Patents by Inventor Atsushi Tabata

Atsushi Tabata 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: 11377087
    Abstract: Since a supercharging pressure from a supercharger decreases when an actual rotation speed difference is equal to or less than a margin rotation speed difference, a response delay of an engine torque due to a response delay of the supercharging pressure in a high rotation curbing control unit can be appropriately curbed. A shortage of the engine torque with respect to a required engine torque due to a decrease in the supercharging pressure by a supercharging pressure decreasing unit is compensated for using an torque of a second rotary machine. Accordingly, it is possible to curb a decrease in power performance due to a decrease in the supercharging pressure and to prevent an engine rotation speed from falling into a high-rotation state in which the engine rotation speed exceeds a maximum rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tooru Matsubara, Takahiro Kimura
  • Patent number: 11377091
    Abstract: In a vehicle condition in which an engine rotation speed is likely to exceed a maximum rotation speed, since supercharging by a supercharger is curbed, it is possible to curb an increase in an engine torque. Even when the engine rotation speed exceeds the maximum rotation speed, the engine rotation speed is made less likely to increase by control of decreasing the engine torque. In a vehicle condition in which the engine rotation speed is less likely to exceed the maximum rotation speed, since a supercharging pressure becomes relatively high, it becomes easier to secure power performance. Accordingly, it is possible to curb a decrease in power performance due to curbing of supercharging and to prevent an engine from falling into a high-rotation state in which the engine rotation speed exceeds the maximum rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tooru Matsubara, Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Yasutaka Tsuchida, Keisuke Omuro, Tetsuya Kono
  • Publication number: 20220207934
    Abstract: A particular-driving-operation identification system for identifying whether a failure or a durability reduction of a component installed in a vehicle has been caused by a driving operation of an occupant of the vehicle or not. The system includes a particular-driving-operation identification portion configured to determine whether there has been a particular driving operation that is the driving operation likely to cause the failure or the durability reduction of the component, based on a driving-operation data. When determining that there has been the particular driving operation in a case in which the failure or the durability reduction of the component has been caused, the particular-driving-operation identification portion identifies, based on a vehicle-state data related to the vehicle state, whether the failure or the durability reduction of the component has been caused by the particular driving operation or not depending on the vehicle state when the particular driving operation has been executed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2021
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi TABATA, Masafumi YAMAMOTO, Koichi OKUDA, Yuuki MAKINO
  • Patent number: 11370410
    Abstract: When a travel mode in which an engine is not used as a drive power source for travel is switched to a travel mode in which the engine is used as a drive power source for travel in response to an acceleration request from a driver, it is determined whether an assist torque which is able to be output from a second rotary machine is sufficient for a required assist torque for compensating for an output shortage of the engine due to a supercharging response delay in a supercharger. When it is determined that the assist torque is not sufficient for the required assist torque, an engine rotation speed is increased to a predetermined target rotation speed by an MG1 torque of a first rotary machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tooru Matsubara, Yasutaka Tsuchida
  • Publication number: 20220198845
    Abstract: A sound-source search system for searching a sound source that causes a noise propagated inside or outside a cabin of a vehicle. The system includes: a sound-source search device for acquiring sound data by collecting and measuring a sound; an informing device for informing a sound measuring position in which the sound-source search device should be installed for collecting and measuring the sound; and a control device for acquiring a driving information related to a driving state of the vehicle upon generation of the noise. The control device extracts a sound-source candidate that is a candidate of the sound source causing the noise, based on the acquired driving information, and to cause the informing device to inform the sound measuring position that is set based on a predetermined relationship between the sound-source candidate and the sound measuring position. Also disclosed is a sound-source search method using the sound-source search device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2021
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi TABATA, Masafumi YAMAMOTO, Koichi OKUDA, Yuuki MAKINO
  • Publication number: 20220194383
    Abstract: A sound-source-candidate extraction system for extracting a candidate of a sound source that causes a noise propagated inside or outside a cabin of a vehicle. The sound-source-candidate extraction system includes: (a) an imaging device configured to acquire data of an image inside or outside the cabin of the vehicle; and (b) an extracting device configured to extract the candidate of the sound source, depending on a difference between first and second image data acquired by the imaging device, wherein the first image data is the data of the image before generation of the noise, and the second image data is the data of the image upon or after the generation of the noise. Also disclosed is a sound-source search method using the sound-source-candidate extraction system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2021
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi TABATA, Masafumi YAMAMOTO, Koichi OKUDA, Yuuki MAKINO
  • Patent number: 11352943
