Patents by Inventor Kenji Kimura

Kenji Kimura 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: 20170240109
    Abstract: A display device includes: a display unit configured to display an image on a windshield of a host vehicle; and an electronic control unit configured to: recognize other vehicles; determine whether a squeezing candidate vehicle having a possibility to squeeze before the host vehicle presents; calculate, when the squeezing candidate vehicle is determined to present, a first appearance interval that increases according to a time elapsed from a time when the squeezing candidate vehicle is last determined to present; and cause the display unit to display a first blinking display when the squeezing candidate vehicle is determined to present. The electronic control unit is configured to reduce a number of blinks of the first blinking display when the first appearance interval is smaller than a first threshold as compared with a case when the first appearance interval is equal to or larger than the first threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2017
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji KIMURA
  • Patent number: 9695736
    Abstract: An ECU sets a leakage flow rate flowing through a radiator circulation passage in a closed state of a thermostat valve, calculates an estimated temperature of coolant water in the radiator circulation passage based on a set leakage flow rate and a detected water temperature of an engine-side coolant water temperature sensor, and performs a failure diagnosis for the thermostat valve based on a difference between the calculated estimated temperature and the detected water temperature of the radiator-side coolant water temperature sensor. The leakage flow rate during operation of the electric pump is set to be a larger value as compared to the leakage flow rate during stopping of the pump. As a result, a diagnostic can be prevented by improving an accuracy of failure detection for the thermostat valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hitoki Sugimoto, Toshitake Sasaki, Yoshihisa Oda, Kenji Kimura
  • Patent number: 9676412
    Abstract: A driving assistance apparatus causes a vehicle to follow a target track by assisting steering of the vehicle. The apparatus includes a followed target recognition section, a steering assistance control section, and an information providing section. The target recognition section recognizes the target track ahead in the advancing direction of the vehicle. The steering assistance control section controls a steering apparatus to perform steering assistance, thereby causing the vehicle to follow the target track. In a case where there is a branch point ahead in the advancing direction of the vehicle, the information providing section provides the driver with information related to a first branch road corresponding to the target track in a plurality of branch roads branching from the branch point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji Kimura
  • Publication number: 20170095884
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a mill roll including a preheating process for joining end portions 16 to 19 of a roll barrel member 13 and/or shaft materials 14, 15, and a friction pressure welding process strongly pressing and joining the shaft materials 14, 15 to a core material 11 after frictionally heating the joining end portions 16 to 19 by rotating the shaft materials 14, 15 while pressing to the core material 11, and a manufacturing apparatus including first and second holding means 29, 23 for the roll barrel member 13 and the shaft materials 14, 15, a rotating means rotating the shaft materials 14, 15, a pressing means 24 pressing the core material 11 and the shaft materials 14, 15 in an axial direction, and a preheating means 31 preheating the joining end portions 16 to 19 of the roll barrel member 13 and the shaft materials 14, 15.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2016
    Publication date: April 6, 2017
    Applicant: FUJICO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenji Kimura, Akio Sonoda, Hiroshi Yoshinaga, Hideaki Nagayoshi
  • Publication number: 20170074154
    Abstract: An engine cooling system includes a coolant circuit, a multi-way valve, a relief route and a relief valve. The coolant circuit includes a first route and a second route into which the coolant circuit is branched off at a branched position. The first route passes through a radiator. The multi-way valve is provided at the branched position. The relief route sets a relief source to a portion downstream of a pump and upstream of the multi-way valve in the coolant circuit, sets a relief destination to a portion downstream of the radiator in the first route, and causes coolant to flow from the relief source to the relief destination so as to bypass the multi-way valve. The relief valve interrupts circulation of coolant through the relief route when the relief valve is closed, and permits circulation of coolant through the relief route when the relief valve is open.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2016
    Publication date: March 16, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Rihito KANEKO, Noboru TAKAGI, lsao TAKAGI, Naoya KAWAMOTO, Kenji KIMURA, Shinji YUMI
  • Patent number: 9566853
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a motor serving as a driving source for running the vehicle, and a high-power assembled battery and a high-capacity assembled battery each capable of supplying an electric power to the motor and placed in a luggage space. The high-power assembled battery is capable of charge and discharge with a current relatively larger than that in the high-capacity assembled battery. The high-capacity assembled battery has an energy capacity relatively larger than that of the high-power assembled battery and has a higher dependence of battery characteristic on temperature than that of the high-power assembled battery. The high-capacity assembled battery is placed over the high-power assembled battery in the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Hayashi, Kenji Kimura, Takurou Nakayama, Nobuyoshi Fujiwara, Akihiro Sato, Hirotaka Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9566662
