Abstract: A physical property evaluation method is the method for evaluating physical properties of a film-shaped measurement target object by means of an electrochemical method, the method including the step of causing an electrolytic solution to contact a front surface of the measurement target object. The speed of penetration of the electrolytic solution into the measurement target object is adjusted in such a manner that the levels of the front-side temperature and the back-side temperature of the measurement target object and a difference between the front-side temperature and the back-side temperature of the measurement target object are adjusted.

Abstract: A gear shift control device of an automobile includes memory storing a gear shift map that defines, for each of gear shift points, thresholds of the number of revolutions to determine a switching start timing of each of the gear positions, a transmission control unit that performs switching between the gear positions based on the gear shift map, and a regeneration control unit that controls regeneration. The gear shift map includes a non-cooperative regeneration map that defines the thresholds of revolutions lower than the thresholds in a cooperative request map used in cooperative regeneration, and the non-cooperative regeneration map includes a combustion request map that defines the thresholds of low revolutions and is used when an accelerator is not used, and a travel request map that defines the thresholds of relatively higher revolutions and is used when the accelerator is used.

Abstract: A driver assistance system is provided that allows a driver to easily perform an accelerator operation by a finger of his/her hand while grasping a steering holding section. The driver assistance system includes an operation member near a steering wheel held by a driver, which rotates about a rotation shaft in a vehicle front-rear direction and thereby steers the vehicle. The operation member has an operation section that the driver can manually operate to accelerate/decelerate the vehicle, and includes a support member on the steering wheel, the support member supporting the operation member in a slidingly displaceable manner along a steering axial direction. The operation section is disposed near a radially inner side of a rim section of the steering wheel, and the operation section and the rim section overlap in the steering axial direction within a movable range of the operation member along the steering axial direction.

Abstract: A method of controlling an engine is provided, which includes the steps of, during motoring of the engine, injecting, by an injector, fuel for analysis into a cylinder at a specific timing after an intake valve of the cylinder of the engine is closed, outputting to a controller, by an in-cylinder pressure sensor, a signal corresponding to a pressure inside the cylinder at least at a timing when a specific crank angle period has passed from the fuel injection timing, and determining, by the controller, a property of the fuel injected by the injector, by comparing a pressure value measured by the in-cylinder pressure sensor with a reference pressure value inside the cylinder measured at a timing when the specific crank angle period has passed after a standard fuel is injected into the cylinder at the specific timing.

Abstract: A vehicle gear-shifting control apparatus is equipped with an engine, a motor, an automatic transmission, a friction brake system, and a controller which executes, during deceleration of a vehicle during which the friction brake system is distributing a braking force to front and rear wheels, a regeneration control of imparting a regenerative braking torque to the rear wheels by causing the motor to perform a regeneration operation and a gear-shifting control of changing a shift stage of the automatic transmission by outputting a gear-shifting signal in accordance with the rotation speed of an input shaft to the automatic transmission. When the controller determines an oversteered state of the vehicle during the regeneration control, the controller increases an input torque of the input shaft so that the regenerative braking torque decreases while maintaining the regeneration operation of the motor and, at the same time, limits the gear-shifting control.

Abstract: Provided is a frame which is made of a fiber reinforced composite and has an increased bending strength by suppressing occurrence of buckling. The frame which is made of a fiber reinforced composite includes: a compressive wall part where a compressive stress occurs in a longitudinal direction of the frame when the frame receives a bending load in a normal direction perpendicularly intersecting the longitudinal direction; and a side wall part extending in the normal direction and defining one of corners with the compressive wall part. The compressive wall part includes a longitudinal alignment layer having reinforcement fibers aligned in the longitudinal direction. The side wall part has a surface section composed of a normal directional alignment layer having reinforcement fibers aligned in a direction different from the longitudinal direction, and serving as a differential alignment layer.

Abstract: An in-vehicle wireless electric power feeding device is used in a vehicle, wirelessly performs electric power feeding to an electric power reception device (e.g., smartphone), and stops the electric power feeding at a temperature not lower than or higher than a predetermined first temperature threshold. The in-vehicle wireless electric power feeding device SD includes an electric power transmission unit that wirelessly performs electric power feeding to the electric power reception device, a temperature measurement unit that measures the temperature of the electric power transmission unit, and a control unit that controls the electric power transmission unit so that the electric power transmission unit wirelessly performs electric power feeding to the electric power reception device when the temperature measured by the temperature measurement unit at startup is not higher than or lower than a predetermined second temperature threshold higher than the first temperature threshold.

