Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.

Minolta Company, Ltd.

Konica-minolta Holdings, Inc.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Takayuki Hoshino

Ryuichi Yoshida

Yoshiaki Hata

Hideaki Nakanishi

Tomoyuki Yuasa

Kazumi Sugitani

Shuichi Fujii

Hirohisa Sueyoshi

An image capturing apparatus having a camera shake correction function, includes an optical system, a movable member that is movable on a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical system to achieve the camera shake correction function, an angular velocity detector configured to detect an angular velocity of shake of the image capturing apparatus and generate a detection signal, and a controller configured to drive the movable member based on the output from the angular velocity detector. The controller includes a time change rate limiter configured to limit a time rate of change of angular velocity indicated by the detection signal output from the angular velocity detector to be no greater than a predetermined limiting value, and drive the movable member based on the detection signal output through the time change rate limiter.

Image capturing apparatus having camera shake correction function

Provided is a driving device having an electromechanical transducer, a driving member, a moving member and a driving circuit. The driving circuit outputs a driving voltage at a frequency lower than that where the driving speed of the moving member is at maximum, and changes the drive frequency of the driving voltage so that the drive frequency has a negative correlative relationship with the ambient temperature. The change rate of the drive frequency to a change of the ambient temperature in the negative correlative relationship is larger than a change rate of a frequency where the driving speed of the moving member is at maximum to an increase of the ambient temperature, and the change rate permits the driving speed of the moving member to increase when the ambient temperature increases.

Driving device

An imaging apparatus includes a composite low frequency cutoff filter. The composite low frequency cutoff filter includes a first low frequency cutoff filter, a second low frequency cutoff filter, and an adder-subtractor. The second low frequency cutoff filter receives an output of the first low frequency cutoff filter. The adder-subtractor subtracts an output of the second low frequency cutoff filter from an input to the composite low frequency cutoff filter, and outputs a result of the subtraction to the first low frequency cutoff filter. An output of the first low frequency cutoff filter is outputted as an output of the composite low frequency cutoff filter.

Composite low frequency cutoff filter and imaging apparatus using the same

A position detector () capable of obtaining an output having a linearity in a wide range includes: a magnetic field generating member () attached to a movable member () movable in a predetermined movable direction (x); and magnetic field detection means () for detecting a magnetic field change caused by movement of the magnetic field generating member (). The magnetic field generating member () includes an N-pole portion () magnetized into N-pole, an S-pole portion () magnetized into S-pole arranged in the movable direction with the N-pole portion (), and a non-magnetized portion () not magnetized between the N-pole portion () and the S-pole portion ().

Position detector and positioning device

An optical pickup device such that the driving force of the drive unit provided on the same optical base as that of the objective lens exerts no adverse influence on controlling of the objective lens is provided. The optical pickup devicehas an objective lensthat condenses laser light onto an optical disk, a first drive mechanismthat moves the objective lenson the optical base, a second drive mechanismthat moves a movable memberdifferent from the objective lenson the optical base, first control meansthat outputs a first driving signal TDS to operate the first drive mechanism, and second control meansthat outputs a second driving signal EDS to operate the second drive mechanism. A derivative value of the second driving signal EDS is added to the first driving signal TDS and inputted to the first drive mechanism

Optical pickup device, optical pickup controller and optical pickup control method

The present invention may provide a accurate drive unitwhich comprises an electromechanical transducer, a drive elementfixed on the one end of the electromechanical transducer, a movable elementengaging with the drive elementfrictionally and a drive circuitapplying a cyclic drive voltage to the electromechanical transducer, in which the oscillation of the drive elementas the result of the expansion and contraction of the electromechanical transducerdue to the drive voltage causes relative displacement of the movable elementto the drive element. The waveform of drive voltage is varied according to the relative position of the movable elementto the drive element

Drive unit and information recording device

A drive unit in accordance with the present invention is provided with a magnetic field generating member generating a magnetic field, a magnetic field detecting device constituted by first, second and third magnetic field detecting elements detecting the magnetic field, and a piezoelectric actuator moving the magnetic field generating member. When executing a relative positioning between the magnetic field generating member and the magnetic field detecting device on the basis of a detection result by the magnetic field detecting device, a first positioning is executed on the basis of the detection result of the first and second magnetic field detecting elements in a predetermined region, and a second positioning is executed on the basis of the detection result of the third magnetic field detecting element at a predetermined point apart from the predetermined region, within a movable range in which the magnetic field generating member moves. In accordance with the structure, it is possible to position the movable body at a high precision, even in the case that a plurality of position detecting points of the movable body of the drive unit exist at a wide interval.

Drive unit provided with position detecting device

The driving device has a piezoelectric elementa supporting memberfixed to one end of the piezoelectric elementa driving shaftfixed to the other end of the piezoelectric elementa movable memberthat is movably held on the driving memberand a driving circuitthat applies the drive voltage to the piezoelectric elementThe driving circuitincludes a self-oscillating circuitthat oscillates at a series resonance frequency of the piezoelectric elementand a non-linear circuitfor adding distortion to the drive voltage that is applied to the piezoelectric element

An information recording and reproducing apparatus having a high track density, a high recording density in each of the tracks, and a short seeking time. In a seeking operation, a control circuit performs a calculation required for the seeking operation and then sets, to (f=fs), a drive pulse frequency f for a tracking control to be supplied to a piezoelectric element based on the calculation result. A drive circuit outputs a drive pulse of the frequency f corresponding to the input drive pulse to an actuator, so that a recording and reproducing head is moved near a target track. In a following operation, the control circuit performs a calculation required for following operation and then sets, to (f=ft, wherein fs&#x3e;ft), the drive pulse frequency f to be supplied to the piezoelectric element based on the calculation result.

Information recording and reproducing apparatus having higher drive pulse frequency during seeking operation than during following operation

In order to provide a drive apparatus where a rush-current is small when a voltage is applied to a capacitive load so that the drive apparatus is driven, the drive apparatus has a capacitive load, first drive circuits Q, Qfor applying a power source voltage E to the capacitive load, second drive circuits Q, Qfor applying the power source voltage E to the capacitive loadto an opposite direction to the first drive circuits Qand Q, and a control circuitfor operating the first and second drive circuits Q, Q; Q, Qalternately. Discharging circuits Q, G, G, Qwhich are connected with inductive element Gand Gare provided to both ends of the capacitive load. The control circuitoperates the first and second drive circuits Q, Q; Q, Qwith an interval, and operates the discharging circuits Q, G, G, Qduring the interval.

Drive apparatus

A near-field optical recording or reading apparatus has at least a tip portion of an optical fiber probe covered by a conductive layer. A recording medium is provided with another conductive layer. The conductive layer of the recording medium is connected to a high frequency power source, and this conductive layer is grounded. The electrostatic capacity between the conductive layers of the optical filer probe and recording layer is detected as a voltage value at a connector pin between the power source and a resistor; this voltage value is fed back to control the gap between the tip of the optical fiber probe and the recording medium.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Takayuki Hoshino