Patents by Inventor Shinichiro Gotoh

Shinichiro Gotoh 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: 5931572
    Abstract: A head lamp device for a vehicle capable of changing a lighting region in front of the vehicle in rightward and leftward directions is provided. The device comprises a head lamp, lighting region changing means for changing the lighting region of the head lamp, strain degree detecting means for detecting degree of strain of the driver, and control means for controlling the lighting region changing means on the basis of information detected by the strain degree detecting means. The control means adjusts the amount and/or the speed of change of the lighting region in accordance with degree of strain of the driver. The change of the lighting region can be carried out naturally without sense of incongruity in view of degree of strain of the driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinichiro Gotoh
  • Patent number: 5909949
    Abstract: A head lamp device for a vehicle capable of changing a lighting region in front of the vehicle in right and left directions, in which change of the lighting region is suppressed so as not to give the driver a sense of incongruity when a steering wheel is operated in one direction and then rapidly in the other as in case of counter-steering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1999
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinichiro Gotoh
  • Patent number: 5876113
    Abstract: A head lamp device for a vehicle capable of changing a lighting region in front of the vehicle in rightward and leftward directions is provided. The device comprises a head lamp, a lighting region changing mechanism for changing the lighting region of the head lamp, a right wheel speed sensor for detecting a rotational speed of a right wheel, a left wheel speed sensor for detecting a rotational speed of a left wheel, a lighting angle calculating mechanism for calculating a lighting angle of the head lamp from the right and left wheel rotational speeds detected by the right wheel speed sensor and the left wheel speed sensor respectively, and a control mechanism for controlling the lighting region changing mechanism on the basis of the lighting angle calculated by the lighting angle calculating mechanism to change the lighting region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1999
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinichiro Gotoh
  • Patent number: 5854537
    Abstract: A head lamp device for a vehicle by which a pedestrian on the opposing vehicle lane side can be easily perceived without giving glare on an opposing vehicle. The head lamp device comprises main light emitting mechanism capable of changing over a low beam and a high beam from each other; an auxiliary light emitting mechanism for lighting a front and upper portion on the opposing vehicle lane side; an opposing vehicle sensor for detecting existence of an opposing vehicle; and a control mechanism for controlling the auxiliary light emitting mechanism. The control mechanism decreases or turns off the light of the auxiliary light emitting mechanism in response to input of an opposing vehicle detection signal from the opposing vehicle sensor when the main light emitting mechanism emits the low beam and at the same time the auxiliary light emitting mechanism is turned on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1998
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichiro Gotoh, Takeshi Kobayashi, Shujiro Ohnuma, Tatsuya Ishizaki
  • Patent number: 5711590
    Abstract: An improved headlight having variable light distribution is provided, where said headlight comprises a reflector divided into an upper movable light distribution reflector and a lower fixed light distribution reflector by a horizontal line located 10 to 30 mm above the optical axis of the light source and the reflector, of which said movable light distribution reflector is rotatable around a vertical rotary axis practically crossing the optical axis of the light source and said fixed light distribution reflector is designed to reflect 50 to 60% of the total quantity of light applied to the reflector. With such an arrangement, the swerving side of the automobile is satisfactorily illuminated by the movable light distribution reflector while a desired frontal light distribution pattern of the headlight is ensured by the fixed light distribution reflector because the two reflectors provide a substantially equal quantity of light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 27, 1998
    Assignees: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Stanley Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinichiro Gotoh, Toshiaki Aoki, Takashi Futami, Masahito Okamoto