Patents by Inventor Seiichi Tanaka
Seiichi Tanaka 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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Publication number: 20230261216Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell including a plurality of stacked cells, a fuel gas supply unit configured to supply fuel gas to a supply port of the fuel cell and return the fuel gas exhausted through an exhaust port of the fuel cell, and a controller configured to control an operation of the fuel gas supply unit. The controller is configured to execute a drain process for draining residual water accumulated in the fuel cell through the exhaust port. In the drain process, a first process in which the fuel gas is supplied to the fuel cell until a pressure in the fuel cell reaches a predetermined threshold pressure and a second process in which the pressure in the fuel cell is reduced after the first process are repeatedly executed.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 6, 2022Publication date: August 17, 2023Inventors: Tsuyoshi MARUO, Seiichi TANAKA, Makoto MORI, Tomotaka ISHIKAWA, Yoshiaki NAGANUMA
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Patent number: 11705565Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a fuel gas supply path, an injector, an ejector, a circulation path, a pressure difference detection unit that detects a pressure difference between an ejector inlet port pressure and an ejector outlet port pressure, and a control device. The control device calculates a required circulation flow rate that is required for a fuel off gas supplied from the fuel cell stack to the ejector, based on a required load for the fuel cell stack, calculates an estimated circulation flow rate that is an estimated flow rate of the fuel off gas supplied from the fuel cell stack to the ejector, based on the required load and the pressure difference, and increases the flow rate of a fuel gas supplied from the injector to the fuel cell stack when the estimated circulation flow rate is lower than the required circulation flow rate.Type: GrantFiled: November 24, 2021Date of Patent: July 18, 2023Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Nobukazu Mizuno, Shigeki Hasegawa, Miyu Haga, Seiichi Tanaka
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Patent number: 11569516Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a fuel gas supply path, an injector, an ejector, a circulation path, an outlet port pressure detection unit, and a control device. The control device stops driving the injector when an ejector outlet port pressure is equal to or more than a required upper limit value with the injector driven, and drives the injector when the ejector outlet port pressure is equal to or less than a required lower limit value with the injector stopped. The control device reduces the required upper limit value stepwise and reduces the required lower limit value stepwise in a range defined by a first target upper limit value and a second target upper limit value when a required load is varied from a first required load to a second required load and a load reduction amount is more than a first predetermined load.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2021Date of Patent: January 31, 2023Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Nobukazu Mizuno, Shigeki Hasegawa, Miyu Haga, Seiichi Tanaka
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Patent number: 11539062Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a fuel gas supply channel, a regulator, an injector, and a controller. The controller drives the regulator in conjunction with the injector. The controller compares a fuel gas flow amount necessary for the fuel cell to generate electricity with a predetermined fuel gas flow amount, selects the fuel gas flow amount that is larger, and issues commands to the regulator and the injector. The predetermined fuel gas flow amount is set to be larger than the fuel gas flow amount necessary for the fuel cell to generate the electricity when a generated current or output of the fuel cell is smaller than a predetermined threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 2021Date of Patent: December 27, 2022Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiichi Tanaka, Nobukazu Mizuno, Kazuo Yamamoto
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Publication number: 20220255099Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a fuel gas supply path, an injector, an ejector, a circulation path, a pressure difference detection unit that detects a pressure difference between an ejector inlet port pressure and an ejector outlet port pressure, and a control device. The control device calculates a required circulation flow rate that is required for a fuel off gas supplied from the fuel cell stack to the ejector, based on a required load for the fuel cell stack, calculates an estimated circulation flow rate that is an estimated flow rate of the fuel off gas supplied from the fuel cell stack to the ejector, based on the required load and the pressure difference, and increases the flow rate of a fuel gas supplied from the injector to the fuel cell stack when the estimated circulation flow rate is lower than the required circulation flow rate.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 24, 2021Publication date: August 11, 2022Inventors: Nobukazu MIZUNO, Shigeki HASEGAWA, Miyu HAGA, Seiichi TANAKA
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Publication number: 20220246965Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a fuel gas supply path, an injector, an ejector, a circulation path, an outlet port pressure detection unit, and a control device. The control device stops driving the injector when an ejector outlet port pressure is equal to or more than a required upper limit value with the injector driven, and drives the injector when the ejector outlet port pressure is equal to or less than a required lower limit value with the injector stopped. The control device reduces the required upper limit value stepwise and reduces the required lower limit value stepwise in a range defined by a first target upper limit value and a second target upper limit value when a required load is varied from a first required load to a second required load and a load reduction amount is more than a first predetermined load.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 30, 2021Publication date: August 4, 2022Inventors: Nobukazu MIZUNO, Shigeki HASEGAWA, Miyu HAGA, Seiichi TANAKA
