Patents Assigned to Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
  • Patent number: 5432752
    Abstract: A calibration pipe having a predetermined length is connected to an end of a pipe to be measured. A sound emitter and a sound receiver are connected to a base end of the calibration pipe. The sound emitter emits a sound into the calibration pipe and the pipe to be measured, and the sound receiver receives a sound reflected from a discontinuous portion of the pipe. A calculator is provided for calculating a period of time from emitting of the sound to receiving of the reflected sound. The length of the pipe is calculated based on speed of the sound in the calibration pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1995
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takanori Ito, Hideo Tai
  • Patent number: 5423578
    Abstract: A coupling for a corrugated pipe having ridges and grooves arranged alternately is disclosed. A body of this coupling has a through-hole whose one end is served as an inlet port. An annular accommodation recess and an annular retainer portion are formed on an inner periphery of the through-hole in this order toward the inlet port. A cylindrical support member is accommodated within the body. The support member is urged toward the inlet port by a spring. One end portion of the support member on the inlet port side is served as a receiving portion. An annular engagement member is mounted on an outer periphery of this receiving portion in such a manner as to be elastically enlarged in diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 13, 1995
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinichi Kanomata, Morio Saito, Toshio Saito, Tetsuya Wada, Keizou Ohkawa, Yasushi Kosugi
  • Patent number: 5417060
    Abstract: An air fuel ratio controlling apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprises: a catalytic converter, provided in an exhaust system for purifying an exhaust gas of the engine; a first oxygen density sensor, provided upstream from the catalytic converter in the exhaust system, responsive to a first oxygen density of a first exhaust gas of the engine for detecting whether an air fuel ratio of the engine is in a rich condition or a lean condition with respect to a theoretical air fuel ratio of the engine; a second oxygen density sensor, provided downstream from the catalytic converter in the exhaust system, responsive to a second oxygen density of a second exhaust gas passed through the catalytic converter for detecting whether the air fuel ratio of the engine is in a rich or a lean condition with respect to a theoretical air fuel ratio of the engine; and an air fuel ratio control portion for controlling the air fuel ratio in accordance with the detection results of the first and second oxygen sensors, wh
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 23, 1995
    Assignees: Nippondenso Co., Ltd., Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazumi Ishida, Hiroshi Haraguchi, Masakazu Hishinuma, Akio Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 5416902
    Abstract: A graphic editing system and method uses a terminal for editing line graphic data stored in a host computer. The graphic data of a drawing to be edited is retrieved from a common file and is loaded onto the host computer's work area. The graphic data is then loaded onto the terminal's memory and displayed on the terminal. A line of the drawing to be edited is selected on the terminal. The line to be edited is then searched in the host computer's work area and stored in the host computer's edit area, where it is edited. The edited line is then loaded into the terminal's memory from the edit area and displayed on the terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 16, 1995
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroto Sato, Sakura Shinoaki, Kyozo Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5414641
    Abstract: A method for determining elementary circuits and initial values of flows in a pipe network including one or more source nodes and a plurality of demanding nodes. An upstream node and a downstream node of each pipe is determined. The upstream node has less total resistance than the downstream node to the source node. A pipe joined between an upstream node and a downstream node is selected as an upstream pipe of the downstream node. A pipe which is never designated as an upstream pipe is selected as a circuit origin pipe. A node level, which indicates the number of nodes included in the passage from the source node, is determined. An elementary circuit is determined, by tracing upstream nodes along a first route starting from a first node of the circuit origin pipe and along a second route starting from a second node of the circuit origin pipe in accordance with the node level of the upstream node of each pipe, until the first and second routes reach a same source node or a same demanding node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 9, 1995
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Sakura Shinoaki, Junichi Enomoto
  • Patent number: 5381674
