Patents by Inventor Yoshiaki Owaki

Yoshiaki Owaki 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: 10097886
    Abstract: A signal processing device includes a converter and a selector. The converter converts an input video signal into the output video signal for the low-brightness display device. The selector selects one of the input video signal and the output video signal, and outputs the selected video signal to the display device. The selector selects the output video signal in a case where a high-brightness flag indicating a video signal for the high-brightness display device is added to the input video signal, and where information indicating that the display device is the low-brightness display device is acquired or information indicating that the display device is the high-brightness display device is not acquired, and selects the input video signal in a case where the high-brightness flag is not added to the input video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Patent number: 10057104
    Abstract: A signal processing device includes a converter and a selector. The converter converts an input video signal into the output video signal for the low-brightness display device. The selector selects one of the input video signal and the output video signal, and outputs the selected video signal to the display. The selector selects the output video signal in a case where a high-brightness flag indicating a video signal for a high-brightness display device is added to the input video signal, and the selector selects the input video signal in a case where the high-brightness flag is not added to the input video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Publication number: 20180041801
    Abstract: A signal processing device includes a converter and a selector. The converter converts an input video signal into the output video signal for the low-brightness display device. The selector selects one of the input video signal and the output video signal, and outputs the selected video signal to the display device. The selector selects the output video signal in a case where a high-brightness flag indicating a video signal for the high-brightness display device is added to the input video signal, and where information indicating that the display device is the low-brightness display device is acquired or information indicating that the display device is the high-brightness display device is not acquired, and selects the input video signal in a case where the high-brightness flag is not added to the input video signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Inventor: YOSHIAKI OWAKI
  • Publication number: 20180041373
    Abstract: A signal processing device includes a converter and a selector. The converter converts an input video signal into the output video signal for the low-brightness display device. The selector selects one of the input video signal and the output video signal, and outputs the selected video signal to the display. The selector selects the output video signal in a case where a high-brightness flag indicating a video signal for a high-brightness display device is added to the input video signal, and the selector selects the input video signal in a case where the high-brightness flag is not added to the input video signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Inventor: YOSHIAKI OWAKI
  • Publication number: 20150178895
    Abstract: An image processing device includes: a character region detecting unit which detects a character region including a character from an input image; a feature amount detecting unit which detects a feature amount indicating a level of deformation of an image in the character region detected by the character region detecting unit; a correction gain calculating unit which calculates a correction gain based on the feature amount detected by the feature amount detecting unit; and a correcting unit which corrects the input image by performing image processing on the image in the character region such that the image processing has an effect which decreases with a decrease in the correction gain calculated by the correction gain calculating unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2015
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Inventors: Yoshiaki OWAKI, Natsuki SAITO
  • Patent number: 8531651
    Abstract: A distance measuring device using a multiple wave enables measurement of long distances with a high resolution and with a high precision by significantly reducing the circuit scale required for demultiplexing circuitry. A distance measuring device (1) includes an illumination unit (1) that illuminates using multiple modulated light having a plurality of frequencies satisfying a relationship in which one frequency is an even multiple of another frequency, a light receiving unit (20) that accumulates the charge of reflected light of the multiple modulated light into a plurality of accumulation units while switching an accumulation unit into which the charge is accumulated at a predetermined timing, and a distance calculation unit (30) that calculates a distance based on the charge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Daisuke Sato, Tatsumi Watanabe, Bunpei Toji, Yasuhiro Kuwahara, Takeshi Ito, Shinya Kiuchi, Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Publication number: 20120306872
    Abstract: A stereoscopic display device for displaying left-eye and right-eye images in alternation on a display to show the images as a stereoscopic image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2011
    Publication date: December 6, 2012
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Owaki, Mitsuhiro Mori
  • Patent number: 8159598
    Abstract: Attempts to achieve a higher resolution and a higher frame rate of a distance image when a distance to an object within a target space is estimated using the TOF method would cause CCD saturation due to shot noise or environment light, and lower distance precision. A distance estimation apparatus illuminates an object with illumination light for distance estimation emitted from a light source that can emit light (electromagnetic wave) having a predetermined illumination frequency, receives reflected light of the illumination light, obtains information about the distance from the apparatus to the object, generates distance image data based on the distance information, extracts edge information of a color image formed using a visible light component obtained in synchronization with the reflected light, and corrects distance information of a target part of the distance image using distance information of a neighboring part of the target part based on the edge information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsumi Watanabe, Yasuhiro Kuwahara, Takeshi Ito, Bumpei Toji, Daisuke Sato, Shinya Kiuchi, Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Publication number: 20120026185
