Camera with multiple exposure feature

Claim 1

In combination, a camera including a body having front and rear sides, a lens assembly having a center axis supported from said front side of said body, and a film supporting and film plane defining hollow back supported on the rear side of the body, said body defining a front to rear light passage extending therethrough having its forward end registered with said lens assembly, said body and back including coacting mounting means supporting the latter from the former for rotation about a front to rear pivot axis spaced laterally of said center axis, said mounting means including a first light blocking base panel stationarily supported from said back and disposed forward of said plane and transverse to said axes and including four front to rear extending openings formed therethrough spaced generally equally radially outwardly from and circumferentially about said pivot axis, said openings each extending rearwardly to a point spaced only slightly forwardly of said film plane, the radial spacing of said openings from said pivot axis generally equalling the lateral offset of said axes relative to each other, said mounting means further including a second base panel stationarily secured to the rear side of said body and having a single light opening formed therethrough centered relative to said center axis and means pivotally securing said panels together for relative rotation about said pivot axis, said back defining a film frame positioned generally centered relative to said pivot axis, one of said panels having a cylindrical recess formed in its side opposing the other panel with said recess concentric with said pivot axis, the other of said panels including a cylindrical projection snugly and rotatably nested and seated in said recess, said first panel openings being sequentially registered with said second panel opening upon relative rotation of said panels, said second panel opening being of an axial length equal to the thickness of said second panel minus the axial extent of said recess and each of said first panel openings being of an axial extent equal to the thickness of said first panel plus the axial extent of said projection, and said projection and recess being disposed entirely within the confines of said hollow back, said second panel opening and each of said first panel openings registered therewith defining a continuous closed passage for light to pass from said lens assembly to said film plane.