Patents by Inventor Akira Kato

Akira Kato 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: 8861315
    Abstract: A radio-controlled wristwatch that determines whether or not illuminance of light irradiating a solar cell is high, using plural criteria but without directly measuring voltage or current. The wristwatch includes: a solar cell; a control circuit which stops operation under a predetermined condition; and an illuminance detection circuit which indicates illuminance of light irradiating the solar cell being higher than a given threshold value. The wristwatch switches the given threshold value between a first and a second value, larger than the first value, starts the control circuit in a stop state when a signal indicating that the illuminance is higher than the first value is output, receives a satellite signal containing time information from a satellite when a signal indicating that the illuminance is higher than the second value is output, and displays time corresponding to the time information contained in the received satellite signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignees: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd., Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takushi Hagita, Akira Kato
  • Patent number: 8845781
    Abstract: Provided are a method and an apparatus for melting an aluminum powder, which are capable of melting the aluminum powder with a high yield and allow the melted aluminum to be reused for a variety of applications. The method for melting the aluminum powder includes the steps of: preparing a mixture (M) including an aluminum powder (A) and a fluoride-based flux (F) by previously mixing the aluminum powder (A) and the fluoride-based flux (F); and melting the mixture (M) in molten aluminum (L).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignees: Toyo Aluminium Kabushiki Kaisha, Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuo Ishiwata, Kazumi Tono, Yuji Suzuki, Akira Kato, Kazuya Higashimura, Akiei Tanaka, Katsuya Moriguchi
  • Publication number: 20140260800
    Abstract: A method for producing magnetic powder for forming a sintered body that is a precursor of a rare-earth magnet. Provided is a method for producing magnetic powder for forming a sintered body that is a precursor of a rare-earth magnet, which can produce magnetic powder with a structure containing optimal nanosized crystal grains by accurately and efficiently sorting out magnetic powder containing no coarse grains in the structure thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2012
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Noritsugu Sakuma, Hidefumi Kishimoto, Noritaka Miyamoto, Akira Kato, Akira Manabe, Daisuke Ichigozaki, Tetsuya Shoji, Shoichi Harakawa
  • Patent number: 8824244
    Abstract: Provided is a radio-controlled wristwatch that receives a radio wave including day-related information from a satellite within a global positioning system, in which a cycle number of the day-related information is correctly updated even in a case where a power supply voltage drops.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignees: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd., Citizen Watch Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Akira Kato, Takushi Hagita
  • Patent number: 8815851
    Abstract: A composition having BACE 1 inhibitory activity containing a compound represented by the general formula (I): wherein ring A is an optionally substituted carbocyclic group or an optionally substituted heterocyclic group; E is lower alkylene; X is S, O, or NR1; R1 is a hydrogen atom or lower alkyl; R2a, R2b, R3a, R3b, R4a and R4b is each independently a hydrogen atom, halogen, or hydroxy etc.; n and m are each independently an integer of 0 to 3; n+m is an integer of 0 to 3; R5 is a hydrogen atom or substituted lower alkyl; its pharmaceutically acceptable salt, or a solvate thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Shionogi & Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naotake Kobayashi, Kazuo Ueda, Naohiro Itoh, Shinji Suzuki, Gaku Sakaguchi, Akira Kato, Akira Yukimasa, Akihiro Hori, Yuji Koriyama, Hidekazu Haraguchi, Ken Yasui, Yasuhiko Kanda
  • Patent number: 8814724
    Abstract: A golf club has a reverse flex is 80 to 110 mm. The face portion includes a central thick part, a toe-crown-side thin part on a crown-side and on a toe-side of the central thick part, and a heel-sole-side thin part on a sole-side and on a heel-side the central thick part. In the front view of the head, a first straight line passing an area centroid of the toe-crown-side thin part and an area centroid of a back surface of the face portion has an angle ?A of 38 to 45 degrees, and a second straight line passing an area centroid of the heel-sole-side thin part and the area centroid of the back surface of the face portion has an angle ?B of 40 to 45 degrees, each with respect to the horizontal plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: SRI Sports Limited
    Inventor: Akira Kato
  • Publication number: 20140226446
    Abstract: Provided is a radio-controlled wristwatch, including: reception means (11) for receiving a radio wave from a satellite to extract time-of-week specifying information and week specifying information; clock means for counting a current date and time; date and time adjustment means for adjusting the current date and time counted by the clock means; week information holding means for holding the week specifying information; week information updating means for updating the week specifying information held in the week information holding means based on the current date and time counted by the clock means; and week information reception limiting means for limiting the reception of the week specifying information performed by the reception means, and controlling the reception means to receive the week specifying information in a predetermined case.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2012
