CA1058590A - Photoflash array construction - Google Patents
Photoflash array constructionInfo
- Publication number
- CA1058590A CA1058590A CA234,113A CA234113A CA1058590A CA 1058590 A CA1058590 A CA 1058590A CA 234113 A CA234113 A CA 234113A CA 1058590 A CA1058590 A CA 1058590A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- lamps
- flash
- lamp
- circuit board
- array
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
- G03B15/00—Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor
- G03B15/02—Illuminating scene
- G03B15/03—Combinations of cameras with lighting apparatus; Flash units
- G03B15/04—Combinations of cameras with non-electronic flash apparatus; Non-electronic flash units
- G03B15/0442—Constructional details of the flash apparatus; Arrangement of lamps, reflectors, or the like
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K1/00—Printed circuits
- H05K1/02—Details
- H05K1/0266—Marks, test patterns or identification means
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Stroboscope Apparatuses (AREA)
- Exposure Or Original Feeding In Electrophotography (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Front and back housing members interlock together and contain between them a circuit board having a plurality of flash lamps attached thereto. A multiple reflector unit is positioned between the lamps and the circuit board to direct light from flashing lamps through the front housing member. The back housing member is transparent, and an indicia sheet is sandwiched between the back of the array and the circuit board and contains colored flash indicator dots, instructions, and/or other indicia visible through the back of the array.
Front and back housing members interlock together and contain between them a circuit board having a plurality of flash lamps attached thereto. A multiple reflector unit is positioned between the lamps and the circuit board to direct light from flashing lamps through the front housing member. The back housing member is transparent, and an indicia sheet is sandwiched between the back of the array and the circuit board and contains colored flash indicator dots, instructions, and/or other indicia visible through the back of the array.
Description
LD-647~
~58590 This invention is in the field of multiple photoflash lamp units, such as planar arrays.
U.S. Patents 3,598,984 issued August 10, 1971 to Stanley Slomski and 3,598,985 issued August 10, 1971 to John Harnden and William Kornrumpf disclose a multiple-Lamp flash array having first and second groups of flash lamps and associated reflectors, the two groups facing in mutuall~
opposite directions. When the array is plugged into a camera socket with the first group of lamps facing frontwardly, the lamps of that group are connected to be 1ashed. When these lamps have been flashed, the array is turned around and the lamps o the second group face frontwardly and are connected to be flashed. The lamps usually are flashed one at a time; however, a plurality of lamps can be flashed simultaneously if more light is desired.
These flash arrays, as well as other practical flash arrays disclosed in the patent literature, are constructed, as are conventional flashcubes, wlth the lamps attached to a base arrangement, and a transparent cover is positioned around the lamps with its open end attached to the base.
Other proposed constructions have employed a concave rear housing member containing the flash lamps, with a flat front window member attached over the opening of the rear member.
Objects of this invention are to provide an improved - flash array construction and to provide such a construction that is feasible and economical to manufacture.
The invention comprises, briefly and in a preferred embodiment, a multiple flash lamp array having front and back housing members interlocked together and containing between them a circuit board having a plurality of flash lamps attached thereto. A multiple reflector unit is positioned between th~ lamps and the circuit board to direct light from the flash lamps through the front housing member.
~;~
~0585~0 The back housing member is transparent, and an indicia sheet is s~nawiched between the back of the array and the circuit board and contains colored flash indicator dots and/or other indicia visible through the back of the array. The array can include further features, including lamp arrangement and connections so that the array can be attached to a camera in different orientations, in each orientation only a group of lamps relatively farther away from the camera lens axis being flashable, thereby reducing the likelihood of an undesir-able "red-eye" effect which causes the pupils of a person being photographed to appear~red if ~he flashing lamp is close to the lens axis.
In drawings which illustrate the invention:
FIG. l is a perspective view of a multiple flash lamp array in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the array of FIG. 1 showing the internal parts;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the back of the array;
and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.
