Patents by Inventor Motohiro Higuma
Motohiro Higuma 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).
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Publication number: 20170137004Abstract: The present invention provides a vehicle control apparatus capable of ensuring drivability when a vehicle is turning. The vehicle control apparatus calculates a vehicle body speed based on a wheel speed of each of wheels, and controls a slip state of each of the wheels according to states of a corrected wheel speed, which is acquired by correcting the wheel speed based on vehicle specifications indicating a position of each of the wheels, and based on the vehicle body speed.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 13, 2015Publication date: May 18, 2017Inventors: Keisuke SUZUKI, Motohiro HIGUMA
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Patent number: 8727455Abstract: A brake control apparatus for a vehicle having a regenerative braking system, has first to fourth brake circuits, a pump, a gate-out valve, an inflow valve, an outflow valve, a reservoir, a fluid suction cylinder, a branch oil passage, a switch valve, a regulation valve, and a hydraulic pressure control unit. The hydraulic pressure control unit controls a brake fluid pressure by operating the gate-out valve, the inflow valve, the outflow valve, the switch valve and the pump in accordance with a regenerative operation state of the regenerative braking system. Also the hydraulic pressure control unit stores the brake fluid flowing out from a master cylinder in the fluid suction cylinder by operating the pump when the regenerative braking system works, and supplies the brake fluid stored in the fluid suction cylinder to a wheel cylinder when a regenerative braking amount of the regenerative braking system lowers.Type: GrantFiled: October 20, 2011Date of Patent: May 20, 2014Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.Inventors: Motohiro Higuma, Kotaro Koyama
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Patent number: 8562080Abstract: A brake system provided with a brake booster using intake negative pressure of an engine for boosting a brake operating force for a vehicle. A requested braking force is detected base on an operating amount of a brake pedal, and when the requested braking force is less than a threshold value, a master cylinder pressure prevailing in the master cylinder using an operating force boosted by the brake booster is supplied to the wheel cylinder. On the other hand, when the requested braking force is greater than or equal to the threshold value, brake fluid pressure having been boosted by a pump is supplied to the wheel cylinder. The threshold value is set to a value that becomes greater the larger the negative pressure inside the brake booster.Type: GrantFiled: March 12, 2009Date of Patent: October 22, 2013Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hideki Sekiguchi, Toshiya Oosawa, Satoru Watanabe, Tomoyuki Murakami, Akihiro Sato, Motohiro Higuma
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Patent number: 8469463Abstract: [OBJECT] To provide a brake control apparatus and method for controlling the brake which is capable of preventing a fluctuation of a brake pedal stroke amount when switching a regenerative braking force to a hydraulic braking force.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 2009Date of Patent: June 25, 2013Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.Inventors: Hiroki Sonoda, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20120161504Abstract: A brake control apparatus for a vehicle having a regenerative braking system, has first to fourth brake circuits, a pump, a gate-out valve, an inflow valve, an outflow valve, a reservoir, a fluid suction cylinder, a branch oil passage, a switch valve, a regulation valve, and a hydraulic pressure control unit. The hydraulic pressure control unit controls a brake fluid pressure by operating the gate-out valve, the inflow valve, the outflow valve, the switch valve and the pump in accordance with a regenerative operation state of the regenerative braking system. Also the hydraulic pressure control unit stores the brake fluid flowing out from a master cylinder in the fluid suction cylinder by operating the pump when the regenerative braking system works, and supplies the brake fluid stored in the fluid suction cylinder to a wheel cylinder when a regenerative braking amount of the regenerative braking system lowers.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 20, 2011Publication date: June 28, 2012Inventors: Motohiro HIGUMA, Kotaro Koyama
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Patent number: 7822525Abstract: In brake liquid pressure control, a time wasted after the control is started until brake application is actually started is reduced and pulsation noise of brake liquid pressure is reduced. When automatic following control of a vehicle is being operated, a motor for pressure increase is set to idle if a predetermined condition at which the vehicle starts deceleration is reached before an automatic brake command is issued from an automatic following control device. Further, when the throttle of an engine is at predetermined condition at which rapid acceleration does not occur, brake liquid pressure is increased to a level at which the vehicle does not decelerate.Type: GrantFiled: September 14, 2005Date of Patent: October 26, 2010Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Taisetsu Tanimichi, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20100191423Abstract: In a vehicle rollover prevention control apparatus employing a brake system serving as an actuator configured to control a dynamic behavior of a vehicle, a steering-input decision section is provided to make a rollover prediction, based on a driver-applied steering input, whether a predetermined level of roll motion for the vehicle occurs, and also to detect a driver-applied steering-back action. Also provided is an active rollover prevention control intervention decision section configured to make a rollover decision about rollover of the vehicle when the driver-applied steering-back action has been detected. An active rollover prevention control section is configured to execute rollover prevention control by controlling the actuator, when it is predicted for the predetermined level of roll motion to occur by the steering-input decision section and the rollover decision that rollover will occur has been made by the active rollover prevention control section.