JP2003219240A - Power feed system for camera, power supply battery for camera and external recording medium holder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the portability of a spare external recording medium without making a camera itself large. <P>SOLUTION: A power feed system for a camera which has a battery chamber 11 for housing power supply batteries BT and is inserted into a digital still camera that records data in an external recording medium MC in an insertable and extractable way to feed power to the camera is provided with a recording medium housing part 12 for housing the spare external recording medium MC. The recording medium housing part may be provided independently without being used in common with a battery chamber and may be used in common with the battery chamber. A detection mechanism for detecting whether an external recording medium is housed in the recording medium housing part may be applied. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply device for a camera which is attachable to and detachable from a digital still camera, a power supply battery for the digital still camera, and an external recording medium holder for accommodating an external recording medium used in the digital still camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in digital still cameras, the number of pixels of an image pickup device has been increasing, and accordingly, the image data for one frame has been enlarged and can be recorded on one memory card (external recording medium). The number of unique image data tends to decrease. Therefore, it is often the case that the memory card becomes full at the place where the user cannot continue shooting, and in order to prevent this, it is necessary to carry a spare memory card with him at all times.

However, since the memory card is very small, if a spare memory card is carried away from the camera, it may be lost or troublesome to find. Therefore, for example, in the camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-46315, a housing portion for housing a spare memory card is provided in the camera body.

[0004]

However, recent cameras are required to be compact while having high functionality, and many components must be arranged in a minimum space in the camera body. Therefore, it is difficult to secure a space for disposing the memory card in the camera body without increasing the size of the camera.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a power supply device for a camera, a power supply battery for a camera, and an external recording medium holder in which the portability of a spare external recording medium is improved without increasing the size of the camera itself.

[0006]

The present invention according to claims 1 to 7 has a battery chamber for accommodating a power supply battery and is detachably attached to a digital still camera for recording data on an external recording medium. The present invention is applied to a power supply device for a camera that supplies power, and is provided with a recording medium housing portion that houses a spare external recording medium, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems. Particularly, in the invention of claim 2, the recording medium housing portion is a dual-purpose battery chamber capable of selectively containing the external recording medium and the power supply battery, and the dual-purpose battery chamber contains a part of the external recording medium. In addition, it comprises a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a power supply battery and a second accommodating portion communicating with the first accommodating portion and accommodating another portion of the external recording medium. According to the invention of claim 3, a part of the plurality of battery chambers is a shared battery chamber. Particularly, in the invention of claim 4, the recording medium housing portion is provided independently without being used also as the battery chamber. According to the invention of claim 5, a confirmation window is provided on the outer surface of the apparatus for confirming from the outside whether or not the external recording medium is accommodated in the recording medium accommodation section. The invention of claim 6 further comprises a contact for reading / writing data from / to the external recording medium accommodated in the recording medium accommodating portion in response to an instruction from the digital still camera. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a detection mechanism is provided for detecting whether or not an external recording medium is loaded in the recording medium housing portion and transmitting the detection result to the digital still camera. The power supply battery according to the invention of claim 8 is a power supply battery used in a digital still camera for recording data on an external recording medium, and is provided with a recording medium housing portion for housing a spare external recording medium. A recording medium holder according to the invention of claims 9 to 12 has substantially the same shape as a power supply battery used in a digital still camera for recording data on an external recording medium,
A storage unit for a spare external recording medium is provided, and the storage unit can be inserted into and removed from the battery chamber of the digital still camera or its power supply device. In particular, the invention of claim 10 is provided with a confirmation window for confirming the presence or absence of the external recording medium in the accommodating portion while the holder is still inserted in the battery chamber. In the invention of claim 11, the outer surface of the holder is formed in a color different from that of the power supply battery. According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, a contact is further provided for reading / writing data from / to an external recording medium accommodated in the recording medium accommodation section in response to an instruction from the digital still camera.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a battery box (power supply device) for a digital still camera. A camera (not shown) using this battery box has an accommodation space for the battery box at the bottom of the main body, and an opening for insertion and removal on the side surface of the main body. The battery box is slidably inserted into the accommodation chamber of the camera body through the opening in the direction A in the drawing, and the lock part 1
0 locks the camera body. At this time, the surface P1 on the left side in the drawing constitutes the external surface (side surface) of the camera body. When removing the battery box, the lock by the lock portion 10 is released and the battery box is pulled out in the B direction. The A and B directions are the camera lateral directions.

