Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Shinsangyokaihatsu

Shoji Kawata

Naoji Sakakibara

Hitoshi Hyodo

Nobuyasu Suzumura

Osamu Miyake

Hiroyuki Amano

Toshiaki Kakinami

Tomoaki Nishimura

Tokihiko Akita

Shigemitsu Hamajima

Kazuhiro Sakurai

Kazutaka Kuwana

Kyo Hattori

Tsuyoshi Yoshida

Takeshi Ochiai

Mitsuyoshi Saiki

Masahito Muto

Hiroaki Morioka

Kunihiko Soshi

Tadashi Ohyama

Motohide Takeuchi

Nobuyuki Imai

Naoji Sakakibar

Tadashi Oyama

A parking assisting apparatus is provided in which even a beginner can relaxedly park a vehicle and parking operation is pertinently assisted. The apparatus provides a cameras for taking an image rearwardly of a vehicle during parking the vehicle. The image from the camera is displayed on a display provided inside the vehicle as a rear image and a running prediction locus is displayed which varies in accordance with the state of a steering wheel angle to overlap the rear image. A longitudinal line parking switch instructs the vehicle to park along a longitudinal line and when the longitudinal line parking is instructed there is displayed a running prediction locus having a point of inflection in accordance with the steering wheel angle.

Parking assisting apparatus

A parking assist apparatus which enables even an inexperienced driver to park with no difficulty or anxiety assists the parking operation by taking an image rearwardly of a vehicle during the parking operation by a camera, indicating an estimated locus of the vehicle overlapping with the rearward images on a display, indicating a first estimated locus in accordance with a steering angle of the vehicle at an initial stage of the parking operation on the display, fixing the first estimated locus at a predetermined condition to have the locus as an target locus, indicating the second estimated locus varied in accordance with the change of the steering angle during the parking operation on the display, and guiding the second estimated locus to be in accord with a fixed target locus.

Assistant apparatus and method for a vehicle in reverse motion

A radar device in which a much more precise demodulation can be made with an inexpensive circuit, free of the output variation of the frequency-modulated transmission signal. The radar device includes an oscillator which produces and outputs a frequency-modulated electromagnetic wave to a switching circuit by way of a directional coupler. The switching circuit uses switching modulation to radiate the electromagnetic wave from a transmitting antenna. The radiated electromagnetic wave after being reflected from an obstacle is received at a reception antenna. A mixer mixes this reception signal and a local signal fed from the directional coupler to produce a mixing signal which is to be fed to a high pass filter. The high pass filter deletes a low frequency output variation noise which is contained in the mixing signal and which occurs in the frequency modulation in the oscillator. The resulting mixing signal is, with the noise deleted, fed by way of an AC amplifier, to a switching demodulating circuit.

Radar device and on-vehicle radar device

A vehicle speed control system comprising an automatic speed control system for controlling the vehicle velocity to a set velocity selected by an operator, and automatic transmission control system for controlling the speed stage of the automatic transmission of the vehicle in response to the deviation between the actual vehicle velocity and the set vehicle velocity of the automatic speed control means. The automatic transmission control system comprises two operating modes including a first mode when the automatic speed control system is controlling the vehicle velocity, and a second mode when the automatic speed control system is not controlling the vehicle velocity, and the automatic transmission control system prohibits the shift of the speed stage to a fixed speed stage when the automatic speed control system is controlling the vehicle velocity. The automatic speed control system does not detect a shift of the speed stage when the automatic speed control system is controlling the throttle valve during shifting of the speed stage. The automatic speed control system controls a throttle valve in response to an abnormal state of the transmission.

Vehicle speed control system for motor vehicle having an automatic

A vehicle speed control system comprising an automatic speed control system for controlling the vehicle velocity to a set velocity selected by an operator, and automatic transmission control system for controlling the speed stage of the automatic transmission of the vehicle in response to the deviation between the actual vehicle velocity and the set vehicle velocity of the automatic speed control system. The automatic transmission control system comprises two operating modes including a first mode when the automatic speed control system is controlling the vehicle velocity, and a second mode when the automatic speed control system is not controlling the vehicle velocity, and the automatic transmission control system prohibits the shift of the speed stage to a fixed speed stage when the automatic speed control system is controlling the vehicle velocity. The automatic speed control system does not detect a shift of the speed stage when the automatic speed control system is controlling the throttle valve during shifting of the speed stage. The automatic speed control system controls a throttle valve in response to an abnormal state of the transmission.

A constant-speed running controller for maintaining the running speed of a vehicle at a fixed level by regulating the degree of opening of the throttle valve of the vehicle. The constant-speed running controller comprises speed detectors for detecting the running speed of the vehicle, a shift position detecting switch for detecting the shift position of the shift lever, a mode selecting switch for switching the running mode of the vehicle between an automatic speed change control mode and an automatic speed change constant-speed running control mode, a throttle opening degree detector for detecting the degree of opening of the throttle valve, a brake switch for detecting the application of the brake system, a target running speed setting switch, a resume switch for restarting the previously established constant-speed running control mode, a constant-speed running mode selecting switch for selecting the constant-speed running control function, a microcomputer for processing data received from the foregoing switches and detectors and giving control signals to the functional devices for regulating the running speed of the vehicle. An effective target running speed for constant-speed running is determined on the basis of a temporary target running speed, an average running speed obtained by processing sample running speeds sampled in a predetermined time interval, and the difference between the temporary target running speed and the average running speed.

