Abstract: A rental camera is to be used by a customer for picture-taking and is intended to be returned to a lender to unload exposed film and replace with fresh film. The rental camera comprises a camera body having an exterior-to-interior through-hole; and operable means supported within the camera body for movement between a first position for deterring unloading exposed film and replacing with fresh film and a second position for not deterring unloading exposed film and replacing with fresh film, and having an engageable portion accessible via the through-hole when the operable means is in the first position for an auxiliary key to engage to move the operable means to the second position when the auxiliary key is rotated.

Abstract: A camera comprising a rear cover part having a rear opening, a rotatable film advance thumbwheel protruding from the rear opening to permit the thumbwheel to be manually rotated in a film winding direction and having a continuous alternating series of teeth and spaces, and a flexible beam projecting from the rear cover part and having an anti-backup pawl to be received in anyone of the spaces to prevent reverse rotation of the thumbwheel but being pushed out of anyone of the spaces to make the beam flex away from the thumbwheel when the thumbwheel is rotated in the film winding direction, is characterized in that the beam has a pair of opposite ends fixed to the rear cover part and said pawl is located between the fixed opposite ends, to make the beam be flexed intermediate its fixed opposite ends when the pawl is pushed out of anyone of the spaces because of manual rotation of the thumbwheel in the film winding direction, whereby the natural frequency of vibration of the beam can be raised to make the noise

Abstract: A camera has a chamber for holding a film cassette and a lid for closing the chamber. An ingress opening to the chamber is located to admit an insertion tool into the chamber to push the cassette against the lid to move the lid to open the chamber, to permit the cassette to be pushed out of the chamber. The chamber and the lid have respective peripheries with mutually engaging light-trapping portions which engage to secure the lid to light-tightly close the chamber, but which are separated when the lid is moved to open the chamber. The lid is flexible and has a fixed projection which protrudes into the chamber to be pushed by the cassette to flex the lid partially out of the chamber to make the engaging portion of the lid separate from the engaging portion of the chamber.

Abstract: A camera comprising a housing, a chamber within the housing for a film cassette which includes a light shield that is opened to allow movement of a filmstrip through a film passageway to the cassette interior and is closed to prevent ambient light from entering the cassette interior through the film passageway, and a driver rotatable within the housing in opening and closing directions in engagement with the light shield to open and close the light shield, is characterized in that a control lever connected to the driver can be rotationally positioned to protrude out of the housing from a slot in the housing, when the light shield is open, to permit the control lever to be grasped to be manual rotated in the closing direction, and can be positioned not to protrude out of the housing from the slot, when the light shield is closed, to substantially prevent the control lever from being grasped to be manually rotated in the opening direction.

Abstract: The invention concerns a cassette for photographic film.The cassette for photographic film according to the invention comprises: a winding spool (45); a photographic film (41) designed to be wound on said winding spool, means being provided for fixing one end of the film to said spool, said film being provided with perforations (48) formed at intervals along at least one of its longitudinal edges, and designed to cooperate with drive means (46) provided on a camera (42), a perforated leader (43) enabling the film to be engaged with said drive means (46) of said camera for the purpose of its winding onto a receiving spool (44), at least one of the perforations (60) of the leader intended for the initial engagement of the film (41) with the drive means (46) being longer along the longitudinal axis of the film than the other perforations (48).

Abstract: A camera comprising an optical viewfinder with a pair of aligned front and rear lenses for viewing a subject to be photographed, and a multi-lamp flash wheel rotatable to move respective one-time-use flash lamps to a use position for illuminating the subject, is characterized in that the multi-lamp flash wheel has a lamp cover wheel which is transparent to transmit the illumination from each of the flash lamps in the use position, and the front lens is an integral centered portion of the lamp cover wheel.

Abstract: A water-resistant camera comprising a main body part and a rear cover part having a film clearance space between them to permit movement of successive sections of a filmstrip across a backframe opening in the main body part, and a water-resistant casing part spaced over the rear cover part, is characterized in that the water-resistant casing part has continuous stiffener-rib means which surrounds a limited portion of the water-resistant casing part that is opposite the film clearance space, for preventing the limited portion from being bent inwardly against the rear cover part to in turn bend the rear cover part inwardly into the film clearance space when the water-resistant camera is underwater.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprises a film cartridge and a lighttight enclosure which contains the film cartridge and can be opened to remove the film cartridge. Further, the one-time-use camera has a flash unit which is characterized in that a frangible support device for the flash unit is located to be destroyed when the lighttight enclosure is opened to remove the film cartridge.

Abstract: A camera for use with a film cassette having a movable light lock supported to be moved closed after a filmstrip is wound into the cassette, comprises an actuator for closing the light lock. An ingress opening is provided for an insertion tool.

