West Electric Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Photo & Lighting Co., Ltd.

Hajime Mitsui

Katsuji Ishikawa

Hiroshi Iwata

Tsunemi Yoshino

Katsumi Horinishi

Katsunori Kawabata

Hirohiko Ina

Arata Sakamoto

Hisashi Ogura

Takashi Umehara

Mitsuo Fuke

Katsushi Sumisaki

Kazue Nakagawa

Naoyuki Furutsuka

Toshinori Maki

Shohei Uno

Tetsuo Yamaoka

Shinji Ando

Kunio Tsuji

Toshinori Hayata

Wataru Imagawa

Syuji Furukawa

Isao Oe

The electronic flash unit disclosed comprises: a transformer () to vary voltages of a power supply; an accumulator () composed of a main capacitor () to charge an electric energy supplied from the transformer (); a lamp unit () provided with a flashlamp (), set inside of a reflector (), that flashes by discharging of energy storages in the main capacitor () upon applying a voltage on a trigger terminal (); and a trigger circuit () to generate the voltage to apply on the trigger terminal (), wherein at least the lamp unit () is coated with an insulation material.

Electronic flash unit and manufacturing method thereof

A strobe device comprising a circuit substrate including a plurality of conductive elastic members. The plurality of conductive elastic members includes a first portion forming a predetermined electric circuitry. A second portion, if present, forms various electrical contacts external to the circuit substrate, e.g., a battery contact. A third portion, if present, elastically retains terminals of electronic elements and functions as an electrical contact. An insulation member having a first surface integrally internalizing the plurality of conductive elastic members in such a manner that the second portion and third portion are exposed. Further, the electronic elements and the optical elements are electrically and/or mechanically coupled to the circuit substrate via the plurality of conductive elastic members and the insulation member. The third portion is provided entirely within the insulation member when elastically retaining terminals of the electronic elements.

Low profile strobe device with conductive elastic members

A film winding system has a spool which houses a motor as a driving source and a driving force conveying mechanism including an epicycle gear. The driving force conveying mechanism for conveying the driving force from the motor to the spool further includes a clutch mechanism for facilitating film removal from the spool effected by pulling the film, without cutting the film or breaking gears.

Film winding system

A drive device for a lens barrel and a diaphragm shutter is disclosed. The drive device of this invention comprises a stepping motor including a stator and rotors. The stator is constituted by a plurality of stator members disposed around a lens barrel, each having a bifurcate portion around which a conductor is wound, and the bifurcate portions are disposed in face-to-face relationship with each other with a predetermined space being interposed therebetween. The rotors are respectively disposed in the predetermined spaces. The driving forces of the rotors are independently transmitted at least to the lens barrel including a photographic lens element and to a diaphragm shutter.

Drive device for lens barrel and diaphragm shutter

In a photographic camera provided with an electronic flash unit comprising a strobo lamp, the strobo lamp part is raised up and down by means of a small electric motor and gear link when the brightness of the object scenery is dark at a pressing of shutter release button to a midway position. The raising up of the strobo lamp part is automatically done by detection of the scenery brightness and switching on of the motor by an electronic circuit. When the strobo lamp part reaches the raised position, a limit switch causes the electronic switch circuit to stop the motor.

Flash camera

A flash camera having features that an aperture control is made in accordance with the factors whether a film sensitivity is high or low and besides whether a flash apparatus is used, that a constant-voltage circuit of small power consumption is employed thereby enabling to flow current to a meter either continuously or before a photographing and to be free from exposure errors arising from a damping movement of a pointer of the meter and so on, and that an operation of the constant-voltage circuit is controlled by a change-over switch to compensate light intensity variations of a strobe apparatus when power source voltage varies.

A combination of a film cartridge loading type camera with an electronic flash of the type wherein a flash lamp converts into a flash of light the energy stored in a main flash capacitor by a DC-DC converter. An optimum exposure may be ensured depending upon the speed of the film used, upon the distance to a subject and upon whether or not the flash is used.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Hajime Mitsui