Patents by Inventor Katsuhiro Kikuchi

Katsuhiro Kikuchi 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: 20170098793
    Abstract: In an organic EL element equipped with an anode, a cathode, a luminescent layer provided between the anode and the cathode, a hole transport layer provided between the anode and the luminescent layer, and an electron transport layer provided between the cathode and the luminescent layer, the cathode is composed of a reflecting electrode. The electron transport layer is composed of a doped electron transport layer to which an n-type dopant material is added and a non-doped electron transport layer to which an n-type dopant material is not added. A first reflection surface that reflects light from the luminescent layer is provided at an interface between the doped electron transport layer and the non-doped electron transport layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 3, 2015
    Publication date: April 6, 2017
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki ISOMURA, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Shinichi KAWATO, Hideki UCHIDA, Manabu NIBOSHI, Satoshi INOUE, Yuto TSUKAMOTO
  • Patent number: 9614155
    Abstract: The vapor deposition apparatus employs scanning vapor deposition, and includes a limiting component including a first plate portion; a second plate portion provided with a space from the first plate portion; and a joint portion combining the first plate portion with the second plate portion, the first plate portion being provided with an first opening, the second plate portion being provided with an second opening that faces the first opening, the vapor deposition apparatus including a first space between the first opening and the second opening, the vapor deposition apparatus including a second space between the first plate portion and the second plate portion, the first space being connected to the second space, the vapor deposition apparatus including a third space that is in the outside of the limiting component, the second space being connected to the third space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Isomura, Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Shinichi Kawato, Satoshi Inoue, Takashi Ochi, Yuhki Kobayashi, Eiichi Matsumoto, Masahiro Ichihara
  • Publication number: 20170092701
    Abstract: A display according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an element substrate, a display section including a plurality of pixels each including a plurality of light-emitting elements, and monitoring elements for detecting the temperature of the light-emitting elements. The light-emitting elements each include an anode, a cathode, and a light-emitting layer placed between the anode and the cathode. The monitoring elements each include an anode, a cathode, and a light emission-suppressing layer containing the same light-emitting material as the light-emitting layer. When voltages are supplied to the monitoring elements, the light emission-suppressing layers do not emit any visible light or emit visible light with a luminance lower than the case where the same voltages as the above voltages are applied to the light-emitting elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2015
    Publication date: March 30, 2017
    Inventors: Hideki UCHIDA, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Satoshi INOUE, Manabu NIBOSHI, Yoshiyuki ISOMURA, Yuto TSUKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20170081758
    Abstract: A mask for a vapor deposition apparatus includes an outer frame; a first bar disposed on an inner side of the outer frame and fixed to the outer frame; and a pattern forming portion disposed on the outer frame and the first bar and fixed to the outer frame. The pattern forming portion includes a plurality of mask openings for pattern formation. Each of the plurality of mask openings is disposed along a first direction. The plurality of mask openings are disposed in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The first bar is positioned between adjacent two mask openings among the plurality of mask openings when viewed along a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, and is in contact with the pattern forming portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2015
    Publication date: March 23, 2017
    Inventors: Satoshi INOUE, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Shinichi KAWATO, Takashi OCHI, Yuhki KOBAYASHI, Kazuki MATSUNAGA, Eiichi MATSUMOTO, Masahiro ICHIHARA
  • Publication number: 20170058133
    Abstract: A mixed material for vapor deposition of lithium contains lithium oxide M1 in an amount of 90% or more, sodium chloride (at least one material selected from oxides, sulfides, chlorides, and fluorides of alkali metals) M2 having a melting point lower than the melting point of lithium oxide M1, and magnesium oxide (at least one material selected from oxides and sulfides of alkaline-earth metals) M3 having a melting point higher than the melting point of lithium oxide M1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2015
    Publication date: March 2, 2017
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Manabu NIBOSHI, Yuto TSUKAMOTO, Yoshiyuki ISOMURA, Satoshi INOUE, Hideki UCHIDA, Shinichi KAWATO, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI
  • Publication number: 20170047380
    Abstract: An organic electroluminescent element includes, in the following order: an anode; a hole transport layer; a first mixed light-emitting layer; a luminescent dopant layer; a second mixed light-emitting layer; an electron transport layer; and a cathode, the first mixed light-emitting layer containing a first luminescent host material and a first luminescent dopant material, the second mixed light-emitting layer containing a second luminescent host material and a second luminescent dopant material, the luminescent dopant layer consisting essentially only of a third luminescent dopant material and being thinner than the first mixed light-emitting layer and the second mixed light-emitting layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Publication date: February 16, 2017
    Inventors: Yuto TSUKAMOTO, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Hideki UCHIDA, Manabu NIBOSHI, Satoshi INOUE, Yoshiyuki ISOMURA
  • Publication number: 20170033322
    Abstract: The method for producing an organic EL display panel includes, in the given order, the steps of: forming a first light-emitting layer by forming a film from a luminescent material of a first luminescent color in a first pixel; performing the etching treatment to remove, while leaving the first light-emitting layer to remain, a thin film of the luminescent material of the first luminescent color which adhered to the second pixel in the step; forming a second light-emitting layer by forming a film from a luminescent material of a second luminescent color different from the first luminescent color in the second pixel; and performing the etching treatment to remove, while leaving the second light-emitting layer to remain, a thin film of the luminescent material of the second luminescent color which adhered to the first pixel in the step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuki MATSUNAGA, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Shinichi KAWATO, Satoshi INOUE, Yuhki KOBAYASHI, Takashi OCHI
  • Publication number: 20170012201
    Abstract: The present invention provides a vapor deposition apparatus, a vapor deposition method, and a method for producing an organic electroluminescent element which can control the vapor deposition rate on the substrate in the entire vapor deposition region with excellent precision. The vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention that forms a film on a substrate includes a first thickness monitor; and a vapor deposition unit including a vapor deposition source, the apparatus being configured to perform vapor deposition while controlling the distance between a portion of the vapor deposition source designed to eject a vaporized material and a surface of the substrate on which the vapor deposition is performed, based on a measurement result from the first thickness monitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2014
    Publication date: January 12, 2017
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takashi OCHI, Satoshi INOUE, Yuhki KOBAYASHI, Kazuki MATSUNAGA, Shinichi KAWATO, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Masahiro ICHIHARA, Eiichi MATSUMOTO
  • Patent number: 9537096
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for producing an organic EL element capable of shortening the film formation time while suppressing an increase in the blur width; and an organic EL display device. The method is for producing an organic EL element by scanning vapor deposition, in which one or more vapor deposition sources each are provided with ejection orifices that face the respective openings of a limiting plate, and the ejection orifices facing the same opening are spaced from each other to give a sum of distributions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Satoshi Inoue, Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Shinichi Kawato, Takashi Ochi, Yuhki Kobayashi, Masahiro Ichihara, Eiichi Matsumoto
  • Publication number: 20160358980
    Abstract: An organic EL device includes a substrate and a plurality of organic EL elements disposed on the substrate. Each of the plurality of organic EL elements includes a light-emitting layer containing a light-emitting material. One of the plurality of organic EL elements includes a first film containing the same light-emitting material as the light-emitting layer of another one of the plurality of organic EL elements, the first film being in contact with an upper surface of the light-emitting layer of the one of the plurality of organic EL elements. The one of the plurality of organic EL elements does not include a second film containing the same light-emitting material as the light-emitting layer of another one of the plurality of organic EL elements, the second film being in contact with a lower surface of the light-emitting layer of the one of the plurality of organic EL elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2014
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Inventors: Satoshi INOUE, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Shinichi KAWATO, Takashi OCHI, Yuhki KOBAYASHI, Kazuki MATSUNAGA
  • Publication number: 20160359128
