JP2008020928A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To proved a camera that has an unwearied, pleasant appearance by imparting a flat simple shape to an outer cover in order to prevent a so-called recess formed during the process of injection molding. <P>SOLUTION: The camera includes: a camera body 50 incorporating a plurality of composing parts that include a mirror frame unit and having outer shape forming faces 53 that form part of the shape of the outer appearance of the camera; a cover member covering the upper part of the camera body 50; and a first outer cover 10 and a second outer cover 90 that sandwich the camera main body from front and back, with the outer shape forming faces 53 and the cover member disposed between them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a camera having a simple exterior structure.

  In recent cameras, further downsizing and cost reduction are required, and improvement in texture and aesthetics are also important issues. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a small camera that can reduce the number of components and realize a simplified mechanism, and integrally includes a winding knob, a shutter mechanism, a rotation prevention unit for the winding knob, and a shutter operation unit. An actuating member capable of rotating and moving in the axial direction with respect to the support shaft for rotation is provided, and the hoisting knob is blocked and released by the axial movement of the actuating member, and the shutter is operated by rotating around the axis. It is configured to do. A winding knob is disposed on the camera body, and its periphery is covered with an exterior member.

  Patent Document 2 teaches a structure of an operation button and a technique for saving space and improving operability of a structure including the operation button. Here, the operation member (cap / button) to be pressed is integrated with a member having a shaft portion extending from the member, and a base having a fitting portion into which the projecting shaft portion is fitted The operating member and the shaft portion are slidably attached in the axial direction with a spring interposed in the portion. The fitting portion has a plurality of extending portions corresponding to the shaft portions around the shaft, and the operation member is in a pressed state and is not in contact with the extending portion at a position corresponding to the extending portions. Or it is made the structure which comprises a recessed part (relief part). As described above, various methods of attaching various operation members and various configurations of exterior members have been proposed and put into practical use.

On the other hand, proposals have also been made for appearances typified by texture and aesthetics. For example, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3 maintains the light shielding property in the main body even if the front cover itself is transparent, A film unit with a lens that does not cause fogging. That is, here, a light shielding rib extending in the vicinity of the front end portion of the dark box is integrally formed on the periphery of the lens holder, and is covered so as to surround the contact portion of the shutter blade and the synchro switch at the rear of the lens holder. The side surface of the gap where the shutter blades rotate with the dark box is shielded from light.
Japanese Patent No. 28024281 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-105127) JP 2001-290200 A JP 2000-267168 A

  However, in the above-described conventional techniques (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2), since the unevenness for attaching the release member is formed on the exterior, the inner surface shape of the exterior member is particularly complicated and it is difficult to maintain the processing accuracy. In a normal injection molding process, in the process of curing a material to be used, a “sink” is likely to occur at a portion adjacent to the concavo-convex portion, and the surface of the member to be molded is lowered along with this sink. As a result, the surface of the member does not become smooth and flat, and not only a shape that matches the design and design is not obtained, but also the appearance of the product is deteriorated. At the same time, the complexity of the exterior member has the disadvantage that it takes a lot of time and money to design and process the mold used for manufacturing.

  In particular, when a transparent material is used for the exterior as in the above-described prior art (Patent Document 3), if there are uneven ribs or the like on the back of the exterior, these shapes can be seen through from the front. It becomes a factor that impairs aesthetics. In other words, light is diffusely reflected by the uneven portion on the back surface of the exterior having transparency, and the uneven portion on the back surface is sparse even though the surface of the exterior is smooth, so that the appearance is not good. The above-mentioned defect recognition and solution are not clearly described in any prior art, and it is necessary to further consider processing accuracy and aesthetics as one of the devices for improving the quality of the product. Is done.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera having a flat and simple exterior.

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention takes the following measures.

  That is, according to the first aspect, a camera body having a plurality of structural parts including a lens frame unit and having an appearance shape surface that forms a part of the appearance shape of the camera, and above the camera body Proposed is a camera comprising: a cover member that covers the camera body; and first and second exteriors that sandwich the camera body from the front and the rear with the outer appearance shape surface and the cover member interposed therebetween. .

  According to a second aspect, there is proposed a camera according to the first aspect, wherein the cover member covers three sides including the upper side of the camera body.

