Patents by Inventor Shoichi Hirota

Shoichi Hirota 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: 7133218
    Abstract: Disclosed is an optical system that has superior optical characteristic and wear resistance and can be formed at low temperatures. An optical system 101 for adjusting visible light transmittance to have a desired value comprises fluoride 103, and at least part of the optical system has a crystal grain diameter of 3 nm to 10 nm. The fluoride 103 has a specific surface area of 1 m2/g to 5 m2/g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2006
    Assignees: Shinmaywa Industries, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takanobu Hori, Isao Tokomoto, Hiroshi Kajiyama, Akira Kato, Kenichi Onisawa, Makoto Abe, Shoichi Hirota, Tatsuya Sugita, Masaya Adachi, Katsumi Kondo
  • Publication number: 20060181497
    Abstract: A display with low power consumption using a memory-incorporated pixel system capable of refreshing the image signal memory and updating an image without causing a flicker. Each pixel arranged in matrix has, at an intersection between the signal line and the scan line, a first transistor and a second transistor to drive the electrooptical medium. The second transistor has its gate connected with the image signal memory which in turn is connected to the reference voltage line. There is a parasitic capacitor between the gate of the second transistor and the scan line. The gate of the second transistor is also connected with an added capacitor. Further, the second transistor is connected with a holding capacitor and also has a parasitic capacitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2006
    Publication date: August 17, 2006
    Inventors: Susumu Edo, Shoichi Hirota
  • Publication number: 20060125742
    Abstract: A liquid-crystal display device and a method of driving the same which can suppress flicker to maintain an enhanced quality of picture, and can reduce its power consumption. A backlight unit is turned ON and OFF a plurality of times in synchronism with a frame period having a scanning period and a hold period longer than the scanning period. One turning ON and OFF period of the backlight corresponds to a backlight period having a length of 1/60 seconds or smaller. The backlight unit is turned ON and OFF four times in four backlight periods within one frame period. Thus, the display device can suppress flicker and reduce its power consumption.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2005
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Sekiguchi, Tsunenori Yamamoto, Shoichi Hirota
  • Publication number: 20060007092
    Abstract: An active matrix type liquid crystal display device driving method for switching a partial display mode and a normal display mode. The respective data lines of the partial display area are scanned in a certain period defined as a frame period, “k” pieces (symbol “k” is integer larger than, or equal to 1) of the partial display areas are present within 1 screen, a common electrode potential is varied 2 k times within 1 frame period; a common electrode potential in a partially scanning period for scanning the partial display area is made as a constant potential against a reference of a driving circuit for driving the data lines; and within at least two continued frames, a common electrode potential of a blank period other than the partially scanning period is made as a constant potential which is different from the constant potential in the partially scanning period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2005
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Sekiguchi, Shoichi Hirota, Shinichi Komura
  • Patent number: 6956691
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electrophoretic display in which an insulating liquid is uniformly provided to the divided microspaces each corresponding to one pixel and display characteristics uniform over the display surface are actualized. The present invention includes a transparent first substrate 1 and a transparent second substrate 2 arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween, charged particles 6 dispersed in an insulating liquid 5 provided to the gap, and a first electrode 3 and a second electrode 4 arranged on either of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, wherein liquid-repellency parts 8 and repellency-lowered parts 9 are arranged on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2, and the insulating liquid 5 is provided to the repellency-lowered parts on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Kaneko, Tetsuya Ooshima, Tatsuya Sugita, Shinichi Komura, Shoichi Hirota, Hiroshi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20050211975
