Patents by Inventor Nobuhiko Kikuchi

Nobuhiko Kikuchi 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: 11959147
    Abstract: A top-blowing lance nozzle is configured to freely switch an adequate expansion condition so as to control an oxygen-blowing amount and a jetting velocity independently of each other without requiring a plurality of lance nozzles or a mechanically movable part. A lance nozzle is configured to blow refining oxygen to molten iron charged in a reaction vessel while a gas is blown from a top-blowing lance to the molten iron. One or more blowing holes for blowing a working gas are on an inner wall side surface of the nozzle, at a site where the lance nozzle has a minimum cross-sectional area in a nozzle axis direction or at a neighboring site of the site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yumi Murakami, Nobuhiko Oda, Yusuke Fujii, Goro Okuyama, Shota Amano, Shinji Koseki, Shingo Sato, Yukio Takahashi, Ryo Kawabata, Naoki Kikuchi, Atsuo Yuasa
  • Publication number: 20240113797
    Abstract: A plurality of optical signals are arranged on optical frequency grids having a frequency spacing of ?f, a wavelength multiplexing optical signal includes at least one specific arrangement signal group, and the specific arrangement signal group includes Q S signal(s) and R P signal(s), where Q is an integer of 1 or more and R is an integer of 1 or more. A frequency difference between any pair of S signals included in the specific arrangement signal group is different from frequency differences between all of other pairs of S signals and frequency differences between all pairs of P signals, and a frequency difference between any pair of P signals included in the specific arrangement signal group is different from frequency differences between all pairs of S signals and frequency differences between all of other pairs of P signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2023
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventors: Nobuhiko KIKUCHI, Shigehisa TANAKA
  • Patent number: 10469170
    Abstract: Provided are an optical transceiver, an optical transmitter IC, and an optical receiver IC, which can be applied to both a case of coding an optical signal and a case of decoding an optical signal, and can suppress an influence of waveform degradation with an inexpensive circuit. The optical transceiver includes an optical transmitter, an optical receiver, and at least any one of: a first delay circuit included in the optical transmitter and configured to delay an input first multi-level digital signal by a delay time corresponding to an amplitude level of the first multi-level digital signal; and a second delay circuit included in the optical receiver and configured to delay an input second multi-level digital signal by a delay time corresponding to an amplitude level of the second multi-level digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Lumentum Japan, Inc.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 10250333
    Abstract: Provided is an optical communication system capable of suppressing the deterioration of an intensity waveform of an optical intensity modulated signal subjected to transformation using SSB modulation and improving a bit error ratio and a receiver sensitivity of the optical intensity modulated signal. The optical communication system includes: an optical transmitter section including: a single-side band modulation circuit configured to subject a double-side band modulated signal to generate a single-side band modulated signal; a correction circuit configured to correct an intensity of the single-side band modulated signal so that the intensity of the single-side band modulated signal becomes closer to an intensity of the double-side band modulated signal; and an optical IQ modulator configured to output an optical modulated signal; and an optical receiver section configured to receive the optical modulated signal to directly detect an intensity component of the optical modulated signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Oclaro Japan, Inc.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20190052366
    Abstract: Provided is an optical communication system capable of suppressing the deterioration of an intensity waveform of an optical intensity modulated signal subjected to transformation using SSB modulation and improving a bit error ratio and a receiver sensitivity of the optical intensity modulated signal. The optical communication system includes: an optical transmitter section including: a single-side band modulation circuit configured to subject a double-side band modulated signal to generate a single-side band modulated signal; a correction circuit configured to correct an intensity of the single-side band modulated signal so that the intensity of the single-side band modulated signal becomes closer to an intensity of the double-side band modulated signal; and an optical IQ modulator configured to output an optical modulated signal; and an optical receiver section configured to receive the optical modulated signal to directly detect an intensity component of the optical modulated signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2018
    Publication date: February 14, 2019
    Inventor: Nobuhiko KIKUCHI
  • Patent number: 10187158
    Abstract: Provided is an optical communication system capable of suppressing the deterioration of an intensity waveform of an optical intensity modulated signal subjected to transformation using SSB modulation and improving a bit error ratio and a receiver sensitivity of the optical intensity modulated signal. The optical communication system includes: an optical transmitter section including: a single-side band modulation circuit configured to subject a double-side band modulated signal to generate a single-side band modulated signal; a correction circuit configured to correct an intensity of the single-side band modulated signal so that the intensity of the single-side band modulated signal becomes closer to an intensity of the double-side band modulated signal; and an optical IQ modulator configured to output an optical modulated signal; and an optical receiver section configured to receive the optical modulated signal to directly detect an intensity component of the optical modulated signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: OCLARO JAPAN, INC.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20180034549