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 29, 2009Publication date: July 29, 2010Inventors: Kotaro KOYAMA, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20100187901Abstract: To provide a brake control apparatus and method for controlling the brake which is capable of preventing a fluctuation of a brake pedal stroke amount when switching a regenerative braking force to a hydraulic braking force.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 30, 2009Publication date: July 29, 2010Inventors: Hiroki SONODA, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20100070151Abstract: An accelerator pedal operation condition detecting section detects an operation condition of the accelerator pedal, a brake pedal operation condition detecting section detects an operation condition of the brake pedal; an inter-vehicular distance detecting section detects a distance between an own-vehicle and a forward-vehicle and a speed control section controls a speed of the own-vehicle. A control unit is configured to keep a relative positional relation between the own-vehicle and the forward-vehicle when the detected inter-vehicular distance is smaller than a predetermined reference inter-vehicular distance and the operation condition detected by the accelerator pedal operation condition detecting section and the brake pedal operation condition detecting section indicates a predetermined operation condition.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 16, 2009Publication date: March 18, 2010Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.Inventors: Hiroki Sonoda, Motohiro Higuma, Akira Takahashi, Jun Kubo, Toshiya Oosawa
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Publication number: 20090261649Abstract: The present invention provides a brake booster in which an excellent pedal feeling can be provided even though a brake fluid pressure control unit is disposed between the brake booster and a wheel cylinder. The brake booster according to the present invention performs different methods for controlling a booster based on whether the fluid pressure control unit is in operation, and controls a displacement amount of an assist member so that a change in a master cylinder pressure is within a predetermined range even when the fluid pressure control unit is in operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 23, 2009Publication date: October 22, 2009Inventors: Motohiro Higuma, Kazuya Yamano, Takanobu Saito, Satoru Kuragaki
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Publication number: 20090230761Abstract: A brake system provided with a brake booster using intake negative pressure of an engine for boosting a brake operating force for a vehicle. A requested braking force is detected base on an operating amount of a brake pedal, and when the requested braking force is less than a threshold value, a master cylinder pressure prevailing in the master cylinder using an operating force boosted by the brake booster is supplied to the wheel cylinder. On the other hand, when the requested braking force is greater than or equal to the threshold value, brake fluid pressure having been boosted by a pump is supplied to the wheel cylinder. The threshold value is set to a value that becomes greater the larger the negative pressure inside the brake booster.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 12, 2009Publication date: September 17, 2009Inventors: Hideki Sekiguchi, Toshiya Oosawa, Satoru Watanabe, Tomoyuki Murakami, Akihiro Sato, Motohiro Higuma
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Patent number: 7558662Abstract: In vehicular driving control apparatus and method, a steering assistance force provided for steerable road wheels of the vehicle in a direction at which a sideslip angle is decreased when a vehicular sideslip angle which is a difference between a forwarding direction of the vehicle and a steering direction of a steering wheel of the vehicle is detected and a vehicular oversteer state is detected, and thereafter, each of road wheels of the vehicle is controlled to decrease the sideslip angle when the steering assistance force is provided in a direction at which the vehicular sideslip angle is decreased and when the sideslip angle is equal to or larger than a predetermined value.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 2006Date of Patent: July 7, 2009Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Naoshi Yamaguchi, Mitsuo Sasaki, Kazuya Yamano, Toru Takahashi, Motohiro Higuma
