Patents by Inventor Kiyoshi Minoura

Kiyoshi Minoura 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: 20220197067
    Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display device including: a liquid crystal panel; and a control circuit, the liquid crystal panel sequentially including an active matrix substrate, a first alignment film, a liquid crystal layer, a second alignment film, and a counter substrate, the active matrix substrate sequentially including a first substrate, a first electrode, a first insulating layer, and a second electrode including a linear electrode portion, the counter substrate including a second substrate and a third electrode, the third electrode extending in a longitudinal direction of the sub-pixel at a right or left end of the sub-pixel, a ratio of a width of the third electrode to a width of the first electrode in a widthwise direction being 0.14 or greater and 0.25 or smaller, the control circuit being configured to switch between application of an alternating voltage and application of a constant voltage to the third electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2021
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Inventors: KOJI MURATA, KAZUTAKA HANAOKA, SHINJI SHIMADA, KIYOSHI MINOURA
  • Patent number: 11367965
    Abstract: Disclosed is a liquid crystal panel of a scanning antenna including a transmission and/or reception region in which a plurality of antenna units are arrayed, and a non-transmission and/or reception region, the liquid crystal panel including: a TFT substrate provided with a first dielectric substrate, a TFT supported by the first dielectric substrate, a gate bus line, a source bus line, and a patch electrode; a slot substrate provided with a second dielectric substrate, and a slot electrode formed on a first main surface of the second dielectric substrate and including a slot arranged so as to correspond to the patch electrode; a liquid crystal layer provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate and including a plurality of liquid crystal regions; and a plurality of sealing portions that respectively surround the plurality of liquid crystal regions and bond the TFT substrate and the slot substrate together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tadashi Ohtake, Takatoshi Orui, Wataru Nakamura, Kiyoshi Minoura, Masanobu Mizusaki
  • Patent number: 11364673
    Abstract: A synthetic polymer film whose surface has a plurality of raised or recessed portions, wherein a two-dimensional size of the plurality of raised or recessed portions is in a range of not less than 0.5 ?m and not more than 3 ?m when viewed in a normal direction of the synthetic polymer film, the synthetic polymer film has a crosslink structure and contains an organic carboxylic acid, at the lapse of 5 minutes since placing a 200 ?L drop of water on the surface of the synthetic polymer film, a pH of an aqueous solution is less than 4, and an area equivalent circle diameter of the aqueous solution is not less than 20 mm, and at the lapse of 60 seconds since placing a drop of water on the surface of the synthetic polymer film, a static contact angle of the water drop with respect to the surface is less than 3°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Miho Yamada, Yasuhiro Shibai, Kiyoshi Minoura, Tokio Taguchi
  • Patent number: 11347118
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer, a first polarizer plate, and a second polarizer plate. The first substrate includes a first dielectric substrate, a first electrode, a second electrode, and a first alignment film. The second electrode includes a plurality of slits and a conductive portion. The second substrate includes a second dielectric substrate and a second alignment film. The first substrate further includes a resin layer disposed between the second electrode and the first alignment film. The resin layer within the plurality of slits is as thick as or thicker than the second electrode. The plurality of slits are filled with the resin layer. A difference in height between the resin layer over the conductive portion of the second electrode and the resin layer within the plurality of slits of the second electrode is 10 nm or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Masahiro Hasegawa, Miho Yamada, Yuichi Kawahira, Koji Murata, Kiyoshi Minoura
  • Patent number: 11340724
    Abstract: A display device includes a backlight, a touch detection electrode disposed to overlap a display region in which an image is displayed in a plan view, and an electrically conductive reflective member disposed closer to the backlight than a plurality of touch detection electrodes. Reflective members are disposed to overlap at least some of the plurality of touch detection electrodes in a plan view, are configured to reflect light from the backlight, and segmented from each other in a plan view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazutoshi Kida, Yasuhiro Sugita, Hiroshi Fukushima, Kiyoshi Minoura
  • Publication number: 20220158141
    Abstract: A display device includes an active matrix substrate including a transistor element and a light-emitting element layer provided on the active matrix substrate and including a first electrode, a second electrode, a function layer including a light-emitting layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a sealing layer. The display device includes: a half mirror provided on a display surface side of the light-emitting element layer; and a first ?/4 plate, a reflective polarizer, and an absorbing polarizer which are provided in order from the light-emitting element layer side between the light-emitting element layer and the half mirror.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2019
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Inventors: RYUZO YUKI, Kiyoshi MINOURA, KOHZOH NAKAMURA, AKIRA SAKAI
  • Patent number: 11327357
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device of the present invention includes in the following order from a viewing surface side a first polarizer, a first positive A plate having an in-plane retardation of 120 nm or greater and 155 nm or smaller, a positive C plate having a thickness retardation of 80 nm or greater and 100 nm or smaller, a first substrate, a second positive A plate having an in-plane retardation of 120 nm or greater and 155 nm or smaller, a horizontally aligned liquid crystal layer, a second substrate, a viewing angle compensation layer, and a second polarizer. The device further includes between the first polarizer and the first positive A plate a positive C plate having a thickness retardation of 30 nm or greater and 80 nm or smaller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro Hasegawa, Akira Sakai, Takako Koide, Yuichi Kawahira, Koji Murata, Kiyoshi Minoura
