Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Akihiro Namai

Akira Egawa

Takanori Kodaira

Hiroshi Kikuchi

Ryoichi Suzuki

Hitomi Ito

Hiroyuki Hase

Kanji Tsuji

Mitsuo Uchida

An image sensing apparatus has an image sensing element which accumulates received light as a charge, a mechanical shutter which travels to shield the image sensing element, and a scan unit which makes a scan for starting charge accumulation. The image sensing apparatus executes the scan for starting charge accumulation prior to traveling of the mechanical shutter and controls the scan for starting charge accumulation and traveling of the shutter to serve as a front curtain and a rear curtain of a shutter. Note that a scan pattern setting unit () sets the scan pattern of the charge accumulation start scan based on information associated with a mounted photographing lens.

Image sensing apparatus that controls start timing of charge accumulation and control method thereof

Image sensing apparatus for making an image sensing operation using a mechanical shutter and an electronic shutter and control method

A shutter device includes a blade member and a detecting unit. The blade member includes a first blade, a second blade, a detection portion, and a limiting portion. The blade member controls a time of exposure, performed on a recording medium, on the basis of a magnitude of a width of a slit. The slit includes slit portions and is provided when the first and second blades travel. The slit portions are provided at the detection portion and limiting portion, respectively. The detecting unit detects a state of the slit width. A cut-away portion is provided at the blade member so that a width of the slit portion at the detection portion is greater than a width of the slit portion at the limiting portion. The detection portion is detected by the detecting unit. The limiting portion limits the exposure time.

Shutter device and image pickup apparatus

Even if a stop position during focus adjustment becomes irregular, it is made possible to focus on an object, and also a circuit construction for the focus adjustment can be simplified to thereby make the cost low. For this purpose, the lens device has a zoom lens comprising a plurality of lens units, and a lens driving member for operating the plurality of lens units for the adjustment of zoom and focus, and the lens driving member has at least first areascontinuing to focus on a first object distance and second areascontinuing to focus on a second object distance on a shorter distance side than the first object distance, within a predetermined range in the operating process of the plurality of lens units for the zoom adjustment.

Lens device of a camera having a zoom lens, and zoom camera

A power transmission apparatus adapted for an apparatus such as a camera or the like includes a first toothed wheel having teeth at least one predetermined tooth of which differs in tooth thickness from at least one different tooth of the teeth, a second toothed wheel which meshes with the first toothed wheel, the second toothed wheel having tooth spaces at least one predetermined tooth space of which meshes with the at least one predetermined tooth of the first toothed wheel and differs in space interval from at least one different tooth space of the tooth spaces, a determination device which determines a rotating position of the first toothed wheel, and an operating device which performs a predetermined operation according to a rotating position of the second toothed wheel.

Power transmission apparatus with built-in phase control

A lens barrel comprises a first lens group, a cam tube provided with a cam, a plurality of engagement members arranged to move integrally with the first lens group and engaged with a plurality of cam parts of the cam, and a moving member for moving the cam tube along an optical axis with a rotation of the cam tube, wherein a cam part with which at least one engagement member of the plurality of engagement members is engaged is connected to a cam part with which an engagement member adjacent to the at least one engagement member is engaged.

Zoom lens arrangement including endless cam surface and plurality of cam

An optical apparatus includes an optical unit which is arranged to be inserted into and retracted from an optical path, a fixed tube, and a restricting member which is disposed at the fixed tube and restricts a position of the optical unit in a direction of an optical axis thereof when the optical unit is in a state of being inserted into the optical path.

Optical apparatus having lens system change-over mechanism

Camera

A barrel driving device for a camera including a distance adjusting ring having cam portions for axially moving a photographic lens barrel forward, ratchet teeth formed in the outer periphery of the distance adjusting ring, a ratchet arranged upon movement from an initial or first position to a second position to turn the distance adjusting ring in engagement with one of the ratchet teeth, and a pawl arranged upon engagement with one of the ratchet teeth to hinder the reverse movement of the distance adjusting ring, wherein there is provided a limiting member having an abutment surface against which the head of the ratchet abuts so that the ratchet is hindered from turning outwardly of the distance adjusting ring when it goes in the second position.

Barrel driving device for camera

A device for driving the axial movement of a photographic lens barrel of a camera including a distance adjusting ring having a number of cam portions of similar shape arranged successively on the front end of the ring to cooperate with a follower on the barrel, a ratchet mechanism for turning the ring from the initial or first to the terminal or second position of each cam portion, a rotor arranged in a magnetic field to drive the ratchet mechanism, and a circuit for controlling the current supply to the rotor. After an exposure has been completed, as the ring is further turned in the same direction, when the terminal end of the cam portion moves away from the follower, the lens barrel is set in the initial position of the next cam portion. The rotor control circuit is provided with a switch arranged to open after the lens barrel has moved some distance from the initial position, whereby the circuit is rendered responsive to the closure of the switch for stopping the current supply to the rotor.

Lens barrel driving device for camera

This patent application discloses a device for driving the photographic optical system of the camera in which a switch for detecting when the photographic optical system reaches an initial position is made responsive to the moved position of cam means that controls the axial position of the optical system, and the phase of the optical system with the switch is made delayed in relation to the phase of the optical system with the cam means, thereby an improvement of accuracy is achieved.

Photographic optical system drive device for camera

In a camera which is provided with an electromagnetically driven lens barrel and is arranged to control a shutter by driving a rotor with an electromagnetic force generated by energizing a coil printed on the rotor, power supply to the coil is effected in a pulse-like manner for drawing out a photo-taking lens and in a continuous manner for driving the shutter.

Camera with electromagnetically driven lens barrel

An apparatus for axially moving a photographic lens barrel in a camera by a corresponding number of steps to the number of driving pulses supplied to a rocking coil in a magnetic field, as motion of the coil is transmitted through a ratchet mechanism with a cam to the barrel. In synchronism with the falling edge of each driving pulse at which the ratchet mechanism starts to return to its initial position by the bias force of a spring, a negative going pulse of shorter duration than that of the driving pulse is applied to the coil to speed up the setting of the barrel.

Lens barrel driving apparatus in camera

Pulses of such frequency that an electromagnetic drive device does not operate in response thereto are produced by a pulse generating circuit. While these pulse are being applied to the electromagnetic drive device, the voltage of an electrical power source in the real load running state is detected by a battery checking circuit.

Battery checking device

A camera having an electromagnetically operated auto-focus mechanism wherein, during movement from a first to a second position, a photographic lens is set in an in-focus position. A returning drive power source for bringing the photographic lens back to the first position is charged during movement of the lens, and when it reaches the second position, the returning drive power source operates to reset the photographic lens to the first position.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Akihiro Namai