Patents by Inventor Nobuyuki Ichimaru
Nobuyuki Ichimaru 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: 20220017105Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle motion state estimation device and method that can estimate the vertical motion state amount with high accuracy by taking into consideration vertical force in which the frictional force acting in the front-rear direction or lateral direction of the wheel acts on the vehicle body due to the geometry of suspension.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 19, 2019Publication date: January 20, 2022Applicant: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.Inventors: Shingo NASU, Shinji SETO, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Ryusuke HIRAO
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Publication number: 20210323368Abstract: When a vehicle's driving situation is a rolling state, a compressor is used to transfer compressed air between left and right air suspensions of front wheels, and a compressor is used to transfer compressed air between left and right air suspensions of rear wheels. The air suspensions of the left and right front wheels and the air suspensions of the left and rear wheels thus independently generate counter rolls. This makes it possible to concurrently perform vehicle height adjustment of the air suspensions of the left and right front wheels and vehicle height adjustment of the air suspensions of the left and right rear wheels, which improves responsiveness in counter roll control.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2019Publication date: October 21, 2021Inventors: Masatoshi YAMAHATA, Yuki YOSHIDA, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU
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Publication number: 20210291607Abstract: provided is an information processing device comprising: a map database in which a control parameter for controlling the behavior of the vehicle is recorded for each vehicle type at each point on a road; a data reading unit that acquires vehicle information including at least vehicle type information and positional information of the vehicle and reads the control parameter corresponding to the travel point of the vehicle from the map database based on the vehicle information; a parameter setting unit that sets an application control parameter to be applied to control of the vehicle based on the control parameter read by the data reading unit; and a data update unit that acquires an observation value related to the behavior of the vehicle controlled based on the application control parameter from the vehicle and updates the map database based on the observation value.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 18, 2019Publication date: September 23, 2021Inventors: Akihito AKAI, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Ryusuke HIRAO
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Patent number: 11104198Abstract: A shock absorber includes an inner cylinder electrode sealingly containing electrorheological fluid therein, a piston slidably inserted in the inner cylinder electrode, and a relief valve provided on the piston and configured to relieve an actual damping force according to a desired value. The controller includes an instruction value calculation portion configured to determine a high-voltage instruction value to output to the shock absorber based on a detection value output from a sprung acceleration sensor and an unsprung acceleration sensor. The electrorheological fluid has such a characteristic that an actual damping force value output according to the instruction value output from the instruction value calculation portion increases when a temperature is low compared to when the temperature is high. The relief valve and the high-voltage instruction value are set based on the actual damping force value that output when the temperature is high.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2018Date of Patent: August 31, 2021Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.Inventors: Masatoshi Yamahata, Nobuyuki Ichimaru, Ryusuke Hirao
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Patent number: 11052719Abstract: A vehicle height adjustment device includes: vehicle height adjustment actuators provided to at least a pair of front wheels or a pair of rear wheels of a vehicle, and configured to adjust a vehicle height defined by a distance between the wheels and a vehicle body; an actuator control device configured to control the vehicle height adjustment actuators such that the vehicle height approximates to a target vehicle height; and a detection device configured to detect a physical quantity which varies as upward or downward movement of the vehicle body is restricted due to contact with an external contacted object. The actuator control device stops upward or downward movement of the vehicle body, and switches to movement in an opposite direction based on a detected value of the detection device, when the determination that the movement of the vehicle body is restricted is made by the detection device.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2017Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.Inventors: Ryusuke Hirao, Nobuyuki Ichimaru
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Publication number: 20210023904Abstract: A suspension control apparatus includes a control device configured to control a damping characteristic of each of damping force adjustable shock absorbers. The control device includes an external force calculation portion configured to calculate a total external force working on a vehicle body based on a physical amount output from a physical amount extraction portion, an operation force calculation portion configured to calculate an operation-derived force applied to each of the damping force adjustable shock absorbers according to a load movement due to an operation on the vehicle, and a vehicle behavior extraction portion configured to determine an external force derived from a road surface input by separating the operation-derived force calculated by the operation force calculation portion from the total external force calculated by the external force calculation portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2018Publication date: January 28, 2021Inventors: Kentaro KASUYA, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Ryusuke HIRAO
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Publication number: 20200406699Abstract: A shock absorber includes an inner cylinder electrode sealingly containing electrorheological fluid therein, a piston slidably inserted in the inner cylinder electrode, and a relief valve provided on the piston and configured to relieve an actual damping force according to a desired value. The controller includes an instruction value calculation portion configured to determine a high-voltage instruction value to output to the shock absorber based on a detection value output from a sprung acceleration sensor and an unsprung acceleration sensor. The electrorheological fluid has such a characteristic that an actual damping force value output according to the instruction value output from the instruction value calculation portion increases when a temperature is low compared to when the temperature is high. The relief valve and the high-voltage instruction value are set based on the actual damping force value that output when the temperature is high.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2018Publication date: December 31, 2020Inventors: Masatoshi YAMAHATA, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Ryusuke HIRAO
