Patents by Inventor Eiji Murase

Eiji Murase 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: 9810172
    Abstract: An objective of the present invention is to stabilize the fuel injection amount for each cylinder and to execute fuel injection control accurately in a single-pressure-feed dual-injection type alcohol fuel injection system. An engine includes two injection valves and and a single-pressure-feed dual-injection type fuel supply system. The fuel supply system is configured such that fuel is injected sequentially in two cylinders during the pressure-feed-interval period from the execution of one fuel pressure-feed operation to the execution of the next fuel pressure-feed operation. If the alcohol concentration in the fuel is higher than a predetermined determination value ? at a startup operation time, an ECU executes only a cylinder injection for the first of the two cylinders described above, and executes both an intake passage injection and a cylinder injection for the second cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinichi Mitani, Eiji Murase, Takahiro Tsukagoshi, Kazuhisa Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9765722
    Abstract: A fuel injection system for an engine, the fuel injection system includes injectors and an electronic control unit. The injectors include needle valves; and the ECU is configured to: (i) execute partial lift injection and full lift injection with the injectors, the partial lift injection being injection during which the needle valve does not reach a fully-open state and the full lift injection being injection during which the needle valve reaches the fully-open state; (ii) operate the engine in a partial lift injection region where the injection of a required injection amount of a fuel is shared by the partial lift injection and the full lift injection; and (iii) perform the amount of correction of the required injection amount with respect to the injection amount shared by the full lift injection when the required injection amount is corrected while the engine is operated in the partial lift injection region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiko Higuchi, Tomohiro Nakano, Rihito Kaneko, Eiji Murase
  • Patent number: 9631593
    Abstract: A control device for an internal combustion engine is provided. The internal combustion engine includes an in-cylinder injector. The control device includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: control energizing time for the in-cylinder injector when a partial lift injection is performed such that the partial lift injection becomes maximum partial lift injection with a longest energizing time in the partial lift injection; and control the number of energizations for performing the maximum partial lift injection during a single injection stroke such that a total of injection amounts of the maximum partial lift injection by the number of the energizations is equal to or less than a required injection amount as a target amount for the injection amount of a single injection stroke.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuta Nakajima, Tomohiro Nakano, Eiji Murase
  • Patent number: 9605634
    Abstract: A needle has a large-diameter portion, an outer diameter of which is larger than that of a shaft portion of the needle. A needle-side tapered surface is formed at the large-diameter portion on a valve closing side thereof, wherein the needle-side tapered surface is inclined by a needle angle with respect to a center axis of the needle. A core-side tapered surface is formed at a movable core, wherein the core-side tapered surface is inclined by a core angle with respect to the center axis of the needle. The needle and the movable core are brought into contact with each other via the needle-side and the core-side tapered surfaces. The needle angle and the core angle are made to be equal to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignees: DENSO CORPORATION, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kiyotaka Yoshimaru, Eiji Mimura, Atsuya Okamoto, Akira Kamada, Eiji Murase, Keisuke Komori
  • Publication number: 20160348604
    Abstract: During a catalyst rapid warm-up at a time of a cold start of an engine, a fuel is injected by a required injection quantity through a multi-stage injection consisting of a fuel injection by a full lift injection during an intake stroke and a fuel injection by a partial lift injection during a compression stroke. In a case where a deterioration of a combustion state is confirmed, a correction for increasing the required injection quantity, which is to enrich an air-fuel ratio, is performed. At a time of the enriching quantity increase, a sum of injection quantities of the multi-stage injection is increased by the amount of the correction for increasing the required injection quantity without the injection quantity and an injection timing of the fuel injection by the partial lift injection being changed from a base time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2016
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiko HIGUCHI, Tomohiro NAKANO, Eiji MURASE
  • Publication number: 20160215721
    Abstract: A drive system for fuel injection valves includes a battery, a capacitor, a drive control unit and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to, when an energization start interval between a start of energization of a last one of the fuel injection valves and a start of energization of a current one of the fuel injection valves is longer than or equal to a peak reaching time of a last one of the fuel injection valves, extend an energization time of the current one of the fuel injection valves as the energization start interval reduces. The electronic control unit is configured to, when the energization start interval is shorter than the peak reaching time, reduce the energization time of the current one of the fuel injection valves is energized as the energization start interval reduces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2014
