Automatic focusing camera

• US 4,364,652 A
• Filed: 05/04/1981
• Issued: 12/21/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: West Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: West Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Iwata, Hiroshi, Hasegawa, Wataru
• Primary Examiner(s): Perkey, William B.
• Application Number:
  US06/260,112
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 354/195, 354/197, 354/198, 354/286, 352/140, 352/142, 367/101, 181/176
• US Class Current: 396/80
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 3/10 Power-operated focusing

Abstract

An automatic focusing camera is provided with an ultrasonic distance measuring instrument capable of varying the directivity of an ultrasonic beam to be transmitted depending upon the angle of view of a photographic lens used. A plurality of circuit components one of which is selected so as to determine the oscillation frequency of an oscillator mounted in a camera body depending upon the angle of view of a photographic lens attached to the camera are mounted on the camera body, and a selecting means is mounted on the lens mount of a photographic lens at a position corresponding to the angle of view thereof so that when the photographic lens is attached to the camera body, its selecting means establishes an electrical connection of a predetermined one of said circuit components to said oscillator, whereby the latter oscillates at a predetermined frequency and consequently the ultrasonic beam transmitted has a predetermined directivity corresponding to the angle of view of the photographic lens.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic transmitter for use in an ultrasonic ranging system for a camera capable of accepting various interchangeable lens assemblies having corresponding various angles of view, comprising:

an ultrasonic generator, the directivity of which varies with the ultrasonic frequency generated thereby;

a camera mount for receiving a selected one of said lens assemblies;

frequency determining means operatively associated with said camera mount and adapted to be coupled to said selected one of said lens assemblies when the selected assembly is received by said camera mount, for establishing a frequency control parameter corresponding to the angle of view of said selected lens assembly; and

ultrasonic frequency control means coupled to said ultrasonic generator and responsive to said frequency control parameter for setting the ultrasonic frequency of said generator in accordance with the angle of view of said selected lens assembly, so that the directivity of said ultrasonic generator corresponds to the angle of view of said selected lens assembly.

2. The ultrasonic transmitter according to claim 1, wherein said frequency determining means comprises a frequency determining circuit of an oscillator, said circuit comprising a first electrical circuit portion operatively associated with said camera mount, and a second electrical circuit portion secured to said selected lens assembly and adapted to be connected in circuit with said first electrical circuit portion when said selected lens is received by said camera mount.

3. The ultrasonic transmitter according to claim 2, wherein said selected lens assembly comprises a variable focal length zoom lens, said second electrical circuit portion including a variable impedance element for adjusting said frequency determining circuit to vary said ultrasonic frequency in response to variation of the focal length of said zoom lens.

4. The ultrasonic transmitter according to claim 2, wherein said frequency determining circuit comprises a plurality of resistors, said first electrical circuit portion comprises corresponding terminals connected to respective ones of said resistors, and said second electrical circuit portion comprises resistor selecting means for coupling at least one of said resistors in circuit to control the frequency of said oscillator.

5. The ultrasonic transmitter according to claim 4, wherein said resistor selecting means comprises a short-circuiting means disposed on a lens mount of said selected lens assembly for interconnecting selected terminals of said first electrical circuit portion.