Abstract: A tactile sensor has an elastically deformable sheet, a coil that is provided in the sheet, a powdery or fibrous magnetic material that is provided in the sheet with the coil, and a detection portion that detects an inductance of the coil.

Abstract: A power steering system having at least one steering wheel, steering mechanism provided with rack, and at least one servo motor, the method having, outside steering phase during which power steering system is assigned to driving of vehicle to cause vehicle to follow trajectory which is determined as function of the situation of vehicle with respect to its environment, step (a) of automatically activating the servo motor, during which step computer is used to automatically generate and apply the servo motor, without requiring any external action on steering wheel, activation instruction that follows one or more cycles referred to as pre-established exploration cycles in order to measure, during at least one exploration cycle or at the end of at least one exploration cycle, at least one indicator parameter which is specific to response by power steering system to automatic activation of servo motor and which is characteristic of desired property.

Abstract: A method for characterizing a power steering system for empirically determining at least one property of the system, the power steering system including at least one steering wheel, a steering mechanism provided with a rack, and at least one assist motor, the method including, outside a steering phase during which the power steering system is assigned to the driving of a vehicle in order to cause the vehicle to follow a trajectory which is determined as a function of the situation of the vehicle with respect to its environment, a step (a) of automatically activating the assist motor, during which step a computer is used to automatically generate and apply to the assist motor, without requiring any external action on the steering wheel, an activation instruction that follows one or more cycles referred to as pre-established exploration cycles for measuring.

Abstract: A tapered roller bearing includes an inner ring, an outer ring, a plurality of tapered rollers, and an annular cage. The annular cage includes a small-diameter annular portion, a large-diameter annular portion, and a plurality of cage bars that couple the small-diameter annular portion and the large-diameter annular portion together. The cage bar has a first facing surface that faces the outer peripheral surface of the tapered roller that is housed. The first facing surface includes a large-diameter-side facing surface, a small-diameter-side facing surface arranged farther away from the outer peripheral surface of the tapered roller than the large-diameter-side facing surface, and an intermediate facing surface inclined gradually away from the outer peripheral surface of the tapered roller with increasing distance from the large-diameter-side facing surface to the small-diameter-side facing surface.

Abstract: A part intended to be folded so as to form an upper part of a power steering support element of a vehicle, made of a flat plate including: at least one attachment area for attaching the upper part to a vehicle chassis, at least one extension area to be positioned in a plane perpendicular to the plane in which the attachment area extends, and at least one folding area.

Abstract: A ball screw nut has a pair of through holes and a first passage that allows the through holes to communicate with each other and that opens radially outward. In each of the through holes, a ball screw mechanism has a circulation member having a second passage in which a ball can move between a ball raceway and the first passage. The ball screw mechanism has a circulation path for communicating the two connection points set on the ball raceway by the first passage and each of the second passages. A driven pulley has a thin portion that defines a radial clearance between an inner periphery of the driven pulley and an outer periphery of the ball screw nut. The ball screw mechanism has a pressing lid that presses down each of the circulation members from the outer periphery of the ball screw nut and that covers the first passage.

Abstract: A steering system includes a pinion shaft that meshes with a rack shaft, an input shaft, a torsion bar that couples the input shaft and the pinion shaft together, a fixing pin that fixes the torsion bar to the input shaft, a housing having a first housing portion that houses a part of the input shaft, and a cover member having a cylindrical portion externally fitted to the input shaft protruding from the first housing portion, and a disc portion that covers an end face of the first housing portion. A through hole where the fixing pin is inserted is formed in the input shaft. On the cylindrical portion of the cover member, a plurality of annular lips are provided, except for a portion that faces each of openings of the through hole, on one side and the other side in an axial direction with respect to the portion.

Abstract: A steering control unit includes a microcomputer that controls the driving of a motor on the basis of a steering torque to cause the motor to produce an assist force that is supplied to a steering mechanism as power to steer front wheels. The microcomputer calculates, on the basis of the steering torque, an assist component indicative of the assist force that the motor needs to produce. The microcomputer obtains vertical forces related to the front wheels that are calculated by hub units that rotatably support the front wheels and have front wheel sensors for detecting forces applied to the front wheels. The microcomputer compensates the assist component by using the obtained vertical forces, to reduce a change in load on a driver that is caused when vertical loads on the front wheels change.

Abstract: A system for determining a tire state includes an external information acquisition part, a friction coefficient estimation part, and a tire state determination part. The external information acquisition part is configured to acquire external information on a disturbance factor that affects a condition of a road surface on which a target vehicle travels. The friction coefficient estimation part is configured to estimate a friction coefficient between a tire of the target vehicle and the road surface based on traveling information on a traveling state of the target vehicle. The tire state determination part is configured to determine slipperiness of the tire of the target vehicle based on a reference value indicating the slipperiness of the tire according to the external information and the friction coefficient estimated by the friction coefficient estimation part.

Abstract: An electric power steering system includes an electric motor, a rotational angle detection unit, a current detection circuit, a steering torque detection unit, a target torque setting unit, a current command value setting unit, and a current control unit. The target torque setting unit includes a basic target torque setting unit, a first compensation value computation unit, a second compensation value computation unit, and a correction unit. The basic target torque setting unit sets basic target torque for the electric motor. The first compensation value computation unit sets a first compensation value based on steering torque. The second compensation value computation unit computes a second compensation value which is an estimated value of disturbance torque other than the steering torque. The correction unit corrects the basic target torque.

