Abstract: An image analyzer for analyzing the position of a vehicle driver in a three-dimensional coordinate system. The analyzer comprises a light emitting element for emitting an infrared light the driver's face portion and an image detector arranged to receive reflected infrared light to generate an optical image of the driver's face portion. A microcomputer includes a memory for storing an electronic image corresponding to the optical image and processes the stored image to determine the position of a facial feature, such as an eye, in a three-dimensional coordinate system. Position indicating data is utilized in a driver assistance system.

Abstract: A radial plunger pump is provided for supplying pressurized working fluid to any of a plurality of systems using a simple construction in which the pump housing is provided with a plurality of outlets and a switching device for switchingly supplying pressurized working fluid to the respective systems without a requirement for a pressurized reservoir for the pump.

Abstract: An automotive wiper control apparatus has an infrared emitting unit outside an occupant compartment, a photodetector unit inside the compartment in optical alignment with the infrared emitting unit, and an electric control for automatically controlling the wiper operation in dependence on the state in which infrared rays emitted by the infrared emitting unit through a predetermined area of the windshield are received by the photodetector unit. The photodetector unit has an infrared transmission plate formed of an infrared transmissive material and carrying infrared shielding layers applied in a striped pattern to one surface of the plate. The infrared transmission plate is disposed in front of a plurality of photodetectors so that a contrast is produced on the photodetectors by the infrared rays passing through the uncoated zones of the plate which are free from the infrared shielding layers. The contrast is varied with variation in the quantity of raindrops on the predetermined area of the windshield.

Abstract: An electric fuel pump for pumping a liquid fuel from a tank to an engine. The pump device has a regenerative pump section and an electric motor section for driving the regenerative pump section. The regenerative pump section includes a pump casing having a first inner surface and a second inner surface axially opposing to and spaced from each other to define therebetween a pump chamber, a shaft adapted to be rotatingly driven by the electric motor section and an impeller accommodated by the pump chamber and mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith but axially movably relatively thereto. The impeller has one axial end surface opposing to the first inner surface with a first gap formed therebetween, and the other axial end surface opposing to the second inner surface of the pump casing with a second gap formed therebetween.

Abstract: An electrically operated fuel pump apparatus comprises an electric motor and a regenerative pump having a pump housing and a disc-like impeller. The motor shaft has an end portion extending into a central axial through-hole formed in an end wall of the pump housing. A joint member comprising a ring-like base and a circumferential row of axial rods extending therefrom is rotatably disposed in the axial through-hole in the end wall of the pump housing and secured to the end portion of the motor shaft. The impeller is rotatably and axially movably mounted on an impeller shaft provided separately of the motor shaft and secured to the other end wall of the pump housing. The impeller is formed therein with a circumferential row of axial apertures with which the axial rods of the joint member loosely engage to transmit the rotation of the motor shaft to the impeller while permitting axial movement of the impeller relative to the motor shaft and the pump housing.

Abstract: Filter apparatus having a honeycomb structure and a heater for purifying exhaust gases consists of cells or passages defined by porous partition walls. Alternate passages are provided respectively with upstream plugs and downstream plugs. Particulates in exhaust gases are trapped in the honeycomb structure and ignited by the heater. The upstream plugs define spaces upstream thereof in which particulates are trapped in addition to those trapped in the passages having downstream plugs. The heat of burning of the particulates trapped in the spaces facilitates the burning of the particulates trapped in the passages having downstream plugs. Therefore, the exhaust gas particulates trapped and collected in the downstream portion of the structure can also be easily burned to regenerate the structure over its entire length.

Abstract: A torque transmission system has driving and driven pulley units around which an endless V-belt extends. Each pulley unit has a stationary pulley part rotatable with a shaft and a movable pulley part disposed to define with the stationary pulley part a circumferentially continuous groove for receiving the V-belt. The movable pulley parts of the pulley units are axially resiliently biased so that the radii of the circle along which the V-belt engages the driving and driven pulley units are varied to change the speed-change ratio of the transmission system. The movable pulley part of the driven pulley unit is axially shifted by the action of fly weights held between a stationary plate fixed to the shaft and a holder fixed to the movable pulley part.

