Nikon Corporation

Nippon Kogaku K.k.

Seiichi Yasukawa

Takashi Saegusa

Toshihiro Sato

Tetsuro Goto

Shinichi Suzuki

Tsutomu Narisawa

Tadao Takagi

Norikazu Yokonuma

Tsutomu Wakabayashi

Nobuaki Sasagaki

Toshimi Watanabe

Yosuke Kusaka

Ken Utagawa

Hiroshi Sakamoto

Masaru Muramatsu

Toru Fukuhara

Hideo Hibino

Yoshiharu Shiokama

Nobuhiko Terui

Masamitsu Ozawa

Hidehiko Aoyagi

Yutaka Makiyama

Makoto Matsuzaki

Akihiro Matsui

Apparatus and method for regulating and controlling the amount of light emitted by a flash unit for use with an imaging device. The apparatus and method include and involve a light source configured to illuminate a subject to imaged by an imaging device, a light receiving element configured to receive light emitted by the light source and reflected by the subject, and to generate a signal based on the reflected light, a light amount determination unit coupled to the light receiving element and configured to determine an amount of reflected light received by the light receiving element based on the signal, a light amount comparison unit coupled to the light amount determination unit and configured to compare the amount of reflected light determined by the light amount determination unit with a threshold value to generate a corresponding control signal, and a light source regulator coupled to the light amount comparison unit. The light source regulator includes a range detector configured to detect a distance to the subject, and a guide number setting unit configured to calculate at least one guide number based on that distance and an operating parameter related to the imaging device. The calculated guide number(s) correspond to an amount of time light is to be emitted by the light source during an imaging operation. The light source regulator controls the emission of light by the light source based on the control signal and the calculated guide number(s).

Apparatus and method for controlling an amount of light emitted by an

A camera which can record photographic information magnetically onto film while rewinding the film. The film has perforations provided in conjunction with each frame to be exposed and near an end in a rewinding direction of the frames. A sensor is used to detect passage start time and passage end time of these perforations. A recording time determining circuit is then used to determine a recording time per unit bit so that photographic information can be recorded in an area of the film associated with each frame of the film. This recording is based on a time difference between the passage start time and the passage end time as detected by the sensor. A magnetic recorder is used to record associated photographic information in the determined recording time onto a magnetic track of the film corresponding of an exposed frame.

Camera

An automatic focusing device for a camera capable of accommodating an interchangeable zoom lens which prevents inadvertently performing a moving subject tracking lens drive control when the zoom lens causes focus shift as a result of a zooming operation. The automatic focusing device operates in a first drive mode in which movement of the subject in the optical axis direction is detected and the moving subject is tracked by providing compensation for the drive amount of the lens according to the movement of the subject, and a second drive mode in which movement of the subject in the optical axis direction is not detected and compensation for the drive amount of the lens is not provided. A determination that the zoom lens causes focus shift during a zooming operation is made when the object distance is within a specified distance range, and a focus shift signal is output when focus shift will occur. An inhibition device inhibits the lens drive in the first lens drive mode in response to the focus shift signal.

Automatic focusing device which inhibits tracking drive control with a

An option setting device for use with a camera includes a power supply unit supplying power to the option setting device, a microcomputer controlling the operations of the camera. A RAM stores option settings set by the microcomputer, while a non-volatile memory unit also stores the option settings set by the microcomputer. A normal reset generation unit generates a normal reset signal to reset the microcomputer after the introduction of power by the power supply unit, and an emergency reset generation unit generates an emergency reset signal to reset the microcomputer after an interruption of power from the power supply unit. A reset type discrimination unit determines after a reset has occurred whether the reset was caused by the normal reset generation unit or by the emergency reset generation unit and in the case that the reset type discrimination unit determines that the reset was caused by normal reset generation unit the contents of the non-volatile memory unit are transmitted to the RAM, and in the case that the reset type discrimination unit determines that the reset was by the emergency reset generation unit the microcomputer preserves the contents of the RAM without transmitting the contents of the non-volatile memory unit to the RAM. A method of operating the option setting device is also described.

