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).

  • Publication number: 20150107240
    Abstract: The brake device for a vehicle generates two master pressures by controlling one single servo pressure to accurately control braking force. The pressure increasing characteristic is set based on the first pressure increasing characteristic obtained from the relationship between the servo pressure and the first master pressure upon increasing the servo pressure and the second pressure increasing characteristic obtained from the servo pressure and the second master pressure. The pressure decreasing characteristic is set based on the first pressure increasing characteristic obtained from the relationship between the servo pressure and the first master pressure upon decreasing the servo pressure and the second pressure decreasing characteristic obtained from the servo pressure and the second master pressure. Thus, the total braking force of the brake device is the sum of a braking force generated by the first master pressure and a braking force generated by the second master piston.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2013
    Publication date: April 23, 2015
    Inventors: Yoshio Masuda, Hiroaki Niino, Akira Sakai, Yasuji Mizutani, Kiyoyuki Uchida, Masaaki Komazawa, Kazutaka Noro, Yusuke Kamiya
  • Patent number: 8991939
    Abstract: A brake control system has a manual fluid pressure source and a power fluid pressure source. A fluid pressure actuator forms an X-pipe having a first channel and a second channel. The power fluid pressure source supplies the operating fluid to each wheel by using the first channel and the second channel. A channel system including the first channel and a channel system including the second channel can be isolated from each other by an isolation valve. The fluid pressure actuator includes a regulation unit configured to regulate a state of supplying the operating fluid such that a difference between a state occurring when the operating fluid is supplied to one of the first channel and the second channel after passing through the isolation valve, and a state occurring when the operating fluid is supplied to the other channel without passing through the isolation valve, is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Eiji Nakamura, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 8985283
    Abstract: A vehicle brake apparatus capable of preventing abnormal vibration due to thickness variations in a disc rotor includes a motor drive unit configured to control the motor which presses the brake pad against the disc rotor, a brake pressure detection unit for detecting a braking pressure for pressing the brake pad, and a wheel speed sensor for detecting a rotation speed of the disc rotor. If an amount of variation in the detection values detected by the brake pressure detection unit during one rotation of the disc rotor exceeds a variation amount determination threshold value and a detection value variation frequency has a correlation with the rotation speed of the disc rotor and the detection value variation frequency exceeds a variation frequency determination threshold value, the motor drive unit controls the motor in inverted phase to the variation in the detection values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignees: Advics Co., Ltd., Toyoto Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Oshio, Takahisa Yokoyama, Akira Sakai, Naoki Yabusaki, Shinsuke Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8964136
    Abstract: The present invention provides active shutter glasses including shutters in which orientations of their components are freely determined, and provides a stereoscopic image projection system. The present invention provides active shutter glasses for a stereoscopic image projection system, the active shutter glasses comprising: a right-eye shutter; and a left-eye shutter, wherein the right-eye shutter and the left-eye shutter each include a liquid crystal layer and a linear polarizing element, at least one of the right-eye shutter and the left-eye shutter includes a layer adopted to change a vibration direction of polarized light, the linear polarizing element is provided at the outer side of the liquid crystal layer, and the layer adapted to change a vibration direction of polarized light is provided at the outer side of the linear polarizing element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takahiro Nakahara, Shun Ueki, Kozo Nakamura, Akira Sakai
  • Publication number: 20150029437
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device that can prevent light leakage in black images, has an improved viewing angle of white images, and can avoid an increase in the thickness and additional costs. The liquid crystal display device includes: a collimating backlight unit; and a liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel includes: a pair of substrates; and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the substrates, and the liquid crystal layer includes a polymer dispersed liquid crystal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Hisashi Watanabe, Yuichi Iyama, Akiko Miyazaki, Yasushi Asaoka, Eiji Satoh
  • Publication number: 20150021980
    Abstract: A hydraulic braking system includes: a cylinder device including a pressurizing piston, a rear chamber, and a front pressure chamber on opposite sides of the pressurizing piston; a brake cylinder coupled to the front pressure chamber; a regulator including a control piston, an input chamber provided at a rear of the control piston, and an output chamber coupled to the rear chamber in front of the control piston; and an input-hydraulic-pressure control device including a high-flow-rate supply unit configured, when an operation of the regulator is started, to supply the working fluid to the input chamber at a set flow rate; and a low-flow-rate supply unit configured, when the supply is finished, to supply the working fluid to the input chamber at a flow rate less than the set flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Kamiya, Akira Sakai, Kiyoyuki Uchida
  • Publication number: 20150015061
    Abstract: In a braking device for a vehicle, an operating characteristics setting portion is provided for setting an operating characteristic which is a relationship between the input electric power to the electro-magnetic valve and a pressure difference between a master cylinder side and a wheel cylinder side with respect to the electro-magnetic valve, based on the input electric power at the time when the accumulator pressure detected by the accumulator pressure detecting portion first falls to a value equal to or less than a threshold value accumulator pressure by changing the input electric power towards an opening side of the electro-magnetic valve in response to a time lapsed after a predetermined value of the pilot pressure has been generated by the pilot pressure generating portion by first closing the electro-magnetic valve thereby to suppress the manufacturing cost.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2013
