GB2198248A - Cameras - Google Patents

Abstract

In a substantially shortened camera (10) the rear portion of the camera is completely open to allow direct insertion of a cassette, and the customary loading door is completely eliminated. A storable slide (60) is insertable to be captively retained by slide-engaging grooves (56) so that the slide when inserted covers the otherwise open back of the camera. The slide retaining grooves are configured to lie in the film plane of an inserted cassette so that an inserted slide will strike a film-engaging cocking lever to actuate it to a cocking position. Insertion of the slide thus cocks the system for testing shutter operation with the cassette removed. Loading instructions are presented in diagramatic form on the slide, which is retained by slide-in grooves on the bottom of the camera when the cassette is in place. <IMAGE>

Description

CAMERAS The technical field of the invention is still cameras, and in particular cartridge loading systems for cameras designed to accommodate the 110 cartridge. The application is a divisional of our co-pending U.K. Patent Application No. 8629505 filed on 10th December 1986.

This invention provides a camera for use with a cassette naving!lobe-shaped laterally projecting dispensing and take-up end sections respectively forming therein a film dispensing chamber and a take-up chamber, said lobe-shaped sections being interconnected by a substantially straight conduit-forming section interconnecting and dispensing and supply sections, said camera having an aperture in the rear thereof for accepting an inserted cassette and having a cocking member disposed to engagingly enter an film perforation and to be displaced in a given direction by an advancing film to cock the shutter, wherein guide means is provided for guiding an aperture cover slide configured so as to cover said aperture, said guide means being disposed to a line said slide so during movement in one direction, said slide engages and moves said cocking member in said given direction to cock said shutter.

Preferably said aperture cover slide bears indicia thereon in the form of pictoral loading and instructions.

According to a further feature of the invention the housing is provided with retaining means for captively storing said slide on the bottom of said housing.

The following is a description of some specific embodiments of the invention reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the camera of the present invention in the unloaded state; Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the camera showing a certridge positioned for insertion; Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the camera snowing an inserted cartridge, and further showing a viewfinder in the deployed condition; Figure 4A is a rear perspective view of the camera in the unload state showing a partially inserted dust protection slide, the slide being shown in breakaway form; Figure 4B is a partial rear elevation of the camera showing tne region of a cocking member or lever; Figure 4C is a side elevational view of the camera snowing the protecting slide in place;; Figure 5 is a bottom view of the camera showing the protecting slide partially inserted into storage ribs, and further showing graphical operator instructions thereon; Figure 6 is a perspective diagranmatic view of the camera according to the invention with a flin cassette loaded thereon.' Figure 7 is a front elevation view of the camera shown in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a plan view of the camera; Figure 9 is a rear elevation; and Figure 10 is a side elevation view looking in the direction of the arrow A on figure 8.

Referring firstly to Figures 6 to 10 of the drawings, there is shown a camera 10 for use with standard 110 cassettes 26. The camera housing has a cassette insertion aperture at the back thereof which exposes the rear interior of the housing and means for releasably retaining an inserted cassette. The rear interior of the housing has at one portion thereof an imaging station for receiving a straight conduit forming section 36 of the cassette and having adjacent to said imaging station a section to accept the cartridge take-up section 34. The housing 10 is configured so that at least the outermost end of the cassette dispensing section extends beyond the housing at one end thereof and said outer surface of the imaging station wall of the housing is configured in close engagement with the confronting inner portion of the dispensing section of the inserted cassette.Thus a camera housing of extremely compact dimensions is provided.

Reference is now made to Figure 1 of the drawings which shows the camera 10 of the present invention in greater detail.

It will be noted that the obctive lens 12 is disposed substantially towards one end of a front wall 14. The camera 10 includes a housing lOa which is of generally rectangular configuration, and is provided with a deployable flip-up viewfinder frame 18 and a shutter release button 16 mounted in a recess 24 in the top wall 22 of the camera housing.

It will be noted that a portion 20 of the viewfinder frame protectingly covers the shutter release button in the stored position as shown, thereby preventing accidental actuation of the shutter.

Figure 2 is a rear perspective of the camera 10 with a cassette 26 disposed therebehind for loading. It will be noted that the entire rear portion of the camera 10 is open, and the rear interior of the housing consists principally of two regions, namely an imaging station 28 and a drive chamber 30. The defining wall 54 of the drive chamber constitutes the left hand terminus of the housing of the camera 10. The 110 cassette 26 is of conventional configuration having a generally lobe-shaped end sections 26a-26b, The end section 26a defines therein a dispensing chamber 32 containing unexposed film. The other lobe-shaped end section defines a take-up chamber 34 containing a takeup spool to which the film leader is attached, and from the bottom of which extends a portion of a take-up spool drive gear (not shown).The two lobe-shaped end sections 26a-26b are joined by a generally rectangular conduit-forming portion 36a defining an open-faced conduit 36 through which the film passes, presenting sequential frames of the film at the imaging station as they are advanced.

