Patents by Inventor Atsushi Ozawa

Atsushi Ozawa 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: 20130234721
    Abstract: There are provided a secondary battery cell, a battery pack, and an electric power consumption device having a configuration and structure capable of accurately and easily detecting the state of the secondary battery cell in the battery pack. A secondary battery cell 20 of the present invention includes an integrated circuit (an IC chip) 60 having a measuring function to measure a battery status, the battery pack has a plurality of secondary battery cells of the present invention, and the electric power consumption device includes the battery pack of the present invention having the plurality of secondary battery cells of the present invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2011
    Publication date: September 12, 2013
    Inventors: Kazuo Nakamura, Shinichi Uesaka, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Publication number: 20130235062
    Abstract: The present invention provides a character highlighting control apparatus including a character pixel extractor and a highlighting degree controller. The character pixel extractor is configured to extract a pixel corresponding to a character part from input image data. The highlighting degree controller is configured to carry out control in such a way that a maximum emission luminance of a display device is linked with input image data, to thereby selectively increase an emission luminance of an extracted pixel on a display screen and avoid increase of an emission luminance of a background part on the display screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2013
    Publication date: September 12, 2013
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Mitsuru Tada
  • Patent number: 8514216
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a power consumption detection apparatus including: a line current calculation section configured to calculate, based on an image signal, a value of a line current consumed by each of horizontal lines; and a power consumption calculation section configured to calculate, on a horizontal line cycle, power consumed by an entire display panel based on the most recent values of the line currents, the values corresponding in number to a vertical resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tada, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Publication number: 20130200848
    Abstract: Provided is a method for charging/discharging a battery pack having an auxiliary charging/discharging device and a battery assembly in which a plurality of secondary battery cell parallel modules, each of which includes a plurality of fasecondary battery cells connected in parallel, are connected in series, the method including, when there is no abnormality in the secondary battery cells during charging/discharging, connecting the auxiliary charging/discharging device in parallel to any of the secondary battery cell parallel modules, and when there is an abnormality in any of the secondary battery cells during charging/discharging, releasing connection to the secondary battery cell at which the abnormality has arisen in the secondary battery cell parallel module including the secondary battery cell at which the abnormality has arisen, and connecting the auxiliary charging/discharging device in parallel to the secondary battery cell parallel module including the secondary battery cell at which the abnormality
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: August 8, 2013
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Kazuo Nakamura, Shin Hotta, Kentaro Marutani, Shinichi Uesaka
  • Publication number: 20130181721
    Abstract: A battery pack and a method of inspecting a storage state of a secondary battery in the battery pack are provided. In the method of inspecting a storage state of a secondary battery in the battery pack, the battery pack includes (A) a plurality of secondary batteries and (B) a housing, the housing having a plurality of storage sections and containing the secondary batteries in the respective storage sections; a conductive member 30 is attached to an outer surface of each of the secondary batteries made of a non-conductive material; each of the storage sections is provided with at least two detection sections; and depending on a storage state of each of the secondary batteries in each of the storage sections, two detection sections are in contact with the conductive member, or at least one detection section is not in contact with the conductive member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2011
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Shin Hotta, Kentaro Marutani, Shinichi Uesaka
  • Publication number: 20130177783
    Abstract: A battery pack and a simple construction is provided. The battery pack includes a plurality of secondary batteries, a housing storing the plurality of secondary batteries, and an inspection circuit stored in the housing. The housing includes a main body section and a closing member to close an opening for taking the plurality of secondary batteries in and out of the main body section, and includes a plurality of fixing members for fixing the closing member on the main body section, the plurality of fixing members being made of a conductive material. An attachment state of the fixing members with respect to the closing member and the main body section is monitored by the inspection circuit, and an attachment order of the fixing members with respect to the closing member and the main body section is memorized by the inspection circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2011
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kentaro Marutani, Atsushi Ozawa, Shin Hotta, Shinichi Uesaka
  • Publication number: 20130171481
    Abstract: A battery pack is provided. The battery pack has a plurality of secondary batteries and an inspection circuit. When the plurality of secondary batteries are classified into a first secondary battery group configured of secondary batteries selected from the plurality of secondary batteries and a second secondary battery group configured of remaining secondary batteries not belonging to the first secondary battery group, the inspection circuit creates a first data string of the secondary batteries configuring the second secondary battery group, based on a predetermined arithmetic rule, from identification marks of the secondary batteries configuring the first secondary battery group, obtains a second data string by examining identification marks of the secondary batteries configuring the second secondary battery group, subsequently compares the first data string with the second data string, and stops a function of the battery pack when the first data string and the second data string do not match.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2011
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shin Hotta, Atsushi Ozawa, Kentaro Marutani, Shinichi Uesaka
  • Patent number: 8477088
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel unit configured to include pixel circuits in each of which an organic electroluminescence device is used as a light emitting device and is driven to emit light with luminance dependent upon a voltage difference between a signal value voltage of an input display data signal and a signal amplitude reference voltage. The display device further includes: a voltage controller configured to carry out grayscale value detection for a display data signal to be supplied to the display panel unit in every predetermined period, and create voltage control information of the signal amplitude reference voltage by using a detected grayscale value; and a signal amplitude reference voltage changer configured to change a voltage value of the signal amplitude reference voltage to be supplied to the pixel circuits of the display panel unit, based on voltage control information created by the voltage controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Atsushi Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8441419
    Abstract: A display apparatus includes: an edge processing section extracting an edge component of a display data signal; a display data signal processing section changing the display data signal according to a level conversion signal and adding the edge component thereto; a level conversion signal generating section changing the level conversion signal according to the display data signal and a signal output from the display data signal processing section; and a display section performing a display operation according to the signal output from the display data processing section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Patent number: 8373726
