Patents by Inventor Yoshio Yokomaku

Yoshio Yokomaku 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).

  • Stratospheric airship
    Patent number: 6427943
    Abstract: A stratospheric airship capable of substantially and smoothly varying the volume of a buoyant gas is provided so as to allow the airship to stably ascend into the stratosphere and keep a station therein. A stratospheric airship includes a gas envelope defined by a ship hull, the gas envelope being divided by a diaphragm into a buoyant gas compartment containing a buoyant gas and an air compartment containing air, the stratospheric airship being allowed to ascend by varying the volume ratio between the buoyant gas and the air, wherein the periphery of the diaphragm is coupled to the ship hull generally at the midpoint along the vertical dimension thereof, and a central portion of the diaphragm is coupled to a suspension chord whose upper and lower ends are coupled respectively to the upper and lower surfaces of the ship hull. The sloshing phenomenon of the diaphragm is suppressed, whereby the change in the shape thereof is balanced, and thus there is no asymmetric distribution of the buoyant gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignee: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshio Yokomaku, Keiji Komatsu, Masaaki Sano, Junichi Kimura
  • Stratospheric airship
    Publication number: 20010002686
    Abstract: A stratospheric airship capable of substantially and smoothly varying the volume of a buoyant gas is provided so as to allow the airship to stably ascend into the stratosphere and keep a station therein. A stratospheric airship includes a gas envelope defined by a ship hull, the gas envelope being divided by a diaphragm into a buoyant gas compartment containing a buoyant gas and an air compartment containing air, the stratospheric airship being allowed to ascend by varying the volume ratio between the buoyant gas and the air, wherein the periphery of the diaphragm is coupled to the ship hull generally at the midpoint along the vertical dimension thereof, and a central portion of the diaphragm is coupled to a suspension chord whose upper and lower ends are coupled respectively to the upper and lower surfaces of the ship hull. The sloshing phenomenon of the diaphragm is suppressed, whereby the change in the shape thereof is balanced, and thus there is no asymmetric distribution of the buoyant gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Publication date: June 7, 2001
    Applicant: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha , National Aerospace Laboratory
    Inventors: Yoshio Yokomaku, Keiji Komatsu, Masaaki Sano, Junichi Kimura, Stefan Hilgers, Heinrich Iglseder, Thomas Rodemann, Frank Meyer, Carsten Jacobs, Gerd Zeeb