Patents by Inventor Haruhiko Iwai

Haruhiko Iwai 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: 6497113
    Abstract: A bottom-freezer refrigerator comprises a generally rectangular box-like refrigerator housing including a top division and a bottom division with an adiabatic partition wall intervening between the top and bottom divisions. The top division has a refrigerator chamber and a crisper chamber both defined therein. The bottom division has a freezer compartment defined therein. The bottom-freezer refrigerator of the structure described above also comprises a first cooler provided in the top division at a location spaced from a rear wall portion of the crisper chamber, a first circulating fan disposed in the vicinity of the first cooler, a second cooler provided in the bottom division, and a second circulating fan disposed in the vicinity of the second cooler. The refrigerator chamber and the crisper chamber are cooled by the first cooler in cooperation with the first circulating fan, whereas the freezer compartment is cooled by the second cooler in cooperation with the second circulating fan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2002
    Assignee: Matsushita Refrigeration Company
    Inventors: Hiroshi Yamada, Hiroki Hamano, Akira Hyoudou, Yoshito Kimura, Haruhiko Iwai, Toshinori Noda, Kazuo Imai
  • Patent number: 6327867
    Abstract: A refrigerator has a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, and a low-temperature storage chamber formed in the refrigerator compartment and having a temperature lower than that of the refrigerator compartment. The refrigerator includes a compressor, a condenser, a first throttling device, a channel control valve, a refrigerator cooling unit, and a freezer cooling unit connected in series to form a refrigerating cycle. The refrigerator cooling unit and the freezer cooling unit are accommodated in the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2001
    Assignee: Matsushita Refrigeration Company
    Inventors: Akira Hyodo, Yoshito Kimura, Hiroki Hamano, Hiroshi Yamada, Haruhiko Iwai, Makoto Fujihashi