Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Kiyohito Murata

Shogo Matsumoto

Yoshio Shindo

Hideki Nakayama

Hiroyuki Shioiri

Fumihiro Ushijima

Koichi Tanaka

Toshitake Sasaki

Hisanori Nomoto

Yuji Itoh

Hajime Arai

Hiroshi Hasegawa

Naoki Nakamura

Takuya Okada

Yoshio Kimura

Kiyoomi Sato

A vehicle drive apparatus includes: an engine; a rotary machine; an output member coupled to a drive wheel of a vehicle; a differential mechanism configured to couple the engine, the rotary machine, and the output member together to be differentially rotatable via a plurality of differentially rotatable rotational elements; and an elastic member configured to couple a rotation shaft of the rotary machine to the rotational element of the differential mechanism to be relatively rotatable.

Vehicle drive apparatus

A vehicle vibration reducing apparatus includes: an inertial mass body; a first engagement device that is switched between a state where a running power source engages with a damper of a power transmission device so as to enable power transmission and a state where the engagement is released; a second engagement device that is switched between a state where the power transmission device engages with the inertial mass body so as to enable power transmission in a power transmission pass different from that of the first engagement device and a state where the engagement is released; and a third engagement device that is switched between a state where the running power source engages with the inertial mass body so as to enable power transmission in a power transmission path different from those of the first engagement device and the second engagement device and a state where the engagement is released.

Vehicle vibration reducing apparatus

A power transmission device includes a transmission mechanism configured to transmit power generated by an electric motor to an output shaft, to which power generated by an internal combustion engine is transmitted, via engaging sections of a plurality of rotating members, and the transmission mechanism has a play to the engaging sections along a rotating direction, the play being larger than a relative displacement amount between the rotating member on the internal combustion engine side and the rotating member on the electric motor side when a rotation variation phase difference between the internal combustion engine and the electric motor is maximum. Therefore, there can be provided the power transmission device capable of suppressing an occurrence of noise.

Power transmission device

A dynamic damper device includes a planetary gear mechanism including plural differentially rotatable rotating elements, an elastic member that couples a rotating shaft rotated by being transmitted with a power with a first rotating element of the planetary gear mechanism, and a rotation control device that is coupled with a rotating element different from the first rotating element of the planetary gear mechanism and controls a rotation of the planetary gear mechanism by adjusting torque acting on the first rotating element. Accordingly, the dynamic damper device achieves an effect that vibration can be appropriately reduced.

Dynamic damper device

A vehicle vibration reduction apparatus () includes: an inertial mass body () that is connected to a rotary shaft () of a power transmission apparatus () such that the inertial mass body () is capable of transmitting power, wherein the rotary shaft () of a power transmission apparatus () is capable of transmitting rotary power from a travel drive source () to a drive wheel () of a vehicle (); and a switching apparatus () that is provided on a power transmission path between the rotary shaft () and the inertial mass body () and that is capable of switching between a first path () on which the rotary shaft () and the inertial mass body () are connected to each other via an elastic body (), and a second path () on which the rotary shaft () and the inertial mass body () are connected to each other without passing through the elastic body (). Thus, the vehicle vibration reduction apparatus () can reduce vibration appropriately.

Vehicular vibration reduction apparatus

A transmission for vehicle includes: a transmission mechanism including a first engagement device configured to block/allow power transmission between an engine and a first input shaft of a first gear stage group, and a second engagement device configured to block/allow power transmission between the engine and a second input shaft of a second gear stage group; a differential mechanism; and a control device. The first gear stage group includes a starting stage used at a time the vehicle starts traveling, and the control device performs travel starting control to start traveling of the vehicle by: putting the second engagement device into an engaged state while the engine is operating before the vehicle starts traveling; and putting the second engagement device into a disengaged state, thereafter controlling rotation of a rotational machine and putting the first engagement device into an engaged state at the time the vehicle starts traveling.

Transmission for vehicle and control device

A fluid transmission device includes a fluid transmission section capable of transmitting power transmitted to an input member to an output member via a working fluid, a lock-up clutch section capable of transmitting power transmitted to the input member to the output member via a friction engagement section, and a control unit configured to execute a torque ratio variable control that makes a torque ratio which is a ratio between torque output from the output member and torque input to the input member variable by adjusting a friction engagement state of the friction engagement section, when the fluid transmission section is in an operation state that the fluid transmission section amplifies torque input to the input member and outputs torque from the output member.

