Patents Assigned to Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd.
  • Publication number: 20170025586
    Abstract: A light emitting device includes a substrate, a light emitting element mounted on the substrate, a phosphor plate for covering an upper surface of the light emitting element, a white reflecting resin placed on the substrate to surround side surfaces of the light emitting element and the phosphor plate, and a reflecting frame, including a reflecting film formed by plating and a bonding portion, and placed on the substrate to surround the light emitting element, the phosphor plate, and the white reflecting resin. The reflecting frame is directly bonded to the substrate by the bonding portion in a portion where the white reflecting resin is not located.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2016
    Publication date: January 26, 2017
    Applicants: CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yusuke Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20170017206
    Abstract: Whether a bright state or a dark state is established is determined each time a motor is driven one step, based on a presence or absence of a passing of light through a detection hole disposed in a detection wheel that rotates associated with rotations of a hand wheel coupled with the motor. A switching position X is identified at which the dark state is switched to the bright state when the dark state is determined and thereafter the bright state is determined. A position one step after the identified switching position X is set to be a reference position X+1 of the hand wheel. The reference positions X+1 and X?1 can thereby be set after a driving mechanism is assembled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2016
    Publication date: January 19, 2017
    Applicants: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akira KATO, Kazuya IMAMURA, Shoichiro MORITA, Yuji YANO
  • Publication number: 20170005033
    Abstract: A substrate includes a first electrode layer including a first electrode and a second electrode; a second electrode layer including a first electrode and a second electrode; a third electrode layer including a first electrode and a second electrode; and a resin layer. The first electrode layer is arranged on a first side of the resin layer, the third electrode layer is arranged on a second side of the resin layer opposed to the first side, the second electrode layer is positioned in the resin layer, and the first electrode layer is thicker than the second electrode layer. The first and second electrodes of the first electrode layer are positioned inside a peripheral edge of the first side of the resin layer, and the first and second electrodes of the third electrode layer are positioned inside a peripheral edge of the second side of the resin layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2016
    Publication date: January 5, 2017
    Applicants: CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yuichi MIURA
  • Publication number: 20170003532
    Abstract: An optical device includes a liquid crystal shutter using a first liquid crystal material, the liquid crystal shutter controlling application of a light beam to a predetermined point, corresponding to a driving waveform supplied to the liquid crystal shutter; a spatial optical modulator using a second liquid crystal material whose contrast becomes a maximal contrast at a temperature different from that of the first liquid crystal material, the spatial optical modulator modulating the light beam corresponding to a driving waveform supplied to the spatial optical modulator; and a supplying unit that supplies to the liquid crystal shutter and the spatial optical modulator, driving waveforms that are adjusted such that the contrasts of the liquid crystal shutter and the spatial optical modulator each become equal to or greater than 50% of the maximal contrast at a same temperature,
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2016
    Publication date: January 5, 2017
    Applicant: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Shinya KONDOH
  • Patent number: 9529330
    Abstract: An oscillating stepping motor can reduce a required rotational angle of a rotor to drive a star wheel, reduce idle driving, cut the loss of energy required for the driving, reduce power consumption even in high-frequency driving, and stably operate. Two star wheels are located so that the tooth tips thereof are not engaged with each other. A rotor shaft includes a rotor pinion having two feed teeth at a certain aperture angle. One of the feed teeth feeds one of the driving wheels by oscillation of the rotor in one direction and the other of the feed teeth feeds the other of the driving wheels by the oscillation of the rotor in the other. The rotor then oscillates within a certain angle range, thereby sequentially rotating output gears in a certain direction by a certain angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Fukushima, Akira Shiota, Toshinari Maeda
  • Patent number: 9527180
