Patents by Inventor Hiroyuki Sugiura

Hiroyuki Sugiura 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: 11946010
    Abstract: To provide a sliding member comprising a coating film exhibiting constant and stable chipping resistance and wear resistance and excellent in peeling resistance (adhesion), and the coating film thereof. The above-described problem is solved by a sliding member (10) comprising a coating film (1) on a sliding surface (16) on a base material (11). The coating film (1) has, when a cross section thereof is observed by a bright-field TEM image, a total thickness within a range of 1 ?m to 50 ?m, in repeating units including black hard carbon layers (B), relatively shown in black, and white hard carbon layers (W), relatively shown in white, and laminated in a thickness direction (Y). In the black hard carbon layer (B) and the white hard carbon layer (W) adjacent to each other, the white hard carbon layer (W) has higher hardness and a larger [sp2/(sp2+sp3)] ratio than the black hard carbon layer (B).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro Okazaki, Hiroyuki Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20220396746
    Abstract: To provide a sliding member comprising a coating film exhibiting constant and stable chipping resistance and wear resistance and excellent in peeling resistance (adhesion), and the coating film thereof. The above-described problem is solved by a sliding member (10) comprising a coating film (1) on a sliding surface (16) on a base material (11). The coating film (1) has, when a cross section thereof is observed by a bright-field TEM image, a total thickness within a range of 1 ?m to 50 ?m, in repeating units including black hard carbon layers (B), relatively shown in black, and white hard carbon layers (W), relatively shown in white, and laminated in a thickness direction (Y). In the black hard carbon layer (B) and the white hard carbon layer (W) adjacent to each other, the white hard carbon layer (W) has higher hardness and a larger [sp2/(sp2+sp3)] ratio than the black hard carbon layer (B).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Publication date: December 15, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro OKAZAKI, Hiroyuki SUGIURA
  • Patent number: 11293548
    Abstract: A sliding member (10) including a coating film (1) composed of a hard carbon layer on a sliding surface (16) of a base material (11). The coating film has, when a cross section thereof is observed by a bright-field TEM image, a thickness within a range of 1 ?m to 50 ?m, and is configured by repeating units including black hard carbon layers (B), relatively shown in black, and white hard carbon layers (W), relatively shown in white, and laminated in a thickness direction, and comprise an inclined region, provided on a base material side, where thicknesses of white hard carbon layers (W) of the repeating units gradually increase in a thickness direction, and a homogeneous region\, provided on a surface side of the sliding member, where thicknesses of the white hard carbon layers (W) of the repeating units are the same or substantially the same in the thickness direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignees: NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD, NIPPON ITF, INC
    Inventors: Takahiro Okazaki, Yoshihiro Ito, Hiroyuki Sugiura, Shinya Kanazawa, Hideki Moriguchi, Akinori Shibata, Takehiko Ooshiro
  • Patent number: 11261519
    Abstract: The purpose of the invention is to provide technology, which, in addition to being capable of forming thick hard carbon films of excellent durability even using PVD, is able to establish both chipping resistance and wear resistance in the formed hard carbon film and able to improve low friction properties and peeling resistance. Provided is a coating film to be coated on the surface of a substrate, the coating film having a total film thickness of greater than 1 ?m to 50 ?m wherein: when a cross-section is observed using bright field TEM images, white hard carbon layers that are shown as relatively white and black hard carbon layers that are shown as black are alternately laminated in the thickness direction; and the white hard carbon layers have regions that have grown in a fan-shape in the thickness direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignees: NIPPON ITF, INC., NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hideki Moriguchi, Akinori Shibata, Takehiko Ooshiro, Yoshihiro Ito, Takahiro Okazaki, Hiroyuki Sugiura
  • Patent number: 11254010
    Abstract: A machine tool is disclosed which continues monitoring even when there is an obstacle such as swarf or a cutting fluid between a machining portion to be monitored and a visual sensor. A visual sensor is attached to an in-machine robot which is movable in a machine tool. A controller operates the visual sensor while judging influences of the swarf and the cutting fluid, automatically judges an orientation experiencing less influence, and executes monitoring from an optimum direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: OKUMA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Sugiura
  • Patent number: 11112026
    Abstract: An electromagnetic valve as a fluid device is provided with a valve seat and a valve body midway of a flow path where a liquid flows, and closes the valve with the valve body pressed onto the valve seat and opens the valve by causing a gap between the valve seat and the valve body. The electromagnetic valve includes, as electrodes for measuring a degree of electrical conductivity between a liquid on an upstream side and a liquid on a downstream side of the valve seat and the valve body in the flow path, a first electrode electrically conductive to the liquid on the upstream side and a second electrode electrically conductive to the liquid on the downstream side. By using the first and second electrodes, detection of liquid leakage can be easily performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: TAKASAGO ELECTRIC, INC.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Sugiura, Yutaka Hayashi, Ken Naito, Masaaki Inoue
  • Publication number: 20210265896
    Abstract: In an electric motor cooling structure for cooling an electric motor provided in a power unit by jetting an oil to the electric motor, an oil passage for passing the oil therethrough is formed between a cover member covering the electric motor from outside and a lid member fitted to the cover member. The cover member is formed with a plurality of jet holes as through-holes communicating with the oil passage, and the plurality of jet holes are oriented in the same direction as an axial direction of the motor. The oil passage is formed in an annular shape as viewed in the axial direction of the electric motor. The cover member is formed with a second oil passage for supplying the oil to a rotary shaft of the electric motor. Such cooling structure efficiently cools the electric motor while suppressing processing cost with a simple oil passage structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Inventors: Kohei OMORI, Hiroyuki SUGIURA, Yuki NAGATA
