US4485336A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electronic flash device
Assignee: Minolta Co Ltd
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Filing: 1983-03-01
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Granted: 1984-11-27
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Expires: 2003-03-01
Abstract
Abstract In an electronic flash device for use in a still camera, a calculation circuit means calculates a ratio of the amounts of light to be emitted by a plurality of flash light tubes on the basis of color temperature information and control circuit means controls the emission of light of the respective flash light tubes in such a manner that the ratio of light amount emitted from the respective flash light tubes corresponds to the ratio calculated by the calculation circuit means.
Inventors
- 👤 Ichiro Yoshiyama
- 👤 Yoshio Yuasa
- 👤 Nobuyuki Taniguchi
- 👤 Norio Ishikawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 10:29
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03B; G03B15/00; G03B15/02; G03B15/03; G03B15/05; G03B2215/00; G03B2215/05; G03B2215/0514; G03B2215/0557
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
121 words
An electronic flash device for use in a still camera, said device comprising: means for producing color temperature information; at least two flash light emitting means, each of which can emit flash light having different spectral characteristics; calculation circuit means for calculating a ratio of the amounts of light to be emitted by the respective flash light emitting means on the basis of the information fed from the means for producing the color temperature information; and control circuit means for controlling the emission of light of the respective flash light emitting means in such a manner that the ratio of the light amount emitted from the respective flash light emitting means corresponds to the ratio calculated by the calculation circuit means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
121 words
An electronic flash device for use in a still camera, said device comprising: means for producing color temperature information; at least two flash light emitting means, each of which can emit flash light having different spectral characteristics; calculation circuit means for calculating a ratio of the amounts of light to be emitted by the respective flash light emitting means on the basis of the information fed from the means for producing the color temperature information; and control circuit means for controlling the emission of light of the respective flash light emitting means in such a manner that the ratio of the light amount emitted from the respective flash light emitting means corresponds to the ratio calculated by the calculation circuit means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
93 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 1, wherein said device further comprises data producing means for producing light amount data representing an amount of light to be emitted from one of said flash light emitting means for a desired exposure, said calculation circuit means determines the light amount to be emitted from one of the flash light emitting means on the basis of the data fed from the data producing means and the control circuit means operates to control the flash light to the light amount determined by the operational circuit means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
79 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 1, wherein said means for producing color temperature information comprises a plurality of light measuring circuits each having a light receiving element and means for measuring the light incident on said light receiving element, said light receiving elements having different spectral sensitivity and a color temperature calculating circuit for calculating the color temperature data of the incident light on the basis of the results of the measurement by the light measurement circuits.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 1, wherein said means for producing color temperature information comprises manually operated setting means for setting a desired color temperature.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 1, wherein said means for producing color temperature information is adapted to produce the color temperature assigned to light sensitive elements to be used.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 1, wherein said means for emitting flash light comprises three flash tubes associated with different color filters respectively.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 6, wherein said flash tubes are xenon tubes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 1, wherein said means for producing color temperature information includes a manual means for setting a datum of a color temperature and means for generating a signal corresponding to the set datum.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 8, wherein said manual means is settable to one of the positions correpsonding to the spectral sensitivity characteristic of a light sensitive material for the picture taking.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 8, wherein said manual means is settable to positions corresponding to different types of films with respect to the color temperature suitable for each film.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
156 words
An electronic flash device for use with a still camera, said device comprising: means for producing color temperature information; at least two flash light emitting means each of which can emit light having different spectral characteristics; first flash control means provided for controlling the starting and stopping of the light emission of one of the flash light emitting means; second light measuring means for measuring the amount of light emitted from said one of the flash light emitting means; light amount calculating means for calculating the amount of light to be emitted by the remaining flash light emitting means on the basis of a value defined by the amount of light measured by the second light measuring means and the color temperature information; and second flash control means for controlling the starting and stopping of the remaining flash light emitting means on the basis of the result of the calculation in the light amount calculation means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
156 words
An electronic flash device for use with a still camera, said device comprising: means for producing color temperature information; at least two flash light emitting means each of which can emit light having different spectral characteristics; first flash control means provided for controlling the starting and stopping of the light emission of one of the flash light emitting means; second light measuring means for measuring the amount of light emitted from said one of the flash light emitting means; light amount calculating means for calculating the amount of light to be emitted by the remaining flash light emitting means on the basis of a value defined by the amount of light measured by the second light measuring means and the color temperature information; and second flash control means for controlling the starting and stopping of the remaining flash light emitting means on the basis of the result of the calculation in the light amount calculation means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
