Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippondenso Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kaisha

Yuji Yokoya

Yutaka Suzuki

Yasuhiro Tsutsumi

Yoshimichi Hara

Akira Fukami

Hiroyuki Kawata

Eiju Matsunaga

Shuuichi Buma

Hitoshi Araki

Kaoru Ohashi

Masanobu Ishikawa

Hiroshi Miyata

Hakumi Ishii

Shuhei Toyoda

Hiroki Sato

Makoto Shiozaki

Masanori Hirose

Ichita Sogabe

Sumio Takizawa

Syuuji Murata

Masumi Nishikawa

Kazunori Sakamoto

Akio Sato

Shinji Kato

Mizuho Sugiyama

Nobuyoshi Onogi

Soya Takagi

Makoto Hayashi

Yukitomo Sanada

Kazuo Masaki

Shuuji Murata

Akira Hukami

Kazuo Takasou

Kiyohara Nakagawa

A steering angle sensor for accurately detecting the steering angle of a vehicle, which has a signal pattern based on partial changes of the electromagnetic characteristics formed at part of the steering rack bar of the steering gear box and reads the same by a signal detector provided opposing the steering rack bar so as to detect the absolute position of the steering rack bar.

Steering angle sensor

A suspension control system for controlling a suspension having a shock absorber provided for each wheel of a vehicle includes a damping force change rate detector which detects a damping force change rate indicating a rate of change of a damping force of the shock absorber, and a damping force controller which alters the setting of the damping force on the basis of a relationship between the damping force change rate and an adjustment reference value. The system also includes a road surface condition detector which detects a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle is running on the basis of a change of the damping force of the shock absorber. Further, the system includes a damping force adjustment correcting unit which corrects the adjustment reference value by learning the adjustment reference value on the basis of a parameter related to the damping force of the shock absorber which reflects the condition of the road surface.

Suspension control system

A suspension control system for controlling a suspension having a shock absorber provided for a wheel of a vehicle includes a damping force detector which generates a damping force detection signal which indicates a change of a damping force of the shock absorber based on a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle is running. The system also includes a sprung resonance component extraction unit which extracts a sprung resonance component signal from the damping force detection signal. The sprung resonance component signal includes components having frequencies around a sprung resonance frequency of the shock absorber. Further, the system includes a determining part which determines whether or not the sprung resonance component signal exceeds a first level range provided for detecting a sign of the occurrence of a long-term vehicle vibration and which outputs a determination result. Moreover, the system includes a damping force controller which controls the shock absorber so that when the determining part determines that the sprung resonance component signal exceeds the first level range, the damping force of the shock absorber is altered to and maintained at an increased level and thus the suspension is maintained at a state which corresponds to the increased level and which is harder than before.

A suspension control system for controlling a suspension having a shock absorber provided for a wheel of a vehicle includes a damping force change rate detector which detects a damping force change rate indicating a rate of change of a damping force of the shock absorber, and a damping force controller which alters the setting of the damping force on the basis of the relationship between the damping force change rate and an adjustment reference value. The system also includes a road surface condition detector which detects, for every first period, the condition of a road surface on which the vehicle is running on the basis of a change of the damping force of the shock absorber, and a damping force adjustment correcting unit which corrects the adjustment reference value by learning, for every second period, the adjustment reference value on the basis of a parameter related to the damping force of the shock absorber which reflects the condition of the road surface. Further, the system includes a period adjustment unit which adjusts the first period on the basis of a vehicle speed.

A shock absorber control system having shock absorbers provided respectively between wheels of a vehicle and a body thereof includes road surface condition detecting units provided for the respective shock absorbers, and damping force characteristic alteration units provided for the respective shock absorbers. The shock absorber control system also includes a correction unit for separately generating signals indicative of detection characteristics of the road surface condition detecting units provided for the respective shock absorbers on the basis of road surface condition detection signals generated by the road surface condition detecting units and for separately correcting either reference values used for determining whether or not the road surface is rough by the damping force characteristic alteration units or the road surface condition detection signals on the basis of the detection characteristics of the road surface condition detecting units provided for the respective shock absorbers.

Shock absorber control system

An apparatus for controlling a damping force of a shock absorber provided between a wheel of a vehicle and a body thereof includes a road surface condition detecting unit for detecting a roughness of a road surface on which the vehicle is traveling, and a damping force characteristic alteration unit for altering the setting of the damping force of the shock absorber on the basis of the roughness of the road surface detected by the road surface condition detecting unit. The apparatus also includes a damping force detecting unit, for detecting a magnitude of the damping force of the shock absorber, and an alteration speed control unit for controlling, on the basis of the magnitude of the damping force detected by the damping force detecting unit, an alteration speed at which the setting of the damping force is altered so that the alteration speed decreases as the magnitude of the damping force increases.

Apparatus for controlling damping force of shock absorber

A suspension control system controls suspensions provided for wheels of a vehicle includes a driving condition detecting part for detecting a driving condition of the vehicle, and a determination part for determining whether or not the driving condition detected by the driving condition detecting part coincides with a predetermined driving condition. The suspensions are grouped into a plurality of groups. Also the system includes a control part for separately controlling the suspensions on the basis of the driving condition when the determination part determines that the driving condition does not coincide with the predetermined driving condition and for controlling the suspensions for each of the groups so that the suspensions in an identical group are set to an identical condition when the determination part determines that the driving condition coincides with the predetermined driving condition.

