Patents by Inventor Tsuguhiro Korenaga

Tsuguhiro Korenaga 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: 20160373652
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a light source that, in operation, emits first pulsed light and second pulsed light, an image sensor that includes at least one pixel including a photodiode, a first charge accumulator and a second charge accumulator, the first charge accumulator and the second charge accumulator, in operation, accumulating signal charge from the photodiode, and a control circuit that, in operation, controls the image sensor. The control circuit, in operation, causes the first charge accumulator to begin to accumulate the signal charge a period of time after the light source begins to emit the first pulsed light. The control circuit, in operation, causes the second charge accumulator to begin to accumulate the signal charge the period of time after the light source begins to emit the second pulsed light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2016
    Publication date: December 22, 2016
    Inventors: TAKAMASA ANDO, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA, TOSHIYA FUJII
  • Patent number: 9509893
    Abstract: An imaging device includes: an optical system having a lens and a diaphragm; an image sensor having a first pixel and a second pixel which a light that has passed through the optical system enters; and an optical element array positioned between the optical system and the image sensor, the optical system has an optical filter including a first region and a second region having different optical characteristics, the optical element array makes the light that has passed through the first region enter the first pixel and makes the light that has passed through the second region enter the second pixel, and an entrance pupil of the optical system is located between the diaphragm and an object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tsuguhiro Korenaga, Norihiro Imamura, Keiichi Matsuzaki, Kazuhiro Ochi
  • Publication number: 20160205373
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an image sensor which, in operation, acquires m kinds (m is an integer which is 1 or larger) of light, the m kinds of light each having wavelength characteristic different from each other and outputs one or more signals each corresponding to each of the m kinds of light, and a signal processing circuit which, in operation, processes the one or more signals to generate and output n, which is larger than m, pieces of images corresponding to respective wavelength regions different from each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Publication date: July 14, 2016
    Inventors: TAKAMASA ANDO, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA
  • Patent number: 9383199
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus disclosed in the present application includes a lens optical system, an imaging element and an optical array element. The lens optical system includes first and second areas having different optical characteristics with each other. The imaging element includes first and second pixels each including a filter of a first spectral transmittance characteristic, third pixels including a filter of a second spectral transmittance characteristic, and fourth pixels including a filter of a third spectral transmittance characteristic. The optical array element causes the light passing through the first area to be incident on the first pixels and one of the third and fourth pixels and causes the light passing through the second area to be incident on the second pixels and the other of third and fourth pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Norihiro Imamura, Takamasa Ando, Tsuguhiro Korenaga
  • Publication number: 20160165219
    Abstract: An image display device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a display including light-emitting elements arrayed two-dimensionally, and having regions, in each of which a part of the light-emitting elements is located; a lens array including lenses, each of the lenses being disposed correspondingly to one of the regions, the lens array forming real images or virtual images of images displayed at each of the regions; and a control circuit that, in operation, controls each of the light-emitting elements, the control circuit being electrically connected to the display, and, in operation, causing a first part of the light-emitting elements to emit light when the control circuit causes a second part of the light-emitting elements different from the first part of the light-emitting elements not to emit light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2015
    Publication date: June 9, 2016
    Inventors: TAKEYOSHI TOKUHARA, SEIJI NISHIWAKI, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA, YOSHIO SHIMBO
  • Publication number: 20160161753
    Abstract: An image display device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a display including light-emitting elements arrayed two-dimensionally, and having regions, in each of which a part of the light-emitting elements is located; a mirror lens array including mirror lenses, each of the mirror lenses being disposed correspondingly to one of the regions, reflecting light from the regions, and forming virtual images; and a beam splitter disposed between the display and the mirror lens array, the beam splitter transmitting a part of the light from the regions in a direction of the mirror lens array and reflecting a part of reflected light from the mirror lens array.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2015
    Publication date: June 9, 2016
    Inventors: SEIJI NISHIWAKI, TAKEYOSHI TOKUHARA, YOSHIO SHIMBO, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA
  • Publication number: 20160138975
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a first coding element that includes regions arrayed two-dimensionally in an optical path of light incident from an object, and an image sensor. Each of the regions includes first and second regions. A wavelength distribution of an optical transmittance of the first region has a maximum in each of first and second wavelength bands, and a wavelength distribution of an optical transmittance of the second region has a maximum in each of third and fourth wavelength bands. At least one selected from the group of the first and second wavelength bands differs from the third and fourth wavelength bands. The image sensor acquires an image in which components of the first, second, third and fourth wavelength bands of the light that has passed through the first coding element are superimposed on one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2015
