Patents by Inventor Takahiro Nishigaki
Takahiro Nishigaki 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: 8924121Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided a vehicle controller including: a sudden change judgment section that judges whether a change rate of a detected yaw rate is equal to or more than a predetermined value; a normative yaw rate calculator that calculates a normative yaw rate based on a steering angle amount; and a correction section that performs a correction for making a detected lateral acceleration close to a value to be detected at a gravity center of a vehicle, by using: the detected yaw rate when the sudden change judgment section judges that the change rate of the detected yaw rate is less than the predetermined value; and the normative yaw rate instead of the detected yaw rate when the sudden change judgment section judges that the change rate of the detected yaw rate is equal to or more than the predetermined value.Type: GrantFiled: August 19, 2011Date of Patent: December 30, 2014Assignee: Nissin Kogyo Co., LtdInventor: Takahiro Nishigaki
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Patent number: 8839665Abstract: A malfunction determination apparatus for a cooling apparatus that cools an internal combustion engine by circulating a coolant through an interior of the internal combustion engine, using an electric pump, after the internal combustion engine is started includes: a detection portion that detects the coolant temperature; and a determination portion that determines a malfunction has occurred in a thermostat, if a state in which the detected coolant temperature remains below a first threshold temperature after the electric pump begins operating, following start of the internal combustion engine, continues for at least a pre-determined time. The thermostat is a thermostat for switching from a first passage for circulating the coolant without passage via an interior of a radiator of the cooling apparatus to a second passage for circulating the coolant via the interior of the radiator, as the coolant temperature rises.Type: GrantFiled: October 7, 2011Date of Patent: September 23, 2014Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Takahiro Nishigaki
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Patent number: 8601863Abstract: An abnormality determination apparatus for a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine equipped with a duel-injection system that has two fuel systems for injecting and supplying fuel to each of cylinders, which determines whether there is an abnormal variation in air-fuel ratio among the cylinders, includes: an abnormal variation determining unit that determines whether there is an abnormal variation in a period during which fuel is separately injected by both the two fuel systems; and an abnormality estimating unit that estimates which one of the fuel systems has an abnormality on the basis of a fuel injection distribution ratio of both the fuel systems in the period.Type: GrantFiled: March 23, 2012Date of Patent: December 10, 2013Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso CorporationInventors: Takahiro Nishigaki, Keisuke Nagakura, Yusuke Fujitsu
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Publication number: 20130297180Abstract: A vehicle includes an engine, a first MG (motor generator), a second MG, a motive power split device, and an ECU. ECU temporarily determines whether or not an imbalance abnormality has occurred based on an air-fuel ratio, and when it is temporarily determined that the imbalance abnormality is present, controls the engine such that the engine is in an idle state and formally determines whether or not the imbalance abnormality has occurred based on fluctuations in engine rotation speed. During a stop at idle, ECU determines whether or not the formal determination process of the imbalance determination is ongoing and carries out pressing control to cause the first MG to generate pressing torque Tp when the formal determination process is not ongoing and does not carry out the pressing control so as not to cause the first MG to generate pressing torque Tp when the formal determination process is ongoing.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 12, 2011Publication date: November 7, 2013Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Daigo Ando, Takuji Matsubara, Takahiro Nishigaki
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Patent number: 8483938Abstract: In an engine having a variable valve timing mechanism to which an intermittent operation control is applied, appropriate execution of a foreign object removal process for the variable valve timing mechanism is enabled. An engine control device (16) which can execute intermittent operation control for an engine (12) having a variable valve timing mechanism (80) comprises a judging part which judges an abnormality in the variable valve timing mechanism (80) (step S10), a foreign object removal process executing part which causes a foreign object removal process to be executed for the variable valve timing mechanism (80) when the judging part judges that there is an abnormality in the variable valve timing mechanism (80) during an engine operation (step S12), and an intermittent operation control prohibiting part which prohibits the intermittent operation control of the engine (12) during execution of the foreign object removal process of the variable valve timing mechanism (80) (step S16).Type: GrantFiled: September 16, 2010Date of Patent: July 9, 2013Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takahiro Nishigaki, Hitoki Sugimoto
