Patents by Inventor Yoshimoto Matsuda

Yoshimoto Matsuda 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: 9238497
    Abstract: An electric motorcycle comprises a motor case which is provided at a rear portion of a vehicle body frame; a swing arm which is pivotably coupled at its front end portion to the rear portion of the vehicle body frame; and a rear suspension coupled to the vehicle body frame and the swing arm. The lower end portion of the rear suspension is located below the swing arm, and the rear suspension extends vertically in a location close to a pivot around which the swing arm is pivotable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9233672
    Abstract: A control system in a vehicle configured to rotate a drive wheel by a driving power generated in a driving power source mounted in the vehicle; comprises a slip value measuring unit configured to measure a slip value indicating a degree to which the drive wheel spins; a change rate calculator configured to calculate a change rate of the slip value measured by the slip value measuring unit; and a road surface condition determiner configured to determine a road surface condition according to the change rate of the slip value calculated by the change rate calculator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9227603
    Abstract: A traction control system in vehicle comprises a detector for detecting a monitored value which changes according to a degree of a drive wheel slip; a condition determiner for determining whether or not the monitored value meets a control start condition and whether or not the monitored value meets a control termination condition; and a controller for executing traction control to reduce a driving power of the drive wheel during a period of time from when the condition determiner determines that the monitored value meets the control start condition until the condition determiner determines that the monitored value meets the control termination condition; the condition determiner being configured to set at least the control start condition variably based on a slip determination factor which changes according to a vehicle state and such that the control start condition changes more greatly according to the vehicle state than the control termination condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9205757
    Abstract: A straddle electric vehicle which rotates a drive wheel by driving power generated in an electric motor, comprises a battery unit which is an electric power supply for the electric motor; a vehicle body frame including a support frame for supporting the battery unit; and a battery case storing the battery unit; the battery case includes a support member which is placed below the battery unit and is vertically directly or indirectly in contact with the battery unit; and wherein the support frame supports the battery case and the battery unit in such a manner that the support frame is placed below the battery case to be vertically directly or indirectly in contact with the battery case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9187008
    Abstract: A straddle electric vehicle comprises a seat on which a rider is seated in a straddle state; right and left foot steps on which the rider puts feet, an electric motor for generating driving power for moving the straddle electric vehicle; a battery unit which is an electric power supply for activating the electric motor; and a battery case for storing the battery unit. The battery case is placed between the steering shaft and the seat in a forward or rearward direction and includes a seat vicinity portion which faces the seat in the forward or rearward direction. The seat vicinity portion is smaller in dimension in a rightward or leftward direction than a portion of the battery case which is other than the seat vicinity portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masafumi Inoue, Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150314703
    Abstract: A control device includes a torque setting section for setting a target output torque of an electric motor based on a driving state including an accelerator operation amount; a non-transmission state determiner section for determining whether a driving power transmission path is in a non-transmission state in which driving power is not permitted to be transmitted from the electric motor to a drive wheel or in a transmission state in which the driving power is permitted; and a torque compensation section for compensating the target output torque, when the non-transmission state determiner section determines that the driving power transmission path is in the non-transmission state. The torque compensation section compensates the target output torque by using a slowness characteristic in which a change in the motor rotational speed which occurs with time is slower when in the non-transmission state than when in the transmission state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirohide Matsushima, Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9162587
    Abstract: An electric vehicle comprises an electric motor; a manual transmission which selects one driving power transmission path and shifts a present driving power transmission path to the selected driving transmission path, in response to a rider changing a speed of the electric motor; a shifting state detecting device for detecting whether the manual transmission is in a driving power transmission state or in a driving power cut-off state; and a motor controller for executing a first control routine to control the electric motor; wherein in the first routine, torque control of the electric motor is performed when the manual transmission is detected to be in the driving power transmission state, and mitigation control of the electric motor is performed to mitigate an impact caused by shifting, when the manual transmission is detected to be in the driving power cut-off state, the mitigation control being different from the torque control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirohide Matsushima, Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9160214
    Abstract: Provided is an electric motorcycle including a traveling motor, and a power supply circuit of an inverter and the like, in which a non-conducting cooling oil is supplied to be brought into direct contact with at least one of an electromagnetic coil of the traveling motor and a circuit board of the inverter. A radiator is disposed outside cases of a power plant and a power control controller so as to allow a traveling wind to pass by. Cooling oil is circulated between the radiator and a case of at least one of the power plant and power control controller. A cooling structure for an electric motor and the like that can obtain a higher cooling efficiency than a conventional art while having a simple structure which hardly causes increases in size, weight, cost, and the like can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150283896
    Abstract: An air supply mechanism of an electric vehicle includes: a first air flowing pipe; a second air flowing pipe; and an air blower configured to generate a flow of air such that the air flows through a first air inlet into a first air flowing pipe and is discharged through a first air outlet to electric component accommodating spaces, and the air in the electric component accommodating spaces flows through a second air inlet into a second air flowing pipe and is discharged through a second air outlet to a space outside a vehicle body. The first air inlet and the second air outlet are arranged higher than a first battery, a second battery, and an inverter serving as “electric components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2012
    Publication date: October 8, 2015
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuma Nozaki, Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150280467
    Abstract: A saddle-riding electric vehicle includes a battery pack mounted to a vehicle body. The vehicle body can run in a state where the battery pack is removed from the vehicle body. The battery pack includes: a casing; removably mounted to the vehicle body; a battery accommodated in the casing; a running-phase power feeding connector provided on the casing and electrically connectable to a vehicle-body-side power feeding connector in a state where the casing is mounted to the vehicle body; an in-storage charging connector provided on the casing, disposed at a position different from that of the running-phase power feeding connector, and electrically connectable to an external power supply; and a battery monitoring unit accommodated in the casing and configured to monitor a state of the battery 62.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2012
