JP2007316528A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera having a bending optical system improved in portability by shortening height dimension. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera 10 is equipped with the bending optical system 30. The bending optical system 30 is arranged in a camera main body 11 to extend in a right-and-left direction when viewing the camera main body 11 in standard posture from a subject side. A main substrate 37 on which a CPU 38 for controlling respective parts is mounted is provided in the camera main body 11, and is arranged on the back side of the bending optical system 30. A strobe light emission part 13, a stroboscope capacitor 36 and a release button 15 are arranged upper than the bending optical system 30, and a battery 39, a power source terminal 16 and a USB terminal 17 are arranged lower than the bending optical system 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera including a bending optical system that forms a subject image after bending an optical axis of subject light at a substantially right angle.

  In recent years, digital cameras equipped with a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD image sensor have become widespread. There is also known a digital camera including a bending optical system that bends the optical axis of subject light at a substantially right angle. In such a digital camera, by converting the longitudinal length of the optical system into the vertical and horizontal directions, the thickness of the camera body in the longitudinal direction can be reduced and portability can be improved.

Also, a digital camera is known in which the above-described bending optical system extends over substantially the entire width in the left-right direction of the camera body when the camera body in a standard posture is viewed from the subject side (for example, a patent Reference 1). In this digital camera, the camera body can be reduced in size by shortening the width in the left-right direction of the camera body and by arranging components other than the bending optical system on both sides of the bending optical system.
JP 2004-219516 A

  However, the digital camera described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it is difficult to reduce the height of the camera body because components other than the bending optical system are arranged on both sides of the bending optical system. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a camera having a bending optical system in which the height dimension is shortened to improve portability.

  In order to solve the above problems, the camera of the present invention includes a bending optical system that forms a subject image after bending the optical axis of the subject light at a substantially right angle, and this bending optical system is a camera body in a standard posture. Is mounted in the camera body so as to extend in the left-right direction when viewed from the subject side, and a control circuit for controlling each part in the camera body is mounted on the back side of the bending optical system The main board is provided.

  In addition, a strobe light emitting unit, a strobe condenser, and a release button are provided above the bending optical system in a state where the camera body is in the standard posture, and connected to an external device below the bending optical system. It is preferable that a connection terminal is provided.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that a battery for supplying power to each part in the camera body is disposed so that the camera body is substantially parallel below the bending optical system when the camera body is in the standard posture. In addition, a battery that supplies power to each part in the camera body may be arranged so that the camera body is vertically placed on the side surface of the camera body when the camera body is in the standard posture.

  In addition, display means for displaying an image is provided on the back surface of the camera body, and a plurality of operation members operated by a user when the camera body in the standard posture is viewed from the back side, It is preferable that they are arranged in a line in the left-right direction below the means.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that a motor for moving a lens constituting the bending optical system along the optical axis is mounted on the main board.

  The bending optical system includes a first reflecting optical member that reflects the subject light at a substantially right angle and bends the optical axis in the left-right direction, and the optical axis bent by the first reflecting optical member. A second reflective optical member that bends at a substantially right angle toward the main substrate, and an imaging unit that captures the subject image is mounted on the main substrate at a position facing the exit surface of the second reflective optical member. It is preferable that

  According to the camera of the present invention, since the main board is disposed on the back side of the bending optical system, the height of the camera body is set higher than when the main board is disposed above or below the bending optical system. It can be shortened. For this reason, the portability of the camera can be improved.

  In addition, a strobe light emitting unit, a strobe condenser, and a release button are provided above the bending optical system, and a connection terminal is provided below the bending optical system, so that the parts can be efficiently arranged on the camera body and the camera body Can be small.

  Furthermore, by arranging the battery vertically on the side surface side of the camera body, it is possible to shorten the height dimension as compared with the case where the battery is arranged substantially parallel below the bending optical system.

