Minolta Company, Ltd.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.

Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Panasonic Corporation

Konica-minolta Holdings, Inc.

Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc.

Yoshihiro Hara

Akira Kosaka

Kenji Ishibashi

Yasutaka Tanimura

Hiroshi Ootsuka

Takeshi Takagi

Junichi Tanii

Masataka Hamada

Shigeru Wada

Keiji Tamai

Tomonori Satoh

Natsuko Shiota

Akira Asai

Masayuki Miyazawa

Hiroshi Ueda

Akihiko Fujino

Shigeto Ohmori

Kazuhiko Yukawa

Satoshi Yokota

Yasuo Maeda

Fumiaki Ishito

Akira Inoue

Katsuya Nozawa

Tohru Saitoh

Yoshihiko Kanzawa

Minoru Kubo

Teruhito Ohnishi

Akihiko Ishibashi

Koji Katayama

Yoshito Iwasawa

Yuzaburo Ban

Koichiro Yuki

Masahiro Kume

Haruyuki Sorada

Kazuaki Matsui

Nobuyuki Uemura

Yo Ichikawa

Sadanobu Ueda

Takeshi Aoi

Tokuji Ishida

Junji Sato

Toshihiko Ishimura

Toru Matsuura

Masayuki Ueyama

Takashi Kondo

Takehiro Katoh

Gaku Sugahara

Shoichi Minato

Toshihiro Hamamura

Shigeru Morimoto

Yoshiharu Tanaka

Norihiko Akamatsu

Natsuki Yamamoto

Masatoshi Yoneyama

Yasuaki Serita

Mamoru Arayashiki

Yasuhiro Honda

Kimiharu Akahoshi

Rieko Izume

Hiroshi Yoshino

Teruhito Oonishi

Yasuo Nakanishi

Masamichi Oohara

Satoshi Masuda

Isao Kidoguchi

Toshiyuki Tanaka

Kaoru Ishida

Kohtaro Hayashi

Yoshiaki Hasegawa

Takahiro Kawashima

Yoshihiro Tanaka

Shunsuke Hirano

Ayumu Tsujimura

Minoru Kuwana

Yukio Maekawa

Tetsuro Kanbara

Tetsuya Arimoto

Masaharu Udagawa

Kiyoshi Kojima

Kazuyoshi Amami

Nobuo Hashimoto

Shizuo Furuyama

Tadashi Kawamata

Katsuhiko Morioka

Masaaki Kuriyama

Kyoichi Hasegawa

Mikio Sakurai

Kazuhiko Yokawa

Hiroshi Otsuka

An image sensor unit includes a fixed substrate, a movable substrate, an actuate section including an actuator for moving the movable substrate against the fixed substrate, an image sensor having an imaging surface on a front surface of the image sensor, and at least, a part of a rear surface of the image sensor being directly fixed onto the movable substrate, an external electrical connecting member for conducting a transmission and reception of signals between the actuate section and the image sensor and an outside of the image sensor unit, and an internal electrical connecting member electrically connects the actuate section, the image sensor and the external connection wiring, wherein the actuate section, the image sensor, the internal connection wiring and a part of the external connection wiring are sealed into the same space.

Image sensor unit and image sensor apparatus

To provide a drive unit and a drive module which include a shape memory alloy as a drive source to move a driven member and are capable of the high-precision movement of the driven member to a reference position. A drive unit and a drive module can be provided by controlling, in the drive unit and the drive module which include the shape memory alloy as the drive source to move the driven member, the shape memory alloy so that the resistance of the shape memory alloy is equal to the resistance when the driven member is located at the reference position.

Drive unit, movable module, and autofocus control method

Provided is a Polar modulation apparatus which compensates for output characteristics of a power amplifier. A data generator generates an amplitude component signal and a phase component signal. A phase modulator generates a phase modulated signal obtained by phase modulating the phase component signal. An adder adds an amplitude offset voltage to the amplitude component signal. A power amplifier which includes a first hetero-junction bipolar transistor, amplifies the phase modulated signal by using the amplitude component signal. A monitor unit monitors the power amplifier and outputs a monitor voltage. The control unit calculates the amplitude offset voltage according to the monitor voltage and outputs the calculated amplitude offset voltage to the adder. The monitor unit includes a second hetero-junction bipolar transistor and outputs a collector emitter voltage of the second hetero-junction bipolar transistor as the monitor voltage.

Polar modulation apparatus and communication device

A storing section () stores a second initial contact instruction value, which is predefined as an instruction value for positioning a movable portion () to a second contact position where the movable portion () is contacted with a stopper (), and an initial standby instruction value, which is predefined as an instruction value for positioning the movable portion () to a specified standby position within a moving range of the movable portion (). A correcting section () calculates an actual standby instruction value by correcting the initial standby instruction value, based on a second actual contact instruction value obtained when a contact detection section () has detected that the movable portion () is positioned to the second contact position, and the second initial contact instruction value. A setting section () sets a standby position corresponding to the actual standby instruction value, as an actual standby position of the movable portion ().

