Auto-focus travelling lens camera for three-dimensional photography

Claim 1

An improved camera apparatus for three-dimensional photography including a stationary frame, a camera body with a film holder for holding photographic film in a film plane and a controllable shutter for exposing film held in the film holder at a film plane, and a focusable lens assembly attached to the body and including a lens, the improved camera further including: camera body carriage means moveably mounted to the stationary frame, the carriage means for securing the camera body thereto, the camera body carriage means being moveable along a first limited range of substantially linear movement transverse to the field of view of the camera lens, vertical grating means having a predetermined number of equally spaced vertical light transmitting means and pitch defining the spacing therebetween said grating means being disposed within the camera body immediately in front of the film holder and moveable over a second limited range of transverse movement, lenticular grating movement control means responsive to the relative position of the camera body carriage means with respect to the base for moving the vertical grating means relative to the film holder over the second limited range of movement as the camera body carriage means moves throughout its range of substantially linear movement, lens assembly carriage means mounted to be moveable relative to the stationary frame, the lens assembly carriage means for securing the lens assembly and being transversely moveable over a third limited range of transverse movement relative to the base, and lens assembly carriage control means responsive to focus position of the main lens relative to the film plane and responsive to the relative position of the camera body carriage means with respect to the base for moving the lens assembly carriage means relative to the film holder over the third limited range of movement as the camera body carriage means moves throughout the first limited range of substantially linear movement, the relative movement between the lens assembly carriage means and the film holder being dependent upon the focus setting of the lens assembly means in a range between zero relative movement at an infinity focus setting of the lens and a maximum range of relative movement at a maximum close up focus setting of the lens.