Abstract: An image pickup optical system OP includes first and second prisms P1, P2 for bending incident light at an almost right angle. Optical axis AX at the incident surface of first prism P1 and optical axis AX at the outgoing surface of second prism P2 are almost parallel with each other. There is a lens element forming at least one power group on the optical path between first and second prisms P1, P2, wherein a power group closest to the incident surface of second prism P2 is a positive power group. The incident surface of second prism P2 has a concaved surface shape facing the object side, and the following conditional expressions are satisfied: ?4.2<fp2/f<?0.2 (fp2: a focal length of the second prism, f: is a focal length of the entire image pickup optical system), and 0.2<|f_1p/fp2|<1.5 (f_1p: a focal length of the power group closest to the incident surface of the second prism).

Abstract: Provided are a resinous reflecting optical element that achieves high mirror surface precision by mitigating the warping effects associated with contraction during resin hardening and suppressing the distortion of a mirror surface that results from resistance to mold release, and a scanning optical device that uses said reflecting optical element.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator allowing a control of displacement and configured to offer a high degree of freedom in designing, and a drive device and an imaging device including the actuator. To achieve the object, an actuator is adopted including a movable part deformable in accordance with heat generation and a control section controlling the amount of deformation of the movable part. In the actuator, the movable part is structured with a plurality of portions including a base portion, a force generating portion, and a heat generating portion being stacked, the force generating portion generating force in accordance with heating, the heat generating portion generating heat in accordance with a current supply. The control section controls the amount of deformation of the movable part by controlling the current supply to the heat generating portion based on an electrical resistance in the heat generating portion.

Abstract: An image pickup lens includes: a first lens with a positive power, including a convex surface facing the object side; an aperture stop; a second lens with a negative power, including a concave surface facing the image side; a third lens with a positive or negative power; a fourth lens with a positive power, including a convex surface facing the image side; and a fifth lens with a negative power, including a concave surface facing the image side. The surface of the fifth lens facing the image side is an aspheric surface and includes an inflection point. The image pickup lens satisfies the predetermined condition relating to a focal length of the first lens.

Abstract: A polarizer protective film containing a cellulose acylate having a total acyl substitution degree of from 2.2 to less than 2.5 and a polymer prepared by polymerizing an acrylate ester or a methacrylate ester.

Abstract: There is provided a device for manufacturing a molded glass body, including a fall-prevention means for preventing the glass molded body which has stuck on the upper mold from falling down on the lower mold. Thus, the molded glass body does not damage the lower mold, even if the molded glass body which has stuck on the upper mold falls down from the upper mold, during a period from an end of the pressure molding to releasing and withdrawing the molded glass body obtained by the pressure molding from the any one of the upper mold and the lower mold.

Abstract: First and second light sources emit first and second light beams, respectively. A light condensing system condenses the beams, and a polarization separation system separates each of the beams into first and second polarization components. A ½ phase plate converts the polarization state of the first polarization component to one equal to that of the second polarization component, and a rod integrator uniformizes spatial energy distribution of the beams condensed by the light condensing system. A relay system forms an image of an exit face of the rod integrator on a region to be illuminated. The light condensing system condenses the first and second polarization components onto first and second regions, respectively, of an entrance face of the rod integrator; and the ½ phase plate is placed at the first region of the entrance face of the rod integrator or at a position conjugate with the first region.

Abstract: Provided is an image input device capable of generating a luminance signal having a high ratio of S/N of an image, and further capable of providing the image with a little uncomfortable feeling even in the night time when the amount of photons is few, wherein, when a visible light luminance signal is relatively low, and an infrared component is predominant in an original image component, for example, correcting color-difference signals with added luminance prevents the color-difference signals with the added luminance from being too high, thereby it becomes possible to perform more natural color reproduction, which is close to original visible light, and gives a little uncomfortable feeling.

Abstract: A zoom lens includes: a first lens group with a positive refractive power, including a reflection optical element; a second lens group with a negative refractive power; a third lens group with a positive refractive power; a fourth lens group with a positive refractive power; and a fifth lens group with a negative refractive power. A power of the zoom lens varies by moving the second lens group, the fourth lens group, and the fifth lens group along an optical axis. A negative lens in the first lens group or a positive lens in the second lens group satisfies the predetermined conditions relating to a refractive index and an Abbe number.

Abstract: A microchip which comprises: a resinous base having a plurality of fine channels formed on one side thereof, one or more cylindrical parts disposed so as to protrude from the other side, and a through-hole which pierces each cylindrical part along the axis thereof and communicates with the fine channel so that the diameter of the inner wall of the through-hole gradually decreases from the tip end of the cylindrical part toward the fine channel at a first inclination angle; and a resinous covering member bonded to that side of the resinous base on which the fine channels have been formed. The microchip has been configured so that a liquid sample can be introduced from the tip end of each cylindrical part through the through-hole. The wall thickness of the cylindrical part on the end side where a liquid sample is to be introduced has been made smaller than the wall thickness thereof on the base side where the cylindrical part has been formed, by forming a step therebetween.

Abstract: Provided is an optical pickup device capable of ensuring the compatibility among three types of optical discs, i.e., BDs, DVDs, and CDs, with a common objective lens and, in addition, capable of ensuring a sufficient working distance for CDs, and also provided are an optical information recording and reproducing device and an objective lens suitable for the optical information recording and reproducing device. On the objective lens, there is arranged a first optical path difference providing structure formed such that: the direction of step differences of a basic structure wherein the diffraction order of a blue-violet laser light flux become an odd order faces toward the opposite direction of the optical axis; the direction of step differences of a basic structure wherein the diffraction order of the blue-violet laser light flux become an even order faces toward the optical axis; and both the basic structures are overlapped together.

