Minolta Company, Ltd.

Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Limited

Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Limited

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Autonetworks Technologies, Limited

Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Konica Minolta Advanced Layers, Inc.

Soh Ohzawa

Keiji Matsusaka

Kohtaro Hayashi

Yasushi Kobayashi

Hideki Nagata

Jun Ishihara

Kenji Konno

Ichiro Kasai

Yasunari Fukuta

Akira Sato

Katsuhiro Takamoto

Mituaki Shimo

Takatoshi Ishikawa

Yasumasa Sawai

Yasushi Tanijiri

Masayuki Imaoka

Keiko Yamada

Tomiei Kuwa

Masayuki Inoue

Kenji Ishibashi

Hiroyuki Matsumoto

Junji Hashimura

Yuichiro Ori

Masayoshi Imoto

Takeshi Endo

Hiroaki Ueda

Fumio Nagai

Tetsuya Arimoto

Yoshie Shimizu

Takashi Ohta

Nobuo Mushiake

Mitsuaki Shimo

Toshinori Takimura

Shoichi Tao

Masakuni Tai

A Toshinori Takimur

At the leading end of a probe () is provided a holding part () that has a space () having an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the probe (). A liquid discharge groove () that communicates between the space () and the outer peripheral side surface of the holding part () is formed in the holding part ().

Probe

A probe which is inserted into a lumen of inside of a body, irradiates an observation object part of a physiological tissue with excitation light, and detects fluorescence resulting from the excitation light, wherein the probe including: a plus lens arranged facing toward a tip side of the probe; and a plurality of optical fibers receiving the fluorescence at tip surfaces through the plus lens, wherein the tip surface are directed toward the plus lens and arranged in positions offset from an optical axis of the plus lens, wherein positions of the tip surface of at least optical fibers of which an amount of offset from the optical axis of the plus lens differ mutually among plurality of optical fibers are shifted mutually along the optical axis of the plus lens.

An optical tomographic image forming method including: splitting low coherence light emitted from a light source is split into a measuring light and a reference light; forming an optical tomographic image of a measured object by detecting an interference light that is obtained by superposing reflected light, reflected from the measured object when the measuring light is irradiated onto the measured object via a condenser lens, and reflected light, reflected from a reference mirror, which is positioned a predetermined length of optical path away from the splitting position, when the reference light is irradiated onto the reference mirror, wherein the method further includes: inputting a refractive index of the measured object; correcting the tomographic image in accordance with the inputted refractive index of the measured object; and outputting the corrected tomographic image.

Optical coherence tomography with refractive indexing of object

Provided is an optical characteristic measuring probe which can detect the position and the direction of the leading end of the probe without affecting a monitoring image. The bendable optical characteristic measuring probe is provided with a light guide body (), which transmits light emitted from a light source and irradiates a subject to be measured with light, and a guide tube (), which holds the light guide body () such that the light guide body freely rotates about the axis and is freely displaced in the axis direction. The light guide body () guides at least two types of light, i.e., measuring light for measuring the optical characteristics of the subject to be measured, and position determining light for measuring the position of the light guide body. On the side surface of the guide tube (), a mark (M) having the characteristics of transmitting the measuring light and returning only the position determining light to the light guide body is provided.

Optical characteristic measuring probe

There is disclosed a probe () for directing light to an object to be measured and receiving light returned from the object to be measured, the probe including: an optical path () for transmitting light from a light source (); a mirror member () for reflecting the light transmitted through the optical path (); and a rotational oscillation mechanism () for rotatably oscillating the mirror member () and a tip end portion of the optical path () about a longitudinal axis of the optical path (); wherein the rotational oscillation mechanism () is adapted to perform the rotational oscillation within a range defined by a torsional elasticity limit of the optical path (). This configuration can provide an optical rotary probe with a simple structure and with high reliability, which is capable of suppressing optical losses and reflection ghosts.

Optical rotary probe

A projection optical system receives light from a display device surface and enlarges and projects a display image thereon onto a screen surface. The projection optical system includes one or more reflective surfaces having an optical power between the display device surface and the screen surface, moves at least one optical device having an optical power to adjust focus and satisfies the following conditional formula: &#x2212;0.02&#x3c;{(&#x3b4;1&#x2212;&#x3b4;2)&#x3b2;2}/{(&#x3b4;1+&#x3b4;2)&#x3b2;1}&#x3c;0.2 where &#x3b4;1 and &#x3b4;2 represent, when the absolute value of a projection magnification is the highest and the lowest, respectively, during focus adjustment, the absolute value of a difference between a distance from the exit pupil of rays incident on the screen upper ends of the screen surface to the screen surface and a distance from the exit pupil of rays incident on the screen lower ends of the screen surface to the screen surface and &#x3b2;1 and &#x3b2;2 represent the maximum value and minimum value, respectively, of the projection magnification when focus is adjusted.

Projection optical system

A variable-power optical system includes, in order from an object side thereof: a first lens group with a negative optical power; a second lens group with a positive optical power; a third lens group with a negative optical power; and a fourth lens group with a positive optical power. An interval between the first lens group and the second lens group decreases when a power of the variable-power optical system varies from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end. The second lens group includes at least one aspheric surface. The variable-power optical system satisfies the predetermined conditional expressions.

