JP2002323712A - Switch for charging electronic flash of camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent that the power source of an electronic flash is exhausted by an inadvertent operation of the charging switch. SOLUTION: A guide board 46 is provided between a charging operation member 6 exposed on the front cover of a film unit with a lens, and a circuit board. In the charge operation member 6, an operation knob base plate 51, a projecting part 52 having a tip part 52a broader than the supporting part 52b and a spring part 52 are formed integrally. In the guide board 46, an opening 47 having a lower part 47b broader than an upper part 47a and a protrusion 48 are provided. When turning on the electronic flash, a charge operation knob 50 is pressed against the elastic force of an elastic part 54 abutting on the protrusions 48 to insert the tip part 52a of the projecting part 52 into the lower part 47b of the opening 47, and the electronic flash charge operation knob 50 is slid upwards while engaging the supporting part 52b with the upper part 47a of the opening 47.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a strobe charge switch device incorporated in a simple camera such as a lens-fitted film unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A film unit with a lens is manufactured and sold by the present applicant as a simple camera in which a simple photographing mechanism is incorporated and a photographic film is pre-loaded. There are various types of such film units with a lens, and some include a flash device.
The strobe device of a film unit with a lens includes a strobe light emitting portion including a discharge tube and a diffusion plate, a circuit board on which a strobe circuit for emitting the strobe light is formed, and a charge switch for strobe charging the strobe circuit. Consists of

[0003] The charge switch is simplified to reduce the cost, and the switch contacts are simultaneously brought into contact with a plurality of contact portions formed on a circuit board to close the strobe circuit. Start charging. The operation member for bringing the switch contact piece into contact with the contact portion includes an automatic reset type and a slide set type. In the automatic reset type, the charging switch is turned on while the operation member is moved to the ON position and held against the bias of the spring. In the slide set type, the operation member can be freely set at both the ON position and the OFF position, and the charge switch is kept ON while the operation member is set at the ON position.

[0004]

The conventional charge switch device is either an automatic reset type or a slide set type.
The charge switch is turned on simply by operating the operation member in one direction from the off position to the on position. Therefore, when the film unit with the lens is carried around in a bag or the like, the operation member may be moved from the off position to the on position by being pushed or hit by another object. And if this happens or continues,
There is a risk that the batteries will be exhausted and strobe photography will not be possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and prevents a charge switch from being accidentally turned on, and is a strobe charge switch device which is turned on only when a photographer intentionally operates it. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a flash charging switch device for a camera according to the present invention includes a charging switch for turning on / off a charging operation of a built-in flash, and a position for turning on the charging switch. The charging operation member includes a charging operation member that is operated to be moved to and from a position to be turned off, and a movement path restriction unit that restricts a path when the charging operation member is moved from the off position to the on position so that the path is in two different directions. It is characterized by the following.

The charging operation member is movably provided on a front cover that covers a front surface of a main body in which a photographing mechanism is incorporated, and is moved upward in a first direction in which the charging operation member is pushed toward a rear side. The charging switch is turned on by being moved in a second direction to slide.

The charging operation member is movably provided on a front cover which covers the front surface of the main body in which the photographing mechanism is incorporated, and after being moved in the first direction of sliding horizontally, is slid upward. The charging switch is turned on by a moving operation in the direction.

Further, a lock means for preventing the charging operation member from moving in the second direction is provided, and the locking means is released by a movement operation of the charging operation member in the first direction. It is.

[0010]

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a film unit with lens 2 embodying the present invention when no strobe is used. A photographing lens 3, an object-side finder window 4, a strobe light emitting section 5, and a charging operation member 6 are provided on a front surface of the film unit 2 with a lens. , A light guide 10 functioning as a charge display means for displaying that the charging operation member 6 is in the ON position, and an opening 11 used when the light guide 10 is projected. Also, a film unit 2 with a lens
On the back side of the camera, there are provided a winding knob 12, an eyepiece side finder window 13 (see FIG. 2), etc., which are rotated each time one frame is shot.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lens-fitted film unit 2 comprises a main body 18 in which a film cartridge 17 comprising an unexposed photographic film 15 and a substantially cylindrical cartridge main body 16 is loaded. The exposure unit 19 is mounted on the front of the camera unit, a strobe unit 20 as a strobe device, and a front cover 21 and a rear cover 22, which are exterior covers that cover the front and back sides of the main body 18, respectively. Assembled by pawl engagement.

