Patents by Inventor Akira Sakai

Akira Sakai 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: 12226705
    Abstract: A program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium causes a processor of a game apparatus to function as a game controller that executes a video game and generates video information indicative of a video of the video game; and an acquirer that acquires message information that is output from a terminal apparatus configured to display a distributed video that is based on the video information, the message information including a message related to at least one of the distributed video or the video game. The game controller incorporates the message included in the message information into the video of the video game, based on progress status information indicative of a progress status of the video game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2025
    Assignee: KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shigeru Chiba, Junki Hirai, Kai Inoue, Akira Sakai, Tsuguo Shinpo, Toshiaki Kanahara
  • Patent number: 12220644
    Abstract: A watching system by which a game video is distributed to display devices of a plurality of watching users has: a computer; the computer accepting viewer operations by the plurality of watching users; the computer evaluating a mutual relationship of input of the viewer operation by each of the plurality of watching users; and the computer controlling an operation effect corresponding to the viewer operation so as to change based on evaluation result of the mutual relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Uehara, Shigeru Chiba, Junki Hirai, Kai Inoue, Akira Sakai, Tsuguo Shinpo, Toshiaki Kanahara
  • Patent number: 12204197
    Abstract: A color filter includes a frame portion in which the reflectance of light incident from the transparent substrate side is less than the reflectance of light incident from the overcoat layer side and an opening portion in which the reflectance of light incident from the transparent substrate side is greater than the reflectance of light incident from the overcoat layer side. The color filter satisfies nbc×dbc<?×A2+?×A+?, where nbc is the refractive index of the transparent base coat layer, dbc nm is the film thickness of the transparent base coat layer, and A is the opening ratio of the color filter, and where A, ?, ?, and ? respectively satisfy A=(area of the opening portion)/(area of an active area), ?=436.7×nbc?837.2, ?=?315.8×nbc+523.7, and ?=?358.3×nbc+771.8.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2024
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: Sharp Display Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Yuichi Kawahira, Masahiro Hasegawa, Ryosuke Saigusa, Jianeng Xu, Akira Sakai
  • Publication number: 20250012211
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing an exhaust pipe includes inserting a cover member into an approximately circular opening provided at a first end of a first exhaust pipe. An inner circumferential portion of the cover member has a ring shape with a central axis. When the cover member is inserted into the opening, its outer circumferential surface faces a first inner circumferential surface of the exhaust pipe. A maximum width of the inner circumferential portion is equal to, or greater than, a radius of a circumference of the opening. A minimum width of the inner circumferential portion is smaller than the radius. A circumferential length of the outer circumferential surface is shorter than the length of the circumference of the opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2024
    Publication date: January 9, 2025
    Inventors: Shigeru Ogawa, Riku Ono, Akira Sakai
  • Publication number: 20250012212
    Abstract: In the present manufacturing method, a cover member attached to a mounting surface of a pressing jig is inserted into an approximately circular opening of an opening member. The cover member has an approximately elliptical inner circumferential portion. A long diameter of an outer circumference of the inner circumferential portion is equal to, or longer than, a diameter of the opening. A short diameter of the outer circumference of the inner circumferential portion is smaller than the diameter of the opening. A length of the outer circumference of the inner circumferential portion is shorter than or equal to a circumference length of the opening. A first imaginary line of the mounting surface indicates the inner circumferential portion of the cover member. A second imaginary line of the mounting surface indicates the opening. A positioning member is provided inside the first and second imaginary lines on the mounting surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2024
    Publication date: January 9, 2025
    Inventors: Riku Ono, Makoto Suzuki, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12181699
    Abstract: An optical stack for a display device includes multiple layers that are incorporated into a display device that further includes a display panel. The optical stack includes a resin layer, an alignment film, an optical compensation layer, a polarizer, and a hard coat layer that are stacked in this order from a panel side. The optical stack is formed by preparing and coating a solution for each layer, and then curing and otherwise treating each layer as warranted for a particular layer, in turn to form the optical stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Masahiro Hasegawa, Miho Yamada, Kiyoshi Minoura
  • Patent number: 12175203
    Abstract: A computer: acquires, from a compression dictionary that associates each of codes having a length according to a frequency of appearance of a set of a word and a word meaning of the word with that set, the set of any word and that word meaning, and one of the codes associated with the set of the any word and that word meaning; selects, from among a plurality of fixed-length codes stored in the memory with a same length in association with the set of the word and that word meaning, one of the fixed-length codes associated with the set of the any word and that word meaning; generates a conversion dictionary that associates the selected one of the fixed-length codes with the acquired one of the codes; and specifies, by the conversion dictionary, the individual fixed-length codes associated with each of the codes contained in compressed data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Masahiro Kataoka, Satoshi Onoue, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12174483
