Patents by Inventor Takahiro Umehara
Takahiro Umehara 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).
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Publication number: 20250046833Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system capable of suppressing generation of an abnormal potential of a fuel cell. An air-cooled fuel cell system, wherein the fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell, a hydrogen system for supplying hydrogen to the fuel cell, a reaction air system for supplying reaction air to the fuel cell, and a cooling air system for supplying cooling air to the fuel cell; wherein the fuel cell comprises a reaction air flow path and a cooling air flow path and has a flow path structure in which the reaction air and the cooling air are independent.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 29, 2024Publication date: February 6, 2025Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Nobuaki NONOYAMA, Takahiro UMEHARA
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Publication number: 20250046834Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system capable of appropriately recovering the activity of a cathode catalyst is provided. An air-cooled fuel cell system, wherein the fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell, a hydrogen system for supplying hydrogen to the fuel cell, a reaction air system for supplying reaction air to the fuel cell, and a cooling air system for supplying cooling air to the fuel cell; wherein the fuel cell comprises a reaction air flow path and a cooling air flow path and has a flow path structure in which the reaction air and the cooling air are independent.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 29, 2024Publication date: February 6, 2025Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Takahiro UMEHARA, Nobuaki NONOYAMA
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Publication number: 20250046836Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system capable of suppressing deterioration of a fuel cell. An air-cooled fuel cell system, wherein the fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell, a hydrogen system for supplying hydrogen to the fuel cell, a reaction air system for supplying reaction air to the fuel cell, and a cooling air system for supplying cooling air to the fuel cell; wherein the fuel cell comprises a reaction air flow path and a cooling air flow path and has a flow path structure in which the reaction air and the cooling air are independent.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 29, 2024Publication date: February 6, 2025Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Nobuaki NONOYAMA, Takahiro UMEHARA
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Patent number: 12119736Abstract: A power supply unit includes a power supply and a converter. The converter performs operation selected from the group consisting of boosting and stepping down of an output voltage of the power supply; and includes a reactor in which n-phase coils are magnetically coupled to each other, n-phase switches, and a control unit. The control unit controls duty cycles of the n-phase switches; monitors a current value flowing through the n-phase coils; and performs phase switching control when the control unit determines that an operation condition described below is satisfied, the phase switching control being control in which the control unit performs phase switching from in phase to out of phase in the case where the n-phase switches are being driven in phase and performs phase switching from out of phase to in phase in the case where the n-phase switches are being driven out of phase.Type: GrantFiled: August 22, 2022Date of Patent: October 15, 2024Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Tomohiko Kaneko, Nobuyuki Kitamura, Takahiro Umehara, Masayuki Ito
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Patent number: 11973411Abstract: To provide a power supply unit configured to determine the boundary between the operation modes (continuous mode and discontinuous mode) of a converter with high accuracy. The power supply unit is a power supply unit wherein the controller controls a value of output current of the power supply by controlling a duty ratio by switching the second switch; wherein the controller detects the current value of the reactor acquired by the current sensor, at a frequency of at least n (n is an integer of 2 or more) times in a cycle of the switching.Type: GrantFiled: January 12, 2022Date of Patent: April 30, 2024Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Tomohiko Kaneko, Masayuki Ito, Takahiro Umehara
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Patent number: 11831055Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system configured to appropriately measure the AC impedance of a fuel cell. A fuel cell system wherein the controller controls ON and OFF of the switches of n phases; wherein the controller operates the switches of the n phases at different phases, and the controller operates the switches of the n phases at the same duty ratio; wherein the controller operates the switches of the n phases at different duty ratios, when the controller determines that a specific condition is met; and wherein the controller measures the AC impedance of the fuel cell from the current waveform and voltage waveform of the fuel cell.Type: GrantFiled: March 9, 2022Date of Patent: November 28, 2023Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Takahiro Umehara, Nobuyuki Kitamura, Masayuki Ito, Tomohiko Kaneko
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Publication number: 20230378786Abstract: A power supply control apparatus includes a switching control device configured to switch each of switching elements of a power converter between an on state and an off state alternately, and a discharge control device configured to, when residual charge of the fuel cell is discharged, control a gas supply unit such that oxidant gas is not supplied to the fuel cell, in a first period, control the switching control device such that an on time during which at least one switching element is maintained in the on state is longer than the on time during an operation of the fuel cell and the at least one switching element is switched between the on state and the off state alternately, and, in a second period subsequent to the first period, control the switching control device such that the at least one switching element continues to maintain the on state.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 4, 2023Publication date: November 23, 2023Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Takahiro UMEHARA, Nobuyuki KITAMURA, Kota MANABE
