Patents by Inventor Masafumi Kitano

Masafumi Kitano 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: 11976748
    Abstract: A diaphragm valve includes a body (3) having a flow path (2), a seat (4) formed in the flow path (2), a metal diaphragm (5) for opening and closing the flow path (2), a pair of clamping parts (6) and (7) for claiming peripheral edge portions of the metal diaphragm (5) to fix the metal diaphragm (5) to the body (3), and an actuator (8) for abutting the metal diaphragm (5) to the seat (4) or separating the metal diaphragm from the seat (4), wherein a fluorine resin coating is formed on a seat side surface (5a) of the metal diaphragm (5) at least in a contact region (B-A) with the seat (4) in a region (C) surrounded by a clamping region (D-C) between the seat side surface (5a) and one of the pair of clamping portions (6, 7), excluding the clamping region (D-C).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIKIN INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Kaoru Hirata, Masaaki Nagase, Atsushi Hidaka, Kazuyuki Morisaki, Keisuke Ideguchi, Kosuke Sugimoto, Masafumi Kitano, Kouji Nishino, Nobukazu Ikeda
  • Publication number: 20220268365
    Abstract: A diaphragm valve includes a body 3 having a flow path 2 formed therein, a sheet 4 formed in the flow path 2, a metal diaphragm 5 for opening and closing the flow path 2 by abutting on or separating from the sheet 4, a pair of clamping parts 6 and 7 for claiming peripheral edge portions of both side surfaces of the metal diaphragm 5 respectively to fix the metal diaphragm 5 to the body 3, and an actuator 8 for abutting the metal diaphragm 5 on the sheet 4 or separating the metal diaphragm from the sheet 4, wherein a fluorine resin coating is formed on a sheet side surface 5a of the metal diaphragm 5 in a region excluding a clamping region D-C between the sheet side surface 5a and the clamping part 7, and at least in a contact region B-A with the sheet 4 in a region C surrounded by the clamping region D-C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2020
    Publication date: August 25, 2022
    Applicant: FUJIKIN INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Kaoru HIRATA, Masaaki NAGASE, Atsushi HIDAKA, Kazuyuki MORISAKI, Keisuke IDEGUCHI, Kosuke SUGIMOTO, Masafumi KITANO, Kouji NISHINO, Nobukazu IKEDA
  • Patent number: 11392148
    Abstract: A flow rate control system including a flow rate controller controlling a flow rate of a fluid supplied to a controlled object to keep a desired flow rate set value is provided, and includes a flow rate sensor, a pressure sensor measuring a pressure of a primary side of the flow rate controller, a PI calibration value determination unit determining a PI calibration value based on at least a physical property coefficient according to a physical property value of the fluid, a correction unit correcting an estimated flow rate, based on the PI calibration value and a measured value, and a drive control circuit adjusting an opening of a valve supplying the fluid to the controlled object based on the estimated value and controlling the flow rate of the fluid. A flow rate is accurately calculated regardless of types of a fluid in the pressure insensitive type flow rate controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Fujikin Incorporated
    Inventors: Van Tu Nguyen, Masafumi Kitano
  • Publication number: 20210303007
    Abstract: A flow rate control system including a flow rate controller controlling a flow rate of a fluid supplied to a controlled object to keep a desired flow rate set value is provided, and includes a flow rate sensor, a pressure sensor measuring a pressure of a primary side of the flow rate controller, a PI calibration value determination unit determining a PI calibration value based on at least a physical property coefficient according to a physical property value of the fluid, a correction unit correcting an estimated flow rate, based on the PI calibration value and a measured value, and a drive control circuit adjusting an opening of a valve supplying the fluid to the controlled object based on the estimated value and controlling the flow rate of the fluid. A flow rate is accurately calculated regardless of types of a fluid in the pressure insensitive type flow rate controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2021
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Applicant: Fujikin Incorporated
    Inventors: Van Tu Nguyen, Masafumi Kitano
  • Patent number: 9476137
    Abstract: A metal oxide film suitable for protection of metals, composed mainly of aluminum. A metal oxide film includes a film of an oxide of a metal composed mainly of aluminum, having a thickness of 10 nm or greater, and exhibiting a moisture release rate from the film of 1E18 mol./cm2 or less. Further, there is provided a process for producing a metal oxide film, wherein a metal composed mainly of aluminum is subjected to anodic oxidation in a chemical solution of 4 to 10 pH value so as to obtain a metal oxide film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignees: Tohoku University, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Yasuyuki Shirai, Hitoshi Morinaga, Yasuhiro Kawase, Masafumi Kitano, Fumikazu Mizutani, Makoto Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 8691017
