Patents by Inventor Kenichi Oba

Kenichi Oba 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).

  • Publication number: 20220399551
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a separator-integrated gasket and a manufacturing method therefor, with which the likelihood of the gasket peeling away from the separator can be reduced while reducing the number of manufacturing steps. The separator-integrated gasket includes gaskets 210, 220 that are provided integrally with a separator 200 forming a fuel cell, wherein the separator 200 is formed from carbon to which a thermoplastic first resin material has been added, and the gaskets 210, 220 are formed from a thermoplastic second resin material that is compatible with the first resin material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2020
    Publication date: December 15, 2022
    Inventors: Sohei SHIRAKAWA, Kenichi OBA
  • Patent number: 11525511
    Abstract: A film-integrated gasket is provided in which a gasket body is supported by a gasket support body formed of a resin film and a film thickness t2 at a position where the gasket body is supported is set to be smaller than a film thickness t1 at an adjacent position thereto so as to satisfy a demand for low reaction force by reducing the compression ratio in the thickness directional in mounting. The film-integrated gasket can be provided with a portion compressed in the thickness direction at the position where the gasket body is supported, so that the portion sets a thickness difference. The film-integrated gasket can alternatively be provided with a portion where a plurality of resin films is stacked at an adjacent position to the position where the gasket main body is supported, so that the portion sets a thickness difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Inventors: Hajime Yui, Kenichi Oba
  • Patent number: 11433582
    Abstract: A base-material/gasket unit mold which can reduce molding failure occurrence is provided. The mold includes a first half mold including a base material holding portion arranged on a first parting surface to hold a base material, and a second half mold having a second parting surface and used together with the first half mold to close and open the mold. The second half mold includes a gasket cavity defined on the second parting surface side to form a gasket main body on a surface of the base material, an isolated rubber cavity forming an isolated rubber portion isolated from the gasket main body on the surface of the base material, and a mold-pressing portion arranged around the isolated rubber cavity to press the base material when the mold is closed and having a recessed part defined on a press surface side to reduce deformation of the base material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hajime Yui, Kenichi Oba
  • Patent number: 11431004
    Abstract: A method of suctioning a gasket main body with a suction jig to separate the gasket main body from a carrier film. The method separates a gasket main body from a carrier film in a gasket including a combination of the gasket main body and the carrier film adhered thereto, where a suction jig is used to separate the carrier film and the gasket main body; the suction jig includes a suction surface at a position facing the carrier film; the suction surface being formed with a suction groove having a shape that corresponds with a planar shape of the gasket main body, the suction groove being formed with a plurality of suction paths across the entire periphery; and the gasket main body is suctioned to the suction groove with the suction force from the suction paths in the suction jig and separated from the carrier film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Inventors: Hajime Yui, Kenichi Oba, Takuro Nishimura
  • Publication number: 20210206038
    Abstract: A base-material/gasket unit mold which can reduce molding failure occurrence is provided. The mold includes a first half mold including a base material holding portion arranged on a first parting surface to hold a base material, and a second half mold having a second parting surface and used together with the first half mold to close and open the mold. The second half mold includes a gasket cavity defined on the second parting surface side to form a gasket main body 121 on a surface of the base material, an isolated rubber cavity forming an isolated rubber portion isolated from the gasket main body on the surface of the base material, and a mold-pressing portion arranged around the isolated rubber cavity to press the base material when the mold is closed and having a recessed part defined on a press surface side to reduce deformation of the base material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Applicant: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hajime YUI, Kenichi OBA
  • Patent number: 10960585
    Abstract: A gasket with a carrier film containing a combination of a rubber-only gasket body and a carrier film holding the gasket body. The carrier film can be easily detached from the gasket body even when the gasket body adheres to the carrier film. In embodiments, the gasket contains a combination of a rubber-only gasket body and a carrier film holding the gasket body. A tab enlarging the plane area of the gasket body is integrally provided in the gasket body. As a method for handling the gasket, when the carrier film is detached from the gasket body, the carrier film is detached from the gasket body in a state where the gasket body is fixed to a base with the tab or the carrier film is detached from the gasket body with the tab in a state where the carrier film is fixed to the base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hajime Yui, Kenichi Oba, Takuro Nishimura
  • Patent number: 10865881
    Abstract: A gasket is provided which is configured so that a gasket body is easily separated from a carrier film and the positional shift of the gasket body in stacking can be prevented. The gasket has a combination of a gasket body which contains only a rubber-like elastic body and which, in order to seal a gap between one member and the other member, is mounted in the other member and a carrier film separably stuck to one surface side in the thickness direction of the gasket body, in which an engagement portion is formed in the other surface in the thickness direction of the gasket body at a position corresponding to a portion to be engaged formed in the other member, and the gasket body is mounted in the other member by engagement of the engagement portion and the portion to be engaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Inventors: Hajime Yui, Kenichi Oba, Takuro Nishimura
