JP2001183724A - Electronic flash device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic flash device constituted so that a camera can be made compact, the degree of freedom for layout and design can be enhanced and high-voltage wiring can be shortened. SOLUTION: This movable type electronic flash device 30 is used for cameras. A flash tube 32a, a driving circuit board 33 for controlling the light emitting action of the tube 32a and a flat capacitor 34 for charging and discharging for making the tube 32a emit light are integrated in the electronic flash device 30. The capacitor 34 is molded so that it fits the outer shape of the electronic flash device 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flash device used for a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electrolytic capacitor having a cylindrical shape has been used as a capacitor (main capacitor) for performing a charge / discharge operation for causing a light emitting tube of a strobe device to emit light (e.g., from the viewpoint of increasing the capacity). JP-A-10-9
No. 7033).

[0003]

However, since such a capacitor having a cylindrical shape is used, the dead space increases, the miniaturization of the camera is limited, the layout in the design is restricted, and the design is limited. And various problems such as a long high voltage wiring from the capacitor to the arc tube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and has provided a strobe device capable of reducing the size of a camera, improving the degree of freedom in layout and design, and shortening high-voltage wiring. It is intended to provide.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a movable strobe device used in a camera. The strobe device includes an arc tube, a driving circuit board for controlling the light emission operation of the arc tube, and the arc tube. A flat-shaped capacitor that performs a charge / discharge operation for emitting light is incorporated.

It is preferable that the capacitor is formed in accordance with the outer shape of the movable strobe device.

According to the present invention, there is provided a movable strobe device used in a camera, wherein a capacitor for performing a charging / discharging operation for causing a light emitting tube of the strobe device to emit light has a flat shape. It is characterized in that it is formed in conformity with the shape of an optical system arranged at the upper end of the camera body to which the rotating shaft of the strobe device is attached.

As the above-mentioned optical system, there is a pentaprism. Further, a drive circuit board for controlling a light emitting operation of the arc tube may be incorporated in the strobe device.

According to the present invention, there is provided a ring-shaped strobe device mounted on a lens barrel of a camera, wherein the strobe device causes a light emitting tube, a drive circuit board for controlling a light emitting operation of the light emitting tube, and the light emitting tube to emit light. And a capacitor for performing a charging / discharging operation.

The preferred embodiment of the capacitor is as follows.

(A) The lens barrel is formed into a shape along the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel.

(B) A sheet-like capacitor member formed into a shape having a hole along the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel is used.

(C) The sheet-like capacitor member is formed into a shape wound around the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel.

Further, a plurality of units each including the arc tube, the drive circuit board, and the capacitor may be provided.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and schematically shows a configuration of a main part when a single-lens reflex camera with a movable strobe is viewed from a side. FIG. 1A is a diagram when the strobe is in an open state (pop-up state), and FIG. 1B is a diagram when the strobe is in a closed state (non-pop-up state).

That is, the single-lens reflex camera integrated with a flash shown in FIG. 1 is roughly composed of a camera body 10, a lens barrel (lens barrel) 20, and a movable flash 30. The strobe 30 is connected to the camera body 10 by a rotation shaft 30a, and is turned up or down in a pop-up state by turning around the rotation shaft 30a.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a main part of a flash 30 of the single-lens reflex camera integrated with the flash shown in FIG. FIG. 2A is a diagram when the strobe 30 is viewed from the side, and FIG. 2B is a diagram when the strobe 30 is viewed from the front.

FIG. 2B shows the shape (the shape of the pop-up portion) when viewed from the front of the exterior 31 of the strobe 30.
The legs are attached to the camera body 10 as shown in FIG. A light-emitting portion 32 (a light-emitting tube 32a, a reflector (reflecting shade) 32b (light for reflecting the light from the light-emitting tube 32a forward, and a light-emitting tube 32a A trigger signal for emitting light is applied)), a drive circuit board 33 for controlling the light emitting operation of the light emitting unit 32, and a capacitor (main capacitor) 34 for charging and discharging electric charge for causing the light emitting unit 32 to emit light. The light emitting unit 32, the drive circuit board 33, and the capacitor 34 are connected by a connection unit 35 (for example,
Connected via a connector or the like).

