Patents Represented by Attorney Adams & Wilks
  • Patent number: 7956593
    Abstract: A power generation circuit generates and stores electric power utilizing electromagnetic wave energy. The power generation circuit has one of an antenna or a coil that receives an electromagnetic wave. A rectifying circuit is formed on a silicon substrate and rectifies a signal from the antenna or the coil. A storage circuit stores an output power obtained from the rectifying circuit for driving a load. A MOS transistor has a source and a drain connected to an output of the storage circuit and the load, respectively, so that the load is connected to the storage circuit in accordance with a threshold voltage of the MOS transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignees: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Makoto Ishida, Kazuaki Sawada, Hidekuni Takao, Minoru Sudo
  • Patent number: 7954949
    Abstract: A lightweight and compact hand-held ocular fundus imaging apparatus is provided wherein alignment can be easily performed while ensuring a working length. An examiner takes hold of a grip by hand and secures a face pad against part of the face of a patient. The examiner performs alignment by tilting a reflecting mirror, and when alignment is complete, an image of the fundus of the patient's eye is taken. An optical system except for the reflecting mirror is disposed on the inside of a main body portion that includes the grip and the face pad, and the reflecting mirror is disposed on the outside of the main body portion. A lever for tilting the reflecting mirror is disposed on the grip. With this type of configuration, the alignment operation can be performed easily and reliably by moving the reflecting mirror while maintaining the apparatus main body in a stable state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Kowa Company Ltd.
    Inventor: Takayoshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7955026
    Abstract: To line an inner circumferential surface of side walls of a manhole, a rehabilitating sheet made of a sheet material resistant to water and corrosion is provided in the form of a bag having a shape corresponding to the inner circumferential surface to be lined. The rehabilitating sheet is inserted into the manhole to be lined. Block and plate frames are coupled inside the bag of the rehabilitating sheet to support it so as to have the shape corresponding to the inner circumferential surface to be lined. A gap between the rehabilitating sheet and the inner circumferential surface of the side walls of the manhole is filled with a filler, which is then hardened to line the side walls of the manhole. Pairs of plate frames having different diameters are coupled to each other to provide ring plates having different diameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Shonan Gosei-Jushi Seisakusho K.K.
    Inventors: Takao Kamiyama, Koji Kaneta, Kenji Fujii, Katsuyori Miura
  • Patent number: 7952723
    Abstract: An optical coherence tomography apparatus includes a light source for generating a low-coherent light beam, which is split into a probe light beam toward the object and a reference light beam toward a reference optical path. The probe light beam is swept one-dimensionally at a predetermined frequency. An interference light beam is produced by interference between the probe light beam from the object and the reference light beam that has traveled along the reference optical path. The interference light beam is re-swept in the same direction and at the same frequency as the probe light beam. A two-dimensional image-capturing device detects the re-swept interference light beam at a frame rate corresponding to the light beam sweeping frequency and produces a video signal, which is processed to provide reflection intensity information of an interior of an object to be measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Kowa Company Ltd.
    Inventor: Koji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 7952272
    Abstract: In an EL element including a light emitting layer sandwiched between upper and lower electrodes, of light emitted therefrom, light totally reflected at a light emitting layer interface is not taken out, so there is a problem in that light emission efficiency reduces. Therefore, a light scattering layer in which metal particles are dispersed is provided between an electrode and the light emitting layer. According to such a structure, the light from the light emitting layer can be scattered by the metal particles and taken out, thereby improving the light emission efficiency. When plasmon is excited in the metal particles, light confined in the light emitting layer or each layer adjacent thereto can be used, thereby improving light use efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Manabu Oumi, Masayuki Suda, Shuhei Yamamoto, Mitsuru Suginoya, Shigeru Senbonmatsu
  • Patent number: 7950781
    Abstract: An inkjet head chip has an actuator plate, discharge channels formed in the actuator plate for discharging ink, and non-discharge channels arranged alternately in parallel with the discharge channels and which are not configured to discharge ink. The actuator plate has a piezoelectric layer and a low-permittivity substrate layer. The piezoelectric layer is formed of a piezoelectric material and the low-permittivity substrate layer is formed of an insulating low-permittivity material having a lower permittivity than that of the piezoelectric material. One end of each discharge channel extends to an end surface of the actuator plate in a state in which the insulating low-permittivity material is exposed on a bottom surface thereof, and another end of each discharge channel does not extend to the end surface of the actuator plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: SII Printek Inc.
