JP2008014979A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera where a tripod mounting part and a cover member are efficiently arranged. <P>SOLUTION: A cover part 31 protecting the accessory of the camera such as a battery is turnably attached to the base of a camera main body part 1. The tripod mounting part 13 is arranged at the part 10 of the base protected by the cover part 31 in addition to a battery attaching port 15, a medium attaching port 16 and a hook insertion port 17. Then, the cover part 30 includes an aperture 31 piercing through to a corresponding position so that the cover part 30 exposes the edge part 13b of the tripod mounting part 13 to the outside at a closing position and it does not come into contact with the periphery of the tripod mounting part 13 when turning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera provided with a tripod mounting portion.

For portable digital cameras, downsizing the main body is an important selling point. In order to reduce the size of this camera, it is important to reduce the size of the components themselves, but it is also important to efficiently lay out the members. As the camera becomes smaller or thinner, the bottom surface of the camera also becomes a limited space, which causes layout limitations.

FIG. 7 shows a general bottom layout of a conventional camera. A tripod mounting part 50 and a battery cover 51 are provided on the bottom part of the camera. The tripod mounting portion 50 is for mounting on a tripod device for fixing the camera, and is used when taking a self-timer or preventing camera shake. The tripod mounting portion 50 is a member that is provided mainly on the bottom surface of the camera, and has female screws having a diameter and a depth defined in the standard. The battery cover 51 is attached to the camera body so as to be openable and closable so as to protect the battery chamber opening of the camera and the opening of the medium chamber such as a memory card. The battery lid 51 is also often provided on the bottom surface.

Some proposals have been made on improving the layout of the tripod mounting portion at the bottom of the camera. For example, if the tripod mounting part and the lid are separately arranged, the area of the bottom surface is not reduced and the layout is inconvenient, so a camera in which the tripod mounting part is provided on the lid member instead of the bottom exterior has been proposed ( Patent Document 1). Here, the lid member is for opening and closing the film cartridge chamber, and a support member is provided inside. When the tripod screw hole is provided on the outer side of the lid member, the tripod screw hole is provided at a location away from the support member so that the thickness of the lid member is reduced.
JP-A-9-292653

In Patent Document 1, a tripod screw hole is formed in the lid member, but in order to obtain a constant screw fitting length, the thickness of the lid member must be increased. Further, the lid member and its shaft part are required to have strength to be fixed to the tripod and rigidity to stably hold the camera fixed to the tripod. For this reason, if the lid member is provided with a tripod attachment portion, the material of the lid member may be restricted, and the lid opening / closing mechanism may be complicated.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a camera in which a tripod mounting portion and a lid member are efficiently arranged without increasing the size of the lid member.

In order to achieve the above object, a camera according to a first aspect of the present invention is a camera main body having an accessory storage chamber therein, a tripod mounting portion disposed on one surface of the camera main body, and the tripod of the camera main body. A lid portion that can be freely opened and closed on the same surface as the attachment portion, and protects the accessory storage chamber. The tripod attachment portion is protected by the lid portion at least a part of the tripod attachment portion in the closed position. The lid portion has an opening that allows the mounting surface of the tripod mounting portion to face the outside in a state where the lid portion is in the closed position.

The camera according to a second aspect of the present invention is the camera according to the first aspect, wherein the tripod mounting portion and the lid portion are disposed on the bottom surface of the camera body, and the lid portion is centered around the vicinity of the tripod mounting portion. It is attached to the camera main body so as to rotate and open in the direction, and has a support part that is supported to rotate on both sides of the tripod attachment part.

The camera according to a third aspect is the camera according to the first aspect, wherein the accessory stored in the accessory storage chamber includes at least one of a battery and a recording medium.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a camera in which the tripod mounting portion and the lid member are efficiently arranged.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a camera to which the present invention is applied as viewed from the bottom surface of the camera. In the following, the notation such as up, down, left, and right is in principle written in the direction that the camera is normally held by the photographer as viewed from the photographer.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a camera body, and the camera body has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. Reference numeral 2 denotes a front portion of the camera body 1, 3 denotes a bottom portion, and 4 denotes a right side portion. A lens unit 5 is provided in the center of the front unit 2. In this figure, the lens barrier for protecting the lens is closed. The bottom surface portion 3 is provided with a lid portion 30 in a range from the center to the right side surface portion 4 and about half the size of the bottom surface portion. The lid 30 protects a battery and a recording medium such as a memory card housed therein, and is attached to the camera body 1 so as to be rotatable. This figure shows a state in which the lid portion 30 is closed, that is, a state in which the lid is protected. The lid portion 30 is a plate-like member, and short walls are also formed on the front portion 2 and the right side portion 4 side. The surface of the lid part 30 and the bottom part 3 are substantially the same surface. And the cover part 30 protects the accessory storage chamber in which the battery and recording medium which are accessories of a camera are stored.