    Abstract: Provided is an optical element including, sequentially from a viewing surface side toward a back surface side: a first polarizer; a negative C plate; a phase difference layer; and a second polarizer. A transmission axis of the first polarizer is parallel to a transmission axis of the second polarizer. The phase difference layer contains anisotropic molecules. In the phase difference layer, a tilt angle of the anisotropic molecules on a viewing surface side in the phase difference layer and a tilt angle of the anisotropic molecules on a back surface side in the phase difference layer are the same as each other and greater than 0°. A slow axis of the phase difference layer, in a case of lying in a tilt direction of the anisotropic molecules, is parallel to or perpendicular to the transmission axis of the first polarizer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Sharp Display Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Yuichi Kawahira, Masahiro Hasegawa, Ryosuke Saigusa, Jianeng Xu, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12174482
    Abstract: Provided is a display device in which warping of a display panel is sufficiently reduced or prevented. The display device includes: a display panel; and a polarizer, the polarizer being provided with at least one notch that extends inward from an outer edge of the polarizer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Sharp Display Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Ryosuke Saigusa, Akira Sakai, Yuichi Kawahira, Masahiro Hasegawa
  • Publication number: 20240411073
    Abstract: Provided are a Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical element with less or no occurrence of disclinations and with excellent optical characteristics, and a method of producing a Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical element which is suitable for production of the Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical element above. The Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical element includes: a photoalignment film; and a liquid crystal layer in contact with the photoalignment film. The liquid crystal layer includes alignment domains with reference alignment azimuths of liquid crystal molecules defined by the photoalignment film, the reference alignment azimuths being different from one another. The alignment domains include first alignment domains and second alignment domains, with each of the second alignment domains being positioned between two of the first alignment domains and in contact with each of the two first alignment domains. A difference in reference alignment azimuth between the first alignment domains is not 90°.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2024
    Publication date: December 12, 2024
    Inventors: Ryosuke SAIGUSA, Yuichi KAWAHIRA, Akira SAKAI
  • Publication number: 20240408497
    Abstract: The present invention provides a game system that can utilize a game screen generated through play by each player as an advertisement material. A game machine (game system) is connected via a network to an advertisement distribution system that distributes an advertisement to a plurality of advertisement display devices and provides each player with a game that progresses on a series of game screens according to a play situation generated according to a play action of each player. Moreover, the game machine discriminates a specific game screen that satisfies an advertisement condition from among the series of game screens in the play of each player, generates display data for displaying the specific game screen, and transmits the generated display data to the advertisement delivery system so that a game advertisement including the specific game screen as the advertisement material is distributed as the advertisement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2024
    Publication date: December 12, 2024
    Applicant: KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shigeru CHIBA, Akira SAKAI, Yoshihiko NARITA
  • Patent number: 12147125
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal panel provided with a display region and a frame region and including a first substrate and a second substrate disposed facing the first substrate. In the display region, a liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. In the frame region, a sealing portion is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes a first support substrate and a first substrate-side insulating layer contacting the first support substrate in order toward the liquid crystal layer side. The second substrate includes a protrusion protruding to the liquid crystal layer side. The first substrate-side insulating layer includes a first thickness portion having a flat surface on the liquid crystal layer side, and a second thickness portion protruding to the liquid crystal layer side relative to the first thickness portion and disposed to face the protrusion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2024
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Sharp Display Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Hiromi Matsumoto, Takahiro Sasaki, Takashi Satoh, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12138555
    Abstract: A distribution system distributes a viewing video to a user terminal of each of plural users who are viewers, the distribution system having a computer receiving a user operation inputted from each user terminal, the computer selecting one or more pieces of distribution data from a distribution data group including plural pieces of distribution data in response to the user operation, and the computer distributing the distribution data selected by the computer to the user terminal from which the user operation has been inputted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshihiko Narita, Shigeru Chiba, Akira Sakai, Kai Inoue, Tsuguo Shinpo, Toshiaki Kanahara, Junki Hirai
  • Publication number: 20240345438
