The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 06, 1996
Filed:
Jan. 19, 1994
Koichi Umeyama, Kasukabe, JP;
Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Tokyo, JP;
Yasuhiro Ueda, Tokyo, JP;
Sakae Takehana, Tokyo, JP;
Hiroki Moriyama, Yokahama, JP;
Kazuhiro Yoshida, Tokyo, JP;
Yutaka Fujisawa, Tokyo, JP;
Ichiro Takahashi, Shirakawa, JP;
Masami Hamada, Tokyo, JP;
Keiichi Arai, Tokyo, JP;
Yutaka Tatsuno, Tokyo, JP;
Kenji Yoshino, Tokyo, JP;
Tomoki Funakubo, Tokyo, JP;
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An actuator apparatus for driving a focus adjusting lens of a focus adjusting mechanism of an endoscope comprises a moving member put in slidable frictional engagement with a base of the endoscope, the moving member having coupling means for coupling with the movable portion within the endoscope, a piezoelectric element coupled to the moving member, the piezoelectric element and the moving member alone constituting a body of the actuator apparatus, and actuator control circuit for causing quick deformation in the piezoelectric element, enabling the piezoelectric element to apply an impulse force to the moving member, thereby moving the moving member against a frictional engagement force acting between the base and the moving member.