At the center of the main body 18, there is provided a light-shielding tube 24 which shields the photographing optical path from the exposure unit 19 mounted on the front side to the photographic film 15.
An exposure opening 24a is formed on the front side of the light-shielding tube 24, and an aperture for defining an exposure range to the photographic film 15 is formed on the back side. On the left and right sides of the light-shielding tube 24, a cartridge chamber 25 and a film roll chamber 26 in which the cartridge body 16 and the rolled photographic film 15 are stored at the manufacturing stage are integrally formed.

A take-up knob 12 and a light-shielding lid closing mechanism 2 for closing the light-shielding lid 16a incorporated in the cartridge main body 16 when the cartridge main body 16 is taken out of the film unit 2 with the lens are provided above the cartridge chamber 25.
7 are attached. The winding knob 12 and the light shielding cover closing mechanism 27 are connected to the spool 16b of the cartridge body 16 and the light shielding cover 16a through the cartridge chamber 26.
And engage.

The cartridge chamber 25 and the film roll chamber 26 have a rear cover 22 attached to the rear side of the main body 18, and a bottom lid 28 for the cartridge chamber integrally formed with the rear cover 22 and a film roll chamber. When the bottom cover 29 is closed, an appropriate light shielding ability is obtained. The bottom lids 28 and 29 are connected to the rear cover 22 via a bendable thin portion, and the bottom lid 28 is moved from the used film unit 2 with lens to the film cartridge 1.
Opened when taking out 7. A film support surface 2 for supporting the rear surface of the photographic film 15 facing the aperture of the main body 18 is provided at a central portion on the inner surface side of the rear cover 22.
2a is formed.

The exposure unit 19 has a block-shaped base member 35 attached to the front surface of the light-shielding tube 24, a shutter charging mechanism, a shutter release mechanism, a film winding mechanism, a film counting mechanism, a photographing lens 3, a finder optical system, and the like. It is assembled and unitized.

The strobe unit 20 is a circuit board 3 on which a plurality of electric parts are mounted to form a strobe circuit.
7, a strobe light emitting unit 5 attached to the circuit board 37 and including a discharge tube (not shown), a holding member 39 for holding the discharge tube, a diffusion plate 40 for diffusing light from the discharge tube, and the like.
And the strobe unit 20 attached to the circuit board 37
Battery contact piece 4 for electrically connecting a dry battery 41 serving as a power source for the battery
2a and 42b, a switch contact piece 43 attached to the front surface of the film roll chamber 26, and contacting the circuit board 37 by sliding the charging operation member 6 to the ON position to allow the flash circuit to perform flash charging. And a synchro switch 44 which is turned on when the shutter blades incorporated in the exposure unit 19 are fully opened.

As shown in FIG. 3, an opening 45 for exposing the operation knob 50 of the charging operation member 6 is formed on the front surface of the front cover 21. The exposed operation knob 50 is movable between an off position and an on position, as described later in detail.

As shown in FIG. 4, the charging operation member 6 is formed of an integrally molded plastic product, and
Integrated with a flat operation knob base 51, a projection 52 located behind the operation knob 50, and a bifurcated projection 53 located at the top of the operation knob base 51 and extending horizontally at the tip. It is. The bifurcated projection 53 has a light guide 1
The protrusion (not shown) at the lower end of the engagement knob 0 is engaged, and the light guide 10 is also moved up and down in conjunction with the up and down movement of the operation knob base 51. A tongue-shaped elastic portion 54 extending from the upper part to the lower part of the operation knob base 51 is integrally formed on both side ends of the operation knob base 51, and the operation knob base 51 has a rectangular shape as a whole. A guide plate 46 is provided between the circuit board 37 and the operation knob base 51 as a movement path regulating means for positioning the operation knob base 51 slidably in the moving direction of the operation knob 50 with respect to the circuit board 37. Is provided.

