Patents by Inventor Shintaro Hotta

Shintaro Hotta 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: 11536211
    Abstract: A powertrain system includes a port injection internal combustion engine. A first start process is a process in which fuel is enclosed in a compression stroke cylinder when the engine is stopped, and based on a stored crank stop position, ignition is performed in a first cycle of the compression stroke cylinder upon engine start. A second start process is a process in which, based on the stored crank stop position, fuel injection is performed for an intake stroke cylinder while the engine is stopped, and based on the stored crank stop position, ignition is performed in the first cycle of the intake stroke cylinder upon engine start. When a catalyst temperature at the time engine start is requested is equal to or higher than a first threshold, a control device starts the internal combustion engine by at least one of the first start process and the second start process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Hotta, Takashi Kawai, Shunsuke Fushiki, Hideto Wakabayashi, Hirokazu Ito
  • Patent number: 11459968
    Abstract: An engine misfire detection device is mounted on a hybrid electric vehicle that includes an internal combustion engine and a generator. The internal combustion engine has a plurality of cylinders and a crankshaft and is dedicated to power generation. The generator is connected to the crankshaft via a torsional damper. The engine misfire detection device includes a generator rotation angle sensor and a processor. The generator rotation angle sensor detects the rotation angle of the generator rotating shaft. The processor is configured to execute a misfire detection process. The misfire detection process includes a first misfire detection process of determining that the internal combustion engine has misfired when an amplitude correlation value that correlates with the magnitude of amplitude of rotation speed of the generator rotating shaft and is detected by the generator rotation angle sensor is greater than a determination threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Hotta, Yuya Takahashi, Hiroki Iguma, Hideto Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 11378035
    Abstract: An engine control device includes a processor configured to execute a fuel injection control including: a first fuel injection processing for injecting an amount of fuel according to a first intake air amount based on an intake air flow rate detected by an air flow sensor; and a second fuel injection processing for injecting an amount of fuel according to a second intake air amount based on a throttle opening degree detected by a throttle position sensor. The processor selects the first fuel injection processing when a pulsation rate of the intake air flow rate is equal to or lower than a pulsation rate threshold value, and selects the second fuel injection processing when the pulsation rate is higher than the pulsation rate threshold value. The pulsation rate threshold value is smaller when a temperature correlation value is low than when the temperature correlation value is high.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Hirata, Shintaro Hotta, Takashi Amano
  • Publication number: 20220145820
    Abstract: An engine misfire detection device is mounted on a hybrid electric vehicle that includes an internal combustion engine and a generator. The internal combustion engine has a plurality of cylinders and a crankshaft and is dedicated to power generation. The generator is connected to the crankshaft via a torsional damper. The engine misfire detection device includes a generator rotation angle sensor and a processor. The generator rotation angle sensor detects the rotation angle of the generator rotating shaft. The processor is configured to execute a misfire detection process. The misfire detection process includes a first misfire detection process of determining that the internal combustion engine has misfired when an amplitude correlation value that correlates with the magnitude of amplitude of rotation speed of the generator rotating shaft and is detected by the generator rotation angle sensor is greater than a determination threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Inventors: Shintaro Hotta, Yuya Takahashi, Hiroki Iguma, Hideto Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 11118532
    Abstract: A top surface of the piston includes a first region. A heat shielding film is formed on the first area. The top surface further includes a second region. There is no heat shielding film formed on the second region. Instead, the second area is mirror-finished. The top surface includes a central portion. A valve recess portion is formed on an intake side of the central portion. A squish portion is formed the intake side of the valve recess portion. The first area includes at least the central portion. The second area includes at least the squish portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shintaro Hotta
  • Publication number: 20210131374
    Abstract: An engine control device includes a processor configured to execute a fuel injection control including: a first fuel injection processing for injecting an amount of fuel according to a first intake air amount based on an intake air flow rate detected by an air flow sensor; and a second fuel injection processing for injecting an amount of fuel according to a second intake air amount based on a throttle opening degree detected by a throttle position sensor. The processor selects the first fuel injection processing when a pulsation rate of the intake air flow rate is equal to or lower than a pulsation rate threshold value, and selects the second fuel injection processing when the pulsation rate is higher than the pulsation rate threshold value. The pulsation rate threshold value is smaller when a temperature correlation value is low than when the temperature correlation value is high.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiharu HIRATA, Shintaro HOTTA, Takashi AMANO
  • Publication number: 20210062742
    Abstract: A powertrain system includes a port injection internal combustion engine. A first start process is a process in which fuel is enclosed in a compression stroke cylinder when the engine is stopped, and based on a stored crank stop position, ignition is performed in a first cycle of the compression stroke cylinder upon engine start. A second start process is a process in which, based on the stored crank stop position, fuel injection is performed for an intake stroke cylinder while the engine is stopped, and based on the stored crank stop position, ignition is performed in the first cycle of the intake stroke cylinder upon engine start. When a catalyst temperature at the time engine start is requested is equal to or higher than a first threshold, a control device starts the internal combustion engine by at least one of the first start process and the second start process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2020
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro HOTTA, Takashi KAWAI, Shunsuke FUSHIKI, Hideto WAKABAYASHI, Hirokazu ITO
  • Patent number: 10920712
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine has a plurality of cylinders and transmission arranged adjoining the engine. If designating an average height of a combustion chamber in a region inside from a virtual cylindrical surface passing through center of a valve body of an intake valve and extending in a circumferential direction of each cylinder when a piston is at top dead center, as “center height”, and designating average of a height of the combustion chamber in a region outside from the virtual cylindrical surface when the piston is at top dead center, as “peripheral height”, the combustion chambers form a center height of a transmission side cylinder positioned most to the transmission side among the plurality of cylinders is higher than center heights of usual cylinders including one cylinder other than the transmission side cylinder and a peripheral height at the transmission side cylinder lower than peripheral heights of usual cylinders.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Hotta, Susumu Hashimoto, Shinji Sadakane, Hiroshi Tada, Fumio Takamiya, Akira Hojo
  • Patent number: 10724425
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a plurality of cylinders, and these cylinders are divided into a first group where the air-fuel mixture is burned in the entire operating region and a second group where the air-fuel mixture is not burned in part of the operating region. The engine comprising: an intake opening opened and closed by an intake valve; an exhaust opening opened and closed by an exhaust valve; and a mask part having a wall surface extending along an outer edge of the intake opening toward the inside of the combustion chamber at an opposite side from the exhaust opening side. The mask part is configured so that a clearance from a passage surface of an edge part of the intake valve to the wall surface of the mask part is smaller at each cylinder of the first group than each cylinder of the second group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shintaro Hotta
  • Patent number: 10718275
    Abstract: A miller cycle engine according to the present disclosure includes: a variable valve operating device configured to continuously change the closing timing of an intake valve; a throttle valve arranged in an intake air passage; and a control device configured to execute an early closing miller cycle operation mode to control the variable valve operating device such that the intake valve closes at an intake bottom dead center or earlier. The control device is configured to: execute a late closing mode (e.g., decompression mode) to retard the closing timing relative to the intake bottom dead center at the time of engine start-up; and execute, where the pressure in the intake air passage has decreased to a first threshold value or lower first after the engine start-up, a mode switching processing to switch from the late closing mode to the early closing miller cycle operation mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shintaro Hotta
  • Patent number: 10711753
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes two intake openings, opened and closed by intake valves; exhaust openings opened and closed by exhaust valves; a fuel injector having a plurality of nozzle holes; and mask parts having wall surfaces extending along outer edges of the intake openings toward the inside of the combustion chamber. The fuel injector arranged wherein the nozzle holes are positioned at the opposite exhaust opening sides from the intake openings, and the plurality of nozzle holes include a first nozzle hole, injecting in a direction with the smallest angle from a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylinder. The wall surface formed wherein a height in a first nozzle hole ejection region positioned in a range of injection of a fuel spray from the first nozzle hole, when viewed in the axial direction, is lower than a height in the first nozzle hole ejection region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shintaro Hotta
  • Patent number: 10697378
    Abstract: A control system of a Miller cycle engine includes an ECU. The ECU executes an early closing Miller cycle operating mode in which a variable valve mechanism is controlled to close an intake valve before an intake bottom dead center. The ECU executes a decompression mode in which the variable valve mechanism is controlled to close the intake valve at a point later than the intake BDC, when the engine is started. The electronic control unit executes the early closing Miller cycle operating mode after completion of the decompression mode. A later closing amount of the intake valve relative to the intake BDC, for use in the decompression mode, is larger than an early closing amount of the intake valve relative to the intake BDC when the closing timing of the intake valve is most advanced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Hotta, Shinji Sadakane, Fumio Takamiya, Akira Hojo, Kohei Umehara
  • Patent number: 10677178
    Abstract: An operating range boundary for switching a cam for driving an intake valve (drive cam) is changed in a direction of decreasing an engine load if a target EGR rate is predicted to increase across the contour line of the EGR rate. By changing the boundary, the drive cam is switched from a large cam to a small cam before an operating point is transferred from a partitioned range with a low target EGR rate to a partitioned range with a high target EGR rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akira Kato, Shinichi Mitani, Shintaro Hotta
  • Publication number: 20200158045
    Abstract: A top surface of the piston includes a first region. A heat shielding film is formed on the first area. The top surface further includes a second region. There is no heat shielding film formed on the second region. Instead, the second area is mirror-finished. The top surface includes a central portion. A valve recess portion is formed on an intake side of the central portion. A squish portion is formed the intake side of the valve recess portion. The first area includes at least the central portion. The second area includes at least the squish portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Inventor: Shintaro HOTTA
  • Publication number: 20200072134
    Abstract: A miller cycle engine according to the present disclosure includes: a variable valve operating device configured to continuously change the closing timing of an intake valve; a throttle valve arranged in an intake air passage; and a control device configured to execute an early closing miller cycle operation mode to control the variable valve operating device such that the intake valve closes at an intake bottom dead center or earlier. The control device is configured to: execute a late closing mode (e.g., decompression mode) to retard the closing timing relative to the intake bottom dead center at the time of engine start-up; and execute, where the pressure in the intake air passage has decreased to a first threshold value or lower first after the engine start-up, a mode switching processing to switch from the late closing mode to the early closing miller cycle operation mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2019
    Publication date: March 5, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shintaro HOTTA
  • Publication number: 20200072135
    Abstract: A control system of a Miller cycle engine includes an ECU. The ECU executes an early closing Miller cycle operating mode in which a variable valve mechanism is controlled to close an intake valve before an intake bottom dead center. The ECU executes a decompression mode in which the variable valve mechanism is controlled to close the intake valve at a point later than the intake BDC, when the engine is started. The electronic control unit executes the early closing Miller cycle operating mode after completion of the decompression mode. A later closing amount of the intake valve relative to the intake BDC, for use in the decompression mode, is larger than an early closing amount of the intake valve relative to the intake BDC when the closing timing of the intake valve is most advanced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Publication date: March 5, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro HOTTA, Shinji SADAKANE, Fumio TAKAMIYA, Akira HOJO, Kohei UMEHARA
  • Publication number: 20190383230
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine has a plurality of cylinders and transmission arranged adjoining the engine. If designating an average height of a combustion chamber in a region inside from a virtual cylindrical surface passing through center of a valve body of an intake valve and extending in a circumferential direction of each cylinder when a piston is at top dead center, as “center height”, and designating average of a height of the combustion chamber in a region outside from the virtual cylindrical surface when the piston is at top dead center, as “peripheral height”, the combustion chambers form a center height of a transmission side cylinder positioned most to the transmission side among the plurality of cylinders is higher than center heights of usual cylinders including one cylinder other than the transmission side cylinder and a peripheral height at the transmission side cylinder lower than peripheral heights of usual cylinders.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro HOTTA, Susumu HASHIMOTO, Shinji SADAKANE, Hiroshi TADA, Fumio TAKAMIYA, Akira HOJO
  • Patent number: 10502148
    Abstract: An electronic control unit is configured to select a first cam as a driving cam of an intake valve in a first operation range where a target value of an EGR rate is set to a specified EGR rate, and is configured to select a second cam as the driving cam in a second operation range smaller in valve duration and lift amount than the first cam. Accordingly, in most of the operation regions, the first cam is selected, and the second cam is selected only in a high-torque and high-speed region. When the second cam is selected in the high-torque and high-speed region, the state where an actual compression ratio is high can be eliminated, and suction efficiency can be decreased. Therefore, decrease in a knocking limit can be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Hotta, Akira Kato, Shinichi Mitani
  • Patent number: 10480434
    Abstract: Assume that a boundary on the air-fuel ration operation is changed from a boundary (i) to a boundary (ii). Then, after the boundary is changed, a high EGR operation region where a target EGR rate is set to a high value overlaps partially with a rich operation region. Therefore, when it is determined that the current operating point exists in the overlapped region, the target EGR rate is forcibly lowered. In addition, the boundary on a drive cam for an intake valve is changed from a boundary (I) to a boundary (II) thereby a region where a small cam is selected is enlarged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shintaro Hotta
  • Patent number: 10473047
    Abstract: An engine includes an exhaust gas control apparatus that is configured to store NOx and react NOx with a reduction agent. A control device for the engine includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: (i) execute a rich spike control, the rich spike control is a control executed to temporarily change an in-cylinder air-fuel ratio from a leaner air-fuel ratio than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio or a richer air-fuel ratio than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and (ii) vary an overlap amount of an intake valve and an exhaust valve such that the overlap amount is less during execution of the rich spike control than during non-execution of the rich spike control, in an operation range where a pressure of the intake port becomes higher than a pressure of the exhaust port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shintaro Hotta