  Moreover, the size of the display means can be increased by arranging a plurality of operation members in a line below the display means. Furthermore, by mounting the image pickup means and the motor on the main board, a connecting member for connecting to the main board becomes unnecessary, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  First, the digital camera 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. A digital camera 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes an objective lens 12 and a strobe light emitting unit 13 on the front surface of a camera body 11. In addition, a lens barrier 14 that is movable between a shielding position that shields the objective lens 12 and a exposing position that exposes the objective lens 12 is provided on the front surface of the camera body 11. Further, a release button 15 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 11.

  A power supply terminal 16 and a USB terminal 17 are provided on the side surface of the camera body 11. The power terminal 16 is connected to a connection terminal of an AC adapter, and the USB terminal 17 is used when an external peripheral device (for example, a personal computer) and the camera body 11 are connected by a USB cable.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, an LCD 20 and an operation unit 21 are provided on the back surface of the camera body 11. The LCD 20 is a display means for displaying an image, and displays various setting screens in addition to the image. The operation unit 21 includes a plurality of operation members (buttons and the like) and is operated by the user. The operation unit 21 is arranged on the right side of the LCD 20 when the camera body 11 in the standard posture is viewed from the back side.

  Next, the layout of the components in the camera body 11 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the digital camera 10 includes a bending optical system 30. The bending optical system 30 is disposed so as to extend over substantially the entire width of the camera body 11 in the left-right direction when the camera body 11 in the standard posture is viewed from the subject side. The bending optical system 30 includes an objective lens 12, a prism 31, a plurality of lens groups (not shown) including a zoom lens and a focus lens, and a motor 32 that drives the zoom lens and the focus lens in the optical axis direction. , 33.

  A CCD image sensor (hereinafter simply referred to as “CCD”) 34 is provided at the rear end of the bending optical system 30 as image pickup means for picking up a subject image by photoelectric conversion. The subject light that has passed through the objective lens 12 is bent at a substantially right angle by the prism 31, then passes through a plurality of lens groups, and a subject image is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD 34.

  Further, a release unit 35, a strobe light emitting unit 13, and a strobe condenser 36 are provided above the bending optical system 30. A main substrate 37 is provided on the back side of the bending optical system 30. The main board 37 is mounted with a CPU 38 which is a control circuit for controlling each part in the camera body 11.

  A battery 39 that supplies power to each part in the camera body 11 is provided below the bending optical system 30. The battery 39 is arranged in the left-right direction so as to be substantially parallel to the bending optical system 30.

  As described above, by disposing the main substrate 37 on the back side of the bending optical system 30, the height direction of the camera body 11 is higher than when the main substrate 37 is disposed above or below the bending optical system 30. Can be reduced, and the portability of the camera body 11 can be improved.

  Next, a digital camera 40 according to the second embodiment will be described. The digital camera 40 shown in FIG. 6 is different from the digital camera 10 in the configuration on the back side of the camera body 41, and is provided with an operation unit 43 below the LCD 42. The buttons 43a to 43g constituting the operation unit 43 are arranged in a line in the left-right direction. For this reason, the size of the LCD can be increased as compared with the case where the operation unit 43 is disposed on the right side of the LCD 42 as in the digital camera 10. Other configurations are the same as those of the digital camera 10, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Next, a digital camera 50 according to the third embodiment will be described. The digital camera 50 shown in FIG. 7 differs from the digital camera 10 in the arrangement position of the battery 39 housed in the camera body 51, and is placed vertically on the left side when the camera body 51 in the standard posture is viewed from the subject side. Has been. For this reason, compared with the case where the battery 39 is arrange | positioned below the bending optical system 30 like the digital camera 10, the height dimension of the camera main body 51 can be made small. Other configurations are the same as those of the digital camera 10, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Next, a digital camera 60 according to the fourth embodiment will be described. The digital camera 60 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 differs from the digital camera 10 in the arrangement position of the CCD 34, and the CCD is mounted on the main board. For example, the CCD 34 is soldered and mounted on the main board 37 in a state of being housed in the image pickup device package. Further, motors 32 and 33 for driving a zoom lens, a focus lens, and the like are also directly attached to the main board 37 with solder.

