Patents by Inventor Shoichi Sasaki

Shoichi Sasaki 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).

  • Publication number: 20060275637
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electrolyte membrane in which permeation of an electrolyte solution such as water and methanol, and swelling by electrolyte solutions are suppressed, and which is excellent in mechanical strength; and providing a preparing method thereof. The present invention relates to an electrolyte membrane comprising a porous substrate with a plurality of pores and a proton conductive polymer composition held in the pores, wherein the proton conductive polymer composition contains an aromatic hydrocarbon resin having proton acid groups, preferably an aromatic hydrocarbon resin selected from a group consisting of polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyarylate, polyamide imide, polyetherimide, polyimide, polyquinoline, and polyquinoxaline.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Publication date: December 7, 2006
    Applicant: THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
    Inventors: Satoshi Nakazawa, Shinji Takeda, Kouichi Kamijima, Shoichi Sasaki, Iwao Fukuchi, Akihiro Orita, Hua Zhou, Takeo Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 7121975
    Abstract: Torque pulsations generated in the torque of an engine are obtained from detection signals from a crankshaft angle detection sensor and an engine water temperature detection sensor at the time of an engine starting operation. A control unit controls an MG1 via a drive circuit so that a damping torque of the same phase as the torque pulsations is generated, and ensures that the torque pulsations of the engine are not transmitted to a ring gear from a planetary carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Syuji Tomura, Yoshiaki Ito, Eiji Sato, Shoichi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 6942048
    Abstract: An accessory drive apparatus includes a power source, an accessory system that provides an input to the power source, an accessory driving source that drives the accessory system, and a power combination/distribution mechanism that is connected to the power source and the accessory system to transmit power from both the power source and the accessory driving source to the accessory system. With this arrangement, the accessory system is driven by a combination of power received from the accessory driving source and the power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuhiro Ishikawa, Shoichi Sasaki, Sumikazu Shamoto, Hiroshi Sugiura, Yukio Inaguma, Kazunari Moriya
  • Patent number: 6908345
    Abstract: An electric connector, comprising a base connector (4) fixed onto a mounting surface (3) and a socket connector (6) extracted from the inserting space (5) of the base connector (4) along the extracting direction (X2) generally orthogonal to the mounting surface (3), wherein, when an electric conductor (7) extending in the direction parallel with the mounting surface (3)(Y) is pulled in the direction parallel with the mounting surface (3)(Y), a tension is converted into a force in the direction of extracting the socket connector (6) (X2) by the activation of the cam surface (24) of the base connector (4) and the cam surface (37) of the socket connector (6), whereby the socket connector (6) can be removed smoothly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: J.S.T. Mfg. Co., LTD
    Inventors: Kazuomi Shimizu, Shoichi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 6806667
    Abstract: A control unit of the present invention for an electric vehicle capable of being driven using torque from an electric motor generated in response to a torque instruction, comprising an electric motor rotation speed detection and estimation unit for detecting or estimating rotation speed of the electric motor, a drive wheel rotation speed detection and estimation unit for detecting or estimating rotation speed of drive wheels, and a torque instruction compensation unit. The torque instruction compensation unit compensates the torque instruction so as to control vibration of the vehicle based on rotational speed of the electric motor detected or estimated by the electric motor rotation speed detection and estimation unit and drive wheel rotation speed detected or estimated by the drive wheel rotation speed detection and estimation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2004
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shoichi Sasaki, Yoshiaki Ito
  • Patent number: 6773280
    Abstract: In a card connector of the present invention, an eject plate has a push-moving portion, an engaging portion and a spring portion, and can be switched to two positions by a heart cam. In an electric connecting state of the card and the connector, the eject plate is set to a second position, and its engaging portion is engaged with a notch formed in the card, and the release of the engagement is prevented by a guide wall, and no card can be pulled out even when strong pulling-out force is applied to the card (full lock). When the eject plate is moved from the second position to a first position by a tension spring, the card is pushed out by the push-moving portion. The engaging portion is also engaged with the notch of the card in this first position, but the release of the engagement is allowed by the wall portion, and the card can be pulled out by elastically deforming the spring portion (half lock).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: U.S.T. Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoichi Sasaki, Takeshi Fujiwara, Koji Shiota
  • Publication number: 20040142790
    Abstract: Torque pulsations generated in the torque of an engine are obtained from detection signals from a crankshaft angle detection sensor and an engine water temperature detection sensor at the time of an engine starting operation. A control unit controls an MG1 via a drive circuit so that a damping torque of the same phase as the torque pulsations is generated, and ensures that the torque pulsations of the engine are not transmitted to a ring gear from a planetary carrier.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2003
    Publication date: July 22, 2004
    Applicants: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA CHUO KENKYUSHO, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Syuji Tomura, Yoshiaki Ito, Eiji Sato, Shoichi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20040002265
