JP2001311986A - Camera, flashing device and camera with built-in flashing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera capable of satisfactorily securing a moving distance between the storage position and the projecting position of a strobe light emitting part without making the camera large in size, and capable of changing an irradiation angle with high accuracy. SOLUTION: A flashing part 20 which is made movable in the horizontal direction of the camera main body is provided with a zoom panel 52 which is moved backward and forward with reference to a case main body 40 so as to change the irradiation angle, and the zoom panel 52 is constituted so that the irradiation angle may be changed in accordance with the focal distance of a photographic lens, and the irradiation angle is changed by bringing the shaft 52f of the zoom panel 52 in slidable contact with a lever which is made variable in accordance with the focal distance in the midst of moving the flashing part 20 from the storage position to the projecting position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera, a flash light emitting device capable of switching an irradiation angle, and a camera with a built-in flash device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various cameras with a built-in strobe have been proposed.
Although it has been commercialized, the distance between the photographic lens optical axis and the strobe optical axis has been reduced, especially in recent years, as the camera has been downsized and the zoom ratio of the photographic lens has increased, and However, the distance between the subject (person) and the camera, that is, the so-called shooting distance, tends to increase.

[0003] As a result, the strobe light is applied to the subject (person).
The red-eye phenomenon that is incident on the pupil of the subject and reflected by the retina tends to occur, and suppressing the occurrence of the red-eye phenomenon must be regarded as important in commercializing cameras.

As a means for suppressing the red-eye effect, various cameras have been proposed which employ a method in which a strobe is preliminarily fired immediately before shooting or a light source (lamp) other than the strobe is caused to emit light to contract a pupil of a subject (person). Have been. As another method, a method of moving the strobe light-emitting unit away from the optical axis of the taking lens when using the strobe, a so-called pop-up strobe is also well known. Since the effect of reducing the phenomenon is great, various proposals have been made since ancient times.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-292470, a strobe is projected in the side direction of the camera to increase the distance from the optical axis of the photographing lens and reduce red-eye reduction.
However, in the present invention, there is a plate-shaped protrusion integrally provided on the strobe case, and the guide groove provided on the protrusion is moved along a pin on the main body side.

For this reason, the plate-shaped projection needs to be large enough to secure at least the moving distance of the strobe plus the strength, and it is difficult to increase the moving distance of the strobe as the camera becomes smaller. The projecting portion is not particularly used except for the guide, and it cannot be said that the large space is effectively utilized.

Further, many cameras have been commercialized which make it possible to efficiently use the light energy of the strobe by changing the irradiation angle of the strobe according to the focal length of the photographing lens.

Normally, the strobe irradiation angle only needs to cover the range of the angle of view of the photographing lens. In the case of a camera in which the strobe irradiation angle cannot be switched, the irradiation angle is the widest one of the changeable focal lengths of the photographing lens. Is set so as to cover the angle of view at the focal length of, and even if the focal length of the photographing lens is changed to the telephoto side, the strobe irradiation angle remains at the irradiation angle covering the wide side angle of view.

In addition, the strobe GNO. Is usually constant regardless of the focal length of the photographing lens, and thus is generally determined by the photographable distance on the tele side where the F-number of the photographing lens is large.

[0010] Therefore, even at the telephoto side, light is emitted at an irradiation angle that covers the wide-angle shooting angle of view, so that the light energy emitted at other than the shooting angle of view is wasted without being used at all.

As described above, in the case of a camera whose focal length can be changed and the strobe irradiation angle is not variable, it is necessary that the strobe satisfies the wide-side irradiation angle and the telephoto-side photographable distance.

When the zoom ratio of the photographing lens increases and the F-number of the photographing lens increases, the strobe GNO. Need to be bigger. However, GNO. In order to increase the size of the camera, a correspondingly large amount of electric energy is required, so that components such as a charging capacitor and a flash tube are increased in size, resulting in an increase in the size of the camera.

In addition, when the size of the charging capacitor is increased, the charging time is prolonged. In the case of continuous photographing, there is a problem that the waiting time for charging is long and the quick shooting performance is lacking.

As described above, by changing the flash irradiation angle according to the focal length of the photographing lens as described above, light energy can be efficiently used without wasting even in photographing on the telephoto side. Preventing the camera from becoming larger,
Various products that do not increase the waiting time for charging have been proposed.

In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 57-79828, a panel of a group of small convex lenses and a panel of a group of small concave lenses are provided in front of a strobe light-emitting portion, and strobe irradiation is performed by changing the distance between the respective optical axis directions. The angle is to be changed.

[0016]

However, the change of the irradiation angle by this method is that if the optical axes of the convex lens and the concave lens are displaced, the irradiation light deviates from the direction in which the light should originally travel. Is also different from the original one, and the performance cannot be sufficiently exhibited. Furthermore,
Strobes that combine a pop-up strobe and a strobe whose irradiation angle can be switched have also been proposed.

In these proposals, the pop-up operation of the strobe is performed manually, and the light-emitting portion, which is spring-biased in the protruding direction, is held by the locking means when stored, and the user releases the locking means when using the strobe. There were many things that popped up and the operability was not good.

In Japanese Patent No. 2662969, a light emitting portion is moved in the front-rear direction by a cam plate for zooming a viewfinder lens by moving the camera right and left by a strobe which rotates around a rotation shaft at an upper part of a lens barrel and pops up. In addition, a device that changes the irradiation angle of a strobe has been proposed.

In this conventional example, the light emitting portion is biased to the wide position or the tele position side in the strobe case, and the zoom lever for moving the cam plate and the light emitting portion back and forth in the pop-up position is engaged. In combination, the light emitting unit is moved from the wide direction to the telephoto direction or from the telephoto to the wide direction. Further, when the zoom lever and the cam plate are disengaged, the light emitting unit is located at the wide position or the tele position, and the zoom lever and the cam plate are engaged by popping up from this state.

