Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Da Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshiya Nagatsuyu

Hiroshi Goto

Yoshiaki Tsukada

Kazuhiko Nakamura

Mutsumi Katayama

Sumitaka Ogawa

Atsuo Ota

Takumi Makabe

Toshifumi Osawa

Akihiro Yamashita

Yasumasa Matsui

Yu Oishi

Yuki Kobayashi

Akihiko Yamashita

Takashi Tsuchiya

Hideaki Tajiri

Kanichiro Ogiya

Shuichi Fukaya

Kunihito Kamon

Takefumi Tatewaki

Katsuhiro Utsugi

Kazumasa Ogino

An exhaust device for a saddle-type vehicle having a pipe section with respect to a vehicle body and housing a catalyzer therein, and a muffler connected to a rear end of the pipe section includes an upstream oxygen sensor disposed on the pipe section and positioned upstream of the catalyzer and a downstream oxygen sensor disposed on the pipe section and positioned downstream of the catalyzer. The pipe section includes a larger-diameter portion having an increased diameter for housing the catalyzer therein. The downstream oxygen sensor is disposed in the larger-diameter portion. The upstream oxygen sensor and the downstream oxygen sensor are positioned upwardly of a central line of the larger-diameter portion with respect to the vehicle body as viewed in side elevation of the vehicle body.

Exhaust device of motorcycle

An exhaust device for a saddle-type vehicle having a pipe section with respect to a vehicle body and housing a catalyzer therein, and a muffler connected to a rear end of the pipe section includes an upstream oxygen sensor positioned upstream of the catalyzer and a downstream oxygen sensor positioned downstream of the catalyzer. The downstream oxygen sensor is disposed in either a position overlapping a main stand for supporting a motorcycle as viewed from below the vehicle body when the main stand is stored, or a position overlapping a stand receiver for abutting against the main stand as viewed from below the vehicle body when the main stand is stored. The pipe section includes a larger-diameter portion having an increased diameter for housing the catalyzer therein.

A 720-degree motor stage storage means for holding the result of stroke discrimination for the engine E also in the period for carrying out an idle stop control is provided. At the time of restarting the engine E from an idle stop state, a new stroke discriminating processing is not conducted, but the result of stroke discrimination stored in the 720-degree motor stage storage means is used, to thereby drive a fuel injection system and an ignition device. A stage decision unit for allocating a period of two revolutions of a crankshaft to 720-degree motor stages based on the result of stroke discrimination, a fuel injection and ignition stage correlation table having predetermined correlations of 720-degree motor stages with fuel injection stages and ignition stages, and restarting time motor stage conversion means for conversion of a 720-degree motor stage into a fuel injection stage and an ignition stage, are provided.

Engine start control system and method

An engine start control system is provided that includes a controller configured to perform an idle stop control to stop an engine based on an establishment of a condition. The system further includes a motor configured to reverse-rotationally drive a crankshaft to a predetermined position for normal-rotational or reverse-rotational driving, after engine stop. The controller includes a reverse-rotational drive controller configured to reverse-rotationally drive the motor at a rewinding control duty ratio immediately after the engine is stopped. The controller further includes a reverse-rotation stop condition processor configured to detect whether the crankshaft is rewound to the predetermined position by the reverse-rotational drive controller. Further, the controller includes a motor brake controller configured to apply a brake to the crankshaft by reverse-rotationally driving the motor when it is detected that the crankshaft is rewound to the predetermined position. The motor brake controller is configured to apply the brake stepwise.

A wearable air bag device formed by defining air inflating chambers in a jacket of a rider of a vehicle. An ECU, a battery, a rider separation detecting part, a main switch and a warning device are incorporated into the jacket. A wire is connected to a vehicle via a connecting terminal. When a rider who wears the jacket is separated from the vehicle, the wire which is connected to the vehicle is extended and a reel is rotated. Upon detecting a rotational angular speed of the reel, the ECU determines that the rider is separated when the rotational angular speed is large. Upon detection of the separation of the rider, ECU develops an air bag by operating an inflator.

Wearable air bag device

An air bag, a control device and a rider or operator removal detecting part are disposed in an operator's jacket. An air bag device body includes air inflating chambers, an ECU, a battery, a radio receiver, a main switch and a warning device incorporated into the jacket. In response to a synchronizing signal transmitted from a vehicle-body-side radio transmitter, a vehicle-body-side electric wave signal generating part and a rider-side reference waveform signal generating part, respectively, generate an electric wave signal and a comparison signal in a synchronized state with a signal comparing part determining a phase difference between both signals. When a delay quantity or a change of the delay quantity of the electric wave signal from the electric wave signal generating part is increased, the ECU detects a removal of a rider for informing an air bag drive part.

Air bag device

A rider separation detecting device for precisely and quickly detecting the separation of a rider from a rider's seat. The rider separation detecting device includes a cable connected at one end thereof to one of a garment worn by the rider and a vehicle body, and winding mechanism having a drum connected to the other end of the cable and rotationally biased in a direction of winding of the cable. The winding mechanism is provided on the other of the garment and the vehicle body. Also included are a rotational angle detecting mechanism for detecting a rotational angle of the winding mechanism, and separation determining mechanism for determining the separation of the rider from the rider's seat according to a detection value from the rotational angle detecting mechanism. The device ensures proper detection and a good external appearance without hindering a normal action of the rider on the rider's seat.

