Patents by Inventor Naoyoshi Maehara

Naoyoshi Maehara 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: 5525782
    Abstract: An oven with a humidity conditioner is capable of cooking food by appropriately humidifying or dehumidifying it while the amount of steam contained in an oven cavity is being regulated. The oven includes a heater or magnetron for heating the food accommodated in the oven cavity, a humidity regulator for regulating the humidity inside the oven cavity, a cooking method selector for selecting a cooking method, and a controller for controlling the humidity regulator in response to a signal from the cooking method selector to selectively humidify and dehumidify the interior of the oven cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Noriyuki Yoneno, Naoyoshi Maehara, Yoshitomo Fujitani, Miki Moriguchi, Yoshifumi Moriya, Naoko Yanagida
  • Patent number: 5347109
    Abstract: A DC power source constituted by a power generator (20), a dynamo (22) and a rectification means (23), an inverter power source (24) which boosts an output of the DC power source so as to drive a magnetron (28) and an inverter controller for controlling the inverter power source (24) by an output of a generated electric power output detecting means (31) for detecting the output of the DC power source are provided, whereby a required dielectric heating function can be stably achieved by controlling an operational state of the inverter power source (24) by the output of the DC power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1994
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Nakabayashi, Naoyoshi Maehara, Daisuke Bessyo, Takahiro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 5300744
    Abstract: A high-frequency heating device includes a power converter for converting an electric power from a commercial power source or the like into a high-frequency power, a step-up transformer having a high-voltage winding and a low-voltage winding, a magnetron receiving high-voltage and low-voltage outputs, a resonance circuit connected in series or parallel with the filament of the magnetron, and a control circuit. The control circuit controls the power converter so that the operation frequency of the power converter approximately coincides with the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit at the time of activating the power converter to thereby achieve a rapid start of the oscillation operation of the magnetron while suppressing a high voltage from taking place at the activation time to prevent the possible occurrence of the moding phenomenon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 5, 1994
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Daisuke Bessyo, Yuji Nakabayashi, Takahiro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 5288961
    Abstract: A high frequency heating arrangement includes a power converting unit with one or more semiconductor devices which dissipates a slight heat loss. A magnetron receives an output from the power converting unit and supplies electromagnetic waves to a heating chamber. The magnetron dissipates a heat loss that is relatively larger than that of the power converting unit. A cooling fan has a motor which dissipates a heat loss which is relatively smaller than that of the power converting unit. The cooling fan is for cooling the power converting unit and the magnetron. A case is provided in which at least the power converting unit and the magnetron are housed and which is made of an electricity-conductive material. A cooling air passage, along which the motor and the case are arranged, and through which air flows from said cooling fan is provided. Air sent from the cooling fan first cools the motor, then cools at least a portion of the power converting unit, and finally cools the magnetron.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 22, 1994
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Shibuya, Naoyoshi Maehara, Daisuke Bessyo, Yuji Nakabayashi, Takahiro Matsumoto, Shiro Takeshita
  • Patent number: 5268547
    Abstract: A high frequency heating apparatus includes a unitary structure including a magnetron for generating a microwaves, an inverter power supply for supplying a high voltage electric power to the magnetron, and a cooling unit for cooling the magnetron and the inverter power supply, all of which are accommodated within a common metallic casing. The unitary structure is provided at least one of a detector for detecting an operating condition of the cooling unit and a safety device including a detector for detecting a mounting of the metallic casing to a cabinet. For avoiding an electric shock, the unitary structure is divided into high and low voltage portions and the magnetron and the inverter power supply are electrically connected directly to each other without relying on the unitary structure so as to thereby accomplish a structure effective to minimize noise and to improve the reliability and the safety factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1993
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Daisuke Bessyo, Naoyoshi Maehara, Yuji Nakabayashi, Takahiro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 5250775
    Abstract: An electric cooking apparatus includes a single power converter section for converting power supplied from an external AC power source. A heating-energy radiator section receives the converted power from the power converter section and radiates heating energy to a heating chamber. A battery is also provided for supplying power to the power converter section such that a sum of the power from the external AC power source and the battery is converted by the power converting section when an instantaneous voltage of the external AC power source is smaller than a predetermined voltage level, which predetermined voltage level is smaller than a maximum instantaneous voltage of the external AC power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1993
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Daisuke Bessyo, Yuji Nakabayashi, Makoto Shibuya, Takahiro Matsumoto, Shigeru Kusunoki, Susumu Kiritoshi
  • Patent number: 5091617
