Patents by Inventor Hitoshi Tasaka

Hitoshi Tasaka 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: 5640943
    Abstract: An air flow rate control apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes a stepping motor. The stepping motor has a plurality of coils and a rotor which is rotated by energizing the coils. A throttle valve connected to the rotor moves together with the rotor, and controls a rate of air flow drawn into the internal combustion engine. A control device is operative for feeding command currents of first and second command current values to first and second coils among the plurality of the coils respectively, and for controlling a degree of opening of the throttle valve. The first and second command current values correspond to a command degree of opening of the throttle valve at which the control device is intended to control the throttle valve. A direction of a resultant of vector forces generated by the first and second command currents simultaneously fed to the first and second coils corresponds to a held position of the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 24, 1997
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Tasaka, Kazunari Shirai, Yoshimasa Nakaya
  • Patent number: 5524724
    Abstract: A throttle valve control apparatus serves to electrically drive a throttle valve which adjusts a rate of air flow into an engine mounted on a vehicle. The throttle valve control apparatus includes a lever connected to the throttle valve for movement in an opening direction and a closing direction together with the throttle valve. An opening degree limiting member is located in a side of the lever which corresponds to the opening direction. A spring urges the opening degree limiting member in a direction of closing the throttle valve. An accelerator interlocking and driving device serves to move the opening degree limiting member in accordance with a degree of operation of an accelerator member. A throttle actuator functions to adjust a degree of opening of the throttle valve. A vehicle speed sensor functions to detect a running speed of the vehicle. A guard actuator serves to adjust a position of the opening degree limiting member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Nishigaki, Hitoshi Tasaka, Shigeru Kamio
  • Patent number: 5477826
    Abstract: A throttle control apparatus serves to control a degree of opening of a throttle valve via an actuator. The throttle valve is provided in an air induction passage of an internal combustion engine. The throttle control apparatus includes a throttle opening degree sensor for detecting the degree of opening of the throttle valve. An engine operating condition detecting device is operative to detect an operating condition of the engine. A throttle opening degree estimating device is operative to estimate the degree of opening of the throttle valve on the basis of the operating condition of the engine which is detected by the engine operating condition detecting device. A memorizing means serves to memorize a corrective quantity. A corrective quantity updating device is operative to update the corrective quantity memorized by the memorizing device on the basis of a difference between an output value from the throttle opening degree sensor and an estimated value from the throttle opening degree estimating device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1995
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Hara, Shigeru Kamio, Hitoshi Tasaka, Masashi Kiyono
  • Patent number: 5463298
    Abstract: An apparatus that detects a reference position of a throttle valve. The throttle valve is forced in either a valve opening direction or a valve closing directions by an urging member. A DC motor, which is connected to the throttle valve, drives the throttle valve against the force created by the urging member within a rotatable angle that is restricted by a stopper. A throttle valve opening sensor detects an opening angle of the throttle valve. A lock current detecting circuit detects a lock current created by the DC motor when the DC motor is brought into contact with the stopper. A throttle valve reference position renewing circuit updates the reference position, which is memorized in a throttle valve reference position memory, on the basis of an opening angle of the throttle valve, which is detected by the throttle valve opening sensor, when the lock current detecting circuit detects the lock current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1995
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Kamio, Mitsuo Hara, Hitoshi Tasaka
  • Patent number: 5447133
    Abstract: A throttle control apparatus includes an electrical drive unit for electrically driving a throttle of an internal combustion engine and a mechanical drive unit for driving the throttle through the operation of an accelerator by a driver. In the case where an abnormality is generated in the electrical drive unit, the driving of the throttle by the electrical drive unit is interrupted and the throttle is thereinstead driven by the mechanical drive unit. The mechanical drive unit is provided with a throttle opening angle control member. The throttle control apparatus further includes a torque control unit for suppressing an increase in output torque of the internal combustion engine in the case where a throttle opening angle is increased in the direction of an opening angle set by the throttle opening angle control member when the driving of the throttle by the electrical drive unit is interrupted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 5, 1995
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Kamio, Hitoshi Tasaka, Mitsuo Hara, Masashi Kiyono
  • Patent number: 5409433
    Abstract: A running control apparatus for an engine-driven vehicle includes a throttle command setting unit for setting a throttle command value based on an accelerator operation degree detected by an accelerator operation degree detector, and a throttle opening and closing driving unit controlled by a throttle opening and closing control unit for adjusting the opening of a throttle valve to the throttle command value, the throttle command value being set to change at a change rate smaller than a change rate of the accelerator operation degree in a region where the accelerator operation degree is small, while, to change at the change rate larger than the change rate of the accelerator operation degree in a region where the accelerator operation degree is large, and the running control apparatus further includes an A/T load signal setting unit and an automatic transmission control unit, in which the A/T load signal setting unit sets an A/T load signal so that the A/T load signal approximates to the throttle command valu
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 25, 1995
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Nishigaki, Hitoshi Tasaka, Shigeru Kamio
  • Patent number: 5406486
    Abstract: A vehicle slip control system for controlling a wheel slip based on a friction coefficient of a road surface measures an engine torque T.sub.E by applying an intake pipe negative pressure Pm and a number of engine revolutions Ne to an engine model. A drive torque T is measured by applying the engine torque T.sub.E to an A/T model, and a driving wheel acceleration d.omega. is obtained by finding a difference of a detected driving wheel speed .omega.. By filtering this driving wheel acceleration d.omega., a post-filter driving wheel acceleration d.omega..sub.0 is calculated. A squat force Ws is calculated from the drive-torque T and the post-filter driving wheel acceleration d.omega., and a friction coefficient .mu. of the road surface is estimated from the squat force Ws. The estimated friction coefficient .mu. is used to control a wheel slip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 11, 1995
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Kamio, Mitsuo Hara, Hitoshi Tasaka, Katsuya Sakita, Mitsunori Takao
  • Patent number: 5381769
    Abstract: A throttle valve drive apparatus comprises an actuator which serves to mechanically drive a throttle valve disposed in an intake passage of an internal combustion engine and is controlled in accordance with an instruction from a control unit, an accelerator lever which serves to mechanically drive the throttle valve and to adjust the opening degree of the throttle valve in accordance with an amount of operation performed by an operator, a first clutch disposed between rotary shafts of the actuator and the throttle valve and serving to transmit a turning force from the actuator to the throttle valve, and a second clutch disposed between rotary shafts of the accelerator lever and the throttle valve and serving to transmit the turning force from the accelerator lever to the throttle valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Nishigaki, Hitoshi Tasaka
  • Patent number: 4773374
    Abstract: A fuel injector to be mounted on a branch of an engine intake manifold has a hollow body with an injection orifice therein and a valve member mounted slidably in the body and having a pintle extending from one end of the valve member and slidably received in and extending through the injection orifice. A sleeve member is mounted on the body to cover the injection orifice and defines a pintle-receiving space into which the forward end of the pintle extends. Communication apertures are formed in the outer end of the sleeve member to communicate the pintle receiving space with an engine intake passage. The total of the cross-sectional areas of the communication apertures is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the pintle-receiving space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1988
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Kiuchi, Oyuki Ogawa, Hiroshi Yamazoe, Hitoshi Tasaka, Minoru Kuroda, Susumu Okino