Patents by Inventor Hiroki Kuratani

Hiroki Kuratani 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).

  • Publication number: 20190162189
    Abstract: To provide a pump device configured such that the impeller can be prevented from being moved toward a case body by which a pump chamber is defined. An impeller is arranged in a pump chamber defined by a case body and an end wall portion of a motor. The impeller includes back blades protruding from a shroud toward the end wall portion of the motor. When the impeller is driven to circulate fluid through the pump chamber, a fluid is drawn out by the back blades from a clearance between the impeller and the end wall portion of the motor. Therefore, the impeller is moved by the negative pressure toward the end wall portion of the motor. The back blades function as a suction power generation mechanism configured to generate suction power sucking the impeller toward the end wall portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2018
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Applicant: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nobuki KOKUBO, Hiroki KURATANI, Takashi YAMAMOTO, Masaki HARADA
  • Patent number: 10291084
    Abstract: A stator including a stator core formed in a ring shape is manufactured as follows; previously preparing an original core body provided with a belt-shaped part in a straight line shape structured of multiple outer peripheral parts and multiple salient pole parts, forming a recessed part on each of outer side faces of first outer peripheral parts disposed on both end sides of the belt-shaped part at a position between the salient pole part connected with the first outer peripheral part and an end part in the longitudinal direction of the belt-shaped part; and a bending step in which the original core body is successively pressed and bent from a center of the belt-shaped part toward both end sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinichi Utsumi, Hiroki Kuratani, Yuji Maruyama, Hideo Shimodaira
  • Publication number: 20190036412
    Abstract: A motor includes a rotor, a stator having coils, a connector for supplying electrical power to the coils, and a resin sealing member. The resin sealing member comprises an opposite-to-output side sealing part and a connector sealing part covering the connector. The connector comprises a frame part into which the cable side connector is to be inserted, and the opposite-to-output side sealing part comprises a first protruded part and a second protruded part. A tip end face of the first protruded part and a tip end face of the second protruded part are located on one imaginary face intersecting the rotation center line, a tip end on the opposite-to-output side of the frame part is located on the output side with respect to the imaginary face, and the second protruded part is provided at a position closer to the frame part between the first protruded part and the frame part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2018
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Applicant: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masaki HARADA, Hiroki KURATANI, Takashi YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20180233976
    Abstract: A rotor may include a rotation shaft, a magnet on an outer peripheral side, a holding member holding the rotation shaft and the magnet, and a plurality of recessed parts provided in an end face of the magnet in an axial line direction of the rotation shaft so as to be separated from each other in a circumferential direction. A surface of each of the recessed parts is formed in a spherical shape, the holding member has a flange portion which covers the end face of the magnet from an end on an inner peripheral side of the end face of the magnet to an outer peripheral side with respect to the plurality of the recessed parts, and the flange portion is adhered to the surfaces of the recessed parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2018
    Publication date: August 16, 2018
    Inventors: Hiroki KURATANI, Takashi YAMAMOTO, Nobuki KOKUBO, Masaki HARADA
  • Publication number: 20170222500
    Abstract: A stator including a stator core formed in a ring shape is manufactured as follows; previously preparing an original core body provided with a belt-shaped part in a straight line shape structured of multiple outer peripheral parts and multiple salient pole parts, forming a recessed part on each of outer side faces of first outer peripheral parts disposed on both end sides of the belt-shaped part at a position between the salient pole part connected with the first outer peripheral part and an end part in the longitudinal direction of the belt-shaped part; and a bending step in which the original core body is successively pressed and bent from a center of the belt-shaped part toward both end sides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Applicant: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinichi UTSUMI, Hiroki KURATANI, Yuji MARUYAMA, Hideo SHIMODAIRA
  • Patent number: 8646283
    Abstract: An ice making method and device may include an ice making member inserting step in which an ice making member is inserted into water that is stored in an ice tray, an ice pieces making step in which the ice making member is cooled so that the water is frozen to form an ice pieces, an ice making member heating step in which the ice making member is heated so that a portion of the ice pieces sticking to the ice making member is melted, an ice making member drawing-out step in which the ice making member is drawn out from the ice pieces, and an ice pieces separating step in which the ice tray is deformed to separate the ice pieces from the ice tray. The ice pieces separating step and the ice pieces storing step are performed at positions under the ice making member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Kuratani, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Shigeru Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8245527
