JP2001154248A - Flashing device and optical equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flashing device capable of realizing the alignment of an optical axis with an optical member by easily and accurately attaching a flash discharge tube and making distributed light characteristic excellent such as the one having no irregular distributed light or no insufficiency of light quantity. SOLUTION: This flashing device has the flash discharge tube 9 provided with cathode and anode electrodes 4 and 5 at the rear of a light transmissive tube 6 formed so that its front part may be closed shape, and an optical member 10 arranged at least on a front side from the rear part of the discharge tube 9. End faces 10a and 10b facing to the tube 6 in the optical member are formed to have shape nearly agreeing with the shape of the outer periphery of at least one part of the tube 6, and the discharge tube 9 is positioned and held with respect to the member 10 by making the end face abut on the tube 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flash device having a flash discharge tube and an optical member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a flash discharge tube for a strobe light is filled with a rare gas, for example, xenon, at a predetermined pressure in a straight tube type glass tube having a circular cross section. Is provided with an anode electrode. In addition, a transparent conductive film containing tin oxide as a main component is applied to a region between the tip of the anode electrode and the tip of the cathode electrode on the outer periphery of the glass tube, and a trigger electrode is provided. As a lead wire,
A thin wire such as a nickel wire is wound around a portion of the glass tube to which the transparent conductive film is applied.

When a flash device is constructed using the flash discharge tube configured as described above, the flash device is rotated about the axis of the flash discharge tube so that the flash emitted from the flash discharge tube can be efficiently irradiated to a predetermined range. A concave reflection shade formed as a body is provided, and the flash discharge tube is arranged near or within the focus inside the reflection shade.

The reflection shade is made of a metal such as synthetic resin on which aluminum is vacuum-deposited on the surface or bright aluminum which is mirror-finished, and is provided with a pair of long side reflections arranged in parallel to the axial direction of the discharge tube. Surface and a pair of short-side reflecting surfaces disposed near both ends of the discharge tube. When such a reflection shade is used, the light distribution characteristic of the short side reflection surface is usually worse than the light distribution characteristic of the irradiation light by the long side reflection surface, that is, the light emitted from the flash discharge tube There is a drawback that the utilization rate (yield) deteriorates.

[0005] In order to correct this drawback, a method of increasing the depth by increasing the depth of the reflection shade is adopted.
With this method, there is a problem that the flash device becomes large.

As a method for correcting the above-mentioned drawback, a so-called bean-ball type flash discharge tube is used in place of the straight tube type flash discharge tube, and a combination with a reflector having a circular frontage is used. A compact flash device with uniform light distribution characteristics can be realized.

However, since the overall shape and the electrode position are completely different from those of the conventional straight tube type, the position of the flash discharge tube with respect to the reflector cannot be handled in the same manner as in the case of using the conventional straight tube type.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-48537 discloses a method of mounting a bean ball type flash discharge tube on a reflector.
In order to make the light distribution characteristics uniform and perform easily and accurately, it has an outer peripheral groove fitted with the mounting hole of the reflector and a hole for penetrating the electrode terminal of the flash discharge tube, and inserts the flash discharge tube. The discharge tube is held by using a rubber bush having an inner peripheral groove, and a trigger wire made of a spring wire is wound around the glass outer peripheral surface of the flash discharge tube. There has been proposed a device which is prevented from falling off by penetrating through a hole provided in a reflection surface of a reflection shade so as to be pulled.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 63-48538 discloses that a trigger electrode terminal is constituted by a leaf spring for the same purpose as that proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-48537, and a bead-ball type flash. The leaf spring is brought into contact with the transparent conductive coating applied to the outer wall of the spherical surface R at the tip of the discharge tube,
There has been proposed a device which always applies a biasing force in a direction in which a discharge tube is pressed against a reflector.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-273844 discloses a trigger having a donut part provided with two elastic pieces at the center of the tip and a foot part having fitting holes formed on both sides thereof. There is a leaf spring. The trigger leaf spring is covered on the bead ball type flash discharge tube, and the elastic piece is brought into contact with the tip sphere R of the flash discharge tube and pressed to form on the foot portion. There has been proposed a device in which the inserted fitting hole fits into the protrusion of the holder, thereby holding the flash discharge tube in the holder.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-48 / 1988
In the flash devices proposed in JP-A-537, JP-A-63-48538 and JP-A-63-273844, the trigger member is formed of a spring wire or a leaf spring, and a bead ball type flash is provided. It also serves to hold the discharge tube.

