JP2003098581A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera capable of attaining the volumetric reduction of a battery and a main capacitor by improving a ratio of the volume accumulating energies at first, as for energy-accumulative components. SOLUTION: The camera 10 is provided with a 1st battery 12, a 2nd battery 14 as a secondary battery having a charge voltage higher than that of the 1st battery 12, a charging part 13 with a boosting function, a light emitting part 17, and an intermittent emission control part 16 for controlling the light emitting part 17. And, the 2nd battery 14 is charged from the 1st battery 12 after the voltage of the 1st battery 12 is boosted by the charging part 13. Besides, the light emitting part 17 is controlled by the intermittent emission control part 16 so as to emit the light in accordance with the output of the 2nd charged battery 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a primary battery and a secondary battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, silver salt cameras and digital cameras use primary batteries and secondary batteries. Under such circumstances, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-112186 discloses a primary battery and a secondary battery. A technique of driving a drive circuit of an electronic camera with a secondary battery having a battery is disclosed. This primary battery is 2 when it is not connected to the strobe circuit (not charged).
It is designed to charge the next battery.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-305145 has a primary battery and a secondary battery, and the voltage of the secondary battery is 1
A camera that is higher than a secondary battery and charges a main capacitor for a strobe with a secondary battery is disclosed.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 2186, the strobe and the secondary battery are alternately charged by the primary battery. In this case, the volume of the three electrical parts (primary battery + secondary battery + main capacitor (for strobe)) is 1
The energy of one component (primary battery) is used. That is, the energy is accumulated from the beginning is 3
Only the primary battery is one of the two parts.

Here, the ratio of the volume in which energy is initially stored is expressed as an energy-to-volume ratio. Then, assuming that the volumes of the above three parts are equivalent, the energy-volume ratio = primary battery energy / (primary battery + secondary battery + main capacitor) = 1/3.

Further, in the camera described in JP 2000-305145 A, the main capacitor is charged by the secondary battery. Then, the volume (1
The energy of two parts (primary battery + secondary battery) is used for the secondary battery + secondary battery + main capacitor. When the volumes of these parts are the same, the ratio of energy to volume = (primary battery energy + secondary battery energy) / (primary battery + secondary battery + main capacitor) = 2/3.

In this way, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-11218 is used.
In both Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-305145, it is hard to say that the volume of the main capacitor has a low energy-to-volume ratio and thus is not efficient. Therefore, it is desired to improve the energy to volume ratio and reduce the volume of the battery and the main capacitor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to reduce the volume of the battery and the main capacitor by improving the ratio of the volume in which the energy is first stored in the parts capable of storing the energy. The aim is to provide a possible camera.

[0009]

That is, the present invention provides a first battery, a second battery which is a secondary battery having a charging voltage higher than that of the first battery, and a charging device having a boosting function.
In a camera having a light emitting means and a light emitting control means for controlling the light emitting means, the charging means boosts the voltage of the first battery to charge the second battery, and the light emitting means operates as described above. The light emission control means emits light at the output of the second battery.

The camera of the present invention includes a first battery, a second battery which is a secondary battery having a charging voltage higher than that of the first battery, a charging means having a boosting function, a light emitting means, and this light emission. Light emission control means for controlling the means. Then, the second battery is the first battery by the charging means.
The voltage of the battery is boosted and charged from the first battery. Further, the light emitting means emits light by the output of the charged second battery by the light emission control means.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the concept of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the concept of the camera of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a camera 10 includes a control unit 11 for controlling the operation of the entire camera, a first battery 12 composed of a secondary battery, and a charging unit 13 having a boosting function.
A second battery 14 composed of a high-voltage secondary battery, a capacitor 15, an intermittent light emission control unit 16, a xenon (X
e) A light emitting unit 17 that constitutes a strobe with a tube.

A charger 19 for charging the first battery 12, which is a secondary battery, can be attached to the outside of the camera 10.

The second battery is a high-voltage secondary battery in which secondary battery cells are connected in series and serves as a high-voltage power source for strobe light emission. By connecting the secondary batteries in series, the internal resistance increases by the number of connected secondary battery cells. Then, by connecting the capacitors 15 having a small capacitance in parallel, the internal resistance is lowered equivalently.

The internal resistance of the xenon tube 17 side which emits light is
Since it is generally smaller than the internal resistance of the battery, without the capacitor 15, energy is consumed inside the battery having a large internal resistance, and the light amount of the xenon tube 17 decreases. Therefore, if the energy consumption inside the battery is negligible, the capacitor is not necessary.