73 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 11, wherein said first flash control means comprises light measuring means for measuring the light reflected from an object illuminated by the flash light of the first flash light emitting means; and means for producing a control signal to stop the flash light of said one of the flash light emitting means when the light amount measured by the light measuring means attains a predetermined value.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
79 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 11, wherein said means for producing color temperature information comprises a plurality of light measuring circuits each having a light receiving element and means for measuring the light incident on said light receiving elements, said light receiving elements having different spectral sensitivity and a color temperature calculating circuit for calculating the color temperature data of the incident light on the basis of the results of the measurement by the light measurement circuits.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 11, wherein said means for producing color temperature information comprises manually operated setting means for setting a desired color temperature.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
39 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 11, wherein said means for producing color temperature information includes a manual means for setting a datum of a color temperature and means for generating a signal corresponding to the set datum.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 11, wherein said means for emitting flash light comprises two flash tubes with different color filters attached respectively.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
15 words
The electronic flash device according to claim 16, wherein said flash tubes are xenon tubes.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
139 words
An electronic illuminating device for cameras comprising: means for measuring the amount of red, blue and green color in an ambient light object scene and producing corresponding color signals; means for producing color temperature signals from the color signals to calculate the desired quantity of each light to be added to the ambient light to produce a uniform color tone of the desired scene to be recorded including means for taking into consideration the spectral characteristics of the recording medium; means for selectively emitting light of a red, blue and green color; and means for controlling the total quantity of one color light produced by the emitting means as a function of the total quantity of another color predetermined from the means for producing color temperature signals and a ratio of the actually measured light of those respective colors.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
139 words
An electronic illuminating device for cameras comprising: means for measuring the amount of red, blue and green color in an ambient light object scene and producing corresponding color signals; means for producing color temperature signals from the color signals to calculate the desired quantity of each light to be added to the ambient light to produce a uniform color tone of the desired scene to be recorded including means for taking into consideration the spectral characteristics of the recording medium; means for selectively emitting light of a red, blue and green color; and means for controlling the total quantity of one color light produced by the emitting means as a function of the total quantity of another color predetermined from the means for producing color temperature signals and a ratio of the actually measured light of those respective colors.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
The invention of claim 18 wherein the means for emitting light is a flash device that sequentially emits light of different colors.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
16 words
The invention of claim 19 further including a light mixing box for receiving each colored light.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
39 words
The invention of claim 19 wherein the means for controlling produces a signal to stop the emitting means from emitting a particular color when the predetermined quantity of that color for producing a uniform color tone has been reached.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
36 words
The invention of claim 18 further including a timing means wherein the remaining colors are emitted after a predetermined time period if the quantity of a preceding color being emitted does not reach its predetermined value.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
29 words
The invention of claim 22 further including a warning device to indicate the failure of the means for emitting light to provide a sufficient quantity of a particular color.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
116 words
An auxiliary illumination lighting device to assist in recording color images of an object scene comprising: means for measuring the amount of ambient light of different spectral values and producing corresponding signals; means for providing color temperature information from the measured signals to enable a uniform color tone of the desired scene to be recorded; at least two separate sources of light for emitting light of different spectral characteristics, and automatic means for controlling the total quantity of light of one spectral characteristic as a function of a total quantity of the other spectral characteristic light predetermined from the means for providing color temperature and a ratio of the actually measured light of each spectral characteristic.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
116 words
An auxiliary illumination lighting device to assist in recording color images of an object scene comprising: means for measuring the amount of ambient light of different spectral values and producing corresponding signals; means for providing color temperature information from the measured signals to enable a uniform color tone of the desired scene to be recorded; at least two separate sources of light for emitting light of different spectral characteristics, and automatic means for controlling the total quantity of light of one spectral characteristic as a function of a total quantity of the other spectral characteristic light predetermined from the means for providing color temperature and a ratio of the actually measured light of each spectral characteristic.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1987-11-27 | 1988-05-28 | 1988-11-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1991-11-27 | 1992-05-28 | 1992-11-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1995-11-27 | 1996-05-28 | 1996-11-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |