Patents by Inventor Takaharu Kozawa

Takaharu Kozawa 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: 11554809
    Abstract: A steering angle detection device includes plural control units and plural steering angle sensors. Each control unit is configured to transmit steering angle information related to a steering angle of a vehicle to an external device and transmit and receive information mutually therebetween. Each steering angle sensor is provided in correspondence to each control unit and configured to output a sensor signal corresponding to a detection value of a change in the steering angle to the corresponding control unit. One of the control units transmits, as a transmission control unit, the steering angle information to the external device at one transmission timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuko Oka, Shuji Kuramitsu, Koichi Nakamura, Yuki Watanabe, Toshihiro Fujita, Takaharu Kozawa, Shuhei Miyachi, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai
  • Patent number: 11465683
    Abstract: A steering angle detection device is provided with a plurality of rotation angle sensors and a plurality of control units. The rotation angle sensors are capable of at least continuously calculating a rotation speed while an ignition switch of a vehicle is turned off, and are provided so as to correspond to steering angle calculation units which calculate steering angle based on the rotation speed and a rotation angle acquired from the rotation angle sensors and midpoint information related to the neutral position of a steering member. Power supplies are provided on a per-system basis. The rotation angle sensors or the control units are capable of holding the midpoint information while the ignition switch is turned off. If a power supply abnormality resulting in power supply failure occurs in some of the systems, the control unit of the abnormal system acquires the midpoint information and the rotation speed from the control unit of a normal system when the ignition switch is turned on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takaharu Kozawa, Shuji Kuramitsu, Koichi Nakamura, Yuki Watanabe, Atsuko Oka, Toshihiro Fujita, Shuhei Miyachi, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai, Katsuhiko Hayashi
  • Patent number: 11437305
    Abstract: A semiconductor module includes: semiconductor devices; a resin mold that integrally seals the semiconductor devices; and external terminals that are disposed at a lateral side of the resin mold along a direction perpendicular to a thickness direction of the semiconductor devices. Each semiconductor device includes an insulated gate semiconductor device having a gate electrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode. In the insulated gate semiconductor device, carriers move from the first electrode to the second electrode through a channel provided by a voltage applied to the gate electrode. The external terminals include: a gate terminal electrically connected to the gate electrode; a first terminal electrically connected to the first electrode; and a second terminal electrically connected to the second electrode. The gate terminal and the second terminal, which are electrically connected to an identical semiconductor device, are not adjacent to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shuhei Miyachi, Takaharu Kozawa, Toshihiro Fujita
  • Patent number: 11345397
    Abstract: Switching elements are mounted on a substrate and switch energization of motor windings. A lead wire set connects phase coils of the motor windings to the substrate. The switching elements, the lead wire set, a power terminal which is a power supply terminal and a ground terminal, and a control circuit unit are provided for each system. The switching elements, the lead wire set and the power terminal are collectively arranged in a power region for each system, and the lead wire sets are arranged in rotational symmetry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kunihiko Matsuda, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Takaharu Kozawa
  • Patent number: 11183963
    Abstract: Driver circuits are provided in correspondence to switching elements of an inverter to output gate signals to the switching elements and built in an IC package in an abnormality detection device (ECU). Motor relays are provided in motor current paths between inter-arm connection points and multi-phase motor windings. Pull-up resistors connect a power supply line and the inter-arm connection points. Pull-down resistors connect the inter-arm connection points and the ground. A checking unit acquires a voltage corresponding to a voltage of each inter-arm connection point as a terminal voltage and checks a short-circuit failure or an open-circuit failure of each motor relay or a disconnection failure of each winding based on the terminal voltage. The pull-up resistors and the pull-down resistors are provided within the IC package in which the driver circuits are built.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takaharu Kozawa
  • Patent number: 11091201
    Abstract: In a rotation detecting apparatus, each of first and second sensor elements measures rotation of a detection target. A circuit module includes first and second rotational angle calculators each calculating, based on a corresponding one of a first measurement value of the first sensor element and a second measurement value of the second sensor element, a rotational angle of the detection target. The circuit module includes first and second rotation number calculators each calculating, based on the corresponding one of the first measurement value and the second measurement value, a rotation number of the detection target. The circuit module includes first and second communicators each outputting, to a controller, a rotational angle signal based on the rotational angle and a rotation number signal based on the rotation number. A package packages the first and second sensor elements, and is mounted to a circuit board separately from the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiro Fujita, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Takaharu Kozawa, Shuhei Miyachi, Koichi Nakamura, Yuki Watanabe, Atsuko Oka, Shuji Kuramitsu, Toshimitsu Sakai, Masaya Taki
  • Publication number: 20200381343
    Abstract: A semiconductor module includes: semiconductor devices; a resin mold that integrally seals the semiconductor devices; and external terminals that are disposed at a lateral side of the resin mold along a direction perpendicular to a thickness direction of the semiconductor devices. Each semiconductor device includes an insulated gate semiconductor device having a gate electrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode. In the insulated gate semiconductor device, carriers move from the first electrode to the second electrode through a channel provided by a voltage applied to the gate electrode. The external terminals include: a gate terminal electrically connected to the gate electrode; a first terminal electrically connected to the first electrode; and a second terminal electrically connected to the second electrode. The gate terminal and the second terminal, which are electrically connected to an identical semiconductor device, are not adjacent to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Shuhei Miyachi, Takaharu Kozawa, Toshihiro Fujita
