Patents by Inventor Masamichi Makihara

Masamichi Makihara 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: 11913684
    Abstract: A fluid circulation circuit includes a flow passage switching valve. The flow passage switching valve includes a body and a switcher. The body includes a first inlet, a second inlet, and outlets including a first outlet. The switcher is capable of switching a passage configuration to a state in which a fluid that has flowed in from the first inlet flows out of either one of the outlets and a state in which the fluid that has flowed in from the second inlet flows out of either one of the outlets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masamichi Makihara, Yoshiki Katoh, Takahiro Maeda, Kuniyoshi Tanioka, Akira Higuchi, Takehito Mizunuma, Takuya Hamada
  • Patent number: 11833887
    Abstract: A vehicular air conditioner includes a refrigeration cycle system, a high-temperature heat medium circuit, and a low-temperature heat medium circuit. The high-temperature heat medium circuit includes an air-heat medium heat exchanger, a heater core, a branching portion, a common passage, a flow rate adjuster, and an auxiliary heat source. The air-heat medium heat exchanger exchanges heat between the heat medium and an outside air. The heater core is arranged parallel to the air-heat medium heat exchanger and causes the heat medium to transfer heat to a ventilation air. The branching portion divides a flow of the heat medium into a flow toward the air-heat medium heat exchanger and a flow toward the heater core. The auxiliary heat source is arranged in the common passage at a position upstream of the branching portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kawano, Yoshiki Kato, Masamichi Makihara, Takahiro Maeda, Kuniyoshi Tanioka, Toru Okamura, Naoya Makimoto
  • Publication number: 20230052705
    Abstract: An air conditioner for a vehicle includes a refrigeration cycle, a heating unit and a control unit. The refrigeration cycle includes an air-conditioning evaporator, a chilling evaporator, an air-conditioning side flow path, a detour flow path and an air-conditioning flow rate adjustment unit. The control unit includes a determination unit that determines whether a condensation condition is satisfied when a refrigerant is flowing through the chilling evaporator via the detour flow path in a state where an inflow of a refrigerant into the air-conditioning evaporator is prohibited. When the determination unit determines that the condensation condition is satisfied, the control unit controls the air-conditioning flow rate adjustment unit to allow an inflow of a refrigerant into the air-conditioning evaporator as a condensation suppression operation for suppressing condensation of a refrigerant in the air-conditioning evaporator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2022
    Publication date: February 16, 2023
    Inventors: Kouji MIURA, Yoshiki KATOH, Masamichi MAKIHARA, Atsushi YAMADA, Kenta KAYANO, Hiroaki KAWANO, Tooru OKAMURA, Naoya MAKIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20230016470
    Abstract: A battery temperature control device includes a heating medium circuit that connects a battery heat exchanger, an outside air heat exchanger, a heating medium pump, and a flow rate regulating unit. The outside air heat exchanger is connected in parallel to the battery heat exchanger. The flow rate regulating unit adjusts a flow rate of the heating medium in a first path through which the heating medium flows via at least the outside air heat exchanger and a flow rate of the heating medium in a second path through which the heating medium flows by detouring around the outside air heat exchanger. The control unit controls the flow rate regulating unit to adjust a ratio between a flow rate of the heating medium in the first path and a flow rate of the heating medium in the second path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2022
    Publication date: January 19, 2023
    Inventors: Kouji MIURA, Yoshiki KATOH, Masamichi MAKIHARA, Atsushi YAMADA, Kenta KAYANO, Hiroaki KAWANO, Tooru OKAMURA, Naoya MAKIMOTO, Takahiro MAEDA
  • Publication number: 20220088996
    Abstract: In a refrigeration cycle device, a heat supply unit is disposed in parallel with a heat utilization unit in a flow of a heat medium. A branching part branches the heat medium flowing out of a heat radiator into a flow flowing toward the heat utilization unit and a flow flowing toward the heat supply unit. A merging part is configured to cause the heat medium having passed through the heat utilization unit and the heat medium having passed through the heat supply unit to merge together and to flow toward the heat radiator. A switching unit switches an operation state between a first state in which the heat medium circulates between the heat radiator and the heat utilization unit, and a second state in which the heat medium circulates between the heat radiator, the heat utilization unit and the heat supply unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2021
