Patents by Inventor Akira Higuchi

Akira Higuchi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7615855
    Abstract: An IC body is loaded to a case 2 made of thermosetting resin material and sealed with a sealing portion made of thermosetting resin material to be integrated, whereby an IC card is manufactured. The IC body comprises: a wiring substrate formed with an external connection terminal at a back surface thereof; a semiconductor chip loaded over a surface of the wiring substrate and electrically connected to the external connection terminal via a interconnect; and the sealing portion made of thermosetting resin material so as to cover the semiconductor chip and a bonding wire. The sealing portion is formed so that the external connection terminal is exposed. The present invention makes it possible to heighten the strength of IC cards and at the same time, to reduce the manufacturing cost and improve the reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Junichiro Osako, Hirotaka Nishizawa, Kenji Osawa, Akira Higuchi
  • Patent number: 7608456
    Abstract: In a microplate processing apparatus that removes lid (11) of microplate (10) conveyed by microplate conveying mechanism (3), performs a dispensing process by dispensing head (8), and attaches lid (11) after the dispensing process is completed, lid (11) removed by lid removing mechanism (6) at second position (P2), is conveyed to fourth position (P4) located downstream, in advance of microplate (10) with this lid (11) having been attached, by microplate conveying mechanism (3), to be retained by lid attaching mechanism (9), and then is attached to microplate (10) having been conveyed to fourth position (P4), after the dispensing process is completed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Higuchi, Eiji Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20090241699
    Abstract: In a micro-liquid transfer apparatus including two washing tanks (first washing tanks A and B), operations to transfer a sample are carried out using two pin tools (pin tools A and B) alternately. While one pin tool A is being mounted on a pin tool holder and is being used to transfer a liquid, the other pin tool B is waiting in a state where the lower end portions of their associated pins are immersed in the first washing tank B. While one pin tool A is being mounted on a pin tool holder and is being used to transfer a very small amount of liquid, the lower end portions of the respective pins of the other pin tool are washed, whereby the liquid transfer operations can be made in progress with no interruption and thus the generation of the operation waiting time can be prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2009
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akira Higuchi, Shirou Yamashita, Kouji Shimogawa
  • Patent number: 7592604
    Abstract: The present invention provides a charged particle beam apparatus capable of preventing the charging-up of the specimen without using a large-scale facility. A scanning electron microscope 100 illuminates a specimen 21 with a charged particle beam via a charged particle optical system arranged in a column. According to the present invention, the scanning electron microscope 100 has a charge preventive member 110 disposed between the objective lens 14 and the specimen 21. The charge preventive member 110 has an electrically conductive portion and an opening 113 to transmit the charged particle beam. The charge preventive member 110 is formed so as to partly cover the charged particle optical system when viewed from the charged particle beam irradiation spot on the specimen. In addition, the charge preventive member 110 has gas inflow paths 114 and 115 formed therein. These gas inflow paths have gas injection outlets 116 formed to inject gas toward the charged particle beam irradiation spot on the specimen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Topcon Corporation
    Inventors: Hirotami Koike, Shinichi Okada, Akira Higuchi, Masahiro Inoue, Masahiro Yamamoto, Sumio Sasaki
  • Patent number: 7557336
    Abstract: When light is made incident into antenna layers 11a, 11b, and 11c of a photodetector 1, specific wavelength components of light contained in the incident light combine with surface plasmons of the antenna layers 11a, 11b, and 11c, and surface plasmon resonance occurs. Thereby, near-field lights are outputted from through-holes 13 of the antenna layers 11a, 11b, and 11c. The near-field light outputted from each through-hole 13 reaches a light absorbing layer 4 via light receiving surfaces 4a, 4b, and 4c. The light absorbing layer 4 generates a charge of an amount according to the amount of received light. Since cycle intervals ?a, ?b, and ?c of convex portions 12 in the antenna layers 11a, 11b, and 11c are different from each other, the wavelength component of light that combines with a surface plasmon differs in each of the antenna layers 11a, 11b, and 11c. Consequently, a plurality of wavelength components of light can be detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.
