Nikon Corporation

Yuji Katano

Hiroshi Wakabayashi

Hidenori Miyamoto

Daiki Tsukahara

Kiyosada Machida

Kazuyuki Kazami

Noboru Akami

Toshiyuki Nakamura

Minoru Kato

Noriyasu Kotani

Tadao Takagi

Akira Katayama

Junichi Omi

Koichi Daitoku

Shigeyuki Uchiyama

Toshimi Watanabe

Shigemasa Sato

Hiroshi Terunuma

Daisuke Saya

Hidenobu Kaji

Seijiro Noda

Daiki Tsukakara

Mitsuru Higuchi

A display apparatus in a camera for displaying photographic information using rotating elements. The display apparatus includes rotating pointers which rotate about display scales to display the photographic information. The display apparatus further includes a control unit which receives camera control information and in response to the control information, the control unit controls driving circuitry which causes the rotating display pointer to point to an index on the display scale representing the photographic information.

Camera display apparatus having rotating elements to indicate information

An interchangeable lens camera including a lens barrel and a camera body. The lens barrel is attached to the camera body via a body side mount and a lens side mount. The lens barrel mounting mechanism, including the body side mount and the lens side mount, is capable of moving along the optical axis of the camera so as to move from a position where the lens barrel is completely collapsed within the camera body to a position where the lens barrel is fully extended for zoom photography. The shortest state of the camera is when the lens barrel is detached from the camera. The lens barrel includes a set tube that is movable along the optical axis, lens units for focusing light onto a film in the camera body, and lens protection elements that open or close depending upon the state of the lens barrel, i.e., detached or attached, collapsed or extended. The camera body includes a control circuit that controls the movement of the lens barrel based upon the state of several switches, some of which are located in the lens barrel.

Interchangeable lens camera having movable lens barrel

A shake-proof camera comprises a shake-correcting lens portion for correcting a shake by changing an optical axis of a photographic optical system and a moving lens portion disposed in the vicinity of the shake-correcting lens portion and arranged as movable in a direction of the optical axis, and further is provided with a shake-correcting lens lock apparatus for locking the shake-correcting lens portion by bringing the moving lens portion into contact with the shake-correcting lens portion.

Shake-proof camera

A camera for use with interchangeable lens barrels that can be attached to and detached from the camera body has a drive mechanism that provides the generating source for the drive power of drive elements inside each lens barrel built into the camera body. The connecting structure that provides a connection between the camera body and lens barrels varies according to the type of lens barrel, for example, whether the lens barrel contains a fixed focal length lens or a variable focal length lens. So, the functions realized by the drive of the drive elements from the drive mechanism vary according to the type of lens barrel.

Interchangeable lens camera and interchangeable lens barrels with

An indicator device comprises an indicator rotatively driven by an electrical driving source, such as a stepping motor or the like, a plurality of indexes indicated by the indicator to indicate various photographing information, and changing mechanism for changing indicating positions of the indicator. The changing mechanism includes an operating member operated in order to start a rotation of the indicator, an operating member for commanding a rotational direction of said indicator, and driving control mechanism for controlling a rotation of the indicator in accordance with operation of the operating members.

Indicator device for camera

A camera with a vibration correction function provided with a continuous shot mode for carrying out continuous photographing, has a vibration detecting device for detecting vibration of the camer, a vibration correcting device for correcting the vibration of the camera at the time of photographing based on a signal from the vibration detecting device, a film feeding device for feeding a photographic film loaded in the camera, a film end detecting device for detecting an end of the photographic film, and a control device for stopping the operation of the vibration detecting device and making the film feeding device start rewinding the photographic film when receiving a film end detection signal from the film end detecting device during photographing under the continuous shot mode.

Camera with vibration correction function

A camera including a mount portion onto which a lens barrel housing a lens is mounted as movable in a direction of an optical axis thereof, a moving mechanism for moving the lens barrel in the direction of the optical axis, a limiter for setting a limit of movement of the lens barrel moved by the moving mechanism while the lens barrel is mounted on the mount portion, and a limit remover for removing the limit of movement set by the limiter when the lens barrel is dismounted from the mount portion. The camera further includes a signal transmission apparatus in which the lens barrel is mounted as movable in the direction of the optical axis thereon on the camera body. The signal transmission apparatus includes a light emitting element located on either one of the lens barrel and the camera body, and a light receiving element located on the other one of the lens barrel and the camera body, for receiving light from the light emitting element. The light emitting element and the light receiving element perform signal transmission between a lens controller in the lens barrel and a camera controller in the camera body.

Camera with an interchangeable retractable lens barrel

A camera having a cartridge compartment therein loaded with a film cartridge having a spool shaft projecting from an upper portion of the film cartridge. A switch is located in a space formed by an upper surface of the film cartridge, a side surface of the projecting portion of the spool shaft and an internal wall of the cartridge compartment. An operating member contacts the switch to operate the switch. The operating member partially projects from the camera back surface and is partially inserted into and operatively positioned in the space. The operating member is conveniently placed at a position on the camera surface for easy operation. Therefore, the switch is easily and conveniently operated and effective utilization of the internal space of the camera is employed to obtain a smaller size camera.