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicants: CITIZEN WATCH CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Akira Kato
  • Publication number: 20140217692
    Abstract: A vehicle suspension device includes a first fluid path through which a first upper port opening into a first hydraulic cylinder and a second lower port opening into a second hydraulic cylinder communicate with each other, a second fluid path through which a second upper port opening into the second hydraulic cylinder and a first lower port opening into the first hydraulic cylinder communicate with each other, a first hydraulic damping mechanism in the first fluid path, a second hydraulic damping mechanism in the second fluid path, a first accumulator connected to the first fluid path via a first branch fluid path having a first auxiliary hydraulic damping mechanism, a second accumulator connected to the second fluid path via a second branch fluid path having a second auxiliary hydraulic damping mechanism, and a bridge fluid path through which the first and second branch fluid paths are connected together.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2012
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akira Kato, Takamasa Kato, Yoshifumi Ohtani, Katsuhiko Takasu, Masaaki Oishi
  • Patent number: 8791329
    Abstract: Two genes, A622 and NBB1, can be influenced to achieve a decrease of nicotinic alkaloid levels in plants. In particular, suppression of one or both of A622 and NBB1 may be used to decrease nicotine in tobacco plants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: 22nd Century Limited LLC
    Inventors: Takashi Hashimoto, Akira Kato
  • Patent number: 8792308
    Abstract: Provided is a radio-controlled watch capable of performing leap second correction even when information on a leap second is not received from a satellite. Provided is a radio-controlled watch that adjusts time by receiving a signal containing time information from a satellite, the radio-controlled watch being configured to: store a leap second correction value to be used for leap second correction with respect to the time information; display a numerical value corresponding to the leap second correction value; receive an instruction operation of changing the leap second correction value from a user in a state in which the numerical value is displayed; and change the leap second correction value in response to the received instruction operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignees: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd., Citizen Watch Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Akira Kato, Takushi Hagita, Tadashi Yasuoka
  • Patent number: 8731424
    Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a fixing condition such as a target control temperature of a heater is changed depending on whether a first resistance heating element and a second resistance heating element of the heater are connected in series or in parallel such that a similar fixing performance is achieved regardless of whether the first resistance heating element and the second resistance heating element are connected in series or in parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuya Sano, Yuki Nishizawa, Akira Kato, Kentaro Yamashita
  • Publication number: 20140130777
    Abstract: [Summary] [Subject] A low-cost and brief method to detect an airtight failure in a working-gas circulating type gas engine with sufficient accuracy and a working-gas circulating type gas engine using the method should be provided. [Means for Solution] In a working-gas circulating type gas engine, an extra predetermined quantity 1 of at least one of fuel gas, oxidizer gas, and working gas is supplied as surplus gas into a circulation passage. Based on the difference between this predetermined quantity 1 and increment of this predetermined quantity 1 and the increment of the quantity of the gas in the circulation passage separately detected by a gas quantity detecting means, the existence of an airtight failure in the engine is judged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2011
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Rentaro Kuroki, Daisaku Sawada, Akira Kato
  • Patent number: 8662057
    Abstract: The working gas circulation engine includes a circulation route capable of circulating gas containing the working gas from an exhaust side to an intake side of a combustion chamber and resupplying to the combustion chamber and provided with a removing device to remove a product generated with a reaction from the circulating gas, a supplying device capable of supplying plural kinds of reactant gas to the combustion chamber or the circulation route, a pressure detecting device capable of detecting pressure in the circulation route, and a control unit that controls supply amount of at least one kind of the reactant gas to be supplied from the supplying device based on the pressure in the circulation route detected by the pressure detecting device, and performs pressure control to adjust the pressure in the circulation route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Rentaro Kuroki, Daisaku Sawada, Akira Kato
  • Publication number: 20140058097