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Inventors: Tooru OKAMURA, Yoshiki KATOH, Masamichi MAKIHARA, Kuniyoshi TANIOKA, Takahiro MAEDA
  • Publication number: 20220069387
    Abstract: A cooling water circuit includes: a heat-radiating heat exchanger in which a cooling water is heated by heat radiated from an external heat medium; a heat-absorbing heat exchanger in which a cooling water is cooled by heat absorbed by an external heat medium; and a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger in which heat is exchanged between the cooling water and outside air. When a high-temperature cooling water heated by the heat-radiating heat exchanger flows through the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are arranged in series for the cooling water to flow. When a low-temperature cooling water cooled by the heat-absorbing heat exchanger flows through the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are arranged in parallel for the cooling water to flow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Inventors: Takahiro Maeda, Yoshiki Katoh, Masamichi Makihara, Kuniyoshi Tanioka, Kouji Miura
  • Publication number: 20220032732
    Abstract: A battery heating device includes: a radiator and a heater core arranged in parallel with each other; a battery temperature adjusting unit for heating a battery with a heat medium; a first branch branching the heat medium between the radiator and the heater core; a first confluence where the heat medium merges; a second branch where the heat medium from a heat emitter is branched to the battery temperature adjustment unit; a second confluence where the heat medium flowing through the battery temperature adjustment unit merges; and a radiator flow rate reducing part arranged in a passage for the heat medium from the first branch or the second branch closer to the radiator to the first confluence or the second confluence closer to the radiator via the radiator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Publication date: February 3, 2022
    Inventors: Masamichi MAKIHARA, Yoshiki KATOH, Takahiro MAEDA, Kuniyoshi TANIOKA, Naoki YOKOYAMA
  • Publication number: 20220034562
    Abstract: A fluid circulation circuit includes a flow passage switching valve. The flow passage switching valve includes a body and a switcher. The body includes a first inlet, a second inlet, and outlets including a first outlet. The switcher is capable of switching a passage configuration to a state in which a fluid that has flowed in from the first inlet flows out of either one of the outlets and a state in which the fluid that has flowed in from the second inlet flows out of either one of the outlets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Publication date: February 3, 2022
    Inventors: Masamichi MAKIHARA, Yoshiki KATOH, Takahiro MAEDA, Kuniyoshi TANIOKA, Akira HIGUCHI, Takehito MIZUNUMA, Takuya HAMADA
  • Publication number: 20220009309
    Abstract: A refrigeration cycle device includes a heat pump cycle, a high-temperature heat medium circuit, and a low-temperature heat medium circuit. The low-temperature heat medium circuit includes a plurality of heat absorption devices configured to have a heat absorption amount to be absorbed by the low-temperature heat medium flowing out of a low-temperature heat medium-refrigerant heat exchanger, and a heat absorption adjusting unit configured to change the heat absorption amount of the low-temperature heat medium in the respective heat absorption devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Inventors: Koji MIURA, Hiroaki KAWANO, Motohiro YAMAGUCHI, Kazuya TANIGUCHI, Yoshiki KATO, Masamichi MAKIHARA, Takahiro MAEDA, Kuniyoshi TANIOKA, Toru OKAMURA, Naoya MAKIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220011006
    Abstract: An air conditioner includes a heat pump cycle, a heating unit, a low-temperature side heat medium circuit, and a heat dissipation amount adjustment control unit. The heat pump cycle has a compressor, a condenser, a decompression unit, and an evaporator. The heating unit has a heating heat exchanger, an outside air radiator, and a heat dissipation amount adjustment unit. The low-temperature side heat medium circuit has a heat generation device. The heat dissipation amount adjustment control unit controls the heat dissipation amount adjustment unit to adjust a heat dissipation amount in the outside air radiator such that a blown air temperature of the blown air heated by the heating heat exchanger approaches a predetermined target temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Inventors: Koji MIURA, Hiroaki KAWANO, Motohiro YAMAGUCHI, Kazuya TANIGUCHI, Yoshiki KATO, Masamichi MAKIHARA, Takahiro MAEDA, Kuniyoshi TANIOKA, Toru OKAMURA, Naoya MAKIMOTO, Atsushi YAMADA, Kenta KAYANO
  • Publication number: 20210316594
