Patents by Inventor Masafumi Shirai

Masafumi Shirai 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: 11960836
    Abstract: An index value assignment device comprises: a selection unit that prompts a user to select, from a sentence, one or more words that the user feels to have a same degree of a predetermined index value with respect to one or more first words for which the index value is known; a validation unit that validates the selection result by the user on a basis of the index value of a second word for which the index value is known from among the one or more words included in the selection result; and a determination unit that determines the index value with respect to a third word for which the index value is unknown from among the one or more words selected by the user, on a basis of the index value of the first word according to the selection result for which the selection result is determined to be valid. Consequently, the efficiency of assigning word familiarity is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshinari Shirai, Tessei Kobayashi, Sanae Fujita, Masafumi Matsuda, Yasue Kishino
  • Publication number: 20240116408
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a hinge cover and a reclining lever. The hinge cover is disposed at a side portion of a seat cushion, and has an opening through which a recliner shaft of a recliner provided between the seat cushion and a seat back passes. The reclining lever is disposed at an outer side in a seat width direction with respect to the hinge cover, is rotatable about the recliner shaft to unlock the recliner, and has a protrusion protruding inward in the seat width direction, the protrusion facing an edge portion of the opening in a radial direction of the recliner shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2023
    Publication date: April 11, 2024
    Inventors: Yukinori MIKITA, Kensuke YOSHIGA, Jun SHIRAI, Fumito KITANAKA, Masafumi TAKANO
  • Patent number: 11133459
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic element includes a first layer and a second layer. The first layer includes a first element and a second element. The first element includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni. The second element includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Ir and Os. The second layer is nonmagnetic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignees: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE
    Inventors: Takayuki Nozaki, Shinji Yuasa, Rachwal Anna Koziol, Masahito Tsujikawa, Masafumi Shirai, Kazuhiro Hono, Tadakatsu Ohkubo, Xiandong Xu
  • Publication number: 20210036217
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic element includes a first layer and a second layer. The first layer includes a first element and a second element. The first element includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni. The second element includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Ir and Os. The second layer is nonmagnetic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Publication date: February 4, 2021
    Applicants: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE
    Inventors: Takayuki NOZAKI, Shinji YUASA, Rachwal Anna KOZIOL, Masahito TSUJIKAWA, Masafumi SHIRAI, Kazuhiro HONO, Tadakatsu OHKUBO, Xiandong XU
  • Patent number: 10711718
    Abstract: A control unit decides whether or not a first condition that a service brake is released, a parking brake is actuated, and a transmission is shifted into neutral is established at a vehicle stopping time. In addition, the control unit decides whether or not a second condition that the service brake is actuated, and the transmission is shifted to an ahead stage is established at the vehicle stopping time. Then, the control unit stops the engine when the first condition or the second condition is established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation
    Inventors: Masafumi Shirai, Kunihiro Kaneko
  • Patent number: 9890854
    Abstract: A vehicular shift operation apparatus that includes a manual transmission including an input-side sub-transmission and an output-side sub-transmission, and that is capable of preventing overrun or underrun due to erroneous shift operation, is provided. The vehicular shift operation apparatus includes a manual transmission including an input-side sub-transmission and an output-side sub-transmission, and includes: a main shaft rotation speed sensor that detects a main shaft rotation speed, a sensor that detects a position of a clutch pedal, and a controller. The controller has a function of detecting a gear stage at a control cycle (current gear stage) and a function of determining whether the detected gear stage is correct or not.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masafumi Shirai
  • Publication number: 20160369725
    Abstract: A control unit decides whether or not a first condition that a service brake is released, a parking brake is actuated, and a transmission is shifted into neutral is established at a vehicle stopping time. In addition, the control unit decides whether or not a second condition that the service brake is actuated, and the transmission is shifted to an ahead stage is established at the vehicle stopping time. Then, the control unit stops the engine when the first condition or the second condition is established.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Publication date: December 22, 2016
