Patents by Inventor Masaaki Hirano

Masaaki Hirano 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: 20200206838
    Abstract: In a double-acting friction stir spot welding device or a double-acting friction stir spot welding method, a pin member and a cylindrical shoulder member that rotates around the axis of the pin member are used as rotary tools, and a clamp member that has a cylindrical shape positioned so as to surround the outside of the shoulder member and is configured to press a workpiece from an obverse surface with an annular pressing surface of the distal end is used as a holding jig. The clamp member has an inclined surface that is adjacent to the inner edge portion of the pressing surface and inclined so as to reduce the inner diameter of the clamp member toward the back side as viewed from the pressing surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Publication date: July 2, 2020
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaaki HIRANO, Etsuko YAMADA
  • Publication number: 20200206840
    Abstract: A clamp member, for a double-acting friction stir spot welding device, is provided for the double-acting friction stir spot welding device to perform friction stir spot welding of a workpiece by using a rotary tool, and presses a surface of the workpiece while the workpiece is supported. The rotary tool has a pin member and a shoulder member. The clamp member includes an end face that comes into surface contact with the surface of the workpiece to press the surface and a protruding portion protruding from the end face in an axial direction and extending around an axis. The protruding portion is configured to press the workpiece, the clamp member surrounding an outer periphery of the shoulder member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Publication date: July 2, 2020
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaaki HIRANO, Takashi NINOMIYA, Etsuko YAMADA
  • Patent number: 10690690
    Abstract: Provided is a specimen dispensing mechanism that includes a specimen nozzle dispensing a specimen to be analyzed in a specimen chamber to a reaction chamber by suctioning and ejecting the specimen, and the specimen dispensing mechanism is controlled so as to perform a specimen suctioning process of inserting the specimen nozzle into the specimen chamber and suctioning the specimen in the specimen chamber, a liquid suctioning process of suctioning a liquid by the specimen nozzle after the specimen suctioning process, and an ejection process of ejecting the liquid and a portion of the specimen to the empty reaction chamber from the specimen nozzle in this order. Thereby, it is possible to provide an automatic analyser and a method which are capable of dispensing a small amount of specimen with a high level of accuracy, without depending on the outer shape of a specimen nozzle or the viscosity of the specimen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Yasui, Saori Chida, Masaaki Hirano
  • Patent number: 10670478
    Abstract: It is possible to detect a failure in a temperature sensor while preventing enlarging of a circuit scale. A temperature measurement circuit 10 includes temperature sensors 20 and 30, and a comparator 40. The temperature sensor 20 includes a temperature detection unit 21 including a resistive element, a resistance value of which varies in accordance with temperature changes, and an AD converter which converts a voltage of the temperature detection unit 21 into a temperature digital value D1. The temperature sensor 30 includes a ring oscillator 31 which oscillates at a cycle that is temperature dependent, and generates a digital value D2 based on an oscillating signal output by the ring oscillator 31. The comparator 40 compares the temperature digital values D1 and D2, and outputs a signal indicating whether the temperature sensor 20 is normal or not based on a comparison result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chiaki Kumahara, Tetsuhiro Koyama, Masaaki Hirano
  • Publication number: 20190360898
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device that can inhibit a dead volume from occurring and can dispense a liquid of a small quantity with a high degree of accuracy while reducing the variation of dispensing quantities. A dispensing device according to the present invention has a detachable dispensing tip and the dispensing tip has a configuration of arranging a plunger in a hollow part of a metal pipe (refer to FIG. 2).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2017
    Publication date: November 28, 2019
    Inventors: Takahiro ANDO, Masaaki HIRANO
  • Patent number: 10451787
    Abstract: Provided are an optical fiber that has a short zero-dispersion wavelength, has high nonlinearity, and can cause broadband supercontinuum light to be generated with high efficiency, and a light source device that can output broadband supercontinuum light by using the optical fiber. A light source device includes a seed light source that outputs light with a central wavelength 1000 nm or more and 1650 nm or less and an optical fiber that receives the light output from the seed light source, allows the light to propagate therethrough, causes broadband light with an expanded band to be generated in accordance with a nonlinear optical phenomenon while the light propagates therethrough, and outputs the broadband light. The optical fiber is composed of silica glass, has a zero-dispersion wavelength of 1290 nm to 1350 nm, and has an effective area of 14 ?m2 or smaller at a wavelength of 1550 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshinori Yamamoto, Masaaki Hirano, Yoshiaki Tamura
  • Publication number: 20190270662
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical fiber preform for obtaining an optical fiber with low transmission loss. A core preform included in the optical fiber preform comprises three or more core portions, which are each produced by a rod-in-collapse method, and in which both their alkali metal element concentration and chlorine concentration are independently controlled. In two or more manufacturing steps of the manufacturing steps for each of the three or more core portions, an alkali metal element is added. As a result, the mean alkali metal element concentration in the whole core preform is controlled to 7 atomic ppm or more and 70 atomic ppm or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2019
