Patents by Inventor Takao Watanabe

Takao Watanabe 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: 10486543
    Abstract: Provided is a voltage control device of a fuel-cell vehicle capable of securing good acceleration responsiveness while suppressing battery deterioration even when a vehicle acceleration request is made in the situation where the output from a battery is restricted. When determining that electric power suppliable from a secondary battery to an air compressor is less than a lower limit of an acceleration maintaining-electric power of the air compressor, a voltage control device of a fuel-cell vehicle maintains a state where electric power generated by a fuel cell is consumed by an electric power drive, and supplies the electric power consumed by the electric power drive to the air compressor when a vehicle acceleration request is made.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Junichi Matsuo, Akihiro Kamiya, Tomoya Ogawa, Shinji Aso, Tatsuya Fukami, Takao Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20190283613
    Abstract: A power generation amount of a power generator disposed on a vehicle is appropriately controlled by ordering the power generator a required power generation amount so as to control the power generator, driving a drive motor configured to drive a driving wheel of the vehicle using at least part of electric power generated by the power generator according to the required power generation amount, storing at least part of surplus power left in the electric power generated by the power generator in a storage device, detecting a slip of the driving wheel, and, executing reduction processing of a power generation amount for further reducing a required power generation amount that reflects a reduction amount of the electric power for driving the drive motor due to the slip of the driving wheel, if the detected extent of the slip is larger than a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Publication date: September 19, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takao WATANABE, Junichi MATSUO
  • Patent number: 10312538
    Abstract: A fuel cell system for a vehicle includes: a fuel cell; a plurality of loads that consumes power generated by the fuel cell and includes a vehicle driving motor; a secondary battery configured to be charged with excess power when an amount of power generated by the fuel cell is greater than an amount of power consumed by the loads and to discharge shortage power when the amount of power generated by the fuel cell is less than the amount of power consumed by the loads; and a control unit configured to control the amount of power generated by the fuel cell such that an amount of charging-discharging power of the secondary battery is maintained at a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takao Watanabe, Shinji Aso, Akihiro Kamiya, Tomoya Ogawa, Junichi Matsuo
  • Patent number: 10291054
    Abstract: On a start of a fuel cell system, (i) when the temperature of a high-voltage secondary battery obtained from a temperature sensor is higher than a predetermined reference value, a controller of the fuel cell system is configured to set an output voltage on a step-down side of a DC-DC converter to a higher voltage than a voltage of a low-voltage secondary battery and subsequently start an FC auxiliary machine using electric power from the high-voltage secondary battery. (ii) When the temperature of the high-voltage secondary battery obtained from the temperature sensor is equal to or lower than the predetermined reference value, on the other hand, the controller of the fuel cell system is configured to set the output voltage on the step-down side of the DC-DC converter to a lower voltage than the voltage of the low-voltage secondary battery and subsequently start the FC auxiliary machine using the electric power from the high-voltage secondary battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takao Watanabe, Akihiro Kamiya, Kenji Umayahara
  • Patent number: 10256654
    Abstract: On a start of a fuel cell system, (i) when the temperature of a high-voltage secondary battery obtained from a temperature sensor is higher than a predetermined reference value, a controller of the fuel cell system is configured to set an output voltage on a step-down side of a DC-DC converter to a higher voltage than a voltage of a low-voltage secondary battery and subsequently start an FC auxiliary machine using electric power from the high-voltage secondary battery. (ii) When the temperature of the high-voltage secondary battery obtained from the temperature sensor is equal to or lower than the predetermined reference value, on the other hand, the controller of the fuel cell system is configured to set the output voltage on the step-down side of the DC-DC converter to a lower voltage than the voltage of the low-voltage secondary battery and subsequently start the FC auxiliary machine using the electric power from the high-voltage secondary battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takao Watanabe, Akihiro Kamiya, Kenji Umayahara
  • Patent number: 10227020
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a drive motor, a fuel cell, an auxiliary machine, a secondary battery, a temperature sensor, a current sensor, and a control section. The control section controls the secondary battery for discharging by driving the drive motor or the auxiliary machine and for charging through power generation by the fuel cell or regeneration by the drive motor when a temperature measured by the temperature sensor is lower than a specified value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Fukami, Shinji Aso, Takao Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20190010011
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes: a second conveying roller pair that receives and conveys a sheet conveyed by a first conveying roller pair; a first folding roller pair that forms a first fold on the sheet; and a first rotation unit capable of rotating the second conveying roller pair and the first folding roller pair. One roller of the second conveying roller pair and one roller of the first folding roller pair are a common roller shared therebetween. The second conveying roller pair causes the sheet to be deflected and guided to the first folding roller pair, and the first folding roller pair forms the first fold on the deflected sheet by rotating the first rotation unit in a certain direction in a state in which the sheet is held by the first conveying roller pair and the second conveying roller pair.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahiro WATANABE, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Michitaka SUZUKI, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Yuji SUZUKI, Satoshi SAITO, Takao WATANABE
