Patents by Inventor Kenji Shirai

Kenji Shirai 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: 6412885
    Abstract: In order to prevent a needlessly excessive yaw moment from being applied to the vehicle, thereby improving the running stability of the vehicle when either one of the braking force generation units went wrong, a brake system for vehicles having electric brake units (14) each provided for each of the wheels to generate a braking force by its actuator (22) being driven according to the amount of depression of a brake pedal, and a controller (38) for controlling each of the electric brake units independently of others, is so constructed as to judge if any of the electric brake units went wrong (step 253, 259, 550, 650), and when either one of the electric brake units went wrong, to control the electric brake units other than the wrong unit according to the depression amount of the brake pedal so as to accomplish a best available stability of running of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2002
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Yasunori Yoshino, Akihiro Otomo, Hideyuki Inoue
  • Publication number: 20010033106
    Abstract: An electrically operated braking system of a motor vehicle, including a brake having a friction member movable to be forced onto a rotor rotating with a vehicle wheel, and an electric motor operated by an electric power supplied from an electric power source to generate a drive force for forcing the friction member onto the rotor and thereby braking the wheel, a controller which determines an amount of the electric power to be supplied to the motor, depending upon an operating amount of the brake operating member, and a relationship estimating and utilizing device for obtaining an actual value of the electric power supplied to the motor during an operation of the brake while the vehicle is running, and an actual value of a braking torque applied from the brake to the wheel during the brake operation, for estimating a relationship between the electric power to be supplied to the motor and the braking torque to be applied to the wheel, on the basis of the actual values obtained, and for utilizing the estimated
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2001
    Publication date: October 25, 2001
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Yasunori Yoshino
  • Patent number: 6305506
    Abstract: Electrically operated braking system with a motor-driven disc brake including an electric motor for braking an automotive vehicle wheel, and a motor control device controlling the electric motor, the disc brake further including a disc rotor having a friction surface, a friction pad movable for contact with the friction surface to restrict rotation of the disc rotor, a pad support mechanism for supporting the friction pad movably in a direction intersecting the friction surface, a pad pressing mechanism including the electric motor and a pressing member, the electric motor producing a drive force for moving the pressing member to force the friction pad against the disc rotor, and a self-servo mechanism for providing a self-servo effect of boosting a friction force generated between the friction surface and the friction pad, on the basis of the friction force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Ryoichi Kurasako, Yasunori Yoshino, Kazuhiko Imai
  • Publication number: 20010027661
    Abstract: An air conditioner which can be installed easily at a corner of a room is presented. This is an air conditioner which can be installed at a corner between a first wall and a second wall of a room. It has a frame body having an upper part, a lower part, and side parts, a blower for circulating air, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the air, an air diffuser for blowing out the air into the room, a space positioned at an edge of the corner, and a piping connected to the heat exchanger. The connection port of the piping is placed at least at one of (a) a position projecting into the space and (b) a place near the space. This is an installation tool for installing an air conditioner main body having a first side surface and a second side surface at a corner of a first wall and a second wall of a room. The tool includes a first installation board having a first base part and a first stopping part, and a second installation board having a second base part and a second stopping part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2001
    Publication date: October 11, 2001
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Nishikawa, Hirozumi Ito, Hiroharu Kurisutani, Yasuhiro Nakamura, Kenji Shirai
  • Patent number: 6270172
    Abstract: An electrically operated braking system of a motor vehicle, including a brake having a friction member movable to be forced onto a rotor rotating with a vehicle wheel and thereby braking the wheel. The friction member is forced onto the rotor by an electric motor operated by an electric power supplied from an electric power source. A controller determines an amount of the electric power to be supplied to the motor, depending upon an operating amount of the brake operating member, and a relationship estimated by a relationship estimating and utilizing device. The relationship estimating and utilizing device obtains an actual value of the electric power supplied to the motor during operation of the brake while the vehicle is running, and an actual value of a braking torque applied from the brake to the wheel during the brake operation, and estimate a relationship between the electric power to be supplied to the wheel on the basis of the actual values obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2001
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Yasunori Yoshino
  • Patent number: 6199670
    Abstract: An electric brake apparatus generates an appropriate brake force without unnecessarily consuming electric power. The electric brake apparatus has a brake actuator generating a brake force. The brake actuator uses a brake motor system including a brake motor as a power source. A motor current provided to the brake motor is generated under a normal control so as to generate a brake force required for a vehicle. The motor current generated under the normal control is reduced when the brake motor is overheated or when the vehicle is stopped for a long time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2001
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Yasunori Yoshino, Akihiro Otomo, Eiji Nakamura, Satoru Niwa