The intermittent light emission control section 16 is for making the light emitting section 17 which is a strobe emit light intermittently. Since the internal resistance is small, the electric charge of the capacitor 15 almost emits light. The capacitor 15 is charged from the second battery 14 at the timing when no light is emitted. The color temperature at the time of light emission is determined by the applied voltage at the time of light emission, but since the voltage is charged at every intermittent light emission, the voltage at the time of light emission can be made sufficiently high and an appropriate color temperature can be obtained. When the amount of emitted light has just improved, it is possible to control the amount of light by stopping the light emission thereafter.

Generally, a power source for stroboscopic light emission is called a main capacitor, and a capacitor having a large capacity and a high voltage is used. However, the energy density is much smaller than the energy density of the primary battery or the secondary battery. Therefore, in the present invention, by using the secondary battery in which the secondary battery cells are connected in series instead of the main capacitor, the volume efficiency is improved and the volume can be made extremely small. Since the light emission is intermittent, the capacitance of the capacitors connected in parallel can be reduced by the number of times of light emission.

Now, let us consider how small the camera according to this embodiment is based on the specifications of a general camera.

Main capacitor is 200μF, 330V
Then, the dimensions are 7.6 × 21.5 × 50 mm (volume = 8170 mm ³ ) ... (1). Further, since the secondary battery is formed by stacking 3.7V sheet-shaped secondary battery cells, assuming 41 sheets, voltage = 3.7V × 41 sheets = 151.7V (2).

Since the energy of the main capacitor is energy = 1/2 × C × V ² , in order to equalize the energy of the main capacitor, capacity = (1/2 × 200 × 330 ² ) / (1/2 × 150 ² ) = 968 μF (3)

The energy when the main capacitor is fully charged is: current capacity = C × V = 968 μF × 151.7V = 0.146FV = 0.146AS (4)

Considering the specifications of a general secondary battery, the lithium ion secondary battery has a voltage of 3.7 V and 1300 mAh, and dimensions = 11.2 × 39.3 × 50.9 mm (volume = 22404 mm ³ ) ... (5 ). When 41 sheets of this secondary battery are stacked, the current capacity is as follows: current capacity = 1300 mAh / 41 sheets = 31.7 mAh = 31.7 / 1000 × 3600 AS = 114.1 AS (6)

Since the energy for charging the main capacitor once is as shown in the above formula (4), the number of times of charging the main capacitor is as follows: charging number = 114.1AS / 0.146AS = 967 times (7).

Assuming that the strobe emits light 150 times with one charge of the camera, the volume of 150 times / 967 times = 0.155 times can be obtained from the equation (7).

Dimension = 11.2 × 39.3 × 50.9 mm
Since it can be multiplied by 0.155 times, for example, the horizontal and vertical directions are 7.6 ×
When it is set to 21.5, the height becomes 11.2 × 39.3 × 50.9 × 0.155 / 7.6 / 21.5 = 15.8 mm (8), and the size = 7.6 × 21. 0.5 × 15.8 (volume = 2582 mm ³ ) (9)

[0028] When the light emission of the strobe is 20 times of the intermittent light emission, the volume of the capacitor connected in parallel, from the above equation (1), capacitor volume = 8170mm ^3/20 times = 409 mm ³ ... (10) Further, usually, The efficiency of strobe charging is low due to the high voltage rise (loss due to battery internal resistance during charging and loss due to charging transistor).
Often used to charge the strobe. In the case of the embodiment, since the second battery is already charged, the capacity of the first battery can be reduced accordingly. Since the capacity is proportional to the volume, the volume of the first battery required in the same embodiment can be obtained from the above equation (5). First cell volume ^{= 22404mm 3/2 = 11202mm 3} ... (11) conventional, the total volume of the first battery and the capacitor, from the above equations (1) and (3), the first battery and a capacitor Volume = 22404 mm3 + 8170 mm3 = 30574 mm3 (12) Then, the total volume of the three components of the first and second batteries and the capacitor in this embodiment is (9),
From equations (10) and (11), the total volume is 11202 mm ³ +2582 mm ³ +409 mm ³ = 14193 mm ³ .

