Nidec Sankyo Corporation

Sankyo Seiki Mfg. Co., Ltd

Omron Corporation

Yuji Fujita

Yoshifusa Miyasaka

Noboru Otsuki

Kenichi Hayashi

Hidekazu Yoneyama

Tetsuro Okamura

Takahiro Azuma

Toshifumi Tsuruta

Toshio Yamamoto

Yoichi Nakanishi

Ryuji Kawamoto

Masao Yajima

Yuichi Suzuki

Sadayoshi Yasuda

Shinichi Kudo

In the lens drive unit; the position retaining parts are advanced by rotating the position retaining member, which is held in the case body in such a manner as to become rotatable, in the R direction so that the position retaining parts are positioned just under the protrusion parts of the movable lens body, and eventually the movable lens body can be retained at the middle position. Furthermore, the through-holes are advanced by rotating the position retaining member in the R direction so that the through-holes are positioned just under the protrusion parts of the movable lens body, and eventually the protrusion parts loosely get fitted into the through-holes of the position retaining member to enable the body tube holder to move downward.

Lens drive unit

A common objective lens typically used in reading data from different optical data storage media that are responsive to laser beams of different wavelengths, such as CD and DVD is provided. The lens has a refracting surface with inner and outer refracting surface regions. Diffraction gratings are provided in both the inner and outer refracting surface regions with each having a differential optical path function. The inner diffraction grating and at least a part of the outer diffraction grating emit an order of diffracted beams which have different polarities to cancel out any spherical aberrations caused by a change in temperature.

Lens, optical head apparatus, and objective lens for the optical head apparatus

An optical switch device for driving a movable member mounting a light reflection member thereon by a magnetic drive circuit, wherein, in an optical waveguide switching device () as an optical switch device, a movable member () mounting thereon an optical waveguide switching prism mirror () is driven in an X direction by a magnetic drive circuit while being floated from a fixing-side member () in order to improve stability of a light outputting position. When the movable member () is moved to a desired position in the X direction, power supply to solenoids () is stopped in a clamp mechanism (), and a clamp plate () presses the movable member () against the fixing-side member () to fix it. A V-groove () formed in the movable member () and a V-groove () formed in the fixing-side member () mesh each other to position the movable member () in the X direction.

Optical switch device

A lens driving apparatus includes a lens holder and a driver for providing linear motion to the lens holder along an optical axis of the lens. The driver includes an electromagnetic mechanism, provided at the outer circumference of the lens holder in an enclosing manner, for generating a torque around the optical axis; and a switching mechanism for switching the generated torque to a linear driving force along the optical axis so as to linearly move the lens holders. The driver surrounds the lens holder along the outer circumference to allow a smaller sized lens driving apparatus than that where the lens holder is at a side of the lens driving apparatus. In addition, the switching mechanism prevents the lens holder from moving in the optical axial direction, when power is turned off or even when an external force is applied to the lens holder.

Lens driving apparatus, thin camera, and a cellular phone having a thin camera

An optical head device that converges first and second laser beams having different wavelengths on recording surfaces of first and second optical recording media through a single light converging optical system including an objective lens for recording or reproducing data on the recording surfaces. A refracting surface of the objective lens is divided into two regions, i.e., a central refracting surface region with an optical axis thereof being as a center and an outer circumferential refracting surface region that surrounds an outer circumference of the central refracting surface region. A diffraction grating is formed generally entirely over the central refracting surface region. When recording or reproducing data on the first optical recording medium using the first laser beam, a beam spot is formed with a diffracted beam obtained by the central refracting surface region. When recording or reproducing data on the second optical recording medium using the second laser beam, a beam spot is formed with a beam portion that passes the outer circumferential refracting surface region and a diffracted beam obtained by the central refracting surface region.

Optical head device and objective lens

A lens driving device includes a moving body equipped with a lens and a driving magnet attached to the lens, and a fixed body that is equipped with a driving coil that forms together with the driving magnet a magnetic circuit and moves the moving body in an optical axis direction of the lens between a first lens retaining position and a second lens retaining position, and at least one magnetic member disposed adjacent to at least one of two end sections in the optical axis direction of the driving magnet. The moving body is retained at the first lens retaining position by magnetic attraction caused by the driving magnet and the magnetic member when energization of the driving coil is stopped. Accordingly, the driving coil does not need to be energized while the lens is retained at the first lens retaining position.

Lens driving device

Growing community of inventors

Nagano, Japan

Yuji Fujita