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Patent US5933671 - Camera with touch sensitive switch - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA touch sensitive electronic switch for a camera comprises a pair of front and rear cover parts of the camera that constitute separate electrical conductors which when temporarily bridged by one's hand allow a direct current path between the front and rear cover parts, and an insulator configured to...http://www.google.com/patents/US5933671?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5933671 - Camera with touch sensitive switchAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS5933671 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/111,296Publication dateAug 3, 1999Filing dateJul 7, 1998Priority dateJul 7, 1998Fee statusLapsedPublication number09111296, 111296, US 5933671 A, US 5933671A, US-A-5933671, US5933671 A, US5933671AInventorsThomas M. Stephany, Kenneth M. HaasOriginal AssigneeEastman Kodak CompanyExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (5), Referenced by (5), Classifications (8), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCamera with touch sensitive switch
US 5933671 AAbstract
A touch sensitive electronic switch for a camera comprises a pair of front and rear cover parts of the camera that constitute separate electrical conductors which when temporarily bridged by one's hand allow a direct current path between the front and rear cover parts, and an insulator configured to fill a space between the front and rear cover parts in order that the front and rear cover parts and the insulator together define a housing for the camera.
1. A touch sensitive electronic switch for a camera comprising:a pair of front and rear cover parts of the camera that constitute separate electrical conductors which when temporarily bridged by one's hand allow a direct current path between said front and rear cover parts; and an insulator configured to fill a space between said front and rear cover parts in order that said front and rear cover parts and said insulator together define a housing for the camera. 2. A touch sensitive electronic switch for a camera as recited in claim 1, wherein said front cover part has a taking lens opening and a front viewfinder opening, and said rear cover part has a rear viewfinder opening.
3. A touch sensitive electronic switch for a camera as recited in claim 1, wherein said front and rear cover parts are conductive plastic.
4. A touch sensitive electronic switch for a camera as recited in claim 1, wherein said front and rear cover parts are each electrically connected to a battery.
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to cameras. More specifically, the invention relates to a camera with a touch sensitive electronic switch comprising a pair of spaced electrical conductors which are adapted to be temporarily bridged by one's hand to allow a direct current path between the conductors.
Touch sensitive electronic switches that have no moving parts and comprise a pair of spaced electrical conductors which are adapted to be temporarily bridged by one's hand to allow a direct current path between the conductors, i.e. to close the switch, are known in the prior art. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,980 issued Apr. 4, 1995, No. 3,944,843 issued Mar. 16, 1976, No. 3,728,501 issued Apr. 17, 1973, and No. 3,715,540 issued Feb. 6, 1973.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,980, No. 3,944,843, No. 3,728,501, and No. 3,715,540 are incorporated in this application.
A touch sensitive electronic switch for a camera comprising:
a pair of front and rear cover parts of the camera that constitute separate electrical conductors which when temporarily bridged by one's hand allow a direct current path between the front and rear cover parts; and
an insulator configured to fill a space between the front and rear cover parts in order that the front and rear cover parts and the insulator together define a housing for the camera.
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a camera with a touch sensitive electronic switch;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the camera with the touch sensitive electronic switch; and
Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 partially show a camera 10 including a pair of opaque front and rear cover parts 12 and 14. The front cover part 12 has a taking lens opening 16, a front viewfinder opening 18, a flash window opening 20, and an integral cantilevered flash "on" button 22. The rear cover part 14 has a rear viewfinder opening 24 and an exposure counter window 26. Both of the cover parts 12 and 14 have a shared opening 28 for a shutter release button 30.
The front and rear cover parts 12 and 14 constitute separate electrical conductors which when temporarily bridged by one's hand, as shown in FIG. 2, allow a direct current path between the front and rear cover parts. Preferably, the front and rear cover parts 12 and 14 are a known type of electrically conductive plastic, although they can be made from any suitable light-weight electrically conductive material such as aluminum. An opaque insulator 32 is configured to fill a narrow longitudinal space 34 between the front and rear cover parts in order that the front and rear cover parts and the insulator together define an opaque housing 36 for the camera 10. Preferably, the insulator 32 is a non-conductive plastic, although it can be made from any suitable non-conductive material such as rubber.
