KR900001578B1 - Automatic focusing mechansim for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic focusing camera is operated between daylight and flash modes automatically responsive to ambient light photosensings. The lens is operable between a near-focus setting and a far-focus setting, taking the far-focus setting automatically in the daylight mode. In flash mode the aperture is automatically set to its maximum value, whereas in daylight mode the aperture is automatically set to one of two reduced aperture settings. The largest aperture setting in daylight mode is the hyperfocal aperture setting corresponding to the far-focus lens setting. A further reduction in aperture below the hyperfocal value is governed by a film-speed entry system and ambient light sensings.

Description

Auto Focusing Device for Camera

1 is a partial cutaway view of the main elements of a camera having focus and aperture settings according to the light sensor control, showing the device in a tilted stationary state.

FIG. 2 shows the apparatus of FIG. 1 just prior to release of the shutter slide in the near focus and maximum aperture arrangement.

FIG. 3 shows the apparatus of FIG. 1 in the arrangement of the optional far focus and reduction aperture. FIG.

FIG. 4 shows the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a suspended state prior to commencement of the flip reoperation.

FIG. 5 is a partial cutaway plan view of the device shown in FIGS. 1-4, generally corresponding to the near focus arrangement of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to the one shown in FIG. 5, showing the device positioned in far focus.

7 is a partial cutaway view of a lens cell assembly facing a pair of calibration blades.

FIG. 8 is a partial cutaway perspective view showing the cam motion of four inclined portions provided on the front wall of the camera applying an axial force to a portion of the lens cell assembly shown in FIG. 7 to change the focusing position of the lens.

9 is a block diagram of a typical electronic controller for a camera.

FIG. 10 shows an arrangement of electrically controlled restraint elements that provide two aperture settings in a daylight (far) mode, providing a smaller aperture closure than an over-collecting point setting.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the apparatus of FIG. 10 in an arrangement for setting the aperture stop to the over-focus setting.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: retracting rotor 1a: eccentric pin

2: lens folding slide 2a: extension tab

2b: fold extension 3, 22: guide pin

4: Defocus lever 5: Pivot

6: recovery spring 7: focusing ring

7a: inclined groove 7b: notch

7c: back 8: spring

9: focusing lever 9a: pawl

10: pivot 11: tension spring

12: amateur 13: focus control solenoid

14: release slide 14a, 14b: cutout

15: pin 16: shutter release member

17: activator spring 18: shutter activator slide

19, 20: switch contactor 21: aperture adjustment slide

23: pin 24: amateur

25: Calibrating solenoid 26: Pin

27, 28: Calibrating blade 27a, 28a: cutting slot

29: common pivot 30: optical axis

31: inclined portion 32: corrugated spring

33: front wall 35: main installation wall

36: spring 42: detector flash device

46: voltage switch 48: light detector

50 lens 54 lens cell assembly

56: cylindrical passage 60: hole

68: slope 70: flash exciter

72: flash lamp 74: enable / disable track

75: shutter synchronization switch 84: output control line

90. 95: Ring extension portion 92, 101: Engaging surface

94: arm assembly 96: pole piece

97: pivot 100: solenoid

102: photosensitive input device FP: film plane

E: Extension Boss S: Shoulder Line

The present invention relates to a photography camera, and more particularly to a camera that provides automatic focusing performance.

This application is part of a continuing application of United States Patent Application No. 785,572, filed October 8, 1985, and 891,360, filed July 29, 1986.

Many relatively inexpensive still cameras currently produced provide autofocusing performance and / or autoexposure adjustments that are adjusted by ambient lighting in outdoor shooting or by subject distance detection when used as a flash mode. Ranging sensing used to adjust exposure of the flash mode as well as lens focusing is provided by various devices. Ultrasonic pulses generated by cameras, electronic comparison of images of split-image rangefinders, and ranging by reflection amplitudes of infrared preflashes are all well described in the patent literature. In flash mode, exposure control is usually adjusted by one of the aforementioned ranging detection values, while in ambient light mode, some type of subject illumination weight detected by the light sensor is usually used to adjust the exposure.

