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).

  • LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY DEVICE
    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
  • HYDRAULIC-PRESSURE PRODUCING DEVICE AND HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEM
    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
  • LCD PANEL, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING LCD PANEL
    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
  • LCD PANEL, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING LCD PANEL
    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
  • Optical resin, optical resin composition, optical film, and film
    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
  • Three-dimensional video recognition system, video display device and active shutter glasses
    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
  • VEHICLE BRAKE DEVICE
    Publication number: 20130255249
    Abstract: A vehicle brake device is provided with a master cylinder, a master piston slidably arranged in the master cylinder, an input piston slidably arranged in the master cylinder to be separated from the master piston and defining a separation chamber, an input piston moving amount detecting section for detecting the moving amount of the input piston, a master piston moving amount calculating section for calculating the moving amount of the master piston based on the moving amount of the input piston, and a contact inferring section for inferring the contact of the input piston with the master piston based on the moving amount of the input piston and the moving amount of the master piston.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2013
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Yoshio Masuda, Akitaka Nishio, Kiyoyuki Uchida, Masaaki Komazawa, Akira Sakai, Yasuji Mizutani, Yusuke Kamiya
  • Circularly polarizing plate and display device
    Patent number: 8531765
    Abstract: The present invention provides at low cost a display device with superior visibility and high contrast ratio even in a bright room environment through a reduction in the undesired reflection, not only of the incident outside light from the normal direction, but also of the outside incident light from an oblique direction. The present invention is a circularly polarizing plate including a polarizer and a ?/4 plate, and the aforementioned circularly polarizing plate includes an anti-reflective layer, the aforementioned polarizer, a birefringent layer, and the aforementioned ?/4 plate which are laminated in this order, the NZ coefficient of the aforementioned birefringent layer satisfies NZ<0.1, the in-plane fast axis of the aforementioned birefringent layer is orthogonal to the absorption axis of the aforementioned polarizer, the NZ coefficient of the aforementioned ?/4 plate satisfies NZ>0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Kazuyoshi Sakuragi
  • Liquid crystal display device
    Patent number: 8488091
    Abstract: The present invention provides an LCD device that can be easily produced and has a high contrast ratio in a wide viewing angle range. The LCD device includes in the following order: a first polarizer; a first birefringent layer (II); a first quarter-wave plate; a liquid crystal cell; a second quarter-wave plate having an Nz coefficient substantially equal to that of the first quarter-wave plate; a second birefringent layer (II) having an Nz coefficient and an in-plane retardation that are substantially equal to an Nz coefficient and an in-plane retardation of the first birefringent layer (II), respectively; and a second polarizer, wherein the device includes at least one birefringent layer (III) disposed at least one of: between the first birefringent layer (I) and the liquid crystal cell; and between the liquid crystal cell and the second birefringent layer (I).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akira Sakai
  • MASTER CYLINDER DEVICE
    Publication number: 20130167716
    Abstract: A master cylinder device including: a housing whose front side is closed and which has a separation wall for separating the inside of the housing into a front side chamber and a rear side chamber; a pressurizing piston disposed in the front side chamber so as to define a pressurizing chamber for pressurizing the brake fluid and an input chamber into which a brake fluid from a high pressure source is introduced; an input piston disposed in the rear side chamber and moving forward by an operation force; and a transmission rod which is through the separation wall, whose proximal end portion is fixed in one of the pressurizing and input pistons, and whose distal end portion is apart from the other of the pressurizing and input pistons in a state of no forward movement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2011
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicants: Advics Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masaaki Uechi, Hiroshi Ueno, Kiyoyuki Uchida, Akira Sakai, Tatsuo Sugitani, Kazuya Maki, Satoshi Ishida
  • LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY PANEL
    Publication number: 20130148053
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display panel is capable of displaying in a normally black mode. The liquid crystal display panel includes: a liquid crystal cell which includes a liquid crystal layer and a pair of substrates; a first polarizing plate provided on a rear surface side of the liquid crystal cell; a second polarizing plate provided on a viewer side of the liquid crystal cell; and an antireflection layer provided on a viewer side of the second polarizing plate, the antireflection layer having a moth-eye structure, wherein a transmission axis of the first polarizing plate is parallel to a vertical direction in a display plane, and a transmission axis of the second polarizing plate is parallel to a horizontal direction in the display plane. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pale black state in oblique viewing angles is prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2011
