JP2010097103A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To arrange a lens barrel in a position higher than that in a conventional manner and to prevent external force from being applied to the lens barrel, in a digital camera in which the lens barrel is arranged to extend over the almost entire width in a horizontal direction of a camera body. <P>SOLUTION: A lever member 30 comprising a horizontal arm part 40 extending horizontally and a vertical arm part 41 extending downward from one end of the horizonal arm part 40 is rotatably attached to the camera body 20 below a release button 33. The horizontal arm part 40 is configured such that it is energized upward by a torsion coil spring 32, to bring the top end of the horizontal arm part 40 into press-contact with the release button 33. When the release button 33 is depressed, the top end 42 of the vertical arm part 41 depresses a tact switch 23 provided inside the side surface of the camera body 20, according to the fact that the horizontal arm part 40 in press-contact with the release button 33 is moved downward. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly to a release button mechanism.

  In recent years, digital cameras equipped with a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD image sensor have become widespread. In addition, a digital camera in which a lens barrel that integrates a bending optical system that bends the optical axis of subject light at a substantially right angle and a solid-state imaging device is disposed so as to extend over substantially the entire width of the camera body in the left-right direction. Is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In such a digital camera, since the thickness of the camera body in the front-rear direction can be reduced, portability can be improved.

  When taking a picture, the user usually holds the side edge of the camera body by hand, but the lens barrel having the bending optical system as described above extends over almost the entire width of the camera body in the left-right direction. In the digital camera arranged in (1), since the photographing lens is often arranged at the side end of the camera body, there arises a problem that it is easy to touch the lens.

  In the case of a digital camera with improved portability using a bending optical system as described above, it is desired that not only the thickness but also the overall size be as small as possible. It is often smaller than the width of the palm, and in order to hold such a thin and small camera, it is natural to hold the camera body between the middle finger and the thumb and hold the index finger over the upper surface of the camera body.

In a thin and small camera, it is necessary to place the photographic lens on the side edge of the camera body, and when the camera body is held as described above, the photographic lens should be positioned between the index finger and the middle finger. Because it is natural to place it, the lens barrel should be placed as high as possible inside the camera body so that when the user holds the digital camera, the index finger and middle finger can be held easily without widening. Is preferred.
JP 2004-219516 A JP 2007-316528 A

  Here, problems of the conventional digital camera will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional digital camera (the appearance is substantially the same as that of the digital camera of the present invention, so the drawing is shared), and FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a release button of the conventional digital camera. Note that the part numbers in this description are described with the numbers shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a lens barrel 21 is disposed inside the camera body 20B of the digital camera so as to extend over substantially the entire width of the camera body 20B in the left-right direction. The release button 33B is attached to the upper surface of the camera body 20B while being biased upward by the spring 34, and a part of the release button 33B is exposed from the upper surface of the camera body 20B so that the user can press it. Yes.

  In such a configuration, when the lens barrel 21 is arranged as high as possible inside the camera body 20B, as shown in FIG. 7, a substrate having a tact switch 23 for detecting the pressing of the release button 33B. 22 is attached to the upper surface of the lens barrel 21, and further, a space allowing the movement of the release button 33B in the vertical direction on the substrate 22 must be secured. A certain amount of clearance is required between the upper surface of the lens barrel 21 and it is difficult to place the lens barrel 21 close to the upper end.

  Further, when the substrate 22 having the tact switch 23 is attached to the upper surface of the lens barrel 21, an external force is applied to the lens barrel 21 each time the release button 33B is pressed, and as a result, strict positional accuracy is required. This may adversely affect the optical system, and may cause various adverse effects on the photographed image, such as the lens barrel 21 moving during photographing to cause the photographed image to shake.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a lens barrel in which a bending optical system for bending an optical axis of subject light at a substantially right angle and a solid-state imaging element is integrated with a substantially full width in the left-right direction of a camera body. An object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera in which a lens barrel can be disposed at a higher position than before in a digital camera arranged so as to extend over a range, and an external force is not applied to the lens barrel. To do.