In the case of intermediate and expensive cameras, such devices are uniformly provided. In the case of inexpensive cameras, on the other hand, the cost of applying such a range sensing device is enormous. Moreover, ordinary buyers of such cheap cameras are not amateurs, but rather rarely beginners, or both, who use the camera only on rare occasions. These users miss even the most basic manual exposure and refocusing.

Thus, in the field of inexpensive cameras, the need for fully automatic focusing and exposure devices to provide an inexperienced photographer with adequate results of focus and exposure quantum is not met.

According to one of the specifics of this invention, a camera with flash capability has an ambient light sensor, a lens that is focusable between near and far focus settings, and is automatically coupled to manipulate two-position exposure control. When the detected ambient light is low, i.e. when flash lighting is required, the relevant adjusters set the shutter aperture to a maximum value such as f / 4.5 according to the operation of the shutter release device and at the same time set the lens focus to 1.5 m Set the near focus range from (5ft) to 3.7m (12ft.). Thus, the reduced depth of field associated with the large shutter aperture is corrected by adjusting the lens to a focusing range suitable for near flash operation.

On the other hand, when proper ambient light is detected, such as in outdoor photography during bright daylight hours, the focal spot combination is automatically adjusted to reduce apertures, such as f / 8 and 55 mm, such as 3.7 m for lenses. It provides a focus setting in which the lens is set to a hyperfocal distance corresponding to the aperture. By this method, during daylight exposure, the camera is automatically set to provide a clear focus from half of the hyperfocal distance to infinity. Thus, the need for expensive range sensors is completely eliminated.

According to one feature of this punishment, an additional aperture reduction below f / 8 is automatically provided for applications with higher photosensitivity photographs than the aperture corresponding to the hyperfocal lens setting. This has the effect of making the picture of the subjects located near the border depth of the depth of field, that is, 1.8 m (6 ft.) And infinity more clear.

According to a related feature of this invention, the transition from daylight to flash mode is also adjusted by photosensitivity sensing.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Although there was a conventional camera device using manual setting of a two-position focusing device that can be selectively used for manually setting the flash and the normal operation mode, cameras having automatic setting characteristics of these parameters have been manufactured so far as the claimant knows. Never been.

The subject of this invention is the aperture and focusing device for a camera which is controlled only by ambient light sensing. 1 and 5 show the arrangement of the main elements of the device as part cutting furnaces. The device shown in FIG. 1 is in an inverted non-operational state. A lens focusing ring 7 is coupled to move the photographing lens 50 (see FIG. 7) along the optical axis 30 of the device. As shown in FIG. 1, when the lens focus adjustment ring 7 rotates counterclockwise, the focus adjustment distance of the lens 50 is moved from the near focus position to the far focus position. This counterclockwise movement of the focusing ring 7 is caused by a spring 8 coupled thereto. The focusing solenoid 13 is selectively operated by the light sensor controlled sensor flash device 42 (FIG. 9), which is rotatably installed on the pinot 10 and subjected to clockwise force by the tension spring 11. It acts on the buchagodin armature 12 on the focus lock lever 9. The pole tip 9a is usually in the retracted position shown in FIG. 1, facing the outer edge of the focusing ring 7, or optionally, to detain the rotation of the focusing ring 7 during device adjustment. It is released to lock the notch 7b of this focusing ring.

A pair of calibration blades 27 and 28 overlap each other, and each blade is pivotally installed on a common pivot 29. Each blade is provided with cutting slots 27a-28a positioned so that a common passage portion is formed therebetween, and a pin 26 provided on the aperture adjustment slide 21 penetrates this portion. The cutting slots 27a, 28a are angled to each other such that the blades swing to one position to close the aperture of the optics when the pin 26 moves to the left. Therefore, the aperture of the camera can be adjusted between the polarity values according to the right or left shift situation of the pin 26.

