Patents by Inventor Koichi Ban

Koichi Ban 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: 8402757
    Abstract: The waste heat control apparatus is used in a heat recovery system for recovering and reusing waste heat of an engine. The waste heat control apparatus includes a plurality of waste heat amount adjusting sections activated to increase an amount of the waste heat of the engine, and a control section which performs waste heat control in accordance with a heat utilization demand to increase the amount of the waste heat of the engine by activating at least one of the plurality of waste heat amount adjusting sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroaki Takeishi, Mitsuo Hara, Daisuke Nakanishi, Hisashi Iida, Koichi Ban
  • Patent number: 8182936
    Abstract: A temperature control device has a heat exchanger recovering heat from exhaust gas of an engine, a water circulating passage in which a cooling water is circulated while receiving the recovered heat, an air conditioning unit heating air with the hot cooling water of the passage to produce a temperature controlled air, an air duct, a water heater attached to the bottom surface of a battery pack, and an electric heater attached side surfaces of the pack. The conditioning unit blows the controlled air against the battery pack through the duct. The water heater receives the hot cooling water of the passage and raises the temperature of the battery pack. The electric heater subsidiarily warms the battery pack with heat generated from electric power of the pack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Tamura, Koichi Ban
  • Patent number: 7992400
    Abstract: A complex fluid machine has an expansion-compressor device, a pump, and a motor generator, wherein the expansion-compressor device, the pump, and the motor generator are operatively connected and arranged in series, and a power transmitting device for disconnecting the pump from the motor generator, when the expansion-compressor device is driven by the motor generator so as to be operated as a compressor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignees: DENSO CORPORATION, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Keiichi Uno, Hironori Asa, Yasuhiro Takeuchi, Hideji Yoshida, Akihiro Imura, Atsushi Inaba, Koichi Ban, Takashi Yamanaka, Shigeki Iwanami, Hiroshi Kishita, Hiroshi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 7946112
    Abstract: An exhaust heat recovery device includes an accommodating portion extending continuously without shrinking a section therein and adapted to allow exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine to pass therethrough, a catalyst disposed in the accommodating portion for cleaning the exhaust gas, an evaporator disposed adjacent to the catalyst on a downstream side of an exhaust gas flow in the accommodating portion, and a condenser for condensing the working medium by radiating heat of the working medium flowing thereinto from the evaporator so as to recover exhaust heat on the coolant side. The condenser is located to return the condensed working medium to the evaporator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Masashi Miyagawa, Yasutoshi Yamanaka, Koichi Ban, Kimio Kohara
  • Patent number: 7845167
    Abstract: In an exhaust heat recovery system for an internal combustion engine, a heat pipe includes an evaporation portion in which a working fluid is heated and evaporated by heat exchange with exhaust heat from the internal combustion engine, a plurality of condensing portions in which the working fluid from the evaporation portion is cooled and condensed by heat exchange with respective subjects to be heated, and connection piping through which the condensing portions are connected to the evaporation portion in parallel with respect to the evaporation portion so as to form a closed circuit. Furthermore, a switching portion is located to switch a flow of the working fluid from the evaporation portion to any one between the condensing portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Masashi Miyagawa, Yasutoshi Yamanaka, Takahisa Suzuki, Koichi Ban
  • Publication number: 20100251703
    Abstract: The waste heat control apparatus is used in a heat recovery system for recovering and reusing waste heat of an engine. The waste heat control apparatus includes a plurality of waste heat amount adjusting sections activated to increase an amount of the waste heat of the engine, and a control section which performs waste heat control in accordance with a heat utilization demand to increase the amount of the waste heat of the engine by activating at least one of the plurality of waste heat amount adjusting sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2010
    Publication date: October 7, 2010
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki Takeishi, Mitsuo Hara, Daisuke Nakanishi, Hisashi Iida, Koichi Ban
  • Patent number: 7748226
    Abstract: A waste heat collecting system for an internal combustion engine has an object to collect waste heat from the engine and make most use of the collected waste heat to achieve the maximum effect of improving fuel consumption ratio. The waste heat utilizing system has a waste heat collecting cycle for collecting waste heat from an internal combustion engine and having an expansion device for generating rotational driving force from the collected waste heat, a refrigerating cycle having a compressor device for compressing a refrigerant and a power transmitting means rotationally driven by a driving force generating means and operatively connected to the compressor device to rotationally drive the same. In this system, the expansion device is operatively connected to the compressor device to rotationally drive the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignees: DENSO CORPORATION, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Shigeki Iwanami, Hironori Asa, Keiichi Uno, Yasushi Suzuki, Shigeru Hisanaga, Atsushi Inaba, Koichi Ban, Takashi Yamanaka, Yasushi Yamanaka, Kazuhide Uchida, Tadashi Hotta
