Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toyomi Miyagawa

Makoto Jinno

Akira Kudo

Shiro Tsukada

A power transmission mechanism comprising: a flexible power transmission element; a pair of a drive pulley and a driven pulley on which the flexible power transmission element is wound, each the pulley having a pin-embedding hole formed to extend from the outer circumferential thereof toward the center thereof, and a slit elongated in the circumferential direction of the pulley to extend to opposite sides of the embedding hole and communicating with the embedding hole; and a pair of columnar or tapered anchor pins each having a path hole penetrating the anchor pin across the lengthwise direction thereof to receive the flexible power transmission element inserted therein, wherein each the anchor pin receiving the flexible power transmission element in the path hole thereof is embedded in the embedding hole of the associated pulley under pressure, and the flexible power transmission element is thereby held on the pulley.

Power transmission mechanism and manipulator

An optical rotary encoder device comprises a disk which has first and second sections differing in the amount of reflected light formed alternately on its entire periphery, the first sections being made up of high reflectivity sections in a specific angular portion in a 360-degree range and low reflectivity sections in the remaining angular portion in the 360-degree range, a light projection/reception section which is positioned so as to face the disk and projects and receives light onto and from the first and second sections on the disk, and rotating mechanism which rotates the disk and the light projection/reception section relatively.

Optical rotary encoder device and an apparatus using the same

An ultrasonic probe for observing an object by emitting an ultrasonic wave to the object and detecting another ultrasonic wave reflected from the object comprises: a flexible tube; an ultrasonic transducer disposed within the tube rotatably about an axial center of the tube; and a rotational information detecting apparatus for detecting rotational information of the ultrasonic transducer which includes: a signal generating surface disposed in the tube coaxially with respect to the axial center of the tube and having reflecting portions and non-reflecting portions formed alternately and repeatedly; at least one optical fiber arranged along and near the axial center of the tube, for guiding a light beam to be irradiated upon the signal generating surface from an end surface of the optical fiber and for receiving and guiding an optical signal reflected from the signal generating surface at the end surface thereof; and an optical signal detecting section for detecting the rotational information on the basis of the optical signal guided through the optical fiber. Since the optical fiber for guiding a light beam to be irradiated upon the signal generating surface and further the optical signal reflected from the signal generating surface is disposed in the vicinity of the axial center of the tube, even when the ultrasonic probe is bent, it is possible to reduce the expansion and contraction rate of the optical fiber to such a small range as with the case where the optical fiber is bent at the axial center, thus preventing the optical fiber from being damaged or cut off and improving the transmission characteristics of the optical fiber.

Ultrasonic probe

A mechanical ultrasonic scanner includes a transducer element which is swingably supported in a housing, and a sensor for detecting a swinging angle of the transducer element. The sensor includes a permanent magnet swung together with the transducer element, and a magnetoresistive element fixed to the housing to be opposite to a swinging locus of the permanent magnet. The permanent magnet generates a magnetic field between the permanent magnet and the magnetoresistive element. The magnetoresistive element detects a strength of the magnetic field which changes in correspondence with a swinging angle of the magnet, so that the swinging angle of the transducer element is detected on the basis of the change in the strength of the magnetic field. Even if the housing contains a sound transmitting medium, the magnetic field generated by the sensor is not adversely affected by the sound transmitting medium. Therefore, the swinging angle of the transducer element can be accurately detected to accurately obtain a radiating/returning direction of an ultrasonic beam, thus accurately reconstructing an image. In addition, the position of the transducer element can be controlled with high precision.

Growing community of inventors

Chigasaki, Japan

Toyomi Miyagawa