    Inventors: Minoru Niigaki, Toru Hirohata, Hiroyasu Fujiwara, Akira Higuchi
  • Publication number: 20090071242
    Abstract: When a discharge trouble such as clogging has occurred in a plurality of branch tubes branched from a flow tube coupled with a pressure vessel, it is displayed immediately as a flow rate variation in the flow tube. A Judgment section of a dispensing system, therefore, finds the discharge trouble in the branch tubes immediately based on a flow rate detected by a flow-rate detector provided on the flow tube. Moreover, the judgment section identifies the branch tubes where the discharge trouble has occurred based on the respective flow rates of the branch tubes opened individually or opened in a predetermined combination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Inventor: Akira HIGUCHI
  • Publication number: 20090065593
    Abstract: An IC card and card adapters are designed so that the IC card of a specific standard (e.g., MMC standard) is compatible with IC cards and terminals of other standards (e.g., MS card standard and USB terminal standard). In the IC card (MMC), a controller IC, which is connected to a flash memory, includes a voltage pull-down detector, a mode controller, a USB-mode interface controller, a MS-mode interface controller, and an MMC/SD-mode interface controller. The card adapters suffice to have component parts which are easy in formation and low in cost such as wiring lines and resistors. The voltage pull-down detector of the IC card detects the voltage pull-down caused by the resistors, and the mode controller selects the USB-mode interface controller, MS-mode interface controller or MMC/SD-mode interface controller so that the IC card becomes compatible with the corresponding IC card standard.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2008
    Publication date: March 12, 2009
    Inventors: Akira Higuchi, Hirotaka Nishizawa, Junichiro Osaka, Kenji Osawa
  • Patent number: 7485465
    Abstract: In a microplate processing apparatus that removes lid (11) of microplate (10) conveyed by microplate conveying mechanism (3) to perform a dispensing process by dispensing head (8), and that attaches lid (11) after the dispensing process is completed, lid (11) removed by lid removing mechanism (6) at first position (P1) is conveyed to third position (P3) located downstream, by microplate conveying mechanism (3), to be held by lid attaching mechanism (9), and then lid (11) is attached to microplate (10) having been conveyed to third position (P3), after the dispensing process is completed, while microplate (10) with this lid (11) having been attached is being lifted to processing position (P4) above microplate conveying mechanism (3), by microplate stage (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2009
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Higuchi, Eiji Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7478473
    Abstract: The productivity of an IC card is to be improved. In a memory card of the type in which a memory body having a wiring substrate and a semiconductor chip mounted on a main surface of the wiring substrate is held so as to be sandwiched in between a first case and a second case, a planar outline of the memory body is smaller than half of a planar outline of the memory card. The memory body is disposed so as to be positioned closer to a first end side as one short side of the memory card with respect to a midline between the first end side and a second end side as an opposite short side of the memory card positioned on the side opposite to the first end side. The other area than the memory body-disposed area in the first and the second case is used as another functional area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2009
    Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Nishizawa, Kenji Osawa, Akira Higuchi, Junichiro Osako, Tamaki Wada
  • Publication number: 20080283619
    Abstract: An IC card is prevented from falling off readily an electronic device while maintaining the mechanical strength of the IC card. A recess for preventing a memory card from falling off an electronic device is provided at the side of one side of a principal surface of a cap of the memory card which is configured by fitting a memory body in a recess formed on a parts mounting surface of the cap. The bottom of the recess is terminated in the middle of the thickness of the cap. This construction makes it possible to prevent the memory card from falling off readily an electronic device while maintaining the mechanical strength of the memory card.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2008
    Publication date: November 20, 2008
    Inventors: Hirotaka Nishizawa, Akira Higuchi, Kenji Osawa, Junichiro Osako, Tamaki Wada
  • Publication number: 20080272197
