Patents by Inventor Koichi Oka

Koichi Oka 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: 9413206
    Abstract: In a cogeneration apparatus having a power generation unit equipped with a power generator, an internal combustion engine, and a hot water tank connected to the engine through a heat exchanger, there are provided a first pump provided at a flow channel connecting the engine to the heat exchanger and a second pump provided at a second flow channel connecting the heat exchanger to the hot water tank. A temperature of the engine cooling water heated by the engine and a temperature difference between the temperature and a temperature of the engine cooling water cooled by the heat exchanger is determined and based on the determined values, flow rates of the first and second pumps are controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Tohoda, Koichi Tsuno, Koichi Oka
  • Patent number: 8893472
    Abstract: A cogeneration apparatus includes: an airtight chamber provided within an apparatus casing and constructed to prevent exhaust gas of a prime mover from flowing out therefrom; and a relief valve provided in a water flow path within the airtight chamber and constructed to discharge the exhaust gas, contained in the water flow path, to the airtight chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Oka, Daiki Kamiyama, Kosuke Yamana, Nobuyuki Sasaki, Hideyuki Ushiyama
  • Patent number: 8794169
    Abstract: In a power steering apparatus for a small vessel, an electrically driven assist device (26) and a helm pump (27) formed of a swash plate type axial piston pump are arranged in parallel on a common base (28). The electrically driven assist device (26) and the helm pump 27 are connected through a transmission system (34) under the common base 28 and integrated into a steering oil pressure generating unit (6) functioning as the power steering apparatus. The electrically driven assist device (26) is carried on an instrument panel (3). The parallel arrangement of the electrically driven assist device (26) and the helm pump (27) allows the steering oil pressure generating device (6) to be reduced in vertical length, so that it is possible to shorten the distance between the instrument panel (3) and a bottom (2) of the vessel and to lower positions of a handle and an operator's seat, thereby realizing the low center of gravity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Showa Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Harada, Koichi Oka, Masanobu Miyazaki, Shinsuke Sekikawa, Yoshimitsu Komuro
  • Publication number: 20140103649
    Abstract: In a cogeneration apparatus having a power generation unit equipped with a power generator, an internal combustion engine, and a hot water tank connected to the engine through a heat exchanger, there are provided a first pump provided at a flow channel connecting the engine to the heat exchanger and a second pump provided at a second flow channel connecting the heat exchanger to the hot water tank. A temperature of the engine cooling water heated by the engine and a temperature difference between the temperature and a temperature of the engine cooling water cooled by the heat exchanger is determined and based on the determined values, flow rates of the first and second pumps are controlled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Publication date: April 17, 2014
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiaki TOHODA, Koichi TSUNO, Koichi OKA
  • Patent number: 8552574
    Abstract: A cogeneration apparatus for indoor installation includes: an airtight chamber provided within a housing, at least a power generator and an engine being accommodated within the airtight chamber; an intake duct connected to the airtight chamber for introducing air from outside the housing into the airtight chamber; and an exhaust duct connected to the engine for discharging exhaust gas of the engine. The air introduced through the intake duct cools the interior of the airtight chamber and is also sucked in to an air cleaner of the engine, and the exhaust gas of the engine is discharged directly to outside the airtight chamber through the exhaust duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Sasaki, Katsutoshi Matsushita, Nobuyuki Yuri, Koichi Oka
  • Patent number: 8393925
    Abstract: In a steering device for an outboard engine, a drive shaft of a helm mechanism and an output shaft of an electric assist mechanism are disposed orthogonally to a steering output shaft of a steering operation member. Where the steering operation member is a tiller handle, a torque sensor, provided between an outboard engine body and the tiller handle, detects, as steering torque, a difference between steering angles of the engine body and the tiller handle, and the helm mechanism, drivable by the assist mechanism, operates to compensate for the difference between the steering angles. The assist mechanism and the helm mechanism are provided on the body of the boat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Harada, Yoshihiro Takahashi, Koichi Oka
  • Patent number: 8388392
    Abstract: A steering device for an outboard engine includes: a helm mechanism operable, in response to operation of a steering wheel, to steer the outboard engine and including a drive shaft parallel to an output shaft of the operation member; an electric assist mechanism for detecting steering torque, applied to the steering wheel, to assist operation of the helm mechanism on the basis of the detected steering torque; and a power transmission section for connecting the output shaft of the steering wheel and the helm mechanism to transmit rotation of the output shaft to the helm mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Harada, Koichi Oka
  • Publication number: 20120227384
