Patents Assigned to National Institute of Natural Sciences
  • Publication number: 20150369419
    Abstract: A kinematic support structure of a “groove-groove-groove” type that reduces friction between a first base and a second base is provided. In the kinematic support structure, a first base comprises three grooves and a second base comprises three other grooves. Balls are all movable with respect to the first base and the second base. Two grooves corresponding in the two bases face each other across respective one of the balls.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2015
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Applicant: NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES
    Inventor: Jun NISHIKAWA
  • Patent number: 9203210
    Abstract: When an excitation light is entered in a laser medium including a doped (containing rare earth element) YAG, the vicinity of the excitation light entry face is locally heated which generates a birefringence, causing degradation of linear polarization of emitted laser. To avoid such a phenomenon, it was necessary to make the excitation light pulsed and slow down the repetition rate of the pulse. In this device, an undoped YAG is bonded to a excitation light entry face of the laser medium made of a doped YAG. By arranging the YAG <100> axis so as to extend along the optical axis of the laser oscillation system, a linearly polarized pulse laser can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES
    Inventors: Takunori Taira, Rakesh Bhandari
  • Patent number: 9196399
    Abstract: A method for producing a composite superconductor includes: a structure forming process of forming a structure including a metal covering member (20) including at least one to-be-joined portion, a superconductor (30) arranged inside the metal covering member, and a reinforcing member (40) arranged between the superconductor (30) and the at least one to-be-joined portion; and a joining process of joining thereafter the at least one to-be-joined portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignees: FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD., UACJ CORPORATION, INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES
    Inventors: Masahiro Sugimoto, Hirokazu Tsubouchi, Hitoshi Shimizu, Toshiya Okada, Toshirou Sakai, Kazuya Takahata, Hitoshi Tamura, Toshiyuki Mito
  • Patent number: 9188738
    Abstract: Provided is a method for manufacturing a translucent polycrystalline material with optical properties continuously varying in the material. A slurry including single crystal grains that are acted upon by a force when placed in a magnetic field is immobilized in a gradient magnetic field with a spatially varying magnetic flux density and then sintered. For example, where a slurry including single crystal grains of YAG doped with Er and single crystal grains of YAG undoped with a rare earth material is immobilized in the gradient magnetic field, the region with a strong magnetic field becomes a laser oscillation region that is rich in Er-doped YAG, whereas the region with a weak magnetic field becomes a translucent region rich in YAG undoped with a rare earth material. A polycrystalline material having a core with laser oscillations and a guide surrounding the core are obtained at once.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Inter-University Research Institute, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Genesis Research Institute Incorporated
    Inventors: Takunori Taira, Jun Akiyama, Shigeo Asai
  • Patent number: 9105795
    Abstract: Disclosed is a composite superconductor comprising a superconductor and a metal member. The metal member is composed of one or more members to be joined together in such manner that the one or more members cover the superconductor, and at least one member is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignees: INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES, FURUKAWA-SKY ALUMINUM CORPORATION, THE FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Mito, Kazuya Takahata, Toshiya Okada, Toshio Ushiyama, Masahiro Sugimoto, Hirokazu Tsubouchi
  • Patent number: 8976820
    Abstract: To provide a passive Q-switch-type solid laser apparatus for outputting a high peak-power pulse laser whose pulse energy is large and pulse-time width is small. A passive Q-switch-type solid laser apparatus has: two reflection elements for forming an oscillator; a solid gain medium being disposed between the two reflection elements; a saturable absorber being disposed between the two reflection elements; an excitation device for exciting the solid gain medium; and a cross section control device for making at least one of a stimulated emission cross section of the solid gain medium and an absorption cross section of the saturable absorber closer to another one of them; and the cross section control device is equipped with at least one or both of a temperature control device for retaining the solid gain medium at a predetermined temperature and an oscillatory-wavelength control device for fixating an oscillatory wavelength at a predetermined wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventors: Takunori Taira, Simon Joly, Rakesh Bhandari
  • Publication number: 20140274726
    Abstract: A method for producing a composite superconductor includes: a structure forming process of forming a structure including a metal covering member (20) including at least one to-be-joined portion, a superconductor (30) arranged inside the metal covering member, and a reinforcing member (40) arranged between the superconductor (30) and the at least one to-be-joined portion; and a joining process of joining thereafter the at least one to-be-joined portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2012
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicants: INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES, FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiro Sugimoto, Hirokazu Tsubouchi, Hitoshi Shimizu, Toshiya Okada, Toshirou Sakai, Kazuya Takahata, Hitoshi Tamura, Toshiyuki Mito
