Patents by Inventor Tohru Kawakami
Tohru Kawakami 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).
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Patent number: 8054404Abstract: A dichroic filter column (4) is provided on an incident surface (11). At least one of two end parts of a light guide plate (1) in a thickness direction is divided into a plurality of light guide paths (6), in a width direction of the light guide plate (1) by a plurality of cutout grooves (5). Portions of the plurality of light guide paths (6) on an incident surface (11) side are aligned in accordance with positions of a plurality of dichroic filters (31), respectively. The plurality of dichroic filters (31) are elements of the dichroic filter column (4).Type: GrantFiled: August 4, 2009Date of Patent: November 8, 2011Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Tohoku UniversityInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Yoshito Suzuki, Tohru Kawakami, Takahiro Ishinabe, Baku Katagiri, Yoshihiro Hashimoto, Shoichi Ishihara, Shuichi Kozaki, Yutaka Ishii
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Publication number: 20110249221Abstract: A lighting device includes: a light guide plate; a light source disposed on a side face of the light guide plate; and a light modulation element disposed on a surface or in the inside of the light guide plate and adhered to the light guide plate. The light modulation element has a pair of transparent substrates disposed separately and oppositely, a pair of electrodes provided on respective surfaces of the pair of transparent substrates, and a light modulation layer provided in a gap between the pair of transparent substrates. The light modulation layer includes a first region, having optical anisotropy, responsive to an electric field, and a second region, having optical anisotropy, unresponsive to an electric field. The second region has a striped structure with average striped texture size of 0.05 ?m to 10 ?m both inclusive in a short axis direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 30, 2011Publication date: October 13, 2011Applicants: Tohoku University, Sony CorporationInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Takahiro Ishinabe, Tohru Kawakami, Tomoaki Suzuki, Kentaro Okuyama, Akira Ebisui, Harumi Sato, Mamoru Mizuno, Masahiro Ikeda, Shogo Shinkai
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Publication number: 20110242146Abstract: A lighting device includes: a light guide plate; a light source; and a light modulation element disposed on a surface of or in the inside of the light guide plate, and adhered to the light guide plate. The light modulation element has a pair of transparent substrates, a first electrode provided on a surface of one of the transparent substrates, a second electrode provided on a surface of the other of the transparent substrates, and a light modulation layer, provided in a gap between the transparent substrates, exhibiting a light-scattering property or a light-transmitting property concerning light from the light source depending on intensity of an electric field. One or both of the first and second electrodes include partial electrodes. First partial electrodes of the partial electrodes are adjacent to second partial electrodes of the partial electrodes, and have irregular shapes on edges adjacent to the second partial electrodes.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 30, 2011Publication date: October 6, 2011Applicants: Sony Corporation, Tohoku UniversityInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Takahiro Ishinabe, Tohru Kawakami, Kentaro Okuyama, Mamoru Mizuno
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Publication number: 20110228558Abstract: Conventional planar light source devices have a problem that increasing a utilization ratio of light results in a very narrow angle distribution of light. A planar light source device of the present invention has a light source (1), a light guide plate (2) for introducing light coming from the light source via a light-incident plane of the light guide plate and emits the light from almost all area of a light emission plane, and a light source side reflector (3) for reflecting the light coming from the light source and light which comes from the light source and is reflected by the light-incident plane of the light guide plate so that the reflected light is emitted to the light-incident plane of the light guide plate.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 13, 2009Publication date: September 22, 2011Applicants: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TOHOKU UNIVERSITYInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Yoshito Suzuki, Tohru Kawakami, Takahiro Ishinabe, Baku Katagiri, Yoshihiro Hashimoto, Shoichi Ishihara, Shuichi Kozaki, Yutaka Ishii
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Publication number: 20110199786Abstract: A dichroic filter column (4) is provided on an incident surface (11). At least one of two end parts of a light guide plate (1) in a thickness direction is divided into a plurality of light guide paths (6), in a width direction of the light guide plate (1) by a plurality of cutout grooves (5). Portions of the plurality of light guide paths (6) on an incident surface (11) side are aligned in accordance with positions of a plurality of dichroic filters (31), respectively. The plurality of dichroic filters (31) are elements of the dichroic filter column (4).Type: ApplicationFiled: August 4, 2009Publication date: August 18, 2011Applicants: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TOHOKU UNIVERSITYInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Yoshito Suzuki, Tohru Kawakami, Takahiro Ishinabe, Baku Katagiri, Yoshihiro Hashimoto, Shoichi Ishihara, Shuichi Kozaki, Yutaka Ishii