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a mill roll including a preheating process for joining end portions 16 to 19 of a roll barrel member 13 and/or shaft materials 14, 15, and a friction pressure welding process strongly pressing and joining the shaft materials 14, 15 to a core material 11 after frictionally heating the joining end portions 16 to 19 by rotating the shaft materials 14, 15 while pressing to the core material 11, and a manufacturing apparatus including first and second holding means 29, 23 for the roll barrel member 13 and the shaft materials 14, 15, a rotating means rotating the shaft materials 14, 15, a pressing means 24 pressing the core material 11 and the shaft materials 14, 15 in an axial direction, and a preheating means 31 preheating the joining end portions 16 to 19 of the roll barrel member 13 and the shaft materials 14, 15.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: FUJICO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenji Kimura, Akio Sonoda, Hiroshi Yoshinaga, Hideaki Nagayoshi
  • Publication number: 20170036601
    Abstract: The display device includes an imaging unit configured to capture an image of the front of the host vehicle, an image recognition unit configured to recognize an image of the preceding vehicle in the windshield when seen by a driver of the host vehicle from a driver's eye-point which is set in advance in the interior of the host vehicle, and a display control unit configured to cause the display projection unit to project an elongated preceding vehicle distance display, extending laterally along a lower end of the image of the preceding vehicle, onto a position below the image of the preceding vehicle. The display control unit projects the preceding vehicle distance display having a larger lateral width as the inter-vehicle distance becomes smaller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2016
    Publication date: February 9, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20170033339
    Abstract: An electricity storage system includes a plurality of electricity storage elements, a partition member, a pair of end plates, and a plurality of coupling members. The case includes a flat surface that has a first region opposed to a positive-electrode active material layer and a negative-electrode active material layer of a power generation element, and a second region other than the first region. The partition member is disposed between two electricity storage elements adjacent to each other in the predetermined direction. The pair of end plates is disposed in positions sandwiching the plurality of electricity storage elements in the predetermined direction such that the pair of end plates applies a constraint force to the plurality of electricity storage elements. The constraint force acting on the second region is larger than the constraint force acting on the first region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2015
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirotaka WATANABE, Junta KATAYAMA, Kenji KIMURA, Takaaki YOKOI
  • Publication number: 20170034402
    Abstract: Provided is a control apparatus for an image pickup apparatus that can synchronize an image sensor with a frame period from an external device, such as a display apparatus, without use of any frame buffer, while optimizing the frequency of a clock signal used for the operation of the image sensor. An image sensor (11) receives a trigger signal from an external device (2), such as a display apparatus, and image data from an image sensor (11); calculates, for each frame, information of a time difference from the trigger signal to a time at which to start the output of the image data; and establishes, on the basis of the information of the time difference, a frame period of the image sensor (11) such that the time difference is accommodated within a given range, thereby allowing the image data to be supplied to the external device (2) within a given time difference relative to the trigger signal, though some degree of variation occurring in each frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2015
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Inventor: Kenji KIMURA
  • Patent number: 9534985
    Abstract: A learning unit learns a difference between a detected value ECT and a detected value RCT when it is determined that the detected value ECT and detected value RCT are stable while an engine is at a stop. A diagnostic unit performs a fault diagnosis for the engine based on the difference between the detected value ECT and detected value RCT having been corrected through use of a learned value learned by the learning unit. Accordingly, a fault diagnostic system for an internal combustion engine and a fault diagnostic method for an internal combustion engine can be achieved in which accuracy in fault diagnosis for the internal combustion engine can be improved and an erroneous diagnosis can be restrained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihisa Oda, Kenji Kimura, Hitoki Sugimoto, Toshitake Sasaki
  • Patent number: 9536450
    Abstract: A visual training device includes a training image display unit that outputs a training image including a given first figure that appears at substantially irregular intervals of time at a particular position in a peripheral portion of a screen of a display, and an processed image output unit that superimposes the training image output from the training image display unit, on a video content received from an outside, and outputs a resulting image to the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Kenji Kimura, Satoshi Shioiri, Mitsuharu Ogiya
  • Publication number: 20160348616
    Abstract: In a vehicle provided with an engine, an EGR cooler for cooling EGR gas recirculated from an exhaust channel of the engine to an intake channel thereof by using a coolant, an electric pump for supplying the coolant to the EGR cooler, and a gas temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the EGR gas temperature at the downstream of the EGR cooler, an ECU acquires a first gas temperature in a normally stable state where the electric pump is rotating, thereafter performs a coolant amount suppressing process to suppress the rotational speed of the electric pump, acquires a second gas temperature in a suppressed stable state after a predefined time has elapsed from the start of the coolant amount suppressing process, and determines that the EGR cooler is abnormal if a difference between the first gas temperature and the second gas temperature is less than a threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Inventors: Yoshihisa Oda, Toshitake Sasaki, Kenji Kimura, Kazuya Miyaji
