Patents by Inventor Masato Kaigawa

Masato Kaigawa 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: 7529601
    Abstract: One of the manager control units among multiple control units includes a first coordination portion that coordinates a control target value derived based on an instruction from a driver or a first control unit and expressed by a first unit of physical quantity, with an instruction value from a second control unit and expressed by the first unit of physical quantity; a conversion portion that converts the control value expressed by the first unit of physical quantity into a control target value expressed by a second unit of physical quantity; a second coordination portion that coordinates the control target value derived by the conversion portion and expressed by the second unit of physical quantity, with an instruction value transmitted from a T/M control unit and expressed by the second unit of physical quantity; and an output portion that outputs the control target value to an engine control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2009
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20090048746
    Abstract: A vehicle cruise control apparatus is provided. The vehicle has an engine 2 mounted thereon, a function of implementing constant-speed-cruise control and transmission control. The apparatus includes demand value computation section 14, engine control section 16, expected value computation section 12, compensation section 18 and AI-shift control section 20. The section 14 computes a demand value required for realizing a target speed. The section 16 adjusts an output of the engine 2 based on the demand value. The section 12 computes an expectation value based on the vehicle driving state and the driver's driving operation state. Based on a vehicle operating state including a comparison result of the demand value and the expectation value, the section 18 selects one of the demand value and the expectation value, and changes gears based on the selected value. As a result, driver's driving operation is prevented from becoming complicated during constant-speed-cruise control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2006
    Publication date: February 19, 2009
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20090037066
    Abstract: A driving force control system includes an internal combustion engine model (1000) represented by a model linearized while including a first-order lag component, a calculator (2000) calculating deviation between target engine torque and estimated engine torque, a delay compensator (3000) compensating for response delay based on the deviation, and an adder (4000) calculating an engine controlled variable by adding delay-compensated deviation to the target engine torque.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2006
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20090024288
    Abstract: An ECU executes a program including the steps of: detecting engine speed NE based on a signal transmitted from an engine speed sensor; calculating engine speed NE with dead time of the engine with respect to a target output torque removed; calculating engine speed NE reflecting the dead time of the engine with respect to the target output torque; correcting the actual engine speed NE in accordance with a difference between the engine speed with dead time removed and the engine speed reflecting the dead time; and setting the target value of output torque in accordance with the corrected engine speed NE.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2008
    Publication date: January 22, 2009
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa, Hideki Kubonoya
  • Publication number: 20090018757
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a control device for a vehicle, having an engine 10 connected to an automatic transmission 14 via a torque converter 12 incorporating a lockup clutch 32. A fuel cutoff control is performed for interrupting the supply of fuel to the engine 10 when controlling the lockup clutch 32 during a deceleration of the vehicle. The control device is operative to interrupt the fuel cutoff control when a brake pressure PBK of a foot brake 38 for braking the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value. Accordingly, using the brake pressure PBK with increases response as a determining standard enables a sudden deceleration of the vehicle to be appropriately determined in a practical mode, appropriately enabling the suppression of engine stall while realizing improved fuel consumption.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2008
    Publication date: January 15, 2009
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Masato Kaigawa, Hidenori Saitoh, Masakazu Owatari
  • Publication number: 20090018738
    Abstract: A parameter ?(OUT) having an accelerator pedal position, a vehicle speed and a drive force as components is set according to information representing a driver's operation and information representing running environment of a vehicle. A gear is set according to the parameter ?(OUT) and a map determining the gear based on the accelerator pedal position, the vehicle speed and the drive force. A gear shift line is defined such that a rate of increase of the drive force with respect to the vehicle speed is zero or more. A down-shift line is defined such that the drive force decreases with increase in accelerator pedal position. Down-shift after up-shift as well as the up-shift after the down-shift are inhibited when both a condition that an amount of change of the accelerator pedal position after last gear shift is larger than a threshold and a condition that an amount of change of the drive force after the last gear shift is larger than the threshold are satisfied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2008
    Publication date: January 15, 2009
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20080312802
    Abstract: In a driving force control device and driving force control method according to the invention, a first target driving force is calculated based on an operation amount of an accelerator pedal by a driver, a second target driving force, which is necessary for a vehicle to maintain a constant vehicle speed or maintain a predetermined relative distance or relative speed relationship with a target object near the vehicle, is calculated, an intention of a driver to increase or reduce the vehicle speed is determined, the first target driving force and the second target driving force are coordinated with each other, using a unit of driving force, in consideration of the intention of the driver, and driving force is controlled based on a target driving force derived through a coordination process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2006
