Patents by Inventor Kimihito Nakamura

Kimihito Nakamura 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: 11750006
    Abstract: An estimation system, includes: a secondary battery; a monitoring device that detects a voltage and a current of the secondary battery; and a processor that estimates a full charge capacity of the secondary battery using a detection result of the monitoring device. The processor calculates a first charging rate of the secondary battery using a current integration amount in charging, discharging, or charging and discharging of the secondary battery and using a full charge capacity of the secondary battery that was estimated last time; calculates a second charging rate of the secondary battery using an open circuit voltage of the secondary battery, when a predetermined time has elapsed without charging and discharging since the first charging rate is calculated; and performs correction, when a magnitude of a difference between the first and second charging rates is larger than a threshold, on the full charge capacity based on the difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiki Sugino, Kimihito Nakamura, Masanari Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 11541779
    Abstract: A vehicle includes: an engine; an exhaust pipe through which exhaust gas from the engine is released; a battery pack located near the exhaust pipe; and an ECU that executes, during limp-home traveling of the vehicle, control in which the battery pack is not charged and discharged, and output suppression control in which output of the engine is suppressed. In the output suppression control, when the catalyst temperature is above a threshold value, the ECU suppresses the output of the engine, as compared to when the catalyst temperature is below the threshold value, while maintaining a state in which the engine can output power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Tanaka, Kazuki Kubo, Kimihito Nakamura, Kenta Fujimoto, Takayuki Oshino, Yoshihiro Uchida, Koichi Tsuji
  • Publication number: 20210152002
    Abstract: An estimation system, includes: a secondary battery; a monitoring device that detects a voltage and a current of the secondary battery; and a processor that estimates a full charge capacity of the secondary battery using a detection result of the monitoring device. The processor calculates a first charging rate of the secondary battery using a current integration amount in charging, discharging, or charging and discharging of the secondary battery and using a full charge capacity of the secondary battery that was estimated last time; calculates a second charging rate of the secondary battery using an open circuit voltage of the secondary battery, when a predetermined time has elapsed without charging and discharging since the first charging rate is calculated; and performs correction, when a magnitude of a difference between the first and second charging rates is larger than a threshold, on the full charge capacity based on the difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Publication date: May 20, 2021
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiki SUGINO, Kimihito NAKAMURA, Masanari ISHIKAWA
  • Publication number: 20210070193
    Abstract: A vehicle includes: an engine; an exhaust pipe through which exhaust gas from the engine is released; a battery pack located near the exhaust pipe; and an ECU that executes, during limp-home traveling of the vehicle, control in which the battery pack is not charged and discharged, and output suppression control in which output of the engine is suppressed. In the output suppression control, when the catalyst temperature is above a threshold value, the ECU suppresses the output of the engine, as compared to when the catalyst temperature is below the threshold value, while maintaining a state in which the engine can output power.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2020
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobuyuki TANAKA, Kazuki KUBO, Kimihito NAKAMURA, Kenta FUJIMOTO, Takayuki OSHINO, Yoshihiro UCHIDA, Koichi TSUJI
  • Patent number: 9937813
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to detect a first current value in a period in which a current path is switched to a non-conductive state by an ignition-off operation. The electronic control unit is configured to detect a second current value in a period that is after an ignition-on operation is performed and before the current path is switched from the non-conductive state to a conductive state in the case where the first current value falls out of a specified reference range. The electronic control unit is configured to diagnose that there is an abnormality of the current sensor when the second current value falls out of the reference range and to diagnose that there is no abnormality of the current sensor when the second current value falls within the reference range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kimihito Nakamura
  • Patent number: 9840127
    Abstract: A temperature regulation system includes: an electric storage device, installed in a vehicle and configured to perform charge and discharge; an intake duct that leads air of a vehicle interior to the electric storage device; a fan configured to cause the air to be taken into the intake duct; a filter that is provided inside the intake duct and that prevents passage of foreign matter; and a controller that estimates a clogging amount of the foreign matter on the filter. The controller is configured to increase the estimated clogging amount as there increases a total amount of the air that is supplied to the electric storage device accompanying driving of the fan, and the number of times that the vehicle is brought to a state in which air is allowed to flow into and flow out of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiichi Minamiura, Kimihito Nakamura, Toyotaka Maeda, Yoshiaki Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9608468