A multiple flash lamp unit 17 of the planar array type and containing a plurality of electrically fired flash lamps is provided with a plug-in connector tab 18 at the lower side or end thereof, adapted to fit into a socket of a camera or flash adapter. The lamp array 17 is provided with a second plug-in connector tab 18' at the top side or end thereof, whereby the array 17 is adapted to be attached to the camera socket in either of two orientations, i.e., with either the tab 18 or the tab 18' plugged into the socket.
The array 17 is provided with an upper group 21 of flash .. ,.. ~, .
iO58S90 I~D-6474 lamps 22, 23, 24~ and 25, and a lower yroup 26 of fla~h lamps 27, 28, 29, and 30~ the lamps being arranged in a planar configuration. Reflec~ors 22', ~tc., are disposed behind the respective flash lamps, so that as each lamp is flashed its light is projected forwardly of the array 17.
~he lamps are arranged and connected so that when the array is connected to a camera by the connector 18~ only the upper group 21 o~ lamps will be flashed, and when the array is turned end for end and connected to the camera by the o~her connector 18', only the then upper group 26 o~ lamps will be flashed. By this arrangement, only lamps re}atively ~arther from the lens axis are flashable, thus reducing the undesirable red-eye effect.
In accordance with the invention, the conJtruction of the array comprises front and back housing members 36 and 37, which preferably are made of plastic and are pxovided with interlocking members 38 which can be molded întegrally ; with the houslng members and which lock the housing members together in final assembly to form a unitaxy flash array . .
structure FIG. 4 shows a pair of interlocking members 38a carried at the rear o~ the side o the front housing member 36 interlocked with a pair of interlocking members 38b of the back housing member 37. In the preferred embodiment shown, the front housing member 36 is a ractangular con-cavity and the back housing member 37 is subs~antially flat and includes integral extensions 39 and 39' at the ends there-of which partly surround and protect the connector tabs 18 and 18' and also function to facilitate mechanical attachment .
to the camera socket. Sandwiched between the front and back housing members 36 and 37~ in the order named, are the flash lamps 22~ etc., a unitary reflector member 44 ~preferably of aluminum-coated plastic3 shaped to provide the individual reflectors 22l, etc., a printed circuit board 43 provided with integral conn2ctor tabs 18 and 18', and an indicia sheet 43 which may be provided with instructions, information 44, trademarks 46, and other indicia such as flash indicators 47 located behind the respective lamps and which change color due to heat and/or light radiation from a flashing lamp, thus indicating at a glance which o~ the lamps have been flashed and not flashed.
The indicia sheet 43 may be o~ paper or thin cardboard and provided with openings where the flash indicators 47 are desired, and Plash indicator material, such as a sheet-like heat_sen~itive plastic material, for example diagially oriented polypropylene, which shrinks or melts when subjected to heat . ,. ,.,, ,~....~ .. ~..
or radiant energy ~rom an adjacent flashing lamp thus effec-tively changing the color o the openings in the indicia sheet 43. For example, the plastic material can be colorëd green on its back side by ink or other suitable means, and the green disappearæ and the opening bec~mes a different color (dark, for example) when the pIa~tic shrinks or melts J
away due to heat from an adjacent flashing lamp. ~he front of the plastic (toward the lamps) should be coated with dark ink so as to absorb heat more readily. A single flash in-dicator sheet 48 may be arranged over all o~ the ~lash in_ dicator openings. Openings 51 are provided through t~e - reflector unit 41 and the circuit board 4~ to facilitate radiation from flashing lamp~ reaching the flaæh indicators 47. The rear housing member 37 is transparent ~either of clear material or provided with window openings) to permit viewing of the indicia on the indicia sheet 43. The front housing member 36 is transparent at least in front of the lamps 22, etc., to permit light from flashing lamps to emerge frontwardly of the array, and may be tinted to alter 0 58 Sg 0 LD-6474 the color Q~ light from the flash lamps.
The height and width of the rectangular array are substantially greatex than its thickness, and the heights and widths of the re1ector member 41 and circuit board 42 are substantially the same as the interior height and width of the housing member 36~ to facilitate holding the parts in place.
