Denso Corporation

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Jun Tarui

Hiroshi Katsurahara

Akikazu Uchida

Toshiki Annoura

Makiko Sugiura

Takahiko Yoshida

Kiyoshi Kimura

Yoshihiko Tsuzuki

Nobuhito Hobo

Satoshi Haseda

Osamu Ito

Junichi Ishikawa

Hiroshi Sami

Akira Furukawa

Kiyoshi Otsuka

Makoto Shiozaki

Shizuo Kawai

Masato Ueno

Hirotsugu Ishino

Tomohide Ariki

Hideo Hattori

Takayoshi Nakamura

Shinji Sugihara

A shift range control apparatus controls driving of a motor in a shift range switching system provided with the motor and a shift range switching mechanism. A drive controller controls the driving of the motor to fit an engaging member in a recess according to a shift range in response to that the shift range is switched. A polarity determination device determines a polarity of a stator, which faces a rotor. The drive controller causes the engaging member to move to the recess according to the shift range, and then performs cancel energization control to energize a coil with a cancellation current which is a current reducing the magnetic flux density of the stator according to the polarity of the stator.

Shift range control apparatus

A controller has an encoder that outputs four-phase pulse signals according to a rotation of a rotor of a motor by a rule. During a rotational drive of the motor, when (i) an abnormal pulse state is observed in which the pulse signal is output in a non-compliant manner with the rule and (ii) a lapse time from a last normal output timing, which is a last timing of an output of the pulse signal by the rule, is longer than a threshold determination time, it is conclusively determined that the encoder has abnormality. Thus, the encoder is provided with an improved noise-proof character, and is prevented from being falsely determined as abnormal due to the abnormal pulse state, even when an output of the pulse signal from the encoder is temporarily ridden by a noise.

Controller for determining abnormality of a pulse outputter

A motor control apparatus includes a counter, a margin calculation portion, and a cycle set portion. The counter counts a total number of switching the current supply phase of the coils when the rotor is rotationally driven. A rotation angle of the rotor is detected on a basis of the number of switching. The margin calculation portion calculates a torque margin that is a difference between an output torque of the motor and a load torque acting on the motor. The cycle set portion sets a current supply switching cycle to shorten as the torque margin is greater. The current supply switching cycle is a cycle switching the current supply phase of the coils.

Motor control apparatus

An adhering matter determination portion includes an irradiation portion, a light receiving portion and a determination portion. The irradiation portion radiates a light to a plurality of different areas of a transparent plate. The light receiving portion converts reflected waves reflected at the different areas into electrical signals. The determination portion compares at least one of detection signals outputted from the light receiving portion with a determination threshold. When the detection signal is lower than the determination threshold, the determination portion determines that there is an adhering matter on the transparent plate. The determination portion compares the detection signals. When a difference of the detection signals is higher than a condensation determination value, the determination portion determines that the adhering matter is raindrops. When the difference of the detection signals is lower than the condensation determination value, the determination portion determines that the adhering matter is dewdrops.

Adhering matter determination device

A motor controller includes a motor, an encoder, and a control circuit. The motor drives a target object to be controlled. The encoder outputs a pulse signal synchronously with rotation of the motor. The control circuit rotates the motor based on a count value of the pulse signal. The control circuit switches to a sleep mode when making sure that a rotation position of the motor is stable after finishing rotating the motor or when a predetermined time necessary for the rotation position of the motor to be stable elapses after finishing rotating the motor. When a change in the pulse signal during a period of time where the control circuit is in the sleep mode is not smaller than a predetermined amount, the control circuit performs a learning process to learn a reference position of the motor when returning to a wakeup mode from the sleep mode.

Motor controller

A motor control system controls a rotation drive of a motor by serially switching a power supply phase of the motor based on a count value of an output signal from an encoder and prevents a temporary noise from causing an abnormal rotation of such a motor. A microcomputer determines that one of an A phase signal or a B phase signal is a noise when the two signals are input at substantially at the same timing and one of the two signals has a shorter time interval from a previous input signal. Thus, a temporary noise is prevented from corrupting normal operation between the encoder count, the rotation position of the motor, and the power supply phase.

Shift position switching controller

An electrode unit includes a first electrode and a second electrode, which define a space to flow fuel therethough. A detection circuit is connected to the first electrode to charge and discharge the electrode unit and to detect a capacitance of fuel, which flows through the space. A switch device is equipped to a wiring, which connects the second electrode with the ground, and configured to simulate disconnection between the second electrode and the ground. A malfunction detection unit is configured to detect disconnection of the wiring when a difference between a capacitance, which is detected with the detection circuit when the switch device is turned ON, and a capacitance, which is detected with the detection circuit when the switch device is turned OFF, is smaller than a first threshold.

