Abstract: An open frame sight viewfinder for a photographic camera is disclosed wherein an aiming or target ring of aiming the camera at a subject to be photographed is positioned forward of a correspondingly shaped viewing aperture to view the subject simultaneously through the ring and the aperture. The aiming ring is dimensioned to approximately encircle the extreme rays of ambient light permitted to pass through the viewing aperture. As as a result, when the camera is correctly aimed at the subject, the aiming ring substantially cannot be seen in the viewing aperture. However, when the camera is incorrectly tilted relative to the subject, the aiming ring partially occludes the viewing aperture.

Abstract: A compact camera is of the type wherein a built-in flash unit is movable between a storage or folded position and an erect position. According to the invention, the flash unit includes a flash light emission window that is arranged to face generally toward a subject to be photographed when the flash unit is in its erect position, to provide direct illumination of the subject, and to face substantially upward with respect to the subject when the flash unit is in its storage position, to provide indirect bounce illumination of the subject.

Abstract: An open frame sight viewfinder for a photographic camera comprises an aiming or target ring positioned forward of a correspondingly shaped viewing aperture. The aiming ring is encircled by a relatively narrow annular zone of light rays, including the extreme rays, which pass through the viewing aperture, and it has an outer diameter which is greater than the viewing diameter of the viewing aperture. Consequently, when the camera is correctly aimed at the subject, the aiming ring appears to be concentrically located within the viewing aperture although separated from the periphery of the viewing aperture by a narrow band of ambient light. However, when the camera is incorrectly tilted relative to the subject, the aiming ring appears distorted within the viewing aperture and quickly eclipses a section of the narrow light band.

Abstract: A film cassette is disclosed wherein a spool includes two coaxial core pieces having a convoluted film roll coiled about them, whose outermost convolution is a film leader, and respective flanges fixed to the core pieces which radially extend over the opposite sides of the film roll. At least one of the core pieces is supported for movement axially toward the other one to move at least one of the flanges axially toward the other one to provide axial clamping forces at the opposite sides of the film roll. A film stripper-guide is received between the outermost convolution and the next-inward convolution of the film roll to strip the outermost convolution from the flanges and guide it through a film passageway to the exterior of the cassette shell responsive to rotation of the spool in a film unwinding direction during application of the axial clamping forces.

Abstract: A film cassette is adapted to propel a leading portion of a filmstrip from a light-tight cassette shell in response to rotation of a film spool in an unwinding direction. When the leading portion is advanced to exit the cassette shell, it falls off an exposure-not-completed indicator support to uncover the support. At the same time, the filmstrip continues to cover an exposure-completed indicator support. The exposure-completed indicator support is only uncovered when a trailing portion of the filmstrip falls off the support, after all of the available imaging areas of the filmstrip have been exposed. Conversely, should the filmstrip be rewound into the cassette shell midroll, i.e. before all of its imaging areas have been exposed, the exposure-completed indicator support remains covered. Thus, respective indications can be provided that the filmstrip is either partly or fully used.

Abstract: A film cassette is constructed from several cassette components which, when assembled, collectively comprise a film spool, a tubular-like casing substantially surrounding the film spool and having a pair of spaced lips which define a film passage slit from the spool, and a pair of end caps covering respective open ends of the casing. The end caps are connected by an integral bridge or spout portion which completely encloses the two lips and includes a film passage opening to the film passage slit. This arrangement provides a relative secure assembled cassette.

Abstract: A film cassette is disclosed wherein a film spool having a film roll coiled about it is rotated in an unwinding direction to advance a leading section of the film roll into and through a film passage slit to the outside of the cassette shell. The film spool includes a pair of annular constraining lips coaxially disposed on the spool core to space the outermost convolution of the film roll from an interior curved wall of the cassette shell. The leading section of the film roll is tapered asymetrically and is relatively short to allow it to protrude from between the constraining lips and into slight contact with the shell wall.When the film spool is initially rotated in the unwinding direction, the spool core is rotated relative to the constraining lips until there results a firm non-slipping relation between the outermost convolution and the lips, to thus cause the lips to be rotated thereafter with the spool core.