    Abstract: A heat equalizer includes a container structure having a heating block in which a working fluid is held for heating and vaporizing a material to be heated, a heater placed at the bottom of the container structure, and a material feed pipe allowing the outside and the inside of the container structure to communicate with each other. In the heating block, as a flow path in which the material to be heated flows, a main header pipe connected to the material feed pipe and extending in the horizontally, and a riser pipe branching from the main header pipe and extending vertically are formed. As a condensation path in which the working fluid is cooled and condensed, condensation holes formed respectively on the opposite sides of the riser pipe and extending horizontally, and a condensation pit formed under the riser pipe are formed. Between the condensation holes and the condensation pit, the main header pipe is placed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignees: National University Corporation Tohoku University, Toshiba Mitsubishi—Electric Industrial Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Masafumi Kitano, Hisaaki Yamakage, Yoshihito Yamada
  • Patent number: 8679640
    Abstract: Provided is an Al alloy member with an excellent mechanical strength that is sufficient for use in large-scale manufacturing apparatuses. The Al alloy member is characterized in that, in mass %, Mg concentration is 5.0% or less, Ce concentration is 15% or less, Zr concentration is 0.15% or less, the balance comprises Al and unavoidable impurities, the elements of the unavoidable impurities are respectively 0.01% or less, and the Vickers hardness of the Al alloy member is greater than 30.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignees: National University Corporation Tohoku University, Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Masafumi Kitano, Minoru Tahara, Hisakazu Ito, Kota Shirai, Masayuki Saeki
  • Patent number: 8573151
    Abstract: A conventional microwave plasma processing apparatus, even when krypton (Kr) is used as a plasma-generation gas, can only obtain an oxide film or a nitride film having the same level of characteristics as those obtained when a rare gas such as argon (Ar) is used as a plasma-generation gas. Accordingly, instead of forming a dielectric window of a microwave plasma processing apparatus with only a ceramic member, a planarization film capable of obtaining a stoichiometric SiO2 composition by thermal treatment is coated on one of a plurality of surfaces of the ceramic member, the surface facing a process space, and then thermally-treated, thereby forming a planarization insulation film having a very flat and dense surface. A corrosion-resistant film is formed on the planarization insulation film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tohoku University
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Masaki Hirayama, Tetsuya Goto, Yasuyuki Shirai, Masafumi Kitano, Kohei Watanuki, Takaaki Matsuoka, Shigemi Murakawa
  • Publication number: 20120247961
    Abstract: A metal oxide film suitable for protection of metals, composed mainly of aluminum. A metal oxide film includes a film of an oxide of a metal composed mainly of aluminum, having a thickness of 10 nm or greater, and exhibiting a moisture release rate from the film of 1E18 mol./cm2 or less. Further, there is provided a process for producing a metal oxide film, wherein a metal composed mainly of aluminum is subjected to anodic oxidation in a chemical solution of 4 to 10 pH value so as to obtain a metal oxide film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2012
    Publication date: October 4, 2012
    Applicants: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Tohoku University
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Yasuyuki Shirai, Hitoshi Morinaga, Yasuhiro Kawase, Masafumi Kitano, Fumikazu Mizutani, Makoto Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 8250966
    Abstract: Method for producing at low cost bellows which show high durability even when used in a quite reactive atmosphere. The method for manufacturing bellows includes the steps of: I: forming an untreated bellows from a flat base plate, the base plate including 15 to 30 wt % of Cr, 5 to 40 wt % of Ni, 0.9 to 6 wt % of Al, less than 1 wt % of Mo, less than 0.1 wt % of Mn, less than 0.1 wt % of C, less than 0.1 wt % of S, less than 0.1 wt % of P and a balance of Fe and an unavoidable impurity (relative to 100 wt % of the base plate); and II: heating the untreated bellows at a temperature of 750 to 895° C. in an atmosphere which contains water and hydrogen and in which the volume ratio of hydrogen to water (H2/H2O) is in the range of 2×103 to 1×1012, thereby forming an Al2O3 passivation film on a surface of the untreated bellows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignees: Nippon Valqua Industries, Ltd., Tohoku University
    Inventors: Tsutomu Yoshida, Tadahiro Ohmi, Yasuyuki Shirai, Masafumi Kitano
  • Patent number: 8206833
    Abstract: A metal oxide film suitable for protection of metals, composed mainly of aluminum. A metal oxide film includes a film of an oxide of a metal composed mainly of aluminum, having a thickness of 10 nm or greater, and exhibiting a moisture release rate from the film of 1E18 mol./cm2 or less. Further, there is provided a process for producing a metal oxide film, wherein a metal composed mainly of aluminum is subjected to anodic oxidation in a chemical solution of 4 to 10 pH value so as to obtain a metal oxide film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignees: Tohoku University, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Yasuyuki Shirai, Hitoshi Morinaga, Yasuhiro Kawase, Masafumi Kitano, Fumikazu Mizutani, Makoto Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20120082596
