Patents by Inventor Yuji Iwase

Yuji Iwase 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: 8357073
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a power transmitting system of a hybrid vehicle including (a) a differential portion which has a differential mechanism operatively connected to an engine and a first electric operatively connected to the differential mechanism, and a differential state of which is controlled by controlling an operating state of the first electric motor, and (b) a differential-state switching device which is incorporated in the differential mechanism and which is operable according to a differential-state switching condition, to switch the differential mechanism between a differential state in which the differential mechanism is operable to perform a differential function and a non-differential state in which the differential mechanism is not operable to perform the differential function, the control apparatus including a differential-state-switching-condition changing portion operable to change a differential-state switching condition for switching the differential-state switching device to switch the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Iwase, Tatsuya Imamura, Atsushi Tabata
  • Patent number: 8342274
    Abstract: When an engine is driven on a different type of fuel (for example, ethanol-containing fuel) from a reference fuel (for example, gasoline) and the engine torque is thus greater than that produced when the engine is driven on the reference fuel, a differential state control device expands a non-differential range compared to that at the time when the reference fuel is used. Thus, in the case where a plurality of types of fuel including the reference fuel are supplied to the engine, the advantage of switching a power distribution mechanism between a differential enabled state and a non-differential state can be fully utilized in correspondence with engine torque characteristics which may vary in accordance with the type of fuel for the engine. As a result, the fuel consumption rate can be reduced in correspondence with the plurality of types of fuel supplied to the engine, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Imamura, Tooru Matsubara, Atsushi Tabata, Yuji Iwase, Kenta Kumazaki, Keita Imai
  • Patent number: 8323146
    Abstract: The present invention provides a control device for a vehicular drive apparatus with a structure of enabling the suppression of gearshift shock occurring during concurrent shifting executed of a first shifting portion and a second shifting portion. When the concurrent shifting are executed around the same time in which a down shift in one of a differential portion (first shifting portion) and an automatic shifting portion (second shifting portion) and an upshift in the other of them are executed, a first electric motor is caused to control a rotation speed of a second rotary element (sun gear). Thus, a shifting progress state upon the concurrent shifting is controlled. This causes shifting directions i.e., variation of the engine rotation speed in shifting of a shifting mechanism to be set in a unidirectional, enabling the suppression of gearshift shock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Tooru Matsubara, Yuji Iwase, Hiroyuki Shibata
  • Patent number: 8308593
    Abstract: A drive system of a hybrid vehicle, including an engine, a first electric motor, a second electric motor operatively connected to a drive wheel of the hybrid vehicle, and two planetary gear mechanisms, and wherein the two planetary gear mechanisms have at least four rotary elements arranged to permit the drive system to be placed in a selected one of a first operation mode in which the rotary element connected to the engine and the rotary element connected to the first electric motor are disposed on opposite sides of the rotary element connected to the drive wheel and the second electric motor, as seen in a collinear chart in which the four rotary elements are located at respective four different positions along a base line, and a second operation mode in which the rotary element connected to the first electric motor and the rotary element connected to the drive wheel and the second electric motor are disposed on opposite sides of the rotary element connected to the engine, as seen in said collinear chart.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenta Kumazaki, Tooru Matsubara, Atsushi Tabata, Keita Imai, Masakazu Kaifuku, Masaki Yoshida, Tatsuya Imamura, Yuji Iwase
  • Publication number: 20120283065
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicular power transmitting system includes a shifting-point changing portion configured to change a shifting point at which a determination to perform a shifting action of a transmission portion is made, such that a shifting portion is changed according to a shifting response of the transmission portion. Alternatively, the control apparatus includes a shift-control start-point changing portion configured to change a shift-control start point at which the determination to perform the shifting action is made, such that the shift-control start point is changed according to the shifting response of the transmission portion, and a compulsory shift-control starting portion configured to make the determination when an operating point of a differential portion electric motor has reached the shift-control start point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2012
    Publication date: November 8, 2012
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Imamura, Yuji Iwase, Atsushi Tabata, Kenta Kumazaki, Tooru Matsubara
  • Patent number: 8303467
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicular drive system including (a) an electrically controlled differential portion having a differential mechanism and operable to control a differential state between its input and output speeds by controlling an operating state of an electric motor connected to a rotary element of the differential mechanism, and (b) a transmission portion which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the electrically controlled differential portion and a drive wheel of a vehicle, the control apparatus including a non-iso-power shifting control portion configured to implement a non-iso-power shifting control of the vehicular drive system (differential portion) when a required special shifting action of the transmission portion not according to a shifting boundary line map should be restricted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kasiha
