Patents by Inventor Kazushi Shikata

Kazushi Shikata 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: 6409590
    Abstract: There is provided an air guide duct for a vehicle, the air guide duct connected for communication with an air conditioner unit provided in a passengers' room in a vehicle, the air guide duct adapted to pass and guide temperature regulated air supplied from the air conditioner unit, the air guide duct comprising a first base body constituting one duct half, the first base body including a mounting part for allowing a wire element of an electrical component system to be contained along the air guide duct, and a second base body constituting the other duct half, the second base body covered over the first base body to define an air flowing space therebetween, the second base body including a cover piece which laterally extends from the duct, wherein the mounting part containing the wire element is so constructed as to be covered with the cover piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignees: Inoac Corporation, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Suzuki, Kazushi Shikata, Shigeo Numazawa, Tomohiro Kamiya
  • Publication number: 20020068521
    Abstract: In a vehicle air conditioner, a blower case for accommodating a blower is connected to an air conditioning case for accommodating an evaporator and the like by a connection duct made of a vibration-absorption material. Therefore, a vibration, transmitted from the blower case to the air conditioning case, can be effectively absorbed by the connection duct, thereby reducing the vibration transmitted from the air conditioning case to a steering wheel unit through a supporting member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Publication date: June 6, 2002
    Inventors: Hisashi Tanaka, Yasuyuki Nishi, Haruki Ikuta, Kazushi Shikata, Kazuya Murata, Tomohiro Kamiya
  • Patent number: 6397609
    Abstract: In a vehicle air-conditioning system, plural electrical members such as a blower controller, servomotors and a post-evaporator temperature sensor are collectively disposed on an electrical circuit board integrally formed with an evaporator case cover for closing a side surface of an evaporator case. Therefore, a wire structure of an electrical connection or a wire harness can be made simple. Further, because an elastically deformable sensor-pressing portion for pressing the post-evaporator sensor toward an evaporator side surface is integrally formed with the evaporator case cover integrated with the electrical circuit board, a contact pressure of a temperature sensitive portion of the post-evaporator sensor onto the evaporator side surface can be maintained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Kazushi Shikata, Teruhiko Kameoka, Shigeki Harada, Akihiro Hayakawa, Hikaru Sugi, Akira Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Tomita, Koichi Ito
  • Patent number: 6354169
    Abstract: In a vehicle air conditioner, inside air and outside air are switched by first and second inside/outside air switching doors. The first inside/outside air switching door is operated by a first door lever operatively linked with an inside/outside air operation member of an operation panel. On the other hand, the second inside/outside air switching door is operated by a second door lever which is operated by a mode operation lever operatively linked with a mode operation member of the operation panel, a temperature-adjustment operation lever operatively linked with a temperature-adjustment operation member of the operation panel, and an elastic force of a spring. When an air outlet mode except for a defroster mode is manually set by the mode operation member, and when maximum heating is manually set by the temperature-adjustment operation member, the second inside/outside air switching door is operated to an inside air introduction state by the second door lever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2002
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Toyoshima, Kazushi Shikata, Kazutoshi Kuwayama
  • Patent number: 6351962
    Abstract: In a vehicle cockpit module assembly having at least an air conditioner disposed inside a dashboard, a protrusion piece for determining an arrangement position of an air-conditioning unit of the air conditioner within the dashboard is provided at the air-conditioning unit. A front load support portion for supporting a front side load of the air-conditioning unit is constructed by a drain pipe of the air-conditioning unit, and a rear load support portion for supporting a rear side load of the air-conditioning unit is constructed by rear foot ducts of the air-conditioning unit. Accordingly, in the cockpit module assembly, the air conditioner can be stably supported in the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2002
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Satoshi Mizutani, Kazushi Shikata, Shigeo Numazawa, Tomohiro Kamiya
  • Publication number: 20020017798
    Abstract: To simplify the assembling of a vehicular cockpit module assembly, an instrument panel and its peripheral devices are divided into a plurality of sub module assemblies each of which having a corresponding main device. Each of the assemblies is assembled as a unit, and then the assemblies are mutually assembled. The assembling of each sub module assembly is completed to form a unit in advance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2001
    Publication date: February 14, 2002
    Inventors: Kazushi Shikata, Kenichi Mori, Masakazu Watanabe, Eiichi Kamei, Hikaru Sugi
  • Publication number: 20020011325
    Abstract: In a vehicle air conditioner, an evaporator is disposed at an upper side of a blower approximately horizontally so that air blown by the blower passes through the evaporator from below upwardly. The evaporator is slightly tilted from a horizontal surface by a predetermined angle, and the blower is disposed in such a manner that a main flow of air blown by the blower is toward a tilt upper side of the evaporator. Accordingly, condensed water collected at a tilt lower end side of the evaporator is not disturbed by a pressure of the main flow of air blown from the blower.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2001
    Publication date: January 31, 2002
    Inventors: Kazushi Shikata, Satoshi Mizutani, Tomohiro Kamiya
  • Patent number: 6341648
