Patents by Inventor Naoki Yamano

Naoki Yamano 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: 10622647
    Abstract: A fuel cell includes a first separator including a reactant gas buffer portion which includes a first buffer region and a second buffer region. The first buffer region has a first depth in the stacking direction. First embossed portions are formed in the first buffer region. Each of the first embossed portions has a first diameter and a first radius of a corner at a distal end of each of the first embossed portions. The second buffer region has a second depth in the stacking direction larger than the first depth. Second embossed portions are formed in the second buffer region. Each of the second embossed portions has a second diameter and a second radius of a corner at a distal end of each of the second embossed portions. The second diameter is smaller than the first diameter or the second radius is smaller than the second diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki Yamano, Narutoshi Sugita, Jun Kondo
  • Publication number: 20200112035
    Abstract: In a fuel cell, a first porous body is provided between a first metal separator and a membrane electrode assembly. First flow grooves as a passage of a reactant gas are formed in the first porous body. The first flow grooves extend in a wavy pattern. Second flow grooves as a passage of a reactant gas are formed in the first metal separator. The second flow grooves extend in a straight pattern. The first flow grooves extend through the first porous body in a thickness direction of the first porous body, and the first flow grooves are connected to the second flow grooves.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Publication date: April 9, 2020
    Inventor: Naoki Yamano
  • Patent number: 10246125
    Abstract: There is provided a steering control device that can control even when a systematic error has occurred. An update amount calculation processing circuit manipulates a control angle in accordance with an update amount in order to control steering torque, which is obtained by subjecting the magnitude of steering torque to a decrease correction by a threshold, to target torque through feedback control. The control angle is used to convert a current command value to a value in a fixed coordinate system or the like. The update amount is subjected to a guarding process in accordance with the steering torque by a torque-based guarding processing circuit, and determined as a final update amount for the control angle. The torque-based guarding processing circuit performs the guarding process on the update amount such that the update amount is in an allowable range that matches the steering torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hidenori Itamoto, Naoki Yamano
  • Patent number: 10186718
    Abstract: A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly, a first metal separator, a second metal separator, linear protrusions, and embossed protrusions. The first metal separator is stacked on the membrane electrode assembly. The second metal separator is stacked on the first metal separator to define a coolant channel between the metal separators. The first metal separator includes wave-shaped protrusions projecting from the first metal separator by a first height to define to form the coolant channel. The linear protrusions are connected to both distal ends of each of the wave-shaped protrusions. The linear protrusions project from the first metal separator by a second height smaller than the first height. The embossed protrusions are connected to tip ends of the linear protrusions. The embossed protrusions project from the first metal separator by a third height larger than the second height to be in contact with the second metal separator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki Yamano, Toshiki Kawamura, Shuhei Goto, Narutoshi Sugita
  • Patent number: 10186727
    Abstract: A fuel cell stack includes a first knock pin and a second knock pin. A separator has an outer peripheral shape having first and second short sides. The separator has a first knock pin insertion hole adjacent to the first side and a second knock pin insertion hole adjacent to the second side. The first and second knock pin insertion holes have a circular shape. The first insulating plate has third and fourth knock pin insertion holes. The second insulating plate has fifth and sixth knock pin insertion holes. The first knock pin is inserted into the third and fifth knock pin insertion holes to be movable in the third and fifth knock pin insertion holes. The second knock pin is inserted into the fourth and sixth knock pin insertion holes to be movable in the fourth and sixth knock pin insertion holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki Yamano, Yuta Ikeda
  • Publication number: 20180366762
    Abstract: A separator member of a fuel cell stack includes a load receiver in a form of a plate. The load receiver is joined to a first separator in a manner that the load receiver protrudes outward from an outer peripheral portion of the first separator. The load receiver is formed asymmetrically about a central line passing through the center of the load receiver in the width direction and extending in the protruding direction of the load receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2018
    Publication date: December 20, 2018
    Inventors: Suguru Ohmori, Naoki Yamano, Shuhei Goto
  • Patent number: 10141595
    Abstract: A fuel cell stack includes a stacked body including a plurality of power generation cells stacked in a stacking direction. Insulation members and end plates are provided to sandwich the stacked body therebetween in the stacking direction. A coolant passage is provided between each of the insulation members and each of the end plates. The coolant passage includes a first coolant passage and a second coolant passage. A surface area of a region in which the first coolant passage is provided is larger than a surface area of a region in which the second coolant passage is provided. A flow rate of the coolant flowing through the first coolant passage is larger than a flow rate of the coolant flowing through the second coolant passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuta Ikeda, Naoki Yamano, Yoshihito Kimura, Tadashi Nishiyama
  • Publication number: 20180312194
