Eastman-kodak Company

J David Cocca

Clay A Dunsmore

Anthony Dirisio

David C Smart

Paul E Spencer

Jeffrey R Stoneham

Robert G Hills

Marcello D Fiscella

Michael J Gaboury

Gerald J Kosarko

John H Minnick

Beth Andrews O'Leary

James Vergil Leavy

Daniel T Meyerhoefer

Michael Timothy Malley

Richard William Lourette

John Robert Siemer

A camera is provided that includes a door which is selectively movable between an open position and a closed position and a release which is movable between a home position and an away position for selectively retaining said door in said closed position. Door position, release position and film sensors each have at least two states for determining the position of the door and release and for determining presence of film in the camera. The sensors are disposed within an electric circuit for allowing operation of the camera as a function of the states of the sensors. The release is selectively displaceable from the home position for retaining the door, to the away position for releasing the door and the camera is operable only when the door position sensor is disposed in a state corresponding to the door being closed, the release position sensor is disposed in a state corresponding to said release being in the home position and the film sensor is disposed in a state corresponding to film being present in the camera. A film position sensor determines whether film is disposed in a film plane of the camera and maintains operation of the camera uninterrupted by the electric circuit as long as the film position sensor indicates that film is disposed in the film plane.

Multiple switches for elimination of camera failure modes

A camera system includes a user friendly interface to enable a camera user to enter text data to be printed on a photographic film in a simple and convenient manner. The user interface is also used to display text messages to the user indicating certain camera conditions. More specifically, a camera is provided that includes a display unit, a display control interface for manually selecting text data to be displayed on the display unit and a control unit for controlling the operation of the display unit to display the text data selected by the manual user interface. The display unit preferably includes a text data display section and fixed icon display section.

Text interface for still photographic camera with data recording

Apparatus for use in an automatic film winding camera for determining, during film loading, the presence of a film leader portion having a notch therein. First and second film perforation sensors positioned apart along a film advancing path of the film in first and second sensor positions are enabled and disabled in a sequence in which the first and second sensors successively detect the advancement of the film's leading edge at the first and the second sensor positions. The first sensor is then enabled for sensing the film perforations when the notch in the film leader portion is positioned between the first and second sensor positions.

Apparatus for discriminating between a film notch and metering

An event detection circuit and method of operation thereof in a calibration mode and in a normal operating mode particularly for use in photographic cameras in relation to the calibration of sensors and the detection of output signals therefrom for use in controlling camera operations. An event detection circuit comparator is used in the calibration mode with a successive approximation A/D converter register which generates test analog signals applied to a second input terminal of the comparator while the sensor test output signal generated under the calibration test conditions is applied to the first input terminal to measure and digitize the sensor test analog output signal level as a digital threshold. Then, in the normal operating mode, the digital threshold is retrieved and substituted for the successive approximation A/D converter register to generate a threshold analog signal applied to the second input terminal while the sensor analog output signal is applied to the first input terminal.

Self calibration circuit for a camera

A light metering device incorporates a light dependent resistor as a light sensing element, a network including a plurality of circuit elements, and a selection mechanism for selectively connecting the light dependent resistor to one of the plurality of circuit elements in the network. The selection mechanism is controlled to set a voltage measured at an output terminal of the light dependent resistor within a predetermined threshold level. The light metering device can be readily incorporated in both photographic and electronic cameras.

Light metering device with adjustable output

A camera and method of camera operation for automatically determining usage condition of film in a cartridge utilizing a cartridge radial bar coded data disc to discriminate among a plurality of possible initial angular settings of the film spool during a film loading operation. The possible initial angular settings can be representative of exposed, partially exposed, fully exposed or processed film. At the start of film loading, the spool is rotated in the reverse direction and bar code element transition counts sensed by a pair of angularly spaced opto-sensors are accumulated. A count comparison between the two sensors is initially made to determine if the film is unexposed and, if so, film loading proceeds in normal manner, otherwise an alternative action is taken. In a simple camera, the loading is terminated. In a more sophisticated MRI capable camera, when the count comparison indicates the film is not unexposed, the camera controller calculates an angular position of one of the sensors relative to a predetermined reference position on the data disc, based on sensed element transitions and known element widths, to discriminate among spool settings indicative of partially exposed film, fully exposed film and processed film with appropriate actions initiated depending on the discriminated spool position.

Camera apparatus and method for film double exposure prevention

A dual function read data circuit for a mid-roll interrupt capable photographic camera reads magnetically recorded data from a magnetic layer on photographic film and outputs either a data present signal or an actual converted data signal in response to a mode select command signal.

Dual function magnetic data read circuit for photographic equipment

In a photographic camera having a plurality of opto-sensors and a microprocessor-based controller, the opto-sensor output signals are coupled via a common bus connection to an input terminal of the controller. A programmably variable output impedance common to the opto-sensors is selectably set for each corresponding selected opto-sensor such that the output signal for each of the selected opto-sensors is at or above a predetermined threshold value at the input to the controller irrespective of differing current output performance of the individual opto-sensors.

