Patents by Inventor Manabu Kato

Manabu Kato 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: 8652698
    Abstract: A fuel cell has multiple cells, the multiple cells including a first cell having a first fuel gas flow path, and a second cell having a second fuel gas flow path and a sensor that measures a specific parameter value relating to a decrease in concentration of fuel gas in the second fuel gas flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignees: Nippon Soken, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hisayoshi Ota, Kazuyori Yamada, Masaru Tsunokawa, Manabu Kato, Hiroo Yoshikawa
  • Publication number: 20140030594
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide: an electric double-layer capacitor, a lithium ion secondary battery, and a lithium ion capacitor, each of which has excellent cycle characteristics; an electrode material which is capable of providing the electric double-layer capacitor, the lithium ion secondary battery, and the lithium ion capacitor; and a composite which is used in the electrode material. The composite of the present invention is a composite produced by compositing from 0.5 to 5 parts by mass of nitrogen atom-containing conductive polymer per 100 parts by mass of porous carbon material. The composite of the present invention is a composite where the peak area ratio (nitrogen/carbon ratio) of peak area derived from nitrogen atoms to peak area derived from carbon atoms in the spectrum by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy becomes 0.005 to 0.05.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2012
    Publication date: January 30, 2014
    Applicant: THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Sakai, Tsukasa Maruyama, Kaoru Doi, Manabu Kato
  • Patent number: 8610984
    Abstract: A scanning optical apparatus includes a light source, a deflecting element for deflecting a beam of light emitted from the light source, and an optical device for causing the beam to be imaged into a linear shape long in the main scanning direction on the deflecting surface of the deflecting element. The device comprises a first optical element and a second optical element, and a third optical element for causing the deflected beam of light to be imaged into a spot-like shape on a surface to be scanned. The third element includes a single lens, the opposite lens surfaces of which both include a toric surface of an aspherical surface shape in the main scanning plane, the curvatures of the opposite lens surfaces in the sub scanning plane being continuously varied from the on-axis toward the off-axis in the lens's effective portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Manabu Kato
  • Publication number: 20130189596
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell; a voltage measuring portion that measures a voltage of the fuel cell; an electric current adjusting portion that adjusts an electric current flowing in the fuel cell; an electric current-voltage characteristic information obtaining portion that controls the electric current adjusting portion to change the electric current, and obtains electric current-voltage characteristic information that is information indicating a correspondence relation between an electric current value and a voltage value measured by the voltage measuring portion; and a negative voltage cause determining portion that determines, if the voltage of the fuel cell is a negative voltage, a cause of the negative voltage of the fuel cell, based on the obtained electric current-voltage characteristic information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Publication date: July 25, 2013
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuya Kawahara, Manabu Kato, Hideyuki Kumei
  • Publication number: 20130130140
    Abstract: A fuel cell system having a fuel cell includes a power generation-time gas supplier that supplies hydrogen-containing fuel gas to an anode of the fuel cell and supplies an oxygen-containing oxidizing gas to a cathode of the fuel cell during power generation of the fuel cell. The fuel cell system also includes an anode potential rise information acquirer that acquires anode potential rise information, which represents information regarding a status of an anode potential rise of the fuel cell, after termination of supplies of the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas by the power generation-time gas supplier. The fuel cell system further includes an anode morphology variation deriver that derives an anode morphology variation representing a degree of a morphology change of a catalyst metal included in the anode, based on the anode potential rise information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2010
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Manabu Kato, Michihito Tanaka, Shuya Kawahara
  • Publication number: 20130095405
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes an accumulated current value measuring unit. The accumulated current value measuring unit measures an accumulated current value by time integration of current output from the fuel cell in a period during which oxygen is produced by water-splitting reaction in an anode of a negative voltage cell. A control unit uses a first correlation between the accumulated current value in the oxygen generation period and an oxygen consumption rate in the anode and a second correlation between a current density of the fuel cell in the oxygen generation period and an oxygen production rate in the anode to obtain a current density at or below which the amount of oxygen in the anode may be reduced, and causes the fuel cell to output electric power at a current density lower than the obtained current density.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2011
    Publication date: April 18, 2013
    Inventors: Shuya Kawahara, Manabu Kato
  • Patent number: 8415061
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell; a cathode inflow water amount determining portion that determines a cathode inflow water amount after activation of the fuel cell; an obtaining portion that obtains a pore total volume of the cathode side catalyst layer; an operating condition determining portion that determines, based on the determined cathode inflow water amount and the obtained pore total volume, an operating condition of the fuel cell that includes a current value of current that flows through the fuel cell and an upper limit value of a period of time for which the current flows, for bringing the cathode inflow water amount within a range that is equal to or less than the pore total volume; and an adjusting portion that adjusts the current value and the period of time for which current of the current value flows, such that the determined operating condition is realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shuya Kawahara, Manabu Kato, Hideyuki Kumei, Tomoaki Uchiyama, Tsuyoshi Maruo
