Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Pentax Corporation

Hoya Corporation

Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Yamaichi Electronics Co., Ltd.

Asahi Kogaku Kabushiki Kaisha

Takamitsu Sasaki

Hiroshi Nomura

Kazunori Ishizuka

Kazuyoshi Azegami

Maiko Takashima

Norio Numako

Yasushi Tabata

Takuma Sato

Yoshinari Tanimura

Masaaki Kishimoto

Yukio Uenaka

Nobuaki Aoki

Hitoshi Tanaka

Kunihiko Shimizu

Hideyuki Yamamoto

Shinya Suzuka

Noboru Saito

Takayuki Ito

Shinsuke Kohmoto

Kosei Kosako

Shigeru Sato

Yosuke Takai

Zenichi Okura

Ken Endo

Toshiharu Suzuki

Shinsuke Shoji

A lens barrel includes a first drive mechanism which rotates a cam ring to move a cam-driven lens frame, holding a lens group, in accordance with a cam groove; a second drive mechanism which screw-engages a nut with a feed screw, biases a nut-driven lens frame to abut the nut, and moves the nut-driven lens frame. The cam-driven lens frame is positioned adjacent to the nut-driven lens frame on a reverse side to the biasing direction, and driving ranges of these lens frames partially overlap each other. The first drive mechanism includes a cam-driven member, separate from the cam-driven lens frame, which is linearly guided and provided with a cam follower which engages with the cam groove of the cam ring; and a biasing member which biases the cam-driven lens frame to abut against the cam-drive member, so that the cam-driven lens frame moves with the cam-driven member.

Lens barrel

A zoom lens barrel includes front and rear lens group support frames, a first spring member provided to bias the front lens group support frame and a diaphragm in directions away from each other, and a second spring member provided to bias the diaphragm and the rear lens group support frame in directions away from each other. Spring loads of the first and second spring members are determined such that, when the front and rear lens group support frames approach each other during zooming, one and the other of the first and second spring members are compressed and not compressed, and the other of the first and second spring members is compressed after the one of the first and second spring members is fully compressed.

Zoom lens barrel

A flexible wiring board mounting structure of an image shake correcting apparatus, the image shake correcting apparatus includes a image sensor serving as a part of a photographing optical system and capable of moving in directions orthogonal to an optical axis of the photographing optical system, a control circuit mounted to an element independent of the image sensor, and a flexible wiring board which connects the image sensor and the control circuit to each other. The flexible wiring board includes an inner side connecting portion connected to the image sensor, an outer side connecting portion connected to the control circuit, and a flexible portion provided in an allowance space defined between the inner side connecting portion, the outer side connecting portion, the image sensor and an inner peripheral surface of an innermost ring member, out of ring members that support lens groups of the photographing optical system.

Flexible wiring board mounting structure of an image shake correcting apparatus

A lens frame radially-displacing mechanism of a retractable photographic lens, includes a photographing optical system; a linearly advancing/retreating ring guided linearly in an optical axis direction; a radially-displaceable support frame pivoted parallel to the optical axis, supports a radially-displaceable optical element and rotates between an on-axis position and an off-axis displaced position when the retractable photographic lens moves between the ready-to-photograph state and the retracted state; a rear support frame supporting a rear optical element; and a distance controller which controls approaching positions of the displaceable support frame and the rear support frame. The distance controller includes an approaching-position limiter which limits movements of the displaceable support frame and the rear support frame to a predetermined distance when the displaceable support frame moves rearward, and a distance extender which extends the predetermined distance when the displaceable support frame rotates toward the off-axis displaced position.

Lens frame radially-displacing mechanism of retractable photographic lens

An integrated circuit ('IC') connector includes a card detection contact terminal which is provided substantially at a central part of a housing unit and between a first grounding contact terminal and a second grounding contact terminal, and first and second contact terminals located so as to face each other along a direction of mounting and demounting of a first IC card, the first contact terminals provided adjacent to and both sides of the card detection contact terminal, the second contact terminals provided adjacent to both sides of the card detection contact terminal.

Multiple integrated circuit card connector with a card detection terminal

A lens barrel includes a driven ring, a follower provided on the driven ring, a rotational transfer ring including a circumferential groove having no axial-direction component and a rotational transfer groove including an axial-direction component, a guide ring, and a cam groove formed on the guide ring for guiding the driven ring via the follower. Rotation of the driven ring is prevented when the follower is engaged in the circumferential groove so that the driven ring is held at a non-photographing position. When the follower is engaged in the rotational transfer groove, the driven ring is moved along the cam groove between the non-photographing position and a ready-to-photograph position. Opposed wall surfaces in the circumferential groove determine a position of the follower when the driven ring moves between the non-photographing position and the ready-to-photograph position. The range of the cam groove, that is used to move the driven ring between the ready-to-photograph position and the non-photographing position of the guide ring, includes an axial-direction component.

A lens barrel includes an imaging optical system having front and rear optical elements with a spring installed therebetween; a reference barrel which includes a forward-facing limit surface and a rearward-facing limit surface; a first position control mechanism which includes a first rotational member and a first limit member, and varies a position of the front optical element in the optical axis direction relative to the reference barrel; and a second position control mechanism which includes a second rotational member and a second limit member, and varies a position of the rear optical element in the optical axis direction relative to the reference barrel. The first limit member is brought into contact with the rearward-facing limit surface by a forward biasing force of the spring while the second limit member is brought into contact with the forward-facing limit surface by a rearward biasing force of the spring.

A lens barrel includes a rotational ring, first and second movable members linearly movable having first and second followers, respectively; and first and second guide grooves formed on the rotational ring, the first and second followers being slidably engaged therein, respectively. The first movable member has a non-linear moving path. The first guide groove includes an inclined linear lead groove. The lens barrel includes a complementary cam mechanism for controlling the rotational ring to define a non-linear moving path of the first movable member via a cam track of the complementary cam mechanism and a track of the linear lead groove. The second guide groove includes first and second lead groove portions extending parallel to the linear lead groove at different positions in the optical axis direction, and a differential groove portion extending in the circumferential direction which connect the first and second lead groove portions.

Lens barrel and zoom lens barrel

A lens barrel includes a support ring movable in an optical axis direction; a displaceable optical element supported by the support ring movable between a photographing position and a radially-displaced position in which the displaceable optical element is eccentrically displaced from the optical axis; and an advancing/retracting optical element supported by the support ring. When the lens barrel is in a ready-to-photograph state, the displaceable optical element is held at the photographing position, and the displaceable optical element and the advancing/retracting optical element are aligned in the optical axis direction. When the lens barrel moves from the ready-to-photograph state to an accommodated state, the displaceable optical element is held at the radially-displaced position, and the displaceable optical element and the advancing/retracting optical element are relatively moved so as to at least partially coincide with each other in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis.

An imaging device includes an axial-direction moving member which moves between an operating position and a retracted position in an optical axis direction, an in-plane moving optical element movable in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis, a controller which moves the in-plane moving optical element in the orthogonal plane to a reference position when the image device changes from the operating state to the retracted state, and a mechanical guide device, provided between the axial-direction moving member and the in-plane moving optical element. In a state where the in-plane moving optical element is deviated from the reference position, the mechanical guide device guides the in-plane moving optical element to the reference position by using a moving force of the axial-direction moving member when the axial-direction moving member moves from the operating position to the retracted position.

Imaging device

A light shielding structure of an optical device, includes a plurality of optical elements arranged at different positions in an optical axis direction. The light shielding structure includes at least one annular light shielding member positioned between two of the optical elements to shield harmful light, and a plurality of springs held between the two optical elements to be resiliently deformable in the optical axis direction. The springs include at least two springs, one of which is held between one of the two optical elements and the annular light shielding member while the other of the two springs is held between the other of the two optical elements and the annular light shielding member. The annular light shielding member is supported between the two optical elements in a balanced state between the spring forces of the plurality of springs.

Light shielding structure of an optical device

An imaging device includes a rectangular image sensor, and an imaging optical system which includes an on-axis lens element and a radially-retractable lens element. The radially-retractable lens element is supported by a free end of a swingable arm pivoted about an axis eccentric from the imaging optical axis. The on-axis lens element is non-circular, defined by a removed portion from a reference circle thereof along a long side of the image sensor. When in the off-axis displaced position, the radially-retractable lens element utilizes the removed portion of the on-axis lens element and the radially-retractable lens element is offset from a plane through the imaging optical axis and parallel to the short sides of the rectangular imaging surface. The swing axis is on the on-axis lens element side, in the long side direction, closer to the optical axis of the radially-retractable lens element in the off-axis displaced position.

An AF control apparatus for a zoom lens system includes a movable lens group serving as a zooming lens group and a focusing lens group in the zoom lens system; a focusing table which stores focusing data for the movable lens group; a zooming table which stores zooming data for the movable lens group, the zooming table having different data from the focusing table; and a driving device for moving the movable lens group in an optical axis direction of the zoom lens system according to data stored in the focusing table and the zooming table.

AF control apparatus for zoom lens system

A movable member supporting mechanism includes a support ring; first and second rotatable members provided inside the support ring and supported thereby to be integrally rotatable and to be movable relative to each other in an axial direction thereof; a linearly moving member provided inside the support ring and coupled thereto to be integrally movable with the first rotatable member in the axial direction; a biasing device biasing the first and second rotatable members in opposite directions; and first and second position limiting surfaces formed on an inner peripheral surface of the support ring and are provided apart from each other in the axial direction. The linearly moving member is biased by the biasing device via the first rotatable member. The first and second position limiting surfaces limit positions of the linearly moving member and the second rotatable member in the axial direction, respectively.

Movable member supporting mechanism, and movable member supporting mechanism for lens barrel

An extension spring installation structure of a lens barrel includes relatively movable members, one of which supports an optical element, including an extension coil spring biasing the relatively movable members toward each other; and a spring-hook portion and a tilt-restriction portion formed on a relatively movable members. An engaging portion of the extension coil spring is engaged with the spring-hook portion by movement of the extension coil spring toward the spring-hook portion. The spring-hook portion is shaped so as to be prevented from being disengaged from the engaging portion of the extension coil spring even if moved along the axis of the coil spring portion thereof with the engaging portion engaged with the spring-hook portion. The tilt-restriction portion prevents the coil spring portion from moving in a radial direction of the coil spring portion with the engaging portion engaged with the spring-hook portion.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Takamitsu Sasaki