Patents Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA AND
  • Patent number: 9905869
    Abstract: In the event that at least a portion of unit cells in a fuel cell stack have experienced a significant drop in voltage, the fuel cell system will execute a voltage recovery process allowing them to recover generating capability. In the voltage recovery process, a controller measures impedance of the fuel cell stack, and based on these measurements, determines the hydration condition of the electrolyte membrane inside the fuel cell. If, during the determination of hydration condition, the controller has determined that the hydration level is low, a current limiting process for temporarily limiting output of the fuel cell in order to recover generating capability will be triggered under more lenient conditions, as compared to if determined that the hydration level is high.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenji Umayahara, Takeshi Maenaka, Atsushi Imai
  • Patent number: 9902354
    Abstract: A vehicle pre-crash seat belt device includes: a buckle moving mechanism that moves a buckle, with which a tongue that has a webbing inserted therein engages, between a normal position and a raised position that is further toward a seat upper side than the normal position; a retractor that includes: a spool and a lock mechanism that locks rotation of the spool in the pull-out direction, and that releases the locked state by causing rotation of the spool in the take-up direction; and a controller that, due to a signal from a collision prediction sensor that predicts a collision of a vehicle, causes rotation of the spool in the take-up direction and increases tension acting on the webbing, and actuates the buckle moving mechanism to move the buckle from the normal position toward the raised position in a case in which the vehicle collision has been avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Katsuya Shimazu, Akihisa Miyata
  • Patent number: 9906129
    Abstract: A power supply system includes a load, a power line, first and second DC power supplies, a power converter, and a controller for controlling the power converter. Upon selection of an operation mode in which the first and second DC power supplies are parallelly connected to the power line for providing the power line with an output from the first DC power supply after DC voltage conversion in the power converter and with an output from the second DC power supply without DC voltage conversion, the controller sets the maximum value of the total power output from the first and second DC power supplies to the power line at the sum of actual power of the first DC power supply and a charge limiting value for the second DC power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Noritake Mitsutani
  • Patent number: 9902392
    Abstract: A mobility information processing apparatus includes: an allocator that allocates one driving mode-selected from driving modes having different drive forms to each partitioned section, in a route of a moving object; and an estimator that estimates the driving mode selected for each section located apart from a predetermined point in the route and that calculates an estimated amount of energy required for traveling in the section estimated to correspond to the one selected driving mode among the driving modes, wherein the allocator determines whether the one selected driving mode is allocated to each section up to a predetermined point in the route on the basis of an allocated energy amount obtained by subtracting the estimated energy amount calculated by the estimator from a residual energy amount of a power source used in the one selected driving mode for each section up to the predetermined point in the route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuki Ogawa
  • Patent number: 9903664
    Abstract: Jet impingement cooling apparatuses are disclosed. One cooling apparatus includes at least one fluid inlet channel, at least one fluid outlet channel, a target surface, and a jet orifice surface that is offset from the target surface. The jet orifice surface includes an array of jet orifices fluidly coupled to the at least one fluid inlet channel, wherein each individual jet orifice of the array of jet orifices has an area corresponding to a distance of the individual jet orifice to the at least one fluid outlet channel such that individual jet orifices closer to the at least one fluid outlet have an area that is smaller than individual jet orifices further from the at least one fluid outlet. The area of each individual jet orifice of the array of jet orifices increases radially from a central region of the array of jet orifices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shailesh N. Joshi
  • Patent number: 9906103
    Abstract: A rotary electrical machine cooling apparatus includes: a rotary electrical machine including a stator having an annular resin portion which covers a coil end, and a rotor; and a cooling portion that injects a coolant from an upper side to the annular resin portion. The annular resin portion includes: an annular main body portion, and a plurality of island portions that protrude in the axial direction from a plurality of positions in a circumferential direction of an axially outer end face of the annular main body portion. The plurality of island portions include a plurality of first island portions having first maximum circumferential lengths and a second island portion that has a second maximum circumferential length L2 and the coolant impinges on the outer circumferential face to flow in a circumferential direction. Thus, the coolability of the coil can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinjiro Suzuki, Taketo Takeuchi, Kazuki Asada
  • Patent number: 9902350
    Abstract: An upper and lower pair of first beads that extend in a longitudinal direction are formed at an inner side wall of a front side spacer. The first beads project to the vehicle width direction outer side. Therefore, when a collision load diagonally to the rear-left side is inputted to a front end portion of the inner side wall, the first beads act to support the inner side wall adjacent above and below the first beads from the vehicle width direction outer side. Accordingly, tilting deformation of the inner side wall toward the vehicle width direction outer side at the beginning of a micro-wrap collision of a vehicle is suppressed. An overall dimension in the vertical direction of the general portions of the inner side wall is specified to be greater than an overall dimension in the vertical direction of the first beads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keita Ito, Yuji Takahashi, Yusuke Hayashi, Yoshitaka Sotoyama, Yousuke Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 9903261
