Photoflash apparatus

Claim 1

A photographic camera having a picture-taking axis, a socket assembly for receiving and retaining a multilamp flash assembly having first and second like but oppositely facing linear arrays of lamps of common orientation and a planar support structure perpendicular to the arrays of lamps from which extends a connector blade carrying on opposite faces of the blade corresponding in orientation to the orientation of the first and second arrays of lamps first and second electrically isolated sets of electrical terminal strips for the lamps in the first and second lamp arrays, respectively, the strips in each set being arranged in parallel along the direction of insertion of the flash assembly into said socket assembly, said camera comprising: a camera housing section; means defining a boss extending outwardly from said camera housing section; means defining An entrance slot in said boss for the connector blade which is perpendicular to said picture-taking axis of the camera, said means defining said entrance slot including antiroll surface means for engaging the planar support structure of the flash assembly at laterally spaced points to accurately orient the flash assembly and to stably support the flash assembly against rolling movement about an axis normal to the connector blade when the latter is fully inserted into said socket assembly and at points on opposite sides of the connector blade for stabilizing movement of the flash assembly about a pitch axis; blade support means for guiding the blade of the flash assembly from said entrance slot into an operative position within said socket assembly and for supporting the blade in said operative position, said blade support means including electrically insulative rear support surface means defining a support plane parallel to a roll reference line defined by said anti-roll surface means and perpendicular to said picture-taking axis of said camera; contact means mounted within said socket assembly and extending toward but short of said entrance slot for making electrical contact exclusively with the terminal strips on the forwardly directed face of the blade of a flash assembly operatively connected in said socket assembly, comprising a stationary set of parallel and rearwardly facing resilient contact members arranged to register with and to engage the strips with a lengthwise wiping action when the connector blade of a flash assembly is inserted into said socket assembly, said contact members exerting a predetermined loading of the blade against said rear support surface means of said blade support means which is effective to restrain pitch and yaw movement of the flash assembly and which is such that the frictional forces exerted on the blade by said contact members and by said rear support surface means are solely effective to retain the flash assembly securely in said socket assembly; and means for confining side-to-side translational movement of the blade in said socket assembly within predetermined narrow limits.