Patents by Inventor Yoshimasa Kikuchi

Yoshimasa Kikuchi 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: 20230417459
    Abstract: A refrigeration cycle apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit and an adsorbent. The refrigerant circuit includes a compressor that compresses a refrigerant. The refrigerant circuit configures a vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant circulates. The adsorbent adsorbs and desorbs the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit. The adsorbent adsorbs and desorbs the refrigerant in accordance with a change in a pressure of the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Applicants: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD., The University of Tokyo
    Inventors: Eiji KUMAKURA, Ryuhei KAJI, Hiroki UEDA, Masaki TANAKA, Kosuke NISHIMURA, Kazuhiro FURUSHO, Yoshimasa KIKUCHI, Hirofumi DAIGUJI, Arun MAJUMDAR, Wei-Lun HSU, Jubair Ahmed SHAMIM
  • Patent number: 10520256
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a plurality of principal heat exchange sections and auxiliary heat exchange sections. Each of the auxiliary heat exchange sections is in series connection to a corresponding one of the principal heat exchange sections. Tube number ratios of the principal heat exchange sections are obtained by dividing the number of the flat tubes constituting each of the principal heat exchange sections to by the number of the flat tubes constituting a corresponding one of the auxiliary heat exchange sections. Of the principal heat exchange sections, the first principal heat exchange section, which is the lowermost one, has the smallest tube number ratio. Consequently, discharge of liquid refrigerant from a lower portion of the first principal heat exchange section is accelerated during defrosting, thereby shortening the time required for defrosting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Takuya Kazusa, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Shun Yoshioka
  • Patent number: 10436527
    Abstract: A refrigerant diverter diverts inflowing refrigerant and to cause the refrigerant to flow out to a downstream side. The refrigerant diverter includes a vertically extending diverter case, and a vertically extending rod-shaped rod member disposed inside the diverter case. The diverter case has a plurality of diverting channels disposed along a circumferential direction, a diverting space arranged to guide the refrigerant to the diverting channels, and a plurality of expelling spaces that communicate with the diverting space through the diverting channels, the expelling spaces being disposed along a vertical direction. The diverting channels are configured from a plurality of holes extending in a longitudinal direction of the rod member and integrally formed in the rod member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Tomohiko Sakamaki, Junichi Hamadate
  • Patent number: 10345047
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a plurality of principal heat exchange sections and auxiliary heat exchange sections. Each of the auxiliary heat exchange sections is in series connection to a corresponding one of the principal heat exchange sections. Tube number ratios of the principal heat exchange sections are obtained by dividing the number of the flat tubes constituting each of the principal heat exchange sections by the number of the flat tubes constituting a corresponding one of the auxiliary heat exchange sections. Of the principal heat exchange sections, the first principal heat exchange section, which is the lowermost one, has the smallest tube number ratio. Consequently, discharge of liquid refrigerant from a lower portion of the first principal heat exchange section is accelerated during defrosting, thereby shortening the time required for defrosting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Takuya Kazusa, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Shun Yoshioka
  • Patent number: 9845994
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a plurality of principal heat exchange sections and auxiliary heat exchange sections. Each of the auxiliary heat exchange sections is in series connection to a corresponding one of the principal heat exchange sections. The number of the flat tubes constituting each of the heat exchange sections is compared to the number of the flat tubes constituting a corresponding one of the auxiliary heat exchange sections, creating a tube number ratio, wherein the first principal heat exchange section, which is lowermost, has the smallest tube number ratio. Consequently, discharge of liquid refrigerant from a lower portion of the first principal heat exchange section is accelerated during defrosting, thereby shortening the time required for defrosting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Takuya Kazusa, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Shun Yoshioka
  • Publication number: 20170343289
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a plurality of principal heat exchange sections and auxiliary heat exchange sections. Each of the auxiliary heat exchange sections is in series connection to a corresponding one of the principal heat exchange sections. Of tube number ratios of the number of the flat tubes constituting each of the heat exchange sections to the number of the flat tubes constituting a corresponding one of the auxiliary heat exchange sections, the first principal heat exchange sections which is the lowermost one has the smallest tube number ratio. Consequently, discharge of liquid refrigerant from a lower portion of the first principal heat exchange section is accelerated during defrosting, thereby shortening the time required for defrosting.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2017
    Publication date: November 30, 2017
    Applicant: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori JINDOU, Yoshio ORITANI, Takuya KAZUSA, Yoshimasa KIKUCHI, Shun YOSHIOKA
  • Publication number: 20170343290
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a plurality of principal heat exchange sections and auxiliary heat exchange sections. Each of the auxiliary heat exchange sections is in series connection to a corresponding one of the principal heat exchange sections. Of tube number ratios of the number of the flat tubes constituting each of the heat exchange sections to the number of the flat tubes constituting a corresponding one of the auxiliary heat exchange sections, the first principal heat exchange sections which is the lowermost one has the smallest tube number ratio. Consequently, discharge of liquid refrigerant from a lower portion of the first principal heat exchange section is accelerated during defrosting, thereby shortening the time required for defrosting.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2017
