Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Denki K.k.

Yoshihiko Utsui

Hiroshi Satoh

Hideo Ikeda

Chiyo Hamamura

Hiroshi Sato

Mitsuo Shimotani

Shunichi Wada

Noriyuki Inoue

Masahiko Hasegawa

Akio Uekawa

Kiyoshi Hayashi

Masahiro Tado

Katsuhiko Honda

Takashi Taniguchi

Koji Hashimoto

Minoru Yoshida

Minoru Nishida

Tomoya Ikeuchi

Tatsuya Mitsugi

Hiromasa Ozawa

Tadatomi Ishigami

Atsushi Kohno

Akira Sugimoto

Hidehiko Sugimoto

Hiroaki Ideno

Kuniyo Ieda

Toshiki Kusama

Toyofumi Tani

Kousuke Haraga

Kuraki Kitazaki

Kazuma Kaneko

Tadamasa Fukae

Hiroshi Satou

Norihiro Tamiya

Hirosh Sato

Susumu Ootera

Kiyotugu Tuneyoshi

Keitarou Tsukui

An audio system includes a key input section and a microcomputer, and enables playback volume level control that will meet the demand of a user. The key input section inputs a selection instruction for selecting one of a plurality of sound sources in response to a manipulation. The microcomputer, in cooperation with a level adjusting ratio setting library, a level adjusting pattern generator and a volume adjuster, selects the sound source designated by the selection instruction, calculates the level difference &#x394;P between the playback volume level of the sound data of the current piece of music and that of the next piece of music of the selected sound source, and adjusts the playback volume level of the next sound data in accordance with an adjusting ratio corresponding to the level difference.

Audio system

An address retrieval system includes: an address database having a tree structure in which regional names, which constitute an address, and which indicate the areas of each scale ranging from the large area down to the small area, are associated with nodes, wherein a child node has a regional name indicating an area that is larger than the area indicated by the regional name owned by its parent node; an input portion that inputs the regional names; a central processor that searches the address database for the child node having the regional name inputted by the input portion as its parent node; and an output portion that outputs the regional name corresponding to the child node retrieved by the central processor.

Address database and address retrieval system using the same

When a car navigation unit receives a remotely inputted command transmitted from a personal digital assistant (PDA), the remotely inputted command is interpreted to generate display data. The display data is transmitted to the PDA.

Vehicle-mounted equipment, information unit, and vehicle-mounted information system

A navigation device includes a platform having hardware including at least a user operation unit and a map database, and basic functions to control the hardware. The navigation device also includes an application processing unit for providing navigation services using the basic functions of the platform, and a platform-dependent unit for, when transferring information from the platform to the application processing unit, transferring the information in a constant format, and for, when transferring information from the application processing unit to the platform, transferring it in a certain format which depends on the platform. The map database holds map data in a predetermined recording format. The navigation device can further include a map-database-dependent unit for receiving map data, which is read from the map database by the platform-dependent unit, and for supplying the received map data to the application processing unit in the constant format. The navigation device can also include a user-interface-dependent unit for receiving data corresponding to a user's operation, which is read from the user operation unit by the platform-dependent unit, and for supplying the received data to the application processing unit in the constant format.

Navigation device having a platform-dependent part and a user-interface-dependent part for supplying navigation services

An on-vehicle information system includes extended function interface modules responsible for communication between basic function modules, providing basic information services in an on-vehicle information system, and extended function modules.

Extendable on-vehicle information system

A vehicle borne transmitter transmits a spread spectrum transmit signal which is pseudo (PN) encoded. The transmitted signal is reflected off of a reflector on known position which may be a highway guardrail, tunnel wall, or the like. The reflected signal is detected by a receiver in the vehicle and a pseudo noise code (PN code) is synchronized to the reflected signal to accomplish maximum correlation. The phase delay between the transmitted PN code and received PN code is thereby utilized to determine the distance between the vehicle and reflector to maintain the vehicle in the center of a roadway lane. Roadway transponders may be periodically located adjacent the roadway and will be responsive to the vehicle borne interrogation signal. The periodically located transducers produce a reply signal including a PN code and imbedded data which data may represent transponder ID and position, roadway or map data, or other data which is desirable to transmit between the transducer and the vehicle travelling the highway.

Automated highway tracking and communication system and method

A driving environment surveillance apparatus is provided to specify a region where an obstacle is present depending upon an azimuth detected by an obstacle detecting unit so as to derive a two-dimensional image corresponding to the specified region from an image detecting unit, and to extract the obstacle from the two-dimensional image so as to calculate a size index of the obstacle, thereby detecting a relative distance or the azimuth to the obstacle from a vehicle with high accuracy and at a high speed.

