JP2003091038A - Camera with built-in stroboscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the on/off switching of the power source switch of a stroboscope from being interfered by a shock such as dropping. SOLUTION: The power source switch 30 consisting of an elastic contact piece 30a and a fixed contact piece 30b is provided on the front surface of a stroboscopic circuit board 26. A guide plate 35 and an operation plate 42 are assembled on the front surface of the circuit board 26, and an operation button 6 provided on the plate 42 is projected from the aperture 21a of a front cover to the front surface side of the front cover. A switch pressing pin 44 is protrusively provided at a position where it does not face to the aperture 21a on the back of the plate 42, and made to face to the contact piece 30a through the through-hole 39a of a guide plate 35. When the button 6 is operated to be pushed in against the energizing of a recovery spring 38, the pin 44 is moved to the back side together with the plate 42 and bends the piece 30a with its tip. The tip of the armature 30a comes into contact with contact piece 30b so as to turn on the switch 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera with a built-in strobe, and more particularly to a mechanism for switching a power switch of a strobe suitable for a simplified camera such as a lens-fitted film unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lens-fitted film unit is widely used as a simplified camera in which a photographic film is preloaded at the time of manufacture. In the film unit with a lens with a built-in flash, the photographer operates the operating members to turn on / off the power switch of the built-in flash depending on whether or not flash shooting is necessary.
Switching off. When the strobe power switch is turned on, the main capacitor for strobe light emission is charged, the trigger circuit for light emission is activated, and strobe light emission is performed in synchronization with the opening and closing of the shutter blades.

In the lens-fitted film unit, in order to save the manufacturing cost, a strobe circuit board on which stroboscopic circuit elements are mounted is mounted on a strobe light emitting portion including a discharge tube, a reflector and a protector, and a battery for holding a power supply battery. The strobe unit is assembled into a unit by integrally assembling the contact piece, and the strobe unit is assembled to the main body part in which the photographic film is loaded and the main part of the photographing mechanism is assembled. Also, as the power switch, a simple one consisting of a fixed contact exposed on the front side of the strobe circuit board and an elastic contact piece having one end fixed to the strobe circuit board is used, and the operation member is operated. At this time, the elastic contact piece is bent, and the tip of the elastic contact piece is brought into contact with the fixed contact to turn on the power switch.

The operation member is a push-operation type member in which a power switch is turned on while the pushing operation is continued against the bias of the return spring, and is turned off when the pushing operation is released. There is a slide operation type that is moved between the locked on position and the off position. The slide operation type is likely to consume power by forgetting to turn off the power switch, while the push operation type is advantageous in that the power switch is automatically turned off when the push operation is released. . Also, in the push-operation type, a protrusion is provided on the front cover to prevent the operation member from being pushed in when the lens-fitted film unit is placed on a desk or the like with the front cover facing down. It is also designed so that it will not be pushed easily.

[0005]

However, in the conventional push-operated type, since the power switch is provided directly behind the operating member, for example, the lens-fitted film unit is accidentally dropped and a shock is applied to the operating member. When it is hit, the impact easily reaches the power switch immediately. Since the power switch has a simple structure as described above, when a large impact is transmitted from the operating member, the elastic contact piece is deformed, which causes a problem that the subsequent switch switching is hindered. ing.

Further, even if the front cover is provided with a projection so as to prevent inadvertent pressing, the dropping surface of the lens-fitted film unit is not necessarily a flat surface. At the same time, considering that the lens-fitted film unit is put in a bag and the bag is subjected to an impact from the outside, it is very difficult to prevent the operation member from being impacted at all. Further, such a problem is common not only to the lens-fitted film unit, but also to the camera in which the operation member is exposed on the front surface of the front cover as described above.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a camera in which the power switch of the strobe does not become abnormal even if some impact is applied to the operating member. The purpose is to do.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a power switch at a position separated from an opening formed in a front cover to expose a pressing operation member to the front surface. The switch pressing piece that moves the power switch integrally with the operating member is turned on / off outside the contour of the operating member when viewed from the front. Most of the impact force acts in the direction of pushing in the operating member, so if the power switch is removed from the opening and placed at a position offset from directly behind the operating member as described above, excessive force will be applied to the power switch. Can be prevented.

Further, if the strobe circuit board may be displaced from a predetermined built-in position when an impact force is applied to the camera, the relative position between the power switch and the switch pressing piece is deviated, and the stability is also stable. It may interfere with the switch switching. In the present invention, taking this point into consideration, the locking claw integrally formed with the main body is engaged with the locking hole provided in the vicinity of the power switch, and the strobe circuit board is positioned and mounted in the in-plane direction and the out-of-plane direction. Therefore, even if the strobe circuit board is displaced due to a large impact force, at least the position of the power switch is not extremely shifted.

