JP2000089323A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera capable of preventing a lightproof door locking member from being insufficiently locked due to its plastic deformation even in the case that the capacity of a power source battery is reduced and the opening mechanism of a cartridge chamber cover is damaged. SOLUTION: This camera uses a film cartridge having a hightproof door 15 for opening and closing a film entrance. The film cartridge is housed in a cartridge chamber, and the aperture part of the cartridge chamber is shielded and opened by a cartridge chamber door opening and closing mechanism 13. Also, the cartridge chamber door 12 is driven by the cartridge chamber door opening and closing mechanism 13, and the lightproof door 15 is driven by a light-shielding door opening and closing mechanism 16. Then, when the film cartridge is not taken out from the cartridge chamber, the lightproof door opening and closing mechanism 16 is controlled by a control circuit 11 so as to maintain the lightproof door 15 in an opened state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in an apparatus such as a camera using a cartridge having a light-shielding door which is electrically opened and closed, for example, at a film entrance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A film feeding type cartridge currently on the market is provided with an openable / closable light-shielding door in the vicinity of an opening serving as a film entrance. Therefore, as the camera side, for example, JP-A-7-253616
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. HEI 7-64, it is necessary to provide a mechanism for opening or closing the light shielding door when loading or unloading a cartridge of this type.

[0003] The light-shielding door is located between a closed position for covering the film entrance and blocking the external light going into the film cartridge main body and an open position for retracting from the film entrance and allowing the film to be fed and rewinded. It is provided movably. However, in order to prevent the film from being exposed due to the inadvertent opening of the light shielding door when carrying the film cartridge, in this type of cartridge, the movement of the light shielding door is restricted and securely closed. It is necessary to provide a light-shielding door lock member for locking in the position. In a commercially available film cartridge, a lock mechanism using an elastic member is used as a mechanism of the lock member.

In a general apparatus such as a camera using such a film cartridge, when the film cartridge is loaded in the cartridge chamber, the light-shielding door driving member provided in the cartridge chamber engages with the light-shielding door driving groove. Then, the light shielding door lock member is elastically deformed to release the locked state, and thereafter, the light shielding door is turned to open. Then, when the light shielding door is completely opened, the force for elastically deforming the lock member is removed.

[0005] When the film rewinding operation is completed and a film taking-out operation is performed to open the cartridge chamber lid, the light shielding door is returned to the closed state before the cartridge chamber lid is opened.

[0006]

Incidentally, recent cameras have been fully automated, and for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-30 / 1990.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6465, etc., not only film feeding and focus adjustment, but also opening and closing of a film cartridge chamber lid and opening and closing of a light shielding door of a film cartridge are being driven electrically by a plunger or a motor. .

[0007] However, another problem newly arises for that purpose, and the reason will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c). FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a film cartridge with the light shielding door closed.
(B) is a diagram showing the film cartridge with the light-shielding door open.

Now, consider a case where a cartridge chamber lid open button (not shown) is operated to remove the film cartridge after the completion of rewinding. Film cartridge 1
A light-shielding door 3 is provided in the vicinity of the opening on the side surface 2.
In a normal operation, first, in response to the operation of the cartridge chamber cover open button (not shown), an actuator for electrically driving the light shielding door 3 operates, and the light shielding door driving member 6 engaged with the engagement member 4 is operated. Is rotated in a predetermined direction. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (a), the light shielding door 3 is closed.
Subsequently, an unillustrated actuator for opening and closing the cartridge chamber cover is operated to open the cartridge chamber cover.

When the light-shielding door 3 is opened, the actuator operates as shown in FIG.
The light-shielding door 3 rotates through the light-shielding door driving member 6 and the engaging member 4, and is opened.

Generally, the opening operation of the cartridge chamber lid requires a larger driving force than the closing operation of the light shielding door 3. Therefore, the current to be supplied to the cartridge chamber lid opening / closing actuator is much larger than the current to be supplied to the light shielding door opening / closing actuator. Therefore, when the capacity of the power supply battery is reduced, the light shielding door 3 can be closed but the cartridge chamber lid cannot be opened.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 3C, the light blocking door lock member 5 is in a state of being elastically deformed. Therefore, if left in this state, the light-shielding door lock member is plastically deformed due to the creep phenomenon, and there is a possibility that the lock thereafter becomes insufficient.

