JP2008176172A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method capable of preventing a battery cover from being opened when a digital camera is attached to a tripod. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera 2 is equipped with: a tripod attaching section provided with a screw hole for the tripod in the bottom surface of a camera main body; the battery cover 22 which closes a battery chamber at a locking position and is locked to the camera main body 3; and leg sections. The battery cover 22 forms almost the same surface as the bottom surface, at the locking position, the tripod attaching section is projectingly provided below from the battery cover 22 at the locking position and the leg sections are provided at four corners of the bottom surface. When the digital camera 2 and a compact tripod 55 are relatively rotated and a male screw is screwed into the screw hole for the tripod, a camera platform 58 comes into contact with the tripod attaching section, to attach the digital camera 2 to the compact tripod 55. At this time, a gap of 0.8 mm is provided between the camera platform 58 and the battery cover 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera in which a tripod is attached to the bottom surface of a camera body.

  2. Description of the Related Art Digital cameras that capture an image of an object using an image pickup device such as a CCD image sensor and obtain an image have become widespread. The digital camera generally has a tripod screw hole on the bottom surface, and the digital camera is fixed to the tripod by screwing a mounting screw provided on the tripod into the tripod screw hole. In addition, a battery chamber in which a battery is loaded and a battery lid for closing the battery chamber are provided on the bottom surface of the camera body. The battery lid is rotatable between an open position for opening the battery chamber and a closed position for closing the battery chamber, and between the locking position for locking the camera body on the same plane as the closing position. It is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the main body. Further, the camera body is provided with a detection switch for detecting whether or not the battery cover is in the locking position. When the detection switch detects that the battery cover is not in the locking position, the power source of the digital camera is Is forcibly turned off.

  In the camera described in Patent Document 1, a film cartridge insertion port and a tripod screw hole are provided on the lower surface of the camera, and a tripod attached to the tripod screw hole rotates a lid that opens and closes the insertion port. The lid rotation axis is positioned so as not to overlap the path. In addition, the camera described in Patent Document 2 is provided with a battery cover that opens and closes a battery chamber provided in the camera body so as to be detachable. When the tripod is attached to the camera body, a tripod screw is provided. The battery cover is replaced with a hole.

In addition, various types of small tripods have been provided along with miniaturization of digital cameras. In order to improve the portability of the small tripod, the weight is reduced with a simple configuration in which a base that can extend and retract and a pan head that protrudes only a male screw is attached to the base. When attaching a small digital camera to a general tripod to which a single-lens reflex camera is attached, rotate the mounting screw provided on the pan head so that the mounting screw can be screwed into the screw hole for the tripod. Yes. However, in the case of a small tripod, since only the male screw protrudes from the pan head, the small tripod and the digital camera are relatively rotated so that the male screw is screwed into the screw hole for the tripod.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-45678 JP 2003-131314 A

  By the way, when a small digital camera and a small tripod are rotated relative to each other so that the small tripod can be attached to and detached from the digital camera, the battery cover and the pan head close to the screw hole for the tripod are in sliding contact, and the battery cover is engaged. It slides from the stop position to the closed position. Thereby, it is detected by the detection switch that the battery lid is not in the locking position, and power supply from the battery is stopped. Therefore, the power of the digital camera is suddenly turned off. As a result, the power is turned off without performing various end processes for turning the power off, and thus a problem may occur in the image data recorded on the memory card. For this reason, as described in Patent Document 1, the battery lid (the lid of the insertion slot) and the tripod screw hole should be separated from each other. However, in the case of a small digital camera, the space for installing the battery chamber and the design of the external appearance Therefore, it is difficult to install the battery lid and the tripod screw hole at a position separated from each other. In addition, as described in Patent Document 2, replacement of a battery lid provided with a tripod screw hole and a battery lid not provided with a tripod screw hole in accordance with the use state of the tripod is always performed in two types. There is a problem that the battery lid must be carried and is troublesome.

  In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a digital camera in which a battery lid does not slide when a tripod is attached by relatively rotating a camera body and a tripod.