However, in order to exert a holding force of the flash discharge tube, a certain wire diameter, a plate thickness and a plate width are required as a resilient wire or a leaf spring material. In the structure that presses the surface and the tip R portion, the flash light from the discharge tube is blocked by the trigger member, and there is a disadvantage that uneven light distribution or insufficient light quantity occurs.

On the other hand, a so-called light guide strobe that guides light from a flash discharge tube using total reflection in an optical block and controls light distribution has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-115852.

From the above, according to the present invention, in particular, the mounting of a bead-ball type flash discharge tube can be easily and accurately performed to align the optical axis with the optical member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flash device that can be made satisfactory without any shortage.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a flash discharge tube having a cathode and an anode electrode provided at a rear portion of a light-transmitting tube having a closed front portion. In a flash device having an optical member disposed at least in front of the rear end of the flash discharge tube, an end face of the optical member facing the light transmitting tube is formed to have an outer peripheral shape of at least a part of the light transmitting tube. It is formed so as to have the same shape, and the end face and the light transmitting tube are brought into contact with each other to position and hold the flash discharge tube with respect to the optical member.

Specifically, for example, when the light transmitting tube has a rotationally symmetric shape, the end face of the optical member facing the light transmitting tube has an axial length from the front part to the vicinity of the rear part of the light transmitting tube. Form a rotationally symmetric concave shape, fit the light-transmitting tube to the concave end surface of the optical member, and move the flash discharge tube to the optical member so that the rotational symmetric axis of the light-transmitting tube coincides with the rotational symmetric axis of the concave end surface. Is positioned and held.

In the case where the front part of the light transmitting tube has a rotationally symmetric convex shape, the end face of the optical member facing the light transmitting tube is formed in a rotationally symmetric concave shape, and the convex front part of the light transmitting tube is made optically. The flash discharge tube is positioned and held with respect to the optical member such that the rotationally symmetric axis of the convex front portion coincides with the rotationally symmetric axis of the concave end surface against the concave end surface of the member.

Thus, the positioning and holding of the so-called bean-ball type flash discharge tube with respect to the optical member can be performed reliably and easily, and the flash is not blocked by the member for holding the flash discharge tube. In addition, it is possible to obtain good light distribution characteristics without uneven light distribution and insufficient light quantity.

It is to be noted that a trigger member for applying a light emission trigger signal is wound around the rear outer periphery of the light transmitting tube to prevent the flash emitted from the inside of the light transmitting tube from being blocked by the trigger member. preferable.

An elastic insulating member for insulating between the cathode and the anode electrode is disposed at the rear side of the flash discharge tube, and the light transmitting tube is pressed against the optical member by an elastic force generated by deformation of the elastic insulating member. In this manner, the positioning and holding of the flash discharge tube with respect to the optical member may be performed without increasing the number of components.

[0021]

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a strobe unit (flash device) according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the strobe unit in an assembled state.

In these figures, 9 is a so-called bean-ball type flash discharge tube, and 10 is a strobe optical block (optical member). First, the configuration of the flash discharge tube 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the description of FIGS. 3 and 4, the front-rear direction indicates the direction in a state of being mounted on the light emitting unit shown in FIG. 1 and the like.

3 and 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a circular bottom plate formed of ceramic or the like, and reference numeral 6 shown by a dashed line in FIG. 4 denotes a hemispherical (closed) front portion, It is a glass tube (light-transmitting tube) having a rotationally symmetrical shape with an opening formed at the rear end.

Reference numerals 7 and 8 denote shielding plates made of a ceramic or glass material or the like, which are used in combination so as to cross each other. The lower end of the shielding plate 7 extends vertically to substantially the center of the bottom plate 1.
Joined to. The shielding plate 8 has a shape in which a part of a circle is cut off, and is supported by the shielding plate 7 so as to extend in parallel with the bottom plate 1 at a predetermined distance.

The bottom plate 1 to which the shielding plates 7 and 8 are attached is inserted into the glass tube 6 through the rear end opening and joined to the inner surface of the glass tube 6, thereby sealing the glass tube 6 and In FIG. 3, A, B,
It is divided into four chambers communicating in the direction of C. A rare gas (such as xenon) is sealed in the glass tube 6.

