Patents by Inventor Takahiko Hirasawa

Takahiko Hirasawa 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: 11783703
    Abstract: A traffic signal control system includes a processor configured to adjust a green time of a traffic signal based on vehicle class information on each of vehicles of a vehicle group approaching an intersection. The vehicle class information indicates whether the vehicle is an environmentally friendly vehicle or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle that is not the environmentally friendly vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiji Kaita, Takahiko Hirasawa
  • Patent number: 11629302
    Abstract: A fuel production plant includes an electrolysis apparatus; an ethanol generation apparatus that decomposes sugars to generate ethanol and carbon dioxide; and a hydrocarbon generation apparatus that generates hydrocarbons by reacting carbon dioxide with hydrogen. The fuel production plant further includes a hydrogen supply part that supplies hydrogen generated in the electrolysis apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus by coupling the electrolysis apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus, an oxygen supply part that supplies oxygen generated in the electrolysis apparatus to the ethanol generation apparatus by coupling the electrolysis apparatus to the ethanol generation apparatus, and a carbon dioxide supply part that supplies carbon dioxide generated in the ethanol generation apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus by coupling the ethanol generation apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiji Kaita, Takahiko Hirasawa, Noriko Yasutani, Hideo Kato, Oji Kuno
  • Patent number: 11603109
    Abstract: A vehicle includes: an instrument panel that displays an alarm to a driver; and an ECU that controls the instrument panel based on a setting as to whether the driver is to perform maintenance of the vehicle or not. In a first setting in which the driver is to perform maintenance, the ECU controls the instrument panel to display an alarm when a failure occurs in an on-vehicle device. In a second setting in which the driver is not to perform maintenance, the ECU controls the instrument panel not to display an alarm about a failure less influencing traveling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Tomoko Oba, Takaharu Hori, Kenji Uchida
  • Publication number: 20230054393
    Abstract: An incentive granting system grants an incentive to CO2 reduction traveling by a user of the vehicle that directly or indirectly emits CO2. The incentive granting system includes one or more processors, and is configured to grant a reward point to the user, in the vehicle traveling from a current location to a destination, based on at least one of selection of a traveling route in which a CO2 emission amount is reduced with respect to a standard traveling route, selection of a traveling mode, and reduction of an actual CO2 emission amount with respect to a standard CO2 emission amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2022
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiji Kaita, Masaya Yamamoto, Takahiko Hirasawa
  • Publication number: 20230033586
    Abstract: An in-vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle includes an electronic control unit configured to determine that there is a possibility that damage to a bottom portion of the vehicle occurs when a vertical acceleration, which is an acceleration in a vertical direction of the vehicle, or a vertical acceleration increase rate, which is an amount of increase in the vertical acceleration per unit time, reaches a first threshold value or higher.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2022
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiji KAITA, Masaya Yamamoto, Koichi Kojima, Takahiko Hirasawa
  • Publication number: 20230034991
    Abstract: A fuel production plant includes an electrolysis apparatus; an ethanol generation apparatus that decomposes sugars to generate ethanol and carbon dioxide; and a hydrocarbon generation apparatus that generates hydrocarbons by reacting carbon dioxide with hydrogen. The fuel production plant further includes a hydrogen supply part that supplies hydrogen generated in the electrolysis apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus by coupling the electrolysis apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus, an oxygen supply part that supplies oxygen generated in the electrolysis apparatus to the ethanol generation apparatus by coupling the electrolysis apparatus to the ethanol generation apparatus, and a carbon dioxide supply part that supplies carbon dioxide generated in the ethanol generation apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus by coupling the ethanol generation apparatus to the hydrocarbon generation apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2022
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiji KAITA, Takahiko HIRASAWA, Noriko YASUTANI, Hideo KATO, Oji KUNO
  • Publication number: 20230031158
    Abstract: A traffic signal control system includes a processor configured to adjust a green time of a traffic signal based on vehicle class information on each of vehicles of a vehicle group approaching an intersection. The vehicle class information indicates whether the vehicle is an environmentally friendly vehicle or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle that is not the environmentally friendly vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2022
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keiji KAITA, Takahiko HIRASAWA
  • Publication number: 20220294256
