Patents by Inventor Yoichi OHINATA

Yoichi OHINATA 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: 11732965
    Abstract: A freeze-drying device includes a controller configured to control depressurization of containers filled with a liquid including a raw material and a medium to freeze the liquid from a liquid surface. The freeze-drying device also includes a gas capture pump configured to exhaust a freeze-drying chamber accommodating the containers, and a positive-displacement pump configured to discharge gas from a space accommodating the gas capture pump. The controller executes an exhaust mitigation process that performs the depressurization at an exhaust capability that is less than a rated exhaust capability of the freeze-drying device. The controller uses a partial pressure value of the medium to determine when the exhaust mitigation process ends. The controller maintains an exhaust speed of the gas capture pump and decreases an exhaust speed of the positive-displacement pump in the exhaust mitigation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: ULVAC, INC.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto, Yoichi Ohinata, Tomomitsu Ozeki
  • Publication number: 20230018222
    Abstract: A freeze-drying device includes a controller configured to control depressurization of containers filled with a liquid including a raw material and a medium to freeze the liquid from a liquid surface. The freeze-drying device also includes a gas capture pump configured to exhaust a freeze-drying chamber accommodating the containers, and a positive-displacement pump configured to discharge gas from a space accommodating the gas capture pump. The controller executes an exhaust mitigation process that performs the depressurization at an exhaust capability that is less than a rated exhaust capability of the freeze-drying device. The controller uses a partial pressure value of the medium to determine when the exhaust mitigation process ends. The controller maintains an exhaust speed of the gas capture pump and decreases an exhaust speed of the positive-displacement pump in the exhaust mitigation process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2022
    Publication date: January 19, 2023
    Applicant: ULVAC, INC.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto, Yoichi Ohinata, Tomomitsu Ozeki
  • Patent number: 11480390
    Abstract: A freeze-drying device includes a controller configured to control depressurization of containers filled with a liquid including a raw material and a medium to freeze the liquid from a liquid surface. The freeze-drying device also includes a gas capture pump configured to exhaust a freeze-drying chamber accommodating the containers, and a positive-displacement pump configured to discharge gas from a space accommodating the gas capture pump. The controller executes an exhaust mitigation process that performs the depressurization at an exhaust capability that is less than a rated exhaust capability of the freeze-drying device. The controller uses a partial pressure value of the medium to determine when the exhaust mitigation process ends. The controller maintains an exhaust speed of the gas capture pump and decreases an exhaust speed of the positive-displacement pump in the exhaust mitigation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: ULVAC, INC.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto, Yoichi Ohinata, Tomomitsu Ozeki
  • Publication number: 20220260313
    Abstract: A freeze-drying device includes a controller configured to control depressurization of containers filled with a liquid including a raw material and a medium to freeze the liquid from a liquid surface. The freeze-drying device also includes a gas capture pump configured to exhaust a freeze-drying chamber accommodating the containers, and a positive-displacement pump configured to discharge gas from a space accommodating the gas capture pump. The controller executes an exhaust mitigation process that performs the depressurization at an exhaust capability that is less than a rated exhaust capability of the freeze-drying device. The controller uses a partial pressure value of the medium to determine when the exhaust mitigation process ends. The controller maintains an exhaust speed of the gas capture pump and decreases an exhaust speed of the positive-displacement pump in the exhaust mitigation process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2022
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto, Yoichi Ohinata, Tomomitsu Ozeki
  • Patent number: 11320200
    Abstract: A freeze-drying method includes depressurizing containers filled with a liquid including a raw material and a medium with a freeze-drying device to freeze the liquid from a liquid surface. The depressurizing includes executing an exhaust mitigation process that performs the depressurizing at an exhaust capability that is less than a rated exhaust capability of the freeze-drying device, and using a partial pressure value of the medium to determine when the exhaust mitigation process ends. The executing an exhaust mitigation process includes maintaining an exhaust speed of a gas capture pump configured to discharge gas from a freeze-drying chamber accommodating the containers, and decreasing an exhaust speed of a positive-displacement pump configured to discharge gas from a space accommodating the gas capture pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: ULVAC, INC.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto, Yoichi Ohinata, Tomomitsu Ozeki
  • Patent number: 10627160
    Abstract: A vacuum drying apparatus includes a chamber, a steam supply line, an evacuation line, a circulation line, and a pressurizing and heating unit. The chamber includes an inlet, an outlet, and a treatment space capable of accommodating food. The steam supply line is connected to the inlet and is configured to be capable of supplying steam into the treatment space. The evacuation line is connected to the outlet and is configured to be capable of evacuating the treatment space. The circulation line is provided outside the chamber and causes steam to circulate from the outlet to the inlet. The pressurizing and heating unit is provided in the circulation line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignees: ULVAC, INC., NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION, IWATE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Makoto Miura, Takuya Morikawa, Norihisa Takada, Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto, Takashi Hanamoto, Yoichi Ohinata
  • Publication number: 20190360748
    Abstract: A vacuum drying apparatus includes a chamber, a steam supply line, an evacuation line, a circulation line, and a pressurizing and heating unit. The chamber includes an inlet, an outlet, and a treatment space capable of accommodating food. The steam supply line is connected to the inlet and is configured to be capable of supplying steam into the treatment space. The evacuation line is connected to the outlet and is configured to be capable of evacuating the treatment space. The circulation line is provided outside the chamber and causes steam to circulate from the outlet to the inlet. The pressurizing and heating unit is provided in the circulation line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Publication date: November 28, 2019
    Inventors: Makoto MIURA, Takuya MORIKAWA, Norihisa TAKADA, Tsuyoshi YOSHIMOTO, Takashi HANAMOTO, Yoichi OHINATA
  • Publication number: 20190015534
    Abstract: The present invention provides a sterilized-liquefied gas producing apparatus including: a liquefied gas reservoir; a source-gas supplier that supplies a source gas to the liquefied gas reservoir; a cooler that cools down an inside of the liquefied gas reservoir to liquefy the source gas; a supply pipe that connects the source-gas supplier and the liquefied gas reservoir; a sterilization filter provided at the supply pipe; a sterilizer that heats and sterilizes a sterilization region by high-temperature saturated water vapor, the sterilization region being located further downstream than the sterilization filter; and a dryer that removes moisture generated by the heat sterilization to dry the sterilization region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2017
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi YOSHIMOTO, Yoichi OHINATA, Takao KINOSHITA, Shinji FURUYA, Naoto SUZUKI, Masayoshi HIRUMA, Shinji TAKASAKI