Patents by Inventor Mitsuru Asano

Mitsuru Asano 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: 7612745
    Abstract: When a current-writing type pixel circuit is made, it involves a greater number of transistors and TFTs occupy much of the area of the pixel circuit. To alleviate this problem, two pixel circuits (P1, P2) have a first scanning TFT (14), a current-voltage conversion TFT (16), respective second scanning TFTs (15-1, 15-2), capacitors (13-1, 13-2), and drive TFTs (12-1, 12-2) for OLED including organic EL elements (11-2, 11-2) of two pixels, for example, in a row direction. In each of the pixel circuits, the first scanning TFT (14) handling a large amount of current (Iw) as compare with current flowing through the OLED (11-2, 11-2), and the current-voltage conversion TFT (16) are shared between two pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2009
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Yumoto, Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090256782
    Abstract: An image display device includes a display portion formed by disposing pixel circuits in a matrix, and a signal line driving circuit and a scanning line driving circuit for driving the pixel circuits through signal lines and scanning lines of the display portion. The pixel circuit includes at least: a light emitting element; a drive transistor for current-driving the light emitting element by a drive current corresponding to a gate-to-source voltage thereof; a hold capacitor composed of either one capacitor or a plurality of coupling capacitors for holding therein the gate-to-source voltage; and a write transistor adapted to be turned ON/OFF in accordance with a write signal outputted from the scanning line driving circuit, thereby setting a voltage developed across terminals of the hold capacitor at a voltage of corresponding one of the signal line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2009
    Publication date: October 15, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090256826
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an image display device for displaying input image data on a display section formed by arranging pixel circuits in a form of a matrix by driving the pixel circuits by a signal line driving circuit and a scanning line driving circuit via a signal line and a scanning line of the display section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2009
    Publication date: October 15, 2009
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090244055
    Abstract: An image displaying apparatus is configured to display a desired image on an image displaying section employed in the image displaying apparatus by making use of a signal-line driving circuit and a scan-line driving circuit to drive pixel circuits. Each of the pixel circuits employs at least a light emitting device, a signal-level holding capacitor, a driving transistor for driving the light emitting device and a signal writing transistor. The signal-line driving circuit and the scan-line driving circuit drive each of the pixel circuits so as to put the light emitting device employed in the pixel circuit in a no-light emission state of emitting no light in a no-light emission period and a light emission state of emitting light in a light emission period repeatedly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2009
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Asano, Tetsuro Yamamoto, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20090184902
    Abstract: A self-luminous display device includes: pixel circuits; and a drive signal generating circuit, wherein each of the pixel circuits includes a light-emitting diode, a drive transistor connected to a drive current path of the light-emitting diode, and a holding capacitor coupled to a control node of the drive transistor, and the drive signal generating circuit generates the drive signal containing a second level signal adapted to stop the light emission without reverse-biasing the light-emitting diode, a first level signal, lower than the second level signal, adapted to reverse-bias the light-emitting diode, and a third level signal, higher than the second level signal, adapted to enable the light-emitting diode to emit light, the drive signal generating circuit supplying the drive signal to the pixel circuits.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Publication date: July 23, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masatsugu TOMIDA, Mitsuru ASANO
  • Publication number: 20090160743
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a self-luminous display device including: pixel circuits; and a drive circuit, wherein each of the pixel circuits includes a light-emitting diode, a drive transistor connected to a drive current path of the light-emitting diode, and a holding capacitor coupled to a control node of the drive transistor, during a period in which at least actual threshold voltage and mobility corrections are performed on the drive transistor before the light-emitting diode can emit light, the drive circuit performs a preliminary threshold voltage correction of the drive transistor, i.e., a dummy Vth correction, with the light-emitting diode in a non-light emitting state, the drive circuit next performs a correction preparation for a constant period by reverse-biasing the light-emitting diode and initializing the voltage held by the holding capacitor, and the drive circuit performs the actual threshold voltage correction and mobility correction after the correction preparation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2008
    Publication date: June 25, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masatsugu Tomida, Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090153448
