JP2002190974A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a camera in which the camera body section can be held stably regardless of the size of a user's hand and an operating button can be operated at an optimal position. SOLUTION: The camera comprises a vide camera body section 1, a grip mechanism 7 having one end side being supported at the casing part of the vide camera body section 1 through a supporting part, a belt 43 fixed to the back side of the grip mechanism 7, a turning mechanism 10 for turning the grip mechanism 7 together with the belt 43 with the supporting part as a fulcrum shaft, and a slide mechanism 15 for moving the grip mechanism 7, together with the belt 43, up and down with respect to the vide camera body section 1 along a guide rail 26, wherein the grip mechanism 7 is provided with a grip telescopic mechanism 32 for adjusting the length.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera device suitable for use in, for example, a video camera device and the like, and more particularly, to an improved camera device capable of reliably holding an operation position regardless of the size of a hand. This is related to the grip mechanism that has been performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 9 to 11 show the structure of a video camera device and a general grip belt attached to the video camera device. Reference numeral 51 denotes a video camera body, and a photographing lens 52 is provided on the front side. , The viewfinder 53 on the back side
It has. In addition, the video camera device has a recording button 54 below the viewfinder 53 side and a zoom button 55 on a side portion near the photographing lens 52 side as main operation buttons.

The grip belt 56 is disposed obliquely with respect to the video camera body 51, and has both end portions 56a and 5b.
6b is supported by a belt fixing portion (not shown) of the video camera body 51.

[0004]

The preferred posture of the video camera apparatus in the photographing state is the grip belt 5.
6 is gripped so that the belly of the thumb a corresponds to the recording button 54 and the forefinger b rests on the zoom button 55 while the video camera body 51 is stably held by inserting it deeply into the back of the hand. The operability is good.

However, when a user with a large hand inserts the back of the hand deeply into the grip belt 56 as shown in FIG. There is a problem that the operation at the time of photographing is difficult because it is left behind the position of the zoom button 54 or the zoom button 55. Because of this, Figure 1
When the thumb a and the index finger b are used to match the positions of the recording button 54 and the zoom button 55 as shown in FIG.
The holding by the grip belt 56 is incomplete, and the video camera body 51 is in an unstable holding state.

On the other hand, in the case of a user with a small hand, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, even when the user inserts the back of the hand deeply into the grip belt 56, the thumb a or the index finger b does not reach the positions of the recording button 54 and the zoom button 55, and the photographing operation cannot be performed. There is a problem that it is difficult to hold.

FIG. 12 shows another example of the grip mechanism. In this grip mechanism, the angle of the grip plate 57 with respect to the video camera body 51 can be changed with the support shaft 58 as a fulcrum.

In the case of a user having a large hand, when the index finger b is set to the zoom button 55, the thumb a does not reach the recording button 54 as shown in FIG. Fig. 1
As shown in FIG. 3, there is a problem that the index finger b is left behind the zoom button 55, and in the case of a user with a small hand, as shown in FIG. Due to the distance, the thumb a does not reach the recording button, and it is difficult to hold the video camera body 51.

In addition, although not shown here, the conventional grip belt is adjusted by folding one end of the belt through a through hole, adjusting the length of the belt, fastening the belt to the back of the hand, and fixing it with Velcro (registered trademark). Things. However, such a belt adjustment has to be performed each time shooting is performed, and it takes time and effort to adjust the belt. However, although a certain sense of stability is obtained, the video camera body cannot be stably held.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can stably hold a camera body regardless of the size of a user's hand and operate an operation button at an optimum position. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a camera device that can perform the operations.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a camera device according to the present invention is provided with a grip portion having one end supported by a support portion on a camera body and a rear portion of the grip portion. A belt part, a rotating means that allows the grip part to rotate together with the belt part around the support part as a fulcrum axis, and a grip part that can move up and down with respect to the camera body together with the belt part. And a gripping mechanism provided with a sliding means.

