Mazda Motor Corporation

Asmo Co., Ltd.

Takeshi Konishi

Takeshi Yamamoto

Takanori Tuchiya

Hisao Fukutomi

Iseo Hamasaki

Morio Umeda

Shinshi Kajimoto

Tatsuo Maeda

Yutaka Imura

Koji Kuraoka

Susumu Okazaki

Isao Hirashima

Shigefumi Kohno

Hisao Muramoto

Takahiko Tanaka

Naogi Hisanaga

Nobutaka Tanaka

Yoshinobu Nomura

Hideyuki Katoh

Shosuke Nomura

Fumiyuki Otani

A seat belt device for fastening a passenger seated on a seat comprises a shoulder belt carried by a seat back. A support strap is fixed at one end to the seat back and extends rearwardly. An anchor member is mounted on a body member of the vehicle rearward of the seat back for carrying the support strap. A retractor is mounted on a body member for winding up and retracting the support strap. A lock mechanism is provided in the retractor for preventing the support means from being drawn out from the retractor when a horizontal acceleration acting on the retractor is greater than a predetermined value. The seat belt device is reliable in case of an emergency and provides improved visuality.

Front seat shoulder belt and seat back supporting structure

A cowl box is provided in a vehicle body between a rear edge of an engine hood and a windshield. The front hood is mounted on the vehicle body to be swung open and closed about a hinge mounted on the vehicle body on the rear side of the rear edge of the front hood. The cowl cover is opened and closed by a driving mechanism comprising a four-bar link mechanism including first and second links each of which is pivoted at one end thereof on a member mounted on the front hood and at the other end on the lower surface of the cowl cover and which extend substantially in parallel spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, a driving motor and a connecting mechanism for transmitting the output power of the driving motor to the four-bar link mechanism.

Movable cowl cover

A windshield wiper system for a vehicle has a wiper arm and a wiper blade connected to one end of the wiper arm. The wiper arm is mounted on a wiper pivot mounted on the vehicle body near an edge of the windshield of the vehicle and adapted to be pivoted back and forth about the wiper pivot between a first position and a second position to swing the wiper blade between a first reverse position and a second reverse position on the windshield when wiping the windshield. The wiper arm is arranged to be further pivoted to swing the wiper blade beyond the first reverse position to a concealed position below the windshield and to be held there. The wiper arm has a first arm portion connected to the wiper pivot at one end, a second arm portion connected to the wiper blade at one end and to the other end of the first arm portion at the other end by way of a joint which permits change in the angle between the first and second arm portions, and a spring which urges the first and second arm portions into a predetermined angular relationship. A stopper member is provided on the vehicle body to abut against the second arm portion to prevent the second arm portion from following the first arm portion when the wiper arm is pivoted beyond the position corresponding to the concealed position of the wiper blade, thereby changing the angle between the first and second arm portions overcoming the force of the spring.

Windshield wiper system

A convertible vehicle body including a roof structure which is comprised of a front roof panel section and a rear roof panel section both of a rigid structure. The front roof panel section is supported by a swingable pillar of an inverted U-shape which has a pair of legs pivotably connected to the side panels of the body for movement between an extended position and a retracted position. In the retracted position, the front roof panel section is retracted into a storing space located just behind the rear seat provided in the passenger compartment. The rear roof panel section is mounted so that it can be drawn into a rear storing space provided in the rear package space of the body by being guided by a guide mechanism including guide rails provided in the rear storing section and sliding shoes provided on the rear roof panel section.

Convertible vehicle body structure

The vehicle door construction contains an inner door panel and an outer door panel with a skeleton juxtaposed by the inner and outer door panels and mounted with interior door parts. The vehicle door construction is assembled with the vehicle body by mounting the interior door parts on the skeleton and then mounting the inner door panel on the skeleton. This vehicle door construction permits a less laborious assembly of the side door and enhances serviceability.

Method of assembling a vehicle door

A convertible vehicle body has front rear retractable roof panels which fit behind a rear seat back and a power system for retracting the roof panels, the power system also providing a mechanism for forwardly inclining the rear seat when the roof panels are to be retracted. The vehicle body may also include a power-operated rear quarter window and the power system for retracting the same in sequence with the roof panels.

