Abstract: A camera includes a main body part, a pair of front and rear cover parts that house the main body part between them, and a cover attachment to the front cover part. An operational device is mounted on the main body part to be included within the front and rear cover parts, and is depressible to be activated. The front cover part has a hole positioned over the operational device to permit the operational device to be accessed through the hole to be depressed. The cover attachment to the front cover part covers the hole in the front cover part to conceal the hole, and has an actuating member that is depressible through the hole to depress the operational device.

Abstract: In a viewfinder for a camera, a first front finder lens forms an image of a subject including a background area of the subject, a second front finder lens forms an image of the subject including a background area of the subject that is greater than the background area of the subject included in the image of the subject formed by the first front finder lens, and a rear finder lens permits simultaneous viewing of the images of the subject formed by the first and second finder lenses, whereby dual images of the subject including greater and lesser background areas of the subject can be simultaneously viewed when looking through the rear finder lens. When one sees in the viewfinder the difference between the greater and lesser background areas of the subject, he or she is alerted to take care in composing the picture to be taken.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the invention, an ink droplet forming mechanism for use in an ink jet printer system includes an ink discharge nozzle for discharging a printing ink; at least two heating elements activatable individually to heat a printing ink at the nozzle to form an ink droplet; and a controller connected individually to each heating element for activating at least two heating elements so that should one heating element fail at least one other will heat a printing ink at said nozzle to form an ink droplet.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display unit for a camera has a liquid crystal display panel and a back light source panel arranged along a back side of the liquid crystal display panel to illuminate the liquid crystal display panel. The back light source panel has a panel portion that extends farther than the back side of the liquid crystal display panel to be located beyond the back side in order to provide illumination other than to the back side when the back light source panel illuminates the liquid crystal display panel. A transparent protective cover panel covers a front side of the liquid crystal display panel to view the liquid crystal panel through the protective cover panel and has a panel portion that extends farther than the front side of the liquid crystal display panel to cover the panel portion of the back light source panel in order to permit illumination from the panel portion of the back light source panel to shine through the panel portion of the protective cover panel.

Abstract: A viewfinder informs the photographer when a camera is tilted relative to a subject to be photographed. The viewfinder includes a pair of front and rear openings optically aligned to view the subject through the two openings, and a translucent element surrounding the front opening to permit a halo of light around the front opening which can be seen through the rear opening. The rear opening is dimensioned sufficiently smaller than the front opening to prevent one from viewing through the rear opening various portions of the halo of light depending on whether the camera is tilted up, down, right or left. Thus, one is alerted when the camera is tilted relative to the subject.

Abstract: A belt clip is suitable for use with a camera that includes a pair of front and rear cover parts, a main body part between the front and rear cover parts, and a particular device on the main body part that needs electrical energy to be able to operate and has a power switch with a movable switch element that is moved to change the power switch from a normal state to a working state in order to provide electrical energy to the device. The belt clip has a clip portion for holding one's belt between the clip portion and the rear cover part, an actuating portion for moving the movable switch element to change the power switch from its normal to working state, and an intermediate portion between the clip and actuating portions.

Abstract: A camera comprising a shutter release button that is manually depressible to initiate picture-taking, and a self-timer for automatically initiating picture-taking after a predetermined interval of time has elapsed, is characterized in that a restrainer is movable to prevent picture-taking from being, initiated due to the shutter release button being manually depressed and is retractable following the shutter release button being manually depressed to permit picture-taking to proceed, and the self-timer is a flexible resilient diaphragm that can be manually deformed from a relaxed state to a tensioned state to move the restrainer to prevent picture-taking from being initiated and that will automatically recover to the relaxed state from the tensioned state after the predetermined interval of time has elapsed to allow the restrainer to permit picture-taking to proceed.

Abstract: A dual film image capture, electronic image capture camera is capable of electronic information editing after each substantially simultaneous film and electronic exposure, and it magnetically records the information adjacent each one of the exposed film frames after completed exposure of the entire film length.

Abstract: A camera has a shutter release button that is depressible to initiate picture-taking, and a self-timer for automatically initiating picture-taking after a predetermined interval of time has elapsed. The self-timer is a flexible resilient diaphragm or thin disk to be manually deformable from a normal state to a deformed state and to have the capability of automatically returning to the normal state from the deformed state after the predetermined interval of time has elapsed. A support in the vicinity of the shutter release button is constructed to receive the self-timer in the deformed state in order to position the self-timer raised from the shutter release button, but to permit the self-timer to automatically return to the normal state after the predetermined interval of time has elapsed in order to depress the shutter release button to initiate picture taking. The self-timer can be removed from the support in order to use the shutter release button without the self-timer or to reuse the self-timer.