The digital camera of the present invention includes a camera body having a release button disposed at the top thereof, and a switch that is disposed on the inner side of the camera body and detects pressing of the release button,
The release button mechanism includes a horizontal arm portion that extends horizontally, a lever member that includes a vertical arm portion that extends downward from one end of the horizontal arm portion, and a biasing member that biases the horizontal arm portion upward.
The lever member is pivotally supported by the camera body at the connecting portion of the horizontal arm portion and the vertical arm portion,
In response to the horizontal arm portion being pressed downward, the vertical arm portion is configured to press the switch.

  In this case, the horizontal arm portion of the lever member functions as a release button. In such a configuration, it is preferable that a part of the lever member above the horizontal arm portion is formed in a button shape that moves the horizontal arm portion downward.

  Further, the release button mechanism may be provided with a button provided above the horizontal arm portion and moving the horizontal arm portion downward. In this case, this button functions as a release button.

Further, a part of the shaft support member that supports the lever member may be exposed from the camera body, and the strap may be attached to the exposed portion.

  According to the digital camera of the present invention, the switch for detecting the pressing of the release button is arranged on the inside of the side surface of the camera body, and the release button mechanism is extended horizontally from one end of the horizontal arm portion and the horizontal arm portion. Consists of a lever member composed of an extending vertical arm part and an urging member for urging the horizontal arm part upward, so that the lever member can be rotated to the camera body at the joint between the horizontal arm part and the vertical arm part Since the horizontal arm is pressed downward and the vertical arm presses the switch, it is not necessary to provide a switch directly below the release button. Since it can be provided in the side space, it is possible to arrange the lens barrel further upward by the thickness of the switch part that detects pressing. To become.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to attach a switch unit to the lens barrel, and no external force is applied to the lens barrel, it is possible to eliminate adverse effects on the captured image.

  In addition, if the lever member is formed in the shape of a button that moves the horizontal arm downward, and the lever member itself also serves as the release button, the release button mechanism is simplified. It can be set as a simple structure.

  Also, if the release button mechanism is provided above the horizontal arm and includes a button that moves the horizontal arm downward, the release button can be moved only in the vertical direction. The operational feeling can be improved.

  Furthermore, if a part of the shaft support member that supports the lever member is exposed from the camera body and a strap can be attached to the exposed part, there is no need to separately provide a bracket for attaching the strap. The cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the digital camera according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a top view of the digital camera, FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a release button mechanism taken along the line III-III in FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the digital camera.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 1 is provided with various general devices necessary for photographing such as a strobe, an auxiliary lamp, and various sensors (not shown) in addition to a lens 11a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a part of the release button 33 (operation unit 14) is exposed on the upper surface so that it can be pressed by the user.

  A liquid crystal monitor (display unit 15) (not shown), buttons (operation unit 14) for performing various operation settings, a media slot (storage medium reading unit 16), and the like are disposed on the back and bottom surfaces. Displays an image recorded on a recording medium 17 (not shown) inserted in a media slot, a menu operation screen necessary for various settings, a through image of image information acquired by the imaging unit 11 at the time of shooting, and the like. The

  The media slot is an insertion slot into which the recording medium 17 is inserted. When the recording medium 17 is inserted into the media slot, data is read / written from / to the recording medium 17.

  The recording medium 17 uses an xD picture card (registered trademark), smart media (registered trademark), PC card, compact flash (registered trademark), magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, memory stick (registered trademark), or the like. It is possible to use various media that can be read and written in accordance with electronic, magnetic, optical, or a combination thereof, and signal processing means and interfaces corresponding to the media used are applied.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the functional blocks of the digital camera 1 according to the present embodiment include a CPU 10, an imaging unit 11, an image processing unit 12, a storage unit 13, an operation unit 14, a display unit 15, and a recording. A medium reading unit 16 is schematically configured.

  The CPU 10 comprehensively controls the digital camera 1 based on the input from the operation unit 14, and reads out the data stored in the storage unit 13 and the recording medium 17 in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit 14. In addition to functioning as a control unit, it also functions as an operation control unit that controls zooming operation, focus adjustment (AF) operation, automatic exposure adjustment (AE) operation, and the like of the lens drive unit, and a display control unit that controls display on the display unit 15. To do.

