JP2003295263A - Electronic flashing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress or prevent the improper use of an electronic flashing device. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic flashing device 11 consists of an electronic flash light emitting part 47, a circuit board including a main capacitor, a battery and a case to house them. The case is hermetically sealed so as to prevent each part from being taken out. The electronic flashing device 11 is freely detachably attached to a film unit with a lens 10. The capacity of the battery is decided so that the electronic flashing device 11 is used for the photographing of several units of photographic film. A user detaches the electronic flashing device 11 from a used film unit 10, and attaches to another film unit 10, so that the electronic flashing device 11 is reused. The electronic flashing device 11 whose battery ends is recycled by a camera maker. The distributed quantity of the electronic flashing device 11 is reduced as compared with the film unit of once use type 10, so that the improper use of the electronic flashing device 11 is suppressed or prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a strobe device used in a lens-fitted photo film unit, and more particularly to a measure for suppressing or preventing diversion of inappropriate parts of the strobe device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lens-fitted film unit is known as a one-time-use type simple camera in which a photographic film is preliminarily loaded. This lens film unit
It is composed of a main body base to which a photographic film is loaded and a simple photographing mechanism is assembled, and a front cover and a rear cover that cover the front and rear. These major components are made of plastic.

The lens-fitted photo film unit is characterized by its small size, simple structure, and low price, but has been added with various functions. Among them, the one with a built-in strobe device is popular. This strobe device includes, for example, a strobe light emitting section, a circuit board, and a power supply battery that supplies power to these.

When the user finishes taking the photo film, the user passes the used film unit with the lens to the printing company for each main body and requests the printing company to print it. While the photo film is returned to the user with the print,
The main body of the used film unit with the used lens is collected by the camera manufacturer through the printing company.

From the viewpoint of preventing environmental pollution and effectively utilizing resources, camera manufacturers are actively promoting the recycling of used film units with lenses, and designing products from the design stage to the production line on the premise of recycling. By doing so, we are building a recycling-based production system.

The camera manufacturer disassembles the used lens-fitted film unit, cleans and inspects the strobe device and the exposure unit, and reuses them. Plastic parts are melted and pelletized and reused as plastic materials. The lens-fitted film unit is premised for one-time use, and the durability of parts is lower than that of a normal camera in order to realize a low price. For this reason, the quality of reused strobe devices and the like is ensured by performing appropriate inspections and repairs as necessary.

Further, by this recycling, the selling price of the lens-fitted film unit is also reduced.
In particular, the strobe device is very expensive as compared with other parts, and the reuse of the strobe device has a great effect of reducing the selling price.

However, not all used film units with lenses are returned to the camera maker,
Some of them are sent to film refillers and parts diverters. A refiller refills an unused photo film into a used film unit with a lens, while a component diversioner diverts a part of a main component of a used film unit with a lens to another. Assemble the film unit with lens. The refilled product in which the film is refilled and the component diversion product assembled by diversion of the components are packaged and sold as a new product.
These refills and miscellaneous parts use expensive parts such as strobe devices at low cost, so the selling price is very low.

[0009]

However, these refills and miscellaneous parts are often not properly cleaned, repaired, and inspected, which is a problem in quality. Such a problem may impair the reliability of the lens-fitted film unit itself and the camera manufacturer.

Furthermore, in the case of diverting parts, only expensive and easy-to-use parts such as strobe devices are used,
Other parts are likely to be wasted. If such improper component diversion continues and in large quantities, the purpose of the recycling-based production system built by the camera manufacturer (prevention of environmental pollution and effective use of resources)
Not only will be destroyed, but the cost advantages of reuse will be lost, and the recycling-type production system itself may be destroyed.

Therefore, the camera manufacturer is considering various countermeasures for preventing inappropriate refilling of the photographic film, for example, various countermeasures described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-120883. Has already been implemented. However, regarding the diversion of parts, particularly the diversion of a strobe device, there is no measure to prevent this.

It is an object of the present invention to suppress or prevent improper diversion of used lens-equipped film units, especially diversion of strobe devices.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the strobe device of the present invention is used in a lens-fitted film unit in which an unexposed photographic film is preloaded and a simple photographing mechanism is incorporated. At
A circuit board including a strobe light emitting section, a main capacitor, and a power supply battery for supplying power to these are housed in a sealed case and detachably attached to the main body of the lens-fitted film unit.

It is characterized in that the use of the components constituting the strobe light emitting section and the circuit board is prohibited before the useful life of the components elapses. For example, the life of the battery is made shorter than the service life of the component. Further, the number of times light can be emitted is specified in advance, and charging is prohibited when the number of times of light emission reaches the specified number of times of light emission.

In the case where the case is provided with a pair of contacts for connecting a synchro switch for receiving a trigger signal from the synchro switch provided in the lens-fitted film unit, the case is removed from the film unit. In the state, the voltage of the main capacitor is not applied to the contact.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A lens-fitted film unit (hereinafter referred to as a film unit) 10 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a simple exposure mechanism and a photographic film preloaded at the time of manufacture. An external strobe device 11 can be detachably attached to the film unit 10. By attaching the strobe device 11, the film unit 10 can perform flash photography.

