US4970541A — Camera system operable by carrying data from a ca…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 190 words

In a camera system having a camera body and an interchangeable objective lens with a housing removable coupled with the camera body, the interchangeable objective lens having a variable focal length, an improvement comprising: means, located within the housing of the interchangeable objective lens, for adjusting the aperture size of the lens; means for setting the focal length of the objective lens; means for storing and electrically transmitting to the camera body a signal indicative of a fully open aperture value peculiar to the objective lens, the fully open aperture value varying in response to the set focal length; means for controlling the manual setting of the aperture size of the objective lens; means for calculating an aperture stop-down quantity in response to the fully open aperture size and the manually set aperture size; means, located in the camera body, for controlling said adjusting means in response to said calculating means; means for transmitting to the camera body a predetermined signal when the interchangeable objective lens is operatively attached to the camera body; and means for enabling said controlling means when the predetermined signal is received by the camera body.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 190 words

In a camera system having a camera body and an interchangeable objective lens with a housing removable coupled with the camera body, the interchangeable objective lens having a variable focal length, an improvement comprising: means, located within the housing of the interchangeable objective lens, for adjusting the aperture size of the lens; means for setting the focal length of the objective lens; means for storing and electrically transmitting to the camera body a signal indicative of a fully open aperture value peculiar to the objective lens, the fully open aperture value varying in response to the set focal length; means for controlling the manual setting of the aperture size of the objective lens; means for calculating an aperture stop-down quantity in response to the fully open aperture size and the manually set aperture size; means, located in the camera body, for controlling said adjusting means in response to said calculating means; means for transmitting to the camera body a predetermined signal when the interchangeable objective lens is operatively attached to the camera body; and means for enabling said controlling means when the predetermined signal is received by the camera body.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 74 words

The improvement as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means located in the camera body for measuring light through the aperture of the interchangeable objective lens, and means responsive to said measuring means with the aperture of the interchangeable objective lens fully open for automatically setting the aperture size, wherein said calculating means is responsive to the automatically set aperture size instead of the manually set aperture size in an automatic aperture setting mode.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 139 words

A camera system having an objective lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture, the effective aperture value of the diaphragm aperture varying in dependence on the focal length, comprising: means for generating a signal relating to a desired effective aperture value at which the diaphragm aperture is expected to be set; means for setting the focal length of the objective lens; means, responsive to said setting means, for providing data relating to the effective aperture value varying in dependence on the focal length; means for calculating information relating to steps of stopping-down the diaphragm aperture, by which the desired effective aperture value is realized, in response to the signal of said generating means and the data of said providing means, and means for controlling the diaphragm aperture in accordance with the information of said calculating means.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 139 words

A camera system having an objective lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture, the effective aperture value of the diaphragm aperture varying in dependence on the focal length, comprising: means for generating a signal relating to a desired effective aperture value at which the diaphragm aperture is expected to be set; means for setting the focal length of the objective lens; means, responsive to said setting means, for providing data relating to the effective aperture value varying in dependence on the focal length; means for calculating information relating to steps of stopping-down the diaphragm aperture, by which the desired effective aperture value is realized, in response to the signal of said generating means and the data of said providing means, and means for controlling the diaphragm aperture in accordance with the information of said calculating means.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 25 words

The camera system according to claim 3, wherein said generating means includes means for manually setting the desired effective aperture value to generate the signal.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 31 words

The camera system according to claim 3, wherein said generating means includes means for automatically setting the desired effective aperture value in accordance with a light measurement and an exposure calculation.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 59 words

The camera system according to claim 5, wherein said automatic setting means includes means for measuring scene light through the diaphragm aperture with its maximum size, and means for calculating the desired effective aperture value in response to said measuring means and the data of said providing means to generate the signal which is free from the focal length.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 74 words

The camera system according to claim 6, further comprising means for actuating the shutter release operation of the camera, means for fixing the aperture value to be calculated by said effective aperture calculating means, and means for instructing said fixing means to function prior to the actuation of the shutter release operation, wherein said information calculating means is responsive to the data of said providing means upon the actuation of the shutter release operation.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 88 words

The camera system according to claim 6, wherein said generating means includes first means for providing data representative of a quantity of flash light to be emitted upon flash photography, second means for providing data representative of a photographic distance to an object to be photographed, third means for providing data representative of a film speed of a film to be used, and means for calculating the desired effective aperture value to generate the signal in response to said first to third providing means in said generating means.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 138 words

In a camera system operable by means of carrying data, to a camera body, from an interchangeable objective lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture, the effective aperture value of the diaphragm aperture varying in dependence on the focal length, comprising: means for generating a signal relating to a desired effective aperture value at which the diaphragm aperture is expected to be set; means for electrically receiving the data from the lens, the data including information relating to the effective fully open aperture value varying in dependence on the focal length, and means for calculating information relating to steps of stopping-down the diaphragm aperture, by which the desired effective aperture value is realized regardless of the focal length, in response to the signal of said generating means and the data received by said receiving means.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 138 words

In a camera system operable by means of carrying data, to a camera body, from an interchangeable objective lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture, the effective aperture value of the diaphragm aperture varying in dependence on the focal length, comprising: means for generating a signal relating to a desired effective aperture value at which the diaphragm aperture is expected to be set; means for electrically receiving the data from the lens, the data including information relating to the effective fully open aperture value varying in dependence on the focal length, and means for calculating information relating to steps of stopping-down the diaphragm aperture, by which the desired effective aperture value is realized regardless of the focal length, in response to the signal of said generating means and the data received by said receiving means.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 79 words

The camera body according to claim 9, wherein the data received by said receiving means includes data representative of a fully open aperture value at a predetermined focal length and data representative of a deviation in the effective aperture value at a desired focal length form the effective aperture value at the predetermined focal length, both the data in the combination forming the information relating to the effective fully open aperture value varying in dependence on the focal length.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 130 words

In a camera system operable by means of carrying data, to a camera body, from an interchangeable objective lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture, the effective aperture value of the diaphragm aperture varying in dependence on the focal length, the interchangeable objective lens comprising: means for setting the focal length of the interchangeable objective lens; first means for providing first data representative of a fully open aperture value at a predetermined focal length; second means for providing second data representative of a deviation in the effective aperture value at the set focal length from the effective aperture value at the predetermined focal length, in response to said setting means, and means for transmitting said first and second data to the camera body through a common terminal.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 130 words

In a camera system operable by means of carrying data, to a camera body, from an interchangeable objective lens with a variable focal length and a diaphragm aperture, the effective aperture value of the diaphragm aperture varying in dependence on the focal length, the interchangeable objective lens comprising: means for setting the focal length of the interchangeable objective lens; first means for providing first data representative of a fully open aperture value at a predetermined focal length; second means for providing second data representative of a deviation in the effective aperture value at the set focal length from the effective aperture value at the predetermined focal length, in response to said setting means, and means for transmitting said first and second data to the camera body through a common terminal.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 24 words

The interchangeable objective lens according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined focal length with respect to said first data is the shortest focal length.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 43 words

The interchangeable objective lens according to claim 11, further comprising third means for providing third data representative of the maximum aperture value at a predetermined focal length, wherein said transmitting means is capable of also transmitting said third data through said common terminal.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 28 words

The interchangeable objective lens according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined focal length with respect to said first and third data both correspond to the shortest focal length.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1993-11-12	1994-05-14	1994-11-13	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1997-11-12	1998-05-14	1998-11-13	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2001-11-12	2002-05-14	2002-11-13	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Camera system operable by carrying data from a camera accessory to a camera body

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