Patents by Inventor Motoaki Kobayashi

Motoaki Kobayashi 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: 6471375
    Abstract: A flood light includes a lamp that is located at a focus of a reflecting mirror having a reflecting surface whose cross-section is oval and partially arcuate. A concave lens having negative refracting power is disposed between first and second foci about which an elliptical reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror is disposed. Some light rays from the lamp pass directly from the lamp through the lens while other rays from the lamp are reflected by the mirror before passing through the lens. Generally speaking, on the upstream side of the lens, the reflected rays enter the lens outboard of the rays that pass directly from the lamp to the lens. This construction provides a small flood light that has a high optical output, and effectively uses bundles of rays emitted from the lamp to produce a luminous intensity distribution desirable as light for range finding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2002
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Motoaki Kobayashi, Toshifumi Nakano
  • Patent number: 6394629
    Abstract: Light from a flash discharge tube is reflected in a forward direction by a concave mirror and further refracted to a negative direction by a projection lens. A trigger wire for triggering the flash discharge tube to set off emission is constructed of an elastic material. The flash discharge tube is retained, as an integrated combination, by a discharge tube mounting frame on which support axial parts are provided in a protruding manner, and these support axial parts are slidably and swingably fitted with slide slots of the casing which are provided along the optical axis, so that the flash discharge tube is arranged to be displaceable both in a direction of the optical axis of the flash light emission apparatus and at least in one direction in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis with respect to a relative position thereof to the concave mirror.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Motoaki Kobayashi, Toshifumi Nakano
  • Publication number: 20010022725
    Abstract: A flood light includes a lamp that is located at a focus of a reflecting mirror having a reflecting surface whose cross-section is oval and partially arcuate. A concave lens having negative refracting power is disposed between first and second foci about which an elliptical reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror is disposed. Some light rays from the lamp pass directly from the lamp through the lens while other rays from the lamp are reflected by the mirror before passing through the lens. Generally speaking, on the upstream side of the lens, the reflected rays enter the lens outboard of the rays that pass directly from the lamp to the lens. This construction provides a small flood light that has a high optical output, and effectively uses bundles of rays emitted from the lamp to produce a luminous intensity distribution desirable as light for range finding.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2001
    Publication date: September 20, 2001
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Motoaki Kobayashi, Toshifumi Nakano
  • Patent number: 5999749
    Abstract: A light projector for camera including a light emission lamp having a filament, a lamp mounting frame which holds the light emission lamp integrally therewith as well as has a pair of support shafts projecting from opposite the sides thereof with one of the support shaft having a rectangular hole defined thereto, a reflection umbrella for reflecting the light from the filament, a light projection lens disposed so that the optical axis thereof matches the optical axis of the reflection umbrella and a casing on which the reflection umbrella and the light projection lens are mounted, wherein the lamp mounting frame is held by swingably engaging the pair of support shafts and the like with a pair of sliding grooves and the like along an optical axis direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Motoaki Kobayashi, Toshifumi Nakano, Shin Kuroda