Abstract: A film cassette is disclosed wherein a film spool is rotatable within the cassette shell, a convoluted film roll whose outermost convolution is a film leader is coiled about the spool, a pair of film constraining flanges are coaxially arranged on the spool to radially confine the film leader to prevent the leader from substantially contacting an interior wall of the cassette shell, and a film stripper-guide is received between a leading end of the film leader and the next-inward convolution of the film roll succeeding the leader to remove the leader from the flanges and guide it through a film passageway to the exterior of the cassette shell responsive to rotation of the spool in a film unwinding direction.

Abstract: A film cassette is disclosed wherein a spool having a convoluted film roll coiled about it, whose outermost convolution is a film leader, includes two coaxial core pieces adapted to telescopically receive one another and respective flanges fixed to the core pieces which radially cover the opposite sides of the film roll. When the spool is initially rotated in a film unwinding direction, rotation responsive means moves at least one of the core pieces axially toward the other one to cause the flanges to clamp the film roll at its opposite sides and a film stripper-guide is received between a leading end of the film leader and the next-inward convolution of the film roll succeeding the leader to remove the leader from the flanges and guide it through a film passageway to the exterior of the cassette shell.

Abstract: A disposable single-use camera is generally of the type wherein a plastic inner camera shell is pre-loaded with film and has front and rear viewfinder openings for viewing a subject to be photographed and a paper outer pack tightly contains the inner shell and has front and rear openings aligned with the respective viewfinder openings. According to the invention, a plastic transparent waterproof casing encloses the outer pack and the inner shell. The transparent casing includes integrally formed front and rear viewfinder lens elments which are optically aligned with the front and rear openings in the outer pack and the front and rear viewfinder openings in the inner shell.

Abstract: A film cassette is disclosed wherein a film spool having a filmstrip coiled about it is selectively rotatable in opposite directions to advance a leader portion of the filmstrip through a film passage slit to the outside of the cassette shell and to return the leader portion to the inside of the cassette shell. A pile-like material, such as velvet or plush, consisting of short close flexible fibers is secured to the cassette shell along the film passage slit to prevent ambient light substantially from entering the slit. The leader portion has at least one hole adapted to receive a sufficient number of the fibers to allow the fibers to engage the leader portion to prevent its casual creep rearward in the film passage slit. The fibers have a resistance to displacement from the hole which can easily be overcome by rotating the film spool to move the leader portion.

Abstract: In a photographic camera, a motorized film transport is operated in a prewind mode to continuously advance successive unexposed frames of a filmstrip from a light-tight cassette to a film take-up, without exposing any of the film frames at the focal plane of an objective lens, and is operated in a rewind mode to position respective unexposed frames for exposure at the focal plane and to return them individually to the cassette following each exposure. Before an exposed frame is returned to the cassette, a double exposure prevention (DEP) encodement is applied to the filmstrip at a predetermined location proximate the exposed frame. If the filmstrip is rewound into the cassette prematurely, i.e. without it being completely exposed, and at a later time the cassette is re-loaded into the camera, the film transport will be operated in the pre-wind mode only until a DEP encodement is sensed.

Abstract: A film cassette is disclosed wherein a film retention member located along a film passage slit is adapted to enter a trapping perforation in a leader portion of the filmstrip to secure the leader portion in the slit portion to the initial advance of the filmstrip from the cassette shell. A trailing end portion of the filmstrip has a cut-out which enables the filmstrip to fall away from a support for normally positioning the filmstrip within range of the retention member, when the filmstrip is advanced sufficiently from the cassette shell to move the cut-out to the support.

