Patents by Inventor Naofumi Yamauchi

Naofumi Yamauchi 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: 7630130
    Abstract: To provide a directional screen which can efficiently converge light from a projector on an observer and which is hardly affected by external light. That is, multiple transparent protrusion structures are formed on a base material, and a light absorbing layer communicating in the vertical direction of each of the protrusion structures is provided. The formation of a recess structure or a through-hole exerts an effect similar to that of a protrusion structure. Alternatively, fibrous protrusions each having a high light reflectance are used as the protrusion structures, and are densely formed on the base material while they are slanted in the direction of external light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2009
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 7602549
    Abstract: A screen having two optical characteristics is realized in a compact structure. As a result, a structure is provided where two types of screen surface having different optical characteristics are formed on the same side of the same sheet, and wound in a single storage tube, and it is possible to pull out and fix the first screen from the storage tube in a state where the second screen is stored in the storage tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2009
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20080304150
    Abstract: A front screen with a simple construction provides a wide viewing angle towards the desired direction, realization of an image projection system. The front screen that is utilized in present invention comprising a directional diffusing layer that transmits and diffuses incoming light from a specified angular range and linearly transmits incoming light from other angles, and a light-reflection layer that provides reflecting elements that scatters and reflects light. Furthermore, the light-scattering field of the reflecting elements in the light-reflecting layer in the up and down direction differs to that in the left and right direction and provides an anisotropic scattering property. Thereby, the construction is adjusted to the viewing condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 7443582
    Abstract: In order to provide a screen having a projection surface on which of external light has little influence and has a large gain, as well as a projection surface that has a wide viewing angle and nature-views, the screen according to the present invention includes a directional diffusion layer for diffusing and transmitting light from a specific direction and linearly transmitting light from other directions, an isotropic diffusion layer for approximately isotropically diffusing light regardless of an incident angle thereof, and a light reflecting layer provided between the directional diffusion layer and the isotropic diffusion layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2008
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 7443583
    Abstract: A projector screen having a simple configuration, which provides a wide field of view angle and can be used for both transmission and reflection projection is achieved. A screen according to the present invention is provided with a directional scattering layer that scatters incoming light within a specific angular range and transmits incoming light outside the specific angular range. Further, an image projection system can be made by combining the screen with an image projector that projects an image onto the screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2008
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 7264389
    Abstract: Adjustments during assembly of an illuminating unit having a conventional light pipe in order to position the light pipe and a light guide plate are laborious. Further, a minute prism group having a pitch on the order of 100 ?m must be provided to a side surface of the light pipe in order to uniformly guide illuminating light to the light guide plate. An illuminating unit of the present invention is provided with a light guide plate having an illuminating surface that is illuminated by light from a point light source, and a light pipe having an incident surface to which light from the point light source is made incident and an emerging portion from which the light emerges to the light guide plate. The emerging portion and the light guide plate are integrally joined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Takayasu Sado, Makoto Kurihara, Katsunori Honma, Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20060279840
    Abstract: A screen having two optical characteristics is realized in a compact structure. As a result, a structure is provided where two types of screen surface having different optical characteristics are formed on the same side of the same sheet, and wound in a single storage tube, and it is possible to pull out and fix the first screen from the storage tube in a state where the second screen is stored in the storage tube.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2006
    Publication date: December 14, 2006
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20060274411
    Abstract: To provide a directional screen which can efficiently converge light from a projector on an observer and which is hardly affected by external light. That is, multiple transparent protrusion structures are formed on a base material, and a light absorbing layer communicating in the vertical direction of each of the protrusion structures is provided. The formation of a recess structure or a through-hole exerts an effect similar to that of a protrusion structure. Alternatively, fibrous protrusions each having a high light reflectance are used as the protrusion structures, and are densely formed on the base material while they -are slanted in the direction of external light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2006
    Publication date: December 7, 2006
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 7142270
    Abstract: To realize at low cost a liquid crystal display device which is thin and in which display on a single liquid crystal panel can be viewed in both ways, from the front and from the back. The liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel in which a liquid crystal layer is interposed between opposing substrates, and a polarizer and a reflection-polarizing plate provided so as to interpose the liquid crystal panel therebetween. The reflection axis of the reflection-polarizing plate is set in the same direction as a polarization direction of light that exits the liquid crystal panel after its polarization direction is changed in the liquid crystal layer, or a polarization direction of light that exits the liquid crystal panel without being changed in polarization direction in the liquid crystal layer. Due to this arrangement, a liquid crystal display device can be provided which is thin and capable of displaying on both the front side and the back side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Naofumi Yamauchi, Makoto Kurihara
  • Publication number: 20060098279
    Abstract: In order to provide a screen having a projection surface on which of external light has little influence and has a large gain, as well as a projection surface that has a wide viewing angle and nature-views, the screen according to the present invention includes a directional diffusion layer for diffusing and transmitting light from a specific direction and linearly transmitting light from other directions, an isotropic diffusion layer for approximately isotropically diffusing light regardless of an incident angle thereof, and a light reflecting layer provided between the directional diffusion layer and the isotropic diffusion layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2005
    Publication date: May 11, 2006
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20060098280