In the case of such a structure, a gap is generated between the zoom lever and the cam plate at the pop-up position depending on the accuracy of the components, the accuracy of the mounting, the fitting, and the like. Or
May collide.

If a gap occurs, the light emitting section starts to be moved with a delay due to the gap even if the cam plate is operated, and the range does not interlock with the photographing lens.

If a collision occurs, the initial position is shifted, and the cam plate collides with the opposite abutting surface during the movement of the zoom stroke. Alternatively, there is a problem that the actual light distribution angle is shifted from the required irradiation angle.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-292470, a strobe can be moved to a storage position and a protruding position, and a light-emitting portion is biased by a spring toward a zoom lever provided on a camera body to perform a zooming operation of a photographing lens. The light emitting unit is moved in the front-rear direction by the operation of the zoom lever in conjunction with, and the irradiation angle is changed.

However, in this conventional example, the zoom lever and the light emitting section are always engaged in the range from the stowed position to the projected position of the strobe.

Therefore, the zoom lever needs to be at least as long as the amount of movement of the strobe, so that the zoom lever is increased in size, and furthermore, a large space is required by rotating the zoom lever.

In view of these circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera in which the strobe light-emitting portion can be moved between a storage position (non-light-emitting position) and a protruding position (light-emitting position), and the strobe irradiation angle can be switched. In order to reduce the red-eye effect by securing large movement to the storage position and the protruding position without increasing the size of the camera, the zooming of the strobe is linked throughout the zoom range of the taking lens, and The purpose is to change the irradiation angle with high accuracy.

[0027]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera body including a storage position, a flash light emitting portion movable to a protruding position, and a photographing lens capable of zooming. In a camera having an angle changing member, the irradiation angle changing member is moved according to the focal length of the photographing lens, and the irradiation angle is variable, wherein the flash light emitting portion is moving from the storage position to the projecting position. And a driving means for moving the irradiation angle changing member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a discharge tube, a reflecting member for reflecting a flash emitted from the discharge tube toward a subject,
In a flash light emitting device comprising at least two optical members in front of the discharge tube and the reflecting member, at least one of the optical members is moved, and the interval between the two is changed to change the irradiation angle. The optical member is configured to slide and move with the other.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a camera body, a strobe case body, and a light emitting section including a flash discharge tube and a reflection member are incorporated in the strobe case body, and can be moved to a storage position and a projecting position with respect to the camera body. In a camera provided with a flash device, the strobe case main body includes a guide portion guided to the camera main body at a part thereof, and the guide portion holds at least one electric element on a light emitting circuit. Features.

[0030]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
An embodiment will be described.

FIGS. 1 to 7 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view in a state where a strobe light emitting unit is housed, and FIG. 2 is an external view of a camera in a state where a strobe light emitting unit is projected. FIG. 3 is a view showing the meshing of gears for driving the photographing lens barrel 2 and the strobe light emitting portion when viewed from the lower side of the camera. In addition, for the sake of simplicity, the space between the axes is expanded, and the axial direction is also shifted.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the camera with the strobe light emitting unit housed therein, and FIG. 5 is a view of the arrangement of the members for driving the strobe light emitting unit as viewed from the top of the camera.

As shown in the figure, the strobe of the camera according to the present embodiment is arranged at the upper part of the camera body, and is configured to protrude to the side of the camera when the camera is used.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a camera body;
Is a strobe light emitting unit, 2 is a taking lens barrel, 3 is a motor, and a worm gear 3b is attached to the drive shaft 3a.
Power is transmitted to 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Each reduction gear is rotatably held on an axis parallel to the photographic lens optical axis of the main body, and is configured to drive the drive ring 10 attached to the photographic lens barrel 3 by rotating the motor 3. I have. The drive ring 10 is driven by the reduction gear train, and the photographing lens group of the photographing lens barrel is movable in the optical axis direction.

The mechanism in which the photographing lens moves in the optical axis direction is configured so that the lens barrel holding the photographing lens group is moved back and forth by interlocking with the rotation direction of the drive ring 10 by a well-known configuration of a cam groove and a cam follower.

The taking lens barrel 2 has a position detecting means for detecting the focal length information and the like and an exposure controlling means, and is connected to a control circuit of the camera body.

In the reduction gear, reference numeral 7 denotes a clutch gear, the structure of which will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 18, 100 is a shaft, 101 is a friction spring, 102 is an A clutch gear, 103 is a B clutch gear, and 104 is a nut. As shown in the figure, a shaft 100 is threaded at a tip end, and a friction spring 101 is provided on a receiving surface 102 of an A clutch gear 102.
The screw 104 is screwed by the nut 104 while being charged between the shaft b and the flange 100b of the shaft 100. A,
The B-clutch gears 102 and 103 have uneven surfaces 102a and 103a, respectively, in which opposite surfaces are connected by slopes.
Are formed, and a load is applied in a direction in which the frictional spring 101 engages with the charging force.

In normal operation, the power for driving the photographing lens barrel 2 is transmitted by the engagement of the concave and convex surfaces 102a and 103a, but the A clutch gear 102 resists the friction spring 101 when a predetermined torque or more is applied. And moves upward in the figure, and the respective uneven surfaces 102a, 10a
3a gets over it.

That is, when a load equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the photographing lens barrel 2, the B clutch gear 103 idles with respect to the clutch gear 102A. Therefore, jumping of the gears or destruction of the gears can be prevented without imposing an excessive load on the other gears.