    Abstract: A vehicle cooling device includes: at least one of a radiator and a condenser; a fan cover including a fan configured to cool the at least one of the radiator and the condenser, the radiator, the condenser and the fan cover being positively charged; a connecting part that connects the at least one of the radiator and the condenser and the fan cover with each other; and a self-discharge static eliminator that is installed on a non-conductive wall surface of the connecting part, and is configured to decrease an electric charge amount of a part of the non-conductive wall surface within a limited range, centered on a location where the self-discharge static eliminator is installed, static elimination of the at least one of the radiator and the condenser being performed by the self-discharge static eliminator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshio Tanahashi, Yoji Kanehara, Koshi Yamada
  • Patent number: 9905686
    Abstract: In a plane view of the front surface of the semiconductor substrate, the source region and the first contact region are arranged adjacent to each other in a direction along the gate trench in an area being in contact with a side surface of the gate trench, and the second contact region is arranged adjacent to the source region and the first contact region in an area apart from the gate trench. The impurity concentration of the first contact region is lower than the impurity concentration of the second contact region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro Sugimoto, Yukihiko Watanabe, Shinichiro Miyahara
  • Patent number: 9902396
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus includes a driving state determining portion configured to determine whether the vehicle is in a drivable state at a present time or will be in a drivable state at a point in time after a predetermined period of time has passed from the present time, based on data indicative of a positional relationship between the vehicle and a surrounding environment, that is used in the autonomous driving mode; and a rotation speed reducing portion configured to reduce a rotation speed of the electric motor when it is determined that the vehicle is in an undrivable state at the present time or will be in an undrivable state at the point in time after the predetermined period of time has passed, and the rotation speed of the electric motor is equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji Itagaki
  • Patent number: 9903259
    Abstract: A change in a valve opening degree from an opening degree (a) to an opening degree (d) is caused by a decrease in a radiator outlet water temperature, and at such time a flow rate through a radiator enters a boiling region. Therefore, when such entry is predicted, a target engine outlet water temperature is forcedly changed from 105° C. to 100° C. Thereupon, the valve opening degree is changed from the opening degree (a) to an opening degree (f). The flow rate through the radiator when the valve opening degree is the opening degree (f) is greater than the flow rate through the radiator when the valve opening degree is the opening degree (d), and furthermore, the flow rate through the radiator does not enter the boiling region while the valve opening degree is changing from the opening degree (a) to the opening degree (f).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroshi Watanabe, Ryo Michikawauchi
  • Patent number: 9903254
    Abstract: An MBT ignition time and a knock ignition time are acquired from an engine rotation speed and engine load, and an ignition time on a delay angle side, out of these ignition times, is set as the most advance angle ignition time. An ignition time on the delay angle side only by the KCS learning value with respect to the most advance angle ignition time is set as a required ignition time, and when an actual ignition time set by a knock control system exceeds a predetermined amount and is positioned on the delay angle side with respect to the required ignition time, it is determined that abnormality occurs in an oil jet. Fail-safe processing to the effect that the opening degrees of a throttle valve are corrected to a closed side is executed in response to the abnormality determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tomohiro Shinagawa
  • Patent number: 9903293
    Abstract: A diagnostic system for an internal combustion engine includes an in-cylinder pressure sensor and an ECU. The ECU is configured to: (a) determine whether each cylinder of the evaluation target cylinder group is a lean cylinder; (b) estimate a degree of leanness of the air-fuel ratio of the present lean cylinders when the lean cylinders are present in the evaluation target cylinder group; (c) calculate a polytropic index in an expansion stroke for each cylinder; (d) correlate relationship information for defining a relationship between the polytropic index in the expansion stroke and an air-fuel ratio index value with the polytropic index in the expansion stroke of a reference lean cylinder; and (e) calculate the difference in air-fuel ratio between cylinders on the basis of the polytropic index of the reference lean cylinder, the relationship information correlated with the polytropic index of the reference lean cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yukihiro Nakasaka
  • Patent number: 9905866