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Patent number: 11196066Abstract: Provided is a fuel cell system that can effectively suppress clogging of a pipe due to freezing of water in a fuel gas supply system thereof without the need for halting the operation of the fuel cells, and thus is highly reliable. When possible freezing of water is detected or presumed to be present downstream of an injector, the amount of a fuel gas to be supplied from a circulation pump that is disposed in a circulation channel is relatively increased compared to the amount of the fuel gas to be supplied from the injector.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2018Date of Patent: December 7, 2021Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Seiichi Tanaka, Masashi Toida, Hiroyuki Tsunekawa, Shun Matsumoto, Tsuyoshi Maruo
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Publication number: 20210359319Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a fuel gas supply channel, a regulator, an injector, and a controller. The controller drives the regulator in conjunction with the injector. The controller compares a fuel gas flow amount necessary for the fuel cell to generate electricity with a predetermined fuel gas flow amount, selects the fuel gas flow amount that is larger, and issues commands to the regulator and the injector. The predetermined fuel gas flow amount is set to be larger than the fuel gas flow amount necessary for the fuel cell to generate the electricity when a generated current or output of the fuel cell is smaller than a predetermined threshold value.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 6, 2021Publication date: November 18, 2021Inventors: Seiichi TANAKA, Nobukazu MIZUNO, Kazuo YAMAMOTO
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Patent number: 10665876Abstract: A control unit of a fuel cell system includes a valve control unit configured such that, when it is determined that an exhaust valve is stuck open in a quick warming-up operation, the valve control unit sets at least one of an operable opening area which is an opening area capable of being changed by control and a rate of opening change which is an opening changeable frequency at which an opening is changeable per unit time, for at least one of a pressure adjusting valve and a flow division valve, such that a flow rate of a cathode gas supplied to a fuel cell is in an allowable range of a requested supply flow rate required for the quick warming-up operation.Type: GrantFiled: December 5, 2017Date of Patent: May 26, 2020Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tomio Yamanaka, Masashi Toida, Hiroyuki Imanishi, Seiichi Tanaka
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Patent number: 10592014Abstract: Display control systems, methods, and programs obtain an indicated location indicated by a pointer, based on an output from a pointing device, and display, on a display, a user interface screen that displays icons at predetermined locations and displays the pointer indicating the indicated location. The systems methods, and programs draw, when the indicated location is present in a draw-in region including one of the icons, the indicated location into the icon. The systems methods, and programs set, when a first icon and a second icon for performing operations related to a same function are arranged side by side on the display, a first draw-in region including the first icon and a second draw-in region including the second icon such that the first draw-in region and the second draw-in region are present in a region between the first icon and the second icon and adjacent to each other.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2015Date of Patent: March 17, 2020Assignees: AISIN AW CO., LTD., TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Hiroyasu Kato, Kazuhiro Kamiya, Seiichi Tanaka
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Patent number: 10452225Abstract: A vehicular input device includes a position detection unit, a display unit, and an ECU. The ECU is configured to set, based on a movement amount of a position of an operative input, a determination threshold of the movement amount of the operative input used in determination of movement to a next object from a current object to be smaller than a determination threshold of the movement amount of the operative input used in determination of movement to a next second object from the next object. The ECU is configured to display a selection image that indicates selected objects on the display unit on the current object.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 2018Date of Patent: October 22, 2019Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Seiichi Tanaka
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Patent number: 10452258Abstract: A vehicular input device includes a position detection unit that is disposed within a vehicle cabin, has an operative input surface on which a user performs an operative input, and detects a position of the operative input performed on the operative input surface; a display unit that is disposed within the vehicle cabin; and an ECU configured to display a selection image in an overlaid manner on an object within the display unit in a position corresponding to the position of the detected operative input when the position detection unit detects the operative input. The selection image is used to select the object within the display unit. The ECU highlights the selection image displayed on the display unit when the position of the operative input is detected by the position detection unit, further than when the position of the operative input is not detected by the position detection unit.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 2018Date of Patent: October 22, 2019Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiichi Tanaka, Takahiro Hirota
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Patent number: 10432833Abstract: There is provided a camera that includes a body and two or more kinds of groups of contacts provided on the body. The two or more kinds of groups of contacts are configured to be coupled to respective two or more kinds of lenses that include different lens-side mounts.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2014Date of Patent: October 1, 2019Assignee: SONY CORPORATIONInventors: Satoshi Moriyama, Seiichi Tanaka, Kenji Himeno
