Patents by Inventor Gen Inoue

Gen Inoue 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: 20090037069
    Abstract: A system for controlling a vehicle that controls driving force and braking force such that a vehicle speed is maintained at a target vehicle speed. More specifically, when the vehicle speed exceeds the target vehicle speed, the system for controlling a vehicle maintains the driving force at or above a predetermined value, and applies braking force to the vehicle such that the vehicle speed is maintained at the target vehicle speed. This provides the vehicle with sufficient driving force for uphill driving following the downhill driving, and thus to travel uphill without significant speed loss. In other words, the vehicle ascends the uphill road smoothly at an approximately constant speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2007
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Yasuhito Ishida
  • Publication number: 20090025996
    Abstract: An electronic control device reduces, after a time at which constant speed traveling control is terminated (specific control termination time) not by an accelerating operation or braking operation but by, for example, an operation of a control switch, the vehicle driving force to a force corresponding to the amount of accelerating operation at the specific control termination time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2008
    Publication date: January 29, 2009
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, ADVICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Yasuhito Ishida
  • Publication number: 20090024294
    Abstract: A slip control apparatus includes a driving torque calculating means calculating driving torque, a driving torque applying means applying the calculated driving torque to driving wheels, and a slip restraining means restraining slippage at each driving wheel when the slippage occurs at each driving wheel, wherein when the slippage occurs at each driving wheel, the driving torque calculating means calculates demanded torque and adds consumed driving torque, which corresponds to the driving torque consumed for restraining the slippage at each driving wheel by the slip restraining means, to the calculated demanded torque to calculate the driving torque.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2008
    Publication date: January 22, 2009
    Inventors: Yasuhito Ishida, Gen Inoue
  • Publication number: 20080189021
    Abstract: A running control apparatus for a vehicle includes a required driving output deciding unit that decides a required driving force of a driving system of the vehicle on the basis of an integrated value of a difference between a target vehicle speed and an actual vehicle speed, a driving control unit that controls the actuation of the driving system on the basis of the required driving force, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the required driving force is unrealizable in the control of the driving system due to the intervention of additional control. The required driving output deciding unit imposes a limit on an increase or a decrease in the required driving force when the determination unit determines that the required driving force is unrealizable in the control of the driving system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Publication date: August 7, 2008
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, ADVICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Yasuhito Ishida
  • Publication number: 20070276576
    Abstract: A road slope determining apparatus for a vehicle includes a slope measuring device that measures a slope of a road on which the vehicle is traveling; a distance measuring device that measures a distance traveled by the vehicle; and a determining apparatus that determines, based on the measured slope and the measured distance traveled, whether the vehicle is traveling on a gradient in which the slope is continuous or on a rough road in which the slope is discontinuous. This road slope determining apparatus is able to appropriately determine whether the road has a slope when the vehicle is traveling at slow speeds such as when running off-road, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2007
    Publication date: November 29, 2007
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, ADVICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Yasuhito Ishida
  • Publication number: 20070150158
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus is used to control a driving force to be given to a vehicle. A driving force calculating device calculates the driving force to be given to the vehicle, on the basis of a deviation between a vehicle speed of the vehicle and a target speed. A driving force correcting device performs correction of increasing the driving force calculated by the driving force calculating device, when the vehicle speed reduces to a predetermined value or less. Specifically, the driving force correcting device performs the correction of increasing the driving force, when the vehicle speed reduces to the predetermined value or less as the vehicle comes in contact with an obstacle, such as a bump. By this, it is possible to reduce a stop time length of the vehicle due to the contact with the obstacle, to thereby quickly make the vehicle run over the obstacle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, ADVICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Yasuhito Ishida
  • Publication number: 20070090692
