JP2017059901A - Imaging apparatus and electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To electrically connect a body and a display part by use of a simple structure less in load, in an imaging apparatus having the movable display part high in degree in freedom in positioning with respect to the body.SOLUTION: A display part comprises: a first support step part that is able to be inclined in a plurality of directions with respect to a body while located on an extension of an optical axis; and a second support step part that can be further inclined to the first support step part. The second support step part supports a display screen and a control circuit on the display part side. Connection means for electrically connecting a control circuit on the body side and the control circuit on the display part side comprises: a first deformation area deformable and disposed with a length corresponding to inclination of the first support step part in a plurality of directions between the body and the first support step part; an intermediate support area supported on the first support step part; and a second deformation area, deformable and disposed with a length corresponding to inclination of the second support step part between the first support step part and the second support step part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 21

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having a movable display unit. The present invention also relates to an electronic device having a movable display unit.

  Some imaging devices such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras can adjust the orientation and angle of the display unit for image display with respect to the main body of the imaging device in order to improve the convenience of shooting and operation. . As a support mechanism for such a movable display unit, a hinge mechanism (so-called vari-angle mechanism) that rotatably supports the display unit around one or a plurality of axes as in Patent Document 1, or a plurality of links ( A link mechanism in which an arm) is connected by a shaft is known.

JP 2003-315891 A

  The conventional support structure using the hinge mechanism and the link mechanism has a restriction on the degree of freedom in setting the direction of the display unit. Further, when the hinge mechanism is used, when the display unit is rotated around the axis, the position of the display unit is largely shifted with respect to the photographing optical axis, and it may be difficult to perform composition adjustment. Especially in close-up photography (macro shooting), the distance between the display unit of the imaging device and the subject is close, and slight fluctuations or misalignment of the photographer or imaging device greatly affect the composition. If the deviation is large, it is difficult to perform intuitive composition and stress is applied to the photographer.

  As an electrical connection means for performing signal communication between the main body of the imaging device and a movable display unit, a flexible device such as a flexible substrate or a lead wire is often used. In an imaging apparatus of a type in which the main body and the display unit are connected by a hinge mechanism, this kind of electrical connection means is often arranged through the hinge mechanism. Around the hinge mechanism, a change in the distance from the main body when the display unit is rotated is small, and the electrical connection means can be disposed in a space-saving manner. However, with a multi-axis hinge mechanism in which a plurality of rotating shafts with different orientations are combined, it is difficult to insert the electrical connecting means in a narrow space during manufacturing, or the electrical connecting means is complicated during the rotating operation of the display unit. There is a problem that the load tends to be increased by twisting. Further, even when the display unit is movably supported in a form different from that of the existing hinge mechanism, it is required to dispose the electrical connection means with a space-saving structure that is difficult to apply a load.

  Also, in the technical field other than the imaging device, there is a similar problem in an electronic device having a display unit that can adjust the direction and angle with respect to the main body part, which improves the degree of freedom of setting the direction and angle of the display unit. However, there has been a demand for realizing a reduction in load and space-saving arrangement regarding the electrical connection means for connecting the main body and the display unit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and while improving the degree of freedom of setting the orientation and angle of the movable display unit with respect to the main unit, the main unit and the display unit are electrically connected with a simple structure with less load. An object is to provide a connectable imaging apparatus and electronic device.

  The present invention provides a main body having an image sensor that receives a light beam incident along the optical axis of an imaging optical system, and a display that can display an image obtained by the image sensor on a display screen and is movably supported with respect to the main body. An imaging apparatus having a unit is configured as follows. The display unit includes a first support step portion that can be tilted in a plurality of directions with respect to the main body while being positioned on the extension of the optical axis, and a second support step portion that can be tilted with respect to the first support step portion. The display screen and the control circuit on the display unit side are supported on the second support step. The connection means for electrically connecting the control circuit on the main body side and the control circuit on the display section side is a length corresponding to the tilting of the first support step portion in a plurality of directions between the main support step and the first support step portion. A first deformation region disposed and deformable, an intermediate support region supported on the first support step, and the first support step between the first support step and the second support step. And a second deformation region which is arranged with a length corresponding to the tilting of the two support steps and can be deformed.

  The display portion has a substantially rectangular outer shape, and the second support step portion can be tilted with respect to the first support step portion around an axis along one of the four sides of the rectangular outer shape. When having a tilting mechanism to be connected, the first support step portion has an intermediate support portion that supports the intermediate support region of the connecting means from the outer shape center side of the display portion to the side on which the tilting mechanism is provided, It is preferable that the first deformation region of the connection means is connected to the end of the intermediate support portion on the outer shape center side, and the second deformation region of the connection means is connected to the end portion of the intermediate support portion on the tilt mechanism side.

  The main body has an insertion hole that communicates the outside and the inside at a position facing the end of the intermediate support portion in the direction along the optical axis, and the first deformation region of the connecting means is outside the main body through the insertion hole. It is preferable to extend.

  As a more specific structure, the first support step portion has four support step portion side connection portions at positions that surround the end portion on the outer shape center side of the intermediate support portion, and the main body has a position that surrounds the insertion hole. Have four main body side connecting portions. And, it is connected to one of the support step side connection part and the main body side connection part so as to be pivotable, and to the other, it is pivotable and can be moved straight in a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis. The first support stepped portion may be supported so as to be tiltable in the direction of the main body through four connection members connected to the main body.

  The first support step has a storage recess extending on the surface facing the body from the center of the outer shape of the display unit toward the side opposite to the side where the tilt mechanism is provided, and the direction along the optical axis When the main body and the first support step portion approach each other, it is preferable that the first deformation region of the connecting means enters the storage recess.

  It is preferable to have a water-impermeable cover that covers at least the first deformation region of the connecting means. More specifically, the non-water-permeable cover has a length that covers the first deformation region of the connecting means, and the end on the outer peripheral center side of the intermediate support portion is a hole that holds one end of the cover in a press-fit state. The other end of the cover is preferably liquid-tightly sealed around the insertion hole on the main body side.

  In addition to the imaging apparatus, the present invention can be widely applied to electronic devices that movably support the display unit with respect to the main body. The same structure as that of the imaging device described above can be applied to the detailed structure of the electronic apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to electrically connect the main body and the display unit with a simple structure with less load while improving the degree of freedom of setting the direction and angle of the movable display unit with respect to the main body in the imaging apparatus and the electronic apparatus. it can.

It is the perspective view which showed the interchangeable lens single-lens reflex camera which is embodiment of this invention in the initial state which accommodated the movable monitor in the monitor accommodating part of the camera main body. It is a perspective view of a state where the movable monitor is tilted leftward with the single-lens reflex camera. It is a perspective view of the state which tilted the movable monitor to the right with the single-lens reflex camera. It is a perspective view of the state which tilted the movable monitor downward with the single-lens reflex camera. It is a perspective view of the state which tilted the movable monitor upwards with the single-lens reflex camera. It is a perspective view of a state where the movable monitor is further tilted upward by the single-lens reflex camera. It is a perspective view of the state where the movable monitor was pulled out backward by the single-lens reflex camera. It is a perspective view of a state where the movable monitor is tilted diagonally to the upper right with the single-lens reflex camera. It is a perspective view of the state which tilted the movable monitor diagonally lower left with the single-lens reflex camera. It is a rear view of the state which changed the angle of the movable monitor with the single-lens reflex camera about the axis center parallel to the optical axis. It is sectional drawing which showed the camera main body and movable monitor of the state of FIG. 7 in the cross section along an optical axis. It is the perspective view which looked at the movable monitor and monitor accommodating part of the state of FIG. 7 from the bottom face side of the camera main body. It is the perspective view which abbreviate | omitted the camera main body from FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the movable monitor of the state of FIG. 1, and a part of its support mechanism from the camera main body side. It is a perspective view of the state which removed the presser plate from FIG. It is a perspective view of the state which removed the base plate from FIG. It is a perspective view of the decomposition | disassembly state of the socket and support rod which are shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which showed the guide groove of the state which inserted the spherical end part of the support rod in the cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction. It is sectional drawing of the state which hold | maintained the spherical end part of the support rod with the socket. It is sectional drawing which showed the movable monitor of the state of FIG. 1, and its support mechanism in the cross section along an optical axis. It is sectional drawing which showed the movable monitor of the state of FIG. 6, and its support mechanism in the cross section along an optical axis.

  1 to 11 show a camera body 10 of a camera (imaging device) 1 to which the present invention is applied. The camera 1 is an interchangeable lens single-lens reflex camera, and an interchangeable lens (lens barrel) (not shown) can be attached to and detached from the camera body 10. “O” shown in FIG. 11 is the optical axis of the light beam entering the camera body 10 through the optical system of the interchangeable lens. In the following description, the front, rear, top, bottom, left and right directions correspond to the directions indicated by the arrows in the figure, and the front is the subject side. In the normal shooting posture, the photographer is positioned behind the camera 1, and the vertical direction and the horizontal direction correspond to the direction seen from the photographer with the camera body 10 held substantially horizontally.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a mount portion 11 for attaching / detaching the interchangeable lens is provided on the front surface of the camera body 10. A quick return mirror 12 that is rotatable about a mirror hinge 12x is provided inside the camera body 10 behind the mount portion 11. The quick return mirror 12 has a mirror-down position (position shown in FIG. 11) obliquely provided on the photographing optical path in the camera body 10 and a mirror-up position retracted upward from the photographing optical path by a mirror driving mechanism (not shown). Rotate between.

  When the quick return mirror 12 is in the mirror down position, subject light that has passed through the optical system of the interchangeable lens attached to the mount unit 11 is reflected upward by the quick return mirror 12 and guided to the finder optical system. As shown in FIG. 11, the finder optical system includes a pentaprism 13 located above the quick return mirror 12, an eyepiece lens system 14 located behind the pentaprism 13, and an eyepiece located behind the eyepiece lens system 14. In the state where the window 15 is provided and the quick return mirror 12 is in the mirror down position, the subject image can be optically observed through the eyepiece window 15. An imaging element 16 is further provided inside the camera body 10 behind the quick return mirror 12. When the quick return mirror 12 is rotated to the mirror-up position, the subject light incident along the optical axis O can be received by the image sensor 16. A shutter (focal plane shutter) (not shown) is disposed between the quick return mirror 12 and the image sensor 16, and subject light reaches the light receiving surface of the image sensor 16 by opening the shutter. Subject light received by the image sensor 16 is photoelectrically converted and converted into electronic image data by an image generation circuit. A body side circuit board (main body side control circuit) 17 on which an image generation circuit and the like are mounted is provided in the camera body 10.

  On the rear side of the camera body 10, an operation dial 50 is provided on the right side of the eyepiece window 15, a plurality of operation buttons 51 are provided below the operation dial 50, and a plurality of operation buttons 52 are also provided on the left side of the eyepiece window 15. Is provided. The operation dial 50 can be rotated around a vertical axis, and each operation button 51 and each operation button 52 can be pushed. Various settings and function selections related to the camera 1 can be executed using the operation dial 50, the operation buttons 51, and the operation buttons 52. The specific settings and functions are well known and will not be described, but as an example, the aperture value and shutter speed can be set by rotating the operation dial 50. The camera body 10 is further provided with various operation dials and operation buttons on the upper surface side, etc., and description thereof will be omitted.