A pin 38 is integrally formed at the base of the synchro switch 44 (see FIG. 3) and projects toward the guide plate 46 through a hole in the circuit board 37. A hole 46a is provided in the guide plate 46, and the guide plate 46 is positioned by inserting a pin 38 into the hole 46a. The guide plate 46 has a convex opening 47 having a narrow upper part 47a and a wider lower part 47b, and projections 48 are integrally formed on both sides thereof.

The projection 52 of the charging operation member 6 reaches the switch contact piece 43 (see FIG. 3) on the circuit board 37 through the opening 47 of the guide plate 46. When the operation knob 50 is located below the opening 45, the projection 52 faces the vicinity of the root of the movable portion of the switch contact piece 43 and hardly presses the movable portion. When the operation knob 50 is moved upward while being pressed, the tip of the projection 52 gradually pushes the movable portion of the switch contact piece 43, and the conduction pattern 36 mounted on the circuit board 37 (see FIG. 5).
, The strobe charging switch is turned on.

The projection 52 inserted into the opening 47 has a horizontally long rectangular section and a wide end.
The wide end portion 52a has such a width that it can be loosely fitted in the wide lower portion 47b of the opening 47 and that it cannot be inserted into the narrow upper portion 47a. In addition, the support portion 52b
It has such a width that it can be loosely fitted to the upper portion 47 a of the opening 47.

FIG. 5 shows the positional relationship between the charging operation member 6 and the guide plate 46 when the operation knob 50 is at the off position. In the off state, the protrusion 48 of the guide plate 46 and the base of the elastic portion 54 of the charging operation member 6 abut. Elastic part 54
The entire operation knob base 51 is located on the front cover 21 side due to the elastic force of. The elastic portion 54 has such an elastic force that the distal end portion 52 a inserted into the opening 47 is urged until it engages with the opening 47. The tip 52a is located at the upper part 4 of the opening 47.
Since it is wider than 7a, the operation knob base 51 is prevented from moving upward, and the operation knob cannot be slid upward.

FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between the charging operation member 6 and the guide plate 46 when the operation knob 50 is at the ON position. In the ON state, the tip 52 a of the protrusion 52 is inserted into the upper side 47 a of the opening 47 on the circuit board 37 side,
The support portion 52b is engaged with the upper portion 47a. Tip 52
Since “a” is wider than the upper portion 47 a, the entire operation knob base 51 does not move toward the front cover 21 due to the urging force of the elastic portion 54. The tip 52a is in contact with the switch contact piece 43.

The projections 48 are provided on both sides of the opening 47 of the guide plate 46, and a contact portion 55 is formed between the tip of the elastic portion 54 and the operation knob base 51. That is, the projection 48 and the contact portion 55 constitute a click stop mechanism, and when the projection 48 is engaged with the contact portion 55, the operation knob 50 is click-stopped to the charge ON position. The height of the protrusion 48 rises sharply in the sliding direction when the charging operation member 6 is turned on, and gradually increases in the sliding direction when the charging operation member 6 is turned off. With this shape, the load when moving the charging operation member 6 from the off position to the on position is felt to be larger than the load when moving the charging operation member 6 from the on position to the off position.

When performing flash photography, the photographer
First, the charging operation knob 50 is moved along the optical axis along the rear cover 22.
Press to the side. As a result, the entire operation knob base 51 moves toward the circuit board 37, and the engagement between the distal end 52a of the projection 52 and the opening 47 is released. The distal end portion 52a has an opening 47
Of the guide plate 46 and completely project from the rear side of the guide plate 46. The preparation for the engagement between the support portion 52b and the upper portion 47a is completed.