    Abstract: The present invention aims at providing a high-performance semiconductor device such as display, IC tag, sensor or the like at a low cost by using an organic thin film transistor most members of which can be formed by printing, as a switching element. The present invention relates to a thin film transistor composed of members on a dielectric substrate, which are a gate electrode, a dielectric film, source/drain electrodes, and a semiconductor layer, wherein on said semiconductor layer there are formed at least two passivation films of a first passivation film capping said semiconductor layer to protect it and a second passivation film covering larger area than that of said first passivation film to protect all of said members.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2005
    Publication date: September 29, 2005
    Inventors: Masahiro Kawasaki, Shuji Imazeki, Masahiko Ando, Yoshifumi Sekiguchi, Shoichi Hirota
  • Publication number: 20050174315
    Abstract: A scanning-line selecting circuit is configured by connecting basic circuits with each other over plural stages. Each of the basic circuits includes a basic scanning-line driving circuit and a voltage raising circuit. A basic scanning signal is inputted into the basic scanning-line driving circuit, which, then, outputs a scanning signal. A charge pulse, a selecting signal, and a discharge pulse are inputted into the voltage raising circuit, which, then, drives the basic scanning-line driving circuit. Accordingly, in the basic circuits, there exists none of the problems of threshold-value shift and voltage lowering. This characteristic makes it possible to implement high efficiency and stable operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2004
    Publication date: August 11, 2005
    Inventors: Susumu Edo, Shinichi Komura, Shoichi Hirota, Nobuyuki Ishige
  • Publication number: 20050111075
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electrophoretic display in which an insulating liquid is uniformly provided to the divided microspaces each corresponding to one pixel and display characteristics uniform over the display surface are actualized. The present invention includes a transparent first substrate 1 and a transparent second substrate 2 arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween, charged particles 6 dispersed in an insulating liquid 5 provided to the gap, and a first electrode 3 and a second electrode 4 arranged on either of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, wherein liquid-repellency parts 8 and repellency-lowered parts 9 are arranged on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2, and the insulating liquid 5 is provided to the repellency-lowered parts on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2004
    Publication date: May 26, 2005
    Inventors: Hiroki Kaneko, Tetsuya Ooshima, Tatsuya Sugita, Shinichi Komura, Shoichi Hirota, Hiroshi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20050078073
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus having a pair of substrates of which at least one substrate is transparent and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the substrates including a plurality of first scanning electrodes formed on one of the substrates, a plurality of signal electrodes intersecting in a matrix form with the plurality of first scanning electrodes, a plurality of second scanning electrodes provided along the first scanning electrodes or the signal electrodes. The display apparatus including within each of the regions surrounded by the plurality of first scanning electrodes and the plurality of signal electrodes: (a) a data holding circuit, signal electrode, and second scanning electrode, (b) a capacitor, (c) a switching device and (d) a display electrode. A drive voltage of the liquid crystal display apparatus is an alternating current voltage having a period which is shorter than a period of fetching by the display data holding circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2004
    Publication date: April 14, 2005
    Inventors: Yoshiro Mikami, Tetsuro Minemura, Makoto Tsumura, Kazuhiro Kuwabara, Shinichi Komura, Tatsuya Ohkubo, Hideo Sato, Shoichi Hirota, Masaya Adachi, Kazuhito Masuda
  • Publication number: 20050068279
    Abstract: A reference voltage line is synchronously scanned with scanning of a scanning signal line, voltage of the reference voltage line is set to be the voltage of a common electrode, the second transistor is set to be OFF state during the reference voltage line is set in the common voltage for a pixel wherein a node between an image signal memory and said second transistor is set in a voltage so that said second transistor becomes OFF and the voltage of image signal line is set to be high voltage level when the voltage of the scanning signal line changes from low voltage level to high voltage level for the pixel wherein the node between the image signal memory and the second transistor is set in a voltage so that said second transistor becomes ON.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2004
    Publication date: March 31, 2005
    Inventors: Shoichi Hirota, Susumu Edo, Hiroki Kaneko, Tetsuya Oshima, Tatsuya Sugita, Shinichi Komura, Katsuyuki Funahata
  • Patent number: 6867830
