Flash holder assembly arrangement

A foldable flash holder for a camera having an exterior housing to define a forwardly facing lens mount wall, said flash holder comprising:

• a hood having, in relation to first and second orthogonal reference planes, pivotal mounting means on an axis lying in said first reference plane and in parallel spaced relation on one side of said second reference plane, a cover portion projecting forwardly of said first reference plane on the other side of said second reference plane, a back wall portion positioned rearwardly of said first reference plane, and means defining a receptacle mouth on the other side of said second reference plane between said back wall and said cover portion, the interior of said cover portion and said back wall portion defining an elongated chamber in said hood;
• a contact retainer receivable in said chamber, said contact retainer defining with said hood, an electric receptacle for a disposable flash array;
• and
• an underhousing of generally L-shaped cross-sectional configuration to present a pair of mutually perpendicular surfaces substantially at said first and second reference planes.

A flash socket assembly comprising:

• a plurality of generally U-shaped electrical contacts each having first and second end portions, each of said second end portions of said electrical contacts including an inclined tab;
• a flexible cable;
• a contact retainer of unitary molded construction having an opening therein for receiving at least the contact blade portion of a flash array, said retainer having a support surface positioned to support one side of the contact blade when the contact blade is operatively positioned within said opening, and means for effecting electrical contact between said second end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts and a first end of said flexible cable, said electrical contact effecting means including a first internal surface of said retainer against which said second end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts are seated and a second internal surface of said retainer disposed in facing relation to said first internal surface thereof and against which said first end of said flexible cable is resiliently engaged by said inclined tabs;
• and
• a lower internal surface on said contact retainer against which said first end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts are seated.

A flash socket assembly comprising:

• a contact retainer of unitary molded construction having an opening therein for receiving at least the contact blade portion of a flash array,
• a substantially L-shaped hood to which said retainer is releasably attached, said L-shaped hood comprising a rear wall portion and a cover portion disposed at generally a right angle to each other and defining an elongated opening therebetween adapted to receive the contact blade portion of the flash array, said elongated opening being disposed in registry with said opening of said retainer, said rear wall portion having an end portion furthermost disposed from said opening of said hood configured to be pivotally connected to a camera;
• and
• an actuator for placing the camera in an artificial illumination mode, said actuator being retained on said rear wall portion and adapted for displacement toward the distal end of said rear wall portion when a flash array is inserted in the contact retainer whereby a flash mode control member is automatically displaced by insertion of said array.

A flash socket assembly comprising:

• a plurality of generally U-shaped electrical contacts each having first and second end portions;
• a flexible cable;
• and
• a contact retainer of unitary molded construction having an opening therein for receiving at least the contact blade portion of a flash array, said retainer having a support surface positioned to support one side of the contact blade when the contact blade is operatively positioned within said opening, a rail formation positioned to internally support the central portion of each of said U-shaped electrical contacts so that said first end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts are cantilevered therefrom to resiliently engage the contact blade against said support surface, means for effecting electrical contact between said second end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts and a first end of said flexible cable, each of said second end portions of said electrical contacts including an inclined tab, said contact retainer including a first internal surface against which said second end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts are seated, and said electrical contact effecting means includes a second internal surface of said retainer disposed in facing relation to said first internal surface thereof and against which said first end of said flexible cable is resiliently engaged by said inclined tabs.

A flash socket assembly comprising:

• plurality of generally U-shaped electrical contacts each having first and second end portions;
• a flexible cable;
• and
• a contact retainer of unitary molded construction having an opening therein for receiving at least the contact blade portion of a flash array, said retainer having a support surface positioned to support one side of the contact blade when the contact blade is operatively positioned within said opening, a rail formation positioned to internally support the central portion of each of said U-shaped electrical contacts so that said first end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts are cantilevered therefrom to resiliently engage the contact blade against said support surface, means for effecting electrical contact between said second end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts and a first end of said flexible cable, said assembly additionally including a substantially L-shaped hood to which said retainer is releasably attached, said L-shaped hood comprising a rear wall portion and a cover portion disposed at generally a right angle to each other and defining an elongated opening therebetween adapted to receive the contact blade portion of the flash array, said elongated opening being disposed in registry with said opening of said retainer, said rear wall portion having an end portion furthermost disposed from said opening of said hood configured to be pivotally connected to a camera, and said cover portion being configured to overlie and enclose said U-shaped electrical contacts.

A flash socket assembly comprising:

• a plurality of generally U-shaped electrical contacts each having first and second end portions;
• a flexible cable;
• and
• a contact retainer of unitary molded construction having an opening therein for receiving at least the contact blade portion of a flash array, said retainer having a support surface positioned to support one side of the contact blade when the contact blade is operatively positioned within said opening, a rail formation positioned to internally support the central portion of each of said U-shaped electrical contacts closer to the second end portions than to the first end portions so that said first end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts are cantilevered therefrom to resiliently engage the contact blade against said support surface, means for effecting electrical contact between said second end portions of said U-shaped electrical contacts and a first end of said flexible cable, said assembly additionally including a lower internal surface on said contact retainer against which said first end portion of said U-shaped electrical contacts are seated, and said lower internal surface including a plurality of ribs defining channels therebetween, the first end portion of each of said U-shaped electrical contacts being seated in a respective one of said channels.