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a motor configured to generate electric power, an energy storage device configured to store the electric power generated by the motor, a drive device electrically connected to the energy storage device and the motor and configured to drive the motor, and a processor configured to control the drive device to cause the motor to generate less power when a circulating current occurs than when there is no circulating current. The circulating current is a current that does not flow into the drive device but circulates in the energy storage device or that circulates between inside and outside of the energy storage device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2022
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Keiji Kaita, Keiichi Minamiura, Takahiko Hirasawa
  • Publication number: 20220281438
    Abstract: A vehicle controller controls a power train of a vehicle and is configured to switch control of the power train between first control and second control. The second control reduces operating noise of the power train by a greater degree than the first control. The vehicle controller is configured to based on sounds in a passenger compartment, perform mood determination in order to determine whether an occupant of the vehicle is in a state of high tolerance for the operating noise or in a state of low tolerance for the operating noise; control the power train through the first control when determining that the occupant is in the state of high tolerance through the mood determination; and control the power train through the second control when determining that the occupant is in the state of low tolerance through the mood determination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Keiji KAITA, Takahiko HIRASAWA, Kentaro OTOKUBO, Hirotaka OMISHA, Kimihiro NAKAYAMA
  • Patent number: 11370451
    Abstract: A server includes a storage device that stores history information indicating a history of a state of a vehicle, and a controller that performs a process using the history information. The controller makes a first determination of whether or not a vehicle load exceeds a first load. For the vehicle for which it has been determined that the vehicle load is higher than the first load in the first determination, the controller makes a second determination of whether or not an environmental load is higher than a second load. When it is determined that the environmental load is higher than the second load in the second determination, the controller outputs an area change request requesting a change of the dispatch area of the vehicle to another dispatch area lower in the environmental load than a current dispatch area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Kenji Uchida, Tomoko Oba, Takaharu Hori
  • Patent number: 11305770
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a drive device for traveling, and a control device configured to control the drive device so that the vehicle travels with a target driving force based on an accelerator operation amount. The control device is configured to set the target driving force such that a change in the target driving force with respect to a change in the accelerator operation amount is gentler in a case where steady traveling is desired as compared with a case where the steady traveling is not desired. Therefore, in a case where the steady traveling is desired, a variation of a vehicle speed with respect to a slight variation of the accelerator operation amount can be gentle and continuous steady traveling can be facilitated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Keiji Kaita
  • Publication number: 20210001855
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a drive device for traveling, and a control device configured to control the drive device so that the vehicle travels with a target driving force based on an accelerator operation amount. The control device is configured to set the target driving force such that a change in the target driving force with respect to a change in the accelerator operation amount is gentler in a case where steady traveling is desired as compared with a case where the steady traveling is not desired. Therefore, in a case where the steady traveling is desired, a variation of a vehicle speed with respect to a slight variation of the accelerator operation amount can be gentle and continuous steady traveling can be facilitated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Publication date: January 7, 2021
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiko HIRASAWA, Keiji KAITA
  • Publication number: 20200361479
    Abstract: A vehicle includes: an instrument panel that displays an alarm to a driver; and an ECU that controls the instrument panel based on a setting as to whether the driver is to perform maintenance of the vehicle or not. In a first setting in which the driver is to perform maintenance, the ECU controls the instrument panel to display an alarm when a failure occurs in an on-vehicle device. In a second setting in which the driver is not to perform maintenance, the ECU controls the instrument panel not to display an alarm about a failure less influencing traveling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2020
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Tomoko Oba, Takaharu Hori, Kenji Uchida
  • Publication number: 20200255024
    Abstract: A server includes a storage device that stores history information indicating a history of a state of a vehicle, and a controller that performs a process using the history information. The controller makes a first determination of whether or not a vehicle load exceeds a first load. For the vehicle for which it has been determined that the vehicle load is higher than the first load in the first determination, the controller makes a second determination of whether or not an environmental load is higher than a second load. When it is determined that the environmental load is higher than the second load in the second determination, the controller outputs an area change request requesting a change of the dispatch area of the vehicle to another dispatch area lower in the environmental load than a current dispatch area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Kenji Uchida, Tomoko Oba, Takaharu Hori