    Abstract: ECU executes program including the steps of turning on an overcharge tentative determination flag and performing limitation on Win in a case where a rising rate ?TB is higher than or equal to ?TB(0), and a current average value IBs is a value on a side of charging, and the steps of turning off the overcharge tentative determination flag and cancelling the limitation on Win in a case where the rising rate ?TB is lower than or equal to ?TB(1), or the current average value IBs exhibits a value on a side of discharging, and the steps of determining that a battery is in the overcharging state and executing a fail safe process in a case where the integrated value IBs of current from a time point at which the overcharge tentative determination flag is switched from an off-state to an on-state becomes greater than or equal to IBs(0).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Kikuchi, Masahiko Kubo, Yoshihiko Hiroe, Motoyoshi Okumura, Kimihito Nakamura, Hideki Kawamura
  • Publication number: 20160347196
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to detect a first current value in a period in which a current path is switched to a non-conductive state by an ignition-off operation. The electronic control unit is configured to detect a second current value in a period that is after an ignition-on operation is performed and before the current path is switched from the non-conductive state to a conductive state in the case where the first current value falls out of a specified reference range. The electronic control unit is configured to diagnose that there is an abnormality of the current sensor when the second current value falls out of the reference range and to diagnose that there is no abnormality of the current sensor when the second current value falls within the reference range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kimihito NAKAMURA
  • Publication number: 20150333380
    Abstract: A temperature regulation system includes: an electric storage device, installed in a vehicle and configured to perform charge and discharge; an intake duct that leads air of a vehicle interior to the electric storage device; a fan configured to cause the air to be taken into the intake duct; a filter that is provided inside the intake duct and that prevents passage of foreign matter; and a controller that estimates a clogging amount of the foreign matter on the filter. The controller is configured to increase the estimated clogging amount as there increases a total amount of the air that is supplied to the electric storage device accompanying driving of the fan, and the number of times that the vehicle is brought to a state in which air is allowed to flow into and flow out of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Publication date: November 19, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiichi MINAMIURA, Kimihito NAKAMURA, Toyotaka MAEDA, Yoshiaki KIKUCHI
  • Publication number: 20140247018
    Abstract: ECU executes program including the steps of turning on an overcharge tentative determination flag and performing limitation on Win in a case where a rising rate ?TB is higher than or equal to ?TB(0), and a current average value IBs is a value on a side of charging, and the steps of turning off the overcharge tentative determination flag and cancelling the limitation on Win in a case where the rising rate ?TB is lower than or equal to ?TB(1), or the current average value IBs exhibits a value on a side of discharging, and the steps of determining that a battery is in the overcharging state and executing a fail safe process in a case where the integrated value IBs of current from a time point at which the overcharge tentative determination flag is switched from an off-state to an on-state becomes greater than or equal to IBs(0).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2011
    Publication date: September 4, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Kikuchi, Masahiko Kubo, Yoshihiko Hiroe, Motoyoshi Okumura, Kimihito Nakamura, Hideki Kawamura
  • Patent number: 8418789
    Abstract: A fan motor is controlled via a switching circuit from the moment when a cooling fan control routine is started until the moment when the rotational speed of the fan motor reaches a control-switching speed so that the higher the detected auxiliary battery voltage is when the cooling fan control is started, the lower the command duty ratio that is set. Accordingly, it is possible to activate the fan motor more reliably and to avoid generating excessive operating noise by the cooling fan when the fan motor is activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kimihito Nakamura, Yoshiaki Kikuchi, Masahito Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20100155162
    Abstract: A fan motor is controlled via a switching circuit from the moment when a cooling fan control routine is started until the moment when the rotational speed of the fan motor reaches a control-switching speed so that the higher the detected auxiliary battery voltage is when the cooling fan control is started, the lower the command duty ratio that is set. Accordingly, it is possible to activate the fan motor more reliably and to avoid generating excessive operating noise by the cooling fan when the fan motor is activated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Publication date: June 24, 2010
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kimihito Nakamura, Yoshiaki Kikuchi, Masahito Suzuki