Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Ronald P. Kananen, Esq.
  • Patent number: 6567724
    Abstract: The CPU 102 detects that the posture of the apparatus main body has been shifted from the normal posture into an abnormal posture on the basis of the acceleration information obtained as detection output of the acceleration sensor 41. Then, it restores the normal posture by means of a playback technique for controlling various drivers 3D through 7D, using route planning data stored in advance in the memory 101 for restoring the normal posture from a falling posture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Takashi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 6563366
    Abstract: A high-frequency circuit, wherein there is provided a switching transistor connected between an input terminal and an output terminal, with a gate electrode connected to a control terminal via a resistance element, and with an effective gate portion of the gate electrode divided into a plurality of sections, and arrangement is made of additional capacitance elements added in parallel to a capacitance between a gate and a source or drain of the switching transistor at positions in proximity to one ends of at least two effective gate sections of the plurality of effective gate sections. Preferably, there is provided a short-circuiting transistor similarly having an additional capacitance element between the output terminal Tout and a reference voltage supply line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Kazumasa Kohama
  • Patent number: 6563728
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of memory cells each having, alternately provided in a word line direction, an active region (channel forming region) comprised of a first conductivity type semiconductor and impurity regions comprised of a second conductivity type semiconductor shared by adjacent memory cells. One embodiment of the method comprises driving control gates capacitively coupled with the borders of the active regions with impurity regions and electrically isolated from the word lines to electrically divide the physical memory cell array into n number of memory cell arrays, and driving the impurity regions and word lines in the same memory cell array to operate in parallel the plurality of memory cells connected to the same word line out of the cell columns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Toshio Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6559983
    Abstract: A holographic stereogram printing system to print holographic stereograms with good efficiency and no drop in the operating rate of the imaging system and holographic printer. An imaging system control section of an imaging system comprises an operating section that along with controlling the operation of the camera according to the desired selection of the user such as imaging method, image size selection or image layout, also creates an information management file for the base image based on the control information. A holographic stereogram printer prints out a holographic stereogram according to the information management file provided along a transmission path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Toyoda, Nobuhiro Kihara, Akira Shirakura
  • Patent number: 6556378
    Abstract: In a tape cassette 10 in which a mouth portion 21 opened in forward and up-and-down directions is provided at the front portion of a cassette shell 20 accommodating therein tape reels 40 and 50 having a magnetic tape 30 wound therearound, a part of the magnetic tape is located so as to traverse the front end of the mouth portion, and a front lid 60 for covering the front side of the magnetic tape is provided, a slider 80 is provided so as to be freely movable forwardly and downwardly, each side surface portion of the slider along the side surface of the front lid has a lid-support portion 83 at the front-end portion thereof and a main-surface portion 82 located so as to be farther outward than the lid-support portion, the front lid has a front-surface portion 61 covering the front surface of the tape-shaped recording medium, and side-surface portions 62 projecting backwardly from both the ends of said front surface portion, the side surface portions being freely-rotatably supported to the lid-support portion
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Ota, Shuichi Ota
  • Patent number: 6555158
    Abstract: There is a method and apparatus for plating in which electroless copper plating is performed in a contact hole and an interconnect trench on a minute scale of a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and a plating structure. Organic material originated from an organic gas carried over from the preceding step is removed from the inner surface of a blind hole, thereafter the surface of the barrier layer is subjected to predetermined pretreatments comprising a hydroxylation treatment, a coupling treatment, a Pd colloidal solution treatment and the like, and following the pretreatments, electroless plating with copper is effected desirably under influence of ultrasonic waves. Hence, a uniform, good quality plating layer is formed inside and outside the hole and a CMP processing following the plating is performed with ease.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Yoshio, Yuji Segawa
  • Patent number: 6555594
