Patents by Inventor Tetsuo Minami

Tetsuo Minami 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).

  • Publication number: 20100245334
    Abstract: A display apparatus includes: a plurality of pixel circuits; drive scan lines which supply the same power supply potential to each group of the plurality of pixel circuits, the group having a plurality of pixel circuits for a plurality of successive rows; and a power supply circuit which, during an extinction period for extinguishing light-emitting devices in pixel circuits belonging to each group, supplies a high-level power supply potential to the respective pixel circuits belonging to the group related to the extinction period so as to switch the power supply potential to the high-level power supply potential higher than the power supply potential, wherein each of the plurality of pixel circuits includes a storage capacitor which retains a voltage corresponding to a video signal, a drive transistor which supplies a current based on the voltage retained in the storage capacitor to the corresponding light-emitting device by receiving the power supply potential supplied to the corresponding drive scan line, a
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tetsuo Minami
  • Publication number: 20100245318
    Abstract: A panel, display device and control method in which pixels each have a light emitting element. The potential of the video signal line is switched to a low potential before writing, a high potential during writing, and an intermediate potential after writing has been performed. Switching of the power supply lines from the high potential to the low potential is performed in a period after the potential of the video signal line has been switched from the high potential to the immediate potential, before the potential of the video signal line is switched from the intermediate potential to the low potential.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuo Minami
  • Publication number: 20100245324
    Abstract: A display apparatus includes: a plurality of pixel circuits; and a signal supply circuit which supplies any one of a potential of a video signal, an extinction potential for extinguishing light-emitting devices, and a high-level potential higher than the extinction potential, wherein each of the plurality of pixel circuits includes a storage capacitor which retains a voltage corresponding to the video signal, a drive transistor which supplies a current based on the voltage retained in the storage capacitor to the corresponding light-emitting device, a light-emitting device which emits light in accordance with the current supplied from the drive transistor, and a write transistor which writes the voltage corresponding to the video signal to the storage capacitor after the potentials supplied by the signal supply circuit in order of the high-level potential and the extinction potential are given to the gate terminal of the drive transistor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20100214276
    Abstract: Prior to increasing the voltage level of an input signal to be sampled in a step-by-step manner and writing a signal voltage Vsig at a desired voltage level, a precharge is performed which writes a precharge voltage Vpre, lower than the signal voltage Vsig, so as to apply the same voltage Vpre to the gate of a drive transistor in advance. This not only provides a reduced gate-to-source voltage of the drive transistor at the time of writing of the signal voltage Vsig but also extends a mobility correction time required for a mobility correction operation. The extension of the mobility correction time required for the mobility correction operation ensures a relatively smaller variation in the correction time, thus suppressing the variation in brightness. The extension also permits a write pulse to be set to the optimal pulse width.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2008
    Publication date: August 26, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takao Tanikame, Yukihito Iida, Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Patent number: 7760167
    Abstract: A display apparatus includes a pixel array section and a drive section that drives the pixel array section. The pixel array section includes first scanning lines and second scanning lines arranged in rows, signals lines arranged in columns, matrix pixels that are provided at a position where the first scanning lines, the second scanning lines, and the signal lines cross, a power line that supplies power to each of the pixels, and an earth line. The drive section includes a first scanner that sequentially line scans the pixels per each row by sequentially supplying a first control signal to each of the first scanning lines, a second scanner that sequentially supplies a second control signal to each of the second scanning lines in conjunction with the sequential line scanning, and a signal selector that supplies video signals to the columns of signal lines in conjunction with the sequential line scanning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuhide Uchino, Junichi Yamashita, Tetsuo Minami
  • Patent number: 7742027
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a pixel circuit, including: three pixels to which three primary colors are allocated; and a power supply line. In the pixel circuit, each of the three pixels includes a sampling transistor configured to sample an image signal, a retaining capacitor configured to retain the sampled image signal, a drive transistor configured to output drive current corresponding to the retained image signal within a predetermined light emission period, and a light emitting element configured to emit light in the color allocated to the three pixels in response to the drive current. The pixel circuit includes a single switching transistor disposed commonly to the three pixels for connecting the drive transistors of the pixels to the power supply line within the light emission period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Junichi Yamashita, Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20090315918
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display apparatus, including: a display panel having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix thereon, each of the pixels including an electro-optical element, a writing transistor, a driving transistor, and a storage capacitor connected between the gate electrode and the source electrode of the driving transistor for storing an image signal written by the writing transistor, each of the pixels carrying out a mobility correction process for applying negative feedback to a potential difference between the gate and the source of the driving transistor with a correction amount determined from current flowing to the driving transistor; a temperature detection section configured to detect the temperature of the display panel; and a control section configured to control the period of the mobility correction process based on a result of the detection by the temperature detection section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20090315813
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display apparatus, including: a pixel array section configured to have a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix thereon, each of the pixels including an electro-optical element, a writing transistor, a driving transistor, and a storage capacitor connected between the gate electrode and the source electrode of the driving transistor for storing an image signal written by the writing transistor, each of the pixels carrying out a mobility correction process for applying negative feedback to a potential difference between the gate and the source of the driving transistor with a correction amount determined from current flowing to the driving transistor; a detection section configured to detect variation of a characteristic of any transistor in the pixels; and a control section configured to control the period of the mobility correction process based on a result of the detection by the detection section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2009
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuhide Uchino, Tetsuo Minami
  • Publication number: 20090289963
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display device in which light emitting elements of a plurality of colors including a light emitting element emitting blue light are formed in each pixel on a substrate on which a transistor is formed for each sub-pixel, and a plurality of pixels formed with sub-pixels of the plurality of colors as a unit are arranged in a form of a matrix, wherein relative positional relation between transistors of sub-pixels of respective light emission colors including blue light and a light emitting section of a light emitting element emitting the blue light is laid out such that distances between the transistors of the sub-pixels of the respective light emission colors including the blue light and the light emitting section of the light emitting element emitting the blue light are equal to each other for the respective colors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2009
