Patents by Inventor Yasuto Watanabe

Yasuto Watanabe 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: 8184421
    Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to provide a power converter capable of not only boosting the voltage but also shutting-off the flowing current, by switching only the switch element. The power converter 1, comprises a first input-output portion 3, a second input-output portion 5, a first capacitor C1, a second capacitor C2 electrically connected with the first capacitor C1 in serial, a first current control block B1, a second current control block B2, a third current control block B3, a fourth current control block B4, and a switching controller 7 operable to switch certain current control blocks, wherein the current flowing direction is opposite to each other between a first current control element B1a (B2a, B3a, B4a) and a second current control element B1b (B2b, B3b, B4b) which compose the current control block B1 (B2, B3, B4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Satoshi Hashino, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 8106635
    Abstract: A power converter includes an input unit, an output unit, first and second capacitors connected in series, a first electric conduction control device, a second electric conduction control device, a third electric conduction control device, and a fourth electric conduction control device, and a control circuit for performing on/off control on those electric conduction control devices. The first electric conduction control device and the fourth electric conduction control device have a first path through which a current flowing between the input unit and the output unit is allowed to flow in one direction, and a second path which has a switch function of allowing the current flowing between the input unit and the output unit to flow through or shutting off such a current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Satoshi Hashino, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20110310262
    Abstract: A method of calculating camera shake using first and second images obtained by continuous shooting includes: extracting first and second feature points located in positions symmetrical about a central point in the first image; searching for the first and second feature points in the second image; and calculating the camera shake based on coordinates of the first and second feature points extracted from the first image and coordinates of the first and second feature points searched for in the second image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2011
    Publication date: December 22, 2011
    Inventors: Yuri WATANABE, Kimitaka Murashita, Yasuto Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7985929
    Abstract: A circuit board and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The circuit board includes: a multilayer board in which a plurality of conductive layers with desired patterns formed therein, and a plurality of insulating layers are stacked; a plurality of through holes penetrating the multilayer board; cylindrical recesses each formed around a through hole corresponding thereto, having a diameter larger than that of the through hole, having a depth from an outermost surface of the insulating layer to a surface of the conductive layer for electrical connection, and partially exposing the surface of the predetermined conductive layer; and a plurality of conductive terminals fitted into the through holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Shinwa Frontech Corp.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Hiroyuki Fujita, Kunio Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7965069
    Abstract: The DC/DC converter is that which is constituted so as to have a failure detecting circuit in which a first capacitor and a second capacitor are connected in series, a plurality of switches are switched according to a predetermined operating mode to select an inductor, the first capacitor and the second capacitor, allowing them to function, thereby performing any one of the boost, buck, and conducting operations of input voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 7948221
    Abstract: The invention provides an optimal electric power converter for a DC/DC converter which variably steps up a voltage successively with an optional magnification of one to two times or more and/or step down a voltage successively with a step-down ratio of one time or less. The converter includes a first input-output part, an inductor connected with a positive or a negative electrode side of the first input-output part, plural switches, plural capacitors, a second input-output part connected with plural capacitors, and a control circuit, wherein the control circuit controls the plural switches with operation mode and makes the inductor and plural capacitors selectively functional, wherein the electric power converter is of a switched capacitance type that performs any operation out of step-up, step-down, regeneration, and continuity, and wherein the control circuit controls to have a period for which two switches out of the plural switches are simultaneously turned ON.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa, Satoshi Hashino
  • Publication number: 20110032733
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter has a first-voltage-side port, a second-voltage-side port, and a third-voltage-side port, and performs, at different timings, an operation of boosting a first voltage to a third voltage and an operation of bucking a second voltage to the third voltage. A power supplying system includes a fuel cell, a secondary battery, an accessory system, the DC-DC converter, and another DC-DC converter connected between the fuel cell and a motor, and boosting the first voltage of the fuel cell to a fourth voltage to supply power to the motor through an inverter. The former DC-DC converter has the first-voltage-side port connected to the fuel cell, has the second-voltage-side port connected to the secondary battery, and has the third-voltage-side port connected to the accessory system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2010
