JP2010026141A - Power supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power supply device having a light emitting part for illuminating an operation button provided on the back of a camera. <P>SOLUTION: The power supply device 2 supplying power to a camera 100 equipped with a photographic lens 102 on its front side or an illuminator 200 illuminating a subject is equipped with: a mount part to which the camera 100 can be mounted; a plurality of first light emitting parts 8a capable of radiating illuminating light to the camera 100 mounted to the mount part; a detection part 10a detecting a mounting direction of the camera 100 to the power supply device; and a first light emission control part performing first light emission control to allow light emission of the first light emitting part 8a at a position opposed to the back 100b side that is a surface on an opposite side to the front side of the camera 100 out of the plurality of first light emitting parts based on a result of detection by the detection part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply device that supplies power to a camera or an illumination device that illuminates a subject.

Conventionally, an illumination position provided on an electronic camera, protruding from the outer surface of the camera body and illuminating a reflective liquid crystal display device provided on the back surface of the electronic camera, and a storage position capable of being stored along the outer surface of the camera body There is an illuminating device configured to be displaceable (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 11-298772 A

  By the way, since a transmissive liquid crystal display device is often used for the liquid crystal display device provided on the back of the camera at present, it is possible to view in the dark without using illumination. In some cases, it is difficult to visually recognize the operation buttons provided on the back surface.

  The objective of this invention is providing the power supply device which has a light emission part which illuminates the operation button provided in the back surface of the camera.

  The present invention solves the above problems by the following means. In addition, in order to make an understanding easy, it attaches | subjects and demonstrates the code | symbol corresponding to embodiment of this invention, but this invention is not limited to this.

  The power supply device (2) of the present invention is a power supply device that supplies power to a camera (100) having a photographing lens (102) on the front surface side thereof or an illumination device (200) that illuminates a subject. A mountable mounting section (6), a plurality of first light emitting sections (8a, 8b, 8c, 8d) capable of irradiating illumination light to the camera mounted on the mounting section, and the power source of the camera A detection unit (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d) for detecting a mounting direction with respect to the device, and a detection result of the detection unit on a side opposite to the front side of the camera among the plurality of first light emitting units. And a first light emission control unit (32) for performing first light emission control for emitting light from the first light emitting unit at a position facing the back surface (100b) side which is a surface.

  According to the power supply device of the present invention, it is possible to illuminate the operation buttons provided on the back surface of the camera so as to be visible in a dark place regardless of the direction in which the camera is attached to the power supply device.

  Hereinafter, a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The power supply device 2 is made of plastic, metal, or the like, and includes a substantially rectangular casing 4 in which a battery is accommodated. A screw hole 6 is provided at a position a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction from the center of the upper surface 4t of the housing 4 as a mounting portion to which the camera 100 (see FIG. 3) is mounted. The screw hole 6 penetrates to the lower surface of the housing 4. Around the screw hole 6, LEDs 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, and 8 d as first light emitting units that emit illumination light that illuminates the back surface of the camera 100 are at a predetermined distance from the screw hole 6 and the LEDs 8 a, 8 b, 8 c. Is disposed in the vicinity of the edge of the housing 4 of the power supply device 2, and the LED 8 d is disposed on the opposite side of the LED 8 b with the screw hole 6 interposed therebetween. The LEDs 8a to 8d are white LEDs, and emit illumination light in a vertically upward direction of the housing 4 or in a direction slightly inclined toward the inside of the housing 4 from the vertically upward direction. Further, around the screw hole 6, detection units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d for detecting the mounting direction of the camera 100 with respect to the power supply device 2 are arranged at adjacent positions inside the LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d, respectively. ing. Note that the detection units 10a to 10d have convex portions that protrude from the upper surface 4t of the housing 4 by a slight height, and when the camera 100 is attached to the power supply device 2 in a predetermined mounting direction, The projection direction of a specific detection unit among the detection units 10a to 10d is pushed by the bottom surface of the 100, whereby the mounting direction of the camera 100 is detected.

  A photometric unit 12 and a hot shoe 16 are provided on the upper surface 4t of the housing 4. The photometry unit 12 and the hot shoe 16 are provided at positions that are not covered by the camera 100 when the camera 100 is mounted in any mounting direction. The photometry unit 12 includes a light amount sensor and the like. When the camera 100 is mounted on the power supply device 2 and used, the brightness of the power supply device 2 is measured, and the necessity of irradiating the camera 100 with illumination light is considered. judge. The hot shoe 16 is equipped with an illumination device 200 as an illumination device that illuminates the subject.

