Patents Assigned to Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
  • Patent number: 11574764
    Abstract: A dust core includes a compact containing a soft magnetic powder and also includes a cover coat for the compact. The cover coat contains a polyamideimide-modified epoxy resin. An electric/electronic component includes the dust core, a coil, and a connection terminal connected to each end portion of the coil. At least one portion of the dust core is placed so as to be located in an induced magnetic field generated by the current flowing in the coil through the connection terminal. An electric/electronic device includes the electric/electronic component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masao Matsui, Satoshi Maruyama, Takao Mizushima
  • Patent number: 10908233
    Abstract: A Z detection unit includes magnetoresistive elements provided on inclined side surfaces of Z detection recesses. An X detection unit includes magnetoresistive elements provided on inclined side surfaces of X detection recesses. A Y detection unit includes magnetoresistive elements provided on inclined side surfaces of Y detection recesses. Directions of fixed magnetization of fixed magnetic layers included in the magnetoresistive elements are set to directions shown by arrows with solid lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Eiji Umetsu
  • Patent number: 10242817
    Abstract: A switch includes a housing including a bottom surface and a protrusion formed on the bottom surface, a board that is placed on the bottom surface of the housing and includes a fixed contact, the board and the protrusion being fitted together, a movable contact that is disposed to cover at least portions of the fixed contact and the protrusion and configured to be inverted, and an operation part that presses the movable contact toward the fixed contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Ohara
  • Patent number: 10228395
    Abstract: In a non-contact voltage measurement device that can precisely measure an alternating-current voltage with a simple structure, a first capacitor and second capacitor, having mutually correlated capacitances, are respectively formed between a first electrode and a conductor and between a second electrode and the conductor. An alternating-current signal is given between the first electrode and a first reference potential. When a switch is off, a first charge detecting signal matching charges accumulated in the second capacitor by the alternating-current signal is created with the second electrode kept at the first reference potential. When the switch is on, a second charge detecting signal matching charges accumulated in the second capacitor by the alternating-current voltage is created with the second electrode kept at a second reference potential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Hebiguchi
  • Patent number: 10222915
    Abstract: First electrode layers are formed from an ITO layer on one surface of a substrate formed from a PET film. The surfaces of the first electrode layers are covered with an insulating layer formed from a dry film resist or the like. Second electrode layers are formed on the surface of the insulating layer in a printing process. The second electrode layer is formed from conductive nanowires or conductive nanotubes. After that, first wiring layers brought into conduction with the first wiring layers and second wiring layers brought into conduction with the second electrode layers are formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Sato, Masayoshi Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 10217575
    Abstract: A switch device includes a base part which includes a switch element, an operating member, a force transmission member which transmits a force between the switch element and the operating member, a light source, and a reflective surface. The operating member includes an operating outer surface, an operating inner surface, and a transmitting member. The transmitting member has a transmitting inner surface. At least a portion of the force transmission member is disposed along a pressing direction between the transmitting inner surface and the switch element. The reflective surface is disposed at a position where it reflects at least a part of the light from the light source to at least a portion of the transmitting inner surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hiromi Motoi
  • Patent number: 10203804
    Abstract: A degree of approach of an object in positions of a detection surface is periodically detected by a sensor unit, a group of detection data items indicating a result of the detection is generated in every one of cycles. The group of detection data items generated in the sensor unit is acquired in every one of cycles by a detection data acquisition unit. In the error determination unit, it is determined in every one of cycles whether there is an error in the detection operation due to noise based on a degree of a temporal change and a degree of a positional change in the detection data. When it is determined by the error determination unit that there is an error in the detection operation of one cycle, a process of acquiring the detection data generated in the one cycle is skipped in the detection data acquisition unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoshi Nakajima, Satoshi Hayasaka
  • Patent number: 10199561
    Abstract: An electroconductive film for an actuator is formed from a gel composition including carbon nanofibers, an ionic liquid, and a polymer. The carbon nanofibers are produced with an aromatic mesophase pitch by melt spinning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignees: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION GUNMA UNIVERSITY, ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kinji Asaka, Takushi Sugino, Soshi Shiraishi, Isao Takahashi, Tomomasa Takatsuka, Shinya Komura
  • Patent number: 10191602
    Abstract: A capacitive input device having a curved surface shape includes: an external body molded with a synthetic resin, the external body having an external curved surface facing a user; a film base, which is integrally provided so as to conform to the internal curved surface of the external body; a conductive layer made of conductive macromolecules, the conductive layer being formed on an opposite surface of the film base, the opposite surface being opposite to a bonded surface, of the film base, that is bonded to the external body; and wiring layers that are electrically connected to the conductive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kiyoshi, Mitsuo Oizumi, Hidekazu Takahashi
  • Patent number: 10191563