    Publication date: February 10, 2011
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuto WATANABE, Mitsuaki HIRAKAWA
  • Publication number: 20100244798
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter includes first and second capacitors connected in series, a switching part, and a control circuit part which includes a voltage difference calculating part for calculating a difference between voltages of the first and second capacitors, a duty ratio controller for controlling duty ratio of on- and OFF-durations to decrease the voltage difference of the first and second capacitors on the basis of the calculated difference. A power supplying system including the DC-DC converter controls balance between first and second capacitors in voltage on the basis of the powering/regenerating discriminating signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Somei NAKATOMI, Yasuto WATANABE, Keigo ANDOH, Mitsuaki HIRAKAWA
  • Patent number: 7804196
    Abstract: A multiple input/output power converter includes: at least two input/output circuits to be connected to electric units; a plurality of power converting circuits including switches and at least an inductor, a plurality of capacitors connected to the power converting circuits; and a control circuit for controlling the switches in a plurality of modes to selectively operate the inductor and the capacitors to operate the power converting circuits in either of stepping up, stepping down, or conducting operation. The capacitors are shared among the power converting circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 7729543
    Abstract: In an imaging apparatus, a JPEG coding unit makes JPEG data by respectively compressing plural images obtained from an imaging device. A code retention unit retains each JPEG data. A thumbnail data creation unit creates a thumbnail from each of the images. A thumbnail retention unit retains the thumbnail. A feature point detection unit detects a feature point from the thumbnail. A partial image decode unit respectively decodes zones including the feature points from each JPEG data. A displacement amount calculation unit obtains positional information of feature points in the decoded individual zones and calculates a displacement amount of each JPEG data based on the positional information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Kimitaka Murashita, Masayoshi Shimizu, Shoji Suzuki, Yasuto Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20100066341
    Abstract: A power converter includes an input unit, an output unit, first and second capacitors connected in series, a first electric conduction control device, a second electric conduction control device, a third electric conduction control device, and a fourth electric conduction control device, and a control circuit for performing on/off control on those electric conduction control devices. The first electric conduction control device and the fourth electric conduction control device have a first path through which a current flowing between the input unit and the output unit is allowed to flow in one direction, and a second path which has a switch function of allowing the current flowing between the input unit and the output unit to flow through or shutting off such a current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2009
    Publication date: March 18, 2010
    Inventors: Yasuto WATANABE, Satoshi Hashino, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20090290269
    Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to provide a power converter capable of not only boosting the voltage but also shutting-off the flowing current, by switching only the switch element. The power converter 1, comprises a first input-output portion 3, a second input-output portion 5, a first capacitor C1, a second capacitor C2 electrically connected with the first capacitor C1 in serial, a first current control block B1, a second current control block B2, a third current control block B3, a fourth current control block B4, and a switching controller 7 operable to switch certain current control blocks, wherein the current flowing direction is opposite to each other between a first current control element B1a (B2a, B3a, B4a) and a second current control element B1b (B2b, B3b, B4b) which compose the current control block B1 (B2, B3, B4).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2009
    Publication date: November 26, 2009
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Satoshi Hashino, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 7602165
    Abstract: A phase control device for use with a voltage-boosting DC/DC converter includes a current sensor for detecting a current flowing through at least one of the primary and secondary windings of a transformer of the DC/DC converter, a ripple determining section for, on the basis of a current signal detected by the current sensor, determining an amount of current ripple occurring when a first switching element or second switching element switches to an ON state, and a phase regulating section for, on the basis of the amount of current ripple determined by the ripple determining section, regulating a phase related to an ON time of each of the first and second switching elements such that the amount of current ripple is reduced to zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2009
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa, Keigo Andou
  • Patent number: 7504811