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Patent number: 8387466Abstract: An electric part protection member for a projecting contact terminal which projects from a supporting portion of an electric part, includes a bottomed cylindrical cap portion, adapted to be detachably placed over the supporting portion, wherein: the cap portion is formed of a conductive member; and when the cap portion is placed over the supporting portion, the cap portion is electrically connected to a housing of the electric part, and the contact terminals are spaced apart from the cap portion.Type: GrantFiled: January 20, 2010Date of Patent: March 5, 2013Assignee: Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd.Inventors: Tatsuya Shinohara, Takahiro Nishigaki
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Publication number: 20120240669Abstract: An abnormality determination apparatus for a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine equipped with a duel-injection system that has two fuel systems for injecting and supplying fuel to each of cylinders, which determines whether there is an abnormal variation in air-fuel ratio among the cylinders, includes: an abnormal variation determining unit that determines whether there is an abnormal variation in a period during which fuel is separately injected by both the two fuel systems; and an abnormality estimating unit that estimates which one of the fuel systems has an abnormality on the basis of a fuel injection distribution ratio of both the fuel systems in the period.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 23, 2012Publication date: September 27, 2012Applicants: Denso Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takahiro NISHIGAKI, Keisuke NAGAKURA, Yusuke FUJITSU
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Publication number: 20120085157Abstract: A malfunction determination apparatus for a cooling apparatus that cools an internal combustion engine by circulating a coolant through an interior of the internal combustion engine, using an electric pump, after the internal combustion engine is started includes: a detection portion that detects the coolant temperature; and a determination portion that determines a malfunction has occurred in a thermostat, if a state in which the detected coolant temperature remains below a first threshold temperature after the electric pump begins operating, following start of the internal combustion engine, continues for at least a pre-determined time. The thermostat is a thermostat for switching from a first passage for circulating the coolant without passage via an interior of a radiator of the cooling apparatus to a second passage for circulating the coolant via the interior of the radiator, as the coolant temperature rises.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 7, 2011Publication date: April 12, 2012Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Takahiro Nishigaki
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Publication number: 20120046805Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided a vehicle controller including: a sudden change judgment section that judges whether a change rate of a detected yaw rate is equal to or more than a predetermined value; a normative yaw rate calculator that calculates a normative yaw rate based on a steering angle amount; and a correction section that performs a correction for making a detected lateral acceleration close to a value to be detected at a gravity center of a vehicle, by using: the detected yaw rate when the sudden change judgment section judges that the change rate of the detected yaw rate is less than the predetermined value; and the normative yaw rate instead of the detected yaw rate when the sudden change judgment section judges that the change rate of the detected yaw rate is equal to or more than the predetermined value.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 19, 2011Publication date: February 23, 2012Applicant: NISSIN KOGYO CO., LTD.Inventor: Takahiro NISHIGAKI
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Publication number: 20110192146Abstract: A multicylinder engine includes: combustion chambers; fuel injection valves corresponding to the individual combustion chambers; an exhaust control catalyst; an upstream-side air/fuel ratio sensor disposed upstream of the exhaust control catalyst; and a downstream-side A/F sensor disposed downstream of the catalyst. A first abnormality determination-purpose rich A/F control of controlling the A/F of the mixture formed in each combustion chamber to an A/F richer than stoichiometric is executed when it needs to be determined whether the downstream-side A/F sensor is abnormal. An inter-cylinder A/F imbalance determination of estimating the A/F of the mixture in each combustion chamber based on the output of the upstream-side A/F sensor is executed when the first abnormality determination-purpose rich A/F control is being executed, and it is determined whether there is a difference between the estimated A/Fs of the mixtures.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 10, 2011Publication date: August 11, 2011Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATION, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATIONInventors: Hitoki SUGIMOTO, Takahiro NISHIGAKI, Yusuke FUJITSU
