Patents by Inventor Akihiro Shimotsu

Akihiro Shimotsu 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: 20110280520
    Abstract: An optical connector is disclosed. The optical connector comprises a connector housing, configured to mount thereon a plug which is connected to a cable having therein an optical waveguide, and a lock member, attached to the connector housing in an attitude-changeable state and configured to be capable of locking the plug. The connector housing is provided with an abutting portion, configured to engage a front portion of the plug. The lock member is provided with a detection portion, having at least a portion thereof being positioned in the abutting portion when the lock member is at an open position thereof. When the front portion is engaged with the abutting portion, at least a portion of the plug is brought into tight contact with the detection portion, allowing the lock member to start an attitude changing operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Applicant: MOLEX INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Akihiro Shimotsu
  • Publication number: 20110129188
    Abstract: An electric connector comprises a conductive terminal and a housing. The conductive terminal is provided with a terminal body portion, a soldering portion, to which an end portion of an electric wire is soldered, and a connection portion connected to a counterpart terminal. The housing is provided with a terminal receipt-hole, in which at least a portion of the terminal body portion is received, and a soldering portion accommodation-groove, in which at least a portion of the soldering portion is accommodated. The soldering portion accommodation-groove is provided with inner side walls, that extend along lateral ends of a soldering surface of the soldering portion, and a concave portion, which is formed in the inner side walls so that a portion of solder that is used for soldering of the end portion of the electric wire is able to come into the concave portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2009
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Applicant: MOLEX INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Akihiro Shimotsu, Masayuki Arai
  • Publication number: 20110091163
    Abstract: A connector comprises a housing, a lever and a lock portion. The housing receives terminals. The lever, rotatably attached to the housing, is configured to be rotatable between a first position, where an initial stage of fitting to a counterpart connector is established, and a second position, where the fitting thereof is completed. The lock portion, capable of locking the lever at the second position, is slidably attached to a body portion of the lever, and configured to be slid between a lock position and a lock release position. The lever is provided with a positioning latch-portion configured to latch the lock portion. The positioning latch-portion is provided with a concave latch-portion and a convex latch-portion configured to be elastically displaced to be engaged in or disengaged from the concave latch-portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2009
    Publication date: April 21, 2011
    Applicant: MOLEX INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Akihiro Shimotsu, Masayuki Arai
  • Publication number: 20100322564
    Abstract: An optical ferrule assembly is disclosed. The optical ferrule assembly comprises a ferrule body, a notch part, a retainer and an annular member. The ferrule body includes an optical fiber loading hole extending therethough in a longitudinal direction. The notch part is formed in the ferrule body and has a flat surface which receives the optical fiber loading hole. The retainer is arranged in the notch part and has a lower abutting surface opposing to the flat surface and an inclined abutting surface formed on one end side of the lower abutting surface. The annular member fits on an outer periphery of the ferrule body. When the annular member is brought into contact with a portion of an outer peripheral surface of the retainer on one end side thereof, the inclined abutting surface is opposed to the flat surface, and the lower abutting surface is inclined to the flat surface and separated from the flat surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2007
    Publication date: December 23, 2010
    Applicant: MOLEX Incorporated
    Inventors: Akihiro Shimotsu, Kentaro Imai
  • Publication number: 20090214165
    Abstract: An optical connector having a compression ring that is fitted onto a front end portion of a ferrule so as to compressively deform the ferrule and thus reduce the diameter of a through hole formed in the ferrule to thereby press and fixedly hold an optical fiber within the through hole from the outside. The compression ring can fix an optical fiber with high accuracy in terms of the position of the center axis of the optical fiber and can easily be manufactured through a simple manufacturing process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2006
    Publication date: August 27, 2009
    Applicant: MOLEX INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Akihiro Shimotsu, Teruki Nagase, Tsuneyasu Asada
  • Patent number: 6726370
    Abstract: The specification and drawings show and describe an embodiment of the present invention in the form of a ferrule for a fiber optic connector having a capillary for receiving an optical fiber and a flange molded onto an outer surface of the capillary. A recess is formed in the outer surface of the capillary prior to the molding process, and a plastic material is injected into a mold containing the capillary, forming both the flange and a projecting portion of the flange which extends into the capillary recess. The features of the molded flange are used for positioning and securing the capillary within the fiber optic connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventor: Akihiro Shimotsu
  • Patent number: 6340246
    Abstract: An optical connector comprises a housing (20) into which optical transmission devices (10A, B) are plugged, a movable member (40) movable with respect to the housing in accordance with movement of the optical transmission device (10B), and a shutter (52) attached to the movable member so as to be movable with respect to the housing in accordance with movement of the movable member for opening/closing the optical output of the optical transmission device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2002
    Assignee: Hirose Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Futoshi Yoshida, Akihiro Shimotsu
  • Publication number: 20010017963
    Abstract: The specification and drawings show and describe an embodiment of the present invention in the form of a ferrule for a fiber optic connector having a capillary for receiving an optical fiber and a flange molded onto an outer surface of the capillary. A recess is formed in the outer surface of the capillary prior to the molding process, and a plastic material is injected into a mold containing the capillary, forming both the flange and a projecting portion of the flange which extends into the capillary recess. The features of the molded flange are used for positioning and securing the capillary within the fiber optic connector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2001
    Publication date: August 30, 2001
    Inventor: Akihiro Shimotsu
  • Patent number: 6042157
    Abstract: A slide-type lock lever release mechanism includes a slidable member (40) with a second acting surface slidable on the first acting surface of the lock lever (20) by a predetermined stroke for flexing the lock lever away from the second lock engaging member (211) to thereby release the engagement between the first and second lock engaging members, wherein at least one of the first and second acting surfaces having at least two acting surface sections (42, 43) such that a first acting surface section (42) is slidable on the other one of the acting surfaces (23) in a first segment of the predetermined stroke and a second acting surface section (43) is slidable on the other one (23) in a second segment of the predetermined stroke to thereby provide smooth release of the lock engagement with a relatively short stroke of the slidable means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2000
    Assignee: Hirose Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Akihiro Shimotsu
  • Patent number: 5953473
    Abstract: The plug connector and the jack connector are connected to connect connection members attached to the contact elements. The plug connector comprises a plug connector element therein. The jack connector is provided with a removable jack connector element. The plug connector element has an engaging member which is removably plugged in the jack connector. When the plug connector and the jack connector are connected, the plug connector element and the connection member of the jack connector element are connected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: Hirose Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihiro Shimotsu, Kozo Kiyotake
  • Patent number: 5564934
    Abstract: A connector consists of a connector plug (100) and a connector jack (200). The connector plug includes a plug shell (130) provided in front of a plug body (120) and having a shell aperture (131); a plug shutter (140) provided in front of the plug shell and having a plug shutter aperture (141); and a return spring (160) for biasing the plug shutter with respect to the plug shell so that the plug shutter aperture is offset from the shell aperture to thereby close the shell aperture with the plug shutter. The connector jack includes a jack shutter (230) provided in front of the jack block (220) and having a jack shutter aperture (231); and a return spring (240) for biasing the jack shutter with respect to the jack block so that the jack shutter aperture is offset from the jack terminal aperture to thereby close the jack terminal aperture with the jack shutter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 15, 1996
    Assignee: Hirose Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Akihiro Shimotsu