Patents by Inventor Naofumi Nakatani

Naofumi Nakatani 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: 9969288
    Abstract: A power control system, a power control method, a power control device and a power control program supplies power to an electric device and charge an electric vehicle. A control device and method includes a receiver that receives charge information pertaining to the charging of the rechargeable battery prior to an arrival of the electric vehicle at a location where power is supplied to the electric vehicle, and a control determination unit that determines an operation start time of starting the operation of the electric device on the basis of the charge information received by the receiver. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium stores a control program that controls the charging of a rechargeable battery of an electric vehicle and controls operation of the electric device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Kazunori Kurimoto, Tetsuya Kouda
  • Patent number: 9651930
    Abstract: A mobile device is provided with a communication unit which performs communication via wireless communication, a display unit, and a display control unit which controls the display unit to display a setting input screen for allowing the user to input setting of a household electrical device. The communication unit transmits a request signal for checking whether there is a person in the vicinity of the household electrical device before the setting input screen is displayed by the display control unit. The display control unit controls the display unit to display a setting input disable screen indicating that setting of the household electrical device is not received without causing the display unit to display the setting input screen when there is a person in the vicinity of the household electrical device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naofumi Nakatani, Satoshi Tsujimura, Kazunori Kurimoto, Hiromi Toyota
  • Patent number: 9523968
    Abstract: An electric device includes operation unit, working unit, and a number-of-times detecting unit that counts the number of times of instructions being against energy savings. In addition, the device includes time measuring unit that measures time from when the number-of-times detecting unit starts the counting, and a controller that generates a signal to induce a modification of a first energy-saving pattern. When the time is within a first predetermined period, the controller generates a signal that requires the modification of the first energy-saving pattern into a more lenient second energy-saving pattern, with the time being from when time measuring unit starts the measurement to when the number of the times counted by the number-of-times detecting unit reaches a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kouda, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kazunori Kurimoto
  • Patent number: 9442469
    Abstract: A washer-dryer is provided with a time shift function for performing timer presetting processing on the basis of a time shift computation result which indicates an operation start time suitable for operation. The washer-dryer includes: an input operation unit for allowing a user to perform operations for operating the washer-dryer; a display unit for displaying information relating to the operation of the washer-dryer; and an operation control unit for controlling the operation of the washer-dryer on the basis of the time shift computation result. When a start button on the input operation unit is operated by the user, the operation control unit automatically performs the timer presetting processing on the basis of the time shift computation result and also displays a timer preset time at the display unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Satoshi Tsujimura, Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Tetsuya Kouda, Kazunori Kurimoto
  • Patent number: 9433036
    Abstract: A cooking device includes: first and second heating cooking units; a mode setting unit configured to set heating modes of the first and second heating cooking units; a receiving unit; a priority managing unit configured to store priorities which are given to the first heating cooking unit and the second heating cooking unit, respectively; and a power adjusting unit configured to adjust using power of a heating cooking unit to which a lower one of the priorities of the first heating cooking unit and the second heating cooking unit stored in the priority managing unit is given when the receiving unit receives a power adjustment request signal transmitted from a power controlling device. The priorities are different values for each heating mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazunori Kurimoto, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Tetsuya Kouda, Yasuo Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 9331749
    Abstract: A first communication unit transmits, to an electrical home appliance, request information that requests electrical home appliance specifying information for specifying the electrical home appliance after an approach instructing screen is displayed on a display unit, and receives response information including at least the electrical home appliance specifying information from the electrical home appliance after the first communication unit and the electrical home appliance have approached each other within a communicable range, and a display control unit switches a display screen to a menu screen that is unique to the electrical home appliance on the basis of the response information received by the first communication unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Kuroyama, Kazunori Kurimoto, Naofumi Nakatani, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kenichi Kamon, Masaru Yamaoka, Toshiaki Ohnishi
  • Publication number: 20160107534
    Abstract: A power control system, a power control method, a power control device and a power control program supplies power to an electric device and charge an electric vehicle. A control device and method includes a receiver that receives charge information pertaining to the charging of the rechargeable battery prior to an arrival of the electric vehicle at a location where power is supplied to the electric vehicle, and a control determination unit that determines an operation start time of starting the operation of the electric device on the basis of the charge information received by the receiver. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium stores a control program that controls the charging of a rechargeable battery of an electric vehicle and controls operation of the electric device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Publication date: April 21, 2016
    Inventors: Toshihisa IKEDA, Yasuo YOSHIMURA, Satoshi TSUJIMURA, Naofumi NAKATANI, Kazunori KURIMOTO, Tetsuya KOUDA
