JP2004077879A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact camera which uses a fuel battery or air battery. <P>SOLUTION: A lens barrel comprises a moving barrel 5, an intermediate barrel 11, and a fixed barrel 12. The fixed barrel 12 comprises a barrel part 13, a base part 14, and a battery chamber 15, and a fuel battery as a camera power source is held by a holding part in the battery chamber. When the power source of the camera is turned on, the moving barrel 5 and intermediate barrel 11 extend along an optical axis L and air enters the lens barrel from an air intake 43a while elastically deforming a check valve 63. When the power source is turned off, the moving barrel 5 and intermediate barrel 11 contract along the optical axis L and the air in the lens barrel is discharged through an air outlet by elastically deforming a check valve 64. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a camera using a fuel cell or an air cell.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Currently, when the power is off, the photographic lens is retracted into the camera body, and when the power is turned on, the moving cylinder with the photographic lens is extended to project the photographic lens to the specified position, and then shoot In general, cameras that enable this are widely used. In such a camera, the movable cylinder is expanded and contracted in response to turning on and off of the power, so that the camera can be compact when stored and the photographing lens can be protected. In addition, digital cameras have become more versatile not only for driving imaging elements, displaying images on a liquid crystal display, and reading / writing image data, but also for voice recording and MP3 audio functions, and the power consumption of cameras is increasing.
[0003]
However, the camera body is required to be smaller and thinner in order to improve portability and operability. Therefore, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-330163, the condenser provided in the strobe light emitting unit is changed from a cylindrical shape to a sheet shape, and the lead wire between the condenser and the strobe board is arranged in the camera so that the luminous efficiency is improved. Cameras that can be made smaller and thinner have been proposed. Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-298646, an electronic camera is mounted by detachably mounting a thin battery and a recording medium such as a memory card so as to be substantially parallel to a front surface portion on which a photographing lens is provided. There has been proposed an electronic camera device that satisfies the performance required as described above and can reduce the thickness of the camera body.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, if the battery is made thinner as the camera becomes thinner and smaller, the usage time of the camera is shortened due to an increase in power consumption of the multifunctional camera. Further, it is difficult to further reduce the size and thickness of the alkaline dry battery as the primary battery and the nickel metal hydride battery as the secondary battery that are currently used. There are also concerns about environmental problems with disposable alkaline batteries and the like.
[0005]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and uses a fuel cell or an air cell that uses oxygen contained in the air as a battery of a camera, and constitutes a lens barrel. It is intended to provide a camera that is longer in use time, more compact, and friendly to the environment.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A moving cylinder that moves in the direction of the photographic optical axis between a storage position that includes a battery that drives the imaging mechanism, a photographic lens is incorporated, and is retracted into the camera body, and a photographic position that is extended from the camera body; In a camera equipped with a lens barrel that is composed of a fixed barrel that is housed in a storage position and is fixed to the camera body, a fuel cell or an air battery is used as the battery. It is arranged in.
[0007]
Further, the fixed cylinder is provided with a suction port and a discharge port provided with a check valve, and air is sucked from the suction port into the lens barrel as the movable barrel is moved from the storage position to the photographing position. As the moving cylinder moves from the photographing position to the storage position, the air sucked from the discharge port is discharged to supply air around the battery.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 and 2 are external perspective views of a digital camera embodying the present invention. On the front surface of the digital camera 2, a moving cylinder 5 incorporating a photographing lens 4, an objective-side finder window 7 constituting a finder 6, a strobe light emitting unit 8 for irradiating strobe light toward a subject, and a shutter release operation are used. A shutter button 9, a strobe light control sensor 10, and the like are provided. When the digital camera 2 is in a power-off state, the moving cylinder 5 is housed in a fixed cylinder 12 provided on the front surface of the digital camera 2 and protrudes from the front surface of the digital camera 2 when the power is turned on.
[0009]
A memory card slot 17 in which a memory card 16 is set is provided on one side surface of the digital camera 2. A memory card reader for reading / writing data from / to the memory card 16 is built in the back of the memory card slot 17. The memory card slot 17 is protected by an openable / closable protective cover 18 in order to prevent dust from entering. On the other side surface, a battery chamber cover 28 covering the opening of the battery chamber in which the power supply battery of the camera is housed is provided so as to be freely opened and closed. The battery chamber cover 28 has a ventilation hole 29 communicating with the battery chamber provided in the camera body.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 2, an eyepiece finder window 20 that constitutes the finder 6, an operation unit 21, an image display LCD 22 that functions as a view finder, and the like are provided on the back of the digital camera 2. In the operation unit 21, a plurality of operation buttons 25 to 27 including a power button 24 and a setting LCD 28 for displaying information such as various settings are provided.