    Abstract: A heat exchanger a width dimension of which is much larger than a height dimension, in which an heat-exchanging medium flow resistance in a heat exchanging core portion is suppressed from increasing, and discharged air temperature is made uniform in the width direction of the heat-exchanging core portion. The heat-exchanging core portion is divided into a first core portion and a second core portion. The hot water in the first core portion and hot water in the second core portion flow in an opposite direction to each other. Thus, even when the heating heat exchanger, the width dimension of which is much larger than the height dimension, is used, the air temperature is prevented from varying in the width direction. Further, as the heat-exchanging medium flows in the first and second core portions in parallel, the heat-exchanging medium flow resistance is suppressed from increasing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2002
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Mikio Fukuoka, Mitsugu Nakamura, Kazushi Shikata, Hikaru Sugi, Yukio Uemura
  • Patent number: 6308770
    Abstract: According to the present invention, an air conditioning apparatus include a case partitioned into a first air passage and a second air passage by partition plates (16-19), a heat exchanger such as a heater core. The heater exchanger is sandwiched between the partition plates. Further, the heat exchanger is formed by laminating tubes and a fin while the fin is disposed in each main air passage formed between tube walls of the tubes. Each end of the partition plates is opposite to each end of the tubes so that the partition plates are parallel to the tubes. In this way, airflows which respectively have passed from the air first and second passages pass through the heat exchanger without being mixed with each other therein. As a result, the separation characteristics of airflows can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Kazushi Shikata, Yukio Uemura, Hiroshi Nonoyama, Kenji Suwa
  • Patent number: 6296303
    Abstract: The present invention integrates a blower unit into a vehicle dashboard and of reducing blower-vibration transmittance to a steering unit. In a vehicle, at least a reinforcement member having a steering support portion and an air conditioner are disposed inside a dashboard, at least a portion of a blower unit of the air conditioner is fixed to a side bracket for fixing the reinforcement member to a vehicle body. Further, the blower unit is integrally mounted inside the dashboard via the reinforcemnt member. This manner can attain both of realizing the modulization that the blower unit is integrated into the vehicle dashboard and of reducing the vibration transmittance from the blower unit to the steering support portion via the reinforcement member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohiro Kamiya, Kazushi Shikata, Shigeo Numazawa
  • Patent number: 6293339
    Abstract: A vehicle air-conditioning system that independently controls left-right air flow distribution in correspondence with left and right heat loads during a maximum cooling mode. In the system, blowout air flow is increased when driver seat side and passenger seat side air-mixing film members are both positioned in a maximum cooling position, and the heat load has risen in only one of a driver seat side space and a passenger seat side space in a passenger compartment. Further, each respective film member is operated to fully open a cool air bypass passage on the side on which the heat load has risen and the respective film member corresponding to the side on which the heat load has not risen significantly is operated to reduce the open area of the cool air bypass passage. At the same time, fan speed is increased to increase the air blow amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yukio Uemura, Takuya Natsume, Kazushi Shikata
  • Publication number: 20010017204
    Abstract: An automotive air conditioner includes an offset blower for blowing an air, an evaporator is centrally disposed within a dashboard and receives the air from below, and a heater approximately horizontally disposed above the evaporator. The evaporator inclines downward along the direction of the air flow. A plurality of condensed water guide plates are provided under the evaporator so as to allow a condensed water smoothly flow on the surface of each guide plate and is discharged from the evaporator through a condensed water drain pipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Publication date: August 30, 2001
    Applicant: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Yuichi Shirota, Hisashi Tanaka, Hiroshi Nonoyama, Kazushi Shikata, Yukio Uemura, Hikaru Sugi, Koji Ito, Teruhiko Kameoka
  • Publication number: 20010003404
    Abstract: A wiring system of indication instrument for vehicle includes a transverse member disposed inside the indicating instrument to extend in a transverse direction of the vehicle, a wire-integrated cluster disposed inside the indication instrument and an electric distributor box disposed at an end of the transverse member. The cluster includes a bundle of main lead wires disposed to extend straight along said transverse member, and the distributor box distributes electric power and signals transmitted by the wire-integrated cluster.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2000
    Publication date: June 14, 2001
    Inventors: Kazushi Shikata, Shigeo Numazawa, Tomohiro Kamiya, Satoshi Mizutani, Hikaru Sugi
  • Patent number: 6213198
    Abstract: An electric element (Peltier element composite) is disposed in a boundary between an outside air introduction passage and an inside air introduction air passage (114). The Peltier element composite absorbs heat from the inside air in the inside air introduction passage to cool and dehumidify the inside air and radiates heat to outside air in the outside air introduction passage. The inside air and outside air are blown out from a defroster air outlet through a second air passage. In this way, it is possible to increase an amount of introduced inside air and to improve the heating performance while maintaining the defrosting performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Kazushi Shikata, Yukio Uemura, Kenji Suwa, Hiroshi Nonoyama, Hikaru Sugi, Manabu Miyata, Yuichi Shirota
  • Patent number: 6145754