    Inventor: Osamu Koseki
  • Patent number: 7946008
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator comprises forming a gettering metal film on a surface of a piezoelectric vibrator piece and forming a frequency-adjusting weight, separate from the gettering metal film, on the piezoelectric vibrator piece. The piezoelectric vibrator piece is then placed in a hermetic container after which the hermetic container is hermetically sealed. A laser beam is irradiated on the metal film to heat the same to getter gas contained inside the hermetic container, and after completion of gettering, the laser beam is irradiated on the frequency-adjusting weight to adjust the frequency of vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Satoshi Shimizu, Masaru Matsuyama
  • Patent number: 7942574
    Abstract: A portable watch is equipped with a watch exterior member, a crown, a crown lock button, and an urging member. In a case band with which the exterior member is equipped, there are formed a crown mounting hole and a member mounting portion communicating with this hole and vertically perpendicular thereto. The crown is arranged in the hole. The crown has a crown shaft portion passed through the hole and a crown head portion continuous therewith. The crown shaft is provided with a lock groove continuous in the peripheral direction. The lock button accommodated in the mounting portion has a button head portion (operation end portion) protruding from the mounting portion. The button is movable between a lock position where it is engaged with the groove to constrain the crown and a lock canceling position where it is detached from the groove to cancel the constraint of the crown, and is arranged at the lock canceling position through a one-touch operation of the button head portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshio Hozumi, Kinshuro Itoh
  • Patent number: 7944131
    Abstract: A quartz crystal unit comprises a quartz crystal tuning fork resonator capable of vibrating in a flexural mode of an inverse phase and having at least one groove having at least one stepped portion formed in at least one of opposite main surfaces of each of first and second quartz crystal tuning fork tines. An electrode is disposed on the at least one stepped portion of the at least one groove so that the electrode of the first quartz crystal tuning fork tine has an electrical polarity opposite to an electrical polarity of the electrode of the second quartz crystal tuning fork tine. The quartz crystal unit comprising the quartz crystal tuning fork resonator has a capacitance ratio r1 of a fundamental mode of vibration less than a capacitance ratio r2 of a second overtone mode of vibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Piedek Technical Laboratory
    Inventor: Hirofumi Kawashima
  • Patent number: 7943839
    Abstract: Provided is a tuning device including: a tuning device main body including an electric circuit for computing a tuning state of a musical instrument; a clip portion including a pair of plate materials for attaching the tuning device main body to the musical instrument; a joint member for joining the tuning device main body and the clip portion; and a vibration sensor for sensing a sound emitted from the musical instrument, the joint member including: a first pivot portion for making the clip portion free to pivot about an extension direction of the joint member; and a second pivot portion for making the tuning device main body free to pivot about a direction perpendicular to the extension direction. The vibration sensor is incorporated into the joint member, and is structured to be rotatable about the extension direction unitarily along with the tuning device main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Fumiyoshi Nagakura
  • Patent number: 7940290
    Abstract: A thermal printer includes a main body frame, a thermal head swingably attached to the main body frame, a platen roller disposed to face a printing surface of the thermal head, and a motor for rotationally driving the platen roller. The thermal printer activates the thermal head while conveying a heat-sensitive paper held between the thermal head and the platen roller to perform printing on the heat-sensitive paper. The feeding amount of the heat-sensitive paper may be set so that an aspect ratio of the characters printed on the heat-sensitive paper is within a range of 0.95:1 to 0.8:1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Shinji Nureki, Kazuhisa Onishi
  • Patent number: 7939874
    Abstract: A semiconductor device has semiconductor elements formed on a silicon substrate. A first one of the semiconductor elements has a region formed with a surface orientation of <100>. A second one of the semiconductor elements has a region formed with a surface orientation of <110>or <111>. A third one of the semiconductor elements has a region formed with a surface orientation different from the respective surface orientations of the regions of the first and second semiconductor elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Hitomi Sakurai
  • Patent number: 7934812
    Abstract: An inkjet head chip has an ink chamber containing ink, channels separated by piezoelectric elements and disposed parallel to each other along a width direction of the inkjet head chip, and a nozzle hole for discharging an ink droplet. The channels include a discharge channel disposed in a middle portion of the parallely disposed channels and communicating with the ink chamber and nozzle hole, dummy channels disposed outside of the discharge channel at respective ends thereof, and non-discharge channels toward the recording medium and supply of the ink from the ink chamber to the dummy channels is interrupted. The discharge of an ink droplet from the non-discharge channels toward the recording medium and the supply of ink from the ink chamber to the non-discharge channels are interrupted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2011
    Assignee: SII Printek Inc.