    Abstract: The present invention provides an organic EL element having high luminous efficacy and productivity and an organic EL panel including the organic EL element. The organic electroluminescent element of the present invention includes, in the given order, an anode, a hole-transport layer, a luminescent unit, an electron-transport layer, and a cathode. The luminescent unit includes a mixed light-emitting layer and includes a luminescent dopant layer at least between the hole-transport layer and the mixed light-emitting layer or between the electron-transport layer and the mixed light-emitting layer. The mixed light-emitting layer contains a first luminescent host material and a first luminescent dopant material. The luminescent dopant layer consists essentially of a second luminescent dopant material and is thinner than the mixed light-emitting layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2015
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Inventors: Yuto TSUKAMOTO, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Shinichi KAWATO, Hideki UCHIDA, Manabu NIBOSHI, Satoshi INOUE, Yoshiyuki ISOMURA
  • Patent number: 9493872
    Abstract: The present invention provides a vapor deposition apparatus capable of preventing abnormal film formation due to scattering in vapor deposition streams; and a method for producing an organic electroluminescent element which includes forming a patterned thin film with the vapor deposition apparatus. The present invention relates to a vapor deposition apparatus that includes a vapor deposition source equipped with a nozzle that ejects vapor deposition particles; an integrated limiting plate equipped with a first limiting plate including an opening that is in front of the nozzle, and with second limiting plates placed in the opening in the first limiting plate; and a mask including slits. The present invention also relates to a method for producing electroluminescent elements that includes a vapor deposition step of forming a patterned thin film with the vapor deposition apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Kawato, Satoshi Inoue, Takashi Ochi, Yuhki Kobayashi, Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Eiichi Matsumoto, Masahiro Ichihara
  • Publication number: 20160322430
    Abstract: The organic EL display panel includes: a substrate; and an organic electroluminescent element disposed on the substrate, the organic electroluminescent element including, in the given order: an anode; a light-emitting layer; and a cathode, the light-emitting layer including multiple light-emitting portions, the multiple light-emitting portions each providing a luminescent color different from the luminescent color of the adjacent light-emitting portion, the multiple light-emitting portions each containing a luminescent dopant material, the concentration of the luminescent dopant material in each light-emitting portion changing in the thickness direction of the light-emitting portion and being at a local maximum in the vicinity of a first interface on the anode side and in the vicinity of a second interface on the cathode side, the local maximum in each light-emitting portion being 20% by weight or higher of the total weight of the light-emitting portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2014
    Publication date: November 3, 2016
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi KAWATO, Takashi OCHI, Satoshi INOUE, yuhki KOBAYASHI, kazuki MATSUNAGA, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI
  • Publication number: 20160308131
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a vapor deposition device for forming a film on a substrate, including: a vapor deposition chamber; a vapor deposition unit including a vapor deposition mask provided with an opening for pattern formation; and a transport mechanism that is configured to transfer at least one of the substrate and the vapor deposition unit relative to the other in a first direction perpendicular to the normal direction of the vapor deposition mask and that is configured to cause the substrate to rest temporarily at a resting position relative to the vapor deposition unit. The substrate includes a vapor-deposition-target region, and the region does not overlap the opening of the vapor deposition mask when the substrate is at the resting position. The vapor deposition chamber is provided with a first vent and a second vent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2014
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhki KOBAYASHI, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Shinichi KAWATO, Takashi OCHI, Satoshi INOUE, Kazuki MATSUNAGA, Eiichi MATSUMOTO, Masahiro ICHIHARA
  • Publication number: 20160254330
    Abstract: The present invention provides an organic electroluminescent panel capable of increasing the luminous efficacy and decreasing the driving voltage of a top emission (TE) organic EL element. The organic electroluminescent panel of the present invention includes: a substrate; and an organic electroluminescent element provided on the substrate. The organic electroluminescent element is a top emission element that includes, in the order from the substrate side: an anode; a light-emitting layer; an electron transport layer; a first metal layer; a p-type oxide layer; and a transparent cathode. The top emission element is configured to emit light from the transparent cathode side. The light-emitting layer and the electron transport layer are each formed from an organic material. At least one of a mixture layer of a p-type oxide and a hole transport material and a second metal layer is provided between the electron transport layer and the transparent cathode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2014