    Publication date: November 30, 2017
    Applicant: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori JINDOU, Yoshio ORITANI, Takuya KAZUSA, Yoshimasa KIKUCHI, Shun YOSHIOKA
  • Publication number: 20170299284
    Abstract: A refrigerant diverter diverts inflowing refrigerant and to cause the refrigerant to flow out to a downstream side. The refrigerant diverter includes a vertically extending diverter case, and a vertically extending rod-shaped rod member disposed inside the diverter case. The diverter case has a plurality of diverting channels disposed along a circumferential direction, a diverting space arranged to guide the refrigerant to the diverting channels, and a plurality of expelling spaces that communicate with the diverting space through the diverting channels, the expelling spaces being disposed along a vertical direction. The diverting channels are configured from a plurality of holes extending in a longitudinal direction of the rod member and integrally formed in the rod member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Publication date: October 19, 2017
    Inventors: Masanori JINDOU, Yoshio ORITANI, Yoshimasa KIKUCHI, Tomohiko SAKAMAKI, Junichi HAMADATE
  • Patent number: 9618269
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a plurality of refrigerant tubes. In a flow divider, a part of a plurality of capillary tubes is connected to an open end portion on a side of a front tube plate, and a remainder of the plurality of the capillary tubes is connected to an open end portion on a side of a rear tube plate. The plurality of refrigerant tubes include even number refrigerant tubes constituted by an even number of heat transfer tube portions and odd number refrigerant tubes constituted by an odd number of heat transfer tube portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Kanji Akai, Yoshio Oritani, Hideki Sawamizu, Masanori Jindou, Yoshiharu Michitsuji
  • Patent number: 9551540
    Abstract: A lower space of a first header collecting pipe of a heat exchanger is, by partitions, divided into three communication chambers and a single mixing chamber. The mixing chamber communicates with the communication chamber through a through-hole of a lower horizontal partition, communicates with the communication chamber through a through-hole of a vertical partition, and communicates with the communication chamber through a through-hole of an upper horizontal partition. Gas-liquid refrigerant flows into the mixing chamber, and is mixed in the mixing chamber. Then, the refrigerant is distributed to the communication chambers. Thus, the wetness of refrigerant flowing into a flat tube is uniformized among the flat tubes, and performance of the heat exchanger can be fully achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Takuya Kazusa, Yasutaka Ohtani, Junichi Hamadate, Yoshimasa Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9360259
    Abstract: A heat exchanger is provided in which a large number of plate-shaped fins are attached to outer peripheries of heat transfer tubes through which refrigerant flows. Three rows of heat transfer tubes are arranged along an air flow direction. An inlet side heat transfer tube in a case of using as an evaporator or an outlet side heat transfer tube in a case of using as a condenser has the smallest diameter. In a case where the most windward side heat transfer tube has the smallest diameter, a tube diameter of the most windward side heat transfer tube is D1, a tube diameter of the middle heat transfer tube is D2, and a tube diameter of the most leeward side is D3, D1<D2=D3, 4 mm?D3?10 mm, and 0.6?D1/D3<1 are satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshio Oritani, Masanori Jindou, Hideki Sawamizu, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Kanji Akai
  • Publication number: 20150083377
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a plurality of principal heat exchange sections and auxiliary heat exchange sections. Each of the auxiliary heat exchange sections is in series connection to a corresponding one of the principal heat exchange sections. Of tube number ratios of the number of the flat tubes constituting each of the heat exchange sections to the number of the flat tubes constituting a corresponding one of the auxiliary heat exchange sections, the first principal heat exchange sections which is the lowermost one has the smallest tube number ratio. Consequently, discharge of liquid refrigerant from a lower portion of the first principal heat exchange section is accelerated during defrosting, thereby shortening the time required for defrosting.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Applicant: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Takuya Kazusa, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Shun Yoshioka
  • Publication number: 20150027672
    Abstract: In a heat exchanger, each of flat tubes (31) has an end portion inserted in a header-collecting pipe (70). When the heat exchanger functions as an evaporator, a refrigerant in a gas-liquid two-phase state upwardly flows in a subspace (71a) located in the header-collecting pipe (70). An effective cross-sectional area A of the subspace (71a) in the header-collecting pipe (70) is set based on a mass flow rate of the refrigerant flowing into the subspace (71a) in the header-collecting pipe (70). The effective cross-sectional area A is obtained by subtracting a projected area A1 which corresponds to a portion of each flat tube (31) located in the subspace (71a) and is projected onto a plane perpendicular to an axial direction of the header-collecting pipe (70) from an area A0 of a cross section of the subspace (71a) which is perpendicular to the axial direction of the header-collecting pipe (70).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2013
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Applicant: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Yasuhiro Sasai, Hiroharu Kubo, Satoshi Inoue, Hyunyoung Kim, Hirokazu Fujino
  • Publication number: 20140338874