The film unit 10 is a single-use type in which the photographic film cannot be replaced, whereas the strobe device 11 can be used a plurality of times (for a plurality of photographic films). The user can repeatedly use one strobe device 11 by exchanging the film unit 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the film unit 10
An attachment portion 12 for attaching the strobe device 11 is provided on the side surface of the. The strobe device 11 has an engaging portion 13 and an engaging hole 1 formed in the mounting portion 12.
By engaging with 2a, the film unit 10
Attached to.

The rear portion of the engaging hole 12a is formed smaller than the front portion. The vertical cross section of the engaging portion 13 is substantially T-shaped, and tongue pieces are formed on the top and bottom. When the engaging portion 13 is inserted into the front portion of the engaging hole 12a and the strobe device 11 is slid rearward in that state,
The tongue pieces are engaged with the rear portion of the engagement hole 12a, and the strobe device 11 is attached to the film unit 10.

Reference numeral 14 is a cover for covering the engagement hole 12a when the strobe device 11 is not attached.
The cover 14 prevents dust and the like from entering the inside of the film unit 10 through the engagement holes 12a. It should be noted that when the strobe device 11 is attached to the film unit 10, packing or the like may be provided on the side surface of the strobe device 11 so that dust or the like does not enter through the engagement hole 12a. Further, the strobe device attached to the film unit may be held by a magnet.

An opening 17 for exposing the taking lens 16 and a finder objective window 18 are provided on the front surface of the film unit 10. A shutter button 19 and a film counter 21 are provided on the upper portion of the film unit 10, and a part of a winding knob 22 is exposed to the outside on the back surface.

As shown in FIG. 3, the film unit 10
Includes a main body base 23, a photographic film cartridge 26 including a photographic film 24 and a cartridge main body 25,
It is composed of a front cover 31 and a rear cover 32 that cover them. An exposure section 33 is provided in the center of the main body base 23. On both sides of the exposure section 33, a cartridge storage chamber 23a for storing the cartridge main body 25 and a cartridge main body 25 are pulled out to form a roll. Photo film storage room 23 for storing the rolled photo film 24
b and are provided. In addition, the cartridge storage chamber 23
A winding knob 22 is attached to the upper part of a.

A shaft (not shown) provided on the lower portion of the winding knob 22 engages with a spool formed on the cartridge body 25. One end of the photographic film 24 is sandwiched and held by a slit formed on the spool. Therefore, the spool rotates with the rotation of the winding knob 22, and the photo film 24 is fed.

The exposure section 33 comprises a dark box 38, shutter blades 39 provided on the front surface of the dark box 38, and a shutter cover 41 covering these front surfaces. On the front of the dark box 38,
An opening 38a for allowing the photographing light to enter the dark box 38 is provided, and an aperture that defines the exposure range of the photographic film 24 is formed on the back surface thereof. The shutter cover 41 is provided with a diaphragm and the photographing lens 16 is assembled.

A finder mechanism including an objective lens and an eyepiece lens and a film counter mechanism for displaying the remaining number of the photographic film 24 are attached to the upper portion of the exposure unit 33.

The shutter blade 39 is rotatably mounted between an open position that opens the opening 38a and a closed position that covers it, and is biased to the closed position by a spring. Above the exposure unit 33, a kick-off mechanism for kicking the shutter blade 39 is provided. The kick-off mechanism is charged in association with the winding of the photo film 24 by the winding knob 22, and kicks the shutter blade 39 by pressing the shutter button 19. By this kick-off, the shutter blade 39 reciprocates once between the closed position and the open position to perform exposure.

Above the dark box 38, the synchro switch 4
3 is provided. The synchro switch 43 is a switch for sending a trigger signal to the strobe device 11 in synchronization with the shutter release, and includes a pair of metal contact pieces 43a and 43b. The shutter blade 39 is provided with a pressing portion for pressing one of the pair of metal contact pieces 43a and 43b to bring them into contact with each other. When the shutter blade 39 reaches the open position, the synchro switch 43
Is turned on, and a trigger signal is sent to the strobe device 11.

Each of the metal contact pieces 43a and 43b has a body base 2
3, the one end is arranged near the shutter blade 39, and the other end extends to the side surface along the outer wall of the photographic film storage chamber 23b. Each metal contact 43a,
The other end of 43b is arranged in the attachment portion 12, and when the strobe device 11 is attached, it contacts the contacts 44a, 44b provided in the engagement portion 13 of the strobe device 11.

The front cover 31 and the rear cover 32 are attached from the front and rear of the main body base 23, respectively, and cover the inside of the film unit 10 in a light-tight manner. The rear cover 32 has a bottom lid 3
2a and 32b are integrally formed, and the cartridge body 25
Also, the bottom of the photographic film 24 is light-tightly covered. Further, the bottom lid 32a is opened when the cartridge main body 25 that has been photographed is taken out to the outside.

The strobe device 11 includes a circuit board 46 on which a circuit pattern is printed and each circuit element including a main capacitor 45 is mounted, and a strobe light emitting portion 47 including a discharge tube (Xe lamp), a reflector, a diffusion plate and the like. And a battery 48 for supplying power to these, and a case 49 accommodating them. As a component forming the strobe device 11, a component of a strobe device built into a conventional lens-fitted film unit is diverted or a component having durability equivalent to that is used. This realizes cost reduction.