  A movable monitor (display unit) 20 is further provided on the rear side of the camera body 10. The movable monitor 20 is located below the eyepiece window 15 and the plurality of operation buttons 52 and to the left of the plurality of operation buttons 51, and the operation dial 50 is located obliquely above and to the right of the movable monitor 20. The movable monitor 20 includes a display device (display screen) 21 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). The movable monitor 20 is positioned on the extension of the optical axis O. More specifically, the movable monitor 20 is positioned on an imaginary line O ′ (FIGS. 11, 20, and 21) in which the center of the movable monitor 20 extends approximately the optical axis O. positioned. The body side circuit board 17 and the monitor side circuit board (control circuit on the display unit side) 55 in the movable monitor 20 are connected by a flexible board (connection means) 18 (FIGS. 20 and 21) having flexibility. Signal communication is performed between the camera body 10 and the movable monitor 20 via the substrate 18, and subject images based on image data obtained via the image sensor 16, various information other than images, and the like are displayed on the display device 21. Can be displayed. 2, 4, 7, 9, and 12, the illustration of the flexible substrate 18 is omitted, and only a part of the flexible substrate 18 is illustrated in FIG. 11. The movable monitor 20 is movably supported with respect to the camera body 10 and can change the orientation and position of the display device 21. Hereinafter, the support mechanism of the movable monitor 20 and its operation will be described. In the following description, the direction related to the movable monitor 20 is the direction when the movable monitor 20 is in the initial position shown in FIG. 1 (the state where the camera body 10 is not tilted or pulled out) unless otherwise specified. It shall be stated.

  The display device 21 is fixedly supported with respect to the support frame (second support step) 22. The display device 21 has a substantially rectangular display surface facing the rear surface side of the camera 1, and the support frame 22 has an upper side portion 22 a, a lower side portion 22 b, a left side portion 22 c that surround four sides around the rectangular display device 21. It has a right side 22d. The display device 21 has a horizontally long shape that is long in the left-right direction. In the support frame 22, the upper side portion 22a and the lower side portion 22b form a pair of long sides corresponding to the shape of the display device 21, and the left side portion 22c and the right side. The portion 22d forms a pair of short sides.

  The support frame 22 is supported by a metal base plate (first support step) 23. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the base plate 23 is formed by cutting out four corners (four corners) from the rectangular basic shape corresponding to the rectangular outer shape of the display device 21 and the support frame 22. 23b, 23c and 23d are formed. A pair of shaft support pieces (tilting mechanism) 23e is provided on the upper side portion of the base plate 23 between the notch portion 23a and the notch portion 23c, and the support frame 22 is in contact with the side surfaces of the pair of shaft support pieces 23e. A pair of shaft support portions (tilting mechanism) 22e is provided (FIGS. 2, 4, 9, and 11). Each shaft support piece 23e and the shaft support portion 22e are connected to each other so as to be relatively rotatable by a tilt shaft (tilting mechanism) 22x (FIGS. 2, 4, 9, 11, 20, and 21) whose axis is directed in the left-right direction. The support frame 22 is rotatable with respect to the base plate 23 about the tilt axis 22x. The direction of the support frame 22 can be changed in the vertical direction by rotating around the tilt shaft 22x (see FIGS. 5, 6, and 21). A click washer (tilting mechanism) 38 is attached to the side surface of each shaft support piece 23e opposite to the side in contact with the shaft support portion 22e (FIGS. 2, 4, and 9). The click washer 38 is a disk-shaped member having two concave portions on the outer edge portion, and these concave portions are supported on the base plate 23 by engaging with convex portions (not shown) provided on the support frame 22 side. The frame 22 is lightly locked (click stop). The two locking positions by the click washer 38 are an integrated position where the support frame 22 and the base plate 23 integrally overlap (FIGS. 1 to 5, 7 to 13, and 20), and the support frame 22 with respect to the base plate 23. Is a rising position (FIGS. 6 and 21) opened upward by a predetermined angle.

  Two through holes 23f are formed in the base plate 23 at different positions in the left-right direction (FIGS. 6, 14, and 15). Further, flanges 23g, 23h, and 23i are formed on the periphery of the base plate 23 so as to fit into the lower side 22b, the left side 22c, and the right side 22d of the support frame 22. The flange 23g is located between the notch 23b and the notch 23d, the flange 23h is located between the notch 23a and the notch 23b, and the flange 23i is located between the notch 23c and the notch 23d. Is located.

  On the rear surface side of the camera body 10, a monitor housing portion 30 capable of housing the movable monitor 20 is formed. The monitor accommodating portion 30 is a substantially rectangular recess corresponding to the substantially rectangular outer shape of the movable monitor 20 (contains the substantially rectangular movable monitor 20), and an upper edge wall 30a projecting rearward in a flange shape, The monitor housing portion 30 is surrounded by the edge wall 30b, the left edge wall 30c, and the right edge wall 30d. Four guide grooves (main body side connecting portions) 31 that are long grooves extending radially in the direction along the diagonal line of the substantially rectangular monitor housing portion 30 are formed on the bottom of the monitor housing portion 30. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the upper left guide extending from the vicinity of the boundary (corner) between the upper edge wall 30 a and the left edge wall 30 c toward the center (virtual line O ′) of the monitor housing 30. The groove 31a, the lower left guide groove 31b extending from the vicinity of the boundary (corner) between the lower edge wall 30b and the left edge wall 30c in the direction of the center (imaginary line O ′) of the monitor housing portion 30, the upper edge wall 30a and the right The upper right guide groove 31c extending in the direction of the center (virtual line O ′) of the monitor housing 30 from the vicinity of the boundary (corner) of the edge wall 30d and the vicinity of the boundary (corner) of the lower edge wall 30b and the right edge wall 30d A guide groove 31d on the lower right side extending in the direction of the center (virtual line O ′) of the monitor housing portion 30 is provided. In each guide groove 31, an end portion on the side close to the center of the monitor housing portion 30 is referred to as an inner end portion, and an end portion on the side far from the center of the monitor housing portion 30 is referred to as an outer end portion. The inner ends of the four guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d are arranged so as to surround the virtual line O '. Two positioning projections 32 are further formed on the bottom of the monitor housing portion 30 so as to be different in the left-right direction. Each positioning protrusion 32 can be inserted into a through hole 23 f formed in the base plate 23. A magnet is provided in each positioning protrusion 32.

  As can be seen from the cross-sectional structure shown in FIG. 18, each guide groove 31 is configured by combining an internal guide 34 housed in a groove recess 33 formed in the monitor housing section 30 and a cover member 35 covering the internal guide 34. Has been. The groove recess 33 is formed as a space surrounded by a bottom wall 33a located on the bottom surface of the monitor housing 30 and a pair of standing walls 33b protruding from the bottom wall 33a and spaced apart in the groove width direction of the guide groove 31. The inner guide 34 is positioned with a margin in the width direction between the pair of standing walls 33b, and the cover member 35 is attached to the outside of the pair of standing walls 33b. As shown in FIG. 13, each of the internal guide 34 and the cover member 35 has an elongated shape that is long in the extending direction of the guide groove 31.

  The internal guide 34 has a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape in the entire longitudinal direction of the guide groove 31. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the inner guide 34 has a pair of side walls 34b projecting from both sides of the bottom 34a, and a pair of bent edges 34c projecting away from the tips of the side walls 34b. A bottomed groove is formed in which a portion between the pair of bent edge portions 34c (a portion facing the bottom portion 34a) opens. The inner guide 34 is configured by overlapping an outer member 34d and an inner member 34e each made of a thin plate-like metal material. The outer member 34d has a U-shaped cross-sectional shape that forms a bottom portion 34a and a pair of side walls 34b, and the inner member 34e has a pair of bends in addition to the U-shaped cross-sectional shape similar to the outer member 34d. The configuration also includes the edge 34c. The inner guide 34 can be elastically deformed to change the distance between the pair of side walls 34b. In the free state of the inner guide 34, the distance between the pair of side walls 34b is smaller than the completed state shown in FIG. More specifically, in the completed state shown in FIG. 18, the pair of side walls 34b are inclined in a direction of gradually narrowing the distance between the side walls 34b from the bottom 34a side to the bent edge 34c side. In the state, this slope is further increased. The internal guide 34 is inserted into the groove recess 33 with the pair of side walls 34b positioned between the pair of standing walls 33b, and the bottom 34a is supported on the bottom wall 33a with the cushion material 36 interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 18, the cover member 35 has a flat lid portion 35a extending in the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 31, and a pair of side walls 35b are provided on both sides in the width direction of the lid portion 35a. An outer end wall 35c is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the portion 35a, and an inner end wall 35d is provided at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the lid portion 35a. The side wall 35b, the outer end wall 35c, and the inner end wall 35d each protrude as a wall portion that is substantially perpendicular to the lid portion 35a. A slot 35e extending in the longitudinal direction is formed through the center of the lid 35a in the width direction, and the slot 35e penetrates the outer end wall 35c and the inner end wall 35d in addition to the lid 35a. The slot 35e has a substantially uniform opening width H1 (FIG. 18) over the entire longitudinal direction of the cover member 35. The cover member 35 is divided into two in the width direction by a slot 35e, and both side portions of the slot 35e are connected by a flange 35f continuous to the inner end wall 35d. The pair of side walls 35b are respectively formed in a part of the lid portion 35a in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of flanges 35g are provided on both sides of the lid portion 35a so as to be different from the positions of the side walls 35b. Each of the flange 35f and the flange 35g is formed with a through hole through which a fastening screw 60 (FIG. 12) is inserted.

  Each of the cover members 35 constituting the four guide grooves 31 has an end portion in the longitudinal direction on the side where the inner end wall 35d and the flange 35g are provided as an inner end portion of the guide groove 31, and an outer end wall 35c. It is attached to the monitor housing portion 30 with its orientation determined so that the longitudinal end portion on the side where it is is the outer end portion of the guide groove 31. A plurality of support seats 37 (FIG. 12) on which the flange 35 f and the flange 35 g of the cover member 35 can be placed are formed in the monitor housing portion 30 around the groove recess 33. A hole (not shown) is formed. The flange 35f and the flange 35g are supported on the support seat 37, and the screw 60 is screwed into the screw hole of the support seat 37 through the through-hole formed in each flange 35f and the flange 35g. Is fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the cover member 35 fixed in the monitor housing portion 30 is positioned so that the lid portion 35 a faces the bent edge portion 34 c of the internal guide 34 and the tip of the standing wall 33 b of the groove recess portion 33. The pair of side walls 35b are located outside the pair of standing walls 33b. A guide groove 31 is formed which is surrounded by the bottom 34a of the inner guide 34 and the pair of side walls 34b and has the slot 35e as an opening. The opening width H1 of the slot 35e is set to be narrower than the distance between the pair of side walls 34b, and the guide groove 31 is a clearance in which the width of the opening portion defined by the slot 35e is smaller than the internal width defined by the pair of side walls 34b. It is a stop structure. This retaining structure is also established at the outer end portion and the inner end portion of the guide groove 31, the outer end wall 35c forms a retaining portion at the outer end portion, and the inner end wall 35d is detached at the inner end portion. Configure the stop.

