Patents by Inventor Yoshihiro Hirano

Yoshihiro Hirano 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: 6744898
    Abstract: A passenger seat with built-in speakers having a headrest and a pair of flaps located adjacent the headrest. The flaps are freely movable with respect to the headrest and provided with built-in speakers. The passenger seat with built-in speakers has a detector which detects a predetermined anglular position of the flap with respect to the headrest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2004
    Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Hirano
  • Patent number: 6723766
    Abstract: The present invention relates a method for manufacturing ligneous material, characterized in comprising the steps of acetylating wood elements selected from among wood pieces crushed from lumber, thin wood plates peeled from lumber, and wood fiber obtained by means of defibrating lumber, such that the degree of acetylation (weight percent gain) is 7% or greater, and preferably 7 to 18%; and binding the resultant aceylated wood elements, using a binder containing polyisocyanate. Thereby, it is possible to provide inexpensive ligneous material which exhibits only minor dimensional changes from moisture, wherein only a small amount of formaldehyde is released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirano, Ritsuo Iwata, Satoshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6695376
    Abstract: There is provided a display apparatus which can avoid different visibility according to positions of seats in an automobile and which can supply information to passengers seated on all the seats. The display apparatus 1 comprises a rotary portion 5 adapted to be mounted on a ceiling wall of the automobile, an arm portion 6, and a display unit 7. The rotary portion 5 has a base part 5a which is rotatable around a rotation axis 5b intersecting the ceiling wall 3. The arm portion 6 is supported by means of the rotary portion 5 so as to rotate around a rotation axis 10a. The display unit 7 is supported by means of the arm portion 6 so as to rotate around rotation axes 12a, 13a.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Hirano
  • Patent number: 6632326
    Abstract: The present invention's modifying method for wood elements includes a step for soaking wood elements in one or a mixture of acetic anhydride, acetic acid, or chloroacetic acid; and a step for acetylating the impregnated wood elements in a gaseous phase. This method makes it possible to reduce the time required for the step of acetylating the wood elements, simplifies the process, reduces fabrication costs, and enables fabrication of a wood fiberboard having high dimensional stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2003
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirano, Ritsuo Iwata, Hiroshige Murakami
  • Patent number: 6602451
    Abstract: A wooden material is made by bonding together with a binder resin, ozonized wood elements obtained by acetylating wood elements and then ozonizing the acetylated wood elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2003
    Assignees: Forestry and Forest Product Research Institute, Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Hideaki Korai, Makoto Kiguchi, Ritsuo Iwata, Yoshihiro Hirano, Satoshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6570628
    Abstract: A display device 1 includes an enclosure 2, a first display unit 3 and a second display unit 6. The enclosure 2 is provided with an opening portion 2a through which the first display unit 3 is loaded/unloaded. The first display unit 3 is movably provided between a loading position where said first display unit is completely loaded in the enclosure and a viewing position where information is visually recognized by a driver. The second unit 6 is pivotally supported at its end potion 6c by a pivotal shaft 7 attached to the enclosure 2. The second display unit 6 includes a display 6a and a frame member 6b. When the first display unit 6 is located at both loading position and the viewing position, an end face 6d of the frame member 6b is opposite to said opening portion 2a of the enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Hirano
  • Patent number: 6376582
    Abstract: The wood fiberboard of the present invention comprises wood fibers which have been subjected to an acetylation treatment and wood fibers which have not been subjected to an acetylation treatment bonded together by a binder resin, wherein the content of the wood fibers which have been subjected to an acetylation treatment is 35 to 90% by weight of the total amount of wood fibers which have been treated to an acetylation treatment and wood fibers which have not been subjected to an acetylation treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2002
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Ritsuo Iwata, Yoshihiro Hirano, Satoshi Suzuki, Katsunobu Fukuda, Hironori Watanabe
  • Patent number: 5749967
    Abstract: A crystal puller cell (18) provides a low particulate environment for an individual crystal puller (28). The airflow within each cell is adjustable so that a particulate level appropriate to the activity within the cell is maintained, thereby avoiding the cost of maintaining an entire growing hall (10) at a constant high level of cleanliness. Each cell includes a multi-level floor (46) that includes an operator floor (48) and a maintenance floor (52). A door (62) at the maintenance floor level opens onto a maintenance aisle used to service the machines. A door (64), at the operator floor level, opens onto a clean aisle for transporting raw material and finished product. The cell walls can include magnetic shielding if a magnetic growing process is used to reduce exposure of operators and other machines to intense magnetic fields.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: SEH America, Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuo Sakauchi, Yoshihiro Hirano, Akira Uchikawa