A tripod mounting portion 13 is provided at the center of the bottom surface portion 3 in the camera width direction. The tripod attachment part 13 is a support part for attaching the camera body part 1 to a tripod. The tripod mounting portion 13 has a short cylindrical shape, and a female screw 13a is formed at the center to which the male screw of the tripod device is screwed. And since the tripod attachment part 13 is arrange | positioned in the position covered with the cover part 30 in a closed position, the front-end | tip part 13b which is the attachment surface of the tripod attachment part 13 is made to face the cover part 30 outside. Therefore, a circular opening 31 that penetrates the tripod attachment portion 13 is formed. Further, the tip end portion 13 b of the tripod attachment portion 13 slightly protrudes from the surface of the lid portion 30.

Further, three projections 7 for supporting the camera body 1 are formed at both ends of the bottom surface. The protruding portion 7 is a portion protruding from the surface of the bottom surface portion 3 by a small amount, and is a support portion for stabilizing the camera body 1 placed on a desk or the like. In order to support it stably, two places are formed on the left end side, and one place is formed on the surface of the lid 30 on the right end side. Further, the height of the protruding portion 7 is the same height as the tip of the tripod mounting portion 13 from the bottom surface of the camera body.

Further, an S opening 8 is provided on the left side of the tripod mounting portion 13 of the bottom surface portion 3. The S opening 8 is a collection of fine through holes formed in the exterior, and is an opening for outputting the sound of a thin speaker arranged inside the S opening 8 to the outside. A release button 6 for opening the lid 30 is provided on the right side surface 4 of the camera body 1.

  The lid 30 and its mounting configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the camera body 1 in a state where the lid 30 is opened. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view further showing the lid 30 alone and the area of the bottom surface of the camera body protected by the lid 30 in an enlarged manner.

By operating the release button 6 in the operation direction Q, the lid 30 is unlocked by being manually lifted and released. As shown by the rotation direction P, the lid 30 rotates downward from the camera body 1 and from the right side surface to the left side surface.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a protected portion of the camera body 1 that is protected by the lid 30 in the closed state and exposed to the outside in the opened state. In addition to the tripod mounting portion 13, the protected portion 10 is provided with a battery mounting port 15, a medium mounting port 16, and a hook insertion port 17. The battery mounting opening 15 is a rectangular opening long in the camera width direction, and is provided at a position on the right side of the bottom surface and near the front portion 2. The medium mounting opening 16 is a rectangular opening long in the camera width direction, and is provided at a position closer to the back side than the battery mounting opening 15. The hook insertion port 17 is an opening that is elongated in the thickness direction of the camera, and is provided at the right end of the battery mounting port 15.

Inside the camera body 1 is provided a battery storage chamber 19 for storing a battery 40 for driving the camera, and the battery mounting opening 15 is the entrance. An electrical contact is provided inside the battery storage chamber 19. The rectangular battery 40 is mounted through the battery mounting opening 15 from below the camera body 1.

Further, a medium storage chamber for storing a recording medium 41 for image recording is provided inside the camera body 1, and the medium mounting opening 16 is the entrance. The thin recording medium 41 is loaded from the lower side of the camera body 1 through the medium loading port 16.

Inside the hook insertion port 17, there is provided a lock member (not shown) that engages with the hook portion 35 (FIG. 3) of the lid portion 30 and holds the lid portion 30 in a closed state. When the lid portion 30 is closed, the lock member is engaged with the hook portion 35 and the lid portion 30 is automatically locked. And the release button 6 is engaged with this lock member, and the lock | rock of the cover part 30 is cancelled | released by operating the release button 6. FIG.