When the cassette 26 is inserted into the rear of the camera 10 (see in particular Figure 3), the take-up spool drive gear engages an intermediate gear 38 in the drive chamber 30, this gear 38 being in turn driven by an operator-actuated thumb wheel gear 40 via gear 39. The gear 38 relays this motion to the take-up spool drive gear to advance the film.

A cocking lever 42 movable within a laterally disposed slot 44 extends slightly rearward so as to engage with and be driven by the advancing film. Motion of this lever to the left will cock the shutter and interact with the gearing system 38,39,40,41 to terminate film advance by means well known in the art.

As shown in Figure 3, the cassette 26 can be snapped into the rear of the camera to engage with the take-up spool drive gear 38, and to form a light-tight seal with respect to the camera interior. Cassette retention is achieved by snap-in action to be captively held by resilient fingers 48-48. The righthand wall 50 of the camera 10 is contoured to form a close fit with the dispensing Section inner wall 52 of the cassette 26. With the camera 10 so configured, a substantially shorter camera body is achieved over the prior art.A similar configuration is possible with respect to the drive chamber wall 54, in that at least some of the lefthand portion of the camera could similarly be removed; however, gear 38 must be present to engage the industry-standard take-up spool of the cassette 26, and therefore, only a relatively small portion of this side of the camera could be similarly remov Referring specifically to Pigres Aw 4o slide grooves 56 are provided in rear portions of the housing top wall 22 and the bottom wall 58, and a thin rectangular protective slide 60 is configured so that it may be inserted and slid along these grooves and along the length of the back of the camera 10 to provide a dust-sealing feature.

Moreover, the grooves 56 are preferably disposed to lie along the film plane of an inserted cassette. The result is that when the slide 60 is inserted, it will contact the cocking lever 42 and urge it to the left to a cocked position. To test the camera, one simply withdraws the slide and looks through the lens as the shutter release system is actuated. Thus the slide serves the double purpose of sealing the camera and also providing for shutter cocking, thus eliminating the need for any form of additional auxiliary cocking mechanism for cocking the shutter when the camera is empty. Similar principles may be applied to conventional 110 cameras of the doorless type, simply by providing for a slide entry slot in the side of the housing which accepts the dispensing spool section of the cassette.

To prevent loss of the slide 60, a pair of parallel grooved ribs 62 are provided on the bottom surface 58 of the camera 10. The slide may simply be inserted for storage as shown in Figure 5. As a further convenience, on the surface of the slide 60 are instructional drawings 62-62 which show the operator how to insert the cartridge. It is frequently experienced that those unfamiliar with 110 cameras frequently attempt to load the dispensing section 32 of the cassette into the drive chamber 30, i.e., they frequently are confused with respect to proper orientation of the generally symetrical cassette 26. The camera 10 may therefore be properly oriented with the slide 60 placed alongside of it, so that the user is presented with the proper orientational view of the camera as he carries out the loading operation according to the instructional diagrams 62-62.

Thus, there has been produced a 110 camera body of substantially reduced size, which allows for cassette insertion and removal without the use of a loading door, which further provides for a storable dust protection slide which not only protects the interior of the camera when not loaded, but which also can be used as a cocking slide to test shutter operation. All of the foregoing have been accomplished, in particular the shutter testing mechanism, in an extremely low-cost system.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the broader aspects of the invention. Also, it is intended that broad claims not specifying details of a particular embodiment disclosed herein as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention should not be limited to such details. Furthermore, while, generally, specific claimed details of the invention constitute important specific aspects of the invention, in appropriate instances even the specific claims involved should be construed in light of the doctrine of equivalents.

Claims (4)

1. In a camera for use with a cassette having lobe-shaped laterally projecting dispensing and take-up end sections respectively forming therein a film dispensing chamber and a take-up chamber, said lobe-shaped sections being interconnected by a substantially straight conduit-forming section interconnecting and dispensing and supply sections, said camera having an aperture in the rear thereof for accepting an inserted cassette and having a cocking member disposed to engagingly enter an film perforation and to be aisplaced in a given direction by an advancing film to cock tne shutter, wherein guide means is provided for guiding an aperture cover slide configured so as to cover said aperture, said guide means being disposed to a line said slide so during movement in one direction, said slide engages and moves said cocking member in said given direction to cock said shutter.

2. The camera of Claim 1 in combination with said slide.

3. The camera of Claim 1 in combination with said slide, said slide bearing indicia thereon in the form of pictorial loading and structions.

4. The camera of any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said housing is provided with retaining means for captively storing said slide on the bottom of said housing.