Patents by Inventor Masatoshi Enoki

Masatoshi Enoki 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: 5961051
    Abstract: A shower apparatus reduces the effects of water hammer within a portion of a flow route connecting a shower head to a supply, when a flow adjusting mechanism proximal the shower head is operated. The shower apparatus adjusts pressure of a supply fluid dependant upon the degree of throttling of the flow route and the flow adjusting mechanism controls the amount of flow of the supply fluid dependant upon a degree of opening thereof to the discharge end of a shower head. The structure providing the pressure adjustment and the flow adjusting mechanism are each disposed successively from upstream of the flow route, between a shower side flow route provided in a water plug and the shower head or a discharge end of the shower head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideyuki Matsui, Masatoshi Enoki
  • Patent number: 5924449
    Abstract: A hot and cold water mixing device which comprises one or more valve units each constituted by accommodating an operating member within a hollow casing, and a housing into which the one or more valve units are inserted and arranged and in which two primary water passages communicating with a hot water supply source and a cold water supply source, respectively, are formed. The housing is composed of an outer housing (1) and an inner housing (2) which is inserted into the outer housing and which is formed with water holes (11,12,13) communicating with said valve units, and at least two primary water passages (5,6) are formed between the outer housing and the inner housing by separating members (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Enoki, Toshihide Ushita, Hideyuki Matsui
  • Patent number: 5878949
    Abstract: A temperature-actuated valve device which comprises a body 5 provided with a fluid inlet opening 6b and a fluid outlet opening 5a, a vale seat 5b formed on the peripheral edge of the outlet opening 5a, a main valve body 8 which is disposed movably within the body 5 in the flow direction of fluid and which is brought into and out of an abutting engagement with the outlet opening 5a to perform the opening and closing operation, a pilot valve body 7 which is disposed movably within the body 5 in the same direction as the direction of movement of the main valve body 8 and which is of a tubular shape causing a change in the fluid pressure acting on the upstream side or the downstream side of the main valve body 8, and a temperature-actuated spring 11 which is linked to the pilot valve body 7 and which deforms when it reaches a predetermined temperature and above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1999
    Assignees: Toto Ltd., Piolax, Inc.
    Inventors: Hideyuki Matsui, Masatoshi Enoki, Tsutomu Kato, Tetsuo Masatake, Toshiyuki Ooshima
  • Patent number: 5829468
    Abstract: A valve device using pipe materials in which a fluid control mechanism is arranged and which comprises a valve device body (11) made of a metallic pipe material and having a tubular flange (21) integrally formed on the outer surface of the body so as to protrude therefrom, and a tubular member (12) for forming a flow passage, which is fitted and connected at the base end thereof to the top end of the tubular flange (21). The tubular flange (21) is formed so that the area of the opening at the base end thereof communicating with the flow passage within the valve device body is greater than the area of the opening at the top end of the tubular flange. The inner peripheral portion (21a) of the base end of the tubular flange (21) is formed with a smoothly curved surface, and the flow passage is formed along such a curved surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Hachihei Watanabe, Masatoshi Enoki, Katsuaki Nakamura, Tatsuo Matsukuma, Tsuguya Okubo, Akira Yubisui, Takayoshi Yanagida, Hiromi Katahira, Toshiyuki Iwao, Yuji Matsuo
  • Patent number: 5806761
    Abstract: In a combination faucet device (10) according to the invention, a movable valve member (160) slidingly moves relative to a main casing (30) to change a mixing ratio of high-temperature water supplied from a hot water port (116) to low-temperature water supplied from a cold water port (106). The movable valve member (160) is pressed by a temperature sensitive spring (130) in a first direction while being pressed by a bias spring (150) in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The temperature sensitive spring (130) is exposed to a water mixture and varies its spring constant according to the temperature of the water mixture. The temperature sensitive spring (130) accordingly moves the movable valve member (160) in a direction for decreasing the ratio of the high-temperature water to a certain position where the spring force of the temperature sensitive spring (130) balances with the spring force of the bias spring (150), thus allowing a water mixture adjusted to a target temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1998
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Enoki, Osamu Tokunaga, Setsuo Ito, Masaaki Itoh, Hirofumi Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 5738275
