Patents by Inventor Akihiro Nakaniwa

Akihiro Nakaniwa 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: 10400788
    Abstract: An intermediate intake-type diaphragm includes a flow-regulating vane that is provided in an introduction flow channel to regulate a first fluid to flow along the radial direction; and a partition wall that partitions the introduction flow channel and an intermediate suction flow channel in the direction of an axial line. A radially inner end portion of the partition wall is located further on a radially inner side than a radially outer end portion of the flow-regulating vane, and further on a radially outer side than a boundary between the introduction flow channel and a curved flow channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Shinji Iwamoto
  • Publication number: 20190134779
    Abstract: A method for producing an impeller, includes the following steps: a forming step of forming the impeller by fused deposition modeling; and a polishing step of polishing a wall that defines a channel of the impeller using particulate polishing materials. The particulate polishing materials are sprayed on the wall of the channel or the wall of the channel is rubbed with the particulate polishing materials in the polishing step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2017
    Publication date: May 9, 2019
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sosuke Kawasumi, Yuya Konno, Akihiro Nakaniwa
  • Publication number: 20190063457
    Abstract: A centrifugal compressor is provided with a plurality of diaphragms including a first diaphragm and a second diaphragm which are adjacent to each other in an axial direction, a casing disposed on a radially outer side of the plurality of diaphragms and accommodating an internal component including the plurality of diaphragms, at least one axial spacer disposed between the first diaphragm and the second diaphragm, and a scroll flow passage formed by a scroll inner peripheral wall and a scroll outer peripheral wall. The scroll inner peripheral wall is formed by a surface of the first diaphragm positioned on a radially inner side of an outer peripheral surface of the first diaphragm. At least a part of the scroll outer peripheral wall is formed by an inner peripheral surface of the casing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Akinori Tasaki, Daisuke Hirata
  • Publication number: 20190055962
    Abstract: This centrifugal rotary machine includes an impeller having a disk, blades, and a cover. The centrifugal rotary machine further includes a casing which accommodates the impeller radially inward and forms a gap between an outer circumferential surface of the cover and the casing. The centrifugal rotary machine further includes a sealing device which seals the gap. The casing includes an end wall surface which is disposed to face one axial side of a cover end surface facing one axial side of the cover, extends in the radial direction and forms a radial flow path between the end wall surface and the cover end surface. The casing further includes a foreign matter introduction path which is formed inside the casing and communicates with a radially outer side of the radial flow path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: February 21, 2019
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Shinichiro Tokuyama
  • Publication number: 20190048877
    Abstract: A centrifugal compressor according to the present invention includes, as gas flow paths, diffuser flow paths into which process gas flowing from impellers to outside in a radial direction flows, curved flow paths that respectively communicate with the diffuser flow paths and change a flowing direction of the process gas from a direction toward the outside in the radial direction to a direction toward inside in the radial direction, and return flow paths that respectively communicate with the curved flow paths and cause the process gas flowing through the curved flow paths to flow into the impellers. In the present invention, the curved flow path configuring at least one of the gas flow paths is provided between a diaphragm and a flow path forming body that is provided between the diaphragm and the casing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2016
    Publication date: February 14, 2019
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazutoshi Yoko, Shin Yanagisawa, Eiichi Yanagisawa, Akihiro Nakaniwa, Daisuke Hirata, Takanori Matsueda
  • Patent number: 10197063
    Abstract: A centrifugal fluid machine includes a rotor, a low pressure compression unit provided on one side in the axial direction of the rotor, a high pressure compression unit provided on the other side in the axial direction of the rotor, a partition wall 13 that separates the low and high pressure compression units, and a high pressure-side discharge passage 54 formed on the side of the high pressure compression unit of the partition wall 13, extending in the radial direction of the rotor, and provided along the partition wall 13, wherein the partition wall 13 has a wall body 71, a passage deformation suppression member 72 that is provided between the wall body 71 and the high pressure-side discharge passage 54 and can deform the high pressure-side discharge passage 54, and an biasing mechanism 73 that is provided between the wall body 71 and the passage deformation suppression member 72.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Shinichiro Tokuyama
  • Publication number: 20190032670
    Abstract: A centrifugal compression test device includes a flow path forming section and an inlet space forming section. The flow path forming section forms an introduction flow path, an inlet flow path, and an interstage inflow path. The introduction flow path guides a fluid from the outside toward the inside in the radial direction. The inlet flow path is connected to the introduction flow path. The interstage inflow path extends from the outside toward the inside in the radial direction and is connected to the inlet flow path. The inlet space forming section is formed an annular shape having an introduction opening section through which a fluid is introduced from a part in the circumferential direction and the outside in the radial direction at the first side of the introduction flow path. Further, a front end of the introduction flow path is connected to the inlet space forming section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2017
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shuichi Yamashita, Akihiro Nakaniwa, Masahiro Ishikawa, Yoshiaki Shoji
  • Publication number: 20190032833
    Abstract: A pipe for a driven-type fluid machine includes: an inlet pipe that is to be connected to a suction port provided in a casing of the driven-type fluid machine, a supply pipe that supplies a fluid, and a bend that connects the supply pipe and the inlet pipe to each other. The bend is shaped such that a pipe width in a plane including a pipe axis of the inlet pipe and a pipe axis of the supply pipe gradually decreases from an upstream portion to a bent portion, and L1?3×d is satisfied where d is the pipe width at the bent portion and L1 is an axial length of the inlet pipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2017
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Akinori Tasaki
  • Patent number: 10087950
    Abstract: A centrifugal rotation machine includes a rotation shaft, a plurality of impellers rotating along with the rotation shaft, a casing defining a return flow channel configured to guide the fluid from the front-stage impeller to the rear-stage impeller, and a plurality of return vanes installed in the return flow channel, the return flow channel includes a return bend section guiding the fluid G, which has been sent from the front-stage impeller to the outside in the radial direction, to the inside in the radial direction, the return bend section includes a first curved portion and a second curved portion connected to the downstream side of the first curved portion, and the radius of curvature of an inside wall surface of the second curved portion in the radial direction is greater than the radius of curvature of an inside wall surface of the first curved portion in the radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Ryosuke Saito
  • Patent number: 10066750
    Abstract: A rotary machine includes a casing that is disposed on the outer circumference side of a rotating shaft and rotates about the axis relative to the rotating shaft, and a hole pattern seal that is fixed to the casing, divides a space between the rotating shaft and the casing into a high pressure side and a low pressure side, and has a first hole line on which a plurality of first hole portions are formed at intervals in a circumferential direction so as to face an outer circumferential surface of the rotating shaft. The hole pattern seal has fin portions that extend toward the rotating shaft at the high-pressure side of the first hole line and in the circumferential direction. The rotating shaft includes a convex portion that protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the rotating shaft toward the first hole portions to extend in the circumferential direction, and face the first hole portions at the low pressure side of the fin portion. The convex portion has a wall surface facing the fin portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Shinichiro Tokuyama
  • Patent number: 9903385
    Abstract: An impeller including: blades disposed in a circumferential direction of the impeller; a disk located close to a second end side of an axis of the impeller with respect to the blades, to which the blades are attached, and configured to be attached to a rotating shaft; and a shroud located close to a first end side of an axis of the impeller with respect to the blades, and to which the blades are attached. Flow passages are formed by the blades, the disk and the shroud. The blades, the shroud and a first portion of the disk close to the second end side of the axis of the impeller are integrated so as to form a first member. A second portion of the disk close to the first end side of the axis of the impeller forms a second member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Daisuke Kawanishi, Akihiro Nakaniwa
  • Publication number: 20180038389
    Abstract: Provided is a compressor system including: a first impeller of a compressor for pressure-feeding a fluid radially outward after the fluid has flowed in from an axial direction; a centrifugal separator for feeding externally supplied fluid out toward the first impeller while causing the fluid to swirl; and a casing for sectioning off an inflow channel which guides the fluid from the exterior to the centrifugal separator, a first accommodation space which is disposed downstream from the inflow channel and which accommodates the centrifugal separator, a second accommodation space which is connected to the downstream side of the first accommodation space and which accommodates the first impeller, and a foreign substance expulsion channel which expels foreign substances guided to the outer peripheral side by the centrifugal separator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2015
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Akihiro NAKANIWA
  • Publication number: 20180023589
    Abstract: A centrifugal compressor includes an impeller that rotates about an axis; an inlet guide vane including a plurality of vanes disposed on an upstream side of the impeller and provided at intervals in a circumferential direction of the axis, the inlet guide vane being directed inward in the radial direction between adjacent vanes, and forming a guide flow path having an exit angle in the radial direction and guiding the fluid; and a suction flow path that introduces the fluid from a part in a circumferential direction into the inlet guide vane. The exit angle of the vane of the first region on the one side when viewed from the suction flow path in the inlet guide vane is displaced to the suction flow path side as compared to the exit angle of the vane of a second region on the opposite side of the one side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2015
    Publication date: January 25, 2018
    Applicants: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD., MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Nakaniwa, Satoru Yoshida
  • Publication number: 20170370377
