JP2007127877A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera in which miniaturization is achieved by reducing the space of a mounting part available for an operation member. <P>SOLUTION: The camera 1 includes: an external cover 3 forming a housing for the camera 1; the operation member 4 supported in the opening 31 of the external cover 3 so as to be pressable; and a thin plate-like hold member 6 one end of which is fixed to the internal face of the external cover 3 and the other end of which is fixed to the operation member 4 so that the operation member 4 is supported by a cantilever structure, thereby reducing the mounting space of the operation member 4 to achieve the miniaturization of the camera. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera that can be miniaturized.

  As is well known, various operation members such as a release button and a power button are attached to an outer cover forming a camera casing. With respect to this type of operation member mounting structure, an elastic member formed of rubber is bonded to the inner side surface of the outer cover, and a release button is supported via the elastic member so as to be pressed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP-A-11-167155

  However, in the camera described in Patent Document 1, since the release button is supported via the elastic member so that the release button can be pressed, the elastic member has to be a relatively thick and complicated shape, and it is difficult to reduce the size of the camera. is there.

The camera according to the present invention has an outer cover that forms a housing of the camera, an operation member that is supported in a pressable manner in an opening provided in the outer cover, and one end side that supports the operation member in a cantilever structure. And a thin plate-like holding member fixed to the inner side surface of the outer cover and having an operation member fixed to the other end side.
It is preferable to provide a positioning mechanism for restricting the position of the holding member with respect to the outer cover at the attachment portion of the holding member.
The operation member may include an operation unit that is located on the inner side of the opening and is pressed and a holding unit that is connected to the operation unit and extends between the outer cover and the holding member.
An urging member that exerts an urging force against the pressing operation on the operation member can be further provided. In this case, an urging member may be incorporated in the switch member that detects the pressing operation of the operation member.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to save the space of the mounting portion of the operation member provided on the outer cover, and to reduce the size of the camera.

An embodiment of a camera according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the camera according to the present embodiment. The camera 1 is, for example, a retractable compact digital camera that retracts a lens barrel 2 in a camera body, and most of the camera body is covered with an outer cover 3. The outer cover 3 forms a camera casing and defines the appearance of the camera.

  Operation members such as a power button 4 and a release button 5 are provided on the upper surface of the outer cover 3. The power button 4 commands turning on / off of the camera by a user's pressing operation, and the release button 5 commands turning on a release switch by pressing. The outer cover 3 is also provided with a mode dial for switching the photographing mode, a zoom button for zooming the photographing lens, etc., but these are not shown. Hereinafter, the mounting structure of the power button 4 will be particularly described.

  2 is an exploded perspective view showing the mounting structure of the power button 4, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. The outer cover 3 is provided with a substantially circular opening 31, and the power button 4 is disposed in the opening 31. In addition, an accommodating part 51 in which the release button 5 is accommodated is provided on the side of the opening part 31.

  The power button 4 includes a substantially circular convex portion 41 bulging upward, and a concave portion 42 formed around the convex portion 41 over the entire circumference. The convex part 41 is arrange | positioned inside the opening part 31, and the surface of the convex part 41 is operated by the user. The opening edge 32 of the outer cover 3 is fitted in the recess 42, and the position of the power button 4 with respect to the outer cover 3 is restricted. A pressing portion 43 protrudes downward from the center of the back side of the convex portion 41. A convex portion 44 is provided on the peripheral portion of the power button 4, and the convex portion 44 is engaged with a groove portion (not shown) inside the outer cover 3 and functions as a detent for the power button 4.

  The inner side surface of the outer cover 3 is formed in a concavo-convex shape, and one end 61 of the holding member 6 is bonded to the convex portion 33 formed on the side of the opening 31 via the double-sided tape 10. The holding member 6 is formed by pressing a 0.3 mm resin flat sheet so as to be easily bent when subjected to a bending load, and functions as a leaf spring having a weak elastic force.