    Publication date: July 28, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tomohiro NAKANO, Eiji MURASE, Rihito KANEKO, Masanao IDOGAWA
  • Publication number: 20160131074
    Abstract: A control device for a fuel injection valve includes a drive circuit that controls open/close operation of the fuel injection valve by passing an exciting current through a solenoid of the fuel injection valve and an ECU that reduces a peak current value as a fuel pressure in a delivery pipe at timing of a start of energization of the fuel injection valve decreases. The ECU reduces the peak current value as an amount of fuel discharged from a high-pressure fuel pump to the delivery pipe reduces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Publication date: May 12, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tomohiro NAKANO, Eiji MURASE, Rihito KANEKO
  • Publication number: 20160108847
    Abstract: An electronic control unit that calculates an injection standby period, which is a period from an energization start point of the solenoid to a point at which the fuel injection valve opens, and adjusts an energization period of the solenoid in accordance with the calculated injection standby period. The electronic control unit of the control apparatus for a fuel injection valve then measures a reference fall detection period, which is a period from the energization start point to a reference fall detection point, and sets the injection standby period to be longer as the reference fall detection period is longer. Here, the reference fall detection point is a point at which the excitation current detected by the current detection circuit falls below a reference current value, which is smaller than a peak current value, while the excitation current decreases after reaching the peak current value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2014
    Publication date: April 21, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tomohiro NAKANO, Eiji MURASE, Rihito KANEKO
  • Patent number: 9309796
    Abstract: An excessively large electric current is suppressed from flowing to an electrode. Provision is made for an electrode arranged in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine, a power supply connected to the electrode for applying a voltage thereto, an air fuel ratio detection device for detecting or estimating an air fuel ratio of an exhaust gas which flows through the exhaust passage, and a power upper limit setting device for setting an upper limit for electric power supplied to the electrode from the power supply in cases where the air fuel ratio detected or estimate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinichi Mitani, Hiroshi Nomura, Eiji Murase
  • Patent number: 9284869
    Abstract: A concentration of HC in an exhaust gas is estimated with a high degree of accuracy by making use of a particulate matter processing apparatus (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinichi Mitani, Hiroshi Nomura, Eiji Murase
  • Publication number: 20150377172
    Abstract: A fuel injection system for an engine, the fuel injection system includes injectors and an electronic control unit. The injectors include needle valves; and the ECU is configured to: (i) execute partial lift injection and full lift injection with the injectors, the partial lift injection being injection during which the needle valve does not reach a fully-open state and the full lift injection being injection during which the needle valve reaches the fully-open state; (ii) operate the engine in a partial lift injection region where the injection of a required injection amount of a fuel is shared by the partial lift injection and the full lift injection; and (iii) perform the amount of correction of the required injection amount with respect to the injection amount shared by the full lift injection when the required injection amount is corrected while the engine is operated in the partial lift injection region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Publication date: December 31, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiko HIGUCHI, Tomohiro NAKANO, Rihito KANEKO, Eiji MURASE
  • Publication number: 20150369158
    Abstract: A control device for an internal combustion engine is provided. The internal combustion engine includes an in-cylinder injector. The control device includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: control energizing time for the in-cylinder injector when a partial lift injection is performed such that the partial lift injection becomes maximum partial lift injection with a longest energizing time in the partial lift injection; and control the number of energizations for performing the maximum partial lift injection during a single injection stroke such that a total of injection amounts of the maximum partial lift injection by the number of the energizations is equal to or less than a required injection amount as a target amount for the injection amount of a single injection stroke.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuta NAKAJIMA, Tomohiro NAKANO, Eiji MURASE
  • Publication number: 20150369161
    Abstract: This fuel injection system includes a port injector, an in-cylinder injector, and a control device. The control device sets the number of executions of maximum partial lift injection per injection stroke based on the pressure of a fuel supplied to the in-cylinder injector and within a range of the number of injections in which an injection amount of the maximum partial lift injection per injection stroke becomes equal to or less than a target amount. This control device allows the in-cylinder injector to execute the number of executions of the maximum partial lift injection and allows the port injector to inject the fuel by the amount equal to the shortfall compared to the total injection amount only in the maximum partial lift injection by the in-cylinder injector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2015
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tomohiro NAKANO, Eiji Murase