  • Patent number: 6186599
    Abstract: An electric brake apparatus can positively prevent a brake motor from being excessively rotated in a reverse direction in which a braking force is cancelled. A determination is made as to whether or not the brake motor is excessively driven in the reverse direction. An operation of the brake motor is stopped when the brake motor is determined to be excessively driven in the reverse direction. Accordingly, a member of the electric brake apparatus moved by the brake motor is prevented from being excessively moved beyond a predetermined position. Thus, a part of the electric brake apparatus is prevented from being damaged due to an excessive movement of the member moved by the brake motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2001
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiro Otomo, Kenji Shirai
  • Patent number: 6158822
    Abstract: A method of diagnosing an electrically operated brake for abnormality thereof in an automotive vehicle wherein a wheel is braked by a friction force generated by an electric motor of the brake upon an operation of a brake operating member, the method comprising the steps of: applying an abnormality checking drive signal to the electric motor to operate the electric motor while the brake operating member is placed in a non-operated position; detecting a quantity relating to an output of the electric motor while the drive signal is applied to the electric motor; and determining that the electrically operated brake is abnormal, if the detected quantity does not normally correspond to a magnitude of the abnormality checking drive signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Yasunori Yoshino, Akihiro Otomo
  • Patent number: 6138801
    Abstract: An electrically operated brake for braking a moving body, including two electric motors and a planetary gear device having a sun gear, at least one planetary gear and a ring gear, wherein the two electric motors are connected to two members of the planetary gear device and the third member of the planetary gear device rotates an output shaft which operates a friction member driving device to move a friction member for braking the moving body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Asmo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Yasunori Yoshino, Yoshinori Takemura, Seiya Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 6139117
    Abstract: Electrically operated parking brake apparatus for a vehicle, including a parking brake device provided for each of at least one vehicle wheel, an electrically operated driving unit for activating the parking brake device, an operating force holding mechanism for mechanically maintaining an operating force of the parking brake device while the driving unit is off, and a parking brake control device for supplying electric power to the driving unit to activate the parking brake device and then cutting a supply of the electric power to the driving unit, for thereby applying a parking brake to the vehicle, wherein the parking brake control device includes an actual operating force changing device operable while a manually operated drive power source switch provided for turning on and off a vehicle drive power source is placed in the non-operated position, for supplying electric power to the driving unit so as to change an actual value of the operating force of the parking brake device, and then cutting a supply of
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Yasunori Yoshino
  • Patent number: 6040665
    Abstract: An electric brake device includes a disc rotor which is rotatable together with a wheel of an automotive vehicle. An output rod is provided to press a friction pad onto the disc rotor so as to exert a braking force on the wheel. A brake motor is provided to generate a rotating force in response to an electric signal. A gear mechanism is provided to axially move the output rod relative to the disc rotor in accordance with the rotating force, such that the output rod is moved toward the disc rotor when the brake motor rotates in a forward direction, and the output rod is separated from the disc rotor when the brake motor rotates in a reverse direction. A load detection unit detects a load acting on an end of the output rod opposite to a position where the output rod presses the friction pad onto the disc rotor. A motor deceleration unit decreases the rate of rotation of the brake motor when the load detected by the load detection unit is above a reference level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2000
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Seiya Yokoyama, Tsutomu Oota
  • Patent number: 5658057
    Abstract: A hydraulic braking apparatus for braking a vehicle wheel, wherein a pressure control valve is disposed between a master cylinder and a wheel brake cylinder, and between a reservoir and a hydraulic pressure source which is independent of the master cylinder and whose pressure is applied as a braking pressure to the wheel brake cylinder for braking the wheel. The pressure control valve controls the braking pressure as a function of the master cylinder pressure which is generated by the master cylinder, depending upon the operating force acting on a brake operating member. An electrically controlled pressure regulating device is provided for applying an electrically controlled force to the pressure control valve, to thereby regulate the braking pressure to be applied to the wheel brake cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yutaka Ohnuma, Kenji Shirai, Fumiaki Kawahata, Kiyoharu Nakamura, Mark Evans, Hiroaki Yoshida
  • Patent number: 5501642
    Abstract: In order to control the engine output timing always properly irrespective of the aging of an automatic transmission, the present invention provides a shift control system for a vehicular automatic transmission, which system comprises: release end detecting means for detecting the release end of a frictional engagement element for a higher gear stage, at a shifting time from higher to lower gear stages; synchronism detecting means for detecting the synchronism between an engine R.P.M. and a rotating element in the automatic transmission at the lower gear stage; and engine output control means for controlling the output of the engine. The aforementioned engine output control means starts the rise control of the engine output, when the release end of the frictional engagement element for the higher gear stage is detected by the release end detecting means, and ends the rise control of the aforementioned engine output when the synchronism between the engine R.P.M.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1996
