Patents Assigned to Nikon Corporation
  • Publication number: 20250150709
    Abstract: An imaging control device includes: a position setting unit configured to set a first position indicating a position at which tracking of a subject starts in an imaging range in which the subject is imaged; and a tracking control unit configured to track the subject on the basis of a result of detection of the subject overlapping the first position set by the position setting unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2022
    Publication date: May 8, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hidehisa TAKASAKI, Hiroaki YAMAMURA
  • Publication number: 20250147292
    Abstract: An optical processing apparatus includes: a combining element that combines a first optical path of a first light beam having a first wavelength and a second optical path of a second light beam having a second wavelength longer than the first wavelength; a condensing optical system having a positive refractive power and that condenses each of the first and second light beams from the combining element on a processing target object; and a correction optical system having a negative refractive power, the correction optical system is disposed on the first optical path at an entrance side of the combining element, one light beam of the first light beam and the second light beam is a light beam for processing the processing target object, the other light beam of the first light beam and the second light beam is a light beam for measuring the processing target object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2021
    Publication date: May 8, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenta SUDO
  • Patent number: 12294791
    Abstract: An image sensor includes: a first readout circuit that reads out a first signal, being generated by an electric charge resulting from a photoelectric conversion, to a first signal line; a first holding circuit that holds a voltage based on an electric current from a power supply circuit; and a first electric current source that supplies the first signal line with an electric current generated by the voltage held in the first holding circuit, wherein: the first holding circuit holds the voltage based on the electric current from the power supply circuit when the first signal is not read out to the first signal line by the first readout circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Wataru Funamizu, Masahiro Juen, Atsushi Komai
  • Patent number: 12293519
    Abstract: A cell evaluation method includes acquiring a first evaluation index and a first index calculated using the first evaluation index with respect to comparative target cells in a culture process including a cell differentiation-inducing process in which cell differentiation is induced, calculating a second index on the basis of the first evaluation index with respect to evaluation target cells different from the comparative target cells, and evaluating differentiation of the evaluation target cells by comparing the first index with the second index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignees: PUBLIC UNIVERSITY CORPORATION YOKOHAMA CITY UNIVERSITY, NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideki Taniguchi, Takanori Takebe, Momotaro Ishikawa, Masafumi Yamashita, Yasujiro Kiyota
  • Patent number: 12294795
    Abstract: An image sensor includes: a plurality of microlenses arranged in a two-dimensional pattern; and a plurality of pixels that are provided in correspondence to each of the microlenses and receive lights of different color components, respectively. Pixels that are provided at adjacent microlenses among the microlenses and that receive lights of same color components, are adjacently arranged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hironobu Murata
  • Publication number: 20250138332
    Abstract: A lens barrel includes an outer barrel disposed further outward than a lens holding frame holding a lens, a guide portion guiding the lens holding frame in an optical axis direction, an actuator moving the lens holding frame in the optical axis direction, a detector that includes a scale portion arranged along the optical axis direction and a sensor portion opposed to the scale portion, and detects a position of the lens holding frame in the optical axis direction, and a controller controlling the actuator based on position information detected by the detector, wherein the lens holding frame holds one of the scale and sensor portions, the outer barrel holds the other, and the one is disposed at a position corresponding to a node of a vibration mode having a lowest natural frequency among vibration modes generated in the lens and the lens holding frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2022
    Publication date: May 1, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Azusa MUTO, Takatoshi ASHIZAWA
  • Patent number: 12285216
    Abstract: A measurement device including a light source configured to emit a broad-band light beam, an interference section configured to split the broad-band light beam into a measurement light beam and a reference light beam, and to generate an interference light beam from the reference light beam and a measurement light beam reflected from an object after shining the measurement light beam onto the object, a sweeper section configured to perform wavelength sweeping of the interference light beam, and a detection section configured to detect an interference light beam output from the sweeper section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shunsuke Furuya
  • Patent number: 12285800
    Abstract: A processing system is provided with: a support apparatus that supports an object; a processing apparatus that performs an additive processing on the object by supplying powdery materials to the object; a driving power source that generates driving power; a driving power transmission member that transmits the driving power to at least one of the support apparatus and the processing apparatus; a partition member that is disposed between the driving power source and at least a part of the processing apparatus and that has a formed through hole which the driving power transmission penetrates; and a seal member that seals a gap between the driving power transmission member and the partition member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takeshi Matsuda
  • Patent number: 12287468
    Abstract: A variable magnification optical system comprising, in order from an object side, a first lens group having positive refractive power, a second lens group having negative refractive power, a third lens group having positive refractive power, and a rear lens group having positive refractive power; upon varying a magnification, a distance between the first lens group and the second lens group being varied, a distance between the second lens group and the third lens group being varied, and a distance between the third lens group and the rear lens group being varied; the rear lens group comprising a focusing lens group which is moved upon carrying out focusing from an infinitely distant object to a closely distant object; and predetermined conditional expression(s) being satisfied, thereby various aberrations being corrected superbly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: Nikon Corporation
    Inventor: Takeshi Umeda
  • Publication number: 20250133857
    Abstract: An image sensor includes a first semiconductor substrate provided with a pixel, including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light to generate an electric charge, an accumulation unit that accumulates the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit, and a transfer unit that transfers the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit, and a second semiconductor substrate provided with a supply unit for the pixel, the supply unit supplying the transfer unit with a transfer signal to transfer the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2024
    Publication date: April 24, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Osamu SARUWATARI, Shutaro Kato, Ryoji Ando, Yojiro Tezuka, Atsushi Komai