Fluid transmission device

A dynamic damper device includes a planetary gear mechanism including plural differentially rotatable rotating elements, an elastic member that couples a rotating shaft rotated by being transmitted with a power with a first rotating element of the planetary gear mechanism, speed control devices that are coupled with second rotating elements different from the first rotating element and control rotation speeds of the second rotating elements, and a torque control device that is coupled with the first rotating element and controls torque acting on the first rotating element. Accordingly, the dynamic damper device achieves an effect that vibration can be appropriately reduced.

A dynamic damper device includes a variable inertial mass device that variably controls inertial mass of a damper mass, an elastic body that connects a rotary shaft rotated by power transmitted thereto and an input member of the variable inertial mass device, and a variable damping force device that variably controls a damping force to the elastic body. Accordingly, the dynamic damper devices have the advantageous effect that vibrations can be appropriately reduced.

A fluid transmission device includes a pre-damper () that transmits driving force received from a crankshaft () to a front cover () via first damper springs (), a mechanism () that transmits the driving force transmitted to a pump () to a turbine () via hydraulic fluid, a piston member () that is disposed between the front cover () and the mechanism () and delivers the driving force to an output shaft (), a dynamic damper () that connects the piston member () and the turbine () via second damper springs (), a lock-up clutch () that enables the front cover () and the piston member () to engage with each other, a turbine clutch () that enables the turbine () and the piston member () to engage with each other, and a control device () that controls the lock-up clutch () and the turbine clutch ().

When electric power is obtained from a thermoelectric element, a value of electric current is changed, and two combinations of the electric current value and a voltage value (i, V) and (iand V) are obtained. An electric current value iat which the maximum electric power Wmax can be obtained is obtained using an electric current-voltage characteristic estimated based on the obtained two combinations of the electric current value and the voltage value. The electric current is controlled such that the value of the electric current becomes equal to the obtained value iwhen the electric power is obtained from the thermoelectric element. The value iis represented by an equation,=()/().

Electric power generating apparatus and control method for electric power generating apparatus

An exhaust emission control system. A generator has a thermoelectric conversion element for achieving thermoelectric conversion by making use of heat of exhaust gas. An exhaust purifying catalyst disposed in the generator or on the exhaust downstream side of the generator, and a heat conduction varying device make heat conduction from the exhaust gas to the thermoelectric conversion element variable between a high conduction state and a low conduction state. When a temperature of the exhaust purifying catalyst is higher than a predetermined temperature, the heat conduction varying device varies the heat conduction from the exhaust gas to the thermoelectric conversion element into the high conduction state. This permits the system to efficiently re-collect thermal energy from the exhaust gas and convert it into electric energy, without increase in a time to arrival of the exhaust purifying catalyst at an activation temperature thereof.

Exhaust emission control system

The exhaust heat recovery system of the invention includes: a thermoelectric conversion element that generates electric energy by thermoelectric conversion using heat of exhaust gas discharged from an engine; and a heat pump including a heat recovery unit that absorbs the heat contained in the exhaust gas through an endothermic reaction using a heating medium, and a heat generation unit which generates heat through an exothermic reaction of the heating medium and which supplies the heat to the thermoelectric conversion element. With this configuration, the thermoelectric conversion element and the heat generation unit are movably attached to each other such that they can be placed in contact with and separated from each other, and the heat recovery unit is positioned in an exhaust gas passage in an exhaust gas downstream flow direction from the heat generation unit.

Exhaust heat recovery system

An exhaust system () is provided with an exhaust passage that allows exhaust gas discharged from an internal combustion engine to pass therethrough, an exhaust emission control unit including a catalyst () such as a three-way catalyst () to purify the exhaust gas, and an exhaust heat collecting unit that converts thermal energy of the exhaust gas into electric energy. The exhaust passage () is formed in the center of the exhaust system provided with the exhaust emission control unit. By-pass passages () are formed at both sides of the exhaust passage () through which the exhaust gas flows without passing through the exhaust emission control unit. The exhaust heat collecting unit () is provided on the outer side of each of the by-pass passages ().

Exhaust system

A thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus has: a burner that is supplied with a fuel and an air, and burns the fuel; an emitter heated by combustion heat produced by the burner; a photoelectric conversion cell that converts radiant light from the emitter into electric power; and a cell holder portion that holds the photoelectric conversion cell. A cooling device is provided for causing a cooling liquid to receive heat from the photoelectric conversion cell by contacting the cooling liquid and a back surface of the cell holder portion with each other. A surface of the cell holder portion that contacts the cooling liquid is a non-horizontal surface. The apparatus employs at least two kinds of cooling liquids.

Growing community of inventors

Susono, Japan

Kiyohito Murata