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicants: ADVICS CO., LTD, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshio Masuda, Yasunori Sakata, Kazutaka Noro, Akira Sakai, Kiyoyuki Uchida, Masaaki Komazawa, Yasuji Mizutani, Yusuke Kamiya
  • Publication number: 20140368771
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device which can achieve cost reduction, excellent productivity, and a high contrast ratio within a wide viewing angle range. The liquid crystal display device of the present invention includes, in the order set forth, a first polarizer, a first ?/4 plate, a liquid crystal cell, a second ?/4 plate, a third Type-I birefringent layer, a Type-IV birefringent layer, and a second polarizer. An in-plane slow axis of the first ?/4 plate forms an angle of about 45° with an absorption axis of the first polarizer. An in-plane slow axis of the second ?/4 plate is substantially perpendicular to the in-plane slow axis of the first ?/4 plate. An absorption axis of the second polarizer is substantially perpendicular to the absorption axis of the first polarizer. An in-plane slow axis of the third Type-I birefringent layer is substantially parallel with the absorption axis of the second polarizer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Publication date: December 18, 2014
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Masahiro Hasegawa, Takayuki Nishiyama
  • Publication number: 20140368774
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display panel (100A) according to an embodiment of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including: a first substrate (2) having a pixel electrode (4) formed thereon; a second substrate (3) opposing the first substrate (2); and a liquid crystal layer (1) retained between the first substrate (2) and the second substrate (3). The liquid crystal layer (1) edges near at least one of side faces of the liquid crystal display panel (100A), and includes a black layer (52) in contact with the side face of the liquid crystal layer (1) along which the liquid crystal layer (1) edges near at least one of the side faces of the liquid crystal display panel (100A).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2012
    Publication date: December 18, 2014
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuichi Iyama, Hisashi Watanabe, Eiji Satoh, Yasushi Asaoka, Akira Sakai, Akiko Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 8913217
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device that can achieve sufficient front contrast ratio and front white brightness at the same time. The present invention is a liquid crystal display device including a front polarizing plate, a liquid crystal cell, a back polarizing plate, and an optical element having polarization characteristics, which are arranged in the stated order, wherein the back polarizing plate has a lower contrast than the front polarizing plate, and there is substantially no air layer between the back polarizing plate and the optical element having polarization characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masahiro Hasegawa, Akira Sakai
  • Publication number: 20140299172
    Abstract: A thermoelectric material includes a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor oxide film formed on the substrate, and a thermoelectric layer provided on the oxide film. The semiconductor oxide film has a first nano-opening formed therein. The thermoelectric layer has such a configuration that semiconductor nanodots are piled up on or above the first nano-opening so as to form a particle packed structure. At least some of the nanodots each have a second nano-opening formed in its surface, and are connected to each other through the second nano-opening with their crystal orientation aligned. The thermoelectric material is produced through steps of oxidizing the substrate to form the semiconductor oxide film thereon, forming the first nano-opening in the oxide film, and epitaxially growing to pile up the plurality of nanodots on the first nano-opening. As a result, it is possible to provide the thermoelectric material superior in thermoelectric conversion performance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2013
    Publication date: October 9, 2014
    Applicant: JAPAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AGENCY
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Nakamura, Masayuki Isogawa, Tomohiro Ueda, Jun Kikkawa, Akira Sakai, Hideo Hosono
  • Publication number: 20140253853
    Abstract: This liquid crystal display device (100) includes: a vertical alignment liquid crystal layer (30); first and second substrates (10, 20); first and second electrodes (11, 21) arranged on the first and second substrates to face the liquid crystal layer; and two photo-alignment films (12, 22). Each pixel region includes first and second liquid crystal domains, of which the reference alignment directions defined by the two photo-alignment films are a first direction and a second direction different from the first direction, respectively. The first electrode has a slit cut region (11R1), through which a slit (11s) has been cut to run substantially parallel to the reference alignment direction, in a part of a region allocated to each of the first and second liquid crystal domains. The width (W) of the slit is set so that when the highest grayscale voltage is applied to the first electrode, an effective applied voltage decreases by at least 0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2012
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hidefumi Yoshida, Tsuyoshi Kamada, Tsuyoshi Maeda, Mitsuhiro Murata, Yoji Yoshimura, Yuichiro Yamada, Kenji Okamoto, Yosuke Iwata, Yasuhiro Nasu, Akira Sakai, Masahiro Hasegawa
  • Publication number: 20140250883