    Publication date: December 18, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20080294301
    Abstract: One of the manager control units among multiple control units includes a first coordination portion that coordinates a control target value derived based on an instruction from a driver or a first control unit and expressed by a first unit of physical quantity, with an instruction value from a second control unit and expressed by the first unit of physical quantity; a conversion portion that converts the control value expressed by the first unit of physical quantity into a control target value expressed by a second unit of physical quantity; a second coordination portion that coordinates the control target value derived by the conversion portion and expressed by the second unit of physical quantity, with an instruction value transmitted from a T/M control unit and expressed by the second unit of physical quantity; and an output portion that outputs the control target value to an engine control unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2006
    Publication date: November 27, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20080281502
    Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling a source of rotational drive force based on a target rotational speed. The control apparatus includes a target model rotational speed calculation section, an actual rotational speed detection section, and a target rotational speed adjustment section. The target model rotational speed calculation section calculates a rotational speed corresponding to a target drive force of the source as a target model rotational speed. The actual rotational speed detection section detects an actual of the source. The target rotational speed adjustment section sets the target rotational speed by correcting a value of the target model rotational speed calculated by the target model rotational speed calculation section to gradually approach the actual rotational speed detected by the actual rotational speed detection section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2008
    Publication date: November 13, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Patent number: 7451031
    Abstract: An ECT_ECU performs a program including: a step of determining whether the gears are being changed or the gears are not being changed; a step of setting the virtual gear to the current gear, if the gears are not being changed; a step of setting the virtual gear to the gear before the gears are changed, if the gears are being changed but the inertia phase has not been started; a step of setting the virtual gear to the gear after the gears are changed, if the gears are being changed and the inertia phase has been started; a step of calculating the gear-change progress ?; a step of calculating the virtual gear ratio based on the virtual gear and the gear-change progress ?; and a step of calculating the target engine torque using the virtual gear ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Patent number: 7444261
    Abstract: An ECU executes a program that includes the steps of setting a vehicle speed to the minimum wheel speed among wheel speeds of four wheels of a vehicle; calculating a difference between the wheel speeds of right and left driven wheels; turning an abnormality flag on when a higher wheel speed is higher than a value obtained by multiplaying a lower wheel speed by ?; and determining that the vehicle is turning, and turning a turning flag on, when the abnormality flag is off, a predetermined time has not elapsed after the turning flag is turned on, and the difference between the wheel speeds is equal to or larger than a map value obtained using a map where a vehicle speed is used as a parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2008
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ichiro Kitaori, Masami Kondo, Naoto Moriya, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20080140290
    Abstract: A powertrain manager executes a program including the steps of: reading an instruction gear ratio kgear(1) for transmission control; calculating an actual gear ratio kgear(2); determining that failure of an automatic transmission has occurred on a low gear side if relation of kgear(1)<{kgear(2)/?} or kgear(1)<{kgear(2)??} is satisfied; and substituting larger one of kgear(1) and kgear(2) into a gear ratio for operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2006
    Publication date: June 12, 2008
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20080140283
    Abstract: An ECU executes a program that includes the steps of: sensing an accelerator position (S100); calculating a target engine torque of a manipulating system “a” from the accelerator position (S200); holding the target engine torque of the manipulating system “a” (S300); calculating a target driving force of the manipulating system “A” from the target engine torque of the manipulating system “a” (S400); arbitrating in driving force between the target driving force of the manipulating system “A” and the target driving force of the supporting system “B” (S500); and, if the target driving force of the manipulating system “A” is selected as a result of the arbitration (NO in S600), outputting the held target engine torque of the manipulating system “a” as the target engine torque to the engine ECU (S900).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2006
    Publication date: June 12, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20080103665
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a shift-position changing mechanism that changes the shift positions of an automatic transmission mounted in a vehicle using a rotational force of an actuator based on a signal corresponding to the state of an operation member, including: a mechanism that generates a rotational force for moving the actuator toward a rotation stop positional-range corresponding to the shift position, based on a rotation stop position of the actuator; a detection unit that detects a rotation amount of the actuator; a control unit that controls the actuator based on the signal and the detected rotation amount; and a learning unit that learns the rotation stop positional-range corresponding to the shift position, based on an amount by which the actuator has been rotated since a control over the actuator executed by the control unit is stopped.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2007