    Abstract: A rotation adjusting device is controlled such that an engine speed rising rate at the time of acceleration request is made smaller when a turbocharging pressure is lower than the turbocharging pressure is higher. Therefore, an engine speed can be increased at such a low speed that a rising delay in the turbocharging pressure hardly occurs, in a low turbocharging pressure region. Further, when the rotation adjusting device is controlled such that the engine speed rising rate at the time of the acceleration request is set to a value corresponding to the turbocharging pressure, an MG2 torque is controlled to compensate for an insufficient drive torque of an actual engine torque for a request engine torque. Therefore, even when the engine torque is increased slowly by increasing the engine speed at a slow speed, the insufficient drive torque is compensated for by the MG2 torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tooru Matsubara, Takahiro Kimura, Yasutaka Tsuchida
  • Patent number: 11338790
    Abstract: Since a maximum rotation speed is set to a lower value when a supercharging pressure from a supercharger is high than when the supercharging pressure is low, an engine torque is decreased at a relatively low engine rotation speed and the engine rotation speed is less likely to fall into a high-rotation state. Since the maximum rotation speed is set to a relatively high value when the supercharging pressure is relatively low and the engine rotation speed is less likely to fall into a high-rotation state, the engine torque is not decreased at a relatively high engine rotation speed and power performance can be easily secured. Accordingly, it is possible to curb a decrease in power performance due to a decrease in the engine torque and to prevent the engine rotation speed from falling into a high-rotation state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tooru Matsubara, Takashi Kohno, Yasutaka Tsuchida
  • Patent number: 11333063
    Abstract: When it is determined that there is a likelihood of occurrence of an abnormality in a supercharger, a maximum engine rotation speed and a maximum MG2 rotation speed are changed to a low rotation speed side and operating points of an engine and a rotary machine are controlled such that an engine rotation speed and an MG2 rotation speed are respectively within ranges which do not exceed the changed maximum rotation speeds. Accordingly, even when the supercharger does not operate normally and an abnormal increase in a supercharging pressure occurs, it is possible to curb a high-rotation state of the engine rotation speed and the MG2 rotation speed. As a result, even when an abnormal increase in the supercharging pressure occurs, it is possible to curb a decrease in durability of components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tooru Matsubara, Yasutaka Tsuchida
  • Patent number: 11325584
    Abstract: A control device for a hybrid vehicle includes: a drive control unit that calculates required drive power which is required for a hybrid vehicle based on an accelerator opening when an accelerator return operation is performed, calculates a target engine output which changes slowly with respect to a required engine output for realizing the required drive power through slow change processing, and controls an engine, a first rotary machine, and a second rotary machine such that an engine output reaches the target engine output; and a smoothing rate setting unit that changes a smoothing rate which is used for the slow change processing based on a supercharging pressure and sets the smoothing rate to a smaller value when the supercharging pressure is high than when the supercharging pressure is low.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tooru Matsubara, Yasuhiro Hiasa, Yasutaka Tsuchida
  • Patent number: 11320045
    Abstract: An on-board component abnormal site identifying method includes executing an acquisition process, a calculation process, and a reporting process by an execution device. The acquisition process is a process for acquiring, by the execution device, values of input variables. The mapping includes, as the input variables, a foreign substance variable, and includes, as an output variable, an abnormal site variable. The calculation process is a process for calculating, by the execution device, a value of the abnormal site variable by inputting, to the mapping, the values of the input variables acquired through the acquisition process. The reporting process is a process for reporting, by the execution device, a calculation result of the calculation process by operating a reporting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koichi Okuda, Atsushi Tabata, Kota Fujii, Ken Imamura
  • Patent number: 11305781
    Abstract: A vehicle control device stores learning data to correct a parameter used in a control program for controlling a vehicle, determines whether or not a part controlled by the parameter has been replaced; and resets the learning data when determining that the part has been replaced. The vehicle control device determines whether or not the part has been replaced by identifying individuality of the part based on characteristics of a sensor output from a sensor provided in the part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Tooru Matsubara, Hiromasa Tatsushiro, Kota Fujii
  • Publication number: 20220108570
    Abstract: An unusual-noise determination device for a vehicle that performs unusual-noise determination to determine whether a power transmission system of the vehicle is generating unusual noise. The unusual-noise determination device includes an execution device and a memory device. The memory device stores a neural network that uses the maximum sound pressure and the excess ratio as inputs, and outputs a determination result variable, which is a variable indicating a result of the unusual-noise determination. The neural network is a trained neural network that has been trained using various values related to each of multiple vehicles as training data. The execution device is configured to perform the unusual-noise determination based on an output of the trained neural network that uses, as inputs, the maximum sound pressure and the excess ratio.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Publication date: April 7, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi TABATA, Ken IMAMURA, Koichi OKUDA, Masato NAKANO, Toshiaki TAMACHI
  • Publication number: 20220099515
    Abstract: An oil pressure estimation device for calculating an estimated differential pressure that is an estimated value of a differential pressure between two oil chambers generated in a torque converter including the two oil chambers and a lockup clutch includes a storage device and an execution device. The storage device stores mapping data defining a mapping, the mapping outputting as an output variable an estimated differential pressure variable indicating the estimated differential pressure, in response to input of an input variable, and the mapping having been trained by machine learning. The mapping includes an instruction differential pressure variable indicating the instruction differential pressure as one of a plurality of the input variables. The execution device executes an acquisition process of acquiring a value of the input variable and a calculation process of inputting the value of the input variable into the mapping to calculate a value of the output variable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Publication date: March 31, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi TABATA, Koichi OKUDA, Ken IMAMURA