    Publication date: November 26, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20090262102
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display device including a pixel array unit, a first scanning circuit, a second scanning circuit and a selecting circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2008
    Publication date: October 22, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takao Tanikame, Yukihito Iida, Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20090122046
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display apparatus including: a pixel array section including pixel circuits laid out to form a matrix as pixel circuits each having an electro optical device, a signal writing transistor, a device driving transistor, and a storage capacitor; a power-supply scan circuit; a signal outputting circuit; and a write scan circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2008
    Publication date: May 14, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuo Minami
  • Publication number: 20090109146
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display apparatus, including: a pixel array section having a plurality of pixels each including an electro-optical element, a writing transistor, a driving transistor, and a holding capacitor; a power supply scanning circuit; and a signal outputting circuit; wherein the power supply scanning circuit is operable to supply a second power supply potential to initialize the potential of a second electrode of the driving transistor and then change over the potential of a power supply line to a first power supply potential; and the signal outputting circuit is operable to output, when the writing transistor is in a conducting state, a first reference potential, supply, midway while a threshold value correction process is carried out, a second reference potential, output a third reference potential within a period within which the writing transistor remains in the conducting state, and output a image signal after the threshold correction process ends.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Publication date: April 30, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Masatsugu Tomida
  • Publication number: 20090046040
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display device including a pixel array section; power supply lines; and auxiliary electrodes, wherein the pixels each have an auxiliary capacitance, and one of electrodes of the auxiliary capacitance is connected to the source electrode of the drive transistor, and an other electrode connected to the auxiliary electrode for each pixel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2008
    Publication date: February 19, 2009
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yukihito Iida, Tetsuo Minami, Takao Tanikame, Katsuhide Uchino
  • 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
  • Publication number: 20080231625
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display apparatus including a pixel array section and a drive section. The pixel array section has power supply lines, scan lines arranged in row, signal lines arranged in column, and pixels arranged in matrix at intersections of each of the scan lines and each of the signal lines. The drive transistor is connected at one of a pair of current terminals to the light emitting device and at the other of the pair of current terminals to the power supply line. The drive section supplies a control signal to each scan line and a video signal to each signal line to drive each pixel, executing a threshold voltage correcting operation, a write operation, and a light emitting operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2008
    Publication date: September 25, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Masatsugu Tomida, Yukihito Iida, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20080224964
    Abstract: In the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus including: a pixel array section including pixel circuits each having an electro-optical device, a write transistor configured to carry out a voltage storing process, a holding capacitor configured to hold the sampled video signal, and a driving transistor configured to drive the electro-optical device; first scan means for carrying out a selective scan operation in row units and driving each of the write transistors; second scan means for selectively supplying either a first or second electric potential synchronously with the selective scan operation for feeding a current to each of the driving transistors; and control means for sustaining a power-supply feed line in a floating state during a period ending at a time not earlier than the start of the voltage storing process after a voltage corresponding to the threshold voltage of the driving transistor has been held in the holding capacitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2008
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takao Tanikame, Yukihito Iida, Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20080191208
    Abstract: A pixel circuit includes: a switching transistor whose conduction is controlled by a drive signal supplied to the control terminal; a drive wiring adapted to propagate the drive signal; and a data wiring adapted to propagate a data signal. The drive wiring is formed on a first wiring layer and connected to the control terminal of the switching transistor. The data wiring is formed on a second wiring layer and connected to a first terminal of the switching transistor. A multi-layered wiring structure is used so that the second wiring layer is formed on a layer different from that on which the first wiring layer is formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2008
    Publication date: August 14, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Yukihito Iida, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20080180356
    Abstract: A pixel circuit of a display device of the present invention has a drive transistor which serves also as a transistor adapted to control the emission and non-emission periods of an organic EL element or other elements. A final stage buffer in an output circuit of a write scan circuit (WS) has its power supply separated from the power supply of circuit portions of a previous stage. In a first embodiment, a scan signal WS from the write scan circuit is activated instantaneously. In a second embodiment, the trailing edge of the scan signal WS falls slowly. This allows for writing of an input signal voltage in a stable manner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2008
    Publication date: July 31, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino, Yukihito Iida
  • Publication number: 20080143264
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a display device including: a pixel array portion; a drive portion; and a power source wiring; the pixel array portion, at least a part of the drive portion configured to drive the pixel array portion and the power source wiring are forming a panel, the pixel array portion including scanning lines disposed in rows, signal lines disposed in columns, and pixels disposed in matrix in portions where the scanning lines and the signal lines cross each other, respectively, the drive portion including a scanner portion configured to drive the pixels in a line-sequential manner through the scanning lines, and a signal portion configured to supply a video signal to each of the signal lines in correspondence to the line-sequential drive, so that an image is displayed on the pixel array portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2007
    Publication date: June 19, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Yukihito Iida, Katsuhide Uchino
  • Publication number: 20080074363
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a pixel circuit, including: three pixels to which three primary colors are allocated; a power supply line. In the pixel circuit, each of the three pixels includes a sampling transistor configured to sample an image signal, a retaining capacitor configured to retain the sampled image signal, a drive transistor configured to output drive current corresponding to the retained image signal within a predetermined light emission period, and a light emitting element configured to emit light in the color allocated to the three pixels in response to the drive current. The pixel circuit includes a single switching transistor disposed commonly to the three pixels for connecting the drive transistors of the pixels to the power supply line within the light emission period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2007
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Junichi Yamashita, Tetsuo Minami, Katsuhide Uchino