Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Nec Corporation

Pentax Corporation

Hoya Corporation

Tetsuo Hosokawa

Tadayuki Kirigaya

Hiroyuki Takahashi

Masahiro Nakata

Toshihiro Hamamura

Hidefumi Kaneko

Hideaki Tsuji

Shigeru Iwamoto

Tadahisa Ohkura

Takuya Hasegawa

Satoshi Takami

Tomoaki Itabashi

Katsuhiko Nozaki

Kenji Kawazura

Kazumitsu Nakajima

Naoki Itou

Takao Nakanishi

Mikio Ogi

Takehiro Ishino

In a viewfinder for a single lens reflex camera, in which a focused image of an object formed on a ground glass by a photographing lens is transmitted to an ocular optical system through a pentagonal prism or a pentagonal mirror and an information image displayed on an indication surface of an indication block is transmitted to the pentagonal prism or pentagonal mirror, through an indication prism, so that the object image and the information image are indicated in the finder view field of the ocular optical system, the indication surface of the indicator is inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to an incident surface of the image-erecting optical member toward the incident surface, and an angle between the indication surface of the indicator and the incident surface of the image-erecting optical member is smaller than 90&#xb0;.

Viewfinder for single lens reflex camera

A worm gear is provided on a rotating shaft of an AF motor. A first supporting cylinder includes a gear portion and a receiving portion. A wheel gear, which is in engagement with the worm gear, is formed on an outer surface of the gear portion. A slit is formed at the receiving portion. A second supporting cylinder includes a supported portion which is placed in the receiving portion of the first supporting cylinder, and a receiving portion which supports an AF coupler. A gear is in engagement with a portion which connects the supported portion and the receiving portion of the 2nd supporting cylinder. A clutch spring is wound around the supported portion, being in contact with the outer surface of the supported portion. Both ends of the clutch spring cross each other and are in engagement with a pair of walls, of the slit, which are parallel to an axis of the receiving portion.

AF driving mechanism of camera

A pinion gear is fixed on a rotating shaft of a motor for supplying a driving force of a plurality of driving mechanisms. A speed reducing gear is engaged with the pinion gear, and a sun gear is engaged with a speed reducing gear. A planet worm includes a spur gear portion and a worm gear portion. The spur gear portion is engaged with the sun gear. The planet worm is supported so as to be rotatable around the shaft of the sun gear. When the planet worm is rotated to be positioned adjacent to the cartridge room, the worm gear portion is engaged with a rewind spur gear of a gear train. The rotational force of the motor is transmitted to a rewinding fork through the gear train, and then the rewind fork is rotated.

Camera with motor and gear drive system

A camera includes a built-in flash and a controller for controlling the camera. The controller includes different photographic modes; an auto-exposure-mode selecting mode in which an appropriate photographic mode is automatically selected from the different photographic modes based on photographic conditions, the controller allowing the built-in flash to discharge automatically in the selected appropriate photographic mode when the built-in flash discharges at a most appropriate time of exposure; and a flash-prohibiting/auto-exposure-mode selecting mode in which an appropriate photographic mode is automatically selected from the different photographic modes based on photographic conditions, the controller prohibiting the built-in flash from discharging automatically in the selected appropriate photographic mode at a time of exposure. The controller selects either the auto-exposure-mode selecting mode or the flash-prohibiting/auto-exposure-mode selecting mode in response to an operation of the manual operation member.

Controller for controlling a camera having a built-in flash

A built-in retractable flash of a camera includes a light emitter to be movable between a retracted position and a light emission position; a lock lever mechanism having a lock lever, supported on a base plate, which is movable between a lock position for holding the light emitter at the retracted position and an unlock position; an electromagnetic member which controls the position of the lock lever; a position adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the electromagnetic member on the base plate; and first and second securing devices for securing the base plate to the camera body. The first securing device secures only the base plate to the camera body. The second securing device secures the base plate and the electromagnetic member to the camera body after the relative position between the base plate and the electromagnetic member is adjusted by the position adjustment mechanism.

