Patents by Inventor Masanobu Uchinami

Masanobu Uchinami 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: 5760486
    Abstract: A charge control system for an internal combustion engine which is capable of suppressing electromagnetic noise due to a control signal to a generator, and which prevents overcharging a battery even if an input terminal receiving the control signal is grounded. The charge control system is composed of a generator 1 driven by an engine of a motor vehicle and a battery 4 charged with the output of the generator 1. Also included in the system is a computer unit 2 comprising a microcomputer CPU for calculating a target voltage Vreg on the basis of the operational states of the motor vehicle for comparison with a battery voltage Vb so as to output a drive signal in accordance with the comparison result. This drive signal operates a transistor Tr, incorporated into the generator, to control a field current 1f of the generator 1 so that the quantity of the power generation of the generator 1 increases and decreases to control the quantity of the charge to the battery 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Uchinami, Akira Morishita, Katsumi Adachi
  • Patent number: 5699769
    Abstract: A controller for a four-stroke cycle internal-combustion engine, which has a single sensor mounted on a crankshaft and employs a single sequence of position signal pulses corresponding to crank angles, achieves reduced cost and higher accuracy even for an engine with an odd number of cylinders. For each revolution of the crankshaft, a position signal pulse is issued from the sensor mounted on the crankshaft; the position signal pulse includes a reference position signal pulse in a number which is a multiple of N of the number of cylinders and a cylinder identifying signal pulse for a particular cylinder every time the crankshaft rotates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 23, 1997
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Uchinami, Koichi Yamane, Wataru Fukui
  • Patent number: 5518600
    Abstract: An oxygen concentration detection apparatus for an internal combustion engine is capable of starting feedback control of an air-fuel ratio in the shortest time possible after the engine has been started, thereby preventing the blackening of an oxygen concentration sensor 1, incorrect determination of the air-fuel ratio immediately after start of the current supply to a heating element 20, and damage to the oxygen concentration sensor 1 due to a temperature rise of the heating element 20 when the engine is cold started. A heating state of the heating element 20 of a variable resistance type, which heats the oxygen concentration sensor 1, is detected so that the current supply to an oxygen pumping device 18 is controlled in accordance with the detected state of the heating element 20.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1996
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5512813
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an AC generator output controlling apparatus which can appropriately control the generating operation timing of an AC generator and which can prevent excessive load on an internal combustion engine due to the unnecessary generating operation of the AC generator. The output controlling apparatus has an AC generator driven by an internal combustion engine to generate an AC voltage, a rectifier for converting the generated AC voltage into a DC voltage, a battery charged by the converted DC voltage, and a charge control circuit for determining a duty for a field current supplied to a field coil of the AC generator from the battery on the basis of a voltage deviation between the charged DC voltage and a predetermined target voltage of the battery, and stopping the supply of the field current when the duty amount is lower than a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 30, 1996
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5467008
    Abstract: An automotive electronic control device includes an electronic control unit 6 for controlling an automotive alternator 2 and the ISCV (Idling Speed Control Valve) 8 of the engine. To improve the mileage of the automobile, the duty factor of the alternator 2 is reduced to zero when the electric load is a light load. Further, when the increase in the load current I.sub.L during the idling is above a load current threshold increment level .DELTA..sub.LT, the ISCV (Idling Speed Control Valve) 8 is controlled to increase the air intake, and, simultaneously, the duty factor of the alternator 2 is reduced to a low level for a predetermined length of time equal to the response time in which the rpm of the engine responds to the increase of the air intake effected by means of the ISCV (Idling Speed Control Valve) 8. The duty factor of the alternator 2 is gradually increased thereafter. The idling rpm of the engine can thus be stably controlled when a heavy electric load is turned on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 14, 1995
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5349936
    Abstract: A method of diagnosing an exhaust gas recirculation control system of an engine as to occurrence of a fault in the system. The state of a pressure sensor incorporated in the exhaust gas recirculation system for controlling the recirculation is checked with the aid of various parameters involved in operation of the engine. When the pressure sensor is found as suffering from abnormality such as freezing and inoperative, execution of the diagnosis or result obtained after execution of the diagnosis is invalidated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1994
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5345908
