Patents by Inventor Saori Shimizu

Saori Shimizu 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: 9055212
    Abstract: Acquired is a photographed image with a framing intended by a photographer. There is provided an imaging system including an operation detection unit for detecting a photographing operation by a photographer; an imaging unit for acquiring a through image prior to the photographing operation and acquiring an actually photographed image with a photographing field angle wider than a photographing field angle set by the photographer when the photographing operation is performed; a framing information acquiring unit for acquiring framing information created based on the through image when the photographing operation is performed, and related to framing in time of the photographing operation or immediately before the photographing information; and a trimming unit for trimming the actually photographed image acquired by the imaging unit based on the framing information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Saori Shimizu
  • Patent number: 8446487
    Abstract: A white balance adjustment apparatus comprises an area estimation unit that estimates at least one light, source color estimation area for estimating a light source color in a photographed image, a distance calculation unit that calculates a distance of the light source color estimation area in a depth direction of the photographed image as the distance of the light source color estimation area, a chromaticity calculation unit that calculates a chromaticity of the light source color estimation area, and a white balance adjustment value calculation unit that calculates a white balance adjustment value on the basis of the distance of the light source color estimation area and the chromaticity of the light source color estimation area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Saori Shimizu
  • Patent number: 8106965
    Abstract: An image having the image quality desired by a photographer is provided by minimizing overexposure or underexposure, making the dynamic range wide, and specifying an optimum brightness level for a main subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Olumpus Corporation
    Inventor: Saori Shimizu
  • Publication number: 20100225780
    Abstract: A white balance adjustment apparatus comprises an area estimation unit that estimates at least one light, source color estimation area for estimating a light source color in a photographed image, a distance calculation unit that calculates a distance of the light source color estimation area in a depth direction of the photographed image as the distance of the light source color estimation area, a chromaticity calculation unit that calculates a chromaticity of the light source color estimation area, and a white balance adjustment value calculation unit that calculates a white balance adjustment value on the basis of the distance of the light source color estimation area and the chromaticity of the light source color estimation area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Publication date: September 9, 2010
    Applicant: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Saori SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20100214449
    Abstract: Acquired is a photographed image with a framing intended by a photographer. There is provided an imaging system including an operation detection unit for detecting a photographing operation by a photographer; an imaging unit for acquiring a through image prior to the photographing operation and acquiring an actually photographed image with a photographing field angle wider than a photographing field angle set by the photographer when the photographing operation is performed; a framing information acquiring unit for acquiring framing information created based on the through image when the photographing operation is performed, and related to framing in time of the photographing operation or immediately before the photographing information; and a trimming unit for trimming the actually photographed image acquired by the imaging unit based on the framing information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2010
    Publication date: August 26, 2010
    Applicant: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Saori SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20090073287
    Abstract: An image having the image quality desired by a photographer is provided by minimizing overexposure or underexposure, making the dynamic range wide, and specifying an optimum brightness level for a main subject.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Applicant: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Saori SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20050207745
    Abstract: A camera includes a luminance distribution detecting unit, a changing point determining unit, and an exposure controller. The luminance distribution detecting unit detects distribution of brightness in a photographing picture. The changing point determining unit determines a changing point of a bright portion and a dark portion with reference to the distribution of brightness detected by the luminance distribution detecting unit. The exposure controller decides that exposure is to be executed on the bright portion or the dark portion based on a position of the changing point determined by the changing point determining unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2005
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Inventors: Osamu Nonaka, Saori Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6920286
    Abstract: A camera includes a luminance distribution detecting unit, a changing point determining unit, and an exposure controller. The luminance distribution detecting unit detects distribution of brightness in a photographing picture. The changing point determining unit determines a changing point of a bright portion and a dark portion with reference to the distribution of brightness detected by the luminance distribution detecting unit. The exposure controller decides that exposure is to be executed on the bright portion or the dark portion based on a position of the changing point determined by the changing point determining unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Osamu Nonaka, Saori Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6904234