Control system for camera with multiple opto-sensors

A method and camera apparatus for magnetically recording data on a photographic film magnetic layer in dual parallel data tracks wherein a first data track is recorded as the film is transported in one direction and a second data track is recorded as the film is transported in the reverse direction. In this manner, recording is simplified since only one recording track of a recording head is needed for recording in the dual data tracks and memory requirements are minimized by recording high content data as each frame is exposed, leaving the low content data to be stored in memory for recording during rewind of film into the cassette.

Photographic camera and method for recording magnetic data on film

A photographic camera having a logic and control circuit programmed to read a mode setting bar code imprinted on a disc mounted on the end of a cartridge adapted to fit in the cartridge receiving chamber of the camera. The disc may be snapped onto a real film cartridge by the camera operator or it may be provided on dummy cartridge specifically intended to program an operating mode of the camera. One dedicated character in the bar code indicative of an operating mode, such as 'calibration', 'test' or 'custom program', causes another character code on the disc, which is normally assigned a meaning relating to film characteristics, to be referred to an alternate look-up table to determine a specific functional operating activity appropriate to the determined camera operating mode. A wide variety of pre-assigned operating mode activities is possible with this arrangement.

Method and apparatus for setting camera operating mode activity

A line frequency is determined by interleaved sampling of ambient light to obtain analog voltage samples at predetermined sampling rates associated with two or more line frequencies. Where there are two line frequencies, one method separates the first samples by a time period at least equal to an analog-to-digital conversion time, and less than the earliest time when a sample associated with one line frequency would coincide with a sample from the other. There are n samples per flicker frequency period and Q samples for each line frequency are taken. In a second method, a first common sample is taken for all line frequencies, and a condition characterized by simultaneous samples for different line frequency sample groups triggers a common sample for all line frequencies. For both methods, digital sample values one through Q-1 for each group are operated on to obtain a result, and then two through Q are similarly operated on to obtain a second result. The result for samples one through Q-1 for a given line frequency is compared to the result for samples two through Q. If the results for a given line frequency are within a predetermined limit, the presence of that line frequency is indicated. The known line frequency can be used to set the light sampling rate for exposure setting, as well as imprinting light source information onto photographic film.

Method and apparatus for determining line frequency and detecting

A memory module, releasably attached to the end of a film cartridge, includes a set of conductive arcuate segments surrounding a centrally disposed conductive pad accessible through an upper surface of the module, and non-volatile memory attached to the conductive pad and the arcuate segments. The memory module is positioned so that the conductive pad and arcuate segments can make electrical contact with data recording and reading terminal pins of camera and film processing equipment. The terminal pins include a centrally disposed pin and further pins positioned circularly around the centrally disposed pin to extend into the module and contact the respective conductive pad and segments, so that at least one terminal pin is in contact with each conductive pad and segment. By having a greater number of contact terminals than there are conductive pads and segments, the electronic operating system, on detecting the presence of an inserted cartridge, can identify which of the circularly arranged terminal pins is contacting which of the conductive arcuate segments, and thereafter initiate processing and storage of data in the nonvolatile memory.

Orientation independent, detachable film cartridge, memory module

A camera system includes a main camera body having a main camera processor coupled to a main body operator interface, a recording head drive circuit and wireless communication receiver, wherein the recording head drive circuit is coupled to a recording head. A remote control unit is also provided that includes a processor unit coupled to an audio record/playback circuit, a remote operator interface and a wireless communication transmitter, wherein the audio record circuit is coupled to a microphone. In operation, the processor unit of the remote control unit controls the record/playback circuit to record an audio segment of a selected duration based on control signals received from the operator interface. The processor unit transmits sound ID data corresponding to the recorded audio segment to the main camera control processor via the wireless communication transmitter and receiver, and the main camera control processor controls the operation of the recording head drive circuit to record the sound ID data on a recording strip located on a photographic film.

Still camera with remote audio recording unit

A camera system is disclosed that optically records audio information on a photographic film containing corresponding image information. The camera system includes a user interface coupled to a camera control processor, a recording circuit coupled to the camera control processor and a microphone, an optical encoding circuit having an input coupled to the output of the recording circuit and an output coupled to an optical write head, a shutter mechanism, and a transport mechanism for advancing film past the shutter mechanism and the optical write head. In operation, the camera control processor, in response to command signals received from the user interface, controls the operation of the recording circuit, the optical encoding circuit, the optical write head, the shutter mechanism and the transport mechanism, to record audio segments of variable duration and to encode the audio segments as audio film frames of variable lengths adjacent to corresponding picture film frames when the transport mechanism advances film past the optical write head.

Camera utilizing variable audio film frame for optical encoding of audio

Camera apparatus operative with a film cartridge having a rotatable radial bar coded data disc thereon positioned at predetermined angular settings corresponding that indicate the condition of film in the cartridge, i.e. exposed, unexposed, partially exposed, etc.. The setting of the disc is determined during initial film spool rotation during the film loading process by counting with the optical sensor in the camera the number of bar code elements occurring between the initial set position of the disc and a reference position on the disc such as an edge of a quiet zone element normally included on the radial bar coded disc. The visual exposure indicator (VEI) positions on the cartridge are spaced about the perimeter of the cartridge such that there exist unambiguous element count ranges corresponding to each of the cartridge VEI positions. Element counting for this purpose can be performed in a cameras that operate to cause initial spool rotation during a film loading operation in either an unwind or rewind direction.

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Pittsford, NY, United States of America

J David Cocca