Abstract: A steering system for vehicles in which the steered angle ratio of a rear wheel to a front wheel is controllable in accordance with the vehicle speed. The steering system is provided with a manual switch device for selecting to set an arbitrary one of a plurality of predetermined steered angle ratios. The steering system may be further provided with a switch lock device for locking the switch state of the manual switch device. The switch lock device may be actuated when the vehicle speed is higher than a predetermined reference vehicle speed. Further, the switch lock device may be actuated when a reduction gear is shifted to a shift position having a relatively low reduction ratio. The switch lock device may also be actuated when the steered angle of the front wheel is larger than a predetermined value.

Abstract: An automotive suspension system includes a height control system for controlling vehicle height and a damping force adjusting system for adjusting damping force produced by a shock absorber. The height control system and the damping force adjusting system are coordinated such that the damping force is decreased when the height control system shifts the vehicle body upwards, and the damping force is increased when the height control system shifts the vehicle body downwards. Furthermore, the height control system is responsive to the height of the vehicle body and the vehicle speed to shift the vehicle body up and down so that the vehicle body is held to within a predetermined range of height.

Abstract: The suspension includes a pair of arms independently pivoted to opposite sides of the vehicle chassis at one end for up-and-down movement, each arm rotatably carrying a ground-engaging wheel of the vehicle at its free end. Each arm extends in the same direction from its pivoted end, longitudinally of the chassis. A compression spring contacts and upwardly extends from each arm at a distance from its pivoted end, and a load transfer lever is fulcrumed at its center to the chassis; extends transversely of the latter; and its outer ends overly and contact the top of the respective compression springs. The suspension system is applicable to three- and four-wheel motor vehicles. Preferably, the arms are hollow and serve to house part of a transformation mechanism to the wheels, the latter being the driving wheels.

Abstract: An installation for the adjustment of the height of a headrest of a vehicle seat, especially of a motor vehicle seat, by means of a motor mounted in or at the vehicle seat, in which a sensor is provided that detects the seating height of a person seated on the vehicle seat in the normal position and controls the motor for the height adjustment of the headrest in accordance with the detection results.

Abstract: A stalk for supporting a safety belt buckle or the like in a generally predetermined position spaced-apart from an anchor member comprises a single piece of belt webbing material folded lengthwise along two folds to superpose both edge portions on the center portion and position the selvage edges closely adjacent each other. The edge portions are stitched to the center portion, thereby providing a double thickness of belt webbing of substantially half the width of the webbing material. A portion of one end of the folded and stitched webbing piece is folded back on itself and overlaps a portion of the other end, and said end portions are joined together to form the webbing piece into a loop. The loop passes through a hole in the anchor member, and the portions of the loop on opposite sides of the anchor member lie substantially flat closely adjacent each other and are stiffened and stabilized by a layer of polymeric material injected and molded in situ between said portions of the loop.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a control circuit for regulating the ignition power of a vehicle to inhibit direction changing shifting of the vehicle transmission while the vehicle is in motion. The control circuit includes a motion sensing circuit for generating a vehicle motion signal when the vehicle is in motion, a transmission sensing circuit for generating a transmission neutral signal when the vehicle transmission is in neutral, and an ignition circuit control connected to the motion sensing circuit and the transmission sensing circuit for receiving the vehicle motion signal and the transmission neutral signal, and which is operable for interrupting the vehicle engine ignition power for a predetermined period of time when an operator shifts the transmission into nuetral while the vehicle is in motion.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for installation in a vehicle having an air suspension system comprising four air beams, each supported over a vehicle axle by bellows supplied by air from an air tank, and under control of one front and two rear height control valves. Manually selective leveling control apparatus is installed in this system for leveling the vehicle, particularly when the vehicle (which has been converted from a bus to a motor home) is parked. Four five-way ball leveling valves are installed in the air suspension system. Each leveling valve is installed between a different height control valve, the bellows of an air beam, and the common air tank.