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Publication number: 20200331317Abstract: Provided are a vehicle, a vehicle motion state estimation apparatus, and a method for estimating a vehicle motion state capable of highly accurately estimating a state quantity of a bounce motion of a vehicle having a non-linear suspension characteristic. The vehicle motion state estimation apparatus in a vehicle, in which wheels and a vehicle body are coupled via a suspension, includes a bounce motion estimation unit that estimates and outputs a state quantity of a bounce motion of the vehicle based on traveling state information of the vehicle, and a correction value estimation unit that calculates a correction value to correct an output the bounce motion estimation unit. The correction value estimation unit calculates the correction value in consideration of a non-linear characteristic of the suspension.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 4, 2018Publication date: October 22, 2020Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.Inventors: Shingo NASU, Shinji SETO, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Ryusuke HIRAO
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Publication number: 20200298645Abstract: A vehicle height adjustment device includes: vehicle height adjustment actuators provided to at least a pair of front wheels or a pair of rear wheels of a vehicle, and configured to adjust a vehicle height defined by a distance between the wheels and a vehicle body; an actuator control device configured to control the vehicle height adjustment actuators such that the vehicle height approximates to a target vehicle height; and a detection device configured to detect a physical quantity which varies as upward or downward movement of the vehicle body is restricted due to contact with an external contacted object. The actuator control device stops upward or downward movement of the vehicle body, and switches to movement in an opposite direction based on a detected value of the detection device, when the determination that the movement of the vehicle body is restricted is made by the detection device.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 24, 2017Publication date: September 24, 2020Inventors: Ryusuke HIRAO, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU
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Publication number: 20200262477Abstract: A shock damper is disposed between a vehicle body side and a wheel side. A suspension control device calculates a damping force of the shock damper on the basis of vehicle height information and controls the damping force. A steering system includes an electric motor and a steering control device that controls the electric motor, and assists steering effort of the driver through the electric motor. The suspension control device calculates the vibration generated in a steering on the basis of a detected value of a vehicle height sensor and creates a signal for generating steering torque that reduces the generated vibration. The suspension control device outputs the created signal to the steering control device. Steering torque for cancelling steering vibration is accordingly outputted from the electric motor of the steering system.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 14, 2018Publication date: August 20, 2020Inventors: Ryusuke HIRAO, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Kentaro KASUYA
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Patent number: 10603973Abstract: The invention detects at least either one of a supply fault and a ground fault distinctively from a disconnection. A compressor relay 22 is placed between a battery 21 and an air compressor module 5. The compressor relay 22 controls the drive and stop of the air compressor module 5. A compressor driver 26 outputs a drive signal to the compressor relay 22. A ground-side voltage monitor 28 detects the drive voltage of the compressor relay 22. A pressure sensor 17 detects air pressure in a discharge side of the air compressor module 5. A microcomputer 30 of a controller 25 detects a ground fault and a disconnection of the drive signal of the compressor 22 distinctively from each other on the basis of a voltage value Vg detected by the ground-side voltage monitor 28 and a pressure valve P detected by the pressure sensor 17.Type: GrantFiled: June 15, 2016Date of Patent: March 31, 2020Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Kentaro Kasuya, Nobuyuki Ichimaru, Takahide Kobayashi, Ryusuke Hirao
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Publication number: 20200023705Abstract: A controller 10 as a generation mechanism control portion includes a base control portion 15 that determines a lower limit value on an instruction signal (i.e., a base instruction value) that serves as a lower limit on a force to be generated by a variable damper 6 (a force generation mechanism) according to at least a running speed of a vehicle. The base control portion 15 corrects the base instruction value by a base instruction value calculation portion 28 based on a result of a determination about a road surface output from a road surface determination portion 26 (i.e., a result of detection by a road surface state detection portion). A vehicle behavior control apparatus is configured to variably control a damping force characteristic of the variable damper 6 according to a road surface state with use of an instruction value output from the controller 10.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 22, 2018Publication date: January 23, 2020Inventors: Ryusuke HIRAO, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU
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Publication number: 20190263210Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle motion state estimation device capable of estimating a vertical momentum of a vehicle with high accuracy from a wheel speed sensor signal during traveling such as acceleration or deceleration, turning, or the like where wheel slips in longitudinal and lateral directions occur. The present invention estimates and removes a variation component caused by a wheel slip from variation components of a wheel speed sensor signal to extract a variation component caused by a displacement of a suspension, and estimates a vertical momentum of a vehicle from the extracted variation component caused by the displacement of the suspension.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 22, 2017Publication date: August 29, 2019Applicant: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Shingo NASU, Junya TAKAHASHI, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Ryusuke HIRAO
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Publication number: 20180319241Abstract: A suspension control apparatus that includes a vehicle behavior detection unit, a damping force adjustable shock absorber, and a controller. The damping force adjustable shock absorber includes a cylinder in which the electric rheological fluid is encapsulated, a piston, a piston rod extending to an outside of the cylinder, and an electrode configured to apply electric field to the electric rheological fluid. The controller includes a target voltage value setting unit configured to obtain a target voltage value to be applied to the electrode based on the detection result obtained by the vehicle behavior detection unit, a current detection unit configured to detect a current value exhibited when the target voltage value obtained by the target voltage value setting unit is applied, and a voltage value correction unit configured to correct the target voltage value based on the detected current value or a function of the detected current value.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 15, 2016Publication date: November 8, 2018Inventors: Ryusuke HIRAO, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU
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Patent number: 10106009Abstract: A suspension control apparatus for a vehicle including a damping-force adjustable shock absorber interposed between a vehicle body and a wheel of a vehicle, and a controller for variably controlling damping-force characteristics of the damping-force adjustable shock absorber between hard and soft. The controller is configured to switch the damping-force characteristics to a soft side when a direction of a stroke of the damping-force adjustable shock absorber is reversed between an extension stroke and a contraction stroke.Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2010Date of Patent: October 23, 2018Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Ryusuke Hirao, Takashi Nezu, Nobuyuki Ichimaru, Takahide Kobayashi
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Patent number: 10059344Abstract: A tire load calculation section of a controller calculates tire load factors of the respective wheels. A target tire load-factor calculation section calculates a tire load factor average value (?ave) obtained by averaging the tire load factors (?i) of the respective wheels as a target tire load factor. A target tire vertical-load calculation section calculates target tire vertical loads (Fzrefi) for the respective wheels so that the tire load factors of the respective wheels become equal to the tire load factor average value. A vertical-load control section and a suspension control section control thrusts of electromagnetic dampers for the respective wheels so as to achieve the target tire vertical loads.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2014Date of Patent: August 28, 2018Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Ryusuke Hirao, Nobuyuki Ichimaru, Yasuhiro Aoki, Makoto Yamakado
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Publication number: 20180194188Abstract: The invention detects at least either one of a supply fault and a ground fault distinctively from a disconnection. A compressor relay 22 is placed between a battery 21 and an air compressor module 5. The compressor relay 22 controls the drive and stop of the air compressor module 5. A compressor driver 26 outputs a drive signal to the compressor relay 22. A ground-side voltage monitor 2S detects the drive voltage of the compressor relay 22. A pressure sensor 17 detects air pressure in a discharge side of the air compressor module 5. A microcomputer 30 of a controller 25 detects a ground fault and a disconnection of the drive signal of the compressor 22 distinctively from each other on the basis of a voltage value Vg detected by the ground-side voltage monitor 28 and a pressure valve P detected by the pressure sensor 17.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 15, 2016Publication date: July 12, 2018Inventors: Kentaro KASUYA, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Takahide KOBAYASHI, Ryusuke HIRAO
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Patent number: 9731575Abstract: Shock absorbers of left and right front wheel suspensions and shock absorbers of left and right rear wheel suspensions each are constituted by a damping force adjustable hydraulic shock absorber provided with a frequency response unit. An actuator of a damping force variable mechanism provided to the shock absorber is driven and controlled by a controller. The controller variably adjusts the damping force between the soft side and the hard side by the damping force variable mechanism according to a vertical vibration when a vehicle body vertically vibrates at a low frequency. The controller does not adjust the damping force when the vehicle body vibrates at a higher frequency than the low frequency.Type: GrantFiled: March 21, 2012Date of Patent: August 15, 2017Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Hiroshi Chikuma, Ryusuke Hirao, Nobuyuki Ichimaru, Masaaki Uchiyama
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Patent number: 9718113Abstract: A press-formed product includes a body having a transverse cross section including a bottom portion and a shoulder portion contiguous to the bottom portion through an R end. In the transverse cross section, a first region from the R end to a position a distance away in a bottom portion extending direction, and a second region which is part of the bottom portion and is contiguous to the first region have a work-hardening distribution introduced by press-forming. The work-hardening distribution has an average hardness Hv1 of an area of the first region from a steel sheet surface to a depth obtained by multiplying a steel sheet thickness by 0.2 and an average hardness Hv2 of an area of the second region from the steel sheet surface to a position obtained by multiplying the steel sheet thickness by 0.2 to satisfy a relationship of Hv1>1.05×Hv2.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2012Date of Patent: August 1, 2017Assignees: NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION, TOYODA IRON WORKS CO., LTD.Inventors: Masahiro Nakata, Toshiya Suzuki, Tomokichi Tokuda, Masanobu Ichikawa, Nobuyuki Ichimaru
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Publication number: 20150066243Abstract: A tire load calculation section of a controller calculates tire load factors of the respective wheels. A target tire load-factor calculation section calculates a tire load factor average value (?ave) obtained by averaging the tire load factors (?i) of the respective wheels as a target tire load factor. A target tire vertical-load calculation section calculates target tire vertical loads (Fzrefi) for the respective wheels so that the tire load factors of the respective wheels become equal to the tire load factor average value. A vertical-load control section and a suspension control section control thrusts of electromagnetic dampers for the respective wheels so as to achieve the target tire vertical loads.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 26, 2014Publication date: March 5, 2015Inventors: Ryusuke HIRAO, Nobuyuki ICHIMARU, Yasuhiro AOKI, Makoto YAMAKADO