Patents by Inventor Shunya Senda

Shunya Senda 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: 9776683
    Abstract: A vehicle height adjustment device includes a changer, a detector, and a controller. The changer is configured to change a relative position of a body of a vehicle to an axle of a wheel of the vehicle. The detector is configured to detect the relative position. The controller is configured to control the changer to change the relative position based on a detection value detected by the detector so as to control a height of the body as a vehicle height. The controller is configured to control the changer to maintain the vehicle height when there is a possibility of a malfunction in the detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: SHOWA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiro Kasuga, Shunya Senda, Takahiro Koresawa
  • Publication number: 20160280311
    Abstract: A vehicle height adjustment device includes a changer, a detector, and a controller. The changer is configured to change a relative position of a body of a vehicle to an axle of a wheel of the vehicle. The detector is configured to detect the relative position. The controller is configured to control the changer to change the relative position based on a detection value detected by the detector so as to control a height of the body as a vehicle height. The controller is configured to control the changer to maintain the vehicle height when there is a possibility of a malfunction in the detector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Applicant: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro KASUGA, Shunya SENDA, Takahiro KORESAWA
  • Patent number: 9132712
    Abstract: Technology is provided that enables vehicle speed to be grasped more accurately utilized for adjusting vehicle height. A vehicle height adjusting device includes: a relative position changing device capable of changing relative positions of a vehicle body frame and a rear wheel of a vehicle; a vehicle speed grasping section configured to grasp vehicle speed, which is moving speed of the vehicle body frame; and a change-over valve control section configured to control the relative position changing device on the basis of the vehicle speed grasped by the vehicle speed grasping section and change the relative positions of the vehicle body frame and the rear wheel to adjust vehicle height, which is the height of the vehicle body frame. The vehicle speed grasping section grasps the vehicle speed on the basis of front wheel rotating speed, which is the rotating speed of a front wheel, and rear wheel rotating speed, which is the rotating speed of the rear wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: SHOWA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiro Kasuga, Fumiaki Ishikawa, Shunya Senda
  • Patent number: 8894074
    Abstract: A vehicle height adjustment apparatus, includes: a front wheel side changing unit capable of changing a front wheel side relative position; a rear wheel side changing unit capable of changing a rear wheel side relative position; and a control unit for adjusting a height of the main body of the vehicle by controlling the front wheel side changing unit and the rear wheel side changing unit so as to change the front wheel side relative position and the rear wheel side relative position, in which the control unit controls the front wheel side changing unit and the rear wheel side changing unit in such a manner that a rate of change of the front wheel side relative position and a rate of change of the rear wheel side relative position satisfy a predetermined relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Kasuga, Fumiaki Ishikawa, Shunya Senda
  • Patent number: 8757636
    Abstract: Provided is technology of raising or lowering vehicle height even if the grasp of vehicle speed is disabled. A vehicle height adjusting device includes a rear suspension capable of changing relative positions of a vehicle body frame and a wheel of a motorcycle including a transmission configured by a plurality of gears and a control device configured to control the rear suspension and change the relative positions of the rear wheel and the vehicle body frame to adjust vehicle height, which is the height of the vehicle body frame. The control device controls the rear suspension to increase the vehicle height when a gear position of the transmission is equal to or higher than a predetermined gear position set in advance and reduce the vehicle height when the gear position is lower than the predetermined gear position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Kasuga, Fumiaki Ishikawa, Shunya Senda
  • Publication number: 20140125017
    Abstract: A vehicle height adjustment apparatus, includes: a front wheel side changing unit capable of changing a front wheel side relative position; a rear wheel side changing unit capable of changing a rear wheel side relative position; and a control unit for adjusting a height of the main body of the vehicle by controlling the front wheel side changing unit and the rear wheel side changing unit so as to change the front wheel side relative position and the rear wheel side relative position, in which the control unit controls the front wheel side changing unit and the rear wheel side changing unit in such a manner that a rate of change of the front wheel side relative position and a rate of change of the rear wheel side relative position satisfy a predetermined relationship.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2013
    Publication date: May 8, 2014
    Applicant: SHOWA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiro KASUGA, Fumiaki ISHIKAWA, Shunya SENDA
  • Publication number: 20140084556
    Abstract: Provided is technology of raising or lowering vehicle height even if the grasp of vehicle speed is disabled. A vehicle height adjusting device includes a rear suspension capable of changing relative positions of a vehicle body frame and a wheel of a motorcycle including a transmission configured by a plurality of gears and a control device configured to control the rear suspension and change the relative positions of the rear wheel and the vehicle body frame to adjust vehicle height, which is the height of the vehicle body frame. The control device controls the rear suspension to increase the vehicle height when a gear position of the transmission is equal to or higher than a predetermined gear position set in advance and reduce the vehicle height when the gear position is lower than the predetermined gear position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicant: SHOWA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiro Kasuga, Fumiaki Ishikawa, Shunya Senda
