Patents by Inventor Shigenori INOUE

Shigenori INOUE 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).

  • Publication number: 20140169048
    Abstract: A power conversion device is provided which includes a plurality of series circuits each formed of a voltage source and a controlled current source. At least two of said series circuits formed of the voltage source and the controlled current source are connected in parallel. Further, parallel connection points of the series circuits connected in parallel form output terminals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigenori INOUE, Shuji KATOH, Jun NARUSHIMA, Tetsuya KATO
  • Patent number: 8711586
    Abstract: The noise generated from a power converter is suppressed by increasing the noise frequency to a level not lower than the maximum frequency of the human audible range. To obtain the frequency of an output current harmonic component as a noise source which has exceeded the maximum frequency of the human audible range, it is adequate to determine that the frequency of a driving carrier wave for the individual converter cells in the power converter, in which the phases of the carrier wave for the converter cells are mutually shifted by a given value between the converter cells, meets the following equation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichiro Yamada, Shuji Katoh, Shigenori Inoue
  • Publication number: 20140078796
    Abstract: In the present invention, provided is a power conversion apparatus in which at least one energy storage element and at least one switching element are included, a plurality of series circuits of a transformer winding and an arm in which one or a plurality of at least two-terminal unit converters which depend on ON/OFF of the switching element and supply a zero voltage or a voltage depending on a voltage of the energy storage element are connected in series are connected in parallel, and a multi-phase power source or a multi-phase load is connected to another winding of the transformer, and the parallel-connection point is set as a DC terminal, and which includes means for controlling a current flowing through each of the arms to have a phase and amplitude different from each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigenori INOUE, Shuji KATOH, Akira BANDO, Yasuhiro KIYOFUJI, Yoshio EGUCHI, Masaya ICHINOSE, Takayoshi YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20140016379
    Abstract: A control apparatus for use with a voltage source converter includes legs each of which is configured by a plurality of converter modules each having capacitors. Each of the legs has a first terminal on a positive side and a second terminal on a negative side. The control apparatus is operative to create command pulses for operating the converter modules to operate the converter modules. The command pulses have a frequency that is a non-integral multiple of a frequency of a system voltage. The non-integral multiple is 3.5, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Inventors: Takayoshi YAMAMOTO, Masaya ICHINOSE, Akira BANDO, Shigenori INOUE, Toru YOSHIHARA
  • Patent number: 8547718
    Abstract: A power converter apparatus having a configuration of a plurality of unit cells, including a DC capacitor and semiconductor devices, connected in cascade, includes a variable voltage source that is connected with a DC link, and a unit having a function that initially charges up the DC capacitor in the unit cell alone selected at a time of an initial charge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shuji Katoh, Shigenori Inoue
  • Publication number: 20130223115
    Abstract: A power conversion device includes: a plurality of cascade-connection type single-phase power converters; and a central control unit that controls the plurality of the single-phase power converters, wherein each of the plurality of single-phase power converters has a single-phase power converter control unit, and the central control unit and the plurality of the single-phase power converter control units are connected via a communication means having a daisy-chain configuration, wherein the single-phase power converter control unit transmits and receives a control signal via the communication means having the daisy-chain configuration, as well as a specific pattern signal, other than a control signal frame, which can be distinguished from the control signal frame, and determines a communication error due to not receiving the specific pattern signal at the single-phase power converter control unit, or an inconsistency between the received signal and the specific pattern signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2011
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya, Shigenori Inoue, Tetsuya Kato, Tadashi Sodeyama
  • Publication number: 20120113698
    Abstract: Disclosed is a power conversion device, wherein among the optical fiber cables used in control/communication, at least the majority of high-voltage optical fiber cables with a dielectric strength against the output voltages of a plurality of cells can be eliminated and thus a low-voltage optical fiber cable with a dielectric strength against the output voltage of one cell can be used. Furthermore, here, the length required for the optical fiber cable can be reduced. A controller of the power conversion device comprising a plurality of cascade-connected cells comprises a central controller, and a cell controller with the same potential as each cell, the cell controller being installed in the vicinity of each cell, wherein the central controller and each cell controller are daisy-chained using an optical fiber cable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2010
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Inventors: Shigenori Inoue, Shuji Katoh, Tetsuya Kato
  • Publication number: 20120026767
    Abstract: A power conversion device connected with a three-phase power system through a transformer, including unit converters cascade-connected so that reactors are unnecessary, and volume and weight are reduced. The secondary winding of the transformer is an open winding having six terminals. A first converter group, includes a circuit which has three converter arms, which are star-connected, connected to three of the terminals of the secondary winding. A second converter group, having three different converter arms which are star-connected, is connected to three other terminals of the secondary winding. A neutral point (the point where the star connection is made) of the first converter group, and a neutral point of the second converter group are made to be the output terminals of the power conversion device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2010
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Inventors: Shigenori Inoue, Shuji Katoh, Jun Narushima, Tetsuya Kato
  • Publication number: 20110019442
    Abstract: The noise generated from a power converter is suppressed by increasing the noise frequency to a level not lower than the maximum frequency of the human audible range. To obtain the frequency of an output current harmonic component as a noise source which has exceeded the maximum frequency of the human audible range, it is adequate to determine that the frequency of a driving carrier wave for the individual converter cells in the power converter, in which the phases of the carrier wave for the converter cells are mutually shifted by a given value between the converter cells, meets the following equation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Inventors: Yoichiro YAMADA, Shuji KATOH, Shigenori INOUE
  • Publication number: 20110019449
    Abstract: A power converter apparatus having a configuration of a plurality of unit cells, including a DC capacitor and semiconductor devices, connected in cascade, includes a variable voltage source that is connected with a DC link, and a unit having a function that initially charges up the DC capacitor in the unit cell alone selected at a time of an initial charge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Inventors: Shuji Katoh, Shigenori Inoue