Patents by Inventor Hirofumi Watanabe

Hirofumi Watanabe 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: 7368715
    Abstract: A semiconductor apparatus includes a pair of first and second field effect transistors formed on a semiconductor substrate. The pair of first and second field effect transistors has the same configurations except for respective gate electrode sections. The gate electrode sections include material having different respective work functions. A radiant ray sensing section is connected to the gate sections and senses a radiant ray. The radiant ray sensing section causes the pair of first and second field effect transistors to serve as a temperature sensor via the respective gate sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20080091326
    Abstract: When a caliper and an ECU are separately configured in an electro mechanical brake, the number of harness is increased, and therefore, the wiring layout of the harness becomes difficult, and when bending and twisting are applied to the harness, a problem of a breaking of the wiring and the like arises. Further, a voltage drop is caused by the electric resistance of the harness, and moreover, there is a risk of infiltration of noises. The ECU and the caliper are integrated, thereby making the distance between various sensors and control devices short. Further, the frame body of the ECU incorporates an inverter module driving a motor and its control device, thereby simplifying a wiring connection to the motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirofumi WATANABE, Takafumi Suzuki, Daisuke Yasukawa
  • Publication number: 20080075458
    Abstract: An automatic circulation collection type data system is constructed by connecting a monitoring device and data collecting modules disposed at respective places through optical cables. The monitoring device transmits a trigger pulse for data collection through the optical cable to each data collecting module. An identification code is given to each data collecting module, and each data collecting module has an automatic circulation mechanism comprising first and second optical switches, a data collecting unit, and a controller 6 for performing various kinds of control for data collection. When receiving the trigger pulse from the monitoring device, the automatic circulation mechanism turns on the third switch and transmits the collected data through the optical cable to the monitoring device together with the identification code, and also transmits a trigger pulse through the optical cable to a next data collecting module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2007
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Inventors: Takashi Hiraga, Ichiro Ueno, Noritaka Yamamoto, Toshiko Mizokuro, Nobutaka Tanigaki, Norio Tanaka, Kuniaki Aoki, Hirofumi Watanabe, Shiro Futaki
  • Patent number: 7335967
    Abstract: A semiconductor device is provided that includes: a base insulating film; a metal thin-film resistor that is provided on the base insulating film; a lower-layer insulating film that is formed under the base insulating film; and a wiring pattern that is formed on the lower-layer insulating film. In this semiconductor device, the base insulating film is formed on the lower-layer insulating film and the wiring pattern, and connecting holes are formed in the base insulating film located on the wiring patterns. The metal thin-film resistor has at least two belt-like portions and a return portion that continues to the belt-like portions. The belt-like portions are located at a distance from the region on the wiring pattern. The return portion connects at least two belt-like portions in a position at a distance from the region on the wiring pattern. The return portion is formed in a connecting hole via the region on the wiring pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2008
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20070294948
    Abstract: A door operating apparatus includes a motor bracket that covers a driving shaft of a driving motor; an output shaft that is disposed from the motor bracket toward the supporting bracket so as to be orthogonal to an extending direction of the driving shaft; a first rotational element that is linked with the driving shaft, and disposed on the output shaft; a second rotational element that is linked with a door operating mechanism, and disposed between the first rotational element and the supporting bracket on the output shaft; and a clutch unit including a clutch driving section that supports a rotation of the output shaft. When the first rotational element and the second rotational element are engaged by driving of the clutch driving section, the door operating mechanism is actuated by the driving force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Publication date: December 27, 2007
    Inventors: Hirofumi Watanabe, Takuya Kakumae
  • Publication number: 20070199926
    Abstract: The invention stabilizes a quality of a laser welding in a terminal in which an outer appearance characteristic is not stabilized, and achieves an improvement of a positioning characteristic at a time of executing the laser welding without generating a cost increase. A hole is formed in a terminal of an integrated circuit sealed by a plastic molding. At a time of welding, a welding operation position is positioned by recognizing the hole in accordance with an image recognition, and a laser welding is executed by irradiating a laser beam to a portion of a terminal and a bus bar positioned near an edge portion of the hole. The hole is preferably formed in a circular shape or a similar shape thereto.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2007