  • Patent number: 9141904
    Abstract: A radio frequency identification (RFID) device includes: a contact interface for wired communication with a host; a contactless interface for contactless communication with a reader/writer; a command processing unit that obtains a command from the reader/writer in the contactless communication and process the command, the command instructing a data access; and a memory that holds data. The command processing unit determines a communication mode, and (i) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the memory, when the communication mode is determined as a first communication mode, and (ii) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the host, when the communication mode is determined as a second communication mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Mahbub Rashid, Michihiro Matsumoto, Masaru Yamaoka, Kazunori Kurimoto, Kazuhiro Kuroyama, Eiichi Sadayuki, Yasuo Yoshimura, Shigeru Morimoto, Naofumi Nakatani
  • Publication number: 20150179056
    Abstract: A mobile device is provided with a communication unit which performs communication via wireless communication, a display unit, and a display control unit which controls the display unit to display a setting input screen for allowing the user to input setting of a household electrical device. The communication unit transmits a request signal for checking whether there is a person in the vicinity of the household electrical device before the setting input screen is displayed by the display control unit. The display control unit controls the display unit to display a setting input disable screen indicating that setting of the household electrical device is not received without causing the display unit to display the setting input screen when there is a person in the vicinity of the household electrical device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2012
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Inventors: Naofumi Nakatani, Satoshi Tsujimura, Kazunori Kurimoto, Hiromi Toyota
  • Patent number: 8983633
    Abstract: An equipment control device has: a reception unit for receiving desired time information indicating a desired operation start time or a desired operation termination time, operation period information and electrical power information; a time-shift period setting unit for setting a time-shift period indicating a period which has a time range including the desired time information and during which the operation start time or the operation termination time of a household appliance is shiftable; an electrical power charge information acquisition unit for acquiring electrical power charge information; an operation time computing unit for computing the operation start time or the operation termination time, on the basis of which the electricity charge that is billed when the household appliance is operated within the time-shift period falls to or below a predetermined charge; and a transmission unit for transmitting the operation start time or the operation termination time to the household appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kouda, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kazunori Kurimoto
  • Publication number: 20150039104
    Abstract: A mobile device is provided with a communication unit which performs communication via wireless communication, a display unit, and a display control unit which controls the display unit to display a setting input screen for allowing the user to input setting of a household electrical device. The communication unit transmits a request signal for checking whether there is a person in the vicinity of the household electrical device before the setting input screen is displayed by the display control unit. The display control unit controls the display unit to display a setting input disable screen indicating that setting of the household electrical device is not received without causing the display unit to display the setting input screen when there is a person in the vicinity of the household electrical device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2014
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Inventors: Naofumi NAKATANI, Satoshi TSUJIMURA, Kazunori KURIMOTO, Hiromi TOYOTA
  • Publication number: 20140227975
    Abstract: A first communication unit transmits, to an electrical home appliance, request information that requests electrical home appliance specifying information for specifying the electrical home appliance after an approach instructing screen is displayed on a display unit, and receives response information including at least the electrical home appliance specifying information from the electrical home appliance after the first communication unit and the electrical home appliance have approached each other within a communicable range, and a display control unit switches a display screen to a menu screen that is unique to the electrical home appliance on the basis of the response information received by the first communication unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Kuroyama, Kazunori Kurimoto, Naofumi Nakatani, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kenichi Kamon, Masaru Yamaoka, Toshiaki Ohnishi
  • Publication number: 20140207256
    Abstract: An electric device includes operation unit, working unit, and a number-of-times detecting unit that counts the number of times of instructions being against energy savings. In addition, the device includes time measuring unit that measures time from when the number-of-times detecting unit starts the counting, and a controller that generates a signal to induce a modification of a first energy-saving pattern. When the time is within a first predetermined period, the controller generates a signal that requires the modification of the first energy-saving pattern into a more lenient second energy-saving pattern, with the time being from when time measuring unit starts the measurement to when the number of the times counted by the number-of-times detecting unit reaches a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2012
    Publication date: July 24, 2014
    Applicant: Pansonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kouda, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kazunori Kurimoto
  • Patent number: 8761950
    Abstract: A power control device includes a priority setting section capable of setting a use priority of a home appliance connected wirelessly or via cable or an adapter connected to the home appliance. The home appliance or the adaptor connected to the home appliance operates within the usable power of a result of the inquiry to the power control device. When there is no excess in usable power over the required power in the inquiry, the power control device reduces the power of a device having a lower priority than the device which has transmitted the inquiry in order to use the device with the higher priority.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kouda, Kazunori Kurimoto, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Yasuo Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20130211560
