JP2006101053A - Camera having image storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact camera having an image storage device that is thin when the camera is carried, and provides a satisfactory photography posture in photographing. <P>SOLUTION: The camera having the image storage device comprises a camera 2 in which a lens block 2a and a CCD camera 2b are arranged linearly, a battery 3 arranged at the lower portion of the camera 2 in parallel with the optical axis of the camera 2, a main board 9 arranged behind the camera 2 and the battery 3 with the wide surface of the main board 9 facing right and left, a deck 5 juxtaposed with the main board 9 on one wide surface of the main board 9, and a liquid crystal monitor 6 juxtaposed with the main board 9 on the other wide surface of the main board 9. The camera 2, the battery 3, the main board 9, and the deck 5 are accommodated in one casing, and the liquid crystal monitor 6 is foldably provided at the casing via an opening/closing hinge provided at the side of the camera. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera provided with an image recording device, and more particularly to a camera with an image storage device having a flat appearance and excellent portability.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera and a camera with a storage device that records an image captured by the camera with a recording device (VTR) or the like have been widely used. In these cameras, portability is important. For example, in the conventional example, a camera unit and a viewfinder unit are disclosed in a side portion of a thin VTR deck unit. According to this conventional example, the entire apparatus can be made thin in accordance with the thickness of the thick deck portion.

  On the other hand, a camera with an image storage device using a disk such as a DVD as a recording medium is also widespread. These conventional examples have a thick structure in which a deck portion is disposed on one side of a camera portion and a viewfinder, and a main substrate and a foldable liquid crystal monitor are disposed on the other side.

JP 2001-111877 A

  In recent years, the storage technology has improved, and an image can be recorded on a thin disk such as a DVD without being stored in a large recording medium such as a VTR as in the conventional example. In addition, a DVD having a small diameter is widespread, and the entire deck portion for recording on the DVD is small and thin.

  The conventional example has a structure in which the whole or a part of the camera part is overlapped with the deck part although the length of the front and rear of the main body (the length in the camera optical axis direction) is shortened with respect to the camera optical axis. In addition, there is a problem that the thickness of the entire apparatus becomes thick and it is difficult to store in a thin case such as an attache case.

On the other hand, a camera with an image storage device not only has good portability, but also requires an external shape with good holding properties suitable for long-time shooting.
Further, in recent cameras with an image storage device, a liquid crystal monitor has become widespread, and a combination with this liquid crystal monitor must be considered.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a small camera with an image storage device that is thin when carried and can obtain a good photographing posture during photographing.

  In order to achieve the above object, the camera with an image storage device according to the present invention has a camera unit in which a lens block composed of a plurality of lenses and camera elements are linearly arranged, and a longitudinal direction at the lower part of the camera unit. A battery unit disposed in parallel with the optical axis of the camera unit, a main board disposed behind the camera unit and the battery unit in a posture in which the wide surface faces in the left-right direction, and one wide surface of the main board And a liquid crystal monitor unit juxtaposed with the main board on the other wide surface of the main board, the camera unit, the battery unit, the main board, and the deck. The unit is housed in one casing, and the liquid crystal monitor is foldably provided in the casing via an opening / closing hinge provided on the camera section side.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small camera with an image storage device that is compact when carried and can obtain a good photographing posture during photographing.

Hereinafter, a camera with an image storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same site | part, direction, etc. are shown with the same code | symbol, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.
First, the schematic structure of the camera with an image storage device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a component layout diagram of a camera with an image storage device.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 generally indicates a camera with an image storage device that stores an image on a disk such as a DVD, and the thickness D1 of the front part 4 of the main body including the camera unit 2, the battery unit 3, and the like. Is characterized by a thin and flat structure that matches the thickness D2 of the main body rear portion 7 including the deck portion 5 and the liquid crystal display device 6.