As described above, this strobe device 11 is used.
It is possible to use multiple photo films. However, the strobe device 11 has lower durability than the strobe device for a normal camera because of the demand for cost reduction. If the parts are used beyond their service life, the quality may deteriorate and the user may suffer unexpected damage.

Therefore, the capacity of the battery 48 is determined so that it cannot be used by the user beyond the service life of the component. Moreover, by sealing the case 49, the battery 48 and the components such as the strobe circuit board 46 and the strobe light emitting portion 47 are housed in the case 49 in a non-detachable manner. For this reason, the user cannot replace the battery 48, and the battery 4 stored in the case 49 cannot be replaced.
When 8 is used up, the strobe device 11 cannot be used any more. By doing so, the strobe device 11
It achieves both low cost and high quality.

Like the film unit 10, the used strobe device 11 is collected by a camera manufacturer through a printing company and recycled. The camera manufacturer disassembles the strobe device 11 that has been collected, cleans and inspects it, and replaces and repairs parts as necessary for reuse. The used battery 48 is recycled by a dedicated vendor.

On the front surface of the case 49, the strobe light emitting section 4 is provided.
The diffusion plate 7 is exposed, and the operation member 5 is provided below the diffusion plate.
1 is provided. The operation member 51 is connected to the charging switch of the strobe circuit, and is slidable between an on position where the charging switch is turned on and charging is started and an off position where the charging switch is turned off and charging is stopped. It is provided.

On the upper surface of the case 49, there is provided a charging completion display section 52 for notifying the user that the charging is completed. As the charging completion display section 52, for example,
A light guide for guiding light of a light emitting diode provided in a strobe circuit is used. In addition, this charging completion display unit 5
2 may be provided on the back surface of the case 49, or may be interlocked with the slide of the operation member 51 so that the case 49 is in the on position.
May be projected from the outer surface of the case and housed in the case 49 at the off position.

A label seal 53 is attached to the side surface of the case 49 above the engaging portion 13. The light emission amount of the strobe device 11 is determined according to the film sensitivity of the photographic film 24 and the F value of the taking lens. On the label sticker 53, the film sensitivity, the F value, etc. of the photo film 24 to which the strobe device 11 corresponds are printed. Since the strobe device 11 is an external type, the user needs to purchase the film unit 10 separately.
By looking at this display, an appropriate film unit 10 can be selected.

As the battery 48, for example, an alkaline manganese battery or a lithium battery having a terminal voltage of 1.5 V is used. The capacity of the battery 48 is determined, for example, to such a capacity that all-frame flash photography is possible with respect to the number of frames of two photo films. Statistically, there are few cases where all-frame flash photography is performed, so if there is no forgetting to turn off the charging switch or the like, it is possible to photograph about three photo films even with this capacity. Of course, the capacity of the battery 48 is not limited to this, and may be appropriately determined in consideration of the service life of the components.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit diagram of the strobe circuit 56. The charging switch 57 includes a movable piece 58 and first to third contacts 59a to 59c, and one end of the movable piece 58 is connected to the third contact 59c. When the operating member 51 is moved to the ON position, the other end of the movable piece 58 moves to the first contact 5
9a and the second contact 59b are brought into contact with each other to establish electrical continuity between the contacts.

The NPN type oscillating transistor 61 and the oscillating transformer 62 constitute an oscillating booster circuit 63 which boosts the voltage by utilizing the well-known blocking oscillating action.
The voltage of 8 is converted into a high voltage of about 300 V to charge the main capacitor 45. The oscillating transformer 62 includes a primary coil 62a and a secondary coil 62 that are inductively coupled to each other.
b, a tertiary coil 62c. Primary coil 62
One end of a is connected to the positive electrode of the battery 48, and the other end is connected to the collector terminal of the oscillation transistor 61. One end of the secondary coil 62b is connected to the anode of the rectifying diode 66, and the other end is connected to the positive electrode of the battery 48 together with one end of the tertiary coil 62c. Also, the tertiary coil 6
The other end of 2c is connected to the third contact 57c of the charging switch 57 through the resistor 67a.

The cathode of the rectifying diode 66 is connected to one end of the trigger capacitor 68 and one end (plus side) of the main capacitor 37 via the resistor 67b. The other end of the trigger capacitor 68 is connected to the charging switch 57.
Is connected to the first contact point 59a. Oscillation transistor 61
The emitter terminal of is connected to the negative electrode of the battery 48, and the base terminal is connected to the second contact 59b via the resistor 67c.

The trigger coil 69 comprises an inductively coupled primary trigger coil 69a and secondary trigger coil 69b. One end of the primary trigger coil 69 a is connected to one end of the trigger capacitor 68, and the secondary trigger coil 69 a
One end of b is the discharge tube 7 built in the strobe light emitting part 47.
1 is connected to a trigger electrode 72 provided in the vicinity of 1.
The other ends of the coils 69a and 69b are shared terminals, and are connected to the charging switch 57 via the synchro switch 43. Further, each terminal of the discharge tube 71 is connected to both ends of the main capacitor 45.

