Patents by Inventor Yutaka Sawayama
Yutaka Sawayama 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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Publication number: 20230305201Abstract: A reflection plate includes a substrate, an insulation film disposed on the substrate and including projection portions and recesses on an uneven surface, and a reflection film disposed on the uneven surface and having a surface that conforms to the uneven surface and reflecting light. The projection portions are arranged at intervals and are inclined with respect to a normal direction of a surface of the substrate. The recesses are between the projection portions that are adjacent to each other. The projection portions include a first projection portion, a second projection portion, and a third projection portion that are inclined in different directions.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 15, 2023Publication date: September 28, 2023Inventors: Yutaka SAWAYAMA, Yoshimasa CHIKAMA, Masamitsu YAMANAKA, Hideki KITAGAWA
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Patent number: 9921430Abstract: A display component includes a glass substrate GS including a display area AA and a non-display area NAA surrounding the display area AA, a color filter 29 overlapping a surface of the glass substrate GS in the display area AA, a CF board side alignment film 32 disposed in at least the display area AA to cover the color filter 29 and partially including a thickness variation portion 36 that gradually decreases thickness thereof toward an outer side, and a film forming control portion 37 disposed in the non-display area NAA to be next to the display area AA and overlapping the surface of the glass substrate GS and configured to form the CF board side alignment film 32 such that the thickness variation portion 36 is in the non-display area NAA.Type: GrantFiled: July 18, 2014Date of Patent: March 20, 2018Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tetsuya Kida, Yutaka Sawayama, Hiroyuki Okazoe, Yoshiyuki Ihara
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Publication number: 20160124255Abstract: A display component includes a glass substrate GS including a display area AA and a non-display area NAA surrounding the display area AA, a color filter 29 overlapping a surface of the glass substrate GS in the display area AA, a CF board side alignment film 32 disposed in at least the display area AA to cover the color filter 29 and partially including a thickness variation portion 36 that gradually decreases thickness thereof toward an outer side, and a film forming control portion 37 disposed in the non-display area NAA to be next to the display area AA and overlapping the surface of the glass substrate GS and configured to form the CF board side alignment film 32 such that the thickness variation portion 36 is in the non-display area NAA.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 18, 2014Publication date: May 5, 2016Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tetsuya KIDA, Yutaka SAWAYAMA, Hiroyuki OKAZOE, Yoshiyuki IHARA
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Patent number: 8687156Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display panel which allows high quality display by suppressing a disturbance of liquid crystal molecule alignment caused by formation of liquid crystal alignment control protrusions. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, one of the pair of the substrates including a colored layer, a light-shielding layer, and walled liquid crystal alignment control protrusions projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control protrusions including a main protrusion and a secondary protrusion lower than the main protrusion, the secondary protrusion being provided on the colored layer along a borderline between the colored layer and the light-shielding layer, and the light-shielding layer having a narrower width in a region adjacent to the secondary protrusion.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2010Date of Patent: April 1, 2014Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Shunsuke Okadome, Yutaka Sawayama
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Patent number: 8681299Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display panel which allows high quality display by suppressing a disturbance of liquid crystal molecule alignment caused by formation of liquid crystal alignment control protrusions. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, one of the pair of the substrates including a colored layer, a light-shielding layer, and walled liquid crystal alignment control protrusions projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control protrusions including a main protrusion and a secondary protrusion lower than the main protrusion, and the secondary protrusion not being provided along a borderline between the colored layer and the light-shielding layer.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2010Date of Patent: March 25, 2014Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Daisuke Kitano, Yutaka Sawayama
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Patent number: 8675162Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display panel which allows high quality display by suppressing a disturbance of liquid crystal molecule alignment caused by formation of liquid crystal alignment control protrusions. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, one of the pair of the substrates including a colored layer, a light-shielding layer, and walled liquid crystal alignment control protrusions projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control protrusions including a main protrusion and a secondary protrusion lower than the main protrusion, the secondary protrusion being provided on the colored layer along a borderline between the colored layer and the light-shielding layer, and the total of the height of the secondary protrusion and that of the colored layer being substantially the same as the height of the light-shielding layer.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2010Date of Patent: March 18, 2014Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takafumi Kawanishi, Yutaka Sawayama
