Abstract: A door construction includes a door, comprising an outer panel, and adapted to cover an opening formed in a vehicle body; a side impact bar, disposed in an interior of the door, and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body; a window regulator, disposed in the interior of the door, and operable to raise and lower a window glass; and a plate-shaped member, disposed in the interior of the door, and adapted to support the window regulator. The plate-shaped member is connected to the side impact bar. The plate-shaped member has a shape following the outer panel. A width of the side impact bar and a width of the window regulator are overlapped with each other in a width direction of the vehicle body.

Abstract: A door structure includes a door for opening and closing a door opening formed in a vehicle body. The door has a side impact bar extending in the backward and forward direction of the vehicle body and a window regulator for lifting and lowering a glass of the door. The window regulator is mounted on the side impact bar and is disposed within a sectional width area of the side impact bar in a vehicle width direction.

Abstract: There is provided a multicylinder internal combustion engine. Branches of an exhaust manifold are connected to a common exhaust gas sensor via respective exhaust communication passages. The exhaust gas sensor detects the exhaust air-fuel ratio of each cylinder. The distance from exhaust ports of the engine to the exhaust gas sensor is set to be shorter than the distance from the exhaust ports to a catalyst disposed in an exhaust pipe.

Abstract: There is provided a steering column supporting apparatus in which tilt pins are locked on a tilt bracket fixed to a vehicle body and engaged with tilt plates welded to respective both sides of a steering column, and slotted holes extended in the axial direction of the steering column are formed in the tilt plates. A bulging part is formed on a lower surface of the steering column, and is designed to be larger in size than a gap between the lower surface of the steering column and the tilt bracket and increased in height as it goes rearward in the direction of the length of a vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce impact load applied to the steering column in the event of head-on vehicle crash.

Abstract: A HC adsorbing material whose deterioration can be judged with high accuracy and reliability. The HC adsorbing material contains a zeolite having cation adsorption sites (Al sites) to which are bonded ions of an element (Ce+) that exhibits oxygen storage capacity (OSC) in a nonionic state (when present as an oxide).

Abstract: An automobile interior board includes a base layer; and a nonwoven or woven surface layer, laminated on at least one surface of the base layer. The base layer is comprised of a composite material of: a first fiber, comprised of a bamboo fiber; a second fiber, comprised of one of cotton, hemp and mixture of cotton and hemp; and a biodegradable resin. Weight percentage of the first fiber, the second fiber and the biodegradable resin satisfies a following equation, the first fiber: the second fiber: the biodegradable resin=30 to 70:10 to 60:20 to 60. The surface layer is comprised of one of a PET resin fiber and a natural material-derived fiber.

Abstract: When a combustion feedback correction coefficient to which a predetermined value is added in correspondence to half miss firing judgment exceeds a heavy fuel judgment value (K0), heavy fuel judgment is made, and heavy fuel corresponding control for increasing the fuel amount by a combustion feedback correction coefficient (Kfb) and by prolongation of increasing fuel amount (?) immediately after the startup is performed. When startup is consecutive startup, having a small drop width of a cooling water temperature (TH), from the last engine stop, and the number of times of ignition (Nig) accumulated during the last running is smaller than a warming judgment value (Nig0) at re-startup after running under the heavy fuel corresponding control, miss firing judgment is regarded as being impossible and alternative control for increasing the fuel amount is performed instead of the heavy fuel corresponding control.

Abstract: A lighting system comprising: an instrument panel having an ashtray and a cigar lighter placed parallel therein in a vehicle width direction; a light emitter; a bulb case extending in the vehicle width direction on a rear surface of the instrument panel above the ashtray and the cigar lighter, and accommodating the light emitter; and a plurality of slits provided in the instrument panel above the ashtray and the cigar lighter, and facing an opening portion of the bulb case, the light emitter being disposed above the slits.

Abstract: A door latch device includes a striker, a fork, a pawl lever that locks rotation of the fork, the fork having a first locking part which locks the striker when the fork is shifted from an open state though a half-grasped state to a full-grasped state and a second locking part which is locked with the pawl lever in the half-grasped state, a stopper member which restricts rotation of the pawl lever, and a sound adjusting unit that makes a first striking sound which occurs when the striker strikes the first locking part larger than a third striking sound which occurs when the pawl lever strikes the stopper member is in the full-grasped state of the fork, and that makes a second striking sound which occurs when the pawl lever strikes the second locking part larger than the third striking sound.

Abstract: A driving force distribution and controlling apparatus and method for a vehicle is disclosed by which control interference which may occur between control by a driving force distribution mechanism and control by an antiskid brake system (ABS) is suppressed while the behavior of the vehicle is stabilized.

