Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm David A. Tucker
  • Patent number: 6836568
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus which allows a user to execute image processing, such as extraction and elimination of a portion common to a plurality of images therefrom, with a simple operation. An image of a document is read by a scanner, and when the document is a first one, the image of the document is stored from input means into storing means. When an image of a second document is read, comparing means compares the read image with the image stored in the storing means to judge whether or not a difference in pixel values between the first document image and the second document image is smaller than a threshold value set through setting means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tadao Morishita
  • Patent number: 6835918
    Abstract: An upper heat roller with an external heat source and a lower heat roller with an internal heat source are arranged with a paper transport path therebetween, in such a manner as to be pressed against each other. The lower heat roller is heated sufficiently, thereby supplying a paper sheet with sufficient heat when the paper sheet is transported through a contact region between the upper and lower heat rollers to be heated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiaki Kagawa, Shogo Yokota
  • Patent number: 6831620
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device capable of attaining smooth gray scale display and greatly improved display quality, free from the display problems of flicker and the like. The resistance division ratios for gray scale voltage generating resistors provided in the source driver of a source line drive circuit for applying gray scale voltages to pixels via source lines are optimized in accordance with a gray scale display characteristic, and the positive-side voltage resistance division ratios and the negative-side voltage resistance division ratios are set so as to be asymmetrical with one another in consideration of a level shift characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Keishi Nishikubo, Toshihiro Yanagi
  • Patent number: 6798474
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device is provided which includes: a first substrate; a second substrate; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes a plurality of switching elements, a plurality of picture element electrodes connected to the plurality of the switching elements and a plurality of color filters which are arranged so as to correspond to the plurality of the picture element electrodes on an area of the first substrate corresponding to a display region of the liquid crystal display device, and a light shielding frame layer around a periphery of the display region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Matsushima, Takashi Sato
  • Patent number: 6796736
    Abstract: Front and side surfaces of an image forming device are provided with a front cover and a side cover, respectively, which cover an image forming section, and which can opened and closed. A supporting hinge of the side cover is provided along a lateral edge thereof toward the rear of the main body of the device, and the side cover opens to widely expose a lower portion of the image forming section. Further, by means of an obstructing body provided integrally with the front cover, the and side covers are given an order of opening and closing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinori Shiraishi, Hidetoshi Kaneko, Yoshinori Hayashi, Yasushi Matsutomo, Minoru Tomiyori
  • Patent number: 6788376
    Abstract: Pixel electrode fabricating processes are remarkably reduced. A pixel electrode 22 is formed without using any vacuum film forming apparatus by employing a sol-gel material and coating an insulating substrate with the sol-gel material by a spin-coating method or a dipping method, and this allows the fabricating processes to be reduced. During this course, by forming the pixel electrode before the formation of a scanning electrode 23, signal wiring lines and a TFT 24, the electrode wiring and the TFT 24 suffer no thermal damage even if they have a heat resistance temperature of about 350° C. Furthermore, by using a sol-gel material having photosensitivity, patterning processes are reduced by the elimination of the photoresist patterning process and the etching process. An investment for the equipment of a fabricating apparatus can thus be reduced to allow the cost reduction of the active matrix substrate itself to be achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Izumi, Yoshimasa Chikama, Hisao Ochi
  • Patent number: 6788427
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a print data controlling method for correctly performing, even when a print request regarding the same or similar print data is repeatedly issued, a print procedure desired by a user without decrease in printer operating efficiency and waste of resources such as paper. As a decision result produced by a print server on the basis of a comparison of data specifying information contained in print requesting data with data specifying information attached to each print data spooled in a print queue, a terminal device receives decision data which informs that there has already been spooled print data identical with or similar to print data regarding a current print request. Then, the terminal device will accept designation input for designating a print data processing procedure, thereafter sending to the print server processing data representative of contents of the designated print data processing procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masafumi Okigami
  • Patent number: 6784934
