Nikon Corporation

Hiroyuki Tsuru

Yoshikazu Iida

Riichi Higaki

Toru Kosaka

Hiroshi Wakabayashi

Daiki Tsukahara

Akira Katayama

Tadashi Otani

Shigemasa Sato

Keishi Urata

Tadashi Ohtani

Masashi Hashimoto

Hideya Inoue

Yoshiaki Ohtsubo

Hiroshi Terunuma

Akio Nishizawa

Yoshihiro Takeuchi

Yukikazu Iwane

Jun Matsushima

When displaying operational settings and measurements on a pointer type display device, the starting position of the needles is automatically adjusted even when there are battery exchange and needle drive process errors. The display device may be used to display physical quantities using pointers which move above scale plates. Even though the displays may be changed by electric supply loading, battery exchange or a fall in electric supply voltage, the display can be automatically corrected. A memory stores the movement destination position of the pointers, and instructions are generated by a controller which calculates the movement destinations of the pointers after the electrical supply voltage is stabilized properly. The instructions which control operation of a driver for the pointers preferably use a combination of movement to predefined positions and incremental movement. This minimizes the number of instructions when moving automatically, while enabling the pointers to follow movement of operator controls.

Rotary pointer display device

The display apparatus according to the present invention includes a display device which has a rotating indicator pointer and which displays information by rotationally driving the indicator pointer, an operating device which is capable of being operated in two manners for rotating the indicator pointer, and a drive control device which rotationally drives the rotating indicator pointer in the same rotational direction, whichever be the one of the two manners in which the operating device is operated.

Rotating indicator pointer type display apparatus

Disclosed is a camera comprising a plurality of controlled devices each operated in at least one of a photographing action and a photographing standby action, the photographing standby action having a first photographing standby action and a second photographing standby action, a release device having a first stroke of outputting a first signal for indicating an execution of the photographing standby action and a second stroke of outputting a second signal for indicating an execution of the photographing action and a control device for repeatedly executing a part of the second photographing standby action through a part of the controlled devices during the outputting of the first signal, repeatedly executing the first photographing action till a predetermined time elapses or till the first signal is outputted when the first signal annihilates without outputting the second signal after the first signal has been outputted, starting an execution of the second photographing standby action when the first signal is outputted during the execution of the first photographing standby action and executing the photographing action by other part of said controlled devices when the second signal is outputted after executing at least other part of the second photographing standby action.

Camera

There is disclosed an electric camera which comprises a switch for switching a state of the camera between a state out of use and a state in use, a driving member for shifting the position of a member to be driven to change its state between a state out of use and a state in use in accordance with the state switched by the switch, detection unit for detecting whether the member to be driven is shifted during an operation of the driving member, counter unit for starting counting when the driving member is started to operate upon switching by the switch, change-over unit for changing over a driving speed of the driving member from a first speed to a second speed which is lower than the first speed, and control unit for stopping the drive of the driving member when the counter unit counts a predetermined time, so that the camera can be used continuously when the photographing lens or the barrier is stopped due to external forces, etc., and then the cause thereof is removed, and battery consumption can be suppressed to the minimum.

Electric camera

When a preparation for photography signal is input from a release switch assembly without said photography command signal being input therefrom, the brightness of an object to be photographed is measured and an exposure value is calculated therefrom, the focus adjustment state of the photographic lens is detected, and these values are displayed. At the time point when this display operation has been completed, if and only if the preparation for photography signal is still being input from the release switch assembly, focus adjustment of the photographic lens is performed based upon the detected focus adjustment state. Further, when the photography command signal is input from the release switch assembly without any substantial time lapse after the preparation for photography signal is input therefrom, the brightness of the object to be photographed is measured and an exposure value is calculated therefrom, the focus adjustment state of the photographic lens is detected, thereafter focus adjustment of the photographic lens is performed, and thereafter exposure of the film is performed according to the exposure value.

An active distance measuring apparatus with the remote control function is provided with a plurality of light projecting portions, a plurality of light receiving portions, a distance measuring device for effecting active distance measurement at one or more points in an image field by the use of all or some of the plurality of light projecting portions and the plurality of light receiving portions, and a remote control for performing, when the light receiving portions receive signal light from a remote control transmitter, a predetermined remote control operation by the use of the output of the light receiving portion which has received the signal light, the distance measuring device distance-measuring a distance measuring point corresponding to the light receiving portion which has received the signal light from the remote control transmitter. By the light receiving portions for active distance measurement being used also as the light receiving portions of the remote control device, there can always be taken photographs which are accurately in focus to the remote control operator.

