Patents by Inventor Yuji Ikeda

Yuji Ikeda 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: 10036364
    Abstract: The present invention aims at effectively emitting an electromagnetic wave to a combustion chamber from an emission antenna in an internal combustion engine that promotes combustion of an air fuel mixture utilizing the electromagnetic wave. The present invention is directed to an internal combustion engine including: an internal combustion engine main body formed with a combustion chamber; and an electromagnetic wave emission device that emits an electromagnetic wave to the combustion chamber from an emission antenna. The internal combustion engine promotes combustion of the air fuel mixture by way of the electromagnetic wave emitted to the combustion chamber. The emission antenna is provided in an insulating member and extends along the partitioning surface. The insulating member is provided on a partitioning surface that partitions the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 10036361
    Abstract: An ignition device is provided, the ignition device comprises a coaxial structural body comprising an inner conductor 2, an outer conductor 3, and an insulator 4 that insulates both the conductors 2 and 3, which are coaxially provided with one another along an axial direction. A connection terminal 5 is arranged at one axial end side of the coaxial structural body and connecting the inner conductor 2 and the outer conductor 3 to the electromagnetic wave oscillator MW.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventors: Yuji Ikeda, Hidekazu Ohtsubo
  • Patent number: 10029871
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided that forms an image on a sheet material based on a sheet material setting relating to the sheet material. The image forming apparatus includes an accepting unit configured to accept a selection of a sheet material type, a thickness measurement unit configured to measure a thickness of the sheet material, and a setting determination unit configured to determine the sheet material setting that relates to the thickness of the sheet material based on the sheet material type accepted by the accepting unit and the thickness of the sheet material measured by the thickness measurement unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keita Maejima, Shingo Nishizaki, Yuji Ikeda, Takuya Murata, Kazuho Satoh
  • Publication number: 20180183215
    Abstract: A spark plug adopting an electromagnetic-wave-resonation-structure, efficiently ignites fuel inside a combustion chamber. The spark plug comprises a center electrode configured to transmit an electromagnetic wave having a discharge electrode, the discharge electrode mounted on a distal end of the center electrode, a casing member surrounding a periphery of the center electrode and the discharge electrode and a tip end part thereof functioning as a ground electrode so as to become in pair with the discharge electrode, and a vent configured to allow for an aerial passage is provided at a tip end of the casing member. At that time, the vent can be formed in a slit manner or in a hole type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2016
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Inventor: Yuji IKEDA
  • Patent number: 9991680
    Abstract: To provide an ignition plug having low power loss even though iron is a main component of a center electrode thereof, to which a high frequency power such as a microwave is electrically supplied. A low impedance layer 6 composed of a material having magnetic permeability lower than iron is provided between an outer peripheral surface of a center electrode 2 and an inner peripheral surface of an axial hole 30 of an insulator 3. The low impedance layer 6 is in contact with at least the outer peripheral surface (surface) of the center electrode 2, thereby reducing power loss of an electromagnetic wave flowing on the surface of the center electrode 2. More particularly, the low impedance layer 6 is made of silver, copper, gold, aluminum, tungsten, molybdenum, titanium, zirconium, niobium, tantalum, bismuth, palladium, lead, tin, an alloy composed mainly of these metals, or a composite material of these metals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventors: Yuji Ikeda, Seiji Kanbara
  • Patent number: 9989032
    Abstract: To alleviate or eliminate a problem of unburned fuel discharged to the outside of a cylinder in a case in which an air fuel mixture is insufficiently combusted in a combustion chamber. During the expansion stroke in which a high voltage is applied to an ignition plug via an ignition coil, and a spark discharge is caused to occur at the ignition plug, thereby the air fuel mixture in the combustion chamber is ignited and combusted, in a case in which deterioration of combustion state is detected, a microwave electric field is created in the combustion chamber prior to an opening timing of an exhaust valve at an end stage of the expansion stroke, thereby plasma is generated and enlarged in the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Inventors: Katsumi Uchida, Yuta Shima, Hiroaki Oi, Akira Nakajima, Takeshi Serizawa, Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9976892
    Abstract: The volume measuring device has a coating forming means which, using resin, forms a coating on either part or all of the inner surface of the cylinder; a pressure measuring means which introduces a fixed quantity of gas into the cylinder in which the coating has been formed, or derives a fixed quantity of gas from the inside of the cylinder, and measures the pressure within the cylinder before and after the introduction/derivation; and a volume calculating means which uses the pressure value obtained by the pressure measuring means to calculate the volume of the cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Publication number: 20180115280
