Patents by Inventor Muneo Tao

Muneo Tao 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: 7191473
    Abstract: When a user sets water power using a water power adjustment switch in a remote control device, a controller controls the period of pressure fluctuations, the width of pressure fluctuations, and the central pressure of the discharge pressure of a pump on the basis of a signal transmitted by radio from the remote control device. When the user sets the divergent angle of washing water using a washing area adjustment switch in the remote control device, the controller controls the divergent angle of the washing water sprayed from a posterior nozzle on the basis of the signal transmitted by radio from the remote control device. Consequently, the washing water supplied to a side surface of a cylindrical swirl chamber from a first flow path in the posterior nozzle is sprayed from a spray hole as dispersed spiral flow, and the washing water supplied to a lower part of the cylindrical swirl chamber from a second flow path in the posterior nozzle is sprayed from the spray hole as linear flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomohide Matsumoto, Hideki Ohno, Kazushige Nakamura, Shigeru Shirai, Hiroaki Fujii, Shinichi Maruyama, Muneo Tao
  • Patent number: 5533669
    Abstract: A heat transfer apparatus is provided with a refrigerant heater, a single container disposed above the refrigerant heater, and the radiator spaced from the container. The container accommodates a partitioning plate for separating the inside of the container into a gas-liquid separating chamber and a liquid-receiving chamber, and a valve body for selectively opening and closing an opening defined in the partitioning plate is disposed within the container. The valve body is driven by an electrically operated driver mounted on the container. The heat transfer apparatus is also provided with a first group of pipes for communicating the refrigerant heater and the gas-liquid separating chamber, and with a second group of pipes for communicating the gas-liquid separating chamber, the radiator, and the liquid-receiving chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1996
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsuzo Kokawa, Katsuhiko Yamamoto, Tatsuki Sakurabu, Satoshi Imabayashi, Muneo Tao
  • Patent number: 4872831
    Abstract: A kerosene heater having a vertically oriented wick (4) which is movable to an upper position to be ignited, to a lowered position to be extinguished, and to any of a range of intermediate positions for continuous combustion, incorporates an apparatus (6A) operable by actuating a lever (6) to raise the wick to the upper position and initiate ignition and to lower the wick from that position, and an apparatus coupled thereto for automatically lowering the wick to a predetermined position within the combustion range after a predetermined time interval has elapsed following the start of igniting the wick. The danger of excessive flare-up of the wick flame after ignition is thereby eliminated, without the need for observation and control of the heater by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1989
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Fujimoto, Muneo Tao, Kuniaki Uchida
  • Patent number: 4847192
    Abstract: In a kerosene heater in which combustion is effected by means of a wick (3), a wick raising and lowering mechanism (5) for raising and lowering the wick (3) and a fine-regulatable wick raising and lowering mechanism (20) for finely controlling the combustion rate of the wick (3) are provided. The fine-regulatable wick raising and lowering mechanism (20) generally includes a rack (23), a wick-raising pinion (32), a wick-lowering pinion (34), a first manually operable member (27) for driving the wick-raising pinion (32), and a second manually operable member (28) for driving the wick-lowering pinion (34). The combustion rate can be finely, easily, and safely regulated by means of an operation between the rack (23) and the wick-raising and lowering pinions (32, 34).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1989
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Fujimoto, Muneo Tao, Kuniaki Uchida
  • Patent number: 4613298
    Abstract: An oil burner is of the type which enables controlling a degree of burning and performing fire extinguishing by vertically moving a wick. The invention is directed to restricting the control of burning within a range of normal combustion, removing the restriction to manually perform fire extinguishing, and automatically performing fire extinguishing when vibrations are sensed by a vibration sensor. The oil burner includes a slide shaft mounted on a wick shaft and a rotary member mounted on the wick shaft and enabling moving when axially pushed by the slide shaft. The rotary member is interlocked with the wick shaft by an actuation member provided on the wick shaft, and is provided with a stop member which stops the wick shaft at a predetermined position in rotating in a wick lowering direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 23, 1986
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toyohei Harada, Muneo Tao
  • Patent number: 4580971
    Abstract: An oil heater having a wick fed radiant burner which comprises a wick adjusting shaft rotatable in first and second directions about the longitudinal axis thereof; a wick holder for moving together therewith a wick between an extinguishing position and a maximum combustion position past a minimum combustion position in response to the rotation of the shaft; a ratchet wheel mounted on the shaft for displacement axially of the shaft; an actuating pin mounted on the shaft and angularly movable together with the shaft; an abutment bank provided on the wheel for defining the angular distance over which the pin moves, which angular distance corresponds to the distance of movement of the wick holder between the maximum combustion position and the extinguishing position; and a one-way stopper provided on the wheel and operable to permit the pin to pass thereover during the rotation of the shaft in the second direction, but to restrain the pin from passing thereover during the rotation of the shaft in the first direct
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 8, 1986
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Muneo Tao, Hiromi Ohta, Masayuki Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 4519775
    Abstract: Provided is a burner apparatus comprising a cabinet, a combustion cylinder disposed in the cabinet, a top panel disposed above the combustion cylinder and provided with exhaust holes formed in the peripheral portion thereof, a flame-shielding member with the lower surface thereof opened, provided to a portion of the lower surface of the top panel facing the combustion cylinder, and discharge means provided to the flame-shielding member for horizontally discharging flames rising from the combustion cylinder and streaming into the flame-shielding member, thereby averting the problem of flames undesirably coming out of the cabinet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1985
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Muneo Tao, Fumihiko Migaki