  • Publication number: 20220097717
    Abstract: An operating noise estimation device for a vehicle on-board component, an operating sound estimation method for a vehicle on-board component, and a memory medium are provided. The vehicle on-board component is operated by rotation that is output by a drive source of a vehicle. One of an independently-operating sound index value and a coupling-associated operating sound index value is an input-side index value, and the other one is an output-side index value. A neural network is trained using, for training data, a measurement value of the independently-operating sound index value and a measurement value of the coupling-associated operating sound index value for an individual vehicle on-board component. The execution device estimates, using the trained neural network, a value of the output-side index value of the vehicle on-board component in which the input-side index value is a specified value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2021
    Publication date: March 31, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi TABATA, Koichi OKUDA, Ken IMAMURA
  • Patent number: 11279338
    Abstract: A control device for a hybrid vehicle includes an engine operating point control unit that shifts an engine operating point to an engine operating point on an optimal fuel-efficiency operating line outside a predetermined noise generation region in which combustion sounds of an engine become noise when the engine operating point is in the noise generation region. Accordingly, when the engine operating point is in the noise generation region, the engine operating point control unit shifts the engine operating point to an engine operating point on the optimal fuel-efficiency operating line outside the noise generation region. As a result, since the engine operating point is not separated from the optimal fuel-efficiency operating line even when the engine operating point departs from the noise generation region, it is possible to curb a decrease in fuel efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tooru Matsubara, Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Yasuhiro Hiasa, Takashi Kohno
  • Patent number: 11274744
    Abstract: A fault evaluation device for an automatic transmission evaluates a fault of the automatic transmission. The fault evaluation device is used for a vehicle having the automatic transmission and a control device configured to execute a learning process for correcting a target pressure for oil to be supplied to the automatic transmission such that variations in acceleration of the vehicle during shifting of the automatic transmission are small. The fault evaluation device includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores mapping data that prescribe mapping. The processor is configured to output an output variable, which is an evaluation value that indicates the presence or absence of the fault of the automatic transmission, when an input variable is input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kota Fujii, Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Ken Imamura
  • Patent number: 11274742
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus for controlling a control-subject component provided in a vehicle, by using a learning value of a control parameter which is obtained by a learning operation. The control apparatus includes an obtaining portion for obtaining information related to converged values of learning values of control parameters in a plurality of vehicles provided with respective control-subject components which are the same in type as the control-subject component provided in the vehicle, and a variation determination portion for determining whether a degree of variation among the converged values in the respective vehicles is smaller than a threshold value. The vehicle control apparatus causes the learning value to be converged by a smaller number of times of execution of the learning operation when the degree of the variation is smaller than the threshold value, than when the degree of the variation is not smaller than the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Koichi Okuda, Ken Imamura
  • Publication number: 20220073075
    Abstract: A training method includes: a simulation step outputting, by a simulator, a characteristic variable based on an input parameter set, the parameter set being input to the simulator and indicating that a specific component is presumed to have an abnormality in advance; and a training step updating, by a training device, mapping based on an input training data and an input teaching data, the input variables being input to the training device as the training data, the input variables including the characteristic variable output in the simulation step, the abnormality determination variable being input to the training device as the teaching data, the abnormality determination variable indicating that the specific component has the abnormality.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koichi OKUDA, Atsushi TABATA, Ken IMAMURA
  • Patent number: 11267452
    Abstract: A control device of a vehicle includes a power source and a power transmission device, and comprises: a state determining portion determining whether a vehicle state is a state in which a running performance of the vehicle is limited; a drive torque calculating portion calculating a drive torque as a maximum drive torque which the vehicle outputs based on the vehicle state; a remaining running distance calculating portion calculating a remaining distance as a maximum distance for which the vehicle travels based on the vehicle state; a destination setting portion setting a destination of the vehicle based on the drive torque and the remaining distance; and a driving control portion providing an automatic driving control in which acceleration/deceleration and steering are automatically performed based on the destination when it is determined that the vehicle is in a state in which the running performance thereof is limited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koichi Okuda, Atsushi Tabata, Tetsuya Kono