  In order to solve the above problems, a digital camera of the present invention is provided on the bottom surface of a camera body, is provided with a battery chamber in which a battery is loaded, and is slidable in the front-rear direction relative to the camera body. In a digital camera provided with a lid that is closed and locked to the camera body, and a screw hole that is provided on the bottom surface in the vicinity of the lid and is screwed with a male screw provided on a tripod platform. A tripod mounting portion projecting downward from the lid locked to the camera body is provided on the bottom surface, and the screw hole is provided in the tripod mounting portion.

  In addition, the camera body includes a foot portion that protrudes downward from the bottom surface so that the amount of protrusion is substantially the same as the tripod attachment portion on the bottom surface of the camera body, and the foot portion is the tripod attachment portion across the battery chamber. It is preferable to be provided on the opposite side.

  Further, it is preferable that the tripod mounting part protrudes 0.8 mm or more below the lid locked to the camera body.

  And a lid detecting means for detecting whether or not the lid is locked to the camera body, and when the lid detecting means detects that the lid is not locked to the camera body, It is preferable to stop the power supply from the battery.

  According to the present invention, since the tripod mounting portion protrudes downward from the lid, when the digital camera is mounted on the tripod by rotating the tripod and the camera body relatively, the lid and the pan head do not slide. , The lid will not open.

  In addition, since the foot is provided on the opposite side of the tripod mounting portion across the lid, when the camera is mounted on a tripod having a platform wider than the bottom surface of the camera body, the platform does not slide on the lid. In addition, the digital camera is stable on the platform.

  In addition, since the tripod mounting part protrudes 0.8mm or more downward from the surface of the lid, even if the tripod is made of a soft material such as cork or rubber, the platform and the lid will not slide. Absent.

  The digital camera is equipped with a detection switch that detects whether or not the lid is locked to the camera body, and power supply from the battery is stopped when it is detected that the lid is not locked. It is possible to prevent the image data recorded on the recording medium from being turned off suddenly and causing a problem.

  In the digital camera 2 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, a lens barrel 4 is arranged at the center of the front surface 3 a of the camera body 3. In the lens barrel 4, a photographing lens 5, an aperture, a shutter mechanism, and the like are incorporated. In the upper right part of the front surface 3a, there is provided a flash light emitting unit 6 that irradiates light toward a subject during photographing.

  On the upper surface 3b of the camera body 3, a power button 9, a mode dial 10, a release button 11, and the like are arranged. The power button 9 is, for example, a push-type operation button, and switches on / off the power of the digital camera 2. The mode dial 10 is a rotary operation dial, and is used for switching operation modes such as a photographing mode for photographing and a reproduction mode for reproducing a photographed image. The release button 11 is a push-type operation button and is operated at the time of shooting.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a liquid crystal monitor 14, a zoom button 15, a cross button 16, a menu button 17 and the like are provided on the back surface 3c of the digital camera 2. The liquid crystal monitor 14 displays a through image at the time of shooting, a reproduced image that has been shot, various setting menus, and the like. The zoom button 15 is a pair of push-type operation buttons arranged side by side and is used for a zoom operation. The cross button 16 is an operation button that can press the up, down, left, and right directions of an annular operation member, and is used for item selection at the time of various settings. The menu button 17 is a push-type operation button provided inside the cross button 16, and is used as a setting menu call or an OK button for setting.

  A bottom surface 3 d of the camera body 3 is provided with a tripod mounting portion 21 provided with a tripod screw hole 20, a battery lid 22 formed in a rectangular shape, and a foot portion 23. As shown in FIG. 3, the battery cover 22 closes the battery chamber 25 and is in the same position as the bottom surface 3 d of the camera body 3 at the locking position where the battery cover 22 is locked to the camera body 3. It constitutes part of 3d.

  The tripod mounting portion 21 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is formed of a metal such as iron or stainless steel. The tripod mounting portion 21 has one end where the tripod screw hole 20 is formed protruding downward from the bottom surface 3 d, and the other end is disposed in the camera body 3. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the tripod attachment portion 21 protrudes downward from the battery lid 22 in the locking position, and the protrusion amount H is 0.8 mm. The tripod screw hole 20 is a 1/4 inch size screw hole defined in “JIS B 7103: Camera tripod mounting portion”. In the present embodiment, the tripod mounting portion 21 is protruded 0.8 mm below the battery lid 22 at the locking position, but the protrusion amount H may be 0.8 mm or more.