Abstract: One version of the safety strap is permanently connected to the wire frame adjacent the child seat in a shopping cart. The other version weaves the belt through the wire. Both belts restrain a child from standing and then falling out of the cart. The free end of either strap has a D ring sewn into the end. This prevents disassembly with consequent change of improper reassembly.

Abstract: A webbing tension adjusting apparatus is arranged such that, when the occupant leaves the vehicle, a motor is rotated forwardly, and a takeup shaft for winding up an occupant restraining webbing thereon is thereby rotated in the webbing wind-off direction through a one-way clutch which is interposed between the motor and the webbing takeup shaft. Accordingly, the webbing is quickly wound off when the occupant leaves the vehicle, so that the webbing tension is reduced. Thus, it is possible to decrease the amount of friction or rubbing which occurs between the sliding webbing and the clothes of the occupant.

Abstract: This invention relates to an air-spring suspension system installed intermediate the carriage frame supported on wheels and the cargo or passenger holding structure supported by the carriage frame in the construction of power driven vehicles. The most preferable embodiment of the air-spring suspension is the air-spring suspension beam comprising a pair of beams assembled in a parallel configuration wherein the flanges of the two beams provide an elongated confined space intermediate the two beams, that houses one or more elastic compressed air containers cushioning the relative movements between the two beams in the lateral direction relative to one another. The air-spring suspension beam may further include means for damping the oscillatory movements between the two beams, which means may include the friction between the flanges of the two beams or the shock absorbers including dashpots.

Abstract: An independent wheel suspension for a vehicle wheel comprises a wheel carrier having a steering linkage lever formed on an upper part thereof, a lower control arm connected to the carrier, an upper control arm connected to the carrier and pivoted in a bearing, and a steering tie rod connected to the steering linkage lever and to a steering mechanism. The steering linkage lever extends outwardly over the apex of the wheel to a point of connection with the steering tie rod. The tie rod lies in a horizontal plane and is substantially parallel to a longitudinal vertical center plane of the vehicle. The upper control arm extends longitudinally in side-by-side relation to the steering tie rod, and is pivoted about an axis which extends obliquely from a point of intersection with a central transverse wheel plane outwardly and downwardly (moving from the plane toward the bearing member). Provision is made for interconnecting two or more wheels provided with essentially identical suspensions in a serial fashion.

Abstract: A seat belt device having a seat belt one end of which is moved back and forth by a lever. The other end of the seat belt is connected to a retractor mounted on the vehicle body, and the intermediate portion of the seat belt is loosely fitted through a hanger mounted on the vehicle body. A tongue plate is carried on the seat belt and engageable with a buckle attached to a seat for fastening the seat belt. When the door is opened, the seat belt is moved rearward by the lever to allow a passenger to get in and off the vehicle with ease. When the door is closed, the seat belt is moved forward by the lever to permit a passenger on the seat to catch the seat belt easily. When the lever is moved into the forward position, its distal end is located above an upper surface of a seat bottom, forward of a front surface of a seat back, and below a straight line passing through a front end of the upper surface of the seat bottom and an upper end of the front surface of the seat back.

Abstract: An axle lift mechanism (100) is used on a vehicle having a normally lowered axle/wheel assembly to automatically lift and maintain the assembly in a raised position when the vehicle is not heavily loaded. A trailing arm (62) connected to the vehicle axle (12) is pivotably coupled at one end to the vehicle frame (68) and mounts an air spring (26) at its opposing end to transmit load to the axle (12) when the air spring (26) is inflated. The lift mechanism (100) includes a flexible strap (102) secured at one end to the trailing arm (62) and wound around a pivotable cam (108). The opposing end of the strap (102) is coupled to a rod (128) adjustably engaged with a spring cup (130). A tapered coil spring (152) coaxial with the rod (128) bears against the spring cup (130) and exerts forces on the rod (128) and strap (102) sufficient to rotate the cam (108) and lift the trailing arm (62) and axle (12) to a raised position when the air spring (26) pressure is relieved.