A cathode electrode 4 and an anode electrode 5 are attached to the bottom plate 1 so as to penetrate therethrough. A sintered electrode 4 a of the cathode electrode 4 is provided inside the glass tube 6.

Further, a transparent conductive film containing tin oxide as a main component is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the glass tube 6, and functions as a trigger electrode.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer periphery of the rear portion of the glass tube 6 (in the vicinity of the front end face of the bottom plate 1 inserted into the glass tube 6 so as not to block the generated flash) is provided with a very thin conductive wire. Is wound, and the trigger member 12 is in contact with the trigger electrode. The terminal portions of the cathode electrode 4, the anode electrode 5, and the trigger member 12 are electrically connected to a strobe light emitting circuit provided in an optical device such as a camera (not shown).

When a high voltage is applied between the cathode electrode 4 and the anode electrode 5 of the flash discharge tube thus configured through a strobe light emitting circuit and a trigger voltage is applied to the trigger electrode via the trigger member 12, the cathode electrode An arc discharge occurs in which the electrons emitted from the electrode 4 reach the anode electrode 5 via the path A → B → C in FIG. As a result, a flash is emitted from the flash discharge tube 9.

On the other hand, the strobe optical block 10 is made of an optical glass material having a high light transmittance, and has a rotationally symmetric shape about the axis A as shown in FIGS. The entire outer surface of the strobe optical block 10 is mirror-finished, and guides the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 by refraction and internal reflection, and efficiently projects the light to the front and outside without uneven light distribution. That is, the strobe unit of the present embodiment constitutes a so-called light guide strobe. The outer periphery of the strobe optical block 10 is fixedly held by an optical device main body such as a camera or a strobe unit main body (both not shown) capable of protruding and being housed in the optical device main body.

The rear side of the strobe optical block 10 (in the figure,
A discharge tube holding hole 10a forming a concave end surface is formed at a radial center of the right side), and the center of the discharge tube holding hole 10a coincides with the axis A. Further, the inner surface shape of the discharge tube holding hole 10a and the outer surface shape of the glass tube 6 are substantially the same, and by inserting the glass tube 6 into the discharge tube holding hole 10a, the discharge tube holding hole 10a and the glass tube 6 are separated. The flash discharge tube 9 is fitted and positioned and held in a state where it is centered with respect to the strobe optical block 10.

Reference numeral 10b denotes an inner surface of the front end of the discharge tube holding hole 10a, which comes into contact with the front end portion of the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 inserted into the discharge tube holding hole 10a, in the direction of the axis A of the flash discharge tube 9. Perform positioning.

Here, the inner surface of the discharge tube holding hole 10a and the inner surface 10b of the front end serve as incident surfaces of the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 into the strobe optical block 10.

Reference numeral 10c denotes a first reflecting surface, which is a part of the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 and entering the strobe optical block 10 traveling backwards.
The inside of the strobe optical block 10 is reflected in the side direction by the total reflection action at 0c.

Reference numeral 10d denotes a second reflection surface, and a high-luminance material such as silver or aluminum is deposited on the outer surface of the second reflection surface 10d. Of the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 and incident on the optical block 10, the second reflection surface 10 d directly reaches the second reflection surface 10 d or the first reflection surface 10 d.
The light arriving after being reflected at c is reflected forward (to the left in the figure).

Reference numeral 10e denotes an outer peripheral exit surface of the strobe optical block 10, which has no particularly large optical power. On the other hand, reference numeral 10f denotes a central exit surface of the strobe optical block 10, which has a larger optical power than the outer peripheral exit surface 10e, and has a function of collecting light from the flash discharge tube 9.

Numeral 11 denotes a rubber bush made of an elastic insulating member such as silicon rubber. On the front side of the rubber bush 11, a concave portion 11a into which the flash discharge tube 9 is tightly fitted by the elastic force of the rubber bush 11 is provided. Is formed. Holes 11b, 11c and 11d are formed in the rubber bush 11 to allow the cathode electrode 4, the anode electrode 5 and the terminal of the trigger member 12 to pass therethrough when the flash discharge tube 9 is fitted into the recess 11a. Have been.

Reference numeral 11e denotes a front end surface of the rubber bush 11 having an outer diameter larger than that of the concave portion 11a (that is, the glass tube 6).
High-reflection processing (for example, coating of a high-reflectance color paint such as white or silver) that reflects light leaking backward from the front is performed. The entire rubber bush 11 may be made of a material having a high reflectance color such as white or silver.

