Patents by Inventor Hitoki Sugimoto

Hitoki Sugimoto 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: 11427181
    Abstract: A controller for an internal combustion engine, a control method for an internal combustion engine, and a memory medium are provided. The controller executes a deactivation process that deactivates combustion control in a specified one of cylinders. A compensation process operates a power generation device that produces driving torque applied to a driven wheel so as to compensate for insufficiency of the driving torque of a vehicle caused by the deactivation process. A prohibition process prohibits the deactivation process when it is determined that compensation by a predetermined amount or larger by the compensation process cannot be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki Sugimoto
  • Publication number: 20220259999
    Abstract: A control device is configured to execute a process of calculating an increase amount of deterioration obtained by subtracting from a first degree of deterioration that is a degree of deterioration of the three-way catalyst during execution of the oxygen supply process a second degree of deterioration that is a degree of deterioration of a three-way catalyst in a case where an oxygen supply process of supplying oxygen to an exhaust passage is assumed not to be executed, a process of calculating an integrated value of the increase amount of deterioration, and a process of executing a deterioration reduction process of reducing a rate of deterioration of the three-way catalyst in a case where the calculated integrated value is equal to or larger than a first determination value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2021
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220243678
    Abstract: A misfire detection device and method for an internal combustion engine are provided. A deactivating process deactivates combustion control for air-fuel mixture in a deactivated cylinder. An instantaneous speed variable indicates a speed in a case where a crankshaft rotates by a specific angle. The specific angle of the first instantaneous speed variable is a first angle. The specific angle of the second instantaneous speed variable is a second angle greater than the first angle. A second determining process determines whether a misfire has occurred from a magnitude of a rotation fluctuation amount of a subject of determination, instead of a relative magnitude of the rotation fluctuation amount of the subject of the determination relative to a reference rotation fluctuation amount, when the reference rotation fluctuation amount is a rotation fluctuation amount of the deactivated cylinder during the execution of the deactivating process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2022
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220243674
    Abstract: A CPU stops combustion control of Cylinder #1 in order to perform a regeneration process of a GPF and performs a regeneration process of causing an air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture in Cylinders #2 to #4 to be richer. When it is determined that a misfire has occurred because a misfire rate when the regeneration process is not being performed is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the CPU determines that an internal combustion engine has returned to a normal state based on the premise that the misfire rate when the regeneration process is not being performed decreases.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220243677
    Abstract: A CPU performs a regeneration process for a GPF by stopping combustion control of cylinder #1 and causing an air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture in the other cylinders to be richer. The CPU calculates a rotational fluctuation amount which is used to detect random misfires in which a misfire rate in a predetermined period is equal to or greater than a predetermined proportion by calculating a difference in time et3txdh in which a crank shaft rotates by 30°CA. At the time of performing the regeneration process, the CPU calculates the rotational fluctuation amount based on a value obtained by removing an influence of torsion of a damper from the time et3txdh. When the influence of torsion is removed, 0.5th-order rotation and harmonics thereof are selectively used using a filter process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2021
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220242392
    Abstract: A control device can execute a first diagnosis process of, when first execution conditions are met, diagnosing whether an air-fuel ratio sensor has an abnormality while executing a motoring process, and a second diagnosis process of, when second execution conditions are met, diagnosing whether a GPF has an abnormality while executing the motoring process. In an execution determination process, the control device prohibits execution of both the first diagnosis process and the second diagnosis process when at least either the first execution conditions or the second execution conditions are not met, and permits execution of both the first diagnosis process and the second diagnosis process when both the first execution conditions and the second execution conditions are met.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Patent number: 11401907
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine of a vehicle is equipped with a plurality of cylinders, and ignition devices provided for the cylinders respectively. The vehicle is mounted with an ECU. The ECU performs an ignition timing decision process for deciding a basic ignition timing of the ignition devices in accordance with a load of the internal combustion engine. The ECU performs a misfire determination process for determining that a misfire has occurred on a condition that the torque has decreased below a threshold set in advance. The ECU performs a retardation process for controlling an ignition timing toward a retardation side from the basic ignition timing when a state of the vehicle satisfies a condition determined in advance. A determination on the occurrence of a misfire based on a relationship in magnitude between the torque and the threshold is not made during the retardation process, in the misfire determination process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki Sugimoto