From the trigger capacitor 68 to the primary trigger coil 69a, the synchro switch 43, the charging switch 57,
The circuits connected in sequence up to the trigger capacitor 68 configure a trigger discharge circuit (trigger circuit) 64 that causes the discharge current from the trigger capacitor 68 to flow to the primary trigger coil 69a when the synchro switch 43 is turned on.

When the charging switch 57 is turned on, the oscillation transistor 61 operates and a current (collector current of the oscillation transistor 61) flows through the primary coil 62a. And
In the secondary coil 62b, an electromotive force according to the winding ratio of the primary coil 62a and the secondary coil 62b is generated, and the secondary side current generated by this electromotive force flows as a base current of the oscillation transistor 61. That is, the positive feedback action of the oscillation transformer 62 causes the oscillation transistor 61 to increase the collector current and oscillate. At the same time, the secondary-side current generated in the secondary coil 62b is transferred to the main capacitor 45.
And trigger capacitor 68, and each is charged.

Reference numeral 74 is a light emitting diode, and its anode and cathode are connected to both terminals of the tertiary coil 62c. When the charging voltage of the main capacitor 45 reaches the specified charging voltage, the voltage between both terminals of the tertiary coil 62c exceeds a predetermined value, and the light emitting diode 74 is turned on. This light is guided to the charging completion display section 52.

When the synchro switch 43 is turned on with the main capacitor 45 being charged, the trigger circuit 64 is closed and the discharge current of the trigger capacitor 68 flows through the primary trigger coil 69a. Primary trigger coil 6
When a discharge current flows through 9a, a high-voltage trigger voltage is generated in the secondary trigger coil 69b, and this trigger voltage is applied to the discharge tube 71 via the trigger electrode 72. Then, the electric charge of the main capacitor 45 is discharged in the discharge tube 71,
Strobe light is emitted.

The strobe circuit may be provided with a well-known auto-cut circuit that prevents the charging from being restarted when spontaneous discharge occurs after the charging is completed. In this way, it is possible to prevent waste of the battery 48 even if the user forgets to turn off the charging switch.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below with reference to FIG.
Will be described with reference to. FIG. 5 shows the film unit 1
7 is a flowchart from the manufacture of 0 and the strobe device 11 to the recycling after being used by the user.

The camera maker uses the film unit 10
And the strobe device 11 is manufactured. Since the strobe device 11 is an external type, and the film unit 10 can take a picture without attaching the strobe device 11, the camera maker has a plurality of types of film units depending on whether the strobe function is provided or not. Since it is not necessary to create different types, it is possible to improve production efficiency.

The film unit 10 and the strobe device 11 manufactured by the camera manufacturer are provided to the user through a store. The film unit 10 is sold as a set with the strobe device 11 and also as a single unit.

Since the film unit 10 can be used alone, a user who does not use flash photography purchases the film unit 10 alone. On the other hand, a user who shoots with flash purchases the film unit 10 and the flash device 11.

The strobe device 11 is attached to the film unit 10
, The metal contacts 43a and 43b of the synchro switch 43 provided on the film unit 10 and the contacts 44a and 44b provided on the strobe device 11 are brought into contact with each other, and the synchro switch 43 and the circuit board 46 are separated from each other. Connected.

When the operating member 51 is slid to the on position, the charging switch 57 is turned on and the main condenser 4
Charging to 5 is started. When the charging voltage of the main capacitor 45 reaches the specified voltage, the light emitting diode 74 emits light and the charging completion display section 52 lights up. Thereby, the user confirms that the strobe charging is completed.

When the shutter button 19 is pressed, the shutter blade 39 is kicked off and the photographic film 24 is exposed. When the shutter blade 39 reaches the open position, each metal contact piece 43a, 43b of the synchro switch 43 is released.
And the sync switch 43 is turned on. As a result, the trigger circuit 64 operates and the strobe light is emitted.

When the photo film 24 is used up, the user brings the used film unit 10 to a printing company and requests printing. The printing company
The photo film 24 is stored for each main body of the film unit 10 and the printing process is performed. Developed photo film 2
No. 4 is returned to the user when delivering the finished photographic print to the user. On the other hand, the body of the film unit 10 from which the photo film 24 has been removed is collected by the camera maker.

On the other hand, the strobe device 11 can be used until the battery 48 is used up. The user removes the strobe device 11 from the used film unit 10 and stores it for the next use. When used next time, only the new film unit 10 is purchased at the store, and the strobe device 11 that has been stored is attached to the film unit 10 and shooting is performed.

As described above, since the flash device 11 can be repeatedly used, the user can perform flash photography by purchasing only the film unit 10 at the time of the next photography. Further, since the strobe device 11 is an external type, a user who does not perform flash photography may purchase the film unit 10 alone without purchasing the strobe device 11. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost per photograph taken according to the usage of the user.

When the battery 48 of the strobe device 11 is used up, charging cannot be performed, so the charging completion display section 52 does not light up. The user knows that the battery 48 has been used up because the charging completion display portion 52 stops lighting.

The used strobe device 11 which has used up the battery 48 is collected by the camera maker through the printing company. The user may bring the used strobe device 11 as a single unit to the printing company, or may bring it with the film unit 10.