The tripod mounting portion 13 is arranged at the center position in the width direction of the camera body 1 and on the left side in the protected portion 10. A shaft 18 for rotating the lid 30 is provided on the left of the tripod mounting portion 13 of the protected portion 10 (FIG. 3). The shaft 18 is fixedly attached to the camera exterior so as to be in close contact with the outer periphery of the tripod attachment portion 13 and to be parallel to the thickness direction of the camera body 1. By arranging the shaft 18 close to the outer periphery of the tripod mounting portion 13, the periphery of the lid portion 30 can be configured compactly. The shaft 18 is preferably made of metal. Moreover, the recessed part 20 lower than the plane in which the battery mounting port 15 is provided is formed in the location of the protected part 10 to which the shaft 18 is attached. The recess 20 has a semicircular shape along the axis 18. The recess 20 is an escape portion for rotating a support portion 32 of the lid portion 30 described later. Further, the protected portion 10 is provided with steps that are one step lower on the front surface 2 side and the right side surface 4 side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lid portion 30 has a rectangular plate-like portion as a main surface, and a side wall 34 a in a direction perpendicular to the main surface and facing inward on two front sides and a right side of the main surface. Side walls 34b are formed. The side walls 34a and 34b enter the step of the protected portion 10 at the closed position. Further, an opening 31 is formed in the lid portion 30 at a position from the base of the rotation center. The size of the opening 31 may be any size as long as the tripod mounting portion 13 is penetrated in a state where the lid portion 30 is in the closed position and does not interfere with the tripod mounting portion 13 when the lid portion 30 rotates.

And the cover part 30 is provided with the support part 32 which supports rotation of the cover part 30 divided into two right and left in the root part of the inner surface. Each of the two support portions 32 is formed in a mountain shape, and a fitting hole 33 corresponding to the shaft 18 is formed coaxially at the center thereof. This is because the shaft 18 is attached so as to be in close contact with the outer periphery of the tripod attachment portion 13, so that there is no space for the support portion in the vicinity of the tripod attachment portion 13. However, since the lid 30 is fitted at both ends, there is no possibility of occurrence of rotation or the like. Further, the hook portion 35 described above is formed at the front end inside the lid portion 30 and in front of the side wall 34b. The hook part 35 is L-shaped.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the camera body 1 with the lid 30 in the closed position. The configuration described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to a bottom view. In this figure, the upper side corresponds to the camera front side, and the lower side corresponds to the camera back side. On the bottom surface portion 3, an S opening 8, a lid portion 30, and a tripod attachment portion 13 are disposed. The lid 30 occupies the right half of the bottom surface. The tripod attachment portion 13 is disposed at a position approximately at the center of the bottom surface portion 3 and overlapping the lid portion 30. A female screw 13a for mounting a tripod is formed on the inner periphery of the tripod mounting portion 13. The lid 30 is formed with an opening 31 at a location corresponding to the tripod mounting portion 13 in order to expose the tripod mounting portion 13 to the outside. A rotation center of the lid 30 is indicated by a one-dot chain line S.

  FIG. 5 is a view of the right half of the camera body 1 as seen from the front, and is a perspective view of the main part. The lid 30 is in the closed position. The battery storage chamber 19 is disposed at a position in contact with the inside of the exterior that forms the right side surface portion 4 of the camera body 1. The lens barrel 5 b of the lens unit 5 is arranged so that the outer periphery thereof is adjacent to the battery storage chamber 19. The tripod mounting portion 13 is disposed at a position between the battery storage chamber 19 and the lens barrel 5b as viewed from the front. Further, the tripod mounting portion 13 is formed integrally with the bottom surface exterior. Of course, it does not matter if it is a separate body. As described above, the tip of the tripod mounting portion 13 is set so as to slightly protrude from the outer surface of the lid portion 30 and to have the same height as the protruding portion 7. The shaft 18 is disposed in the vicinity of the inner surface of the lid portion 30 and in contact with the outer periphery of the tripod attachment portion 13. The speaker 11 is attached at a position corresponding to the S opening 8 below the lens barrel 5b. The speaker 11 is directly attached to the exterior of the bottom surface portion 3.