Option setting device and method of operating same for use with a camera

A data communication device adapted to notify abnormal transmission timing at the start of transmission. A receiving register, synchronized with synchronous signal, receives input data via an upper transmission path from a facing instrument. The receiving register performs a serial-parallel conversion on the input data. A receiving control unit detects the completion of the serial-parallel conversion and restores transmitted data, delivered on the upper transmission path from the facing equipment, by sequentially combining the serial-parallel converted input data. A transmitting register receives transmission data of predetermined word length and parallel-serial converts the transmission data in synchronization with the synchronous signal. The transmitting register delivers the parallel-serial converted output data to a lower transmission path. A transmission control unit generates plural data formed by dividing, at intervals based on the predetermined word length, the transmission data. The transmission control unit sequentially provides the plural data to the transmission register when the completion of the parallel-serial conversion is detected. A transmission state monitoring unit which determines whether delivery of the transmission data has been completed when a predetermined time difference has elapsed from when the serial-parallel conversion is completed, and outputs this result as transmission state data.

Data communication control device

An automatic focus adjustment device which accurately performs end point detection of the range of movement of a photographic lens to smoothly drive the photographic lens completely to a focus position. The automatic focus adjustment device includes a defocus amount detection device to detect a position deviation of the image position of a subject formed by the photographic lens from an image forming plane. An actuation amount necessary to drive the photographic lens by the detected defocus amount is calculated. An actual actuation amount decision device decides whether the actual actuation amount output to drive the lens is within a permissible range predetermined for the drive. A first lens displacement decision device decides whether the lens position changes during a predetermined first time period, and a second lens displacement decision device decides whether the lens position changes during a predetermined second time period when the actual actuation amount decision device decides that the actual actuation amount is outside the permissible range. The actual actuation amount setting device sets the actuation amount used to drive the lens according to the decisions by the first and second lens displacement decision devices.

Automatic focus adjustment device capable of accurately driving a

A camera is provided with an automatic focus adjusting apparatus. The automatic focus adjusting apparatus includes a focus detecting device which detects the focus adjusted state of the photo-taking lens. A monitor device which monitors the movement of the photo-taking lens and an image plane movement speed calculating circuit which calculates an image plane movement speed on the basis of the result of the detection by the focus detecting device and the result of the monitoring by the monitor device. A moving object discrimination circuit discriminates an object as a moving object when the image plane movement speed is equal to or greater than a threshold value. A threshold value setting circuit sets the threshold value used for moving object discrimination in the moving object discriminating circuit. The threshold value setting circuit changes the threshold value when a continuous shooting device is driven.

Camera provided with an automatic focus adjusting apparatus

An autofocus control device to perform lens drive control with moving body tracking control. The autofocus control device includes a defocus amount computation device to determine a defocus amount representing an amount of deviation in the optical axis direction of an image formed by the lens and an image forming plane. A drive position computation device computes a position to which the photographic lens is to be driven based upon the defocus amount. A first drive direction computation device and a second drive direction computation device both determine a direction in which the lens is to be driven based upon different information. A field travel speed computation device computes a field travel speed for the subject based upon computed drive positions for the photographic lens. A moving body determination device determines whether the subject is a moving body when the drive directions determined by the first and second drive direction computation devices are the same, and the field travel speed determined by the field travel speed computation device is greater than a predetermined value. When the moving body determination device determines that the subject is a moving body, the photographic lens is driven at a speed computed according to lens drive positions computed by the drive position computation device.

Autofocus control device having moving body tracking control

A motor drive control device which drives a motor in accordance with a pulse width modulated input signal, a first binary signal indicating a rotation direction for driving the motor and a second binary signal indicating whether drive of the motor is ON or OFF. The motor drive control device includes a logic circuit receiving the pulse width modulated input signal, the first binary signal and the second binary signal and, in response, producing a first pulse width modulated output signal and a second pulse width modulated output signal which together indicate a rotation direction and rotation speed for driving the motor.

Motor drive control device which uses pulse width modulation to control

A camera capable of communicating with an external device, such as an adjustment device for performing camera testing, checking and adjustment operations. The camera includes a cartridge compartment having a wall member to accommodate a film cartridge, the wall member including a recessed portion, e.g., a hole or concavity, in the inner wall surface of the cartridge compartment to accommodate communication contact points which electrically connect the external device to the camera. A control unit which controls camera operations receives signals from the external device via the communication contact points and performs a predetermined camera operation based upon the received signals. The cartridge compartment also includes film sensitivity contact points, the film sensitivity contact points including a standard potential film sensitivity contact point which is also used to connect the adjustment device. The adjustment device can also start the power supply of the camera in accordance with electrical signals from the adjustment device which control an electrical power feed device, such that an operator does not have to operate camera mechanisms while performing testing, checking and adjustment operations.