The present invention is effective when a shock is applied to the operating member regardless of the structure of the power switch itself. However, as described above, the elastic contact piece is bent by pressing the operating member. It is particularly effective when used together with a power switch whose tip is brought into contact with a fixed contact to be turned on.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of a lens-fitted film unit using the present invention. The lens-fitted film unit has a photographic film and a cartridge built in the unit body 2 in advance, and on the front surface thereof, there are provided a photographing lens 3, an object side viewfinder window 4, a stroboscopic light emitting section 5, and an operation button 6. A shutter button 8, a counter window 9 for displaying the number of remaining shots, and a display window 10 for indicating that the strobe has been charged are provided on the upper surface. Further, on the back side of the unit main body 2, a film-winding knob 1 for rotating the film is rotated for each frame.
2. Eyepiece side viewfinder window etc. are provided.

The operation button 6 is an operation member for switching on / off the power switch of the strobe,
The power switch is maintained in the ON state while the pushing operation is continued, and when the pushing operation is released, the power switch is turned off by returning by the biasing force of the return spring. A ridge 13 is provided in the vicinity of the operation button 6 and cooperates with a raised portion 14 provided so as to surround the periphery of the taking lens 3, and the lens-fitted film unit is placed on a desk with its front side facing down. At times, the operation button 6 is prevented from being unintentionally pressed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the unit main body 2 includes a main body 18 in which an unexposed photographic film 15 and a cartridge 16 are preliminarily loaded at the time of manufacturing, and an exposure unit 19 mounted on the front surface of the main body 18. The flash unit 20 includes a front cover 21 and a rear cover 22, which are exterior covers that cover the front surface side and the rear surface side of the main body 18, and are assembled by claw engagement. A winding knob 12, a film winding stopping mechanism, and a shutter charging mechanism are incorporated in the main body portion 18, and the exposure unit 1
In addition to the taking lens 4, a shutter blade 9 and the like are incorporated in 9, and these constitute a photographing mechanism.

The main body 18 has a film roll chamber 24,
The cartridge chamber 25 is integrally formed, and the photographic film 15 and the cartridge 16 in a roll shape are loaded from the bottom side. The winding knob 12 engages with a spool incorporated in the cartridge 16, and the photographic film 25 is pulled out from the film roll chamber 15 frame by frame by the rotation operation thereof. A rear cover 22 is attached to the rear surface of the main body 18, and the film roll chamber 24 and the cartridge chamber 2 are attached.
The bottom surface of 5 is light-tightly covered by bottom lids 22a and 22b integrally formed on the rear cover 22 via a thin portion. One bottom lid 22b is opened at the developing station when the cartridge 16 in which the film having been photographed has been taken out is taken out.

The strobe unit 20 includes a booster circuit, a trigger circuit, a main capacitor 27, and an LE for displaying charging completion.
A strobe circuit board 26 on which circuit components including D29 and the like are mounted is provided with the strobe light emitting portion 5, a battery contact piece for holding a battery 28, a power switch 30, and a synchro switch 31. It is assembled to the main body portion 18 by engaging a locking pawl 32 integrally formed with the main body portion 18 into a locking hole 26 a formed near 30. The front end of the locking claw 32 engages with the edge of the locking hole 26a from the front side, and the strobe circuit board 26 is released.
Is drawn toward the main body portion 18 side and held so as to be sandwiched between the main body portion 18 and the main body portion 18. Therefore, the strobe circuit board 26
Is the power switch 3 for both in-plane and out-of-plane directions.
Even if the power switch 30 is positioned in the vicinity of 0 and some impact is applied, the power switch 30 hardly moves in any of the up / down / left / right directions and the front / rear direction. Also,
The stroboscopic light emitting unit 5 is composed of a discharge tube, a reflector, and a transparent protector covering the front surface of the discharge tube and the reflector, and the protector is exposed from the opening of the front cover 21.

As shown in FIG. 3, the power switch 30 comprises an elastic contact piece 30a made of a thin metal plate and a fixed contact piece 30b. The elastic contact piece 30a has a curved portion that is bent in a U shape on the base side, and flexibility is imparted to the elasticity. The tip of the fixed contact piece 3 when pressed from the front side
The power switch 30 is turned on by touching 0b. Positioning pins 33, 33 protruding from the front of the strobe circuit board 26
Thus, the guide plate 35 is attached to the front surface of the strobe circuit board 26. The guide plate 35 is integrally formed with a pin 38 into which a return spring 37 is fitted and a boss 39 surrounding the through hole 39a, and notches 40 and 40 are provided on the upper and lower edges.

