JP2007293011A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the shape of a camera excellent in portability and housing property when the camera is not used, while the camera is stably held when the camera is used. <P>SOLUTION: A camera main body 10 is nearly cylindrical, and a photographic lens is arranged on the front of the camera main body 10 and a display screen is arranged on the back thereof. When the camera is not used, a movable grip 20 covers the display screen on the back side of the camera main body 10. When the movable grip 20 is turned counterclockwise as shown by figure, it becomes a projecting state to the side from the circumferential surface of the camera main body 10, and constitutes a grip part when the camera is held. The movable grip 20 is provided with various operation members 24 to 26 including a release button 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera having a movable grip.

  An example of a camera having a movable grip is described in Patent Document 1. This camera comprises a horizontally long rectangular parallelepiped camera body, a cylindrical lens barrel, and a movable grip that can be rotated with respect to the camera body. A display unit is provided on the back of the camera body, and the movable grip can be rotated between a non-use position that covers this display and a use position that protrudes from the side surface of the camera body and constitutes the camera grip. The

JP-A-9-43716

  The movable grip as described above allows the camera to be stably held when in use, while not only protecting the display unit when not in use, but also having a shape suitable for carrying and storage. It is desirable to be However, in the case of having a horizontally long rectangular parallelepiped main body and a cylindrical lens barrel as in the camera of Patent Document 1, the uneven portion remains even when the movable grip is not used, and portability and storage are improved. It cannot be improved significantly.

The camera according to the present invention accommodates an imaging unit in a substantially cylindrical camera body, a photographing lens is disposed on one end surface of the camera body, a display screen is disposed on the other end surface, and on the other end surface side of the camera body. A movable grip is provided that is movable between a non-use position that covers the display screen and a use position that protrudes laterally from the peripheral surface of the camera body to form a grip portion. An operation member may be provided on the movable grip.
When the camera body is viewed directly facing the photographic lens, the protruding amount of the movable grip at the non-use position from the camera body may be within 20% of the diameter of the camera body over the entire circumference. . In addition, the width (for example, height) of the movable grip in at least one direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the photographing lens may be substantially equal to the diameter of the camera body.
A grip assisting depression into which a finger for gripping the movable grip at the use position may be formed on the peripheral surface of the camera body. A lens driving operation button (for example, a zoom button) may be provided at a position on the opposite side of the peripheral surface of the camera body across the movable grip at the use position and the optical axis of the photographing lens.
The camera is turned on in conjunction with the movement of the movable grip from the non-use position to the use position, and the camera is turned off in conjunction with the movement of the movable grip from the use position to the non-use position. May be.

  According to the present invention, since the movable grip is provided on the substantially cylindrical camera body, it is possible to provide a camera that is more portable and stowable than a conventional camera with a movable grip.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 7 are block diagrams of an electronic camera according to the present invention. This camera includes a camera body 10 and a movable grip 20 whose position can be changed with respect to the camera body 10.

  The camera body 10 (to be precise, the housing of the camera body 10) has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a photographing lens 11 (FIG. 3) is provided on one end surface thereof, and a liquid crystal monitor 12 (FIG. 7) is disposed on the other end surface. Is placed. Although not shown, the camera body 10 includes various members and circuits (for example, an image pickup device, an image pickup circuit, an image signal processing circuit, an image recording circuit, a lens drive circuit, etc.) for taking a picture, and a liquid crystal monitor. Twelve drive circuits, a CPU for controlling each unit, a memory, and the like are incorporated.

  Hereinafter, the surface on which the photographing lens 11 is provided is described as the front of the camera, and the surface on which the liquid crystal monitor 12 is provided is described as the same back surface. Further, “upper”, “lower”, “left” and “right” refer to directions in the front view of FIG.

  A bulging portion 13 is formed on the right rear portion of the peripheral surface of the camera body 10, so that the back surface of the camera body 10 is not circular but is substantially elliptical as shown in FIG. 7. By doing so, a relatively large liquid crystal monitor 12 can be arranged on the back surface. If a small liquid crystal monitor is acceptable, the bulging portion 13 is not necessary.

  A portion 14 further protruding from the bulging portion 13 is a finder portion, and an eyepiece window 14 a is provided on the back surface of the finder portion 14. The finder unit 14 may be a liquid crystal finder or an optical finder. If the liquid crystal monitor 12 can be used instead of the finder, the finder unit 14 is not particularly necessary.

  Zoom buttons 15 a and 15 b are provided in front of the bulging portion 13 on the peripheral surface of the camera body 10. By pressing the zoom buttons 15a and 15b, electric zooming (zoom-up and zoom-down) of the photographing lens 12 is performed.

  On the other hand, the movable grip 20 (more precisely, the casing of the movable grip 20) has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a pair of arm portions 21 projecting upward and downward from the movable body 20 via the hinge portion 21a (FIG. 5). Are pivotally supported by the upper and lower surface chamfered portions 10a. Accordingly, the movable grip 20 can be rotated about 90 degrees between the non-use position shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 and the use position shown in FIG. Since the concave surface 22 (FIG. 5) as an escape portion is formed on the inner surface of the movable grip 20, interference between the movable grip 20 and the camera body 10 can be avoided during rotation.