[0012] Also, in the event that some kind of failure occurs in the opening mechanism of the cartridge chamber lid, for example, a situation that the cartridge chamber lid is not actually opened even if the attempt is made to open the cartridge chamber lid,
A similar problem occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and even when the capacity of a power supply battery is reduced or a failure occurs in a mechanism for opening a cartridge chamber lid, the light-shielding door lock member is plastically deformed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera that does not become insufficiently locked.

[0014]

That is, according to the present invention, in a camera using a film cartridge having a light-shielding door for opening and closing a film entrance, a cartridge chamber for accommodating the film cartridge and an opening of the cartridge chamber are provided. A cartridge chamber lid for shielding and opening, a first driving mechanism for driving the cartridge chamber lid, a second driving mechanism for driving the light shielding door, and when the film cartridge cannot be taken out of the cartridge chamber, Control means for controlling the second drive mechanism so as to maintain the light shielding door in an open state.

According to the present invention, in a camera using a film cartridge having a light-shielding door for opening and closing a film entrance, the film cartridge is housed in a cartridge chamber, and an opening of the cartridge chamber is closed by a cartridge chamber lid. Shielded and open. Further, the cartridge chamber lid is driven by a first drive mechanism, and the light shielding door is driven by a second drive mechanism. When the film cartridge cannot be removed from the cartridge chamber, the control means controls the second drive mechanism so as to maintain the light shielding door in an open state.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of an entire camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a control circuit 11 is a control means constituted by a microcomputer or the like, and controls an operation sequence of the camera. This control circuit 1
1 is connected to various circuits and mechanisms described below, that is, a mechanism relating to cartridge loading / unloading, and other mechanisms, for example, a mechanism relating to photographing.

The control circuit 11 includes a cartridge chamber lid 12
The cartridge chamber lid opening / closing mechanism 13 as a first drive mechanism for opening and closing the cartridge chamber lid with the driving force of a motor (not shown) and the cartridge chamber lid opening / closing mechanism 1
And a second drive mechanism for electrically opening and closing the light-shielding door 15 of the film cartridge, which is a detection means for detecting the state of the drive when the drive is driven by the shutter 3 and transmitting it to the control circuit 11. And a light-shielding door open / close detection switch (S) that detects the open / closed state of the light-shielding door 15 and transmits the same to the control circuit 11.
W) 17 are connected. The light-shielding door opening / closing mechanism 16 includes a driving member that engages with the engaging portion of the film cartridge, and the member is driven by a motor.

The control circuit 11 converts the voltage of the power supply battery into digital data using an A / D converter and converts the voltage into digital data.
Power supply voltage detecting circuit 18 as a determining means for transmitting the signal to
And a cartridge chamber lid opening / closing operation switch (SW) 21 for transmitting a signal to the control circuit 11 in conjunction with a cartridge chamber lid opening / closing operation button 20 provided on the camera body exterior surface.
And are connected. Cartridge chamber lid opening / closing mechanism 1
The actuator of 3 and the light shielding door opening / closing mechanism 16 may be constituted by a plunger or the like other than the motor. Instead of providing a dedicated actuator for each, a common actuator may be used to divide and switch the driving force in the middle of the driving system.

The control circuit 11 further includes a subject evaluation mechanism 22 for detecting subject information necessary for photographing, such as subject brightness and subject distance, and transmitting the information to the control circuit 11;
An information input mechanism 23 for inputting information such as SO sensitivity and exposure correction and transmitting the information to the control circuit 11, and camera elements 2 such as a focus adjustment mechanism, an aperture mechanism, a shutter mechanism, and a film feeding mechanism;
5 is connected to a camera element drive mechanism 24 that drives the camera element 5 according to a control signal from the control circuit 11.

The control circuit 11 includes a plurality of sensors for detecting the current state of the camera element 25, for example, the current position of the focus adjusting lens, the open / closed state of the shutter, the aperture, the film feeding state, and the like. A state detection mechanism 26 composed of switches of the following types, and various states of the camera.
A display circuit 27 including a warning display is connected.