Rider separation detecting device

To prevent an air bag from being operated by mere inclination when the vehicle body does not fall down, that is, at the time of handling during a banking operation or the like. An air bag and a removal detecting part for detecting a rider removal from a vehicle body are incorporated in a rider jacket. An inclination sensor for detecting an inclination of the vehicle body of a motorcycle is provided. An angle acceleration calculating part for calculating the inclination angle acceleration of the vehicle body calculates the inclination angle acceleration based on a plurality of detected inclination angles. When the state of the vehicle body falls within the air bag operable range, an air bag deploying instruction is outputted. The air bag deploying instruction is supplied to the air bag when the rider removal from the vehicle body is not detected by the removal detecting part.

An airbag apparatus for a motorcycle includes an airbag module with an airbag that is capable of being inflated and deployed so as to restrain the rider on a seat disposed behind the fuel tank from the front that is mounted on the vehicle body frame. Without requiring a modification of the configuration of the appearance constituting parts of the motorcycle, water, mud, or the like is prevented from breaking into the airbag module. The front portion of the seat that covers the airbag module to be mounted on the vehicle body frame at a position rearwardly of the fuel tank from above and extends to the position on the rear portion of the fuel tank is constructed so as to be opened with the rear side raised upwardly in response to inflation and deployment of the airbag.

Airbag apparatus for motorcycles

To provide a clutch connection control system capable of shortening a time required for clutch connection, preventing the degradation of riding comfort upon clutch connection, and ensuring good operability. A separation distance, that is, a shift amount of a clutch driven side from a clutch drive side is controlled by a clutch release mechanism driven by a drive motor. A drive side turning speed detecting portion detects a turning speed Nin of the drive side. A driven side turning speed detecting portion detects a turning speed Nout of the driven side. A turning speed difference detecting portion detects a difference Nd between the detected drive side turning speed Nin and driven side turning speed Nout. A rate-of-change detecting portion detects a time-dependent rate of change &Dgr;Nd of the detected turning speed difference Nd. A control portion performs clutch connection at a second speed until an absolute value A (Nd) of the turning speed difference becomes a specific value or less and performs clutch connection at a third speed higher than the second speed after the absolute value A (Nd) of the turning speed difference becomes the specific value or less.

Clutch connection control system

To provide a method and an apparatus for controlling a gear-shift of a motor-driven gear shifter in which the gear-shift is electrically performed by a motor. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for detecting a rotational position of a shift drum, when the shift operation is not normally ended, and thereby a shift drum is in the half-neutral state, which automatically executes the shift operation. In the method for controlling the gear-shift of the motor-driven gear shifter, the motor is driven in a desired shift direction, to intermittently turn a shift drum, thereby shifting one gear stage to another gear stage. The rotational position of the shift drum is monitored, and when the shift drum stays at a rotational position other than a rotational position corresponding to a desired gear stage, the motor is re-driven in the shift direction.

Method and apparatus for controlling gear-shift of motor-driven gear shifter

To provide a clutch connection control system capable of shortening the time required for clutch connection, preventing the degradation of riding comfort upon clutch connection, and ensuring good operability. A separation distance, that is, a shift amount of a clutch driven side from a clutch drive side is controlled by a clutch release mechanism driven by a drive motor. A drive side turning speed detecting portion detects a turning speed Nin of the drive side. A driven side turning speed detecting portion detects a turning speed Nout of the driven side. A turning speed difference detecting portion detects a difference Nd between the detected drive side turning speed Nin and driven side turning speed Nout. A rate-of-change detecting portion detects a time-dependent rate of change &Dgr;Nd of the detected turning speed difference Nd. A control portion performs clutch connection at a first speed until the time-dependent rate of change &Dgr;Nd becomes a specific value or less and performs clutch connection at a second speed lower than the first speed after the time-dependent rate of change &Dgr;Nd becomes the specific value or less.

To provide a continuously variable transmission for motor vehicles which transmits power with a speed change from a driving member to a driven member. In the continuously variable transmission, power transmission is effected by moving a carrier which supports a shifting rotating member in frictional contact with the driving member and the driven member. No other special mechanism other than the continuously variable transmission is needed to push to move the motor vehicle with a small force. At least either one of the driving member and the driven member is driven by a power disconnecting means to move away from the other member along the axis of a transmission shaft, thereby releasing at least one of the driving member and the driven member from frictional contact with the first and second friction transfer surfaces.

Continuously variable transmission for motor vehicles

To enable calling and turning off of failure codes stored in a control unit without using a dedicated switch or the like. An electronic control unit controls an actuator of a braking device, stores failure codes representing problems in the braking device, and has its power terminal connected to a battery via a fuse. A main switch is turned on to connect the power terminal to the battery. Thereafter, the fuse is made inoperative or detached, and is re-installed after a lapse of a predetermined time interval. A failure code stored in the electronic control unit is called, and is displayed by an indicator. Then, the fuse is again made inoperative or detached, and re-installed in the predetermined time interval. The failure code will be automatically turned off. Alternatively, a connector may be used to substitute for or in combination with the fuse.

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Saitama, Japan

Toshiya Nagatsuyu