Patents by Inventor Hiromi Enomoto

Hiromi Enomoto 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: 10962704
    Abstract: A display device includes: a light source; a light guide plate having a light input end face that is at least a portion of an outer peripheral end surface and a light-exit surface that is one of two plate surfaces of the light guide plate and through which the light exits the light guide plate; a display panel including two substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal layer therebetween and configured to display an image by using light from the light-exit surface; a first display section included in the display panel and located relatively away from the light source and in which the liquid crystal layer has a relatively large thickness; and a second display section included in the display panel and located relatively near the light source and in which at least a portion of the liquid crystal layer has a relatively small thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yohji Inui, Hiromi Enomoto
  • Patent number: 10871675
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel including a display surface, a light transmission mode converter configured to convert light transmission mode, a light reflective portion disposed on an opposite side of the light transmission mode converter from the display surface and configured to reflect light entered through the display surface toward the display surface, a light transmissive portion disposed on the opposite side of the light transmission mode converter from the display surface and configured to transmit light, and a color filter that is disposed closer to the display surface than the light reflective portion and the light transmissive portion are, and a light storing portion configured to store light to emit light having a complementary color of a color exhibited by the color filter, the light storing portion being disposed on an opposite side of the light transmissive portion from the display surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hiromi Enomoto
  • Publication number: 20200333648
    Abstract: A display panel includes: a memory pixel section including a memory circuit configured to store display data; and a non-memory pixel section that does not have a function of storing display data, wherein a plurality of the memory pixel sections are disposed on an outer circumference side of a plurality of the non-memory pixel sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2020
    Publication date: October 22, 2020
    Inventor: HIROMI ENOMOTO
  • Patent number: 10754086
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel, a backlight device at least including LEDs arrayed at intervals and LED wiring portions connected to the LEDs such that the LEDs adjacent to one another have different connection targets, an image signal generation unit that generates an image signal related to the image, a panel control unit that displays the image on the liquid crystal panel based on the image signal generated in the image signal generation unit, and an LED control unit that energizes a relatively great amount of the LED wiring portions when the image based on the image signal sent from the image signal generation unit is a normal image, and selectively energizes a relatively small amount of the LED wiring portions when the image is a small image of which a display range is smaller than a display range of the normal image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Katsutoshi Kikuchi, Hiromi Enomoto
  • Publication number: 20200174312
    Abstract: A display device includes: a display panel including a light reflection part by which light from a display surface side is reflected, and a light transmission part through which light from an opposite side from the display surface side passes; a quarter wave plate disposed on the display panel at an opposite side from the display surface side; and a polarizing plate disposed on the quarter wave plate at an opposite side from a display panel side, the polarizing plate having an absorption axis whose crossing angle relative to a slow axis of the quarter wave plate is set such that light passing through the polarizing plate and then passing through the quarter wave plate is converted into elliptically polarized light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2018
    Publication date: June 4, 2020
    Inventors: HIROMI ENOMOTO, TOKUMI HAYASHI, KOHJI MICHIBAYASHI, MASAHIRO OKUNO
  • Publication number: 20200124785
    Abstract: A display device includes: a light source; a light guide plate having a light input end face that is at least a portion of an outer peripheral end surface and a light-exit surface that is one of two plate surfaces of the light guide plate and through which the light exits the light guide plate; a display panel including two substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal layer therebetween and configured to display an image by using light from the light-exit surface; a first display section included in the display panel and located relatively away from the light source and in which the liquid crystal layer has a relatively large thickness; and a second display section included in the display panel and located relatively near the light source and in which at least a portion of the liquid crystal layer has a relatively small thickness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2018
    Publication date: April 23, 2020
    Inventors: YOHJI INUI, HIROMI ENOMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200111400
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel, and a lighting device, a pixel controller, and a light source controller. The display panel includes colored pixels and a white pixel. The lighting device includes a white light source configured to emit light to exhibit a white color and a color adjusting light source configured to emit light tinged with a complementary color to a color with which light transmitted through the white pixel is tinged. The pixel controller is configured to control driving of the colored pixels and the white pixel. The light source controller is configured to control the white light source and the color adjusting light source to turn on the white light source when the colored pixels are driven and to turn on the color adjusting light source in addition to the white light source when the white pixel is driven in addition to the colored pixels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2019
