Patents by Inventor Akira Murakami

Akira Murakami 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).

  • Patent number: 8961363
    Abstract: Provided with first and second rotational members, a sun roller, a plurality of planetary balls sandwiched between the first and second rotational members, a support shaft of each of the planetary balls, a shaft, a carrier, an iris plate and a worm gear for tilting each of the planetary balls, and an input shaft and an output shaft individually fixed to the first and second rotational members, respectively, in which a movable amount of the sun roller relative to the carrier in an axis line direction is set to be smaller than the movable amount of the second rotational member relative to the carrier in the axis line direction when the input shaft is arranged so as to be relatively rotatable on an outer peripheral surface of the output shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takahiro Shiina, Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Daisuke Tomomatsu, Yuki Aratsu
  • Patent number: 8956262
    Abstract: A continuously variable transmission includes plural planetary balls, a carrier, a sun roller, an input shaft, an output shaft, and thrust bearings sandwiched between respective holding surfaces of the input shaft and the output shaft, wherein the holding surface at a time of rest is formed such that a space between the holding surface and a race on one side of the thrust bearing becomes wider on an outside in a radial direction than on an inside in the radial direction, and the holding surface at the time of rest is formed such that a space between the holding surface and a race on the other side of the thrust bearing becomes wider on the outside in the radial direction than on the inside in the radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Tomomatsu, Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Yuki Aratsu
  • Publication number: 20150038285
    Abstract: A continuously variable transmission includes a first rotating element, a second rotating element, a rolling member, a support shaft, and a support rotating element. The support rotating element includes a fixed element provided with a first guide portion guiding a first guide end portion, and a movable element provided with a second guide portion guiding a second guide end portion. The support shaft is configured such that: either one of a moving distance of the first guide end portion and a moving distance of the second guide end portion at the time when the support shaft is tilted together with the rolling member is relatively large, and the other one of the moving distances is relatively small; and an outside diameter of that one of the first guide end portion and the second guide end portion which has a relatively large moving distance is relatively larger than an outside diameter of the other one which has a relatively small moving distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Aratsu, Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Akira Hibino
  • Publication number: 20150014073
    Abstract: A drive unit for a vehicle includes: an engine (2); a compound motor (3) having a first rotor and a second rotor that are differentially rotatable with each other; and an automatic transmission (4A) that delivers power output of the engine (2), which is input via the compound motor (3), to an output shaft (33), in which the first rotor is connected to an input side of a gear pair that corresponds to an even shift speed and the second rotor is connected to an input side of a gear pair that corresponds to an odd shift speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2013
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akira Murakami, Takahiro Shiina, Tadashi Fujiyoshi, Takao Watanabe, Eiji Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 8931308
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a glass blank for a substrate for an information recording medium, the method including steps of: cutting out a gob of a glass material from a molten glass material by cutting the molten glass material discharged from a glass material outlet at a predetermined timing; causing the gob of the glass material to fall downwardly; pinching and pressing the gob of the glass material by a press unit having a pair of molds, the molds' surfaces facing to each other being press surfaces which are planes without an unevenness, so as to contact the falling gob of the glass material only to the press surfaces; and forming a circular flat plate-shaped glass blank having a target flatness as a glass substrate for a magnetic disk such that a ratio between a diameter and a thickness of the glass blank is within a range of from 50:1 to 150:1, from the gob of the glass material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Hoya Corporation
    Inventor: Akira Murakami
  • Patent number: 8914179
    Abstract: During an inertial energy storage operation, electric power conversion at an inverter is controlled such that a direct current electric power from an electric power storage device is converted into an alternating current by the inverter so as to be supplied to stator windings, such that torque in the direction of engine rotation is applied to an output side rotor from a stator to rotatively drive the output side rotor in a state where power transmission from the output side rotor to a drive axle is stopped. During a cranking operation after the inertial energy storage operation, the electric power conversion at an inverter is controlled to permit application of the alternating current to rotor windings, such that a torque in the direction of engine rotation is applied to an input side rotor from the output side rotor, thereby rotatively driving an input side rotor to crank the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Eiji Tsuchiya, Takao Watanabe, Shu Asami, Tatsuya Miyano, Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Tomoyuki Toyama
  • Publication number: 20140365055
