Photography – Disposable or recyclable camera
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-10
2001-01-16
Lee, Eddie C. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Disposable or recyclable camera
C396S205000, C396S543000, C396S176000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06175690
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cameras with integral flash units (“flash cameras”) are well known in the art. A typical flash camera includes an electronic flash unit that comprises a flash charging circuit, a flash tube and a battery for powering the flash charging circuit. Single use flash cameras are also known in the art. A single use camera is one that has been pre-loaded with film and sold to the consumer with the intent of being used only a single time (i.e., with only the roll of pre-loaded film) by the end user. See, for example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,414 (“the '414 patent”), the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. A single use flash camera manufactured by the assignee hereof under the designation “SL-60” has an integral flash unit and a slidable flash on-off switch. In many flash cameras, such as the SL-60, and other cameras of like type, the flash charging circuit continues to operate as long as the on-off switch is in the “on” position. If, after taking a flash exposure, the user forgets to place the switch in the “off” position, the battery may be unnecessarily drained. The user may be unaware that the flash was not turned off because the physical position of the slide switch i.e., in the “on” position, may not be obvious to the user. A light source such as a neon bulb or LED may be provided to indicate that the flash unit is on, but a light source may escape the user's attention and further drain the power source. Some cameras have an automatic flash circuit cutoff, but this additional circuitry adds to the expense of the camera.
It is therefore desirable to provide a means that both provides an obvious, physical indication to the user that the flash unit is on, and automatically moves the switch to the “off” position when the indication is bumped or the camera is placed on a surface, such as a table top, and which is simple and inexpensive to implement. The present invention achieves these goals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a flash camera, such as, but not limited to, a single use flash camera, has a flash on-off switch that is mechanically coupled to an arm via an actuator. When the on-off switch is moved from the “off” position to the “on” position, the arm is moved by the actuator to an extended position, out of and away from the camera body, against the bias provided by a spring. In this position, the arm is obvious to a user and also creates a projection that will likely be touched or bumped if the user attempts to place the camera, while in this condition, in a pocket of clothing, in a purse, or the like. The actuator cooperates with the spring and the arm to cause the arm to automatically retract into the camera body in response to a minor amount of force being applied to the extended arm, such as a force resulting from bumping the arm against one's clothing or another object. Due to the coupling of the arm and actuator to the on-off switch, this retraction causes the switch to move to the “off” position, thus disabling the flash charging circuit. The arm can be situated so that, when extended, it protrudes from the bottom of the camera and will come into contact with a surface, such as a table top, on which the camera might be placed in an upright condition. In addition, when the switch is moved to the “off” position, the flash charging circuit is disabled and the arm retracts from the extended position to the retracted position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1564207 (1925-12-01), Cloud
patent: 1770241 (1930-07-01), Patrick
patent: 1840849 (1932-01-01), Rollman
patent: 1901385 (1933-03-01), Warner et al.
patent: 3296949 (1967-01-01), Bounds
patent: 3943313 (1976-03-01), Carboni
patent: 3990166 (1976-11-01), Nagelkirk
patent: 4085414 (1978-04-01), Burgarella et al.
patent: 4112447 (1978-09-01), Iwata
patent: 4166680 (1979-09-01), Maitani
patent: 4189222 (1980-02-01), Maitani
patent: 4231645 (1980-11-01), Davis et al.
patent: 4239361 (1980-12-01), Harvey
patent: 4239363 (1980-12-01), Sato
patent: 4261658 (1981-04-01), Uchiyama et al.
patent: 4295719 (1981-10-01), Lange
patent: 4348087 (1982-09-01), Ellin et al.
patent: 4460256 (1984-07-01), Araki et al.
patent: 4502768 (1985-03-01), Tsuji et al.
patent: 4511233 (1985-04-01), Kazami et al.
patent: 4522479 (1985-06-01), Yamada et al.
patent: 4525046 (1985-06-01), Takaoka et al.
patent: 4592635 (1986-06-01), Vaughn
patent: 4595268 (1986-06-01), Tsuboi
patent: 5598237 (1997-01-01), McIntyre et al.
patent: 5602458 (1997-02-01), Dowe
patent: 5860033 (1999-01-01), Stanchus et al.
patent: 5862414 (1999-01-01), Zawodny et al.
Chung Franco Yik Kai
Zawodny Arthur
Concord Camera Corp.
Lee Eddie C.
Woodcock Washburn Kurtz Mackiewicz & Norris LLP
LandOfFree
Flash camera with extendable arm for disabling the flash unit does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Flash camera with extendable arm for disabling the flash unit, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Flash camera with extendable arm for disabling the flash unit will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2437975