JP2000250105A - Flash light emission device and camera equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain desired light distribution for a camera equipped with a flash light emission device using light emitted from a xenon tube for prescribed illumination through a prism. SOLUTION: This camera is provided with a reflection surface 11a controlling a light distributing angle in an upper and a lower directions at the back part side of the prism 11 forming a Fresnel lens controlling the light distributing angle in a left and a right directions and V-shaped grooves 11b and 11c for positioning the xenon tube 12 at the front surface. The arranging positions of the grooves 11b and 11c are set near the electrodes of the tube 12 to be attached and the tube 12 is pressed to the prism side 11 from the back side by an elastic member 14 through a reflector 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a flash light emitting device thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a flash light emitting device used in many cameras has a reflector which is formed by bending an aluminum plate or the like, and is disposed on the front surface thereof to scatter light from a xenon tube which is a light source. A flash light emitting device that illuminates a desired illumination range of a camera with a Fresnel lens is known. In addition, the following technology is known as a flash light emitting device using a prism that utilizes light reflection to irradiate a subject with light. First, JP-A-8-262537
As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10 (Conventional Example 1), a light emitted from a light-emitting light source is totally reflected by a prism to illuminate a desired illumination range in order to maintain a high light-collecting efficiency and reduce the size. A flash device is shown.

[0003] Second, Japanese Patent Application No. 9-352 filed by the present applicant.
No. 026 (Conventional Example 2) discloses a flash light emitting device that keeps the light collection efficiency high and alleviates the red-eye phenomenon during flash photography. Third, as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-62342 (conventional example 3) by the present applicant, there is disclosed a flash light emitting device capable of efficiently irradiating a subject with flash light.

The flash light emitting devices described in the prior art examples 1 to 3 are:
After the light emitted from the xenon tube enters the prism, it passes through and / or reflects through the prism, is emitted to the subject side of the camera, and irradiates a desired photographing range of the camera. These flash light emitting devices have a feature that light from a light emitting light source can be used effectively, which is advantageous for miniaturization.

[0005]

In each of the above-mentioned prior arts, as described above, the object is illuminated on the object side by utilizing the reflection of light in the prism. The condition under which light is reflected by the reflecting surface in the prism is that the angle between the incident angle of the light from the xenon tube with respect to the reflecting surface of the prism and the angle formed by the reflecting surface of the prism is equal to or less than the critical angle. Therefore, the positional relationship between the angle of incidence of the light emitted from the xenon tube on the reflecting surface of the prism and the reflecting surface of the prism, that is, the positional relationship between the xenon tube and the prism, is very important in the above-described conventional flash light emitting device. It is a technical problem to correctly position the xenon tube and the prism at predetermined positions.

For example, the configuration shown in the above-mentioned prior art example 1 is constituted by a holder for integrally holding a reflector, a xenon tube, and a prism for transmitting light, and for controlling a required light distribution angle. It is necessary to correctly position the prism and the xenon tube through which light passes, at a desired position, but with these configurations, the xenon tube and the prism are positioned via a plurality of members, which results in an assembly error. Considering the above, it is very difficult to position the correct position. Therefore, there is a possibility that a desired light distribution of the camera cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a flash light-emitting device that can position a prism and a xenon tube with a simple configuration and obtain a desired light distribution to a camera. I do.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a light emitting device for illuminating a light beam from a light source through an optical member, wherein the optical member is provided with a positioning portion for the light source. Things.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flash light emitting device in which a light beam from a light source means is used as illumination light through an optical member, wherein a positioning portion for positioning the light source means is provided on the optical member. Thus, the light source means can be easily positioned, and a desired light distribution can be easily obtained. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a flash light emitting device in which a light beam from a light source means is used as illumination light via an optical member, a positioning portion for positioning the light source means is provided in an optical path of the light beam from the light source means of the optical member. By providing it outside, positioning can be easily performed without affecting the desired light distribution. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the positioning portion has a substantially V shape, the light source can be correctly positioned at a predetermined position. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the light source is biased toward the positioning portion by the elastic member, the light source can be reliably held at a desired position. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the optical member is an internal reflection type member made of glass and / or plastic, an optical member that can easily control a required light distribution can be manufactured. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a camera having the flash light emitting device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects can provide a camera capable of reliably providing a desired light distribution at the time of flash photography.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view of a camera incorporating the flash light emitting device of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the flash light emitting device, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part thereof, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the prism of the flash light emitting device as viewed from the rear, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which a xenon tube is arranged on the prism, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the flash light emitting device. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a camera main body, 2 denotes a lens barrel having a photographing lens, 3 denotes a finder window, 4 denotes a photometric window of a photometric device for measuring the brightness of external light, and 5 denotes a cartridge type film. Cartridge loading lid for
Reference numeral 6 denotes a release button, 7 denotes an operation switch for switching various modes of the camera, 8 denotes a liquid crystal display window for notifying a user of the operation of the camera, and 10 denotes a flash light emitting device.

In FIGS. 2 to 6, reference numeral 11 denotes a prism as an optical member for controlling light to a desired light distribution angle of the camera, which is made of glass or plastic and forms a front portion of the flash light emitting device 10. A Fresnel lens portion 11d for controlling the right and left light distribution angles with respect to the subject is formed, and a rear surface portion for controlling a vertical light distribution angle and a position of a xenon tube 12 described later. V-shaped grooves 11b, 1 as positioning members for controlling
1c is configured. Reference numeral 12 denotes a xenon tube as a light source member, which is composed of a xenon gas sealing portion 12a and an electrode portion 12b as shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a reflector, 14 denotes an elastic member for pressing the reflector 13 against the xenon tube 12, and 15 denotes a fixing member for attaching each member to a camera. 1
6 is a lid of the fixing member 15. 17 is the xenon tube 1
2 and a lead wire attached to the reflection shade 13.