    Applicant: VOLVO LASTVAGNAR AB
    Inventors: Masafumi SHIRAI, Kunihiro KANEKO
  • Publication number: 20150285372
    Abstract: A vehicular shift operation apparatus that includes a manual transmission including an input-side sub-transmission and an output-side sub-transmission, and that is capable of preventing overrun or underrun due to erroneous shift operation, is provided. The vehicular shift operation apparatus includes a manual transmission including an input-side sub-transmission and an output-side sub-transmission, and includes: a main shaft rotation speed sensor that detects a main shaft rotation speed, a sensor that detects a position of a clutch pedal, and a controller. The controller has a function of detecting a gear stage at a control cycle (current gear stage) and a function of determining whether the detected gear stage is correct or not.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2015
    Publication date: October 8, 2015
    Inventor: Masafumi SHIRAI
  • Patent number: 9120468
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary braking device of a vehicle which obtains braking force corresponding to the amount of pressing of an accelerator pedal even during an operation of the auxiliary braking device and prevents frequent repetition of the acceleration and deceleration, to attain a fuel saving operation. Therefore, in the present invention, a vehicle electronic control unit (10) and other electronic control units (20, 30) are provided, the vehicle electronic control unit (10) and the other electronic control units are connected with each other by an in-vehicle communication system (L123), and an auxiliary brake switch position detection device (5S) that detects a switch position of an auxiliary brake switch (5) and an accelerator pedal pressing amount measurement device (4S) that measures the amount of pressing of the accelerator pedal (4) are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: UD TRUCKS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masafumi Shirai
  • Patent number: 8872291
    Abstract: A ferromagnetic tunnel junction structure comprising a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer, and a tunnel barrier layer that is interposed between the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer, wherein the tunnel barrier layer includes a crystalline non-magnetic material having constituent elements that are similar to those of an crystalline oxide that has spinel structure as a stable phase structure; the non-magnetic material has a cubic structure having a symmetry of space group Fm-3m or F-43m in which atomic arrangement in the spinel structure is disordered; and an effective lattice constant of the cubic structure is substantially half of the lattice constant of the oxide of the spinel structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: National Institute For Materials Science
    Inventors: Hiroaki Sukegawa, Seiji Mitani, Tomohiko Niizeki, Tadakatsu Ohkubo, Kouichiro Inomata, Kazuhiro Hono, Masafumi Shirai, Yoshio Miura, Kazutaka Abe, Shingo Muramoto
  • Publication number: 20130245906
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary braking device of a vehicle which obtains braking force corresponding to the amount of pressing of an accelerator pedal even during an operation of the auxiliary braking device and prevents frequent repetition of the acceleration and deceleration, to attain a fuel saving operation. Therefore, in the present invention, a vehicle electronic control unit (10) and other electronic control units (20, 30) are provided, the vehicle electronic control unit (10) and the other electronic control units are connected with each other by an in-vehicle communication system (L123), and an auxiliary brake switch position detection device (5S) that detects a switch position of an auxiliary brake switch (5) and an accelerator pedal pressing amount measurement device (4S) that measures the amount of pressing of the accelerator pedal (4) are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2011
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: UD TRUCKS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masafumi Shirai
  • Publication number: 20040005779
    Abstract: A spin electronic material exhibiting a spin-dependent electronic effect includes zincblende TE-VE, where TE stands for V, Cr or Mn and VE stands for As or Sb.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2003
    Publication date: January 8, 2004
    Applicant: Nat'l Inst. of Advanced Industrial Sci. and Tech.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Akinaga, Masafumi Shirai, Takashi Manago
  • Patent number: 6610421
    Abstract: A spin electronic material exhibiting a spin-dependent electronic effect includes zincblende TE-VE, where TE stands for V, Cr or Mn and VE stands for As or Sb.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Akinaga, Masafumi Shirai, Takashi Manago
  • Publication number: 20020036281
    Abstract: A spin electronic material exhibiting a spin-dependent electronic effect includes zincblende TE-VE, where TE stands for V, Cr or Mn and VE stands for As or Sb.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2001
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Applicant: Nat'1 Inst. of Advanced Industrial Sci. and Tech
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Akinaga, Masafumi Shirai, Takashi Manago