When assembling the strobe unit constructed as described above, first, the flash discharge tube 9 is fitted and held in the discharge tube holding hole 10a of the strobe optical block 10 fixedly held in the optical apparatus body or the like. Thereby, the flash discharge tube 9
Is held in a state of being centered with respect to the strobe optical block 10. Next, a rubber bush 11 is put on the rear portion of the outer periphery of the glass tube 6 from the terminal portion side of the flash discharge tube 9.

Then, a fixing member such as a cover is attached to the optical device main body or the strobe unit main body so as to cover the rear portion of the strobe unit. At this time, the rubber bush 11 is elastically deformed by an amount of 11 g shown in FIG. 2 by the fixing member. As a result, an elastic force is generated in the rubber bush 11, and the elastic force causes the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 of the flash discharge tube 9 to form the discharge tube holding hole 1 of the optical block 10.
0a is pressed against the front end inner surface 10b and the flash discharge tube 9
Of the optical block 10 in the direction of the axis A is fixedly held.

According to the strobe unit configured as described above, the flash discharge tube 9 is inserted into the strobe optical block 10 by simply inserting the flash discharge tube 9 into the discharge tube holding hole 10a formed in the strobe optical block 10. Since it can be held against the head, assembly is easy. Moreover, the flash discharge tube 9 is fitted and held by the strobe optical block 10 in the direction perpendicular to the axis A without play, and is pressed against the inner surface 10b of the front end of the discharge tube holding hole 10a at the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6. Therefore, centering of the flash discharge tube 9 with respect to the strobe optical block 10 and positioning in the axis A direction can be performed with high accuracy.

In this embodiment, the case where the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 is pressed against the inner surface 10b of the front end of the discharge tube holding hole 10a by utilizing the elastic deformation of the rubber bush 11 which is an elastic insulating member. As described above, another urging member such as a compression spring applies an urging force from behind to a rubber bush (which may be an insulating member other than an elastic insulating member) so that the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 is held in the discharge tube holding hole 10a. Front end inner surface 10b
May be pressed against.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a strobe unit (flash device) according to the embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled state of the strobe unit.

The flash discharge tube 9 used in this embodiment
Are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

In these figures, reference numeral 210 denotes a strobe optical block. This strobe optical block 210
Is made of an optical glass material having a high light transmittance, and has a rotationally symmetric shape about the axis A as shown in FIGS. The entire outer surface of the strobe optical block 210 is mirror-finished, and guides the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 by refraction and internal reflection, and efficiently projects the light to the front and outside without uneven light distribution. That is, the strobe unit of the present embodiment constitutes a so-called light guide strobe. Note that the outer periphery of the strobe optical block 210 protrudes from the optical device body such as a camera or the optical device body.
The strobe unit is fixedly held by a strobe unit main body (both not shown) so as to be stowed.

A concave conical end face 210a is formed at the radial center on the rear side (right side in the drawing) of the strobe optical block 210, and the center of the concave conical end face 210a coincides with the axis A. . Also, the concave conical end face 210a
Has the same shape (in this embodiment, substantially the same diameter) as the middle portion in the axis A direction of the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6. The flash discharge tube 9 is connected to the strobe optical block 210 by contacting the middle portion in the axis A direction of the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 with the middle portion in the direction.
And the positioning in the axis A direction is performed.

Here, 210b is an R surface formed near the vertex of the concave conical end surface 210a, and is formed as a gentle R surface in order to avoid machining a sharp vertex. Then, the concave conical end face 210a and the R face 210b serve as an incident face of the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 into the strobe optical block 210.

Reference numeral 210d denotes a reflecting surface.
A high-luminance material such as silver or aluminum is deposited on the outer surface of Od. The reflecting surface 210d reflects light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 and incident on the optical block 210 forward (to the left in the drawing).

Reference numeral 210e denotes an outer peripheral emission surface of the strobe optical block 210, which has no particularly large optical power. On the other hand, 210f is a center emission surface of the strobe optical block 210, has a larger optical power than the outer emission surface 210e, and has a function of collecting light from the flash discharge tube 9.

Reference numeral 211 denotes a rubber bush made of an elastic insulating member such as silicon rubber. On the front side of the rubber bush 211, a concave portion 211a into which the flash discharge tube 9 is tightly fitted by the elastic force of the rubber bush 211 is provided. Is formed. The rubber bush 211 has holes 211b, 211c, through which the cathode electrode 4, the anode electrode 5, and the terminal of the trigger member 212 are respectively inserted when the flash discharge tube 9 is fitted into the concave portion 211a.
211d is formed.

The front end face 211e of the rubber bush 211 has an outer diameter larger than that of the recess 211a (that is, the glass tube 6). The front end face 211e receives light leaking backward from the flash discharge tube 9. A high reflection process (for example, coating of a high-reflectance color paint such as white or silver) that reflects forward is performed. The entire rubber bush 211 may be made of a material having a high reflectance color such as white or silver.

When assembling the strobe unit constructed as described above, first, the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 of the flash discharge tube 9 is projected on the concave conical end surface 210a of the strobe optical block 210 fixed and held on the optical device body or the like. The rubber bush 211 is put on the outer peripheral rear portion of the glass tube 6 from the terminal portion side of the flash discharge tube 9.

Then, a fixing member such as a cover is attached to the optical device main body or the strobe unit main body so as to cover the rear portion of the strobe unit. At this time, the rubber bush 211 is elastically deformed by an amount of 211 g shown in FIG. As a result, an elastic force is generated in the rubber bush 211, and the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 of the flash discharge tube 9 is pressed against the concave conical end surface 210 a of the optical block 210 by the elastic force. The block 210 is fixedly held in a state where the centering and the positioning in the axis A direction are performed.

According to the strobe unit configured as described above, the flash discharge tube 9 is attached to the apparatus body or the like by abutting the flash discharge tube 9 against the concave conical end surface 210a formed on the strobe optical block 210, and the flash discharge is performed. The centering of the tube 9 with respect to the strobe optical block 210 and the positioning in the axis A direction are naturally performed with high accuracy, and the holding in this state is facilitated.

In this embodiment, the glass tube 6 is formed by utilizing the elastic deformation of the rubber bush 211 which is an elastic insulating member.
The case where the hemispherical front portion is pressed against the concave conical end surface 210a has been described, but the urging force is applied to the rubber bush (an insulating member other than an elastic insulating member) from behind by another urging member such as a compression spring. In addition, the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 may be pressed against the concave conical end surface 210a.

The concave end face formed on the rear surface of the strobe optical block 210 and centered on the optical axis A is not limited to a conical shape having a straight line as a generatrix as shown in the present embodiment, but may be a flash discharge tube 9. If the apex of the hemispherical front part of the glass tube 6 on the optical axis A has a concave shape that does not abut, a curve represented by a quadratic function, a trigonometric function, or the like may be used as a generating line. .

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a strobe unit (flash device) according to the embodiment, and FIG. 8 shows a cross section of the strobe unit in an assembled state.

The flash discharge tube 9 used in this embodiment
Are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

In these figures, reference numeral 310 denotes a strobe optical block. This strobe optical block 310
Is made of an optical glass material having a high light transmittance, and has a rotationally symmetric shape about the axis A as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The entire outer surface of the strobe optical block 310 is mirror-finished, and efficiently projects the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 to the front outside without uneven light distribution. That is, the strobe unit of the present embodiment constitutes a so-called light guide strobe. Note that the outer periphery of the strobe optical block 310 is fixed to and held by a strobe unit main body (neither is shown) so as to be able to protrude and house the optical device body such as a camera or the optical device body.

A concave conical end face 310a is formed at the radial center on the rear side (right side in the figure) of the strobe optical block 310, and the center of the concave conical end face 310a coincides with the axis A. . Also, the concave conical end face 310a
Has the same shape (substantially the same diameter in the present embodiment) as the middle portion in the axis A direction of the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6. The flash discharge tube 9 is brought into contact with the strobe optical block 310 by bringing the middle portion in the axis A direction of the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 into contact with the middle portion in the direction.
And the positioning in the axis A direction is performed.

Here, 310b is an R surface formed near the vertex of the concave conical end surface 310a, and is formed as a gentle R surface in order to avoid machining a sharp vertex. Also,
Conical end face 3 on the rear side of strobe optical block 310
A flat outer peripheral incident surface 310g is formed around 10a. Then, the concave conical end surface 310a, the R surface 31
0b and the outer peripheral incident surface 310g are incident surfaces of the light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 into the strobe optical block 210.

