Patents by Inventor Atsushi Matsubara

Atsushi Matsubara 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).

  • Publication number: 20040251519
    Abstract: A nitride semiconductor device comprising a substrate (101) having trenches (102b) each formed of a cavity and peaks (102a) formed from a group III nitride on the surface thereof; a nitride semiconductor layer (106) formed on the substrate (101); and a nitride semiconductor multilayered structure that is formed on the nitride semiconductor layer (106) and has an active layer, wherein the lattice constant of the substrate (101) is different from that of the group III nitride substance (102a), the substrate (101) has a mask (104a) formed from a dielectric (104), the mask (104a) is formed only on the side surfaces of the peaks (102a), the upper surfaces of the peaks (102a) are exposed and the substrate (101) is exposed in the trenches (102b), a height L1 of the mask (104a) is not less than 50 nm and not more than 5000 nm, a width L2 of the trench (102b) is not less than 5000 nm and not more than 50000 nm, and an aspect ratio L1/L2 of the trenches (102b) is not less than 0.001 and not more than 1.0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2004
    Publication date: December 16, 2004
    Applicant: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Gaku Sugahara, Yasutoshi Kawaguchi, Akihiko Ishibashi, Toshiya Yokogawa, Atsushi Matsubara
  • Publication number: 20040244391
    Abstract: The present invention provides an air conditioner that can reduce the occurrence of situations in which the comfort level of an occupant of a room is degraded. The air conditioner is capable of running in cooling mode and/or dehumidifying mode and is provided with an air delivery unit (12, 13), a flap (144), and a control unit (60). The air delivery unit (12, 13) delivers conditioned air into the room. The flap (144) determines the discharge direction of the air delivered from the air delivery unit. The control unit (60) executes a first control that changes the swing speed of the flap (144) in accordance with the room temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2004
    Publication date: December 9, 2004
    Inventors: Shigetomi Kouno, Yoshihiro Nishiura, Atsushi Matsubara
  • Publication number: 20040232861
    Abstract: A control device for a hybrid vehicle which enables an appropriate electrical control based on the usable electrical energy stored in the battery device. In this control device, in step S357, in which it is determined whether the value of an energy storage zone B flag F_ESZONEB is “1”. When the result of the determination is “YES”, the operation proceeds to step S358. In step in step S358, the WOT assist amount lowest coefficient KQBWOASTL, which increases as the use-permission zone PECAPFIB of the state of charge SOC increases, is retrieved from a table. In step in step S359, the WOT assist amount coefficient KQBWOAST, which increases from the lowest table value KQBWOASTL to a predetermined highest value as the state of charge SOC increases, is retrieved from a table, and a value obtained by multiplying the WOT assist command WOTAST and the WOT assist amount coefficient KQBWOAST retrieved from the table is newly set as the WOT assist command WOTAST.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2004
    Publication date: November 25, 2004
    Inventors: Teruo Wakashiro, Atsushi Matsubara, Yasuo Nakamoto, Atsushi Shibutani, Morio Kayano, Kazuya Ozono
  • Patent number: 6807942
    Abstract: A control system for an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The engine has an exhaust gas recirculation passage for recirculating a portion of exhaust gases from the engine to an intake system and an exhaust gas recirculation control valve for controlling an amount of exhaust gases recirculated through the exhaust gas recirculation passage. A valve opening amount of the exhaust gas recirculation control valve is detected. A fuel amount to be supplied to the engine is calculated according to the valve opening amount of the exhaust gas recirculation control valve. An average valve opening value, a change rate of which is smaller than that of the detected valve opening amount is used to calculate a correction value for correcting the fuel supply amount. The fuel supply amount is corrected according to the calculated correction value from a time at which an opening of the exhaust gas recirculation control valve is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Kitajima, Hironao Fukuchi, Atsushi Matsubara
  • Patent number: 6791203
