Abstract: In an exposure apparatus of the invention, for a spatial light modulator, each of a plurality of pixel portions fewer than the total number of the pixel portions is controlled with a control signal generated according to exposure information. Namely, a part of the pixel portions is controlled without controlling a whole of the pixel portions on the substrate. Thus, the number of pixels in the pixel portions is decreased, and transfer time of the control signal becomes short. This enables modulation speed of the laser beam to be increased and the high-speed exposure to be performed. An incorporated laser light source, in which the laser beams are incorporated and struck on the optical fiber, is preferable to the laser device. By adopting the incorporated laser light source, high brightness and high output can be obtained, and it is preferable to the exposure of the spatial light modulator. Since the fiber array is obtained with few optical fibers, it is low cost.

Abstract: An endoscopic liquid feed device to be fitted on a mouth piece of a liquid feed port which is provided on a casing of a manipulating head assembly of an endoscope in communication with an internal liquid feed passage leading to a liquid injection port at a distal end of an insertion tube of the endoscope for injecting a liquid into a body cavity. A liquid feed adaptor is detachably fitted on the mouth piece of the liquid feed port. The liquid feed adaptor is largely constituted by a Luer-Lok member having a check valve member fitted on a fore end portion thereof, a stopper ring fitted on the outer periphery of the Luer-Lok member, and a nut member rotatably fitted on the Luer-Lok member for axial displacements between the stopper ring and a flange portion provided at the outer proximal end of the Luer-Lok member. The nut member is threaded on an external screw provided on the outer periphery of the mouth piece.

Abstract: An electronic endoscopic apparatus having various sorts of electronic endoscopes mounting a CCD with a different number of pixels, for example, 410,000 pixels, 270,000 pixels or 190,000 pixels that are connectable to a processor. A CCD drive and signal processing circuit drives all the CCDs at a frequency set up for the CCD with 410,000 pixels, and an information quantity conversion circuit expands an image acquired by the CCD with 270,000 pixels or 190,000 pixels by pixel interpolation in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction to form an image with an aspect ratio of 4 to 3. Also, a video signal acquired in an NTSC system is converted into a video signal of a PAL system by using a television standard conversion circuit, thereby displaying an excellent PAL video without any bar noise.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope apparatus has the structure that an electronic scope is detachably connected to a processor unit. This processor unit comprises image storage memory which stores an object image imaged by a CCD, a signal processing circuit for outputting this image to external equipment, a scope power-off operation switch located separately from a main-power switch are provided. Only a scope power supply unit which supplies power to the electronic scope is turned off by this scope power-off switch. At this time, when a CCD drive pulse is being outputted or when communication between with the electronic scope is being performed, the outputting of this CCD drive pulse or the communication is stopped, and thereafter,the scope power supply unit is turned off. Thereby, the electronic scope can be removed from the processor unit which is outputting an image signal.

Abstract: In an electronic endoscope apparatus comprising a media drive unit for recording image data, which is given digital processing, on a recording medium, its aspect is that, while the free space of a recording medium is detected, a CCD pixel count (data volume of one image) of a connected electronic scope is judged, and hence, a current recordable amount on the recording medium is calculated by dividing the free space by the data volume of one image. Then, this recordable amount is displayed, for example on a part of four corners on the monitor. In addition, when a recording switch is pushed and the recording operation of one image is performed, the recordable amount is reduced by one, and this amount is displayed on the monitor. Owing to this, even when an electronic scope with a different pixel count is connected, it is possible to easily grasp and confirm the recordable amount.

