Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd.

Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Fujinon Corporation

Fujifilm Corporation

Fuji Photo Optical., Ltd.

Yukio Noguchi

Takehiko Senba

Syunji Nishimura

Masaya Nozawa

Yoshihiro Ito

Yoji Naka

Haruo Onozuka

Mitsuo Manabe

Takashi Suzuki

Yoshihiro Fujita

Seimei Ushiro

Kazunori Ohno

Yasuhiko Tanaka

Tatsuo Saito

Hiroshi Komatsuzaki

Fumio Iwai

Michihiro Shiina

Takao Umetsu

Masayoshi Hirai

Takao Koda

Masao Shoji

Muneyoshi Saitoh

A piezoelectric actuator having a frame portion includes a drive shaft for frictional engagement with an engageable barrel arm of a lens unit. First and second piezoelectric elements are supported on the frame portion, and provided with first and second ends of respectively the drive shaft. A drive pulse generator supplies the piezoelectric elements with a drive signal to expand or contract the piezoelectric elements, and moves the engageable barrel arm in an axial direction by an alternately repeating sequence of shifting the drive shaft at low and high speeds in the axial direction. In the shifting at the high speed, the piezoelectric elements shift the drive shaft in a backward direction quickly, to move the drive shaft in the backward direction relative to the engageable barrel arm being stationary with inertial force.

Driving device and optical instrument

A lens frame holding a taking lens is movably connected to a driving shaft via a connector. A guide member is disposed at a lower portion of the lens frame so as to separate from the connector by about 180 degrees around an optical axis. The guide member is movably attached to a guide rod. A light emitter is disposed on a lateral side of the lens frame so as to separate from the connector by about 90 degrees around the optical axis. The light emitter applies the light to a light receiver of a line sensor confronting the light emitter. The line sensor sends a light-reception signal, which is outputted from the light receiver, to a lens-position controller. Positional information of the taking lens is obtained on the basis of the light-reception signal so that a position of the taking lens is accurately detected.

Lens device and imaging device using the same

A heat sink is attached to a subject-side end portion of a barrel body of a lens barrel. The heat sink is provided with a large number of radiation fins formed in whorl. A heat pipe is disposed between the heat sink and a mount-side end portion of the barrel body. A CCD is fixed to the mount-side end portion of the barrel body. Heat of the CCD is transferred to the heat pipe via the mount-side end portion. Successively, the heat is efficiently transferred to the heat sink by the heat pipe. The heat having been transferred to the heat sink is efficiently radiated into the air by the whorl-like radiation fins regardless of conditions of the lens barrel.

Lens barrel for image taking lens

A lens barrel assembly for use with a digital still camera includes an outer barrel having a front end and a rear end. An inner barrel is inserted in the outer barrel in an optical axis direction. The outer barrel moves forwards relative to the inner barrel, to shift between a short size position and a long size position, and when in the short size position, shifts from the inner barrel at a smallest shifting amount, and when in the long size position, shifts from the inner barrel at a largest shifting amount. A vent is formed in the outer barrel, and disposed close to the front end. A filter is water-impermeable and air-permeable, and secured to the vent in a closed manner. Also, a vent cover is secured to the outer barrel, for covering the vent.

Lens barrel assembly having outer and inner barrels

A first drive shaft is disposed with a first piezoelectric element at one end and a second piezoelectric element at the other end. A second drive shaft is disposed with the second piezoelectric element at one end and a third piezoelectric element at the other end. First and second lens holding frames are frictionally engaged with the first and second drive shafts respectively in a slidable manner. The first, second and third piezoelectric elements are expanded and contracted according to a drive signal and move the first and second lens holding frames in an axial direction respectively. When the moving velocity of the first and second lens holding frames are reduced, the phase difference between the drive signals, which are output to the respective piezoelectric elements, is adjusted so that the moving velocity becomes higher.

Driving device, image capture apparatus and mobile phone

An aperture regulating apparatus includes a moving barrel moving straight in an optical axis direction, a rotation barrel rotatably held by the moving barrel, a cam member movably fitted on the moving barrel, and a shutter unit movably contained in the moving barrel. In moving the moving barrel in the optical axis direction by magnifying operation, the rotation barrel moves in the optical axis direction with the moving barrel with rotation, and the cam member moves in the optical axis direction on an outer surface of the moving barrel in accordance with rotation of the rotation barrel. The shutter unit has a regulation lever getting in rotational range of shutter blades. The regulation lever is displaced according to movement of the cam member to control a rotational amount of the shutter blades. An aperture size is regulated according to a focal length of a taking lens.

Aperture regulating apparatus

A zoom lens device includes a zoom optical system, in which front, middle and rear lens groups are set at one focal length between a wide-angle end where a focal length is short and a telephoto end where the focal length is long. Lens barrels move in first and second regions to move the front, middle and rear lens groups along an optical axis. The lens barrels, when in the first region, focus the zoom optical system with a predetermined focal length kept by maintaining an interval between the front and middle lens groups, and when in the second region, change the focal length of the zoom optical system. A combination of a cam follower pin and a cam groove effects focusing by moving the middle lens group relative to the front lens group along the optical axis when the lens barrels are in the second region.

