Minolta Company, Ltd.

Yoshifumi Harada

Hideki Nagata

Tetsuya Uno

Hitoshi Hagimori

Daigo Yoshioka

Yasuo Hawai

Hiroaki Hasegawa

Hiroshi Sugiyama

Haruki Yoshida

A structure for holding lenses in which they are inserted into a lens frame in an axial direction thereof for their mounting thereon, and in which a lens that is first inserted into the lens frame is fixed thereto by caulking a part of the lens frame against the lens, so that an enlargement in a radial direction of the lens frame is prevented. The lens frame has three through-holes in a circumferential direction with an equal space therebetween in which the through-holes form around an intermediate position thereof relative to the axial direction, a stepped surface on a first end opposite a second end from which the lens is inserted, and a partial caulking projection which forms inside each hole as a part of the lens frame. After the first lens is inserted from the second end into the lens frame, the partial caulking projection is thermally caulked against a periphery, of the lens, which is downstream relative to the direction in which the lens is inserted, so that the first lens is held between the stepped surface and the partial caulking projection.

Lens holding structure, its assembling method and its dimension

A lens assembly is disclosed in which the amount of movement of at least one lens unit is achieved by combining the amounts of relative movement of at least two barrels. A linear advancement barrel advances straight ahead relative to a fixed barrel. A first lens unit moves together with the linear advancement barrel. A second lens unit is located in front of the first lens unit along the optical axis. A third lens unit is located behind the first lens unit along the optical axis. A cam ring moves together with the linear advancement barrel along the optical axis and rotates around the optical axis. The cam ring has first and second cams that move the second lens unit and the third lens unit by amounts of movement relative to the linear advancement barrel.

Lens assembly which zooms by combined movement of plural barrels

Growing community of inventors

Hashimoto, Japan

Yoshifumi Harada