Next, the photographer slides the charging operation knob 50 toward the upper charging position orthogonal to the optical axis direction while maintaining the pressing of the charging operation knob 50. At this time, the position where the projection 48 of the guide plate 46 abuts moves from the root side to the distal end side of the elastic portion 54, so that the pressing force required at the time of the sliding operation gradually decreases. In addition, the upward movement of the charging operation knob 50 causes the light guide 10 to protrude from the opening 11 formed in the upper part of the film unit 2 with the lens, and the tip 52 a of the projection 52 to move the movable portion of the switch contact piece 43. Is pressed to turn on the strobe charging switch. The charging operation member 6
The upward movement of the charging operation member 6 is click-stopped by the engagement of the contact portion 55 provided on the charging member and the projection 48 formed integrally with the guide plate 46.

When the strobe circuit starts operating and the main capacitor is charged to the specified charging voltage, the built-in display light emitting element (not shown) is turned on. The light emitted from the display light-emitting element enters the light guide 10 and is simultaneously emitted from the upper portion of the light guide 10 toward the front side and the back side of the film unit 2 with the lens. Then, the photographer and the subject can confirm the completion of the flash charging at the same time. Thus, the photographer can proceed to the next photographing operation, and the photographed person can confirm that the photographing preparation is completed and prepare for photographing.

When the photographer presses the shutter button 8,
The shutter mechanism of the exposure unit 19 performs a release operation, and in conjunction with this, the synchro switch 44 is turned on. When the synchro switch 44 is turned on, the electric charge of the main capacitor is discharged, the discharge tube emits light, and the strobe light is emitted from the strobe light emitting unit 5 toward the subject. The light reflected from the subject passes through the taking lens 3 and is exposed to the photographic film 15 set in the aperture, thereby forming a photographic frame.

After the photographing, if the charging operation knob 50 is set to the charging position, the strobe charging for the next photographing is automatically started. Further, while the charging operation member 6 is slid to the upper charging position and the charging switch and the light emission prohibiting switch are turned on, the light of the display light emitting element is emitted from the light emitting portion 120 of the light guide 10. At the end of shooting, it is possible to reliably check whether the charging operation member 6 is located at the charging position, and there is no problem that the dry battery 41 is wasted and flash photography cannot be performed at the next shooting.

When it is desired to stop flash photography, the operation knob 50 of the charging operation member 6 is slid downward by a force greater than the click locking force due to the engagement between the contact portion 55 and the projection 48. The projection 48 smoothly sends out the elastic portion 54 that moves while being in contact with it to the off position due to the above-described cross-sectional shape. Since the position at which the projection 48 comes into contact moves from the distal end side of the elastic portion 54 to the base side, the urging force of the elastic portion 54 gradually increases. When the support 52b of the projection 52 reaches the position of the lower opening 47b, the tip 52a inserted into the opening 47 is
It moves to the front cover 21 side by the urging force of the elastic part 54.
As a result, the flash charging switch is turned off, and the operation of charging the main capacitor is stopped.

In the above embodiment, the charging operation member is slid upward, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the charging operation member may be mounted horizontally and slid horizontally. .

In the above embodiment, turning on the strobe charging circuit requires not only a single operation of pressing or sliding the charging operation member but also a plurality of continuous operations of pressing and sliding the charging operation member. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the strobe charging is started due to a malfunction and the dry battery is consumed.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention. The charging operation member 6 is formed of an integrally molded plastic product, and includes an operation knob 60 and a flat operation knob base 61.
A projection 62 located behind the operation knob 60 and reaching the switch contact piece 43 on the circuit board 37;
The forked protrusion 63 to be engaged is integrated.
A convex piece 64 is integrally formed on one side end of the operation knob base 61. A guide plate 56 is provided between the circuit board 37 and the operation knob base 61.

A hole 56a is provided in the guide plate 56, and a pin 38 integrally formed at the base of the synchro switch 44 (see FIG. 3) and projecting toward the guide plate 56 through a hole in the circuit board 37 is provided in the hole 56a. It has been inserted. Thus, the guide plate 56 is positioned.

