Patents by Inventor Hiroshi Sawada

Hiroshi Sawada 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: 9184446
    Abstract: A lithium ion secondary battery provided by the present invention has a positive electrode having a current collector and a positive electrode composite layer provided on the current collector. The current collector contains a metal element A as a main component thereof. The positive electrode composite layer contains a two-phase compound containing lithium as a positive electrode active material. The positive electrode composite layer also contains as an additive a compound having a metal element B, in a composition thereof, that has a higher ionization tendency than the metal element A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomitaro Hara, Akira Tsujiko, Sachie Yuasa, Takahito Imamine, Yuichi Itou, Hiroshi Sawada, Chikaaki Okuda, Osamu Hiruta, Mamoru Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20150253220
    Abstract: An engine control apparatus includes a stack detecting unit, a count processing unit, a stack value storage control unit, and an abnormality determination unit. The abnormality determination unit determines that a sensor has a stack abnormality when a count value by the count processing unit becomes equal to or more than an abnormality determination threshold. When maximum value of the detected value of the sensor detected during a determination period is lower than a value stored in a storage unit and a stack state has not been detected by the stack detecting unit during the determination period, the count processing unit does not count up a counter and does not reset the counter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 2013
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Inventors: Masashi Shibayama, Masatoshi Watanabe, Yusuke Suzuki, Hiroshi Sawada
  • Publication number: 20150226642
    Abstract: This invention determines whether or not an internal combustion engine is not performing combustion. If the determined result is that the internal combustion engine is not performing combustion, a maximum in-cylinder pressure Pmax during motoring is identified by an in-cylinder pressure sensor, and a crank angle ?Pmax corresponding to the maximum in-cylinder pressure Pmax is detected by a crank angle sensor. Further, a reference crank angle ?Pmaxtgt corresponding to the engine speed and the engine load factor is identified, and ?Pmax is corrected so as to become ?Pmaxtgt. Furthermore, the relation between a signal of the crank angle sensor and a crank angle (measured value) corresponding to the signal is corrected so that a measured value of the crank angle corresponding to Pmax becomes the post-correction crank angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2013
    Publication date: August 13, 2015
    Inventors: Shigeyuki Urano, Hiroshi Sawada, Yusuke Suzuki, Masatoshi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9021789
    Abstract: A NOx amount capable of being absorbed by a criteria catalyst as a boundary between degradation and normality is supplied to a NOx storage reduction catalyst and thereafter, a reducer amount corresponding to the NOx amount is supplied by a rich spike operation. Degradation of the NOx catalyst is determined based upon the output of the NOx sensor at this time. Since the degradation of the NOx catalyst is determined only by a magnitude of the NOx sensor output, the degradation diagnosis can be performed with high precision. While the catalyst is normal, the excessive reducers are not supplied and therefore, deterioration of the fuel consumption can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sawada, Yasushi Iwazaki, Toru Kidokoro, Shinichiro Imamura
  • Publication number: 20150090019
    Abstract: The deterioration judgment for an absorption reduction type NOx catalyst (1) is performed quickly and correctly. A catalyst deterioration judging system comprises a supply unit (5) which supplies a reducing agent, a measuring unit (8) which measures a NOx concentration in an exhaust gas at a position downstream from the catalyst (1), a control unit (10) which regulates an amount of the reducing agent so that an air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is a lean air-fuel ratio when the reducing agent is supplied from the supply unit (5), and a judging unit (10) which judges deterioration of the catalyst (1) on the basis of the NOx concentration measured by the measuring unit (8) when the amount of the reducing agent is regulated so that the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is the lean air-fuel ratio when NOx is absorbed by the catalyst (1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2014
    Publication date: April 2, 2015
    Inventors: Yoshitaka NAKAMURA, Toru KIDOKORO, Hiroshi SAWADA
  • Patent number: 8974025
    Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes a liquid-ejecting head including a pressure-generating chamber filled with a photocurable ink composition containing a polymerizable functional group-containing compound and water, a nozzle communicating with the pressure-generating chamber and ejecting a droplet of the photocurable ink composition, and a pressure-generating member causing a pressure change in the pressure-generating chamber; and an ejection pulse-generating unit generating an ejection pulse for driving the pressure-generating member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kenji Kitada, Shinichi Kato, Yoshinobu Sato, Hiroshi Sawada, Hirotoshi Koyano
  • Patent number: 8965665
    Abstract: An air-fuel ratio imbalance among cylinders determining apparatus according to the present invention obtains an output Vabyfs of an air-fuel ratio sensor disposed at a portion downstream of an exhaust gas aggregated portion of an exhaust gas passage, and obtains a second-order differential value d2AF (a change rate of a change rate of a detected air-fuel ratio abyfs) of a detected air-fuel ratio abyfs represented by the air-fuel ratio sensor output Vabyfs. The imbalance determining apparatus determines that an air-fuel ratio imbalance state among cylinders is occurring when a detected air-fuel ratio second-order differential corresponding value (for example, a second-order differential value d2AF per se) obtained in accordance with the second-order differential value d2AF is larger than a first threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasushi Iwazaki, Hiroshi Miyamoto, Fumihiko Nakamura, Hiroshi Sawada, Toru Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 8943814