    Assignee: Aisin Aw Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Inuzuka, Masashi Hattori, Masato Kaigawa, Yasuo Hojo, Atsushi Tabata, Kenji Shirai
  • Patent number: 5333944
    Abstract: An electrically controlled brake system including a brake operating member, a first detector for detecting an operating amount of the brake operating member, a braking device braking a wheel of a vehicle, a second detector for detecting an actual braking effect provided by the braking device, and a controller for controlling the braking device. The second detector detects the actual braking effect in the form of a positive value when the vehicle is running in one of a forward and a backward direction, and in the form of a negative value when the vehicle is running in the other of the forward and backward directions. The controller determines a positive value as a target braking effect based on the detected operating amount of the brake operating member, and controls the braking device such that an absolute value of the detected actual braking effect coincides with the positive value of the determined target braking effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 2, 1994
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Sumio Katsuno
  • Patent number: 5282143
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a practical method for machining a sculptured surface. One of the characteristics of a concrete method for machining a sculptured surface so as to accomplish the object is that a patch table of a sculptured surface as surface information data for sculptured surface machining is configured so that a tool path can be generated using the inverse offset method for various surfaces such as a Bezier surface or a Ferguson surface and another characteristic is that over cutting during tool path generation on the basis of the inverse offset operation can be corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1991
    Date of Patent: January 25, 1994
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Shingo Akasaka, Toshiyuki Shirabe
  • Patent number: 5170944
    Abstract: A faucet apparatus includes an ultrasonic transmitter and an ultrasonic receiver provided at a predetermined distance away from each other through a water flow passage. An ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitter is propagated through the flow passage as a control signal for operation control of the faucet apparatus and is received with the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 15, 1992
    Assignee: Inax Corporation
    Inventor: Kenji Shirai
  • Patent number: 5122235
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a process for removing chloroprene by subjecting chloroprene-containing 1,2-dichloroethane to heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from the boiling point (85.degree. C.) of 1,2-dichloroethane to the thermal cracking temperature (300.degree. C.) of 1,2-dichloroethane. In particular, the process can be suitably applied to a liquid distillate from a low-boiling material separation column in a step in which 1,2-dichloroethane used as a raw material for production of vinyl chloride is purified by using a fractionation column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1992
    Assignee: Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Incorporated
    Inventors: Kenji Shirai, Seiji Nagae, Tadashi Naito, Atsushi Shirai
  • Patent number: 5073500
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for measuring the concentration values of constituents of urine collected in a toilet bowl. A conduit extends from the urine-collecting portion of the bowl to a concentration-measuring device. A gas injector is mounted beside the conduit to intermittently inject gas into the conduit, for dividing the urine contained in the conduit into aliquots. The concentration values of urinary constituents of each aliquot are measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1991
    Assignee: Inax Corporation
    Inventors: Shiro Saito, Kenji Shirai, Ryuichi Kawamoto, Shigeru Sakakibara
  • Patent number: 5052182
    Abstract: A tandem master brake cylinder has first and second pistons, each piston associated with a fluid chamber and a pressure chamber. The pistons are displaced in response to actuation of a brake pedal. A hydraulic booster is coupled to a power source and is operable to enhance the piston movement and for conducting pressurized fluid to a second of the fluid chambers associated with a second piston to displace that piston in a manner reducing the volume of the pressure chamber associated with the first piston. In the event that a negative pressure is communicated with the second fluid chamber, e.g. by a loss of pressurized fluid from the power source, brake fluid is supplied through a one-way check valve to the second fluid chamber to prevent the negative pressure from reversing the motion of the second piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1991
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Michiharu Nishii, Genji Mizuno, Yoshihiko Tada, Yoshihisa Nomura, Masahiko Kato, Kenji Shirai, Junichi Tanoue
  • Patent number: 5027599
    Abstract: A hydraulic braking system includes a tandem master cylinder having a bore with an opening and a closed wall at opposite ends thereof which formed in a housing, a first piston slidably fitted in the bore so as to define a first pressure chamber and a first fluid chamber therein and operatively connected to a brake pedal, a second piston slidably fitted in the bore so as to define a second fluid chamber adjacent to the first pressure chamber and a second pressure chamber and operatively connected to the first piston. A normally open valve communicates with each piston so as to close passages formed in the each pistons and communication between each fluid chambers and each pressure chambers, respectively, when each piston is moved in response to the depression of the brake pedal. A power source generates a hydraulic power pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 2, 1991
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Michiharu Nishii, Genji Mizuno, Ysohihiko Tada, Yoshihisa Nomura, Masahiko Kato, Kenji Shirai, Junichi Tanoue