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Publication number: 20190250776Abstract: A vehicular display apparatus includes a display section, a pointing device, and a display control section. The display control section is configured to display an operation screen on the display section. The display control section is configured to generate an image that includes one of an object and an object group across a specified area on the operation screen, and execute processing of setting a part of the one of the object and the object group in a different display mode from the other part of the one of the object and the object group when the operation finger is recognized by a recognition section.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 25, 2019Publication date: August 15, 2019Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Kensuke HANAOKA, Seiichi TANAKA, Yasutomo KATO, Shinya FUKUDA
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Patent number: 10318118Abstract: A vehicular display apparatus includes a display section, a pointing device, and a display control section. The display control section is configured to display an operation screen on the display section. The display control section is configured to generate an image that includes one of an object and an object group across a specified area on the operation screen, and execute processing of setting a part of the one of the object and the object group in a different display mode from the other part of the one of the object and the object group when the operation finger is recognized by a recognition section.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2017Date of Patent: June 11, 2019Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Kensuke Hanaoka, Seiichi Tanaka, Yasutomo Kato, Shinya Fukuda
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Publication number: 20190173111Abstract: A control unit of a fuel cell system includes a valve control unit configured such that, when it is determined that an exhaust valve is stuck open in a quick warming-up operation, the valve control unit sets at least one of an operable opening area which is an opening area capable of being changed by control and a rate of opening change which is an opening changeable frequency at which an opening is changeable per unit time, for at least one of a pressure adjusting valve and a flow division valve, such that a flow rate of a cathode gas supplied to a fuel cell is in an allowable range of a requested supply flow rate required for the quick warming-up operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 5, 2017Publication date: June 6, 2019Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Tomio YAMANAKA, Masashi Toida, Hiroyuki Imanishi, Seiichi Tanaka
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Publication number: 20190165392Abstract: Provided is a fuel cell system that can effectively suppress clogging of a pipe due to freezing of water in a fuel gas supply system thereof without the need for halting the operation of the fuel cells, and thus is highly reliable. When possible freezing of water is detected or presumed to be present downstream of an injector, the amount of a fuel gas to be supplied from a circulation pump that is disposed in a circulation channel is relatively increased compared to the amount of the fuel gas to be supplied from the injector.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 1, 2018Publication date: May 30, 2019Inventors: Seiichi TANAKA, Masashi TOIDA, Hiroyuki TSUNEKAWA, Shun MATSUMOTO, Tsuyoshi MARUO
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Patent number: 10222906Abstract: An input device for a vehicle includes a determiner to calculate a correspondence position corresponding to the position of an input operation in a display unit, and to determine a content of the input operation; and a controller to control displaying an object depending on a determination result of the determiner, and to overlappingly display a selection image to select an object at the correspondence position. When the selection image is overlappingly displayed with an object whose selection items are consecutively replaced and displayed by the input operation, if the position is moved without a preceding press or long press operation, the selection item to be displayed is changed by a predetermined count in the moved direction of the position; or if the position is moved after a preceding press or long press operation, the selection item is consecutively changed proportionally to the moved amount of the position.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2017Date of Patent: March 5, 2019Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiichi Tanaka, Yusuke Takeuchi
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Publication number: 20180276472Abstract: An information display method includes recognizing an electronic timepiece included as an imaged subject in an image, and an indicating element that indicates information in the electronic timepiece, receiving data relating to information indicated by the electronic timepiece from the electronic timepiece, associating information extracted from the data with the indicating element, based on specification information of the electronic timepiece, and displaying an annotation image relating to the information extracted from the data in association with the indicating element, along with the image.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 13, 2018Publication date: September 27, 2018Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventor: Seiichi TANAKA
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Publication number: 20180275615Abstract: An information display method includes recognizing a position relationship between a dial and an indicating hand from an image in which an electronic timepiece having a dial and an indicating hand for indicating the dial is included as an imaged subject, specifying a value corresponding to the position relationship, based on specification information of the electronic timepiece, and displaying an annotation image relating to the specified value along with the image.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 12, 2018Publication date: September 27, 2018Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventor: Seiichi TANAKA