Patents by Inventor Yuji Motomura

Yuji Motomura 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: 10436463
    Abstract: Upon switching of an air-conditioning apparatus from an operation mode in which all of indoor units each including a use side heat exchanger are in non-operation to another operation mode in which at least one of the indoor units starts a cooling operation mode or a heating operation mode, a heat medium conveyed to the use side heat exchanger included in the indoor unit which has received a start instruction is cooled or heated to a predetermined temperature by a heat source side refrigerant, and after that, an air-sending device included in the indoor unit which starts the cooling operation mode or the heating operation mode is actuated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yuji Motomura, Osamu Morimoto, Daisuke Shimamoto, Takayoshi Honda
  • Patent number: 10408477
    Abstract: An air conditioning apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit in which a compressor for compressing heat source-side refrigerant, a first refrigerant channel switching device, a heat source side heat exchanger, an expansion device, and intermediate heat exchangers for performing heat exchange between the heat source-side refrigerant and a heat medium different from the heat source-side refrigerant are connected by pipes. Also, the air conditioning apparatus includes a heat medium circuit in which pumps for circulating the heat medium to be used for the heat exchange performed by the intermediate heat exchangers, a use-side heat exchanger, and channel switching devices for switching passages of the heat medium heated or cooled to the use-side heat exchanger are connected by pipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Daisuke Shimamoto, Yuji Motomura, Osamu Morimoto, Takayoshi Honda, Koji Nishioka, Tatsuo Ono
  • Patent number: 10359207
    Abstract: When starting a cooling operation mode from a non-operating mode, the blower device of the indoor unit from which the start command is originated is operated. When starting a heating operation mode from a non-operating mode, the blower device of the indoor unit from which the start command is originated is operated after the heat medium temperature becomes equal to or greater than a preconfigured temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuji Motomura, Daisuke Shimamoto, Takayoshi Honda, Osamu Morimoto, Koji Nishioka, Tatsuo Ono
  • Patent number: 10337626
    Abstract: In a heating medium channel switching device, a valve body whose interior is partitioned into two channels by a partition plate is axially rotated by a motor, whereby a relative position of the valve body in a valve chamber is controlled. Because of this, one of a first heating medium and second heating medium can be selected and caused to flow out in one channel, and one of a third heating medium and fourth heating medium can be selected and caused to flow in the other channel. Also, heating medium flow can be controlled by an angle of rotation of the valve body being controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryohei Takamatsu, Mizuki Ogawa, Koji Saito, Masaru Imaizumi, Yuji Motomura
  • Patent number: 10330208
    Abstract: A compound valve includes a body having a valve chamber; a cylindrical-shaped valve element having opening portions in its lateral side surface for allowing heat media to flow inside of the valve element, and a partition member there inside in the longitudinal direction; and a motor for controlling a rotation angle of the valve element, and the opening portions communicate with either one of a first heat-medium inflow port or a second heat-medium inflow port, and with either one of a third heat-medium outflow port or a fourth heat-medium outflow port; two heat media having different properties flow adjacent to the partition member; and, by controlling, by a rotation angle of the motor, areas of the communicating inflow ports and the opening portions, and those of the communicating outflow ports and the opening portions, the quantities of flow are controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryohei Takamatsu, Mizuki Ogawa, Koji Saito, Masaru Imaizumi, Yuji Motomura
  • Patent number: 10222115
    Abstract: Provided are a refrigeration cycle that is formed by connecting a compressor, a condenser, expansion means, and an evaporator and that performs cooling operation; an evaporator heating device that heats the evaporator; a drain pan that receives drain-water from the evaporator and drains the drain-water; a drain-pan heating device that heats the drain pan; frost detecting means including a light-emitting element that emits light to the evaporator and a light-receiving element that receives reflected light from the evaporator and outputs a voltage according to the reflected light; and a control device that controls on-off operation of the evaporator heating device and the drain-pan heating device. The control device determines a frosting condition on the evaporator from an output of the frost detecting means and individually controls the evaporator heating device and the drain-pan heating device in accordance with the determination result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Mamoru Hamada, Fumitake Unezaki, Akira Morikawa, Satoshi Ueyama, Koji Yamashita, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Yuji Motomura, Tetsuya Yamashita, Yusuke Otsubo
  • Patent number: 10215452