The battery box is provided with a battery chamber 11 in which a plurality of power source batteries BT are removably accommodated, and a card accommodating portion 12 in which a spare memory card MC is accommodated. The battery contact 13 provided on the battery chamber 11 side comes into contact with the contact on the camera body side when the battery box is mounted on the camera body, and thus power can be supplied. Here, the contact on the camera body side is provided at the deepest position so that the fingers etc. do not touch the contact on the camera body side when the battery box is removed from the camera body. Contact point 13 is the exterior surface P1
The farthest position from.

On the other hand, the card accommodating portion 12 is provided at a position closest to the outer surface P1, that is, a portion which is exposed first when the battery box is pulled out from the camera body. In the present embodiment, a spare memory card MC is provided here. It is possible to accommodate one. Further, a confirmation window 14 for confirming whether or not the card is accommodated in the card accommodating portion 12 is formed on the outer surface P1. This is configured by fitting a transparent plate member into the opening formed on the external surface P1.

Here, the battery box has fewer components than the camera body, and a relatively large space can be allocated as a card storage space without increasing the size of the battery box, for example, by using a small battery BT. You can Although three cards can be accommodated in this embodiment, it is possible to accommodate more cards. By thus providing the card housing portion in the battery box, it is not necessary to provide the housing portion in the camera body itself, and it is possible to prevent the camera from increasing in size. Since the battery box is used integrally with the camera body, by storing the spare memory card MC here, the spare memory card MC can be quickly taken out when the card needs to be replaced. , Can be exchanged. Moreover, the loss of the memory card MC can be prevented.

In particular, in this embodiment, since the card accommodating portion 12 is provided near the external surface P1, the memory card MC can be inserted or taken out by simply pulling out the battery box, which is convenient. Further, since the confirmation window 14 is provided, the presence or absence of the memory card MC can be confirmed without pulling out the battery box from the camera body. Further, both side walls 12a of the card housing 12 are one step higher than the side wall 11a of the battery chamber 11 in accordance with the size of the memory card MC, so that the battery box has a left-right asymmetrical shape. Therefore, the operator does not make a mistake in inserting the battery box into the camera body.

-Second Embodiment- A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the battery box (power supply device) in the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a view seen from the line III-III in FIG. This battery box is different from the one above
It is of a type used by being screwed to the bottom of B. A screw 21 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 20 at a substantially central position,
A rotary operation member 22 coaxially integrated with the screw 21 is arranged in the housing 20. A part of the operating member 22 is exposed from the back surface of the housing 20, and the screw 21 is rotated by operating the exposed portion and screwed into the tripod screw hole of the camera body CB to be mounted. The right side of the housing 20 in the figure is bulged to fit the grip of the camera.

A power supply battery BT1 is mounted in the housing 20 below the rotation operation member 22. In the case of the conventional device, the space on the side of the screw 21 and the rotary operation member 22 is a space that is not used at all, and in this embodiment, this space is used as a storage space for the spare memory card MC.
That is, on the upper surface of the housing 20, a recess 23 corresponding to the card shape is provided at the left end in the drawing, and this recess 23 serves as a card storage portion.

Guides 24 are provided at both ends of the card storage portion 23, respectively. The memory card MC is inserted into the card accommodation portion 23 from the side surface of the housing 20 in the direction C in the figure, and both sides of the inserted card are sandwiched between the guide 24 and the bottom surface of the accommodation portion 23. The guide 24 prevents the memory card MC from coming off in the upward direction. Further, a spring member 25 is provided on the side of the card housing portion 23 (rear in the case 20), and the spring member 25 presses the memory card MC inserted in the card housing portion 23 in the D direction. It is possible to prevent undesired omission. Furthermore, a spherical recess 26 is provided on the bottom surface of the card storage portion 23,
When pulling out the card MC, the tip of a finger can be inserted into the recess 26, and the card MC can be easily pulled out in the D direction by pinching the card MC with another finger. Also in this embodiment, since the space for accommodating the spare memory card MC is provided in the battery box, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

-Third Embodiment- A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a rear view of the battery box in this embodiment, and FIG.
Is a sectional view taken along line VV. This battery box is attached to the camera body CB by screwing a screw into the tripod screw hole of the camera body CB as in the case of FIG. Case 30
Two battery chambers 31 and 32 are provided in the both battery chambers 3.
Contact points 31a and 32a are provided on the inner surfaces of the terminals 1 and 32, respectively. When the battery BT2 is loaded, the battery contact is replaced by the contact 31.
By making contact with a and 32a, it is possible to supply power to the camera body. The battery insertion openings of the battery chambers 31 and 32 are covered by closing a battery chamber lid (not shown).