    Abstract: A reactor for moisture generation generates high-purity moisture at a catalytic reaction temperature that is lower than an ignition point of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas so hydrogen and oxygen gas are supplied into the reactor having a platinum catalyst layer to catalyze the reaction of the gases without combustion, wherein the reactor maintains high adhesion strength for a long time of the platinum catalyst layer to a barrier layer provided between the base material and the platinum catalyst layer. The reactor includes a reactor main body that has a gas inlet and a moisture outlet, and the Y2O3 barrier layer is formed on at least a part of an internal wall surface of the reactor main body, and the platinum catalyst layer is formed on at least a part of the Y2O3 barrier layer. A film thickness of the Y2O3 barrier layer is preferably 50 nm to 5 ?m.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2011
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Applicants: FUJIKIN INCORPORATED, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Tadahiro OHMI, Koji KAWADA, Nobukazu IKEDA, Akihiro MORIMOTO, Yukio MINAMI, Keiji HIRAO, Shinji SAKAMOTO, Masafumi KITANO
  • Patent number: 8124240
    Abstract: A protective film structure of a metal member for use in an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor or the like, the protective film structure including a first coating layer of faultless aluminum oxide formed by direct anodic oxidation of a base-material metal of an aluminum alloy; and a second coating layer formed on the first coating layer and made of yttrium oxide by a plasma spraying method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignees: Tohoku University, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Nihon Ceratec Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Yasuyuki Shirai, Hitoshi Morinaga, Yasuhiro Kawase, Masafumi Kitano, Fumikazu Mizutani, Makoto Ishikawa, Yukio Kishi
  • Publication number: 20110300422
    Abstract: A liquid sodium battery in which two electrode members sandwiching a partition wall formed of a Na-ion conducting solid substance are constructed by a metal having a work function whose absolute value is smaller than that of a work function of sodium and a metal having a work function whose absolute value is greater than that of the work function of sodium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2010
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Tetsuya Goto, Masafumi Kitano
  • Patent number: 7988130
    Abstract: The invention provides a valve and a method of operating the valve that makes it possible to reduce the diameter of the vacuum exhaustion pipings to make the facility for the vacuum exhaustion system small, which results in lower costs and shortens vacuum exhaustion time, and also which can prevent corrosion, cloggings, and seal leakages inside the piping system caused by the accumulation of substances produced by the decomposition of gas flowing through the pipings. In particular, in accordance with the present invention, an aluminum passivation is applied on the piping parts, i.e. the valve and others, that are used in the vacuum exhaustion system so as to inhibit gas decomposition caused by temperature rise at the time of baking so that components for reduction in the diameter size in the vacuum exhaustion system are provided. Thus, corrosion, cloggings and seat leakages caused by gas decomposition are prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignees: Fujikin Incorporated
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Nobukazu Ikeda, Michio Yamaji, Masafumi Kitano, Akihiro Morimoto
  • Publication number: 20110177355
    Abstract: Provided is an Al alloy member with an excellent mechanical strength that is sufficient for use in large-scale manufacturing apparatuses. The Al alloy member is characterized in that, in mass %, Mg concentration is 5.0% or less, Ce concentration is 15% or less, Zr concentration is 0.15% or less, the balance comprises Al and unavoidable impurities, the elements of the unavoidable impurities are respectively 0.01% or less, and the Vickers hardness of the Al alloy member is greater than 30.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2009
    Publication date: July 21, 2011
    Applicants: National University Corporation Tohoku University, Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Masafumi Kitano, Minoru Tahara, Hisakazu Ito, Kota Shirai, Masayuki Saeki
  • Publication number: 20110041768
    Abstract: A heat equalizer includes a container structure having a heating block in which a working fluid is held for heating and vaporizing a material to be heated, a heater placed at the bottom of the container structure, and a material feed pipe allowing the outside and the inside of the container structure to communicate with each other. In the heating block, as a flow path in which the material to be heated flows, a main header pipe connected to the material feed pipe and extending in the horizontally, and a riser pipe branching from the main header pipe and extending vertically are formed. As a condensation path in which the working fluid is cooled and condensed, condensation holes formed respectively on the opposite sides of the riser pipe and extending horizontally, and a condensation pit formed under the riser pipe are formed. Between the condensation holes and the condensation pit, the main header pipe is placed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2008
    Publication date: February 24, 2011
    Applicants: National University Corporation Tohoku University, Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Indus. Sys. Corp.