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Publication number: 20110174282Abstract: When an engine is in a predetermined steady operating state, a gradient accumulation average value ?Aulsa corresponding to the amount of change in the air-fuel ratio AF, detected by an air-fuel ratio sensor, over the period of time from when an upper peak is reached, at which the direction of change in the air-fuel ratio AF is inverted to when a lower peak is reached, at which the subsequent inversion of the direction occurs, is calculated (S100 to S160) and, when the calculated gradient accumulation average value ?Aulsa is greater than a predetermined threshold value ?Aref1 that is determined in advance as an upper limit (absolute value) of the range, in which it may be determined that the air-fuel ratio is even between the cylinders of the engine (S165 to S175), it is determined that the engine is in an air-fuel ratio imbalance state, in which there is an imbalance in air-fuel ratio between the cylinders of the engine.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 6, 2011Publication date: July 21, 2011Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kenya Maruyama, Takahiro Nishigaki, Toshitake Sasaki
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Patent number: 7937992Abstract: The engine misfire detection process of the invention sets a first threshold value and second threshold values to be referred to for detection of an engine misfire and detects an engine misfire based on the settings of the first threshold value and the second threshold values and 360-degree differences. The engine misfire detection process of the invention detects the occurrence of an engine misfire at each gear position of the transmission by taking into account the varying effects of the operating conditions of a motor the transmission, and a planetary gear mechanism on the crankshaft of the engine.Type: GrantFiled: November 24, 2006Date of Patent: May 10, 2011Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hikokazu Akimoto, Takahiro Nishigaki
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Publication number: 20110077840Abstract: The function determination of the air-fuel ratio sensor, including determination whether there occurs the rich-lean abnormality that is an abnormality where the air-fuel ratio sensor becomes less responsive to a change in the air-fuel ratio of the engine from the rich air-fuel ratio to the lean air-fuel ratio, is performed. When the engine is started up with motoring by the motor while the rich-lean abnormality flag F2 is equal to value ‘1’ (S120), the air-fuel ratio feedback correction for fuel injection into the engine is started at a later timing than the timing when the basic start time Tafb elapses from the start of fuel injection (the timing of starting the air-fuel ratio feedback correction when the rich-lean abnormality flag F2 is equal to value ‘1’) after finishing the increase correction at the timing when the increase correction time Tinc elapses from the start of fuel injection (S140 through S240).Type: ApplicationFiled: September 16, 2010Publication date: March 31, 2011Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Takahiro Nishigaki
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Publication number: 20110071748Abstract: In an engine having a variable valve timing mechanism to which an intermittent operation control is applied, appropriate execution of a foreign object removal process for the variable valve timing mechanism is enabled. An engine control device (16) which can execute intermittent operation control for an engine (12) having a variable valve timing mechanism (80) comprises a judging part which judges an abnormality in the variable valve timing mechanism (80) (step S10), a foreign object removal process executing part which causes a foreign object removal process to be executed for the variable valve timing mechanism (80) when the judging part judges that there is an abnormality in the variable valve timing mechanism (80) during an engine operation (step S12), and an intermittent operation control prohibiting part which prohibits the intermittent operation control of the engine (12) during execution of the foreign object removal process of the variable valve timing mechanism (80) (step S16).Type: ApplicationFiled: September 16, 2010Publication date: March 24, 2011Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takahiro Nishigaki, Hitoki Sugimoto
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Patent number: 7908074Abstract: An ECU executes a program including the steps of detecting an engine speed, determining whether the engine speed is at least a threshold value or not, detecting a VVT advance angle calculation count after restarting the engine, determining whether a VVT advance angle calculation count is at least a threshold value or not, detecting a VVT advance angle amount, determining whether the VVT advance angle amount is at least a threshold value or not, determining whether the engine is in a stop sequence or not, setting a VVT abnormality determination permission flag to detect a VVT displacement amount if the engine speed is at least the threshold value, the VVT advance angle calculation count is at least the threshold value, the VVT advance angle amount is at least the threshold value, and the engine is not in the stop sequence, and determining that the VVT is abnormal if the VVT displacement amount is less than a criterion threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: February 28, 2006Date of Patent: March 15, 2011Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Takahiro Nishigaki