  According to a third aspect, there is proposed a camera according to the first aspect, wherein the cover member is a U-shaped panel.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a camera having a flat and simple exterior.

  As a specific attempt to realize the object of the present invention, the following points are devised and implemented. First, the external part including the operation member of the camera is integrated with the camera body. Second, an operation member is provided on the camera body, and the back surface (inner surface) of the exterior member is made smooth and continuous and flat.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in order with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the configuration of a camera according to the present invention. First, the basic configuration of the camera will be described. In this basic configuration, a front exterior 10 as a first exterior covering one side (front surface) of the camera, and a rear exterior 90 as a second exterior covering the other side (back or rear surface) of the camera. The camera body 50 is sandwiched between the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90 and mainly includes the main part of the camera. In a state where the camera body 50 is sandwiched between the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90, an appearance surface 53 that is arranged between these exteriors and forms the appearance of the camera is formed over substantially the entire circumference of the camera. Further, the appearance surface 53 is provided with operation members 70 such as a release button 71 and a zoom button 72.

  That is, the external part including the release button 71 and the zoom button 72 is formed integrally with the camera body 50 so that it can be seen from the outside as a part of the camera body. Further, a release button 71 and a zoom button 72 are attached to the camera body 50 via predetermined elastic members, and at least the back surfaces (inner side surfaces 10b, 90b) of the separate front exterior 10 and rear exterior 90 are ribs. For example, it is formed on a continuous surface without unevenness. Thus, by integrating the exterior including the operation member with the camera body, it becomes easy to flatten the shapes of the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90.

  In addition, when the back surfaces 10b and 90b of the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90 are formed flat and smooth, respectively, a transparent material may be used for the exterior member. Of course, necessary parts have light shielding properties. By implementing the configuration as described above, the camera has a flat and simple exterior.

  More specifically, the structure of each part of the camera will be described in detail. The camera illustrated here is a small electronic imaging camera (digital camera), and is configured by combining various components as shown in an exploded perspective view in FIG. That is, the front exterior 10 called “mae cover” is provided with a finder panel opening 13 into which the finder panel 11 is fitted, a strobe panel opening 14 into which the strobe panel 12 is fitted, and a photographing lens opening 15. When the six front exterior fixing screw holes 16 are engaged with the camera body 50, a battery chamber 54 and a body mounting space 55, which will be described later, can be secured.

  On the external surface 53 of the camera main body 50, a substrate mounting portion 58 on which an electric substrate on which a switch land is formed as a detecting means for detecting the operation of the operating member is placed on the upper part of the battery chamber 54. The operation member attaching portion 50a is formed in parallel with a predetermined interval, and a substrate housing space 59 is formed in a space between the operation member attaching portion 50a and the substrate holding portion 58. A wall having a CCD opening 56 and a flexible insertion hole 57 is formed on the back surface of the main body mounting space 55 partially connected to the substrate housing space 59.

  The taking lens 21 of the lens barrel unit 20 incorporated in the body mounting space 55 of the camera body 50 can project and retract in the optical axis direction from the taking lens opening 15 and is operated by pressing the zoom button 72. It has a zoom function. The finder unit 25 is installed on the upper part of the lens frame unit 20 and can be observed through the finder panel 11.

  The camera body 50 incorporates a built-in substrate group 30 for controlling the camera. The built-in substrate group 30 is configured around a hard substrate (A substrate) 31, and a plurality of switch lands (SW segments) 36 and 37 are disposed on the upper surface of the hard substrate 31. A rear display unit 80 including a B substrate 84 described later and a C substrate 33 having a control electronic circuit chip can be connected to the hard substrate 31 via a predetermined connector. Specifically, the A substrate 31 and the C substrate 33 are connected by connecting the flexible substrate 32 for connection between the connector 32 a mounted on the A substrate 31 and the connector 32 b mounted on the C substrate 33. Further, by connecting the connecting flexible substrate 35 to the connector 35 a mounted on the A substrate 31 and the connector 35 b mounted on the B substrate 84, the A substrate 31 and the B substrate 84 are connected.