    Abstract: A vehicle brake system includes a cylinder, a master piston including a pressure applying piston and a projection portion, a servo chamber, a contact/separation determining means determining a separated state and a contact state between the input piston and the master piston, a pilot pressure generating device generating a pilot pressure, a servo pressure generating device, a servo pressure measuring device measuring a servo pressure, and a master pressure estimating means estimating a master pressure from the pilot pressure and a first servo ratio, which is a cross-sectional area ratio between a first pilot chamber and a servo pressure generating chamber, in a case of the separated state, and estimating the master pressure based on the servo pressure, the pilot pressure and a second servo ratio, which is a cross-sectional area ratio between a second pilot chamber and the servo pressure generating chamber, in a case of the contact state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2013
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Yoshio Masuda, Akitaka Nishio, Akira Sakai, Yasuji Mizutani, Kiyoyuki Uchida, Masaaki Komazawa, Yusuke Kamiya
  • Patent number: 8814369
    Abstract: An optical member includes a ray effective area, a ray ineffective area, at least one continuous protective film arranged over the ray effective area and at least part of the ray ineffective area, a light-shielding film arranged on the protective film located in the ray ineffective area, and a plate-crystal film arranged on the protective film located in the ray effective area, the plate-crystal film including mainly aluminum oxide and having a textured structure on a surface thereof, and an optical system includes the optical member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Tomonari Nakayama
  • Publication number: 20140218668
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device which enables costs to be reduced, excels in productivity, and enables a high contrast ratio over a wide viewing angle range to be realized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2012
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Akira Sakai
  • Publication number: 20140210253
    Abstract: In a hydraulic brake system including a cylinder device that includes a front chamber and a rear chamber located on front and rear sides of a pressurizing piston, respectively, presence or absence of liquid leakage from a brake line is detected based on a hydraulic pressure in the rear chamber. Where a state in which a subtraction value obtained by subtracting an actual rear hydraulic pressure from a target rear hydraulic pressure is larger than a first malfunction determination threshold value has continued for a time not shorter than a first malfunction determination time, and then an increase of the actual rear hydraulic pressure at a rate not lower than a set rate has caused the subtraction value to become smaller than a return determination threshold value, it is determined that the pressurizing piston has been bottomed due to liquid leakage from the front chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2011
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiro Okano, Yusuke Kamiya, Kiyoyuki Uchida, Akira Sakai, Hiroshi Ueno, Masaaki Uechi
  • Publication number: 20140168581
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display panel (100A) is a liquid crystal display panel having a displaying region (81) including a plurality of pixel regions (31), including: a liquid crystal layer (1) having a plurality of liquid crystal regions (11) containing a nematic liquid crystal material and polymer-containing walls (12) between adjacent ones of the plurality of liquid crystal regions (11); and a first substrate (2) and a second substrate (3) having the liquid crystal layer (1) retained therebetween. The liquid crystal layer (1) extends to at least one side face of the liquid crystal display panel (100A). The distance between at least one side face of the second substrate (3) and a pixel region (11) that is located at the outermost edge among the plurality of pixel regions (11) while being adjacent to the at least one side face is less than 0.2 mm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2012
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hisashi Watanabe, Akira Sakai, Yuichi Iyama, Akiko Miyazaki, Eiji Satoh, Yasushi Asaoka
  • Publication number: 20140152945
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display panel (100A) includes: a first substrate (2) and a second substrate (3), a liquid crystal layer (1) retained between the first substrate (2) and the second substrate (3), and plurality of pixels. The liquid crystal layer (1) has a first liquid crystal region (81) and a second liquid crystal region (82) provided outside the first liquid crystal region (81). The first liquid crystal region (81) is essentially composed of a nematic liquid crystal material alone, whereas the second liquid crystal region (82) has a plurality of liquid crystal subregions (11) containing a nematic liquid crystal material and polymer-containing walls (12) formed between adjacent ones of the plurality of liquid crystal subregions (11). The plurality of pixels include pixels accounting for the first liquid crystal region (81) and pixels accounting for the second liquid crystal region (82).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2012
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hisashi Watanabe, Akira Sakai, Yuichi Iyama, Akiko Miyazaki, Eiji Satoh, Yasushi Asaoka
  • Patent number: 8633290
    Abstract: An optical resin comprises a copolymer of 4-methyl-1-pentene and at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-methyl-1-pentene, 3-methyl-1-butene and 4,4-dimethyl-1-pentene. The content of a constituent unit (a) derived from 4-methyl-1-pentene is equal to or more than 60 mol % and equal to or less than 99 mol %, and the total content of a constituent unit (b) derived from at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-methyl-1-pentene, 3-methyl-1-butene and 4,4-dimethyl-1-pentene is equal to or more than 1 mol % and equal to or less than 40 mol %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignees: Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., Sharp Corporation
    Inventors: Satoshi Kawamoto, Kouichi Kizu, Sunil Krzysztof Moorthi, Akira Sakai
  • Patent number: 8619205
    Abstract: A three-dimensional video recognition system comprises a display device, a front plate, and AS glasses. Each of the AS glasses includes a first ?/4 plate, a first linear polarizing element, a liquid crystal cell, and a second linear polarizing element in this order from the outer surface side. The display device includes a third linear polarizing element on an observation surface side of the display device. The front plate has a second ?/4 plate. Specific angles formed between a transmission axis of polarizing elements and ?/4 plates are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Kazuyoshi Sakuragi, Masahiro Hasegawa