    Abstract: The present invention provides a character highlighting control apparatus including a character pixel extractor and a highlighting degree controller. The character pixel extractor is configured to extract a pixel corresponding to a character part from input image data. The highlighting degree controller is configured to carry out control in such a way that a maximum emission luminance of a display device is linked with input image data, to thereby selectively increase an emission luminance of an extracted pixel on a display screen and avoid increase of an emission luminance of a background part on the display screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Mitsuru Tada
  • Patent number: 8373728
    Abstract: When an arbitrary position and an arbitrary size on a display screen are specified as an emphasized display region so as to be interlocked with a display content of an application program, only for another region part excluding the emphasized display region, power consumed by the region part is aggressively reduced and simultaneously image quality is aggressively lowered as compared with the emphasized display region. Thereby, visibility and reduction in power consumption can be surely made compatible with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Mitsuru Tada
  • Publication number: 20120320110
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a power consumption detection apparatus including: a line current calculation section configured to calculate, based on an image signal, a value of a line current consumed by each of horizontal lines; and a power consumption calculation section configured to calculate, on a horizontal line cycle, power consumed by an entire display panel based on the most recent values of the line currents, the values corresponding in number to a vertical resolution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2012
    Publication date: December 20, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tada, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8325115
    Abstract: A self-luminous display apparatus, a peak luminance adjustment apparatus is disclosed wherein power to be consumed by a self-luminous display panel is compulsorily suppressed to a level within a prescribed range and consequently the life of a battery is maintained. A mean gradation value calculation section calculates a mean gradation value of a video signal inputted within a period of one frame. A power consumption calculation section determines a standard peak luminance corresponding to the calculated mean gradation value and calculates a power consumption amount to be consumed based on the standard peak luminance and the calculated mean gradation value. A peak luminance adjustment section adjusts the standard peak luminance so that a total value of the power consumption to be consumed within a fixed period of time may not exceed a preset power amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tada, HIroshi Hasegawa, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Publication number: 20120260677
    Abstract: A cooling apparatus includes a first power supply, a second power supply, and a power switching control unit configured to switch a power supply from the first power supply to the second power supply near the time when the temperature of a compartment starts decreasing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2012
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Kazuo Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Masato
  • Patent number: 8284185
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a power consumption detection apparatus including: a line current calculation section configured to calculate, based on an image signal, a value of a line current consumed by each of horizontal lines; and a power consumption calculation section configured to calculate, on a horizontal line cycle, power consumed by an entire display panel based on the most recent values of the line currents, the values corresponding in number to a vertical resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tada, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Publication number: 20120235980
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a power consumption detection apparatus including: a line current calculation section configured to calculate, based on an image signal, a value of a line current consumed by each of horizontal lines; and a power consumption calculation section configured to calculate, on a horizontal line cycle, power consumed by an entire display panel based on the most recent values of the line currents, the values corresponding in number to a vertical resolution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Publication date: September 20, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru TADA, Atsushi OZAWA
  • Patent number: 8259042
    Abstract: A self-luminous display apparatus capable of varying a peak luminance of a display panel in a unit of one frame, which includes: a mean gradation value calculation section configured to calculate a mean gradation value of a video signal in a unit of a frame for each one frame; a specific condition detection section configured to detect, based on the mean gradation values calculated over a period of several frames, an input of the video signal which satisfies a specific condition in which a drop of a physical peak luminance is not likely to be perceived visually; and a light emission condition control section configured to perform dropping control of the peak luminance in a unit of a frame so that a dropping condition set in advance may be satisfied for a period of time after the frame which satisfies the specific condition is detected until the detection state is canceled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tada, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8253718
    Abstract: A power consumption reduction device includes a region-adaptive gray level conversion unit wherein the gray level conversion unit is operable to convert n1 bits of gray level information for a low gray level region into m1 (<n1) bits of gray level information, further operable to convert n2 bits of gray level information for an intermediate gray level region into m2 (?n2) bits of gray level information, and still further operable to convert n3 bits of gray level information for a high gray level region into m3 (<n3) bits of gray level information, and the gray level conversion unit converts a gray level of an input video signal so that m1?m2, m3?m2 and n1+n2+n3>m1+m2+m3 are all satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tada, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8188994
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a power consumption detection apparatus including: a line current calculation section configured to calculate, based on an image signal, a value of a line current consumed by each of horizontal lines; and a power consumption calculation section configured to calculate, on a horizontal line cycle, power consumed by an entire display panel based on the most recent values of the line currents, the values corresponding in number to a vertical resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tada, Atsushi Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8175481
    Abstract: An image-forming device, such as a laser printer, includes a sheet-feed section, an image-forming section, a thermal fixing section and a control section. The sheet-feed section is configured to feed a recording sheet to a conveyance path. The image-forming section is disposed along the conveyance path and configured to form a toner image on the recording sheet. The thermal fixing section is disposed downstream of the image-forming section in a direction of sheet feeding and configured to fix the toner image on the recording sheet with a predetermined temperature. The control section is configured to control the temperature of the thermal fixing section, to detect a sheet-feed error in the sheet-feed section and to output an error signal indicative of the error occurring. The control section may further be configured to change the temperature of the thermal fixing section in response to the error signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Atsushi Ozawa