Eastman-kodak Company

Edward N Balling

David C Smart

Thomas E Dussinger

Dennis R Zander

Joel S Lawther

James G Rydelek

Ralph M Lyon

Alan V Vandemoere

Anna C Schelling

Jeffrey A Solomon

John M Staton

Jennifer Linnane

Masami Fujita

Kiyoaki Hazama

Kevin J O'Leary

David A Hodder

Katsuyuki Koizumi

Sunny C Kim

William F Preston

Flash camera

A camera housing includes a front cover part and a rear cover part which have two adjacent end portions provided with respective concavities that similarly extend inward to define adjacent concave surfaces of the two end portions. The two end portions continue over the concavities to form adjacent ribs spaced from the concave surfaces to permit an accessory for the camera housing to fit between the ribs and the concave surfaces. The accessory has at least one fastener that fits between the ribs and the concave surfaces and engages the ribs to hold the ribs together in order to prevent the front and rear cover parts from separating at the two end portions.

Camera housing and accessory belt clip/carry strap retainer which

A camera is assembled according to the following method. A one-piece shock-dampening elastomeric member is placed over the front, top and rear of an inner housing. Respective openings in the elastomeric member are aligned with openings in the inner housing for a taking lens and a pair of front and rear viewfinder lenses. A protective outer housing is placed over the inner housing and the elastomeric member. Respective openings in the outer housing are aligned with the openings in the elastomeric member.

Camera with protective outer housing and shock dampening insert

A one-time-use camera comprises a main body part having a cartridge receiving chamber, a film cartridge in the chamber, a rear inner cover part having a door cover portion closing the chamber and supported to be pivoted open to permit the film cartridge to be removed from the chamber, a front inner cover part that together with the rear inner cover part house the main body part between them, and a pair of front and rear outer covers connected to one another over the front and rear inner cover parts. The rear outer cover is engaged releasably with the front outer cover to permit the rear outer cover to be disengaged from the front outer cover and is connected with the door cover portion to pivot the door cover portion open when the rear outer cover is disengaged from the front outer cover.

One-time-use camera with outer cover connected to inner film door to

A one-time-use camera comprises an opaque main body part; a flash device on the main body part that provides flash illumination; a taking lens on the main body part; a light-transmitting outer cover having an opening for the flash device and an opening for the taking lens; and an opaque inner cover part, behind the light-transmitting outer cover, having an opening for the flash device that is aligned with the opening for the flash device in the light-transmitting outer cover, and including an opaque lens baffle for the taking lens that projects from the opaque inner cover part, through the opening for the taking lens in the light-transmitting outer cover, and protrudes from the light-transmitting outer cover to prevent the light-transmitting outer cover from transmitting flash illumination to the taking lens.

Flash camera with opaque lens baffle protruding from front translucent

A one-time-use camera including a main body part with a cartridge receiving chamber for a film cartridge and a film roll chamber for an unexposed filmstrip that is prewound from the film cartridge into an unexposed film roll, a cover part for the main body part, a shutter mechanism opened and closed to expose successive sections of the filmstrip, and a film winding motor operable to wind each exposed section of the filmstrip into the film cartridge when the shutter mechanism is closed, is characterized in that the cover part has a temporary motor defeat that prevents operation of the film winding motor when the shutter mechanism is closed, to allow the shutter mechanism to be tested without having to operate the film winding motor, but is removable from the cover part to allow the film winding motor to be operated.

One-time-use camera with temporary motor defeat during camera manufacture

A camera has a housing with a bottom face and a front face. A support leg is pivotable away from the bottom face of the housing and a handle is pivotable away from the front face of the housing which can together, but not individually, stably support the housing upright when they are both pivoted away from the housing.

Camera with built-in deployable support

A one-time-use camera comprising a backframe opening at which successive image areas of a filmstrip are exposed, a film winder rotatable to wind an exposed image area of the filmstrip from the backframe opening onto an exposed film roll and to advance an unexposed image area of the filmstrip to the backframe opening, a film metering member engageable with the film winder to prevent rotation of the film winder, and a release manually depressible to initiate exposure, is characterized in that the film metering member is located beneath the release for the release to automatically depress the film metering member out of engagement with said film winder when the release is manually depressed.

