Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Toshio Yamaki

Nobuyuki Taniguchi

Masaaki Nakai

Akihiko Fujino

Hiromu Mukai

Shuji Izumi

Dai Shintani

Takeo Hoda

Yoshihiro Tanaka

Manabu Inoue

Kozo Yamazaki

Toshihiko Ishimura

Sadafusa Tsuji

Reiji Seki

Mitsutaka Nakamura

Munekazu Hirata

Takashi Fujimoto

Etsuko Nakai

Atsushi Sumitani

Hiroshi Ootsuka

Junichi Tanii

Yoshito Tanaka

Kenji Tsuji

Minoru Sekida

Akira Fujii

Yukio Miki

Kiyoshi Seigenji

Takahisa Shimada

Hiroshi Kiten

Shuzo Matsushita

Akira Kataoka

Atsushi Kuwada

A sheet container, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes a container body having a loading face to load a sheet thereon, an extension unit disposed extendable in a sheet feeding direction with respect to the container body to extend the loading face, a length regulator disposed movable in the sheet feeding direction with respect to the extension unit to regulate a sheet trailing end position in the sheet feeding direction, and a sheet size indicator having a strip-shape provided on the container body along with a moving direction of the extension unit as a reference of a position of the length regulator, having at least one sheet size mark to indicate a size of the sheet, and being variable in length in a longitudinal direction with respect to the container body along with movement of the extension unit.

Sheet container and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A sheet feed tray to stack a sheet to be conveyed to an image forming apparatus includes a platen on which a first portion of the sheet is placed; a pair of first support portions to support a second portion of the sheet folded back upward at a trailing end of the first portion; and a pair of second support portions to support a third portion of the sheet folded back upward at a trailing end of the second portion. In the sheet feed tray, the first support portions and the second support portions are reciprocally movable toward each other, and a distance between the second support portions is wider than a distance between the first support portions.

Sheet feed tray, sheet feed device, and image forming apparatus

An exposure control device for a camera comprising; first means for measuring light from a central area of an object field, said first measuring means including a plurality of means for receiving light from different portions within the central area, respectively; second means for measuring light from a surrounding area other than the central area, the surrounding area being greater than each portion within the central area; means for selecting between a first exposure control mode and a second exposure control mode; and means for controlling exposure in accordance with one of said plurality of receiving means in said first exposure control mode, and in accordance with all of said plurality of receiving means and said second measuring means in said second exposure control mode.

Exposure control device for a camera

An imaging apparatus of an electronic camera according to the present invention has a lens barrier arranged on an object side of a photographing lens; an imaging device capable of changing electric charge storage time; a lens barrier state-detecting means for outputting a signal indicating an opening state of the lens barrier after detecting the opening state of the lens barrier; a release switch for starting a photographing operation; an imaging device control means for starting electric charge storage of the device when the signal of the opening state of the lens barrier is outputted from the detecting means and for outputting a charge termination signal when the charge is terminated; and a lens barrier opening and closing driving means for driving the lens barrier to open on the basis of a turning-on signal of the release switch and for driving the lens barrier to close on the basis of the charge termination signal outputted from the control means. In this apparatus, by driving the driving means, the lens barrier is opened only during a photographing period, while the lens barrier is closed during a non-photographing period to prevent the device from being exposed to strong outside light.

Camera having a lens barrier which is opened only during photographing

A still camera for recording a still image by making use of an electronic signal has a taking lens system incorporated in a camera body in such a manner that one end portion thereof is directed to an object to be photographed for making an image of the object to obtain the electronic signal; a light emitting portion of an electronic flash device incorporated in the camera body in such a manner that one end portion thereof is directed to the object for emitting a flash light toward the object; and a recording medium containing portion arranged between the light emitting portion and taking lens system.

An arrangement of a recording medium in a still camera

A pseudo format camera system comprises a film cartridge including a memory which stores film speed data and limitation data, and a camera including a means for setting pseudo focal length, a means for inputting the film speed data and the limitation data from the memory, a means for controlling exposure based on the film speed data, and a means for limiting the pseudo focal length depending on the limitation data. In this camera system, the pseudo focal length can be limited based on the limitation data stored in the memory in the film cartridge, and therefore it is surely prevented that a picture becomes rough because of a bad grainness of a film.

Pseudo format camera system

A lens retracting apparatus for a photo-taking device which comprises an interchangeable photo-taking lens, a main switch selectively switchable between an ON position for enabling an operation of the photo-taking device and an OFF position for inhibiting the operation of the camera, a focus detecting unit, a drive unit for selectively retracting and extending a focusing lens of the photo-taking lens toward an in-focus position on the basis of a result of focus detection carried out by the focus detecting unit, a discriminating unit for determining whether or not the photo-taking lens is retracted to a predetermined position, and a control means for driving the drive unit to retract the photo-taking lens only by switching off the main switch and also for stopping the drive unit when a condition in which the photo-taking lens is retracted to the predetermined position is determined by the discriminating unit.

Apparatus for retracting a photo-taking lens

A film cartridge comprises a chamber in which a film is contained and a semiconductor memory such as nonvolatile memory, e.g., E.sup.2 PROM having a plurality of memory areas for storing various kinds of photographing data of each photography. In this semiconductor memory, photographing data are stored in different areas at each photographing and therefore the preceding photographing data stored in the memory are not deleted by this time photographing and photographing data of a desired film frame are accessible. Data used at a photo processing shop and a photofinishing laboratory can be also stored in the memory of the film cartridge.

Film cartridge

An exposure control device for a camera comprising;

A still camera for recording an object image by making use of an electronic signal such as a still video camera is so constructed that a recording medium is positioned nearly in parallel with an optical axis of a taking lens system and also in the lateral direction to the taking lens system. Therefore, the camera body thereof can be formed in a flat shape, and additionally a red-eye phenomenon can be prevented from occurring by arranging a light emitting portion of an electronic flash device and the taking lens system sufficiently apart from each other.

Still video camera

An exposure control device for a camera comprising:

A multi-point photometric apparatus for use in a camera or the like operative to measure the luminance of several divided areas in an objective field. Among the luminance signals produced by the photometric circuit for the several areas, a signal from one area which is used for automatic focus adjustment is designated as a reference value, and the maximum and minimum values of luminance signals and the differences of these from the reference value are evaluated. The reference value and differences in the form of digital data and information on the film latitude are processed with a microprocessor to calculate the exposure value. The exposure value is modified to an extent that the reference remains within the film latitude.

Multi-point photometric apparatus

This invention is directed to a camera provided with an automatic focus adjusting apparatus in which, in addition to the function of carrying out an AE lock based on an in-focus detection, an AE lock can be carried out either before or after an AF operation is completed or when an AF operation is impossible. In other words, irrespective of the condition of an automatic focus adjusting means, an AE lock can be accomplished at any desired moment. Therefore, the degree of freedom in a photography operation is expanded.

Camera with an automatic focus adjusting apparatus

An exposure display device for a camera, which can display not only the density of the background to be photographed on a film but also the density of a primary object to be focused with respect to an exposure control value used for exposure control operation. In natural light photography, the brightness of the primary object area at which automatic focus detection is conducted and the brightness of divided object field areas are measured, the density distribution of the primary object area and those of the divided object field areas reproduced on the film are calculated basing on the measurement, and the results are displayed in correspondence to the exposure control value. In flash light photography, the expected brightness of the primary object area and divided object field areas are measured, and the density distribution of the primary object area and object field areas reproduced on the film are calculated and displayed in correspondence to the exposure control value.

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Osaka, Japan

Toshio Yamaki