    Publication date: August 30, 2007
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Hirofumi Watanabe, Daisuke Yasukawa, Masaaki Suzuku
  • Publication number: 20070109039
    Abstract: A reference voltage circuit is provided which includes a first MOS transistor including a first gate, and a second MOS transistor including a second gate. The first gate includes a first conductive type impurity with a concentration less than or equal to 1×1012 cm?3, or no impurity. The second gate includes the first conductive type impurity or a second conductive type impurity with a concentration greater than or equal to 1×1019 cm?3. The reference voltage circuit generates a predetermined reference voltage by utilizing a difference of work functions between the first and second transistors so as to have no temperature dependence.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2006
    Publication date: May 17, 2007
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20070102638
    Abstract: A semiconductor apparatus includes a pair of first and second field effect transistors formed on a semiconductor substrate. The pair of first and second field effect transistors has the same configurations except for respective gate electrode sections. The gate electrode sections include material having different respective work functions. A radiant ray sensing section is connected to the gate sections and senses a radiant ray. The radiant ray sensing section causes the pair of first and second field effect transistors to serve as a temperature sensor via the respective gate sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Publication date: May 10, 2007
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20070084122
    Abstract: In a door opening/closing device, a rotation sensor is provided at an end of a rotation shaft that is arranged around a clutch. The rotation sensor includes a detecting element that is arranged so as to detect magnetic flux that is generated from the magnetic member in a direction crossing magnetic flux that is generated from an electromagnetic clutch. The rotation sensor is arranged such that an end of the rotation shaft extends outside of a motor base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2006
    Publication date: April 19, 2007
    Inventors: Hirofumi Watanabe, Takuya Kakumae, Kazuhito Yokomori, Nobuo Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20070085373
    Abstract: The door-opening/closing apparatus includes a door, a driving unit that drives the door to close the door, a door movement detection unit that detects a movement of the door, an electrostatic switch that is mounted on the door for detecting a human's touching the door, and a judgment unit that judges whether the door is attempted to be closed. When the door movement detection unit detects a movement of the door, and when the electrostatic switch senses a human's touching the door, the judgment unit judges that the door is attempted to be closed, and then the driving unit drives to close the door.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Publication date: April 19, 2007
    Inventor: Hirofumi WATANABE
  • Publication number: 20070065533
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of the invention, the heat exchanging mechanism includes a cylinder in which drill holes are linearly formed, through-holes which correspond the drill holes, respectively, a flange in which a communication portion for communicating the through-holes with each other is formed, and detachable siphon pipes which are inserted into the drill holes, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2006
    Publication date: March 22, 2007
    Inventors: Hirofumi Watanabe, Kazuhiro Kodate
  • Publication number: 20070058485
    Abstract: In an extruder of the invention, a screw receiving portion penetrates through a cylinder from one connection surface to the other connectionsurface thereof and the connection surface of the cylinder is connected to the connection surface of other cylinder, a key groove for positioning the other cylinder and a recess having a taper surface are formed in at least one of outer wall surface of the cylinder except the connection surface thereof, and a wedge portion of a connection member is pressed into the recess to connect adjacent cylinders.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2006
    Publication date: March 15, 2007
    Inventors: Hirofumi Watanabe, Kazuhiro Kodate
  • Publication number: 20070047332
    Abstract: A reference voltage generating circuit for producing a predetermined reference voltage at an output node includes a depletion-type n-channel field-effect transistor serving as a first field-effect transistor having one node thereof coupled to a power supply voltage, a second field-effect transistor having one node thereof coupled to another node of the first field-effect transistor and having a highly-doped n-type gate, and a third field-effect transistor having one node thereof coupled to another node of the second field-effect transistor, another node thereof coupled to a ground voltage, and a highly-doped p-type gate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2006
    Publication date: March 1, 2007
    Inventors: Hideyuki Aota, Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7176659