  Further, the foot portion 23 protrudes downward from the bottom surface 3d, and the protruding amount is substantially the same as that of the tripod attachment portion 21. The foot portions 23 are provided at the four corners of the substantially rectangular bottom surface 3d. Thus, the battery chamber 25 is sandwiched between the foot 23 and the tripod attachment 21 provided on the left side of the bottom surface 3d in the drawing. The tripod mounting part 21 and the foot part 23 stably place the digital camera 2 on the tripod head.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the battery cover 22 is opened, a battery chamber 25 in which a battery 24 is stored and a card slot 27 in which a memory card 26 as a recording medium is set are provided in the back. Although not shown in detail, since the battery chamber 25 and the card slot 27 are provided with a holding mechanism for holding the stored battery 24 and the memory card 26, the bottom surface 3d with the battery cover 22 opened. Is directed downward, the battery 24 and the memory card 26 do not fall off.

  The battery 25 is a rechargeable secondary battery. Although not shown, the battery 25 is easily charged without removing the battery 25 from the digital camera 2 by connecting an AC power adapter to a DC input terminal provided on the digital camera 2 and operating a built-in charging circuit. It can be performed. Thus, since the battery 25 can be charged and can be used repeatedly, the running cost can be suppressed.

  The memory card 26 is, for example, an xD picture card. This xD picture card is not provided with a function for protecting image data being read / written from / to the memory card 26 when the digital camera 3 is inserted / removed during operation of the digital camera 3 (so-called hot plugging / unplugging). Therefore, image data being read / written may be lost.

  A pair of axially attached portions 30 are formed on the inner surface of the battery lid 22 and at both ends of one long side 22a. As shown in FIG. 4A, a substantially cylindrical support shaft 31 is erected on the outer side of the shaft attachment portion 30. The battery cover 22 is attached to the camera body 3 by inserting these support shafts 31 into the long holes 32 provided in the camera body 3. The long hole 32 is formed along the front-rear direction of the camera body 3, and the battery cover 22 is slidable between a locking position shown in FIG. 5A and a closed position shown in FIG. Then, it is rotatable between this closed position and an open position indicated by a dotted line in FIG. Since the battery cover 20 is slidably provided in the front-rear direction of the digital camera 2 in this way, the sliding allowance is relatively short.

  Locked portions 36 having protrusions 35 protruding outward are provided on the inner surface of the battery lid 22 and on both end edges on the other long side 22b side. In the camera body 3, a locking member 38 having a slit 37 for locking the protrusion 35 is provided. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the battery cover 22 is rotated from the open position to the closed position, the locked portion 36 is inserted into a notch 38 a provided in the locking member 38. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the battery cover 22 is slid from the closed position to the locking position, the protrusion 35 is inserted into the slit 37, so that the battery cover 22 is prohibited from rotating.

  A long hole 41 communicating with the inside of the camera body 3 is formed on the side of the battery chamber 25. A substantially L-shaped lid detection lever 42 is provided at a position facing the elongated hole 41 on the inner surface of the battery lid 22. A reinforcing rib 42 a is formed outside the lid detection lever 42. A lid detection switch 43 that detects the battery lid 22 is disposed behind the elongated hole 41. The lid detection lever 42 and the lid detection switch 43 constitute the lid detection means of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, when the battery cover 22 is in the locking position, the cover detection lever 42 is inserted into the elongated hole 41, and the tip 42b presses the detector 43a of the cover detection switch 43 to shake it. Move. As a result, the lid detection switch 43 is turned on and the battery lid 22 is detected. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the battery cover 22 slides to the closed position, the cover detection lever 42 does not swing the detector 43a, so that the detection of the battery cover 22 by the cover detection switch 43 is completed. . Thereby, the lid detection lever 43 detects whether or not the battery lid 22 is in the locking position.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the power from the battery 24 loaded in the battery chamber 25 is supplied to the circuit board 51 provided in the camera body 3 through the power switch 50 and the lid detection switch 43. . The power switch 50 is turned on when the power button 9 is pressed once, and turned off when the power button 9 is pressed again. The lid detection switch 43 is turned on when the detector 43 a is swung by the lid detection lever 42. When the swinging of the detector 43a is completed, the switch is turned off. That is, when the battery cover 22 is in the locking position, the cover detection switch 43 is energized, and when the battery cover 22 is in the closed position and the open position, it is not energized.

