Patents by Inventor Akihiro Kondo

Akihiro Kondo 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).

  • Publication number: 20240141885
    Abstract: A hydraulic pump performance deterioration detection system according to one embodiment includes: a variable displacement hydraulic pump; a switching valve that is connected to the hydraulic pump by a pump line and to a hydraulic actuator by a supply/discharge line; and a regulator that changes a displacement of the hydraulic pump in accordance with a command current and that limits the displacement of the hydraulic pump to a limiting value when a delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump has become higher than a setting value. The performance deterioration detection system further includes: control circuitry that feeds the command current to the regulator; and a pressure sensor that measures the delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump. When the hydraulic actuator is not moving, the control circuitry determines whether or not performance of the hydraulic pump has deteriorated based on a current value of the command current and the delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump measured by the pressure sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2023
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Hiroaki MITSUI
  • Patent number: 11952952
    Abstract: A HST system for use in traveling of a vehicle includes a controller that controls a pump regulator that changes a displacement of a pump and a motor regulator that changes a displacement of a motor. The controller determines whether or not a particular downhill travel condition is satisfied based on a result of detection by a vehicle speed detector that detects a vehicle speed of the vehicle and a result of detection by a rotation number detector that detects a number of rotations of an engine per unit time. In a case where a depression amount of an accelerator pedal, which is detected by a depression amount detector, is zero and the particular downhill travel condition is satisfied, the controller controls the motor regulator to increase the displacement of the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Ryosuke Kusumoto, Yuki Nakayama
  • Publication number: 20240084823
    Abstract: A hydraulic excavator drive system (1) includes an arm control valve (31) and an arm switching valve (41). The arm switching valve (41) is connected to an arm pushing supply line (34) by a rod-side line (42) and to an arm crowding supply line (35) by a head-side line (43). The arm switching valve (41) is switched between a neutral position, a recycling position in which the arm switching valve (41) allows the rod-side line (42) to communicate with the head-side line (43) and a second tank line (44), and a meter-out control position in which the arm switching valve (41) allows the head-side line (43) to communicate with the tank line (44). The arm switching valve (41) incorporates therein a check valve (45) that allows a flow from the rod-side line (42) toward the head-side line (43) when the arm switching valve (41) is in the recycling position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2021
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Yoshiyuki TODE, Hideyasu MURAOKA
  • Patent number: 11926986
    Abstract: A hydraulic excavator drive system includes: a first pump connected to a head-side chamber of a boom cylinder; and a second pump that supplies hydraulic oil to at least one of an arm cylinder or a bucket cylinder. The first pump is driven by an electric motor. The drive system further includes: a first switching valve located on a rod-side line; and a second switching valve located on a relay line. The first switching valve opens the rod-side line at a boom raising operation, but blocks the rod-side line except at the boom raising operation. The second switching valve blocks the relay line at the boom raising operation, but opens the relay line at a vehicle body lifting operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Hideyasu Muraoka, Yoshiyuki Tode
  • Publication number: 20240077091
    Abstract: A hydraulic pump performance deterioration detection system according to one embodiment includes: a variable displacement hydraulic pump that supplies a hydraulic liquid to a hydraulic actuator to move the hydraulic actuator; a regulator that changes a displacement of the hydraulic pump in accordance with a command current; and control circuitry that feeds the command current to the regulator. When the hydraulic actuator is not moving, in a state where a switching valve located on a passage through which the hydraulic liquid delivered from the hydraulic pump flows is switched to a closed position and the hydraulic pump is being driven at a predetermined rotation speed, the control circuitry determines whether or not performance of the hydraulic pump has deteriorated based on a current value of the command current and a delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump measured by a pressure sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2023
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Yousuke KATAOKA, Jun UMEKAWA
  • Publication number: 20240077092
    Abstract: A hydraulic pump performance deterioration detection system according to one embodiment includes: a hydraulic pump that is driven by a prime mover and that supplies a hydraulic liquid to a hydraulic actuator to move the hydraulic actuator; a switching valve located on a passage through which the hydraulic liquid delivered from the hydraulic pump flows, the switching valve being switchable between an open position and a closed position; and control circuitry configured to change a rotation speed of the prime mover. When the hydraulic actuator is not moving, in a state where the switching valve is switched to the closed position, the control circuitry determines whether or not performance of the hydraulic pump has deteriorated based on the rotation speed of the prime mover and a delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump measured by a pressure sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2023
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Yousuke KATAOKA, Jun UMEKAWA
  • Publication number: 20240052599
