Patents Assigned to Sharp
  • Patent number: 7668001
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory device (1) comprises a memory cell array (100) in which memory cells each have a variable resistance element and the memory cells in the same row are connected to a common word line and the memory cells in the same column are connected to a common bit line, wherein during a predetermined memory action, the voltage amplitude of the voltage pulse applied to an end of at least one of the selected word line and the selected bit line is adjusted based on the position of the selected memory cell in the memory cell array (100) so that the effective voltage amplitude of a voltage pulse applied to the variable resistance element of the selected memory cell to be programmed or erased falls within a certain range regardless of the position in the memory cell array (100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masayuki Tajiri, Atsushi Shimaoka, Kohji Inoue
  • Patent number: 7668577
    Abstract: A plurality of operation portions are arranged at a surface on a sub-display side of a cellular phone with a camera so that various kinds of setting, selection and control can be performed without opening the cellular phone in its folded state, and the cellular phone can achieve improved operability and convenience. Cellular phone includes a first display portion at a surface of a first body opposed to a second body in the folded state, and includes a second display portion, an image taking portion and a plurality of operation portions arranged at a rear surface of the first body remote from the first display portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Hamamura, Yoshitaka Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7667336
    Abstract: A semiconductor device provided with a semiconductor chip wherein an electrode pad is formed on a circuit formation surface, includes a first passivation film, which serves as an adhering layer; a second passivation film formed on the first passivation film, for protecting the semiconductor chip from external physical damage; a metal film formed so as to cover at least a first electrode-pad opening section of the first passivation film; and an external connection terminal to connect the electrode pad to an external equipment. A second electrode-pad opening section of the second passivation film is formed so as to expose the first electrode-pad opening section entirely. The second passivation film is formed so as not to be in direct contact with the electrode pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshiya Ishio
  • Patent number: 7668494
    Abstract: In an embodiment of the present invention, a pressure application mechanism portion is provided with a pressure-varying link structure arranged so as to be movable in lateral directions along an upper end portion of a device frame, a drive shaft having an eccentric cam for moving the pressure-varying link structure in the lateral directions, a shaft holding structure arranged so as to be rotatable coupled to the pressure-varying link structure, and a coil spring for applying a biasing force to the shaft holding structure in one direction along the upper end portion of the device frame, and a rotational movement is carried out to make a pressure roller approach and move away from a heat roller so as to achieve a relatively low pressure during a color processing mode and a relatively high pressure during a monochrome processing mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Kubo, Hiroaki Hori, Yasunori Minakuchi, Yoshinobu Tateishi, Yasunobu Ohkawa, Yoshinobu Okumura
  • Patent number: 7668484
    Abstract: The invention delivers a charging roller which is capable of preventing current leakage to a photoreceptor throughout life-time and which has a stable resistance value throughout life-time. The charging roller contains a metal core and a rubber layer formed on the core. The rubber layer is an epichlorohydrin-based rubber base material to which an electronic conductive agent and an ionic conductive agent are added. The rubber layer is subjected to surface processing by spraying the surface with a solution containing an isocyanate compound and heating. The amount of the electronic conductive agent added to the rubber base material is limited so that a volume resistivity when only the electronic conductive agent is added to the rubber base material is 1.46×106 ?·cm or greater. In addition, the amount of the added ionic conductive agent is increased so that a volume resistivity when the electronic conductive agent and the ionic conductive agent are added to the rubber base material is 1.93×106 ?·cm or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiaki Kagawa, Kouji Shinkawa, Tohru Sakuwa
  • Patent number: 7668792
    Abstract: A portable terminal device or cellular phone includes a target setting section, a display unit, a focused-state determination section, and a recognition section. The photography-target setting section sets normal photography mode for photographing an image, and OCR mode for photographing a character or bar code. The display unit displays a photographed image, and positioning of an image as a photography target. The focused-state determination section is activated, and determines a focused state of a character or bar code photographed in the OCR mode. The recognition section recognizes the photographed character or bar code, the result of which is displayed by the display unit. Press of a confirmation button initiates a process to communicate with a communications target corresponding to the recognized result. A linking section may link recognition results to form a continuous string.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshio Hagino
  • Patent number: 7666782
