Patents by Inventor Heizaburo Kato

Heizaburo 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: 6547441
    Abstract: A cam mechanism incorporating a highly precise bearing structure that improves the dynamic stability of the cam mechanism's rotating output component. Relevant structures consist of a worm gear driven rotating shaft driving a rotating output shaft supported by a cross roller bearing assembly incorporating V-shaped inner and outer bearing races that sandwich and ride over a set of rollers. Of particular note is that the outer or inner bearing race may be formed as a groove machined directly into the circumferential surface of the output shaft. Because the outer bearing race is a ring-shaped structure that concentrically surrounds the rotating output shaft, the output shaft and bearing races can be machined simultaneously as a single workpiece to assure a high degree of concentricity between the shaft and bearing races.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Sankyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20030050159
    Abstract: A cam-type automatic tool-exchanging apparatus comprises: a housing; an input rotary shaft within the housing; a rotational-motion converting cam within the housing and rotationally driven by the input rotary shaft and outputting a rotational motion; a lifting/lowering-motion producing cam provided the housing and rotationally driven by the input rotary shaft and outputting a lifting/lowering motion; a tool-exchanging arm provided outside the housing and driven by the rotational motion and the lifting/lowering motion outputted for performing a tool-exchanging operation; a shutter provided outside the housing and to be opened/closed in accordance with the tool-exchanging operation; an opening/closing-motion producing cam within the housing and rotationally driven by the input rotary shaft and outputting a shutter-opening/closing pivotal motion for opening/closing the shutter; and a shutter-driving rotary shaft within the housing and outputting the shutter-opening/closing pivotal motion of the opening/closing-m
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2002
    Publication date: March 13, 2003
    Inventors: Heizaburo Kato, Hideaki Hattori, Kiyoshi Nishida, Kazuya Horibe, Satoshi Okada
  • Publication number: 20030034226
    Abstract: A transporting apparatus permits to intermittent indexing with freely and independently setting stop position of work tables and stopping period adapting to each individual work station. The transporting apparatus sequentially transports a work table across a plurality of work stations. The transporting apparatus has a linear transporting path linearly connecting a plurality of work stations and guiding linear motion of the work table, a cylindrical cam engaging with a contactor provided on the work table for driving the work-table for linear motion, and the cylindrical cam having a stopping zone formed corresponding to each position of the work station and having no axial displacement relating to cam rotation angle and a transporting zone formed corresponding to a position between the work station and having an axial displacement relative to cam rotation angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2002
    Publication date: February 20, 2003
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20030015403
    Abstract: There is provided an article conveyor device which may effectively convey an article by a cam drive. The article conveyor device comprises a reciprocating portion which reciprocates by being driven by a cam, and an article conveyor portion for conveying an article, having an inclination of a predetermined angle in respect to a reciprocating direction of the reciprocating portion in a vertical plane, and cooperating with the reciprocating portion; and conveys an article along the article conveyor portion by the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2002
    Publication date: January 23, 2003
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20030015404
    Abstract: There is provided an effective article conveyor device having a first cam, and a second cam different to the first cam. An article conveyor device comprises an input shaft movably supported in respect to a housing, an output shaft movably supported in respect to the housing, a first cam to make the output shaft oscillate by cooperating with the input shaft, a second cam different to the first cam, to make the output shaft perform a reciprocating motion by cooperating with the input shaft, and an article conveyor portion which oscillates and performs reciprocating motion together with the output shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2002
    Publication date: January 23, 2003
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20020138959
    Abstract: A rotating table apparatus using a cam mechanism and having a higher precision than a conventional rotating table is realized. A rotating table apparatus having a driven shaft supported by a housing and driven by a driving means, and a rotating table which is rotatingly driven by said driven shaft using a cam and cam followers, wherein the rotating table apparatus has an opposing surface which opposes an end surface of the rotating table in a direction along a rotation shaft of said rotating table, and oil is intervened in between the opposing surface and said end surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2001
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Patent number: 6454684
    Abstract: Disclosed is an automatic tool changing apparatus which comprises a tool magazine storing a multiplicity of tools each held by tool holding means, the tool magazine having a tool port through which the tools are loaded into or unloaded from the tool magazine; a tool shifter translating the tools for loading into or unloading from the tool magazine; a standby magazine having tool holding means by which the tools loaded or unloaded by the tool shifter are temporarily held and stand by; and an automatic tool changer changing the tool held in the standby magazine for the tool fitted to a spindle. The standby magazine has a plurality of tool holding means which are provided on an output shaft of a rotation indexing mechanism and which come to rest at delivery positions and to/from the tool shifter and the automatic tool changer, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: Sankyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20020048420
