Patents by Inventor Satoshi Furukawa

Satoshi Furukawa 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: 7069139
    Abstract: A control device for an internal combustion engine comprises an air flow meter arranged in the intake passage. The air flow meter includes a main passage and a bypass passage and detects a flow rate of air flowing through the bypass passage to detect a flow rate of air flowing through an intake passage. A current intake air flow rate is calculated based on a current throttle opening. When the rapid acceleration of the engine is in process, an air flow meter-detecting intake air flow rate, assuming that air flows through the intake passage at the current intake air flow rate, is estimated considering the pressure loss of the bypass passage of the air flow meter. When an operation other than the rapid acceleration is in process, it is estimated ignoring the pressure loss. The fuel injection amount is calculated from the estimated air flow meter-detecting intake air flow rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Satoshi Furukawa, Isamu Toshimitsu
  • Publication number: 20060105873
    Abstract: A stock rubber is provided with chopped aramid fibers and chopped polyester fibers blended in the rubber component, which is EPDM. The chopped polyester fibers are longer than the chopped aramid fibers. A transmission V-belt is obtained and molded from the stock rubber. When molding, the chopped aramid fibers and the chopped polyester fibers are oriented in a width direction of a belt body of the V-belt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2003
    Publication date: May 18, 2006
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Sato, Masami Sato, Tsutomu Tokunaga, Satoshi Furukawa
  • Publication number: 20060089780
    Abstract: An intake passage upstream of a throttle valve is divided into a plurality of intake divided-flow conduits, and air flow meters are arranged in the respective intake divided-flow conduits. The throttle opening is obtained, and a throttle valve passing-through air amount, which is an amount of air passing through the throttle valve, is calculated on the basis of the throttle opening. Each air flow meter-detecting intake air amount, which is an intake air amount to be detected by the air flow meter, assuming that air flows through each intake divided-flow conduit by a part of the throttle valve passing-through air amount, the part being determined by a divided-flow ratio of the corresponding intake divided-flow conduit, is estimated, and a total value of the estimated air flow meter-detecting intake air amounts is then estimated. The engine is controlled on the basis of the total air flow meter-detecting intake air amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2005
    Publication date: April 27, 2006
    Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Satoshi Furukawa, Naoki Maeda
  • Publication number: 20060069491
    Abstract: A control device for an internal combustion engine comprises an air flow meter arranged in the intake passage. The air flow meter includes a main passage and a bypass passage and detects a flow rate of air flowing through the bypass passage to detect a flow rate of air flowing through an intake passage. A current intake air flow rate is calculated based on a current throttle opening. When the rapid acceleration of the engine is in process, an air flow meter-detecting intake air flow rate, assuming that air flows through the intake passage at the current intake air flow rate, is estimated considering the pressure loss of the bypass passage of the air flow meter. When an operation other than the rapid acceleration is in process, it is estimated ignoring the pressure loss. The fuel injection amount is calculated from the estimated air flow meter-detecting intake air flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2005
    Publication date: March 30, 2006
    Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Satoshi Furukawa, Isamu Toshimitsu
  • Publication number: 20060069492
    Abstract: A control device able to find the intake air flow rate in an internal combustion engine having a plurality of intake passages upstream of a throttle valve is provided. The control device finds the intake air flow rate of the internal combustion engine by converting an output voltage of each of air flow sensors provided in the intake passages to a flow rate based on a relationship between an output voltage and flow rate found in advance for each air flow sensor, correcting the obtained flow rate in accordance with temperature characteristics of each the air flow sensor, and adding the corrected flow rates to calculate a total flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2005
    Publication date: March 30, 2006
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Satoshi Furukawa, Naoki Maeda
  • Publication number: 20060016254
    Abstract: An intake air flow detecting device is provided to an intake air passage, through which intake air flows into an internal combustion engine. Intake air flow is divided into a main passage and a bypass passage. The detecting device includes a thermal air flowmeter, a bypass flow delay information calculating means, and a response delay compensating means. The thermal air flowmeter includes a detector arranged in the bypass passage for detecting an air flow amount in the intake air passage. The bypass flow delay information calculating means calculates a bypass flow delay information representing delay in variation in a flow amount in the bypass passage with respect to variation in a flow amount in the main passage. The response delay compensating means compensates delay in response of the air flowmeter in accordance with the bypass flow delay information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2005
    Publication date: January 26, 2006
    Applicants: Denso Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuo Okuda, Masakazu Yamada, Satoshi Furukawa, Minoru Kondo, Noboru Kitahara, Shigeru Kamio, Harufumi Muto
  • Publication number: 20050265605