A drive system of a piezo-type actuator for use in a motor vehicle, which piezo-type actuator is constructed with a piezoelectric device which is expandable and contractible in accordance with application of a voltage thereto. The drive system includes a voltage-increasing section for increasing an output voltage of a power source mounted on the motor vehicle so as to develop a drive voltage for the piezo-type actuator and a voltage-application section for applying to the piezoelectric device of the piezo-type actuator the drive voltage. Also included in the drive system is an abnormality detection section which is arranged so as to an abnormality of the drive voltage developed by the voltage-increasing section. A safety controller is responsive to an abnormality signal from the abnormality detection section for prohibiting the application of the drive voltage to the piezoelectric device thereof and further discharging charges accumulated in the piezoelectric device thereof when the abnormality detection section detects the abnormality of the developed drive voltage. With this arrangement, it is possible to prevent troubles due to the abnormality of the drive voltage to be applied to the piezoelectric device of the piezo-type actuator.

Drive system of actuator having piezoelectric device for use in motor

A shock absorber includes a piston for partitioning the interior of a cylinder into two liquid chambers while affording communication between both liquid chambers through a plurality of ports, and a valve body biased toward the piston for opening and closing the ports. The piston has a ring portion which forms a path in cooperation with the valve body for regulating the amount of liquid flowing from the ports around an outer peripheral edge of the valve body. An effective area of the ports is larger than the maximum effective area of the path.

Shock absorber

An electrically operated tiltable vehicle steering mechanism includes an electric motor of a reversible type which is adapted to drive through a speed reduction mechanism a screw shaft of a screw-nut mechanism. The screw-nut mechanism includes a nut which is engaged with the screw shaft and connected with a tiltable bracket supporting a steering shaft. Stoppers are provided to limit the stroke of the movement of the nut. The stopper includes a stopper plate made of a metallic material of a low frictional coefficient and a rubber cushion. The stopper is located with the stopper plate faced to the nut for engagement therewith and the rubber cushion maintained in contact with the housing of the screw-nut mechanism. The mechanism is provided with a clutch means for allowing a slip between the motor and the screw nut mechanism when the excessive load is applied to a torque transmission mechanism.

Electrically operated tiltable vehicle steering mechanism

A telescopic steering mechanism for automotive vehicles includes first and second support members telescopically coupled with each other for relative movement, a first shaft rotatably carried by the first support member, a second shaft rotatably carried by the second support member and telescopically coupled with the first shaft for rotation therewith, a feed screw shaft arranged in parallel with the first and second shafts and rotatably carried by the first support shaft, and a feed nut fixedly mounted on the second support member and threadedly coupled over the feed screw shaft for effecting relative movement of the support members in accordance with rotation of the feed screw shaft. In the above arrangement: the first support member is integrally formed thereon with an elongated guide lug which is arranged in parallel with the first and second shafts; the second support member is integrally formed thereon with a support portion which is axially movably coupled over the elongated guide lug and resiliently engaged with the elongated guide lug, and the feed screw shaft is assembled to be slightly displaceable in a radial direction on the first support member.

Telescopic steering mechanism for automotive vehicle

A rotary driving device includes a pair of stator magnetic poles having opposing end faces separated by gaps; a rotor of magnetic material rotatably supported inside the stator magnetic pole pair, having two pole surfaces between two planes parallel with the axis of rotation; and an excitation coil of the stator magnetic pole pair. The angular positions of the gaps between the end faces of the stator magnetic pole pair along the circumferential direction are changed along the axial direction, so that output and detent torques are obtained effectively and satisfactorily.

Rotary driving device used for rotary actuator

An electromagnetic directional control valve for changing over flow paths of fluid comprises a plunger disposed in a case and being capable of moving from a neutral position in one axial direction by a first solenoid and in the other axial direction by a second solenoid to participate in the changeover of the flow paths. First and second stoppers bearing against the plunger are moved together with the plunger respectively in one axial direction and the other axial direction. First and second springs bias the first and second stopper respectively in the direction of abutting against the plunger. The plunger is stopped at the first neutral position held by the first and second springs, at a second position to which the plunger is moved in one axial direction by the first solenoid against the first spring and a third position to which the plunger is moved in the other axial direction by the second solenoid against the second spring.

Electromagnetic directional control valve

An air suspension system which includes an air spring provided between a car body and a suspension arm for adjusting the car height by changing the volume of the air spring. The air spring includes a diaphragm and an air piston formed to contact with the diaphragm. The air piston has a plurality of wall portions arranged longitudinally. Each wall portion is different in its external shape from the portion adjacent thereto. The external shapes of the air piston includes a combination of at least two shapes of the group including a straight cylindrical shape, a tapered shape converging downward and a tapered shape diverging downward.

Air suspension

A hydraulic buffer comprises a cylinder, a piston disposed slidably in the cylinder to partition the interior of the cylinder into first and second liquid chambers, a piston rod connected with the piston and having a first path communicating to the first liquid chamber and a second path communicating to the second liquid chamber and a control rod disposed in the piston rod. A regulating valve operated by the control rod is disposed in the first path and has a third path capable of affording communication between the first and the second paths. The buffer further comprises a case fixed on an outer peripheral surface of the piston rod in the second liquid chamber and having a fourth path affording communication between the second path and the second liquid chamber and a check valve provided in association to the fourth path.

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Toyota, Japan

Yuji Yokoya