    Abstract: A braking force maintaining apparatus executes hill-hold control in which braking force applied to each of wheels of a vehicle is maintained by a braking device even after release of a brake pedal. An electronic control unit determines whether the yaw rate of the vehicle is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value and whether the wheels are held in a locked state by the braking force applied by the braking device. If the wheels are held in the locked state and the yaw rate is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the electronic control unit controls the braking device in such a manner that the braking force acting on two or more of wheels including at least a specific wheel falls below the braking force at the start of the hill-hold control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2006
    Publication date: April 26, 2007
    Inventors: Masaru Kamikado, Gen Inoue
  • Publication number: 20070061059
    Abstract: A vehicle controller includes an obstacle-determining portion and a driving torque reducing portion. The obstacle-determining portion determines whether the vehicle is climbing up an obstacle,more specifically, whether the vehicle starts climbing up the obstacle. Them, the driving torque reducing portion performs a driving torque reduction control when it is determined that the vehicle is climbing up onto the obstacle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2006
    Publication date: March 15, 2007
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, ADVICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Yasuhito Ishida
  • Patent number: 7047121
    Abstract: An antiskid control system for a four-wheel-drive vehicle is arranged to calculate a difference between an average of wheel accelerations of front wheels and an average of wheel acceleration of rear wheels. When the difference is greater than or equal to the vibration determination threshold, the antiskid control system determines that a driveline vibration is generated and executes a control for converging the driveline vibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Atsushi Ishikawa, Nobuyuki Ohtsu
  • Patent number: 6986555
    Abstract: A vehicle brake control system includes an electric fluid pump that, upon energization thereof, pumps brake fluid from a reservoir to a brake circuit at a position upstream of a pressure control valve, an inlet circuit connecting the inlet opening of the pump to a master cylinder, an inside gate valve installed in the inlet circuit, and a control unit that controls the pressure control valve, the inlet gate valve and the electric fluid pump and carries out a predetermined brake control to adjust the hydraulic pressure of the wheel cylinder by operating the pressure control valve. The control unit is configured to carry out a flow back control after completion of the predetermined brake control. The flow back control is a control wherein the inside gate valve is kept open having the electric fluid pump kept de-energized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masamichi Imamura, Gen Inoue, Yukihiko Inoue, Chiharu Nakazawa
  • Publication number: 20050264104
    Abstract: An antiskid control system for a four-wheel-drive vehicle is arranged to calculate a difference between an average of wheel accelerations of front wheels and an average of wheel acceleration of rear wheels. When the difference is greater than or equal to the vibration determination threshold, the antiskid control system determines that a driveline vibration is generated and executes a control for converging the driveline vibration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Atsushi Ishikawa, Nobuyuki Ohtsu
  • Patent number: 6928356
    Abstract: An antiskid control system for a four-wheel-drive vehicle is arranged to calculate a difference between an average of wheel accelerations of front wheels and an average of wheel acceleration of rear wheels. When the difference is greater than or equal to the vibration determination threshold, the antiskid control system determines that a driveline vibration is generated and executes a control for converging the driveline vibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Atsushi Ishikawa, Nobuyuki Ohtsu
  • Patent number: 6776462
    Abstract: In anti-skid control system and method for an automotive vehicle, when a calculated wheel deceleration of any one of road wheels of the vehicle has reached to a predetermined deceleration set on the basis of a pseudo vehicle body deceleration calculated from detected road wheel velocities, an electronic control unit (ECU) suspends a pressure increase control such as to increase a brake liquid pressure of the road wheel corresponding one of wheel cylinders and executes such a pressure hold control as to hold the brake liquid pressure thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Unisia Jecs Corporation
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Nobuyuki Ohtsu, Atsushi Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 6736465
    Abstract: A brake control system includes an ECU having an estimate part which is so constructed as to: totalize an influent amount of fluid in a brake actuator in accordance with an output time of a valve opening drive signal of a control signal and a supply amount per unit time of fluid in a pressure control valve; estimate an amount of fluid in the brake actuator in accordance with the influent amount as totalized; estimate a value of the fluid pressure within the brake actuator in accordance with the amount of fluid as estimated; and carry out correction for obtaining a supply amount of fluid in the brake actuator when a time of retaining operation performed by the control signal is smaller than a predetermined value, correction being performed by adding a correction value corresponding to the time to the output time of the valve opening drive signal of the control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2004
    Assignee: Hitachi Unisia Automotive, Ltd.
