Sony Corporation

Masaki Ando

Kazuhiro Tanaka

Keita Tanaka

Tadahiro Ohishi

Takumi Tsuji

Hiroshi Masuda

Isamu Konishiike

Toru Udaka

Osamu Date

Akito Kuriyama

Hitoshi Nakanishi

Rei Miyazaki

Tatsuya Nakatsuji

Kazumasa Yagi

Keisuke Ootsu

An optical element in which light with a large principal ray input angle is gradually input from a center to a peripheral portion, a thickness gradually increases from the center to the peripheral portion, and 1&#x3c;RD&#x2266;1.085 is satisfied, when an increase ratio of a thickness to the center at an outermost peripheral portion to which light of which the principal ray input angle is maximum is input is set to RD.

Optical element and imaging apparatus

An optical element is disclosed. The optical element may include a container having a holding chamber, a polar or conductive first liquid filled in the holding chamber, a second liquid filled in the holding chamber and not mixing with the first liquid, first and second electrodes for applying an electric field to the first liquid, and voltage application means for applying voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode.

An apparatus for manufacturing an optical element includes: a flexible stamper having a transfer portion transferring a predetermined shape and having changeable curvature; a stamper holding mechanism holding the stamper; an element holding mechanism holding an optical element having a convex or concave curved surface, the curved surface serving as a transferred surface to which the shape of the transfer portion of the stamper is transferred; a curvature changing mechanism changing the curvature of the stamper in accordance with curvature of the transferred surface of the optical element; and a moving mechanism moving at least one of the stamper held by the stamper holding mechanism and the optical element held by the element holding mechanism in a direction in which the transfer portion of the stamper moves away from or closer to the transferred surface of the optical element.

Apparatus for manufacturing optical element, method of manufacturing optical element, optical element, and imaging device

A liquid moving apparatus is disclosed. The liquid moving apparatus may include a container having a holding chamber enclosed by first and second end walls facing against each other and side walls connecting the first and second end walls, a polarized or conductive first liquid filled in the holding chamber, a second liquid filled in the holding chamber and prevented from mixing with the first liquid, first and second electrodes for applying an electric field to the first liquid, and voltage application means for applying voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode.

Liquid moving apparatus

An optical device includes a transparent substrate, and a multi-layer film including a dielectric film having a multi-layer structure formed on the transparent substrate, and a transparent conductive thin film having a predetermined thickness formed at a part of the dielectric film. The transparent conductive thin film may be formed at the outermost layer of the dielectric film and may have a thickness of 5 to 20 nm.

Optical device, lens-barrel, image pickup apparatus and electronic apparatus

A liquid crystal light control element, a lens barrel, and an imaging device, which are so designed as to adequately control the amount of light led to the imaging element at the time of photographing in a bright ambience are provided. The lens barrel includes an optical system, a liquid crystal light control element, and an imaging element. The object image captured by the optical system reaches the imaging element through the liquid crystal light control element, which is composed of a first liquid crystal light control unit, a second liquid crystal light control unit, and a first and a second liquid crystal layers, which are placed on top of the other in their thickness direction.

Liquid crystal light control element, lens barrel, and imaging device

An image processing system makes it possible to transfer a large amount of image data to another apparatus efficiently. A digital camera transfers image data to a server after transferring thumbnail image data yet to be transferred to the server. When new thumbnail image data is generated during the transfer of the image data, the transfer of the image data is stopped, and the new thumbnail image data is transferred first. Obtaining the thumbnail image data, the server displays the thumbnail images on a display, receives a request for the transfer of image data from a user, and then supplies the request to the digital camera. The digital camera transfers the image data to the server on the basis of the request.

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Masaki Ando