Controlling Optical Filter Patents (Class 396/209)
  • Patent number: 11768376
    Abstract: An electronic device such as a head-mounted display or other display system may have a transparent display. The transparent display may be formed from a transparent display panel or a display device that provides images to a transparent optical coupler. A user may view real-world objects through the transparent display. Control circuitry can direct the transparent display to display computer-generated content over selected portions of the real-world objects. The head-mounted display may have adjustable components through which the user may view the real-world objects. The adjustable components may include an adjustable light modulator, an adjustable color filter, and an adjustable polarizer. The control circuitry may adjust these components based on information from a front-facing camera that captures images of the real-world objects, based on information from a gaze tracking camera, and based on other input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Pedder, James H. Foster, Julian Hoening, Julian Jaede
  • Patent number: 11491665
    Abstract: A tool exchange device includes a male member and a female member. The male member is attached to a side of a main body of an apparatus. The female member is attached to a side of a tool. The male member and the female member includes a plurality of coupling portions mechanically connected to each other, and a connector portion that connects a power supply path arranged in the main body and the tool to each other. The plurality of coupling portions and the connector portion are provided in each of joining surfaces of the male member and the female member. The plurality of coupling portions are arranged around the connector portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: NITTA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideki Nishio, Yasushi Kamada
  • Patent number: 8749693
    Abstract: A light reduction device for adjusting an amount of light reaching an imaging device includes: a light shielding plate in which light shielding parts are discretely formed for blocking the light, and a light transmission part is formed for transmitting the light; a first light reduction plate in which light reduction parts are discretely formed for reducing the amount of the light passing through, and a light transmission part is formed for transmitting the light; and a moving unit configured to move at least one of the light shielding plate and the first light reduction plate in a first direction which intersects with an incident direction of the light, in which the light shielding plate and the first light reduction plate overlap each other at least in part, when viewed from the incident direction of the light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Shinji Uchida, Yoshiaki Sugitani
  • Patent number: 8541728
    Abstract: A circuit and method are provided to control the strength of signals from an array of photo-detectors in an optical navigation sensor. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a current signal from an automatic gain control (AGC) photo-detector and generating an AGC signal in response thereto; generating an illumination control signal in response to the AGC signal; and coupling the illumination control signal to an illuminator configured to illuminate at least a portion of an array of photo-detectors with light reflected from a surface to sense displacement of the optical navigation sensor relative to a surface, and adjusting illumination from the illuminator. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Yansun Xu, Steven Sanders, Jahja Trisnadi
  • Patent number: 8164673
    Abstract: A filter switching device includes: an optical filter unit that is disposed on an optical path of an object light that passes through an image pickup lens of a camera, and can be switched to any one of a plurality of spectral transmission characteristics; a spectral transmission characteristic switching unit that switches a spectral transmission characteristic of the optical filter unit to one of the plurality of spectral transmission characteristics; a filter spectral transmission characteristic information storage unit that stores filter spectral transmission characteristic information, which is information relating to each of the plurality of spectral transmission characteristics; and a filter spectral transmission characteristic information output unit that outputs filter spectral transmission characteristic information corresponding to the spectral transmission characteristic of the optical filter unit to the camera when the spectral transmission characteristic of the optical filter unit is switched.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Takuji Horie
  • Patent number: 8000595
    Abstract: An optical receiver including a demodulator to convert an in-phase signal of a received differential phase modulated optical signal into a first electrical signal, and to convert a quadrature signal of the received differential phase modulated optical signal into a second electrical signal; a decision member deciding logic states of the first and second electrical signals; a logic controller using the decision result of the decision member to control logic states of the first and second electrical signals; and a memory storing information relating to the decision result. The logic controller controls the logic state using the information relating to the decision result stored in the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Toru Katagiri
  • Patent number: 7973829
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide an image sensing apparatus capable of sensing an image in consideration of the influence of inserting/removing an optical filter, an image sensing method, a recording medium, and a program. To achieve this object, a brightness value calculation unit calculates the first brightness value representing the brightness of part or all of an object which is imaged on a CCD image sensing element. A brightness value correction unit calculates the second brightness value by correcting the first brightness value calculated by the brightness value calculation unit on the basis of the light reduction amount generated by inserting an ND filter. A system controller controls an optical system and signal processing in a DSP circuit by using the second brightness value calculated by the brightness value correction unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiro Udagawa
  • Patent number: 7633546
    Abstract: An image capture apparatus can immediately start image recording capable of preventing the deterioration of image quality, even when brightness of an object immediately after the activation of a power source is higher than a reference value. A filter control circuit automatically inserts a filter for reducing the transmitting light amount of an image capture optical system into the optical path of the optical system regardless of the state of a switch for inserting or withdrawing the filter, when the brightness of the object is higher than the reference value immediately after the activation of the power source. Moreover, the filer control circuit automatically withdraws the filter from the optical path regardless of the state of the switch, when the brightness of the object is lower than the reference value immediately after the activation of the power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuji Tsuda
  • Patent number: 7576792
    Abstract: A digital camera module (100) includes a barrel (1), an IR-cut filter (3) and at least one lens element (4). The IR-cut filter is fixed to the barrel. The at least one lens element is received in the barrel and is disposed behind the IR-cut filter so that incoming light firstly passes through the IR-cut filter, then passes through the at least lens element. The IR-cut filter may protect the at least one lens element so as to improve the quality of the digital camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2009
    Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Chun-Yu Lee
  • Patent number: 7557857
    Abstract: In a quantity-of-light adjusting apparatus having an iris and an ND filter which limit incident light, a control method for the quantity-of-light adjusting apparatus, and a computer program product providing a control program for the quantity-of-light adjusting apparatus, a state of limitation of the incident light by the iris is changed at a first changing speed, and, when a state of limitation of the incident light by the ND filter is changed, the state of limitation of the incident light by the iris is changed at a second changing speed different from the first changing speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Tsuda, Kunihiko Yamada