    Abstract: Provided are an optical transceiver, an optical transmitter IC, and an optical receiver IC, which can be applied to both a case of coding an optical signal and a case of decoding an optical signal, and can suppress an influence of waveform degradation with an inexpensive circuit. The optical transceiver includes an optical transmitter, an optical receiver, and at least any one of: a first delay circuit included in the optical transmitter and configured to delay an input first multi-level digital signal by a delay time corresponding to an amplitude level of the first multi-level digital signal; and a second delay circuit included in the optical receiver and configured to delay an input second multi-level digital signal by a delay time corresponding to an amplitude level of the second multi-level digital signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2017
    Publication date: February 1, 2018
    Inventor: Nobuhiko KIKUCHI
  • Publication number: 20170250758
    Abstract: Provided is an optical communication system capable of suppressing the deterioration of an intensity waveform of an optical intensity modulated signal subjected to transformation using SSB modulation and improving a bit error ratio and a receiver sensitivity of the optical intensity modulated signal. The optical communication system includes: an optical transmitter section including: a single-side band modulation circuit configured to subject a double-side band modulated signal to generate a single-side band modulated signal; a correction circuit configured to correct an intensity of the single-side band modulated signal so that the intensity of the single-side band modulated signal becomes closer to an intensity of the double-side band modulated signal; and an optical IQ modulator configured to output an optical modulated signal; and an optical receiver section configured to receive the optical modulated signal to directly detect an intensity component of the optical modulated signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Publication date: August 31, 2017
    Inventor: Nobuhiko KIKUCHI
  • Patent number: 9485032
    Abstract: An optical multilevel transmitter includes a semiconductor quadrature optical modulator configured to separately modulate and output in-phase and quadrature electric field components and a semiconductor nonlinear characteristic compensation circuit configured to generate, from in-phase and quadrature drive signals to be inputted to the semiconductor quadrature optical modulator, two signals for correcting each other and to add the two correcting signals to the corresponding drive signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuki Wakayama, Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9467245
    Abstract: It is provided a polarization multiplexing optical transceiver including a polarization multiplexing optical transceiver, a polarization multiplexing optical receiver, a transmission side polarization state control unit and a reception side polarization state control unit. The polarization multiplexing optical receiver includes: a polarization demultiplexing unit; a plurality of information signal reconstruction units configured to receive the reconstructed polarization component on the transmission side as an input, and reconstruct and extract information signals; and an information signal coupling unit configured to one of couple and select the information signals output by the plurality of information signal reconstruction units and output the resultant under control of the reception side polarization state control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9178617
    Abstract: In order to reduce the circuit size for a chromatic dispersion pre-equalization operation, an optical multilevel signal pre-equalization circuit is provided with: (1) a plurality of look-up tables in which a string of middle codes utilizing a symmetry of a signal constellation of a multilevel code or a string of middle codes represented by polar coordinates is stored in association with a waveform response component; and (2) one or more operation circuits to which the waveform response component corresponding to a multilevel signal to be transmitted is inputted from the plurality of look-up tables, and which outputs a pre-equalized output waveform corresponding to the multilevel signal by operating the waveform response components outputted from different look-up tables.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9143265
    Abstract: The optical signal to noise ratio is improved when the polarization multilevel signal light is demodulated. A optical polarization multilevel signal receiving apparatus is provided with a polarization multilevel receiver configured to generate at least one estimation symbol A1 to AN estimating a state of the symbol A by utilizing a polarization state of at least one polarization multilevel symbol received in a past before the symbol A, a past value of a decision variable, and a decision result, average the estimation symbols A1 to AN and the symbol A to calculate a reference symbol Ar, and use the calculated reference symbol Ar in place of the symbol A to calculate a decision variable corresponding to a polarization state change of the received symbol R, where R is a received symbol and A is at least one past symbol used as a reference for a change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9143846
    Abstract: Provided is a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical transmission device which is suitable of performing splitting, wavelength multiplexing, switching, and routing on an optical WDM signal in which optical signals having a spectrum close to a rectangle are arranged with a high density, and efficiency of spectral usage is ultimately high in units of wavelengths. A WDM optical transmission device according to the present invention is configured to cause flat portions of adjacent transmission bands on a wavelength spectrum overlap each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9046653