The adjustment slide 21 is moored by holding bosses 22a-22a (FIG. 6) which are slidably mounted on the guide pins 22-22 and installed on the main mounting wall 35. FIG. Retained, as shown in FIG. 1, the adjusting slide 21 is usually allowed to move left and right. The adjusting slide 21 is pulled to the left by the spring 36. The calibration solenoid 25 is positioned to pull the armature 24 retained mooringly at the right end of the calibration slide when the device is in the retracted position, to overcome the tension of the spring 36. Have enough power.

The lens retracting slide 2 is slidably mounted on the front surface of the main mounting wall 35 by guide pins 3 and 3 and mooring to the main mounting wall by retaining bosses 3a and 3a. Is fixed. In this way, the lens folding slide 2 can also be slid linearly between its left and right positions, as shown in FIG.

The defocus lever 4 is rotatably mounted to the pivot 5, and is shaped to lock-face the extension tab 2a of the lens folding slide 2, receiving a clockwise force by the recovery spring 6. Notched 4a is provided to hold the lens folding slide to its rightmost position. Next, the lens retracting slide 2 hangs the pin 23 on the adjusting slide 21 to restore the adjusting slide 21 with the armature 24 in contact with the adjusting solenoid 25. Holds against). In this arrangement the focusing ring 7 is also adapted to engage the focusing ring actuation spring 8 by engagement of the extension tab 2a and the boss E starting from the shoulder line S and extending from the outer periphery of the focusing ring 7. It is held in the maximum clockwise position against the force of).

When the defocus lever 4 is rotated counterclockwise enough to release from the extension tab 2a, the focus ring 7 is removed from the focus ring 8 while the counter force from the focus ring ring boss E is removed. Driven counterclockwise. Since the lens sliding slide 2 is not directly spring biased, there is no opposing force in this element.

If the aperture adjusting solenoid 25 remains in operation during this operation, the focusing ring boss E merely drives the lens pivot slide 2 by its own rotational distance. In this aspect, when the aperture adjusting solenoid 25 is not operated, the lens folding slide 2 is caught by the pin 23 and further driven in the same direction. The main function of the lens flip slide 2 is simply to restore the device to its folded state during the film advancement operation.

Referring to the basic operation procedure of the various devices on the drawing during the shooting operation as follows.

Pressure applied to the shutter button (not shown) acts on the release slide 14, which is slidably mounted on the pins 15- 15, to move it downward.

With the immediate effect of the initial downward movement the switch contactors 19-20 are forced to contact by the cam operating surface 44 of the release slide 14. This causes the focus actuating switch 46 (FIG. 9) representing the switch contactors 19-20 to be immediately actuated in a closed state so that the two solenoids 13, 25 in accordance with the detection of the ambient light detector 48 (25). To operate in a warm state.

When pressing the release slide 14 further, the cutout portion 14b rotates counterclockwise by hooking one end of the defocus lever 4, thus moving the notch 4a at the end of the defocus lever to the Move away from the facing position with the extension tab 2a. As will be explained in further detail, the focus and aperture devices are subject to individual adjustment procedures in the next step.

In the release slide 14 there is a cutout 14a through which the extension 16a of the shutter release member 16, which is pushed upward by the activating spring 17, extends through. The cutout portion 14a is of sufficiently long shape so that a sufficient distance is provided between the upper edge of the cutout portion 14a and the opposite edge of the shutter release member extension 16a when the release slide 14 is in the uppermost position. . The shutter activating slide 18 is fixedly held by the shutter releasing member 16 in the retracted position and is forced to the left by a slide activating spring (not shown). After the adjustment of the device is completed, the shutter actuation slide 18 is finally released by the downward movement of the shutter release member 16 to snap to the left to operate the shutter (not shown) in the exposure cycle.

When the downward pressure applied to the release slide 14 is released, the slide is moved upward under the influence of a connected bias spring (not shown), so that the switch contactors 19, 20 are elastically separated so that the solenoids 13, ( 25) returns to the inoperative state. This situation is best illustrated in FIG.

