Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
  • G03B15/00—Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor
  • G03B15/02—Illuminating scene
  • G03B15/03—Combinations of cameras with lighting apparatus; Flash units
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
  • G03B15/00—Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for taking photographs of thermographic detection plates.
• thermographic detection for diagnostic purposes is gaining a steadily increasing popularity, for instance in order to check presence of possible breast tumoral condition, to locate altered cutaneous areas (cellulitis) and in many other cases requiring this type of detection.
• thermographic plate In order to keep a record of the effected detection, and to be able to analyze and/or compare it subsequently with previous similar detections, it is customary to take a colour photograph of the thermographic plate while it is applied on the patient's body and points out the areas having a temperature out of the norm by colour variation of the liquid crystals forming the thermosensitive layer of said plate.
• said instant development cameras are generally not provided with an extra outlet for the synchronized connection of electronic flash units to be arranged in a lateral position so as not to hit directly the plate.
• the problem therefore seemed to be unsolvable, but it was solved with great ingenuity by the system disclosed in the present invention, providing for a process and an apparatus for taking this kind of instant photographs on thermographic plates without any inconvenience.
• the process according to the present invention essentially consists in sequen- tially energizing one or more electronic flash units arranged aside, above and/or under the photographic camera, in any way out of alignment with the theoretical axis joining the plate with the objective lens of the camera so as not to hit directly the thermographic plate, starting from the flash generated ' by the release of the photographic camera, said flash being deflected to at least one of the lateral electronic flash units so as to actuate it through suitable sensors.
• the apparatus for carrying out such a process essentially comprises a portable frame, possibly provided with a trigger grip for snapping the photos, which frame supports the thermographic plate, the photographic camera provided with a particular deflector of the light beam of its electronic flash unit, as well as one or two lateral electronic flash units arranged vertically or horizontally and sequen ⁇ tially energized by the initial flash generated by the release of the photographic camera.
• the sequential energization of the electronic flash units may be considered as contemporaneous for photographic purposes, where opening and closing of the shutter takes place at a speed which is of several orders of magnitude slower than actuation of an electronic flash.
• Fig. 1 is a general isometric view of a first embodiment of the apparatus for carrying out the process according to the invention
• Fig. 2 is a top plan view of said apparatus
• Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the instant photographic camera provided with the deflecting member of the light of the electronic flash, shown taken apart;
• Fig. 4 is an isometric detailed view of said deflecting member, in its particular structural form for application on a Polaroid photographic camera;
• Fig. 5 is a general isometric view of a second embodiment of the apparatus; and Fig. 6 is a perspective exploded view of the frame supporting the thermographic plate and the electronic flash unit, for the apparatus shown in Fig. 5. ' Referring first to Figs.
• the apparatus comprises a frame 1 having approximately the form of an irregular penthagon, with a front side 2 made as a screen to be applied on the patient's body with the thermographic plate mounted on it, two lateral sides 3 bearing the supports 4 for the lateral electronic flash units 5A and 5B and two oblique sides 6 connected by a crosspiece 7 provided with a grip 8 having a trigger 9 to actuate release of the photographic camera 10, placed on a base 11 to which said oblique sides 6 are connected.
• the photographic camera 10 which is preferably an instant develop ⁇ ment camera, has a built-in electronic flash unit 12, as it is well known.
• the deflector member 13 consists of a rectangular portion 14 inserted astride the head of the photographic camera 10, and an adjacent prismatic angled portion 15 which is being placed before the window for the strobe lamp of the electronic flash unit 12 and has the function of reflecting the light beam to the mentioned lateral unit 5A.
• the form shown in Fig. 4 is merely illustrative and refers to model A 680 of Polaroid Corporation, but it is to be pointed out that the deflector member may be shaped in different ways in order to fit well on the photographic camera on which it is to be applied.
• a second embodiment is shown, where a single separate electronic flash unit 16 is provided, which is applied on the socket 17, mounted on the base 18 of the frame 19 for the thermographic plate, and is placed inside the envelope 20 threaded on the guides 21 of said base 18.
• the light beam of the electronic flash unit 12 of the photographic camera 10 is deflected downwards by the deflector member 13 and actuates electronic flash unit 16 in the above mentioned manner.
• the photographic camera 10 and the frame 19 may be made integral by suitable connecting members (not shown) which may take any suitable shape to this end even according to the type of photographic camera which, as already pointed out, is not necessarily an instant development camera but it could even be a traditional camera.
• thermographic detection plate may also be of any type, that is to say not only a flexible plate or a rigid plate, with or without supporting frame, or a corset plate to be worn by patient, with one or more layers of liquid crystals applied on a substrate, but also the most recent types of thermographic plates with liquid crystals directly embedded or included in the material of said plate.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Studio Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11208330

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 1984
  • 1984-11-15 IT IT8423584A patent/IT1177201B/it active
• 1985
  • 1985-11-08 WO PCT/EP1985/000602 patent/WO1986003017A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1985-11-08 EP EP85905625A patent/EP0201549A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events