The capacitor 34 has a sheet-like flat shape, and is formed in accordance with the exterior shape of the strobe 30 as viewed from the front, as shown in FIG.
As the capacitor 34, for example, an aluminum electrolytic capacitor can be used, and a large capacitance can be obtained by stacking a plurality of capacitance forming portions.

FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram showing the light emitting section 32, the drive circuit board 33, the capacitor 34, and a control circuit for controlling these. The control itself is the same as a general control method.
From U15, a light emission start signal and a light emission control signal are sent to the drive circuit board 33, and a step-up control signal is sent to a step-up circuit 36 (comprising a DC-DC converter or the like) mounted in the strobe 30. It has become. A signal for monitoring the voltage of the capacitor 34 is input to the CPU 15 via the ADC 16. Note that the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 3 is similarly applied to other embodiments.

In this embodiment, since the condenser 34 having a sheet-like flat shape is used as the main condenser of the strobe 30, the condenser 34 can be made thinner and the condenser 34 can be formed into a desired shape. Therefore, the capacitor 34 formed according to the exterior shape of the strobe 30 can be easily mounted inside the strobe 30. Further, the capacitor 34
In addition to the mounting of the drive circuit board 33 inside the strobe 30, the following effects can be obtained.

The size of the camera body and the dead space can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in layout and design can be improved. The capacitor 34
Since it is not necessary to extend the high voltage wiring from the camera body 10 to the strobe 30 as in the conventional case,
High voltage wiring can be shortened (wiring is unnecessary when connecting with a connector or the like), the number of components can be reduced, and a structure in which a high voltage portion is hardly exposed to the outside can be achieved. In addition, since the light emitting unit 32, the drive circuit board 33, and the capacitor 34 are unitized, assembly becomes easy and cost can be reduced. Further, by mounting the booster circuit 36 shown in FIG. 3 on the drive circuit board 33 and surrounding it with the exterior 31, it is also possible to take measures against unnecessary radiation of the booster circuit 36.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 4 is a view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and schematically shows a configuration of a main part when a single-lens reflex camera with a movable strobe is viewed from a side. FIG. The figure shows the state when the strobe is opened (pop-up state).
Similarly to the above embodiment, the strobe can be closed (non-pop-up state) by being rotated by the rotation shaft. Note that components corresponding to the components of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the strobe light 30 includes a pop-up portion 30b and a base portion 30c. The drive circuit board 33 is mounted in the pop-up portion 30b, and a capacitor 34 having a sheet-like flat shape is mounted in the base portion 30c. Has been implemented. The pop-up unit 30b and the base unit 30c are unitized, and are assembled to the camera body 10 as a strobe unit.
The light emitting unit 32, the drive circuit board 33, and the capacitor 34
They are electrically connected by wires or connectors (not shown).

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the capacitor 34 and the like shown in FIG. 4 when viewed from above. The condenser 34 is formed in accordance with the shape of the pentaprism 11 (for guiding the subject image reflected by the reflection mirror 12 to the finder 13) disposed at the upper end of the camera body 10. That is, the shape of the end of the capacitor 34 when viewed from the upper surface direction is such that it does not interfere with the pentaprism 11 according to the outer shape of the pentaprism 11.

As described above, in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the main capacitor of the strobe is
Since the capacitor 34 having a sheet-like flat shape is used, the capacitor 34 can be made thinner and the capacitor 34 can be formed into a desired shape. Accordingly, the condenser 34 can be mounted in a narrow space in the base 30c of the strobe, and the pentaprism 1
The shape of the pentaprism 1
The capacitance of the capacitor can be increased without interfering with (1).

Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the camera body is reduced in size and dead space is reduced, the degree of freedom in layout and design is improved, the high voltage wiring is reduced, the number of parts is reduced, and assembly is facilitated. Such excellent effects as described above can be obtained.

