Patents by Inventor Seiji Kuwahara
Seiji Kuwahara 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: 20080312802Abstract: In a driving force control device and driving force control method according to the invention, a first target driving force is calculated based on an operation amount of an accelerator pedal by a driver, a second target driving force, which is necessary for a vehicle to maintain a constant vehicle speed or maintain a predetermined relative distance or relative speed relationship with a target object near the vehicle, is calculated, an intention of a driver to increase or reduce the vehicle speed is determined, the first target driving force and the second target driving force are coordinated with each other, using a unit of driving force, in consideration of the intention of the driver, and driving force is controlled based on a target driving force derived through a coordination process.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 10, 2006Publication date: December 18, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
-
Publication number: 20080294301Abstract: One of the manager control units among multiple control units includes a first coordination portion that coordinates a control target value derived based on an instruction from a driver or a first control unit and expressed by a first unit of physical quantity, with an instruction value from a second control unit and expressed by the first unit of physical quantity; a conversion portion that converts the control value expressed by the first unit of physical quantity into a control target value expressed by a second unit of physical quantity; a second coordination portion that coordinates the control target value derived by the conversion portion and expressed by the second unit of physical quantity, with an instruction value transmitted from a T/M control unit and expressed by the second unit of physical quantity; and an output portion that outputs the control target value to an engine control unit.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 7, 2006Publication date: November 27, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
-
Publication number: 20080281502Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling a source of rotational drive force based on a target rotational speed. The control apparatus includes a target model rotational speed calculation section, an actual rotational speed detection section, and a target rotational speed adjustment section. The target model rotational speed calculation section calculates a rotational speed corresponding to a target drive force of the source as a target model rotational speed. The actual rotational speed detection section detects an actual of the source. The target rotational speed adjustment section sets the target rotational speed by correcting a value of the target model rotational speed calculated by the target model rotational speed calculation section to gradually approach the actual rotational speed detected by the actual rotational speed detection section.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 1, 2008Publication date: November 13, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Patent number: 7451031Abstract: An ECT_ECU performs a program including: a step of determining whether the gears are being changed or the gears are not being changed; a step of setting the virtual gear to the current gear, if the gears are not being changed; a step of setting the virtual gear to the gear before the gears are changed, if the gears are being changed but the inertia phase has not been started; a step of setting the virtual gear to the gear after the gears are changed, if the gears are being changed and the inertia phase has been started; a step of calculating the gear-change progress ?; a step of calculating the virtual gear ratio based on the virtual gear and the gear-change progress ?; and a step of calculating the target engine torque using the virtual gear ratio.Type: GrantFiled: January 11, 2007Date of Patent: November 11, 2008Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20080140283Abstract: An ECU executes a program that includes the steps of: sensing an accelerator position (S100); calculating a target engine torque of a manipulating system “a” from the accelerator position (S200); holding the target engine torque of the manipulating system “a” (S300); calculating a target driving force of the manipulating system “A” from the target engine torque of the manipulating system “a” (S400); arbitrating in driving force between the target driving force of the manipulating system “A” and the target driving force of the supporting system “B” (S500); and, if the target driving force of the manipulating system “A” is selected as a result of the arbitration (NO in S600), outputting the held target engine torque of the manipulating system “a” as the target engine torque to the engine ECU (S900).Type: ApplicationFiled: October 24, 2006Publication date: June 12, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20080140290Abstract: A powertrain manager executes a program including the steps of: reading an instruction gear ratio kgear(1) for transmission control; calculating an actual gear ratio kgear(2); determining that failure of an automatic transmission has occurred on a low gear side if relation of kgear(1)<{kgear(2)/?} or kgear(1)<{kgear(2)??} is satisfied; and substituting larger one of kgear(1) and kgear(2) into a gear ratio for operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 19, 2006Publication date: June 12, 2008Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20080097674Abstract: An ECU executes a program that includes the steps of i) calculating a sporty running counting SC based on a state of a vehicle according to an operation of a driver; ii) changing a condition for executing sporty running in which an upshift is inhibited when an accelerator is suddenly released and in which a downshift is promoted during sudden braking such that the condition is easier to satisfy and changing a condition for returning from sporty running so that it is more difficult to satisfy when the sporty running count SC is equal to or greater than a threshold value; and iii) changing the condition for executing sporty running so that it is more difficult to satisfy and changing the condition for returning from sporty running so that it is easier to satisfy when the sporty running count SC is not equal to or greater than the threshold value.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 18, 2007Publication date: April 24, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiji KUWAHARA, Toshihiro Fukumasu, Masami Kondo, Hideki Kubonoya, Naoto Moriya, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20080091323Abstract: In a vehicle integrated-control apparatus and method applied to a vehicle provided with a power train including a drive source and a transmission, a control target value is primarily derived based on an instruction provided by a driver or an automatic operating device; two control target values that are expressed in a same unit of physical quantity as that of the control target value and that differ from each other are intermediately derived based on the control target value; control targets (target engine torque, target shift speed) that are expressed by units of physical quantities or modes appropriate for control of the drive source and control of the transmission are derived based on the intermediately derived control target values, respectively; and the drive source and the transmission are controlled to achieve the finally derived control targets.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 27, 2006Publication date: April 17, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Patent number: 7340335Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicular drive system, including uphill-drive-force control means and constructed to reduce a degree of uneasiness to be given to the vehicle operator during an uphill-road running of a vehicle. The uphill-drive-force control means is arranged to increase a vehicle drive force during the uphill-road running of the vehicle at a given required vehicle output as compared with a vehicle drive force during a level-road running of the vehicle at substantially the same required vehicle output, for obtaining substantially the same value of acceleration of the vehicle during the uphill-road running as that during the level-road running.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 2005Date of Patent: March 4, 2008Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Ichiro Kitaori, Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
-
Publication number: 20080015755Abstract: The invention relates to a vehicle integrated-control apparatus and method that sets a final control target by coordinating a control target primarily set based on an input of a driver with instruction values from the control systems; and that causes a drive control system to control a drive source and a stepped automatic transmission to achieve the final control target. With this apparatus and method, at least one of the control systems, which provide instruction values to be coordinated with the primarily set control target, is notified of a range of control targets that can be achieved at a current shift speed; a range of control targets that can be achieved by changing the current shift speed to a currently achievable shift speed; and a range of control targets that can be achieved without changing the current shift speed to another shift speed.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 24, 2006Publication date: January 17, 2008Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20080004159Abstract: When determining whether to perform one shift, from among a downshift and an upshift to an adjacent gear speed from a predetermined gear speed after the other shift from among a downshift and an upshift was performed, a shift line switching portion switches a shift line from a shift line that is based on the speed ratio of the predetermined gear speed to a shift line that is based on the speed ratio after the one shift. Accordingly, a shift determining portion determines whether to perform the one shift using the shift line that is based on the speed ratio after the one shift, and that shift is executed.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 2, 2007Publication date: January 3, 2008Inventors: Hideki Kubonoya, Masaharu Tanaka, Masami Kondo, Seiji Kuwahara
-
Publication number: 20070293992Abstract: A control target value calculation portion (42) calculates a control target value for an engine (32) based on a control instruction amount requested by a driver, which is calculated by a driver's instruction amount calculation portion (14), and control instruction amounts requested by control units such as a driver support amount calculation portion (16) and a wheel stability control amount calculation portion (18). A horsepower conversion portion (44) converts the control target value into a control target horsepower. Meanwhile, an allowable horsepower range calculation portion (40) calculates a target instruction horsepower and an allowable horsepower range based on the information from the driver's instruction amount calculation portion (14). Even when an integrated-control involving multiple control units is performed, a monitor portion (46) determines whether the control target derived through conversion is within the allowable horsepower range.