Therefore, the volume ratio of the whole is (9)
~ (11) and (1), it is possible to (5) volume ratio from the equation ^{= (11202mm 3 + 2582mm 3 +} 409mm 3) / (22404mm 3 + 8170mm 3) = 0.46 times and significant downsizing.

Further, since the secondary battery, which is the second battery for strobe light emission, has already been charged, strobe charging is usually unnecessary and there is a great merit that light emission is accelerated. Conventionally, it takes about 5 seconds to charge a strobe, which is unnecessary. Therefore, even when light emission is required, the release interval can be made very short.

Furthermore, if the second battery is completely discharged and the voltage drops due to repeated photographing, the first battery may be charged. By matching the capacities of the first battery and the second battery for normal user use, it is possible to prevent standby due to charging from occurring during normal use.

Next, a specific circuit of the camera of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, a charging device 21 is connected to the camera 20 having two first and second secondary batteries. A public power source 22 is connected to the charging device 21.

In the camera 20, a charging unit 25 having a boosting function is provided with a first battery BT1 composed of a secondary battery.
Also, it is connected to the constant voltage / constant current charging unit 39 in the charging device 21 via the voltage dividing resistors R5 and R6.

In the charging section 25, transistors Q2, Q3, Q4 which are drive-controlled by the charging control section 31 and the camera control section 30, and these transistors Q2, Q3,
Transformer T1 whose primary winding ratio is switched by Q4
And a diode D1 connected to the secondary winding side of the transformer T1.

Further, the charging unit 25 has a voltage dividing resistor R
1, R2, and a second battery BT2 having a high secondary voltage and a small-capacity capacitor C1 are connected via a diode D2. Furthermore, the second battery BT
2. The capacitor C3 and the diode D3 are connected to the capacitor C1 via resistors R3 and R4. And
Between this diode D3 and the diode D2, X
A light emitting unit 26 formed of an e-tube is connected.

Second battery BT2 and small capacity capacitor C
An IGBT Q5 is provided between the IGBT1 and the IGBT1. Generally, a leakage current is generated in a high voltage capacitor, so that the IGBTQ5 is used to prevent leakage of the capacitor C3.
Is normally turned off and is turned on before the light emitting section 26 emits light. Zener diode D4 is provided for securing the gate voltage of IGBT Q5.

Further, a transformer T4 is connected to the diode D3 via a capacitor C4, and the IG
A camera control unit 30 that controls the entire camera is connected via an intermittent light emitting unit 27 composed of BTQ1.

In addition to the charging control unit 31 described above, the camera control unit 30 includes a first charging voltage detection unit 32 connected to the voltage dividing resistors R5 and R6, and the voltage dividing resistors R1 and R2.
The second charging voltage detection unit 33 connected to the above, the temperature measurement unit 34, and the first communication unit 35 connected to the charging device 21 are connected.

Further, in the charging device 21, the camera 2
A second communication unit 37 that communicates with the first communication unit within 0;
Charging device control unit 38 capable of charging at a constant voltage and a constant current
And a constant voltage / constant current charging unit 39 controlled by the charging device control unit 38.

In such a structure, the charging circuit may have any structure, but in this charging section 25, the transistors T2, Q3 and Q4 are connected to the transformer T1.
The circuit is configured to charge by changing the winding ratio on the secondary side. This can improve the boosting efficiency by switching according to the voltage on the secondary side.

The voltage of the first battery BT1 is divided by the voltage dividing resistors R5 and R6 and detected by the first charging voltage detector 32. Similarly, the voltages of the second battery BT2 and the capacitor C1 are divided by the voltage dividing resistors R1 and R2 via the diode D2 and detected by the second charging voltage detector 33. The diode D1 is a fast recovery type and the diode D2 is a slow recovery type.

When the charging circuit of the transformer T1 is charged, a voltage obtained by adding the voltage for the diode to the second battery BT2 is generated at the anode of the diode D2.
Voltage detection can be performed. This charging may be performed only during the period when the voltage is detected. When the battery is not charged, the diode D2 exists, so that the resistors R1 and R2 do not leak.

150V is stored in the capacitor C3 via the resistors R3 and R4. When the IGBT Q1 is turned on, −150 V is applied to the lower side of the Xe tube 26,
Since + 150V is applied to the upper side of the tube 26, it is instantaneously 3
00V is applied to both ends of the Xe tube 26 to facilitate light emission.
Since 150 V is stored in the capacitor C4 via the resistor R3, when the IGBT Q1 is turned on, a current flows through the path of the capacitor C4 and the transformer T2, and a high voltage is generated on the secondary side of the transformer T2. , Is applied to the umbrella of the Xe tube 26, and the inside of the Xe tube 26 is excited. As a result, a current flows through the path of the Xe tube 26, the diode D3, and the IGBT Q1 to start light emission.

Since the internal resistance of the capacitor C1 is smaller than the internal resistance of the second battery BT2 which is a secondary battery,
Light is emitted mainly by the energy of the capacitor C1. By turning off the IGBT Q1 during light emission, light emission can be stopped at an arbitrary timing.

The internal resistance of the first battery BT1 changes with temperature. Since the charging time from the first battery BT1 to the second battery BT2 changes according to the temperature, the temperature is measured by the temperature measuring unit 34, so that the second battery BT2 and the capacitor C1 are discharged during the intermittent light emission. Charging time changes.

FIG. 3 is a time chart explaining the operation of light emission in the embodiment of the invention.

Light emission is performed after the temperature is measured by the temperature measuring unit 34 and the voltage of the second battery BT2 is measured.

When the Xe tube 26 emits light once, the emission is stopped, and while the emission is stopped, the Xe tube 26 waits as the time for charging the capacitor C1 from the second battery BT2. Then, the light emitting period and the charging period are further repeated to cause the Xe tube 26 to emit light.

The number of times of light emission is determined according to the voltage of the second battery BT2, the subject distance and sensitivity (sensitivity of an imager such as a film or CCD), the aperture of a lens (not shown), and the temperature. Alternatively, it may be stopped in the middle of light emission depending on conditions such as a short subject distance and high sensitivity.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of charging the second battery BT2 composed of a secondary battery.

The second battery BT2 shown in FIG. 2 is formed by laminating a plurality of secondary batteries, in this case, 41 lithium ion secondary batteries of 3.7V. Then, in this 3.7V secondary battery, charging is performed with a large current and a constant current up to about 3.7V to shorten the charging time, and thereafter, a constant voltage (charging current is small) is charged for a certain time. It is generally performed to fully charge the battery.

If the charging time is long, the charging may be performed with a constant voltage and a small current.

5 (a) and 5 (b) are time charts for explaining the charging operation in this embodiment.

The first battery BT1 has a large current up to 3.7V,
Moreover, after being charged with a constant current, the first battery BT1 charges the second battery BT2 to 150V. Then, since the second battery BT2 is charged, the voltage of the first battery BT1 decreases. Therefore, the charging device 21 charges the first battery BT1 again with a large current up to 3.7 V and a constant current.

Then, the second battery BT2 is charged by the first battery BT1 for a predetermined time. In this way, the second battery BT2 is fully charged. Furthermore, since the voltage of the first battery BT1 drops because the second battery BT2 has been charged, the charging device 21 charges the first battery BT1 with a large current up to 3.7 V and a constant current. After that, the first battery BT1 is charged with a constant voltage for a predetermined time.

The voltages of the first battery BT1 and the second battery BT2 are measured in the camera, and the charging method (whether large current and constant current charging, constant voltage charging or charging stop) is used. Is sent from the camera 20 to the charging device 21 by communication. The charging request signal and the synchronization signal are periodically sent during charging, and the charging of the charging device 21 is automatically stopped when the signal is not sent, so that the erroneous charging due to the disconnection of the communication line is caused. Further, the second battery BT2 is boosted and charged from the first battery BT1 and is therefore intermittently charged. This is safe because the voltage of the second battery BT2 of 150 V is not output to the outside.

Further, since the charging device 21 does not charge the second battery BT2 at the time of charging, the charging time is long, but the charging can be surely performed for a predetermined time after 3.7V or 150V charging. it can.

If the first battery BT1 and the second battery BT2 are charged at the same time, the current of the charging device 21 also flows into the boosting charging circuit for the second battery BT2.
In this case, a larger amount of current flows in the charging unit 25 that is boosted than in the case where the camera is in a single state. Therefore, the components used must correspond to high current.
Then, as a result, the size of the component is increased and the cost is increased. Therefore, in the present invention, the charging of the first battery BT1 and the charging of the second battery BT2 are not performed at the same time.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The charging operation in the embodiment of the invention will be described.

First, when a reset start or an interrupt process for connecting a charging device is performed, this routine is started.

