Kanzaki Paper Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Seiichi Miyamoto

Yo Tajima

Masaru Hanatani

Tatsuro Nishi

Naohisa Tanabe

Masakazu Ishizuka

Masaru Maruki

The invention allows for restriction of radial and axial movements of a shaft by a simple structure. A shaft supporting structure includes a base () provided with a bearing (), and a first shaft () arranged at the bearing (). The shaft supporting structure further includes a helical torsion spring () fitted on the first shaft (). The base () includes a first engagement hole (), and a hooked section () engaging with first and second arm sections () of the helical torsion spring (), respectively. The helical torsion spring () presses the first shaft () onto the bearing () in a radial direction of the shaft by an elastic force generated by engagement between the first arm section () and the first engagement hole () of the base (), and engagement between the second arm section () and the hooked section () of the base (). A portion of the second arm section () faces an axial end face of the first shaft ().

Shaft supporting structure with coil spring for pressing shaft onto bearing, and optical disc apparatus including the same

An automatic focus adjusting system for a surface inspection microscope including a sheet setting stage, a microscope for observing a sheet surface set on the stage, a television camera for picking up an image observed by the microscope and a focus adjusting system. The system irradiates the back or front of an optically transparent sheet set on the stage creating an image on the front surface of the sheet. The image's contrast varies depending on the inner physical structure of the sheet. The television camera's video signals are processed by a focus evaluation circuit. The image contrast of the sheet's front surface image generates a contrast frequency allowing the focus evaluation circuit to calculate the focus evaluation degree. The system automatically adjusts the stage and compares the present focus evaluation degree with the prior focus evaluation degree. If the current focusing evaluation degree is greater than the prior focus evaluation degree the stage is adjusted one step and the process repeated until the focus evaluation circuit determines that the current focus evaluation degree is not greater than the prior focus evaluation degree.

Automatic focus adjusting system of microscope employed in surface

A surface inspection apparatus having a microscope and a television camera is disclosed. The inspection apparatus samples a signal portion from a horizontal scanning portions of the video signal produced by the television camera, compares the instantaneous voltages of a filtered signal of said sampled portion removing low-frequency components with a reference voltage, counts the number of pulses constituted from the high level portions of said filtered signal higher than said reference voltage sequentially moves the focal point of the microscope step by step relative to the object surface, compares the present pulse count with the previous pulse count thereof at just prior step of the moving of the focal point, and decides the focal point in the position corresponding to the maximum number of pulses to control the moving of the focal point for correctly setting the focal point in said corresponding position.

Surface inspection apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Seiichi Miyamoto