  • Publication number: 20200321635
    Abstract: A gasket handling method is provided of suctioning a gasket main body with a suction jig to separate the gasket main body from a carrier film. The gasket handling method separates a gasket main body from a carrier film in a gasket including a combination of the gasket main body and the carrier film adhered thereto, where a suction jig is used to separate the carrier film and the gasket main body; the suction jig includes a suction surface at a position facing the carrier film; the suction surface being formed with a suction groove having a shape that corresponds with a planar shape of the gasket main body, the suction groove being formed with a plurality of suction paths across the entire periphery; and the gasket main body is suctioned to the suction groove with the suction force from the suction paths in the suction jig and separated from the carrier film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Inventors: Hajime YUI, Kenichi OBA, Takuro NISHIMURA
  • Patent number: 10626993
    Abstract: The present invention improves the handling properties of a rubber-only gasket and the affixability thereof to an attachment position. To this end, the provided gasket is: obtained by combining a gasket body of the rubber-only type, and a carrier sheet that comprises a resin film and holds the gasket body in an un-adhered state; and characterized in that the gasket body is provided with an adhesive section or bonding section for adhering or bonding the gasket body to an attachment position when attaching the gasket body to the attachment position. The adhesive section or bonding section is prepared by providing the lateral surface of the gasket body with a projecting section, and coating the surface of the projecting section with an adhesive or bonding agent. The gasket body is to be used as a gasket for a fuel cell to be incorporated into a fuel cell stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hidetoshi Saso, Yoshihiro Kurano, Takayuki Horimoto, Tetsuya Urakawa, Kenichi Oba, Takuro Nishimura, Hajime Yui
  • Patent number: 10625445
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a substrate-integrated gasket using screen printing. The method includes: a step for forming, on a surface of a substrate by means of screen printing, a coating layer of a paste for forming a gasket; and a step for hardening the coating layer by pressing, at a predetermined height, a coating layer correction member to the coating layer. The cross-sectional shape of the coating layer formed on the surface of the substrate is corrected by means of the coating layer correction member, and in such state, the coating layer hardens to be a gasket, thereby forming a gasket having a highly accurate cross-sectional shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hajime Yui, Tetsuya Urakawa, Kenichi Oba
  • Publication number: 20200096110
    Abstract: When a carrier film is removed from a gasket body of a carrier-film-equipped gasket, in order to easily remove the gasket body adhering to the carrier film from the carrier film, the adhesion area of the gasket body and the carrier film is reduced as a preliminary process of a peeling process of peeling the carrier film from the gasket body against adhesive force in a state where the gasket body is fixed to a base, and then the peeling process is implemented in the state where the adhesion area is reduced. When the gasket body is pressed from the carrier film side with a pressing protrusion portion of a pressing portion, the pressing is performed after the positioning on the plane is performed with positioning means by recess/projection engagement provided beforehand between the pressing portion and the carrier-film-equipped gasket.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2018
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Applicant: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hajime YUI, Kenichi OBA
  • Publication number: 20200096109
    Abstract: A film-integrated gasket is provided in which a gasket body is supported by a gasket support body formed of a resin film and a film thickness t2 at a position where the gasket body is supported is set to be smaller than a film thickness t1 at an adjacent position thereto so as to satisfy a demand for low reaction force by reducing the compression ratio in the thickness directional in mounting. The film-integrated gasket can be provided with a portion compressed in the thickness direction at the position where the gasket body is supported, so that the portion sets a thickness difference. The film-integrated gasket can alternatively be provided with a portion where a plurality of resin films is stacked at an adjacent position to the position where the gasket main body is supported, so that the portion sets a thickness difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2018
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Inventors: Hajime YUI, Kenichi OBA
  • Patent number: 10514099
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily remove a carrier film when removing the carrier film from a gasket body in a carrier-film-equipped gasket, which includes a combination of a rubber-only type gasket body and a resinous carrier film that retains the gasket body, even if the gasket body is adhered to the carrier film. To fulfill the object, a step for peeling, against an adhesive force, the carrier film from the gasket body in a state in which the gasket body is fixed to a base, is carried out. As a preliminary step of the peeling step, the gasket body is pressed from the carrier film side by a pressing device thereby to decrease the adhesion area between the gasket body and the carrier film, and the peeling step is carried out in a state in which the adhesion area has been decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takuro Nishimura, Hajime Yui, Kenichi Oba
  • Patent number: 10465798
    Abstract: The invention provides a gasket which improves a handling workability of a rubber only type gasket. The gasket of the invention is constructed by a combination of a rubber only type gasket main body, and a carrier sheet which is made of a resin film retaining the gasket main body in a non-bonded state, and the carrier sheet is provided with an air inflow port for making air flow into a portion between the carrier sheet and the gasket main body when the gasket main body is detached from the carrier sheet. A gasket retention portion having a three-dimensional shape which is deformed along an outer shape of the gasket main body is arranged at a position which laps over the gasket main body in a plane in the carrier sheet, and the gasket main body is partly accommodated within the gasket retention portion in a thickness direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: NOK Corporation
