Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shoji Kaihara

Toshifumi Urakami

Hidehiko Fukahori

Shousuke Haraguchi

Hideaki Yamamoto

Tsuyoshi Fukuda

Futoshi Hirai

Yuuki Niwamae

Eiri Tsukatani

Hiroshi Yoshii

Hirokazu Ichiki

Yasuo Suda

Toshio Matsumoto

Kenji Ito

Yoichi Tosaka

Shingo Hayakawa

Go Tokura

Etsuro Furutsu

Takanori Honda

Nobuyuki Inoue

Shigeru Yamagami

Atsushi Katayama

Akira Karasawa

A conversion adapter apparatus is provided that connects a camera body and an interchangeable lens. The conversion adapter apparatus includes a camera body side installation portion to receive a camera body, a lens side installation portion to receive an interchangeable lens, and a first communication contact group provided on the camera body side installation portion and connected to a communication contact group. The conversion adapter apparatus additionally includes a second communication contact group provided on the lens side installation portion and connected to the communication contact group and a conductive member that electrically connects the first communication contact group and the second communication contact group. A position of the first communication contact group around a camera optical axis and a position of the second communication contact group around the camera optical axis are different from each other.

Conversion adaptor apparatus and interchangeable lens system

A cleaning device is used to remove an alien substance adhering to a surface of an optical member arranged in front of a solid image sensing device inside a lens replaceable digital single-lens reflex camera. The cleaning device includes a supporting member that is supported by a user, and an elastic member having an adhesive surfaceand being formed in a substantially square shape larger than equally divided four parts of a 135 format of a camera and smaller than an APS-C format of the camera.

Cleaning device

An optical apparatus includes a rectangular optical member provided on an optical axis, and a rectangular vibrating device stuck to the optical member close to and in parallel with one of four sides of the optical member and configured to vibrate the optical member in a wave fashion to have a plurality of nodes parallel with the one side. The vibrating device is configured to operate in two or more vibration modes differing from one another at least in number or positions of the plurality of nodes.

Optical apparatus having device for removing foreign substance

An optical apparatus includes a rectangular optical member provided on an optical axis, a supporting member configured to support the optical member, and a rectangular vibrating device stuck to the optical member close to and in parallel with one of four sides of the optical member and configured to vibrate the optical member in a wave fashion having a predetermined wavelength to have a plurality of nodes parallel with the one side. A support position at which the optical member is supported by the supporting member at a side opposite the one side of the optical member is located inward from the opposite side by &#xbc; the predetermined wavelength.

This invention can more efficiently remove, at a more effective timing, a foreign substance such as dust adhering on an optical member inserted on the image capturing optical axis. An image capturing apparatus having an image sensor which photo-electrically converts an object image includes an optical element arranged on the image sensor on a side close to an object, a foreign substance removing unit which removes a foreign substance adhering to the surface of the optical element, an instruction unit which issues instructions to power on and power off the image capturing apparatus, and a control unit which controls the foreign substance removing unit to execute a foreign substance removing operation in accordance with the instruction to power off the image capturing apparatus by the instruction unit.

Image capturing apparatus, control method therefor, and program regarding foreign substance removal

At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to an image pickup apparatus which includes an optical member that is vibrated in a direction substantially perpendicular to an optical axis to facilitate removal of particles (e.g., dust), where the vibration of the optical member is substantially isolated from an image pickup element.

Image pickup apparatus with foreign object removal capabilities

An imaging apparatus capable of easily removing a foreign matter adhering on an optical filter surface is disclosed. A rubber member holding an optical low pass filter seals an imaging sensor and the optical low pass filter, and a piezoelectric element vibrates an edge portion of the optical low pass filter in the direction of an optical axis, and gives the optical low pass filter a rotational force around an axis orthogonal to an imaging optical axis.

Imaging apparatus including device for removing foreign matter adhering on surface of optical member

First and second driving systems are driven by a first motor via first and second planetary mechanisms through motor rotation in first and second directions, respectively. A third driving system is driven by the second planetary mechanism through motor rotation in the first direction. A switching mechanism switches a transmission path for the motor driving force by inhibiting one of the first and second planetary mechanisms from revolving, and causes the other of the first and second planetary mechanisms to transmit the driving force through a transmission path selected by the switching. First and second restraint members of the first and second planetary mechanisms, respectively, restrain the respective mechanisms from revolving simultaneously by inhibiting engagement of the first and second planetary mechanisms with the second and third driving systems, respectively.

Driving device and camera

There is provided a camera which is compact in size and inexpensive even with the use of two motors, which allows relevant mechanisms to be laid out freely to thereby simplify motor controlling sequences, and which allows the user to quickly perform preliminary winding of a newly loaded film after film rewinding to thereby minimize the effects of film replacement during photographing. A first motor is used to drive a film winding driving system and a film rewinding driving system. A switching mechanism selectively switches between a winding state in which a driving force of the first motor can be transmitted to the film winding driving system, and a rewinding state in which the driving force of the first motor can be transmitted to the film rewinding driving system. A second motor is used to drive the switching mechanism for selective switching between the winding state and the rewinding state. A microcomputer CPU causes the switching mechanism to select the winding state after causing the switching mechanism to select the rewinding state to thereby carry out rewinding of a film, and thereafter terminates control of winding of the film.

Driving device and apparatus having the same, and camera

A camera includes a movable mirror which moves between a mirror-down position and a mirror-up position, an attitude detecting device which detects an attitude of the camera, and a control circuit in which a plurality of periods of stabilization time of the movable mirror are set and which changes over the stabilization time of the movable mirror among the plurality of periods according to a result of detection provided by the attitude detecting device. If the attitude of the camera has changed in process of a continuous photo-taking operation, the control circuit keeps the stabilization time of the movable mirror set at the time of start of the continuous photo-taking operation without changing over the stabilization time of the movable mirror.

Camera

In a camera having a motor disposed within a spool which is a part of a film winding mechanism, an internal toothed portion of a planetary gear transmission mechanism for transmitting the power of the motor in a reduced state is formed at a base plate which has a spool support part arranged to support the spool.

A camera has either a built-in flash unit or a removable attachable flash unit which is turnable between a retracted position and a projected position and which is provided with an illumination-angle varying mechanism. The camera includes a motor, disposed in a body of the camera, for driving the illumination-angle varying mechanism, and a transmission system, which transmits an output rotation of the motor to the illumination-angle varying mechanism. The transmission system includes a rotating wheel which has a central axis coincident with a turning axis of the flash unit. The flash unit may include a structure divided into at least three areas: a middle area, a first side area, and a second side area. A flash generating device is disposed in the middle area; a red-eye prevention lamp is disposed in the first side area; and a drive transmissions system for driving the illumination-angle varying mechanism is provided in the second side area.

Camera having an illumination-angle varying mechanism for preventing a

A camera including a camera body and flash unit, in which the camera includes a drive source in the camera body, a moving mechanism for causing the flash unit to move from a non-projected position to a projected position, an illumination-angle switching mechanism for varying an illumination angle of the flash unit, the illumination-angle switching mechanism being driven by a force of the drive force in one direction and being capable of stopping in any one of a plurality of specific illumination angle states, a focal length detecting device, and a controlling device that causes the illumination-angle switching mechanism to selectively switch one illumination angle to another in accordance with the focal length detected by the focal length detecting device, in response to the operation of the moving mechanism to move the flash unit from a non-projected position to a projected position.

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Yokohama, Japan

Shoji Kaihara