Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Hoya Corporation

Takaomi Sekiya

Masaru Eguchi

Tetsuya Nakamura

Yukio Kubota

Daisuke Koreeda

Moriyasu Shirayanagi

Satoru Tachihara

Toru Chiba

Nobutaka Minefuji

Eiichi Ito

Tomohiko Kanzaki

Takanobu Shiokawa

Chinari Tanaka

A capsule endoscope has an outer cover including a transparent cover, a surface light emitting device, and a photographing optical system. The outer cover seals an inside space of the capsule endoscope. The light emitting device, which is disposed in the inside space of the capsule endoscope, emits light to an object through the transparent cover. The photographing optical system, which is disposed opposite to the transparent cover in the inside space, captures light reflected from the object which passes through the transparent cover.

Capsule endoscope

A stereoscopic endoscope includes a primary optical system for transmitting a luminous flux, reflected by an object located near a first end of the optical system, to a second end of the optical system. A first image forming system forms a first image of the object in accordance with a first area of the luminous flux, and a second image forming system forms a second image of the object in accordance with a second area of the luminous flux, the second area not overlapping the first area. An imaging device detects the first image and the second image, the image detecting system outputting an image signal.

Stereoscopic endoscope

The stereoscopic microscope includes a common close-up optical system that faces an object, a pair of zoom optical systems that form a pair of primary image, a pair of field stops, a pair of relay optical systems that relay the primary images to form a pair of secondary images, an inter-axis distance reducing element, an image taking device and an illuminating optical system. The object light rays incident on the close-up optical system form the primary images having predetermined parallax at the field stops through the zoom optical systems. The inter-axis distance reducing element reduces the inter-axis distance of the right and left light rays. The primary images are re-imaged by the relay optical systems as the secondary images on the adjacent regions on the single image taking surface of the image taking device, respectively.

Stereoscopic microscope including zoom and relay optical systems

An adapter uses a monocular endoscope with a stereoscopic observing portion. The observing portion includes a system that divides light transmitted by the monocular endoscope into two light beams, and a pair of optical systems, each of the optical systems receiving one of the light beams and forming an image of the object. The images formed by each of the optical systems forming a stereoscopic image of the object, the adapter comprising a system that connects the observing portion to the monocular endoscope.

A stereoscopic endoscope is provided having a primary optical system for forming an image of an object, a device for dividing the light transmitted by the primary optical system into two light beams, and a pair of optical systems for detecting the image formed by the primary optical system. Each of the secondary optical systems may receive one of the light beams and form an image of the object on a corresponding imaging device. The stereoscopic endoscope may also include a device for adjusting a position of the light dividing device relative to an optical axis and an exit pupil of the primary optical system, and a device for detecting a position of the light dividing device in accordance with each of the output image signals.

A video endoscope system including a light guide for transmitting light emitted from a light source to illuminate an observation field of an endoscope, and a device for controlling the luminous flux of light supplied to the light guide from the light source. A solid-state imaging device forms an image of the observation field, and a processor processes an image signal output from the solid-state imaging device. In addition, a color tone correcting device divides the image to be processed by the processor into a plurality of regions and makes color tone correction with respect to each of the regions according to the control condition of the luminous flux control device.

Video endoscope system with color tone correction

An objective lens for an endoscope includes a front lens of negative power, an aperture stop, and a rear lens group of positive power in this order from the object side. At least one surface of the front lens group and/or the rear lens group is a compound aspherical lens made of a glass lens and a transparent layer applied to the glass lens surface. A surface of the transparent layer farther from the glass lens is an aspherical surface. The refractive index n of the glass lens to which the transparent layer is applied is more than 1.65 (n&gt;1.65).

Objective lens of endoscope

The present invention provides methods and apparatuses to evaluate the best image plane position for an optical lens system, particularly a wide angle lens with a large power ratio, in e.g. an endoscope, in simple and less time consuming procedure. The present devices and methods include a screen which can form an edge image, an optical system which forms an image of the screen, a light receiver located at the focal plane, or in its neighborhood, on which the edge image of the screen is formed by the optical system to convert the edge image into an electric signal, and a sampler which samples the electric signal transmitted from the light receiver in a crossing direction perpendicular to the edge image.

Optical focus evaluation and focus adjustment methods, focus evaluation

In a fingerprint input apparatus used to detect an image of a fingerprint, light is emitted towards a finger which is placed on an image detecting surface of a prism. An incident angle of light on the image detecting surface is less than a critical angle. An image sensor detects light which has been diffused by the fingerprint and directed towards the image sensor.

High contrast fingerprint image detector

An image detecting apparatus is used to detect an image of a pattern of lines on a palm. The image detecting apparatus has an optical transparent block which has a refractive index greater than that of a surrounding medium. The optical transparent block also has a convex curved surface on which the palm is placed. The image detecting apparatus further includes a light source for emitting light towards the convex curved surface through the optical transparent block, and an image sensor is provided for detecting at least the light reflected from the convex curved surface.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Takaomi Sekiya