Camera capable of communicating with an external device via

A low cost, compact multi-light through-the-lens adjustment unit for use in a camera which incorporates a built-in flash allowing an increase in the speed of a shutter release operation of the camera. A charged voltage of a charge accumulation unit is measured prior to a light pre-emission. The light pre-emission is initiated and thereafter terminated based on a quantity of reflected light detected. The time difference between the initiation of the light pre-emission and the termination of the light pre-emission is measured by a time difference measurement unit. The amount of light pre-emission light of the light emission unit is calculated based on the measured charged voltage and the time difference measurement. Alternatively, the charged voltage prior to light pre-emission is measured by a first voltage measurement unit and the charging voltage after light pre-emission is measured by a second voltage measurement unit. The amount of light pre-emission is calculated based on the difference between charged voltage prior to the light pre-emission and charging voltage after the light pre-emission.

Camera having a through-the-lens automatic light adjustment control

The invention has the object of obtaining an image output of the appropriate size, even in cases in which the saturation level changes when the amplifier gain is switched, so that high precision focus detection can be carried out continually. The image sensor system includes an image sensor that outputs an image signal according to the light intensity distribution of the subject image that has been composed by the optical system; an amplifier that amplifies the image signal from the image sensor; an amplification ratio switching capability that changes the amplification ratio of the amplification means to a prescribed amplification ratio; an accumulation time interval calculator that calculates the accumulation time interval of the image sensor based on the target value of the image sensor output that has been selected according to the amplification ratio and the amplified image output; and an image sensor controller that controls the operation of the image sensor based on the accumulation time interval that is calculated by the accumulation time interval calculator.

Image sensor system and auto-focus detection device

A battery voltage detection system, suitable for a photographic device, having a battery power source. The battery voltage detection system includes a circuit to generate varying periodic signals, such as PWM control signals, and a battery voltage detection device to measure the battery voltage a plurality of times within a predetermined time period and to detect the battery voltage based on the plural battery voltage measurements. The battery voltage detection device performs the plural measurements of the battery voltage during the generation of the varying periodic signals. The plural measurements are combined by taking an average value or a root mean square value of the battery measurements to determined the battery voltage. The battery voltage detected by the battery voltage detection device is then compared with a predetermined standard value to determined the state of the battery.

Battery voltage detection device using pulse width modulation control

An autofocus adjustment device includes a focus detection assembly that repeatedly detects the focus coordination state of the photographic lens assembly. A memory stores the results of the focus detection assembly. The device includes a movement direction reversal determination assembly that determines reversal of the movement direction of a subject based on the focus coordination state recorded in the memory. An exposure assembly controls the photographic operation. A prohibition assembly prohibits photographic operation until the focus detection operations are executed for a specified number of times when the movement direction reversal determination assembly determines that the movement direction of the photographic subject has reversed.

Autofocus adjustment device and method

An automatic focus adjustment device for use with a camera having a photographic lens. The device includes, but is not limited to, a drive unit changing the amount of extension of a photographic lens, a lens position detection unit detecting the position of the photographic lens, a position deviation detection unit detecting the position deviation between a position of a subject as imaged by the photographic lens and an imaging plane, a speed deviation calculation unit inputting the position deviation detected by the position deviation detection unit and calculating the speed deviation due to a time change of the detected position deviation, a target drive speed calculation unit which, based on the position of the photographic lens as detected by the lens position detection unit and on the position deviation detected by the position deviation detection unit, calculates a target drive position for the photographic lens and calculates a target drive speed based on the time change of the target drive position, an ideal speed setting unit which, based on the position deviation detected by the position deviation detection unit, determines the ideal speed which has been previously set, a movement decision unit determining whether the subject is a moving body, a speed selection unit selecting the target drive speed when it has been determined by the movement decision unit that the subject is a moving body and selecting the ideal speed when it has been determined by the movement decision unit that the subject is a non-moving body and a calculation unit calculating the actuation amount to be output by the drive unit based on the position deviation detected by the position deviation detection unit, the speed deviation calculated by the speed deviation calculation unit and the speed selected by the speed selection unit.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Seiichi Yasukawa