Patents by Inventor Shinya Hirota

Shinya Hirota 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: 10716266
    Abstract: A water supply apparatus is arranged inside a house body and includes a watering apparatus that performs watering to a cluster of plants from above. The watering apparatus supplies water to the plants and controls an ambient temperature of the plants due to heat transfer utilizing vaporization heat by watering. A control apparatus acquires an environment information including the ambient temperature of the plants from an environment sensor, and performs the watering by driving the water supply apparatus in a watering period determined according to the environment information, and prohibits the watering by the water supply apparatus in an idle period that is set after the watering period so as to obtain a temperature and a humidity appropriate for growth of the plants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takayoshi Tanizawa, Shin Matsugi, Naofumi Kodama, Shingo Nagatomo, Shinya Hirota, Yoshifumi Kariatsumari, Woo-Hyeun Jeong
  • Patent number: 9591815
    Abstract: A plant cultivation device includes a plurality of boxes, a connection unit, and an end section unit. Each box is provided in an inner space thereof with a cultivation chamber and a light source housing chamber. The plurality of boxes are arranged in a line. The connection unit mutually connects two adjacent boxes. The end section unit is mounted to an end section of a box which is arranged in an end of the line. The end section of the box is unconnected to the connection unit. Each box includes a ventilation opening for ventilating the cultivation chamber, and a ventilation port for air cooling the light source housing chamber. Each of the connection unit and the end section unit includes a first ventilation passage through which air flows into the ventilation opening, and a second ventilation passage through which air flows into the ventilation port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Fujiyama, Shinya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20160165821
    Abstract: A plant cultivation device includes a plurality of boxes, a connection unit, and an end section unit. Each box is provided in an inner space thereof with a cultivation chamber and a light source housing chamber. The plurality of boxes are arranged in a line. The connection unit mutually connects two adjacent boxes. The end section unit is mounted to an end section of a box which is arranged in an end of the line. The end section of the box is unconnected to the connection unit. Each box includes a ventilation opening for ventilating the cultivation chamber, and a ventilation port for air cooling the light source housing chamber. Each of the connection unit and the end section unit includes a first ventilation passage through which air flows into the ventilation opening, and a second ventilation passage through which air flows into the ventilation port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Publication date: June 16, 2016
    Inventors: Hiromitsu FUJIYAMA, Shinya HIROTA
  • Patent number: 9297287
    Abstract: An exhaust gas control apparatus includes a control device controlling a urea addition valve for adding urea from an upstream side of a NOx reduction catalyst. The control device obtains an ammonia adsorption amount distribution through the NOx reduction catalyst. When an ammonia adsorption amount in a predetermined part on a downstream side equals or exceeds a predetermined threshold, the control device controls the urea addition valve to stop the urea supply or reduce the amount thereof. The urea addition valve is controlled based on an adsorption amount distribution obtained from a model on which the catalyst is divided into cells such that an ammonia adsorption amount in a first cell positioned furthest upstream equals or exceeds a predetermined threshold close to a saturation adsorption amount and an ammonia adsorption amount in a second cell positioned downstream of the first cell reaches a predetermined target value smaller than the threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATION, KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA JIDOSHOKKI
    Inventors: Shinya Hirota, Shunsuke Toshioka, Akira Mikami, Koichiro Fukuda, Sakutaro Hoshi, Takashi Endo, Ryoichi Hibino, Matsuei Ueda, Akihiko Asano, Takafumi Yamauchi, Akira Shichi, Makoto Koike, Masatoshi Maruyama, Masakazu Sakata
  • Patent number: 9221017
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to suppress degradation of a PM sensor and a decrease in detection accuracy of the amount of PM in a configuration in which a urea addition unit and a selective reduction-type NOx catalyst (NOx catalyst) are provided downstream of a particulate filter (filter) in an internal combustion engine exhaust passage, the PM sensor being disposed downstream of the filter. According to the present invention, in an exhaust passage (2) of an internal combustion engine (1), a first NOx catalyst (4) and a second NOx catalyst (5) are disposed downstream of a filter (3) successively from the upstream side along the flow of exhaust. A urea addition unit (6) is disposed between the filter (3) and the first NOx catalyst (4). A PM sensor (7) is disposed between the first NOx catalyst (4) and the second NOx catalyst (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takanori Nakano, Haruyuki Katayama, Shinya Hirota, Shunsuke Toshioka, Koichiro Fukuda