    Abstract: In a combination faucet device (10) according to the invention, a movable valve member (160) slidingly moves relative to a main casing (30) to change a mixing ratio of high-temperature water supplied from a hot water port (116) to low-temperature water supplied from a cold water port (106). The movable valve member (160) is pressed by a temperature sensitive spring (130) in a first direction while being pressed by a bias spring (150) in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The temperature sensitive spring (130) is exposed to water mixture and varies its spring constant according to the temperature of the water mixture. The temperature sensitive spring (130) accordingly moves the movable valve member (160) in a direction for decreasing the ratio of the high-temperature water to a certain position where the spring force of the temperature sensitive spring (130) balances with the spring force of the bias spring (150), thus allowing water mixture adjusted to a target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Enoki, Osamu Tokunaga, Setsuo Ito, Masaaki Itoh, Hirofumi Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 5730167
    Abstract: A hot and cold water mixing device which comprises an inner housing (11) provided with a hot water inlet hole (17), a cold water inlet hole (18) and a mixed water delivery hole (19), and an outer housing (31) having openings (33, 34, 32) communicating with a hot supply passage (15), a cold water supply passage (16) and a mixed water supply passage (14). The inner housing (11) is inserted into the outer housing (31) to form a hot water passage (20), a cold water passage (35) and a mixed water passage (30) between the outer housing (31) and the inner housing (11). The hot water passage (20) and the mixed water passage (30) are formed by enclosing the hot water inlet hole (17) and the mixed water delivery hole (19) by the respective seal members (26, 29) which each are partly arranged so as to intersect with the circumferential line of the inner housing (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1998
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Enoki, Toshihide Ushita, Hideyuki Matsui, Tatsuo Matsukuma, Yuji Matsuo, Mineo Nakashima, Hirosi Tutiya, Satoru Furuta
  • Patent number: 5551630
    Abstract: An automatic temperature control means 16 for automatically generating a mixed warm water of prescribed temperature by mixing an introduced hot water from a hot water inflow passage 14 and an introduced cold water from a cold water inflow passage 12 with each other at a flow rate ratio corresponding to the prescribed temperature, and a flow rate control means 19 for regulating the temperature of the discharged mixed warm water by mixing it with a hot or cold water introduced from the hot or cold water inflow passage 14 or 12 through a by-pass 18 around the former means are provided. As a result, mixed warm water of desired temperature can be easily obtained by manipulating the flow rate control means 19.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1996
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Enoki, Osamu Tokunaga, Shinichi Yamato, Masahiko Imazono
  • Patent number: 5494077
    Abstract: An automatic temperature control means 16 for automatically generating a mixed warm water of prescribed temperature by mixing an introduced hot water from a hot water inflow passage 14 and an introduced cold water from a cold water inflow passage 12 with each other at a flow rate ratio corresponding to the prescribed temperature, and a flow rate control means 19 for regulating the temperature of the discharged mixed warm water by mixing it with a hot or cold water introduced from the hot or cold water inflow passage 14 or 12 through a by-pass 18 around the former means are provided. As a result, mixed warm water of desired temperature can be easily obtained by manipulating the flow rate control means 19.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1996
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Enoki, Osamu Tokunaga, Shinichi Yamato, Masahiko Imazono
  • Patent number: 5462224
    Abstract: An automatic temperature control means 16 for automatically generating a mixed warm water of prescribed temperature by mixing an introduced hot water from a hot water inflow passage 14 and an introduced cold water from a cold water inflow passage 12 with each other at a flow rate ratio corresponding to the prescribed temperature, and a flow rate control means 19 for regulating the temperature of the discharged mixed warm water by mixing it with a hot or cold water introduced from the hot or cold water inflow passage 14 or 12 through a by-pass 18 around the former means are provided. As a result, mixed warm water of desired temperature can be easily obtained by manipulating the flow rate control means 19.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1995
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Enoki, Osamu Tokunaga, Shinichi Yamato, Masahiko Imazono
  • Patent number: 5143295
    Abstract: A bubbly water outlet device comprises a swirl chamber which is connected to a water supply source and is adapted to swirl a flow, and a bubbler chamber which is connected to the swirl chamber through a discharge port provided substantially at a center of the swirl chamber. The bubbler chamber is adapted to suck air from an exterior by virtue of the inflow of water from the discharge port and is capable of discharging bubbly water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1992
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Okayama, Yoshitaka Oba, Masahiko Imazono, Masatoshi Enoki, Masao Shimizu, Yoshiki Ohta, Koji Nakano, Eiji Matsuda, Osamu Tokunaga, Tomoaki Nakano, Hachihei Watanabe, Toshihide Ushita