Patents by Inventor Ken Nishioka

Ken Nishioka 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: 11846770
    Abstract: A light deflector 130 includes: a control unit 106 configured to generate a resonant drive signal for resonantly driving an MEMS mirror 133, and a non-resonant drive signal for non-resonantly driving the MEMS mirror 133; a resonant sensor 144 configured to detect the resonant drive of the MEMS mirror 133 and generate a resonant sensor signal; and a sensor signal processing unit 103 configured to acquire a phase difference between the resonant drive signal generated by the control unit 106 and the resonant sensor signal, in a case where the MEMS mirror 133 is resonantly driven in a Y-axis direction, also the MEMS mirror 133 is non-resonantly driven in an X-axis direction, and scanning is performed. The control unit 106 calculates an amplitude of the non-resonant drive of the MEMS mirror 133 on the basis of a change in the above phase difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 11150448
    Abstract: A camera module, which is mounted on an inside of a front windshield of a vehicle and to image an external environment of the vehicle, includes a lens unit and an imager to image the external environment by forming an optical image, which is from the external environment through the lens unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuki Furutake, Ken Nishioka, Nobuhisa Shimizu, Yoichi Kajino, Kazuma Yamaguchi, Kensuke Chikata, Takeshi Kazama, Soji Masui
  • Publication number: 20210231946
    Abstract: A light deflector 130 includes: a control unit 106 configured to generate a resonant drive signal for resonantly driving an MEMS mirror 133, and a non-resonant drive signal for non-resonantly driving the MEMS mirror 133; a resonant sensor 144 configured to detect the resonant drive of the MEMS mirror 133 and generate a resonant sensor signal; and a sensor signal processing unit 103 configured to acquire a phase difference between the resonant drive signal generated by the control unit 106 and the resonant sensor signal, in a case where the MEMS mirror 133 is resonantly driven in a Y-axis direction, also the MEMS mirror 133 is non-resonantly driven in an X-axis direction, and scanning is performed. The control unit 106 calculates an amplitude of the non-resonant drive of the MEMS mirror 133 on the basis of a change in the above phase difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2021
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Applicant: STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ken NISHIOKA
  • Patent number: 10841548
    Abstract: An oscillating mirror element includes a mirror portion, a drive portion that drives the mirror portion, a strain sensor capable of detecting an amount of displacement of the mirror portion, and a base including a mirror beam portion provided with the mirror portion, a sensor beam portion provided with the strain sensor, and a body portion that supports the mirror beam portion and the sensor beam portion and is provided with the drive portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignees: FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD., NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Fuminori Tanaka, Takeshi Inoda, Ken Nishioka, Jun Akedo
  • Patent number: 10782789
    Abstract: An input device is provided that comprises a display component, a detector, and a controller. The display component displays an image. The detector detects a first motion and a second motion. In the first motion, a pointer is slid over a first operation screen that lies in an imaginary plane including at least part of a spatial image that is a virtual image of the image formed in space. In the second motion, the pointer is moved into a second operation screen that lies in the imaginary plane and is different from the first operation screen. The controller executes a first operation to select the image when the first motion is detected, and executes a second operation to execute content of the selected image when the second motion is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ken Nishioka, Toshiki Hatori
  • Patent number: 10578840
    Abstract: A camera module, which is mounted on an inside of a front windshield of a vehicle and to image an external environment of the vehicle, includes a lens unit and an imager to image the external environment by forming an optical image, which is from the external environment through the lens unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuki Furutake, Ken Nishioka
  • Publication number: 20190356111
    Abstract: In a light emission driving device (1), a high speed APC circuit (11) has a time constant ?1 to reach a target light intensity and a low speed APC circuit (13) has a time constant ?2 larger than the time constant ?1 to reach the target light intensity. A control unit (9) of the light emission driving device (1) uses the high speed APC circuit (11) at the time of startup of the light emission driving device (1), and when a predetermined time has passed after the light intensity of laser light has reached the target light intensity, switches to the low speed APC circuit (13) and supplies an initial signal causing the low speed APC circuit (13) to output a driving signal corresponding to the target light intensity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2019
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Applicant: STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ken NISHIOKA
  • Publication number: 20190235215
    Abstract: A camera module, which is mounted on an inside of a front windshield of a vehicle and to image an external environment of the vehicle, includes a lens unit and an imager to image the external environment by forming an optical image, which is from the external environment through the lens unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2019
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Inventors: Yasuki FURUTAKE, Ken NISHIOKA
  • Patent number: 10295798
    Abstract: A camera module, which is mounted on an inside of a front windshield of a vehicle and to image an external environment of the vehicle, includes a lens unit and an imager to image the external environment by forming an optical image, which is from the external environment through the lens unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuki Furutake, Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 10151575
    Abstract: A position sensing device includes at least one light receiver, and a processor. The light receiver receives lights that are emitted from a plurality of light exit positions of a scanning light source component to scan a predetermined area and are reflected by a sensing object within the predetermined area. The processor controls the scanning light source component, and senses position of the sensing object based on a light reception signal of the light receiver. The processor further determines from which of the scanning lights the light reception signal is obtained, and senses the position of the sensing object based on optical paths of the scanning lights.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Atsuhiko Chikaoka, Ken Nishioka, Kenji Nagashima, Kazuhiro Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20180284398
