Patents by Inventor Toru Nishikawa

Toru Nishikawa 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: 20120268059
    Abstract: After the highest voltage of a rechargeable battery 1 becomes higher than 4.0 V, when the charging current keeps lower than 50 mA for 20 seconds, a first point is detected for stopping charging the battery 1. Also, after the highest voltage becomes higher than 4.0 V, the charged capacity value and the discharged capacity value are added and subtracted for integrating the charged/discharged capacity if the highest voltage keeps higher than the integration start voltage. When the integration result shows that the battery 1 is charged totally after the highest voltage becomes higher than 4.0 V, and when the absolute value of the integration result becomes larger than 50% of the designed capacity of the battery 1, the point second is detected for stopping charging the battery 1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Publication date: October 25, 2012
    Inventors: Toru NISHIKAWA, Shinichi Matsuura
  • Publication number: 20120190886
    Abstract: A composition for lowering a blood uric acid level is characterized by comprising taurine as an active ingredient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2010
    Publication date: July 26, 2012
    Applicant: TAISHO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fuminori Kimura, Hideaki Kitajima, Takao Tanaka, Toru Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 8179139
    Abstract: The rechargeable battery abnormality detection apparatus is provided with an internal short circuit detection section (20b) that monitors rechargeable battery (1) voltage change when no charging or discharging takes place, and detects internal short circuit abnormality when battery voltage drop during a predetermined time period exceeds a preset threshold voltage; a degradation appraisal section (20d) that judges the degree of rechargeable battery degradation; and a threshold control section (20c) that incrementally increases the threshold voltage according to the degree of degradation determined by the degradation appraisal section (20d).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Kawasumi, Toru Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20120049804
    Abstract: One cycle is corrected every charging/discharging cycle in accordance with a cycle deterioration accelerating coefficient. The corrected one cycles are accumulated. A storage period is corrected in accordance with a storage deterioration accelerating coefficient every hour. The corrected storage periods are accumulated. In the storage period, a rechargeable battery is stored with the terminal voltage higher than a predetermined voltage. A deterioration coefficient is obtained as the product of a cycle deterioration coefficient calculated in accordance with the accumulated cycle number, and a storage deterioration coefficient calculated in accordance with the accumulated value of the storage periods (Step S42). If the deterioration coefficients falls within the range 0.3 to 0.7 (Step S43, 44: NO), the setting voltage in constant-voltage and constant-current charging operation is decreased from 4.2 to 4.1 V (S45). If it is smaller than 0.3 (S43: NO, S44: YES), the setting voltage is decreased to 3.8 V (S46).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2011
    Publication date: March 1, 2012
    Inventors: Takao KOBAYASHI, Toru Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20110205599
    Abstract: A memory storage section in which a memory attachment section is provided is provided in a place of a platen which place is to be covered with a platen cover. This makes it possible to prevent a young child from accidentally detaching a portable recording medium detachably attached to an image reading device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2011
    Publication date: August 25, 2011
    Inventors: Takeshi KATO, Takahiro Bito, Toru Nishikawa, Junichi Saito, Kazuki Takatsuka, Hitoshi Nagahama
  • Publication number: 20110188083
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus into which a memory device is insertable and which performs a printing process on an image of image data stored in the memory device. The image forming apparatus includes a memory reading section for detecting insertion of the memory device into the image forming apparatus, and a display processing section for performing a notification process of warning of accidental ingestion of the memory device, when the memory reading section detects the insertion of the memory device. This makes it more surely possible to cause a user to give attention to accidental ingestion by young children.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2011
    Publication date: August 4, 2011
    Inventors: Kazuki Takatsuka, Takahiro Bito, Takeshi Kato, Toru Nishikawa, Junichi Saito, Hitoshi Nagahama
  • Patent number: 7923967
    Abstract: A method controls a battery pack that includes a rechargeable battery, a control circuit that controls charge operation of the battery, and a charge control element that controls the charge current through the control circuit. In the method, even though the control circuit controls the charge control element so that the charge control element turns to OFF, in a case where the charge current is detected, the control circuit determines that abnormality occurs if detecting that the current flows at a rate not less than a first current value during a first detection period, and additionally determines that abnormality occurs if detecting a state the current flows at a rate less than the first current value for a second detection period longer than the first detection period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Hamaguchi, Toru Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 7887985
