Patents by Inventor Ikuo Mimura

Ikuo Mimura 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: 8147075
    Abstract: This invention provides a retroreflective sheeting which at least comprises a printed image-incorporated retroreflective sheeting and an optical element array sheet in which a large number of light-transmissive optical elements are regularly disposed at least at a fixed location; more particularly a printed image-incorporated retroreflective sheeting which reveals a stereoscopic image when the printed image is seen through a lenticular lens sheet or a convex lens array sheet; and a reflective sheeting which uses the stereoscopic image for tamper prevention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ikuo Mimura, Keizo Takayama
  • Publication number: 20120037207
    Abstract: An optical layer for a light control type solar photovoltaic module, a light control type solar photovoltaic module, and a light control type solar photovoltaic panel have an excellent directionality to the sunlight are provided. An optical layer 4 for a light control type solar photovoltaic module includes an entrance surface 11 and an exit surface 12 and is arranged opposite photovoltaic cells 6 that convert light into electric energy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2009
    Publication date: February 16, 2012
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE INDUSTRIES CO., INC.
    Inventors: Ikuo Mimura, Keiji Amemiya, Masatoshi Sanagawa
  • Publication number: 20120006384
    Abstract: An optical layer for a light control type solar photovoltaic module, a light control type solar photovoltaic module, and a light control type solar photovoltaic panel having an excellent directionality to the sunlight are provided. An optical layer 4 for a light control type solar photovoltaic module includes an entrance surface 11 and an exit surface 12 and is arranged opposite photovoltaic cells 6 that convert light into electric energy. A number of prismatic optical elements are formed in at least one of the entrance surface 11 and the exit surface 12, each of the prismatic optical elements is on a common plane S1 defined by a common base shared by the prismatic optical elements adjacent to each other, and a prism axis 7 of each of the prismatic optical elements is inclined toward a predetermined direction with respect to a direction perpendicular to the common plane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2009
    Publication date: January 12, 2012
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE INDUSTRIES CO., INC.
    Inventors: Ikuo Mimura, Keiji Amemiya, Masatoshi Sanagawa
  • Publication number: 20110286097
    Abstract: A retroreflective article having excellent retroreflective efficiency, entrance angle characteristic, observation angle characteristic, and rotation angle characteristic is provided. In a retroreflective article including a number of cube corner retroreflective elements formed in a closely packed manner on a common plane (plane Sc), each of the cube corner retroreflective elements having three reflective lateral surfaces (surface a, surface b and surface c) that have three edge lines (HD, HE and HF) and one apex.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2009
    Publication date: November 24, 2011
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE INDUSTRIES CO., INC.
    Inventors: Ikuo Mimura, Keiji Amemiya, Chihiro Hayashi
  • Publication number: 20110227238
    Abstract: [Object] An apparatus and a method for producing optical sheeting with which increased productivity can be achieved while maintaining the accuracy of produced optical sheeting.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2009
    Publication date: September 22, 2011
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE INDUSTRIES CO., INC.
    Inventors: Ikuo Mimura, Chihiro Hayashi, Akihiro Mathuda, Hiroshi Hamada, Naotake Osaki
  • Patent number: 7980710
    Abstract: A retroreflective article including a retroreflective element layer having an array of a large number of total internal reflective cube corner retroreflective elements, an optical property-adjusting layer partially provided on the back side of the retroreflective element layer, and an air layer on the back side of the optical property-adjusting layer. The retroreflective article exhibits optical properties suited for an intended use, such as a reflector of traffic or commercial signs, such as traffic signs, regulating signs, informative signs, and construction signs, or visible, laser or infrared light reflective sensors, by the presence of the optical property-adjusting layer with an adjusted hue or an adjusted area ratio. The retroreflective article can easily be produced at low cost and high efficiency by utilizing an existing retroreflective article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Chihiro Hayashi, Ikuo Mimura
  • Patent number: 7950813
    Abstract: Adoption of composite cube-corner retroreflective elements in which groups of each at least two sub-retroreflective elements which are each defined by three lateral faces mutually crossing at approximately right angles, as being configured by three-directional V-shaped parallel groove groups having substantially symmetrical sections and intersecting with each other, and which are arrayed in the closest-packed state, projecting on one side of their common sub-plane (SH-SH), each of said groups of sub-reflective elements being disposed on one main retroreflective element which is defined by three lateral faces mutually crossing at approximately right angles, as being configured by three-directional V-shaped parallel groove groups having substantially symmetrical sections and intersecting with each other, and which is disposed on the main plane (S-S).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Patent number: 7938549
