Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Yukio Miki

Takeshi Egawa

Hideo Kajita

Fumio Yoshida

Mamoru Katsuragi

Norio Ishikawa

Nobuharu Murashima

Masayasu Hirano

Hidehiko Fujii

Makoto Ando

Toshihiko Taniguchi

Takeshi Matsumoto

Tetsuro Ohya

Tae Iida

Dai Shintani

Hiroshi Hosomizu

Toshio Yamaki

Keiji Yamazaki

Masayuki Nakasa

Akira Yoshizaki

Tatsuro Izumi

Katsuhito Akagi

Yoshihisa Hayashi

A mounting device on a camera has a mounting member to fit with an accessory so as to mount the accessory on the camera by sliding it. The mounting member which is molded out of plastic in one piece has eaves-like portions overhanging from an upper portion thereof in opposite directions intersecting perpendicularly to a mounting direction of the accessory, thus having a generally T-shaped cross section. The mounting member has a groove running in the mounting direction at a top central portion for receiving a projecting portion of the accessory so as to determine a horizontal (lateral) position of the accessory relative to the camera. The eaves-like portions receive mating members of the accessory thereunder so as to determine a vertical position of the accessory relative to the camera. The groove is narrower at the front end than at the back end where an insertion opening for the accessory mounting is provided, where the projecting portion of the accessory is similarly narrower at the front end from which the accessory is inserted into the groove.

Mounting devices for removably mounting an accessory on a camera

An IC card suitably adapted to a camera as a small size device and a camera to which such IC card can be mounted appropriately. The IC card is formed as a rectangular plate of a size of about 20 mm.times.30 mm to 40 mm.times.60 mm so that it may be mounted on a camera. Contents of the IC card are or can be indicated on a front surface of the IC card. A plurality of connecting terminals for electric connection to a camera are disposed in a row on a rear surface along an edge of the IC card. A camera for use with such IC card has an IC card accommodating means provided thereon. Where the camera is a single lens reflex camera, the means may be located sidewardly of a pentagonal roof prism accommodating section on the top of the camera and include a lid member for opening or closing a card accommodating section thereof. The means may be located otherwise on the bottom or a rear lid of the camera and include a member mounted for movement between a position accommodated in the camera and another position projecting from the camera.

IC card and camera for use therewith

A camera system wherein a card accommodating device can be mounted on a body of a camera without increasing the overall size of the camera body and without deteriorating the appearance and convenience in use of the camera. The card accommodating device is mounted on the camera body for pivotal motion from and to a position at which it is fitted in a recessed spacing formed rearwardly of a battery accommodating chamber and sidewardly of a take-up spool chamber of the camera body. The card accommodating device at the position forms part of a side wall of the camera body. The card accommodating device comprises an outer lid unit for removably accommodating an IC card therein, and an inner lid unit mounted for movement and releasably arrested on the outer lid unit and having switch elements and electric signal transmitting contacts located thereon.

Camera with card accommodating device

A photographic camera having a manual focusing mechanism, an automatic focusing mechanism for automatically moving a lens with a drive device and a clutch disposed between the drive device and the lens. The clutch is normally urged towards a state of engagement by an urging element. Also, the clutch may be maintained at its disengaged position against the urging force of the urging element by a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is operatively connected with the drive device so as to be automatically released by a drive operation of the drive device.

Photographic camera

A drive coupling device for transmitting a rotational drive force from an optical instrument such as a camera body to another optical instrument such as an exchangeable lens has a construction which couples driving and driven coupling members steadily while centerizing the center axes of the driving and driven coupling members for efficient drive force transmission. A flat male engaging portion having a top surface and parallel side walls is formed on the driving coupling member while a slotted female engaging portion having a concave bottom wall and parallel side walls is formed on the driven coupling member. With the optical instruments connected to each other, the male engaging portion is brought into engagement with the female engaging portion under a force of a spring.

Drive coupling device for optical instruments

An illuminating angle adjusting apparatus for an electronic flash device is capable of adjusting the illuminating angle of the electronic flash device in response to drive of a motor smoothly and accurately by a combination of a guide groove and a guide rail provided almost in the same vertical position as a rack gear of a zooming frame and an output gear of a transmission mechanism engaged with one another. A driving force produced by the motor is transmitted to the zooming frame through the engagement of the output gear and the rack gear to move the zooming frame relative to a light emitting portion of the electronic flash device with the same being guided by the guide groove and the guide rail. The movement of the zooming frame causes the change in the illuminating angle of the electronic flash device as it carries a lens at a front portion thereof.

Illuminating angle adjusting apparatus for an electronic flash device

An optical unit for use with interchangeable lenses is provided with a mounting and demounting device which includes a mount positioning member, a lock member for locking the mount positioning member at a retracted position, and a mount releasing member for retracting the mount positioning member to the non-projected position. The mount positioning member is urged to project and engageable with a positioning recess of an interchangeable lens. The locking member is provided with a detection means which causes the locking member to release the mount positioning member by detecting completion of mounting of an interchangeable lens on the optical unit.

