JP2009260482A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera having a large image display part and improved operability. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera 10 is composed of a first housing 11, a second housing 12 and a third housing 13. The first housing 11 is provided with a photographing lens on the front surface and is provided with a cross key and a button group 19 to be used in reproduction on the back surface. The second housing 12 is freely slidably mounted on the back surface side of the first housing 11 so as to be moved between the closing position of covering the back surface of the first housing 11 and the opening position of exposing the back surface of the first housing 11, and is provided with a release button 23, a zoom operation button 24 and a button group 25 to be used in photographing on the back surface. The third housing 13 is freely slidably mounted on the back surface side of the second housing 12 so as to be moved between the closing position of covering the back surface of the second housing 12 and the opening position of exposing the back surface of the second housing 12, and is provided with an LCD 14 on the back surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera provided with an image display unit.

  A digital camera that converts an image captured using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD image sensor into digital image data and records the image data on a recording medium is widely used. The digital camera is provided with an image display unit for displaying captured images and the like. Usually, the image display unit is configured by a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, and is disposed on the back surface of the camera body.

  Digital cameras require multiple operation members such as a release button and zoom operation buttons, but the surfaces on which these operation members can be placed are limited to the top and back surfaces of the camera body, and the digital camera is downsized. Therefore, the operation member is reduced in size and must be densely arranged. In addition, these operation members include those having different uses such as those used for photographing and those used for reproduction. When the operation members having different uses are densely arranged in this way, there is a problem for the user that it takes time to find an operation member to be operated, and the operability is poor and inconvenient.

In order to solve such a problem, it has been proposed to arrange the operation members separately for each application (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a playback system operation member is arranged on the left side of the back of the camera body, and a shooting system operation member is arranged on the right side of the back, so that only one of the playback system and the shooting system is exposed. By providing a cover, the operability is improved.
JP 2000-307919 A

  However, when the operation member is provided on the back surface of the camera body as described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to reduce the size of the image display unit at least by the space provided with the operation member. The image display unit is desired to be enlarged, and it is not preferable to downsize the image display unit.

  The present invention has been made with respect to such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a digital camera capable of achieving both enlargement of an image display unit and improvement in operability.

  In order to achieve the above object, a digital camera of the present invention includes a first housing having a photographing lens on the front surface and a first operation member on the back surface, and a closed position that covers the back surface of the first housing. And an open position that exposes the back surface of the first housing, and is slidably mounted on the back surface side of the first housing, and a second operation member is provided on the back surface. 2 slidably on the back side of the second housing so as to move between a closed position that covers the back surface of the second housing and an open position that exposes the back surface of the second housing. And a third housing having an image display portion on the back surface.

  Based on the detection results of the first detection means for detecting the slide position of the second casing, the second detection means for detecting the slide position of the third casing, and the first and second detection means, It is preferable to include operation switching means for switching the operation mode.

  Moreover, it is preferable that one of the first operation member and the second operation member is a reproduction operation member used during image reproduction, and the other is a photographing operation member used during photographing.

  The second housing is preferably divided into two along the sliding direction, and each of the divided housings slides independently.

  In addition, the digital camera of the present invention includes a first housing having a photographing lens on the front surface and a first operation member on the back surface, a closed position covering the back surface of the first housing, and the first housing. A second housing that is slidably mounted on the back surface side of the first housing and has a second operation member provided on the back surface so as to move between an open position that exposes the back surface of the first housing, A third housing slidably mounted on the back side of the second housing so as to move between a closed position that covers the back surface of the second housing and an open position that exposes the back surface of the second housing. And is slidably mounted on the back side of the third housing so as to move between a body and a closed position covering the back of the third housing and an open position exposing the back of the third housing. And a fourth housing provided with an image display unit on the back surface.In addition, it is preferable that the 2nd image display part is provided in the back surface of the said 3rd housing | casing.

