Patents by Inventor Ai Midorikawa

Ai Midorikawa has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6795252
    Abstract: For a camera lens barrel with helicoid threads, at the portion where the helicoid female thread of a fixed frame is threaded with the helicoid male thread of a rotary frame, six separation preventing pins are implanted in the portion of the helicoid male thread around the same circumference at the equal intervals. These separation presenting pins are implanted between convex thread portions of the helicoid male thread, respectively. Protruding portions of the separation preventing pins fit in and slidingly contact concave thread portions of the helicoid female thread that is threaded with the helicoid male thread in which the separation preventing pins are disposed. A contacting edge fits in and comes into sliding contact with the concave thread portion of the helicoid female thread by narrowing the circumferential surface thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2004
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa
  • Patent number: 6741404
    Abstract: An external helicoid thread is provided which includes a helicoid thread having a first ridge whose both flanks are formed at a first flank angle, and a helicoid thread having a second ridge whose both flanks are formed at a second flank angle which is different from the first flank angle. An internal helicoid thread is kept in screwed-state engagement with the external helicoid threads. And in a lens barrel obtained using a connection based on such internal and external helicoid threads, the connection provided by these helicoid threads can remain secured even if a sudden outside force is applied to the lens barrel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Ue, Ai Midorikawa
  • Patent number: 6671108
    Abstract: There is disclosed an optical apparatus in which a lens holding frame is assembled on a frame member so that the lens holding frame can move along a plane substantially vertical to the optical axis of first and second lenses, a pair of gaps is formed between the outer periphery of the lens holding frame and the inner periphery of the frame member via the optical axis in the X- and Y-axis directions, adjustment members are selectively inserted in the gaps, and the position of the lens holding frame to the frame member in the plane substantially vertical to the optical axis is set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa
  • Patent number: 6570719
    Abstract: A lens barrel includes a zoom frame for holding a first-group frame and a second-group frame. Three follower pins are implanted in the second-group frame, and each of the follower pins includes a flange portion and a thrust abutment portion. The flange portions are interposed between the outer periphery of the second-group frame and the inner periphery of the zoom frame, so that decentering of the optical axis of the second-group frame is adjusted by the difference of the thicknesses of the flange portions. The thrust abutment portions abut on the rear end surface of insertion grooves of the zoom frame, so that inclination of the optical axis of the second-group frame is adjusted by the difference of the outside diameters of the thrust abutment portions. The position and the inclination of the optical axis of lenses can be easily adjusted by selecting and mounting the follower pins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa
  • Patent number: 6538826
    Abstract: In a lens barrel, a cam groove has a pair of wall surfaces. One of the wall surfaces, which is located on the side thereof where a rotary frame is extended by a cam follower coming into sliding contact with the wall surface, is formed at a small inclining angle. The other of the wall surfaces is formed at a large inclining angle. The cam follower has a shaft mounting portion implanted in a fixed frame and has an edge formed around the circumference surface of the shaft mounting portion at the end thereof. The surface of the cam follower, which is engaged and comes into sliding contact with the cam groove, is composed of a base end side taper surface and an extreme end side taper surface. The base end side taper surface is formed on the shaft mounting portion side, has a small inclining angle, and comes into sliding contact with one of the wall surfaces. The extreme end side taper surface has a large inclining angle and comes into sliding contact with the other of the wall surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa
  • Publication number: 20030002173
    Abstract: In a lens barrel, a cam groove has a pair of wall surfaces. One of the wall surfaces, which is located on the side thereof where a rotary frame is extended by a cam follower coming into sliding contact with the wall surface, is formed at a small inclining angle. The other of the wall surfaces is formed at a large inclining angle. The cam follower has a shaft mounting portion implanted in a fixed frame and has an edge formed around the circumferential surface of the shaft mounting portion at the end thereof. The surface of the cam follower, which is engaged and comes into sliding contact with the cam groove, is composed of a base end side taper surface and an extreme end side taper surface. The base end side taper surface is formed on the shaft mounting portion side, has a small inclining angle, and comes into sliding contact with one of the wall surfaces. The extreme end side taper surface has a large inclining angle and comes into sliding contact with the other of the wall surfaces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2002
    Publication date: January 2, 2003
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa
  • Publication number: 20020176180
    Abstract: An external helicoid thread comprises a helicoid thread composed of a first ridge whose both flanks are formed at a first flank angle, and a helicoid thread composed of second ridge whose both flanks are formed at a second flank angle, which is different from the first flank angle; and an internal helicoid thread is kept in screwed-state engagement with the external helicoid thread. In a lens barrel obtained using a connection based on such helicoid threads, the connection provided by these helicoid threads can thereby remain secured even if a sudden outside force is applied to the lens barrel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2002
    Publication date: November 28, 2002
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Ue, Ai Midorikawa
  • Publication number: 20020171948
    Abstract: For a camera lens barrel with helicoid threads, at the portion where the helicoid female thread of a fixed frame is threaded with the helicoid male thread of a rotary frame, six separation preventing pins are implanted in the portion of the helicoid male thread around the same circumference at the equal intervals. These separation presenting pins are implanted between convex thread portions of the helicoid male thread, respectively. Protruding portions of the separation preventing pins fit in and slidingly contact concave thread portions of the helicoid female thread that is threaded with the helicoid male thread in which the separation preventing pins are disposed. a contacting edge fits in and comes into sliding contact with the concave thread portion of the helicoid female thread by narrowing the circumferential surface thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Publication date: November 21, 2002
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa
  • Publication number: 20020167741
    Abstract: There is disclosed an optical apparatus in which a lens holding frame is assembled on a frame member so that the lens holding frame can move along a plane substantially vertical to the optical axis of first and second lenses, a pair of gaps is formed between the outer periphery of the lens holding frame and the inner periphery of the frame member via the optical axis in the X- and Y-axis directions, adjustment members are selectively inserted in the gaps, and the position of the lens holding frame to the frame member in the plane substantially vertical to the optical axis is set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2002
    Publication date: November 14, 2002
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa
  • Publication number: 20020141078
    Abstract: A lens barrel includes a zoom frame for holding a first-group frame and a second-group frame that is held so as to advance and retract in the inner peripheral portion of a second zoom frame. Three follower pins are implanted in the second-group frame, and each of the follower pins includes a flange portion and a thrust abutment portion. The flange portions of the three follower pins are interposed between the outer periphery of the second-group frame and the inner periphery of the zoom frame. The decentering of the optical axis of the second-group frame is adjusted by the difference of the thicknesses of the flange portions. Further, since the thrust abutment portions of the three follower pins abut on the rear end surface of the insertion grooves of the zoom frame, the inclination of the optical axis of the second-group frame is adjusted by the difference of the outside diameters of the thrust abutment portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2002
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Koiwai, Ai Midorikawa