Patents by Inventor Tomohiro Sugai

Tomohiro Sugai 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: 10974706
    Abstract: A vehicle orientation control device is provided in a four wheel drive vehicle capable of applying braking and driving force to each of the vehicle wheels. The vehicle orientation control device (24) is provided in a vehicle control device (10) for controlling the four wheel drive vehicle and includes a standard yaw rate calculating unit (25), a yaw rate sensor (22), a target yaw moment calculating unit (26), a braking and driving force commanding unit (15), and a yaw moment control unit (27). The yaw moment control unit (27) includes an allocation ratio varying unit (27a) for continuously changing the front and rear allocation ratio of the yaw moment control torque to be distributed to the front and rear wheels (3) and (2) in dependence on the detected actual yaw rate that is detected by the yaw rate sensor (22).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Patent number: 10857995
    Abstract: The vehicle attitude control device generates target yaw moment on the basis of the deviation between a standard yaw rate and an actual yaw rate and is applied to a vehicle driven with the target yaw moment. The vehicle attitude control device is provided with a detection speed processor that performs a process such that a vehicle speed gently changes, a limit yaw rate calculator that determines a limit yaw rate by dividing lateral acceleration by the processed vehicle speed, and a standard yaw rate corrector that corrects the standard yaw rate using the limit yaw rate when the standard yaw rate is higher than the limit yaw rate. A target yaw moment calculator generates target yaw moment on the basis of the deviation between the standard yaw rate corrected by the standard yaw rate corrector and the actual yaw rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Patent number: 10661657
    Abstract: A PI/PID controller that generates a torque compensation value KPID through PI control or PID control, from a deviation between an allowable rotation speed and a rotation speed of a wheel; an adder that adds the torque compensation value to a torque command input value received from a higher-order controller, thereby obtaining a torque command output value; and a dead time compensator that has a control target model including a dead time and that applies a dead time compensation in generation of the torque compensation value by the Smith method. An input to the dead time compensator is an output of a P compensation or a PD compensation excluding an I compensation from a PI compensation or a PID compensation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Patent number: 10570962
    Abstract: A sealed bearing includes an inner race; and seal members each including a seal lip made of rubber. Each seal lip includes a plurality of protrusions circumferentially spaced apart from each other, and kept in sliding contact with the inner race with fluid lubrication condition generated between the protrusions and the inner race. Each protrusion has a circular arc-shaped cross section along the circumferential direction, and the circular arc-shaped cross section has a radius of 0.4 mm or more and less than 9.0 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuaki Sasaki, Tomohiro Sugai, Takahiro Wakuda
  • Publication number: 20190219102
    Abstract: A sealed bearing includes an inner race; and seal members each including a seal lip made of rubber. Each seal lip includes a plurality of protrusions circumferentially spaced apart from each other, and kept in sliding contact with the inner race with fluid lubrication condition generated between the protrusions and the inner race. Each protrusion has a circular arc-shaped cross section along the circumferential direction, and the circular arc-shaped cross section has a radius of 0.4 mm or more and less than 9.0 mm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2017
    Publication date: July 18, 2019
    Applicant: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuaki SASAKI, Tomohiro SUGAI, Takahiro WAKUDA
  • Patent number: 10093308
    Abstract: A vehicle electronic stability control system which allows a vehicle to have improved movement performance and limit performance without causing a driver to feel uncomfortable, by actuating electronic stability control from a state where a lateral slip is relatively less likely to occur. The system prevents a skid of a vehicle. The system is provided with a stability determination module that obtains information indicating vehicle behavior from a sensor, and determines whether the vehicle is in an unstable or less stable state, on the basis of the information. The system is further provided with a braking/driving force control module which, when the stability determination module determines that the vehicle is in the unstable or less stable state, applies a braking force to one of the drive wheels, and simultaneously applies a driving force to the motor for the other drive wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Publication number: 20180236875
    Abstract: The present invention includes: a PI/PID controller that generates a torque compensation value KPID through PI control or PID control, from a deviation between an allowable rotation speed and a rotation speed of a wheel; an adder that adds the torque compensation value to a torque command input value received from a higher-order controller, thereby obtaining a torque command output value; and a dead time compensator that has a control target model including a dead time and that applies a dead time compensation in generation of the torque compensation value by the Smith method. An input to the dead time compensator is an output of a P compensation or a PD compensation excluding an I compensation from a PI compensation or a PID compensation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2018
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Applicant: NTN Corporation
    Inventor: Tomohiro SUGAI
  • Publication number: 20180208184
    Abstract: The vehicle attitude control device generates target yaw moment on the basis of the deviation between a standard yaw rate and an actual yaw rate and is applied to a vehicle driven with the target yaw moment. The vehicle attitude control device is provided with a detection speed processor that performs a process such that a vehicle speed gently changes, a limit yaw rate calculator that determines a limit yaw rate by dividing lateral acceleration by the processed vehicle speed, and a standard yaw rate corrector that corrects the standard yaw rate using the limit yaw rate when the standard yaw rate is higher than the limit yaw rate. A target yaw moment calculator generates target yaw moment on the basis of the deviation between the standard yaw rate corrected by the standard yaw rate corrector and the actual yaw rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Publication date: July 26, 2018
    Applicant: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Publication number: 20180099677
