Patents Assigned to Hitachi Automotive Engineering
  • Patent number: 5631415
    Abstract: An air flow rate measuring device for measuring intake air flow rate in an automotive engine, improved to reduce any error attributable to variation in the configurations of air cleaner and/or duct forming air passage upstream of the flow rate measuring device, thus offering high accuracy of the flow rate measurement. In one aspect of the invention, the inlet opening of a sub-air passage is disposed to contain the axis of a main air passage, while the outlet opening of the sub-air passage is disposed in the vicinity of a wall defining the main air passage. In order to cause a local reduction of the pressure of the principal of the air flow at the outlet opening, a protrusion or a flat surface which causes impediment to the flow if air in the main air passage is provided immediately upstream of the outlet opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 20, 1997
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinya Igarashi, Hiroshi Hirayama, Chihiro Kobayashi, Mitsukuni Tsutsui, Yukio Kato
  • Patent number: 5628053
    Abstract: An integrated multi-layered microwave circuit includes a substrate which is constituted by dielectric layers and conductive layers laminated alternately. The conductive layer disposed at one major surface of the substrate forms a micro strip line which constitutes an antenna portion. The conductive layer disposed at the other major surface of the substrate forms a circuit pattern including a grounding line and a power source line, and then the circuit pattern forms a communication portion together with discrete parts incorporated in the circuit pattern. One of the intermediate conductive layers of the substrate constitutes a grounding layer and the other thereof constitutes a power source layer. In the substrate, a feeding via hole, a via hole for a power source, and a grounding via hole are formed so as to penetrate the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 6, 1997
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Araki, Akira Endo
  • Patent number: 5613920
    Abstract: The invention provides a torque feedback shift control device for an engine control system including an engine, an engine torque controller, an automatic transmission for changing output speed of the engine, and a transmission controller for controlling gear shifting in the transmission. A target torque generator is provided for generating a signal indicative of a target torque pattern in shifting of the automatic transmission according to a shifting signal from the transmission controller. A drive shaft torque detector detects an output torque of the automatic transmission, and the engine controller performs feedback control of the engine torque so that the output torque detected by the drive shaft torque detector in downshifting of the automatic transmission follows up the target torque pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 25, 1997
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering and Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeo Uno, Masahiko Ibamoto, Mitsuhiro Masuda, Kazuhiko Sato, Susumu Sato, Hiroshi Kuroiwa, Mitsuyoshi Okada
  • Patent number: 5610483
    Abstract: A control equipment for controlling a current to the motor provided in an electric vehicle is disclosed. The control equipment has a motor torque control means for inputting the motor speed No and the motor current, and generating an inverter drive signal to control the torque of the motor, a notch filter for eliminating the mechanical resonance frequency; and a torque command generating means for generating the torque command.The control equipment for an electric vehicle is not influenced by the mechanical vibration of the electric vehicle, can generate the accurate motor torque command, and can execute the stable running control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 11, 1997
    Assignees: Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sanshiro Obara, Hiroyuki Yamada, Nobunori Matsudaira, Ryoso Masaki
  • Patent number: 5608626
    Abstract: At a torque converter characteristic assuming unit, during non gear shift, gear ratio and an input shaft torque are assumed and also during gear shift, accessory torque is assumed. So as to correct the accessory torque a deviation between pump torque and engine torque is learned and this value is given to the accessory torque, thereby the input shaft torque can be executed and assumed. A drive shaft torque is obtained from a drive shaft torque calculating unit, a control period of the drive shaft torque is determined, a reference drive shaft torque is determined during torque control period from a reference drive shaft torque setting unit. A deviation between the reference drive shaft torque and the drive shaft torque is obtained from a torque deviation executing unit. An engine controlling unit varies the engine torque by controlling an ignition period so as to decrease substantially zero the deviation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1997
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiko Ibamoto, Kazuhiko Sato, Mitsuyoshi Okada, Hiroshi Kuroiwa, Toshimichi Minowa, Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, Naoyuki Ozaki
  • Patent number: 5600215
    Abstract: The invention provides an electric vehicle controller in which the generated motor torque is limited when the voltage of the vehicle battery decreases during running, in order to suppress over-discharge of the battery. A high torque can be obtained for a short period, however, even in the torque limiting period, and over-discharge is prevented by stopping electric power converting means in a final stage of discharge voltage of the battery. According to the invention, during operation of the vehicle, the battery terminal voltage is monitored and compared with a first comparison value V.sub.1. If the battery voltage falls below V.sub.1, a first counter commences measurement of the time period during which this condition continues. If the time period measured by the first counter reaches a preset value t.sub.1, torque limitation is initiated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 4, 1997