    Abstract: An antenna connection function for a noncontact interface is provided by suppressing a modification in a pin arrangement and a pin shape of a memory card that does not correspond to the noncontact interface. Two antenna connecting pins having the memory card are divided into two areas in which a size of one potential supply pin is the largest and used as a split pin arranged at intervals. Because a size of the two antenna connecting pins is at maximum as large as the size of the potential supply pin, the two antenna connecting pins are provided and the memory card that corresponds to the noncontact interface is obtained by devoting a pin area having the size of the one potential supply pin to the memory card that does not correspond to the noncontact interface. Accordingly, the pin area of the memory card that corresponds to the noncontact interface can be formed without departing from the pin area of the memory card that does not correspond to the noncontact interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2007
    Publication date: November 6, 2008
    Inventors: Hirotaka NISHIZAWA, Akira Higuchi, Kenji Osawa, Junichiro Osako, Tamaki Wada, Michiaki Sugiyama
  • Publication number: 20080211074
    Abstract: An IC body is loaded to a case 2 made of thermosetting resin material and sealed with a sealing portion made of thermosetting resin material to be integrated, whereby an IC card is manufactured. The IC body comprises: a wiring substrate formed with an external connection terminal at a back surface thereof; a semiconductor chip loaded over a surface of the wiring substrate and electrically connected to the external connection terminal via a interconnect; and the sealing portion made of thermosetting resin material so as to cover the semiconductor chip and a bonding wire. The sealing portion is formed so that the external connection terminal is exposed. The present invention makes it possible to heighten the strength of IC cards and at the same time, to reduce the manufacturing cost and improve the reliability.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2008
    Publication date: September 4, 2008
    Inventors: Junichiro OSAKO, Hirotaka Nishizawa, Kenji Osawa, Akira Higuchi
  • Patent number: 7416133
    Abstract: An IC card is prevented from falling off readily an electronic device while maintaining the mechanical strength of the IC card. A recess for preventing a memory card from falling off an electronic device is provided at the side of one side of a principal surface of a cap of the memory card which is configured by fitting a memory body in a recess formed on a parts mounting surface of the cap. The bottom of the recess is terminated in the middle of the thickness of the cap. This construction makes it possible to prevent the memory card from falling off readily an electronic device while maintaining the mechanical strength of the memory card.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Nishizawa, Akira Higuchi, Kenji Osawa, Junichiro Osako, Tamaki Wada
  • Patent number: 7382045
    Abstract: An IC body is loaded to a case 2 made of thermosetting resin material and sealed with a sealing portion made of thermosetting resin material to be integrated, whereby an IC card is manufactured. The IC body comprises: a wiring substrate formed with an external connection terminal at a back surface thereof; a semiconductor chip loaded over a surface of the wiring substrate and electrically connected to the external connection terminal via a interconnect; and the sealing portion made of thermosetting resin material so as to cover the semiconductor chip and a bonding wire. The sealing portion is formed so that the external connection terminal is exposed. The present invention makes it possible to heighten the strength of IC cards and at the same time, to reduce the manufacturing cost and improve the reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Junichiro Osako, Hirotaka Nishizawa, Kenji Osawa, Akira Higuchi
  • Publication number: 20080073436
    Abstract: The present invention provides a memory card equipped with an interface controller connected to external connecting terminals, a memory connected to the interface controller, and a security controller connected to the interface controller. A second external connecting terminal capable of supplying an operating power supply to the security controller is provided aside from a first external connecting terminal which supplies an operating power supply to the interface controller and the memory. An interface unit of the interface controller connected to the security controller receives the operating power supply from the second external connecting terminal and thereby enables a stop of the supply of the operating power supply from the first external connecting terminal. Even if the supply of the operating power supply to the interface controller is cut off, the output of the interface unit is not brought to an indefinite state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2007
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Inventors: Hirotaka NISHIZAWA, Akira HIGUCHI, Kenji OSAWA, Tamaki WADA, Michiaki SUGIYAMA, Junichiro OSAKO
  • Publication number: 20080042563