FIG. 17 is a view of the gears 11, 12, and 13 for driving the strobe for movement as viewed from the lower side of the camera. The gear 11 is held by the main body so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the optical axis of the photographing lens, similarly to the reduction gear train. 12,
Reference numeral 13 denotes a helical gear, which is located on the lower surface of the main body and held rotatably about an axis perpendicular to the optical axis of the taking lens. The gear 11 includes a spur gear 11a and a worm 11b. The spur gear 11a is driven to rotate by meshing with the reduction gear 8. The reduction gear 8 is a gear that meshes with the B clutch gear 103 in the clutch gear 7 and transmits power to the drive ring 10 by further meshing with the gear 9.

That is, when the gear 11 is engaged with the intermediate gear between the clutch gear 7 and the photographing lens barrel 2, an excessive load is applied to the photographing lens barrel 2 and the idle rotation mechanism of the clutch gear 7 is activated. Also, no phase shift occurs between the gear trains 11, 12, and 13 for driving the strobe light emitting unit 20 and the gear trains 8 and 9 for driving the taking lens barrel 2.

The worm gear 1 integrated with the gear 11a
1b meshes with the helical gear 12 to change the direction of the rotation axis from an axis parallel to the optical axis of the taking lens to a direction perpendicular to the axis. The helical gear 12 meshes with the helical gear 13, and the helical gear 13 is provided with a D-cut hole 13a, and a shaft 14 whose both ends are D-cut is fitted. The shaft 14 passes through the front side of the camera body 1,
The other end is fitted into a D-cut hole 15 a provided in the drive cam 15 on the upper surface side of the camera body 1.

In FIG. 5, a driving cam 15 is provided with a first cam 15b for projecting and storing the strobe light emitting section 20.
And a second cam 1 for changing the irradiation angle of the strobe
5c is mounted coaxially with the shaft 14, and is integrally rotated by the rotation of the shaft 14.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a drive lever driven by the first cam 15b of the drive cam 15, which is rotatably held by the camera body 1 about a rotation shaft 16a. Reference numeral 17 denotes a flash drive lever, which is the same rotation shaft 1 as the drive lever 16.
6a. An engaging shaft 19 is attached to the tip of the strobe drive lever 17 so as to face the strobe light emitting unit 20, and is engaged with a groove 57 provided on the lower surface side of the strobe light emitting unit 20.

The stroboscopic light emitting section 20 includes the engaging shaft 19 and the groove 8.
By the engagement of 2, the strobe drive lever 17 is configured to move in the left-right direction of the camera body orthogonal to the photographing optical axis following the rotation.

The spring 18 provided around the rotation shaft 16a functions to prevent the flash light emitting section 20 and other interlocking parts from being destroyed when an external force or the like is applied thereto, and the strobe light to be emitted. It has a role of elastically urging the light emitting unit 20 to the projecting position and the storage position.
One end 18a of the spring 18 is provided on the projection 1 of the drive lever 16.
6b and the bent portion 17a of the strobe drive lever 17, and the other end 18b is charged and the drive lever 16
And the bent portion 1 of the flash drive lever 17
7b. That is, both ends 18a and 18b of the spring 18 sandwich the drive lever 16 and the flash drive lever 17 therebetween, and the drive lever 16 and the flash drive lever 17 can be integrally rotated via the spring 18. In addition, the interlocking configuration of the drive cam 15 and the drive lever 16 will be described later.

On the other hand, in FIG.
1. A zoom drive lever 22 is a member for changing the irradiation angle of the strobe, and is rotatably supported by shafts 23 and 24 on the main body 1, respectively. The follower lever 21 is composed of two levers, and the tip 21a of one lever abuts on a second cam (zoom cam) 15c in which the plane of the drive cam 15 is formed into a substantially elliptical shape, and the other lever is used. Is in contact with a rear part of a contact shaft 22a provided on the lower surface side of the zoom drive lever 22.

The zoom drive lever 22 is urged counterclockwise about the shaft 24 by contact with the tip 25a of a spring 25 mounted around the shaft 23, and at the same time, the follower lever 21 is also in contact with the contact shaft 22a. It is urged clockwise about the shaft 23 via the other lever.

Therefore, the tip 21 of the follower lever 21
a stably contacts the zoom cam 15c,
Is rotated, the follower lever 21 and then the zoom drive lever 22 swing according to the lift of the zoom cam 15c.

The position of the zoom cam 15c near the rotation center and where the lift is small is the wide position, and the position where the lift is large and large from the rotation center is the tele position. Accordingly, the state in which the zoom drive lever 22 is substantially parallel to the left-right direction of the camera body shown in FIG. 11 is the short focal length (wide) position, and the long focal length (tele) as it is rotated clockwise from that position.
Position. FIG. 5 corresponds to the state shown in FIG. 1 in which the taking lens barrel 2 shown in FIG. 1 is in the retracted state, and shows a non-light emitting state in which the strobe light emitting unit 20 is in the housed state.

In this state, since the zoom drive lever 22 does not need to be linked with the strobe light emitting section 20, the link is disconnected, and as shown in the figure, the follower lever 21 and the zoom drive lever 22 are slightly in the middle area. It is at a position higher than the tele.

Next, the strobe light emitting section 20 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the strobe light emitting section 20
The light emitting portion has a projecting portion 26 formed on a part of the rear of the case, and the projecting portion 26 is provided with guide holes 27 and 28. A guide bar 29 is fitted into the guide holes 27 and 28, and both ends of the guide bar 29 are supported by a holder 71 provided on the main body 1 and a holder 70 fixed to the main body 1.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a guide plate. As shown in FIG. 7, the protrusion 32 in front of the strobe light emitting section 20 is vertically guided to regulate the rotation direction of the strobe light emitting section 20 around the guide bar 29. It is carried out. In such a state, the strobe light emitting section 20 is movable along the guide bar 29 between the storage position and the protruding position in the left-right direction in the figure. In addition, 34 is a distance measuring unit, and 35 is a finder unit.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the strobe light-emitting unit 20 is located at the storage position, the protruding portion 26 is suitably located in the space beside the finder unit 34 behind the distance measuring unit 34. As a result, it is possible to secure a sufficient width in the moving direction, to minimize the rattling at the time of protrusion shown in FIG. 2, and to secure a sufficient strength against external force.