Built-in retractable flash of a camera

A flash controller of a camera system includes a camera body and an interchangeable lens which is detachably attached to the camera body, the camera body including a built-in flash, the interchangeable lens being of a type which can have data communication with the camera body to output lens data on the interchangeable lens to the camera body. The flash controller includes a memory which is provided in the camera body in which data on the built-in flash are pre-stored; and a calculating device, provided in the camera body, for judging whether flashlight emitted from the built-in flash will be interrupted by a periphery of the interchangeable lens in accordance with the lens data input from the interchangeable lens and flash data input from the built-in flash.

Flash controller of a camera

A camera includes a retractable built-in flash unit which is movable between a retracted position and a discharge position, and a controller which controls the built-in flash and provides an auto flash mode in which the controller allows the built-in flash to discharge automatically when necessary. In the auto flash mode, the controller moves the built-in flash from the retracted position to the discharge position when predetermined conditions are satisfied, and subsequently controls the retractable built-in flash unit to discharge automatically at a time of exposure. Furthermore, the controller temporarily prohibits the retractable built-in flash unit from automatically discharging if the retractable built-in flash unit is pushed down to the retracted position after the controller moves the retractable built-in flash unit from the retracted position to the discharge position.

Controller for controlling a built-in flash of a camera

An operation device of a camera includes an indication member comprising a plurality of characters, an operation member which is movable relative to the indication member and includes an index mark for pointing at one of the plurality of characters when the operation member stops at a corresponding stop position thereof; and an illuminating device which illuminates at least one of the plurality of characters at which the index mark points. Also disclosed is a control device for controlling the illuminating device to be turned ON and OFF in a predetermined particular pattern immediately after the power of the camera is turned ON, wherein the control device does not turn the illuminating device ON and OFF in the predetermined particular pattern thereafter, in a power-ON state of the camera.

Operation dial with an illuminator for a camera

A device for processing digital data receives digital data with a number of original digital data being reduced in a predetermined manner, discriminates whether a predetermined reference part of the received digital data meets a predetermined condition, sets a value corresponding to a remaining part of the received digital data, and modifies the value in a predetermined way if the reference part meets the predetermined condition.

Device for processing digital data of a DX code

A camera provided with a pop-up strobe arranged such that the pop-up strobe is popped-up by pushing an operation button in a direction that is inclined with respect to a pivoting axis of the pop-up strobe. In particular, the operation button is mounted on a wall that is inclined with respect to the pivoting axis of the pop-up strobe and the direction in which the operation button is pushed is perpendicular to a surface of the inclined wall.

Camera with pop-up strobe unit

The present invention relates to an optical camera having a zoom function in which a focal length can be varied or the variation is actuated by a focal length changing member, and in particular to a camera in which a focal length is varied through a motor. The optical camera has a zoom lens operable by a rotatable zoom ring for changing the focal length thereof. An automatic focusing operation is effected by a control means when the focal length is changed so that an image of an object viewed through a viewfinder remains in focus. The zoom lens can include a motor and an in-exposure zoom control means can be provided for controlling zooming movement of the lens during an exposure operation.

Motor driven zoom camera

A pulse generator includes a code plate which is provided with a plurality of grounding land portions and a plurality of pulse generating land portions having a potential different from a potential of the grounding land portions, arranged in a direction of rotation about a specific position, and a pair of interconnected contact terminals which are rotated in one direction about the specific position of the code plate to come successively into contact with the grounding land port ions and the pulse generating land portions. The positional relationship between the contact terminals and the grounding land portions and the pulse generating land portions is such that when one of the contact terminals comes into contact with the pulse generating land portions during the rotation of the contact terminals, the other contact terminal is brought into contact with the grounding land portion.

Pulse generator having simplified conductor arrangement

A mounting mechanism of a camera having a film take-up spool is provided for mounting a film pressing roller on a camera body. The mounting mechanism includes a back cover, a roller supporting arm, an elastic member and a pressing device. The back cover is rotatably supported by the camera body. One end of the roller supporting arm is rotatably mounted to the camera body, and another end of the roller supporting arm is provided with the film pressing roller. The elastic member is provided on the camera body and engages with the roller supporting arm to hold the film pressing roller at a predetermined position spaced from the film take-up spool when the back cover is opened. The pressing device is provided on the back cover for pressing the elastic member toward the film take-up spool when the back cover is closed, so that the roller supporting arm is biased toward the film take-up spool by the biasing force of the elastic member to thereby press the film pressing roller toward the film take-up spool.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tetsuo Hosokawa