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electrical power supply system for an automotive vehicle with high reliability and small size in which an adequate power is supplied to both a high power load like a blower motor and a conventional load like a battery by using a conventional alternator. The power supply system for the automotive vehicle comprises: an alternator with an armature winding and a field coil, a stepping-up DC/DC converter for applying a stepped up voltage of a battery to the field coil, a regulator for controlling an output voltage of the alternator by changing the output voltage in response to a rotating speed for supplying a power to the high power load, and for controlling the output voltage to be a charging voltage of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihito Asao, Hirofumi Watanabe, Katsumi Adachi, Shirou Iwatani, Kyoji Matsumura, Tuneji Goda
  • Patent number: 7156447
    Abstract: The door-opening/closing apparatus includes a door, a driving unit that drives the door to close the door, a door movement detection unit that detects a movement of the door, an electrostatic switch that is mounted on the door for detecting a human's touching the door, and a judgment unit that judges whether the door is attempted to be closed. When the door movement detection unit detects a movement of the door, and when the electrostatic switch senses a human's touching the door, the judgment unit judges that the door is attempted to be closed, and then the driving unit drives to close the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20060261631
    Abstract: A door operating apparatus includes a motor bracket that covers a driving shaft of a driving motor; an output shaft that is disposed from the motor bracket toward the supporting bracket so as to be orthogonal to an extending direction of the driving shaft; a first rotational element that is linked with the driving shaft, and disposed on the output shaft; a second rotational element that is linked with a door operating mechanism, and disposed between the first rotational element and the supporting bracket on the output shaft; and a clutch unit including a clutch driving section that supports a rotation of the output shaft. When the first rotational element and the second rotational element are engaged by driving of the clutch driving section, the door operating mechanism is actuated by the driving force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2005
    Publication date: November 23, 2006
    Inventors: Hirofumi Watanabe, Takuya Kakumae
  • Publication number: 20060226888
    Abstract: A temperature-sensing circuit includes a first circuit block outputting an output voltage having negative or positive temperature coefficients and a second circuit block amplifying the output voltage of the first circuit block to a predetermined amplitude and outputting the amplified output voltage. It further includes a third circuit block producing a voltage having temperature coefficients of a polarity opposite to that of the first circuit block and adding the produced voltage to the output voltage of the second circuit block to cancel out components of second order temperature coefficients contained in the output voltages of the first and second circuit blocks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2006
    Publication date: October 12, 2006
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20060197581
    Abstract: A high precision temperature detecting circuit is disclosed. The temperature detecting circuit includes a first voltage source circuit for generating a voltage VPN that has a negative temperature coefficient using a work function difference of gate electrodes of two field effect transistors, a second voltage source circuit for generating a reference voltage VREF1 that is independent of temperature change using a work function difference of gate electrodes of two or more field effect transistors, an impedance conversion circuit for converting impedance of the voltage VPN and the reference voltage VREF1, and a subtracter circuit, to which the impedance converted voltages VPN and VREF1 are provided, for obtaining a difference voltage between the voltage VPN and the reference voltage VREF1, and for amplifying the difference voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2006
    Publication date: September 7, 2006
    Inventors: Yong-Jin Chun, Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7080861
    Abstract: An anti-panic mechanism for a vehicle door latch device comprises a movable member provided between to an open link and a lock lever, and an anti-panic spring elastically connecting the lock lever with the movable member. When an unlocking operation by an inside lock button is not completed normally due to a first opening operation of an open handle, the movable member is displaced by a spring force of the anti-panic spring to move the open link to an engageable position after the open lever is returned to an initial position. The movable member and lock lever are coaxially pivoted by a single common shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2006
    Assignee: Mitsui Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7078954
    Abstract: A temperature-sensing circuit includes a first circuit block outputting an output voltage having negative or positive temperature coefficients and a second circuit block amplifying the output voltage of the first circuit block to a predetermined amplitude and outputting the amplified output voltage. It further includes a third circuit block producing a voltage having temperature coefficients of a polarity opposite to that of the first circuit block and adding the produced voltage to the output voltage of the second circuit block to cancel out components of second order temperature coefficients contained in the output voltages of the first and second circuit blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirofumi Watanabe