    Publication date: April 9, 2020
    Inventors: HIROMI ENOMOTO, YOJI INUI
  • Patent number: 10527778
    Abstract: A lighting device includes a light guide plate, a first light source, a second light source, and a case. The light guide plate includes plate surfaces and an outer peripheral surface. One of the plate surfaces is configured as a light exiting surface. Sections of the outer peripheral surface on opposite sides from each other relative to the center of the light exiting surface are configured as a first light entering surface and a second light entering surface, respectively. The first light source is disposed opposite the first light entering surface. The second light source is disposed opposite the second light entering surface. The case includes an annular wall portion surrounding an outer circumference of the light guide plate, the first light source, and the second light source. The annular wall portion includes light source non-disposing areas between the first light entering surface and the second light entering surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryuzo Yuki, Katsutoshi Kikuchi, Hayato Nakamura, Makoto Yoshimura, Hiromi Enomoto, Mitsuhiro Murata, Hisashi Watanabe, Hirotoshi Yasunaga
  • Publication number: 20190301928
    Abstract: A display includes a display component having a display surface displaying an image thereon and an ultraviolet ray detection section included in a section of the display component that is to be irradiated with external light, and the ultraviolet ray detection section contains material that changes its color by irradiation of ultraviolet rays.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Publication date: October 3, 2019
    Inventor: HIROMI ENOMOTO
  • Publication number: 20190243058
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel, a backlight device at least including LEDs arrayed at intervals and LED wiring portions connected to the LEDs such that the LEDs adjacent to one another have different connection targets, an image signal generation unit that generates an image signal related to the image, a panel control unit that displays the image on the liquid crystal panel based on the image signal generated in the image signal generation unit, and an LED control unit that energizes a relatively great amount of the LED wiring portions when the image based on the image signal sent from the image signal generation unit is a normal image, and selectively energizes a relatively small amount of the LED wiring portions when the image is a small image of which a display range is smaller than a display range of the normal image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 2017
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Inventors: KATSUTOSHI KIKUCHI, HIROMI ENOMOTO
  • Patent number: 10274142
    Abstract: A backlight device includes LEDs, a light guide plate, an LED substrate, an optical sheet, and a low light-transmissive member. The light guide plate includes a light entering end surface, a light exiting plate surface, and an opposite plate surface. The LED substrate is disposed such that at least a section of the LED substrate overlaps a light entering-side edge section that is an edge section of the light guide plate on the light entering end surface side. The optical sheet includes a light entering-side edge section overlapping section disposed on the light exiting plate surface side of the light guide plate to overlap the light entering-side edge section. The low light-transmissive member disposed on the light entering-side edge section overlapping section of the optical sheet. The low light-transmissive member has a light transmissivity lower than that of other sections of the optical sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hisashi Watanabe, Ryuzo Yuki, Hirotoshi Yasunaga, Mitsuhiro Murata, Makoto Yoshimura, Hiromi Enomoto
  • Publication number: 20190086707
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel including a display surface, a light transmission mode converter configured to convert light transmission mode, a light reflective portion disposed on an opposite side of the light transmission mode converter from the display surface and configured to reflect light entered through the display surface toward the display surface, a light transmissive portion disposed on the opposite side of the light transmission mode converter from the display surface and configured to transmit light, and a color filter that is disposed closer to the display surface than the light reflective portion and the light transmissive portion are, and a light storing portion configured to store light to emit light having a complementary color of a color exhibited by the color filter, the light storing portion being disposed on an opposite side of the light transmissive portion from the display surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventor: HIROMI ENOMOTO
  • Publication number: 20180286316
    Abstract: The display device of the present invention includes: a display panel having an outer shape that is curved as a whole and is partially provided with multiple linear outer edge portions; and a circuit member including a main part and multiple branches coupled with the main part. Each of the linear outer edge portions is provided with a terminal on the front surface side of the display panel. The main part is provided with a driver. Each of the branches is provided with a conductive line that electrically couples the driver and the terminal. Each of ends of the branches is attached to the corresponding linear outer edge portion and is bent along the corresponding linear outer edge portion from the front surface side toward the back surface of the display panel. The main part is disposed on the back surface side of the display panel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2016
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Ryuzo YUKI, Katsuhiro YAMAGUCHI, Hiromi ENOMOTO, Kazuyoshi MAEDA, Haruhito KAGAWA, Koji MICHIBAYASHI, Yuji TANIGUCHI, Takashi KUBO, Masataka OYAMA
  • Publication number: 20180274740