~ he tab lB, which iB integral with the circuit board 42, is provided with a pair o~ electrical terminals 31 and 32, and similarly the tab 18' is provided with a pair of terminals 31' and 32'~ for contacting terminals of a camera socket for applying ~iring puls9s to the array, Each tab is provided with a third terminal 33 and 33', respectively, which functions to electrically short the circui~ry of the inactive lower group o~ lamps when the array is plugged into a socket, The terminals 31 and 31' arc shown as having a lateral "T'bar" configuration for temporarily shorting the socket terminals while the array is being plug~ed in, to discharge any residual voltage charge in the firing pulse source and also to reduce the likelihood of lamps being accidentally fla~hed by electrostatic voltage when the array is handled.
The circuit board 42 has a "printed circuit" thereon, as will be described, for causing sequential flashing of the la~ps by firing voltage pulses applied to the terminals 31~ 32 or 31', 32'. The top and bottom halves of the printed circuitry preferably are reverse mirror images of each other, The lead wire~ 22`a, 22b, etc,, of the lamps 22, etc., may be attached to the circuit borad 42 in various w~ys, such as by means of metal eylets 22a', 22b', etc,, placed through opening~ in the board, The lead wires 22a, 22b~ etc., pass through openings-S~ in the reflector member 41 and into or ~058~ LD-6474 thro~gh the respective pairs of eyelets 22a D ~ 22b' 9 etc 7 and the ends of ~he eyelets are crimped or bent to hold the lead wires and make electrical contact thereto and also to hold the eyelets in place with their heads in electrical contact with the circuit o~ the circuit board A metal .
clip 56 is clipped onto the reflector member 41, which i~
.
made of metal or metalcoated plastic, and the rear of the clip 56 rests against an area 57 o~ ~n electrical ground circuit run 58 on the board and which include~ the terminals 31 and 31' and which make~ contact with one of the connector .. .. ~ , . . . . . . .
eyelets 22a' or 22b'~ etc.,: for each of the lamps;22, etc.
.
Areas 59 on the transparent front housing member 36 may be made opaque or partly opaque, such as by making the surface roughened at these areas~ to fully or partly conceal the lamp lead-in wires 22a, 22b, etc.~ and/ox the lower por-tions of the lamps, ~or improved appearance of the array.
m e circuit:board:terminal 32 is part of a conductor run that is electrically connected to lead-in wixe 24a of .
.
lamp 24 at the eyelet 24a' and:termlnates at radiation switches 61, 62, and 63 respectively positioned near lamps :~ 24, 25, and 23 A cirauit board conductor run 64 is connected electrically to the remaining lead wixe of flash lamp 25 at eyelet 25a' and terminates at the radiation switch 61. A
circuit board conductor run 65 is connected to~fthe remaining lead-in wire of flash~lamp 23 at eyelet 23a~ and terminates at the radiation switch 62 Similarly, a circuit board con_ -ductor run 66 is connected to the remaining lead-in wire of flash lamp 22 at eyelet 22b' and terminates at radiatio~
switch 63.
The radiation switches 61, 62, and 63 are respectively in contact with and bridge across the circuit runs that are connected to them. The material for the radiation switches ~058S90 LD-~474 may be suitable material initially having an open circuit or high resistance, the resistance thereof becoming zero or a low value when the material receives radiation in the ~orm of heat and/or light from a respective adjacent lamp, upon the lamp being flashed For this purpoæe, each ~f the radi-ation switches is respectively positioned ~ehind and near to a flash lamp 24, 25, 23. Windows in the form of transparent sections or opening~ 6~ may be provided in the re~lectors in front of the swltches as shown in FIG. 2 to facilitate radi-ation transfer. A suitable material for the radiation ~witches i8 silver oxide dispersed in a binder such as polyvinyl resin, Each of these radiation switches, upon receiving heat and/or light radiation from the adjacent lamp when it is flashed, changes from an open circuit or high resistance to a closed circuit or low resistance betwaen its switch terminals on the circuit board.