  • Patent number: 10128523
    Abstract: A fuel cell system is equipped with a fuel cell and a secondary battery. This fuel cell system is equipped with a recordation unit that records a charge-discharge history of the secondary battery, a prediction unit that predicts restriction on an output of the secondary battery based on the charge-discharge history recorded by the recordation unit, and an output control unit that starts power generation by the fuel cell prior to a timing of restriction on the output of the secondary battery, when the prediction unit predicts restriction on the output of the secondary battery and the fuel cell is in an intermittent operation state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiro Kamiya, Kenji Umayahara, Takao Watanabe, Tomoya Ogawa
  • Patent number: 10106364
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes: a second conveying roller pair that receives and conveys a sheet conveyed by a first conveying roller pair; a first folding roller pair that forms a first fold on the sheet; and a first rotation unit capable of rotating the second conveying roller pair and the first folding roller pair. One roller of the second conveying roller pair and one roller of the first folding roller pair are a common roller shared therebetween. The second conveying roller pair causes the sheet to be deflected and guided to the first folding roller pair, and the first folding roller pair forms the first fold on the deflected sheet by rotating the first rotation unit in a certain direction in a state in which the sheet is held by the first conveying roller pair and the second conveying roller pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Michitaka Suzuki, Tomomichi Hoshino, Yuji Suzuki, Satoshi Saito, Takao Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20180257900
    Abstract: A sheet processing device includes a conveying unit, a presser, an end detector, and a setting unit. The conveying unit conveys a sheet having a crease formed therein. The presser presses the crease in the sheet. The end detector detects an end in a conveying direction of the sheet at a position upstream of the presser in the conveying direction. The setting unit sets a crease position where the crease is to be formed. Upon detection of the end in the conveying direction, the conveying unit conveys the sheet to a position where the crease faces the presser, on the basis of the crease position set by the setting unit. The presser presses the crease in the conveyed sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Michitaka SUZUKI, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Tomomichi Hoshino, Satoshi Saito, Takahiro Watanabe, Takao Watanabe, Yuji Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10059558
    Abstract: A sheet processing device includes a conveying unit, a presser, an end detector, and a setting unit. The conveying unit conveys a sheet having a crease formed therein. The presser presses the crease in the sheet. The end detector detects an end in a conveying direction of the sheet at a position upstream of the presser in the conveying direction. The setting unit sets a crease position where the crease is to be formed. Upon detection of the end in the conveying direction, the conveying unit conveys the sheet to a position where the crease faces the presser, on the basis of the crease position set by the setting unit. The presser presses the crease in the conveyed sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Michitaka Suzuki, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Tomomichi Hoshino, Satoshi Saito, Takahiro Watanabe, Takao Watanabe, Yuji Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20180236744
    Abstract: A sheet processing device includes: a conveying module that conveys a folded sheet; and a pressing module that presses a folded part of the folded sheet by rotating about a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction of the conveying module as a rotation axis. The pressing module includes a projecting part arranged in a certain range in a direction of the rotation axis along a circumferential surface about the rotation axis. The projecting part is formed to be symmetric with respect to a middle part of the rotation axis in the direction of the rotation axis, and the projecting part arranged on one side from the middle part along the direction of the rotation axis are formed such that a position of the projecting part in a rotational direction of the circumferential surface varies along the direction of the rotation axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2018
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Inventors: Michitaka SUZUKI, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Yuji Suzuki, Satoshi Saito, Koki Sakano, Takao Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20180241099
    Abstract: Under a condition that a command to stop a fuel cell system is received and a state of charge of a secondary battery is equal to or lower than a threshold which is a value obtained by adding a first predetermined value to a lower limit at which electric power required to stop and start the fuel cell system is supplied, forced charging of the secondary battery by a fuel cell is performed until the state of charge reaches the threshold. After the forced charging is performed, in a case where the command to stop the fuel cell system is received within a predetermined period, the controller sets the threshold to a value obtained by adding a second predetermined value lower than the first predetermined value to the lower limit under the condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2018
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takao WATANABE, Junichi MATSUO, Shinji ASO
  • Publication number: 20180198145