    Abstract: In a power generation control apparatus applied to a hybrid vehicle including a compound motor in which a wound rotor is connected to an internal combustion engine and a magnet rotor is connected to a transmission, when regenerative power generation is underway and the internal combustion engine is operative, a first motor/generator constituted by the wound rotor and the magnet rotor and the internal combustion engine are controlled such that torque output from the internal combustion engine is increased by torque applied to the internal combustion engine from the first motor/generator, and a power generation amount of a second motor/generator constituted by the magnet rotor and a stator is increased such that torque transmitted to an output shaft from the internal combustion engine is not applied to a drive wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2012
    Publication date: December 11, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tadashi Fujiyoshi, Takahiro Shiina, Akira Murakami, Tatsuya Miyano, Takao Watanabe, Ryoichi Hibino
  • Publication number: 20140326092
    Abstract: A pair of toothed wheels that mesh with each other includes a plateau portion. The surface of the plateau portion is a plateau-structure surface formed on each tooth face of each of the pair of the toothed wheels, with peak portions of convexities, out of a plurality of concavities and the convexities provided on the each tooth face, being flat. A reduced valley depth Rvk of the plateau portion of one of the pair of the toothed wheels as defined in JISB0671-2 is greater than the reduced valley depth Rvk of the plateau portion of the other of the pair of the toothed wheels. The area occupied by the concavities in the plateau portion of the one of the toothed wheels is larger than the area occupied by the concavities in the plateau portion of the other toothed wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2012
    Publication date: November 6, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Daisuke Tokozakura, Akira Murakami, Yuya Takahashi, Keisuke Ichige, Masanori Iritani, Hideyuki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8862298
    Abstract: In a drive control device of a hybrid vehicle including a power dividing mechanism which has a sun roller, a carrier, and a first disc with which a rotating shaft of a first motor/generator, an output shaft of an engine, and a rotating shaft of a second motor/generator which also functions as an output shaft directed toward drive wheel sides are coupled, respectively and by which differential rotating operations between the sun roller, the carrier, and the first disc are controlled using an alignment chart on which rotation speeds of the sun roller, the carrier, and the first disc are disposed in the sequence of the sun roller, the carrier, the first disc and shown by straight lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Takahiro Shiina, Daisuke Tomomatsu
  • Publication number: 20140235401
    Abstract: A continuously variable transmission includes plural planetary balls, a carrier, a sun roller, an input shaft, an output shaft, and thrust bearings sandwiched between respective holding surfaces of the input shaft and the output shaft, wherein the holding surface at a time of rest is formed such that a space between the holding surface and a race on one side of the thrust bearing becomes wider on an outside in a radial direction than on an inside in the radial direction, and the holding surface at the time of rest is formed such that a space between the holding surface and a race on the other side of the thrust bearing becomes wider on the outside in the radial direction than on the inside in the radial direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Daisuke Tomomatsu, Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Yuki Aratsu
  • Patent number: 8806893
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a glass blank for magnetic disk including a pair of principal surfaces, the method including: dropping process for dropping a lump of molten glass; pressing process for forming a sheet glass material by sandwiching simultaneously the lump from both sides of the dropping path of the lump with surfaces of the pair of dies facing together, and performing press forming to the lump; and temperature adjusting process for adjusting temperature of the lump before the pressing process such that viscosity variation of the lump is reduced with respect to positions over the entirety of the lump in the pressing process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Hoya Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Isono, Akira Murakami, Shinji Eda
  • Patent number: 8806895
    Abstract: The present invention provides a manufacturing method of a sheet glass material excellent in flatness. A manufacturing method of glass substrate for magnetic disk including a pair of principal surfaces, the method comprising the steps of: dropping process for dropping a lump of molten glass; pressing process for forming a sheet glass material by performing press forming to the lump while sandwiching the lump from both sides of the dropping path of the lump with facing surfaces of a pair of dies, the pair of dies being set to substantially the same temperature; and processing process for processing the sheet glass material, while the lump drops down while revolving around its dropping axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Hoya Corporation
    Inventors: Shinji Eda, Hideki Isono, Akira Murakami
  • Publication number: 20140228163
    Abstract: Provided is a continuously variable transmission mechanism of a traction drive type having: a shaft (60) which functions as the center of rotation; relatively rotatable first and second rotating members (10, 20) that are disposed to face each other on the shaft (60) and share a first rotation center axis (R1); plural planetary balls (50) that have a second rotation center axis (R2), are radially disposed around the first rotation center axis (R1) as the center, and are held between the first and second rotating members (10, 20); and an iris plate (80) that changes the gear ratio between an engine-side input shaft (11) and a drive wheel side output shaft (21) by tilting each of the planetary balls (50) with respect to the first rotation center axis (R1). When an engine is started, the gear ratio is controlled to an acceleration side rather than maximum deceleration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Inventors: Yuki Aratsu, Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Daisuke Tomomatsu
  • Patent number: 8784260
