Patents Assigned to Fujinon Corporation
  • Patent number: 8734695
    Abstract: An endoscope flexible tube comprises: a tubular structure having flexibility; and a shell layer on an outer peripheral surface of the tubular structure, wherein the shell layer has a two-layer structure including a rigid resin layer of a rigid resin and a soft resin layer of a soft resin, and wherein the two-layer structure is maintained over the entire flexible tube in its length direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Yago, Nobuharu Takahashi, Yoshiyuki Yoshimoto, Rei Miyasaka
  • Patent number: 8721526
    Abstract: An insertion assisting device 60 has an insertion path 70 into which an insertion portion 12 of an endoscope 100 is inserted and has a substantially tubular shape. The insertion assisting device 60 includes a ventilation opening 90 that is formed on a distal-end surface or outer circumferential surface thereof, a ventilation duct 74 that communicates with the opening 90 and is different from the insertion path 70, and a liquid reservoir tank 116 that is connected to a base-end side of the duct 74 and stores liquid flowing out of the duct 74.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuya Fujikura
  • Patent number: 8675058
    Abstract: An electronic endoscope apparatus includes a connection unit for selectively connecting a plurality of machine types of electronic endoscopes which use different color information obtainment methods and a plurality of replacement tables which are provided for the plurality of machine types of electronic endoscopes respectively, and each of which stores a correspondence between values representing colors which can be obtained by each of the electronic endoscopes by photographing an observation object and values representing the true colors of the observation object. The electronic endoscope apparatus distinguishes the machine type of the electronic endoscope and replaces the values of obtained colors by using the replacement table for the distinguished machine type. Further, the electronic endoscope apparatus stores setting information for each purpose of examination, and further performs image processing, based on selected setting information, on the image of which the values of the colors have been replaced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignees: Fujinon Corporation, FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Donomae, Kazunori Abe
  • Patent number: 8633977
    Abstract: An electronic endoscope apparatus capable of setting the brightness of a displayed spectroscopic image within a desirable range. The apparatus includes: a light source for irradiating white light on an observation target body; a color imaging device for imaging the observation target image; a first color conversion circuit for converting Y/C signals to RGB three color image signals; a spectroscopic image generation circuit for generating a spectroscopic image from the RGB three color image signals; a second color conversion circuit for converting the RGB three color image signals to Y/C signals; a light amount regulation means for regulating the amount of white light irradiated on the observation target body; and a light amount control circuit for controlling the light amount regulation means based on the luminance information provided by the Y/C signals outputted from the second color conversion circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignee: FUJINON Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuru Higuchi
  • Patent number: 8591404
    Abstract: An operating wire is inserted in a close-contact coil in a bendable tube portion through a flexible tube portion. The close-contact coil is such that a fixed portion is provided at the position of a bending piece which is placed at the most base end of the bendable tube portion, and that a close-contact coil extension portion having been put in a non-fixed state extends from the fixed portion in the bendable tube portion. A part between a fixed portion and the fixed portion of the close-contact coil is a remote control cable for transmitting an amount of pushing and pulling an operating wire when operating an operating wire. A close-contact coil extension portion extended from the fixed portion at the side of a tip end of the close-contact coil functions as a positioning guide section for holding the operating wire so as to prevent the operating wire from being displaced in a circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Masayuki Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8400498
    Abstract: An endoscope having a color space conversion circuit performs a matrix calculation according to RGB signals and matrix data respectively corresponding to signals in wavelength ranges is provided with a wavelength memory section having a default data memory area, which stores a default value representing a wavelength range selected by a wavelength selection section, and a changed-wavelength saving area that stores a wavelength range selected by the wavelength selection section after changed from the wavelength range represented by the default value. Subsequently, at least a part of the wavelength range stored in the changed-wavelength saving area is rewritten by a reset section into the default value stored in the default data memory area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: FUJINON Corporation