Abstract: A vane-type rotary pump and a vane-type rotary compressor are integrated into a single unit and are driven by a common shaft. The compressor assembly is positioned at the rear of the pump assembly to minimize the number of mechanical seals required to seal the pump assembly along the shaft. The combined pump and compressor unit is provided with a regulating mechanism for reducing the compressor output during moderate or off modes of the refrigerant circuit.

Abstract: A power transmission device for vehicles comprises: a housing rotatably supporting a crank shaft of an engine of the vehicle; a first shaft rotatably supported inside the housing to be coaxial with the crank shaft; a clutch unit having a drive member arranged inside the housing and coupled to the crank shaft, and a driven member fixed to the first shaft; a second shaft rotatably supported inside the housing to be parallel to the first shaft. The device has also infinite variable transmission including a drive pulley consisting of a fixed sheave and an axially movable sheave mounted on the first shaft, a driven pulley consisting of a fixed pulley and an axially movable sheave mounted on the second shaft, and a V belt which is placed the driving and driven pulleys through V grooves defined by the fixed and axially movable sheaves of the driving and driven pulleys.

Abstract: An electrically operated fuel pump device for use in vehicles comprises a regenerative pump component and an electric motor component operatively connected to the regenerative pump component to actuate the same. The regenerative pump component includes a casing defining therein a pump chamber and a closed vane type impeller rotatably disposed within the pump chamber. The impeller has an outer peripheral portion thereof cooperating with the pump chamber to define a pump flow passage. The impeller has in the outer peripheral portion a plurality of circumferentially spaced vane grooves formed in opposite end faces of the impeller. The impeller has its outer diameter within a range of approximately 20-65 mm. A flow passage representative dimension defined by S/l is within a range of approximately 0.4-2 mm where S is a cross-sectional area of the pump flow passage and l is a cross-sectional peripheral length of the outer peripheral portion of the impeller.

Abstract: A regenerative pump has a pump housing and a disc-like impeller mounted in the pump housing for axial movement therein and rotated by an electric motor. The impeller is provided with circumferential rows of vane grooves formed in the end faces of the impeller adjacent to the outer periphery thereof. The pump housing has inner surfaces closely spaced from the impeller end faces. Circumferentially continuous annular projections or circumferentially discontinuous projections are formed on either the impeller end faces or the housing inner surfaces to keep at least the major surface areas of the impeller end faces closely spaced from the mating inner surfaces of the housing. Axial passages extend through the impeller to equalize fluid pressures on the opposite impeller end faces.

Abstract: A driving mechanism comprises an electric motor assembly having an output shaft drivingly connected to a vehicle accessory device and arranged to be connected to an internal combustion engine, the motor assembly being designed to generate a high output torque on the output shaft in its first activated condition and to generate a low output torque on the output shaft in its second activated condition, an electrically operated actuator for connecting the output shaft to the engine upon energization thereof and disconnecting the output shaft from the engine upon deenergization thereof, and an electric control circuit for energizing the actuator and the motor assembly to start the engine under the first activated condition of the motor assembly, for deenergizing the actuator after start of the engine, for switching over the motor assembly to its second activated condition from its first activated condition when the accessory device is unloaded and for switching over the motor assembly to its first activated condi

Abstract: A pump apparatus has a regenerative pump and a motor for driving the regenerative pump. A substantially annular flow passage is formed in the pump housing of the regenerative pump and communicated with a discharge port and a suction port. An impeller is rotatably housed in the pump housing. A plurality of radial vane grooves are formed circumferentially spaced in the outer peripheral portion of each surface of the impeller. A recess is formed in the portion of one of side surfaces of the flow passage aligned axially with the discharge port formed in the other side face of the flow passage.