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Publication number: 20100180690Abstract: An electric part protection member for a projecting contact terminal which projects from a supporting portion of an electric part, includes a bottomed cylindrical cap portion, adapted to be detachably placed over the supporting portion, wherein: the cap portion is formed of a conductive member; and when the cap portion is placed over the supporting portion, the cap portion is electrically connected to a housing of the electric part, and the contact terminals are spaced apart from the cap portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 20, 2010Publication date: July 22, 2010Applicant: NISSIN KOGYO CO., LTD.Inventors: Tatsuya SHINOHARA, Takahiro Nishigaki
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Publication number: 20100071448Abstract: At a Lo gear position of a transmission, the engine misfire detection process of the invention sets a first threshold value A1 and second threshold values to be referred to for detection of an engine misfire (steps S220 and S280) and detects an engine misfire based on the settings of the first threshold value A1 and the second threshold values and 360-degree differences ?360 computed from 30-degree rotation times T30 given as a time required for rotation of a crankshaft by every 30 degrees (steps S230 and S290). At a Hi gear position of the transmission, the engine misfire detection process of the invention sets a first threshold value A2, which is to be smaller than the first threshold value A1, and second threshold values (step S330 and S390) and detects an engine misfire based on the settings of the first threshold value A2 and the second threshold values and the 360-degree differences ?360 (step S340 and S400).Type: ApplicationFiled: November 24, 2006Publication date: March 25, 2010Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Hikokazu Akimoto, Takahiro Nishigaki
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Patent number: 7610954Abstract: The technique of the invention determines whether input data for driving and controlling a cooling fan have any abnormality (steps S100 and S110), sets an actual drive level F* of the cooling fan to a high level (Hi) in the event of detection of any abnormality (step S130), and controls a fan motor to drive the cooling fan at the set drive level F* (step S140). This arrangement effectively prevents a temperature rise to an abnormally high level in any of an engine and motors even in the event of any abnormality arising in the input data.Type: GrantFiled: April 5, 2005Date of Patent: November 3, 2009Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Ikuo Ando, Osamu Harada, Yukio Kobayashi, Katsuhiko Yamaguchi, Kazuhiro Ichimoto, Takahiro Nishigaki, Daigo Ando, Mamoru Tomatsuri, Keiko Hasegawa
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Patent number: 7599786Abstract: A vehicle is equipped with a planetary gear mechanism including a sun gear, a carrier, and a ring gear that are respectively connected to a first motor, an engine, and a driveshaft. A second motor is further linked to the driveshaft. An air-fuel ratio sensor located in an exhaust system of the engine detects the air-fuel ratio while the engine is rotated in a fuel cut state. Normality or abnormality of the air-fuel ratio sensor is identified, based on a result of determination whether the detected air-fuel ratio is out of a specified normal range. When engine stop conditions for stopping the operation (rotation) of the engine are satisfied during execution of failure detection of the air-fuel ratio sensor (steps S300 and S310), the drive control of the invention maintains the rotation of the engine in the fuel cut state until completion of the failure detection of the air-fuel ratio sensor and controls the first motor to motor the engine (step S330).Type: GrantFiled: December 26, 2006Date of Patent: October 6, 2009Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Atsuko Utsumi, Takahiro Nishigaki
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Patent number: 7543483Abstract: In the case of non-execution of catalyst warm-up acceleration control, the engine misfire detection procedure compares a 30-degree rotation time computed as a time required for a 30-degree rotation of an engine crankshaft with preset reference values Tref1 and Tref2 and distinctly detects the occurrence of intermittent engine misfires and the occurrence of either a single engine misfire or consecutive engine misfires (steps S120 to S150). In the case of execution of the catalyst warm-up acceleration control, the engine misfire detection procedure compares the 30-degree rotation time computed as the time required for a 30-degree rotation of the engine crankshaft with preset reference values Tref3 and Tref4 and distinctly detects the occurrence of the consecutive engine misfires and the occurrence of either the single engine misfire or the intermittent engine misfires (steps S160 to S190).Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2006Date of Patent: June 9, 2009Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hikokazu Akimoto, Takahiro Nishigaki