Active distance measuring apparatus with the remote control function

A focusing controller for photographic apparatuses includes: a distance meter which detects film-to-object distance to calculate and emit a distance signal; a lens shifting distance calculating device which calculates a lens shifting distance for effecting focusing in a focusing optical system on the basis of the distance signal by using one or two or more linear expressions; and a driving device for driving the focusing optical system in accordance with the lens shifting distance; the focusing controller allowing both the lens shifting amount for the focusing optical system and the reciprocal of film-to-object distance to be set at equal intervals.

Focusing controller

A display device has a display having a scale plate and an indicator movable on the scale plate, an instruction unit for releasing an instruction signal for moving the indicator, and a drive unit for moving the indicator based on the instruction signal. The device also has a detector for detecting whether the indicator is in movement or not. When the detector detects that the indicator is in movement, the movement of the indicator by another new instruction signal, eventually released from the instruction unit, is inhibited. Such movement of the indicator by another new instruction signal is permitted only when the detector detects that the indicator is not in movement.

Display device having indicator

A distance-measuring apparatus comprises a light emitting device for emitting a beam toward a plurality of portions in a field, a light receiving device for receiving a reflection beam from an object located at each of the plurality of portions and outputting a receiving signal according thereto, a selecting device for searching out a region where the receiving signal exceeds a predetermined value out of the plurality of portions and selecting an aimed portion for distance measurement from the searched-out region where the receiving signal exceeds the predetermined value, and a measuring device for measuring an object distance based on a receiving signal from the aimed portion for distance measurement.

Distance-measuring apparatus

An encoder for generating a position signal in accordance with a position of a conductive slider comprises a non-conductive substrate, a first conductive pattern formed on the substrate, and at least three second conductive patterns formed on the substrate. The second patterns are independent from the first pattern. Each of the second patterns has a lead wire extending to an edge of the substrate. The slider is slidable on the substrate, and produces a conductive state signal when it abuts against the first pattern and produces a non-conductive state signal when it abuts against the second pattern or the substrate. The position signal is generated in accordance with the conductive state signal and the non-conductive state signal. One of the second patterns is surrounded by the first pattern, and the lead wire extending therefrom passes between the other two second patterns and extends to the exterior of the first pattern.

Encoder switch with conductive patterns and leads

An automatic film rewinding apparatus, for use in a camera, is provided with a stopping device for interrupting an automatic film rewinding operation while such rewinding operation is conducted by the automatic film rewinding apparatus, and an operation unit for activating the stopping device, wherein the automatic film rewinding is interrupted by the stopping device only during the operation of the operation unit, but is re-started after the termination of operation of the operation unit.

Automatic film-rewinding apparatus having stop means for interrupting

A distance metering device of a camera eliminates a troublesome re-setting operation when a remote controller is used as a cable release and avoids the creation of defocused photograph when the remote controller is used as a self-timer. When a first remote control signal receiver is selected, that is, when the remote controller is to be used as the self-timer, a distance metering mode of a multi-point distance metering device is forcibly switched to a multi-point distance metering mode, and when a second remote control signal receiver is selected, that is, when the remote controller is to be used as the cable release, the forced switching is not done.

Distance metering device of a camera

A camera with a too-close-subject-distance alarm display device, further comprising a flash device for flashing the light to a subject to be photographed; a selection device for selecting at least the flash exposure mode in which the flash device is permitted to flash or the flash inhibit mode in which the flash device is inhibited to flash; a subject-distance measuring instrument for measuring a subject distance; a decision device for detecting whether the subject distance measured by said distance measuring instrument is less than a predetermined distance or not; an alarm device for alarming when said subject distance measured by said subject-distance measuring instrument is detected to be shorter than said predetermined subject distance by said decision device; and a setting device for setting said predetermined distance to a first predetermined distance when said selection device has selected the flash exposure mode and for setting said predetermined distance to a second predetermined distance longer than the first predetermined distance when the selection device has selected the flash inhibit mode.

Camera with minimum subject-distance alarm display device

An automatic focusing camera comprises a measuring device formed integrally with a camera housing, defining a distance measuring zone selectively extended in different directions, and adapted for producing information employed for focusing to an object contained in the extended distance measuring zone. A position detecting device for detecting the position of the camera housing, and a device for varying the extending direction of the distance measuring zone, in response to the position of the camera housing detected by the position detecting device.

Automatic focusing camera

An active distance measuring apparatus is equipped with a light projector for projecting modulated light to an object, a photoreceptor for receiving the modulated light reflected from the object and generating an alternating signal corresponding to the distance to the object, and a signal processing circuit for generating distance data from the alternating signal. The signal processing circuit is constituted by high level detecting means for detecting the high level value of the alternating signal, low level detecting means for detecting the low level value of the alternating signal, and an operation means for calculating distance data from the difference of both level values.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroyuki Tsuru