Patents by Inventor Wataru Okada

Wataru Okada 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: 20100173181
    Abstract: The battery system is provided with battery blocks 2 that connect a plurality of battery cells 1 having gas exhaust valves 11; and with hollow exhaust ducts 20 that connect to the gas exhaust valve 11 gas exhaust opening 12 of each battery cell 1 that makes up the battery blocks 2, and that exhaust gas discharged from the gas exhaust openings 12 to the outside. The exhaust ducts 20 are made of plastic with embedded metal lines 21 that extend in the lengthwise direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2009
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Inventor: Wataru OKADA
  • Publication number: 20100167116
    Abstract: A case 20 of each battery cell 1 houses a current interrupt device 30 that cuts-off current when internal pressure exceeds a set pressure. The case has a rectangular outline with a pair of opposing planar surfaces 20A. An electrode unit 10, which is a stack of positive and negative electrode plates 10A with intervening separators 10C, and the current interrupt device 30 are disposed between the pair of opposing planar surfaces. A plurality of battery cells is stacked with opposing planar surfaces 20A opposite each other to form a battery block 2. The power source apparatus has a pair of endplates 4 disposed at the ends of the battery block 2, the pair of endplates 4 is connected by connecting components 5, and the pair of endplates 4 holds the battery cells 1 in the stacked configuration applying pressure in a direction perpendicular to the opposing planar surfaces 20A.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2009
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Inventor: Wataru OKADA
  • Publication number: 20100167115
    Abstract: The battery system has a battery block 2 with a plurality of battery cells 1 that are rectangular batteries stacked with intervening insulating separators 15, and that battery block 2 is held by fastening components 3. The fastening components 3 are provided with a pair of endplates 4 disposed at the ends of the stacked battery cells 1, and metal bands 5 on both sides of the battery block 2 connected at both ends to the endplates 4. An insulating separator 15 has an insulating plate section 15X, which intervenes between adjacent battery cells 1, and insulating walls 15C, which cover both battery cell 1 side-walls, formed from plastic as a single-piece. In this battery system, insulating plate sections 15X are sandwiched between battery cells 1, and the insulating walls 15C are disposed between battery cell outer side-walls and metal bands to insulate the battery cells from the metal bands.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2009
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Inventors: Wataru OKADA, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomoyuki Ohmura, Akinobu Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 7698503
    Abstract: A computer system including: at least one host computer, a storage system for storing data used in the host computer, and a managing computer for managing storing the data in the storage system which are connected to each other with a network. The managing computer monitors the journal volume which is a storing destinations of the journal, in a case that the journal is stored in the journal volume in parallel, when it is detected that the storing destination of the journal changes from one of the groups into which the journal is just stored to another group, transmits an instruction to the storage system to change the storing destination of the journal to another group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wataru Okada, Masahide Sato, Jun Mizuno
  • Patent number: 7693885
    Abstract: A computer system includes a host computer; a storage system for obtaining a snapshot, at a specific point in time, of a data volume, storing data written to the data volume after the specific point in time as a journal, and applying the journal to the snapshot for data recovery; and a management computer. In the computer system, the management computer instructs the storage system to determine whether data at a recovery point after a recovery point of the latest snapshot can be recovered within a specific period of time and to apply, if it has been determined that the data cannot be recovered within the specific period of time, a journal to the latest snapshot to update the latest snapshot to a new snapshot in such a manner that the data can be recovered within the specific period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wataru Okada, Masahide Sato, Hironori Emaru
  • Publication number: 20100081041
    Abstract: The battery system is provided with battery blocks 2 having a plurality of stacked battery cells 1, a pair of endplates 4 stacked at opposite ends of a battery block 2, connecting rails 5 that join the pair of endplates 4, and output lines 20 that connect to battery cell 1 electrode terminals 13. Output lines 20 are connected to battery cell 1 electrode terminals 13 via transfer bus bars 22, and an output line 20 connecting terminal 21 is connected to a transfer bus bar 22 by a bolt 7, and a nut 8. In this battery system, the nut 8 is attached to an endplate 4 in a manner that does not allow it to rotate, and the bolt 7 is screwed into the nut 8 to attach it to the endplate 4. The output line 20 connecting terminal 21 and transfer bus bar 22 are connected via the bolt 7 and nut 8 and are fixed to the endplate 4.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2009
    Publication date: April 1, 2010
    Inventors: Wataru OKADA, Yasuhiro YAMAUTI
  • Publication number: 20100082925
    Abstract: According to the present invention, it is possible to construct a backup configuration of a particular application data, without influencing data of another application. A management computer is coupled to a host computer on which an application operates, and to a storage apparatus that includes a plurality of volume groups each having one or more logical volumes. At least one of the logical volumes is allocated to the application. The management computer includes a volume group overlapping use determination part and a backup policy determination part. When the backup of the volume group to which one logical volume belongs is configured, the volume group overlapping use determination part determines whether there is another application that uses the volume group. The backup policy determination part determines whether there is set, for another volume group, backup policy information same as that set for the application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Publication date: April 1, 2010
