Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Toshihiro Nakao

Yasuo Sasaki

Kenzi Furuta

Masanobu Sato

Ken Satoh

Kazuyasu Motoyama

Kazutoshi Shiratori

Heiji Ogino

Tomoki Funakubo

Katsumi Kanayama

Kiyoshi Tosaka

Kimihiko Nishioka

Shinji Kaneko

Yasuo Hattori

Kazuaki Takata

Masaaki Daigaku

Mitsuo Nasu

Yoshio Tomizawa

Takeshi Nakane

Takashi Kawashima

Kazumi Saito

In a vibration wave linear motor, a coupled driving contacting parts are respectively provided on the top and the bottom of a vibrator unit, and 2 upper and lower guide shafts which contact concave parts of the coupled driving contacting parts are supported by erecting parts of a supporting part. The lower guide shaft is pressed upward by spiral springs, so that the two guide shafts press and sandwich the vibrator. Alternating current voltages having different phases are applied to the vibrator unit, whereby the vibrator unit generates a vibration wave to generate elliptical rotation vibrations in the driving contacting parts. As a result, the vibrator, and the two guide shafts and the supporting part make a relative move in the shaft direction. Either the guide shafts or the vibrator is fixed, and the other is linked to an object to be driven.

Vibration wave linear motor

In a vibration wave linear motor, a vibrator stably operates with a simple and small configuration. Both ends of a movable guide member are held by shaft bearing long holes to freely oscillate, and an angle of an inclination &#x3c6; occurs according to the move of the vibrator. An inner wall of an erecting part of a supporting part also serves as a stopper, and regulates the move of the vibrator in a position where the inclination of the movable guide member becomes &#x3b8;&#x3e;&#x3c6; at the maximum. As a result, the inclination of the movable guide member is always kept to be within the range of &#x3b8;&#x3e;&#x3c6;. A problem that the inclining movable guide member contacts a portion other than a driving contacting part is prevented.

An optical unit is constructed by superposing and cementing the first substrate having fixed electrodes and the second substrate having a sheet-like member in which a moving plate-spring-like electrode is provided. Concentric through holes are provide at the middles of the sheet-like member of the first substrate and the second substrate, and an optical element, such as a lens, a mirror, or a prism, is mounted to the through hole of the sheet-like member. When voltages applied between the fixed electrodes and the moving electrode are controlled, the sheet-like member is displaced and thereby the optical element is deformed.

Optical unit provided with an actuator

A vibration wave linear motor comprises a vibrator unit having two driving contacting parts which are respectively formed on top and bottom surfaces of the vibrator unit, two guide members guiding the running of the vibrator unit by sandwiching the vibrator unit in parallel with the running direction. The upper guide member is fixed to the supporting member. The lower guide member is held in shaft bearing long holes, pressed upward by coil springs within hollow convex parts. The vibrator unit self-runs and moves forward and backward between the two guide members with an ultrasonic vibration. A linking pin fixed on the side surface of the vibrator unit engages with the member to be driven, so that moving force is transmitted.

Vibration wave linear motor and lens implement using vibration wave linear motor

A vibrator of a vibration wave linear motor comprises two and one driving contacting parts respectively on top and bottom surfaces. A first guide member contacts the two driving contacting parts on the top surface, and both ends of a second guide member are pressed upward by spiral springs, and pressing forces are applied respectively between the driving contacting parts and the first and the second guide members. The three driving contacting parts convert elliptical vibrations, which are generated by applying a voltage to a vibrator unit, into driving force, whereby the vibrator self-runs in a direction indicated by a bidirectional arrow d with reference to the first and the second guide members. The self-running of the vibrator is conveyed, via a pin member and an engaging protruding part, to the lens frame, which then slides.

An ultrasonic linear motor according to the present invention has a configuration wherein driving elements are glued at portions on faces of an ultrasonic transducer, facing one another, where rotational directions of elliptic vibrations generated on the faces are reverse one to another, a pair of guides are provided for being pressed into against the driving elements so as to hold the ultrasonic transducer therebetween, and leaf springs serving as pressing part are provided so as to narrow a spacing between the one pair of guides, whereby the ultrasonic transducer is configured as an self-moving ultrasonic linear motor which can drive by itself. Thus, driving properties of the ultrasonic transducer itself is improved, and also the size of the ultrasonic linear motor can be reduced.

Ultrasonic linear motor

A head adjusting device for use in a tape recorder is disclosed. The device comprises an elastic plate body, a magnetic head fitting member formed by folding the plate body, a magnetic head fixed to the head fitting member and provided to the folded portion correspondingly, an azimuth adjusting mechanism provided to the plate body with a predetermined space for adjusting angular deviation of the head, and a tilt adjusting mechanism provided by screwing the head fitting member to the plate body for adjusting tilt angle of front and rear portions of the head with bias force of the head fitting member.

Head adjusting device

An accidental erasing preventive device is provided for a cassette tape recorder, which device includes a cassette compartment defined in a tape recorder body having therein, at least, a recording control circuit, the cassette compartment being arranged to be loaded with a tape cassette having in one lateral surface thereof at least one separatable accidental lock-out tab; an accidental erasing preventive lever disposed in a position opposing the accidental erasing lock-out tab of the tape cassette loaded in the cassette compartment, the accidental erasing preventive lever being arranged to rotate in a plane orthogonal to the bottom surface of the cassette chamber and detect the presence of the accidental erasing lock-out tab; and a resilient member biasing the accidental erasing preventive lever in the direction of allowing the latter to abut against the accidental erasing lock-out tab.

Accidental erasing preventative device for a cassette tape recorder

An eject device used in a magnetic recording tape driving apparatus comprises a first moving member which is free to move between a first position and a second position;

Eject device of magnetic recording tape driving apparatus for tape

A connecting device for use in a tape recorder comprises a plug member arranged to be connected to an external load and includes a conductive sleeve, a conductive tip provided therein and a movable pin projecting at the end portion of the tip. The device also includes a jack member provided on a housing of an electrical apparatus, including a contact segment provided to contact with the sleeve of the plug tip, switching contact segments provided to separate from each other by action of the tip, and another contact segment provided to contact with the pin so as to supply source voltage to the external load through the pin of the plug member.

Connecting device

A tape cassette lid opening device for a magnetic recording tape driving apparatus provided with a tape cassette loading section for receiving a tape cassette and a capstan projecting from the bottom surface of said tape cassette loading section, comprises a tape cassette lid and a tape cassette lid opening mechanism. The tape cassette lid is pivotally mounted on the magnetic recording tape driving apparatus and is pivotable between a first position, in which the tape cassette lid covers the tape cassette loading section, and a second position, in which the tape cassette lid permits the loading of said tape cassette into the tape cassette loading section and unloading of the tape cassette from the tape cassette loading section. The tape cassette lid opening mechanism includes a motor which causes the pivotal motion of the tape cassette lid from said first position to said second position by means of the driving force of the motor.

Tape cassette lid opening device for magnetic recording tape driving

A tape recorder comprises a control motor disposed separately of a tape driving motor and controlled by a control switch; a cam shaft to which the driving force of the control motor is transmitted; a head support plate for supporting a magnetic head, and a pinch roller or the like and which is movable between a first position in which the magnetic head is in contact with the magnetic tape and the tape is clamped between the pinch roller and the capstan shaft and a second position in which the magnetic head is not in contact with the tape and the tape is not clamped between the pinch roller and the capstan shaft; a biasing member for biasing the head support plate toward the first position; and a press cam secured to the cam shaft and to which a support plate is biased by the biasing force of the biasing member. The press cam, by its unitary rotation with the cam shaft, controls the position of the head support plate against the biasing force of the biasing member. The tape recorder further comprises a control cam secured to the cam shaft and coupled to the control switch to change over the control switch by unitary rotary rotation with the cam shaft and the press cam.

Tape recorder

An operation mode display apparatus comprises first and second display means (LED1 and LED2) capable of being operated independently of each other and a display state specifying means for specifying the display states of said first and second display means corresponding to an operation mode of a tape recorder. At least three operation modes of said tape recorder can be displayed by corresponding combinations of the display states of the first and second display means (LED1 and LED2).

Operation mode display apparatus

An indicator for tape running direction and tape remnant amount is provided which comprises a ring counter clocked by a sensing pulse corresponding to the rotation of a take-up reel, a counter for providing count value corresponding to the period of the sensing pulse, comparators each for comparing the count value of the counter with reference data, gate circuits which are connected to the output circuits of the ring counter and controlled by the comparators, and a display unit which receives the output pulses of the gate circuits and includes a plurality of decimal points for indicating the tape running direction and the tape remnant amount. The output signals of the ring counter are shifted corresponding to the tape running direction. The number of signal circuits of the output pulses led from the gate circuit to the display unit depends on the result of the comparison by the comparators. The glint of each decimal point is progressively shifted flashing in the direction corresponding to the tape running direction. The moving range of the glint depends on the tape remnant amount.

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Hachioji, Japan

Toshihiro Nakao