Patents by Inventor Tatsuro KOBUNE
Tatsuro KOBUNE 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: 20220073038Abstract: An electric brake mechanism includes a piston (6D) propelled by a rotation-linear motion mechanism (8) driven by an electric motor (7A). The piston (6D) is configured to press brake pads (6C) against a disc rotor (4), and to hold the brake pads (6C) at a pressing position by stopping the electric motor (7A). A parking brake control device (24) is configured to determine, when a request (application command) to hold the brake pads (6C) is made, a judgment timing for judging whether to stop the electric motor (7A) based on a change trend of a current value of the electric motor (7A). When the judgment timing is reached, the parking brake control device (24) judges whether or not to stop the electric motor (7A).Type: ApplicationFiled: December 18, 2019Publication date: March 10, 2022Inventors: Sota SUZUKI, Tatsuro KOBUNE, Wataru YOKOYAMA, Kenichiro MATSUBARA
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Publication number: 20210078557Abstract: A rear wheel-side disc brake is provided with an electric mechanism that converts a rotative force of an electric motor into thrust by using a speed reducer and a rotation-linear motion conversion mechanism and propels (displaces) a piston. The electric motor of the electric mechanism is connected to a parking brake control device and controlled by the parking brake control device. The parking brake control device drives the electric motor to discontinue the maintenance of a braking state and then determines from a running state of a vehicle (for example, whether the vehicle starts moving) whether an abnormality (for example, an idling abnormality due to which the rotative force of the electric motor fails to be transmitted) occurs in the electric mechanism.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 13, 2019Publication date: March 18, 2021Inventors: Tatsuro KOBUNE, Daisuke KOJIMA, Kimio NISHINO, Sota SUZUKI
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Patent number: 10300895Abstract: A brake device having an electric parking brake function, capable of appropriately performing stepwise increase control for a clamping force. A control unit including a computing circuit (20), a memory (21), and each motor drive circuit (23) of a parking brake control device (19) includes a stepwise increase control unit configured to increase the clamping force generated by brake pads (33) to a disc rotor (4) in a stepwise manner. When start of contact between the disc rotor (4) and the brake pads (33) caused by feeding of power from the parking brake control device (19) to an electric motor (43B) is detected based on a motor current from a current sensor unit (24), the stepwise increase control unit performs control for repeatedly feeding and stopping power to the electric motor (43B) to increase the clamping force in a stepwise manner in accordance with a predefined processing procedure.Type: GrantFiled: December 25, 2015Date of Patent: May 28, 2019Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Tatsuro Kobune, Wataru Yokoyama, Kenichiro Matsubara
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Patent number: 10232834Abstract: Provided is a brake device capable of maintaining pads and a rotor in a desired positional relationship. When receiving a release request within a time period from start of execution of an application request to detection of contact between brake pad and a disc rotor, a parking brake control device inhibits execution of the release request, and executes the release request after detection of the contact between the brake pad and the disc rotor. Further, when receiving the application request within a time period from start of execution of the release request to detection of separation between the brake pad and the disc rotor, the parking brake control device inhibits execution of the application request, and executes the application request after detection of the separation between the brake pad and the disc rotor.Type: GrantFiled: December 25, 2015Date of Patent: March 19, 2019Assignees: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION, HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Michiharu Okada, Shigeyuki Uehara, Tatsuro Kobune, Wataru Yokoyama, Kimio Nishino, Kenichiro Matsubara
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Patent number: 10001183Abstract: A brake apparatus comprising: a caliper having a piston configured to move a brake pad to be pressed on a disc rotor rotating with a wheel; a thrust retaining mechanism located in the caliper to thrust the piston and maintain braking force exerted by the thrust piston; an electric motor mounted on the caliper to operate the thrust retaining mechanism; and a controller configured to apply electric current to the electric motor in response to an application command or a release command, thereby perform control according to the commands, wherein the controller, upon receiving a release command, configured to operate the electric motor to reduce braking force exerted by the piston by performing current maintenance control which continuously applies electric current to the electric motor and switching control which successively switches between a larger and a smaller amount of electric current applied to the electric motor.Type: GrantFiled: July 30, 2015Date of Patent: June 19, 2018Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Kimio Nishino, Kenichiro Matsubara, Wataru Yokoyama, Tatsuro Kobune, Hirotaka Oikawa