Zoom lens device

A lens barrel includes first and second cylinders, a base, a single motor, a feed screw, a rotation mechanism, a helicoid mechanism, and a drive gear for transmitting a drive force of the motor to the feed screw and the rotation mechanism. The drive gear includes a cylindrical gear and a shaft gear having a shaft inserted in the cylindrical gear. The cylindrical gear and the shaft gear rotate about a common rotation axis. The cylindrical gear is interposed between the rotation mechanism and the motor, and the shaft gear is interposed between the feed screw and the motor. Accordingly, zooming and focusing can be driven by one motor, increasing integration and providing excellent space efficiency.

Lens barrel

A moving mechanism for a cylinder is provided, in which a projection and groove are engaged by relative movement different from that of a helicoid mechanism and movement of inner and outer cylinders relative to each other can be freely set. In the moving mechanism, a first helicoid thread is helically formed on the inner surface of an intermediate cylinder, a second helicoid thread that threadably engages with the first helicoid thread is helically formed on the outer surface of a movable cylinder, and the intermediate cylinder is rotated so the movable cylinder is moved relative to the intermediate cylinder. A projection is formed on the outer surface of the movable cylinder and a groove engageable with the projection is formed in the inner surface of the intermediate cylinder. In a range where the first and second helicoid threads threadably engage with each other upon relative movement of the movable cylinder, the groove is formed parallel to the first helicoid thread. In a range where the first and second helicoid threads do not threadably engage with each other, the groove has a nonparallel region not parallel to at least the first helicoid thread.

Moving mechanism

A lens barrel includes first and second tubes, a base, a single motor, and a drive gear for transmitting a drive force of the motor to the first and second tubes. The drive gear includes a cylindrical gear and a shaft gear having a shaft inserted in the cylindrical gear. The cylindrical gear and the shaft gear rotate about a common rotation axis. The cylindrical gear is interposed between a first feed screw and the motor, and the shaft gear is interposed between a second feed screw and the motor. Accordingly, zooming and focusing can be made by one motor, increasing density and integration and providing excellent space efficiency.

A lens driving apparatus includes an intermediate barrel expandable and collapsible in an optical axis direction, for moving a rear lens group in the optical axis direction along with expanding and collapsing; a movable barrel, concentric with the intermediate barrel, expandable and collapsible with respect to the intermediate barrel along with the expanding and collapsing of the intermediate barrel, for moving a front lens group in the optical axis direction when expanding from the intermediate barrel; and a click ball for holding the front lens group when the movable barrel collapses, so as to move the front lens group together with the intermediate barrel. As a consequence, when the movable barrel collapses, the front lens group can be held and moved together with the intermediate barrel so the focus can be adjusted appropriately, and the apparatus can be made smaller at a lower cost.

Lens driving apparatus

A barrier opening and closing apparatus for opening and closing a barrier according to a rotation of a lens barrel containing an optical lens system includes a ring member rotatable about an optical axis of the optical lens system and opening and closing the barrier according to rotation of the ring member. The ring member has rotational force transmitting parts extending rearward, parallel to the optical axis and engaging the lens barrel. The ring member is directly rotated by the rotational force transmitting parts engaged with the lens barrel, to open and close the barrier so the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

Barrier opening and closing apparatus

A camera has a camera body being made of an electro-conductive material and a plurality of windows for light-projection or a light intake thereon. At least one of covering members for the windows includes an exposed part being exposed toward an outside of the camera and a hidden part being located in an inside of the camera. A first electrode is attached to the exposed part and a second electrode is attached to the hidden part. When a finger obstructs the window, a detecting means detects a finger obstruction by comparing the electrostatic capacity at the first electrode with that at the second electrode relatively. Then, warning is generated for indicating the finger obstruction by a warning generating means.

Camera

A photographic camera has a film magazine chamber and a film take-up chamber disposed on opposite sides of an optical system of a viewfinder. A gear train transmits power for taking up the film between the film magazine chamber and the film take-up chamber. The gear train has a power transmission shaft which extends right and left of the camera body and has a length sufficient to extend across the optical system of the viewfinder, and a recess is formed in the contour of the optical system of the viewfinder as viewed from a side of the optical system. The power transmission shaft extends through the recess.

Photographic camera

A finder structure for a camera, in which the finder is divided into an objective block and an eyepiece block. The housings of these blocks are removably connected with each other, thereby allowing one of the housings to move with respect to the other housing in a direction transversely of the optical axis of the finder to correct parallax. The structure comprises in the finder, a field frame plate, panoramic field frame members defining panoramic field frames, and a field frame changeover lever which engages with the panoramic field frame members. A shaft of the field frame changeover lever is rotatably received in an opening formed in the housing of the finder to engage with a finder drive lever disposed outside the finder, allowing the finder drive lever to be linked to a photography mode changeover lever to slide the panoramic field frame members by operation of the photography mode changeover lever. The finder is incorporated in the camera body by mounting either one of the objective block or the eyepiece block on the camera body, and connecting the other block (not mounted on the camera body) to the block mounted to the body with locking screws or the like. Parallax is corrected by loosening the locking screws to move the block not mounted on the camera body relative to the block mounted on the camera body.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Yukio Noguchi