Patents by Inventor Kenichi Tamagawa

Kenichi Tamagawa 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: 7881836
    Abstract: There is provided a tire state monitoring apparatus including transponders mounted on a plurality of tires possessed by a vehicle, and ECUs provided on a vehicle body repeatedly transmit address electric waves for acquiring data showing tire states to the transponders at fixed intervals. The ECUs transmit estimates of the transmission timing of the address electric waves at the predetermined transmission cycle so that the transponders can transmit the address electric waves within a communicable range, maintain the predetermined transmission cycle if the estimated transmission timing satisfies a predetermined condition, and adjust the predetermined transmission cycle if the transmission timing does not satisfy the predetermined condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoshi Hayasaka, Kenichi Tamagawa
  • Patent number: 7705718
    Abstract: There is provided a tire information detector to promptly and accurately detect tire information such as pressure of a tire. The tire information detector includes a transponder including a resonator and disposed in a tire of a vehicle; and a controller disposed in a vehicle body, transmitting an excitation signal allowing the resonator to resonate to the transponder, receiving a resonance signal concerning a resonance frequency of the resonator, and calculating a measurement value in accordance with the resonance frequency of the resonator. The controller determines a frequency of the excitation signal based on the resonance frequency of the resonator obtained from previous communications with the transponder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideki Masudaya, Kenichi Tamagawa
  • Publication number: 20080169915
    Abstract: There is provided a tire information detector to promptly and accurately detect tire information such as pressure of a tire. The tire information detector includes a transponder including a resonator and disposed in a tire of a vehicle; and a controller disposed in a vehicle body, transmitting an excitation signal allowing the resonator to resonate to the transponder, receiving a resonance signal concerning a resonance frequency of the resonator, and calculating a measurement value in accordance with the resonance frequency of the resonator. The controller determines a frequency of the excitation signal based on the resonance frequency of the resonator obtained from previous communications with the transponder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Publication date: July 17, 2008
    Inventors: Hideki Masudaya, Kenichi Tamagawa
  • Publication number: 20080103654
    Abstract: There is provided a tire state monitoring apparatus including transponders mounted on a plurality of tires possessed by a vehicle, and ECUs provided on a vehicle body repeatedly transmit address electric waves for acquiring data showing tire states to the transponders at fixed intervals. The ECUs transmit estimates of the transmission timing of the address electric waves at the predetermined transmission cycle so that the transponders can transmit the address electric waves within a communicable range, maintain the predetermined transmission cycle if the estimated transmission timing satisfies a predetermined condition, and adjust the predetermined transmission cycle if the transmission timing does not satisfy the predetermined condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2007
    Publication date: May 1, 2008
    Inventors: Satoshi Hayasaka, Kenichi Tamagawa
  • Publication number: 20080018449
    Abstract: In order to appropriately monitor the tire state by reducing the cost for coaxial cables and avoiding complicatedness accompanying with the wiring work of the coaxial cable, there is provided a tire monitoring apparatus includes transponders mounted in a plurality of tires of a vehicle; a plurality of ECUs disposed in a body of the vehicle and acquiring data representing tire states from the transponders; and a master ECU connected to the plurality of ECUs through a bus. The ECU includes An RF circuit communicating with the transponder; an antenna connected to the RF circuit; and a ROM recording the waiting time, until communicating with the corresponding transponder, differing from those of other ECUs. At the time of monitoring the tire state, the ECU communicates with the corresponding transponder after the waiting time elapses, acquires the data representing the tire state, and outputs the data to the master ECU.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Publication date: January 24, 2008
    Inventors: Kenichi Tamagawa, Satoshi Hayasaka
  • Patent number: 6621062
    Abstract: A rear-view mirror driving and controlling mechanism comprising a rear-view mirror manipulator for moving the mirror angle position of the rear-view mirror, a reverse signal detector for generating reverse position signals when the transmission is shifted to the reverse position, a controller for moving the rear-view mirror angle on the basis of the operation status of a rear-view mirror manipulator and the detection result of the presence or absence of reverse position signals, a mirror angle detector for generating angle detection signals indicative of the mirror angle of the rear-view mirror, and a mirror angle storage for storing angle detection signals, wherein the controller stores the angle detection signals generated by the rear-view mirror angle detector into the mirror angle storage for each time the mirror angle position is adjusted at the time when the reverse detection signals are not generated, while moving down the rear-view mirror position angle at the time when the reverse detection signals a
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Tamagawa, Tsukasa Mizusawa
  • Patent number: 6034497
    Abstract: A method of detecting the pinching of an object of a power window for obtaining an accurate motor torque value dealing with a fluctuation in the ambient temperature and reducing an error at the time of detecting the pinching of an object without using a temperature sensor is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a window opening/closing motor 4, a motor driving unit 3, a pulse generating unit 5, an MCU 2, and an operation switch 1. A base value, a tolerance value and a reference value as an addition value of the base value and the tolerance value are set for each of a plurality of regions obtained by dividing the whole window travel range. The MCU 2 detects a motor torque at the time of opening and closing the window and compares the motor torque with the reference value preset for the travel region. When the motor torque exceeds the reference value, the MCU 2 determines the presence of the pinching of an object and stops or reverses the driving of the motor 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Tamagawa, Yukio Miura
  • Patent number: 6034495
    Abstract: An apparatus for detecting the pinching of an object of a power window which stops the detection of the pinching when a normal pulse edge interval of a two-phase pulse is not obtained is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a motor 4 for opening/closing a window, a motor driving unit 3, a pulse generating unit 5 for generating a two-phase pulse, an MCU 2, and a switching arrangement 1. The MCU 2 detects a motor torque from an interval between pulse edges of the two-phase pulse at the time of opening and closing the window and compares the motor torque with a preset addition value. When the motor torque exceeds the addition value, the MCU 2 determines the occurrence of the pinching of an object and stops or reverses the driving of the motor 4. A timer 14 for resetting time each time the pulse edge in the two-phase pulse arrives is disposed in the MCU 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Tamagawa, Yukio Miura