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Yamada, Shotaro Naito, Sanshiro Obara
  • Patent number: 5598822
    Abstract: The object of the invention is to provide an engine knocking detection method for detecting a knocking from a plurality of characteristic frequency components indicative of a knocking condition, in which false information indicating a false knock occurrence due to an abnormal drop of the background level to be compared with the characteristic components is eliminated. The engine knocking detection method of the invention includes extracting information indicating an occurrence of a knocking through comparison of the characteristic components and corresponding background levels (step 104) and comparing the background levels and corresponding lower limiters when no knocking is taking place (step 109). When any one of the background levels is smaller than a lower limiter corresponding thereto, the lower limiter is adopted and set as a new background for use in the next routine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 4, 1997
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masakatsu Fujishita, Masahiro Sato
  • Patent number: 5588936
    Abstract: Detecting means for detecting driving conditions of a vehicle such as engine load such as throttle opening, vehicle speed, gear position or gear ratio and so on and memory means for storing characteristics of the vehicle such as engine power characteristic, torque converter characteristic, fuel consumption rate characteristic and so on are provided. Driving shaft torques before and after gear shift, an estimating value of fuel consumption rate and a gear shift point of a transmission are calculated in real time to perform transmission control using the signals from said detecting means and the signals from said memory means. With the construction according to the present invention described above, an automatic transmission can be controlled in real time by calculating a gear shift point of the transmission in a short time through estimating the driving shaft torques before and after gear shift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 31, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Uchida, Masahiko Ibamoto, Kazuhiko Sato, Hiroshi Kuroiwa, Hiroshi Ohnishi, Toshimichi Minowa
  • Patent number: 5574324
    Abstract: Plural thin plate projecting portions are integrally and projectingly provided on an outer peripheral portion of a side plate member of a bobbin. Each of the thin plate projecting portions comprises a circumferential rib, a slit portion and a reinforcement rib. The circumferential rib is provided on an outer peripheral face of the thin plate projecting portion of the bobbin and then a gap is formed between a claw-shaped magnetic pole of a rotor core and the thin plate projecting portion. A varnish material etc. is caused to adhere to and harden in this gap. By filling a root portion of the claw-shape magnetic pole of the rotor core with varnish material, the resonance vibration in the rotor core can be restrained. As a result, an alternating current generator for use in a vehicle having the small magnetic noise can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 12, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Hirama, Kenji Ishihara, Susumu Sasaki, Yoshiaki Honda
  • Patent number: 5572965
    Abstract: An intake pipe for an internal combustion engine has an intake assembly to which the air supplied from an air cleaner flows in accordance with the opening of a throttle valve, and independent intake pipes receive the air in the intake assembly and distribute the air into each cylinder of the internal combustion engine. The intake passage between the air cleaner and the throttle valve assembly is arranged next to and separated by a partition wall from at least one of a negative pressure part of the intake passage downstream of the throttle vale, the intake assembly provided in the negative pressure part and the independent intake pipes, whereby two independent intake spaces are formed on either side of the partition wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 12, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Minoru Ohsuga, Jun'ichi Yamaguchi, Ryoichi Komuro, Yasushi Sasaki, Teruhiko Minegishi
  • Patent number: 5569851
    Abstract: The characteristic of the present invention is that in a heating resistor portion and a lead member for electrically connecting the resistor portion to an external device, the lead member is composed of a first lead member for supplying a current to the resistor portion and second lead member for measuring a voltage in the resistor. According to an error in heat control due to resistances of a support, welding portion, wire bonding portion, etc. between a terminal of a sensing element and a driving circuit can be eliminated to thereby detect an air flow rate with a high accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Ichimaru, Izumi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 5564393
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling the fuel injection rate of an internal combustion engine in which the formation of a fuel liquid film on interior walls of the fuel intake manifold is compensated by detecting the intake air flow rate to the internal combustion engine, and using it to access a fuel condensation rate table and a fuel evaporation rate table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 15, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Asano, Mamoru Nemoto
  • Patent number: 5560199
    Abstract: A malfunction monitoring apparatus for a secondary air supply system of an internal combustion engine includes an air flow sensor for measuring the flow rate of an air flowing into an intake air path of the engine, a secondary air introducing path disposed in the intake air path on the downstream side of a measuring position of the air flow rate for taking in a part of the air through the intake air path as a secondary air, a secondary air supply device for supplying the secondary air to an exhaust gas path, and a control unit. The apparatus may further include a pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of an intake manifold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Rogelio B. Agustin, Toshio Ishii, Yuichi Kashimura