  When the circuit board is assembled, a predetermined circuit is configured by being interconnected in this way. Further, a strobe reflector 38 and a strobe main capacitor 39 are disposed on the lower surface of the hard substrate (A substrate) 31. Further, the rear display unit 80 is attached along the back surface (back surface) of the main body mounting space 55 through the flexible board 35 through the flexible insertion hole 57. The rear display unit 80 includes three rear operation buttons 81 to 83, a B substrate 84, and a flexible substrate 85 for rear connection. Furthermore, a CCD 86 corresponding to the CCD opening 56 and a liquid crystal (LCD) 87 as a rear display panel are provided.

  The peripheral surface of the appearance surface 53 that forms the outer wall of the box-frame-type camera body 50 is particularly flat (flat), and a rectangular release button hole 51 and a zoom button hole 52 are formed in the operation member mounting portion 50a on the upper surface. Is formed. The release button 71 and the zoom button 72 are attached to the release button hole 51 and the zoom button hole 52 so as to be movable in the vertical direction through elastic members (not shown) made of conductive rubber or the like.

  And the A board | substrate 31 is correctly mounted in a predetermined position by abutting the A board | substrate 31 to the board | substrate positioning part 58a formed in the board | substrate mounting part 58 mentioned above, and it fixes with an adhesive agent or a double-sided tape. The substrate positioning portion 58a is formed by providing a step on the substrate mounting portion 58, for example. In this positional relationship, the leading end of the conductive rubber moved in the vertical direction by the release operation comes into contact with the switch land 37 on the substrate A31 and becomes conductive in the circuit. The zoom operation is the same.

  A battery 65 as a rechargeable battery is stored in a battery chamber 54 adjacent to the space for storing the lens frame unit 20 and sealed by a battery chamber lid 60 that is rotatably supported about a hinge shaft 69 as an axis. The battery chamber lid 60 is formed to be a part of the side appearance member. Further, the rear exterior 90 called “at cover” has rear operation button holes 91 to 93 for the rear operation buttons 81 to 83, a rear display opening 97 for a liquid crystal (LCD) 87, and 6 Two rear exterior fixing screw holes 96 are formed. On the other hand, six front and rear exterior fixing screw holes 50b are formed in the front and rear of the camera body 50, respectively, and 12 screws (not shown) are used while being sandwiched between the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90. It is formed so that it can be fastened.

  These parts are assembled and sandwiched between the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90 as shown in a cross-sectional view in FIG. 3 to form an integral camera. This cross-sectional view shows a portion obtained by cutting the surface including the release button 71 in the vertical direction. The release button 71 for the user to press is attached to a conductive elastic member 73 such as conductive rubber so as to protrude from the operation member mounting portion 50a of the camera body 50. It is integrated with the camera body via the member 73. The mounting of the zoom button 72 is the same.

  Further, in the substrate storage space 59 formed in the upper part of the battery chamber 54, the A substrate 31 provided with the switch land 37 for detecting the pressing operation of the release button 71 is a position corresponding to the bottom of the elastic member 73. The switch land 37 is placed on the substrate placing portion 58 so that the switch land 37 is arranged on the substrate. In this state, the substrate platform 58 prevents the A substrate 31 from being deformed by a pressing force when an operation member such as the release button 71 is operated. The positioning of the zoom button 72 is the same.

  After the various built-in parts are stored, the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90 are screwed from the front and rear in a state where the camera body is sandwiched to form an integrated camera. 4A and 4B show a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the shape of the front exterior 10 of the camera. As described above, the finder panel opening 13, the strobe panel opening 14, and the photographic lens opening 15 are formed in the front exterior 10 of the camera shown in FIG. A screw hole 16 is provided. When viewed in a cross-sectional shape along the line segment 4b-4b in the figure, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), smooth continuous surfaces without irregularities are formed on the inside and outside of the front exterior 10, It is a surface that does not have a sudden change in curvature.

  As described above, the camera body 50 including the lens frame unit 20, the finder unit 25, various electric boards, the battery 65, and the like integrally includes the operation members 70 such as the release button 71 and the zoom button 72. The external appearance surface 53 of the main body 50 also serves as a part of the exterior member, and is sandwiched between the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90 so as to be configured integrally, so that the exterior can be simple and flat.