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 6 is a view showing a third embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which a ring strobe is attached to a single-lens reflex camera to which a ring strobe for close-up photography is detachable. It is the figure which showed typically the structure of the principal part when seen from the side direction.

That is, the single-lens reflex camera shown in FIG. 6 includes a camera body 10 and a lens barrel (lens barrel) 20.
Attached portion 50 (on which battery 51 and the like are mounted) can be attached to a washer having electric contacts for strobe.

A light emitting section 42 (light emitting tube 4) is provided in an inner region surrounded by the exterior 41 of the ring strobe 40 and the diffusion plate 41a.
2a, the reflector 42b), the drive circuit board 43, and the capacitor (main capacitor) 44 are unitized and mounted, and the light emitting section 42, the drive circuit board 43, and the capacitor 44 are connected by the connection section 45. (For example, it connects via a connector etc.). The capacitor 44 is formed into a shape along the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel 20 using a sheet-shaped capacitor member. Further, the arc tube 42a, the reflection plate 42b, and the drive circuit board 43 are also provided in the lens barrel 2.
0 are arranged along the outer circumference.

Conventionally, a cylindrical condenser was used as the main condenser, so that the main condenser could not be mounted in the ring strobe 40. Therefore, a main capacitor and a drive circuit board are mounted on the attachment part 50 and the like, and a high voltage is supplied from the attachment part 50 to the arc tube in the strobe 40 via the high voltage wiring.

In this embodiment, since the sheet-like capacitor member is used as the main capacitor of the ring strobe 40, the capacitor 44 can be formed into a desired shape. Therefore, the condenser 44 formed into a shape along the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel 20 is connected to the ring strobe 40.
Can be implemented inside. Furthermore, the capacitor 4
In addition to mounting the drive circuit board 43 in the ring strobe 40 in addition to 4, the following effects can be obtained.

Since it is not necessary to connect the attachment portion 50 and the ring strobe 40 with a high-voltage wiring as in the prior art, the power loss due to the high-voltage wiring is reduced and the high-voltage portion is hardly exposed to the outside. Safety can be improved. Further, the size and dead space of the ring strobe can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in layout and design can be improved. In addition, as will be described later, the unitization of the arc tube 42a, the drive circuit board 43, and the capacitor 44 facilitates the assembly and reduces the cost. Furthermore, D
By mounting a booster circuit including a C-DC converter on the drive circuit board and surrounding the booster circuit with the exterior 41, it is possible to take measures against unnecessary radiation of the booster circuit.

FIG. 7 is a view schematically showing an example of the configuration of the condenser 44 shown in FIG. 6 when viewed from the front. The condenser 44 disposed in the ring strobe 40 is a lens barrel. It is shown that it was formed into a shape having a hole along the outer peripheral shape of No. 20.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a method of configuring the capacitor 44 shown in FIG. In this example, the sheet-shaped capacitor member 44a is folded back along the broken line shown in the figure, thereby stacking the sheet-shaped capacitor member 44a in a plurality of layers. The illustrated capacitor 44 is configured.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of the capacitor of the present embodiment, and is a diagram schematically showing a configuration when the capacitor 44 and the like are viewed from the front. In this example,
The capacitor 44 is formed by forming the sheet-shaped capacitor member into a shape wound around the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel 20.

FIG. 10 shows a light emitting tube,
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of a unit unit when a drive circuit board and a capacitor are unitized and mounted.
The number of arc tubes constituting the ring strobe is not necessarily one, and a plurality of arc tubes may be used. Therefore, in this example, the unit portions 40a are arranged around the lens barrel 20 in accordance with the number of arc tubes. 10A shows a case where the number of the unit portions 40a is one, FIG. 10B shows a case where the number of the unit portions 40a is two, and FIG.
a is four, and each unit part 4
An arc tube, a drive circuit board, and a capacitor are mounted on 0a, respectively.