    Abstract: A self-luminous display device includes: pixel circuits; and a drive circuit, wherein each of the pixel circuits includes a light-emitting diode, a drive transistor connected to a drive current channel of the light-emitting diode, and a holding capacitor coupled to a control node of the drive transistor, the drive circuit applies a light emission enabling bias to the light-emitting diode after correcting the drive transistor and writing a data voltage to the control node, provides, during a light emission enabled period in which the light emission enabling bias is applied, a light emission interruption period adapted to change the light emission enabling bias to a non-light emission bias with the data voltage held by the holding capacitor, and performs a light emission disabling process, adapted to reverse-bias the light-emitting diode to stop the light emission, for a constant period after the light emission enabled period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2008
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masatsugu Tomida, Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090140638
    Abstract: A display device in which pixels, each including an emission area, are arranged in a form of a matrix, the display device including: a first electrode formed from the emission area of the pixels to a non-emission area on a periphery of the emission area; a second electrode formed so as to be common to the pixels; and a light emitting material layer formed between the first electrode and the second electrode; wherein film thickness in the non-emission area of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode is larger than film thickness in the emission area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090135113
    Abstract: An EL display panel having a pixel structure corresponding to an active-matrix drive system, the EL display panel including a current supply line configured to be connected to a plurality of pixel circuits in common, line width of an intersection part of the current supply line with a signal line being smaller than line width of the other part of the current supply line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2008
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takayuki Taneda, Katsuhide Uchino, Yukihito Iida, Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090115708
    Abstract: An active matrix display device includes a driving section provided on a substrate, an insulating film stacked on the substrate, and light-emitting elements arranged in a matrix on the insulating film, and each of the light-emitting elements includes an light-emitting layer between its upper and lower electrodes, the active matrix display device being driven by the driving section provided for each of the light-emitting elements, the active matrix display device also including a first wiring required to cause the light-emitting element to emit light, and a second wiring disposed in the underlying layer of the first wiring via the insulating film, the second wiring also required to cause the light-emitting element to emit light, wherein the first or second wiring is branched into a plurality of wirings at the intersection between the two wirings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2008
    Publication date: May 7, 2009
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sagawa, Takayuki Taneda, Tetsuro Yamamoto, Junichi Yamashita, Katsuhide Uchino, Yukihito Iida, Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090046088
    Abstract: A driving circuit for driving an organic electroluminescence light emitting portion includes: a driving transistor of the n channel type having source/drain regions, a channel formation region and a gate electrode; an image signal writing transistor having source/drain regions, a channel formation region and a gate electrode; and a capacitor element. A first voltage for supplying current toward the organic electroluminescence light emitting portion through the driving transistor and a second voltage for preventing a potential difference between the second node and a cathode electrode provided on the organic electroluminescence light emitting portion from exceeding a threshold voltage of the organic electroluminescence light emitting portion are selectively applied from the power supply section to the first one of the source/drain regions of the driving transistor. An LDD (Lightly Doped Drain) structure is formed adjacent the first one of the source/drain regions of the driving transistor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2008
    Publication date: February 19, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Asano, Masatsugu Tomida, Hiroshi Fujimura
  • Publication number: 20090033686
    Abstract: In the present invention, there is provided a display panel driving method of the type wherein the total light emitting period length within a one-field period is controlled to variably control the peak luminance level of a display panel, the driving method including a step of variably controlling, where the one-field period has N light emitting periods disposed therein, N being equal to or greater than 2, the light emitting period length of a particular one of the light emitting periods and the other light emitting period or periods to provide a difference in luminance between the particular light emitting period and the other light emitting period or periods so that the particular light emitting period is visually observed as the center of light emission.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2008
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20090009068