The operation plate 4 covers the front surface of the guide plate 35.
2 is assembled. The operation button 6 described above is the operation plate 4
2, the operation button 6 projects to the front side of the front cover 21 through an opening 21a formed in the front cover 21, as shown in FIG. Further, the operation plate 42 is provided with a pair of hook claws 43, 43 so as to extend to the back side, and the hook claws 43, 43 are engaged with the notches 40, 40 of the guide plate 35 so that they will not come off after assembly. is there.
Further, on the back side of the operation plate 42, there is provided a switch pressing pin 44 protruding at a position separated from directly behind the operation button 6. The switch pressing pin 44 has a through hole 3
It projects from the back surface of the guide plate 35 through 9a, and its tip is located on the front surface of the elastic contact piece 30a.

When the operation button 6 is not pushed, the return spring 37 biases the operation plate 42 forward, the switch pressing pin 44 is separated from the elastic contact piece 30a, and the power switch 30 is off. Return the operation button 6 to the return spring 37
When pressed against the urging force of the hook, the pair of hook claws 43, 43
Is guided by the edges of the notches 40, 40, the switch pressing pin 44 is guided by the through hole 39a, and the operation plate 42 moves toward the rear surface. And switch push pin 4
4 bends the elastic contact piece 30a, and the tip of the elastic contact piece 30a is fixed.
The power switch 30 is turned on by touching b.
The pressing operation amount of the operation button 6 is limited by the tip of the pin 38 coming into contact with the back surface of the operation plate 42, and the switch pressing pin 44 is excessively pressed to cause the elastic contact piece 30a.
There is no inconvenience such as plastic deformation.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. When shooting is performed without using a strobe, the shooting can be performed without pressing the operation button 6. In this case, the operation plate 42 is in a position where it comes into contact with the inner surface of the front cover 21 by the urging force of the return spring 37, the switch pressing pin 44 is separated from the elastic contact piece 30a, and the power switch 30 is in the off state. Also, even if you place the front of the lens-fitted film unit on a flat surface such as a desk,
Since the protrusion 14 and the protrusion 13 formed on the front cover 21 so as to surround the periphery of the taking lens 3 are in contact with the flat surface, the operation button 6 is not pushed.

Further, even when carrying the camera in a bag with other things, or when the lens-fitted photo film unit is dropped, an impact force in the pushing direction may be applied to the operation button 6. , Switch pressing pin 44
Faces the elastic contact piece 30a at a position deviated from the operation button 6 and the opening 21a formed in the front cover 21 to expose the operation button 6, so that a direct impact force is applied to the elastic contact piece 30a. It does not extend and the power switch 30 does not break down. Even if the strobe circuit board 26 vibrates to some extent due to an impact force, the strobe circuit board 26 is locked in the in-plane direction and the out-of-plane direction by the hook claws 32 in the vicinity of the power switch 30. As a result, the relative positional relationship between the switch pressing pin 44 and the elastic contact piece 30a is hardly changed.

When performing flash photography, the operation button 6 is pressed. This causes the operation plate 42 to move the return spring 3
7, the switch pressing pin 44 bends the elastic contact piece 30a. Then, the tip of the elastic contact piece 30a contacts the solid contact piece 30b, and the power switch 30 is turned on. When the power switch 30 is turned on, charging of the main capacitor 27 of the strobe starts, and when charging is completed, L
The ED 29 lights up. The light from the LED 29 is guided to the display window 10 by the light guide, and the photographer can confirm that the charging is completed by the light emission display. Further, when the power switch 30 is turned on, the trigger circuit is activated effectively, and when the shutter button 8 is pressed while the operation button 6 is being pressed to perform shutter release, the moment the shutter blade reaches a predetermined opening diameter. Then, the synchro switch 31 is turned on, the flash light is emitted, and the flash image is taken.

When the pressing of the operating button 6 is released during charging or after charging is completed, the operating plate 42 is moved forward by the biasing force of the return spring 37, and the switch pressing pin 44 is separated from the elastic contact piece 30a. Power switch 30 is turned off. When shooting is performed in this state, the trigger circuit is inactive, so that regardless of whether or not charging is completed, the flash emission is prohibited and normal shooting is performed.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the previous embodiment, the operation button 6 is pushed in to turn on the power switch 30, but in the present embodiment, the operation member for switching the power switch is composed of the slide type operation knob 50. The power switch is turned on when the knob 50 is pushed down. Therefore, the opening 51 that exposes the operation knob 50 to the front surface of the front cover 21 is vertically long as illustrated. The strobe circuit board 26 is similar to that of the previous embodiment.
It is assembled to the main body 18 by the hook claws 32, and the guide plate 52 is attached to the front surface of the strobe circuit board 26 by the positioning pins 33.