Then, in step S1, the connection state of the charging device 21 is determined. Here, when the charging device 21 is not connected to the camera, the routine is exited and the normal camera processing operation is performed. On the other hand, the charging device 2
If No. 1 is connected to the camera 20, step S2
Move to.

In step S, the voltage of the second battery BT2 is determined. Here, the voltage of the second battery BT2 is 15
If it is 0 V or more, the process proceeds to step S3, and if it is less than 150 V, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S3, the voltage of the first battery BT1 is determined. Here, if the voltage of the first battery BT1 is 3.7 V or higher, it is determined that both the first and second batteries are fully charged, and this routine is exited and the normal camera processing operation is performed. If it is less than 3.7V, the process proceeds to step S15.

On the other hand, in step S4, the voltage of the first battery BT1 is determined. Here, the first battery BT
If the voltage of 1 is 3.7 V or more, the process proceeds to step S5, and if it is less than 3.7 V, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S5, the second battery BT2 is set to 1
It is charged to 50V. Here, since the voltage of the first battery BT1 is lowered by charging the second battery BT2, the voltage of the first battery BT1 is determined again in the subsequent step S6. As a result, if the voltage is 3.7 V or higher, this routine is exited and a normal camera processing operation is performed. On the other hand, if it is less than 3.7V, the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S7, the camera 20 sends a constant current charging request to the charging device 21 via the first and second communication units 35 and 37. As a result, the first battery B
Charging of T1 is started.

Then, in step S8, the first battery B
The charging voltage of T1 is determined. Here, the charging voltage is 3.
If it becomes 7 V or more, the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the fact that the charging is stopped is sent from the camera 20 to the charging device 21 in response to the fact that the first battery BT1 has reached 3.7 V or higher. Then, in subsequent step S10, the second battery BT2 is charged to 150V.

Next, in step S11, the camera 20 sends a constant current charging request to the charging device 21, and the charging of the first battery BT1 is started. Then, step S12
At, the charging voltage of the first battery BT1 is determined. Here, if the charging voltage becomes 3.7 V or higher, step S
Move to 13.

In step S13, the fact that charging is stopped is sent from the camera 20 to the charging device 21 in response to the fact that the first battery BT1 has reached 3.7 V or higher. Then, in subsequent step S14, the second battery BT2 is charged for a predetermined time.

Further, in step S15, a constant current charging request is sent from the camera 20 to the charging device 21, and charging of the first battery BT1 is started. Then, step S16
At, the charging voltage of the first battery BT1 is determined. Here, if the charging voltage becomes 3.7 V or higher, step S
Go to 17.

In step S17, the fact that charging is stopped is sent from the camera 20 to the charging device 21 in response to the fact that the first battery BT1 has reached 3.7 V or higher. Then, in the subsequent step S18, a constant voltage charging request is sent from the camera 20 to the charging device 21.

After that, when a predetermined time elapses in step S19, the camera 20 indicates that the charging of the first and second batteries BT1 and BT2 is completed in step S20.
Sent to the charging device 21.

In this way, this routine ends and the normal camera processing operation starts.

In this way, the steps S7 to S described above are performed.
9, steps S11 to S31, steps S15 to S17
Is a processing operation of charging the first battery BT1 with a constant voltage up to 3.7V. In addition, steps S18 to S20
Is a processing operation of charging the first battery BT1 with a constant current.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structural example of the above-mentioned second battery.

The cell of the gel type lithium ion secondary battery is
Positive electrode gel electrode 42, gel electrolyte 43, and negative electrode gel electrode 44
And a laminated structure. The positive electrode gel electrode 42 is a gel sheet in which a lithium-containing transition metal oxide such as lithium cobalt oxide is held in a polymer. Further, the gel electrolyte 43 is a gel sheet in which an electrolytic solution is held in a polymer. Further, the negative gel electrode 44 is composed of a gel sheet in which a carbon material capable of inserting and extracting lithium is held in a polymer. This is because the electrolyte does not have fluidity, so there is no liquid leakage and it is difficult for ignition to occur. The types of electrolytes and oxides of the material may be other than the above.

In FIG. 7, 3.7V having the above-mentioned configuration is used.
In this configuration, 41 cells of the secondary battery are stacked, and electrodes composed of the positive electrode current collector foil 41 and the negative electrode current collector foil 45 are arranged at both ends. As a result, a 151.7V secondary battery is configured as a whole. The entire secondary battery is packaged with a waterproof sheet or the like.