    Abstract: A heat-medium flow-path switching device and a heat-medium flow-rate adjusting device are integrated into an integrated heat-medium flow-rate adjusting device. The integrated heat-medium flow-rate adjusting device is configured to perform the heat-medium flow-path switching function and the meat-medium flow-rate adjusting function by driving and controlling a single drive unit. Moreover, the integrated heat-medium flow-path switching device is configured to perform a function of closing flow paths from/to a use-side heat exchanger added to the heat-medium flow-rate adjusting function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mizuki Ogawa, Ryohei Takamatsu, Koji Saito, Masaru Imaizumi, Yuji Motomura
  • Patent number: 10139142
    Abstract: An object is to provide a refrigeration cycle apparatus that does not cause unevenness of capacity among branch units and a failure in controlling a refrigerant circuit. At least one of branch units is a first branch unit having a minimum pressure loss in distribution of refrigerant in a high-pressure refrigerant pipe between a heat source unit and the branch units, and at least another one of the branch units is a second branch unit having a maximum pressure loss in distribution of refrigerant in the high-pressure refrigerant pipe between the heat source unit and the branch units. An opening degree of an expansion device is controlled in such a manner that a differential pressure between a refrigerant pressure detected by a high-pressure detecting device of the first branch unit and a refrigerant pressure detected by an intermediate-pressure detecting device is greater than or equal to a set value ?PHM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Kosuke Tanaka, Yuji Motomura
  • Publication number: 20180259219
    Abstract: The air-conditioning apparatus includes: a refrigerant cycle circuit through which a heat source side refrigerant circulates; a plurality of heat medium cycle circuits through which a heat medium circulates, the plurality of heat medium cycle circuits including a plurality of use-side heat exchangers, the heat medium exchanging heat with the heat source side refrigerant of the refrigerant cycle circuit in intermediate heat exchangers; and a heat medium distribution device provided in one of the plurality of heat medium cycle circuits to which a plurality of the use-side heat exchangers are connected, the heat medium distribution device controlling flow rates of the heat medium of the plurality of use-side heat exchangers connected to the heat medium cycle circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2015
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Yuji MOTOMURA
  • Patent number: 10018390
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus includes actuation control means including an actuation unit that sequentially opens heat medium flow switching devices or heat medium flow control devices on a one-by-one basis. The actuation control means performs control in such a manner that start time of driving of pumps is later than start of actuation of the heat medium flow switching devices and the heat medium flow control devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Daisuke Shimamoto, Yuji Motomura, Osamu Morimoto, Takayoshi Honda, Tatsuo Ono, Koji Nishioka
  • Patent number: 10006678
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus includes a intermediate heat exchangers operating as a condenser or an evaporator and allows each intermediate heat exchanger to exchange heat between a refrigerant heated or cooled in a refrigeration cycle on a heat source side and a heat transfer medium flowing through a heat transfer medium circuit on a use side such that heat energy produced on the heat source side is transmitted to use side heat exchangers. A controller calculates the heat transfer medium temperature difference between a heat transfer medium inlet and outlet temperatures. When a detected value of a heat transfer medium temperature detecting device deviates from a predetermined range, the controller changes the target heat transfer medium temperature difference and controls a heat transfer medium flow control device, such that the heat transfer medium temperature difference reaches the changed target heat transfer medium temperature difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Keisuke Takayama, Koji Azuma, Yuji Motomura
  • Patent number: 10001304
    Abstract: In a heat medium relay unit, a drain pan is configured to have width and depth dimensions larger than dimensions of an outer shell of a heat medium relay unit main body. The outer shell includes side panels, upper frames, lower frames, and an upper end surface, the position of which is higher than those of upper end surfaces of the lower frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koji Nishioka, Yuji Motomura, Daisuke Shimamoto, Osamu Morimoto
  • Patent number: 9958170
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus includes indoor units including a plurality of use side heat exchangers that exchange heat between air and a heat medium, and a heat medium relay unit having a plurality of heat exchangers related to heat medium. A plurality of pumps deliver the heat medium involved in heating or cooling performed by the plurality of heat exchangers related to heat medium to each passage and circulate the heat medium. A plurality of heat medium flow switching devices perform switching so that the heat medium from a selected passage flows into and flows out of each use side heat exchanger. An expansion tank is connected to a passage alleviates a pressure change caused by a volumetric change of the heat medium, and a pressure equalizing pipe connects each inlet passage or each outlet passage of the heat medium sending devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koji Yamashita, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Yuji Motomura