  In the digital camera of the present invention, the back surface of the first housing as the operation panel and the back surface of the second housing can be stored, and no operation member is provided on the back surface of the housing that is the backmost surface. Since the image display unit can be provided on the entire rear surface, both the enlargement of the image display unit and the improvement in operability can be achieved.

  1 and 2, the digital camera 10 includes a first casing 11, a second casing 12, and a third casing 13 that are rectangular flat plates and have substantially the same shape. The second housing 12 is slidably mounted on the back side of the first housing 11, and the third housing 13 is slidably mounted on the back side of the second housing 12. A liquid crystal display (LCD) 14 is provided almost entirely on the back surface of the third housing 13. The LCD 14 displays an image such as a through image, a photographed image, a reproduced image, and a menu screen for performing various setting operations.

  An imaging device is built in the first housing 11, and a photographing lens 15 and a strobe light emitting unit 16 are provided on the front surface thereof. The strobe light emitting unit 16 emits strobe light according to shooting conditions when shooting is performed. A power button 17 is provided on the upper surface of the first housing 11. The power button 17 is operated when turning on / off the power of the digital camera 10.

  On the back surface of the first housing 11, a cross key 18 and a button group 19 including a plurality of operation buttons are provided as playback operation members. The cross key 18 and the button group 19 are operation members that can be operated when the digital camera 10 is in the reproduction mode. The cross key 18 is composed of up / down / left / right direction selection buttons provided at the periphery thereof and an execution button provided at the center. In the playback mode, a playback image is displayed on the LCD 14. The reproduction image selection is changed by operating the cross key 18.

  Further, by a combined operation of the button group 19 and the cross key 18, the playback image being selected is deleted, or playback operations when the playback image is a moving image (play start / end, slow playback, frame advance, fast forward). ) Is possible. The button group 19 is provided with a delete button, a playback start button, a stop button, a pause button, and the like. For example, frame advance playback is performed by pressing the left / right direction selection button of the cross key 18 in a state where the playback of the moving image is paused by pressing the pause button of the button group 19.

  Grooves 20 extending in the vertical direction are provided on the left and right side portions of the first housing 11. Near the lower ends of the left and right sides of the second housing 12, there is provided a sliding member 21 that protrudes forward and has a distal end bent inward. The second housing 12 is mounted such that the side portion of the first housing 11 is sandwiched from the left and right sides by the sliding member 21 so that the distal end portion of the sliding member 21 is slidably fitted into the groove 20. .

  The second housing 12 has a “closed position” where the sliding member 21 is in contact with the lower end of the groove 20 and covers the back surface of the first housing 11, and the sliding member 21 contacts the upper end of the groove 20. It slides between the “open position” that is in contact with and moved upward to expose the back surface of the first housing 11. Although illustration is omitted, the second housing 12 can be held at the “closed position” and “open position” by a click mechanism.

  Near the upper end of one of the left and right grooves 20, a first detection switch 22 is provided at a position where the sliding member 21 contacts. The first detection switch 22 is a sensor that detects that the sliding member 21 is in contact, and detects whether or not the second housing 12 is in the “open position”.

  On the back surface of the second housing 12, a release button 23, a zoom operation button 24, and a button group 25 including a plurality of operation buttons are provided as photographing operation members. The release button 23, the zoom operation button 24, and the button group 25 are operation members that can be operated when the digital camera 10 is in the shooting mode. The release button 23 is a two-stage push switch. When the release button 23 is pressed halfway, various shooting preparation processes are executed. In this state, the release button 23 is further pushed down to perform the shooting process. Executed. The zoom operation button 24 is a seesaw type push switch, and is operated when changing (enlarging / reducing) the photographing magnification.

  Further, the button group 25 allows various setting operations related to photographing. The button group 25 includes a shooting mode switching button for switching the shooting mode, a strobe setting button for switching on / off of the strobe light, a self-timer button for switching on / off of the self-timer, a macro button for switching on / off of macro shooting, and the like. Is provided. The shooting modes include a normal shooting mode for shooting a still image and a moving image shooting mode for shooting a moving image.

