Patents by Inventor Koichi Kitaura
Koichi Kitaura 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).
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Patent number: 8683856Abstract: Active air-fuel ratio control is performed to alternately control an air-fuel ratio in an area located upstream of a catalyst between a lean side and a rich side. The amount of oxygen absorbed and released by the catalyst during lean control and rich control of the air-fuel ratio is measured. When an output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches a predetermined threshold, switching is carried out between the lean control and the rich control, and the measurement of the amount of oxygen is ended. The threshold is set to be reached before the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches a predetermined reference value. Whether the catalyst is normal or abnormal is determined based on the amount of oxygen measured until the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold and behavior of the output from the post-catalyst sensor observed after the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2010Date of Patent: April 1, 2014Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Koichi Kitaura
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Patent number: 8613219Abstract: Active air-fuel ratio control is performed to alternately control an air-fuel ratio in an area located upstream of a catalyst between a lean side and a rich side. Switching is carried out between lean control and rich control at the same time when an output from a post-catalyst sensor reaches a threshold. Whether the catalyst is normal or abnormal is determined based on the rate of a change in the output from the post-catalyst sensor between a first point of time when a pre-catalyst air-fuel ratio reaches stoichiometry after the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold and a second point of time when the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold next time.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2010Date of Patent: December 24, 2013Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Koichi Kitaura, Takahiko Fujiwara, Yuuji Miyoshi, Ryota Onoe
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Patent number: 8534046Abstract: A catalyst deterioration diagnosing apparatus is provided with means for performing stoichiometric feedback control on the air-fuel ratio based on at least output from an upstream air-fuel ratio sensor provided upstream of a catalyst, means for measuring the oxygen storage capacity of the catalyst, and means for correcting the measured value of the oxygen storage capacity based on at least the output behavior of a downstream air-fuel ratio sensor provided downstream of the catalyst during the stoichiometric feedback control. The measured value of the oxygen storage capacity is corrected using the output behavior of the downstream air-fuel ratio sensor during stoichiometric feedback control. The diagnostic is performed after eliminating the effects from sulfur by correcting the measured value to a value corresponding to when low sulfur fuel is used, which makes it possible to prevent an erroneous diagnosis from being made.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2009Date of Patent: September 17, 2013Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hiroshi Miyamoto, Toru Kidokoro, Hiroshi Sawada, Yasushi Iwazaki, Koichi Kimura, Koichi Kitaura
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Publication number: 20130180322Abstract: Active air-fuel ratio control is performed to alternately control an air-fuel ratio in an area located upstream of a catalyst between a lean side and a rich side. The amount of oxygen absorbed and released by the catalyst during lean control and rich control of the air-fuel ratio is measured. When an output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches a predetermined threshold, switching is carried out between the lean control and the rich control, and the measurement of the amount of oxygen is ended. The threshold is set to be reached before the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches a predetermined reference value. Whether the catalyst is normal or abnormal is determined based on the amount of oxygen measured until the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold and behavior of the output from the post-catalyst sensor observed after the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 23, 2010Publication date: July 18, 2013Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Koichi Kitaura
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Publication number: 20130036808Abstract: Active air-fuel ratio control is performed to alternately control an air-fuel ratio in an area located upstream of a catalyst between a lean side and a rich side. Switching is carried out between lean control and rich control at the same time when an output from a post-catalyst sensor reaches a threshold. Whether the catalyst is normal or abnormal is determined based on the rate of a change in the output from the post-catalyst sensor between a first point of time when a pre-catalyst air-fuel ratio reaches stoichiometry after the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold and a second point of time when the output from the post-catalyst sensor reaches the threshold next time.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 23, 2010Publication date: February 14, 2013Inventors: Koichi Kitaura, Takahiko Fujiwara, Yuuji Miyoshi, Ryota Onoe
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Patent number: 8359827Abstract: The invention intends to provide a technology which makes it possible to diagnose with higher accuracy whether or not abnormality occurs in a filter regeneration system causing excessive execution frequency of a regeneration process. The filter regeneration system initiates execution of the regeneration process, incase an estimated particulate matter (PM) accumulation amount at the filter reaches a pre-determined regeneration requiring accumulation amount; or in case the pressure upstream of the filter or the differential pressure across the filter reaches a pre-determined regeneration requiring value, the value being larger than the pressure or the differential pressure corresponding to the regeneration requiring accumulation amount. Then, the diagnosis is carried out based on a ratio of an estimated PM accumulation amount at the initiation of the execution of the regeneration process to the regeneration requiring accumulation amount.Type: GrantFiled: February 24, 2009Date of Patent: January 29, 2013Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Daisuke Shibata, Koichi Kitaura, Hiroshi Sawada, Tatsuya Tsuji
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Publication number: 20110314792Abstract: The invention intends to provide a technology which makes it possible to diagnose with higher accuracy whether or not abnormality occurs in a filter regeneration system causing excessive execution frequency of a regeneration process. The filter regeneration system initiates execution of the regeneration process, incase an estimated particulate matter (PM) accumulation amount at the filter reaches a pre-determined regeneration requiring accumulation amount; or in case the pressure upstream of the filter or the differential pressure across the filter reaches a pre-determined regeneration requiring value, the value being larger than the pressure or the differential pressure corresponding to the regeneration requiring accumulation amount. Then, the diagnosis is carried out based on a ratio of an estimated PM accumulation amount at the initiation of the execution of the regeneration process to the regeneration requiring accumulation amount.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 24, 2009Publication date: December 29, 2011Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Daisuke Shibata, Koichi Kitaura, Hiroshi Sawada, Tatsuya Tsuji
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Publication number: 20100307135Abstract: A catalyst deterioration diagnosing apparatus is provided with means for performing stoichiometric feedback control on the air-fuel ratio based on at least output from an upstream air-fuel ratio sensor provided upstream of a catalyst, means for measuring the oxygen storage capacity of the catalyst, and means for correcting the measured value of the oxygen storage capacity based on at least the output behavior of a downstream air-fuel ratio sensor provided downstream of the catalyst during the stoichiometric feedback control. The measured value of the oxygen storage capacity is corrected using the output behavior of the downstream air-fuel ratio sensor during stoichiometric feedback control. The diagnostic is performed after eliminating the effects from sulfur by correcting the measured value to a value corresponding to when low sulfur fuel is used, which makes it possible to prevent an erroneous diagnosis from being made.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 27, 2009Publication date: December 9, 2010Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Hiroshi Miyamoto, Toru Kidokoro, Hiroshi Sawada, Yasushi Iwazaki, Koichi Kimura, Koichi Kitaura
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Publication number: 20100083635Abstract: The concentration of a portion of components in the hydrocarbon in exhaust gas flowing into a catalyst is detected or estimated, and the concentration of the portion of components in the hydrocarbon in the exhaust gas flowing out of the catalyst is detected. On the basis of the concentrations of the portion of components in the hydrocarbon flowing into the catalyst and the concentration of the portion of components in the hydrocarbon flowing out of the catalyst, it is determined whether or not the catalyst has been deteriorated.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 5, 2008Publication date: April 8, 2010Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Koichi Kitaura, Toru Kidokoro, Hiroshi Sawada, Yasushi Iwazaki, Koichi Kimura
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Publication number: 20090145109Abstract: The oxygen storage capacity preceding a previous oxygen storage capacity and the previous oxygen storage capacity of each of an upstream catalyst and a downstream catalyst are measured, and a present oxygen storage capacity of the downstream catalyst is measured. Then, sulfur poisoning of the upstream catalyst and the downstream catalyst is detected on the basis of an oxygen storage capacity change amount of each of the upstream catalyst and the downstream catalyst from the oxygen storage capacity preceding the previous one to the previous oxygen storage capacity, and the oxygen storage capacity change amount of the downstream catalyst from the previous oxygen storage capacity to the present oxygen storage capacity. The presence/absence of the sulfur poisoning can be accurately detected by utilizing the difference between the manners of sulfur poisoning of the two catalysts.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 3, 2008Publication date: June 11, 2009Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Toru Kidokoro, Koichi Kimura, Koichi Kitaura
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Publication number: 20080173008Abstract: A catalyst deterioration detecting system of an internal combustion engine includes a measuring unit that measures the oxygen storage capacity of a catalyst, a detector that detects or estimates the temperature of the catalyst, and a detector that detects poisoning of the catalyst based on the relationship between a change in the catalyst temperature and a change in the oxygen storage capacity corresponding to the change in the catalyst temperature. The change in the oxygen storage capacity corresponding to the change in the catalyst temperature varies depending on the presence or absence of poisoning of the catalyst. Thus, the catalyst deterioration detecting system is able to favorably detect poisoning of the catalyst by utilizing this relationship, and distinguish temporary deterioration due to catalyst poisoning from permanent deterioration. A method of detecting deterioration of the catalyst is also provided.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 11, 2008Publication date: July 24, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Toru Kidokoro, Koichi Kimura, Koichi Kitaura
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Patent number: 6837040Abstract: An in-cylinder injection type spark-ignition internal combustion engine and a control method thereof realize a stabilized stratified-charge combustion by setting a large lift amount to an intake valve when the engine is cold-started and by executing a compression stroke injection. At this time, warming-up capability of a catalyst is improved by delaying an ignition timing.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2003Date of Patent: January 4, 2005Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yukihiro Sonoda, Yasuyuki Irisawa, Takashi Tsunooka, Koichi Kitaura
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Publication number: 20030182931Abstract: An in-cylinder injection type spark-ignition internal combustion engine and a control method thereof realize a stabilized stratified-charge combustion by setting a large lift amount to an intake valve when the engine is cold-started and by executing a compression stroke injection. At this time, warming-up capability of a catalyst is improved by delaying an ignition timing.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 27, 2003Publication date: October 2, 2003Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yukihiro Sonoda, Yasuyuki Irisawa, Takashi Tsunooka, Koichi Kitaura
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Patent number: 5087985Abstract: The present invention concerns a polarizer for visible light, comprising a polyvinyl alcohol-based polarizing element wherein not less than 60% of dichromophore is iodine, and a protective film. The said polarizing element has at least three absorption bands in an ultraviolet region of 210 nm to 400 nm and also has a UA value of not smaller than 4.0 which value represents ultraviolet absorption characteristics. Consequently, the polarizer of the invention possesses both superior polarization characteristics and high heat and humidity resistance. The polarizer of the invention having these characteristics is used for liquid crystal display and is suitable particularly for such uses as display in watches and electronic calculators, terminal dispaly in personal computers and word processor, picture display in portable television sets, and display in automobiles and aircraft.Type: GrantFiled: February 13, 1990Date of Patent: February 11, 1992Assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.Inventors: Koichi Kitaura, Shoji Kigoshi, Hisao Hisaki