Patents by Inventor Hirotaka Katayama

Hirotaka Katayama 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: 9399484
    Abstract: A vehicle steering system that hardly gives a driver a feeling of strangeness even in mode switching is provided. Even if condition such as a defect of a system, which caused switching from SBW mode to EPS mode, has been resolved, a mode switching section waits for a timing of switching from EPS mode to SBW mode until a second condition is satisfied. The second condition is that the vehicle is in a certain state in which the driver hardly notices mode switching. The mode switching section waits for and judges a timing when the vehicle becomes into a certain state in which the driver hardly notices mode switching, and then performs switching from EPS mode to SBW mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Katayama, Kuniyoshi Tanaka, Yasushi Ueda, Yuuki Oikawa
  • Patent number: 9205865
    Abstract: A vehicle steering device includes a control unit that determines a turning angle of wheels in accordance with a steering angle of a steering wheel provided in a vehicle and mechanically separated from the wheels. The control unit determines whether or not a previous vehicle speed is higher than a predetermined speed when a state of a start switch that starts a driving unit of the vehicle is switched from an ON state to an OFF state. If the previous vehicle speed is higher, the control unit continuously turns ON a power supply of the vehicle steering device regardless of a current vehicle speed until a predetermined time elapses, and turns OFF the power supply of the vehicle steering device after the predetermined time elapses. If the previous vehicle speed is not higher, the control unit turns OFF the power supply of the vehicle steering device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Katayama, Yasushi Ueda
  • Publication number: 20150203152
    Abstract: A vehicle steering device includes a control unit that determines a turning angle of wheels in accordance with a steering angle of a steering wheel provided in a vehicle and mechanically separated from the wheels. The control unit determines whether or not a previous vehicle speed is higher than a predetermined speed when a state of a start switch that starts a driving unit of the vehicle is switched from an ON state to an OFF state. If the previous vehicle speed is higher, the control unit continuously turns ON a power supply of the vehicle steering device regardless of a current vehicle speed until a predetermined time elapses, and turns OFF the power supply of the vehicle steering device after the predetermined time elapses. If the previous vehicle speed is not higher, the control unit turns OFF the power supply of the vehicle steering device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2015
    Publication date: July 23, 2015
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Katayama, Yasushi Ueda
  • Publication number: 20150203149
    Abstract: A vehicle steering system that hardly gives a driver a feeling of strangeness even in mode switching is provided. Even if condition such as a defect of a system, which caused switching from SBW mode to EPS mode, has been resolved, a mode switching section waits for a timing of switching from EPS mode to SBW mode until a second condition is satisfied. The second condition is that the vehicle is in a certain state in which the driver hardly notices mode switching. The mode switching section waits for and judges a timing when the vehicle becomes into a certain state in which the driver hardly notices mode switching, and then performs switching from EPS mode to SBW mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Publication date: July 23, 2015
    Inventors: Hirotaka KATAYAMA, Kuniyoshi TANAKA, Yasushi UEDA, Yuuki OIKAWA
  • Publication number: 20110168259
    Abstract: A thin film solar cell is employed having a power generation layer formed with a microcrystalline silicon film including, in its plane, a first region and a second region in which a percentage of crystallization is lower than the first region and a carrier lifetime is higher than the first region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2010
    Publication date: July 14, 2011
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuya Murata, Hirotaka Katayama, Mitsuhiro Matsumoto, Yoichiro Aya
  • Publication number: 20110056560
    Abstract: Reduction in characteristic due to non-uniformity of crystallinity of a microcrystalline silicon film in a surface of a solar cell module is inhibited. A solar cell module is provided having an i-type layer of a microcrystalline silicon film as a photovoltaic layer in a photovoltaic unit (14), the i-type layer has a first region (30) and a second region (32) having a lower crystallization percentage than the first region (30) in the surface, and a tab electrode (22) to a terminal box (24) of the solar cell module (100) is formed overlapping the second region (32).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2010
    Publication date: March 10, 2011
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuji Kitamura, Kazuya Murata, Hirotaka Katayama