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: 8622468
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: NHK Springs Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ko Masuda, Osamu Ooki
  • Publication number: 20120025580
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2011
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ko Masuda, Osamu Ooki
  • Patent number: 7104601
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ko Masuda, Takashi Takeshita, Hiroshi Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 6929324
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignees: 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: 20040160110
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2003
    Publication date: August 19, 2004
    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: 20040055806
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2003
    Publication date: March 25, 2004
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ko Masuda, Takashi Takeshita, Hiroshi Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 6661341
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ko Masuda, Katsutoshi Sasaki, Ken Obata, Hiroyuki Yamazaki, Takuya Nishimoto
  • Publication number: 20020053980
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2001
    Publication date: May 9, 2002
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD
    Inventors: Ko Masuda, Katsutoshi Sasaki, Ken Obata, Hiroyuki Yamazaki, Takuya Nishimoto