    Abstract: A compact generator for an absorption refrigerating machine that uses combustion gas as a heat source, which enables stable heating. The generator 1 has a dilute solution inlet 3, a solution outlet 4, and a vapor outlet 5. A multiplicity of heat transfer fins 6 are provided on the outer periphery of a drum shell 2 of the generator. A circulation guide 7 is provided along the inner periphery of the drum shell. Openings are respectively provided in the bottom and top of the circulation guide 7. The solution outlet 4 has an overflow weir 10. The vapor outlet 5 has a downwardly facing opening 11 inside the can of the generator. The dilute solution inlet 3 is provided with a mixing chamber 20 which is separated from the solution in the drum shell of the generator and where the solution in the drum shell and dilute solution from the dilute solution inlet mix with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignees: Ebara Corporation, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Omori, Noriyuki Nishiyama, Naoyuki Inoue
  • Patent number: 5365169
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a flaw detector for metal material for maintaining and managing pipelines using a remote field eddy current sensor. An AC signal having a constant level and shifted by predetermined phase angle is added to signals received in receiving coils of the remote field eddy current sensor to obtain accurate phase detection in a normal, nonflawed portion of the pipeline to be tested (e.g. uniform thickness, no holes, etc.). By preventing generation of abnormal flaw data, precise diagnosis of the pipeline can be performed. An AGC circuit may be used to maintain at a constant level of received signal. Two sets of spaced apart receiving coils are spaced from an exciting coil a distance greater than a predetermined distance (about two time the pipeline diameter). The set of receiving coils closest to the exciting coil has a greater number of coil turns than the other set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1994
    Assignees: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., CXR Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuharu Hosohara, Kiwamu Suzuki, Shigeru Fujiwara, Toshihide Kawabe
  • Patent number: 5352590
    Abstract: A process for preparing a .sup.13 C-labelled compound which comprises reacting an alcohol .sup.13 C-labelled carbon source compound and a substrate in the presence of an enzyme system consisting of oxidase belonging to EC1 group and capable of converting the alcohol .sup.13 C-labelled carbon source compound to an aldehyde .sup.13 C-labelled carbon source compound, lyase belonging to EC4 group and capable of synthesizing a carbon-carbon bond and at least one of isomerases belonging to EC5 group and capable of isomerizing substrates to obtain a .sup.13 C-labelled compound specifically labelled with .sup.13 C in a specific carbon position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1994
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuo Kato, Yoshiyuki Sato, Kunihiko Shibata
  • Patent number: 5343103
    Abstract: Power supplying unit to be used for supplying power to such a load as the motor for driving a submerged pump that scoops liquid out of a tank storing low temperature liquid like LNG and so forth. The power supplying unit has a ceramic sleeve fixed to the flange, a penetrating conductor inserted into this ceramic sleeve, and the ceramic sleeve and the penetrating conductor are coupled air-tightly to each other inside the flange (inside the tank) sealed outside the flange with a bellows of semi-mountain construction in cross section. The bellows has an elasticity and is mounted, when the ceramic sleeve and the penetrating conductor are linearly expanded at the maximum temperature during practical or normal use, or at the temperature slightly higher than the said level. The bellows is mounted between the ceramic sleeve and the penetrating conductor in a state where it is displaced to its maximum length due to its self elasticity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 30, 1994
    Assignees: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuo Aoki, Ikuo Aizawa, Keisuke Yokoi, Hideo Negishi
  • Patent number: 5335553
    Abstract: A fluidic gas meter including a flow path structure provided with a fluidic element, a cut-off valve, a pressure switch, a flow sensor, a piezoelectric film sensor, an electronic circuit unit, and a wiring board serving as a mother board and having a function of lead wires. Each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor are fixed to the flow path structure. The electronic circuit unit is made up of a counter board and a control circuit board. The counter board is mounted with an electronic circuit for counting up flow-rate signals from the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor and a liquid crystal display device for displaying the amount of gas consumed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1994
    Assignees: Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., Aichi Tokei Denki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Ueki, Katsuhito Sakai, Koichi Kanda, Hideo Kamiya
  • Patent number: 5333501
