Eastman-Kodak Company

Tom M Seamans

Stanley W Stephenson

David R Dowe

J Kelly Lee

Stanley Ward Stephenson, Iii

Donald M Harvey

David A Castor

A camera comprising a chamber for receiving a film cartridge, a door supported for closing movement to cover the chamber and for opening movement to uncover the chamber, and an extracting mechanism connected with the door for pulling the film cartridge at least part way out of the chamber when the door is opened, is characterized in that the extracting mechanism includes an engaging member adapted to engage a protruding spool end of the film cartridge, to permit the engaging member to tilt the film cartridge out of the chamber when the door is opened. Preferably, the engaging member has a partially enclosed catch-space configured to receive the protruding spool end of the film cartridge in order to engage the protruding spool end.

Camera extracts film cartridge responsive to opening door

A camera comprising a chamber for receiving a film cartridge of the type having a snout portion provided with a film passage opening and an exterior information-bearing portion next to the snout portion, a door movable to close the chamber and having a window for viewing the information-bearing portion, and an elastic opaque gasket positioned around the window to be compressed against the film cartridge around the information-bearing portion to light-tightly confine ambient light entering the window when the door is closed, is characterized in that the gasket has a section positioned to be compressed against the snout portion of the film cartridge when the door is closed, and the door has at least one protuberance that projects into the section of the gasket to make compression of the gasket against the film cartridge greatest at the snout portion of the cartridge. By making the compression against the film cartridge greatest at the snout portion of the cartridge, rather than evenly applied against the cartridge, the orientation of the cartridge within the chamber can not be changed from the desired one.

Device for positioning film cartridge in camera

A camera film transport mechanism includes a torque limiting one-way drive clutch for preventing film damaging excessive torque loading or reverse rotation of the drive. The clutch includes coaxial inner and outer members. A resilient arm extends generally tangentially from one of the members with a free end biased against the other member and engagable with a tooth or abutment thereon to transmit torque therebetween. A sloping surface on one or both of the tooth and the arm end limits torque transmission by camming the arm out of engagement when the friction force is overcome. Multiple arms and/or abutment teeth may be provided and the arms may be arranged for either compressive or tensile loading. Slip torque deviation is limited by making the engaging surfaces from diverse materials, for example, an amorphous polymer, such as polycarbonate styrene, for one surface and a semi-crystalline polymer, such as nylon or acetal, for the other.

Film transport mechanism with torque limiting clutch

A camera includes a chamber for containing a film cartridge having a rotatable film spool with external engagement access to allow rotation of the spool. The chamber is closed by a lighttight door having a cavity including a status indicator member for determining the status of a contained film cartridge. The status indicator member is attached a cartridge engagement member which is rotatable with the cartridge film spool. The status indicator member includes a display disk for indicating the status of said cartridge based on the rotational position of said spool which is visible through an opening in the chamber door.

Cartridge status indicator

A bi-directional driver device for opening and closing a light shield of a film cassette is alternately biased open and closed via an overcenter spring, to open and close the light shield. The final opening torque the spring exerts against the driver device when the light shield is completely opened is substantially less than the final closing torque the spring exerts against the driver device when the light shield is completely closed. Thus, the final opening torque will not cause any deformation of the light shield that might allow light leakage into the cassette interior when the light shield is closed.

Bi-directional spring device for opening and closing light shield of

A camera includes a film rewind mechanism that allows manual rewinding of a film spool to a given position. The mechanism includes a one-way clutch that allows the rewind knob to drive the film spool only in a rewind direction. The clutch mechanism has a single arm for transfer of motion between the rewind knob and a spool driver. Use of the single arm clutch allows the rewind knob to be connected with the spool only in a single unique position or phase relation so that the operator can move the rewind knob to an indicated position of the camera body which corresponds with a similarly indicated position of the spool on the film cassette.

Camera with spool positioning mechanism

A camera to be used with a cartridge enclosing a spool mounting a filmstrip having an access door for opening and closing the camera includes an interlock mechanism connected to the access door and engageable with the spool for preventing the access door from being opened when the spool indicates an unexposed position of the filmstrip.

