Patents Examined by William B. Perkey
  • Patent number: 11385523
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides an optical assembly driving apparatus, an imaging apparatus and a portable electronic device, including an actuator unit and a lifting unit configured to support an optical assembly. The actuator unit includes an electromagnetic motor serving as a driving source and a transmission mechanism transmitting a driving force to the lifting unit. The transmission mechanism includes a spindle and a connecting plate sleeved on the spindle and movable along an axial direction of the spindle. The connecting plate is connected with the lifting unit, and the driving force generated by the electromagnetic motor controls lifting of the lifting unit through the connecting plate. Compared with a bending optical system in the existing technology, the optical assembly driving apparatus of the present disclosure can save a three-dimensional space of the imaging apparatus and enable a lens group to have high-resolution optical system performance in the photographing state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: AAC Optics Solutions Pte. Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirokazu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 11311105
    Abstract: A smart vanity mirror speaker system may include a surface-mounted mirror that includes a mirror on one side and a screen display opposite the mirror, and a module capable of capturing, broadcasting, and recording still photos, audio, and video of a user, wherein the mirror is capable of being adjusted in height and angle. The system may include at least one light ring, a companion device/control panel, and/or an external microphone. The system includes an acoustic chamber connected to a bottom portion of the mirror, the acoustic chamber having a speaker integrated within the acoustic chamber. The acoustic chamber may include a downward-facing full-range driver on a lower end of the acoustic chamber; and a passive base isolator on an upper end of the acoustic chamber. The smart vanity mirror speaker system may pair with at least one Bluetooth®-enabled device or MP3 player.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: FOREVER GIFTS, INC.
    Inventors: Marcus Pestl, Hendra Wijaya
  • Patent number: 11284822
    Abstract: An oximeter probe includes sensor head with a probe face having one or more sensor structures to make measurements, a handle, and an elastic member connected between the handle and the base. A user can hold the handle while measurements are made and the elastic member permits the handle to flex relative to the sensor head with one or more sensor structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: ViOptix, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert E. Lash, Scott Janis, Darius Eghbal
  • Patent number: 11286057
    Abstract: A gimbal for carrying a load includes a first frame configured to be coupled with the load, and a second frame rotatably coupled with the first frame. At least one of the first frame or the second frame includes a connecting segment and a movable segment movably coupled with the connecting segment. The movable segment is movable relative to the connecting segment to cause the at least one of the first frame or the second frame to extend or retract. The at least one of the first frame or the second frame includes a locking part disposed on one of the connecting segment and the movable segment. The locking part is configured to abut against the connecting segment or disengage from the connecting segment for placing the movable segment in a locked state or a movable state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: SZ DJI OSMO TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Rongjian Sun, Xifeng Zhao, Xin Yan, Tianhang Ma
  • Patent number: 11279298
    Abstract: An upper column cover includes a final positioning part, an initial positioning part, and a guide part. The final positioning part positions a camera in a state where the camera is arranged at a final assembly position at which a lens of the camera is arranged in an opening. The initial positioning part positions the camera in a state where the camera is arranged at an initial assembly position at which the lens of the camera is separated from a top wall portion and a suspended wall portion. The guide part guides the camera in a process in which the camera is moved from the initial assembly position to the final assembly position while regulating a movement of the lens of the camera in upward, downward, rightward, and leftward directions with respect to the upper column cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shosuke Yachida, Yusuke Takai
  • Patent number: 11277563
    Abstract: A camera module includes a gyro sensor generating shaking data, a first driver integrated circuit (IC) generating a driving signal to move a first lens barrel in one or more directions perpendicular to an optical axis direction, in response to the shaking data provided by the gyro sensor, and a second driver IC generating a driving signal to move a second lens barrel in one or more directions perpendicular to the optical axis direction, in response to the shaking data provided by the gyro sensor. Each of the first driver IC and the second driver IC operates in a normal mode and a low power mode, and when the first driver IC operates in the low power mode, whether to activate a communication path of the shaking data in the first driver IC is determined in response to a mode of the second driver IC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyoung Joong Min, Seo Hyung Kim, Koon Shik Cho
  • Patent number: 11272107