  • Patent number: 9206724
    Abstract: An exhaust gas purification system is equipped with a burner in an exhaust passage upstream of an exhaust gas purification apparatus and having a burner combustion chamber in which flame is produced. When the temperature of the exhaust gas purification apparatus is raised, the burner produces flame that extends from the interior of the burner combustion chamber to the interior of the exhaust passage when the flow rate of the exhaust gas is not higher than a predetermined flow rate, and the burner causes the size of the flame to be smaller than when it is determined that the flow rate of the exhaust gas is not higher than the predetermined flow rate or to produce flame only in the interior of the burner combustion chamber when it is determined that the flow rate of exhaust gas is higher than the predetermined flow rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinya Hirota, Akira Mikami, Shunsuke Toshioka, Kazuhiro Itoh, Koichiro Fukuda
  • Publication number: 20150189840
    Abstract: A water supply apparatus is arranged inside a house body and includes a watering apparatus that performs watering to a cluster of plants from above. The watering apparatus supplies water to the plants and controls an ambient temperature of the plants due to heat transfer utilizing vaporization heat by watering. A control apparatus acquires an environment information including the ambient temperature of the plants from an environment sensor, and performs the watering by driving the water supply apparatus in a watering period determined according to the environment information, and prohibits the watering by the water supply apparatus in an idle period that is set after the watering period so as to obtain a temperature and a humidity appropriate for growth of the plants.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2013
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takayoshi Tanizawa, Shin Matsugi, Naofumi Kodama, Shingo Nagatomo, Shinya Hirota, Yoshifumi Kariatsumari, Woo-Hyeun Jeong
  • Patent number: 8919108
    Abstract: The present invention is intended to provide a technique which serves to suppress unburnt HC from being discharged to a downstream side, when fuel is injected from a fuel supply valve for removing clogging thereof. The present invention is provided with a fuel supply valve that supplies fuel to an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine, and an ignition unit that ignites the fuel supplied from the fuel supply valve, wherein in cases where there is a possibility that clogging may occur in an injection hole of the fuel supply valve, fuel for removal of clogging is injected from the fuel supply valve. An amount of the fuel to be injected from the fuel supply valve for removing clogging thereof is an amount of fuel which is able to be combusted by being ignited by means of the ignition unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Itoh, Junya Nakajima, Shinya Hirota
  • Patent number: 8813480
    Abstract: An exhaust purification system of an internal combustion engine is provided with a first NOX selective reduction catalyst which is arranged inside of an engine exhaust passage and which selectively reduces NOX by feed of a reducing agent, a second NOX selective reduction catalyst which is arranged inside of the engine exhaust passage at the downstream side of the first NOX selective reduction catalyst and which selectively reduces NOX by feed of a reducing agent, and a reducing agent feed device which feeds a reducing agent to the first NOX selective reduction catalyst. The system estimates the amount of adsorption of the reducing agent which is adsorbed at the second NOX selective reduction catalyst and prevents the estimated amount of adsorption of the reducing agent from exceeding the allowable value by adjusting the amount of feed of reducing agent from the reducing agent feed device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinya Hirota
  • Publication number: 20140216015
    Abstract: The present invention resides in an exhaust gas purification apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising an exhaust gas purification catalyst which is arranged in an exhaust gas passage of the internal combustion engine for a reducing agent added from a reducing agent addition valve, the reducing agent addition valve which adds the reducing agent to an exhaust gas allowed to flow upstream from the exhaust gas purification catalyst, and a dispersion member which disperses the reducing agent added from the reducing agent addition valve, wherein a task or object thereof is to form fine particles of the reducing agent and improve the dispersibility while suppressing the increase in the exhaust resistance caused by the dispersion member to be small.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2011
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Itoh, Shinya Hirota
  • Patent number: 8783023
