Patents by Inventor Chiharu Katagiri

Chiharu Katagiri 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).

  • Driving apparatus
    Patent number: 7868520
    Abstract: A driving apparatus includes a piezoelectric element which expands and contracts when a voltage is applied thereto, a driving shaft fixed to one end of the piezoelectric element in an expanding-and-contracting direction, a friction part frictionally engaged with the driving shaft, a lens holder moved along a direction of an optical axis of a lens, and a direction-changing unit which reciprocates the lens holder in the front-rear direction along the optical axis. The direction-changing unit includes a translation cam mechanism including a moving member and a moved member, and converts a linear movement along the expanding-and-contracting direction into a linear movement along the direction of the optical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: Nidec Copal Corporation
    Inventors: Tomihiro Wakayama, Chiharu Katagiri
  • Driving apparatus
    Publication number: 20090140607
    Abstract: A driving apparatus includes a piezoelectric element which expands and contracts when a voltage is applied thereto, a driving shaft fixed to one end of the piezoelectric element in an expanding-and-contracting direction, a friction part frictionally engaged with the driving shaft, a lens holder moved along a direction of an optical axis of a lens, and a direction-changing unit which reciprocates the lens holder in the front-rear direction along the optical axis. The direction-changing unit includes a translation cam mechanism including a moving member and a moved member, and converts a linear movement along the expanding-and-contracting direction into a linear movement along the direction of the optical axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: NIDEC COPAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomihiro Wakayama, Chiharu Katagiri