In this embodiment, the housing 8 of the camera 1 with an image storage device is composed of a main body rear portion 7 and a main body front portion 4. Here, the main body front portion 4 and the main body rear portion 7 are not clearly separable, and the arrangement of the devices constituting the portions greatly affects the thickness of the external structure. Therefore, it is easy to explain the characteristics of the present embodiment. Defined to be.
The main body rear portion 7 has a plate-like main substrate 9 arranged with its wide surfaces 9a and 9b on both sides, a deck portion 5 arranged on one wide surface 9a side, and a liquid crystal on the opposite wide surface 9b side. A display device 6 is arranged.

  The deck unit 5 employs what is recorded or reproduced on a thin recording medium such as a DVD. In this embodiment, since the deck portion 5 is disposed adjacent to one side of the main substrate 9, the wiring between the deck portion 5 and the main substrate 9 can be shortened. In this embodiment, since the deck portion 5 is provided on one side of the main body rear portion 7, the casing surface covering the deck portion 5 can be used as the open / close lid 17 (see FIG. 3). The structure for taking in and out the recording medium 5 becomes easy.

  On the other hand, the liquid crystal display device 6 is attached to the housing 8 via a hinge mechanism 10 so as to be opened and closed. Since the liquid crystal display device 6 is disposed on the other wide surface 9b of the main substrate 9, it can be folded and stored compactly so as to be juxtaposed with the main substrate 9 when stored. It can be opened largely through the display device 6. Since the liquid crystal display device 6 can be folded, the display screen and operation switches can be concealed by the monitor housing 13 of the liquid crystal display device 6, so that damage or misoperation of the liquid crystal display device 6 during storage can be reduced. .

  On the other hand, the main feature of this embodiment is that the camera unit 2 which has been conventionally arranged so as to bite into the main body rear part 7 is arranged in front of the main body rear part 7 without overlapping. In this embodiment, an arrangement area as the main body front part 4 is secured in the front part of the main body rear part 7, and a lens block 2a comprising a plurality of lenses provided with a linear optical axis P on the upper part of the main body front part 4. The camera unit 2 comprising the CCD camera 2b is arranged so that the optical axis P is in the front-rear direction. With such an arrangement structure, a large space is formed below the camera unit 2, and the battery unit 3, the microphone unit 11, and the like can be arranged using this space.

  Specifically, a battery part 3 that is long in the direction of the camera optical axis P is disposed below the front part 4 of the main body, and between the battery part 3 and the camera part 2, a microphone part 11 and an external connection terminal part 12 are provided. A hinge mechanism 10 is arranged. According to this arrangement configuration, the hinge mechanism unit 10 can be arranged in the middle (vertical direction), so that the monitor housing 13 can be supported at the center while reducing the projection of the hinge mechanism 10 to the outside. it can. Moreover, according to this structure, the microphone part 11 can be arrange | positioned in the front part of the housing | casing 100, and a sensitivity can be improved. Furthermore, if the external connection terminal portion 12 sandwiched between the microphone portion 11 and the hinge mechanism portion 10 is configured to be connected from the side surface of the housing 100, the usability is not hindered. In this embodiment, the flash unit 14 is arranged above the lens block 2a. However, the size of the flash unit 14 does not hinder the overall thickness reduction.