  The upper edge wall 30a, the lower edge wall 30b, the left edge wall 30c, and the right edge wall 30d surrounding the monitor housing portion 30 are not uniform in the amount of protrusion from the bottom of the monitor housing portion 30 to the rear, and in the middle portion. Concave portions 30e, 30f, 30g, and 30h having a small rearward projection amount are provided. The concave portion 30e is formed at the center portion in the left-right direction of the upper edge wall 30a, and the upper edge wall 30a is prevented from interfering with the eyepiece window 15 by forming the concave portion 30e. The recess 30f is formed in the center portion in the left-right direction of the lower edge wall 30a, and the flange 23g of the base plate 23 can enter the recess 30f. The concave portion 30g is formed in the central portion of the left edge wall 30c in the vertical direction, and the flange 23h of the base plate 23 can enter the concave portion 30g. The concave portion 30h is formed from the central portion in the vertical direction of the right edge wall 30d to the vicinity of the upper end connected to the upper edge wall 30a, and the flange 23i of the base plate 23 can enter the concave portion 30h. The upper edge portion located between the upper edge wall 30a and the recess 30h in the right edge wall 30d is a low wall 30i that has a small rearward protrusion amount, and gradually protrudes from the lower wall 30i to the upper edge wall 30a. Is getting bigger.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 to 17, the movable monitor 20 has four sockets (supporting step side connection portions) on the side of the base plate 23 facing the monitor housing portion 30 (the back side of the display surface of the display device 21). 27 is provided. More specifically, the upper left socket 27a located near the inner end of the guide groove 31a, the lower left socket 27b located near the inner end of the guide groove 31b, and the guide groove 31c An upper right socket 27c positioned near the inner end and a lower right socket 27d positioned near the inner end of the guide groove 31d are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, each socket 27 is provided in a retainer 28. The retainer 28 is provided with a pair of support arm portions 28c extending from a pair of standing walls 28b protruding from both sides of the bottom portion 28a. The retainer 28 can change the interval between the pair of opposing support arm portions 28c by elastic deformation, and a socket 27 is provided on the opposing surface of each support arm portion 28c. The socket 27 and the retainer 28 can be either formed as separate members and then combined, or integrally formed. The socket 27 is composed of a pair of columnar bodies protruding in a direction approaching each other from the respective support arm portions 28c, and a holding concave surface 27e (FIGS. 17 and 19) is formed on the opposing portion of the columnar body. Yes. The retainer 28 is further provided with a pair of flanges 28d projecting sideways from the pair of standing walls 28b, and through holes through which fastening screws 61 (FIGS. 14 and 15) are inserted are formed in each flange 28d. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the base plate 23 is formed with four support recesses 40 into which the four retainers 28 can be inserted. The four support recesses 40 are arranged in a region between the four notches 23 a, 23 b, 23 c and 23 d and the outer center of the base plate 23. The four retainers 28 respectively face the corresponding support recesses 40 with the bottom portion 28a facing the cutout portions 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d (in the four corner directions of the base plate 23) and the support arm portions 28c with the cutout portions 23a, 23a, 23d. It is attached toward the side opposite to 23b, 23c and 23d (in the direction of the center of the outer shape of the base plate 23). Each support recess 40 has a bottom surface that supports the bottom portion 28a and a pair of side walls that sandwich the pair of support arm portions 28c. The distance between the pair of side walls of each support recess 40 is the free state of the retainer 28 (single unit). The distance between the pair of support arm portions 28c in the state) is set slightly smaller. Therefore, when the retainer 28 is assembled in the support recess 40, the pair of support arm portions 28 c are elastically deformed in a direction to reduce the distance between each other, and the distance between the pair of holding concave surfaces 27 e constituting each socket 27 is free of the retainer 28. It becomes narrower than the state. A plurality of support seats 41 on which the flanges 28d can be placed are formed around the support recesses 40, and screw holes are formed in the respective support seats 41. The retainer 28 is attached to the base plate 23 by supporting the flange 28d on the support seat 41 and screwing the screw 61 into the screw hole of the support seat 41 through the through-hole formed in each flange 28d (see FIG. 15). In a state where the four retainers 28 are attached to the base plate 23, the socket 27 a and the socket 27 d are arranged on one diagonal line of the movable monitor 20, and the socket 27 b and the socket 27 c are arranged on the other diagonal line of the movable monitor 20.

  As shown in FIG. 14, a pressing plate 29 is further attached to the base plate 23. A plurality of support seats 42 (FIG. 15) having a screw hole at the center are provided on the front side of the base plate 23, and the presser plate 29 is supported on the support seat 42 by screws 62 (FIG. 14). Fastened and fixed. A plurality of retaining portions 29 a are formed on the presser plate 29, and each retaining portion 29 a has a shape that covers the support arm portion 28 c of each retainer 28 and each socket 27.

  The movable monitor 20 is connected to the camera body 10 via four support rods (connection members) 19. As shown in FIGS. 14 to 17, each support rod 19 has a configuration in which a spherical end 25 and a spherical end 26 are provided at one end and the other end of a rod-like portion 24. The spherical end portion 25 is fitted into the guide groove 31 in the monitor housing portion 30, and the spherical end portion 26 is fitted into a socket 27 provided on the base plate 23. The spherical end portion 25 and the spherical end portion 26 are spherical bodies that are connected to the corresponding guide grooves 31 and sockets 27 so as to be capable of rotating in a spherical center (freely rotating without any restriction on the direction). The ball joint structure has a high degree of freedom in each direction of the main body 10 and the movable monitor 20. Further, the spherical end portion 25 is supported so as to be movable (slidable) in the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 31. Four support rods 19 are provided in a positional relationship corresponding to the four guide grooves 31 and the four sockets 27, and the upper left support rod 19 a connects the upper left guide groove 31 a and the upper left socket 27 a, The lower left support rod 19b connects the lower left guide groove 31b and the lower left socket 27b, and the upper right support rod 19c connects the upper right guide groove 31c and the upper right socket 27c. The support rod 19d connects the lower right guide groove 31d and the lower right socket 27d.

  The rod-like portion 24 of each support rod 19 is set to have a diameter that can pass through the slot 35 e of the cover member 35 that constitutes the guide groove 31. When each support rod 19 is connected to the corresponding guide groove 31, the spherical end 25 is directed to the back side of the lid portion 35a (the direction in which the side wall 35b, the outer end wall 35c, and the inner end wall 35d protrude). The rod-like portion 24 is inserted into the slot 35e, and the support rod 19 and the cover member 35 are combined. Then, when the cover member 35 is placed on the support seat 37 of the monitor housing portion 30 with the internal guide 34 supported in the groove recess 33 and fixed with the screw 60, the spherical end of the support rod 19 as shown in FIG. The part 25 is fitted in the internal guide 34 and is prevented from being detached by the cover member 35. At this time, since the spherical end portion 25 is inserted in contact with the curved portion at the boundary between the pair of side walls 34 b and the bent edge portion 34 that follows the inner guide 34, the spherical end portion 25 is caught between the spherical end portion 25 and the inner guide 34. Smooth assembly can be realized without causing any problems.

  FIG. 18 shows a state where the assembly of the spherical end portion 25 of the support rod 19 into each guide groove 31 is completed. The spherical end portion 25 is supported by point contact with the bottom portion 34a and the pair of side walls 34b of the inner guide 34, and can be slidably contacted with the vicinity of the slot 35e of the lid portion 35a of the cover member 35. Touching. The diameter of the spherical end 25 is larger than the opening width H1 of the slot 35e and the interval between the pair of side walls 34b in the free state, and the spherical end 25 has an interval between the pair of elastically deformable side walls 34b from the free state. Is also held in the inner guide 34 in a state of being spread out. A predetermined amount of friction acts on the spherical end portion 25 by the force with which the inner guide 34 tries to recover from elastic deformation. This friction is caused when the spherical monitor 25 is not operated in the guide groove 31 by the weight of the movable monitor 20 or a small external force applied to the movable monitor 20, and when a force exceeding a predetermined value is applied with the intention of operating the movable monitor 20. The size is set to allow the movement of the spherical end portion 25 in the guide groove 31 (sliding of the spherical end portion 25 in the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 31 and rotation of the spherical center of the spherical end portion 25). Each of the inner guides 34 is composed of a two-layer metal plate of the outer member 34d and the inner member 34e, thereby realizing efficient application of friction.

  In the depth direction of the guide groove 31, the spherical end portion 25 is held between the lid portion 35 a of the cover member 35 and the bottom portion 34 a of the internal guide 34. Since the bottom portion 34a is supported via the cushion material 36, the space between the bottom portion 34a and the lid portion 35a is appropriately maintained across the spherical end portion 25, and the spherical end portion 25 in the depth direction of the guide groove 31 is maintained. Can prevent rattling. Specifically, when the cover member 35 is fixed to the support seat 37 of the monitor housing portion 30 with the screw 60, the cover 35a and the bottom wall 33a of the groove recess 33 are formed so that the cushion material 36 is slightly crushed. Set the interval. At that time, the hardness and the amount of deformation of the cushion material 36 (the clamping force between the bottom portion 34a and the lid portion 35a) are set so that the sliding resistance against the spherical end portion 25 in the guide groove 31 does not become excessive.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the rod-like portion 24 of the support rod 19 following the spherical end portion 25 extends outward of the guide groove 31 through the slot 35e. As shown in FIG. 18, the diameter of the spherical end 25 is larger than the opening width H1 of the slot 35e, and the spherical end 25 moves in a direction away from the guide groove 31 (a direction away from the bottom wall 33a and the bottom 34a). Is regulated by the lid portion 35 a of the cover member 35. Further, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the spherical end 25 abuts on the inner end wall 35d of the cover member 35, so that the movement of the guide groove 31 toward the inner end is restricted (inner end direction). The moving end of the spherical end 25 is determined. Conversely, when the spherical end 25 abuts on the outer end wall 35c of the cover member 35, the movement of the guide groove 31 toward the outer end is restricted (the movement of the spherical end 25 toward the outer end). End is determined).

  FIG. 17 shows a state before assembling the spherical end portion 26 of the corresponding support rod 19 with respect to each socket 27, and FIG. 16 shows the assembled state. As shown in FIG. 19, the spherical end portion 26 in the assembled state is held between holding concave surfaces 27 e forming a pair of sockets 27. The holding concave surface 27e is a concave spherical surface into which the spherical outer surface of the spherical end portion 26 is fitted, and the spherical end portion 26 can be pivoted with respect to the socket 27 in a holding state by the holding concave surface 27e. In addition, as a relationship between the holding concave surface 27e and the spherical end portion 26, a shape setting in which the curvatures of the respective surfaces are substantially matched to bring the holding concave surface 27e into surface contact with the spherical end portion 26, and the outer surface of the spherical end portion 26 is held. It is possible to change the curvature of the concave surface 27e so that the holding concave surface 27e is in partial contact with the spherical end portion 26 (line contact or point contact). When the curvatures of the outer surface of the spherical end portion 26 and the holding concave surface 27e are made different, if the curvature of the holding concave surface 27e is made larger than the curvature of the outer surface of the spherical end portion 26, the outer peripheral portion of the holding concave surface 27e and the spherical end portion 26 are in line contact. This is preferable because it can reduce the backlash at the time of rotation of the ball center. This type employs this type.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when the retainer 28 is attached to the support recess 40 of the base plate 23 with the spherical end 26 held by the socket 27, the pair of support arm portions 28 c are spaced apart from each other by the pair of side walls of the support recess 40. The socket 27 is pushed in the direction to be reduced and elastically deformed, so that the holding force of the socket 27 with respect to the spherical end portion 26 is strengthened, and the holding state in which the drop-off of the spherical end portion 26 from the socket 27 is restricted is obtained. In this state, a predetermined amount of friction is applied to the spherical end portion 26 by the force of the support arm portion 28c to be restored from the elastic deformation. This friction is applied with a force greater than a predetermined value with the intention of operating the movable monitor 20 without rotating the spherical end 26 with respect to the socket 27 by the weight of the movable monitor 20 or a small external force applied to the movable monitor 20. In this case, the spherical end 26 is set to a size that allows the spherical center 26 to rotate with respect to the socket 27.