    Abstract: According to the present invention, even when the two-layer mode in which the inside air is introduced into a first air passage and the outside air is introduced into a second air passage is set, it is further determined whether air mix doors are controlled at the maximum hot positions. When it has been determined that the air mix doors are controlled at the maximum hot positions, the inside/outside air introduction mode is still set to the two-layer mode, because the temperature difference due to the outside air temperature is small, however, otherwise, the inside/outside air introduction mode is not set to the two-layer mode but is set to a mode in which the outside air is introduced into the both air passages. In this way, it is possible to prevent the difference between the temperatures of the air blown out from a defroster opening portion and a foot opening portion from being increased due to the temperature of the outside air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yukio Uemura, Kazushi Shikata, Hiroshi Nonoyama, Hikaru Sugi, Kenji Suwa, Tadashi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6142864
    Abstract: A blower unit includes a centrifugal fan, a fan casing forming a scroll-shaped air passage and accommodating the centrifugal fan, and a partition wall for partitioning an interior of the fan casing into first and second air passages in which different kinds of airs flow, respectively, in the axial direction. The partition wall is molded integrally to the fan casing so as to extend linearly from the inner wall surface of the fan casing toward a radial inside of the fan. The fan casing includes two divided cases having a divided face in the axial direction. In this way, the number of divided cases can be as well as the number of steps of assembling the fan casing can be reduced so that the work efficiency for assembling the fan casing is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Yukio Uemura, Kenji Suwa, Kazushi Shikata, Hiroshi Nonoyama, Hikaru Sugi, Koji Takahashi, Hideaki Inazawa, Yasuhiro Sato, Tetsuya Takechi, Manabu Miyata
  • Patent number: 6110035
    Abstract: According to the present invention, a blower unit includes a centrifugal fan, a fan casing forming a scroll-shaped air passage and accommodating the centrifugal fan, and a partition wall for partitioning an interior of the fan casing into first and second air passages in which different kinds of airs flow, respectively, in the axial direction. The partition wall is molded integrally to the fan casing so as to extend linearly from the inner wall surface of the fan casing toward a radial inside of the fan. The fan casing includes two divided cases having a divided face in the axial direction. In this way, the number of divided cases can be as well as the number of steps of assembling the fan casing can be reduced so that the work efficiency for assembling the fan casing is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yukio Uemura, Kenji Suwa, Kazushi Shikata, Hiroshi Nonoyama, Hikaru Sugi, Koji Takahashi, Hideaki Inazawa, Yasuhiro Sato, Tetsuya Takechi, Manabu Miyata
  • Patent number: 6101828
    Abstract: In an air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle, a heat exchanger for adjusting a temperature of air blown into a passenger compartment is formed in a lateral-longer shape to have a longest dimension in a right-left direction of the vehicle, and the heat exchanger is accommodated in an air conditioning case. The air conditioning case is also formed in the lateral-longer shape and has a longest dimension in the right-left direction. An air passage is formed in the air conditioning case so that air passes through the heat exchanger from a front side to a rear side in a from-rear direction of the vehicle. The air conditioning case is disposed in an instrument panel at a center in the right-left direction to extend from the center to upper sides of foot spaces provided at right and left sides of a center console without being inserted into the center console. Thus, an installation performance of the air conditioning apparatus in the instrument panel of the vehicle can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Kazushi Shikata, Takashi Toyoshima
  • Patent number: 6092592
    Abstract: In an air conditioner for a vehicle, a temperature control unit includes a first air mixing door for adjusting an opening degree of a cool air passage through which air having passed through an evaporator bypasses a heater core, and a second air mixing door for adjusting an opening degree of an air inlet portion of the heater core. At least the second air mixing door between the first and second air mixing doors is a butterfly door having a rotation shaft at a center in a door width direction. When an inside/outside air double-layer flow mode is set, the second door partitions an air passage between the evaporator and the heater core into a first air passage through which outside air flows and a second air passage through which inside air flows while fully opening the air inlet portion of the heater core. Thus, in the air conditioner, a distance between the evaporator and the heater core is reduced while partition performance between inside air and outside air due to the second air mixing door is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Toyoshima, Kazushi Shikata
  • Patent number: 6093096
    Abstract: An air conditioning apparatus for a rear seat of a vehicle includes a centrifugal fan disposed at a downstream air side of an evaporator. The centrifugal fan is a backward curved fan having a plurality of blades each of which is curved backward relative to a rotation direction of the centrifugal fan. In the centrifugal fan, because a main component of velocity vector is in a radial direction of the centrifugal fan, a dynamical-pressure component of air blown from the centrifugal fan can be effectively changed to a hydrostatic-pressure component. Thus, during a cooler mode where air is simultaneously blown from first and second air outlets toward the rear space of the passenger compartment, a pressure of air blown from the first and second air outlets can be increased, and an amount of air blown toward the rear space of the passenger compartment can be sufficiently increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Manabu Miyata, Haruki Ikuta, Koji Ito, Hikaru Sugi, Takuya Natsume, Yukio Uemura, Kazushi Shikata