The particular form of the shutter release and rewinding device actuated by the shutter activating slide 18 can take a wide variety of forms, for example, as disclosed in the applicant's U.S. Patent No. 4,595,261 issued June 17, 1986. have. The use of an eccentric pin driven by a film advancement device is described in various aspects of this specification to drive the shutter actuated slide 18 of the type shown in FIG. 1 to the retracted position in the film advancement process. Restoring the device from the non-operational arrangement shown in FIG. 4 to its tilted position as in FIG. 1 is substantially the same as or integral to the eccentric pin device for restoring the shutter slide 18 By an eccentric-pin device.

Therefore, referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 6 in detail, the eccentric pin 1a provided on the folding rotor 1 is hung on the folding extension part 2b of the lens folding slide 2. By the first half rotation from the inactive state shown in FIG. 6, the lens folding slide 2 is moved to the maximum right position. Recalling that the defocus lever 4 is biased clockwise in the rewinding process, in this half rotation process of the retracting rotor 1, the extension boss E of the focusing ring 7 first of the lens retracting slide 2 The focus ring 7 is rotated clockwise by the extension tab 2a.

Since the solenoids 13 and 25 are not operated during the rewinding process, the adjusting slide 21 is in the left position as shown in FIG. 3, and as a result, the lens turning slide 2 is adjusted to the adjusting slide ( It is driven to engage the pin 23 of 21) to move the adjustment slide 21 to make contact with the adjustment solenoid 25. In the final phase of this process, the notch 4a of the defocus lever 4 is lowered again to engage the lens, engage the extension tab 2a of the ride 2 and flip the entire device as shown in FIG. Hang in a true stop.

In addition, the operation of the focusing and aperture adjustment accessories of the camera during the photographing operation will be described in detail, so that one of the two solenoids 13 and 25 is selectively operated according to the ambient light sensor. Detailed description of the control circuit of FIG. 9 for realizing this continues.

As can be seen from the above description, during the shooting operation, when the ambient light is weak, that is, when the camera is used as a flash mode, the aperture adjusting solenoid 25 is operated during the shooting process. The focusing solenoid 13 remains inoperative.

Thus, as can be seen with reference to FIG. 2, when the engagement between the notch 4a of the defocus lever 4 and the extension tab 2a of the lens folding slide 2 is released, the lens focus ring ( 7) immediately receive counterclockwise force. Since the focusing solenoid 13 is in the inoperative state, the fool 9a at the end of the focus lock lever 9 receives spring force against the frame of the focusing ring 7 so that the focusing ring rotates to the maximum. It is lowered into the focus ring lock notch 7b to stop its rotation before being completed. As shown continuously. This degree of rotation is insufficient to move the lens 50 from its short-range focusing position, as a result of which the lens remains focused at an appropriate distance of approximately 2 m.

As shown in FIG. 2, the free movable lens turning slide 2 has the maximum of its traveling range due to the impact transmitted by the boss E of the focusing ring 7 during the initial rotation of the focusing ring 7. It is shockingly pushed to the left end.

Moreover, as can be seen here, by holding the calibration solenoid 25 in an operational state throughout this process, the calibration slide 21 is placed in its rightmost position against the force of the spring 26 connected thereto. At the same time it is retained, the pin 26 is also held in its rightmost position, with the result that the apertures 27 and 28 are in large diameter.

Therefore, the camera properly satisfies the condition of "close-range" (flash) mode operation with the lens set to the short focal length and the aperture maintained at the maximum value. Taking the nominal value f / 4.5 for a 55 mm lens, a depth of field extending from 1.5 m to 3.7 m is obtained in this state. These values are suitable for the normal operating range of cheap flash cameras.

On the other hand, when the strong light detection is detected by the light sensor 48 (FIG. 9) while the camera is in the inverted state as shown in FIG. 1, the focusing solenoid 13 is operated, while The solenoid 25 in the adjustment remains in an inoperative state. This sets the camera to "far" mode. In this case, the situation immediately after the defocusing lever notch 4a is disengaged from the extension tab 2a of the lens folding slide 2 is shown in FIG. With respect to the movement of the lens focusing ring 7, the focus lock lever 9 is held in the retracted position, and as a result, the lens focusing ring 7 rotates sufficiently in the counterclockwise direction. The extension boss (E) of the focusing ring (7) is extended by the extension tab of the lens folding slide (2) when the lens folding slide (2) is driven to the leftmost position and caught by the associated guide pins (3) and (3). The rotation is stopped by engaging in (2a). As shown further, with this degree of rotation the lens is moved to the far focal (non-flash) position, with the overfocal distance preferably 3.7 m (12 ft), resulting in a sharp focus from 1.8 m (6 ft) to infinity. To provide.

