Patents by Inventor Kazunobu Yokotani

Kazunobu Yokotani 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: 9847563
    Abstract: A first power storage section and a second power storage section are connected in parallel. The first power storage section includes a first non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery. The second power storage section includes parallel-connected second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries. Each of the second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries has a higher energy density than that of the first non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery. In a case where the second power storage section is discharged at a current value corresponding to a first assumed maximum discharge current value, the parallel-connected number of the second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries is set such that a discharge rate of each of the second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries becomes the preset reference discharge rate or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Makoto Ochi, Hiromasa Sugii, Kazunobu Yokotani, Fumio Yasutomi, Noritake Okada
  • Publication number: 20170125869
    Abstract: A first power storage section and a second power storage section are connected in parallel. The first power storage section includes a first non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery. The second power storage section includes parallel-connected second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries. Each of the second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries has a higher energy density than that of the first non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery. In a case where the second power storage section is discharged at a current value corresponding to a first assumed maximum discharge current value, the parallel-connected number of the second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries is set such that a discharge rate of each of the second non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries becomes the preset reference discharge rate or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2015
    Publication date: May 4, 2017
    Inventors: MAKOTO OCHI, HIROMASA SUGII, KAZUNOBU YOKOTANI, FUMIO YASUTOMI, NORITAKE OKADA
  • Patent number: 8643332
    Abstract: A battery system includes a battery pack, a detecting portion, a storage portion, and a determining portion. The battery pack includes serially-connected parallel battery units each of which includes battery cells connected in parallel. The detecting portion detects voltage and current of the units, and calculates the accumulated current value of each of the units. The storage portion stores reference voltage values to be associated the accumulated current value of each of the units. The determining portion reads, from the storage portion, one of the reference voltages corresponding to the accumulated value of each of the units, and compares the read reference voltage with the detection voltage of the each of the units. Thus, a battery cell internal short circuit is detected if the difference between the detection voltage and the read reference voltage exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazunobu Yokotani
  • Patent number: 8435664
    Abstract: A battery system including battery blocks (3) having a plurality of battery cells (1) stacked with cooling gaps (4) established between the battery cells to pass cooling gas; ventilating ducts (5), which are supply ducts (6) and exhaust ducts (7), disposed on both sides of the battery blocks to forcibly ventilate the cooling gaps; and ventilating apparatus (9) to force cooling gas to flow through the ventilating ducts. Cooling gas forcibly introduced by the ventilating apparatus flows from the supply ducts through the cooling gaps and into the exhaust ducts to cool the battery cells. In addition, the battery system has temperature equalizing walls (8) disposed in the supply ducts. The temperature equalizing walls are long and narrow with length in the direction of flow greater than the width, and each temperature equalizing wall gradually narrows towards the upstream end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masao Saito, Kazunobu Yokotani, Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20110148426
    Abstract: A battery system includes a battery pack, a detecting portion, a storage portion, and a determining portion. The battery pack 10 includes serially-connected parallel battery units 1 each of which includes battery cells 2 connected in parallel. The detecting portion 5 detects voltage and current of the units 1, and calculates the accumulated current value of each of the units 1. The storage portion 6 stores reference voltage values to be associated the accumulated current value of each of the units 1. The determining portion 7 reads, from the storage portion 6, one of the reference voltages corresponding to the accumulated value of each of the units 1, and compares the read reference voltage with the detection voltage of the each of the units 1. Thus, a battery cell internal short circuit is detected if the difference between the detection voltage and the read reference voltage exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2010
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Inventor: Kazunobu YOKOTANI
  • Publication number: 20110148361
