Patents by Inventor Shuzo Sato

Shuzo Sato 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: 11543621
    Abstract: There is provided a camera module including a stacked lens structure including a plurality of lens substrates. The plurality of lens substrates includes a first lens substrate including a first lens that is disposed at an inner side of a through-hole formed in the first lens substrate, and a second lens substrate including a second lens that is disposed at an inner side of a through-hole formed in the second lens substrate, wherein the first lens substrate is directly bonded to the second lens substrate. The camera module further includes an electromagnetic drive unit configured to adjust a distance between the stacked lens structure and a light-receiving element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Munekatsu Fukuyama, Hiroyasu Matsugai, Hiroyuki Itou, Suguru Saito, Keiji Ohshima, Masanori Iwasaki, Toshihiko Hayashi, Shuzo Sato, Nobutoshi Fujii, Hiroshi Tazawa, Toshiaki Shiraiwa, Yusuke Moriya, Minoru Ishida
  • Patent number: 11342371
    Abstract: A deformation of a stacked lens is suppressed. A stacked lens structure has a configuration in which substrates with lenses having a lens disposed on an inner side of a through-hole formed in the substrate are bonded and stacked by direct bonding. The present technique can be applied to a camera module or the like in which a stacked lens structure in which at least three substrates with lenses including first to third substrates with lenses which are substrates with lenses in which a through-hole is formed in the substrate and a lens is formed on an inner side of the through-hole is integrated with a light receiving element, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Matsugai, Hiroyuki Itou, Suguru Saito, Keiji Ohshima, Masanori Iwasaki, Toshihiko Hayashi, Shuzo Sato, Nobutoshi Fujii, Hiroshi Tazawa, Toshiaki Shiraiwa, Minoru Ishida
  • Patent number: 11089289
    Abstract: An image processing device includes depth acquisition circuitry that uses a parallax corresponding to image data to electronically generate a depth map of an image and object detection circuitry that uses distance information and the depth map to electronically detect a specific object in the image by identifying specific pixels in the image data. The depth map includes information that pertains to distances from a reference position for each pixel in the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
    Inventors: Takeo Ohishi, Kazuyuki Yamamoto, Shuzo Sato, Takayuki Yoshigahara, Jun Murayama, Ken Nishida, Kazuhiro Yamada
  • Publication number: 20200365639
    Abstract: A deformation of a stacked lens is suppressed. A stacked lens structure has a configuration in which substrates with lenses having a lens disposed on an inner side of a through-hole formed in the substrate are bonded and stacked by direct bonding. The present technique can be applied to a camera module or the like in which a stacked lens structure in which at least three substrates with lenses including first to third substrates with lenses which are substrates with lenses in which a through-hole is formed in the substrate and a lens is formed on an inner side of the through-hole is integrated with a light receiving element, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyasu MATSUGAI, Hiroyuki ITOU, Suguru SAITO, Keiji OHSHIMA, Masanori IWASAKI, Toshihiko HAYASHI, Shuzo SATO, Nobutoshi FUJII, Hiroshi TAZAWA, Toshiaki SHIRAIWA, Minoru ISHIDA
  • Patent number: 10818717
    Abstract: A deformation of a stacked lens is suppressed. A stacked lens structure has a configuration in which substrates with lenses having a lens disposed on an inner side of a through-hole formed in the substrate are bonded and stacked by direct bonding. The present technique can be applied to a camera module or the like in which a stacked lens structure in which at least three substrates with lenses including first to third substrates with lenses which are substrates with lenses in which a through-hole is formed in the substrate and a lens is formed on an inner side of the through-hole is integrated with a light receiving element, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Matsugai, Hiroyuki Itou, Suguru Saito, Keiji Ohshima, Masanori Iwasaki, Toshihiko Hayashi, Shuzo Sato, Nobutoshi Fujii, Hiroshi Tazawa, Toshiaki Shiraiwa, Minoru Ishida
  • Publication number: 20200006415
    Abstract: A deformation of a stacked lens is suppressed. A stacked lens structure has a configuration in which substrates with lenses having a lens disposed on an inner side of a through-hole formed in the substrate are bonded and stacked by direct bonding. The present technique can be applied to a camera module or the like in which a stacked lens structure in which at least three substrates with lenses including first to third substrates with lenses which are substrates with lenses in which a through-hole is formed in the substrate and a lens is formed on an inner side of the through-hole is integrated with a light receiving element, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Publication date: January 2, 2020
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyasu MATSUGAI, Hiroyuki ITOU, Suguru SAITO, Keiji OHSHIMA, Masanori IWASAKI, Toshihiko HAYASHI, Shuzo SATO, Nobutoshi FUJII, Hiroshi TAZAWA, Toshiaki SHIRAIWA, Minoru ISHIDA
  • Publication number: 20190369355
    Abstract: There is provided a camera module including a stacked lens structure including a plurality of lens substrates. The plurality of lens substrates includes a first lens substrate including a first lens that is disposed at an inner side of a through-hole formed in the first lens substrate, and a second lens substrate including a second lens that is disposed at an inner side of a through-hole formed in the second lens substrate, wherein the first lens substrate is directly bonded to the second lens substrate. The camera module further includes an electromagnetic drive unit configured to adjust a distance between the stacked lens structure and a light-receiving element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Publication date: December 5, 2019