Referring to the aperture adjustment device, as can be seen from the figure, when the aperture adjustment solenoid 25 is in an inoperative state, the aperture adjustment slide 21 can freely move to the left, and the aperture adjustment slide 21 With the lens moving to the left, the lens fold slide 2 proceeds completely ahead of the pin 23 of the aperture adjustment slide 21. As a result, the caliber blade adjusting pin 26 is moved to the left along the cutting slots 27a and 28a of the caliber blades 27 and 28, so that the caliber blades swing to one place in the reduced aperture position. This reduced aperture position is related to the focal length and focal position of the lens 50 with the lens focusing ring 7 rotated as in FIG. 3 so as to provide the above-mentioned proper focal length 3.7 m (12 ft). Is selected. In order to realize this, the configuration of the aperture adjusting blades 27 and 28 may be configured so that the focal length ratio of about f / 8 is established in the apparatus when the reduced diameter arrangement shown in FIG.

Details of the mechanism by which the lens 50 moves between two stage focusing positions by the rotation of the focusing ring 7 are best shown in FIGS. An objective lens 50 is fixedly retained inside the lens cell assembly 54, and the lens cell assembly has a cylindrical outer surface shaped to slide slid into the hole 60 formed in the front wall 33 of the camera. 61) The main mounting wall 35 is provided with a cylindrical passage 56 arranged coaxially with respect to the front wall hole 60. The lens cell assembly 54 is fixed to the focus ring 7. A corrugated spring 32 is disposed between the front face 62 of the focusing ring 7 and the back face 64 of the front wall 33 to lift the lens cell assembly 54 away from the front wall 33. Four inclined portions 31 extending forward are fixed to extend forward of the main mounting wall 35. The corrugated spring 32 acts inwardly to push the back surface 7c of the focusing ring 7 against these inclined portions 31. The positions of these inclined portions 31-31 are also shown in dashed lines in FIGS. 1-4. When the focus ring 7 is in its retracted position (in Fig. 1) or slightly rotated as shown in Fig. 2 (Nearness Mode), the inclined portions 31-31 move the lens cell assembly 54. It is pushed to the foremost position with respect to the film plane FP.

Four inclined grooves 7a-7a are provided on the rear surface 7c of the focusing ring 7 to provide a remote focusing (far mode). When the focus ring 7 is rotated fully counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 3, these inclined grooves 7a are rotated to face the associated inclined portion 31, with the result that the corrugated spring 32 is focused. Push the adjustment ring 7 to the rearmost position shown in FIG. This ensures that the lens is in far focus. The inclined surfaces 68-68 at the ends of the inclined grooves 7a-7a will cause the focusing ring to be pushed forward again when the focusing ring 7 is rotated clockwise during the flipping operation. To be able.

One type of typical control circuit in which the solenoids 13 and 25 described above perform synchronization in the course of exposure is shown in FIG. The detector flash device 42 coupled to respond to the photodetector 48 receives a voltage from a source of direct current voltage supplied to the lines 76 and 78 via terminals 80 and 82, respectively. This detector flash device can take many forms apparent to those skilled in the art, and in this invention the device is intended to place the output control line 84 in a low state in response to high ambient light detection by the light sensor 48. . The flash lamp 72 is operated by the flash exciter 70. Internal logic circuitry (not shown, but according to conventional design) inside the flash exciter 70 always causes the flash exciter 70 to flash when the control line 74 is in a low state, i. Disable 72 to trigger.