    Abstract: A lower space of a first header collecting pipe of a heat exchanger is, by partitions, divided into three communication chambers and a single mixing chamber. The mixing chamber communicates with the communication chamber through a through-hole of a lower horizontal partition, communicates with the communication chamber through a through-hole of a vertical partition, and communicates with the communication chamber through a through-hole of an upper horizontal partition. Gas-liquid refrigerant flows into the mixing chamber, and is mixed in the mixing chamber. Then, the refrigerant is distributed to the communication chambers. Thus, the wetness of refrigerant flowing into a flat tube is uniformized among the flat tubes, and performance of the heat exchanger can be fully achieved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2012
    Publication date: November 20, 2014
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Takuya Kazusa, Yasutaka Ohtani, Junichi Hamadate, Yoshimasa Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20130292098
    Abstract: A plurality of flat tubes is, at one end thereof, connected to a first header collecting pipe, and is, at the other end thereof, connected to a second header collecting pipe. Some of the flat tubes forms a main heat exchange part, and the other flat tubes forms an auxiliary heat exchange part. The number of flat tubes of the auxiliary heat exchange part is less than the number of flat tubes of the main heat exchange part. The total cross-sectional area of flow paths per flat tube provided in the auxiliary heat exchange part is greater than the total cross-sectional area of flow paths per flat tube provided in the main heat exchange part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2012
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Jindou, Yoshio Oritani, Hirokazu Fujino, Toshimitsu Kamada, Yoshimasa Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20130175351
    Abstract: An expansion valve for a refrigerant circuit of a refrigeration apparatus is configured to depressurize a liquid refrigerant. The expansion valve includes a valve main body with a valve seat opening into a valve chest formed in the valve main body and a valve body movable relative to the valve chest in a reciprocating manner. An orifice is formed in the valve seat. The orifice has an orifice entrance with a smallest diameter, an orifice middle section widening in diameter along a direction of refrigerant outflow from the orifice entrance so as to form a first taper angle, and an orifice exit either widening in diameter or not in diameter along the direction of refrigerant outflow from the orifice middle section so as to form a second taper angle smaller than the first taper angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Inventors: Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Shigetaka Wakisaka, Takashi Shimamura, Keiji Tomioka, Motohiko Fukuoka
  • Publication number: 20120318487
    Abstract: A heat exchanger comprises a plurality of refrigerant tubes. In a flow divider, a part of a plurality of capillary tubes is connected to an open end portion on a side of a front tube plate, and a remainder of the plurality of the capillary tubes is connected to an open end portion on a side of a rear tube plate. The plurality of refrigerant tubes include even number refrigerant tubes constituted by an even number of heat transfer tube portions and odd number refrigerant tubes constituted by an odd number of heat transfer tube portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2011
    Publication date: December 20, 2012
    Applicant: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Kanji Akai, Yoshio Oritani, Hideki Sawamizu, Masanori Jindou, Yoshiharu Michitsuji
  • Publication number: 20120145364
    Abstract: A heat exchanger is provided in which a large number of plate-shaped fins are attached to outer peripheries of heat transfer tubes through which refrigerant flows. Three rows of heat transfer tubes are arranged along an air flow direction. An inlet side heat transfer tube in a case of using as an evaporator or an outlet side heat transfer tube in a case of using as a condenser has the smallest diameter. In a case where the most windward side heat transfer tube has the smallest diameter, a tube diameter of the most windward side heat transfer tube is D1, a tube diameter of the middle heat transfer tube is D2, and a tube diameter of the most leeward side is D3, D1<D2=D3, 4 mm?D3?10 mm, and 0.6?D1/D3<1 are satisfied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2010
    Publication date: June 14, 2012
    Inventors: Yoshio Oritani, Masanori Jindou, Hideki Sawamizu, Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Kanji Akai
  • Patent number: 7104077
    Abstract: An air conditioning apparatus is provided with an adsorption element having a humidity adjusting side passageway configured to adsorb and desorb moisture by passage of adsorption air or regeneration air and a cooling side passageway through which cooling air passes so that the adsorption air is cooled by absorption of heat of adsorption generated during the adsorption in the humidity adjusting side passageway. In the air conditioning apparatus, air is humidified or dehumidified in the humidity adjusting side passageway of the adsorption element and is supplied to an indoor space. In order to achieve improvements in the cooling efficiency when cooling adsorption air by the use of cooling air in the cooling side passageway, room air, conditioned air, or mixed air which is a combination of room air and outdoor air is used as cooling air which is forced to flow through the adsorption element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Yabu, Yoshimasa Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 7082781
    Abstract: Disclosed is an air conditioning apparatus which is provided with two adsorption elements (81, 82). The air conditioning apparatus repeats in alternation an operation in which the second adsorption element (82) is regenerated and, at the same time, air is dehumidified by the first adsorption element (81), and an operation in which the first adsorption element (81) is regenerated and, at same time, air is dehumidified by the second adsorption element (82). Additionally, the air conditioning apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit. The refrigerant circuit performs a refrigeration cycle in which a regenerative heat exchanger (92) operates as a condenser and a first cooling heat exchanger (93) or a second cooling heat exchanger (94) operates as an evaporator. For example, air, which has robbed heat of adsorption in the first adsorption element (81), is further heated by the regenerative heat exchanger (92) and is introduced into the second adsorption element (82).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshimasa Kikuchi, Tomohiro Yabu, Akira Kamino