  Similar to the first housing 11, grooves 26 extending in the vertical direction are provided on both left and right sides of the second housing 12. Near the lower ends of the left and right side portions of the third housing 13, similarly to the second housing 12, there is provided a sliding member 27 that protrudes forward and whose tip is bent inward. The sliding member 27 has the same structure as that of the sliding member 21 of the second housing 12 and is slidably fitted into the groove 26 in a state where the third housing 13 is mounted on the second housing 12. Match.

  In the third housing 13, the sliding member 21 is in contact with the lower end of the groove 26 and overlapped so as to cover the back surface of the second housing 12, and the sliding member 21 contacts the upper end of the groove 26. Then, it slides between the “open position” moved upward so as to expose the back surface of the second housing 12. Although illustration is omitted, the third housing 13 can be held at the “closed position” and the “open position” by a click mechanism.

  Similar to the groove 20, a second detection switch 28 is provided in the vicinity of the upper end of one of the left and right grooves 26 at a position where the sliding member 27 abuts. The second detection switch 28 is a sensor that detects that the sliding member 27 is in contact, and detects whether or not the third housing 13 is located at the “open position”.

  The first casing 11 and the second casing 12 and the second casing 12 and the third casing 13 are electrically connected to each other via an electric wiring (not shown). This electrical wiring is wired via sliding members 21 and 27, for example.

  In FIG. 3 showing the electrical configuration of the digital camera 10, the CPU 30 functions as a control unit that controls the operation of the digital camera 10, and includes the power button 17, release button 23, cross key 18, zoom operation button 24, and button described above. Based on the operation signals input from the groups 19 and 25, each unit of the digital camera 10 is controlled.

  The lens unit 31 incorporates a zoom mechanism, a focus mechanism, and a diaphragm device (not shown) in addition to the photographing lens 15 described above. In response to the operation of the zoom operation button 24, the zoom mechanism moves the photographing lens 15 to perform zooming. The focus mechanism moves the focus lens incorporated in the photographing lens 15 to perform focusing. The diaphragm device adjusts the amount of subject light incident on the CCD 32 by adjusting a diaphragm (not shown). The zoom mechanism, the focus mechanism, and the aperture device are controlled by the CPU 30 via the motor drive unit 33.

  A CCD 32 having a large number of photodiodes arranged on the light receiving surface is disposed behind the optical axis of the photographing lens 15. The CCD 32 receives the subject light incident through the photographing lens 15, converts it into an electrical imaging signal, and outputs it. A timing generator (TG) 34 controlled by the CPU 30 is connected to the CCD 32. The CCD 32 is driven by a drive pulse input from the TG 34 and outputs an imaging signal. The TG 34 controls the charge accumulation time (shutter speed) and charge transfer timing of the CCD 32.

  Although not shown, the CCD 32 is a CCD solid-state imaging device of a single-plate color imaging system provided with a color filter composed of a plurality of color segments (for example, a primary color filter with a Bayer array). Output analog signals for red, G (green), and B (blue).

  The imaging signal output from the CCD 32 is input to an analog signal processing circuit (AFE) 35. The AFE 35 includes a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit, an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) circuit, and an A / D converter, and operates in synchronization with the charge transfer operation of the CCD 32 when a synchronization pulse is input from the TG 34. . The CDS circuit performs correlated double sampling to remove noise from the imaging signal. The AGC circuit amplifies the imaging signal with a gain corresponding to the imaging sensitivity set by the CPU 30. The A / D converter converts an analog imaging signal from the AGC circuit into, for example, a 12-bit digital image signal.