  • Patent number: 5702522
    Abstract: A crystal puller cell (18) provides a low particulate environment for an individual crystal puller (28). The airflow within each cell is adjustable so that a particulate level appropriate to the activity within the cell is maintained, thereby avoiding the cost of maintaining an entire growing hall (10) at a constant high level of cleanliness. Each cell includes a multi-level floor (46) that includes an operator floor (48) and a maintenance floor (52). A door (62) at the maintenance floor level opens onto a maintenance aisle used to service the machines. A door (64), at the operator floor level, opens onto a clean aisle for transporting raw material and finished product. The cell walls can include magnetic shielding if a magnetic growing process is used to reduce exposure of operators and other machines to intense magnetic fields.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1997
    Assignee: SEH America, Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuo Sakauchi, Yoshihiro Hirano, Akira Uchikawa
  • Patent number: 5641354
    Abstract: A crystal puller cell (18) provides a low particulate environment for an individual crystal puller (28). The airflow within each cell is adjustable so that a particulate level appropriate to the activity within the cell is maintained, thereby avoiding the cost of maintaining an entire growing hall (10) at a constant high level of cleanliness. Each cell includes a multilevel floor (46) that includes an operator floor (48) and a maintenance floor (52). A door (62) at the maintenance floor level opens onto a maintenance aisle used to service the machines. A door (64), at the operator floor level, opens onto a clean aisle for transporting raw material and finished product. The cell walls can include magnetic shielding if a magnetic growing process is used to reduce exposure of operators and other machines to intense magnetic fields.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 24, 1997
    Assignee: SEH America, Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuo Sakauchi, Yoshihiro Hirano, Akira Uchikawa
  • Patent number: 5584930
    Abstract: A method for measuring a diameter of a single crystal ingot pulled up in a single crystal pulling apparatus comprising: calculating the weight of the pulled-up single crystal, calculating the descent amount of the melt surface relative to the crucible wall from the calculated pulled-up weight of the grown single crystal, and then either correcting the value of the ingot diameter actually measured by the optical sensor in response to the descent amount of the melt surface level or raising the crucible by an amount equal to the descent amount of the surface level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1996
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuo Katsuoka, Yoshihiro Hirano, Atsushi Ozaki, Masahiko Baba
  • Patent number: 5525092
    Abstract: When a cylindrical single crystal ingot terminating in generally conical parts at the opposite ends thereof is machined with a cylindrical grinder which is adapted to support the ingot in place by fastening the conical parts of the ingot to a spindle side chuck and a tailstock side chuck severally provided with a conical hole and grind and finish the cylindrical part of the ingot while keeping the ingot driven on the spindle side, the ingot is liable to produce idle rotation possibly to the extent of disrupting the grinding work.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirano, Seiichi Terashima, Masao Kita
  • Patent number: 5525721
    Abstract: A acetylating agent vapor is brought into contact with a material containing cellulose while continuously moving the acetylating agent, and thereby, the material containing cellulose is acetylated in a vapor phase. Solvents for dilution, catalysts, and an immersion process in an acetylating agent (liquid) are not necessary, and thereby, it is not merely the case that the process is simplified, but the acetylation period is shortened as a result of the increase in reaction efficiency, and the accumulation of excess heat of reaction in the material containing cellulose during the reaction is prevented, and thereby, the uniformity of acetylation is improved. Furthermore, in the present invention, wooden strips acetylated by this method are accumulated and modified wood is manufactured. This modified wood has superior resistance to moisture, possesses no acetic acid odor, and does not cause rusting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Ohshima, Yoshihiro Hirano, Akira Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 5484326
    Abstract: The cutting process is executed after the grinding process and for one semiconductor ingot, one grinding device and one inner diameter saw slicing machine are used to perform grinding process and cutting process respectively. During the grinding process, the entirety of the cylindrical body portion of the semiconductor ingot is cylindrically ground, a portion of the tail end is cylindrically ground, the orientation flat position is determined and an orientation flat is formed by surface grinding. During the cutting process the tail portion is cut off and a sample for lifetime measurement is taken and a wafer sample is cut off from the end of the cylindrical body portion on the tail side. The semiconductor ingot is reversed in the direction of the axis and the head portion of the semiconductor ingot is cut off and a wafer sample is cut off from the cylindrical body portion on the head side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1996
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirano, Atsushi Ozaki
  • Patent number: 5431868