Fuel property sensor and method for detecting malfunction of the same

First, second, and third electrodes are exposed to a fuel passage. The third electrode defines a first gap with the first electrode and defines a second gap with the second electrode. A property detection unit detects a property of fuel according to a summation of a first capacitance of the first gap and a second capacitance of the second gap. A correct-erroneous determination unit determines whether the property detected with the property detection unit is correct or erroneous according to a ratio of the summation and the first capacitance.

Fuel property detection device and method for determining detection of property of fuel

A microcomputer of an alcohol concentration sensor reads a first measurement value corresponding to a first frequency and reads a second measurement value corresponding to a second frequency. The microcomputer calculates a difference between the first and second measurement values. The microcomputer performs stuck failure abnormality determination when a state where the difference between the measurement values is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value continues. The microcomputer outputs a PWM signal of a specific frequency, which is different from a frequency in a case of a normality, to an engine ECU. Thus, a failure of the alcohol concentration sensor can be surely determined.

Liquid concentration measuring device

A capacitance sensing section senses a capacitance between first and second electrodes. A temperature sensing section senses fuel temperature. A microcomputer functions as a concentration sensing section and senses a concentration of ethanol contained in fuel based on the capacitance sensed by the capacitance sensing section and the temperature sensed by the temperature sensing section. The microcomputer functions as an abnormality detecting section and performs abnormality determination to determine that an abnormality has occurred in the capacitance sensing section when the capacitance sensed by the capacitance sensing section does not change and the temperature sensed by the temperature sensing section changes. Since a dielectric constant has such a temperature characteristic that the dielectric constant changes with the temperature, the abnormality detecting section can detect occurrence of the abnormality in the capacitance sensing section.

Liquid concentration sensing device

A liquid concentration measuring device has first and second switches, which are turned on and off at two frequencies. When the first switch is turned on and the second switch is turned off, a detection electrode pair is charged. When the first switch is turned off and the second switch is turned on, the positive side of the detection electrode pair is grounded so that the charged detection electrode pair discharges. The difference between the output voltages of an amplifier produced by charging and discharging the detection electrode pair at the two frequencies is used to determine an alcohol concentration in gasoline.

A liquid property detecting device includes a switch portion switching an electrode to charge with a standard voltage generated by a generator, or discharge through a grounding. An operation signal output portion outputs an operation signal to the switch portion so as to switch in a predetermined switch period. A voltage of the electrode is output as a detection signal, when the standard voltage is applied to the electrode. A signal process portion calculates liquid property based on the detection signals. A gain of the signal process portion relative to the detection signal is increased, as the detection signal is decreased.

Liquid property detecting device

A raindrop sensor for sensing water attached to a second surface of a transparent body includes a light emitting element, a light guide body, a light receiving element, and an abnormality determining device. The light emitting element is provided in a first surface side of the transparent body for emitting light toward the transparent body. The light guide body is mounted on a first surface of the transparent body for guiding the light. The light receiving element is provided in first surface side of the transparent body for receiving the reflected light, which is reflected by the second surface of the transparent body. The light receiving element outputs a signal based on an amount of the reflected light received. The abnormality determining device determines an abnormality of the light guide body by comparing a value indicated by the signal with an index value.

Raindrop sensor

A shifting mechanism includes a limit switch that sends an open-close signal of the switch contacts SW, SW, SWand SWout to a control mechanism according to a 2H-4H-N-4L shifting sequence. The switch contacts SWand SWdetect the position of a slider 4H which is moved by a thrust actuator, during shifting in the range of 4H engagement to the range of N engagement. Therefore, if one of the switch contacts SWand SWis faulty, the other switch detects shifting between 4H and N. This prevents shifting into N over 4H, thereby preventing malfunction of the thrust actuator resulting from a faulty switch contact SWor SW. This also avoids potential difficulties in vehicle control due to shifting characteristics and permits the maintaining of controlled driving.

Shifting-transfer mechanism

A normal-direction mode which switches on first and fourth switches and in a mutually diagonal relationship of an H-type bridge circuit and switches off second and third switches also in a mutually diagonal relationship of the bridge circuit is executed for an on-duty time of an opening-degree command signal, and a reverse-direction mode which switches off the first and fourth switches and switches off the second and third switches is executed for an off-duty time of the opening-degree command signal. During normal operation, conduction of current to the H-type bridge circuit 70 and a coil is constantly performed irrespective of a degree of opening of a valve to be adjusted, and in a case where conduction is interrupted, it can be presumed that a broken wire has occurred in the H-type bridge circuit or coil, and determination of a broken wire can be made.

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Kariya, Japan

Jun Tarui