Patents by Inventor Katsuhito Kouno
Katsuhito Kouno 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).
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Patent number: 11420686Abstract: A lower vehicle-body structure of the electric vehicle includes a pair of left and right side sills; a substantially flat front floor panel; a first floor cross member disposed on an upper surface of the front floor panel located below a front part of a front seat; a second floor cross member disposed on an upper surface of the front floor panel 8 located below a rear part of the front seat; a kick-up portion raised from a rear end of the front floor panel 8 toward a vehicle upper side; and a console support bracket that has a front part connected to a vehicle body on a vehicle front side and a rear part connected to the kick-up portion. A lower part of the console support bracket is secured to the first and second floor cross members.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2020Date of Patent: August 23, 2022Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Yamato Matsuda, Nobuyuki Nakayama, Morihide Yamada, Katsuhito Kouno, Toshihiro Takebayashi
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Patent number: 11299211Abstract: A lower vehicle-body structure of an electric vehicle to increase resistance to lateral collision and also improve front-end collision load transfer performance of a tunnel. The lower vehicle-body structure of an electric vehicle includes a floor having a tunnel formed in a front part at a middle in a vehicle-width direction; and a floor cross member spanning, above the floor, between side sills disposed on opposite sides of the floor. Also, a rear end of the tunnel is located directly in front of the floor cross member, and reinforcing brackets are provided extending from the tunnel toward an upper end of the floor cross member and connected to the upper end of the floor cross member.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2020Date of Patent: April 12, 2022Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Yamato Matsuda, Nobuyuki Nakayama, Morihide Yamada, Katsuhito Kouno, Toshihiro Takebayashi
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Patent number: 11192588Abstract: A lower vehicle-body structure of an electric vehicle includes a bending facilitating portion located outward of a bent portion of a kick-up and bends as a breakage starter in a lateral collision, earlier than the bent portion, to reduce the amount of projection from the bending facilitating portion toward an outer side and reduce the likelihood of interference with a battery. Each of left and right side portions in a vehicle width direction of a kick-up is bent downward from a position inward of a rear side frame toward a side sill and connected to the side sill. A bending facilitating portion that facilitates bending under a lateral-collision load is formed outward of a bent portion of the kick-up and an outer side portion of the battery, and either inward of an inner end of the rear side frame or at substantially the same position as the inner end.Type: GrantFiled: March 17, 2020Date of Patent: December 7, 2021Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Harumitsu Kubota, Nobuyuki Nakayama, Katsuhito Kouno, Ryohei Nakagiri, Toshihiro Takebayashi
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Patent number: 11091016Abstract: There are provided a pair of side sills, a floor panel, a pair of floor frames, a battery unit provided between the pair of floor frames, a first cross member interconnecting the pair of side sills, and a seat bracket. The seat bracket comprises a protrusion portion which partially covers an upper wall portion of the first side portion and is upwardly spaced apart from the upper wall portion of the first cross member, and the bead portions and the opening portion (low-rigidity portion) are formed at a part of the upper wall portion of the first cross member which is located at a position corresponding to the protrusion portion.Type: GrantFiled: January 3, 2020Date of Patent: August 17, 2021Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Yamato Matsuda, Nobuyuki Nakayama, Katsuhito Kouno, Toshihiro Takebayashi, Toshiyuki Koga
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Publication number: 20200385059Abstract: A lower vehicle-body structure of an electric vehicle includes a bending facilitating portion located outward of a bent portion of a kick-up and bends as a breakage starter in a lateral collision, earlier than the bent portion, to reduce the amount of projection from the bending facilitating portion toward an outer side and reduce the likelihood of interference with a battery. Each of left and right side portions in a vehicle width direction of a kick-up is bent downward from a position inward of a rear side frame toward a side sill and connected to the side sill. A bending facilitating portion that facilitates bending under a lateral-collision load is formed outward of a bent portion of the kick-up and an outer side portion of the battery, and either inward of an inner end of the rear side frame or at substantially the same position as the inner end.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 17, 2020Publication date: December 10, 2020Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Harumitsu KUBOTA, Nobuyuki NAKAYAMA, Katsuhito KOUNO, Ryohei NAKAGIRI, Toshihiro TAKEBAYASHI
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Publication number: 20200361541Abstract: A lower vehicle-body structure of an electric vehicle to increase resistance to lateral collision and also improve front-end collision load transfer performance of a tunnel. The lower vehicle-body structure of an electric vehicle includes a floor having a tunnel formed in a front part at a middle in a vehicle-width direction; and a floor cross member spanning, above the floor, between side sills disposed on opposite sides of the floor. Also, a rear end of the tunnel is located directly in front of the floor cross member, and reinforcing brackets are provided extending from the tunnel toward an upper end of the floor cross member and connected to the upper end of the floor cross member.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2020Publication date: November 19, 2020Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Yamato MATSUDA, Nobuyuki NAKAYAMA, Morihide YAMADA, Katsuhito KOUNO, Toshihiro TAKEBAYASHI
