JPH09204018A - Film unit with lens - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the unauthorized refill of photographic film. SOLUTION: Every time photographing is performed, a synchro switch 53 is turned on and an on-signal generation circuit TO generates an on-signal. Every time the on-signal is inputted, a microcomputer 60 updates a counted value Kc written in an EEPROM 72 and counts the number of already exposed frames. When a charging switch 55 is turned on, the microcomputer 60 compares the counted value Kc in the EEPROM 72 with the number of frames to be exposed stored in a ROM 60b. In the case the former is smaller than the latter, the microcomputer 60 transmits a charging start pulse to a charge and light emission part 71 so as to charge a main capacitor. In the case the former coincides with the latter or the former is larger than the latter, the microcomputer 60 judges that the photographic film housed in its manufacturing process has been already used up, and does not transmit the charging start pulse even when the switch 55 is turned on, so that the main capacitor is not charged. Therefore, it is impossible to use the film unit with a lens in the case the unauthorized refill of the photographic film is done.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lens-fitted photo film unit for preventing an improper reuse of a lens-fitted photo film unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lens-fitted film unit manufactured and sold by the applicant of the present invention (for example, "Shooting Run" (trade name)) is a pre-exposed photographic film that is pre-exposed in a unit body incorporating a simple photographing mechanism. It is sold in a state where it is loaded, and after use, it is collected at the photo lab together with the unit body.
At the developing station, the exposed photographic film is taken out from the unit main body and is subjected to development processing and printing processing, but the unit main body itself is not returned to the user.

The above-mentioned unit main body is composed of components such as a main body base, an exposure unit in which a taking lens, a shutter mechanism, etc. are assembled, a rear cover, a front cover, and the like. Strobe discharge tube,
It has a charging circuit, a battery and an attached strobe unit. The respective parts of the unit main body are connected to each other by means of nails and the like, and the unit main body from which the photographic film has been taken out can be disassembled into individual parts and reused after being collected by the maker. Some undamaged parts can be reused as they are, and plastic molded parts can be crushed, melted, and reused as raw materials even if they cannot be reused as they are because of severe damage. . The exposure unit and the strobe circuit board are reused as they are if functional inspection is performed and there is no abnormality.

On the other hand, specific parts such as a main body base and a rear cover are not reused as they are, but are crushed and melted and reused only as raw materials. This is because these parts are in direct contact with the photographic film, so even a slight damage will cause streak scratches or scratches on the emulsion side or base side of the photographic film, and the photographic image cannot be restored. Because it has an influence.

[0005]

By the way, the photo film loaded at the time of manufacture may be used up, and the unit body from which the photo film is taken out may be resold irregularly loaded with the photo film and the cartridge. is there.
In this way, without properly inspecting each part of the unit body, the film unit with a lens in which the photo film is refilled may damage the newly loaded photo film or the correct shooting may not be performed. As a result, the quality of the photograph may be deteriorated. As a result, the photo film with lens refilled irregularly reduces the reliability of the photo film unit with lens from general users, and the reliability of the manufacturer of the photo film unit with lens. There is a problem of inviting.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a lens-fitted photo film unit which cannot be reused even if the photo film is improperly refilled into the lens-fitted photo film unit. The purpose is to

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention electrically prevents the operation of the photographing mechanism after the use of the photographic film stored at the time of manufacture is completed. A control means is provided and the control means is provided.
In the invention described above, the control means counts the number of photographed frames and detects the completion of use of the photographic film loaded at the time of manufacture based on the number of photographed frames.
Further, in the invention of claim 3, the photographing mechanism includes a strobe device, and the control means prevents the strobe device from operating.

Further, in the invention described in claim 4, the control means is adapted to release the state in which the operation of the photographing mechanism is blocked by carrying out a predetermined release processing, and the control means is provided with a new photographic film. In the invention according to claim 5, the control means performs a predetermined release process so that the state in which the operation of the photographing mechanism is blocked is released. In addition, the strobe device is provided on a strobe circuit board on which the strobe device is assembled, and the strobe circuit board can be reused in a unit body accommodating a new photographic film.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A photographic film cartridge 1 is shown in FIG. 2 showing the appearance of a photographic film cartridge used in a lens-fitted film unit embodying the present invention.
0 is proposed in this technical field and is published in the monthly magazine "Photo Industry" (
APS (Advanced Photo System), which was also introduced in December 1994, Photo Industry Publishing Co., Ltd. (p.11), and is inside a cartridge body 13 consisting of an upper case 11 and a lower case 12 made of plastic. A spool around which the photo film 14 is wound is rotatably stored.

Both ends of the spool are exposed from the end faces of the cartridge body 13 and each has a key groove 15. A port port 16 is provided on one of the joints of the upper and lower cases 11 and 12, and the photographic film 14 enters and leaves through the port port 16. A light-shielding lid 17 is incorporated to open and close the port opening 16. Both ends of the light-shielding lid 17 are exposed from the end surface of the cartridge body 13 like the spool, and each has a key groove 18.

In the cartridge main body 13 is disclosed in JP-A-6-2.
A film feeding mechanism as known from Japanese Patent No. 66053 is incorporated. Then, the light-blocking lid 17 is opened through the key groove 18 to unlock the rotation of the spool, and the spool is rotated clockwise in the figure through the key groove 18 so that the photographic film 14 passes through the port opening 16. It is cued. As the photographic film 14, there is used one having a transparent magnetic recording layer provided on the entire back surface (the side opposite to the emulsion surface) as described in WO: 90/04214. This magnetic recording layer is
A magnetic recording device provided in a camera or printer is used to record shooting data and lab data necessary for print processing. It is also possible for the manufacturer to record the type of photo film and the film ID number.

The bar code label 19 attached to the cartridge body 13 represents the ID number of the cartridge body 13. This ID number is the same as the ID number of the photographic film 14 stored in the cartridge body 13, and the cartridge body 13 and the photographic film 14 are the same.
One-to-one correspondence with. The ID number of the photographic film 14 is barcode-recorded as a latent image by side printing when the photographic film 14 is manufactured, but it may be magnetically recorded on the magnetic recording layer of the photographic film 14 as described above. Reference numeral 20 denotes a disc on which the type of the photographic film 14 and the number of shootable images are recorded by a bar code. The disc 20 rotates together with the spool, and the data content is read by a bar code reader provided in a camera or a printer.