    Publication date: September 5, 2019
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya HARUNA, Masaaki HIRANO, Yoshiaki TAMURA, Yuki KAWAGUCHI
  • Publication number: 20190138389
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes an ECC decoder which performs diagnosis on data using an error detection code for the data, an ECC encoder which generates an error detection code for a first data piece equivalent to a bit range accounting for a part of plural bits configuring the data and generates an error detection code for a second data piece equivalent to a bit range accounting for a remaining part of the bits, and a diagnosis circuit which, when no error in the data has been detected by the ECC decoder, compares a part of the data corresponding to the first data piece with the first data piece used in generating the first error detection code and compares a part of the data corresponding to the second data piece with the second data piece used in generating the second error detection code.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2018
    Publication date: May 9, 2019
    Inventors: Toru KAWANISHI, Tadashi Teranuma, Masaaki Hirano
  • Patent number: 10139558
    Abstract: Provided is an optical fiber having W-shaped refractive-index distribution and in which a micro-bend loss in an actual usage waveband is reduced. The optical fiber includes a core, inner cladding that surrounds the core and has a refractive index smaller than a refractive index of the core, and outer cladding that surrounds the inner cladding and has a refractive index smaller than the refractive index of the core and larger than the refractive index of the inner cladding. When a coupling coefficient between a fundamental mode and a cladding mode is denoted by C01-CL, a coupling coefficient between the fundamental mode and a higher-order mode is denoted by C01-11, and a coupling coefficient between the higher-order mode and the cladding mode is denoted by C11-CL, Ctotal defined as Ctotal=C01-CL+C01-11C11-CL has a minimum value at a wavelength ranging between 1520 nm and 1630 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki Kawaguchi, Yoshinori Yamamoto, Masaaki Hirano
  • Publication number: 20180156675
    Abstract: It is possible to detect a failure in a temperature sensor while preventing enlarging of a circuit scale. A temperature measurement circuit 10 includes temperature sensors 20 and 30, and a comparator 40. The temperature sensor 20 includes a temperature detection unit 21 including a resistive element, a resistance value of which varies in accordance with temperature changes, and an AD converter which converts a voltage of the temperature detection unit 21 into a temperature digital value D1. The temperature sensor 30 includes a ring oscillator 31 which oscillates at a cycle that is temperature dependent, and generates a digital value D2 based on an oscillating signal output by the ring oscillator 31. The comparator 40 compares the temperature digital values D1 and D2, and outputs a signal indicating whether the temperature sensor 20 is normal or not based on a comparison result.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Inventors: Chiaki KUMAHARA, Tetsuhiro KOYAMA, Masaaki HIRANO
  • Patent number: 9977183
    Abstract: The present embodiment relates to an optical fiber having a W-type refractive index d profile or a trench-type refractive index profile and having reduced microbending loss in a wavelength band to be actually used. The optical fiber includes a center core, an inner cladding surrounding the center core, and an outer cladding surrounding the inner cladding. The inner cladding has a refractive index lower than a refractive index of at least the center core and the outer cladding has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the center core and higher than the refractive index of the inner cladding. Wavelength dependency of microbending loss has a local maximal value and a shortest wavelength ?th where the microbending loss becomes 10% of the local maximal value is longer than 1560 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki Kawaguchi, Yoshinori Yamamoto, Masaaki Hirano
  • Publication number: 20180120340
    Abstract: Provided is a specimen dispensing mechanism that includes a specimen nozzle dispensing a specimen to be analyzed in a specimen chamber to a reaction chamber by suctioning and ejecting the specimen, and the specimen dispensing mechanism is controlled so as to perform a specimen suctioning process of inserting the specimen nozzle into the specimen chamber and suctioning the specimen in the specimen chamber, a liquid suctioning process of suctioning a liquid by the specimen nozzle after the specimen suctioning process, and an ejection process of ejecting the liquid and a portion of the specimen to the empty reaction chamber from the specimen nozzle in this order. Thereby, it is possible to provide an automatic analyser and a method which are capable of dispensing a small amount of specimen with a high level of accuracy, without depending on the outer shape of a specimen nozzle or the viscosity of the specimen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2016
    Publication date: May 3, 2018
    Inventors: Akihiro YASUI, Saori CHIDA, Masaaki HIRANO
  • Patent number: 9932265
    Abstract: There is provided a method for producing a low-loss alkali metal-doped silica core optical fiber having excellent hydrogen resistance. The method for producing the optical fiber according to the present invention includes a drawing step of drawing an optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace to produce a silica glass-based optical fiber including a core region containing an alkali metal with an average concentration of 0.5 atomic ppm or more and a cladding region that surrounds the core region and a heating step of heating the optical fiber in a heating furnace through which the optical fiber drawn from the drawing furnace passes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Haruna, Masaaki Hirano, Yoshiaki Tamura, Tetsuya Nakanishi