As has been explained, the lower portion of the cir-cuit board contains a substantially~reverse mirror image o~
the same circuit shown in :the upper part of the circuit board, and therefore will not be described in detail. It will be noted that the~circuit runs from the plugged-in terminal~ 31 and 32 at the lower part of the circuit board extend upwardly so as to activate the circuitry in the upper half o~ the cir-cuit board. SLmilarly~ when the UDit iS turned around and tab 18' is plugged into a socket, the circuit board termi~als 31' and 32' will be connected to and activate the lamps which .
then will be in the upper half of the circuit board, and hence in the upper half of the flash unit 17. This accomplishes, as has been stated, the desirable characteristic whereby only the group of lamps relatively farthest away from the lens axis will be flashed, thereby reducing or eLiminating the undesirable red-eye effect ~OS85~30 L~-6474 The c.lrcuit on the circuit board 42 ~unctions a~
follows. Assuming that none of the four lamps in the upper half of the unit 17 have been flashed, upon occurrence o~
a first ~iring pulse applied across the terminals 31, 32, this pulse will be directly applied to the lead-in wir~s of the first-connected 1ash lamp 24~ w~ereupon the lamp ~4 flashes and becomes an open circui~ batween its lead_in wires.
~eat and~or light radiation ~rom the flashing irst lamp 24 causes the adjacent radiation switch 61 to become a closed circuit ~or a low value o~ resistance), thereby connecting the circuit board terminal 32 electrically to the lead-in wire of the second lamp 25 at eyelet 25a~ By the time this occur~, the firing pulse ha~ diminished to a value insu~ficient to cause the second lamp 25 to flash. When the next ~iring pulse occuræ, it is applied to the lead-in wires of th~
second lamp 25, via the now closed radiation switch 61, where-upon the second lamp 25 flashed, thereby causing radiation ~witc~ 62 to assume zero or low ~esistance, and the second lamp 25 now has an open circui~ or high resistance between its lead-in wires. When the next firing pulse occurs, it is applied via now closed radiation switch 62 to the third lamp 23, thereby ~iring the lamp whi~h becomes an open circuit, and the radi~tion from it causes the radiation switch:63 to become es~entially a closed circ~it across it5 terminals.
Thu3~ the next firing pul~e will be applied, via now closed radiation switch 63, to the lead-in wires o~ the fourth flash lamp 22, thereupon causing the lamp to ~lash. Since this lamp is the last lamp in the active circuit, it does not ma~ter whether its lead-in wires are an open or closed circuit after flashing~ Additional flash lamps, radiation switches, and electrical conductors can be employed~ i~
desired, using the just described principles. When the flàsh lOS8590 LD- 647~
unit is turned around and the other connector tab 18' attached to the camera socketJ the group of lamps that then become uppermost and relatively farthest away from the lens axis will be in active circuit and will be flashed in the same manner as has been descxibed. In a preerred embodiment, the lamps 22, etc., are high voltage types, requiring about 2000 volts at low current fox flashing, and they are ~ired by impacting or stres~ing a piezoelectric element in the camera.
}t has been ound that the invention achieves its objective of providing a flasb array construction that is feasible and economical to manufacture While preferred embodiments o~ the invention have been shown and described, various other embodiments and modi_ fications thereof will become apparent to persons skilled in the art, and will fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the ~ollowing claims
~58590 This invention is in the field of multiple photoflash lamp units, such as planar arrays.
U.S. Patents 3,598,984 issued August 10, 1971 to Stanley Slomski and 3,598,985 issued August 10, 1971 to John Harnden and William Kornrumpf disclose a multiple-Lamp flash array having first and second groups of flash lamps and associated reflectors, the two groups facing in mutuall~
opposite directions. When the array is plugged into a camera socket with the first group of lamps facing frontwardly, the lamps of that group are connected to be 1ashed. When these lamps have been flashed, the array is turned around and the lamps o the second group face frontwardly and are connected to be flashed. The lamps usually are flashed one at a time; however, a plurality of lamps can be flashed simultaneously if more light is desired.
These flash arrays, as well as other practical flash arrays disclosed in the patent literature, are constructed, as are conventional flashcubes, wlth the lamps attached to a base arrangement, and a transparent cover is positioned around the lamps with its open end attached to the base.