  • Publication number: 20250133306
    Abstract: An imaging element includes a photoelectric conversion part configured to convert light into charges, an accumulation part in which the charges from the photoelectric conversion part are accumulated, a transfer path part which is a transfer path for transferring charges from the photoelectric conversion part to the accumulation part and has a lower potential than a pixel separation region formed around the photoelectric conversion part, and a measurement part configured to measure the number of times a predetermined amount of charges is accumulated in the accumulation part and to measure the amount of charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2022
    Publication date: April 24, 2025
    Applicants: NIKON CORPORATION, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Osamu SARUWATARI, Daiki OGURA, Rihito KURODA
  • Publication number: 20250130510
    Abstract: A method of controlling vibration of a structural element of an exposure apparatus includes receiving data of a position of the structural element, determining a position error signal based at least in part on the position data and a specified position of the structural element, determining a force command to damp a specified vibration mode frequency of the structural element based at least in part on the position error signal and the specified vibration mode frequency, and transmitting the force command to an actuator such that the actuator applies force to the structural element and damps vibration of the structural element at least at the specified vibration mode frequency of the structural element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2024
    Publication date: April 24, 2025
    Applicant: Nikon Corporation
    Inventors: Pai-Hsueh Yang, Hiroyoshi Asaumi, Koichi Sakata, Kensuke Tokumi, Shigeki Kitabatake, Christopher Sean Margeson, Hwan Lee, Bausan Yuan
  • Publication number: 20250130037
    Abstract: 3D metrology techniques are disclosed for determining a changing topography of a substrate processed in an additive manufacturing system. Techniques include fringe scanning, simultaneous fringe projections, interferometry, and x-ray imaging. The techniques can be applied to 3D printing systems to enable rapid topographical measurements of a 3D printer powder bed, or other rapidly moving, nearly continuous surface to be tested. The techniques act in parallel to the system being measured to provide information about system operation and the topography of the product being processed. A tool is provided for achieving higher precision, increasing throughput, and reducing the cost of operation through early detection and diagnosis of operating problems and printing defects. These techniques work well with any powder bed 3D printing system, providing real-time metrology of the powder bed, the most recently printed layer, or both without reducing throughput.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2024
    Publication date: April 24, 2025
    Applicant: Nikon Corporation
    Inventors: Eric Peter Goodwin, Heather Lynn Durko, Daniel Gene Smith, Johnathan Agustin Marquez, Michael Birk Binnard, Patrick Shih Chang, Matthew Parker-McCormick Bjork, Paul Derek Coon, Brett William Herr, Motofusa Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20250120587
    Abstract: An image processing method includes acquiring a first direction fundus image imaged in a state in which an examined eye is directed in a first direction, and a second direction fundus image imaged in a state in which the examined eye is directed in a second direction different to the first direction, generating a combined image for analyzing a fundus-peripheral portion of the examined eye by combining the first direction fundus image and the second direction fundus image, and outputting the combined image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2024
    Publication date: April 17, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mariko HIROKAWA, Yasushi TANABE
  • Publication number: 20250126364
    Abstract: An electronic device includes: an imaging unit including a region having a pixel group that has a plurality of first pixels, and second pixels that are fewer than the first pixels in the pixel group; and a control unit that reads out the signals based upon exposure of the second pixels during exposure of the plurality of first pixels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2024
    Publication date: April 17, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koichi GOHARA, Satoshi TSUCHIYA
  • Publication number: 20250123475
    Abstract: A microscope device (1) comprises: a first microscope part (10) including a first illumination optical system that irradiates a sample with a first illumination light toward a first direction and a first detection optical system that receives detection light from the sample in response to the irradiation with the first illumination light and guides the detection light to a first detector; and a second microscope part (50) including a second illumination optical system that irradiates the sample with a second illumination light toward a second direction and a second detection optical system that receives detection light from the sample in response to the irradiation with the second illumination light and guides the detection light to a second detector, the second direction being different from the first direction, wherein the microscope device comprises any one of the predetermined features.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2024
    Publication date: April 17, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi IKEDA, Naoki Fukutake
  • Publication number: 20250121457
    Abstract: A processing apparatus has: a light irradiation apparatus that irradiates a surface of an object with a plurality of processing lights; and a first change apparatus that changes an intensity distribution of the plurality of processing lights from the light irradiation apparatus on the surface of the object, the processing apparatus changes a thickness of a part of the object by irradiating the surface of the object with the plurality of processing lights.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2024
    Publication date: April 17, 2025
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masayuki SHIRAISHI, Yoshio KAWABE, Yosuke TATSUZAKI, Yuichi SHIBAZAKI
  • Patent number: 12276859
    Abstract: A lens barrel, that can be made thinner, has a lens holding frame that holds a lens; a driving part that is held by the lens holding frame; aperture blades including a first engaging part and a second engaging part; a first member that engages with the first engaging part and can be rotated around an optical axis by the driving part; and a second member that engages with the second engaging part and is provided with the aperture blade arranged between the second member and the first member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki Takita, Yasuhiko Endo
  • Patent number: 12274502
    Abstract: In the present invention, vortex vein positions are detected from a fundus image. The image processing method comprising: a step in which a choroidal blood vessel structure is analyzed from a fundus image; and a step in which vortex vein positions are detected based on the choroidal blood vessel structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasushi Tanabe, Mariko Hirokawa
  • Patent number: 12275066
    Abstract: The problem of limited throughput in three-dimensional (3D) printing processes is addressed by systems and methods that employ mirrors to receive energy reflected by the melt pool and to redirect such light back to the melt pool, where it may further heat the melt pool. Multiple such passes of reflection from the melt pool and redirection back to the melt pool may substantially increase the efficiency at which the melt pool absorbs the energy, thereby substantially increasing the throughput of the 3D printing process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Alton Hugh Phillips, Eric Peter Goodwin