Arc Design, Inc.

W. Haking Enterprises, Ltd.

Shigeru Oshima

Wan C Wong

Yoshio Yamazaki

A two zone lens auto-focusing system to be used in a digital still camera includes a picture taking lens, a solenoid to switch the lens focus point between near distance point and far distance point. The CPU or the electronically controlled distance measuring system of the camera having detected the position of the object, it excites the solenoid, and the head of the solenoid is pulled into the solenoid body with a very short stroke, and the arm that is provided on the lens barrel and coupled with the solenoid head is also pulled toward the solenoid body to transfer the movement of solenoid head to the lens barrel, so that the lens focus may be set at either of far position or near position automatically. These members are assembled and form a simple two zone auto-focusing system of digital still cameras.

Two zone automatic lens focusing system for digital still cameras

A cylindrical grooved cam with a plurality of grooved cams provided on its inner cylindrical surface comprises an inner tube having at least two guide walls that are provided on its lower edge and represent one guide wall line of the grooved cam to be formed on the inner cylindrical surface; and an outer tube having at least two guide walls that are provided on its upper edge of protruded area on its cylindrical inner surface and represent the other guide wall line of the grooved cam to be formed on the inner cylindrical surface; wherein the inner tube is to be inserted into the outer tube from above so that the guide walls of the inner tube and the counter part guide walls of the outer tube form the grooved cams on the inner cylindrical surface of the cylindrical grooved cam.

Cylindrical grooved cam for lens driving

A multifocal lens system to be used for digital cameras for setting any one of a plurality of lenses in a picture taking (image capturing) position comprising a wide-angle lens (shorter focal length lens) mounted in front of an image sensor in a picture taking (image capturing) position, a telephoto lens (longer focal length lens) mounted alongside the wide-angle lens, a parallelogram prism (rhombic prism) or a pair of triangular prisms removably arranged between the two lenses at the rear of them. When the wide-angle lens is to be used, the parallelogram prism or one of the two triangular prisms is to be removed from the rear of wide-angle lens so that the wide-angle lens can be focused on the sensor enabling light to pass therethrough. The telephoto lens is so positioned that it may be focused on the image sensor through the parallelogram prism or being reflected by the triangular prisms enabling light to pass therethrough when a part of the parallelogram prism or one of the two triangular prisms is placed in front of the image sensor to cover the imaging area of the sensor and to shut the light through the wide-angle lens to the sensor. By moving the prism from the rear of each lens, one of the two lenses can be positioned for picture taking (image capturing).

Multifocal lens system for digital cameras

An optical apparatus to be used for digital still cameras for setting any one of a plurality of lenses in a picture taking (image capturing) position comprising a lens turret rotatable around an axis and having the lenses mounted thereon, a driving mechanism to rotate the lens turret so that one of the lenses can be set at the picture taking position and a means to adjust and extend the back focal length of the lens shaped like a column or square column and made of glass, plastic or the like that has higher refraction index than that of air. By said means of back focal length adjustment, the position of the lens with shorter focal length can be fixed on the lens turret moving apart from the image sensor like CCD or C-MOS upward without changing its focal length itself, and fixed at the same level thereon as the lens with longer focal length. With this adjustment of back focal length, the lenses can be fixed on the turret as closely as possible with each other, yet any part of one lens does not cut in or disturb any part of light path of the other lens. Consequently the total size of lens turret could be minimized.

Lens turret with back focal length adjustment

A multifocal lens to be used for digital still cameras comprises a fixed first lens or a first group of lenses; a movable second lens or a second group of lenses; and a fixed third lens or a third group of lenses, wherein the second lens or second group of lenses moves back and forth (up and down) between the first and third lenses or lens groups, and changes its own focal length of the whole lens from wide angle to telephoto and vice versa.

Jumping zoom lens for digital still cameras

A system to be used in a digital still camera to control zooming of the zoom lens, uses programmed data written in a micro controller unit (MCU) instead of the known cams that are usually used to mechanically control zooming of the zoom lens of digital still cameras, and the system is used to control auto-focusing of the zoom lens with the very mechanism used for zoom controlling by receiving electronic signals (pulses) from the MCU or electronically controlled distance measuring system of the digital still camera.

Control system of zoom lens for digital still cameras

A single use camera which has a motor to advance film comprising a light-tight casing having an exposure aperture through which exposures are made, an unexposed film wound up around a pre-winding take-up spool disposed on one side of the exposure aperture, a removable film cartridge having a film take-up spool therein disposed on the opposite side of the exposure aperture from the pre-winding take-up spool, a motor to pre-wind the unexposed film around the pre-winding take-up spool beforehand and to wind exposed frames of the film back to the removable film cartridge. The motorized single use camera uses the built-in motor for all the film windings so that any special film loading device to roll up the unexposed film beforehand outside of the camera in a dark room is not required, and the same motor can be used for film winding after each exposure so that any manual film winding mechanism is not required.

