Abstract: A camera comprising a chamber for a film cassette having a film spool inside the cassette that is windingly rotated to progressively wind an exposed filmstrip into the cassette and a light lock that is to be closed after the exposed filmstrip is completely wound into the cassette, a rotatable film winder for windingly rotating the film spool, and a closing mechanism operated to close the light lock, is characterized in that the film winder has a single, distinct, dual-function part configured on the film winder to engage the film spool in order to windingly rotate the film spool and to engage the closing mechanism to operate the closing mechanism.

Abstract: A camera comprising a chamber for a film cassette having a film passageway through which an exposed filmstrip is progressively moved into the cassette and a light lock that is to be closed within the film passageway after the exposed filmstrip is completely moved into the cassette, and a movable closing mechanism for closing the light lock, is characterized in that the closing mechanism has a closing portion configured on the closing mechanism to be moved from outside the film passageway to inside the film passageway when the exposed filmstrip is moved completely into the cassette, in order to close the light lock.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera including a main body part with a cartridge receiving chamber for a film cartridge and a film roll chamber for an unexposed filmstrip that is prewound from the film cartridge into an unexposed film roll, a cover part for the main body part, a shutter mechanism opened and closed to expose successive sections of the filmstrip, and a film winding motor operable to wind each exposed section of the filmstrip into the film cartridge when the shutter mechanism is closed, is characterized in that the cover part has a temporary motor defeat that prevents operation of the film winding motor when the shutter mechanism is closed, to allow the shutter mechanism to be tested without having to operate the film winding motor, but is removable from the cover part to allow the film winding motor to be operated.

Abstract: A film exposure status indicator 10,78 for a film cartridge 11 to indicate whether a filmstrip on a spool 18 within the cartridge has been at least partially rewound onto the spool. The indicator relies on rewinding motion of the spool to indicate at least partial exposure of the filmstrip. In the preferred embodiment 78, the status indicator is a self-contained module attachable to a standard 35 mm film cartridge entirely within an external well 66 of one 34 of the cartridge end caps. The module has a central aperture for receiving the protruding end 38 of the film spool and includes a cover disk 26 having first and second status indication windows 40,39. An indicator wheel 52 below the cover disk has first and second exposure indicia visible through the respective windows.

Abstract: A compact camera which comprises a viewfinder having a pair of spaced front objective and rear eye lenses for viewing a subject to be photographed when one's eye is brought close to the rear eye lens to look at the subject through the viewfinder, and a frame counter supported for movement in a space between the front objective and rear eye lenses to view exposure related indicia of the frame counter when looking through the viewfinder, is characterized in that the frame counter has a transparent carrier for the exposure related indicia which is movable adjacent the rear eye lens to permit the exposure related indicia to be viewed through the viewfinder only when one's eye is farther from the rear eye lens than when one's eye is brought close to the rear eye lens to look at the subject to be photographed and to permit one to view the subject without seeing the exposure related indicia when one's eye is brought close to the rear eye lens.

Abstract: A camera has a housing with a bottom face and a front face. A support leg is pivotable away from the bottom face of the housing and a handle is pivotable away from the front face of the housing which can together, but not individually, stably support the housing upright when they are both pivoted away from the housing.

Abstract: A camera comprising a film winding thumbwheel supported for rotation in a film winding direction and an opposite film unwinding direction, an anti-backup wheel supported for rotation in engagement with the thumbwheel, and an arresting device for preventing rotation of the anti-backup wheel in order to prevent rotation of the thumbwheel in the film unwinding direction, is characterized in that the arresting device is a stop engageable with the anti-backup wheel to prevent rotation of the anti-backup wheel and disengageable from the anti-backup wheel to permit rotation of the anti-backup wheel, and the anti-backup wheel is supported to be moved out of position spaced from the stop and into engagement with the stop, without becoming disengaged from the thumbwheel, when the thumbwheel is attempted to be rotated in the film unwinding direction.

Abstract: A camera comprising a rear opening, and a flexible web frame counter supported for movement to be within direct view through the opening to see exposure related indicia of the frame counter when looking through the rear opening, is characterized in that:a top opening is positioned to permit the frame counter to be within direct view through the top opening to see the exposure related indicia when looking through the top opening.