    Inventors: Shinji Takeuchi, Mitsuru Higuchi, Kazunori Abe
  • Patent number: 8390941
    Abstract: An imaging lens is provided and includes: in order from the object side, a first lens having a positive refractive power; a second lens having a negative refractive power; a third lens having a convex surface on the image side near the optical axis and having a positive refractive power; a fourth lens having a positive refractive power near the optical axis; and a fifth lens having a negative refractive power near the optical axis. An image side surface of the fifth lens is concave near the optical axis and has a region where a negative power of the region decreases toward a periphery of the fifth lens as compared with a negative power near the optical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: FUJINON Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshikazu Shinohara
  • Patent number: 8376935
    Abstract: An observed image forming apparatus comprises: an apparatus body including a plurality of connector receivers to which electric connectors of a plurality of observation devices for obtaining an image of an object to be observed can be connected; a cap that is to be mounted to one of said plurality of connector receivers to which any of said plurality of electric connectors is not connected; and a cap insertion and extraction detecting circuit that detects whether or not the cap is mounted to the one of the connector receivers in the apparatus body, wherein, when mounting of the cap has been detected by the cap insertion and extraction detecting circuit, one of the observation devices an electric connector of which is connected to the other one of the connector receivers in the apparatus body is controlled to be driven.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: FUJINON Corporation
    Inventor: Toshio Ohki
  • Patent number: 8372071
    Abstract: A high-frequency treatment tool comprising: a flexible sheath to be inserted into a treatment tool insertion channel of an endoscope; a treatment tool body provided inside the flexible sheath and comprising: a flexible cord; and a high-frequency knife to which a high-frequency current is applied, formed to the front end of the flexible cord; and a hard cylinder having an electrical insulating property, inserted and fixed inside the flexible sheath, wherein the high-frequency knife comprises blade portions radially provided in its axial direction, each of the blade portions including an engaging part, and wherein, when the high-frequency knife is made to stick out from the hard cylinder, engaging parts of the blade portions abut against a rear end portion of the hard cylinder so that: the high-frequency knife is engaged with the hard cylinder; and communicating channels that communicate an inside and an outside of the flexible sheath are formed between the blade portions adjacent to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: FUJINON Corporation
    Inventors: Mamoru Machiya, Masayuki Oyatsu, Haruo Akiba, Shozo Iyama, Atsushi Kanaki, Hidefumi Akahane
  • Patent number: 8363108
    Abstract: An autofocus system includes: an image pickup unit; an autofocus unit performing focus adjustment such that a subject in a AF area is to be in focus in the photographing image; a tracking unit moving the AF area to follow the movement of the subject in the range of the photographing image; a reference pattern registering unit registering the subject image in focus as a reference pattern; and a matched image detecting unit detecting a subject which is most closely matched with the reference pattern in the photographing image. When the amount of movement of the detected subject in a screen is less than a given value, the reference pattern is updated with the image of the subject, and an AF frame is updated to follow the moved subject. When the amount of movement is equal to or more than the given value, a tracking operation stops.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignee: FUJINON Corporation
    Inventor: Kunio Yata
  • Patent number: 8350901
    Abstract: A brightness image is produced from a frame image input from a scope and a high brightness pixel group including pixels next to one another, of which the brightness values exceed a predetermined value, and of which the number exceeds a predetermined value, is detected. Only when the pixel group is detected, a microcomputer performs light amount adjustment. When no high brightness pixel group is detected any more, a brightness blurred image is produced from the brightness image. If the value of a pixel forming the brightness blurred image is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the value is replaced with zero. If the value is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the value is replaced with a greater value as the value is smaller. Then, brightness conversion is performed on the brightness image by adding the brightness blurred image after replacement to the brightness image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Kazunori Abe
  • Patent number: 8345356
