Patents by Inventor Hirotaka Kurakake
Hirotaka Kurakake 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).
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Patent number: 6923626Abstract: A variable displacement compressor has a housing, a drive shaft, a rotor, a swash plate, a piston and a decelerating mechanism. The housing includes a cylinder bore and supports the drive shaft. The rotor is secured to the drive shaft. The swash plate is operatively connected to the rotor and the drive shaft so as to rotate therewith and varies its inclination angle relative to the drive shaft. The piston is connected to the swash plate so as to reciprocate in the cylinder bore with rotation of the swash plate. A stroke of the piston varies in accordance with the inclination angle of the swash plate. The deceleration mechanism between the rotor and the swash plate decelerates the inclination speed of the swash plate in a range from a near maximum inclination angle to the maximum inclination angle when the swash plate inclines to increase the stroke of the piston.Type: GrantFiled: August 1, 2002Date of Patent: August 2, 2005Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota JidoshokkiInventors: Masaki Ota, Tomohiro Wakita, Tomoji Tarutani, Hirotaka Kurakake, Yoshinobu Ishigaki, Kazuhiro Nomura, Yoshinori Inoue, Satoshi Umemura, Kazuhiko Minami
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Patent number: 6551072Abstract: Compressor has a driving unit. The driving unit is provided within a crank chamber and decreases the discharge capacity when a control valve opens a control passage to increase the pressure within the crank chamber. The throttle passage delivers oil with the compressed refrigerant to the crank chamber regardless of whether the control valve has opened or closed the control passage. Because the throttle passage may continuously deliver the oil to the crank chamber even when the control valve closes the control passage, the mechanical elements within the crank chamber can be reliably and sufficiently lubricated and the crank chamber is prevented from being in an insufficiently lubricated state.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 2001Date of Patent: April 22, 2003Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Ken Suitou, Taku Adaniya, Ryo Matsubara, Hirotaka Kurakake, Hiroyuki Yoshida
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Publication number: 20030026708Abstract: A variable displacement compressor has a housing, a drive shaft, a rotor, a swash plate, a piston and a decelerating mechanism. The housing includes a cylinder bore and supports the drive shaft. The rotor is secured to the drive shaft. The swash plate is operatively connected to the rotor and the drive shaft so as to rotate therewith and varies its inclination angle relative to the drive shaft. The piston is connected to the swash plate so as to reciprocate in the cylinder bore with rotation of the swash plate. A stroke of the piston varies in accordance with the inclination angle of the swash plate. The decelerating mechanism between the rotor and the swash plate decelerates the inclination speed of the swash plate in a range from a close maximum inclination angle to the maximum inclination angle when the swash plate inclines to increase the stroke of the piston.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 1, 2002Publication date: February 6, 2003Inventors: Masaki Ota, Tomohiro Wakita, Tomoji Tarutani, Hirotaka Kurakake, Yoshinobu Ishigaki, Kazuhiro Nomura, Yoshinori Inoue, Satoshi Umemura, Kazuhiko Minami
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Patent number: 6511296Abstract: A lug plate 11 is secured to a drive shaft 7 which is rotatably supported in a housing so as to rotate together with the drive shaft, and a swash plate 12 is operatively connected to the lug plate through a hinge mechanism so as to rotate together with the lug plate and so as to vary an angle with respect to the drive shaft 7. Pistons 17 which are received in cylinder bores la so as to reciprocally move are operatively connected to the swash plate 12, so that not only can a refrigerant be introduced and discharged in accordance with the rotation of the drive shaft 7, but also the stroke of the pistons 17 can be varied by varying the angle of the swash plate 12. A front radial bearing 9B is provided on the outer periphery of a boss portion 11A of the lug plate 11 and a coil spring 16 to bias the swash plate 12 is received in a spring receiving portion 11C formed in the lug plate 11 on the rear side thereof.Type: GrantFiled: April 12, 2001Date of Patent: January 28, 2003Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Tomoji Tarutani, Ken Suitou, Tomohiro Wakita, Yoshinori Inoue, Hirotaka Kurakake