  The image signal output from the AFE 35 is input to the digital signal processing circuit 36. The digital signal processing circuit 36 records the input image signal in the image memory 38 connected via the bus line 37 and then performs signal processing. The digital signal processing circuit 36 reads out an image signal recorded in the image memory 38 based on the control of the CPU 30, and performs various kinds of processing such as gradation conversion, white balance correction, γ correction processing, YC conversion processing on the read image signal. By performing image processing, image data corresponding to an image of one frame is generated, and the generated image data is written in the image memory 38.

  The digital signal processing circuit 36 includes an AE / WB detection circuit for performing automatic exposure adjustment (AE) and automatic focus adjustment (AF). The AE / AF detection circuit detects the in-focus state of the subject by detecting the level of the input image signal, detecting the luminance state of the subject, and extracting the high-frequency component of the input image signal. These detection results are input to the CPU 30. The CPU 30 controls the focus mechanism, the diaphragm device, and the CCD 32 based on the input detection results, and performs exposure adjustment and focus adjustment.

  In addition to the digital signal processing circuit 36 and the image memory 38, a compression / decompression processing circuit 39, a media controller 40, and an LCD driver 41 are connected to the bus line 37. The compression / decompression processing circuit 39 performs compression processing on the uncompressed image data read from the image memory 38 and generates compressed image data in a predetermined file format. The compression / decompression processing circuit 39 performs decompression processing on the compressed image data recorded on the memory card 42 during image reproduction, and generates uncompressed image data. The media controller 40 controls recording and reading of image data (image file) with respect to the memory card 42. The compression / decompression circuit 39 compresses the still image file into the JPEG format in the still image shooting mode, and converts the moving image file to the JPEG for each frame in the moving image shooting mode. The image is compressed into a Motion JPEG format. The memory card 42 can be detachably attached to a slot (not shown) provided in the first housing 11.

  The LCD driver 41 performs predetermined signal processing on the image data from the image memory 38 to generate an image display signal, and outputs the signal to the LCD 14 at a fixed timing. As a result, the image captured by the CCD 32 is displayed on the LCD 14 in real time (through image display). The LCD driver 41 outputs the uncompressed image data expanded by the compression / decompression processing circuit 39 to the LCD 14. As a result, the image read from the memory card 42 is reproduced and displayed on the LCD 14.

  The CPU 30 is connected to the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 described above. The CPU 30 detects whether the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 are on / off, thereby determining whether or not each of the second and third housings 12 and 13 is in the open state. The operation mode is switched according to the state of the second and third casings 12 and 133.

  Specifically, the CPU 30 performs control according to the flowchart shown in FIG. When both the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 are on (Yes determination), the CPU 30 shifts the operation mode to the setting mode and causes the LCD 14 to display a menu screen. At this time, the digital camera 10 is in a state where both the second and third casings 12 and 13 are in the “open position”, and by operating the cross key 18, shooting sensitivity, image size, AE / AF use Conditions (photometry method, AF area, etc.), and basic settings such as white balance scene settings.

  Further, when the first detection switch 22 is on (Yes determination) and the second detection switch 28 is off (No determination), the CPU 30 shifts the operation mode to the reproduction mode and is stored in the memory card 42. The image is read out and reproduced and displayed on the LCD 14. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the digital camera 10 is in a state in which the second housing 12 is in the “open position” and the back surface of the first housing 11 is exposed. By operating the 19 and the cross key 18, it is possible to perform a reproduction operation of a still image or a moving image.

  In addition, when the first detection switch 22 is off (No determination) and the second detection switch 28 is on (Yes determination), the CPU 30 shifts the operation mode to the shooting mode and captures a still image or a moving image. Is possible. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the digital camera 10 is in a state in which the third housing 13 is in the “open position” and the back surface of the second housing 12 is exposed. By operating the zoom operation button 24 and the button group 25, still image shooting or moving image shooting can be performed.

