Abstract: A posing station for a portrait studio which allows for great flexibility in the taking of subjects' portraits. The posing station can be converted between a seating area with an aisle behind it for group photographs and an expansive surface for baby and small children photographs.The posing station is linked to a frame which supports the rest of the portrait studio equipment including the lighting, camera and backdrops. This results in all the critical distances between the studio equipment remaining fixed. The studio can also be automated so that the photographer need a minimum of effort while producing expert quality photographs.

Abstract: In a camera, a snag-and-drag web has one end portion secured to a take-up spool and an opposite free end portion provided with an integral hook. The web's free end portion initially protrudes into a cartridge-receiving chamber to be bent when a film cartridge with a projecting film leader is loaded into the chamber, to make the hook extend away from the free end portion to engage the film leader. Rotation of the take-up spool then winds the snag-and-drag web onto the spool to move the hook to draw the film leader from the film cartridge and onto the spool.

Abstract: A method of assembling a one-time-use camera comprising the steps of placing one of a longitudinal series of edge perforations in a film leader of a filmstrip to be exposed in the camera onto one of an annular series of peripheral teeth of a metering sprocket rotatably supported on a main body part of the camera in order to secure the film leader to the metering sprocket, and fitting a rear cover part of the camera to the main body part to make the camera light-tight, is characterized in that an edge perforation that is smaller than the others is forced onto the one tooth to prevent the film leader from becoming separated from the metering sprocket, before the rear cover part is fitted to the main body part.

Abstract: An autowind gear mechanism in a camera housing includes a harmonic gear reducer having a ring gear that walks a planet gear around a stationary sun gear to thereby move a film spool coupled to the planet gear and move a photographic film roll attached to the film spool. The ring gear has a circular outer circumference and an offset inner bore. The planet gear sits within the inner bore of the ring gear. The outer circumference of the ring gear is couple to a film drive motor, which causes rotation of the ring gear, thereby driving the planet gear, which then walks around the sun gear in an eccentric motion.

Abstract: An ejector mechanism is provided for use in any system which uses photographic film, such as cameras, film development equipment and any other systems designed for film cartridges. One embodiment of the ejector mechanism includes an ejector slide, an ejector slide spring, a trigger lever, a trigger lever spring, a cover plate and a loading chamber. The ejector slide includes a spring hook, a first guide pin, a second guide pin, a trigger lever tab, a trigger lever notch and a film cartridge pin. The trigger lever includes a trigger lever spring attachment, a trigger lever slot, a pawl, a trigger lever head and a trigger control tab. The cover plate includes a ejector spring attachment, a trigger spring hook, a first guide slot and a trigger control ramp. The first guide slot engages the first guide pin attached to the ejector slide to support first guide pin movement along the first guide slot. The first guide slot further includes a latch tab and a latch slot.

Abstract: A camera comprises a see-through viewfinder for viewing a subject to be photographed, and a leveling indicator visible in the viewfinder for indicating whether or not the camera is oriented level relative to the subject. The leveling indicator is an optical prism with two similarly-angled front faces which crest at a common boundary to deviate individual light rays reflected from the subject onto the respective front faces towards each other as they emerge at a rear face of the optical prism. Consequently, two images of the subject will be seen through the optical prism which appear to be at the same elevation when the camera is oriented level relative to the subject and appear to be at different elevations when the camera is not oriented level relative to the subject.

Abstract: In a camera, a snag-and-drag web has one end portion secured to a take-up spool and an opposite free end portion provided with an integral hook. The web's free end portion initially protrudes into a nest adjacent a cartridge-receiving chamber, to make the free end portion bent to extend the hook away from the free end portion. When a film cartridge with a projecting film leader is loaded into the chamber, the hook engages the film leader. Rotation of the take-up spool then winds the snag-and-drag web onto the spool to move the hook to draw the film leader from the film cartridge and onto the spool.

Abstract: A cassette holds sheets of film which form a positive image on one side thereof. The cassette is especially configured to minimize accidental discharge of the film sheets due to jars or impacts. A pick is used to penetrate a pick slot in the forward wall of the cassette to engage pockets formed on the leading ends of enclosed film units and urge them through an egress opening in the forward wall of the cassette. A probe opening in the rear wall of the cassette receives a probe from below to urge each film unit successively into alignment with the egress opening at the time the pick engages the pocket in each film sheet. Inward offsets at the leading end of the cassette are filled by two hold-back fingers, one on each side of the cassette, to engage hold-back shoulders on the leading end of each film sheet to prevent inadvertent discharge of the sheet due to impacts on the cassette.

Abstract: A carefully designed arrangement of an electrical board and an FPC board connected by electrical connectors in a camera. The reliability of electrical connections is improved, and of a higher quality. An FPC board or the like, is positioned along top side wall surfaces of a prism inside a main camera body. An electrical board, such as a rigid board or the like, is positioned along a flat surface on the main camera body that extends in an approximately horizontal direction adjacent to the side wall surface. A two-surface mount-style mounting board is positioned between the top side wall surface and the flat surface in an approximately vertical direction. A horizontal electrical connector is positioned to receive the FPC board mounted on the surface of the side wall surface side of the mounting board. A vertical electrical connector is provided to receive the electrical board surface of the flat surface side of the mounting board.

Abstract: A camera having an automatic flash prevention mode includes an override mechanism allowing a photographer to override the automatic flash prevention mode. The number of flashes and timing of the flashes can be set arbitrarily by the photographer while the shutter remains open, without requiring any cumbersome or difficult operations on the part of the photographer. The camera is especially suited for night photography or underwater photography, in which the shutter release button is pressed once to open the shutter and once again to close the shutter.