Other proposed constructions have employed a concave rear housing member containing the flash lamps, with a flat front window member attached over the opening of the rear member.
Objects of this invention are to provide an improved - flash array construction and to provide such a construction that is feasible and economical to manufacture.
The invention comprises, briefly and in a preferred embodiment, a multiple flash lamp array having front and back housing members interlocked together and containing between them a circuit board having a plurality of flash lamps attached thereto. A multiple reflector unit is positioned between th~ lamps and the circuit board to direct light from the flash lamps through the front housing member.
~;~
~0585~0 The back housing member is transparent, and an indicia sheet is s~nawiched between the back of the array and the circuit board and contains colored flash indicator dots and/or other indicia visible through the back of the array. The array can include further features, including lamp arrangement and connections so that the array can be attached to a camera in different orientations, in each orientation only a group of lamps relatively farther away from the camera lens axis being flashable, thereby reducing the likelihood of an undesir-able "red-eye" effect which causes the pupils of a person being photographed to appear~red if ~he flashing lamp is close to the lens axis.
In drawings which illustrate the invention:
FIG. l is a perspective view of a multiple flash lamp array in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the array of FIG. 1 showing the internal parts;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the back of the array;
and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.
A multiple flash lamp unit 17 of the planar array type and containing a plurality of electrically fired flash lamps is provided with a plug-in connector tab 18 at the lower side or end thereof, adapted to fit into a socket of a camera or flash adapter. The lamp array 17 is provided with a second plug-in connector tab 18' at the top side or end thereof, whereby the array 17 is adapted to be attached to the camera socket in either of two orientations, i.e., with either the tab 18 or the tab 18' plugged into the socket.
The array 17 is provided with an upper group 21 of flash .. ,.. ~, .
iO58S90 I~D-6474 lamps 22, 23, 24~ and 25, and a lower yroup 26 of fla~h lamps 27, 28, 29, and 30~ the lamps being arranged in a planar configuration. Reflec~ors 22', ~tc., are disposed behind the respective flash lamps, so that as each lamp is flashed its light is projected forwardly of the array 17.
~he lamps are arranged and connected so that when the array is connected to a camera by the connector 18~ only the upper group 21 o~ lamps will be flashed, and when the array is turned end for end and connected to the camera by the o~her connector 18', only the then upper group 26 o~ lamps will be flashed. By this arrangement, only lamps re}atively ~arther from the lens axis are flashable, thus reducing the undesirable red-eye effect.
In accordance with the invention, the conJtruction of the array comprises front and back housing members 36 and 37, which preferably are made of plastic and are pxovided with interlocking members 38 which can be molded întegrally ; with the houslng members and which lock the housing members together in final assembly to form a unitaxy flash array . .
structure FIG. 4 shows a pair of interlocking members 38a carried at the rear o~ the side o the front housing member 36 interlocked with a pair of interlocking members 38b of the back housing member 37. In the preferred embodiment shown, the front housing member 36 is a ractangular con-cavity and the back housing member 37 is subs~antially flat and includes integral extensions 39 and 39' at the ends there-of which partly surround and protect the connector tabs 18 and 18' and also function to facilitate mechanical attachment .
to the camera socket. Sandwiched between the front and back housing members 36 and 37~ in the order named, are the flash lamps 22~ etc., a unitary reflector member 44 ~preferably of aluminum-coated plastic3 shaped to provide the individual reflectors 22l, etc., a printed circuit board 43 provided with integral conn2ctor tabs 18 and 18', and an indicia sheet 43 which may be provided with instructions, information 44, trademarks 46, and other indicia such as flash indicators 47 located behind the respective lamps and which change color due to heat and/or light radiation from a flashing lamp, thus indicating at a glance which o~ the lamps have been flashed and not flashed.
