Patents by Inventor Toru Inata

Toru Inata 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).

  • Patent number: 10317610
    Abstract: A backlight device is provided with: LEDs; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face, a light-exiting surface, and an opposite plate surface; a prism sheet that is disposed on the light-exiting side of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of light-exiting side prisms aligned along a second direction; a light-exiting surface-side prism portion that is disposed in the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of light-exiting surface-side prisms aligned along the second direction; a light emission reflection portion that is disposed in the opposite plate surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of reflection units aligned along a first direction at an interval; and an opposite plate surface-side prism portion that is disposed in the opposite plate surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of opposite plate surface-side prisms aligned along the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Shugo Yagi, Toru Inata
  • Patent number: 9921360
    Abstract: A backlight device is provided with: LEDs; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face, a light-exiting surface, and an opposite plate surface; a prism sheet including a plurality of light-exiting side unit prisms aligned along a second direction; a light-exiting surface-side prism portion including a plurality of light-exiting surface-side prism units aligned along the second direction; a light emission reflection portion including a plurality of reflection units aligned along a first direction at an interval; an opposite plate surface-side prism portion including a plurality of opposite plate surface-side unit prisms aligned along the second direction; and bow-shaped portions disposed into such a form as to be adjacent to the light-exiting surface-side prism units in the second direction while extending along the first direction, the bow-shaped portions having a bow-shaped cross-section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Shugo Yagi, Toru Inata
  • Publication number: 20170115446
    Abstract: A lighting device includes a light source, a light guide plate including a light incident surface, a non-light input opposite surface, and a light emission surface, a prism sheet including a base member, a light input-side prism portion formed on a light input-side plate surface of the base member and including light input-side unit prisms, and a light output-side prism portion formed on a light output-side plate surface of the base member and including light output-side unit prisms, and an incidence angle control structure in which a first light output-side inclined surface, a first light input-side inclined surface, and a second light input-side inclined surface respectively make inclination angles with respect to the plate surface of the base member, having a magnitude such that a light incidence angle with respect to the first light output-side inclined surface is in an angle range including the Brewster's angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2015
    Publication date: April 27, 2017
    Inventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Shugo YAGI, Toru INATA
  • Publication number: 20160320545
    Abstract: A backlight device is provided with: LEDs; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face, a light-exiting surface, and an opposite plate surface; a prism sheet including a plurality of light-exiting side unit prisms aligned along a second direction; a light-exiting surface-side prism portion including a plurality of light-exiting surface-side prism units aligned along the second direction; a light emission reflection portion including a plurality of reflection units aligned along a first direction at an interval; an opposite plate surface-side prism portion including a plurality of opposite plate surface-side unit prisms aligned along the second direction; and bow-shaped portions disposed into such a form as to be adjacent to the light-exiting surface-side prism units in the second direction while extending along the first direction, the bow-shaped portions having a bow-shaped cross-section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Publication date: November 3, 2016
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Shugo YAGI, Toru INATA
  • Publication number: 20160313496
    Abstract: A backlight device is provided with: LEDs; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face, a light-exiting surface, and an opposite plate surface; a prism sheet that is disposed on the light-exiting side of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of light-exiting side prisms aligned along a second direction; a light-exiting surface-side prism portion that is disposed in the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of light-exiting surface-side prisms aligned along the second direction; a light emission reflection portion that is disposed in the opposite plate surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of reflection units aligned along a first direction at an interval; and an opposite plate surface-side prism portion that is disposed in the opposite plate surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of opposite plate surface-side prisms aligned along the second direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Publication date: October 27, 2016
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Shugo YAGI, Toru INATA
  • Publication number: 20160054507
    Abstract: A backlight unit includes LEDs, a light guide plate, a lenticular lens portion, a first prism sheet, and a second prism sheet. The lenticular lens portion includes cylindrical lenses that extend along a first direction and arranged parallel to one another along a second direction. The first prism sheet is disposed on a front side of the lenticular lens portion and includes first unit prisms arranged parallel to one another along the second direction and each extending along the first direction and having a triangular cross section. The second prism sheet is disposed between the lenticular lens portion and the first prism sheet. The second prism sheet includes second unit prisms arranged parallel to one another along the second direction and each extending along the first direction, having a triangular cross section, and having a vertex angle larger than a vertex angle of each first unit prism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2014
    Publication date: February 25, 2016
    Inventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Hiroshi FUKUSHIMA, Ryoh ARAKI, Shugo YAGI, Masaki KAGEYAMA, Toru INATA
  • Publication number: 20160054508
    Abstract: A backlight unit includes LEDs, a light guide plate, a reflection sheet, a prism sheet, and an anisotropic reflection portion. The light guide plate includes a light entrance surface opposed to the LEDs and light exit surface. The reflection sheet includes a reflection surface opposed to an opposite plate surface of the light guide plate opposite from the light exit surface. The prism sheet is formed on a side of the light guide plate opposite from a side on which the reflection sheet is disposed. The prism sheet includes unit prisms that extend along a first direction and are arranged parallel to one another along a second direction. The anisotropic reflection portion includes unit reflectors disposed on the reflection surface of the reflection sheet. The unit reflectors extend along the first direction and are arranged parallel to one another along the second direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2014
    Publication date: February 25, 2016
    Inventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Hiroshi FUKUSHIMA, Ryoh ARAKI, Shugo YAGI, Masaki KAGEYAMA, Toru INATA
  • Publication number: 20150138487
    Abstract: An optical sheet (optical member) includes: a sheet-shaped base material 40 that is light-transmissive; an anisotropic light condenser that is formed on the light-receiving surface of the base material where light is received, the anisotropic light condenser having light condensing anisotropy such that incident light is condensed in a light condensing direction along the light-receiving surface whereas light is not condensed in a non-light condensing direction along the light-receiving surface, the non-light condensing direction being perpendicular to the light condensing direction; and an anisotropic light scatterer that is formed on the light-emitting surface from which light is emitted, the light-emitting surface being on a side of the base material opposite to the light-receiving surface of the base member, the anisotropic light scatterer scattering and emitting light from the anisotropic light condenser, and having light scattering anisotropy where light is greatly scattered in the light condensing direc
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 5, 2013
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Akira Imai, Shugo Yagi, Toru Inata, Masaki Kageyama, Kazuya Hatta, Masanori Ehara
  • Publication number: 20130194823
    Abstract: A backlight unit includes a light source capable of emitting light, and a light guide plate including a peripheral surface on which the light from the light source is incident, a main surface provided to be connected with the peripheral surface, and a main surface facing the main surface with the peripheral surface interposed therebetween, the light guide plate including a reflection surface capable of reflecting the light that has entered from the peripheral surface toward the main surface, and a lens formed on the main surface capable of condensing the light reflected by the reflection surface and emitting the light to outside.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2011
    Publication date: August 1, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shugo Yagi, Takeshi Suzuki, Toru Inata