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Patent number: 7527339Abstract: A brake control system for a motor vehicle comprising a brake control unit which controls increasing and decreasing of a brake pressure of a wheel cylinder from a pressure source by driving plural solenoid valves without a brake operation by a driver. The system comprises a flow back control unit which controls the brake pressure of a wheel cylinder to drive the plural solenoid valves before control by the brake control unit and returns the brake fluid to the pressure source from the wheel cylinder.Type: GrantFiled: September 6, 2005Date of Patent: May 5, 2009Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Isamu Iizuka, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20090088940Abstract: In brake liquid pressure control, a time wasted after the control is started until brake application is actually started is reduced and pulsation noise of brake liquid pressure is reduced. When automatic following control of a vehicle is being operated, a motor for pressure increase is set to idle if a predetermined condition at which the vehicle starts deceleration is reached before an automatic brake command is issued from an automatic following control device. Further, when the throttle of an engine is at predetermined condition at which rapid acceleration does not occur, brake liquid pressure is increased to a level at which the vehicle does not decelerate.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 14, 2005Publication date: April 2, 2009Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Taisetsu Tanimichi, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20080295506Abstract: A hydraulic circuit includes a first pressurizing section for pressurizing a wheel cylinder by operating a master cylinder, and a second pressurizing section for pressurizing the wheel cylinder independently of operation of the master cylinder.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 30, 2008Publication date: December 4, 2008Inventors: Takanobu Saito, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20070032937Abstract: In vehicular driving control apparatus and method, a steering assistance force provided for steerable road wheels of the vehicle in a direction at which a sideslip angle is decreased when a vehicular sideslip angle which is a difference between a forwarding direction of the vehicle and a steering direction of a steering wheel of the vehicle is detected and a vehicular oversteer state is detected, and thereafter, each of road wheels of the vehicle is controlled to decrease the sideslip angle when the steering assistance force is provided in a direction at which the vehicular sideslip angle is decreased and when the sideslip angle is equal to or larger than a predetermined value.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 19, 2006Publication date: February 8, 2007Inventors: Naoshi Yamaguchi, Mitsuo Sasaki, Kazuya Yamano, Toru Takahashi, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20060049687Abstract: A brake control system for a motor vehicle comprising a brake control unit which controls increasing and decreasing of a brake pressure of a wheel cylinder from a pressure source by driving plural solenoid valves without a brake operation by a driver. The system comprises a flow back control unit which controls the brake pressure of a wheel cylinder to drive the plural solenoid valves before control by the brake control unit and returns the brake fluid to the pressure source from the wheel cylinder.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 6, 2005Publication date: March 9, 2006Inventors: Isamu Iizuka, Motohiro Higuma
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Patent number: 6945612Abstract: A brake control system includes a brake line with a supply line, a pump for supplying brake fluid to the supply line, branch lines branched from the supply line to wheel cylinders, a pressure controller for allowing independent control of brake-fluid pressures within the wheel cylinders, and an ECU for controlling the pump and the pressure controller. The ECU includes an estimate part for estimating the pressures within the wheel cylinders in accordance with a flow amount of brake fluid obtained out of signals indicative of braking conditions, wherein it is estimated an amount of brake fluid flowing from the supply line to the wheel cylinder during execution of brake-fluid pressure control of the ECU and when the control is switched to pressure-increase control for the wheel cylinder having the pressure lower than that in the supply line, and wherein it is estimated the pressure within the wheel cylinder in accordance with the amount of brake fluid as estimated.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2002Date of Patent: September 20, 2005Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Masamichi Imamura, Motohiro Higuma
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Publication number: 20030111896Abstract: A brake control system includes a brake line with a supply line, a pump for supplying brake fluid to the supply line, branch lines branched from the supply line to wheel cylinders, a pressure controller for allowing independent control of brake-fluid pressures within the wheel cylinders, and an ECU for controlling the pump and the pressure controller. The ECU includes an estimate part for estimating the pressures within the wheel cylinders in accordance with a flow amount of brake fluid obtained out of signals indicative of braking conditions, wherein it is estimated an amount of brake fluid flowing from the supply line to the wheel cylinder during execution of brake-fluid pressure control of the ECU and when the control is switched to pressure-increase control for the wheel cylinder having the pressure lower than that in the supply line, and wherein it is estimated the pressure within the wheel cylinder in accordance with the amount of brake fluid as estimated.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 17, 2002Publication date: June 19, 2003Applicant: HITACHI UNISIA AUTOMOTIVE, LTD.Inventors: Masamichi Imamura, Motohiro Higuma