Abstract: A vehicle hood structure including a hood outer panel and a hood inner panel, wherein the hood inner panel is made from a resin, is disposed at a hood lower side of the hood outer panel, is joined to the hood outer panel, and includes a general portion, plural ribs and a weakened portion, wherein: the general portion has a general face that faces the hood outer panel, the plural ribs project out from the general portion toward the hood outer panel side and extend along the general face, and are set at intervals in either a hood width direction or a hood front-rear direction, and the weakened portion is formed at the ribs and extends along an extension direction of the ribs.

Abstract: A knee airbag device includes a knee airbag that is disposed in a folded state inside a steering column cover inside which a projection body that projects downward toward one side in a vehicle-width direction is disposed in a rear area, and a cylindrical inflator that supplies the gas to the knee airbag to deploy the knee airbag. The inflator is disposed inside the steering column cover such that at least a portion of the inflator is positioned in the rear area inside the steering column cover. The inflator is disposed in substantially parallel with an axis of a column tube such that the inflator is positioned below the column tube. The end portion of the inflator, in which a gas injection port is formed, faces toward a rear of the vehicle.

Abstract: A coaxial two-wheel vehicle is provided. The coaxial two-wheel vehicle includes a step plate for a rider to ride on; a vehicle body supporting the step plate to be capable of changing a posture in a roll direction of rotating around a roll axis as the center when a traveling direction is set to the roll axis; and a pair of wheels disposed on the same axis at both sides of the vehicle body in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction and rotatably supported by the vehicle body. Further, the coaxial two-wheel vehicle includes a pair of wheel drivers driving and rotating the pair of wheels independently and a control lever directly changing a posture of the step plate or indirectly changing the posture through the vehicle body.

Abstract: In the vehicle of the invention, when the driver releases a depressed accelerator pedal, the drive control sets a vehicle speed V at the moment to a target vehicle speed V* (step S440). An engine and a motor for outputting driving power are controlled to drive the vehicle at the target vehicle speed V*. When the driver steps on a released brake pedal, the drive control stores the target vehicle speed V* set before the driver's depression of the brake pedal as a previous target vehicle speed Vpre and cancels the setting of the target vehicle speed V* (steps S470 and S480). In response to the driver's subsequent release of the brake pedal, the drive control sets the vehicle speed V at the moment to the target vehicle speed V* (step S510) and restarts constant-speed drive (cruise drive).

Abstract: In a fuel cell vehicle 10 of the invention, fuel cells 20 are integrally placed in a lower space 15 of a front seat 14, while a secondary battery 40 is integrally placed in a lower space 18 of a rear seat 17. The integral arrangements of the fuel cells 20 and the secondary battery 40 separately in the lower space 15 of the front seat 14 and in the lower space 18 of the rear seat 17 ensure high-performance operations of both the fuel cells 20 and the secondary battery 40 having different working environments. This arrangement also attains the effective use of the generally-dead, lower spaces 15 and 18 of the front and rear seats 14 and 17 to receive the fuel cells 20, the secondary battery 40, and their peripheral equipment.

Abstract: The invention provides a promoter that can be used in the presence of an organic acid. The promoter includes DNA with promoter activity of high osmolarity response 7 gene (HOR7 gene), glycelaldehyde 3 phosphate dehydrogenase 2 gene (TDH2 gene), heat shock protein 30 gene (HSP30), hexose transport protein 7 gene (HXT7 gene), thioredoxin peroxidase 1 gene (AHP1 gene), or membrane protein 1 associated gene gene) of yeasts.

Abstract: In an OFF condition of an ECO switch, a stop decision reference value Wstop is set to a value W1 (step S420). In an ON condition of the ECO switch, the stop decision reference value Wstop is set to a value W2 (step S430). When an output limit Wout of a battery set according to a battery temperature and a state of charge of the battery is not less than the set stop decision reference value Wstop, the engine is permitted to stop (step S450). When the output limit Wout is less than the set stop decision reference value Wstop, the engine is prohibited from stopping (step S460). The value W1 is specified as a value of electric power required for a smooth restart of the engine after its stop during a drive of the vehicle. The value W2 is specified to be close to a value of minimum electric power required for a restart of the engine after its stop during a drive of the vehicle and is set to be smaller than the value W1.

Abstract: A fuel injection valve for an internal combustion engine is such that an inside wall of a nozzle hole through which fuel is injected into a combustion chamber or an intake port of the internal combustion engine is coated with a composite coating formed of a lipophilic portion and an oil repelling portion which are finely interspersed on the nano order. The inside wall of the nozzle hole is formed by multiple grooves extending in the fuel jet direction and flat portions between these grooves, and inside walls of the grooves are coated with an oil repellant coating and the flat portions are coated with a lipophilic coating.

Abstract: An engine cooling apparatus includes a coolant inlet of a block water jacket formed in a cylinder block, wherein coolant is introduced into the block water jacket through the coolant inlet, a flow-directing plate that is disposed in the block water jacket at a position downstream of the coolant inlet, and that directs the coolant, which has been introduced into the block water jacket through the coolant inlet, toward a head water jacket and a control portion that controls inflow of the coolant from the head water jacket into the block water jacket.

Abstract: A control device generates, upon receiving an instruction to start engine while drive wheels of a hybrid vehicle are driven by a motor generator, a signal to output the signal to a voltage step-up converter, and thereby drives and controls the voltage step-up converter to step up a DC voltage that is output from a battery to a maximum voltage of a motor drive apparatus. Then, the control device generates, when an output voltage of the voltage step-up converter reaches the maximum voltage, a signal to output the generated signal to an inverter. Accordingly, the inverter is driven and controlled to drive motor generator in powering mode.

Abstract: In response to the driver's gearshift operation from a parking position to a drive position, the control procedure of the invention controls a motor connected to a transmission to output a center adjustment torque Tset, while the transmission is in a state of disconnecting the motor from an axle of a hybrid vehicle. The control procedure adjusts the rotation centers of respective rotational elements in the transmission by rotating the respective rotational elements, and then initiates gradual engagement of a brake to set the transmission in a low gear position. This arrangement desirably retains deviation of the rotation centers of the respective rotational elements in the transmission and prevents potential troubles due to the eccentric rotation centers of the respective rotational elements in the transmission.

Abstract: In a ball joint 10, when a ball stud 11 rotates about its center axis L, at the beginning of the rotation, a ball seat 12 can be elastically deformed in the rotational direction, whereby the rotational torque can be gradually increased as the rotational angle increases. In a region of the ball seat 12 where slits S are provided, the frictional engagement force between a spherical head portion 11a of the ball stud 11 and the ball seat 12 is made greater than the frictional engagement force between the ball seat 12 and the ball socket 13. Therefore, when the ball stud 11 rotates about its center axis L, the ball seat 12 elastically deforms in the rotational direction before the spherical head portion 11a starts to slip in relation to the ball seat 12 in the region where a lager fiction engagement force is generated.

Abstract: Upon shifting control of differential mechanism 10, speed ratio ?0 of continuously-variable transmission portion 11 and speed ratio ? of automatic transmission portion 20 are determined by vehicle-output control device 82 on the basis of target engine output PE* and vehicle speed V, so as to establish an operating point of engine 8 which provides the target engine output PE* and which follows an optimum-fuel-economy curve, and the shifting control of the continuously-variable transmission portion 11 and the shifting control of the automatic transmission portion 20 are effected substantially concurrently, so that engine speed NE continuously changes, and the differential mechanism 10 is shifted with a reduced shifting shock. Further, the speed ratio ?0 of the continuously-variable transmission portion 11, in other words, the engine speed NE is changed by using first electric motor M1 and/or second electric motor M2, permitting an improvement in shifting response of the differential mechanism 10.

Abstract: A small-sized vehicular planetary gear type step-variable transmission having seven or more forward drive gear positions with a wide range speed ratio and suitable for use on a vehicle. A transmission includes three planetary gear sets, four clutches, and two brakes to provide seven or more forward drive gear positions with a wide range speed ratio. A counter gear pair is constituted by an output gear disposed between a first transmission portion and a second transmission portion, and a driven gear which is mounted on a counter shaft rotatably about a second axis parallel to a first axis and which is held in meshing engagement with the output gear. A fourth clutch reduces an amount of increase of an axial length of the transmission, so that the transmission is small-sized and used on the vehicle.