According to the camera device constructed as described above, the hand is inserted deeply between the grip portion and the belt portion, and thereafter, the thumb portion is adjusted by sliding the grip portion up and down to record the thumb on the camera body portion. Align to the button. Next, the grip portion is rotated to position the index finger on the zoom button of the camera body, and the camera body is held. After that, by adjusting the length of the grip according to the width of the hand and tightening the belt, the camera body can be held at a position where the record button and zoom button can be optimally operated regardless of the size of the user's hand. it can.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A camera apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking an example in which the embodiment is applied to a video camera apparatus.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a video camera device according to this embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a video camera body,
A camera mechanism section and a video mechanism section (not shown) are integrally incorporated therein. The video camera body 1 has a photographing lens 2 on the front side and a viewfinder 3 on the back side as main parts, and a recording button 4 having switches for photographing standby and the like is disposed below the viewfinder 3. A zoom button 5 is arranged on a side surface near the taking lens 2. Note that a liquid crystal display panel 6 that can be freely opened and closed is externally attached to the video camera body 1.

A grip mechanism 7 according to the present invention is attached to a side portion of the video camera body 1 described above. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the grip mechanism 7 in an exploded state.

Hereinafter, details of the grip mechanism 7 will be described. A shaft hole 9 is opened at one end of a grip body 8 formed of a metal material into a flat C-shape, and a rotation mechanism 10 for rotating the grip body 8 around the shaft hole 9 is provided. I have. In this rotating mechanism 10, a shaft 12 with a flange is inserted into the shaft hole 9 via a corrugated ring 11 having a spring property and coming into contact with the periphery of the shaft hole 9 from one surface side of the grip body 8. The corrugated ring 11 is a positioning piece 1 formed by bending it.
1a is engaged with the concave portion 12a formed in the flange portion of the flanged shaft 12, and is prevented from rotating. Wave ring 1
A pair of protrusions 13, 13 are pulled out and raised in 1 and a plurality of recesses 14 formed in a circle around the shaft hole 9 are engaged with the protrusions 13, 13, so that they can rotate in a frictional manner. I have.

A slide mechanism 15 having a lock / release mechanism is provided so as to face the shaft hole 9 from the other side of the grip body 8. More specifically, the lock / release mechanism section includes a leaf spring 17 fixed to a case body 16 made of a resin molded product by screws (not shown), and a bifurcated lock member 18 urged in a protruding direction by the spring force of the leaf spring 17.
An operating member 20 having a tooth portion 19 for retreating the forked lock member 18, and a lock release lever 21 for engaging the tooth portion 19 and operating the operating member 20.
And a coil spring 22 for urging the lock release lever 21 in the locking direction. FIG. 3 shows a state in which these members are assembled in the case body 16, and the front surface of the cover body 16 is closed by the lid cover 23.

Here, the forked lock member 18 has a tip portion projecting from a slit hole 23a opened in the lid cover 23. Further, a guide frame 24 is attached to the front surface of the lid cover 23, and the guide frame 2
The leading end of the forked lock member 18 projects from the cutout 24a formed in a part of the lock member 4.

The above-described sliding mechanism 15 having the rotating mechanism 10 and the lock / release mechanism is assembled by assembling the rotating mechanism 10 from one side of the grip body 8 and from the other side of the grip body 8. In a state where the slide mechanism 15 is assembled, a pair of screws (not shown) inserted from the screw holes 24a of the guide frame 24 pass through the screw holes 23a of the lid cover 23 and the screw holes 16a of the case body 16, Furthermore, it is assembled by screwing through the shaft hole 9 of the grip body 8 to the screw hole 12b of the flanged shaft 12.

The above-described guide frame 24 is slidably engaged with a guide rail 25 provided on a mounting portion 25 which is screwed to the video camera body 1 side. Further, a plurality of lock holes 27 are formed in the guide rail 25 at the same pitch interval as the forked lock member 18.

The operation of the slide mechanism 15 having the lock / release mechanism configured as described above is performed as follows.

When the guide frame 24 is locked so as not to slide with respect to the guide rail 25, the distal end of the forked lock member 18 protrudes from the notch 24a of the guide frame 24, and the lock hole 27 of the guide rail 25 is locked.
It is in a state of being engaged in. Here, when the lock release lever 21 of the lock / release mechanism is operated to rotate against the spring force of the coil spring 22, the operation member 20 moves downward, and the tapered surface 20a formed in a part thereof is bifurcated. The inclined surface 18a (see FIG. 3) of the lock member 18 is slid, and the forked lock member 18 deflects the leaf spring 17 and retreats, comes out of the lock hole 27 of the guide rail 25, and enters the unlocked state. Thereby, the guide frame 24 can slide along the guide rail 25 together with the grip body 8.

