Patents by Inventor Toshiaki Sasaki
Toshiaki Sasaki 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).
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Publication number: 20110073162Abstract: Provided is a substrate for a thin-film photoelectric conversion device which makes it possible to produce the device having improved characteristics at low cost and high productivity. The substrate includes a transparent base member, with a transparent underlying layer and a transparent electrode layer successively stacked on one main surface of the transparent base member. The underlying layer includes transparent insulating fine particles and transparent binder, and the particles are dispersed to cover the one main surface with a coverage factor of particles—ranging from 30% or more to less than 80%. An antireflection layer is provided on the other main surface of the transparent base. The antireflection layer includes transparent insulating fine particles and transparent binder, and the particles are dispersed to cover the other main surface with a coverage factor greater than the underlying layer. The transparent electrode layer contains zinc oxide deposited by low-pressure CVD method.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 15, 2009Publication date: March 31, 2011Applicant: KANEKA CORPORATIONInventors: Takashi Kikuchi, Toshiaki Sasaki
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Publication number: 20110061715Abstract: Provided is a thin film photoelectric conversion device with maximized output characteristic, by improving an uneven current value of a photoelectric conversion cell caused by an uneven film thickness and an uneven film quality of a photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer, which may be generated in scaling up an integrated-type thin film photoelectric conversion device. The thin film photoelectric conversion device includes: a substrate, a transparent electrode layer, a photoelectric conversion unit, and a back electrode layer. An increasing rate ?Zt of the film thickness Zt of the transparent electrode layer along X and an increasing rate ?Zs of the film thickness Zs of the photoelectric conversion unit along X have different signs, whereas one line segment in a parallel direction to a main surface of the substrate is taken as X?.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 19, 2009Publication date: March 17, 2011Applicant: KANEKA CORPORATIONInventors: Takashi Fujibayashi, Toshiaki Sasaki, Yuko Tawada
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Patent number: 7897523Abstract: A substrate heating apparatus having a conductive heater which heats a substrate includes a filament arranged in the conductive heater and connected to a filament power supply to generate thermoelectrons, and an acceleration power supply which accelerates the thermoelectrons between the filament and conductive heater. The filament has inner peripheral portions formed at a predetermined interval along an inner circle concentric with the substrate, outer peripheral portions formed at a predetermined interval on an outer circle concentric with the inner circle and having a diameter larger than that of the inner circle, and a region formed by connecting the end point of each inner peripheral portions and the end point of a corresponding one of the outer peripheral portions.Type: GrantFiled: January 27, 2009Date of Patent: March 1, 2011Assignees: Canon Anelva Engineering Corporation, Canon Anelva CorporationInventors: Masami Shibagaki, Hiroshi Doi, Akihiro Egami, Toshiaki Sasaki, Shinya Hasegawa
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Patent number: 7847186Abstract: According to the present invention, sufficient light trapping effect can be exhibited and series resistance can be kept small, by sequentially forming a silicon based low refractive index layer and a thin silicon based interface layer on a backside of a photoelectric conversion layer observed from a light incident side, and as a result a silicon based thin film solar cell may be provided efficiently and at low cost.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2004Date of Patent: December 7, 2010Assignee: Kaneka CorporationInventors: Toru Sawada, Yohei Koi, Toshiaki Sasaki, Masashi Yoshimi, Masahiro Goto, Kenji Yamamoto
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Publication number: 20100282291Abstract: A thin film photoelectric converter including a transparent conductive layer, a laser light absorption layer, a back electrode layer, a semiconductor photoelectric conversion layer and a transparent electrode layer stacked on a translucent substrate. The laser light absorption layer is parted into regions by first kind parting line grooves, and the photoelectric conversion layer is parted into regions by third kind parting line grooves penetrating the laser light absorption layer, the rear surface electrode layer and the photoelectric conversion layer. The transparent electrode layer is parted into regions by fourth kind parting line grooves penetrating the laser light absorption layer, the rear surface electrode layer, the photoelectric conversion layer and the transparent electrode layer. A receiving side transparent electrode region of one cell is electrically connected to a back electrode region of adjacent cell through the first kind groove, the transparent conductive layer and the third kind groove.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 5, 2008Publication date: November 11, 2010Applicant: KANEKA CORPORATIONInventors: Masahiro Goto, Wataru Yoshida, Toshiaki Sasaki