    Abstract: A high-frequency heating apparatus comprises an inverter including a semiconductor switch and a resonance capacitor, a boosting transformer for a supplying high-voltage power and heater to a magnetron an inductance device inserted in the heater circuit of the magnetron, and an inverter control unit for controlling the semiconductor switch. The inverter control unit is controlled by a start control at the start time of the inverter so that the conduction time of the semiconductor switch becomes shorter than that under a normal operating condition and the non-conduction time thereof becomes longer than that under a normal operating condition and so that the switching period of the semiconductor switch becomes substantially an integral multiple of a resonance period of the resonance circuit formed by the resonance capacitor, whereby the operating frequency of the inverter at the time of starting thereof becomes substantially equal to its normal operating frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 25, 1992
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Takahiro Matsumoto, Kazuho Sakamoto, Daisuke Bessyo, Takashi Niwa, Shigeru Kusunoki, Takao Shitaya
  • Patent number: 4977301
    Abstract: A high-frequency heating apparatus comprises a power supply including a commercial power supply or a battery, a frequency converter for converting the power of the power supply into high-frequency power, a boosting transformer for increasing the voltage of the output of the frequency converter, and a magnetron for receiving the output from the boosting transformer. The apparatus further comprises a shield member made of a non-magnetic conductive material and forming a substantially electrical open loop in the winding direction of the primary winding between the primary and secondary windings of the boosting transformer. The shield member is connected to the core or the housing of the boosting transformer thereby substantially containing a high-voltage circuit in the shield space. High safety of the high-frequency heating apparatus is thus assured without grounding the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 11, 1990
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Daisuke Bessyo, Takahiro Matsumoto, Shigeru Kusunoki
  • Patent number: 4967051
    Abstract: A high-frequency heating apparatus comprises a semiconductor power converter which is supplied with electric power from a commercial power supply, a radio wave radiation section which is energized by the semiconductor power converter, a control section which controls the operation of a semiconductor element of the semiconductor power converter, and a start control section which controls the operation of the control section at the start time of the high-frequency heating apparatus. The start control section controls the operation of the control section so that the radio wave output power from the radio wave radiation section at the start time of the high-frequency heating apparatus becomes greater than that in the steady operation state thereof, whereby optimization of the performance and price of the heating apparatus can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 30, 1990
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Haruo Suenaga, Kazuho Sakamoto, Takashi Niwa, Kimiaki Yamaguchi, Takahiro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 4900989
    Abstract: A magnetron feeding apparatus includes an inverter circuit for converting DC power into high-frequency power; a high-tension transformer for converting the high-frequency power into high-tension power to be supplied to the magnetron; an output voltage detector for detecting the output voltage of the high-tension transformer; an input current detector for detecting the input current into the inverter circuit; a power controller for controlling the operation of the inverter circuit in response to the output voltage detected by the output voltage detector and the input current detected by the input current detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 13, 1990
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Haruo Suenaga, Naoyoshi Maehara, Kazuho Sakamoto, Takahiro Matsumoto, Takashi Niwa, Daisuke Bessyo
  • Patent number: 4886951
    Abstract: A power supply for a magnetron includes a rectifying circuit, a switching circuit, and a transformer. The rectifying circuit converts an ac-power source signal into a dc-power source signal. The switching circuit converts the dc-power source signal output from the rectifying circuit into a high-frequency signal in accordance with a driving circuit. A transformer connected to the switching circuit converts the high-frequency signal into a high-voltage high-frequency signal for driving the magnetron. The transformer includes a primary winding connected to the switching circuit, a secondary winding connected to the magnetron, a tertiary winding connected to a cathode heater of said magnetron, and a fourth winding connected to the driving circuit. The coupling coefficient between the fourth winding and the second winding is larger than the coupling coefficient between the fourth winding and the primary winding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 12, 1989
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahiro Matsumoto, Haruo Suenaga, Naoyoshi Maehara, Kazuho Sakamoto, Takashi Niwa, Daisuke Bessyo, Shigeru Kusunoki, Takao Shitaya
  • Patent number: 4851629
    Abstract: In a high-frequency heating device for driving a magnetron at a high frequency between 20 and 50 KHz, the magnetron is provided with a plurality of choke coils, each of which consists of a magnetic core having a sectional area between 40 to 70 mm.sup.2 and an electric wire around the magnetic core and having a diameter between 1.2 and 1.6 mm. In such a construction, the magnetron can be driven, using the high frequency with reduced thermal loss of the choke coil and restrained heat generation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1989
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Daisuke Bessyo, Naoyoshi Maehara, Kazuho Sakamoto, Shigeru Kusunoki, Takahiro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 4812960
    Abstract: A power feeding apparatus which is used in a high-frequency heater or the like, is further power-converted by a transformer after the power provided by the power supply such as commercial power supply or the like has been converted into the high-frequency power by a transducer including a semiconductor, feeds the converted power into the load having the unidirectional electrical current characteristics of magnetron or the like. The generating voltage is dropped so that the stable power may be fed without the corona discharge and the acr discharge to be caused, the insulating withstand voltage between the windings of the transformer, the pulling of the wirings, and the insulating withstand voltage may be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 14, 1989
