Patents by Inventor Osamu MUKAIHARA

Osamu MUKAIHARA 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: 11098669
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine control device that can ensure diagnosis of whether a fuel injection cut function normally works and that further permits startup of an internal combustion engine in a case in which the fuel injection cut function normally works is provided. To attain the internal combustion engine control system, the startup of the internal combustion engine is prohibited when carrying of a diagnostic monitoring current based on a diagnostic drive signal related to each of fuel injection valves to each of fuel injection valves in a case of transmitting a drive prohibition signal related to each of fuel injection valves to a fuel injection valve drive circuit before the startup of the internal combustion engine and transmitting the diagnostic drive signal related to each of fuel injection valves to the fuel injection valve drive circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Iizuka, Osamu Mukaihara, Koichi Tsukio, Takanori Umeki
  • Publication number: 20210239063
    Abstract: The present invention provides a fuel injection control apparatus that can suppress variations in fuel injection amounts in a very small fuel injection region. For this purpose, the fuel injection control apparatus includes a fixed injection pulse generator 10 and a drive current interruption unit 31. The fixed injection pulse generator 10 generates a fixed injection pulse having a valve opening timing at which a drive current is supplied to an electromagnetic coil 19 in an electromagnetic fuel injection valve 18 and a first valve closing timing at which the drive current to the electromagnetic coil 19 is interrupted. Within a period in which the fixed injection pulse is generated, the drive current interruption unit 31 determines an electric energy amount of a drive current supplied to the electromagnetic coil in response to a valve opening timing of the fixed injection pulse.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2019
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kotaro OKI, Osamu MUKAIHARA
  • Publication number: 20210180534
    Abstract: The present invention provides a high-efficiency and highly-reliable fuel injection control device that controls a fuel injection valve of an internal combustion engine and can perform injection amount control in accordance with a deterioration degree of the fuel injection valve. A fuel injection control device controlling a fuel injection valve of an internal combustion engine includes a deterioration determination unit that determines a deterioration state of the fuel injection valve, an injection amount learning unit that learns the injection amount of the fuel injection valve, and a learning frequency change unit that changes the learning frequency of the injection amount learning unit in accordance with the deterioration state of the fuel injection valve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Applicant: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Fumihiro ITABA, Osamu MUKAIHARA, Akira IIZUKA
  • Publication number: 20210164414
    Abstract: Provided is a technique for identifying a variation in an injection amount by estimating a valve opening start timing in an extremely small injection region of a half lift region. Therefore, a fuel injection control device according to the present invention estimates a valve opening start timing of a fuel injection valve by referring to a characteristic of a reference fuel injection valve acquired in advance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 4, 2019
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kotaro OKI, Osamu MUKAIHARA, Fumihiro ITABA, Akira IIZUKA
  • Publication number: 20210123393
    Abstract: Provided is a fuel injection control device capable of detecting individual differences in fuel injection valves and appropriately collecting information on the individual differences. For this reason, the fuel injection control device includes a fuel injection valve drive circuit that supplies a current or a voltage to a coil of a fuel injection valve to drive the fuel injection valve, a valve body operation time period detection unit that detects a valve body operation time period related to an operation of a valve body of the fuel injection valve, and a state determination unit that determines that at least one of the fuel injection valve, the valve body operation time period detection unit, and the fuel injection valve drive circuit is abnormal based on information related to a valve body operation time period detected by the valve body operation time period detection unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Fumihiro ITABA, Osamu MUKAIHARA
  • Patent number: 10961935
    Abstract: A drive device capable of detecting individual variations of an injection quantity of a fuel injection device of each cylinder and adjusting a current waveform provided to an injection pulse width and a solenoid such that the individual variations of the fuel injection devices are reduced. The fuel injection device in the present invention includes a valve body that close a fuel passage by coming into contact with a valve seat and opens the fuel passage by separating from the valve seat and a magnetic circuit constructed of a solenoid, a fixed core, a nozzle holder a housing and a needle and when a current is supplied to the solenoid a magnetic suction force acts on the needle and the needle has a function to open the valve body by colliding against the valve body after performing a free running operation and changes of acceleration of the needle due to collision of the needle against the valve body are detected by a current flowing through the solenoid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryo Kusakabe, Motoyuki Abe, Ayumu Hatanaka, Toshihiro Aono, Teppei Hirotsu, Hideyuki Sakamoto, Masahiro Toyohara, Osamu Mukaihara, Takao Fukuda, Yoshihito Yasukawa, Akiyasu Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 10895217
    Abstract: Provided is a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which can achieve required torque and avoid the risk of an accidental fire even in the case where an error occurs in final injection termination timing. A microcomputer calculates T902 which has been further advanced from T106 which precedes ignition timing by time required for vaporization of fuel injected into a cylinder of an internal combustion engine. The microcomputer determines whether final injection termination timing (T903) comes after T106 or T902. When it has been determined that final injection termination timing (T1204) comes after T106 or T902, the microcomputer controls an injector or an ignition device so as to secure time for vaporization of the fuel injected into the cylinder of the internal combustion engine while satisfying a fuel injection amount required in one combustion cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Osamu Mukaihara, Masahiro Toyohara, Shigeyuki Yufu
  • Patent number: 10823102
    Abstract: A control device for a fuel injection valve including a variable lift mechanism of two or more stages is provided. The control device includes an inflection point detection unit for detecting an inflection point from at least one of a drive current when the fuel injection valve is opened or a drive voltage when the fuel injection valve is closed. The control device also includes a drive sensing unit for sensing a drive lift of the fuel injection valve from at least one of an inflection point of a drive current during valve opening operation or a drive voltage during valve closing operation. The control device is configured to limit the command drive lift when the sensed drive lift is different from a command drive lift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Fumihiro Itaba, Osamu Mukaihara, Akiyasu Miyamoto, Akira Iizuka
  • Publication number: 20200340418
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine control device that can ensure diagnosis of whether a fuel injection cut function normally works and that further permits startup of an internal combustion engine in a case in which the fuel injection cut function normally works is provided. To attain the internal combustion engine control system, the startup of the internal combustion engine is prohibited when carrying of a diagnostic monitoring current based on a diagnostic drive signal related to each of fuel injection valves to each of fuel injection valves in a case of transmitting a drive prohibition signal related to each of fuel injection valves to a fuel injection valve drive circuit before the startup of the internal combustion engine and transmitting the diagnostic drive signal related to each of fuel injection valves to the fuel injection valve drive circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Inventors: Akira IIZUKA, Osamu MUKAIHARA, Koichi TSUKIO, Takanori UMEKI
  • Patent number: 10711721
    Abstract: Because the relationship of the fuel injection quantity to a designated injection period differs in a half-lift region and a full-lift region, the purpose of the present invention is to bring the flow rate characteristics of an intermediate-lift region close to the flow rate characteristics of the full-lift region and improve the controllability of small fuel injection quantities. Provided are a peak current supply period in which a valve body of a fuel injection valve causes the magnetic force necessary for a valve-opening action to be generated, and a lift quantity adjustment period in which, after the peak current supply period, a current lower than the peak current is passed for a prescribed period; further provided is a current interrupt period in which a drive current is rapidly lowered before the lift quantity adjustment period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Osamu Mukaihara, Masahiro Toyohara, Hideharu Ehara
  • Patent number: 10677184
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a drive device of a fuel injection device which can increase the accuracy in an injected fuel injection amount by combining the fuel injections from a plurality of injection pulse widths. In the drive device of the fuel injection device which has a function of driving the fuel injection device such that the fuel injection is performed plural times in one combustion cycle, the fuel injection device is driven such that a fuel injection at a target opening level in which a valve element or a movable element of the fuel injection device reaches a regulation member and a fuel injection at an intermediate opening level in which the valve element does not reach the regulation member are included in the plural times of division injections performed in one combustion cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryo Kusakabe, Toshihiro Aono, Motoyuki Abe, Takuya Mayuzumi, Masahiro Toyohara, Takashi Okamoto, Osamu Mukaihara, Shinji Nakagawa, Yusuke Kihara
  • Patent number: 10662886
    Abstract: A control device of a fuel injection device improves stabilization in an opening operation of a valve element and stabilizes an injection amount. The control device includes a valve element to open a fuel passage by being separated from a valve seat, a movable iron core to perform an opening/closing operation of the valve element, and a fixed iron core to attract the movable iron core when a current flows to a coil. The control device includes a control unit which performs an intermediate energization in which the coil is energized again to attract the movable iron core to the fixed iron core and then the energizing to the coil is blocked and the movable iron core is displaced in a direction away from the fixed core. The control unit controls whether the intermediate energization is performed according to an injection interval of the fuel injection device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Akiyasu Miyamoto, Masahiro Toyohara, Osamu Mukaihara, Yoshihito Yasukawa
  • Patent number: 10655557