    Abstract: This invention relates to an assistance controlling apparatus for a hybrid vehicle which assists an outputs of the engine by an output of the motor. The assistance controlling apparatus for a hybrid vehicle according to this invention, comprises: an engine which outputs propulsive power for the vehicle; a motor which assists the output of the engine; a remaining quantity detector which detects whether the remaining quantity of the fuel is under a fixed value or not; and an assistance-restricting unit which restricts the assistance of the output of the engine by the motor when the remaining quantity detector detects that the remaining quantity of the fuel is under the fixed value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Matsubara, Atsushi Izumiura, Hideyuki Takahashi, Takashi Kiyomiya, Hironao Fukuchi, Katsuhiro Kumagai
  • Patent number: 6776739
    Abstract: A vehicular power-transmission control system comprises a continuously variable transmission CVT, which transmits the output of an engine E to wheels, a starting clutch 5, which controls the transmission of power in the continuously variable transmission, an electrical motor generator M, which can assist the engine in rotational drive, and a hydraulic pump P, which is connected to the output shaft of the engine. When the vehicle, which has come into a halt with the engine consequently stopped in an idling elimination control, is to be restarted, the power-transmission control system controls the electrical motor generator to rotate the output shaft of the engine, to which fuel supply is not allowed, thereby to drive the pump. Thereafter, when the starting clutch receiving a hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic pump starts its engagement, the power-transmission control system starts the operation of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takahiro Eguchi, Masaaki Yamaguchi, Atsushi Matsubara
  • Publication number: 20040147364
    Abstract: A control device for a hybrid vehicle which enables an improvement in fuel consumption by means of a cylinder deactivation operation while maintaining brake performance. The hybrid vehicle has an engine (E) and a motor (M) for outputting power for driving the vehicle, wherein a regenerative brake is used during deceleration traveling of the vehicle in accordance with a deceleration state thereof, and the engine (E) includes at least one deactivatable cylinder which is deactivatable during deceleration traveling of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2003
    Publication date: July 29, 2004
    Inventors: Teruo Wakashiro, Atsushi Matsubara, Toshinari Shinohara, Hideyuki Takahashi, Yasuo Nakamoto
  • Patent number: 6763707
    Abstract: A failure determination system and method for an internal combustion engine and an engine control unit are provided which are capable of properly determining a failure of a variable valve mechanism for inactivating a valve system associated with at least one of cylinders during a predetermined operation of the engine, by discriminating a misfire caused by the failure of the mechanism from a normal misfire. Fuel injection valves inject fuel for each cylinder and oxygen concentration of exhaust gases is detected. A misfire condition is detected on a cylinder-by-cylinder basis. Fuel injection to a misfiring cylinder is stopped. A failure of the mechanism is determined, when a parameter based on the oxygen concentration detection indicates a richer value of an actual air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gases than a predetermined reference value does, under a condition of the fuel injection being stopped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Katsuhiro Kumagai, Shinichi Kitajima, Futoshi Nishioka, Toshinari Shinohara, Kan Nakaune, Atsushi Matsubara
  • Patent number: 6717378
    Abstract: A control system for preventing a sudden change in the passengers' feeling for the acceleration. After determining whether the assistance using the motor is permitted with respect to each of different control modes, an amount of assistance for each mode is calculated. If the output assistance is permitted in any mode, the maximum amount of assistance is selected, and a previous value of the maximum amount of assistance is compared with the current value of the maximum amount of assistance. A shift value is obtained by subtracting a predetermined assistance value from the previous value when the current value is less than the previous value, and the amount of assistance is set to the shift value until the shift value becomes equal to or less than the current value, so as to gradually shift the amount of assistance from the previous value to the current value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Kitajima, Atsushi Matsubara, Teruo Wakashiro, Toshinari Shinohara
  • Patent number: 6692404