    Abstract: An ice making device may include an ice tray, a drive mechanism for moving the ice tray to a water-supply position and to an ice making position, a guide plate formed with a guide groove for guiding the ice tray to the water-supply position and to the ice making position, an engaging projection provided on the ice tray and engaged with the guide groove, a crank which is formed with a drive groove with which the engaging projection is engaged and which is connected with the drive mechanism for moving the ice tray, a heater which is mounted on the ice tray, and a connecting wire which is connected to the heater. The engaging projection is an engaging tube and is structured of two engaging tube pieces which are divided by a plane in an axial direction, and the connecting wire is drawn out by passing through an inner side of the engaging tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Inventors: David R. Ducharme, Russell E. Watts, Hiroki Kuratani
  • Patent number: 8181477
    Abstract: An ice making device may include an ice tray, a drive mechanism for moving the ice tray to a water-supply position and to an ice making position, two guide plates each of which is formed with a guide groove for guiding the ice tray to the water-supply position and to the ice making position, two engaging projections provided on the ice tray and each of which is engaged with the guide groove, and two cranks each of which is formed with a drive groove with which the engaging projection is engaged and is connected with the drive mechanism to be turned for moving the ice tray. The water-supply position is located at a position separated from the ice making position in a lateral direction, and the two engaging projections are provided on the ice tray so that their axial direction are substantially coincided with each other, and a gravity center position of the ice tray is located on a lower side of the two engaging projections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Inventors: David R. Ducharme, Russell E. Watts, Hiroki Kuratani
  • Publication number: 20110192175
    Abstract: An ice making method and device may include an ice making member inserting step in which an ice making member is inserted into water that is stored in an ice tray, an ice pieces making step in which the ice making member is cooled so that the water is frozen to form an ice pieces, an ice making member heating step in which the ice making member is heated so that a portion of the ice pieces sticking to the ice making member is melted, an ice making member drawing-out step in which the ice making member is drawn out from the ice pieces, and an ice pieces separating step in which the ice tray is deformed to separate the ice pieces from the ice tray. The ice pieces separating step and the ice pieces storing step are performed at positions under the ice making member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2011
    Publication date: August 11, 2011
    Applicant: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki KURATANI, Katsuhiko HAYASHI, Shigeru OZAWA
  • Publication number: 20100212340
    Abstract: A gear mechanism may include a first gear for operating a first drive object a second gear for operating a second drive object in cooperation with the first drive object and a third gear connected with a drive source. The second gear may include a small gear part engaged with the first gear, and a large gear part engaged with the third gear. An end face of the second gear on the large gear part side may be formed with a flange part and the flange part is formed with a cutout part for allowing the large gear part to engage with the third gear. The gear mechanism may be preferably applied to an ice making device. An assembling method for the gear mechanism may utilize a previously formed mark part on the first gear for determining a position in a circumferential direction of the first gear with respect to the case body and a previously formed positioning recessed part in the small gear part of the second gear so that a positioning pin is capable of being engaged with the positioning recessed part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Publication date: August 26, 2010
    Applicant: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroki KURATANI
  • Publication number: 20100205996
    Abstract: An ice making device may include an ice tray, a drive mechanism for moving the ice tray to a water-supply position and to an ice making position, a guide plate formed with a guide groove for guiding the ice tray to the water-supply position and to the ice making position, an engaging projection provided on the ice tray and engaged with the guide groove, a crank which is formed with a drive groove with which the engaging projection is engaged and which is connected with the drive mechanism for moving the ice tray, a heater which is mounted on the ice tray, and a connecting wire which is connected to the heater. The engaging projection is an engaging tube and is structured of two engaging tube pieces which are divided by a plane in an axial direction, and the connecting wire is drawn out by passing through an inner side of the engaging tube.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2009
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Inventors: David R. Ducharme, Russell E. Watts, Hiroki Kuratani
  • Publication number: 20100205995
    Abstract: An ice making device may include an ice tray, a drive mechanism for moving the ice tray to a water-supply position and to an ice making position, two guide plates each of which is formed with a guide groove for guiding the ice tray to the water-supply position and to the ice making position, two engaging projections provided on the ice tray and each of which is engaged with the guide groove, and two cranks each of which is formed with a drive groove with which the engaging projection is engaged and is connected with the drive mechanism to be turned for moving the ice tray. The water-supply position is located at a position separated from the ice making position in a lateral direction, and the two engaging projections are provided on the ice tray so that their axial direction are substantially coincided with each other, and a gravity center position of the ice tray is located on a lower side of the two engaging projections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2009
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Inventors: David Ducharme, Russell E. Watts, Hiroki Kuratani
  • Patent number: D853445
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki Kuratani, Takashi Yamamoto, Nobuki Kokubo, Masaki Harada