Patents by Inventor Kazuhiro Aoki

Kazuhiro Aoki 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: 9103790
    Abstract: A linker for a unimolecular FRET biosensor based on a principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer, the linker including: a polypeptide containing 52 to 400 amino acids residues, wherein at least 45% of a total number of the amino acid residues are glycine, alanine, or both thereof, and at least 10% of the total number of the amino acid residues are alanine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: KYOTO UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Michiyuki Matsuda, Naoki Komatsu, Kazuhiro Aoki, Yuji Kamioka, Hiroko Yukinaga, Yoshie Inaoka, Atsuro Sakurai, Etsuko Kiyokawa, Kenta Sumiyama
  • Patent number: 9032996
    Abstract: A shaft sealing device switches a sealing state and an unsealing state of a fluid, with high sealing performance maintained, because no abrasion accompanies movement of a sealing material or a sealing member, enabling feeding a fluid at a predetermined flow rate, and adjusts the expanding rate of the sealing material with the quantity of an external electric signal and accordingly adjusts the contact face pressure to enable controlling the amount of leakage of the fluid highly precisely, so that it can be used for all applications. The shaft sealing device includes a shaft sealing body formed of a macromolecular material and made expansible or contractible, or deformable, through external electrostimuli applied to a shaft sealing portion disposed in a device body, and flow passages disposed in the shaft sealing portion for feeding the fluid leaked due to the expansion or contraction, or the deformation, of the shaft sealing body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: KITZ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Tomoya Yamasaki, Chikashi Gomi
  • Publication number: 20140013938
    Abstract: A shaft sealing device switches a sealing state and an unsealing state of a fluid, with high sealing performance maintained, because no abrasion accompanies movement of a sealing material or a sealing member, enabling feeding a fluid at a predetermined flow rate, and adjusts the expanding rate of the sealing material with the quantity of an external electric signal and accordingly adjusts the contact face pressure to enable controlling the amount of leakage of the fluid highly precisely, so that it can be used for all applications. The shaft sealing device includes a shaft sealing body formed of a macromolecular material and made expansible or contractible, or deformable, through external electrostimuli applied to a shaft sealing portion disposed in a device body, and flow passages disposed in the shaft sealing portion for feeding the fluid leaked due to the expansion or contraction, or the deformation, of the shaft sealing body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2013
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Applicant: KITZ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro AOKI, Tomoya YAMASAKI, Chikashi GOMI
  • Patent number: 8430700
    Abstract: An electric wire with a terminal connector includes an electric wire and a female terminal connector crimped onto a core wire exposed at the electric wire. A female terminal connector has a wire barrel having a surface to be applied to the core wire. The surface has a plurality of recesses formed therein. Each recess has an opening edge. The opening edge of the recess includes first opening edges that are parallel to each other. The first opening edges are arranged to overlap with each other in the extending direction of the electric wire so that the first opening edges are present over the entire length of all over the plurality of the recesses on the crimping portion in the extending direction of the electric wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignees: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd., Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junichi Ono, Hiroki Hirai, Tetsuji Tanaka, Hiroki Shimoda, Takuji Otsuka, Masaaki Tabata, Kenji Okamura, Kazuhiro Aoki, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Takahito Nakashima
  • Patent number: 8425266
    Abstract: An electric wire with a terminal connector includes an electric wire and a female terminal connector crimped onto a core wire exposed at the electric wire. A female terminal connector has a wire barrel having a surface to be applied to the core wire. The surface has a plurality of recesses formed therein. Each recess has an opening edge. The opening edge of the recess includes first opening edges that are parallel to each other. The space between the recesses adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the first opening edge is set narrower than the space between the recesses adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the electric wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignees: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd., Sumitomo Wiring Systems I, Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junichi Ono, Hiroki Hirai, Tetsuji Tanaka, Hiroki Shimoda, Takuji Otsuka, Masaaki Tabata, Kenji Okamura, Kazuhiro Aoki, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Takahito Nakashima
  • Patent number: 8413953
    Abstract: A polymer actuator is capable of being utilized for any of various drive sources, and the amount of deformation of the polymer actuator can particularly be used also for a valve or shaft-sealing device. The polymer actuator includes a power driver deformed upon receiving electro stimuli and electrodes disposed on the upper and lower surface sides of the power driver in an opposite manner for applying positive and negative electro stimuli to the power driver in a planar fashion. The electrodes have different stimuli application regions to have different electrical field distributions for causing distribution of stress generated in the power driver to be eccentrically located on one of positive and negative sides, thereby bending and deforming the power driver onto a side on which the opposite stimuli application regions do not exist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Kitz Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Tomoya Yamasaki, Chikashi Gomi