The indicia sheet 43 may be o~ paper or thin cardboard and provided with openings where the flash indicators 47 are desired, and Plash indicator material, such as a sheet-like heat_sen~itive plastic material, for example diagially oriented polypropylene, which shrinks or melts when subjected to heat . ,. ,.,, ,~....~ .. ~..
or radiant energy ~rom an adjacent flashing lamp thus effec-tively changing the color o the openings in the indicia sheet 43. For example, the plastic material can be colorëd green on its back side by ink or other suitable means, and the green disappearæ and the opening bec~mes a different color (dark, for example) when the pIa~tic shrinks or melts J
away due to heat from an adjacent flashing lamp. ~he front of the plastic (toward the lamps) should be coated with dark ink so as to absorb heat more readily. A single flash in-dicator sheet 48 may be arranged over all o~ the ~lash in_ dicator openings. Openings 51 are provided through t~e - reflector unit 41 and the circuit board 4~ to facilitate radiation from flashing lamp~ reaching the flaæh indicators 47. The rear housing member 37 is transparent ~either of clear material or provided with window openings) to permit viewing of the indicia on the indicia sheet 43. The front housing member 36 is transparent at least in front of the lamps 22, etc., to permit light from flashing lamps to emerge frontwardly of the array, and may be tinted to alter 0 58 Sg 0 LD-6474 the color Q~ light from the flash lamps.
The height and width of the rectangular array are substantially greatex than its thickness, and the heights and widths of the re1ector member 41 and circuit board 42 are substantially the same as the interior height and width of the housing member 36~ to facilitate holding the parts in place.
~ he tab lB, which iB integral with the circuit board 42, is provided with a pair o~ electrical terminals 31 and 32, and similarly the tab 18' is provided with a pair of terminals 31' and 32'~ for contacting terminals of a camera socket for applying ~iring puls9s to the array, Each tab is provided with a third terminal 33 and 33', respectively, which functions to electrically short the circui~ry of the inactive lower group o~ lamps when the array is plugged into a socket, The terminals 31 and 31' arc shown as having a lateral "T'bar" configuration for temporarily shorting the socket terminals while the array is being plug~ed in, to discharge any residual voltage charge in the firing pulse source and also to reduce the likelihood of lamps being accidentally fla~hed by electrostatic voltage when the array is handled.
The circuit board 42 has a "printed circuit" thereon, as will be described, for causing sequential flashing of the la~ps by firing voltage pulses applied to the terminals 31~ 32 or 31', 32'. The top and bottom halves of the printed circuitry preferably are reverse mirror images of each other, The lead wire~ 22`a, 22b, etc,, of the lamps 22, etc., may be attached to the circuit borad 42 in various w~ys, such as by means of metal eylets 22a', 22b', etc,, placed through opening~ in the board, The lead wires 22a, 22b~ etc., pass through openings-S~ in the reflector member 41 and into or ~058~ LD-6474 thro~gh the respective pairs of eyelets 22a D ~ 22b' 9 etc 7 and the ends of ~he eyelets are crimped or bent to hold the lead wires and make electrical contact thereto and also to hold the eyelets in place with their heads in electrical contact with the circuit o~ the circuit board A metal .
clip 56 is clipped onto the reflector member 41, which i~
.
made of metal or metalcoated plastic, and the rear of the clip 56 rests against an area 57 o~ ~n electrical ground circuit run 58 on the board and which include~ the terminals 31 and 31' and which make~ contact with one of the connector .. .. ~ , . . . . . . .
eyelets 22a' or 22b'~ etc.,: for each of the lamps;22, etc.
.
Areas 59 on the transparent front housing member 36 may be made opaque or partly opaque, such as by making the surface roughened at these areas~ to fully or partly conceal the lamp lead-in wires 22a, 22b, etc.~ and/ox the lower por-tions of the lamps, ~or improved appearance of the array.
m e circuit:board:terminal 32 is part of a conductor run that is electrically connected to lead-in wixe 24a of .