  • Patent number: 9927453
    Abstract: In order to increase the accuracy of dispensing liquid from a sealed liquid holding container without increasing device complexity, pressures inside and outside the sealed liquid holding container are measured with a pressure sensor connected to a dispensing probe, and the amount of discharge operation of a pump is corrected in accordance with the measured pressures. The amount of operation of the pump is corrected by calculating the amount of deformation of a dispensing flow passageway due to pressure change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Masaaki Hirano, Takamichi Mori
  • Patent number: 9905994
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical fiber which can improve OSNR in an optical transmission system in which Raman amplification and an EDFA are combined. With respect to the optical fiber, a predetermined conditional formula is satisfied by an effective area Aeff1450 [?m2] at a wavelength of 1450 nm, a transmission loss ?1450 [/km] at a wavelength of 1450 nm, and a transmission loss ?1550_dB [dB/km] at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Further, with respect to the optical fiber, another predetermined conditional formula is satisfied by an effective area Aeff1550 [?m2] at a wavelength of 1550 nm, and a transmission loss ?1550 [/km] at a wavelength of 1550 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshinori Yamamoto, Masaaki Hirano
  • Patent number: 9817184
    Abstract: An optical fiber having a reduced attenuation includes a silica glass core and a silica glass cladding. The silica glass core has substantially no germanium and includes a first core and a second core. The second core encloses the first core, the refractive index of the second core is larger than the refractive index of the first core, and the average value of halogen concentration of the second core is 5000 ppm or more. The silica glass cladding surrounds the second core and contains substantially no germanium. The refractive index of the cladding is smaller than the refractive index of the first core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Tamura, Tetsuya Haruna, Masaaki Hirano, Hirotaka Sakuma
  • Patent number: 9696331
    Abstract: The device uses a dispensing probe; a dispensing probe drive mechanism having at least one rotation drive shaft as a horizontal drive mechanism for the dispensing probe, a positioning member with a portion, which is contacted by the dispensing probe during positioning, is formed in a circular shape; a contact detection mechanism for detecting contact between the dispensing probe and the positioning member, and a control unit. The control unit drive-controls only one drive shaft into contact with the circular portion of the positioning member, and then drive-controls only one drive shaft other than the previously drive-controlled shaft into contact with the circular portion of the positioning member, and then calculates position information on a center point at a desired position where the dispensing probe is to be positioned, on the basis of position information on each point at which the contact has been detected, or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Masaaki Hirano, Kazuhiro Nakamura
  • Patent number: 9696508
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable has a sectional area of Ac [?m2] and housing a number N of optical fibers. A transmission loss ?dB [dB/km], a mode field diameter W [?m], an effective area Aeff [?m2], an effective length Leff [km], and a wavelength dispersion D [ps/nm/km] of each of the optical fibers at a wavelength of 1550 nm satisfy a predetermined equation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshinori Yamamoto, Masaaki Hirano, Masakazu Takami
  • Publication number: 20170153375
    Abstract: Provided are an optical fiber that has a short zero-dispersion wavelength, has high nonlinearity, and can cause broadband supercontinuum light to be generated with high efficiency, and a light source device that can output broadband supercontinuum light by using the optical fiber. A light source device includes a seed light source that outputs light with a central wavelength 1000 nm or more and 1650 nm or less and an optical fiber that receives the light output from the seed light source, allows the light to propagate therethrough, causes broadband light with an expanded band to be generated in accordance with a nonlinear optical phenomenon while the light propagates therethrough, and outputs the broadband light. The optical fiber is composed of silica glass, has a zero-dispersion wavelength of 1290 nm to 1350 nm, and has an effective area of 14 ?m2 or smaller at a wavelength of 1550 nm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2016
    Publication date: June 1, 2017
    Inventors: Yoshinori YAMAMOTO, Masaaki HIRANO, Yoshiaki TAMURA
  • Publication number: 20170131468
    Abstract: The present embodiment relates to an optical fiber having a W-type refractive index d profile or a trench-type refractive index profile and having reduced microbending loss in a wavelength band to be actually used. The optical fiber includes a center core, an inner cladding surrounding the center core, and an outer cladding surrounding the inner cladding. The inner cladding has a refractive index lower than a refractive index of at least the center core and the outer cladding has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the center core and higher than the refractive index of the inner cladding. Wavelength dependency of microbending loss has a local maximal value and a shortest wavelength ?th where the microbending loss becomes 10% of the local maximal value is longer than 1560 nm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2017
    Publication date: May 11, 2017
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki KAWAGUCHI, Yoshinori YAMAMOTO, Masaaki HIRANO