Mazda Motor Corporation

Asmo Co., Ltd.

Mazda Co., Ltd.

Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Tatsuo Maeda

Takeshi Konishi

Kozo Odoi

Seiichi Omoto

Kazukiyo Okada

Takeji Ohya

Akira Tsunoda

Takahiko Tanaka

Masaya Horikawa

Hiroyuki Chado

Mitsusou Nakano

Sigeki Okabe

Nobuyuki Yamamoto

A drive device for opening and closing a vehicle top includes a pair of control devices each fixed in the side of the vehicle body, a falling pillar swingably supporting the vehicle top on the vehicle body and a pair of extendable link mechanisms that include link rods which are inclinable and which couple a swinging arm of the respective control device with the falling pillar. Each of the control devices includes a housing in which is rotatably positioned at least a portion of an output shaft for rotating the swinging arm, a driving device attached to the housing and generating a rotary driving force, a first reduction gear stage formed as a worm drive which is coupled with the driving device and which is housed in the housing, and a second reduction gear stage formed as a spur gear drive which is coupled with the worm drive for driving the output shaft and which is housed in the housing. A clutch disk is positioned on a gear shaft of a transmission gear in an axially movable manner and the clutch disk is substantially rotationally fixedly positioned on the gear shaft. The transmission gear forms a part of the spur gear drive. The clutch disk includes a connecting arrangement located in a side thereof for generating a claw clutch engagement with a connecting arrangement formed in a side of the transmission gear. A transferring device transfers movement of the transferring device to the clutch disk along the gear shaft in order to engage and disengage the claw clutch engagement.

Drive equipment for opening and closing of a vehicle top

An electric driving device for openable members in which an openable member is opened and closed by rotation of driving shafts provided on right and left sides. The device includes a motor which rotates the driving shafts via a reduction mechanism, and switching relays which switch the rotational direction of the motor. Open and close command switches command the opening and closing of the openable member and a rotation synchronization sensor associated with the motor generates pulses synchronized with the rotation of the motor. A mechanical stopper limits the rotation of the driving shaft which is rotated via the reduction mechanism of the motor and a motor lock detecting means detects locking of the motor by detecting the pulse width generated by the rotation synchronization sensor. Also, an actuation stopping arrangement stops the actuation of an actuation device which supplies current to the motor if a signal is generated by the detection apparatus that detects locking of the motor.

Electric-driving device for openable members

A vehicle rear body structure including a rear side panel assembly comprising a rear inner panel made of a steel sheet and a rear fender made of a plastic material. The rear inner panel is formed at a lower portion with a tire house section. A tire house reinforcement of a closed cross section is formed along the tire house section and contiguous with a belt line reinforcement of a closed cross section formed along an upper edge portion of the rear inner panel. The tire house reinforcement and the belt line reinforcement are also contiguous with a center pillar structure of a closed cross section.

Vehicle rear body structure

A vehicle door structure comprises an inner panel on which functional parts are to be mounted, and an outer panel having a central opening. The inner panel and the outer panel are lap-bonded together at the front edge, the bottom edge and the rear edge. The portion of the outer panel surrounding the central opening is bonded to the inner panel. Front and rear edge portions of the door body are formed of closed cross-section portions. The outer side of the outer panel is covered with an outer plate of synthetic resin.

Vehicle door structure

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.

Flush-surfaced automobile door assembly

Automobile door lock assembly of push-button type including a rotatable element axially movable with a push-button and an annular element co-axial with the rotatable element. The rotatable element is formed with an axially extending slot having a shoulder defined by a wide and narrow portions of the slot. The annular element has a lug adapted to be placed in the slot of the rotatable element so that, when the lug is placed in the position engageable with the shoulder, the axial movement of the rotatable element is prohibited but, when the rotatable element is rotated to place the lug out of the path of the shoulder, the axial movement of the rotatable element is allowed to release the latch in the lock assembly. The annular element has manually actuatable lever so that it can be actuated into locking position without using a key.

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Tatsuo Maeda