Patents by Inventor Toshifumi Tanaka

Toshifumi Tanaka 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: 6680899
    Abstract: An optical information medium comprising a supporting substrate, an information recording area on the supporting substrate, and a light-transmitting layer covering at least the information recording area, wherein the information recording area is irradiated with the recording/reading laser beam through the light-transmitting layer, and wherein the light-transmitting layer is highly scratch resistant upon contact with the optical pickup is provided. Also provided is an optical information medium which has a scratch-resistant light transmitting layer, and which experiences reduced vibration in high-speed rotation without suffering from problems in focus servo and tracking servo. In such optical information medium, the surface of the medium on the side of the laser beam incidence at least in the part above the information recording area has a dynamic coefficient of friction of up to 0.4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Komaki, Hideki Hirata, Naoki Hayashida, Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20030111969
    Abstract: A ballast for a discharge lamp includes a DC-DC converter which provides a regulated DC output so as to start and keep operating the lamp. A controller is included to give a closed-loop control for regulating the DC output based upon a monitored DC output. The controller also provides an open-loop control which interrupts the closed-loop control for a limited period immediately after the initiation of the lamp discharge in order to supplement a sufficient lamp current which would not expected with the closed-loop control, thereby successfully complementing the lamp start and proceeding to the stable lamp operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2002
    Publication date: June 19, 2003
    Inventors: Hirofumi Konishi, Toshiaki Nakamura, Takashi Kambara, Miki Kotani, Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 6576320
    Abstract: An optical information medium has a light-transparent substrate and an information recording layer, wherein optical recording and/or reading is performed with a laser beam that enters the information recording layer from the light-transparent substrate side. A cured polysilazane film is disposed on the laser beam incident side of the light-transparent substrate, and the light-transparent substrate or the light-transparent substrate having the cured polysilazane film integrated thereon has a tensile modulus of at least 200 MPa. The medium on its laser beam incident side surface is improved in mar resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Naoki Hayashida, Hideki Hirata, Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20030076053
    Abstract: An improved ballast for a discharge lamp includes a DC-DC converter which receives an input DC voltage from a voltage source to provide a pre-starting voltage to make the lamp ready for being ignited or started. The DC-DC converter has a switching element which is driven to turn on and off for generating the pre-starting voltage. A start-accelerating means in included in the ballast in order to vary at least one of the switching frequency and the on-period of the switching element based upon the monitored input DC voltage in a direction of accelerating the increase of the output DC voltage to the pre-starting voltage until the output DC voltage reaches the pre-starting voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2002
    Publication date: April 24, 2003
    Inventors: Takashi Kambara, Toshiaki Nakamura, Miki Kotani, Hirofumi Konishi, Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20020054975
    Abstract: An optical information medium has a light-transparent substrate and an information recording layer, wherein optical recording and/or reading is performed with a laser beam that enters the information recording layer from the light-transparent substrate side. A cured polysilazane film is disposed on the laser beam incident side of the light-transparent substrate, and the light-transparent substrate or the light-transparent substrate having the cured polysilazane film integrated thereon has a tensile modulus of at least 200 MPa. The medium on its laser beam incident side surface is improved in mar resistance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2001
    Publication date: May 9, 2002
    Applicant: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki Hayashida, Hideki Hirata, Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20020018440
    Abstract: An optical information medium comprising a supporting substrate, an information recording area on the supporting substrate, and a light-transmitting layer covering at least the information recording area, wherein the information recording area is irradiated with the recording/reading laser beam through the light-transmitting layer, and wherein the light-transmitting layer is highly scratch resistant upon contact with the optical pickup is provided. Also provided is an optical information medium which has a scratch-resistant light transmitting layer, and which experiences reduced vibration in high-speed rotation without suffering from problems in focus servo and tracking servo. In such optical information medium, the surface of the medium on the side of the laser beam incidence at least in the part above the information recording area has a dynamic coefficient of friction of up to 0.4.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2001
    Publication date: February 14, 2002
    Applicant: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Komaki, Hideki Hirata, Naoki Hayashida, Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5541910
    Abstract: An optical disk substrate of resin, comprising a center hole and being composed of an inner circular-projected portion and an outer flat circumferential portion, the inner circular-projected portion having a circular projection projecting from at least one major surface of the substrate, the maximum height of the circular projection measured from the major surface of the outer flat circumferential portion being equal to or larger than 0.5 mm, the optical disk substrate is designed to satisfy the following equation or inequality:V/V.sub.0 <1.5, where V stands for the volume of the circular-projected portion, and V.sub.0 stands for the volume of an annular body having the same radius as the circular-projected portion and the same thickness as the outer flat circumferential portion, and having a center hole of the same size as the center hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Toshifumi Tanaka, Michiki Naganawa, Kazuki Suzawa
  • Patent number: 5316466
