Patents by Inventor Kazunari Tomizawa

Kazunari Tomizawa 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: 8947476
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel and a driving circuit that supplies display signals to a plurality of subpixels of the liquid crystal display panel. The plurality of subpixels are a red subpixel, a green subpixel, a blue subpixel, and a yellow subpixel. When achromatic colors of at least some gray levels among all gray levels are to be displayed by the pixel, display signals which are supplied to a first subpixel group composed of certain two subpixels are display signals of the same grayscale level, whereas display signals which are supplied to a second subpixel group composed of the other two subpixels are display signals of a different grayscale level from the grayscale level of the display signals supplied to the first subpixel group. The first subpixel group includes the yellow subpixel, and the second subpixel group includes the blue subpixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Yoshida, Kazunari Tomizawa, Tomohiko Mori
  • Publication number: 20140253422
    Abstract: This liquid crystal display device (100) includes a pixel defined by a plurality of subpixels that includes red, green, blue and yellow subpixels (R, G, B, Ye). As long as the sum of respective luminances of all of the subpixels but the blue subpixel (B) falls within the range of 0% to 50% while the color displayed by the pixel is changing from the color blue in which the blue subpixel (B) is at the highest grayscale level and the other subpixels are at the lowest grayscale level into the color white in which all of those subpixels are at the highest grayscale level substantially without changing its hue, the yellow subpixel (Ye) starts to increase its grayscale level at a different timing, and/or has its grayscale level increased at a different ratio with respect to an increase in the pixel's luminance, from the red and green subpixels (R, G) do.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2012
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazunari Tomizawa, Yuichi Yoshida, Tomohiko Mori, Makoto Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 8780029
    Abstract: A multiprimary liquid crystal display device in which deteriorations in display quality caused by the coloration of a gray representation when viewed from an oblique direction are suppressed, and a signal conversion circuit for use in such a multiprimary liquid crystal display device are provided. A signal conversion circuit according to the present invention is for use in a multiprimary liquid crystal display device, the multiprimary liquid crystal display device having a pixel defined by a plurality of subpixels including a red subpixel, a green subpixel, a blue subpixel, and a yellow subpixel, and performing multicolor display by using four or more primary colors to be displayed by the plurality of subpixels, the signal conversion circuit converting an input video signal to a multiprimary signal corresponding to four or more primary colors. When a video signal for the pixel to display a gray color having a normalized luminance of no less than 0.2 and no more than 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kozo Nakamura, Shun Ueki, Kazunari Tomizawa, Tomohiko Mori, Yuichi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8773340
    Abstract: A color conversion circuit converts a three-primary-color signal PS0 to a 5-color signal PS5, and includes (i) a color component extraction module that generates, by performing isochromatic conversion, a 7-color signal PS2 made up of 7 color components equivalent in terms of color to color components d1 through d5 of the 5-color signal PS5, and (ii) a matrix operation module that generates color components of the 5-color signal by performing linear combination of the color components of the 7-color signal. With this, it is possible to realize a color conversion circuit by which colors represented by a signal after conversion can be adjusted using intuitively-understandable parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazunari Tomizawa, Kozo Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20140118423
    Abstract: Viewing angle characteristics on the entire display surface are improved while suppressing harmful effects such as flicker and banding caused by viewing angle improvement control. A liquid crystal display apparatus (1) includes: a liquid crystal panel (11) which includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix; a drive control unit (24) which performs viewing angle improvement processing by converting a gradation of a video signal input to the pixel; and a processing object determination unit (22) which determines whether or not an image displayed on each of the pixels of the liquid crystal panel (11) is an image having an intermediate color. The drive control unit (24) is configured to perform the viewing angle improvement processing on the pixel determined by the processing object determination unit (22) such that the pixel displays the image having the intermediate color.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2012
    Publication date: May 1, 2014
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Makoto Hasegawa, Kazunari Tomizawa, Tomohiko Mori, Yuichi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8675031
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device according to the present invention comprises a pixel including a plurality of sub pixels. The plurality of sub pixels include a red sub pixel (R), a green sub pixel (G), a blue sub pixel (B), a yellow sub pixel (Ye) and a cyan sub pixel (C). The aperture area size of one of the cyan sub pixel (C) and the blue sub pixel (B) is larger than the aperture area size of any of the other of the cyan (C) and blue (B) sub pixels, the green sub pixel (G) and the yellow sub pixel (Ye); and the aperture area size of the red sub pixel (R) is larger than the aperture area size of any of the other of the cyan (C) and blue (B) sub pixels, the green sub pixel (G), and the yellow sub pixel (Ye).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kohzoh Nakamura, Shun Ueki, Kazunari Tomizawa, Tomohiko Mori, Yuichi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8654116