In order to record photographed data on the magnetic recording layer of the photographic film 14, it is necessary to incorporate a magnetic recording device including a magnetic head and a drive circuit thereof into a camera or a film unit with a lens. However, since the photographic film has a significantly higher rigidity than magnetic tapes such as ordinary audio tapes, it is necessary to use a unique device for supporting the magnetic head and photographic film in order to maintain a good head touch during recording. become. Further, magnetic recording is performed during the single frame feeding of the film after photographing, that is, under the condition that the feeding speed of the photographic film is very likely to change. Therefore, the magnetic recording is performed by following the speed change. It is necessary to complicate the structure of the magnetic head drive circuit, which inevitably increases the cost of the camera.

Under these circumstances, a low-cost camera that is particularly popular, or a single-use camera such as a lens-fitted film unit in which a photographic film is loaded and sold at the time of manufacture and the camera body is collected by the maker after use. In such a case, the above magnetic recording device cannot be incorporated. Therefore, in such a camera, even if the photographic film to be used is provided with a magnetic recording layer, it cannot be utilized effectively, and the advantages of APS cannot be utilized.

Therefore, this photographic film cartridge 1
The cartridge body 13 of No. 0 incorporates a memory substrate 22 including an IC memory 21 for storing photographed data and the like in a data recording device built in a camera or a film unit with a lens. And the IC memory 2
By reading the photographic data and the like recorded in No. 1 at a developing place and transcribing them on the magnetic recording layer of the photographic film 14 or using them as exposure correction data at the time of printing,
We are trying to utilize the characteristics of APS. Since the data recording device has a small cost burden as compared with the magnetic recording device, it can be used for a low-cost camera or a film unit with a lens.

The IC memory 21 uses an EEPROM that does not require a power source for holding data and is capable of electrically writing and erasing data. A backup power source is provided at an appropriate place on the memory substrate 22 or the cartridge body 13. It is also possible to use other memories as long as the above can be incorporated. The IC memory 21 is integrated with the memory substrate 22 by an epoxy resin and electrically connected to the memory substrate 22 by a well-known wire bonding method. A contact pattern 23 in which a plurality of contact pieces are arranged radially is formed on a part of the memory substrate 22, and the contact pattern 23 is exposed on the end surface of the cartridge body 13 so as to surround the end portion of the spool. Note that the IC memory 21 has a low cost, for example, a memory capacity of about 1 to 2 kbit, but it is possible to use one having a larger memory capacity in consideration of the content of the data to be recorded and the cost. is there.

This photographic film cartridge 10 will be shipped not only for a lens-fitted film unit but also for a general camera. However, as for the one for a lens-fitted film unit, the IC memory 21 is prepared in advance.
The LF identification data and the manufacturing date data are written as basic data in a predetermined address area. Also, this IC
The ID number of the photographic film 14 stored in the cartridge body 13 may be written in the memory 21.

The photographic film cartridge 10 for the lens-fitted film unit thus prepared is loaded into the lens-fitted film unit in the factory. In this loading step, the photographic film 14 is pulled out from the cartridge main body 13 to form a roll, and the cartridge main body 13 is loaded into the cartridge chamber and the film roll chamber of the lens-fitted film unit, respectively. Then, the lens-fitted film unit is shipped from the manufacturer.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the structure of a lens-fitted film unit. The lens-fitted film unit includes a main body base 30, an exposure unit 31, a strobe unit 32,
It comprises a front cover 33, a rear cover 34, and the photographic film cartridge 10 loaded in the main body base 30. The main body base 30 includes a cartridge chamber 36 on both sides of the dark box 35,
The film roll chamber 37 is integrally formed, and the cartridge body 13 and the film roll 14a are loaded in the manufacturing stage.

The exposure unit 31 includes a shutter charge mechanism, a film winding mechanism, a counter feed mechanism, a shutter drive mechanism, shutter blades, and a photographing lens, as well as a conventional lens-fitted film unit, and also an objective constituting a finder system. A lens and an eyepiece are incorporated. As shown in FIG. 4, a winding dial 38 is attached to the upper portion of the cartridge chamber 36, and the tip of a winding shaft 38a integrally provided on the lower surface of the winding dial 38 is engaged with the key groove 15 at the upper end of the spool of the photographic film cartridge 10. It has become.

When the winding dial 38 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure, the spool rotates to rotate the photographic film 1.
4 is caught in the cartridge body 13. The photo film 14 has a perforation 1 at intervals of one frame.
Two 4b are formed, and in response to the engagement of the two-tooth sprockets incorporated in the exposure unit 31, the film winding stopping mechanism operates to lock the winding dial 38. Shutter charging is performed in association with the film feeding during this period. Shooting is performed by the shutter release operation, and thereafter, by repeating this, shooting is sequentially performed from the rear end side (the side locked by the spool) of the photographic film 14 toward the front end side. Note that the film single frame feed control is performed based on the two perforations 14b arranged at short intervals, but the actual photographed frames are aligned with the long intervals of the perforations 14b as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. It is determined that the position is exposed.

The front cover 33 is assembled so as to cover the front surface of the main body base 30. On the front surface of the front cover 33, in addition to the opening for exposing the photographing lens and the stroboscopic light emitting portion to the front surface,
An objective window 40 is formed that defines the field of view of the finder system. The aspect ratio of the objective window 40 is HDTV T
The aspect ratio is 9:16, which is the same as the V screen, and this aspect ratio is the standard aspect ratio of the photographic film 14.

A mask plate 41 is slidably installed behind the objective window 40, and a knob 42 is operated to insert the mask plate 41 behind the objective window 40 so that the aspect ratio of the viewfinder field range is about 1. It is possible to switch between the panoramic position limited to the panoramic range of 1: 2.8 and the standard position retracted from the objective window 40. The mask plate 41 is provided with a high reflection plate 43 integrally therewith, and when the mask plate 41 is moved to the panoramic position, the high reflection plate 43 causes the sensor 61 of the strobe unit 32 to move.
When it is located on the front surface of the sensor 61 and is moved to the standard position, the high reflection plate 43 is moved to a position retracted from the front surface of the sensor 61. Thus, by monitoring the output of the sensor 61 at the moment when the image is taken, the mask plate 40 is moved to the standard position,
It is possible to identify which of the panoramic positions is set and the image is taken.