    Inventors: Hidetoshi Saso, Yoshihiro Kurano, Takayuki Horimoto, Tetsuya Urakawa, Kenichi Oba, Takuro Nishimura, Hajime Yui
  • Patent number: 10350799
    Abstract: The purpose of this invention is to make it easy to handle all-rubber gaskets. To achieve this purpose, a gasket is characterized in that a gasket body of only rubber is combined with a carrier film that is made from a resin film to hold the gasket body in a non-adhesive state. A three-dimensional portion having a shape that is deformed along the external shape of the gasket body is provided at a position where the gasket body and a plane of the carrier film overlap, and a portion of the gasket body is contained in the three-dimensional section. The gasket body is used as a gasket for fuel cells incorporated into a fuel cell stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: NOK Corporation
    Inventors: Hidetoshi Saso, Yoshihiro Kurano, Takayuki Horimoto, Tetsuya Urakawa, Kenichi Oba, Takuro Nishimura, Hajime Yui, Takahiro Hayashi
  • Publication number: 20190128423
    Abstract: A gasket is provided which is configured so that a gasket body is easily separated from a carrier film and the positional shift of the gasket body in stacking can be prevented. The gasket has a combination of a gasket body which contains only a rubber-like elastic body and which, in order to seal a gap between one member and the other member, is mounted in the other member and a carrier film separably stuck to one surface side in the thickness direction of the gasket body, in which an engagement portion is formed in the other surface in the thickness direction of the gasket body at a position corresponding to a portion to be engaged formed in the other member, and the gasket body is mounted in the other member by engagement of the engagement portion and the portion to be engaged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Publication date: May 2, 2019
    Applicant: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hajime YUI, Kenichi OBA, Takuro NISHIMURA
  • Publication number: 20190001540
    Abstract: A gasket with a carrier film containing a combination of a rubber-only gasket body and a carrier film holding the gasket body. The carrier film can be easily detached from the gasket body even when the gasket body adheres to the carrier film. In embodiments, the gasket contains a combination of a rubber-only gasket body and a carrier film holding the gasket body. A tab enlarging the plane area of the gasket body is integrally provided in the gasket body. As a method for handling the gasket, when the carrier film is detached from the gasket body, the carrier film is detached from the gasket body in a state where the gasket body is fixed to a base with the tab or the carrier film is detached from the gasket body with the tab in a state where the carrier film is fixed to the base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Publication date: January 3, 2019
    Applicant: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hajime YUI, Kenichi OBA, Takuro NISHIMURA
  • Publication number: 20180313448
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily remove a carrier film when removing the carrier film from a gasket body in a carrier-film-equipped gasket, which includes a combination of a rubber-only type gasket body and a resinous carrier film that retains the gasket body, even if the gasket body is adhered to the carrier film. To fulfill the object, a step for peeling, against an adhesive force, the carrier film from the gasket body in a state in which the gasket body is fixed to a base, is carried out. As a preliminary step of the peeling step, the gasket body is pressed from the carrier film side by a pressing device thereby to decrease the adhesion area between the gasket body and the carrier film, and the peeling step is carried out in a state in which the adhesion area has been decreased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2016
    Publication date: November 1, 2018
    Applicant: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takuro NISHIMURA, Hajime YUI, Kenichi OBA
  • Publication number: 20180163870
    Abstract: The invention provides a gasket which improves a handling workability of a rubber only type gasket. The gasket of the invention is constructed by a combination of a rubber only type gasket main body, and a carrier sheet which is made of a resin film retaining the gasket main body in a non-bonded state, and the carrier sheet is provided with an air inflow port for making air flow into a portion between the carrier sheet and the gasket main body when the gasket main body is detached from the carrier sheet. A gasket retention portion having a three-dimensional shape which is deformed along an outer shape of the gasket main body is arranged at a position which laps over the gasket main body in a plane in the carrier sheet, and the gasket main body is partly accommodated within the gasket retention portion in a thickness direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2016
    Publication date: June 14, 2018
    Inventors: Hidetoshi SASO, Yoshihiro KURANO, Takayuki HORIMOTO, Tetsuya URAKAWA, Kenichi OBA, Takuro NISHIMURA, Hajime YUI
  • Publication number: 20180163869
    Abstract: The present invention improves the handling properties of a rubber-only gasket and the affixability thereof to an attachment position. To this end, the provided gasket is: obtained by combining a gasket body of the rubber-only type, and a carrier sheet that comprises a resin film and holds the gasket body in an un-adhered state; and characterized in that the gasket body is provided with an adhesive section or bonding section for adhering or bonding the gasket body to an attachment position when attaching the gasket body to the attachment position. The adhesive section or bonding section is prepared by providing the lateral surface of the gasket body with a projecting section, and coating the surface of the projecting section with an adhesive or bonding agent. The gasket body is to be used as a gasket for a fuel cell to be incorporated into a fuel cell stack.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2016
    Publication date: June 14, 2018
    Inventors: Hidetoshi SASO, Yoshihiro KURANO, Takayuki HORIMOTO, Tetsuya URAKAWA, Kenichi OBA, Takuro NISHIMURA, Hajime YUI