Patents by Inventor Yukio Nakao

Yukio Nakao 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).

  • Publication number: 20010045891
    Abstract: A system for distributing road surface information comprising means for sensing numerical information on slipperiness of a road surface; means for sensing positional information of the travelling vehicle; means for transmitting the numerical information and/or positional information from the vehicle; means for collecting the information transmitted by a plurality of vehicles; means for preparing road surface information of a road on the basis of each information; means for distributing the road surface information also to a vehicle other than the vehicle; and means for receiving the distributed road surface information. By changing a parameter of road surface information in a vehicle movement control system such as an ABS or a VSC, the performance of the control can be improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2001
    Publication date: November 29, 2001
    Inventors: Yukio Nakao, Hiroshi Yoshinaga
  • Publication number: 20010029420
    Abstract: An apparatus for presuming a condition of road surface comprising: rotational speed detecting means for periodically detecting rotational speeds of four tires of a vehicle; first computing means for computing a slip ratio from measurement values of the rotational speed detecting means; second computing means for obtaining a relational formula between the slip ratio and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle; and friction coefficient judging means for judging a coefficient of friction occurring between a road and a tire on the basis of a slope of the relational formula obtained by the second computing means. The road friction coefficient &mgr; can be judged with high accuracy in short time by using only the wheel rotational speed information of four wheels. Thus, the performance and safety of a vehicle can be increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2001
    Publication date: October 11, 2001
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kawasaki, Yukio Nakao
  • Patent number: D331379
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1992
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Nakao, Shigeaki Takigawa