    Abstract: A steering control apparatus determines whether one of an upper variation angle and a lower variation angle is greater than a first threshold value. When one of the upper variation angle and the lower variation angle is greater than the first threshold value, the steering control apparatus determines the state of a clutch in accordance with the result of a comparison between a resulting angle difference variation and a second threshold value. The steering control apparatus updates a reference upper steering angle and a reference lower steering angle such that the reference upper steering angle and the reference lower steering angle respectively correspond to an upper steering angle and a lower steering angle obtained in a predetermined calculation period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2018
    Publication date: November 1, 2018
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isao NAMIKAWA, Naoki YAMANO
  • Patent number: 10099722
    Abstract: A steering control apparatus is provided which suppresses possible vibration of a steering system resulting from differential steering processing when a steering angle or a steered angle has a large value. A differential steering processing circuit calculates a differential steering correction amount based on a difference value of a target steering angle, and increases or reduces the target steering angle using the calculated amount to obtain a target steered angle. A limiting reaction force setting processing circuit increases a limiting reaction force when a maximum value of the target steering angle and the target steered angle is equal to or larger than a common threshold. When the maximum value approaches the common threshold, an angle-sensitive gain setting processing circuit reduces an angle-sensitive gain so as to correct and reduce the differential steering correction amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Kodera, Naoki Yamano, Hidenori Itamoto, Yoshihiro Yamashita, Koji Anraku
  • Publication number: 20180201298
    Abstract: The steer-by-wire steering system comprise a steering input device and a steering operation device that steers wheels which are mechanically coupleable. The steering input device includes a steering-side motor that supplies a steering shaft with a steering reaction force, the steering operation device includes a steered-side motor that supplies a rack shaft with a steering force, and a power supply control circuit that controls the steering-side motor to generate the steering reaction force and that controls the steered-side motor to generate the steering force. When the duty ratio of a duty signal that is generated to control the power supply to the steered-side motor reaches a setting value that is defined to indicate that a steered angle becomes unable to follow a steering angle, the power supply control circuit controls the power supply to the steering-side motor such that the steering-side motor increases the steering reaction force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2018
    Publication date: July 19, 2018
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki YAMANO, Hidenori ITAMOTO
  • Patent number: 10020518
    Abstract: A fuel cell stack includes a stacked body, a first insulator, and a first shim. The stacked body includes electrolyte-electrode assemblies and separators. The electrolyte-electrode assemblies are stacked in a stacking direction and have a first end electrolyte-electrode assembly disposed at a first end of the stacked body. The separators includes a first end separator disposed at the first end of the stacked body between the first end electrolyte-electrode assembly and a first contact end plate having a first contact surface which the first end separator contacts. The first shim is provided in a first recess between the first contact end plate and the first insulator and has a thickness such that an outer peripheral surface of the first end separator is positioned between the first contact surface of the first contact end plate and an outer peripheral surface of the first insulator in the stacking direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenji Nagumo, Naoki Yamano, Tsuyoshi Kobayashi, Hiroaki Ota, Syuji Sato
  • Patent number: 9988076
    Abstract: A steering control apparatus includes a steering angle feedback processing unit and an operation signal generation processing unit that operate a reaction force actuator to adjust a steering angle to a target steering angle that is a target value for the steering angle based on feedback control, an ideal-axial-force calculation unit that calculates an ideal axial force, a road-surface-axial-force calculation unit that calculates a road surface axial force, an axial-force allocation calculation unit that calculates a base reaction force in which the ideal axial force and the road surface axial force are allocated in a predetermined ratio, and a target steering angle calculation processing unit that sets a target steering angle based on the base reaction force. The steering angle feedback processing unit feeds back the target steering angle in which road surface information is incorporated through the road surface axial force, so that the steering angle is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Kodera, Naoki Yamano, Hidenori Itamoto, Yoshihiro Yamashita, Koji Anraku
  • Patent number: 9988075
    Abstract: An update amount calculation processing circuit manipulates a control angle based on an update amount in order to perform feedback-control for causing a steering torque to be adjusted to a target torque. In this case, the update amount calculation processing circuit executes a guard process on the update amount with reference to an estimated amount of change that is a speed equivalent value based on estimation by an induced voltage observer. However, when a command current set by a command current setting processing circuit is zero, the update amount calculation processing circuit determines the estimated amount of change subjected to the guard process to be the update amount. When the command current is zero and the update amount is fixed to a guard value, an electric path between the synchronous motor and a battery is blocked.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki Yamano, Hidenori Itamoto, Takashi Kodera, Yoshihiro Yamashita, Koji Anraku
  • Publication number: 20170355394
    Abstract: There is provided a steering control device that can control even when a systematic error has occurred. An update amount calculation processing circuit manipulates a control angle in accordance with an update amount in order to control steering torque, which is obtained by subjecting the magnitude of steering torque to a decrease correction by a threshold, to target torque through feedback control. The control angle is used to convert a current command value to a value in a fixed coordinate system or the like. The update amount is subjected to a guarding process in accordance with the steering torque by a torque-based guarding processing circuit, and determined as a final update amount for the control angle. The torque-based guarding processing circuit performs the guarding process on the update amount such that the update amount is in an allowable range that matches the steering torque.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Publication date: December 14, 2017
