Abstract: A camera system that includes a taking lens having a motor drive mechanism and a control mechanism for controlling the motor drive mechanism, and a camera body to which the taking lens is detachably mounted. The camera system has a power supply that is provided in the camera body. Power supplying circuits provided in the camera body and the taking lens independently supply the motor drive mechanism and the control mechanism with electrical power. An abnormal power supply detecting device in the taking lens detects an abnormality in the supply of power to the motor drive mechanism, and a power cutting device in the camera body cuts the power supply to the motor drive mechanism when the abnormal power supply detecting device detects an abnormality in the power supply.

Abstract: A lens control apparatus, which includes a lens drive section for driving a focus adjustment lens group, a lens drive controller for supplying a drive signal to the lens drive section, an automatic focus adjustment circuit for controlling the lens drive controller in an automatic focus adjustment mode, and a manual focus adjustment circuit for controlling the lens drive controller in a manual focus adjustment mode on the basis of a manual focus operation, has a selection circuit for, when a manual focus operation is performed, selecting the manual focus adjustment circuit to execute the drive control of the lens group.

Abstract: An automatic focusing device in which a plurality of points in a picture frame are measured in distance to form focusing information. The device is provided with weighting means for laying an emphasis on a substantially central portion of the picture frame and another emphasis on the near object distance when forming the above-described focusing information.

Abstract: A flash device comprising a power source; a main capacitor adapted to be charged by the power source; a flash firing unit operable to consume charge stored in the main capacitor to emit a flash light; a switching unit disposed in a discharge loop for the main capacitor through the flash firing unit; a trigger circuit for exciting the flash firing unit in response to a flash firing command; a pulse output unit, which is operable to output some kinds of pulses, the duty factors of the pulses being different from each other, for inputting a selecting command and for outputting one of the pulses in accordance with the selecting command; and a control unit for causing the switching unit to be switched on and off repeatedly in response to the pulse outputted from the pulse output unit.

Abstract: A zoom lens bearing camera comprises a zoom lens having a full-aperture F number which changes as a zoom focal length is changed, the zoom focal length being controllable to a desired value through electrical driving, a ranging unit for measuring a distance to a subject, a metering unit for measuring brightness of a scene containing the subject, an electronic flash unit for supplying as an auxiliary light source to the subject, a sensitivity detecting unit for detecting a film exposure sensitivity, a first data table in which optimum zoom focal lengths respectively corresponding to various subject distances are set, a second data table in which optimum zoom focal lenghts respectively corresponding to the various subject distances are set according to a range of the electronic flash, and a zoom focal length determining unit for determining the zoom focal length corresponding to the distance to the subject by selecting the first data table when a quantity of exposure obtained based upon the brightness of the sc

Abstract: Exposure control apparatus, and various accompanying methods, for use in a photographic camera for improving the overall quality of photographed images, i.e. increasing the number of acceptable and higher quality images, that are produced by the camera for user-selected non-standard display sizes and/or different focal length photographing modes over that obtainable by adherence to ISO/ANSI exposure standards. The quality improvement is attained through user selection of a desired display size and/or focal length photographing mode for each image to be captured followed by an optimization, for that size and mode, of various photographic exposure parameters (exposure settings and, where appropriate, flash parameters). The invention violates the ISO/ANSI exposure standards where necessary to improve image quality, for the desired display size and focal length photographing mode, beyond that which would result from adherence to these standards.

Abstract: An exposure control device for a camera comprising; first means for measuring light from a central area of an object field, said first measuring means including a plurality of means for receiving light from different portions within the central area, respectively; second means for measuring light from a surrounding area other than the central area, the surrounding area being greater than each portion within the central area; means for selecting between a first exposure control mode and a second exposure control mode; and means for controlling exposure in accordance with one of said plurality of receiving means in said first exposure control mode, and in accordance with all of said plurality of receiving means and said second measuring means in said second exposure control mode.

Abstract: An auto power cut-off device for camera and a driving method which can automatically close an automatic lens cap and concurrently cut-off power supplied to an auxiliary circuit in case that a user does not use a camera during a predetermined time after supplying the power to the camera. The auto power cut-off device is constituted by a switch block including a power control for staring the operation of the automatic camera, an encoder switch which can be varied according to the state of the automatic camera, and an operation switch for controlling the operation of the camera. The power cut-off device also has a micro controller of outputting a signal to block the power supplied to the auxiliary circuits in case that the automatic camera is not used during a predetermined period after operation of the automatic camera beings; and a power control means for blocking the power supplied to the auxiliary circuits in case that the power cut-off signal is inputted from the micro controller.

Abstract: A compact muffler for an internal combustion engine provides significant sound attenuation and back pressure reduction. The muffler is fabricated in the form of an elongated rectangular box with the exhaust pipe connected to an inlet in the center of one end, and the tail pipe of the vehicle connected to an outlet through the opposite end. Several wedge-shaped or V-shaped exhaust pulse splitting plates are located within the casing to split and recombine the stream of exhaust pulses passing through the casing. The splitting devices are located in the casing in positions which cause the different split streams of the exhaust pulses to be intercepted at different distances to cause the pulses passing through different parts of the casing to be out of phase with one another. The out-of-phase streams of the split exhaust pulses are recombined to flow out of the outlet.

