Camera shutter with novel operating mechanism

Claim 2

In a camera shutter, in combination, shutter blades operable from a closed position closing an exposure aperture to an open position opening said exposure aperture and back to said closed position, a pivotally mounted shutter blade-operating lever for operating said shutter blades from said closed position to said open position and back to said closed position, a driving lever pivotally mounted on said blade-operating lever and pivotally driving said blade-operating lever, a retarding mechanism cooperative with said driving lever retarding opening of said shutter blades by said driving lever when opening said exposure aperture, said driving lever having one end driving said retarding mechanism and an opposite end free, drive means biasing said driving lever rotationally releasable locking means releasably maintaining said shutter blades closed when said shutter is in a cocked condition, manually operable release means to release said locking means to effect an exposure under control of said driving means and said retarding mechanism, and means movable to a position restraining movement of said free end of said driving lever during a part of a period of the rotation of said driving lever in driving the bladeoperating lever in a direction for opening the shutter blades under control of said drive means and releasing said free end of said driving lever for quick driving of the blade-operating lever in an opposite direction to rapidly effect closing of said shutter blades under control of said driving means thereby closing said shutter after a photographic exposure.

Claim 3

In a camera shutter according to claim 1, in which said rEtarding mechanism comprises a gear and an escapement driven by said gear, said driving lever having a gear sector meshing with said gear, and means pivotally mounting said gear and said operating lever coaxially.

Claim 4

In a camera shutter according to claim 2, in which said escapement comprises a pinion gear, an escape gear coaxial and integral with said pinion gear, and pivotally mounted anchor cooperative with said escape gear, and said locking means comprising a pawl releasably holding said escape gear from rotation.

Claim 5

In a camera shutter according to claim one in which said drive means comprises a drive spring.

Claim 6

In combination, a camera shutter and a control circuit for controlling exposure time of said camera shutter, said camera shutter comprising, shutter blades operable from a closed position closing an exposure aperture to an open position opening said exposure aperture and back to said closed position, a pivotally mounted shutter blade-operating lever for operating said shutter blades from said closed position to said open position and back to said closed position, a driving lever pivotally mounted on said blade-operating lever for pivotally driving said blade-operating lever, means pivotally mounting said driving lever on said blade-operating lever between opposite extreme ends of said blade-operating lever, a retarding mechanism cooperative with said driving lever retarding opening of said shutter blades by said driving lever and said blade-operating lever when opening said exposure aperture, said driving lever having means driving said retarding mechanism and an end free, drive means biasing said driving lever rotationally in a direction for effecting opening of said exposure aperture, locking means releasably locking said retarding mechanism in a stationary condition when said shutter is in a cocked condition, manually operable release means to release said locking means to effect an exposure, and stop means operable under control of said control circuit to a position restraining movement of said free end of said driving lever during a part of a period of rotation of said driving lever in driving the bladeoperating lever in a direction for opening the shutter blades in conjunction with said drive means and releasing said free end of said driving lever for quick driving of the blade-operating lever in an opposite direction under control of said driving means to rapidly effect closing of said shutter blades closing said shutter after termination of said exposure time, and means in said control circuit to release the stop means after an exposure time controlled by said control circuit thereby to release said free end of said operating lever to allow said rotation in said opposite direction.

Claim 7

In combination, a camera shutter and a control circuit for controlling exposure time of said camera shutter, said camera shutter comprising, shutter blades operable from a closed position closing an exposure aperture to an open position opening said exposure aperture and back to said closed position, a pivotally mounted shutter blade-operating lever for operating said shutter blades from said closed position to said open position and back to said closed position, a driving lever pivotally mounted on said blade-operating lever for pivotally driving said blade-operating lever, means pivotally mounting said driving lever on said blade-operating lever between opposite extreme ends of said blade-operating lever, a retarding mechanism cooperative with said driving lever retarding opening of said shutter blades by said driving lever and said blade-operating lever when opening said exposure aperture, said driving lever having means driving said retarding mechanism and an end free, drive means biasing said driving lever rotationally in a direction for effecting opening of said exposure aperture, locking means releasably locking said retarding mechanism in a stationary condition when said shutter is in a cocked condition, manually operable release means to release said locking means to effect an exposure, and stop means operable under control of said control circuit to a position restraining movement of said free end of said driving lever during a part of a period of rotation of said driving lever in driving the bladeoperating lever in a direction for opening the shutter blades in conjunction with said drive means and releasing said free end of said driving lever for quick driving of the blade-operating lever in an opposite direction under control of said driving means to rapidly effect closing of said shutter blades closing said shutter after termination of said exposure time, and means in said control circuit to release the stop means after an exposure time controlled by said control circuit thereby to release said free end of said operating lever to allow said rotation in said opposite direction.

Claim 8

The combination according to claim 5, in which said control circuit comprises an electromagnet to attract and hold said stop means in said position restraining movement of said free end of said blade-operating lever, and means in said control circuit to automatically determine exposure time as a function of the brightness of the light of a field being photographed and de-energize said electromagnet at the termination of said exposure time to release said stop means thereby to release said free end of said operating lever.

Claim 9

The combination according to claim 5, in which retarding means comprises a gear, said driving lever having a gear sector meshing with said gear, a pinion driven by said gear, an escape gear driven by said pinion, a pivotally mounted anchor cooperative with said escape gear, and said locking means being disposed for releasably locking said escape gear.

Claim 10

The combination according to claim 5, in which said drive means comprises a driving spring.

Claim 11

The combination according to claim 5, in which said stop means comprises a stop lever pivotally mounted and having a pawl for releasably holding said free end from rotating during said part of said period, and means on said stop lever attractable by said electromagnet when energized and releasablE thereby when de-energized.

Claim 12

In a camera shutter having shutter blades operable from a closed position to an open position and back to the closed position opening and closing an exposure aperture, the improvement which comprises a shutter blade-operating mechanism comprising, a mechanical retarder for retarding opening of the blades, a driving lever driving the retarder for retarder opening of the blades during opening thereof, a shutter blade-operating lever opening and closing the shutter, and releasable stop means cooperative with the driving lever during movement of the driving lever applied to said blade-operating lever through said driving lever in a direction for opening the blades and unrelated with said driving lever during movement of said driving lever applied to said blade operating lever through said driving lever in a direction for closing said blades by quickly actuating said blade-operating lever at termination of the exposure time period.

Claim 13

In a camera shutter having shutter blades operable from a closed position to an open position and back to the closed position opening and closing an exposure aperture, the improvement which comprises a shutter blade-operating mechanism comprising, a mechanical retarder for retarding opening of the blades, a driving lever driving the retarder for retarder opening of the blades during opening thereof, a shutter blade-operating lever opening and closing the shutter, and releasable stop means cooperative with the driving lever during movement of the driving lever applied to said blade-operating lever through said driving lever in a direction for opening the blades and unrelated with said driving lever during movement of said driving lever applied to said blade operating lever through said driving lever in a direction for closing said blades by quickly actuating said blade-operating lever at termination of the exposure time period.