Patents by Inventor Yukinobu Nishikawa

Yukinobu Nishikawa 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: 11299029
    Abstract: A power transmission apparatus is used in a vehicle and mounted on a vehicle member via a mount. The power transmission apparatus includes a case. The case includes a motor provided inside the case. The case includes a mount fastening portion for fastening the mount with a plurality of bolts. The mount fastening portion has a plurality of bolt tightening holes. The plurality of bolt tightening holes are provided so that the plurality of bolts are tightened into the plurality of bolt tightening holes. The bolt tightening holes have axial directions parallel to each other. A space isolated from an inside of the case is formed by a wall of the case in a region connecting two adjacent bolt tightening holes when the mount fastening portion is viewed in the axial directions of the plurality of bolt tightening holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Aida, Hiroaki Kiyokami, Kazuki Iwakura, Yukinobu Nishikawa, Takafumi Sakuda, Haruki Inoue
  • Patent number: 11031837
    Abstract: In a vehicle motor unit comprising: a motor; and a storage housing storing the motor, the motor including a rotor arranged rotatably around a rotation axis, a stator disposed on an outer circumferential side of the rotor, and a high voltage portion disposed on the stator, an outer circumferential surface of the stator is configured to surface contact with a part of a wall surface of the storage housing receiving a larger collision load at the time of a vehicle collision as compared to the other parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tatsuki Honda, Yukinobu Nishikawa, Kazuki Iwakura
  • Publication number: 20200130496
    Abstract: A power transmission apparatus is used in a vehicle and mounted on a vehicle member via a mount. The power transmission apparatus includes a case. The case includes a motor provided inside the case. The case includes a mount fastening portion for fastening the mount with a plurality of bolts. The mount fastening portion has a plurality of bolt tightening holes. The plurality of bolt tightening holes are provided so that the plurality of bolts are tightened into the plurality of bolt tightening holes. The bolt tightening holes have axial directions parallel to each other. A space isolated from an inside of the case is formed by a wall of the case in a region connecting two adjacent bolt tightening holes when the mount fastening portion is viewed in the axial directions of the plurality of bolt tightening holes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke AIDA, Hiroaki KIYOKAMI, Kazuki IWAKURA, Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Takafumi SAKUDA, Haruki INOUE
  • Patent number: 10625591
    Abstract: An electric vehicle comprises: an electric drive unit including an electric motor used as a drive power source, a transaxle including a differential device and coupled to a motor shaft of the electric motor in a power transmittable manner on one end side of the electric motor in a direction of a motor centerline to transmit an output of the electric motor through the differential device to a pair of drive shafts, and a case housing the electric motor and the transaxle. The case includes a first end surface portion located on the other end side of the electric motor in the motor centerline direction and rotatably supporting the motor shaft, and an accessory component of the vehicle is attached to an outside surface of the first end surface portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukinobu Nishikawa, Takeshi Kuwahara, Eiji Ito, Yasuki Yoshikawa
  • Patent number: 10539224
    Abstract: A lubricating device of a gear apparatus for a vehicle lubricates a low-rotation-side gear and a high-rotation-side gear meshing with the low-rotation-side gear. The lubricating device comprises a first tooth surface lubricating oil supply part configured to supply a lubricating oil directly to a tooth surface position located more upstream of a rotating direction of the low-rotation-side gear than a meshing position of the low-rotation-side gear with the high-rotation-side gear so as to spray some of the lubricating oil from the tooth surface position toward a tooth surface of the high-rotation-side gear, and an in-shaft lubricating oil supply part configured to supply the lubricating oil into a shaft of the high-rotation-side gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo Hori, Hakuba Okuno, Yukinobu Nishikawa, Hiroaki Kiyokami
  • Patent number: 10465574
    Abstract: A hybrid vehicle comprises an engine; a first rotary machine configured to drive the hybrid vehicle; a power transmission system configured to transmit drive force from the engine and the first rotary machine via an output unit to driven wheels; a first oil pump configured to be mechanically rotary-driven along with rotation of the output unit; a second oil pump configured to be rotary-driven by a rotary drive source that is different from the output unit; a first supply passage connected to a discharge side of the first oil pump, and the first supply passage configured to supply lubricating oil at least to the first rotary machine; a second supply passage connected to a discharge side of the second oil pump, and the second supply passage configured to supply lubricating oil at least to the first rotary machine; and an oil cooler provided to the second supply passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kiyokami, Yukinobu Nishikawa, Tetsuo Hori, Hakuba Okuno
  • Patent number: 10408330
    Abstract: Inside a casing, a gear chamber that accommodates a gear mechanism of a power transmission apparatus and also stores lubricating oil for lubricating the gear mechanism therein is partitioned across a first coupled part where case members are coupled to each other, and a road clearance of the first coupled part is set to be the lowest on a bottom surface of the casing and a cylinder block of an engine. A lower cover is provided with a projection upwardly projecting at a predetermined part thereof, the predetermined part being located apart from a position immediately below the first coupled part on the bottom surface, and a distance between the projection of the lower cover and the bottom surface is set to be smaller than a distance between the lower cover and the first coupled part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukinobu Nishikawa, Kazuki Iwakura, Hiroaki Kiyokami
  • Patent number: 10309524
    Abstract: During the travel of a vehicle, the oil level of lubricating oil is lowered due to the suction by at least a first oil pump and the scraping-up by the rotation of a differential ring gear and so on. In particular, until the oil level becomes equal to or lower than an upper end of a first partition wall, the oil level is lowered due to both the suction by the first oil pump and the scraping-up by the rotation of the differential ring gear and so on, and therefore, a region, that is immersed in the lubricating oil, of the differential device rapidly becomes smaller. Since a suction port of the first oil pump is disposed in a second oil storage portion, the oil level in the second oil storage portion during the travel of the vehicle can be adjusted independently of that in a first oil storage portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kiyokami, Yoshinori Morita, Shingo Kato, Yukinobu Nishikawa, Tetsuo Hori, Hakuba Okuno
  • Publication number: 20190140511
    Abstract: In a vehicle motor unit comprising: a motor; and a storage housing storing the motor, the motor including a rotor arranged rotatably around a rotation axis, a stator disposed on an outer circumferential side of the rotor, and a high voltage portion disposed on the stator, an outer circumferential surface of the stator is configured to surface contact with a part of a wall surface of the storage housing receiving a larger collision load at the time of a vehicle collision as compared to the other parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2018
    Publication date: May 9, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tatsuki HONDA, Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Kazuki IWAKURA
  • Patent number: 10253868
    Abstract: A lubricating apparatus for a vehicle, comprises a first oil pump and a second oil pump, and a first supply passage connected to a discharge side of the first oil pump on which the lubricating oil is discharged so as to supply the lubricating oil discharged from the first oil pump to lubricated parts of the power transmission system, a second supply passage that is provided independently from the first supply passage and is connected to a discharge side of the second oil pump on which the lubricating oil is discharged so as to supply the lubricating oil discharged from the second oil pump to the lubricated parts of the power transmission system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kiyokami, Yukinobu Nishikawa, Tetsuo Hori, Hakuba Okuno
  • Publication number: 20190084403
    Abstract: An electric vehicle comprises: an electric drive unit including an electric motor used as a drive power source, a transaxle including a differential device and coupled to a motor shaft of the electric motor in a power transmittable manner on one end side of the electric motor in a direction of a motor centerline to transmit an output of the electric motor through the differential device to a pair of drive shafts, and a case housing the electric motor and the transaxle. The case includes a first end surface portion located on the other end side of the electric motor in the motor centerline direction and rotatably supporting the motor shaft, and an accessory component of the vehicle is attached to an outside surface of the first end surface portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukinobu Nishikawa, Takeshi Kuwahara, Eiji Ito, Yasuki Yoshikawa
  • Publication number: 20180127029
    Abstract: A vehicle structure includes a pair of right and left front side members, a rotary electric machine, a casing disposed in close proximity to one front side member, a cover closing an opening portion of the casing, and a connector attached to a part of the cover that is the closest to a flange portion. The casing includes the opening portion facing the one front side member side and a thick portion surrounding the opening portion. The cover includes the flange portion overlapping with the thick portion of the casing in close contact with the thick portion of the casing. The connector is disposed at a position where the one front side member is deformed and pressed when the one front side member is subjected to a load equivalent to a load applied in a small overlap collision test or an oblique collision test.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2017
    Publication date: May 10, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Hiroaki KIYOKAMI, Yota MIZUNO
  • Publication number: 20180100576
    Abstract: Inside a casing, a gear chamber that accommodates a gear mechanism of a power transmission apparatus and also stores lubricating oil for lubricating the gear mechanism therein is partitioned across a first coupled part where case members are coupled to each other, and a road clearance of the first coupled part is set to be the lowest on a bottom surface of the casing and a cylinder block of an engine. A lower cover is provided with a projection upwardly projecting at a predetermined part thereof, the predetermined part being located apart from a position immediately below the first coupled part on the bottom surface, and a distance between the projection of the lower cover and the bottom surface is set to be smaller than a distance between the lower cover and the first coupled part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Publication date: April 12, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Kazuki IWAKURA, Hiroaki KIYOKAMI
  • Publication number: 20180045294
    Abstract: A lubricating device of a gear apparatus for a vehicle lubricates a low-rotation-side gear and a high-rotation-side gear meshing with the low-rotation-side gear. The lubricating device comprises a first tooth surface lubricating oil supply part configured to supply a lubricating oil directly to a tooth surface position located more upstream of a rotating direction of the low-rotation-side gear than a meshing position of the low-rotation-side gear with the high-rotation-side gear so as to spray some of the lubricating oil from the tooth surface position toward a tooth surface of the high-rotation-side gear, and an in-shaft lubricating oil supply part configured to supply the lubricating oil into a shaft of the high-rotation-side gear.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Publication date: February 15, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo HORI, Hakuba OKUNO, Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Hiroaki KIYOKAMI
  • Publication number: 20180045295