  The side surface 4a of the housing 4 is provided with an auxiliary LED 14a as a second light emitting unit that functions as one of AF (autofocus) auxiliary light, auxiliary light at the time of moving image shooting, and a self-timer lamp. The auxiliary LED 14a is disposed on the side surface 4a in the vicinity of the LED 8a. Further, an auxiliary LED 14d as a second light emitting unit is provided on the side surface 4d of the housing 4. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2 which shows the structure of the upper surface 4t of the housing | casing 4, auxiliary LED14c is provided in the vicinity of LED8c on the side surface 4c which is the side surface on the opposite side to the side surface 4a of the housing | casing 4, An auxiliary LED 14b is provided in the vicinity of the LED 8b on the side surface 4b, which is the side surface opposite to the side surface 4d of the housing 4. In this embodiment, the auxiliary LEDs 14a to 14d are white LEDs, and emit AF auxiliary light to the subject when the camera 100 attached to the power supply device 2 is photographed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a power switch 18 that switches on / off of the power supply 2 and an LED switch 20 that switches on / off of the LEDs 8 a to 8 d by an external operation are provided on the side surface 4 a of the housing 4. Yes. In addition, a cable 24 that supplies power to the lighting device 200 attached to the camera 100 is connected to the side surface 4 c of the housing 4.

  3 and 4 are perspective views showing a state in which the camera is mounted on the power supply device according to this embodiment. 3 is a perspective view from the front side of the camera 100, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the back side of the camera 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the camera 100 includes a photographing lens 102 on the front surface thereof, and a mode dial 110 used for selecting a photographing mode or the like on the top, and a shutter button 112 that instructs a release operation when photographing a subject. It has.

  A lighting device 200 to which electric power is supplied from the power supply device 2 via the cable 24 is attached to a hot shoe 114 provided at a substantially central portion of the upper portion of the camera 100. The camera 100 controls the emission of illumination light and AF auxiliary light emitted from the illumination device 200 by outputting a control signal to the illumination device 200 via the hot shoe 114. In addition, the camera 100 controls the light emission of the LEDs 8 a to 8 d and the auxiliary LEDs 14 a to 14 d included in the power supply device 2 by outputting a control signal to the power supply device 2 via the illumination device 200 and the cable 24.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, on the back surface 100b, which is the surface opposite to the front surface of the camera 100, an instruction is given to the liquid crystal monitor 104 on which the through image of the subject, the setting menu screen, etc. are displayed, the display of the setting menu screen, etc. There are provided an operation button 106, a multi-selector 108 used for item selection and cursor operation on the setting menu screen, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the camera 100 is mounted on the upper surface 4 t of the housing 4 of the power supply device 2. That is, the camera 100 is screwed with a fixing screw (not shown) inserted into the screw hole 6 from the lower surface side of the housing 4 into a screw hole (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the camera 100 for attaching a tripod. It is fixed integrally. By fixing in this way, the camera 100 can be attached to the power supply device 2 in any direction. However, the rear surface 100b of the camera 100 is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the casing 4 of the power supply device 2 so that the LEDs 100a to 8d included in the casing 4 of the power supply device 2 can be illuminated. It is desirable to attach to (refer FIG. 7, FIG. 9-FIG. 11). In addition, the camera 100 is attached to the power supply device 2 by fixing the tripod screw provided on the tripod penetrating the screw hole 6 of the power supply device 2 to the screw hole for attaching the tripod provided in the camera 100. You can use a tripod even when attached.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the power supply device, camera, and illumination device according to this embodiment. The above-described detection units 10a to 10d, the photometry unit 12, the hot shoe 16, the power switch 18, and the LED switch 20 are connected to the CPU 30 that comprehensively controls each unit of the power supply device 2. The CPU 30 is connected to a first light emission control unit 32 that performs light emission control of the LEDs 8a to 8d and a second light emission control unit 34 that performs light emission control of the auxiliary LEDs 14a to 14d. The CPU 30 is connected to a receiving unit 36 that receives a control signal output from the CPU 230 that controls the lighting device 200 via the cable 24. Note that the control signal output from the CPU 230 includes a control signal output from the camera CPU 130 that controls the camera 100 as well as a signal that instructs power supply when the lighting device 200 emits light. The control signal output from the camera CPU 130 includes an operation signal output from the camera CPU 130 based on the operation of the mode dial 110 or the shutter button 112 of the camera 100.

  Next, the light emission control of the LEDs 8a to 8d by the first light emission control unit 32 connected to the CPU 30 of the power supply device 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and 7, the camera 100 is attached to the power supply device 2 so that the photographing lens 102 attached to the camera 100 is positioned on the side surface 4c side of the housing 4 of the power supply device 2. An example will be described.

  When the power supply 2 is turned on after the camera 100 is attached to the power supply device 2 in a predetermined direction, the CPU 30 is pressed by the bottom surface of the camera 100 in the detection units 10a to 10d of the power supply device 2. Based on the signal transmitted from the detected detection unit, the mounting direction of the camera 100 with respect to the power supply device 2 is determined (step S10). That is, when the camera 100 is attached so that the front surface thereof faces the side surface 4c of the power supply device 2, the detection units 10b, 10c, and 10d are pressed by the bottom surface of the camera 100 as shown in FIG. Therefore, CPU30 determines with the front surface of the camera 100 being attached in the direction which faces the side surface 4c side based on the detection signal transmitted from the detection parts 10b-10d.