    Abstract: A vehicular air conditioner includes a refrigeration cycle system, a high-temperature heat medium circuit, and a low-temperature heat medium circuit. The high-temperature heat medium circuit includes an air-heat medium heat exchanger, a heater core, a branching portion, a common passage, a flow rate adjuster, and an auxiliary heat source. The air-heat medium heat exchanger exchanges heat between the heat medium and an outside air. The heater core is arranged parallel to the air-heat medium heat exchanger and causes the heat medium to transfer heat to a ventilation air. The branching portion divides a flow of the heat medium into a flow toward the air-heat medium heat exchanger and a flow toward the heater core. The auxiliary heat source is arranged in the common passage at a position upstream of the branching portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2021
    Publication date: October 14, 2021
    Inventors: Hiroaki KAWANO, Yoshiki KATO, Masamichi MAKIHARA, Takahiro MAEDA, Kuniyoshi TANIOKA, Toru OKAMURA, Naoya MAKIMOTO
  • Patent number: 10703172
    Abstract: A vehicular heat management system has a first valve body, a second valve body, a third valve body, and a fourth valve body. The first valve body switches a state that the heating medium discharged from the first pump flows in and a state that the heating medium discharged from the first pump does not flow in, with respect to the more than or equal to three of heating medium passing device. The second valve body switches a state that the heating medium discharged from the second pump flows in and a state that the heating medium discharged from the second pump does not flow in, with respect to the more than or equal to three of heating medium passing device. The third valve body switches a state that the heating medium flows to the first pump and a state that the heating medium does not flow to the first pump, with respect to the more than or equal to three of heating medium passing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masamichi Makihara, Norihiko Enomoto, Yoshiki Katoh, Kazutoshi Kuwayama, Nobuharu Kakehashi
  • Patent number: 10479170
    Abstract: An air conditioner for a vehicle includes a pump that draws and discharges a heat medium, a cooler core that exchanges sensible heat between the heat medium and ventilation air into a vehicle interior to cool and dehumidify the ventilation air, a heat-medium and outside-air heat exchanger that exchanges sensible heat between the heat medium and outside air, a compressor adapted to draw and discharge a refrigerant in a refrigeration cycle, a heat-medium cooling heat exchanger that cools the heat medium by exchanging heat between a low-pressure side refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle and the heat medium, and first and second switching valves that switch between a first dehumidification mode for circulation of the heat medium between the cooler core and the heat-medium cooling heat exchanger and a second dehumidification mode for circulation of the heat medium between the cooler core and the heat-medium and outside-air heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Norihiko Enomoto, Nobuharu Kakehashi, Yasumitsu Omi, Masamichi Makihara, Hiroshi Kishita
  • Patent number: 10457117
    Abstract: An air conditioner for a vehicle including a pump that takes in and discharges a heat medium, a heat medium/air heat exchanger which regulates a temperature of ventilation air by conducting sensible-heat exchange between the ventilation air and the heat medium circulated by the pump, a heat transfer device having a passage through which the heat medium flows and conducts heat transfer with the heat medium, a compressor, a heat medium/refrigerant heat exchanger which regulates the temperature of the heat medium, and a controller which regulates a heat transfer amount with the heat medium in the heat transfer device or heat exchange capability of the heat medium/air heat exchanger such that a temperature of the ventilation air regulated by the heat medium/air heat exchanger approaches a target temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Norihiko Enomoto, Nobuharu Kakehashi, Yoshiki Katoh, Kazutoshi Kuwayama, Masamichi Makihara
  • Patent number: 10449830
    Abstract: A vehicular heat management system includes: a refrigerant circuit; a first heat medium circuit in which a heat medium circulates and exchanges heat with a low-pressure side refrigerant of the refrigerant circuit; a second heat medium circuit in which a heat medium circulates and exchanges heat with a high-pressure side refrigerant of the refrigerant circuit; and a switching device configured to switch a mode between a communicating mode in which the first heat medium circuit and the second heat medium circuit are coupled and a non-communicating mode in which the first heat medium circuit and the second heat medium circuit are not coupled on the basis of a temperature of the heat medium in the first heat medium circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kengo Sugimura, Kazutoshi Kuwayama, Masamichi Makihara, Yoshiki Katoh, Norihiko Enomoto
  • Patent number: 10391834