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Patent number: 11722047Abstract: To provide a voltage converter configured to suppress individual variation in voltage conversion ratio and configured to achieve a high voltage conversion ratio. A voltage converter comprising a reactor, a switching element, a diode, a current sensor, and a controller, wherein the controller detects a current value of the reactor several times in a switching period; wherein the controller calculates an estimated execution ON time length from a transition of a current value of the reactor detected in the switching period; wherein the controller calculates a difference between the estimated execution ON time length and a command ON time length instructed by the controller; and wherein, by using the difference, the controller corrects the command ON time length of the time when performing any of subsequent ON commands in a range not exceeding a predetermined command ON time upper limit value.Type: GrantFiled: January 14, 2022Date of Patent: August 8, 2023Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Takahiro Umehara
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Publication number: 20230070203Abstract: A power supply unit includes a power supply and a converter. The converter performs operation selected from the group consisting of boosting and stepping down of an output voltage of the power supply; and includes a reactor in which n-phase coils are magnetically coupled to each other, n-phase switches, and a control unit. The control unit controls duty cycles of the n-phase switches; monitors a current value flowing through the n-phase coils; and performs phase switching control when the control unit determines that an operation condition described below is satisfied, the phase switching control being control in which the control unit performs phase switching from in phase to out of phase in the case where the n-phase switches are being driven in phase and performs phase switching from out of phase to in phase in the case where the n-phase switches are being driven out of phase.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 22, 2022Publication date: March 9, 2023Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Tomohiko KANEKO, Nobuyuki KITAMURA, Takahiro UMEHARA, Masayuki ITO
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Publication number: 20220399556Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system configured to appropriately measure the AC impedance of a fuel cell. A fuel cell system wherein a controller controls ON and OFF of switches of n phases; wherein the controller monitors current values of coils; the controller operates the switches of the n phases at different phases; wherein the controller operates duty ratios of the switches of the n phases with periodically increasing and decreasing them, and the controller measures an AC impedance of a fuel cell from a current waveform of and a voltage waveform of the fuel cell; and wherein, when the controller determines that a predetermined condition 1 is met, the controller makes amplitudes which increase and decrease the duty ratios large compared to other operating conditions.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 6, 2022Publication date: December 15, 2022Inventors: Masayuki ITO, Nobuyuki KITAMURA, Takahiro UMEHARA, Tomohiko KANEKO
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Publication number: 20220348182Abstract: A structure equipped with a fuel cell system, wherein the structure comprises: a skirt configured to form an accumulation space between a bottom of the structure and the ground, an air supplier configured to supply off-gas, which is discharged from the fuel cell system, to at least one space selected from the group consisting of the accumulation space and an internal space of the skirt, and a pressure discharger configured to discharge pressure accumulated in the accumulation space to outside of the skirt from a lower end of the skirt, and wherein lift is imparted to the structure by supplying a predetermined amount of the off-gas from the air supplier to at least one space selected from the group consisting of the accumulation space and the internal space of the skirt.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 26, 2022Publication date: November 3, 2022Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Toshiaki Kusakari, Hideaki Tanaka, Takahiro Umehara, Kenjo Miyashita, Shinya Yamaguchi, Yoshihiro Tamura, Kaisei Hino, Riyo Hiraiso
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Publication number: 20220293981Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system configured to appropriately measure the AC impedance of a fuel cell. A fuel cell system wherein the controller controls ON and OFF of the switches of n phases; wherein the controller operates the switches of the n phases at different phases, and the controller operates the switches of the n phases at the same duty ratio; wherein the controller operates the switches of the n phases at different duty ratios, when the controller determines that a specific condition is met; and wherein the controller measures the AC impedance of the fuel cell from the current waveform and voltage waveform of the fuel cell.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 9, 2022Publication date: September 15, 2022Inventors: Takahiro UMEHARA, Nobuyuki KITAMURA, Masayuki ITO, Tomohiko KANEKO
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Publication number: 20220293982Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system configured to appropriately measure the AC impedance of a fuel cell. A fuel cell system wherein the controller controls ON and OFF of the switches of n phases; wherein the controller operates the switches of the n phases at different phases, and the controller operates the switches of the n phases at the same duty ratio; wherein the controller operates the switches of the n phases at the same phase, when the controller determines that a specific condition is met; and wherein the controller measures the AC impedance of the fuel cell from the current waveform and voltage waveform of the fuel cell.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 9, 2022Publication date: September 15, 2022Inventors: Nobuyuki KITAMURA, Masayuki ITO, Tomohiko KANEKO, Takahiro UMEHARA