  Further, when the holding plate 29 is attached to the base plate 23 as shown in FIG. 14, a plurality of retaining portions 29 a in the holding plate 29 cover the support arm portions 28 c of the retainers 28 and the sockets 27. If a very strong tensile force acts on the support rod 19 to affect the holding performance of the spherical end portion 26 by the socket 27 (for example, the peripheral edge portion of the holding concave surface 27e of the socket 27 is the spherical end portion 26). Even in the case that the spherical end portion 26 is scraped by the retaining recess portion 29a, the spherical end portion 26 can be prevented from falling off from the support recessed portion 40.

  As described above, the monitor housing portion 30 and the movable monitor 20 of the camera body 10 are mechanically connected via the four support rods 19 (19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d). Next, an arrangement structure of the flexible substrate 18 that electrically connects the camera body 10 and the movable monitor 20 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 20, and 21, a board insertion hole (insertion hole) 43 is provided near the center of the monitor housing portion 30 of the camera body 10. It is formed through. As shown in FIGS. 14, 15, 20, and 21, the base plate 23 of the movable monitor 20 has a substrate storage recess (storage recess) 44 and a substrate guide recess (intermediate support) on the front side facing the monitor storage unit 30. Part) 45 is formed. Each of the substrate storage recess 44 and the substrate guide recess 45 is formed as a groove-like portion that is positioned substantially at the center in the left-right direction of the base plate 23 and extends in the up-down direction.

  The substrate storage recess 44 has an upper end located near the center of the outer shape of the base plate 23, and extends downward from the upper end through a space between the lower left socket 27b and the lower right socket 27d. Has been. An inclined surface 44 a is formed at the lower end of the substrate housing recess 44 so as to gradually decrease the depth as it proceeds downward. The substrate guide recess 45 has a lower end positioned in a space between the upper left socket 27a and the upper right socket 27b, and an upper end opening at the upper side of the base plate 23 (tilt mechanism of the intermediate support portion). Side end) 45a. As shown in FIGS. 14, 20, and 21, the holding plate 29 has a lid portion 29 b that fits into the substrate guide recess 45. With the presser plate 29 attached to the base plate 23, a gap is secured between the bottom surface of the substrate guide recess 45 and the lid portion 29b so that the flexible substrate 18 can be inserted.

  As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, a communication path (intermediate support portion) 46 that communicates between the upper end portion of the substrate housing recess 44 and the lower end portion of the substrate guide recess 45 is formed in the base plate 23. The depth of the substrate storage recess 44 from the front surface of the base plate 23 is larger than the depth of the substrate guide recess 45, and the communication path 46 is a narrowed portion that extends in the vertical direction continuously to the upper end of the substrate storage recess 44. (An end on the outer peripheral side of the intermediate support portion, a hole) 46a, and a front-rear through portion 46b that penetrates the base plate 23 in the front-rear direction and communicates the narrowed portion 46a and the lower end portion of the substrate guide recess 45. Yes. The narrowed portion 46 a is a through-hole whose width in the front-rear direction (hole width) is narrower than the depth in the front-rear direction of the substrate housing recess 44. The front side of the front-rear penetrating portion 46 b is covered with a pressing plate 29.

  As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the support frame 22 of the movable monitor 20 is formed with a board insertion hole 47 between a pair of left and right shaft support portions 22e. A substrate housing space 48 is formed between the support frame 22 and the display device 21 behind the substrate insertion hole 47. A monitor circuit board 55 is provided in the board housing space 48. The monitor-side circuit board 55 performs control of electrical components in the movable monitor 20 and signal communication with the body-side circuit board 17 of the camera body 10 through the flexible board 18. For example, the monitor-side circuit board 55 controls display of images and information on the display device 21 and lighting of the backlight for illumination. When the display device 21 is a touch panel display operated by touching the screen, the monitor side circuit board 55 performs input sensing of the touch panel and transmission of the input signal to the body side circuit board 17. Further, operation input means (push buttons or the like) other than the touch panel may be provided in the movable monitor 20, and processing and transmission of input signals from the operation input means may be performed on the monitor side circuit board 55. Further, a sensor that detects a change in the position of the movable monitor 20 relative to the camera body 10 may be provided in the movable monitor 20, and processing and transmission of an input signal from the sensor may be performed by the monitor side circuit board 55.

  As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the flexible substrate 18 has one end 18 a connected to the body side circuit board 17 in the camera body 10, and the other end 18 b connected to the monitor side circuit board in the movable monitor 20. 55 is connected. The arrangement structure of the flexible substrate 18 will be described starting from the end 18a. The flexible board 18 having the end 18 a connected to the vicinity of the lower end of the body-side circuit board 17 is guided upward along the back surface of the monitor housing section 30 in the camera body 10, and passes through the board insertion hole 43 to form the monitor housing section 30. It extends rearward and is inserted into the narrowed portion 46 a of the communication path 46 through the substrate housing recess 44 in the base plate 23. A substrate cover (cover) 57 covers the outside of the flexible substrate 18 from the substrate insertion hole 43 to the narrowed portion 46a. The substrate cover 57 is made of a non-water-permeable material (silicon rubber or the like) and has flexibility that can be deformed together with the flexible substrate 18. One end and the other end of the substrate cover 57 are connected to the substrate insertion hole 43 and the narrowed portion 46a in a drip-proof (waterproof) state, respectively. More specifically, the flange portion 57a provided at one end of the substrate cover 57 is sandwiched between the peripheral portion of the substrate insertion hole 43 in the monitor housing portion 30 and the holding plate 58 (FIGS. 20 and 21). The space between the substrate insertion hole 43 and the substrate cover 57 is liquid-tightly closed. The thickness of the substrate cover 57 is set to be larger than the internal width in the front-rear direction of the narrowed portion 46a, and the insertion end portion 57b, which is the end portion of the substrate cover 57 opposite to the flange portion 57a, is located in the narrowed portion 46a. By press-fitting, the space between the narrowed portion 46a and the substrate cover 57 is liquid-tightly closed. Further, a sealing material may be injected around the flange portion 57a and around the insertion end portion 57b in order to improve the drip-proof property. Further, the drip-proof property may be enhanced by an adhesive that adheres and fixes the periphery of the flange portion 57a and the periphery of the insertion end portion 57b. In the base plate 23, it is easy to inject a sealing material and an adhesive around the insertion end portion 57b through the front and rear through portions 46b. In the camera 1 of the present embodiment, the insertion end portion 57b is fixed by applying an adhesive to the front and rear through portions 46b, and the flexible substrate 18 and the flexible substrate 18 are not projected to the front side of the holding plate 58 inside the flange portion 57a. An adhesive is applied so as to close the gap liquid tightly. By sealing the inside of the flange portion 57a with an adhesive, even if the substrate cover 57 is torn before the flange portion 57a, the liquid tightness in the camera body 10 can be maintained.

  A portion of the flexible substrate 18 covered with the substrate cover 57 appears on the appearance or changes its shape depending on the operation of the movable monitor 20 described later. The flexible substrate 18 has a single drip-proof property, but a higher drip-proof performance can be obtained by covering with the substrate cover 57. As described above, since the substrate cover 57 liquid-tightly closes the substrate insertion hole 43 around the flange portion 57a, the substrate cover 57 is used to protect the flexible substrate 18 and to secure the drip-proof property of the camera body 10 in the substrate insertion hole 43. Can be realized easily and reliably.

  The flexible substrate 18 protruding from the insertion end portion 57 b of the substrate cover 57 in the front and rear through portion 46 b of the communication path 46 is guided along the substrate guide recess 45 toward the upper side of the base plate 23. At this location, the flexible substrate 18 is protected and stable support is realized by being sandwiched between the bottom surface of the substrate guide recess 45 and the lid portion 29b of the pressing plate 29. The range up to the upper end opening 45 a of the substrate guide recess 45 is the support range of the flexible substrate 18 by the base plate 23, and the flexible substrate 18 extended from the upper end opening 45 a passes between the support frame 22 and the display device 21 through the substrate insertion hole 47. It is guided into the substrate housing space 48. An adhesive is injected into the substrate insertion hole 47 to fix the flexible substrate 18 and to close the substrate insertion hole 47 in a liquid-tight manner. The flexible board 18 is appropriately folded in the board housing space 48, and the end 18 b is connected to the monitor side circuit board 55. As will be described later, the flexible substrate 18 in the range from the upper end opening 45a to the substrate insertion hole 47 has a small deformation amount during operation of the movable monitor 20 and a small exposure amount to the appearance. A protective member that covers the outside like the substrate cover 57 is not attached.

  In summary, the flexible substrate 18 has a first region 18c extending from the end 18a connected to the body side circuit board 17 in the camera body 10 to the board insertion hole 43 on the rear surface side of the camera body 10 depending on the support form, and the substrate. The second region (first deformation region) 18d from the insertion hole 43 to just before the narrowed portion 46a of the communication path 46 of the base plate 23 and the upper end opening 45a of the substrate guide concave portion 45 from the portion sandwiched by the narrowed portion 46a. A third region (intermediate support region) 18e to the end, a fourth region (second deformation region) 18f from the upper end opening 45a to the substrate insertion hole 47 of the support frame 22, and the substrate insertion hole 47. It is divided into a fifth region 18g up to the connection portion to the monitor side circuit board 55. The first region 18c is a region that is fixedly supported in the camera body 10, and the third region 18e is a region that is supported by relative movement with respect to the base plate 23, and is a fifth region 18g. Is a region received in the substrate receiving space 48 in the support frame 22 to receive support. The second and fourth regions 18f are deformable regions that are deformed according to the operation of the movable monitor 20 without receiving a fixed support. A substrate cover 57 is disposed in the second region 18d.

  The movable monitor 20 having the above support structure operates as follows with respect to the camera body 10. 1 and 20 show an initial position where the entire movable monitor 20 is accommodated in the monitor housing portion 30 of the camera body 10. In the initial position, the two positioning projections 32 are inserted into the through hole 23f, and the position of the movable monitor 20 is fixed. The base plate 23 is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet provided in each positioning protrusion 32 to hold the movable monitor 20 at the initial position. Further, the upper side 22a, the lower side 22b (flange 23g), and the left side 22c on the movable monitor 20 side along the upper edge wall 30a, the lower edge wall 30b, the left edge wall 30c, and the right edge wall 30d that surround the monitor housing portion 30. (Flange 23h) and right side 22d (flange 23i) are located. The orientation of the movable monitor 20 at the initial position is set so that the display surface of the display device 21 is substantially orthogonal to the optical axis O (more precisely, an imaginary line O ′ obtained by extending the optical axis O rearward). Yes. The direction of the movable monitor 20 is set as a reference angle.

