Photography – With object illumination for exposure – Having flash built into camera
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-16
2001-07-10
Gray, David M. (Department: 2851)
Photography
With object illumination for exposure
Having flash built into camera
C396S333000, C396S429000, C348S064000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259863
ABSTRACT:
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. H11-173272 filed in Japan on Jun. 18, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera having functions of both an electronic camera having electronic image pickup devices for transforming an image of subject into electrical signals, and a silver halide camera for taking an image of a subject into a silver halide film.
2. Related Art
A silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera allows a photographer to confirm an image of subject exposed on a silver halide film and to determine whether or not the image exposed on the silver halide film is what was intended by the photographer by storing the image of the subject photo-electrically transformed by electronic image pickup devices into a memory at the same time when the image of the subject is exposed on the silver halide film and by displaying the image of the subject stored therein on a monitor. The system and structure of a silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei. 10-108054 for example.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei. 10-108054 has disclosed a silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera having a strobe flash unit in which electronic image pickup devices for electronic image pickup and a lens-barrel for imaging light of a subject on the electronic image pickup devices are disposed in a strobe flash section provided at a different position from a lens-barrel for silver halide photography so as to be able to photograph without diminishing the light of the subject exposing the silver halide film and without interfering with the light of the subject to be guided to the electronic image pickup devices by the lens-barrel for silver halide photography. This silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera is arranged so as to be able to perform the silver halide photography and the electronic image pickup at the same time by popping up the strobe flash unit when a power switch of a power source for operating the camera is turned on in shooting the subject.
However, although the silver halide photography and the electronic image pickup may be carried out at the same time by popping up the strobe flash unit when the power switch is turned on, there have been cases when the electronic image pickup is not carried out, even though the silver halide photography is carried out, or when the image of the subject of the silver halide photography is erroneously confirmed in confirming the image of the subject by the electronically photographed image of the subject as the lens-barrel included in the strobe flash unit cannot catch a correct image of the subject and different images are taken by the silver halide photography and the electronic image pickup when the strobe flash unit is not popped up as the photographer carelessly presses the strobe flash unit by his/her finger or the like in turning on the power switch or when the strobe flash unit is incompletely popped up as it contacts with something.
The prior art silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera having an electronic image pickup function in the strobe flash unit have had problems that only the silver halide photography is carried out and the electronic image pickup cannot be carried out when the strobe flash unit does not pop up as it is carelessly pressed by the photographer in turning on the power switch of the camera and that the image of the subject taken by the silver halide photography is different from the image of the subject taken by the electronic image pickup and the photographer may erroneously confirm the image of the subject taken by the silver halide photography in confirming by the image of the subject taken by the electronic image pickup and displayed on the monitor when the photographer takes the picture in the state when the strobe flash unit is incompletely popped up.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera which is capable of preventing an unintentional picture from being taken as a strobe flash unit is carelessly pressed by a photographer in turning on a power switch of the camera.
A second object of the invention is to provide a silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera which is capable of inhibiting an image from being picked up by electronic image pickup devices when the camera is set in an electronic image pickup mode and a pop-up unit is not popped up.
A third object of the invention is to provide a silver halide photographic and electronic image pickup camera which is capable of carrying out a process of warning that the image pickup by the electronic image pickup devices is unexecutable when the camera is set in the electronic image pickup mode and when the pop-up unit is not popped up.
Briefly, a camera of the invention comprises exposure means for exposing an image of a subject on a silver halide film; a pop-up unit capable of popping up out of a camera body; image pickup means contained in the pop-up unit and capable of picking up an image of the image of the subject in a state in which the pop-up unit is popped up out of the camera body; mode setting means which allows to selectively set a first operation mode of operating both the exposure means and the image pickup means and a second operation mode of operating only the image pickup means; detecting means for detecting the position of the pop-up unit; and control means for operating the exposure means and/or image pickup means corresponding to the mode set by the mode setting means in response to a manipulation of a release.
The control means operates only the exposure means when the first operation mode is set by the mode setting means and when the detecting means detects that the pop-up unit is not located at the pop-up position.
The objects and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed explanation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5740480 (1998-04-01), Kuhn, Jr. et al.
patent: 5822625 (1998-10-01), Leidig et al.
patent: 5867741 (1999-02-01), Maruyama et al.
patent: 10-108054 (1998-04-01), None
Gray David M.
Olympus Optical Co,. Ltd.
Smith Arthur A
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