(Modification)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing two modified examples of the present invention. FIG. 6A shows a first modification. In the above-described example, the tripod attachment portion 13 is disposed at a position that is included in a portion that is entirely protected by the lid portion 30. In the first modification, the tripod mounting portion 13 is disposed at a position where a part of the tripod mounting portion 13 is included in a portion protected by the lid portion 30. A state where the lid 30 is in the open position is indicated by a broken line. The direction of rotation of the lid 30 is the same as in FIG. The opening of the lid 30 is substantially circular in the example of FIG. 2, but is formed in a semicircular shape according to the overlapping relationship with the tripod attachment 13 in this example.

  FIG. 6B shows a second modification. In the example of FIG. 2, the lid 30 is configured to rotate from the right side surface to the left side surface. In this example, the rotation center axis is arranged on the back side of the camera and in a direction parallel to the width of the camera body 1, and the lid 30 is rotated from the front side of the camera body to the back side.

  As described above, on the bottom surface of the camera, it is possible to arrange the battery cover and the like so that it overlaps with the protective cover part and the tripod attachment part, and the tripod attachment part must be arranged at a place other than the cover part. Disappears.

That is, the degree of freedom of component placement on the bottom surface of the camera increases. As a result, the tripod mounting part can be arranged at an optimum position as the tripod mounting part, such as being able to arrange the center of gravity of the camera or directly below the lens. It also contributes to making the camera compact.

In the above-described embodiment, two examples of the battery and the recording medium are shown as accessories that can be attached to and detached from the camera protected by the lid 30. However, any one of them may be used. Also, the type of accessory is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied even to a function expansion adapter such as a wireless adapter or cables.

  Moreover, although the tripod attachment part 13 and the cover part 30 were arrange | positioned in the bottom face of the camera main-body part 1 in the said embodiment, the arrangement | positioning surface does not necessarily need to be a bottom face. For example, the tripod mounting portion 13 and the lid portion 30 may be disposed on the side surface portion of the camera body. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to a camera-equipped mobile phone.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The external view which looked at the camera main-body part 1 to which this invention is applied from the bottom part direction in the state in which the cover part 30 was closed. The external view which looked at the camera main-body part 1 of the state by which the cover part 30 was open | released from the bottom part direction. FIG. 3 is an external view illustrating a detailed configuration of a lid portion of FIG. 2 is an external view of the bottom of the camera body 1. The perspective view which looked at the right side of the camera main-body part 1 from an object direction. The figure which shows the modification of attachment of the cover part. The figure which shows the positional relationship of the tripod attachment part and cover in the conventional camera.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera body part, 2 ... Front part, 3 ... Bottom part, 4 ... Right side part, 5 ... Lens part, 5b ... Lens lens frame,
6 ... Release button, 7 ... Projection, 8 ... S opening, 10 ... Protected part, 11 ... Speaker,
13 ... Tripod attachment part, 13a ... Female screw, 13b ... Tip part, 15 ... Battery attachment port, 16 ... Medium attachment port,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 ... Hook insertion port, 18 ... Shaft, 19 ... Battery storage chamber, 20 ... Recess 30 ... Cover part, 31 ... Opening, 32 ... Support part, 33 ... Fitting hole, 34a, 34b ... Side wall, 35 ... Hook part,
40 ... battery, 41 ... recording medium, 50 ... tripod attachment, 51 ... battery cover,
P: Direction of rotation, Q: Operation direction, S: Center of rotation

Claims (4)

A camera body with an accessory storage chamber inside,
A tripod mounting portion disposed on one surface of the camera body;
A lid portion that is provided on the same surface as the tripod mounting portion of the camera body so as to be openable and closable and protects the accessory storage chamber, and at least a part of the tripod mounting portion is in the closed position. Arranged in a position such that it is included in the part protected by the lid,
The lid portion has an opening that allows the mounting surface of the tripod mounting portion to face the outside in a state where the lid portion is in the closed position.
A camera characterized by that. The tripod mounting part and the lid part are arranged on the bottom surface of the camera body part,
The lid part is attached to the camera body part so as to pivot downward and open around the vicinity of the tripod attachment part, and has a support part that is pivotally supported on both sides of the tripod attachment part. The camera according to claim 1. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the accessory stored in the accessory storage chamber includes at least one of a battery and a recording medium. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the tripod mounting portion and the lid portion are disposed on a bottom surface of the camera body portion.

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