  • Patent number: 5558596
    Abstract: According to the present invention, the driver's operation quantity and the vehicle running status are measured, the target value of speed ratio or the target value of revolution speed on the input side of the transmission is determined on the basis of the above measured values, and the speed ratio is changed using different algorithms (particularly fuzzy rules) on the basis of the magnitude of deviation between the target value and the actual value.Furthermore, when a vehicle has a continuously variable transmission, a change of at least one of the vehicle acceleration and the shaft torque of a drive wheel is predicted, the engine output torque is controlled on the basis of the prediction, and finite speed ratio characteristics or intermediate characteristics between finite speed ratio characteristics and continuously variable speed ratio characteristics are controlled for the continuously variable transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 24, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Company
    Inventors: Masao Adachi, Makoto Shioya, Kazuhiko Sato, Minoru Ohkubo
  • Patent number: 5545930
    Abstract: The present inventions provides a generated-voltage regulator for an automobile, in which the on state of a key switch can be detected securely without being affected by a change in ambient temperature or the like. According to a selected embodiment, when a generation failure occurs in a power generation circuit 12, a power MOS FET 111 is turned on and off periodically so that a charge lamp 3 is lighted. The on/off state of the MOS FET 111 is detected by a detecting section 1121 of a voltage detecting circuit 112. Being supplied with an on signal from the detecting section 1121, a holding section 1122 turns the level of its output signal c to an "H" level only for a predetermined period. As a result, the key switch 2 is not judged to be off even in the case where the MOS FET 111 is turned on, and the on state of a switch 116 is maintained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering, Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Watanabe, Yuji Maeda, Sakae Hikita
  • Patent number: 5537871
    Abstract: A hot wire type air flowmeter has a drive circuit for controlling the temperature of a hot wire type resistor and for outputting indications of controlling states as electric signals, an output adjusting circuit for adjusting the electric signals output from the drive circuit, and a subtracter provided in the output adjusting circuit of the hot wire type air flowmeter. The electric signals output from a non-inverting amplifier in the drive circuit are input to one input terminal of the subtracter and a standard voltage supplied via a voltage follower are input to the other input terminal of the subtracter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Itsuji, Masuo Akamatsu, Hiroshi Yoneda
  • Patent number: 5530304
    Abstract: To accomplish conflicting goals of weight and noise reduction in a small motor, a plastic motor case with a flange is divided into two parts in the axial direction and an elastic body is mounted between the motor body and motor case so as to absorb vibration. A thin end bracket and motor housing can be used and not only for weight reduction but also for noise reduction can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuaki Mirumachi, Yoshinori Fukasaku, Takashi Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 5521486
    Abstract: A charging generator having a self-diagnosis function includes a self-diagnosis circuit, a storage device and an output device. When an anomaly is detected, the charging generator with a self-diagnosis function stores data concerning at least one anomalous condition of the generator and the contents of the anomaly in the storage device, and outputs the anomalous data concerning the generator or the contents of the anomaly, which are stored in the storage device, by inputting a specific signal from the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuo Takamoto, Yuji Maeda, Sakae Hikita, Katsuji Marumoto
  • Patent number: 5517966
    Abstract: On one side of a valve shaft, there are provided an accelerator drum connected to an accelerator pedal by an accelerator wire, a return spring for urging the accelerator drum in a valve closing direction, and an accelerator sensor for detecting rotation of the accelerator drum and transmitting a detected signal to a host system. On the other side of the valve shaft, there are provided a large-diameter gear and an opening sensor. An armature of a solenoid clutch is attached to the gear and held on a motor shaft via a slide bearing. Thus, the motor, the solenoid clutch and the throttle valve are arranged into a U-shaped form for interconnection through four gears.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1996
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kanazawa, Fumio Tajima, Yasuhiko Honda, Yasushi Sasaki, Teruhiko Minegishi, Yoshikatu Hashimoto, Tatsuya Yoshida, Yuzo Kadomukai
  • Patent number: 5509396
    Abstract: In a throttle valve actuating apparatus, a return spring member is arranged between one side face of a throttle valve main body and an acceleration drum member. The return spring member includes two coil spring members. One collar member is arranged at a side of a throttle valve main body, and another collar member is arranged at an acceleration drum member. The two collar members are provided directly and independently surrounding a throttle valve shaft and are set for positioning the shaft. The movement of the return spring member is restrained by the two collar members. The return torque due to the return spring member can be transmitted smoothly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1996
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Shigeo Tamaki