    Abstract: A boost DC/DC includes an inductor connected at one end to the positive-pole terminal of a low-voltage-side port, a transformer of a magnetic-field cancellation type including a primary winding and a secondary winding interconnected in an oppositely-wound configuration, a common terminal of the primary winding and the secondary winding being connected to another end of the inductor. A switching element controls an energizing current of the primary winding flowing to a common reference terminal, and another switching element controls an energizing current of the secondary winding flowing to the common reference terminal. A diode allows current to flow in only one direction from the primary winding to the positive-pole terminal of a high-voltage-side port, and another diode allows current to flow in only one direction from the secondary winding to the positive-pole terminal of the high-voltage-side port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2009
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20080238383
    Abstract: The DC/DC converter is that which is constituted so as to have a failure detecting circuit in which a first capacitor and a second capacitor are connected in series, a plurality of switches are switched according to a predetermined operating mode to select an inductor, the first capacitor and the second capacitor, allowing them to function, thereby performing any one of the boost, buck, and conducting operations of input voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20080211316
    Abstract: The invention provides an optimal electric power converter for a DC/DC converter which variably steps up a voltage successively with an optional magnification of one to two times or more and/or step down a voltage successively with a step-down ratio of one time or less. The converter includes a first input-output part, an inductor connected with a positive or a negative electrode side of the first input-output part, plural switches, plural capacitors, a second input-output part connected with plural capacitors, and a control circuit, wherein the control circuit controls the plural switches with operation mode and makes the inductor and plural capacitors selectively functional, wherein the electric power converter is of a switched capacitance type that performs any operation out of step-up, step-down, regeneration, and continuity, and wherein the control circuit controls to have a period for which two switches out of the plural switches are simultaneously turned ON.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2007
    Publication date: September 4, 2008
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa, Satoshi Hashino
  • Publication number: 20080136260
    Abstract: A multiple input/output power converter includes: at least two input/output circuits to be connected to electric units; a plurality of power converting circuits including switches and at least an inductor, a plurality of capacitors connected to the power converting circuits; and a control circuit for controlling the switches in a plurality of modes to selectively operate the inductor and the capacitors to operate the power converting circuits in either of stepping up, stepping down, or conducting operation. The capacitors are shared among the power converting circuits.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2007
    Publication date: June 12, 2008
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20080078572
    Abstract: A circuit board and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The circuit board includes: a multilayer board in which a plurality of conductive layers with desired patterns formed therein, and a plurality of insulating layers are stacked; a plurality of through holes penetrating the multilayer board; cylindrical recesses each formed around a through hole corresponding thereto, having a diameter larger than that of the through hole, having a depth from an outermost surface of the insulating layer to a surface of the conductive layer for electrical connection, and partially exposing the surface of the predetermined conductive layer; and a plurality of conductive terminals fitted into the through holes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Publication date: April 3, 2008
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Hiroyuki Fujita, Kunio Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20080049475
    Abstract: A boost DC/DC includes an inductor connected at one end to the positive-pole terminal of a low-voltage-side port, a transformer of a magnetic-field cancellation type including a primary winding and a secondary winding interconnected in an oppositely-wound configuration, a common terminal of the primary winding and the secondary winding being connected to another end of the inductor. A switching element controls an energizing current of the primary winding flowing to a common reference terminal, and another switching element controls an energizing current of the secondary winding flowing to the common reference terminal. A diode allows current to flow in only one direction from the primary winding to the positive-pole terminal of a high-voltage-side port, and another diode allows current to flow in only one direction from the secondary winding to the positive-pole terminal of the high-voltage-side port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2007
    Publication date: February 28, 2008
    Inventors: Yasuto Watanabe, Mitsuaki Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20080037881
    Abstract: In an imaging apparatus, a JPEG coding unit makes JPEG data by respectively compressing plural images obtained from an imaging device. A code retention unit retains each JPEG data. A thumbnail data creation unit creates a thumbnail from each of the images. A thumbnail retention unit retains the thumbnail. A feature point detection unit detects a feature point from the thumbnail. A partial image decode unit respectively decodes zones including the feature points from each JPEG data. A displacement amount calculation unit obtains positional information of feature points in the decoded individual zones and calculates a displacement amount of each JPEG data based on the positional information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2006
    Publication date: February 14, 2008
    Applicant: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Kimitaka Murashita, Masayoshi Shimizu, Shoji Suzuki, Yasuto Watanabe