    Publication date: May 19, 2016
    Inventors: TAKAMASA ANDO, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA
  • Publication number: 20160123810
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus includes an encoder which is arranged on an optical path of light incident from an object and which has a plurality of regions with first light transmittance and a plurality of regions with second light transmittance lower than the first light transmittance, a dispersive element which is arranged on an optical path of at least one part of light after passage through the encoder and which spatially shifts the at least one part of the light in accordance with wavelength, and at least one image pickup device which is arranged to receive light after passage through the dispersive element and light without passage through the dispersive element and which acquires a first image, in which light components for respective wavelengths spatially shifted by the dispersive element are superimposed, and a second image based on the light without passage through the dispersive element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2015
    Publication date: May 5, 2016
    Inventors: TAKAMASA ANDO, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA
  • Publication number: 20160091721
    Abstract: A display device of the disclosure includes a projector including optical elements to project images on left or right eye of an observer and a frame connected to the projector for mounting on the observer. With the frame mounted on the observer, at least part of the projector is placed in visual fields of the eyes, and length from tangent point between leftmost one among lines of sight of the left eye overlapping outline of at least the part and the outline to intersection between an imaginary line through the tangent point parallel to direction of pupillary distance of the observer and rightmost one among lines of sight of the right eye overlapping the outline is shorter than the pupillary distance in a top plan view of the display device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Inventors: TAKEYOSHI TOKUHARA, SEIJI NISHIWAKI, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA, YOSHIO SHIMBO
  • Patent number: 9300931
    Abstract: An imaging system according to the present disclosure includes: a polarized light source which emits illuminating light including a component of light that oscillates parallel to a first polarization axis; an image capturing unit IP which is configured to get simultaneously first, second, third and fourth pieces of image information S101, S102, S104 including pieces of information about light beams that fall within first, second, third and fourth wavelength ranges, respectively, based on light beams that have returned at the same point in time from an object that is irradiated with the illuminating light, the light beam falling within the fourth wavelength range having been emitted from the polarized light source and reflected from the object, oscillating parallel to a second polarization axis that is different from the first polarization axis, and belonging to the same wavelength range as the component of the illuminating light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Norihiro Imamura, Michihiro Yamagata, Tsuguhiro Korenaga
  • Patent number: 9253414
    Abstract: An imaging-observation apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: an image capturing section that shoots a subject under multiple different shooting optical conditions at the same time and sequentially generates a plurality of images under those multiple different shooting optical conditions; a display control section that accepts an operator's input; an image synthesizing section that synthesizes together the plurality of images in accordance with the input to the display control section at a synthesis ratio specified by the input and sequentially generates synthetic images one after another; and a display section that presents the synthetic images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Michihiro Yamagata, Norihiro Imamura, Tsuguhiro Korenaga, Takashi Okada, Yoshimitsu Noguchi
  • Publication number: 20150319409
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus in an embodiment includes lens optical systems each including a lens whose surface closest to the target object is shaped to be convex toward the target object, imaging regions which respectively face the lens optical systems and output a photoelectrically converted signal corresponding to an amount of light transmitting the lens optical systems and received by the imaging regions, and a light-transmissive cover which covers an exposed portion of the lens of each of the lens optical systems and a portion between the lens of one of the lens optical systems and the lens of another one of the lens optical systems adjacent to the one of the lens optical systems, the cover having a curved portion which is convex toward the target object. The optical axes of the lens optical systems are parallel to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Inventors: NORIHIRO IMAMURA, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA, KUNIO NOBORI, TAKEO AZUMA, KAZUFUMI MIZUSAWA
  • Publication number: 20150281535
    Abstract: An imaging device includes: an optical system having a lens and a diaphragm; an image sensor having a first pixel and a second pixel which a light that has passed through the optical system enters; and an optical element array positioned between the optical system and the image sensor, the optical system has an optical filter including a first region and a second region having different optical characteristics, the optical element array makes the light that has passed through the first region enter the first pixel and makes the light that has passed through the second region enter the second pixel, and an entrance pupil of the optical system is located between the diaphragm and an object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2015
