Patents by Inventor Hiroaki Nakamune

Hiroaki Nakamune 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: 10976085
    Abstract: In an air-conditioning apparatus in which air sucked into a casing of an outdoor unit by a fan is discharged from an upper portion of the casing, each of liquid header portions is configured to be connected with each of heat transfer tubes of a plurality of divided regions formed by dividing the outdoor heat exchangers in an up and down direction. Further, a shunt is configured to supply two-phase refrigerant, in which quality is adjusted by a gas-liquid separator, to each of the liquid header portions. To each of the liquid header portions, the shunt supplies the two-phase refrigerant of the amount corresponding to the air quantity of the divided region connected to each of the liquid header portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoji Onaka, Takashi Matsumoto, Hiroyuki Okano, Eito Saito, Hirofumi Koge, Osamu Morimoto, Hiroki Murakami, Hiroaki Nakamune
  • Patent number: 10429109
    Abstract: A refrigerant circuit includes: plural gas/liquid separators adapted to separate a two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant into refrigerant vapor and refrigerant liquid; a channel switching valve connected upstream of the gas/liquid separators and adapted to switch channels for the two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant by opening and closing; an evaporating heat exchanger adapted to accept inflow of the refrigerant liquid or the two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant, the refrigerant liquid produced by separation by the gas/liquid separators; a header installed upstream of the evaporating heat exchanger perpendicularly or at angles to the evaporating heat exchanger; a compressor installed downstream of the evaporating heat exchanger; and plural bypass routes connected to the respective gas/liquid separators and adapted to allow passage of the refrigerant vapor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoji Onaka, Takashi Matsumoto, Mizuo Sakai, Hiroaki Nakamune, Hiroki Murakami
  • Patent number: 10240837
    Abstract: An outdoor unit includes at least a compressor, a gas-liquid separator, and an outdoor heat exchanger of a refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant circuit being formed by connecting, by pipes, the compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducing device, the gas-liquid separator, and the outdoor heat exchanger that acts as an evaporator including at least a plurality of heat transfer tubes and an inlet header that distributes incoming refrigerant to the heat transfer tubes. The outdoor unit further includes a gas-liquid-separator bypass pipe, a gas-liquid-separator-side flow control valve, a header bypass pipe, a header-side flow control valve, and a determination device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yoji Onaka, Takashi Matsumoto, Mizuo Sakai, Hiroki Murakami, Hiroaki Nakamune
  • Patent number: 10088206
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus controls a decrease in efficiency of a refrigeration cycle, and includes a suction pipe having one end connected to a suction side of a compressor and an other end connected to an evaporator, a receiver connected to a refrigerant pipe connecting the evaporator and a condenser to each other, a first bypass pipe having one end connected to the receiver and an other end connected to the suction pipe and configured to supply refrigerant from the receiver to the suction pipe, a flow control valve provided to the first bypass pipe, a heat recovery portion disposed downstream of a portion of the suction pipe connected to the first bypass pipe, and a control device configured to control an opening degree of the flow control valve based on a degree of superheat of refrigerant in the heat recovery portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Mizuo Sakai, Masanori Aoki, Hirokuni Shiba, Hiroaki Nakamune, Hiroki Murakami
  • Patent number: 9863651
    Abstract: An outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes at least a heat exchanger, a fan, a compressor, and a box-like casing housing these components and having an air inlet and an air outlet. The compressor is arranged at a location other than an air passage in which air having flowed in through the air inlet flows through the heat exchanger and the fan to the air outlet. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of heat exchange portions, and these heat exchange portions are arranged in a zigzag shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takamasa Uemura, Susumu Yoshimura, Hiroaki Nakamune, Kenichi Sakoda
  • Publication number: 20170205128
    Abstract: An outdoor unit includes at least a compressor, a gas-liquid separator, and an outdoor heat exchanger of a refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant circuit being formed by connecting, by pipes, the compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducing device, the gas-liquid separator, and the outdoor heat exchanger that acts as an evaporator including at least a plurality of heat transfer tubes and an inlet header that distributes incoming refrigerant to the heat transfer tubes. The outdoor unit further includes a gas-liquid-separator bypass pipe, a gas-liquid-separator-side flow control valve, a header bypass pipe, a header-side flow control valve, and a determination device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2015