  • Patent number: 11320178
    Abstract: The cooling device includes an electrocaloric portion including an electrocaloric effect material, a first thermal switch including a first actuator, and a second thermal switch including a second actuator, in which a thickness and a length of the first actuator and the second actuator are changed depending on an electric field to be applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Haseba, Kiyoshi Minoura
  • Publication number: 20220121066
    Abstract: The liquid crystal display device includes, sequentially from a viewing surface side to a back surface side: a linearly polarizing plate and a circularly polarizing plate including a first ?/4 retardation layer; a thin-film transistor substrate including a pair of electrodes disposed in a pixel region and a metal line disposed outside the pixel region; a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules aligned parallel to the thin-film transistor substrate, alignment of the liquid crystal molecules varying in response to an electric field generated by application of voltage to the pair of electrodes; a color filter substrate including a color filter layer; and a backlight, the thin-film transistor substrate including a second ?/4 retardation layer, the color filter substrate including a reflective layer disposed outside the pixel region and configured to reflect incident light from the backlight toward the back surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Inventors: YUICHI KAWAHIRA, TAKAKO KOIDE, MASAHIRO HASEGAWA, AKIRA HIRAI, AKIRA SAKAI, KIYOSHI MINOURA
  • Patent number: 11307463
    Abstract: The liquid crystal display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes a first dielectric substrate, a first electrode and a second electrode provided on the first dielectric substrate and capable of generating a horizontal electric field in the liquid crystal layer, and a first alignment film being in contact with the liquid crystal layer. The second substrate includes a second dielectric substrate and a second alignment film provided on the second dielectric substrate and being in contact with the liquid crystal layer. The first alignment film has an azimuthal anchoring strength lower than the second alignment film. The liquid crystal layer includes a nematic liquid crystal material and a polymer network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koji Murata, Kiyoshi Minoura, Akira Sakai, Yuichi Kawahira, Kohzoh Nakamura
  • Patent number: 11307337
    Abstract: The present invention provides: (I) a display device including a display panel, a retardation layer, and a polarizer which are stacked in the stated order from a back surface side to a viewing surface side and integrated without an adhesive layer; and (II) a method for producing a display device including: forming a first alignment film on a display panel, applying a solution containing first polymerizable liquid crystal to the first alignment film, and curing the first polymerizable liquid crystal to produce a retardation layer; and forming a second alignment film on the retardation layer, applying a solution containing second polymerizable liquid crystal and a dichroic material to the second alignment film, and curing the second polymerizable liquid crystal to produce a polarizer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Masahiro Hasegawa, Atsushi Ban, Koji Murata, Yuichi Kawahira, Kiyoshi Minoura, Takako Koide, Kozo Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20220112344
    Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for producing a prepreg, for applying a coating liquid to a reinforcing fiber sheet, the apparatus including: a coating section including: a liquid pool storing the coating liquid and having a portion whose cross-sectional area decreases continuously and vertically downward, and a narrowed section having a slit-like outlet in communication with the lower end of the liquid pool; a running mechanism for allowing the reinforcing fiber sheet to run vertically downward and be introduced into the coating section; a take-up mechanism for taking up the reinforcing fiber sheet downward from the coating section; wall constituent members opposed to each other in the thickness direction of the reinforcing fiber sheet to form the narrowed section; and an external force application mechanism for applying an external force to the wall constituent members in the thickness direction of the reinforcing fiber sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Publication date: April 14, 2022
    Applicant: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: So Nishino, Yoshikazu Kono, Takashi Ochi, Junichi Aoki, Yoshiyuki Kitamura, Kiyoshi Minoura
  • Patent number: 11280563
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a fin, the fin including a metal base and a porous anodized layer formed on the metal base. A surface of the porous anodized layer has a submicron-order uneven structure, the uneven structure including a plurality of recessed portions whose two-dimensional size viewed in a normal direction of the surface is more than 100 nm and less than 500 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Miho Yamada, Kiyoshi Minoura, Takahiro Nakahara, Kouji Kusumoto
  • Patent number: 11275273
    Abstract: An optical device (10) includes a first substrate (11) and a second substrate (12) facing each other, a liquid crystal component (13) between the first substrate (11) and the second substrate (12), a first electrode (18) and a second electrode (19) located on the first substrate (11) on the second substrate (12) side, and a first alignment layer (14) that is located on the first substrate (11) on the second substrate (12) side and controls the alignment state of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal component (13), wherein an interface between the liquid crystal component (13) and the first alignment layer (14) forms a non-glide weak anchoring interface (17).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignees: KYOTO UNIVERSITY, KYUSHU UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION, SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jun Yamamoto, Koki Takamoto, Takeaki Araki, Waki Sakatsuji, Hirotsugu Kikuchi, Yasushi Okumura, Koji Fujikawa, Yu Fukunaga, Kiyoshi Minoura, Koji Murata, Isa Nishiyama, Koichi Endo