    Abstract: A warm-up system for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine includes an electronic control unit that performs warm-up control for warming up an exhaust system component upon start-up of the internal combustion engine and a failure diagnosis performing module of the electronic control unit that performs failure diagnosis for the exhaust system component after the completion of warm-up of the exhaust system component. If the internal combustion engine repeatedly stops before completion of the failure diagnosis for a predetermined period of time, then the electronic control unit changes the warm-up control performed upon start-up of the internal combustion engine to a control that raises the temperature of the exhaust system component more quickly than the warm-up control performed during the predetermined period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Shibata, Toru Kidokoro, Hiroshi Sawada, Kazuya Takaoka
  • Publication number: 20140375715
    Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes a liquid-ejecting head including a pressure-generating chamber filled with a photocurable ink composition containing a polymerizable functional group-containing compound and water, a nozzle communicating with the pressure-generating chamber and ejecting a droplet of the photocurable ink composition, and a pressure-generating member causing a pressure change in the pressure-generating chamber; and an ejection pulse-generating unit generating an ejection pulse for driving the pressure-generating member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Kitada, Shinichi Kato, Yoshinobu Sato, Hiroshi Sawada, Hirotoshi Koyano
  • Patent number: 8903625
    Abstract: A judging device comprises a catalyst, an upstream air/fuel ratio sensor having an air/fuel ratio sensing element covered with a diffusion resistance layer, and a downstream air/fuel ratio sensor. The judging device performs main feedback control to equalize the air/fuel ratio indicated by the output value of the upstream air/fuel ratio sensor to an upstream target air/fuel ratio and sub-feedback control to equalize the output value of the downstream air/fuel ratio sensor to a downstream target value. The judging device acquires “an imbalance judging parameter” which increases with “the increase of the difference between the amount of hydrogen contained in the exhaust gas before the exhaust gas passes through the catalyst and that after the exhaust gas passes through the catalyst” according to the sub-feedback amount. When the imbalance judging parameter is larger than an abnormality judgment threshold, the judging device judges that an air/fuel ratio imbalance among the cylinders has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toru Kidokoro, Hiroshi Sawada, Yasushi Iwazaki, Fumihiko Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20140312684
    Abstract: A power supply apparatus comprises: a transformer that includes primary/secondary windings that are electromagnetically connected to each other with polarities opposite to each other, an output switch that activates/inactivates an electric-current route that extends from an application terminal for an input voltage to a ground terminal via the primary winding a rectifying-smoothing portion that generates an output voltage from an induced voltage, a feedback voltage generation portion that monitors a switch voltage appearing at a connection node between the primary winding and the output switch and generates a feedback voltage in accordance with the output voltage, a reference voltage generation portion that generates a reference voltage, a comparator that compares the feedback voltage and the reference voltage with each other to generate a comparison signal, and a switching control portion that generates an output switch control signal by means of an on-time control method in accordance with the comparison si
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2014
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Applicant: ROHM CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sawada, Satoshi Oishi, Koji Takahata, Yohei Akamatsu
  • Patent number: 8844268
    Abstract: It is determined quickly whether there is a shortage in reducing agent supplied to an NOx selective reduction catalyst. After it is determined that a quantity of reducing agent equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity is absorbed in the NOx selective reduction catalyst on the assumption that there is no abnormality in reducing agent supply unit, the supply of a quantity of reducing agent needed to reduce a quantity of NOx flowing into the NOx selective reduction catalyst is started. A determination of an abnormality in the reducing agent supply unit is made based on the NOx removal rate after the lapse of a predetermined period of time since the start of the supply of reducing agent. The NOx removal rate becomes lower when there is an abnormality in the reducing agent supply unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Shibata, Satoshi Endo, Taiga Hagimoto, Hiroshi Sawada
  • Patent number: 8845783
    Abstract: The present invention is intended to detect a failure of a PM filter with a higher degree of accuracy. The present invention is provided with: a PM trapping efficiency calculation part to calculate a PM trapping efficiency (which is a proportion of an amount of particulate matter trapped with respect to an amount of inflow particulate matter) based on an amount of inflow particulate matter obtained by an inflow particulate matter obtaining part, and an amount of outflow particulate matter detected by a PM sensor; and a failure detection part to make a determination that a failure has occurred in the PM filter, in cases where there has appeared a tendency for the PM trapping efficiency to decrease during a period of time until the execution of the following filter regeneration processing is started after the completion of execution of the filter regeneration processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Daisuke Shibata, Hiroshi Sawada, Toru Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 8826642
