Patents by Inventor Masanobu Takahama

Masanobu Takahama 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: 7294973
    Abstract: A discharge tube lighting apparatus is used to drive a plurality of discharge tubes. The apparatus includes a balance coil having a winding input end and a plurality of winding output ends to which the discharge tubes are connected individually; a power section for supplying ac current to the winding input end of the balance coil; and a control section for detecting a peak value of detection voltages corresponding to voltages at the winding output ends of the balance coil and for stopping the supply of the ac current from the power section when the peak value of the detection voltages is higher than a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2007
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masanobu Takahama, Yoshiki Oyama
  • Publication number: 20060279232
    Abstract: A discharge tube lighting apparatus is used to drive a plurality of discharge tubes. The apparatus includes a balance coil having a winding input end and a plurality of winding output ends to which the discharge tubes are connected individually; a power section for supplying ac current to the winding input end of the balance coil; and a control section for detecting a peak value of detection voltages corresponding to voltages at the winding output ends of the balance coil and for stopping the supply of the ac current from the power section when the peak value of the detection voltages is higher than a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2006
    Publication date: December 14, 2006
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masanobu Takahama, Yoshiki Oyama
  • Patent number: 6418038
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter includes a switching unit having a pair of switching devices or transistors, a resonant circuit comprising a capacitor, an inductor, and a primary coil of a converter transformer which serves as an inductor, a smoothing and rectifying circuit connected to a load in the secondary, an error amplifier for the output voltage, and a variable oscillator for varying the switching frequency according to the error voltage. The output of the variable oscillator circuit is supplied to the switching devices to provide a stabilized output voltage from the smoothing and rectifying circuit. The switching frequency during light loading is set at a frequency more than the resonant frequency which is mainly defined by the inductance and the interwinding capacitance of the secondary coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masanobu Takahama, Kiyokazu Nagahara
  • Publication number: 20020012257
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter includes a switching unit having a pair of switching devices or transistors, a resonant circuit comprising a capacitor, an inductor, and a primary coil of a converter transformer which serves as an inductor, a smoothing and rectifying circuit connected to a load in the secondary, an error amplifier for the output voltage, and a variable oscillator for varying the switching frequency according to the error voltage. The output of the variable oscillator circuit is supplied to the switching devices to provide a stabilized output voltage from the smoothing and rectifying circuit. The switching frequency during light loading is set at a frequency more than the resonant frequency which is mainly defined by the inductance and the interwinding capacitance of the secondary coil.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2001
    Publication date: January 31, 2002
    Inventors: Masanobu Takahama, Kiyokazu Nagahara