Patents by Inventor Akira Shirakawa

Akira Shirakawa 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: 11242086
    Abstract: A vehicle steering device includes a turning shaft held in a housing so as to be movable in the axial direction, a ball screw transmitting drive force produced by an electric motor to the turning shaft, a bearing supporting a nut, which is a component of the ball screw, so as to be rotatable relative to the housing, and annular elastic members that support side faces of the bearing in the axial direction of the turning shaft across the entire circumference, and are formed of an elastic material. The elastic members include respective first elastic portions having a first load characteristic that gently increases the ratio of compression load per a unit compression amount deforming in the axial direction of the turning shaft, and respective second elastic portions having a second load characteristic that keenly increases the ratio in comparison with the first load characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventors: Yukinari Sato, Takayuki Tetsuka, Shingo Ishige, Akira Shirakawa, Tsukasa Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20210061346
    Abstract: A vehicle steering device includes a turning shaft held in a housing so as to be movable in the axial direction, a ball screw transmitting drive force produced by an electric motor to the turning shaft, a bearing supporting a nut, which is a component of the ball screw, so as to be rotatable relative to the housing, and annular elastic members that support side faces of the bearing in the axial direction of the turning shaft across the entire circumference, and are formed of an elastic material. The elastic members include respective first elastic portions having a first load characteristic that gently increases the ratio of compression load per a unit compression amount deforming in the axial direction of the turning shaft, and respective second elastic portions having a second load characteristic that keenly increases the ratio in comparison with the first load characteristic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2017
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Inventors: Yukinari Sato, Takayuki Tetsuka, Shingo Ishige, Akira Shirakawa, Tsukasa Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20090161700
    Abstract: A fiber laser includes: a solid laser fiber doped with a rare earth element; a first grating fiber provided at one end portion of both ends along an optical axis direction of the solid laser fiber; and a first reflective element provided at the other end portion of the solid laser fiber. The first and second reflective elements constitute a resonator structure for the solid laser fiber; the first grating fiber Bragg-reflects only two polarizations of a first polarization having a first wavelength, and a second polarization having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength and being mutually orthogonal with the first polarization in a polarization direction; and at least one reflection wavelength of light which is reflected at the first reflective element and either one wavelength of the two polarizations which are Bragg-reflected at the first grating fiber coincide with each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2006
    Publication date: June 25, 2009
    Applicants: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD., THE UNIVERSITY OF ELECTRO-COMMUNICATIONS
    Inventors: Kiminori Mizuuchi, Kazuhisa Yamamoto, Hiroyuki Furuya, Akira Shirakawa, Ken-ichi Ueda
  • Patent number: 7372877
    Abstract: Fiber laser unit 1 comprises a plurality of fiber lasers 2 and 3 that generate laser beams by exciting a laser active substance inside cores 2a and 3a by exciting light, propagate the laser beams inside the cores 2a and 3a, and output the laser beams from the end portions 2c and 3c, wherein the respective fiber lasers 2 and 3 have resonators 4 and 5 that reflect the laser beams on both ends 2b, 2c, 3b, and 3c thereof and have a structure in which a part of the cores 2a and 3a is reduced in diameter, the diameter reduced portions of the cores 2a and 3a are made proximal to each other, injection synchronization is carried out inside the resonators 4 and 5 by laser beams leaked from the cores 2a and 3a, and a loss is applied to the port of either one of the fiber lasers 2 and 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignees: Hamamatsu Photonic K.K.
    Inventors: Akira Shirakawa, Kenichi Ueda, Hirofumi Kan, Hirofumi Miyajima
  • Publication number: 20050238065
    Abstract: Fiber laser unit 1 comprises a plurality of fiber lasers 2 and 3 that generate laser beams by exciting a laser active substance inside cores 2a and 3a by exciting light, propagate the laser beams inside the cores 2a and 3a, and output the laser beams from the end portions 2c and 3c, wherein the respective fiber lasers 2 and 3 have resonators 4 and 5 that reflect the laser beams on both ends 2b, 2c, 3b, and 3c thereof and have a structure in which a part of the cores 2a and 3a is reduced in diameter, the diameter reduced portions of the cores 2a and 3a are made proximal to each other, injection synchronization is carried out inside the resonators 4 and 5 by laser beams leaked from the cores 2a and 3a, and a loss is applied to the port of either one of the fiber lasers 2 and 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2003
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Inventors: Akira Shirakawa, Kenichi Ueda, Hirofumi Kan, Hirofumi Miyajima