Abstract: A microchip 1 in which a resinous film can be inhibited from sagging into a channel. The microchip 1 comprises: a resinous substrate 2 having a channel groove formed therein; and a resinous film bonded to a surface of the substrate on which the channel groove has been formed. A micro-channel 3 including channels 3A and channels 3B is formed by the channel groove and the resinous film 10. The total length of the channels 3B, which is parallel to the X direction for the resinous substrate 2, is larger than the total length of the channels 3A, which is parallel to the Y direction for the resinous substrate 2. The resinous substrate 2 has been bonded to the resinous film so that the sides parallel to the channels 3B are parallel to the TD direction of the resinous film and that the sides parallel to the channels 3A are parallel to the MD direction of the resinous film.

Abstract: An image pickup lens includes a first lens block with a positive refractive power, a second lens block with a negative refractive power, and an aperture stop. The first lens block includes a first lens substrate, and lens portions 1a and 1b arranged on the first lens substrate. The lens portions 1a and 1b are different from the first lens substrate in at least one of a refractive index and an Abbe number. The second lens block includes a second lens substrate, and lens portions 2a and 2b arranged on the second lens substrate. The lens portions 2a and 2b are different from the second lens substrate in at least one of a refractive index and an Abbe number. The image pickup lens satisfies predetermined conditions relating to a refractive index of the lens portion 2b, and composite thicknesses of the first lens block and the second lens block.

Abstract: Provided are an optical pickup apparatus and an objective lens which can appropriately record and/or reproduce information on three types of discs with different recording densities and improve the light-utilization efficiency using a simple structure. A first optical path difference providing structure is formed on an optical surface of the objective lens. The first optical path difference providing structure is a step structure in which plural ring-shaped step units each including the same number of steps are arranged concentrically about the optical axis as the center. The width w1 in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the highest step or the lowest step in at least one step unit in the step structure is approximately half of the average value w2 of two steps at both sides of the highest step or the lowest step in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis.

Abstract: A biasing spring is interposed between a coupling plate and a covering section while being compressed from its natural length. The biasing spring biases, by its resilient force, a lens unit toward a ?Z side to bring a surface of the lens unit at the ?Z side into contact with an abutment portion of a fixing frame section. When a temperature of an actuator is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, a biasing force of the biasing spring surpasses a force generated in the actuator, and thus the lens unit is not moved. When the actuator is heated up to a temperature equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the lens unit is continuously moved in the +Z direction. Thereby, movement of a lens due to a change of an environmental temperature can be prevented.

Abstract: Provided is a method for designing an image pickup lens which is low cost and applicable to reflow process. The method includes a step of designing the image pickup lens including a lens formed of energy curable resin, on the assumption that the energy curable resin is homogeneous; a step of obtaining an image pickup lens by manufacturing each lens forming the image pickup lens, based on the design; a step of evaluating lens performance of the obtained image pickup lens; a step of designing the image pickup lens again by changing surface shape of at least one surface and/or lens-surface distance in at least one place in the image pickup lens, based on the lens performance obtained by an simulation in the designing step and the lens performance of the image pickup lens obtained in the evaluating step.

Abstract: An electromechanical conversion element having high connection reliability and an actuator equipped with the electromechanical conversion element. The electromechanical conversion element includes: a displacement part capable of expanding and contracting by application of voltage and having electrode forming faces and an adhesion face which are disposed adjacent to each other; and external electrodes on the electrode forming faces, in which lead electrodes for applying voltage to the displacement part are bonded to bonding regions provided in the external electrodes, and a driven member capable of being driven by the expansion and contraction of the displacement part is bonded to the adhesion face by an adhesive. The electromechanical conversion element further includes bleed flow blocking parts on the electrode forming faces at points closer to the adhesion face than ends of the bonding regions located on the same side as the adhesion face.

Abstract: Provided is a highly reliable solar collecting system. Since a concave minor has a reflection film on a base material on the side opposite to the side of a solar light incoming surface, peeling, breaking and the like are suppressed by protecting the reflection film by the base material, even when a dropping material is brought into contact with the side of the reflection film with impact or accumulated dropped materials are periodically cleaned. As an elliptical mirror has a reflection film on the base material on the side of the solar light incoming surface, even when solar light having large energy enters, the solar light is reflected by the reflection surface before reaching the base material and there is a small possibility of having the base material heated.

Abstract: A die (100) is provided with: a cavity which can contain a molten resin; a micro-structure (102) provided on a molding transfer surface (101) forming the cavity such that the fine structure protrudes to the cavity side from the molding transfer surface (101); and a anti-shrinkage convex section (103) protruding higher than the micro-structure (102) to the cavity side from one surface. A molten resin is applied to the die (100) and the surface of the die is relatively removed in the order of the micro-structure (102) and the anti-shrinkage convex section (103) from a resin substrate (001) formed by solidifying the resin.

Abstract: To provide an inexpensive image pickup lens ensuring mass productivity and preventing deterioration of images due to fluctuation of a paraxial image-point position caused by water absorption, image pickup device, digital apparatus, and a manufacturing method of the image pickup lens, the image pickup lens includes: at least one lens block including a lens substrate, and a lens portion or lens portions formed on at least one of an object-side surface or an image-side surface of the lens substrate. The lens portion is formed of an energy-curable resin material which is different from a material of the lens substrate. At least one lens portion has a dimension change rate caused by water absorption which is larger than a dimension change rate caused by water absorption of the lens substrate, and satisfies the predetermined expression about a change in refractive index the energy-curable resin material caused by water absorption.