    Abstract: An active type solid-state imaging device of the present invention includes: a plurality of pixels arranged in an array; a plurality of signal lines wherein each of the pixels is connected to one of the signal lines; a first power source; and a second power source having a lower voltage than that of the first power source. Each of the pixels includes: a photoelectric conversion section; a first, depletion type MOS transistor; a second, reset MOS transistor for resetting a signal charge which has been stored in the photoelectric conversion section; and a third, pixel selection MOS transistor serially connected to the first MOS transistor to form a transistor pair. One end of the transistor pair is connected to one of the signal lines and the other end thereof is connected to the first power source. One end of the second MOS transistor is connected to the photoelectric conversion section and the other end thereof is connected to the second power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takashi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6778472
    Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus includes a first optical system for recording or reproducing signals to or from a first optical recording medium; a second optical system for recording or reproducing signals to or from a second optical recording medium; a holder for accommodating the first optical system and the second optical system on substantially the same plane; a focusing driving device for moving the holder in a first direction parallel to an optical axis of the first optical system and the second optical system; a tracking driving device for rotating the holder in a second direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the first optical system and the second optical system; a switching device for placing the first optical system on an optical path for recording or reproducing signals to or from the first optical recording medium, and for placing the second optical system on the optical path for recording or reproducing signals to or from the second optical recording medium; and a variable distance driving d
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masayuki Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 6771245
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a liquid crystal display apparatus driving method capable of preventing display quality deterioration caused by action of DC voltage components exerted on a liquid crystal layer. Common electrode potential set at counter potential K5 for correcting a first DC voltage component &Dgr;V1 ascribable to parasitic capacitance of TFT is shifted to correction potential K6 for correcting a second DC voltage component &Dgr;V2 ascribable to characteristics of each substrate. Since the second DC voltage component &Dgr;V2 ascribable to difference in characteristics between the substrates and the first DC voltage component &Dgr;V1 ascribable to parasitic capacitance are corrected beforehand, the DC voltage component acting upon the liquid crystal layer is kept as small as possible, thereby preventing an image persistence or the like, so that the reliability of the liquid crystal display apparatus improves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Makoto Kanbe, Sayuri Fujiwara, Kazuhiko Tsuda
  • Patent number: 6760299
    Abstract: On an optical disc including a substrate on which pits having at least two different depths are formed, main information is recorded by the shape of the pits and additional information is recorded by the depth of the pit. It is possible to reverse polarity of a tangential push-pull signal dependent on the depth of the pit, and therefore it becomes possible to record information utilizing the depth of the pit. This improves recording density of the optical disc. Further, when information of the optical disc is to be copied, the information recorded by the depth of the pit cannot be copied. Therefore, unauthorized reproduction can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junsaku Nakajima, Hitoshi Takeuchi, Masaru Nomura
  • Patent number: 6757047
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device has data signal lines consisting of recurrently formed first, second, and third lines that have open ends and are used for data entry, first diodes formed on the first lines, and second diodes formed on the second lines and having an opposite polarity to the first diodes. In this liquid crystal display device, a test for uneven display of colors is conducted by putting a short-circuiting bar for supplying testing voltages to the data signal lines in contact with the data signal lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomohiro Amano
  • Patent number: 6750878
    Abstract: An operation panel includes a mode which can selectively set the display form, whether new image information is formed by a dynamic image forming section, and a plurality of static image information are sequentially displayed in a display section together with static image information controlled in a guidance information control section, to thereby display for guidance to a user as continuous guidance image information, or the static image information controlled in the guidance information control section is displayed for guidance to a user as guidance image information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nomura Tatsuo, Fukuda Kohki, Yoshiura Syoichiro, Itoh Akihiko, Hasegawa Keiichi
  • Patent number: 6751495
    Abstract: Quantified differences, such as chi2 error parameters, between a mono-exponential, logarithmic best fit of a series of line scan diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance signals taken over a range of b-factors between about 100 and about 5000 sec/mm2 are obtained. The quantified differences so generated are displayed as an image wherein the brightness of each pixel depends upon the size of its associated quantified difference. The resulting image is characterized by high signal to noise ratio and distinctness between varying tissue types.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: Brigham & Womens' Hospital