  Next, the CPU 30 selects one LED that can be lit from the LEDs 8a to 8d (step S12). In the case illustrated in FIG. 7, the LED 8 a adjacent to the detection unit 10 a that is not pressed by the bottom surface of the camera 100, that is, the LED 8 a located at a position facing the back surface 100 b of the camera 100 is selected.

  Next, when the LED switch 20 is operated by the user of the power supply device 2 (step S14), the CPU 30 turns on the selected LED via the first light emission control unit 32 (step S22). That is, the user of the power supply device 2 can freely turn on the LED by operating the LED switch 20.

  When the LED switch 20 is not operated by the user of the power supply apparatus 2, the brightness around the power supply apparatus 2 is measured by the photometry unit 12 (step S16). When the measured value by the photometry unit 12 is lower than a predetermined threshold, the CPU 30 is not sufficient for the brightness around the power supply device 2 and the camera 100 to be visually recognized on the operation button 106 provided on the back surface 100b of the camera 100. However, it is determined that it is necessary to emit illumination light (step S18). After the determination, when an operation signal is transmitted from the camera CPU 130 of the camera 100 to the CPU 30 of the power supply device 2 via the illumination device 200 and the cable 24 (step S20), the CPU 30 is based on the signal. The LED 8a is caused to emit light through the first light emission control unit 32 (step S22). Here, the operation signal from the camera 100 includes a signal indicating a power-on operation, a half-press operation on the shutter button 112, a touch operation on the operation button 106, and the like.

  Note that after the LED 8a emits light, an operation signal from the camera CPU 130 to the CPU 30, for example, an operation signal indicating that the user of the power supply device 2 has entered a photographing operation and has performed the full-press operation of the shutter button 112, or a power-off operation. When an operation signal indicating that the operation has been performed is transmitted, the CPU 30 turns off the LED 8a based on the signal.

  Further, while the LED 8a is lit, measurement of the brightness around the power supply device 2 by the photometry unit 12 is continued. Therefore, when the LED 8 a is turned on, the surroundings of the power supply device 2 become bright, and when the measurement value of the photometry unit 12 is higher than a predetermined threshold, the brightness of the surroundings of the power supply device 2 and the camera 100 is The CPU 30 determines that it is sufficient to visually recognize the operation button 106 provided on the back surface portion, and the LED 8a is turned off. Further, the user of the power supply device 2 can freely turn off the LED 8 a by operating the LED switch 20.

  Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8, the light emission control of the auxiliary LEDs 14a to 14d by the second light emission control unit 34 connected to the CPU 30 of the power supply device 2 will be described. Similar to the above description, the case where the front surface of the camera 100 is attached so as to face the side surface 4c will be described as an example.

  When the mounting direction of the camera 100 is determined, the CPU 30 selects one auxiliary LED to be lit from the auxiliary LEDs 14a to 14d (step S42). That is, in step S10, when it is determined that the front surface of the camera 100 is attached so as to face the side surface 4c, the CPU 30 sets the auxiliary LED 14c provided on the side surface 4c as the auxiliary LED to be lit. The auxiliary LED 14c located at the position facing the front surface of the camera 100 is selected.

  Next, when AF shooting is performed by the camera 100, when the user presses the shutter button 112 of the camera 100 halfway, an operation signal is output from the camera CPU 130 based on the operation (step S46). . CPU30 of the power supply device 2 which received the said operation signal via the illuminating device 200 and the cable 24 turns on auxiliary | assistant LED14c, and light-emits AF auxiliary | assistant light (step S48).

  In addition, when moving image shooting is performed using the camera 100, if it is necessary to irradiate the subject with auxiliary light, the auxiliary LED 14c functions as auxiliary light at the time of moving image shooting. In this case, when the moving image shooting is started based on the full pressing operation on the shutter button 112 of the camera 100, the auxiliary LED 14c is also turned on at the same time. When the shutter button 112 is fully pressed again to finish moving image shooting, the auxiliary LED 14c is also turned on.

  When self-timer shooting is performed using the camera 100, the auxiliary LED 14c functions as a self-timer lamp. In this case, when the self-timer is started based on the full-pressing operation on the shutter button 112 of the camera 100, the auxiliary LED 14c blinks in a predetermined pattern until the self-timer ends and photographing is performed.

