JP2003233117A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain a size in a height direction to a minimum while using the photographic film cartridge of 135 type. <P>SOLUTION: A notched part 16 by which a cartridge chamber 15 provided on the side of the grip part 11a of a camera body 11 is extended in a longitudinal direction is formed on the upper part of the cartridge chamber 15. A protrusion part 12a to clog the notched part 16 in terms of light tightness at the closing position of a back cover 12 is formed on the back cover 12, and a shutter button 17 is arranged at the center part of the protrusion part 12a. A space into which the cartridge body of a photographic film cartridge is inserted is formed on the upper side of the cartridge chamber 15 by the notched part 16 when opening the back cover 12, so that the need of providing an extra space in the up-and-down direction of the cartridge chamber 15 when closing the back cover 12 is entirely eliminated. <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 camera, and more particularly, to a camera of which height is minimized while using a 135 type photographic film cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In many cameras using a 135-type photographic film cartridge, the cartridge compartment for accommodating the main body of the photographic film cartridge is located on the left side when viewed from the rear side of the camera. The general procedure for loading a film is that after inserting the cartridge body into the cartridge chamber, hold the leader of the photo film protruding from the cartridge body with your right hand and pull it to the right while holding it above the film winding shaft. This is because Yuki closes the case back. In the case of such a camera, the film feeding mechanism for driving the spool of the photographic film cartridge is arranged at the upper part of the camera body.

However, since a finder, a distance measuring mechanism for autofocusing, and a stroboscopic light emitting portion are inevitably arranged on the upper part of the camera body, when the film feeding mechanism is further arranged, the camera is compact. Becomes difficult. Therefore, in a compact camera characterized by being particularly compact, a film feeding mechanism is provided at the bottom of the camera body by arranging a cartridge chamber on the grip side of the camera body, which is the right side when viewed from the rear side of the camera. It is advantageous to adopt a so-called reverse film loading system that can be arranged.

[0004]

However, even when the above-described reverse film loading system is adopted, the end of the spool on the side where the spool does not project from the end surface of the cartridge main body is engaged with the drive pawl when the photo film cartridge is loaded. The point that the cartridge body is rotated around the drive claws and then inserted into the cartridge chamber after the coupling is the same as in a general camera. Therefore, a gap (about several millimeters) for rotating the cartridge body is required in the upper portion of the cartridge chamber, and the size in the height direction is increased accordingly.

In order to avoid this, without rotating the patrone chamber, the posture should be straightened (from the top to the bottom for the camera body with the photographing lens facing downward) into the patrone chamber. Although it can be configured to be inserted, in this case, a mechanism for retracting the drive claw that engages with the spool from the cartridge chamber is required, which complicates the mechanism and causes high cost. However, there is a drawback that the size of the camera body is further increased.

Further, it may be considered that the camera body is inserted right beside the camera body, but since a mechanism for retracting the driving claw from the cartridge chamber is still required, it cannot be a means for downsizing the camera body. . Further, in the configuration of inserting the camera from directly below the camera body, it is extremely difficult to open and close the lower portion of the cartridge chamber because the driving claw and the gear train of the film feeding mechanism are provided in the lower portion of the camera body. Also, in the configuration that is inserted from directly above the camera body,
Since the shutter button is arranged above the camera body above the cartridge chamber, it is extremely difficult to open and close the upper portion of the cartridge chamber.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera capable of minimizing the size in the height direction while using a 135 type photographic film cartridge.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the camera of the present invention is provided with a taking lens and the like, and has a cartridge chamber in which a cartridge body of a 135 type photographic film cartridge is accommodated on the grip portion side. In a camera provided with a camera body and a back lid which is rotatably attached to the camera body and which opens and closes the cartridge chamber,
A part of the upper part of the camera body is formed with a cutout part which extends the cartridge chamber in the longitudinal direction and communicates with the outside, and when the back cover is closed, a projection part for closing the cutout part in a light-tight manner is provided on the back cover. And a shutter button is arranged on the protrusion. Further, the cutout portion is shaped so that the cartridge body can be inserted therethrough.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1 showing a camera of the present invention from above, a camera 10 comprises a camera body 11 and a back cover 12.
Consists of. The back cover 12 is rotatably attached to the camera body 11 via a hinge portion 13 provided on a side portion of the camera body 11, and is locked at a closed position by a lock mechanism (not shown).