    Abstract: An engine control system for hybrid vehicles, so as to smoothly switch the driving operation from the cylinder-deactivated engine operation, in which at least a part of the total number of cylinders of the engine is deactivated, to the all-cylinder-activated engine operation while considering the driver's intention. When the vehicle is decelerated, the cylinder-deactivated engine operation is performed and regeneration using the motor is performed. The system includes a cylinder deactivation release determining section for releasing the cylinder-deactivated engine operation when an engine speed decreases to a reference engine speed with respect to the cylinder-deactivated engine operation; and a brake operation detecting section for detecting whether a brake pedal is depressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Matsubara, Hironao Fukuchi, Kan Nakaune, Shigeo Hidai, Yasuo Nakamoto
  • Publication number: 20040026928
    Abstract: A control device for a hybrid vehicle having an engine and a motor as driving sources for the vehicle, and when decelerating, the control device stops the fuel supply to the engine and generates energy by regenerative braking. The engine is a cylinder pause-type engine which is capable of switching between the all-cylinder driving state in which all of cylinders are operating, and a cylinder paused driving state in which all of the cylinders are paused, and the control device of the hybrid vehicle comprises a cylinder pause state determination device for determining whether the engine is in the all cylinder driving state or in a cylinder paused driving state and a regeneration amount supplementing device for supplementing the regeneration energy by the motor by use of the increment of the regeneration energy obtained during the cylinder pausing operation than that obtained during all cylinder driving state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2003
    Publication date: February 12, 2004
    Inventors: Teruo Wakashiro, Hideyuki Takahashi, Atsushi Matsubara, Tomoharu Kamo, Toshiyuki Sato, Yasuo Nakamoto
  • Patent number: 6687603
    Abstract: In an assist control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle comprising an engine as a drive source of the vehicle, and a motor assisting drive of the engine in accordance with driving conditions of the vehicle, the engine is a cylinder deactivating engine switchable between a normal operation and a cylinder deactivating operation, and there is provided a cylinder resumption assist judgment device which judges whether the drive of the engine should be assisted by the motor, when the engine shifts from the cylinder deactivating operation to the normal operation, and when the cylinder resumption assist judgment device judges a resumption from the cylinder deactivated condition, and judges that a throttle opening is larger than a predetermined value, drive of the engine is assisted by the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Teruo Wakashiro, Atsushi Matsubara, Shinichi Kitajima, Toshinari Shinohara, Yasuo Nakamoto, Shigeo Hidai
  • Patent number: 6641501
    Abstract: A hybrid vehicle control apparatus is provided, wherein an unpleasant sensation is not imparted to a driver depressing an accelerator pedal at the time of departure. In a hybrid vehicle control apparatus with an engine and a motor as the drive sources, and a battery for storing electrical energy from the engine or the kinetic energy of the vehicle converted by the motor, the vehicle is provided with an automatic transmission. Moreover, there is provided a discharge suppression mode which suppresses discharge from the remaining battery charge detected by a battery ECU, and a charge/discharge permit mode which permits charge/discharge of the battery. At a time of vehicle departure, departure assistance is performed only when a degree of throttle opening showing an acceleration intention of the driver exceeds a determination threshold which is larger than a determination threshold for at the time of the discharge/charge permit mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Kitajima, Shigetaka Kuroda, Atsushi Izumiura, Atsushi Matsubara, Takashi Kiyomiya
  • Patent number: 6634447
    Abstract: A control device for a hybrid vehicle that responds reliably to the assist requests of a driver from start-up to departure of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Matsubara, Hironao Fukuchi, Asao Ukai, Takashi Iwamoto, Fumihiko Konno, Katsuhiro Kumagai
  • Publication number: 20030177846
    Abstract: A torque variation control device for a vehicle which has a motor providing rotational torque to a drive shaft of a vehicle, a motor control means controlling the motor based on drive torque, and a rotational velocity detection means detecting a rotational velocity of the drive shaft or a rotational shaft of the motor. The device has a feature that the device includes a torque variation detection means detecting a torque variation of the vehicle caused by a variation of the rotational velocity, and a compensation torque setting means setting compensation torque in an opposite phase relative to the torque variation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2003