    Abstract: A cam mechanism incorporating a highly precise bearing structure that improves the dynamic stability of the cam mechanism's rotating output component. Relevant structures consist of a worm gear driven rotating shaft driving a rotating output shaft supported by a cross roller bearing assembly incorporating V-shaped inner and outer bearing races that sandwich and ride over a set of rollers. Of particular note is that the outer or inner bearing race may be formed as a groove machined directly into the circumferential surface of the output shaft. Because the outer bearing race is a ring-shaped structure that concentrically surrounds the rotating output shaft, the output shaft and bearing races can be machined simultaneously as a single workpiece to assure a high degree of concentricity between the shaft and bearing races.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2001
    Publication date: April 25, 2002
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20020043123
    Abstract: A housing (21) which comprises an input shaft (22) and a second output shaft rotatably supported in a housing (21), and a first output shaft (23) rotatably supported to be movable in the axial direction as well as the rotational direction, a first cam mechanism (25A) which transmits the rotation of the input shaft (22) to a rotation movement of the first output shaft (23), a second cam mechanism (25B) which converts the rotation of the input shaft (22) to an oscillating rotation of the second output shaft (24) and transmits it, a third cam mechanism (25C) which converts the rotation of the input shaft (22) to an oscillating rotation of the second output shaft (24) and transmits it, and the housing (21) is rotatably supported capable of oscillating to a fixed system such as a base by a supporting shaft, and a link mechanism for converting the oscillating rotation of the second output shaft (24) to an oscillating movement of the housing (21) is provided in between the second output shaft (24) and the fixed syst
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2001
    Publication date: April 18, 2002
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20020043138
    Abstract: A automatically indexing tool magazine, of the type attached to machining centers that incorporate an automatic tool change function, able to hold a relatively large number of tools in a compact space as means of improving space efficiency. The tool magazine is comprised of a rotatable main table and multiple sub-tables rotatably attached to the main table in a uniformly spaced radial pattern, each sub-table being equipped with a number of tool pots likewise arranged in a uniformly spaced radial pattern. The tool pots serve as containers into which machining tools can be inserted or removed. The main table and sub-tables are rotatably indexed by means of respective main table and sub-table indexing mechanisms. The tool pot holding the tool designated for removal is transported to a tool removal position through the rotational indexing movement of the main table and appropriate sub-table.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2001
    Publication date: April 18, 2002
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20020043126
    Abstract: A cam mechanism through which torque applied to an input shaft is converted into the bi-directional rotation and reciprocating axial movement of an output shaft. Two cam elements are utilized, one consisting of a roller gear cam attached to the input shaft, and the other of a recessed channel type cam formed on one side of the roller gear cam. Two power transfer mechanisms are also utilized, one consisting of a turret installed adjacently to the roller gear cam as means of imparting a rotational movement to the output shaft, and the other consisting of a reciprocating swing arm of which one end is driven by the channel type cam. The turret is connected to the output shaft through a sliding spline that allows the output shaft to move axially within the turret, by means of a movable connection with the reciprocating swing arm, while being rotationally driven by the splined connection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2001
    Publication date: April 18, 2002
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20020035881
    Abstract: There is provided a cam apparatus which operates an output shaft by converting a continuous rotational motion at a constant speed of an input shaft into a complex rotation superpositioning an oscillating rotational motion and a rotational motion at an inconstant speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2001
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Publication number: 20020013202
    Abstract: Disclosed is an automatic tool changing apparatus which comprises a tool magazine storing a multiplicity of tools each held by tool holding means, the tool magazine having a tool port through which the tools are loaded into or unloaded from the tool magazine; a tool shifter translating the tools for loading into or unloading from the tool magazine; a standby magazine having tool holding means by which the tools loaded or unloaded by the tool shifter are temporarily held and stand by; and an automatic tool changer changing the tool held in the standby magazine for the tool fitted to a spindle. The standby magazine has a plurality of tool holding means which are provided on an output shaft of a rotation indexing mechanism and which come to rest at delivery positions and to/from the tool shifter and the automatic tool changer, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2001