    Abstract: An object recognition system utilizes a mask locator for extracting a mask area (M) from within a subject image in order to recognize the mask area (M) with a subject image. The mask locator (40) refers to density gradient directional images respectively converted from an image size template and the subject image, and analyzes these density gradient directional images particularly with respect to the density gradient directional values (?T, ?S) assigned to each pixel in each directional images to obtain parameters linking the image size template to the mask area (M) to be registered with the image size template. The mask locator has a vote module (60) which gives candidates for the center of the mask by varying the parameters and votes on the candidates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Inventors: Eiji Nakamoto, Kenichi Hagio, Atsuyuki Hirono, Satoshi Furukawa
  • Publication number: 20050264691
    Abstract: The scan converter comprises first and second memories 3, 7, a frame. memory 5 having a write period and a read period, a video data input circuit 2 for writing data at a first transfer rate into the memory 3, a video data output circuit 8 for outputting the data from the memory 7 at a third transfer rate. The transfer rate between the memories 3, 7 and the memory 5 is twice as fast as the first or third transfer rate, whichever is faster, and the memories 3 has data storage capacities greater than an amount of the data to be written into the memory 5 in each write period, and the memories 7 has data storage capacities greater than an amount of the data to be read from the memory 5 in each read period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Inventors: Junpei Endo, Satoshi Furukawa, Kenichi Hagio
  • Publication number: 20050265626
    Abstract: An image processor is provided, which has the capability of detecting an object such as a human face from an image taken against the sun with high accuracy. An image signal provided from an image pickup unit is adjusted at an analog gain by an image adjuster. An output of the image adjuster is converted into a digital image data, and stored in a memory. A feature of the object is extracted from this digital image data to detect an object area in the image. When the object area is not detected, an analog-gain controller sends an analog-gain control signal to the image adjuster in a feedback manner-such that the image signal provided from the image pickup unit is adjusted at a different analog gain. Thus, the treatment of detecting the object area is repeated at different analog gains.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
    Inventors: Junpei Endo, Motoo Ikari, Satoshi Furukawa, Kenichi Hagio
  • Publication number: 20050178946
    Abstract: A spatial information detecting apparatus using an intensity-modulated light has a photoelectric converter for receiving a light provided from a space, into which a light intensity-modulated by a predetermined modulation signal is being irradiated, and generating amounts of electric charges corresponding to an intensity of received light; charge discarding portion having an electrode for removing dispensable charges from the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converter according to a voltage applied to the electrode; charge storage portion for storing signal charges from the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converter; control circuit for controlling the voltage applied to the electrode at a timing synchronized with a period of the modulation signal to change a ratio of the signal charges stored in the charge storage portion to the electric charges generated by the photoelectric converter; charge ejector for outputting the signal charges from the charge storage portion; and an analy
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2003
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Applicant: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC WORKS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yusuke Hashimoto, Yuji Takada, Fumikazu Kurihara, Satoshi Furukawa, Motoo Ikari
  • Patent number: 6879904
    Abstract: In an internal combustion engine, at least one of the pressure and temperature in an intake passage downstream of a throttle valve is calculated using an expression of a relationship established based on the law of conservation of mass among an amount of air passing the throttle valve and flowing into the intake passage, an amount of exhaust gas passing an exhaust gas flow control valve and flowing into the intake passage, and an amount of gas flowing from the intake passage into a cylinder of the engine, and an expression of a relationship established based on the law of conservation of energy among an amount of energy of the air passing the throttle valve and flowing into the intake passage, an amount of energy of the exhaust gas passing the exhaust gas flow control valve and flowing into the intake passage, and an amount of energy of the gas flowing from the intake passage into the cylinder of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Daisuke Kobayashi, Satoshi Furukawa
  • Publication number: 20040122584
    Abstract: In an internal combustion engine, at least one of the pressure and temperature in an intake passage downstream of a throttle valve is calculated using an expression of a relationship established based on the law of conservation of mass among an amount of air passing the throttle valve and flowing into the intake passage, an amount of exhaust gas passing an exhaust gas flow control valve and flowing into the intake passage, and an amount of gas flowing from the intake passage into a cylinder of the engine, and an expression of a relationship established based on the law of conservation of energy among an amount of energy of the air passing the throttle valve and flowing into the intake passage, an amount of energy of the exhaust gas passing the exhaust gas flow control valve and flowing into the intake passage, and an amount of energy of the gas flowing from the intake passage into the cylinder of the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2003
    Publication date: June 24, 2004
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Daisuke Kobayashi, Satoshi Furukawa
  • Patent number: 6644104
    Abstract: An intake air-flow rate detecting apparatus of an internal combustion engine according to the present invention has a thermal air-flow sensor for detecting an intake air-flow rate of the internal combustion engine, and a response lag compensator for compensating for a response lag of the air-flow sensor, using a first-order lag element concerning a heat release amount in the air-flow sensor. Since the response lag process is carried out on the dimension of the heat release amount, the response lag of the air-flow sensor can be compensated for with accuracy and the response lag of the thermal air-flow sensor can be compensated for with high accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Daisuke Kobayashi, Satoshi Furukawa
