Patents by Inventor Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA

Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA 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: 20240022833
    Abstract: A range imaging device includes a light source unit, a light-receiving unit that includes pixel driving circuit and a pixel including a photoelectric conversion element and charge storage units, a storage unit that stores table information in which electric charge ratios are associated with corresponding distances to an object, and a range image processing unit that determines a measured distance to an object using the table information and the amounts of electric charge accumulated in the charge storage units. The range image processing unit calculates the electric charge ratio based on the amounts of electric charge accumulated in the charge storage units, acquires the corresponding distance associated with the calculated electric charge ratio from the table information, and determines the measured distance using the acquired corresponding distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2023
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.
    Inventors: Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA, Tomohiro NAKAGOME
  • Publication number: 20230412934
    Abstract: A range imaging device includes a light source unit that emits light pulses to a measurement space; a light-receiving unit including a photoelectric conversion element that generates charge according to light incident from the space, a pixel circuit including charge storage units in which the charge is integrated in a frame cycle, and a pixel drive circuit that performs switching operation of transfer transistors to distribute the charge to the storage units for integration at integration timing synchronizing with emission of the pulses; and a distance calculation unit that calculates a distance between object in the space and the light-receiving unit based on charge determined by a first charge integrated in each storage unit. The calculation unit calculates the distance by subtracting a second charge from each first charge, the second charge being noise charge as an integrated charge other than the charge distributed and integrated by the switching operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.
    Inventors: Yu OOKUBO, Tomohiro NAKAGOME, Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA, Hiroshige GOTO, Satoshi TAKAHASHI, Yasuyuki HITSUOKA
  • Publication number: 20230366990
    Abstract: A range imaging device includes a light-receiving unit including at least one pixel circuit including a photoelectric conversion element that generates charge in response to incident light, N (N?3) charge storage units that integrate charge in a frame cycle, and transfer transistors, and a pixel drive circuit that causes the transfer transistors to distribute charge to the charge storage units with integration timing synchronizing with light pulses, a light source unit that emits light pulses; a range image processing unit that calculates a distance to an object based on integrated charges, and a measurement control unit that calculates a thinning time of not integrating charge, according to integrated charge in the charge storage units, the distance, and intensity of the incident light. The measurement control unit controls integration of charge with a thinning time set in a measurement zone corresponding to the distance from the light-receiving unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2023
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.
    Inventors: Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA, Satoshi TAKAHASHI
  • Publication number: 20230333218
    Abstract: A range imaging apparatus includes a light source unit that emits light pulse to a measurement space, a light receiver including pixels and a pixel driver circuit, and a range image processor that determines a measurement distance to a subject placed in the space. Each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion device that generates electric charge corresponding to incident light and charge accumulators that store the electric charge, the circuit distributes and stores the charge to each accumulator at a predetermined point in time synchronized with emission of the pulse, the processor acquires waveform information indicating degree of distortion of waveform of rectangular signal having distorted waveform, corrects, based on the information, charge amounts each indicating an amount of the electric charge stored when the waveform has no distortion, and determines the distance using the charge amounts, and the signal is used in signal processing performed until the distance is determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2023
    Publication date: October 19, 2023
    Applicant: TOPPAN Inc.
    Inventors: Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA, Tomohiro NAKAGOME
  • Publication number: 20220146684
    Abstract: A light source unit that emits a light pulse, a light receiving unit that includes pixels each including a photoelectric conversion device generating electric charge according to incident light and a plurality of electric charge accumulating units accumulating the electric charge and a pixel driving circuit that distributes the electric charge to the electric charge accumulating units of the pixels to be accumulated therein at a predetermined accumulation timing synchronized with the emission of the light pulse, and a distance image processing unit that measures the distance to a subject present in the measurement space on the basis of amounts of electric charge accumulated in the electric charge accumulating units are included, and the distance image processing unit includes a timing control unit that controls the accumulation timing in accordance with a measurement mode set in advance in accordance with a range of distances that are measurement targets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Applicants: BROOKMAN TECHNOLOGY, INC., TOPPAN INC.
    Inventors: Tomoyuki AKAHORI, Yu OOKUBO, Kunihiro HATAKEYAMA, Satoshi TAKAHASHI