Patents by Inventor Ken Horikawa

Ken Horikawa 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: 6872376
    Abstract: A modified vanadium compound characterized in that vanadium sulfate (III), or a mixed vanadium compound of vanadium sulfate (III) and vanadyl sulfate (IV) contains excessive sulfuric acid other than sulfate group composing the vanadium sulfate (III) or the vanadyl sulfate (IV), and when the modified vanadium compound is used, a redox flow battery electrolyte can be prepared easily.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignees: Nippon Chemical Industrial Co., Ltd., Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Tanaka, Muneo Mita, Ken Horikawa, Nobuyuki Tokuda, Masayuki Furuya, Michiru Kubata
  • Patent number: 6613298
    Abstract: The present invention provides method of producing a trivalent and tetravalent mixed vanadium compound having excellent solubility with sulfuric acid directly from a tetravalent or pentavalent vanadium compound by using a reducing agent,and a method of producing a vanadium electrolyte. For example, a vanadium compound mainly containing a pentavalent vanadium compound; sulfur and concentrated sulfuric acid in molar ratios with respect to (one mol of vanadium atom in the pentavalent vanadium compound) 0.35 to 0.4:1.2 to 1.9 are kneaded into paste form, and the paste-form mixture is calcined at a temperature of not less than 150° C. to less than 440° C. so that a trivalent and tetravalent mixed vanadium compound is obtained, and a redox flow battery-use vanadium electrolyte is obtained by dissolving the trivalent and tetravalent mixed vanadium compound in a sulfuric acid solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignees: Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Nippon Chemical Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Tanaka, Ken Horikawa, Muneo Mita, Nobuyuki Tokuda, Michiru Kubata
  • Publication number: 20020119090
    Abstract: A modified vanadium compound of the present invention in such that vanadium sulfate (III) or a mixed vanadium compound of vanadium sulfate (III) and vanadyl sulfate (IV) contains excessive sulfuric acid other than sulfate group composing the vanadium sulfate (III) or the vanadyl sulfate (IV), and when the modified vanadium compound is used, a redox flow battery electrolyte can be prepared easily.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2001
    Publication date: August 29, 2002
    Applicant: Nippon Chemical Industrial Co.,Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Tanaka, Muneo Mita, Ken Horikawa, Nobuyuki Tokuda, Masayuki Furuya, Michiru Kubata
  • Publication number: 20020048546
    Abstract: The present invention provides method of producing a trivalent and tetravalent mixed vanadium compound having excellent solubility with sulfuric acid directly from a tetravalent or pentavalent vanadium compound by using a reducing agent,and a method of producing a vanadium electrolyte. For example, a vanadium compound mainly containing a pentavalent vanadium compound; sulfur and concentrated sulfuric acid in molar ratios with respect to (one mol of vanadium atom in the pentavalent vanadium compound) 0.35 to 0.4:1.2 to 1.9 are kneaded into paste form, and the paste-form mixture is calcined at a temperature of not less than 150° C. to less than 440° C. so that a trivalent and tetravalent mixed vanadium compound is obtained, and a redox flow battery-use vanadium electrolyte is obtained by dissolving the trivalent and tetravalent mixed vanadium compound in a sulfuric acid solution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2001
    Publication date: April 25, 2002
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Tanaka, Ken Horikawa, Muneo Mita, Nobuyuki Tokuda, Michiru Kubata
  • Patent number: 6245389
    Abstract: A method of circulating an electroless nickel plating solution is characterized in that the system comprises the following process steps effected in the following order: (A) a step of electrolessly plating nickel using a plating solution having nickel hypophosphite contained as a chief chemical material for supplying a plating metal ion Ni2+ and a hypophosphorous acid ion H2PO2− acting as a reducing agent; (B) a step of removing HPO32− from a plating solution that has aged in the step (A); (C) a step of desalting the mother liquor separated from the step (B); and (D) a step of adjusting the components of the treated plating solution and then circulating same back into the step (A) of electroless nickel plating. According to the present invention, the plating solution is free from the formation and accumulation of a sulfuric acid salt and hence a long service life is ensured and a great advantage in environmental protection is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignees: Nippon Chemical Industrial Co., Ltd., Meltex, Inc.
    Inventors: Ken Horikawa, Muneo Mita, Hidehiro Nakao, Katsuhiro Tashiro