Patents by Inventor Ichiro Ando

Ichiro Ando 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).

  • Publication number: 20240089419
    Abstract: An encoder includes: a correction unit configured to execute gradation correction on RAW image data from an image capture element having optical black on the basis of a gamma coefficient and an optical black value of the optical black; and an encoding unit configured to encode gradation correction RAW image data that has undergone gradation correction by the correction unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2023
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichiro ANDO, Masaya TAKAHASHI
  • Patent number: 11895447
    Abstract: An encoder includes: a correction unit configured to execute gradation correction on RAW image data from an image capture element having optical black on the basis of a gamma coefficient and an optical black value of the optical black; and an encoding unit configured to encode gradation correction RAW image data that has undergone gradation correction by the correction unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichiro Ando, Masaya Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20220006993
    Abstract: An encoder includes: a correction unit configured to execute gradation correction on RAW image data from an image capture element having optical black on the basis of a gamma coefficient and an optical black value of the optical black; and an encoding unit configured to encode gradation correction RAW image data that has undergone gradation correction by the correction unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2021
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichiro ANDO, Masaya TAKAHASHI
  • Patent number: 11146772
    Abstract: An encoder includes: a correction unit configured to execute gradation correction on RAW image data from an image capture element having optical black on the basis of a gamma coefficient and an optical black value of the optical black; and an encoding unit configured to encode gradation correction RAW image data that has undergone gradation correction by the correction unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichiro Ando, Masaya Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11009723
    Abstract: Provided is an ophthalmic diffractive multi-focal lens with a diffractive structure including a phase profile in which a plurality of blaze shaped zones are set in a concentric circle form, wherein: at least one of the zones serves as an adjustment zone wherein an inclination direction in the phase profile is reversed with respect to that of other zones; and a light intensity level giving a peak or focal point at a position away from three focal points in a light intensity distribution of transmitted light in an optical axis direction is kept low in comparison with a phase profile without the adjustment zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ichiro Ando
  • Publication number: 20210014464
    Abstract: An encoder includes: a correction unit configured to execute gradation correction on RAW image data from an image capture element having optical black on the basis of a gamma coefficient and an optical black value of the optical black; and an encoding unit configured to encode gradation correction RAW image data that has undergone gradation correction by the correction unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2019
    Publication date: January 14, 2021
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichiro ANDO, Masaya TAKAHASHI
  • Publication number: 20210014530
    Abstract: An encoder includes a generation unit configured to generate first image data constituted of a pixel group of a first color component and second image data constituted of a pixel group of a second color component differing from the first color component, from RAW image data in which the first color component and the second color component are arranged in a repeating fashion; and an encoding unit configured to encode the second image data generated by the generation unit on the basis of the first image data generated by wherein the generation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2019
    Publication date: January 14, 2021
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ichiro ANDO
  • Patent number: 10747022
    Abstract: A diffractive multi-focal lens having a diffractive structure comprising a plurality of concentric circular zones, wherein: at least a portion of the diffractive structure is provided with an overlapping region in which at least two zone profiles overlap in the same region; in the overlapping region, at least a portion of a first zone profile has a zone pitch represented by a prescribed equation, and at least a portion of a second zone profile has a zone pitch represented by another prescribed equation; and an addition power P1 given by the first zone profile and an addition power P2 given by the second zone profile are determined by a prescribed relational expression, in which a and b are mutually different real numbers, and a value of a/b cannot be expressed by a natural number X or by 1/X.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ichiro Ando, Atsushi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 10564448
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to a diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens, and the purpose is to provide a novel structure and manufacturing method in which improvement in optical characteristics such as halo reduction is obtained. A diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens in which a plurality of focal points are set by a diffraction grating comprising a blaze shaped phase function in which a plurality of zone sequences are overlapped, wherein adopted is a structure expressed by a phase function in which an inclination of a blaze of a specific adjustment zone in a standard profile is reversed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ichiro Ando
  • Patent number: 10295841
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens capable of generating at least three focal points in an optical axis direction using a diffractive structure comprising a plurality of zones in a concentric circle form. A composite profile is generated by overlapping at least two starting profiles comprising a plurality of zones in a concentric circle form, and an adjusted profile is generated in which at least one of phase and amplitude is adjusted by employing a zone of the composite profile as a subject in order to set an intensity distribution in the optical axis direction and determine optical characteristics, to manufacture the diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens for which the adjusted profile is provided in at least a portion of the diffractive structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ichiro Ando
  • Publication number: 20190041664
    Abstract: Provided is an ophthalmic diffractive multi-focal lens with a diffractive structure including a phase profile in which a plurality of blaze shaped zones are set in a concentric circle form, wherein: at least one of the zones serves as an adjustment zone wherein an inclination direction in the phase profile is reversed with respect to that of other zones; and a light intensity level giving a peak or focal point at a position away from three focal points in a light intensity distribution of transmitted light in an optical axis direction is kept low in comparison with a phase profile without the adjustment zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2016
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Applicant: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ichiro ANDO
  • Publication number: 20180275428
    Abstract: A diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens includes a novel structure and manufacturing method in which improvement in optical characteristics such as halo reduction is obtained. A diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens in which a plurality of focal points are set by a diffraction grating including a blaze shaped phase function in which a plurality of zone sequences are overlapped, wherein adopted is a structure expressed by a phase function in which an inclination of a blaze of a specific adjustment zone in a standard profile is reversed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2015
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Applicant: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ichiro ANDO
  • Publication number: 20180109797
    Abstract: A moving image compression device has an obtaining unit, an image conversion unit, and a compression processing unit. The obtaining unit obtains a RAW moving image having plural frames associated in an order of imaging, the frames having pixels of three different color components which are disposed periodically according to a color array with two rows and two columns. The image conversion unit separates, in a target frame, a first pixel group corresponding to a first color component of odd rows and a second pixel group corresponding to the first color component of even rows, and alternately arrays, in a time base direction, a first image including the first pixel group and a second image including the second pixel group. The compression processing unit performs inter-frame prediction coding compression on the first image and the second image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ichiro ANDO
  • Patent number: 9854247
    Abstract: A moving image compression device has an obtaining unit, an image conversion unit, and a compression processing unit. The obtaining unit obtains a RAW moving image having plural frames associated in an order of imaging, the frames having pixels of three different color components which are disposed periodically according to a color array with two rows and two columns. The image conversion unit separates, in a target frame, a first pixel group corresponding to a first color component of odd rows and a second pixel group corresponding to the first color component of even rows, and alternately arrays, in a time base direction, a first image including the first pixel group and a second image including the second pixel group. The compression processing unit performs inter-frame prediction coding compression on the first image and the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ichiro Ando
  • Publication number: 20170227789
    Abstract: A diffractive multi-focal lens having a diffractive structure comprising a plurality of concentric circular zones, wherein: at least a portion of the diffractive structure is provided with an overlapping region in which at least two zone profiles overlap in the same region; in the overlapping region, at least a portion of a first zone profile has a zone pitch represented by a prescribed equation, and at least a portion of a second zone profile has a zone pitch represented by another prescribed equation; and an addition power P1 given by the first zone profile and an addition power P2 given by the second zone profile are determined by a prescribed relational expression, in which a and b are mutually different real numbers, and a value of a/b cannot be expressed by a natural number X or by 1/X.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2014
    Publication date: August 10, 2017
    Applicant: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ichiro ANDO, Atsushi KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20170219846
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens capable of generating at least three focal points in an optical axis direction using a diffractive structure comprising a plurality of zones in a concentric circle form. A composite profile is generated by overlapping at least two starting profiles comprising a plurality of zones in a concentric circle form, and an adjusted profile is generated in which at least one of phase and amplitude is adjusted by employing a zone of the composite profile as a subject in order to set an intensity distribution in the optical axis direction and determine optical characteristics, to manufacture the diffractive multi-focal ophthalmic lens for which the adjusted profile is provided in at least a portion of the diffractive structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2015
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Applicant: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ichiro ANDO
  • Patent number: 9658471
    Abstract: In order to reduce halos that occur in multifocal ophthalmic lenses, the mechanism of the phenomenon was elucidated and a solution was found based on the results. Thus provided are a multifocal ophthalmic lens having a structure and a manufacturing method for the same which can effectively reduce halos. A multifocal ophthalmic lens having a focal point formation region provided to an optical portion of a lens, which forms at least two focal points, wherein a cancellation region is provided to the optical portion, the cancellation region providing diffracted light of an amplitude distribution that reduces, on the image plane of the first focal point among the focal points, the amplitudes of light other than the light that forms the first focal point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ichiro Ando, Hiroaki Suzuki, Atsushi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 9563070
    Abstract: Provided is a diffraction-type multifocal ophthalmic lens for which halos are reduced. Also provided is a diffraction-type multifocal ophthalmic lens having three or more focal points, which is implemented on the basis of the discovery that the diffraction-type multifocal ophthalmic lens has a characteristic whereby multiple focal points can be generated in the intermediate region as well as the near and far regions. Also provided is a method for manufacturing a diffraction-type multifocal ophthalmic lens which provides a simple design and manufacturing method by means of a simple diffraction structure and by replacing a cumbersome computer simulation with a simple method. This diffraction-type multifocal ophthalmic lens has a diffraction structure (20) where a plurality of diffraction zones are formed concentrically on the lens (10), and an equal-pitch region is provided where pitches of at least two zones among the diffraction zones are made equal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ichiro Ando, Hiroaki Suzuki, Atsushi Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20150319444
    Abstract: A moving image compression device has an obtaining unit, an image conversion unit, and a compression processing unit. The obtaining unit obtains a RAW moving image having plural frames associated in an order of imaging, the frames having pixels of three different color components which are disposed periodically according to a color array with two rows and two columns. The image conversion unit separates, in a target frame, a first pixel group corresponding to a first color component of odd rows and a second pixel group corresponding to the first color component of even rows, and alternately arrays, in a time base direction, a first image including the first pixel group and a second image including the second pixel group. The compression processing unit performs inter-frame prediction coding compression on the first image and the second image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2013
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Applicant: Nikon Corporation
    Inventor: Ichiro ANDO
  • Publication number: 20150022775
    Abstract: In order to reduce halos that occur in multifocal ophthalmic lenses, the mechanism of the phenomenon was elucidated and a solution was found based on the results. Thus provided are a multifocal ophthalmic lens having a structure and a manufacturing method for the same which can effectively reduce halos. A multifocal ophthalmic lens having a focal point formation region provided to an optical portion of a lens, which forms at least two focal points, wherein a cancellation region is provided to the optical portion, the cancellation region providing diffracted light of an amplitude distribution that reduces, on the image plane of the first focal point among the focal points, the amplitudes of light other than the light that forms the first focal point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Applicant: MENICON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ichiro Ando, Hiroaki Suzuki, Atsushi Kobayashi