    Inventors: Yuji Iwase, Tooru Matsubara, Hiroyuki Shibata, Atsushi Tabata
  • Patent number: 8251864
    Abstract: A control device for hybrid vehicle drive apparatus which executes an internal-combustion-engine rotation control for rotating an engine output shaft under a circumstance where a consecutive travel distance LM involved in a motor drive running mode exceeds a given consecutive travel distance determining value L1. The rotation of the engine output shaft results in an effect of accelerating the lubrication of an engine. Once the engine output shaft is rotated, no component parts of the engine actually take the completely same attitudes at time before and after such rotation. This avoids the component parts of the engine from continuously remaining contact with each other in the same attitudes when encountered with running vibrations during the motor drive running mode, minimizing adverse affect on durability of the engine due to the running vibrations occurring in the motor drive running mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Yuji Iwase, Tatsuya Imamura
  • Patent number: 8187143
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicular drive system including (a) an internal combustion engine, and (b) a first transmission portion and a second transmission portion disposed in a power transmitting path between the internal combustion engine and a drive wheel of a vehicle, the first transmission portion having an electrically controlled differential portion which includes a first electric motor and a differential state of which is controllable by controlling an operating state of the first electric motor, the control apparatus includes an internal-combustion-engine control portion configured to change an operating state of the internal combustion engine when it is determined that a shifting action of the second transmission portion is abnormal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Iwase, Tooru Matsubara, Hiroyuki Shibata, Atsushi Tabata
  • Patent number: 8167064
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicular drive apparatus including an engine and a motor is provided. The control apparatus includes a controller that determines the operating point of the engine and the operating point of the motor based on the characteristic of the vehicular drive apparatus. When at least one of the operating point of the motor and the operating point of the engine is in at least one of a motor noise occurrence region and a gear noise occurrence region, the controller changes the at least one of the operating point of the motor and the operating point of the engine so that the at least one of the operating point of the motor and the operating point of the engine avoids the at least one of the motor noise occurrence region and the gear noise occurrence region. This suppresses at least one of motor noise and gear noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Iwase, Takuma Kakinami, Atsushi Tabata
  • Patent number: 8152670
    Abstract: A hybrid vehicle power transmission device provided with a power distribution mechanism composed of a planetary gear device for distributing motive power of a drive source to a motor and an output shaft is further provided with a damper device in a power transmission path between the power distribution mechanism and a first motor. Consequently, the damper device receives only reaction torque dealt by the first motor through the power distribution mechanism with respect to drive torque of an engine. Thus, since the torque transmitted to the damper device is smaller than the drive torque of the engine, the torque capacity of the damper device can be decreased and the size of the damper device can be reduced. As a result, the overall size of the power transmission device can be similarly reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuro Kuzuya, Ryuji Ibaraki, Kenji Odaka, Yuji Iwase, Tatsushi Takenaka, Tomoyuki Maruyama, Koichi Kondo
  • Publication number: 20120049667
    Abstract: A cooling structure includes a rotating electrical machine (1) that has a stator (3), the stator including plural split cores (4) annularly combined, and a shrink-fitted ring (5) mounted to the outer periphery of the plural split cores (4) for integrating the plural split cores (4), and a case (10) that accommodates the rotating electrical machine (1) therein, wherein the shrink-fitted ring (5) includes a cylindrical portion (6), and a flange portion (7) that is provided at one end of the cylindrical portion (6), the case (10) includes an accommodating portion (11) which has an inner peripheral wall (11a) whose inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion (6) and smaller than the outer diameter of the flange portion (7), and in which accommodates the stator (3), a first wall face (12) extending outward in the radial direction from the end of the inner peripheral wall (11a) where the flange portion (7) is arranged, the flange portion (7) being mounted to the first wall face (12),
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2010
    Publication date: March 1, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuji Iwase, Shinichi Baba, Yosuke Kato, Kouhei Miyake
  • Patent number: 8126622
    Abstract: A control device is disclosed which can obtain increased fuel economy performance depending on a kind of fuel in a vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor when the kind of fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine is altered. A determining vehicle speed (V1) and determining output torque (T1), representing a boundary value with which a step-variable control region and a continuously variable control region of a shifting mechanism (10) are demarcated, are altered such that the higher the mixing ratio of ethanol, the lower will be the determining vehicle speed (V1) and determining output torque (T1). Therefore, the determination is made whether to operate a first electric motor (M1) depending on the mixing ratio of ethanol, making it possible to obtain increased fuel economy performance in line with the mixing ratio of ethanol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Imamura, Yuji Iwase, Atsushi Tabata
  • Patent number: 8088034
