JP5153355B2 - Lock mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lock mechanism, and more specifically, to a lock mechanism that locks a component housed in a housing portion of a device main body, such as a battery, in the housing portion.

  In recent years, various battery-driven electronic devices have been sold. For example, there are imaging devices such as digital cameras and digital video cameras, and portable information devices such as electronic dictionaries, mobile phones, and PDAs. In the video camera, the battery is mounted on the surface of the camera body so as to protrude outward, and is held so as not to be easily detached from the body by a lock mechanism. In portable information devices, generally, a battery is built in the device body and can be removed, and a battery is charged by a charger without being removed.

  The conventional lock mechanism can select a lock state in which the battery is locked and held in a state where it is connected to the electronic device main body, and a lock release state in which the battery is unlocked. Usually, the user operates the lock member with one hand to bring it into the unlocked state, and then removes or removes the battery with the other hand.

In addition, a configuration is also known in which the battery is biased in advance by a spring or the like toward the battery removal direction. In this case, by releasing the lock, the battery automatically moves in the removal direction. Thereby, the operativity at the time of removing a battery improves. Such a battery attaching / detaching mechanism is described in Patent Document 1.
JP 2003-346746 A

  The lock mechanism with an urging function as described in Patent Document 1 has a large number of parts and a complicated configuration. That is, an urging means for constantly urging the battery in the take-out direction and a locking means with a certain strength or more to press the battery against the urging force against the urging force of the urging means are required. Moreover, it is necessary to ensure the space for arrange | positioning and accommodating these members.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a lock mechanism that solves such problems.

The lock mechanism according to the present invention includes a slider that can move between an initial position that is a lock position with respect to a member to be locked and a non-lock position, and an urging unit that urges the slider toward the lock position. And an unlocking member that moves the slider in the direction from the locked position to the unlocked position, the slider has a first engaging inclined surface, and the locked member is a second engaging member. It has an inclined surface and unlocks the locked member while the slider faces and contacts the second engaging inclined surface according to the movement of the slider from the initial position to the unlocked position. then both are moved in the removal direction, by the biasing means, said depending from the unlocked position of the slider to return to the initial position, the locked member is opposed to the first engagement inclined surface of the slider While in contact, characterized in that said moving further the removal direction to be the lock member.

  According to the present invention, the member to be locked can be locked with a small number of parts. Further, since the member to be locked is moved in the removing direction in accordance with the unlocking operation, the member to be locked can be easily removed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a video camera or an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention with a battery mounted and a liquid crystal monitor opened. FIG. 2 shows an external perspective view with the battery removed. In the following explanation, the surface on the shooting lens side of the video camera is the front of the camera, the surface facing the camera front is the back of the camera, the right side when viewed from the camera is the right side of the camera, and the left side when viewed from the front is the left side of the camera The lower surface when viewed from the front of the camera is the bottom surface of the camera.

  A photographing lens 12 is provided in front of the main body 10, and an image sensor that converts an optical image obtained by the photographing lens 12 into an image signal is disposed inside the photographing lens 12. In addition, the main body 10 further includes an image processing apparatus that processes the output image signal of the image sensor and a recording / reproduction processing apparatus that records and reproduces the image signal on a recording medium.

  A liquid crystal monitor 14 as an image display device is attached to the right side surface of the main body 10 via a connecting mechanism 16 so as to be rotatable about two axes with respect to the main body 10. The connection mechanism 16 is formed of, for example, a well-known biaxial hinge mechanism. The liquid crystal monitor 14 can display an image in recording standby, an image being recorded, and a reproduced image on the display screen 14a, and displays various setting menus on the display screen 14a. An engagement groove 14 b that engages with the lock member 18 of the main body 10 when the liquid crystal monitor 14 is brought into close contact with the main body 10 is formed at the end of the liquid crystal monitor 14 that is farthest from the main body 10.

  On the back surface of the main body 10, a trigger button 20 is arranged to start / stop shooting by pressing. The battery 22 as a member to be locked serves as a power source for the main body 10. The battery 22 has a take-out knob 22a serving as a take-out handle on the lower end surface. The battery 22 is housed in the housing portion 24 (FIG. 2) on the left side surface of the main body 10. The power supply terminal 26 (FIG. 2) is electrically connected to the electric terminal of the battery 22 stored in the storage unit 24. The user can remove the battery 22 stored and locked in the storage unit 24 by operating the lock release knob 28.