    Abstract: A vehicle orientation control device is provided in a four wheel drive vehicle capable of applying braking and driving force to each of the vehicle wheels. The vehicle orientation control device (24) is provided in a vehicle control device (10) for controlling the four wheel drive vehicle and includes a standard yaw rate calculating unit (25), a yaw rate sensor (22), a target yaw moment calculating unit (26), a braking and driving force commanding unit (15), and a yaw moment control unit (27). The yaw moment control unit (27) includes an allocation ratio varying unit (27a) for continuously changing the front and rear allocation ratio of the yaw moment control torque to be distributed to the front and rear wheels (3) and (2) in dependence on the detected actual yaw rate that is detected by the yaw rate sensor (22).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Publication date: April 12, 2018
    Applicant: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro SUGAI
  • Patent number: 9771100
    Abstract: Provided is a control device for a steer-by-wire steering mechanism, the control device including: a tire lateral force detection unit configured to detect tire lateral forces acting on left and right wheels; and a toe angle control unit configured to control toe angles of left and right wheels independently of each other such that the detected tire lateral forces become target lateral forces. Not during deceleration, the toe angle control unit sets target lateral forces FLt and FRt such that the total sum of the left and right target lateral forces is not changed and the total sum of absolute values thereof is decreased, and during deceleration, the toe angle control unit sets the target lateral forces FLt and FRt such that straight traveling stability can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Publication number: 20170166203
    Abstract: A vehicle electronic stability control system allows a vehicle to have improved movement performance and limit performance without causing a driver to feel uncomfortable, by actuating electronic stability control from a state where a lateral slip is relatively less likely to occur. The system prevents skidding of a vehicle including motors which individually drive a pair of left and right drive wheels. A stability determination module obtains information indicating vehicle behavior from a sensor, and determines whether or not the vehicle is in an unstable or less stable state, on the basis of the information. A braking/driving force control module which, when the stability determination module determines that the vehicle is in the unstable or less stable state, applies a braking force to one of the drive wheels, and simultaneously applies a driving force to the motor for the other drive wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Publication date: June 15, 2017
    Applicant: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro SUGAI
  • Publication number: 20160243943
    Abstract: The antilock brake control device is used in a vehicle including: a motor to drive a wheel; a wheel bearing to transmit a rotation of the motor to the wheel and to rotationally support the wheel; and a friction brake to urge a press member against a brake rotor provided in each wheel, to generate a frictional force to brake the wheel. The antilock brake control device includes slip ratio monitor to monitor a slip ratio of the wheel; and driving torque addition section to add a torque in a driving direction to a torque command value for the motor when the slip ratio monitored by the slip ratio monitor exceeds a target slip ratio. When the torque in the driving direction is added to the torque command value for the motor, the friction brake is not operated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Applicant: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro SUGAI
  • Publication number: 20150012183
    Abstract: Provided is a control device for a steer-by-wire steering mechanism, the control device including: a tire lateral force detection unit configured to detect tire lateral forces acting on left and right wheels; and a toe angle control unit configured to control toe angles of left and right wheels independently of each other such that the detected tire lateral forces become target lateral forces. Not during deceleration, the toe angle control unit sets target lateral forces FLt and FRt such that the total sum of the left and right target lateral forces is not changed and the total sum of absolute values thereof is decreased, and during deceleration, the toe angle control unit sets the target lateral forces FLt and FRt such that straight traveling stability can be obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Publication date: January 8, 2015
    Applicant: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Patent number: 8567552
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire steering device includes a steering wheel connected with a steering shaft, a steering angle sensor, a steering reactive force motor, and a steering control unit for controlling a steering shaft drive motor and the steering reactive force motor. Provided is a power transmitting mechanism for transmitting the power from the steering shaft drive motor to the steering shaft. A changeover unit for selectively connecting and disconnecting the power is disposed on the way thereof. The changeover unit includes a clutch mechanism comprised of an input member and an output member juxtaposed in an axial direction for movement in the axial direction and, also, rotatable relative to each other, a clutch groove provided in one of those members, and a clutch rolling element provided in the other of those members and biased in a radial direction by the clutch groove so that it can be selectively engaged and disengaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: NTN Corporation
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai
  • Publication number: 20130075185
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire steering device includes a steering wheel connected with a steering shaft, a steering angle sensor, a steering reactive force motor, and a steering control unit for controlling a steering shaft drive motor and the steering reactive force motor. Provided is a power transmitting mechanism for transmitting the power from the steering shaft drive motor to the steering shaft. A changeover unit for selectively connecting and disconnecting the power is disposed on the way thereof. The changeover unit includes a clutch mechanism comprised of an input member and an output member juxtaposed in an axial direction for movement in the axial direction and, also, rotatable relative to each other, a clutch groove provided in one of those members, and a clutch rolling element provided in the other of those members and biased in a radial direction by the clutch groove so that it can be selectively engaged and disengaged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2011
    Publication date: March 28, 2013
    Applicant: NTN Corporation
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sugai