Patents by Inventor Masanao Kotani

Masanao Kotani 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: 11346346
    Abstract: The present invention effectively cools air in a compression process at a high stage when an oil is supplied at the same pressure at a low stage and the high stage. Provided is a liquid-cooled type compressor including: a liquid-cooled type compressor body; at least one first nozzle; and at least one second nozzle, the at least one first nozzle and the at least one second nozzle each having a plurality of injection ports per nozzle and supplying a refrigerant through the injection ports into an inside of the compressor body, the second nozzle having the injection ports each having a diameter larger than a diameter of each of the injection ports of the first nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Masanao Kotani
  • Patent number: 11149734
    Abstract: Provided is a fluid machine configured such that liquid supplied to a working chamber from the outside of the fluid machine is dispersed extensively in the working chamber. This fluid machine is constituted of a screw rotor and a casing for accommodating the screw rotor and is provided with a liquid supply section for supplying liquid into a working chamber from the outside. The liquid supply section is configured so that liquid is dispersed in the longitudinal direction of the tooth groove of the screw rotor rather than in the width direction thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kotaro Chiba, Masahiko Takano, Toshikazu Harashima, Kosuke Sadakata, Kentaro Yamamoto, Takeshi Tsuchiya, Masanao Kotani, Ryoji Kawai, Minako Kanada
  • Patent number: 11047390
    Abstract: The present invention provides an oil feed type air compressor that can reduce a power consumption of a compressor body during an unload operation. The oil feed type air compressor includes: a compressor body (1) compressing air while feeding an oil into a compression chamber; a separator (4) disposed on a discharge side of the compressor body; a compressed air-feeding system (5) feeding the compressed air separated by the separator to a use destination of the compressed air; an oil-feeding system (6) feeding the oil separated by the separator to the compression chamber of the compressor body; an oil cooler (11) and a temperature sensor (12) disposed in the oil-feeding system; and a controller enabling execution of a temperature control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Masanao Kotani
  • Publication number: 20210190060
    Abstract: The present invention effectively cools air in a compression process at a high stage when an oil is supplied at the same pressure at a low stage and the high stage. Provided is a liquid-cooled type compressor including: a liquid-cooled type compressor body; at least one first nozzle; and at least one second nozzle, the at least one first nozzle and the at least one second nozzle each having a plurality of injection ports per nozzle and supplying a refrigerant through the injection ports into an inside of the compressor body, the second nozzle having the injection ports each having a diameter larger than a diameter of each of the injection ports of the first nozzle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2018
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventor: Masanao KOTANI
  • Publication number: 20210178594
    Abstract: To ensure privacy of a user while preventing transmission of erroneous information caused by malfunction of a sensor. An action detection system includes: a plurality of sensor devices including a detection unit that detects information and a communication unit that transmits information, the sensor devices provided in anywhere in a living environment; a mobile robot including a detection unit that detects information, a communication unit that transmits and receives information, and a movement means capable of moving in the living environment; and an action detection server including a communication unit that transmits and receives information, the server that detects a state on the basis of detection information of the detection unit included in the plurality of sensor devices and detection information of the detection unit included in the mobile robot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventors: Masanao KOTANI, Kohei KYOYA
  • Patent number: 10995756
    Abstract: Provided is an air compressor which helps to attain a proper discharge air temperature and which is superior in energy saving property.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanao Kotani, Takeshi Tsuchiya, Ryoji Kawai, Kotaro Chiba, Minako Kanada, Sachio Sekiya
  • Patent number: 10920760
    Abstract: An oil—cooled air compressor is provided with: an oil—cooled air compressor for compressing sucked-in air and discharging the compressed air; an oil separator for separating the compressed air and lubricating oil, which are discharged from the air compressor body; an oil cooler for cooling, by outside air, lubricating oil discharged from the oil separator; oil supply pipe passage for supplying lubricating oil, which is discharged from the oil cooler, to a bearing of the air compressor body and to an intermediate section in the process of compression by the air compressor; and an after-cooler for cooling, by outside air, air discharged from the oil separator. The oil-cooled air compressor in which the air compressor, the oil separator, the oil cooler, and the after-cooler are connected to supply high-pressure air to the outside of the compressor is provided with a vapor compression type refrigeration cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanao Kotani, Takeshi Tsuchiya, Ryoji Kawai, Sachio Sekiya