  • Publication number: 20200321902
    Abstract: Driver circuits are provided in correspondence to switching elements of an inverter to output gate signals to the switching elements and built in an IC package in an abnormality detection device (ECU). Motor relays are provided in motor current paths between inter-arm connection points and multi-phase motor windings. Pull-up resistors connect a power supply line and the inter-arm connection points. Pull-down resistors connect the inter-arm connection points and the ground. A checking unit acquires a voltage corresponding to a voltage of each inter-arm connection point as a terminal voltage and checks a short-circuit failure or an open-circuit failure of each motor relay or a disconnection failure of each winding based on the terminal voltage. The pull-up resistors and the pull-down resistors are provided within the IC package in which the driver circuits are built.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2020
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Inventor: Takaharu KOZAWA
  • Patent number: 10759470
    Abstract: A sensor device includes a sensor section having a plurality of sensor elements sensing a physical quantity regarding a magnetic flux collecting module, an output circuit generating and outputting an output signal including data signals respectively corresponding to sensing values from the sensor elements, and an ECU obtaining the output signal. The ECU includes an abnormality determiner identifying an abnormal sensor element. When at least two of the plurality of sensor sections respectively have at least one normal sensor element, a sub-sensor section transmits the output signal therefrom to the ECU at a shifted output timing from an output timing of the output signal from a main sensor section. The amount of such a shift of the output timing is shorter than one signal cycle of the output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shuji Kuramitsu, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Takaharu Kozawa, Koichi Nakamura, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai
  • Publication number: 20200140004
    Abstract: Switching elements are mounted on a substrate and switch energization of motor windings. A lead wire set connects phase coils of the motor windings to the substrate. The switching elements, the lead wire set, a power terminal which is a power supply terminal and a ground terminal, and a control circuit unit are provided for each system. The switching elements, the lead wire set and the power terminal are collectively arranged in a power region for each system, and the lead wire sets are arranged in rotational symmetry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2019
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Inventors: Kunihiko MATSUDA, Katsuhiko HAYASHI, Takaharu KOZAWA
  • Publication number: 20200047806
    Abstract: A steering angle detection device is provided with a plurality of rotation angle sensors and a plurality of control units. The rotation angle sensors are capable of at least continuously calculating a rotation speed while an ignition switch of a vehicle is turned off, and are provided so as to correspond to steering angle calculation units which calculate steering angle based on the rotation speed and a rotation angle acquired from the rotation angle sensors and midpoint information related to the neutral position of a steering member. Power supplies are provided on a per-system basis. The rotation angle sensors or the control units are capable of holding the midpoint information while the ignition switch is turned off. If a power supply abnormality resulting in power supply failure occurs in some of the systems, the control unit of the abnormal system acquires the midpoint information and the rotation speed from the control unit of a normal system when the ignition switch is turned on.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Publication date: February 13, 2020
    Inventors: Takaharu KOZAWA, Shuji KURAMITSU, Koichi NAKAMURA, Yuki WATANABE, Atsuko OKA, Toshihiro FUJITA, Shuhei MIYACHI, Masaya TAKI, Toshimitsu SAKAI, Katsuhiko HAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20200047805
    Abstract: A steering angle detection device includes plural control units and plural steering angle sensors. Each control unit is configured to transmit steering angle information related to a steering angle of a vehicle to an external device and transmit and receive information mutually therebetween. Each steering angle sensor is provided in correspondence to each control unit and configured to output a sensor signal corresponding to a detection value of a change in the steering angle to the corresponding control unit. One of the control units transmits, as a transmission control unit, the steering angle information to the external device at one transmission timing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Publication date: February 13, 2020
    Inventors: Atsuko OKA, Shuji KURAMITSU, Koichi NAKAMURA, Yuki WATANABE, Toshihiro FUJITA, Takaharu KOZAWA, Shuhei MIYACHI, Katsuhiko HAYASHI, Masaya TAKI, Toshimitsu SAKAI
  • Patent number: 10486735
    Abstract: In a rotation detecting apparatus, while a switch is in an on state so that electrical power is supplied from a power source to a controller via the switch, the controller receives, as a first output signal, an output signal output from an output unit of a first rotation sensor, and receives, as a second output signal, an output signal output from an output unit of the second rotation sensor. The first output signal includes at least the first rotational information and the second rotational information based on the first rotation sensor, and the second output signal includes at least the first rotational information and the second rotational information based on the second rotation sensor. The controller determines whether there is a malfunction in each of the first and second rotation sensors as a function of the first output signal and the second output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiro Fujita, Takaharu Kozawa, Shuhei Miyachi, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Shuji Kuramitsu, Koichi Nakamura, Yuki Watanabe, Atsuko Oka, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai
  • Patent number: 10399596
