Abstract: A coated lead wire can be solidly connected to a terminal of a coil bobbin by placing the terminal entwined with the coated lead wire into between electrodes having heating portions, and heating the terminal entwined with the coated lead wire along with solder to melt the solder and burn off a coating layer of the coated lead wire while directing a blow of inert gas toward the terminal entwined with the coated lead wire between the electrodes. The coating layer carbonized as the result of being burned out by heating up the moving electrodes can be blown out without being mixed into the molten solder, consequently to add strength to the connection between the lead wire and the terminal, thereby to form reliable and firm connection between the lead wire and the terminal with ease.

Abstract: A focal plane shutter blade device has a front blind, rotated by a front driving arm and a front trailing arm, that covers an aperture of a camera prior to an exposure operation. The front blind includes a front slit forming blade. The front slit forming blade forms an exposure slit during an exposure operation of the camera. The front blind also includes front covering blades that do not form an exposure slit. Front covering blades cover the aperture, while front slit forming blade does not cover the aperture, when the front blind is covering the aperture. A rear slit forming blade has a slit edge that is located between an autofocusing device and a film passage, and is positioned further in a bottom portion direction of the camera than from a top portion of the autofocusing device. A first rotation shaft functions as a center of rotation of the front driving arm and a second rotation shaft functions as a center of rotation of the front trailing arm.

Abstract: An apparatus for preventing mirror bounce in a camera includes a mirror member rotatable in reciprocation between a viewing position and a photographing position. A mirror receiving member receives a kinetic energy of the mirror member by making a predetermined motion when a collision of the mirror member takes place and, at the same time, position-regulates the mirror member in the viewing position. A moment of inertia of the mirror receiving member and/or the mirror member is set so that a bounce time after the collision of the mirror member is shorter by 15% or above than a bounce time when fixing the mirror receiving member.

Abstract: A single lens reflex camera which has improved high-speed photography operation. The mirror in the single lens reflex camera is controlled to reduce the time delay between a first time when the rear shutter blind closes the photo field and a second time when the mirror reaches the down position. The time delay is reduced by initiating the mirror down movement at least before the rear shutter blind closes the photo field and possibly before the front shutter blind even opens the photo field, depending on the exposure conditions.

Abstract: A driving device for a piezoelectric actuator, in which a voltage is applied to a piezoelectric actuator to generate a mechanical deformation therein, thus actuating a mechanical system. In an aspect, the piezoelectric actuator is at first given a voltage of inverse polarity, for generating a displacement in an opposite direction, and then given a voltage of forward polarity, for generating a displacement in the normal functioning direction, thereby actuating the mechanical system. Displacement and acceleration become larger, as the displacement of the actuator takes place from a position in the inverse direction. In another aspect, the electrical insulation state of the piezoelectric actuator is detected and, if deteriorated, the destruction of insulation is prevented by an alarm generation and/or inhibition of voltage application in an embodiment, the insulation state is identified from the ambient humidity of the actuator.

Abstract: An electromagnetic device for cameras includes a yoke that has a contact surface and is attached to a base plate. An armature having a contact surface faces and is movable into contact with the contact surface of the yoke. An armature shaft has one end attached perpendicularly to the contact surface of the armature, and has a catch at its opposite end. An armature lever is freely movable on the shaft between the catch and the armature. A biasing member, such as a spring, biases the armature away from the yoke. A coil is provided on the yoke, and when in an excited state, causes the contact surface of the armature to come into contact with the contact surface of the yoke to magnetically adhere the armature to the yoke, and when in an unexcited state, disengages the armature from the yoke. The armature lever includes one or more openings, such as a circular hole and/or an elongated slot, that are used to apply an elastic adhesive between the armature lever and the armature.

Abstract: An armature lever is attached by an elastic adhesive to a catch located on an end of an armature shaft of an electromagnetic device of a camera, which is used to drive, for example, a shutter, stop, and/or mirror(s) of the camera. The armature lever and the catch can be attached by the elastic adhesive so that they abut each other or so that a gap exists between them. When the gap is provided, the gap can be filled with the elastic adhesive to further absorb any shock occurring when the armature lever and catch contact each other. A reset member, such as, for example, a spring that biases the armature toward the yoke also can be attached by the elastic adhesive to the armature shaft.

Abstract: A focal plane shutter device is provided in which when a rear shutter diaphragm travels in a first direction to retract from a photographing image plane from a state where the rear shutter diaphragm and a front shutter diaphragm shade the photographing image plane doubly, a balancer (42 and 44) travels in a direction which is substantially opposite to the first direction. When the front shutter diaphragm travels in a second direction opposite to the aforesaid first direction to begin exposure subsequent to the retraction of the rear shutter diaphragm, the aforesaid balancer (42 and 44) travels in a direction substantially opposite to the second direction. Consequently, it is possible to prevent camera blurring due to the traveling of the rear shutter diaphragm and the front shutter diaphragm by one balancer means.

Abstract: A shutter blade device having two arms, plural shutter blades and caulking pins for rotatably mounting the shutter blades to the arms is designed to secure the strength of the shutter blades, thereby enabling high-speed running motion. For this purpose, the shutter blades are formed planar, and the caulking pins are so caulked that the caulked portions protrude to the rear side of the shutter blades. Between the adjacent shutter blades, blades are so formed that the protruding portions of caulking always overlap with the adjacent shutter blade, regardless whether the blades are in the light-shielding position, in the exposure position or in the course of running therebetween.

Abstract: A focal-plane shutter apparatus is arranged such that, from a state that an image plane is substantially doubly covered with a first vane group and a second vane group and with release of camera, the second vane group withdraws outside the image plane and thereafter the first vane group starts running for exposure, and comprises a balancer member moving in the opposite direction to the withdrawal direction of the second vane group in synchronism with the withdrawal of the second vane group outside the image plane, and a start adjusting member for substantially simultaneously starting the withdrawal of the second vane group outside the image plane member and the movement of the balancer member, thereby enabling full use of performance of the balancer for reducing camera shake during the withdrawal of second vane group.

Abstract: There is disclosed a driving device for piezoelectric actuator, in which a voltage is applied to a piezoelectric actuator to generate a mechanical deformation therein, thus actuating a mechanical system. In an aspect, the piezoelectric actuator is at first given a voltage of inverse polarity, for generating a displacement in an opposite direction, and then given a voltage of forward polarity, for generating a displacement in the normal functioning direction, thereby actuating the mechanical system. Displacement and acceleration become larger, as the displacement of the actuator takes place from a position in the inverse direction. In another aspect, the electrical insulation state of the piezoelectric actuator is detected, and, if deteriorated, the destruction of insulation is prevented by an alarm generation and/or inhibition of voltage application. In an embodiment, the insulation state is identified from the ambient humidity of the actuator.

Abstract: A focal-plane shutter device comprises aperture opening blades including a blade with an edge for forming an exposure slit, aperture closing blades including a blade with an edge for forming the exposure slit, first and second base plates disposed between the aperture opening blades and the aperture closing blades and each having an aperture for forming an exposure aperture, and a means for spacing the first and second base plates by a predetermined distance. According to the above composition, even is the slit forming edge of the blade of the aperture closing blades is moved at high speed, it is prevented from colliding with the first and second base plates.

Abstract: A camera comprises a mirror member provided between a photo-taking lens and the focal plane thereof and having a reflecting surface and a pivot axis provided at one end of the reflecting surface in parallelism to the focal plane, the mirror member being movable from an observation position in which the reflecting surface intersects the optic axis of the photo-taking lens to a retracted position in which the reflecting surface is retracted from the optic axis, by the pivotal movement of the reflecting surface about the pivot axis, a mirror chamber for containing the mirror therein, the mirror chamber having a pair of openings forming the optical path from the photo-taking lens to the focal plane a pair of vertical side walls provided on opposite sides of and vertically to the pivot axis and a movable bottom wall in parallelism to the pivot axis, and driving means for moving the mirror member and the movable bottom wall at the same time so that the center of gravity of the movable bottom wall moves in a directi

Abstract: A focal plane shutter for camera comprises an opening blade group and a closing blade group, an opening blade-driving member and a closing blade-driving member, an exposure operation means for moving said blade-driving members for exposure operation, a braking member for changing the position from an initial position while absorbing the kinetic energy of the moving closing blade-driving member and resetting means for moving the blade-driving members and the braking member after completing the exposure operation.

Abstract: There is provided a flash photography system which allows control of a relation between a light emission duration of a flash device and a full-open time of an exposing aperture of a focal plane shutter in an ideal condition. In the system, an electronic flash device comprises circuitry for producing an output representing the maximum discharge time period of illumination light and circuitry for transmitting the output to a camera when the flash device is coupled to the camera.

Abstract: A planar light-intercepting blade adapted to be moved in the direction of surface thereof at a position across the optical path of an optical device to thereby control the quantity of light passing through the optical path comprises a pair of outer layers forming the outer surfaces of the blade, and an inner layer formed between the outer layers and having a number of spaces therein.

Abstract: In a camera having a moving body provided with an optical element which is movable over a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction in connection with a photographing operation, a shock absorbing device acting on a shock resulting from the movement of the moving body includes counterweight means having a greater inertial mass than the moving body, and drive means for moving the counterweight means and the moving body in synchronism with each other. The drive means moves the counterweight means in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the moving bdy and over a distance shorter than the movement distance of the center of gravity of the moving body.