  • Publication number: 20200240415
    Abstract: The present invention provides an oil feed type air compressor that can reduce a power consumption of a compressor body during an unload operation. The oil feed type air compressor includes: a compressor body (1) compressing air while feeding an oil into a compression chamber; a separator (4) disposed on a discharge side of the compressor body; a compressed air-feeding system (5) feeding the compressed air separated by the separator to a use destination of the compressed air; an oil-feeding system (6) feeding the oil separated by the separator to the compression chamber of the compressor body; an oil cooler (11) and a temperature sensor (12) disposed in the oil-feeding system; and a controller enabling execution of a temperature control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2018
    Publication date: July 30, 2020
    Inventor: Masanao KOTANI
  • Patent number: 10527330
    Abstract: In a refrigeration cycle device, a compressor, a heat exchanger serving as a condenser, an expansion valve, and a heat exchanger serving as an evaporator are connected in order through refrigerant piping to form a refrigeration cycle. The refrigeration cycle device includes an evaporation temperature sensor provided between the expansion valve and the exchanger serving as the evaporator. The opening degree of the expansion valve is controlled such that an evaporation temperature detected by the evaporation temperature sensor reaches a control target value of the evaporation value. As a result, the refrigeration cycle device capable of achieving enhanced controllability while preventing liquid back to the compressor is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sachio Sekiya, Masanao Kotani
  • Publication number: 20190242382
    Abstract: Provided is an air compressor which helps to attain a proper discharge air temperature and which is superior in energy saving property.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Inventors: Masanao KOTANI, Takeshi TSUCHIYA, Ryoji KAWAI, Kotaro CHIBA, Minako KANADA, Sachio SEKIYA
  • Patent number: 10359209
    Abstract: An air conditioning apparatus suppresses an increase in power consumption associated with a reduction in start-stop frequency of a compressor. The air conditioning apparatus includes an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor and a plurality of indoor units connected with the outdoor unit and has a control device that performs thermo-off and thermo-on control such that a suction air temperature of the indoor unit falls within a predetermined temperature range with a set temperature defined as a reference. The control device detects the suction air temperatures of the indoor units, and, in a case where a sum total of air conditioning capacities of the indoor units, the suction air temperatures of which are between the set temperature and the thermo-off temperature, is at least a predetermined value, makes at least one indoor unit, the suction air temperatures of which are between the set temperature and the thermo-off temperature, forcedly thermo-off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: Hitachi-Johnson Controls Air Conditioning, Inc.
    Inventors: Masanao Kotani, Sachio Sekiya, Shigeyuki Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20190170143
    Abstract: Provided is a fluid machine configured such that liquid supplied to a working chamber from the outside of the fluid machine is dispersed extensively in the working chamber. This fluid machine is constituted of a screw rotor and a casing for accommodating the screw rotor and is provided with a liquid supply section for supplying liquid into a working chamber from the outside. The liquid supply section is configured so that liquid is dispersed in the longitudinal direction of the tooth groove of the screw rotor rather than in the width direction thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2017
    Publication date: June 6, 2019
    Inventors: Kotaro CHIBA, Masahiko TAKANO, Toshikazu HARASHIMA, Kosuke SADAKATA, Kentaro YAMAMOTO, Takeshi TSUCHIYA, Masanao KOTANI, Ryoji KAWAI, Minako KANADA
  • Publication number: 20190136843
    Abstract: Provided is an air compressor improved in terms of reliability by taking into consideration of the condensation of the water vapor in the compressed air.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2016
    Publication date: May 9, 2019
    Inventors: Ryoji KAWAI, Masanao KOTANI, Takeshi TSUCHIYA, Kohtaro CHIBA, Minako KANADA
  • Publication number: 20190024651
    Abstract: An oil—cooled air compressor is provided with: an oil—cooled air compressor for compressing sucked-in air and discharging the compressed air; an oil separator for separating the compressed air and lubricating oil, which are discharged from the air compressor body; an oil cooler for cooling, by outside air, lubricating oil discharged from the oil separator; oil supply pipe passage for supplying lubricating oil, which is discharged from the oil cooler, to a bearing of the air compressor body and to an intermediate section in the process of compression by the air compressor; and an after-cooler for cooling, by outside air, air discharged from the oil separator. The oil-cooled air compressor in which the air compressor, the oil separator, the oil cooler, and the after-cooler are connected to supply high-pressure air to the outside of the compressor is provided with a vapor compression type refrigeration cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2016