    Abstract: An electronic control device for an internal combustion engine having a control unit for detecting a running state of an engine, and which controls a fuel quantity or an ignition timing of the engine in accordance with the running state, where the electronic control device monitors the transient running state of the engine, and includes a fuel property sensor for detecting a fuel property, such that the fuel quantity or the ignition timing is corrected in accordance with the fuel property under the transient running state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1994
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukinobu Nishimura, Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5345919
    Abstract: A fuel injection apparatus has an injector 4 for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine 1, an air passage 35 having one end connected to the injector for atomizing the fuel injected therefrom and the other end connected to an air source, an air control valve 30 disposed in the air passage for controlling the quantity of air flowing therethrough, and a control unit 37 connected to the air control valve for controlling it in accordance with operating conditions of the engine. A pressure pump 40 may also be connected in the air passage for pressurizing the air therein, together with a pressure adjuster 42 disposed in a by-pass pipe 44 for controlling the pressure within the air passage, and a check valve 46 for preventing any pressurized air back flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1994
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5301648
    Abstract: When or just after an engine (1) is started, a starting switch (9) is turned on and a value is set in a just-after-starting counter in a CPU (114). The starting or just-after-starting state is detected. Fuel temperature and fuel properties are detected by a fuel properties sensor (16). The detected values are calculated in the CPU (114). Fuel temperature detection output is corrected, then a filter value or average value is calculated and stored in RAM (114b) in the CPU (114) and just after the engine is started, based on the stored value, driving of a bypass control valve (6) and an injector (12) is controlled and the fuel amount or air amount is controlled for the engine. Thereby, it is enable optimum fuel amount control when and just after an engine is started regardless of the differences in the fuel properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 12, 1994
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5239971
    Abstract: This invention relates to a trouble diagnosis device for an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) of an internal combustion engine. In the condition that an EGR control valve is turned on and off according to whether or not the operating condition of the engine is in the EGR control zone, and a trouble diagnosis condition is satisfied, sensors detect a plurality of engine operation conditions. A trouble diagnosis device receives the output detected by one of the sensors and compares the output with a predetermined value of the same kind as the output a normal state of the EGR system corresponding to the engine condition detected by the sensors, thereby the trouble of the EGR control system is diagnosed. Specifically, one of the sensors detects NO.sub.x in exhaust gas or exhaust gas temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 31, 1993
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki K.K.
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5148369
    Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine controls a fuel supplying means by a signal generated from an air-fuel sensor so that the air-fuel ratio of a gas mixture to be sucked into the internal combustion engine becoms a target air-fuel ratio. The air-fuel ratio control apparatus corrects the target air-fuel ratio by a parameter on the condition of the engine detected by the detecting means so that a fuel supplying device is controlled to obtain a corrected target air-fuel ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1991
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1992
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Uchinami, Toshihisa Takahashi, Ryoji Nishiyama, Hiroyoshi Suzuki, Shinichi Nishida
  • Patent number: 5123392
    Abstract: In one aspect of the present invention, fuel is injected through the injector into the internal combustion engine in non-synchronism with a predetermined crank angle or a predetermined ignition timing each time when the intake air pipe pressure traverses a predetermined set value from the smaller value side to the larger value side. In another aspect of the present invention, the fuel injection is effected in non-synchronism with the predetermined crank angle or the predetermined ignition timing when the intake air pipe pressure traverses a second predetermined value which is selected among a plurality of predetermined set values (the second predetermined value being larger in the absolute value than a first set value, and being close to the first set value) in a case that a time of traversing the first and second set values of the intake air pipe pressure is shorter than a predetermined time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1992
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Uchinami, Kouichi Yamane, Koji Nishimoto
  • Patent number: 5053968
    Abstract: An air-fuel ratio control apparatus comprises a broad range air-fuel ratio sensor to detect continuously an air-fuel ratio on the basis of components of exhaust gas from an engine, a determining means to determine a correction coefficient by obtaining an error between the target air-fuel ratio and an actual air-fuel ratio, an integrating means to integrate the correction coefficient, a non-volatile memory to store the integrated value as information of correction in relation to operational conditions of the engine, a processing means to calculate a basic fuel injection quantity on the basis of the operational conditions of the engine, and a correction means to correct the basic fuel injection quantity depending on the information of correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1991
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki K.K.
