Patents by Inventor Kazuo Matsuura

Kazuo Matsuura 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: 11806679
    Abstract: A method that can efficiently dissolve a water-soluble component contained in a gas with smaller energy consumption is provided. A mist is produced from a liquid. The mist and carrier air is mixed to produce mist-containing air. A solution gas and the mist-containing air are supplied to a static mixer. The solution gas and the mist-containing are mixed by using the static mixer. The liquid mist is brought in contact with the solution gas to dissolve a water-soluble component that is contained in the solution gas into the liquid mist. The liquid mist that contains the water-soluble component dissolved aggregates and produces a solution that contains the water-soluble component dissolved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: NANOMIST TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazuo Matsuura
  • Publication number: 20230277984
    Abstract: Atmospheric pollutants are efficiently separated from exhaust gas with low operating cost. The exhaust gas cleaning method forms a fine mist of aqueous alkaline solution with an atomizer in an atomizing step; mixes the aqueous alkaline solution mist with exhaust gas to absorb atmospheric pollutants contained in the exhaust gas into the mist in a mixing step; and separates mist that absorbed atmospheric pollutants from the exhaust gas in a separating step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2021
    Publication date: September 7, 2023
    Inventors: Kazuo MATSUURA, Toshiharu CHICHIBU, Tomoyoshi NOMURA, Yuji ADACHI, Soichiro SHIMADA, Shingo TOMEMORI
  • Publication number: 20230242410
    Abstract: Carbonate salts are efficiently produced from carbon dioxide in exhaust gas. The method for producing carbonate salts includes an atomizing step that forms an aqueous alkaline solution mist with an atomizer; a mixing step that mixes exhaust gas with the aqueous alkaline solution mist produced in the atomizing step to absorb exhaust gas carbon dioxide in the mist and combine mist positive ions with the carbon dioxide to produce mist that contains carbonate salt; and a separating step that separates the mist that contains carbonate salt produced in the mixing step from exhaust gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2021
    Publication date: August 3, 2023
    Inventors: Kazuo MATSUURA, Toshiharu CHICHIBU, Tomoyoshi NOMURA, Yuji ADACHI, Soichiro SHIMADA, Shingo TOMEMORI
  • Publication number: 20220274071
    Abstract: A method that can efficiently dissolve a water-soluble component contained in a gas with smaller energy consumption is provided. A mist is produced from a liquid. The mist and carrier air is mixed to produce mist-containing air. A solution gas and the mist-containing air are supplied to a static mixer. The solution gas and the mist-containing are mixed by using the static mixer. The liquid mist is brought in contact with the solution gas to dissolve a water-soluble component that is contained in the solution gas into the liquid mist. The liquid mist that contains the water-soluble component dissolved aggregates and produces a solution that contains the water-soluble component dissolved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Publication date: September 1, 2022
    Inventor: Kazuo MATSUURA
  • Publication number: 20200366883
    Abstract: A stereo camera accurately measures the parallax of an object in real time and an accurate distance, even in a device in which the vertical positions of two cameras are mutually offset. A left camera starts to capture an image. An image capturing region of a right camera is set to be below that of the left camera, and the start of image capture by the right camera is delayed. Image capture by the right camera starts after a time difference has elapsed. Feature points in images from the left and right cameras are extracted, and feature points in the vicinity of a height set in advance in the left and right images are extracted. Detection is performed to ascertain whether the average value of a left/right difference for a plurality of points is set in advance, and a difference at the current time is calculated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2019
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Applicant: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventor: Kazuo MATSUURA
  • Patent number: 10291903
    Abstract: In order to obtain a low-cost stereo camera which can decrease the load of software-based calibration, a stereo camera is provided with a first vehicle-mounted camera which comprises a first lens unit and a first imaging element, and a second vehicle-mounted camera which comprises a second lens unit and a second imaging element. This stereo camera is characterized in that the first imaging element has a first sensitivity value recording unit in which sensitivity values of the first imaging element are recorded, and the second imaging element has a second sensitivity value recording unit in which sensitivity values of the second imaging element are recorded, wherein the sensitivity variation width between the sensitivity values of the first imaging element recorded in the first sensitivity value recording unit and the sensitivity values of the second imaging element recorded in the second sensitivity value recording unit is within a preset reference width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Sasada, Ken Ohsumi, Kazuo Matsuura
  • Patent number: 10220333
    Abstract: A method for separating at least one of components with different vapor pressures from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution. The method includes an atomization step, and a separation step. A solution L is atomized into mist in air whereby producing mist-mixed air in the atomization step. Droplets of the mist included in the mist-mixed air are classified according to their particle diameter sizes, and exhaust air that contains air as carrier gas is exhausted in the separation step. In the atomizing separation method, the heat energy of both of the latent heat and sensible heat that are included in the exhaust air exhausted in the separation step are collected, and one or both of the solution L to be atomized in the atomization step and air to be blown toward the solution L are heated by the collected heat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: NANOMIST TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazuo Matsuura
