Patents by Inventor Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI

Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI 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: 20240003627
    Abstract: A heating furnace includes a plurality of heat storage coolers capable of introducing a cooling gas into an inside of the furnace and sucking an in-furnace gas; wherein each of the plurality of heat storage coolers includes a gas nozzle in communication with the inside of the furnace; a gas port in communication with an outside of the furnace and connected to a gas piping system that is capable of switching between supplying gas to the heat storage cooler and exhausting gas from the heat storage cooler; a gas passage communicating the gas nozzle with the gas port and having a space for filling a heat storage element; and a heat storage element filled in the space for filling the heat storage element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI, Tatsuya KINOSHITA, Masami SATO
  • Patent number: 11614394
    Abstract: A method for estimating characteristics of a ceramic fired body, the method including: preparing a ceramic fired body by firing a formed green body; measuring a color of the ceramic fired body; and with use of a correlation between the color and at least one characteristic selected from a group consisting of a porosity, a pore diameter, and a thermal expansion coefficient previously determined for a ceramic fired body having a same composition as that of the ceramic fired body, estimating the at least one characteristic of the ceramic fired body from the color of the ceramic fired body, measured in the previous step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventor: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi
  • Patent number: 11261134
    Abstract: A honeycomb formed body containing a ceramics raw material, the honeycomb formed body including: a pillar shaped honeycomb structure portion having a plurality of rectangular cells, the cells being defined by partition walls and extending from a first end face to a second end face to form flow paths; an outer peripheral portion having outer peripheral portions X where the partition walls are covered with an outer peripheral wall; and outer peripheral portions Y where the partition walls are exposed. Each of the outer peripheral portions X includes a tapered portion having a gradually deceasing thickness of the outer peripheral wall toward a boundary portion with an adjacent outer peripheral portion Y. The tapered portion requires a length equal to or more than one time of an average cell pitch in the outer peripheral direction until thickness of the outer peripheral wall is halved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi, Kouhei Kato, Shotaro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 11136272
    Abstract: The present disclosure is related to a method of producing a fired ceramic article. The method may include: heating a ceramic green body in a kiln, and controlling oxygen concentration in the kiln such that the oxygen concentration swings during the heating of the ceramic green body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi, Takeshi Tokunaga
  • Publication number: 20200300745
    Abstract: A method for estimating characteristics of a ceramic fired body, the method including: preparing a ceramic fired body by firing a formed green body; measuring a color of the ceramic fired body; and with use of a correlation between the color and at least one characteristic selected from a group consisting of a porosity, a pore diameter, and a thermal expansion coefficient previously determined for a ceramic fired body having a same composition as that of the ceramic fired body, estimating the at least one characteristic of the ceramic fired body from the color of the ceramic fired body, measured in the previous step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventor: Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI
  • Patent number: 10662118
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a honeycomb structure includes a forming step of forming a honeycomb formed body by use of a kneaded material containing a cordierite forming raw material, a slurry coating step of coating a coating layer forming slurry which contains a cordierite forming raw material on four regions in a rotation area when each of two straight lines passing through the center of gravity of the cross section and extending in a diagonal direction of main quadrangular cells is rotated in a range of ±x° of the center of gravity in a circumferential surface, and a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body on which the slurry is coated. The value x is in a range of 7 to 45, and the slurry is adjusted so that the coating layer has a porosity higher than that of the honeycomb structure body as much as 5% or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi, Nobuyuki Kashiwagi
  • Publication number: 20190300444
    Abstract: A honeycomb formed body containing a ceramics raw material, he honeycomb formed body including: a pillar shaped honeycomb structure portion having a plurality of rectangular cells, the cells being defined by partition walls and extending from a first end face to a second end face to form flow paths; an outer peripheral portion having outer peripheral portions X where the partition walls are covered with an outer peripheral wall; and outer peripheral portions Y where the partition walls are exposed. Each of the outer peripheral portions X includes a tapered portion having a gradually deceasing thickness of the outer peripheral wall toward a boundary portion with an adjacent outer peripheral portion Y. The tapered portion requires a length equal to or more than one time of an average cell pitch in the outer peripheral direction until thickness of the outer peripheral wall is halved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Publication date: October 3, 2019
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI, Kouhei KATO, Shotaro MATSUMOTO
  • Publication number: 20190218147
    Abstract: The present disclosure is related to a method of producing a fired ceramic article. The method may include: heating a ceramic green body in a kiln, and controlling oxygen concentration in the kiln such that the oxygen concentration swings during the heating of the ceramic green body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2018
    Publication date: July 18, 2019
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi, Takeshi Tokunaga
  • Patent number: 10265881
    Abstract: The manufacturing method of the honeycomb structure includes a mounting step of mounting an extruded honeycomb formed body on a firing setter disposed on a shelf plate, and a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body mounted on the firing setter to form the honeycomb structure, and in the mounting step, the firing setter is used in which a value obtained by dividing an area of a formed body end face of the honeycomb formed body by an area of a honeycomb mounting surface of the firing setter which faces the formed body end face and at least a part of which comes in contact with the formed body end face is in a range of 2.5 to 20.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi, Toshihiro Fukui