  Various electrical components and devices for driving the digital camera 2 are connected to the circuit board 51. Thereby, the electric power supplied to the circuit board 51 through the power switch 50 and the lid detection switch 43 is sent to various electric components and devices, and the digital camera 2 is in a driving state. Further, when the lid detection switch 43 slides from the locking position shown in FIG. 4A to the closed position shown in FIG. 4B, the power supply from the battery 24 is stopped by turning off the lid detection switch 43. .

  The tripod attached to the tripod attachment part 21 includes a general one that can hold a large camera such as a single-lens reflex camera or a small one specialized for a small camera. As shown in FIG. 5, the small tripod 55 includes a base 56, a telescopic leg 57, and a pan head 58, and the leg 57 and pan head 58 are small and simple in order to improve portability. Therefore, weight reduction is achieved.

  A connecting portion 60 to which one end of a leg 57 is connected is provided on the side surface of the base portion 56, and each leg 57 is provided so as to be rotatable between the open leg position and the closed leg position around the connecting portion 60. ing. In addition, a rocking portion 61 is provided on the upper surface of the base portion 56 to hold the pan head 58 so as to be rockable. On the top surface of the camera platform 58, a male screw 62 is provided for screwing into the tripod screw hole 20. The pan head 59 is swung by a handle 63 provided on the side surface thereof.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the dimensions of the digital camera 2 used in the present embodiment are, for example, a width W1 of about 95 mm and a length L1 of about 30 mm. W2 is about 50 mm, and length L2 is about 30 mm. The dimensions of the digital camera 2 and the pan head 58 are not limited to this.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When the power button 9 is operated, power supply is started from the battery 24 loaded in the battery chamber 25 to various electrical components and devices connected to the circuit board 51. When the shooting mode is selected with the mode dial, imaging by the imaging unit is started, and a through image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 14. When the playback mode is selected, the most recently captured image is played back and displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 14.

  In some cases, the digital camera 2 is turned on and then attached to a small tripod 55 for photographing. At this time, the digital camera 2 or the small tripod 55 is rotated, or both the digital camera 2 and the small tripod 55 are rotated, and the male screw 62 is screwed into the tripod screw hole 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the male screw 62 is screwed until the pan head 58 comes into contact with the tripod mounting portion 21. Thereby, the small tripod 55 is attached to the digital camera 2. At this time, since the tripod mounting portion 21 protrudes downward from the surface of the battery lid 22 in the locking position, the pan head 58 and the battery lid 22 are not affected even if the digital camera 2 and the small tripod 55 are rotated relative to each other. There is no sliding contact. Accordingly, when the digital camera 2 is attached to the small tripod 55, the power is not suddenly turned off, so that it is possible to prevent the image data recorded on the memory card 26 from being defective.

  Also, when removing the small tripod 55 from the digital camera 2, the digital camera 2 and the small tripod 55 are relatively rotated to release the screwing between the male screw 62 and the tripod screw hole 20, but the tripod mounting Since the portion 21 protrudes downward from the bottom surface 3d, the battery cover 22 and the pan head 58 do not slide and the battery cover 22 does not slide.

  In this embodiment, the small tripod 55 is attached to the digital camera 2, but the digital camera 2 may be attached to a general tripod as shown in FIG. In a general tripod, the upper surface 65a of the pan head 65 has the same size as the bottom surface 3d of the digital camera 2, and a rotatable mounting screw 66 is provided.

  When the digital camera 2 is attached to a tripod, the attachment screw 66 is screwed into the tripod screw hole 20 by rotating the grip portion 67 provided on the attachment screw 66. As a result, the tripod mounting portion 21 and the foot 23 come into contact with the upper surface 65a of the pan head 65, and the digital camera 2 is fixed to the tripod. At this time, since the tripod mounting part 21 and the foot part 23 protrude downward from the battery cover 22 in the locking position, the battery cover 22 and the pan head 65 do not contact each other. Further, since the tripod mounting portion 21 and the foot portion 23 have substantially the same height, the digital camera 2 is stabilized by the tripod mounting portion 21 and the foot portion 23 coming into contact with the upper surface 65a of the pan head 65. Fixed. Further, since the tripod mounting portion 21 and the foot portion 23 are provided with the battery lid 22 in between, a gap is surely provided between the battery lid 22 and the pan head 65, and the battery lid 22 is attached when the tripod is attached or detached. It does not slide from the locked position to the closed position. The same applies when the pan head 58 of the small tripod 55 has the same size as the bottom surface 3 d of the digital camera 2.

  The battery lid 22 of the present embodiment has a structure in which the battery lid 22 is slid from the locking position to the closing position and then rotated from the closing position to the opening position. The present invention may be applied to a battery lid. In this case, the battery chamber 25 is closed and a detection switch for detecting that the battery cover has been slid from the locking position locked to the camera body 3 is provided. It is preferable that the digital camera is turned off when it is removed.

  Alternatively, a ring-shaped spacer made of resin or rubber may be provided, and the small tripod 55 may be attached to the bottom surface 3d of the camera body 3 with the spacer interposed between the camera body 3 and the pan head 58. In this case, the tripod mounting portion 21 protruding downward from the bottom surface 3d is inserted into the opening provided in the spacer. The outer diameter of the spacer is preferably such that the outer periphery of the spacer does not reach the battery lid 22 when the tripod mounting portion 21 is inserted into the opening.

  In the present embodiment, the camera body 3 is provided with the tripod mounting portion 21 in which the tripod screw hole 20 is formed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the tripod screw hole 20 is formed directly on the bottom surface 3d of the camera body 3. The tripod mounting portion may be formed by projecting a part of the bottom surface 3d formed with the tripod screw hole 20 downward from the battery cover 22 at the locking position.

  In the above embodiment, the digital camera 2 has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a silver salt camera and a video camera.

It is a front perspective view which shows the structure of the digital camera of this invention. It is a back perspective view which shows the structure of a digital camera. It is a perspective view which shows the open state of a battery cover. It is sectional drawing which shows the movement of an open position from the latching position of a battery cover. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a small tripod. It is explanatory drawing which shows the dimension of the bottom face and pan head of a digital camera. It is a top view which shows the state in which the digital camera was attached to the small tripod. It is a top view which shows the state in which the digital camera was attached to the general tripod.

Explanation of symbols

2 Digital camera 3 Camera body 20 Tripod screw hole 21 Tripod mounting part 22 Battery cover 23 Foot part 24 Battery 25 Battery chamber 42 Cover detection lever 43 Cover detection switch 55 Tripod 62 Male screw

Claims (4)

A battery chamber that is provided on the bottom surface of the camera body, in which a battery is loaded, a lid that is slidable in the front-rear direction with respect to the camera body, closes the battery chamber, and is locked to the camera body; In a digital camera provided with a screw hole that is provided on the bottom surface in the vicinity of the lid and into which a male screw provided on a tripod head is screwed.
A tripod mounting portion projecting downward from the lid locked to the camera body on the bottom surface,
The digital camera, wherein the screw hole is provided in the tripod mounting portion. A foot portion that protrudes downward from the bottom surface so that the amount of protrusion is substantially the same as the tripod mounting portion on the bottom surface of the camera body;
The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the foot portion is provided on a side opposite to the tripod mounting portion with the battery chamber interposed therebetween.   3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the tripod mounting portion protrudes at least 0.8 mm below the lid locked to the camera body. A lid detecting means for detecting whether or not the lid is locked to the camera body;
4. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein when the lid detection unit detects that the lid is not locked to the camera body, power supply from the battery is stopped. 5. camera.

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