Patents by Inventor Nobukazu Mizuno

Nobukazu Mizuno 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: 8524406
    Abstract: An object is to suppress the degradation of durability due to a heat concentration while performing a rapid warm-up operation as necessary, when starting a fuel cell system at temperatures below freezing point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiromi Tanaka, Yoshiaki Naganuma, Osamu Yumita, Takayoshi Tezuka, Nobukazu Mizuno, Masashi Fuji
  • Publication number: 20130089801
    Abstract: A fuel cell system is equipped with an airflow meter that measures an amount of a supplied cathode gas, and a hydrogen circulation pump. A controller instructs the fuel cell to perform a preset reference operation, measures the power consumed by the hydrogen circulation pump, and determines the amount of the supplied cathode gas appropriate for the amount of power consumed by the hydrogen circulation pump. The controller then calculates, the measurement error in the airflow meter and correction value for the measurement error. The controller controls the amount of the supplied cathode gas based on the value measured by the airflow meter after being corrected with the correction value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2011
    Publication date: April 11, 2013
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro Takeshita, Nobukazu Mizuno
  • Publication number: 20130040219
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, an operation controller and an air-conditioning mechanism. In response to a heating request for the air-conditioning mechanism during ordinary operation where the fuel cell is operated at an operating point on a current-voltage characteristic curve of the fuel cell, the operation controller compares a heat value-based required current value that is a current value of an operating point that is located on the current-voltage characteristic curve and satisfies a required heat value for the fuel cell with an output-based required current value that is a current value of an operating point that is located on the current-voltage characteristic curve and satisfies a required output for the fuel cell. When the output-based required current value is equal to or greater than the heat value-based required current value, the operation controller causes the fuel cell to be operated at an operating point on the current-voltage characteristic curve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Publication date: February 14, 2013
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Naganuma, Hiromi Tanaka, Osamu Yumita, Nobukazu Mizuno, Yuichi Sakajo
  • Patent number: 8158293
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a secondary battery, an oxidizing gas supplier, a gas supply flow regulator, an oxidizing gas supply path, a cathode off-gas exhaust path, a bypass flow path, a flow regulator, an available power output acquirer, and an operation controller, wherein the gas supply flow regulator regulates the gas supply flow rate to cause the oxidizing gas supplier to supply an excess gas flow rate, which is set to be greater than a target fuel gas-requiring gas flow rate, wherein the target fuel gas-requiring gas flow rate is the fuel cell-requiring gas flow rate to be supplied to the fuel cell in order to achieve the target current value, when the available power output is less than a minimum amount of electric power required for the oxidizing gas supplier to increase the gas supply flow rate from 0 to a preset gas flow rate within a preset time period, and the operation controller controls the flow regulator to make the bypass flow rate equal to a difference gas flow rate between th
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Naganuma, Hiromi Tanaka, Osamu Yumita, Masashi Fuji, Nobukazu Mizuno
  • Publication number: 20120015272
    Abstract: A fuel cell system suppresses the deterioration of an electrolyte membrane of a fuel cell. The fuel cell system comprises: a temperature rise speed calculation unit for calculating a target temperature rise speed of the fuel cell using a temperature of the fuel cell and a water content of the fuel cell; and a drive control unit for controlling a drive of the cooling water pump using the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell and the target temperature rise speed calculated by the temperature rise speed calculation unit. The drive control unit controls the drive of the cooling water pump such that a circulation amount of the cooling water is decreased when the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell is below the target temperature rise speed and controls the drive of the cooling water pump such that the circulation amount of the cooling water is increased when the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell is equal to or greater than the target temperature rise speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Publication date: January 19, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Naganuma, Hiromi Tanaka, Osamu Yumita, Takayoshi Tezuka, Nobukazu Mizuno, Masashi Fuji
  • Publication number: 20120003557
    Abstract: An object is to suppress the degradation of durability due to a heat concentration while performing a rapid warm-up operation as necessary, when starting a fuel cell system at temperatures below freezing point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Publication date: January 5, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromi Tanaka, Yoshiaki Naganuma, Osamu Yumita, Takayoshi Tezuka, Nobukazu Mizuno, Masashi Fuji
  • Publication number: 20110293972
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a secondary battery, an oxidizing gas supplier, a gas supply flow regulator, an oxidizing gas supply path, a cathode off-gas exhaust path, a bypass flow path, a flow regulator, an available power output acquirer, and an operation controller, wherein the gas supply flow regulator regulates the gas supply flow rate to cause the oxidizing gas supplier to supply an excess gas flow rate, which is set to be greater than a target fuel gas-requiring gas flow rate, wherein the target fuel gas-requiring gas flow rate is the fuel cell-requiring gas flow rate to be supplied to the fuel cell in order to achieve the target current value, when the available power output is less than a minimum amount of electric power required for the oxidizing gas supplier to increase the gas supply flow rate from 0 to a preset gas flow rate within a preset time period, and the operation controller controls the flow regulator to make the bypass flow rate equal to a difference gas flow rate between th
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2011
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki NAGANUMA, Hiromi TANAKA, Osamu YUMITA, Masashi FUJI, Nobukazu MIZUNO