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Publication number: 20130183612Abstract: The present invention provides a method for producing a substrate for a liquid crystal display panel and a photomask each of which can suppress misalignment of liquid crystal molecules due to liquid crystal alignment control projections. The present invention relates to a method for producing a substrate for a liquid crystal display panel. The substrate includes liquid crystal alignment control projections, and the liquid crystal alignment control projections include a main projection and a sub-projection. The sub-projection is linear and is lower than the main projection. The production method includes a step of forming a positive photosensitive resin film and a step of exposing the photosensitive resin film to light through a photomask. The photomask has a light-control region for forming the sub-projection. The light-control region has a slit-shaped translucent part.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 27, 2011Publication date: July 18, 2013Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yutaka Sawayama, Yasuo Fujii
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Publication number: 20120327344Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display panel which allows high quality display by suppressing a disturbance of liquid crystal molecule alignment caused by formation of liquid crystal alignment control protrusions. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, one of the pair of the substrates including a colored layer, a light-shielding layer, and walled liquid crystal alignment control protrusions projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control protrusions including a main protrusion and a secondary protrusion lower than the main protrusion, and the secondary protrusion not being provided along a borderline between the colored layer and the light-shielding layer.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 26, 2010Publication date: December 27, 2012Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Daisuke Kitano, Yutaka Sawayama
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Publication number: 20120287384Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display panel which allows high quality display by suppressing a disturbance of liquid crystal molecule alignment caused by formation of liquid crystal alignment control protrusions. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, one of the pair of the substrates including a colored layer, a light-shielding layer, and walled liquid crystal alignment control protrusions projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control protrusions including a main protrusion and a secondary protrusion lower than the main protrusion, the secondary protrusion being provided on the colored layer along a borderline between the colored layer and the light-shielding layer, and the light-shielding layer having a narrower width in a region adjacent to the secondary protrusion.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 26, 2010Publication date: November 15, 2012Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Shunsuke Okadome, Yutaka Sawayama
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Publication number: 20120287385Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display panel which allows high quality display by suppressing a disturbance of liquid crystal molecule alignment caused by formation of liquid crystal alignment control protrusions. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, one of the pair of the substrates including a colored layer, a light-shielding layer, and walled liquid crystal alignment control protrusions projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control protrusions including a main protrusion and a secondary protrusion lower than the main protrusion, the secondary protrusion being provided on the colored layer along a borderline between the colored layer and the light-shielding layer, and the total of the height of the secondary protrusion and that of the colored layer being substantially the same as the height of the light-shielding layer.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 26, 2010Publication date: November 15, 2012Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takafumi Kawanishi, Yutaka Sawayama
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Publication number: 20120249945Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display panel that prevents disturbances of the alignment of liquid crystal molecules by means of a liquid crystal alignment control projection, thereby providing high display quality. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention comprises a pair of substrates; and a liquid crystal layer inserted between the substrates, wherein one of the substrates comprises a wall-shaped liquid crystal alignment control projection projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control projection comprises a main projection and a sub-projection that is lower than the main projection, and the sub-projection decreases in height with the increasing distance from the main projection.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 15, 2010Publication date: October 4, 2012Inventors: Ryoh Tamura, Yutaka Sawayama
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Patent number: 8049846Abstract: A reflection-type display device includes an optical modulation layer 34, a pair of substrates 30 and 32 between which the optical modulation layer 34 is retained, an electrode structure 52, 44 for causing pixel-by-pixel changes in the optical characteristics of the optical modulation layer 34. One of the pair of substrates 32 has a corner cube array composed of a plurality of corner cubes 36. The corner cube array 36 has a plurality of projections 46 defining an interval between the pair of substrates 30 and 32, the plurality of projections 46 being disposed in peak portions.Type: GrantFiled: March 3, 2006Date of Patent: November 1, 2011Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Sayuri Fujiwara, Kiyoshi Minoura, Makoto Kanbe, Yutaka Sawayama
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Patent number: 7714956Abstract: A front-illuminating device of the present invention, which is placed over the entire surface of an object to be illuminated such as a reflection-type liquid crystal display device when it is used, is provided with a light source and a light-directing body. The light-directing body has an incident surface on which light from the light source (light-source light) is made incident, a first light-releasing surface for releasing the light toward the object to be illuminated, and a second light-releasing surface which faces the first light-releasing surface and releases reflected light from the object to be illuminated. The second light-releasing surface is formed into a step shape in which slanting portions and flat portions are alternately placed.Type: GrantFiled: December 10, 2004Date of Patent: May 11, 2010Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yutaka Sawayama, Yukihiro Sumida, Takeshi Masuda, Tsuyoshi Ebi