  (Modification 1) As a case where a transparent member is used for the exterior member, an example in which a reflective coating is further applied to the inner surface of the transparent exterior member of the above-described embodiment will be described. FIGS. 5A to 5D are cross-sectional views illustrating the light shielding property and the reflection path when a transmissive member is used as the exterior member of the camera. However, in FIG. 5D, an explanatory diagram showing a reflected light path when a reflective coating is applied to the inner surface of a conventional exterior member having a concave portion that looks bad due to scattering is shown for comparison. In such a conventional case, incident light is irregularly reflected on the coating surface of the uneven portion of the transparent exterior member, and only that portion of the exterior surface looks different from the surroundings, and the appearance also looks good due to light scattering. I understand that it is not good.

  Therefore, as a solution to this problem, if a reflective coating is applied to the inner surface having no irregularities such as the exterior member illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C, light scattering in the transparent exterior member constituting the camera body is performed. The parallel incident light appears to be reflected light while being parallel (see FIG. 5C). In addition, for example, when a colored material having light transmittance is used for the exterior member, it can be seen that the camera body looks different in color depending on the viewing angle, and the camera has a changing color appearance. That is, when viewed from the angle θ1 with respect to the exterior member as shown in FIG. 5A, the path length that passes through the transparent portion is L1 + L2, but the same exterior member as shown in FIG. When viewed from an angle of θ2 smaller than θ1 (when viewed more obliquely with respect to the exterior member), the path length passing through the transparent portion is l1 + l2. In this case, the relationship between the path lengths is such that L1 + L2 <l1 + l2 and the wavelength of the reflected light is slightly different.

  For this reason, in appearance, the camera is rich in color changes different from the conventional monotone body color, and it is easy to realize a camera that does not get tired and that looks good. Further, by performing the configuration in this way, even if a light-transmitting material is used for the front exterior 10 and the rear exterior 90, the appearance quality is not impaired. Moreover, since the reflected light has regularity that does not reflect irregularly, it changes with the viewing angle, but it is possible to obtain a body color with a nearly uniform color, and there is no `` color unevenness '' on the appearance as before, If a reflective coating is applied to the flat inner surface, the camera body gives an impression of different colors depending on the viewing angle.

  (Modification 2) The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. This will be described in detail with reference to a modification shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a camera as a modification. Here, an exterior panel 98 for covering the camera body 50 from three sides is to be assembled from above the camera body 50 sandwiched between the front and rear exterior members 10 and 90.

  A release button hole 61 and a zoom button hole 62 are formed adjacent to each other on an upper surface portion of an outer appearance panel 98 having a U shape as a cover member. Of course, the inner surface of the exterior panel 98 is flat, and a flat plate member is simply bent into a “U” shape. Both ends of the external panel 98 having a predetermined elasticity are slightly folded inward, and when assembled to the camera body 50, the both ends are sandwiched between the bottom corners of the camera body 50. Yes. Then, the step between the front and rear exterior members 10 and 90 and the camera body 50 is filled by the thickness of the appearance panel 98, and the peripheral surface has a substantially continuous and smooth appearance without a step. By implementing in this way, a camera having a simple exterior with a flat peripheral surface of the exterior member can be provided.

  (Other Modifications) In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  As mentioned above, although demonstrated based on embodiment, the following invention is included in this specification.

(1) A front cover that covers the front side of the camera, a rear cover that covers the rear side of the camera, a camera body that is sandwiched between the front cover and the rear cover and holds at least the lens barrel unit, and the camera body Formed between the front cover and the rear cover, and arranged between the front and rear covers, and arranged on the external shape surface that defines the external shape of the side of the camera. A first electric board having an operation member and switch means for detecting operation of the operation member, disposed on the opposite side of the operation member across the external shape surface, and fixed to the camera body; Can be provided.

  (2) A holding portion formed in the camera body and formed in a position substantially parallel to the outer shape surface at a position spaced apart from the rear surface of the outer shape surface on which the operation member is disposed. The electric substrate is fixed to the holding portion, and the camera according to (1), wherein the electric substrate is fixed.

  (3) A second electric board disposed on the front side or rear side of the camera body, a connection conductor for electrically connecting the first electric board and the second electric board, and the holding unit The camera according to (2), further comprising an insertion hole that is disposed in the vicinity and through which the connection conductor can be inserted.

  (4) The camera according to (3), wherein the connection conductor is a lead wire or a flexible printed circuit board.

  (5) The camera according to (1), wherein the external shape surface is formed between the front cover and the rear cover over substantially the entire circumference of the camera.

