Patents by Inventor Kazuhito Yamamoto

Kazuhito Yamamoto 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: 11351959
    Abstract: A vehicle seatbelt device includes a ratchet wheel rotatable together with a spool in an integrated manner, and an engagingly locking portion. When the spool is rotated in a drawing direction at an angular acceleration larger than a predetermined angular acceleration, the engagingly locking portion is displaced radially outwardly so as to be engagingly locked by an engagingly locked portion. Hereby, rotation of the spool in the drawing direction is locked. Here, a control rod is placed axially outward of the engagingly locking portion. The control rod is displaced in the radial direction along with movement of the locking-inhibition movable portion. Along with the displacement of the control rod, a collar member is displaced axially to a restriction position. At the restriction position, the collar member enters a rotation raceway of the engagingly locking portion so as to restrict the engagingly locking portion from being displaced radially outwardly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20210394696
    Abstract: In a clip, a lock pin has a pair of locking portions and a pair of pinching portions. The locking portions are arranged so as to face each other in an opposing direction orthogonal to an insertion direction to the lock pin hole, each engage with the clip body to lock the lock pin to the clip body, and elastically deform toward a side that brings the locking portions close to each other to release engagement. The pinching portions extend toward an opening side of the lock pin hole and toward the side that brings the locking portions close to each other, are arranged so as to be offset from each other in an offset direction orthogonal to the insertion direction and the opposing direction, and are pinched by a tool from outside in the opposing direction so as to become close to each other together with the locking portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2021
    Publication date: December 23, 2021
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11173870
    Abstract: A vehicle seat belt device that includes: a load transmitting member that is formed in a flexible elongate shape, an end portion, at a seat rear side, of the load transmitting member being engaged with an anchor that is secured, at a seat rear side and at a seat lower side of a seat cushion, to a vehicle body or a vehicle seat, and an end portion, at a seat front side, of the load transmitting member being engaged with a pretensioner that is provided at the seat front side and at the seat lower side of the seat cushion and which, upon activation, pulls the seat front-side end portion of the load transmitting member inside the pretensioner; and a guide portion that is provided integrally with a buckle and that abuts a middle portion of the load transmitting member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11135996
    Abstract: A seatbelt device includes a webbing; a tongue; a buckle, in buckled up the webbing, a portion of the webbing configures a lap webbing; a lower restraint member a portion thereof disposed inside a vehicle seat cushion, the lower restraint member, together with the lap webbing, forming a loop opening along a seat front-rear direction, a length direction one side of the lower restraint member being pulled so as to tighten the loop, and the lower restraint member configured to press the body of the occupant from a seat lower side; and a tensioning device actuated in a case of a front-on collision or in a case in which a front-on collision is predicted, the tensioning device pulling the length direction one side of the lower restraint member to tighten the loop, and the tensioning device pulling the lap webbing so as to move toward a seat lower front side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11091121
    Abstract: The rotatable locking section engages with the fixed locking section resulting in pull-out direction rotation of the spool being locked. The webbing take-up device includes a permanent magnet and an electromagnet that restrict displacement of the rotatable locking section toward the fixed locking section, and that are actuated in a vehicle emergency so as to displace the rotatable locking section toward the fixed locking section. A restricting force of the rotatable locking section by the permanent magnet and the electromagnet is set such that the rotatable locking section is displaced toward the fixed locking section by an inertial force that spins the rotatable locking section about its own center of rotation when the electromagnet is deactivated and the spool has been rotated in the pull-out direction with an angular acceleration greater than a predetermined angular acceleration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20210061220
    Abstract: A vehicle seatbelt device includes a ratchet wheel rotatable together with a spool in an integrated manner, and an engagingly locking portion. When the spool is rotated in a drawing direction at an angular acceleration larger than a predetermined angular acceleration, the engagingly locking portion is displaced radially outwardly so as to be engagingly locked by an engagingly locked portion. Hereby, rotation of the spool in the drawing direction is locked. Here, a control rod is placed axially outward of the engagingly locking portion. The control rod is displaced in the radial direction along with movement of the locking-inhibition movable portion. Along with the displacement of the control rod, a collar member is displaced axially to a restriction position. At the restriction position, the collar member enters a rotation raceway of the engagingly locking portion so as to restrict the engagingly locking portion from being displaced radially outwardly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20200282949
    Abstract: A seat belt take-up control system includes: a first belt-take-up unit mounted at a child seat, the first belt-take-up unit taking up a seat belt of a vehicle seat and applying a predetermined tension at a time of fastening the seat belt; a belt lock unit that prevents pulling out of the seat belt in a state which the seat belt has been taken up by the first belt-take-up unit; and an second belt-take-up unit that, in a state in which pulling out of the seat belt has been locked by the belt lock unit, takes up the seat belt and applies a predetermined tension after the seat belt is fastened in at least one of a case in which pulling out of the seat belt is detected or a case in which a predetermined period of time has elapsed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200130639