  • Publication number: 20220077421
    Abstract: In the present embodiment, a sealing agent (50) sealing two substates contains a low melting-point glass material and is adhered to each of a first substrate (10) and a second substrate (20), a barrier rib (60), which is formed in such a manner as to surround the outer periphery of an electronic element (30), is disposed between the sealing agent (50) and the electronic element (30), and between the first substrate (10) and the second substrate (20), and the sealing agent (50) is spaced apart from the barrier rib (60). As a result, a deterioration of the electronic element, caused by the heat produced when sealing, may be prevented while the electronic element formed between the two substrates is protected from moisture and oxygen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2021
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Inventors: Yuhki KOBAYASHI, Shinichi KAWATO, Kiyoshi MINOURA, Shinji SHIMADA, Hiroshi TSUCHIYA, Masahiro MITANI, Kohzoh NAKAMURA, Katsuhiko KISHIMOTO, Yozo NARUTAKI
  • Publication number: 20220075471
    Abstract: A display device includes a backlight, a touch detection electrode disposed to overlap a display region in which an image is displayed in a plan view, and an electrically conductive reflective member disposed closer to the backlight than a plurality of touch detection electrodes. Reflective members are disposed to overlap at least some of the plurality of touch detection electrodes in a plan view, are configured to reflect light from the backlight, and segmented from each other in a plan view.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Inventors: KAZUTOSHI KIDA, YASUHIRO SUGITA, HIROSHI FUKUSHIMA, KIYOSHI MINOURA
  • Publication number: 20220043301
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer, a first polarizer plate, and a second polarizer plate. The first substrate includes a first dielectric substrate, a first electrode, a second electrode, and a first alignment film. The second electrode includes a plurality of slits and a conductive portion. The second substrate includes a second dielectric substrate and a second alignment film. The first substrate further includes a resin layer disposed between the second electrode and the first alignment film. The resin layer within the plurality of slits is as thick as or thicker than the second electrode. The plurality of slits are filled with the resin layer. A difference in height between the resin layer over the conductive portion of the second electrode and the resin layer within the plurality of slits of the second electrode is 10 nm or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventors: Akira SAKAI, Masahiro HASEGAWA, Miho YAMADA, Yuichi KAWAHIRA, Koji MURATA, Kiyoshi MINOURA
  • Publication number: 20220035205
    Abstract: Provided is a horizontal electric field mode reflective or transflective liquid crystal display device that achieves an increased reflectance. The liquid crystal display device sequentially includes: a first substrate; a first alignment layer; a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules horizontally aligned with no voltage applied; a second alignment layer; and a second substrate including a pixel electrode and a common electrode, the liquid crystal display device further including a reflective layer disposed in at least part of a pixel at a position closer to a back surface than the first alignment layer, the liquid crystal layer, the second alignment layer, the pixel electrode, and the common electrode, at least one alignment layer of the first alignment layer or the second alignment layer having an azimuthal anchoring energy value of less than 1×10?4 J/m2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2021
    Publication date: February 3, 2022
    Inventors: HIROAKI ASAGI, KIYOSHI MINOURA
  • Patent number: 11211579
    Abstract: In the present embodiment, a sealing agent (50) sealing two substates contains a low melting-point glass material and is adhered to each of a first substrate (10) and a second substrate (20), a barrier rib (60), which is formed in such a manner as to surround the outer periphery of an electronic element (30), is disposed between the sealing agent (50) and the electronic element (30), and between the first substrate (10) and the second substrate (20), and the sealing agent (50) is spaced apart from the barrier rib (60). As a result, a deterioration of the electronic element, caused by the heat produced when sealing, may be prevented while the electronic element formed between the two substrates is protected from moisture and oxygen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignees: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, SAKAI DISPLAY PRODUCTS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuhki Kobayashi, Shinichi Kawato, Kiyoshi Minoura, Shinji Shimada, Hiroshi Tsuchiya, Masahiro Mitani, Kohzoh Nakamura, Katsuhiko Kishimoto, Yozo Narutaki
  • Patent number: 11201403
    Abstract: A liquid crystal cell in which antenna units are arranged includes a TFT substrate, a slot substrate, and a liquid crystal layer. The TFT substrate includes a first dielectric substrate, TFTs supported by the first dielectric substrate and patch electrodes electrically connected to the TFTs, and a first alignment film covering a groove part between the adjacent patch electrodes. The slot substrate includes a second dielectric substrate, a slot electrode including slots and supported by the second dielectric substrate, and a second alignment film covering the slot electrode. The liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate. The liquid crystal layer includes a liquid crystal material having a lower limit temperature of a nematic phase of the liquid crystal material of ?32° C. or lower and an upper limit temperature of the nematic phase of the liquid crystal material of 110° C. or higher.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masanobu Mizusaki, Kiyoshi Minoura