  • Publication number: 20090293461
    Abstract: An exhaust heat recovery device includes an accommodating portion extending continuously without shrinking a section therein and adapted to allow exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine to pass therethrough, a catalyst disposed in the accommodating portion for cleaning the exhaust gas, an evaporator disposed adjacent to the catalyst on a downstream side of an exhaust gas flow in the accommodating portion, and a condenser for condensing the working medium by radiating heat of the working medium flowing thereinto from the evaporator so as to recover exhaust heat on the coolant side. The condenser is located to return the condensed working medium to the evaporator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Publication date: December 3, 2009
    Applicant: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Masashi Miyagawa, Yasutoshi Yamanaka, Koichi Ban, Kimio Kohara
  • Patent number: 7536869
    Abstract: A vapor compression refrigerating apparatus comprises a refrigerating cycle for performing a cooling operation of an automotive air conditioning system, a Rankine cycle for collecting waste heat from an engine of a vehicle to generate an electric power by an electric rotating device driven by an expansion device of the Rankine cycle, and a heat pump cycle for generating heat to supply the generated heat to the engine so that a warming up operation of the engine can be facilitated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Inaba, Yasushi Yamanaka, Koichi Ban, Takashi Yamanaka
  • Publication number: 20090078400
    Abstract: A temperature control device has a heat exchanger recovering heat from exhaust gas of an engine, a water circulating passage in which a cooling water is circulated while receiving the recovered heat, an air conditioning unit heating air with the hot cooling water of the passage to produce a temperature controlled air, an air duct, a water heater attached to the bottom surface of a battery pack, and an electric heater attached side surfaces of the pack. The conditioning unit blows the controlled air against the battery pack through the duct. The water heater receives the hot cooling water of the passage and raises the temperature of the battery pack. The electric heater subsidiarily warms the battery pack with heat generated from electric power of the pack.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Publication date: March 26, 2009
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi TAMURA, Koichi BAN
  • Patent number: 7418824
    Abstract: A complex fluid machine has an expansion-compressor device, a pump, and a motor generator, wherein the expansion-compressor device, the pump, and the motor generator are operatively connected and arranged in series, and a power transmitting device for disconnecting the pump from the motor generator, when the expansion-compressor device is driven by the motor generator so as to be operated as a compressor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2008
    Assignees: DENSO CORPORATION, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Keiichi Uno, Hironori Asa, Yasuhiro Takeuchi, Hideji Yoshida, Akihiro Imura, Atsushi Inaba, Koichi Ban, Takashi Yamanaka, Shigeki Iwanami, Hiroshi Kishita, Hiroshi Ogawa
  • Publication number: 20080190101
    Abstract: In an exhaust heat recovery system for an internal combustion engine, a heat pipe includes an evaporation portion in which a working fluid is heated and evaporated by heat exchange with exhaust heat from the internal combustion engine, a plurality of condensing portions in which the working fluid from the evaporation portion is cooled and condensed by heat exchange with respective subjects to be heated, and connection piping through which the condensing portions are connected to the evaporation portion in parallel with respect to the evaporation portion so as to form a closed circuit. Furthermore, a switching portion is located to switch a flow of the working fluid from the evaporation portion to any one between the condensing portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2008
    Publication date: August 14, 2008
    Applicant: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Masashi Miyagawa, Yasutoshi Yamanaka, Takahisa Suzuki, Koichi Ban
  • Patent number: 7392655
    Abstract: In an automotive vehicle having a heater for a heating operation for a passenger room of the vehicle with use of waste heat of an engine, a vapor compression refrigerating device comprises a refrigerating cycle for a cooling operation for the passenger room. The vapor compression refrigerating device further comprises a heating cycle (a heat pump cycle, or a hot gas cycle) for performing a heating operation to engine cooling water by using the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant from a compressor device, wherein a control means activates the heating cycle at a predetermined time before starting an engine when an outside air temperature is lower than a predetermined value. Accordingly, the engine has been already warmed up before a driver gets into the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Inaba, Koichi Ban, Yasushi Yamanaka
  • Patent number: 7178358
    Abstract: A vapor-compression refrigerant cycle system with a refrigeration cycle and a Rankine cycle includes a compressor, a radiator, a gas-liquid separator, a decompression device and an evaporator. In the vapor-compression refrigerant cycle system, a liquid pump is disposed for supplying the liquid refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator to a heater for heating the refrigerant, a cooling means is provided for cooling the liquid refrigerant to be sucked into the liquid pump, and an energy recovery unit for expanding the refrigerant flowing out of the heater is disposed to recover thermal energy in the refrigerant from the heater. When the Rankine cycle is set so that the energy recovery unit recovers the thermal energy, the cooling means cools the liquid refrigerant to be sucked into the liquid pump. Therefore, pumping efficiency of the liquid pump can be effectively improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Atsushi Inaba, Yasushi Yamanaka, Shigeki Iwanami, Koichi Ban, Shigeru Hisanaga, Tadashi Hotta, Yukikatsu Ozaki, Kazuhide Uchida
