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).

  • Publication number: 20170137004
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventors: Keisuke SUZUKI, Motohiro HIGUMA
  • Patent number: 8727455
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Motohiro Higuma, Kotaro Koyama
  • Patent number: 8562080
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideki Sekiguchi, Toshiya Oosawa, Satoru Watanabe, Tomoyuki Murakami, Akihiro Sato, Motohiro Higuma
  • Patent number: 8469463
    Abstract: [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: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Sonoda, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20120161504
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2011
    Publication date: June 28, 2012
    Inventors: Motohiro HIGUMA, Kotaro Koyama
  • Patent number: 7822525
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Taisetsu Tanimichi, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20100191423
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2009
    Publication date: July 29, 2010
    Inventors: Kotaro KOYAMA, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20100187901
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2009
    Publication date: July 29, 2010
    Inventors: Hiroki SONODA, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20100070151
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2009
    Publication date: March 18, 2010
    Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Sonoda, Motohiro Higuma, Akira Takahashi, Jun Kubo, Toshiya Oosawa
  • Publication number: 20090261649
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2009
    Publication date: October 22, 2009
    Inventors: Motohiro Higuma, Kazuya Yamano, Takanobu Saito, Satoru Kuragaki
  • Publication number: 20090230761
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Publication date: September 17, 2009
    Inventors: Hideki Sekiguchi, Toshiya Oosawa, Satoru Watanabe, Tomoyuki Murakami, Akihiro Sato, Motohiro Higuma
  • Patent number: 7558662
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoshi Yamaguchi, Mitsuo Sasaki, Kazuya Yamano, Toru Takahashi, Motohiro Higuma
  • Patent number: 7527339
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2009
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Isamu Iizuka, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20090088940
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2005
    Publication date: April 2, 2009
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Taisetsu Tanimichi, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20080295506
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Publication date: December 4, 2008
    Inventors: Takanobu Saito, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20070032937
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2006
    Publication date: February 8, 2007
    Inventors: Naoshi Yamaguchi, Mitsuo Sasaki, Kazuya Yamano, Toru Takahashi, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20060049687
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2005
    Publication date: March 9, 2006
    Inventors: Isamu Iizuka, Motohiro Higuma
  • Patent number: 6945612
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masamichi Imamura, Motohiro Higuma
  • Publication number: 20030111896
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Publication date: June 19, 2003
    Applicant: HITACHI UNISIA AUTOMOTIVE, LTD.
    Inventors: Masamichi Imamura, Motohiro Higuma