In this embodiment having the above configuration, when the camera is set to the auto flash mode,
After the release button is pressed by the photographer, a central processing unit (not shown) determines whether or not to cause the flash device to emit light, based on the brightness of the external light measured by the photometric device and the sensitivity of the loaded film. Therefore, when the central processing unit determines that "flash light emission" is performed in the photographing situation, the central processing unit emits a light emission signal and causes the xenon tube 12 to emit light through the lead wire 17 attached to the reflector 13. Then, a part of the emitted light is reflected by the reflection shade 13, and is emitted to the subject side together with the light emitted forward through the prism 11 arranged on the front of the camera.

At this time, light is projected at a desired light distribution angle of the camera by transmitting, reflecting, or both the light to the subject by the reflecting surface portion 11a of the prism 11 in the vertical direction and the Fresnel lens 11d in the horizontal direction. You.

To ensure that the xenon tube 12 emits light, it is necessary to bring the xenon tube 12 into close contact with the reflector 13 and to position the xenon tube 12 and the prism 11 in order to obtain a desired light distribution of the camera. Must be correctly positioned at the desired position. Therefore, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7, the elastic member 14 is sandwiched between the fixing member 15 and the reflection shade 13 when assembled as the flash light emitting device 10. Thereby, the elastic member 14 presses the xenon tube 12 and the reflector 13 with the force F in the direction of the prism 11 as shown in FIG. As a result, the force of the elastic member 14 is changed from the reflection shade 13 → the xenon tube 12 → the prism 1
It is reported as 1. Therefore, since the xenon tube 12 can be brought into close contact with the reflector 13, appropriate light emission is possible.

Next, positioning of the prism 11 and the xenon tube 12 will be described. As described above, the xenon tube 12 converts electric energy into light energy.
Xenon gas filling section 12a in which xenon gas is filled
And the electrode portion 12b. Xenon tube 1
2 emits light in the xenon gas filling portion 12a, so that any member interposed between the xenon gas filling portion 12a and the prism 11 affects the path of the emitted light, whereby the camera can obtain a desired light distribution. You can't get it. Therefore, V is applied to the prism 11 for positioning near the electrode portion 12b outside the xenon gas sealing portion 12a.
By arranging the V-shaped grooves 11b and 11c, the light emitted from the xenon tube 12 and incident on the prism 11 is not blocked. Further, since the xenon tube 12 is biased toward the prism 11 by the elastic member 14 as described above, the xenon tube 12 is reliably pressed in the direction of the prism 11.

Further, the positioning of the prism 11 and the xenon tube 12 in the vertical direction will be described. Since the V-shaped grooves 11b and 11c are formed in the prism 11 as described above, the prism 1
When the xenon tube 12 is pressed against 1, the center of the xenon tube 12 can always be positioned at a desired position by the centering effect of the V-shaped grooves 11b and 11c. With this configuration, the xenon tube 12 can be positioned at a fixed position with respect to the prism 11, and a desired light distribution of the camera can be reliably obtained.

[0018]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in a flash light emitting device in which a light beam from a light source means is used as illumination light via an optical member, the light source means is positioned on the optical member. By providing the positioning portion, the light source means can be easily positioned, and a desired light distribution can be easily obtained. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a flash light emitting device in which a light beam from a light source means is used as illumination light via an optical member, a positioning portion for positioning the light source means is provided in an optical path of the light beam from the light source means of the optical member. By providing it outside, positioning can be easily performed without affecting the desired light distribution. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the positioning portion has a substantially V shape, the light source means can be easily positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the positioning portion. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the light source is biased toward the positioning portion by the elastic member, the light source can be reliably fixed and positioned with respect to the positioning portion. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the optical member is an internal reflection type member made of glass and / or plastic, an optical member that can easily control a required light distribution can be manufactured. The present invention as set forth in claim 6 provides the above-mentioned claim 1.
According to the camera having the flash light emitting device described in any one of 5 to 5, the flash light emitting device is adapted to a desired light distribution angle of the camera, so that a camera capable of performing appropriate flash photography can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a camera incorporating a flash light emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the flash light emitting device.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the flash light emitting device.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view similarly viewed from the rear.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the flash light emitting device as viewed from behind a pre-boom.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a xenon tube is arranged on the prism.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the flash light emitting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Camera body, 10 Flash light emitting device, 11 Prism, 11a Reflecting surface portion, 11b, 11c V-shaped groove, 11d Fresnel lens, 12 xenon tube, 12a Xenon gas filled part, 12b electrode part, 13 reflective head, 14 elastic member, 15 fixed member, 16 lid, 17 lead wire.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A flash light emitting device in which a light flux from a light source means is used as illumination light via an optical member, wherein a positioning portion for positioning the light source means is provided on the optical member. 2. A flash light emitting device which uses a light beam from a light source means as illumination light via an optical member, wherein a positioning portion for positioning the light source means is located at a position outside the optical path of the light beam from the light source means of the optical member. The flash light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the device is provided. 3. The flash light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said positioning portion is substantially V-shaped. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light source means is biased toward said positioning portion by an elastic member.
The flash light emitting device according to the above. 5. The flash light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said optical member is an internal reflection type member made of glass and / or plastic. 6. A camera comprising the flash light emitting device according to claim 1.