Patents by Inventor Atsuhito Gama

Atsuhito Gama 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: 7628607
    Abstract: A microcomputer 51 of an electronic circuit unit 50 actuates an electric motor (stepping motor) 20 driving a thermal power control valve of a burner during or just after extinguishment of the burner to displace the thermal power control valve to an opening degree position for ignition. In this way, the delay of the start of an ignition process of the burner for an ignition request can be eliminated to start the ignition process promptly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2009
    Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Patent number: 7428901
    Abstract: A cooking stove that prevents the execution of a process such as ignition of a burner when a touch switch changes from a non-sensing state to a sensing state. In STEP201, when a first touch switch, which is one of the touch switches provided in an operation, is turned on from off, the process advances to STEP202, where a controller provided in a cooking stove main body starts a 1-second timer. The controller executes a loop composed of STEP203 and STEP210. When a second touch switch, which is one of the touch switches and is different from the first touch switch, is turned on from off in STEP210 before the 1-second timer times up in STEP203, the process advances from STEP210 to STEP211. The controller performs “error reporting” by blinking a display portion and activating a buzzer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2008
    Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Patent number: 7422010
    Abstract: A cooking stove that prevents a burner from being ignited when a touch switch shifts from a non-sensing to a sensing state. An operation portion having a touch switch is provided on a glass top plate of a cooking stove main body which accommodates burners. The touch switch allowing a user to give instruction on actuation and stoppage of the burners and sensing an object that contacts or approaches the top surface of the glass to plate. Heating control means for determining whether the touch switch is on (a sensing state) or off (a non-sensing state) to control actuation of the heating means. While the burner is at a stop, when the touch switch is turned on and then off again, the heating control means ignites the burner. While the burner is in operation, when the touch switch is turned on, the heating control means extinguishes the burner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Patent number: 7370649
    Abstract: A touch switch which prohibits a child from actuating heating means, while permitting a child to deactivate heating means. A cooking stove including an electrical capacitance operation switch 10 which switches the cooking stove between an operation state in which an ignition instruction is enabled and a standby state in which the ignition instruction is disabled; the operation switch is used to instruct the cooking stove to be extinguished. When the cooking stove is inactive, a switch circuit 63 selects a resistance element 61 offering a higher resistance to set the cooking stove in a “lower sensitivity set state” in which the operation switch 10 has a sensitivity sl. When the cooking stove is active, the switch circuit 63 selects a resistance element 62 offering a lower resistance to set the cooking stove in a “higher sensitivity set state” in which the operation switch 10 has a sensitivity sh (>sl).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Patent number: 7335861
    Abstract: A cooking stove which prevents the quantity of heat generated by a gas burner from increasing continuously contrary to the user's expectations, while allowing the user to easily operate the appliance. A cooking stove includes an operation portion 6 having touch switches provided on a glass top plate 2 covering a top surface of a cooking stove main body 1 accommodating burners 4a and 4b, the touch switches allowing a user to give instruction on activation of the burners 4a and 4b, the touch switches sensing an object that contacts or approaches the top surface of the glass top plate 2, and a controller for determining whether each of the touch switches is on (sensing state) or off (non-sensing state) to control activation of the burners 4a and 4b in accordance with the result of the determination. When a thermal power up switch for the burner 4a in the operation portion 6 is kept on while the burner 4a is in operation, controller increases the thermal power of the burner 4a by only one level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2008
    Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Patent number: 7217900
    Abstract: A cooking stove in which an operation circuit board formed with an electrode pattern is placed on a back surface of a glass top plate so as to suppress the formation of an air layer. The cooking stove includes a display mark and a switch mark provided on a front surface of the glass top plate so as to have a first positional relationship, a case having a display opening corresponding to the display mark with the first positional relationship and an operation circuit board opening corresponding to the switch mark, the case being bonded to the uneven back surface of the glass top plate so that the display opening is positioned at the display mark, and a bonding layer that bonds the back surface of the glass top plate to a part of the operation circuit board in which an electrode pattern is formed, via the operation circuit board opening in the case so that depressed portions of the back surface of the glass top plate are filled with a double coated tape having a foam as a base material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Yoshihiro Mizutani
  • Patent number: 7176418
    Abstract: The present invention provides a cooking stove that prevents an instruction from being given using the touch switch owing to a factor different from the user's operation, while hindering the user from having an incongruous or anxious feeling when operating the touch switch. Touch switches 10 to 13 are provided on a glass top plate covering a top surface of a cooking stove main body accommodating a left burner and a right burner; the touch switches 10 to 13 sense an object that contacts with or approaches the top surface of the glass top plate. When any of the touch switches is turned on and then turned off again, heating control 31 executes a pre-assigned process to the touch switch. When the touch switch is turned on, lighting control 32 changes the displays of display sections 14 to 17 to ones corresponding to the state of a burner after the process has been executed before executing a pre-assigned process to the touch switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Patent number: 7168677
    Abstract: When a fluid flow channel is interrupted while an electronic circuit unit 50 including a microcomputer 51 and the like receives electric source power, a flow control valve is displaced to a predetermined position closer to a first end of both ends of a motion range of the flow control valve in the fluid flow channel by a stepping motor 29. When the supply of electric source power is restarted after the supply of electric source power to the electronic circuit unit 50 is stopped, a predetermined number of pulses capable of displacing the flow control valve from the first end to a home position are supplied to the stepping motor 29 to displace the flow control valve to the home position with a second end of both ends of the motion range of the flow control valve being the home position of the flow control valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Rinnai Corpoartion
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050257785
    Abstract: The present invention provides a cooking stove including a touch switch that can prohibit a child from instructing the heating means to be actuated, while permitting a child to instruct the heating means to be stopped. The cooking stove comprises an electrical capacitance operation switch 10 which switches the cooking stove between an operation state in which an ignition instruction is enabled and a standby state in which the ignition instruction is disabled; the operation switch 10 is used to instruct the cooking stove to be extinguished. When the cooking stove is inactive, a switch circuit 63 selects a resistance element 61 offering a higher resistance to set the cooking stove in a “lower sensitivity set state” in which the operation switch 10 has a sensitivity sl. This prohibits the cooking stove from being switched to the operation state when a child touches a touch area 10a in the standby state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2005
    Publication date: November 24, 2005
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050236390
    Abstract: The present invention provides a cooking stove that prevents an instruction from being given using the touch switch owing to a factor different from the user's operation, while hindering the user from having an incongruous or anxious feeling when operating the touch switch. Touch switches 10 to 13 are provided on a glass top plate covering a top surface of a cooking stove main body accommodating a left burner and a right burner; the touch switches 10 to 13 sense an object that contacts with or approaches the top surface of the glass top plate. When any of the touch switches is turned on and then turned off again, heating control means 31 executes a pre-assigned process to the touch switch. When the touch switch is turned on, lighting control means 32 changes the displays of display sections 14 to 17 to ones corresponding to the state of a burner after the process has been executed before executing a pre-assigned process to the touch switch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050235983
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooking stove that prevents the execution of a process such as ignition of a burner when a touch switch changes from a non-sensing state to a sensing state owing to a factor different from the user's operation. In STEP201, when a first touch switch, which is one of the touch switches provided in an operation portion, is turned on from off, the process advances to STEP202, where a controller provided in a cooking stove main body starts a 1-second timer. The controller executes a loop composed of STEP203 and STEP210. When a second touch switch, which is one of the touch switches and is different from the first touch switch, is turned on from off in STEP210 before the 1-second timer times up in STEP203, the process advances from STEP210 to STEP211. The controller performs “error reporting” by blinking a display portion and activating a buzzer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2005
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050236391
    Abstract: The present invention provides a cooking stove that prevents a burner from being ignited when a touch switch shifts from a non-sensing state to a sensing state owing to a factor different from a user's operation. A cooking stove includes an operation portion 6 having a touch switch provided on a glass top plate 2 covering a top surface of a cooking stove main body 1 accommodating burners 4a and 4b, the touch switch allowing a user to give an instruction on actuation and stoppage of the burners 4a and 4b, the touch switch sensing an object that contacts or approaches the top surface of the glass top plate 2, and heating control means for determining whether the touch switch is on (a sensing state) or off (a non-sensing state) to control actuation of the heating means in accordance with a result of the determination. While the burner 4a or 4b is at a stop, when the touch switch is turned on and then off again, the heating control means ignites the burner 4a or 4b.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050235982
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooking stove in which an operation circuit board formed with an electrode pattern is placed on a back surface of a glass top plate so as to suppress the formation of an air layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2005
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Yoshihiro Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20050217661
    Abstract: The present invention provides a cooking stove which prevents the quantity of heat generated by heating means from increasing continuously contrary to the user's expectations, while allowing the user to easily operate the appliance. A cooking stove includes an operation portion 6 having touch switches provided on a glass top plate 2 covering a top surface of a cooking stove main body 1 accommodating burners 4a and 4b, the touch switches allowing a user to give instruction on activation of the burners 4a and 4b, the touch switches sensing an object that contacts or approaches the top surface of the glass top plate 2, and heating control means for determining whether each of the touch switches is on (sensing state) or off (non-sensing state) to control activation of the burners 4a and 4b in accordance with the result of the determination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Publication date: October 6, 2005
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050199844
    Abstract: When a fluid flow channel is interrupted while an electronic circuit unit 50 including a microcomputer 51 and the like receives electric source power, a flow control valve is displaced to a predetermined position closer to a first end of both ends of a motion range of the flow control valve in the fluid flow channel by a stepping motor 29. When the supply of electric source power is restarted after the supply of electric source power to the electronic circuit unit 50 is stopped, a predetermined number of pulses capable of displacing the flow control valve from the first end to a home position are supplied to the stepping motor 29 to displace the flow control valve to the home position with a second end of both ends of the motion range of the flow control valve being the home position of the flow control valve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2005
    Publication date: September 15, 2005
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050199232
    Abstract: A microcomputer 51 of an electronic circuit unit 50 actuates an electric motor (stepping motor) 20 driving a thermal power control valve of a burner during or just after extinguishment of the burner to displace the thermal power control valve to an opening degree position for ignition. In this way, the delay of the start of an ignition process of the burner for an ignition request can be eliminated to start the ignition process promptly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2005
    Publication date: September 15, 2005
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuhito Gama, Shinichiro Hata, Hiroyuki Yamada, Kazuya Hirota