    Abstract: An objective lens for converging light emitted from a light source onto an optical recording medium to record and reproduce information consists of a single lens that has at least one aspheric surface. The following conditional expressions (1) and (2) are satisfied: ?0.90<R1/R2<?0.45??(1) 0.70<d/f<1.40??(2) where R1 denotes a radius of curvature (mm) of a light source side surface near an optical axis, R2 denotes a radius of curvature (mm) of an optical recording medium side surface near the optical axis, d denotes a thickness (mm) on an optical axis, and f denotes a focal length (mm).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiaki Katsuma, Masao Mori, Tetsuya Ori, Yu Kitahara
  • Patent number: 8328369
    Abstract: The projecting zoom lens includes, sequentially from its magnification side, a negative first lens group, a positive second lens group, a negative third lens group, a positive fourth lens group, a positive or negative fifth lens group, and a positive six lens group, while the reduction side of the projecting zoom lens is formed as a telecentric system. When the power of the zoom lens is varied, the first lens group and sixth lens group are fixed, while the second to fifth lens groups move. In such power varying operation, the movement of the third lens group advances from the magnification side to the reduction side as the zoom lens goes from the wide angle end toward the tele end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Masaru Amano
  • Patent number: 8294751
    Abstract: An electronic endoscope system comprises an electronic endoscope and a processor. The electronic endoscope includes a parallel/serial converter which encodes a vertical synchronizing signal and a horizontal synchronizing signal to synchronization codes representing ON/OFF states thereof expressed by several maximum and minimum signal levels for representing the digital image signals, and uses a maximum and a minimum signal levels except the signal levels representing the synchronization codes to express the digital image signals which would normally be represented by the signal levels representing the synchronization codes, while the image signals whose levels are not in the signal levels representing the synchronization codes are not subject to change. The processor includes a synchronizing signal decoder for decoding the vertical synchronizing signal and the horizontal synchronizing signal based on the synchronization codes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Kazunori Abe
  • Patent number: 8268613
    Abstract: A surface plasmon resonance measuring apparatus is provided with a dielectric block, a metal film formed on a surface of the dielectric block, a light source for emitting a light beam, an optical system for making the light beam enter the dielectric block at various angles of incidence so that a condition for total internal reflection is satisfied at an interface between the dielectric block and the thin film layer, and a photodetector for detecting the intensity of the light beam satisfying total internal reflection at the interface. In the measurement chip to be utilized in the surface plasmon resonance measuring apparatus, the dielectric block is formed from a synthetic resin in which, when said light beam is p-polarized outside said dielectric block and then strikes the interface, the intensity of a s-polarized component at the interface is 50% or less of the intensity of the light beam at the interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignees: Fujinon Corporation, FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Masayuki Naya, Takashi Kubo, Takashi Ito, Yoshimitsu Nomura
  • Patent number: 8265474
    Abstract: Pattern data for specifying a face image of a person is registered in a pattern data storage unit 32 of a tracking device 16. When a face recognition auto-tracking mode is selected, a face image coinciding with the registered pattern data is detected, and an AF area is set to track the face image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Atsushi Kanayama
  • Patent number: 8235889
    Abstract: An endoscope comprises: an insertion portion to be inserted into a body cavity; an operation portion provided continuously from a proximal end side of the insertion portion; and a cylinder in which a gas to be fed to the distal end of the insertion portion is compressed and filled, the cylinder being detachably attached to the operation portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Shinichi Kohno
  • Patent number: 8237847
    Abstract: When the user sets an AF frame such that an object tracked as an AF target is in the AF frame, an auto-tracking process starts to detect a face image from the image captured by a television camera. Then, it is determined whether the face image is detected from the peripheral range of the AF frame. If it is determined that the face image is detected from the peripheral range of the AF frame, the position of the AF frame is changed on the basis of the position of the face image. On the other hand, if it is determined that the face image is not detected from the peripheral range of the AF frame, a pattern matching process is performed. The position of the AF frame is changed to the position of the object, which is a tracking target, detected by the pattern matching process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Kunio Yata
  • Patent number: D670384
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Kunihiko Tanaka
  • Patent number: D671212
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Fujinon Corporation
    Inventor: Kunihiko Tanaka