Patents by Inventor Noboru Ashikawa
Noboru Ashikawa has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 5662349Abstract: A suspension arm for a vehicle is provided, the suspension arm including an L-shaped arm body having a first end portion, an intermediate portion, and a second end portion. The first end portion is adapted to pivotally connect the arm body to a vehicle. The intermediate portion has a bulge formed thereon which is adapted to pivotally connect the arm body to the vehicle. The second end portion is adapted to connect the arm body to a vehicle wheel knuckle. The arm body is formed from a single piece of pipe material having a closed cross-section.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 1995Date of Patent: September 2, 1997Assignees: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Yanagawa Seiki K.K., K. K. Tube FormingInventors: Suehiro Hasshi, Toshifumi Yamamoto, Tadayoshi Nakamura, Noboru Ashikawa, Tetsuro Saruwatari, Masanobu Nakamura
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Patent number: 5239894Abstract: A shift control system for a vehicle transmission with multiple gear trains and a main shaft connected to an engine crankshaft through a clutch. The shift control system allowing shifting without disengaging the clutch.Type: GrantFiled: November 27, 1991Date of Patent: August 31, 1993Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kiyoshi Oikawa, Takafumi Tsurumi, Akihito Ohhashi, Noboru Ashikawa, Kouji Yamaguchi, Hisashi Kunii
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Patent number: 5224393Abstract: An electronically controlled transmission in which a shift actuator for driving a sleeve of a roller synchro mechanism and a throttle actuator for an engine are electronically controlled. The shift actuator is comprised of a drum type actuator of a simple structure comprising a shift drum and a shift fork. The use of the roller synchro mechanism ensures that only a small driving force for the shift drum is required, which makes it possible to provide a reduction in size of the shift actuator. In addition, a shift lever for operating a shift switch for producing the shifting instruction signal is mounted on either left or right side of the steering wheel. This ensures that the shifting-up and shifting-down signals can be produced by one of the driver's hands, leading to an improvement in operability of the shift lever.Type: GrantFiled: May 7, 1991Date of Patent: July 6, 1993Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Masami Takano, Akihito Ohhashi, Toyoshi Yasuda
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Patent number: 5181893Abstract: A vehicle transmission of the type having a main shaft and a parallel counter shaft with a plurality of selectable gear trains therebetween. The axis of the engine crankshaft is disposed perpendicular to intermediate portions of the main shaft and the counter shaft, with the low speed gear trains and high speed gear trains positioned on opposite lateral sides of the crankshaft. This results not only in a reduced size of the transmission in the axial direction of the crankshaft but also in a reduced lateral size of the transmission, as compared with a transmission in which the crankshaft is connected in series to the transmission main shaft. A synchro mechanism is mounted on the counter shaft and a shift drum for operating the synchro mechanism is positioned parallel to the counter shaft.Type: GrantFiled: November 27, 1991Date of Patent: January 26, 1993Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Bunsho Yaguchi, Toyoshi Yasuda, Masami Takano, Akihito Ohhashi, Hiroyuki Shimada, Masahiro Akioka
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Patent number: 5178250Abstract: A retainer retaining a plurality of rollers therein so as to permit their slight movement in a radial direction is disposed between cam grooves provided on the outer periphery of an inner cam secured to a rotary shaft and a roller abutment surface formed on the inner periphery of a gear relatively rotatably carried on the rotary shaft, and a dowel-admission groove is defined in a side of the retainer. A dowel provided in a sleeve can enter the dowel-admission groove. The groove is defined between the adjacent rollers retained in the retainer, or at least part of the inner cam, the rollers and the retainer are disposed in a recess made in the gear, thereby achieving a reduction in axial dimension of a roller synchro mechanism.Type: GrantFiled: April 12, 1991Date of Patent: January 12, 1993Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Akihito Ohhashi, Masami Takano, Ken Mizokawa, Tetuya Komori, Naohisa Shibata
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Patent number: 5065836Abstract: A motor vehicle such as a four-wheel drive vehicle having a first axle shaft which is driven by a drive source and a second axle shaft which is driven by the same drive source, each of a pair of wheels associated with the second axle shaft being powered by way of individual variable torque transmitting devices, further comprising: a steering condition sensor; and a control unit which reduces a torque transmission ratio of one of the variable torque transmitting devices corresponding to the inner one of the wheels of the second axle shaft when the steering condition sensor has detected a steering angle greater than a prescribed value. Thereby, the problem of the tight turn braking can be avoided without losing the advantages of four-wheel drive.Type: GrantFiled: April 30, 1990Date of Patent: November 19, 1991Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tetsuro Hamada, Yoshiki Noro, Noboru Ashikawa