    Abstract: A PDL compensation technique is provided that reduces the number of and the number of types of the PDL compensators even if it is uncertain to determine which of the two polarization principal axes of an optical device has a larger loss. The PDL compensator according to the present invention is configured to, before an optical signal input from a first or a second input/output terminal enters a PDL compensation device, switch between the first polarization principal axis and the second polarization principal axis of the optical signal depending on which of the first and the second polarization principal axes has a larger loss or gain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kohei Mandai, Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20150139649
    Abstract: It is provided a polarization multiplexing optical transceiver including a polarization multiplexing optical transceiver, a polarization multiplexing optical receiver, a transmission side polarization state control unit and a reception side polarization state control unit. The polarization multiplexing optical receiver includes: a polarization demultiplexing unit; a plurality of information signal reconstruction units configured to receive the reconstructed polarization component on the transmission side as an input, and reconstruct and extract information signals; and an information signal coupling unit configured to one of couple and select the information signals output by the plurality of information signal reconstruction units and output the resultant under control of the reception side polarization state control unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2014
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Inventor: Nobuhiko KIKUCHI
  • Publication number: 20150117869
    Abstract: An optical multilevel transmitter includes a semiconductor quadrature optical modulator configured to separately modulate and output in-phase and quadrature electric field components and a semiconductor nonlinear characteristic compensation circuit configured to generate, from in-phase and quadrature drive signals to be inputted to the semiconductor quadrature optical modulator, two signals for correcting each other and to add the two correcting signals to the corresponding drive signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2014
    Publication date: April 30, 2015
    Inventors: Yuki WAKAYAMA, Nobuhiko KIKUCHI
  • Patent number: 8873968
    Abstract: An optical field receiver comprises an optical branching circuit for branching a received optical multilevel signal into first and second optical signals, a first optical delayed demodulator for performing delayed demodulation on the first optical signal at a delay time T (T=symbol time), a second optical delayed demodulator for performing delayed demodulation on the second optical signal at the delay time T with an optical phase difference deviating from the first optical delayed demodulator by 90°, first and second optical receivers for converting each of the delayed demodulation signals representing x and y components of complex signals output from the first and second delayed demodulators into first and second electrical signals, and a field processing unit fort generating a first reconstructed signal representing an inter-symbol phase difference or a phase angle of a received symbol from the first and second electrical signals for each symbol time T.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8855503
    Abstract: Optical receiver 300 uses two optical delay detectors 223 (set such that the delay times T are equal to symbol time and the phase differences are zero and 90 degrees) to receive an optical multilevel signal 215 and the output signals are A/D converted, thereafter subjected to retiming processes, and then subjected to a differential phase detection, thereby detecting a differential phase at a symbol center time point. In the receiver, the detected differential phase is integrated for each symbol and thereafter combined with an amplitude component obtained from a separately disposed optical intensity receiver, thereby reproducing an optical electric field. Thereafter, a wavelength dispersion compensation circuit (231) of a time period T is used to compensate for the wavelength dispersion of the transmission path. Moreover, an electric or optical Nyquist filter may be inserted to perform a band limitation, thereby enhancing the wavelength dispersion compensation effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20140286637
    Abstract: Provided is a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical transmission device which is suitable of performing splitting, wavelength multiplexing, switching, and routing on an optical WDM signal in which optical signals having a spectrum close to a rectangle are arranged with a high density, and efficiency of spectral usage is ultimately high in units of wavelengths. A WDM optical transmission device according to the present invention is configured to cause flat portions of adjacent transmission bands on a wavelength spectrum overlap each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2012
    Publication date: September 25, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8805188
    Abstract: There is a need to prevent two receivers from converging on a state of receiving the same polarization state, fast start receivers, and ensure highly reliable operations. A polarization-multiplexed transmitter previously applies frequency shifts of frequencies +?f and ??f to X-polarization and Y-polarization digital information signals to be transmitted. Optical field modulators modulate and polarization-multiplex the signals. As a result, a frequency difference of 2?f is supplied to X-polarization and Y-polarization components. A polarization diversity coherent optical receiver 215 receives the signal. A frequency estimation portion in a digital signal processing circuit detects a frequency difference signal in both polarization components. This signal is used to a polarization splitting circuit in the digital signal processing circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Kikuchi