    Abstract: A battery system includes a battery pack 10, a detecting portion 5, a storage portion 6, and a determining portion 7. The battery pack 10 includes parallel battery units 1. The unit 1 includes a current restriction portion 9 and a plurality of battery cells 2. The cells 2 are connected to each other in parallel. The detecting portion 5 detects voltage and current of each unit, and calculates the accumulated current value of each unit. The storage portion 6 stores reference voltage values to be associated the accumulated current value. The determining portion 7 reads one of the reference voltages corresponding to the accumulated value, and compares the read reference voltage with the detection voltage whereby determining that the current restriction portion is brought in a current restriction state if the difference between the detection voltage and the read reference voltage is larger than a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2010
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Inventor: Kazunobu YOKOTANI
  • Publication number: 20100285347
    Abstract: The battery system comprises battery blocks 3 having a plurality of battery cells 1 stacked with cooling gaps 4 established between the battery cells 1 to pass cooling gas; ventilating ducts 5, which are supply ducts 6 and exhaust ducts 7, disposed on both sides of the battery blocks to forcibly ventilate the cooling gaps; and ventilating apparatus 9 to force cooling gas to flow through the ventilating ducts. Cooling gas forcibly introduced by the ventilating apparatus 9 flows from the supply ducts 6 through the cooling gaps 4 and into the exhaust ducts 7 to cool the battery cells. In addition, the battery system has temperature equalizing walls 8 disposed in the supply ducts 6. The temperature equalizing walls 8 are long and narrow with length in the direction of flow greater than the width, and each temperature equalizing wall 8 gradually narrows towards the upstream end.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2010
    Publication date: November 11, 2010
    Inventors: Masao SAITO, Kazunobu Yokotani, Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Patent number: 7089800
    Abstract: The invention provides a load detecting system comprising a core (83) of magnetostrictive material, a coil (85) disposed in the vicinity of the core, and a load detecting circuit (10) connected to the coil (85) for detecting the magnitude of a load acting on the core (83). The load detecting circuit (10) comprises an exciting circuit (102) for passing an a.c.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., LTD
    Inventors: Kazushige Kakutani, Keiji Kishimoto, Kazunobu Yokotani, Hideaki Aoki, Kazufumi Ushijima, Takeshi Fukunaga, Minoru Nakanishi, Fumitake Kondo
  • Publication number: 20060075824
    Abstract: The invention provides a load detecting system comprising a core (83) of magnetostrictive material, a coil (85) disposed in the vicinity of the core, and a load detecting circuit (10) connected to the coil (85) for detecting the magnitude of a load acting on the core (83). The load detecting circuit (10) comprises an exciting circuit (102) for passing an a.c.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2005
    Publication date: April 13, 2006
    Applicant: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiji Kishimoto, Kazunobu Yokotani, Hideaki Aoki, Kazufumi Ushijima, Takeshi Fukunaga, Minoru Nakanishi, Fumitake Kondo
  • Patent number: 6983657
    Abstract: The invention provides a load detecting system comprising a core (83) of magnetostrictive material, a coil (85) disposed in the vicinity of the core, and a load detecting circuit (10) connected to the coil (85) for detecting the magnitude of a load acting on the core (83). The load detecting circuit (10) comprises an exciting circuit (102) for passing an a.c.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazushige Kakutani, Keiji Kishimoto, Kazunobu Yokotani, Hideaki Aoki, Kazufumi Ushijima, Takeshi Fukunaga, Minoru Nakanishi, Fumitake Kondo
  • Patent number: 6874592
    Abstract: An electrically assisted bicycle includes a human power drive mechanism for transmitting human power from a pedal to a rear wheel, a motor drive mechanism for auxiliarily driving a front wheel or the rear wheel by a motor, a battery for supplying the motor with electric power, a brake lever operated by a driver, a brake mechanism for braking the front or rear wheel that is not driven by the motor drive mechanism, by human power transmitted from the brake lever, and a motor control circuit for controlling the motor so that the motor is regeneratively braked to act as a power generator when the brake lever is operated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunobu Yokotani, Hideaki Aoki
  • Publication number: 20040084238
    Abstract: An electrically assisted bicycle includes a human power drive mechanism for transmitting human power from a pedal to a rear wheel, a motor drive mechanism for auxiliarily driving a front wheel or the rear wheel by a motor, a battery for supplying the motor with electric power, a brake lever operated by a driver, a brake mechanism for braking the front or rear wheel that is not driven by the motor drive mechanism, by human power transmitted from the brake lever, and a motor control circuit for controlling the motor so that the motor is regeneratively braked to act as a power generator when the brake lever is operated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2003
    Publication date: May 6, 2004
    Applicant: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunobu Yokotani, Hideaki Aoki