  Further, when both the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 are off (No determination), the CPU 30 shifts the operation mode to the standby mode, stops the operation of each unit, and turns off the display on the LCD 14. . At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the digital camera 10 is in a state where both the second and third housings 12 and 13 are in the “closed position” (the first to third housings 11 to 13 are in the width direction). The entire apparatus is downsized and power consumption is reduced.

  As described above, the digital camera 10 can be miniaturized as shown in FIG. 6 when stored, and can be stored as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B when used. Only the necessary operation panel can be exposed from the rear surface of the first housing 11 or the second housing 12 and used. Further, since there is no need to provide an operating member on the back surface of the third housing 13 that is the back surface of the digital camera 10, the LCD 14 can be provided on the entire back surface. Thus, the digital camera 10 can achieve both an increase in the size of the image display unit and an improvement in operability.

  In addition, since the digital camera 10 can secure a sufficient area as a placement surface for the operation members, each operation member can be increased in size, and operability can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the playback operation member is disposed on the back surface of the first housing 11 and the photographing operation member is disposed on the back surface of the second housing 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. The assignment of the operation members to the back surfaces of the first and second housings 11 and 12 may be changed as appropriate. For example, an imaging operation member may be disposed on the back surface of the first housing 11, and a reproduction operation member may be disposed on the back surface of the second housing 12. In addition, an operation member that is frequently used is disposed on the back surface of one of the first and second housings 11 and 12, and an operation member that is less frequently used is disposed on the other back surface of the first and second housings 11 and 12. Thus, it is also preferable to assign an operation member.

  In the above embodiment, the operation mode is switched between the setting mode, the playback mode, the shooting mode, and the standby mode according to the on / off state of the first and second detection switches 22 and 28. The invention is not limited to this, and the type of operation mode to be switched may be changed as appropriate. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when both the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 are off, the operation mode is shifted to the standby mode. In this case, automatic shooting that automatically executes image reproduction is performed. You may shift to the mode.

  In the above embodiment, in order to reduce the number of parts, the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 are provided near the upper ends of the grooves 20 and 26, and the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 are in the ON state. The second and third casings 12 and 13 are determined to be in the “open position”, and the second and third casings 12 are determined when the first and second detection switches 22 and 28 are in the off state. , 13 are in the “closed position”. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a detection switch is provided near the lower ends of the grooves 20, 26, and the second and third housings are provided by the switch. It may be detected that the bodies 12 and 13 are in the “closed position”.

  In the above embodiment, the second and third housings 12 and 13 are held in the “closed position” and the “open position” by the click mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and instead of the click mechanism. A holding mechanism using a magnet, a spring bias, friction, or the like may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the mechanism which slides the 2nd and 3rd housing | casing 12 and 13 by the groove | channels 20 and 26 and the sliding members 21 and 27 is comprised, this invention is not limited to this. Other slide mechanisms such as guide plates provided with guide rails may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although various operation buttons are provided in the back surface of the 2nd housing | casing 12, this invention is not limited to this, It is good also considering the back surface of the 2nd housing | casing 12 as a touch panel. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a transparent touch panel 43 is provided on the second casing 12, the second casing 12 is set to the “closed position”, and the third casing 13 is set to the “open position”. Is operated (touched), among the operation members arranged on the back surface of the first housing 11, the description of the operation member located at the operation position of the touch panel 43 (description of the function assigned to the operation member) It is also preferable to display on the LCD 14.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the digital camera of the second embodiment, the second housing 12 of the first embodiment is divided into two along the vertical direction (slide direction). Note that in the second embodiment, the same members as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted (hereinafter, the same applies to the third and subsequent embodiments).

  8A and 8B, the second right housing 12a and the second left housing 12b, in which the second housing 12 of the first embodiment is divided in the vertical direction, are slidably engaged with each other. is doing. FIG. 8A shows a state in which the right second housing 12a is in the “open position” and the left second housing 12b is in the “closed position”. FIG. 8B shows a state in which the right second housing 12a is in the “closed position” and the left second housing 12b is in the “open position”. Further, by setting both the right second housing 12a and the left second housing 12b to the “open position”, the same configuration as in FIG. 5A of the first embodiment is obtained, and the right second housing 12a and the left By setting both the second housing 12b to the “closed position”, the configuration is the same as that in FIG. 5B of the first embodiment.