    Abstract: A carrier and a two-component developer are provided. A coating resin layer for coating a core material contains fine particles of titanium oxide which comprise an anatase-type crystal and a rutile-type crystal, and a carrier coating amount of the coating resin layer falls in a range of from 5% by weight to 20% by weight. In addition, a content rate of the rutile-type crystal falls in a range of from 5% to 20% on the basis of the total amount of crystal, and the weight of the fine particles of titanium oxide falls in a range of from 5% by weight to 50% by weight relative to the weight of the core material. Further, the primary particle size of the fine particles of titanium oxide falls in a range of from 40 nm to 80 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toru Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20100319403
    Abstract: The present invention provides a vacuum degassing apparatus and a vacuum degassing method for molten glass, which can suppress generation of bubbles on an interface between molten glass and a wall face of a conduit for molten glass such as a vacuum degassing vessel, an uprising pipe or a downfalling pipe that constitute a vacuum degassing apparatus, or influence of lowering of vacuum degassing effect due to rise of the level of molten glass in the vacuum degassing vessel, and which can stably exhibit the effect of vacuum degassing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2010
    Publication date: December 23, 2010
    Applicant: Asahi Glass Company, Limited
    Inventors: Toru NISHIKAWA, Hironobu Yamamichi, Tetsuya Koyama, Yuji Endo, Hajime Itoh
  • Publication number: 20100251772
    Abstract: The present invention is to provide a molten glass producing apparatus realizing simultaneously the production of a glass article of high quality and save-energy in producing molten glass, a molten glass producing method employing the molten glass producing apparatus and a method for producing a glass article. In the molten glass producing apparatus having a vacuum degassing apparatus, the melting tank is provided with a separating means for separating the area for circulating the molten glass in the melting tank into an upstream circulation flow and a downstream circulation flow, the distance from the separating means to the downstream end of the molten glass flow path in the melting tank is from 0.1 LE to 0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2010
    Publication date: October 7, 2010
    Applicant: ASAHI GLASS COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Hajime Itoh, Hironobu Yamamichi, Toru Nishikawa, Kazuo Ninomiya, Hiroaki Hamamoto
  • Publication number: 20100213891
    Abstract: The battery pack updating method updates firmware stored in internal control circuit memory 24 via an update signal sent from a main device 1 that supplies power. When battery pack memory is updated, an AC adapter 3 is connected to the main device, and power is supplied to the main device from the AC adapter. The updating method transmits a charging and discharging blocking signal from the main device to the battery pack 2 control circuit 21 via a communication line 19. The charging and discharging blocking signal stops discharge from the battery pack 2 rechargeable battery 20, and stops charging of the rechargeable battery 20. With rechargeable battery 20 discharging and charging to and from the main device stopped by the charging and discharging blocking signal, the updating method transmits update data from the main device to the battery pack 2 control circuit 21 to update memory 24.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Publication date: August 26, 2010
    Inventors: Toru Nishikawa, Atsushi Kawasumi
  • Publication number: 20100194398
    Abstract: The rechargeable battery abnormality detection apparatus is provided with an internal short circuit detection section (20b) that monitors rechargeable battery (1) voltage change when no charging or discharging takes place, and detects internal short circuit abnormality when battery voltage drop during a predetermined time period exceeds a preset threshold voltage; a degradation appraisal section (20d) that judges the degree of rechargeable battery degradation; and a threshold control section (20c) that incrementally increases the threshold voltage according to the degree of degradation determined by the degradation appraisal section (20d).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2010
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Inventors: Atsushi KAWASUMI, Toru Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 7675263
    Abstract: A battery pack includes a switching element, a heat resistor, and a fuse. The switching element turns to ON if the battery pack becomes in an abnormal state. The heat resistor is connected to the switching element and a battery in series. Current flows through the heat resistor when the switching element turns to ON. The fuse is located in a position where the fuse is heated by the heat resistor through which the current flows. The fuse is connected to the battery in series so that the fuse is disconnected with heat by the heat resistor at high temperature. Thus, the fuse cuts off a current flow in the battery. If the battery pack is in an abnormal state, when the capacity or voltage of the battery is less than a preset capacity or voltage value, the fuse is disconnected with heat by turning the switching element to ON.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Kawasumi, Toru Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 7642747
