inertia travel prohibition section.

Vehicle control apparatus

A vehicular drive control apparatus provided with pulse-driving and gliding means for setting upper limit Vhi and lower limit Vlo of running speed V of a vehicle according to an upper and lower vehicle speed limit maps, and on the basis of target running speed Vt which is the running speed V at a time when control initiating conditions have been satisfied, and running the vehicle in P & G running mode by alternately repeating pulse-driving run (accelerating run) and gliding run (decelerating run) of the vehicle at the running speed V varying between the set upper and lower limits Vhi and Vlo, the control initiating conditions including a condition that the vehicle is in a steady running state.

Vehicular drive control apparatus

A transfer ratio varying apparatus includes: a steering shaft configured to transmit a steering angle, an actuator connected to the steering shaft and a damper disposed between the input shaft and the steering shaft and configured to absorb vibration caused by the actuator. The actuator includes: a housing, an input shaft configured to integrally rotate with the housing and connected to the steering shaft, a motor including a rotatable shaft, an output shaft configured to transmit an angle to a wheel assembly, and a gear mechanism between the rotatable shaft and the output shaft at the housing, configured to adjust a rotational angle of the rotatable shaft and to output the adjusted rotational angle to the output shaft.

Transfer ratio varying apparatus

A spiral cable device is provided with a cylindrical casing, an inner cylinder rotatable relative to the cylindrical casing, and a flexible flat cable connected to the inner cylinder at one end thereof and to the cylindrical casing at the other end thereof. The flexible flat cable has plural leads arranged in a single layer and is folded to form multiple layers of the leads, so that even where the flexible flat cable is to have many leads, the spiral cable device can be made short in the axial direction thereof.

Spiral cable device

A vehicular parking brake apparatus includes right and left-side brakes connected to an electric motor via a cable and an equalizer, so that the operating forces of the brakes become equal. In this case, the operating forces of the right and left brakes are commonly controlled based on one of the wheels that exhibits a greater rate of slip. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a rate of slip of the right and left wheels from becoming excessively great. The electric motor is controlled taking into account a transfer delay of the cable. Therefore, the slip rates of the right and left wheels can be quickly converged to a proper state. Thus, in a case where a parking brake is operated during the running of the vehicle, the operating force of the parking brake is controlled so that the state of slip of the wheels is a proper state.

Vehicular parking brake apparatus and control method thereof

A transmission ratio variable mechanism () varies a transmission ratio between a steering amount of a steering wheel () and a turning amount of wheels (). The transmission ratio variable mechanism () includes an input shaft () transmitted with a rotational force of the steering wheel (), a housing () unitarily rotating with the input shaft (), an output shaft () connected to wheels side, a motor () fixed in the housing for transmitting the rotation to the output shaft () via a speed reduction device (), and a reverse input blocking device () for always transmitting a rotational output from the motor () to the output shaft () and for always blocking a rotational input from the output shaft () to the motor ().

Transmission ratio variable mechanism

A vehicle parking brake system having an AUTO selector for selectively establishing an automatic mode and a manual mode, parking brake units, and an electronic control unit operable in the automatic mode to automatically activate the parking brake units to apply a parking brake to vehicle rear left and right wheels (RW RW ) when the vehicle is in a parked state, and to automatically de-activate the parking brake units to remove the parking brake from the vehicle wheel, and in the manual mode to selectively apply and remove the parking brake to and from the vehicle wheels according to operations of a MANUAL MODE control switch. Where the MANUAL MODE control switch is operated in the automatic mode, data indicative of the operation of the control switch is kept stored in a memory until the memory is cleared when predetermined operating state of the vehicle is detected, so that the control of the parking brake units in the automatic mode is restricted to control the parking rake units according to the operations of the MANUAL MODE control switch in the manual mode.

Vehicle parking brake system, and method of controlling the same

In a vehicle height adjust control apparatus and method for changing the vehicle height using actuators, the incidence of noises produced during the switching of actuators is reduced and good durability or long service life of the actuators is achieved. Based on a vehicle speed detected by a vehicle speed sensor, a microcomputer calculates a forward-backward acceleration. If the forward-backward acceleration is equal to or less than a first predetermined value, a vehicle height deviating from a target vehicle height is adjusted by a normal operation. If the forward-backward acceleration is greater than the first predetermined value but not greater than a second predetermined value, the determination for starting vehicle height adjustment is prevented. If the forward-backward acceleration is greater than the second predetermined value, the vehicle height adjustment is suspended. Therefore, the apparatus allows the second predetermined value to be set to a large value so as to reduce the frequency of the suspension and restart of vehicle height adjustment while reliably preventing the start of vehicle height adjustment when necessary, thereby reducing the frequency of actuator switching operations.

Vehicle height adjust control apparatus and method

A vehicle height adjust control apparatus that increases the durability or service life of a fluid system, including a fluid supply-discharge device and a fluid actuator, can have a pressure sensor and vehicle height sensors. If a microcomputer determines that the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is greater than a predetermined pressure, the microcomputer changes a target vehicle height to a vehicle height presently detected by the vehicle height sensors. In a preferred construction, the target vehicle height is changed to the vehicle height presently detected, if it is determined that the detected pressure remains greater than the predetermined pressure for at least a predetermined length of time. The predetermined length of time is changed to a longer time when the fluid temperature is relatively low. These additional determination conditions prevent unnecessary or ineffective changes of the target vehicle height due to by a sensor abnormality or a fluid temperature change.

A vehicle height adjust control apparatus and method prevents interference between a vehicle and a road surface due to a vehicle height reduction caused by an occupant or load added during a stop of the vehicle and minimizes unnecessary or ineffective operation of actuators while the vehicle is stopped with a brake pedal depressed. The apparatus has a vehicle sensor for detecting a vehicle speed, and a brake switch for detecting a brake pedal depressing operation. When the vehicle is stopped and the brake pedal is depressed, a microcomputer maintains a normal determination condition for starting a vehicle height adjustment to raise the vehicle body, but prevents a vehicle height reducing adjustment from lowering the vehicle body or uses a severe determination condition for starting a vehicle height reducing adjustment, thereby restricting the vehicle height adjustment only in the reducing direction. The microcomputer also limits the operating duration of the actuators and the magnitude of change in the vehicle height during performance of a vehicle height adjustment.

A vehicle height adjust control apparatus and method adjusts an actual vehicle height to a target vehicle height using a microcomputer that controls an electric motor, leveling valves and an accumulator valve on the basis of the actual vehicle height detected by vehicle height sensors, so as to eliminate any deviation of the actual vehicle height from the target vehicle height. If a hydraulic fluid temperature detected by a fluid temperature sensor is very low or very high, the microcomputer suspends the vehicle height adjusting control and the supply of hydraulic fluid to an accumulator by stopping the operation of the electric motor and a hydraulic pump and/or switching the valves to a closed state. The suspending control thereby prevents very high and low viscosities of the hydraulic fluid, or very low and high fluidities thereof, which prevent an undesirable increase of the load on the hydraulic pump and an undesirable decrease of the ejecting performance thereof.

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Miyoshi, Japan

Shoichi Shono