Abstract: A method of making a single-use camera with an electronic flash unit from previously used camera parts, comprising the steps of loading an unexposed-film cassette into a cassette-receiving chamber of a used main body part, locating an electrically conductive area of the film cassette against a pair of spaced electrical contacts of a flash circuit of the flash unit to cause the conductive area to bridge the spaced contacts to complete the flash circuit, and positioning a used rear cover part on the main body part to make the main body part light-tight for unexposed film withdrawn from the cassette. The method discourages unauthorized recycling of the single-use camera.

Abstract: A shutter and flash synchronization assemblage comprising a flash circuit board having a shutter-flash synchronization contact, an electrically conductive shutter blade supported for movement between a lens covering position spaced from the synchronization contact and a lens uncovering position in abutment with the synchronization contact to establish a temporary conductive connection between the flash circuit board and the shutter blade, and an electrically conductive return spring interconnecting the flash circuit board and the shutter blade to establish a permanent conductive connection between the flash circuit board and the shutter blade and to urge the shutter blade to its lens covering position, is characterized in that the return spring is a non-conductive substance which is elastic to urge the shutter blade to its lens covering position and which is provided with a plurality of electrically conductive cross-woven strands to establish the permanent conductive connection between the flash circuit board

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprising a main body part having a spaced pair of cartridge receiving and film roll chambers and a film exposing chamber located between the cartridge receiving and film roll chambers, a separate-part light baffle inserted into the film exposing chamber, a metering sprocket rotatably supported on the main body part for engaging an intermediate film section which bridges a film cartridge loaded into the cartridge receiving chamber and at least a partial film convolution placed in the film roll chamber, and a rear cover part fitted to the main body part to make the main body part light-tight, is characterized in that the light baffle has a film holder for preventing the intermediate film section which bridges the film cartridge loaded into the cartridge receiving chamber and at least the partial film convolution placed in the film roll chamber from separating from the metering sprocket before the rear cover part is fitted to the main body part.

Abstract: A photographic apparatus, such as a camera, comprises a shutter and a heat sensitive element, for example a bimetallic beam or a fuse, for triggering opening of the shutter in response to being heated. A flash illumination source, such as flash bulb, is positioned adjacent the heat sensitive element. The heat generated during flash emission rapidly heats the heat sensitive element to trigger opening of the shutter in timed relation with flash emission.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprising a main body part having a light-receiving and film roll chambers and an integral pair of parallel film rails located alongside the light-receiving chamber, and a separate-part light baffle inserted into the light-receiving chamber between the film rails, is characterized in that the light baffle has an integral pair of parallel film rails that are aligned with the respective film rails of the main body part to serve as a longitudinal extension of the respective film rails of the main body part from the light-receiving chamber to the film roll chamber.

Abstract: A film cartridge comprising a rotatable film spool, an indicator window, an annular indicator wheel rotatable behind the indicator window to move a film-exposed indication on the indicator wheel to the indicator window, and an annular drive wheel rotatably coupled with the film spool for rotating the indicator wheel to move the film-exposed indication to the indicator window, is characterized in that the indicator wheel is resilient and a flex-inducing protuberance is located to distort successive portions of the indicator wheel towards the indicator window as the indicator wheel is rotated, to position the film-exposed indication in the indicator window.

Abstract: A packaged camera comprising a one-time-use camera and a display package containing the one-time-use camera is characterized by: a tear-away extension of the display package having a suspension opening for receiving a support to hang the package for display purposes; an attachment means for securing the tear-away extension to the one-time-use camera when the tear-away extension is torn away from the display package and the one-time-use camera is removed from the display package; and a belt clip having a pair of opposite hook portions, one of which is configured to be received in the tear-away extension and the other of which is configured to be attached to a person's belt to be able to carry the one-time-use camera.

Abstract: A water-resistant camera comprising a frame counter having successive numbered portions for indicating the particular number of exposures remaining for picture-taking, and an optical magnifier for transmitting ambient light beams to the frame counter to form an enlarged image of any one of the numbered portions in order to facilitate viewing the one numbered portion, is characterized in that the optical magnifier is positioned out of optical alignment with at the one numbered portion, and includes an optical wedge that bends the light beams the optical magnifier transmits to the frame counter in order to make the enlarged image of the one numbered portion appear to be optically aligned with the optical magnifier.

Abstract: A camera is provided that includes a door which is selectively movable between an open position and a closed position and a release which is movable between a home position and an away position for selectively retaining said door in said closed position. Door position, release position and film sensors each have at least two states for determining the position of the door and release and for determining presence of film in the camera. The sensors are disposed within an electric circuit for allowing operation of the camera as a function of the states of the sensors.

Abstract: When an exposure counter in a single-use camera indicates that the maximum number of exposures on a roll of film in the camera have been exposed, a function of the camera such as an electronic flash capability is disabled to prevent unauthorized recycling of the camera. A reset code must be inputted to the camera to initialize the exposure counter and to enable the electronic flash capability, to permit authorized reuse of the camera with another roll of film. If an invalid code is inputted to the camera, the electronic flash capability is permanently disabled or cannot be re-enabled for a period of time.