JP2011137959A - Stroboscopic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stroboscopic device enabling a user to easily confirm an exact exchange time of an optical member. <P>SOLUTION: The stroboscopic device includes a flash discharge tube 3A in a light emitting part housing 5 having an aperture 1H provided on a subject side, a reflection member 3B reflecting flash light from the flash discharge tube 3A toward the aperture 1H, and the optical member 1 provided in the aperture 1H, wherein the optical member 1 is detachably attached to the light emitting part housing 5, and a storage means 16 in which information on operating conditions of the optical member is stored is provided in the optical member 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a strobe device used for photography.

  Conventionally, an optical member for uniformly irradiating light emitted from a light source within a desired range is used in a strobe device used for photography. For this optical member, for example, a resin material such as polycarbonate is used.

  This type of strobe device generates heat each time the flash discharge tube serving as a light source emits light. Therefore, when the strobe device continuously emits light, part of the optical member may be deformed by the heat of the flash discharge tube. There is. Then, there has been proposed a strobe device configured so that parts of the strobe device can be easily replaced when such deformation occurs. (For example, see Patent Document 1)

JP-A-7-168258

  By the way, as a result of the inventors' diligent research, the deterioration of the optical member has gradually progressed due to the ultraviolet rays contained in the flash emitted from the flash discharge tube, and a chemical change occurs in the resin material that is the material of the optical member. As a result, it was confirmed that this was the cause of discoloration and deformation of the optical member.

  In other words, even if the user cannot recognize visually, deformation and discoloration that affects the optical performance has occurred, so in order to maintain the optical performance of the strobe device, replace the optical member according to the frequency of use. Is needed.

  However, since there is no way to determine that deformation or discoloration that affects optical performance has occurred, there is a disadvantage that the user cannot determine the exact replacement time of the optical member.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a strobe device that allows a user to easily check the exact replacement time of an optical member.

  A strobe device according to the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. A flash discharge tube is provided in a light-emitting unit housing provided with an opening on the subject side, and the flash discharge tube is directed toward the opening. A strobe device that includes a reflecting member that reflects the flash of the light and an optical member provided in the opening, wherein the optical member is configured to be detachable from the light emitting unit housing, The optical member is provided with storage means for storing information relating to usage status.

  According to such a configuration, information relating to the usage status of the optical member stored in the storage means provided in the optical member, for example, the amount of light emitted from the flash discharge tube, the number of times of light emission, or the amount of power supplied from the power source is set in advance. The replacement time of the optical member can be easily grasped by comparing with the use limit of the optical member.

  Further, the strobe device according to the present invention includes a flash discharge tube in a light emitting unit housing provided with an opening on the subject side, a reflecting member that reflects flash light from the flash discharge tube toward the opening, A strobe device comprising an optical member provided in an opening, wherein the optical member is configured to be detachable from the light-emitting unit housing, and storage means for storing information on the usage status of the optical member It may be provided in the strobe body.

  According to such a configuration, information on the usage status of the optical member stored in the storage means provided in the strobe main body, for example, the amount of light emitted from the flash discharge tube, the number of times of light emission, or the amount of power supplied from the power source is preset. By comparing with the use limit of the optical member, it is possible to easily grasp the replacement time of the optical member.

  Moreover, the strobe device according to the present invention may include a configuration in which at least one of a light emission amount and a light emission number of the flash discharge tube is stored in the storage unit.

  Moreover, the strobe device according to the present invention may be configured such that the storage means stores a use limit of the optical member.

  Further, the strobe device according to the present invention includes a light emission control means for controlling the light emission of the flash discharge tube, and the light emission control means determines when the optical member is to be replaced based on information on the usage status stored in the storage means. It may be configured to determine.

  In the strobe device according to the present invention, the color temperature characteristic of the optical member may be stored in the storage unit.

  According to this configuration, when the optical member is replaced by storing the color temperature characteristics that appear as individual differences of the optical member due to the intersection of the optical member (change in manufacturing lot or material) in each storage means of the optical member. The color temperature characteristic of the flash that changes slightly can be transmitted to the imaging apparatus, and the captured image can be finely adjusted by the image processing means of the imaging apparatus.

  In addition, the strobe device according to the present invention may be configured to transmit the color temperature characteristic stored in the storage unit to an imaging device that images a subject.

  According to this configuration, when a plurality of optical members are prepared so that the color temperature of the flash can be adjusted in order to correct the color temperature of the subject that changes depending on the shooting environment, the optical member replaced according to the environment. Since the change in the color temperature characteristic of the flashlight can be transmitted to the imaging device, the user can easily adjust to the desired color temperature characteristic.

  Moreover, the strobe device according to the present invention may include identification means for identifying the optical member in the strobe main body.

  According to such a configuration, even when there are a plurality of optical members, since these optical members can be recognized by the identification unit, it is possible to reliably recognize which optical member is the optical member mounted on the strobe device, Only the information on the mounted optical member can be accurately extracted from the information on the usage status of the plurality of optical members stored in the storage means of the strobe body, and can be rewritten (updated) accurately.