At the initial position of the movable monitor 20, the spherical end 25 of each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d is located near the outer end of the guide groove 31 (the outer end wall 35c of the cover member 35). The rising angle (projection amount) of each support rod 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d with respect to the portion 30 is minimized. 14 and 15 show the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d in this state, and as can be seen from FIG. 14, the support rod 19a and the support rod 19d are arranged in one diagonal direction of the movable monitor 20 having a rectangular shape. The support rod 19b and the support rod 19c extend in the other diagonal direction. At this time, the axis of the rod-shaped portion 24 of each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d is in a state of being directed in the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 31, and most of the rod-shaped portion 24 is in the corresponding guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d. It will fit.

  The cover member 35 constituting the four guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c, and 31d protrudes rearward from the bottom surface of the monitor housing portion 30 (see FIG. 12), but at the initial position of the movable monitor 20, each guide groove The protruding portions of 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d and the rod-like portions 24 and spherical end portions 25 of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d located in the respective guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d are formed on the base plate 23. By entering the four notches 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d, interference of the support mechanism (the guide groove 31 and the support rod 19) with respect to the movable monitor 20 is prevented. That is, the notches 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d are formed in the base plate 23 so as to correspond to the projecting shape on the monitor housing portion 30 side, so that the movable monitor 20 and its supporting mechanism can be placed in the monitor housing portion 30 in a space efficient manner. It is possible to reduce the thickness in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 20, at the initial position of the movable monitor 20, the portion of the flexible substrate 18 covered by the substrate cover 57 (second region 18 d) is the bottom of the monitor housing 30 and the substrate housing recess 44 of the base plate 23. It is folded and stored in the space between. Specifically, the flexible substrate 18 and the substrate cover 57 extend downward from the substrate insertion hole 43, and are folded back upward before the inclined surface 44 a at the lower end of the substrate storage recess 44 to form the substrate storage recess 44. Along the upper side. Since the substrate storage recess 44 is formed in a portion of the base plate 23 that does not overlap with the notches 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d (see FIGS. 14 and 15), the flexible substrate 18 stored along the substrate storage recess 44 is provided. And the substrate cover 57 can be efficiently accommodated between the movable monitor 20 and the monitor housing 30 without interfering with the guide grooves 31, the support rods 19, the sockets 27, etc. constituting the support mechanism of the movable monitor 20. be able to.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the movable monitor 20 can be tilted in four directions, up, down, left, and right from the reference angle at the initial position. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is tilted to the left with the axis line in the vertical direction as the center. The movable monitor 20 is tilted to the left side by pulling the right side portion 22d (flange 23i) side rearward and using the contact portion between the left side portion 22c (flange 23h) and the left edge wall 30c as a fulcrum. At this time, the support rod 19c on the upper right side and the support rod 19d on the lower right side respectively change the spherical end 25 from the vicinity of the outer end (outer end wall 35c) of the guide grooves 31c and 31d to the inner end (inner end wall 35d). The rising angle (protrusion amount) with respect to the monitor housing portion 30 is increased while moving the monitor 20 toward the side, and as a result, the upper right socket 27c and the lower right socket 27d are pushed rearward, whereby the movable monitor 20 is Tilt to the left. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is operated to the maximum leftward tilt angle by pushing out the upper right support rod 19c and the lower right support rod 19d. In this state, the upper right and lower right 2 The two spherical end portions 25 are positioned in the vicinity of the inner end portions of the corresponding guide grooves 31c and 31d, and further movement of each spherical end portion 25 is restricted by the inner end wall 35d. The upper left support rod 19a and the lower left support rod 19b have smaller rise angles than the upper right support rod 19c and the lower right support rod 19d, and the spherical end portions 25 correspond to the corresponding guide grooves 31a, 31b. It is located near the center in the longitudinal direction.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is tilted to the right with the axis line in the vertical direction as the center. The movable monitor 20 is tilted to the right side by pulling the left side portion 22c (flange 23h) side rearward and using the contact point between the right side portion 22d (flange 23i) and the right edge wall 30d as a fulcrum. At this time, the upper left support rod 19a and the lower left support rod 19b are arranged such that the spherical end portion 25 is located on the inner end portion (inner end wall 35d) side from the vicinity of the outer end portion (outer end wall 35c) of the guide grooves 31a and 31b. As a result, the upper left socket 27a and the lower left socket 27b are pushed rearward so that the movable monitor 20 is moved to the right side. Tilt toward. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is operated to the maximum rightward tilt angle by pushing out the upper left support rod 19a and the lower left support rod 19b. In this state, two spherical shapes on the upper left side and the lower left side are shown. The end portion 25 is positioned in the vicinity of the inner end portion of the corresponding guide groove 31a, 31b, and further movement of each spherical end portion 25 is restricted by the inner end wall 35d. The support rod 19c on the upper right side and the support rod 19d on the lower right side have smaller rising angles than the support rod 19a on the upper left side and the support rod 19b on the lower left side, and the guide grooves 31c and 31d corresponding to the spherical end portions 25 respectively. It is located near the center in the longitudinal direction.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is tilted downward with the axis line in the left-right direction as the center. The movable monitor 20 is tilted downward by pulling the upper side portion 22a toward the rear, and using the contact point between the lower side portion 22b (flange 23g) and the lower edge wall 30b as a fulcrum. At this time, the support rod 19a on the upper left side and the support rod 19c on the upper right side respectively change the spherical end 25 from the vicinity of the outer end (outer end wall 35c) of the guide grooves 31a and 31c to the inner end (inner end wall 35d) side. The rising angle (protrusion amount) with respect to the monitor housing portion 30 is increased while moving toward the monitor, and as a result, the upper left socket 27a and the upper right socket 27c are pushed rearward so that the movable monitor 20 is moved downward. Tilt towards. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is operated to the maximum downward inclination angle by pushing out the upper left support rod 19a and the upper right support rod 19c. In this state, two spherical shapes on the upper left side and the upper right side are shown. The end portion 25 is positioned in the vicinity of the inner end portion of the corresponding guide groove 31a, 31c, and further movement of each spherical end portion 25 is restricted by the inner end wall 35d. The lower left support rod 19b and the lower right support rod 19d have a smaller rising angle than the upper left support rod 19a and the upper right support rod 19c, and the spherical end portions 25 correspond to the corresponding guide grooves 31b, 31d. It is located near the center in the longitudinal direction.

  FIG. 5 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is tilted upward with the axis line in the left-right direction as the center. The movable monitor 20 is tilted upward by pulling the lower side portion 22b (flange 23g) side rearward and using the contact portion between the upper side portion 22a and the upper edge wall 30a as a fulcrum. At this time, the support rod 19b on the lower left side and the support rod 19d on the lower right side respectively change the spherical end 25 from the vicinity of the outer end (outer end wall 35c) of the guide grooves 31b and 31d to the inner end (inner end wall 35d). The rising angle (protrusion amount) with respect to the monitor housing portion 30 is increased while moving toward the side, and as a result, the lower left socket 27b and the lower right socket 27d are pushed rearward, whereby the movable monitor 20 is Tilt upward. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is operated to the maximum upward tilt angle by pushing out the lower left support rod 19b and the lower right support rod 19d. In this state, the lower left and lower right 2 The two spherical end portions 25 are positioned in the vicinity of the inner end portions of the corresponding guide grooves 31b and 31d, and further movement of each spherical end portion 25 is restricted by the inner end wall 35d. The upper left support rod 19a and the upper right support rod 19c have smaller rise angles than the lower left support rod 19b and the lower right support rod 19d, and the respective spherical end portions 25 correspond to the corresponding guide grooves 31a, 31c. It is located near the center in the longitudinal direction.

  In the initial position of the movable monitor 20 in FIG. 1 (stored state in the monitor housing portion 30), the movable monitor is moved by the upper edge wall 30a, the lower edge wall 30b, the left edge wall 30c, and the right edge wall 30d around the monitor housing portion 30. By enclosing 20, it is possible to prevent the movable monitor 20 from being inadvertently operated by preventing an external catch or the like. A low wall 30i formed at the upper end portion of the right edge wall 30d (boundary portion with the upper edge wall 30a) has an operation dial 50 located at the upper right of the movable monitor 20 and a plurality of operation buttons located below the operation dial 50. 51 has a function of improving operability. Specifically, when the grip portion of the camera body 10 is grasped with the right hand, the operation dial 50 and the push buttons (a part of the plurality of operation buttons 51) positioned around the operation dial 50 are assumed to be operated with the right hand thumb. The At this time, since the low wall 30i is positioned on the movement trajectory of the thumb, the thumb smoothly reaches the operation dial 50 without being caught by the high walls (30a, 30b, 30c and 30d) surrounding the monitor housing 30. It becomes easy to get.

  As described above, at the initial position of the movable monitor 20, the movable monitor 20 can be protected by the walls 30a, 30b, 30c and 30d (including the low wall 30i) provided at positions surrounding the four corners of the movable monitor 20 in the up, down, left and right directions. On the other hand, by forming the recesses 30e, 30f, 30g and 30h around the monitor housing part 30, the edge of the movable monitor 20 is partially exposed, and the movable part 20 can be moved from the initial position as shown in FIGS. Good operability (fingering) when the monitor 20 is tilted is also realized. All of the recesses 30e, 30f, 30g, and 30h are formed corresponding to the central portions of the upper side 22a, the lower side 22b, the left side 22c, and the right side 22d of the movable monitor 20, and therefore, in the vertical and horizontal directions from the initial position. A force for tilting the movable monitor 20 is easily applied.

  2 to 5 show a state in which the movable monitor 20 is tilted to the maximum tilt angle in the vertical and horizontal directions by the pushing operation in which two of the four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d have the maximum rising angle. However, it is also possible to hold the movable monitor 20 at an arbitrary inclination angle smaller than this by positioning the spherical end portion 25 in the middle between the inner end portion and the outer end portion of the guide groove 31. The spherical end portions 25 of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d are fitted in the corresponding guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c, and 31d in a state in which friction is applied due to the internal guide 34 being sandwiched. By stopping the tilting operation on the way, the movable monitor 20 can be held at the angle. Note that the maximum tilt angle of the movable monitor 20 can be made larger or smaller than the size shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 by changing the setting of the lengths of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d and the length of the guide groove 31. Is possible.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 21, the movable monitor 20 can further rotate the support frame 22 with respect to the base plate 23 about the tilt shaft 22x to increase the upward angle. For example, in the state of FIG. 5, the entire movable monitor 20 is moved upward by about 40 degrees with respect to the camera body 10 due to the tilt (first-stage tilt) via the four support rods 19 a, 19 b, 19 c and 19 d described above. It has become. 6 and FIG. 21, the support frame 22 and the display device 21 are approximately 90 degrees with respect to the initial position of FIG. 1 by adding the tilt of the support frame 22 to the base plate 23 (second stage tilt). It is changing upward. Thereby, for example, the movable monitor 20 can be used like a waist level finder. The rotation of the support frame 22 from the state of FIG. 5 to the state of FIGS. 6 and 21 can be performed by placing a finger on a portion of the support frame 22 that is not covered with the flanges 23g, 23h, and 23i of the base plate 23. it can. As described above, the support frame 22 and the base plate 23 are lightly locked by the click washer 38 at the integrated position (FIGS. 1 to 5, FIG. 7 to FIG. 13 and FIG. 20) and the rising position (FIGS. 6 and 21). By applying a predetermined force, the holding by the click washer 38 is released, and the support frame 22 can be tilted around the tilt axis 22x.