  (6) The camera according to (1) or (5), including an appearance panel that is fixed to the appearance shape surface and forms an appearance of the camera.

  (7) The battery housing chamber provided in the camera body and a battery lid supported by the camera body and capable of opening and closing the opening of the battery housing chamber are described in (1). The camera.

  (8) The camera according to (7), further including a shaft member that is held by the camera body and rotatably supports the battery lid.

  (9) a first exterior covering one side of the camera, a second exterior covering the other side of the camera, a camera body sandwiched between the first exterior and the second exterior; An external shape surface that is formed by the camera body and is sandwiched between the first and second exteriors and disposed between these exteriors to define the external shape of the camera, and the external shape An operation member disposed on the surface, and the back surfaces of the first exterior and the second exterior are smooth flat surfaces by disposing the operation member on the camera body. Can provide.

  (10) The camera according to (9), wherein the first exterior and the second exterior are formed of a light transmissive material.

  (11) The camera according to (10), wherein a reflective surface is formed on the back surfaces of the first exterior and the second exterior.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an assembled camera, illustrating an embodiment of the appearance and basic configuration of a camera according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing in detail various components constituting the camera of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view partially showing a structure of a camera body sandwiched between front and rear exterior members constituting the camera of the present embodiment. 4A and 4B show the shape of the front exterior of the camera, FIG. 4A is a plan view showing the shape of the front exterior of the camera, and FIG. 4B shows the front exterior of the camera. Sectional drawing which shows a shape. FIGS. 5A to 5D show a case where a transmissive member is used as a modified example of the exterior member of this embodiment, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are reflection coatings on the inner surface of the transmissive member. FIG. 5C is an explanatory diagram showing a reflected light path in the case of a flat exterior member. FIG.5 (d) is explanatory drawing showing the reflected light path | route in the case of the exterior member which has the conventional recessed part with bad appearance because of scattering. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a modification of the exterior member of the camera according to the present embodiment, and assembling the camera body and an external panel covering the camera body.

Explanation of symbols

    DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Front exterior (Mae cover: 1st exterior), 10a ... Front surface (outside surface), 10b ... Back surface (inside surface), 11 ... Viewfinder panel, 12 ... Strobe panel, 13 ... Opening for finder panel, 14 ... Strobe panel Opening 15 for photographing lens, 16 screw hole for fixing front exterior, 20 lens barrel unit, 21 photographing lens, 25 finder unit, 30 group of built-in substrates, 31 substrate A (hard substrate), 32, 35 ... Connection board (flexible board), 32a, 32b, 35a, 35b ... Connector, 33 ... C board (control chip mounting board), 36, 37 ... Switch land (SW section), 38 ... Strobe reflector, 39 ... Main capacitor, 50 ... Main body (camera body), 50a ... Operating member mounting portion, 50b ... Front and rear exterior fixing screw holes, 51 ... Reed button hole, 52 ... Zoom button hole, 53 ... Appearance surface (outer wall of main body), 54 ... Battery chamber, 55 ... Body mounting space, 56 ... CCD opening, 57 ... Flex insertion hole, 58 ... Substrate mounting portion 59 ... Substrate housing space, 60 ... Battery chamber lid (outer panel), 61 ... Release button hole, 62 ... Zoom button hole, 65 ... Battery (battery), 69 ... Hinge (for battery chamber lid), 70 ... Operation member 71 ... Release button 72 ... Zoom button 73 ... Elastic member (conductive rubber) 80 ... Rear display unit 81-83 ... Rear operation button 84 ... B substrate (rear substrate) 86 ... CCD 87 ... Liquid crystal (display panel), 90 ... Rear exterior (at cover: second exterior), 90a ... Front face (outer face), 90b ... Back face (inner face), 91-93 ... Rear operation button hole, 95 ... Rear display section Opening 96, rear exterior Titration, the screw hole.

Claims (3)

A plurality of structural parts including a lens frame unit, and a camera body having an appearance shape surface forming a part of the appearance shape of the camera;
A cover member covering the upper side of the camera body;
A first and a second exterior that sandwich the camera body from the front and the rear, with the external shape surface and the cover member interposed therebetween;
A camera comprising:   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the cover member covers three sides including the upper side of the camera body.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is a U-shaped panel.

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