Patents by Inventor Kazuya Takaoka

Kazuya Takaoka 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).

  • Patent number: 11060951
    Abstract: A fault diagnosis device for a fluid feed system comprises a first acquiring part acquiring values as a fluid pressure and pump rotational speed before fluid injection, a second acquiring part acquiring values as a fluid pressure and pump rotational speed during fluid injection, a pump rotational speed difference calculating part calculating a pump rotational speed difference comprising a difference between a pump rotational speed during fluid injection and a pump rotational speed before fluid injection when the fluid pressure before fluid injection and the fluid pressure during fluid injection match, and an abnormality judging part judging if an abnormality has occurred in a flow rate of fluid injected from an injection device based on the pump rotational speed difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuya Takaoka
  • Patent number: 10753261
    Abstract: In the abnormality diagnosis device which carries out an abnormality diagnosis of the reducing agent adding device by obtaining a diagnostic parameter which is a parameter correlated with an amount of pressure drop in a reducing agent passage in the case where, from a state in which an addition valve has been closed and in which a voltage to be applied to a pump is controlled to a diagnostic voltage so that the pressure in the reducing agent passage becomes a predetermined pressure, the addition valve is made to open in a state where the voltage to be applied to the pump is maintained at the diagnostic voltage, and by making a comparison between the diagnostic parameter and a predetermined threshold value, the abnormality diagnosis is carried out by using the diagnostic parameter or the predetermined threshold value which is corrected based on the pump discharge capacity of the pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toru Kidokoro, Makoto Ogiso, Takeru Shirasawa, Kenji Furui, Kazuya Takaoka
  • Patent number: 10711678
    Abstract: In the abnormality diagnosis device which carries out an abnormality diagnosis of the reducing agent adding device by obtaining a diagnostic parameter which is a parameter correlated with an amount of pressure drop in a reducing agent passage in the case where, from a state in which an addition valve has been closed and in which a voltage to be applied to a pump is controlled to a diagnostic voltage so that the pressure in the reducing agent passage becomes a predetermined pressure, the addition valve is made to open in a state where the voltage to be applied to the pump is maintained at the diagnostic voltage, and by making a comparison between the diagnostic parameter and a predetermined threshold value, the abnormality diagnosis is carried out by using the diagnostic parameter or the predetermined threshold value which is corrected based on the pump discharge capacity of the pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toru Kidokoro, Makoto Ogiso, Takeru Shirasawa, Kenji Furui, Kazuya Takaoka
  • Publication number: 20200141892
    Abstract: A failure detection apparatus for a gas sensor includes an electronic control unit configured to: perform control so that a predetermined voltage, which is a positive voltage and is a voltage lower than a limiting current range when the gas sensor does not fail, is applied between a pair of electrodes; acquire a determination current, which is a current flowing between the pair of electrodes when the predetermined voltage is applied between the pair of electrodes; and determine whether the gas sensor fails based on the acquired determination current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiichiro AOKI, Kazuya TAKAOKA
  • Publication number: 20200064222
    Abstract: A fault diagnosis device for a fluid feed system comprises a first acquiring part acquiring values as a fluid pressure and pump rotational speed before fluid injection, a second acquiring part acquiring values as a fluid pressure and pump rotational speed during fluid injection, a pump rotational speed difference calculating part calculating a pump rotational speed difference comprising a difference between a pump rotational speed during fluid injection and a pump rotational speed before fluid injection when the fluid pressure before fluid injection and the fluid pressure during fluid injection match, and an abnormality judging part judging if an abnormality has occurred in a flow rate of fluid injected from an injection device based on the pump rotational speed difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuya TAKAOKA
  • Patent number: 10519840
    Abstract: An object of the disclosure is to provide a technology that enables abnormality diagnosis of an NOx trap catalyst to make the diagnosis that the NOx trap catalyst is abnormal even if the degree of deterioration of the NOx trap catalyst is relatively small yet. When performing abnormality diagnosis of an NOx trap catalyst, a system according to the disclosure performs a lean temperature raising process, which is the process of raising the temperature of the NOx trap catalyst to or above a predetermined temperature while keeping the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas flowing into the NOx trap catalyst at a lean air-fuel ratio. The system diagnoses abnormality of the NOx trap catalyst on the basis of the NOx storage efficiency of the NOx trap catalyst or a parameter correlating with that NOx storage efficiency after the completion of the lean temperature raise process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Toru Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 10480383
    Abstract: There is provided a technology pertaining to abnormality diagnosis of an NSR catalyst that enables the diagnosis that the NSR catalyst is abnormal to be made even when the degree of deterioration of the NSR catalyst is relatively small yet. An abnormality diagnosis apparatus is applied to an exhaust gas purification apparatus having an NSR catalyst and a fuel addition valve. The abnormality diagnosis apparatus includes a controller configured to perform a specific fuel addition process and diagnose the NSR catalyst. The controller starts the specific fuel addition process when the NSR catalyst is in a specific start condition, and diagnoses the NSR catalyst on the basis of the quantity of NOx flowing out of the NSR catalyst over a specific period in the period from when the specific fuel addition process is started to when the temperature of the NSR catalyst reaches the thermal desorption temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Nishijima, Toru Kidokoro, Kazuya Takaoka