The film unit 10 is brought to the printing company when one photographic film 24 is used up, whereas the strobe device 11 can be used a plurality of times (for a plurality of photographic films). Compared to,
The number of times the strobe device 11 is brought into the printing company is reduced. For this reason, the opportunity for the strobe device to reach the hand of a refiller or a component diverter is reduced, so that the distribution amount of improper refills and component diversion items can be reduced.

Further, since the film unit 10 does not have an expensive strobe device incorporated therein, the film unit 10 will not fall into the hands of refillers or parts diverters. Therefore, the recovery rate of the film unit 10 is also improved, so that the amount of waste is reduced, environmental pollution is prevented, and resources are effectively used.

The film unit 10 and the strobe device 11 collected by the camera maker are properly recycled. After the disassembled used strobe device 11,
Each part is cleaned, inspected and repaired if necessary. Each component is assembled into a new case and reused together with a new battery. The used case is crushed and reused as a plastic material. The used batteries are handed over to a specialist for recycling.

In the above embodiment, the contact for connecting to the synchro switch in the film unit is provided on the surface of the engaging portion and is exposed on the outer surface of the strobe device. Therefore, if the strobe device is detached from the film unit while the main capacitor is already charged, if a finger accidentally touches the contact and the contacts are electrically connected, there is a risk of electric shock. In the fully charged state, the contacts have the same voltage as the main capacitor, which is extremely dangerous. Therefore, it is preferable that the contact point is provided at a place that cannot be easily touched from the outside, for example, on the back surface of the tongue piece of the engaging portion.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a bayonet type mounting system is adopted. The same reference numerals are used for the same members as those in the above embodiment. The case 82 of the strobe device 81 is provided with a bayonet type engagement portion 83, and the attachment portion 84 of the film unit 80 has an engagement hole 84a and an engagement groove 8 for engaging with the engagement portion 83.
4b is provided. The engaging portion 83 has an engaging hole 84a.
A pair of tongue pieces 83a that engage with and a rib 83b that engages with the engagement groove 84b are formed around these tongue pieces 83a. A positioning pin 83c is provided at the center of the engaging portion 83, while a hole 84c that engages with the pin 83c is provided at the center of the mounting portion 84.

The film unit 80 may be used alone, and in this case, if the mounting portion 84 is bulged or recessed, the mounting portion 84 becomes conspicuous, resulting in a bad appearance. Therefore, the mounting portion 84
Is preferably formed on substantially the same surface as the front and rear covers 31, 32. Further, as in the first embodiment, a cover may be provided to cover the mounting portion 84 when not in use.

The O-ring 85 is fitted in the engaging groove 84b. The O-ring 85 includes an engaging groove 84b and a rib 83b.
By filling the gap between the film unit 80 and the strobe device 81, dust, water, water, etc. are prevented from entering the inside.

When the strobe device 81 is attached, the strobe device 81 is tilted to a position where each tongue piece 83a can be inserted into the engagement hole 84a. In that state, after inserting the engaging portion 83 into the engaging hole 84a, the strobe device 81 is rotated to the normal position. Thereby, the engaging portion 83 and the attaching portion 84
To engage the film unit 80 with the strobe device 81.
Is attached.

On the back surface of each tongue piece 83a, a pair of contact pieces 86a and 86b connected to the trigger circuit are provided. Behind the engaging hole 84a of the mounting portion 84, metal contact pieces 43a and 43b that form the synchro switch 43 are provided. When the engaging portion 83 and the engaging hole 84a are engaged, the respective contact pieces 86a, 86b and the respective metal contact pieces 43a, 4b.
3b comes into contact.

The contact points (each contact piece 86a, 86b) are the tongue pieces 8
Since it is provided on the back of 3a, it cannot be easily touched from the outside. In this way, even if the strobe device 81 is removed from the film unit 80 while the charging is completed, the contacts are not inadvertently touched and it is safe.

In the above embodiment, the film unit and the strobe device are respectively provided with electric contacts, and by connecting them, an electric trigger signal is sent from the film unit to the strobe device. The strobe device 91 shown in FIG. 7 emits strobe light in response to an optical trigger signal sent from the film unit.

The strobe device 91 is provided with a transmitting light guide 92 and a receiving light guide 93. One end portion 92a of each light guide 92, 93,
93a is exposed from the side surface of the case 91a. The other end portion 92b of the transmission light guide 92 is arranged in the oscillation booster circuit 63 near the light emitting diode 74 for indicating the completion of charging. The light from the light emitting diode 74 is sent to the charging completion display section 52 and used as a trigger signal for the strobe device 91.

The light of the light emitting diode 74 is sent to the film unit through the transmitting light guide 92. The light sent to the film unit is sent back to the strobe device 91 again through the receiving light guide 93 in synchronization with the shutter release. The other end 93b of the receiving light guide 93 is arranged near the light receiving element 98. The light receiving element 98 is connected to the trigger circuit 64 and sends an electric signal to the trigger circuit 64 when receiving the light from the reception light guide 93. A thyristor (not shown) is arranged on the discharge path of the trigger circuit 64. When the electric signal is input to the gate terminal of the thyristor, the thyristor is turned on, the trigger capacitor and the main capacitor are sequentially discharged, and strobe light is emitted.