    Abstract: In an abnormality monitoring apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of detectors (13, 14) are arranged at a plurality of positions in the axial direction of a pipeline (11) to detect respective sound waves (37) propagating from a position (B) of occurrence of abnormality. The aforementioned position is calculated from a sound wave detection time difference between the detectors (13, 14) and position between the detectors (13, 14). The apparatus further includes an abnormal waveform memory unit (28) for storing the waveforms of a plurality of kinds of typical abnormal sound waves generated from abnormality on the pipeline (11). A display device (19) displays, on the same image screen, the abnormal waveform stored in the abnormal waveform memory unit and that of the sound wave detected. It is, therefore, possible for a monitoring personnel to readily identify a kind of abnormality occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 2, 1994
    Assignees: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., NKK Corporation
    Inventors: Masumi Okada, Shingo Nagashima, Kazuo Nakamachi, Kazuo Hattori, Yoji Takanashi, Masaru Yasuda, Masami Ishikawa, Yoshiyasu Murata
  • Patent number: 5244872
    Abstract: An oxide superconductor having the following formula:Pb.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.1-p Ln.sub.p Cu.sub.3 O.sub.q orPb.sub.1-x Cu.sub.x Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.1-y Ln.sub.y Cu.sub.2 O.sub.zwherein Ln represents a rare earth element, p is 0.3-0.7, q is 7.8-8.2, x is 0.2-0.5, y is 0.3-0.7 and z is 6.8-7.2 is prepared using a coprecipitation method. An acetic acid solution of carbonates, acetates or nitrates of Pb, Sr, Ca, Cu and Ln is mixed with an aqueous solution of oxalic or tartaric acid, or a lower alkyl ester thereof. The mixture is reacted to precipitate the Pb, Sr, Ca, Cu and Ln as oxalates or tartarates and the precipitates are dried and sintered to obtain the oxide superconductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1991
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1993
    Assignees: International Superconductivity Technology Center, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Kyocera Corporation, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Ikemachi, Takashi Kawano, Shin-ichi Koriyama, Hisao Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 5224347
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling and improving the air-fuel ratio of a gas engine by controlling the air-fuel ratio on an exhaust purifying apparatus such as a three way catalyst in use with the gas engine. The method involves the steps of modulating a vibrational drive current for driving a bypass value with waveforms such as rectangular wave, sinusoidal wave, triangular wave, etc., with predetermined periods and amplitudes, in response to signals transmitted from a main oxygen sensor and a pressure sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 6, 1993
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisataka Yakabe, Masakazu Hishinuma
  • Patent number: 5221586
    Abstract: The power generation system includes a reformer and two fuel cell stacks. The reformer and the fuel cell stacks are provided in series. Fuel gas produced by the reformer is introduced to a first anode of the first fuel cell stack. Gases discharged from the first anode are directly introduced to a second anode of the second fuel cell stack. Air is introduced to a first cathode of the first fuel cell stack. Gases discharged from the first cathode are cooled by a cooling device and then introduced to a second cathode of the second fuel cell stack. Gases discharged from the second anode and gases discharged from the second cathode are introduced to a heating chamber of the reformer. Gases discharged from the heating chamber are introduced to a steam generator to produce steam used for reformation and then recirculated to the first cathode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1993
    Assignees: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., Toho Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromasa Morimoto, Hiroyoshi Uematsu, Satoshi Hatori, Kazunori Kobayashi, Tomoji Hikita, Kenichi Shinozaka, Shigeto Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 5210492
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a flaw detector for metal material for maintaining and managing pipelines using a remote field eddy current sensor. An AC signal having a constant level and shifted by predetermined phase angle is added to signals received in receiving coils of the remote field eddy current sensor to obtain accurate phase detection in a normal, nonflawed portion of the pipeline to be tested (e.g. uniform thickness, no holes, etc.). By preventing generation of abnormal flaw data, precise diagnosis of the pipeline can be performed. An AGC circuit may be used to maintain at a constant level of received signal. Two sets of spaced apart receiving coils are spaced from an exciting coil a distance greater than a predetermined distance (about two times the pipeline diameter). The set of receiving coils closest to the exciting coil has a greater number of coil turns than the other set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1993
