Denso Corporation

Yoshiyuki Kawase

Toru Itabashi

Mitsuhiro Kanayama

Yuki Mikami

Atsushi Yamada

Koji Shinoda

Ryoichi Shiraishi

Hiroaki Kuraoka

Michio Nakamura

Takanori Ishikawa

Kazunori Kurokawa

Tomohiro Kohara

An air-fuel ratio sensing device includes a resistor, an A/D converter, a parallel circuit unit, a second switch, a controlling unit, an air-fuel ratio sensing unit, and a deterioration sensing unit. The controlling unit controls to turn off the first switch and controls to turn on the second switch in a first interval, and the controlling unit controls to turn on the first switch and controls to turn off the second switch in a second interval. The air-fuel ratio sensing unit senses an air-fuel ratio based on a converting result of the A/D converter in the first interval. The deterioration sensing unit compares a reference value with a value obtained based on the converting result and senses a deterioration generated in the current sensing circuit unit in the second interval.

Air-fuel ratio sensing device

A switching power supply device includes a switching circuit and a control circuit. The switching circuit includes multiple switching elements, an inductor, and a capacitor. The control circuit compares an input voltage of the switching circuit with a predetermined threshold voltage set for an operation switch, and controls the switching circuit to perform the operation switch between at least two power control operations based on a comparison result. The at least two power control operations includes at least two of a buck operation, a buck-boost operation, or a boost operation. The control circuit further performs an inrush current restriction operation in response to the operation switch in order to restrict a flowing of an inrush current to one of the switching elements, which turns on and outputs the input voltage through the inductor in response to the operation switch.

Switching power supply device, electric device, and vehicular device

A switching power supply converts an input voltage to a predetermined output voltage by controlling a switching device. The switching power supply includes a controller and a current detector. The controller controls the switching device. The current detector detects electric current flowing through the switching device. The controller starts a forced-OFF action to forcedly turn OFF the switching device when the current detected by the current detector exceeds a predetermined threshold and then ends the forced-OFF action at a start of a predetermined switching period.

Switching power supply and electronic control unit

A switching power supply has first and second switching units and a control unit. Each switching unit has a switching element performing a switching operation to intermittently receive electric current from a battery while accumulating electric power in a coil and discharging this power to an output terminal. A resistor earthed is serially connected with each switching element. The resistance of the first resistor receiving the first current from the first switching element is lower than that of the second resistor receiving the second current from the second switching element. A maximum value of the first current is higher than that of the second current due to the difference between the resistors. The control unit controls the switching operations of the elements to boost the voltage of the battery and stops the switching operations in response to the first current exceeding an upper value.

Switching power supply with switching circuits

In an ECU, a level adjusting unit communicable to first and second control circuits and a bus transceiver installed in the ECU receives first data and second data respectively transmitted from the first and second control circuits. The bus transceiver is communicable to a communication bus. When the first data and the second data are simultaneously received, the level adjusting unit merges the first data and the second data such that a first electric level of the first data wins with a second electric level of the second data. The level adjusting unit outputs the merged data to the bus transceiver.

Electronic control unit with a plurality of control circuits

A power supply apparatus that supplies an operating voltage to a microcomputer reliably resets the microcomputer before operation becomes unstable when an external power supply voltage decreases due to interruption. A switching regulator and series regulators are included. An externally supplied power supply voltage is stepped down to generate an intermediate voltage. The intermediate voltage is stepped down to generate an operating voltage for a microcomputer core. The intermediate voltage is stepped down to generate an operating voltage for an I/O port. When the intermediate voltage becomes lower than a reset determining voltage, the power supply apparatus outputs a reset signal to the microcomputer. When the power supply voltage decreases, the microcomputer can be reliably reset and the core can be prevented from operating erratically before the voltage becomes lower than a minimum core operating voltage.

Power supply apparatus

In a computer circuit, a power supply circuit, a power supply circuit supplies a power supply voltage to a microcomputer. The power supply circuit interrupts supply of the power supply voltage to the microcomputer when receiving a suspend signal output from the microcomputer. The power supply circuit restarts the supply of the power supply voltage to the microcomputer when at least one of the first and second activate request signals is turned to a corresponding active state during interruption of the supply of the power supply voltage.

Computer circuit

A cellular phone is programmed to convert language and currency of a home country into corresponding language and currency of another country. When the cellular phone is used in the country in which the same communication protocol as that in the home country and the international roaming are available, the cellular phone determines from a received county ID code where it is used. It automatically performs various conversions such as language conversion and currency conversion with reference to a stored language dictionary and a retrieved currency exchange rate, respectively. Thus, travelers are enabled to use the cellular phone to communicate in different languages and shop in different currencies without any language or currency barrier.

Cellular phone for radio communication system having automatic data conversion function

A PDC/PHS phone has both PDC communication function and PHS communication function. The PDC/PHS phone receives a call from a PHS phone through a PHS communication network when it is in the communication with a PDC phone through a PDC communication network. The PDC/PHS phone changes its connection to the PHS communication network to transmit to the PHS phone a fixed answer message indicating that it is in the middle of communication with the PDC phone. The fixed answer message may be transmitted automatically or in response to a predetermined key operation of a user of the PDC/PHS phone. The communication with the PDC phone may be continued irrespective of the call from the PHS phone, or a new communication with the PHS phone may be enabled in response to another predetermined key operation of the user while holding the communication with the PDC phone to be resumed later.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Yoshiyuki Kawase