Patents by Inventor Akira Itou

Akira Itou 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: 20100066391
    Abstract: Scanning rate in a capacitance change measuring circuit for a capacitive sensor device is enhanced. The circuit includes: an electrode drive section line-sequentially applying an input pulse signal to a plurality of columns of first electrode patterns in the capacitive sensor device; a peak hold circuit storing a peak level of a detection signal extracted from each column of second electrode patterns into a capacitive element as a corresponding potential; a current source initializing the potential in the capacitive element within one period of the input pulse signal; a comparator comparing the potential in the capacitive element with a reference value; and determination sections each determining whether or not an input operation using a human body or the like is executed, based on a timing information and a reference timing information, the timing information representing a timing when the potential held in the capacitive element crosses the reference value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2009
    Publication date: March 18, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hisato HIRASAKA, Osamu NAKAMURA, Toshiyuki HIROSE, Toshihiko HIROSE, Hitoshi OZAWA, Akira ITOU
  • Publication number: 20090158125
    Abstract: A recording/reproducing apparatus includes an encoding section, a decoding section, and a first judging section. The encoding section is configured to encode data that is to be recorded onto a recording medium into an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code. The decoding section is configured to decode the LDPC code read out from the recording medium. The judging section is configured to judge a block with a recording error based on one of a block error flag and an iterative decoding count output from the decoding section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2008
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu HARADA, Yoshihiko DEOKA, Hisato HIRASAKA, Toshihiko HIROSE, Toshiyuki HIROSE, Osamu NAKAMURA, Akira ITOU
  • Patent number: 7477475
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a helical scan type magnetic tape reproduction apparatus, including: a helical scan type reproduction head capable of moving in the track widthwise direction by displacement of said actuator itself; target time decision means for measuring a period of time from a reference point of time with regard to each of a plurality of markers recorded in a dispersed relationship at predetermined positions on the tracks in advance to the marker by a predetermined number of times, averaging the measurement time periods of the markers and storing the average time periods; and tracking control means for measuring actual time periods from the reference time points with regard to the markers and performing updating control of a control voltage to be applied to said actuator for said reproduction head in accordance with time information of the differences between the target time periods and the actual time periods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2009
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Hirose, Hideki Nonoyama, Osamu Nakamura, Akira Itou, Yoshinori Saito
  • Publication number: 20080002284
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a helical scan type magnetic tape reproduction apparatus, including: a helical scan type reproduction head capable of moving in the track widthwise direction by displacement of said actuator itself; target time decision means for measuring a period of time from a reference point of time with regard to each of a plurality of markers recorded in a dispersed relationship at predetermined positions on the tracks in advance to the marker by a predetermined number of times, averaging the measurement time periods of the markers and storing the average time periods; and tracking control means for measuring actual time periods from the reference time points with regard to the markers and performing updating control of a control voltage to be applied to said actuator for said reproduction head in accordance with time information of the differences between the target time periods and the actual time periods.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2007
    Publication date: January 3, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Hirose, Hideki Nonoyama, Osamu Nakamura, Akira Itou, Yoshinori Saito
  • Publication number: 20070279783
    Abstract: A helical-scan-type magnetic tape recording and reproducing apparatus includes: a helical-scan-type recording head that is movable, while being attached to a distal end of an actuator, in a track width direction by displacement of the actuator itself to sequentially scan a magnetic tape; a helical-scan-type reproducing head that is movable, while being attached to a distal end of an actuator, in the track width direction by displacement of the actuator itself to sequentially scan a track on the magnetic tape recorded by the recording head; an error rate profile forming mechanism forming, by wobbling the reproducing head at each of plural points on the track, error rate profiles at the plural points; and a reproducing-head moving mechanism moving the reproducing head at the plural points, by finding a point with the best error rate from each error rate profile at the plural points from the error rate profile forming mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2007
    Publication date: December 6, 2007
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshiyuki HIROSE, Hideki Nonoyama, Osamu Nakamura, Akira Itou, Yoshinori Saito
  • Patent number: 7092470
    Abstract: There is provided a method of detecting a block sync signal in which a sync signal and code sequence can be distinguished from each other to recognize the head of a block composed of a plurality of code words at the time of data reading or reception. A sync word detector (10) is supplied with a window signal Sync_window generated based on a parity OK signal supplied from a parity check circuit (12) and indicating a period between the sync word included in signal read from the medium (1) and the ID information, and detects the sync word as to a bit string detected by a PRML Viterbi detector (6) with the use of the Sync_window signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Itou, Toshihiko Hirose
