ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,386,159, issued on Aug. 12, was assigned to Nikon Corp. (Tokyo).

"Zoom optical system, optical apparatus and method for manufacturing the zoom optical system" was invented by Hiroshi Yamamoto (Kawasaki, Japan).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A variable-power optical system (ZL) comprises a first lens group (G1) having a negative refractive power and a succeeding lens group (GR), which are disposed on an optical axis in that order from the object side. When varying magnification from wide angle to telephoto, the space between the adjacent lens groups changes. The succeeding lens group (GR) comprises: a first focusing lens group (G3) having ...