Abstract: A method including: dropping the ultraviolet-curable resin fluid onto the aspheric face of a metallic mold set horizontally, the aspheric face having a desired concave face; bringing a convex lens close to the metallic mold and stopping the movement of the lens just before it comes into contact with the ultraviolet-curable resin fluid; inclining the metallic mold and the lens together to cause the ultraviolet-curable resin fluid to flux; after bringing the convex face of the lens into point contact with this fluxed and swelled ultraviolet-curable resin fluid, moving the lens to a prescribed position relative to the metallic mold to place the ultraviolet-curable resin fluid between the lens and the metallic mold; returning the lens and the metallic mold together from the inclined state to the horizontal state, thereby irradiating the ultraviolet-curable resin fluid with ultraviolet rays to cure the resin fluid and form a molded resin layer.

Abstract: It is possible to blast air on a surface portion of a measured object from a hole of pressing means, project illumination light in a concentric pattern with an optical element and shoot the measured object with a CCD so as to visually grasp hardness distribution on the surface portion from distortion of the concentric pattern displayed on an observed image. As for the hardness distribution, it is possible to detect luminance distribution of a measured object image obtained by the CCD so as to display the concentric pattern which is the luminance distribution as a conspicuous representation of the hardness distribution. And the luminance distribution can also be represented in the concentric pattern by multiplying a luminance value by an overflowing coefficient.

Abstract: A projection type image display apparatus comprises a light source unit; an integrator unit for mixing luminous fluxes emitted from the light source unit so as to homogenize their light quantity distribution; a curved mirror for bending the optical path of luminous fluxes, which are turned into uniform light by the integrator unit, toward a projection unit; and the projection unit for causing the luminous fluxes to carry image information and projecting these luminous fluxes onto a screen.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical element (or plastic molding) comprising an optically functional surface and a flange formed on the outer periphery thereof, and having on the flange outer peripheral surface a fitted portion inscribing on the inner peripheral surface of a lens-barrel and an adhering portion to be adhered to the lens-barrel by the adhesive filled in a concave groove of the lens-barrel, wherein a raised portion is formed on the flange surface inside the flange outer peripheral surface, whereby the adhesion area is enlarged, the adhesive capacity is increased, and a sufficient fitting area is secured, without the possibility of flow of the adhesive to the optically functional surface.

Abstract: An anti-vibration controller having an ON/OFF switch for the anti-vibration is arranged on the outer circumference of a fixed lens barrel where extender lenses are positioned. When to manipulate the ON/OFF switch, a cameraperson manually operates a focusing ring with the little and ring fingers, a zooming ring with the middle finger and an iris ring with the index finger, all of the left hand. Then he or she can manipulate the ON/OFF switch of the anti-vibration controller fitted to the outer circumference of the fixed lens barrel with the unengaged thumb without having to move the fingers away from manipulating rings.

Abstract: A moving distance of a moiré grating in y direction is set with respect to a grating pitch of a moiré grating, whereas an imaging magnification of imaging means is set according to the relationship between the pixel pitch of an image pickup device in the imaging means and the size of grating pitch when forming an image on the image pickup device. An image of moiré fringes is captured each time when the moiré grating is moved by a predetermined distance in the y direction, so as to yield a predetermined number of y-direction positional moiré fringe images, which are then averaged. According to thus obtained average moiré fringe image, shape information of a surface to be inspected is determined.

Abstract: For detecting three-dimensional shapes of an elongated flexible body, a sensor cable to be placed in a passage or channel which is formed axially and coextensively within the elongated flexible body. The sensor cable has two pairs of fiber Bragg grating strands within a tubular carrier casing. A signal light beam containing Bragg wavelength bands is projected from a light source to input same to refractive index change portions in the fiber Bragg grating strands. Reflection diffraction light signals from the refractive index change portions are received by a signal processor to measure the degree of strain at each one of the respective refractive index change portions by comparing wavelengths of the reflection diffraction light signals with reference wavelength.

Abstract: In the laser range finder, a sending portion that emits laser light to a target and a receiving portion that receives the laser light reflected by the target are supported on a gimbals together with erecting prisms of a binocular optical system, and their attitudes are controlled so as to be secured to an inertial system. This eliminates influence of a shake, and allows accurate aiming at a faraway target and measurement of a distance thereto with high accuracy.