  • Publication number: 20130059215
    Abstract: A fuel cell system and a control method therefor are provided. The fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell formed of a plurality of stacked power generating elements; a cell voltage measuring unit detecting negative voltage in any one of the power generating elements; a control unit controlling electric power output from the fuel cell; and an accumulated current value measuring unit measuring an accumulated current value obtained by time integration of current output from the fuel cell. The control unit prestores a correlation between accumulated current values and current densities that are allowable for the fuel cell in a period during which negative voltage is generated. When negative voltage has been detected, the control unit executes output restricting process of restricting electric power output from the fuel cell so as to fall within an operation allowable range defined by the accumulated current values and current densities of the correlation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2011
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Inventors: Shuya Kawahara, Manabu Kato, Hideyuki Kumei
  • Patent number: 8350883
    Abstract: An scanning optical apparatus of present invention converts plural light beams emitted from corresponding light source units by a light beam conversion unit, deflectively scans by a deflection unit, focuses by an imaging optical unit onto corresponding scanned surfaces. At least two of light source units are arranged along a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the light beams are emitted. The light beam conversion unit includes plural light beam conversion elements that reflect the light beams emitted in the same direction from the light source units to deflect the light beams in the same direction. Each of the light beam conversion elements has at least one reflecting surface having a power and at least one diffracting surface having a power, and has different powers with respect to the main scanning direction and with respect to the sub scanning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Manabu Kato
  • Publication number: 20120321976
    Abstract: A fuel cell system has a fuel cell that includes at least one cell with an electrolyte membrane, an index value acquirer and a controller. The index value acquirer obtains a temperature index value correlated to temperature of a short circuit area in each cell. The controller controls a control parameter of the fuel cell affecting the temperature of the short circuit area, such that the temperature index value is within a predetermined range set to make the temperature of the short circuit area lower than a decomposition temperature of the electrolyte membrane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2009
    Publication date: December 20, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideyuki Kumei, Manabu Kato, Kazutaka Kimura
  • Publication number: 20120308905
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell; a cathode inflow water amount determining portion that determines a cathode inflow water amount after activation of the fuel cell; an obtaining portion that obtains a pore total volume of the cathode side catalyst layer; an operating condition determining portion that determines, based on the determined cathode inflow water amount and the obtained pore total volume, an operating condition of the fuel cell that includes a current value of current that flows through the fuel cell and an upper limit value of a period of time for which the current flows, for bringing the cathode inflow water amount within a range that is equal to or less than the pore total volume; and an adjusting portion that adjusts the current value and the period of time for which current of the current value flows, such that the determined operating condition is realized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2010
    Publication date: December 6, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuya Kawahara, Manabu Kato, Hideyuki Kumei, Tomoaki Uchiyama, Tsuyoshi Maruo
  • Publication number: 20120276460
    Abstract: In a fuel cell system, a controller is programmed to control a first gas supply mechanism to deliver a first gas containing a fuel gas to a cathode in a pre-stop process performed at a system stop of the fuel cell system. The controller is programmed to control the first gas supply mechanism to stop the delivery of the first gas in a first state where a partial pressure difference between an anode and the cathode with respect to at least the fuel gas of remaining gases in the anode and in the cathode is reduced to or below a preset reference value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2009
    Publication date: November 1, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideyuki Kumei, Manabu Kato, Michihito Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8290699
    Abstract: A method for geographic interpolation of traffic data in a vehicle navigation system in which the navigation system includes a map database divided into geographic meshes. Each mesh includes a plurality of road links of different types. That data also includes a first set of meshes containing traffic flow data while a mutually exclusive second set of meshes contains no such traffic flow data. A border between the first and second set of meshes is first identified and thereafter a blend zone of blend meshes is created by selecting at least one mesh adjacent the border so that the blend mesh is interposed between the first and second set of meshes. Thereafter, the traffic data for each type of road link in the blend mesh is adjusted to a value intermediate the first and second set of adjacent meshes for each type of road link and the blend mesh data is then stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sadanori Horiguchi, Kimiyoshi Machii, Manabu Kato
  • Patent number: 8288902
    Abstract: A thermistor device configures part of an electrical path from a motor feeder section to an armature. A recess defining wall defines an accommodating recess, which accommodates the thermistor device. The thermistor device includes a plate-like thermistor element. A first conductive plate and a second conductive plate sandwich the thermistor element. A pair of first projections 22b are provided at the distal end of the first conductive plate in the insertion direction. A pair of second projections 23b are provided at the distal end of the second conductive plate in the insertion direction. The first projections and the second projections abut against the recess bottom wall in a range that corresponds to the thermistor device except the thermistor element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: ASMO Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuma Shibata, Yasuhiro Fukatsu, Ryousuke Sakamaki, Manabu Kato
  • Publication number: 20120225367
    Abstract: A fuel cell includes: a membrane-electrode assembly in which electrode catalyst layers are formed on two sides of an electrolyte membrane; and a cerium-containing layer that is formed at an outer side of at least one of the two surfaces of the membrane-electrode assembly, and that contains a cerium-containing oxide in an amount that is greater than 5 wt % and less than or equal to 30 wt % where 100 wt % is an amount of solid components except the cerium-containing oxide which form the cerium-containing layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Publication date: September 6, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenji Tsubosaka, Hitoshi Hamada, Manabu Kato
  • Publication number: 20120218363
    Abstract: A scanning optical apparatus includes: two light source units; a deflecting unit for deflecting two light beams for scanning; and two imaging optical systems disposed corresponding to the two light beams, in which: the two imaging optical systems form images of the two light beams on photosensitive members of different hues; the two imaging optical systems are disposed to be opposed with respect to the deflecting unit in a sub-scanning cross section; and a reflectance of a first reflecting optical element disposed in an optical path between the photosensitive member and the deflection surface passed by a light beam corresponding to an image of a hue having low brightness is lower than a reflectance of a second reflecting optical element disposed in an optical path between the photosensitive member and the deflection surface passed by a light beam corresponding to an image of a hue having high brightness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2012
    Publication date: August 30, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Manabu KATO
  • Publication number: 20120188624
    Abstract: A scanning optical apparatus includes a light source, a deflecting element for deflecting a beam of light emitted from the light source, and an optical device for causing the beam to be imaged into a linear shape long in the main scanning direction on the deflecting surface of the deflecting element. The device comprises a first optical element and a second optical element, and a third optical element for causing the deflected beam of light to be imaged into a spot-like shape on a surface to be scanned. The third element includes a single lens, the opposite lens surfaces of which both include a toric surface of an aspherical surface shape in the main scanning plane, the curvatures of the opposite lens surfaces in the sub scanning plane being continuously varied from the on-axis toward the off-axis in the lens's effective portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Publication date: July 26, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Manabu Kato
  • Patent number: 8223184
    Abstract: A scanning optical device includes a deflector for scanningly deflecting a plurality of light beams from a plurality of light sources, and an imaging optical system for imaging the light beams upon a plurality of scan surfaces to be scanned, wherein at least one piece of reflecting element is provided at each of a plurality of light paths extending from the deflector toward the scan surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Manabu Kato
  • Patent number: 8213068
    Abstract: A scanning optical apparatus includes a light source, a deflecting element for deflecting a beam of light emitted from the light source, an optical device for causing the beam of light emitted from the light source to be imaged into a linear shape long in the main scanning direction on the deflecting surface of the deflecting element. The optical device is comprised of a first optical element and a second optical element, and a third optical element for causing the beam of light deflected by the deflecting element to be imaged into a spot-like shape on a surface to be scanned. The third optical element includes a single lens, the opposite lens surfaces of which both include a toric surface of an aspherical surface shape in the main scanning plane, the curvatures of the opposite lens surfaces in the sub scanning plane being continuously varied from the on-axis toward the off-axis in the effective portion of the lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Manabu Kato
  • Patent number: 8187765
    Abstract: A membrane electrode assembly according to the invention includes a solid polymer electrolyte membrane and an electrode joined to each of two sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane is such that some or all of the protons included in the entire solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a band region, or a non-power generating region are ion exchanged with one or more cations selected from among complex cations, class four alkylammonium cations, and high valence cations. In addition or alternatively, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane includes an organo-metalloxane polymer obtained by impregnating the entire solid polymer electrolyte membrane, the non-power generating region, or the band region with an organo-metalloxane monomer that includes an ammonium cation or a class four ammonium cation at its terminus and then hydrolyzing and polycondensing the organo-metalloxane monomer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kensaku Kodama, Fusayoshi Miura, Yu Morimoto, Manabu Kato, Kazutaka Kimura, Hiroo Yoshikawa, Toshiyuki Suzuki, Tsutomu Ochi