On the other hand, when the light sensor 48 reads a low ambient light signal, the enable / disable line 74 enters a “high” state, and the shutter synchronization switch is suitably coupled to trigger the flash lamp when the camera shutter is fully open. In accordance with the closing of 75 (not shown in the other figures), the flash exciter 70 operates the flash lamp 72. The state of the output control line 84 of the sensing flash device 42 is applied as a bias to the base of the transistor Q ¹ via a resistor R ¹ , which is focused between the collector of the transistor and the negative voltage line 78. The coil of the regulating solenoid 13 is connected. The emitter of transistor Q ¹ is directly connected to constant voltage line 76. Similarly, the ^second transistor Q ² has its emitter connected to the constant voltage line 76 and its collector connected to the negative voltage line 78 via the aperture control solenoid 25. It is biased through resistor R2 coupled to the collector of base transistor Q ^{1 of} transistor Q ² .

Considering the action of the transistors Q ¹ and Q ² with respect to the base bias signal applied to the transistor Q ¹ via the resistor R1 via the control line 84, as can be clearly seen, the transistor Since the transistor Q ¹ is in a conductive state when the base of Q ¹ is in a low state (high light / distance mode), the focusing solenoid 13 is operated. The transistor base of (Q ²⁾ - emitter junction is the collector of the transistor (Q ¹⁾ - because it is connected across the emitter wire, under these circumstances, of course, is a transistor (Q ²⁾ has a cut-off state, and as a result, aperture control Solenoid 25 is also blocked. Conversely, if the signal level of the control line 84 is sufficiently raised, the transistor Q ¹ is cut off and the transistor Q ² is conductive. Therefore, according to the output signal level of the control line 84, two selective actuations of the solenoids 13 and 25 can be implemented only by the magnitude of the ambient light level detection of the light sensor 48. The device voltage is supplied to transistors Q ¹ and Q ² via voltage switch 46, where voltage switch 46 constitutes switch contactors 19, 20 shown in FIGS. 1-4. It is done.

In daylight (remote) mode, facilities for setting the aperture smaller than the above-mentioned focal point setting are provided. To illustrate this, for example, the leftward travel of pin 26 (FIGS. 1-4) is restricted at one or more intermediate positions. 10 and 11 illustrate electrically controlled solenoid clasps that provide two remote mode aperture settings. As can be seen in more detail with reference to FIG. 10, the solenoid 100 with the arm assembly 94 rotated about the pivot 97 is spring loaded (by means not shown), thereby arm assembly. Push the pole piece 96 installed in the solenoids. The solenoid 100 may be selectively operated by the light sensing related control signal from the control circuit 42 of FIG. The arm assembly 94 is shaped to have an annular extension 95 at its end, and a locking surface 101 is provided on this extension. The extension 90 of the adjustment slide 21 is likewise shaped to have an annular extension 90 with a locking surface 92.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 10, the engaging surfaces 92 and 101 facing each other with the solenoid 100 inoperative are biased to each other, so that the aperture adjusting slide 21 moves to the maximum left as it is. 11 shows the effect of the solenoid 100 operation prior to the movement of the aperture adjustment slide 21. Here, the engaging surfaces 92 and 101 are in a facing relationship, and the movement of the adjusting slide 21 is terminated on the way.

The aperture adjustment blades 27 and 28 are shaped to provide an appropriate setting, for example, f / 8 corresponding to the above-mentioned focal point distance of 3.7 m, when the aperture adjustment slide 21 is at this intermediate position. . Therefore, the solenoid 100 is operated when either the photosensitivity or the ambient light is relatively low and requires an aperture of f / 8. In high ambient light conditions or, optionally, at sufficiently high photosensitivity ratings, the solenoid 100 remains inactive throughout the calibration process, such that the calibration slide 21 is shown in FIG. Move all the way to the left.

In this state, the arrangement of the aperture adjusting blades 27 and 28 is made smaller in the effective diameter than the value corresponding to the hyperfocal distance, that is, the f stop value is larger. This not only compensates for the exposure, but also reduces the diameter of the confusion circle for objects at infinity and 1.8m, thereby sharpening the extremes of the hyperfocal range. This allows you to get an overall clear picture of subjects that are not positioned at the correct focal length of 3.7m.