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Patent number: 7781668Abstract: An inexpensive substrate for thin film solar cells having improved performance of a thin film solar cell, and a manufacturing method thereof are provided by increasing light trapping effect due to effective increase in unevenness of a substrate for thin film solar cells. Furthermore, a thin film solar cell having improved performance using the substrate is provided. A substrate for thin film solar cells of the present invention has a transparent insulating substrate and a transparent electrode layer deposited thereon including at least zinc oxide (ZnO), the transparent insulating substrate has a fine surface unevenness having a root-mean-square deviation of the surface (RMS) 5 to 50 nm in an interface by a side of the transparent electrode layer, a projected area thereof consists of a curved surface, and furthermore a haze ratio or a ratio of a diffuse transmittance to a total transmittance as an index of unevenness of a substrate may be set at not less than 20% measured using a C light source.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2005Date of Patent: August 24, 2010Assignee: Kaneka CorporationInventors: Toshiaki Sasaki, Yohei Koi, Yuko Tawada, Kenji Yamamoto
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Publication number: 20100187731Abstract: An alumina fiber aggregate which is minimized in scatter of fibers, excels in handling characteristics and working environmental hygiene and finds its useful application to support mats for catalytic converters and such is provided. An alumina fiber aggregate comprising alumina short fibers having such properties that when diameters of said alumina short fibers are represented by x (?m), the rate at which the natural logarithmic value ln x in lognormal distribution of x is less than ln 3 is not more than 2%, and the value left after deducting from the length-weighted geometric mean of said fiber diameters a value twice its standard error is not more than 6 ?m; and a support mat for catalytic converters comprising such an alumina fiber aggregate.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2010Publication date: July 29, 2010Applicant: MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL FUNCTIONAL PRODUCTS, INC.,Inventors: Eisaku Kakikura, Toshiaki Sasaki
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Patent number: 7752058Abstract: A portable terminal carried and owned by each user is provided with a display screen, a communication unit, a memory storing personal information about each user, and an input/output device such as an inhaler. A database that communicates with each portable terminal is provided with a personal information storage unit storing the personal information about each user carrying the portable terminal, a medical information storage unit storing information about a medical facility, a drugstore, a medicine, and the input/output device, and a communication unit for communicating with each portable terminal. In the database, the user of the portable terminal is identified by collating the part of the information transmitted from the communication unit with information stored in the personal information storage unit.Type: GrantFiled: November 27, 2001Date of Patent: July 6, 2010Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Toshiaki Sasaki, Sadayuki Sugama, Takayoshi Tsutsumi
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Patent number: 7692391Abstract: A discharge lamp ballast having a starting circuit including a second inductor connected between a first end of a discharge lamp and the positive voltage side of a first capacitor; a second capacitor forming a resonance circuit together with the second inductor; a second switching element connected between the positive terminal of a DC power source and the second end of the lamp; a third switching element connected between the second end of the lamp and the negative voltage side of the first capacitor; and a starting controller that controls both switching elements. The starting controller alternately turns both switching elements on and off so as to contribute resonance voltage of the resonance circuit for starting of the lamp in case of the starting mode.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2004Date of Patent: April 6, 2010Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.Inventors: Katsuyoshi Nakada, Hirofumi Konishi, Junichi Hasegawa, Koji Watanabe, Kiyoaki Uchihashi, Toshiaki Sasaki
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Patent number: 7678992Abstract: A thin film photoelectric converter, especially an integrated thin film photoelectric converter having improved photoelectric conversion efficiency is provided by controlling an open-circuit voltage and a fill factor so as not be small in a thin film photoelectric converter including a crystalline silicon photoelectric conversion unit. The thin film photoelectric converter by the present invention has at least a transparent electrode film, a crystalline silicon photoelectric conversion unit, and a back electrode film formed sequentially on one principal surface of a transparent substrate, and the converter has a whitish discoloring area on a part of a surface of the converter after formation of the crystalline silicon photoelectric conversion unit. A percentage of dimensions of the whitish discoloring area preferably is not more than 5% of a dimension of the photoelectric conversion area.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 2004Date of Patent: March 16, 2010Assignee: Kaneka CorporationInventors: Takashi Suezaki, Masashi Yoshimi, Toshiaki Sasaki, Yuko Tawada, Kenji Yamamoto
