Patents by Inventor Yoshinobu Hirayama
Yoshinobu Hirayama 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: 11018439Abstract: A scanned antenna according to an embodiment includes a plurality of first antenna elements and a plurality of second antenna elements. The first antenna elements are driven by a gate driver connected to a plurality of first gate bus lines and a first source driver connected to a plurality of first source bus lines. The second antenna elements are driven by a gate driver connected to a plurality of second gate bus lines and a second source driver connected to a plurality of second source bus lines. The gate driver and the gate driver operate independently of each other, and the first source driver and the second source driver operate independently of each other.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 2018Date of Patent: May 25, 2021Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Masashi Otsubo, Yoshinobu Hirayama, Akinori Kubota
-
Patent number: 10353237Abstract: A lighting device includes LEDs 17, and a light guide plate 19 including an edge surface and a pair of plate surfaces, a part of the edge surface being a light entrance surface 19B through which light from the LEDs 17 enters, and one of the plate surfaces being a light exit surface 19A through which the light exits and another one of the plate surfaces being an opposite plate surface 19C opposite from the light exit surface 19A. The light guide plate 19 includes prism portions 51 on the opposite plate surface 19C, projecting from the opposite plate surface 19C and arranged in the X-axis direction and configured to collect light toward in a normal direction of the light exit surface 19A, and an exit light reflection portion 60 provided in a recessed portion 52 that is formed by two adjacent prism portions 51 and configured to reflect light travelling within the light guide plate 19 and facilitate exiting of light from the light guide plate 19.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 2015Date of Patent: July 16, 2019Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Takao Imaoku, Shugo Yagi
-
Patent number: 10317610Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 12, 2014Date of Patent: June 11, 2019Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Shugo Yagi, Toru Inata
-
Patent number: 10310164Abstract: A lighting device includes a light guide plate, a plurality of LEDs positioned to project light into a first side surface of the light guide plate, a reflection sheet facing a bottom surface of the light guide plate, a plurality of reflective elements on a light exit surface of the light guide plate opposite the bottom surface and extending in a direction parallel to the first side surface, and a plurality of convex elements on the bottom surface of the light guide plate. The density of the convex elements increases with increasing distance from the light source.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 2015Date of Patent: June 4, 2019Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Takao Imaoku, Shugo Yagi
-
Publication number: 20190140363Abstract: A scanned antenna according to an embodiment includes a plurality of first antenna elements and a plurality of second antenna elements. The first antenna elements are driven by a gate driver connected to a plurality of first gate bus lines and a first source driver connected to a plurality of first source bus lines. The second antenna elements are driven by a gate driver connected to a plurality of second gate bus lines and a second source driver connected to a plurality of second source bus lines. The gate driver and the gate driver operate independently of each other, and the first source driver and the second source driver operate independently of each other.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 5, 2018Publication date: May 9, 2019Inventors: MASASHI OTSUBO, YOSHINOBU HIRAYAMA, AKINORI KUBOTA
-
Patent number: 10180527Abstract: A backlight unit includes a light emission reflecting portion, first reflecting protrusions, and second reflecting protrusions. The light emission reflecting portion includes unit reflecting portions that include main reflecting surfaces and light reentering surfaces arranged opposite to the main reflecting surfaces, respectively. The first reflecting protrusions include extended main reflecting surfaces that continue to the main reflecting surfaces, respectively, and first auxiliary reflecting surfaces that reflect rays of light traveling toward an opposite plate surface and direct the rays of light toward the main reflecting surfaces and the extended main reflecting surfaces.Type: GrantFiled: February 19, 2015Date of Patent: January 15, 2019Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Ryuzo Yuki, Takeshi Ishida, Takao Imaoku, Yoshinobu Hirayama, Shugo Yagi
-
Patent number: 9971081Abstract: A backlight unit includes LEDs, a light guide plate, a prism sheet, exiting light reflecting portions, prisms, concave lenticular lenses, and flat portions. The concave lenticular lenses are configured such that an occupancy rate of concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction is higher in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate is lower in an area farther from the light entering surface. The flat portions are formed adjacent to the concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction such that an occupancy rate of flat portions with respect to the second direction is lower in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate of the flat portions with respect to the second direction is higher in an area farther from the light entering surface.Type: GrantFiled: January 29, 2018Date of Patent: May 15, 2018Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Takao Imaoku, Takeshi Ishida, Ryuzo Yuki, Shugo Yagi