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hidenori ITAMOTO, Naoki YAMANO
  • Patent number: 9772249
    Abstract: A sensor device, such as a torque sensor, of a motor control device or an electric power steering apparatus includes a sensor section that detects a quantity of state of a detection subject and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the detected quantity of state. When receiving a specific trigger transmitted from an external device, the sensor section outputs an abnormality diagnosis signal, which is configured by a predetermined waveform and used for determining whether there is an output abnormality of the sensor section, and then outputs the detection signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignees: JTEKT CORPORATION, DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki Yamano, Yuko Onoda, Satoru Mikamo, Akira Yamamoto, Hideki Kabune
  • Publication number: 20170267276
    Abstract: A steering control apparatus includes a steering angle feedback processing unit and an operation signal generation processing unit that operate a reaction force actuator to adjust a steering angle to a target steering angle that is a target value for the steering angle based on feedback control, an ideal-axial-force calculation unit that calculates an ideal axial force, a road-surface-axial-force calculation unit that calculates a road surface axial force, an axial-force allocation calculation unit that calculates a base reaction force in which the ideal axial force and the road surface axial force are allocated in a predetermined ratio, and a target steering angle calculation processing unit that sets a target steering angle based on the base reaction force. The steering angle feedback processing unit feeds back the target steering angle in which road surface information is incorporated through the road surface axial force, so that the steering angle is controlled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2017
    Publication date: September 21, 2017
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi KODERA, Naoki YAMANO, Hidenori ITAMOTO, Yoshihiro YAMASHITA, Koji ANRAKU
  • Publication number: 20170256813
    Abstract: A fuel cell stack includes a first knock pin and a second knock pin. A separator has an outer peripheral shape having first and second short sides. The separator has a first knock pin insertion hole adjacent to the first side and a second knock pin insertion hole adjacent to the second side. The first and second knock pin insertion holes have a circular shape. The first insulating plate has third and fourth knock pin insertion holes. The second insulating plate has fifth and sixth knock pin insertion holes. The first knock pin is inserted into the third and fifth knock pin insertion holes to be movable in the third and fifth knock pin insertion holes. The second knock pin is inserted into the fourth and sixth knock pin insertion holes to be movable in the fourth and sixth knock pin insertion holes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Publication date: September 7, 2017
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki YAMANO, Yuta IKEDA
  • Patent number: 9724898
    Abstract: A magnesium alloy part is inserted into a mold, a resin composition is injected and joined to the part, and a composite is obtained. A part having, formed thereon, a surface layer of a metal oxide, a metal carbonate, or a metal phosphate in use of a usual conversion treatment or a modification method thereof can be used for the magnesium alloy plate 1. The surface that has a larger amount of crystal-like objects of a nanolevel on the surface layer composed of the metal oxide, metal carbonate, or metal phosphate has a higher level of hardness, microscopic roughness, and good injection joining force, and these parameters can be controlled by a conversion treatment method. A resin composition 4, containing PBT or PPS as the main component, is used as the resin composition part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: TAISEI PLAS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Naritomi, Naoki Andoh, Naoki Yamano
  • Publication number: 20170113720
    Abstract: A steering control apparatus is provided which suppresses possible vibration of a steering system resulting from differential steering processing when a steering angle or a steered angle has a large value. A differential steering processing circuit calculates a differential steering correction amount based on a difference value of a target steering angle, and increases or reduces the target steering angle using the calculated amount to obtain a target steered angle. A limiting reaction force setting processing circuit increases a limiting reaction force when a maximum value of the target steering angle and the target steered angle is equal to or larger than a common threshold. When the maximum value approaches the common threshold, an angle-sensitive gain setting processing circuit reduces an angle-sensitive gain so as to correct and reduce the differential steering correction amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2016
    Publication date: April 27, 2017
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi KODERA, Naoki YAMANO, Hidenori ITAMOTO, Yoshihiro YAMASHITA, Koji ANRAKU
  • Publication number: 20170113715
    Abstract: An update amount calculation processing circuit manipulates a control angle based on an update amount in order to perform feedback-control for causing a steering torque to be adjusted to a target torque. In this case, the update amount calculation processing circuit executes a guard process on the update amount with reference to an estimated amount of change that is a speed equivalent value based on estimation by an induced voltage observer. However, when a command current set by a command current setting processing circuit is zero, the update amount calculation processing circuit determines the estimated amount of change subjected to the guard process to be the update amount. When the command current is zero and the update amount is fixed to a guard value, an electric path between the synchronous motor and a battery is blocked.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2016
    Publication date: April 27, 2017
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki YAMANO, Hidenori ITAMOTO, Takashi KODERA, Yoshihiro YAMASHITA, Koji ANRAKU