    Abstract: An imaging device includes: an imager that is provided in a device body; a shutter that is provided in the device body, includes a support member and a shutter member; an actuator that is provided in the device body and moves the imager in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis to correct an amount of camera shake; and a plurality of elastic members that are disposed on at least one side and the other side of an imaginary straight line passing through a center of gravity of the shutter and orthogonal to the optical axis in a case where the plurality of elastic members are viewed in a direction of the optical axis and are in contact with the device body and the support member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Kouhei Awazu, Yuta Abe
  • Patent number: 11269237
    Abstract: An image capture system includes an image capture device and an integrated sensor-optical component accessory. The integrated sensor-optical component accessory is releasably connectable to the image capture device and includes identification data. A processor in the image capture device configures itself and the image capture device based on the identification data. Image data from the integrated sensor-optical component accessory is processed and image data from the image capture data is either processed or ignored depending on the configuration. In an implementation, attachment information may also be used for configuration. In an implementation, multiple integrated sensor-optical component accessories may be connected to the image capture device. In an implementation, the center axis of the fields of view of the image capture device and the integrated sensor-optical component accessory may be in different directions or the same direction, and the fields of view may be overlapping or non-overlapping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas D. Woodman, Ingrid A. Cotoros
  • Patent number: 11265471
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a gimbal control method, a device, a gimbal, a system, and a storage medium. The gimbal includes at least one axis of rotation. The method includes: determining a current first working mode of the gimbal; and if the gimbal satisfies a preset mode switching condition, controlling the gimbal to switch from the first working mode to a second working mode, and enabling the gimbal to maintain smooth and stable operation during the switching process, where in the first working mode, the axis of rotation is configured to enable the gimbal to face a first direction, and in the second working mode, the axis of rotation is configured to enable the gimbal to face a second direction. In this way, smooth transition of the gimbal can be maintained during mode switching, so that stability of image shooting during mode switching of the gimbal is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shuai Liu, Xianmao Chang, Yingzhi Wang
  • Patent number: 11256063
    Abstract: An optical component driving mechanism is provided and includes a fixed assembly, a movable assembly, a driving assembly and a circuit assembly. The movable assembly is movable relative to the fixed assembly, the movable assembly is configured to hold an optical component, and the optical component defines an optical axis. The driving assembly is for driving the movable assembly to move relative to the fixed assembly. The circuit assembly is disposed on a first side and a second side of the optical component driving mechanism, and the first side is not parallel to the second side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: TDK TAIWAN CORP.
    Inventors: Chien-Lun Huang, Shao-Chung Chang, Wei-Cheng Wang
  • Patent number: 11243376
    Abstract: A lens drive device includes a movable unit, a fixed unit, and a support portion. The movable unit includes a magnet and a lens holder for holding a lens. The fixed unit includes a coil board and a base board. The coil board includes a coil facing the magnet and a coil wiring connected thereto. The base board is disposed opposite to the magnet across the coil board and includes a base wiring and an opening through which the optical axis of the lens passes. The support portion relatively movably connects the movable unit to the fixed unit and supports the movable unit to the fixed unit. A first conductive portion conductively connecting the coil wiring and the base wiring in the fixed unit is disposed away from an opening periphery of the opening to an outside in a radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akira Suzuki, Shusuke Ichihashi
  • Patent number: 11245854
    Abstract: Disclosed is an intelligent photography system including an intelligent tripod head, a search camera, a shooting camera, a communication component and a control component. The search camera is mounted on the intelligent tripod head, and configured to search for a target to be shot. The shooting camera is mounted on the intelligent tripod head, and configured to take a target image. The communication component is fixed on the intelligent tripod head. The control component includes a circuit board component electrically connected with the intelligent tripod head, the search camera, the shooting camera and the communication component respectively, so that remote control of the shooting camera for shooting is realized, photographers are freed, and better effects are achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Wuhan Lianyi Heli Technology Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Wenming Tang, Bin Chen, Yong Li, Yu Lu, Yuni Chen, Zhiwei Gong, Xinyu Ye, Jian Shi, Siqi Guo
  • Patent number: 11241105
    Abstract: An adjustable fish-supporting photographic rack assembly particularly well-suited for temporarily supporting a catch of fish in a highly organized manner during the taking of a photograph or digital image thereof includes a main panel body having a front surface, a rear surface, and a periphery defined by contiguous upper, lower, left and right peripheral edges. A pair of main panel supports includes respective integral depressions sized and shaped to conform to opposite lower corners of the main panel body for snugly receiving and retaining the lower corner portions therein, effectively supporting the main panel in an upright vertical orientation. At least one structural feature integrated into the front surface of the main panel body is configured to correspondingly receive at least one hook-receiving structure for selectively coupling a fish-supporting hook member thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Inventor: Thomas Scott Helms
