Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Hirokazu Yokoo

Nobuyuki Kameyama

Yuji Mikami

Takashi Imamura

Kazuo Kamata

Yukitsugu Hata

Akihisa Iida

Takeshi Kubota

Jun Ogawa

Junichi Takagi

Manabu Tobise

Osamu Noguchi

Katsumi Motomura

Hisashi Tasaka

Masato Kagaya

A flash device for a lens-fitted photo film unit pre-loaded with unexposed photo film is provided. A main capacitor stores charge. A flash emitter emits flash light. A flash circuit board charges the main capacitor, and drives the flash emitter by discharging the main capacitor in response to an exposing operation. A tightly closed flash case is secured to the lens-fitted photo film unit, for containing the main capacitor, the flash emitter and the flash circuit board. Also, the lens-fitted photo film unit includes a sync switch for generating a trigger signal in response to the exposing operation. Two switch contact points are disposed outside the flash case, for receiving the trigger signal from the sync switch. The two switch contact points disable discharge of the main capacitor while the flash case is away from the lens-fitted photo film unit, and are short-circuited for discharge of the main capacitor upon supply of the trigger signal while the flash case is secured to the lens-fitted photo film unit.

Lens-fitted photo film unit, flash device, and lens-fitted photo film system

A lens-fitted photo film unit includes a flash emitter for emitting flash light toward a photographic object in flash photography. A flash amount control circuit quenches flash emission of the flash emitter when a value of integration of light reflected by the object as measured by a first sensor in the flash photography comes up to a predetermined level. An aperture stop device designates one of a large aperture state and a small aperture state. A switch disables the flash amount control circuit if the small aperture state is designated, and enables the flash amount control circuit if the large aperture state is designated. The switch regulates operation of the flash amount control circuit in order to raise an amount of the flash light at a time of the flash photography in the small aperture state.

Lens-fitted photo film unit with electronic flash device

In a film unit, a charge operation member is held on a fron side of a guide member to be slidable between an ON position to turn on a flash charge switch of a built-in flash device and an OFF position to turn off the flash charge switch. The guide member is mounted stationarily to a front side of a flash circuit board of the flash device. Joints between front and rear cover of the film unit are set away from those circuit portions of the flash device where high voltage current flows. The flash charge switch is constituted of a metal contact blade and contact chips provided on the flash circuit board. The metal contact blade is bent roundly at a base portion of a pair of resilient arms. The charge operation member keeps on pressing the arms onto the contact chips in the ON position. The flash device charges a main capacitor while the flash charge switch is on, and automatically stops charging when the charge voltage goes above a predetermined voltage. A light emitting diode indicates the completion of charging.

Lens-fitted photo film unit and flash device

A shutter device for a camera includes a shutter blade for providing an exposure by opening/shutting a photographic light path, and a shutter drive lever for driving the shutter blade. The shutter device includes a shutter release button. A photometric switch is turned on in response to depression of the shutter release button. A photometric circuit is operated by turning on of the photometric switch, for measuring object brightness. An aperture stop changeover mechanism changes over an aperture stop of the photographic light path according to the photographic light path. A delay structure such as a delay lever detects completion of actuation of the aperture stop changeover mechanism and responsively moves the shutter drive lever.

Exposure control device for camera preventing shutter release before aperture changeover

An electronic flash device equipped with LED indicator for providing an indication of completion of charging a main capacitor and a circuit for lowering power consumption has a controlling transistor operative to control a base current of the oscillating transistor which increases or decreases a primary current flowing through a primary winding and to be turned conductive by a current supplied from a battery through a current limiting resistor to start supply of the base current of the oscillating transistor. A secondary current generated in a secondary winding increases the base current of the controlling transistor, which increases the base current of the oscillating transistor which is lowered by the current limiting resistor having a large resistance and is increased or decreased by the controlling transistor. The electronic flash device can lower the power consumption as compared to the conventional devices which use a tertiary winding to increase or decrease the base current of the oscillating transistor. A tertiary winding of the electronic flash device is solely used for turning on LED.

Electronic flash device for photographic camera

A lens-fitted photographic film unit is provided with a motor for rotating a spool to wind up photographic film one frame after each exposure. The motor is supplied with a single cell which may be commonly used for charging a flash unit. The rotational movement of the motor is transmitted to the spool through a speed-reduction gear mechanism which reduces the rotational speed at ratios between 100:1 and 280:1. The motor and the gear mechanism are removably mounted in a frame as a motor unit, and the motor unit is removably attached to a main body of the film unit beside a take-up chamber. Forwardly convex contacting portions are exposed to a front portion of the motor unit. The cell is mounted between contact plates having forwardly convex contacting portions. A motor drive switch for controlling start and stop of the motor also has forwardly convex contacting portions exposed to a front side thereof. These contacting portions are pressed against conductive layers formed on the inner surface of a front cover of the film unit so as to provide a film winding circuit.

Lens-fitted photographic film unit with film winding motor

An automatic range finding method and apparatus for a camera of the type which projects a line of light toward a scene including a subject to be photographed. Light reflected from the subject is received by a light sensor having a plurality of photoelectric conversion pixels arranged in a matrix. The photoelectric conversion pixels receiving the reflected light are detected, and the subject distance is determined according to a pixel line which contains one of the detected photoelectric conversion pixels nearest to the first pixel line.

Method and apparatus for automatic range finding

A battery remaining life indicating means for photographic cameras which are provided with systems operated under electric power supplies from batteries and have at least two photographing modes of different power consumptions, said indicating means comprising battery life memorizing means having a memory of a battery life in terms of number of possible exposures under a first photographing mode which is calculated on the basis of capacity of battery loaded in the camera and the power consumption under the first photographing mode, modifying factor memorizing means having a memory of a modifying factor which is the power consumption under a second photographing mode measured taking the power consumption under the first photographing mode as a unit, battery life display means for displaying the battery life memorized in the battery life memorizing means, photographing exposure detecting means, photographing mode discriminating means, operating means responsive to said photographing exposure detecting means to rewrite the memory of the battery life in said battery life memorizing means by subtracting one when the discriminating means detects the first photographing mode and by subtracting said modifying factor when the discriminating means detects the second photographing mode.

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Minami-ashigara, Japan

Hirokazu Yokoo