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The shock absorber of suspension has two important basic functions. One is to control vehicle attitude changes when steering and when accelerating and decelerating, and the other is to dampen forces transmitted from the road by its damping effect, thus softening shocks. The characteristics of these two demands in performance, driving stability and riding comfort, conflict with each other but are selected from the concept of a car and from coaching by users. Namely, someone puts stress on driving stability and the other puts stress on riding comfort. Electronics have advanced in recent years and the use of electronic absorber control systems in order to achieve both driving stability and riding comfort has become widespread first of all in Japanese vehicles and also in European and American vehicles. Toyota first developed its TEMS (TOYOTA ELECTRONIC MODULATED SUSPENSION) in 1983 (1) and since then many improvements have been added.

An unique diesel engine electronic control system has been developed, which contains two distinctive features. Firstly, the delivery type fuel injection pump has an electro-magnetic valve to control the quantity of fuel injected. This valve is then acutuated to ensure that the timing of the high pressure fuel flow out stops the fuel injection. In the previous diesel electronic control system, the fuel quantity control was effected via the position control of a mechanical spill ring. Since timing control is more suitable than position control for handling by a microcomputer, the electro-magnetic valve is able to control the quantity of fuel injected more precisely, whilst consisting of a simpler structure. Secondly, an optical combustion timing sensor is able to detect initial combustion timing by sensing the light of the combustion flame in the combustion chamber. Using the signal from the sensor, the microcomputer then exerts a compensating control over the fuel injection timing.

The lean combustion system, developed for fuel economy inprovement, uses a Lean Mixture Sensor for the feedback control of air-fuel ratio in the lean mixture range. The Lean Mixture Sensor, comprises a zirconia solid electrolyte cell which has an electrochemical pumping action and a ceramic coating layer as a diffusion layer; the measurable range is from the stoichiometric to 25 of air-fuel ratio.

In August, 1982, Toyota introduced a new diesel engine with an electronic control system. It allows for optimum control of fuel quantity, injection timing, idle speed, glow plug current and intake air flow. Consequently, great advantages have been obtained such as high engine performance, good fuel economy good driveability, low engine noise and vibration.

Toyota introduced a new engine control system using a new microprocessor during the Fall of 1982. The new control system is used effectively for more complex application to engine and automatic transmission control. It controls air-fuel ratios in combination with the transmission shift control to achieve good fuel economy, driveability, as well as emission reduction. This system includes a self diagnostic capability, in which the electronic control unit (ECU) diagnoses system abnormalities, stores them in the memory and turn on the CHECK ENGINE lamp. To assure the proper system operation against any failure of the processor, the electronic control unit has a back up circuit which executes the predeterminded operation of fuel injection and spark timing. For this system, a new 12-bit microprocessor capable of high speed real time processing was developed.