135 type photo film cartridge 1
The cartridge chamber 15 for accommodating the cartridge body 14a of FIG. 4 (see FIG. 2) is provided on the grip portion 11a side of the camera body 11 (the side gripped by the right hand). In the upper part of the cartridge chamber 15, a cutout portion 16 is formed which extends the cartridge chamber 15 in the longitudinal direction and communicates with the outside. The cutout portion 16 has a U-shape as shown in the drawing when viewed from above. Then, when the back cover 12 is closed, a D-shaped protrusion 12 a that closes the notch 16 in a light-tight manner is formed in a part of the back cover 12.

A round shutter button 17 is arranged at a substantially central portion outside the protrusion 12a. As a result, when the back cover 12 is closed and the grip 11a is held by the right hand and the camera 10 is held, the index finger of the right hand is naturally placed on the shutter button 17. In addition, Patrone room 1
A drive claw 18 that engages with a spool 14b (see FIG. 2) that is rotatably accommodated in the cartridge body 14a, and rotates the spool 14b when it is rewound.
Is projected.

A lens barrel 21 of the taking lens 19 is provided at the front of the camera body 11. Further, two AA power batteries 22, for example, are housed inside the side of the camera body 11 opposite to the hinge portion 13. The back cover 12 on the left side (right side in the drawing) when viewed from the back cover 12 side
An eyepiece window portion 23 of the finder is provided on the upper part of the.

In FIG. 2, which shows the internal structure of the camera 10 from the front side, a fixed barrel 25 is arranged in the center of the camera body 11, and a cylindrical opening 25a for housing the lens barrel 21 is formed in this center. ing. The cartridge chamber 15 is arranged on the left side of the fixed cylinder 25, and on the right side, a film winding chamber for storing the photographic film 14c drawn from the cartridge body 14a by winding it around the film winding shaft 27 in a roll shape. 28 are arranged.

A drive motor 29 for feeding a film is housed in the film winding shaft 27, and a film feeding mechanism 30 composed of a gear train provided in the lower portion of the camera body 11 is used. The drive claw 18 and the film winding shaft 27 are rotated. As is well known, the drive pawl 18 includes a rotating base portion 18a and a pawl portion 18b that is vertically movable with respect to the base portion 18a. The pawl portion 18b is the base portion 1a.
It is biased by a spring in a direction projecting from 8a.

Above the cartridge chamber 15, the cartridge body 14a is attached to the camera body 11 by the cutout portion 16.
It is opened so that it can be inserted from above. The protrusion 12
A ridge 33 (see FIG. 1) is formed at the edge portion of a, and the ridge 33 is inserted into the groove 16a formed along the edge of the cutout portion 16 to form the protrusion 12a. Closes the notch 16 light-tightly.

A hanging cage-shaped switch storage chamber 35 is formed in the lower portion of the protrusion 12a. In the switch storage chamber 35, a release switch 37 fixed to a support plate 36 is stored. There is. This release switch 3
When the bar-shaped projection 38 provided on the lower portion of the shutter button 17 is lowered by pressing the shutter button 17, the button 7 is pressed by this and turned on. Further, a coil spring 39 is provided between the shutter button 17 and the support plate 36, and this serves to move the shutter button 17 to the release switch 3.
It is biased away from 7. It should be noted that the release switch 37 is made up of a flexible substrate or the like, and the hinge portion 13 is
It is electrically connected to the electric system of the camera body 11 via.

When the back cover 12 is closed, the lower surface 36a of the support plate 36 constituting the upper wall surface of the cartridge chamber 15 is in contact with the end surface of the spool 14b protruding from the cartridge body 14a, as shown in the figure. That is, the size in the height direction (vertical direction in the drawing) inside the cartridge chamber 15 is
The height is the same as the height of the cartridge main body 14a including the spool 14b. Further, since the size of the switch storage chamber 35 in the height direction is set to the minimum necessary to store the release switch 37 and the coil spring 39, the camera body 11
The size in the height direction is extremely small such that the height of the cartridge main body 14a including the spool 14b is increased by about 1 cm.

Above the fixed barrel 25, a distance measuring mechanism 41 for autofocus and an objective lens 42 of the finder are arranged. Although not shown, the distance measuring mechanism 41 is provided with a known light emitting unit and light receiving unit. A strobe light emitting section 43 is arranged above the film winding chamber 28. In the present embodiment, the strobe device is a constant light emission type in which charging is started at the same time when the power switch (not shown) of the camera 10 is turned on, and light is appropriately emitted when the subject brightness is lower than a predetermined value.