  The other end 62 of the holding member 6 extends in the horizontal direction until reaching the lower part of the opening 31. The other end portion 62 is provided with a notch 63 so that the pressing portion 43 of the power button 4 passes therethrough, and the bottom surface of the concave portion 42 of the power button 4 is bonded via the double-sided tape 10. It is supported by a holding member 6 having a holding structure. The holding member 6 may be formed in a size necessary for adhering and supporting the power button 4. In FIG. 3, the end face of the holding member 6 and the end face of the power button 4 coincide.

  A pair of through holes 64 are opened in one end 61 of the holding member 6, and a pair of bosses 34 are provided on the inner surface of the outer cover 3 corresponding to the through holes 64. The boss portion 34 of the outer cover 3 is fitted in each through hole 64, and the position of the holding member 6 with respect to the outer cover 3 is restricted. One of the through holes 64 is formed as a long hole so that the through hole 64 can be easily fitted to the boss portion 34.

  A support plate 7 fixed to the camera body is disposed below the power button 4, and a flexible substrate 8 is mounted on the upper surface of the support plate 7. A dome-shaped detection switch 81 having an arcuate bulge is disposed on the flexible substrate 8. The detection switch 81 is pressed by the pressing portion 43 of the power button 4 and detects an on / off operation of the power button 4. A spring is built in the detection switch 81, and a biasing force of the spring against the pressing operation is applied to the power button 4.

Next, main operations of the camera according to the present embodiment will be described.
In FIG. 3, when the user presses the power button 4, a bending load is applied to the holding member 6, and the holding member 6 maintains its bonded state with the cover 3 at the end 61 (see FIG. 3). The point A) is elastically deformed downward. As a result, the pressing portion 43 of the power button 4 presses the detection switch 81 against the urging force of the spring in the detection switch, and the power supply of the camera is turned on / off. When the user stops the operation of the power button 4, the power button 4 is initially in an initial state before being pressed by the urging force from the holding member 6 against the bending load and the urging force from the detection switch 81 against the pressing load. Return to position.

  The camera is assembled as follows. First, with the outer cover 3 turned upside down, the power button 4 is inserted into the opening 31 of the outer cover 3 from above, and the power button 4 is placed on the opening edge 32. At this time, the opening edge 32 is fitted in the recess 42 of the power button 4, and the power button 4 is positioned with respect to the outer cover 3. Next, the double-faced tape 10 is bonded to one side of the holding member 6, and in this state, the end face of the convex portion 33 of the outer cover 3 and the power source are fitted into the through hole 64 of the holding member 6. The double-sided tape 10 is bonded to the bottom surface of the recess 42 of the button 4. Thereby, since the holding member 6 is bonded in a state of being positioned with respect to the outer cover 3, the power button 4 can be bonded to the holding member 6 with high accuracy.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) One end 61 of the thin plate-like holding member 6 is bonded to the inner side surface of the outer cover 3, the power button 4 is bonded to the other end 62 of the holding member 6, and the power button 4 is interposed via the holding member 6. Was supported by a cantilever structure. As a result, it is possible to save the space for the mounting portion of the power button 4 and to reduce the size of the camera.

  That is, for example, when the power button 4 is supported from the outer cover 3 via rubber or the like, the power button 4 is supported so that the power button 4 can be pressed by elastic deformation of the rubber while maintaining the adhesive state between the rubber and the outer cover 3 and the rubber and the power button 4. There is a need to. For this purpose, it is necessary to form the rubber in a thick shape and to form the rubber so as to surround the entire circumference of the power button 4, so that a large space for the mounting portion of the power button 4 is required. On the other hand, when the power button 4 is supported in a cantilever structure via the thin plate-shaped holding member 6, the holding member 6 can be attached to the holding member 6 while maintaining a sufficient adhesive force between the holding member 6, the outer cover 3, and the power button 4. The pressing operation of the power button 4 can be performed by the acting bending load, and it is not necessary to provide the holding member 6 so as to surround the entire circumference of the power button 4, so that the installation space can be saved.

