JP2004128668A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a digital camera satisfying both reduction in size and convenience in which a high capacity battery can be mounted without lowering operability. <P>SOLUTION: Since a large LCD panel is arranged on the upper side on the back of a digital camera 10, an operating means, e.g. a cross key, a mode switch, a power button, and the like, can be arranged on the lower side with a margin. Since the operating means is arranged on the lower side of the LCD panel, various operations can be carried out readily without obstructing the LCD panel with a hand. Furthermore, a large high capacity battery 28 can be loaded using the space under a zoom lens 14 effectively because a space 24 for containing the large high capacity battery 28 is provided under the zoom lens 14 on the front 12FA and an opening/closing battery cover 20 is provided on the front side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly to a digital camera that achieves both miniaturization and ease of use.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various digital cameras that convert an image captured by an image sensor such as a CCD into digital data and store it in a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, or a magnetic disk are commercially available.
[0003]
As a conventional digital camera, for example, there is a horizontally long digital camera as described in JP-A-11-8786 (Patent Document 1).
[0004]
This digital camera has a battery at the right end, various circuit boards at the center, an optical viewfinder, a lens unit, and an image sensor at the left end as viewed from the back of the camera, and a liquid crystal display on the back. It has been.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-8786 (pages 1-8, FIGS. 1-13)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional digital camera, the battery is configured to be attached / detached from the rear side, and if the large battery with a large capacity is designed in the previous stage, various switches operated by the photographer are arranged on the rear side. It becomes difficult.
[0007]
For this reason, it is conceivable to make various switches small, but there is a problem that it becomes difficult to operate. In addition, the display device must be made small, and there is a problem that an image displayed on the display device is difficult to see.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and provides a digital camera that can be mounted with a large-capacity battery without deteriorating the photographer's operability, and can be both compact and easy to use. Is the purpose.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a digital camera that converts an image captured by an image sensor into digital data and stores the digital data in a storage medium, and is disposed on the upper front side. A lens for forming an image on the image sensor, a battery mounting part for storing a battery for supplying electric power to an electric circuit in the apparatus disposed on the lower front side, and an image sensor disposed on the upper rear side for capturing with the image sensor It has a display means for displaying an image, and a storage medium loading section which is arranged on the bottom side and allows the storage medium to be attached and detached.
[0010]
Next, the operation of the digital camera according to claim 1 will be described.
[0011]
In the digital camera according to claim 1, since the battery mounting portion for storing the battery for supplying power to the electric circuit in the apparatus is disposed below the front lens, for example, a large-capacity large battery is installed. Even if it is used, large display means can be placed on the back side, and various operation means can be placed with plenty of space in areas other than the display means, improving operability for the photographer To do.
[0012]
In general, the front side of the camera is provided only with a relatively small strobe light emitting unit, an optical viewfinder, and the like, in addition to the photographing lens, so that there is room for placing other objects. Therefore, by disposing the lens on the upper front side, it is possible to dispose a large battery below the lens without sacrificing operability.
[0013]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the first aspect, operation members connected to the electric circuit for electrical operation of the camera are arranged on the lower back side and the side surface. It is characterized by.
[0014]
Next, the operation of the digital camera according to claim 2 will be described.
[0015]
In the digital camera according to the second aspect, for example, a shutter button (switch) or the like as an operation member can be easily pushed by being arranged on the side surface. In addition, since the operation members (various switches) other than the shutter button are arranged below the display means on the back, they can be seen by the finger (hand) operated by the display means when operating the operation means with a finger or the like. Various operations can be easily performed while looking at the display means.
[0016]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the first or second aspect, a storage medium loading portion that allows the storage medium to be attached and detached is disposed on the bottom surface side.
[0017]
Next, the operation of the digital camera according to claim 3 will be described.
[0018]
In the digital camera according to the third aspect, the storage medium for storing the image data is attached to the storage medium loading unit arranged on the bottom surface side.
[0019]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the first or second aspect, a housing in which the lens, the battery mounting unit, the display unit, and the storage medium loading unit are integrally provided. It is characterized by being formed vertically long.
[0020]
Next, the operation of the digital camera according to claim 3 will be described.
[0021]
When the layout of claim 3 is adopted, the volumetric efficiency is improved, and the flexibility of the layout of the operation means on the back surface is increased and the operability is improved as compared with the case where the layout is horizontally long.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0023]
1 to 6 are external views of a digital camera 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a right side view, FIG. 3 is a left side view, and FIG. 5 is a bottom view, and FIG. 6 is a rear view.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 1, on the front surface 12F of the casing 12 of the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, a zoom lens 14 for photographing, a strobe window 16 for emitting strobe light, and an outside for dimming are provided. A dimming window 18 for taking light into the photosensor is arranged, and a battery lid 20 covering the battery box is arranged at the lower part.
[0025]
Here, the zoom lens 14 is disposed slightly to the right of the front surface 12 </ b> F, and a lens barrier 22 that covers the zoom lens 14 is provided on the front side of the zoom lens 14.
[0026]
The strobe window 16 is arranged to the left near the upper end, and the light control window 18 is arranged to the right of the upper end.
[0027]
The inside of the battery lid 20 is a battery accommodation space 24, and a rectangular battery 28 can be accommodated by opening the battery lid 20 by operating a lock button 26 described later.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 7, the electric circuit board 27 of the digital camera 10 is disposed on the back side of the battery housing space 24.