Driving environment surveillance apparatus

A strain detector which is improved in corrosion resistance and moisture resistance and is high in reliability. The strain detector comprises a driven member, a magnetic shielding layer of a non-magnetic or diamagnetic material selectively formed on the driven member, a magnetic layer formed at a portion of the driven member at which the magnetic shielding layer is not formed, and a detecting coil provided corresponding to the magnetic layer. The magnetic layer may be formed in such a manner as to project from the driven member by selectively removing a surface of the driven member. Preferably, a protecting layer is formed on surfaces of the magnetic layer and the magnetic shielding layer. A process of producing such strain detector is also disclosed by which a magnetic shielding layer can be formed only at a required portion of a driven member readily in a short period of time.

Strain detector

An improved support apparatus such as a suspension apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed which has excellent response characteristics, can save power consumption and has excellent vibration-isolating capacity for isolating the transmission of high-frequency vibrations from a support member such as a road wheel to an object such as the body of a vehicle. To these end, in one embodiment, a linear motor is disposed between the object and the support member for telescopically supporting the object under magnetic effects. A position sensor senses the position of the object relative to a reference position. A low-pass filter filters high-frequency components of the output signal of the position sensor above a prescribed upper frequency limit. Based on the output signals of the position sensor and the low-pass filter, the current supply to the linear motor is controlled in such a manner as to offset a change in the output signal of the low-pass filter. In another embodiment, an elastic member is further disposed between the object and the support member in parallel with the linear motor for elastically supporting the object on the support member. A high-pass filter filters low-frequency components of the output signal of the position sensor below a prescribed lower frequency limit. Based on the output signal of the high-pass filter, a correction is calculated for offsetting a change in the operating force of the elastic member. The current supply to the linear motor is controlled based on a change in the output signal of the low-pass filter and the correction thus calculated.

Suspension apparatus for a vehicle

A strain detector to be attached to the shafts of devices such as engines, motors, electromagnetic clutches. First and second magnetic layers are disposed on the driven shaft so as to change permeability with a mechanical strain in the shaft. First and second detecting coils are wound around the first and second magnetic layers so as to be in a noncontact state therewith. Detecting means detects outputs of the detecting coils corresponding to the change in permeability. Furthermore, the driven shaft includes a heat conductive means with conductivity which is high enough to allow a temperature of each of said magnetic layers to be uniform. The outputs of the first and second detecting coils are detected in synchronism with both positive and negative drive timings of the AC drive circuit for applying an AC voltage to each of the detecting coils and smoothed and amplified thereafter, thereby allowing two strain detection outputs to be produced.

A magnetostriction type stress detector including a passive member to which an external force is applied, which passive member is formed of a magnetic material; a magnetic shielding member provided around the passive member, which magnetic shielding member is formed with a plurality of slits; and a detection coil provided around the magnetic shielding member for detecting a change in magnetic permeability due to a stress in the passive member to be generated by the external force, through the slits of the magnetic shielding member.

Method of manufacturing magnetostriction stress detectors

Magnetostriction type stress detector

A strain sensing apparatus includes a pair of magnetic layers disposed on a shaft to which an external force is applied to cause strain in it. The magnetic layers have magnetic permeabilities which change in opposite directions in response to the strain in the shaft. A sensing coil is disposed to face the magnetic layers with a spacing disposed between the coil and the magnetic layers. An exciting AC voltage is applied across the sensing coil. A change in self-inductance of the coil caused by the permeability changes of the magnetic layers due to the shaft strain is derived as an electrical signal representative of the magnitude of the shaft strain.

Strain sensing apparatus

In a strain measuring device employing a magnetic permeability detector means to detect an amount of strain in a passive member as changes of magnetic permeability in a magnetostrictive layer, a magnetic shielding layer is formed on the surface of the passive member, and the magnetostrictive layer is formed thereon so as to lessen the adverse effects of the passive member caused by the magnetic characteristics of the passive member in strain measurement, that is, to reduce measurement errors. Alternatively, a magnetostrictive layer is formed on the surface of the passive member, or a magnetic shielding layer is partially formed on the surface of the passive member of a soft magnetic material with high permeability, so as to lessen the influence of the passive member caused by thermal stresses of the passive member in strain measurement, that is, to reduce measurement errors. Further, there is provided a strain measuring device which facilitates formation of the magnetostrictive layer.

Strain measuring device employing magnetostriction and having a magnetic

A strain detector wherein the efficiency of a detecting coil is improved to improve the sensitivity of the strain detector. The strain detector comprises a magnetic layer made of a soft magnetic material having a high permeability and fixedly mounted on an outer periphery of a driven shaft strain of which is to be detected, and a detecting coil disposed around the magnetic layer with a gap left therebetween for detecting a variation of the permeability arising from strain of the magnetic layer caused by an external force applied to the driven shaft. The strain detector further comprises a metal layer made of a non-magnetic material having a high electric conductivity and disposed in the gap between the magnetic layer and the detecting coil. Or else, the detecting coil has a pair of coil portions connected to each other by way of an intermediate portion thereof, and an electric current flows in the same direction through the coil portions.

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Hyogo, Japan

Yoshihiko Utsui