If another visual field range switching mechanism is used instead of the mask plate 40, a visual field range corresponding to the conventional L print size aspect ratio may be added in addition to the standard visual field range and the panoramic visual field range. Also in this case, it is possible to identify the selected visual field range by electrically or photoelectrically detecting the set position of the switching operation member at the time of photographing.

A shutter button 44 is provided on the upper surface of the front cover 33.
Are provided integrally. When the shutter button 44 is pressed after the completion of the shutter charge, the shutter mechanism incorporated in the exposure unit 31 operates to take a picture.
The rear cover 34 covers the back surface and the bottom surface of the main body base 30 in a light-tight manner. A boss 46 is projectingly provided on a bottom lid 45 that covers the bottom surface of the cartridge chamber 36 to support the lower end of the spool and hold the cartridge body 5 in a shell float system.

The strobe unit 32 is a circuit board on which a main condenser 52 for strobe light emission, a synchro switch 53, a power supply battery (AA battery) 54, a charging / light emitting circuit, a circuit for writing data in the IC memory 21, and the like are mounted. The flash light emitting section 51 is attached to 50. The charging switch 55 includes a metal piece 55a incorporated in the right end portion of the main body base 30 and a contact pattern portion 55b of the circuit board 40, and the operation button 55c of the front cover 33.
The metal piece 55a is pressed by the contact pattern portion 55b.
When it contacts with, it is turned on and the main capacitor 52 is charged.

As shown in FIG. 5, the synchro switch 53
Is composed of two contact pieces 53a and 53b which are arranged side by side vertically, and these are arranged on the movement locus of the arm 56a formed integrally with the shutter blade 56. The kick-out lever 57 is biased by a spring (not shown) in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and is locked at the charge position shown in FIG. 5A when the shutter is charged. Then, when the release button 44 is pressed, in response thereto, the kick-off lever 57 is unlocked, the kick-off lever 57 moves in the direction of the arrow, and the upper projection 56b of the shutter blade 56 is kicked off, thereby releasing the shutter. The blade 56 rotates clockwise. The shutter blade 56 is shown in FIG.
, The spring 56c is opened after the exposure opening 58 is fully opened.
This rotates counterclockwise and returns to the original position. At this time, when the exposure opening 58 is fully opened, the arm 56a elastically deforms the upper contact piece 53a to bring it into contact with the lower contact piece 53b, whereby the synchro switch 53 is turned on.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a microcomputer 60, a reflection type sensor 61, a flexible wiring board 62, and an EEPROM 72 are mounted on the circuit board 50, and an external computer and the like and the microcomputer 60. I / O port 50 to connect to
a is formed. The microcomputer 60 is provided as a recording control IC for writing various kinds of data in the IC memory 21 of the photo film cartridge 10, but in addition to this, the photo film cartridge 1 is also provided.
It has a function to control the film unit with lens that is refilled with 0 so that it cannot be reused. The sensor 61 is
It is attached to the front side of the circuit board 50 and detects the high reflection plate 43.

At the tip of the flexible wiring board 62, a plug 63 having a plurality of connecting pins 63a arranged in a line is provided. The plug 63 is connected to a connector 64 incorporated in the upper portion of the cartridge chamber 36 of the main body base 30 as shown in FIG. 4. A sleeve for bearing the winding shaft 38a of the winding dial 38 is provided on the upper wall of the cartridge chamber 36, and a plurality of elastic and conductive metal contact pieces 65 are radially assembled on the outer circumference of the sleeve. . One end of each metal contact piece 65 is soldered to a pin of the connector 64 via a lead wire.

The other end of the metal contact piece 65 is pressed against the head of a connection pin 66 arranged so as to surround the winding shaft 38a, and presses each connection pin 66 into the cartridge chamber. Therefore, when the photographic film cartridge 10 is loaded in the cartridge chamber 36, the connecting pin 66
Touches a predetermined position of the contact pattern 23 exposed on the upper surface of the cartridge body 13. As a result, the IC memory 2
1 and the microcomputer 60 are electrically connected.

The photographic film cartridge 10 is
Unlike the conventional 135 film cartridge, it is necessary to externally drive the light shielding lid 17 in addition to driving the spool.
Therefore, when loaded in a camera or a film unit with a lens, it is necessary to properly engage an external drive member with both the key groove 15 and the key groove 18. Therefore, the cartridge body 13 itself is
6, the cartridge body 13 is positioned at both ends of the spool, and is held in a form called a shell float that gives the cartridge body 13 a degree of freedom in the rotation direction around the spool. In this way, by holding the cartridge body 13 in the cartridge chamber 36 with the shell float, it becomes easier to further engage the opening / closing member of the light shielding lid 17 with the key groove 18 of the light shielding lid 17.

In FIG. 1 showing the configuration of the microcomputer 60 and its peripheral circuits, the microcomputer 60 is shown.
In addition to the CPU 60a, the ROM 60b, the RAM 60c,
It includes a calendar circuit 60d. The ROM 60b stores programs for performing various sequences, and data such as the number of photographable images of the photo film 14 stored in the lens-fitted film unit in which the microcomputer 60 is mounted. RAM60c is C
The PU 60 is used as a work memory for temporarily storing data required when executing the sequence, and the calendar circuit 60d clocks the current date.

The ON signal generating circuit 70 generates an ON signal at the moment when the synchro switch 53 is turned ON. This ON signal is a signal that indicates that shooting has been performed.
While being sent to the microcomputer 60, it is also sent to the charging / light emitting circuit 71 as a timing signal for performing strobe light emission. Further, the microcomputer 60 receives the light emission signal from the charging / light emitting circuit 71 when the flash light emission is performed, and detects the presence or absence of the flash light emission by the presence or absence of the light emission signal input. When the ON signal is input, the microcomputer 60 reads the identification information of the finder visual field range from the detection signal from the sensor 61.