Further, since the protruding portion 26 protrudes inside the camera from the light emitting portion main body, the stroke from storage to protruding can be made as large as the width dimension of the strobe light emitting portion main body, and the effect of reducing the red eye phenomenon can be reduced. Can be bigger.

Next, the structure of the strobe light emitting section 20 is shown in FIG.
7 will be described.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the strobe light emitting section 20.
FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the strobe light emitting section 20. In the figure, 40 is a case, 41 is a discharge tube, and 42 is a reflector. Reference numeral 43 denotes a holder for holding the discharge tube 41 and the reflector 42 in the case 40. The reflector 42 is incorporated into the holder 43 from the front, and the discharge tube 41 is inserted from the lateral direction thereafter. In this state, both ends 44 a of the rubber cap member 44 are put on the left and right terminals of the discharge tube 41 from outside the holder 43.

In this state, the connecting portion 4 of the cap member 44
Due to the tension of 4b, the discharge tube 41 and the reflector 42 are pressed against the holder 43 while being in contact with each other. The reflection shade contact surface of the holder 43 is composed of a flat surface 43a and upper and lower slopes 43b, and the discharge tube 41 and the reflection shade 42 stably contact the three surfaces by the tension of the cap member 44. It will be positioned stably in the front-back and up-down directions.

The lead wires 45 and 46 are soldered to the left and right terminal portions of the discharge tube 41, and the terminal portions 43 of the reflection shade 42 are soldered.
A trigger lead wire 47 is attached to a. The holder 43 is assembled through the lower surface side opening 40c of the case 40 with these parts and the lead wires attached.

Reference numeral 50 denotes an optical prism for condensing and irradiating the flash of the discharge tube 41 toward the subject by internal reflection and refraction. The optical prism 50 is provided on the front exit surface 5.
0a is constituted by a cylindrical lens in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the discharge tube 41, and the rear portions are incident surfaces 80, 81 for taking in a light beam emitted from the discharge tube 41, and a reflecting surface 82 for reflecting the incident light beam forward. And a vertically symmetrical shape with respect to the axis of the discharge tube 41.

Reference numeral 51 denotes a reflector for controlling the light emitted from the front surface of the exit surface 50a of the optical prism 50 at an angle to the object direction once so as to be emitted from the opening 40a of the case 40.

The protruding shafts 50c and 50d, which protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the optical prism 50, respectively, are engaged with the holes 51a and the notches 51b of the reflection plate 51 so that the openings 40a of the case 40 are engaged.
And the distal end of the protruding shaft 50c is positioned by engaging a hole 40b provided on the lower surface side of the case 40.

Further, on both left and right sides of the optical prism 50, projecting portions 50e are provided.
When it is assembled from the above, it enters into the notch 43c of the reflection shade holder 43 installed earlier. With such a configuration, the displacement of the optical prism 50 and the discharge tube 41 and the reflection shade 42 incorporated in the reflection shade holder 43 in the direction intersecting the optical axis can be kept to a minimum.

Reference numeral 48 denotes a cover member for closing the lower opening 40c of the case 40, which is screwed to the case 40 together with the reflector holder 43 by screws 49.

Numerals 52 and 54 are a zoom panel and a strobe window for changing the strobe irradiation angle by changing the interval in the front-rear direction. Zoom panel 52
Is on the front surface thereof in a direction parallel to the axis of the discharge tube 41,
A plurality of convex cylindrical lenses 52a are formed, and a sleeve 52 for guiding movement in the front-rear direction at one end.
b is formed.

The zoom panel 52 is inserted from the side of the case 40 into the front of the optical prism 50, and
When the guide bar 53 inserted from the hole 40d of the “0” penetrates the hole 52c of the sleeve 52b, the zoom panel 52 can move in the front-rear direction along the guide bar 53.
Supported by 0.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, a spring 56 is hung on a spring hook 52d and a case-side spring hook 58, and is always biased toward the optical prism 50.

The strobe window 54 has the same number of concave cylindrical lenses 54a on the rear surface as the inverted cylindrical lens 52a of the zoom panel 52, and has a flat front surface.

The strobe window 54 is provided with claws 54b and 54c on both left and right sides, and is inserted into the notch 40e of the case 40. Then, the strobe window 54 is inserted into the claw 54c while elastically deforming the claw 54c. It is configured to engage. By incorporating the flash window 54, the hole 40d of the case 40 is also closed, and the guide bar 53 is also prevented from coming off.

Further, a rib 54d provided on a part of the concave cylindrical lens 54a of the flash window 54 is provided with a guide groove 52e which is partially cut out at the other end of the convex cylindrical lens 52a of the zoom panel 52 in a state of being assembled. And stops the rotation of the zoom panel 52 around the guide bar 53.

The zoom panel 52 is in a wide state in which the strobe irradiation angle is wide in a state in which the strobe irradiation angle is wide in a state in which the strobe irradiation angle is wide in a front-back direction with respect to the strobe window 54, and in a tele state in which a strobe irradiation angle is narrow in a state in which the strobe irradiation angle is in front. Becomes

Reference numeral 55 denotes a trigger coil for applying a flash trigger voltage, a terminal 55a is connected to a lead wire 47 connected to the reflector 42, and a terminal 55b is connected to a light emission control circuit board (not shown). The connected lead wire is connected. The trigger coil 55 is housed in an opening 40h provided in front of the protruding portion 26 integrated with the strobe case 40, and moves integrally when the strobe light emitting portion 20 moves. By arranging the trigger coil 55 in this manner, the lead wire 47 connecting the trigger coil 55 and the reflection shade 42 needs to have an extremely short overall length, a voltage drop when a trigger voltage is applied can be reduced, and problems such as poor light emission occur. Can be suppressed.