    Abstract: A wire structure, having: a first insulating layer having a lower layer trench formed in an outer surface thereof; a first diffusion preventing film formed on an inner surface of the lower layer trench; a lower layer wire filled in the lower layer trench over the first diffusion preventing film; an interlayer diffusion preventing film formed on the lower layer wire, the interlayer diffusion preventing film made of a high melt point metal or a high melt point metal compound; a second insulating layer formed over the first insulating layer and the interlayer diffusion preventing film, a second insulating layer having a via hole that penetrates through the second insulating layer and the interlayer diffusion preventing film so as to reach the lower layer wire; a conductive second diffusion preventing film formed on an inner surface of the via hall; a conductor filled in the via hole over the second diffusion preventing film, and an adhering film made of the material that forms the interlayer diffusion preventing
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tsuneo Fujiki
  • Patent number: 7667754
    Abstract: An input side of a switched capacitor amplifier section is connected to output sides of transfer transistors of a photoelectric conversion transfer section group comprised of a prescribed number of a plurality of photoelectric conversion transfer sections, each of which has a photodiode and a transfer transistor. An output side of the switched capacitor amplifier section is connected to a vertical signal line. The switched capacitor amplifier section has a signal charge storage section, an amplification transistor whose an input side is connected to the signal charge storage section, a capacitor connected between input and output sides of the amplification transistor and a reset transistor. A voltage at the ground terminal of an inverting amplifier, which is constructed of a constant current load transistor connected to the output side of the amplification transistor via the vertical signal line and the amplification transistor, is controlled by a vertical scanning circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Eiji Koyama
  • Patent number: 7668473
    Abstract: There are provided a fixing device and an image forming apparatus capable of reducing a sensing error of a surface temperature of a heating roller. The fixing device includes a temperature sensor for sensing the surface temperature of the heating roller, and a temperature calculation circuit. The temperature calculation circuit includes a noise removal prevention circuit. The temperature sensor includes an infrared ray sensing thermistor and a compensation thermistor, and the noise removal prevention circuit prevents removal of a part of an AC component (such as a high frequency component in a noise) included in a difference between outputs (difference output) of the infrared ray sensing thermistor and the compensation thermistor. Thus, the AC component is prevented from being offset when the difference outputs are averaged, thus reducing the sensing error of the surface temperature of the heating roller based on the average value of the difference outputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomoki Nakajima, Tamaki Mashiba
  • Patent number: 7669196
    Abstract: A data processing system including a data generating device and a data outputting device. The data generating device includes: a generation program updating section for updating the version of the generation program, which causing a computer to generate data, from a current version to a next version.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Corporation
    Inventor: Hidetoshi Takizawa
  • Patent number: 7668467
    Abstract: The demodulation circuit of the present invention is a demodulation circuit, connected with a plurality of light-receiving sections each for receiving an optical signal and converting the signal into a binary pulse signal, operable to select and demodulate a pulse signal out of pulse signals that are supplied from the light-receiving sections, respectively, the demodulation circuit including: a judgment and selection section for detecting timing with which High level and Low level of each of the pulse signals are switched and for selecting at least one pulse signal based on the timing; and a demodulation section for demodulating the pulse signal selected by the judgment and selection section. Consequently, the demodulation circuit easily selects and demodulates a signal whose jitter component is small out of a plurality of supplied signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hitoshi Naoe, Fumihiro Fukae, Koji Sakai, Shohei Ohsawa
  • Patent number: 7667877
    Abstract: A document reader includes a document feeder conveying a document along a document conveyance path, a first image reader reading an image formed on a first side of the conveyed document, and a second image reader reading an image formed on a second side of the conveyed document. Each of the first and second image readers is of an optical reduction system constituted of a light source, a mirror, a lens and an image sensor. The second image reading means is unified into a single assembly including at least the mirror, the lens and the image sensor, to be thus detachably attached, as a single unit, to the document feeding means. Thus, the document reader can clearly read the images formed on the first and second sides, it requires a short period of time from image reading to image outputting, and its maintenance is readily conducted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasumasa Morimoto
  • Patent number: 7668368
    Abstract: A correction processing section 1 performs a color correction such that a movement amount indicating how much input values of image signals should be moved for the purpose of color correction becomes smaller as the distance between the input values and the coordinates of the center of region to be corrected becomes larger in the region to be corrected, based on the input values of the input signals (L signal, *a signal, *b signal), conditional data (such as radius r) defining a local region to be corrected, the coordinates (Lc, *ac, *bc) of the center of the region to be corrected and the coordinates (Lm, *am, *bm) of the center of an ideal color region to be targeted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Katsuji Kimura
  • Patent number: 7669060