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Patent number: 6508071Abstract: A control valve is located in a variable displacement compressor incorporated in a refrigerant circuit. The control valve controls the displacement of the compressor in accordance with a pressure difference between a first pressure monitoring point and a second pressure monitoring point, which are located in the refrigerant circuit, such that the pressure difference seeks a predetermined target value. An adjusting valve, which is a variable throttle valve, is located in a section of the refrigerant circuit between the first and second pressure monitoring points. The adjusting valve adjusts the restriction amount of the refrigerant in relation to the refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circuit. The compressor displacement is thus optimally controlled.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2001Date of Patent: January 21, 2003Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Masahiro Kawaguchi, Ken Suitou, Taku Adaniya, Hirotaka Kurakake, Hiroyuki Yoshida, Kazuya Kimura, Ryo Matsubara
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Publication number: 20030005821Abstract: A swash plate type compressor including; a rotary drive shaft having an axis of rotation; a swash plate supported by the drive shaft such that the swash plate is inclined or tiltable with respect to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft; a housing which supports the drive shaft such that the drive shaft is rotatable and axially immovable relative to the housing, which has a plurality of cylinder bores which are located at respective circumferential portions radially spaced from the axis of rotation of the drive shaft and which extend in a direction parallel to the drive shaft; a plurality of pistons each including a head portion slidably engaging a corresponding one of the cylinder bores, and an engaging portion engaging a radially outer portion of opposite surfaces of the swash plate, each piston being reciprocated by the swash plate rotated with the drive shaft; and a plurality of shoes each of which is disposed between one of the opposite surfaces of the swash plate and the engaging poType: ApplicationFiled: May 20, 2002Publication date: January 9, 2003Inventors: Masaki Ota, Tomoji Tarutani, Hirotaka Kurakake, Osamu Hiramatsu, Kiyoshi Narukawa, Yoshinori Inoue
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Publication number: 20020176785Abstract: A compressor includes a housing, a compression mechanism, a rotary unit and a sliding bearing. The compression mechanism compresses refrigerant in the housing. The rotary unit drives the compression mechanism. The sliding bearing is supported in the housing while rotatably supporting the rotary unit. The sliding bearing has a base member, porous metal layer and fluoro resin layer. The surface of the base member is coated with the porous metal layer having solid lubricating performance. The surface is coated with the fluoro resin layer through the porous metal layer.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 23, 2002Publication date: November 28, 2002Inventors: Ken Suitou, Shinji Tsubai, Hiroyuki Gennami, Kazuhiro Kuroki, Yoshikazu Fukutani, Satoru Egawa, Toshihiro Kawai, Hirotaka Kurakake, Shigeki Kawachi, Hidenori Iida, Masaki Ota, Tomoji Tarutani
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Publication number: 20020170425Abstract: A method of producing a shoe for a swash plate type compressor, said shoe being disposed between a swash plate and a piston of said swash plate type compressor, the method comprising: a forming step of forming a steel blank into a shoe product including an end product shoe and a pre size-adjusted shoe; and a nitriding step of effecting a nitriding treatment on said shoe product; and wherein a quenching treatment is not effected after said forming step.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 20, 2002Publication date: November 21, 2002Inventors: Tomoji Tarutani, Tomohiro Wakita, Hirotaka Kurakake, Hidenori Iida, Naoki Usui, Masaki Ota, Osamu Hiramatsu, Kiyoshi Narukawa, Yoshinori Inoue
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Patent number: 6481227Abstract: An air conditioner having a refrigerant circuit that maintains a high cooling efficiency and a sufficient amount of oil returned to a compressor even if the flow rate of refrigerant is decreased due to a low cooling load is provided. The refrigerant circuit includes a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator and a variable displacement compressor. The expansion valve is normal-charge type. A control valve adjusts the pressure in a crank chamber based on the value of a current from a controller and on a pressure difference between two pressure monitoring points, which are located in the refrigerant circuit. Accordingly, the compressor displacement and the flow rate of refrigerant in the circuit are controlled.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2000Date of Patent: November 19, 2002Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Masahiro Kawaguchi, Ken Suitou, Hirotaka Kurakake
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Patent number: 6457319Abstract: A control valve controls the pressure in a crank chamber of a compressor to change the displacement of the compressor. The compressor includes a discharge chamber, a suction chamber and a supply passage, which connects the discharge chamber to the crank chamber. The control valve regulates the supply passage. The control valve includes a valve body, a spool and a solenoid. The valve body adjusts the size of an opening in the supply passage. The spool moves the valve body in accordance with the difference between the pressure in the discharge chamber and the pressure in the suction chamber. The solenoid urges the valve body by a force, the magnitude of which corresponds to a supply of electricity. The urging force of the solenoid represents a target value of the pressure difference. The spool moves the valve body such that the pressure difference seeks the target value.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 2000Date of Patent: October 1, 2002Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Ken Suitou, Ryo Matsubara, Hirotaka Kurakake