The storage portion of the trigger coil 55 is provided at a protrusion for guiding the strobe light emitting portion 20 when the strobe light emitting portion 20 is stored, so that the strobe light emitting portion 20 can be reduced in size as a whole. The projecting portion 26 is provided with a flesh for forming a storage portion, and there is an advantage that sufficient strength required for an external force received from the outside at the time of projecting can be sufficiently obtained.

Next, the operation of projecting and storing the strobe in the above configuration will be described.

When the power switch 60 provided on the upper part of the camera is operated from the power OFF state shown in FIG.
The camera control circuit is energized so that the rising motor 3 rotates in the direction in which the taking lens barrel 2 is extended.

By the rotation of the motor 3, the reduction gear trains 4 to 9
Rotate to rotate the drive ring 10. The rotation of the drive ring 10 causes the internal photographing lens group to start moving in the protruding direction (wide position direction). At the same time, the gears 11, 12, and 13 that perform strobe driving rotate, and the driving cam 15 starts rotating via the shaft.

The movement of the drive cam 15 and the drive lever 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 shows a state where the power of the camera is turned off, the taking lens barrel 2 is in the retracted position, and the strobe light emitting unit 20 is in the retracted position. In this state, since the protruding portion 26 of the strobe light emitting portion 20 is in contact with the holder 70, the strobe drive lever 17 is prevented from rotating counterclockwise in the drawing.

When the outer peripheral surface of the first cam 15b of the drive cam 15 is in contact with the central gear portion 16d of the three gear portions of the drive lever 16, the protrusion on the opposite side of the drive lever 16 is provided. 16b is set to charge the tip 18a of the spring 18 in the counterclockwise direction.
8 has a bent portion 17 of the strobe drive lever 17.
b is elastically pressed. Therefore, the strobe light emitting section 20 is stably pressed in the storage direction.

In this state, when the power switch 60 is operated and the motor 3 starts rotating, the driving cam 15 starts to rotate counterclockwise in FIG.

In FIG. 5, when the driving cam 15 starts to rotate counterclockwise, the central gear portion 16d of the driving lever 16 slides into the slope of the first cam 15b, and the driving lever 16 moves clockwise. Start turning. Drive lever 1
At the same time as the rotation of the strobe 6, the strobe drive lever 17 also starts to rotate, and by the engagement of the engagement shaft 19 and the engagement groove 57, the strobe light emitting unit 20 moves along the guide bar 29 in a direction away from the holder 70 (projection direction). To start moving.

The drive lever 16 is provided with left and right gear portions 16e and 16f on both sides of the central gear portion 16d below the central gear portion 16d.

The first cam 15b is provided with a lower cam gear portion 15f having a notch formed in a part of a circumferential portion, and an upper stage with respect to the lower cam gear portion 15f. Two-tooth gear portions 15d and 1 provided in phase
5e.

In FIG. 5, the first rotating counterclockwise
When the drive lever 16 rotates clockwise along the cam surface of the lower cam gear 15f of the cam 15b, the gear portion 15d of the upper cam gear portion and the right gear portion 16e of the drive lever 16 subsequently engage. At first, from this state, a normal gear drive region starts.

At this time, since the upper cam gear portion of the first cam 15b has a shape obtained by extending the involute curve of the gear 15d, the gear 1 at the center of the drive lever 16 is formed.
The transition from the cam drive region 6d due to contact with the lower cam gear portion 15f of the first cam 15b to the gear drive region in which the upper cam gear portion is engaged with the gear 15d is performed very smoothly.

Further, as the drive cam 15 rotates, the engagement between the lower cam gear portion 15f of the first cam 15b and the center gear 16d of the drive lever 16 starts, and this engagement is released. Then, the cam 15f, which is formed by extending the involute curve of the gear 15e, comes into contact with the central gear 16d, and becomes a cam drive area.

Also at this time, the cam 15f is moved to the gear 15e.
The transition from the gear drive region to the cam drive region is performed smoothly because of the extended shape.

While the drive lever 16 is being rotated clockwise by the cam 15f, the strobe light emitting section 20 comes into contact with the holder 71 on the projecting side and stops moving. Further, after the driving cam 15 rotates counterclockwise and the convex portion 16c of the driving lever 16 charges the tip 18b of the spring 18, the central gear 16d reaches the outer periphery of the cam 15f and the rotation of the driving lever 16 stops. I do.

Thereafter, when the wide position is detected by the position detecting means of the photographing lens barrel 2, the power supply to the motor 3 is stopped, and the photographing is enabled at the wide position in the state shown in FIG. In this state, the strobe light emitting section 20 is stably pressed against the holder 71 by the spring force of the spring 18.

The above is the strobe projection operation in conjunction with the movement of the taking lens barrel 2 from the retracted position (retracted end) in the camera body to the wide position.

When the strobe light emitting section 20 is in the protruding position and an external force is applied in the pushing direction in the storage direction, the strobe driving lever 17 follows the movement of the strobe light emitting section 20 and rotates counterclockwise. Since the center gear 16d is in contact with the cam outer peripheral surface of the drive cam 15, the lever 16 is prevented from rotating.

Therefore, only the tip 18a of the spring 18 is fixed while the tip 18b of the spring 18 is fixed.
Is charged by the bent portion 17a.
If the device is released from external force in this state, the strobe light emitting section 20
Can return to the protruding position by the charged spring force.

