Patents by Inventor Mitsuhiro YAMOTO

Mitsuhiro YAMOTO 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: 10086726
    Abstract: The seat heater control device is provided for a vehicle including a vehicle body, a vehicle seat and a seat heater. The seat heater control device includes: an electrostatic sensor provided in the vehicle seat and configured to measure capacitance between the electrostatic sensor and the vehicle body; and a controller configured to control an operation and/or an operational temperature of the seat heater, based on a measured value of the electrostatic sensor. The controller is configured to cause the seat heater to operate at a relative higher temperature when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than a first threshold and lower than a second threshold. The controller is configured to cause the seat heater to operate at a relative lower temperature when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than the second threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kengo Iwata, Masanobu Kosaka, Mitsuhiro Yamoto, Kiyonobu Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20180272973
    Abstract: An emergency notification system comprises an emergency notification unit 10, an audio control unit 30, and a speaker drive unit 40 for driving a vehicle-mounted speaker 42 based on control by the audio control unit 30, wherein the emergency notification unit 10 comprises: a muting control section 21 operable, upon receiving a vehicle emergency signal, to transmit, to the audio control unit 30, a muting request signal B for muting the vehicle-mounted speaker 42, and to receive, from the audio control unit 30, a muting confirmation signal E indicating that the vehicle-mounted speaker 42 has been muted based on the muting request signal B; and a power supply control section 23 operable, when the muting control section 21 fails to receive the muting confirmation signal E in response to the transmission of the muting request signal B, to shut off supply of electric power to the speaker drive unit 40.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masahiro KOBAYASHI, Osamu TANAKA, Yoshinori AKASAKA, Mitsuhiro YAMOTO, Masahiro SHIMOYAMA, Masanobu KOSAKA, Kengo IWATA
  • Patent number: 10052973
    Abstract: The object is to provide an occupant detection device that can accurately detect whether there is a passenger, even when a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone or the like is placed on a vehicle seat. The occupant detection device is provided for a vehicle including a vehicle body, a vehicle seat and an in-vehicle battery. The occupant detection device includes: an electrostatic sensor provided in the seat and configured to measure capacitance between the sensor and the vehicle body; an interrupting unit configured to interrupt a function of the in-vehicle battery; a controller configured to temporarily activate the interrupting unit when a measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than a predetermined threshold; and a judgement unit configured to judge that there is a passenger when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than the predetermined threshold even while the interrupting unit is activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yamoto, Kiyonobu Takahashi, Masanobu Kosaka, Kengo Iwata
  • Publication number: 20170210245
    Abstract: The object is to provide an occupant detection device that can accurately detect whether there is a passenger, even when a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone or the like is placed on a vehicle seat. The occupant detection device is provided for a vehicle including a vehicle body, a vehicle seat and an in-vehicle battery. The occupant detection device includes: an electrostatic sensor provided in the seat and configured to measure capacitance between the sensor and the vehicle body; an interrupting unit configured to interrupt a function of the in-vehicle battery; a controller configured to temporarily activate the interrupting unit when a measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than a predetermined threshold; and a judgement unit configured to judge that there is a passenger when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than the predetermined threshold even while the interrupting unit is activated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2017
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro YAMOTO, Kiyonobu TAKAHASHI, Masanobu KOSAKA, Kengo IWATA
  • Publication number: 20170210259
    Abstract: The seat heater control device is provided for a vehicle including a vehicle body, a vehicle seat and a seat heater. The seat heater control device includes: an electrostatic sensor provided in the vehicle seat and configured to measure capacitance between the electrostatic sensor and the vehicle body; and a controller configured to control an operation and/or an operational temperature of the seat heater, based on a measured value of the electrostatic sensor. The controller is configured to cause the seat heater to operate at a relative higher temperature when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than a first threshold and lower than a second threshold. The controller is configured to cause the seat heater to operate at a relative lower temperature when the measured value of the electrostatic sensor is higher than the second threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2017
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kengo IWATA, Masanobu KOSAKA, Mitsuhiro YAMOTO, Kiyonobu TAKAHASHI