  • Publication number: 20140088829
    Abstract: Technology is provided that enables vehicle speed to be grasped more accurately utilized for adjusting vehicle height. A vehicle height adjusting device includes: a relative position changing device capable of changing relative positions of a vehicle body frame and a rear wheel of a vehicle; a vehicle speed grasping section configured to grasp vehicle speed, which is moving speed of the vehicle body frame; and a change-over valve control section configured to control the relative position changing device on the basis of the vehicle speed grasped by the vehicle speed grasping section and change the relative positions of the vehicle body frame and the rear wheel to adjust vehicle height, which is the height of the vehicle body frame. The vehicle speed grasping section grasps the vehicle speed on the basis of front wheel rotating speed, which is the rotating speed of a front wheel, and rear wheel rotating speed, which is the rotating speed of the rear wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicant: SHOWA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiro Kasuga, Fumiaki Ishikawa, Shunya Senda
  • Patent number: 8554412
    Abstract: Provided are: an electric motor that applies steering assist force to a steering wheel; a target current determination unit 25 that calculates a target current to be supplied to the electric motor on the basis of steering torque of the steering wheel; and a correction unit 27 that, when a rotation speed of the electric motor is less than a predetermined rotation speed, corrects the target current calculated by the target current determination unit 25 to be reduced on the basis of an actual current supplied to the electric motor and a time during which the actual current is supplied. Thereby a technique is provided to suppress a failure of the electric motor due to an excessive current flowing through the electric motor with higher accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Narimasa Hosoya, Shunya Senda, Fumiaki Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20120035807
    Abstract: Provided are: an electric motor that applies steering assist force to a steering wheel; a target current determination unit 25 that calculates a target current to be supplied to the electric motor on the basis of steering torque of the steering wheel; and a correction unit 27 that, when a rotation speed of the electric motor is less than a predetermined rotation speed, corrects the target current calculated by the target current determination unit 25 to be reduced on the basis of an actual current supplied to the electric motor and a time during which the actual current is supplied. Thereby a technique is provided to suppress a failure of the electric motor due to an excessive current flowing through the electric motor with higher accuracy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2010
    Publication date: February 9, 2012
    Inventors: Narimasa Hosoya, Shunya Senda, Fumiaki Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 8019508
    Abstract: In a motor-driven power steering apparatus, there is provided a correction coefficient memory previously storing an output correction coefficient to be multiplied by a current control signal applied to an electric motor at certain points in a range of temperatures in such a manner as to correct a temperature dependent output torque changing in dependence upon an environmental temperature of the electric motor to a demand output torque required in the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinori Takeuchi, Yoshitaka Kubo, Shunya Senda
  • Patent number: 7822520
    Abstract: In a motor-driven power steering apparatus, there are provided a reference output characteristic memory previously storing a reference output characteristic expressing a corresponding relation between a driving current of an electric motor and an output torque corresponding to the driving current, a correction coefficient computing circuit computing a ratio TO/TM between an output torque TM of the electric motor detected at a time of applying a predetermined current M to the electric motor, and an output torque TO corresponding to the driving current IM in the reference output characteristic as an output correction coefficient. A current control computing unit calculates a corrected current control signal by multiplying a current control signal of the electric motor computed on the basis of a steered condition of a vehicle by the output correction coefficient, and outputs a drive control signal based on the corrected current control signal to a motor driving unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinori Takeuchi, Shunya Senda
  • Patent number: 7676309
    Abstract: A motor-driven power steering apparatus is provided with a self-aligning torque computing means for computing a self-aligning torque based on of a steering angle and a vehicle speed, a friction torque computing means for computing a friction torque in accordance with a steering angle change from a steering angular velocity, an apparent steering torque computing means for computing an apparent steering torque from the friction torque and a steering torque, and a steering torque feedback control means for driving and controlling an assist motor in such a manner that a difference between the self-aligning torque and the apparent steering torque becomes 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Akihiro Tamaki, Shunya Senda
  • Patent number: 7604087