    Inventors: Misako Irisawa, Nobuhiro Maki, Masayasu Asano, Wataru Okada
  • Patent number: 7676644
    Abstract: In a data processing system having a storage system and a management computer for managing the storage system, the management computer has an access right setting request unit for transmitting, to the storage system, a request to set a right to access a designated logical volume in response to a predetermined external input. The storage system also has: a control unit for dynamically expanding, as necessary based on an access request from the host computer, the capacity of a first type logical volume by dynamically assigning storage areas in units of segments of predetermined size thereto; and an access right setting unit for setting, in response to a request to set a right to access the first type logical volume from the management computer, a designated access right for each segment assigned to the first type logical volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukinori Sakashita, Wataru Okada, Tsukasa Shibayama, Yuri Hiraiwa, Masahide Sato
  • Publication number: 20100058012
    Abstract: Provided is a computer system, comprising a storage system and a management computer. The management computer manages differential copy start times, differential data amounts of first pairs, and a data amount that can be copied in differential copy per unit time; identifies one of the first pairs for which the differential copy is to be started and a start time of the differential copy; subtracts the data amount of differential copy per unit time that is allocated to the identified one of the first pairs from a differential data amount of the identified first pairs; add the unit time to the identified start time; judges that the differential copy has been finished at a time when the subtracted differential data amount reaches zero or less; and calculates time zones in which the first pairs execute differential copy based on the time at which differential copy has been finished.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2008
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Inventors: Wataru OKADA, Masayasu Asano
  • Publication number: 20100000816
    Abstract: The car battery array is provided with battery blocks 2 having a plurality of connected batteries 1, a first load-bearing plate 3 on top of which the battery blocks 2 are mounted, a second load-bearing plate 4 attached on both sides to the first load-bearing plate and covering the tops of the battery blocks 2, and a reinforcing rod 5 that connects with the second load-bearing plate 4 and the battery blocks 2 to attach the second load-bearing plate 4 to the battery blocks 2. Battery blocks 2 are disposed in a battery compartment 6 established inside the first load-bearing plate 3 and second load-bearing plate 4, which are joined together on both sides. The battery blocks 2 are mounted on top of the first load-bearing plate 3 and connected to the second load-bearing plate 4 via the reinforcing rod 5 to support the battery block 2 load with the first load-bearing plate 3 and the second load-bearing plate 4.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2009
    Publication date: January 7, 2010
    Inventor: Wataru OKADA
  • Patent number: 7610511
    Abstract: Provided is a computer system including a first storage subsystem and a second storage subsystem. The first storage subsystem has a first storage unit and a first control unit. The second storage subsystem has a second storage unit and a second control unit. The first control unit records journals, and identifies, when data stored in the first storage unit is to be migrated to the second storage unit, which ones of the recorded journals are related to the data that is to be migrated. The first control unit chooses the identified journals one at a time in reverse chronological order, and judges whether or not the chosen journal corresponds to a data update made at some point between a current time and a time that precedes the current time by a length of a journal retention term set for the second storage subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Fumi Fujita, Wataru Okada, Masayuki Yamamoto, Yuichi Taguchi
  • Publication number: 20090248759
    Abstract: Provided is a computer system which is capable of backup operation with a minimum count of volumes in a remote copy environment when a disaster or the like causes a storage system to stop working normally. The computer system has a host computer, a first storage system, a second storage system, and a management computer. The first storage system contains a data volume which stores data requested by an application to be written. The second storage system contains a mirrored volume to which data stored in the data volume is copied. The computer system is characterized by being configured to receive an input of a policy about backup processing executed in backup volumes and set a configuration of the first storage system and a configuration of the second storage system under the received policy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Inventors: Wataru Okada, Masayasu Asano
  • Publication number: 20090142650
    Abstract: A battery system includes: a battery block defining a cooling gap between battery cells composed of a plurality of rectangular/prismatic cells; and a gas blower forcibly blowing the gas through the gap in the block. The block, set in two separate arrays, is provided therebetween with an intermediate duct connected to each of the gaps. An outer duct is provided outside the block set in two separate arrays, and the plurality of gaps are parallel-connected between the outer duct and the intermediate duct. The gas blower forcibly blows the gas from the intermediate duct to the outer duct, and the gas forcibly blown is branched from the intermediate duct to be blown through each of the gaps to cool the cells. The gas having passed through the gaps and cooled the cells is collected at and exhausted from the outer duct.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Inventors: Wataru Okada, Hideo Shimizu, Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20090142628