    Abstract: A signal conversion circuit is disclosed which is suitably used in a multiprimary liquid crystal display device, and a multiprimary liquid crystal display device having such a signal conversion circuit. A signal conversion circuit according to one embodiment of the present invention is for use in a multiprimary liquid crystal display device, and converts an input video signal to a multiprimary signal corresponding to four or more primary colors. When generating a multiprimary signal for displaying dark skin, the signal conversion circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention applies a conversion to the video signal so that a color difference ?u?v?=((u??u60?)2+(v??v60?)2) is 0.03 or less, the color difference ?u?v? being defined by CIE1976 chromaticity coordinates (u?, v?) representing a chromaticity when the pixel is viewed from the frontal direction and CIE1976 chromaticity coordinates (u60?, v60?) representing a chromaticity when the pixel is viewed from a 60° oblique direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazunari Tomizawa, Tomohiko Mori, Shun Ueki, Takao Muroi
  • Patent number: 8576262
    Abstract: A liquid crystal device (100A) according to the present invention has first and second pixels (P1 and P2). Each of the first and second pixels (P1 and P2) includes first, second and third subpixels (R, G, and B). When the input signal indicates that each pixel should represent the first color, the luminances of the respective third subpixels (B1 and B2) of the first and second pixels (P1 and P2) are different from each other. But when the input signal indicates that each pixel should represent the second color, the average luminance of the respective third subpixels (B1 and B2) is substantially the same as when the first color is specified, and the luminances of the respective third subpixels (B1 and B2) are substantially equal to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomohiko Mori, Kazunari Tomizawa, Yuichi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8576261
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device (100A) of the present invention includes an active matrix substrate (220); a counter substrate (240); and a vertical alignment type liquid crystal layer (260). The liquid crystal display device (100) has a plurality of pixels, each of the pixels including a plurality of subpixels. The plurality of subpixels include a red subpixel (R), a green subpixel (G), and a blue subpixel (B). When each of adjacent two of the plurality of pixels represents an achromatic color at a certain grayscale level, a luminance of a blue subpixel (B) included in one of the two adjacent pixels is different from a luminance of a blue subpixel (B) included in the other of the two adjacent pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Yoshida, Kazunari Tomizawa, Tomohiko Mori, Kozo Nakamura, Shun Ueki
  • Patent number: 8570351
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device (100) according to the present invention includes pixels (P1) and (P2), each of which includes three subpixels (R1, G1, B1) and (R2, G2, B2). When the input signal indicates that a chromatic color should be represented, one of the subpixels (B1 and B2) is turned ON and at least one of the subpixels (R1, R2, G1 and G2) is turned ON, too. If the average luminance of the subpixels (B1 and B2) in a situation where the input signal indicates that the chromatic color should be represented is substantially equal to that of the subpixels (B1 and B2) in another situation where the input signal indicates that an achromatic color should be represented, the luminances of those subpixels (B1 and B2) in the former situation are different from those of the subpixels (B1 and B2) in the latter situation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomohiko Mori, Kazunari Tomizawa, Yuichi Yoshida
  • Publication number: 20130271356
    Abstract: A signal conversion circuit (20) is used for a multiple-primary color liquid crystal display device (100) which performs color display using four primary colors of red displayed by a red-sub pixel (R), green displayed by green-sub pixel (G), blue displayed by blue-sub pixel (B), and yellow displayed by yellow-sub pixel (Ye), and converts an input three-primary color video signal into a multiple-primary color video signal corresponding to four primary colors. The signal conversion circuit (20) performs signal conversion such that a gray scale level of the yellow-sub pixel (Ye) is higher than a gray scale level of the green-sub pixel (G) in at least some cases from among cases in which a red gray-scale level r, a green gray-scale level g, and a blue gray-scale level b which are displayed by the three-primary color video signal satisfy a relationship of r>g>b.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Publication date: October 17, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuichi Yoshida, Tomohiko Mori, Kazunari Tomizawa, Kohzoh Nakamura, Shun Ueki
  • Publication number: 20130258258
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device in which a decrease in primary color luminance, a decrease in chroma and an increase in power consumption are suppressed. The present invention is a liquid crystal display device including a color filter substrate where color filters of at least four colors are arranged for respective pixels, wherein a color temperature of white light emitted from a display surface is less than 12000 K.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2011
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kozo Nakamura, Kazunari Tomizawa
  • Patent number: 8520036