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Inventors: Masanao KOTANI, Takeshi TSUCHIYA, Ryoji KAWAI, Sachio SEKIYA
  • Publication number: 20180100677
    Abstract: In a refrigeration cycle device, a compressor, a heat exchanger serving as a condenser, an expansion valve, and a heat exchanger serving as an evaporator are connected in order through refrigerant piping to form a refrigeration cycle. The refrigeration cycle device includes an evaporation temperature sensor provided between the expansion valve and the exchanger serving as the to evaporator. The opening degree of the expansion valve is controlled such that an evaporation temperature detected by the evaporation temperature sensor reaches a control target value of the evaporation value. As a result, the refrigeration cycle device capable of achieving enhanced controllability while preventing liquid back to the compressor is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2016
    Publication date: April 12, 2018
    Inventors: Sachio SEKIYA, Masanao KOTANI
  • Publication number: 20160320113
    Abstract: The air conditioning apparatus of the present invention includes a refrigeration cycle device formed by connecting an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor with a plurality of indoor units, the indoor unit performs an air conditioning operation by switching between an thermo-on operation for performing a cooling operation or a heating operation and a thermo-off operation for suspending the cooling operation or the heating operation by using information on temperature difference between a suction air temperature and a set temperature, and shifts to a start-stop suppression operation mode for making any indoor unit perform the thermo-on operation in a case where an indoor unit A has met a thermo-off condition for switching from the thermo-on operation to the thermos-off operation and in a case where there is none of the indoor units is in the thermo-on operation other than the indoor unit A.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Publication date: November 3, 2016
    Applicant: Hitachi Appliances, Inc.
    Inventors: Sachio SEKIYA, Masanao KOTANI, Shigeyuki SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20160273794
    Abstract: An air conditioning apparatus suppresses an increase in power consumption associated with a reduction in start-stop frequency of a compressor. The air conditioning apparatus includes an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor and a plurality of indoor units connected with the outdoor unit and has a control device that performs thermo-off and thermo-on control such that a suction air temperature of the indoor unit falls within a predetermined temperature range with a set temperature defined as a reference. The control device detects the suction air temperatures of the indoor units, and, in a case where a sum total of air conditioning capacities of the indoor units, the suction air temperatures of which are between the set temperature and the thermo-off temperature, is at least a predetermined value, makes at least one indoor unit, the suction air temperatures of which are between the set temperature and the thermo-off temperature, forcedly thermo-off.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Applicant: HITACHI APPLIANCES, INC.
    Inventors: Masanao KOTANI, Sachio SEKIYA, Shigeyuki SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20150075199
    Abstract: Provided is an air-conditioning/hot-water supply system having high operational efficiency. An internal heat exchanger (15) has: a primary heat transfer pipe (15a) for forming a part of the annular circuit of a refrigerant circuit (10) for air conditioning; and a secondary heat transfer pipe (15b) connected to piping (P) branched from the annular circuit through a pressure reduction device (16). The pressure reduction device (16) reduces the pressure of a first refrigerant flowing therein from the piping (P) depending on an operation mode and causes the first refrigerant, the pressure of which has been reduced, to flow toward the secondary heat transfer pipe (15b), thereby cooling the first refrigerant flowing through the primary heat transfer pipe (15a).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2012
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanao Kotani, Yoko Kokugan
  • Publication number: 20110072841
    Abstract: A thermodynamic cycle system for a moving vehicle, including a refrigeration cycle system through which a refrigerant flows, a first heat-transferring system through which a heat-transferring medium flows, the heat-transferring medium being used for adjusting temperatures of heat-liberation components, a second heat-transferring system through which a heat-transferring medium flows, the heat-transferring medium being used for adjusting an indoor air state, an intermediate heat exchanger provided between the refrigeration cycle system and the first heat-transferring system, an intermediate heat exchanger provided between the refrigeration cycle system and the second heat-transferring system, an indoor heat exchanger provided in the first heat-transferring system, and an indoor heat exchanger provided in the second heat-transferring system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2010
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatsugu Arai, Shingo Nasu, Hiroaki Matsushima, Masanao Kotani, Tomohiro Komatsu, Sachio Sekiya