Motor drive and control apparatus for a camera

Claim 2

A motor drive and control apparatus for a camera comprising a motor for driving a driven member; speed detecting means for detecting the speed of movement which is achieved by the motor; storage means for storing a deceleration curve which is used to stop the driven member at a target position; control means for comparing the speed of movement against the deceleration curve so as to control the driven member until the target position is reached in conformity with the deceleration curve; and motor on limit means effective close to the target position in a zone adjacent to the deceleration curve to limit the on condition of the motor by being activated by a signal from the speed detecting means while the motor is on.

Claim 3

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 1 in which the speed detecting means detects the speed of movement of the driven member by determining a pulse width of an output pulse from an encoder such as a photo-interrupter.

Claim 4

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 1 in which the speed detecting means detects the speed of movement of the driven member by determining a time interval from the rising edge of a previous pulse from an encoder such as a photo-interrupter to the rising edge of a current pulse therefrom.

Claim 5

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 1 in which the storage means stores a first deceleration curve and a second deceleration curve which is retarded by a given value from the first deceleration curve, the control means being effective to brake the motor whenever the speed of movement of the driven member is above the first deceleration curve, to turn the motor off when the speed of movement of the film is below the first deceleration curve, but is above the second deceleration curve, and to turn the motor on when the speed of movement is below the second deceleration curve.

Claim 6

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 1 in which the storage means stores a first deceleration curve and is operative to calculate a second deceleration curve which is retarded by a given value from the first deceleration curve, the control means being effective to brake the motor when the speed of movement of the driven member is above the first deceleration curve, to turn the motor off when the speed of movement of the driven member is below the first deceleration curve, but is above the second deceleration curve, and to turn the motor on when the speed of movement of the driven member is below the second deceleration curve.

Claim 7

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 1 in which the speed detecting means comprises an encoder such as a photo-interrupter, and in which the control means is effective to turn the motor on forcibly and wait for the rising edge of a pulse from the encoder when a time interval from the rising edge of a previous pulse to the rising edge of a current pulse from the encoder exceeds a given time interval, to turn the motor off or brake the motor in response to the rising edge of the pulse, thereby controlling of the motor in accordance with the speed of movement of the driven member.

Claim 8

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 1 in which the speed detecting means comprises an encoder such as a photo-interrupter delivering an output pulse, and in which the motor on limit means recognizes an operation of the motor as occurring in a limited acceleration mode when the driven member reaches to a position which is a given number of pulses short of a target position and to turn the motor off or brake the motor in response to the rising or the falling edge of the next following pulse.

Claim 9

A motor drive and control apparatus for an automatic focus adjusting unit of a camera comprising a motor for driving a taking lens to an in-focus position in response to an output from focus detecting means; speed detecting means for detecting the speed of movement of the taking lens as it is driven by the motor; storage means for storing an optimum deceleration curve used to stop the taking lens at a target position; lens control means for comparing the speed of movement of the lens against the deceleration curve to control the movement of the taking lens to the in-focus position in conformity with the deceleration curve; and motor on limit means operative adjacent to a target position in a zone adjacent to the deceleration curve to be activated by a signal from the speed detecting means while the motor is on.

Claim 10

A motor drive and control apparatus for an automatic focus adjusting unit of a camera comprising a motor for driving a taking lens to an in-focus position in response to an output from focus detecting means; speed detecting means for detecting the speed of movement of the taking lens as it is driven by the motor; storage means for storing an optimum deceleration curve used to stop the taking lens at a target position; lens control means for comparing the speed of movement of the lens against the deceleration curve to control the movement of the taking lens to the in-focus position in conformity with the deceleration curve; and motor on limit means operative adjacent to a target position in a zone adjacent to the deceleration curve to be activated by a signal from the speed detecting means while the motor is on.

Claim 11

A motor drive and control apparatus for an automatic film winding unit comprising a drive motor for performing the film winding operation; detecting means for detecting the speed of movement of a film; storage means for storing an optimum deceleration curve which is used to stop the film at a position where a given length thereof has been wound up; control means for comparing the speed of movement against the deceleration curve to control the drive motor until the stop position is reached, in conformity to the deceleration curve; and motor on limit means operative close to a target position and in a zone adjacent to the deceleration curve to be activated by a signal from the speed detecting means while the drive motor is on.

Claim 12

A motor drive and control apparatus for an automatic film winding unit comprising a drive motor for performing the film winding operation; detecting means for detecting the speed of movement of a film; storage means for storing an optimum deceleration curve which is used to stop the film at a position where a given length thereof has been wound up; control means for comparing the speed of movement against the deceleration curve to control the drive motor until the stop position is reached, in conformity to the deceleration curve; and motor on limit means operative close to a target position and in a zone adjacent to the deceleration curve to be activated by a signal from the speed detecting means while the drive motor is on.