The detection operation in the power supply voltage detection circuit is generally performed by measuring a voltage drop when a current is supplied to a pseudo load. However, depending on the characteristics of a battery, an open circuit voltage may be measured. Is also good. The measurement result is used as a material for determining the remaining battery level.

In such a configuration, the mechanism for loading / unloading the cartridge includes a cartridge chamber cover opening / closing mechanism 13, a cartridge chamber cover open / close detection switch 14,
It comprises a light-shielding door opening / closing mechanism 16, a light-shielding door open / close detection switch 17, and a cartridge chamber lid opening / closing operation switch 21. On the other hand, the mechanism related to shooting is the subject evaluation mechanism 2
2. It is composed of an information input mechanism 23 and a camera element drive mechanism 24.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
An opening operation of the cartridge chamber cover in the camera according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. Normally, this operation is performed when an unexposed film is loaded into the camera or when the exposed film whose film has been rewound is removed, and the cartridge chamber lid closing operation switch 21 is set in a standby state of switch input. This is executed when the opening operation signal is input from.

All operations including this operation are performed by the control circuit 11 according to a program stored in advance. First, in step S1, based on the detection result of the state detection mechanism 26, it is determined whether or not the film in the cartridge is being fed into the camera body, that is, whether or not rewinding has not been completed. Is determined. Here, if it is determined that there is no film, the process proceeds to step S2, and the measurement result of the current power supply battery voltage is obtained from the power supply voltage detection circuit 18.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that a film is present, the cartridge chamber lid 12 cannot be opened, and this sequence is terminated without any operation.

In step S3, it is determined whether or not a film cartridge is already loaded in a cartridge chamber (not shown) of the camera body, that is, whether or not a rewinded cartridge remains in the cartridge chamber. Is determined.

Here, when the cartridge chamber cover opening / closing operation button 20 is operated with the cartridge already loaded, it means that the film whose photographing has been completed is to be taken out. On the other hand, no cartridge is loaded when a new film is to be loaded.

Therefore, if the cartridge is loaded in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4 to determine whether or not the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the first voltage determination level L1. The level L1 is a level at which the cartridge having been photographed can be taken out, that is, a level at which the remaining battery power is sufficient to guarantee both the closing drive of the light shielding door 15 and the opening operation of the cartridge chamber.

If the voltage is equal to or higher than L1 in step S4, the process proceeds to step S5, and the light shielding door 15 is opened. This operation is performed by transmitting a control signal to the light shielding door opening / closing mechanism 16 and driving the light shielding door driving actuator in accordance with the signal.

Next, at step S6, the cartridge chamber lid 12 is opened. This operation is performed by transmitting a control signal to the cartridge chamber lid opening / closing mechanism 13 and driving the cartridge chamber lid driving actuator in accordance with the signal.

Next, in step S7, it is determined based on the output of the cartridge chamber cover open / close detection switch 14 whether the cartridge chamber cover 12 has actually been opened. Here, if it is determined that the cartridge is open, the sequence of the “cartridge chamber opening operation” ends.

On the other hand, if the cartridge chamber lid 12 does not open in step S7, it is considered that the opening mechanism has failed for some reason or the lid has been pressed by an external force. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S8, where a control signal is sent to the light shielding door opening / closing mechanism 13, and the light shielding door 12 is again opened. This is to prevent the light shielding door lock member from being plastically deformed. After that, the sequence of the “cartridge chamber opening operation” ends without performing anything.

If it is determined in step S3 that there is no cartridge, it means that a new film is to be loaded, and the process proceeds to step S9, where the battery voltage is at the second voltage determination level. It is determined whether or not L2 or more. The level L2 is a level at which the remaining battery level can guarantee a predetermined operation after a cartridge containing a new film is loaded, for example, a film feeding operation and a photographing operation.

If it is determined in step S9 that the voltage level is equal to or higher than L2, the process proceeds to step S5, and the above-described operation is performed. On the other hand, if the power supply voltage level is lower than L2 in step S9, the process proceeds to step S10, and a control signal for warning that the battery voltage is lower than the L2 level is output to the display circuit 27. And then exit.

The display circuit 27 receives the control signal and performs a warning display operation indicating that the photographing operation is not possible. If it is determined in step S4 that the voltage is not higher than L1, the process proceeds to step S10. Then, a control signal for warning that the battery voltage is lower than the L1 level is output to the display circuit 27, and the process is thereafter terminated.