  • Patent number: 10105719
    Abstract: Provided is an electrostatic atomizing device which performs atomization at low cost. An electrostatic atomizing device (M4) is installed in an atomization chamber (10) of a separation apparatus. The electrostatic atomizing device (M4) includes a plate-like inclined surface electrode (101) and a plate-like counter electrode (102) parallel to the surface electrode (101). A solution is diffused by diffusers (108) onto an upper end of the surface electrode (101). The solution flows down along a front surface of the surface electrode (101) while being spread in a thin film form, and is atomized by an electric field between the surface electrode (101) and the counter electrode (102).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: NANOMIST TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazuo Matsuura
  • Publication number: 20160309138
    Abstract: In order to obtain a low-cost stereo camera which can decrease the load of software-based calibration, a stereo camera is provided with a first vehicle-mounted camera which comprises a first lens unit and a first imaging element, and a second vehicle-mounted camera which comprises a second lens unit and a second imaging element. This stereo camera is characterized in that the first imaging element has a first sensitivity value recording unit in which sensitivity values of the first imaging element are recorded, and the second imaging element has a second sensitivity value recording unit in which sensitivity values of the second imaging element are recorded, wherein the sensitivity variation width between the sensitivity values of the first imaging element recorded in the first sensitivity value recording unit and the sensitivity values of the second imaging element recorded in the second sensitivity value recording unit is within a preset reference width.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2015
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki SASADA, Ken OHSUMI, Kazuo MATSUURA
  • Publication number: 20160184738
    Abstract: A method for separating at least one of components with different vapor pressures from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution. The method includes an atomization step, and a separation step. A solution L is atomized into mist in air whereby producing mist-mixed air in the atomization step. Droplets of the mist included in the mist-mixed air are classified according to their particle diameter sizes, and exhaust air that contains air as carrier gas is exhausted in the separation step. In the atomizing separation method, the heat energy of both of the latent heat and sensible heat that are included in the exhaust air exhausted in the separation step are collected, and one or both of the solution L to be atomized in the atomization step and air to be blown toward the solution L are heated by the collected heat.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Publication date: June 30, 2016
    Inventor: Kazuo MATSUURA
  • Patent number: 9155978
    Abstract: A very highly concentrated solution is obtained in a single cycle of operation. In the solution separating apparatus, the solution is atomized into the mists to be mixed with the carrier gas, the carrier gas containing such atomized mists is transferred to the collection unit 3, and the collection unit 3 is so constructed and arranged that a specific target substance is separated and collected from the atomized mist component. The solution separating apparatus allows the mist component, by means of the carrier gas, to be in contact with the molecular sieving adsorbent 4 having a molecularly sieving capability of adsorbing the adsorbable component contained in the mist component so as to be separated from the mist component. The non-adsorbable component which is not adsorbed into the molecular sieving adsorbent 4 is separated from the mist component contained in the carrier gas in which the adsorbable component is separated, so that the target substance is separated from the carrier gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: ULTRASOUND BREWERY
    Inventors: Kazuo Matsuura, Fusatsugu Abe, Tetsuo Fukazu, Taisuke Sekimoto
  • Publication number: 20150129672
    Abstract: Provided is an electrostatic atomizing device which performs atomization at low cost. An electrostatic atomizing device (M4) is installed in an atomization chamber (10) of a separation apparatus. The electrostatic atomizing device (M4) includes a plate-like inclined surface electrode (101) and a plate-like counter electrode (102) parallel to the surface electrode (101). A solution is diffused by diffusers (108) onto an upper end of the surface electrode (101). The solution flows down along a front surface of the surface electrode (101) while being spread in a thin film form, and is atomized by an electric field between the surface electrode (101) and the counter electrode (102).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2011
    Publication date: May 14, 2015
    Applicant: NanoMist Technologies Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuo Matsuura
  • Patent number: 8993283
    Abstract: A production method for biomass-alcohol includes a saccharification step of saccharifying biomass, a first concentrating step of ultrasonically vibrating the saccharified solution and atomizing the saccharified solution into a mist, so as to elevate the sugar concentration in the saccharified solution by removing water from the saccharified solution, a fermentation step of fermenting the saccharified solution concentrated in the first concentrating step to form an alcohol water solution, and second concentrating step of separating alcohol from the alcohol water solution fermented in the fermentation step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignees: Ultrasound Brewery, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Matsuura, Fusatsugu Abe, Tetsuo Fukazu, Takuji Cho, Kousuke Kimoto
  • Patent number: 8979000
    Abstract: In the ultrasonic atomization method, a liquid is ultrasonically oscillated in an atomization chamber 4 and a liquid column P is projected in carrier gas to thus atomize the liquid into mists, the carrier gas carrying the atomized mists outwardly of the atomization chamber 4; the carrier gas is forcibly sucked from a lateral point being away at a distance (d1) of 5 cm or less from a center axis m of the liquid column P and thereby a gas flow is blown across the liquid column P; the mists are separated away from the liquid column P by means of the blown gas flow; and such separated mists are transferred outwardly of the atomization chamber 4 by means of the carrier gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Honke Matsuura Brewery Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuo Matsuura
  • Patent number: 8968451
    Abstract: An apparatus for concentrating solution includes a plurality of nozzles (1) to spray solution into minute particle mist, a gas supplier (2) to transfer gas-mist mixture containing mist by supplying carrier gas to mist sprayed from the nozzle (1), and a separator (3) to separate a component with a low boiling point from a component with a high boiling point by supplying gas-mist mixture transferred using the gas supplier (2). The gas supplier (2) defines a plurality of apertures (9) to supply carrier gas to the plurality of nozzles (1). In this apparatus for concentrating solution, the plurality of nozzles (1) are spraying mist into carrier gas supplied from the apertures (9).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Nanomist Technnologies Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Matsuura, Ichiko Azuma, Fusatsugu Abe
  • Publication number: 20140048467
    Abstract: A seawater desalination apparatus includes a spray (1), a gas supplier (9), an atomizing electrode (2), a high voltage power supply (3), a mist classifier (4), and a mist collector (5). The spray includes apertures for producing a seawater mist. The supplier supplies gas for carrying the mist from the spray. The electrode electrostatically produces fine droplets from the mist from the spray. The power supply is connected to the electrode and the spray, and applies high voltage between the electrode and the spray for the production of fine droplets from the mist from the atomizer. The classifier separates the fine droplets in the mist from the electrode. The collector collects the mist discharged from the classifier thereby producing fresh water.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2012
    Publication date: February 20, 2014
    Inventor: Kazuo Matsuura
  • Patent number: 8273252
    Abstract: A solution reactor allows the solution L to contact with the reactant gas G, and the component contained in the solution L is chemically changed by means of the reactant gas G. The reactor includes a nozzle 41 for spraying the solution L into a state of mists M, and a pressure feed unit 42 for feeding the reactant gas G, which is pressurized, into the nozzle 41. Further, in the reactor, the pressure feed unit 42 feeds such pressurized reactant gas G to the nozzle 41 to be flown fast, so that the nozzle 41 allows the fast flowing reactant gas G to contact with the solution and the solution L is broken into the state of mists M to be jetted out, and thus the component contained in the solution L is chemically changed by means of the reactant gas G.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Ultrasound Brewery
    Inventors: Kazuo Matsuura, Susumu Nii
  • Patent number: 8232914
    Abstract: A distance measuring apparatus comprising a transmission antenna to radiate a transmission radio wave; a reception antenna to receive a reflected signal from a target; an analog-to-digital converter to perform an analog-to-digital conversion for converting a reception signal; and a signal processing unit to process the converted signal and to detect the target, in which a transmission frequency of the transmission radio wave to be radiated is switched at a timing synchronized with a sampling frequency of the analog-to-digital conversion, the transmission frequency is switched in accordance with an arbitrary pattern within a frequency band, and the reception signal is rearranged in order on the basis of the arbitrary pattern at a time of the transmission to then be subject to a radar signal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kuroda, Kazuo Matsuura
  • Publication number: 20110186490
    Abstract: An apparatus for concentrating solution includes a plurality of nozzles (1) to spray solution into minute particle mist, a gas supplier (2) to transfer gas-mist mixture containing mist by supplying carrier gas to mist sprayed from the nozzle (1), and a separator (3) to separate a component with a low boiling point from a component with a high boiling point by supplying gas-mist mixture transferred using the gas supplier (2). The gas supplier (2) defines a plurality of apertures (9) to supply carrier gas to the plurality of nozzles (1). In this apparatus for concentrating solution, the plurality of nozzles (1) are spraying mist into carrier gas supplied from the apertures (9).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2009
    Publication date: August 4, 2011
    Inventors: Kazuo Matsuura, Ichiko Azuma, Fusatsugu Abe
  • Publication number: 20110147482
    Abstract: In the ultrasonic atomization method, a liquid is ultrasonically oscillated in an atomization chamber 4 and a liquid column P is projected in carrier gas to thus atomize the liquid into mists, the carrier gas carrying the atomized mists outwardly of the atomization chamber 4; the carrier gas is forcibly sucked from a lateral point being away at a distance (d1) of 5 cm or less from a center axis m of the liquid column P and thereby a gas flow is blown across the liquid column P; the mists are separated away from the liquid column P by means of the blown gas flow; and such separated mists are transferred outwardly of the atomization chamber 4 by means of the carrier gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Inventor: Kazuo MATSUURA