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Inventors: TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA, NORIHIRO IMAMURA, KEIICHI MATSUZAKI, KAZUHIRO OCHI
  • Patent number: 9142582
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a lens optical system having first to third regions, the first region transmitting light of a first wavelength band, the second region transmitting light of the first wavelength band and having optical characteristics for providing a different focusing characteristic from a focusing characteristic associated with rays transmitted through the first region, and the third region transmitting light of a second wavelength band; an imaging device on which light having passed through the lens optical system is incident, the imaging device having a plurality of first to third pixels; and a microlens array causing light having passed through the first region to enter the plurality of first pixels, light having passed through the second region to enter the plurality of second pixels, and light having passed through the third region to enter the plurality of third pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takamasa Ando, Norihiro Imamura, Tsuguhiro Korenaga
  • Patent number: 9103981
    Abstract: A method for designing a diffraction grating lens of the present invention is a method for designing a diffraction grating lens having a diffraction grating composed of a plurality of diffraction zones, the method including the steps of: (a) determining widths of the plurality of diffraction zones; and (b) determining an aspherical coefficient of a diffraction surface on which the diffraction grating is provided while the determined widths of the plurality of diffraction zones are fixed, after the step (a).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takamasa Ando, Tsuguhiro Korenaga
  • Publication number: 20150212294
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes a lens optical system, a color image sensor that includes at least first pixels and second pixels, and a first optical element array disposed between the lens optical system and the color image sensor. In the imaging apparatus, the lens optical system includes optical regions, and the optical regions include a first optical region and a second optical region that differ in terms of at least one selected from the group of spectral transmittance characteristics and transmissive polarization characteristics. The first pixels include respective spectral filters having mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics, and the second pixels include respective spectral filters having at least one type of spectral transmittance characteristics. The first optical element array directs light that has passed through the first optical region to the first pixels and directs light that has passed through the second optical region to the second pixels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2015
    Publication date: July 30, 2015
    Inventors: NORIHIRO IMAMURA, MICHIHIRO YAMAGATA, TSUGUHIRO KORENAGA
  • Patent number: 8995058
    Abstract: A diffraction grating lens according to the present invention is a diffraction grating lens 11 including: a lens body 12; and a plurality of diffraction steps relative to a base shape and a plurality of diffraction gratings 13 interposed between the diffraction steps, provided on a surface of the lens body 12. The lens body 12 is made of a first material having a refractive index n1(?) at a used wavelength ?; the diffraction grating 13 is in contact with air; and the relationship of an inequality below is satisfied, where d is a design step length of the diffraction steps, and m is an order of diffraction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuka Okada, Takamasa Ando, Tsuguhiro Korenaga
  • Patent number: 8902514
    Abstract: A diffractive lens according to the present invention has the function of focusing light. The diffractive lens has a side on which a diffraction grating is arranged on either an aspheric surface or a spherical surface in its effective area. The diffraction grating has n0 phase steps, which are arranged concentrically around the optical axis of the diffractive lens. And the radius rn of the circle formed by an nth one (where n is an integer that falls within the range of 0 through n0) of the phase steps as counted from the optical axis of the diffractive lens satisfies rn=?{square root over (a{(n+c+dn)?b(n+c+dn)m})}{square root over (a{(n+c+dn)?b(n+c+dn)m})} where a, b, c and m are constants that satisfy a>0, 0?c<1, m>1, and 0.05 ? b 0 < b < b 0 b 0 = 1 mn 0 m - 1 and dn is an arbitrary value that satisfies ?0.25<dn<0.25.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Seiji Nishiwaki, Takamasa Ando, Tsuguhiro Korenaga
  • Patent number: 8870383
    Abstract: An optical member includes: a total reflection mirror including a reflection surface for reflecting a laser beam; a filter including a partially transmissive surface for passing therethrough a part of the laser beam and reflecting the remaining part of the laser beam, the partially transmissive surface being located so as to be opposed to the reflection surface ; and a diffraction grating into which the laser beam enters, for diffracting the incident laser beam to enter the total reflection mirror or the partially transmissive filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Tsuguhiro Korenaga
  • Publication number: 20140313584
    Abstract: To provide a highly workable diffractive optical element which realizes a high refractive index and a low wavelength dispersiveness well balanced with each other and which exhibits high heat resistance and high endurance against temperature changes, a diffractive optical element includes a base member including a diffraction grating formed on a surface thereof and a protective film provided on the surface of the base member where the diffraction grating is formed, wherein the base member is composed of a silsesquioxane resin material or a dendrimer material which has a first refractive index and a first Abbe number and wherein the protective film is composed of a silicone resin material which has a second refractive index smaller than the first refractive index and a second Abbe number smaller than the first Abbe number.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2012
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Hanada, Tsuguhiro Korenaga, Yuka Okada