    Abstract: A camera includes a sensor array which can detect a brightness signal of a subject and has a plurality of segments for focal point detection, a first photometry unit for calculating the brightness signal of the subject on the basis of an output of one segment or outputs of the segments of the sensor array, a second photometry unit which can detect a brightness signal of the subject in a detection range wider than that for the detection of the subject brightness signal by the sensor array, and a determination unit for determining on the basis of an output of the second photometry unit whether the use of the first photometry unit is forbidden. The camera can determine backlight without any inconvenience even on photographing condition close to the very limit of a photometrical range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2005
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Saori Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6753921
    Abstract: The present invention provides a camera which can prevent interruption of the communication operations caused by shortage of battery capacity, during the communication between the camera and an external device such as a personal computer or the like, and which does not require an external power supply during the communication. That is, the present invention relates to a camera which has a built-in power supply, which is capable of making communication with the external device via the communication contact, and which has a body control circuit for detecting whether the external device is connected or not and selecting any one of the built-in power supply and a power supply of the external device in accordance with the result of the detection to supply the power to circuits of the camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Saori Shimizu
  • Publication number: 20040047621
    Abstract: A camera includes a sensor array which can detect a brightness signal of a subject and has a plurality of segments for focal point detection, a first photometry unit for calculating the brightness signal of the subject on the basis of an output of one segment or outputs of the segments of the sensor array, a second photometry unit which can detect a brightness signal of the subject in a detection range wider than that for the detection of the subject brightness signal by the sensor array, and a determination unit for determining on the basis of an output of the second photometry unit whether the use of the first photometry unit is forbidden. The camera can determine backlight without any inconvenience even on photographing condition close to the very limit of a photometrical range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2003
    Publication date: March 11, 2004
    Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Saori Shimizu, Naoki Matsuo
  • Publication number: 20040018012
    Abstract: A camera includes a luminance distribution detecting unit, a changing point determining unit, and an exposure controller. The luminance distribution detecting unit detects distribution of brightness in a photographing picture. The changing point determining unit determines a changing point of a bright portion and a dark portion with reference to the distribution of brightness detected by the luminance distribution detecting unit. The exposure controller decides that exposure is to be executed on the bright portion or the dark portion based on a position of the changing point determined by the changing point determining unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2003
    Publication date: January 29, 2004
    Inventors: Osamu Nonaka, Saori Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6154615
    Abstract: To enable the user of the camera to select, using a simple mechanism, one of a function for simultaneously performing photographing and electronic image pickup, and a function for performing only one of the photographing and the electronic image pickup, the camera incorporates a release button at a position which, for example, the index finger of the right hand can reach, and another button, i.e. a digital button, at a location which the thumb of the right hand can reach. The camera is operated in accordance with a predetermined control program so that the above-described operations can be selectively executed by appropriately operating the release button and the digital button. In other words, the invention provides a camera that permits the user to easily select, using only one hand, only electronic image pickup, only film exposure, or simultaneous execution of both the operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Saori Shimizu, Tetsuo Miyasaka, Yoshinori Matsuzawa
  • Patent number: 6126421
    Abstract: In a scroll type compressor in which bottom plates (2, 3) are disposed on bottoms of involute grooves formed on scroll members (20, 30), respectively, each of the bottom plates has a thickness becoming gradually larger from an outer circumferential portion of each of the involute grooves towards a central portion thereof. The scroll members confront with each other in an axial direction with each of the bottom plates being interposed between the scroll members in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: Sanden Corporation
    Inventors: Takayuki Matsumoto, Saori Shimizu
  • Patent number: 5832324
    Abstract: The present invention provides a power supply unit of a camera which efficiently drives a heavy-load system even when a power supply voltage is low and thus drives a heavy-load circuit in a short time in the photographing sequence of the camera without any trouble. The power supply unit includes a charging section for charging a capacitor with a boosted DC power supply voltage, a switching section which receives the output voltage of the charging section and the DC power supply voltage and selectively applies one of these voltages to the heavy-load circuit, and a control section for controlling operations of the switching section and the charging section. The control section controls the switching section such that the output voltage of the charging section is output in the early stage of a time period during which the power supply voltage is being applied to the heavy-load circuit and then the DC power supply voltage is output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Saori Shimizu, Katsutoshi Nishiuchi