Constant-speed running controller

A vehicle speed control system for a motor vehicle having an automatic transmission control system includes first reference data for exclusive use with only automatic transmission control and second reference data for exclusive use with both automatic transmission control and vehicle speed control. The second reference data is for decreasing the chance of a gear ratio change by comparison with the first reference data.

A lockup clutch in a torque converter is connected by a lockup solenoid energized in response to a lockup signal generated by a lockup discrimination circuit. When a speed sensor detects a rate of deceleration higher than a predetermined level at the time the vehicle is abruptly braked, for example, a lockup control circuit overrides the lockup discrimination circuit to cut off the lockup signal for thereby de-energizing the lockup solenoid, whereupon the lockup clutch is disconnected.

Lockup clutch control system

In such an operation mode that the vehicle is accelerated upon turning-on of the switch and, when the vehicle has reached a given vehicle speed, the switch is turned off to memorize the vehicle speed at that time for effecting constant-speed control at the memorized vehicle speed, a throttle valve is returned to apply the engine brake after turning-off of the switch. If at least one of several given conditions is satisfied, adjustment of opening degree of the throttle valve is started so as to maintain the current vehicle speed at the goal vehicle speed. This makes smaller overshoot of the controlled vehicle speed caused by a response deley of the vehicle. The given condition may be related to differences between current speed and set speed, elapsed time, elapsed distance, or degree of acceleration.

Control device for vehicle speed

When the device is not in use, supply of power to a computer CPU for controlling the device is automatically interrupted, thus prolonging the service life of the CPU and eliminating useless power consumption. The need of manual operation of a power-on switch can be dispensed with. When at least one of a set switch and a resume switch is actuated, supply of power to the CPU is automatically turned ON using a flip-flop circuit. If the vehicle speed is memorized during an ON state, the CPU is still held in an ON state. But if the vehicle speed is cleared, the CPU controls the flip-flop to set OFF supply of power. In case the vehicle speed is less than a given value, the memorized vehicle speed is cleared irrespective of the state of the set switch and the resume switch.

An actuator for controlling the pressure in an internal space defined by a spring-biased diaphragm and a housing by solenoid valve. The internal space is selectively communicated with a negative pressure port or an atmospheric pressure port through a first solenoid valve. The pressure in the internal space is determined by the ratio of a time period in which it is communicated with the negative pressure port to a time period in which it is communicated with the atmospheric pressure port, and the position of the diaphragm is determined accordingly. Another solenoid valve for releasing negative pressure is included for safety. To the housing fixed are a microcomputer for receiving status signals from a vehicle speed sensor, clutch ON/OFF sensor, brake ON/OFF sensor, etc. to generate a solenoid valve opening and closing signal, and a printed board incorporating an electrical driver adapted to energize the solenoid valve in response to said signal. A fluid flowing passage communicating one of the atmospheric pressure port and the negative pressure port with the internal space port is formed between the bottom wall of a housing base and the printed board. Air flowing into and out of the internal space through the fluid flowing passage serves to bring away the heat from the printed board.

Actuator

An automobile speed control system has a comparator circuit for issuing a speed difference signal when there is a difference between an automobile speed signal indicative of an automobile speed and an automobile speed setting signal indicative of a desired speed setting, an actuator responsive to the speed difference signal for adjusting the opening of a throttle valve to change the speed of an automobile in order to eliminate the speed difference signal, a cancel switch for cancelling a constant-speed travel mode of the automobile, a resume switch for resuming the constant-speed travel mode which has been cancelled, a timer circuit energizable for a prescribed interval of time in response to operation of the resume switch while the automobile is running in the constant-speed travel mode, and an acceleration signal generator circuit for generating an acceleration signal in response to operation of the resume switch while the timer circuit is in operation, whereby the acceleration signal can be produced to increase the speed of the automobile when the resume switch is actuated.

Automobile speed control system

An automobile speed control system which is capable of running at a speed which is the same as the desired memorized speed and which will be maintained constant even during momentary voltage interruptions in the system, is comprised of a discharge device such as a diode which is arranged between one end of a grounded capacitor in an integrating circuit and a line which supplies a voltage higher than that of said one end of the capacitor when a voltage power source is normal. When the voltage of the voltage power source drops, the terminal voltage of the capacitor decreases slowly and the electric charge of the capacitor is discharged. When the voltage of the voltage power source rises again, the circuit operates in the same manner as the operation thereof when the power switch is closed and the memorized automobile speed is not changed from the prior memorized speed.

An automobile speed control system for use with an automobile includes a throttle valve, actuator means operatively connected to the throttle valve for actuating the throttle valve, a plurality of switch means, detector means for detecting a speed of the automobile, a plurality of automobile speed memories, and electronic control means for storing values dependent on output signals issued from the detector means into the automobile speed memories, respectively, in response to operation of the switch means, for reading the values, one at a time, from the automobile speed memories in response to operation of the switch means, and for energizing the actuator means according to the read values.

A speed range control system setting an automatic transmission at a proper speed range in accordance with throttle opening and vehicle traveling speed. The system detects a sudden fall in the level of a vehicle speed signal under the anomalous conditions such as disconnection of a vehicle speed signal line or slippage of wheels due to emergency braking, and then sets the automatic transmission at a safety speed range. After setting at the safety speed range, the speed range of the automatic transmission is set in accordance with the throttle opening and vehicle traveling speed after counting a predetermined number of vehicle speed signal pulses generated in conjunction with rotation of a drive shaft.

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Shoji Kawata