  • Patent number: 9128026
    Abstract: An amount of aggregation of particulate matter is estimated with a high degree of accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinichi Mitani, Hiroshi Nomura, Eiji Murase
  • Patent number: 9057297
    Abstract: An object of this invention is to appropriately control the state of a corona discharge in accordance with an exhaust air-fuel ratio, and always purify particulate matter (PM) in exhaust gas efficiently. An engine is equipped with a corona discharge-type exhaust emission control device. The exhaust emission control device purifies PM in exhaust gas by generating a corona discharge between a center electrode and an earth electrode. When the air-fuel ratio is in a rich region, an ECU controls an applied voltage that is applied between the electrodes. It is thereby possible to obtain a maximum PM purification rate while preventing an arc discharge. When the air-fuel ratio is in a lean region, a discharge current flowing between the electrodes is controlled. It is thereby possible to suppress power consumption while compensating for a decrease in the PM purification rate caused by a reduction in the PM amount in the exhaust gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2015
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Eiji Murase
  • Patent number: 9020737
    Abstract: A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes a fuel injection portion that carries out fuel injection for the internal combustion engine, a recirculation portion that recirculates to an intake system evaporative gas of injected fuel that has been mixed with lubricating oil for the internal combustion engine, a parameter acquisition portion that acquires a fuel mixture parameter corresponding to an amount of fuel that has been mixed with the lubricating oil, an engine stop portion that performs engine stop control to temporarily stop the internal combustion engine when a predetermined stop condition is fulfilled, and a stop condition correction portion that corrects a stop condition of the engine stop control on the basis of at least the fuel mixture parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Eiji Murase
  • Patent number: 8899028
    Abstract: Aggregation of particulate matter is facilitated. Provision is made for an electrode that is arranged in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine with a voltage to be applied thereto being able to be changed, a detection device that detects an electric current passing through the electrode, a determination device that determines whether a pulse current has been generated in the electric current detected by the detection device, and a control device that reduces the voltage to be applied more than that at this time in cases where a determination has been made by the determination device that a pulse current has been generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Mitani, Hiroshi Nomura, Eiji Murase
  • Publication number: 20140318501
    Abstract: An objective of the present invention is to stabilize the fuel injection amount for each cylinder and to execute fuel injection control accurately in a single-pressure-feed dual-injection type alcohol fuel injection system. An engine includes two injection valves and and a single-pressure-feed dual-injection type fuel supply system. The fuel supply system is configured such that fuel is injected sequentially in two cylinders during the pressure-feed-interval period from the execution of one fuel pressure-feed operation to the execution of the next fuel pressure-feed operation. If the alcohol concentration in the fuel is higher than a predetermined determination value ? at a startup operation time, an ECU executes only a cylinder injection for the first of the two cylinders described above, and executes both an intake passage injection and a cylinder injection for the second cylinder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2011
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinichi Mitani, Eiji Murase, Takahiro Tsukagoshi, Kazuhisa Matsuda
  • Patent number: 8863496
    Abstract: A particulate matter control system includes: an electrode that is provided in an exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine; a power supply that is connected to the electrode and that applies voltage; a particle number detecting unit that detects the particle number of particulate matter on a downstream side of the electrode; a calculation unit that calculates a reduction rate of the particle number at the time when voltage is applied on the basis of the particle number detected by the particle number detecting unit at the time when voltage is applied and the particle number detected by the particle number detecting unit at the time when no voltage is applied; and a determination unit that determines that there is a failure when the reduction rate of the particle number, calculated by the calculation unit, is smaller than a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Mitani, Hiroshi Nomura, Eiji Murase
  • Publication number: 20140084087
    Abstract: A needle has a large-diameter portion, an outer diameter of which is larger than that of a shaft portion of the needle. A needle-side tapered surface is formed at the large-diameter portion on a valve closing side thereof, wherein the needle-side tapered surface is inclined by a needle angle with respect to a center axis of the needle. A core-side tapered surface is formed at a movable core, wherein the core-side tapered surface is inclined by a core angle with respect to the center axis of the needle. The needle and the movable core are brought into contact with each other via the needle-side and the core-side tapered surfaces. The needle angle and the core angle are made to be equal to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicants: DENSO CORPORATION, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kiyotaka YOSHIMARU, Eiji MIMURA, Atsuya OKAMOTO, Akira KAMADA, Eiji MURASE, Keisuke KOMORI