Patents by Inventor Yuichi Iyama

Yuichi Iyama 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: 8654286
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device which allows an improvement in contrast ratio by compensating retardation given in a liquid crystal layer, even if a retardation layer has an inclined portion, and a desired retardation is varied at the inclined portion. The present invention is a vertical alignment liquid crystal display device, including: a pair of substrates facing each other; a liquid crystal layer disposed between the pair of substrates; a transmissive display region; and a reflective display region, wherein one of the pair of substrates includes a ?/4 retardation layer in the reflective display region, the ?/4 retardation layer protruding towards the liquid crystal layer, the ?/4 retardation layer includes an inclined portion inclined to a flat face of the substrate, and an azimuth of the inclined portion is substantially parallel to a slow axis azimuth of the ?/4 retardation layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshito Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Ohgami, Masayuki Soga, Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Masakazu Shibasaki, Yuichi Iyama, Masumi Kubo
  • Publication number: 20140036192
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device that can achieve a sufficiently-high-speed response and has a sufficiently excellent transmittance and a thin film transistor array substrate preferably used in the liquid crystal display device. The thin film transistor array substrate according to the present invention is a thin film transistor array substrate that includes, as electrodes, one pair of comb electrodes and a sheet electrode, and at least one electrode selected from the group consisting of the pair of comb electrodes and the sheet electrode being electrically connected along a pixel line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2012
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuichi Iyama, Takao Imaoku, Iori Aoyama, Takatomo Yoshioka, Kazuhiko Tsuda
  • Publication number: 20130242610
    Abstract: A light guiding element has a first principal surface, a second principal surface which opposes the first principal surface, a first lateral surface which intersects with the first principal surface and the second principal surface, and a second lateral surface which opposes the first lateral surface. The light guiding element allows light incoming from the first lateral surface to propagate between the first principal surface and the second principal surface. The light guiding element includes a portion in which a refractive index varies substantially continuously from the first principal surface toward the second principal surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2011
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takashi OCHI, Masakazu SHIBASAKI, Iori AOYAMA, Yuichi IYAMA, Katsuhiro KIKUCHI
  • Patent number: 8421972
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display device of high picture quality with high brightness and small display unevenness. A vertical alignment type liquid crystal display device which has a plurality of pixels includes: a first electrode which includes, in each of the plurality of pixels, a plurality of first branch portions extending in a first direction and a plurality of second branch portions extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction; a second electrode disposed so as to oppose the first electrode; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein a width of each of the plurality of first branch portions and the plurality of second branch portions is in a range not less than 1.4 ?m and not more than 8.0 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ohgami, Yoshito Hashimoto, Masakazu Shibasaki, Yuichi Iyama, Masumi Kubo, Masayuki Soga
  • Publication number: 20130003004
    Abstract: A liquid crystal panel includes (i) an active matrix substrate (10) on which pixel electrodes (12) are provided for respective pixels (8), (ii) a counter substrate (20) on which a common electrode is provided and which faces the active matrix substrate (10), (iii) a liquid crystal layer which is provided between the active and counter substrates (10, 20) and has a negative dielectric anisotropy, and (iv) two vertical alignment films (14, 24) provided over respective of the active and counter substrates (10, 20). The pixel electrode (12) has subpixel electrodes (12a, 12b) and connection electrodes (15) for connecting the subpixel electrodes (12a, 12b). Each of the subpixel electrodes (12a, 12b) has branch line parts (18) and a trunk line part (17) demarcated by slits (16). In the pixel (8), the subpixel electrodes (12a, 12b) are connected with each other via the connection electrodes (15) in a plurality of locations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2010
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Inventors: Masahiro Shimizu, Ken Kuboki, Hiroyuki Ohgami, Yoshito Hashimoto, Yuichi Iyama, Yusuke Nishihara
  • Patent number: 8345199
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display device of high image quality, which has high brightness and excellent viewing angle characteristics. A liquid crystal display device of the present invention includes a pair of polarizing plates, a first electrode, a second electrode provided so as to oppose the first electrode, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. Each of a plurality of pixels includes a first region and a second region which are separated by a line parallel to or perpendicular to the directions of the transmission axes of the pair of polarizing plates. The first electrode includes, in each of the first region and the second region, a plurality of first branch portions extending in a first direction and a plurality of second branch portions extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction. Each of the plurality of first branch portions in the first region has a first width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshito Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Ohgami, Masakazu Shibasaki, Masumi Kubo, Yuichi Iyama, Masayuki Soga