    Abstract: A seatbelt device includes a webbing; a tongue; a buckle, in buckled up the webbing, a portion of the webbing configures a lap webbing; a lower restraint member a portion thereof disposed inside a vehicle seat cushion, the lower restraint member, together with the lap webbing, forming a loop opening along a seat front-rear direction, a length direction one side of the lower restraint member being pulled so as to tighten the loop, and the lower restraint member configured to press the body of the occupant from a seat lower side; and a tensioning device actuated in a case of a front-on collision or in a case in which a front-on collision is predicted, the tensioning device pulling the length direction one side of the lower restraint member to tighten the loop, and the tensioning device pulling the lap webbing so as to move toward a seat lower front side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20200130640
    Abstract: A vehicle seat belt device that includes: a load transmitting member that is formed in a flexible elongate shape, an end portion, at a seat rear side, of the load transmitting member being engaged with an anchor that is secured, at a seat rear side and at a seat lower side of a seat cushion, to a vehicle body or a vehicle seat, and an end portion, at a seat front side, of the load transmitting member being engaged with a pretensioner that is provided at the seat front side and at the seat lower side of the seat cushion and which, upon activation, pulls the seat front-side end portion of the load transmitting member inside the pretensioner; and a guide portion that is provided integrally with a buckle and that abuts a middle portion of the load transmitting member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20200023809
    Abstract: The rotatable locking section engages with the fixed locking section resulting in pull-out direction rotation of the spool being locked. The webbing take-up device includes a permanent magnet and an electromagnet that restrict displacement of the rotatable locking section toward the fixed locking section, and that are actuated in a vehicle emergency so as to displace the rotatable locking section toward the fixed locking section. A restricting force of the rotatable locking section by the permanent magnet and the electromagnet is set such that the rotatable locking section is displaced toward the fixed locking section by an inertial force that spins the rotatable locking section about its own center of rotation when the electromagnet is deactivated and the spool has been rotated in the pull-out direction with an angular acceleration greater than a predetermined angular acceleration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Publication date: January 23, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito YAMAMOTO
  • Patent number: 10507780
    Abstract: A fixing clip fixes a member to a body panel and includes a bushing and a lock pin. The bushing includes a head and a leg. The lock pin includes a load receiving portion including a load receiving surface which receives a part of a reaction force of a drawing-out load loaded on the fixing clip from a body panel, when the drawing-out load acts on the fixing clip from the member. The bushing includes a pressure receiving surface for receiving the part of the reaction force of the drawing-out load which the lock pin has received. The drawing-out load thus can be received by both the bushing and the lock pin. As a result, an endurability of the fixing clip against the drawing-out load is improved by an amount of the load which the lock pin shares, so that the drawing-out load can be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20190353230
    Abstract: A ball screw device includes: a threaded shaft; a nut; multiple first balls rollably arranged on a helical raceway composed of a helical groove of the threaded shaft and a helical groove of the nut; an inner ring raceway groove formed on an outer circumferential surface of one axial end of the threaded shaft; an outer ring having an outer ring raceway groove that faces the inner ring raceway groove; and multiple second balls rollably arranged between the inner ring raceway groove and the outer ring raceway groove. The ball screw device converts rotation of the threaded shaft into linear motion of the nut through the first balls rolling on the helical raceway while being subjected to a load. The outer ring has a rolling element insertion hole penetrating from its outer circumferential surface to the outer ring raceway groove and a lid configured to cover the rolling element insertion hole. An inner surface of the lid is formed into a concave shape to serve as part of the outer ring raceway groove.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Inventors: Yosuke KAJIHARA, Kazuhito YAMAMOTO, Masahiro NOBUTOMO, Yutaka NAGAI, Yusuke WATARAI, Masahito MORIYAMA, Yoshiaki KATSUNO
  • Patent number: 10399528
    Abstract: A fixing clip for fixing a member to a body panel includes a bushing and a lock pin. The bushing includes a head, a leg and paired engagement hooks. Each engagement hook includes a head-side engagement portion and a leg tip-side engagement portion located closer to a tip of the leg than the head-side engagement portion. Each engagement hook includes a rib extending from the tip-side engagement portion toward the head. When the leg tip-side engagement portion is brought into engagement with the body panel, since the fixing clip has been largely inclined relative to the body panel, a bending moment acting on the leg is decreased so that the leg is unlikely to be broken at a root of the leg. As a result, a durability of the fixing clip having two steps of engagement portions is improved compared to a conventional fixing clip having a single engagement portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20190084513