Abstract: In a method of analyzing a fringe image, a mask is provided to a gap for separating a plurality of fringe image regions from each other, a virtual fringe distribution is once rendered to the mask region so as to yield a single fringe image, a fringe analysis is carried out thereafter, and then data of the mask region is deleted, so that the separated independent regions have a phase relationship therebetween, whereby information of the object to be observed is obtained at a high speed.

Abstract: A rangefinder apparatus forms an image of light from an object to be subjected to rangefinding onto a pair of line sensors, each line sensor including light-detecting elements, and generates autofocus (AF) data for computing a correlation value from signals from the light-detecting elements; acquires the AF data from a pair of employed sensor areas; determines a pair of window areas for selecting the AF data for computing a correlation value, and successively computes correlation values while shifting the pair of window areas; detects a shift of the window areas yielding the highest correlation according to the correlation values computed and calculates distance to the object according to the shift amount yielding the highest correlation; and calculates oscillation of the AF data, and disables rangefinding if the oscillation is too large.

Abstract: In a rangefinder, if sensor data initially received by a sensor data storage part from an A/D converter includes data with low contrast, the sensor data storage part receives the sensor data at least one additional time, adds additionally received sensor data to the initially received sensor data, and stores their sum. In accordance with the sum of sensor data stored in the sensor data storage part, a correlation calculation and a rangefinding calculation are carried out, which enables rangefinding with respect to an object having low contrast. Also, the time required for A/D-converting the sensor data again and adding the resulting data to those initially obtained is much shorter than the integration time required for integrating output signals of a pair of line sensors a second time for a region with low luminance and low contrast.

Abstract: A half mirror 4 divides a luminous flux emitted from a low-coherence light source 1 into two luminous fluxes, a secondary reference plate 6 is held integrally with a reference plate 16, and a secondary sample 8 is held integrally with a sample 17. A first luminous flux which is obtained through dividing by the half mirror 4 is reflected at a mirror 5 and which reaches a secondary reference surface 6a, is reflected at the secondary reference surface 6a, returns along the same optical path, and is transmitted through the half mirror 4. The second luminous flux reaches a secondary sample surface 8a, is reflected at the secondary sample surface 8a, returns along the same optical path, and is combined with the first luminous flux at the half mirror 4. The optical path length difference between the first luminous flux and the second luminous flux coincides with approximately twice the optical distance between a reference surface 16a and a sample surface 17a.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to make the light distribution by a light guide even. In the light guide, an amount of light emitted from the central region in the light emission end face is relatively small in comparison with an amount of light emitted from a peripheral region in the light emission end face. For example, a mask for shielding light is provided near the light emission end face of the light guide. The mask is, for example, circular, and is aligned with an optical axis Z0 as the center. By providing the mask, the light emitted from the central region in the light emission end face is shielded around the optical axis Z0.

Abstract: In a lens system, an auto-focus (AF) mode switch for selecting an AF mode is provided at a focus demand and, for example, a continuous AF mode is selected by the AF mode switch. Then, a CPU switches the continuous AF to a manual focus (MF) when an operation of the focus demand is executed and switches the MF to the continuous AF when an AF start switch provided at the focus demand is turned ON. Thus, when an operation of the MF is executed during focus adjustment by the AF, the focus adjustment by the AF is switched to focus adjustment by the MF, and thereafter, the focus adjustment by the MF is never switched to the focus adjustment by the AF unless the AF start switch is turned ON.

Abstract: A projection type image display apparatus projects, under magnification by using a projection lens, image information carried by a luminous flux emitted from a ferroelectric liquid crystal display device. A field-sequential color-decomposing illumination optical system generates illumination color light for irradiating the ferroelectric liquid crystal display device. An analyzer and a quarter wave plate are arranged between the ferroelectric liquid crystal display device and the projection lens successively from the ferroelectric liquid crystal display device side.