Photography – Disposable or recyclable camera
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-26
2001-03-06
Mathews, Alan A. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Disposable or recyclable camera
C396S052000, C396S155000, C396S263000, C396S502000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06198880
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lens-fitted film unit, and more particularly, to a lens-fitted film unit which makes it possible to photograph under an appropriate exposure.
Lens-fitted film units which are relatively inexpensive are available on the market, which makes it possible to enjoy photographing at ease without using an expensive camera. A user purchases a lens-fitted film unit with a built-in film, and carries it into a certain photofinisher after photographing for a prescribed number of exposures.
In the photofinisher, a film is separated from a camera main body of the lens-fitted film unit thus carried in, then, a first cycle print is made from the film in general, and a negative film and a photograph representing the print are returned to the user. On the other hand, the camera main body is collected to a prescribed factory for recycling.
Incidentally, in the case of this lens-fitted film unit under the condition of recycling, it is necessary to keep its cost low, and a camera of this kind is provided with only required and minimum functions. Therefore, even under the photographing conditions which are not problematic for ordinary cameras, troubles are sometimes caused. An example of these troubles is shown below.
For example, since an ordinary lens-fitted film unit is not equipped with a photometry means, even in the case of a lens-fitted film unit with an electronic flash unit, a photographer must decide whether to use the electronic flash unit or not. Accordingly, in a lens-fitted film unit of this type, there is provided a manual operation switch with which an electronic flash unit is caused to emit light. However, this switch is designed to be turned on and turned off by the movement of a sliding member, for example, and once the sliding member is slid to the ON side, an electronic flash circuit continues charging a capacitor unless the sliding member is returned to the OFF side. When a photographer forgets to turn off the electronic flash switch, wasteful charging is continued, resulting in a problem that electronic flash photographing is impossible because of a battery which is dead when it is used for actual photographing. Since it is impossible for a photographer to replace a battery in the case of an ordinary lens-fitted film unit, the problem mentioned above is extremely serious.
Further, since a photographer often does not feel the gloom, due to a characteristic of human eyes, even when luminance of field is lowered to a certain extent, the photographer believes that photographing can be conducted sufficiently even under the state of low luminance like that under a fluorescent lamp for interior illumination, and photographs without using electronic flash emission. In that case, there is caused a problem of the so-called under exposure, and necessary image quality can not be obtained.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of problems in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a lens-fitted film unit capable of photographing under an appropriate exposure.
To attain the object stated above, a lens-fitted film unit of the invention is represented by a lens-fitted film unit having therein a capacitor storing electric charges necessary for electronic flash emission and a start-charge switch which causes, when it is in continuity, the capacitor to start charging, wherein the start-charge switch is equipped with a touch sensor provided on the portion which is touched by a finger of the photographer when the photographer holds the lens-fitted film unit for the ready, and the start-charge switch is turned on when a finger of the photographer touches the touch sensor.
A lens-fitted film unit of the invention is characterized in that an electronic flash unit which emits light constantly responding to shutter release independently of luminance of field, and a control means which controls, in at least two steps, an amount of emission of the electronic flash unit are provided in the lens-fitted film unit.
Since the lens-fitted film unit of the invention is equipped with a touch sensor provided on the portion which is touched by a finger of a photographer when the photographer holds the lens-fitted film unit for the ready, and the start-charge switch is turned on when a finger of the photographer touches the touch sensor, charging for an electronic flash can be started when the photographer just holds the lens-fitted film unit for the ready for releasing the shutter, and thereby the electronic flash unit flashes responding to shutter releasing even when the photographer does not intend to make the electronic flash unit to emit light, which prevents under exposure and offers easy operation.
If the photographer unhands the lens-fitted film unit, charging for an electronic flash is automatically stopped. Therefore, there will be caused no problem that a switch of the electronic flash unit fails to be turned off, and a battery is made to be dead.
Since the lens-fitted film unit of the invention is equipped with an electronic flash unit which is constantly ready to flash in response to shutter releasing regardless of a level of luminance of the field to be photographed, it is possible to prevent under exposure, and it is further possible to prevent over exposure by controlling an amount of emission when luminance of a field to be photographed is high, because of the control means provided which controls an amount of emission of the electronic flash unit at least in two steps.
Another example of the invention is represented by a lens-fitted film unit equipped with an electronic flash unit, wherein there is provided a photographing condition setting means which sets the electronic flash unit to be ready for flashing, and switches plural aperture steps responding to movement of the lens-fitted film unit to the state of photographing.
In this example, when a photographer uses this lens-fitted film unit for photographing, the photographing condition setting means sets the electronic flash unit to be ready for flashing to flash in concert with operation of a shutter release button, and it switches plural aperture steps in accordance with a level of luminance in photographing. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an excellent photograph constantly, independently of a bright scene and a gloomy scene.
Further, another example of the invention is represented by a lens-fitted film unit equipped with an electronic flash unit, wherein there is provided a photographing condition setting means which is composed of a cover body which covers one of at least a viewfinder and a shutter release button of the lens-fitted film unit in non-photographing time, and exposes the viewfinder and shutter release button responding to the sliding operation for movement to the state of photographing, and a preparation mechanism for start of photographing which conducts operations to turn on or turn off the charging of the electronic flash unit responding to the sliding operations for the cover body and conducts operations to switch between an aperture for brightness and an aperture for gloom.
In this example, when there is conducted an operation to slide the cover body toward the position for the aforesaid aperture for brightness and for the turning on of charging of the electronic flash unit or toward the position for the aperture for gloom and for the turning on of charging of the electronic flash unit, in the course of photographing, the preparation mechanism for start of photographing conducts operations to turn on or turn off charging of the electronic flash unit, and operations to switch between the aperture for brightness and aperture for gloom. Therefore, by only operations to slide the cover body, the electronic flash unit is set to be ready for emission to flash with an operation of the shutter release button, and an aperture is set to an aperture for brightness or an aperture for gloom depending on a level of brightness in photographing, Therefore, it is possible to obtain an excellent photograph constantly, independently of a bright scene and a
Hosaka Takao
Masuda Takuro
Yamaguchi Hiroshi
Yogata Kozue
Bierman Jordan B.
Bierman, Muserlian and Lucas
Konica Corporation
Mathews Alan A.
LandOfFree
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