    Applicant: SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Munekatsu FUKUYAMA, Hiroyasu MATSUGAI, Hiroyuki ITOU, Suguru SAITO, Keiji OHSHIMA, Masanori IWASAKI, Toshihiko HAYASHI, Shuzo SATO, Nobutoshi FUJII, Hiroshi TAZAWA, Toshiaki SHIRAIWA, Yusuke MORIYA, Minoru ISHIDA
  • Patent number: 10431618
    Abstract: A deformation of a stacked lens is suppressed. A stacked lens structure has a configuration in which substrates with lenses having a lens disposed on an inner side of a through-hole formed in the substrate are bonded and stacked by direct bonding. The present technique can be applied to a camera module or the like in which a stacked lens structure in which at least three substrates with lenses including first to third substrates with lenses which are substrates with lenses in which a through-hole is formed in the substrate and a lens is formed on an inner side of the through-hole is integrated with a light receiving element, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Matsugai, Hiroyuki Itou, Suguru Saito, Keiji Ohshima, Masanori Iwasaki, Toshihiko Hayashi, Shuzo Sato, Nobutoshi Fujii, Hiroshi Tazawa, Toshiaki Shiraiwa, Minoru Ishida
  • Patent number: 10185138
    Abstract: According to an illustrative embodiment an imaging system is provided. The system includes a lens tube; a first polarizing filter; and a second polarizing filter; wherein the first polarizing filter and the second polarizing filter are adjacent each other, and wherein a polarizing imparted by the first polarizing filter is different from a polarizing imparted by the second polarizing filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kosugi, Shuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Mitsuru Sato
  • Publication number: 20180108697
    Abstract: A deformation of a stacked lens is suppressed. A stacked lens structure has a configuration in which substrates with lenses having a lens disposed on an inner side of a through-hole formed in the substrate are bonded and stacked by direct bonding. The present technique can be applied to a camera module or the like in which a stacked lens structure in which at least three substrates with lenses including first to third substrates with lenses which are substrates with lenses in which a through-hole is formed in the substrate and a lens is formed on an inner side of the through-hole is integrated with a light receiving element, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2016
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyasu MATSUGAI, Hiroyuki ITOU, Suguru SAITO, Keiji OHSHIMA, Masanori IWASAKI, Toshihiko HAYASHI, Shuzo SATO, Nobutoshi FUJII, Hiroshi TAZAWA, Toshiaki SHIRAIWA, Minoru ISHIDA
  • Publication number: 20180035097
    Abstract: An image processing device includes depth acquisition circuitry that uses a parallax corresponding to image data to electronically generate a depth map of an image and object detection circuitry that uses distance information and the depth map to electronically detect a specific object in the image by identifying specific pixels in the image data. The depth map includes information that pertains to distances from a reference position for each pixel in the image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2016
    Publication date: February 1, 2018
    Inventors: Takeo Ohishi, Kazuyuki Yamamoto, Shuzo Sato, Takayuki Yoshigahara, Jun Murayama, Ken Nishida, Kazuhiro Yamada
  • Patent number: 9851483
    Abstract: A stereoscopic imaging method where a pixel matrix is divided into groups such that parallax information is received by one pixel group and original information is received by another pixel group. The parallax information may, specifically, be based on polarized information received by subgroups of the one pixel, group and by processing all of the information received multiple images are rendered by the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Ken Ozawa, Seiji Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20170003494
    Abstract: According to an illustrative embodiment an imaging system is provided. The system includes a lens tube; a first polarizing filter; and a second polarizing filter; wherein the first polarizing filter and the second polarizing filter are adjacent each other, and wherein a polarizing imparted by the first polarizing filter is different from a polarizing imparted by the second polarizing filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Publication date: January 5, 2017
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kosugi, Shuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Mitsuru Sato
  • Publication number: 20160029005
    Abstract: This invention relates to capturing an image of a subject as a three-dimensional image using a single image-capturing apparatus. The image-capturing apparatus includes a first polarization means, a lens system, and an image-capturing device array having a second polarization means. The first polarization means includes first and second regions arranged along a first direction, and the second polarization means includes multiple third and fourth regions arranged alternately along a second direction. First region transmission light having passed the first region passes the third region and reaches the image-capturing device, and second region transmission light having passed the second region passes the fourth region and reaches the image-capturing device. Thus, an image is captured to obtain a three-dimensional image in which a distance between a barycenter BC1 of the first region and a barycenter BC2 of the second region is a base line length of parallax between two eyes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2015
    Publication date: January 28, 2016