    Abstract: There is provided a photo-curable, electrically conductive composition which is capable of forming a lower layer (black layer) electrode circuit satisfying both the sufficient conductivity and blackness after calcination in the formation of an electrode on a front substrate of a plasma display panel (PDP). The composition comprises, in the first fundamental mode thereof, (A) electrically conductive black fine particles having a specific surface area of more than 20 m2/g,(B) anorganic binder, (C) a photopolymerizable monomer, and (D) a photopolymerization initiator, and in the second mode further comprises (E) inorganic fine particles besides the above components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Taiyo Ink Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunobu Fukushima, Hiroyuki Tokai, Kouichi Takagi, Tadashi Furuhashi
  • Patent number: 6554817
    Abstract: A device for disposing excrement is provided which can feed air to an interior of a diaper cup main body 2. The diaper cup main body 2 forms a space A as a passage for feeding the air from an air feed hose to air blow ports 2e, 2f, 2g of the diaper cup main body. The space A is formed by joining together an upper cup 2a and a lower cup 2b. The upper cup 2a is adapted to be placed on a pelvic region of a human body and has the air blow ports 2e, 2f, 2g. The lower cup 2b has a connecting cylinder portion 2i to be connected to a wash-water feed hose 17, a connecting cylinder portion 2h to be connected to an excrement suction hose 16, and a connecting cylindrical portion 2j to be connected to an air feed hose 18.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Niles Parts Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuyoshi Oki, Syuei Tamura, Hiroshi Sakai, Kimio Sato
  • Patent number: 6551472
    Abstract: An electroforming apparatus comprising a container unit for storing the plating solution, a cathode part placed in the container unit and for holding an object to-be-plated and an anode part placed in the container unit face-to-face with the cathode part, wherein a current-conductive opening of the anode part is formed to have an area larger than that of a current-conductive opening of the cathode part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Saito, Masatoshi Suzuki, Minoru Tazoe, Makoto Ito, Yuji Segawa
  • Patent number: 6552863
    Abstract: An optical element having a complex structure of diffraction grating, an inclined surface, a difference in level and the like and of good optical characteristics, its manufacturing method, and an optical element manufacturing metal die capable of injection molding the optical element are disclosed. By using an optical element manufacturing metal die constituted to have nestings which have mirror surface forming portions two adjoining pairs of mirror surfaces of the optical element are molded by two adjoining pairs of mirror surface forming portions which are formed on the same nesting. The optical element manufacturing metal die is constituted to include the nesting having a diffraction grating forming portion in which a predetermined concave-convex pattern for molding the diffraction grating of the optical element is formed on one surface of a substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinari Kawashima, Nobuo Suematsu, Akira Koshimura
  • Patent number: 6550126
    Abstract: A mounting method for mounting an electrode assembly on a plasma etching apparatus includes inserting alignment pins in apertures of the plasma etching apparatus. Apertures of the electrode assembly are aligned relative to the alignment pins. The electrode assembly is then mounted on the plasma etching apparatus, passing the alignment pins through the apertures of the electrode assembly. Each alignment pin is then replaced with a locking arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignees: Sony Electronics, Inc, Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Mitchell Szettella, Jeffery Ozee, Augusto James Gonzales
  • Patent number: 6551530
    Abstract: In a hybrid lens forming method for transferring an aspherical composite layer made of an ultraviolet-curing resin, which is curable by irradiation with ultraviolet rays, onto one surface of a convex lens by using a forming die, the forming die is made of a material which transmits ultraviolet rays, and the aspherical composite layer is transferred onto the convex lens by applying ultraviolet rays from the side of the forming die and curing the ultraviolet-curing resin with ultraviolet rays transmitted through the forming die.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Koizumi, Kazuhiro Tanaka, Eiji Ohshima
  • Patent number: 6549608
    Abstract: To provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a semiconductor device manufacturing method able to form a sufficiently precise pattern by ablation. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprising a light source emitting light of a first wavelength on the surface of a wafer and a mask through which at least a part of the light of the first wavelength passes and removing a material of the part of the wafer exposed by the light of the first wavelength by vaporization, wherein the light source comprises an electron beam generating means for generating an electron beam and a light emitting means for emitting light of a second wavelength longer than the first wavelength and wherein the light of the first wavelength is inverse Compton scattered light obtained by collision of electrons in the electron beam with photons in the light of the second wavelength causing the energy of the electrons to be given to the photons and a semiconductor device manufacturing method using the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takayoshi Mamine, Nobuyuki Matsuzawa, Noriyuki Kishii
  • Patent number: 6548214
    Abstract: A method of lithography capable of optimizing its process condition more simply and precisely based on a limited number of experiments is provided. A line edge roughness of a resist pattern is obtained as a characteristic value for evaluation. The resist pattern is formed in an orthogonal experiment based on an orthogonal table that includes significant factors, which define a process condition of its lithography. Reference level (benchmark) values are set for each factor in the orthogonal experiment, from which an appropriate reference level value which minimizes the edge roughness is selected as a process condition for proceeding with the lithography.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Noritsugu Yoshizawa, Masaki Yoshizawa, Shigeru Moriya
  • Patent number: 6546941
    Abstract: A wafer cleaning device is provided with a roll brush extending in an axial direction and having an end portion supported so that the roll brush can be rolled around its axis freely for performing cleaning by touching a rolled contact surface of the roll brush to a cleaned surface of a wafer. The end portion of the roll brush is supported so that the roll brush can be displaced by a dial adjusting screw to enable the axis to be tilted to the cleaned surface of the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Jun Nishihara
  • Patent number: 6549348
    Abstract: An optical scanning device is provided, which is compact-sized and lightweight, and, which consumes less power. A movable member of the device is supported on a fixed member via a swing axis provided on the fixed member. On an upper surface and along an axial line of swing of the movable member, there are disposed a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit. When an AC current flows through a coil provided in the movable member, electromagnetic force acting on the coil when traversing a magnetic circuit comprising a yoke and a permanent magnet both provided on the fixed member urges the movable portion to swing around its swing axis at a predetermined cycle. A laser bean L from the light emitting unit scans a bar code and a reflected light L′ from the bar cord is received by the light receiving unit thereby reading information of the bar code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hidekuni Aizawa, Yoshimasa Goda
  • Patent number: 6550051
    Abstract: To reduce the time for verification in lithographic data and reduce the turn-around-time in preparation of lithographic data, a first lithographic input data and a second lithographic input data are compared in their data formats to extract data of the first lithographic input data excluding data common to the second lithographic input data as a first difference data, or to extract data of the second lithographic input data excluding data common to the first lithographic input data as a second difference data. If the first difference data and the second difference data contain data, they are compared graphically to extract different data as a third difference data. If the third difference data contains data, the first lithographic input data and the second lithographic input data are acknowledged to have a difference therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Ryuji Takenouchi
  • Patent number: 6549374
    Abstract: With the floating-type magnetic head, a load beam, working as an arm, and a flexure, working as a holder, are separately constructed. The flexure is attached to the base of the load beam by spot welding. An embossed (spherical concaved) portion is formed onto the middle of the displacement portion and is in contact with the base. Because the flexure is stiffer and stronger than a conventional cantilever spring-type flexure, it is possible. to prevent the displacement portion from being plastic-deformed even when there is a shock to the magnetic head when it is on standby. Further, the slider uses the embossed portion as a pivot, making the floating more stable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Naoto Ikeda, Kenji Enomoto
  • Patent number: 6545588
    Abstract: A pager allows the input and transmission of a virtual unlimited range of messages. The pager comprises a character display control knob which controls the sequential display of alphabetic and numeric characters on a display. By rotating the knob, the displayed character advances or retreats through the appropriate alphabetic or numeric sequence. When the character is displayed that the pager user wishes to include in a message to be transmitted, the pager user presses a selection key. The process is repeated until the message is completed. The pager may then transmit the message to a paging system by radio transmission to a base station or by emitting a series of sounds in which the message is encoded. In the case of emitted sounds, the sounds are conveyed along an open phone line to the paging system where they are decoded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Wicks, Eduardo Sciammarella
  • Patent number: 6545435
    Abstract: A capacitor for outputting a reference signal is formed by using a part of an envelope. A reference signal according to an anode voltage is output from the capacitor for outputting a reference signal. An unnecessary signal component included in an index-detection signal which is output via the capacitor for outputting an index signal is eliminated on the basis of the reference signal. With the configuration, only the required index-information signal is extracted from the index detection signal with high accuracy at a high SN ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shoichi Muraguchi, Hiromu Hosokawa, Takahiro Inoue