    Abstract: In a motor-driven power steering apparatus which converts a rotation of an electric motor into a linear stroke of a rack shaft by a power transmission mechanism, and steers a wheel coupled to the rack shaft, there is provided an automatic neutral restoring means for judging a vehicle stop and a manual steering rest, and rotating the electric motor as to restore a detected steering angle of a steering angle sensor to a neutral position so as to execute an automatic steering, when the steering angle is out of the neutral position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2009
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Shunya Senda, Akihiro Tamaki
  • Publication number: 20080217098
    Abstract: In a motor-driven power steering apparatus, there is provided a correction coefficient memory previously storing an output correction coefficient to be multiplied by a current control signal applied to an electric motor at certain points in a range of temperatures in such a manner as to correct a temperature dependent output torque changing in dependence upon an environmental temperature of the electric motor to a demand output torque required in the electric motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2007
    Publication date: September 11, 2008
    Inventors: Yoshinori Takeuchi, Yoshitaka Kubo, Shunya Senda
  • Publication number: 20080073144
    Abstract: In a motor-driven power steering apparatus, there are provided a reference output characteristic memory previously storing a reference output characteristic expressing a corresponding relation between a driving current of an electric motor and an output torque corresponding to the driving current, a correction coefficient computing circuit computing a ratio TO/TM between an output torque TM of the electric motor detected at a time of applying a predetermined current M to the electric motor, and an output torque TO corresponding to the driving current IM in the reference output characteristic as an output correction coefficient. A current control computing means calculates a corrected current control signal by multiplying a current control signal of the electric motor computed on the basis of a steered condition of a vehicle by the output correction coefficient, and outputs a drive control signal based on the corrected current control sign al to a motor driving means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2007
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Inventors: Yoshinori Takeuchi, Shunya Senda
  • Publication number: 20070144823
    Abstract: In a motor-driven power steering apparatus which converts a rotation of an electric motor into a linear stroke of a rack shaft by a power transmission mechanism, and steers a wheel coupled to the rack shaft, there is provided an automatic neutral restoring means for judging a vehicle stop and a manual steering rest, and rotating the electric motor in such a manner as to restore a detected steering angle of a steering angle sensor to a neutral position so as to execute an automatic steering, when the steering angle is out of the neutral position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Inventors: Shunya Senda, Akihiro Tamaki
  • Publication number: 20070144824
    Abstract: A motor-driven power steering apparatus is provided with a self-aligning torque computing means for computing a self-aligning torque based on of a steering angle and a vehicle speed, a friction torque computing means for computing a friction torque in accordance with a steering angle change from a steering angular velocity, an apparent steering torque computing means for computing an apparent steering torque from the friction torque and a steering torque, and a steering torque feedback control means for driving and controlling an assist motor in such a manner that a difference between the self-aligning torque and the apparent steering torque becomes 0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicant: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Akihiro Tamaki, Shunya Senda
  • Patent number: 6474179
    Abstract: The present invention provides a torque sensor comprising: a pair of coils having inductances changing mutually in a reverse direction in accordance with a torque; a first differential amplifier means inputting first and second sub-voltages based on each inductance change of the both coils, and amplifying a difference between the first and second sub-voltages so as to output it as a first main voltage; a second differential amplifier means inputting third and fourth sub-voltages based on each inductance change of the both coils, and amplifying a difference between the third and fourth sub-voltages so as to output it as a second main voltage; and an abnormal state signal outputting means outputting an abnormal state signal when a difference between the first and second main voltages exceeds a predetermined allowable range, the torque sensor further including: an abnormal state comparator means for judging an abnormal state of the coils from the first, second, third and fourth sub-voltages; and a voltage displa
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2002
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Shunya Senda, Takayuki Ueno
  • Patent number: 6467329
    Abstract: The present invention provides a neutral point voltage adjuster of a torque sensor which comprises: a pair of coils having inductances changing mutually in a reverse direction in accordance with a torque; and a differential amplifier means inputting first and second sub-voltages based on each inductance change of both coils, and amplifying a difference between the first and second sub-voltages so as to output it as a main voltage, and which uses a neutral point where no torque is inputted as a boundary between right and left directions, and detects each torsional torque in the right and left direction, comprising: a neutral point voltage setter for displacing a main voltage of an output from the differential amplifier on the basis of an adjusting signal so as to set a neutral point voltage; a memory for storing a neutral point voltage setting state by the neutral point voltage setter; and a neutral point voltage adjuster for storing a neutral point voltage used as a reference of a main voltage, and inputting
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2002
    Assignee: Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Takayuki Ueno, Shunya Senda