    Inventors: Shuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Ken Ozawa, Seiji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 9077978
    Abstract: This invention relates to capturing an image of a subject as a three-dimensional image using a single image-capturing apparatus. The image-capturing apparatus includes a first polarization means, a lens system, and an image-capturing device array having a second polarization means. The first polarization means includes first and second regions arranged along a first direction, and the second polarization means includes multiple third and fourth regions arranged alternately along a second direction. First region transmission light having passed the first region passes the third region and reaches the image-capturing device, and second region transmission light having passed the second region passes the fourth region and reaches the image-capturing device. Thus, an image is captured to obtain a three-dimensional image in which a distance between a barycenter BC1 of the first region and a barycenter BC2 of the second region is a base line length of parallax between two eyes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Ken Ozawa, Seiji Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20130063569
    Abstract: This invention relates to capturing an image of a subject as a three-dimensional image using a single image-capturing apparatus. The image-capturing apparatus includes a first polarization means, a lens system, and an image-capturing device array having a second polarization means. The first polarization means includes first and second regions arranged along a first direction, and the second polarization means includes multiple third and fourth regions arranged alternately along a second direction. First region transmission light having passed the first region passes the third region and reaches the image-capturing device, and second region transmission light having passed the second region passes the fourth region and reaches the image-capturing device. Thus, an image is captured to obtain a three-dimensional image in which a distance between a barycenter BC1 of the first region and a barycenter BC2 of the second region is a base line length of parallax between two eyes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Ken Ozawa, Seiji Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20120206576
    Abstract: A stereoscopic imaging method where a pixel matrix is divided into groups such that parallax information is received by one pixel group and original information is received by another pixel group. The parallax information may, specifically, be based on polarized information received by subgroups of the one pixel, group and by processing all of the information received multiple images are rendered by the method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2011
    Publication date: August 16, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Ken Ozawa, Seiji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 7255784
    Abstract: A polishing method for electropolishing a metal film formed on a wafer surface so as to fill concave portions formed on the wafer surface comprises a step of determining an electropolishing end point of the metal film on the basis of a change of a current waveform resulting from electropolishing the metal film. An electropolishing apparatus comprising a current detector for detecting a current waveform resulting from electropolishing a metal film and an end point determination part for determining an electropolishing end point of the metal film on the basis of the change of a current detected with the current detector is used to realize the polishing method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shuzo Sato, Takeshi Nogami, Zenya Yasuda, Masao Ishihara
  • Patent number: 7232760
    Abstract: A method for producing a semiconductor device, polishing method, and polishing apparatus, suppressing occurrence of dishing and erosion in a flattening process by polishing of a metal film for constituting an interconnection of a semiconductor device having a multilayer interconnection structure. The production method includes the steps of: forming a passivation film exhibiting an action of inhibiting an electrolytic reaction of a metal at the surface of the metal film; selectively removing the passivation film on a projecting portion so as to expose the projecting portion of the metal film at the surface; removing the exposed projecting portion of the metal film by electrolytic polishing so as to flatten unevenness of the surface of the metal film; and removing the metal film present on an insulation film from the metal film with the flattened surface by electrolytic composite polishing combining electrolytic polishing and mechanical polishing so as to form an interconnection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Nogami, Akira Yoshio, Shuzo Sato
  • Publication number: 20070051638
    Abstract: Electric conductivity is enhanced without causing coagulation or precipitation of polishing abrasive grains. In addition, good planarization is realized without inducing defects in a metallic film or a wiring which are to be polished. In an electropolishing method for planarizing the surface of a metallic film to be polished by moving a polishing pad (15) in sliding contact with the metallic film surface while oxidizing the metallic film surface through an electrolytic action in an electropolishing liquid E, the electropolishing liquid E contains at least polishing abrasive grains and an electrolyte for maintaining an electrostatically charged state of the polishing abrasive grains. Since the electropolishing liquid having a high electric conductivity is used, it is possible to obtain a high electrolyzing current and to enlarge the distance between electrodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2006
    Publication date: March 8, 2007
    Inventors: Shuzo Sato, Takeshi Nogami, Shingo Takahashi, Naoki Komai, Kaori Tai, Hiroshi Horikoshi, Hiizu Ohtorii