    Abstract: A battery pack provided with a current cut-off device connected in series with batteries, a tamper detector to detect tampering and issue a tamper signal, and a control circuit connected to the tamper detector. If the tamper detector detects tampering with the battery pack, the control circuit switches the current cut-off device off to shut off current to the batteries, or it issues a tamper signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toru Morioka, Shinichi Itagaki, Hitoshi Hamaguchi, Atsushi Kawasumi, Toru Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20090311620
    Abstract: A carrier has a thermosetting silicone resin layer formed of a core particle and a thermosetting silicone resin on the surface of the core particle, and the thermosetting silicone resin layer is formed by subjecting a thermosetting silicone resin to a thermosetting treatment at a temperature lower than the melting point of a charge control agent contained in the thermosetting silicone resin layer, and includes an inner region which contains a positively chargeable charge control agent and an outer region which does not contain any positively chargeable charge control agent. The two-component developer containing the carrier as described above is charged into a developing device in an image forming apparatus to form an image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2009
    Publication date: December 17, 2009
    Inventors: Kanako Hirata, Kazuki Takatsuka, Toru Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20090176146
    Abstract: The battery pack is provided with an analog front-end 2 that detects battery 1 voltage, and a micro-controller 3 connected to the analog front-end 2 that accepts analog voltage signals from the analog front-end 2 as input. The micro-controller 3 switches voltage signals input from the analog front-end 2 to determine failure of the analog front-end 2 or the micro-controller 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2008
    Publication date: July 9, 2009
    Inventors: Shinichi Matsuura, Atsushi Kawasumi, Toru Nishikawa, Kenichi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 7501617
    Abstract: A tester according to the present invention can conduct a test on optical devices each having a different positional relation between a position of a contact face of an external contact terminal and a direction of light emitted from a semiconductor laser element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2009
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Isao Hayami, Toru Nishikawa, Masaya Tateyanagi, Syouichi Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20090036488
    Abstract: The present invention provides a therapeutic agent for preventing recurrence of psychostimulant-induced psychosis and schizophrenia. This therapeutic agent for preventing recurrence of psychostimulant-induced psychosis and schizophrenia includes a drug that amplifies serotonin signals as an active component. This therapeutic agent for preventing recurrence of psychostimulant-induced psychosis and schizophrenia includes a drug that amplifies serotonin signals as an active component. This therapeutic agent for preventing recurrence of psychostimulant-induced psychosis and schizophrenia includes a drug that amplifies serotonin signals as an active component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
    Inventors: Atsushi Kashiwa, Toru Nishikawa, Yujiro Kaneko
  • Publication number: 20080160440
    Abstract: A carrier and a two-component developer are provided. A coating resin layer for coating a core material contains fine particles of titanium oxide which comprise an anatase-type crystal and a rutile-type crystal, and a carrier coating amount of the coating resin layer falls in a range of from 5% by weight to 20% by weight. In addition, a content rate of the rutile-type crystal falls in a range of from 5% to 20% on the basis of the total amount of crystal, and the weight of the fine particles of titanium oxide falls in a range of from 5% by weight to 50% by weight relative to the weight of the core material. Further, the primary particle size of the fine particles of titanium oxide falls in a range of from 40 nm to 80 nm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2007
    Publication date: July 3, 2008
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toru Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20070229026
    Abstract: The battery pack of the present invention is provided with a current cut-off device connected in series with batteries, a tamper detector to detect tampering and issue a tamper signal, and a control circuit connected to the tamper detector. If the tamper detector detects tampering with the battery pack, the control circuit switches the current cut-off device off to shut off current to the batteries, or it issues a tamper signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2007
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Inventors: Toru Morioka, Shinichi Itagaki, Hitoshi Hamaguchi, Atsushi Kawasumi, Toru Nishikawa