Patents Assigned to Toyota
  • Patent number: 12060019
    Abstract: A vehicle front structure including a left and right pair of front side members, a bumper reinforcement and a power unit. The bumper reinforcement includes a first breakage initiation point at a position at one vehicle width direction side relative to a vehicle width direction center position of the vehicle, and a second breakage initiation point at a position at the other vehicle width direction side. The first breakage initiation point is a region at which bending yield strength is lower than other regions of the bumper reinforcement. The second breakage initiation point is a region with lower bending yield strength than the other regions but higher bending yield strength than the first breakage initiation point. The bumper reinforcement includes a bumper reinforcement main body with a chamber structure and a bracing member inside the bumper reinforcement main body at the vehicle width direction center position of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naohiro Saito, Junichi Takayanagi, Ryoichi Hayashi, Atsushi Ono, Atsuo Koga
  • Patent number: 12060105
    Abstract: System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to providing visual cues on a steering apparatus of a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes determining a difference between a current angle of a steering apparatus of a vehicle and a recommended angle of the steering apparatus. The method further includes illuminating a region of a grip of the steering apparatus based upon the difference and a position of a hand of an operator of the vehicle on the grip. The method additionally includes unilluminating the region as the steering apparatus is rotated from the current angle to the recommended angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignees: Toyota Research Institute, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Manuel Ludwig Kuehner, Hiroshi Yasuda, Scott Michael Harris
  • Patent number: 12063861
    Abstract: A heat flow switching element includes a substrate of which at least an upper surface is formed of an insulating material, an N-type semiconductor layer, a P-type semiconductor layer, and an insulator layer, in which one semiconductor layer of the N-type semiconductor layer and the P-type semiconductor layer is formed on the substrate, the insulator layer is formed on the one semiconductor layer, and the other semiconductor layer of the N-type semiconductor layer and the P-type semiconductor layer is formed on the insulator layer. In this way, electric charges induced by an external voltage are generated both at and near an interface between the N-type semiconductor layer and the insulator layer and at and near an interface between the P-type semiconductor layer and the insulator layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignees: MITSUBISHI MATERIALS CORPORATION, TOYOTA SCHOOL FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Toshiaki Fujita, Koya Arai, Tsunehiro Takeuchi, Takuya Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 12060068
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for predicting a vehicle's motion. It is determined that speed of the vehicle is below a threshold speed. A derated tire cornering stiffness value that is less than a nominal cornering stiffness value is obtained. The vehicle's motion is predicted based on a dynamic model using the derated tire corning stiffness value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignees: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC., TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Carrie G. Bobier-Tiu
  • Patent number: 12060079
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to resolving one or more deficiencies in autonomous driving requirements for a road segment. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving sensor data for a portion of the road segment from at least one sensor of a vehicle, and determining autonomous driving requirements for the portion of the road segment. The method includes identifying the one or more deficiencies in the autonomous driving requirements for the portion of the road segment based on the received sensor data and the determined autonomous driving requirements for the portion of the road segment. The method includes determining an alteration to the portion of the road segment to overcome the one or more deficiencies in the autonomous driving requirements for the portion of the road segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Toyota Research Institute, Inc.
