Patents by Inventor Kazuki Iwatani

Kazuki Iwatani 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).

  • Publication number: 20110289919
    Abstract: The subject is to efficiently detect the sticking of changeover valves for realizing a plurality of supercharging modes in a vehicle provided with a plurality of superchargers, and also to realize preferable fail-safe in cases where the sticking is detected. In a vehicle, which is provided with: a primary turbo and a secondary turbo, each of which is of an exhaust driven type; an exhaust changeover valve and an intake changeover valve, which are placed in a secondary exhaust passage and a secondary intake passage corresponding to the secondary turbo, respectively; and an intake bypass valve placed in an intake bypass passage, an ECU sets the opening/closing state of each changeover valve to an opening/closing state corresponding to a twin turbo mode at the time of engine stop, and it uses the drive control of each changeover valve which is necessitated in the transition to a single turbo mode at the engine start, thereby performing the sticking detection of the changeover valve at the same time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2009
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroshi Oyagi, Yoshio Yamashita, Kazuki Iwatani, Taro Aoyama
  • Publication number: 20110259290
    Abstract: An ammonia burning internal combustion engine can feed ammonia and a highly combustible substance burning easier than ammonia to a combustion chamber. When the amount of ammonia fed into the combustion chamber is increased or when the ratio of the amount of the ammonia to the total amount of the ammonia and the highly combustible substance fed into the combustion chamber is increased, the operating parameters of the internal combustion engine are controlled so the air-fuel mixture fed into the combustion chamber is made easier to burn. As a result, an ammonia burning internal combustion engine designed to suppress a drop in combustibility of auxiliary fuel due to ammonia, can be provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2010
    Publication date: October 27, 2011
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryo MICHIKAWAUCHI, Yasushi Ito, Kazuki Iwatani, Shiro Tanno
  • Publication number: 20110264355
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine can use ammonia and a non-ammonia fuel which is easier to burn than ammonia as fuel. The non-ammonia fuel is directly injected into a combustion chamber by a non-ammonia fuel injector, and the injected non-ammonia fuel is ignited, whereby combustion of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber is commenced. In the control system of the internal combustion engine, the injection timing of the non-ammonia fuel is advanced at a time when a ratio of ammonia in all fuel fed to the internal combustion engine is high in comparison with the time when the ratio is low. Therefore, a control system of an internal combustion engine capable of using ammonia and a non-ammonia fuel (gasoline, light oil, hydrogen, etc.) which is easier to burn than ammonia, which suitably feeds fuel and controls combustion in order to suitably burn an air-fuel mixture in a combustion chamber is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Publication date: October 27, 2011
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuki IWATANI, Yasushi Ito, Shiro Tanno
  • Publication number: 20110146634
    Abstract: A supercharger control device for an internal combustion engine is preferably applied to a system having a first supercharger and a second supercharger. A switching supercharging pressure setting unit sets a switching supercharging pressure used in case of switching a mode for operating the first supercharger and the second supercharger, based on a difference between a target supercharging pressure and an actual supercharging pressure. When the actual supercharging pressure reaches the switching supercharging pressure, a switching control unit performs a control of switching the mode. Therefore, it becomes possible to appropriately prevent the overshoot of the supercharging pressure at the time of switching the mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2008
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuki Iwatani, Taro Aoyama, Yoshio Yamashita, Hiroshi Oyagi
  • Publication number: 20110036332
    Abstract: A first and a second superchargers are arranged in parallel with each other on an intake air passage and an exhaust passage. At least one of the first and the second superchargers includes a variable supercharging mechanism. The control unit determines a target air amount ratio of the first and the second superchargers, and controls the variable supercharging mechanism such that an actual air amount ratio of the first and the second superchargers becomes equal to the target air amount ratio. The air amount ratio which does not cause the surge in the first and the second superchargers is set as the target air amount ratio, and the variable supercharging mechanism is controlled by using it as a target.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2008
    Publication date: February 17, 2011
    Inventor: Kazuki Iwatani
  • Publication number: 20100191440
    Abstract: A cetane number detection device for an internal combustion engine includes: fuel injection devices that injects fuel individually into cylinders; control device that executes injection of fuel from at least one of the fuel injection devices at a predetermined injection timing when the internal combustion engine is started; combustion determination device; and detection device. The combustion state determination device determines whether the state of combustion in the combustion chamber of at least one cylinder into which fuel is injected by the at least one fuel injection device is an ignition state or a misfire state. The detection device detects the cetane number of the fuel on the basis of the state of combustion in the combustion chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2008
    Publication date: July 29, 2010
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuki Iwatani
  • Patent number: 6895904
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a circulation system which circulates a heat medium, a cylinder head part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder head, a cylinder block part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder block, a connecting channel which connects the cylinder head part channel with the cylinder block part channel, a heat supply device that supplies heat accumulated in the regenerator to the internal combustion engine, and restraining device that restrains heat circulation in the connecting channel when heat is supplied by the heat supply device or the internal combustion engine is under cold conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2005
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Kobayashi, Kazuki Iwatani, Makoto Suzuki, Katuhiko Arisawa, Masakazu Tabata
  • Publication number: 20040079298
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a circulation system which circulates a heat medium, a cylinder head part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder head, a cylinder block part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder block, a connecting channel which connects the cylinder head part channel with the cylinder block part channel, a heat supply device that supplies heat accumulated in the regenerator to the internal combustion engine, and restraining device that restrains heat circulation in the connecting channel when heat is supplied by the heat supply device or the internal combustion engine is under cold conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2003
    Publication date: April 29, 2004
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Kobayashi, Kazuki Iwatani, Makoto Suzuki, Katuhiko Arisawa, Masakazu Tabata
  • Patent number: 6681725
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a circulation system which circulates a heat medium, a cylinder head part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder head, a cylinder block part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder block, a connecting channel which connects the cylinder head part channel with the cylinder block part channel, a heat supply device that supplies heat accumulated in the regenerator to the internal combustion engine, and restraining device that restrains heat circulation in the connecting channel when heat is supplied by the heat supply device or the internal combustion engine is under cold conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Kobayashi, Kazuki Iwatani, Makoto Suzuki, Katuhiko Arisawa, Masakazu Tabata
  • Patent number: 6629512
    Abstract: An electronic control unit (ECU) of an engine system starts a control (preheat) that supplies heat reserving hot water stored in a heat accumulating device to an engine prior to an engine start. The ECU determines a time that continues the preheat on the basis of a cooling water temperature of the engine so as to execute the engine start after a warming-up of the engine is reliably finished. Further, during the execution of the preheat, a lighting lamp is turned on, and that incidence is recognized to a driver. When the preheat is completed, the ECU automatically starts the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2003
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuki Iwatani, Makoto Suzuki, Katuhiko Arisawa, Masakazu Tabata, Kunihiko Hayashi
  • Publication number: 20020152979
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a heat accumulator to accumulate heat from a heat medium, a heat supplier to supply the heat medium accumulated in the heat accumulator to the internal combustion engine, and plural inlets to introduce the heat medium supplied by the heat supplier to each cylinder of the internal combustion engine. Differences in temperature among the cylinders are decreased since the warmed heat medium flows into each cylinder directly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2002
    Publication date: October 24, 2002
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunihiko Hayashi, Kazuki Iwatani
  • Publication number: 20020144666
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a circulation system which circulates a heat medium, a cylinder head part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder head, a cylinder block part channel which circulates the heat medium into a cylinder block, a connecting channel which connects the cylinder head part channel with the cylinder block part channel, a heat supply device that supplies heat accumulated in the regenerator to the internal combustion engine, and restraining device that restrains heat circulation in the connecting channel when heat is supplied by the heat supply device or the internal combustion engine is under cold conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Publication date: October 10, 2002
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideo Kobayashi, Kazuki Iwatani, Makoto Suzuki, Katuhiko Arisawa, Masakazu Tabata
  • Publication number: 20020005178
    Abstract: An electronic control unit (ECU) of an engine system starts a control (preheat) that supplies heat reserving hot water stored in a heat accumulating device to an engine prior to an engine start. The ECU determines a time that continues the preheat on the basis of a cooling water temperature of the engine so as to execute the engine start after a warming-up of the engine is reliably finished. Further, during the execution of the preheat, a lighting lamp is turned on, and that incidence is recognized to a driver. When the preheat is completed, the ECU automatically starts the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2001
    Publication date: January 17, 2002
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuki Iwatani, Makoto Suzuki, Katuhiko Arisawa, Masakazu Tabata, Kunihiko Hayashi