    Publication date: May 1, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideki Kubonoya, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20080097674
    Abstract: An ECU executes a program that includes the steps of i) calculating a sporty running counting SC based on a state of a vehicle according to an operation of a driver; ii) changing a condition for executing sporty running in which an upshift is inhibited when an accelerator is suddenly released and in which a downshift is promoted during sudden braking such that the condition is easier to satisfy and changing a condition for returning from sporty running so that it is more difficult to satisfy when the sporty running count SC is equal to or greater than a threshold value; and iii) changing the condition for executing sporty running so that it is more difficult to satisfy and changing the condition for returning from sporty running so that it is easier to satisfy when the sporty running count SC is not equal to or greater than the threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2007
    Publication date: April 24, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji KUWAHARA, Toshihiro Fukumasu, Masami Kondo, Hideki Kubonoya, Naoto Moriya, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20080091323
    Abstract: In a vehicle integrated-control apparatus and method applied to a vehicle provided with a power train including a drive source and a transmission, a control target value is primarily derived based on an instruction provided by a driver or an automatic operating device; two control target values that are expressed in a same unit of physical quantity as that of the control target value and that differ from each other are intermediately derived based on the control target value; control targets (target engine torque, target shift speed) that are expressed by units of physical quantities or modes appropriate for control of the drive source and control of the transmission are derived based on the intermediately derived control target values, respectively; and the drive source and the transmission are controlled to achieve the finally derived control targets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2006
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Patent number: 7340335
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicular drive system, including uphill-drive-force control means and constructed to reduce a degree of uneasiness to be given to the vehicle operator during an uphill-road running of a vehicle. The uphill-drive-force control means is arranged to increase a vehicle drive force during the uphill-road running of the vehicle at a given required vehicle output as compared with a vehicle drive force during a level-road running of the vehicle at substantially the same required vehicle output, for obtaining substantially the same value of acceleration of the vehicle during the uphill-road running as that during the level-road running.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ichiro Kitaori, Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20080015755
    Abstract: The invention relates to a vehicle integrated-control apparatus and method that sets a final control target by coordinating a control target primarily set based on an input of a driver with instruction values from the control systems; and that causes a drive control system to control a drive source and a stepped automatic transmission to achieve the final control target. With this apparatus and method, at least one of the control systems, which provide instruction values to be coordinated with the primarily set control target, is notified of a range of control targets that can be achieved at a current shift speed; a range of control targets that can be achieved by changing the current shift speed to a currently achievable shift speed; and a range of control targets that can be achieved without changing the current shift speed to another shift speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2006
    Publication date: January 17, 2008
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAIS
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20070293992
    Abstract: A control target value calculation portion (42) calculates a control target value for an engine (32) based on a control instruction amount requested by a driver, which is calculated by a driver's instruction amount calculation portion (14), and control instruction amounts requested by control units such as a driver support amount calculation portion (16) and a wheel stability control amount calculation portion (18). A horsepower conversion portion (44) converts the control target value into a control target horsepower. Meanwhile, an allowable horsepower range calculation portion (40) calculates a target instruction horsepower and an allowable horsepower range based on the information from the driver's instruction amount calculation portion (14). Even when an integrated-control involving multiple control units is performed, a monitor portion (46) determines whether the control target derived through conversion is within the allowable horsepower range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2006
    Publication date: December 20, 2007
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
  • Publication number: 20070213175
    Abstract: A control device of a vehicle which switches a lockup clutch to an operating state depending upon vehicle conditions determines switching of the lockup clutch from lockup-ON switching lines established when the lockup clutch is in an engaged state, or from lockup-OFF switching lines established when the lockup clutch is in a released state. When switching of the lockup clutch is determined based on one of the lockup-ON switching lines and the lockup-OFF switching lines, a determination based on the other switching lines is selected as an effective determination about switching once the same switching of the operating state as that determined based on the above-indicated one of the switching lines is determined based on the other switching lines.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2007
    Publication date: September 13, 2007
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa