GB2066973A - Panoramic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

A panoramic picture is produced by continuously advancing a film past an exposure slit 18 in a 35 mm camera which is continuously rotated preferably about its centre of gravity. The slit may have a width of 0.2 mm. The camera may be rotated at 2 revs/min. As shown, a single motor 5 effects rotation of the camera and, via gears 7, 29 and 13, rotation of a rewinding knob 23 on raising a connecting collar 27 by pushing in a knob 25.

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for obtaining panoramic pictures The following invention concerns a device applicable to cameras, by means of which it is possible to obtain panoramic shooting pictures which may cover angles right around the shooting position.

It is known that, in order to obtain shootings covering a large field around the shooting position, special cameras with special lenses called wide-angle lenses can be used, which however normally cover a field angle of about 60"-70"; it is also possible in exceptional circumstances of limited application to achieve higher values up to a maximum value of 180'.

The manufacturing of such lenses and the appropriate cameras in which they are used, requires the use of particular techniques and technologies, involving various manufacturing and application difficulties and consequently the resulting cost is too high; in addition, lenses with large field angle are subject to considerable optical abberrations.

In some cases cameras have been obtained, which, while rotating around themselves, automatically perform a succession of shootings which are synchronized w.ith the rotation carrying out a series of successive photograms which are adjacent each other.

Such a system achieves in an automatic and reasonably satisfactory way very large shootings, which, in this case, may cover up to a complete round angle in practice, as in the case of the well-known system of carrying out manually a series of shootings of portions of a panorama and obtaining photograms which are subsequently put side-by-side in various ways to achieve the effect of a single much larger shooting.

Normally, such total shooting methods result in different imperfections, which are particularly noticeable in the connection areas between two subsequent photograms. These cameras, as well as those equipped with a wide-angle lens, have considerable restrictions in use; in fact they may be only utilized for obtaining a certain kind of picture, while they are normally of high cost.

The present invention seeks to minimize the ab6ve-mentioned inconveniences by means of a device applicable also to conventional cameras of different kinds, particularly of the kind utilizing a motion picture standard film of 35 mm, the so-called type "Leica", said device comprising a first support carrying the camera which is pivoted on a second fixed support in such a way as to be able to rotate on it, said first support being able to cause said camera to be rotated about an axis which preferably coincides with the barycentric vertical axis of the said camera, said camera being connected to means able to cause the film to be slid in a controlled manner, the motion of translation of said film and the motion of rotation of the camera beiang simultaneous and interdependent, in such a manner that the film displacements coincide with the image displacements resulting from the rotation of the camera, a plate having in its central portion a slit along the whole height of the photogram being arranged inside the camera on the bottom of its obscure chamber, said plate being disposed in front of the film in such a manner that said film passes adjacent to the rear of the plate, while control and operation means are in addition provided to control the motion of rotation of the camera and the motion of sliding of the film.

According to a preferred feature, the width of the slit, included in the plate located in the camera in front of the film, varies depending both on the lens relative aperture and the exposure, which in its turn depends on the camera rotation speed and the consequent film sliding speed.

According to a further preferred feature the ratio of the camera rotation speed to the film sliding speed may be varied.

The invention will now be described in more detail, only by way of example, with reference to a preferred embodiment showed in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partially sectioned elevation showing a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a section along the line I-I of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a section along the line ll-ll of Fig. 1; Figures 4 and 5 are schematic views showing the principle of operation.

The drawings show a typical camera of the kind "Leica", which is only schematicaliy represented by a thin line: in Fig. 1 said camera is represented as seen from the back side and opened (without its back cover).

In said Figures, the following main elements are to be noted: the photographic tripod 1 forming the fixed support of the device of the invention, the rotating support 2 fixed onto said photographic tripod 1 and the camera 3 in its turn fixed onto said rotating support 2.

The rotating support 2 is essentially made by two portions: a fixed portion which is connected to said tripod 1 and a movable portion on which the camera 3 is fixed.

The fixed portion is formed by a hollow cylindrical casing 4, in the interior of which is fixed on electric geared motor 5, whose driving shaft 6 projects from the end flange 6' located on the upper side of said hollow cylindrical casing 4, said flange being provided with a crown gear 7 in its outer circumference.

The said hollow cylindrical casing 4 is provided on its lower side with a threaded cou pling part 8 for connection to the photographic tripod 1. In turn, the movable portion is formed by a housing comprising a cylindrical portion 9 whose upper side is closed by a plane wall 10, having a portion 11 which extends radially therefrom and forms, with a second wall 1 2 parallel thereto, a radial arm in the interior of which is pivoted a gear wheel 13, which gear wheel, through an intermediate gear 29, engages with the crown gear 7 of the fixed portion.

The pin of the gear wheel 1 3 includes a square cross section through hole, which is coaxial to that in which a shaft 24 also having a square cross section is arranged, which shaft may longitudinally slide within said hole.

The said shaft 24 is provided on its lower side with a knob 25 and terminates in its upper side with a threaded portion 26, on which a connection element 27 is fixed, which is formed by a hollow cylindrical body whose cavity is able to hold a knob 23 for rewinding the film, which knob can be fixed via the setscrew 28. The connection element 27 is interchangeable so as to allow adaption to the different diameters of the rewinding knobs 23 which vary from one kind of the camera to another.

The shaft 6 of the geared motor 5 is fixed on the plane wall 10 by a bolt, which engages its threaded portion, while also fixing at the same time the coupling part 1 5 on which the camera 3 is fixed through the bracket 1 6 for supporting the fittings.

The whole movable portion is guided by the shaft 6 as well as by the lower end of the cylindrical portion 9, which engages against the guiding ring nut 14 fixed on the hollow cylindrical casing 4.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, one notes also the plate 1 7 which is introduced on the bottom of the obscure chamber 1 9 (see the Fig. 2) and which includes in its central area the slit 1 8 extending for the whole photogram height.

Such a plate 17, as clearly appears from Fig. 2, is placed in such a manner as to come into contact with the front side of the film 20, that covered by the sensitive emulsion.

In Fig. 1 is also shown the winding roll 21 and the cavity 22' in which the film magazine is introduced, which in said figure is indicated by a dashed line and normally forms the rewinding roll 22, on which, as known, the exposed film is rewound by means of the rewinding knob 23. The operation principle on which this invention is based is clearly explained in Figs 4 and 5.

In these figures, as well as in Fig. 2, the camera 3 is schematically shown by a thin line.

In addition, the lens is symbolically represented by a lens 30, whose centre for simplification of the description is considered as the focus F of the lens.

A study of Figs. 4 and 5 shows that the camera 3 rotates in the clockwise sense and the film 20 slides towards the right.

In Fig. 4 an object A is placed on the lens axis and an object B on the field angle right side.

The images of such points will be formed on the film 20, respectively at the points A, ' and B'. The image point A' will be also situated on the film axis while the image point B' will be situated on the extreme left edge of the photogram which normally would be formed on the bottom of the obscure chamber 1 9. The presence of the plate 1 7 with the central slit 1 8 makes it possible that the image of the object A forms on the film 20, because the beam starting from A passes through said central slit 1 8 going to hit the film 20 at A', while the image of B will be not formed on the film because the beam starting from B is shut out by the plate 1 7.

In Fig. 5 the camera has been rotated at an angle which is the half of the field angle a, so that now its axis coincides with the left side of the field angle a of Fig. 4. The object B will be therefore situated on this axis and its image will be formed at the point B' on the film. Since at the same time as the camera rotation the film 20 has been slid a length which is half of the photogram which would be formed on the bottom of the obscure chamber, the image of the object B will be formed on the film exactly at the point which, in case of a still camera would have been formed on the photogram extreme left edge.

It will be understood that the device will act in the same manner for points between A and B and the procedure may be continuously carried out so as to obtain a photogram which reproduces exactly the panorama scanned by the camera in its rotation.

The explanation above makes it clear that the film will slide a distance equal to the width of the photogram which in the case of a still camera would be formed on the film, while the camera is rotating an angle related to the field angle a.

This device allows one in practice to achieve what has been explained above, in the manner described below. One fixes onto the tripod 1 the rotating support 2, then on the latter the camera 3, by introducing the correct bracket 16 for supporting the fittings on the suitable coupling part 1 5 located on the upper side of the movable portion of the rotating support 2. One then presses'up- wardly the knob 25 so that the connection element 27 engages the knob 23 for rewind ing the film and is fixed to it by means of the setscrew 28.Previously, provisions have been made for transferring in a manner known per sethe film on the winding roll 21 and for applying to the shutter control knob a known device, provided with a flexible transmission which is normally used for controlling and setting the shutter aperture in order to do prolonged exposures, while setting in addition the exposure time adjusting knob into the position of "exposure Finally, one sets in a suitable manner the diaphragm aperture and the focus. Afterwards, one places the whole in such a way that the camera lens axis is orientated to the starting zone of the panoramic shooting that one wants to effect. One presses the flexible transmission control knob setting the shutter aperture and it is fixed in such a position by means of an appropriate device.