    Abstract: A reflection type color liquid crystal display (LCD) device is disclosed that achieves achromatization in black and white as well intermediate scale display. The LCD device includes an active matrix substrate provided with a plurality of pixels each having a switching element and a reflection electrode in a matrix configuration, a liquid crystal layer between the substrate and a glass substrate, a phase plate and a polarization plate. The parameters of the above elements are designed such that projections of Stokes parameter (S1, S2, S3) of light between the phase plate and the liquid crystal layer on an S1-S2 plane constitute a substantially linear line, and that at a reflecting plane of the reflection electrode, the polarization of the light is substantially circularly polarized for a normally black display and substantially linearly polarized for a normally white display over a wide wavelength range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoichi Hirota, Osamu Ito
  • Patent number: 6850357
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electrophoretic display in which an insulating liquid is uniformly provided to the divided microspaces each corresponding to one pixel and display characteristics uniform over the display surface are actualized. The present invention includes a transparent first substrate 1 and a transparent second substrate 2 arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween, charged particles 6 dispersed in an insulating liquid 5 provided to the gap, and a first electrode 3 and a second electrode 4 arranged on either of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, wherein liquid-repellency parts 8 and repellency-lowered parts 9 are arranged on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2, and the insulating liquid 5 is provided to the repellency-lowered parts on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Kaneko, Tetsuya Ooshima, Tatsuya Sugita, Shinichi Komura, Shoichi Hirota, Hiroshi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 6850219
    Abstract: A display device is constituted by a display module which determines a plurality of pieces of pixels as belonging to one block unit, selects the plurality of pixels in each block unit at the same time and displays a picture image by adding one or a plurality of specific patterns each having different spatial frequencies of each block unit; a display control unit which controls the display module; a picture image signal generation unit which generates picture image signals; and a computing circuit which generates the specific patterns each having different spatial frequencies while weighting the same based on the picture image signals for every block unit. Thereby, a display device which reduces the signal clock frequency as well as increases the signal writing time, enhances the opening rate of an LC panel and permits a highly fine display and a high speed motion picture display, is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Aoyama, Shinichi Komura, Ikuo Hiyama, Tsunenori Yamamoto, Yoshiyuki Kaneko, Mitsuji Ikeda, Osamu Itou, Hideo Satou, Shoichi Hirota
  • Publication number: 20040207568
    Abstract: In a portable information processing apparatus, frames 5 and 6 on which display devices are mounted are pivotally supported in a coupling portion 3 constituted by a hinge mechanism in an openable/closable manner, while the display devices have main displays 1 and 2, which perform printing with high-resolution quality. While the coupling portion 3 is set to a fulcrum, the main displays 1 and 2 are brought into such a two-page spreading condition for the use, and are overlapped with each other, and are folded into two displays for closure, so that the portable information processing apparatus can be carried. Since a rotation portion 4 is rotated, an image which is displayed on the main displays 1 and 2 can be changed. Both a power switch 7 and a function switch 8, which are necessary switches and the like, are mounted on an edge portion of the frame 6.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Publication date: October 21, 2004
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Ooshima, Shoichi Hirota, Hiroki Kaneko, Susumu Edo, Yoshifumi Sekiguchi, Tatsuya Sugita, Shinichi Komura, Masahiro Kawasaki
  • Patent number: 6803894
    Abstract: The driving voltages for monochromatic images are sequentially applied to each of a plurality of pixels included in the display unit so as to cause each of the pixels to sequentially display the monochromatic images. A time-sequential arrangement of the driving voltages for the 2s (s is an integer equal to or larger than 2) monochromatic images that include the three primary colors of red, blue, and green is employed as one unit. Then, the one unit of arrangement of the driving voltages is sequentially applied periodically to each of the pixels included in the display unit so as to cause each of the pixels to sequentially display the monochromatic images arranged in accordance with the arrangement, wherein a color of the monochromatic image is any one of the three primary colors of red, blue, and green, each of the pixels included in the display unit being caused to display the monochromatic image at one point in time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2004
