Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Tomohide Kudo

Tatsuyuki Ohashi

Kohtaro Hashimoto

Hidenori Esaki

Shinya Fukushima

Takeshi Shiba

Fumio Yatabe

Fuel reform apparatus includes: internal combustion engine including injector and configured so that compression-ignition combustion is carried out in combustion chamber; reform unit interposed in fuel supply path from fuel tank to injector and including reformer reforming fuel stored in fuel tank by oxidation reaction; and controller including CPU and memory. Controller performs: estimating progress level of oxidation reaction in reformer; and controlling operation of reform unit based on progress level of oxidation reaction estimated.

Fuel reform apparatus

Fuel reform apparatus includes: internal combustion engine including injector and configured so that compression-ignition combustion is carried out in combustion chamber; reform unit interposed in fuel supply path from fuel tank to injector and including reformer reforming fuel stored in fuel tank by oxidation reaction; ignition timing detector detecting ignition timing of fuel in combustion chamber; and controller including CPU and memory. Controller performs: determining whether fuel has been supplied into fuel tank; determining whether reforming is needed based on ignition timing when it is determined that fuel has been supplied; controlling operation of reform unit so as to reform fuel stored in fuel tank to supply to injector when it is determined that reforming is needed; and controlling operation of reform unit so as to supply fuel stored in fuel tank to injector without reforming when it is determined that reforming is not needed.

A heat accumulator includes a thermally insulated heat storage vessel having an opening formed in a bottom wall thereof, a quantity of heat accumulating medium arranged within the vessel, and a fluid circulation tube of double tube structure inserted from the opening into the vessel and extending vertically upward toward a top wall of the vessel for introducing a fluid into the vessel or discharging the fluid out of the vessel. The heat accumulator further includes a heat-insulating layer provided on an outer peripheral surface of the fluid circulation tube and extending over at least a longitudinal portion of the fluid circulation tube extending from the bottom wall of the vessel in an upward direction to a predetermined height of the vessel.

Heat accumulator with insulated double tube structure

A heat storing device for exchanging heat energy between a heat storing material and a fluid. The heat storing device has a heat storing module having heat storing material spaces filled with a heat storing material and fluid passages for a fluid to flow through adjacent to the heat storing material spaces. The heat storing module includes multiple plates in a stack. Each of the multiple plates has fluid passages in one side thereof. In mutually adjacent pairs of plates, the sides having the fluid passages face each other. When each pair of plates is seen face-on, with respect to the fluid passages of one of the plates, the fluid passages of the other plate intersect substantially at right angles, and the fluid passages of the two plates connect at these positions where they intersect.

Heat storing device

Appropriate amount of brazing material is put on each of inner and outer recessed portions of a first heat storing element. Then, the first heat storing element is placed close to and substantially parallel to a second heat storing element, and an inner projected portion of the second heat storing element is fitted into the inner recessed portion of the first heat storing element, and simultaneously an outer projected portion of the second heat storing element is fitted into the outer recessed portion of the first heat storing element.

Heat storing element and method for manufacturing heat storage apparatus using the element

As a heat storage unit wherein, the volume variation of a heat storage material can be absorbed without an accompanying decrease in heat capacity, decrease in heat transfer coefficient, and oxidation and deterioration of the heat storage material due to oxygen in the air, so that the heat storage capacity can be adequately maintained and high performance can be attained, and moreover, the number of parts and the cost can be reduced, there is provided on the outside of a main member having; a fluid passage formation section which forms a fluid passage for circulating a fluid introduced from an inlet, on the inside of an outer wall section, and a heat storage material filling space formation section which forms a heat storage material filling space for filling with a heat storage material for which the volume varies corresponding to the heat storage condition, adjacent to the fluid passage, a passage switching section which selectively switches a flow-in destination of a fluid introduced from the inlet by the position of a travelling member which travels due to the volume variation of the heat storage material, to the fluid passage or to a bypass passage which bypasses the fluid passage to discharge the fluid.

Heat storage unit and manufacturing method therefor

A heat storage apparatus comprises a heat storage material accommodation cell for accommodating therein a heat storage material having an electricity conductive characteristic and configured to be electrically heated, and a fluid passageway for allowing a heat exchanging fluid to flow therethrough, the fluid passageway being adjacent to the heat storage material accommodation cell via a bulkhead. The heat storage material accommodation cell and the fluid passageway are put in a spiral configuration together with the bulkhead in a heat storage main body of the heat storage apparatus. Heat held in the heat storage material is transferred to the heat exchanging fluid so as to be taken out of the heat storage apparatus.

Heat storage apparatus with spiral electrically heated phase change material

A vehicle seat temperature conditioner includes a Peltier element, a heat exchanger for performing a heat exchange between heat generated or absorbed by the Peltier element and air transferred from a blower, and a case housing the Peltier element and heat exchanger together so as to provide the temperature conditioner as an independent self-contained unit or module. The housing case is made of a resilient and flexible material and functions also as a connector for coupling with an air intake pipe to introduce air from a blower into the vehicle seat temperature conditioner and with an air discharge pipe to discharge temperature-conditioned air from the temperature conditioner to air holes formed in the vehicle seat.

Growing community of inventors

Wako, Japan

Tomohide Kudo