  The battery 22 can be stored in the storage unit 24 and attached to the main body 10 as follows. The battery 22 is stored in the storage unit 24 from an oblique rear side of the main body 10 so that a terminal (not shown) of the battery 22 is connected to the power supply terminal 26. With the front end of the battery 22 in contact with the end surface of the storage unit 24, the rear end of the battery 22 is pushed into the storage unit 24. When the battery 22 is pushed into the storage portion 24 to the specified position, the battery 22 is locked at that position, that is, the lock position. Thereafter, the main body can be turned on and used. Although details will be described later, the user slides the lock release knob 28 downward to move the battery 22 to the unlocked position where the lock is released. Thereafter, the battery 22 can be removed from the main body 10 by placing a finger on the take-out knob 22a and taking out the battery 22 in the direction opposite to the time of storage in the storage unit 24.

  In the photographing mode, the user holds the main body 10 with the right hand, points the photographing lens 12 toward the subject, and presses the trigger button 20 for a short period of time. Thereby, recording is started through a known process. That is, the image sensor converts an optical image from the photographing lens 12 into an image signal. An image processing apparatus performs known processes such as γ correction, color balance adjustment, and color conversion on the output image signal of the image sensor. The display control device processes the image signal processed by the image processing device for display and displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 14 as an image. In addition, the recording / playback processing apparatus processes (for example, compression-encodes) the image signal processed by the image processing apparatus and records it on a recording medium.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the battery 22 is housed in the main body 10 so as to be concealed by the liquid crystal monitor 14 when the liquid crystal monitor 14 is closed. And the lock release knob 28 is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the taking-out knob 22a. Although the details will be described later, in the housed state, the battery 22 is in contact with the power supply terminal 26 at the left end side (tip side at the time of insertion), and the moving direction is restricted by the exterior member 10 a of the main body 10. When the battery 22 is taken out, it is first necessary to unlock the right end side (rear end side when inserted) of the battery 22 and lift the right end side. For this reason, the take-out knob 22 a is arranged on the right end side of the battery 22.

  Operability is improved by centrally arranging operation switches on the back of the camera. In terms of space, the unlocking knob 28 as an unlocking member is arranged on the right side of the camera.

  For these reasons, the lock release knob 28 and the take-out knob 22a are located at extremely close positions when the battery 22 is mounted. When taking out the battery 22, the user operates the lock release knob 28 with the right hand to release the lock of the battery 22, and lifts the take-up knob 22 a with a finger with the left hand.

  Since the battery 22 is disposed inside the liquid crystal monitor 14, the liquid crystal monitor 14 is always open with respect to the main body 10 when the battery 22 is taken out. For this reason, when the user tries to take out the battery 22 with the left hand, the liquid crystal monitor 14 interferes with the user's left hand, and the operability of taking out the battery 22 is significantly reduced.

  In order to suppress the width of the camera (the width in the left-right direction when viewed from the front of the camera), an information processing circuit board (not shown) is adjacent to the back side of the storage unit 24. This type of information processing circuit board has an area enough to cover the storage section 24. Therefore, it is difficult to arrange an urging member that causes the battery 22 to jump out of the storage portion 24 in accordance with the unlocking operation on the bottom surface portion of the storage portion 24.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, a lock mechanism is employed that releases the lock of the battery 22 in accordance with the operation of the lock release knob 28 and at the same time slightly lifts the right end (rear end) of the battery 22 from the storage portion 24 of the main body 10. did. As a result, the user can easily take out the battery 22 with the right hand.

  The locking mechanism of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a right side view of the state in which the liquid crystal monitor 14 is opened and the battery 22 is housed. 4 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 3, a terminal (not shown) at the left end of the battery 22 is engaged with or electrically connected to the power supply terminal 26.

  As described above, when the battery 22 is stored in the storage unit 24, first, the battery 22 is inserted into the storage unit 24 so that an electric terminal (not shown) at the left end of the battery 22 sinks between the power supply terminal 26 and the exterior member 10 a. insert. The left end of the battery 22 enters between the power terminal 26 and the exterior member 10a. As a result, the battery 22 is sandwiched between the power supply terminal 26 and the exterior member 10a, as shown by the symbol Q in FIG. The terminal at the left end of the battery 22 is configured by a metal leaf spring (not shown), and the power of the battery 22 is supplied to the main body 10 by being electrically connected to the power supply terminal 26.

