Patents by Inventor Norio Mitani

Norio Mitani 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).

  • Auxiliary cutter units of a shield machine
    Patent number: 5547260
    Abstract: Preliminary cutter units of a shield machine provided with preliminary cutters capable of continuously excavating soil in a working place even if main cutters are worn away.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho
    Inventors: Kazunari Kawai, Norio Mitani
  • Articulated shield tunneling machine
    Patent number: 5135326
    Abstract: An articulated shield tunneling machine suitable for excavation along a curvature with an articulated shield having front and rear shield sections. In contrast to the conventional apparatus which suffers from various disadvantages such as interference between the front ends of shield jacks with front shield section and necessity for expensive strong construction of shield jacks, the articulated shield tunneling machine of the present invention has trunnions (10) to which the shield jacks (7) are connected, and the trunnions (10) are connected to front portions of the rear shield section (1b) for pivotal movement in the radial direction of the articulated shield (1). Each trunnion (10) can have therein an elastic member which urges the front end of the shield jack (7) towards the center of the articulated shield (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1989
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1992
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho
    Inventors: Norio Mitani, Hideo Kanbayashi, Yoshihisa Yamamoto
  • Deformed shield tunneling method and tunneling machine
    Patent number: 5110188
    Abstract: The present invention is applicable to a shield tunneling method and a tunneling machine therefor which excavate a deformed section by rotating a plurality of circular cutters. There is provided a deformed shield tunneling method and a tunneling machine therefor which excavate a tunnel surface by rotating a plurality of circular cutters (4), (5) and (6) arranged in the front of a front casing (2) of a tunneling machine (1) and which cut soil in tangent portions (15a), (15b) and (15c) of circles formed between said circular cutters by rocking rocking cutters (17) attached opposite to the tangent portions in order to continue excavation while completely forming a predetermined deformed section in excavation of any combination of circular cutters regardless of the diameter of the circular cutters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1992
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho
    Inventors: Kazunari Kawai, Norio Mitani
  • Apparatus for detecting position of underground excavator
    Patent number: 5107938
    Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a position of an underground excavator in tunneling the earth measures automatically: a three-dimensional position of the excavator relative to a predetermined reference position, or three-dimensional positions of a pair of underground excavators relative to each other. The excavators are disposed in opposite ends of a tunnel to be dug, and dig the tunnel toward each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1992
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Okamoto, Shoichi Sakanishi, Norio Mitani, Yoshihisa Yamamoto