[0011]
The digital camera 2 has a plurality of operation modes such as an auto shooting mode, a manual shooting mode, a playback mode, a moving image shooting mode, and a voice recording mode, and these operation modes are switched by the operation unit 21.
[0012]
FIG. 3 shows a power-on state of the digital camera 2. When the power button 24 is pressed and the power is turned on, the movable cylinder 5 and the intermediate cylinder 11 which are retracted and housed in the camera main body protrude to the front side, and the photographing is ready. When a zooming operation is performed by the photographer, the movable cylinder 5 performs an expansion / contraction operation back and forth. When the photographing is finished and the power is turned off, the protruding movable cylinder 5 and intermediate cylinder 11 are again stored in the fixed cylinder 12 of the camera body. (See Figure 1)
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 4, the lens barrel is composed of a movable cylinder 5, an intermediate cylinder 11, and a fixed cylinder 13. The fixed cylinder 13 is formed of a cylinder part 13, a base part 14, and a battery chamber 15. The moving cylinder 5 supports the photographing lens 4, and a driving pin 36 for moving along the optical axis L is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the moving cylinder 5 so as to rotate 180 degrees with respect to the optical axis L. . A gear portion 37 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate tube 11, and a substantially arc-shaped cam groove 38 into which the drive pin 36 is inserted is 180 degrees with respect to the optical axis L in the same manner as the drive pin 36. It is formed on a rotating object. A motor 41 for moving the moving cylinder 5 and the intermediate cylinder 11 along the direction of the optical axis L and a driving force from the motor 41 are transmitted to the outer cylinder 11 on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder portion 13 of the fixed cylinder 12. When the driving force of the motor 41 is transmitted to the intermediate cylinder 11 via the drive gear 42, the intermediate cylinder 11 moves in the direction of the optical axis L while rotating. Furthermore, the drive pin 36 is pressed by the cam groove 38, and the movable cylinder 5 moves in the optical axis L direction.
[0014]
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an air suction port 43 a and a discharge port 43 b are provided at a position to be rotated 180 degrees with respect to the optical axis L on the outer peripheral surface of the tube portion 13 of the fixed tube 12. Further, in the battery chamber 15, a fuel cell 45 as a power source of the camera is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port 43b. In addition, when the fixed cylinder 12 is incorporated in the digital camera body and the exterior cover of the camera is assembled, the opening 15a provided in the battery chamber 15 is closed and sealed, but is provided in the battery chamber cover 28. The air in the battery chamber 15 is ventilated by the ventilation hole 29. (See Figure 1)
[0015]
The fuel cell 45 supplies fuel (hydrogen) to one electrode that sandwiches the electrolyte, and supplies an oxidant (oxygen) to the other electrode, thereby causing the fuel and the oxidant to react electrochemically, It is a device that converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy. In order to make the lens barrel more compact, the fuel cell 45 housed in the battery chamber 15 is preferably in the form of a sheet.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 5, the movable cylinder 5 and the intermediate cylinder 11 are accommodated in the cylinder portion 13 of the fixed cylinder 12. A focus lens frame 50 is formed integrally with the base portion 14 inside the cylinder portion 13. The focus lens frame 50 includes a support frame 53 that supports a focus lens 52, a stepping motor 55 that is a focus motor, and the like. A feed screw 56 is provided. The driving force of the stepping motor 55 is transmitted to the support frame 53 via the feed screw 56, and the focus lens 52 is moved along the direction of the optical axis L to adjust the focus.
[0017]
A CCD image sensor 60 is mounted on a substrate 61 behind the lens barrel 5. Check valves 63 and 64 are provided in the vicinity of the suction port 43a and the discharge port 43b provided in the cylinder part 13, respectively. The check valves 63 and 64 are plate-like and elastic, and one check valve 63 is screwed to the inner peripheral surface side of the cylindrical portion 13 and is attached by closing the suction port 43a. The check valve 64 is also screwed to the outer peripheral surface side of the cylindrical portion 13 and is attached so as to close the discharge port 43b. The check valves 63 and 64 serve to prevent backflow of air intake and exhaust and to prevent condensation by sucking water discharged from the fuel cell 45 into the lens barrel.