  According to said structure, the information regarding the usage condition of the optical member memorize | stored in the memory | storage means with which the optical member is equipped, or the memory means with which the strobe main-body part is equipped is used as the preset optical member usage limit. By comparing, the user can easily confirm the exact replacement time of the optical member.

The perspective view which looked at the strobe device concerning the 1st embodiment of the present invention from the front side 1 is a schematic side view of a strobe device according to a first embodiment of the present invention mounted on an imaging device. Schematic side view of the strobe device according to the second embodiment of the present invention mounted on an imaging device

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the strobe device according to the present embodiment protects the optical member 1 made of resin such as polycarbonate and the optical member 1 in the opening 1H on the front side that is the subject side. And a protective member 2 made of a translucent resin or the like disposed on the subject side with respect to the optical member 1, and a light emission comprising a flash discharge tube 3A and a reflecting member 3B disposed behind the optical member 1. The light emitting unit housing 5 that houses the unit 3, and the strobe body unit 7 that is disposed below the light emitting unit housing 5 and houses the light emission control means 6 and a power supply unit (not shown).

  A shoe 8 is provided at the lower part of the strobe body 7, and an imaging device 9 is mounted and electrically connected via the shoe 8.

  Also, an attachment / detachment hole 10 is provided in the vicinity of the opening 1H of one lateral side surface portion (right side surface portion in front view of FIG. 1) of the light emitting unit housing 5 so that the optical member 1 can be attached and detached. The member 1 can be replaced with a spare optical member 1 when the circuit unit 6 determines that it is time to replace the member 1.

  At one end of the optical member 1 in the longitudinal direction (attachment / removal hole insertion direction), a cover 11 for attachment / detachment holes that covers the attachment / detachment holes 10 when inserted into the light emitting unit housing 5 via the attachment / detachment holes 10 is provided. Yes.

  The attachment / detachment hole 10 is a vertically long opening that is slightly wider than the thickness of the optical member 1.

  In addition, when the optical member 1 is removed, the slide cover 12 as a slide member that can move in the short direction (front-rear direction) of the attachment / detachment hole 10 emits light to prevent water and dust from entering from the attachment / detachment hole 10. It is provided in the vicinity of the attachment / detachment hole 10 of the housing 5 (the rear side of the attachment / detachment hole 10).

  The light emitting unit 3 moves the light emitting unit 3 in the optical axis direction according to the angle of view of the lens 13 attached to the imaging device 9 and changes the distance between the optical member 1 and the light emitting unit 3, thereby irradiating flash light. The illumination range variable means (not shown) moves the light emitting unit 3 in response to a signal from the lens angle detection means 14 when the angle of view of the lens 13 of the imaging apparatus changes. Let

  The light emission control means 6 provided in the strobe main body 7 calculates the light emission amount (light emission time) of the flash discharge tube 3A suitable for illuminating the subject by a signal from the image pickup control means 15 in the image pickup apparatus 9. In response to the photographing start signal from the imaging control means 15, the flash discharge tube 3A is caused to emit light.

  At this time, the light emission control means 6 includes the distance between the optical member 1 and the light emitting unit 3, the number of times of light emission from the flash discharge tube 3A, the light emission amount of the flash discharge tube 3A (calculated from the time elapsed from the start to the end of light emission), flash discharge. Recognizing information on the usage status such as the temperature in the light emitting unit housing 5 calculated based on at least one data of the temperature rise gradient in the light emitting unit housing 5 obtained based on the light emission interval of the tube 3A, the optical member The information in the storage means 16 provided in the optical member 1 is updated (rewritten) as the degree of wear of 1 and compared with the usage limit information stored in advance in the storage means 16. Then, the light emission control means 6 determines whether or not the optical member 1 is at the replacement time based on the comparison result, and when it is determined that it is the replacement time, for example, the lamp is turned on or a warning sound is emitted. Or a message may be displayed on a display unit (not shown) provided in the strobe body unit 7 to notify the user.

  The deformation / deterioration of the optical member 1 is influenced by light energy transmitted through the optical member 1 and heat generation of the light emitting unit. The light wavelength emitted from the flashlight discharge tube 3 includes near infrared rays and ultraviolet rays, and the greater the amount of emitted light, the more near infrared rays and ultraviolet rays are emitted. Further, since the amount of light emission increases, heat generation is easier, and the shorter the interval between light emission, the shorter the time for cooling, so that heat is stored and the temperature inside the light emitting unit casing is increased. For this reason, it is considered that the resin that is the material of the optical member 1 is deformed and deteriorated due to vibration of molecules due to light energy, decrease in molecular binding force due to ultraviolet rays, and molecular vibration due to temperature increase in the housing.