-
Patent number: 9939575Abstract: A method of manufacturing a light guide plate includes steps of cutting a light guide plate base material with a frame-shaped die into a die-cut plate 50 including side surfaces each having a rectangular shape and performing thermal-imprinting process. In thermal-imprinting process, a processing surface 60a of a plate surface of a heated processing board 60 is pressed against one of the side surfaces 52 of the die-cut plate 50 to thermally imprint a pattern of the processing surface 60a of the processing board 60 on the one of the side surfaces 52 of the die-cut plate 50. The processing surface 60a having a shape that is recessed more at a portion thereof opposite a middle of a long dimension of the one of the side surfaces 52 than a portion thereof opposite ends of the long dimension of the one of the side surfaces 52 is pressed against the side surface 52.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2014Date of Patent: April 10, 2018Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Tetsuyuki Takemoto, Masaki Kageyama, Masanori Ehara
-
Patent number: 9921360Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 18, 2014Date of Patent: March 20, 2018Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Shugo Yagi, Toru Inata
-
Patent number: 9915770Abstract: A backlight unit includes LEDs, a light guide plate, a prism sheet, exiting light reflecting portions, prisms, concave lenticular lens lenses, and flat portions. The concave lenticular lenses are configured such that an occupancy rate of concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction is higher in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate is lower in an area farther from the light entering surface. The flat portions are formed adjacent to the concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction such that an occupancy rate of flat portions with respect to the second direction is lower in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate of the flat portions with respect to the second direction is higher in an area farther from the light entering surface.Type: GrantFiled: July 22, 2015Date of Patent: March 13, 2018Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yoshinobu Hirayama, Takao Imaoku, Takeshi Ishida, Ryuzo Yuki, Shugo Yagi
-
Publication number: 20170363909Abstract: A lighting device includes LEDs 17, and a light guide plate 19 including an edge surface and a pair of plate surfaces, a part of the edge surface being a light entrance surface 19B through which light from the LEDs 17 enters, and one of the plate surfaces being a light exit surface 19A through which the light exits and another one of the plate surfaces being an opposite plate surface 19C opposite from the light exit surface 19A. The light guide plate 19 includes prism portions 51 on the opposite plate surface 19C, projecting from the opposite plate surface 19C and arranged in the X-axis direction and configured to collect light toward in a normal direction of the light exit surface 19A, and an exit light reflection portion 60 provided in a recessed portion 52 that is formed by two adjacent prism portions 51 and configured to reflect light travelling within the light guide plate 19 and facilitate exiting of light from the light guide plate 19.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 3, 2015Publication date: December 21, 2017Inventors: YOSHINOBU HIRAYAMA, TAKAO IMAOKU, SHUGO YAGI
-
Publication number: 20170363798Abstract: A lighting device includes LEDs 17, a light guide plate 19, a reflection sheet 40, an exit light reflection portion 41 on a light exit surface 19a side of the light guide plate 19, opposite plate surface-side convex lenticular lens portions 44 and the flat portions 45 on the opposite plate surface 19c of the light guide plate 19. The occupied ratio of the opposite plate surface-side convex lenticular lens portions 44 with respect to the second direction is relatively low in a portion near the light entrance surface 19b in the first direction and is relatively high in a portion far away from the light entrance surface. The flat portions 45 have a relatively high occupied ratio to the opposite plate surface 19c with respect to the second direction in a portion near the light entrance surface 19b in the first direction and have a relatively low occupied ratio in a portion far away from the light entrance surface 19b.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 3, 2015Publication date: December 21, 2017Inventors: YOSHINOBU HIRAYAMA, TAKAO IMAOKU, SHUGO YAGI
-
Publication number: 20170351142Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a light source, a light guide plate, a backlight unit, and a complex polarizing plate. The light guide plate includes light collecting portions to collect light rays exiting through a light exiting surface with respect to a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the light source to direct the light rays in a frontward direction. The backlight unit includes an optical sheet to collect the light rays to direct the light rays in the frontward direction. The complex polarizing plate includes a selective reflecting sheet and a polarizing plate. The selective reflecting sheet includes a first transmission axis and a reflection axis perpendicular to the first transmission axis. The polarizing plate includes a second transmission axis. The complex polarizing plate is laid on the backlight unit with the first transmission axis and the second transmission axis perpendicular to the light collecting direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 17, 2015Publication date: December 7, 2017Inventors: TAKAO IMAOKU, YOSHINOBU HIRAYAMA, SHUGO YAGI