    Publication date: July 20, 2017
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yoji ONAKA, Takashi MATSUMOTO, Mizuo SAKAI, Hiroki MURAKAMI, Hiroaki NAKAMUNE
  • Patent number: 9689577
    Abstract: An outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes a heat exchanger, at least one fan, a compressor, and a box-shaped casing that houses the foregoing elements and has an air inlet and an air outlet. The compressor is provided at a position outside an air passage in which air taken in from the air inlet flows through the heat exchanger and the fan toward the air outlet. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of heat exchanger segments. The heat exchanger segments are arranged zigzag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Susumu Yoshimura, Hiroaki Nakamune, Syoji Yamada, Kenichi Sakoda
  • Patent number: 9677790
    Abstract: A multi-room air-conditioning apparatus includes an outdoor unit, a relay unit connected to an outdoor unit by first and second connection pipes, and a plurality of indoor units connected to the relay unit. The outdoor unit includes a second gas-liquid separating device provided on the suction side of the compressor. The suction side of the compressor and the second gas-liquid separating device are connected to each other by a gas-side outlet pipe and a liquid-side outlet pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Mizuo Sakai, Soshi Ikeda, Hiroaki Nakamune, Susumu Yoshimura, Naofumi Takenaka, Hiroki Okazawa, Keisuke Hokazono, Osamu Morimoto
  • Publication number: 20170082332
    Abstract: In an air-conditioning apparatus in which air sucked into a casing of an outdoor unit by a fan is discharged from an upper portion of the casing, each of liquid header portions is configured to be connected with each of heat transfer tubes of a plurality of divided regions formed by dividing the outdoor heat exchangers in an up and down direction. Further, a shunt is configured to supply two-phase refrigerant, in which quality is adjusted by a gas-liquid separator, to each of the liquid header portions. To each of the liquid header portions, the shunt supplies the two-phase refrigerant of the amount corresponding to the air quantity of the divided region connected to each of the liquid header portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2015
    Publication date: March 23, 2017
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yoji ONAKA, Takashi MATSUMOTO, Hiroyuki OKANO, Eito SAITO, Hirofumi KOGE, Osamu MORIMOTO, Hiroki MURAKAMI, Hiroaki NAKAMUNE
  • Publication number: 20160370042
    Abstract: A refrigerant circuit includes: plural gas/liquid separators adapted to separate a two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant into refrigerant vapor and refrigerant liquid; a channel switching valve connected upstream of the gas/liquid separators and adapted to switch channels for the two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant by opening and closing; an evaporating heat exchanger adapted to accept inflow of the refrigerant liquid or the two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant, the refrigerant liquid produced by separation by the gas/liquid separators; a header installed upstream of the evaporating heat exchanger perpendicularly or at angles to the evaporating heat exchanger; a compressor installed downstream of the evaporating heat exchanger; and plural bypass routes connected to the respective gas/liquid separators and adapted to allow passage of the refrigerant vapor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Publication date: December 22, 2016
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoji ONAKA, Takashi MATSUMOTO, Mizuo SAKAI, Hiroaki NAKAMUNE, Hiroki MURAKAMI
  • Publication number: 20160216015
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus controls a decrease in efficiency of a refrigeration cycle, and includes a suction pipe having one end connected to a suction side of a compressor and an other end connected to an evaporator, a receiver connected to a refrigerant pipe connecting the evaporator and a condenser to each other, a first bypass pipe having one end connected to the receiver and an other end connected to the suction pipe and configured to supply refrigerant from the receiver to the suction pipe, a flow control valve provided to the first bypass pipe, a heat recovery portion disposed downstream of a portion of the suction pipe connected to the first bypass pipe, and a control device configured to control an opening degree of the flow control valve based on a degree of superheat of refrigerant in the heat recovery portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2014
    Publication date: July 28, 2016
    Inventors: Mizuo SAKAI, Masanori AOKI, Hirokuni SHIBA, Hiroaki NAKAMUNE, Hiroki MURAKAMI