Camera effectively utilizing internal space for decreasing size

A camera with a built-in flash light unit has a light shielding barrel of truncated cone shape and a stepped film cartridge chamber. The light shielding barrel is disposed to shield an optical path between a photographic lens at a front of the camera and a film plane at a rear of the camera, the smaller end of the truncated cone residing at the photographic lens. The cartridge chamber is provided at one side of the light shielding barrel and encloses a film cartridge having a cylinder for including a film wound therein and a feed step tangentially projecting out from a circumference of the cylinder for film feed therefrom. The cartridge chamber has a predetermined rear-to-front dimension and comprises a first room defined by a curved wall shaped to fit the cylinder and a second room connected to the first room and defined by a wall shaped to fit the feed step. The light shielding barrel and both of the cartridge chamber walls define a space between the cartridge chamber and the light shielding barrel. A power source condenser, that provides power to the flash light unit, and a film feed transmission member are disposed in the space between the cartridge chamber and the light shielding barrel within a rear-to-front dimension of the space that is within the predetermined rear-to-front dimension of the cartridge chamber.

Camera with light shielding barrel and stepped film chamber defining

A compact camera apparatus having an improved display device and circuit mounting board layout within the camera body in relationship to other components to achieve a more compact and efficient space camera utilization. In one embodiment of the camera, a display unit is located on the upper surface of the camera body, and has a portion thereof, such as its drive mechanism at least partially positioned in a space formed between a light projection unit and light receiving of the camera's rangefinder device. In another embodiment, the camera has a mounting board of the required size for holding constituent control circuit components of the camera located in the camera body with attention to the location of the board in relationship to the cartridge compartment and other camera components to provide for a more compact design. A rigid mounting board is used as the mounting board and is located and incorporated within the camera body at the upper, inside portion of the camera body, in contact with the upper end of a reverse loading type cartridge compartment, and extending over a photographic lens barrel and to the upper side of a spool compartment. At least one or more camera components is arranged in a vacant space formed between the mounting board, the photographic lens barrel and the spool compartment. Furthermore, with the rangefinder device and a photometer device both mounted on the mounting board, a portion of the viewfinder unit is located on the lower side of the mounting board.

Compact camera with improved display device and mounting board layout

This camera includes a viewfinder and a device (4) for detecting the visual line of a photographer looking through the viewfinder, an operation member (1), (8) such as a release button which is operated by the photographer to take a photograph, a means (2) for inputting calibration information, and a means for performing photography (5), (6), (7). The calibration information input means (2) operates in response to the operation of the operation member (1), (8), and inputs and stores calibration information when the photographer fixates on a target mark (3, b) visible within the viewfinder, based upon the visual line detected at that time by the visual line detection means (4). The object intended by the photographer to be photographed is detected and photographs it, based upon the visual line detected by the visual line detection means (4) and the stored calibration information.

Camera having visual line detecting device and method of photography

A camera which switches between illuminating an external display and illuminating an internal display based on a specific photographic event, such as the pressing of the release button. The camera includes a first display, a first display illumination device which illuminates the first display, a second display, a second display illumination device which illuminates the second display, a control mechanism for controlling the first display illumination device and the second display illumination device so that the first display illumination device is not illuminating the first display when the second display illumination device is illuminating the second display and so that the second display illumination device is not illuminating the second display when the first display illumination device is illuminating the first display.

Camera display illumination device which switchably illuminates displays

A camera having components of a viewing optical system and a display optical system fixed at positions which do not require change for photographic lenses having different angles of view. The viewing optical system allows a photographer to view a subject through a photographic lens. The viewing optical system includes an eye piece and an objective lens positioned between the eye piece and the photographic lens. The display optical system includes a framework which displays information. The display optical system allows the photographer to view the information displayed on the framework through the eyepiece. The respective positions of the eye piece, the objective lens and the framework are fixed and do not require change to allow the camera to be useable with different photographic lenses having different, respectively corresponding angles of view.

Camera viewfinder with uniform component positioning regardless of angle

A display apparatus in a camera for displaying photographic information using rotating elements. The display apparatus includes a rotating setting dial to rotatively set photographic information, and a display unit including pointers and pointer scales to display the photographic information set by the rotating setting dial. The pointer rotates about a fixed pointer scale in order to indicate photographic information on the pointer scale as set by the rotating setting dial. The display apparatus further includes a detector to detect a direction of rotation of the rotating setting dial, a drive unit to rotate the pointer, and a control unit to control the drive unit to rotate the pointer in the same direction as the direction of the rotating setting dial detected by the detector. In addition, the display unit may include at least one pointer which is controlled by a stepping motor to rotate the pointer in only one direction, regardless of the direction of rotation of the rotating setting dial.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Yuji Katano