In order to load the photographic film cartridge 14 into the camera 10 thus constructed, first, the lock mechanism of the back cover 12 is released and the back cover 12 is rotated to expose the cartridge room 15. Next, the cartridge body 14 a is inserted into the cartridge chamber 15. At this time, the Patrone room 15
Since the upper part of the cartridge is opened by the notch portion 16, the cartridge body 14a may be inserted straight into the cartridge chamber 15 from directly above the cartridge chamber 15 through the notch portion 16, or the cartridge body 14a may be slanted. And then
First, the end of the spool 14b is engaged with the drive pawl 18, and then the cartridge main body 14a is centered around the end of the spool 14b.
May be rotated and inserted into the cartridge chamber 15. In the insertion by this rotation, since the notch portion 16 has a sufficient space above the cartridge chamber 15, the cartridge body 14a can be rotated with a margin.

After that, the leader portion of the photographic film 14c is positioned directly above the film winding shaft 27, and then the back cover 12 is closed. As a result, the projection 12a of the back cover 12 closes the notch 16 in a light-tight manner, and at the same time, the back cover 12
As a whole, the cartridge chamber 15, the film feed path (not shown) and the film winding chamber 28 are closed in a light-tight manner. Then, when the user grips the grip 11a with the right hand and holds the camera 10, the index finger of the right hand is naturally placed on the shutter button 17.

After the power switch of the camera 10 is turned on (the power switch may be turned on before the film loading operation), the back cover 12 is closed and the first shutter button 17 is pressed to wind the film. The take-up shaft 27 rotates, and the claws formed on the peripheral surface of the film take-up shaft 27 engage with the film perforations of the photo film 14c to take up the photo film 14c on the film take-up shaft 27. The film take-up shaft 27 is a photographic film 1
After the winding of the film 4c is started, the film is rotated a predetermined number of times, then the rotation is stopped, and the first frame of the photographic film 14c is set in the aperture.

When the shutter button 17 is pressed, the projection 38 descends and the release switch 37 is turned on. As a result, the distance measuring mechanism 41 operates and the photographing lens 1
After the focusing operation 9 is performed, the shutter device is operated based on the subject brightness information from the photometric mechanism (not shown), and the photographic film 14c in the aperture is exposed. At this time, if the subject brightness is lower than a predetermined value, the strobe light emitting section 43 automatically emits strobe light.

When all the photographable frames of the photographic film 14c have been photographed, the spool 14b is rotated in the film rewinding direction by the driving claw 18 and all the photographic films 14c are rewound.
c is rewound into the cartridge body 14a. After this,
When the back cover 12 is opened, the cartridge body 14a is exposed and the upper side of the cartridge chamber 15 is opened by the notch portion 16. Therefore, for example, the end of the spool 14b on the protruding side of the cartridge body 14a is provided with a thumb and an index finger. The end portion of the spool 14b on the opposite side is disengaged from the drive claw 18 by being sandwiched between and pulled upward or obliquely upward, and the photographed film cartridge 14 having been photographed can be easily taken out.

In the embodiment described above, the notch has a shape allowing the cartridge body to be inserted therethrough, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a space where the cartridge body can be inserted into the cartridge chamber from diagonally above and rotated. If the groove can be formed, the cutout portion can be formed into a smaller shape.

[0025]

As described above, according to the camera of the present invention, a notch portion which extends in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge chamber and communicates with the outside is provided in a part of the upper portion of the camera body having the cartridge chamber on the grip portion side. When the back cover is closed, the projection part that closes the notch light-tightly when the back cover is closed is provided on the back cover, and the shutter button is arranged on the projection part. Even if the extra space is not provided, the space required for loading the photo film patrone can be provided above the patrone chamber when the case back is opened.
The size in the height direction can be minimized while using a 35-type photographic film cartridge.

Further, since the notch has a shape through which the cartridge body can be inserted, not only is the cartridge body inserted from diagonally above the camera body and then rotated and loaded, but the cartridge body is also above the camera body. You can insert it straight from and load it. Therefore, in this case, the cartridge body can be inserted into the cartridge chamber if the notch is exposed without necessarily opening the case back fully.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outer appearance of a camera from above.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a camera from the front side.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 cameras 11 camera body 11a grip part 12 case back 12a protrusion 13 Hinge part 14 Photo film Patrone 14a Patrone body 14b spool 15 Patrone room 16 Notch 17 Shutter button 18 Drive claw 35 switch storage room 37 Release switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera main body having a photographing lens and the like, and a camera main body having a patrone chamber on the grip side for accommodating a patrone main body of a 135 type photo film patrone, and the camera main body being rotatably attached to the camera main body In a camera provided with a back lid for opening and closing, a cutout portion is formed in a part of an upper portion of the camera body to extend a cartridge chamber in a longitudinal direction to communicate with the outside, and the cut portion is provided when the back lid is closed. A camera characterized in that a projection is provided on the back cover to close the cutout in a light-tight manner, and a shutter button is arranged on the projection. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the cutout portion has a shape through which the cartridge body can be inserted.