    Abstract: Wood fibers obtained by the fiberization of wood are acetylated in a vapor phase acetylating agent acetic acid anhydrate or the like. The acetylated fibers are accumulated, and molded into a solid wood board. By means of the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain wood board which exhibits little moisture absorption and water absorption. Furthermore, the acetylation is conducted in the vapor phase acetylating agent, so that the amount of acetylating agent used is greatly reduced in comparison with the case in which the acetylation is conducted in the liquid phase acetylating agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1995
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Hirano
  • Patent number: 5405285
    Abstract: The diameter, the orientation flat width/notch depth and the length of the block 10p are measured by the measuring devices 71a, 71b and 71c respectively and then the machining errors .DELTA.Dp, .DELTA.Wp and .DELTA.Lp in the measured values against the set values are calculated at the error calculation unit 833. Then .DELTA.Dp, .DELTA.Wp and .DELTA.Lp are stored in memory at the memory unit 834 in correspondence with the identification codes IDi and IDj of the grinding device 5i (i=1-N) and the cutting device 6j (j=1-M) that performed the machining. Then at the average value calculation unit 835, the average values of .DELTA.Dp and .DELTA.Wp for each of the grinding devices 51-5N and the average value of the .DELTA.Lp for each of the cutting devices 61-6M are calculated. The average values of .DELTA.Dp and .DELTA.Wp are supplied to the corresponding grinding device 5i as the diameter correction value and the width/depth correction value respectively and the average value of .DELTA.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 11, 1995
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirano, Atsushi Ozaki
  • Patent number: 5402239
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of measuring the OF width of a cylindrical single crystal ingot using an optical non-contact type displacement measuring device. This method can avoid the labor and measurement errors as generally seen in the conventional manual method and provide an easy and precise measurement. Further, the method can be automated if necessary. This method comprises the steps of detecting the boundary points between the OF and the round surface of the single crystal ingot from the displacement to be obtained by scanning the sensor while detecting the distance between the sensor and the ingot surface including the OF, and calculating the OF width C from the scanning distance A of the sensor from the first boundary point detection position to the second boundary point detection position and the difference B between the first distance 1.sub.1 from the first boundary point to the sensor and the second distance 1.sub.2 from the sensor to the second boundary point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1995
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Ishii, Yoshihiro Hirano
  • Patent number: 5378900
    Abstract: The growing portion of a single crystal 1 grown by the pull method is recorded and the image signal is output to a digitizing circuit 3 that converts the image signal into binary data. A memory device 4 stores the digitized images and the point P at the boundary between dark and light is detected by scanning the stored digitized images starting from the scanning-start pixel and proceeding in the direction parallel to the direction of single crystal pulling. The diameter D of the growing portion of the single crystal is determined based upon the boundary P, and the scanning-start pixel for the current operation is set at the pixel that is separated from the boundary Pb in the preceding operation by a preset number of pixels d in the opposite direction of the scan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 3, 1995
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirano, Masahiko Baba
  • Patent number: 5370077
    Abstract: The present invention provides control of single crystal growth after the recovery from power failure when controlling crystal growth in an automatic mode. A source voltage is supplied to a controller 70 through a no-break power supply 62. At the time of recovery from power failure, the controller continues the automatic operation mode with the same control output as that stored when power failure is detected (84, 85) if the power failure time t is t .ltoreq.t.sub.1 (for example, 1 second), switches the control mode to the manual control mode with the same control output as that stored when the power failure is detected (86, 87) if t.sub.1 <t.ltoreq.t.sub.2 (for example, 5 seconds), stops the crystal growth operation and switches the control mode to the manual control mode (88, 89) if t.sub.2 <t.ltoreq.t.sub.3 (for example, 600 seconds), and separates the grown crystal from a melt 22 by upwardly moving the crystal and upwardly moves a crucible 16 (90) if t>t.sub.3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 6, 1994
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Company, Limited
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirano, Atsushi Ozaki, Masahiko Urano
  • Patent number: 5089239
    Abstract: A single crystal pulling apparatus having a wire which is used to pull a crystal is provided with a novel wire vibration prevention mechanism. The wire vibration prevention mechanism includes wire restriction devices which restrict the movement of the wire to movement in the vertical direction. The wire restriction devices may be mechanically driven in the horizontal direction in order to center the pulled crystal. The wire restriction devices are driven by pneumatic air cylinders. Use of the wire vibration prevention mechanism avoids the formation of deformed growth of the pulled crystal and thus reduces the occurrence of dislocations in the pulled crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1992
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Company Limited
    Inventors: Koji Mizuishi, Isamu Harada, Yasushi Nakamura, Michiaki Oda, Seiichiro Ohtsuka, Yoshihiro Hirano, Masahiko Urano