Patents Represented by Law Firm Robin, Blecker, Daley and Driscoll
  • Patent number: 5666570
    Abstract: A camera comprises a lens optical system including a zooming lens, a photographic mode setting circuit capable of selectively setting a plurality of kinds of photographic modes, exposure conditions being individually set for the respective photographic modes, a driving circuit for causing the zooming lens to move, a focus adjusting circuit for performing focus adjustment of the lens optical system, and a controlling circuit for controlling the driving circuit in accordance with a particular photographic mode set by the photographic mode setting circuit and forcedly moving the zooming lens to a position corresponding to a predetermined focal length, the controlling circuit moving the zooming lens before an operation of the focus adjusting circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 9, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshifumi Ohsawa
  • Patent number: 5664500
    Abstract: A shifting device for horizontal shifting of heavy loads with at least one lifting cylinder to raise the load, a support, and a preferably hydraulically actuated shifting mechanism, wherein the shifting mechanism has at least one horizontally arranged shifting cylinder which by way of a locking tie-rod is mechanically lockable to the support in different positions on the latter's surface, and which engages in the range of the lifting cylinder or its support and effects a horizontal shifting of it relative to the support characterized in that in the tie-rod casing, the locking tie-rod can be brought vertically from a rest position to a locking position and vice versa, that the locking in the locking position is effective in both directions to the support and that the shifting cylinder can be acted on by force in both directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 9, 1997
    Assignee: Lukas Hydraulik GmbH
    Inventors: Dietmar Lindner, Dieter Hesse
  • Patent number: 5666562
    Abstract: An automatic focusing system comprises a focus detecting circuit arranged to detect the state of focus on the basis of a signal component which is extracted from an image signal and varies with the state of focus, a speed control circuit arranged to collate detected information on the signal component with preset conditions and to set a focus adjusting speed on the basis of a degree to which the detected information conforms with the conditions, and a circuit arranged to vary the setting of the conditions according to the level of the signal component of the image signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 9, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kitahiro Kaneda, Naoya Kaneda
  • Patent number: 5666571
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an automatic flash emission device suitable for use as, for example, an automatic flash emission device for a camera. The present invention is to provide an arrangement for detecting the kind of light source which illuminates a scene which is to be photographed (for example, whether tungsten light or a fluorescent lamp), and shifting the threshold of a subject luminance beyond which a flash device performs an automatic emission, thereby enabling the flash device to perform the automatic emission in a form conforming to the kind of light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 9, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Koichi Matsumura
  • Patent number: 5664249
    Abstract: A camera or an apparatus, or a device applicable to the camera or the apparatus, adapted to use a film cartridge includes a cover for a slidable cartridge loading chamber, a first part arranged to support the film cartridge when the film cartridge is placed in the cartridge loading chamber and a second part arranged to prevent the first part from hindering the sliding action of the cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 2, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryoji Okuno, Makoto Miyawaki
  • Patent number: 5663844
    Abstract: A circuit is provided for emphasizing or suppressing both a frequency corresponding to an upper sideband and a frequency corresponding to a lower sideband with respect to a frequency corresponding to the carrier of a frequency-modulated signal in equalizing the frequency-modulated signal reproduced from the recording medium. With this arrangement, it is possible to effectively compensate for the nonlinearity of a magnetic recording and reproducing system even in the case of a wide deviation. Also, the envelope levels of the portions of a frequency-modulated signal which are formed by frequency-modulating portions of a signal whose levels differ from each other, are extracted to adjust the equalizing characteristics of the equalizing circuit in accordance with the difference between the levels, whereby variations in the characteristics of a reproduction equalizing circuit due to variations with time can be appropriately compensated for.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 2, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Makoto Gohda, Shinichi Yamashita
  • Patent number: 5661457
    Abstract: A directional antenna configuration for use in an article tracking system includes two shorted loops, one on each side of a portal and in each case circumscribing the portal. The antenna configuration also includes a respective pair of passage antennas provided on each side of the portal. The passage antennas are all arranged in planes parallel to the path of travel through the doorway. The respective loops confine the effective detection areas of each pair of passage antennas to the respective side of the portal. The antenna configuration permits reliable detection of direction of movement through the portal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 26, 1997
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Touraj Ghaffari, Larry Canipe
  • Patent number: 5660941
    Abstract: A catalyst assembly for placement in the anode compartment of an internally reforming fuel cell. The anode compartment includes a current collector having peak regions with spacer regions therebetween. The catalyst assembly is in the form of a member including a catalyst material and having through openings in the member of distribution and configuration so that the member can be inserted over the current collector with the peak regions being received in the through openings and holding the member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 26, 1997
    Assignee: Energy Research Corporation
    Inventors: Mohammad Farooque, Pinakin S. Patel, Jeffrey Allen
  • Patent number: 5659787
    Abstract: A local area data network interconnects devices which make up a video surveillance system. The devices attached to the local area network are divided into distinct classes which are polled with different degrees of frequency. Devices are dynamically reassigned from class to class depending on each device's current requirements for network access. Group polling is also employed, with resolution of contention by means of a probing algorithm. Negative responses to polling messages are formed as a series of line transitions that require less time than transmission of a single data byte. Polling messages have a distinct length in terms of bytes that is shorter than any other message transmitted on the network. Polled devices are permitted to transfer data directly to peer devices in response to polling messages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Steven W. Schieltz
  • Patent number: 5659439
    Abstract: In a tape loading device for wrapping a tape member around a rotary drum to a given degree of angle by moving two guide posts in opposite directions along the rotary drum, a plurality of rail defining members define rail slots which are arranged to individually guide the two guide posts, and two joints between the rail defining members on both sides of each of the rail slots are disposed in positions deviating from each other to a distance which is longer than the length of the guide post in the longitudinal direction of the rail slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hidetoshi Matsuoka