  • Patent number: 7152422
    Abstract: A vapor compression refrigerator having a refrigeration cycle (200) is disclosed. In a Rankine cycle (300), a refrigerant is circulated through a pump (310), a heater (320), an expander (330) and a condenser (220) in that order, and power is recovered by the expander 330 due to the expansion of the refrigerant from the heater (320). In a host gas cycle (500), on the other hand, the inlet of the compressor (210) can be connected from a point between the pump (310) and the heater (320) by a switching path (510) having a first restricting portion (510), the refrigerant is circulated by the compressor (210) through the heater (320) and the switching path (510) in that order, and the heater (320) exhibits the function of heating a heat generating device (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Takano, Atsushi Inaba, Koichi Ban, Koji Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20060144047
    Abstract: In an automotive vehicle having a heater for a heating operation for a passenger room of the vehicle with use of waste heat of an engine, a vapor compression refrigerating device comprises a refrigerating cycle for a cooling operation for the passenger room. The vapor compression refrigerating device further comprises a heating cycle (a heat pump cycle, or a hot gas cycle) for performing a heating operation to engine cooling water by using the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant from a compressor device, wherein a control means activates the heating cycle at a predetermined time before starting an engine when an outside air temperature is lower than a predetermined value. Accordingly, the engine has been already warmed up before a driver gets into the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2006
    Publication date: July 6, 2006
    Applicant: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Inaba, Koichi Ban, Yasushi Yamanaka
  • Publication number: 20060107681
    Abstract: A complex fluid machine has an expansion-compressor device, a pump, and a motor generator, wherein the expansion-compressor device, the pump, and the motor generator are operatively connected and arranged in series, and a power transmitting device for disconnecting the pump from the motor generator, when the expansion-compressor device is driven by the motor generator so as to be operated as a compressor device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2005
    Publication date: May 25, 2006
    Applicants: DENSO CORPORATION, NIPPON SOKEN, INC.
    Inventors: Keiichi Uno, Hironori Asa, Yasuhiro Takeuchi, Hideji Yoshida, Akihiro Imura, Atsushi Inaba, Koichi Ban, Takashi Yamanaka, Shigeki Iwanami, Hiroshi Kishita, Hiroshi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 7048044
    Abstract: There are provided a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 30 for exchanging heat between refrigerant discharged from a compressor 21 and engine-cooling water circulating an engine-cooling water circuit 10, prior to being fed into the radiator 22, and a bypass 25 for guiding the refrigerant prior to being fed into the evaporator 24 to the water-coolant heat exchanger 30 while bypassing the evaporator 24 and the compressor 21. When it is desired to accelerate the warming-up of the engine 11, the bypass 25 is closed to operate the compressor 21 to heat the engine-cooling water by high-pressure refrigerant, and when it is desired to complement the capacity of the radiator 12, the bypass 25 is open to guide the liquid-phase refrigerant to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 30 to effectively cool the refrigerant by using the phase change of the refrigerant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Koichi Ban, Yasushi Yamanaka, Takahisa Suzuki, Teruhiko Kameoka
  • Publication number: 20060080985
    Abstract: A vapor compression refrigerating apparatus comprises a refrigerating cycle for performing a cooling operation of an automotive air conditioning system, a Rankine cycle for collecting waste heat from an engine of a vehicle to generate an electric power by an electric rotating device driven by an expansion device of the Rankine cycle, and a heat pump cycle for generating heat to supply the generated heat to the engine so that a warming up operation of the engine can be facilitated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2005
    Publication date: April 20, 2006
    Applicant: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Inaba, Yasushi Yamanaka, Koichi Ban, Takashi Yamanaka
  • Patent number: 6994268
    Abstract: A heat accumulator for vehicle use, attached to a vehicle, has a double tank structure composed of an outer tank and an inner tank, a space formed between the outer tank and the inner tank being maintained as a vacuum, the outer tank and the inner tank each have an opening on a bottom face, the opening of the outer tank and that of the inner tank are joined to each other at the entire peripheries of the openings, preventing means for preventing fatigue failure from starting at the joining portion being provided at a portion extending from the opening to at least a side of the outer tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2006
    Assignees: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Tiger Corporation
    Inventors: Kenichi Maruyama, Kazuya Murata, Koichi Ban, Toshio Morikawa, Shigetaka Yoshikawa, Eiichi Ueda