Patents by Inventor Isao Toda

Isao Toda 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: 12279998
    Abstract: To make it easier to lift and move a wheelchair by keeping casters from hanging even when the wheelchair is lifted by one hand, a wheelchair includes a folding mechanism that couples a left-side support arm and a right-side support arm foldably in a left-right direction of the vehicle body. The folding mechanism includes an operation part for use in changing a state of a left-side support arm and a right-side support arm from one of a folded state or an unfolded state to another. The operation part is arranged between a rear drive wheel and a caster in a side view of the vehicle body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Iwase, Isao Toda, Chih-Hung Chen, Yu-chao Wei
  • Patent number: 12280646
    Abstract: To provide a vehicle drive device capable of efficiently driving a vehicle by using in-wheel motors without falling into the vicious cycle between enhancement of driving via the motors and an increase in vehicle weight. The present invention is a vehicle drive device that uses in-wheel motors to drive a vehicle and includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the travel speed of a vehicle, in-wheel motors that are provided in wheels of the vehicle and drive the wheels, and a controller that controls the in-wheel motors, in which the controller controls the in-wheel motors so as to generate driving forces when the travel speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or more than a predetermined first vehicle speed that is more than zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Seiyo Hirano, Kei Yonemori, Hideki Sanai
  • Publication number: 20250099309
    Abstract: A folding wheelchair which prevents unexpected unfolding includes an upper support arm and a lower support arm coupling a left side frame and a right side frame foldable in an up-down direction in central portions thereof in a left-right direction. An engaged section is provided in at least one of the upper support arm and the lower support arm. An engagement section engages the engaged section to prevent relative displacement in the up-down direction of the central portions of the upper support arm and the lower support arm in the left-right direction. An operation section switches operation of the engagement section from an engagement state with the engaged section to an unengaged state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2024
    Publication date: March 27, 2025
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi IWASE, Isao TODA, Sho Chang LEE
  • Publication number: 20250099307
    Abstract: To improve body rigidity during unfolding of a foldable wheelchair, a wheelchair includes a support arm 40 that couples a left side frame and a right side frame and is folded in a central portion in a left-right direction; a footrest that couples a front end portion of the left side frame and a front end portion of the right side frame and is folded in a central portion in the left-right direction; and a rod that connects the central portion of the support arm in the left-right direction and the central portion of the footrest in the left-right direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2024
    Publication date: March 27, 2025
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi IWASE, Isao TODA
  • Publication number: 20250099310
    Abstract: To facilitate attachment of a seat and suppress rattling of the attached seat, a seat frame is provided with a frame abutment section that abuts a side frame from one side in a left-right direction; an abutment member that abuts the side frame from the other side in the left-right direction; and a shaft member that supports the abutment member in a manner to allow rotation thereof about an axis extending in a body front-rear direction with respect to a body portion of the seat frame. The side frame includes a convex section that protrudes upward, the convex section pressing the abutment member from below during attachment of the seat frame and thereby causing the abutment member to rotate in a direction in which a portion of the abutment member below the axis abuts the side frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2024
    Publication date: March 27, 2025
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi IWASE, Noboru KATO, Haruo OHE, Isao TODA
  • Patent number: 12214666
    Abstract: A vehicle driving apparatus is provided that includes a drive motor, an internal combustion engine, and an electrical generator and can inhibit a weight balance and motion performance of a vehicle from being deteriorated and lowered. A vehicle driving apparatus driving a vehicle by motive power of a motor, the vehicle driving apparatus including a drive motor that is driven by electric power, an internal combustion engine that produces motive power by fuel, and an electrical generator that is driven by the internal combustion engine, the vehicle driving apparatus being characterized in that the drive motor, the internal combustion engine, and the electrical generator are arranged in a vehicle width direction of the vehicle in order of the drive motor, the internal combustion engine, and the electrical generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Seiyo Hirano, Kei Yonemori, Satoshi Maruyama, Shinji Fujihira, Wataru Kuwahara, Tomoya Kakite, Yoshiaki Noguchi, Ryuichiro Amano, Mitsuhiro Hirota
  • Patent number: 12122238
    Abstract: A bulge portion bulging rearward is provided at a dash panel. A reinforcement is fixed to an inner surface of the bulge portion. A rear end wall portion of the bulge portion is positioned at the rear of a center portion of a rear end portion of a cowl panel in a vehicle width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takayuki Kimura, Takehiro Kamei, Isao Toda, Haruo Ohe, Hironobu Hashiguchi, Hiroshi Tanaka, Masaya Hiramatsu, Masanobu Fukushima, Takao Fukuda
  • Patent number: 12090099
    Abstract: It is an object to make it easy to unfold a wheelchair simply by lifting a part of the wheelchair with one hand. A wheelchair includes a folding mechanism that folds a left-side support arm and a right-side support arm. The folding mechanism includes a grip part coupled to the distal end part of the left-side support arm and the distal end part of the right-side support arm. The grip part extends in the pivoting direction of the left-side support arm and the right-side support arm at a time of switching from a folded state to an unfolded state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Iwase, Isao Toda, Chih-Hung Chen, Yu-chao Wei
  • Patent number: 11993141
    Abstract: A vehicle structure includes side sills, pillars, a first battery arrangement portion provided inside the vicinity of the pillars in a vehicle width direction below a floor panel, and a second battery arrangement portion provided at a center portion in the vehicle width direction below the floor panel in a region inside an outer portion of the first battery arrangement portion in the vehicle width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Takayuki Kimura, Takehiro Kamei, Hiroshi Tanaka, Haruo Ohe, Masaya Hiramatsu, Masanobu Fukushima, Takao Fukuda, Hironobu Hashiguchi, Hiroyuki Baba
  • Patent number: 11980579
    Abstract: The wheelchair includes a seating portion, body frames that support the seating portion, wheels that are rotatably supported by the body frames, an engaging portion, a left brake that brakes a left rear wheel, and a coupling portion that couples the engaging portion and the left brake to each other. The engaging portion is capable of switching between an engagement attitude for engaging a vehicle body member that forms an opening of a vehicle and a disengagement attitude for releasing the engagement with the vehicle body member. The coupling portion transmits the movement of the engaging portion to the left brake when the engaging portion makes an attitude change from the disengagement attitude to the engagement attitude. This operates the left brake when the attitude of the engaging portion switches from the disengagement attitude to the engagement attitude and brakes the left rear wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Iwase, Isao Toda, Akira Yasutake, Tsuyoshi Arinaga
  • Patent number: 11958467
    Abstract: A hybrid driving apparatus is provided which enables a driver to sufficiently enjoy a driving feeling of a vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine. A hybrid driving apparatus includes an internal combustion engine that drive main driving wheels, a motive power transmission mechanism transmitting a driving force to the main driving wheels, a main driving electric motor driving the main driving wheels, an accumulator, sub-driving electric motors transmitting motive power to sub-driving wheels of the vehicle, and a control apparatus executing an electric motor traveling mode and an internal combustion engine traveling mode. The control apparatus causes the internal combustion engine to generate the driving force, the internal combustion engine is a flywheel-less engine, and the control apparatus causes the main driving electric motor to generate a torque for maintaining idling of the internal combustion engine in the internal combustion engine traveling mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Seiyo Hirano, Hideki Sanai
  • Patent number: 11938801
    Abstract: To provide a vehicle drive device capable of effectively driving a vehicle by using in-wheel motors without falling into the vicious cycle between enhancement of driving via the motors and an increase in vehicle weight. The present invention is a vehicle drive device that uses in-wheel motors to drive a vehicle and includes in-wheel motors (20) that are provided in wheels (2b) of a vehicle (1) and drive the wheels, a body side motor (16) that is provided in a body of the vehicle and drives the wheels of the vehicle, and a battery (18) and a capacitor (22) that supply electric power for driving the in-wheel motors and/or the body side motor, in which a voltage of the battery is applied to the body side motor and a voltage of the battery and the capacitor connected in series is applied to the in-wheel motors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Seiyo Hirano, Kei Yonemori, Hideki Sanai
  • Patent number: 11858333
    Abstract: A vehicle body structure includes a front floor panel provided on a vehicle front side and a rear floor panel provided at the rear of the front floor panel. The front floor panel is positioned higher than the rear floor panel. A first battery arrangement portion is provided long in a vehicle front-rear direction at a center portion of the front floor panel in the vehicle width direction. A second battery arrangement portion is provided outside the first battery arrangement portion in a vehicle width direction below the front floor panel. An upper portion of the first battery arrangement portion is positioned higher than an upper portion of the second battery arrangement portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Takayuki Kimura, Takehiro Kamei, Hiroshi Tanaka, Haruo Ohe, Masaya Hiramatsu, Masanobu Fukushima, Takao Fukuda, Hironobu Hashiguchi, Hiroyuki Baba
  • Patent number: 11857472
    Abstract: A wheelchair includes a seating portion on which a wheelchair user sits, a body frame that supports the seating portion, a pair of rear wheels and a pair of front wheels rotatably supported by the body frame, and a seat back portion capable of changing the inclination angle with respect to the seating portion. The wheelchair includes push-along handle portions as engaging portions capable of fixing the seat back portion to a side sill as a vehicle body member that forms a door opening of the vehicle when the seat back portion is tilted backward of the wheelchair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Iwase, Isao Toda
  • Patent number: 11850933
    Abstract: A vehicle body structure includes a front floor panel and a rear floor panel provided at the rear of the front floor panel. The front floor panel is positioned higher than the rear floor panel. A front battery that supplies electric power to the traction motor is arranged below the front floor panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Takayuki Kimura, Takehiro Kamei, Hiroshi Tanaka, Haruo Ohe, Masaya Hiramatsu, Masanobu Fukushima, Takao Fukuda, Hironobu Hashiguchi, Hiroyuki Baba
  • Patent number: 11738630
    Abstract: A vehicle drive device uses in-wheel motors to drive a vehicle and includes in-wheel motors that are provided in wheels of a vehicle and drive the wheels, a body side motor that is provided in a body of the vehicle and drives the wheels, and a controller that controls the in-wheel motors and the body side motor based on requested output power of a driver, in which the controller causes the body side motor to generate a driving force and the in-wheel motors not to generate driving forces when the requested output power of the driver is less than predetermined output power and the controller causes the body side motor and the in-wheel motors to generate driving forces when the requested output power of the driver is equal to or more than the predetermined output power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Seiyo Hirano, Kei Yonemori, Hideki Sanai
  • Patent number: 11738809
    Abstract: The vehicle body structure includes a front floor panel, a rear floor panel positioned lower than the front floor panel, and a connection panel extending from a rear portion of the front floor panel to a front portion of the rear floor panel and inclined or curved so as to be positioned downward toward a rear side. At least the front portion of the connection panel is positioned at the front of the front portion of the front seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Takayuki Kimura, Takehiro Kamei, Hiroshi Tanaka, Haruo Ohe, Masaya Hiramatsu, Masanobu Fukushima, Takao Fukuda, Hironobu Hashiguchi, Hiroyuki Baba
  • Patent number: 11718168
    Abstract: To provide a vehicle drive device capable of efficiently driving a vehicle by using a motor without falling into the vicious cycle between enhancement of driving via the motor and an increase in vehicle weight. The present invention is a vehicle drive device (10) having a motor for driving the wheels of a vehicle and includes a front wheel motor (20) for driving front wheels (2b) of a vehicle (1) and a battery (18) and a capacitor (22) that supply electric power for driving the front wheel motor (20), in which the voltage of the battery (18) and the capacitor (22) connected in series is applied to the front wheel motor (20) and the capacitor (22) is disposed between the left and right front wheels (2b) of the vehicle (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao Toda, Seiyo Hirano, Kei Yonemori, Hideki Sanai
  • Publication number: 20220314774
    Abstract: A vehicle body structure includes a front floor panel and a rear floor panel provided at the rear of the front floor panel. The front floor panel is positioned higher than the rear floor panel. A front battery that supplies electric power to the traction motor is arranged below the front floor panel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao TODA, Takayuki KIMURA, Takehiro KAMEI, Hiroshi TANAKA, Haruo OHE, Masaya HIRAMATSU, Masanobu FUKUSHIMA, Takao FUKUDA, Hironobu HASHIGUCHI, Hiroyuki BABA
  • Publication number: 20220314770
    Abstract: A vehicle structure includes side sills, pillars, a first battery arrangement portion provided inside the vicinity of the pillars in a vehicle width direction below a floor panel, and a second battery arrangement portion provided at a center portion in the vehicle width direction below the floor panel in a region inside an outer portion of the first battery arrangement portion in the vehicle width direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao TODA, Takayuki KIMURA, Takehiro KAMEI, Hiroshi TANAKA, Haruo OHE, Masaya HIRAMATSU, Masanobu FUKUSHIMA, Takao FUKUDA, Hironobu HASHIGUCHI, Hiroyuki BABA