Patents by Inventor Ko Masuda
Ko Masuda 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: 8622468Abstract: There is provided a seat back device including: a seat back that is placed on a rear side of a vehicle cabin and has a movable portion that is movably disposed in correspondence to a lower back region of a seated passenger and a forwardly collapsible portion that is forwardly collapsibly disposed on a vehicle upper side of the movable portion; a frame member that is disposed inside the seat back and in which is formed an open portion that has a size including the movable portion and the forwardly collapsible portion and that makes the vehicle cabin and a luggage compartment communicate; an angle adjusting mechanism which adjusts the movable portion about an axis along a vehicle width direction to a predetermined angle; and a trunk-through mechanism which forwardly collapses the movable portion and the forwardly collapsible portion from the seat back and opens the open portion.Type: GrantFiled: July 25, 2011Date of Patent: January 7, 2014Assignee: NHK Springs Co., Ltd.Inventors: Ko Masuda, Osamu Ooki
-
Publication number: 20120025580Abstract: There is provided a seat back device including: a seat back that is placed on a rear side of a vehicle cabin and has a movable portion that is movably disposed in correspondence to a lower back region of a seated passenger and a forwardly collapsible portion that is forwardly collapsibly disposed on a vehicle upper side of the movable portion; a frame member that is disposed inside the seat back and in which is formed an open portion that has a size including the movable portion and the forwardly collapsible portion and that makes the vehicle cabin and a luggage compartment communicate; an angle adjusting mechanism which adjusts the movable portion about an axis along a vehicle width direction to a predetermined angle; and a trunk-through mechanism which forwardly collapses the movable portion and the forwardly collapsible portion from the seat back and opens the open portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 25, 2011Publication date: February 2, 2012Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.Inventors: Ko Masuda, Osamu Ooki
-
Patent number: 7104601Abstract: In a vehicle occupant restraint system for restraining a lower part of a vehicle occupant, an arrangement for moving a restraining member from a retracted position to a deployed position upon detection and/or prediction of a vehicle crash by a crash sensor is adapted in such a manner that the restraining member cannot be made to move from the deployed position to the retracted position by an external force applied to the restraining member but can be made to move from the retracted position to the deployed position and from the deployed position back to the retracted position by a force transmitted from a power actuator to the restraining member via a power transmitting member. Thus, while the restraining member is capable of withstanding the load of restraining the vehicle occupant, even when the restraining member is deployed, it can be brought back to the retracted position so that the restraining system can be used repeatedly.Type: GrantFiled: July 1, 2003Date of Patent: September 12, 2006Assignee: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.Inventors: Ko Masuda, Takashi Takeshita, Hiroshi Matsunaga
-
Patent number: 6929324Abstract: In a vehicle seat, a central support member typically consisting of wire mesh or grid and supports most of the load of the vehicle occupant via spring members, and undergoes a relatively large displacement when the occupant is seated in the seat. Thus, by detecting the displacements of various parts of the central support member, preferably peripheral parts thereof, the magnitude of the total load and distribution of the load can be evaluated both reliably and accurately. Additionally, displacement sensors for measuring such large displacements are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle. Also, such sensors would not interfere with the existing seat designs, and would not be adversely affected by the equipment of the seat such as seat heaters.Type: GrantFiled: July 28, 2003Date of Patent: August 16, 2005Assignees: NHK Spring Co., Ltd., The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.Inventors: Takayuki Enomoto, Takashi Takeshita, Takuya Nishimoto, Naobumi Kuboki, Katsutoshi Sasaki, Norio Kawashima, Hiroaki Nishiguma, Atsuo Matsumoto, Shinichi Horibata, Ko Masuda, Yuji Niikura, Hiroshi Matsunaga, Yuji Tokiwa
-
Publication number: 20040160110Abstract: In a vehicle seat, a central support member typically consisting of wire mesh or grid and supports most of the load of the vehicle occupant via spring members, and undergoes a relatively large displacement when the occupant is seated in the seat. Thus, by detecting the displacements of various parts of the central support member, preferably peripheral parts thereof, the magnitude of the total load and distribution of the load can be evaluated both reliably and accurately. Additionally, displacement sensors for measuring such large displacements are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle. Also, such sensors would not interfere with the existing seat designs, and would not be adversely affected by the equipment of the seat such as seat heaters.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 28, 2003Publication date: August 19, 2004Inventors: Takayuki Enomoto, Takashi Takeshita, Takuya Nishimoto, Naobumi Kuboki, Katsutoshi Sasaki, Norio Kawashima, Hiroaki Nishiguma, Atsuo Matsumoto, Shinichi Horibata, Ko Masuda, Yuji Niikura, Hiroshi Matsunaga, Yuji Tokiwa
-
Publication number: 20040055806Abstract: In a vehicle occupant restraint system for restraining a lower part of a vehicle occupant, an arrangement for moving a restraining member from a retracted position to a deployed position upon detection and/or prediction of a vehicle crash by a crash sensor is adapted in such a manner that the restraining member cannot be made to move from the deployed position to the retracted position by an external force applied to the restraining member but can be made to move from the retracted position to the deployed position and from the deployed position back to the retracted position by a force transmitted from a power actuator to the restraining member via a power transmitting member. Thus, while the restraining member is capable of withstanding the load of restraining the vehicle occupant, even when the restraining member is deployed, it can be brought back to the retracted position so that the restraining system can be used repeatedly.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 1, 2003Publication date: March 25, 2004Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.Inventors: Ko Masuda, Takashi Takeshita, Hiroshi Matsunaga
-
Patent number: 6661341Abstract: A seat-occupant sensing device for a car seat is provided, such that a heater can be installed in the seat without deterioration of sitting comfort. A load sensor is mounted to a cushion frame of a car seat. The end of a flexible cushion support is linked with the load sensor. Because the flexible cushion support flexes when a person sits on the seat, the load sensor detects the moment when the person sits on the seat.Type: GrantFiled: November 6, 2001Date of Patent: December 9, 2003Assignee: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.Inventors: Ko Masuda, Katsutoshi Sasaki, Ken Obata, Hiroyuki Yamazaki, Takuya Nishimoto
-
Publication number: 20020053980Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a seat-occupant sensing device for a car seat such that a heater can be installed in the seat without deterioration of sitting comfort.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 6, 2001Publication date: May 9, 2002Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTDInventors: Ko Masuda, Katsutoshi Sasaki, Ken Obata, Hiroyuki Yamazaki, Takuya Nishimoto