Patents by Inventor Akihiro Ariji

Akihiro Ariji 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).

  • Patent number: 11000808
    Abstract: A sheet-shaped hollow fiber membrane module includes a casing having a flat shape, the casing including a supply port and a discharge port, and a plurality of hollow fiber membranes accommodated inside the casing. The casing includes a plurality of the supply ports on one main surface of the casing and a plurality of the discharge ports on the other main surface of the casing, at least one of the plurality of the supply ports is closable, and at least one of the plurality of the discharge ports is closable. Each of the plurality of hollow fiber membranes includes a first opening at one end of the hollow fiber membrane and a second opening at the other end of the hollow fiber membrane, and the first opening and the second opening communicate with an outside of the casing and do not communicate with an inside of the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOBO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akihiro Ariji, Katsushige Marui, Atsuo Kumano
  • Publication number: 20190201850
    Abstract: A sheet-shaped hollow fiber membrane module includes a casing having a flat shape, the casing including a supply port and a discharge port, and a plurality of hollow fiber membranes accommodated inside the casing. The casing includes a plurality of the supply ports on one main surface of the casing and a plurality of the discharge ports on the other main surface of the casing, at least one of the plurality of the supply ports is closable, and at least one of the plurality of the discharge ports is closable. Each of the plurality of hollow fiber membranes includes a first opening at one end of the hollow fiber membrane and a second opening at the other end of the hollow fiber membrane, and the first opening and the second opening communicate with an outside of the casing and do not communicate with an inside of the casing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2017
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOBO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akihiro Ariji, Katsushige Marui, Atsuo Kumano
  • Patent number: 8794451
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane that can be used in treatment in various aqueous fluids such as water purification, beverage treatment, seawater clarification, and that has excellent fractionation characteristics and permeability, while deterioration of its performance due to passage of time is minimized, and that has excellent recovery of the membrane-separation characteristics by cleaning. The main feature of the hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane of the present invention is that the specific surface area of the membrane surface to which raw water is supplied falls within the range from not less than 1.10 to not greater than 1.55. The present invention also provides a process for producing a hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane, wherein a heat treatment is conducted under the condition that the membrane having a residual organic solvent content of not greater than 300 mg/g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Toyo Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenta Kochi, Tsuyoshi Hoshiyama, Hideki Sugihara, Akihiro Ariji, Koichi Baba, Hideki Yamada
  • Patent number: 8708161
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to an anisotropic polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber microporous membrane containing a polyvinylidene fluoride resin. The hollow fiber microporous membrane does not include macrovoids, and has mainly a net-like structure. In addition, the hollow fiber microporous membrane has a dense outer layer on an outer surface, and a homogeneous bulk layer that is internally adjacent to the outer layer and has a coarser structure than the outer layer. The porosity of the bulk layer is at least 1.5 times the membrane surface porosity of the outer layer. The dense structure of the outer layer changes substantially discontinuously into the coarse structure of the bulk layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: Toyo Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiro Ariji, Hideki Yamada
  • Publication number: 20110017660
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane that can be used in treatment in various aqueous fluids such as water purification, beverage treatment, seawater clarification, and that has excellent fractionation characteristics and permeability, while deterioration of its performance due to passage of time is minimized, and that has excellent recovery of the membrane-separation characteristics by cleaning. The main feature of the hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane of the present invention is that the specific surface area of the membrane surface to which raw water is supplied falls within the range from not less than 1.10 to not greater than 1.55. The present invention also provides a process for producing a hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane, wherein a heat treatment is conducted under the condition that the membrane having a residual organic solvent content of not greater than 300 mg/g.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Applicant: TOYO BOSEKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenta Kochi, Tsuyoshi Hoshiyama, Hideki Sugihara, Akihiro Ariji, Koichi Baba, Hideki Yamada
  • Publication number: 20090283469
    Abstract: Problems: To provide a polyvinylidene fluoride microporous membrane which has high water permeability and separation performance and is excellent in mechanical and chemical strength; and a process for producing the film. Means for Solving Problems: An anisotropic polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber microporous membrane characterized in that the porosity of the cross-sectional bulk layer is higher than the membrane surface porosity of the outer layer and that in the cross section of the membrane, the dense microstructure of the outer surface changes substantially discontinuously into the coarse structure of the bulk layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2007
    Publication date: November 19, 2009
    Inventors: Akihiro Ariji, Hideki Yamada
  • Publication number: 20040154979
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a composite semipermeable membrane, which is useful as a reverse osmosis membrane or a nano-filtration membrane and comprises a polysulfone porous support membrane and a polyamide ultrathin layer formed on one of the surfaces of the porous support membrane, the composite membrane having the characteristic that in the infrared absorption spectrum obtained from the surface of a polyamide ultrathin layer of the composite semipermeable membrane, the ratio T (=Aa/As) of absorption intensity Aa at the absorption peak revealing C═O of polyamide in the region of 1600-1700 cm−1 to absorption intensity As at the absorption peak revealing polysulfone at a wavenumber around 1586 cm−1 is at least 0.05 and not higher than 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2003
    Publication date: August 12, 2004
    Inventors: Hideki Yamada, Toshiyuki Tsuchiya, Akihiro Ariji, Atsuo Kumano
  • Publication number: 20030136727
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a composite semipermeable membrane, which is useful as a reverse osmosis membrane or a nano-filtration membrane and comprises a polysulfone porous support membrane and a polyamide ultrathin layer formed on one of the surfaces of the porous support membrane, the composite membrane having the characteristic that in the infrared absorption spectrum obtained from the surface of a polyamide ultrathin layer of the composite semipermeable membrane, the ratio T (=Aa/As) of absorption intensity Aa at the absorption peak revealing C═O of polyamide in the region of 1600-1700 cm−1 to absorption intensity As at the absorption peak revealing polysulfone at a wavenumber around 1586 cm−1 is at least 0.05 and not higher than.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2000
    Publication date: July 24, 2003
    Inventors: Hideki Yamada, Toshiyuki Tsuchiya, Akihiro Ariji, Atsuo Kumano