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Inventors: Hideki UCHIDA, Yuto TSUKAMOTO, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Manabu NIBOSHI, Yoshiyuki ISOMURA, Ayataka ENDO, Asae ITO
  • Publication number: 20160254475
    Abstract: The organic electroluminescent element of the present invention includes, in the given order: an anode; a light-emitting layer; and a cathode, the light-emitting layer including a luminescent dopant layer and a luminescent host layer, the luminescent dopant layer containing a luminescent dopant material and substantially no luminescent host material, the luminescent host layer containing a luminescent host material and substantially no luminescent dopant material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2014
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Inventors: Yuto TSUKAMOTO, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Manabu NIBOSHI, Yoshiyuki ISOMURA, Hideki UCHIDA, Ayataka ENDO, Asae ITO
  • Publication number: 20160218311
    Abstract: The organic EL display panel includes: an active matrix substrate including a thin-film transistor; and an organic EL element disposed on the active matrix substrate, the organic EL element including, in the order from the active matrix substrate side, a cathode electrically connected to the thin-film transistor, a first charge conversion layer in contact with the cathode, a first hole injection layer, a first hole transport layer, a first light-emitting layer, a first electron transport layer, a first electron injection layer, a second charge conversion layer, and an anode in contact with the second charge conversion layer, the first charge conversion layer designed to inject electrons into the cathode and emit holes to the first light-emitting layer side, the second charge conversion layer designed to inject holes into the anode and emit electrons to the first light-emitting layer side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2014
    Publication date: July 28, 2016
    Inventors: Manabu NIBOSHI, Yoshiyuki ISOMURA, Yuto TSUKAMOTO, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Hideki UCHIDA, Ayataka ENDO, Asae ITO
  • Patent number: 9391295
    Abstract: An organic EL display device is provided with: an organic EL element, which is formed on an insulating substrate, and which is provided between the insulating substrate and an insulating substrate; a sealing material, which is provided in a frame region, and which is sandwiched between the insulating substrate and the insulating substrate to bond the insulating substrates to each other; and a wall member, which is provided in the frame region by being adjacent to the outer face side of the sealing material, and which forms level differences in the sealing material so as to make the height of the outer face side of the sealing material small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Shinichi Kawato, Takashi Ochi, Manabu Niboshi, Yuto Tsukamoto, Tomohiro Kosaka, Tomofumi Osaki
  • Publication number: 20160194747
    Abstract: The present invention provides a vapor deposition apparatus capable of preventing abnormal film formation due to scattering in vapor deposition streams; and a method for producing an organic electroluminescent element which includes forming a patterned thin film with the vapor deposition apparatus. The present invention relates to a vapor deposition apparatus that includes a vapor deposition source equipped with a nozzle that ejects vapor deposition particles; an integrated limiting plate equipped with a first limiting plate including an opening that is in front of the nozzle, and with second limiting plates placed in the opening in the first limiting plate; and a mask including slits. The present invention also relates to a method for producing electroluminescent elements that includes a vapor deposition step of forming a patterned thin film with the vapor deposition apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2014
    Publication date: July 7, 2016
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi KAWATO, Satoshi INOUE, Takashi OCHI, Yuhki KOBAYASHI, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI, Elichi MATSUMOTO, Masahiro ICHIHARA
  • Patent number: 9365923
    Abstract: The vapor deposition device includes a plurality of vapor deposition masks whose lengths in Y axis and X axis directions are shorter than those of a film formation target substrate. Vapor deposition masks adjacent to each other in the Y axis direction is positionally displaced in the X axis direction. In an overlapping area in which mask opening group areas adjacent to each other in the Y axis direction overlap with each other in the X axis direction, opening lengths in the Y axis direction become shorter toward the outer side of each of the mask opening group areas in the plan view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takashi Ochi, Shinichi Kawato, Yuhki Kobayashi, Manabu Niboshi, Satoshi Inoue, Yuto Tsukamoto, Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Masahiro Ichihara, Eiichi Matsumoto