Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Yasuaki Akada

Nobuyuki Taniguchi

Norio Ishikawa

Takeshi Egawa

Toshihiko Ishimura

Reiji Seki

Kunio Kawamura

Tokuji Ishida

Masataka Hamada

Manabu Inoue

Hiroshi Ootsuka

Masaaki Nakai

Minoru Sekida

Nori Ishikawa

A camera system with an auto-focusing system includes a camera body and an interchangeable zoom lens. The interchangeable objective lens stores various data to be sent to the camera body for improving automatic focus adjustment, such as an information necessary to convert the detected defocus information into a movement of the driving power source to carry out the automatic focus adjustment. The driving power source in the camera body is controlled in response to the data from the interchangeable objective lens and the detected focus information, the driving power being transmitted to the interchangeable objective lens. The camera body is further capable of inhibiting the focus adjustment or focus indication in response to a data from the interchangeable objective lens under an unfavorable condition.

Camera system capable of automatic focus control

A camera system with an auto-focusing system includes a camera body and an interchangeable zoom lens. The interchangeable objective lens stores various data to be sent to the camera body for improving automatic focus adjustment, such as an information necessary to convert the detected defocus information into a movement of the driving power source to carry out the automatic focus adjustment. The driving power source in the camera body is controlled in responses to the data from the interchangeable objective lens and the detected focus information, the driving power being transmitted to the interchangeable objective lens. The camera body is further capable of inhibiting the focus adjustment or focus indication in response to a data from the interchangeable objective lens under an unfavorable condition.

A photographic camera having a photographic operating device including a focus detecting circuit, a shutter control circuit, a light measuring circuit and a light emission control circuit, an adjustment data memory for storing adjustment data based on functional characteristics of the respective circuits of the photographic operating device and an adjustment circuit for adjusting the respective circuits by using adjustment data read from the adjustment data memory. The adjustment data memory is consituted by an EEPROM for making it possible to conveniently and readily rewrite the adjustment data. The adjustment data is calculated from a linear function expression established between a design value and an actual value for avoiding trial-and-error preparatory operations for the adjustment.

Photographic camera including a memory for storing adjustment data and a

A camera control system is provided having a plurality of microcomputers, each microcomputer operating in conjunction with a respective clock which generates clock pulses at a respective frequency. A first microcomputer controls a second microcomputer after the second microcomputer has stabilized after initial start up. The first microcomputer controls the overall camera operation, and the second microcomputer controls the camera display operation. When a battery is loaded into the camera, both microcomputers are reset.

Camera control system

An automatic focus adjusting apparatus for automatically adjusting a focus condition of an objective lens, the automatic focus adjusting apparatus repetitively effecting focus detection, in-focus judgement, and lens driving. If the lens cannot be regarded as being in focus as a result of a standard focus detection, then on the one hand, when the deviation from the in-focus point is small, lens driving is effected and in-focus is judged to quickly arrive at a judgement of in-focus, and on the other hand, when the deviation from the in-focus point is large, a judgment of in-focus based on the deviation from the in-focus point being small is inhibited to thereby enable the lens to be fully driven and a standard in-focus judging operation to be accomplished.

Automatic focus adjusting apparatus

An automatic focus adjusting apparatus for adjusting automatically a focus condition of an objective lens includes a CCD array for receiving light from an object and producing a accumulated charge signal representing the accumulated charge. using the accumulated charge signal it is detected whether or not the brightness of the object is above a predetermined level, and at the same time, the focusing condition of the objective lens is calculated. Using the calculated result, the focusing condition of the objective lens is adjusted in a controlled manner such that: when the brightness of the object is above the predetermined level, the objective lens moves even during the CCD array is operated to carry out the charge accumulation; but when the brightness of the object is below the predetermined level, the CCD array is operated only during when the objective lens is making no movement.

A display system for a camera which can provide an efficient display of information with a reduced entire area for display. The display system for a camera comprises first and second display means for displaying various kinds of information on the outside of a body and within a finder of the camera. Display controlling means controls the first and second display means such that information of a sensitivity of a film loaded in the camera and information regarding feeding of the film are displayed only on the outside of the camera while information of an exposure time and information of a diaphragm aperture value are displayed only within the finder of the camera.

Display system for a camera

A control device for an automatic camera is provided for controlling a number of electromechanical mechanisms in the camera. A microcomputer can control these mechanisms through output ports of a lesser number than the number of mechanisms to be controlled. A decoder can respond to this outputted data to provide appropriate control of the respective electromechanical mechanisms.

Control device for use in a camera system

An automatic focus adjusting apparatus for adjusting automatically a focus condition of an objective lens includes a CCD array for receiving light from an object and producing a accumulated charge signal representing the accumulated charge. Using the accumulated charge signal it is detected whether or not the brightness of the object is above a predetermined level, and at the same time, the focusing condition of the objective lens is calculated. Using the calculated result, the focusing condition of the objective lens is adjusted in a controlled manner such that: when the brightness of the object is above the predetermined level, the objective lens moves even during the CCD array is operated to carry out the charge accumulation; but when the brightness of the object is below the predetermined level, the CCD array is operated only during when the objective lens is making no movement.

An automatic focus adjusting apparatus for adjusting automatically a focus condition of an objective lens includes a CCD array for receiving light from an object and producing a accumulated charge signal representing the accumulated charge. Using the accumulated charge signal it is detected whether or not the brightness of the object is above a predetermined level, and at the same time, the focusing condition of the objective lens is calculated. Using the calculated result, the focusing condition of the objective lens is adjusted in a controlled manner such that: when the brighness of the object is above the predetermined level, the objective lens moves even during the CCD array is operated to carry out the charge accumulation; but when the brightness of the object is below the predetermined level, the CCD array is operated only during when the objective lens is making no movement.

A photo signal processing apparatus which comprises a light receiving unit of charge accumulation type for outputting a data corresponding to a condition of light received thereby, a data processor for applying a predetermined processing to the data outputted from the light receiving unit, an accumulation initiating device for causing the light receiving unit to initiate a charge accumulating operation, an accumulation interrupting device for interrupting the charge accumulating operation of the light receiving unit, a counter for counting a time passed during a period subsequent to the start of the charge accumulating operation of the light receiving unit and until the termination of the charge accumulating operation of the light receiving unit, and a control unit for activating the accumulation initiating device at a timing required to interrupt the charge accumulating operation of the light receiving unit at the time of termination of the data processing performed by the data processor.

Photo signal processing apparatus

A control device for use in a camera for driving two electric motors has a simple circuit arrangement in which one of three serial circuits having series connected transistors is commonly used for selectively driving the two electric motors in turns. In addition, for driving electromagnets and motors, the control device includes a CPU for generating m bits control data and a decoder driver IC for decoding the n bits control data into a m bit signals which selectively drive the electromagnets and the motors, wherein n is smaller than m, so that the number of control signal lines needed for the transmission of the control data from the CPU to the decoder driver IC can be reduced.

Motor control device for use in a camera system

An automatic focus control camera is provided having a lens driven by a motor. The lens can be driven to an in-focus position during an actual film exposure operation if the exposure time is relatively fast enough with regard to the movement of the lens. Alternatively, the lens can be stopped immediately preceding the actual film exposure operation depending upon the measured exposure parameters.

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Sakai, Japan

Yasuaki Akada