    Abstract: A washer-dryer is provided with a time shift function for performing timer presetting processing on the basis of a time shift computation result which indicates an operation start time suitable for operation. The washer-dryer includes: an input operation unit for allowing a user to perform operations for operating the washer-dryer; a display unit for displaying information relating to the operation of the washer-dryer; and an operation control unit for controlling the operation of the washer-dryer on the basis of the time shift computation result. When a start button on the input operation unit is operated by the user, the operation control unit automatically performs the timer presetting processing on the basis of the time shift computation result and also displays a timer preset time at the display unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Publication date: August 15, 2013
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi Tsujimura, Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Tetsuya Kouda, Kazunori Kurimoto
  • Publication number: 20130204445
    Abstract: Provided are an apparatus control device and an apparatus control method that make it possible to improve convenience for the user. An apparatus control device includes: a time-shift time computation unit that computes a time-shift time indicating an operation start time or an operation end time at which an electricity cost billed when an electric apparatus is operated is equal to or less than a predetermined rate, a recomputation determination unit that determines whether or not to change the time-shift time computed by the time-shift time computation unit, and a notification unit that, when determination is made by the recomputation determination unit that the time-shift time is to be changed, notifies the user that the initially computed time-shift time is to be changed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Publication date: August 8, 2013
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihisa Ikeda, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Hiromi Toyota, Tetsuya Kouda, Kazunori Kurimoto, Yasuo Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20130173440
    Abstract: An equipment control device has: a reception unit for receiving desired time information indicating a desired operation start time or a desired operation termination time, operation period information and electrical power information; a time-shift period setting unit for setting a time-shift period indicating a period which has a time range including the desired time information and during which the operation start time or the operation termination time of a household appliance is shiftable; an electrical power charge information acquisition unit for acquiring electrical power charge information; an operation time computing unit for computing the operation start time or the operation termination time, on the basis of which the electricity charge that is billed when the household appliance is operated within the time-shift period falls to or below a predetermined charge; and a transmission unit for transmitting the operation start time or the operation termination time to the household appliance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2011
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kouda, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kazunori Kurimoto
  • Publication number: 20130063253
    Abstract: A radio frequency identification (RFID) device includes: a contact interface for wired communication with a host; a contactless interface for contactless communication with a reader/writer; a command processing unit that obtains a command from the reader/writer in the contactless communication and process the command, the command instructing a data access; and a memory that holds data. The command processing unit determines a communication mode, and (i) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the memory, when the communication mode is determined as a first communication mode, and (ii) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the host, when the communication mode is determined as a second communication mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Mahbub Rashid, Michihiro Matsumoto, Masaru Yamaoka, Kazunori Kurimoto, Kazuhiro Kuroyama, Eiichi Sadayuki, Yasuo Yoshimura, Shigeru Morimoto, Naofumi Nakatani
  • Publication number: 20130060352
    Abstract: An input accepting unit accepts an input of desired time information showing a desired operation start time or a desired operation end time of a household electrical appliance, a sending unit sends, to a server, the desired time information, and electric power information showing an electric power required for the household electrical appliance to be operated, an electric power charge information acquiring unit acquires electric power charge information showing an electric power charge which changes per hour, an operation time computing unit computes an operation start time or an operation end time of the household electrical appliance based on the desired time information, the electric power information, and the electric power charge information, and an operation control unit starts the operation of the household electrical appliance according to the operation start time or the operation end time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2011
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kouda, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kazunori Kurimoto
  • Publication number: 20120112696
    Abstract: Disclosed are a power control system, a power control method, a power control device and a power control program, which can efficiently supply power to an electric device and charge an electric vehicle. A power control device (16) has: a second communication unit (14) that receives charge information pertaining to charging of an on-board battery (23) from an electric car (2) prior to the arrival of the electric car (2) at a location where power is supplied to the electric car (2); and a control determination unit (11) that determines a power supply start time of supplying power to an electric water heater (1) and a charging start time of charging the on-board battery (23), on the basis of the charge information, such that the supply of power to the electric water heater (1) and the charging of the on-board battery (23) are completed by a predetermined time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2010
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihisa Ikeda, Yasuo Yoshimura, Satoshi Tsujimura, Naofumi Nakatani, Tetsuya Kouda, Kazunori Kurimoto