Patents by Inventor Hiroshi Terada

Hiroshi Terada 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: 6678498
    Abstract: An image heating device having a predetermined amount of heat generation with a small electric current. The device includes a heat-generating roller (1) having magnetism and conductivity, an exciting coil (5) opposed to the peripheral face of the heat-generating roller (1) and adapted for allowing the heat-generating roller (1) to generate heat with electromagnetic induction. The exciting coil (5) is composed of a bundle of 60 copper wires of a 0.2 mm diameter are extended in the direction of the rotation axis of the heat-generating roller (1) and they are circumferentially wound along the circumferential direction of the heat-generating roller (1). The bundled wires are arranged in close contact with each other in the circumferential direction of the heat-generating roller (1) so as to cover the upper half of the heat-generating roller (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Terada, Masaru Imai, Hideki Tatematsu, Akinori Toyoda, Kenji Asakura, Syuichi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6672777
    Abstract: A lens barrier device is provided which includes an adaptor body capable of being removably attached on a taking lens frame, a lens barrier member capale of movement between a closed position covering a taking lens and an open position withdrawn from the front of the taking lens, and an engagement member capable of engagement with a filter screwthread of the lens frame. If the lens barrier member in the open position is rotated excessively by wrong manual operation, the edge of the lens barrier member presses on the engagement member, releasing the engagement with the filter screwthread and so separating the adaptor body from the lens frame, thereby protecting the lens barrier device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Kobayashi, Hiroshi Terada, Naohiro Tsuchida
  • Patent number: 6625417
    Abstract: An image heating device having a predetermined amount of heat generation with a small electric current. The device has a heat-generating roller having magnetism and conductivity, and an exciting coil opposed to the peripheral face of the heat-generating roller and adapted for allowing the heat-generating roller to generate heat with electromagnetic induction. The exciting coil is composed of a bundle of copper wires extended in the direction of the rotation axis of the heat generating roller. The wires are circumferentially wound along the circumferential direction of the heat-generating roller. The bundled wires are arranged in close contact with each other in the circumferential direction of the heat-generating roller so as to cover the upper half of the heat-generating roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Terada, Masaru Imai, Hideki Tatematsu, Akinori Toyoda, Kenji Asakura, Syuichi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20030170055
    Abstract: An image heating device having a predetermined amount of heat generation with a small electric current. The device comprises a heat-generating roller (1) having magnetism and conductivity, an exciting coil (5) opposed to the peripheral face of the heat-generating roller (1) and adapted for allowing the heat-generating roller (1) to generate heat with electromagnetic induction. The exciting coil (5) is composed of a bundle of 60 copper wires of a 0.2 mm diameter are extended in the direction of the rotation axis of the heat-generating roller (1) and they are circumferentially wound along the circumferential direction of the heat-generating roller (1). The bundled wires are arranged in close contact with each other in the circumferential, direction of the heat-generating roller (1) so as to cover the upper half of the heat-generating roller (1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2003
    Publication date: September 11, 2003
    Applicant: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Terada, Masaru Imai, Hideki Tatematsu, Akinori Toyoda, Kenji Asakura, Syuichi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20030152406
    Abstract: An image heating device having a predetermined amount of heat generation with a small electric current. The device comprises a heat-generating roller (1) having magnetism and conductivity, an exciting coil (5) opposed to the peripheral face of the heat-generating roller (1) and adapted for allowing the heat-generating roller (1) to generate heat with electromagnetic induction. The exciting coil (5) is composed of a bundle of 60 copper wires of a 0.2 mm diameter are extended in the direction of the rotation axis of the heat-generating roller (1) and they are circumferentially wound along the circumferential direction of the heat-generating roller (1). The bundled wires are arranged in close contact with each other in the circumferential direction of the heat-generating roller (1) so as to cover the upper half of the heat-generating roller (1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2003
    Publication date: August 14, 2003
    Applicant: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Terada, Masaru Imai, Hideki Tatematsu, Akinori Toyoda, Kenji Asakura, Syuichi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20030133709
    Abstract: A lens barrier device comprises an adaptor body capable of being removably attached chiefly on a taking lens frame, a lens barrier member capable of movement to a closed position covering the taking lens and an open position withdrawn from the front thereof, being rotatably attached to the adaptor body, and an engagement member capable of engagement with the filter screwthread of the lens frame. If the lens barrier member in the open position is rotated excessively by wrong manual operation, the edge of the lens barrier member presses on the engagement member, releasing the engagement with the filter screwthread and so separating the adaptor body from the lens frame, thereby protecting the lens barrier device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2002
