U.S. patent number 3,898,514 [Application Number 05/365,085] was granted by the patent office on 1975-08-05 for strobo discharge device with audio signal generator.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Ricoh Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Akira Takahashi.
United States Patent |
3,898,514 |
Takahashi |
August 5, 1975 |
Strobo discharge device with audio signal generator
Abstract
A strobo discharge device which generates audio signals when a
main flash capacitor is charged in excess of a predetermined
voltage capable of triggering a flash tube. When the voltage across
the main flash capacitor rises above the predetermined level, a
continuous wave voltage is intermittently interrupted and is
converted by a speaker system into audio signals.
Inventors: |
Takahashi; Akira (Tokyo,
JA) |
Assignee: |
Ricoh Co., Ltd. (Tokyo,
JA)
|
Family
ID: |
12946561 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/365,085 |
Filed: |
May 30, 1973 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
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May 30, 1972 [JA] |
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47-53573 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
315/136;
315/241P; 340/384.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05B
41/34 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H05B
41/34 (20060101); H05B 41/30 (20060101); H05b
041/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;315/241R,241P,241S,133,134,135,136 ;320/1
;340/248R,248A,248C,248D,384E ;354/127 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lawrence; James W.
Assistant Examiner: LaRoche; E. R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Cooper, Dunham, Clark, Griffin
& Moran
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A strobo discharge device comprising
a. a flash tube,
b. a continuous wave voltage generator,
c. a main capacitor for supplying energy to said flash tube,
d. means for charging said main capacitor,
e. means for detecting the voltage across said main capacitor,
f. means for intermittently interrupting the continuous wave
voltage from said continuous wave voltage generator in response to
the signal from said detecting means generated when the voltage
across said main capacitor is in excess of a predetermined level,
and
g. means for converting said intermittently interrupted continuous
wave voltage into sound signals.
2. A strobo discharge device as defined in claim 1 wherein
a. said means for charging said main capacitor and for generating
said continuous wave voltage comprise a common blocking
oscillator,
b. said voltage detecting means comprises a neon bulb across which
is applied a part of the voltage across said main capacitor and a
photoelectric cell disposed to intercept the light emitted from
said neon bulb,
c. said means for intermittently interrupting the continuous wave
voltage comprises an astable multivibrator, and
d. said means for converting said intermittently interrupted
continuous wave voltage into sound signals comprises a speaker
system, whereby said continuous wave voltage is derived from said
blocking oscillator and the signals for intermittently interrupting
said continuous wave voltage are derived from said astable
multivibrator.
3. A strobo discharge device as defined in claim 2 wherein said
voltage-detecting means comprises a series circuit consisting of a
resistor and said neon bulb and connected in parallel with said
main capacitor.
4. A strobo discharge device having a flashtube having two main
terminals and a trigger terminal and firing when a firing signal
exceeding a selected value is applied to its main terminal and a
trigger signal is applied to its trigger terminal, means for
storing a firing signal connected across the main terminals of the
flashtube, means for gradually charging the storing means from a
level below said selected value to a level exceeding said selected
value, and first normally open switch means closeable to apply a
trigger signal to the trigger terminal of the flashtube to fire it
when a firing signal exceeding the selected value is applied to the
main terminals of the tube, wherein the improvement comprises a
device for audibly indicating when the storage means stores a
firing signal exceeding said preselected value, comprising:
means for generating a continuous wave form signal;
means for converting said continuous wave form signal into an
audible signal;
second normally open switch means interposed between the generating
and the converting means and closeable to apply said continuous
wave form signal to the converting means;
means for detecting the level of the signal in said storage means
and for generating an enabling signal when the signal in the
storage means exceeds said selected value; and
means responsive to said enabling signal for intermittently closing
said second switch means, whereby the converting means provides an
intermittent audible signal when the storage means stores a firing
signal of a level sufficient for firing the flash tube, to indicate
to an operator that closing of said first switch means would fire
the flash tube.
5. A device as in claim 4 wherein the storing means is a capacitor
and the charging means is the means for generating a continuous
wave form signal.
6. A device as in claim 5 wherein the means for generating said
continuous wave form signal is a blocking oscillator.
7. A device as in claim 6 wherein the detecting means comprise a
neon bulb across which is applied a selected portion of the voltage
across said capacitor and a photoelectric cell disposed to
intercept the light from the neon bulb.
