Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.

Olympus Medical Systems Corporation

Noboru Yamada

Toshio Tanaka

Keisuke Yamaguchi

Hitoshi Minegishi

A plurality of optical fibers are bundled, and the fiber bundle is cut at a part of a mouthpiece which is fixed on an intermediate part of the fiber bundle. Thus, the fiber bundle is divided into a first optical fiber bundle and a second optical fiber bundle. Division surfaces of the first and second optical fiber bundles have the same properties and condition since the first and second optical fiber bundles are formed of the fiber bundle that is obtained by bundling the same optical fibers. The first optical fiber bundle is assembled in an insertion section of an endoscope and the second optical fiber bundle is assembled in a flexible tube, and a first light guide in the insertion section of the endoscope and a second light guide in the flexible tube are formed. Thereby, a separable light transmission path of the light guide is formed.

Optical fiber bundle and method of manufacturing the same

A lens mounting assembly includes a frame to retain a lens. In the frame, an axially opened annular recess is formed. The lens has an annular axial projection which is received in the recess. Sufficient clearance is formed between the recess wall and the lens periphery to permit thermal expansion of the lens. Interfitting between the projection and the recess enables mechanically accurate radial and axial positioning between the lens and the frame. Elastic means, i.e., elastic adhesive or elastic member, retains the lens to the frame allowing thermal expansion and/or contraction of the lens relative to the frame.

Lens mounting assembly and process

A lens and a lens holding device make it possible to construct a compound lens or to secure a lens to a lens barrel by providing protrusions and/or depressions on a joint surface or surfaces of a lens and/or a lens contact surface of a lens barrel and interconnecting the protrusions and the depressions. Particularly, the protrusions and/or the depressions are provided with undercut areas and at least one of the protrusions and the depressions to be combined are formed so as to be elastically deformable to prevent them from separating after interconnected.

Lens and lens holding devices

A plastic lens includes a lens body having effective optical diameter and is mounted in a lens mount by a hold ring which is threaded in the mount. Thin portion is formed outside the lens body and is thinner than minimum thickness of the lens body; end portion is formed outside from and thicker than the thin portion and is adapted to secure the lens with the lens mount and the hold ring. The thin portion absorbs heat stress caused by linear elongation coefficient difference between plastic lens and aluminum lens mount.

Plastic lens

A method of supplying a fine-particle powder from a container to an apparatus through an opening therein, comprises causing an engagement portion formed in part of the container to cooperate with an engagement portion formed in the apparatus adjacent to the opening such that the fine-particle powder can spontaneously be moved while the container is maintained stationary. The method may further comprise causing an engagement portion formed in part of the outer machine frame of an electrostatic recording apparatus to engage with an engagement portion formed in part of a container therein, such that the fine-particle powder can be supplied to a hopper through an opening formed in the apparatus adjacent to the engagement portion thereof. The container can thus be positively held and fixed by the engagement of the container with the body of the apparatus, and the scattering and floating toner particles can be completely prevented from leaking out of the outside or inside of the machine.

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Noboru Yamada