Patents by Inventor Hitoshi MINAI

Hitoshi MINAI 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).

  • Publication number: 20240133109
    Abstract: A disclosed drum-type washing machine having a softening apparatus comprises: a cylindrical water tank accommodating laundry and having a rotating drum; a case for accommodating the water tank; and a softening apparatus having a hardness component remover for removing hardness components from washing water, and a regeneration agent accommodation unit spaced apart from the hardness component remover on opposite sides from a center of the tub, and for accommodating a regeneration agent that regenerates a function of the hardness component remover.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2023
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Inventors: Atsushi OHYAGI, Hitoshi MINAI, Takashi ANDO, Tomoyuki OKUNO, Yasushi URAI
  • Patent number: 11441257
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a clothes dryer capable of reducing pressure loss of air due to a lint removal device. The clothes dryer includes a case, a drum rotatably supported inside the case, an air supply port configured to guide air into the drum, an exhaust port configured to guide air inside the drum to the outside of the drum, an exhaust duct configured to guide air passed through the exhaust port to the air supply port, a connecting duct connecting the exhaust port and the exhaust duct, and a lint removal device configured to remove lint in the air passed through the exhaust port, wherein the lint removal device is disposed inside the exhaust duct and configured to communicate with the connecting duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigenori Hato, Toshifumi Hashimoto, Hitoshi Minai
  • Publication number: 20220220655
    Abstract: A drum washing machine capable of washing a helmet includes a pulsator installed on a bottom of a drum and configured to be rotatable independently of the drum. A fixing device is configured to detachably fix an object to be washed having a three-dimensional shape to an inner lower side of the drum. A processor is configured to control a water storage process for storing water in the tub in an amount, in which at least a part of the pulsator is submerged, and to control a pulsator to agitate the water inside the tub by rotating the pulsator in a state in which the drum is stopped to maintain a lower position of the object to be washed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2022
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Applicant: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hitoshi MINAI, Takehiro NAKANISHI, Minsu KIM
  • Publication number: 20220090311
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a clothes dryer. The clothes dryer includes a drum configured to accommodate and dry clothes, and a lint removal device configured to remove lint in air flowing out of the drum. The lint removal device includes a filter part configured such that the lint is adhered thereto, and a screw rotatably disposed at an inner side of the filter part to push out the lint adhered to the filter part. The screw includes a shaft, and a blade extending from the shaft and having a helical shape, and the blade has elasticity to remove foreign substances introduced into the lint removal device without damage to the filter part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Applicant: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hitoshi MINAI, Toshifumi HASHIMOTO, Shigenori HATO, Ryo AOKI
  • Patent number: 11118304
    Abstract: A clothes dryer comprises a drum to stir clothes accommodated therein, an exhaust duct configured to discharge air inside the drum, a lint removing device including a filter to remove lint in air discharged to the exhaust duct, and a foreign-substance separating plate installed between the exhaust duct and the lint removing device to separate solid foreign substances in the air discharged to the exhaust duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigenori Hato, Toshifumi Hashimoto, Yuji Aoshima, Hitoshi Minai
  • Publication number: 20200378055
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a clothes dryer capable of reducing pressure loss of air due to a lint removal device. The clothes dryer includes a case, a drum rotatably supported inside the case, an air supply port configured to guide air into the drum, an exhaust port configured to guide air inside the drum to the outside of the drum, an exhaust duct configured to guide air passed through the exhaust port to the air supply port, a connecting duct connecting the exhaust port and the exhaust duct, and a lint removal device configured to remove lint in the air passed through the exhaust port, wherein the lint removal device is disposed inside the exhaust duct and configured to communicate with the connecting duct.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2018
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Shigenori HATO, Toshifumi HASHIMOTO, Hitoshi MINAI
  • Publication number: 20190345662
    Abstract: A clothes dryer comprises a drum to stir clothes accommodated therein, an exhaust duct configured to discharge air inside the drum, a lint removing device including a filter to remove lint in air discharged to the exhaust duct, and a foreign-substance separating plate installed between the exhaust duct and the lint removing device to separate solid foreign substances in the air discharged to the exhaust duct.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2018
    Publication date: November 14, 2019
    Inventors: Shigenori HATO, Toshifumi HASHIMOTO, Yuji AOSHIMA, Hitoshi MINAI