Patents Represented by Law Firm Robin, Blecker, Daley & Driscoll
  • Patent number: 6108155
    Abstract: A magnetic recording or reproducing apparatus having a rotary drum includes a sensor for detecting dew condensation on the rotary drum, a take-up reel for taking up a recording medium, and a controller for controlling the rotary drum and the take-up reel in accordance with a result of detection provided by the sensor. When dew condensation has been detected by the sensor, the controller causes the rotary drum to rotate in such a way as to release the recording medium from a state of sticking to the rotary drum and, after that, causes the recording medium to be taken up by the take-up reel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shuya Tanaka, Junji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6072594
    Abstract: An information signal recording apparatus for recording an information signal having a predetermined frequency band onto a recording medium, which comprises signal separating means for receiving said information signal and for separating the received information signal into a first signal having a first frequency band and a second signal having a second frequency band which is higher than said first frequency band and outputting said first and second signals; first recording means for forming a frequency-modulated first signal by frequency-modulating the first signal outputted from said signal separating means and for recording said frequency-modulated first signal onto a first area of said recording medium; and second recording means for forming a frequency-modulated second signal, which is interleaved relatively to said frequency-modulated first signal, by frequency-modulating the second signal outputted from said signal separating means and for recording said frequency-modulated second signal onto a second
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ryo Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 6008863
    Abstract: An image sensing apparatus includes an image sensor for sensing an optical image and converting the optical image into an electrical signal, and a white balance control circuit for controlling a white balance condition of the electrical signal. A limiting device limits a control range of the white balance control circuit, and a changeover switch changes over the limiting device to selectively change the control range of the white balance control circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shigeru Jinnai
  • Patent number: 5838370
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus comprises an image enlargement circuit for enlarging an image around a viewpoint position in a picture and a control circuit for changing a focus detection area or a photometry area to an area having position and size adaptive to an enlarged image, prior to an enlargement operation by the image enlargement circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshio Kaji
  • Patent number: 5818999
    Abstract: A video signal reproducing apparatus having a video camera part which produces a video signal by picking up an image of an object and is arranged in one unified body at least with a reproducing part which reproduces a video signal from a recording medium is arranged to selectively supply the video signal obtained by picking up the object's image or the reproduced video signal obtained from the recording medium to one and the same signal processing means. The disclosed arrangement not only permits simplification of the apparatus but also enables the apparatus to reproduce a high quality video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 6, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroto Yasumura, Masahide Hirasawa, Minoru Noji, Susumu Kozuki, Koji Takahashi, Katsuji Yoshimura, Tomohiko Sasatani
  • Patent number: 5809350
    Abstract: There is provided a flash device to which a construction for starting a flash emission without depending on the turning-on of an X-sync contact is added without increasing the number of interfaces between a camera body and the flash device. In the flash device, a change of a clock signal inputted next to emission mode data communicated to the flash device through a serial communication line between the camera body and the flash device is detected and recognized as a flash emission start signal, so that flash emission start control is performed without depending on the turning-on of the X-sync contact and without setting a special interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hajime Fukui
  • Patent number: 5754900
    Abstract: An intra-viewfinder display device includes an optical system having a light splitting surface and arranged to guide light coming from an object to a viewer, and a display element for displaying information by using light of a predetermined wavelength. The information displayed by the display element is transmitted to the viewer by utilizing the light splitting surface. The light splitting surface has respective different spectral characteristics with respect to light of a wavelength band including the predetermined wavelength and light of wavelengths not included in the wavelength band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuo Suda
  • Patent number: 5751504
    Abstract: A digital signal recording apparatus is arranged to be capable of permitting long-time recording on one and the same recording medium without impairing the quality of audio signals at all. The apparatus has a first mode in which a digital video signal supplied from a video input circuit and having the amount of information not compressed by a video compression circuit is recorded on the recording medium by a recording circuit while all of n channel digital audio signals supplied from an audio input circuit are recorded by the recording circuit; and a second mode in which the digital video signal having the amount of information compressed by the video compression circuit and only part of the n channel digital audio signals supplied from the audio input circuit are recorded by the recording circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Mitsugu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5751220
    Abstract: Operation of a plurality of electronic devices is synchronized. The plurality of devices include a master unit and a plurality of other units, and the master unit transmits a synchronizing signal to at least one of the other units at predetermined intervals. Each of at least two of the other units detects whether a synchronizing signal is received at the respective unit within a predetermined period of time. If not, the respective unit changes from a slave mode of operation to a master mode of operation. Contention between the two or more potential back-up master units is resolved based on priority in a daisy-chain arrangement or by providing different time-out watch-dog periods for the potential back-up devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Touraj Ghaffari
  • Patent number: 5749014