  • Publication number: 20120306731
    Abstract: Disclosed is a liquid crystal display device of active matrix type. Each pixel electrode (1) includes either a single regional electrode (2) or two or more regional electrodes (2) which are electrically connected to each other. The or each regional electrode is provided with: a first electrode (cross-shaped electrode) (3) which has a pattern dividing a first region into a plurality of second regions (R1, R2, R3, and R4); and a plurality of stripe electrodes (4) which are provided in each of the second regions so as to extend from the first electrode and so as to be separated from each other by a distance. A storage capacitor line (CSL) is provided facing one of pixel electrodes (1) in a film thickness direction to form a storage capacitor. The storage capacitor line (CSL) is provided so as not to extend facing an edge (2e, 2e?) of a first region in the film thickness direction parallelly to the edge (2e, 2e?).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Publication date: December 6, 2012
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuichi Iyama, Akira Shibazaki, Yoshito Hashimoto, Masahiro Shimizu, Hiroshi Tsuchiya, Yusuke Nishihara, Ken Kuboki
  • Publication number: 20110193769
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device (100) according to the present invention includes: an active-matrix substrate (120) including pixel electrodes (124); a counter substrate (140) including a counter electrode (144); and a vertical alignment liquid crystal layer (160), which is interposed between the active-matrix substrate (120) and the counter substrate (140). The counter electrode (144) includes a number of divided counter electrodes (145). Each of the pixel electrodes (124) is associated with at least two of the divided counter electrodes that are arranged over the pixel electrode (145).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2009
    Publication date: August 11, 2011
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ohgami, Yoshito Hashimoto, Yuichi Iyama
  • Publication number: 20110025970
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display device of high image quality, which has high brightness and excellent viewing angle characteristics. A liquid crystal display device of the present invention includes a pair of polarizing plates, a first electrode, a second electrode provided so as to oppose the first electrode, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. Each of a plurality of pixels includes a first region and a second region which are separated by a line parallel to or perpendicular to the directions of the transmission axes of the pair of polarizing plates. The first electrode includes, in each of the first region and the second region, a plurality of first branch portions extending in a first direction and a plurality of second branch portions extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction. Each of the plurality of first branch portions in the first region has a first width.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2008
    Publication date: February 3, 2011
    Inventors: Yoshito Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Ohgami, Masakazu Shibasaki, Masumi Kubo, Yuichi Iyama, Masayuki Soga
  • Publication number: 20110007252
    Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device which allows an improvement in contrast ratio by compensating retardation given in a liquid crystal layer, even if a retardation layer has an inclined portion, and a desired retardation is varied at the inclined portion. The present invention is a vertical alignment liquid crystal display device, including: a pair of substrates facing each other; a liquid crystal layer disposed between the pair of substrates; a transmissive display region; and a reflective display region, wherein one of the pair of substrates includes a ?/4 retardation layer in the reflective display region, the ?/4 retardation layer protruding towards the liquid crystal layer, the ?/4 retardation layer includes an inclined portion inclined to a flat face of the substrate, and an azimuth of the inclined portion is substantially parallel to a slow axis azimuth of the ?/4 retardation layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2008
    Publication date: January 13, 2011
    Inventors: Yoshito Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Ohgami, Masayuki Soga, Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Masakazu Shibasaki, Yuichi Iyama, Masumi Kubo
  • Publication number: 20100253897
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display device of high picture quality with high brightness and small display unevenness. A vertical alignment type liquid crystal display device which has a plurality of pixels includes: a first electrode which includes, in each of the plurality of pixels, a plurality of first branch portions extending in a first direction and a plurality of second branch portions extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction; a second electrode disposed so as to oppose the first electrode; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein a width of each of the plurality of first branch portions and the plurality of second branch portions is in a range not less than 1.4 ?m and not more than 8.0 ?m.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2008
    Publication date: October 7, 2010
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ohgami, Yoshito Hashimoto, Masakazu Shibasaki, Yuichi Iyama, Masumi Kubo, Masayuki Soga