Patents by Inventor Yoichiro SAKANOUE

Yoichiro SAKANOUE 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: 11337593
    Abstract: An endoscope apparatus includes a light emitting element, an image pickup device of a rolling shutter scheme, and a control section. The control section performs control for switching between a first illumination mode for irradiating light on a subject in a readout period in which readout of an electric signal is performed in order for each of lines in the image pickup device and a second illumination mode for not irradiating light on the subject in the readout period. The control section controls the image pickup device to perform electronic shutter processing in all-line exposure period in which exposure of a plurality of lines is simultaneously performed in a frame corresponding to timing when one of the first illumination mode and the second illumination mode is switched to the other illumination mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi Tanaka, Yoichiro Sakanoue
  • Patent number: 11320134
    Abstract: A cooling device includes: a casing including an air intake port and an air exhaust port; a single heat releaser including a plurality of fins arranged in a gas flow path from the air intake port to the air exhaust port; a first heat diffuser arranged in the casing, connected to a first heat generation body generating heat at time of driving and the single heat releaser in a heat-transferable manner, and arranged at a position forming a part of the gas flow path passing through a space between the plurality of fins; and a second heat diffuser arranged in the casing, connected to a second heat generation body generating heat at time of driving and the single heat releaser in a heat-transferable manner, and arranged at a position forming a part of the gas flow path passing through the space between the plurality of fins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignees: SONY CORPORATION, SONY OLYMPUS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventors: Motoki Ozeki, Yoichiro Sakanoue
  • Publication number: 20210059503
    Abstract: An endoscope system includes: a light source including one or more semiconductor light sources; an image pickup apparatus configured to pick up an image of the object irradiated with the illumination light to obtain the image; and a processor. The processor is configured to detect brightness of the image, to change one of a current value and an application period of a current applied to the semiconductor light source when the brightness of the image belongs to a first brightness range, to change the brightness of the image by predetermined processing, to which the image is subjected, when the brightness of the image belongs to a second brightness range, and to change the other of the current value and the application period of the current applied to the semiconductor light source when the brightness of the image belongs to a third brightness range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2020
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi TANAKA, Yoichiro SAKANOUE, Noriko KOHIRA
  • Patent number: 10918269
    Abstract: A medical light source apparatus includes: a first light source configured to emit light in a first wavelength range; a second light source configured to emit light in a second wavelength range different from the first wavelength range; and a light source controller configured to control the first light source and the second light source to perform pulse light emission in a state in which the pulse light emission of the second light source is less frequent than the pulse light emission of the first light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: SONY OLYMPUS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventors: Taihei Michihata, Kiminori Sugisaki, Yoichiro Sakanoue, Koji Kojima
  • Publication number: 20200300451
    Abstract: A cooling device includes: a casing including an air intake port and an air exhaust port; a single heat releaser including a plurality of fins arranged in a gas flow path from the air intake port to the air exhaust port; a first heat diffuser arranged in the casing, connected to a first heat generation body generating heat at time of driving and the single heat releaser in a heat-transferable manner, and arranged at a position forming a part of the gas flow path passing through a space between the plurality of fins; and a second heat diffuser arranged in the casing, connected to a second heat generation body generating heat at time of driving and the single heat releaser in a heat-transferable manner, and arranged at a position forming a part of the gas flow path passing through the space between the plurality of fins.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Motoki OZEKI, Yoichiro SAKANOUE
  • Publication number: 20200260939
    Abstract: A medical light source apparatus includes: a first light source configured to emit light in a first wavelength range; a second light source configured to emit light in a second wavelength range different from the first wavelength range; and a light source controller configured to control the first light source and the second light source to perform pulse light emission in a state in which the pulse light emission of the second light source is less frequent than the pulse light emission of the first light source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Applicant: Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Taihei Michihata, Kiminori Sugisaki, Yoichiro Sakanoue, Koji Kojima
  • Patent number: 10624535
    Abstract: An endoscope apparatus includes: a light-emitting element; a rolling shutter-type image pickup device allowing an exposure period in which the plurality of lines are simultaneously exposed and a reading period in which image pickup signals of the respective lines are sequentially read to be alternately switched to each other; and a control section. The control section controls an intensity of the light emitted by the light-emitting element. The control section can perform switching between a first illumination mode in which the light is applied from the light-emitting element in the exposure period and the reading period and a second illumination mode in which the light is applied from the light-emitting element only in the exposure period, and if the intensity of the light is controlled so as to have a predetermined value, performs control to switch one of the first mode and the second mode to the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoichiro Sakanoue, Yusuke Yabe
  • Publication number: 20190117041
    Abstract: A processor includes: a table configured to retain first control parameter information for controlling operations of a light source section; a reading circuit configured to read information stored in a memory from an endoscope including the memory that is capable of storing second control parameter information for controlling the operations of the light source section or the like; and a determination circuit configured to determine whether or not the reading circuit can read the second control parameter information. When it is determined that the second control parameter information can be read, the second control parameter information read by the reading circuit is outputted. When it is determined that the second control parameter information cannot be read, the first control parameter information retained by the table is outputted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Publication date: April 25, 2019
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi TANAKA, Yoichiro SAKANOUE
  • Publication number: 20190053696
    Abstract: An endoscope apparatus includes a light source apparatus including an LED, and an optical filter. The LED, generates, upon supply of a predetermined drive current, light having a peak wavelength at 600 nm as illuminating light to be radiated to a subject, and generates, upon supply of a drive current that is different from the predetermined drive current, light having the peak wavelength shifted to a wavelength that is different from 600 nm. The optical filter is provided on an optical path for the illuminating light, the optical path extending from the LED to an image pickup section configured to receive light from the subject and generate an image pickup signal, and the optical filter is configured to remove light having a wavelength located farther than 595 nm on a wavelength axis in a shifting direction of shifting to a short wavelength, from light on the optical path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2018
    Publication date: February 21, 2019
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto IGARASHI, Yoichiro SAKANOUE
  • Publication number: 20190008372
    Abstract: An endoscope apparatus includes a light emitting element, an image pickup device of a rolling shutter scheme, and a control section. The control section performs control for switching between a first illumination mode for irradiating light on a subject in a readout period in which readout of an electric signal is performed in order for each of lines in the image pickup device and a second illumination mode for not irradiating light on the subject in the readout period. The control section controls the image pickup device to perform electronic shutter processing in all-line exposure period in which exposure of a plurality of lines is simultaneously performed in a frame corresponding to timing when one of the first illumination mode and the second illumination mode is switched to the other illumination mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2018
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi TANAKA, Yoichiro SAKANOUE
  • Publication number: 20180199805
    Abstract: An endoscope apparatus includes: a light-emitting element; a rolling shutter-type image pickup device allowing an exposure period in which the plurality of lines are simultaneously exposed and a reading period in which image pickup signals of the respective lines are sequentially read to be alternately switched to each other; and a control section. The control section controls an intensity of the light emitted by the light-emitting element. The control section can perform switching between a first illumination mode in which the light is applied from the light-emitting element in the exposure period and the reading period and a second illumination mode in which the light is applied from the light-emitting element only in the exposure period, and if the intensity of the light is controlled so as to have a predetermined value, performs control to switch one of the first mode and the second mode to the other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Publication date: July 19, 2018
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoichiro SAKANOUE, Yusuke YABE