Patents by Inventor Yuzo Shimamura

Yuzo Shimamura 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: 20090030583
    Abstract: An operation range selection mechanism of an automatic transmission 100 according to the present invention includes an input operation force detector 21 that detects an operation force generated by an operation applied to a select lever 2, an assist actuator 9 that adds an assist force to the select lever 2 to carry out an operation assist for the select lever 2, and an assist force control device 22 that controls the assist actuator 9 to start the operation assist for the select lever 2 upon the value of the operation force detected by the input operation force detector 21 being equal to or more than a predetermined value. The assist force control device 22 stops the operation assist upon the operation force being less than the predetermined value or the select lever 2 having reached a predetermined position, and then temporarily sets the predetermined value to a higher value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2005
    Publication date: January 29, 2009
    Inventors: Yuzo Shimamura, Yukitsugu Hirota, Masaharu Nagano, Hitoshi Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 7367244
    Abstract: An operating position select device has a select lever unit, a mode shift unit to shift operation modes of the automatic transmission, a mechanically connecting means connecting them, and an assist actuator to assist a select lever. A control unit that controls the actuator is electrically connected to an operating position sensor detecting an operating position of the select lever and an operating velocity detector detecting operating velocity of the lever. The control unit has an excessive movement prevention part that reduces the assist force when the operating velocity outputted from the operating velocity detector exceeds a velocity threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
    Inventors: Yuzo Shimamura, Mitsuo Kikkawa, Yuichi Tanii, Hiroyuki Ikari
  • Patent number: 7257476
    Abstract: A select lever device for an automatic transmission includes: a torque sensor to detect an input torque to a drive shaft of a select lever; a select position sensor to detect the stroke angle of the select lever; a characteristic data storing unit in which a mechanical load characteristic of the select lever is stored; and a control unit to which signals and data of these elements are inputted. Further, the control unit includes an electric motor to output to the select lever assist torque for assisting the operating force by a driver, the assist torque being controlled based on the input torque to the select lever, the stroke angle of the select lever, and the mechanical load characteristic of the select lever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
    Inventors: Yuzo Shimamura, Nobuaki Tsuchiya, Wataru Shimizu, Toru Aoki
  • Patent number: 7243567
    Abstract: An operating position select device has a select lever unit, a mode shift unit to shift operation modes of the automatic transmission, a mechanically connecting means connecting them, and an assist actuator to apply assist force to a select lever of the select lever unit. A control unit for controlling the actuator is electrically connected to an operating state sensor detecting an operating state of the select lever. The control unit executes assist control to control the assist actuator based on the operating state signal of the operating state sensor, and maintains the assist control for a predetermined period after the ignition switch is turned to OFF.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
    Inventors: Kensuke Osamura, Yukitsugu Hirota, Yuzo Shimamura, Masaharu Nagano
  • Publication number: 20060011003
    Abstract: An operating position select device has a select lever unit, a mode shift unit to shift operation modes of the automatic transmission, a mechanically connecting means connecting them, and an assist actuator controlled be a control unit to assist a select lever. The control unit includes an improper-halt judging part for judging an improper halt of the lever based on an operating position, a basic target reaction-force setting part for setting a basic target reaction-force based on the operating position, a target reaction-force compensating part for computing a reaction-force compensation-amount based on the improper-halt state and the operating position, a target reaction-force computing part for computing a target reaction-force based on the basic target reaction-force and reaction-force compensation-amount, and an assist force computing part for computing an assist force based on the target reaction-force and operating force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2005
    Publication date: January 19, 2006
    Inventors: Kensuke Osamura, Yukitsugu Hirota, Yuzo Shimamura, Masaharu Nagano
  • Publication number: 20050247154
    Abstract: An operating position select device has a select lever unit, a mode shift unit to shift operation modes of the automatic transmission, a mechanically connecting means connecting them, and an assist actuator to assist a select lever. A control unit that controls the actuator is electrically connected to an operating position sensor detecting an operating position of the select lever and an operating velocity detector detecting operating velocity of the lever. The control unit includes a target reaction-force characteristic setting part, a feedback control part determining feedback assist force by multiplying gain by a variation between target reaction force obtained based on the target operating reaction-force characteristic and the operating force obtained based on the operating force signal, and a gain changing part that changes gain used for determining the feedback assist force based on the operating speed signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2005
    Publication date: November 10, 2005
    Inventors: Kensuke Osamura, Yukitsugu Hirota, Yuzo Shimamura, Masaharu Nagano
  • Publication number: 20050176555
    Abstract: An operating position select device has a select lever unit, a mode shift unit to shift operation modes of the automatic transmission, a mechanically connecting means connecting them, and an assist actuator to apply assist force to a select lever of the select lever unit. A control unit for controlling the actuator is electrically connected to an operating state sensor detecting an operating state of the select lever. The control unit executes assist control to control the assist actuator based on the operating state signal of the operating state sensor, and maintains the assist control for a predetermined period after the ignition switch is turned to OFF.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2005
    Publication date: August 11, 2005
    Inventors: Kensuke Osamura, Yukitsugu Hirota, Yuzo Shimamura, Masaharu Nagano
  • Publication number: 20050139030
    Abstract: An operating position select device has a select lever unit, a mode shift unit to shift operation modes of the automatic transmission, a mechanically connecting means connecting them, and an assist actuator to assist a select lever. A control unit that controls the actuator is electrically connected to an operating position sensor detecting an operating position of the select lever and an operating velocity detector detecting operating velocity of the lever. The control unit has an excessive movement prevention part that reduces the assist force when the operating velocity outputted from the operating velocity detector exceeds a velocity threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2004
    Publication date: June 30, 2005
    Inventors: Yuzo Shimamura, Mitsuo Kikkawa, Yuichi Tanii, Hiroyuki Ikari
  • Publication number: 20040139815
    Abstract: A select lever device for an automatic transmission includes: a torque sensor to detect an input torque to a drive shaft of a select lever; a select position sensor to detect the stroke angle of the select lever; a characteristic data storing unit in which a mechanical load characteristic of the select lever is stored; and a control unit to which signals and data of these elements are inputted. Further, the control unit includes an electric motor to output to the select lever assist torque for assisting the operating force by a driver, the assist torque being controlled based on the input torque to the select lever, the stroke angle of the select lever, and the mechanical load characteristic of the select lever.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2004
    Publication date: July 22, 2004
    Inventors: Yuzo Shimamura, Nobuaki Tsuchiya, Wataru Shimizu, Toru Aoki
  • Patent number: 5651683
    Abstract: A structure of a connector arrangement for vehicles has a male and a female connector (3, 5, 10, 11) one (10, 11) of which is attached to a vehicle body and the other (3, 5) is wired within an instrument panel, and fixing bolts (16, 17) for regularly fitting the male and female connectors to each other. The connector (10, 11) is upwardly and downwardly, rightwardly and leftwardly displaceably supported a fixed frame (24e) as a bracket disposed on a steering member (24) through a floating case (25), etc. The connector (3, 5) is mounted in position where the connector (3, 5) can be temporarily fitted into the connector (10, 11) attached to the vehicle body, at the time the steering member (24) is mounted on a vehicle body panel (7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 29, 1997
    Assignee: Kansei Corporation
    Inventors: Yuzo Shimamura, Tetsuya Fujita, Hiroyuki Ohsuga, Shigeru Oyamada, Mayumi Suzuki, Wataru Taniguchi