    Assignees: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., CXR Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuharu Hosohara, Kiwamu Suzuki, Shigeru Fujiwara, Toshihide Kawabe
  • Patent number: 5202570
    Abstract: A gas detection device employs a tunable wavelength laser, modulated about an absorption line of a gas to be detected. By measuring the ratio of the fundamental to the second harmonic of the modulation frequency, the detection is independent of the optical path length. This permits an aimable device in which a laser beam is directed toward a remote surface, reflected thereby, and the reflected beam focused upon a detector. The presence of the gas to be detected in the space between the device and the reflective surface is thereby determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1993
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Tanaka, Masayuki Matsuura, Hideo Tai, Kiyoji Uehara
  • Patent number: 5200011
    Abstract: An engineering method of providing a lining onto the internal face of conduits for gas, city water, etc. that are buried underground. This lining work shall entirely be done from the portions exposed above ground. The distance of the supply pipe to the service tee is measured. The lining tube is set to a length that is slightly longer than this distance. The lining tube is turned inside out inside the supply pipe. As a result, a slightly longer length of non-reverse portion is left inside the supply pipe by the service tee. This non-reverse portion is helpful when cutting the rewinding tape that is tied to the lining tube after the insertion of a cutter. Next the heating tube shall be reversed similarly, and a hot water hose is inserted for circulating hot water in the heating tube. The aforesaid lining tube coated with the thermosetting adhesive is bonded onto the internal face of supply pipe. Next the heating tube is pulled out and the rewinding tape of the lining tube is cut and removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1993
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Minoru Imamura, Hiroaki Kobayashi, Shigeru Toyoda, Seiichi Ikeda
  • Patent number: 5195059
    Abstract: An acoustic pipe length measuring apparatus for measuring the length of a pipe-like member in accordance with the time between the emission of a pulse-like sound wave from a speaker at one end thereof and the collection of sound waves reflected at the other end thereof, by a microphone, and a sonic velocity, in which data of a sonic velocity at a reference temperature of a gas present in the pipe-like member is stored in memory, and a sonic velocity value at a temperature of gas detected in the pipe-like member is computed with the use of the data of a sonic velocity value which is read from the memory in accordance with a kind of gas in the pipe-like member, thereby it is possible to calculate the length of the pipe-like member from the sonic velocity value obtained through the computation and the above-mentioned time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1993
    Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nakamura Hiroshi, Itoh Takanori, Natori Masaki
  • Patent number: 5173155
    Abstract: A vacuum boiler evaporator includes a sealed vacuum boiler vessel, a sealed vacuum condenser vessel which contains a partition that divides it into a first chamber and a second chamber that functions as a noncondensible gas collector, a conduit which connects the vacuum boiler vessel with the first chamber of the vacuum condenser vessel, a plurality of heat transfer tubes which extend through the first chamber and into the second chamber, and a return pipe which extends from the second chamber to the vacuum boiler vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1992
    Assignees: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd, Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Miyata, Akio Seta, Nobuhiko Tsui, Hiroshi Kujirai, Youji Satoh, Hitonobu Shotani, Kazuya Sahara, Yoshimichi Ikeda
  • Patent number: 5167450
    Abstract: A calorimeter comprises a laminar flow type flowmeter for measuring the volume of flow of a fuel gas as a value proportional to the difference between the pressures of the laminar flow elements and a stream pipe serially connected to the laminar flow type flowmeter to create a laminar flow therethrough. The stream pipe is provided with a heating means, a temperature sensing means for detecting the difference between the temperatures of the fuel's flow to and from the stream pipe portion heated by the heating means, and a thermal-type flowmeter for measuring a mass flow proportional to the differential temperature sensed. A computer unit calculates the outflow pressure and the volume of flow of the fuel gas in its normal state from the measured values of the absolute pressure, the differential pressure and the temperature of the fuel gas flowing into the laminar flow-type flowmeter and calculates the calorific value of the fuel gas as a value that is negatively proportional to the differential pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1992
    Assignees: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., Oval Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazumitu Nukui, Naoki Matubara