    Publication date: January 31, 2002
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Patent number: 6227836
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for manufacturing tablets of moist powder which is produced by adding an additive agent such as an excipient or a binder to medical ingredients, further adding a solvent such as water, ethanol or the like, and kneading the mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Assignee: Sankyo Seisakusho Co & Eisai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Heizaburo Kato, Yuki Tsushima, Takayuki Ohwaki, Masaharu Nakajima, Yutaka Morita
  • Patent number: 6213369
    Abstract: A material feeding apparatus has gripper apparatuses which perform clamping and unclamping operations of a material by means of a stationary gripper and a movable gripper, and a sliding block which can support the first gripper apparatus and oscillate in a transfer direction of the material. These members are respectively driven by first, second and third cams which are fixed to an input shaft. In order to closely attach transfer members interposed between the first cam performing a forwarding operation of the material and the sliding block to each other, a spring which always urges the sliding block in a returning direction is provided. Accordingly, it is possible to remove a play between the transfer members and perform a feeding operation at a high speed and a high accuracy. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a material feeding apparatus which can transfer and supply the material at a high speed and a high accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2001
    Assignee: Sankyo Seisakusho Co.
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Patent number: 6206784
    Abstract: A torque limiting device capable of transferring torque within a power train, and also capable of disengaging the torque transfer connection when the torque level exceeds a specific point. A specific ball bearing joint is formed where a radial boss mates with the inner circumference of a flange. The ball bearing joint consists of an outer radial groove formed on the aforesaid inner circumference, an inner radial groove formed on the boss and facing the outer groove, and ball bearings inserted between the two radial grooves. Each radial groove is formed to a V-shape cross section having a radius of curvature smaller than that of the ball bearings, thus providing ball bearing support at two points within each groove, and four points of bearing support in total. Rotation of the torque output part is thus supported adequately in both the radial and axial thrust directions by a single ball bearing structure which allows the torque limiter to be made to compact dimensions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Sankyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Patent number: 6186014
    Abstract: A cam powered mechanism which uses two cam forms, a swing arm, and turret to drive an output shaft with a compound radial and axial movement. An arrangement in which a cam follower is positioned opposite each planar surface of the rectangular spline connecting the turret and output shaft acts to increase turret strength and reduces the size of the mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2001
    Assignee: Sankyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Patent number: 6074586
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for manufacturing tablets of moist powder which is produced by adding an additive agent such as an excipient or a binder to medical ingredients, further adding a solvent such as water, ethanol or the like, and kneading the mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2000
    Assignee: Sankyo Seisakusho & Eisai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Heizaburo Kato, Yuki Tsushima, Takayuki Ohwaki, Masaharu Nakajima, Yutaka Morita
  • Patent number: 6067877
    Abstract: A safety cover structure for covering working sections such as a drive section and an operating section of an automatic machine from the exterior so as to be capable of being opened and closed to ensure safety. The safety cover structure includes a plurality of support columns arranged in a surrounding relation to the automatic machine; a top board supported horizontally on the support columns to cover the automatic machine; a safety cover disposed vertically and movably between adjacent support columns; a connecting member having flexibility and connected to the safety cover to suspend the safety cover; grooves for guiding the connecting member from the support column to the top board; a tension arm supported horizontally on the top board so as to swing horizontally in a horizontal plane along the top board and connected with the connecting member; and an urging member connected to the tension arm to urge the tension arm in a rising direction of the safety cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2000
    Assignee: Sankyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato
  • Patent number: 6055876
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a non-contact type inspection system for inspection of test samples being conveyed, using a non-contact type inspection device, to judge the quality of the test samples automatically. The non-contact type inspection system comprises an annular rotary table which is rotated to convey test samples, an inspection device mounting table disposed inside and outside the rotary table, and having a CCD camera and the like as a non-contact type inspection device for inspection of the test samples being mounted on the inspection device mounting table, a rotary head which is supported above the rotary table and rotatably about the rotation center of the rotary table to hold the upper portions of the test samples being conveyed by the rotary table, and an interlocking mechanism for rotating the rotary head in synchronism with the rotary table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Assignees: Sankyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Heizaburo Kato