Motorized single use camera

A mechanism to be used in 35 mm film format still cameras, which pre-winds a roll of unexposed film entirely by motor to the unexposed film chamber provided in the camera immediately after the camera back door has been closed with the unexposed film loaded inside without using any expensive electric circuits and devices like a CPU, and of which the pre-winding setting can be changed manually by hand to the winding setting (picture taking setting) for picture taking after the pre-winding has been completed, and which can be reset to the pre-winding setting of the mechanism automatically but mechanically when the camera back door is opened again after the film has been exposed, wound back into and stored in the film cartridge.

Film pre-winding mechanism for 35 mm film format still cameras

A device used in a digital still camera with its lens assembly to prevent the sensor like CCD or C-MOS from receiving harmful light which comes into a sensor area along the periphery of a lens barrel.

Preventive device of harmful light leakage of lens assembly area of digital still camera

A system to be used in a digital still camera to control zooming of the zoom lens, which uses programmed data written in a micro controller unit (MCU) instead of cams that are usually used to mechanically control zooming of the zoom lens of digital still cameras, and to control auto-focusing of the zoom lens with the very mechanism which is used for the zoom controlling by receiving electronic signals (pulses) from the MCU or electronically controlled distance measuring system of the digital still camera.

The camera preferably has a slotted take-up spool which when the film compartment covering door is opened is automatically rotated into an ideal position where a hook in a film-capturing slot thereof has an outward facing orientation ideal for capturing a film leader perforation when the film leader is inserted therein. The slot is preferably configured as a lengthwise passage leading into a hollow axially disposed chamber within the take-up spool, the trailing edge of the slot nearest the imaging station being provided with the hook. This edge is positioned so that it does not come into confronting engagement with the film during initial advance thereof until the film is firmly captively secured over the hook.

Camera with improved film leader capturing means

A lens system for a disc camera features a plurality of objective lenses of different focal lengths carried on a turret support that can be rotated into different stable positions in front of the framing area of the film disc to bring a selective lens into picture-taking position. An associated viewfinder adjusting system ganged for operation with the turret support projects a different framing mark pattern into the field of view, the projected pattern corresponding to the image field produced by the objective lens currently in position. A shutter releases inhibitor bars actuation of the shutter release unless an objective lens is properly positioned for exposure.

Camera with turret lens and variable frame viewfinder

A still camera includes a housing having a film chamber that is open to one side of the camera housing and is designed for drop-in loading of the film cartridge and leader. A channel leads from this side of the camera to the film path and a cavity is located at one end of the film path for receiving the film cartridge while a cavity is located at the other end of the film path which houses a take-up spool. The take-up spool has a slot for receiving the film leader and the camera incorporates drive mechanism for automatically aligning the slot of the take-up spool with the channel when the chamber door is opened. The drive mechanism forms part of the film transport system.

Automatic slot positioning device for camera take-up spool

A still camera includes a housing having a film chamber for receiving a film cartridge having a film leader with the chamber defining a film path communicating with an edge of the housing through a channel. The film chamber also has a cavity at one end of the film path for drop-in loading of the cartridge in the direction of the plane of the film and a cavity at the opposite end housing a take-up spool. An imaging area is located at one side of the film path and a pressure plate is generally aligned with the imaging area on opposite side of the film path and biased towards the imaging area. A mechanism is provided for moving the pressure plate away from the imaging area to accommodate film loading and unloading, as well as film rewind.

Still camera with pressure plate control device

An electronic shutter mechanism for a still camera comprises a shutter blade, preferably carrying a solenoid armature, urged by a first spring into an initial lens aperture closing position. An initially latched actuating member for moving the shutter blade to a lens aperture exposing position carries a normally energized solenoid coil to attract the shutter blade carried armature thereto so that the shutter blade moves with the actuating member until the coil is deenergized. When the actuating member is unlatched, a second spring urges the actuating member and the shutter blade magnetically attached thereto into a lens aperture opening position against the return force of the first spring. Upon the unlatching of the actuating member a timing circuit establishes a timing period depending upon the amount of ambient light, after which the solenoid coil is deenergized so the first spring returns the shutter blade quickly to a lens aperture closing position.

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Tokyo, Japan

Shigeru Oshima