FIG. 8 is a view showing another structural example of the above-mentioned second battery.

In this example, electrodes composed of a positive electrode current collector foil 51 and a negative electrode current collector foil 55 are arranged at both ends of each cell having a positive electrode gel electrode 52, a gel electrolyte 53, and a negative electrode gel electrode 54. It will be configured. Then, 41 cells having such a structure are stacked (stacked) to make 1
A 51.7V secondary battery is constructed. The entire secondary battery is packaged with a waterproof sheet or the like.

In the above-described embodiment, the second battery has been described by stacking the cells of the secondary battery as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not a thing. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a small sheet battery may be connected in a plane.

In FIG. 9, the second battery is constructed by arranging a plurality of small sheet batteries 60 in a plane. That is, the sheet battery 60a having one surface on the + side
And the sheet batteries 60b having the other surface on the + side are arranged alternately. In this case, the back side of the + side is the − side. Then, the plurality of sheet batteries 60a, 6a
0b are connected in series by conductive members 61a and 61b, respectively, to form one high-voltage secondary battery.

Even when the current continues to flow due to the damage of the camera or the like, the conductive members 61a and 61a are provided to prevent the ignition.
A part of b may be formed of a shape memory alloy, and the connection by the conductive members 61a and 61b may be automatically released when heat is generated.

Further, the secondary battery composed of the plurality of sheet batteries may have a structure in which the sheet batteries are stacked and connected in a plane.

In the embodiment described above, the second battery is charged from the first battery by the charging device when the voltage becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined voltage.

Further, when the voltage of the first battery is below a predetermined voltage, the second battery is not charged.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the charging voltages of the first battery and the second battery that together constitute the secondary battery are
Although they have been described as 3.7V and 150V, respectively, they are not limited to these.

According to the above embodiment of the present invention,
The following configuration can be obtained.

(1) A camera having a first battery, a second battery which is a secondary battery having a high charging voltage, a charging means having a boosting function, a light emission control means, and a light emitting means. The camera is characterized in that the second battery is charged from the first battery by the charging means, and the light emitting means emits light at the output of the second battery by the light emission control means.

(2) The camera described in (1) above, wherein the first battery is a rechargeable secondary battery.

(3) The camera is connectable to an external charging device, and when charging the first battery with the external charging device, the charging means causes the first battery to the second battery to be charged. The camera according to (2) above, wherein the camera is charged.

[0093]

As described above, according to the present invention, by storing energy also in the volume of the main capacitor, the ratio of the volume in which energy is initially stored in the components capable of storing energy is improved. It is possible to provide a camera that can reduce the volume of the battery and the main capacitor.

Further, since the strobe light is emitted from the already charged battery, the conventional strobe charge time is unnecessary, and the release interval at the time of strobe light emission can be made very short.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing a concept of a camera of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention and is a diagram showing a specific configuration of a camera.

FIG. 3 is a time chart explaining the operation of light emission in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of charging a second battery BT2 including a secondary battery.

FIG. 5 is a time chart for explaining the charging operation in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a charging operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structural example of a second battery.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another structural example of the second battery.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing still another structural example of the second battery.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20 cameras, 11 control unit, 12 first battery, 13 Charging section, 14 second battery, 15 capacitors, 16, 27 Intermittent light emission control unit, 17, 26 Light emitting part (xenon (Xe) tube), 19 charger, 21 charger, 22 Public power, 25 charging section, 30 camera controller, 31 charging control unit, 32 a first charging voltage detector, 33 a second charging voltage detector, 34 Temperature measurement part, 35 first communication unit, 37 second communication unit, 38 Charger control unit, 39 constant voltage constant current charging section, 41 positive electrode current collector foil, 42 positive electrode gel electrode, 43 gel electrolyte, 44 Negative gel electrode, 45 negative electrode current collector foil, BT1 first battery, BT2 Second battery.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first battery, a second battery which is a secondary battery having a charging voltage higher than that of the first battery, a charging means having a boosting function, a light emitting means, and controlling the light emitting means. In a camera having a light emission control means, the charging means boosts the voltage of the first battery to charge the second battery, and the light emitting means charges the second battery by the light emission control means. A camera characterized by emitting light at the output. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the second battery is formed by stacking sheet-shaped lithium ion secondary batteries or arranging them in a plane. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a capacitor is connected in parallel to the output of the second battery, and the light emission control means controls the light emission means to emit light intermittently.