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 24, 2006Publication date: December 20, 2007Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20070213175Abstract: A control device of a vehicle which switches a lockup clutch to an operating state depending upon vehicle conditions determines switching of the lockup clutch from lockup-ON switching lines established when the lockup clutch is in an engaged state, or from lockup-OFF switching lines established when the lockup clutch is in a released state. When switching of the lockup clutch is determined based on one of the lockup-ON switching lines and the lockup-OFF switching lines, a determination based on the other switching lines is selected as an effective determination about switching once the same switching of the operating state as that determined based on the above-indicated one of the switching lines is determined based on the other switching lines.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 5, 2007Publication date: September 13, 2007Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20070191184Abstract: An ECT_ECU performs a program including: a step of determining whether the gears are being changed or the gears are not being changed; a step of setting the virtual gear to the current gear, if the gears are not being changed; a step of setting the virtual gear to the gear before the gears are changed, if the gears are being changed but the inertia phase has not been started; a step of setting the virtual gear to the gear after the gears are changed, if the gears are being changed and the inertia phase has been started; a step of calculating the gear-change progress ?; a step of calculating the virtual gear ratio based on the virtual gear and the gear-change progress ?; and a step of calculating the target engine torque using the virtual gear ratio.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 11, 2007Publication date: August 16, 2007Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20070162210Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicular drive system, including uphill-drive-force control means and constructed to reduce a degree of uneasiness to be given to the vehicle operator during an uphill-road running of a vehicle. The uphill-drive-force control means is arranged to increase a vehicle drive force during the uphill-road running of the vehicle at a given required vehicle output as compared with a vehicle drive force during a level-road running of the vehicle at substantially the same required vehicle output, for obtaining substantially the same value of acceleration of the vehicle during the uphill-road running as that during the level-road running.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 5, 2005Publication date: July 12, 2007Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Ichiro Kitaori, Masato Kaigawa, Seiji Kuwahara
-
Patent number: 7206690Abstract: An engine ECU executes a program including a request drive force converted into an engine torque falls out of a saturation region, a step of calculating the target opening degree of a throttle, the request drive force converted into the engine torque falls in the saturation region, and the request drive force calculated on the basis of the opening degree of an acceleration converted into the engine torque falls in the saturation region.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2005Date of Patent: April 17, 2007Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Patent number: 7160227Abstract: A control apparatus and method for a vehicle including a stepped automatic transmission and a shift control device which controls an operation of the automatic transmission based on a vehicle state such as a value corresponding to a driving force required for the vehicle, according to a pre-stored shift pattern having a shift line for determining whether shifting is performed from one shift speed to an adjacent shift speed.Type: GrantFiled: December 10, 2004Date of Patent: January 9, 2007Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20060178796Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling a step-variable automatic transmission of a vehicle to effect a shifting action of the automatic transmission on the basis of a target throttle valve opening angle for realizing a target vehicle drive force, so as to prevent a shift hunting phenomenon of the automatic transmission.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 2, 2006Publication date: August 10, 2006Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20060155451Abstract: An engine ECU executes a program including a request drive force converted into an engine torque falls out of a saturation region, a step of calculating the target opening degree of a throttle, the request drive force converted into the engine torque falls in the saturation region, and the request drive force calculated on the basis of the opening degree of an acceleration converted into the engine torque falls in the saturation region.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 22, 2005Publication date: July 13, 2006Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa
-
Publication number: 20050143221Abstract: A control apparatus and method for a vehicle including a stepped automatic transmission and a shift control device which controls an operation of the automatic transmission based on a vehicle state such as a value corresponding to a driving force required for the vehicle, according to a pre-stored shift pattern having a shift line for determining whether shifting is performed from one shift speed to an adjacent shift speed.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 10, 2004Publication date: June 30, 2005Inventors: Seiji Kuwahara, Masato Kaigawa