Patents by Inventor Akio Funae

Akio Funae 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: 9041599
    Abstract: There is provided a radar receiver that effectively prevents local oscillator signals from leaking out from an antenna. A receiver 21 includes a local oscillator 5, a mixer 6, a buffer amplifier 11, and a mode switcher 16. The local oscillator 5 outputs a local oscillation signal LO. The mixer 6 mixes a high-frequency signal RF received by a radar antenna 2 with the local oscillation signal LO. The buffer amplifier 11 is disposed between the local oscillator 5 and the mixer 6. The mode switcher 16 switches at least between a standby mode in which power is supplied to the local oscillator 5 and no power is supplied to the buffer amplifier 11 and a reception mode in which power is supplied to both the local oscillator 5 and the buffer amplifier 11.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: FURUNO ELECTRIC COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Akio Funae
  • Patent number: 8509684
    Abstract: A microwave frequency converter for a radar receiver is provided in which a frequency of a local oscillator of the microwave frequency converter can be prevented from interfering with an oscillation frequency of a magnetron included in the radar receiver and which can receive a signal from a considerably short distance. A voltage of an RF amplifier connected to the microwave frequency converter is synchronized with an oscillation output of the magnetron. The gate and drain voltages of a FET used in the RF amplifier are simultaneously switched OFF only during times before and after the magnetron performs oscillation, thereby switching an amplification function of the FET to an attenuation function thereof to increase a switching loss of the microwave frequency converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Furuno Electric Company Limited
    Inventors: Akio Funae, Koji Dai, Hideki Torizuka
  • Publication number: 20070210954
    Abstract: A microwave frequency converter for a radar receiver is provided in which a frequency of a local oscillator of the microwave frequency converter can be prevented from interfering with an oscillation frequency of a magnetron included in the radar receiver and which can receive a signal from a considerably short distance. A voltage of an RF amplifier connected to the microwave frequency converter is synchronized with an oscillation output of the magnetron. The gate and drain voltages of a FET used in the RF amplifier are simultaneously switched OFF only during times before and after the magnetron performs oscillation, thereby switching an amplification function of the FET to an attenuation function thereof to increase a switching loss of the microwave frequency converter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2004
    Publication date: September 13, 2007
    Applicant: Furuno Electric Company, Limited
    Inventors: Akio Funae, Koji Dai, Hideki Torizuka
  • Patent number: 7221311
    Abstract: A radar includes a transmitter circuit, a receiver circuit, an antenna and a circulator. The receiver circuit includes a low-noise amplifier which amplifies a received signal fed from the antenna through the circulator. A local oscillator provided in the receiver circuit generates a local oscillator signal of which frequency is approximately half the frequency of the received signal, and the local oscillator signal is amplified by a buffer amplifier. An even harmonic mixer including an anti-parallel diode pair also provided in the receiver circuit as a frequency converter mixes the received signal output from the low-noise amplifier with the local oscillator signal output from the buffer amplifier to generate and output an intermediate frequency signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Furuno Electric Company Limited
    Inventors: Takuo Kashiwa, Takayoshi Hirose, Akio Funae
  • Publication number: 20050264443
    Abstract: A radar includes a transmitter circuit, a receiver circuit, an antenna and a circulator. The receiver circuit includes a low-noise amplifier which amplifies a received signal fed from the antenna through the circulator. A local oscillator provided in the receiver circuit generates a local oscillator signal of which frequency is approximately half the frequency of the received signal, and the local oscillator signal is amplified by a buffer amplifier. An even harmonic mixer including an anti-parallel diode pair also provided in the receiver circuit as a frequency converter mixes the received signal output from the low-noise amplifier with the local oscillator signal output from the buffer amplifier to generate and output an intermediate frequency signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Inventors: Takuo Kashiwa, Takayoshi Hirose, Akio Funae
  • Patent number: 6816126
    Abstract: A small and light helical antenna, with a high gain, includes arranging the dielectric cylinder with a helix conductor on the conductive plate and arranging a thin rectangular conductive plate between the lower end of the helix conductor and the feed point in a predetermined position of the conductive plate. The impedance matching is between the input impedance of the helix conductor and a power feeder. The upper and lower conductive plates constitute parallel plate waveguide space, and the probe which comes into the parallel plate waveguide space is in the lower conductive plate side, and the lower end of a thin rectangular conductive plate is connected with the lower end of a probe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Furuno Electric Company Ltd.
    Inventors: Masataka Yasukawa, Akio Funae, Koji Yano
  • Patent number: 6700532
    Abstract: The invention provides a magnetron drive circuit which drives a magnetron to produce a generally rectangular-shaped narrow transmission pulse having sharply shaped rising and falling edges. The magnetron drive circuit includes a nonlinear load circuit and an active damper circuit. The nonlinear load circuit becomes on at around 80% of a peak output voltage of a pulse transformer (at which the magnetron begins to oscillate) is connected to a secondary winding of the pulse transformer in parallel with the magnetron. The active damper circuit absorbs residual energy left in the pulse transformer without any need for an absorption resistor conventionally connected between both ends of a primary winding of the pulse transformer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Furuno Electric Company, Limited
    Inventors: Asao Kitabatake, Akio Funae
  • Publication number: 20030058160
    Abstract: The invention provides a magnetron drive circuit which drives a magnetron to produce a generally rectangular-shaped narrow transmission pulse having sharply shaped rising and falling edges. The magnetron drive circuit includes a nonlinear load circuit and an active damper circuit. The nonlinear load circuit becomes on at around 80% of a peak output voltage of a pulse transformer (at which the magnetron begins to oscillate) is connected to a secondary winding of the pulse transformer in parallel with the magnetron. The active damper circuit absorbs residual energy left in the pulse transformer without any need for an absorption resistor conventionally connected between both ends of a primary winding of the pulse transformer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2002
    Publication date: March 27, 2003
    Inventors: Asao Kitabatake, Akio Funae
  • Publication number: 20030020669
    Abstract: A small and light helical antenna, with high gain, can be realized by arranging the dielectric cylinder 1 with a helix conductor 2 on the conductive plate 3, and by arranging a thin rectangular conductive plate 5 between the lower end of helix conductor 2, and the feed point in the predetermined position of the conductive plate 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2002
    Publication date: January 30, 2003
    Inventors: Masataka Yasukawa, Akio Funae, Koji Yano