    Publication date: July 17, 2003
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Kobayashi, Hiroshi Terada, Naohiro Tsuchida
  • Publication number: 20030069038
    Abstract: Communication device of the portable terminal receives a function changing program. Function changing device is realized by executing the function changing program A cooperation device of the controlled apparatus controls the controlled apparatus by operating in cooperation with the function changing program on the portable terminal. With such a construction, the portable terminal can be used as a pointing device of the controlled apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2002
    Publication date: April 10, 2003
    Inventors: Kouichi Takamine, Atsushi Hirose, Hiroshi Terada, Akimasa Sato, Michiaki Nobuoka
  • Patent number: 6510286
    Abstract: A strobe device in which a damper device is built has a light-emitting portion main unit containing a flash-emitting tube and other members therein supported by a rotational supporting mechanism having rotational damper functions. The rotational supporting mechanism includes a rotational shaft fixed to the light-emitting portion main unit and a bearing tube fixed to the camera main unit to which the rotational shaft is fit with a slight gap therebetween. Grease is filled and sealed in the gap between the rotational shaft and the bearing, thus configuring the rotational supporting mechanism. When the light-emitting portion main unit rotates toward a pop-up position due to the pressing force of a spring, friction torque of the rotational supporting mechanism acts to suppress the moving speed, and bouncing at the pop-up position is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2003
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Terada, Tatsuo Takanashi
  • Publication number: 20020080614
    Abstract: A prism unit has transmitting/totally-reflecting surfaces, which cross each other, formed using at least one prism. Light emanating from a light source falls on the prism unit. The light is transmitted or totally reflected from the transmitting/totally-reflecting surfaces according to an angle of incidence at which the light falls on the prism unit. Consequently, transmitted light is radiated forwards, while totally-reflected light is directed laterally. A reflecting member is located laterally in order to cover the prism unit, whereby light totally reflected laterally by the prism unit is reflected forwards. Since the prism unit is integrated with the reflecting member, light emanating from the light source can be efficiently converged on a narrow forward effective area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2001
    Publication date: June 27, 2002
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Terada
  • Patent number: 6381415
    Abstract: A flash apparatus is provided with a flash tube of the point light source type, a reflector, and a diffuser panel. The reflector reflects light flux from the flash tube forward. The diffuser panel is placed in a light flux passing position in front of the flash tube and the reflector and diffuses the light flux from the flash tube. The diffuser panel is so formed that diffusion angles of the light flux can vary with positions between a center corresponding to a light-emitting axis of the flash tube to a periphery concerning an area where the light flux from the flash tube passes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2002
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Terada
  • Patent number: 6324348
    Abstract: A camera body constructed in such a manner that a front board unit, a shutter unit, and a main body unit are attached to a body plate unit from a rear face of the body plate unit. The body plate unit is a rigid board in a plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of a taking lens unit, which taking lens unit is attached to the body plate unit from a front face of the body plate unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Terada
  • Patent number: 6315466
    Abstract: A clutch unit according to the present invention includes a driving sleeve fixed to a driving shaft and a driven sleeve fixed to a driven shaft. A coil-like clutch spring is received on the driven sleeve, and a clutch sleeve is received on the driving sleeve. When the driving shaft is rotated normally or reversely, the driving sleeve abuts one of the arm portions of the clutch spring. Consequently, the clutch spring engages the driven sleeve. Torque producing rotation in either direction is transmitted to the driven shaft. The clutch unit also can operate as an overrunning clutch. When the clutch unit is adapted to a film feeding and driving system in a camera, the clutch unit can be positioned to utilize what had been dead spaces in a camera body, thus promoting compact camera design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naohiro Tsuchida, Yukihiko Sugita, Shinya Takahashi, Hiroshi Terada, Yoshiyuki Kitahara
  • Patent number: 6276845
    Abstract: The present invention provides a power transmission mechanism characterized in that two-directional rotations of a driving shaft can be transmitted to a driven-side shaft, it shows a high degree of freedom in arrangement even when it is applied to a driving force transmission system, the driving force of a driving-side input shaft can be transmitted to a driven-side ring via a roller in each of opposite directions, and when the rotational speed of the driven-side ring is higher than that of the driving-side input shaft, no driving force is transmitted from the driving-side input shaft to the driven-side ring in either of the opposite directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Terada, Yukihiko Sugita
  • Patent number: 6278845
    Abstract: In the present invention, flash light is illuminated through a finder optical system and thereby the user can be notified of the moment of release operation. The camera size can be reduced by the following layout of the finder unit and the flash unit. This camera has a finder unit having a finder optical system (object lens group, mirror, prism and finder eyepiece window) and a flash unit including, for example, a midget bulb-type flash light illumination unit (discharge tube) and a reflector, which comprise the optical system for flash light illumination. A movable mirror is mounted and properly controlled so that part of the light path of the finder optical system (object lens group) also serves selectively as part of the light path of the optical system (object lens group) for flash light illumination. The above flash light illumination unit is installed behind the mirror on the extended optical axis of the object lenses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Terada
  • Patent number: 6246832
    Abstract: In order to realize a lens barrel or camera which is light in weight and small in size and which has performance as high as a single-focus lens, a photographing optical system employed in the lens barrel or camera has four lens groups, and at least two diaphragms are arranged at different positions. Despite the simple structure it has, the photographing optical system enables switching among a number of focal lengths. The diaphragms include: a first diaphragm (diaphragm unit A) arranged at a first inter-lens position defined inside the photographing optical system and controlling the amount of light passing through the system; and a second diaphragm (diaphragm unit B) arranged at a second inter-lens position defined inside the system and controlling the amount of light passing through the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Terada
  • Patent number: 6217237
    Abstract: A spool case unit has a paired end walls arranged in both end sides of a film to be wound up onto a spool shaft in its width direction, a connecting member provided between the end walls so as to connect the end walls to each other, and facing a portion of an outer circumferential surface of the film on the spool shaft, and an elastic thin plate cooperating with the connecting member between the end walls to form a side wall for the spool case unit and to surround the outer circumferential surface of the film on the spool shaft, the thin plate having an area larger than that of the connecting member in the side wall. A camera using the spool case unit, includes a lens barrel unit, a cartridge case unit, the spool case unit, and a photographing opening unit to which the cartridge case unit and the spool case unit are connected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Ue, Hiroshi Terada, Tetsuya Takagi, Tokuo Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6201939
    Abstract: A color electrophotographic apparatus with a developing unit for one color larger than the developing units for the other colors, comprising a first optical path where the laser signals irradiated from a laser exposure device reach a mirror at the central portion of a columnar assembly of image forming units and a second optical path where the laser signals reflected by the mirror reach and expose the photoconductor of the image forming unit at the image forming position formed between two adjacent developing units is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2001
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hajime Yamamoto, Hiroshi Terada, Noboru Katakabe
  • Patent number: 6164844
    Abstract: The invention is directed to an engaging mechanism. The engaging mechanism comprises a cam element which moves upon modification of an engaging position, a cam follower abutted against a cam surface of the cam element, a detecting element for detecting a position of the cam follower, and a section to be detected provided on the cam follower, for giving at least three different kinds of output values to the detecting element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichiro Okumura, Michio Nagai, Hiroshi Terada, Atsushi Maruyama
  • Patent number: 6041187
    Abstract: The invention is directed to an engaging mechanism. The engaging mechanism comprises a cam element which moves upon modification of an engaging position, a cam follower abutted against a cam surface of the cam element, a detecting element for detecting a position of the cam follower, and a section to be detected provided on the cam follower, for giving at least three different kinds of output values to the detecting element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2000
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichiro Okumura, Michio Nagai, Hiroshi Terada, Atsushi Maruyama
  • Patent number: 6021303
    Abstract: An image heating device comprises a cylindrical heating roller with a Curie temperature of 210.degree. C., a magnetization coil for magnetizing the heating roller with an alternating magnetic field, which is arranged inside the heating roller, and a nip portion for heating a recording material that carries a toner image with heat from the heating roller, while the recording material is being conveyed along said nip portion. The ratio between the amount of heat generated in said heat-generating member at Curie temperature or higher to the amount of heat generated at room temperature in said heat-generating member is not more than 1/2. With this configuration, the heating roller can regulate its own temperature to stabilize at a temperature that is suitable for fixing, and the problems of partial overheating or underheating, unstable heat generation, or damage of the device can be eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2000
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Terada, Akinori Toyoda, Yoshihito Urata, Hajime Yamamoto, Nobuo Genji, Naoaki Ishimaru, Tatsuo Nakatsugawa, Masakazu Naito