The microcomputer 60 records the strobe data indicating the presence or absence of strobe light emission as exposure data, and the identification information of the viewfinder field range as print format data in the IC memory 21 for each photographed frame, and the calendar circuit 60c. The data of the measured date is also recorded in the IC memory 21 for each frame.

An EEPROM 72 is connected to the microcomputer 60 to count the number of shot images. The content (count value Kc) of the EEPROM 72 is updated by the microcomputer 60 each time an ON signal is generated, so that the number of shot images is counted. The microcomputer 60 has the count value Kc and the ROM 60b every time the charging switch 55 is turned on.
Compare with the number of possible shots recorded in. When the former is smaller than the latter, a charging start pulse is sent to the charging / light emitting unit 71 to charge the main capacitor 52, and conversely, when the former is equal to or higher than the latter value, the charging switch Even if 55 is turned on, the charging start pulse is not sent. That is, even if the new photo film cartridge 10 is irregularly refilled after the completion of the shooting of all the shooting frames of the photo film 14 loaded at the manufacturing stage of the manufacturer, the stroboscopic light emission which is a part of the shooting function is prohibited. Disables the reuse of lens-fitted film units.

Here, the EEPROM is used to count the number of photographed images even when the power battery 54 is removed during an irregular refilling.
This is to prevent the count value Kc from being reset.

An external computer is connected to the I / O port 50a after the lens-fitted film unit is collected. Then, by sending various commands from the I / O port 50a to the microcomputer 60, the function of the strobe unit 32 is inspected and E
The count value Kc of the EPROM 72 can be rewritten. As a result, the microcomputer 60 and the strobe unit 32 to which the microcomputer 60 is attached can be properly reused.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the charging / light emitting circuit 71. The charging / light emitting circuit 71 converts the low voltage of the power supply battery 54 into a high voltage, and charges the main capacitor 52 with this high voltage. The oscillation transistor 75 and the oscillation transformer 76 form a known blocking oscillation circuit. By the charge start pulse (“L level”) from the microcomputer 60, the switching transistor 7
When 7 is turned on, a base current flows into the oscillation transistor 75 and the blocking oscillation circuit starts operating.
Further, when the oscillation transistor 75 operates in the charging / light emitting circuit 71, a base current flows to start the operation.
A control transistor 78 for applying the voltage of the power supply battery 54 as a base voltage to the oscillation transistor 75 via the oscillation transformer 77 is provided.

With this control transistor 78, the switching transistor 77 is turned on by one charging start pulse.
Once the oscillation transistor 75 becomes N and starts to operate, the positive feedback action of the control transistor 78 causes the oscillation to continue even after the switching transistor 77 is turned off. Then, during this oscillation, an alternating high voltage (for example, 300 V) is applied to the secondary coil of the oscillation transformer 76.
Is induced, and the secondary current flowing at this secondary voltage is passed through the diode 79 to the main capacitor 5
2, and the main capacitor 52 is charged.

When the main capacitor 52 reaches the specified charging voltage (for example, 300 V), a Zener current (reverse direction current) flows through the Zener diode 80 and the oscillation stopping transistor 81 is turned on. As a result, the base-emitter of the oscillation transistor 75 is short-circuited,
The operation of the oscillation transistor 75 is stopped, and accordingly, the operation of the control transistor 79 is also stopped, and the charging of the main capacitor 52 is stopped. That is, when the charging start pulse is input once, the charging / light emitting circuit 71 stops its operation after the main capacitor 52 is charged to the specified charging voltage.

The trigger circuit 82 includes a trigger capacitor and
It is composed of a trigger coil and a trigger switch that is turned on in response to an on signal. The trigger capacitor, together with the main capacitor 52, is charged by the secondary side current, and when the trigger switch is turned on, discharge current is passed through the primary coil of the trigger coil. The trigger coil is
When the primary-side current flows, a trigger voltage of, for example, 4 KV is generated in the secondary coil, and this trigger voltage is applied to the strobe discharge tube 83 via the trigger electrode 83a.
As a result, the electric charge of the main capacitor 52 is discharged in the flash discharge tube 83, and the flash discharge tube 83 emits light.

Main condenser 52 and strobe discharge tube 8
A pulse detection circuit 84 is connected to the circuit of FIG. The pulse detection circuit 84 is provided in the main capacitor 52.
Detects an electric current that flows when a momentary discharge occurs through the stroboscopic discharge tube 83, and generates a light emission signal indicating that strobe light emission has been performed.
Send to

Next, the operation of the lens-fitted film unit constructed as described above will be described. The lens-fitted film unit manufactured by the manufacturer is purchased by a general user and used for photographing. First, the photographer uses knob 4
2 is operated to switch to a desired viewfinder field range. When using flash photography, the photographer
Press the operation button 55c to turn on the charging switch 55
And When the charging switch 55 is turned on, the microcomputer 60 causes the count value Kc of the EEPROM 72 to
And the number of shootable images stored in the ROM 60b are compared. While using the lens-fitted film unit officially manufactured by the manufacturer, the count value Kc does not exceed the number of shootable images until the exposure of all the shooting frames is completed. Therefore, the microcomputer 60 sets the charging switch 55 to ON. In response to this, one charging start pulse is sent to the charging / light emitting circuit 71.

As a result, in the charging / light emitting circuit 71, the switching transistor 77 is turned on and the oscillation transistor 75 starts operating. Further, when the oscillation transistor 75 starts to operate, the control transistor 78
Starts operating. As a result, the charging start pulse is not input and the switch transistor 77 is turned off.
After that, the blocking oscillation circuit including the oscillation transistor 75 and the oscillation transformer 76 continues to operate. Then, during the operation of this blocking oscillation circuit, the main capacitor 52 is charged by the secondary side current flowing through the secondary coil of the oscillation transformer 76.

When charging proceeds and the charging voltage of the main capacitor 52 reaches the specified charging voltage, a Zener current flows through the Zener diode 80, and the oscillation stopping transistor 8
1 turns ON. As a result, the oscillation transistor 75 stops operating, and the control transistor 7 is accordingly stopped.
The operation of No. 8 is stopped, and the charging of the main condenser 52 is stopped. The photographer confirms that the charging of the main condenser 52 is completed.
For example, a neon tube (not shown) that is made to be observed by a finder is confirmed by lighting, and then photographing is performed.

