Patents by Inventor Ken Takai

Ken Takai 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: 9461329
    Abstract: A power generation system includes a hydrothermal fluid well including a drilled hole reaching down to a hydrothermal fluid reservoir present below an ocean floor from an ocean floor surface and a casing installed in the drilled hole through a guide base on the ocean floor surface, an anode provided on a flow channel for hot water formed by the hydrothermal fluid well, a cathode provided in seawater other than the flow channel for hot water formed by the hydrothermal fluid well, and an ocean floor device that is connected with the anode and the cathode respectively and extracts generated power so as to operate. Power is easily and stably supplied on the ocean floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignees: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology, The University of Tokyo
    Inventors: Masahiro Yamamoto, Ken Takai, Tomokazu Saruhashi, Ikuo Sawada, Junichi Miyazaki, Takazo Shibuya, Kentaro Nakamura, Ryuhei Nakamura, Kazuhito Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 9359870
    Abstract: A recovery method for recovering mineral resources from a hydrothermal fluid reservoir present beneath the ocean floor includes the steps of: (A) providing a hydrothermal fluid well by drilling a hole reaching a hydrothermal fluid reservoir from an ocean floor surface via a guide base on the ocean floor surface, and then installing a casing in the drilled hole via the guide base; (B) precipitating minerals on a mineral-culturing device by installing the mineral-culturing device on the base guide so as to cover a well head of the hydrothermal fluid well, and bringing hot water ejecting from the well head into contact with sea water on the mineral-culturing device; and (C) recovering minerals precipitated on the mineral-culturing device together with the mineral-culturing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
    Inventors: Ken Takai, Tomokazu Saruhashi, Junichi Miyazaki, Ikuo Sawada, Takazo Shibuya, Shinsuke Kawaguchi, Junichiro Ishibashi, Tatsuo Nozaki, Teruhiko Kashiwabara, Kentaro Nakamura, Katsuhiko Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20150361768
    Abstract: The invention is a recovery method for recovering mineral resources from a hydrothermal fluid reservoir present beneath the ocean floor, the recovery method including the steps of: (A) providing a hydrothermal fluid well by drilling a hole reaching a hydrothermal fluid reservoir from an ocean floor surface via a guide base on the ocean floor surface, and then installing a casing in the drilled hole via the guide base; (B) precipitating minerals on the mineral-culturing device by installing a mineral-culturing device on the base guide so as to cover a well head of the hydrothermal fluid well, and bringing hot water ejecting from the well head into contact with sea water on the mineral-culturing device; and (C) recovering minerals precipitated on the mineral-culturing device together with the mineral-culturing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2013
    Publication date: December 17, 2015
    Applicant: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
    Inventors: Ken TAKAI, Tomokazu SARUHASHI, Junichi MIYAZAKI, Ikuo SAWADA, Takazo SHIBUYA, Shinsuke KAWAGUCHI, Junichiro ISHIBASHI, Tatsuo NOZAKI, Teruhiko KASHIWABARA, Kentaro NAKAMURA, Katsuhiko SUZUKI
  • Publication number: 20150050581
    Abstract: A power generation system includes a hydrothermal fluid well including a drilled hole reaching down to a hydrothermal fluid reservoir present below an ocean floor from an ocean floor surface and a casing installed in the drilled hole through a guide base on the ocean floor surface, an anode provided on a flow channel for hot water formed by the hydrothermal fluid well, a cathode provided in seawater other than the flow channel for hot water formed by the hydrothermal fluid well, and an ocean floor device that is connected with the anode and the cathode respectively and extracts generated power so as to operate. Power is easily and stably supplied on the ocean floor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2013
    Publication date: February 19, 2015
    Applicants: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology, The University of Tokyo
    Inventors: Masahiro Yamamoto, Ken Takai, Toshikazu Saruhashi, Ikuro Sawada, Junichi Miyazaki, Takazo Shibuya, Kentaro Nakamura, Ryuhei Nakamura, Kazuhito Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 8153413
    Abstract: The invention aims to provide a novel alkaline protease having peculiar properties such as high alkali activity, resistance to surfactants and calcium-dependent thermostability and exhibiting excellent performance in highly alkaline detergents, and a gene coding for the amino acid sequence thereof. There is provided an alkaline protease with such properties that an active pH range is from 5 to 13, an optimum pH is approximately 12.6, an optimum temperature is 70° C., no activity drop by heating is observed up to 65° C. at pH 10 and the optimum temperature and the thermostability are not affected by Ca2+ ions. Specifically, there is provided, for example, an alkaline protease having an amino acid sequence constituting a mature enzyme as represented by SEQ ID NO: 3 or an amino acid sequence resulting from deletion, substitution, situs inversus arrangement, addition or insertion of a part of amino acids thereof, or derived from Alkaliphillus transvaalensis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
    Inventors: Jie Lu, Zhi jun Li, Si Hung Vo, Yuji Hatada, Ken Takai, Susumu Ito, Koki Horikoshi
  • Publication number: 20110045570
    Abstract: The invention aims to provide a novel alkaline protease having peculiar properties such as high alkali activity, resistance to surfactants and calcium-dependent thermostability and exhibiting excellent performance in highly alkaline detergents, and a gene coding for the amino acid sequence thereof. There is provided an alkaline protease with such properties that an active pH range is from 5 to 13, an optimum pH is approximately 12.6, an optimum temperature is 70° C., no activity drop by heating is observed up to 65° C. at pH 10 and the optimum temperature and the thermostability are not affected by Ca2+ ions. Specifically, there is provided, for example, an alkaline protease having an amino acid sequence constituting a mature enzyme as represented by SEQ ID NO: 3 or an amino acid sequence resulting from deletion, substitution, situs inversus arrangement, addition or insertion of a part of amino acids thereof, or derived from Alkaliphillus transvaalensis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2005
    Publication date: February 24, 2011
    Applicant: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Tech.
    Inventors: Jie Lu, Zhijun Li, Si Hung Vo, Yuji Hatada, Ken Takai, Susumu Ito, Koki Horikoshi