    Abstract: A cogeneration apparatus includes: an airtight chamber provided within an apparatus casing and constructed to prevent exhaust gas of a prime mover from flowing out therefrom; and a relief valve provided in a water flow path within the airtight chamber and constructed to discharge the exhaust gas, contained in the water flow path, to the airtight chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2012
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koichi Oka, Daiki Kamiyama, Kosuke Yamana, Nobuyuki Sasaki, Hideyuki Ushiyama
  • Publication number: 20120193911
    Abstract: A cogeneration apparatus for indoor installation includes: an airtight chamber provided within a housing, at least a power generator and an engine being accommodated within the airtight chamber; an intake duct connected to the airtight chamber for introducing air from outside the housing into the airtight chamber; and an exhaust duct connected to the engine for discharging exhaust gas of the engine. The air introduced through the intake duct cools the interior of the airtight chamber and is also sucked in to an air cleaner of the engine, and the exhaust gas of the engine is discharged directly to outside the airtight chamber through the exhaust duct.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Publication date: August 2, 2012
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Sasaki, Katsutoshi Matsushita, Nobuyuki Yuri, Koichi Oka
  • Publication number: 20120137947
    Abstract: In a power steering apparatus for a small vessel, an electrically driven assist device (26) and a helm pump (27) formed of a swash plate type axial piston pump are arranged in parallel on a common base (28). The electrically driven assist device (26) and the helm pump 27 are connected through a transmission system (34) under the common base 28 and integrated into a steering oil pressure generating unit (6) functioning as the power steering apparatus. The electrically driven assist device (26) is carried on an instrument panel (3). The parallel arrangement of the electrically driven assist device (26) and the helm pump (27) allows the steering oil pressure generating device (6) to be reduced in vertical length, so that it is possible to shorten the distance between the instrument panel (3) and a bottom (2) of the vessel and to lower positions of a handle and an operator's seat, thereby realizing the low center of gravity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2010
    Publication date: June 7, 2012
    Applicants: Showa Corporation, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Harada, Koichi Oka, Masanobu Miyazaki, Shinsuke Sekikawa, Yoshimitsu Komuro
  • Publication number: 20110117798
    Abstract: In a steering device for an outboard engine, a drive shaft of a helm mechanism and an output shaft of an electric assist mechanism are disposed orthogonally to a steering output shaft of a steering operation member. Where the steering operation member is a tiller handle, a torque sensor, provided between an outboard engine body and the tiller handle, detects, as steering torque, a difference between steering angles of the engine body and the tiller handle, and the helm mechanism, drivable by the assist mechanism, operates to compensate for the difference between the steering angles. The assist mechanism and the helm mechanism are provided on the body of the boat.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Harada, Yoshihiro Takahashi, Koichi Oka
  • Publication number: 20110117799
    Abstract: A steering device for an outboard engine includes: a helm mechanism operable, in response to operation of a steering wheel, to steer the outboard engine and including a drive shaft parallel to an output shaft of the operation member; an electric assist mechanism for detecting steering torque, applied to the steering wheel, to assist operation of the helm mechanism on the basis of the detected steering torque; and a power transmission section for connecting the output shaft of the steering wheel and the helm mechanism to transmit rotation of the output shaft to the helm mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Harada, Koichi Oka
  • Patent number: 7847819
    Abstract: A system is disclosed, which comprises a rotatable mirror 2, a camera 3 for taking an image of a screen 5 through the mirror 2, a photodetector 4 having a detection range covering a part of the screen 5, and a control section 6. At a time when a measuring pattern included in a moving image displayed on the screen 5 is detected by the photodetector 4, a detection signal is outputted from the photodetector 4. Based on the detection signal, the control section triggers the mirror 2 to rotate, and after the mirror 2 starts rotating, the control section 6 controls so that the mirror 2 rotates to follow the motion of the measuring pattern. It is possible to obtain images that trace the motion of the moving image on a detector plane of the camera 3 without resorting to electrical synchronization of the rotation of the mirror and moving image signals, and to measure the moving image quality of displays with a simple structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Koichi Oka
  • Patent number: 7483550
    Abstract: A test pattern is moved on a screen 5 subject to measurement with the field of view of an image sensor pursuing the motion of the test pattern so as to observe BEW. Subsequently, the field of view 33 of the image sensor is moved at the same velocity vc as in the foregoing observation to capture an image of a static pattern PE, and a blur width W along the scrolling direction that appears in a distribution profile of the captured image is observed. Based upon the blur width W and the exposure time of the image sensor for capturing the image of the static pattern PE, the moving velocity of the test pattern at the time of observation of the BEW is estimated, and by using the moving velocity, the BEW is normalized. Evaluation of the moving image quality of the screen is carried out by using the normalized N BEW. The moving velocity of the original test pattern can thus be estimated easily and accurately, and accordingly, the moving image quality of the screen can be evaluated accurately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2009