    Abstract: A centrifugal compressor includes a casing body (11) configured to rotatably support a rotation shaft (2) and an impeller (3) fixed to the rotation shaft around an axis (O), the casing body in which an intake volute (B1) which has a ring shape centered on the axis and through which a processing gas (G) is caused to flow in a direction of the axis and is introduced into a flow channel of the impeller, and a discharge volute which has a ring shape centered on the axis and through which the processing gas is discharged from the flow channel are formed; and a plurality of intake nozzles (16) which communicate with the intake volute and are able to cause the processing gas to flow into the intake volute from the outside and are provided at intervals in a circumferential direction around the rotation shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Publication date: December 28, 2017
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro NAKANIWA, Satoru YOSHIDA
  • Publication number: 20170306971
    Abstract: An impeller is provided with: a disk rotating about an axis; and a plurality of blades provided on the disk at intervals in a circumferential direction about the axis. Thicknesses of the blades gradually decrease from a disk side toward a tip side, and a decrease rate of the thicknesses gradually decreases from the disk side toward the tip side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2015
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Applicants: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD., MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shuichi YAMASHITA, Akihiro NAKANIWA
  • Publication number: 20170298944
    Abstract: A compressor system includes a compressor that includes an impeller configured to compress a working fluid by rotation. The compressor includes a housing in which an inflow flow path and a discharge flow path are formed, a guide vane that is provided in the inflow flow path and has an angle that is changeable, a diffuser vane that is provided in the discharge flow path and has an angle that is changeable, and a control unit configured to control angles of the guide vane and the diffuser vane. The control unit controls an angle of at least one of the guide vane and the diffuser vane based on a requested PQ characteristic value and a rotational speed of the impeller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2015
    Publication date: October 19, 2017
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Akihiro NAKANIWA
  • Publication number: 20170284386
    Abstract: A condition monitoring device for an extracted-gas compression system including a compressor which increases pressure of extracted gas includes: a sensor for detecting a state quantity of the extracted gas flowing into the compressor; an erosion progression level calculation unit for calculating an erosion progression level of the compressor on the basis of the state quantity of the extracted gas; and a service life evaluation unit for evaluating a service life of the compressor on the basis of the erosion progression level of the compressor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2015
    Publication date: October 5, 2017
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Akihiro NAKANIWA, Minoru MATSUO, Takaaki KAIKOGI
  • Patent number: 9776217
    Abstract: The centrifugal compressor is provided with a casing, a rotating shaft which is supported inside the casing, an impeller which is arranged on the rotating shaft and rotates to compress a fluid, and a washing liquid injection device which injects a washing liquid into a flow path formed by the impeller and the casing. The washing liquid injection device is provided with a plurality of nozzles which are arranged along a circumferential direction of the rotating shaft to inject the washing liquid into the flow path and a plurality of chambers which communicate with each corresponding nozzle among the plurality of nozzles and supply the washing liquid to the corresponding nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignees: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD., MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiro Nakaniwa
  • Publication number: 20170254344
    Abstract: A centrifugal compressor includes: a rotational shaft; a main casing surrounding at least a part of the rotational shaft, the main casing having an inlet and an outlet separated from each other in an axial direction of the rotational shaft and an annular space surrounding a section of the rotational shaft at a side of the inlet and communicating with the inlet; at least one impeller disposed in a fixed state to the rotational shaft inside the main casing; a flow guide member disposed inside the annular space and extending along the axial direction of the rotational shaft; a plurality of injection holes disposed along the flow guide member and separated from one another along the axial direction of the rotational shaft; and a flow path which extends inside the annular space and through which a cleaning fluid to be supplied to the plurality of injection holes is capable of flowing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2015
    Publication date: September 7, 2017
    Applicants: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD., MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro NAKANIWA, Shinichiro TOKUYAMA
  • Publication number: 20170248154
    Abstract: A centrifugal compressor for compressing a fluid in a gas phase or a supercritical phase includes: a rotational shaft; an axial flow path extending along an axial direction of the centrifugal compressor; a radial flow path communicating with the axial flow path and extending along a radial direction of the centrifugal compressor on a downstream side of the axial flow path; an impeller at least partially disposed in the radial flow path and configured to rotate together with the rotational shaft to increase pressure of the fluid flowing in the radial flow path; and a pre-compression unit disposed in the axial flow path at a position distant from a leading edge of the impeller on an upstream side of the leading edge and configured to increase the pressure of the fluid in advance before the fluid is introduced to the leading edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2015
    Publication date: August 31, 2017
    Applicants: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD., MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro NAKANIWA, Shinichiro TOKUYAMA