The battery BT2 can be used as a large-capacity battery box by loading the battery BT2 into both battery chambers 31 and 32, but it is also possible to load the battery BT2 only into the battery chamber 31 on the right side and use it. In this case, the left battery compartment 32 can be used for purposes other than the battery compartment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the left battery compartment 32 is a dual-purpose battery compartment that can accommodate both the battery BT2 and the spare memory card MC.

The battery chambers 31 and 32 are basically shaped according to the battery BT2 to be loaded, but the width of the memory card MC is larger than the width of the battery BT2. It cannot be inserted. Therefore, the battery chamber 32 on the left side is provided with grooves 32B (second accommodating portions) corresponding to three sets of card shapes on both side walls of a battery accommodating portion (first accommodating portion) 32A having a battery shape. The spare memory card MC can be inserted using the groove 32B. When the memory card MC is loaded in the E direction,
The grooves 32B on both sides position and support both ends of the memory card MC, and the central portion of the memory card MC is located in the battery accommodating portion 32A. In this embodiment, three grooves 32B are provided, so that three memory cards MC can be accommodated at a predetermined interval as shown in the figure.

Then, as in the previous embodiment, the spring member 3 is used.
By providing three (one in the figure) three, it is possible to prevent undesired removal of each memory card MC. When a member for preventing the battery from falling is provided, the member can also be used as a memory card falling prevention member. When taking out the memory card MC, it is possible to easily pull it out in the F direction by inserting a finger into the battery housing portion 32A and pinching the card MC.

On the other hand, when the battery BT2 is loaded into the battery housing 32A, the side wall of the battery housing 32A (the portion where the groove 32B is not formed) serves as a guide, and the battery BT2 can be loaded into the regular position without any trouble. . Therefore, the groove 32B
Positioning of the battery BT2 does not become difficult by providing the.

Also in this embodiment, since the space for accommodating the spare memory card MC is provided in the battery box, the same effect as described above can be obtained. In particular, in this embodiment, since only one battery chamber 32 has the shape corresponding to the memory card,
When the battery loaded in the battery chamber 31 is the main battery and the battery loaded in the battery chamber 32 is the sub battery, it is possible to obtain the effect that the main / sub determination can be easily made due to the difference in the shape of the battery chamber.
For example, when the main battery and the sub battery are displayed on the camera side, it is possible to intuitively understand which display corresponds to which battery.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which only one battery chamber is provided, and the one battery chamber 32 is the above-mentioned shared battery chamber. For example, when this battery box supports power supply from an AC power source, the battery BT2 is not always loaded in one battery chamber 32, and in that case, a spare memory card MC is stored in the battery chamber 32. Can be accommodated.

The shape of the battery chamber 32 is determined by the shape of the battery and the memory card, and is not limited to the shape of the embodiment. What is essential is that the battery and the memory card wider than the battery can be accommodated, and the battery has a positioning portion that can easily position the both.

In the first to third embodiments, it may be considered that the presence / absence of a spare memory card can be transmitted to the camera body side as an electric signal. For example, a switch for mechanically turning on / off the memory card according to the insertion / removal of a memory card is provided in the card housing of the power supply device, and a signal transmission system for transmitting the on / off state of the switch to the camera body side is provided. . The camera body takes in information from the signal transmission system via its own contact point, and displays the presence or absence of a spare memory card on a display device or the like based on the signal. In particular, in the case where a plurality of spare memory cards can be accommodated, the number of sheets can be displayed.

Further, the spare memory card may be configured to read and write information. To achieve this, a read / write contact electrically connected to the spare memory card is provided separately from the power supply contact in the card housing, and the read / write contact is electrically connected to the camera body. A signal transmission system for this purpose may be provided. According to this, it goes without saying that the camera body can read and write data from and into the regular memory card loaded in itself.
Data can be read and written in the same manner with respect to a spare memory card in the power feeding device. Which memory card to use may be selected by an operation on the camera body side, and it is also possible to change the memory card to which image data is to be recorded for each subject without changing the memory card.
The power supply device is not limited to a simple battery box and may have a function other than power supply.

-Fourth Embodiment- A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the battery itself is provided with a housing portion for the memory card MC. The battery BT3 is loaded in the G direction in the camera body or the battery box as described in the above embodiments, as in the conventional case.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the width of the memory card MC is smaller than the width of the battery BT3, and guides 42 for holding the memory card are formed at both ends on the upper surface of the battery main body 40. An elastic member 43 for fixing the card is integrally provided in the central portion. Memory card M
C is inserted in the E direction between the battery body 40 and the guide 42, and pulled out in the opposite direction. At the time of insertion, the tip surface of the memory card MC contacts the tip slope of the elastic member 43, and the elastic member 43 elastically deforms in the direction of retracting from the card insertion path. Therefore, after the insertion, the elastic member 43 presses the memory card MC against the battery main body 40 so that the memory card M
The undesired removal of C is prevented. In addition, a battery contact 41 is provided from the lower surface of the battery body 40 in the drawing to the surface of the back,
The contact on the camera body side that comes into contact with the battery contact 41 is provided at the deepest position in the battery chamber.