[0018]
A battery chamber 15 is provided below the cylindrical portion 13. The battery chamber 15 is formed integrally with the cylinder portion 13 and the base portion 14, and a holding portion 46 that holds the fuel cell 45 is formed inside the battery chamber 15. The fuel cell 45 is held by the holding portion 46 and is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port 43 b provided in the cylindrical portion 13.
[0019]
The operation of the above configuration will be described above. As shown in FIG. 6, when the power of the digital camera 2 is turned on and the movable cylinder 5 and the intermediate cylinder 11 are projected to the front of the camera by driving the motor 41, the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the cylinder portion 13 of the fixed cylinder 12. Occurs. Therefore, the air outside the fixed cylinder 12 enters the cylinder portion 13 through the suction port 43a by elastically deforming the check valve 63. Since the other check valve 64 is provided on the outer peripheral surface side of the cylindrical portion 13, the check valve 64 is pulled to the inner side of the fixed cylinder, and the opening 43 b remains closed.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 7, the movable cylinder 5 and the intermediate cylinder 11 that protrude when the digital camera 2 is turned off are housed in the cylinder portion 13 of the fixed cylinder 12 by rotating the motor 41 in the reverse direction. At that time, the air sucked into the lens barrel from the suction port 43a is discharged from the discharge port 43b while elastically deforming the check valve 64. Therefore, new oxygen in the air is supplied to the fuel cell 45 and electric energy can be obtained. In addition, when the movable cylinder 5 moves along the optical axis L by a zooming operation during photographing, the check valves 63 and 64 are opened and closed each time, so that air is always sucked and exhausted. Fresh air is supplied to the fuel cell 45.
[0021]
Since the fuel cell 45 is provided in the battery chamber 15, water discharged from the fuel cell 45 does not enter the camera body, and the discharged water is ventilated in the battery chamber cover 28. 29 is discharged to the outside. Further, since the check valve 64 is provided to close the discharge port 43b, air and water in the battery chamber 15 do not enter the lens barrel.
[0022]
The battery used as a power source is not limited to a fuel cell, and an air cell that obtains electrical energy using oxygen in the air may be used. In this air battery, since the positive electrode active material provided in the battery uses oxygen in the air, it is not necessary to provide the positive electrode active material in the battery, and the negative electrode active material (zinc) can be provided. For this reason, there is an advantage that the battery capacity and lifespan are approximately doubled compared to batteries of the same size.
[0023]
In this embodiment, it is used for a digital camera, but it may be used for various cameras having a function of expanding and contracting a lens barrel by a zoom operation or the like such as a video camera or a photo camera.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the camera of the present invention, the use of the fuel cell as a battery for the power source of the digital camera uses the oxygen in the air, so it is environmentally friendly and has an electric capacity as compared with the conventional battery. And the usage time is longer. Furthermore, by providing the fuel cell with the battery chamber 15 provided in the fixed cylinder, it is possible to supply new air to the periphery of the fuel cell by moving the movable cylinder and the intermediate cylinder in the optical axis direction, so that electric energy is reliably obtained. And a more compact camera can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the front of a digital camera.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the back of the digital camera.
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view when a moving cylinder is at a photographing position.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a lens barrel.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the movable cylinder when retracted.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view when the movable cylinder is extended.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the movable cylinder when being reduced.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Digital camera 5 Moving tube 11 Intermediate tube 12 Fixed tube 13 Tube portion 14 Base portion 15 Battery chamber 36 Drive pin 43a Suction port 43b Discharge port 45 Fuel cell 63, 64 Check valve

Claims (3)

A moving cylinder that moves in the direction of the photographic optical axis between a storage position that includes a battery that drives the imaging mechanism, a photographic lens is incorporated, and is retracted into the camera body, and a photographic position that is extended from the camera body; In a camera including a lens barrel configured to store the movable cylinder at the storage position and to be fixed to the camera body,
A fuel cell or an air cell is used as the battery, and the battery is disposed around the fixed cylinder. The fixed tube is provided with a suction port and a discharge port, and air is sucked from the suction port into the lens barrel as the movable tube moves from the storage position to the photographing position. The air is supplied to the periphery of the battery by discharging the sucked air from the discharge port as the moving cylinder moves from the photographing position to the storage position. Camera. 3. The camera according to claim 2, wherein a check valve is provided at each of the suction port and the discharge port.

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