Patents by Inventor Katsumi Horinishi

Katsumi Horinishi 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: 8339051
    Abstract: The electronic flash unit disclosed comprises: a transformer (14) to vary voltages of a power supply; an accumulator (16) composed of a main capacitor (17) to charge an electric energy supplied from the transformer (14); a lamp unit (4) provided with a flashlamp (20), set inside of a reflector (19), that flashes by discharging of energy storages in the main capacitor (17) upon applying a voltage on a trigger terminal (21); and a trigger circuit (10) to generate the voltage to apply on the trigger terminal (21), wherein at least the lamp unit (4) is coated with an insulation material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Hirohiko Ina, Arata Sakamoto, Shohei Uno, Toshinori Maki, Katsumi Horinishi, Naoyuki Furutsuka, Hajime Mitsui, Kazue Nakagawa, Katsuji Ishikawa, Hisashi Ogura, Mitsuo Fuke, Katsunori Kawabata, Takashi Umehara, Katsushi Sumisaki
  • Patent number: 7652434
    Abstract: The electronic flash unit disclosed comprises: a transformer (14) to vary voltages of a power supply; an accumulator (16) composed of a main capacitor (17) to charge an electric energy supplied from the transformer (14); a lamp unit (4) provided with a flashlamp (20), set inside of a reflector (19), that flashes by discharging of energy storages in the main capacitor (17) upon applying a voltage on a trigger terminal (21); and a trigger circuit (10) to generate the voltage to apply on the trigger terminal (21), wherein at least the lamp unit (4) is coated with an insulation material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Photo & Lighting Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirohiko Ina, Arata Sakamoto, Shohei Uno, Toshinori Maki, Katsumi Horinishi, Naoyuki Furutsuka, Hajime Mitsui, Kazue Nakagawa, Katsuji Ishikawa, Hisashi Ogura, Mitsuo Fuke, Katsunori Kawabata, Takashi Umehara, Katsushi Sumisaki
  • Publication number: 20070170869
    Abstract: The electronic flash unit disclosed comprises: a transformer (14) to vary voltages of a power supply; an accumulator (16) composed of a main capacitor (17) to charge an electric energy supplied from the transformer (14); a lamp unit (4) provided with a flashlamp (20), set inside of a reflector (19), that flashes by discharging of energy storages in the main capacitor (17) upon applying a voltage on a trigger terminal (21); and a trigger circuit (10) to generate the voltage to apply on the trigger terminal (21), wherein at least the lamp unit (4) is coated with an insulation material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2007
    Publication date: July 26, 2007
    Applicant: PANASONIC PHOTO & LIGHTING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hirohiko Ina, Arata Sakamoto, Shohei Uno, Toshinori Maki, Katsumi Horinishi, Naoyuki Furutsuka, Hajime Mitsui, Kazue Nakagawa, Katsuji Ishikawa, Hisashi Ogura, Mitsuo Fuke, Katsunori Kawabata, Takashi Umehara, Katsushi Sumisaki
  • Publication number: 20050007030
    Abstract: The electronic flash unit disclosed comprises: a transformer (14) to vary voltages of a power supply; an accumulator (16) composed of a main capacitor (17) to charge an electric energy supplied from the transformer (14); a lamp unit (4) provided with a flashlamp (20), set inside of a reflector (19), that flashes by discharging of energy storages in the main capacitor (17) upon applying a voltage on a trigger terminal (21); and a trigger circuit (10) to generate the voltage to apply on the trigger terminal (21), wherein at least the lamp unit (4) is coated with an insulation material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2002
    Publication date: January 13, 2005
    Inventors: Hirohiko Ina, Arata Sakamoto, Shohei Uno, Toshinori Maki, Katsumi Horinishi, Naoyuki Furutsuka, Hajime Mitsui, Kazue Nakagawa, Katsuji Ishikawa, Hisashi Ogura, Mitsuo Fuke, Katsunori Kawabata, Takashi Umehara, Katsushi Sumisaki
  • Patent number: 6011929
    Abstract: A flash apparatus capable of varying the emission angle according to the present invention is characterized in that a light controller provided in front of a reflector for diffusing or condensing supplied light is configured to comprise a diffusion controlling portion having light diffusive action only with respect to a longitudinal direction of a bar-like light source and a condensation controlling portion having condensing action to omnidirectionally condense supplied light. By this, the flash apparatus capable of varying the emission angle can control and restrict prism action at the light controller by diffusing light emitted from the bar-like light source in respect to the longitudinal direction of the bar-like light source even when the bar-like light source and the light controller are close to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2000
    Assignee: West Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Fuke, Katsunori Kawabata, Katsumi Horinishi
  • Patent number: 5911085
    Abstract: In order to vary a light emission angle, a light source is moved so that its position relative to a reflector is varied. In one mode, by compulsively moving the light source to one end of a movement range of the light source, the one end is set as an original position. In another mode, after the light source is compulsively moved to the one end, by detecting that the light source has reached a position preset in the movement range while the light source is being moved to the other end of the movement range, a distance by which the light source is moved from the one end to the preset position is detected and stored as control information. The subsequent operation to move the light source to a desired control position is controlled based on the original position which is the one end or based on the control information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1999
    Assignee: West Electric Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Fuke, Takashi Umehara, Katsunori Kawabata, Katsumi Horinishi
  • Patent number: 5869936
    Abstract: A strobe device according to the present invention includes: a main capacitor; and step-up means including at least one step-up capacitor, the at least one step-up capacitor being rapidly charged via a flash discharge tube in an ionization state, a charged voltage of the at least one step-up capacitor being superimposed on a charged voltage of the main capacitor and applied across the flash discharge tube at least via an insulated gate bipolar transistor and a restriction resistor coupled in series with the flash discharge tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: West Electric Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsumi Horinishi, Takanaru Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 5852751