    Abstract: A disc molding apparatus capable of satisfactorily accomplishing release of a molded disc without any trouble to eliminate deformation of the disc during the release and improve quality, reliability and productivity of the disc. In the disc molding apparatus, an air inlet port is provided in proximity to an outer stamper holder of an outer ring for supplying air toward a central region of a disc molded in a cavity of a mold body from a periphery of the disc and a communication passage communicating with the air inlet passage is provided at the outer ring, so that air may be more uniformly blown against the disc during release of the disc from a stamper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 31, 1994
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Toshifumi Tanaka, Yasuo Ohira, Toshihiko Ishida
  • Patent number: 5244706
    Abstract: An optical recording disk includes a resin substrate having a recording layer thereon and a protective glass substrate, which are joined into an integral disk such that the recording layer is inside. The resin substrate is formed of a resin composition comprising a specific cyclic polyolefin and an optional alkyl phenol condensate. The resulting lightweight, rigid disk is adapted for recording/reproducing operation at high rotational speeds with few focusing errors due to minimized axial runouts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1993
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Hirata, Toshifumi Tanaka, Setsuko Shibuya, Atsuko Motai
  • Patent number: 5242729
    Abstract: An optical recording disk is constructed using a substrate which is injection molded from a mixture of a cyclic polyolefin and up to 2% by weight of an alkyl phenol condensate. A recording layer remains firmly adhered to the substrate even in a hot humid environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1993
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Hirata, Toshifumi Tanaka, Setsuko Shibuya, Atsuko Motai
  • Patent number: 5215798
    Abstract: Optical recording media include substrates of a larger diameter formed by injection molding a copolymer of ethylene with a cyclic olefin. The media are adapted for high speed rotation with the benefits of a high output, high C/N, and low noise level. When a protective substrate of glass is attached to the polyolefin substrate such that the recording layer is inside, there is obtained a light-weight rigid disk which experiences minimal axial runouts and hence, minimal focusing errors during high rotational speed operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 1, 1993
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Hirata, Toshifumi Tanaka, Osamu Murakami
  • Patent number: 5213862
    Abstract: An optical recording disk is constructed using an injection molded substrate of a cyclic polyolefin having a recurring structural unit of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are independently selected from hydrocarbon groups. The disk has a diameter of at least 200 mm, and is rotated at 1,800 rpm or higher during recording/reproducing operation. Despite a larger diameter, the disk experiences minimized occurrence of double refraction during high speed rotation, ensuring high outputs with a high C/N and a low noise level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1993
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Hirata, Osamu Murakami, Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5128983
    Abstract: A CAT and a telephone are connected to a single telephone line. Considering a case in which a menu=0 and the CAT is in an automatic call incoming mode, when data transmission is made from a host computer, a line is automatically connected to the CAT, so that data transmitted from the host computer is stored in a memory in the CAT. On the other hand, when the CAT is in the idle mode, the CAT does not answer and telephone conversations can be made by the telephone connected to the telephone line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 7, 1992
    Assignee: Omron Tateisi Electronics Company
    Inventor: Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5119294
    Abstract: In a transaction processing system including a plurality of POS terminal devices (cash registers), a POS terminal group management device (cluster controller) and a sales management device (store controller), only necessary totalized data are transmitted from the POS terminal devices to the sales management device through the POS terminal group management device in accordance with totalization pattern information respectively associated with each individual POS terminal device, which information is pre-stored in the group management device, thus increasing efficiency and speed of sales information processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1992
    Assignee: Omron Tateisi Electronics Company
    Inventor: Toshifumi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5092758
    Abstract: A disc molding apparatus capable of satisfactorily accomplishing the release of a molded disc without any trouble to eliminate deformation of the disc during the release and improve quality, reliability and productivity of the disc. In the disc molding apparatus, an air inlet port is provided in proximity to an outer stamper holder of an outer ring for supplying air toward a central region of a disc molded in a cavity of a mold body from a periphery of the disc and a communication passage communicating with the air inlet passage is provided at the outer ring, so that air may be more uniformly blown against the disc during the release of the disc from a stamper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1992
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Toshifumi Tanaka, Yasuo Ohira, Toshihiko Ishida
  • Patent number: 4935608
    Abstract: A card authorization terminal in which a plurality of CATs (card authorization terminals) are connected to a data transmission line. At least one of the CATs comprises: a memory from/into which data can be read out and written; a data transmitting circuit to transmit and receive the data through the data transmission line; a transmission instructing device through which an operator instructs transmission of data to another designated CAT; and a controller for reading out the storage data from the memory in response to an output of the transmission instructing device, and for transmitting the read out data to the designated CAT by the transmitting circuit. The designated CAT includes a controller for storing the reception data into the memory in response to the reception of the data transmitted from the one CAT.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1990
    Assignee: Omron Tateisi Electronics Co.
    Inventor: Toshifumi Tanaka