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to increase the flexibility in the layout of an exhaust gas purification system for an internal combustion engine including selective catalytic reduction catalyst provided in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine and an addition device for supplying reducing agent derived from ammonia to the selective catalytic reduction catalyst, without a deterioration of the performance in reducing nitrogen oxides. To achieve the object, the exhaust gas purification system for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention is configured to supply hydrocarbon at the same time when reducing agent derived from ammonia is supplied to the selective catalytic reduction catalyst, thereby producing reducing agent that is hard to be oxidized by a precious metal catalyst.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shunsuke Toshioka, Shinya Hirota, Kazuhiro Itoh, Koichiro Fukuda, Akira Mikami
  • Publication number: 20140112833
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to suppress degradation of a PM sensor and a decrease in detection accuracy of the amount of PM in a configuration in which a urea addition unit and a selective reduction-type NOx catalyst (NOx catalyst) are provided downstream of a particulate filter (filter) in an internal corn engine exhaust passage, the PM sensor being disposed downstream of the filter. According to the present invention, in an exhaust passage (2) of an internal combustion engine (1), a first NOx catalyst (4) and a second NOx catalyst (5) are disposed downstream of a fitter (3) successively from the upstream side along the flow of exhaust. A urea addition unit (6) is disposed between the filter (3) and the first NOx catalyst (4). A PM sensor (7) is disposed between the first NOx catalyst (4) and the second NOx catalyst (5).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 4, 2011
    Publication date: April 24, 2014
    Inventors: Takanori Nakano, Haruyuki Katayama, Shinya Hirota, Shunsuke Toshioka, Koichiro Fukuda
  • Patent number: 8580215
    Abstract: A NOx selective reduction catalyst for reducing NOx by the ammonia adsorbed is disposed in an engine exhaust gas passage. As states of adsorption of ammonia by the catalyst, there are a first adsorption state of ammonia that occurs when the ammonia is adsorbed during low temperature and a second adsorption state of ammonia that occurs when the ammonia is adsorbed or has already been adsorbed during high temperature. The amount of adsorbed ammonia in the first state is restricted to control concentration of the ammonia that is in the first state and desorbed when the temperature of the catalyst increases so as to be not higher than an allowable concentration, and that in the second state is restricted to control concentration of the ammonia that is in the second state and desorbed when the temperature of the catalyst increases so as to be not higher than an allowable concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Cataler Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Hirota, Yoshinori Yamashita
  • Publication number: 20130247543
    Abstract: An exhaust gas control apparatus includes a control device controlling a urea addition valve for adding urea from an upstream side of a NOx reduction catalyst. The control device obtains an ammonia adsorption amount distribution through the NOx reduction catalyst. When an ammonia adsorption amount in a predetermined part on a downstream side equals or exceeds a predetermined threshold, the control device controls the urea addition valve to stop the urea supply or reduce the amount thereof. The urea addition valve is controlled based on an adsorption amount distribution obtained from a model on which the catalyst is divided into cells such that an ammonia adsorption amount in a first cell positioned furthest upstream equals or exceeds a predetermined threshold close to a saturation adsorption amount and an ammonia adsorption amount in a second cell positioned downstream of the first cell reaches a predetermined target value smaller than the threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2011
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA JIDOSHOKKI, DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinya Hirota, Shunsuke Toshioka, Akira Mikami, Koichiro Fukuda, Sakutaro Hoshi, Takashi Endo, Ryoichi Hibino, Matsuei Ueda, Akihiko Asano, Takafumi Yamauchi, Akira Shichi, Makoto Koike, Masatoshi Maruyama, Masakazu Sakata
  • Patent number: 8540953
    Abstract: Utilizing the finding that the state of adsorption of NH3 on a selective reduction type NOx catalyst includes a weakly adsorbed state in which the adsorbed NH3 is useful for a reduction reaction of NOx and a strongly adsorbed state in which the adsorbed NH3 is not useful for the reduction reaction of NOx unless the state of adsorption is changed into the weakly adsorbed state, the apparatus of the invention includes an actual weakly-adsorbed amount-calculation NH3 that is adsorbed on the selective reduction type NOx catalyst in the weakly adsorbed state, and a dispensation control portion that performs a dispensation control of the reductant dispensed by a reductant-dispensation portion, according to the actual weakly adsorbed amount calculated by the actual weakly adsorbed amount calculation portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shunsuke Toshioka, Shinya Hirota, Koichiro Fukuda, Takafumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 8539757