Abstract: An auxiliary power source device includes a main power source-side path, an auxiliary power source-side path, a power source control circuit, an analog determination circuit that is provided separately from the power source control circuit, and a power source switching circuit. The power source control circuit controls switching between a conduction state and an interruption state on the main power source-side path and the auxiliary power source-side path. The analog determination circuit determines an occurrence of abnormality in the main power source and generates a switching signal when the occurrence of the abnormality in the main power source is determined. The power source switching circuit switchs a power source for supplying power to a power supply target, from the main power source to the auxiliary power source.

Abstract: Systems, apparatus, and methods to control fluid associated with vehicle clutches are disclosed. A disclosed apparatus includes a drive unit assembly for a vehicle. The drive unit assembly includes a housing and a clutch in a cavity of the housing. Rotation of a drum of the clutch expels a fluid from the cavity. The apparatus also includes a vehicle controller configured to disengage the clutch via an actuator. Actuation of the actuator reduces a flow of the fluid into the cavity.

Abstract: A four-wheel drive vehicle includes right and left main drive wheels and right and left auxiliary drive wheels, and a drive force transmission system configured to constantly transmit a drive force of a drive source to the right and left main drive wheels and to transmit the drive force to the right and left auxiliary drive wheels depending on a vehicle state. The drive force transmission system includes a differential device, a propeller shaft, a drive force transmission device configured to adjust the drive force that is transmitted from the propeller shaft to the right and left auxiliary drive wheels, and an electronic control unit configured to control the drive force transmission device.

Abstract: A system for predicting a road surface friction coefficient includes an external information acquisition part, a tire information acquisition part, and a friction coefficient prediction part. The external information acquisition part configured to acquire external information on a disturbance factor that affects a condition of a road surface on which a target vehicle travels. The tire information acquisition part configured to acquire tire information indicating a condition of a tire of the target vehicle. The friction coefficient prediction part configured to predict a friction coefficient between the tire and the road surface based on the tire information acquired by the tire information acquisition part and the external information acquired by the external information acquisition part. The friction coefficient prediction part predicts a friction coefficient of a road surface ahead of the target vehicle in a traveling direction.

Abstract: An information processing system is configured to generate data for identifying an emotion of a person touching a deformable structure. The information processing system includes a sensor provided in the structure and configured to output a signal indicating a temporal change of a physical quantity in the structure due to a touch by the person; and an electronic control unit configured to i) perform fast Fourier transform on the signal at a sampling frequency that is equal to or less than 10 Hz to generate frequency domain data, ii) quantize data with a frequency equal to or less than half the sampling frequency among the frequency domain data into a predetermined number of frequency bands to generate emotion identification data, and iii) perform machine learning using the emotion identification data as input data, to generate classification boundary data for classifying data serving as a processing target according to emotion categories.

Abstract: A tactile sensor has an elastically deformable sheet, a coil that is provided in the sheet, a powdery or fibrous magnetic material that is provided in the sheet with the coil, and a detection portion that detects an inductance of the coil. Also included as an android with a mechanical portion that is a skeleton, a skin portion that covers the mechanical portion, and at least part of the skin portion includes the tactile sensor.

Abstract: In a ball screw device, an inner peripheral rolling groove of a nut includes, between openings of mounting holes, a constant pitch circle diameter region where a pitch circle diameter is constant and gradually-changing pitch circle diameter regions where the pitch circle diameter gradually increases, in the ranges from opposite ends of the constant pitch circle diameter region to the respective openings. At least the constant pitch circle diameter region has a surface hardness greater than or equal to a predetermined value, among the constant pitch circle diameter region and the gradually-changing pitch circle diameter regions excluding edges at the boundaries between the respective openings and the inner peripheral rolling groove, and the edges at the boundaries between the respective openings and the inner peripheral rolling groove have a surface hardness less than the predetermined value.

Abstract: A sliding member has a sliding surface sliding under a wet condition in which a lubricant oil exists. The sliding surface is coated with a laminate film comprising an upper layer and a lower layer. The lower layer comprises hydrogen-free amorphous carbon (hydrogen-free DLC) and carbon particles dispersed on or in the hydrogen-free DLC. The hydrogen-free DLC has a hydrogen content of 5 atom % or less when the lower layer as a whole is 100 atom %. The upper layer comprises boron-containing amorphous carbon (B-DLC) and has protrusions on a surface side of the upper layer along the carbon particles of the lower layer. The B-DLC has a boron content of 1-40 atom % when the upper layer as a whole is 100 atom %. The protrusions have a particle diameter of 0.5-5 ?m and exist with a density of 20 protrusions/100 ?m2 or more.

Abstract: The steer-by-wire steering system comprise a steering input device and a steering operation device that steers wheels which are mechanically coupleable. The steering input device includes a steering-side motor that supplies a steering shaft with a steering reaction force, the steering operation device includes a steered-side motor that supplies a rack shaft with a steering force, and a power supply control circuit that controls the steering-side motor to generate the steering reaction force and that controls the steered-side motor to generate the steering force. When the duty ratio of a duty signal that is generated to control the power supply to the steered-side motor reaches a setting value that is defined to indicate that a steered angle becomes unable to follow a steering angle, the power supply control circuit controls the power supply to the steering-side motor such that the steering-side motor increases the steering reaction force.