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell containing a unit cell with an anode and a cathode included therein, a hydrogen supply unit that supplies hydrogen gas to the anode, a circulation pump that supplies an anode exhaust gas containing hydrogen that has not been used for power generation by the fuel cell and is discharged from the anode, once again to the anode to circulate the anode exhaust gas, and a controller that controls supply quantity of the hydrogen gas by the hydrogen supply unit as well as rotating speed of the circulation pump. The controller drives the circulation pump so that the rotating speed of the circulation pump approaches an optimum rotating speed of the circulation pump at which a total hydrogen loss quantity becomes a minimum under a specified current value, the total hydrogen loss quantity being a sum of a hydrogen quantity corresponding to an electric power necessary for driving the circulation pump and a hydrogen quantity passing from anode side to cathode side of the fuel cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuo Matsubara, Kenji Umayahara
  • Patent number: 9902249
    Abstract: In order to secure a driving performance of an electric vehicle while stably supporting a fuel cell stack, a fuel cell stack generating electric power, a motor generator, and an electrical adjuster are accommodated in an accommodation compartment formed at a front side of a passenger compartment in a vehicle length direction. The electric motor and the electrical adjuster are housed in a common, bottom casing and the bottom casing is arranged at a bottom of the accommodation compartment. A stack support surface which is flat and extends in substantially a horizontal direction is formed at a top of the casing. The fuel cell stack is arranged above the casing and is supported by the casing through mounts arranged on the stack support surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hideo Nagaosa
  • Patent number: 9902399
    Abstract: A vehicle travelling control device is configured to cause a vehicle to automatically travel along the target lateral position set in a travelling lane in advance. The device includes a peripheral information detection unit configured to detect peripheral information of the vehicle, a preceding vehicle recognition unit configured to recognize a position of the preceding vehicle in an adjacent lane which is adjacent to the travelling lane based on the peripheral information detection unit, and a travel control unit configured to cause the vehicle to automatically travel along a separated lateral position which is separated from the target lateral position at the opposite side of the adjacent lane side in a case where a lost duration that is a continuous period of time during which the position of the preceding vehicle is lost in the preceding vehicle recognition unit reaches a first predetermined time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Haruto Torii, Ryuta Hashimoto, Tetsuya Taira
  • Patent number: 9902271
    Abstract: An IPA-ECU (410) recognizes a position of a power transferring unit by image recognition based on image information from a camera (120) incorporated in a vehicle. Then, the IPA-ECU (410) performs guidance control such that the vehicle is guided to the power transferring unit based on a result of the image recognition (first guidance control). A resonant ECU (460) estimates a distance between the power transferring unit and a power receiving unit based on an electric power feeding condition from the power transferring unit to the power receiving unit. When the power transferring unit comes under a body of the vehicle, an HV-ECU (470) performs guidance control of the vehicle such that a position of the power receiving unit is adjusted to a position of the power transferring unit based on distance information from the resonant ECU (460) (second guidance control).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shinji Ichikawa
  • Patent number: 9903298
    Abstract: The internal combustion engine comprises an exhaust purification catalyst able to store oxygen, and a downstream side air-fuel ratio sensor arranged at a downstream side of the exhaust purification catalyst in a direction of exhaust flow. The control system performs feedback control of an amount of fuel fed to a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine so that an air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas flowing into the exhaust purification catalyst becomes a target air-fuel ratio and performs learning control to correct a parameter relating to the feedback control based on an air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas detected by the downstream side air-fuel ratio sensor. The target air-fuel ratio is alternately switched between a rich set air-fuel ratio and a lean set air-fuel ratio leaner. When a condition for learning acceleration, which is satisfied when it is necessary to accelerate correction of the parameter by the learning control, is satisfied, a rich degree of the rich set air-fuel ratio is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuntaro Okazaki, Norihisa Nakagawa, Yuji Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 9903424
    Abstract: A selectable one-way clutch includes pawl members provided to a held plate rotatably via a spindle; a selector plate rotatable between a lock position where the pawl members are protrudable from the held plate and a release position where the pawl members are kept in a state the pawl members are housed in the held plate side by contacting a non-formation portion where no aperture is formed; and a device which restricts an operation of the pawl members by using volume change of material whose volume changes according to temperature change, so that the pawl members are more restricted to protrude from the first plate as an environmental temperature gets lower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Naofumi Magarida, Kenji Itagaki
  • Patent number: 9903833
    Abstract: A control device calculates an SOx concentration in exhaust gas on the basis of a sensor output current when a voltage applied to a limiting current sensor is stepped down from a predetermined voltage value. The control device is configured to step up the voltage applied to the limiting current sensor to the predetermined voltage value when the temperature of the limiting current sensor is equal to or lower than a first predetermined temperature or when a condition in which the temperature of the limiting current sensor is predicted to be equal to or lower than the first predetermined temperature is established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiichiro Aoki, Tatsuhiro Hashida