  • Publication number: 20220220914
    Abstract: A controller for an internal combustion engine includes processing circuitry that executes a richening process until an exhaust sensor detects exhaust gas having a rich air-fuel ratio. The processing circuitry executes an air supplying process to supply a catalytic converter with air until the exhaust sensor detects that the exhaust gas has a lean air-fuel ratio. The processing circuitry cumulates the amount of air supplied to the catalytic converter until the exhaust sensor detects that the exhaust gas has a lean air-fuel ratio in the air supplying process. The air supplying process includes stopping fuel supplied to the one or more of the cylinders and performing combustion at an air-fuel ratio that is less than or equal to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio in the remaining one or more of the cylinders.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220219675
    Abstract: A controller for a hybrid electric vehicle includes processing circuitry configured to execute a manual filter regeneration process when satisfying a condition including that execution of the manual filter regeneration process is requested to decrease a PM deposit amount on the filter and that the hybrid electric vehicle is in a stopped state. In the manual filter regeneration process, when a state of charge of the battery becomes less than a discharge threshold value, an output of an internal combustion engine is converted to electric power for charging the battery while the filter is supplied with oxygen from the engine. Further, when the state of charge of the battery becomes greater than or equal to a charge threshold value that is greater than or equal to the discharge threshold value, an output shaft of the engine is rotated with the motor to supply the filter with oxygen from the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2021
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Taichi MIURA, Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220213853
    Abstract: Upon a predetermined first diagnosis execution condition being met, an electronic control unit executes a first diagnosis process of diagnosing whether an exhaust gas recirculation device has an abnormality based on an amount of change that a measured value of an intake air pressure undergoes as a result of a change in an EGR valve position. When a predetermined second diagnosis execution condition is met and, moreover, the first diagnosis process is not being executed, the electronic control unit executes a second diagnosis process of diagnosing whether an exhaust gas cleaning filter has a fracture based on measured values of an incoming gas temperature and an outgoing gas temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: July 7, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Patent number: 11378033
    Abstract: A CPU substitutes a difference between a crank-side speed that is a rotation speed of a crankshaft and a downstream-side speed that is a speed of a portion, opposite from the crankshaft, in a damper into a differential speed. The CPU calculates a torsion angle through a process of integrating the differential speed. The CPU calculates a torsion speed component that is a speed component of the crankshaft due to torsion of the damper based on a process of integrating a value obtained by multiplying the torsion angle by an elastic modulus, and calculates a time that is a variable indicating a speed of the crankshaft, used to determine a misfire, based on the torsion speed component. The CPU subtracts a value obtained by subtracting an output value of the integrating process, applied to a finite response low-pass filter process, from the output value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki Sugimoto
  • Publication number: 20220195955
    Abstract: A controller for a hybrid electric vehicle includes an engine ECU and a HEVECU. The engine ECU executes a partial cylinder fuel cut-off control that stops supply of fuel to one or more cylinders and supplies fuel to the remaining ones of the cylinders. Further, the engine ECU sends control information of the partial cylinder fuel cut-off control to the HEVECU. The HEVECU executes a driving force compensation control so as to compensate for, using driving force of a motor generator, a decrease in driving force of a multi-cylinder engine that results from the execution of the partial cylinder fuel cut-off control. The engine ECU prohibits the execution of the partial cylinder fuel cut-off control when an anomaly possibly occurs in the sending and receiving of the control information of the partial cylinder fuel cut-off control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2021
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220195953
    Abstract: When an intake air amount is greater than or equal to the lower limit intake air amount and less than or equal to the upper limit intake air amount, a CPU sets, from the first cylinder group that increases a detection value of an upstream air-fuel ratio sensor, one of cylinders that has the smallest cutoff frequency, which is stored in a storage device, as a cylinder to which the supply of fuel will be cut off. Then, the CPU obtains the maximum value of an upstream air-fuel ratio as a maximum air-fuel ratio. When the maximum air-fuel ratio is greater than a determination value, the CPU determines that specific cylinder fuel cutoff control is normal. When the maximum air-fuel ratio is less than or equal to the determination value, the CPU determines that the specific cylinder fuel cutoff control is anomalous.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2021
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Patent number: 11359556
