Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Kayaba Industry Company, Ltd.

Takehiko Nanri

Kazuya Takenouchi

Yutaka Nishikawa

Kazuhiko Tani

Takeshi Wakabayashi

Yoshihiro Yoshida

Yoshihisa Kanno

Osamu Bunya

Kanji Hayashi

Nobuyuki Yakigaya

Kiyotaka Sakai

Shinichi Yamada

Yoshiaki Tsukada

Takashi Ozeki

Sumitaka Ogawa

Atsuo Ota

Shinji Takayanagi

Kazuhiro Yasuda

Morio Sato

Kunihiko Fukui

Masaie Kato

Hideo Takahashi

Yoshihiro Kimura

Makoto Toda

Yoshinobu Itani

Kenji Sakakibara

Yoko Uno

Hiroshi Ishihara

A braking device for the motorcycle is configured to permit actuation control in an interlocking manner of a rear-wheel brake caliper and a front-wheel brake caliper based on an operation of a brake pedal. The braking device includes a hydraulic pressure detector for detecting rear-wheel brake hydraulic pressure caused by the operation of the brake pedal; a determining portion that determines whether or not a detected value by the hydraulic pressure detector is a predetermined value or more; and a hydraulic pressure controller that, when it is determined by the determining portion that the detected value is the predetermined value or more, changes a rising rate of the rear-wheel brake hydraulic pressure to a value lower than a rising rate during a period until the time when the rear-wheel brake hydraulic pressure reaches the predetermined value to control the rear-wheel brake hydraulic pressure, and also controls front-wheel brake hydraulic pressure.

Braking device for motorcycle

To prevent deterioration of sports driving performance due to the actuation of an ABS in a front-wheel and rear-wheel interlocking brake system of a brake-by-wire system. A brake interlock determining portion starts a front-wheel brake when input hydraulic pressure by a brake operation (pedal operation) on a rear-wheel becomes equal to or greater than an interlocking brake starting pressure value. A threshold selecting switch allows switching of the interlocking brake starting pressure value between when the ABS is active and when the ABS is inactive. When the ABS is active, a lower pressure value is selected as the interlocking brake starting pressure value. When the ABS is inactive, an upper pressure value is selected as the interlocking brake starting pressure value.

Brake control device for motorcycle

A brake devicefor a motorcycle is capable of electrically performing driving so as to control a front wheel brake caliperand a rear wheel brake caliperin response to each operation of a brake leverand a brake pedaland is configured so that the rear wheel brake caliperand the front wheel brake calipercan be combined based on the operation of the brake pedal. The brake deviceperforms correction of a target hydraulic pressure acting on the front wheel brake caliperusing a prescribed preset function in such a manner as to give a braking force smaller than a braking force corresponding to an additional operation of the brake leverwhen the brake leveris additionally operated in the state where the brake pedalis operated and the front wheel brake caliperis generating braking force in combination with the rear wheel brake caliper

Brake device for a motorcycle

A braking system includes first pressure sensorswhich are provided to braking pipeswhich constitute first input-side pressure sensors for detecting a liquid pressure on a front-wheel-master-cylinder-side and a rear-wheel-master-cylinder-side, and second pressure sensorswhich are provided at positions closer to a stroke-simulator-side than second solenoid-operated valvesof braking pipeswhich constitute second input-side pressure sensors for detecting a liquid pressure on the stroke-simulator-side.

Braking system

A brake apparatus includes first, second and third solenoid valves (hereinafter SOL, SOLand SOL) respectively disposed in a first branch pipe, a second branch pipe, and a main pipe connecting a master cylinder and a brake caliper. The brake apparatus also includes first, second and third pressure sensors (hereinafter P, Pand P) respectively disposed between the master cylinder and the SOL, between the SOLand a fluid loss simulator, and between the SOLand the hydraulic pressure modulator. The brake apparatus further includes a control unit for detecting output values of P, Pand P. A resolution of Pis set at a value greater than resolutions of Pand P. With SOLin an opened state, when detected output value of Pis less than a predetermined value, the control unit stores output values from the respective pressure sensors as reference values.

Brake apparatus for vehicle, and methods of using same

A braking system includes first and second electromagnetic opening valves and a bleeding mode setting unit. The first electromagnetic opening and closing valve is provided to a first brake fluid channel to communicate or block a first fluid pressure from a master cylinder to a wheel brake. The second electromagnetic opening and closing valve is provided to a second brake fluid channel to communicate or block a second fluid pressure from a power unit to the wheel brake. The bleeding mode setting unit is provided to set a bleeding mode in which each of the first and second electromagnetic opening and closing valves is opened and closed in order to perform an air-bleeding from each of the first and second brake fluid channels. The determining unit is provided to determine whether or not the bleeding mode setting unit is allowed to set the bleeding mode.

A brake system includes a front and a rear wheel brake circuit which are independent of each other. Each circuit includes: a master cylinder connected to a brake caliper through the main brake line; a hydraulic pressure modulator which causes an electrically-operated motor to generate hydraulic pressure; and a normally-open electromagnetic on-off valve. When the two brake circuits are moved in response to operation of a braking operation unit in one circuit, in the brake circuit for which a braking operation unit was operated earlier, the electromagnetic on-off valve opens so that the brake caliper is operated by use of hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder. In the other brake circuit, the electromagnetic on-off valve is closed so that the brake caliper is operated by use of hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic pressure modulator. The braking system uses simple wheel braking mechanism and piping, and concurrently reduces electric current consumption.