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Patent number: 7622869Abstract: A DC-DC converter 111 with a switching element Q11 changes a supply of power to a HID lamp DL1. On/off of the element Q11 is controlled with a control circuit 13. The circuit 13 controls an on/off state of the element Q11 with constant lamp power control on stable operation of the lamp. The circuit 13 controls the on/off state of the element Q11 so as to provide the lamp with lamp power larger than lamp power by the constant lamp power control based on high power control for a period of time that the lamp is on. It is possible to keep temperature of electrodes and within a bulb of the lamp in a proper state through simple control, and to prevent flicker generation and electrode degradation.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2004Date of Patent: November 24, 2009Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.Inventors: Koji Watanabe, Hirofumi Konishi, Junichi Hasegawa, Katsuyoshi Nakada, Toshiaki Sasaki
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Publication number: 20090191724Abstract: A substrate heating apparatus having a conductive heater which heats a substrate includes a filament arranged in the conductive heater and connected to a filament power supply to generate thermoelectrons, and an acceleration power supply which accelerates the thermoelectrons between the filament and conductive heater. The filament has inner peripheral portions formed at a predetermined interval along an inner circle concentric with the substrate, outer peripheral portions formed at a predetermined interval on an outer circle concentric with the inner circle and having a diameter larger than that of the inner circle, and a region formed by connecting the end point of each inner peripheral portions and the end point of a corresponding one of the outer peripheral portions.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 27, 2009Publication date: July 30, 2009Applicants: CANON ANELVA ENGINEERING CORPORATION, CANON ANELVA CORPORATIONInventors: Masami Shibagaki, Hiroshi Doi, Akihiro Egami, Toshiaki Sasaki, Shinya Hasegawa
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Patent number: 7550665Abstract: In a stacked-layer type photoelectric conversion device, a plurality of photoelectric conversion units are stacked on a substrate, each of which includes a one conductivity-type layer, a photoelectric conversion layer of substantially intrinsic semiconductor and an opposite conductivity-type layer in this order from a light-incident side. At least one of the opposite conductivity-type layer in a front photoelectric conversion unit arranged relatively closer to the light-incident side and the one conductivity-type layer in a back photoelectric conversion unit arranged adjacent to the front photoelectric conversion unit includes a silicon composite layer at least in a part thereof. The silicon composite layer has a thickness of more than 20 nm and less than 130 nm and an oxygen concentration of more than 25 atomic % and less than 60 atomic %, and includes silicon-rich phase parts in an amorphous alloy phase of silicon and oxygen.Type: GrantFiled: July 15, 2004Date of Patent: June 23, 2009Assignee: Kaneka CorporationInventors: Toshiaki Sasaki, Yohei Koi, Kenji Yamamoto, Masashi Yoshimi, Mitsuru Ichikawa
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Publication number: 20090133753Abstract: In order to improve photoelectric conversion properties of a silicon-based thin-film photoelectric converter to which a conductive SiOx layer is inserted to obtain an optical confinement effect, the silicon-based thin-film photoelectric converter according to the present invention includes an i-type photoelectric conversion layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon or an alloy thereof, an i-type buffer layer made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon, and an n-type Si1-xOx layer (x is 0.25-0.6) stacked successively, wherein the buffer layer has a higher hydrogen concentration at its interface with and as compared with the photoelectric conversion layer and has a thickness of at least 5 nm and at most 50 nm. Accordingly, generation of silicon crystal phase parts and reduction of resistivity are promoted in the n-type Si1-xOx layer, contact resistance at the interface is reduced, and FF of the photoelectric converter is improved, so that the photoelectric converter achieves improved properties.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 25, 2006Publication date: May 28, 2009Inventors: Toshiaki Sasaki, Kenji Yamamoto
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Publication number: 20090087652Abstract: An alumina fiber aggregate which is minimized in scatter of fibers, excels in handling characteristics and working environmental hygiene and finds its useful application to support mats for catalytic converters and such is provided. An alumina fiber aggregate comprising alumina short fibers having such properties that when diameters of said alumina short fibers are represented by x (?m), the rate at which the natural logarithmic value ln x in lognormal distribution of x is less than ln 3 is not more than 2%, and the value left after deducting from the length-weighted geometric mean of said fiber diameters a value twice its standard error is not more than 6 ?m; and a support mat for catalytic converters comprising such an alumina fiber aggregate.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 21, 2008Publication date: April 2, 2009Applicant: MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL FUNCTIONAL PRODUCTS, INC.Inventors: Eisaku Kakikura, Toshiaki Sasaki