  As described above, in the digital camera according to the second embodiment, the operation member exposed from the operation panel can be variously changed. Moreover, at the time of imaging | photography, by setting it as the form of FIG. 8 (B), the right side 2nd housing | casing 12a can be used as a grip part, and grip property improves.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the digital camera of the third embodiment, four housings are slidably connected. In FIG. 9, the digital camera 50 includes a first casing 51, a second casing 52 slidably connected to the back side of the first casing 51, and a slidable back side of the second casing 52. It consists of a third housing 53 connected and a fourth housing 54 slidably connected to the back side of the third housing 53. The first casing 51 has the same configuration as that of the first casing 11 of the first embodiment. The photographing lens 15 and the strobe light emitting unit 16 are provided on the front surface, and the power button 17 is provided on the upper surface. ing. Further, the cross key 18 and the button group 19 are provided on the back surface of the first housing 51, and the grooves 20 are provided on both sides. The second casing 52 has the same configuration as that of the second casing 12 of the first embodiment, and a release button 23, a zoom operation button 24, and a button group 25 are provided on the back side, A groove 26 is provided. The sliding member 21 is formed near the lower end of the second housing 52, and the tip of the sliding member 21 is slidably fitted in the groove 20 of the first housing 51.

  The third housing 53 has a configuration similar to that of the second housing 52, and a button group 55 including a plurality of operation buttons is provided on the back surface, and grooves 56 are provided on both sides. Further, a sliding member 57 is formed in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the third housing 53, and the distal end portion of the sliding member 57 is slidably fitted in the groove 26 of the second housing 52. The fourth housing 54 has the same configuration as the third housing 13 of the first embodiment, and the LCD 14 is provided on the back surface. A sliding member 27 is provided near the lower end of the fourth housing 54, and the tip of the sliding member 27 is slidably fitted in the groove 56 of the third housing 53.

  A first detection switch 22, a second detection switch 28, and a third detection switch 58 are provided in the vicinity of the upper ends of the grooves 20, 26, and 56, respectively. The electrical configuration of the digital camera 50 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the CPU 30 switches the operation mode based on the on / off states of the first to third detection switches 22, 28, and 58. For example, when the third detection switch 58 is turned on and the back surface of the third housing 53 is exposed, the CPU 30 shifts the operation mode to the setting mode and causes the LCD 14 to display a menu screen. At this time, in addition to the button group 55, the setting operation can be performed by operating the cross key 18 as necessary. Menu items are appropriately assigned to the button group 55. When the third detection switch 58 is off, the CPU 30 is the same as in the first embodiment. When the first detection switch 22 is on, the CPU 30 shifts the operation mode to the reproduction mode, and the second detection switch 28 is on. In some cases, the operation mode is shifted to the shooting mode.

  In 3rd Embodiment, since the back surface of the 1st-3rd housing | casing 51-53 can be used as an operation panel, operativity improves further. In addition, the operation mode to be switched according to the arrangement of the operation members and the on / off states of the first to third detection switches 22, 28, and 58 is an example, and may be changed as appropriate. In the present embodiment, four housings are slidably connected, but five or more housings may be slidably connected.