Abstract: A compact camera comprising a frame counter disk supported for rotation to indicate the number of exposures remaining to be made on a filmstrip, is characterized in that the frame counter disk is flexible, has a curved periphery, is bent along a straight line joining two spaced points on the curved periphery to be located in two different planes in order to conserve space, and has a plurality of exposure related indicia that is moved successively from one of the planes to the other plane as the frame counter disk is rotated.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprising a backframe opening at which successive image areas of a filmstrip are exposed, a film winder rotatable to wind an exposed image area of the filmstrip from the backframe opening onto an exposed film roll and to advance an unexposed image area of the filmstrip to the backframe opening, a film metering member engageable with the film winder to prevent rotation of the film winder, and a release manually depressible to initiate exposure, is characterized in that the film metering member is located beneath the release for the release to automatically depress the film metering member out of engagement with said film winder when the release is manually depressed.

Abstract: A film cartridge comprising a cartridge housing, a film spool rotatable inside the housing, and first and second indicators fixed to the housing and to the film spool in order that the first indicator originally at least partially obscures the second indicator to provide an unused film indication and which are positionally reversed in response to spool rotation in a predetermined direction for the second indicator to then at least partially obscure the first indicator to provide a used film indication, is characterized in that the first and second indicators are first and second rings which each have a ring-admitting slit for receiving the other ring to allow the first and second rings to be positionally reversed in response to spool rotation in the predetermined direction, and at least one of the first and second rings has an integral pivotal flap at its ring-admitting slit which is angled not to move through the ring-admitting slit in the other ring and allow the first ring to continue to obscure the second

Abstract: An easy-load camera comprising a cartridge receiving chamber for receiving a film cartridge with a protruding film leader that has one longitudinal edge extending straight from a reduced-width forward-most leader portion to a full-width leader portion following the reduced-width leader portion and an opposite longitudinal edge extending curved from the reduced-width leader portion to the full-width leader portion, and a leader insertion slot for first receiving the reduced-width leader portion and then receiving the full-width leader portion when the film leader is inserted into the leader insertion slot, is characterized in that an inclined film edge guide is located between the cartridge receiving chamber and the leader insertion slot to contact the longitudinal edge that extends curved from the reduced-width leader portion to the full-width leader portion, but only at the reduced-width leader portion and not at the full-width leader portion, when the film leader is inserted into the leader insertion slot,

Abstract: A variable format camera comprising a front cover part having a particular-format viewfinder opening, and at least one other-format mask movable beneath the front cover part into alignment with the viewfinder opening to change the format of the view through the viewfinder opening to that of the mask and out of alignment with the viewfinder opening, is characterized in that a format-encodement-on-film switch is actuatable to provide a format encodement on a filmstrip in the camera; the mask has a switch actuator for actuating the encodement switch; and a rigid support for the switch actuator maintains a gap between the switch actuator and the encodement switch when the switch actuator does not actuate the encodement switch, to prevent the switch actuator from accidentally actuating the encodement switch because the front cover part is pressed inwardly.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprises a filmstrip having a certain width and a film leader for the filmstrip having another width that is greater than the width of the filmstrip, a film-exposure backframe opening, a pair of parallel film edge guides located apart from each other a distance substantially equal to the width of the filmstrip to guide the filmstrip over the backframe opening, and a pair of leader edge guides located parallel to the film edge guides and apart from each other a distance less than the width of the wider leader, but greater than the distance separating the film edge guides, in order to make the wider leader be bent widthwise at opposite longitudinal edge portions of the wider leader between the film edge guides and the leader edge guides, whereby the wider leader is prevented from having to significantly increase the size of the one-time-use camera.

Abstract: A one-time-use camera comprising a body having an interior film chamber for an exposed filmstrip and an interior film exit slot from the chamber which allows the exposed filmstrip be moved through the slot to outside the body, is characterized in that the body includes an exterior protuberance projecting from the body which partially includes the slot and has at least one weakened area adjacent the slot to permit the protuberance to be broken off from the body to open whatever portion of the slot remains with the body, in order that the exposed filmstrip can be moved to outside the body.

Abstract: A compact camera including a housing, and a pivotal flash that can be pivoted between a folded position against the housing and an unfolded position extending from the housing, is characterized in that the housing has a pair of elongate surfaces that come together to define a corner portion, and the pivotal flash is pivotally supported beneath the corner portion and has a pivot actuator that is located to be swung around the corner portion from over one of the surfaces to over the other surface in order to pivot the pivotal flash from the folded position to the unfolded position.

Abstract: A group of two different variable format cameras comprise a viewfinder in each of the cameras; a single format mask supported for movement into and out of the viewfinder in one of the cameras, and an identical format mask supported for movement into and out of the viewfinder in the other camera; a format-encodement-on-film closeable switch in one of the cameras, and an identical switch in the other camera; and a closing actuator connected to the mask in one of the cameras to close the switch in that camera when the mask is moved into the viewfinder in that camera, and a different closing actuator connected to the mask in the other camera to close the switch in that camera when the mask is moved out of the viewfinder in that camera.