  • Patent number: 8824521
    Abstract: A solid laser apparatus which includes: two reflection elements for forming an oscillator; a plate-shaped gain medium being disposed between the two reflection elements, thereby augmenting a stimulated emission light in a thickness-wise direction; a doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide being disposed so as to make an inner peripheral face thereof come in contact with an outer peripheral face of the plate-shaped gain medium; and a plurality of excited-light sources being directed in five or more directions, the excited-light sources being coupled to an outer peripheral face of the doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide so as to make excited lights propagate from the outer peripheral face of the doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide to the plate-shaped gain medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventors: Takunori Taira, Weipeng Kong
  • Patent number: 8778541
    Abstract: A negative electrode used for a nonaqueous electrolyte solution battery having nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing lithium ion includes a metal carbon composite material. The metal carbon composite material has a porous carbon material having cavities, and a metal material made of metal to reversibly store or emit lithium ion. The metal material is arranged on a surface of the porous carbon material including inner surfaces of the cavities. The porous carbon material has a mass of 1-65 mass % when the metal carbon composite material is defined to have a mass of 100 mass %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventors: Kouhei Yamamoto, Norikazu Adachi, Hisashi Umemoto, Manabu Yamada, Yasuyuki Ooba, Nobuyuki Nishi, Shigenori Numao
  • Publication number: 20140169395
    Abstract: A solid laser apparatus which includes: two reflection elements for forming an oscillator; a plate-shaped gain medium being disposed between the two reflection elements, thereby augmenting a stimulated emission light in a thickness-wise direction; a doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide being disposed so as to make an inner peripheral face thereof come in contact with an outer peripheral face of the plate-shaped gain medium; and a plurality of excited-light sources being directed in five or more directions, the excited-light sources being coupled to an outer peripheral face of the doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide so as to make excited lights propagate from the outer peripheral face of the doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide to the plate-shaped gain medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2012
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES
    Inventors: Takunori Taira, Weipeng Kong
  • Patent number: 8658777
    Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide novel approaches capable of detecting activated protease and also detecting protease activation on real time at a high sensitivity in a noninvasive manner. By the method for detecting activated protease of the invention, an indicator in a circular form comprising the C-half fragment of luciferase (Luc-C) and the N-half fragment of luciferase (Luc-N) linked together through a substrate peptide for a protease is introduced in an in vitro assay system or in cells. Upon digestion of the substrate peptide by the protease, Luc-N and Luc-C together reconstructs active luciferase, so that the activated protease can be detected by assaying the luminescence signal from the luciferase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignees: The University of Tokyo, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventors: Yoshio Umezawa, Takeaki Ozawa, Akira Kanno
  • Publication number: 20140010247
    Abstract: To provide a passive Q-switch-type solid laser apparatus for outputting a high peak-power pulse laser whose pulse energy is large and pulse-time width is small. A passive Q-switch-type solid laser apparatus has: two reflection elements for forming an oscillator; a solid gain medium being disposed between the two reflection elements; a saturable absorber being disposed between the two reflection elements; an excitation device for exciting the solid gain medium; and a cross section control device for making at least one of a stimulated emission cross section of the solid gain medium and an absorption cross section of the saturable absorber closer to another one of them; and the cross section control device is equipped with at least one or both of a temperature control device for retaining the solid gain medium at a predetermined temperature and an oscillatory-wavelength control device for fixating an oscillatory wavelength at a predetermined wavelength.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2012
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventors: Takunori Taira, Simon Joly, Rakesh Bhandari
  • Patent number: 8604991
    Abstract: An antenna array provided with two frames which form waveguides. Each frame includes a plate portion and frame portion. The plate portion includes grooves laid out next to one another. Each groove has an open end and a closed end. The frame portion is arranged adjacent to the plate portion. The frame portion has an opening that opens in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the grooves extend and a direction in which the grooves are laid out. A dielectric substrate is held between the two frames. The dielectric substrate includes an array of feeders and electronic circuits, each circuit having a discrete active element. The circuits are exposed from the opening of either one of the frames. The frames are superimposed with the dielectric substrate so that the grooves form the waveguides. Each circuit is electromagnetically connected to a corresponding one of the waveguides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Inter-University Research Institute National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventor: Yoshio Nagayama
  • Patent number: 8582977
