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This report details our development of a smoothly curved inner lens for use in automotive signalling lamps. Such a lens allows for greater freedom at the design stage of an automobile, and it can be useful for economizing on space. Until recently, however, the design of such lenses has been in difficulty due to the complex geometries involved, and the appearance and light distribution has often turned out to be inferior to that of conventional plane and spherical lenses. The main reason for this is that in the case of these conventional lenses, optical calculations can be reduced to simple equations, but this is generally not possible with smoothly curved lenses. Our goal has been to develop a smoothly curved inner lens whose optical characteristics could be calculated and verified. This development project can be divided into three stages: design, processing, and evaluation. We are currently developing the third stage.

It has often been noted that the fixed position of conventional headlamp beams can present drawbacks. When a car accelerates or decelerates, the angle that the headlamp beam makes with the road surface will change due to vehicle pitching. This beam angle variation can cause a reduction in visibility distance, or alternatively, glare on oncoming vehicles. Both cases represent situations in which safety is impaired during night driving. The headlamp system to be discussed here was developed with a view towards solving this problem. It features a cylindrical light shield which, by rotating in response to sensors, can compensate for vehicle pitching and correct the beam to road angle. Our test results confirm that by using this system, the negative effects of changes in vehicle inclination, including glare on oncoming vehicles and reduced road illumination distance, can be all but eliminated.

The motorcycle banks at an angle in order to maintain an adequate balance between the motorcycle and centrifugal force when it turns. This results in the following problems: 1) The motorcycle rider's visibility is reduced due to insufficient forward illumination. 2) Glare is projected onto oncoming drivers. This thesis is a report on the development of a device designed to prevent the above-mentioned problems so that the rider may drive his motorcycle safely at night.

This paper presents the evolution of the unique Japanese mini-car (K class vehicle), starting from the social needs and early legal requirements, and the features of the vehicle combined with prospective subjects to be an international commodity. This paper also describes the body design process of the Suzuki Alto/Fronte to illustrate the design of a modern K class vehicle.