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Masafumi Kitano, Hisaaki Yamakage, Yoshihito Yamada
  • Patent number: 7595087
    Abstract: A barrier film which has uniform thickness and excellent adhesiveness to the base material and superbly functions to protect a platinum film can be formed on the inner wall surface of a moisture-generating reactor at ease and at a low cost. The moisture-generating reactor in which hydrogen and oxygen are reacted to generate moisture without high temperature combustion is made of an alloy containing aluminum. A principally aluminum oxide (Al2O3)-composed barrier film is formed by applying an aluminum selective oxidation treatment on the inner wall surface of the moisture-generating reactor, and thereafter a platinum film is stacked on and stuck to the barrier film so that a platinum coating catalyst layer is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2009
    Assignees: Fujikin Incorporated
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Nobukazu Ikeda, Akihiro Morimoto, Masafumi Kitano, Yukio Minami, Koji Kawada
  • Publication number: 20090218044
    Abstract: A conventional microwave plasma processing apparatus, even when krypton (Kr) is used as a plasma-generation gas, can only obtain an oxide film or a nitride film having the same level of characteristics as those obtained when a rare gas such as argon (Ar) is used as a plasma-generation gas. Accordingly, instead of forming a dielectric window of a microwave plasma processing apparatus with only a ceramic member, a planarization film capable of obtaining a stoichiometric SiO2 composition by thermal treatment is coated on one of a plurality of surfaces of the ceramic member, the surface facing a process space, and then thermally-treated, thereby forming a planarization insulation film having a very flat and dense surface. A corrosion-resistant film is formed on the planarization insulation film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2009
    Publication date: September 3, 2009
    Applicants: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Tadahiro OHMI, Masaki HIRAYAMA, Tetsuya GOTO, Yasuyuki SHIRAI, Masafumi KITANO, Kohei WATANUKI, Takaaki MATSUOKA, Shigemi MURAKAWA
  • Publication number: 20090142588
    Abstract: Multifunction production equipment enabling a plurality of processes in which deposition of reaction products on the inner wall of the processing chamber of equipment for producing a semiconductor or a flat-plate display, metal contamination due to corrosion of the inner wall, or the like, and fluctuation of the process due to discharged gas are suppressed, and a protective film structure for use therein. On the surface of a metal material, a first coating layer having an oxide coating of 1? thick or less formed as an underlying layer by direct oxidation of a parent material, and a second coating layer of about 200 ?m thick are formed. With such an arrangement, corrosion resistance against irradiation with ions or radicals can be imparted to a second layer protective film, and the effect of a protective layer for preventing corrosion of the surface of parent metal caused by diffusing molecules or ions into the second layer protective film can be imparted to the first layer oxide film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2006
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicants: TOHOKU UNIVERSITY, MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL CORPORATION, NIHON CERATEC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tadahiro Ohmi, Yasuyuki Shirai, Hitoshi Morinaga, Yasuhiro Kawase, Masafumi Kitano, Fumikazu Mizutani, Makoto Ishikawa, Yukio Kishi