    Abstract: A retroreflective article with excellent wide-angle characteristics is provided. Entrance angle characteristics, observation angle characteristics, and rotation angle characteristics are improved. In a retroreflective article, an assembly of multidirectional retroreflective elements is formed, in which either five, or seven or more unit elements are formed so as to share two common base edges forming the triangular base face of the unit elements and a common vertex at which the common base edges intersect, with an adjacent retroreflective element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Industries Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Publication number: 20110051242
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a multi-directional cube corner retroreflective article (may be referred to as a retroreflective article, hereinafter) capable of improving entrance angle characteristic and rotation angle characteristic. A multi-directional cube corner retroreflective article, wherein a large number of retroreflective element assemblies, each of which is formed by assembling triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective elements each having an isosceles-triangular base (ABC) and an element apex (H) while sharing an apex (C) and base lines of equal length (AC and BC) of the base, are connected, and a shape of an outer circumference of each of the retroreflective element assemblies is a regular polygon and the bases of at least two of the triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective elements are not parallel to a common plane including the outer circumference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE INDUSTRIES CO., INC.
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Publication number: 20110043915
    Abstract: [Object] An object to be solved by the invention is to improve a retroreflective characteristic of a quadrilateral element that is a cube-corner element, which has reflective lateral surfaces including two trapezoidal reflective lateral surfaces and one pentagonal or isosceles-triangular reflective lateral surface, and which has a projection shape of a quadrangle when projected onto a common plane and is particularly to provide a cube-corner retroreflective article provided with a quadrilateral element excellent in an entrance angle characteristic and a rotation angle characteristic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2008
    Publication date: February 24, 2011
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE INDUSTRIES CO., INC.
    Inventors: Ikuo Mimura, Chihiro Hayashi, Keiji Amemiya
  • Publication number: 20110013281
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective article and a producing method thereof. In the triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective article, a triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective element pair group is disposed in a closest-packed fashion on a common plane defined by three base lines, and the each of retroreflective elements in a pair having one base line (A-B) shared by the retroreflective elements in the pair. The triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective article includes a first element pair group, in which two interior angles (?=?BAC and ?=?ABC) formed by the shared base line of the element pair and two other base lines are different from each other and the element pair is line-symmetrically disposed in relation to the shared base line (A-B); and a second element pair group, in which the element pair is congruent to a line-symmetrical shape to the first element pair in relation to a line segment connecting vertexes of the base planes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2007
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ikuo Mimura, Chihiro Hayashi, Keiji Amemiya
  • Patent number: 7815319
    Abstract: To provide a retroreflective article formed of many triangular-pyramidal cube-corner retroreflective element pairs. One-side groove angle formed between a cross line between a plane vertical to the common plane and to a V-groove vertical plane which includes the base line of a V-shaped groove is vertical to the common plane, and a reflective lateral face containing the base line of the v-shaped groove, and the V-groove vertical plane, does not form a constant angle in the reflective lateral face but the lateral face forms a curved and/or multiple surface. A base line constituting any directional V-shaped groove in retroreflective element pairs is a nonlinear base line which does not form a linear trajectory and the reflective lateral face formed of the V-shaped groove forms a curved and/or multiple surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Publication number: 20100165463
    Abstract: To provide a retroreflective article formed of many triangular-pyramidal cube-corner retroreflective element pairs. One-side groove angle formed between a cross line between a plane vertical to the common plane and to a V-groove vertical plane which includes the base line of a V-shaped groove is vertical to the common plane, and a reflective lateral face containing the base line of the v-shaped groove, and the V-groove vertical plane, does not form a constant angle in the reflective lateral face but the lateral face forms a curved and/or multiple surface. A base line constituting any directional V-shaped groove in retroreflective element pairs is a nonlinear base line which does not form a linear trajectory and the reflective lateral face formed of the V-shaped groove forms a curved and/or multiple surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Publication number: 20100110545
