Patents Examined by David N. Spector
  • Zoom lens and imaging device
    Patent number: 8441557
    Abstract: A zoom lens includes a first lens group with positive refracting power and normally located at a fixed position, a second lens group with negative refracting power and movable in an optical axis direction for zooming, a third lens group with positive refracting power and normally located at a fixed position, a fourth lens group with positive refracting power and movable in the optical axis direction for correction of a focal position for zooming and focusing, and a fifth lens group. These lens groups are arranged in order from an object side to an image side. The zoom lens satisfies the conditional equations (1) 1.00<f3/f4<2.49 and (2) 1.00<|fw1˜2/f2|<1.50, where f2 to f4 are focal lengths of the second to fourth lens groups, and fw1˜2 is a synthetic focal length of the first and second lens groups at the wide-angle end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takuya Anzawa, Shinichi Arita
  • Image pickup optical system and image pickup apparatus using the same
    Patent number: 8441743
    Abstract: An image pickup optical system made of five lenses, includes in order from an object side, an aperture stop, a first lens L1 having a positive refracting power, a second lens L2 having a negative refracting power, a third lens L3 having a positive refracting power, a fourth lens L4 having a positive refracting power, and a fifth lens L5 having a negative refracting power. Moreover, an image pickup apparatus includes this image pickup optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Takuya Ohtsu
  • Methods of forming transparent structures and electrochromic devices
    Patent number: 8432604
    Abstract: Transparent structures, electrochromic devices, and methods for making such structures/devices are provided. A transparent structure may include a transparent substrate having a plurality of micro- or nano-scale structures, at least one substance configured to block near-infrared or infrared radiation and partially cover at least substantial portions of the substrate and the plurality of micro- or nano-scale structures, and at least one photocatalyst configured to at least partially cover an outermost surface of the transparent structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Korea University Research and Business Foundation
    Inventor: Kwangyeol Lee
  • Image forming optical system and electronic image pickup apparatus equipped with same
    Patent number: 8432617
    Abstract: An image forming optical system includes in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, and an image-side lens group having a positive refractive power. A distance between the first lens group and the second lens group changes at the time of zooming. A refractive optical element A having a positive refractive power is positioned in the first lens group. The image forming optical system satisfies the following conditional expression (1-1), conditional expression (1-2), and conditional expression (2). ?dA<30??(1-1) 0.54<?gFA<0.9??(1-2) |fG1/fG2|>6.4??(2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Atitaka Nakagawa, Hisashi Goto
  • Imaging lens
    Patent number: 8427759
    Abstract: An imaging lens includes a first lens having positive curvature radii on both an object side and an image side, a second lens having a concave shape on both sides, and a third lens having positive curvature radii on both the object side and the image side. The first to third lenses are arranged in this order from the object side toward the image side. When a whole lens system has a focal length f, the first lens has a focal length f1, the second lens has a focal length f2, and the third lens has a focal length f3, the following conditional expressions are satisfied: f1<|f2| f1<|f3| 0.5<f1/f<1.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignees: Optical Logic Inc., Kantatsu Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoji Kubota, Kenichi Kubota, Hitoshi Hirano, Ichiro Kurihara, Yoshio Ise
  • Optical assembly for medical imaging devices
    Patent number: 8427766
    Abstract: Optical assemblies for use in medical or other devices so as to image an object under examination onto an image sensor include a plurality of lens elements that can be retained in lens barrel. The lens elements and the lens barrel can be sealed with a compressible gasket. In one example, at least one lens element is made of an injection-moldable plastic and at least one lens element is made of a relatively dispersive optical glass. A lens barrel diameter or lens diameter can be selected to permit access to the object under examination with surgical or other tools. Aperture plates can be situated so as to reduce flare in the object image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander Ning, Robert Lu, William Lucas Churchill, Sergey S. Grigoryants
  • Lens apparatus and image pickup apparatus
    Patent number: 8421904