    Abstract: A set means for setting a workpiece (11) is provided behind a main shaft (4), the front end of which is provided with a chuck (8) that opens and closes freely, and is disposed so as to support the workpiece (11) with the chuck central axis line (C1) of the chuck (8) and the workpiece central axis line (C2) of the workpiece (11) positioned on a single line. The orientation of a workpiece (11)-holding means (53) of a conveyance means (56) for conveying the workpiece (11) between the set means (41) and the main shaft (4) is configured to be maintained when transferring the workpiece (11) between the holding means and the set means (41) and when transferring between the holding means and the chuck (8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sakae Nakazawa, Akira Handa, Shouzen Yanakawa
  • Publication number: 20160357156
    Abstract: An electric timepiece with a solar cell in which an aesthetic aspect is satisfied at low costs without decorating a dial trim ring and the power generation amount sufficient for driving a timepiece is obtained is provided. An electric timepiece with a solar cell includes a dial, a light permeable dial trim ring disposed to surround a center portion of the dial, and a solar cell disposed outside an outside surface of the dial trim ring to face the outside surface. An inclination surface is formed at least in a part of the outside surface of the dial trim ring, which faces the solar cell, the inclination surface inclines toward the center portion of the dial as going from the dial in a height direction of the dial trim ring, and a different color member having a color different from that of a light-receiving surface of the solar cell is provided to face a lower surface of the dial trim ring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2015
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Applicants: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd, Citize Watch Co., Ltd
    Inventor: Yudai KANNO
  • Patent number: 9512968
    Abstract: Provided is an LED module that can be easily manufactured while maintaining good reflective characteristics even when a plurality of LED elements and other electronic components are packaged on a circuit substrate. This LED module is characterized by having: a sub-mounting substrate for packaging a plurality of LED elements; a module substrate for packaging an electronic component other than the plurality of LED elements, the sub-mounting substrate being mounted on the module substrate; a dam material disposed on the module substrate and surrounding a mounting part of the sub-mounting substrate; and a cover member for covering top faces of the plurality of LED elements, the cover member being filled into an inside region of the dam material; the reflectance of a surface of the sub-mounting substrate being set higher than the reflectance of a surface of the module substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ryo Tamura, Takashi Akiyama
  • Patent number: 9508910
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the size and thickness of an LED module in which a plurality of LED dies along with other electronic components are mounted on a circuit board, and at the same time to stabilize the operation of the module with respect to source voltage fluctuation. The LED module includes: a circuit board; a plurality of LED dies that are mounted on one surface of a circuit board as bare chips and constitute a series circuit; an FET die that is mounted on the one surface of a circuit board as bare chips and controls a current flowing through the plurality of LED dies; and a constant current circuit that is mounted on the one surface of a circuit board and is series-connected to the series circuit. The constant current circuit includes the FET die.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Akiyama, Shigehisa Watanabe, Hidekazu Arai, Yuki Ochiai
  • Patent number: 9505575
    Abstract: To improve precision in identifying the amount that remains of a recording medium, an apparatus includes a paper holder that supports an outer circumferential surface of a recording medium that is biased downward in a vertical direction by the weight of the recording medium, such that a position of a center of the recording medium moves on a straight-line trace, associated with consumption of the recording medium; and a light-reflecting sensor that is provided at a predetermined position at a side face of the paper holder and senses displacement per unit time at a position facing the predetermined position of the recording medium that is rotated by being pulled out of the paper holder, associated with the consumption of the recording medium, where based on the displacement sensed by the light-reflecting sensor, a radius of the recording medium at the time the light reflecting sensor senses the displacement is calculated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignees: Citizen Holdings Co., LTD., Citizen Systems Japan Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Tsugaru, Gen Matsushima, Katsutoshi Mukaijima, Tetsuya Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9510407
    Abstract: An LED drive circuit includes a rectification circuit configured to rectify an alternating-current voltage that is input via a dimmer circuit, a delay circuit having a switch, and a light emitting unit including an LED array including LEDs connected in series, wherein the delay circuit turns on the switch when a predetermined time elapses after the alternating-current current is input, and the rectification circuit and the LED array are directly connected when the switch is on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO. LTD.