Brake system for a motorcycle, and method of using same

A steering damper includes a steering damper body installed in a steering system of a vehicle, and having a fluid path therein, and a pressure control valve for controlling a damping force in the steering system, and provided in the fluid path, wherein the pressure control valve controls the damping force so that an increasing rate of the damping force with respect to a steering angular velocity when the steering angular velocity is large is lower than that when the steering angular velocity is small.

Steering damper

A hydrostatic continuously variable transmission includes a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor, supported by a common support shaft, and hydraulically connectable to each other through a hydraulic circuit including an inside passage and an outside passage. A clutch device includes a valve spool, which is slidably disposed in a hollow internal bore formed in the transmission support shaft. The valve spool is operable to make or interrupt fluid communication between the inside passage and the outside passage, according to the movement thereof. A governor mechanism is mounted to a pump casing of the hydraulic pump, and the governor mechanism generates a governor force corresponding to the rotating speed of a clutch cap, by use of centrifugal force generated by the rotation thereof. The valve spool is effectively moved in the hollow internal bore, using the governor force generated from the governor mechanism, to engage or disengage the clutch.

Clutch apparatus for a hydrostatic continuously variable transmission and transmission incorporating same

To make steerability more satisfactory in conformity with actual operation, by correcting the regulation of a damping force based on a variable quantity which has a close relationship with the magnitude of kick-back and with which the steering conditions at the time of actual operation can be grasped appropriately, in contrast to the system in which the regulation of the damping force is controlled linearly in proportion to a variable quantity related to the magnitude of kick-back. In a steering damper system of the liquid pressure type in which a damping force is exerted on a front wheel steering system provided at a front portion of a vehicle body and which comprises a control valve for making the damping force variable, the damping force is controlled based on the steering speed.

Steering damper system

A steering damper in a motorcycle includes a vane partitioning a chamber in a damper housing into two oil chambers, wherein hydraulic fluid flows between the two chambers to generate attenuating force. The steering damper also includes a damper shaft connected to the vane and supporting the vane for rocking motion with respect to the housing, and a hydraulic pressure control valve. The housing is attached to a head pipe, and the damper shaft is attached to a steering system. When the head pipe is to be attached to the housing, the housing is extended rearwardly behind a top bridge, and a linear solenoid for driving and controlling the hydraulic pressure control valve is attached to the housing and disposed below the extension thereof.

Vehicle steering damper, steering damper kit for motorcycle, and motorcycle incorporating same

A downshift control method for an automatic transmission, which transmission is normally downshifted, to increase a gear ratio, when a vehicle throttle is opened more than a preset value. The method includes a step of selecting a slip-determining threshold on the basis of an instantaneous steering angle of a vehicle. The method also includes steps of detecting a perceived rear wheel speed V, and averaging a number of rear wheel speeds Vto derive an average vehicle speed V. The normal downshift procedure is overridden, and the automatic transmission is prevented from downshifting, if a difference between the perceived rear wheel speed and the average vehicle speed exceeds the slip-determining threshold T, and the rear wheels are determined to be slipping.

Method of controlling an automatic transmission

A liquid pressure type steering damper system for generating a damping force for preventing a handle from being swung due to a kick-back upon a disturbance wherein the generation of the damping force is nonlinear so that the steering angle would not be enlarged so much even if the kick-back becomes greater. A liquid pressure type steering damper is provided with a restriction passage for a working liquid and a solenoid-type control valve for varying the passage sectional area of the restriction passage. A needle portion is formed at the tip end of a plunger constituting the solenoid valve and is made to advance and retract in a restriction portion connected to a bypass passage. An annular gap passage is formed between the needle portion and the inside wall of the restriction portion so that, when the needle portion advances or retracts in proportion to the steering speed of a front wheel steering system, the clearance area of the gap passage is varied in the manner of a quadric curve in relation to the stroke amount of the needle portion, whereby the generation of the damping force is rapidly increased in the manner of a quadric curve. In addition, an upper limit of the damping force is restricted by an electromagnetic force of the solenoid valve.

A static hydraulic continuously variable transmission includes a fixed capacity swash type hydraulic pump and a variable capacity swash type hydraulic motor, connected by a hydraulic closed circuit. A control system and method controls hydraulic pressure in the variable transmission, and thereby reduces the likelihood of noise in the variable transmission under certain driving conditions. The hydraulic pressure is controlled by changing the inclination angle of a movable swash plate. The driving conditions which prompt the control system may include: (1) A signal voltage of a throttle sensor indicates the throttle opening is lower than a first threshold value; (2) A vehicle speed is over a second threshold value; (3) An acceleration is over a third threshold value; (4) An engine speed is below a fourth threshold value; and (5) Conditions (1) through (4) last for a predetermined period of time.

Method of controlling continuously variable transmission

A hydrostatic continuously variable transmission includes a fixed capacity hydraulic pump and a variable capacity hydraulic motor, connected by a hydraulic closed circuit. A control system and method for the variable transmission provides a good deceleration feeling when going downhill. In accordance with the control system and method, a range of a selected gear is determined. Next, it is determined whether the vehicle is in an automatic gear shift mode. If these conditions are met, it is then determined whether or not certain criteria for descent control are satisfied. The certain criteria may include: (1) whether the throttle is closed; (2) a speed or acceleration of the vehicle; (3) whether the acceleration exceeds a threshold; and (4) whether simultaneous satisfaction of conditions (1)-(3) exist for a period of time exceeding a fixed time. If all of the criteria are satisfied, the gear ratio is shifted by a specified amount towards a LOW side. Therefore, when driving downhill, the vehicle is not subject to acceleration greater than a predetermined value.

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Saitama, Japan

Takehiko Nanri