Nikon Corporation

Toru Kosaka

Hiroshi Meguro

Kazuharu Imafuji

Hidehiro Ogawa

Tadashi Otani

Hiroyuki Tsuru

Yoshiaki Ohtsubo

Yoshikazu Iida

Akira Katayama

Tatsuo Amanuma

Riichi Higaki

Jun Nagai

Masashi Hashimoto

Hiroshi Wakabayashi

Hideya Inoue

Tsugio Takahashi

Hitoshi Aoki

Shigemasa Sato

Tsutomu Narisawa

Naoki Watanabe

Yoshio Matsuzawa

Masayuki Koga

A camera including a camera body, a lens barrel, a power supply source to supply power to circuits of the camera, and a main switch to switch the power supply source between a power supplied status and power-not-supplied status. The lens barrel has a first position which is where the lens barrel is completely retracted within the camera body, a second position which is where the lens barrel is set when the main switch has gone into the power supplied status, and a reference position which is for positional control of the lens barrel with respect to the camera body. The reference position is between the first position and the second position of the lens barrel. If a new battery is inserted into the camera, the lens barrel is not moved, thereby preventing a camera holder from dropping the camera.

Camera having a controller to determine a reference position of a lens

A camera with a visual line position detection device is capable of shortening the time required for auto focus detection and capable of more accurate selection of the focus detection point. The camera includes a focus detection device to output the results of distance measurements at a plurality of points where focus detection is possible and to detect focus for one of these points. A liquid crystal display device displays on a screen specified symbols overlapping the subject image on the positions corresponding to each of the points. A microprocessor accepts the results of the distance measurements from the focus detection system and selects one of the points based on the photographer visual line position as the point for focus detection among all the points whose distances are measured and on which focus detection is possible, excluding the points with an infinite focus distance.

Camera with a visual line position detection device and method

The operating mode contents of a camera can easily be set by the visual alignment action of the photographer and by manual operation. In a first embodiment, a camera is equipped with a visual line position detection device that detects the position of the visual line of the photographer, a mode contents setting device that sets the contents of the operating modes, and a control device that, when it is determined from the output of the visual line position detection device that the photographer is aligning his vision on a predetermined area, changes the camera mode of the mode contents setting device. In a second embodiment, it is possible to quickly switch the camera mode that is the object of manual operation to the object of the visual alignment operation. It is then possible to change the contents of the mode through the visual alignment action, constituting the manual operation in the second embodiment. A selection device is started through the operation of an operation device, such as a mode switching device, and accomplishes a process wherein the camera mode set through manual operation using a mode setting device is set as the camera mode that is the object of contents changing through the action of visual alignment on numerical value setting areas.

Camera with plurality of camera modes and methods

A film driving circuit that is capable of normal driving and reverse driving to drive-control a first motor and a second motor each rotating in only one direction. The motor driving circuit is structured so the first motor driving and the second motor driving is controlled by four switching elements composing a bridge circuit. The first motor connects to the connecting points of two of the switching elements. The second motor connects to the connecting points of the other two of the four switching elements. A CPU controls the first motor and the second motor by controlling the on-off status of the four switching elements.

Motor driving circuit and method for driving two motors

An automatic-focus camera has a focus lock system that stores focus adjusting information so that a photo-taking lens may be kept focused on an object during one or more exposures. The camera has a self timer, an automatic exposure system with different program modes, and has continuous as well as single-frame operating modes. The focus lock system, which has different focus lock modes, influences the manner in which various operations of the camera are performed.

Operation control device for a camera

A camera with a visual line position detection device capable of highly accurate determinations even when diopter adjustment is accomplished after initial completion of correction of the visual line position determining system. The camera includes a screen to form a subject image, a pentagonal prism provided inside the finder, a visual line position detection device equipped with a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit to detect the visual line position, and a diopter adjustment lens placed on the photographer's side of the pentagonal prism. The diopter adjustment lens is displaced after the correction of the visual line position detection device, and a correction coefficient needed to compute the visual line position on the screen obtained during the correction of the visual line position detection device is changed according to the displacement amount of the diopter adjustment lens.

A camera capable of operating in a standard or a panoramic photography mode is provided with an automatic focusing system that focuses on a subject in one of a plurality of areas within a photographic field. In the standard photography mode, the camera automatically selects one of the plurality of areas based on a predetermined algorithm and focuses on the selected area. In the panoramic photography mode, the camera selects one of the plurality of area in response to a user performed operation and focuses upon the selected area. When operating in the panoramic photographic mode, an area can be selected by using a manual selection device, or through use of a visual line position detection device. The visual line position detection device determines which area in the photographic field the photographer's eye is focused upon, and the focused upon area is then selected. The camera may include a display device that indicates which of the plurality of areas has been selected.