    Abstract: A four-point seatbelt device for a vehicle including: a left and right pair of lap belts; a left and right pair of shoulder belts connected with the respective lap belts; a front latch portion connecting and disconnecting the left lap belt and left shoulder belt with the right lap belt and right shoulder belt; a retractor capable of taking up and pulling out the belt; a pull-out amount detection section capable of detecting a pull-out amount of the belt from the retractor; and a sitting posture detection section configured to determine the sitting posture of the occupant on the basis of the pull-out amount detected by the pull-out amount detection section, in a case in which a sitting posture of the occupant changes after the occupant sits on the vehicle seat and the front latch portion is connected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito YAMAMOTO
  • Patent number: 10137845
    Abstract: A tether has a pair of guide plates. The pair of guide plates has two sides. A distance between points located on the two sides increases, as the points on the two sides approach a tip of the tether. The tether may have elastic branches. The pair of guide plates may have protrusions protruding toward an anchor. The tether may be made long by curving a tether intermediate portion. The tether may have a second guide plate and a third guide plate. When a pillar garnish is moved in a direction away from a pillar, the two sides of the guide plates are brought into contact with a rim portion of a tether housing portion defining the tether inserting aperture, thereby preventing the tether from rotating about a center axis line of the clip and the anchor to pass through the tether inserting aperture. When a bottom wall of the tether housing portion comes to a tether portion located between the guide plates and the anchor, the elastic branches and the protrusions prevent rotation of the tether.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 10012501
    Abstract: Respective targets 10 are set at a plurality of reference points S1 to S16 provided on a construction. 3D measuring instrument 18 is firstly installed at a central site O of the first polygon G1 that has apexes at three or more of the reference points S, and measures 3D coordinates of the reference points in the first polygon G1 in a predetermined coordinate system, from 3D vectors for the apexes of the first polygon G1 which are collimated by the 3D measuring instrument 18.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: Big Survey & Design Co. Ltd
    Inventors: Toyotoshi Murata, Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9921048
    Abstract: A position adjusting mechanism 30 with a target 10 mounted thereon is fixed at a plurality of reference points S1 to S16 respectively on a construction 1, and initial 3D coordinates C0 of the targets 10 are surveyed and stored. When deformation or distortion of the construction 1 occurs, a deviation ?C (=Ct?C0) of 3D coordinate Ct of each of the targets 10 from the initial 3D coordinate C0 thereof are detected by a deviation detecting means 26, and each of the targets 10 recovers the initial 3D coordinate C0 by the position adjusting mechanism 30 thereof in accordance with the detected deviation ?C. Preferably, 3D coordinates of the targets 10 are surveyed by a 3D measuring instrument which collimates the targets 10 to output 3D vectors for the targets 10.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Big Survey & Design Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Toyotoshi Murata, Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9920390
    Abstract: There is proposed a method for preliminary treatment of molten iron wherein heat source for dissolving scrap is ensured sufficiently to improve iron yield while decreasing phosphorus concentration efficiently by suppressing the amount of flux solvent used in the process of desiliconization, dephosphorization and decarburization. In the method for preliminary treatment of molten iron by conducting desiliconization and dephosphorization of molten iron with a converter type container, molten iron is first charged into the converter type container to conduct desiliconization and then intermediate slag removal is conducted, and subsequently a lime-based flux solvent is added to the container while blowing oxygen to conduct dephosphorization of the molten iron, and thereafter newly untreated molten iron is charged into the container to conduct desiliconization, and subsequently the above treatments are repeatedly conducted with the same container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yozo Iwaki, Shizuhiko Ikeno, Kochiro Ejima, Takeshi Ishii, Masanori Nishikori, Hironori Fukushima, Naoki Kikuchi, Norihiko Suzuki, Kotaro Tanaka, Kazuhito Yamamoto, Ryo Kawabata, Naotaka Sasaki, Yasushi Ogasawara, Futoshi Ogasawara, Yuichi Uchida, Masaomi Senoo, Manabu Tano
  • Patent number: 9776578
    Abstract: The clip includes a first engagement hook and a second engagement hook. The first engagement hook engages the body when the clip is in a normal fitting with the body. The second engagement hook prevents the clip from being disengaged from the body when the first engagement hook has been disengaged from the body. When the first engagement hook is disengaged from the body, a member is lifted away from surrounding members to such an extent as can be recognized by sight. Therefore, a state that the clip is not in the normal fitting state with the body is noticeable. Even if the clip is coupled to the body in the non-fitting state or half-fitting state, the second engagement hook prevents the clip from being disengaged from the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20170253195
    Abstract: A tether has a pair of guide plates. The pair of guide plates has two sides. A distance between points located on the two sides increases, as the points on the two sides approach a tip of the tether. The tether may have elastic branches. The pair of guide plates may have protrusions protruding toward an anchor. The tether may be made long by curving a tether intermediate portion. The tether may have a second guide plate and a third guide plate. When a pillar garnish is moved in a direction away from a pillar, the two sides of the guide plates are brought into contact with a rim portion of a tether housing portion defining the tether inserting aperture, thereby preventing the tether from rotating about a center axis line of the clip and the anchor to pass through the tether inserting aperture. When a bottom wall of the tether housing portion comes to a tether portion located between the guide plates and the anchor, the elastic branches and the protrusions prevent rotation of the tether.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Publication date: September 7, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhito YAMAMOTO