Patents Examined by George C Jin
  • Patent number: 11661848
    Abstract: A Scotch yoke actuator includes a housing formed with four piston bores spaced equally 90° from each other, a shaft with four yokes, each of the yokes having a slot, and four pistons including two pairs of 180° opposing pistons, one pair of the opposing pistons being orthogonal to the other pair of the opposing pistons. Each of the pistons is arranged for linear motion in one of the piston bores. Each of the pistons includes a piston rod which includes a piston pin which is slidable in the slot. Linear motion of the pistons in the piston bores causes rotation of the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises LLC
    Inventors: Igor Berkovitz, Yoel Hadar
  • Patent number: 11654768
    Abstract: A system for retaining a plurality of compressed gas cannisters for fueling a vehicle is provided, the system comprising: a base which includes: a plate including a distal end and a proximal end; a base engagement member at the distal end of the plate; and a first mating member proximate the proximal end; a cassette which includes: a top; a first side; a second side; a front; a back; a bottom to define an interior, the interior for housing the plurality of compressed gas cannisters; at least one fork pocket mounted on one of the top, the bottom or the back, the fork pocket extending from a distal end a distance; a plurality of gas cannister apertures extending between the interior and an ambient environment, wherein the bottom includes a bottom engagement member which extends outward beyond the first side at the distal end; a locking mechanism proximate the distal end; and a second mating member proximate a proximal end, wherein the first mating member and the second mating member are in pivotal engagement
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Inventor: Brad Miller
  • Patent number: 11654886
    Abstract: An aspect of the disclosure provides an apparatus and a method for improving fuel efficiency of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The apparatus for assisting driving of a host vehicle includes an input configured to receive an input for activation of a fuel efficiency mode; and a controller configured to: in response to receiving the input for activation of the fuel efficiency mode, determine a control factor for power distribution based on route information received from a navigation device of the host vehicle and a state of a battery, and perform power distribution based on the control factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: HL KLEMOVE CORP.
    Inventor: Kyusik Park
  • Patent number: 11654880
    Abstract: A system for adjusting performance of an electric motor in a hybrid vehicle during a combustion event. The system includes a combustion engine including a cylinder, an electric motor including an electric motor shaft and connected to the combustion engine via a drive shaft, and an inverter controller connected to the electric motor. The inverter controller includes an electronic processor configured to receive a rotational position of the electric motor shaft, determine, based on the rotational position of the electric motor shaft, whether a combustion event is occurring in the cylinder, and when a combustion event is occurring in the cylinder, preform one selected from the group comprising increase torque produced by the electric motor and decrease the torque produced by the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Charles Leander Moore, III
  • Patent number: 11655756
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine may include an engine block, a cylinder defining at least one combustion chamber, and a piston in the cylinder. The piston may travel in a first stroke from one end to an opposite end of the cylinder, and may be sized relative to the cylinder to enable an expansion stroke portion of the first stroke while the piston travels under gas expansion pressure, and a momentum stroke portion of the first stroke for the remainder of the first stroke following the expansion stroke portion. A passageway may be formed in the piston rod to communicate gas flow between a first combustion chamber and an area external to the cylinder when the piston is in a first position, and to communicate gas flow between a second combustion chamber and an area external to the cylinder when the piston is in a second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: AQUARIUS ENGINES (A.M.) LTD.