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Publication number: 20220231590Abstract: To provide a voltage converter configured to suppress individual variation in voltage conversion ratio and configured to achieve a high voltage conversion ratio. A voltage converter comprising a reactor, a switching element, a diode, a current sensor, and a controller, wherein the controller detects a current value of the reactor several times in a switching period; wherein the controller calculates an estimated execution ON time length from a transition of a current value of the reactor detected in the switching period; wherein the controller calculates a difference between the estimated execution ON time length and a command ON time length instructed by the controller; and wherein, by using the difference, the controller corrects the command ON time length of the time when performing any of subsequent ON commands in a range not exceeding a predetermined command ON time upper limit value.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 14, 2022Publication date: July 21, 2022Inventor: Takahiro UMEHARA
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Publication number: 20220224232Abstract: To provide a power supply unit configured to determine the boundary between the operation modes (continuous mode and discontinuous mode) of a converter with high accuracy. The power supply unit is a power supply unit wherein the controller controls a value of output current of the power supply by controlling a duty ratio by switching the second switch; wherein the controller detects the current value of the reactor acquired by the current sensor, at a frequency of at least n (n is an integer of 2 or more) times in a cycle of the switching.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 12, 2022Publication date: July 14, 2022Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Tomohiko KANEKO, Masayuki ITO, Takahiro UMEHARA
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Patent number: 11214151Abstract: A voltage control system includes: a converter controlling portion; a current value acquisition portion; and a voltage value acquisition portion. The converter controlling portion sets a duty ratio in a present cycle by adding an addition term to a feedforward term, the addition term being determined by use of a current deviation, which is a difference between a target value of an output current in the present cycle and a current measured value in a previous cycle, and the duty ratio in the previous cycle, the addition term being corresponding to an increase of the output current in the present cycle.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2017Date of Patent: January 4, 2022Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yutaka Tano, Kenji Umayahara, Takahiro Umehara
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Patent number: 11142093Abstract: A fuel cell vehicle according to the present disclosure includes: a fuel cell; a multiphase converter configured to control an output current of the fuel cell; a current sensor provided in each phase of the multiphase converter; an electric load configured to receive power supplied from the fuel cell; and a control unit. The control unit performs, when it detects an excess or a deficiency of electric energy of the electric load, replacement of phases driven by the multiphase converter while the output current of the fuel cell is kept constant, and determines, when the excess or the deficiency of the electric energy of the electric load is eliminated after the replacement of the phases, that an offset failure has occurred in the current sensor provided in the phase that has been driven before the replacement.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2019Date of Patent: October 12, 2021Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Shinya Owatari, Yutaka Tano, Osamu Yumita, Takahiro Umehara
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Patent number: 10818945Abstract: A voltage control system includes a converter device, and a controller configured to set a duty ratio according to a current target value so as to cause the converter device to repeatedly perform a boost operation according to the duty ratio. The controller is configured to set the duty ratio by use of a basic term including a feedforward term, and an additional term, the feedforward term being derived by use of a measured value of a magnitude of an input of a reactor provided in the converter device and a measured value of a magnitude of an output of the reactor or by use of respective target values of the magnitude of the input and the magnitude of the output in the reactor, the additional term being derived by use of the variation of the current target value during one cycle.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 2017Date of Patent: October 27, 2020Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yutaka Tano, Kenji Umayahara, Takahiro Umehara, Tomoya Ogawa
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Publication number: 20200215932Abstract: A fuel cell vehicle according to the present disclosure includes: a fuel cell; a multiphase converter configured to control an output current of the fuel cell; a current sensor provided in each phase of the multiphase converter; an electric load configured to receive power supplied from the fuel cell; and a control unit. The control unit performs, when it detects an excess or a deficiency of electric energy of the electric load, replacement of phases driven by the multiphase converter while the output current of the fuel cell is kept constant, and determines, when the excess or the deficiency of the electric energy of the electric load is eliminated after the replacement of the phases, that an offset failure has occurred in the current sensor provided in the phase that has been driven before the replacement.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 18, 2019Publication date: July 9, 2020Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Shinya OWATARI, Yutaka TANO, Osamu YUMITA, Takahiro UMEHARA
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Patent number: 10693163Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a control section that: transmits a first current command value used to lower an output voltage of a fuel cell stack to a fuel cell converter when the output voltage becomes equal to or higher than a first voltage; transmits a second current command value used to boost the output voltage to the fuel cell converter when the output voltage becomes equal to or lower than a second voltage; stores the first current command value as a first storage value when the output voltage becomes equal to or lower than the second voltage; stores the second current command value as a second storage value when the output voltage becomes equal to or higher than the first voltage; and transmits a current command value that falls between the first storage value and the second storage value to the fuel cell converter.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2018Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Akihiro Kamiya, Yutaka Tano, Takahiro Umehara