    Abstract: This invention relates to a control device for a hybrid vehicle power transmitting apparatus. A heat generation control is executed to increase a heat generation amount of an electric motor M1 when a differential portion 11 is placed in a non-differential state and a temperature of a shifting mechanism 10 is less than a given transmitting apparatus temperature determining value TEMP11. This allows the first electric motor M1 to develop a heat with which the temperature of a shifting mechanism 10 is promptly raised, thereby promptly completing a warm-up of the shifting mechanism 10 to achieve improved fuel consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Imamura, Yuji Iwase, Atsushi Tabata
  • Patent number: 8083638
    Abstract: A control device for a vehicle power transmitting apparatus is disclosed, having an electrically controlled differential portion operative to control an operating state of an electric motor to control a differential state, and a shifting portion forming part of a power transmitting path between the electrically controlled differential portion and drive wheels, which can minimize deterioration in power performance and degradation in controllability during the shifting. Shift interval altering means 70 is provided for altering an interval L from an operation initiation causing an automatic shifting portion 20 to execute a shifting, to an actual shift initiation depending on a kind of the shifting. This enables an appropriate interval L to be determined for the shifting, thereby obtaining adequate power performance while capable of avoiding a first electric motor M1 from operating in a region outside an operating range. Thus, degradation in controllability is minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Imamura, Tooru Matsubara, Atsushi Tabata, Yuji Iwase, Kenta Kumazaki, Keita Imai
  • Publication number: 20110251764
    Abstract: A driving force controlling apparatus for a vehicle incorporates an engine and a second motor generator and defines a first engaging unit by engaging a counter drive gear, which is able to output power from the engine, with a final gear; and a second engaging unit by engaging a counter drive gear, which is able to output power from the second motor generator, with the final gear. The power from the driving source (the engine or the second motor generator) in whichever of the first engaging unit and second engaging unit has greater vibration is decreased, whereas the power from the driving source (the engine or the second motor generator) in the engaging unit having less vibration is increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2010
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuji Iwase
  • Patent number: 8033939
    Abstract: In one embodiment, when a switching clutch or a switching brake is engaged and thus a differential of a differential unit is limited, the gear ratio of a continuously variable transmission unit is adjusted. On the other hand, when the switching clutch and the switching brake are both released and thus the differential of the differential unit is not limited, an overall gear ratio obtained from the gear ratio of the differential unit and the gear ratio of the continuously variable transmission unit is adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Tabata, Tooru Matsubara, Tatsuya Imamura, Yuji Iwase, Kenta Kumazaki, Keita Imai
  • Publication number: 20110221294
    Abstract: A breather device is provided at a housing case housing a rotating electric machine, for adjusting a pressure inside the housing case. The rotating electric machine includes a stator core formed by stacking a plurality of steel plates. The breather device communicates with an inside of the housing case by a gap between the steel plates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2008
    Publication date: September 15, 2011
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Isao Sato, Yuji Iwase
  • Patent number: 8011485
    Abstract: The hydraulic control apparatus includes a separating plate that is interposed between an upper valve body and a lower valve body. The separating plate and the lower valve body provide a projecting portion that projects toward a discharge opening side of the oil pump with respect to the upper valve body. A first oil feed path is provided at the projecting portion, is formed between the separating plate and the lower valve body, and receives the hydraulic oil from the oil pump and guides the hydraulic oil to an upper valve body disposition side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignees: Aisin AW Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuya Shimizu, Akira Noguchi, Kazuyuki Noda, Masaki Yoshida, Tooru Matsubara, Kenta Kumazaki, Atsushi Tabata, Yuji Iwase, Hiroyuki Shibata
  • Patent number: 7998021
    Abstract: A control method for a vehicular drive apparatus that includes a driving power source that includes an engine and a motor, and a shift portion provided in a power transmission path from the driving power source to a drive wheel, includes staring the engine by executing an engine speed control that increases an engine speed to a predetermined engine speed or higher, and executing an engine torque generation control that generates engine torque by supplying fuel and igniting the fuel at the predetermined engine speed or higher. In the case where the controller determines that the period during which the shift of the shift portion is performed overlaps the period during which the engine is started, the engine is started by executing the engine speed control during the shift of the shift portion, and executing the engine torque generation control after the shift of the shift portion is completed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tooru Matsubara, Yuji Iwase, Hiroyuki Shibata, Atsushi Tabata
  • Patent number: 7992385
    Abstract: A hydraulic control device includes an oil pan; an oil pump; a strainer; a pressure regulating valve; an oil cooler; a cooler bypass valve with an input port that is connected with a cooler supply oil passage through which the hydraulic oil to be supplied to the oil cooler flows, wherein the input port is communicatively connected with an output port when the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic oil within the cooler supply oil passage is equal to or greater than a predetermined valve opening pressure; and a cooler bypass oil passage that connects the output port of the cooler bypass valve with an intake oil passage between the strainer and the intake port of the oil pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignees: Aisin AW Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuya Shimizu, Akira Noguchi, Kazuyuki Noda, Masaki Yoshida, Tooru Matsubara, Kenta Kumazaki, Atsushi Tabata, Ryuji Ibaraki, Yuji Iwase, Takuma Kakinami