  • Patent number: 6771471
    Abstract: A rotary head drum apparatus and a magnetic recording and playback apparatus wherein crosstalk between a writing signal and a playback signal transferred using independent rotary transformers is reduced and facility of assembly and rework of a magnetic head are improved. A flat disk-type rotary transformer for a writing signal and another flat disk-type rotary transformer for a playback signal are disposed adjacently in a stationary drum, and a shield plate for preventing crosstalk is interposed between the two rotary transformers. Alternatively, one of a writing rotary transformer and a playback rotary transformer is formed from a flat disk-type rotary transformer while the other is formed from a cylindrical rotary transformer, and the flat disk-type rotary transformer is disposed on a bottom portion of a stationary drum while the cylindrical rotary transformer is disposed on an outer circumference of a center boss of the stationary drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Motoyoshi Fujimori, Ichiro Hashimoto, Akira Itou, Hiroyuki Kaneko
  • Patent number: 6751057
    Abstract: A guide plate is provided along the respective outer periphery of rotary and fixed drums on the upstream side relative to an inlet portion where a magnetic tape starts making contact with a magnetic head on the rotary drum, an airflow attendant on the rotation of the rotary drum is stripped by a wedge-shaped edge on the guide plate and is released to the outer periphery side by a guide surface of the guide plate, and the airflow flowing in the axial direction into the space between the tape and the rotary drum is restrained by an extended portion of the guide plate. In a rotary head drum device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, formation of an excess air film near an inlet portion of the tape is restrained, and stable recording and reproducing can be achieved without raising the tape tension, thereby enhancing the life of the tape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Motoyoshi Fujimori, Ichiro Hashimoto, Akira Itou
  • Publication number: 20030174781
    Abstract: There is provided a method of detecting a block sync signal in which a sync signal and code sequence can be distinguished from each other to recognize the head of a block composed of a plurality of code words at the time of data reading or reception. A sync word detector (10) is supplied with a window signal Sync_window generated based on a parity OK signal supplied from a parity check circuit (12) and indicating a period between the sync word included in signal read from the medium (1) and the ID information, and detects the sync word as to a bit string detected by a PRML Viterbi detector (6) with the use of the Sync_window signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2003
    Publication date: September 18, 2003
    Inventors: Akira Itou, Toshihiko Hirose
  • Publication number: 20020109945
    Abstract: A guide plate is provided along the outer periphery side of a rotary drum and a fixed drum on the upstream side relative to an inlet portion where a magnetic tape starts making contact with a magnetic head on the rotary drum, an airflow attendant on the rotation of the rotary drum is stripped by a wedge-shaped edge on the tip end side of the guide plate, and is released to the outer periphery side by a guide surface of the guide plate, and the airflow flowing in the axial direction from the upper end side of the rotary drum into the space between the magnetic tape and the rotary drum is restrained by an extended portion of the guide plate. By this, in a rotary head drum device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, formation of an excess of air film in the vicinity of an inlet portion of the magnetic tape can be restrained, and stable recording and reproducing can be achieved without raising the tape tension, whereby the life of the magnetic tape can be enhanced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Publication date: August 15, 2002
    Inventors: Motoyoshi Fujimori, Ichiro Hashimoto, Akira Itou
  • Publication number: 20020105762
    Abstract: A rotary head drum apparatus and a magnetic recording and playback apparatus are disclosed wherein crosstalk between a writing signal and a playback signal which are transferred using rotary transformers separate from each other is reduced and the facility in assembly and the rework facility of a magnetic head are improved. A flat disk-type rotary transformer for a writing signal and another flat disk-type rotary transformer for a playback signal are disposed in a neighboring relationship one on the other in a stationary drum, and a shield plate for preventing crosstalk is interposed between the two rotary transformers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Publication date: August 8, 2002
    Inventors: Motoyoshi Fujimori, Ichiro Hashimoto, Akira Itou, Hiroyuki Kaneko
  • Patent number: 5746471
    Abstract: A corner piece for an automobile has a resin insert covered partly with a high molecular elastic material. The resin insert has a bracket body portion and a glass run portion molded together as a unit from a synthetic resin. The bracket body and glass run portions have a common channel along their rear side, and the channel is covered with a high molecular elastic material to form a glass run, or it is fitted with a separate glass run. A reinforcing metal insert is embedded in the bottom of the channel between the bracket body portion and the glass run portion. The reinforcing metal insert reinforces a door belt line, so that the corner piece can mount a large and heavy door mirror and can also be expected to be of improved durability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsunobu Teramoto, Akira Itou
  • Patent number: 5697665
    Abstract: A side door corner bracket is comprised of a hard plastic bracket base portion having a window glass sliding groove, and a lower rail portion including a window glass sliding groove that extends and continues downwardly from the bracket base portion. The hard plastic base and lower rail have a cover layer that includes a pair of sealing lips that extend along the window groove. The cover is made of a soft material such as soft plastics, soft elastics, or soft rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 16, 1997
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Itou, Tetsuya Niimi