Patents by Inventor Kunio Yokoyama

Kunio Yokoyama has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6542701
    Abstract: This camera is a camera having a compartment for loading and storing various members with a predetermined sheet member attached along the inner wall face of the compartment, in which the sheet member is attached at a predetermined position by a very easy and inexpensive means while assuring good operability during the assembly operation and the disassembly operation, comprising a camera main body where an aperture section is formed at a visible position and a sheet member which is attached by elastic deformation without gluing for covering the aperture section, to be attached/removed easily. With such construction, a camera which can contribute to making the manufacturing process efficient and decreasing the manufacturing cost can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Yuji Kobayashi, Hitoshi Yagi
  • Publication number: 20010033749
    Abstract: This camera is a camera having a compartment for loading and storing various members with a predetermined sheet member attached along the inner wall face of the compartment, in which the sheet member is attached at a predetermined position by a very easy and inexpensive means while assuring good operability during the assembly operation and the disassembly operation, comprising a camera main body where an aperture section is formed at a visible position and a sheet member which is attached by elastic deformation without gluing for covering the aperture section, to be attached/removed easily. With such construction, a camera which can contribute to making the manufacturing process efficient and decreasing the manufacturing cost can be provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Publication date: October 25, 2001
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Yuji Kobayashi, Hitoshi Yagi
  • Patent number: 6243540
    Abstract: A lens barrel assembly includes a lens barrel and a lens hood detachably mounted on the lens barrel. A lens barrel includes a mounting threaded portion and three guide rails at three circularly equally spaced positions around the lens barrel. Each guide rail is provided with a forward latch and a rearward latch. The lens hood is constructed of an elastically deformable member, and has a notch to be engaged with the rail. The lens hood is in sliding engagement with the outer circumference of the lens barrel, and is movable between a retracted position and a photographing position. At each position, the lens hood is locked by the respective latch. The lens hood is easily shifted to the photographing position or to the retracted position along the lens barrel, and is also easily attached to and detached from a camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideaki Kume, Kunio Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 6190059
    Abstract: In a camera body section of a camera according to the present invention, a cartridge chamber unit and a spool chamber unit are located on a lower connecting member with a lens barrel unit as a central unit. Furthermore, a driving-force transfer mechanism is located under the lower connecting member. An output of a driving motor located inside the spool chamber is transferred to the lens barrel unit, cartridge chamber unit, and spool chamber unit through a driving-force transfer mechanism by changing the unit receiving the output. In particular, the driven sections of the lens barrel unit and cartridge chamber unit are driven through a worm gear. According to this camera, it requires a minimum change of each unit section to accommodate a specification change and/or a model change. In addition, it is easy to perform partial assembly of every unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koji Kato, Setsuya Kataoka, Kunio Yokoyama, Tatsuya Suzuki, Keita Takahashi
  • Patent number: 6160583
    Abstract: A rectilinear barrel of a camera supporting a lens group in a manner that the lens group is movable along a rectilinear slot in the direction of its optical axis, a cam ring which has on its circumference a rib with a cutout portion and which rotates to drive the lens group in the direction of the optical axis, a threaded driving shaft for moving the rectilinear barrel between an imaging position and a retracted position, a zoom gear for rotating the cam ring when the rectilinear barrel is at the imaging position, and a locking tab for allowing the rectilinear barrel to move by means of the threaded driving shaft by aligning itself with the cutout portion and for locking the movement of the cam ring, and thus, the rectilinear barrel by aligning itself with the rib.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Inventors: Koji Kato, Kunio Yokoyama, Yasuo Yamazaki, Tatsuji Higuchi, Shigeo Hayashi
  • Patent number: 6024457
    Abstract: A lens barrel is provided with: first and second lens frames which are adapted to be able to make a relative displacement therebetween and are adapted so that an inner peripheral portion of one of the first and second lens frames overlaps with an outer peripheral portion of the other lens frame in a used state; a light shielding portion, which is provided at one end portion of the first lens frame, for blocking light which is incident from the end portion in the used state; and a pressure-contact light shield member that is provided at a place which is nearer to an other end portion of the first lens frame than the light shielding portion provided at the one end portion thereof and that is adapted to be elastically deformed by being pressure-contacted to the outer peripheral portion of the second lens frame, thereby blocking light transmitted by the light shielding portion provided at the one end portion of the first lens frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2000
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sumio Kawai, Tatsuya Suzuki, Shinya Takahashi, Tamotsu Koiwai, Kunio Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 6023592
    Abstract: A camera body comprises a lens barrel unit, a spool chamber unit forming a spool chamber, a patrone chamber unit forming a patrone chamber, and a rail member that has an aperture that is provided so that a beam from the lens barrel unit can pass through and guide rails defining a position of film to the aperture, and is a connecting member that connects the spool chamber unit and patrone chamber unit, and has an approximately plate-like shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2000