    Abstract: When light is incident to an antenna layer AA6 of a photocathode AA1, light of a specific wavelength included in the incident light couples with surface plasmons in the antenna layer AA6 whereupon near-field light is outputted from a through hole AA14. The intensity of the output near-field light is proportional to and greater than the intensity of the light of the specific wavelength. The output near-field light has a wavelength that can be absorbed in a photoelectric conversion layer AA4. The photoelectric conversion layer AA4 receives the near-field light outputted from the through hole AA14. A region of the photoelectric conversion layer AA4 around the through hole AA14 absorbs the near-field light and generates photoelectrons (e?) in an amount according to the intensity of the near-field light. The photoelectrons (e?) generated in the photoelectric conversion layer AA4 are outputted to the outside.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2007
    Publication date: February 21, 2008
    Inventors: Minoru Niigaki, Toru Hirohata, Hiroyasu Fujiwara, Akira Higuchi
  • Publication number: 20080038129
    Abstract: A tube cassette unit including a flexible conveying tube, a discharge nozzle inserted into one end of the conveying tube and a relay pipe inserted into the other end, a discharge side holding part for coupling and holding the one end of the conveying tube to the discharge nozzle, and an introduction side holding part for coupling and holding the other end of the conveying tube to the relay pipe is used, where the discharge side holding part and the introduction side holding part are removably attached with the conveying tube of the tube cassette wound and extended on at least two rollers of a rotating body arranged with a plurality of rollers at equidistance in the circumferential form, and a closed space is formed in the conveying tube by the roller pressed against the conveying tube, and the closed space is moved to convey the liquid by the rotation of the rotating body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2005
    Publication date: February 14, 2008
    Inventor: Akira Higuchi
  • Publication number: 20080028835
    Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus of supplying a micro-plate excellent in operating performance and operability. In a micro-plate supplying apparatus for separating micro-plates 10 mounted in a stacked state sheet by sheet to supply, a first stock portion 2, a second stock portion 3 for containing the micro-plates in the stacked state are arranged in series in an up and down direction by interposing a micro-plate take out and take in mechanism 4, the micro-plates 10 are moved from the first stock portion 2 to the second stock portion 3 while staying in the stacked state, the micro-plate at a uppermost stage of the plurality of micro-plates 10 is disposed at a micro-plate carry out level L2, and the micro-plate is taken out by a micro-plate carrying out mechanism to supply to a working apparatus 5. Thereby, the micro-plate is set in an excellent operation attitude and the micro-plate can stably be taken out.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2005
    Publication date: February 7, 2008
    Applicant: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Akira Higuchi
  • Patent number: 7325746
    Abstract: An antenna connection function for a noncontact interface is provided by suppressing a modification in a pin arrangement and a pin shape of a memory card that does not correspond to the noncontact interface. Two antenna connecting pins having the memory card are divided into two areas in which a size of one potential supply pin is the largest and used as a split pin arranged at intervals. Because a size of the two antenna connecting pins is at maximum as large as the size of the potential supply pin, the two antenna connecting pins are provided and the memory card that corresponds to the noncontact interface is obtained by devoting a pin area having the size of the one potential supply pin to the memory card that does not correspond to the noncontact interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2008
    Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Nishizawa, Akira Higuchi, Kenji Osawa, Junichiro Osako, Tamaki Wada, Michiaki Sugiyama
  • Publication number: 20080013878
    Abstract: There is disclosed a waveguide structure that propagates surface plasmon waves, comprising: a quantum well structure, disposed on a semiconductor substrate; wherein the quantum well structure has a quantum well layer, in turn having an intersecting region that intersects a hypothetical plane substantially orthogonal to an alignment direction of the quantum well structure with respect to the semiconductor substrate, and a real part of a dielectric constant of the quantum well structure is negative for THz waves of a predetermined wavelength.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2007
    Publication date: January 17, 2008
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Fujiwara, Masamichi Yamanishi, Akira Higuchi, Kazutoshi Nakajima