When the photographer presses the release button 44 to take a picture, the shutter blades 56 rotate and the frame of the photographic film 14 is exposed. At this time, the synchro switch 53 is turned on once regardless of whether or not the strobe light is emitted, and the on signal generation circuit 70 sends an on signal to the microcomputer 60 and the charging / light emitting unit 71. Here, if the main capacitor 52 is charged, this O
In response to the N signal, a trigger voltage is generated in the trigger circuit 82, and this trigger voltage is applied to the strobe discharge tube 83. As a result, the main condenser 52 discharges, the strobe discharge tube 83 emits light, and stroboscopic photography is performed.

On the other hand, when the ON signal is input to the microcomputer 60, the microcomputer 60 receives the ON signal for a short time from the input time.
The presence / absence of a light emission signal from the pulse detection circuit 84 in the charging / light emission circuit 71 is detected to identify whether or not strobe light emission has been performed, and based on the detection signal from the sensor 61, the finder system sets the standard field of view range. Identify which of the panoramic field of view settings were made. Next, the microcomputer 60 uses the flash data indicating whether or not the flash has been fired as exposure data, the identification information of the viewfinder field of view as print format data, and the current date and time measured by the calendar circuit 60c. Using the date as date data, these are stored in the IC memory 21.
Write to the address area corresponding to the shot frame of.

The microcomputer 60 reads each count value Kc counted by the EEPROM 72 after writing each data in the IC memory 21, and increments the count value Kc by "1" to obtain the count value Kc in the EEPROM 72. Write in. As a result, the number of shot images is counted.

The above-described operations are repeated to sequentially perform the photographing, and when the photographing of the last photographed frame is completed, the winding dial 38 can be continuously rotated. The photographer continuously rotates the winding dial 38 to store all the photographic films 14 in the cartridge main body 13 and bring them to a developing place or the like. When the shooting of the last frame that can be shot is completed, EEPRO
The count value Kc counted in M72 becomes the same as the number of recordable images. For this reason, charge switch 5
Even if 5 is turned on, the microcomputer 60 does not send the charging start pulse, so that the main capacitor 52 is not charged.

At the developing station, the photographic film cartridge 10 is taken out from the lens-fitted film unit and the photographic film 14 is developed. Also, various data are read from the IC memory 21 built in the cartridge body 13. The various kinds of read data are used for exposure correction or the like during printing, and are magnetically recorded on the magnetic recording layer of the photographic film 14 before or after development of the photographic film 14.

On the other hand, the lens-fitted film unit (unit body 10) from which the photographic film cartridge 10 has been removed is collected by the manufacturer and disassembled into individual parts. Among the disassembled parts, for example, the main body base 30 and the rear cover 34 are crushed and melted and reused as raw materials, and the other parts are subjected to a predetermined inspection and are not damaged. Be reused. At this time,
The strobe unit 32, after undergoing an external inspection,
An external computer is connected to the I / O port 50a.
Then, under the control of the external computer, the main capacitor 52 is charged, and functional tests such as stroboscopic light emission are performed.

The strobe unit 32 that has passed the function inspection
The count value Kc of the EEPROM 72 is reset via the microcomputer 60 by a predetermined procedure by an external computer. As a result, the microcomputer 60 is returned to the state of generating the charging start pulse when the strobe charging switch 55 is turned on. After this, the strobe unit 32 is sent to the assembly process for reuse. As described above, the microcomputer 60 and the strobe unit 32 to which the microcomputer 60 is attached can be reused and the resources can be effectively used.

By the way, the photographic film cartridge 10
The film unit with the lens that has been removed is not collected by the manufacturer, but is collected by a refilling company, for example.
Even if the photographic film cartridge 10 is refilled, the count value K written in the EEPROM 72
Since c is equal to the number of shootable images written in the ROM 60b, the microcomputer 60 does not generate the charging start pulse even when the charging switch 55 is turned on, so that the main capacitor 52 is not charged. .
Therefore, the lens-fitted photo film unit that has been irregularly refilled does not operate normally and is not resold. Of course, irregularly I / O port 50
Since it is possible to rewrite the count value Kc of the EEPROM 72 via a, it is preferable that the count value Kc is not easily rewritten by entering a password or encrypting the count value.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which, after the use of the photographic film is completed, the shutter blades are prevented from being driven to make it impossible to reuse the lens-fitted film unit in which the photographic film is irregularly refilled. Is. The parts other than those described below are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and described.

The rotating member 90 integrally formed with the kick-off lever 90a is urged in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing by a spring (not shown), and when the film is wound, it is rotated clockwise in conjunction with the film feeding. . At this time, the kick-out lever 90a rides over the upper protrusion 56b of the shutter blade 56 and the locking piece 91 while elastically deforming, and is locked by the locking piece 91 at the charging position shown in FIG. Locking piece 9
1 is connected to a plunger of a solenoid 92 as an actuator. In this solenoid 92, the plunger is biased in the direction of arrow A by the biasing means, and when the solenoid 92 is in the inoperative state, the kicking lever 90a is locked by the locking piece 91 at the charging position. Has been done.

Further, the solenoid 9 is connected via the driver 93.
When 2 is actuated, the solenoid 92 moves the plunger in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction against the biasing means and moves the locking piece 91 to the position where the locking of the lever 90a is released. When the lock is released, the kick-out lever 90a moves to the right in the figure by the force of the spring, and at the time of this movement, the upper projection 56b of the shutter blade 56 is kicked off to rotate the shutter blade 56. The driver 93 operates the solenoid 92 using the power battery 54 as a power source.

The microcomputer 60 is connected to a release switch 44a which is turned on in association with the pressing operation of the release button 44. Then, the microcomputer 60 drives the driver 93 at the moment when the release switch 44a is turned on only when the number of shot images (count value Kc) in the EEPROM 72 is not more than the number of shot images.
The solenoid 92 is operated via. This allows
It is possible to take pictures until the use of the photo film 14 stored at the time of manufacture is completed, but the photo film 14 is irregularly
When the image is refilled, the shutter blades 56 are not rotated, and it becomes impossible to take a picture.