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Patent number: 4977989Abstract: A dog clutch mechanism includes a case, first and second rotatable shafts rotatably disposed coaxially in the case, the second rotatable shaft having an annular groove defined in an outer periphery thereof, a dog piece fixedly mounted on the first rotatable shaft and having first dog teeth confronting an end of the second rotatable shaft, a hub axially slidably mounted on the second rotatable shaft and having second dog teeth meshingly engageable with the first dog teeth, the second dog teeth being movable out of meshing engagement with the first dog teeth under a thrust force in response to relative torque transmission between the first and second rotatable shafts. The hub has guide holes extending radially therethrough toward the second rotatable shaft and a plurality of balls are retained respectively in the guide holes are and engageable in the annular groove.Type: GrantFiled: June 28, 1988Date of Patent: December 18, 1990Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Kazuhiko Shimada, Shoji Tokushima, Tetsurou Hamada, Naoya Akama, Masami Takano, Makoto Watanabe
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Patent number: 4976668Abstract: An automobile has a final reduction gear unit including an orthogonal converter gear train, a speed reducer gear train, and a differential gear train which are mounted on one side of the engine of the automobile. The orthogonal converter gear unit includes a drive bevel gear coupled to a first rotatable shaft for rotation about the axis thereof, and a driven bevel gear mounted on a second rotatable shaft normal to the first rotatable shaft and rotatable about the axis of the second rotatable shaft. The speed reducer gear train includes a drive cylindrical gear mounted on the second rotatable shaft, and a driven cylindrical gear held in mesh with the drive cylindrical gear and mounted on a third shaft for rotation thereabout, the third rotatable shaft lying parallel to the second rotatable shaft.Type: GrantFiled: December 9, 1988Date of Patent: December 11, 1990Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Toshiyuki Yumoto
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Patent number: 4921065Abstract: A motor vehicle such as a four-wheel drive vehicle having a first axle shaft which is driven by a drive source and a second axle shaft which is driven by the same drive source, each of a pair of wheels associated with the second axle shaft being powered by way of individual variable torque transmitting devices, further comprising: a steering condition sensor; and a control unit which reduces a torque transmission ratio of one of the variable torque transmitting devices corresponding to the inner one of the wheels of the second axle shaft when the steering condition sensor has detected a steering angle greater than a prescribed value. Thereby, the problem of the tight turn braking can be avoided without losing the advantages of four-wheel drive.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 1988Date of Patent: May 1, 1990Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tetsuro Hamada, Yoshiki Noro, Noboru Ashikawa
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Patent number: 4716984Abstract: An automotive vehicle includes a body with an engine compartment. Its power train includes: an engine with a crank shaft and at least one cylinder, mounted within the engine compartment with the crank shaft extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and with the cylinder extending generally horizontally; a transmission device with a power input shaft, coupled to the engine with the power input shaft substantially coaxial with and rotationally driven from the engine crank shaft; and a differential device, driven from the transmission device, with an axial center line which is located generally below the center line of the crank shaft. Thereby, the engine compartment arrangement can be made compact and low in height, and further the moments of inertia of the vehicle about its yaw and pitch axes can be kept low.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 1986Date of Patent: January 5, 1988Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takefumi Hiramatsu, Noboru Ashikawa
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Patent number: 4625577Abstract: A multi-speed transmission having a plurality of forward speed gear trains and at least one reverse speed gear train wherein two parallel shafts, one fixed and the other movable along its axial direction, are mounted within the transmission casing. Shifting forks are mounted on said shafts to selectively engage the forward and reverse speed gear trains. For example, for a multi-speed transmission having five forward speeds and one reverse speed, a first shift fork is slidably mounted on a stationary shaft to selectively engage the first and second gear trains, a second shift fork is slidably mounted on the slidable shaft to selectively engage the third and fourth gear trains and a third shift fork is mounted on the slidable shaft so as to be slidable in only one direction to engage the fifth speed gear train. Movement of the slidable shaft in the direction opposite that which engages the fifth speed gear train acts to engage the reverse speed gear train.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 1984Date of Patent: December 2, 1986Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Hiroshi Nakayama, Makoto Sumi
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Patent number: 4618021Abstract: In a driving gear for front and rear wheels of automobile, comprising an engine with a crank shaft disposed in the direction of width of the car body, a transmission means supported on an engine case at one side axially of said crank shaft, a clutch provided between the engine and the transmission, a first differential gear coupled to the transmission, a second differential gear transmitting one output of the first differential gear to left and right wheels on the front or rear, a third differential gear transmitting the other output of the first differential gear to left and right wheels on the rear or front, the improvement wherein the first differential gear is of planetary gear type, the second differential gear is of bevel gear type, both the first and second differential gears are provided on both sides of a position corresponding to said clutch on the same axis parallel to said crank shaft.Type: GrantFiled: January 6, 1984Date of Patent: October 21, 1986Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Shunji Sakuma
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Patent number: 4606243Abstract: A driving gear for all-wheel-drive vehicles, comprises a transmission provided with a plurality of shafts parallel with an axis of a vehicle. An interaxle differential gear has an axis parallel with the shafts in the transmission and adapted to output the driving force from the transmission in a divided manner. An interwheel differential gear is provided concentrically with the interaxle differential gear and adapted to apply one output therefrom in a divided manner to right and left wheels which are closer to the transmission. A bevel gear train is interposed between a driving shaft and the interaxle differential gear. The driving shaft is provided so as to cross the axes of the two differential gears at right angles thereto and apply the other output from the interaxle differential gear to right and left wheels which are more distant from the transmission. Finally, a housing is provided in which all the parts are held.Type: GrantFiled: October 4, 1984Date of Patent: August 19, 1986Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Karl Friedrich, Herwig Leinfellner
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Patent number: 4602526Abstract: In a transmission of the type which includes a main transmission mechanism equipped with gear trains of a plurality of transmission stages disposed between an input shaft capable of being connected to a crank shaft of an engine and an output shaft parallel to the input shaft and a sub-transmission mechanism transmitting the driving force from the input shaft to a driven gear of the output shaft via gear trains of other transmission stages, and which is supported so as to project from an engine case along the axis of the crank shaft, the improvement wherein an output gear common to said main and sub-transmission mechanisms is disposed at the end of the output shaft on the engine side and the driven gear is disposed on the output shaft in the proximity of the output gear.Type: GrantFiled: January 6, 1984Date of Patent: July 29, 1986Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Noboru Ashikawa
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Patent number: 4589304Abstract: A four wheel drive gear box having a planetary internal differential concentric with a reduction gear driven by an output gear of a transmission, a planetary carrier driven by the reduction gear, a ring gear driving a first shaft concentric with the reduction gear, a sun gear driving a second shaft which carries a gear which drives, via other gearing, an inter-wheel differential, the first shaft driving the other inter-wheel differential, a support member enclosing the inter-axle differential and connected with the reduction gear, and a connecting member between the ring gear and the first shaft.Type: GrantFiled: October 4, 1984Date of Patent: May 20, 1986Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Noboru Ashikawa, Karl Friedrich, Heribert Lanzer
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Patent number: 4577721Abstract: In a four-wheel drive car comprising an engine mounted on the front or rear side of car body and having its crank shaft disposed in the direction of width of the car body, a transmission provided with an output gear capable of being connected to the crank shaft and rotating around an axis parallel with the crank shaft, a reduction gear engaging with the output gear in the rear or front of the transmission, a first differential gear provided concentrically with the reduction gear so as to transmit an output of the reduction gear in a divided manner, a second differential gear transmitting one output of the first differential gear to left and right wheels on the front or rear, a gear for transmitting the other output of the first differential gear rearward or frontward orthogonally to the crank shaft, a third differential gear for transmitting a driving force from the gear to left and right wheels on the rear or front, the improvement wherein the gear for transmitting the other output of said first differentialType: GrantFiled: January 6, 1984Date of Patent: March 25, 1986Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Noboru Ashikawa