    Abstract: An electric connector, comprising a base connector (4) fixed onto a mounting surface (3) and a socket connector (6) extracted from the inserting space (5) of the base connector (4) along the extracting direction (X2) generally orthogonal to the mounting surface (3), wherein, when an electric conductor (7) extending in the direction parallel with the mounting surface (3)(Y) is pulled in the direction parallel with the mounting surface (3)(Y), a tension is converted into a force in the direction of extracting the socket connector (6) (X2) by the activation of the cam surface (24) of the base connector (4) and the cam surface (37) of the socket connector (6), whereby the socket connector (6) can be removed smoothly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2003
    Publication date: January 1, 2004
    Inventors: Kazuomi Shimizu, Shoichi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 6630804
    Abstract: A direct-current power supply (40) is connected between the neutral points of two three-phase coils (24, 26) of a 2Y motor (22) constituted of the windings of the two three-phase coils (24, 26), which are connected in Y-connection and wound on a same stator, and to which three-phase alternating current power is severally supplied with a phase difference of a shifted angle between the windings from two inverter circuits (30, 32) having a positive pole bus (34) and a negative pole bus (36) for common use. A capacitor (38) is connected between the positive pole bus (34) and the negative pole bus (36). The electric potential difference between the neutral points of the three-phase coils (24, 26) is made larger or smaller than the voltage of the direct-current power supply (40) through the switching control of the inverter circuits (30, 32). Thereby, the capacitor (38) can be charged or discharged. Consequently, an inverter input voltage can be adjusted within a wide range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2003
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazunari Moriya, Yukio Inaguma, Hideo Nakai, Hiroki Ohtani, Sumikazu Shamoto, Masayuki Komatsu, Shoichi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20030139077
    Abstract: In a card connector of the present invention, an eject plate has a push-moving portion, an engaging portion and a spring portion, and can be switched to two positions by a heart cam. In an electric connecting state of the card and the connector, the eject plate is set to a second position, and its engaging portion is engaged with a notch formed in the card, and the release of the engagement is prevented by a guide wall, and no card can be pulled out even when strong pulling-out force is applied to the card (full lock). When the eject plate is moved from the second position to a first position by a tension spring, the card is pushed out by the push-moving portion. The engaging portion is also engaged with the notch of the card in this first position, but the release of the engagement is allowed by the wall portion, and the card can be pulled out by elastically deforming the spring portion (half lock).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2003
    Publication date: July 24, 2003
    Inventors: Shoichi Sasaki, Takeshi Fujiwara, Koji Shiota
  • Publication number: 20030118876
    Abstract: An electric vehicle 10 includes a power supply apparatus 15. The power supply apparatus 15 includes a fuel cell system 22, capacitor 24 and secondary battery 26 that are connected in parallel to wiring 50. When a drive motor is performing regeneration, the capacitor 24 is collecting the regenerated electric power. The fuel cell system 22 generates electric power in accordance with the load demand. The switches 20 between the fuel cell and the wiring are closed when the load becomes small and the regenerated voltage attains a predetermined level. As a result, the generation of electric power by the fuel cell system is suspended under low-load conditions where the energy efficiency of the fuel cell system 22 is low.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2002
    Publication date: June 26, 2003
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sugiura, Tetsuhiro Ishikawa, Shoichi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 6548984
    Abstract: When the absolute values of the negative voltage V− and the positive voltage V+ of a rectangular wave to be applied to the three phase coils of the motor driven using a rectangular-waved voltage are different, time T1 and time T2 for the rectangular wave are adjusted such that the area A representing the absolute value of a time integration value of the negative voltage V− and the area B representing the absolute value of a time integration value of the positive voltage V+ becomes equal to each other. With this adjustment, the average voltage of the rectangular wave becomes of value 0, so that a DC component current is prevented from flowing into the three phase coils of the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Toyoda Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Sumikazu Shamoto, Shoichi Sasaki, Eiji Sato, Masayuki Komatsu, Kazunari Moriya, Hiroki Ohtani, Yukio Inaguma
  • Patent number: 6518736
    Abstract: A direct-current power supply connecting the negative pole bus of an inverter circuit and the neutral point of a motor and a capacitor connecting the positive pole bus of the inverter circuit and the neutral point of the motor are provided for performing the switching control of the transistors T1-T6 of the inverter circuit on the basis of a phase voltage command value formed by the addition of a direct-current component and an alternating-current component. The voltage between the terminals of the capacitor is controlled on the direct-current component, and the driving control of the motor is performed on the alternating-current component. The supply voltage of the direct-current power supply can be made to be lower than a voltage necessary to drive the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho
    Inventors: Shoichi Sasaki, Sumikazu Shamoto, Masayuki Komatsu, Kazunari Moriya, Hiroki Ohtani, Yukio Inaguma
  • Patent number: 6476571
    Abstract: In a multiple power source system of the present invention that has an inverter connected to a reactance, such as three-phase coils in a motor, a high voltage battery is connected with a low voltage battery via one transistor (Tr2) and one diode (D2) included in the inverter and one phase coil (U-phase coil) of the three-phase motor. The transistor Tr2 is turned on to make the electric current flow from the low voltage battery to the U-phase coil. The transistor Tr2 is subsequently turned off at a preset timing, so that the electric energy accumulated in the reactance, that is, the U-phase coil, flows through the diode D1 into the high voltage battery and thereby charges the high voltage battery. This arrangement enables the charging process from the low voltage battery to the high voltage battery without any complicated circuit structure for the voltage step-up. The three-phase motor may be unipolar driven with transistors connected to one side of the inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2002