The guide plate 56 has an L-shaped opening 57.
Is provided, and the protrusion 62 engaged with the opening 57 is
It has a width enough to be loosely fitted in the opening 57. Further, between the opening 57 and the hole 56a, an elastic portion 58, which is a vertically long convex strip, and a stopper 59 are integrally formed. The elastic portion 58 constitutes a lock mechanism for stopping the movement of the charging operation member 6, and as shown in FIG. 8, a fixed portion 58a fixed on the guide plate 56 and a movable portion having an opening 56b on the back surface. 58b. The tip of the movable portion 58b has a shape wider than the fixed portion 58a via a gentle inclined portion 58c.

FIG. 9 shows the positional relationship between the charging operation member 6 and the guide plate 56 when the operation knob 60 is at the off position. In the off state, the side surface of the movable portion 58b of the elastic portion 58 and the side surface 64a of the convex piece 64 are positioned so as to abut. Since the guide plate 56 is fixed, the charging operation member 6 receives the elastic force of the elastic portion 58. The elastic portion 58 has such an elastic force that the entire operation knob base 61 can be held at the off position by the urging force. Since the protrusion 62 is engaged with the lateral opening 57b, which is the L-shaped bottom of the opening 57, the upward movement is prevented.

FIG. 10 shows the positional relationship between the charging operation member 6 and the guide plate 56 when the operation knob 60 is turned on. To turn on the strobe charge switch,
It is necessary to move the protrusion 62 located in the horizontal opening 57b into the vertically extending vertical opening 57a. Since the movable portion 58b has an opening 56b on the back side thereof, FIG.
It is possible to bend by receiving the pressure of the operating knob base 61 which comes into contact as shown in FIG. As a result, the protrusion 62 can slide to the lower part of the vertical opening 57a.

FIG. 11 shows an engagement state between the charging operation member and the guide plate 56 when the operation knob 60 is at the ON position. The elastic portion 58 of the guide plate 46 has the inclined portion 58
c is integrally formed, and at the lower end of the convex piece 64,
An inclined portion 64b is formed. That is, the inclined portion 58
c and the inclined portion 64b constitute a click stop mechanism, and when the inclined portion 58c is engaged with the inclined portion 64b, the operation knob 60 is click-stopped to the charge ON position.

The elastic portion 58 is configured such that the thick portion at the tip of the movable portion 58b abuts on the charging operation member 6 when the charging operation member 6 is turned on.
With this structure, when the charging operation member 6 is moved from the off position to the on position, a large load is felt by the urging force of the elastic portion 58, and when the charging operation member 6 is moved from the on position to the off position, the charging operation member 6 is kept constant. When the charging operation member 6 is slid downward to the position, the projection 62 is naturally fed into the lateral opening 57b by the urging force of the elastic portion 58.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When performing flash photography, first, the charging operation knob 60 is slid to the left. Thereby, the side surface of the movable portion 58b of the elastic portion 58 and the convex piece 64 of the charging operation member 6
Abuts with the side. The photographer further pushes the charging operation knob 60 leftward against the urging force of the elastic portion 58. When the protrusion 62 moves to the lower part of the vertical opening 57a, the side surface of the operation knob base 61 and the stopper 59 abut. Thus, the photographer knows that the slide movement to the left has been completed.

Next, the photographer slides the charging operation knob 60 toward the upper charging position orthogonal to the charging operation knob 60 while keeping the charging operation knob 60 pressed to the left. Thereby, the light guide 10 protrudes from the opening 11 and the strobe charging switch is turned on. Further, the upward sliding of the charging operation member 6 is click-stopped by the engagement between the inclined portion 64b of the convex piece 64 provided on the charging operation member 6 and the inclined portion 58c formed integrally with the guide plate 46. .

When the main capacitor is charged to the specified charging voltage, the light emitted from the built-in display light emitting element (not shown) is emitted from the upper portion of the light guide 10 and provided to the photographer and the subject. Notifies completion of flash charging. When the photographer presses the shutter button 8, strobe light is emitted from the strobe light emitting unit 5 toward the subject.
The light reflected from the subject is exposed to the photo film 15,
A shooting frame is formed.