  The movable grip 20 is provided with a release button 23 and other operation buttons 24 on the upper surface, and a four-way button 25 is provided on the rear surface (the surface facing the photographer at the use position). A command dial 26 is also provided in the section. Although not shown, a battery chamber is formed inside the movable grip 20, and for example, the battery can be inserted and removed from the bottom surface. A passage (not shown) that connects the space in the movable grip 20 and the space in the camera body 10 is formed in the arm portion 21 including the hinge portion 21a, and a flexible electrical wiring member is passed through the passage. Thus, power supply from the battery to the camera body 10 and transmission of operation signals of the operation members 23 to 26 are realized.

  When the movable grip 20 is not in use, the inner surface covers the liquid crystal monitor 12 to protect the liquid crystal monitor 12 from external forces. Further, as can be seen from FIGS. 1A, 1C, and 3, the height of the movable grip 20 is almost equal to the diameter of the camera body 10, so that there is almost no vertical unevenness in the entire camera at the non-use position. Absent. With respect to the left-right direction, the movable grip 20 protrudes from the camera body 10 by a in FIG. 1B, but the protruding amount is slight. Accordingly, the portability of the camera when not in use is good and the storage space is small. To achieve excellent portability and storage, when the camera is viewed from the front, the amount of protrusion of the movable grip 20 from the camera body 10 is within 20% of the diameter b of the camera body 10 over the entire circumference. It is desirable to be within the range.

  When the movable grip 20 is moved to the use position, the liquid crystal monitor 12 is exposed as shown in FIG. 7, and the movable grip 20 protrudes leftward from the peripheral surface of the camera body 10 (rightward as viewed from the photographer). It becomes. In this state, hold the movable grip 20 with the right hand so as to hold an ordinary single-lens reflex camera, and hold the camera with the left hand under the camera body 10. The peripheral surface of the camera body 10 is provided with a spherical recess 10a on the left side. By inserting a finger into the recess 10a, the finger can be hooked up to the front corner of the movable grip 20. Can be firmly gripped. The composition is adjusted by looking through the viewfinder from the eyepiece window 14a or by looking at the through image displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 12.

  In the above gripping state, the release button 23 can be operated without difficulty with the index finger of the right hand, and the four-way button 25 and the command dial 26 can be operated with the thumb of the right hand without difficulty. On the other hand, the zoom buttons 15 a and 15 b are provided on the upper right side of the peripheral surface of the camera body 10, in other words, on the upper side opposite to the movable grip 20 across the optical axis of the photographing lens 11, but this position supports the camera body 10. Since the thumb of the left hand is placed naturally, zooming with the thumb of the left hand can be performed without difficulty. Instead of (or in addition to) the zoom button, a manual focus button for electrically performing manual focus may be provided at this position.

  Further, the camera is turned on in conjunction with the movement of the movable grip 20 from the non-use position to the use position, and the power is turned off in conjunction with the movement of the movable grip 20 from the use position to the non-use position. The power operation button can be eliminated and the operability can be improved.

It is an external view at the time of non-use of the electronic camera in one embodiment, (b) is a top view, (a), (c) is a right-and-left side view. The bottom view of the said electronic camera. The front view seen from the III-III direction of Fig.1 (a). The rear view seen from the IV-IV direction of Fig.1 (a). VV sectional view taken on the line of Fig.1 (a). VI-VI sectional view taken on the line of FIG.1 (b). It is an external view at the time of use of the said electronic camera, (a) is a rear view, (b) is a top view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Camera body 10a Dimple 11 Shooting lens 12 LCD monitor 15a, 15b Zoom button 20 Movable grip 23 Release button 24 Operation button 25 4 direction button 26 Command dial

Claims (7)

An image pickup unit is housed in a substantially cylindrical camera body, a photographing lens is disposed on one end surface of the camera body, and a display screen is disposed on the other end surface.
A movable grip is provided that is movable between a non-use position that covers the display screen on the other end surface side of the camera body and a use position that protrudes laterally from the peripheral surface of the camera body to form a grip portion. A camera characterized by that.   When the camera body is viewed directly facing the photographic lens, the protruding amount of the movable grip at the non-use position from the camera body is within 20% of the diameter of the camera body over the entire circumference. The camera according to claim 1, which is configured as described above.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein a width of the movable grip in at least one direction orthogonal to an optical axis of the photographing lens is substantially equal to a diameter of the camera body.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein an operation member is provided on the movable grip.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein a grip assisting depression into which a finger that grips the movable grip at the use position is inserted is formed on a peripheral surface of the camera body. .   2. A lens driving operation button is provided on a peripheral surface of the camera body at a position opposite to the movable grip at the use position and an optical axis of the photographing lens. The camera in any one of -5.   The power of the camera is turned on in conjunction with the movement of the movable grip from the non-use position to the use position, and the power of the camera is linked to the movement of the movable grip from the use position to the non-use position. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera is configured to be turned off.

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