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Publication number: 20200361535Abstract: A lower vehicle-body structure of the electric vehicle includes a pair of left and right side sills; a substantially flat front floor panel; a first floor cross member disposed on an upper surface of the front floor panel located below a front part of a front seat; a second floor cross member disposed on an upper surface of the front floor panel 8 located below a rear part of the front seat; a kick-up portion raised from a rear end of the front floor panel 8 toward a vehicle upper side; and a console support bracket that has a front part connected to a vehicle body on a vehicle front side and a rear part connected to the kick-up portion. A lower part of the console support bracket is secured to the first and second floor cross members.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 27, 2020Publication date: November 19, 2020Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Yamato MATSUDA, Nobuyuki NAKAYAMA, Morihide YAMADA, Katsuhito KOUNO, Toshihiro TAKEBAYASHI
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Publication number: 20200282816Abstract: There are provided a pair of side sills, a floor panel, a pair of floor frames, a battery unit provided between the pair of floor frames, a first cross member interconnecting the pair of side sills, and a seat bracket. The seat bracket comprises a protrusion portion which partially covers an upper wall portion of the first side portion and is upwardly spaced apart from the upper wall portion of the first cross member, and the bead portions and the opening portion (low-rigidity portion) are formed at a part of the upper wall portion of the first cross member which is located at a position corresponding to the protrusion portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 3, 2020Publication date: September 10, 2020Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Yamato MATSUDA, Nobuyuki NAKAYAMA, Katsuhito KOUNO, Toshihiro TAKEBAYASHI, Toshiyuki KOGA
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Patent number: 9637173Abstract: A ridgeline portion is provided at a pillar inner panel such that the ridgeline portion extends substantially vertically from a side sill (a roof side rail), and a load-transmission restraint portion is provided between the ridgeline portion and a welding portion of a pillar end portion where the pillar inner panel is welded to a pillar outer panel or a pillar reinforcement, and the side sill (the roof side rail), the load-transmission restraint portion being configured to have a longitudinal width which is wider than that of a central portion, in the vertical direction, of a center pillar and be substantially flat.Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 2015Date of Patent: May 2, 2017Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Yoshikazu Nishimura, Katsuhito Kouno
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Publication number: 20160023683Abstract: A ridgeline portion is provided at a pillar inner panel such that the ridgeline portion extends substantially vertically from a side sill (a roof side rail), and a load-transmission restraint portion is provided between the ridgeline portion and a welding portion of a pillar end portion where the pillar inner panel is welded to a pillar outer panel or a pillar reinforcement, and the side sill (the roof side rail), the load-transmission restraint portion being configured to have a longitudinal width which is wider than that of a central portion, in the vertical direction, of a center pillar and be substantially flat.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 10, 2015Publication date: January 28, 2016Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Yoshikazu NISHIMURA, Katsuhito KOUNO
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Patent number: 7520557Abstract: A pin having an enlarged head is fixed to a lower end portion of a sliding rear side door. The pin is disposed at a point corresponding to a door slide opening formed in a side sill, and the enlarged head of the pin is goes into a box member incorporated in the side sill through the door slide opening when the sliding rear side door is closed. A lower rail having a downward-opening U-shaped cross section is welded to a top plate portion of the box member. A lower roller unit fixed to the sliding rear side door fits into the lower rail, whereby the lower rail guides the sliding rear side door during opening and closing operation thereof. A vertical wall portion of the box member is welded to a first reinforcement member which passes generally vertically through the side sill.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2005Date of Patent: April 21, 2009Assignee: Mazda Motor CorporationInventors: Motoki Yoshida, Takashi Niseki, Kazuya Fukutani, Katsuhito Kouno
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Publication number: 20060000145Abstract: A pin having an enlarged head is fixed to a lower end portion of a sliding rear side door. The pin is disposed at a point corresponding to a door slide opening formed in a side sill, and the enlarged head of the pin is goes into a box member incorporated in the side sill through the door slide opening when the sliding rear side door is closed. A lower rail having a downward-opening U-shaped cross section is welded to a top plate portion of the box member. A lower roller unit fixed to the sliding rear side door fits into the lower rail, whereby the lower rail guides the sliding rear side door during opening and closing operation thereof. A vertical wall portion of the box member is welded to a first reinforcement member which passes generally vertically through the side sill.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 22, 2005Publication date: January 5, 2006Applicant: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Motoki Yoshida, Takashi Niseki, Kazuya Fukutani, Katsuhito Kouno