Further, even when the strobe light emitting section 20 is prevented from moving by an external force during the movement, the strobe driving lever 17 is prevented from rotating together with the strobe light emitting section 20, so that only the tip 18b of the spring 18 is strobed. When the external force is released by being charged by the drive lever 16, the lever can be moved to the projecting position by the charged spring force.

The movement from the projecting position to the storage position is a completely inverted operation from the storage to the projecting position.
By turning on the power so that it rotates in the reverse direction, the taking lens barrel 2
Is moved in the retraction direction, and the drive cam 15 rotates clockwise to form a cam drive area with the drive lever 16.
The strobe light emitting section 2 comes into contact with the holder 70 on the storage side through the gear drive area and the second cam drive area.

Also, at this time, even when an external force is applied to the strobe light emitting portion 20, only the spring 18 is charged in the same manner as in the above-mentioned projecting operation, and when the external force is released, the spring 18 returns to a predetermined position by the spring force. Is done.

As described above, the strobe light emitting section 20
Is engaged with the gear 8, which is an intermediate gear between the photographing lens barrel 2 and the clutch gear 7, so that even when the idling mechanism of the clutch gear 7 operates, the photographing lens barrel The stowed light emitting unit 20 does not deviate in phase from the retracted position and the wide position with respect to the retracted end position and the wide position.

Next, the zoom operation will be described.

First, in the zooming operation from the wide position to the tele direction, when the tele direction zoom button 61 provided on the upper part of the camera is operated, the motor 3 is energized and the motor 3 starts rotating in the tele direction. .

The rotation of the motor 3 causes the drive cam 15 to start rotating counterclockwise from the wide position. At this time, since the gear 16d at the center of the drive lever 16 is in contact with the outer periphery of the lower cam gear portion 16f of the drive cam 15 by the spring force of the spring 18, the drive cam 15 rotates while receiving a certain amount of frictional force. However, since the contact is caused by the involute curved surface of the central gear 16d and the arcuate surface of the drive cam 15, smooth contact is possible without providing a follower, and low-load operation is possible.

Since the cam outer circumference of the driving cam 15 is an arc cam, the turning operation of the driving cam 15 is not transmitted to the driving lever 16 and the interlocking state is cut off, and the turning position of the driving lever 16 is maintained. The zooming operation is performed with the strobe light emitting unit 20 stably held at the protruding position while the zooming operation is performed.

After zooming to the middle and tele regions, if the tele direction zoom button 62 is operated and zooming is performed in the wide direction, the drive cam 15 rotates clockwise. Like the drive of
Driving with low load is performed in a state where the driving lever 16 is in contact with the outer periphery of the driving cam 15.

Since the strobe drive mechanism of the present embodiment does not use the movement of the taking lens barrel 2 as a direct drive source, the strobe driving mechanism is smooth without applying a load such as tilting and eccentricity of the taking lens that adversely affects the lens performance. It is possible to achieve a protruding and retracting operation.

The operation of changing the flash irradiation angle will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 shows a wide state, FIG.
13 shows a middle state, FIG. 13 shows a telephoto state, and FIG. 14 is a right side view of related parts in a wide state.

In the drawing, reference numeral 52f denotes a driven shaft provided at the rear end of the lower surface of the sleeve 52b of the zoom panel 52. The driven shaft 52f is formed on one side of the zoom drive lever 22 by the strobe light emitting portion 20 performing a projecting operation. The drive lever 22 swings by the zooming operation,
That is, when the sliding surface 22c of the zoom drive lever 22 is positioned parallel to the left-right direction of the camera body, the zoom panel
The second driven shaft 52f merely moves in the left-right direction and does not move in the front-rear direction. When the zoom drive lever 22 is located at a position inclined from the position shown in FIG. Along with the movement in the left and right directions, the projection panel also moves in the front and rear direction by the distance in the front and rear direction corresponding to the inclination of the sliding surface 22c, and the zoom panel 52 also moves in the front and rear direction.

FIG. 16 shows how the zoom drive lever 22 and the driven shaft 52f of the zoom panel 52 come into contact with each other during the projecting operation of the strobe light emitting section 20.

The zoom panel 52 is always urged to the rear of the case 40 by a spring 56. As shown in FIG.
The second cam surface 22c is set rearward.

The position where the zoom panel 52 is in contact with the stopper 75 is set to be behind the predetermined position in the wide state, and the shaft 52e comes into contact with the slope 22b while the strobe light emitting unit 20 is in the protruding operation. The light is guided a little forward by the slope, and is guided by the surface 22c, and the position of the strobe irradiation angle is restricted to a position in the front-rear direction near the wide position near the protruding position.

In the storage position of the strobe light emitting section 20, the follower lever 21 is in contact with the middle area of the second zoom cam 15c, and the zoom drive lever 22 is also in the middle state. Move. Therefore, the zoom drive lever 22 is engaged with the shaft 52e while rotating counterclockwise.

As described above, during the protruding operation, the zoom drive lever 22 is brought into contact with and guided by the zoom drive lever 22, and the position thereof is regulated to the normal position, so that the zoom panel 52 and the zoom drive lever 22 are always in contact at the light emitting position. Yes, it can always be linked to the zooming operation.

As described above, when the strobe light emitting section 20 has moved from the storage position to the protruding position, and has reached the wide state shown in FIG. 11, the strobe light emitting section 20 has stably contacted the zoom drive lever 22.

When the zoom operation in the telephoto direction is performed from this state, the drive cam 15 rotates counterclockwise, and the follower lever 21 rotates counterclockwise according to the lift of the zoom cam 15c.