The film unit is provided with a synchro switch including a first synchro light guide 94 and a second synchro light guide 95. One ends 94a and 95a of the first sync light guide 94 and the second sync light guide 95 are exposed to the outside from the side surface of the film unit. When the strobe device 91 is attached, the end portion 94a of the first synchronizing light guide 94 faces the end portion 92a of the transmitting light guide 92, while the other end portion 94a of the second synchronizing light guide 9 is attached.
The end portion 95 a of the light receiving portion 5 is the end portion 93 of the receiving light guide 93.
face a.

The other end 94b of the first synchronization light guide 94 and the other end 95b of the second synchronization light guide 95 are arranged near the shutter blade 101. The end portions 94b and 95b are arranged so as to face each other.

The shutter blade 101 is provided with a trigger shutter portion 101a. Shutter part for trigger 96
a indicates that when the shutter blade 101 is in the closed position,
The end portion 94b of the first sync light guide 94 and the second
It is inserted between the end portion 95b of the synchro light guide 95 and blocks the optical path from the end portion 94b to the end portion 95b. On the other hand, when the shutter blade 101 swings to the open position, it retracts from the optical path. At this time, the end portion 94b
The end portion 95b receives the light emitted from the device and sends it back to the receiving light guide 93 of the flash device 91.

As described above, since the optical signal is used as the trigger signal to be sent from the film unit to the strobe device 91, the electrical contact is not exposed on the outer surface of the case 91a, which is safe.

In the above embodiment, the user is notified of the life of the strobe device by the fact that the charge completion indicator does not light up when the battery is used up. FIG. 8 (A)
The strobe device 111 shown in is an example in which a remaining number display unit 112 that displays the number of times the strobe can be emitted as the remaining number is provided to inform the user of the life of the strobe device. As the remaining number display unit 112, for example, an LCD panel is used, and the remaining number is digitally displayed. By providing such a remaining number display unit 112, the user can easily know how much more the flash device 111 can be used.

The flash device 111 is preset with a prescribed number of times of light emission determined according to the service life of the component. Then, the specified number of times of light emission is subtracted each time light is emitted, and the remaining number is displayed on the remaining number display unit 112. And
Charging is prohibited when the remaining number becomes "0". According to this, the strobe device 111 can no longer be used regardless of whether or not the battery capacity remains, and thus it is not necessary to determine the battery capacity according to the service life of the components.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the strobe circuit 114 when the remaining number display section 112 is provided, and FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the control of the light emission number measurement / control circuit 116. The light emission number measurement / control circuit 116 counts the number of strobe light emission. The light emission number measurement / control circuit 116
It is connected to the trigger circuit 64 and detects the discharge current from the trigger capacitor 68. Each resistor 117a, 11
7b suppresses the discharge current flowing to the light emission number measurement / control circuit 116. The rectifying diode 118 prevents the reverse flow of the discharge current. A prescribed number of times of light emission is set in a counter in the number of times of light emission measurement / control circuit 116. When detecting the discharge current, the light emission number measurement / control circuit 116 determines that the synchro switch 43 is turned on, subtracts “1” from the counter, and outputs the value to the remaining number display unit 112.

Further, the light emission number measurement / control circuit 116 is
It is connected to the base terminal of the charge inhibition transistor 119, and turns on the charge inhibition transistor 119 when the counter value reaches “0”. The collector terminal of the charge inhibition transistor 119 is connected to the tertiary coil 62c of the oscillation transformer 62. When the charge inhibition transistor 119 is turned on, a current from the tertiary coil 62c flows through the charge inhibition transistor 119, so that the oscillation transistor 61 is turned off and charging is inhibited.

Further, the strobe device 111 is provided with a remaining number display section 112 for digitally displaying the counter value,
Instead of the remaining number display unit 112, a remaining number display unit 122 that analog-displays the counter value may be provided as shown in a strobe device 121 shown in FIG. The remaining number display unit 122 includes a plurality of LEDs 122a, and the number of LEDs 122a that are turned on changes according to the counter value.

For example, when the product is new, the three LEDs 1
22a are all lit, and as the light emission is repeated, the counter value decreases and the lights are sequentially turned off. And
When the counter value becomes “0”, all three LEDs 122a are turned off. Of course, the number of LEDs is not limited to three and may be more. Alternatively, only one LED may be provided, and this LED may be turned on when the counter value becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value to warn the user that the life is approaching.

As described above, when an electric trigger signal is sent from the film unit to the strobe device, the strobe device needs a contact for connecting to the synchro switch. In addition, since high voltage is applied to this contact when the charging is completed, there is a risk of electric shock to the user. In order to prevent this, an example is described in which the electrical contact is eliminated by providing the contact in a place where it cannot be easily touched from the outside or by using an optical trigger signal.

In the following, an example of a strobe circuit in which there is no risk of electric shock even if the contact is exposed if the contact is exposed will be described below. First, the strobe circuit 132 of the strobe device 131 shown in FIG. 11 is an example in which a charge permission switch 133 and a discharge switch 134 are provided.