Further, since the solenoid 92 maintains the latching piece 91 in the inoperative position at the position for kicking the lever 90a, the solenoid 92 does not consume electric power except when photographing, and the solenoid 92 does not operate. Regular photo film 14
Even if the battery is refilled and the power supply battery 54 is removed, shooting cannot be performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the illegal refilling and reuse of the photo film.

The above-described example can be applied to a lens-fitted film unit of a type that does not have a built-in strobe, in addition to a type that has a built-in strobe device.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the use completion of the photographic film stored at the time of manufacture is detected by counting the number of photographed images. For example, the IC memory 21 of the photographic film cartridge 10 stores the photographic film 14 in the photographic film 14. The ID number may be recorded and the ID number of the photographic film 14 may be written in the EEPROM 72 so that the operation of the photographing mechanism such as the strobe device or the shutter mechanism is blocked when the ID numbers do not match. .

In each of the above embodiments, the one-chip microcomputer is used to control the data recording in the memory IC based on the program. However, this control is performed by the recording control IC including various logic circuits and the like. You can also do it in. This example will be described below. The parts other than those described below are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and the same constituent members will be described with the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 8, which shows the system outline of the film unit with lens and the photo film cartridge with IC memory, the unit main body 100 of the film unit with lens is a power supply battery 54 and a circuit unit which operates by using this battery 54 as a power supply. 101 and Xe tube (strobe discharge tube) 102 built in the strobe light emitting section 51
And the synchro switch 53, the mode switch 1 which is turned on and off according to the selected view range of the finder system.
03 etc. are built in. Further, the photo film cartridge 10 having the IC memory 105 built therein is loaded in the unit main body 100.

The circuit unit 101 includes the recording control IC 11
0, a crystal oscillator 111, a strobe circuit 112, and the like. The recording control IC 110 uses strobe information indicating whether or not stroboscopic photography has been performed and finder information in the finder field of view as identification data, and from the time of manufacture to the present. IC memory 1 with cumulative time up to cumulative time data
Record in 05.

In FIG. 9 showing the detailed structure of the circuit unit 100 and its peripheral circuits, and FIG. 10 showing the internal structure of the recording control IC 110, the battery 54 supplies the drive voltage V3 (for example, about 1 V) via the resistor 115. Recording control IC 110
Power supply to the VCC1 terminal of the
Is directly supplied to the Vcc2 terminal. Recording control IC 110
Is always activated by the drive voltage V3 supplied through the Vcc1 terminal, and controls data writing to the IC memory 105. The power supply voltage Vcc supplied to the Vcc2 terminal is the voltage doubler circuit 1 in the recording control IC 110.
At 25, the drive voltage VDD (3V) is boosted, and this drive voltage VDD is supplied from the recording control IC 110 to the IC memory 105. As described above, in this example, the resistor 115 and the voltage doubler circuit 125 serve as a transformer. The resistor 11
The resistance value of 6 is set according to the drive voltage of the recording control IC 110.

The mode switch 103 is a switch which is turned on and off in conjunction with a mask plate for switching the viewfinder view range between the standard view range and the panoramic view range, and when the mask plate is switched to the panoramic view range. It is turned on and is sent to the recording control IC 110 as a panoramic (PANORAMA) signal. Strobe circuit 112
Is equipped with a main capacitor, a charging circuit, a trigger circuit, etc., and charges a main capacitor under the control of a charging signal generation circuit 128 described later, and responds to a SYNC signal generated when the synchro switch 53 is turned on. Then Xe
A strobe light is emitted by applying a trigger voltage to the tube 102.
The strobe circuit 112 has a strobe identification switch 116 built therein. The strobe identification switch 116 is, for example, a semiconductor switch, and when strobe light is emitted, the strobe identification switch 116 is turned on for a certain period of time and sends a strobe (STROBE) signal to the recording control IC 110.

The recording control IC 110 includes an oscillator circuit 120,
Time generation circuit 121, time measurement circuit 122, write control circuit 123, serial / parallel conversion circuit (hereinafter P
/ S conversion circuit), a voltage doubler circuit 125, an initialization circuit 126, a frame number counter 127, and a charge signal generation circuit 128. Oscillation circuit 120
Is connected to a crystal oscillator 111, and a clock (CLK) having a constant cycle is sent to the time generation circuit 121 using the crystal oscillator 111.

The time generation circuit 121 is composed of a multi-stage asynchronous binary counter, divides the clock from the oscillation circuit 120 and generates a time pulse (HP) every hour, and this is generated by the time measurement circuit 122. Send to. The time measuring circuit 122 is composed of a multi-stage binary counter, and measures the cumulative time by counting the number of time pulses as cumulative time data. In this time measuring circuit 122, the cumulative time data being measured is reset to “0” by inputting a reset (RST) signal from the outside at the time of manufacturing, and for example, 32768 hours at maximum (about 3.7 years). Minutes)
It is designed to be able to measure. The cumulative time data measured by the time measuring circuit 122 is sent to the P / S conversion circuit 124 in parallel. The reset signal is also input to the time generation circuit 121, the write control circuit 123, and the frame number counter 127, and these are also reset and initialized at the time of manufacturing.

The writing control circuit 123 controls writing of data to the IC memory 105 of the photographic film cartridge 10 and receives a synchro signal, a panorama signal and a strobe signal. The write control circuit 123 checks the presence / absence of a panorama signal and a strobe signal after a lapse of a predetermined time from the input of the synchronizing signal, and sends identification data corresponding to these presence / absence to the P / S conversion circuit 124. The write control circuit 123, for example, sends a latch signal to the P / S conversion circuit 124 by the input of the synchro signal, and sets the accumulated time data of the time measuring circuit 122 at that time in the P / S conversion circuit 124. .

The voltage doubler circuit 125 is connected to the battery 54 via the VCC2 terminal, receives power supply from the battery 54, converts the power supply voltage VCC into the drive voltage VDD of the IC memory 105, and transfers it to the IC memory 105. Supply power. This allows I
Data can be written in the C memory 105. In order to reduce the power consumption of the battery 54, the voltage doubler circuit 125 may be operated only when writing data.

The P / S conversion circuit 124 stores the accumulated time data from the time measurement circuit 122 and the write control circuit 12
The identification data from 3 is input to the pararell. The P / S conversion circuit 124 converts parallel accumulated time data and identification data into serial data (SD
It is converted to A) and sent to the IC memory 105. The write control circuit 123 is supplied with a clock of a predetermined cycle obtained by dividing the clock from the oscillator circuit 120, and the write control circuit 123 uses this clock as an IC.
It is sent to the memory 105 as a synchronous clock (SCL),
The P / S conversion circuit 124 sends the serial data bit by bit to the IC memory 105 in synchronization with the synchronous clock.

The initialization circuit 106 receives an initialization (INIT) signal from the outside, so that the I film of the photographic film cartridge 10 loaded in the unit main body 100 can be input.
The contents of the C memory 105 are initialized. This initialization is performed when the lens-fitted film unit is manufactured.

As the IC memory 105, an EEPROM operated with a voltage of 3V (= VDD) is used, and serial accumulated time data and identification data input in synchronization with a synchronous clock are latched bit by bit. , Write the data to a predetermined address. The address is counted by the address counter built in the writing control circuit 123 for each frame and data type. Then, the contents of the address counter are serially sent to the IC memory 105 via the P / S conversion circuit 124, and the IC memory 105 decodes the contents to specify the address.

The frame number counter 127 counts up the number of photographed frames by incrementing the count value by "1" each time the synchro signal is input, and counts the number of photographed frames from the set number of recordable images. When the count value is small, the charge enable signal is sent to the charge signal generation circuit 128, and when the count value is equal to or more than the set number of shootable images, the output of the charge enable signal is stopped. The charge signal generation circuit 128 is composed of, for example, an AND circuit,
When the charge switch 55 is turned on while the chargeable signal is being input, a charge (CHRGE) signal is generated and sent to the strobe circuit 112. The strobe circuit 112 receives the charge signal and charges the main capacitor.
As a result, when the new photo film cartridge 10 is irregularly refilled after the number of photographable images has been taken, the stroboscopic light emission is prevented and the irregular refilling is prevented.

The frame number counter 127 has a battery 54
If the count value is equal to or more than the number of shootable images when the power is temporarily cut off and the power supply is cut off, the illegal refilling can be more effectively prevented. In such a case, in the case of normal reuse, the count value may be reset by the reset signal so that the count value can be reused.

Further, the circuit unit 101 is provided with an I / F port (not shown), and the interface circuit (I) of the external computer 130 is connected to this I / F port.
/ F) 130a is connected. Then, by operating the computer 110, it is possible to input a reset signal and an initialization signal to the recording control IC 110 and read and write the contents of the IC memory 105. At the time of manufacturing, the manufacturing date when initialized by the computer 130 and the basic data of the time when the time measuring circuit 122 is reset are written in a predetermined address of the IC memory 105.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. FIG.
Shows schematically the steps from the production of the lens-fitted film unit to the production of a print photograph. First, a unit body of a film unit with a lens is manufactured at a factory, the IC memory 105 is assembled in the cartridge body 13 of the photographic film cartridge 10, and the photographic film cartridge 110 is attached to the unit body 10.
0 is loaded. Further, the battery 54 is mounted and connected to the circuit unit 101.

By installing the battery 54, the battery 54
The recording control IC 110 is activated by the power supply from the oscillation circuit 120, the oscillation circuit 120 generates a clock of a constant cycle, this clock is input to the time generation circuit 121, and the time measurement circuit 122 outputs from the time generation circuit 121 every one hour. The accumulated time data is counted up by the generated time pulse. Next, the computer 130 is connected to the I / F port of the circuit unit 101, and an initialization signal is input from the computer 130 to the recording control IC 110. As a result, the initialization circuit in the recording control IC 110 operates and the IC memory 105 of the photo film cartridge 10 loaded in the unit main body 3 is operated.
Is initialized, and the IC memory 105 is in a state in which no data is stored.

After initializing the IC memory 105, the computer 130 sends a reset signal to the recording control IC 110.
Send to By inputting this reset signal, the time generation circuit 121, the time measurement control circuit 122, and the write control circuit 1
23 are initialized respectively. Further, the count value of the frame number counter is reset to "0" by the input of the reset signal, and the chargeable signal is input from the frame number counter 127 to the charging signal generation circuit 128.

Subsequently, the computer 130 sends the IC memory 105 through the I / F port of the recording control IC 110.
The date and time (hour, minute, second) at the time when the reset signal is sent to the predetermined address are written as basic data. By doing so, the time generation circuit 121 comes to send a time pulse to the time measurement circuit 122 every hour from the time when the reset signal is input, and the time measurement circuit 1
22 is the time when the reset signal is input, that is, IC
The time from the time indicated by the basic data written in the memory 105 is measured every hour.

In this way, the unit main body 100 (film unit with lens) for which the basic data writing has been completed is subjected to a predetermined inspection and then shipped from the factory to the general user. When used by a general user, the photographer operates the mask plate to switch the viewfinder field to either the standard field of view range or the panoramic field of view for shooting. When the mask plate is moved to the position of the standard visual field range, the mode switch 103 is turned off, no panoramic signal is generated, and when it is moved to the position of the panoramic visual field range, the mode switch 103 is turned off.
When N, the panorama signal is input to the recording control IC 110.

When the charging switch 55 is turned on,
Charging signal generation circuit 128 to which a chargeable signal is input
Sends a charge signal to the strobe circuit 112. As a result, the strobe circuit 112 charges the main capacitor. Then, when photographing is performed, the synchro switch 53 is turned on regardless of whether or not the strobe light is emitted, and the synchro signal is transmitted to the write control circuit 12 of the recording control IC 110.
3, the strobe circuit 112 and the frame number counter 127. As a result, the count value of the frame number counter 127 is incremented by "1", and the number of photographed personal images becomes "1".