Abstract: A vehicle suspension system in which a computer controls damping and spring forces to optimize ride and handling characteristics under a wide range of driving conditions. A controllable shock absorber connected between the wheel and frame of the vehicle includes a hydraulic sensor which provides signals to the computer which are representative of the position of the piston within the shock absorber. The computer utilizes these position signals to control compression and rebound hydraulic pressure regulators by continuously computing, utilizing programmed algorithms, compression and rebound damping forces that will yield the desired ride and handling characteristics. An air spring may be connected with the shock absorber for compression and rebound along the same axis. Pressure sensors and air pressure inlet and outlet valves are connected to the computer for adjusting the pressure within the air spring to provide the desired spring rate.

Abstract: A stabilizer for a vehicle suspension has a central rod portion supported so as to be rotatable about its own axis by the vehicle body. An arm portion is coupled to a shock absorber by a connecting link at one end pivotally attached to the end of the arm portion and at the other end pivotally connected to the shock absorber. The pivot point between the arm portion and the connecting link is positioned below the pivot point of the shock absorber and the connecting link and is positioned on the opposite side of the axis of the shock absorber relative to the central rod portion when the vehicle wheel is in a neutral position. The pivot point between the arm portion and the connecting link moves along a locus which has a region such that the minimum distance from the pivot point to the axis of the shock absorber decreases with an increase in the vertical displacement of the vehicle wheel from the neutral position.

Abstract: A vehicle suspension apparatus has a hard/soft switching unit for switching suspension units between a hard state and a soft state, a vehicle velocity sensor for detecting a vehicle's velocity, and control means for receiving a signal from the vehicle velocity sensor and controlling the hard/soft switching unit for holding the suspension units in the soft state when the vehicle's velocity detected by the vehicle velocity sensor is smaller than a switching velocity as a first preset velocity set by the hard/soft switching unit and in the hard state when the vehicle's velocity detected by the vehicle velocity sensor exceeds the switching velocity. The vehicle suspension apparatus further has a switching velocity preset switch for presetting the switching velocity.

Abstract: A seat belt fitting is provided which comprises a guide element mounted on a carriage that is movable along a rail or the like. The rail may be mounted on the "B" post of an automobile so that the position of the guide element can be adjusted up-and-down relative to the shoulder of a person sitting in the automobile. The carriage can be selectively retained in a plurality of different positions along the rail. In the invention a spring strip has one end connected to the carriage, and the other end wound into a spiral. The spiral portion of the spring is retained in a predetermined position and the spring imparts a bias to the carriage tending to cancel out a bias supplied to the carriage by the seat belt.

Abstract: In a suspension device for automobile having a shock absorber provided with a damping force change-over mechanism and a suspension spring provided with a spring constant change-over mechanism, a power source to perform both the changing-over of the damping force of the shock absorber and the spring constant of the suspension spring depends on a fluid pressure source equipped in the automobile and the fluid pressure from the pressure source is controlled by an electromagnetic valve.

Abstract: An air lift axle assembly (2) for stabilizing a vehicle (1) which is subjected to crosswinds. The assembly also increases the vehicle's ultimate load carrying capacity. The assembly includes a set of tires (3) which may be remotely lowered to engage the road surface (4) by means of an inflatable bladder (28) which presses against a spar (22), the spar being pivotably mounted to the vehicle by means of hollow bar (10). Springs (25) retract the assembly when not in use such that the deflated bladder (28) is housed within a canister (27), the canister (27) providing sufficient support to the inflated bladder (28) such that additional longitudinal stiffening of the bladder (28) is unnecessary.

Abstract: A vehicle frame construction in a buggy with a riding saddle, includes a main frame extending longitudinally along a central axis of the buggy, the main frame having front and rear ends, and a pair of down tubes disposed one on each side of the main frame and having one ends fixed to sides of the front end of the main frame and opposite ends fixed to sides of the rear end of the main frame. Each of the down tubes is composed of a downwardly directed portion extending downwardly from the front end of the main frame and in a forward direction of the buggy, a horizontal portion extending substantially horizontally from the downwardly directed portion in a rearward direction of the buggy, and an upwardly directed portion extending substantially vertically upwardly from the horizontal portion to the rear end of the main frame.