Camera system operable by carrying data from a camera accessory to a camera body

• US 4,560,267 A
• Filed: 03/25/1983
• Issued: 12/24/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Sahara, Masayoshi, Nakai, Masaaki, Taniguchi, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Perkey, William B.
• Application Number:
  US06/478,910
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 354/195.1, 354/195.11, 354/270, 354/271.1, 354/286, 354/289.1, 354/289.11, 354/289.12, 354/455, 354/152, 354/441-445, 354/266, 354/267.1 , 354/420, 354/421, 354/423, 354/456, 354/458
• US Class Current: 396/64
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/08 Control effected solely on the basis of the response, to the intensity of the light received by the camera, of a built-in light-sensitive device
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/097 for control of both exposure time and aperture
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/16 in accordance with both the intensity of the flash source and the distance of the flash source from the object, e.g. in accordance with the "guide number" of the flash bulb and the focusing of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/20 in accordance with change of lens
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/40056 Circuits for driving or energising particular reading heads or original illumination means H04N1/401, H04N1/407 take precedence

Abstract

A camera system operable with data carried from a camera accessory to a camera body. The camera accessory has a ROM for storing various data at a plurality of addresses, respectively, each of which data consists of a plurality of bits, and a coupling terminal for receiving a train of clock pulses from the camera body. A circuit is also provided for sequentially designating the address of the ROM one by one to permit the ROM to output data stored at the designated address. In the circuit, an address signal is formed in response to the clock pulses, received through the coupling terminal, for designating an address. The data derived from the ROM are transmitted to the camera body.

Claims

1. In a camera system operable by means transmitting data from a camera accessory to a camera body, the camera accessory comprising:

means for storing various data at a plurality of addresses, respectively, the data each consisting of a plurality of bits;

means for receiving a train of clock pulses from a camera body;

means for sequentially designating the addresses of said storing means one by one to let said storing means output a data stored at the designated address, including first means for originally forming at least a part of an address signal within the camera accessory in response to the clock pulses received by said receiving means to designate an address; and

means for transmitting the data derived from said storing means to the camera body, whereby there is no necessity to receive a prepared address signal from the camera body.

2. The camera accessory according to claim 1, wherein the camera accessory consists of an interchangeable objective lens.

3. The camera accessory according to claim 1, wherein the camera accessory consists of a converter lens.

4. The camera accessory according to claim 1, wherein said first forming means includes a counter for counting the clock pulses received by said receiving means to form the address signal in accordance with the count contents of said counter.

5. The camera accessory according to claim 1 further comprising means for manually setting photographic information at a value, wherein said designating means further includes second means for forming an address signal in response to said setting means.

6. The camera accessory according to claim 5, wherein the camera accessory consists of a zoom lens with a variable focal length, and the photographic information to be set by said setting means is the focal length.

7. The camera accessory according to claim 6, wherein said storing means stores data relating to the effective aperture value which varies in dependence on the value of the focal length, the data being respectively stored in different addresses at every value of the focal length.

8. The camera accessory according to claim 5, wherein said storing means stores a plurality of kinds of data each varying in dependence on the value of the photographic information to be set by said setting means, the data being respectively stored in different addresses at every kind of data and at every value of the photographic information, and wherein said first and second forming means are cooperative to form one complete address signal to designate one address at which a data relating to a definite kind and to a definite value of the photographic information is stored, the first forming means being definitive of the kind of data and the second forming means being definitive of the value of the photographic information.

9. The camera accessory according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting means includes an initial part of a counter for counting the train of clock pulses and said first forming means includes a succeeding part of the counter, said initial and succeeding parts serving as one serial counter with the initial part as its lower bits and the succeeding part as its upper bits, in which the address signal formed by said first forming means is responsive to the count contents of the succeeding part of said counter, and wherein said transmitting means further includes means for serially forwarding the plurality of bits of a data one by one in response to the count contents of the initial part of said counter.

