Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Naohiro Tsuchida

Hiroshi Terada

Shinya Takahashi

Tatsuo Takanashi

Yukihiko Sugita

Kazuyuki Iwasa

Yuji Kobayashi

Yutaka Maeda

Yuji Imai

Yasuo Asakura

Takashi Muroi

Yoshiyuki Kitahara

Masatoshi Sato

Katsumi Motohashi

An electronic apparatus provided with a plurality of rotating-operation members, in which respective disk sections of the plurality of rotating-operation members are arranged to be at least partially overlapped, to thereby enable it to achieve space-saving. As the electronic apparatus capable of achieving the space-saving, there is included a film camera, a digital camera, and a video camera, that is an image pick-up device. Rotational axes extended from respective disk sections may be parallel coaxial or parallel non-coaxial, or may be inclined to each other. Additionally, in order to prevent surfaces from being scratched or damaged by mutual contact between the disk sections, a protrusion may be provided.

Electronic apparatus provided with a rotating-operation member and the rotating-operation member

In a camera according to the present invention, an edge portion of a lens barrel unit is projected and arranged from a front cover. The lens barrel unit is covered with a front cover cylindrical member connected to the front cover, and a front exposed portion of the front cover cylindrical member is covered with an exterior cylindrical member as a detachable (before-attaching) metal cylindrical member. The exterior cylindrical member is positioned and is fixed by an stop claw on the front-cover side. A C-shaped stop portion cover having flexibility is made flexible and is attached around the stop claw portion, and is fixed by a screw. The restriction on design is reduced on the appearance for covering the lens barrel unit of the camera, and a camera exterior portion can be made of metal.

Camera and photographing lens barrel

A lens barrier device is provided which includes an adaptor body capable of being removably attached on a taking lens frame, a lens barrier member capale of movement between a closed position covering a taking lens and an open position withdrawn from the front of the taking lens, and an engagement member capable of engagement with a filter screwthread of the lens frame. If the lens barrier member in the open position is rotated excessively by wrong manual operation, the edge of the lens barrier member presses on the engagement member, releasing the engagement with the filter screwthread and so separating the adaptor body from the lens frame, thereby protecting the lens barrier device.

Lens barrier device

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 clutch unit according to the present invention includes a driving sleeve fixed to a driving shaft and a driven sleeve fixed to a driven shaft. A coil-like clutch spring is received on the driven sleeve, and a clutch sleeve is received on the driving sleeve. When the driving shaft is rotated normally or reversely, the driving sleeve abuts one of the arm portions of the clutch spring. Consequently, the clutch spring engages the driven sleeve. Torque producing rotation in either direction is transmitted to the driven shaft. The clutch unit also can operate as an overrunning clutch. When the clutch unit is adapted to a film feeding and driving system in a camera, the clutch unit can be positioned to utilize what had been dead spaces in a camera body, thus promoting compact camera design.

Clutch unit and camera

A lens protecting cover-attached camera includes a moving mechanism. Thus, a simple mechanism is used to turn on or off a main power switch and for opening or closing a lens protecting cover responsively to manipulations performed on a single manipulating member. A supporting shaft for supporting the lens protecting cover is placed so as to be parallel to a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of a photographic lens. When the supporting shaft is moved along the optical axis of the photographic lens, the moving mechanism causes the lens protecting cover to rotate around the supporting shaft at the center from a closed position to an open position. At the closed position, the lens protecting cover shields the face of the photographic lens. At the open position, the lens protecting cover exposes the face of the lens. Moreover, the moving mechanism turns on or off the power switch in response to a movement made along the optical axis of the photographic lens.

Lens protection cover-attached camera

A film patrone which permits a film to be securely delivered from and rewound in the film patrone, and which applies low resistance to the film, thereby decreasing the rewinding load. The film patrone has a case body having shielding properties, a spool rotatably contained in the case body, a film wound in a roll around the spool, a fixed flange integrally formed on the periphery of the spool at at least one end thereof, a movable flange formed in a shape which can freely be fitted to the fixed flange so as to be movable relative to the fixed flange, and a cam unit radially provided on the fixed flange and the movable flange so as to move the movable flange along the direction to thrust the spool.

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Naohiro Tsuchida