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuho Sakamoto, Takao Shitaya, Shigeru Kusunoki, Naoyoshi Maehara, Takashi Niwa, Takahiro Matsumoto, Daisuke Bessyo
  • Patent number: 4704674
    Abstract: A power feed apparatus in which a means for by-passing the current reversely biasing the load is used for the normally used rectification means when the power converted by the transformer is fed to the reversely blocking characteristics like magnetron, whereby the price is lower and the shape is more compact without the use of the rectifier, because of the combination construction of the reverse bias current by-pass means and the inductance element provided in the load current path with respect to the non-linear load like the magnetron.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1987
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Takahiro Matsumoto, Shigeru Kusunoki, Kazuho Sakamoto, Makoto Mihara
  • Patent number: 4672180
    Abstract: In an exhaust passage (37) of a heating apparatus, a piezoelectric device sensor (26) is provided for detecting the heating condition of a heated object (32), such as food in a microwave open heating chamber (31). A piezoelectric device of the sensor may be contained within a metal casing (53) and be hermetically sealed. An output signal from the piezoelectric device sensor is processed by circuitry including an amplifier (27) having a predetermined frequency response so that only particular frequency components lower than that of a conventional a.c. supply are amplified and then compared with a threshold to detect whether a sufficient amount of moisture of hot steam is emitted from the object in the heating chamber of the heating apparatus. The invention may be applied to prevent overheating of food in a microwave oven, temperature control of chemical processes, or the like, to control heating time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1987
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Kusunoki, Naoyoshi Maehara
  • Patent number: 4632311
    Abstract: An atomizing apparatus comprises a body having a chamber into which liquid is supplied. A nozzle member is secured to the body to define a front vibrating member of said of the chamber, the nozzle member having at least one nozzle opening. A capacitive piezoelectric transducer is secured to the nozzle member for producing pressure rises in the liquid to cause the portion of the liquid in proximity to the nozzle opening to be ejected therethrough to the outside. The piezoelectric transducer is connected to an inductance element to form a resonant circuit. An amplifier is connected with the resonant circuit to form a self-oscillating loop to amplify the signal in the loop to sustain oscillation at a frequency variable as a function of the temperature-dependent capacitance of the piezoelectric transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1983
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1986
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinichi Nakane, Naoyoshi Maehara, Kazushi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 4605167
    Abstract: An ultrasonic liquid ejecting apparatus for discharging liquid droplets comprises a housing including a chamber for holding liquid therein having an intake port connected to a liquid supply container. A bimorph vibrator system is provided comprising a vibrating member secured to the housing in pressure transmitting relation with the liquid in the chamber and a piezoelectric transducer secured to the vibrating member for inducing a displacement therein to discharge a small quantity of liquid through an nozzle opening formed in the vibrating member. A circuit is provided for exciting the transducer at a frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of the vibrator system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1986
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Limited
    Inventor: Naoyoshi Maehara
  • Patent number: 4533082
    Abstract: An arrangement for discharging liquid droplets comprises a housing including a chamber for holding liquid therein having an intake port connected to a liquid supply container, a vibrating member secured to the housing in pressure transmitting relation with the liquid in the chamber. The vibrating member is formed with at least one nozzle opening therein through which the liquid is discharged forwardly of the housing. A piezoelectric transducer is secured to the vibrating member for inducing a rearward displacement therein to discharge a small quantity of liquid through the nozzle opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1982
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1985
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Limited
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Kenkichi Hashido, Hiroshi Hirata
  • Patent number: 4465234
    Abstract: An apparatus for atomizing a large quantity of liquid such as water, liquid fuels, lotions or the like, comprises an atomizer including a body having a pressurization cavity for containing a liquid. A nozzle base, mounted on the body, has a plurality of orifices communicating with the pressurization cavity. An electric vibrator, mounted on the body, responds to an alternating voltage derived from an electric circuit. The vibrator is vibrated back and forth, to expel successively a large quantity of liquid droplets of small and uniform diameter out of the orifices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 14, 1984
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Takashi Uno
  • Patent number: 4076996
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a power supplier for a magnetron for use in electric appliances, such as a microwave oven. The power supplier of the present disclosure has a solid state frequency converter which changes commercial A.C. power to A.C. power at a high frequency, which A.C. power is increased in voltage in a step-up transformer and then fed to the magnetron. The power supplier further has a control system which stabilizes the power to be applied to the magnetron with respect to a preselected reference level and a power supplier protecting circuit for protecting the power supplier from an unexpected low voltage occurring in the commercial power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1976
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1978
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Maehara, Hiroshi Fujieda, Tatsuo Saka