Isuzu Motors Limited

Yoshinobu Tsuchiya

Ken Kurabayashi

Yoriaki Niida

Akihiro Shirata

Hiroyoshi Moroboshi

Akio Yoshida

Hitoshi Koizumi

Toshifumi Koshizawa

Yuichi Koyama

Seiichiro Kito

Seiichiro Kitou

Masanori Nakanishi

Tadakuni Nishitani

A power supply apparatus for an automotive vehicle having a storage battery and a large-capacity capacitor charged by the storage battery. When the engine is started, an engine starter is driven by the electric charge stored in the large-capacity capacitor.

Power supply apparatus for automotive vehicles

Fine powder particles of an electrically conductive or semiconductive material, which have a diameter of 10 .mu.m or less, are pressurized, and at the same time, a pulse voltage is applied between the fine powder particles to produce an electric discharge therebetween. The fine powder particles are fused together at areas where they contact each other, thereby producing a porous sintered body. The porous sintered body is made of only an electrically conductive or semiconductive material without using any particle binders whatsoever.

Porous sintered body and method of manufacturing same

An ice melting system for a motor vehicle supplies a heater incorporated in a windshield with electric energy which is generated by a generator that is drivable by an engine on the motor vehicle. A voltage which is obtained by dividing an output voltage from the generator is applied as a control input voltage to a voltage regulator which controls the output voltage of the generator. When the voltage regulator is supplied with a control input voltage which is lower than when a battery on the motor vehicle is charged, the voltage regulator increases a current supplied to a field coil of the generator, thus enabling the generator to increase the output voltage thereof. Therefore, the heater is supplied with a larger amount of electric energy to melt ice on the windshield efficiently.

Vehicle windshield heater utilizing regulator output current control

An engine starter system for driving an engine starter with electric power from a battery mounted on a motor vehicle has a boost controller for boosting electric power from the battery and a large-capacitance capacitor which is charged by the electric power which is boosted by the boost controller. The engine starter is driven by the electric energy which is stored in the capacitor at a voltage higher than the voltage of the battery.

Driving apparatus for starting an engine with a starter motor energized

An engine starter system for driving an engine starter with electric power from a battery mounted on a motor vehicle has a pair of large-capacitance capacitors which are selectively connected to the battery and the starter. One of the capacitors is connected to the battery and charged thereby when the detected voltage across the one capacitor is lower than a predetermined voltage, and the other capacitor which is charged sufficiently enough is connected to the starter. Electric energy whose voltage is higher than the predetermined voltage is therefore continuously supplied to the starter to start the engine.

Driving apparatus for starting an engine with a starting motor energized

An engine starter system includes a switching-over circuit arrangement for selectively connecting a large-capacity capacitor parallel or in series to a battery. Normally, the capacitor is connected parallel to the battery and charged thereby. When starting an engine with a starter, the charged capacitor is connected in series to the battery, and the voltage of the capacitor and the voltage of the battery are added and applied to the starter to energize a starter motor for starting the engine.

Driving apparatus for starting an engine with starter motor energized by

An engine starter system starts a motor in response to operation of a starter keyswitch. Immediately before the engine is started, a capacitor is manually connected to a power supply such as a storage battery. When the capacitor is charged up to a preset voltage, the electric energy stored in the capacitor is discharged to energize the motor.

Low discharge capacitor motor starter system

An electric double which utilizes the principles of an electric double layer in the interface between polarized electrodes and an electrolyte, each of the polarized electrodes being composed of minute active carbon particles of coal tar which have a specific surface area ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 m.sup.2 /gram. Many such minute active carbon particles are packed in a unit volume for an increased electrostatic capacitance.

Electric double layer capacitor

An electric double layer capacitor has two polarized electrodes each comprising a plurality of thin plate-like electrode elements each composed of a porous sintered body, and two current collectors bonded to surfaces of the electrode elements of the polarized electrodes.

A pressure ranging from 50 Kgf/cm.sup.2 to 800 Kgf/cm.sup.2 is applied to a pwoder of fine particles of activated carbon, and while the pressure is being applied to the fine particles, pulse voltages are applied between the fine particles for producing electric discharges between the fine particles, and the fine particles are kept at a temperature ranging from 700.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C., thereby sintering the fine particles of activated carbon into an electrode of a porous sintered body. Two such electrodes are impregnated with an electrolyte to produce polarized electrodes, and a separator is sandwiched between the polarized electrodes, thus completing an electric double layer capacitor.

At least two powders of minute active carbon particles having different diameters are mixed, and the mixture is placed in a mold. While a pressure is being applied to the mixture in the mold, pulse voltages are applied between the minute active carbon particles for producing electric discharges therebetween, and the minute active carbon particles are kept at a predetermined temperature, thereby sintering the minute active carbon particles into a porous sintered body, which is used as an electrode. Two such electrodes are impregnated with an electrolyte, producing polarized electrodes. An electric double layer capacitor comprises the polarized electrodes which are sandwiched between current collectors, and separated by a separator.

An electric double layer capacitor has two polarized electrodes each comprising a plurality of thin plate-like electrode elements each composed of a porous sintered body, and two current collectors bonded to surfaces of the electrode elements of the polarized electrodes. The electrode elements are spaced by gaps which are filled up with paste electrodes each composed of a mixed paste of activated carbon powder and an electrolyte.

A power supply device for use on a motor vehicle includes a charging power supply such as an alternator or a battery, a plurality of capacitors, chargeable by the charging power supply, for supplying stored electric energy to an electric load such as an engine starter, and a successive charging control circuit arrangement for successively charging the capacitors, one by one, with the charging power supply.

Power supply device

An electric double layer capacitor has an electric double layer composed of an interface between activated carbon and electrolyte. The electric double layer capacitor includes a pair of polarized electrodes each comprising an electrode body in the form of a porous sintered body of joined active carbon particles. When the electrode body is sintered, an electrically conductive layer is formed on a surface of the electrode body. With this construction, the contact resistance between the electrode body and a current collector through the electrically conductive layer is reduced, so that the electric double layer has a reduced internal resistance.

The electric energy generated by an electric generator driven by an engine on a motor vehicle is stored in a large-capacity capacitor when the rotational speed of the engine increases while the engine is idling, thereby imposing a load on the engine. At this time, the increase in the rotational speed of the engine is suppressed. The electric energy stored in the capacitor is supplied to a battery on the motor vehicle, charging the battery.

Growing community of inventors

Fujisawa, Japan

Yoshinobu Tsuchiya