Exposure control system for a fixed aperture camera

Hand held compact apparatus for photographically copying an illuminated image comprising:

• a housing including means defining an opening therein for the passage of image-carrying light rays therethrough;
• means for defining a first plane in which photosensitive material is adapted to be positioned within said housing;
• means for defining a second plane in which the illuminated image is to be located for copying;
• an array of image-transferring graded-index lenses mounted within said housing in a lighttight relation with respect to said housing opening, said array being mounted for movement across said housing opening between an initial position and a terminal position, said lens array including a plurality of lenses, each of which includes an image end and an object end, with said image ends having a substantially common image plane located substantially coincident with said first plane and said object ends having a common focal plane located substantially coincident with said second plane;
• a pair of superposed light polarizing elements positioned in the path of said image-carrying light rays, with a light transmission axis of one light polarizing element being manually rotatable with respect to a light transmission axis of the other light polarizing element to select the desired amount of illuminated-image-light to be transmitted to said first plane;
• and
• means coupled to said array of lenses for driving said array at a predetermined rate across said housing opening, from its said initial position to its said terminal position, to thereby transfer an illuminated image present at said second plane, of a selected intensity, to photosensitive material present at said first plane.

A method of photographically copying an illuminated image, comprising the steps of:

• providing a lighttight housing having an opening therein and having means for locating photosensitive material at a film plane within said housing;
• supporting the illuminated image in a plane defined by an outer surface of the housing, in alignment with the housing opening;
• mounting an array of image-transferring graded-index lenses within the housing in a lighttight relation with respect to the housing opening, the array being mounted for movement across the housing opening between an initial position and a terminal position, the lens array including a plurality of lenses, each of which includes an image end and an object end, with the image ends having a substantially common image plane located substantially coincident with film plane and the object ends having a common focal plane located substantially coincident with the outer housing surface plane;
• precluding the transmission of illuminated-image light by the lenses when the array is positioned to either its initial or its terminal position;
• placing a pair of superposed light polarizing elements in a light path between the outer housing surface plane and the array of lenses such that a light transmission axis of one light polarizing element may be manually rotated with respect to a light transmission axis of the other light polarizing element;
• rotating one of the light polarizing elements with respect to the other light polarizing element to select the desired amount of illuminated-image-light to be transmitted to the film plane;
• and
• driving the array at a predetermined rate across the housing opening, from its initial position to its terminal position, to thereby transfer the illuminated image present at the outer housing surface plane, of a selected intensity, to the film plane and to photosensitive material present thereat.