Patents by Inventor Atsushi Iwashita

Atsushi Iwashita 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: 20130264487
    Abstract: A radiation imaging apparatus includes plural pixels arranged in a matrix each including a conversion element and a switch element, plural drive wires arranged in a column direction, a drive circuit configured to sequentially supply a conduction voltage to the plural drive wires and supply a non-conduction voltage to the drive wires other than the drive wire supplied with the conduction voltage among the plural drive wires, and a sensing unit configured to sense radiation irradiation to the pixel, in which the sensing unit includes a sensing circuit configured to sense the radiation irradiation to the pixel on the basis of a current flowing through the drive wire supplied with the non-conduction voltage among the plurality of drive wires.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2013
    Publication date: October 10, 2013
    Inventors: Hideyuki Okada, Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Katsuro Takenaka, Sho Sato, Atsushi Iwashita, Eriko Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20130264488
    Abstract: A radiation imaging apparatus including pixels; driving lines; a driving circuit; bias lines; an acquisition unit configured to acquire an evaluation value based on a current flowing in the bias line; a determination unit configured to compare the evaluation value with a comparison target value to determine whether radiation is irradiated; a control unit configured to control the acquisition unit and the determination unit; and a storage unit configured to store the evaluation value used in the determination process, is provided. A comparison target value used in a given determination process is based on one or more evaluation values used in one or more determination processes which are performed before the given determination process and in which it is determined that radiation has not been irradiated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Publication date: October 10, 2013
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Eriko Sugawara, Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Katsuro Takenaka, Sho Sato, Atsushi Iwashita, Hideyuki Okada
  • Publication number: 20130240712
    Abstract: A radiation imaging apparatus, comprising an imaging unit in which a plurality of pixels are arranged to form a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, and a control unit configured to control the imaging unit so as to perform reset operation for initializing each of the plurality of pixels repeatedly, and readout operation, after the reset operation, for reading out a signal from each of the plurality of pixels sequentially, wherein one cycle length of the reset operation is shorter than a period of time required for the readout operation, and a pulse width of a signal supplied to each of the plurality of pixels in the reset operation is shorter than a pulse width of a signal supplied to each of the plurality of pixels in the readout operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Katsuro Takenaka, Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Hideyuki Okada, Sho Sato, Atsushi Iwashita, Eriko Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20120242871
    Abstract: In an image pickup apparatus, a calculation unit calculates an amount of noise and an amount of afterimage that can be included in an electric signal or image data in an image pickup operation, based on output characteristic information indicating a manner in which the amount of noise and the amount of after image change as a function of an elapsed time since a voltage is applied to a detection unit, a temperature of the detection unit detected by a temperature detection unit, the voltage supplied to the conversion elements from a power supply unit, and an image pickup operation start time indicating a time elapsed since the supplying of the voltage to the detection unit is started until the image pickup operation is started to output the electric signal corresponding to an electric charge generated by the conversion element in the detection unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2012
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Iwashita, Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Katsuro Takenaka, Sho Sato
  • Publication number: 20120241634
    Abstract: In an image pickup apparatus, a detector includes a detection unit and a driving circuit; the detection unit including a plurality of pixels each including a conversion element having a semiconductor layer, and the driving circuit being configured to drive the detection unit whereby the detector performs an image pickup operation to output the electric signal. A power supply unit supplies a voltage to the conversion element. A control unit controls the power supply unit such that the voltage applied to the semiconductor layer is higher in at least part of a period from the start of supplying the voltage to the semiconductor layer from the power supply unit to the start of the image pickup operation than in the image pickup operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2012
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Katsuro Takenaka, Sho Sato, Atsushi Iwashita
  • Publication number: 20120241639
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus includes a detector that includes a detection unit having a plurality of pixels in which conversion elements are included and a driving circuit that drives the detection unit and that executes an image pickup operation for outputting electrical signals, and a temperature control unit that includes a heating section that heats the conversion elements and that controls, before the image pickup operation begins, the temperature of the conversion elements by controlling the heating section such that the heating section heats the conversion elements in order to cause the temperature of the conversion elements before the image pickup operation begins to be higher than the temperature of the conversion elements during the image pickup operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2012
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Yagi, Tadao Endo, Toshio Kameshima, Katsuro Takenaka, Sho Sato, Atsushi Iwashita
  • Publication number: 20120127353
    Abstract: An image-pickup apparatus including a detector comprising a detecting unit and a reading circuit, the detecting unit including pixels, each of which including a conversion element, the reading circuit which includes a connecting unit that is electrically connected to a signal wire transferring an electric signal and that electrically connects the signal wire to a node, and which performs a reading operation to output the electric signal from the pixel. A control unit controls an operation of the reading circuit, and a sensing unit senses the end of radiation irradiation based on an output of the reading circuit, which is acquired during the period of an accumulation operation of the detector. The control unit starts establishing the electrical connection between the signal wire and the node through the connecting unit based on the sensed irradiation end, and retains the electrical connection until the start of the reading operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2011
    Publication date: May 24, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Sho Sato, Tadao Endo, Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Katsuro Takenaka, Atsushi Iwashita
  • Publication number: 20120075600
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes a detector in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix; each pixel includes a conversion element that converts radiation or light into an electric charge. The detector performs an exposure imaging operation for outputting exposure image data, a correction imaging operation for outputting correction image data, and a correction imaging preparation operation including an initialization operation for initializing the conversion element between the exposure imaging operation and the correction imaging operation. A correction unit corrects the exposure image data using the correction image data; and a control unit controls the operation of the detector so that the detector performs the initialization operation based on an amount of variation in offset of the conversion element at the time of transitioning from an exposure imaging preparation operation to the exposure imaging operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Sho Sato, Tadao Endo, Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Katsuro Takenaka, Keigo Yokoyama, Atsushi Iwashita
  • Publication number: 20110286582
    Abstract: An imaging system includes a plurality of imaging apparatuses, each of the imaging apparatuses includes a detector for performing an imaging operation for outputting image data corresponding to applied radiation or light and a controller for controlling the operation of the detector. The imaging apparatuses can independently perform an imaging operation and are movable in accordance with a relative positional relationship thereof. Sensing means obtain information indicative of the relative positional relationship between the imaging apparatuses. A control computer sends a control signal for determining operations of the imaging apparatuses to the controller. The control computer determines the operations of the imaging apparatuses by using the information obtained from the sensing means; and sets an appropriate scanning direction of each of the imaging apparatuses in accordance with the positional relationship thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2011
    Publication date: November 24, 2011
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Iwashita, Tadao Endo, Toshio Kameshima, Tomoyuki Yagi, Katsuro Takenaka, Keigo Yokoyama, Sho Sato