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Patent number: 6446540Abstract: A compressor has a housing and a cylinder bore. A piston is accommodated in the cylinder bore. A drive shaft is supported by the housing. An annular support plate is driven by the drive shaft. The support plate surrounds the drive shaft and inclines with respect to the axis of the drive shaft. The support plate has an boss. A radial bearing located about the boss. The radial bearing has an outer race. A disk-like swash plate is formed integrally with the outer race. The swash plate is connected the piston to cause the piston to reciprocate.Type: GrantFiled: May 9, 2000Date of Patent: September 10, 2002Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Hirotaka Kurakake, Taku Adaniya, Satoshi Inaji
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Patent number: 6416297Abstract: A compressor that generates relatively little noise and prevents partial clutch engagement and gas leakage when the inclination of a cam plate is suddenly decreased by a great amount. The compressor includes a control valve that electrically controls the compressor displacement based on external information. The rear end of a drive shaft is supported by a shaft bore formed in a cylinder block. A stopper is located endwise of the drive shaft to limit axial movement of the drive shaft. The stopper may be very stiff spring or a rigid member.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 1999Date of Patent: July 9, 2002Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masahiro Kawaguchi, Keiichi Kato, Hajime Kurita, Hirotaka Kurakake, Satoshi Inaji
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Patent number: 6393849Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus having a refrigerant circuit including a condenser, a pressure reducing device, an evaporator, and a variable displacement compressor. The air-conditioning apparatus has a torque detecting device and an external information detecting device. The torque detecting device directly or indirectly detects the reaction torque acting on the compressor, and the external information detecting device detects various external information other than the torque. The air-conditioning apparatus further has a control device for determining a target torque in accordance with the external information provided by the external information detecting device. The control device executes a feedback control program for controlling the displacement of the compressor such that the torque detected by the torque detecting device approaches the target torque.Type: GrantFiled: July 6, 2000Date of Patent: May 28, 2002Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho, Denso CorporationInventors: Kenji Takenaka, Masaki Ota, Yoichiro Kashiwagi, Masahiro Kawaguchi, Masanori Sonobe, Tomoji Tarutani, Yasuharu Odachi, Hirotaka Kurakake, Kazuhito Miyagawa, Yasushi Yamanaka
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Patent number: 6390786Abstract: According to the structure for damping the pulsations of discharge pressure of a compressor of the present invention, in the annular discharge chamber 28 divided on the outer circumferential side in the rear housing 5, two bulkhead sections 35 are extended from positions on both sides of the outlet 23 in the circumferential direction in such a manner that they are separate from each other. The end portion of each bulkhead section 35 is extended to halfway between the first discharge port section 20 and the second discharge port section 21. The flow path from the first discharge port section 20 to the outlet 23 is directed to the opposite side to the outlet 23 and then turned back to the outlet 23. Therefore, the length of the flow path from the first discharge port section 20 to the outlet 23 becomes relatively long.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2000Date of Patent: May 21, 2002Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Hiroyuki Gennami, Tomoji Tarutani, Taku Adaniya, Hirotaka Kurakake, Masaki Ota
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Publication number: 20020025258Abstract: Compressor has a driving unit. The driving unit is provided within a crank chamber and decreases the discharge capacity when a control valve opens a control passage to increase the pressure within the crank chamber. The throttle passage delivers oil with the compressed refrigerant to the crank chamber regardless of whether the control valve has opened or closed the control passage. Because the throttle passage may continuously deliver the oil to the crank chamber even when the control valve closes the control passage, the mechanical elements within the crank chamber can be reliably and sufficiently lubricated and the crank chamber is prevented from being in an insufficiently lubricated state.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 6, 2001Publication date: February 28, 2002Inventors: Masaki Ota, Ken Suitou, Taku Adaniya, Ryo Matsubara, Hirotaka Kurakake, Hiroyuki Yoshida
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Patent number: 6343540Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for installing pistons in cylinder bores formed in a cylinder block of a compressor. The piston on one end of the cylinder block and a positioning jig on the other end of the cylinder block are arranged. The positioning jig is inserted into the cylinder bore such that part of the positioning jig protrudes from the cylinder bores toward the piston. The protruding part of the positioning jig is engaged with the piston to determine the position of the piston. The piston is inserted into the cylinder bore while maintaining the engagement between the jig and the piston. The positioning jig is removed from the cylinder bore. This facilitate automation of installation of pistons in cylinder bores.Type: GrantFiled: June 13, 2000Date of Patent: February 5, 2002Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Masanori Sonobe, Tomoji Tarutani, Ryo Matsubara, Kenta Nishimura, Hirotaka Kurakake
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Patent number: 6336335Abstract: An engine control apparatus of a vehicle having an air conditioner that has a variable displacement compressor is disclosed. The pressure difference between two points in a refrigeration circuit is monitored. The pressure difference represents the compressor displacement. The compressor is controlled by a control valve. The control valve operates based on the pressure difference. A controller compares the temperature of the passenger compartment with a temperature setting. If they differ, the controller determines a target pressure difference for the control valve. The controller computes the compressor torque based on the target pressure difference signal. The controller determines a target engine torque based on the compressor torque and controls the engine based on the target engine torque.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2000Date of Patent: January 8, 2002Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Masaki Ota, Kazuya Kimura, Masahiro Kawaguchi, Ken Suitou, Ryo Matsubara, Hirotaka Kurakake
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Publication number: 20010052236Abstract: A control valve is located in a variable displacement compressor incorporated in a refrigerant circuit. The control valve controls the displacement of the compressor in accordance with a pressure difference between a first pressure monitoring point and a second pressure monitoring point, which are located in the refrigerant circuit, such that the pressure difference seeks a predetermined target value. An adjusting valve, which is a variable throttle valve, is located in a section of the refrigerant circuit between the first and second pressure monitoring points. The adjusting valve adjusts the restriction amount of the refrigerant in relation to the refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circuit. The compressor displacement is thus optimally controlled.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 6, 2001Publication date: December 20, 2001Inventors: Masaki Ota, Masahiro Kawaguchi, Ken Suitou, Taku Adaniya, Hirotaka Kurakake, Hiroyuki Yoshida, Kazuya Kimura, Ryo Matsubara
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Patent number: 6308615Abstract: A compressor includes a piston and a shoe, which contact and slide on one another. The piston includes a sliding surface, on which a solid lubricant film is formed. The shoe includes a sliding surface that slides on the first sliding surface. A soft film that mainly contains soft metal is formed on the second sliding surface. The solid lubricant that forms the solid lubricant film is a solid lubricant other than a soft metal.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2000Date of Patent: October 30, 2001Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki SeisakushoInventors: Kenji Takenaka, Keiichi Kato, Hajime Kurita, Hirotaka Kurakake
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Publication number: 20010033798Abstract: A lug plate 11 is secured to a drive shaft 7 which is rotatably supported in a housing so as to rotate together with the drive shaft, and a swash plate 12 is operatively connected to the lug plate through a hinge mechanism so as to rotate together with the lug plate and so as to vary an angle with respect to the drive shaft 7. Pistons 17 which are received in cylinder bores la so as to reciprocally move are operatively connected to the swash plate 12, so that not only can a refrigerant be introduced and discharged in accordance with the rotation of the drive shaft 7, but also the stroke of the pistons 17 can be varied by varying the angle of the swash plate 12. A front radial bearing 9B is provided on the outer periphery of a boss portion 11A of the lug plate 11 and a coil spring 16 to bias the swash plate 12 is received in a spring receiving portion 11C formed in the lug plate 11 on the rear side thereof.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 12, 2001Publication date: October 25, 2001Inventors: Masaki Ota, Tomoji Tarutani, Ken Suitou, Tomohiro Wakita, Yoshinori Inoue, Hirotaka Kurakake