The charge permission switch 133 is connected to the oscillation booster circuit 63, and turns on when the strobe device 131 is attached to the film unit to permit charging, and turns off when the strobe device 131 is removed from the film unit to inhibit charging. To do. The discharge switch 134 is connected to both electrodes of the main capacitor 45, and the strobe device 131 is connected.
Is turned on when the is removed from the film unit to discharge the electric charge stored in the main capacitor 45. Resistance 13
Reference numeral 6 is a discharge resistor. This discharge switch 134
Is turned off when the strobe device 131 is attached to the film unit.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the switching mechanism of the charge permission switch 133 and the discharge switch 134.
The main body of the film unit 138 has protrusions 138a, 1
38b is provided. The case of the flash device 131 is provided with openings 131a and 131b into which these two protrusions 138a and 138b are inserted. Opening 13
A charge permitting switch 133 is arranged in the inner part of 1a, while a discharge switch 134 is arranged in the inner part of the opening 131b.
Are arranged.

The charge permission switch 133 has contact points 133.
a, 133b and a movable piece 133c for electrically connecting these contacts 133a, 133b. Each contact 13
3a and 133b are connected to the strobe circuit 132. The movable piece 133c has an ON position where each of the contact points 133a and 133b is brought into contact with the contact point 133a, 133b, and each contact point 133a.
It is provided so as to be movable between the OFF position away from a and 133b and is biased toward the OFF position by the spring 141.

The discharge switch 134 has contacts 134a, 1
34b and a movable piece 134c for electrically connecting these contacts 134a, 134b. Each contact 134a,
134b is connected to the strobe circuit 132. The movable piece 134c contacts the contacts 134a, 134b to bring them into conduction, and the contacts 134a, 13b.
It is provided so as to be movable between an OFF position away from 4b and is biased toward an ON position by a spring 142.

As shown in FIG. 12A, when the strobe device 131 is attached to the film unit 138, the protrusions 138a and 138b are inserted into the openings 131a and 13 respectively.
Enter 1b. The protrusion 138a pushes the movable piece 133c and moves it to the ON position against the bias of the spring 141. As a result, the charge permission switch 133 is turned on, and charging is permitted. Further, the protrusion 138b pushes the movable piece 134c and resists the urging of the spring 141 to move it.
Move to FF position. As a result, the discharge switch 13
4 is turned off.

As shown in FIG. 12B, when the strobe device 131 is detached from the film unit 138, the protrusions 138a and 138b have the openings 131a and 13 respectively.
Exit from 1b. When the protrusion 138a comes off, the movable piece 13
3c moves to the OFF position by the bias of the spring 141.
As a result, the charge permission switch 133 is turned off,
Charging is prohibited. When the protrusion 138b is removed, the movable piece 134c is moved to the ON position by the bias of the spring 142. This turns on the discharge switch 134,
The electric charge stored in the main capacitor 45 is discharged.

As described above, since the main capacitor 45 is discharged when the strobe device 131 is removed, even if the contact of the synchro switch 43 is touched, there is no electric shock. Further, since the charge permission switch 133 is turned off when the strobe device 131 is removed, charging is not restarted even if the charge switch is turned on, which is safe. Moreover, even if the user forgets to turn off the charging switch, the battery 48 will not be wasted.

When a magnet is used to attach the strobe device to the film unit, the charge permission switch 133 and the discharge switch 134 may be switched using the magnet. As shown in FIG. 13, the main body of the film unit 151 has two magnets 151 a, 151 for holding the strobe device 152.
b is provided.

The magnet 151a is provided for each contact 1 of the charge permission switch 133 when the strobe device 152 is attached.
It contacts 33a and 133b, and makes them conductive. As a result, the charge permission switch 133 is turned on, and charging is possible.

A magnet 156 is provided on the movable piece 134c of the discharge switch 134. The magnet 156 and the magnet 151b are arranged so that the same poles face each other. Therefore, when the strobe device 152 is attached, the magnet 156 and the magnet 151b repel each other.
4c moves to the OFF position against the bias of the spring 142, and the discharge switch 134 turns OFF.

On the other hand, when the strobe device 152 is removed from the film unit 151, the magnet 151a is separated from the contacts 133a and 133b, and the charge permission switch 13 is released.
3 is turned off and charging is prohibited. Also, the magnet 15
Since 1b is separated from the magnet 156, the movable piece 134c is moved to the ON position by the bias of the spring 142, and the discharge switch 134 is turned ON. As a result, the main capacitor 45
Is discharged.

Further, the flash circuit 161 shown in FIG.
Is an example in which the voltage applied to the contact for synchronization is lowered.
The trigger circuit 64 of the strobe circuit 161 is provided with a thyristor 162. The anode of the thyristor 162 is connected to the common terminal of the trigger coil 69, and the cathode is connected to the negative pole of the trigger capacitor 68. One contact of the synchro switch 43 is connected to the gate terminal of the thyristor 162.

At the other contact of the synchro switch 43,
The sub-trigger capacitor 163 is connected. The sub-trigger capacitor 163 is for accumulating the electric charge input to the gate terminal of the thyristor 162. The sub-trigger capacitor 163 is charged by the oscillation booster circuit 63 together with the main capacitor 45 and the trigger capacitor 68. Reference numeral 164 is a rectifying diode.

When the synchro switch 43 is turned on, the sub-trigger capacitor 163 is discharged and the thyristor 162 is turned on. As a result, the trigger capacitor 68
Then, the main capacitor 45 is sequentially discharged, and strobe light is emitted.