  • Patent number: 10618410
    Abstract: A motor vehicle comprises a motor configured to input and output power for driving; an inverter configured to drive the motor; a power storage device configured to transmit electric power to and from the motor; a system main relay configured to connect and disconnect the power storage device with and from a power line on an inverter-side; and a control device configured to enable the motor vehicle to be driven with turning on the system main relay according to a predetermined procedure in response to a system on-operation. The motor vehicle does not perform failure diagnosis of the inverter when an abnormality signal of the inverter is generated before a predetermined time after the system main relay is turned on in response to the system on-operation, while performing the failure diagnosis when the abnormality signal of the inverter is generated after the predetermined time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Junmin Cao
  • Patent number: 10407057
    Abstract: There is provided a hybrid vehicle configured to control an engine, a first motor, a second motor and a third motor such as to be driven based on a required torque for driving. When the second motor is undrivable, the hybrid vehicle is configured to control the engine, the first motor and the third motor, such as to provide a higher state of charge of a battery than a state of charge of the battery provided when the second motor is drivable and such as to output a torque from the engine via a planetary gear to one pair of wheels accompanied with output of a torque from the first motor and output a torque from the third motor to the other pair of wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Shingo Takinai, Yutaka Koyama, Junmin Cao, Kengou Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 10358127
    Abstract: There is provided a hybrid vehicle configured to control an engine, a first motor, a second motor and a third motor such as to be driven based on a required torque for driving. When the second motor is undrivable, the hybrid vehicle is configured to control the engine, the first motor and the third motor, such as to provide a higher state of charge of a battery than a state of charge of the battery provided when the second motor is drivable and such as to output a torque from the engine via a planetary gear to one pair of wheels accompanied with output of a torque from the first motor and output a torque from the third motor to the other pair of wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiko Hirasawa, Shingo Takinai, Yutaka Koyama, Junmin Cao, Kengou Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20180201137
    Abstract: A motor vehicle comprises a motor configured to input and output power for driving; an inverter configured to drive the motor; a power storage device configured to transmit electric power to and from the motor; a system main relay configured to connect and disconnect the power storage device with and from a power line on an inverter-side; and a control device configured to enable the motor vehicle to be driven with turning on the system main relay according to a predetermined procedure in response to a system on-operation. The motor vehicle does not perform failure diagnosis of the inverter when an abnormality signal of the inverter is generated before a predetermined time after the system main relay is turned on in response to the system on-operation, while performing the failure diagnosis when the abnormality signal of the inverter is generated after the predetermined time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Publication date: July 19, 2018
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiko HIRASAWA, Junmin CAO
  • Publication number: 20180043881
    Abstract: There is provided a hybrid vehicle configured to control an engine, a first motor, a second motor and a third motor such as to be driven based on a required torque for driving. When the second motor is undrivable, the hybrid vehicle is configured to control the engine, the first motor and the third motor, such as to provide a higher state of charge of a battery than a state of charge of the battery provided when the second motor is drivable and such as to output a torque from the engine via a planetary gear to one pair of wheels accompanied with output of a torque from the first motor and output a torque from the third motor to the other pair of wheels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Publication date: February 15, 2018
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiko HIRASAWA, Shingo TAKINAI, Yutaka KOYAMA, Junmin CAO, Kengou YAMAMOTO
  • Patent number: 9698615
    Abstract: An electric vehicle includes: a storage device configured to store power used for traveling; an auxiliary battery configured to store power supplied to an auxiliary load; a converter configured to charge the auxiliary battery by using power supplied from the storage device; and a shut-off device configured to switch between a supply condition in which power is supplied to the auxiliary load from the auxiliary battery and a shut-off condition in which power is not supplied to the auxiliary load from the auxiliary battery. During control of the electric vehicle, the converter is controlled such that an output voltage of the converter is higher when the shut-off device is in the shut-off condition than when the shut-off device is in the supply condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Sugiyama, Keiji Kaita, Takahiko Hirasawa, Yasuomi Takeuchi