"Fooling around with alternating current is just a waste of time. Nobody will use it, ever."
Thomas Edison ; 1889
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7957073 | Lens apparatus and imaging apparatus A lens apparatus includes a first lens unit and a second lens unit each of which is configured to move in an optical axis direction, a first cam tube that includes a first cam part and a second cam part respectively on an outer circumferential surface and an inner c... | 06/07/2011 |
| 7835085 | Lens barrel and method of operation of lens barrel A lens barrel having a first moving barrel, second moving barrel, and a third moving barrel. The first moving barrel has first cam grooves configured corresponding to a focusing operation and holds an optical system used in a focusing operation. The second moving ba... | 11/16/2010 |
| 7817353 | Zoom lens barrel assembly Embodiments of a zoom lens barrel assembly for an imaging apparatus are provided. The zoom lens barrel has a simple structure and allows efficient space utilization in order to realize a compact size, which is currently required for a mobile imaging apparatus. The z... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7474472 | Zoom lens, and imaging system comprising the same The invention relates to a zoom lens favorable for offering a tradeoff between slimming down a lens system upon received in an associated lens mount and making sure a small F-number. There is a zoom lens provided, which comprises, in order from its object side, a fi... | 01/06/2009 |
| 7418199 | Imaging apparatus An imaging apparatus including a first lens unit with positive power in which the most object-side surface is concave and the most image-side surface is convex, an aperture stop, a second lens unit with positive power in which the most object-side surface is convex ... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7373082 | Light shielding structure of a zoom lens barrel A light shielding structure of a zoom lens barrel includes an outer ring, an intermediate ring and an inner ring which are concentrically arranged, the intermediate ring being movable relative to the outer ring and including at least one through-slot, the inner ring... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7336425 | Zoom lens system A zoom lens system includes, in order from an object, a first lens group having positive power, a second lens group having negative power, a third lens group having positive power, a fourth lens group having positive power, and a fifth lens group having positive pow... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7321471 | Lens barrel and lens system The invention is directed to a lens barrel and a compact lens system incorporating the lens barrel where notches defined in a cam barrel to serve as bolt holes and disengage the studs are reduced in dimensions both along and around the optical axis, thereby ensuring... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7319563 | Zoom lens system, imaging device and camera An object is to provide a high-resolution zoom lens system which has fewer lens elements and therefore, can be retracted into a compact form when not in use; and the zoom lens system, in order from the object side, comprises a first lens unit G1 having negati... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7307798 | Multi-step locking eye cup twist up device The present invention is a Twist Up device that consists of multiple pin-movement sections and pin-stopping sections. The pin-movement sections have Twist Up adjustment grooves in multiple steps, and these adjustment grooves allow the Twist Up ring to move the Twist... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7301577 | Digital camera with a collapsible lens barrel A digital camera can retain its optical performance and has a particularly slim closed status. The digital camera (1) includes two lens groups (51, 52) installed in a collapsible lens barrel (3a), a focus lens (44), and a CCD (4... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7295390 | Lens actuating device, camera module and portable electronic equipment Power from a focusing motor (14) is transmitted via a gear (35a) to a focusing lead screw (15) so that a first lens holder (4) is moved in a direction of an optical axis. Power from a zooming motor (10) is transmitted via a ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7295382 | Image pickup device and method of controlling a lens unit An image pickup device includes a collapsible lens barrel which is held in a main body of the device in non-picture-taking mode, and a shutter unit which is arranged behind a rearmost one of a plurality of optical lenses that make up the lens barrel and which includ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7265918 | Movable member supporting mechanism, and movable member supporting mechanism for lens barrel A movable member supporting mechanism includes a support ring; first and second rotatable members provided inside the support ring and supported thereby to be integrally rotatable and to be movable relative to each other in an axial direction thereof; a linearly mov... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7251081 | Zoom lens system Providing a zoom lens system having a high zoom ratio, a small diameter of the first lens group, capable of being effectively retracted upon retracting the lens barrel. The system includes, in order from an object, a first lens group having positive refractive power... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7218459 | Zoom lens assembly The present invention discloses a zoom lens assembly with capability of assuring concentricity of at least a lens group even during activity. The zoom lens assembly includes a plurality of optical lenses, at least two internal barrels, a lens holder and an alignment... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7215486 | Zoom lens and electronic imaging device having the same A zoom lens includes a most object-side lens unit remaining fixed on the optical axis when the magnification of the zoom lens is changed and a focusing operation is performed; a most image-side lens unit remaining fixed when the focusing operation is performed; and ... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7203009 | Lens device A lens device in which a first movable lens holding frame and a second movable lens holding frame are moved along an optical axis by rotating a cam cylinder rotatably provided on a lens barrel, an escape channel for escapement of a portion of the second movable lens... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7173768 | Zoom lens and image pickup apparatus A zoom lens has first to fifth lens groups G1 to G5 having positive, negative, positive, positive, and negative refractive power, in order from an object side. The first lens groups G1 includes a prism L2 for bending a light path. Zooming... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7126766 | Optical stop apparatus and exposure apparatus having the same An optical stop unit includes plural light blocking plates, and a cam mechanism for driving the plural light blocking plates to vary an aperture diameter, the cam mechanism including a cam follower and a cam groove, wherein the cam follower and cam groove have mutua... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7085070 | Zoom lens and electronic imaging device having the same A zoom lens includes a most object-side lens unit remaining fixed on the optical axis when the magnification of the zoom lens is changed and a focusing operation is performed; a most image-side lens unit remaining fixed when the focusing operation is performed; and ... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7054073 | Lens device A lens holding barrel is fitted in a fixed barrel in a manner that the lens holding barrel is slidable in optical axis direction. A cam ring is rotatably fitted on outer periphery of the fixed lens. Front regulating members are formed on front end of the fixed barre... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7035020 | Zoom lens A zoom lens includes a movable barrel mounting a lens holder barrel having a focusing lens element for rotational and axial movement therein and a cam barrel mounting the movable barrel for rectilinear axial movement therein. The movable barrel is axially moved for ... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7019915 | Lens barrels A lens barrel is retractable in electronic equipment having an image-generating device, such as a CCD. During photographing, the lens barrel relocates a first lens group and a second lens group to a predetermined position in an optical axis to zoom the image of an o... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7019914 | Lens barrel and image taking apparatus A lens barrel has its length which is reduced by dispensing with guide rods or a travel mechanism long extending from a base which fixes an image pickup device. The optical axes of multiple lens groups can be easily aligned. An image taking apparatus has its body wh... | 03/28/2006 |
| 6995926 | Lens barrel and lens barrel system The lens barrel with an adjustable focus comprises an external mounting unit, an optical unit and a control unit including a focusing motor and the like. The external mounting unit comprises a fixed frame covering the optical unit, a distance ring, an outer circumfe... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6954587 | Switching/moving structure of a zoom lens A zoom lens barrel includes a linear guide ring; a moving frame having a male helicoid; a rotatable ring coupled to the linear guide ring; a female helicoid formed on the rotatable ring, and engaged with the male helicoid; a switching ring coupled to the rotatable r... | 10/11/2005 |
| 6930840 | Mechanism element for optical devices A mechanism element for optical devices has a light-incident part on which light having a wavelength of 700 nm or more is incident, and the light-incident part is made of aluminum or an alloy of aluminum or magnesium. An anodizing process treatment to form an anodiz... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6927924 | Imaging optical instrument An imaging optical instrument causes light emitted from a plurality of light sources arranged adjacent an object to image on recording surfaces of a photosensitive or thermosensitive material. The optical instrument includes a two-sided telecentric optical system ha... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6919995 | Light shielding structure of a retractable lens barrel A light shielding structure of a retractable lens barrel includes a lens system, a lens frame to which a lens group is fixed; at least one movable annular member into which the lens frame is screw-engaged, and which is moved along the optical axis in a predetermined... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6888685 | Retracting mechanism of a zoom lens barrel A retracting mechanism of a zoom lens barrel includes first, second and third lens groups, wherein the first and third lens groups are integrally moved along an optical axis during variation of a focal length, and wherein at least one of the first and third lens gro... | 05/03/2005 |
| 6867926 | Cam rib support structure A cam mechanism includes a cam ring including a cam rib which is formed on a peripheral surface of the cam ring; and a follower ring which is concentric with the cam ring, the follower ring including a pair of cam followers which hold the cam rib between the pair of... | 03/15/2005 |
| 6853503 | Eccentricity-prevention mechanism for a pair of lens-supporting rings An eccentricity-prevention mechanism includes a pair of lens-supporting rings for supporting a pair of lens groups, respectively; and a pair of positioning recesses and a follower projection formed on one and the other of opposed surfaces of the pair of lens-support... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6853500 | Retracting mechanism of a zoom lens barrel A retracting mechanism of a zoom lens barrel includes a first through third lens group moving rings; a first linear guide projection formed on the first lens group moving ring to be engaged in a linear guide slot from outside the second lens group moving ring, the f... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6839187 | Lens distance-varying mechanism, and step-zoom lens incorporating the same A lens distance-varying mechanism for varying a distance between first and second lens groups includes a first lens frame; a second lens frame rotatable relative to the first lens frame; a relative-moving mechanism for moving the first and second lens frames to chan... | 01/04/2005 |
| 6778334 | Lens barrel A lens barrel includes a cam ring which is rotated about an optical axis to move a lens group in the optical axis direction via a cam groove formed on the cam ring, and a rotational ring which transfers a rotational motion to the cam ring. The rotational ring includ... | 08/17/2004 |
| 6778332 | Soft focus lens barrel A soft focus lens barrel includes a stationary barrel; a distance operation ring, a soft focus operation ring, and an image surface operation ring, supported by the stationary barrel; a focus guide mechanism which varies a focal position of first through fourth lens... | 08/17/2004 |
| 6778330 | Focusing apparatus of a telescopic lens system A focusing apparatus applied to a telescopic lens system includes more than two lens groups. The focusing apparatus includes two focusing mechanisms which are operable independently from each other, and are adapted to vary both absolute and relative positions of two... | 08/17/2004 |
| 6750947 | Driving device and exposure apparatus A driving device includes a first member, an annular second member arranged outside the first member, an annular first plate for connecting the first and second members to each other, and an annular second plate for connecting the first and second members to each ot... | 06/15/2004 |
| 6747807 | Lens barrel A lens barrel includes a stationary barrel, first through third lens support rings, and a lens drive ring including a first guide engaged with a guide formed on the stationary barrel; an engaging portion engaged with a guide formed on the first lens support ring, th... | 06/08/2004 |