Patents by Inventor Masafumi Sadahira

Masafumi Sadahira 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).

  • Publication number: 20240196939
    Abstract: A cooking-recipe display system according to the present disclosure includes a cooking recipe DB, an assistance information DB, a characteristics-detector, an extractor, and an outputter. The cooking recipe DB holds a plurality of cooking recipes. The assistance information DB holds selection-assisting information for assisting in selecting a cooking recipe from among the plurality of cooking recipes. The characteristics-detector detects characteristics of the cooking recipe from a natural language sentence contained in the cooking recipe, with the cooking recipe being each of a plurality of target recipes. The extractor refers to the assistance information DB based on the characteristics of the cooking recipe in the plurality of target recipes to extract the selection-assisting information from the plurality of target recipes. The outputter outputs the selection-assisting information regarding the plurality of target recipes, the selection-assisting information being extracted by the extractor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2022
    Publication date: June 20, 2024
    Inventors: HIROKI YAMADA, YASUHIRO YUKI, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA
  • Publication number: 20240192832
    Abstract: The present disclosure is a cooking recipe display system that includes a information processing terminal including a display screen and a controller, and displays a cooking recipe on the display screen. The cooking recipe display system includes a recipe data manager and an ingredient profile manager. The recipe data manager manages a recipe database retaining a plurality of cooking recipes that indicate procedures indicating how to cook a dish and a plurality of ingredients used for the dish. The ingredient profile manager manages an ingredient profile indicating a necessity of each of the plurality of ingredients for each cooking recipes. On the basis of the ingredient profile, the controller displays, on the display screen, auxiliary information corresponding to the necessity of each of the plurality of ingredients included in a target recipe serving as one of the plurality of cooking recipes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2022
    Publication date: June 13, 2024
    Inventors: YASUHIRO YUKI, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, YUKI TAOKA
  • Publication number: 20230177970
    Abstract: A cooking-learning support system includes a storage, an information presenter, and a controller. The storage stores a recipe including at least one cooking process, a cooking element that is one of an ingredient for cooking, a cooking method for the ingredient, and a combination of the ingredient and the cooking method, and a cooking-element reference level of the cooking element. The information presenter presents the recipe. The controller calculates a recipe reference level corresponding to the recipe, based on the cooking-element reference level of the cooking element corresponding to the cooking process in the recipe, and causes the information presenter to present the calculated recipe reference level along with the recipe. A cooking-learning support method is implemented in the cooking-learning support system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2021
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Inventors: YUKI TAOKA, YASUHIRO YUKI, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, HIROKI YAMADA, SHIKI KOU
  • Publication number: 20230046227
    Abstract: Cooking recipe display system (100) is provided with database (11), extraction unit (21a), emphasis unit (21b), and output unit (23). Database (11) stores a plurality of cooking recipes each being expressed in natural language sentences. Extraction unit (21a) extracts one or more recipe terms from the natural language sentences constituting one cooking recipe selected from the plurality of cooking recipes. Emphasis unit (21b) determines an emphasis method for the one or more recipe terms. Output unit (23) outputs the one cooking recipe with the one or more recipe terms emphasized according to the emphasis method determined by emphasis unit (21b).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Publication date: February 16, 2023
    Inventors: HIROKI YAMADA, YASUHIRO YUKI, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, YUKI TAOKA
  • Patent number: 11395381
    Abstract: A microwave heating device includes a heating chamber that accommodates an object to be heated, a microwave generator configured to generate microwaves, a wave guide tube configured to guide the microwaves to the heating chamber, and an electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device that is provided in a two-dimensional region located in at least a part of a wall face within the heating chamber. The electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device has a plurality of metal pieces arranged to fill a predetermined two-dimensional region, and a switch provided between two metal pieces adjacent to each other among the plurality of metal pieces. The switch is connected to the two metal pieces adjacent to each other through two conductors each of which is provided on a corresponding one of the two metal pieces adjacent to each other, and smaller than the two metal pieces adjacent to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC HOLDINGS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masayuki Kubo, Koji Yoshino, Masafumi Sadahira, Osamu Hashimoto, Ryosuke Suga
  • Patent number: 11382187
    Abstract: A microwave heating device includes a heating chamber that accommodates an object to be heated, a microwave generator configured to generate microwaves, a wave guide tube configured to guide the microwaves to the heating chamber, and an electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device provided in a predetermined two-dimensional region within the heating chamber. The electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device has a plurality of metal pieces and a plurality of switches. The plurality of metal pieces are arranged to fill the predetermined two-dimensional region. The plurality of switches connect the plurality of metal pieces with one another. A serially connected row of metal pieces is configured by connecting one metal piece among the plurality of metal pieces to at most two metal pieces adjacent to the one metal piece through at least two of the plurality of switches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC HOLDINGS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masafumi Sadahira, Koji Yoshino, Masayuki Kubo, Osamu Hashimoto, Ryosuke Suga
  • Patent number: 11153943
    Abstract: A rotating antenna (105a) includes: a ceiling surface (109) and a side-wall surface (110) that constitute a waveguide structure (108); and a horn (113) that radiates a microwave into a heating chamber. The rotating antenna (105a) further includes a flange (112) that is formed on a periphery of the side-wall surface (110) so as to face a bottom surface (111), which is an inner wall surface of the heating chamber, and so as to surround the side-wall surface (110). The flange (112) has choke sections (117) that reduce a leakage of the microwave. This configuration can generate a relatively low impedance region so as to surround the side-wall surface (110), thereby enhancing a leakage reducing performance of the rotating antenna (105a) and increasing directivity of the microwave radiated from the rotating antenna (105a).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masafumi Sadahira, Koji Yoshino, Masayuki Kubo, Yoshiharu Omori
  • Patent number: 10939512
    Abstract: The present invention includes a directional coupler that detects at least part of a reflected wave inside a waveguide. When an object to be heated is absent, a reflected wave is strong, because there is nothing to absorb a microwave. When the object is present, the reflected wave is weak, because the microwave is absorbed by the object. As a quantity of the object becomes greater, a larger amount of microwave is absorbed by the object, and thus the reflected wave is weakened. It is thus possible to determine the quantity of the object from a reflected wave detection amount detected by the directional coupler without using a detector that detects a load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masafumi Sadahira, Koji Yoshino, Masayuki Kubo
  • Patent number: 10912165
    Abstract: The present invention has a configuration of controlling a motor so as to stop a radiation antenna when the radiation antenna faces in a direction in which a reflected wave detection amount is minimized and to stop the radiation antenna when the radiation antenna faces in a different direction different from the direction in which the reflected wave detection amount is minimized. According to this configuration, first, the radiation antenna stops when facing in the direction in which the reflected wave detection amount is minimized. This extends a heating time under the most efficient condition, improving a heating efficiency in comparison with when the radiation antenna constantly rotates. Second, the radiation antenna stops when facing in the different directions. This causes uneven heating when the radiation antenna faces in the direction in which the reflected wave detection amount is minimized as well as when the radiation antenna faces in the different directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koji Yoshino, Masafumi Sadahira, Masayuki Kubo
  • Patent number: 10880960
    Abstract: There are provided heating chamber, and reflection angle control device provided on upper wall configuring at least part of walls of heating chamber and configured to control a reflection angle of a microwave to control standing wave distribution in heating chamber. Reflection angle control device controls the reflection angle of the microwave when the microwave radiated from microwave radiation device is not directly absorbed into heating target but is reflected by the wall. Standing wave distribution in heating chamber can thus be controlled to be different from ordinary distribution for improvement in local heating performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Koji Yoshino, Yoshiharu Oomori, Masafumi Sadahira, Masayuki Kubo, Osamu Hashimoto, Ryosuke Suga
  • Publication number: 20200003428
    Abstract: A heating cooking device includes a heater, a heating chamber, an imaging unit, a lighting unit, an image processor, and a lighting controller. The heating chamber accommodates an object to be heated. The imaging unit take images of the inside of the heating chamber. The lighting unit illuminates the inside of the heating chamber. The image processor analyzes an image to detect the brightness of the object to be heated in the image. The lighting controller controls the lighting unit in response to the brightness of the object to be heated. This aspect allows the heating cooking device to accurately determine a cooking state of the object to be heated on the basis of the image of the inside of the heating chamber taken to control the heater in response to the cooking state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2018
    Publication date: January 2, 2020
    Inventors: RYUTA KONDO, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, HIDEKI NAKAMURA
  • Publication number: 20190373686
    Abstract: A microwave heating device includes a heating chamber that accommodates an object to be heated, a microwave generator configured to generate microwaves, a wave guide tube configured to guide the microwaves to the heating chamber, and an electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device provided in a predetermined two-dimensional region within the heating chamber. The electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device has a plurality of metal pieces and a plurality of switches. The plurality of metal pieces are arranged to fill the predetermined two-dimensional region. The plurality of switches connect the plurality of metal pieces with one another. A serially connected row of metal pieces is configured by connecting one metal piece among the plurality of metal pieces to at most two metal pieces adjacent to the one metal piece through at least two of the plurality of switches.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2017
    Publication date: December 5, 2019
    Inventors: MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, KOJI YOSHINO, MASAYUKI KUBO, OSAMU HASHIMOTO, RYOSUKE SUGA
  • Publication number: 20190364623
    Abstract: A microwave heating device includes a heating chamber that accommodates an object to be heated, a microwave generator configured to generate microwaves, a wave guide tube configured to guide the microwaves to the heating chamber, and an electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device that is provided in a two-dimensional region located in at least a part of a wall face within the heating chamber. The electromagnetic field distribution adjustment device has a plurality of metal pieces arranged to fill a predetermined two-dimensional region, and a switch provided between two metal pieces adjacent to each other among the plurality of metal pieces. The switch is connected to the two metal pieces adjacent to each other through two conductors each of which is provided on a corresponding one of the two metal pieces adjacent to each other, and smaller than the two metal pieces adjacent to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2017
    Publication date: November 28, 2019
    Inventors: MASAYUKI KUBO, KOJI YOSHINO, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, OSAMU HASHIMOTO, RYOSUKE SUGA
  • Patent number: 10362641
    Abstract: A microwave oven includes a waveguide having an E-bend structure with multiple openings disposed on a lateral face of a heating chamber that allow the waveguide to communicate with the heating chamber. The waveguide has a first section for propagating a microwave from a magnetron toward the heating chamber, and a second section having a wide plane that abuts an outer wall of the heating chamber. The openings include at least one circularly-polarized-wave opening for generating a circularly polarized wave. A cross section of the first section orthogonally intersects a tube axis of the first section projects virtually along the tube axis of first section and onto a lateral face of the heating chamber, and the circularly-polarized-wave opening is configured such that its center is located outside the resultant projected region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Omori, Koji Yoshino, Masaharu Tsujimoto, Takahide Yamaguchi, Junji Hirata, Takayuki Akashi, Masafumi Sadahira, Masayuki Kubo
  • Patent number: 10356855
    Abstract: A microwave heating apparatus includes: a heating chamber which houses a heating object; a microwave generating unit which generates a microwave; a transmitting unit which transmits the microwave generated by the microwave generating unit; a waveguide-structure antenna which radiates to the heating chamber the microwave transmitted from the transmitting unit; and a rotation driving unit which drives the waveguide-structure antenna to rotate, wherein the waveguide-structure antenna has a microwave sucking-out opening in a wall surface forming a waveguide structure of the waveguide-structure antenna.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masayuki Kubo, Koji Yoshino, Masafumi Sadahira, Daisuke Hosokawa, Yoshiharu Omori, Keijirou Kunimoto
  • Publication number: 20190090318
    Abstract: The present invention has a configuration of controlling motor (15) so as to stop radiation antenna (5) when radiation antenna (5) faces in a direction in which a reflected wave detection amount is minimized and to stop radiation antenna (5) when radiation antenna (5) faces in a different direction different from the direction in which the reflected wave detection amount is minimized. According to this configuration, first, radiation antenna (5) stops when facing in the direction in which the reflected wave detection amount is minimized. This extends a heating time under the most efficient condition, improving a heating efficiency in comparison with when radiation antenna (5) constantly rotates. Second, radiation antenna (5) stops when facing in the different directions. This causes uneven heating when radiation antenna (5) faces in the direction in which the reflected wave detection amount is minimized as well as when radiation antenna (5) faces in the different directions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: KOJI YOSHINO, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, MASAYUKI KUBO
  • Publication number: 20190090317
    Abstract: The present invention includes a directional coupler that detects at least part of a reflected wave inside a waveguide. When an object to be heated is absent, a reflected wave is strong, because there is nothing to absorb a microwave. When the object is present, the reflected wave is weak, because the microwave is absorbed by the object. As a quantity of the object becomes greater, a larger amount of microwave is absorbed by the object, and thus the reflected wave is weakened. It is thus possible to determine the quantity of the object from a reflected wave detection amount detected by the directional coupler without using a detector that detects a load.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventors: MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, KOJI YOSHINO, MASAYUKI KUBO
  • Publication number: 20190037653
    Abstract: There are provided heating chamber, and reflection angle control device provided on upper wall configuring at least part of walls of heating chamber and configured to control a reflection angle of a microwave to control standing wave distribution in heating chamber. Reflection angle control device controls the reflection angle of the microwave when the microwave radiated from microwave radiation device is not directly absorbed into heating target but is reflected by the wall. Standing wave distribution in heating chamber can thus be controlled to be different from ordinary distribution for improvement in local heating performance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Inventors: KOJI YOSHINO, YOSHIHARU OOMORI, MASAFUMI SADAHIRA, MASAYUKI KUBO, OSAMU HASHIMOTO, RYOSUKE SUGA
  • Patent number: 10135107
    Abstract: A directional coupler according to the invention includes an opening in a wall surface of a waveguide, and a coupling line on an outer side of the waveguide. The opening is configured to not cross a tube axis of the waveguide in plan view, and to emit a circularly polarized wave. The coupling line includes first and second transmission lines and output parts disposed at both ends, the first and second transmission lines extending across the opening to cross the tube axis in plan view and being opposed to each other across the center of the opening. The first and second transmission lines are interconnected at a position displaced from an area vertically above the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koji Yoshino, Tomotaka Nobue, Kenji Yasui, Yoshiharu Omori, Masafumi Sadahira, Masayuki Kubo
  • Patent number: 10045403
    Abstract: A microwave heating device of the present invention comprises a heating chamber housing an object to be heated, a microwave generation portion generating a microwave, a waveguide portion propagating the microwave, and a plurality of microwave radiating portions radiating the microwave in the heating chamber, wherein the microwave radiating portions are arranged in a direction orthogonal to a direction of electric field and to a direction of propagation within the waveguide portion, and centers of the microwave radiating portions are arranged at positions corresponding to approximate node positions of the electric field within the waveguide portion. The microwave heating device is enabled to make uniform heat distribution in the object to be heated, without using a driving mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Daisuke Hosokawa, Koji Yoshino, Makoto Nishimura, Masafumi Sadahira, Tomoya Fujinami, Tomotaka Nobue, Yoshiharu Omori