Since the sub-trigger capacitor 163 is for turning on the thyristor 162, the potential is low even in a charged state. Therefore, since the voltage applied to the synchro switch 43 is low, even if the contact of the synchro switch 43 is accidentally touched, it is not so dangerous. Further, since the charge permission switch 133 is provided, in the state in which the strobe device is removed, there is no possibility that charging will be started again after being discharged once.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example of a strobe device in which strobe light is constantly emitted regardless of subject brightness when charging is completed has been described. A strobe device which emits light in response to the light may be used. Further, a strobe device capable of adjusting the amount of strobe light emission according to the brightness of the subject may be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a battery with terminals 171 may be used as the battery. As a result, the effect of suppressing or preventing improper diversion of the strobe device can be further enhanced. Battery 171 with terminal
Is composed of a battery main body 172 and a pair of terminals 173 integrally provided with the battery main body 172. Each terminal 173
Connects both electrodes of the battery body 172 and the circuit board 174.

The battery 171 with terminals is fixed by, for example, inserting each terminal 173 into a through hole formed in the circuit board 174 and soldering it.
Therefore, it is difficult to remove from the circuit board 174. Also,
Even if it can be removed, the terminal 173 is also removed together with the battery body 172. As described above, since the battery 171 with terminals is difficult to replace, it is difficult to divert the circuit board. Furthermore, if you use such a special battery,
Since the user can not easily replace the battery,
It also improves the recovery rate of strobe devices.

The terminal-equipped battery 171 has a pair of terminals 173 provided at one end of the battery body 172. By doing so, compared to the case where each terminal is provided at both ends of the battery body, the length of the foot of the terminal can be shortened,
It is believed that it will be more difficult to remove from the circuit board 174. Of course, a battery with terminals in which terminals are provided at both ends of the battery body may be used.

[0103]

As described in detail above, in the strobe device of the present invention, the circuit board including the strobe light emitting portion, the main capacitor, and the power supply battery for supplying power to the strobe light emitting portion and the circuit board are housed in a sealed case. Since it is detachably attached to the main body of the attached film unit, the user can remove it from the used lens-attached film unit and use it repeatedly. As a result, as compared with the main body of the used film-equipped film unit, the circulation amount of the used strobe device is reduced, so that the chance of improper use of the strobe device can be reduced. As a result, inappropriate use of the strobe device is suppressed or prevented.

Further, since the strobe device can be detached from the lens-fitted film unit and stored, the user can effectively use the strobe device according to his or her own usage. For users who do not use flash photography often, the unit price per photo can be reduced, which is an economic advantage.

Further, since the use of the strobe light-emitting part and the parts constituting the circuit board is prohibited before the useful life of the strobe, the user can use the strobe device beyond the useful life thereof. Can not. After the used strobe device is collected by the manufacturer, it is reused after being properly inspected, washed, and repaired, so that the manufacturer can ensure the quality of the strobe device even when using inexpensive parts.

The case is provided with a pair of contacts for connecting a synchro switch for receiving a trigger signal from the synchro switch provided in the lens-fitted photo film unit, and in a state of being removed from the photo film unit, Since the voltage of the main capacitor is not applied to the contacts, it is safe even if a finger or the like touches the contacts by mistake.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a film unit with a lens and a flash device.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a mounting portion of a film unit with a lens.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a lens-fitted film unit.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a strobe device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of recycling of the film unit and the strobe device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a bayonet type engaging portion.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a strobe device using an optical trigger signal.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a strobe device provided with a display unit for displaying the remaining number of times of light emission.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a strobe device provided with a light emission count measurement / control circuit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of light emission frequency measurement / control.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of a strobe device provided with a charge permission switch and a discharge switch.

12 is an explanatory diagram of a switching mechanism of the strobe device of FIG.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of another switching mechanism of the flash device of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of a strobe device that applies a low voltage to a synchro contact.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a battery with a terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

10,80 film unit 11, 81, 111, 121, 131 Strobe device 12 Attachment 13 Engagement part 45 Main capacitor 46 circuit board 47 Strobe emission part 48 batteries 49 cases 56,114,132,161 strobe circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03B 17/56 G03B 17/56 J G03C 3/00 575 G03C 3/00 575B (72) Inventor Iida Akihisa Kanagawa 210 Nakanuma, Minamiashigara-shi, Fukushima Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Take Kubota 210, Nakanuma, Minamiashigara-shi, Kanagawa F-Term (reference) in Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. 2H053 CA01 CA23 2H105 EE22

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A strobe device used in a film unit with a lens, which is pre-loaded with an unexposed photographic film and has a simple photographing mechanism incorporated therein. The flash device is housed in a sealed case and is detachably attached to the main body of the lens-fitted film unit. 2. The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein use is prohibited before a useful life of components constituting the stroboscopic light emitting section and the circuit board elapses. 3. The case is provided with a pair of contacts for connecting a synchro switch for receiving a trigger signal from a synchro switch provided in the lens-fitted photo film unit, which is removed from the film unit. 3. In the state, the main capacitor voltage is prevented from being applied to the contact in the state.
The strobe device described.