    Abstract: An electromagnetic wave oscillation device includes: a buck-boost circuit having buck-boosters and switching elements; an electromagnetic wave oscillator; an amplifier to amplify an electromagnetic wave and supply an amplified electromagnetic wave to a resistive part; a detector to detect a reflected wave from the resistive part; and a controller to send to one of the switching elements an operation signal in predetermined order, synchronizing with an oscillation timing of the electromagnetic wave oscillator, to output a current from the corresponding buck-boosters to the amplifier in a non-smooth manner. When a detected value of the reflected wave exceeds a predetermined value upon said current output by operating the one of the switching elements, the controller stops sending the operation signal to one or more of the other switching elements that are supposed to output the current after said current output by operating the one of the switching elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2017
    Publication date: April 26, 2018
    Applicant: IMAGINEERING, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuji Ikeda, Seiji Kanbara
  • Patent number: 9929543
    Abstract: The internal combustion engine has an internal combustion engine main body and a substantially columnar ignition coil. A head part at one end of the ignition coil is provided with an electromagnetic wave element for outputting electromagnetic waves irradiated into a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine main body, and a plurality of supporting components are provided for supporting the ignition coil when an attaching part at the other end of the ignition coil is attached to a spark plug, the supporting components supporting the ignition coil either at or near a nodal point in a characteristic vibration mode of vibration occurring in the ignition coil along with vibration of the internal combustion engine main body. The ignition coil is not supported on the side toward the head part relative to the support member nearest the head part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERlNG, INC.
    Inventors: Hiroki Katano, Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9920737
    Abstract: In an internal combustion engine that causes a predetermined gas flow in a combustion chamber, discharge plasma generated by a discharge device is caused to effectively absorb energy of an electromagnetic wave emitted from an electromagnetic wave emission device. At a time when a discharge operation and an emission operation are simultaneously performed so as to ignite a fuel air mixture, an emitting position of the electromagnetic wave on an antenna during the emission operation is located downstream of the discharge gap in a direction of the gas flow at the discharge gap so as to face toward the discharge plasma that has been drifted due to the gas flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventors: Yuji Ikeda, Seiji Kanbara
  • Publication number: 20180066969
    Abstract: PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED To provide an in-cylinder flow measuring method and a system thereof in an internal combustion engine configured to grasp simultaneously an air-fuel mixture flow and the flame behavior in the flow field under the firing condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2017
    Publication date: March 8, 2018
    Applicant: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventors: Minh Khoi Le, Takashi Furui, Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9909552
    Abstract: To downsize an electromagnetic wave generation device in a plasma generation device that generates electromagnetic wave plasma by emitting to a target space an electromagnetic wave amplified by means of a solid state amplifying element. The plasma generation device includes the electromagnetic wave generation device that outputs the electromagnetic wave amplified by means of the solid state amplifying element, and an emission antenna for emitting the electromagnetic wave outputted from the electromagnetic wave generation device to the target space. The plasma generation device causes the emission antenna to emit the electromagnetic wave to the target space, thereby generating the electromagnetic wave plasma. The plasma generation device has a characteristic that an output waveform of the electromagnetic wave generation device has a peak during a rise, and is adapted to output the electromagnetic wave to the emission antenna without reducing the peak during the rise of the output waveform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9903337
    Abstract: Plasma generator has an ignition coil for supplying a discharge voltage, an electromagnetic wave oscillator that generates electromagnetic waves, a mixer that mixes energy for discharge with electromagnetic wave energy, and an ignition plug that causes a discharge and introduces the electromagnetic wave energy to a reaction region. The discharge and electromagnetic wave energy are used together in the reaction region, wherein a combustion reaction or plasma reaction is carried out, triggering a combustion reaction or plasma reaction. Part of a member that constitutes the ignition plug is used as part of a member that forms the mixer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9903818