As described above, when a plurality of arc tubes are used, by integrating the arc tube, the drive circuit board, and the capacitor into a unit, parts can be shared among the units, and the number of design steps can be reduced. It is possible to obtain excellent effects such as the ability to perform mounting and the ease of assembling.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0041]

According to the present invention, since a capacitor having a flat shape is used as a main capacitor of a movable strobe, the capacitor can be made thinner and the capacitor can be formed into a desired shape. It is possible to achieve excellent effects such as miniaturization, improvement in the degree of freedom in layout and design, and shortening of high-voltage wiring.

Further, according to the present invention, since the arc tube, the drive circuit board, and the main capacitor are incorporated in the ring-shaped strobe, the size of the camera can be reduced, the degree of freedom in layout and design can be improved, and the high voltage can be obtained. Excellent effects such as shortening of wiring can be achieved, and further, by using a sheet-shaped capacitor member for the main capacitor, the capacitor can be formed into a desired shape. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a main part of a single-lens reflex camera integrated with a movable strobe according to a first embodiment of the present invention when viewed from a side.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a main part of the strobe light shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration example according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a main part of a single-lens reflex camera integrated with a movable strobe according to a second embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the side.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration when the capacitor and the like shown in FIG. 4 are viewed from above.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a main part when a ring strobe is attached to a single-lens reflex camera as viewed from a side according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration when the capacitor and the like shown in FIG. 6 are viewed from the front.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a method of configuring the capacitor shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view schematically showing another example of the capacitor according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a unit portion in a case where an arc tube and a capacitor are unitized and mounted in a ring strobe according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 camera body, 11 pentaprism, 12 reflection mirror, 13 finder, 15 CPU, 16 AD
C 20: lens barrel 30: strobe, 30a: rotating shaft, 30b: pop-up portion, 30c: base portion, 31: exterior, 31a: diffusion plate, 32: light emitting portion, 32a: light emitting tube, 32b: reflecting plate,
33 ... Drive circuit board, 34 ... Capacitor, 35 ... Connection part, 36 ... Boost circuit 40 ... Ring strobe, 40a ... Unit part, 41 ... Exterior, 41a ... Diffusion plate, 42 ... Emitting part, 42a ... Emitting tube,
42b: Reflector, 43: Drive circuit board, 44: Capacitor, 44a: Sheet-shaped capacitor member, 45: Connection part 50: Attached part, 51: Battery

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A movable strobe device used in a camera, comprising: a strobe device, a drive circuit board for controlling a light emitting operation of the light emitting tube, and a charge / discharge operation for causing the strobe device to emit light. A strobe device, wherein a flat-shaped capacitor for performing the above is incorporated. 2. The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein the condenser is formed in conformity with an outer shape of the movable strobe device. 3. A movable strobe device for use in a camera, wherein a capacitor for performing a charge / discharge operation for causing a light emitting tube of the strobe device to emit light has a flat shape, and wherein the movable strobe device has a flat shape. A strobe device formed in accordance with the shape of an optical system disposed at an upper end of a camera body to which the rotating shaft is attached. 4. A strobe device according to claim 3, wherein said optical system is a pentaprism. 5. The strobe device according to claim 3, wherein a drive circuit board for controlling a light emitting operation of the arc tube is incorporated in the strobe device. 6. A ring-shaped strobe device to be mounted on a lens barrel of a camera, wherein the strobe device has a light emitting tube, a driving circuit board for controlling a light emitting operation of the light emitting tube, and a light emitting device for causing the light emitting tube to emit light. A flash device characterized by incorporating a capacitor for performing a charging / discharging operation. 7. The strobe device according to claim 6, wherein the condenser is formed in a shape along the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel. 8. The strobe device according to claim 6, wherein the condenser uses a sheet-like condenser member formed into a shape having a hole along the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel. 9. The strobe device according to claim 6, wherein the capacitor is formed by winding a sheet-shaped capacitor member into a shape wound around the outer peripheral shape of the lens barrel. 10. The flash device according to claim 6, comprising a plurality of units each including the arc tube, the drive circuit board, and the capacitor.