  Further, the closer the optical member 1 is to the light emitting unit 3 (in general, the wider the angle of view of the lens), the closer the optical member 1 is to the flash discharge tube 3A, and the more easily affected by the above. Therefore, the influence of light energy is used as a parameter. For example, (1) Wide end, 1: 1 light emission is repeated 50 times every second, and (2) Wide end, 1: 1 light emission is repeated 50 times every 60 seconds. The usage situation is different. In the case of (2), the light energy is the same, but since the temperature rise of the flash discharge tube = the temperature rise in the light emitting unit housing is different, the influence on the optical member is reduced. Moreover, since there is a time interval in the heat generation of the optical member 1 itself, the temperature rise becomes slow and the heat radiation time increases. Therefore, there is a margin of the number of times of light emission up to the use limit of the optical member.

  The storage means 16 of the optical member 1 stores color temperature characteristics resulting from the intersection of the optical member 1 (changes in manufacturing lots, materials, etc.).

  When the optical member 1 is replaced due to deformation or deterioration, the light emission control means 6 recognizes the color temperature characteristic stored in the storage means 16 of the replaced optical member 1 and the imaging control means of the imaging device 9 The image pickup control means 15 can finely adjust the white balance of the photographed image by recognizing the color temperature characteristic of the flash emitted by the strobe device based on the received signal.

  Conventionally, in order to adjust the white balance of an image according to the shooting situation, a user has attached a filter to the front surface of the optical member to correct the color temperature characteristics of the flash. Such a strobe device has an advantage that a plurality of optical members having different color temperature characteristics are prepared in advance, and the optical members can be exchanged depending on the photographing situation.

  At this time, the color temperature characteristic stored in the storage unit 16 of the optical member is recognized by the light emission control unit 6 and transmitted as a signal to the imaging control unit 15 of the imaging device 9, and the imaging control unit 15 outputs the received signal. Originally, the white balance can be finely adjusted in advance by recognizing the change in the color temperature characteristic before the strobe device emits flash.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, a various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the individual optical member 1 is provided with the storage means 16 for storing information on the usage status of the optical member. As the second embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. An individual recognition means 17 such as a barcode is provided as an identification means for identifying 1, and a storage means 18 for storing information on the usage status of each optical member identified by the individual recognition means 17 You may make it implement in the part 7, and may implement. Since the optical member 1 can be identified by the individual recognizing means 17 as described above, information on the usage status of the mounted optical member 1 is retrieved from the information stored in the storage means 18 and already stored. If there is information that is present, the information is rewritten (updated). Further, when the information of the mounted optical member 1 is not included in the stored information, the information is stored in the storage unit 18 as new information together with the solid identification information. In addition to using the individual recognition means 17 such as a bar code as the identification means, the shape of the protrusions and the like provided in the optical member 1 may be stored. What is the configuration for identifying the optical member? May be. Other parts not illustrated in FIG. 3 have the same configurations as those in FIG.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the attachment / detachment hole was provided in the side surface of the light emission part housing | casing, an attachment / detachment hole is provided in the upper surface side or lower surface side of the light emission part housing | casing so that an optical member can be replaced | exchanged from an up-down direction. It may be provided. Further, when a plurality of optical members are provided, all of them may be exchanged. Moreover, you may comprise so that the protection member 2 can also be replaced | exchanged similarly.

  The strobe device of the present invention is configured so that the information on the usage status of the optical member can be compared with a preset usage limit of the optical member, so that the user can easily replace the optical member accurately. It is useful in various strobe devices ranging from small to large.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical member 1H Opening part 2 Protection member 3A Flash discharge tube 3B Reflective member 3 Light emission part 5 Light emission part housing | casing 6 Light emission control means 7 Strobe main body part 8 Shoe 9 Imaging device 10 Removable hole 11 Cover 12 Slide cover 13 Lens 14 Lens image Angle detection means 15 Imaging control means 16, 18 Storage means 17 Solid recognition means

Claims (8)

A flash discharge tube in a light emitting unit housing provided with an opening on the subject side, a reflecting member that reflects flash light from the flash discharge tube toward the opening,
A strobe device comprising an optical member provided in the opening,
A strobe device, wherein the optical member is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the light emitting unit housing, and the optical member includes storage means for storing information relating to the usage status of the optical member. A flash discharge tube in a light emitting unit housing provided with an opening on the subject side, a reflecting member that reflects flash light from the flash discharge tube toward the opening,
A strobe device comprising an optical member provided in the opening,
A strobe device, wherein the optical member is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the light emitting unit housing, and a strobe main body portion is provided with storage means for storing information relating to the usage status of the optical member. 3. The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a light emission amount and a light emission count of the flash discharge tube is stored in the storage unit. The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein a use limit of the optical member is stored in the storage unit. The light emission control means for controlling the light emission of the flash discharge tube is provided, and the light emission control means determines the replacement timing of the optical member based on the information on the usage state stored in the storage means. The strobe device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 2. The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein a color temperature characteristic of the optical member is stored in the storage unit. The strobe device according to claim 6, wherein the color temperature characteristic stored in the storage unit is transmitted to an imaging device that images a subject. The strobe device according to claim 2, wherein an identification unit for identifying the optical member is provided in the strobe main body.

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