    Abstract: The lens apparatus includes an aperture stop (SP) forming an aperture, a first lens (A or B) disposed on a first side further than the aperture stop, the first side being one of an object side and an image side, and a second lens (B or A) disposed on a second side further than the aperture stop, the second side being the other of the object side and the image side. In zooming or focusing, the aperture stop is moved independently of the first and second lenses. The first lens and the aperture stop are brought into a first state where an aperture stop side lens surface of the first lens is located away from the aperture stop on the first side and a second state where at least part of the aperture stop side lens surface (RA or RB) of the first lens protrudes through the aperture to the second side further than the aperture stop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Daisuke Ito
  • Imaging lens and imaging apparatus
    Patent number: 8416511
    Abstract: An imaging lens is provided and includes: in order from the object side, a negative first lens, a negative second lens, a positive third lens, a stop, and a positive fourth lens. In the lens, each of the second lens, the third lens, and the fourth lens has at least one aspheric surface, and an Abbe number of a material of the third lens at the d-line is 35 or less. In addition, the imaging lens satisfies the following Conditional Expression (1): ?0.2<(R3+R4)/(R3?R4)<0.2??(1) where R3 is a paraxial radius of curvature of the object side surface of the second lens, and R4 is a paraxial radius of curvature of the image side surface of the second lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Taro Asami
  • Imaging lens
    Patent number: 8416510
    Abstract: An imaging lens includes a first lens group having a first lens that directs a concave surface to an image plane side and is negative; a second lens group having a second lens that directs a concave surface to an object side and is positive; an aperture; a third lens group having a third lens that is positive; and a fourth lens group having a joined lens that is composed of a fourth lens that is positive and a fifth lens that is negative. In the configuration, when the whole lens system has a focal length f and a composite focal length of the first lens group to the third lens group is Fa, the imaging lens satisfies the following relation: 0.3<f/Fa<1.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Optical Logic Inc.
    Inventors: Yoji Kubota, Kenichi Kubota, Hitoshi Hirano
  • Optical device and housing
    Patent number: 8416504
    Abstract: An optical device includes a first substrate which is transparent to incident light, a second substrate which is transparent to incident light, and a frame member which connects the first substrate to the second substrate. A lens chamber surrounded by the first substrate, the second substrate, and the frame member is filled with first and second liquids constituting a liquid lens. A region composed of an inorganic material and a region composed of an organic material coexist in the inner surface of the first substrate and the inner surface of the frame member. A first insulating layer composed of an inorganic material, an adhesion layer composed of an organic material, and a second insulating layer composed of an organic material are stacked in that order on the inner surface of the first substrate and the inner surface of the frame member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Okita, Miki Tsuchiya, Yuichi Takai
  • Image pickup optical system and image pickup apparatus using the same
    Patent number: 8411374
    Abstract: The image pickup optical system comprises: an aperture is placed on the most object side, the image pickup optical system comprises, 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 positive refractive power; a fourth lens having a positive refractive power; and a fifth lens having a negative refractive power, and the following conditional expression is satisfied: ?1.49<(r6+r7)/(r6?r7)<1.24??(1) where r6 is the paraxial radius of curvature of an object side surface of the third lens, and r7 is the paraxial radius of curvature of an image plane side surface of the third lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Takuya Ohtsu
  • Imaging device
    Patent number: 8405757
    Abstract: An imaging device includes a light source; a prism having an imaging surface to be contacted with an object; and an image-forming optical system that forms an image of the object. The image-forming optical system includes a front lens group having a first optical axis tilted relative to the imaging surface; an image plane tilted from a surface perpendicular to the first optical axis of the front lens group; and a rear lens group having a second optical axis shifted in parallel to the first optical axis of the front lens group. The image-forming optical system is arranged to satisfy the following conditional expression: |Aim|/(90°?Ain)<0.5 Where Ain is an acute angle between the imaging surface and the first optical axis, and Aim is an angle between the image plane and a surface perpendicular to the first optical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Optical Logic Inc.