    Abstract: By more widely diffusing light from a rod light source, particularly in the direction of the length of the rod light source than conventional strobe lights and image recorders, a strobe light of the present invention and an image recorder containing the strobe light provide luminous intensity distribution characteristics including a light emitting angle large enough to cover, for example, landscape images and the angle of coverage of imaging lenses with a short focal length. This allows the light emitting angle in the direction of the length of the rod light source to increase during wide-angle imaging, with little variation in the luminous intensity distribution characteristics in the direction at right angles to the direction of the length of the rod light source, as compared with known-arrangement strobe lights.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Assignee: West Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsunori Kawabata, Katsumi Horinishi
  • Patent number: 5734934
    Abstract: An emission angle variable flash apparatus of the invention alters an angular aperture to be formed by side reflection plates disposed oppositely to both side surfaces of a reflector in linkage with a change of a distance between a Xe tube and a reflector on their optical axis, thereby enhancing the efficiency of utilization of flash from a light source and expanding a variable range of an emission angle in the horizontal direction. As a result, the emission angle variable flash apparatus of the invention is made smaller in size than in the prior art.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: West Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsumi Horinishi, Akira Iwamoto, Mitsuo Fuke, Katsunori Kawabata, Shinji Ando
  • Patent number: 4899086
    Abstract: An electroluminescence light emission apparatus based on a switch circuit formed of a switch element and a thyristor connected in series across a DC power source, and a control circuit for setting the thyristor and switch element in alternating conducting and non-conducting states, with an electroluminescence element being coupled between one terminal of the power source and the junction of the switch element and thyristor to be thereby alternately charged and discharged to produce emission of light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 6, 1990
    Assignees: West Electric Company Ltd., Canon, Inc.
    Inventors: Shinji Hirata, Katsumi Horinishi
  • Patent number: 4603958
    Abstract: An automatic electronic flash measures brightness of a predetermined photographing angle including a photographic object, and using the measured brightness and film sensitivity indicates a stop value to be set in camera when the photographic scenery has rear light, and the automatic electronic flash operation is automatically lowered by the extent of F-stop value (automatic F-stop value) of 1-2 EV than the indicated stop value, thereby satisfactory automatic fill-in photographing with the automatic electronic flash can be made; and the automatic electronic flash further comprises means to warn when the brightness of the photographic scenery changes from the measured value, and besides, the above-mentioned controlling corresponding to the automatic F-stop value is examined taking account of the scenery brightness and film sensitivity and produce another warning when automatic F-stop value is an impractical value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1984
    Date of Patent: August 5, 1986
    Assignee: West Electric Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Maruyama, Katsumi Horinishi
  • Patent number: 4469990
    Abstract: In an electronic flash device of the type having a power supply unit comprising a low DC power supply and a DC-DC converter and an IC memory which can maintain its stored information even if when a power supply switch is turned off, there are provided a backup capacitor which can maintain the normal and stabilized operation of the IC memory which is connected to the power supply even when the voltage of the power supply drops to such a level that the normal and stabilized operation of the IC memory cannot be maintained; a voltage detecting means for detecting the voltage across the power supply; and a control circuit which responds to the output signal from the voltage detecting means so as to control the operation of the DC-DC converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1982
    Date of Patent: September 4, 1984
    Assignee: West Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Maruyama, Katsumi Horinishi
  • Patent number: 4441797
    Abstract: An electronic flash device capable of automatically controlling the quantity of a flash of light or a flash duration in response to the intensity of light reflected from a subject, is provided with a means which is responsive to an electrical signal, which is derived from a camera or an arithmetic circuit incorporated in the electronic flash device and represents one of a plurality of f numbers which is selected, so as to control a flash light control means which in turn, for instance, determines a flash duration of a flash lamp and hence the quantity of a flash of light emitted therefrom. Therefore, the quantity of a flash of light can be controlled in steps equal in number to f numbers which can be selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1982
    Date of Patent: April 10, 1984
    Assignee: West Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Maruyama, Katsumi Horinishi
  • Patent number: 4344020
    Abstract: In an electronic flash device, in order to control the discharge through a flash lamp for converting the energy stored on a main discharge capacitor into light; that is, in order to control the flash duration, a series circuit consisting of a main switching element, a commutation capacitor for commutating the main switching element after the flash lamp has been lighted and an auxiliary switching element is connected in series to the main discharge capacitor. When the flash lamp is triggered or lighted or when the main switching element is commutated, the commutation capacitor is charged through the series circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 1980
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1982
    Assignee: West Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Katsumi Horinishi