    Inventors: Stephan E. Maier, Robert V. Mulkern, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6741017
    Abstract: Disclosed is a cold cathode electron source characterized in that a cold cathode material which can achieve electron emission in a low electric field (e.g., a carbon nanotube), necessary constituent elements are provided individually in uncalcined ceramic sheets (green sheets 21, 43, 46) and the sheets are laminated and calcined to form an integral structure. The electron source can be manufactured by forming through-holes 20 in a flat plate, charging a conductive paste 30 containing carbon nanotubes 31 dispersed therein into the through-holes 20 by vacuum suction, thereby causing to orient the carbon nanotubes 31 in the axis direction of the through-hoes 20. The electron source is useful for the low-cost manufacture of a device with a cold cathode electron source which can achieve ready vacuum evacuation and maintenance of the vacuum level, as well as a high emission current density at a low voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuya Ide, Masao Urayama
  • Patent number: 6734908
    Abstract: A correlated double sampling circuit that remarkably suppresses a fixed pattern noise and an amplification type solid state imaging device employing the circuit are provided. An input changeover switch 200 is switched to the vertical signal line 145 side in a first period, and the signal of the vertical signal line 145 is clamped by first clamping circuit (201, 202) in the first half of the first period. Thereafter, a signal on the output side of the clamping capacitor 201 is sampled and held by first sample hold circuit (203, 204) in the last half of the first period. Next, the input changeover switch 200 is switched to the fixed potential side in a second period, and the clamping potential is sampled and held by the first clamping circuit with respect to a fixed potential in the first half of the second period. Thereafter, a signal on the output side of the clamping capacitor 201 is sampled and held by the first sample hold circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Watanabe, Eiji Koyama
  • Patent number: 6729542
    Abstract: A digital information recording carrier has a planar recording surface having an information recording area in which cells corresponding to bits are virtually set in a matrix form, each cell being provided with an optically recognizable mark corresponding to digital information so that the digital information is recorded in the information recording area as a two-dimensional pattern. The carrier also has specific patterns each consisting of a plurality of cells which are linked together and which are given marks in a given pattern. Some of the specific patterns are placed in an inner portion apart from a perimeter of the information recording area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Iwai, Atsushi Aoki, Masahiro Esashi, Hiroaki Niwamoto, Norimasa Yamaguchi, Tsukasa Kaminokado
  • Patent number: 6728183
    Abstract: An optical device to control the output power of a laser on recording and reproduction without expensive high-speed circuits is provided. The optical disk device of the present invention comprises monitor portion for monitoring the power of laser light, averaged light quantity calculating portion for calculating the averaged light quantity of the power of the laser light, memory portion for memorizing the averaged light quantity, error quantity calculated portion for calculating the difference between the output signals of the averaged light quantity calculating portion and the memory portion, and laser power control portion for controlling the power of the laser light in response to the output signal from the error quantity calculating portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hitoshi Takeuchi, Junsaku Nakajima
  • Patent number: 6728179
    Abstract: In a spherical-aberration correcting mechanism which electrically drives and changes the lens group gap of two groups of lenses so as to correct spherical aberration, in order to reduce the power consumption thereof, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus of the present invention is arranged so that, upon recording or reproducing a recording medium having a plurality of recording layers, supposing that the gap of the lens groups at the time of forming a converged light spot on the first recording layer is DIS(1), the applied current to the spherical-aberration correcting mechanism is i1, the gap of the lens groups at the time of forming a converged light spot on the N-th layer (the farthest layer from the surface of the recording medium) is DIS(N) and the applied current to the spherical-aberration correction mechanism is i2, |i1|=|i2| is satisfied, and the neutral point of the spherical-aberration correcting mechanism is set at a position satisfying the following expre
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ikuo Nakano, Eiji Yamada
  • Patent number: 6726802
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a slot plate having a slot-formed region for passing microwave from a waveguide to a microwave entrance window, and a slot plate drive unit driving the slot plate to change the position of the slot plate with respect to the microwave entrance window. The slot plate is thus moved with respect to the microwave entrance window to change at least one of the position, number and area of slot openings where the microwave is passed. The plasma processing apparatus accordingly ensures uniform plasma processing even if the process condition significantly changes when films on a large-area substrate or wafer to be processed are made of different materials or a stacked-layer film composed of layers of different materials is to be processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takamitsu Tadera, Tatsushi Yamamoto, Masaki Hirayama, Tadahiro Ohmi