When the charging operation knob 60 is set to the charging position after the photographing, the flash charging for the next photographing is automatically started. To stop flash photography, the charging operation knob 60 is slid downward. Since the inclined portion 58c of the elastic portion 58 is shaped such that its cross section draws a smooth curve, the convex side 64 that moves while abutting is smoothly sent to the off position. Since the tip of the movable portion 58b is wider, the urging force felt by the photographer gradually increases. When the protrusion 62 reaches the lower portion of the vertical opening 57a, the entire operation knob base 61 moves rightward by the urging force of the elastic portion 58. As a result, the flash charging switch is turned off, and the charging operation for the main capacitor is stopped.

In the above-described embodiment, in order to turn on the strobe charging circuit, not only the sliding operation of the charging operation member in one direction but also the continuous sliding operation in two directions is necessary. Is started, and the situation where the dry battery is exhausted can be prevented.

[0045]

As described above, in the flash charging switch device for a camera according to the present invention, the movement of the charging switch for turning on / off the charging operation of the built-in flash between the ON position and the OFF position is orthogonal to each other. Since the charging operation member is restricted to be in two directions, it is possible to prevent the charging operation member from being carelessly turned on by the strobe charging switch due to vibration, impact, or the like, and to prevent consumption of the built-in battery.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a film unit with a lens embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a film unit with a lens.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of a film unit with a lens embodying the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a charging operation member and a guide member.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a positional relationship between a charging operation member and a guide member when a strobe power is off.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an engagement state between a charging operation member and a guide member when a strobe power supply is ON.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a charging operation member and a guide member in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a shape of a guide member according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment in which the strobe power source is OF.
It is a front view which shows the engagement state of the charging operation member and guide member at the time of F.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration in which a strobe power supply is set to O in the second embodiment;
It is a front view which shows the operation state at the time of setting to N.

FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment in which the strobe power is O
FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating an engagement state between a charging operation member and a guide member when the state is N;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Film unit with lens 6 Charging operation member 20 Strobe unit 36 Conduction pattern 37 Circuit board 43 Switch contact piece 46, 56 Guide member 47, 57 Opening 48 Projection 50, 60 Operation knob 51, 61 Operation knob base 52, 62 Projection 54 Elastic part 55 Contact part 58 Elastic part 58c Inclined part 59 Stopper 64 Convex piece 64b Inclined part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G03C 3/00 570 G03C 3/00 570P 575 575B G05G 1/02 G05G 1/02 D H01H 15/02 H01H 15 / 02 DF term (reference) 2H053 AB00 AB04 AC00 AC21 AC22 CA41 CA45 2H100 AA11 BB05 BB06 BB07 DD08 EE00 2H101 AA01 3J070 AA05 BA03 BA15 CD04 DA34 5G010 AA01 AB03 AD02 KF04 LB13 MA03

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A charging switch for turning on / off a charging operation of a built-in strobe, a charging operation member that is moved between a position where the charging switch is turned on and a position where the charging switch is turned off, and an off position where the charging operation member is turned off. A strobe charging switch device for a camera, comprising: moving path restricting means for restricting a path when moving from the camera to the on position in two different directions. 2. The charging operation member is movably provided on a front cover that covers a front surface of a main body in which a photographing mechanism is incorporated, and is moved upward in a first direction in which the charging operation member is pushed toward a back side. 2. The strobe charge switch device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the charge switch is turned on by being moved in a second direction of sliding. 3. The charging operation member is movably provided on a front cover that covers a front surface of a main body in which a photographing mechanism is incorporated, and is slid upward after being moved in a first direction to slide horizontally. 2. The charging switch is turned on by a moving operation in the direction.
A strobe charge switch device for the camera according to the above. 4. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a lock unit for preventing the charging operation member from moving in the second direction, wherein the locking unit is released by moving the charging operation member in the first direction. Item 4. A flash charging switch device for a camera according to item 2 or 3.