Mounting and demounting device of optical unit

A film information reading device of a camera adapted for use with a film cartridge having on an outer periphery film information pattern consisting of a combination of a plurality of conductive or insulated code areas, including a chamber wall for defining a film loading chamber, and a plurality of electrical contact members which are in contact with the code areas on the film cartridge, when the film cartridge is loaded into the camera. The film information, such as film sensitive speed, can be read out by detecting whether the contact members are in contact with the conductive or insulative code areas. The chamber wall (11c, 11d, 21) has an opening (21a) opened toward the inside the film chamber (12). A base member (22) is slidably fitted within the opening (21a) so as to be slidingly movable between a projected position and a retracted position. The base member (22) has a plurality of holes (22a) extending in a sliding direction of the same, into which the contact members (23) are slidably fitted so as to be slidingly movable between their projected and retracted positions. The base member (22) and the respective contact members (23) are urged by springs (24) toward their inwardly projected position, so that the contact members (23) are in contact with the respective corresponding code areas provided on the film cartridge (1), when the latter is loaded in the chamber (12).

Film information reading device of a camera

The disclosure is directed to an improved optical unit provided with a driving shaft which is arranged to be displaced in an axial direction for connection with a driven shaft of a mating instrument, following attachment or detachment with respect to the mating instrument. In the optical unit, safety of the mounting surface of the mating instrument and safety of the connecting end portion of the driving shaft have been ensured by providing a difference between the amount of displacement of a position restricting member advancing into a mounting position restricting recess provided in a mounting surface of the mating instrument, and the amount of displacement of the driving shaft to be connected to an end to be clutched of a driven shaft which is borne or journalled in a hole formed in the mounting portion of the mating instrument.

Optical unit

A focus adjusting device for a camera having a varifocal optical system includes a pivotal member having a focusing guiding slot. The pivotal member is movable about a fixed pivot on the camera body. A guide pin fits in the guiding slot of the pivotal member and zoom information transmitting means are provided for moving the guide pin in accordance with the focal length of a zoom lens unit to vary the distance from the pivot to the pin. Focusing means are included for varying the position of the pivotal member according to a set subject distance along with focus coupling means for moving a focus lens unit in corresponding relation to the position of the guide pin with respect to the direction of the optical axis. The device, which is compact, compensates for differences in the focusing position of the focus lens unit due to variations in the focal length.

Focus adjusting device for camera having varifocal optical system

As improved mounting device for an optical unit consists of two optical components, one of which is mounted on the other, or else demounted therefrom, by relative rotation of the two with sliding contact of mating seating and mounting faces thereof, wherein in the seating face of the one optical component is formed a positioning recess which is engaged by a positioning member of the other optical component. The positioning member is constantly urged to project beyond the associated mounting face when the other optical component is properly mounted on the one optical component. Along a circular path on the seating face adjacent to the positioning recess is provided an accommodation groove which accommodates the positioning member when the one optical component is turned relative to the other optical component.

Mounting device of optical unit

An automatic focusing camera which can drive an objective lens to a focus position includes a sensor arrangement that is capable of determining when the focusing lens is physically held or is being driven beyond its operative range. The direction of movement can be stored in memory when the motor is de-energized and a comparison can be made with a new focusing signal on a different object to reactivate the focusing system. Additionally, any friction binding of the gear train can be automatically released by a reverse driving of the motor upon determining of a jam condition.

Protective device for automatic focusing camera

A driving force transmitting arrangement in an interchangeable optical type optical unit in an optical system including a driving shaft and a driven shaft respectively provided in one part and the other part of the optical instrument which are engageable with or disengageable from each other so that the driving shaft and the driven shaft are connected with or disconnected from each other following the engagement or disengagement between the one part and the other part of the optical instrument. The driving force transmitting arrangement includes a motor for rotating the driving shaft for focusing of the optical system interchangeable optical instrument, and a circuit having a controller of the motor, and a switch to be closed according to connection between the driving shaft and driven shaft. The one part of the optical instrument may be a photographic camera, while its other part may be an interchangeable lens barrel for the camera, and the interchangeable lens barrel is provided with a focusing operation mechanism for the optical system.

Automatic system and interchangeable optical instrument therefor

An auto-focus control camera includes an arrangement for measuring distance to a subject to be photographed, a calculator for calculating the degree of out of focus and an actuator for actuating a motor that shifts camera picture taking lens to a proper focus position according to the calculated result. The auto-focus control camera further includes a detector for detecting a time it takes for the arrangement of distance measuring and calculator to complete its operation. If the detected time is within a predetermined time period, the actuator is made operative to complete the photographing operation with auto-focusing, and if the detected time is longer than the predetermined time period, the photographing operation is carried out without auto-focusing.

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Sakai, Japan

Yukio Miki