    Abstract: A lubricating apparatus for a vehicle, comprises a first oil pump and a second oil pump, and a first supply passage connected to a discharge side of the first oil pump on which the lubricating oil is discharged so as to supply the lubricating oil discharged from the first oil pump to lubricated parts of the power transmission system, a second supply passage that is provided independently from the first supply passage and is connected to a discharge side of the second oil pump on which the lubricating oil is discharged so as to supply the lubricating oil discharged from the second oil pump to the lubricated parts of the power transmission system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Publication date: February 15, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki KIYOKAMI, Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Tetsuo HORI, Hakuba OKUNO
  • Publication number: 20180045090
    Abstract: A hybrid vehicle comprises an engine; a first rotary machine configured to drive the hybrid vehicle; a power transmission system configured to transmit drive force from the engine and the first rotary machine via an output unit to driven wheels; a first oil pump configured to be mechanically rotary-driven along with rotation of the output unit; a second oil pump configured to be rotary-driven by a rotary drive source that is different from the output unit; a first supply passage connected to a discharge side of the first oil pump, and the first supply passage configured to supply lubricating oil at least to the first rotary machine; a second supply passage connected to a discharge side of the second oil pump, and the second supply passage configured to supply lubricating oil at least to the first rotary machine; and an oil cooler provided to the second supply passage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2017
    Publication date: February 15, 2018
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki KIYOKAMI, Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Tetsuo HORI, Hakuba OKUNO
  • Publication number: 20170219085
    Abstract: During the travel of a vehicle, the oil level of lubricating oil is lowered due to the suction by at least a first oil pump and the scraping-up by the rotation of a differential ring gear and so on. In particular, until the oil level becomes equal to or lower than an upper end of a first partition wall, the oil level is lowered due to both the suction by the first oil pump and the scraping-up by the rotation of the differential ring gear and so on, and therefore, a region, that is immersed in the lubricating oil, of the differential device rapidly becomes smaller. Since a suction port of the first oil pump is disposed in a second oil storage portion, the oil level in the second oil storage portion during the travel of the vehicle can be adjusted independently of that in a first oil storage portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2017
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki KIYOKAMI, Yoshinori MORITA, Shingo KATO, Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Tetsuo HORI, Hakuba OKUNO
  • Patent number: 9434370
    Abstract: Control apparatus for hybrid vehicle drive system including: first differential mechanism provided with a rotary element connected to engine and rotary element connected to a first electric motor; a second differential mechanism provided with a rotary element connected to second electric motor and a rotary element connected to output rotary member; first clutch configured to selectively connect rotary element of first differential mechanism connected to engine or first electric motor, to rotary element of second differential mechanism connected to output rotary member; manually operated shifting device; and parking lock mechanism provided with parking lock gear fixed directly or indirectly to output rotary member and rotary motion which is prevented when shifting device is placed in parking position, control apparatus including parking lock control portion configured to release parking lock gear for permitting rotary motion of parking lock gear while first clutch is placed in its engaged state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukinobu Nishikawa, Yoshinori Morita, Shingo Kato
  • Publication number: 20160084318
    Abstract: A damper device disposed on a drive power transmission path between an engine and an electric motor in a power transmission device including the engine and the electric motor, the damper device comprising a first inertia member coupled to a shaft of the engine; a first plate coupled to the first inertia member; a second plate coupled to the electric motor and disposed rotatable relative to the first plate; a third plate coupled via a torque limiter to the second plate; and a damper spring disposed on a drive power transmission path between the third plate and the first plate, the torque limiter being disposed with a second inertia member located on the outer circumferential side of the first inertia member and radially overlapping with the first inertia member in the overall width dimension of the first inertia member in an axial direction thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2013
    Publication date: March 24, 2016
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Satoshi KASAMAI, Kenji ODAKA
  • Publication number: 20150321656
    Abstract: Control apparatus for hybrid vehicle drive system including: first differential mechanism provided with a rotary element connected to engine and rotary element connected to a first electric motor; a second differential mechanism provided with a rotary element connected to second electric motor and a rotary element connected to output rotary member; first clutch configured to selectively connect rotary element of first differential mechanism connected to engine or first electric motor, to rotary element of second differential mechanism connected to output rotary member; manually operated shifting device; and parking lock mechanism provided with parking lock gear fixed directly or indirectly to output rotary member and rotary motion which is prevented when shifting device is placed in parking position, control apparatus including parking lock control portion configured to release parking lock gear for permitting rotary motion of parking lock gear while first clutch is placed in its engaged state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Publication date: November 12, 2015
    Inventors: Yukinobu NISHIKAWA, Yoshinori MORITA, Shingo KATO