    Inventor: Osamu Koseki
  • Patent number: 7932707
    Abstract: Provided is a voltage regulator having satisfactory transient response characteristics. Because a PMOS (25) and an NMOS (24) pass drain currents (charge and discharge currents with respect to gate of PMOS (26)) based on the square of voltage (?IR) according to change (?I) in drain currents of NMOSs (16 and 17), a maximum value (Imax) of the charge and discharge currents becomes larger, transition time (t) of gate voltage of the PMOS (26) becomes shorter, and the transient response characteristics of the voltage regulator become better.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Takashi Imura
  • Patent number: 7928694
    Abstract: An overcharge detecting comparator (121) detects an overcharged state of a battery (101), and an overcurrent detecting comparator (120) detects an overcurrent state of the battery (101). In response to output signals from those comparators, a control circuit (210) performs on/off control of each of a switch (102) and a protection circuit (50). In response to an output signal from the control circuit (210), the protection circuit (50) is turned on, to thereby connect a resistor (125) to a path connecting a VSS terminal and an overcurrent detecting terminal, and is turned off, to thereby disconnect the resistor (125) from the path. As a result, even when the battery is in the overcurrent state, current consumption can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuaki Sano, Atsushi Sakurai, Toshiyuki Koike
  • Patent number: 7928830
    Abstract: A biometric information detecting apparatus has a biometric sensor for measuring biometric information for a predetermined time period. An A/D conversion portion acquires a sampling data by subjecting an output of the biometric sensor to A/D conversion. A storing portion stores the sampling data. A frequency analyzing portion subjects the sampling data stored in the storing portion to a frequency analysis and stores a result of the frequency analysis to in storing portion. A biometric state value calculating portion calculates a biometric state value from the result of the frequency analysis stored in the storing portion. An SN ratio calculating portion calculates an SN ratio from the result of the frequency analysis stored in the storing portion. A determining portion determines a reliability of the biometric state value based on whether the calculated SN ratio exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Keisuke Tsubata, Koichi Moriya, Shinichiro Miyahara
  • Patent number: 7927769
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) mask. In an etching step, at least a part of an absorption layer of an EUVL mask is etched by allowing a charged particle to irradiate the absorption layer under feed of a halogenated xenon gas. In an oxidant feed step, an oxidant is fed to the absorption layer after the etching step to form an oxidized layer at a side surface of the absorption layer that is not etched during the etching step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: SII Nanotechnology Inc.
    Inventors: Ryoji Hagiwara, Osamu Takaoka, Tomokazu Kozakai
  • Patent number: 7929005
    Abstract: A thermal printer has a thermal head mounted on a case main body and a platen roller confronting the thermal head. A cover member mounted to the case main body undergoes swinging movement to open and close an opening of the case main body. A slider rotatably supports the platen roller and is mounted to the cover member for linear movement on a plane including a rotational center of the platen roller and a swing center of the cover member. Engagement pieces mounted to the slider engage with engagement portions of the case main body when the cover member closes the opening of the case main body and the platen roller confronts the thermal head. A biasing member biases the slider such that the engagement pieces engage with the engagement portions of the case main body and the platen roller is brought into pressure contact with the thermal head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Kimitaka Hirai, Hideki Watanabe, Akio Naito
  • Patent number: 7927440
    Abstract: Air bubbles or foreign objects in a transparent adhesive layer that bonds a transparent plate and a plate-like member together in full-surface contact are detected without fail. For the detection, an optical fiber or the like is used to irradiate the adhesive layer with light from a side, the cast light is guided through the adhesive layer, and a state of the adhesive layer is checked with the guided light. A check that discriminates defects in the adhesive layer from defects in the bonded transparent plate is thus made possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Tsutomu Matsuhira
  • Patent number: 7921565
    Abstract: A working fluid injection apparatus has an upper chamber that stores a working fluid and a lower chamber that removably receives a bearing unit having a housing and a shaft that is inserted in the housing to form between the shaft and the housing a gap into which the working fluid is to be injected. A partition divides the upper chamber and the lower chamber into top and bottom parts, respectively. A first exhaust system brings the inside of the upper chamber to a decompressed state. A second exhaust system brings the inside of the lower chamber to a decompressed state. A valve unit opens and closes an internal cavity of the lower chamber relative to an external environment. A tapered hole is formed in the partition and communicates the upper and lower chambers to one another. A tapered shaft is inserted into the tapered hole from the upper chamber. A shaft drive unit moves the tapered shaft in the axial direction in the tapered hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Junji Teraya, Yutaka Makishima, Naoki Nemoto