Abstract: An occupant restraint system having a knee airbag and an upper-body airbag. The control unit inflates only the knee airbag if the impact load applied to the vehicle due to a collision or the like is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value and less than the second predetermined value that is set larger than the first predetermined value, and inflates both the knee airbag and the upper-body airbag if the impact load is equal to or greater than the second predetermined value.

Abstract: An opening and closing apparatus of a vehicle includes, an opening and closing member for opening and closing an opening portion of a vehicle body; a lower hinge for pivotably supporting the opening and closing member from below; and a cover member disposed below the opening and closing member placed in a closed state for covering a pivot support portion of the lower hinge from behind, wherein when the opening and closing member is in an open state, a pivoting portion pivotably supported by the pivot support portion straddles the cover member, the opening and closing member is located rearwardly of the cover member, and an uppermost site of the pivoting portion is located at a position not higher than an upper surface of the opening and closing member.

Abstract: When an engine is in transitional operation, combustion is carried out by spray guide method. Further, when catalyst temperature T is high, namely, equal to or higher than a specified maximum temperature T1, stratified charge combustion by spray guide method is carried out, and when the catalyst temperature T is low, namely, equal to or lower than a specified minimum temperature T2, stratified charge combustion by wall guide method is carried out.

Abstract: A vehicle seat construction includes a reinforcement member, which is secured on a frame of a vehicle seat main body, and anchor bars fixed on the reinforcement member such that connector portions of a child seat can be brought into releasable engagement with the anchor bars, respectively. The vehicle seat main body is provided with a seat cushion and a seatback. The anchor bars are fixed on upper portions of the reinforcement member, respectively, such that guide portions for guiding the corresponding connector portions of the child seat to the associated anchor bars are located below the anchor bars.

Abstract: A body has a front side member and a side sill connected thereto. The side sill is disposed outwardly of and below the front side member in the width and height directions of the body. At a junction between the front side member and the side sill, a reinforcement member for reinforcing the junction is provided. The reinforcement member has a longitudinal wall and front and rear walls extending in the body width direction and functioning as bulkheads, and permits the junction to resist a bending moment caused by an impact force applied to the front of the body and acting on the junction in the backward, upward and inward directions of the body. Especially in an offset crash, the reinforcement member restrains a deformation of the side sill and decreases a recession of a front pillar, to thereby reduce a deformation of the passenger cabin.

Abstract: A variable valve driving mechanism is provided with an eccentric member (14) having an annular eccentric portion (15), which is eccentric relative to a camshaft (11), and arranged on an outer periphery of the camshaft (11); an intermediate rotating member (16) having a first groove portion (16A) and second groove portion (16B), which extend in radial directions, and rotatably supported on the eccentric portion (15); a cam lobe (12) having a cam portion (6) for opening and closing an intake valve or exhaust valve (2) and arranged concentrically with and rotatable around the camshaft (11) and for rotation relative to the camshaft (11); a first pin member (17,23) slidably fitted at one end thereof in the first groove portion (16A) and connected at opposite end thereof to the camshaft (11) so that rotation of the camshaft (11) is transmitted to the intermediate rotating member (16); a second pin member (18,24) slidably fitted at one end thereof in the second groove portion (16B) and connected at opposite end ther

Abstract: An ignition timing controller is furnished for use in a spark-ignition internal combustion engine. The controller includes a device for setting the ignition timing of the engine in accordance with the state of operation of the engine and another device for actuating an ignition system on the basis of the ignition timing set by the ignition timing setting device. The ignition timing setting device is constructed of a device for estimating the wall temperature of a combustion chamber of the engine from a variable, which indicates the quantity of combustion energy of the engine, and another device for calculating the ignition timing from the wall temperature of the combustion chamber estimated by the wall temperature estimating device.

Abstract: A fuel injection control apparatus for an internal combustion engine in which the air taken into the intake manifold by a Karman vortex detector. However, the amount of fuel injected is based on a calculated intake volume. The calculated intake volume for a time interval is a weighted sum of the measured volume and the calculated intake volume of the previous period. This overaging amounts for surge storage in the intake manifold and other input paths.

Abstract: A knock control apparatus and method for an internal combustion engine serves to simplify hardware components employed to reduce the load thereon, and hence minimize the cost of manufacture while improving the freedom of control of an engine control unit. Vibrations of a cylinder are sensed to generate a vibration level which is then averaged to provide an average value. A knock determination threshold is generated based on the average value. The vibration level is compared with the threshold for determining whether knock is taking place in the cylinder. When the vibration level exceeds the threshold, engine control parameters are controlled in a direction to suppress knocking in the cylinder. Preferably, the averaging of the vibration level comprises averaging the vibration level to provide a first average value, and averaging the first average value to provide a second average value.

Abstract: A Karman vortex generating member is made integral with a sensor portion and supported elastically by a wall of a fluid conduit through a pair of elastic holding members so that externally produced pressure is prevented from being transmitted to the sensor portion.