    Abstract: An optical transmission system includes: a two-lightwave generator for generating optical signals having wavelengths ?1 and ?2 from laser light; a photodetector for detecting a microwave signal M12 from two optical signals distributed by an optical coupler; an optical modulator for frequency-shifting the two optical signals; a Faraday reflector for reflecting the two optical signals; an optical coupler for mixing the two optical signals that have been reflected by the Faraday reflector, frequency-shifted again, transmitted by an optical fiber, and guided by a polarization beam splitter, with two optical signals distributed by an optical coupler; an optical demultiplexer for wavelength-dividing four mixed optical signals into optical signals having the wavelengths ?1 and ?2; photodetectors for detecting respective beat signals of the wavelength-divided optical signals having ?1 and ?2; and a phase difference detector for detecting a phase difference between the beat signals of the optical signals having ?1 and
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventor: Hitoshi Kiuchi
  • Publication number: 20130186362
    Abstract: A laser ignition system that is mounted on an internal combustion engine and that condenses a laser beam oscillated from a laser oscillator into an engine combustion chamber by using a condenser lens to generate a flame kernel with high energy and to perform ignition includes at least a highly-refractive optical element that refracts optical axes OPX1 to OPXn of plural laser beams oscillated from plural semiconductor lasers 5-1 to 5-n through a resonator to change traveling directions of the laser beams and a condenser device that condenses the laser beams refracted by the highly-refractive optical element on plural positions FP1 to FPn in the engine combustion chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2011
    Publication date: July 25, 2013
    Applicants: INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES, NIPPON SOKEN, INC.
    Inventors: Kenji Kanehara, Nicolaie Pavel, Takunori Taira, Masaki Tsunekane
  • Patent number: 8492536
    Abstract: A method for modifying nucleic acid bases by a chemical means, which enables the discrimination of every base species in plural species of bases in a nucleic acid comprising plural nucleotide units, while retaining the base sequence information of the nucleic acid. A nucleic acid base-modified product provided by the method. The nucleic acid base-modified product is essentially a single strand. In accordance with the invention, a novel means for sequencing a nucleic acid by a microscopic means is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignees: Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institute of Natural Sciences, Nagayama IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Masanori Kataoka, Kuniaki Nagayama
  • Publication number: 20130181172
    Abstract: This invention provides a carbon nanostructure including: carbon containing rod-shaped materials and/or carbon containing sheet-shaped materials which are bound three-dimensionally; and graphene multilayer membrane walls which are formed in the rod-shaped materials and/or the sheet-shaped materials; wherein air-sac-like pores, which are defined by the graphene multilayer membrane walls, are formed in the rod-shaped materials and/or the sheet-shaped materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2011
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicants: INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES, NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN CHEMICAL CO., LTD., DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Nishi, Norikazu Adachi, Yasuyuki Ooba, Manabu Yamada, Kenichiro Kami, Kazuhiko Mizuuchi
  • Patent number: 8470724
    Abstract: Upon producing a transparent polycrystalline material, a suspension liquid (or slurry 1) is prepared, the suspension liquid being made by dispersing a raw-material powder in a solution, the raw-material powder including optically anisotropic single-crystalline particles to which a rare-earth element is added. A formed body is obtained from the suspension liquid by means of carrying out slip casting in a space with a magnetic field applied. On this occasion, while doing a temperature control so that the single-crystalline particles demonstrate predetermined magnetic anisotropy, one of static magnetic fields and rotary magnetic fields is selected in compliance with a direction of an axis of easy magnetization in the single-crystalline particles, and is then applied to them. A transparent polycrystalline material is obtained by sintering the formed body, the transparent polycrystalline material having a polycrystalline structure whose crystal orientation is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignees: Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Genesis Research Institute, Incorporated
    Inventors: Takunori Taira, Jun Akiyama, Shigeo Asai, Kunihiko Hara
  • Publication number: 20130053933
    Abstract: A pain sensory nerve stimulation apparatus includes: a stimulation electrode which is adapted to be attached to a living body, at least one of an exogenous algesic substance and pyrogen which is to be interposed between the living body and the stimulation electrode; and a stimulation power supplier which is configured to supply electric power to the stimulation electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2012
    Publication date: February 28, 2013
    Applicants: NIHON KOHDEN CORPORATION, INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CORPORATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCES
    Inventors: Koji INUI, Yasuyuki TAKESHIMA, Jun MOTOGI, Yoshinobu ONO, Ryosuke USHIJIMA, Takeshi KOJIMA
  • Patent number: 8223813
    Abstract: A compact semiconductor laser pumped solid-state laser device is provided that can suppress unnecessary parasitic oscillation in a microchip and efficiently extract energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
    Inventors: Masaki Tsunekane, Takunori Taira