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shoichi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20020153180
    Abstract: An accessory drive apparatus includes a power source, an accessory system that provides an input to the power source, an accessory driving source that drives the accessory system, and a power combination/distribution mechanism that is connected to the power source and the accessory system to transmit power from both the power source and the accessory driving source to the accessory system. With this arrangement, the accessory system is driven by a combination of power received from the accessory driving source and the power source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2002
    Publication date: October 24, 2002
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuhiro Ishikawa, Shoichi Sasaki, Sumikazu Shamoto, Hiroshi Sugiura, Yukio Inaguma, Kazunari Moriya
  • Publication number: 20020105300
    Abstract: A direct-current power supply (40) is connected between the neutral points of two three-phase coils (24, 26) of a 2Y motor (22) constituted of the windings of the two three-phase coils (24, 26), which are connected in Y-connection and wound on a same stator, and to which three-phase alternating current power is severally supplied with a phase difference of a shifted angle between the windings from two inverter circuits (30, 32) having a positive pole bus (34) and a negative pole bus (36) for common use. A capacitor (38) is connected between the positive pole bus (34) and the negative pole bus (36). The electric potential difference between the neutral points of the three-phase coils (24, 26) is made larger or smaller than the voltage of the direct-current power supply (40) through the switching control of the inverter circuits (30, 32). Thereby, the capacitor (38) can be charged or discharged. Consequently, an inverter input voltage can be adjusted within a wide range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2001
    Publication date: August 8, 2002
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho
    Inventors: Kazunari Moriya, Yukio Inaguma, Hideo Nakai, Hiroki Ohtani, Sumikazu Shamoto, Masayuki Komatsu, Shoichi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20020070715
    Abstract: A direct-current power supply connecting the negative pole bus of an inverter circuit and the neutral point of a motor and a capacitor connecting the positive pole bus of the inverter circuit and the neutral point of the motor are provided for performing the switching control of the transistors T1-T6 of the inverter circuit on the basis of a phase voltage command value formed by the addition of a direct-current component and an alternating-current component. The voltage between the terminals of the capacitor is controlled on the direct-current component, and the driving control of the motor is performed on the alternating-current component. The supply voltage of the direct-current power supply can be made to be lower than a voltage necessary to drive the motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2001
    Publication date: June 13, 2002
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shoichi Sasaki, Sumikazu Shamoto, Masayuki Komatsu, Kazunari Moriya, Hiroki Ohtani, Yukio Inaguma
  • Patent number: RE38790
    Abstract: A power output apparatus 20 includes a clutch motor, an assist motor, and a controller. The clutch motor and the assist motor are controlled by the controller to enable the power output from an engine to a crankshaft 56, and expressed as the product of its revolving speed and torque, to be converted to the power expressed as the product of a revolving speed and a torque of a drive shaft and to be output to the drive shaft. The engine can be driven at an arbitrary driving point defined by a revolving speed and a torque, as long as the energy or power output to the crankshaft is identical. A desired driving point that attains the highest possible efficiency with respect to each amount of output energy is determined in advance. In order to allow the engine to be driven at the desired driving point, the controller controls the clutch motor and the assist motor as well as the fuel injection and the throttle valve position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomoharu Maeda, Yoshihide Nii, Shoichi Sasaki, Takeshi Kotani, Eiji Yamada, Yasutomo Kawabata
  • Patent number: RE39023
    Abstract: While a ring gear shaft 126 linked with a drive shaft rotates, a power output apparatus 110 applies a torque to a first motor MG1 attached to a sun gear shaft 125, thereby abruptly increasing a revolving speed of an engine 150, to which a fuel injection is stopped. A torque generated by a frictional force of, for example, a piston in the engine 150 and working as a reaction is applied as a braking torque to the ring gear shaft 126 via a planetary gear 120. The magnitude of the braking torque depends upon the frictional force of, for example, the piston and can be controlled by regulating the revolving speed of the engine 150 by means of the first motor MG1. This control procedure enables the energy consumed by the engine 150 to be output as a braking force to the drive shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shoichi Sasaki
  • Patent number: RE39205
    Abstract: While a ring gear shaft 126 linked with a drive shaft rotates, a power output apparatus 110 applies a torque to a first motor MG1 attached to a sun gear shaft 125, thereby abruptly increasing a revolving speed of an engine 150, to which a fuel injection is stopped. A torque generated by a frictional force of, for example, a piston in the engine 150 and working as a reaction is applied as a braking torque to the ring gear shaft 126 via a planetary gear 120. The magnitude of the braking torque depends upon the frictional force of, for example, the piston and can be controlled by regulating the revolving speed of the engine 150 by means of the first motor MG1. This control procedure enables the energy consumed by the engine 150 to be output as a braking force to the drive shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2006
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shoichi Sasaki