-
Publication number: 20170329180Abstract: A lighting device includes LEDs 17, a light guide plate 19 including an edge surface and a pair of plate surfaces, a light reflection sheet 40, and a wavelength conversion sheet 50. A part of the edge surface is a light entrance surface 19B through which light from the LEDs 17 enters, and the pair of plate surfaces are light exit surfaces 19A, 19C through which the light exits. The light guide plate 19 includes second prism portions 65 formed on the light exit surface 19A and configured to collect light in a direction of a normal line of the light exit surface 19A. The light reflection sheet 40 is disposed to cover the light exit surface 19C reflects the light in a direction toward the light guide plate 19. The wavelength conversion sheet 50 is disposed between the light guide plate 19 and the light reflection sheet 40 and converts a wavelength of light transmitting therethrough.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 26, 2015Publication date: November 16, 2017Inventors: YOSHINOBU HIRAYAMA, TAKAO IMAOKU, SHUGO YAGI
-
Publication number: 20170269285Abstract: A backlight device includes: LEDs; a light guide plate that has a light-receiving face, a light-exiting surface, and an opposite surface; a reflective sheet disposed so as to face the opposite surface of the light guide plate; and an exiting-light reflecting part that facilitates the emission of light from the light-exiting surface by reflecting light that propagates within the light guide plate, and that is disposed on the light-exiting surface side of the light guide plate. The exiting-light reflecting part is formed of a reflective unit disposed in plurality with gaps therebetween along a first direction, which is along a pair of end faces that are among the peripheral end faces of the light guide plate, are on opposite sides of the light guide plate, and do not include the light-receiving face. The reflective unit extends along a second direction, which is along a pair of end faces that are among the peripheral end faces of the light guide plate and that include the light-receiving face.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 22, 2015Publication date: September 21, 2017Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Takao IMAOKU, Takeshi ISHIDA, Ryuzo YUKI, Shugo YAGI
-
Publication number: 20170205558Abstract: A backlight unit includes LEDs, a light guide plate, a prism sheet, exiting light reflecting portions, prisms, concave lenticular lens lenses, and flat portions. The concave lenticular lenses are configured such that an occupancy rate of concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction is higher in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate is lower in an area farther from the light entering surface. The flat portions are formed adjacent to the concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction such that an occupancy rate of flat portions with respect to the second direction is lower in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate of the flat portions with respect to the second direction is higher in an area farther from the light entering surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 22, 2015Publication date: July 20, 2017Inventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Takao IMAOKU, Takeshi ISHIDA, Ryuzo YUKI, Shugo YAGI
-
Publication number: 20170115446Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: February 19, 2015Publication date: April 27, 2017Inventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Shugo YAGI, Toru INATA
-
Publication number: 20170038515Abstract: A backlight unit includes a light emission reflecting portion, first reflecting protrusions, and second reflecting protrusions. The light emission reflecting portion includes unit reflecting portions that include main reflecting surfaces and light reentering surfaces arranged opposite to the main reflecting surfaces, respectively. The first reflecting protrusions include extended main reflecting surfaces that continue to the main reflecting surfaces, respectively, and first auxiliary reflecting surfaces that reflect rays of light traveling toward an opposite plate surface and direct the rays of light toward the main reflecting surfaces and the extended main reflecting surfaces.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 19, 2015Publication date: February 9, 2017Inventors: Ryuzo YUKI, Takeshi ISHIDA, Takao IMAOKU, Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Shugo YAGI
-
Publication number: 20160320545Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: December 18, 2014Publication date: November 3, 2016Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Shugo YAGI, Toru INATA
-
Publication number: 20160313496Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: December 12, 2014Publication date: October 27, 2016Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yoshinobu HIRAYAMA, Shugo YAGI, Toru INATA