    Abstract: A continuously variable transmission having a continuously variable transmission mechanism including an input member, an output member, and a rotary member sandwiched therebetween, transmitting torque between the input member and the output member by means of frictional forces generated by pushing the input member and the output member against the rotary member, and continuously varying a transmission gear ratio between the input member and the output member, an axial force generating portion which rotates in one direction to generate a first axial force for pushing one of the input member and the output member toward the other and rotates in the other direction to generate a second axial force opposite to the first force, and an opposite axial force transmitting portion for transmitting the second force to the other of the input member and the output member when the axial force generating portion generates the second force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takahiro Shiina, Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Daisuke Tomomatsu
  • Patent number: 8784248
    Abstract: In an engine start control device of a hybrid vehicle including a power dividing mechanism which has a sun roller, a carrier, and a first disc with which a rotating shaft of a first motor/generator, an output shaft of an engine, and an output shaft of a second motor/generator are coupled, respectively and by which differential rotating operations between the sun roller, the carrier, and the first disc are controlled using an alignment chart on which rotation speeds of the sun roller, the carrier, and the first disc are disposed in the sequence of the sun roller, the carrier, the first disc and shown by straight lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Murakami, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Takahiro Shiina, Daisuke Tomomatsu
  • Patent number: 8784261
    Abstract: A continuously variable transmission includes a continuously variable transmission mechanism that includes an input disk, an output disk, and planetary balls sandwiched between them and that steplessly changes a transmission ratio between the input disk and the output disk by tilting the planetary balls, wherein cooling performance of a cooling device for the continuously variable transmission mechanism is enhanced as the transmission ratio becomes larger than 1 or smaller than 1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ogawa, Akira Murakami
  • Publication number: 20140197716
    Abstract: Provided is a compound motor (14) comprising a magnet rotor (19) supported by bearings (B3, B4) in a rotatable manner, a winding rotor (20) supported by bearings (B5, B6) in a rotatable manner relative to the magnet rotor (19) at the inner side of the magnet rotor (19) and having rotor winding units (20b), and slip ring mechanisms (25). A space is formed in the inner circumference of the winding rotor (20). At least a part of the slip ring mechanisms (25) is arranged in the space of the inner circumference of the winding rotor (20). The bearings (B3 to B6) include bearings (B3, B6), the internal diameter of each is larger than the size of slip ring mechanisms (25) with respect to the radial direction. The bearings (B3, B6) are arranged outside the slip ring mechanisms (25) with respect to the radial direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Publication date: July 17, 2014
    Inventors: Takahiro Shiina, Akira Murakami, Tadashi Fujiyoshi, Yasumitsu Osada, Takao Watanabe, Shu Asami, Eiji Tsuchiya, Tomoyuki Tohyama
  • Patent number: 8701835
    Abstract: This lubricating device 1 is equipped with an oil pan 2 that stores therein lubricating oil, a micro bubble generator 4 that mixes the lubricating oil with air to produce micro bubbles and supplies the lubricating oil in the oil pan 2 with the micro bubbles, and an oil pump 3 that pressurizes the lubricating oil in the oil pan 2 to supply the micro bubble generator 4 therewith. Further, in this lubricating device 1, the micro bubble generator 4 has an air inlet portion 431 disposed inside the oil pan 2 at a predetermined position with respect to an oil surface height (oil level) of the lubricating oil in the oil pan 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Murakami, Shuji Moriyama, Daisuke Tomomatsu, Daisuke Tokozakura, Masafumi Yamamoto, Keisuke Ichige, Masanori Iritani, Hiroyuki Nishizawa, Hideyuki Suzuki, Yasusi Hirano
  • Publication number: 20140094339
    Abstract: A continuously variable transmission includes a plurality of planetary balls interposed between a first and second rotating elements on a shaft, an iris plate and a worm gear that tilt the planetary balls, a sun roller that includes a first sun roller that includes a first tubular section having first contact points with the planetary balls and a second tubular section having a smaller outer diameter than the first tubular section and is capable of relative rotation with respect to the shaft and a second sun roller that includes second contact points with the planetary balls and is capable of relative rotation with respect to the first sun roller on an outer peripheral surface of the second tubular section, and thrust bearings that are arranged between the first sun roller and the second sun roller and bear thrust loads transmitted from the planetary balls to the first sun roller and the second sun roller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Publication date: April 3, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ogawa, Daisuke Tomomatsu, Akira Murakami, Takahiro Shiina, Yuki Aratsu
  • Patent number: 8678153
    Abstract: A twin-clutch device that selectively transmits torque from a driving wheel to a first driven wheel and/or a second driven wheel is provided. The first and second driven wheels are arranged respectively on both sides of the driving wheel, a functional fluid that decreases its flowability as an applied stimulus is increased and that increases its flowability as the applied stimulus is reduced fills gaps between the driving wheel and the first and second driven wheels, the driving wheel includes a stimulus generating member electrically controlled to generate a stimulus, and flowability of the functional fluid between the driving wheel and one of the first and second driven wheels is decreased with an increase in stimulus applied to the functional fluid by the stimulus generating member to couple the driving wheel to the one of the first and second driven wheels, thus allowing torque transmission therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ogawa, Akira Murakami