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Shinya Takahashi, Minoru Hara, Tatsuya Suzuki, Koji Kato
  • Patent number: 5978800
    Abstract: An upper search on data to be searched is performed with a different condition from partial matching of a character string, and data items narrowed down thereby are counted. Then, it is determined whether the number of items obtained by counting is not more than the predetermined number of searchable items by partial matching Ls, and in relation to search results, a lower search is performed by partial matching of the character string.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Hidetoshi Nakanishi, Ryuichi Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 5708900
    Abstract: A camera equipped with a compact mechanism for loading or unloading film cassettes, has an R fork that transmits a drive force to the spool shaft of a film cassette in a cassette compartment so as to rotate the spool shaft in a predetermined direction. The cassette compartment is such that two opposite end faces in the axial direction of the spool are generally of the same size as two opposite end faces of the loaded film cassette and the R fork is urged in such a direction that it protrudes into the cassette compartment along the spool shaft and that it is capable of movement between two positions, one being where it protrudes into the cassette compartment and the other being where it retracts therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1998
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Hiroyuki Ando
  • Patent number: 5671457
    Abstract: A camera having a device for feeding a film, includes a driving unit for generating driving force, a first unit to be driven for feeding the film in a first direction, a second unit to be driven for feeding the film in a second direction which is different from the first direction, and a portion to be driven always engaged with the driving unit, a shaft unit being angularly moved by the driving unit, a driving portion always engaged with the first unit to be driven for moving the shaft unit while angularly moving the shaft unit in an axial direction of the shaft unit when the shaft unit is angularly moved by the driving unit, and an engagement portion for being engaged with the second unit to be driven.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 23, 1997
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Moriya Katagiri, Hidenori Sakurai, Yoshiyuki Kitahara, Hiroaki Miyazaki, Tatsuya Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5640636
    Abstract: A camera having a device for feeding a film, comprises a driving unit for generating driving force, a first unit to be driven for feeding the film in a first direction, a second unit to be driven for feeding the film in a second direction which is different from the first direction, and a portion to be driven always engaged with the driving unit, a shaft unit being angularly moved by the driving unit, a driving portion always engaged with the first unit to be driven for moving the shaft unit while angularly moving the shaft unit in an axial direction of the shaft unit when the shaft unit is angularly moved by the driving unit, and an engagement portion for being engaged with the second unit to be driven.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 17, 1997
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Moriya Katagiri, Hidenori Sakurai, Yoshiyuki Kitahara, Hiroaki Miyazaki, Tatsuya Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5515205
    Abstract: A lens barrel comprises a number of main body ribs formed integral with a camera main body and projecting therefrom in the direction of the optical axis, first and second lens barrels provided between and movable along a pair of the main body ribs, and a cam ring mounted on the periphery of the main body ribs, the first and the second lens barrels and rotatable with respect to the camera main body around the optical axis. The cam ring has a first cam groove having an opening portion and a second cam groove having a recess. First and second cam followers of the first and second lens barrels are engaged with the first and second cam grooves, respectively. When the cam ring is rotated in a direction A or B, the first and second cam followers are moved forward or backward along the first and second cam grooves. As a result, the first and second lens barrels are moved forward or backward in the direction of the optical axis along the pair of the main body ribs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1996
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Yokoyama, Shigeo Hayashi
  • Patent number: 5506644
    Abstract: A position information recorder incorporated in a camera comprises a position measurement unit that receives position information via a GPS which is a position measurement system using satellites and that performs position measurement to calculate a position, a receiving state determination unit that determines the state of receiving the position information, a memory that stores position measurement data, and a magnetic recording unit that records data in the magnetic recording area of film. When position measurement data cannot be fetched, position measurement information stored in the memory immediately before is read out and recorded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 9, 1996
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Suzuki, Junichi Ito, Kunio Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 5504548
    Abstract: This invention is directed to a camera in which an ordinary or normal photographing image-plane size, a photographing image-plane size narrower or smaller than the normal photographing image-plane size, for example, a panoramic size, and the like are changeable, the camera comprising a back closure openable and closable with respect to a camera body, an aperture arranged between a film and a photographing lens, for regulating an exposure range corresponding to the normal photographing image-plane size, a light shielding unit arranged between the film and the photographing lens and so arranged as to be movable between a saving position where the light shielding unit is saved (i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Moriya Katagiri, Kunio Yokoyama, Takashi Inoue, Yasuo Yamazaki, Shunji Matsutani, Tatsuya Suzuki, Hiroyuki Ando
