I have decided to start this thread to collect references to various patents granted to Nissan/Hitachi/JECS/Niles/etc. in the time period relevant to the development of the Z31, which show the most similarity to the systems actually installed on the cars. Sometimes it's only a passing similarity, a concept that was further refined or had elements abandoned. Sometimes the resemblance to the production implementation is uncanny.
For Z31, the relevant filing dates range from about 1978 to 1985. I look a little beyond that, into the 90s, as I'm using some parts from the M30 chassis, which had the ultimate evolution of the Z31's control systems. These are useful because they show clearly what the concerns were when the engineers were developing the car and it's systems. I've found a few dozen relevant patents, ranging from the injector design, to the cluster fuel logic, to the ECCS failsafe, to the suspension controller. Sadly I then forgot many of them, but will add them back to the list when I stumble upon them in the future.
I'm not starting out in any particular order, and expect to grow this list over time. This is really an aid for me, to show what I've already looked at when I'm searching for other material, and to provide a reference when I think I've already found some material but can no longer remember what it was.
The List Begins:
For Z31, the relevant filing dates range from about 1978 to 1985. I look a little beyond that, into the 90s, as I'm using some parts from the M30 chassis, which had the ultimate evolution of the Z31's control systems. These are useful because they show clearly what the concerns were when the engineers were developing the car and it's systems. I've found a few dozen relevant patents, ranging from the injector design, to the cluster fuel logic, to the ECCS failsafe, to the suspension controller. Sadly I then forgot many of them, but will add them back to the list when I stumble upon them in the future.
I'm not starting out in any particular order, and expect to grow this list over time. This is really an aid for me, to show what I've already looked at when I'm searching for other material, and to provide a reference when I think I've already found some material but can no longer remember what it was.
The List Begins:
- US 4,404,944 - FUEL SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR AN INJECTION-TYPE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
- Describes the system that would become the Z31's Hot-Start system, cutting vacuum to the pressure regulator to increase fuel pressure when fuel temperatures are high
- GB 2,175,954A - Fuel Injector for I.C. engines
- Describes the flow-through injectors used for late 80s Z31s and Maximas.
- US 4,749,210 - AUTOMOTIVE SUSPENSION CONTROL SYSTEM WITH MANUALLY ADJUSTABLE SUSPENSION CHARACTERISTICS AND/OR SUSPENSION CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS
- This is the intermediate design between the Z31 electronically adjustable suspension and the SONAR SUSPENSION on the M30. Looks like a maxima in the patent art.
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