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Patent number: 9902378Abstract: An object of the present invention is to obtain a brake system that can generate appropriate braking force without influence of temperature. A brake system includes: a piston that presses pressing members; a motor that moves the piston; a current detection unit that detects current flowing in the motor; a storage unit that stores a correspondence relation between idle running current and motor stopping current; a motor stopping current setting unit that sets the motor stopping current using the storage unit and the idle running current; and a control unit that stops to supply the current to the motor when the current flowing in the motor reaches the motor stopping current. The correspondence relation is set so that the rate of change of the motor stopping current relative to the idle running current becomes smaller when the idle running current is small than that when it is large.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2015Date of Patent: February 27, 2018Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Shinji Seto, Tatsuro Kobune, Takayasu Sakashita
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Publication number: 20170355356Abstract: Provided is a brake device capable of maintaining pads and a rotor in a desired positional relationship. When receiving a release request within a time period from start of execution of an application request to detection of contact between brake pad and a disc rotor, a parking brake control device inhibits execution of the release request, and executes the release request after detection of the contact between the brake pad and the disc rotor. Further, when receiving the application request within a time period from start of execution of the release request to detection of separation between the brake pad and the disc rotor, the parking brake control device inhibits execution of the application request, and executes the application request after detection of the separation between the brake pad and the disc rotor.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 25, 2015Publication date: December 14, 2017Inventors: Michiharu OKADA, Shigeyuki UEHARA, Tatsuro KOBUNE, Wataru YOKOYAMA, Kimio NISHINO, Kenichiro MATSUBARA
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Publication number: 20170291585Abstract: A brake device having an electric parking brake function, capable of appropriately performing stepwise increase control for a clamping force. A control unit including a computing circuit (20), a memory (21), and each motor drive circuit (23) of a parking brake control device (19) includes a stepwise increase control unit configured to increase the clamping force generated by brake pads (33) to a disc rotor (4) in a stepwise manner. When start of contact between the disc rotor (4) and the brake pads (33) caused by feeding of power from the parking brake control device (19) to an electric motor (43B) is detected based on a motor current from a current sensor unit (24), the stepwise increase control unit performs control for repeatedly feeding and stopping power to the electric motor (43B) to increase the clamping force in a stepwise manner in accordance with a predefined processing procedure.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 25, 2015Publication date: October 12, 2017Applicant: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Tatsuro KOBUNE, Wataru YOKOYAMA, Kenichiro MATSUBARA
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Publication number: 20160052496Abstract: An object of the present invention is to obtain a brake system that can generate appropriate braking force without influence of temperature. A brake system includes: a piston that presses pressing members; a motor that moves the piston; a current detection unit that detects current flowing in the motor; a storage unit that stores a correspondence relation between idle running current and motor stopping current; a motor stopping current setting unit that sets the motor stopping current using the storage unit and the idle running current; and a control unit that stops to supply the current to the motor when the current flowing in the motor reaches the motor stopping current. The correspondence relation is set so that the rate of change of the motor stopping current relative to the idle running current becomes smaller when the idle running current is small than that when it is large.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 24, 2015Publication date: February 25, 2016Applicant: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Shinji SETO, Tatsuro KOBUNE, Takayasu SAKASHITA
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Publication number: 20160032995Abstract: A brake apparatus comprising: a caliper having a piston configured to move a brake pad to be pressed on a disc rotor rotating with a wheel; a thrust retaining mechanism located in the caliper to thrust the piston and maintain braking force exerted by the thrust piston; an electric motor mounted on the caliper to operate the thrust retaining mechanism; and a controller configured to apply electric current to the electric motor in response to an application command or a release command, thereby perform control according to the commands, wherein the controller, upon receiving a release command, configured to operate the electric motor to reduce braking force exerted by the piston by performing current maintenance control which continuously applies electric current to the electric motor and switching control which successively switches between a larger and a smaller amount of electric current applied to the electric motor.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 30, 2015Publication date: February 4, 2016Inventors: Kimio NISHINO, Kenichiro MATSUBARA, Wataru YOKOYAMA, Tatsuro KOBUNE, Hirotaka OIKAWA