    Abstract: A camera module, which is mounted on an inside of a front windshield of a vehicle and to image an external environment of the vehicle, includes a lens unit and an imager to image the external environment by forming an optical image, which is from the external environment through the lens unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2017
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Yasuki Furutake, Ken Nishioka, Nobuhisa Shimizu, Yoichi Kajino, Kazuma Yamaguchi, Kensuke Chikata, Takeshi Kazama, Soji Masui
  • Publication number: 20180284399
    Abstract: A camera module, which is mounted on an inside of a front windshield of a vehicle and to image an external environment of the vehicle, includes a lens unit and an imager to image the external environment by forming an optical image, which is from the external environment through the lens unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Yasuki FURUTAKE, Ken NISHIOKA
  • Patent number: 9971455
    Abstract: A spatial coordinate identification device includes a detection light source that emits a detection light that scans a detection boundary plane defined in space, an optical sensor that detects a reflected light of the detection light reflected by an indicator when the indicator enters a detection region extending from the detection boundary plane to the detection light source, and a controller. The controller stores virtual touch surface defining information that defines a position of a virtual touch surface based on the detection boundary plane, and identifies, in response to the detection of the reflected light, a position of a boundary point that is an intersecting point of the indicator and the detection boundary plane, and an approach amount by which the indicator has entered the detection region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 9898092
    Abstract: An input apparatus includes: a light source that emits detection light toward a first direction, and raster scans a detection interface defined in space, with the detection light; a first light sensor that is disposed closer to the light source than the detection interface, and detects first reflected light which is the detection light that has been reflected; a second light sensor that detects second reflected light which is the detection light that has been reflected off an instructing body that has entered a detection region extending from the detection interface toward the light source; and a control unit that detects a coordinate value of the instructing body using received-light data obtained by the first light sensor and the second light sensor receiving light at the same timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 9857045
    Abstract: A rear combination lamp is configured to include a door-side lamp portion, which has a first LED, a first housing, and a first lens, and a fender-side lamp portion, which has a second LED, a second housing, and a second lens. The door-side lamp portion and the fender-side lamp portion are disposed adjacent to one another in the vehicle width direction. Moreover, a second lamp-side reflector that reflects toward the second lens the light emitted from the second LED is disposed between the second housing and the second lens. Part of the second lamp-side reflector is configured as an interstitial reflecting portion that reflects the light emitted from the second LED between the first lens and the second lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuji Noritake, Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 9841844
    Abstract: An image display device includes an image display component, a projection component that forms an optical image corresponding to an image displayed by the image display component, a distance measurement component having a detector that detects an indicator for performing an touch operation relative to the optical image to acquire distance information from the detector to the indicator, and a controller that determines whether or not the indicator has performed the touch operation relative to the optical image based on the distance information and relative movement information between the distance measurement component and at least one of the image display component and the projection component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Takahashi, Atsuhiko Chikaoka, Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 9841848
    Abstract: An input device includes an irradiation component that emits scanning light relative to an input region of a projected image, a light receiver that receives reflected light of the scanning light to output detection signal, a detector that detects an input operation relative to the input region based on the detection signal from the light receiver; and a controller that sets an irradiation parameter of the scanning light from the irradiation component based on the input region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 9826205
    Abstract: This display includes a control portion controlling a laser beam generation portion to output a first laser beam including a region of relaxation oscillation to a partial first image forming element included in a plurality of image forming elements and to output a second laser beam including no region of relaxation oscillation to a second image forming element, other than the first image forming element, included in the plurality of image forming elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ken Nishioka, Atsuhiko Chikaoka, Kenji Nagashima, Takatoshi Nishimura, Yasunori Higashiyama
  • Patent number: 9825420
    Abstract: This image display apparatus includes a plurality of laser beam source portions outputting laser beams of a plurality of color components different from each other, a synthesized beam generation portion synthesizing the laser beams of the plurality of color components, a control portion controlling the outputs of the laser beam source portions, and a driving current correction portion estimating a variation in the threshold current of each of the laser beam source portions and correcting a driving current on the basis of the estimated variation in the threshold current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Ken Nishioka
  • Patent number: 9791711
    Abstract: To prevent effectively the flickering of an image due to the switching of a polarization direction while reducing speckle noise. A polarization switching unit is provided in an optical path of laser light to a projection surface A and periodically switches a polarization direction of the laser light emitted therefrom between p and S polarization. A laser control unit controls laser light sources in synchronization with the switching by the polarization switching unit and determines a driving current corresponding to a grayscale to be displayed on the basis of driving current characteristics for P polarization when the polarization direction of the laser light is the P polarization. In addition, the laser control unit determines the driving current corresponding to the grayscale to be displayed on the basis of the driving current characteristics for P polarization when the polarization direction of the laser light is the S polarization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ken Nishioka, Kenji Nagashima, Atsuya Hirano, Atsuhiko Chikaoka