Retractable camera

In a pocket sized still camera having a horizontally elongated main housing enclosing most of the components of a camera and formed by top and bottom walls, vertical front and rear walls extending between the front and rear margins of said top and bottom walls, said vertical rear wall being movable between a housing closing position and a housing uncovering position when a film cartridge can be inserted into a cartridge-receiving compartment in the main housing, and an end wall extending between one side margin of the top, bottom, front and rear walls, the top and bottom walls of the main housing being closely spaced relative to the front to back dimensions thereof, to provide a relatively thin and narrow camera housing which can be readily placed in a shirt pocket when oriented so the longitudinal axis thereof is vertically oriented, said front wall having adjacent thereto an objective lens window therein for receiving picture-forming light rays and which has an exposed transparent surface on which dust can accumulate, the improvement wherein the side margin of said main housing opposite the one including said end wall having mounted thereat for horizontal sliding movement on said main housing a viewfinder assembly, said viewfinder assembly being mounted for movement between a retracted position where it is retracted to a point adjacent the end margin of said vertical rear wall of said main camera housing and provides an overall relatively compact assembly and an operative extended position where it extends horizontally substantially beyond said end margin of said vertical rear wall, said viewfinder assembly having a housing including a front wall with an inner dust cover-forming portion which covers over and acts as a dust shield for said transparent surface of said objective lens window to prevent the build-up of dust thereon, and an outer portion with an opening therein, said viewfinder assembly having means supporting a rear lens element located between said rear wall and said cartridge-receiving compartment so it is covered over by said rear wall of said main housing when the viewfinder assembly is in its retracted position and is exposed to be placed next to the viewer's eye when the viewfinder assembly is in its extended position, the viewfinder assembly having a front lens element which is exposed through said opening in said front wall of said viewfinder assembly housing, and there is associated with said main housing a dust cover-forming wall behind which said front viewfinder lens element of said viewfinder assembly extends when the viewfinder assembly is in its retracted position.

In a retractable camera having a main section on which is mounted substantially all of the camera mechanism, including shutter operating mechanism which, when released from a cocked position when a picture is taken operates the camera shutter, and which includes a film cartridge-receiving means for receiving a film cartridge including film with film metering perforations therein spaced one frame distance apart and film moving means for engaging the film to impart movement thereto, said main section of the camera having driving means to be coupled to said film moving means in said cartridge, said main section of the camera further including a film perforation sensing member movably urged toward the path of movement of the film metering perforations of said film, film advance terminating the movement of said drive means, said camera further having a viewfinder carrying section mounted on the main camera section for movement between a retracted non-picture taking position and an extended picture taking position, the improvement comprising:

• film wind actuating means on said viewfinder carrying section of the camera and film advancing mechanism in said main section of the camera responsive to movement of said film wind actuating means on said viewfinder carrying section only when said viewfinder section of the housing is moved to said extended picture taking position to operate said drive means to initiate a film winding operation, and shutter operating mechanism cocking and sensing member withdrawing means on said main section of the camera for cocking said shutter operating mechanism and removing said sensing member from a film metering perforation to enable the sensing member to engage the film at a point behind the latter perforation before a subsequent movement of said viewfinder carrying section of the camera into said extended picture taking position, said film sensing member withdrawing means includes means being responsive only to the movement of said viewfinder carrying section toward said retracted non-picture taking position for effecting said sensing member withdrawing operation.

In a retractable camera having a main section on which is mounted substantially all of the camera mechanism, including shutter operating mechanism which, when released from a cocked position when a picture is taken, operates the camera shutter, and which includes film cartridge-receiving means for receiving a film cartridge including film with film metering perforations therein spaced one frame distance apart and film moving means for engaging the film to impart movement thereto, said main section of the camera having driving means to be coupled to said film moving means in said cartridge, said main section of the camera further including a film perforation sensing member movably urged toward the path of movement of the film metering perforations of said film, film advance terminating means responsive to the movement of said film perforation sensing member into a given position in a film metering perforation by terminating the movement of said drive means, said camera further having a viewfinder carrying section mounted on the main camera section for movement between a retracted non-picture taking position and an extended picture taking position, the improvement comprising:

• film wind actuating means on said viewfinder carrying section of the camera and film advancing mechanism in said main section of the camera responsive to movement of said film wind actuating means on said viewfinder carrying section only when said viewfinder section of the housing is moved to said extended picture taking position to operate said drive means to initiate a film winding operation, and shutter operating mechanism cocking and sensing member withdrawing means on said main section of the camera for cocking said shutter operating mechanism and removing said sensing member from a film metering perforation to enable the sensing member to engage the film at a point behind the latter perforation before a subsequent movement of said viewfinder carrying section of the camera into said extended picture taking position, said shutter operating mechanism cocking means includes means being responsive only to the movement of said viewfinder carrying section toward said retracted non-picture taking position for cocking said shutting operating mechanism.