  The imaging unit 11 includes a lens group 11a, a lens driving unit (not shown), a CCD 11b as an imaging device, a CCD driving unit (not shown), an analog processing unit 11c, an A / D conversion unit 11d, and the like.

  The lens group 11a includes a bending optical system that bends the optical axis of the subject light at a substantially right angle, and the lens group 11a and the CCD 11b are housed in and integrated with the lens barrel 21.

  The subject image formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD 11b through the lens group 11a is converted into signal charges of an amount corresponding to the amount of incident light by each sensor on the CCD 11b. The CCD 11b has a so-called electronic shutter function that controls the charge accumulation time (shutter speed) of each sensor according to the timing of the shutter gate pulse.

  The signal charge accumulated in each sensor is sequentially read out from the CCD 11b as a voltage signal (analog imaging signal) corresponding to the signal charge based on a pulse applied from the CCD driving unit. The analog imaging signal output from the CCD 11b is sent to the analog processing unit 11c.

  The analog processing unit 11c includes signal processing circuits such as a sampling hold circuit, a color separation circuit, and a gain adjustment circuit. In the analog processing unit 11c, correlated double sampling (CDS) processing and R, G, B color signals are processed. Color separation processing is performed, and signal level adjustment (pre-white balance processing) of each color signal is performed.

  The signal output from the analog processing unit 11c is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion unit 11d and then sent to the image processing unit 12. The CCD driving unit, the analog processing unit 11c, and the A / D conversion unit 11d are driven in synchronization with a timing signal applied from a timing generator in accordance with a command from the CPU 10.

  The image processing unit 12 includes a digital signal processor (DSP) including an image quality adjustment circuit such as a luminance / color difference signal generation circuit, a gamma correction circuit, a sharpness adjustment circuit, a contrast correction circuit, and a white balance adjustment circuit. The image signal is processed based on the command.

  The storage unit 13 is configured by a semiconductor memory or the like that can store various data. The storage unit 13 stores a system program and the like for operating the digital camera.

  The operation unit 14 includes a release button 33, buttons for performing various operation settings, and the like.

  Here, the mechanism of the release button 33 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the release button 33 is held so as to be movable in the vertical direction on the upper surface of the camera body 20, and the substrate 22 including the tact switch 23 for detecting the pressing of the release button 33 is the side surface of the camera body 20. Arranged inside.

  Further, below the release button 33, a lever member 30 including a horizontal arm portion 40 extending horizontally and a vertical arm portion 41 extending downward from one end of the horizontal arm portion 40 includes a horizontal arm portion 40 and a vertical arm portion. The joint 41 is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 31 (supporting member) attached to the camera body 20.

  The horizontal arm portion 40 of the lever member 30 is biased upward by a torsion coil spring 32 (biasing member), and the distal end portion of the horizontal arm portion 40 is configured to be in pressure contact with the release button 33.

  Further, the distal end portion 42 of the vertical arm portion 41 of the lever member 30 is at a position separated from the tact switch 23 on the substrate 22 in a normal state, and is pressed against the release button 33 when the release button 33 is pressed by the user. The front arm 42 of the vertical arm 41 is configured to press the tact switch 23 in response to the horizontal arm 40 being moved downward.

  With this configuration, when the user holds the digital camera 1, the lens barrel 21 is arranged as high as possible inside the camera body 20 in order to make it difficult to touch the lens 11 a. In this case, since the clearance between the inner top surface of the camera body 20 and the upper surface of the lens barrel 21 can be reduced by the thickness of the substrate 22 and the tact switch 23 as compared with the conventional configuration, the lens barrel 21 can be arranged further upward.

  Further, since the substrate 22 having the tact switch 23 is not attached to the upper surface of the lens barrel 21 as in the conventional configuration, no external force is applied to the lens barrel 21. As a result, there is no adverse effect on an optical system that requires strict positional accuracy, and there is no possibility that the lens barrel 21 moves during shooting and the captured image is shaken. It becomes possible.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, a part of the rotating shaft 31 that pivotally supports the lever member 30 is exposed from the camera body 30, and a strap can be attached to the exposed part. Accordingly, it is not necessary to separately provide a metal fitting for attaching the strap, so that the cost can be reduced.

  Next, the operation of the digital camera 1 configured as described above will be described.