Further, in this embodiment, the outer shape of the main body rear portion 7 is formed in an arc shape in accordance with the outer shape of the deck portion 5. In this embodiment, since the recording medium is a disc (DVD), the outer shape of the deck unit 5 that accommodates the recording medium can also be circular. However, when the outer shape of the deck portion 5 is circular, a dead space is created due to the relationship with the liquid crystal display device 6 and the main substrate 9 that are based on a rectangular shape.
In this embodiment, the power / mode switching operation switch board 15 is arranged using the dead space of the arc-shaped main body rear portion 7, and the reproduction system operation switch board 16 is arranged in the monitor housing 13. The arrangement configuration is improved in efficiency.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the main body 9 includes the main body 9, the liquid crystal display device 6, and the main body rear portion 7 arranged so as to overlap the deck portion 5, the camera portion 2, the battery portion 3, the external terminal portion 12, and the like. By arranging the front part 4 without overlapping the front part of the main body rear part 7, the thickness D of the case 100 can be made uniform based on the thickness of the main body rear part 7, and the whole case 100 can be made thin. . Moreover, according to the arrangement structure, the front part of the housing 100 can be combined into a compact structure close to a quadrangle when viewed from the side. Furthermore, in this embodiment, by forming the rear portion of the casing 100 in a circular shape, a compact structure with little dead space can be achieved.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, the external structure of the camera 1 with an image storage device provided with the thin and compact external structure according to this embodiment will be further described. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the camera with an image storage device. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view holding the camera with an image storage device. FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the camera with an image storage device with the monitor housing opened. FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the camera housing with an image storage device in a state where the monitor housing is opened.

  First, the external appearance of the storage state will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 2, this embodiment has a horseshoe-like appearance as seen from the side (in the direction of the main board 9). That is, the housing 100 has a horseshoe shape with corners in the upper and lower parts of the front and a large semicircle in the rear as viewed from the side, and has a thin box shape on the front and top surfaces. . For this reason, since the housing | casing 100 is a thin flat shape, it has the magnitude | size which can fit in a thin attache case.

  On the front side, the flash unit 14 is disposed at the top, and a circular camera lens 30 (lens block 2a) is disposed below, and a punching-shaped opening 11a that communicates with the microphone unit 11 is formed below the flash unit 14. Below that, an open / close lid 3a for inserting and removing the battery unit 3 is provided. Further, a lens cover (not shown) is provided on the front surface of the camera lens 30, and the lens cover can be opened and closed by operating the opening / closing lever 27 (see FIG. 3). In this embodiment, power on / off may be controlled in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the lens cover. On the other hand, the right side surface of the housing 100 in which the liquid crystal display device 6 is disposed is disposed such that a horseshoe-shaped monitor housing 13 is embedded in the housing surface.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the left side surface of the housing 100 including the deck unit 5 is divided into two parts in the front and rear, and an opening / closing lid 17 is provided at the rear part for taking in and out the recording medium. A terminal port 12a of the external connection terminal portion 12 is disposed on the front casing surface.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the housing surface on the deck portion 5 side is held as a grip portion 18 with the right hand. For this reason, a hand strap 26 is provided on the left side surface. When holding the case 100, hold the upper part of the case 100 with the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger, and hold the case 100 so as to be wrapped with the right hand so that the back side of the case 100 is held with the thumb. .
If it is the said holding | maintenance attitude | position, the switch 19 for video recording arrange | positioned on the back side can be operated with a thumb. Further, the still image shooting switch 20 arranged on the upper surface can be operated with the index finger.

Generally, in cameras that shoot still images, it is common to operate the shutter with the index finger, and in cameras that shoot video, it is common to operate with the thumb. Operability has been improved.
The moving image shooting switch 19 is disposed on the power / mode switching dial switch 21. A zoom lever 22 is disposed in the vicinity of the still image shooting switch 20 and can be operated with the index finger. Reference numeral 23 denotes an eject switch for the opening / closing lid 17.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the structure and photographing state of the housing 100 will be described. First, the housing 100 is a skeleton of the housing 100, and includes a main housing 100a covering the upper and lower surfaces and the back surface, a right side plate 100b covering the right side surface, a left side plate 100c covering the left side surface, a front plate 100d, and a monitor. The housing 13 is configured. A recess 33 is formed in the right side plate 100 b, and the monitor housing 13 can be stored in the recess 33. In this recess 33, switches 24 for camera photography are arranged. Further, the right side plate 100b is provided with a finger hooking portion 47, and by engaging the fingertip with the finger hooking portion 47, the engagement between the monitor housing 13 and the concave portion 33 can be released.

On the other hand, the monitor housing 13 includes an outer cover 13a and an inner cover 13b. A display screen 34 and playback system operation switches 25 are disposed on the inner cover 13b.
The reproduction system operation switches 25 include a circular reproduction / pause button 41, a ring-shaped skip button (fast forward, fast reverse) 42 around it, a NAVI button 43 provided around the circumference, and a selection button. 44, a menu button 45, and a stop button 46 are provided.
In this embodiment, by closing the monitor housing 13, the display screen 35, the reproduction system operation switches 25 and the camera photographing switches 24 are concealed and protected by the outer cover 13a.

According to this embodiment, the housing 100 is held in the holding posture described with reference to FIG. 3, and the monitor housing 13 is opened with the left hand to enter the photographing state. In this embodiment, a moving image can be recorded or stopped by operating the moving image photographing switch 19 while monitoring an image photographed by the camera unit 2 with the liquid crystal display device 6, and can also be stopped. A still image can be captured by operating the image capturing switch 20.
On the other hand, if adjustment during shooting is necessary, the camera shooting switches 24 can be operated with the left hand. Further, if the operation is a reproduction system, it can be performed by operating the reproduction system operation switches 25 adjacent to the display screen.

FIG. 2 is a component layout diagram of a camera with an image storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front perspective view of a camera with an image storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a rear perspective view of a camera with an image storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front perspective view of the state where the monitor housing of the camera with an image storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention was opened. It is a back perspective view of the state where the monitor housing of the camera with an image storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention was opened.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera with an image storage device, 2 ... Camera part, 2a ... Lens block, 2b ... CCD camera, 3 ... Battery part, 4 ... Front part of main body, 5 ... Deck part, 6 ... Liquid crystal display device, 7 ... Rear part of main body, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 ... Case, 9 ... Main board, 9a, 9b ... Wide surface of main board, 10 ... Hinge mechanism, 11 ... Microphone part, 12 ... External connection terminal part, 13 ... Monitor housing, 14 ... Flash part, 15 ... Power supply / mode switching operation switch board, 16 ... reproduction system operation switch board, 17 ... opening / closing lid, 18 ... grip part, 19 ... moving image shooting switch, 20 ... still image shooting switch, 21 ... power supply / mode switching dial switch, 22 ... Zoom lever, 23 ... Eject switch, 24 ... Camera shooting switches, 25 ... Playback operation switches, 26 ... Hand strap, 27 ... Open / close lever, 30 ... Turtle Lens, 33 ... recess, 34 ... display screen, 41 ... play / pause button, 42 ... skip button, 43 ... NAVI button, 44 ... select button, 45 ... menu button, 46 ... stop button, 47 ... finger hook, 100: casing, D1: thickness of front part of main body, D2: thickness of rear part of main body, P: optical axis of camera.

Claims (3)

A camera block in which a lens block composed of a plurality of lenses and camera elements are arranged in a straight line;
A battery unit in which the longitudinal direction is arranged in parallel to the optical axis of the camera unit at the bottom of the camera unit;
A main board disposed behind the camera unit and the battery unit in a posture in which the wide surface faces in the left-right direction,
A deck portion arranged in parallel with the main substrate on one wide surface of the main substrate;
A liquid crystal monitor unit provided in parallel with the main board on the other wide surface of the main board,
The camera unit, battery unit, main board, and deck unit are housed in one housing,
A camera with an image storage device, wherein the liquid crystal monitor is provided in a foldable manner in the housing via an opening / closing hinge provided on the camera unit side. The camera with an image storage device according to claim 1,
A camera with an image storage device, comprising a microphone section and an external connection terminal between the camera section and the battery section. The camera with an image storage device according to claim 1,
A camera with an image storage device, wherein an image recording switch is provided on a rear portion of the casing, and a still image recording switch is disposed on the rear surface of the casing.

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