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150274013
    Abstract: An electric vehicle according to the present invention includes: an electric motor configured to generate driving force to rotate left and right driving wheels; a battery as a power supply for the electric motor; an inverter configured to supply AC power to the electric motor; a differential device arranged between the left and right driving wheels; and a driving power transmission configured to transmit the driving force, generated by the electric motor, to the differential device. The differential device, the driving power transmission, and the electric motor are lined up linearly in a vehicle width direction. The electric motor is located at a first vehicle width direction side of a vehicle width center of the vehicle. The inverter is located at the first vehicle width direction side of the vehicle width center of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2012
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Inventors: Yoshimoto Matsuda, Takuma Nozaki
  • Publication number: 20150274019
    Abstract: A regenerative brake control system of an electric motorcycle includes an electric motor, sensors which detect the vehicle states, and a control unit which sets a target torque based on the vehicle state when the control unit determines that a regeneration condition is satisfied based on the detected vehicle state, and the control unit suppresses a regenerative braking amount more when it is detected that the electric motorcycle is turning than when it is detected that the electric motorcycle is not turning.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2012
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150274020
    Abstract: A regenerative brake control system of an electric motorcycle comprises an electric motor, sensors for detecting vehicle states of the electric motorcycle, and a control unit which sets target regenerative torque based on the vehicle states, when a regeneration condition is satisfied, and performs asymptotic control in such a manner that a torque command provided to the electric motor gets gradually close to the target regenerative torque with a passage of time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2012
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150266386
    Abstract: An electric vehicle comprises an electric motor which rotates a wheel; a battery which is an electric power supply unit for the electric motor; and a battery accommodating space which is provided in a vehicle body and accommodates the battery therein; wherein the battery accommodating space includes a first accommodating section which stores a standard battery pack including a first battery as the battery, and a second accommodating section which accommodates an optional battery pack including a second battery as the battery such that the optional battery pack is removable from the vehicle body, and wherein a voltage of the first battery is a value corresponding to an activation voltage of the electric motor, and the electric vehicle is capable of driving with an electric power supplied from at least the first battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2012
    Publication date: September 24, 2015
    Inventors: Yoshimoto Matsuda, Kazuma Waida
  • Publication number: 20150258898
    Abstract: A regenerative brake control system of an electric motorcycle includes an electric motor, a regeneration adjustment lever, sensors which detect vehicle states, respectively, and a control unit which sets reference regenerative torque according to the vehicle state, and the control unit calculates target torque obtained by compensating the reference regenerative torque based on the detected value of a regeneration amount sensor which detects the operation amount of a regeneration adjustment lever and controls the electric motor such that the electric motor generates regenerative torque.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2012
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9132878
    Abstract: An electric motorcycle according to the present invention includes a body frame having a head pipe supporting a steering shaft and a frame portion extending substantially rearward from the head pipe, an electric motor generating traveling power to be transmitted to a driving wheel, and an electric motor case housing the electric motor, wherein the electric motor case forms a part of the frame portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9132813
    Abstract: A brake control system in a vehicle which executes anti-lock brake control for controlling a braking force applied to a wheel to prevent the wheel from being locked during braking of the vehicle is provided. The brake control system includes an initiation determiner section for determining whether or not an initiation condition used to initiate the anti-lock brake control is met the initiation condition including a condition in which a decrease rate of a wheel speed which is a rotational speed of the wheel is not less than a predetermined threshold; and a brake control section for initiating control of the braking force applied to the wheel in the anti-lock brake control, if the initiation determiner section determines that the initiation condition is met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150251716
    Abstract: An assembling method of an electric vehicle comprises the steps of: assembling a vehicle body including a frame, wheels and an electric motor; conducting a vehicle body test including confirmation of a state of driving power transmission from the electric motor to the wheels by connecting an electric power supply unit installed in a vehicle body test place to the electric motor of the vehicle body and supplying electric power from the electric power supply unit to the electric motor; detaching the electric power supply unit from the electric motor and transporting the vehicle body which has passed the vehicle body test from the vehicle body test place to a mounting place, in a state in which a battery is not mounted to the vehicle body; and mounting the battery to the transported vehicle body in the mounting place.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2013
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150251540
    Abstract: An electric vehicle includes a switching unit which is capable of performing switching between a permission state in which an electric motor is permitted to operate and an inhibiting state in which the electric motor is inhibited from operating. An assembling management system of the electric vehicle includes an information obtaining section which obtains set information set in a vehicle body or a battery and transmits the obtained set information to a determiner section which determines whether or not the electric motor is permitted to operate based on the set information, and an output section which receives a result of determination from the determiner section, and outputs an electric signal indicating which of a permission state and an inhibiting state should be set in the switching unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2013
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda
  • Publication number: 20150246607
    Abstract: A liquid leakage countermeasure of a cooling medium channel is facilitated, and a need of high power of a pump for circulating a cooling medium is relaxed. An electric vehicle includes: a vehicle body including a dashboard which separates a front space covered with a hood and a boarding space provided with a seat on which a driver is seated; an electric component which is provided behind the dashboard and generates heat by electric energy for generating rotational power for vehicle traveling; and a heat exchanger provided behind the dashboard and configured to cool down a cooling medium circulating between the heat exchanger and the electric component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2012
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Applicant: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshimoto Matsuda