  When the movable monitor 20 is close to the camera body 10 and is housed in the monitor housing portion 30 (initial position), the movable monitor 20 can be tilted about an axis in a specific direction such as the vertical direction or the horizontal direction as described above. it can. This tilting of the movable monitor 20 is the tilting of the first mode. In addition to the tilting of the first mode, the movable monitor 20 is rearward in the optical axis direction (the imaginary line O ′ obtained by extending the optical axis O) from the monitor housing 30 as shown in FIGS. 7, 11, 12 and 13. It is possible to pull it out in a direction along the camera body 10 and separate it from the camera body 10. The pulling-out operation of the movable monitor 20 is performed by increasing the rising angles (projection amounts) of the four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d with respect to the monitor housing portion 30. For example, by making the protruding amounts of the four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d with respect to the monitor housing portion 30 substantially equal, the movable monitor 20 is not tilted from the initial position of FIGS. 7, 11, 12, and 13 can be moved by moving substantially parallel to the optical axis O (while maintaining the angle).

  7, 11, 12, and 13 show the maximum protruding state of the movable monitor 20 that maximizes the backward protruding amount (rise angle) of the four support rods 19 a, 19 b, 19 c, and 19 d with respect to the monitor housing portion 30. Is shown. In this state, the spherical end portions 25 of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d are moved in the direction of the further inner end portion by the inner end wall 35d in the corresponding guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d, respectively. Is regulated. Therefore, since the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d are in a state of sticking to each other and the rising angle is further increased, it becomes a limit for projecting the movable monitor 20 to the rear. The distance between the inner end walls 35d of the four guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d on the camera body 10 side is set larger than the distance between the four sockets 27a, 27b, 27c and 27d on the movable monitor 20 side. Therefore, in the maximum projecting state of the movable monitor 20, the four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d have a divergent shape (trapezoidal shape) in which the interval on the spherical end 25 side is wider than the interval on the spherical end 26 side. ) To support the movable monitor 20. Thereby, stable support is realized. When the movable monitor 20 is pushed forward from this maximum protruding state, the spherical end portions 25 of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d are moved into the inner end walls 35d in the guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d. Therefore, the movable monitor 20 can be smoothly accommodated in the monitor accommodating portion 30.

  In a state where the movable monitor 20 is pulled out rearward of the monitor housing portion 30 and separated from the camera body 10, the movable monitor 20 has an upper edge wall 30a, a lower edge wall 30b, a left edge wall 30c, and a right edge wall. It becomes possible to operate without being restricted by 30d. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6, tilting in any direction that is not limited to the axis center in a specific direction such as the vertical direction or the horizontal direction is possible. For example, the movable monitor 20 is placed in a direction such as an upper right side shown in FIG. 8, an upper left side shown in FIG. 9, an upper left side opposite to the left and right in FIG. It can be tilted, and its angle can be arbitrarily set within a range in which each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d can follow. This directionally tilting of the movable monitor 20 is defined as the tilting of the second mode. Further, in a state where the movable monitor 20 is pulled backward less than the maximum amount, the direction orthogonal to the optical axis O is maintained while maintaining the reference angle within a predetermined range in which each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d can follow. The movable monitor 20 can be moved to the position.

  In the state in which the movable monitor 20 is pulled out to the rear of the monitor housing portion 30, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to rotate the movable monitor 20 around the axis (the axis facing the moving / separating direction of the movable monitor 20 with respect to the camera body 10). FIG. 10 shows a state in which the movable monitor 20 is rotated counterclockwise as viewed from the photographer side, and the movable monitor 20 can be rotated in the opposite clockwise direction. In the present embodiment, since the center of the outer shape of the movable monitor 20 is positioned on the virtual line O ′ extending from the optical axis O, in the state shown in FIG. However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the imaginary line O ′ obtained by extending the optical axis O passes through a position different from the outer center of the movable monitor 20. In this case, the positions of the center of the movable monitor 20 and the center of rotation do not match.

  The flexible substrate 18 has a length that can follow all the above operations of the movable monitor 20. As described above, the flexible substrate 18 includes the second region 18d between the substrate insertion hole 43 of the camera body 10 and the narrowed portion 46a of the base plate 23, the upper end opening 45a of the base plate 23, and the substrate insertion hole 47 of the support frame 22. A fourth region 18 f in between is a deformable region that is deformed in accordance with the operation of the movable monitor 20. Among these, the position change between the board insertion hole 43 and the narrowed portion 46a located at both ends of the second region 18d is particularly large. For example, FIG. 21 shows a state in which the lower side portion (flange 23 g) of the base plate 23 is pulled out rearward, and the narrowed portion 46 a is largely separated rearward from the board insertion hole 43. In this state, the second region 18d of the flexible substrate 18 and the substrate cover 57 do not connect the substrate insertion hole 43 and the narrowed portion 46a in a straight line, but project in an obliquely downward direction and then obliquely upward. It has a sufficient length of the trajectory. Therefore, not only the lower side of the movable monitor 20 as shown in FIG. 21 but also the maximum protruding state (FIGS. 7, 11, 12, and 13) in which the entire movable monitor 20 is pulled out backward, or the movable monitor 20 The second region 18d of the flexible substrate 18 and the substrate cover 57 have a sufficient length even when the camera is pulled backward and then tilted or rotated (FIGS. 8 to 10). And the movable monitor 20 (base plate 23) side can be connected.

  Further, the board insertion hole 43 on the camera body 10 side is located at approximately the same distance from the four guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d (see FIG. 12), and the narrowed portion 46a on the movable monitor 20 side has four sockets 27a, 27b, 27c, and 27d are located at substantially equal distances, and the substrate insertion hole 43 and the narrowed portion 46a are respectively disposed near the outer center of the movable monitor 20 (near the virtual line O ′ extending the optical axis O). (See FIG. 20). When the movable monitor 20 is tilted or rotated with the movable monitor 20 pulled out as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the displacement amount relative to the monitor housing portion 30 is the smallest near the outer center of the movable monitor 20. Further, in the vicinity of the center of the outer shape of the movable monitor 20, the amount of displacement with respect to the monitor housing portion 30 is averaged when the movable monitor 20 is tilted vertically and horizontally as shown in FIGS. There is no tilting direction that would increase. Therefore, by positioning the substrate insertion hole 43 and the narrowed portion 46a at a location where the amount of displacement is small, the second region 18d of the flexible substrate 18 extending between the substrate through hole 43 and the narrowed portion 46a and the substrate cover The effect of reducing the bending and twisting of 57 can be obtained.

  20 and 21, when the support frame 22 rotates with respect to the base plate 23 about the tilt axis 22x, the position of the substrate insertion hole 47 of the support frame 22 with respect to the upper end opening 45a of the base plate 23 changes. . Specifically, in the initial position of the movable monitor 20 shown in FIG. 20, the substrate insertion hole 47 that opens forward with respect to the upper end opening 45a that opens upward is substantially in the rotational direction about the tilt shaft 22x. The positional relationship is shifted by 90 degrees. On the other hand, when the support frame 22 is rotated upward with respect to the base plate 23 as shown in FIG. 21, the substrate insertion hole 47 opens downward with respect to the upper end opening 45a that opens obliquely upward. In addition, the relative angle between the upper end opening 45a and the substrate insertion hole 47 in the rotation direction about the tilt axis 22x is large. However, since both the upper end opening 45a and the board insertion hole 47 are arranged in a position close to the radial direction with respect to the axis of the tilt shaft 22x, the mutual distance change due to relative rotation of the support frame 22 and the base plate 23 is small. . In addition, no complicated operation other than relative rotation about the tilt shaft 22x is performed between the support frame 22 and the base plate 23. Accordingly, if the fourth region 18f of the flexible substrate 18 is set so as to linearly connect the upper end opening 45a and the substrate insertion hole 47 in the state of FIG. 21, the length becomes sufficient without excess or deficiency. Unlike the first region 18c, the fourth region 18f of the flexible substrate 18 is shorter (less exposed to the appearance) and less deformed than the second region 18d. It is not covered with a protective member. However, the fourth region 18 f of the flexible substrate 18 can be covered with a protective member such as the substrate cover 57. Alternatively, a region of the flexible substrate 18 from the substrate insertion hole 43 on the camera body 10 side to the substrate insertion hole 47 of the movable monitor 20 (second region 18d, third region 18e, and fourth region 18f). It is also possible to constitute so that the whole is covered with the substrate cover 57 together.

  As described above, in the camera 1 of the present embodiment, the degree of freedom in setting the position of the movable monitor 20 relative to the camera body 10 is high. As a first aspect of the operation of the movable monitor 20, the movable monitor 20 can be tilted in four directions, up, down, left, and right in a state where the movable monitor 20 is in the initial position in the monitor housing 30. As a second mode of operation of the movable monitor 20, in a state where the movable monitor 20 is moved backward from the initial position in the optical axis direction (a direction away from the camera body 10), it is possible to freely tilt without any direction restriction. Become. The tilt of the second aspect of the movable monitor 20 differs from the tilt of the first aspect in that the display surface of the display device 21 of the movable monitor 20 does not pass through a reference angle that is substantially orthogonal to the optical axis O, and an arbitrary tilt. Since it can be shifted directly from one direction to the next tilt direction, it is excellent in operability. In any aspect, when the movable monitor 20 is tilted, the movable monitor 20 falls within a range in which the movable monitor 20 does not protrude from the outer shape of the camera body 10 when viewed in a direction parallel to the optical axis O as shown in FIG. An increase in size of the camera 1 (particularly an increase in size in the vertical and horizontal directions perpendicular to the optical axis O) can be prevented.

  Further, the movable monitor 20 can increase the angle change in a predetermined direction (upward) by rotating the support frame 22 with respect to the base plate 23, and can cope with more various photographing postures.

  Further, when the movable monitor 20 is moved backward from the initial position in the optical axis direction (in the direction away from the camera body 10), rotation about the optical axis O as shown in FIG. The degree of freedom of setting is even higher.

  The tilting and rotation of the movable monitor 20 described above is performed without greatly changing the relative positional relationship between the outer center of the movable monitor 20 and the optical axis O (the imaginary line O ′ obtained by extending the optical axis O). Since the movable monitor 20 does not greatly deviate from the outer shape of the camera body 10 when viewed along the optical axis O, it is easy to perform composition adjustment. Further, since the movable monitor 20 is housed in the monitor housing portion 30 of the camera body 10 at the initial position of the movable monitor 20, and the movable monitor 20 is pulled out from the monitor housing portion 30 as necessary, the camera in the initial state is used. The size of 1 in the optical axis direction can be suppressed.

  The camera 1 of this embodiment supports the movable monitor 20 movably with respect to the camera body 10 by a support mechanism via a plurality (four) of support rods 19. Each support rod 19 is provided with spherical end portions 25 and 26 at both ends, and the spherical end portion 26 is supported by a socket 27 on the movable monitor 20 side so as to be pivotable (rotatable in any direction). The spherical end 25 is supported so as to be pivotable and linearly movable with respect to the guide groove 31 on the main body 10 side, so that the operation of the movable monitor 20 having a high degree of freedom described above can be realized. . At the initial position of the movable monitor 20, the rising angle (projection amount) of each support rod 19 from the monitor accommodating portion 30 is minimized, and all the support rods 19 are identical to each other and substantially orthogonal to an imaginary line O ′ extending the optical axis O. The relationship is on a plane. Since each socket 27 and each guide groove 31 are also located on this plane, the support mechanism for the movable monitor 20 can be accommodated in a very space-saving manner in the front-rear direction along the optical axis O.