8. A device as in claim 7 wherein the means for intermittently
closing the second switch means comprise an astable multivibrator.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a strobo discharge device, and
more particularly to a strobo discharge device which generates
audio signals when a main flash capacitor is charged to a potential
which is in excess of a predetermined level.
In the conventional strobo discharge device or flash unit, a neon
bulb is generally used in order to indicate that the voltage across
the main flash capacitor is above a predetermined level. In some
cameras incorporating a flash unit, an operator may see the light
from the neon bulb within or outside the viewfinder. In a camera of
the type in which the light from the neon bulb is seen in the
viewfinder, a rapid sequence of successive shots becomes difficult
because the operator must, for each shot, determine framing and
focusing and check whether the main flash capacitor is ready to
trigger a flash bulb while simultaneously looking through the
viewfinder. In the case of a camera of the type in which a neon
bulb is disposed outside the viewfinder, the operator must remove
his eye from the viewfinder in order to check the neon bulb every
time he takes a shot.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One of the objects of the present invention is therefore to provide
a strobo discharge device which generates audio signals when the
main flash capacitor is charged to a potential in excess of a
predetermined voltage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a strobo
discharge device of the type described above which is simple in
construction.
Briefly stated, according to the present invention, when a voltage
detecting means detects that the voltage across a main flash
capacitor is in excess of a predetermined level, continuous wave
voltage output signals from a continuous voltage generating means
such as blocking oscillator, are intermittently interrupted by
switching means, such as an astable multivibrator, and are
converted into audio signals by a speaker system, such as
earphone.
According to the present invention, audio signals are generated
when the voltage across the main flash capacitor exceeds a
predetermined level so that an operator need not move his eye from
a viewfinder in order to check the charging condition of the main
flash capacitor. Furthermore the problem of framing, focusing and
checking the charging condition of the main flash capacitor through
the viewfinder is eliminated. Since the continuous wave voltage is
intermittently interrupted and converted into audio signals, the
audio signals may be readily discernible, and furthermore the
frequency of the audio signals may be varied as desired in
accordance with one of the embodiments of the present
invention.
Moreover, according to the present invention the continuous wave
voltage source also functions as a blocking oscillator for charging
a main flash capacitor so that the construction may be simplified
and the cost may be reduced.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent from the following description
of some preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a strobo discharge device in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows the waveforms derived from the component parts thereof
and used for the explanation of the mode of operation thereof;
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a variation thereof; and
FIGS. 5 and 6 are circuit diagrams of second and third embodiments
of the present invention, respectively.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
Principle, FIGS. 1 and 2
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a voltage detector 1 detects whether
the voltage across a main capacitor is sufficient to trigger a
flash tube. A continuous wave voltage source 2 comprises for
example a blocking oscillator; a switching means 3 comprises an
astable multivibrator; and a speaker 4 may comprise an
earphone.
When the voltage detector 1 detects that the voltage across the
main capacitor exceeds a predetermined level, a continuous wave
voltage (See FIG. 2(a)) from the continuous wave voltage source 2
is intermittently interrupted by the switching means 3 (See FIG.
2(b)) and is applied to the speaker 4 so as to generate sound
signals (See FIG. 2(c)).
First Embodiment, FIGS. 3 and 4
Referring to FIG. 3, a blocking oscillator 6 is connected to a DC
power source 5 and charges a main capacitor 7. Since the blocking
oscillator 6 may be any conventional self-running blocking
oscillator, a detailed description of its construction and mode of
operation will not be given in this specification. The blocking
oscillator 6 includes a transformer T.sub.1 so as to provide output
voltage higher than the voltage supplied from the DC power source
5. When the voltage across the main capacitor 7 exceeds a
predetermined level, a neon bulb 8 is turned on. Since a voltage
divider consisting of resistors R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is connected in
parallel with the main capacitor 7, the voltage across the resistor
R.sub.1 is applied across the neon bulb 8. That is, the voltage
which triggers the neon bulb 8 is determined by the voltage across
the main capacitor 7 and the values of the resistors R.sub.1 and
R.sub.2. When the neon bulb 8 is turned on, the resistance of a
photo cell, such as CdS cell 9, is reduced so that the base
potential of a transistor Tr.sub. 1 falls. Thus the transistor
Tr.sub.1 is turned on so that the switching means comprising
astable multivibrator 10 starts oscillating. As a result a
transistor Tr.sub.2 is intermittently turned on as shown at (b) in
FIG. 2. Since the astable multivibrator 10 is of the conventional
type, a detailed description of its construction and mode of
operation will not be given in the specification.
