Patents by Inventor Koutarou Wakamoto

Koutarou Wakamoto 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: 6978599
    Abstract: The invention provides a fuel injection controlling apparatus for an engine that reduces NOx amounts in an exhaust gas of a Diesel engine conducting lean combustion. An inter-cylinder injector (20a) is arranged in each cylinder of an engine (1). An intake port/manifold injector (21a) is arranged at an inlet of each cylinder of an intake manifold (5). A speed sensor (32) for detecting the engine speed is provided to the engine. A controller (31) is connected to the speed sensor (32), the inter-cylinder injector (20a) and the intake port/manifold injector (21a), and calculates an engine load. The intake port/manifold injector (21a) injects the fuel when the engine load is low, and the inter-cylinder injector (20a) injects the fuel when the engine load is high.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2005
    Assignee: Komatsu, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto
  • Publication number: 20040237936
    Abstract: The invention provides a fuel injection controlling apparatus for an engine that reduces NOx amounts in an exhaust gas of a Diesel engine conducting lean combustion. An inter-cylinder injector (20a) is arranged in each cylinder of an engine (1). An intake port/manifold injector (21a) is arranged at an inlet of each cylinder of an intake manifold (5). A speed sensor (32) for detecting the engine speed is provided to the engine. A controller (31) is connected to the speed sensor (32), the inter-cylinder injector (20a) and the intake port/manifold injector (21a), and calculates an engine load. The intake port/manifold injector (21a) injects the fuel when the engine load is low, and the inter-cylinder injector (20a) injects the fuel when the engine load is high.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2004
    Publication date: December 2, 2004
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto
  • Patent number: 6813880
    Abstract: The invention provides a fuel injection controlling apparatus for an engine that reduces NOx amounts in an exhaust gas of a Diesel engine conducting lean combustion. An inter-cylinder injector (20a) is arranged in each cylinder of an engine (1). An intake port/manifold injector (21a) is arranged at an inlet of each cylinder of an intake manifold (5). A speed sensor (32) for detecting the engine speed is provided to the engine. A controller (31) is connected to the speed sensor (32), the inter-cylinder injector (20a) and the intake port/manifold injector (21a), and calculates an engine load. The intake port/manifold injector (21a) injects the fuel when the engine load is low, and the inter-cylinder injector (20a) injects the fuel when the engine load is high.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto
  • Patent number: 6767378
    Abstract: In an exhaust gas purifying system 1, a pair of carriers 34 is arranged in series along the flow direction of exhaust gas. Approximately a half of the exhaust gas passing through a first distribution flow path 4 flows in the upstream-side carrier 34, and the remaining half of the exhaust gas passing through a second distribution flow path 5 flows in the downstream-side carrier 34. Therefore, the capacity of the whole of the paired carriers 34 can be substantially doubled as in the case where the carriers 34 are arranged in parallel, so that the function as the exhaust gas purifying system 1 can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2004
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto, Nobuhiko Emori
  • Patent number: 6647710
    Abstract: An exhaust gas purifying apparatus for internal combustion engines, which comprises an exhaust pipe, a branched exhaust pipe, a first NOx adsorbing catalyst provided in the exhaust pipe, a second small-sized NOx adsorbing catalyst provided in the branched exhaust pipe, and an exhaust switchover valve. The exhaust switchover valve including exhaust holes, a first feed pipe having a first switchover valve, and a second feed pipe having a second switchover valve, the first and second feed pipes being opened between the exhaust switchover valve and the first NOx adsorbing catalyst and between the exhaust switchover valve and the second NOx adsorbing catalyst, respectively. The first and second feed pipes are supplied with a fuel from a feed pump. A controller is connected to a NOx accumulation checking device, exhaust switchover valve, first switchover valve, and the second switchover valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto
  • Publication number: 20030051449
    Abstract: In an exhaust gas purifying system 1, a pair of carriers 34 is arranged in series along the flow direction of exhaust gas. Approximately a half of the exhaust gas passing through a first distribution flow path 4 flows in the upstream-side carrier 34, and the remaining half of the exhaust gas passing through a second distribution flow path 5 flows in the downstream-side carrier 34. Therefore, the capacity of the whole of the paired carriers 34 can be substantially doubled as in the case where the carriers 34 are arranged in parallel, so that the function as the exhaust gas purifying system 1 can be improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2002
    Publication date: March 20, 2003
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto, Nobuhiko Emori
  • Publication number: 20030010021
    Abstract: An exhaust gas purifying apparatus for internal combustion engines, which is decreased in space and volume and in which any surplus load is not applied on an engine, comprises a branch exhaust pipe provided on an exhaust pipe of the engine to branch off therefrom in parallel thereto, a first NOx adsorbing catalyst provided in the exhaust pipe, a second small-sized NOx adsorbing catalyst provided in the branch exhaust pipe, an exhaust switchover valve provided at a branch, where the exhaust pipe and the branch exhaust pipe branch off, and having exhaust holes, a first feed pipe having a first switchover valve, and a second feed pipe having a second switchover valve, the first and second feed pipes being opened between the exhaust switchover valve and the first NOx adsorbing catalyst and between the exhaust switchover valve and the second NOx adsorbing catalyst, respectively. The first and second feed pipes are supplied with a fuel from a feed pump.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2002
    Publication date: January 16, 2003
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto
  • Publication number: 20020134073
    Abstract: The invention provides a fuel injection controlling apparatus for an engine that reduces NOx amounts in an exhaust gas of a Diesel engine conducting lean combustion. An inter-cylinder injector (20a) is arranged in each cylinder of an engine (1). An intake port/manifold injector (21a) is arranged at an inlet of each cylinder of an intake manifold (5). A speed sensor (32) for detecting the engine speed is provided to the engine. A controller (31) is connected to the speed sensor (32), the inter-cylinder injector (20a) and the intake port/manifold injector (21a), and calculates an engine load. The intake port/manifold injector (21a) injects the fuel when the engine load is low, and the inter-cylinder injector (20a) injects the fuel when the engine load is high.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2002
    Publication date: September 26, 2002
    Inventors: Toshihiko Nishiyama, Koutarou Wakamoto
  • Patent number: 6079203
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for accurately detecting a degradation in the performance of an NO.sub.x catalyst which is used to reduce NO.sub.x exhausted from a diesel engine. Thus an apparatus for detecting a deterioration of an NO.sub.x catalyst for a diesel engine in which hydrocarbons for reduction are supplied into an exhaust pipe and the exhausted NO.sub.x is reduced and purified by the NO.sub.x catalyst, includes a rotational speed sensor (4) for the diesel engine (1), a load sensor (5) for the diesel engine (1), a hydrocarbon sensor (11) provided downstream of the NO.sub.x catalyst (3) for detecting an amount of hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas, and deterioration detecting means (12) for detecting an operating condition of the diesel engine (1) on the basis of signals from the rotational speed sensor (4) and the load sensor (5), and for determining the deterioration of the NO.sub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventor: Koutarou Wakamoto