    Abstract: A large-area projector screen, whose joining gaps are inconspicuous, and a method of producing the screen are provided. The screen according to the present invention is produced by arranging and bonding a surface diffusion sheet having a predetermined haze value and approximately isotropically diffuses incoming light and multiple directional diffusion sheets together. Here, the directional diffusion sheets have a large scattering effect with respect to light incident at a predetermined angle and have a small scattering effect with respect to light incident from other directions. As a result, even when a large screen is formed using a directional scattering sheet divided into multiple regions, boundaries between the divided regions become difficult to visually recognize due to a diffusion action of the surface diffusion sheet and more natural image projection becomes possible.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2005
    Publication date: May 11, 2006
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20050225687
    Abstract: A projector screen having a simple configuration, which provides a wide field of view angle and can be used for both transmission and reflection projection is achieved. A screen according to the present invention is provided with a directional scattering layer that scatters incoming light within a specific angular range and transmits incoming light outside the specific angular range. Further, an image projection system can be made by combining the screen with an image projector that projects an image onto the screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Publication date: October 13, 2005
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20050180165
    Abstract: Adjustments during assembly of an illuminating unit having a conventional light pipe in order to position the light pipe and a light guide plate are laborious. Further, a minute prism group having a pitch on the order of 100 ?m must be provided to a side surface of the light pipe in order to uniformly guide illuminating light to the light guide plate. An illuminating unit of the present invention is provided with a light guide plate having an illuminating surface that is illuminated by light from a point light source, and a light pipe having an incident surface to which light from the point light source is made incident and an emerging portion from which the light emerges to the light guide plate. The emerging portion and the light guide plate are integrally joined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2005
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Inventors: Takayasu Sado, Makoto Kurihara, Katsunori Honma, Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20050088593
    Abstract: A double side visible type liquid crystal display device having one sheet of panel a displayed image on which can be observed from either of a front surface and a back surface is realized in a thin and inexpensive construction. Thus, in the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, a displayed image on a single liquid crystal panel can be observed from either of a front surface and a back surface. That is, the liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel having substrates which holds a liquid crystal layer therebetween, a first polarizer, and a second polarizer which are disposed so as to sandwich the liquid crystal panel, and transflector provided between the liquid crystal layer and the second polarizer, for reflecting incident light at a predetermined rate and for transmitting the remaining light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2004
    Publication date: April 28, 2005
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 6847427
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus arranged with a light guide plate of an illuminating apparatus between two liquid crystal panels for increasing an efficiency of utilizing light of the illuminating apparatus to thereby increase brightness both in a transmission display mode and a reflection display mode. For that object, there is constructed a constitution of providing a first lower polarizer between a first liquid crystal panel and a light guide plate, a second lower polarizer between a second liquid crystal panel and the light guide plate and a reflection-polarizing plate between the light guide plate and the second lower polarizer. Thereby, the efficiency of utilizing light of the illuminating apparatus can be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2005
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20040109112
    Abstract: To realize at low cost a liquid crystal display device which is thin and in which display on a single liquid crystal panel can be viewed in both ways, from the front and from the back. The liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel in which a liquid crystal layer is interposed between opposing substrates, and a polarizer and a reflection-polarizing plate provided so as to interpose the liquid crystal panel therebetween. The reflection axis of the reflection-polarizing plate is set in the same direction as a polarization direction of light that exits the liquid crystal panel after its polarization direction is changed in the liquid crystal layer, or a polarization direction of light that exits the liquid crystal panel without being changed in polarization direction in the liquid crystal layer. Due to this arrangement, a liquid crystal display device can be provided which is thin and capable of displaying on both the front side and the back side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2003
    Publication date: June 10, 2004
    Inventors: Naofumi Yamauchi, Makoto Kurihara
  • Publication number: 20040001173
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus arranged with a light guide plate of an illuminating apparatus between two liquid crystal panels for increasing an efficiency of utilizing light of the illuminating apparatus to thereby increase brightness both in a transmission display mode and a reflection display mode. For that object, there is constructed a constitution of providing a first lower polarizer between a first liquid crystal panel and a light guide plate, a second lower polarizer between a second liquid crystal panel and the light guide plate and a reflection-polarizing plate between the light guide plate and the second lower polarizer. Thereby, the efficiency of utilizing light of the illuminating apparatus can be increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2003
    Publication date: January 1, 2004
    Inventor: Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 6130734
    Abstract: A liquid crystal device comprises a liquid crystal cell having a liquid crystal material sandwiched between a pair of substrates, the liquid crystal material having a retardation less than 1 .mu.m, a polymer film comprised of an optically anisotropic substance disposed on one of the substrates opposite the liquid crystal material, a color polarizing plate disposed on the polymer film opposite the one substrate, and a polarizing plate disposed on the other of the substrates opposite the liquid crystal material. The liquid crystal material preferably comprises a super twisted nematic liquid crystal material, and the color polarizing plate preferably comprises a red, green or blue polarizing plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Fujita, Mitsuyoshi Hara, Takayoshi Hanami, Naofumi Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 6015113
    Abstract: A compact multi-position spindle-and-turret winder for winding synthetic continuous fibers having a first winding position and one-four subsequent indexed winding positions and a method for winding continuous filaments are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2000
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Thomas Patrick Daly, Joseph Edward Koskol, Kevin Robert Madigan, Jun Takagi, Naofumi Yamauchi