Camera having standard and panoramic focusing modes

An active distance measuring apparatus with the remote control function is provided with a plurality of light projecting portions, a plurality of light receiving portions, a distance measuring device for effecting active distance measurement at one or more points in an image field by the use of all or some of the plurality of light projecting portions and the plurality of light receiving portions, and a remote control for performing, when the light receiving portions receive signal light from a remote control transmitter, a predetermined remote control operation by the use of the output of the light receiving portion which has received the signal light, the distance measuring device distance-measuring a distance measuring point corresponding to the light receiving portion which has received the signal light from the remote control transmitter. By the light receiving portions for active distance measurement being used also as the light receiving portions of the remote control device, there can always be taken photographs which are accurately in focus to the remote control operator.

Active distance measuring apparatus with the remote control function

An encoder for generating a position signal in accordance with a position of a conductive slider comprises a non-conductive substrate, a first conductive pattern formed on the substrate, and at least three second conductive patterns formed on the substrate. The second patterns are independent from the first pattern. Each of the second patterns has a lead wire extending to an edge of the substrate. The slider is slidable on the substrate, and produces a conductive state signal when it abuts against the first pattern and produces a non-conductive state signal when it abuts against the second pattern or the substrate. The position signal is generated in accordance with the conductive state signal and the non-conductive state signal. One of the second patterns is surrounded by the first pattern, and the lead wire extending therefrom passes between the other two second patterns and extends to the exterior of the first pattern.

Encoder switch with conductive patterns and leads

A distance metering device of a camera eliminates a troublesome re-setting operation when a remote controller is used as a cable release and avoids the creation of defocused photograph when the remote controller is used as a self-timer. When a first remote control signal receiver is selected, that is, when the remote controller is to be used as the self-timer, a distance metering mode of a multi-point distance metering device is forcibly switched to a multi-point distance metering mode, and when a second remote control signal receiver is selected, that is, when the remote controller is to be used as the cable release, the forced switching is not done.

Distance metering device of a camera

A remote control apparatus for an auto-focus camera according to the present invention has a transmitter for transmitting a light signal for remote control, and a light receiver producing a pair of output signals reciprocally varying in conformity with a light receiving position on a light receiving surface thereof which is in a distance measurement range in a photographing picture plane. When the light receiver receives the light signal for remote control transmitted from the transmitter, a control signal for starting a photographing operation is produced on the basis of the sum of the pair of output signals. The output signals are also used for the production of a light receiving position signal for range finding.

Remote control apparatus for an auto-focus camera

In a camera system including an electronic flash apparatus, a main capacitor of the flash apparatus is charged for a predetermined time interval, in response to a preparatory operation such as a first stroke of a release button. During this time interval, operation of an automatic distance measuring device, an automatic exposure controlling device and an object luminance discriminating circuit is prevented. A warning device warns a photographer that the main capacitor is insufficiently charged. Several voltage detectors detect different voltage levels of the main capacitor and produce detection signals for inhibiting the operation of the warning device and/or preventing further charging of the main capacitor.

Electronic flash apparatus for cameras

A lens shutter camera comprises a mode signal output device for outputting either a first flash mode signal or a second flash mode signal, a shutter driving device for effecting the opening movement of the lens shutter slowly and effecting the closing movement of the lens shutter quickly when the first flash mode signal is being outputted, and for effecting both of the opening and closing movements of the lens shutter slowly when the second flash mode signal is being outputted, and a flash start signal output device for outputting a flash start signal during the opening movement of the lens shutter when the first flash mode signal is being outputted, and for outputting the flash start signal during the closing movement of the lens shutter when the second flash mode signal is being outputted.

Flash taking lens shutter camera

A distance-measuring apparatus comprises a first detecting device for detecting a distance to a central portion of an object field corresponding to a photographing frame and generating data corresponding to a detected distance, a second detecting device for detecting distances to a plurality of peripheral portions of the object field except for the central portion and generating data corresponding to detected distances, and an operating device for operating the first and second detecting devices. The oeprating device has a first operation step of operating the first detecting device and a second operation step of operating the second detecting device. The first step is executed to determine the detected distance to the central portion. The execution of the second step depends on the determination result and may produce an average peripheral distance output or a shortest peripheral distance output for driving a phototaking lens. Depending upon the determination result, a central distance output may instead by produced.

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Zama, Japan

Toru Kosaka