    Inventor: Shaul Haim Yaakoby
  • Patent number: 11654881
    Abstract: A control apparatus is configured to control a vehicle. The vehicle includes an engine, a generator configured to generate electric power by using motive power outputted from the engine, and a drive motor coupled to a drive wheel. The engine, the generator, and the drive motor are coupled to each other via a planetary gear mechanism. The control apparatus includes a processor configured to diagnose a state of at least one of the engine, the generator, or the drive motor on the basis of a relationship between a rotational speed of the engine, a rotational speed of the generator, and a rotational speed of the drive motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Suzuki, Itaru Seta, Yosuke Ohtomo, Masaki Komuro, Shinya Sagawa, Takashi Kono, Kazuki Makino
  • Patent number: 11654884
    Abstract: A control device of a vehicle includes a discharge control unit. The discharge control unit, in a case where a plurality of regenerative sections are included in a scheduled traveling route, extracts a first regenerative section on a vehicle side, a second regenerative section closest to the first regenerative section, and a dischargeable section between the first regenerative section and the second regenerative section. The discharge control unit, in a case where a predicted regenerative electric power amount in the first regenerative section is greater than a predicted discharge electric power amount in the dischargeable section, sets a section obtained by merging the first regenerative section, the second regenerative section, and the dischargeable section as a control target section, and performs the discharge control based on a remaining capacity of a power storage device and a predicted regenerative electric power amount in the control target section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kaiwen Tong, Nobuyuki Aruga, Masashi Eto, Akio Futatsudera
  • Patent number: 11648929
    Abstract: An HV-ECU executes processing of steps. The steps include: a step of turning on a result display permission flag when an assist condition visible to a user is established; a step of calculating energy consumption in each travel section and total energy consumption when all the assist conditions are established and look-ahead information is updated; a step of generating a travel plan when the total energy consumption is greater than remaining energy; a step of executing switching control in accordance with the travel plan; and a step of outputting a result display when the result display permission flag is in an ON state when a vehicle reaches a destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuki Ogawa
  • Patent number: 11643066
    Abstract: Methods and systems of power management in a hybrid vehicle are disclosed. A control system of the hybrid vehicle obtains battery temperature and catalyst temperature. The control system determines (a) whether the battery temperature is within an optimal battery temperature range and (b) whether the catalyst temperature is within an optimal catalyst temperature range. The control system determines a power split ratio (PSR) based on the determination of (a) and (b). The control system controls the engine and the motor-generator based on the determined PSR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
    Inventors: Kesavan Ramakrishnan, Vaidehi Y. Hoshing
  • Patent number: 11635019
    Abstract: A connecting rod for changing a compression ratio of an internal combustion engine includes a connecting rod head, a connecting rod pin, and an interlock. The connecting rod pin is supported by an eccentric of the connecting rod at a variable distance within the connecting rod head. The connecting rod head or the connecting rod pin includes a fluid chamber and the eccentric has a projection extending into the fluid chamber. In the alternative, the eccentric delimits a fluid chamber and the connecting rod head or the eccentric has a projection extending into in the fluid chamber. A fluid pressure in the fluid chamber exerts a force on the projection to change the position of the eccentric. In a locking position, the interlock inhibits rotation of the eccentric relative to the connecting rod head and the interlock is configured to be releasable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: FEV Group GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Saupe, Christopher Marten, Denis Pendovski, Katharina Eichler
  • Patent number: 11635350
    Abstract: A diagnostic system and method that (a) that uses models indicative of both successful firing and skips to determine if cylinders of a skip fire controlled internal combustion engine have successfully fired or successfully skipped and (b) uses filtered exhaust gas pressure readings for detecting faults associated with EGR systems and/or turbocharger systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignees: Tula Technology, Inc., Cummins Inc.
    Inventor: Shikui Kevin Chen
  • Patent number: 11635006
    Abstract: A blow-by gas recirculation device that, while having a structure in which a passage for blow-by gas is in a head cover and an oil separator, an increase in size of an engine is suppressed and the risk of the freezing is mostly avoided by shortening the length of an external pipe for the blow-by gas. Therefore, the blow-by gas recirculation device guides blow-by gas from a crankcase to an intake passage through an in-cover gas passage formed inside a head cover. An oil separator that traps and removes oil from the blow-by gas is attached to the inside of the head cover. A pressure regulating valve is provided on the outlet side of the in-cover gas passage in the head cover. A separator outlet, which is an outlet for the blow-by gas in the oil separator, is overlapped on a blow-by gas inlet portion of the pressure regulating valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: KUBOTA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Akita, Kazuyuki Chuma, Kohei Sawada, Yukimasa Kabe, Satoshi Inayama, Junya Ikai
  • Patent number: 11629660
    Abstract: A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine performs a first acquisition process for acquiring a first index value corresponding to an integrated amount of intake air during a performance of the fuel cutoff process, and a cancellation process for cancelling the fuel cutoff process when the first index value becomes equal to or larger than a first predetermined value during the performance of the fuel cutoff process. Besides, the control apparatus performs a second acquisition process for acquiring a second index value corresponding to an elapsed time from the end of the fuel cutoff process to the subsequent start of the fuel cutoff process, and a change process for making the first predetermined value smaller when the second index value is small in starting the fuel cutoff process than when the second index value is large in starting the fuel cutoff process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Nose, Yuto Ikeda, Takanobu Gotoh
  • Patent number: 11628834