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence display including multilayer structures that are each formed in a respective one of pixel areas in an effective area of a substrate and are each formed by a lower electrode, an organic layer, and an upper electrode, the organic electroluminescence display having a common electrode that electrically connects the pixel areas, the method including the steps of: forming a protective electrode and an outer-peripheral electrode that are electrically connected to the common electrode; forming the multilayer structures; and carrying out film deposition treatment involving electrification of the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2008
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi Fujimura, Mitsuru Asano, Toshiaki Imai
  • Publication number: 20090002282
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an electroluminescence display panel including: a pixel circuit; a signal line; a scan line; a drive power supply line; a common power supply line; a power supply line drive circuit; a high-potential power supply line; and a low-potential power supply line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2008
    Publication date: January 1, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masatsugu Tomida, Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20080303847
    Abstract: In the present invention, there is provided a display panel driving method of the type wherein the total light emitting period length within a one-field period is controlled to variably control the peak luminance level of a display panel, including the step of: variably controlling, where the one-field period has N light emitting periods, N being equal to or greater than 2, the end timing of the ith light emitting period and the start timing of the i+1th light emitting period so as to satisfy the total light emitting period length within the one-field period, i being an odd number which satisfies 1?i?N?1 while i+1 satisfies 2?i+1?N.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuru Asano
  • Publication number: 20080252626
    Abstract: A self-luminous display panel driving method for driving a self-luminous display panel of the active matrix driving type, includes the step of executing threshold value correction operation for a driving transistor divisionally in a plurality of periods within at least one of which, after a point of time of an end of a preceding correction period till a point of time of a start of a succeeding correction period, a potential to be applied to the drain electrode of the driving transistor is controlled to an intermediate potential between a first potential for lighting driving of the driving transistor and a second potential for initialization applied within a preparation period of the first one of the correction periods.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2008
    Publication date: October 16, 2008
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yukihito Iida, Yutaka Mitomi, Mitsuru Asano, Tetsuo Minami, Takao Tanikame, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Patent number: 7432885
    Abstract: An active matrix display comprises a circuitry layer and a device layer having a planarizing layer therebetween on the glass substrate. The circuitry layer has pixel circuits defining pixel units and the device layer has organic EL devices defining the pixel units. The organic EL devices are electrically connected with respective pixel circuits by contacts. The contacts are each positioned at the exterior of the emitting area, or the luminescent layer including an organic layer, of each pixel unit in the device layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Asano, Jiro Yamada, Takao Mori, Takashi Hirano
  • Publication number: 20080238835
    Abstract: A display apparatus disclosed herein includes a plurality of pixel circuits, each having a plurality of switches configured to receive a driving signal of a predetermined period and to be controlled for opening and closing operation by the driving signal, a drive circuit configured to control the open/closed state of the switches, being operable to scan the pixel circuits and open and close the switches in periods independent of each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2008
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Asano, Takao Tanikame
  • Patent number: 7425939
    Abstract: An active matrix type organic EL display apparatus according to the present invention which apparatus uses current writing type pixel circuits is provided with a current control circuit for each of data lines connected to the pixel circuits. The current control circuit supplies part of a data line current to a pixel circuit as a bypass current. The current control circuit handles the bypass current of the data line current represented by (data line current=data current+bypass current). Thereby, the data line driving current can be set greater than the data current flowing through TFTs provided in the pixel circuit, thus reducing luminance data writing time. Also, when the writing time is set unchanged, transistor size of the TFTs provided in the pixel circuit can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuru Asano
  • Patent number: 7420530
    Abstract: A pixel electrode and a display device capable of lowering power consumption with a uniformity of luminance retained, and realizing a display image having a high contrast and a high image quality, wherein a correction period for correcting a variation in properties of a drive transistor in a pixel during a frame, a write period for driving a first switch by a first control line and writing a data signal from a signal line to the node, and a drive period for storing the written data signal and driving an electro-optical element, are set, and the drive is controlled so that an interval having the correction period, the write period, and the drive period, and an interval having the write period and the drive period without the correction period exist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuru Asano, Akira Yumoto, Hiroshi Fujimura