    Abstract: A shutter device comprises a shutter blade which operates according to an exposure operation, a first blade driving spring for giving an urging force working in a predetermined direction to the shutter blade substantially over an entire operating range of the shutter blade, a second blade driving spring for giving the shutter blade an urging force working in the same direction as the first blade driving spring, and a charging mechanism for charging the first blade driving spring and the second blade driving spring. Since the charging mechanism includes a first charging member which travels to charge the first blade driving spring and a second charging member which travels to charge the second blade driving spring, the timings of charging the respective springs and the torques required to charge the respective springs can be optimally set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Fumio Shimada
  • Patent number: 5737014
    Abstract: An electronic camera including an image pickup element, a solid state memory of relatively small capacity for storing at least one frame of a video signal produced by the image pickup element and a non-solid state memory of relatively large capacity for storing the video signal stored in the solid state memory, wherein these memories each are made releasably attached to the image pickup element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiko Tojo, Takao Kinoshita, Takemi Tanno, Nobuo Tezuka, Shinji Sakai, Yasutomo Suzuki, Seiichi Ozaki
  • Patent number: 5708890
    Abstract: A tripod applicable to an optical apparatus having a center of gravity the position of which is separate from a position in which the tripod is to be mounted, a supporting portion for supporting a plurality of leg portions is arranged to be movable from a first position to a second position closer to the position of a center of gravity of the optical apparatus mounted to the tripod than the first position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shingo Nakano
  • Patent number: 5694169
    Abstract: A video camera system includes a video camera, a waterproof case for containing the video camera, a detecting part for detecting a water leak into the case, and a display part for displaying warning of the water leak according to an output of the detecting part. Further, a waterproof case includes a waterproof case part capable of removably containing a camera, a detecting part for detecting a water leak into the case part, and a transmission part for transmitting an output of the detecting part to the camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Minoru Noji
  • Patent number: 5691766
    Abstract: A video camera (31) has a built-in video light (32) for photography in the dark. The built-in video light (32) has heat dissipation holes (32f1) capable of opening and closing, and a heat dissipation control for controlling opening and closing of the heat dissipation holes according to the stowage operation by a stowage control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukiko Murata, Mutsumi Inuma, Junichi Doi
  • Patent number: 5690294
    Abstract: A recording and/or reproducing apparatus having a rotary drum, comprises a first chassis on which the rotary drum is provided, a second chassis which is supported for sliding movement on the first chassis within a predetermined stroke, a reel mount provided on the second chassis, a brake member provided on the second chassis and capable of engaging with the reel mount, a projecting portion of the brake member projecting toward the first chassis through the second chassis, a driving member for moving the brake member by coming into abutment with the projecting portion of the brake member, and a lever turnably provided on the first chassis and having a pin at its one end, the pin being engaged with a slot, which is provided in the second chassis, so that the lever slides the second chassis, the lever being operated to overlap the projecting portion of the brake member when the second chassis projects from the first chassis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Junji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 5684532
    Abstract: A video camera is operated to obtain a very rapid change in magnification. A target degree of magnification is achieved by rapid change in an electronic zoom factor provided by an image signal processing circuit. Either before or after the change in electronic zoom factor, simultaneous off-setting changes are carried out in the electronic zoom factor and in a mechanical zoom factor provided by the camera's optical system. The simultaneous off-setting changes in the two zoom factors occur at a rate consistent with practical operation of the mechanical drive components for the camera's optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Reuel Andrew Ely
  • Patent number: 5684919
    Abstract: An apparatus for recording a video signal while forming a multiplicity of recording tracks in parallel on a tape-shaped recording medium, wherein camera information representing the operating state of a camera when shooting each picture is recorded in a position corresponding to the recorded track of that picture so that the operating state of the camera at the time of taking the video signal which has already been recorded can reappear. Therefore, in a case where a video signal is recorded in continuity with this recorded portion, the camera operating state is controlled in a joint portion of these to improve the continuity in this joint portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masahiko Kikuzawa, Hidetoshi Wada, Hisataka Hirose, Hideo Kawahara
  • Patent number: 5680500
    Abstract: A sheet-shaped record bearing medium having a first recording area for recording a fixed amount of information and a second recording area for recording a variable amount of information, a still video signal being recorded in the first recording area and a time-serial signal being recorded in the second recording area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koji Takahashi, Yoshitake Nagashima, Yuji Imamura
  • Patent number: 5677733
    Abstract: An exposure control device having a light measuring area setting circuit which sets a light measuring area on an image sensing plane, a discriminating circuit which discriminates from each other varied states of the image sensing plane through video signal parts corresponding to the inside and the outside of the light measuring area and an exposure compensating circuit which compensates the state of exposure to light is arranged to shift the set position of the light measuring area to trace an object's image at least when the exposure compensating circuit is in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 14, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Katsuji Yoshimura, Kitahiro Kaneda, Hideo Homma, Kunihiko Yamada, Hirofumi Suda, Akihiro Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 5676767
    Abstract: A magnetostrictive element for use in a magnetomechanical electronic article surveillance marker is formed by annealing a continuous ribbon of an amorphous metal alloy. The alloy ribbon is transported from reel to reel through an oven in which a transverse saturating magnetic field is applied to the ribbon. The annealed ribbon is cut into discrete strips which are suitable for use as magnetostrictive elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 14, 1997
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Nen-Chin Liu, Larry Speciale