Patents by Inventor Akio Nara

Akio Nara 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: 5354969
    Abstract: A positive-temperature-coefficient thermistor heating device including of a PTC element, a first electrode formed on its surface, a heat radiating means having heat radiating fins and a second electrode, and conductive particles contained in the first electrode and electrically conductive with the second electrode, and, also, a process for production of a positive-temperature-coefficient thermistor heating device including the steps of printing an electrode material paste containing conductive particles on the surface of a PTC element, heating this to bake it on and form a first electrode having a rough surface, and bringing the first electrode and the second electrode of the heat radiating means into contact by the conductive particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 11, 1994
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yosinori Akiyama, Akio Nara, Hidetaka Hayashi, Yasuhiro Oya, Keiichi Yamada, Yasuaki Tsujimura
  • Patent number: 5163234
    Abstract: The present invention is a warm-air machine control apparatus which is capable of blowing warm air from the beginning of the delivery of air without preheating an electric heater, and which comprises an electric fan (4), an electric heater (5) which heats air sent from the electric fan (4), a detector (7) which detects a first object to be detected within a first detecting range (a, c) and which also detects a second object to be detected within a second detecting range (b, d), and a control circuit which energizes the electric heater (5) when the detector (7) detects the first object of detection within the first detecting range (a, c), and which energizes the electric fan (4) when the detector (7) detects the second object of detection within the second detecting range (b, d).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1992
    Assignee: Inax Corporation
    Inventors: Ryohei Tsukamoto, Tadanobu Hosaka, Akio Nara, Takashi Kojima, Hidetaka Hayashi
  • Patent number: 4685437
    Abstract: An air heater for heating intake air for an internal combustion engine only in cold start or further warming up operation, having a frame which defines an opening for passing air therethrough, and at least one heater element in the shape of a perforated plate such as a lattice or honeycomb plate supported by the frame so as to traverse only a part of the opening area of the air passage opening, while leaving a substantial part of the opening area free as untraversed by the heater element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1985
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1987
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Nippondenso Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiaki Tanaka, Hitoshi Niwa, Hirokatsu Mukai, Naoto Miwa, Akio Nara, Etsuji Nomura, Makoto Hori, Koichi Hasegawa, Hiroshi Noguchi
  • Patent number: 4651702
    Abstract: A heating device for heating air-fuel mixture to be fed to an internal combustion engine has a PTC heat generator having a flat ring-like form with a portion of the inner peripheral surface thereof directly exposed to the passage for the mixture. The heating device also has a heat radiating member having an inner peripheral heat radiating surface confronting the mixture passage and jointed to the PTC heat generator in heat conducting relation therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1987
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akio Nara, Akio Yazawa, Yosinori Akiyama
  • Patent number: 4593670
    Abstract: A fuel evaporator comprises a ring-shaped heater element made of PTC ceramic, a pipe made of heat conductive metal and disposed within an air-fuel passage of an internal combustion engine therealong and a pair of terminal members for supplying power to the heater element. The heater element is disposed closely in contact with the outer periphery of the upper end of the pipe. One end of each of the pair of terminal members is closely in contact with each of the upper and under surfaces of the heater element. The fuel evaporator further comprises a plate-shaped compact made of electricity insulating rubber or synthetic resin and formed around the upper end of the pipe. Within the compact, the heater element, the upper end of the pipe and the terminal members are embedded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 10, 1986
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akio Nara, Akio Yazawa, Yoshinori Akiyama
  • Patent number: 4539108
    Abstract: A fuel filter device for use with diesel engines has a manually operable pump section and a filter container housing therein a filter element and detachably attached to the pump section. The pump section has a manually operable diaphragm facing a chamber having fuel inlet and outlet respectively communicated with a fuel tank and the filter container. The inlet and outlet are provided with valves responsive to the fuel pressure at the inlet and to a pressure variation caused by the diaphragm in the chamber to allow the fuel to flow through the inlet into the chamber and through the outlet into the container in which the fuel flows through the filter element and out of the container to a discharge port of the pump section. An electric heater is disposed in the chamber adjacent to the path of the flow of the fuel in the chamber. A fuel temperature or pressure sensor is disposed downstream of the filter element to provide a signal for the control of the electrical supply to the heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1984
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1985
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kouji Izutani, Isamu Shigeta, Akio Nara, Hidetaka Hayashi
  • Patent number: 4459123
    Abstract: Around an engine-body of a vehicle, several auxiliary machinery such as an air-conditioner and a power steering-pump are disposed. Pulleys of said auxiliary machinery are driven by means of an endless belt or endless belts by a driving pulley of the engine. In order to obtain the most effective operation of the engine, consideration should be given to the degree of the power loss for driving the auxiliary machinery.For this purpose, according to the present invention, the order by which said several driven pulleys are driven by said driving pulley is determined by the magnitude of the driven torques of the corresponding auxiliary machinery along the running direction of the endless belt toward the driving pulley.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1982
    Date of Patent: July 10, 1984
    Assignees: Nippon Soken, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiharu Tatsunaka, Akio Nara, Keiji Tsuchiya, Tsuyoshi Adachi
  • Patent number: 4432711
    Abstract: A vane pump comprising a cylindrical rotor provided with a diametrically extending vane groove, a vane slidably arranged in the vane groove in radial directions, a cylinder in which the rotor is rotatably arranged, the cylinder having an inner peripheral cam surface with which said vane always comes into sliding contact at its opposed ends, the cam surface of the cylinder having a profile defined by cycloid curves and/or arc portions which have a radius substantially equal to that of the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1981
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1984
    Assignee: Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Keiji Tsuchiya, Hideaki Sasaya, Akio Nara
  • Patent number: 4402655
    Abstract: A vane type pump having a housing formed with an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber and having a cylinder portion, a cylindrical rotor mounted for eccentric rotation in the cylinder portion, and a plurality of vane mounted for concentric rotation in the cylinder portion. The rotor is formed with slots through which the vanes extend into a space defined between the inner peripheral wall of the cylinder portion and the outer peripheral wall of the rotor so as to divide the space to define a working chamber variable in volume for pumping effect. The inlet chamber is associated with the cylinder portion to define a fluid confinement initiating line at which the working chamber begins to be isolated from the inlet chamber when the forward end of one of the vanes passes the line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1983
    Assignee: Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Akio Nara, Hideaki Sasaya, Shigeru Takagi, Takao Mitsui
  • Patent number: 4310419
    Abstract: A filter element for straining liquid formed of a filter material in a convoluted form including two portions, one portion being a planar portion and the other portion being a corrugated portion having a plurality of elevated areas. The filter material is foled in half in the longitudinal center and wound in convolutions so that a series of letters V are formed on a transverse cross-sectional surface thereof. The pitch of the elevated areas is smaller in the central portion of the convoluted filter element corresponding to the end of the filter material at which winding is started and larger in the outer peripheral portion thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1981
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1982
    Assignee: Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Akio Nara, Hideaki Sasaya
  • Patent number: 4279864
    Abstract: A monolithic catalyst converter comprises a monolithic catalyst retaining catalyst metal, a cylindrical metallic container receiving the catalyst therein, a radial shock absorbing member disposed in a space between the catalyst and the container, an annular metallic plate disposed in each of axially end surfaces of the catalyst, a retaining member fixed to an inner wall of the container so as to be opposed to the annular metallic plate, an axial shock absorbing member disposed between the annular metallic plate and the retaining member and at least one annular sealing member composed of a compact body obtained by compressing metallic fine wire fabric or ceramic fibers, which is disposed in the space under pressure. By disposing the annular sealing member, unpurified exhaust gas is prevented from flowing out of the space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1979
    Date of Patent: July 21, 1981
    Assignee: Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Akio Nara, Shigeru Takagi, Kazuma Matsui