  • Patent number: 11077905
    Abstract: An oil filter exposed to an outside of an internal combustion engine that may be damaged by a stone or a similar object thrown rearwardly from a front tire. A saddle-ride type vehicle includes a power unit that includes an internal combustion engine and a transmission. The transmission is coupled to the internal combustion engine. A lower portion of the power unit forms an oil reservoir. The power unit includes an oil filter, an actuator, and a transmission mechanism. The actuator is configured to drive the transmission. The transmission mechanism is configured to transmit power from the actuator to the transmission. The oil filter is disposed outside a wall portion of the power unit. The wall portion configures a part of the oil reservoir. The oil filter is disposed adjacent to the wall portion and the actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Sugiura, Hiroshi Yokota, Noriyuki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11027390
    Abstract: A machine tool system includes a machine tool having a processing chamber covered by a cover and a door for covering or uncovering an opening formed on the cover; a stocker for being removably mounted on the machine tool to thereby define a storage space outside the processing chamber; and a robot having a movement range spanning the storage space and the processing chamber when the stocker is mounted on the machine tool. In the machine tool mentioned above, the stocker includes a safety fence that defines, in cooperation with the outer surface of the machine tool, a protective space when the stocker is mounted on the machine tool. The protective space is a space for accommodating the storage space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: OKUMA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Sugiura, Yosuke Ichigi
  • Patent number: 10859081
    Abstract: A tube pump having small driving energy is provided. The tube pump includes: a flexible tube for conveying a fluid; a holder part holding the tube so that the tube is at least partially bent; a driving part; and at least one pressing part, rotationally driven around a first central axis by the driving part, and pressing the tube along the bent portion of the tube held by the holder part while rotating around the first central axis, thereby conveying the fluid in the tube. The pressing part has an inclined plane inclined from the side of the tube toward the side of the pressing part in a radially outward direction with reference to the first central axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masamune Nagahama, Hiroyuki Kaneko, Hiroyuki Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20200308521
    Abstract: A culture apparatus which supplies a culture medium, which is a cell culture solution, to culture cells includes a culture cartridge including a culture space where the cells can be seeded, a supply path for supplying the culture medium to the culture space, and a collection path for collecting the culture medium passing through the culture space. The culture cartridge is configured to be attachable and detachable, and includes connecting parts and for connecting, when attached, the culture space to the supply path and the collection path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2020
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Applicant: TAKASAGO ELECTRIC, INC.
    Inventors: Naoya ASAI, Daiki KAWATA, Hiroyuki SUGIURA, Yusuke OGIHARA
  • Publication number: 20200298418
    Abstract: A moisture intrusion detection system includes: an industrial robot that has a closed space defined thereinside; an air supply mechanism that supplies compressed air to the closed space; an air vent passage that is provided in the industrial robot to establish communication between an external space outside the industrial robot and the closed space, and guides, to the external space, air ejected from the closed space upon supply of the compressed air; a humidity sensor that detects a humidity of ejected air that is ejected from the air vent passage to the external space upon supply of the compressed air; and a controller that determines presence or absence of moisture intruding into the closed space based on a detected humidity of the ejected air, the detected humidity being detected by the humidity sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventor: Hiroyuki SUGIURA
  • Patent number: 10780547
    Abstract: A machine tool includes a main shaft unit; a polishing head for processing a workpiece; and an unnecessary byproduct leakage preventing unit for preventing leakage of abrasive resulting from processing at or around a part of the workpiece, the part being processed, and wherein the unnecessary byproduct leakage preventing unit includes a cover provided separately from the polishing head, the cover having a structure that is open in three directions and that has walls in another three directions such that a protection space where to hold a part of the workpiece is defined, the cover for receiving the abrasive, and a movement mechanism for moving the cover so as to stay apart from the workpiece while the workpiece is not being processed and so as to have a part of the workpiece held in the protection space while the workpiece is being processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: OKUMA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Sugiura, Shoichi Morimura
  • Publication number: 20200217416
    Abstract: A sliding member (10) including a coating film (1) composed of a hard carbon layer on a sliding surface (16) of a base material (11). The coating film has, when a cross section thereof is observed by a bright-field TEM image, a thickness within a range of 1 ?m to 50 ?m, and is configured by repeating units including black hard carbon layers (B), relatively shown in black, and white hard carbon layers (W), relatively shown in white, and laminated in a thickness direction, and comprise an inclined region, provided on a base material side, where thicknesses of white hard carbon layers (W) of the repeating units gradually increase in a thickness direction, and a homogeneous region\, provided on a surface side of the sliding member, where thicknesses of the white hard carbon layers (W) of the repeating units are the same or substantially the same in the thickness direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2018
    Publication date: July 9, 2020
    Applicants: NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD., NIPPON ITF, INC.
