Minolta Company, Ltd.

Koutaro Kawabe

Tsutomu Ichikawa

Akihiko Fujino

Reiji Seki

Motoshi Yamaguchi

Junji Takahata

Hiroshi Ueda

Satoshi Yokota

Hironori Kamishita

Atsutaka Ito

Kimihiko Nakamura

An object follow-up mechanism, installed in a camera, which allows the camera to follow movement of a main object to be photographed. The mechanism includes an image detection device for taking an image into a photographing visual field and for extracting a feature of the image; an image recognition device for recognizing a possible candidate region, on which the main object locates, on a basis of the feature; a display device for displaying the candidate region(s); a main object region selection device for selecting at least one candidate region from the displayed candidate region(s) as a main object region in which the main object is present; and a main object region storing device for storing the feature extracted by the image detection device as a feature standard with respect to the image in the main object region thus selected.

Camera and object tracing mechanism of camera

Actuator driving circuit, an actuator driving device, and an actuator driving method

A driving apparatus, employing a piezoelectric element, for smoothly and silently driving a focus lens of a camera over a wide range of its driving speed. The driving apparatus includes a control system for controlling the piezoelectric element in such a manner that a continuous supply of a certain number of drive pulses to the piezoelectric element and a non-supply thereof during a certain period of time are repeated by a &ldquo;block pulse drive&rdquo; at time of slow speed driving, and that the continuous supply thereof are continuously supplied to the piezoelectric element by a &ldquo;continuous pulse drive&rdquo; at time of high speed driving.

Drive mechanism employing electromechanical transducer, photographing lens with the drive mechanism, and its drive circuit

Signals from a control device are supplied to terminals so as to adequately turn on/off five switches respectively configured by transistors FET,to FET,, and two constant-current circuits I,and I,, whereby a pulse voltage of a saw-tooth waveform is applied to a piezoelectric element A. The transistors FET,and FET,are turned on, so that the piezoelectric element A is charged gently, thereby preventing the generation of a sound at a start of a driving operation from occurring. Thereafter, the constant-current circuit I,and the transistor FET,are alternatingly turned on so that a slow discharge and a fast discharge of the piezoelectric element A are repeated. When the driving operation is to be stopped, the transistors FET,and FET,are turned off, and charges of the piezoelectric element A are dissipated through a closed circuit including resistors R,and R

Driving device using an electromechanical transducer, and an apparatus having the driving device

A mechanism, of a camera, to let a light adjustment operation for a flash light be performed with a higher precision in a shorter time. The mechanism includes: a first device for taking an image of a region to be photographed and for outputting image process information; a second device for detecting a main subject region and for detecting a background region on the basis of the image process information, in which the second device outputs main subject information upon the main subject region thus detected and outputs background information upon the background region thus detected; a third device for calculating a compensation value for light adjustment on the basis of the main subject information and on the basis of the background information; and a fourth device for controlling an amount of flash light emission at time of taking a photograph with an emission of the flash light on the basis of the compensation value for light adjustment.

Mechanism for controlling flash light emission, camera with the mechanism, and its control method

A mechanism, of a camera, to let an exposure operation be performed with a higher precision in a shorter time. The mechanism includes: a first device for taking an image of a region to be photographed and for outputting image information; a second device for detecting a subject region on the basis of the image information and for outputting subject region information; a third device for outputting a plurality of photometric values relative to a plurality of divided photometric regions; a fourth device for selecting and outtputting at least one of the photometric values which are output from the third device, on the basis of the subject region information; and a fifth device for calculating an optimal exposure value on the basis of the at least one, selected by the fourth device, of the photometric values.

Exposure operation mechanism of camera

In addition to a focus detecting sensor for phase difference detection, a camera is provided with a light source or a generator for emitting light or ultrasonic waves, and a light receiver or a receiver for receiving the light or the ultrasonic waves reflected from the object. The distance to the object is detected from the intensity of the reflected light or ultrasonic waves and the focusing lens is set at a position close to the in-focus position. Then, the driving range of the focusing lens is limited in accordance with the detected distance, and from the set focusing lens position, focusing by the phase difference detection method is performed within the limited driving range.

Camera

A camera to which an external flash device may be mounted has a focal length detecting device which detects the focal length of a photo-taking lens, a conversion device which converts the detected focal length information into focal length information having a prescribed relationship to the detected focal length information, and a transmitter which transmits the converted focal length information to the external flash device.

Camera and external flash device

A flash photographing system includes a first firing device operable to fire a first flash light effective for photography of the camera device; a second firing device operable to fire a second flash light ineffective for photography of the camera device, the second firing device having two different emission modes; and a changer operable to change over the two emission modes of the second firing device. The emission modes are changed over in accordance with selection of macro or portrait photography mode. The second flash light consists of intermittently emitted flash lights. The emission modes of the second flash light are different from each other in aspect of the light amount, emitting frequency, number of emitting times, or emitting time.

Remotely-controlled flash photographing system

The oscillating switching element of step-up transformer comprises a dedicated high-frequency FET and is placed between center tap of the primary coil and the ground of the primary circuit. Terminal of the primary coil on the side of the ground is connected to the connection point between xenon tube and the light emission controlling switching element, i.e., an IGBT, via diode. Charge voltage of main capacitor is detected by voltage detection circuit, and when charge voltage is below threshold voltage, controller drives the IGBT at a low frequency, while when charge voltage has exceeded threshold voltage, it drives the FET at a high frequency to charge main capacitor. The charging of main capacitor is made faster and more efficient by changing the switching frequency and by switching the switching element between the IGBT and the FET as charge voltage increases.

Growing community of inventors

Sakai, Japan

Koutaro Kawabe