    Abstract: A fuel cell system for a vehicle includes: a fuel cell; a plurality of loads that consumes power generated by the fuel cell and includes a vehicle driving motor; a secondary battery configured to be charged with excess power when an amount of power generated by the fuel cell is greater than an amount of power consumed by the loads and to discharge shortage power when the amount of power generated by the fuel cell is less than the amount of power consumed by the loads; and a control unit configured to control the amount of power generated by the fuel cell such that an amount of charging-discharging power of the secondary battery is maintained at a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Publication date: July 12, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takao WATANABE, Shinji ASO, Akihiro KAMIYA, Tomoya OGAWA, Junichi MATSUO
  • Patent number: 9993987
    Abstract: A sheet processing device includes: a conveying module that conveys a folded sheet; and a pressing module that presses a folded part of the folded sheet by rotating about a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction of the conveying module as a rotation axis. The pressing module includes a projecting part arranged in a certain range in a direction of the rotation axis along a circumferential surface about the rotation axis. The projecting part is formed to be symmetric with respect to a middle part of the rotation axis in the direction of the rotation axis, and the projecting part arranged on one side from the middle part along the direction of the rotation axis are formed such that a position of the projecting part in a rotational direction of the circumferential surface varies along the direction of the rotation axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Michitaka Suzuki, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Yuji Suzuki, Satoshi Saito, Koki Sakano, Takao Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9978004
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to improve visibility for observation with naked eyes or for camera shooting without spoiling the appearance during marking inside a transparent medium using a laser. By irradiating an inside of a transparent medium with a laser, the present invention forms a micro-denatured region in each of a first layer and a second layer inside the medium. The micro-denatured regions in the respective layers are arranged out of alignment with each other on a two-dimensional plane (refer to FIG. 1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takao Watanabe, Shigeki Mori, Ryo Imai, Koichi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20180128748
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to providing an optical apparatus that is capable of acquiring representative Raman spec trams with high reliability from hyper spectrum images of samples. An optical apparatus according to this disclosure: receives a specifying input that specifies a specific Raman spectrum bandwidth as a reference signal; and extracts a Raman spectrum for a measurement point where an intensity of the reference signal is at or above a reference intensity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2017
    Publication date: May 10, 2018
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Kakuro HIRAI, Manabu SHIOZAWA, Takao WATANABE
  • Publication number: 20180111502
    Abstract: Provided is a voltage control device of a fuel-cell vehicle capable of securing good acceleration responsiveness while suppressing battery deterioration even when a vehicle acceleration request is made in the situation where the output from a battery is restricted. When determining that electric power suppliable from a secondary battery to an air compressor is less than a lower limit of an acceleration maintaining-electric power of the air compressor, a voltage control device of a fuel-cell vehicle maintains a state where electric power generated by a fuel cell is consumed by an electric power drive, and supplies the electric power consumed by the electric power drive to the air compressor when a vehicle acceleration request is made.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2017
    Publication date: April 26, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Junichi MATSUO, Akihiro KAMIYA, Tomoya OGAWA, Shinji ASO, Tatsuya FUKAMI, Takao WATANABE
  • Patent number: 9887656
    Abstract: A current command value calculating unit (174) calculates current command values for a rotor winding (30) and current command values for a stator winding (20) with respect to a torque command value between a first rotor (28) and a second rotor (18) and a torque command value between a stator (16) and the second rotor (18) based on an evaluation function representing a total copper loss of the rotor winding (30) and the stator winding (20) and using first and second magnetic interference models. The first magnetic interference model represents a relationship of a linkage magnetic flux ?in of the rotor winding (30) with respect to a current Iin in the rotor winding (30) and a current Iout in the stator winding (20). The second magnetic interference model represents a relationship of a linkage magnetic flux ?out of the stator winding (20) with respect to the current Iin, Iout.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA CHUO KENKYUSHO, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Wataru Hijikata, Takao Watanabe, Eiji Tsuchiya, Shohei Matsumoto, Masahide Uemura, Akira Murakami, Tomoyuki Tohyama
  • Publication number: 20170365892
    Abstract: There is provided a fuel cell system. When receiving an instruction to start power generation of the fuel cell system, the fuel cell system is configured: (i) to obtain an output limit value of a secondary battery according to a predetermined relationship of a temperature of the secondary battery to the output limit value of the secondary battery by using the temperature of the secondary battery; (ii) to control a battery converter such as to increase a voltage of a smoothing capacitor for boosting included in the battery converter to a start-time target voltage that is higher than an open circuit voltage of a fuel cell, such that an output power of the secondary battery does not exceed the output limit value; and (iii) to operate the compressor such as to start supplying the cathode gas by the cathode gas supply system and to open the main stop valve such as to start supplying the anode gas by the anode gas supply system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2017
    Publication date: December 21, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuji KAKENO, Kenji UMAYAHARA, Takao WATANABE