Patents by Inventor Hiroko Niwano

Hiroko Niwano 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: 8194304
    Abstract: In a display device including: an upper space (display space) 13 provided on a display surface side; and a colored liquid 21 that is sealed inside the upper space 13 so as to be operable and is colored in a predetermined color, which is structured so as to be able to change a display color on the display surface side according to application of an electric field to the colored liquid 21, the colored liquid 21 contains a conductive liquid as a dispersion medium and a pigment of a self-dispersing type as a coloring agent. Thereby, the display device that can improve display quality and have high durability that enables to maintain an excellent displaying function over a long period of time, and the electric apparatus using the display device can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroko Niwano, Akio Miyata, Tomoko Teranishi, Shinichi Nakano
  • Patent number: 7839555
    Abstract: In a display device that includes a display space provided on a display surface side and a liquid sealed inside the display space so as to be operable and is constituted so as to be able to change a display color on the display surface side according to an application of an electric field to the liquid, the liquid is an ionic liquid containing an ambient temperature molten salt combining a cation and an anion. Further, an amount of water blended in the liquid is 0 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ionic liquid. This makes it possible both to reduce a voltage to be applied to the liquid so as to allow driving at a low voltage and to improve an operation performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Nakano, Akio Miyata, Tomoko Teranishi, Hiroko Niwano
  • Patent number: 7729034
    Abstract: An ionic colored liquid according to the present invention moves with a voltage application, and contains as principal components at least a coloring material whose base material is a pigment, and an ambient temperature molten salt combining a cation and an anion. The coloring material has a mean volume particle diameter of equal to or smaller than 5 ?m and a coefficient of variation in a volume particle size distribution of equal to or smaller than 50. In an image display apparatus according to the present invention, a surface energy of the ionic colored liquid (21) is varied according to whether or not a voltage is applied to the ionic colored liquid (21), thereby moving the ionic colored liquid (21) or increasing/decreasing a surface area of the liquid on a display surface side, so that an image is displayed. In this manner, the ionic colored liquid can be dispersed stably in a dispersion medium and applied to an electric-field induction type electronic paper display or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinich Nakano, Hiroko Niwano
  • Publication number: 20090079689
    Abstract: A standard electrode 19, and a plurality of signal electrodes 15 and a plurality of scanning electrodes 22 that cross each other are provided. A scanning driver Vd, which applies either one of a non-selected voltage that inhibits movement of a conductive liquid inside a liquid storage space and a selected voltage that allows the conductive liquid to move inside the liquid storage space according to a signal voltage to the signal electrode 15 to each of the scanning electrodes 22, when a standard driver Vs applies a standard voltage to the standard electrode 19, is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2006
    Publication date: March 26, 2009
    Inventors: Akio Miyata, Shinichi Nakano, Shuichi Kozaki, Hiroko Niwano
  • Publication number: 20090059348
    Abstract: In a display device including: an upper space (display space) 13 provided on a display surface side; and a colored liquid 21 that is sealed inside the upper space 13 so as to be operable and is colored in a predetermined color, which is structured so as to be able to change a display color on the display surface side according to application of an electric field to the colored liquid 21, the colored liquid 21 contains a conductive liquid as a dispersion medium and a pigment of a self-dispersing type as a coloring agent. Thereby, the display device that can improve display quality and have high durability that enables to maintain an excellent displaying function over a long period of time, and the electric apparatus using the display device can be provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2006
    Publication date: March 5, 2009
    Inventors: Hiroko Niwano, Akio Miyata, Tomoko Teranishi, Shinichi Nakano
  • Publication number: 20090052004
    Abstract: An ionic colored liquid according to the present invention moves with a voltage application, and contains as principal components at least a coloring material whose base material is a pigment, and an ambient temperature molten salt combining a cation and an anion. The coloring material has a mean volume particle diameter of equal to or smaller than 5 ?m and a coefficient of variation in a volume particle size distribution of equal to or smaller than 50. In an image display apparatus according to the present invention, a surface energy of the ionic colored liquid (21) is varied according to whether or not a voltage is applied to the ionic colored liquid (21), thereby moving the ionic colored liquid (21) or increasing/decreasing a surface area of the liquid on a display surface side, so that an image is displayed. In this manner, the ionic colored liquid can be dispersed stably in a dispersion medium and applied to an electric-field induction type electronic paper display or the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2006
    Publication date: February 26, 2009
    Inventors: Shinich Nakano, Hiroko Niwano
  • Publication number: 20070040982
    Abstract: In a display device that includes a display space provided on a display surface side and a liquid sealed inside the display space so as to be operable and is constituted so as to be able to change a display color on the display surface side according to an application of an electric field to the liquid, the liquid is an ionic liquid containing an ambient temperature molten salt combining a cation and an anion. Further, an amount of water blended in the liquid is 0 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ionic liquid. This makes it possible both to reduce a voltage to be applied to the liquid so as to allow driving at a low voltage and to improve an operation performance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2006
    Publication date: February 22, 2007
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinichi Nakano, Akio Miyata, Tomoko Teranishi, Hiroko Niwano