    Abstract: A manipulation input device has a first detector and a second detector, disposed at different positions on a manipulative member, that detect the displacement of the manipulative member, the displacement being caused when the manipulative member receives a manipulation force, and also has a processor that performs processing to identify a position at which the manipulative member has received the manipulation force according to detection results obtained from the first detector and second detector and to the positions of the first detector and second detector on the manipulative member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Wakuda, Kazuhiko Hiratsuka, Hiroyuki Bannai, Taichi Miyabayashi, James Ogrady
  • Patent number: 10184993
    Abstract: A magnetometric sensor comprises a magnetoresistance effect element having a sensitivity axis in a specific direction; including a fixed magnetic layer, a nonmagnetic material layer, and a free magnetic layer stacked in this order on a substrate; and including a first antiferromagnetic layer on the free magnetic layer on the opposite side to the side facing the nonmagnetic material layer to cause an exchange coupling bias between the first antiferromagnetic layer and the free magnetic layer and align the magnetization direction of the free magnetic layer in a prescribed direction in a state of permitting variation in magnetization. The free magnetic layer includes a first free magnetic sub-layer, a misfit-reducing sub-layer for decreasing the lattice mismatch of the free magnetic layer with the first antiferromagnetic layer, and a second free magnetic sub-layer ferromagnetically coupled to the first free magnetic sub-layer in this order from the first antiferromagnetic layer side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yosuke Ide, Masamichi Saito
  • Patent number: 10175815
    Abstract: There is provided an electrostatic input device including a plurality of electrodes, and receiving an input operation according to electrostatic capacitances generated between the plurality of electrodes and an object when the object comes close to a detection surface, the device including a variation detection unit configured to detect variations in the electrostatic capacitances, a determination unit configured to determine whether the object coming close to the detection surface is the fingertip or the palm on the basis of the variations detected by the variation detection unit, and a control unit configured to inhibit reception of an input operation on the detection surface for a predetermined period of time in a case where the determination unit determines that the object coming close to the detection surface is the palm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhito Oshita, Naoyuki Hatano
  • Patent number: 10168415
    Abstract: A position determining device is configured to determine the position of a portable device configured to receive one or more radio signals transmitted from one or more antennas inside a vehicle, respectively. The position determining device includes a processor configured to determine the open or closed state of a door of the vehicle for getting in and out of the vehicle, calculate an evaluation value related to the position of the portable device based on the received signal strength of the one or more radio signals at the portable device, and determine that the portable device is positioned inside the vehicle when the evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition. The processor is configured to change at least one of the predetermined condition and a method of calculating the evaluation value in accordance with the determined open or closed state of the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Mikihiko Kanaga
  • Patent number: 10156589
    Abstract: An output of a first sensor having a low sensitivity and an output of the second sensor having a high sensitivity are compared with each other, and thus it is determined whether a physical quantity becomes larger than a maximum value of a physical quantity capable of being measured in the second sensor. A sensor module is provided which is configured to switch a plurality of sensors capable of measuring different ranges and to extend a dynamic range by selecting the output of the second sensor in a selection unit in a case where the output of the first sensor and the output of the second sensor are coincident with each other, and selecting the output of the first sensor in the selection unit in a case where the output of the first sensor and the output of the second sensor are not coincident with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Hebiguchi
  • Patent number: 10152186
    Abstract: In a case where the amplitude of a detection voltage is increased, the amplitude of a drive current flowing in a detection-target capacitor also increases, and thus, the amplitude of a detection current also increases. In this case, the increase in amplitude of the detection current is not directly restricted by the condition of a power supply voltage range enabling a circuit to operate. For this reason, a current conversion ratio of a current output circuit or a capacitance value of a capacitor of a current-voltage conversion circuit is set to an appropriate value so as not to cause a voltage to exceed the power supply voltage range, thereby preventing the amplitude of the detection current from being restricted by the condition of the power supply voltage range. Therefore, it is possible to increase the amplitude of the detection voltage to a maximum within the power supply voltage range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsumi Fujiyoshi, Yasuhiko Hiratate
  • Patent number: 10153108
    Abstract: A spring piece is formed integrally as part of a drive arm that presses an operational body. The spring piece is disposed between a pressing part at which the drive arm presses the operational body and a linkage part that acts a swinging fulcrum. A contact part between the spring piece and a case is positioned closer to the linkage part than the bend bottom end is. When the drive arm swings from an initial orientation to a completely swung orientation, the spring piece can generate an elastic return force. The elastic return force does not largely increase even when the drive arm swings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaki Tanaka, Tatsuo Sugawara
  • Patent number: D837857
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kameda, Katsuhiro Hosono, Masanori Takasaka
  • Patent number: D837858
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kameda, Masanori Takasaka, Katsuhiro Hosono
  • Patent number: D837859
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kameda, Masanori Takasaka, Katsuhiro Hosono
  • Patent number: D837860
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kameda, Katsuhiro Hosono, Masanori Takasaka