    Assignee: Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Koichi Oka, Yoshi Enami
  • Patent number: 7394483
    Abstract: A measurement pattern is moved on a display, and an image of the measurement pattern is captured by making a visual field of an image sensor follow the scroll of the measurement pattern. On the basis of the captured image, a motion picture response curve is obtained. Then, the motion picture response curve is transformed into an MTF (modulation transfer function). A normalized spatial frequency value N_Sf(a %) at which an MTF value starts declining by a predetermined percentage from a highest luminance portion of the MTF is determined. Then, the motion image quality of the display is evaluated on the basis of the normalized spatial frequency value N_Sf(a %). Thus, the evaluation of the motion image quality of the display can be achieved on the basis of an intuitively understandable motion image quality evaluation index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Koichi Oka
  • Publication number: 20070193897
    Abstract: The present invention is applied to a disk storage case adapted to store and carry, for example, a disk-shaped recording medium and to the recording medium, wherein the disk-shaped recording medium 21 is clamped and held from one surface and the other surface to be stored to prevent stress from being applied to the relevant recoding medium 21 when the recording medium 21 is stored and removed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2005
    Publication date: August 23, 2007
    Inventors: Takashi Kinoshita, Takashi Sato, Mitsuru Toriyama, Toyokazu Noda, Tomohiro Koyata, Koichi Oka, Azumi Iida, Toshimi Takada
  • Patent number: 7251035
    Abstract: An inventive optical cell measurement apparatus comprises a light source (S) which emits light having a predetermined wavelength range, a first mirror (M1) which reflects the light emitted from the light source (S), a long light path gas cell (1) to which the light reflected on the first mirror (M1) is introduced, a second mirror (M2) which reflects light outputted from the long light path gas cell (1), a sensor (D) which detects the light reflected on the second mirror (M2), and optical elements (21, 22) disposed in a light path extending from the light source (S) to the sensor (D) and each having a bifocal property with different focal lengths as measured in two directions (X, Y) perpendicular to the light path. With this arrangement, the aberration of spherical mirrors (6, 7) disposed in the gas cell (1) is corrected, thereby preventing reduction of the transmittance of the gas cell (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2007
    Assignee: Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Oka, Satoshi Nitta
  • Patent number: 7176464
    Abstract: Impurity is removed from gas, the resultant gas is introduced into a cell 15, and the intensity of light transmitted through the cell 15 is measured as a reference. Gas containing impurity of which concentration is known, is introduced into the cell 15, and the intensity of light transmitted through the cell 15 is measured with the temperature and pressure maintained at those used at the measurement of the reference light intensity. Then, the absorbance of the impurity is obtained according to the ratio of the two light intensity data obtained by the two measurements above-mentioned. The impurity absorbance thus obtained is stored, in a memory 20a, as a function of an impurity concentration. Gas containing impurity of which concentration is unknown, is introduced into the cell 15, and the intensity of light transmitted through the cell 15 is measured with the temperature and pressure maintained at those used at the measurements above-mentioned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Oka, Satoshi Nitta
  • Publication number: 20070024627
    Abstract: A test pattern is moved on a screen 5 subject to measurement with the field of view of an image sensor pursuing the motion of the test pattern so as to observe BEW. Subsequently, the field of view 33 of the image sensor is moved at the same velocity vc as in the foregoing observation to capture an image of a static pattern PE, and a blur width W along the scrolling direction that appears in a distribution profile of the captured image is observed. Based upon the blur width W and the exposure time of the image sensor for capturing the image of the static pattern PE, the moving velocity of the test pattern at the time of observation of the BEW is estimated, and by using the moving velocity, the BEW is normalized. Evaluation of the moving image quality of the screen is carried out by using the normalized N BEW. The moving velocity of the original test pattern can thus be estimated easily and accurately, and accordingly, the moving image quality of the screen can be evaluated accurately.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2004
    Publication date: February 1, 2007
    Inventors: Koichi Oka, Yoshi Enami
  • Publication number: 20060279633
    Abstract: A test image is scrolled on a screen of a display device subject to evaluation. A plurality of sample images that are created using the same test image and each indicate different motion picture display performance index values are prepared. The plurality of the sample images are displayed as still images in a condition that permits comparison with the scrolling test image. Then, a sample image that most resembles the pursuit captured test image is specified, and a motion picture display performance index value of the specified sample image is determined to be a motion picture display performance index value of the test image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2006
    Publication date: December 14, 2006
    Inventor: Koichi Oka