Abstract: A mechanism for cocking a shutter actuating lever during the one-frame advance of a photographic film having one or two perforations per frame. A cocking lever pushes the shutter actuating lever toward a cocked position when a claw lever mounted on a distal end of the cocking lever is engaged in one of the perforations along with advancing of the photographic film. When the shutter actuating lever reaches the cocked position, an arresting lever is rotated into an anti-winding position wherein the arresting lever arrests the shutter actuating lever in the cocked position and, simultaneously, engages with a film winding wheel to stop film advancing. The arresting lever is connected to the claw lever through the cocking lever so as to cause the claw lever to remove from the perforation when the arresting lever rotates into the anti-winding position.

Abstract: A method of assembling a one-time-use camera comprising the steps of placing one of a longitudinal series of edge perforations in a film leader of a filmstrip to be exposed in the camera onto one of an annular series of peripheral teeth of a metering sprocket rotatably supported on a main body part of the camera, and fitting a rear cover part of the camera to the main body part to make the camera light-tight, is characterized in that the rear cover part is fitted initially to the main body part with some separation between the two, and with a center portion of the rear cover part bowed in close proximity to the one tooth to prevent the metering sprocket from substantially rotating, and the rear cover part is fitted finally to the main body part with no separation between the two to make the main body part light-tight, and with the center portion of the rear cover part retracted from the one tooth to permit the metering sprocket to rotate.

Abstract: A camera having a zoom lens barrel that includes an aperture size changing mechanism including a pair of light intercepting members which are inserted into a retracted from a rectangular-shaped photographing aperture of the camera for changing the photographing aperture size. The camera further includes a non-rotational cylinder which moves in the direction of the optical axis of the zoom lens without rotating. A rotational cylinder is also included and is driven to rotate with respect to the non-rotational cylinder about the optical axis. A gear supporting member is supported on the non-rotational cylinder. The gear supporting member includes a raised portion projecting toward the photographing aperture. The camera further includes a gear train which is supported on the gear supporting member for transmitting a drive force to the rotational cylinder.

Abstract: To prevent photographs from being blurred by film creep, a camera having a spring-loaded shutter driver member that is movable from a cocked position to an uncooked position to operate the camera shutter and then to deactivate a film metering mechanism, is provided with a blocking member that is movable temporarily into the path of the shutter driver to stop the driver at an intermediate position after it has operated the shutter but before it deactivates the metering mechanism.

Abstract: A film transport mechanism for a camera comprises drive means for advancing a filmstrip beginning with a leading end portion from a film cartridge, and a perforation sensor for detecting a turn-around perforation in a trailing end portion of the filmstrip to initiate return of the filmstrip to the film cartridge. The perforation sensor is movable to a sensing position against the filmstrip to be able to drop into the turn-around perforation when the turn-around perforation is advanced to the perforation sensor. A film presence sensor is located to be actuated by a forward edge of the leading end portion of the filmstrip as the filmstrip is advanced from the film cartridge, to move the perforation sensor to its sensing position before the turn-around perforation can be advanced to the perforation sensor.

Abstract: An apparatus for stopping photographic film advance upon encountering an end-of-roll perforation at the end of a roll of film. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a camera body defining a film track for slidably receiving film, a camming member movably positioned adjacent the film track and including an engaging finger, and a load spring. The load spring positions the engaging finger in a first position out of the film track when film is absent from the film track, and further biases the engaging finger into a second position into engagement with film in the film track. The engaging finger is designed to move to a third position, via force form the load spring, into an aligned end-of-roll perforation in the film to inhibit film advancement.

Abstract: A method of forming a reverse curl or similar crimp in a leading film end of a filmstrip to facilitate extraction of the leading film end from a film cartridge, comprises several steps. First, the leading film end is secured to a film take-up spool in a reverse curl or similar crimp which is opposite to an inherent curl of the filmstrip, to cause the leading film end to be set in the reverse curl. Then, the filmstrip is wound in conformity with its inherent curl into a film roll on the film take-up spool. And finally, the filmstrip is wound in conformity with its inherent curl into a film roll on a cartridge spool inside the film cartridge. As a result, the leading film end will be situated inside the film cartridge in the reverse curl to cause the leading film end to separate from the film roll inside the film cartridge in order to facilitate extraction of the leading film end from the film cartridge.

Abstract: A camera is proposed with which, without a light blocking member on the rear of a film exposure portion needing to be dismounted from the camera body, testing and adjustment can be performed by opening up the rear of the film exposure portion, so that the camera can desirably be tested and adjusted while being operated. The camera includes a camera body formed with a film exposure portion a rearward portion of which is formed as an opening, a light interception member which closes over the opening, a pressure plate which is provided on the light interception member, a main electrical circuit which is provided between the pressure plate and the light interception member, and camera housings, which enclose the camera body and the light interception member.

Abstract: An apparatus for securing a thrust film cartridge and for moving a film door between open and closed positions. The apparatus includes a camera body adapted to receive a thrust film cartridge, a camera door interconnectable with the camera body, and an actuating device. The actuating device includes a latch member, a lug member operatively associated with the latch member, a handle member operatively associated with the latch member, and a force limiting mechanism for limiting the force which can be applied by the handle member on the latch member. The latch member is movable between a locked position, to lock the camera door in the closed position, and an unlocked position, to allow the camera door to move between the open and closed positions. The lug member is engageable with a film door of a thrust film cartridge to move the film door between open and closed positions.

Abstract: A device for identifying a perimeter of a scene to be recorded by an image recording apparatus, such as a camera, includes one or more laser diodes for emitting visible radiation which can be formed into a plurality of beams. The beams are arranged to impinge on a scene substantially along a perimeter of the scene. The visible light impinging on the scene allows a camera operator to identify the scene which is within the camera's field of view without the camera operator having to look through the camera's viewfinder.