    Abstract: A retroreflective object having a retroreflective clement layer in which a large number of cube corner retroreflective elements of total internal reflection type are disposed. In the back surface of the retroreflective element layer, an optical characteristic adjusting layer is partially provided, and in the back surface of the optical characteristic adjusting layer, an air layer is provided. With the invention, an optical characteristic adjusting layer for adjusting a hue and occupant area ratio can be provided on the back surface of the retroreflective element layer of an existing object in a simple way for easy adjustment, thus enabling a retroreflective object to be manufactured at high productivity and low cost.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Publication date: May 6, 2010
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Chihiro Hayashi, Ikuo Mimura
  • Patent number: 7670013
    Abstract: To provide a retroreflective article formed of many triangular-pyramidal cube-corner retroreflective element pairs. One-side groove angle formed between a cross line between a plane vertical to the common plane and to a V-groove vertical plane which includes the base line of a V-shaped groove is vertical to the common plane, and a reflective lateral face containing the base line of the V-shaped groove, and the V-groove vertical plane, does not form a constant angle in the reflective lateral face but the lateral face forms a curved and/or multiple surface. A base line constituting any directional V-shaped groove in retroreflective element pairs is a nonlinear base line which does not form a linear trajectory and the reflective lateral face formed of the V-shaped groove forms a curved and/or multiple surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2010
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Publication number: 20090296216
    Abstract: A retroreflection article formed of groups of grooves in three directions having substantially V-shaped cross sections, including a large number of pairs of cube corner retroreflection elements being disposed, the elements in each pair being formed to be rotationally symmetric while sharing one base line forming the retroreflection elements. A group of parallel V-shaped grooves in one direction (grooves x) forming the group of pairs of retroreflection elements has straight-line bottom tracks, the groups of parallel V-shaped grooves in the other two directions (grooves w1 and w2) have continuous bent-line bottom tracks bent at intersection points with the grooves x, the bottom tracks of the groups of parallel V-shaped grooves in the two directions (grooves w1 and w2) do not intersect with each other, and projection geometries of base planes (A-B-E1-D1 and A-B-E2-D2) forming the retroreflection elements are quadrilaterals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2007
    Publication date: December 3, 2009
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Patent number: 7598874
    Abstract: An integrated circuit enclosed retroreflective product which comprises an integrated circuit module having built-in integrated circuit(s), a retroreflective element, and their carrier layer(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2009
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Patent number: 7584564
    Abstract: The invention provides an internally illuminated sign comprising an information display section having at least one flat or curved surface which retroreflects light coming from the front of said sign and transmits light from the interior of said sign; an illuminator disposed behind the information display section; and a housing which encloses and holds said information display section and the illuminator. Those retroreflective elements used in said information display section are prismatic retroreflective elements according to the principle of total internal reflection, a large number of which are densely arranged to form a continuous retroreflective plane, at least the retroreflecting area of the back of said large number of prismatic retroreflective elements has no bonded area to other layer(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2009
    Assignee: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiro Matsuda, Yutaka Hamada, Ikuo Mimura
  • Publication number: 20090161217
    Abstract: A retroreflective article with excellent wide-angle characteristics is provided. Entrance angle characteristics, observation angle characteristics, and rotation angle characteristics are improved. In a retroreflective article, an assembly of multidirectional retroreflective elements is formed, in which either five, or seven or more unit elements are formed so as to share two common base edges forming the triangular base face of the unit elements and a common vertex at which the common base edges intersect, with an adjacent retroreflective element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2006
    Publication date: June 25, 2009
    Applicant: Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura
  • Publication number: 20090122405
    Abstract: Adoption of composite cube-corner retroreflective elements in which groups of each at least two sub-retroreflective elements which are each defined by three lateral faces mutually crossing at approximately right angles, as being configured by three-directional V-shaped parallel groove groups having substantially symmetrical sections and intersecting with each other, and which are arrayed in the closest-packed state, projecting on one side of their common sub-plane (SH-SH), each of said groups of sub-reflective elements being disposed on one main retroreflective element which is defined by three lateral faces mutually crossing at approximately right angles, as being configured by three-directional V-shaped parallel groove groups having substantially symmetrical sections and intersecting with each other, and which is disposed on the main plane (S-S).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2005
    Publication date: May 14, 2009
    Applicant: NIPPON CARBIDE KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Ikuo Mimura