  • Patent number: 8337262
    Abstract: An electric wire with a terminal connector includes an electric wire and a female terminal connector crimped onto a core wire exposed at the electric wire. A female terminal connector has a wire barrel having a surface to be applied to the core wire. The surface has a plurality of recesses formed therein. Each recess has a parallelogram-shaped opening edge. The opening edge of the recess includes a pair of first opening edges that are parallel to each other and a pair of second opening edges that are parallel to each other and different from the first opening edges. The recesses are spaced in the extending direction of the first opening edges and are spaced in the extending direction of the second opening edges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignees: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd., Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junichi Ono, Hiroki Hirai, Tetsuji Tanaka, Hiroki Shimoda, Takuji Otsuka, Masaaki Tabata, Kenji Okamura, Kazuhiro Aoki, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Takahito Nakashima
  • Publication number: 20120028494
    Abstract: An electric wire with a terminal connector includes an electric wire and a female terminal connector crimped onto a core wire exposed at the electric wire. A female terminal connector has a wire barrel having a surface to be applied to the core wire. The surface has a plurality of recesses formed therein. Each recess has a parallelogram-shaped opening edge. The opening edge of the recess includes a pair of first opening edges that are parallel to each other and a pair of second opening edges that are parallel to each other and different from the first opening edges. The recesses are spaced in the extending direction of the first opening edges and are spaced in the extending direction of the second opening edges.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Applicants: AUTONETWORKS TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Junichi Ono, Hiroki Hirai, Tetsuji Tanaka, Hiroki Shimoda, Takuji Otsuka, Masaaki Tabata, Kenji Okamura, Kazuhiro Aoki, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Takahito Nakashima
  • Patent number: 7969046
    Abstract: The present invention is to provide a power supply control apparatus which can connect a ground to a suitable electric potential when the ground is disconnected. The power supply control apparatus includes a control circuit having a switch element and a switch control unit, and a load. One terminal of load is connected to a direct-current power supply through the switch element, and the other terminal is connected to a ground electric potential. The switch control unit has a ground terminal connected to the ground electric potential and outputting a ground current flowing toward the ground electric potential. The control circuit includes a bypass device having a load side bypass system for passing the ground current to the ground electric potential through the load when connection between the ground terminal and the ground electric potential is disconnected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignees: Yazaki Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masashi Nakayama, Shigemi Ishima, Kazuhiro Aoki, Akihito Tsukamoto
  • Publication number: 20100313983
    Abstract: The object is to provide a polymer actuator capable of being utilized for any of various drive sources, wherein the amount of deformation of the polymer actuator can particularly be used also for a valve or shaft-sealing device. The polymer actuator comprises a power driver deformed upon receiving electro stimuli and electrodes disposed on the upper and lower surface sides of the power driver in an opposite manner for applying positive and negative electro stimuli to the power driver in a planar fashion. The electrodes have different stimuli application regions to have different electrical field distributions for causing distribution of stress-generated in the power driver to be eccentrically located on one of positive and negative sides, thereby bending and deforming the power driver onto a side on which the opposite stimuli application regions do not exist.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2009
    Publication date: December 16, 2010
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Tomoya Yamasaki, Chikashi Gomi
  • Publication number: 20100051846
    Abstract: A shaft sealing device with a simple internal structure switches a sealing state and an unsealing state of a fluid, with high sealing performance maintained, because of no abrasion accompanying the movement of a sealing material or a sealing member, thereby enabling feeding a fluid at a predetermined flow rate, and adjusts the expanding rate of the sealing material with the quantity of an external electric signal and accordingly adjusts the contact face pressure to enable controlling the amount of leakage of the fluid highly precisely, so that it can be used for all applications. The shaft sealing device includes a shaft sealing body formed of a macromolecular material and made expansible or contractible, or deformable, through external electrostimuli applied to a shaft sealing portion disposed in a device body, and flow passages disposed in the shaft sealing portion for feeding the fluid leaked due to the expansion or contraction, or the deformation, of the shaft sealing body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2008
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Tomoya Yamasaki, Chikashi Gomi
  • Publication number: 20090096293
    Abstract: The present invention is to provide a power supply control apparatus which can connect a ground to a suitable electric potential when the ground is disconnected. The power supply control apparatus includes a control circuit having a switch element and a switch control unit, and a load. One terminal of load is connected to a direct-current power supply through the switch element, and the other terminal is connected to a ground electric potential. The switch control unit has a ground terminal connected to the ground electric potential and outputting a ground current flowing toward the ground electric potential. The control circuit includes a bypass device having a load side bypass system for passing the ground current to the ground electric potential through the load when connection between the ground terminal and the ground electric potential is disconnected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Publication date: April 16, 2009