    Inventors: Yoji Kubota, Kenichi Kubota, Hitoshi Hirano
  • Switchable glazings
    Patent number: 8405901
    Abstract: A switchable film assembly having remote electrical connections comprises an active layer between first and second electrically conductive layers. The active layer has an optical transmission which changes upon projecting an electric field therethrough. An electrical connection connects the film to a power supply and can comprise a remote electrical connector region provided remote to the first and second electrically conductive layers, such upon connecting the film assembly to the power supply, an electrical field may be projected through at least a portion of the switchable film assembly thereby changing the optical transmission of the active layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Pilkington Group Limited
    Inventor: Joseph Jeremy Boote
  • Imaging lens
    Patent number: 8400716
    Abstract: Provided is an imaging lens, including a first lens having positive (+) refractive power; a second lens having negative (?) refractive power; a third lens having negative (?) refractive power; a fourth lens having negative (?) refractive power; and a fifth lens having positive (+) refractive power in order from an object side, where the third lens is formed concavely at an object side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: LG Innotek Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyejung Jeong
  • Image pickup lens and image pickup device using the same
    Patent number: 8400553
    Abstract: An image pickup lens capable of providing an angle of view of up to 70° or higher is provided. The image pickup lens can also be reduced in size and various aberrations associated with the lens can be corrected favorably, so that the image pickup lens is compatible with a high-pixel image pickup element. The image pickup lens 7 includes, in order from an object side to an image surface side: a first lens 1 that is a biconvex lens having positive power; a second lens 2 that has negative power and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is concave; a third lens 3 that is a meniscus lens having positive power and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is convex; and a fourth lens 4 that has negative power, whose lens surfaces are both aspherical and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is concave near an optical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Masatoshi Yamashita, Takumi Iba, Nami Nagamori
  • Acousto-optic scanner
    Patent number: 8400706
    Abstract: An acousto-optic laser beam scanner of improved scanning angle scope is provided by introducing a controllable compound acoustic waveform into a light transmissive body wherein at least binary and binary diffraction grating patterns of both positive and negative sense can be introduced into the body, the period of the waveform determining the refraction angle magnitude and the order of the pulses determining the refraction angle direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Hideo Iizuka, Nader Engheta, Hisayoshi Fujikawa
  • Risley integrated steering module
    Patent number: 8400700
    Abstract: A beam steering device is disclosed which includes an outer assembly rotatable about an axis by a motor assembly, and an inner assembly rotatable about the axis by another motor assembly and positioned radially within the outer assembly. The beam steering device also includes a first prism or grating connected to the outer assembly and a second prism or grating connected to the inner assembly. Both motor assemblies are axially displaced from the steering devices. The beam steering device also consists of beam expansion optics carried by either the inner assembly or the stationary assembly. In a further embodiment, an array of steerable sub-apertures are maintained within the inner and outer assemblies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis J. Adams, Alan F. Lindsay, Brian L. Stamper, Charles T. Knorr, Aaron P. Seibel, Michael R. Crano
  • Electronic paper display device and manufacturing method thereof
    Patent number: 8390919
    Abstract: There is provided an electronic paper display device and a manufacturing method thereof. The electronic paper display device includes first and second electrodes facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween; partitions dividing a space between the first and second electrodes into a plurality of cell spaces; first and second ridge portions formed on the first and second electrodes and allowing for a streamlined electric field in the cell spaces; and rotatable balls disposed in the respective cell spaces and having electrical and optical anisotropy. The electronic paper display device controls the linear movement of the rotatable ball through a streamlined electric field, and thus the stability of an image is achieved, and a superior contrast ratio is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jong Su Yi, Hye Yeon Cha, Hwan-Soo Lee
  • Optical lens module
    Patent number: 8390942
    Abstract: An optical lens module is provided, including a first lens, a second lens, a third lens, and an aperture stop formed in the first lens by wafer level processing. The first lens, the second lens, and the third lens are sequentially arranged from an object side to an image side along an optical axis of the optical lens module. The first lens has a convex surface and a concave surface, respectively, on an object side and an image side. The second lens has a concave surface and a convex surface, respectively, on the object side and the image side. The third lens has a convex peripheral portion on the image side, wherein the convex peripheral portion forms a surface with a concave center on the image side, and the surface has an inflection point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignees: OmniVision Technologies, Inc., VisEra Technologies Company Limited
    Inventor: Yun-Chiang Hsu
  • Zoom lens and image pickup apparatus having the zoom lens
    Patent number: 8390936
    Abstract: A zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power, a third lens unit having a positive refractive power, and a rear lens unit including one or more lens units. An interval between respective adjacent lens units varies during zooming such that an interval between the first lens unit and the second lens unit is larger at a telephoto end than at a wide-angle end and an interval between the second lens unit and the third lens unit is smaller at the telephoto end than at the wide-angle end. The third lens unit includes at least one negative lens. An Abbe number (?d3n) and a relative partial dispersion (?gF3n) of a material of the negative lens are appropriately set based on predetermined conditional expressions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichiro Saito, Nobuyuki Miyazawa, Tomonori Kimura