Variable-power optical system, image pickup device, and digital apparatus

A projection optical system satisfies a conditional formula: 0.01&#x3c;{(tan &#x3b8;f1&#x2212;tan &#x3b8;f2)&#x2212;(tan &#x3b8;n1&#x2212;tan &#x3b8;n2)}&#xb7;(&#x3b2;2/&#x3b2;1)&#x3c;0.20 where the direction of a normal to and the direction of a long side of the screen of the screen surface are referred to as a 'z-direction' and an 'x-direction', respectively, the x-z plane component of the angle of incidence with respect to the screen surface is referred to as an &#x201c;incident angle &#x3b8;&#x201d; and when, among rays that pass through the center of an aperture and that are incident on the ends of the upper and lower sides of the screen of the screen surface, the incident angle &#x3b8; of rays whose incident angle &#x3b8; is larger is referred to as &#x201c;&#x3b8;f&#x201d; and the incident angle &#x3b8; of rays whose incident angle &#x3b8; is smaller is referred to as &#x201c;&#x3b8;n&#x201d;, &#x3b8;n and &#x3b8;f2 respectively represent, when the absolute value of a projection magnification is the highest or lowest during focus adjustment, the incident angle &#x3b8;f, &#x3b8;n1 and &#x3b8;n2 respectively represent, when the absolute value of the projection magnification is the highest or lowest during focus adjustment, the incident angle &#x3b8;n, and &#x3b2;1 and &#x3b2;2 respectively represent the maximum and minimum values of the projection magnification during focus adjustment (except that &#x3b2;1 and &#x3b2;2 respectively represent, if the projection magnification is negative, a value of the projection magnification when the absolute value thereof is the highest or lowest).

A variable-power optical system includes, in order from an object side thereof: a first lens group with a negative optical power; a second lens group with a positive optical power; and a third lens group with a negative optical power, where an interval between the first lens group and the second lens group decreases when a power of the variable-power optical system varies from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end. The first lens group comprises a negative lens and a positive lens. The second lens group consists of a positive lens and a negative lens, and includes at least one aspheric surface. The variable-power optical system satisfies the predetermined conditional expressions.

A projection optical system that receives light from a display element to project an image displayed by the display element onto a screen with enlargement at a varying magnification achieved by varying the projection distance to the screen has: a refractive optical system composed of one or more refractive lenses and having a positive optical power; and a concave-surfaced mirror disposed to the screen side of the refractive optical system and having a plane-symmetric reflective surface. The projection optical system includes at least one optical element designed to be movable for focusing. The projection optical system forms an intermediate image between the refractive optical system and the concave-surfaced mirror. Moreover, a prescribed conditional formula is fulfilled.

Projection optical system with enlargement at a varying magnification

Provided is a microminiaturized zoom optical system capable of sufficiently correcting aberration. The zoom optical system () includes a first lens group () having a negative optical power, a second lens group () having a positive optical power, and a third lens group () having a positive or negative optical power in this order from the object side. The zoom optical system is configured in such a manner that the interval between the first lens group () and the second lens group () is decreased in zooming from the wide angle end to the telephoto end. A positive lens element in the third lens group () or in a lens group closer to the image side than the third lens group () satisfies the following conditional expression:vp&#x3c;40where vp is the minimum value of the Abbe number of the positive lens element.

Variable power optical system, imaging lens system and digital apparatus

A variable-power optical system includes, in order from an object side thereof: a first lens group with a negative optical power; a second lens group with a positive optical power, moving when the power of the variable-power optical system varies; and a third lens group with a positive or negative optical power. The first lens group includes two or more lenses including one positive lens and one negative lens which include at least two or more lenses made of a plastic material. The variable-power optical system satisfies the predetermined conditional expressions relating to is a focal length of the first lens, a focal length of the second lens, a composite focal length of the total optical system, and an image-forming magnification of the second lens group at a telephoto end.

An ultra wide angle imaging optical system includes, in order from an object side, a first lens group, an aperture stop, and a second lens group. The first lens group includes, in order from the position closest to the object side, a negative meniscus lens element convex to the object side, a negative lens element, and a negative lens element. The second lens group includes a plurality of positive lens elements. The first lens group and the second lens group each includes at least one anamorphic surface having different optical powers with respect to a first section extending in a first direction on a flat plane substantially orthogonal to an optical axis, and with respect to a second section extending in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction. The first lens group includes the lens element satisfying the following conditional formula (1):&#x2212;0.6&#x3c;()*()&#x3c;&#x2212;0.1&#x2003;&#x2003;(1)where

Ultra wide angle imaging optical system, ultra wide angle imaging lens device, and image sensing apparatus

A super-wide-angle optical system for forming an optical image of an object on an image pickup surface of an image sensing device that converts the optical image into an electrical signal is provided with, in order from the object side, a first negative lens, a second negative lens and a positive lens. The first negative lens has a meniscus shape convex to the object side. The second negative lens is positioned next to the first negative lens. The positive lens has an aspherical surface. At least one of four lens surfaces of the first and second lenses is an aspherical surface. A prescribed condition is fulfilled.

Super-wide-angle optical system and image pickup device

A wide angle of view optical system, suitable for monitor cameras such as an in-vehicle camera and a security camera, having a reduced optical entire length and aberration correction for forming an optical image on light-receiving surfaces of an imaging element having a first lens having a negative optical power and a group of lenses each having a positive optical power, which are serially disposed from an object side. The first lens comprises at least one aspherical surface, and has a concave surface centered around an optical axis in vicinity of the optical axis on an image-side surface thereof. Further, an optical entire length T in millimeters (mm) of the entire system, a half angle of view &#x3b8;, and a focal distance fof the entire system, also in millimeters, satisfy the conditional expressions.

Growing community of inventors

Toyonaka, Japan

Soh Ohzawa