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Patent number: 7656477Abstract: A reflective display device includes: a light modulating layer; two substrates, between which the light modulating layer is interposed; and an electrode structure that changes the optical properties of the light modulating layer on a pixel-by-pixel basis. One of the two substrates includes a corner cube array in which a plurality of corner cubes are arranged. The corner cube array includes a principal surface that defines a retroreflective surface, a bottom, and a plurality of conductive members that are arranged between the principal surface and the bottom. A portion of the upper surface of each of the conductive members defines a part of the principal surface of the corner cube array. The part is located in a lowest-level portion of its associated corner cube including the lowest-level point thereof.Type: GrantFiled: July 18, 2006Date of Patent: February 2, 2010Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yutaka Sawayama, Makoto Kanbe
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Patent number: 7551247Abstract: A reflection-type display device 200 includes: an active switch layer 201s including a plurality of switching elements 201t; a plurality of pixel electrodes 207 each connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of switching elements 201t; a reflective layer 205 formed between the active switch layer 201s and the plurality of pixel electrodes 207; and a modulation layer 213 provided at a side of the pixel electrodes 207 facing a viewer, the modulation layer 213 being capable of switching between a first state and a second state of respectively different optical characteristics. The reflective layer 205 is connected to neither the plurality of switching elements 201t nor the plurality of pixel electrodes 207.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2005Date of Patent: June 23, 2009Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Sayuri Fujiwara, Yutaka Sawayama, Kiyoshi Minoura, Makoto Kanbe
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Patent number: 7522243Abstract: A display device includes a substrate, a circuit element, an interlayer film, and an electrode. The circuit element is provided on the substrate. The interlayer film is provided over the circuit element and includes an interlevel dielectric layer and an interconnecting member that runs through the interlevel dielectric layer. The electrode is provided on the interlayer film. The electrode and the circuit element are electrically connected together by way of the interconnecting member. The electrode on the interlayer film has a substantially uniform surface shape.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 2003Date of Patent: April 21, 2009Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Sayuri Fujiwara, Yutaka Sawayama
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Patent number: 7518676Abstract: A method of making a micro corner cube array includes the steps of: preparing a substrate, at least a surface portion of which consists of cubic single crystals and which has a surface that is substantially parallel to {111} planes of the crystals; and etching the surface of the substrate anisotropically, thereby forming a plurality of unit elements for the micro corner cube array on the surface of the substrate. Each of these unit elements is made up of a number of crystal planes that have been formed at a lower etch rate than the {111} planes of the crystals.Type: GrantFiled: March 8, 2006Date of Patent: April 14, 2009Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kiyoshi Minoura, Shun Ueki, Yasuhisa Itoh, Ichiroh Ihara, Yutaka Sawayama, Kohji Taniguchi
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Patent number: 7360907Abstract: A method of making a micro corner cube array includes the steps of: providing a substrate, at least a surface portion of which consists of cubic single crystals and which has a surface that is substantially parallel to {111} planes of the crystals; and dry-etching the surface of the substrate anisotropically with an etching gas that is reactive with the substrate, thereby forming a plurality of unit elements of the micro corner cube array on the surface of the substrate. Each of the unit elements is made up of a number of crystal planes that have been etched at a lower etch rate than the {111} planes of the crystals.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2006Date of Patent: April 22, 2008Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Ichiro Ihara, Kiyoshi Minoura, Yutaka Sawayama
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Patent number: 7293884Abstract: A corner cube reflector includes a two-dimensional arrangement of unit elements. The unit elements are arranged at a pitch of 200 ?m or less. As viewed in a direction from which incoming light is coming, each unit element has a peak point and a bottom point. A peak portion, including the peak point, has an excessive portion and/or a missing portion as compared with an ideal peak portion of an ideal corner cube. The level of the peak point is lower than that of the ideal peak point of the ideal corner cube. An average level difference h2 between the level of the bottom point and that of an ideal bottom point of the ideal corner cube is smaller than an average level difference h1 between the level of the peak point and that of the ideal peak point.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2006Date of Patent: November 13, 2007Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yutaka Sawayama, Sayuri Fujiwara, Makoto Kanbe, Kiyoshi Minoura, Ichiro Ihara
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Publication number: 20070081244Abstract: A corner cube reflector includes a two-dimensional arrangement of unit elements. The unit elements are arranged at a pitch of 200 ?m or less. As viewed in a direction from which incoming light is coming, each unit element has a peak point and a bottom point. A peak portion, including the peak point, has an excessive portion and/or a missing portion as compared with an ideal peak portion of an ideal corner cube. The level of the peak point is lower than that of the ideal peak point of the ideal corner cube. An average level difference h2 between the level of the bottom point and that of an ideal bottom point of the ideal corner cube is smaller than an average level difference h1 between the level of the peak point and that of the ideal peak point.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 28, 2006Publication date: April 12, 2007Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yutaka Sawayama, Sayuri Fujiwara, Makoto Kanbe, Kiyoshi Minoura, Ichiro Ihara