Abstract: A multi-point distance measurement apparatus comprises a distance measurement device for, and measuring distances to first and second points of an object field to produce distance information, a device for determining a difference between the distances to the first point and the second point in accordance with the distance information from the distance measurement device, and a photographing distance selection device for comparing the difference with a predetermined value and selecting the smaller one of the distances as a photographing distance when the difference is larger than the predetermined value and selecting the distance to the first point as the photographing distance when the difference is not greater than the predetermined value.

Abstract: Described is a camera with an installation structure of lens for light measurement. The camera includes a camera body having a front surface to which a photographing lens is mounted, and through which a hole is formed. A light-receiving element is provided in the camera body, and a lens for light measurement is installed in the hole and has a front surface located at an objective side, for focusing an objective image light onto the light-receiving element. The front surface of the lens for light measure is positioned substantially on the same plane as the front surface of the camera body.

Abstract: A multiple photosensitive element array and lens system particularly adapted for use in a camera for providing scene image light intensity signals for use in automatic exposure and automatic focus control. A two-dimensional photometric sensor array of planar photosensitive array segments is centrally disposed on an integrated circuit substrate so that the planar segments each receive light from corresponding segments of the image focused thereon for developing first light intensity related signals in response thereto. At least one pair of linear range arrays, each comprising a plurality of photosensitive elements, is mounted on the substrate on either side of the two-dimensional sensor array, such that the linear range arrays are separated by a baseline distance extending across the two-dimensional photometric sensor array. A lens system is provided for focusing an image of a scene to be photographed upon each of the two-dimensional photometric sensor array and the linear photosensitive element range arrays.

Abstract: An eye direction detecting device includes a light emitting optical system, which emits detecting light through a first optical path to be made incident upon an eye. A polarization beam splitter provided in the first optical path of the detecting light generates a second optical path. A light receiving optical system is provided in the second optical path, and a 1/4 wave plate is provided between the polarization beam splitter and the eye, so that light emitted from the light source can be effectively received by a light receiving element.

Abstract: An auto optical focus detecting device of a camera comprises a center zone being located in a center of a view finder of a camera body; at least two peripheral zones being located in the view finder, one of the two peripheral zones center zone and the other being located in the left-hand side; the camera body containing a center auto focus optical system and at least two peripheral auto focus optical systems; the center auto focus optical system having a zone corresponding to the center zone, the zone being substantially conjugate with the center zone; the peripheral auto focus optical systems, respectively, having a substantially conjugate zone corresponding to the peripheral zone, each zone being substantially conjugate with the peripheral zone; a photographic lens being attached to the camera body, an exit pupil of the photographic lens being looked through the center zone of the center auto focus optical system, at least two aperture zones being defined on the exit pupil by the at least two peripheral aut

Abstract: A photometering circuit comprises a photo-diode, an operational amplifier, a feedback diode and a latch releasing transistor. In a circuit utilizing a PNP transistor, for example, a cathode of the photo-diode is connected to a non-inverting input terminal of an operational amplifier and a reference potential, an anode of the photo-diode is connected to an inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier and an anode of the feedback diode, a cathode of the feedback diode is connected to an output terminal of the operational amplifier, a base of the PNP transistor is connected to the reference potential and a collector of the PNP transistor is connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier.

Abstract: An automatic focusing device, in which a focus lens is driven for tracking an object-in-motion so as to obtain an in-focus state, based upon a focus prediction that is executed from repeated distance measurements. Tracking is executed with different algorithms according to a moving direction of the object-in-motion. One algorithm is a catch-up tracking, wherein the focus lens is driven to a position where it is predicted that the in-focus state should be obtained at the time of completion of the lens drive. Another algorithm is a preemptive tracking, wherein the focus lens is driven to a position where it is predicted that the in-focus condition should be obtained at the time an exposure is actually executed after a completion of the lens drive.

Abstract: A scene to be photographed is divided into a plurality of scene divisional areas disposed in a matrix pattern. A plurality of distance measuring points are two-dimensionally disposed in correspondence with the scene divisional areas. A change with time in distance data is detected at each distance measuring point. A distance measuring point having a change greater than a threshold value is extracted as a main object candidate point. Of the main object candidates points, the distance measuring point having the shortest distance data falling within a predetermined range from the shortest distance data are judged as the effective distance measuring points where a main object is present. The focus of a taking lens is adjusted in accordance with the distance data of the effective distance measuring points. The taking exposure amount is controlled in accordance with an average value of brightness data of effective scene divisional measuring points.

Abstract: In a camera provided with a finder and a photographic lens, the focal length of the photographic lens being variable, there is provided a distance measuring device having a pair of optical elements at the front side of the camera. The optical axes of the pair of optical elements are being different from the optical axis of the finder and a line sensor having a pair of image-receiving areas for receiving a pair of images of a photographed object through the pair of optical elements is provided. The respective image-receiving area of the line sensors are selected depending on the focal length of the photographic lens, which corresponds to the range at which an object to be photographed is located. In addition, there is provided an auxiliary light projector for projecting a pattern image to the object to be photographed, the image magnification of which being variable corresponding to the focal length of the photographic lens.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an information processing device for writing data into a computer incorporated in a camera body or reading data from the computer. According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing device which is inserted between the camera body and an accessory device to execute writing of data into the computer of the camera body or reading of data from the computer and to execute data communication between the computer of the camera body and the accessory device.

Abstract: An automatic focusing device, in which a focus lens is driven for tracking an object-in-motion to obtain an in-focus state, based upon a focus prediction that is executed from repeated distance measurements. Tracking is continued even if the position of the focus lens falls into the predetermined focus allowance, so as to make it possible to take a well-focused photograph at any time.