  Thus, since the arrangement position of the CCD 34 is different, the configuration of the bending optical system 62 provided in the camera body 61 is also different from that of the bending optical system 30. That is, the bending optical system 30 has one prism 31 and bends the optical axis of the subject light once substantially at a right angle, whereas the bending optical system 62 has two prisms 63 and 64. ing.

  The prism 63 bends at substantially right angles so that the optical axis of the incident subject light is substantially parallel to the left-right direction of the camera body 11. Thereafter, the subject light transmitted through the plurality of lens groups 65 to 68 enters the prism 64.

  The prism 64 bends the optical axis of the subject light transmitted through the plurality of lens groups 65 to 68 substantially at right angles toward the back surface of the camera body 61. The aforementioned CCD 34 is disposed so as to face the exit surface of the prism 64, and subject light enters the light receiving surface of the CCD 34. Other configurations are the same as those of the digital camera 10, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, mounting the CCD 34 and the motors 32 and 33 on the main board 37 eliminates the need for a connecting member for connecting the main board 37 and these, for example, an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit), etc. It is possible to reduce the cost by reducing.

  In the above description, the case where both the CCD 34 and the motors 32 and 33 are mounted on the main board 37 has been described as an example, but only one of them may be mounted on the main board 37. When only the motors 32 and 33 are mounted on the main board 37, the bending optical system 30 similar to that of the digital camera 10 may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a prism is used as the reflection optical member has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a reflection mirror may be used instead of the prism.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a CCD image sensor is used as the imaging unit has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to a silver salt camera.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the front side of the digital camera which is 1st Embodiment. It is a rear view which shows the structure of the back side of a digital camera. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an internal configuration of a digital camera. It is a front schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital camera. It is a side schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital camera. It is a rear view which shows the structure of the back side of the digital camera which is 2nd Embodiment. It is a front schematic diagram which shows the internal structure of the digital camera which is 3rd Embodiment. It is a plane schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital camera according to a fourth embodiment. It is the side schematic diagram which shows the internal structure of the digital camera which is 4th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10, 40, 50, 60 Digital camera 11, 41, 51, 61 Camera body 13 Strobe light emitting unit 16 Power supply terminal 17 USB terminal 20, 42 LCD
21, 43 Operation unit 30, 62 Bending optical system 31, 63, 64 Prism 32, 33 Motor 34 CCD
35 Release unit 36 Strobe capacitor 37 Main board 38 CPU
39 Battery 43a-43g Operation member

Claims (7)

A bending optical system that forms a subject image after the optical axis of the subject light is bent substantially at right angles, and this bending optical system extends in the left-right direction when the camera body in the standard posture is viewed from the subject side. In the camera arranged in the camera body as
A camera, comprising: a main board on which a control circuit for controlling each part in the camera body is mounted on a back side of the bending optical system.   A strobe light emitting unit, a strobe condenser, and a release button are provided above the bending optical system in a state where the camera body is in the standard posture, and for connecting to an external device below the bending optical system. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a connection terminal is provided.   A battery for supplying power to each part in the camera body is disposed so that the camera body is substantially parallel below the bending optical system when the camera body is in the standard posture. Item 3. The camera according to item 1 or 2.   The battery for supplying power to each part in the camera body is disposed so that the camera body is vertically placed on a side surface of the camera body when the camera body is in the standard posture. The camera according to 1 or 2.   Display means for displaying an image is provided on the back surface of the camera body, and when the camera body in the standard posture is viewed from the back side, a plurality of operation members operated by a user are provided by the display means. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the camera is arranged in a row in the left-right direction on the lower side.   6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a motor that moves a lens constituting the bending optical system along the optical axis is mounted on the main board.   The bending optical system reflects the subject light at a substantially right angle to bend the optical axis in the left-right direction, and the optical axis bent by the first reflecting optical member is the main optical axis. A second reflective optical member that bends at a substantially right angle toward the substrate, and an imaging means for capturing the subject image is mounted on the main substrate at a position facing the exit surface of the second reflective optical member. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that:

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