Abstract: A vehicle gear-shifting control apparatus is equipped with an engine, an automatic transmission, and a controller which changes a shift stage by outputting a gear-shifting signal in accordance with the rotation speed of an input shaft to the automatic transmission. The controller executes a torque-regulating control of temporarily increasing or decreasing an input torque input to the input shaft during a shift-change, and when executing the control, determines whether or not a target increase/decrease amount of the input torque can be realized based on calculation results of a target output torque and a target gear-shifting time, executes the control to realize the target amount when it is determined that the target amount can be realized, and executes the control based on an allowable gear-shifting time set in advance to be longer than the target gear-shifting time when it is determined that the target amount cannot be realized.

Abstract: An engine system is provided, which includes a cylinder block, a cylinder head, a piston, a main combustion chamber, a subchamber, an injector that injects fuel into the main combustion chamber, a main spark plug that ignites a mixture gas inside the main combustion chamber, a subspark plug that ignites the mixture gas inside the subchamber, and a controller electrically connected to the injector, the main spark plug and the subspark plug. When an engine speed is above a given reference engine speed, the controller controls, in a low-load range below a given reference load, the ignition devices so that the subignition is performed after the main ignition, and the controller controls, in a high-load range exceeding the reference load, the ignition devices so that only the subignition is performed, or so that the main ignition is performed at the same timing as or after the subignition.

Abstract: Provided is a switching device 1 including a drain fin 103 arranged below a semiconductor chip 101 via a common mode current suppression structure 2. The common mode current suppression structure 2 includes a first insulating layer 2a joined on the drain fin 103, an electric conductive layer 2b joined on the first insulating layer 12a, a second insulating layer 2c joined on the electric conductive layer 2b, and an electrode conductor 2d joined on an upper surface of the second insulating layer 2c and joined to a drain electrode 101a of the semiconductor chip 101. The electric conductive layer 2b is electrically connected to a source electrode 101b of the semiconductor chip 101.

Abstract: Provided is an inverter 1 configured such that an electric component portion 1a is integrated with a cooling portion 1b. A switching module 20 includes a heat sink 102 joined to the lower surface of a substrate 101. The cooling portion 1b includes an electric conductive cooler 10 forming a refrigerant flow path 11. The switching module 20 is attached to the cooler 10 such that a heat radiation portion 102d of the heat sink 102 is exposed to the inside of the cooler 10. A common mode current suppression structure 21 including an insulating member is interposed between the heat sink 102 and the cooler 10 to electrically insulate the heat sink 102 and the cooler 10 from each other.

Abstract: The vehicle door structure includes: a door outer panel including a projected section that projects outward in a vehicle width direction, a recessed section that is separated from the projected section and recessed inward in the vehicle width direction, and a boundary section between the projected section and the recessed section; and a panel reinforcement fixed to an inner surface in the vehicle width direction of the door outer panel. The panel reinforcement includes: a first frame section that extends in a vehicle front-rear direction; and a second frame section at a position that overlaps the boundary section in the vehicle side view and is configured to be able to transmit a load to the first frame section at the time when the load in an inward direction of the vehicle width direction is applied to the boundary section.

Abstract: A clearance is created between an inner circumference of a bushing main body (2) which surrounds a rack (5) across a row of rack gear teeth (50) and an outer circumference of the rack (5), and two supporting surfaces (21A, 21B) which face each other with a bushing main body axis O therebetween and a supporting surface (21C) which faces a back surface of the rack (5), each extending along an x-axis direction, are formed on the inner circumference of the bushing main body (2). The rack (5) in a neutral state is supported by the two supporting surfaces (21A, 21B) so as to be displaceable along a z-axis direction, and the rack (5) in operation is stably supported by the three supporting surfaces (21A-21C) at three places.

