Patents Assigned to Sharp
  • Publication number: 20110018913
    Abstract: What is provided is a liquid crystal display unit (1), including: a first liquid crystal display element (2) for displaying an image; an accessory (4) provided behind the first liquid crystal display element (2); and a surface light source (3) provided between the first liquid crystal display element (2) and the accessory (4), the surface light source (3) being movable, and the surface light source (3) being moved (i) so that the accessory (4) is shielded in a first case where the image, displayed by the first liquid crystal display element (2), is viewed by a primary viewer of the first liquid crystal display element (2) and (ii) so that the accessory (4) is not shielded in a second case where the accessory (4) is viewed by the primary viewer. This makes it possible to fully shield, with a simple configuration, the accessory provided behind a liquid crystal display device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2008
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Eiji Nittou
  • Patent number: 7876572
    Abstract: A wiring board of the present invention includes a dummy wiring in a semiconductor-chip mount area on which a semiconductor chip is to be mounted. The dummy wiring is arranged in a manner such that all wiring-lines included in the dummy wiring each have a free end within the semiconductor-chip mount area. This prevents a defect due to vaporization and expansion of moisture inside a semiconductor apparatus, with a simple structure and without raising costs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiki Sota
  • Patent number: 7876969
    Abstract: Reduced complexity inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) masks and a method for reducing the number of IDCT calculations in video decoding are provided. The method comprises: accepting an n×m matrix of DCT coefficients; performing (n?y) horizontal IDCT operations, where y is greater than 0; performing y scaling operations; and, generating an n×m block of pixel information. Some aspects of the method further comprise: performing (m?z) vertical IDCT operations, where z is in the range between 0 and m/2. In some aspects, performing (n?y) horizontal ICDT operations includes performing IDCT operations for the first (n?y) horizontal rows. Then, performing y scaling operations includes: selecting the DC component from the first position of each horizontal row; scaling the selected DC component; and, copying the scaled DC component into the remaining positions of each of horizontal row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Shijun Sun, Shawmin Lei
  • Patent number: 7876959
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to systems, methods and devices for detection of text in an image using an initial text classification result and a verification process. In particular, a support region of a candidate text pixel in a text-candidate map may be expanded to produce a revised text-candidate map. Pictorial regions in the image may be discriminated based on an entropy measure using masking and the revised text-candidate map, and the revised text-candidate map may be refined based on the pictorial regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Toyohisa Matsuda, Richard John Campbell, Lawrence Shao-hsien Chen
  • Patent number: 7874434
    Abstract: A substrate carrying tray capable of horizontally placing a substrate thereon and enabling a plurality of trays to be stacked on each other, comprising an upper contact part coming into contact with one tray disposed on the upper side of the tray when the plurality of the substrates are stacked on each other and a lower contact part coming into contact with the other tray disposed on the lower side. The shapes of the upper contact part and the lower contact part are formed such that, when one tray is placed on the upper side of the tray, the one tray can be moved in the direction that the gravity center of the one tray is disposed just above the gravity center of the tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takenori Yoshizawa
  • Patent number: 7876386
    Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, when a display voltage is applied to picture element electrodes, each picture element electrode forms a plurality of domains in which liquid crystal molecules align themselves in different directions. The picture element electrodes are formed such that their edge portions on the opposite sides of a picture-element-electrode aperture portion formed between the picture element electrodes face parallel to each other with a certain interval. A source bus line is provided along the picture-element-electrode aperture portion formed between the picture element electrodes. The source bus line is disposed beneath the picture element electrodes and at the edge portions of the picture element electrodes by overlapping therewith in a direction of thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masumi Kubo, Akihiro Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7876339
    Abstract: A display device which exhibits functional effects in which color separation between sub-pixels constituting a pixel is hardly recognized and white line display is easily recognized as one line, in enlargement of the color reproduction range in image display using multi-primary colors, and thereby improves display quality, and provides a liquid crystal display device including such a display device. The display device displays an image constituted by pixels each including sub-pixels of four or more colors, wherein the pixels constituting the display device mainly include a pixel arranging a sub-pixel of a color having the highest brightness value in a central region of the pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shoji Okazaki, Yoshihiro Okada, Kenji Nakamura, Kozo Nakamura