    Abstract: An electronic control device calculates the maximum actual oxygen storage capacity of a catalyst. The gradient of a linear expression formed between the catalyst temperature and the maximum oxygen storage capacity of the catalyst is stored for each degradation level of the catalyst. The gradient can be learned in accordance with the same temperature of the catalyst and the maximum actual oxygen storage capacity. When the maximum actual oxygen storage capacity is calculated, it is revised in accordance with the temperature of the catalyst, a reference temperature, the linear expression, and the learned gradient. The revised maximum oxygen storage capacity which is the maximum oxygen storage capacity when the temperature of the catalyst during the same calculation period is equal to the reference temperature is then calculated. If a response delay is detected in the output of an oxygen sensor, the gradient of the learned linear expression is discarded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeho Aisaka, Takashi Nakamura, Takuya Matsumoto, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Sawada, Yasushi Iwazaki, Yusuke Kawamura
  • Patent number: 8818693
    Abstract: The present invention provides an engine system control device to be applied to an engine system provided with an engine having a variable compression ratio mechanism capable of changing a compression ratio. In the case where generation of failure in a compression ratio control system is detected, determination of a state of a member placed in an intake and exhaust system of the engine is inhibited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koichi Kimura, Hiroshi Sawada, Toru Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 8806928
    Abstract: Provision is made for a catalyst that is arranged in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine and has an oxidation function, downstream side temperature detection means that detects the temperature of an exhaust gas at a downstream side from the catalyst, and addition means that adds a reducing agent into the exhaust gas from an upstream side from the catalyst, wherein there are also provided correlation value calculation means that calculates a correlation value which is correlated with an amount of change of the temperature detected by the downstream side temperature detection means when the reducing agent is added by the addition means and when a transient operation of the internal combustion engine is carried out, and determination means that determines a deterioration of the catalyst by making a comparison between the correlation value and a threshold value which indicates the deterioration of the catalyst.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Shibata, Hiroshi Sawada, Toru Kidokoro, Akihiko Itakura
  • Patent number: 8800269
    Abstract: In a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine in which a first fuel, which has a property to inhibit the adsorption of exhaust gas components by an exhaust gas purification catalyst, and the second fuel, which has a property not to inhibit the adsorption of the exhaust gas components by the exhaust gas purification catalyst, are able to be selectively used, the present invention has a task to decrease an amount of consumption of the second fuel in a suitable manner. In order to solve this task, the fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine according the present invention is constructed such that the second fuel is first supplied to the internal combustion engine when the exhaust gas purification catalyst is in a cold state, and a change from the second fuel to the first fuel is then made before the exhaust gas purification catalyst subsequently rises in temperature to an activation temperature thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Nakayama, Toru Kidokoro, Hiroshi Sawada
  • Patent number: 8805608
    Abstract: In a crawler construction machine including an engine and a fuel adjustment dial that adjusts a speed of the engine according to operation loads of the working equipment, the fuel adjustment dial is a rotary notchless dial that is continuously variably adjustable. The crawler construction machine includes: an adjustment position detector that detects a rotation adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial; an engine controller that is connected to the adjustment position detector and controls the speed of the engine based on an adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial; and a display device that is connected to the engine controller and displays on a screen a percentage value of the adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial in which the maximum rotation position of the fuel adjustment dial is defined as 100%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Hayato Matsumoto, Hiroshi Sawada, Kazuyoshi Morimoto
  • Publication number: 20140216020
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to prevent a situation in which failure diagnosis for an exhaust system component in an internal combustion engine cannot be completed from continuing for an unduly long period of time. A warm-up system for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine according to the invention includes a warm-up control performing unit that performs warm-up control for warming up an exhaust system component upon start-up of the internal combustion engine and a failure diagnosis performing unit that performs failure diagnosis for the exhaust system component after the completion of warm-up of the exhaust system component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Daisuke Shibata, Toru Kidokoro, Hiroshi Sawada, Kazuya Takaoka
  • Publication number: 20140150750
    Abstract: In a crawler construction machine including an engine and a fuel adjustment dial that adjusts a speed of the engine according to operation loads of the working equipment, the fuel adjustment dial is a rotary notchless dial that is continuously variably adjustable. The crawler construction machine includes: an adjustment position detector that detects a rotation adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial; an engine controller that is connected to the adjustment position detector and controls the speed of the engine based on an adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial; and a display device that is connected to the engine controller and displays on a screen a percentage value of the adjustment position of the fuel adjustment dial in which the maximum rotation position of the fuel adjustment dial is defined as 100%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Applicant: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Hayato Matsumoto, Hiroshi Sawada, Kazuyoshi Morimoto