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal panel provided with a display region and a frame region and including a first substrate and a second substrate disposed facing the first substrate. In the display region, a liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. In the frame region, a sealing portion is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes a first support substrate and a first substrate-side insulating layer contacting the first support substrate in order toward the liquid crystal layer side. The second substrate includes a protrusion protruding to the liquid crystal layer side. The first substrate-side insulating layer includes a first thickness portion having a flat surface on the liquid crystal layer side, and a second thickness portion protruding to the liquid crystal layer side relative to the first thickness portion and disposed to face the protrusion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2024
    Publication date: October 17, 2024
    Inventors: Hiromi MATSUMOTO, Takahiro SASAKI, Takashi SATOH, Akira SAKAI
  • Publication number: 20240345434
    Abstract: A color filter includes a frame portion in which the reflectance of light incident from the transparent substrate side is less than the reflectance of light incident from the overcoat layer side and an opening portion in which the reflectance of light incident from the transparent substrate side is greater than the reflectance of light incident from the overcoat layer side. The color filter satisfies nbc×dbc<?×A2+?×A+?, where nbc is the refractive index of the transparent base coat layer, dbc nm is the film thickness of the transparent base coat layer, and A is the opening ratio of the color filter, and where A, ?, ?, and ? respectively satisfy A=(area of the opening portion)/(area of an active area), ?=436.7×nbc?837.2, ?=?315.8×nbc+523.7, and ?=?358.3×nbc+771.8.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2024
    Publication date: October 17, 2024
    Inventors: Yuichi KAWAHIRA, Masahiro Hasegawa, Ryosuke Saigusa, Jianeng Xu, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12117697
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer. Each pixel includes a reflective region and a transmissive region. The first substrate includes a reflective layer, an interlayer insulating layer provided to cover the reflective layer, and a pixel electrode provided on the interlayer insulating layer in each pixel. The interlayer insulating layer has a recess portion which is defined by a bottom surface and an inclined side surface and at least a part of which is located in the transmissive region. A depth of the recess portion of the interlayer insulating layer is 0.5 ?m or more, and an inclination angle of the inclined side surface of the recess portion is 25° or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: Sharp Display Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Mariko Honda, Nobuhiro Waka, Hiroyuki Hakoi, Takahiro Sasaki, Takashi Satoh, Akira Sakai, Seiji Maeda
  • Patent number: 12117634
    Abstract: In a flexible display device, a transistor layer, a light-emitting element layer, a sealing layer, a first flexible substrate, a ?/4 layer, a linear polarizer, an overcoat layer, and a water repellent layer are provided in this order on a second flexible substrate, and the water repellent layer is provided so as to overlap with at least an end portion of the overcoat layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Miho Yamada, Masahiro Hasegawa, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12101963
    Abstract: A display device includes an active matrix substrate including a transistor element and a light-emitting element layer provided on the active matrix substrate and including a first electrode, a second electrode, a function layer including a light-emitting layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a sealing layer. The display device includes: a half mirror provided on a display surface side of the light-emitting element layer; and a first ?/4 plate, a reflective polarizer, and an absorbing polarizer which are provided in order from the light-emitting element layer side between the light-emitting element layer and the half mirror.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryuzo Yuki, Kiyoshi Minoura, Kohzoh Nakamura, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12083434
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having instructions stored therein causes at least one processor of a game apparatus to: communicate with a distribution system configured to distribute videos to a plurality of terminal apparatuses; progress a computer game; generate, based on a progress of the computer game, video information that is used to play a video of the computer game indicating a state of a virtual space of the computer game; supply the video information to the distribution system; acquire spectator apparatus information from the distribution system, the spectator apparatus information relating to at least one spectator apparatus that is a part of the plurality of terminal apparatus, and receives a video based on the video information from the distribution system; and control display of an advertisement in the virtual space, based on the spectator apparatus information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Kanahara, Shigeru Chiba, Kai Inoue, Junki Hirai, Tsuguo Shinpo, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 12078878
    Abstract: A viewing angle control liquid crystal panel includes: a first polarizer having a first absorption axis; a first liquid crystal panel including a first substrate, a first liquid crystal layer, and a second substrate; a second liquid crystal panel including a third substrate, a second liquid crystal layer, and a fourth substrate; and a third liquid crystal panel including a fifth substrate, a third liquid crystal layer, and a sixth substrate. The following equations are satisfied, where ?P1 is an azimuth angle of the first absorption axis and ?1, ?2, ?3, ?4, ?5, and ?6 are azimuth angles of directors of liquid crystal molecules on first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth substrate sides: 0°?|?1??2|?5° 0°?|?P1??1|?5° 0°?|?3??4|?5° 0°?|?5??6|?5°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2024
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: Sharp Display Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Koji Murata, Akira Hirai, Takashi Satoh, Akira Sakai, Kiyoshi Minoura