    Abstract: A display device prevents the display screen from flickering even when the display mode changes automatically. The display device has plural modes, a viewing environment detector that detects the ambient brightness and changes the mode based on the detected ambient brightness, a screen brightness calculator that calculates the brightness of the display screen in each mode based on the average brightness of video data in one frame, and a screen brightness merger that, when the mode changes, gradually changes the brightness of the display screen from the brightness of the display screen before the mode change to the brightness of the display screen after the mode change.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2010
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Owaki, Tomoe Ogawa, Mitsuhiro Mori
  • Publication number: 20110285712
    Abstract: An image signal processing apparatus includes an output unit that outputs an image, a detection unit that detects that the output unit is outputting a 3D image, and a light modulation control unit that causes a light emitting apparatus to reduce luminance of a light emitting unit thereof, in response to the detection by the detection unit that the output unit is outputting a 3D image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2011
    Publication date: November 24, 2011
    Inventors: Kumiko Arai, Shinya Kiuchi, Natsuki Saito, Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Patent number: 8063994
    Abstract: Flicker occurs in a flicker-noticeable area consisting of pixels with no pixel value variations. An image processing device (100) includes a variance calculation unit (101) that obtains a variance of an area consisting of a target pixel and neighboring pixels included in a first frame, and changes, according to the variance, the rate at which an error generated at the target pixel through tone level restriction is distributed within the frame and between frames. The image processing device (100) includes an error diffusion unit (113) that distributes the error generated at the target pixel to the neighboring pixels included in the first frame based on an intra-frame error diffusion rate and an intra-frame error distribution weight, and distributes the error generated at the target pixel to a target pixel and neighboring pixels included in the second frame based on an inter-frame error diffusion rate and an inter-frame error distribution weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Owaki, Yasuhiro Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20110063437
    Abstract: Conventionally, there has been a danger that CCD saturation may occur because of the influence of the shot noise and the environment light if a higher resolution of a distance image showing the distance to an object present in a target space and a higher frame rate are achieved when the distance image is estimated by the TOF method, and the distance accuracy may degrade. An emission frequency selecting unit (7) receives light (S2) reflected from the object when a light source does not emit light and selects illumination light (S1) having an emission frequency insusceptible to the environment light according to the frequency analysis of the reflected light (S2). An image creating unit (6) selects a light source emitting the illumination light having the optimum emission frequency from among prepared light sources (9A to 9N), receives reflected light of the illumination light from the selected light source, and creates the distance image showing the distance to the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2009
    Publication date: March 17, 2011
    Inventors: Tatsumi Watanabe, Yasuhiro Kuwahara, Takeshi Ito, Bumpei Toji, Daisuke Sato, Shinya Kiuchi, Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Publication number: 20110051118
    Abstract: A distance measuring device using a multiple wave enables measurement of long distances with a high resolution and with a high precision by significantly reducing the circuit scale required for demultiplexing circuitry. A distance measuring device (1) includes an illumination unit (1) that illuminates using multiple modulated light having a plurality of frequencies satisfying a relationship in which one frequency is an even multiple of another frequency, a light receiving unit (20) that accumulates the charge of reflected light of the multiple modulated light into a plurality of accumulation units while switching an accumulation unit into which the charge is accumulated at a predetermined timing, and a distance calculation unit (30) that calculates a distance based on the charge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2010
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Daisuke Sato, Tatsumi Watanabe, Bunpei Toji, Yasuhiro Kuwahara, Takeshi Ito, Shinya Kiuchi, Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Publication number: 20100046802
    Abstract: Attempts to achieve a higher resolution and a higher frame rate of a distance image when a distance to an object within a target space is estimated using the TOF method would cause CCD saturation due to shot noise or environment light, and lower distance precision. A distance estimation apparatus illuminates an object with illumination light for distance estimation emitted from a light source that can emit light (electromagnetic wave) having a predetermined illumination frequency, receives reflected light of the illumination light, obtains information about the distance from the apparatus to the object, generates distance image data based on the distance information, extracts edge information of a color image formed using a visible light component obtained in synchronization with the reflected light, and corrects distance information of a target part of the distance image using distance information of a neighboring part of the target part based on the edge information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2009
    Publication date: February 25, 2010
    Inventors: Tatsumi Watanabe, Yasuhiro Kuwahara, Takeshi Ito, Bumpei Toji, Daisuke Sato, Shinya Kiuchi, Yoshiaki Owaki
  • Publication number: 20090128693
    Abstract: Flicker occurs in a flicker-noticeable area consisting of pixels with no pixel value variations. An image processing device (100) includes a variance calculation unit (101) that obtains a variance of an area consisting of a target pixel and neighboring pixels included in a first frame, and changes, according to the variance, the rate at which an error generated at the target pixel through tone level restriction is distributed within the frame and between frames. The image processing device (100) includes an error diffusion unit (113) that distributes the error generated at the target pixel to the neighboring pixels included in the first frame based on an intra-frame error diffusion rate and an intra-frame error distribution weight, and distributes the error generated at the target pixel to a target pixel and neighboring pixels included in the second frame based on an inter-frame error diffusion rate and an inter-frame error distribution weight.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2007
    Publication date: May 21, 2009
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Owaki, Yasuhiro Kuwahara