When the main capacitor is charged by the input of the synchronizing signal, the strobe circuit 112 applies a trigger voltage to the Xe tube 102 to emit strobe light.
Then, when this strobe light emission is performed, the strobe identification switch 116 is turned on, and a strobe signal is input to the recording control IC 110 for a fixed time. If the flash does not fire, the flash identification switch 1
16 remains off, and no strobe signal is generated. Note that the mode switch 103 may be turned on for a certain period of time as well as the strobe identification switch 116.

When the synchronizing signal is input, the write control circuit 123 latches the identification data in the latch circuit, for example, based on the presence / absence of the strobe signal and the panorama signal. Of course, this identification data is latched in a short time after the input of the synchronizing signal. Further, the write control circuit 123 converts the latch signal into the P / S conversion circuit 12
4, and the cumulative time data of the time measuring circuit 122 at this time is set in the P / S conversion circuit 124. After this,
The write control circuit 123 starts sending the synchronous clock. As a result, the P / S conversion circuit 124 converts the cumulative time data set at the timing synchronized with the synchronization clock into serial data and sends it to the IC memory 105. Then, the IC memory 105 writes the input accumulated time data to an address corresponding to the accumulated time data of the photographed frames.

When the P / S conversion circuit 124 completes the transmission of the accumulated time data, the write control circuit 123 then
The latched identification data is set in the P / S conversion circuit 124, and thereafter, the synchronous clock is started to be transmitted again. Thereby, the serial data of the identification data is sent from the P / S conversion circuit 124 to the IC memory 105, and this identification data is written in the address corresponding to the identification data of the photographed frame. In this way, the IC memory 105
Into, is written the accumulated time data of the accumulated time measured from the time represented by the basic data to the time of photographing, and the identification data including the presence / absence of strobe light emission and the information of the viewfinder field. In this way, data is sequentially written to the IC memory 105 and the frame number counter 127 is incremented for each shooting.

The used lens-fitted photo film unit is taken out by the user to the DPE dealer or the photo lab as it is. At DPE dealers, from the film unit with lens to the photo film cartridge 1
0 is taken out and basic data, cumulative time data for each frame and identification data are read from the IC memory 105 by a predetermined data reading device. Then, the identification data is used for exposure correction at the time of development or printing and determination of the print format. In addition, the cumulative time data is obtained by adding the time represented by the cumulative time data for each shooting frame to the date and time represented in the basic data,
The shooting date and time are calculated.

The obtained identification data, photographing date, and time are magnetically recorded on the magnetic recording layer of the photographic film 14 or written in the IC memory 105 before or after the development of the photographic film 14. Then, the developed photographic film 14 is stored again in the cartridge main body 13 and returned to the customer. Further, the obtained photographing date is printed on the print photograph according to the calculation customer's request.

On the other hand, the lens-fitted photo film unit (unit body 100) from which the photo film cartridge 10 has been removed is collected by the maker and reused as a raw material or subjected to a predetermined inspection as in the above embodiment. It is reused as it is. Then, the circuit unit 101 can be reused by a predetermined procedure by the external computer 130. Further, even if the photo film cartridge 10 is irregularly refilled, since the count value of the frame number counter 127 matches the number of photographable images, a charge enable signal is not generated, so that the charge switch 55 may be turned on. The charge signal is not generated and the main capacitor is not charged. Therefore, the lens-fitted photo film unit that has been irregularly refilled does not operate normally and is not resold.

In each of the embodiments described above, the lens-fitted film unit using the photographic film cartridge having the IC memory built in the cartridge body has been described.
It may be a film unit with a lens that uses a photo film cartridge that does not include an IC memory.
It may be a lens-fitted film unit using a 35-type photographic film cartridge.

[0089]

As described above, according to the lens-fitted photo film unit of the present invention, for example, by counting the number of frames taken, the photo film stored at the time of manufacture is taken by the control means after use is completed. Since the operation of the mechanism is electrically blocked, even if the photo film is refilled irregularly, the lens-equipped film unit cannot operate normally, preventing the photo film from being refilled irregularly. , And the reuse of the lens-fitted photo film unit in which the photo film is irregularly refilled is prevented.

Further, by performing a predetermined releasing process on the control means, the state in which the operation of the photographing mechanism is blocked can be released, and the control means or the strobe circuit board to which the control means is attached is properly operated. Since it can be reused, resources can be effectively used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a lens-fitted film unit embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a photographic film cartridge housed in the lens-fitted film unit.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a lens-fitted film unit used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of the lens-fitted film unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the synchro switch.

FIG. 6 Charge. It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of a light emitting circuit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which the operation of the shutter mechanism is blocked.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a system outline of an example in which a recording control IC is configured by hardware.

9 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the recording control IC of FIG. 8 and its peripheral circuits.

10 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the recording control IC of FIG.

11 is a flow chart showing a flow from manufacturing of the lens-fitted film unit of the system shown in FIG. 8 to production of a print photograph.

[Explanation of Codes] 13 Cartridge body 14 Photo film 21 IC memory 32 Strobe unit 50 Circuit board 53 Synchro switch 56 Shutter blade 57, 90a Kick-off lever 60 Microcomputer 71 Charging / light emitting circuit 72 EEPROM 91 Locking piece 92 Solenoid 100 Unit body 101 circuit unit 105 IC memory 110 recording control IC 127 frame counter 128 charging signal generating circuit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A lens-fitted film unit in which a photographic film is housed in a unit body having a photographic mechanism built therein, and a control means for electrically blocking the operation of the photographic mechanism after the use of the photographic film stored at the time of manufacture is completed is provided. A film unit with a lens that is characterized. 2. The control means counts the number of photographed frames and detects the completion of use of the photographic film loaded at the time of manufacture based on the number of photographed frames. Film unit with lens. 3. The photographing mechanism includes a strobe device,
2. The lens-fitted photo film unit according to claim 1, wherein the control means blocks the operation of the strobe device. 4. The control means is configured to release a state in which the operation of the photographing mechanism is blocked by performing a predetermined release processing, and the control means is a unit main body accommodating a new photographic film. The lens-fitted film unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the film unit with lens is reused. 5. The control means is configured to release a state in which the operation of the photographing mechanism is blocked by performing a predetermined release process, and is provided on a strobe circuit board on which the strobe device is assembled. The strobe circuit board can be reused in a unit body containing a new photographic film.
The described film unit with lens.