  • Publication number: 20150316277
    Abstract: An outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes at least a heat exchanger, a fan, a compressor, and a box-like casing housing these components and having an air inlet and an air outlet. The compressor is arranged at a location other than an air passage in which air having flowed in through the air inlet flows through the heat exchanger and the fan to the air outlet. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of heat exchange portions, and these heat exchange portions are arranged in a zigzag shape.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takamasa UEMURA, Susumu YOSHIMURA, Hiroaki NAKAMUNE, Kenichi SAKODA
  • Publication number: 20150135756
    Abstract: A multi-room air-conditioning apparatus includes an outdoor unit, a relay unit connected to an outdoor unit by first and second connection pipes, and a plurality of indoor units connected to the relay unit. The outdoor unit includes a second gas-liquid separating device provided on the suction side of the compressor. The suction side of the compressor and the second gas-liquid separating device are connected to each other by a gas-side outlet pipe and a liquid-side outlet pipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2012
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Mizuo Sakai, Soshi Ikeda, Hiroaki Nakamune, Susumu Yoshimura, Naofumi Takenaka, Hiroki Okazawa, Keisuke Hokazono, Osamu Morimoto
  • Publication number: 20150013376
    Abstract: An outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes a heat exchanger, at least one fan, a compressor, and a box-shaped casing that houses the foregoing elements and has an air inlet and an air outlet. The compressor is provided at a position outside an air passage in which air taken in from the air inlet flows through the heat exchanger and the fan toward the air outlet. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of heat exchanger segments. The heat exchanger segments are arranged zigzag.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2012
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Susumu Yoshimura, Hiroaki Nakamune, Syoji Yamada, Kenichi Sakoda
  • Publication number: 20140144611
    Abstract: A compact, readily-manufacturable heat exchanger and a refrigeration cycle apparatus equipped with the same are provided. One of opposite ends of a main body in a refrigerant flowing direction is provided with a first inlet communication hole that extends in a direction of arrangement of first refrigerant channels and that communicates with all of the first refrigerant channels. The other end is provided with a first outlet communication hole that extends in the direction of arrangement of the first refrigerant channels and that communicates with all of the first refrigerant channels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2011
    Publication date: May 29, 2014
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Susumu Yoshimura, Hiroaki Nakamune, Mizuo Sakai, Soshi Ikeda, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Takeshi Hatomura, Shinichi Uchino
  • Publication number: 20140076526
    Abstract: A heat exchanger in which inner wall surfaces of refrigerant passages through which a first refrigerant and a second refrigerant flow are constituted by a different metal and in which a heat exchange performance is improved. Second-refrigerant heat-transfer tubes that are formed with a metal different from a heat transfer block are each inserted through a corresponding second-refrigerant heat-transfer-tube insertion hole. The second-refrigerant heat-transfer tubes are formed with a metal with a different material from that of the heat transfer block.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2011
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Mizuo Sakai, Hiroaki Nakamune, Susumu Yoshimura, Soshi Ikeda, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Takeshi Hatomura, Shinichi Uchino
  • Publication number: 20130126127
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a first flat pipe including plural through-holes through which a high-temperature fluid flows, a second flat pipe including plural through-holes through which a low-temperature fluid flows, a first tubular shape inlet header connected to one end of the first flat pipe, a first tubular shape outlet header connected to another end of the first flat pipe, a second tubular shape inlet header connected to one end of the second flat pipe, and a second tubular shape outlet header connected to another end of the second flat pipe. The first and second flat pipes are stacked with contacting flat surfaces. The low-temperature fluid flowing into the through-holes in the second flat pipe from the second inlet header is a fluid in a two-phase gas-liquid state, and flows into those through-holes in a substantially horizontal direction or in an upward direction relative to the substantially horizontal direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2011
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Susumu Yoshimura, Hiroaki Nakamune, Mizuo Sakai, Soshi Ikeda