When the follower lever 21 is rotated counterclockwise, the tip bending portion 21b pushes the shaft 22a, so that the zoom drive lever 22 is rotated clockwise and the zoom panel 5 is rotated.
2 moves forward, the middle state shown in FIG. 12,
When the driving cam 15 further rotates counterclockwise, the telephoto state shown in FIG.

When the zoom operation is performed in the wide direction from the middle or telephoto state, the drive cam 15 rotates clockwise, and the zoom drive lever 22 rotates counterclockwise in response to a decrease in the lift of the zoom cam 15c, and the zoom is performed. The panel 52 moves rearward.

During the above-mentioned zooming operation, the drive lever 16 slides smoothly even if the drive cam 15 rotates in the telephoto and wide directions, since the involute surface of the gear 16d is in contact with the outer circular arc of the drive cam 15. Move, drive cam 1
There is no unreasonable load on 5.

Further, since the outer periphery of the driving cam 15 is an arc, the driving lever 16 does not operate, and the strobe light emitting section 20 is stably biased to the projecting position.

Next, a description will be given of how the strobe irradiation angle is changed by moving the zoom panel 52. FIG. FIG. 15 (a),
(B), (c) is a diagram showing the state of the light beam emitted from the discharge tube 41 in the wide, middle, and tele states, respectively.

In the figure, first, a light beam emitted from the discharge tube 41 enters the entrance surfaces 80 and 81 of the optical prism 50.

The incident surface 80 is set to have a curved surface such that when a light beam emitted forward from the center of the discharge tube 41 is incident, it becomes a substantially parallel light beam after the incidence. Also, the incident surface 8
Reference numeral 1 denotes a light beam emitted in the vertical and oblique directions from the center of the discharge tube 41, is once refracted outward, and directed toward the reflection surface 82.
The reflecting surface 82 is formed as a curved surface that totally reflects the light beam from the incident surface 81 and becomes a substantially parallel light beam and travels inside the optical prism 50 toward the subject.

Since the reflector 42 is formed in a cylindrical shape having the same center as the axis of the discharge tube 41, the light flux emitted backward from the discharge tube 41 is reflected by the reflector 42 and then again inside the discharge tube 41. Pass through the incident surfaces 80 and 81, and follow substantially the same path as the directly incident light flux.

A light beam emitted from a position deviated from the center of the discharge tube 41 follows substantially the same path as a light beam emitted from the center, but an angle shift occurs when refracting or reflecting according to the shift amount. Therefore, the shape of the incident surface and the reflecting surface is set so that the discharge tube 41 as a whole is directed toward the subject at an extremely small angle with respect to the optical axis. It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, only the light beams directly incident on the incident surfaces 80 and 81 among the light beams emitted from the center of the discharge tube 41 are shown in the figure.

The incident light beam travels through the optical prism 50 and then exits from the exit surface 50a.
Since 0 is constituted by a cylindrical lens in the axial direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the discharge tube 41, refraction according to the lens is performed in the left-right direction, and the component having an angle in the vertical direction is refracted according to the angle. It will be done and ejected.

The R shape of the cylindrical lens is set so as to converge light in the left and right directions to cover the angle of view at the time of widening.

As described above, the optical prism 50 is connected to the discharge tube 4.
It has a function of condensing the light beam emitted from 1 to an extremely narrow angle in the vertical direction, and condensing the light beam to an extent covering the angle of view in the horizontal direction in the horizontal direction. Next, the light beam emitted from the optical prism 50 passes through the zoom panel 42 and the strobe window 54.
Is constituted by a convex cylindrical lens 52a on the front surface and a concave cylindrical lens surface 54a on the rear surface of the flash window 54.
Therefore, the passing light flux is refracted by the convex lens and condensed, and then refracted by the concave cylindrical lens surface 54a of the strobe window 54 in the direction of returning the condensed light to the original state.

In the wide state shown in FIG. 15A, the position of the zoom panel 52 is set such that the focal position of the convex cylindrical lens 52a is near the apex of the concave cylindrical lens 54a. , The light passes through the interior of the strobe window 54 and heads toward the subject at a wide irradiation angle.

In the middle state shown in FIG. 15B, the zoom panel 52 moves forward, and the distance between them decreases. The focal position of the convex cylindrical lens 52a is located inside the flash window 54.
At this time, the light beam condensed by the convex cylindrical lens 52a is refracted in the direction of returning by the concave cylindrical lens 54a, so that the combined focal length is extended. Therefore, the emitted light beam travels toward the subject with a light distribution angle smaller than that in the wide state.

The combined focal length is short if the interval between the convex cylindrical lens 52a and the concave cylindrical lens 54a is small, and long if the interval is large. Therefore, the irradiation angle changes continuously depending on the interval.

In the telephoto state shown in FIG. 15C, the zoom panel 52 and the flash window 54 come close to a position where they are almost in close contact. In this state, the light beam emitted from the convex cylindrical lens 52a is incident on a substantially symmetrical position on the surface of the concave cylindrical lens 54a, and is refracted in the original direction by substantially the same angle as the refraction angle by the convex cylindrical lens 52. Accordingly, a state almost equal to the absence of the convex cylindrical lens 52a and the concave cylindrical lens 54a is created, and the light is emitted while maintaining an extremely narrow light distribution angle controlled by the optical prism 50.

As described above, when controlling the irradiation angle by changing the focal length by the convex lens and the concave lens, if the respective lenses are shifted in the direction orthogonal to the lens optical axis, that is, if the so-called eccentricity occurs, the distance is controlled as intended. The problem arises that the degree of diffusion cannot be controlled, or the object is irradiated in a shifted direction.

Further, the components constituting the lens fall down, and it is difficult to control the degree of diffusion as intended even when the interval differs depending on the position of the lens.