  • Patent number: 7876409
    Abstract: In a liquid crystal display element of the present invention, the aligning capability for imparting pre-tilt angles to a liquid crystal material is imparted only to the surface of the alignment film of one of the substrates, the material layer having dielectric anisotropy includes a chiral material and a liquid crystal material with a nematic liquid crystal phase, 0.25?d/p?0.50 is satisfied assuming that the thickness of the material layer having the dielectric anisotropy is d and the chiral pitch length of the liquid crystal material is p, and 1000×d/p??n×d is satisfied assuming that the refractive index anisotropy of the liquid crystal material is ?n.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Kume, Takashi Kurihara, Kazuhiko Tamai, Takaaki Okamoto, Shinya Saeki
  • Patent number: 7875636
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to pyridyl amide compounds which are antagonists of T-type calcium channels, and which are useful in the treatment or prevention of disorders and diseases in which T-type calcium channels are involved. The invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds and the use of these compounds and compositions in the prevention or treatment of such diseases in which T-type calcium channels are involved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
    Inventors: James C. Barrow, Thomas S. Reger, Zhi-Qiang Yang
  • Patent number: 7877122
    Abstract: In a folding mobile phone (folding portable electronic device), a cam mechanism (support mechanism) includes a first guide groove, a second guide groove, a first guide pin engaged into the first guide groove, a second guide pin engaged into the second guide groove, and a link member connecting the first and second guide pins. The cam mechanism supports a liquid crystal display part to allow the liquid crystal display part to turn clockwise and counterclockwise as viewed from the front, thereby allowing the liquid crystal display part to be changed between a vertical position and a horizontal position. Furthermore, the cam mechanism includes an urging mechanism urging the second guide pin to allow the liquid crystal display part to reach the vertical or horizontal position in either turning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeshi Yamamoto, Yoshihiko Handa, Shinichi Koarata
  • Patent number: 7876916
    Abstract: A card-type sound apparatus has, on a card-shaped substrate, a combination of a sound signal input portion to which a sound signal is input from outside and a sound generation portion that generates sound according to the sound signal input to the sound signal input portion, or a combination of a sound collection portion that collects sound from outside and converts the sound into an electric signal and a sound signal output portion that outputs to outside the electric signal obtained from the sound collection portion, or both of these combinations. The sound generation portion generates sound by making the card-shaped substrate itself vibrate according to the sound signal input to the sound signal input portion. The sound collection portion collects sound by converting the vibration of the card-shaped substrate itself into an electric signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Miyata, Hidetaka Mizumaki
  • Patent number: 7875642
    Abstract: Novel crystalline salts of 3-[1-(4-chlorophenyl)-trans-3-fluorocyclobutyl]-4,5-dicyclopropyl-r-4H-1,2,4-triazole are potent inhibitors of 11?-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase Type 1 and are useful for the treatment of conditions associated with Metabolic Syndrome as well as cognitive impairment. The invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing these novel salts, processes to prepare these salts and their pharmaceutical compositions as well as uses thereof for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, hyperglycemia, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cognitive impairment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
    Inventors: Yuri Bereznitski, Mark A. Huffman, Joseph E. Lynch, Matthew Zhao
  • Patent number: 7876833
    Abstract: Adaptive up-sample filtering is used to improve compression efficiency of spatially scalable coding systems by more effectively predicting the high-resolution (enhanced-layer) video (or image) from the low-resolution lower-layer video (or image). Different up-sample filters adaptive to local image properties are selectively used for different portions of a low resolution frame to generate a better up-sampled image. Selection between different up-sample filters is determined by a variety of different information available to both the encoder and decoder. In one embodiment, the up-sample filters are selected by the encoder and then explicitly identified to the decoder. Other techniques are then used to minimize the cost of transmitting the up-sample filter identifiers. In alternative embodiments, the encoder and decoder independently make up-sample filters selections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Andrew Segall, Shaw-min Lei
  • Patent number: 7876393
    Abstract: In a surface-area light source device, a light entrance side surface of a light guide plate of a surface-area light source device has a staircase shape having steps in the vertical direction, and light emission diodes are provided at each step. The structure enables the distance between a light emission diode provided at one step and light emission diodes provided at an adjacent step to be maintained greater even if the thickness of the light guide plate is reduced so as to decrease intervals of the light emission diodes in the direction of the thickness of the light guide plate. As a consequence, the amount of transmission and reception of heat produced by the light emission diodes is reduced to prevent an increase in the temperature of the diodes. This allows a reduction in the thickness of the light guide plate with the brightness of light emitted from the light guide plate maintained, enabling the surface-area light source device to be thinned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takayoshi Tanabe
  • Patent number: 7877045
    Abstract: There is provided a charging device having high durability, of which controllability of charged potential of a photoreceptor is hardly impaired even with a some amount of contaminants such as a toner so that control of charged potential of a photoreceptor can be stably carried out to fall in an appropriate range over a long period of time, and moreover which is inexpensive. As a grid electrode, one prepared by forming a composite plated layer composed of three layers of an Sn plated layer, an Sn—Co plated layer and a Ni plated layer is used. More preferably, an upper layer is an Sn plated layer, an intermediate layer is an Sn—Co plated layer and a lower layer is a Ni plated layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takashi Hori
  • Patent number: 7875413
    Abstract: There is provided a capsulated toner which has low-temperature fixing ability, good storage stability, excellent charge stability, high fixing strength to a sheet paper, and low consumption, and is capable of forming a color image of high-definition, high-gloss, and high-density. The capsulated toner for electrophotography includes a shell layer containing a cycloolefin copolymer resin and a core particle including a synthetic resin different from the cycloolefin copolymer resin, wherein the capsulated toner has a core/shell type structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shibai, Katsuru Matsumoto
  • Publication number: 20110013504
    Abstract: A method and system optimizes the transmission of a downlink reference signal (DLRS) in a wireless communication system that uses orthogonal division multiple access (OFDMA) for the downlink. Each Node-B (base station) is capable of transmitting the DLRS reference symbols in different subframes of the OFDM radio frame and changing both the number and location of the subframes in response to changing network conditions. The network conditions include the number of terminals being served by the Node-B and multiple access interference (MAI) from adjacent Node-Bs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2010
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Applicant: SHARP LABORATORIES OF AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Kimihiko Imamura
  • Publication number: 20110013086
    Abstract: It is an object to provide an audio visual device that can display a picked-up image on a screen for a user to easily recognize the image without imposing an excessive load in terms of a capacity or the like. An audio video device is provided to display a list of picked-up images so that a user can easily recognize them by making use of a cell to display a program table set in the audio visual device in advance. Further, an audio visual device is provided to display a list of Exif information contained in a picked-up image together with the picked-up image on a screen so that a user can easily recognize the image displayed on the screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2008
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kinya Fujimoto
  • Publication number: 20110015495
    Abstract: A sleep management method and system for improving the quality of sleep of a user which monitors one or more objective parameters relevant to sleep quality of the user when in bed and receives from the user in waking hours via a portable device such as a mobile phone feedback from objective test data on cognitive and/or psychomotor performance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2010
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Pamela Ann DOTHIE, Thomas Alexander FORD
  • Publication number: 20110013090
    Abstract: A backlight device in which falling of a light source from a connector member is suppressed. The backlight device (20) comprises hot-cathode fluorescent lamps (23) where connector parts (23a) having two terminals (23b) are provided at the both ends, a chassis (21) disposed on the back surface side of the hot-cathode fluorescent lamps, and fluorescent lamp sockets (24) which fix the hot-cathode fluorescent lamps to the chassis. At each fluorescent lamp socket, an insertion part (24c) for inserting a terminal of a hot-cathode fluorescent lamp is formed. The insertion part is formed so that the direction of removing the hot-cathode fluorescent lamp from the socket faces an upper side than the horizontal direction when the chassis is disposed vertically.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2008
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shinji Matsumoto