    Publication date: June 13, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Minoura, Akira Sakai, Tokio Taguchi
  • LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY DEVICE
    Publication number: 20130114027
    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: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2011
    Publication date: May 9, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro Hasegawa, Akira Sakai
  • Liquid crystal display device with birefringent layers
    Patent number: 8416377
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device that has a higher contrast ratio in a wide viewing angle and that can be easily produced at low cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akira Sakai
  • ACTIVE SHUTTER GLASSES AND A STEREOSCOPIC IMAGE PROJECTION SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20130083261
    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: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2011
    Publication date: April 4, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiro Nakahara, Shun Ueki, Kozo Nakamura, Akira Sakai
  • ACTIVE SHUTTER GLASSES, PASSIVE GLASSES, AND STEREOSCOPIC IMAGE PROJECTION SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20130076997
    Abstract: The present invention provides active shutter glasses, passive glasses, and a stereoscopic image projection system, with which a viewer wearing polarizing sunglasses can enjoy improved visibility. The active shutter glasses comprises: a shutter for a right eye; and a shutter for a left eye, wherein the shutters for a right eye and for a left eye each have a liquid crystal cell and a linearly polarizing element, the linearly polarizing element is provided in each shutter on an inner side than the liquid crystal cell is, the linearly polarizing element has a transmission axis direction set in the vertical direction when the glasses are worn.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2010
    Publication date: March 28, 2013
    Inventors: Akira Sakai, Kazuyoshi Sakuragi, Masahiro Hasegawa
  • ACTIVE SHUTTER GLASSES AND A STEREOSCOPIC IMAGE PROJECTION SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20130063670
    Abstract: The present invention provides active shutter glasses and a stereoscopic image projection system that allow a stereoscopic image of excellent display quality to be viewed. The present invention provides active shutter glasses for a stereoscopic image projection system in which the active shutter glasses include a shutter section for the right eye and a shutter section for the left eye, the shutter section for the right eye and the shutter section for the left eye each include a liquid crystal cell, and when the glasses are worn, viewing angles of the shutter section for the right eye and the shutter section for the left eye each are wider on the right and left sides than on the upper and lower sides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shun Ueki, Takahiro Nakahara, Kozo Nakamura, Akira Sakai
  • VACUUM DEGREASING AND CLEANING APPARATUS AND VACUUM DEGREASING AND CLEANING METHOD
    Publication number: 20120312335
    Abstract: There is provided a vacuum degreasing and cleaning apparatus, including a cleaning chamber having an injector and a sprayer that eject a solvent to an object to be cleaned, a plurality of storage tanks that store the solvent, a distiller that distills the solvent in the storage tank, and a replenisher tank that stores the solvent distilled by the distiller, wherein a heating means is provided in the inside of the sprayer in a nesting way. There is also provided a vacuum degreasing and cleaning method using the aforementioned vacuum degreasing and cleaning apparatus, wherein the solvent is pressurized and supplied to the inside of the sprayer, heated to a temperature not lower than a saturation temperature in the cleaning chamber under a reduced pressure, and thereafter sprayed in the cleaning chamber under the reduced pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicant: NACHI-FUJIKOSHI CORP.
    Inventor: Akira Sakai
  • Liquid crystal display device with quarter plates and birefringent layers and liquid crystal having substantially vertical alignments in black state
    Patent number: 8314908
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device that has a higher contrast ratio in a wide viewing angle and that can be easily produced at low cost. The liquid crystal display device may include polarizers and multiple birefringent layers. A first birefringent layer (I) can have an in-plane slow axis forming an angle of about 45° with an absorption axis of the first polarizer; the second birefringent layer (I) can have an in-plane slow axis substantially orthogonal to the in-plane slow axis of the first birefringent layer (I).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akira Sakai
  • VEHICLE BRAKE APPARATUS
    Publication number: 20120285777
    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: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2011
    Publication date: November 15, 2012
    Applicant: ADVICS CO., LTD
    Inventors: Yusuke Oshio, Takahisa Yokoyama, Akira Sakai, Naoki Yabusaki, Shinsuke Yamamoto
  • Retardation film, polarizing film, liquid crystal display, and method of designing retardation film
    Patent number: 8284358
    Abstract: To provide a retardation film in which the retardation condition is adjusted to achieve a liquid crystal display without coloration over a wide viewing angle range and having a high contrast ratio, and a method of designing the same, as well as a polarizing film and a liquid crystal display using the same. A liquid crystal display comprising a liquid crystal cell and polarizing films in a Cross-Nicol relationship with each other on both sides of the liquid crystal cell; wherein at least one polarizing film includes a retardation film having reverse wavelength dispersion property; and the liquid crystal display further includes a retardation film having a wavelength dispersion property substantially the same as a liquid crystal layer configuring the liquid crystal cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akira Sakai