Reference numeral 310e denotes an emission surface of the strobe optical block 310, on which a Fresnel lens for uniformly irradiating light emitted from the flash discharge tube 9 and entering the optical block 310 to the outside world is formed.

Reference numeral 311 denotes a rubber bush made of an elastic insulating member such as silicon rubber. On the front side of the rubber bush 311, there is provided a concave portion 311 a into which the flash discharge tube 9 is tightly fitted by the elastic force of the rubber bush 311. Is formed. The rubber bush 311 has holes 311b, 311c, through which the cathode electrode 4, the anode electrode 5, and the terminal of the trigger member 312 are respectively inserted when the flash discharge tube 9 is fitted into the recess 311a.
311d are formed.

Reference numeral 311e denotes a front end surface of the rubber bush 311 having an outer diameter larger than that of the concave portion 311a (that is, the glass tube 6), and reference numeral 311f denotes a side surface of the rubber bush 311. The front end face 311e and the side face 311f are used to finally forward (leftward in the figure) light emitted backward from the flash discharge tube 9 (rightward in the figure) and light reflected by the incident surface 310g and the reflection shade 313. High reflection processing for reflection (for example, coating of high reflectance color paint such as white or silver)
Is given. The entire rubber bush 311 may be made of a material having a high reflectance color such as white or silver.

The reflection shade 313 is made of a bright aluminum plate or the like having an extremely high reflectance on the inner surface on the side of the flash discharge tube 9.
It has a rotationally symmetrical shape about the axis A, and has a curved shape capable of reflecting light from the flash discharge tube 9 forward as uniformly as possible. In addition, a hole 313a having a diameter that allows the side surface 311f of the rubber bush 311 to be lightly press-fitted is formed about the axis A at the radial center of the rear portion of the reflection shade 313.

Further, the front end 313b of the reflection shade 313
Are fitted in a circumferential groove 310h provided around the axis A in the strobe optical block 310.

When assembling the strobe unit constructed as described above, first, the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 of the flash discharge tube 9 is projected on the concave conical end surface 310a of the strobe optical block 310 fixed and held on the optical device body or the like. A rubber bush 311 is placed on the outer peripheral rear portion of the glass tube 6 from the terminal portion side of the flash discharge tube 9. Further, as described above, the reflection shade 313 is lightly press-fitted into the hole 313a and the rubber bush 311 and the strobe optical block 310 at the front end 313b.
Is fitted into the circumferential groove 310h.

Then, a fixing member such as a cover is attached to the optical device main body or the strobe unit main body so as to cover the rear portion of the strobe unit. At this time, the rubber bush 311 is elastically deformed by 311 g shown in FIG. As a result, an elastic force is generated in the rubber bush 311, and the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 of the flash discharge tube 9 is pressed against the concave conical end surface 310 a of the optical block 310 by the elastic force. The centering of the block 310 and the holding in the state of being positioned in the axis A direction are performed.

According to the strobe unit configured as described above, the flash discharge tube 9 is attached to the apparatus main body or the like by abutting the flash discharge tube 9 against the concave conical end face 310a formed on the strobe optical block 310, and the flash discharge is performed. The centering of the tube 9 with respect to the strobe optical block 210 and the positioning in the axis A direction are naturally performed with high accuracy, and the holding in this state is facilitated.

In this embodiment, the glass tube 6 is formed by utilizing the elastic deformation of the rubber bush 311 which is an elastic insulating member.
The case where the hemispherical front portion is pressed and abutted against the concave conical end surface 310a has been described, but the urging force is applied to the rubber bush (which may be an insulating member other than an elastic insulating member) from behind by another urging member such as a compression spring. In addition, the hemispherical front portion of the glass tube 6 may be pressed against the concave conical end surface 310a.

The concave end face formed on the rear face of the strobe optical block 310 and centered on the optical axis A is not limited to the conical shape having a straight line as the generatrix as shown in this embodiment, but may be a flash discharge tube 9. If the apex of the hemispherical front part of the glass tube 6 on the optical axis A has a concave shape that does not abut, a curve represented by a quadratic function, a trigonometric function, or the like may be used as a generating line. .

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the inside of the glass tube 6 is divided into multiple chambers by the horizontal and vertical shielding plates is used as the bean ball type flash discharge tube is described. Other types of flash discharge tubes may be used. Further, instead of the glass tube, a light-transmitting tube made of a heat-resistant synthetic resin material, Colts material, ceramic material, or the like may be used.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The end surface of the optical member facing the light-transmitting tube (light-transmitting tube whose front part is formed in a closed shape) of the flash discharge tube has a shape substantially matching the outer peripheral shape of at least a part of the light-transmitting tube. The end face and the light-transmitting tube are brought into contact with each other to position and hold the flash discharge tube with respect to the optical member. It can be performed reliably and easily, and can prevent the flash from being interrupted by the members for holding the flash discharge tube, and obtain good light distribution characteristics without uneven light distribution and insufficient light quantity Can be.

If a trigger member for applying a light emission trigger signal is wound around the outer periphery of the rear part of the light transmitting tube, it is possible to prevent the flash light emitted from inside the light transmitting tube from being blocked by the trigger member.

Further, an elastic insulating member for insulating between the cathode and the anode electrode is arranged at the rear side of the flash discharge tube, and the light transmitting tube is pressed against the optical member by the elastic force generated by the deformation of the elastic insulating member. By doing so, it is possible to perform positioning and holding of the flash discharge tube with respect to the optical member without increasing the number of components.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a strobe unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing an assembled state of the strobe unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a flash discharge tube used in the strobe unit.

FIG. 4 is a plan view (a) and a front view (b) of the flash discharge tube.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a strobe unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an assembled state of the strobe unit of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a strobe unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of an assembled state of a strobe unit according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bottom plate 4 ... Cathode electrode 5 ... Anode electrode 6 ... Glass tube 9 ... Flash discharge tube 10,210,310 ... Strobe optical block 11,211,311 ... Rubber bush 12,212,312 ... Trigger member 313 ... Reflection shade

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A flash discharge tube having a cathode and an anode electrode provided at a rear portion of a light-transmitting tube having a front portion formed in a closed shape, and an optical member disposed at least in front of a rear end of the flash discharge tube. Wherein the end surface of the optical member facing the light-transmitting tube has a shape substantially matching the outer peripheral shape of at least a part of the light-transmitting tube, and the end surface and the light-transmitting tube Wherein the flash discharge tube is positioned and held with respect to the optical member. 2. The rotating member according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting tube has a rotationally symmetric shape, and an end surface of the optical member facing the light-transmitting tube has an axial length from a front portion to a vicinity of a rear portion of the light transmitting tube. Is formed in a symmetrical concave shape, the light transmitting tube is fitted to the concave end surface of the optical member,
2. The flash device according to claim 1, wherein the flash discharge tube is positioned and held with respect to the optical member such that a rotation symmetry axis of the light transmitting tube coincides with a rotation symmetry axis of the concave end face. 3. 3. The flash discharge tube is positioned in the axial direction with respect to the optical member by bringing a front portion of the light-transmitting tube into contact with a front end inner surface of the concave end surface of the optical member. The flash device according to claim 2, wherein 4. A front portion of the light transmitting tube has a rotationally symmetric convex shape, and an end surface of the optical member facing the light transmitting tube has a rotationally symmetric concave shape. The shape front portion is brought into contact with the concave end surface of the optical member, and the flash discharge tube is moved relative to the optical member such that the rotational symmetry axis of the convex front portion coincides with the rotational symmetry axis of the concave end surface. The flash device according to claim 1, wherein the flash device is positioned and held. 5. The flash device according to claim 4, wherein a front portion of the light transmitting tube has a hemispherical shape, and a concave end surface of the optical member has a conical shape. 6. The flash device according to claim 1, wherein a trigger member for applying a light emission trigger signal is wound around a rear outer periphery of the light transmitting tube. 7. An elastic insulating member that insulates between the cathode and the anode electrode is disposed at a rear side of the flash discharge tube, and the light transmitting tube is moved in the optical member by an elastic force generated by deformation of the elastic insulating member. The flash device according to claim 1, wherein the flash device is pressed against an end surface facing the light transmitting tube. 8. The insulating elastic member according to claim 7, wherein the elastic insulating member has an outer diameter larger than the outer periphery of the light transmitting tube, and at least a front end face of the insulating elastic member has light reflectivity. Flash device. 9. An optical apparatus comprising the flash device according to claim 1. Description: