Patents by Inventor Hidehiro Akahane

Hidehiro Akahane 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: 20020171410
    Abstract: A piezoactuator has a diaphragm, and the diaphragm has flat piezoelectric elements that oscillate in a longitudinal oscillation mode and a sinusoidal oscillation mode. A first electrode for detecting oscillation in the longitudinal oscillation mode, and a second electrode for detecting the amplitude of oscillation in the sinusoidal oscillation mode, are disposed on the surface of the diaphragm. When the piezoactuator is driven with a drive signal, the phase difference of a first detection signal output from the first electrode and a second detection signal output from the second electrode is detected. The frequency at which the detected phase difference becomes the maximum phase difference is then obtained, and a drive signal of a matching frequency is applied to the piezoelectric elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2002
    Publication date: November 21, 2002
    Inventors: Hidehiro Akahane, Akihiro Sawada, Makoto Furuhata
  • Patent number: 6476579
    Abstract: A pulse motor driving device having a rotation detecting unit adapted to detect whether or not a pulse motor rotates. In this device, a control unit performs an operation of increasing the effective value of the driving power of the pulse motor and periodically performs an operation of lowering the effective value of the driving power thereof when it is detected by the rotation detecting unit that the pulse motor does not rotate. Further, the control unit interrupts the operation of lowering the effective value of the driving power of the pulse motor when a magnetic field is detected by a magnetic detecting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2002
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hidehiro Akahane, Shinji Nakamiya, Yoshitaka Iijima, Kenji Iida, Tsuneaki Furukawa
  • Patent number: 6466518
    Abstract: A time measurement device includes a first motor (1300) for indicating standard time, a second motor (1400) for indicating a chronograph, a generator (1600) which generates driving power for driving the first and second motors by converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, and a zero reset mechanism (1200) for mechanically resetting the chronograph to zero. A compact time measurement device, operable from a low power, is thus provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hidehiro Akahane, Kenichi Okuhara, Akihiko Maruyama, Nobuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 6370087
    Abstract: In a time measurement device (1000) having, at least, both a function of measuring standard time and a function of measuring any elapsed time, when a predetermined amount of time passes from a temporary suspension of a watch hand in position in the middle of the measurement of the elapsed time, the suspension of the watch hand is automatically released and the watch hand is driven to a watch hand position indicating the elapsed time. Provided thereby is the time measurement device which automatically releases the temporary suspension state in time measurement after the predetermined amount of time, thereby shortening the temporary suspension time and reducing power consumed to drive the watch hand to an originally expected watch hand position at the release of the temporary suspension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2002
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hidehiro Akahane, Kenichi Okuhara, Akihiko Maruyama, Nobuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 6353522
    Abstract: A control circuit of a switching state detecting device for a switch controls the value of a resistive element connected between one end of the switch (SW), of which the switching state is to be detected, and the power source or ground line, so the range of operating voltage can be widened, the current flowing at the time of switching on is suppressed so that power consumption of an electronic apparatus provided with the switching state detecting device for a switch is reduced, and improvement in detection precision can be made by causing the detection current to flow in a sure manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2002
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Hidehiro Akahane
  • Publication number: 20010005895
    Abstract: A time keeping apparatus has a display mode for displaying time and a power-saving mode for reducing power consumption. The time keeping apparatus has a time display unit for displaying time, a calendar display unit for displaying a present date, a control unit for stopping, in the power-saving mode, both time display by the time display unit and calendar display by the calendar display unit, and a time information storage unit for storing information relating to an elapsed time of the power-saving mode. Upon switching back to the display mode, the calendar display displays a present date on the basis of information relating to the elapsed time stored by the time information storage unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2000
    Publication date: June 28, 2001
    Inventors: Noriaki Shimura, Hidehiro Akahane
  • Patent number: 6038523
    Abstract: In a compact, highly precise position detecting apparatus which can perform automatic detection of a hand position, which is required to add a function such as automatic time correction to a time-measuring apparatus, an identification pattern (20) in which identification marks are discretely disposed on a surface of a center wheel (17) moving together with a minute hand (12), which serves as an encoder surface, is formed by hard-magnetic thin film, and sampling is performed by a magnetic sensor (21b) at a plurality of sampling points to determine whether identification marks are provided. The detection signal of the magnetic sensor at each sampling point is classified into three data, "1" and "0" indicating whether identification marks are provided or not, and "*" indicating that identification marks are indefinite. A sampling code obtained by data sampled at the plurality of sampling points is compared with reference identification codes to determine the position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2000
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hidehiro Akahane, Noriaki Shimura
  • Patent number: 5802016
    Abstract: A multifunctional electronic watch of the present invention displays data measured by a built-in atmospheric pressure sensor by means of a small atmospheric pressure pointer and an atmospheric pressure pointer. It is also capable of displaying a differential between the present atmospheric pressure and an atmospheric pressure three hours before by means of an atmospheric pressure tendency pointer. A dial ring attached around a clockface of the watch is formed with an atmospheric pressure scale, on the outer periphery of which is a rotation bezel formed with a height scale. The built-in sensor is accommodated in the watch so as not to project from the rotation bezel of the watch. Accordingly, an electronic watch which has additional functions of indicating environmental data such as atmospheric pressure without complicating the constitution can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1998
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Kubota, Takashi Kawaguchi, Hidehiro Akahane, Yoshitaka Iijima, Keiichiro Oguchi, Mikiko Ito, Youichi Hayashi, Hidenori Makiba