  • Publication number: 20180363981
    Abstract: A setter for firing used for firing a honeycomb formed body and interposed between the honeycomb formed body and a shelf plate, the setter for firing including: a setter body part having a honeycomb placement surface at least partially in contact with a formed body end face of the honeycomb formed body and placing the honeycomb formed body on the honeycomb placement surface; and a setter supporting part that is provided below the setter body part and supports the setter body part, wherein a value obtained by dividing an area of the honeycomb placement surface of the setter body part by an area of a setter supporting surface of the setter supporting part that contacts the setter body part is in a range of 1.5 to 20.0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2018
    Publication date: December 20, 2018
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventor: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi
  • Publication number: 20180243942
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a ceramic body which includes a firing step of firing a ceramic formed body in a firing kiln, wherein in the firing step, a temperature rise process until reaching a firing temperature of the ceramic formed body is divided into a plurality of temperature regions including a first temperature region, a second temperature region, and a third temperature region, the manufacturing method of the ceramic body further including an oxygen concentration adjustment step of adjusting a first oxygen concentration in the first temperature region in a range of 7 to 21 vol %, a maximum value of a second oxygen concentration in the second temperature region in a range of 3 to 11 vol %, and a maximum value of a third oxygen concentration in the third temperature region in a range of 3 to 11 vol %.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Publication date: August 30, 2018
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventor: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi
  • Publication number: 20180215672
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a honeycomb structure includes a forming step of forming a honeycomb formed body by use of a kneaded material containing a cordierite forming raw material, a slurry coating step of coating a coating layer forming slurry which contains a cordierite forming raw material on four regions in a rotation area when each of two straight lines passing through the center of gravity of the cross section and extending in a diagonal direction of main quadrangular cells is rotated in a range of ±x° of the center of gravity in a circumferential surface, and a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body on which the slurry is coated. The value x is in a range of 7 to 45, and the slurry is adjusted so that the coating layer has a porosity higher than that of the honeycomb structure body as much as 5% or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2018
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI, Nobuyuki Kashiwagi
  • Patent number: 10035283
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a honeycomb structure includes a forming step of forming a honeycomb formed body having partition walls defining a plurality of cells, a convex wall portion forming step of forming a convex wall portion in the obtained honeycomb formed body, a mounting step of directing downward one end face on which the convex wall portion is formed and mounting the honeycomb formed body on a shelf plate, a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body mounted on the shelf plate, to form a honeycomb fired body, and a circumference grinding step of grinding a circumferential surface of the honeycomb fired body, to remove the convex wall portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventor: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi
  • Patent number: 10022891
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of the honeycomb structure has a forming step of forming a honeycomb formed body having partition walls defining a plurality of cells; a convex end portion forming step of forming a convex end portion including a convex end face in the obtained honeycomb formed body; a mounting step of directing downward one end face on which the convex end portion is formed and mounting the honeycomb formed body on a shelf plate; a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body mounted on the shelf plate to form a honeycomb fired body; and an end face grinding step of grinding one end face of the honeycomb fired body to remove the convex end portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi Kitaguchi, Takehiko Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20170274365
    Abstract: The manufacturing method of the honeycomb structure includes a mounting step of mounting an extruded honeycomb formed body on a firing setter disposed on a shelf plate, and a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body mounted on the firing setter to form the honeycomb structure, and in the mounting step, the firing setter is used in which a value obtained by dividing an area of a formed body end face of the honeycomb formed body by an area of a honeycomb mounting surface of the firing setter which faces the formed body end face and at least a part of which comes in contact with the formed body end face is in a range of 2.5 to 20.0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2017
    Publication date: September 28, 2017
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI, Toshihiro FUKUI
  • Publication number: 20160243723
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of the honeycomb structure has a forming step of forming a honeycomb formed body having partition walls defining a plurality of cells; a convex end portion forming step of forming a convex end portion including a convex end face in the obtained honeycomb formed body; a mounting step of directing downward one end face on which the convex end portion is formed and mounting the honeycomb formed body on a shelf plate; a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body mounted on the shelf plate to form a honeycomb fired body; and an end face grinding step of grinding one end face of the honeycomb fired body to remove the convex end portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Inventors: Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI, Takehiko WATANABE
  • Publication number: 20160243724
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a honeycomb structure includes a forming step of forming a honeycomb formed body having partition walls defining a plurality of cells, a convex wall portion forming step of forming a convex wall portion in the obtained honeycomb formed body, a mounting step of directing downward one end face on which the convex wall portion is formed and mounting the honeycomb formed body on a shelf plate, a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body mounted on the shelf plate, to form a honeycomb fired body, and a circumference grinding step of grinding a circumferential surface of the honeycomb fired body, to remove the convex wall portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Inventor: Daniel Yukichi KITAGUCHI