Patents by Inventor Hiromi Katoh

Hiromi Katoh 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: 20230375889
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate includes a substrate that is transparent, and a plurality of pixels positioned on the substrate. Each pixel includes a thin-film transistor (TFT) positioned on the substrate, a first color filter layer disposed on the substrate so as to cover the TFT, a contact hole being provided in the first color filter layer, a pixel electrode that is positioned on a bottom face and a side face of the contact hole, and on the first color filter layer, and that is electrically connected to the TFT via the contact hole, and a second color filter layer disposed within the contact hole.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2023
    Publication date: November 23, 2023
    Inventors: Seiichi UCHIDA, Kiyoshi MINOURA, Kuniaki OKADA, Hiromi KATOH, Keisuke YOSHIDA
  • Patent number: 11747616
    Abstract: A display device includes a display member, a lens, and a light intensity adjuster. The display member is configured to display an image by releasing relatively short-wavelength light and relatively long-wavelength light. The lens is configured to allow the image on the display member to be reproduced on an eye of the user and thicker in the middle thereof than at the periphery thereof. The light intensity adjuster is included in the display member. The light intensity is configured to allow short-wavelength light to be released from a middle of the display member in a larger amount than both short-wavelength light to be released from ends of the display member and long-wavelength light to be released from the middle of the display member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Naru Usukura, Hiromi Katoh
  • Patent number: 11067843
    Abstract: A display device for a head-mounted display includes a first display panel and a second display panel that are arranged in parallel. The first display panel and second display panel each include a pair of substrates having a plane sectioned into a display region and a non-display region, and a columnar spacer interposed between the substrates. The substrate includes a spacer lightproof portion placed over the spacer. The first display panel and second display panel do not coincide with each other with regard to a location where the spacer lightproof portion in the display region is disposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kuniaki Okada, Hiromi Katoh, Keisuke Yoshida
  • Publication number: 20210129184
    Abstract: Provided are a brilliant pigment-containing aqueous base coat coating material with which it is possible to ensure waterproof adhesiveness and impart a metallic gloss, and a method for forming a multilayer film using the same. The invention provides a brilliant pigment-containing aqueous base coat coating material including water-dispersible acrylic polymer particles (A), a water-soluble acrylic resin (B), a curing agent (C), and a brilliant pigment (D) obtained by pulverizing a vapor-deposited metal film to create metal chips. The water-soluble acrylic resin (B) is a copolymer of an N-substituted (meth)acrylamide (i), a hydroxyl group-containing polymerizable unsaturated monomer (ii), a carboxyl group-containing polymerizable unsaturated monomer (iii), and a polymerizable unsaturated monomer (iv) other than (i)-(iii).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2021
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Applicant: KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroki TAKEDA, Tohru IWAMOTO, Hiromi KATOH, Junichi KAJIMA, Shigeru TOMIZAWA
  • Publication number: 20210132374
    Abstract: A display device includes a display member, a lens, and a light intensity adjuster. The display member is configured to display an image by releasing relatively short-wavelength light and relatively long-wavelength light. The lens is configured to allow the image on the display member to be reproduced on an eye of the user and thicker in the middle thereof than at the periphery thereof. The light intensity adjuster is included in the display member. The light intensity is configured to allow short-wavelength light to be released from a middle of the display member in a larger amount than both short-wavelength light to be released from ends of the display member and long-wavelength light to be released from the middle of the display member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Inventors: NARU USUKURA, HIROMI KATOH
  • Patent number: 10895748
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device 10 includes a liquid crystal panel 11, a backlight device 12 supplying light to the liquid crystal panel 11, LEDs 13 included in the backlight device 12, a light guide plate 15 that is an optical member and included in the backlight device 12 and disposed opposite the liquid crystal panel 11 and has a light guide plate light exit surface 15a through which light from the LEDs 13 exits toward the liquid crystal panel 11, and a light guide plate side light collecting portion 20 included in the light guide plate 15, which is the optical member, and applying an anisotropic refracting action to at least light rays exiting an edge portion of the light guide plate light exit surface 15a to be directed to a middle section of the liquid crystal panel 11.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Naru Usukura, Hiromi Katoh
  • Publication number: 20200319499
    Abstract: A display device for a head-mounted display includes a first display panel and a second display panel that are arranged in parallel. The first display panel and second display panel each include a pair of substrates having a plane sectioned into a display region and a non-display region, and a columnar spacer interposed between the substrates. The substrate includes a spacer lightproof portion placed over the spacer. The first display panel and second display panel do not coincide with each other with regard to a location where the spacer lightproof portion in the display region is disposed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2020
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Inventors: KUNIAKI OKADA, HIROMI KATOH, KEISUKE YOSHIDA