Abstract: A partially assembled one-time-use camera includes a film section that longitudinally extends from a rotatable film winding spool in a film cartridge and that is engaged with a rotatable metering sprocket, and a separate rear cover part that is to be placed over the film section and the film cartridge and is constructed to prevent the film section from retracting out of engagement with the metering sprocket. The film winding spool is rotatable in a film winding direction to wind the film section into the film cartridge. If the film cartridge is allowed to rotate in the film winding direction before the rear cover is placed over the film section and the film cartridge, the film section will retract out of engagement with the metering sprocket. Consequently, a cartridge retention piece is positioned against the film cartridge to prevent the film cartridge from being rotated in the film winding direction.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera includes a rear cover part that has an integral door cover portion and an integral remaining cover portion, that is weakened between the door and remaining cover portions to allow the door cover portion to be pivoted open relative to the remaining cover portion to permit a film cartridge to be removed from the camera, and that has a carrystrap post on the door cover portion. An accessory belt clip has a plurality of co-acting fingers which are spaced apart less than a thickness of the carrystrap post and are resiliently flexible away from one another to be able to engage the carrystrap post to releasably grip the canrystrap post. The belt clip that rests against the remaining cover portion when the co-acting fingers releasably grip the carrystrap post.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprising a filmstrip, a concave-shaped flash reflector having a front open end, a flash illumination-producing flash tube inside the flash reflector, and a light-transmitting flash cover-lens over the front open end of the flash reflector, is characterized in that the flash cover-lens has film identifying indicia to identify the filmstrip which are light-transmitting to the same extent as the flash cover-lens in order to transmit flash illumination produced by the flash tube in concert with the flash cover-lens.

Abstract: An electronic flash unit has alternative (dual) capacitor switching to reduce flash ready time for flash firing.

Abstract: A camera adapted to receive any one of a plurality of film loads having different film speeds includes a film speed sensing device for sensing the particular film speed of a film load in the camera, an aperture setting device adjustable to effect different-diameter film exposing apertures, a shaped memory alloy (abbreviated to SMA) wire which when subjected to electrical current for different durations corresponding to the respective film speeds of the film loads is heated to undergo corresponding shape changes to adjust the aperture setting device to the respective film exposing apertures, and a current supplying circuit connected to the SMA wire and to the film speed sensing device that subjects the SMA wire to electrical current for any one of the durations in accordance with the particular film speed of a film load in the camera.

Abstract: A lens displacing mechanism for an objective lens comprising an actuator movable to displace the objective lens, and a shaped memory alloy (abbreviated to SMA) wire which when heated contracts to a memorized shape to move the actuator to displace the objective lens, is characterized in that the SMA wire has opposite ends that are fixed in place and an intermediate movable portion between the opposite ends that directly contacts the actuator to move the actuator when the SMA wire is heated to contract.

Abstract: The diaphragm for an objective lens in a camera includes a circular series of coilable resilient opaque electrodes that are biased to curl into respective coils radially outward to make the size of an aperture larger and are electrostatically actuatable to uncurl from the coils radially inward to make the size of the aperture smaller, a transparent flat stationary electrode that is positioned parallel to the coilable electrodes when the coilable electrodes are uncurled from the coils, a peripheral conductor that encircles the coilable electrodes and has respective conductive connections to each one of the coilable electrodes, and one conductive lead attached to the peripheral conductor and another conductive lead attached to the stationary electrode for together applying an electric potential between the coilable electrodes and the stationary electrode to electrostatically actuate the coilable electrodes to uncurl.

Abstract: A camera comprising a particular device such as an electronic flash that needs electrical energy to be able to operate and has a power switch capable of being changed from a normal state to a working state in order to provide electrical energy to the device, and an activating member supported to be manually moved to change the power switch from its normal to working state, is characterized in that the activating member is a belt clip constructed to be placed on and removed from one's belt and supported to be pivoted against the power switch to change the power switch from its normal to working state as the belt clip is removed from one's belt, whereby when the belt clip is removed from one's belt the device will be made ready to operate.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprises a filmstrip and an electronic flash with a concave-shaped flash reflector having a front open end, a flash illumination-producing flash tube inside the flash reflector, and a light-transmitting flash cover-lens over the front open end of the flash reflector. The flash reflector has film identifying indicia visible from outside the camera to identify the filmstrip, which are light-reflecting to the same extent as the flash reflector in order to reflect flash illumination produced by the flash tube in concert with the flash reflector. The flash reflector is adhered to the flash tube to prevent the flash reflector from being separated from the flash tube without breaking the flash tube, whereby removal of the film identifying indicia in effect destroys the electronic flash.

Abstract: A camera comprising a power source battery, and an exteriorly accessible operating button that is manually moveable to initiate at least one operation in the camera, is characterized in that the battery and the operating button are a simultaneously movable unit; and a pair of electrical leads maintain individual conductive contact with the battery when the battery and the button are simultaneously moved. The battery and the operating button can be the same one-piece entity, or alternatively the battery can be a separate entity that is contained in a chamber in the operating button. Examples of an operating button are a flash on-off button, a shutter release button, and a power on-off button.

Abstract: A dual image capture camera for capturing successive film images and electronic images that correspond to the respective film images has an image-combining selector capable of being manually operated to select an identical print designation for at least two captured film images which indicates that these captured film images should be combined to make a single print, and a display that shows the captured electronic images to permit one to view them in order to decide which captured film images are to be combined to make a single print.