.
lamp 24 at the eyelet 24a' and:termlnates at radiation switches 61, 62, and 63 respectively positioned near lamps :~ 24, 25, and 23 A cirauit board conductor run 64 is connected electrically to the remaining lead wixe of flash lamp 25 at eyelet 25a' and terminates at the radiation switch 61. A
circuit board conductor run 65 is connected to~fthe remaining lead-in wire of flash~lamp 23 at eyelet 23a~ and terminates at the radiation switch 62 Similarly, a circuit board con_ -ductor run 66 is connected to the remaining lead-in wire of flash lamp 22 at eyelet 22b' and terminates at radiatio~
switch 63.
The radiation switches 61, 62, and 63 are respectively in contact with and bridge across the circuit runs that are connected to them. The material for the radiation switches ~058S90 LD-~474 may be suitable material initially having an open circuit or high resistance, the resistance thereof becoming zero or a low value when the material receives radiation in the ~orm of heat and/or light from a respective adjacent lamp, upon the lamp being flashed For this purpoæe, each ~f the radi-ation switches is respectively positioned ~ehind and near to a flash lamp 24, 25, 23. Windows in the form of transparent sections or opening~ 6~ may be provided in the re~lectors in front of the swltches as shown in FIG. 2 to facilitate radi-ation transfer. A suitable material for the radiation ~witches i8 silver oxide dispersed in a binder such as polyvinyl resin, Each of these radiation switches, upon receiving heat and/or light radiation from the adjacent lamp when it is flashed, changes from an open circuit or high resistance to a closed circuit or low resistance betwaen its switch terminals on the circuit board.
As has been explained, the lower portion of the cir-cuit board contains a substantially~reverse mirror image o~
the same circuit shown in :the upper part of the circuit board, and therefore will not be described in detail. It will be noted that the~circuit runs from the plugged-in terminal~ 31 and 32 at the lower part of the circuit board extend upwardly so as to activate the circuitry in the upper half o~ the cir-cuit board. SLmilarly~ when the UDit iS turned around and tab 18' is plugged into a socket, the circuit board termi~als 31' and 32' will be connected to and activate the lamps which .
then will be in the upper half of the circuit board, and hence in the upper half of the flash unit 17. This accomplishes, as has been stated, the desirable characteristic whereby only the group of lamps relatively farthest away from the lens axis will be flashed, thereby reducing or eLiminating the undesirable red-eye effect ~OS85~30 L~-6474 The c.lrcuit on the circuit board 42 ~unctions a~
follows. Assuming that none of the four lamps in the upper half of the unit 17 have been flashed, upon occurrence o~
a first ~iring pulse applied across the terminals 31, 32, this pulse will be directly applied to the lead-in wir~s of the first-connected 1ash lamp 24~ w~ereupon the lamp ~4 flashes and becomes an open circui~ batween its lead_in wires.
~eat and~or light radiation ~rom the flashing irst lamp 24 causes the adjacent radiation switch 61 to become a closed circuit ~or a low value o~ resistance), thereby connecting the circuit board terminal 32 electrically to the lead-in wire of the second lamp 25 at eyelet 25a~ By the time this occur~, the firing pulse ha~ diminished to a value insu~ficient to cause the second lamp 25 to flash. When the next ~iring pulse occuræ, it is applied to the lead-in wires of th~
second lamp 25, via the now closed radiation switch 61, where-upon the second lamp 25 flashed, thereby causing radiation ~witc~ 62 to assume zero or low ~esistance, and the second lamp 25 now has an open circui~ or high resistance between its lead-in wires. When the next firing pulse occurs, it is applied via now closed radiation switch 62 to the third lamp 23, thereby ~iring the lamp whi~h becomes an open circuit, and the radi~tion from it causes the radiation switch:63 to become es~entially a closed circ~it across it5 terminals.
Thu3~ the next firing pul~e will be applied, via now closed radiation switch 63, to the lead-in wires o~ the fourth flash lamp 22, thereupon causing the lamp to ~lash. Since this lamp is the last lamp in the active circuit, it does not ma~ter whether its lead-in wires are an open or closed circuit after flashing~ Additional flash lamps, radiation switches, and electrical conductors can be employed~ i~
desired, using the just described principles. When the flàsh lOS8590 LD- 647~
unit is turned around and the other connector tab 18' attached to the camera socketJ the group of lamps that then become uppermost and relatively farthest away from the lens axis will be in active circuit and will be flashed in the same manner as has been descxibed. In a preerred embodiment, the lamps 22, etc., are high voltage types, requiring about 2000 volts at low current fox flashing, and they are ~ired by impacting or stres~ing a piezoelectric element in the camera.