    Abstract: A backlight device includes LEDs, a light guide plate, an LED substrate, an optical sheet, and a low light-transmissive member. The light guide plate includes a light entering end surface, a light exiting plate surface, and an opposite plate surface. The LED substrate is disposed such that at least a section of the LED substrate overlaps a light entering-side edge section that is an edge section of the light guide plate on the light entering end surface side. The optical sheet includes a light entering-side edge section overlapping section disposed on the light exiting plate surface side of the light, guide plate to overlap the light entering-side edge section. The low light-transmissive member disposed on the light entering-side edge section overlapping section of the optical sheet. The low light-transmissive member has a light transmissivity lower than that of other sections of the optical sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2016
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Inventors: HISASHI WATANABE, RYUZO YUKI, HIROTOSHI YASUNAGA, MITSUHIRO MURATA, MAKOTO YOSHIMURA, HIROMI ENOMOTO
  • Publication number: 20180239078
    Abstract: A lighting device includes a light guide plate, a first light source, a second light source, and a case. The light guide plate includes plate surfaces and an outer peripheral surface. One of the plate surfaces is configured as a light exiting surface. Sections of the outer peripheral surface on opposite sides from each other relative to the center of the light exiting surface are configured as a first light entering surface and a second light entering surface, respectively. The first light source is disposed opposite the first light entering surface. The second light source is disposed opposite the second light entering surface. The case includes an annular wall portion surrounding an outer circumference of the light guide plate, the first light source, and the second light source. The annular wall portion includes light source non-disposing areas between the first light entering surface and the second light entering surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2016
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Inventors: Ryuzo YUKI, Katsutoshi KIKUCHI, Hayato NAKAMURA, Makoto YOSHIMURA, Hiromi ENOMOTO, Mitsuhiro MURATA, Hisashi WATANABE, Hirotoshi YASUNAGA
  • Patent number: 9921363
    Abstract: This backlight device (illumination device) is provided with (LEDs) light source; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face that opposes the LEDs and where light from the LEDs is incident, and a light-exiting surface where the incident light is emitted; and an optical sheet (optical member) arranged in opposition to the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate and imparting an optical effect to the light emitted from the light-exiting surface. Here, the optical sheet has, in at least one portion thereof, a chromaticity correction region for which x and y chromaticity coordinate values in a CIE 1931 color space both decrease with distance from the LEDs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoji Inui, Hiromi Enomoto
  • Patent number: 9575240
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel, a display area, a non-display area, a substrate member attached to the display panel with an adhesive layer interposed therebetween and including a touch panel and an operation section formed in the non-display area and used for performing an input operation on the touch panel, a step portion formed at least by a side portion of the display panel and a side portion of the adhesive layer such that a void is generated in a part between the display panel and the substrate member, and a light source unit disposed in the void such that at least a part of the light source unit is superimposed on the display panel in the step portion and configured to supply illumination light to the operation section to light the operation section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobuhiko Akanuma, Hiromi Enomoto, Yuhsuke Nii, Shinji Tomokawa
  • Patent number: 9510473
    Abstract: A display device includes a panel laminated body including a panel laminated body including a plurality of panels stacked together, flexible printed circuit boards each being connected to a corresponding one of respective short sides of the plurality of panels disposed in one of side portions of the panel laminated body, and an extension portion formed in at least a part of the flexible printed circuit boards so as to extend outwardly from a side area of the panel laminated body in a short-side direction of the panels in the side area. At least a pair of the extension portions is electrically connected together in a state where the pair of the extension portions is superimposed on each other and is folded in the side area of the panel laminated body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromi Enomoto, Yuhsuke Nii, Nobuhiko Akanuma
  • Patent number: 9159286
    Abstract: The present invention includes, in addition to transistors each (Mm,n) provided at the intersection of a gate bus line (GLn) with a data bus line (DLm): block potential applying transistors (DMn) connected to respective ends of gate bus lines (GLn) which ends are not connected to a gate driver (11); a potential supply line (VLL) connected to the gate bus lines (GLn) via the block potential applying transistors (DMn); and a blocking signal supplying section (131) for, immediately after the gate driver (11) supplies a first conduction signal for bringing the transistors (Mm,n) into conduction, supplying to the block potential applying transistors (DMn), a second conduction signal for bringing the block potential applying transistors (DMn) into conduction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiromi Enomoto, Shinsuke Yokonuma, Yoji Inui, Toshihiko Miyashita, Hiroyuki Kitamura
  • Publication number: 20150241621
    Abstract: This backlight device (illumination device) is provided with (LEDs) light source; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face that opposes the LEDs and where light from the LEDs is incident, and a light-exiting surface where the incident light is emitted; and an optical sheet (optical member) arranged in opposition to the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate and imparting an optical effect to the light emitted from the light-exiting surface. Here, the optical sheet has, in at least one portion thereof, a chromaticity correction region for which x and y chromaticity coordinate values in a CIE 1931 color space both decrease with distance from the LEDs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2013
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoji Inui, Hiromi Enomoto