At this moment it will be sufficient to apply in a known manner an electrical supply to the geared motor 5, obtaining automatically the desired shooting, which takes place in the following way.

The shaft 6 of said geared motor 5 causes the movable part of the rotating support 2 to start to rotate and hence also the camera 3 fixed onto said movable part.

Simultaneously, the radial arm containing the gear wheels 29 and 1 3 which engage with the fixed crown gear 7, while rotating about said crown gear 7 causes said gear wheels 29 and 1 3 to rotate.

The gear wheel 1 3 causes through the shaft 24 and the connection element 27, the rewinding roll 22 to start to rotate thus producing a desired sliding of the film 20.

In the device referred to, rotation of the camera (looking down thereon) occurs in the clockwise sense and the film slides in it from the left to the right side, by the means described above.

It is pointed out that the width of the slit 1 8 depends on different factors, such as the camera rotation speed, the lens relative aperture and the film sensitivity.

In the practical embodiment referred to excellent results have been obtained using a slit having a width of about two tenths of a millimetre and a camera rotation speed of two revolutions per minute.

The realised photograms, covering a 180"- field, have in practice been done with an operating time of about 1 5 seconds. The best results with a 1 8 18 DIN-standard film have been obtained with relative apertures of 1:11 and 1:16.

Moreover it is pointed out that by increas ingor reducing the film sliding speed within reasonable limits, it is possible to shorten or to lengthen the photogram obtained so as to give particularly interesting effects.

Obviously, the gear ratio from the fixed crown gear 7 to the gear wheel 1 3 will vary as a function of the features of the camera employed; in fact the ratio of the machine rotation speed to the film sliding speed depends on the field angle and therefore on the lens focal which varies from one camera to another one.

It is well understood that the change of such a ratio may be obtained for instance by changing the diameters of both the gear wheels 29 and 13.

In an alternative embodiment, one could separately control the two motions with two distinct electric geared motor units. In this case it is possible to freely vary to a considerable extent the two speeds.

Obviously regulation and control means of known type will complete the device. It will be understood that the actuation of the device may also be obtained by other means, such as by motors operated mechanically, pneumatic devices and so on.

It will also be understood that other mechanical, dimensional etc., design modifications may be carried out, for example it is also possible to incorporate the device into the camera unit, such modifications being still within the scope of the invention.

Claims (11)

1. Device for obtaining panoramic pictures, applicable to cameras, comprising a rotatable support formed by a fixed portion which is removably fixable on a fixed support and a movable portion on which a camera is removably fixable, said fixed portion of said rotatable support being provided with actuating means which are able to cause said movable part and said camera to rotate, said camera being connectable to working means which are adapted to cause the film to be slid in a controlled manner, the motion of translation of said film and the motion of rotation of the camera being simultaneous and interdependent, in such a way that the film displacements coincide with the image displacements resulting from the rotation of the camera, and a plate provided in its central area with a slit extending for the whole height of the photogram being in addition in use placed into the camera on the bottom of its obscure chamber, said plate being arranged in front of the film in such a way that the film moves adjacent to the rear of the plate, means being provided for controlling and actuating the motion of rotation of the camera and the motion of sliding of film.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein said actuating means in said fixed portion of said rotatable support comprises an electric geared motor fixed into said fixed portion, the driving shaft of said electric geared motor being connected to the movable portion of said rotatable support.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said working means for sliding of the film in the camera comprises a connection element which is removably fixable on a knob for rewinding the film, said connection element being arranged to commence rotation at the same time as rotation of the camera by working means which are interposed with respect to the actuating means of the movable portion of the rotatable support, in such a way as to realise a definite and constant ratio of the camera rotation speed to the rotation speed of said connection element.

4. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said working means of said connection element comprises a gear wheel situated on a rotatable arm of said rotatable support and engaging, through an intermediate gear, a crown gear fixed on the fixed portion of said rotatable support.

5. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said working means of said connection element comprises a second electric geared motor, which is electrically interconnected to the electric geared motor of the rotatable support.

6. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the width of the slit included in the plate placed in use into the camera in front of the film, varies as a function of the lens relative aperture and the exposure time, which in its turn depends on the camera rotation speed and consequent film sliding speed.

7. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the ratio of the camera rotation speed to the film sliding speed may be varied.

8. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, adapted for use with a camera of the kind using motion picture standard 35 millimetre film, the so-called kind "Leica".

9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein in use the camera is positioned to rotate about an axis coinciding with the barycentric vertical axis of the camera.

10. A device according to claim 1 substantially as described herein.

11. A device for obtaining panoramic pictures substantially as shown in the accompanying drawing and described herein with reference thereto.