Nippon Kogaku K.k.

Nobuhiko Terui

Sakuji Watanabe

Ken Utagawa

Akira Ogasawara

Kunihisa Hoshino

Seiichi Yasukawa

Toru Fukuhara

Nobuyoshi Hagiuda

Koichi Daitoku

Masanori Ichikawa

Nobuo Okabe

Toshiaki Hozumi

Hiroshi Meguro

Yoshio Matsuzawa

Kenichi Magariyama

Hisatoshi Takahata

Masamichi Wada

Yoshio Sekine

Manabu Nakamura

Yukio Hyodo

Hatsuo Sakamoto

Takeo Komai

Tsuyoshi Kudo

Nobuaki Nakanishi

In a flash photographing system including a camera having a light output control circuit for producing a stop of light emission signal when a light intensity of an illumination light reflected by an object reaches a predetermined level and a start circuit to start activation of the light output control circuit in response to a start of light emission signal, and a flash device electrically connected to the camera and having a flash bulb for emitting the illumination light, the flash device comprises detection means for detecting electrical connection with the camera, start of light emission signal generating means responsive to the detection means for supplying the start of light emission signal to the start circuit of the camera in synchronism with the emission of the illumination light by the flash bulb, and light emission stop means for stopping the emission of the illumination light by the flash bulb in response to the stop of light emission signal from the light output control circuit of the camera.

Flash photographing system

Flash photographing system comprises a camera and a flash unit, which are exchangeable data. The flash unit is provided with a control circuit transmitting a power source control signal to a camera when a power source switch of the camera is not turned on, thereby enabling data exchange between the camera and the flash unit.

A control device for automatic focusing includes a low sharpness discriminating circuit for identifying a minimum contrast required for focus detecting function and a correlation zone discriminating circuit for determining whether an object is in or out of a correlation zone in the vicinity of the in-focus position. Output signals are supplied from the two discriminating circuits to a sequence control circuit for determining whether to continue or discontinue operation of a lens driving apparatus for driving the lens. A control device may further include a low brightness discriminating circuit the output signal of which is supplied to the sequence control circuit to immediately discontinue the operation of the lens driving apparatus when the low brightness discriminating circuit identifies a low brightness of the object, regardless of the results of other discriminations.

Control device for automatic focusing

A camera system for a single lens reflex camera of a view-finder interchangeable type of a construction, wherein the interchangeable view-finder provided with a focus detection device and having a battery for the focus detection device built in it is detachably mounted on the camera body provided with an exposure meter and having a battery for the exposure meter built in it, and a battery checking device is provided on each of the view-finder device and the camera body, whereby, when the battery in the camera body is used up, the operations of the exposure meter in the camera body and the focus detection in the view-finder device are stopped.

Camera system

An automatic focusing device for camera is so formed as to attain high precision and rapid automatic focusing even for those photographing lenses whose focal length is variable as in the case of zoom lens.

Automatic focusing device for camera

A lens structure with an imaging optical system detachably mountable on a camera body having a focus detecting device capable of detecting the positional relationship between the image of an object formed by the imaging optical system and a predetermined plane and of producing a corresponding detection signal comprises means for adjusting the imaging optical system in response to the detection signal, terminal means to be electrically connected to the camera body upon mounting of the lens structure on the camera body and detecting means adapted to transmit, to the camera body, a first signal in a first state where the imaging optical system is focused to the object at infinite distance, or a second signal in a second state where the imaging optical system is focused to the object at a shortest distance, or a third signal in a third state other than said first or second state.

Automatic focusing camera system and photographing lens structure

A camera capable of automatic focusing operation includes a picture-taking lens, photoelectric detector elements for photoelectrically detecting the light from an object to be photographed, a picture-taking lens driving device for driving the picture-taking lens to the in-focus position on the basis of the output of the photoelectric detector elements, a drive blocking device for detecting that the object is unsuitable for automatic focusing operation, thereby blocking the driving of the picture-taking lens by the picture-taking lens driving device, information detecting apparatus for detecting the information of the object, a memory for storing the output of the information detecting apparatus when the object is unsuitable for automatic focusing operation, and a releasing device for comparing the output of the information detecting apparatus with the output of the memory and releasing said blocking by the drive blocking device when the two outputs differ from each other.