    Abstract: The battery system cooled via coolant has a battery block 3 with a plurality of rectangular batteries 1 retained in a stacked configuration by a battery holder 4; a cooling plate 8 disposed in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the battery block 3 and having a hollow region 18 inside; cooling pipe 6 disposed inside the hollow region 18 of the cooling plate 8; and a coolant supply device 7 to supply coolant to the cooling pipe 6. The hollow cooling plate 8 has a surface plate 8A that makes thermal contact with the bottom surface of the battery block 3, and cooling pipe 6 is disposed within the hollow region 18 in contact with the inside of the surface plate 8A. Further, the cooling plate 8 hollow region 18 is filled with plastic foam 9.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Inventors: Wataru Okada, Hideo Shimizu, Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20090142653
    Abstract: A battery system includes a battery block, a cooling pipe, and a coolant feeding device. The battery block includes a plurality of rectangular batteries that have a width greater than a thickness and are securely arranged in array alignment by a battery holder. The cooling pipe cools the rectangular batteries of the battery block. The coolant feeding device feeds coolant to the cooling pipe. In the battery system, the cooling pipe is arranged on the surface of the battery block in a thermally-coupled state so that the rectangular batteries are cooled by the coolant, which is circulated through the cooling pipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Inventors: Wataru Okada, Hideo Shimizu, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomoyuki Omura
  • Publication number: 20090111010
    Abstract: The battery pack includes plural battery cells 1, and insulating separators 10 disposed between adjacent battery cells 1, where the plurality of battery cells 1 are disposed in a stacked configuration with a prescribed gap between adjacent battery cells 1. A separator 10 has a plural gas channels that enable the flow of cooling gas. The gas channels have cooling gas entranceways and exit ways, which open at the sides of the battery block formed by the stacked battery cells 1. A separator 10 has cut sections formed to position the entranceways and exit ways of the gas channels inward from the sides of the battery block. This allows cooling gas near entranceways and exit ways to be smoothly introduced to, and exhausted from the gas channels, and reduces cooling gas pressure losses in those regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2008
    Publication date: April 30, 2009
    Inventors: Wataru Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20090077331
    Abstract: When migrating data stored in a storage region assigned to a volume to another storage region, the connection status of the host computer and volume is confirmed. When the host computer and volume are connected, the maximum capacity of the volume requested by the host computer is reserved so that it is exclusively secured in another storage region to which data is to be migrated, and when the host computer and volume are not connected, the current capacity of the volume is reserved so that it is exclusively secured in another storage region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Inventors: Tsukasa Shibayama, Wataru Okada, Yukinori Sakashita, Yuri Hiraiwa, Masahide Sato
  • Publication number: 20090077336
    Abstract: This storage system modifies the migration plan in accordance with the state of the migration destination when a plurality of volumes are migrated all at once. Migration-source volumes are migrated collectively to volumes inside the migration-destination storage apparatus. The user can make settings related to migration-source volumes and migration-destination volumes in a migration plan, and can establish a mid-process control plan for modifying the migration plan in the middle of processing. If a failure occurs in the migration-destination storage apparatus subsequent to the commencement of data migration processing, a processing method controller either cancels or temporarily halts the data migration processing, or changes the migration destination, on the basis of the mid-process control plan. When changing the migration destination, a previously selected alternate storage apparatus is selected as the new migration-destination storage apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Inventors: Tsukasa Shibayama, Wataru Okada, Yukinori Sakashita, Yuri Hiraiwa, Masahide Sato
  • Publication number: 20090070390
    Abstract: First information representing a plurality of snapshot acquisition time points of the data storage device, journal management data which are second information including the time point at which data are written to the data storage device and the size of the journal for writing the data, and third information representing a plurality of recovery points are acquired. The total transfer data size of one or more data to be transferred in order to recover the data group of the data storage device at the recovery point is calculated for each recovery point on the basis of the first information, journal management data, and third information. A display screen that visualizes the correspondence relationship between the respective recovery points and respective recovery load information representing a recovery load that is expressed on the basis of the total transfer data size calculated for the respective recovery points is displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2008
    Publication date: March 12, 2009
    Inventors: Wataru OKADA, Masayuki YAMAMOTO, Masahide SATO
  • Publication number: 20090024871
    Abstract: Provided is a method of performing backup and recovery of data by using journaling, and performing management upon occurrence of a failure. The method includes: a first step of setting a recovery point indicative of the given time; a second step of creating an information of correspondence between the snapshot and the journal data which is required to restore data at the set recovery point time; a third step of detecting the occurrence of failure of the disk drive; and a fourth step of detecting the recovery point at which data cannot be restored due to the failure of the disk drive.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2008
    Publication date: January 22, 2009
    Inventors: Hironori Emaru, Masahide Sato, Wataru Okada, Hiroshi Wake