  At the time of shooting, the image signal input from the CCD 11b is stored in real time in the storage unit 13 and displayed on a liquid crystal monitor (not shown). The user can confirm the subject image by the image (through image) displayed on the liquid crystal monitor.

  When the user obtains a desired subject image and presses the release button 33, the image data stored in the storage unit 13 at that time is compressed into a predetermined format such as JPEG by a compression / expansion circuit (not shown). The data is recorded on the recording medium 17 via the recording medium reading unit 16. The means for storing the image is not limited to the recording medium 17 that can be attached to and detached from the digital camera 1 main body, but may be an internal memory built in the digital camera 1 main body.

  Next, a digital camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a top view of the digital camera according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a release button mechanism in a section taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the release button mechanism is simplified as compared with the first embodiment, and specifically, the lever member 30A is also used as a release button.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a part of the upper surface portion of the lever member 30A is exposed from the upper surface of the camera body 20A.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a substrate 22 having a tact switch 23 for detecting the pressing of the release button is disposed inside the side surface of the camera body 20A, and extends horizontally and has a horizontal arm portion 40A and a horizontal arm portion. A lever member 30A composed of a vertical arm portion 41A extending downward from one end of 40A is rotated by a rotating shaft 31 (axial support member) attached to the camera body 20A at a connecting portion of the horizontal arm portion 40A and the vertical arm portion 41A. It is pivotally supported.

  The horizontal arm portion 40A of the lever member 30A is urged upward by a torsion coil spring 32 (biasing member), the distal end portion of the horizontal arm portion 40A is pressed against the inner top surface of the camera body 20A, and the distal end of the horizontal arm portion 40A. The side is configured not to protrude beyond a predetermined amount from the camera body 20A.

  Further, the tip end portion 42A of the vertical arm portion 41A of the lever member 30A is at a position away from the tact switch 23 on the substrate 22 in the normal state, and is near the tip end portion of the horizontal arm portion 40A by the user (P arrow portion in FIG. 6). Is pressed downward as a release button so that the tip end portion 42A of the vertical arm portion 41A presses the tact switch 23.

  By adopting such a configuration, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, since it is not necessary to separately provide a release button, the configuration can be simplified and, compared with the first embodiment, the inner top surface of the camera body 20 and the lens barrel 21 can be reduced by the amount of no button. Since the clearance between the upper surface and the upper surface can be further reduced, the lens barrel 21 can be disposed further upward.

Front view of the digital camera according to the first embodiment Top view of the above digital camera Schematic configuration diagram of the release button mechanism at the cross section along line III-III in FIG. Functional block diagram of the above digital camera Top view of the digital camera of the second embodiment Schematic block diagram of the release button mechanism at the cross-section VI-VI line in FIG. Schematic configuration diagram of a release button mechanism of a conventional digital camera

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 Digital camera 10 CPU
11 Imaging unit 11a Lens group 11b CCD
11c Analog processing unit 11d A / D conversion unit 12 Image processing unit 13 Storage unit 14 Operation unit 15 Display unit 16 Recording medium reading unit 17 Recording medium 20 Camera body 21 Lens barrel 22 Substrate 23 Tact switch 30 Lever member 31 Rotating shaft 32 Torsion coil spring 33 Release button 40 Horizontal arm part 41 Vertical arm part

Claims (4)

A camera body with a release button on top,
A switch that is arranged on the inner side of the camera body and that detects the pressing of the release button;
The release button mechanism is:
A lever member composed of a horizontal arm portion extending horizontally and a vertical arm portion extending downward from one end of the horizontal arm portion;
An urging member that urges the horizontal arm portion upward;
The lever member is pivotally supported by the camera body at the connecting portion of the horizontal arm portion and the vertical arm portion,
The digital camera is configured such that the vertical arm portion presses the switch in response to the horizontal arm portion being pressed downward.   2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein a part of the lever member above the horizontal arm portion is formed in a button shape for moving the horizontal arm portion downward.   2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the release button mechanism is provided with a button provided above the horizontal arm portion to move the horizontal arm portion downward. A part of the shaft support member that pivotally supports the lever member is exposed from the camera body,
4. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein a strap can be attached to the exposed portion.

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