Automatic focusing device of a camera

A camera having alternately selectable shutter release priority and focus control priority modes of operation. In the shutter release priority mode, operation of an automatic focusing device is inhibited when the shutter is actuated, and the shutter may be released irrespective of whether the photographic image is in focus. In the focus control priority mode, the shutter cannot be released unless the image is in focus. When the camera is in the shutter release priority mode, photographs may be taken in rapid succession without regard for precise focusing.

Motor-driven camera capable of automatic focus control

A motor control device includes first and second pairs of transistors each connected to a power source, the first pair of transistors being adapted for connection to the terminals of the motor and capable of operating to connect the motor to the power source so that the motor is driven in a forward direction when the first pair of transistors conduct, the second pair of transistors being adapted for connection to the terminals of the motor and capable of operating to reversibly connect the motor to the power source so that the motor is driven in a reverse direction when the second pair of transistors conduct, first and second input terminals capable of receiving as input a signal for controlling the motor, a first element connected to the first input terminal and responsive to said signal to cause the first pair of transistors to conduct, the first element including a device responsive to said signal to prevent conduction of the second pair of transistors, a second element connected to the second input terminal and responsive to said signal to cause the second pair of transistors to conduct, the second element including a device responsive to said signal to prevent conduction of the second pair of transistors, and apparatus for supplying said signal to at least one of the first and second input terminals.

Motor control device

Aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and programmed automatic exposure modes may be selected, with or without automatic focus control. For certain types of operation, the diaphragm value of a photographic lens is set to a value between maximum and minimum diaphragm values in response to measurement of the luminance value of an object, and when the set diaphragm value is smaller than a predetermined diaphragm value at which the lens has a predetermined depth of focus, the diaphragm is adjusted to the predetermined diaphragm value, and the shutter time (speed) is adjusted accordingly to provide a proper exposure.

Automatic exposure control apparatus for camera

In a camera including a photoelectric converter device disposed in the substantial imaging plane of a phototaking lens, a device for detecting the in-focus or the out-of-focus of the phototaking lens with respect to an object to be photographed from an output of said photoelectric converter device, and a device responsive to the detecting device to drive and control the phototaking lens in a direction to be in focus with respect to the object, there is provided means responsive only to the detection of said in-focus by the detecting device to restrain the operation of the drive control device. The means includes timer means for enabling the continuance of said restraint during a predetermined time after the detection of the out-of-focus by the detecting device.

Auto focus camera

An automatic focus detecting apparatus of a camera comprises a focus detecting unit for receiving the light from an object to be photographed and producing a focus detection output, a driving circuit responsive to the focus detection output to effect at least one of the driving of a phototaking lens and focus condition display, an object brightness detecting unit for producing a brightness detection output corresponding to the brightness of the object, means for producing a time count starting signal, a timer circuit adapted to start time count in response to the time count starting signal and produce a blocking signal in response to the brightness detection output for a short time if the brightness is high or for a long time if the brightness is low, and a blocking circuit for preventing the driving circuit from responding to the focus detection output during the time the blocking signal is produced.

Automatic focus detecting apparatus of a camera

A film rewind device in a camera in which a rewind coupling is automatically engaged with a cassette shaft in response to rewind operation has a rotatable member having a spiral groove on its peripheral wall portion and said rewind coupling at the end of the shaft thereof, the rotatable member being slidable in axial direction and rotatable by rewind operation, and a meshing member meshing with the spiral groove at the initial stage of the rewind operation to thereby slide the rotatable member in axial direction to cause the coupling to engage the cassette shaft. The mesh engagement between the meshing member and the spiral groove is released in axial direction when the coupling engages the cassette shaft, so that the meshing member comes to support the rotatable member so as to block the return of the rotatable member in axial direction.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Nobuhiko Terui