In this case, in response to the control signal, the display circuit 27 executes a warning display operation indicating that the opening operation of the cartridge chamber lid is impossible. According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the following configuration can be obtained.

(1) A cartridge chamber for accommodating a film cartridge having a film drawing opening and a light shielding door for shielding and opening the opening, and a cartridge chamber lid provided at the film cartridge loading opening of the cartridge chamber. A first drive mechanism for electrically driving the lid of the cartridge chamber, a second drive mechanism for electrically driving the light-shielding door, and when the film cartridge cannot be taken out of the cartridge chamber, Control means for maintaining the light shielding door in an open state.

(2) The camera further comprises a judgment means for judging the remaining amount of the power supply battery, and the control means controls the second drive mechanism based on a judgment result of the judgment means. The camera according to the above (1).

(3) The camera further comprises detection means for detecting the open / closed state of the cartridge chamber cover, and the control means controls the second drive mechanism based on a detection result of the detection means. The camera according to the above (1), which is characterized in that:

(4) In a camera using a film cartridge having a light-shielding door for opening and closing the film entrance, a cartridge chamber for accommodating the film cartridge, and a cartridge chamber lid for shielding and opening the opening of the cartridge chamber. A first driving mechanism for driving the cartridge chamber lid, a second driving mechanism for driving the light-shielding door, determining means for determining the remaining amount of the power supply battery, A camera for controlling the second drive mechanism so as to maintain the light blocking door in an open state when it is determined that the light shielding door is smaller than a predetermined amount.

(5) In a camera using a film cartridge having a light-shielding door for opening and closing the film entrance, a cartridge chamber for accommodating the film cartridge, and a cartridge chamber lid for shielding and opening the opening of the cartridge chamber. A first drive mechanism for driving the cartridge chamber lid, a second drive mechanism for driving the light-shielding door, detection means for detecting the open / close state of the cartridge chamber lid, and the cartridge chamber lid by the detection means And a control means for controlling the second drive mechanism so as to open the light shielding door when it is determined that the light shielding door is not opened. (6) The camera according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the first drive mechanism and the second drive mechanism are a common drive mechanism.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when the capacity of the power supply battery is reduced or the opening mechanism of the cartridge chamber lid is broken, the light-shielding door lock member is plastically deformed and thereafter, It is possible to provide a camera that does not become insufficiently locked.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of an entire camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an opening operation of a cartridge chamber cover in the camera according to the embodiment of the present invention;

3A and 3B show the structure of a conventional film cartridge, in which FIG. 3A shows a film cartridge with a light-shielding door closed, FIG. 3B shows a film cartridge with a light-shielding door open, and FIG. (c) is a diagram showing a state in which the light blocking door lock member is elastically deformed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 control circuit, 12 cartridge chamber lid, 13 cartridge chamber lid opening / closing mechanism, 14 cartridge chamber lid opening / closing detection switch (SW), 15 light shielding door, 16 light shielding door opening / closing mechanism, 17 light shielding door opening / closing detection switch (SW), 18 power supply voltage Detection circuit, 20 Cartridge chamber lid open / close operation button, 21 Cartridge chamber lid open / close operation switch (SW), 22 Subject evaluation mechanism, 23 Information input mechanism, 24 Camera element drive mechanism, 25 Camera element, 26 State detection mechanism, 27 Display circuit .

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A camera using a film cartridge having a light-shielding door for opening and closing a film entrance, a cartridge chamber for accommodating the film cartridge, a cartridge chamber lid for shielding and opening an opening of the cartridge chamber, A first drive mechanism for driving the cartridge chamber lid, a second drive mechanism for driving the light shielding door, and when the film cartridge cannot be taken out of the cartridge chamber, the light shielding door is kept open. Control means for controlling the second drive mechanism as described above. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a remaining amount of the power supply battery, wherein the control unit controls the second driving mechanism based on a determination result of the determination unit. 2. The camera according to 1. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a detecting unit for detecting an open / close state of the lid of the cartridge chamber, wherein the control unit controls the second driving mechanism based on a detection result of the detecting unit. The camera according to claim 1.