    Abstract: In control device of an internal combustion engine, for each first period, a calculation unit calculates number of fuel injections within one combustion cycle and fuel injection rate. For first period, a first storage unit stores number of fuel injections and fuel injection rate of calculation unit. For each second period, a reference unit refers to the number of fuel injections and fuel injection rate stored by the first storage unit. A second storage unit stores for an interval, from the start time of the first fuel injection until start of the last fuel injection of at least one combustion cycle, the number of fuel injections and fuel injection rate referred to by reference unit. A control unit controls a fuel injection valve so that fuel is injected in accordance with the number of fuel injections fuel injection rate stored by second storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Satoshi Matsuda, Masahiro Toyohara, Osamu Mukaihara, Makoto Ijyuin
  • Publication number: 20200088123
    Abstract: In a fuel injection valve including a variable lift mechanism of two or more stages, when fuel is injected with a lift different from a command, exhaust emission deterioration and torque fluctuations may occur. A control device for a fuel injection valve including a variable lift mechanism of two or more stages is provided, which senses a drive lift of the fuel injection valve from an inflection point of a drive current during valve opening operation or a drive voltage during valve closing operation, and limits the command drive lift when the sensed drive lift is different from a command drive lift.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Applicant: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Fumihiro ITABA, Osamu MUKAIHARA, Akiyasu MIYAMOTO, Akira IIZUKA
  • Patent number: 10563612
    Abstract: Provided is a control device for an internal combustion engine capable of avoiding deterioration of combustion and reliably suppressing synthetic noise of a high pressure fuel pump and a fuel injection valve without affecting an operating state of the internal combustion engine. Therefore, when it is determined that there is synthetic noise of a high pressure fuel pump and a fuel injection valve, an operating angle of a variable valve mechanism provided in the internal combustion engine is made variable while satisfying a fuel injection request of the fuel injection valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Osamu Mukaihara, Satoshi Usui, Masahiro Toyohara
  • Patent number: 10502155
    Abstract: Provided is a control device for an internal combustion engine which can suppress a relative variation in the fuel injection amount for each cylinder. A drive pulse width to drive the fuel injection valve for injecting the fuel is calculated according to a driving state of the internal combustion engine, any one or both of a valve-opening response delay time and a valve-closing response delay time with respect to a drive pulse signal of the fuel injection valve for each fuel injection value are calculated, and the drive pulse width is corrected to make an injection amount of each fuel injection valve matched to a predetermined injection amount based on any one or both of the valve-opening response delay time and the valve-closing response delay time calculated for each fuel injection valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiro Toyohara, Osamu Mukaihara, Hideyuki Sakamoto, Takao Fukuda, Masayoshi Kawatsu
  • Patent number: 10393051
    Abstract: An internal-combustion-engine fuel injection control device which can accurately control a boosted voltage applied to a fuel injection valve during fuel injection and can control a variation in a fuel injection amount without increasing a size or a cost of the fuel injection control device even when a width of a fuel injection driving pulse to drive the fuel injection valve is small is provided. A fuel injection control device includes a boosting operation control unit configured to start a boosting operation at predetermined timing regardless of an amount of a detected voltage when the detected voltage is higher than a threshold voltage for starting boosting and is lower than a threshold voltage for stopping boosting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takao Fukuda, Hideyuki Sakamoto, Masahiro Toyohara, Yoshihisa Fujii, Osamu Mukaihara, Mitsuhiko Watanabe, Takeshi Konno
  • Publication number: 20190218990
    Abstract: An electromagnetic valve control unit for detecting operation of an electromagnetic valve on the basis of a drive voltage or a drive current applied to the electromagnetic valve. The electromagnetic valve control unit includes an A/D converter, a filter, and a detection unit. The A/D converter converts the drive voltage or the drive current into a digital signal. The filter has a gain of about zero at a predetermined frequency. The detection unit detects operation of the electromagnetic valve on the basis of an output of the filter upon input of the digital signal into the filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2019
    Publication date: July 18, 2019
    Inventors: Toshihiro AONO, Motoyuki ABE, Ryo KUSAKABE, Teppei HIROTSU, Ayumu HATANAKA, Hideyuki SAKAMOTO, Takao FUKUDA, Masahiro TOYOHARA, Osamu MUKAIHARA
  • Patent number: 10352264
    Abstract: Since a factor affecting an individual difference learning result is reduced or eliminated regardless of a valve body behavior, it is possible to highly accurately detect an individual difference of a fuel injector caused by the valve body behavior and to reliably detect the individual difference even when the fuel injector is replaced. When a valve opening/closing timing of the fuel injector is learned by a learning unit, a unit of interrupting the learning if a predetermined condition is established, a unit of prohibiting the learning of the valve closing timing using the learning unit if a predetermined condition is established, or a unit of prohibiting the learning of the valve opening/closing timing of the fuel injector using the learning unit if a fuel pressure of a common rail supplying a fuel to the plurality of fuel injectors changes by a predetermined value or more within a predetermined time is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Osamu Mukaihara, Masahiro Toyohara
  • Patent number: 10309336
    Abstract: The present invention determines whether multi-stage injection control is operating normally or abnormally, and carries out a failsafe of multi-stage injection control as necessary. The present invention, which solves the problem described above, has means such as the following.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Osamu Mukaihara, Masahiro Toyohara