}t has been ound that the invention achieves its objective of providing a flasb array construction that is feasible and economical to manufacture While preferred embodiments o~ the invention have been shown and described, various other embodiments and modi_ fications thereof will become apparent to persons skilled in the art, and will fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the ~ollowing claims
Claims (2)
1. A multiple flash lamp array comprising: a housing having a front and a back, said front and said back each being transparent at least in part, a plurality of flash lamps in a planar configuration and disposed within said housing adjacent the front thereof, reflector means positioned within said housing and having portions located behind said lamps to direct light from said lamps toward the front of said housing when said lamps are flashed, a circuit board positioned within said housing behind said lamps and said reflector means and having circuitry thereon connected to said lamps for causing flashing of said lamps in response to transmission of flash actuation signals to said circuitry, openings in said reflector means and said circuit board adjacent each of said lamps, an indicia sheet disposed within said housing between said circuit board and said back of said housing, and flash indicators on said indicia sheet, each flash indicator being adjacent a corresponding lamp and each flash indicator being adapted to change appearance in response to transmission of radiation from the adjacent lamp through the adjacent openings in said reflector means and said circuit board when the adjacent lamp is flashed.
2. An array as claimed in claim 1, in which said flash indicators comprise heat-sensitive plastic.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US50833474A | 1974-09-23 | 1974-09-23 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1058590A true CA1058590A (en) | 1979-07-17 |
Family
ID=24022336
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA234,113A Expired CA1058590A (en) | 1974-09-23 | 1975-08-21 | Photoflash array construction |
Country Status (7)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS5146933A (en) |
| BE (1) | BE833707A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR7506161A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1058590A (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2285632A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1517526A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1042703B (en) |
Families Citing this family (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3941447A (en) * | 1974-11-29 | 1976-03-02 | Eastman Kodak Company | Camera flash socket |
| NL7803879A (en) * | 1977-05-25 | 1978-11-28 | Gen Electric | FLASHLIGHT UNIT WITH LIGHT-BREAKING PRISM. |
| US4156269A (en) * | 1977-10-07 | 1979-05-22 | Gte Sylvania Incorporated | Multilamp photoflash unit |
| US4164007A (en) * | 1977-10-07 | 1979-08-07 | Gte Sylvania Incorporated | Multilamp photoflash unit |
| US4176389A (en) * | 1977-10-25 | 1979-11-27 | Gte Sylvania Incorporated | Photoflash unit with two-color indicator |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3609331A (en) * | 1968-06-26 | 1971-09-28 | Sylvania Electric Prod | Photoflash lamp |
| US3718815A (en) * | 1971-03-09 | 1973-02-27 | Gte Sylvania Inc | Photographic flashlamp unit with flashed lamp indicator and method of making same |
-
1975
- 1975-08-13 GB GB3374375A patent/GB1517526A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-08-19 JP JP9984475A patent/JPS5146933A/en active Pending
- 1975-08-21 CA CA234,113A patent/CA1058590A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-09-19 IT IT2742875A patent/IT1042703B/en active
- 1975-09-22 FR FR7528953A patent/FR2285632A1/en active Granted
- 1975-09-23 BE BE160282A patent/BE833707A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1975-09-23 BR BR7506161A patent/BR7506161A/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| FR2285632B1 (en) | 1978-04-07 |
| BR7506161A (en) | 1976-08-03 |
| FR2285632A1 (en) | 1976-04-16 |
| GB1517526A (en) | 1978-07-12 |
| IT1042703B (en) | 1980-01-30 |
| DE2541989B2 (en) | 1976-10-14 |
| BE833707A (en) | 1976-03-23 |
| JPS5146933A (en) | 1976-04-22 |
| DE2541989A1 (en) | 1976-04-01 |
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