    Publication date: September 25, 2003
    Applicant: HONDA GIKEN KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yutaka Tamagawa, Hiroyuki Makino, Yoshihiro Katagiri, Tomoyuki Takano, Atsushi Matsubara
  • Patent number: 6622697
    Abstract: An engine idling control device includes a secondary air supply device, an intake gauge pressure detecting unit and a secondary air supply control unit. The secondary air supply device is disposed on a bypass intake passage communicating with an intake pipe and bypassing a throttle valve. The intake gauge pressure detecting unit detects an intake gauge pressure on the intake pipe side. The secondary air supply control unit controls the secondary air supply device so as to open and close the bypass intake passage when an engine is in an idling state. The secondary air supply device is controlled to obtain the optional opening value. The secondary air supply control unit controls such that the secondary air supply device increases the opening value when the intake gauge pressure becomes higher than a predetermined low load condition in an idling state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideyuki Oki, Atsushi Izumiura, Asao Ukai, Shinichi Kitajima, Atsushi Matsubara, Yasuo Nakamoto
  • Patent number: 6621175
    Abstract: An engine control system for a hybrid vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor as driving force sources, for permitting stopping and starting of the engine in accordance with predetermined drive conditions. The system includes a booster for receiving a negative pressure supplied by an operation of the engine, a pressure detector for detecting a pressure supplied to the brake booster, a throttle-opening state detector for detecting a throttle opening state and an engine-operation enable/disable determining device for determining whether or not to operate the engine when the engine is stopped, based on the throttle opening state detected by the throttle-opening-state detector and the pressure detected by the pressure detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shigetaka Kuroda, Atsushi Izumiura, Shinichi Kitajima, Atsushi Matsubara
  • Patent number: 6621244
    Abstract: Conditions for permitting operation of vibration control are that; a stored charge of a battery 17 for an electric motor detected by storage state monitoring devices 15 and 24 is larger than a predetermined storage charge threshold, a vehicle's engine is idling, engine speed is within a prescribed range, and engine load is within a prescribed range. When all these conditions are satisfied, vibration damping control by a vibration damping control device is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Kiyomiya, Atsushi Izumiura, Shinichi Kitajima, Shigetaka Kuroda, Kazutomo Sawamura, Atsushi Matsubara, Hideyuki Oki, Kan Nakaune
  • Patent number: 6616570
    Abstract: A hybrid vehicle control apparatus is provided which can improve fuel consumption. There is provided: a cylinder cut-off determination section for determining whether all cylinders should be cut off; a cylinder cut-off cancellation determination section for determining whether cylinder cut-off cancellation conditions have been satisfied; a cylinder cut-off execution section for operating a spool valve when the cylinder cut-off determination section determines that cylinder cut-off is possible; and a cylinder cut-off control section for cutting off the cylinders of the engine based on the operating conditions of the cylinder cut-off determination section, the cylinder cut-off cancellation determination section and the cylinder cut-off execution section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Teruo Wakashiro, Atsushi Matsubara, Shinichi Kitajima, Toshinari Shinohara, Yasuo Nakamoto, Shigeo Hidai
  • Patent number: 6611115
    Abstract: In order to effectively prevent generation of a counter electromotive voltage during cruising, the present invention provides a control system of a hybrid vehicle comprising an engine, motor, and a capacitor, including an engine rotational speed sensor for detecting the engine rotational speed NE, a target voltage setting device for setting a charge target voltage (target capacitor voltage), and a motor ECU for controlling the charge of said power storage unit. A target capacitor voltage VCAPCMD is set based on the detected engine rotational speed NE (step S300), and when the capacitor voltage VCAP<the target capacitor voltage VCAPCMD (step S311 is “YES”), a charging operation is executed until the target capacitor voltage VCAPCMD≦the capacitor voltage VCAP. Thereby, it is possible to maintain the counter electromotive voltage<the capacitor voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Teruo Wakashiro, Atsushi Izumiura, Atsushi Matsubara, Hideyuki Oki, Shinichi Kitajima, Yasuo Nakamoto