  • Patent number: 10768430
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel having a display surface and a lighting device that supplies light to the display panel. The lighting device includes a light source, and an optical member having at least a light exit surface through which the light emitted by the light source exits toward the display surface of the display panel. The optical member includes a light refraction portion that imparts an anisotropic refraction effect to at least light rays exiting through an edge section of the light exit surface to be oriented toward a center side of the display surface. The display device further includes a low refraction index layer interposed between the display panel and the optical member, and the low refraction index layer has a refraction index lower than at least a refraction index of the optical member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuuichi Kanbayashi, Naru Usukura, Hiromi Katoh
  • Publication number: 20190302461
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel having a display surface and a lighting device that supplies light to the display panel. The lighting device includes a light source, and an optical member having at least a light exit surface through which the light emitted by the light source exits toward the display surface of the display panel. The optical member includes a light refraction portion that imparts an anisotropic refraction effect to at least light rays exiting through an edge section of the light exit surface to be oriented toward a center side of the display surface. The display device further includes a low refraction index layer interposed between the display panel and the optical member, and the low refraction index layer has a refraction index lower than at least a refraction index of the optical member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Publication date: October 3, 2019
    Inventors: YUUICHI KANBAYASHI, NARU USUKURA, HIROMI KATOH
  • Patent number: 10386692
    Abstract: An electrophoretic element according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other; and an electrophoretic layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate, and has a plurality of pixels. In each pixel, the electrophoretic layer includes a dispersion medium, and a plurality of types of electrophoretic particles dispersed in the dispersion medium. The plurality of types of electrophoretic particles include first electrophoretic particles and second electrophoretic particles that are charged with the same polarity and have different threshold characteristics from each other. In each pixel, the electrophoretic element includes at least three electrodes to which different potentials can be applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Moriwaki, Hiromi Katoh
  • Publication number: 20190101759
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device 10 includes a liquid crystal panel 11, a backlight device 12 supplying light to the liquid crystal panel 11, LEDs 13 included in the backlight device 12, a light guide plate 15 that is an optical member and included in the backlight device 12 and disposed opposite the liquid crystal panel 11 and has a light guide plate light exit surface 15a through which light from the LEDs 13 exits toward the liquid crystal panel 11, and a light guide plate side light collecting portion 20 included in the light guide plate 15, which is the optical member, and applying an anisotropic refracting action to at least light rays exiting an edge portion of the light guide plate light exit surface 15a to be directed to a middle section of the liquid crystal panel 11.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Publication date: April 4, 2019
    Inventors: NARU USUKURA, HIROMI KATOH
  • Publication number: 20190039090
    Abstract: Provided are a brilliant pigment-containing aqueous base coat coating material with which it is possible to ensure waterproof adhesiveness and impart a metallic gloss, and a method for forming a multilayer film using the same. The invention provides a brilliant pigment-containing aqueous base coat coating material including water-dispersible acrylic polymer particles (A), a water-soluble acrylic resin (B), a curing agent (C), and a brilliant pigment (D) obtained by pulverizing a vapor-deposited metal film to create metal chips. The water-soluble acrylic resin (B) is a copolymer of an N-substituted (meth)acrylamide (i), a hydroxyl group-containing polymerizable unsaturated monomer (ii), a carboxyl group-containing polymerizable unsaturated monomer (iii), and a polymerizable unsaturated monomer (iv) other than (i)-(iii). The brilliant pigment (D) is contained in a pigment weight concentration (PWC) in the range of 10-40%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2017
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Applicant: KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroki TAKEDA, Tohru IWAMOTO, Hiromi KATOH, Junichi KAJIMA, Shigeru TOMIZAWA
  • Patent number: 10102814
    Abstract: A controllable device for phase modulation of coherent light comprises a modulator matrix having a plurality of liquid crystal modulator cells each being adapted to modulate a phase value of light passing through a liquid crystal modulator cell depending on a voltage, which is applied to the liquid crystal modulator cell; at least one polarity area of said modulator matrix including at least one liquid crystal modulator cell; at least one storage unit for storing at least one pair of voltage values of which one has a positive and the other has a negative polarity for the liquid crystal modulator cells, whereby the pair of voltage values corresponds to a predetermined phase value; and a control unit for selectively applying one pair of voltage values to one liquid crystal modulator cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignees: SEEREAL TECHNOLOGIES S.A., SHARP CORPORATION
    Inventors: Robert Missbach, Stephan Reichelt, Norbert Leister, Ralf Haussler, Naru Usukura, Hiromi Katoh, Yuichi Kanbayashi
  • Publication number: 20180143503