    Abstract: An exhaust purification apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention includes a heated gas generation apparatus configured to generate heated gas utilizing exhaust gas flowing through an exhaust passage. The heated gas generation apparatus includes a catalyst configured to provide an oxidation function, a fuel supply nozzle, and a heater. An exhaust purification unit is provided downstream of the heated gas generation apparatus. An incoming gas temperature of the exhaust purification unit is detected and estimated. An actual incoming gas temperature being a detected value and an estimated incoming gas temperature both acquired when at least the fuel supply nozzle is actuated are compared with each other. Based on the result of the comparison, the apparatus detects one of poisoning of the catalyst with HC and degradation of the catalyst. Thus, the heated gas generation apparatus is prevented from discharging HC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinya Hirota, Toru Sasatani, Sakutaro Hoshi, Hiroshi Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 8534051
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine in an engine exhaust passage of which an exhaust purification catalyst (13) having an oxidation function is arranged and in the engine exhaust passage upstream of the exhaust purification catalyst (13) of which a small-sized oxidation catalyst (14) and a fuel feed valve (15) for feeding fuel to the small-sized oxidation catalyst (14) are arranged. When activating the exhaust purification catalyst (13), the fuel fed from the fuel injector (15) is used to heat the small-sized oxidation catalyst (14) and when the exhaust purification catalyst (13) is further raised in temperature, the fuel fed from the fuel feed valve (15) is increased and reformed fuel is exhausted from the small-sized oxidation catalyst (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenichi Tsujimoto, Mikio Inoue, Shinya Hirota
  • Patent number: 8484959
    Abstract: An object is to provide a technology with which the temperature of exhaust gas can be raised with improved efficiency in cases where a catalyst apparatus including a catalyst having an oxidizing ability is provided in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine. According to the present invention, a catalyst apparatus 6 that is provided in the exhaust passage 1 of the internal combustion engine and to which reducing agent is supplied from upstream when the temperature of the exhaust gas is to be raised is equipped with at least first and second catalysts 4, 5 having an oxidizing ability. The first catalyst 4 is configured in such a way that the exhaust gas flows through a gap between its outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the exhaust passage. The second catalyst 5 is disposed downstream of the first catalyst 4 with a space 10 having a specific width Ws between it and the first catalyst 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenichi Tsujimoto, Shinya Hirota
  • Patent number: 8448428
    Abstract: In an exhaust gas purification system for an internal combustion engine, a NOx selective reduction catalyst for reducing NOx with ammonia that is adsorbed on the NOx selective reduction catalyst is disposed in an exhaust passage of the engine. In the NOx selective reduction catalyst, ammonia in a first adsorption state that is adsorbed at a low temperature and ammonia in a second adsorption state that is adsorbed at a high temperature are present. Because ammonia, which has been in the first adsorption state and which is desorbed from the NOx selective reduction catalyst, tends to be discharged to the atmosphere, a control section that estimates an adsorption amount of ammonia in the first adsorption state is provided in the exhaust gas purification system for the internal combustion engine in order to control the adsorption amount of ammonia in the first adsorption state within a specified level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Cataler Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Hirota, Yoshinori Yamashita
  • Publication number: 20130118156
    Abstract: The present invention is intended to provide a technique which serves to suppress unburnt HC from being discharged to a downstream side, when fuel is injected from a fuel supply valve for removing clogging thereof. The present invention is provided with a fuel supply valve that supplies fuel to an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine, and an ignition unit that ignites the fuel supplied from the fuel supply valve, wherein in cases where there is a possibility that clogging may occur in an injection hole of the fuel supply valve, fuel for removal of clogging is injected from the fuel supply valve. An amount of the fuel to be injected from the fuel supply valve for removing clogging thereof is an amount of fuel which is able to be combusted by being ignited by means of the ignition unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2010
    Publication date: May 16, 2013
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Itoh, Junya Nakajima, Shinya Hirota