    Inventor: Gen Inoue
  • Patent number: 6671606
    Abstract: In an antiskid brake control system, an ECU estimates a wheel slip in accordance with a sensed wheel speed and controls a fluid pressure control valve for braking operation in accordance with the estimated wheel slip for an antiskid brake control, the fluid pressure being reduced when the wheel slip is enlarged and being increased when the wheel slip is lowered. When a vehicle-body speed is smaller than a predetermined quick pressure reduction prohibiting speed, the ECU performs a quick pressure reduction prohibiting control to restrain a quick pressure reduction having a greater reduction amount than a predetermined reduction amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Unisia Jecs Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ishikawa, Gen Inoue, Nobuyuki Ohtsu
  • Publication number: 20030205929
    Abstract: A vehicle brake control system comprising a master cylinder, a wheel cylinder of a road wheel, a brake circuit connecting the master cylinder and the wheel cylinder, a pressure control valve installed in the brake circuit, a reservoir into which a brake fluid is led from the wheel cylinder when the pressure control valve operates to reduce the hydraulic pressure of the wheel cylinder, an electric fluid pump that, upon energization thereof, pumps the brake fluid from the reservoir to the brake circuit at a position upstream of the pressure control valve, an inlet circuit connecting the inlet opening of the pump to the master cylinder, an inside gate valve installed in the inlet circuit, and a control unit that controls the pressure control valve, the inlet gate valve and the electric fluid pump and carries out a predetermined brake control to adjust the hydraulic pressure of the wheel cylinder by operating the pressure control valve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2003
    Publication date: November 6, 2003
    Applicant: HITACHI UNISIA AUTOMOTIVE, LTD.
    Inventors: Masamichi Imamura, Gen Inoue, Yukihiko Inoue, Chiharu Nakazawa
  • Patent number: 6640180
    Abstract: In an antiskid brake control system, an ECU is constructed to calculate a pseudo vehicle-body speed in accordance with a sensed wheel speed, calculate a target wheel speed in view of a predetermined slip ratio obtained in accordance with a calculated pseudo vehicle-body speed, carry out pressure reducing control by reducing the fluid pressure within a hydraulic unit when the sensed wheel speed is smaller than the calculated target wheel speed, estimate an amount of fluid stored in a reservoir, and correct the target wheel speed to lessen the slip ratio when the estimated fluid amount is greater than a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignee: Unisia Jecs Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ishikawa, Gen Inoue, Nobuyuki Ohtsu
  • Publication number: 20030111900
    Abstract: A brake control system includes an ECU having an estimate part which is so constructed as to: totalize an influent amount of fluid in a brake actuator in accordance with an output time of a valve opening drive signal of a control signal and a supply amount per unit time of fluid in a pressure control valve; estimate an amount of fluid in the brake actuator in accordance with the influent amount as totalized; estimate a value of the fluid pressure within the brake actuator in accordance with the amount of fluid as estimated; and carry out correction for obtaining a supply amount of fluid in the brake actuator when a time of retaining operation performed by the control signal is smaller than a predetermined value, correction being performed by adding a correction value corresponding to the time to the output time of the valve opening drive signal of the control signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Publication date: June 19, 2003
    Applicant: HITACHI UNISIA AUTOMOTIVE, LTD.
    Inventor: Gen Inoue
  • Publication number: 20030062771
    Abstract: In anti-skid control system and method for an automotive vehicle, when a calculated wheel deceleration of any one of road wheels of the vehicle has reached to a predetermined deceleration set on the basis of a pseudo vehicle body deceleration calculated from detected road wheel velocities, an electronic control unit (ECU) suspends a pressure increase control such as to increase a brake liquid pressure of the road wheel corresponding one of wheel cylinders and executes such a pressure hold control as to hold the brake liquid pressure thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2002
    Publication date: April 3, 2003
    Applicant: UNISIA JECS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Gen Inoue, Nobuyuki Ohtsu, Atsushi Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20030028308
    Abstract: In a brake control apparatus for a vehicle, a left and right road friction coefficient estimating section calculates each of left and right estimated road surface friction coefficients from a relation between a pressure decrease control time in one cycle and a maximum wheel acceleration during the pressure decrease time. A split friction discriminating section discriminates a split friction road surface condition from a non-split condition in accordance with a difference between the left and right estimated road surface friction coefficients. A control modifying section modifies a brake fluid pressure control for a wheel cylinder to differentiate brake control characteristics for left and right wheels from each other in the case of the split friction road surface condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2002
    Publication date: February 6, 2003
    Applicant: UNISIA JECS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Ishikawa, Gen Inoue, Nobuyuki Ohtsu