    Inventor: Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5044342
    Abstract: An automotive fuel injection system for detecting as quickly as possible the occurrence of acceleration without employing a throttle sensor to thereby perform an asynchronous fuel injection for the purpose of maintaining the air-to-fuel ratio of the combustible air-fuel mixture at an optimum value during the acceleration of the automotive engine. The automotive fuel injection system comprises a device for comparing the pressure inside the fuel intake system with an average value of the pressures inside the fuel intake system. When the pressure prevailing in the fuel intake system deviates by a predetermined quantity from the average pressure inside the fuel intake system, acceleration is deemed as actually occurring in the automotive engine and, hence, asynchronous fuel injection is effected substantially simultaneously with the detection of the occurrence of engine acceleration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1991
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kouichi Yamane, Koji Nishimoto, Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 5035220
    Abstract: A fuel controller for an internal combustion engine has a misfiring sensor which can detect when misfiring occurs in an engine cylinder. When misfiring is detected, the fuel injector corresponding to the misfiring cylinder is prevented from supplying fuel to the misfiring cylinder, while the fuel injectors for the other cylinders continue to operate normally. The fuel injector for the misfiring cylinder can be disabled by a switching circuit which turns off a power amplifier for driving the fuel injector. Misfiring can be detected by sensing changes in the rotational speed of the engine between prescribed crankshaft angles due to a reduction in torque when misfiring occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1991
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki K.K.
    Inventors: Masanobu Uchinami, Toshihisa Takahashi
  • Patent number: 4982714
    Abstract: In an air-fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, an air-fuel ratio sensor detects an air-fuel ratio in response to specified components contained in exhaust gas and an electronic control section receives a signal from the air-fuel ratio sensor to calculate an amount of fuel to be injected from a fuel supplying device so that the air-fuel ratio of a gas mixture to be supplied to the engine approaches a target air-fuel ratio. A parameter of a load for the engine and an engine revolution number are each detected, and the electronic control section calculates a correction coefficient on the basis of the parameter of the load and the engine revolution number, whereby the output of the air-fuel ratio sensor is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 8, 1991
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshihisa Takahashi, Masanobu Uchinami, Shinichi Nishida, Hitoshi Inoue
  • Patent number: 4967727
    Abstract: A fuel controller for an internal combustion engine has a microprocessor which calculates the air intake rate per cylinder per suction stroke of the engine. The microprocessor detects misfiring when the air intake rate undergoes a large increase, due to a fall in enginie rotational speed caused by misfiring. The microprocessor prevents the fuel injector of a misfiring cylinder from supplying fuel to the misfiring cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 6, 1990
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshihisa Takahashi, Masanobu Uchinami
  • Patent number: 4958611
    Abstract: The air-fuel (A/F) ratio controller of an internal combustion engine related to the invention detects occurrence of abnormal condition in a heater on the basis of the resistance value of this heater which heats an oxygen sensor generating a specific voltage responsive to the difference of oxygen concentration between atmosphere and exhaust gas of the engine and of an oxygen pump allowing the pump current flow in order that the voltage can be the predetermined value. If abnormal condition arises in the heater, the A/F ratio controller stops fuel feedback control operation. The A/F ratio controller related to the invention forms a Wheatstone bridge circuit which includes the heater mentioned above and detects occurrence of an abnormal condition in the heater on the basis of the equilibrium condition of signal outputted from the Wheatstone bridge circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 25, 1990
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Uchinami, Toshihisa Takahashi, Hitoshi Inoue, Takahiro Moronaga, Shinichi Nishida
  • Patent number: 4947819
    Abstract: The invention relates to an air-fuel (A/F) ratio controller of an internal combustion engine, which is provided with a constant-voltage circuit between the heater for heating the A/F ratio sensor and the power-supply source. Regardless of variation of voltage outputted from the power-supply source, the A/F ratio controller securely maintains the heater voltage constant and prevents occurrence of error in the signal outputted from the A/F ratio sensor by correctly operating the oxygen-concentration detecting element whose measuring precision is solely dependent on temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1989
    Date of Patent: August 14, 1990
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshihisa Takahashi, Masanobu Uchinami, Ryoji Nishiyama, Seiya Kominami, Shinichi Nishida
  • Patent number: 4920941
    Abstract: A fuel injection control apparatus comprises a load detecting means to detect a load to an engine to thereby generate a signal, a basic injection quantity operating means to operate the signal so as to obtain the pulse width of a basic fuel-injection time for a fuel injector in response to the condition of load, and a limiting means which conducts a dulling treatment to the basic fuel injection pulse width so that limitation of the fuel injection pulse width of the fuel injector in response to a value modified by the dulling treatment is determined on the basis of a limit value correction coefficient in accordance with the condition of load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 1, 1990
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toyoaki Fukui, Shogo Omori, Masanobu Uchinami