Abstract: A film cassette is disclosed wherein a film spool having a filmstrip coiled about it is rotatable in an unwinding direction to automatically advance a leader portion of the filmstrip along a film passage slit to the outside of the cassette shell, preparatory to initial film exposure, and is rotatable in a rewinding direction to wind the leader portion to the inside of the shell, following complete film exposure, at least until a leading end of the leader portion is positioned inward of the slit. The cassette shell includes first integral guide means, protruding from an inner circumferential wall of the shell to a predetermined location proximate the film passage slit and an outermost convolution of the filmstrip, for guiding the leading end of the leader portion between the inner wall and the outermost convolution to prevent the leading end from entering the slit.

Abstract: When a filmstrip is completely exposed in a camera, double-exposure prevention (DEP) data is magnetically applied to the film leader substantially immediately before the leader is rewound with the filmstrip into a light-tight cassette. The DEP data indicates there are no unexposed imaging areas remaining on the filmstrip. If the filmstrip is rewound into the cassette prematurely, i.e. without it being completely exposed, midroll interrupt (MRI) data is magnetically applied to the film leader instead of the DEP data to indicate the next-available unexposed imaaging area of the filmstrip. When the cassette is re-loaded into the camera, the film leader is advanced from the cassette initially to determine whether it is encoded with DEP or MRI data. If the DEP data is detected, the leader is rewound into the cassette since all of the imaging areas of the filmstrip are exposed.

Abstract: In a film cassette, a convoluted film roll is wound on a spool between a pair of coaxially spaced flanges of the spool. A plurality of rigid constraining projections fixed to the respective undersides of the flanges radially confine the outermost convolution of a widened film leader to prevent the film roll from radially expanding into contact with the cassette shell. The constraining projections are each arranged in a slipping relation with the outermost convolution of the widened leader to allow the outermost convolution to readily slide in contact with the constraining projections in order to facilitate a limited degree of radial expansion of the film roll. When the spool is rotated in an unwinding direction, the film roll will tend to expand radially since the inner end of the filmstrip is attached to the spool, and the spool will rotate the film roll in the unwinding direction.

Abstract: A film cassette contains a film spool which is rotatable in an unwinding direction to propel a filmstrip including an integral film leader out of the cassette and is rotatable in a winding direction to wind the filmstrip including its film leader back into the cassette. The film leader has a magnetic area on which alterable data can be magnetically written and read to indicate whether the filmstrip is completely exposed or is only partially exposed. Thus, when the film leader is wound into the cassette the data will be protected and when the film leader is propelled from the cassette the data will be made accessible to read and alter it.

Abstract: In a photographic camera, closing movement of a cover door operates to rotate a film spool in an unwinding direction within a film cassette, loaded in the camera, to automatically propel a film leader from inside the cassette shell to outside the shell.

Abstract: A photographic camera is intended for use with a film cassette, wherein rotation of a cassette film spool in an unwinding direction thrusts a film leader from the cassette interior to a film take-up drum of the camera and rotation of the spool in a rewinding direction draws the leader back into the cassette interior. The film transport apparatus of the camera includes a bi-directional drive member having respective positions for effecting alternate one-way driving connections with the cassette spool to rotate the spool in the unwinding and rewinding directions in accordance with the rotational direction of a single bi-directional drive motor. During advance of the film leader from the film cassette to the take-up drum, the drum is motor-driven at a faster speed than the cassette spool is rotated. When the film leader is secured to the take-up drum, the drive member permits the cassette spool to be overdriven by the resulting pull of the filmstrip exerted at the spool.

Abstract: A compact camera is of the type wherein a built-in flash unit is movable between a storage or folded position in which the flash unit is located relatively close to the camera objective lens and an erect position in which the distance between the flash unit and the objection lens is increased to reduce the possibility of red-eye when using the flash unit to take a picture. According to the invention, the flash unit is supported for movement from its storage position to its erect position generally along an arc extending diagonally of an upper surface of the camera body. The upper surface is longitudinally disposed between opposite ends of the camera body. Owing to this arrangement, the distance between the flash unit and the objective lens can be made greater (as compared to prior art devices) when the flash unit is in its erect position.