    Abstract: A housing of a multi-control valve includes an arm parallel passage, an arm crowding supply passage, an arm pushing supply passage, a boom parallel passage, a boom raising supply passage, and a boom lowering supply passage. The housing further includes: a slide hole; a head-side passage that is branched off from the boom raising supply passage and extends to the slide hole; a rod-side passage that is branched off from the boom lowering supply passage and extends to the slide hole; and a regeneration passage that extends from the slide hole to the arm parallel passage. The slide hole receives a boom sub spool therein. The boom sub spool is either a boom recycling spool or a boom regeneration spool.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2021
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Yoshiyuki TODE, Hideyasu MURAOKA
  • Publication number: 20240045175
    Abstract: An imaging optical system includes, in order from an object side, first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth lenses. The first lens has negative power and an object side surface having a convex shape. The second lens has positive power and a meniscus shape being convex toward the object side. The third lens has positive power. The fourth lens has negative power. The fifth lens is a biconvex lens that has positive power. The sixth lens has positive or negative power, has an image side surface, and has an extreme value other than an intersection point with an optical axis on the image side surface of the sixth lens. The imaging optical system satisfies a conditional expression (1); 1.5<f2/f<3.5. The f2 represents a focal length of the second lens, and the f represents a focal length of the imaging optical system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Applicants: Konica Minolta, Inc., KONICA MINOLTA OPTO (DALIAN) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Zhiyu Huang
  • Patent number: 11867133
    Abstract: A HST system for use in traveling of a vehicle includes a controller that controls a pump regulator that changes a displacement of a pump and a motor regulator that changes a displacement of a motor. The controller determines whether or not a particular downhill travel condition is satisfied based on a result of detection by a vehicle speed detector that detects a vehicle speed of the vehicle and a result of detection by a rotation number detector that detects a number of rotations of an engine per unit time. In a case where a depression amount of an accelerator pedal, which is detected by a depression amount detector, is zero and the particular downhill travel condition is satisfied, the controller controls the motor regulator to increase the displacement of the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Ryosuke Kusumoto, Yuki Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11859993
    Abstract: Based on position information indicating a position of a vehicle on a map, whether the vehicle has arrived at an entrance of an area in a vicinity of a destination of the vehicle where road links do not exist is determined, a history of the vehicle having parked in the area is stored as parking information, the parking information is referenced when it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the area, and guidance information is output as information which guides the vehicle based on recommendation information and which includes at least a parking position in the area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: FAURECIA CLARION ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Noriyuki Abe, Norikazu Nara, Makoto Orino, Takaaki Yashiro
  • Patent number: 11849094
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a first acquisition processing portion, a second acquisition processing portion, and an adjustment processing portion. The image forming portion forms an image on a sheet. The first acquisition processing portion acquires a captured image of the sheet. The second acquisition processing portion acquires a specific value that indicates a difference between a gradation value of a pixel that, among pixels included in the captured image acquired by the first acquisition processing portion, corresponds to a higher part of an outer surface of the sheet, and a gradation value of a pixel that, among the pixels included in the captured image, corresponds to a lower part that is lower than the higher part. The adjustment processing portion adjusts an image forming condition of the image forming portion based on the specific value acquired by the second acquisition processing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Kanako Kikuchi, Akihiro Kondo, Keisuke Oba
  • Publication number: 20230375093
    Abstract: A directional and flow control valve includes: a housing with a pump port, a first supply/discharge port, a second supply/discharge port, and a tank port, the housing including therein a first pilot chamber, a second pilot chamber, and a third pilot chamber; and a first spool and a second spool, which are independent of each other. The first spool includes a first end surface facing the first pilot chamber and a second end surface facing the third pilot chamber. The second spool includes a first end surface facing the second pilot chamber and a second end surface facing the third pilot chamber. The first spool brings the first supply/discharge port into one of the pump port or the tank port, and the second spool brings the second supply/discharge port into the other one of the pump port or the tank port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2021
    Publication date: November 23, 2023
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Hideyasu MURAOKA, Yoshiyuki TODE
  • Patent number: 11815084
    Abstract: A hydraulic system includes: a cylinder that moves a moving object in a vertical direction by extension and retraction of a rod; a first bidirectional pump connected to a head-side chamber of the cylinder by a first supply/discharge line; a second bidirectional pump connected to a rod-side chamber of the cylinder by a second supply/discharge line and coupled to the first bidirectional pump in a manner enabling torque to be transmitted between the first and second bidirectional pumps; a relay line connecting the first and second bidirectional pumps such that a hydraulic liquid discharged from one of the first and second bidirectional pumps is introduced into the other of the first and second bidirectional pumps; and a servomotor that drives the first or second bidirectional pump. At least one of the first and second bidirectional pumps is a variable displacement pump whose delivery capacity per rotation is freely variable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Hiroaki Mitsui, Toshihisa Toyota, Koki Mibu, Takashi Nakatsuji