In a retractable camera having a main section on which is mounted substantially all of the camera mechanism, including shutter operating mechanism which, when released from a cocked position when a picture is taken, operates the camera shutter, and which further includes cartridge-receiving means for receiving a film cartridge including film with film metering perforations therein spaced one frame distance apart and film moving means for engaging the film to impart movement thereto, said main section of the camera having drive means to be coupled to said film moving means in said cartridge, said main section of the camera further including a film perforation sensing member movably urged toward the path of movement of the film metering perforations of said film, film advance terminating means responsive to the movement of said film peforation sensing member into a given position in a film metering perforation by terminating the movement of said drive means, sensing member withdrawing means on said main section of the camera for cocking said shutter operating mechanism and removing said sensing member from a film metering perforation to enable the sensing member to engage the film at a point behind the latter perforation before a subsequent film winding operation, said camera further having a reciprocable section mounted on the main camera section for movement between a retracted position and an extended position, the improvement comprising:

• film wind actuating means on said reciprocable section of the camera, and film advancing and slip clutch mechanism on said main section of the camera and coupled between said film wind actuating means on said viewfinder carrying section and said drive means on said main section of the camera, said film advancing and slip clutch mechanism comprising first gear means responsive to movement of said film wind actuating means and movable in one direction and the other respectively by reciprocation of said reciprocable section in one direction and the other between said retracted and extended position, said first gear means including teeth, slip clutch means coupled for movement with said first gear means and including resilient flexible means having projecting means engaging with said teeth of said first gear means, said projecting means of said resilient flexible means being in non-slipping relation with the teeth as long as there is no end of film restraining force on said drive means, and additional gear and control means responsive to the position of said film perforation sensing member and the movement of said slip clutch means for coupling the movement of said first gear means and slip clutch means through said additional gear means to said drive means only when said first gear means is moved in a direction resulting from the movement of said reciprocable section in one of said directions and said sensing finger has a position other than a given film wind terminating position within one of said film metering apertures.

In a retractable camera having a main section on which is mounted substantially all of the camera mechanism, including shutter operating mechanism which, when released from a cocked position when a picture is taken, operates the camera shutter, and which further includes cartridge-receiving means for receiving a film cartridge including film with film metering perforations therein spaced one frame distance apart and film moving means for engaging the film to impart movement thereto, said main section of the camera having drive means to be coupled to said film moving means in said cartridge, said main section of the camera further including a film perforation sensing member movably urged toward the path of movement of the film metering perforations of said film, said camera further having a reciprocable section mounted on the main camera section for movement between a retracted position and an extended position, the improvement comprising:

• film wind actuating means on said reciprocable section of the camera, and film advancing and slip clutch mechanism on said main section of the camera and coupled between said film wind actuating means on said reciprocable section and said drive means on said main section of the camera, said film advancing and slip clutch mechanism comprising first rotatable means rotated respectively in first and second directions when said reciprocable section is reciprocated in one direction and the other between said retracted and extended positions, slip clutch means normally rotatable with said first rotatable means and being slippable with respect thereto when an end of the film restraining force is applied thereto, planetary gear means rotatable in only a film winding direction and having internal teeth and a portion thereof constituting said drive means to be coupled to said film moving means on said cartridge, eccentrically mounted gear means pivoted upon and carried by said slip clutch means and engaging said internal teeth of said planetary gear means, centrally mounted gear means meshing with said eccentrically mounted gear means, said eccentrically mounted gear means when said slip clutch means is rotated rotating in non-driving relationship to the internal teeth of said planetary gear means when said centrally mounted gear means is free to rotate and engaging said internal teeth in driving relationship therewith to effect a film winding operation when said centrally mounted gear means is held against rotation, ratchet wheel means drivingly connected to said centrally mounted gear means, pawls means engagable with said ratchet wheel so that the ratchet wheel can freely rotate in a first direction and is held against rotation in the other direction by the pawl means, said pawl means normally being in engagement with said ratchet wheel so the latter cannot rotate in said one direction when the reciprocable section is moved in a direction to effect a film winding operation, and means responsive to said film perforation sensing member entering and assuming a given position with a film perforation for removing said pawl means from engagement with said ratchet wheel means.

In a camera having a main housing enclosing most of the components of a camera and formed by top and bottom walls, vertical front and rear walls extending between the front and rear margins of said top and bottom walls, said vertical rear wall being movable between a housing closing position and a housing uncovering position when a film cartridge can be inserted into a cartridge-receiving compartment in the main housing, and an end wall extending between one side margin of the top, bottom, front and rear walls, said front wall having adjacent thereto an objective lens window therein for receiving picture-forming light rays and which has an exposed transparent surface on which dust can accumulate, the improvement wherein the side margin of said main housing opposite the one including said end wall having mounted thereat for horizontal sliding movement on said main housing a viewfinder assembly, said viewfinder assembly being mounted for movement between a retracted position where it is retracted to a point adjacent the end margin of said vertical rear wall of said main camera housing and provides an overall relatively compact assembly and an operative extended position where it extends horizontally substantially beyond said end margin of said vertical rear wall, and said viewfinder assembly having means supporting at least one lens element located between said rear wall and said cartridge-receiving compartment so it is covered over by said rear wall of said main housing when the viewfinder assembly is in its retracted position and is exposed to be placed next to the viewer's eye when the viewfinder assembly is in its extended position.