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoichi Hirota, Makoto Tsumura, Iwao Takemoto
  • Publication number: 20040184137
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electrophoretic display in which an insulating liquid is uniformly provided to the divided microspaces each corresponding to one pixel and display characteristics uniform over the display surface are actualized. The present invention includes a transparent first substrate 1 and a transparent second substrate 2 arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween, charged particles 6 dispersed in an insulating liquid 5 provided to the gap, and a first electrode 3 and a second electrode 4 arranged on either of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, wherein liquid-repellency parts 8 and repellency-lowered parts 9 are arranged on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2, and the insulating liquid 5 is provided to the repellency-lowered parts on the surface of the first substrate 1 and the surface of the second substrate 2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2004
    Publication date: September 23, 2004
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroki Kaneko, Tetsuya Ooshima, Tatsuya Sugita, Shinichi Komura, Shoichi Hirota, Hiroshi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20040135763
    Abstract: An electrophoretic display comprising a first and second substrates each being disposed with a predetermined gap therebetween; a layer comprising an insulating solvent and charged particles dispersed in the insulating solvent, the layer being sandwiched between the substrates; a first electrode disposed on one of the substrates; and a second electrode disposed on the second substrate, wherein the second electrode has a reflector with uneven surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2003
    Publication date: July 15, 2004
    Inventors: Hiroki Kaneko, Shoichi Hirota, Tetsuya Ooshima, Masatoshi Wakagi, Shinichi Komura
  • Publication number: 20040041761
    Abstract: An image display apparatus configured by a display panel having an image memory element in a pixel, which achieves low power consumption. A nonvolatile image memory element 1, which can change the resistance value by phase change, is connected to a pixel electrode 25 of a liquid crystal element 5. The output of a thin-film transistor 17 driven by scanning and signal electrode lines 7, 9 is connected to the pixel electrode 25. When the scanning electrode line 7 is selected to have a high level voltage, the thin-film transistor 17 is turned on and a current signal flowing through the signal electrode 9 is sent through the image memory element 1 to a reference electrode line 15. Depending on the current value or pulse width passing through the image memory element 1, the resistance of the image memory element 1 is changed and is stored as a resistance value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2003
    Publication date: March 4, 2004
    Inventors: Tatsuya Sugita, Shinichi Komura, Shoichi Hirota, Tsunenori Yamamoto, Tetsuya Ooshima, Susumu Edo, Akitoyo Konno
  • Patent number: 6556260
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus featuring an excellent contrast ratio even though it is a reflection type liquid crystal display unit. The display apparatus includes a: liquid crystal layer; upper and lower substrates for interposing the liquid crystal layer therebetween; reflection plate for reflecting light which passes through the liquid crystal layer back to the liquid crystal layer; and light emitting element layer for emitting light to the liquid crystal layer, and wherein light emitting element layer is arranged above liquid crystal layer so as to surround the display portion of the liquid crystal layer. Further, the light emitting element layer is provided with a reflection layer for deflecting light emitted in the upper direction back to liquid crystal layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Osamu Itou, Shinichi Komura, Ikuo Hiyama, Masaya Adachi, Shoichi Hirota
  • Publication number: 20030071946
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display element which has the high speed response and the high contrast and a display device employing the same are provided. In a display device employing a reflection type liquid crystal light valve, a retardation of a retardation plate which is provided between a polarizing element such as a polarizing beam splitter and the reflection type liquid crystal light valve is generally made ¼ of the wavelength of the incident light, and an optical axis (a slow axis or a fast axis) of the retardation plate and the polarizing direction of the incident polarized light are shifted from each other by slightly larger than 0 degree in order to arrange such optical elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2002
    Publication date: April 17, 2003
    Inventors: Shoichi Hirota, Katsuhide Aoto, Makoto Tsumura, Iwao Takemoto