  • Patent number: 6639656
    Abstract: Disclosed is a distance measuring apparatus for measuring a distance to a target object also its shape precisely without influence of noise, which is applied to a invader monitoring system. This apparatus comprises a clock signal generator unit, a modulated light projector unit, a light receiver unit, and a demodulator unit, and obtains a range image presenting signal levels changing according to the distances to the objects including the target object by irradiating light onto the objects and receiving reflected light. In the demodulator unit, the range image is processed for evaluating and removing noise components, for interpolating and averaging noise removed region, and for selecting the target object region. Those processes are carried out from the following point of view, the variation of the distance signal levels, the received quantity of light, and the variation of the received quantity of light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Takada, Satoshi Furukawa, Atsuyuki Hirono, Motoo Ikari
  • Publication number: 20020131033
    Abstract: Disclosed is a distance measuring apparatus for measuring a distance to a target object also its shape precisely without influence of noise, which is applied to a invader monitoring system. This apparatus comprises a clock signal generator unit, a modulated light projector unit, a light receiver unit, and a demodulator unit, and obtains a range image presenting signal levels changing according to the distances to the objects including the target object by irradiating light onto the objects and receiving reflected light. In the demodulator unit, the range image is processed for evaluating and removing noise components, for interpolating and averaging noise removed region, and for selecting the target object region. Those processes are carried out from the following point of view, the variation of the distance signal levels, the received quantity of light, and the variation of the received quantity of light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2002
    Publication date: September 19, 2002
    Applicant: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC WORKS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuji Takada, Satoshi Furukawa, Atsuyuki Hirono, Motoo Ikari
  • Publication number: 20020035868
    Abstract: An intake air-flow rate detecting apparatus of an internal combustion engine according to the present invention has a thermal air-flow sensor for detecting an intake air-flow rate of the internal combustion engine, and a response lag compensator for compensating for a response lag of the air-flow sensor, using a first-order lag element concerning a heat release amount in the air-flow sensor. Since the response lag process is carried out on the dimension of the heat release amount, the response lag of the air-flow sensor can be compensated for with accuracy and the response lag of the thermal air-flow sensor can be compensated for with high accuracy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Harufumi Muto, Daisuke Kobayashi, Satoshi Furukawa
  • Patent number: 6079862
    Abstract: Automatic tracking lighting equipment for automatically tracking a target to be illuminated. A spotlight is supported for pivoting in horizontal and vertical directions on a ceiling surface. A horizontal drive mechanism changes the horizontal angle of the spotlight and a vertical drive mechanism changes the vertical angle of the spotlight. A CCD camera picks up the image of a target area to be illuminated. An image recognition unit processes the image from the CCD camera to recognize the target to be illuminated and to specify its coordinates. A coordinate calculation unit calculates how far to move the spotlight based on a distance of the target to be illuminated. A movable control unit converts the output of the coordinate calculation unit into drive signals for the horizontal drive mechanism and for the vertical drive mechanism and outputs drive signals to pivot the spotlight in a desired direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshikazu Kawashima, Minoru Yoshida, Satoshi Furukawa, Kenichi Hagio
  • Patent number: 5815199
    Abstract: An interphone with television includes a terminal device having a wide-angle image input camera, an image output circuit, and a master device for receiving an image signal from the image output circuit. The master device converts the image to a digital format and stores the image signal in an image memory. The image may be panned, magnified, and corrected using digital processing techniques. The contents of the image memory are converted to an analogue signal for reproduction on a monitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1998
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
    Inventors: Stephen Ray Palm, Satoshi Furukawa, Kenichi Hagio
  • Patent number: 5684843
    Abstract: A data transmission system includes a polling modem and a central control unit that receives a response signal from a terminal. A data transmission central control unit performs polling type transmission to transmit an information data unit to the terminal that has requested the information data unit. The central control unit also performs loop type transmission to cyclically transmit information data units with their loop flags being set to the terminals in succession. The control portion in the terminals selects the transmission that requires the shortest waiting time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignees: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Xing Inc.
    Inventors: Satoshi Furukawa, Yukie Hasegawa, Kazuhiko Omura
  • Patent number: 5506943
    Abstract: When a process unit of the image forming apparatus has reached the end of its service life, the apparatus prints recovery information on a sheet, such as an officially approved "postage paid" mark, a recipient's name, the recipient's address and the recipient's postal code. The printed information tells the user that the service life of the process unit has expired, that the unit is a consumable component to be recovered for recycling, and that the unit is to be returned to the designated address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 9, 1996
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Satoshi Furukawa