Abstract: In combination with a belt tensioner which includes an idler pulley to be radially displaced under control of an actuator for applying an tensioning force on an endless belt of the drive system for the vehicle accessories, an electric control apparatus comprises a microcomputer for calculating the actual tensioning force on the belt related to radial displacement of the idler pulley and for calculating drive power necessary for driving the vehicle accessories to calculate total drive torque of the vehicle accessories in relation to rotational speed of a prime mover of the vehicle. The microcomputer also calculates an optimum tensioning force based on a desired relationship between the optimum tensioning force and the total drive torque in consideration with the maximum efficiency of power transmission of the belt such that it generates a control signal when the calculated actual tensioning force is different from the calculated optimum tensioning force.

Abstract: A windshield wiper control device for use on a vehicle includes a light-emitting unit mounted on the vehicle outside of a compartment for emitting a ray of infrared radiation, a photodetector unit mounted on the vehicle within the compartment and having a slit plate for producing an image of a striped pattern with bright and dark areas in response to exposure to the ray of electromagnetic radiation through the windshield and an array of photodetectors for sensing the bright and dark areas of the striped image and generating signals indicative of the bright and dark areas, and an arithmetic circuit arrangement for computing a contrast of the bright and dark areas based on the signals from the photodetectors and controlling the speed and/or period of operation of the windshield wiper based on the computed contrast.

Abstract: An electric control system for an automobile transmission includes an endless transmission member running on a pair of V-shaped pulley units, the mutual distances of the conical sheaves of which are hydraulically adjustable to transmit an output torque of an engine to a driven apparatus. The electric control system is arranged to determine an optimum fluid pressure in relation to the actual output torque of the engine and to determine an optimum transmission ratio for low fuel consumption in relation to the actual output power of the engine. The control system produces a first electric control signal indicative of the difference between the optimum fluid pressure and the actual fluid pressure in one of actuators for the respective pulley units and produces a second electric control signal indicative of the difference between the optimum and actual transmission ratios.

Abstract: A torque transmission belt means comprises a metallic ring which extends around a driving pulley and a driven pulley and a plurality of blocks made of hard material, which are linked up by the ring so as to be shiftably engaged therewith. Each block is provided with a concave portion in the front surface or the rear surface in the moving direction of the ring and an elastic member is fixed to the front surface or the rear surface of a back plate portion of each block, which forms a bottom of the concave portion so that each elastic member is contacted with the back plate portion of the adjacent block. Since each block is contacted with the adjacent blocks through the elastic members, the torque transmission belt means silently operates.

Abstract: An electrically operated fuel pump device comprises a regenerative pump component and an electric motor component operatively connected to the regenerative pump component to actuate the same. The regenerative pump component includes a pump casing having spaced inner surfaces thereof cooperating with each other to define therebetween a pump chamber. An impeller is disposed within the pump chamber rotatably and axially movably. Clearances are defined between axial end faces of the impeller and the inner surfaces of the pump casing, respectively. Liquid fuel increased in pressure to a discharge pressure by the rotation of the impeller is introduced into the clearances to act on the axial end faces of the impeller so as to minimize the direct contact of the axial end faces of the impeller with the respective inner surfaces of the pump casing.

Abstract: A fuel pump apparatus has an electric motor and a regenerative pump having a pump housing and an impeller rotated by the motor shaft journalled by a bearing to the pump housing. The impeller is operative to produce in the pump housing a fluid pressure which is unbalanced in the circumferential direction of the impeller and forms circumferentially unbalanced radially inward forces the resultant force of which is applied through the impeller to a first side of the peripheral surface of the shaft. The discharge port of the pump is open to the interior space within the motor.

Abstract: A torque transmission belt means comprises a ring having excellent bending and tensile strength which is extended around pulleys positioned in the driving side and the driven side and a series of blocks composed of main blocks made of non-compressive material having high strength and secondary blocks made of elastic material, which are alternately arranged along the ring so as to be shiftably engaged therewith.