Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd.

Toshio Izumi

Hiroshi Miyata

Yoichi Kato

Fukuyoshi Kawakatsu

Ryozo Saito

A vehicle suspension includes a variable damping effectiveness type shock absorber, which has an actuator and according to selective actuation thereof can be set to first, second, or third conditions which respectively cause the shock absorber to provide minimum, medium, or maximum damping effect. A control system for this suspension includes: a means for detecting one or more parameters relating to the operational condition of the vehicle and for outputting information signals representative thereof; a means for being manually controlled by an operator and for selecting between first manual, second manual, and auto operational modes; and a control means for: when the manual selecting means is selecting the first manual mode, actuating the actuator to its first condition; when the manual selecting means is selecting the second manual mode, actuating the actuator to its second condition; and, when the manual selecting means is selecting the auto operational mode, actuating the actuator to one of a set of its conditions including its first condition and its third condition according to the information signals outputted by the detecting means. The vehicle operational parameters may include steering angle and vehicle speed which can cause body roll, jerk and sharp acceleration which can cause vehicle squat, braking which can cause vehicle nose diving, and vehicle shift-offable state which can cause starting squat and tail lift; and this selective increase of shock absorber damping effect when these parameters take on troublesome values prevents these problems.

Control system for three way variable shock absorber device for

A resilient bushing having an inner sleeve, an outer sleeve disposed around the inner sleeve in co-axial and radially-spaced relation thereto, and a cylindrical resilient member interposed between the inner and outer sleeves. The bushing comprises an intermediate sleeve substantially embedded in the cylindrical resilient member in co-axial relation thereto. The intermediate sleeve has a radially outward flange at one or both of its axial ends.

Resilient bushing

A shock and vibration absorbing mounting includes a first retainer member and a second retainer member. These retainer members are mutually coupled together and are spaced apart from one another, and have respective first and second surfaces which oppose one another. A third retainer member is located between the first and second retainer members, and has a third surface which opposes the first surface of the first retainer member and a fourth surface which opposes the second surface of the second retainer member. A first resilient member is provided between the first surface of the first retainer member and the third surface of the third retainer member, and a substantial amount of play is left between the first and the third surfaces of the first and third retainer members. And a second resilient member is provided between the second surface of the second retainer member and the fourth surface of the third retainer member, substantially continuous therebetween with substantially no play being left between the second and the fourth surfaces of the second and third retainer members. Thereby, when two members are to be coupled together, one is fixed to the combination of the first and second retainers, and the other is fixed to the third retainer; and a coupling performance with asymmetrical cushioning effect is provided between them, by the first resilient member being mounted with play while the second resilient member has substantially no play. A suspension for a vehicle is also disclosed utilizing this mounting.

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Toyota, Japan

Toshio Izumi