    Abstract: To implement an analysis result provision system that can acquire an analysis result of a target substance without transferring the substance when the substance is analyzed using plasma light information occurred from plasma area where the substance is turned to plasma state, a provision system of analysis result includes an analytical terminal that turns a target substance to plasma state and acquires plasma light information occurred from plasma area, and a host computer. The host computer includes host side communication part that acquires plasma light information via telecommunication line, and information analysis part that analyzes the target substance using plasma light information acquired by the host side communication part. The host side communication part transmits the analysis result of the target substance to the sender of the plasma light information. The analysis result is obtained by the analysis of the information analysis part using plasma light information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9867270
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic wave emission device in which the destination to which an electromagnetic wave is supplied can be switched among a plurality of emission antennas, wherein there are no problems such as breakage of a switching element even in a case where a large-power electromagnetic wave is emitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9860968
    Abstract: To simplify a configuration of a plasma generation device that generates plasma by means of an electromagnetic wave using thermal electrons as a trigger. The plasma generation device 30 includes: a thermal electron emission member 14 that emits thermal electrons when heated; a heating device 13 that heats the thermal electron emission member 14 by means of an electromagnetic wave; and an electric field concentration member 61 that concentrates in the vicinity of the thermal electron emission member 14 an electric field of the electromagnetic wave generated by the heating device 13. The plasma generation device 30, while causing the heating device 13 to heat the thermal electron emission member 14, causes the electric field concentration member 61 to concentrate the electric field of the electromagnetic wave in the vicinity of the thermal electron emission member 14, thereby generating plasma in the vicinity of the thermal electron emission member 14.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: IMAGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Publication number: 20170336748
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided that forms an image on a sheet material based on a sheet material setting relating to the sheet material. The image forming apparatus includes an accepting unit configured to accept a selection of a sheet material type, a thickness measurement unit configured to measure a thickness of the sheet material, and a setting determination unit configured to determine the sheet material setting that relates to the thickness of the sheet material based on the sheet material type accepted by the accepting unit and the thickness of the sheet material measured by the thickness measurement unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2017
    Publication date: November 23, 2017
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keita MAEJIMA, Shingo NISHIZAKI, Yuji IKEDA, Takuya MURATA, Kazuho SATOH
  • Publication number: 20170328337
    Abstract: An ignition unit improves an air-fuel-ratio, i.e., good mileage and lean burn without changing a gasoline engine structure significantly. The ignition unit comprises a discharge device including a booster and a discharger provided at an output side of the booster, the booster having a resonance structure configured to boost the electromagnetic wave inputted from the electromagnetic wave oscillator so as to cause a discharge from the discharger, and an electromagnetic wave emitter electrically connected to the electromagnetic wave oscillator and configured to emit the electromagnetic wave inputted from the electromagnetic wave oscillator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2015
    Publication date: November 16, 2017
    Applicant: IMAGINEERING, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuji Ikeda, Minoru Makita
  • Publication number: 20170306918
    Abstract: A compression-ignition type internal combustion engine that burns a gaseous fuel, improves an ignition performance not only at a center part of the combustion chamber but also at an outer edge part. The compression-ignition engine comprises an electromagnetic wave generator configured to generate an electromagnetic wave, a controller configured to control the electromagnetic wave generator, and a plasma generator comprising a boosting circuit that constitutes a resonator configured to boost the electromagnetic wave, a first electrode configured to receive an output from the boosting circuit, and a second electrode provided to a vicinity of the first electrode, and the plasma generator is configured such that the first electrode is extruded and exposed toward a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, and a plurality of plasma generators are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2015
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Applicant: IMAGINEERING, Inc.
    Inventor: Yuji Ikeda
  • Publication number: 20170298893
    Abstract: An ignition device is provided, the ignition device comprises a coaxial structural body comprising an inner conductor 2, an outer conductor 3, and an insulator 4 that insulates both the conductors 2 and 3, which are coaxially provided with one another along an axial direction. A connection terminal 5 is arranged at one axial end side of the coaxial structural body and connecting the inner conductor 2 and the outer conductor 3 to the electromagnetic wave oscillator MW.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Publication date: October 19, 2017
    Applicant: Imagineering, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuji Ikeda, Hidekazu Ohtsubo