Patents by Inventor Shiro Yamaoka

Shiro Yamaoka 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: 6966295
    Abstract: A compression ignition internal combustion engine in which the temperature and pressure in the combustion chamber are increased to self-ignite an air-fuel mixture with the compressive operation of a piston after closing of the intake valve. An ECU [1] controls injection timing of the pressurized air depending on the ignition timing. Self-ignition timing can be controlled to a proper timing in a wide engine operating range with respect to a load and a revolution speed without substantially changing the shape of the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Toshiharu Nogi, Takuya Shiraishi, Yuusuke Kihara
  • Patent number: 6951207
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces the fuel vaporization and leakage by means that the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus heats and cools the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus adjusts the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Patent number: 6918370
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces the fuel vaporization and leakage by means that the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for heating or cooling the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for adjusting the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Patent number: 6910468
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces fuel vaporization and leakage the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus heat or cools the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus adjusts the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Publication number: 20050115241
    Abstract: In an engine cogeneration system in which power generators 5 to 8 are driven by a plurality of engines 1 to 4 to thereby supply electric power to power load 22 of a general household, at the same time, heat produced by cooling each of the engines 1 to 4 and heat generated from the exhaust gas are recovered by heat exchangers 18 and 19 to be stored as hot water into a hot-water tank 20 to supply heat to heat load 21 of the general household, the amount of power to be supplied and of the amount of heat to be supplied are controlled by a number of the engines 1 to 4 and the combustion modes of these engines 1 to 4. This engine cogeneration system can follow both the head demand and power demand in a high efficiency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Publication date: June 2, 2005
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Shimada, Kazumasa Ide, Shiro Yamaoka
  • Publication number: 20050109018
    Abstract: An engine control equipment capable of activating a catalyst and preventing exhaust gas from deteriorating in order to early perform combustion by compressive self-ignition is disclosed. The engine control equipment is an engine control equipment including a catalyst for burning a mixed gas in a combustion chamber by compressive self-ignition and purifying exhaust-gas components in the combustion chamber and a controller for controller the catalyst which determines the activation of the catalyst and activates the catalyst in accordance with a determination result based upon determining the activation of the catalyst.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2004
    Publication date: May 26, 2005
    Inventors: Shinji Nakagawa, Minoru Ohsuga, Shiro Yamaoka
  • Publication number: 20040194759
    Abstract: In a multi-cylinder engine having a compression ignition combustion mode, a vibration detecting sensor that is preferably mounted in a cylinder block or a cylinder head is used to detect a frequency and the detected frequency is appropriately analyzed to detect or estimate a cylinder pressure peak value and peak timing for each cylinder. An amount of internal EGR, a fuel injection condition, an engine speed and the like are then controlled so as to bring each of these parameters into an appropriate range thereof. The control apparatus suppresses variations in combustion states among different cylinders and different cycles arising from unit-to-unit variations or deterioration in the engine or part-to-part variations or deterioration in a component thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2004
    Publication date: October 7, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Toshiharu Nogi, Atsushi Shimada, Nobuyasu Kanekawa, Youichi Iihoshi
  • Publication number: 20040194754
    Abstract: In a multi-cylinder engine having a compression ignition combustion mode, a vibration detecting sensor that is preferably mounted in a cylinder block or a cylinder head is used to detect a frequency and the detected frequency is appropriately analyzed to detect or estimate a cylinder pressure peak value and peak timing for each cylinder. An amount of internal EGR, a fuel injection condition, an engine speed and the like are then controlled so as to bring each of these parameters into an appropriate range thereof. The control apparatus suppresses variations in combustion states among different cylinders and different cycles arising from unit-to-unit variations or deterioration in the engine or part-to-part variations or deterioration in a component thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2004
    Publication date: October 7, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Toshiharu Nogi, Atsushi Shimada, Nobuyasu Kanekawa, Youichi Iihoshi
  • Publication number: 20040194746
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a compression ignition internal combustion engine capable of making compatible an increase in compression self-ignition operating area with an optimum output torque control in the operating area and also smoothly switching between a self-ignition combustion and a spark ignition combustion. The compression ignition internal combustion engine operates by switching between the spark ignition combustion using an ignition device and the compression ignition combustion which self-ignites a mixture by piston compression. Variable valve mechanisms vary at least one of the valve timings and valve lifts of an intake valve and an exhaust valve. Intake air is regulated to vary the amount of air intake into a combustion chamber on the upstream side of a combustion chamber inlet of the compression ignition internal combustion engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2004
    Publication date: October 7, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Toshiharu Nogi, Minoru Oosuga, Takuya Shiraishi, Shinji Nakagawa, Yuusuke Kihara
  • Publication number: 20040187799
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces the fuel vaporization and leakage by means that the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for heating or cooling the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for adjusting the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Publication date: September 30, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Publication number: 20040187800
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces the fuel vaporization and leakage by means that the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for heating or cooling the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for adjusting the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Publication date: September 30, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Publication number: 20040187801
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces the fuel vaporization and leakage by means that the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for heating or cooling the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for adjusting the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Publication date: September 30, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Publication number: 20040177830