  9 to 11, the first light emission control unit 32 and the second light emission control unit 34 also perform the above-described light emission control even when the camera 100 is attached to the power supply device 2 in other directions. The same processing is performed. However, as shown in FIG. 9, when the front surface of the camera 100 faces the side surface 4a direction of the housing 4, the CPU 30 selects the LED 8c and the auxiliary LED 14a as light-emitting LEDs. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 10, when the front surface of the camera 100 faces the side surface 4 b of the housing 4, the LED 8 d and the auxiliary LED 14 b are used, and as shown in FIG. 11, the front surface of the camera 100 is the housing 4. When facing the side surface 4d, the LED 8b and the auxiliary LED 14d are selected by the CPU 30 as the light emitting LED and the auxiliary LED, respectively.

  If the camera 100 is not attached so as to be parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the housing 4, all of the detection units 10 a to 10 d may be simultaneously pressed by the bottom surface of the camera 100. Accordingly, when the CPU 30 detects that all of the detection units 10a to 10d are pressed and determines that the camera 100 is not attached to the power supply device 2 in a predetermined direction, the power supply device 2 It is desirable to inform the user of that.

  In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the lighting device 200 may be attached to the hot shoe 16 provided in the casing 4 of the power supply device 2 instead of the hot shoe 114 provided in the camera 100. In this case, the camera 100 may be provided with a wireless signal transmission unit and the power supply device 2 may be provided with a wireless signal reception unit, and the operation signal may be transmitted from the camera 100 to the power supply device 2 by the wireless signal. Further, instead of the radio signal, a communication cable may be provided to communicate the operation signal. The power supply from the power supply device 2 to the lighting device 200 may be performed via the cable 24 or may be performed via the hot shoe 16.

  According to the power supply device of the present invention, it is possible to illuminate the operation buttons provided on the back surface of the camera so that the operation button can be visually recognized regardless of the orientation of the camera attached to the power supply device. The button can be easily seen. In addition, according to the power supply device of the present invention, since the illumination is switched based on the brightness around the power supply device measured by the photometry unit provided in the power supply device, it is possible to prevent waste of power. .

  When the camera is attached to the power supply device of the present invention in the direction shown in FIG. 11, the power supply device functions as a protective member for the photographing lens attached to the camera. Therefore, when a photographing lens having a long lens length such as a telephoto lens is attached to the camera, it is possible to prevent a direct impact from being applied to the photographing lens.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the upper surface of the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view from the front side of the camera which shows the state with which the camera was mounted | worn with respect to the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view from the back side of the camera which shows the state with which the camera was mounted | worn with respect to the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the light emission control processing of LED by the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state with which the camera was mounted | worn with respect to the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the light emission control processing of auxiliary LED by the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a top view which shows the other state with which the camera was mounted | worn with respect to the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a top view which shows the other state with which the camera was mounted | worn with respect to the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a top view which shows the other state with which the camera was mounted | worn with respect to the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view from the front side of the camera which shows the state with which the illuminating device was mounted | worn with respect to the power supply device which concerns on this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... power supply device, 4 ... housing, 4t ... upper surface, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d ... side surface, 6 ... screw hole, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d ... LED, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d ... detection unit, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Photometry part, 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d ... Auxiliary LED, 16 ... Hot shoe, 20 ... LED switch, 24 ... Cable, 30 ... CPU, 32 ... 1st light emission control part, 34 ... 2nd light emission control part, 100 ... Camera, 200 ... Lighting device

Claims (7)

A power supply device that supplies power to a camera equipped with a photographing lens on the front side or an illumination device that illuminates a subject,
A mounting portion to which the camera can be mounted;
A plurality of first light emitting units capable of irradiating illumination light to the camera mounted on the mounting unit;
A detection unit for detecting a mounting direction of the camera with respect to the power supply device;
1st light emission control which makes the 1st light emission part of the position which opposes the back which is a surface on the opposite side to the said front side of the said camera among several said 1st light emission parts based on the detection result by the said detection part. A power supply apparatus comprising: a first light emission control unit that performs the operation. A plurality of second light emitting units functioning as any of AF auxiliary light, auxiliary light at the time of moving image shooting, and a self-timer lamp;
A second light emission control unit configured to perform a second light emission control for causing the second light emission unit at a position facing the front surface of the camera to emit light among the plurality of second light emission units based on a detection result by the detection unit; The power supply device according to claim 1, further comprising:   The power supply device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation unit capable of externally operating the first and second light emission control units. A receiver for receiving the operation signal of the camera;
3. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second light emission control units perform the first and second light emission control based on the operation signal received by the reception unit.   5. The power supply apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the operation signal includes at least one of operation signals corresponding to operations on a power switch and a shutter button of the camera. A metering unit that detects ambient brightness
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first light emission control unit performs the first light emission control based on a detection result by the photometry unit. The mounting portion is provided on one surface of the casing of the power supply device,
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a tripod screw hole for attaching a tripod is provided on a surface opposite to the one surface of the housing.

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