    Abstract: A misfire detection device includes processing circuitry configured to execute a stopping process stopping combustion control of an air-fuel mixture in one or more cylinders and a determination process determining whether a misfire has occurred based on a value of a determination subject rotation fluctuation amount, that is, a rotation fluctuation amount of a determination subject cylinder for misfire. A comparison subject rotation fluctuation amount is a rotation fluctuation amount corresponding to a crank angle separated by a predetermined angular interval from a crank angle corresponding to the determination subject rotation fluctuation amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki Sugimoto
  • Publication number: 20220145817
    Abstract: A controller for an internal combustion engine is configured to execute a temperature-increasing process, a misfire detecting process that detects a misfire, a determining process, and a decreasing process. The temperature-increasing process includes increasing a temperature of a catalyst through a partial cylinder fuel cut-off process. The determining process includes determining whether a number of misfires detected by the misfire detecting process in a number of times combustion control has been executed in each of cylinders is greater than or equal to a given value. The decreasing process includes setting an amount of temperature increase in the catalyst to be smaller when the number of misfires is greater than or equal to the given value than when the number of misfires is less than the given value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Patent number: 11326535
    Abstract: A CPU substitutes a difference between a crank-side speed that is a rotation speed of a crankshaft and a downstream-side speed that is a speed of a portion, opposite from the crankshaft, in a damper into a differential speed. The CPU calculates a torsion speed component that is a speed component of the crankshaft due to torsion of the damper based on a physical model of which an input is the differential speed, and calculates a time that is a variable indicating a speed of the crankshaft, used to determine a misfire, based on the torsion speed component. The CPU delays acquisition time of the downstream-side speed used to calculate the differential speed, with respect to acquisition time of the crank-side speed according to the rotation speed of the crankshaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 11326546
    Abstract: A controller for an internal combustion engine, a control method for an internal combustion engine, and a memory medium are provided. The controller determines whether an execution request of a temperature-increasing process for an aftertreatment device for exhaust gas has been issued. When the execution request is determined as having been issued, supply of fuel by a fuel injection valve corresponding to a specified cylinder is deactivated. The specified cylinder is one of cylinders. An air-fuel ratio of air-fuel mixture in a cylinder of the cylinders that differs from the specified cylinder is set to be richer than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. When the temperature-increasing process is executed, an adjustment device is operated so as to reduce the fuel concentration in an intake port connected to the specified cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki Sugimoto
  • Publication number: 20220118963
    Abstract: A hybrid vehicle controller includes processing circuitry configured to execute a particulate matter (PM) deposition amount estimation process that estimates a deposition amount of PM deposited in the filter. The processing circuitry is configured to switch between a first mode and a second mode as a control mode that defines control of the engine and the motor. A use of the engine is limited in the first mode as compared with the second mode. The processing circuitry is configured to execute a display process that notifies a user that the filter needs to be regenerated when the control mode is the second mode if the estimated deposition amount is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, and not to execute the display process when the control mode is the first mode even if the deposition amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220120252
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine of a vehicle is equipped with a plurality of cylinders, and ignition devices provided for the cylinders respectively. The vehicle is mounted with an ECU. The ECU performs an ignition timing decision process for deciding a basic ignition timing of the ignition devices in accordance with a load of the internal combustion engine. The ECU performs a misfire determination process for determining that a misfire has occurred on a condition that the torque has decreased below a threshold set in advance. The ECU performs a retardation process for controlling an ignition timing toward a retardation side from the basic ignition timing when a state of the vehicle satisfies a condition determined in advance. A determination on the occurrence of a misfire based on a relationship in magnitude between the torque and the threshold is not made during the retardation process, in the misfire determination process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220120231
    Abstract: A determination device for an internal combustion engine executes a partial fuel cut-off process. The determination device determines that exhaust gas characteristics have deteriorated when the misfire rate of the internal combustion engine is greater than or equal to a determination threshold. The determination device sets the determination threshold to a first determination threshold when the calculated misfire rate is a misfire rate in a period of non-execution of the partial fuel cut-off process. Also, the determination device sets the determination threshold to a second determination threshold, which is less than the first determination threshold, when the calculated misfire rate is a misfire rate in a period of execution of the partial fuel cut-off process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Inventor: Hitoki SUGIMOTO