    Applicants: YAZAKI CORPORATION, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masashi NAKAYAMA, Shigemi ISHIMA, Kazuhiro AOKI, Akihito TSUKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20070131574
    Abstract: A plate material packing box capable of preventing dirt from entering thereinto, easily storable in a storage room with a low ceiling by reducing the height dimension during transportation, and capable of transporting plate materials efficiently and constantly; a plate material transporting method using such a plate material packing box; and a plate material loading or unloading method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2007
    Publication date: June 14, 2007
    Applicant: ASAHI GLASS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazuhiro AOKI
  • Patent number: 7163192
    Abstract: An actuator for a valve serving to transfer turning power from a motor to an output shaft through an inner gearing planet gear speed reducing mechanism that is imposed in a casing and adapted to effect speed reduction of the turning power, and utilize rotation of the output shaft to open and close a valve by rotation. The gear speed reduction mechanism includes an eccentric body rotated in consequence of transfer of the turning power from the motor, an outer gear disposed so as to generate a vibrating rotation through the eccentric body, an inner gear meshed in an inscribing manner with the outer gear, a rotation transferring mechanism for extracting rotation from the vibrating rotation of the outer gear and transferring the extracted rotation to the output shaft, and an output shaft connected through the rotation transferring mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2007
    Assignee: Kitz Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Yasuo Minai, Yoshikazu Yokochi, Masahiro Kazama
  • Publication number: 20050184265
    Abstract: This invention relates to an actuator for a valve to be loaded in a rotary valve, such as a ball valve or a butterfly valve. An object is to make it possible to control the angle of the valve accurately, detect the open-close position of the valve accurately and materialize reduction of size and weight and saving of cost owing to the simplification of structure. Another object is to provide a compact and economically excellent actuator for a valve which enables valve opening-detecting members, such as limit switches and potentiometers and other component members to be put to common use without reference to the size of the output torque and ensures accurate detection of the open-close position of the valve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2003
    Publication date: August 25, 2005
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Yasuo Minai, Yoshikazu Yokochi, Masahiro Kazama
  • Patent number: 6885119
    Abstract: In an electric actuator having inner component parts thereof inclusive of a motor 1 covered with a cover main body 10, the cover main body 10 having a coating (protection) function serves as a manually operating part and is equipped with a mechanism for switching between electrical and manual operations. A fixing structure for connecting and fixing an electric actuator 40 and a rotary valve 23 includes an annular one-way clutch structure 25 at one of opposite fixing positions, and includes an annular face part 6 disposed at the other of the opposite fixing positions. The annular face part 6 is inserted into the one-way clutch structure 25, thereby restraining the actuator and valve from being rotated in one circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: KITZ Corporation
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Aoki
  • Patent number: 6814581
    Abstract: A connection body (41), of a connector for a towing vehicle, to be connected to a wire harness of a to-be-towed object and a connection body (42) of the connector to be connected to a wire harness of a towing vehicle body are approximately cylindrical. Terminals (32, 33) inside the connection bodies (41, 42) are composed of a common metal piece (31). The connector is connected to a wire harness (35) of the towing vehicle body not by using an exclusive cylindrical connector but by directly connecting a core wire to the terminal (32). To prevent water from penetrating into the connector, an O-ring (38), a sealing medium (57), and a rubber plug (59) are mounted on the connector. A protector (37) is installed on an insertion portion of the wire harness (35) of the towing vehicle body into the housing (30).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Matsuo, Masashi Ooi, Yukihisa Nakagawa, Kazuhiro Aoki
  • Publication number: 20040212260
    Abstract: In an electric actuator having inner component parts thereof inclusive of a motor 1 covered with a cover main body 10, the cover main body 10 having a coating (protection) function serves as a manually operating part and is equipped with a mechanism for switching between electrical and manual operations. A fixing structure for connecting and fixing an electric actuator 40 and a rotary valve 23 includes an annular one-way clutch structure 25 at one of opposite fixing positions, and includes an annular face part 6 disposed at the other of the opposite fixing positions. The annular face part 6 is inserted into the one-way clutch structure 25, thereby restraining the actuator and valve from being rotated in one circumferential direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2004
    Publication date: October 28, 2004
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Aoki
  • Patent number: D746411
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: KITZ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Hiroki Ohno
  • Patent number: D748226
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: KITZ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Aoki, Hiroki Ohno