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Patent number: 7511432Abstract: In a chopper circuit, output power is controllable with a direct current power source as a power source, and a smoothing capacitor is connected between output terminals of the chopper circuit. A polarity inversion circuit applies an alternating voltage to a high pressure discharge lamp with a voltage across the smoothing capacitor as a power source. The output power of the chopper circuit and an inversion frequency of the polarity inversion circuit are controlled by a control circuit based upon a terminal voltage of the smoothing capacitor, which is detected by a voltage detecting circuit. In the control circuit, a switch voltage is set for defining a range of voltages detected by the voltage detecting circuit, and the inversion frequency is changed in plural stages according to the magnitude relation between the detected voltage and the switch voltage.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2004Date of Patent: March 31, 2009Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.Inventors: Koji Watanabe, Kiyoaki Uchihashi, Hisaji Ito, Toshiaki Sasaki, Junichi Hasegawa, Katsuyoshi Nakada
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Publication number: 20090051550Abstract: Even if a mattress or the like suffers long-term deterioration, a sleep state measuring apparatus is provided which can set a suitable amplification factor A of a biosignal. The sleep state measuring apparatus detects the biosignal which changes depending on the sleep state of a person who gets on the mattress filled with water, amplifies and estimates the sleep state based on the biosignal. A static component P of the mattress internal pressure is detected by the biosignal sensor is first obtained (S11). The mattress internal pressure is the pressure of water in the mattress. From the static component P of the mattress internal pressure, a fluctuation part ?V of the mattress internal pressure depending on the value is specified (S12). Each value of the fluctuation part ?V of the mattress internal pressure is obtained beforehand by applying a predetermined load, and changing the static component P of the mattress internal pressure.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 18, 2008Publication date: February 26, 2009Applicant: Tanita CorporationInventor: Toshiaki Sasaki
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Patent number: 7432670Abstract: Even if a DC output voltage of a step-down chopper circuit (3) is lowered from a value in a non-lighted state or a no-load state due to a discharge occurring between conductors (105a) in a cable (104), the turn on detection circuit (26a) can discriminates between lighted and non-lighted states without erroneously determining such a discharge as a discharge in a discharge lamp (4). This allows an operation of the timer (29) to be continued, so that high-voltage pulses are intermittently applied to prevent continuous discharge between the conductors (105) and abnormal heat generation in the cable (104). Further, even if a discharge occurs in an outer tube of the discharge lamp (4), the turn on detection circuit (26a) never erroneously discriminates this discharge as the lighted state. Thus, the lighting device of the present invention can suppress abnormal heat generations in the components and a socket (102).Type: GrantFiled: November 24, 2004Date of Patent: October 7, 2008Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.Inventors: Koji Yamashita, Akihiro Kishimoto, Koji Noro, Toshiaki Sasaki, Noriyuki Fukumori
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Patent number: 7427270Abstract: Disclosed is a sleep stage determination apparatus which comprises respiratory-signal detection means for detecting a variation of a respiratory signal from the body of a human subject, and sleep-stage determination means for determining a plurality of sleep stages using only the respiratory-signal variation. The sleep stage determination apparatus of the present invention can eliminate the need for detecting a plurality of biological signals and have simplified sensor and circuit configurations designed to detect only the respiratory signal variation which is relatively easily detectable. This makes it possible to reduce a detection error and achieve enhanced determination accuracy or creditability.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2006Date of Patent: September 23, 2008Assignee: Tanita CorporationInventors: Shuichi Izumi, Toshiaki Sasaki
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Publication number: 20080218094Abstract: A discharge lamp ballast. Its starting means comprises a second inductor connected between a first end of a discharge lamp and the positive voltage side of a first capacitor; a second capacitor forming a resonance circuit together with the second inductor; a second switching element connected between the positive terminal of a DC power source and the second end of the lamp; a third switching element connected between the second end of the lamp and the negative voltage side of the first capacitor; and a starting control means that controls both switching elements. The starting control means alternately turns both switching elements on and off so as to contribute resonance voltage of the resonance circuit for starting of the lamp in case of the starting mode. According to the invention, noise from the starting means can be reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 31, 2004Publication date: September 11, 2008Inventors: Katsuyoshi Nakada, Hirofumi Konishi, Junichi Hasegawa, Koji Watanabe, Kiyoaki Uchihashi, Toshiaki Sasaki