To the collector of a transistor Tr.sub.3 in the blocking
oscillator 6 are connected a capacitor 11 and the collector of the
transistor Tr.sub.2 through a speaker or earphone 12 so that the
continuous wave voltage of the blocking oscillator 6 is applied to
the earphone 12 as shown at (a) in FIG. 2. Therefore when the
transistor Tr.sub.2 is intermittently turned on as shown at (b) in
FIG. 2, the signals as shown at (c) in FIG. 2 are generated by the
earphone 12.
When the main capacitor 7 is charged to a predetermined voltage, a
capacitor 13 is charged through a resistor R.sub.3 to a
predetermined voltage for triggering a flash tube 14. In response
to the actuation of a shutter mechanism of a camera, a contact (not
shown) on the side of the camera connected to a plug 15 is closed,
and the capacitor 13 is discharged through the primary of a
transformer T.sub.2 so that the flash tube 14 is triggered in
response to the trigger signal generated by the transformer
T.sub.2. A contact 16 is used to check whether the flash tube 14 is
ready to be triggered or not.
Instead of deriving the continuous wave voltage from the collector
of the transistor Tr.sub.3, it may be derived across an additional
winding 17 of the transformer T.sub.1 as shown in FIG. 4.
Second Embodiment, FIG. 5
In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the parts similar to
those shown in FIG. 3 are designated by same reference numerals.
The neon bulb 8 is connected in series to a resistor R.sub.4 and in
parallel with the main capacitor 7 so that the voltage across the
main capacitor 7 may be detected from a voltage at the junction S
between the neon bulb 8 and the resistor R.sub.4. When the voltage
across the main capacitor 7 exceeds a predetermined value, the neon
bulb 8 is turned on so that its resistance is reduced. As a result,
the voltage at the junction S rises so that the base potential of a
transistor Tr.sub.4 rises, whereby the latter is turned on. The
astable multivibrator 10 is triggered so that the sound signals are
generated through the earphone 12 as is the case of the first
embodiment described in connection with FIG. 3. The second
embodiment is more advantageous than the first embodiment in that
the photo cell 9 may be eliminated.
Third Embodiment, FIG. 6
In FIG. 6 the parts similar to those shown in FIG. 3 are designated
by same reference numerals. In the third embodiment, the circuit
for detecting whether the voltage across the main capacitor exceeds
a predetermined level or not also functions as a switching circuit
19 for temporarily interrupting the charging of the main capacitor
7 and intermittently interrupting the continuous wave voltage. That
is, the collector-emitter circuit of a transistor Tr.sub.5 is
connected in parallel with the base-emitter circuit of the
transistor Tr.sub.3, and the base of the transistor Tr.sub.5, the
resistor R.sub.5 and one electrode of the neon bulb 8 are connected
in series. The other electrode of the neon bulb 8 is connected to
the output of the blocking oscillator 6. When the main capacitor 7
is charged in excess of a predetermined level, the neon bulb 8
turns on and starts conducting so that the transistor Tr.sub.5 is
turned on. As a result the base potential of the transistor
Tr.sub.3 falls so that the transistor Tr.sub.3 is cut off. Thus the
blocking oscillator 6 is stopped. When the main capacitor 7 is
naturally discharged or discharged through a vaiable resistor
VR.sub.1 connected in parallel with the main capacitor 7, the neon
bulb 8 and the transistor Tr.sub.5 are cut off so that the blocking
oscillator 6 is triggered again. As a result the earphone 12
generates the intermittent sound signals. By adjusting the variable
resistor VR.sub.1, the frequency of the intermittent sound signals
may be varied.
In the third embodiment, the functions of the voltage detector and
the switching circuit can be accomplished by a common circuit so
that the astable multivibrator used in the first and second
embodiments may be eliminated. A further advantage of the third
embodiment is that the voltage across the main capacitor may be
maintained within a predetermined range.
* * * * *