In this embodiment, in order to solve these problems, the zoom panel 52 is guided by the guide bar 53 in the moving direction.
Further, by driving the vicinity of the guide portion with the zoom drive lever 22, the inclination is reduced as much as possible. Further, a rib 54d is provided in the strobe window 54, and a guide groove 52 is provided in the zoom panel 52 so as to engage with the guide bar 53. Eccentricity is suppressed by stopping the play in the surrounding rotation direction.

With this configuration, highly accurate diffusion control is realized. As described above, in the present embodiment, the degree of diffusion only in the vertical direction is controlled by the convex cylindrical lens 52a and the concave cylindrical lens 54a, and the light is condensed on the exit surface 50a of the optical prism 50 in the horizontal direction. Although the irradiation angle in the substantially wide state is maintained, the degree of diffusion can be controlled in the left-right direction by providing a convex lens shape and a concave lens shape in the same manner as in the vertical direction.

In the strobe irradiation angle changing operation, the gear 11 for driving the strobe light emitting unit 20 is also provided.
Since the gear 8 which is an intermediate gear between the photographing lens barrel 2 and the clutch gear 7 is engaged, strobe light is emitted for each zoom position of the photographing lens barrel 2 even when the idling mechanism of the clutch gear 7 is operated. The phase of the irradiation angle of the unit 20 does not shift, and the strobe irradiation angle does not cover the angle of view of the photographing lens, or the strobe irradiation angle cannot be collected even when the focal length of the photographing lens barrel is at the telephoto position. Gno. And the problem of underexposure does not occur.

[0135]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a camera in which a flash light emitting portion can be moved between a storage position (non-light emitting position) and a protruding position (light emitting position) and the irradiation angle can be switched. In addition, the camera can be moved to the above-mentioned storage position and the protruding position without enlarging the size, reducing the red-eye effect, and interlocking the zooming of the strobe over the entire zoom range of the taking lens. In addition, the irradiation angle can be changed with high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a storage state of a strobe light emitting unit.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the camera of FIG. 1, showing a protruding state of a strobe light emitting unit.

FIG. 3 is a view of a driving mechanism of a photographing lens barrel and a strobe light emitting unit of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the camera of FIG. 1, showing a stored state of a strobe light emitting unit.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a strobe moving mechanism of the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a strobe light emitting unit of the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a strobe light emitting section of the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a strobe moving mechanism at a storage position of a strobe light emitting unit in the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a strobe moving mechanism during a projecting operation of a strobe light emitting unit in the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a view showing a strobe moving mechanism at a position where a strobe light emitting unit projects in the camera of FIG. 1;

11 is a diagram showing a zoom drive mechanism in a wide state of a strobe light emitting unit in the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a zoom drive mechanism in a middle state of a strobe light emitting unit in the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a zoom drive mechanism in a telephoto state of a strobe light emitting unit in the camera of FIG. 1;

14 is a right side view showing a zoom drive mechanism in a wide state of a strobe light emitting unit in the camera of FIG. 1;

15A and 15B are diagrams showing a change in an irradiation angle of a strobe light emitting unit in the camera of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 15A shows a wide state, FIG. 15B shows a middle state, and FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a relationship between a zoom drive lever of a strobe light emitting unit and a zoom panel in the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a view of a gear for driving the strobe of FIG. 1 as viewed from a lower surface side of the camera.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration of a clutch gear of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera main body 2 ... Shooting lens barrel 3 ... Motor 7 ... Clutch gear 15 ... Drive cam 16 ... Drive lever 17 ... Strobe drive lever 20 ... Strobe light emission unit 21 ... Follower lever 22 ... Zoom drive lever 40 ... Strobe case 41 ... Discharge tube 42 Reflector shade 50 Optical prism 52 Zoom panel 54 Strobe window

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G03B 15/03 G03B 15/03 M 17/02 17/02 17/04 17/04

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A flash light emitting section movable to a storage position, a projecting position, and a variable magnification photographing lens with respect to a camera body, wherein the flash light emitting section has an irradiation angle changing member, In a camera in which a changing member is moved according to a focal length of the photographing lens and an irradiation angle is variable, a drive in which the flash light emitting unit moves the irradiation angle changing member while moving from the storage position to the protruding position. A camera comprising means. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit moves the irradiation angle changing member while the flash light emitting unit is moving from the storage position to the protruding position.
The camera according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation angle changing member is moved in conjunction with a zooming operation of the photographing lens. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the driving unit has a slope portion inclined with respect to a moving direction of the flash light emitting unit, and the irradiation angle changing member moves along the slope. 3. The camera according to 1 or 2. 4. A discharge tube, a reflection member for reflecting a flash emitted from the discharge tube toward a subject, and at least two optical members in front of the discharge tube and the reflection member, wherein at least one of the optical members is provided. A flash light emitting device that changes an irradiation angle by moving an optical member and changing an interval with the other, wherein the moving optical member is configured to slide and move with the other. 5. The flash light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the optical member comprises a first optical member, one of which is constituted by a convex lens, and the other comprises a second optical member, constituted by a concave lens. 6. A flash device which includes a camera body, a strobe case body, and a light emitting portion including a flash discharge tube and a reflecting member in the strobe case body, and is movable to a storage position and a protruding position with respect to the camera body. In the camera provided with the electronic flash, the flash case main body includes a guide portion guided to the camera main body at a part thereof, and the guide portion holds at least one electric element on a light emitting circuit. Built-in camera. 7. The camera according to claim 7, wherein the electronic element is a trigger transformer. 8. The camera body includes a guide portion for guiding the strobe case body in a direction orthogonal to a camera photographing optical axis, and the strobe case body protrudes by moving along the guide portion. 8. The camera with a built-in flash device according to claim 6, wherein the camera performs a storing operation.