    Abstract: An air conditioner includes: a heat-medium air heat exchanger that exchanges sensible heat between a heat medium having a temperature adjusted by the heat-medium temperature adjuster and ventilation air blowing to a space to be air-conditioned; a heat transfer portion having a flow path through which the heat medium circulates to transfer heat with the heat medium having the temperature adjusted by the heat-medium temperature adjuster; a large-inner-diameter pipe that forms a heat-medium flow path between the heat-medium temperature adjuster and the heat transfer portion; and a small-inner-diameter pipe that forms a heat-medium flow path between the heat-medium temperature adjuster and the heat-medium air heat exchanger. The small-inner-diameter pipe has small inner diameters ?H and ?C, compared to the large-inner-diameter pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Norihiko Enomoto, Nobuharu Kakehashi, Kazutoshi Kuwayama, Masamichi Makihara, Takashi Yamanaka, Yasumitsu Omi, Koji Miura
  • Patent number: 10371420
    Abstract: An air conditioning device for a vehicle having a compressor that supplies a high-pressure refrigerant, an air heating heat exchanger heating air that is to be blown into a vehicle cabin, a pressure reduction part expanding and decompressing the high-pressure refrigerant so as to supply an intermediate-pressure refrigerant and a low-pressure refrigerant, a first low-pressure side heat exchanger exchanging heat between the intermediate-pressure refrigerant and a heating medium other than the air, a second low-pressure side heat exchanger cooling the heating medium by exchanging heat between the low-pressure refrigerant and the heating medium, a first heating medium circuit through which the heating medium cooled in the second low-pressure side heat exchanger circulates, and a heating medium-air heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiki Katoh, Masamichi Makihara, Kazutoshi Kuwayama, Norihiko Enomoto, Kengo Sugimura
  • Patent number: 10371419
    Abstract: A vehicle air conditioning apparatus includes: at least one processor programmed to control a flow rate of at least one of a heat medium and outside air flowing through a heat medium-to-outside air heat exchanger such that a temperature of blast air cooled in an air-cooling heat exchanger is adjusted toward a first target temperature, and to control a flow rate of a refrigerant discharged from a compressor such that a temperature of blast air, which has been adjusted in at least one of the air-cooling heat exchanger and an air-heating heat exchanger and which is blown out into a vehicle interior, is adjusted toward a second target temperature. Accordingly, a surface temperature of the air-cooling heat exchanger and the temperature of the blast air into the vehicle interior can be properly controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Norihiko Enomoto, Nobuharu Kakehashi, Michio Nishikawa, Yoshiki Katoh, Kengo Sugimura, Takashi Yamanaka, Masamichi Makihara
  • Patent number: 10266035
    Abstract: A vehicle air-conditioner has a casing, a first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger. The casing forms an air passage through which air flows toward inside of a vehicle cabin. The first heat exchanger is housed in the casing and performs a sensible heat exchange between the air flowing in the air passage and a heating medium. The second heat exchanger is housed in the casing and performs a sensible heat exchange between the heating medium and air that has exchanged sensible heat in the first heat exchanger. The first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger respectively have a plurality of tubes through which the heating medium flows. A longitudinal direction of the plurality of tubes of the first heat exchanger and a longitudinal direction of the plurality of tubes of the second heat exchanger are the same direction as each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiki Katoh, Kazutoshi Kuwayama, Masamichi Makihara, Norihiko Enomoto, Kengo Sugimura
  • Patent number: 10220681
    Abstract: A refrigeration cycle device for a vehicle has a compressor, a first pump, a high-pressure side heat exchanger, a heating medium-outside air heat exchanger, and a controller. The compressor draws and discharges a refrigerant. The first pump draws and discharges a first heating medium. The high-pressure side heat exchanger heats the first heating medium by exchanging heat between a high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor and the first heating medium. The heating medium-outside air heat exchanger exchanges heat between the first heating medium and outside air. The controller controls operation of the compressor and the first pump. The controller activates the first pump when an activation request of the compressor is made. The controller activates the compressor, after activating the first pump, when it is determined or estimated that a temperature of the first heating medium is lower than or equal to a first predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiki Katoh, Masamichi Makihara, Norihiko Enomoto, Kazutoshi Kuwayama, Kengo Sugimura