  The number and arrangement of the support rods 19 can be changed according to required specifications. The camera 1 in the illustrated embodiment has a specification requirement that the rectangular movable monitor 20 whose four sides are directed in the vertical and horizontal directions at the initial position is tilted in the vertical and horizontal directions from the initial position (FIGS. 2 to 5). In order to satisfy, four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d are supported by four guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d extending in the diagonal direction of the rectangular movable monitor 20. With this configuration, it becomes easy to tilt the movable monitor 20 in the up / down / left / right direction, which is the direction between two adjacent support rods 19. Further, the guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d extend in the diagonal direction of the rectangular movable monitor 20, so that each guide groove 31a is within a limited space within the outer shape of the movable monitor 20. , 31b, 31c, and 31d and the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d can be maximized. When these constituent elements are lengthened, the movable amount of the movable monitor 20 increases, and as a result, the degree of freedom in setting the position of the movable monitor 20 is improved.

  Basically, if the number of the support rods 19 is increased, the stability of the movable monitor 20 is increased, but the degree of freedom of operation is easily limited. If the number of the support rods 19 is reduced, the degree of freedom of operation of the movable monitor 20 is increased. However, it becomes difficult to obtain stability. For example, when one or more support rods 19 are additionally arranged between the four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d in the illustrated embodiment, the stability of the movable monitor 20 during the operation with respect to the monitor housing unit 30 is improved. The effect of increasing is obtained. On the other hand, when the movable monitor 20 is tilted in the vertical and horizontal directions as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 from the initial position in FIG. 1, the tilt is caused by the support rod 19 additionally arranged depending on the conditions such as the arrangement of the socket 27. The amount and tiltable direction may be limited. When the number of the support rods 19 is reduced by removing any of the four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d in the illustrated embodiment, the movable monitor 20 is moved to the side where the removed support rods are located. The amount of tilting can be increased. On the other hand, since the friction of the guide groove 31 and the socket 27 acting on the removed support rod is subtracted, in order to obtain the stability of the movable monitor 20 equivalent to the illustrated embodiment, it acts on the remaining support rod. It is necessary to take measures such as strengthening friction. In any case, the effect of both the high degree of freedom of operation and the compactness of the support mechanism can be obtained as compared with the existing support structure, so that the specifications required for the support and operation of the movable monitor 20 are satisfied. In this case, the present invention can be implemented as such a modification.

  Further, the operability when the movable monitor 20 is operated is affected by the rising angles of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d with respect to the guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d. When a user changes the posture of the movable monitor 20 by holding the support frame 22 or the base plate 23, the support rods 19a, 19b are connected from the sockets 27a, 27b, 27c and 27d on the movable monitor 20 side via the spherical end portion 26. , 19c and 19d, and the spherical end 25 changes the posture of the movable monitor 20 while sliding against the friction in the corresponding guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d. Here, when the movable monitor 20 is at a position where the rising angle of each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d is small (such as the initial position shown in FIGS. 1 and 20), each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d. Since the direction of the axial direction is close to the longitudinal direction of the corresponding guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d (the inclination is small), the push-pull force acting from the spherical end portion 26 to the spherical end portion 25 via the rod-shaped portion 24 is reduced. Most of them act as a component force that moves the spherical end portion 25 along the guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c, and 31d. Therefore, the movable monitor 20 can be operated efficiently. On the other hand, when the rising angle of each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d is increased, the direction of the push / pull force acting from the spherical end portion 26 to the spherical end portion 25 through the rod-shaped portion 24, and the guide grooves 31a, 31b, Since the angular difference in the moving direction of the spherical end portion 25 along 31c and 31d is increased, the component force for sliding the spherical end portion 25 with respect to the input to the spherical end portion 26 is reduced. Therefore, when importance is attached to the operability of the movable monitor 20, the support rods 19 a, 19 b, The maximum rise angle of 19c and 19d can be suppressed to some extent. On the other hand, if the maximum rising angle of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d is suppressed, the protrusion amount and tilt angle of the movable monitor 20 from the monitor housing unit 30 are limited. In this case, it is possible to set the maximum rising angle of each support rod 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d to be large. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the direction of the axis of the rod-like portion 24 when each of the support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d is at the maximum rising angle is determined by the guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and It is set so as to have a slight inclination with respect to an imaginary line O ′ (FIGS. 11, 20, and 21) obtained by extending the optical axis O without being completely orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of 31d. The balance between the good operability of the monitor 20 and the size of the movable range is achieved.

  The flexible board 18 that electrically connects the body side circuit board 17 in the camera body 10 and the monitor side circuit board 55 in the movable monitor 20 extends out of the camera body 10 through the board insertion hole 43, and is extended by the base plate 23. The intermediate portion (third region 18 e) is supported, and then inserted into the substrate housing space 48 in the support frame 22. By arranging the flexible substrate 18 in this way, it is possible to realize a space-saving configuration that suppresses the load on the flexible substrate 18 while increasing the degree of freedom of the position of the display device 21 with respect to the camera body 10.

  For example, when the flexible substrate 18 is directly guided from the substrate insertion hole 43 to the substrate insertion hole 47 without support by the base plate 23, the posture change with a high degree of freedom of the display device 21 and the support frame 22 with respect to the camera body 10 is achieved. As a result, the bending angle and the amount of twist of the flexible substrate 18 may change suddenly at the portion inserted into the substrate insertion hole 43 or the substrate insertion hole 47, and a large load may be applied. If the length of the flexible board 18 is increased between the board insertion hole 43 and the board insertion hole 47 in order to avoid this, it becomes difficult to manage the slack state of the flexible board 18, and the movable monitor 20 is placed in the monitor housing 30. When accommodated, there is a risk that the flexible substrate 18 interferes with a support mechanism such as the support rod 19 or that the flexible substrate 18 is caught in an unintended portion.

  On the other hand, in the camera 1 of the present embodiment, the third region 18e of the flexible substrate 18 is supported along the base plate 23, the second region 18d between the camera body 10 and the base plate 23, the base plate 23 and the support. Since the length and the slack state are individually set in each of the fourth regions 18f between the frames 22 (display devices 21), an appropriate amount corresponding to each movement of the base plate 23 and the support frame 22 can be appropriately selected. The flexible substrate 18 can be arranged in length and shape. As described above, by arranging the second region 18d of the flexible substrate 18 in such a manner that the substrate insertion hole 43 and the narrowed portion 46a located near the outer center of the monitor housing portion 30 and the movable monitor 20 are connected, the camera body When the base plate 23, which is the first support step having a high degree of freedom in setting the position with respect to 10, operates, the difference in operation direction hardly affects the deformation of the flexible substrate 18, and the load on the flexible substrate 18 is reduced. The bias can be reduced. Further, between the base plate 23 and the support frame 22, a flexible substrate is provided between the upper end opening 45 a provided on the side connected to the tilt shaft 22 x and the substrate insertion hole 47 among the four sides of the substantially rectangular movable monitor 20. Since the 18th 4th area | region 18f is arrange | positioned, the flexible substrate 18 can be accommodated in the minimum length corresponding to the tilt centering on the tilt axis 22x, and an excess slack does not arise. Furthermore, since the second region 18d of the flexible substrate 18 has a shape that extends downward from the third region 18e that is supported by the base plate 23 and is folded upward, the movable monitor as shown in FIG. With the monitor 20 accommodated in the monitor accommodating portion 30, the second region 18d, the third region 18e, and the fourth region 18f of the flexible substrate 18 are arranged along the vertical direction of the base plate 23, and the movable monitor 20 The flexible substrate 18 can be accommodated between the camera body 10 and the camera body 10 in a space efficient manner.

  The support mechanism for movably supporting the movable monitor 20 with respect to the camera body 10 includes four guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d extending in a diagonal direction of the substantially rectangular monitor housing portion 30, and each guide groove 31a, 31b, These are four sockets 27a, 27b, 27c and 27d provided on the movable monitor 20 side so as to face the vicinity of the inner ends of 31c and 31d, and four support rods 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d connecting them. That is, the support mechanism is arranged in a region along the diagonal line of the movable monitor 20 and the monitor housing 30. The board insertion hole 43 that determines the position of one end of the second region 18d of the flexible board 18 is a position (monitor housing part 30) surrounded by the inner ends (inner end walls 35d) of the four guide grooves 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d. The constriction 46a that determines the position of the other end of the second region 18d is located at a position surrounded by the four sockets 27a, 27b, 27c, and 27d (near the outer center of the movable monitor 20). Moreover, the board | substrate accommodation recessed part 44 which accommodates the 2nd area | region 18d of the flexible substrate 18 is extended in the up-down direction through between the socket 27b and the socket 27d (FIG. 14, FIG. 15). Therefore, the second area 18d of the flexible substrate 18 includes the lower left socket 27b, the guide groove 31b and the support rod 19b, and the lower right socket 27d, the guide groove 31d and the support rod in the support mechanism of the movable monitor 20. Located in the space between 19d. The substrate guide recess 45 and the communication path 46 that support the region of the third region 18e of the flexible substrate 18 extend vertically between the socket 27a and the socket 27c (FIGS. 14 and 15). Therefore, the third region 18e of the flexible substrate 18 includes the upper left socket 27a, the guide groove 31a and the support rod 19a, and the upper right socket 27c, the guide groove 31c and the support rod 19c in the support mechanism of the movable monitor 20. Located in the space between. As described above, the flexible substrate 18 avoids the diagonal area where the support mechanism for the movable monitor 20 is arranged, and connects the camera body 10 and the movable monitor 20 through the space between them. The support mechanism and the flexible substrate 18 are configured to have excellent space efficiency in which they are accommodated without interference.

  Further, by covering the second region 18d of the flexible substrate 18 with the substrate cover 57, the flexible substrate 18 can be protected even if contact with peripheral members occurs, and the risk of damage or disconnection can be reduced. . The substrate cover 57 also serves as a component of a drip-proof (water-stopping) structure around the substrate insertion hole 43 of the camera body 10, and protects the flexible substrate 18 and ensures drip-proof performance with a simple configuration with a small number of parts. Realized.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on illustration embodiment, this invention is not limited to illustration embodiment. For example, in the camera 1 of the illustrated embodiment, a socket 27 is provided on the movable monitor 20 side so that the spherical end portion 26 of the support rod 19 can be rotated only about the spherical center, and the spherical end portion 25 of the support rod 19 is rotated around the spherical center. The guide groove 31 that connects both the moving and the straight movement is provided on the camera body 10 side. However, by reversing this relationship, the socket 27 is provided on the camera body 10 side, and the guide groove 31 is provided on the movable monitor 20 side. It is also possible to provide it.