  • Patent number: 9958175
    Abstract: To provide an air-conditioning apparatus that is safer and has small conveying power for such as water at the indoor unit side can be made small. It is characterized in that a compressor 10 and a heat source side heat exchanger 12 are accommodated in a heat source apparatus 1, an intermediate heat exchanger 15 and a pump 21 in a relay unit 3, a use side heat exchanger 26 in an indoor unit 2, respectively, and when a controller 60 makes the compressor 10 stop based on the thermo-off due to decrease in the heat load in the use side heat exchanger 26 or an operation stop instruction, the controller 60 makes the pump 21 stop after the compressor 10 is stopped or almost at the same time as the stop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koji Yamashita, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Yuji Motomura, Takeshi Hatomura
  • Publication number: 20180073782
    Abstract: A refrigeration cycle apparatus includes a heat source unit configured to supply refrigerant, a first distribution unit and a second distribution unit respectively connected to the heat source unit, and a distribution pipe located between the heat source unit and the first distribution unit and the second distribution unit for distributing the refrigerant flowing from the heat source unit into the first distribution unit and the second distribution unit. Further, the first distribution unit and the second distribution unit individually include a heat exchanger configured to serve as a condenser. Further, if the refrigerant flowing through the distribution pipe is unevenly distributed into the first distribution unit and the second distribution unit, a degree of subcooling at an outlet of the heat exchanger of one of the first distribution unit and the second distribution unit of which the distributed refrigerant is of high quality is increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Publication date: March 15, 2018
    Inventors: Kensaku HATANAKA, Yuji MOTOMURA
  • Patent number: 9903601
    Abstract: To provide an air-conditioning apparatus capable of achieving energy saving, a pump control of controlling the operating capacity of a pump is performed such that an opening degree of a heat medium flow control device, controlled by a heat-medium-flow-control-device control, approaches a target opening degree, and a refrigeration cycle of a refrigerant circuit is controlled such that the temperature of a heat medium, whose flow rate is controlled by the heat-medium-flow-control-device control and the pump control, approaches a target temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koji Yamashita, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Yuji Motomura
  • Patent number: 9890974
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus achieves improvement of safety and further achieves saving of energy without allowing a refrigerant to circulate in or near an indoor unit. The air-conditioning apparatus is configured such that heat medium pipes have a larger inner cross-sectional area per unit capacity than that of refrigerant pipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koji Yamashita, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Yuji Motomura, Takeshi Hatomura
  • Patent number: 9829210
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit formed by connecting, with pipes, a compressor, a first refrigerant flow switching device, a heat-source-side heat exchanger, an expansion device, and a plurality of intermediate heat exchangers. A heat medium circuit is formed by connecting, with pipes, a plurality of pumps configured to pressurize and circulate the heat medium subjected to heat exchange in the plurality of intermediate heat exchangers, a plurality of use-side heat exchangers each configured to exchange heat between the heat medium and air in an air-conditioned space, and a heat-medium flow switching/control device configured to switch which of the heat medium is to be allowed to flow into and out of each of the use-side heat exchangers; and a controller configured to perform processing for controlling the switching performed by the heat-medium flow switching/control device, in accordance with a capacity of each of the use-side heat exchangers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yuji Motomura, Naofumi Takenaka, Shinichi Wakamoto, Hirofumi Koge, Osamu Morimoto
  • Patent number: 9822995
    Abstract: A refrigeration cycle apparatus including a heat source side heat exchanger including a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger connected in parallel; an air-sending device that supplies air, which is an object to be heat exchanged in the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, in a variable manner; solenoid valves that each opens and closes a refrigerant passage of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger; a third refrigerant circuit that is parallelly connected to the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger; and a flow control valve that controls the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in the third refrigerant circuit. The refrigeration cycle apparatus can improve continuity of control of a heat exchange capacity of a heat source side heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinichi Wakamoto, Naofumi Takenaka, Koji Yamashita, Hiroyuki Morimoto, Yuji Motomura, Takeshi Hatomura
  • Patent number: D819174
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Ryohei Takamatsu, Mizuki Ogawa, Koji Saito, Masaru Imaizumi, Yuji Motomura