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Publication number: 20110141715Abstract: Surface light source device includes: point light sources (13); light guide plate (1) having (i) two end parts in length direction, one of which serves as incident surface (2), and (ii) two end parts in thickness direction which serve as exit surface (7) and back surface (8), light guide plate (1) directing light, emitted from point light sources (13), incident on incident surface (2), so as to cause light to exit from substantially entire area of exit surface (7); and reflector (14) which reflects, toward incident surface (2), part of light which is emitted from point light sources (13) and is then reflected from incident surface (2). Incident surface (2) has elliptic arc (10) which is concave part having surface shape along elliptic arc identical to elliptic arc which is part of ellipse (31) having two focal points corresponding to point light sources (13) and reflector (14).Type: ApplicationFiled: August 4, 2009Publication date: June 16, 2011Applicants: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TOHOKU UNIVERSITYInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Yoshito Suzuki, Tohru Kawakami, Takahiro Ishinabe, Baku KATAGIRI, Yoshihiro Hashmoto, Shoichi Ishihara, Shuichi Kozaki, Yutaka Ishii
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Publication number: 20110141551Abstract: An illumination device is provided and includes: a light guide member; a light source provided on one or more side faces of the light guide member; and a light modulating element including a pair of transparent substrates disposed to oppose each other with a gap therebetween, a first electrode provided on a surface of one of the transparent substrates, a second electrode provided on a surface of the other of the transparent substrates, and a light modulation layer provided in the gap and expressing a scattering property or a transparency to light from the light source in accordance with a magnitude of an electric field. The first electrode, the second electrode, or both thereof is patterned, and a density of pattern of the first electrode, the second electrode, or both thereof to which the patterning is applied is varied depending on a distance from the light source.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 10, 2010Publication date: June 16, 2011Applicants: TOHOKU UNIVERSITY, SONY CORPORATIONInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Takahiro Ishinabe, Tohru Kawakami, Kentaro Okuyama, Shinpei Nagatani, Akira Ebisui, Masahiro Ikeda
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Publication number: 20110109663Abstract: An illuminating device capable of improving display luminance while decreasing light leakage in a range with a large view angle and a display unit are provided. In a light modulation device bonded to a light guide plate, a light modulation layer containing a bulk and microparticles is provided. Both the bulk and the microparticles have optical anisotropy, and each response speed to an electric field is different from each other. Thereby, by controlling the electric field, each optical axis orientation of the bulk and the microparticles is able to correspond with each other, or is able to be different from each other.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 1, 2010Publication date: May 12, 2011Applicants: SONY CORPORATION, TOHOKU UNIVERSITYInventors: Tatsuo Uchida, Takahiro Ishinabe, Tohru Kawakami, Kentaro Okuyama, Harumi Sato
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Patent number: 7351047Abstract: The present invention provides an improved swash plate type variable capacity fluid machine which is fluid-tight, simple in structure, quiet in operation, and highly durable, yet without increasing its size, weight, and the amount of power loss. The swash plate type variable capacity fluid machine includes: a cone; a disk; an enclosure wall whose inner shpherical surface surrounds the outer circumference of the disk; and a partition plate movably fitted in a groove of the cone. The cone and the disk are arranged to confront each other on an abutment line, thereby defining a plurality of variable capacity compartments. Supplying/discharging holes are provided to communicate with the variable capacity compartments, supplying and discharging a fluid there from. A synchronous mechanism causes the cone and the disk to rotate about their center axis in synchronization.Type: GrantFiled: September 24, 2003Date of Patent: April 1, 2008Assignee: Anelva Technix CorporationInventors: Tohru Kawakami, Makoto Kawakami
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Publication number: 20050271523Abstract: The present invention provides an improved swash plate type variable capacity fluid machine which is fluid-tight, simple in structure, quiet in operation, and highly durable, yet without increasing its size, weight, and the amount of power loss. The swash plate type variable capacity fluid machine includes: a cone; a disk; an enclosure wall whose inner spherical surface surrounds the outer circumference of the disk; and a partition plate movably fitted in a groove of the cone. The cone and the disk are arranged to confront each other on an abutment line, thereby defining a plurality of variable capacity compartments. Supplying/discharging holes are provided to communicate with the variable capacity compartments, supplying and discharging a fluid there from. A synchronous mechanism causes the cone and the disk to rotate about their center axis in synchronization.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 24, 2003Publication date: December 8, 2005Inventors: Tohru Kawakami, Makoto Kawakami