Patents by Inventor Mototatsu Matsunaga

Mototatsu Matsunaga 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: 6087931
    Abstract: A lamp driving circuit of a vehicle turn/hazard system blinks a turn hazard lamp 10 by passing a current through a relay contact C of a relay RY intermittently. The relay contact of the relay RY is turned on earlier than a semiconductor switch 20 which is provided between a relay and a battery is, and the former is turned off later than the latter is. During the period while both the relay contact and semiconductor switch are ON, the turn/hazard lamp is illuminated. A first and a second pulse signal are generated to turn on/off the relay contact C and semiconductor device, respectively. The relationship therebetween is changed at regular or random intervals. In this configuration, the lamp driving circuit for a turn hazard system can minimize exhaustion of the relay contact and improve the endurance thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
    Inventor: Mototatsu Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 6055465
    Abstract: A flicker synchronizing signal generating section (23) generates a flicker synchronizing signal having a drive start-on time for front and rear hazard lamps (6a, 6b, 7a, 7b) set shorter than a drive start-off time in each period in accordance with a hazard signal and using the drive start-on time as a trigger period, a respective hazard output signal generating section (34, 44) generates a hazard output signal for having a drive of the hazard lamps start within the trigger period in accordance with the flicker synchronizing signal, with a drive-on time and a drive-off time set equal in each period thereof and with an interval from a start of the drive within each current trigger period to a start of the drive within the next trigger period set equal to the period of the flicker synchronizing signal, and a respective lamp driving section (33, 43) drives to flicker an associated hazard lamp in accordance with the hazard output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2000
    Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
    Inventor: Mototatsu Matsunaga