Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Tadamasa Kimura

Takahiro Inoue

Takayuki Shimizu

Atsushi Kanamori

Hirohisa Warita

Norikazu Okada

In order to provide a single-unit sensor which serves as both an illuminance sensor and a proximity sensor, the sensor () includes a light receiving element section (E), an infrared cut-off filter (IRcutF), and a switching section (SWS) for switching spectral characteristics of the light receiving element section (E). The infrared cut-off filter (IRcutF) has an opening, and an infrared light receiving P-N junction (PDir) is provided at a location deeper in a substrate than a visible light receiving P-N junction (PDvis).

Illuminance sensor, proximity sensor, and display device including the sensor

A provision of a movement direction determination section for determining that a particular direction is a movement direction of the detection target object, in a case where a second comparator determines that larger than a predetermined threshold value is an absolute value of a ratio of (i) a difference between the photocurrent of the at least two light receiving elements to (ii) a sum of a photocurrent of at least two light receiving elements next to each other along the particular direction.

Light sensor and electronic device

A sensor circuit which is capable of measuring illuminance without causing unevenness in results detected with spectral characteristics and a variation in sensitivity regardless of whether or not light receiving elements are evenly irradiated with light includes a plurality of light receiving elements, the light receiving elements each being set to a single spectral characteristic selected from spectral characteristics that are different from each other, and the single spectral characteristic set in each of the light receiving elements being sequentially switched among the spectral characteristics that are different from each other so that the light receiving elements are set to different spectral characteristics during measurement of the illuminance.

Sensor circuit and electronic apparatus

Disclosed are an illuminance sensor which has a spectral-response characteristic approximate to the spectral luminous efficacy and which has a low circuit complexity, and a display device including the illuminance sensor. The illuminance sensor includes (i) a current output circuit which, with use of a bitstream signal of a first analog-digital conversion circuit for carrying out an analog-digital conversion with respect to a first current flowing through a first light receiving element, outputs a current corresponding to the first current and (ii) a second analog-digital conversion circuit which receives a third current obtained by subtracting a current from a second current flowing through a second light receiving element and which thus carries out an analog-digital conversion with respect to the third current.

Illuminance sensor and display device including same

This optical encoder includes a light emitting section and a plurality of light receiving elements placed so as to be aligned in one direction in an area where a light beam from the light emitting section may reach. The moving object includes a light-ON section and a light-OFF section. The light receiving element detects movement of the moving object when the light-ON section and the light-OFF section of the moving object pass through a predetermined position corresponding to the light receiving element A light receiving signal processing section receives inputs of a plurality of light receiving signals with different phases from a plurality of the light receiving elements, performs signal processing including at least one signal processing among a logical operation processing, an addition processing, and a subtraction processing on a plurality of the light receiving signals, and outputs an output signal containing a plurality of signal components which are different in phase and different in signal level with respect to a predetermined threshold level.

Optical encoder for detecting movement of a moving object and electronic equipment including the optical encoder

A bootstrap circuit for a step-down chopper regulator IC includes an LDMOS transistor having a gate and a source connected to output terminals of a constant voltage circuit and a drain connected to a leader terminal of a boot voltage, and a bootstrap control circuit that performs control of turning on and off the LDMOS transistor so as to support high-speed oscillation without requiring expensive process and realize a stable step-down chopping action with a wide input voltage range.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Tadamasa Kimura