    Abstract: A sensor device includes a plurality of sensor elements and an output circuit in one sensor part, and a correction value calculator in an ECU, which obtains output signals from the sensor part and calculates an offset correction value based on a plurality of signal values that correspond to a detection value when a calculability condition is satisfied. The ECU also includes a control calculator that performs a calculation based on the corrected signal values that have been corrected by the offset correction value. Therefore, the offset correction value is calculated in view of an aging and an accuracy variation of the components used in the sensor device. In such manner, the detection value is appropriately corrected for the calculation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kouichi Nakamura, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Takaharu Kozawa, Shuji Kuramitsu, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai
  • Patent number: 10384712
    Abstract: If abnormalities of the sensor part are detected, the power-source control section temporarily stops the electric power supply from the sensor power source to the sensor part so that the sensor power source voltage Vs which is the voltage between the sensor power source and the sensor part falls. In addition, after electric power supply to the sensor part resumes, and the sensor part is recovered from the abnormalities, then, the power source control section continues the electric power supply from the sensor power source to the sensor part. When the sensor part is not recovered from the abnormalities, the power source control section stops the electric power supply from the sensor power source to the sensor part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Hayashi, Takaharu Kozawa, Shuji Kuramitsu, Kouichi Nakamura, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai
  • Patent number: 10351166
    Abstract: A sensor device includes a first sensor section and a second sensor section, and the first sensor section has sensor elements and an output circuit for generating and transmitting an output signal including signals that respectively correspond to sensing values from the two sensor elements, and the second sensor section has sensor elements and an output circuit for generating and transmitting an output signal including signals that respectively correspond to sensing values from the two sensor elements. The sensor device further includes an ECU that has an abnormality determiner for determining abnormality of the sensor sections, and a calculator, thereby enabling a continuation of abnormality monitoring of a normal sensor section, even when a part of the sensor sections is abnormal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koichi Nakamura, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Takaharu Kozawa, Shuji Kuramitsu, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai
  • Patent number: 10343714
    Abstract: A sensor device includes sensors and an Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The sensors include sensor elements, a signal comparator, and a signal transmitter. The signal comparator compares a first main detection value from one of the sensor elements, and a first sub detection value from the other of the sensor elements. When the first main detection value matches the first sub detection value, the signal transmitter generates and transmits an output signal that includes a first main signal corresponding to the first main detection value without including a first sub signal corresponding to the first sub detection value. In such manner, the responsiveness of the sensor device may be improved, without deteriorating a reliability of the output signals from the sensor sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koutarou Nakashima, Shuji Kuramitsu, Kouichi Nakamura, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai, Takaharu Kozawa, Katsuhiko Hayashi
  • Patent number: 10328972
    Abstract: In a rotation detecting apparatus, a sensor includes a sensor element outputting a measurement value representing rotation of a detection target, and a circuit module. The circuit module includes a rotational angle calculator calculating, based on the measurement value, rotational angle information indicative of a rotational angle of the detection target. The rotational angle calculator generates a rotational angle signal including the rotational angle information. The circuit module includes a rotation number calculator calculating, based on the measurement value, rotation number information representing the number of rotations of the detection target. The rotation number calculator generates a rotation number signal including the rotation number information. An output unit outputs, as an output signal, a series of the rotational angle signal and the rotation number signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiro Fujita, Hideki Kabune, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Takaharu Kozawa, Shuhei Miyachi, Koichi Nakamura, Yuki Watanabe, Atsuko Oka, Shuji Kuramitsu, Toshimitsu Sakai, Masaya Taki
  • Patent number: 10300944
    Abstract: A sensor device including a first output circuit generating and outputting a first output signal that is generated as a signal sequence from a first main signal based on a detection value of a first main sensor element to a first sub signal based on a detection value of a first sub sensor element, a second output circuit generating and outputting a second output signal that is generated as a signal sequence from a second main signal based on a detection value of a second main sensor element to a second sub signal based on a detection value of a second sub sensor element, and an abnormality determiner determining abnormality of the device based on the first output signal and the second output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takaharu Kozawa, Shuji Kuramitsu, Koichi Nakamura, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Masaya Taki, Toshimitsu Sakai
  • Publication number: 20190152524
    Abstract: In a rotation detecting apparatus, each of first and second sensor elements measures rotation of a detection target. A circuit module includes first and second rotational angle calculators each calculating, based on a corresponding one of a first measurement value of the first sensor element and a second measurement value of the second sensor element, a rotational angle of the detection target. The circuit module includes first and second rotation number calculators each calculating, based on the corresponding one of the first measurement value and the second measurement value, a rotation number of the detection target. The circuit module includes first and second communicators each outputting, to a controller, a rotational angle signal based on the rotational angle and a rotation number signal based on the rotation number. A package packages the first and second sensor elements, and is mounted to a circuit board separately from the controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2017
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Toshihiro FUJITA, Katsuhiko HAYASHI, Takaharu KOZAWA, Shuhei MIYACHI, Koichi NAKAMURA, Yuki WATANABE, Atsuko OKA, Shuji KURAMITSU, Toshimitsu SAKAI, Masaya TAKI