    Abstract: An electrophoretic element according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other; and an electrophoretic layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate, and has a plurality of pixels. In each pixel, the electrophoretic layer includes a dispersion medium, and a plurality of types of electrophoretic particles dispersed in the dispersion medium. The plurality of types of electrophoretic particles include first electrophoretic particles and second electrophoretic particles that are charged with the same polarity and have different threshold characteristics from each other. In each pixel, the electrophoretic element includes at least three electrodes to which different potentials can be applied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2016
    Publication date: May 24, 2018
    Inventors: HIROYUKI MORIWAKI, HIROMI KATOH
  • Patent number: 9857586
    Abstract: A head-up display 10 includes a MEMS mirror component 14 for displaying images and a combiner 12 for reflecting light from the MEMS mirror component 14 so that an observer observes reflected light as a virtual image and for transmitting ambient light. The combiner 12 includes a green light reflecting portion 17 for selectively reflecting mainly green light in a green light wavelength region, a red light reflecting portion 16 for selectively reflecting mainly red light in a red light wavelength region, and a blue light reflecting portion 18 for reflecting blue light in a blue light wavelength region. The light reflecting portions 16 to 18 are laid in layers. The green light reflecting portion 17 is arranged the closest to the MEMS mirror component 14.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takafumi Shimatani, Naru Usukura, Hiromi Katoh
  • Publication number: 20170351134
    Abstract: A combiner 12 includes a cholesteric liquid crystal layer 17 that imparts an optical effect to light, and a cholesteric liquid crystal layer carrier 18 of a plate shape that is an optical functional layer carrier having a plate surface with the cholesteric liquid crystal layer 17 disposed thereon, being subjected to biaxial stretching in such a manner that one of two intersecting directions along the plate surface is a low stretching direction in which a stretch ratio is relatively low and that the other is a high stretching direction in which the stretch ratio is relatively high, and being subjected to biaxial deformation to have the plate surface deformed into a curved shape in such a manner that a large elongation amount direction in which the amount of elongation by deformation is relatively large matches the low stretching direction and that a small elongation amount direction in which the amount of elongation by deformation is relatively small matches the high stretching direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Publication date: December 7, 2017
    Inventors: Takafumi SHIMATANI, Naru USUKURA, Hiromi KATOH, Youzo FUJIMURA
  • Patent number: 9810948
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a controllable diffraction device for a light modulator device. The controllable diffraction device comprises at least two substrates, at least one electrode on each of said substrates facing each other, and liquid crystals forming at least one liquid crystal layer arranged between said electrodes on said substrates. The orientation of the liquid crystals is controllable by a voltage supplied to the electrodes. The liquid crystal layer is provided on at least one alignment layer arranged on at least one electrode on said substrates. The liquid crystals close to the alignment layer are pre-oriented by at least one pre-tilt angle relative to the alignment layer such that the resulting light diffraction in opposite spatial directions is approximately equal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignees: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, SEEREAL TECHNOLOGIES S.A.
    Inventors: Naru Usukura, Hiromi Katoh, Yuichi Kanbayashi, Norbert Leister, Ralf Haussler
  • Publication number: 20170052369
    Abstract: A head-up display 10 includes a MEMS mirror component 14 for displaying images and a combiner 12 for reflecting light from the MEMS mirror component 14 so that an observer observes reflected light as a virtual image and for transmitting ambient light. The combiner 12 includes a green light reflecting portion 17 for selectively reflecting mainly green light in a green light wavelength region, a red light reflecting portion 16 for selectively reflecting mainly red light in a red light wavelength region, and a blue light reflecting portion 18 for reflecting blue light in a blue light wavelength region. The light reflecting portions 16 to 18 are laid in layers. The green light reflecting portion 17 is arranged the closest to the MEMS mirror component 14.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Publication date: February 23, 2017
    Inventors: Takafumi SHIMATANI, Naru USUKURA, Hiromi KATOH
  • Publication number: 20170045739
    Abstract: A transmission screen (2) includes at least two optical elements (13 and 14) condensing or diverging a light beam anisotropically. The at least two optical elements each include a light receiving surface (10) receiving display light; and a light emitting surface (11) emitting a divergent light beam toward a combiner (4).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Publication date: February 16, 2017
    Inventors: Naru USUKURA, Hiromi KATOH, Takafumi SHIMATANI
  • Patent number: 9563114
    Abstract: A screen includes: a diffraction member and a scattering member. The diffraction member selectively diffracts image light and orients this light towards a viewer. In order for the image light to be scattered to a higher degree than ambient light that enters the scattering member on the side opposite of the viewer, the degree to which the scattering member scatters polarized light varies according to the polarization direction of the light. Thus, regardless of the positional relationship of the screen and a projector, which projects image light, it is possible to use a relatively simple industrial manufacturing process that can ensure the following to a satisfactory extent: brightness of the screen in the front direction, a wide viewing angle, and visual clarity through the screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Naru Usukura, Hiromi Katoh, Takafumi Shimatani