Driving device made of shape-memory alloy

A drive device includes a setting unitfor setting a control value using a control value-displacement characteristic at a predetermined reference temperature showing a relationship between a control value used to position a movable unitand a displacement of the movable unit; a drive unitfor supplying drive power corresponding to the control value set by the setting unitto a shape-memory alloyand causing the shape-memory alloyto expand or contract, thereby positioning the movable unit; and a correction unitfor correcting the control value so as to correct a position shift of the movable unitfrom a target position resulting from a difference between a control value-displacement characteristic at an ambient temperature and a control value-displacement characteristic at the reference temperature based on the ambient temperature detected by a temperature detection unit

Drive device

An optical unit and image pickup apparatus capable of performing 'auto focus function' and 'image shake correction function' and characterized by easy assembling, compact configuration, high performance and reduced costs is provided. The optical unit and image pickup apparatus are provided with a polymer actuator to move an optical device, whereby performing auto focus function and image shake correction function can be performed. The polymer actuator is provided with electric wirings for image pickup device, thereby reducing the number of circuit board used for electric wiring of the image pickup device, with the result that an optical unit and image pickup apparatus characterized by easy assembling, compact configuration, high performance and reduced costs are provided.

Optical unit and image pickup apparatus having an optical device and a polymer actuator for moving the optical device

An object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized image sensor device having high precision of moving an object to be moved. The image sensor device includes: a fixed unit; a movable unit including an image sensor; a beam unit fixed to the fixed unit and movably supporting the movable unit; a driving unit for applying a driving force for moving the movable unit; and a wire unit provided for the beam unit and electrically connecting the image sensor and an external circuit.

Image sensor device with movable sensor

Drive unit and drive module

A drive unit and drive module which use a shape memory alloy as a drive source to move a driven member, and which can drive at a high speed, independently of the ambient temperature and the position of the driven member. The timing of moving the driven member is controlled based on the position to which the driven member is moved, and based on the settling time for the driven member moved to that position to settle at that position, thus, the driven section can be moved in the minimum drive time, and this arrangement provides the drive unit and drive module that can drive at a high speed, independently of the ambient temperature and the position of the driven member.

An optical unit is provided which is characterized by compact configuration, high performance and minimized noise, and which has a drive element to drive a lens cone holding an image pickup optical system, and has the same outside diameter as the lens cone, wherein the optical unit drives the image pickup optical system by expanding and contracting the drive element in a direction of an optical axis of the image pickup optical system. An image pickup apparatus is provided which is characterized by compact configuration, high performance and minimized noise, and which has an optical unit coupled to an image pickup unit through a drive element, and has the same outside diameter as the optical unit, wherein the apparatus drives the optical unit by expanding and contracting the drive unit in a direction of an optical axis of the optical unit.

Optical unit and image pickup apparatus utilizing electrostrictive drive elements

Provided is a transmission circuit capable of operating with high linearity and with low noise. An AM variable fc filter uses an AM cutoff frequency to remove a high frequency component from an amplitude signal. An amplifier supplies a power amplifier with a voltage which is a result of amplifying the amplitude signal outputted from the AM variable fc filter. A PM variable fc filter uses a PM cutoff frequency to remove a high frequency component from a phase signal. A phase modulator phase-modulates the phase signal outputted from the PM variable fc filter to output a high-frequency phase-modulated signal. The power amplifier amplifies the high-frequency phase-modulated signal by using the voltage supplied from the amplifier, and outputs a resultant signal as a transmission signal. The AM variable fc filter and the PM variable fc filter respectively control the AM cutoff frequency and the PM cutoff frequency such that the AM cutoff frequency and the PM cutoff frequency each have an opposite characteristic to that of an output power of the transmission signal.

Transmission circuit and communication device

An object of the preset invention is to provide a technique capable of preventing occurrence of an assembly error. A driving apparatus for driving an object includes: a driving part having a stationary part and a moving part; and a displacement transmitting part for transmitting a displacement to the object in accordance with a drive displacement of the moving part. The displacement transmitting part and the moving part coupled to the displacement transmitting part are integrally molded.

Driving apparatus, image capturing unit, and image capturing apparatus

A transmission circuit is capable of precisely compensating for an offset characteristic of an amplitude modulation section, and operating with low distortion and high efficiency over a wide output electric power range. A signal generation section outputs an amplitude signal and an angle modulation signal. An amplitude amplifying section inputs, to the amplitude modulation section, a signal corresponding to a magnitude of the amplitude signal having been inputted. The amplitude modulation section amplitude-modulates the angle modulation signal with the signal inputted from the amplitude amplifying section, and outputs a resultant signal as a modulation signal. The power measuring section measures an output power of the amplitude modulation section. An offset compensation section reads an offset compensation value from a memory in accordance with the output power of the amplitude modulation section, and adds the read offset compensation value to the amplitude signal.

An art of a driving device for appropriately improving a response of an SMA actuator will be provided. A portable telephonehas an image stabilization systemfor driving an image pickup unitby a pair of driving membersandfunctioning as actuators, thereby performing image stabilization. Driving membersandare formed as a wire of shape memory alloy (SMA) and when a voltage is applied to both ends and a current is supplied, driving force is generated in the contraction direction. With respect to the wire diameter of the SMAs, the wire diameter of the SMAs is set between 10 &#x3bc;m and 80 &#x3bc;m, thus the mountability and response are improved appropriately.

Driving device and image stabilizing system

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Takatsuki, Japan

Yoshihiro Hara