  • Publication number: 20230347928
    Abstract: An information management system includes: a first storage unit configured to store road information in which first information acquired by a first sensor and indicating that there is no stationary object on a road and second information acquired by a second sensor and indicating that there is a stationary object on the road are associated with each other; a second storage unit configured to store, for each of types of moving objects configured to move on the road, passage possibility information related to possibility of passage on the road; and a determination unit configured to determine, for each of the types, whether the road is usable for passage based on the road information and the passage possibility information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Takashi MATSUMOTO
  • Patent number: 11795660
    Abstract: A hydraulic system of a construction machine includes: control valves interposed between a main pump and hydraulic actuators; and first solenoid proportional valves connected to pilot ports of the control valves. The hydraulic system further includes: a brake for a slewing motor; and a second solenoid proportional valve connected to a brake release port of the brake by a secondary pressure line and connected to an auxiliary pump by a primary pressure line. A switching valve including a pilot port connected to the secondary pressure line by a pilot line is interposed between the auxiliary pump and the first solenoid proportional valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Hideyasu Muraoka, Yoshiyuki Tode
  • Patent number: 11787437
    Abstract: A driving domain management unit which includes a change pattern setting portion that selects one of multiple typical patterns previously patterning drivable domains based on input information changing in time series; a driving condition monitor portion that determines an event based on collected event related information from the outside; an exclusion domain management portion that determines an exclusion domain prohibiting driving of the vehicles in preference to the driving permission domain based on position information about the event, the position information being contained in the event related information used for the determination of the event; a distribution portion that distributes, to the vehicles, the selected typical pattern and the information about the determined exclusion domain or the information based on these pieces of information; and a data storage portion that stores the multiple typical patterns and the exclusion domain information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Matsumoto, Akihiro Kondo
  • Publication number: 20230313487
    Abstract: A hydraulic excavator drive system includes: a first pump connected to a head-side chamber of a boom cylinder; and a second pump that supplies hydraulic oil to at least one of an arm cylinder or a bucket cylinder. The first pump is driven by an electric motor. The drive system further includes: a first switching valve located on a rod-side line; and a second switching valve located on a relay line. The first switching valve opens the rod-side line at a boom raising operation, but blocks the rod-side line except at the boom raising operation. The second switching valve blocks the relay line at the boom raising operation, but opens the relay line at a vehicle body lifting operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro KONDO, Hideyasu MURAOKA, Yoshiyuki TODE
  • Patent number: 11768455
    Abstract: A heater includes electrodes and heating element pieces. The electrodes energize the heating element pieces with electricity. The heating element pieces are connected to the electrodes and arranged through a gap portion in the heater in a main scanning direction. A ratio of a second surface area of the gap portion to a first surface area of the heating element pieces is 0<(second surface area of the gap portion)/(first surface area of the heating element pieces)?0.5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Rina Kikugawa, Takashi Eiki, Akihiro Kondo, Ryohei Tokunaga, Yuta Kitabayashi, Hiroki Kawasaki, Shunsaku Fujii, Tei To
  • Patent number: 11761175
    Abstract: A hydraulic system includes: a slewing motor; a mechanical brake; and a slewing control valve interposed between a main pump and the slewing motor. A first pilot port of the slewing control valve is connected to a first solenoid proportional valve by a pilot line. A second pilot port of the slewing control valve is connected to a second solenoid proportional valve by a second pilot line. The first solenoid proportional valve and the second solenoid proportional valve are connected to an auxiliary pump by a primary pressure line. A switching valve is interposed between the auxiliary pump and the mechanical brake. The switching valve includes a pilot port that is connected to the first pilot line by a switching pilot line. The valve switches from a closed to an open position when a pilot pressure led to the pilot port becomes higher than or equal to a setting value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Naoki Hata, Nobuyuki Kinoshita
  • Patent number: 11753801
    Abstract: A hydraulic drive system raises and lowers an object by supplying and discharging operating oil to and from each of two ports of an actuator and includes a control device, first to third electromagnetic proportional control valves, a hydraulic pump, a control valve, and a lock valve. When a second pilot pressure is output, the control valve causes the operating oil to be discharged from a first port in order to lower the object. The lock valve is disposed so as to be able to prevent the operating oil from being discharged from the first port by closing a path between the first port and the control valve, and only when a third pilot pressure is output, allows the operating oil to be discharged from the first port by opening the path between the first port and the control valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Kondo, Kazuya Iwabe