  In the third embodiment, the reproduction system operation member is disposed on the back surface of the first housing 51, the imaging system operation member is disposed on the back surface of the second housing 52, and the back surface of the third housing 53. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the assignment of the operation members to the back surfaces of the first to third housings 51 to 53 may be changed as appropriate. For example, a playback system operation member is disposed on the back surface of the first housing 51, a still image capturing system operation member is disposed on the back surface of the second housing 52, and a moving image capturing system is disposed on the back surface of the third housing 53. An operation member may be arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the button group 55 may be removed from the back surface of the third housing 53, and the second LCD 60 may be provided on the back surface as an image display unit. It is preferable to display a help menu for beginners including instructions for handling on the second LCD 60. Thereby, the user can perform various operations while viewing the display of the help menu, and even a beginner can easily use it. Further, the second LCD 60 is divided into two along the vertical direction (sliding direction) like the second right housing 12a and the second left housing 12b of the second embodiment, and each of them can be slid. Is also preferable.

  In each of the above embodiments, an LCD is used as the image display unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a display device such as an organic EL (electroluminescence) panel may be used instead of the LCD.

1 is a front perspective view of a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a back side perspective view of a digital camera. It is a block which shows the electrical constitution of a digital camera. It is a flowchart explaining switching control of an operation mode. (A) is a rear perspective view of the digital camera when the second housing is open and the third housing is closed, (B) is the second housing is closed, and It is a back side perspective view of a digital camera in case a 3rd case is an open state. It is a back side perspective view of a digital camera when the 2nd and 3rd case are both closed. In 1st Embodiment, it is a figure which shows the example which provided the transparent touch panel in the 2nd housing | casing. It is a back side perspective view of the digital camera of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a right side 2nd housing | casing open state, and the left side 2nd housing | casing is a closed state, (B) is right side. It is a figure which shows the case where a 2nd housing | casing is made into a closed state and the 2nd housing | casing on the left side is made into an open state. It is a back side perspective view of the digital camera of 3rd Embodiment of this invention. In 3rd Embodiment, it is a figure which shows the example which provided LCD on the back surface of the 3rd housing | casing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital camera 11-13 13th housing | casing 14 LCD (image display part)
18 Four-way controller (first operation member)
19 Button group (first operation member)
20, 26 Groove 21, 27 Sliding member 22 First detection switch (first detection means)
23 Release button (second operation member)
24 Zoom operation button (second operation member)
25 Button group (second operation member)
28 Second detection switch (second detection means)
30 CPU (operation switching means)
43 Touch Panel 50 Digital Camera 51-54 First to Fourth Case 55 Button Group 56 Groove 57 Sliding Member 58 Third Detection Switch (Third Detection Means)

Claims (6)

A first housing having a photographing lens on the front surface and a first operating member on the back surface;
The first housing is slidably mounted on the back side of the first housing so as to move between a closed position that covers the back surface of the first housing and an open position that exposes the back surface of the first housing. A second housing having a second operation member on the back surface;
The second housing is slidably mounted on the back side of the second housing so as to move between a closed position that covers the back surface of the second housing and an open position that exposes the back surface of the second housing. A third housing having an image display section on the back;
A digital camera characterized by comprising   Based on the detection results of the first detection means for detecting the slide position of the second casing, the second detection means for detecting the slide position of the third casing, and the first and second detection means, the operation mode The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising an operation switching unit that switches between the two.   The one of the first operation member and the second operation member is a reproduction operation member used during image reproduction, and the other is a photographing operation member used during photographing. The digital camera according to 1 or 2.   4. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the second casing is divided into two along the sliding direction, and each of the divided casings slides independently. 5. . A first housing having a photographing lens on the front surface and a first operating member on the back surface;
The first housing is slidably mounted on the back side of the first housing so as to move between a closed position that covers the back surface of the first housing and an open position that exposes the back surface of the first housing. A second housing having a second operation member on the back surface;
A third slidably mounted on the back side of the second casing so as to move between a closed position covering the back of the second casing and an open position exposing the back of the second casing. A housing,
A slidably mounted on the back side of the third housing so as to move between a closed position covering the back surface of the third housing and an open position exposing the back surface of the third housing; A fourth housing having an image display section on the back;
A digital camera characterized by comprising   The digital camera according to claim 5, wherein a second image display unit is provided on a back surface of the third housing.

Images