10. The camera accessory according to claim 1, wherein the camera accessory consists of an interchangeable objective lens having a variable diaphragm aperture, and wherein said storing means stores a data relating to a time taken for said variable diaphragm aperture to complete the variation of its aperture size.

11. In a camera system operable by means of carrying data, to a camera body, from a camera accessory consisting of an interchangeable objective lens with a variable diaphragm aperture, the camera body comprising:

means for receiving from the camera accessory data relating to a time taken for the variable diaphragm aperture to complete the variation of its aperture size;

means for transmitting driving power to the objective lens to control the diaphragm aperture;

means for controlling said driving power transmitting means to initiate the variation of the aperture size;

a reflex mirror movable from a first position projecting into a light path of the objective lens to a second position retracting therefrom; and

means for initiating the movement of said reflex mirror from the first to the second position after the initiation of the variation of the aperture size with a delay determined by the data received by said receiving means.

12. In a camera system operable by means of transmitting data from a camera accessory to a camera body, the camera accessory comprising:

means for manually setting a photographic information at a desired value;

means for storing various data at a plurality of addresses, respectively, said storing means storing a plurality of kinds of data each varying in dependence on the value of the photographic information to be set by said setting means, wherein the data are respectively stored in different addresses for each kind of data and at every value of the photographic information;

means for receiving a digital signal from the camera body to determine the kind of the data;

means for sequentially designating the addresses of said storing means one by one in response to the value set by said setting means and the digital signal received by said receiving means, to let said storing means output a data stored at the designated address; and

means for transmitting the memory data derived from said storing means to the camera body.

13. The camera accessory according to claim 12, wherein said designating means includes means for forming a part of an address signal in response to the value set by said setting means and a remaining part of the address signal in response to the digital signal received by said receiving means, to complete one definite address signal.

14. The camera accessory according to claim 13, wherein said digital signal received by said receiving means is a train of clock pulses transmitted from the camera, and wherein said forming means includes means for generating a digital code signal in response to said setting means to form the first mentioned part of an address signal and means for counting the clock pulses received by said receiving means to form the remaining part of the address signal in accordance with the count contents of said counter, whereby one address signal is completed by means of a combination of the digital code signal and the count contents of said counter.

15. The camera accessory according to claim 12, wherein the camera accessory consists of a zoom lens with a variable focal length and the photographic information to be set by said setting means is the focal length.

16. In a camera system operable by means of carrying data from a camera accessory consisting of an interchangeable objective lens to a camera body combined with a lens converter, the combination of the camera body and the lens converter comprising:

means for receiving from the objective lens data representative of a fully open aperture value of the objective lens;

means for measuring scene light through the objective lens and the lens converter;

first means for providing an electric signal representative of a film speed of a film to be used;

second means for providing an electric signal relating to a change in an effective aperture value of the objective lens caused by the combination of the lens converter with the camera body; and

first means for calculating a desired effective aperture value, which is free from the influence of the fully open aperture value and the change in the effective aperture value caused by the combination of the lens converter, in response to said receiving means, said measuring means and said first and second providing means.

17. The combination of the camera body and the lens converter according to claim 16 further comprising second means for calculating information relating to steps of stopping-down for realizing the desired aperture value in response to said receiving means, said second providing means and said first calculating means, and means for controlling an aperture size of the objective lens in response to said second calculating means.

18. In a camera system operable by means of carrying data from a camera accessory to a camera body, the camera accessory consisting of a zoom lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture comprising:

means for manually setting the focal length at a value;

means for storing various data at a plurality of addresses, respectively, said storing means storing data relating to the effective aperture value which varies in dependence on the value of the focal length;

means for receiving a digital signal from the camera body;

means for receiving an electric power from the camera body;

means for designating an address of said storing means in response to said setting means to let said storing means output data stored at the designated address;

means for transmitting the data derived from said storing means to the camera body; and

means for receiving a driving power from the camera body to control the diaphragm aperture.

19. The camera accessory according to claim 18, wherein the data stored in said storing means include information respectively representative various deviations in the effective aperture value at various focal lengths starting from an effective aperture value at the shortest focal length.

20. In a camera system operable by means of carrying data, to a camera body, from a camera accessory consisting of a zoom lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture, the camera body comprising:

means for transmitting a digital signal to the zoom lens;

means for transmitting an electric power to the zoom lens;

means for receiving data relating to the effective aperture value, which varies in dependence on the value of the focal length, from the zoom lens; and

means for transmitting driving power to the zoom lens to control the diaphragm aperture.

21. The camera body according to claim 20, further comprising means for generating a signal relating to a desired effective aperture value at which the diaphragm aperture is expected to be set, means for calculating information relating to steps of stopping-down the diaphragm aperture, by which the desired effective aperture value is realized, in response to said data received by said receiving means and said signal generated by said generating means, and means for controlling said driving power transmitting means in accordance with said information calculating means.

22. The camera body according to claim 21, wherein said generating means includes means for manually setting the desired effective aperture value to generate said signal.

23. The camera body according to claim 21, wherein said generating means includes means for measuring scene light through the diaphragm aperture with its maximum size, and means for calculating the desired effective aperture value to generate said signal in response to said measuring means and said data receiving means.

24. The camera body according to claim 23, further comprising means for actuating the shutter release operation of the camera, means for fixing the aperture value to be calculated by said effective aperture value calculating means, and means for instructing said fixing means to function prior to the actuation of the shutter release operation, wherein said information calculating means is responsive to said data received by said receiving means upon the actuation of the shutter release operation.

25. The camera body according to claim 21, wherein said generating means includes first means for providing data representative of a quantity of flash light to be emitted upon flash photography, second means for providing data representative of a photographic distance to an object to be photographed, third means for providing a film speed of a film to be used, and means for calculating the desired effective aperture value to generate said signal in response to said first to third providing means.

26. The camera body according to claim 20 further comprising means for measuring scene light through the diaphragm aperture with its maximum size and means for generating a compensated exposure signal, which is free from the change in the focal length, in response to said measuring means and said data receiving means.

27. The camera body according to claim 26 further comprising means for controlling the exposure time of the camera in response to said compensated exposure signal generating means.

28. The camera body according to claim 26 further comprising means for actuating the shutter release operation of the camera, means for fixing the compensated exposure signal, means for instructing said fixing means to function prior to the actuation of the shutter release operation, and means for controlling the exposure in accordance with said compensated exposure signal fixed by said fixing means.

29. In a camera system operable by means of carrying data from a camera accessory to a camera body, the camera accessory consisting of an interchangeable objective lens with a variable diaphragm aperture comprising:

means for storing electric data relating to a time taken for the variable diaphragm aperture to complete the variation of its aperture size;

means for transmitting the electric data derived from said storing means to the camera body; and

means for receiving driving power from the camera body to control the diaphragm aperture.

30. The camera accessory according to claim 29 further comprising means for receiving a digital signal from the camera body, and means for receiving electric power from the camera body to power said storing means, said transmitting means and said digital signal receiving means.

31. In a camera system operable by means of carrying data, to a camera body, from a camera accessory consisting of an interchangeable objective lens, the camera body comprising:

means for receiving the data from the objective lens;

means for identifying a predetermined data to be received by said receiving means;

an opening at which the objective lens is to be mounted;

means for measuring light through said opening;

means for providing a data representative of a film speed of a film to be used;

means for reading data representative of a fully open aperture value of the objective lens to be received by said receiving means; and

means for changing between a first mode and a second mode of exposure operations in response to said identifying means, wherein the exposure operation is responsive to said measuring means, said providing means and said reading means in said first mode when said identifying means succeeds in identifying said predetermined data, and to said measuring means and said providing means in said second mode when said identifying means fails in identifying said predetermined data.