    Inventor: Shunsho Kaku
  • Patent number: 12060057
    Abstract: An automated parking system is equipped with an estimation unit that estimates a state of a target vehicle, and a setting unit that sets a running mode of the target vehicle as a low-risk running mode in which a risk regarding the target vehicle is reduced, on condition that the target vehicle be in a low-temperature state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koji Morita, Tatsuya Sugano
  • Patent number: 12060087
    Abstract: A driving handover control device includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. In a case in which driving is handed over from a first state in which a vehicle travels in accordance with instruction from a first remote operator of the vehicle to a second state in which the vehicle travels in accordance with instruction from a second remote operator who is different from the first remote operator, the processor implements a transition from the first state to a third state in which the vehicle travels autonomously without instruction from the first remote operator or the second remote operator, and, after the transition from the first state to the third state, implements a transition from the third state to the second state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshiki Kindo, Yuji Suzuki, Mutsumi Matsuura, Tomoaki Miyazawa, Shunsuke Tanimori, Kuniaki Jinnai, Kohta Tarao, Yoshihiro Maekawa, Hiroki Awano, Tae Sugimura, Tomoyuki Kuriyama, Yusuke Yokota, Makoto Matsushita, Yasuki Nakagawa, Atsushi Hanawa
  • Patent number: 12060086
    Abstract: An autonomous driving device includes a plurality of driving function ECUs having a function to drive a vehicle in place of an occupant, and a driving function switch ECU is configured to individually change operating states of the driving function ECUs according to a route to a destination and remaining power. The driving function ECUs include an autonomous driving ECU configured to autonomously drive the vehicle, and a remote control ECU configured to operate the vehicle according to remote control from outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Urano, Sho Otaki, Takashi Suzuki, Toru Takashima, Hojung Jung, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Satoru Niwa, Kosuke Akatsuka
  • Patent number: 12061448
    Abstract: An example operation includes one or more of directing, by a transport, another transport in need of a first amount of charge to an off-grid stationary battery, providing, by the transport, a second amount of charge to the off-grid stationary battery, and notifying, by the transport, the another transport to retrieve the first amount of charge, wherein the first amount of charge is less than the second amount of charge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Norman Lu, Maximilian Parness
  • Patent number: 12059970
    Abstract: A control device for a vehicle having a connection port to which a connector is connectable includes a processor and the vehicle includes a power storage device configured to store electric power. The vehicle is configured to transmit the electric power between a power grid and the power storage device by connecting, to the connection port, the connector electrically connected to the power grid. The processor is configured to execute connector locking control for locking the connector connected to the connection port when participation of the vehicle in demand-and-supply adjustment of the power grid is confirmed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshiyuki Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 12060070
    Abstract: The disclosure generally relates to methods for assisting a driver of a vehicle that include monitoring the driver's actions, during a first portion of time that starts when the driver begins to engage in a surveillance type action and ends when the driver ends the surveillance type action, activating one or more feedback devices, when the driver engages in a surveillance type action, monitoring the driver's actions during a second portion of time that beings when the driver ends the surveillance type action, and ends when the driver begins the surveillance type action, and activating one or more feedback devices, during the second portion of time when the driver engages in a driving maneuver and fails to engage in the surveillance type action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignees: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC., TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Jaime S. Camhi, Manuel Ludwig Kuehner, Hiroshi Yasuda
  • Patent number: 12060497
    Abstract: Bioactive coatings that are stabilized against inactivation by weathering are provided including a base associated with a chemically modified enzyme capable of enzymatically degrading a component of an organic stain, optionally a lipase or a lysozyme, and optionally a first polyoxyethylene present in the base and independent of the enzyme. The coatings are optionally overlayered onto a substrate to form an active coating facilitating the removal of organic stains or bacterial organic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignees: Toyota Motor Corporation, Regents of the University of Minnesota
    Inventors: Hongfei Jia, Ping Wang, Liting Zhang, Andreas Buthe, Xueyan Zhao, Songtao Wu, Masahiko Ishii, Minjuan Zhang
  • Patent number: 12060104
    Abstract: A vehicle collision avoidance assist apparatus executes a collision avoidance steering maneuvering assist process of applying a steering force to an own vehicle to assist a collision avoidance steering maneuvering carried out by a driver when there is a probability that the own vehicle collides with an object ahead of the own vehicle, and the driver carries out the collision avoidance steering maneuvering to steer the own vehicle to avoid a collision of the own vehicle with the object. The apparatus notifies the driver of a necessity of carrying out the collision avoidance steering maneuvering when determining that there is the possibility that the own vehicle collides with the object ahead of the own vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yumi Shimanaka, Kazuya Okamoto, Sho Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 12059957