The photosensitivity information may be input to the control circuit of various types of sensor flash apparatus 42 (FIG. 9) according to known techniques for controlling the slide adjustment solenoid 100. The photosensitivity input device 102 may be a simple type user operated switch S operable between two states corresponding to two substantially different photosensitivity values. Alternatively such sensing may be readily derived from photosensitivity indicators currently made on the outer surface of a 35 mm film cassette. In the simplest case, the switch S can be inserted directly in series with the solenoid 100.

However, this way switching between the flash and the ambient light mode is not controlled by photosensitivity. Thus, as with the selection of the required value of the aperture stop in the far focus mode, the switching between the ambient light mode and the flash mode can be controlled according to the ambient light and the sensitivity. Obviously many of these intermediate aperture positions may also be provided as a simple extension of the principles described above.

As described above, the apparatus for automatically adjusting the focus and aperture based only on the ambient light detection provides a near-field focus adjustment to provide an appropriate depth of field within the relatively limited object distance range characteristic of flash photography when the ambient light is low. And automatic reversal to automatically provide a maximum diameter, and to set the lens diameter combination at a high focal point to an overfocus distance, that is, a distance at which the far end of the depth of field is placed at infinity. The need for a relatively expensive distance sensing device is eliminated, and a cheap means is provided with a cheap camera suitable for the needs of an amateur photographer.

Claims (9)

Adjustable aperture between the full opening and the at least one reduced aperture setting, a variable focus lens, a flash unit for illuminating the subject, an aperture adjusting means for changing the aperture setting and a focusing means for changing the lens focus setting, An improved camera comprising an optical sensor response control device for operating the flash device between an operating state and an inactive state, a shutter, a shutter release device, and a shutter operation device for operating the shutter in response to an operation of a user deactivation member. The flash unit of claim 1, wherein the lens is selectively adjustable between a far focal position for a far subject and a near focal position providing a closer subject focal length, wherein the control device is responsive to ambient light below a given value. In the operating state, setting the aperture to the full opening Further, activating the lens to the near focal position, the control unit deactivates the flash unit in response to an ambient light higher than the given value, and the aperture corresponds to the far focal position of the lens. And the lens is moved to the far focal position with a first reduced aperture setting equal to or less than an overfocus aperture value. 2. The aperture stop of claim 1 wherein the aperture can be set to at least two reduced aperture settings by the aperture adjustment means when the lens is set to the far focal position, wherein the aperture is greater than the at least two reduced aperture settings. The camera corresponding to the first reduced aperture setting. The at least two reduction aperture setting according to claim 2, wherein the aperture adjusting means sets the aperture in response to the level of ambient light in response to the light sensing means when the lens is set to the far focal position. Set the camera to one of the adjustable settings. 4. A camera according to claim 3, comprising means for adjustment in the selection of said at least two reduced aperture settings in response to photosensitivity. 4. A camera according to claim 3, comprising means for operatively selecting a level of ambient light which causes the flash device to operate in response to photosensitivity. 3. A camera according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said first reduced aperture setting is equal to said hyperfocal aperture value. 2. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control apparatus is adapted to adjust the lens focus adjustment and aperture aperture setting in response to an initial operation of said shutter release member before the shutter is opened in response to an operation of said shutter enabler. And a means for operating the camera. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the camera further comprises spring biasing means for forcing the lens between one said focusing position and another position and forcing said aperture between said full opening and said reduced aperture setting, said A shutter engaging device including engaging and engaging means for forcing the lens and the aperture to a locking stop position and setting corresponding to the turning of the shutter, respectively, against the force of the spring biasing means; In response to the initial operation, the spring biasing means pushes the lens from the one position to the other position and the aperture from the one setting to the other setting from the locking stop position and setting. A camera comprising means for releasing. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control device comprises: a caliber adjusting solenoid means for selectively preventing the iris from moving from the one setting to the other setting according to the sensing level of the ambient light in response to the light sensing means; And a focus adjusting solenoid means for selectively preventing the lens from moving from one position to another position in response to a light sensing means.

Images