As shown in FIG. 3, a conventional six-volt lithium battery 38 has its negative (-) end 40 electrically connected to the front cover part 12 and to a ground side (VSS) 42 of a conventional type "4049" CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) inverter 44 and its positive (+) end 46 electrically connected to a DC supply side (VDD) 48 of the CMOS inverter. The CMOS inverter 44 is available from Motorola Inc. as part no. MC14049UB. A first non-variable (fixed) resistor 50 is electrically connected to the positive end 46 of the battery 38 and to an input gate 52 of the CMOS inverter 44. A second non-variable resistor 54 in series with the first resistor 50 is electrically connected to the rear cover part 14 and to the input gate 52 of the CMOS inverter 44. The two-resistors 50 and 54 are electrically connected to the input gate 52 of the CMOS inverter 44 via a common node 56. The resistance value of the first resistor 50 is higher than the resistance value of the second resistor 54.
When the front and rear cover parts 12 and 14 are not temporarily bridged by one's hand, the full voltage of the battery 38 is applied to the input gate 52 of the CMOS inverter 44. As is typical, little or no voltage is provided at an output gate 58 of the CMOS inverter 44. This is equivalent to a switch being open.
When the front and rear cover parts 12 and 14 are temporarily bridged by one's hand, less than one-half of the full voltage of the battery 38 is applied to the input gate 52 of the CMOS inverter 44. The reason for this is that the second resistor 54 is now electrically connected to the negative end 40 of the battery 38, and the resistance ratio of the first resistor 50 to the second resistor is chosen so that no more than less than one-half of the full voltage of the battery 38 can be applied to the input gate 52 of the CMOS inverter. The application of less than one-half of the full voltage of the battery 38 to the input gate 52 of the CMOS inverter 44 permits the full voltage of the battery to be provided at the output gate 58 of the CMOS inverter. This is equivalent to a switch being closed.
The output gate 58 of the CMOS inverter 44 is electrically connected to a known microprocessor (not shown) which turns the camera 10 "on" when the full voltage of the battery 38 is provided at the output gate of the CMOS inverter.
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,980, No. 3,944,843, U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,501, and U.S. Pat. No. 3.715,540 incorporated in this application show other examples of touch sensitive electronic switches.
16. taking lens opening
18. front viewfinder opening
20. flash window opening
22. flash "on" button
24. rear viewfinder opening
26. exposure counter window
28. shared opening
30. shutter release button
32. insulator
34. narrow longitudinal space
36. housing
38. battery
40. negative end
42. ground side
44. CMOS inverter
46. positive end
48. supply side
50. first resistor
52. input gate
54. second resistor
56. common node
58. output gate
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS3715540 *Nov 16, 1971Feb 6, 1973Magic Dot IncTouch sensitive electronic switchUS3728501 *Mar 16, 1972Apr 17, 1973Magic Dot IncTouch sensitive electronic switchUS3944843 *Jan 11, 1974Mar 16, 1976Filinto Vaz MartinsImpedance responsive touch actuated circuitUS5086313 *Jun 22, 1990Feb 4, 1992Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaOperation switch unit for a cameraUS5403980 *Aug 6, 1993Apr 4, 1995Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.Touch sensitive switch pads* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6389752Jun 21, 1999May 21, 2002Schlegel CorporationTouch sensitive trapping protector for power operated closing devicesUS6893415Sep 21, 2001May 17, 2005Novo Nordisk A/SMedication delivery deviceUS8052655Sep 28, 2007Nov 8, 2011Novo Nordisk A/SInjection device with electronic detecting meansUS8632509Sep 26, 2011Jan 21, 2014Novo Nordisk A/SInjection device with electronic detecting meansUS8708957Dec 31, 2008Apr 29, 2014Novo Nordisk A/SElectronically monitored injection deviceClassifications U.S. Classification396/535, 200/600, 396/6, 200/5.00AInternational ClassificationG03B17/02Cooperative ClassificationG03B17/02, G03B2217/002European ClassificationG03B17/02Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionSep 25, 2007FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 20070803Aug 3, 2007LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesFeb 21, 2007REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedDec 30, 2002FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Jul 7, 1998ASAssignmentOwner name: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, NEW YORKFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:STEPHANY, THOMAS M.;HAAS, KENNETH M.;REEL/FRAME:009307/0324Effective date: 19980706RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services