A vertically long opening 52a is formed in the guide plate 52, and a pair of guide pins 53, 53 and a hook 54 are integrally provided on the front surface side. An operation plate 55 having an operation knob 50 is attached to the front surface of the guide plate 52. The operation plate 55 is provided with a spring hooking opening 56 and a guide slot 57. Guide slot 57
A pair of guide pins 53, 53 are engaged with this, and thereby the operation plate 55 is movably supported within a certain range in the vertical direction. A return spring 60 is hooked between the hook 58 formed on the lower edge of the opening 56 and the hook 54 of the guide plate 52, so that the operation plate 55 is given an upward biasing force.

Further, the operation plate 55 has an operation knob 50.
A switch pressing piece 62 projecting to the back side is integrally provided at a position deviated from just behind. Then, the switch pressing piece 62 projects from the back surface of the guide plate 52 through the opening 52 a and reaches the power switch 63.

The power switch 63 is composed of an elastic contact piece 64 and a fixed contact piece 65, which are fixed to the strobe circuit board 26, respectively, and the power switch 63 is turned on when both contact each other. The elastic contact piece 64 has a U-shaped curved portion on the root side as in the previous embodiment, and is provided with flexibility. As shown in the figure, the elastic contact piece 64 has a recessed portion which is continuous with the curved portion and is bent so as to approach the strobe circuit board 26 side, and the strobe circuit board 26 gradually extends from the recessed portion toward the tip side.
And a slope portion inclined away from the operation plate 55.
Is in the most raised position due to the urging of the return spring 60, the tip of the switch pressing piece 62 is located facing the recess. In this state, no pressing force acts on the elastic contact piece 64, and the tip end thereof is separated from the fixed contact piece 65.

When the operation knob 50 is pressed downward and the operation plate 55 is lowered against the return spring 60,
The switch pressing piece 62 disengages from the concave portion of the elastic contact piece 64 and moves downward, and elastically deforms the elastic contact piece 64 via the inclined surface portion. Then, when the click protrusion 57a provided above the guide slot 57 gets over the upper guide protrusion 53, a light click feeling is obtained, and at the same time, the elastic contact piece 64 is provided.
The tip end of the contact point comes into contact with the fixed contact piece 65 to turn on the power switch 63, and the stroboscopic photography becomes effective as in the previous embodiment. It should be noted that the click projection 57a is provided for giving a click feeling, and there is no click locking force for holding the operation plate 55 at that position against the bias of the return spring 60, so that the operation knob 50 is pushed down. When released, the operation plate 55 rises and the power switch 63 is turned off.

Also in this embodiment, since the switch pressing piece 62 is provided at a position separated from directly behind the operation knob 50 so as not to face the opening 51, the impact from the front side to the back side of the operation knob 50. Even if the force is applied, the power switch 63 is not damaged.

[0029]

As described above, according to the camera of the present invention, even when the operation member for switching the power switch of the strobe is made to project to the front side through the opening of the front cover, the power switch has the opening. Since the on / off switching is performed at a position outside the front contour of the operation member without facing the front member, the impact applied to the operation member when the front cover is dropped downward is applied to the power switch. It is possible to guarantee a stable switching operation of the power switch even after that without directly affecting the power supply.

Since the strobe circuit board provided with the power switch is held by the engagement of the engagement hole formed in the vicinity of the power switch and the engagement claw provided on the camera body, the strobe circuit board is held. Even if the circuit board is slightly displaced due to a shock or the like, the position of the power switch hardly changes, and the switch can be surely switched according to the operation of the operation knob.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a lens-fitted film unit embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part around a power switch.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part around a power switch according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 unit body 6 operation buttons 18 Body 20 strobe units 21 Front cover 21a opening 26 Strobe circuit board 30 power switch 30a elastic contact piece 35 guide plate 42 Operation board 44 Switch push pin 50 Operation knob 52 Guide plate 55 Operation board 62 Switch pressing piece 63 power switch 64 elastic contact piece

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A strobe circuit board is attached to a front surface of a main body portion in which a photographing mechanism is incorporated, the front surface of the main body portion and the strobe circuit board are covered with a front cover, and an operation protruding to the front surface through an opening of the front cover. In a camera with a built-in strobe, in which a power switch provided on the front surface of the strobe circuit board is kept in an on state by pressing a member against the bias of a return spring, the power switch is the opening of the front cover. A camera with a built-in strobe characterized in that the power switch is provided at a position not facing to, and is switched on / off by a switch pressing portion that moves integrally with the operation member on the back side of the front cover. 2. A strobe circuit board is formed with a locking hole so as to be positioned near the power switch, and a locking claw integrally formed with the main body is engaged with the locking hole, whereby On the other hand, the strobe circuit board is positioned and attached in the in-plane and out-of-plane directions.
Camera with built-in flash. 3. The power switch comprises a fixed contact exposed on the front surface of the strobe circuit board and an elastic contact piece having one end fixed to the strobe circuit board, and the elastic contact piece is bent by a pressing operation of an operating member. A camera with a built-in flash whose power switch can be turned on by bringing the other end into contact with a fixed contact.