  • Publication number: 20160285139
    Abstract: In a battery pack having one or more battery modules, each battery module includes a plurality of cylindrical batteries, and a battery holder for holding the plurality of cylindrical batteries and forming a space between itself and an adjacent member, the space being at least partially open to the outside and the battery pack further includes a heater mounted in the space, for heating the plurality of cylindrical batteries via the battery holder, and an elastic member for urging the heater onto the battery holder, and closing an opening of the space to thereby form a first space closed from the outside.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20160285142
    Abstract: A battery pack including adjacent battery modules is provided. Each of the battery modules includes one or more cylindrical batteries; a thermal diffusing plate holding the one or more cylindrical batteries; and a first chamber configured to distribute cooling air to cool each of the one or more cylindrical batteries. The battery pack further includes a second chamber provided between the adjacent battery modules, each of the respective thermal diffusing plates of the adjacent battery modules forming at least part of a wall of the second chamber; and a heater provided in the second chamber, the heater facing the respective thermal diffusing plates of the adjacent battery modules.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20160285140
    Abstract: A battery pack including a battery module and a heater is provided. The battery module includes a plurality of cylindrical batteries, a thermal diffusing plate, a first chamber, and a second chamber. The thermal diffusing plate houses and holds the plurality of cylindrical batteries. The first chamber is configured to distribute cooling air to cool each of the plurality of cylindrical batteries. The second chamber is formed at least in part by the thermal diffusing plate. The heater is configured such that convection occurs in the second chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20160190662
    Abstract: A battery pack includes cylindrical batteries, a thermal diffusing plate, and a casing. The thermal diffusing plate holds the cylindrical batteries. The casing houses the cylindrical batteries and the thermal diffusing plate. The casing includes a first inner surface, inner surfaces other than the first inner surface, a first outer surface, and outer surfaces other than the first outer surface. The first inner surface is located between the first outer surface and the thermal diffusing plate. The heat transfer coefficient between the first outer surface and an outside air of the casing is lower than the heat transfer coefficient between each of the outer surfaces other than the first outer surface and the outside air of the casing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Publication date: June 30, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji KIMURA
  • Patent number: 9353707
    Abstract: An evaporated fuel treating device for an engine having an intake pipe, the evaporated fuel treating device includes a fuel evaporation system, a purge valve, a non-return valve, a seal valve mechanism, and an ECU. The system includes a fuel tank, an adsorber, purge passage. The adsorber adsorbs evaporated fuel. The purge valve adjusts a flow rate of the evaporated fuel flowing in the purge passage. The non-return valve prevents a reverse flow of gas in the purge passage from inside of the intake pipe towards the adsorber. The seal valve mechanism seals the system. The ECU configured to (a) open and close the purge valve after causing, the seal valve mechanism to seal the system, when the engine is stopped, and (b) detect an open failure state of the non-return valve based on a pressure difference inside the system when the purge valve is opened and closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kenji Kimura
  • Patent number: 9352644
    Abstract: A vehicle has a motor and an engine each serving as a driving source for running the vehicle, and assembled batteries each capable of supplying an electric power to the motor. The assembled batteries include a high-power assembled battery and a high-capacity assembled battery. The high-power assembled battery is capable of charge and discharge with a current relatively larger than that in the high-capacity assembled battery, and the high-capacity assembled battery has an energy capacity relatively larger than that of the high-power assembled battery. In running of the vehicle using an output from the motor with the engine stopped, the high-capacity assembled battery supplies a more electric power to the motor than that in the high-power assembled battery. The high-power assembled battery is placed in a riding space where a passenger rides, and the high-capacity assembled battery is placed in a luggage space different from the riding space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Kimura, Akihiro Sato
  • Publication number: 20160110096
    Abstract: A terminal device that includes an operation surface; an input detection unit that detects an indicator and determines at least one of a position of the indicator contacting the operation surface and a distance of the indicator from the operation surface in a vertical direction; an operation determination unit that determines information about an operation input by movement information of the indicator detected by the input detection unit; and a control unit that performs predetermined control when a first operation which is an operation performed to move the indicator in a vertical direction away from the operation surface is detected by the operation determination unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2015
    Publication date: April 21, 2016
    Applicants: SONY CORPORATION, SONY MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS INC.
    Inventors: Yuka JINGUSHI, Kenji KIMURA, Yuichiro KOJIMA, Yoshitsugu KITADA, Kenji TOKUTAKE