    Abstract: A pharmaceutical composition for treating Alzheimer's disease containing a compound represented by the general formula (I): wherein ring A is an optionally substituted carbocyclic group or an optionally substituted heterocyclic group; E is lower alkylene, etc.; X is S, O, or NR1; R1 is a hydrogen atom or lower alkyl; R2, R2b, R3a, R3b, R4a and R4b are each independently a hydrogen atom, halogen, hydroxy, etc.; n and m are each independently an integer of 0 to 3; n+m is an integer of 1 to 3; and R5 is a hydrogen atom, optionally substituted lower alkyl, etc.; its pharmaceutically acceptable salt, or a solvate thereof as an active ingredient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2013
    Publication date: February 27, 2014
    Applicant: Shionogi & Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naotake Kobayashi, Kazuo Ueda, Naohiro Itoh, Shinji Suzuki, Gaku Sakaguchi, Akira Kato, Akira Yukimasa, Akihiro Hori, Yuuji Kooriyama, Hidekazu Haraguchi, Ken Yasui, Yasuhiko Kanda
  • Patent number: 8653067
    Abstract: A pharmaceutical composition for treating Alzheimer's disease containing a compound represented by the general formula (I); wherein ring A is an optionally substituted carbocyclic group or an optionally substituted heterocyclic group; E is lower alkylene, etc.; X is S, O, or NR1; R1 is a hydrogen atom or lower alkyl; R2a, R2b, R3a, R3b, R4a and R4b are each independently a hydrogen atom, halogen, hydroxy, etc.; n and m are each independently an integer of 0 to 3; n+m is an integer of 1 to 3; and R5 is a hydrogen atom, optionally substituted lower alkyl, etc.; its pharmaceutically acceptable salt, or a solvate thereof as an active ingredient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Shionogi & Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naotake Kobayashi, Kazuo Ueda, Naohiro Itoh, Gaku Sakaguchi, Akira Kato, Akihiro Hori, Hidekazu Haraguchi, Ken Yasui
  • Patent number: 8636853
    Abstract: An Mg alloy provided with high strength and high ductility by matching the strength and ductility in tensile deformation and compressive deformation at the same levels is provided. The Mg alloy of the present invention is characterized by having a chemical composition consisting of Y: 0.1 to 1.5 at % and a balance of Mg and unavoidable impurities and having a microstructure with high Y regions with Y concentrations higher than an average Y concentration distributed at nanometer order sizes and intervals. The present invention further provides an Mg alloy characterized by having a chemical composition consisting of Y: more than 0.1 at % and a valance of Mg and unavoidable impurities, having a microstructure with high Y regions with Y concentrations higher than an average Y concentration distributed at nanometer order sizes and intervals and having an average recrystallized grain size within the range satisfying the following formula 1: ?0.87c+1.10<log d<1.14c+1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2014
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, National Institute for Materials Science
    Inventors: Tetsuya Shoji, Akira Kato, Toshiji Mukai, Hidetoshi Somekawa
  • Patent number: 8633188
    Abstract: A composition having BACE 1 inhibitory activity containing a compound represented by the general formula (I): wherein ring A is an optionally substituted carbocyclic group or an optionally substituted heterocyclic group; E is lower alkylene; X is S, O, or NR1; R1 is a hydrogen atom or lower alkyl; R2a, R2b, R3a, R3b, R4a and R4b is each independently a hydrogen atom, halogen, or hydroxy etc.; n and m are each independently an integer of 0 to 3; n+m is an integer of 0 to 3; R5 is a hydrogen atom or substituted lower alkyl; its pharmaceutically acceptable salt, or a solvate thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignee: Shionogi & Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naotake Kobayashi, Kazuo Ueda, Naohiro Itoh, Shinji Suzuki, Gaku Sakaguchi, Akira Kato, Akira Yukimasa, Akihiro Hori, Yuji Koriyama, Hidekazu Haraguchi, Ken Yasui, Yasuhiko Kanda
  • Publication number: 20140016440
    Abstract: Provided is a radio-controlled wristwatch that receives a radio wave including day-related information from a satellite within a global positioning system, in which a cycle number of the day-related information is correctly updated even in a case where a power supply voltage drops.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Applicants: CITIZEN WATCH CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akira Kato, Takushi Hagita
  • Publication number: 20140010053
    Abstract: A radio-controlled wristwatch that determines whether or not illuminance of light irradiating a solar cell is high, using plural criteria but without directly measuring voltage or current. The wristwatch includes: a solar cell; a control circuit which stops operation under a predetermined condition; and an illuminance detection circuit which indicates illuminance of light irradiating the solar cell being higher than a given threshold value. The wristwatch switches the given threshold value between a first and a second value, larger than the first value, starts the control circuit in a stop state when a signal indicating that the illuminance is higher than the first value is output, receives a satellite signal containing time information from a satellite when a signal indicating that the illuminance is higher than the second value is output, and displays time corresponding to the time information contained in the received satellite signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takushi Hagita, Akira Kato
  • Publication number: 20140007305
    Abstract: Two genes, A622 and NBB1, can be influenced to achieve a decrease of nicotinic alkaloid levels in plants. In particular, suppression of one or both of A622 and NBB1 may be used to decrease nicotine in tobacco plants.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2011
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Inventors: Takashi HASHIMOTO, Akira Kato