    Inventor: Takashi Akiyama
  • Publication number: 20160343693
    Abstract: Provided is a light-emitting apparatus including a substrate, first and second pairs of terminals, each pair including two terminals disposed at two opposed positions on the substrate, a first plurality of light-emitting devices which are mounted in one of two sections formed by bisecting a mounting region on the substrate by a line segment jointing the two positions, and which are connected to the first pair of terminals, and a second plurality of light-emitting devices which are mounted in the other section of the mounting region, and which are connected to the second pair of terminals, and wherein the first and second plurality of light-emitting devices are arranged in a direction parallel to the line segment, and are each mounted at an angle relative to one side of the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2016
    Publication date: November 24, 2016
    Applicants: CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shingo Kuriki, Takakazu Yano, Takeshi Yoshida, Toshihisa Shirai, Satoshi Abe
  • Patent number: 9490398
    Abstract: Provided is an LED device which is compact while having good luminous efficiency and a focused light distribution. This LED device is provided with: a reflective frame around the outer periphery of the LED device; an LED die which has a transparent insulating substrate, a semiconductor layer formed on the bottom surface of the transparent insulating substrate, and an outer connection electrode disposed on the semiconductor layer; and a fluorescent member which is disposed on at least the top surface of the LED die and which converts the wavelength of the light emitted from the LED die. On the inside of the reflective frame is an inclined surface in contact with the lateral surface of the fluorescent member, and the inclined surface is formed such that the inner diameter of the reflective frame widens from the bottom surface towards the top surface of the LED die. Also provided is a manufacturing method of the LED device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Nodoka Oyamada, Kenji Imazu, Shusaku Mochizuki
  • Patent number: 9484509
    Abstract: In a first aspect of the present invention, a lighting device includes a light-emitting element, a frame including a phosphor that can be excited by light emitted from the light-emitting element, the frame having an inner side surface surrounding the light-emitting element and an outer side surface being positioned outside the inner side surface that demarcates a quadrilateral area, and a light-transmitting resin arranged in the quadrilateral area demarcated by the inner side surface of the frame and sealing the light-emitting element that is positioned inside the quadrilateral area, and the light-transmitting resin being further provided in contact with an outer side surface of the frame. In some embodiments, it is disclosed that the light-transmitting resin provided in contact with the outer side surface of the frame may include a diffuser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Atsushi Kanemaru
  • Patent number: 9485830
    Abstract: When an LED lighting apparatus which is a lighter load than an incandescent lamp or halogen lamp is connected to a dimmer, a malfunction may occur. The invention prevents the occurrence of such malfunction without defeating the purpose of low power consumption of the LED lighting apparatus. More specifically, the LED lighting apparatus includes a rectifier circuit, a light-emitting circuit connected to the rectifier circuit and containing a single or a plurality of LEDs in which current begins to flow when an output voltage of the rectifier circuit exceeds a threshold voltage, and a bypass circuit having a bypass path for making the current flow to the rectifier circuit without passing through the light-emitting circuit, and a detecting unit for detecting the current flowing through the light-emitting circuit, and wherein when the current detected by the detecting unit exceeds a predetermined value, the bypass circuit shuts off the current flowing through the bypass path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keisuke Sakai, Rintaro Takahashi, Takashi Akiyama
  • Patent number: 9481183
    Abstract: Provided is a printer in which the rotating shaft of a ribbon roller can be connected to its driving unit with high accuracy by using a mechanism simple in structure, while preventing breakage that may occur when connecting the rotating shaft to the driving unit. The printer (1) includes a cabinet (7), a drawer unit (11) which can be drawn out of the cabinet, a ribbon roller (4A, 4B) on which a belt-like ink ribbon used for transferring to a recording sheet is wound, a driving unit (31A, 31B) which drives the ribbon roller for rotation by being connected to a rotating shaft (14A, 14B) of the ribbon roller when the drawer unit is loaded in the cabinet, and a disengaging member (40) which is provided on the cabinet and which disengages the driving unit from the rotating shaft when the drawer unit is drawn out of the cabinet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN SYSTEMS JAPAN CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akira Takahashi, Yuichi Taguchi
  • Patent number: D771282
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Maki Takehara, Tatsuya Katoh
  • Patent number: D771579
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignees: Citizens Electronics Co., Ltd., Citizens Holdings Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Eguchi, Sadato Imai, Tatsuya Katoh, Takuya Funakubo, Takeru Ohmori
  • Patent number: D773075
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignees: CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shingo Kuriki, Yu Kayanuma
  • Patent number: RE46295
    Abstract: An LED apparatus includes a base having thermal conductivity, an insulative substrate provided on one surface of the base and including electrodes provided on a surface of the substrate, at least one base-mounting area that is an exposed part of the base, exposed within a pass-through hole provided in the substrate, a plurality of LED elements mounted on the base in the base-mounting area and some of the LED elements in a unit electrically connected to the electrodes in series, a plurality of the units are electrically connected in parallel, and a frame disposed to surround the base-mounting area and configured to form a light-emitting area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignees: CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Norikazu Kadotani, Koichi Fukasawa, Sadato Imai