  • Patent number: 5489955
    Abstract: A camera having a sound recording function is disclosed, in which an object image is photographed/recorded, as an optical image transmitted through a photographic optical system or photoelectrically converted image data, on a film having a magnetic recording portion, a magnetic disk/tape, or the like, while sound data is sampled for a predetermined period of time before/after the photographic operation. The sampled sound data is temporarily stored in a sound data storage section constituted by a semiconductor memory and the like. In a film wind-up operation, the sound data is written in the magnetic recording portion of the film. With this operation, the predetermined number of frames can be photographed regardless of whether sound data is present or absent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 6, 1996
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Satoh, Kunio Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 5402194
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a film magazine having an external cylinder both end surfaces of which are closed by upper and lower covers, and a spool hub rotatably contained in the external cylinder at the axis thereof. The spool hub has a thin winding shaft cylinder having and axial length substantially the same as the axial length of the external cylinder and a projection provided on an upper portion of the inner periphery thereof so as to engage a rewind mechanism of a camera. The winding shaft cylinder has a hollow space longitudinally extending over the interior length thereof. A strobe capacitor as a constituent part of the camera body is disposed in the space so that the space in the camera can be further decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1995
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Suzuki, Kunio Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 5365290
    Abstract: A camera capable of recording photographic information, according to the invention, comprises, a pressure-information detector for detecting pressure information at a location where a camera body is positioned, a magnetic recorder for recording the information detected by the pressure-information detector onto a magnetic memory section provided on a film, as environmental information, and a recording controller for controlling the photographic-information recorder such that the detected information and a photographic image are recorded correspondingly to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1994
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Suzuki, Masaki Nagao, Kunio Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 4652937
    Abstract: A facsimile device includes an image pick-up means for picking up an image on an original moving relative to the image pick-up means, a transmitting means for appropriately processing the image signal from the image pick-up means into a modulated signal suitable for signal transmission, a coupling means for coupling the transmitting means with a transmitting system to provide a path for the modulated signal therebetween, and an original transfer means for transferring the original. The image pick-up means and the transmitting means are respectively provided with first and second cases so that the image pick-up means is slidable on an original such as a book. The second case may be placed on the first case. The coupling means is removably coupled with either of the transmitting means and the transmitting system. The original transfer means transfers the original between the first and second cases while the first case is placed on the second case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1987
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Masatoshi Shimura, Kunio Yokoyama, Kuniaki Anbo, Kazuhiro Anzai
  • Patent number: 4569205
    Abstract: An electric refrigerator is designed to comprise a freezing chamber provided with a gas duct for drawing off a cooling gas from the freezing chamber and refluxing the cooling gas thereto. A main freezing evaporator is provided in the gas duct to freeze foodstuff stored in the freezing chamber by circulating a cooling gas through the freezing chamber and gas duct. The refrigerator also comprises an auxiliary shelf-shaped freezing evaporator for directly freezing the foodstuff placed thereon in all directions. A damper unit involved in the refrigerator mechanically operates a gas circulation valve provided in the gas duct. During the defrosting mode, the freezing evaporators are rendered inoperative, and the main freezing evaporator is heated to remove frost deposited thereon. During this interval, the damper unit causes the gas circulation valve to close the gas duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1984
    Date of Patent: February 11, 1986
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kazuo Dempou, Hideo Niida, Kunio Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 4499738
    Abstract: A refrigerator having a control device is provided with a refrigerating cycle system constructed by connecting in series a compressor, a condensor, capillary tubes, a storage compartment evaporator and a freezing compartment evaporator. This control device comprises a first control circuit to forcefully cool the freezing compartment evaporator upon receipt of a first instruction signal, a second control circuit for removing the frost deposited on the freezing compartment evaporator upon receipt of a second instruction signal, and a preferential control circuit, which, in case an operation based on a preferentially issued instruction signal is taking place, and, during this interim, a delayed instruction is given, causes an operation based on the delayed instruction signal to be commenced only after the operation based on the preferential instruction signal is brought to an end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1983
    Date of Patent: February 19, 1985
    Assignee: Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeshi Motoyama, Toshiyuki Onishi, Kunio Yokoyama