[0029]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, an imaging element 29 such as a CCD is disposed on the back side of the zoom lens 14.
[0030]
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a power jack 30 and an A / V jack 32 are arranged on the right side surface (left side when viewed from the photographer side) 12R of the housing 12.
[0031]
The power jack 30 is for connecting a plug (not shown) of a power cord for connecting to an external power source.
[0032]
The A (audio) / V (video) A / V jack 32 is for connecting, for example, an A / V cord plug (not shown) for connection to a television.
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 3, a release button 34, a zoom button 36, a strobe button 38, a macro button 40, and a strap attachment portion 42 are disposed on the left side surface 12 </ b> L (right side when viewed from the photographer side) of the housing 12. ing.
[0034]
The release button 34 is for releasing the shutter at the time of shooting.
[0035]
The zoom button 36 is for changing the zoom ratio.
[0036]
The macro button 40 is for changing the zoom lens 14 to the macro photographing state.
[0037]
The strobe button 38 is for changing the strobe state (for example, forced light emission, light emission inhibition, red-eye prevention, etc.).
[0038]
Moreover, the strap attachment part 42 is for attaching a hand strap (not shown).
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 4, a microphone 44 is disposed on the upper surface 12 </ b> T of the housing 12.
[0040]
The microphone 44 is used for recording.
[0041]
As shown in FIG. 5, on the bottom surface 12BO of the housing 12, a media lid 46 that can be opened and closed to cover a slot 45 into which a card-like medium (for example, a semiconductor memory) (not shown) is inserted, and a tripod male screw ( A tripod screw 48 for screwing (not shown) and a lock button 26 for locking the battery lid 20 are arranged.
[0042]
Next, as shown in FIG. 6, a large LCD panel 48 is arranged on the upper half of the rear surface 12BA of the housing 12, and a cross key 50, a mode switch 52, a power ( A power button 54, a speaker 56, a grip rubber 58, and the like are arranged.
[0043]
The LCD panel 48 reproduces an image being photographed (in place of a viewfinder), reproduces an image stored in a medium, displays various operation information, and the like.
[0044]
For example, the mode switch 52 switches the state of the digital camera 10 between a state in which an image can be taken and a state in which a stored image can be reproduced.
[0045]
The speaker 56 reproduces the recorded sound or reproduces an operation confirmation sound that is generated when various operations are performed.
[0046]
The power button 54 is for turning the power on and off.
[0047]
The grip rubber 58 is used to make it easier for the photographer to hold the digital camera 10 by pressing his / her finger when the digital camera 10 is held.
[0048]
The cross key 50 is a switch for performing various electrical operations other than those described above.
(Function)
Next, the operation of the digital camera 10 of this embodiment will be described.
[0049]
In the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, a battery housing space 24 capable of housing a large-capacity large battery 28 is disposed below the zoom lens 14 of the front 12FA, and the battery lid 20 is provided on the front side so as to be opened and closed. Therefore, it is possible to load a large-capacity large battery 28 by effectively using the space below the zoom lens 14.
[0050]
In addition, since the large-capacity large battery 28 is provided on the front 12FA side, the large LCD panel 48 can be disposed on the rear surface 12BA.
[0051]
In addition, since the large LCD panel 48 is arranged on the upper side of the back surface 12BA, the cross key 50, the mode changeover switch 52, the power button 54, the speaker 56, the grip rubber 58, etc. can be arranged with a margin on the lower side. It was.
[0052]
Further, since the operation system such as the cross key 50, the mode switch 52, and the power button 54 is arranged below the LCD panel 48, various operations can be performed without blocking the LCD panel 48 by hand.
[0053]
Therefore, the operability is good for the photographer.
[0054]
The release button 34 is provided above the left side (right side as viewed from the photographer side) 12L, so that it is easy to press when the camera is held.
[0055]
Furthermore, in the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, since the casing 12 is vertically long, the degree of freedom in the layout of the operation system of the back surface 12BA is increased and the operability is improved as compared with the case where it is horizontally long.
[0056]
In the present embodiment, the release button 34 is arranged on the left side surface 12L (right side when viewed from the photographer side) of the housing 12. However, in some cases, the release button 34 may be provided on the upper surface 12T like a normal silver halide camera. .
[0057]
In this embodiment, the mode switch 52 and the power button 54 are arranged on the back surface 12BA, and the strobe button 38 and the macro button 40 are arranged on the left side surface 12L of the housing 12 (right side when viewed from the photographer side). The present invention is not limited to this, and these operation systems may be appropriately provided on the upper surface 12T.
[0058]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, since the digital camera of the present invention has the above-described configuration, it is possible to mount a large display means and a large-capacity battery without deteriorating the photographer's operability. It has an excellent effect of being compatible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a digital camera.
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the digital camera.
FIG. 3 is a left side view of the digital camera. FIG. 4 is a top view of the digital camera.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the digital camera.
FIG. 6 is a rear view of the digital camera.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration inside a digital camera.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Digital Camera 12 Case 14 Zoom Lens (Lens)
24 Battery storage space (battery mounting part)
29 Image sensor 34 Release button (operation member)
36 Zoom button (operation member)
38 Strobe button (control member)
40 Macro button (operation member)
45 slots (storage medium loading part)
48 LCD panel (display means)
52 Mode selector switch (operation member)
54 Power button (operation member)

Claims (4)

A digital camera that converts an image captured by an image sensor into digital data and stores the digital data in a storage medium,
A lens that is arranged on the upper front side and forms an image on the image sensor;
A battery mounting portion for storing a battery disposed on the lower front side for supplying power to an electric circuit in the apparatus;
Display means for displaying an image placed on the upper back side and captured by the imaging device;
A digital camera comprising: The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein operation members connected to the electric circuit for performing an electric operation of the camera are arranged on a lower side and a side surface of the back surface. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein a storage medium loading unit that allows the storage medium to be attached and detached is disposed on a bottom surface side. 4. The casing according to claim 1, wherein the lens, the battery mounting unit, the display unit, and the storage medium loading unit are integrally formed in a vertically long shape. The digital camera according to Item 1.

Images