    Abstract: A hybrid electric vehicle and a method of controlling the same are provided to avoid a collision thereof attributable to erroneous operation of an accelerator pedal. The method includes determining whether an accelerator pedal is erroneously operated in the situation in which an obstacle is detected to be present in the traveling path. In response to determining that the accelerator pedal is erroneously operated, the method includes switching the driving mode to a mode in which an engine is disconnected from a driving shaft and a motor generates driving force. The number of revolutions per minute (RPM) of the engine is then adjusted based on the extent to which the accelerator pedal is operated and the torque of the motor is adjusted based on a first vehicle speed and the distance to the obstacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Jin Kyeom Cho, Ji Hoon Kang, Yeon Bok Kim, Myung Woo Kim, Chan Ho Lee, Tae Wook Park, Kyu Hwan Jo
  • Patent number: 11629662
    Abstract: Provided is a control device for a vehicle, the vehicle including an internal combustion engine, a generator capable of being rotated by the internal combustion engine, a battery that stores power generated by rotation of the generator, and a motor that is supplied with power from the battery and outputs a driving force to a drive wheel, wherein, at a timing at which a requested output, which is requested when the internal combustion engine is operating with the internal combustion engine and the drive wheel not mechanically connected to each other and the internal combustion engine is performing a stoichiometric operation that operates in accordance with a theoretical air-to-fuel ratio, is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the control device starts to increase the number of rotations of the internal combustion engine to the number of rotations set in a rich operation where a ratio of a fuel of the internal combustion engine to oxygen is higher than the theoretical air-to-fuel ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Tagami
  • Patent number: 11618310
    Abstract: A hybrid electric vehicle includes: an internal combustion engine; a rotary electric machine; an electric storage device; and a power control unit that converts electric power between the rotary electric machine and the electric storage device, and controls the rotary electric machine, the hybrid electric vehicle being capable of traveling by rotating a driving wheel by using power of at least one of the internal combustion engine and the rotary electric machine. Further, the power control unit is provided below the rotary electric machine, and a heat generation source that has higher temperature than the power control unit, a heat transfer inhibition unit that inhibits heat transfer from the heat generation source to the power control unit, and the power control unit are disposed in this order from one side to another side in a vehicle width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hirotaka Koyanagi
  • Patent number: 11619566
    Abstract: A straddled vehicle engine unit including an internal combustion engine and a misfire detection device. The misfire detection device includes a crankshaft rotation speed fluctuation physical quantity acquisition unit and a misfire determination unit. The misfire determination unit includes first to third determination units. The first determination unit determines whether or not the crankshaft rotation speed fluctuation physical quantity acquired by the crankshaft rotation speed fluctuation physical quantity acquisition unit is greater than a set physical quantity determination reference. The second determination unit determines whether or not a fluctuation pattern constituted by a physical quantity and the crankshaft rotation speed fluctuation physical quantity acquired at least before or after the physical quantity falls within a set misfire pattern range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignees: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Minoru Hotta, Yoshihiko Nonogaki, Kazuteru Iwamoto, Hisatoshi Kinoshita, Nobuyuki Kawashima
  • Patent number: 11618428
    Abstract: An electric supercharger-equipped moving machine includes: an engine; a supercharger configured to increase intake pressure of the engine; an electric motor including a motor driving shaft; a power transmitting path including a power transmitting shaft through which driving power of the engine is transmitted to a propulsive power generating body; and a switching clutch configured to be able to block power transmission from the electric motor to the power transmitting shaft. The motor driving shaft is connected to the supercharger so as to be able to drive the supercharger when the switching clutch is in a disengaged state. The motor driving shaft is connected to the power transmitting shaft so as to be able to drive the propulsive power generating body when the switching clutch is in an engaged state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: KAWASAKI MOTORS, LTD.
    Inventor: Masaki Nishiyabu
  • Patent number: 11618432
    Abstract: A program update method includes a first step of acquiring a remaining capacity of electric power stored in an electric power storage device, a second step of acquiring an electric power amount required for the control device to update the control program, a third step of determining whether the remaining capacity is smaller than the electric power amount, a fourth step of charging the electric power storage device such that the remaining capacity becomes the electric power amount or larger when it is determined that the remaining capacity is smaller than the electric power amount in the third step, and a fifth step of causing the control device to update the control program when the remaining capacity becomes the electric power amount or larger in the fourth step. The first to fifth steps are performed when the vehicle is operating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Soichi Morii, Tsuyoshi Kokubo, Satoshi Ueno
  • Patent number: 11613246
    Abstract: A control system for a work vehicle includes a power source with an engine and at least one motor configured to generate power; a transmission including a plurality of clutches configured for selective engagement to transfer the power to drive an output shaft of a powertrain of the work vehicle; and a controller coupled to the power source and the transmission. The controller has a processor and memory architecture configured to: initiate a transition for the transmission between a first transmission mode and a second transmission mode at a first shift point associated with an engine throttle shift function; determine a current engine speed; and generate and execute an engine speed command for the engine such that a commanded engine speed is a function of the current engine speed in accordance with the engine throttle shift function upon the transition of the transmission at the first shift point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventors: Kyle K. McKinzie, Clayton G. Janasek, Eric Vilar