    Abstract: A vehicle driving apparatus includes: an engine; first and second rotary electric machines; a fluid transmission device including an input-side rotary element to which the engine and the first rotary electric machine are connected; and a control device configured to control an operation point of the engine by adjusting an electrical path amount in an electrical path between the first and second rotary electric machines. When a certain running mode is established, the control device is configured to correct the electrical path amount to an increased electrical path amount while maintaining an power of the engine requested by an operation of a vehicle driver, and to drive the second rotary electric machine, while controlling an output torque of the first rotary electric machine such that the electrical path amount transferred from the first rotary electric machine to the second rotary electric machine becomes the increased electrical path amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tatsuya Imamura, Yohei Habata, Koji Takaira
  • Patent number: 12061239
    Abstract: The battery system includes a secondary battery, a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a temperature sensor, and a processor. The processor is configured to calculate a polarization overvoltage by subtracting a voltage drop amount caused by a DC resistance and a reactive resistance of the secondary battery determined in accordance with a temperature and an SOC of the secondary battery from a voltage difference between OCV and CCV of the secondary battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kentaro Suzuki, Daisuke Okanishi, Hiroki Nagai, Yoshiki Sugino, Nobuyuki Tanaka, Yuki Sugo, Shunya Kobayashi, Ryo Inoue, Takahiro Noguchi, Ryota Takizawa
  • Patent number: 12060008
    Abstract: A moving body includes: a main body section provided with a moving mechanism; a peripheral information detection sensor configured to detect an obstacle peripheral to the main body section; and a control section configured to cause the main body section to autonomously travel by controlling the moving mechanism based on information regarding the peripheral obstacle detected by the peripheral information detection sensor, and configured to cause information relating to the peripheral obstacle, in a direction of progress of the main body section, to be displayed in a surrounding area of the main body section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hidekazu Sasaki, Daisuke Sato, Kazumi Serizawa, Shunsuke Mogi
  • Patent number: 12062006
    Abstract: A delivery method according to the present disclosure includes a step of delivering packages to designated destinations by mobile bodies traveling autonomously, each of the packages having a delivery priority level. The delivery method further includes a step of, when a number of mobile bodies gathered in a bottleneck section is larger than a number of mobile bodies capable of passing through the bottleneck section at the same time, preferentially causing a mobile body delivering a package of which the delivery priority level is higher than a package delivered by another mobile body to pass through the bottleneck section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobuhisa Otsuki, Haeyeon Lee, Kunihiro Iwamoto, Kota Oishi
  • Patent number: 12060855
    Abstract: A fuel injection device includes a fuel injection valve at a position corresponding to a portion between intake ports in an internal combustion engine. The fuel injection valve includes a body and a needle inside the body. The fuel injection valve is disposed closer to a piston of the internal combustion engine than the intake ports are to the piston. A single fuel injection passage for conducting gaseous fuel is present between a valve seat of the fuel injection valve and a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. The flow cross section of the gaseous fuel in the fuel injection passage is larger on a side closer to the piston of the internal combustion engine than on a side closer to an ignition plug of the internal combustion engine over a specified length in an extending direction of the fuel injection passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Sachio Mori
  • Patent number: 12062282
    Abstract: A method includes calculating a first adaptive threshold based on uncertainty of a first parameter of a first collaborative perception message (CPM) from a first node and uncertainty of the first parameter of a second CPM from a second node, calculating a second adaptive threshold based on uncertainty of a second parameter of the first CPM and uncertainty of the second parameter of the second CPM, obtaining a first association matrix by filtering out one or more pairs whose score is greater than the first adaptive threshold, obtaining a second association matrix by filtering out one or more pairs whose score is greater than the second adaptive threshold, obtaining a fused association matrix based on the first association matrix and the second association matrix, and implementing a fusion algorithm on the fused associated matrix to obtain correspondence identification among objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Hansi Liu, Hongsheng Lu, Rui Guo
  • Patent number: 12062820
    Abstract: One or more methods of designing microchannel fluid flow networks in a fuel cell bipolar plate includes executing one or more programs on one or more computing devices having one or more processors to optimize the spatially varying orientations of homogenized anisotropic porous media by iteratively executing a gradient-based algorithm that incorporates objective functions of reaction uniformity and flow resistance, and then generate, in response to the homogenized anisotropic porous media optimization, one or more microchannel fluid flow networks by dehomogenizing the optimized anisotropic porous media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC
    Inventors: Yuqing Zhou, Danny J. Lohan, Feng Zhou, Hiroshi Ukegawa, Tsuyoshi Nomura, Ercan M. Dede