According to this embodiment, since the power supply battery BT3 and the memory card MC can be integrated into the camera body or the battery box, the card can be replaced quickly and the loss of the card can be prevented as described above. it can. In particular, it is not necessary to provide a card accommodating portion on the camera body or the battery box side, and it is possible to prevent the enlargement thereof. Although the thickness of the battery BT3 is increased by the amount corresponding to the card storage portion, the memory card M
Since C is supported so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the battery BT3, the increase in the thickness of the battery is negligible, and the camera body and the battery compartment of the battery box need only be made slightly wider. Further, if the battery main body 40 is downsized to some extent, it can be made to have almost the same size as the conventional battery even if the card accommodating portion is provided, and in this case, the camera main body and the battery box need not be modified at all.

In addition, a spare battery BT3 is often brought separately from the camera for photographing, but the spare battery BT3 is used.
The memory card MC can be integrated into the 3 and carried,
It's less likely to be lost than carrying a memory card alone, and can be quickly removed when needed. Further, in the present embodiment, since the inserting / removing direction of the memory card MC is the same as the inserting / removing direction of the battery BT3, it is only necessary to open the battery chamber lid of the camera body or the like (without pulling out the battery).
The presence or absence can be visually determined. If a confirmation window is provided on the camera body side, the presence or absence of the battery BT3 and the memory card MC can be confirmed without opening the battery chamber cover.

-Fifth Embodiment- A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The present embodiment relates to a holder that can accommodate a memory card MC. As shown in the figure, the holder has a substantially same shape as the battery as a whole, and is housed in the battery chamber of the camera body or the power feeding device instead of the battery. That is, in a camera (power supply device) having a plurality of battery chambers, it is not always necessary to load batteries in all the battery chambers in use, and batteries are not required when using an AC power source, etc. The holder can be housed in the existing battery compartment. Since the holder has the same shape as the battery, it can be inserted in the same manner as when loading the battery. It is desirable that the outer surface of the holder has a color different from that of the battery so as not to be mistaken for the battery.

The holder is formed with a card accommodation portion 51 capable of accommodating a plurality of memory cards MC, into which the memory card MC is inserted in the H direction. The plurality of inserted memory cards MC are accommodated in a stacked state as shown. An elastic member (for example, a leaf spring) 52 is provided on the bottom surface of the card storage portion 51, and the memory card MC is urged upward in the drawing by the urging force of the elastic member 52, and is pressed and held by the receiving portion 53 on the upper surface of the holder. As a result, it is possible to prevent the memory card MC from undesirably falling off and rattling. Also, for the holder,
Confirmation windows 54 for confirming the presence or absence of the memory card MC from the outside are formed at two locations.

When inserting the memory card MC into the card accommodating portion 51, the already accommodated memory card MC is pushed down against the urging force of the elastic member 52 and sequentially inserted into the space formed above it. Just go. When the memory card MC is pulled out, if the memory card MC is pulled out sequentially from above, the remaining memory card MC is automatically raised by the thickness of the card MC by the urging force of the elastic member 52. Since the upper surface of the card storage portion 51 is wide open, the memory card MC can be easily inserted and removed, and the information and the like written on the surface of the uppermost memory card MC can be easily read.

The holder containing the memory card MC is
It is inserted into the battery chamber in the I direction or the opposite direction. As a result, the memory card MC can be carried around with the camera body and the power feeding device, and the same effect as described above can be obtained.
Further, since the confirmation windows 54 are formed at both ends in the battery inserting / removing direction, the presence or absence of the memory card MC can be confirmed only by opening the battery chamber lid regardless of the inserting direction. In addition,
Generally, the battery compartment is equipped with a battery fall prevention member,
Since this fall prevention member also acts on the holder, it is possible to prevent the holder from being dropped undesirably.

Further, it is possible to read / write information from / to the spare memory card in the holder. In order to realize this, a read / write contact 55 electrically connected to the spare memory card MC is provided on the wall surface of the card housing 51, and the read / write contact 55 is electrically connected to the camera body. The signal transmission system may be provided. According to this, the camera body can read and write data to and from the regular memory card loaded in itself, as well as to and from the spare memory card in the holder. The memory card to be used may be selected by the operation on the camera body side. In this case, the read / write contact 55 may be provided for all memory cards that can be accommodated in the card accommodating portion 51, or for some memory cards.

