Manually Selected Preset Zoom Position Or Range Patents (Class 396/76)
  • Patent number: 6002886
    Abstract: A lens barrel includes an external operation member for manual operation, a driving source, a movable lens supported movably along an optical axis, a lens moving mechanism arranged to receive a movement of the external operation member and move the movable lens at least along the optical axis and to receive a motion of the driving source and move the movable lens at least along the optical axis, and a switching mechanism for varying a ratio of the amount of the movement received from the external operation member to the amount of movement of the movable lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masahisa Tamura
  • Patent number: 5905530
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus is disclosed which is provided with a distortional-aberration memorizing element for memorizing distortional-aberration information about an objective lens, a state-of-objective-lens detecting circuit for detecting a state of the objective lens, an image correcting circuit for reading out distortional-aberration information about distortional aberration occurring during photography from the distortional-aberration memorizing element on the basis of information supplied from the state-of-objective-lens detecting circuit, and electrically correcting a distortion of an image due to the objective lens with a predetermined image height in a photographed image selected as a datum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 18, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Yokota, Hiroyuki Hamano, Masaharu Suzuki, Yasuhiro Tamekuni, Takashi Kato, Katsumi Azusawa, Hidekage Sato
  • Patent number: 5815745
    Abstract: A camera comprises a lens optical system including a zooming lens, a photographic mode setting circuit capable of selectively setting a plurality of kinds of photographic modes, exposure conditions being individually set for the respective photographic modes, a driving circuit for causing the zooming lens to move, a focus adjusting circuit for performing focus adjustment of the lens optical system, and a controlling circuit for controlling the driving circuit in accordance with a particular photographic mode set by the photographic mode setting circuit and forcedly moving the zooming lens to a position corresponding to a predetermined focal length, the controlling circuit moving the zooming lens before an operation of the focus adjusting circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshifumi Ohsawa
  • Patent number: 5790317
    Abstract: In a zoom lens system in which the movement locus of a focusing lens unit is defined by synthesizing a focus cam and a zoom compensation cam, when the sensitivity of movement of an image point in association with the movement, in the direction of the optical axis, of the focusing lens unit in a closest in-focus state is larger than that in an infinity in-focus state, the ratio of the amount of rotation for focusing upon focusing from the infinity position to the closest distance position to the amount of rotation for zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end in the focus cam is set to fall within a predetermined range, so that the sensitivity of movement of an image point in association with the movement, in the direction of rotation, of the focusing lens unit satisfies a specific condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Assignee: Nikon Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyotaka Inadome
  • Patent number: 5774276
    Abstract: In a zoom lens system in which the movement locus of a focusing lens unit is defined by synthesizing a focus cam and a zoom compensation cam, and the sensitivity of movement of an image point in association with the movement, in the direction of the optical axis, of the focusing lens unit in infinity and closest in-focus states does not vary so much, the ratio of the amount of rotation for focusing upon focusing from the infinity position to the closest distance position to the amount of rotation for zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end in the focus cam is set to fall within a predetermined range, so that the sensitivity of movement of an image point in association with the movement, in the direction of rotation, of the focusing lens unit satisfies a specific condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1998
    Assignee: Nikon Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyotaka Inadome
  • Patent number: 5754894
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical camera having a zoom function in which a focal length can be varied or the variation is actuated by a focal length changing member, and in particular to a camera in which a focal length is varied through a motor.The optical camera has a zoom lens operable by a rotatable zoom ring for changing the focal length thereof. An automatic focusing operation is effected by a control means when the focal length is changed so that an image of an object viewed through a viewfinder remains in focus. The zoom lens can include a motor and an in-exposure zoom control means can be provided for controlling zooming movement of the lens during an exposure operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1998
    Assignee: Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tadayuki Kirigaya, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Masahiro Nakata, Hideaki Tsuji, Tetsuo Hosokawa
  • Patent number: 5752094
    Abstract: An autozoom apparatus for a camera having an operating member for designating a first point and a second point in a scene to be photographed; a circuit using an angular velocity sensor for detecting a displacement angle of the camera when the camera is rotated from the first to second points; an autofocus circuit for measuring the object distance; a zoom encoder; a zoom motor; and a circuit for controlling the zoom motor. The autozoom apparatus calculates a focal length corresponding to the picture frame defined by the first and second points and makes automatic zooming to the calculated focal length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Motoko Tsutsumi, Minoru Hara, Kenichi Kishida
  • Patent number: 5748387
    Abstract: There is provided a zoom lens of an inner focusing system which is capable of an auto-focusing operation and a manual focusing operation with a high precision.A zoom lens system in which a movement locus of a focusing lens unit is defined by synthesizing a focus cam and a zoom compensation cam is arranged such that a ratio of an amount of rotation for focusing from infinity to closest to an amount of rotation for zooming from wide angle to telephoto in the focus cam is set within a predetermined range so that, when the sensitivity of a movement of an imaging point with respect to a movement of the focusing lens unit in the direction of the optical axis in the closest in-focus state is larger than that in the infinity in-focus state, the sensitivity of the movement of the imaging point with respect to the movement of the focusing lens unit in the rotational direction satisfies specific conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Nikon Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyotaka Inadome
  • Patent number: RE36238
    Abstract: An electric zoom camera comprises a photographing lens system having a zoom lens system, a detecting device for detecting a focal length of the photographing lens system and generating a corresponding output, a driving device for driving the photographing lens system for zooming, a commanding device for generating a command for executing zooming to the driving device, and control device for controlling the driving device in accordance with the output from the detecting device and the command, to change a focal length of the photographing lens stepwise between focal lengths of a plurality of predetermined focal lengths arranged substantially in accordance with a geometric progression.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1999
    Assignee: Nikon Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Nakamura, Kazuyuki Kazami, Koichi Daitoku, Hidenori Miyamoto