    Abstract: A control section divides a single frame so that a ratio of a period corresponding to a latter sub-frame and a period corresponding to a former sub-frame ranges from 1:3 to 1:7. A divisional point of the frame is a point which allows each of the latter sub-frame and the former sub-frame to minimize a difference between an actual brightness and an expected brightness. The frame may thus be divided at the point where the difference is largest in the normal hold display, so that it is possible to minimize the difference at this point. On this account, it is possible to reduce the difference in a single frame substantially by half as compared with an arrangement for carrying out the normal hold display, and thereby suppress the excess brightness caused by the difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hidekazu Miyata, Tomoyuki Ishihara, Kazunari Tomizawa
  • Patent number: 8502917
    Abstract: The present invention is arranged such that interlace image data, which has been supplied, is converted to progressive image data in an I/P conversion section, and the image data converted to progressive style in the I/P conversion section is subjected to image processing including data comparison in spatial or time series manner, in an image processing section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazunari Tomizawa, Makoto Shiomi, Hidekazu Miyata, Koichi Miyachi, Akihito Jinda
  • Patent number: 8493299
    Abstract: In cases where the amount of gradation transition is greater than a threshold value, a modulation processing section corrects image data D of a current frame by making an interpolation calculation with reference to a look-up table, and output the image data D thus corrected. In cases where the amount of gradation transition is not more than the threshold value, the modulation processing section directly outputs the image data D of the current frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Makoto Shiomi, Mitsuhiro Shigeta, Kazunari Tomizawa
  • Patent number: 8451302
    Abstract: A multi-primary-color display device includes a number of pixels, each of which includes a first subset including red, green and cyan subpixels and a second subset including blue and yellow subpixels. In each pixel, the subpixels included in the first subset are arranged in series in one direction, while the subpixels included in the second subset are arranged in series in the same direction as the subpixels of the first subset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Yoshida, Kazunari Tomizawa, Akiko Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 8446435
    Abstract: A display device has an improved white balance in white display and excellent display quality, and includes a plurality of pixels each including four sub-pixels More specifically, the display device includes a plurality of pixels each including: a sub-pixel pair of a red (R) sub-pixel and a green (G) sub-pixel; and a sub-pixel pair of a blue (B) sub-pixel and a green (G) sub-pixel, wherein in most of the pixels, a product of an aperture area per sub-pixel and a light amount per unit aperture area, in each of the red (R) sub-pixel and the blue (B) sub-pixel, is approximately two times that of the green (G) sub-pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazunari Tomizawa, Kozo Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20130113847
    Abstract: The liquid crystal display device (100) of the present invention includes a liquid crystal panel (10) having a plurality of pixels (P), and a backlight (20) having at least one light source (22) that emits light to the liquid crystal panel (10). Each of the plurality of pixels (P) includes four or more sub-pixels (R, G, B, Ye), and the light source unit (22) includes a red light source (22R), a green light source (22G), and a blue light source (22B). According to the present invention, a liquid crystal display device which can perform display of wide color reproduction range with low power consumption is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2011
    Publication date: May 9, 2013
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomohiko Mori, Kazunari Tomizawa, Makoto Hasegawa, Yuichi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8436875
    Abstract: A multiple primary color display device which suppresses the reduction in the display quality when an input signal corresponding to green in an sRGB color space is input from outside is provided. A display device according to the present invention has a pixel defined by a plurality of sub pixels. The plurality of sub pixels include at least a red sub pixel for displaying red, a green sub pixel for displaying green, a blue sub pixel for displaying blue, and a yellow sub pixel for displaying yellow. When an input signal corresponding to green in the sRGB color space is input from outside, the display device according to the present invention provides display using the yellow sub pixel in addition to the green sub pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shun Ueki, Kozo Nakamura, Tomohiko Mori, Kazunari Tomizawa, Yuichi Yoshida
  • Publication number: 20130100179
    Abstract: A multi-primary-color liquid crystal display device (100) according to the present invention includes a liquid crystal display panel (10) with a pixel made up of red, green, blue and yellow subpixels (R, G, B, Ye) and a signal conversion circuit (20) which converts an input three-primary-color video signal into a four-color video signal. If the three-primary-color video signal supplied to the signal conversion circuit is indicated as (r, g, b) using the grayscale levels r, g and b (each of which is an integer of 0 through 255) of the three primary colors of red, green and blue and if the luminance of the color white displayed by the pixel in response to a three-primary-color video signal indicated as (255, 255, 255) is supposed to be 100%, the signal conversion circuit adjusts the level of the four-color video signal so that when a three-primary-color video signal indicated as (186, 0, 0) is input, the luminance of the color red displayed by the red subpixel becomes equal to or greater than 6.5%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazunari Tomizawa, Kohzoh Nakamura