Abstract: A multilayer coating film includes a lustrous layer containing a luster material and a colored layer containing a reddish coloring agent, and having translucency. Regarding a Y value of an XYZ colorimetric system calibrated with a standard white plate, when a light incident angle is 45°, Y(5°) represents a Y value of reflected light measured at a light receiving angle of 5°, and Y(15°) represents a Y value of reflected light measured at a light receiving angle of 15°, the lustrous layer satisfies the following: Y(5°) is 30 or more to 700 or less; Y(15°)=k×Y(5°) (where k is a coefficient); and k is 0.01 or more to 0.3 or less. The concentration of the reddish coloring agent in the colored layer is 1 mass % or more to 17 mass % or less.

Abstract: A multilayer coating film includes a lustrous layer containing a luster material, and a colored layer stacked on the lustrous layer, containing a reddish coloring agent, and having translucency. For the lustrous layer, when a light incident angle (an angle with respect to a line perpendicular to the surface of the lustrous layer) is 45° and L*(?) represents the L* value of the lightness index of reflected light measured at a light receiving angle (the angle of inclination toward a light source side from a specular reflection direction) ?, L*(?) at 45°???80° and 100°???110° is 10 or less, and when the luster material is projected onto the bottom surface of the lustrous layer, the percentage of the projected area of the luster material on the bottom surface is 3% or more to 70% or less per unit area.

Abstract: A network hub device used for building a simple network configuration in an in-vehicle network system is provided. A network hub device (22) is provided in a vehicle body and is coupled to a trunk network through which a digital control signal is transmitted. A sub hub device (241, 242) performs input/output of a signal to/from an in-vehicle device provided in a partial body assembled to the vehicle body via a movable portion. The sub hub device (241, 242) is provided in the partial body and the digital control signal is transmitted/received between the sub hub device (241, 242) and the network hub device (22) via a wire harness passing through the movable portion.

Abstract: Provided is a suspension subframe structure that can activate a load path using an extension frame in an impact while avoiding increase in vehicle weight and also enables a suspension subframe to disengage from a vehicle body when an impact load is too large to be absorbed by the extension frame alone. The suspension subframe structure of the present invention includes a suspension subframe 110 that supports a suspension member 60 for a front wheel. The suspension subframe 110 includes: a body 111 that transmits an impact load input from a vehicle front side toward a vehicle rear side; a fixed portion 124 disposed near the body 111 and fixed to a vehicle body; and a connection portion 121 connecting the fixed portion 124 to the body 111. The connection portion 121 is provided with fragile portions 121f, 122g having a lower strength against a load in a vehicle front-rear direction than the body 111 and the fixed portion 124.

Abstract: Coolant flowing from a compressor passes through a heat exchanger and opening-degree adjustable type of expansion valves for heating, and an external heat exchanger. The coolant passing through the external heat exchanger is capable of passing through an expansion valve and a heat exchanger for cooling, and an expansion valve and a heat exchanger for cooling a battery. A grille shutter to change an introduction state of traveling air is provided in front of the external heat exchanger. When pressure of the coolant (particularly, pressure of the coolant at a timing after the coolant passes through the external heat exchanger) is a specified pressure or lower, the grille shutter is closed, whereby the heat-exchange performance of the external heat exchanger is lowered.

Abstract: To reduce the man-hours of software development when vehicle types are deployed an in-vehicle equipment control device includes a CPU and a memory. The CPU has an application layer, a middleware layer, and a device driver unit as software components. First communication packets on the application side and second communication packets on the device driver side are implemented in the middleware layer. The memory stores an internal mapping table that defines the connection relationships between the first communication packets and the second communication packets and an external mapping table that defines the direct communication routes between the first communication packets or the second communication packets and an in-vehicle network.

Abstract: An engine room heat exhausting structure configured to discharge heat from an engine room, is provided. The structure includes an engine room accommodating an engine with cylinders lined up in a front-and-rear direction of a vehicle, a wheelhouse provided outside the engine room in a vehicle width direction, an exhaust emission control device disposed between the engine and the wheelhouse, a splash shield configured to intercept water entering the engine room from the wheelhouse, and a discharging part provided to the splash shield at a location rearward of the exhaust emission control device and configured to discharge into the wheelhouse a portion of air that cooled the exhaust emission control device.