  • Patent number: 11237351
    Abstract: A lens drive device includes a movable unit, a fixed unit, and a support portion. The movable unit includes a magnet and a lens holder for holding a lens. The fixed unit includes a coil board and a base board. The coil board includes a coil facing the magnet. The base board is disposed on the other side of the magnet across the coil board and includes an opening through which the optical axis of the lens passes. The support portion relatively movably connects the movable unit to the fixed unit and supports the movable unit to the fixed unit. In the fixed unit, a metal-particle-containing resin portion containing metal particles unevenly distributed in a resin covers at least one of a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akira Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11233926
    Abstract: A mobile terminal and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The method includes setting an infrared photosensitive assembly on a camera Board-to-Board connector assembly; and connecting a main circuit board of the mobile terminal with the camera Board-to-Board connector assembly set with the infrared photosensitive assembly, so that the infrared photosensitive assembly is electrically connected with the main circuit board through the camera Board-to-Board connector assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: VIVO MOBILE COMMUNICATION CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zhiting Ma, Zhengjun Luo, Chuanbo Cheng
  • Patent number: 11228714
    Abstract: A camera module includes a movable member, a holder, a fixing frame, a movable frame, and a first support frame. The movable member includes a lens module. The holder is coupled to the movable member and includes a magnet member. The fixing frame is configured to accommodate the holder and includes a coil member configured to face the magnet member. The movable frame is mounted on the holder and includes a pivot portion. The first support frame is configured to surround an upper surface portion of the pivot portion and a second support frame is configured to surround a lower surface portion of the pivot portion. The first support frame and the second support frame are respectively mounted on the fixing frame, and the movable frame is rotatably disposed around the pivot portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Bo Sung Seo, Nam Ki Park, Young Bok Yoon
  • Patent number: 11226544
    Abstract: A control device for controlling a photographing system includes a detector configured to detect whether a support is mounted at the photographing system. The support is configured to support a lens mount to maintain a position of the lens mount relative to a main body of the photographing system. The photographing system further includes an image sensor and a support mechanism configured to rotatably support the lens mount and the image sensor. The control device further includes a controller configured to control the support mechanism to restrict a rotation of the lens mount and the image sensor in response to the detector detecting that the support is mounted at the photographing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Futoshi Iinuma
  • Patent number: 11226542
    Abstract: A driving system for moving several optical elements is provided, including a first module and a second module arranged in a first direction. The first module has a first terminal on a first side thereof to electrically connect to an external circuit. The second module has a second terminal on a second side thereof to electrically connect to the external circuit. The first and second sides are adjacent to each other and parallel to the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: TDK TAIWAN CORP.
    Inventors: Fu-Yuan Wu, Shang-Yu Hsu, Yu-Cheng Lin, Yung-Ping Yang, Wen-Yen Huang, Tsung-Han Wu, Yi-Chun Cheng, Chen-Chi Kuo, Chia-Hsiu Liu, Ichitai Moto, Sin-Jhong Song
  • Patent number: 11218624
    Abstract: An image sensor includes a pixel array including multiple pixels. A lens is provided on an optical path of incident light to the image sensor. An actuator includes a coil, and supports positioning of the lens according to a driving signal applied to the coil. A position detection coil is arranged such that it magnetically couples with the coil of the actuator. An actuator driver supplies a pulse-shaped driving signal to the coil of the actuator driver. A position detection circuit generates a position detection signal that indicates the position of the lens based on an induced electromotive force that occurs in the position detection coil according to the driving signal, and feeds back the position detection signal to the actuator driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignees: ROHM CO., LTD., SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihito Saito, Tatsuya Ninomiya, Nobuo Kohmura, Kento Nishizawa, Tatsuro Shimizu, Takahiro Akahane, Go Asayama, Yuki Urano
  • Patent number: 11215906
    Abstract: A camera accessory housing device has a connector element that receives a camera accessory. The connector element may be a substantially planar ferromagnetic plate that couples to a sustainably planar face of a camera accessory. The camera accessory may a have a camera accessory attachment element, such as a band with magnets. The magnets facilitate coupling of the camera accessory to the connector element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: MGMD Brainpower LLC
    Inventor: Spencer Boerup