    Abstract: A compression ignition internal combustion engine comprises a combustion chamber 16 to which air and fuel are supplied, an intake valve 19a for opening and closing a passage between the combustion chamber and an intake port 6 communicating with the combustion chamber, and an exhaust valve 19b for opening and closing a passage between the combustion chamber and an exhaust port 14 communicating with the combustion chamber. The temperature and pressure in the combustion chamber are increased to self-ignite an air-fuel mixture with the compressive operation of a piston after closing of the intake valve 19a. A fuel injection valve 11 injects pressurized air, serving as an ignition trigger factor, directly into the combustion chamber so that the air-fuel mixture under the expansion stroke of the piston is brought into an ignitable state. An ECU 1 controls the injection timing of the pressurized air depending on the ignition timing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2004
    Publication date: September 16, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Toshiharu Nogi, Takuya Shiraishi, Yuusuke Kihara
  • Publication number: 20040154581
    Abstract: A compression ignition internal combustion engine comprises a combustion chamber 16 to which air and fuel are supplied, an intake valve 19a for opening and closing a passage between the combustion chamber and an intake port 6 communicating with the combustion chamber, and an exhaust valve 19b for opening and closing a passage between the combustion chamber and an exhaust port 14 communicating with the combustion chamber. The temperature and pressure in the combustion chamber are increased to self-ignite an air-fuel mixture with the compressive operation of a piston after closing of the intake valve 19a. A fuel injection valve 11 injects pressurized air, serving as an ignition trigger factor, directly into the combustion chamber so that the air-fuel mixture under the expansion stroke of the piston is brought into an ignitable state. An ECU 1 controls the injection timing of the pressurized air depending on the ignition timing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2003
    Publication date: August 12, 2004
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Toshiharu Nogi, Takuya Shiraishi, Yuusuke Kihara
  • Patent number: 6772585
    Abstract: A control system for a compression injection engine can prevent deterioration in exhaust purification at the time of the switching of combustion between spark ignition and compression ignition, at the time of said spark ignition combustion and said compression injection combustion, and can diagnose any deterioration of an NO x detector and a three way catalyst. The control system includes a catalytic converter installed within an exhaust passage of the compression ignition engine for compressing and igniting a pre-mixture of a fuel and air, an air/fuel ratio detector for detecting an air/fuel ratio at upstream side of said catalytic converter, and an NOx detector for detecting NOx at downstream side of said catalytic converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichi Iihoshi, Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Ohsuga
  • Patent number: 6739295
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a compression ignition internal combustion engine capable of making compatible an increase in compression self-ignition operating area with an optimum output torque control in the operating area and also smoothly switching between a self-ignition combustion and a spark ignition combustion. The compression ignition internal combustion engine operates by switching between the spark ignition combustion using an ignition device and the compression ignition combustion which self-ignites a mixture by piston compression. Variable valve mechanisms vary at least one of the valve timings and valve lifts of an intake valve and an exhaust valve. Intake air is regulated to vary the amount of air intake into a combustion chamber on the upstream side of a combustion chamber inlet of the compression ignition internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Toshiharu Nogi, Minoru Oosuga, Takuya Shiraishi, Shinji Nakagawa, Yuusuke Kihara
  • Publication number: 20040050363
    Abstract: In a multi-cylinder engine having a compression ignition combustion mode, a vibration detecting sensor that is preferably mounted in a cylinder block or a cylinder head is used to detect a frequency and the detected frequency is appropriately analyzed to detect or estimate a cylinder pressure peak value and peak timing for each cylinder. An amount of internal EGR, a fuel injection condition, an engine speed and the like are then controlled so as to bring each of these parameters into an appropriate range thereof. The control apparatus suppresses variations in combustion states among different cylinders and different cycles arising from unit-to-unit variations or deterioration in the engine or part-to-part variations or deterioration in a component thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2003
    Publication date: March 18, 2004
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Toshiharu Nogi, Atsushi Shimada, Nobuyasu Kanekawa, Youichi Iihoshi
  • Publication number: 20030230289
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces the fuel vaporization and leakage by means that the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for heating or cooling the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for adjusting the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2003
    Publication date: December 18, 2003
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Publication number: 20030230249
    Abstract: A fuel supply apparatus reduces the fuel vaporization and leakage by means that the positions of vaporization and leakage and their amount in the fuel tank and the fuel pipe is detected properly in case of using a low boiling point fuel having a vapor phase in the normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures, and the fuel state is controlled based on those detected values. By providing another container made of elastomatic material having an expandable mechanical characteristic inside the fuel storing container, the low boiling point fuel is stored in the separate container. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for heating or cooling the fuel pipe leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine. A flow rate controlling apparatus is provided for adjusting the flow rate of the fuel in the fuel pipe for leading the low boiling point fuel stored in the fuel storing container to the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2003
    Publication date: December 18, 2003
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Minoru Oosuga, Kinya Nakatsu
  • Publication number: 20030226528
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a compression ignition internal combustion engine capable of making compatible an increase in compression self-ignition operating area with an optimum output torque control in the operating area and also smoothly switching between a self-ignition combustion and a spark ignition combustion. The compression ignition internal combustion engine operates by switching between the spark ignition combustion using an ignition device and the compression ignition combustion which self-ignites a mixture by piston compression. Variable valve mechanisms (15a, 15b) vary at least one of the valve timings and valve lifts of an intake valve and an exhaust valve. Intake air regulating means (7; 30; 32; 40, 42) vary the amount of air intake into a combustion chamber on the upstream side of a combustion chamber inlet of the compression ignition internal combustion engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2003
    Publication date: December 11, 2003
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Yamaoka, Toshiharu Nogi, Minoru Oosuga, Takuya Shiraishi, Shinji Nakagawa, Yuusuke Kihara