Convertible vehicle body structure having a rear seat

A convertible vehicle body structure having a rigid front roof panel covering the front top portion of the passenger compartment and a rear roof panel covering the rear portion of the passenger compartment. The front roof panel is supported by an inverted U-shaped swingable pillar and the rear roof panel is mounted on the rear body structure through mounting arms. The front and rear roof panels are retracted in the rear body section in a fore-and-aft jaxtaposed relationship.

Roof structure for a convertible vehicle body

A rear windowpane wiper stowage system for an automobile comprises a rear windowpane, a rear spoiler secured to an automobile rear body structure in the vicinity of the rear windowpane, a rear wiper assembly having a wiper blade supported for movement back and forth across the windowpane and normally retained at a home position when the rear wiper assembly is not in use, a lid member hingedly mounted on the rear spoiler for movement between opened and closed positions for opening and closing the hatch, respectively, and a drive mechanism for driving the lid member from the closed position towards the opened position and also from the opened position towards the closed position when the rear wiper assembly is used and not used, respectively. The rear spoiler has a hollow defined in at least a portion thereof and also has a hatch defined therein in communication with the hollow in the vicinity of the rear windowpane. The wiper blade held at the home position when the wiper assembly is not in use is completely accommodated within the hollow in the rear spoiler, but is exposed to the outside through the hatch for sweeping the rear windowpane back and forth across the rear windowpane when the wiper assembly is in use.

Rear windowpane wiper stowage

A convertible vehicle body including a swingable pillar structure for supporting a front roof panel movably between an extended position and a retracted position. A rear side panel or a rear fender panel assembly has a rear side glass panel and a side door has a transparent glass panel. The rear side glass panel has a front edge which is located outside the pillar structure and in an abutting relationship with a rear edge of the transparent glass panel in the side door. Thus, the pillar structure is covered by the transparent glass panels to provide a good appearance.

An open-top vehicle including a foldable hood supported by a U-shaped pillar and a linkage for extending and folding the hood and pillar. At each side, a reversible motor is provided for actuating the linkage. There is provided a motor control circuit which prohibits motor operation when the vehicle speed is above a predetermined value.

Open-top vehicle having a power operated roof structure

An open-top vehicle body structure including a foldable hood and a linkage for extending and folding the hood. At each side, a reversible motor is provided for actuating the linkage. In order to synchronize the operation of the motors at the respective sides, a connecting rod or flexible shaft is provided and connects together the output shafts of the motor. The linkage includes a swingable pillar of an inverted U-shape having opposite leg portions mounted on the body section for swinging movement about a transverse extending horizontal axis. The hood is connected at a front edge portion to the swingable pillar and at a rear edge portion to a part of the body located rearwardly of the swingable pillar. A rigid roof panel is removably mounted between a swingable pillar and a front windshield. The rotation of the motors produces a swingable movement of the pillar. The linkage includes a first link having one end pivotably connected with the leg portion of the swingable pillar and a second link having one end pivotably connected with the other end of the first link. The other end of the second link is connected with an upward shaft of the motor.

Upper body structure of an open-top vehicle

A door assembly for an automobile having a door body, which comprises a window sash including a pair of upright guide rail assemblies, extending upwardly from the door body in spaced relation to each other, and a top guide rail assembly extending between the upright guide rail assemblies, and a window pane adapted to be raised from and lowered into the door body and having at least a pair of upright edges and a top edge. The edges of the window pane are positioned generally inwardly of the window sash with respect to the interior of the automobile. At least one first guide shoe having a guide groove defined therein is secured to the window pane with the guide groove of the first guide shoe slidingly receiving one of the upright guide rail assemblies. At least two second guide shoes each having a guide groove defined therein, are also secured to the window pane in spaced relation to each other with the respective guide grooves of the second guide shoes slidingly receiving the other of the upright guide rail assemblies.

Automobile door assembly

A door assembly for an automobile having a door body, which comprises a window pane adapted to be raised from and lowered into the door body, a window sash mounted on the top of the door body and positioned generally inwardly of the window pane with respect to the interior of the automobile, which window sash includes an inner peripheral flange of generally U-shaped cross section opening in a direction towards and outwardly of a peripheral edge of the window pane, and also an outer peripheral flange carrying a sealing member for sealing a gap between the window pane and the window sash, and guide blocks secured to the window pane, each of which guide blocks has a finger portion slidingly protruding into the U-sectioned space in the inner peripheral flange for the guidance of the window pane during the raising and lowering thereof from and into the door body.

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Takeshi Konishi