The holder can be used as a single card holder separately from the camera body. If a plurality of such holders are prepared, a plurality of memory cards can be sorted and stored, for example, by shooting location, by subject, or by date, which improves management convenience.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the external recording medium does not have to be a card-shaped one such as a memory card, but may be a stick-shaped one or a thicker block-shaped one. The data recorded on the external recording medium is not limited to image data, and may be audio data or other data. For example, if the GPS receiver is connected and position information can be acquired for each frame, the position information may be used.

[0036]

According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, since the recording medium accommodating portion for accommodating the auxiliary external recording medium is provided in the camera power feeding device, the accommodation space for the auxiliary external recording medium is provided in the camera body. It is possible to carry a spare recording medium together with the camera without providing it, thereby preventing the camera from increasing in size. According to the invention of claim 8, the recording medium housing portion for housing the spare external recording medium is provided in the power supply battery. Therefore, by mounting the battery in the camera or the power supply device thereof, the spare recording medium is supplied to the camera (power supply). It becomes possible to carry it together with the device), and the same effect as described above can be obtained. Also, when carrying the spare power supply battery separately from the camera, the spare battery and the spare external recording medium can be carried together, and there is a risk of loss compared to the case where the external recording medium is carried alone. Can be reduced. According to the inventions of claims 9 to 11, the holder for accommodating the external recording medium has substantially the same shape as the power supply battery, and the holder can be inserted into and removed from the battery chamber of the camera or the power feeding device. When the battery is not loaded into the
When the power source is used), the holder can be housed in the battery chamber, and a spare external recording medium can be carried together with the camera and the power feeding device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a battery box (power supply device) according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a battery box according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view seen from a line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the battery box according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of another battery box.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a power supply battery according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a memory card holder according to a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Battery compartment 12, 23, 51 card storage 13, 31a, 32a contacts 14,54 Confirmation window 31, 32 Battery compartment 32A battery compartment 32B groove 40 battery body 41 Battery contact BT, BT1 to BT3 power supply batteries CB camera body MC memory card

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A power supply device for a camera, which has a battery chamber for accommodating a power supply battery and is detachably mounted on a digital still camera for recording data on an external recording medium to supply power to the camera, wherein a backup external recording is provided. A power supply device for a camera, which is provided with a recording medium storage section for storing a medium. 2. The recording medium accommodation section is a dual-purpose battery chamber capable of selectively containing the external recording medium and a power supply battery, and the dual-purpose battery chamber has a part of the external recording medium. A first accommodating portion that is accommodated and is capable of accommodating the power supply battery, and a second accommodating portion that communicates with the first accommodating portion and accommodates another portion of the external recording medium. The power supply device for a camera according to claim 1. 3. The power supply device for a camera according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the battery chambers are provided, and a part of the plurality of battery chambers is the dual-purpose battery chamber. 4. The power supply device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium housing portion is provided independently of the battery chamber. 5. A confirmation window is provided on the outer surface of the apparatus for confirming whether or not the external recording medium is accommodated in the recording medium accommodating portion from the outside. The power supply device for the camera described. 6. A contact point for reading / writing data from / to an external recording medium accommodated in the recording medium accommodating portion in accordance with an instruction from the digital still camera. The power supply device for a camera according to any one of to 4. 7. A detection mechanism for detecting whether or not an external recording medium is loaded in the recording medium housing portion and transmitting the detection result to the digital still camera. The power supply device for the camera described. 8. A power supply battery for use in a digital still camera for recording data on an external recording medium, the power supply battery for a camera comprising a recording medium housing section for housing a spare external recording medium. 9. A battery chamber of the digital still camera or a power supply device thereof, which has a shape similar to that of a power supply battery used in a digital still camera for recording data on an external recording medium, and which is provided with a storage portion for a spare external recording medium. An external recording medium holder, characterized in that it can be inserted into and removed from the holder. 10. The confirmation window according to claim 9, wherein a confirmation window is provided for confirming the presence / absence of the external recording medium with respect to the housing portion while the holder is still inserted in the battery chamber. External recording medium holder. 11. The external recording medium holder according to claim 9, wherein the outer surface is formed in a color different from that of the power supply battery. 12. A contact point for reading / writing data from / to an external recording medium accommodated in the recording medium accommodating portion in accordance with an instruction from the digital still camera. The external recording medium holder according to any one of 1 to 11.