  • Patent number: 5659400
    Abstract: A signal recording apparatus is arranged to record main information in a first area provided in each of a multiplicity of parallel tracks formed on a tape-shaped recording medium, and an index signal in a second area of each of a predetermined number of continuous tracks, the second area being provided separately from the first area within each of the multiplicity of parallel tracks. The apparatus records, as the index signal, first index information in a first section within the second area of each of the predetermined number of continuous tracks, with either one of binary data being repeated continuously during a period corresponding to the first section, and second index information in a second section within the second area of each of the predetermined number of continuous tracks, the second index information including track data indicative of relation to a specific track among the predetermined number of continuous tracks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroo Edakubo, Kiyoshi Kumagai, Toshihiko Nakajima
  • Patent number: 5659497
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus comprising a signal holding circuit to hold an input signal from a signal source, a coupling capacitor provided on the signal source side, a connecting circuit to selectively connect the coupling capacitor and the signal holding circuit, and an adding circuit to add the input signal from the signal source on the basis of the signal held in the signal holding circuit. The adding circuit includes a buffer circuit and a switch to selectively connect the buffer circuit and the output side of the coupling capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Isamu Ueno, Mamoru Miyawaki
  • Patent number: 5659821
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a driving apparatus arranged to perform driving control of a travelling member, such as a shutter member, by using a vibration wave motor. According to the present invention, the travelling member is arranged to be driven by the spring force of a spring member. The travelling member is held in a stopped state against the spring force by the stopping torque of the vibration wave motor, and by causing the vibration wave motor to generate a standing wave, the stopping torque is cancelled so that the travelling member starts travelling by the spring force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Katsuya Kawakita, Kazuyuki Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 5658694
    Abstract: A zinc negative electrode comprising first and second zinc electrode assemblies separated by a porous hydrophobic element: Each of the zinc electrode assemblies includes a zinc active element and is devoid of any catalytic material for promoting oxygen gas recombination by the zinc active element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Energy Research Corporation
    Inventor: Allen Charkey
  • Patent number: 5657424
    Abstract: Machine recognition of isolated word utterances is carried out by applying time-indexed feature vectors to binary decision tree classifiers. A respective classifier is provided for each target word in the vocabulary of words to be recognized. Determinants for the nodes in the classifier tree structure are formed, during a training process, as hyper-planes which perform a "mean split" between the centroids of target word and non-target word classes of feature vectors assigned to the respective nodes. The process of training the machine recognition system is facilitated by storing node-assignment data in association with training data vectors. The assignment of training data vectors to sub-nodes proceeds on a level-by-level basis in the tree structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Dictaphone Corporation
    Inventors: Kevin R. Farrell, Jeffrey S. Sorensen
  • Patent number: 5657083
    Abstract: A video camera comprises a grip part for holding a camera body, and a mechanism part having a tape path forming part which forms a predetermined tape path for a magnetic tape. The mechanism part has a tape path forming plane approximately in parallel to a plane orthogonally intersecting the longitudinal direction of the grip part. The video camera further comprises two trigger switches for starting or stopping recording video information, and a zoom switch for varying the zoom ratio of a lens. The two trigger switches are positioned to be operable with the camera holding hand in a first camera holding posture and in a second camera holding posture, respectively. The zoom switch is positioned to be operable with the camera holding hand both in the first camera holding posture and in the second camera holding posture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Kawase, Hitoshi Narita, Michio Yoshida
  • Patent number: 5657081
    Abstract: An electronic apparatus includes a main body which has a plurality of electrical contacts and an information storing part which can be loaded and unloaded on and from the main body and also has a plurality of electrical contacts arranged to be connectable with the electrical contacts of the main body. The apparatus has a moving member which is arranged to carry the information storing part and to be movable only between first and second positions, in such a way as to have the plurality of electrical contacts of the information storing part not connected to the plurality of electrical contacts of the main body when the moving member is in the first position and connected to the plurality of electrical contacts of the main body when the moving member is in the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Sunao Kurahashi
  • Patent number: 5654752
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus is disclosed which is integrally provided with two image pickup systems for respectively converting subject light into image signals and two displays for respectively displaying images relative to the image signals obtained by the two image pickup systems. In the disclosed imaging apparatus, since the operations of the two image pickup systems are synchronized, it is not necessary to insert an element, such as a prism, in each optical path. Further, since a common signal processing circuit is provided for performing predetermined processing of the image signals outputted from the two image pickup systems, the size of the imaging apparatus is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 5, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuyuki Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 5654753
    Abstract: A white balance correcting device for an image sensing apparatus comprising gain control circuits for different colors positioned in respective signal lines for the colors from an image sensor to control the gains of the signal lines individually, a control signal supply circuit for supplying all of the gain control circuits with respective control signals for giving them control characteristics limited by different color temperatures from each other, wherein this control signal supply circuit has a color temperature sensor for detecting the color temperature of the outside, and the color temperatures by which the gains of the gain control circuits are limited are controlled in accordance with the output of the color temperature sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 5, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hirohumi Takei
  • Patent number: 5655168
    Abstract: A camera of the kind using a film cartridge capable of setting various film usage conditions permits normal photographing actions when the camera is loaded with the film cartridge in an unused condition and inhibits photographing actions when the camera is loaded with the film cartridge in a completely used condition. The operating modes of the camera include a test mode in which photographing actions can be carried out for tests at a factory by loading the camera with the film cartridge in any of the film usage conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 5, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanori Ohtsuka