  The inner guide 34 constituting the guide groove 31 of the illustrated embodiment has a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction, and is substantially uniform throughout the guide groove 31 with respect to the spherical end portion 25 of the support rod 19. Friction is added. Unlike this, it is also possible to partially change the magnitude of the friction to the support rod 19 in the guide groove 31. For example, as described above, when the movable monitor 20 is operated, the transmission efficiency (component force) of the force for sliding the spherical end portion 25 along the guide groove 31 is changed by the change in the rising angle of the support rod 19. Therefore, the friction acting from the guide groove 31 to the spherical end portion 25 may be set to change according to the change. It is also possible to make the movable monitor 20 easier to position by particularly increasing the friction with respect to the spherical end 25 at a specific position in the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 31. For example, if the friction is set to be large in the vicinity of the inner end and the outer end of the guide groove 31, the initial position (FIGS. 1 and 20) of the movable monitor 20 and the maximum tilt position in the vertical and horizontal directions (FIG. 2 to FIG. 2). 5) and the holding stability of the movable monitor 20 at a specific position such as the maximum rearward drawing position (FIGS. 7, 11, 12, and 13) are enhanced. As a further change, it is possible to form a click stop recess or projection in the guide groove 31 for lightly locking the spherical end 25 at a specific position in the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 31. The load adjustment in the guide grooves 31 can be performed by changing the plate thickness and cross-sectional shape of the outer member 34d and the inner member 34e constituting the inner guide 34, the cross-sectional shape of the cover member 35, and the like.

  The socket 27 in the illustrated embodiment holds (holds) the spherical end portion 26 of the support rod 19 with a holding concave surface 27e made of a concave spherical surface. This configuration is less likely to cause rattling between the socket 27 and the spherical end portion 26, and is less likely to drop off the spherical end portion 26 from the socket 27, and is excellent in both holding accuracy and strength. However, it is also possible to hold the spherical end portion 26 with a configuration different from the holding concave surface 27e. For example, instead of the concave spherical surface such as the holding concave surface 27e, the spherical end portion 26 can be held by the inner surface of a polyhedron formed by combining flat surfaces. Further, after omitting a portion corresponding to the socket 27 in the illustrated embodiment, the pair of support arm portions 28c of the retainer 28 are spherical end so as to restrict the movement in the opposite direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 19). Another holding member is provided that sandwiches the portion 26 and restricts the movement of the spherical end portion 26 in the direction perpendicular to the opposing direction of the pair of support arm portions 28c (the vertical direction in FIG. 19 or the depth direction of the paper surface). The spherical end portion 26 can be held so as to be pivotable by these composite members.

  In the movable monitor 20 of the illustrated embodiment, in addition to the angle change using the four support rods 19, the upward angle change is increased by the rotation of the support frame 22 with respect to the base plate 23. It is also possible to apply to directions other than upward. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the tilt axis 22x is provided along the upper side 22a of the support frame 22 among the four sides of the movable monitor 20, but tilted along the lower side 22b, the left side 22c, the right side 22d, and the like. It is also possible to provide the shaft 22x. In these cases, the directions in which the support frame 22 tilts with respect to the base plate 23 are downward, leftward, and rightward, respectively, and the arrangement structure of the flexible substrate 18 is changed according to the change in the position of the tilt shaft 22x. change. Specifically, when the tilt axis 22x is arranged along the lower side portion 22b, the support structure of the flexible substrate 18 may be configured in a form inverted upside down from the illustrated embodiment. When the tilt axis 22x is arranged along the left side portion 22c and the right side portion 22d, the tilt shaft 22x is inclined 90 degrees in the forward and reverse directions with respect to the illustrated embodiment (that is, the substrate storage recess 44 and the substrate storage recess 45 are horizontally moved on the base plate 23). It is preferable that the support structure of the flexible substrate 18 is configured in a form extending in the direction of the guide groove 31 and the guide grooves 31 arranged on the diagonal lines of the substantially rectangular movable monitor 20 and the monitor housing portion 30. The flexible substrate 18 can be disposed at a position where it does not interfere with the socket 27 and each support rod 19.

  Although the movable monitor 20 of the illustrated embodiment includes a horizontally long display device 21, the present invention can also be applied to a type of imaging apparatus having a display screen having a shape other than horizontally long such as a square. Furthermore, the outer shape of the display screen is not limited to a rectangle, but may be a triangle, a rectangle other than a rectangle, a polygon having five or more vertices, a curved shape having no vertices, and the like.

  In addition, the display device 21 is not fixed to the support frame 22 like the movable monitor 20 in the illustrated embodiment, and a separate display device (for example, a smartphone) is attached to and detached from the support frame 22. Possible types of display units can also be employed. As a display device constituting the display unit, both a display having only a display function and a touch panel type display operated by touching the screen can be employed.

  The camera 1 of the illustrated embodiment is a single-lens reflex camera with interchangeable lenses. However, the imaging apparatus to which the present invention is applied is not limited to this, and a still camera other than a single-lens reflex camera with interchangeable lenses, or video recording It can also be applied to a video camera that mainly performs the above. Particularly in moving image shooting, since there are many changes in the camera angle during shooting, an arrangement structure of electrical connection means corresponding to a display portion with a high degree of freedom of position setting to which the present invention is applied is effective.

  In addition to the imaging apparatus, the present invention movably supports a display unit with respect to the main body of a portable electronic device such as a laptop personal computer, a tablet computer, or a smartphone, or an inspection device such as a car navigation or an oscilloscope. Applicable to electronic devices of the type.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the flexible substrate 18 is used as a means for electrically connecting the camera body 10 and the movable monitor 20, but it is also possible to use different forms of electrical connection means such as lead wires in addition to the flexible substrate. is there.

1 Camera (imaging device)
10 Camera body (main body)
15 eyepiece window 16 image sensor 17 body side circuit board (control circuit on main body side)
18 Flexible substrate (connecting means)
18a 18b End portion 18c of flexible substrate First region 18d of flexible substrate 18d Second region (first deformation region) of flexible substrate
18e The third area of the flexible substrate (intermediate support area)
18f 4th area | region (2nd deformation | transformation area | region) of a flexible substrate
18g Fifth region 19 (19a 19b 19c 19d) of flexible substrate Support rod (connection member)
20 Movable monitor (display unit)
21 Display device (display screen)
22 Support frame (second support step)
22a Upper side part 22b Lower side part 22c Left side part 22d Right side part 22e Shaft support part (tilting mechanism)
22x tilt axis (tilting mechanism)
23 Base plate (first support step)
23a 23b 23c 23d Notch 23e Shaft support piece (tilting mechanism)
23f Through-hole 23g 23h 23i Flange 24 Bar-shaped part 25 Spherical end part 26 Spherical end part 27 (27a 27b 27c 27d) Socket (support step part side connection part)
27e Holding concave surface 28 Retainer 28a Bottom portion 28b Standing wall 28c Support arm portion 28d Flange 29 Holding plate 29a Retaining portion 29b Cover portion 30 Monitor housing portion 30a Upper edge wall 30b Lower edge wall 30c Left edge wall 30d Right edge wall 30e 30f 30g 30h Recess 30i Low wall 31 (31a 31b 31c 31d) Guide groove (main body side connection part)
32 Positioning projection 33 Groove recess 33a Bottom wall 33b Standing wall 34 Internal guide 34a Bottom 34b Side wall 34c Bending edge 34d Outer member 34e Inner member 35 Cover member 35a Lid 35b Side wall 35c Outer end wall 35d Inner end wall 35e Slot 35f 35g Flange 36 Cushion material 37 Support seat 38 Click washer (tilting mechanism)
40 Support recess 41 42 Support seat 43 Substrate insertion hole (insertion hole)
44 Substrate storage recess (storage recess)
44a Inclined surface 45 Substrate guide recess (intermediate support part)
45a Upper end opening (end part of tilting mechanism side of intermediate support part)
46 Communication path (intermediate support part)
46a Narrowed portion (end of the intermediate support portion on the center side of the outer shape, hole)
46b Front / rear through portion 47 Substrate insertion hole 48 Substrate accommodation space 50 Operation dial 51 52 Operation button 55 Monitor side circuit board (control circuit on display side)
57 Substrate cover (cover)
57a Flange portion 57b Insertion end portion 58 Holding plate 60 61 62 Screw

Claims (8)

A main body having an image sensor that receives a light beam incident along the optical axis of the imaging optical system; and a display unit that can display an image obtained by the image sensor on a display screen and is movably supported with respect to the main body. In an imaging apparatus having
The display unit is positioned on the extension of the optical axis, and can be tilted in a plurality of directions with respect to the main body, and a second support step can be tilted with respect to the first support step. And supporting the display screen and the control circuit on the display unit side on the second support step,
Connection means for electrically connecting the control circuit on the main body side and the control circuit on the display section side is provided, and the connection means is tilted in the plurality of directions between the main body and the first support step. A first deformable region disposed at a corresponding length and deformable; an intermediate support region supported on the first support step; and the second support step from the first support step. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a second deformation region that is deformable by being disposed with a length corresponding to the tilt of the second support step portion between the portions. The display portion has a substantially rectangular outer shape, and the second support step portion is arranged with respect to the first support step portion about an axis along one side of four sides of the rectangular outer shape. It has a tilting mechanism that can be tilted,
The first support step portion includes an intermediate support portion that supports the intermediate support region of the connection means from the center of the outer shape of the display portion to the side on which the tilting mechanism is provided. The first deformation region of the connection means is connected to an end of the outer shape center side of the connecting portion, and the second deformation region of the connection means is connected to an end portion of the intermediate support portion on the tilting mechanism side. The imaging device according to claim 1.   The main body has an insertion hole that communicates the outside with the inside at a position facing the end portion on the outer shape center side of the intermediate support portion in the direction along the optical axis, and the first deformation region of the connection means is The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the imaging apparatus extends outside the main body through the insertion hole. The first support step portion has four support step portion side connection portions at positions surrounding the end portion on the outer shape center side of the intermediate support portion,
The main body has four main body side connection portions at a position surrounding the insertion hole,
Connected to one of the support step side connecting portion and the main body side connecting portion so as to be pivotable, and pivotable to the other and linearly movable in a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: four connection members connected to the first support step, wherein the first support step portion is supported so as to be tiltable with respect to the main body via the four connection members. The first support step has a housing recess extending on the surface facing the main body from the center of the outer shape of the display unit toward the side opposite to the side where the tilt mechanism is provided,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first deformation region of the connection means enters the storage recess when the main body and the first support step portion approach each other in a direction along the optical axis.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a water-impermeable cover that covers at least the first deformation region of the connection unit. A non-water-permeable cover covering the first deformation region of the connecting means;
The end of the intermediate support portion on the outer center side is a hole that holds one end of the cover in a press-fit state,
The imaging device according to claim 3, wherein the other end of the cover closes the periphery of the insertion hole in a liquid-tight manner. In an electronic device having a main body and a display unit that is provided with a display screen and is movably supported with respect to the main body,
The display portion includes a first support step portion that can tilt in a plurality of directions with respect to the main body, and a second support step portion that can tilt with respect to the first support step portion. , Supporting the display screen and the control circuit on the display unit side on the second support step,
Connection means for electrically connecting the control circuit on the main body side and the control circuit on the display section side is provided, and the connection means is tilted in the plurality of directions between the main body and the first support step. A first deformable region disposed at a corresponding length and deformable; an intermediate support region supported on the first support step; and the second support step from the first support step. An electronic apparatus comprising: a second deformation region that is arranged between the portions and has a length corresponding to the tilt of the second support step portion and is deformable.

Images