(2) Since the holding member 6 is positioned with respect to the outer cover 3 via the boss portion 34, the power button 4 inserted into the opening 31 can be adhered to a predetermined position of the holding member 6 with high accuracy. it can. Therefore, it is not necessary to form the holding member 6 wide in consideration of the shift of the power button 4, and it is possible to prevent the pressing portion 43 of the power button 4 from interfering with the holding member 6.
(3) Since the recess 42 is provided around the power button 4, the opening edge 32 of the outer cover 3 is fitted into the recess 42, and the power button 4 is held in the state where it is disposed in the opening 31. The power button 4 can be easily attached.
(4) Since the concave portion 42 of the power button 4 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the outer cover 3 and the holding member 6, the power button 4 can be attached to the outer cover even if the adhesive force between the power button 4 and the holding member 6 is weakened. 3 can be prevented from falling off.
(5) Since the detection switch 81 with a built-in spring is provided and the detection switch 81 exerts an urging force against the pressing operation on the power button 4, the urging force by the holding member against the bending load is increased. Even without this, the power button 4 can be returned to the initial position.
(6) Since the spring is built in the detection switch 81, it is not necessary to provide a separate urging member, and the number of parts can be saved.

  In the above embodiment, the mounting structure of the power button 4 has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other operation members that are supported so as to be pressed by the opening provided in the outer cover 3. . Although the detection switch 81 is operated by the power button 4, the operation member does not have to operate the switch, for example, an operation member for opening and closing the cover. The shape of the thin plate-like holding member 6 is not limited to that described above as long as it is supported from the outer cover 3 by the cantilever support structure.

  Although the holding member 6 is positioned by fitting the boss portion 34 of the outer cover 3 into the through hole 64, the positioning mechanism is not limited to this. While the power button 4 is formed with a substantially circular convex portion 41 as an operation portion and a concave portion 42 as a holding portion is formed around the convex portion 41, the shape of the operation member is not limited thereto. Although the pressing operation is detected by the dome-shaped detection switch 81, other switch members may be used. Although the detection switch 81 incorporates a spring to urge the power button 4, an urging member may be provided in addition to the detection switch, and the operation member may be urged by an urging member other than the spring. It may be.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a digital camera. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other cameras having an operation unit supported so as to be pressed by an outer cover, such as a camera using a silver salt film. . That is, the present invention is not limited to the camera of the embodiment as long as the features and functions of the present invention can be realized. The above description is merely an example, and when interpreting the invention, there is no limitation or restriction on the correspondence between the items described in the embodiment and the items described in the claims.

The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The disassembled perspective view which shows the attachment structure of a power button. III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

3 Outer cover 34 Boss part 4 Power button 41 Convex part 42 Concave part 6 Holding member 64 Through-hole 81 Detection switch

Claims (5)

An outer cover that forms the housing of the camera;
An operation member that is supported so as to be pressed by an opening provided in the outer cover;
A camera comprising: a thin plate-like holding member having one end fixed to an inner surface of the outer cover and the other end fixed to the inner surface of the outer cover so that the operation member is supported by a cantilever structure. The camera of claim 1,
The camera according to claim 1, wherein a mounting mechanism for restricting a position of the holding member with respect to the outer cover is provided at an attachment portion of the holding member. The camera according to claim 1 or 2,
The operating member is
An operation unit that is located on the inner side of the opening and is pressed;
A camera comprising a holding portion that is connected to the operation portion and extends between the outer cover and the holding member. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The camera further comprising an urging member that exerts an urging force against a pressing operation on the operation member. The camera according to claim 4, wherein
A switch member for detecting a pressing operation of the operation member;
The camera according to claim 1, wherein the urging member is built in the switch member.

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