Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Masatoshi Sato

Yasuo Asakura

Keita Takahashi

Yukihiko Sugita

Hideaki Kume

Yuji Kobayashi

Nobuyuki Tanaka

Naohiro Tsuchida

Takaaki Ue

A driving force transmission switching apparatus for a camera in accordance with the present invention includes: a drive source that generates a driving force; a worm gear that receives the driving force to rotate; a driving force transmission gear device that includes a driving gear and meshes the driving gear with the worm gear to move the driving gear in parallel to an axial direction of the worm gear as the worm gear rotates so as to shift the driving gear to a plurality of transmission positions for applying a driving force of the drive source and a non-transmission position for not applying the driving force of the drive source; a plurality of driven gears which are disposed in positions for meshing with the driving gear, respectively corresponding to the plural transmission positions where the driving gear is to be set, and which receive a driving force of the drive source via the driving gear; and a position control device for conducting control by meshing the driving force transmission gear device with the worm gear to move the driving force transmission gear device in parallel to an axial direction of the worm gear as the worm gear rotates so as to shift the driving force transmission gear device to a plurality of transmission positions for applying the driving force of the drive source and a non-transmission position for not applying the driving force of the drive source.

Driving force transmission switching apparatus

A camera comprises a fixed lens barrel including a moving lens barrel movable to a collapsed position for non-photography and to a thrust position for photography, and a lens cover capable of pivoting with support shafts, which lie parallel to a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of a photography lens, as a center so as to move to a closed position at which at least part of the face of the photography lens is shielded and to an open position at which the face of the photography lens is exposed. When the lens cover is open, if an external force is applied in a direction in which the lens cover is further opened, the lens cover comes off from the support shafts. The support shafts are formed with two shaft members whose distal portions are formed with tapered surfaces and which are constrained to move in directions in which they are separated from each other. The support shafts are mounted on a member which allows the support shafts to move along the optical axis of the photography lens.

Camera

A camera for setting the aspect ratio of a photographic image plane and recording information of the set aspect ratio has a full-size frame defining a full-size finder image plane corresponding to a photographing image plane, a vertical mask for vertical trimming of the finder image plane, a lateral mask for lateral trimming of the finder image plane, a shaft supporting the masks, and a camshaft with a cam groove engaged by each of the masks. The masks are moved along the shaft by rotating the camshaft. The visual field range of the finder image plane is changed among a plurality of states corresponding to different aspect ratios. The camera finder visual field frame switching mechanism consists of: a vertical mask for vertical trimming, lateral mask for lateral trimming, cam gear having a cam, vertically movable mask operating member, a vertical trimming switch detecting vertical-mask trimming movement, which is aspect ratio information, and a lateral trimming switch detecting lateral-mask trimming movement positional information which is also aspect ratio information. Another embodiment is provided with a vertical mask for vertical trimming of a finder image plane and a lateral mask for lateral trimming of the finder image plane, which, after the vertical mask retreats from a vertical trimming position, moves the lateral mask to a lateral trimming position. After the lateral mask retreats from the lateral trimming position, the vertical mask is moved to the vertical trimming position.

A camera includes a body drive motor for driving forwardly or backwardly, a first planetary gear mechanism for selecting whether the output from the motor should be transmitted to a zooming device, a prohibition device for prohibiting the rotation of the planetary gear mechanism after the first planetary gear mechanism has completed the selection, a second planetary gear mechanism for selecting whether the output from the first planetary gear mechanism, which was not transmitted to the zooming device, should be transmitted to a winding device, and a third planetary gear mechanism for transmitting the output from the second planetary gear mechanism, which was not transmitted to the winding device, should be transmitted to either the rewinding device or a photographic image-plane size switching device. The planetary gear mechanism is rotated at a low speed so that the output of the first planetary gear mechanism does not exert an influence upon the second planetary gear mechanism when the driving force of the motor is switched from the zooming device to the photographic image-plane size switching device.

Camera with motor driven transmission mechanism

A film feeding amount detection apparatus of a camera includes a roller device which rotates in a driven manner with respect to the movement of a film, a reflecting device which shares the use of the rotation shaft with the roller device and which is formed into a polygonal pillar shape such that a plurality of reflecting surfaces are formed on the outer periphery of the rotation shaft, and a light projection and receiving device, which is disposed at a position facing the reflecting surfaces formed on the reflecting device, for projecting light to the reflecting surface portion and receiving light reflected back therefrom.

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Masatoshi Sato