Thus, when the rotation operation of the lock release lever 21 is released, the operating member 20 moves upward together with the lock release lever 21 due to the return spring force of the coil spring 22, separates from the forked lock member 18, and locks the forked lock. The member 18 projects again by the return force of the leaf spring 17 and the guide rail 25
Is locked in the lock hole 27 so that it cannot slide.

The grip body 8 is provided with a grip extendable mechanism 28 whose length can be adjusted. The grip extension mechanism 28 includes a first slider 29, a spring support member 31 configured to hold an angled leaf spring 30, and a second slider 32 that sandwiches the spring support member 31 together with the first slider 29. Consists of An opening 33 is formed in the spring support member 31, and a screw (not shown) in which the spring support member 31 is inserted into the screw hole 31 a in a state where the top of the leaf spring 30 is held so as to project from the opening 33. The first slider 29 is screwed and fixed to the screw hole 29a from the inner surface side. Thereafter, the first slider 29 is exposed so that the second slider 32 is exposed from the notch 34.
And screw a screw (not shown) from the screw hole 32a into the screw hole 29.
b.

The grip extending / contracting mechanism 28 constructed as described above.
Is inserted into the grip body 8 and is slidable. When the grip extension mechanism 28 is pulled out to the maximum, the protruding surface 35 formed on the spring support member 31 is removed.
Abuts against the stopper sides 8a, 8a of the grip body 8 to prevent the grip extension mechanism 28 from coming off.

A rotating mechanism 10 is provided on the grip body 8.
An outer exterior cover 36 made of a resin molded product is attached from the side. In this case, a housing portion 37 for housing the flanged shaft portion 12 of the rotating mechanism 10 is provided on one inner surface side of the outer exterior cover 36, and a corrugated projection 38 is separately formed. The wave spring 38 engages with the leaf spring 30 projecting from the spring support member 31 of the grip extension mechanism 28 described above. In other words, the grip extension mechanism 28 is
8, a leaf spring 30 slides in a ratchet manner.

Further, an inner outer cover 39 made of a resin molded product is attached to the grip body 8 from the slide mechanism 15 side so as to avoid the cover body 16 of the lock / release mechanism. The inner outer cover 39 is overlapped with the grip body 8 with the metal plate 40 interposed therebetween, and the inner outer cover 3
A screw (not shown) inserted from the screw hole 39 a of 9 is screwed and fixed to the screw hole boss 8 b of the grip body 8 through the screw hole 40 a of the metal plate 40. Further, the outer outer cover 36 and the inner outer cover 39 are connected to the inner outer cover 3.
A screw (not shown) inserted from the 9 screw hole 39b is screwed and fixed to the screw hole boss 36a of the outer casing cover 36.

Further, a belt-through fitting 41 is attached to the end of the grip body 8 on the side of the shaft hole 9, and a first belt-passage is attached to the end of the first slider 29 of the grip extension mechanism 28. A hole 42 is provided. According to this, as shown in FIG. 1, the belt 43 having one end fixed to the belt passing fitting 41 is inserted into the first belt passing hole 42 and turned back, and the other end of the belt is fixed to the magic tape 44. . Further, a second belt through hole 45 is provided at an end of the metal plate 40 on the side of the inner exterior cover 39. As a result, the belt 43 is connected to the first belt through hole 42
Can be replaced with the belt passing hole 45.

Next, the procedure for operating the grip mechanism 7 configured as described above to hold the video camera device will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, between the outer outer cover 36 of the gripping mechanism 7 and the belt 43, the other
Extend your finger straight and insert it deep into the base of your thumb and index finger. After this, the lock release lever 21
Is operated to release the lock of the grip mechanism 7, the grip mechanism 7 is slid up and down along the guide rail 26, and the belly of the thumb a is pressed on the recording button of the video camera body 1 as shown in FIG. Adjust the position to the height corresponding to 4.

Next, the grip mechanism 7 is rotated with the rotation mechanism 10 as a fulcrum, and the index finger b is rotated to a position corresponding to the zoom button 5 of the video camera body 1 as shown in FIG. The video camera body 1 is held by four fingers other than b. Thereafter, the user extends the grip extension mechanism 28 from the grip mechanism 7, adjusts the length according to the width of the hand, and then tightens the belt 43 on the back of the hand to integrate the video camera body 1 with the hand and hold it stably. can do.

According to the gripping mechanism 7 according to the present invention, the rotating mechanism 10, the sliding mechanism 15, and the grip extending / contracting mechanism 28 are provided.
By performing the above-described series of procedure operations, even if the user's hand is large or small,
While the video camera body 1 is stably held, the recording button 4 can be operated at the optimum position by the thumb a and the zoom button 5 can be operated at the optimum position by the index finger b. A grip mechanism with excellent operability can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

In this embodiment, the case has been described in which the grip mechanism 7 for holding the video camera main body 1 with the right hand is provided, but a guide rail is also provided on the other side of the video camera main body 1 although not shown. If this is done, it is possible to cope with left-handed use by replacing the grip mechanism 7 removed from the guide rail on the right hand side.

FIG. 7 shows that the grip mechanism 7 can be used as a stand for the video camera body 1. In this case, the grip mechanism 7 with the belt 43 removed is pulled down along the guide rail 26 to the same level as the bottom surface of the video camera body 1. As a result, the grip mechanism 7 can function as a stand, which allows the video camera body 1 to face upward by a predetermined angle to remotely control the user while photographing the user, and enables image transmission using a videophone or the like.

As another different embodiment, the grip mechanism according to the present invention is detached from the video camera main body 1 and a normal belt 47 is attached to belt through holes 46a and 46b formed in the video camera main body 1. Can also be used.

Further, in this embodiment, the case where the grip mechanism is applied to a video camera device has been described. However, the present invention can also be widely applied to a grip mechanism of a digital camera device or a still camera device.

[0038]

As described above, the camera device according to the present invention includes a grip portion having one end supported by the camera body and a belt portion attached to the back side of the grip portion. Rotating means for allowing the grip part to rotate with the support part as a fulcrum axis together with the belt part, and slide means for allowing the grip part to move up and down with respect to the camera body together with the belt part With the grip mechanism equipped with the above, even if the user's hand is large or small, the video camera can stably hold the video camera body and operate the recording button at the optimal position with the thumb. , The zoom button can be operated at the optimal position with the index finger,
There is an effect that a highly reliable grip mechanism having excellent operability can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a video camera device provided with a grip mechanism according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a grip mechanism is separated.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an assembled state of a lock release mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an initial operation procedure of the grip mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation procedure in which a thumb is aligned with a recording button.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation procedure in which a forefinger is positioned on a zoom button.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a video camera using a grip mechanism for a stand.

FIG. 8 is a side view in which a normal grip belt is attached to the video camera.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state where a finger is left from an operation button when a large hand is normally inserted into a conventional grip belt.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a state when a large hand is positioned on an operation button.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a state where a finger does not reach a button when a small hand is inserted into a conventional grip belt.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a thumb does not reach a button when a large hand is inserted into another conventional grip belt.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing how a forefinger leaves a button when a large hand is similarly inserted into the grip belt.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing how the video camera cannot be held when a small hand is inserted into the grip belt.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Video camera main part, 4 ... Record button, 5 ... Zoom button, 7 ... Grip mechanism, 8 ... Grip main body, 9 ...
Shaft hole, 10: rotating mechanism, 11: corrugated ring, 12: shaft part with flange, 15: slide mechanism, 18: bifurcated lock member, 21: lock release lever, 24: guide frame, 26: guide rail, 28 … Grip extension mechanism, 2
9: first slider, 30: leaf spring, 32: second slider, 36: outer outer cover, 39: inner outer cover,
41: Belt passing bracket, 42: Belt passing hole, 43: Belt, 46a, 46b: Belt passing hole

Claims (5)

[Claims] A camera body having a camera mechanism; a grip part having one end supported by an outer part of the camera body part by a support part; and a belt part attached to the back side of the grip part. Rotating means for allowing the grip portion to rotate with the support portion as a fulcrum axis together with the belt portion; and enabling the grip portion to move up and down with respect to the camera body together with the belt portion. A camera device comprising: a grip mechanism having a slide means adapted to be operated. 2. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein said grip portion is provided with a length-adjustable expansion / contraction means. 3. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion of the grip portion is disposed near a recording button provided on the camera body. 4. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the grip is detachable from the camera body.
A camera device, which can be mounted and changed on the opposite side of the camera body. 5. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion also serves as a stand when the camera main body portion is kept stationary.