Claim 13

A motor drive and control apparatus for camera in which a driven member is driven by a motor to move to a target position; comprising an encoder for converting a travel of the driven member into a pulse form; detecting means for detecting that the driven member has reached within a given range short of the target position; storage means for storing an output from the detecting means; and motor on limit means operative subsequent to the storage in the storage means of the fact that the drive member has reached within a given range short of the target position to turn the motor on when the speed is equal to or less than a given value, and to brake or turn the motor off in response to the rising or the falling edge of a output pulse from the encoder.

Claim 14

A motor drive and control apparatus for camera in which a driven member is driven by a motor to move to a target position; comprising an encoder for converting a travel of the driven member into a pulse form; detecting means for detecting that the driven member has reached within a given range short of the target position; storage means for storing an output from the detecting means; and motor on limit means operative subsequent to the storage in the storage means of the fact that the drive member has reached within a given range short of the target position to turn the motor on when the speed is equal to or less than a given value, and to brake or turn the motor off in response to the rising or the falling edge of a output pulse from the encoder.

Claim 15

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising calculation means for calculating the speed of the driven member on the basis of an output from the encoder, and control means for comparing the speed against a stored given deceleration curve so as to control the motor on and off in conformity with the deceleration curve.

Claim 18

A motor drive and control apparatus for a camera in which a driven member is driven to a target position by means of a motor; comprising an encoder for converting a travel of a driven member into a pulse form; detecting means for detecting a speed in accordance with an output from the encoder; control means responsive to an output from the detecting means to turn the motor off or to brake the motor; and means for reinitiating the motor drive unless an output is delivered from the encoder within a given time interval which follows the operation of the control means.

Claim 19

A motor drive and control apparatus for a camera in which a driven member is driven to a target position by means of a motor; comprising an encoder for converting a travel of a driven member into a pulse form; detecting means for detecting a speed in accordance with an output from the encoder; control means responsive to an output from the detecting means to turn the motor off or to brake the motor; and means for reinitiating the motor drive unless an output is delivered from the encoder within a given time interval which follows the operation of the control means.

Claim 20

A motor drive and control apparatus for a camera comprising a motor for driving a driven member; speed detecting means for detecting the speed of movement of the driven member as it is driven by the motor; storage means for storing a first deceleration curve which is used to stop the driven member at a target position; comparison means for comparing the speed of movement against the first deceleration curve and also for comparing the speed of movement against a second deceleration curve which differs from the first deceleration curve; and control means for controlling the motor between an on condition, a braked condition and an off condition on the basis of the results of the comparison.

Claim 21

A motor drive and control apparatus for a camera comprising a motor for driving a driven member; speed detecting means for detecting the speed of movement of the driven member as it is driven by the motor; storage means for storing a first deceleration curve which is used to stop the driven member at a target position; comparison means for comparing the speed of movement against the first deceleration curve and also for comparing the speed of movement against a second deceleration curve which differs from the first deceleration curve; and control means for controlling the motor between an on condition, a braked condition and an off condition on the basis of the results of the comparison.

Claim 22

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 14 in which the second deceleration curve is located below the first deceleration curve.

Claim 23

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 14 in which the control means brakes the motor when the speed of movement is above the first deceleration curve, turns the motor off when the speed of movement is above the second deceleration curve, but is below the first deceleration curve, and turns the motor on when the speed of movement is below the second deceleration curve.

Claim 24

A motor drive and control apparatus according to claim 14 in which the second deceleration curve is derived by subtracting a given value from the stored deceleration curve.

Claim 25

A motor drive and control apparatus for a movable member comprising: a motor for driving the movable member; movement detecting means for detecting the rate of movement achieved by said motor; storage means for storing values defining a curve representing a deceleration form a given value to a stop condition at a predetermined target position; control means for comparing the speed of movement provided by said speed detecting means with values stored in said storage means for controlling the operation of said motor means to thereby control the movable member sot that the movable member moves to the target position substantially in conformity with the curved stored in said memory means; and means responsive to said speed detecting means for limiting the on condition of said motor when said movable means lies in a region adjacent to the target position.

Claim 26

A motor drive and control apparatus for a movable member comprising: a motor for driving the movable member; movement detecting means for detecting the rate of movement achieved by said motor; storage means for storing values defining a curve representing a deceleration form a given value to a stop condition at a predetermined target position; control means for comparing the speed of movement provided by said speed detecting means with values stored in said storage means for controlling the operation of said motor means to thereby control the movable member sot that the movable member moves to the target position substantially in conformity with the curved stored in said memory means; and means responsive to said speed detecting means for limiting the on condition of said motor when said movable means lies in a region adjacent to the target position.

Claim 29

The method of claim 19 wherein said control operations are performed at one of two possible conditions including the rising edge and the falling edge of a pulse from the encoding means.

Claim 30

The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of braking the motor when the last pulse before the target position is detected.

Claim 31

The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of limiting the energization of the motor when the movable member is within a predetermined number of pulses greater than one from the target position.

Claim 32

The method of claim 22 wherein the number of pulses is three.