    Abstract: In a data processing apparatus which performs an output process and a protection process on data stored in a data storage section, and executes user verification when verification data to be used in verification at a time of accepting setting about the protection process is stored in a verification data storage section, execution of a data protection process is permitted or inhibited according to whether the verification data is stored in the verification data storage section or not. As the protection process is executed when user verification is carried out, the security on data protection is kept at a high level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Katsuyoshi Fujiwara, Yuji Okamoto, Naofumi Ueda, Syouichirou Yoshiura
  • Patent number: 7668170
    Abstract: The embodiments of the invention relate to source content streaming, particularly to transmitting data units scheduled for dropping or non-transmission. This data unit in the buffer scheduled for dropping is instead transmitted by dropping one or more consecutive data units later in the transmission order in the buffer and which meet a lower priority threshold. In some embodiments, the data unit is transmitted with a modified time value, e.g., a modified timestamp and/or an allowable presentation time range value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventor: Sachin Govind Deshpande
  • Patent number: 7668470
    Abstract: A toner supplying device includes: a toner density sensor for detecting a density of toner contained in a developer tank; a toner hopper for supplying toner to the developer tank; a toner cartridge for supplying toner to the toner hopper; and a control section, when a request to supply toner to the developer tank is made in accordance with a signal detected by the toner density sensor, for controlling a hopper driving motor and a cartridge driving motor so that (i) the toner hopper supplies toner to the developer tank and (ii) the toner cartridge supplies toner to the toner hopper. Thus, in a structure having first and second toner supplying sections disposed on top of each other, toner can be stably supplied to a developer tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akiko Tsuji, Shuhichi Morikuni, Takahiko Kimura
  • Patent number: 7668462
    Abstract: An optical wireless communication device mounted in electronic equipment includes: a light-receiving element for receiving an optical communication signal; and a control unit that monitors a received light output of the light-receiving element. When the control unit determines that the received light output represents the optical communication signal, it selects and executes communication mode for the optical communication signal. When the control unit determines that the received light output does not represent the optical communication signal, it selects and executes charge mode in which the received light output is used as a charge power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Nobuhisa Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7667861
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus including: a plurality of image data acquisition units for respectively acquiring one or more page(s) of image data; a color or monochrome determining unit for determining whether each of the acquired pages is in color or in monochrome; an image forming unit for performing image formation of each page switchably using a monochrome-only image forming function for a monochrome page or a color and monochrome image forming function for a color page and a monochrome page; an image data switching unit for sequentially selecting and arranging the acquired pages of image data one by one so that the image formation of each page is performed in the order of selection; a function selecting unit for selecting either one of the monochrome-only and color and monochrome image forming functions for each of the arranged pages on the basis of the determination result made by the color or monochrome determining unit; and a control unit for controlling the image forming unit so that image formation of
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Umetani, Kenji Tanaka, Kazuhiro Mizude, Hideyuki Hiro
  • Patent number: 7667816
    Abstract: A liquid crystal drop fill device by which liquid crystal panels of different sizes is easily obtained from a mother glass, and a method for drop filling liquid crystal by using the device is provided in order to increase utilization efficiency of the mother glass. The device 1 includes a stage 3 arranged to support a substrate 2, liquid crystal dispensers 4 and 5 arranged to drop fill liquid crystal on the substrate 2, a first moving unit 6 arranged to support the dispensers 4 and 5 movably in a Y-direction relative to the stage 3, and second moving units 7 and 8 arranged to support the dispensers 4 and 5 movably in an X-direction relative to the first moving unit 6, wherein the device 1 further includes a third moving unit 9 arranged to support the dispenser 5 to be further movable in the Y-direction relative to the second moving unit 8.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabuhsiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinichi Hirato
  • Publication number: 20100039572
    Abstract: In a power board, relay terminals penetrate a circuit board through fitting holes, and are connected to output terminals. The fitting holes are thus formed as through holes on the circuit board, and thereby on-board connectors provided for connection to the relay terminals on a chassis can be arranged on the back surface of the circuit board on the opposite side of the chassis. Electronic components free from restriction of the positional relationship with the chassis can be mounted on the back surface of the circuit board, as are the on-board connectors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2007
    Publication date: February 18, 2010
    Applicants: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, JAPAN AVIATION ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Yoshiki Takata, Kenichi Iwamoto, Takaaki Kudo, Naofumi Ikenaga