Metering/release/reset mechanism in camera

A camera comprises a shutter release that is manually depressible to initiate picture-taking, and a delayed action device for automatically depressing the shutter release to initiate picture-taking after a predetermined interval of time has elapsed. The shutter release has an engageable portion that can be engaged to depress the shutter release. The delayed action device has a setting piece that is movable in a forward direction to a cocked position to move an engaging portion of the setting device from a closer side to a farther side of the engageable portion of the shutter release and is returned in a reverse direction with the engaging portion in engagement with the farther side to automatically depress the shutter release. The engaging portion of the delayed action device is constructed to allow the shutter release to be manually depressed when the setting device is in the cocked position, in order to obviate return of the setting device in the reverse direction to automatically depress the shutter release.

Camera with self-timer

An actuator mechanism of simple and inexpensive design is incorporated in a camera structure to control a motor advance film winding system. The actuator includes a metering mechanism interface, a motor activation switch interface, and a shutter mechanism interface. In operation, a metering mechanism of a camera contacts with the metering mechanism interface in an exposure ready state to hold the actuator in an initial position in which the motor activation switch interface interfaces with a moveable contact of a motor switch to prevent contact between the moveable contact and a stationary contact of the motor switch. When a shutter mechanism of the camera is depressed, the shutter mechanism interfaces with the shutter mechanism interface to hold the actuator in the initial position and also moves the metering mechanism out of contact with the metering mechanism interface. The actuator moves to the contact position when the shutter mechanism is released, thereby causing the motor of the camera to be activated to advance the film. The advancement of the film resets the metering mechanism to the exposure ready state such that the actuator is returned to the initial position and the motor is deactivated.

Single actuator for motor control in a camera

A camera comprising a film winder rotatable to wind successive exposed imaging areas of a filmstrip onto an exposed film roll, is characterized in that a minor spring source of motion is connected to the film winder to rotate the film winder to wind one exposed imaging area of the filmstrip onto the exposed film roll and can be re-energized to again rotate the film winder to wind another exposed imaging area of the filmstrip onto the exposed film roll, and a major spring source of motion is connected with the minor spring source of motion to re-energize the minor spring source of motion after each exposed imaging area of the filmstrip is wound onto the exposed film roll. Preferably, the major spring source of motion has the capacity to be energized once to re-energize the minor spring source of motion a total number of times at least equal to the total number of successive imaging areas of the filmstrip that are to be exposed.

Camera with multiple spring drive

A one-time-use camera comprising a film cartridge, a filmstrip that has been prewound from the film cartridge into an unexposed film roll, and a film winding device rotatable to wind successive exposed sections of the filmstrip into the film cartridge, is characterized in that a film winding motor is supported for movement to have respective separate positions in the camera not engaged with the film winding device, to permit the filmstrip to be prewound from the film cartridge into the unexposed film roll, and engaged with the film winding device, for rotating the film winding device to wind each exposed section of the filmstrip into the film cartridge.

One-time-use camera with film winding motor capable of being disengaged

A camera to be used with a film advance motor and/or a self timer, comprising a main body part having an engageable portion, and a single-piece multi-adapter fixture having an engageable portion constructed to be connected with the engageable portion of the main body part to secure the single-piece multi-adapter fixture to the main body part, having another separate portion constructed to hold the film advance motor, and having another separate portion constructed to hold the self timer, in order to support the film advance motor and/or the self timer on the main body part to permit the camera to be used either with the film advance motor or the self timer or with the film advance motor and the self timer.

One-time-use camera with multi-adapter fixture for motor and self timer

A non-lighttight carrier for an unexposed film roll has a body having three closed sides and an open side. The body has at least one open end. The body has a curved inner wall. The body has a plurality of external, longitudinally extending rib members. A convolute, flexible guide member is joined to the body. The guide member is disposed in the open side. The guide member and body define a space for the film roll and a film access slot. A camera has slots that engage the rib members.

Film roll carrier and camera

A camera comprising a pair of front and rear viewfinder openings with a similar aspect ratio which defines a field of view through the front and rear viewfinder openings, and a masking device having a front masking opening with an aspect ratio that is different than the aspect ratio of the front and rear viewfinder openings and being supported to be positioned over the front viewfinder opening to change the field of view through the front and rear viewfinder openings, is characterized in that the masking device has a rear masking opening with the same aspect ratio as the front masking opening and being connected to the front masking opening to be positioned over the rear viewfinder opening when the front masking opening is positioned over the front viewfinder opening. Preferably, the masking device includes an endless masking belt having the pair of front and rear masking openings.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Edward N Balling