  • Patent number: 10458306
    Abstract: An object is to prevent a wrong diagnosis from being made in an abnormality diagnosis apparatus for an exhaust gas purification system including a filter and a PM sensor. After sensor regeneration is performed, the application of voltage to the PM sensor is started, and thereafter abnormality diagnosis of the PM sensor is performed based on whether or not a signal is output from the PM sensor. Abnormality diagnosis of the filter is performed based on whether or not the output value of the PM sensor reaches a predetermined abnormality criterion value. If the output value of the PM sensor reaches the predetermined abnormality criterion value before a predetermined diagnosis completion time after the abnormality diagnosis of the PM sensor, the filter is diagnosed as abnormal, and the application of voltage to the PM sensor is stopped at that time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Toru Kidokoro
  • Publication number: 20190186327
    Abstract: In the abnormality diagnosis device which carries out an abnormality diagnosis of the reducing agent adding device by obtaining a diagnostic parameter which is a parameter correlated with an amount of pressure drop in a reducing agent passage in the case where, from a state in which an addition valve has been closed and in which a voltage to be applied to a pump is controlled to a diagnostic voltage so that the pressure in the reducing agent passage becomes a predetermined pressure, the addition valve is made to open in a state where the voltage to be applied to the pump is maintained at the diagnostic voltage, and by making a comparison between the diagnostic parameter and a predetermined threshold value, the abnormality diagnosis is carried out by using the diagnostic parameter or the predetermined threshold value which is corrected based on the pump discharge capacity of the pump.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toru KIDOKORO, Makoto OGISO, Takeru SHIRASAWA, Kenji FURUI, Kazuya TAKAOKA
  • Patent number: 10288592
    Abstract: A function diagnostic system for a filter of an internal combustion engine may be provided. The function diagnostic system may include a PM sensor and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit may be configured to: calculate a NOx conversion rate in the filter; determine whether a NOx converting function of the filter is normal; execute a sensor regeneration process for removing the PM deposited between an electrodes of the PM sensor; continuously monitor an output value of the PM sensor after a predetermined PM deposition restart time, after execution of the sensor regeneration process is finished; and determine that there is an abnormality in a PM trapping function of the filter, when the output vale of the PM sensor, which has been continuously monitored, is reduced when the electronic control unit determines that the NOx converting function of the filter is in a normal status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Toru Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 10287956
    Abstract: In a failure diagnosis apparatus that carries out standard diagnosis processing in which a failure of the particulate filter is diagnosed by making a comparison between an output value of the PM sensor at the time when a predetermined period of time has passed from a point in time at which sensor regeneration processing for removing the particulate matter deposited on an insulation layer of the PM sensor has ended, and a predetermined threshold value, the standard diagnosis processing is carried out in the case where rich spike processing according to the in-cylinder rich control is not carried out during the predetermined period of time, whereas the rich spike processing according to the in-cylinder rich control is carried out during the predetermined period of time, the standard diagnosis processing is not carried out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Nishijima, Toru Kidokoro, Makoto Ogiso, Kazuya Takaoka
  • Patent number: 10232296
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure may improve the accuracy of abnormality diagnosis of a particulate filter using the output value of a particulate matter (PM) sensor provided in an exhaust passage. A time when deposition of PM between electrodes of the PM sensor is restarted after completion of a sensor recovery process may be specified as a PM deposition restart time. A process of diagnosing an abnormality of a filter based on the output value of the PM sensor at a first determination time after the PM deposition restart time may be specified as a filter diagnosis process. To determine, whether the filter diagnosis process is to be performed, a change rate of the output value of the PM sensor in a time period from the PM deposition restart time to a predetermined second determination time before the first determination time, may be compared with a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Toru Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 10221746
    Abstract: The invention provides a technique for more accurately executing failure diagnosis for an exhaust gas control apparatus having both a selective reduction function and a filter function. To this end, a failure diagnosis apparatus according to the invention for the exhaust gas control apparatus having both the selective reduction function and the filter function computes a NOx purification rate pertaining to a case where the exhaust gas control apparatus is normal based on an estimated value of the amount of particulate matter (PM) collected or accumulated in the exhaust gas control apparatus and an estimated value of the NO2 ratio of exhaust gas flowing into the exhaust gas control apparatus, and determines that the exhaust gas control apparatus fails when the difference between the result of the calculation and an actual NOx purification rate exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toru Kidokoro, Arifumi Matsumoto, Kazuya Takaoka, Hirokazu Nishijima, Taiga Hagimoto, Yuki Terui, Akifumi Uozumi
  • Publication number: 20190024564
    Abstract: An object of the disclosure is to provide a technology that enables abnormality diagnosis of an NOx trap catalyst to make the diagnosis that the NOx trap catalyst is abnormal even if the degree of deterioration of the NOx trap catalyst, is relatively small yet. When performing abnormality diagnosis of an NOx trap catalyst, a system according to the disclosure performs a lean temperature raising process, which is the process of raising the temperature of the NOx trap catalyst to or above a predetermined temperature while keeping the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas flowing into the NOx trap catalyst at a lean air-fuel ratio. The system diagnoses abnormality of the NOx trap catalyst on the basis of the NOx storage efficiency of the NOx trap catalyst or a parameter correlating with that NOx storage efficiency after the completion of the lean temperature raise process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuya TAKAOKA, Toru KIDOKORO