  After the terminal of the battery 22 is engaged with the power supply terminal 26, when the right end side of the battery 22 is pushed into the storage portion 24, the right end side of the battery 22 is also restricted from moving in the take-out direction by the lock mechanism. Thereby, the battery 22 is locked to the storage unit 24. The storage unit 24 is a recess formed in the camera body 10. In the housing part 12, there are standing walls in the vertical and horizontal directions when viewed from the right side of the main body, and these walls restrict the movement of the battery 22 in the vertical and horizontal directions with the battery 22 stored in the storage part 24. To do.

  FIG. 5 is a view of the exterior member 10a and components attached thereto as viewed from the left side. 6 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. The slider 30 (or slide member) engages with the unlocking knob 28 and slides integrally with the unlocking knob 28. The lock portion 30 a of the slider 30 locks the battery 22 to the storage portion 24 by engaging with a lock groove 22 b provided in the battery 22. The lock spring 32 constantly biases the slider 30 in the L direction in FIG. The lock claw 28 a of the lock release knob 28 engages with the slider 30.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lock release knob 28 and the slider 30 are engaged with each other by the lock claw 28 a of the lock release knob 28 with the thick portion of the exterior member 10 a interposed therebetween. When the lock release knob 28 is slid, the slider 30 also slides integrally with the lock release knob 28. As shown in FIG. 5, the slider 30 is urged in the L direction by the lock spring 32. The sliding direction of the slider 30 is limited to one direction by the rib protruding from the exterior member 10a.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the battery 22 and the slider 30 as viewed from the right side of the main body 10. In order to make it easier to understand the state of locking / unlocking, it is shown with parts unnecessary for explanation omitted.

  8 to 12 are cross-sectional views taken along the line CC in FIG. 7 at each position of the slide 30. L indicates a direction in which the slider 30 is urged by the lock spring 32. P indicates the sliding direction (lock releasing direction) of the slider 30 when unlocking. FIG. 8 to FIG. 12 respectively show the state in which the slider 30 is slid to be unlocked and thereafter the unlocked state is maintained.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the right end side of the battery 22 is pushed into the storage unit 24 and the battery 22 is locked to the storage unit 24 by the slider 30. The lock portion 30a of the slider 30 is engaged with the lock groove 22b formed in the battery 22 at the S portion. Thereby, the movement of the battery 22 in the take-out direction R is prohibited, and the battery 22 is locked in a state where it is stored in the storage unit 24. At this time, the slider 30 is urged in the L direction by the lock spring 32, whereby the lock portion 30a maintains a locked state in which the lock portion 30a is engaged with the lock groove 22b. FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of this locked state.

  FIG. 9 shows a state where the lock release knob 28 is slid by a certain amount in the slide direction P. The slider 30 slides integrally with the lock release knob 28 and comes into contact with the engagement inclined surface 22c of the lock groove 22b at the T portion. At this time, the lock portion 30a of the slider 30 is separated from the lock groove 22b of the battery 22, and the battery 22 is released from the slider 30 and can move in the R direction.

  FIG. 10 shows a state where the lock release knob 28 is further slid in the sliding direction P by a certain amount. Since the movement direction of the slider 30 is regulated by the exterior member 10a, it slides straight in the P direction. However, the battery 22 comes into contact with the slider 30 at the engagement portion 22c at the T portion. Due to the inclined surface 22c, the battery 22 moves in the R direction which is the take-out direction as the slider 30 moves in the P direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, since the movement of the left end portion of the battery 22 in the R direction is restricted by the exterior member 10 a, the right end portion of the battery 22 rotates in the R direction around the left end portion. To move slightly. That is, the right end portion of the battery 22 is slightly lifted from the storage portion 24.

  FIG. 11 shows a state where the operation of the unlocking knob 28 is stopped from the state shown in FIG. 10 and the finger is released from the unlocking knob 28. By releasing the finger from the unlocking knob 28, the slider 30 is moved in the L direction by the urging force of the lock spring 32. As a result, the slider 30 moves in the L direction and contacts the engagement inclined surface 22d of the lock groove 22b at the U portion.

  FIG. 12 shows a state where the slider 30 is further moved in the L direction by the urging force of the lock spring 32 from the state shown in FIG. 11 and returned to the initial position. At this time, the slider 30 enters the lower side of the battery 22, and the engagement inclined surface 30b of the slider 30 and the inclined surface 22d of the battery 22 come into contact with each other at the U portion. As a result, the right end portion of the battery 22 further moves in the R direction and further rises from the storage portion 24. Since the slider 30 is biased in the L direction, the state where the right end portion of the battery 22 is lifted from the storage portion 24 is maintained.

  FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a state where the right end portion of the battery 22 is lifted from the storage portion 24. As shown in FIG. 14, when the user operates the lock release knob 28, the lock of the battery 22 is released, and at the same time, the right end portion of the battery 22 moves in the take-out direction R. In other words, the right end portion of the battery 22 slightly protrudes from the storage portion. Thereby, the user can easily put the finger on the take-out knob 22a, and can take out the battery 22 by a simple operation.

  When the battery 22 is mounted, the slider 30 moves in the opposite direction to the above-described procedure. Briefly described. When the right end side of the battery 22 is pushed into the storage portion 24, first, as shown in FIG. 12, the engagement inclined surface 22d of the battery 22 and the engagement inclined surface 30b of the slider 30 are in contact with each other at the U portion. When the right end portion of the battery 22 is further pushed in from the state shown in FIG. 12, the slider 30 moves in the P direction, and the state shown in FIG. 11 is obtained. When the battery 22 is further pushed in from the state shown in FIG. 11, the end of the engagement inclined surface 30b gets over the end of the engagement inclined surface 22d at the position X. At this moment, the slider 30 moves in the L direction according to the urging force of the lock spring 32. By this movement, the lock portion 30 a of the slider 30 enters the lock groove 22 b of the battery 22. The battery 22 is in the locked state shown in FIG. 8, and the locking of the battery 22 to the storage unit 24 is completed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user can operate the lock release knob 28 with his right hand to unlock the battery 22 and to lift one end of the battery 22 from the storage unit. Thereby, the battery 22 can be easily taken out. This can be realized with a small number of parts without using a biasing member that biases the battery 22 away from the bottom surface of the storage portion 24.

  The present invention is not limited to a video camera, and can be applied to an electronic device having a functional component such as a power source that can be attached to and detached from the device main body when locking and unlocking the functional component. In addition to the power supply, the present invention can also be applied to recording media and display devices that can be attached to and detached from the device body, and accessories that add functions to the device body such as an external input microphone and video light. It is.

It is a perspective view of one Example of this invention. It is a perspective view of a present Example of a state which removed the battery. It is a right view of a present Example. It is sectional drawing in the AA of FIG. It is the top view seen from the camera left side surface of the locking mechanism of a present Example. It is sectional drawing in the BB line of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between a battery 22 and a slider 30 as viewed from the right side of the camera. It is sectional drawing in the CC line of FIG. 7, Comprising: It is a figure which shows a locked state. It is sectional drawing in the CC line of FIG. 7, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the unlocking middle. It is sectional drawing in the CC line of FIG. 7, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the unlocking middle. It is sectional drawing in the CC line of FIG. 7, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the unlocking middle. It is sectional drawing in the CC line | wire of FIG. 7, Comprising: It is a figure which shows a lock release state. It is a perspective view corresponding to the locked state shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view corresponding to the unlocked state shown in FIG. 12.

Explanation of symbols

10: body 10a: exterior member 12: photographic lens 14: liquid crystal monitor 16: connection mechanism 14a: display screen 18: lock member 14b: engagement groove 20: trigger button 22: battery 22a: take-out knob 22b: lock groove 22c: engagement Joint slope 22d: Engagement slope 24: Storage part 26: Power supply terminal 28: Lock release knob 28a: Lock claw 30: Slider 30a: Lock part 30b: Engagement slope 32: Lock spring

Claims (2)

A slider (30) movable between an initial position which is a locked position with respect to the locked member (22) and an unlocked position;
Biasing means (32) for biasing the slider toward the lock position;
An unlocking member (28) for moving the slider from the locked position to the unlocked position
And
The slider has a first engaging inclined surface (30b),
The locked member has a second engagement inclined surface (22c),
In accordance with the movement from the initial position of the slider to the unlocked position moves, while the slider is in contact opposite to the second engagement inclined surface, said locked member unlock Then both removal direction Let
By said biasing means, said depending from the unlocked position of the slider to return to the initial position, while the locked member is in contact opposite to the first engagement inclined surface of the slider, the locked A locking mechanism, wherein the member is further moved in the removing direction. When the member to be locked is pushed in the storing direction, the slider moves while the member to be locked faces the first engagement inclined surface of the slider, and the first engagement of the slider The locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the inclined surface moves to the lock groove by getting over the contact end portion of the member to be locked and is locked.

Images