    Inventors: Takahiro OKAZAKI, Yoshihiro ITO, Hiroyuki SUGIURA, Shinya KANAZAWA, Hideki MORIGUCHI, Akinori SHIBATA, Takehiko OOSHIRO
  • Patent number: 10702962
    Abstract: A swarf handling apparatus installed in a machining tool that performs machining operation accompanied with production of stringy swarf includes a swarf catching device. The swarf catching device includes a holder unit that holds the stringy swarf when the stringy swarf makes contact with the holder unit. The swarf catching device causes the holder unit to be floated in a region around a machining point in such a manner that the position of the holder unit is varied relative to the machining point, for catching the stringy swarf in the holder unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: OKUMA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20200132211
    Abstract: An electromagnetic valve as a fluid device is provided with a valve seat and a valve body midway of a flow path where a liquid flows, and closes the valve with the valve body pressed onto the valve seat and opens the valve by causing a gap between the valve seat and the valve body. The electromagnetic valve includes, as electrodes for measuring a degree of electrical conductivity between a liquid on an upstream side and a liquid on a downstream side of the valve seat and the valve body in the flow path, a first electrode electrically conductive to the liquid on the upstream side and a second electrode electrically conductive to the liquid on the downstream side. By using the first and second electrodes, detection of liquid leakage can be easily performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Applicant: TAKASAGO ELECTRIC, INC.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki SUGIURA, Yutaka HAYASHI, Ken NAITO, Masaaki INOUE
  • Publication number: 20200124759
    Abstract: A joint system includes flow paths coupled to a fluid device which handles a fluid, first and second electrodes separately provided to the flow paths to electrically make contact with the fluid in the flow paths, and a detection circuit which detects whether the fluid passing through the fluid device is present or absent. The detection circuit measures a degree of electrical conductivity between the flow paths by using the first and second electrodes and detects whether the fluid passing through the fluid device is present or absent in accordance with the degree of electrical conductivity between the flow paths.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Publication date: April 23, 2020
    Applicant: TAKASAGO ELECTRIC, INC.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki SUGIURA, Yutaka HAYASHI, Ken NAITO, Masaaki INOUE
  • Publication number: 20200122283
    Abstract: A swarf-guiding device guides stringy swarf continuously generated from a cut point. The swarf-guiding device includes a jet nozzle that jets coolant, a nozzle-holding device that holds the jet nozzle such that a position and an orientation of the jet nozzle are changeable, and a controller that controls the nozzle-holding device such that the coolant hits the stringy swarf at a downstream position from a cut point in a tool-feeding direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2019
    Publication date: April 23, 2020
    Inventor: Hiroyuki SUGIURA
  • Patent number: 10619739
    Abstract: To provide a piston ring comprising a hard carbon film that is easy to form and exhibits excellent wear resistance. The above-described problem is solved by having a hard carbon film 4 formed on at least an outer peripheral sliding surface 11 of a piston ring base material 1, wherein the hard carbon film 4 is a laminated film comprising a plurality of layers, and is configured so as to contain boron within a range of an atomic density of 0.2×1022 atoms/cm3 to 2.0×1022 atoms/cm3 inclusive. This hard carbon film 4 may be configured to have an sp2 component ratio within a range of 40% to 80% inclusive, measured in a TEM-EELS spectrum formed by combining electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) with a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and a hydrogen content within a range of 0.1 atom % to 5 atom % inclusive. Further, a total thickness of this hard carbon film 4 may be configured to be within a range of 0.5 ?m to 20 ?m inclusive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD
    Inventors: Takuya Ozaki, Hiroyuki Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20200108505
    Abstract: A machine tool is disclosed which continues monitoring even when there is an obstacle such as swarf or a cutting fluid between a machining portion to be monitored and a visual sensor. A visual sensor is attached to an in-machine robot which is movable in a machine tool. A controller operates the visual sensor while judging influences of the swarf and the cutting fluid, automatically judges an orientation experiencing less influence, and executes monitoring from an optimum direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 2019
    Publication date: April 9, 2020
    Inventor: Hiroyuki SUGIURA