  • Patent number: 10125655
    Abstract: A filter abnormality determination system includes: a PM sensor configured to introduce a part of exhaust gas flowing in the exhaust gas passage on the downstream side of a filter into a sensor body and to correlate a sensor output with an amount of particulate matter accumulated on a sensor element in the sensor body; an abnormality determining unit configured to perform filter abnormality determination on the basis of the output of the PM sensor; a determination timing determining unit configured to determine a timing at which the abnormality determining unit performs the abnormality determination on the basis of an estimated amount of particulate matter accumulated on the sensor element; and a determination performing adjusting unit configured to adjust the performing timing determined by the determination timing determining unit depending on a variation of an exhaust gas flow rate per unit time in the exhaust gas passage in which the PM sensor is disposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Tomoyuki Kogo, Hirokazu Nishijima
  • Publication number: 20180274427
    Abstract: There is provided a technology pertaining to abnormality diagnosis of an NSR catalyst that enables the diagnosis that the NSR catalyst is abnormal to be made even when the degree of deterioration of the NSR catalyst is relatively small yet. An abnormality diagnosis apparatus is applied to an exhaust gas purification apparatus having an NSR catalyst and a fuel addition valve. The abnormality diagnosis apparatus includes a controller configured to perform a specific fuel addition process and diagnose the NSR catalyst. The controller starts the specific fuel addition process when the NSR catalyst is in a specific start condition, and diagnoses the NSR catalyst on the basis of the quantity of NOx flowing out of the NSR catalyst over a specific period in the period from when the specific fuel addition process is started to when the temperature of the NSR catalyst reaches the thermal desorption temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2018
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirokazu NISHIJIMA, Toru KIDOKORO, Kazuya TAKAOKA
  • Patent number: 10065140
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure improve the accuracy of abnormality diagnosis of a particulate filter using the output value of a PM sensor provided downstream of the particulate filter in an exhaust passage. A configuration of the invention compares a change rate of an output value of the PM sensor prior to execution of a filter diagnosis process of diagnosing an abnormality of the filter based on the output value of the PM sensor, with a reference value and determines whether a filter abnormality process is to be performed. A higher value is set to the reference value, which is to be compared with the change rate of the output value of the PM sensor, in the case where the deposition amount of PM between electrodes of the PM sensor is expected to be large, compared with the case where the deposition amount of PM is expected to be small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Toru Kidokoro
  • Publication number: 20180135493
    Abstract: An object is to prevent a wrong diagnosis from being made in an abnormality diagnosis apparatus for an exhaust gas purification system including a filter and a PM sensor. After sensor regeneration is performed, the application of voltage to the PM sensor is started, and thereafter abnormality diagnosis of the PM sensor is performed based on whether or not a signal is output from the PM sensor. Abnormality diagnosis of the filter is performed based on whether or not the output value of the PM sensor reaches a predetermined abnormality criterion value. If the output value of the PM sensor reaches the predetermined abnormality criterion value before a predetermined diagnosis completion time after the abnormality diagnosis of the PM sensor, the filter is diagnosed as abnormal, and the application of voltage to the PM sensor is stopped at that time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Publication date: May 17, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuya TAKAOKA, Toru KIDOKORO
  • Patent number: 9879628
    Abstract: In a failure diagnosis device of an emission control system that utilizes an electrode-based PM sensor to diagnose a failure of a particulate filter, some embodiments may be to suppress reduction of accuracy of diagnosis of a failure due to in-cylinder rich control. The failure diagnosis device of the emission control system performs a measurement process. The measurement process includes a sensor recovery process of removing PM depositing between the electrodes of the electrode-based PM sensor, a process of starting application of the predetermined voltage to the electrodes of the PM sensor after completion of the sensor recovery process, and a process of obtaining an output value of the PM sensor after elapse of a predetermined time period since the start of application of the predetermined voltage to the electrodes of the PM sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Nishijima, Toru Kidokoro, Kazuya Takaoka
  • Publication number: 20170234195
    Abstract: In a failure diagnosis apparatus that carries out standard diagnosis processing in which a failure of the particulate filter is diagnosed by making a comparison between an output value of the PM sensor at the time when a predetermined period of time has passed from a point in time at which sensor regeneration processing for removing the particulate matter deposited on an insulation layer of the PM sensor has ended, and a predetermined threshold value, the standard diagnosis processing is carried out in the case where rich spike processing according to the in-cylinder rich control is not carried out during the predetermined period of time, whereas the rich spike processing according to the in-cylinder rich control is carried out during the predetermined period of time, the standard diagnosis processing is not carried out.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2015
    Publication date: August 17, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirokazu NISHIJIMA, Toru KIDOKORO, Makoto OGISO, Kazuya TAKAOKA