Photographic camera having battery remaining life indicating means

• US 4,525,055 A
• Filed: 07/16/1984
• Issued: 06/25/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yokoo, Hirokazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Perkey, William B.
• Application Number:
  US06/630,948
• Time in Patent Office: 344 Days
• Field of Search: 354/468, 354/127.1, 354/127.12, 354/289.1, 354/289.12, 340/636, 340/663, 320/48
• US Class Current: 396/279
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/26 Power supplies; Circuitry or arrangement to switch on the power source; Circuitry to check the power source voltage

Abstract

A battery remaining life indicating means for photographic cameras which are provided with systems operated under electric power supplies from batteries and have at least two photographing modes of different power consumptions, said indicating means comprising battery life memorizing means having a memory of a battery life in terms of number of possible exposures under a first photographing mode which is calculated on the basis of capacity of battery loaded in the camera and the power consumption under the first photographing mode, modifying factor memorizing means having a memory of a modifying factor which is the power consumption under a second photographing mode measured taking the power consumption under the first photographing mode as a unit, battery life display means for displaying the battery life memorized in the battery life memorizing means, photographing exposure detecting means, photographing mode discriminating means, operating means responsive to said photographing exposure detecting means to rewrite the memory of the battery life in said battery life memorizing means by subtracting one when the discriminating means detects the first photographing mode and by subtracting said modifying factor when the discriminating means detects the second photographing mode.

Claims

1. A battery remaining life indicating means for photographic cameras which are provided with systems operated under electric power supplies from batteries and have at least two photographing modes of different power consumptions, said indicating means comprising battery life memorizing means having a memory of a battery life in terms of number of possible exposures under a first photographing mode which is calculated on the basis of capacity of battery loaded in the camera and the power consumption under the first photographing mode, modifying factor memorizing means having a memory of a modifying factor which is the power consumption under a second photographing mode measured taking the power consumption under the first photographing mode as a unit, battery life display means for displaying the battery life memorized in the battery life memorizing means, photographing exposure detecting means, photographing mode discriminating means, operating means responsive to said photographing exposure detecting means to rewrite the memory of the battery life in said battery life memorizing means by subtracting one when the discriminating means detects the first photographing mode and by subtracting said modifying factor when the discriminating means detects the second photographing mode.

2. A battery life level indicator in accordance with claim 1 in which one of said exposure modes is a speed-light mode and the other is a non-speed-light mode.

3. A battery remaining life indicating means in accordance with claim 1 in which said battery remaining life indicating means further includes second battery life memorizing means having a memory of a battery life in terms of number of possible exposures under the second photographing mode which is calculated on the basis of the capacity of the battery and the power consumption under the second photographing mode, said memory in said second battery life memorizing means being displayed by said display means, said operating means having means responsive to said exposure detecting means to rewrite the memory of the battery life in said second battery life memorizing means by subtracting one divided by said modifying factor when the discriminating means detects the first photographing mode and by subtracting one when the discriminating means detects the second photographing mode.

4. A battery remaining life indicating means for photographic cameras which are provided with systems operated under electric power supplies from batteries and have at least two photographing modes of different power consumptions, said indicating means comprising first battery life memorizing means having a memory of a battery life in terms of number of possible exposures under a first photographing mode which is calculated on the basis of capacity of battery loaded in the camera and the power consumption under the first photographing mode, the second battery life memorizing means having a memory of a battery life in terms of number of possible exposures under the second photographing mode which is calculated on the basis of the capacity of the battery and the power consumption under the second photographing mode, modifying factor memorizing means having a memory of a modifying factor which is the power consumption under the second photographing mode measured taking the power consumption under the first photographing mode as a unit, battery life display means for displaying the battery lives memorized in the first and second battery life memorizing means, photographing exposure detecting means, photographing mode discriminating means, operating means having first means responsive to said photographing exposure detecting means to rewrite the memory of the battery life in said first battery life memorizing means by subtracting one when the discriminating means detects the first photographing mode and by subtracting said modifying factor when the discriminating means detects the second photographing mode, and second means responsive to said exposure detecting means to rewrite the memory of the battery life in said second battery life memorizing means by subtracting one divided by said modifying factor when the discriminating means detects the first photographing mode and by subtracting one when the discriminating means detects the second photographing mode.

5. A battery life level indicator in accordance with claim 4 in which said battery life display means omits decimal fraction of the battery life in the display.

6. A battery life level indicator in accordance with claim 4 in which said photographing exposure detecting means includes a switch interconnected with a shutter release button of a camera and having a normally closed contact and a normally open contact which are alternately connected with a common terminal, a resistor R₁ connected on one hand with said normally closed contact and on the other hand with a power source, a resistor R₂ on one hand grounded and connected on the other hand with said normally open contact, a resistor R₃ connected with said normally open contact, a transistor having an emitter, a base connected with said resistor R₃ and a collector connected with said power source, a capacitor on one hand grounded and connected on the other hand with said common terminal, a schmidt trigger having an input terminal connected with said emitter and an output terminal connect with said operating means, and a resistor R₄ on one hand grounded and connected on the other hand with said emitter, whereby said capacitor is normally charged by the power source through said resistor R₁ and said normally closed contact, said common terminal is connected with said normally open contact due to depression of the shutter release button, so that the charge of said capacitor is applied to said base turning on said transistor, said schmidt trigger is applied with an input and produces an output pulse of which duration depends on the discharge time of said capacitor, and the output pulse is applied to said operating means.

7. A battery life level indicator in accordance with claim 4 in which said mode discriminating unit includes a schmidt trigger, a resistor R₅, a normally open switch linked with an electric flash switch and connected on one hand with a power source and on the other hand with the input terminal of said schmidt trigger through said resistor R₅, a resistor R₆ on one hand grounded and connected on the other hand with said input terminal, and a capacitor parallelly connected with said resistor R₆, whereby said normally open switch is closed due to turning on of said electric flash switch, so that said schmidt trigger is applied with an input voltage and produces a high level signal which is applied to said operating means.