Camera access door interlock mechanism

A camera door actuated cartridge extractor includes a rod which is pivotally mounted to the cartridge chamber closing camera door at a point between the camera door pivot and the adjacent wall of the cartridge chamber so that initial opening of the camera door provides a relatively large extracting motion that quickly disconnects the cartridge from the driver. Thus, manual movement of the driver by the camera operator is less likely to move film within the cartridge after a film enclosing cartridge door is closed. A spring may be provided biasing the camera door to a partially open position to accelerate disconnection of the cartridge from the driver. Placement of the extractor rod in a slot between adjacent battery pockets provides a compact arrangement. Engagement of a hook-like keeper portion of the extractor rod with a rib on the door provides a friction force for maintaining the door in a fully open position until closing is desired.

Camera door actuated cartridge extractor

A photographic camera adapted to provide respective visible indications corresponding to successive frames of exposed filmstrip as each one of the frames is exposed includes a counter wheel having a plurality of ratchet teeth about its periphery, the ratchet teeth corresponding to the advance of the filmstrip, a holding lever including a pawl for engaging the ratchet teeth when film is present in the camera and for disengaging the ratchet teeth when film is not present in the camera, and an advancing lever in communication with the camera shutter button for incrementally rotating the counter wheel in response to shutter button actuation.

Camera with exposure counting mechanism

A compact camera comprises a flip-up flash unit which has a viewfinder opening for viewing a subject to be photographed when the flash unit is flipped up from a camera body to a use position, and a a pair of front and rear viewfinder lenses adapted to be raised from the camera body to viewing positions in optical alignment with the viewfinder opening when the flash unit is flipped up to its use position. According to the invention, a light source indicator is connected to the flash unit to point to the front viewfinder lens when the flash unit is flipped up to its use position and the pair of viewfinder lenses are raised to their viewing positions. The light source indicator provides a visible warning indication of some significant event or condition, such as flash ready, low battery, or inadequate prevailing light for a proper exposure.

Light source indicator for compact camera with combination flip-up flash

A reflector is supported for movement between a direct flash position for reflecting light output from a source of flash illumination directly towards a subject to be photographed and an indirect flash position for reflecting light output from a source of flash illumination onto a nearby surface and thence directly towards a subject to be photographed. The reflector has an integral reflective portion that is substantially smaller than, and fixedly angled with respect to, the remainder of the reflector to reflect a substantially minor percentage of light output from a source of illumination directly towards a subject to be photographed when the reflector is in its indirect flash position, whereby combined direct and indirect illumination of a subject to be photographed can be achieved.

Alternative direct and combined direct-indirect light reflecting device

An automatic viewer for half-frame stereoprints includes a base with a pair of lenses for stereoscopic viewing mounted thereon. The base has a kicking foot and picking detent projecting therethrough for engaging openings in a carrier deck upon which the half-frame stereoprints are pivotally mounted. A control mechanism utilizes cams to coordinate movement of the kicking foot and picking detent to index the carrier deck across the base so that the photoprints may be viewed individually. The carrier deck has two rows of openings for receiving the kicker foot, allowing the viewer to advance the carrier deck from either end presenting a first set of photoprints for viewing when advancing from one end and a second set of photoprints for viewing when advanced from the opposite end. The carrier deck may be stored with other carrier decks in a binder.

Automatic viewer and associated photoprint carrier for half-frame stereo

A device and method for electromagnetically activating the shutter of a camera to provide different aperture openings comprises:

Device and method for electromagnetically activating the shutter of a

A system for electromagnetically activating the shutter of a camera to provide different aperture openings by providing: an armature comprising a core and a coil, the core is capable of receiving current and the armature will produce a first magnetic field; a movable magnet that produces a second magnetic field, the magnet is positioned within the core in a manner that a first gap, a second gap, a third gap, a fourth gap, a fifth gap, a sixth gap, a seventh gap and a eighth gap will contiguously surround the magnet and be present between the core and the magnet so that the second magnetic field is coupled to the first magnetic field and the magnet is coupled to the shutter; and means coupled to the current means and the coil for setting the direction of current flow in the coil to a first direction or a second direction or for denying the presence of current flow in the coil so that when the coil receives no current a first magnetic field will not be present and the magnet will be at a first location and move the shutter to block the aperture and allow no light to enter the camera, and when current flow through the coil in a first direction the magnet will be attracted by the first magnetic field and move to a second location and move the shutter to form a first aperture size and if current flows through the coil in a second direction the magnet will be attracted by the first magnetic field and move to a third location and move the shutter to form a second aperture size.

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Corfu, NY, United States of America

Tom M Seamans