JP3044231B2 - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a viewfinder of an electronic camera that records a moving image or a still image signal obtained by an image sensor on a recording medium.

[Conventional technology]

The viewfinder of a conventional electronic camera is roughly classified into an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder.

As a finder for a video camera of a video tape record system for recording a moving image signal on a magnetic tape, an electronic view finder using a small CRT is often used. An optical viewfinder is also used in a small video camera.

An optical finder is usually used in an electronic still camera that records a still image signal on a magnetic disk or a solid-state memory.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The above-mentioned conventional electronic camera finder has the following problems.

In the optical viewfinder, the direction in which the viewfinder is viewed is fixed, and an optical system for the viewfinder is required to make the viewable direction changeable, and it is difficult to reduce the size and thickness of the electronic camera.

On the other hand, in an electronic viewfinder using a CRT, the viewing direction can be changed with a simple configuration.
Although this is superior to the optical viewfinder in this respect, it is difficult to reduce the size of the electronic camera because the shape cannot be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a thin electronic camera finder in which the viewing direction can be changed.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes a camera body having an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject, a display surface that displays a subject image captured by the imaging unit, and a display surface substantially orthogonal to the display surface. An electronic camera comprising: a display unit having a side surface to be rotated; and a rotation unit having a rotation shaft rotatably supporting the display unit with respect to the camera body unit; A storage unit for storing the display unit, wherein the display unit is configured to form a substantially continuous surface between the display surface and the external surface of the camera body unit when the display unit is stored in the storage unit. Forming the outermost part of the electronic camera with the part,
In addition, at least the display surface and the side surface are exposed to the outside.

In the invention according to claim 2, the rotation shaft pivotally supports the display unit in a direction close to a predetermined side surface of the display unit and parallel to the predetermined side surface, and the display unit is stored in the storage unit. In this state, the side opposite to the predetermined side is exposed to the outside.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the first aspect, the storage section is provided on a maximum surface of the camera body.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the first aspect, a driving circuit for driving the display unit is provided, and the driving circuit displays a subject image to be displayed according to the rotation of the display unit. Is displayed upside down or left and right reversed.

[Action]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the display unit is stored in the storage unit, the display unit and the external surface of the camera body form a substantially continuous surface to rotate the display unit. Together with the outermost part of the electronic camera, there is little damage due to external force and excellent portability, and even when stored in the storage unit, the display unit can be easily rotated using the exposed side of the display unit. An electronic camera that can perform the operation can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the side surface facing the rotating shaft is exposed to the outside, the rotating operation can be performed without imposing an extra burden on the rotating portion.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the storage section of the display section is provided on the largest surface of the camera body section, the display section can be enlarged.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the subject image displayed in accordance with the rotation of the display unit is displayed upside down or left and right reversed, so that the user can visually recognize the image as if he were looking at a mirror.

〔Example〕

1 to 3 are perspective views showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 4 to 6 are perspective views showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 7, a photographing lens 2 is provided on a front surface of an electronic camera body 1, and a release button 3 is provided on an upper surface 1a. The side face 1b has a storage medium storage port 4 for storing the storage medium. As a recording medium, a magnetic disk or a solid-state memory is used.

On the back of the electronic camera body 1, a finder 5 composed of a liquid crystal display device or the like is provided, and a subject image is displayed as a moving image on the display surface 5a of the finder 5 at the time of shooting.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the display device 5 is rotatable with respect to the electronic camera body 1 at a position close to the upper surface 1a of the electronic camera body 1 by a rotation axis parallel to the upper surface 1a. Installed.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the viewfinder 5 is housed in the electronic camera body 1.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the display surface 5a of the finder 5 is slightly upward. When taking a picture with the position of the electronic camera body 1 lowered, the photographer can easily visually recognize the display surface 5a by turning the display surface 5a of the viewfinder 5 upward as described above.

If the viewfinder 5 is attached to the electronic camera body 1 with a known structure (for example, a click stop mechanism) that fixes the viewfinder 5 at a plurality of rotation angles, the electronic camera body 1 is stable when placed in the state shown in FIG. There is no risk of falling.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the viewfinder 5 is turned about 180 ° from the housed state and its display surface 5a faces the front of the electronic camera body 1 (the surface on which the taking lens 2 is attached).

At this time, when the display surface 5a is viewed from the front of the electronic camera body 1, the displayed image looks upside down and left and right. In order to enable this to be displayed correctly, two liquid crystal drive circuits are provided, one for normal display and the other for up / down / left / right inverted display. And
When the rotation angle of the finder 5 exceeds a certain value, the liquid crystal drive circuit may be switched for upside down, left and right display by a limit switch or the like so that upside down, left and right display is not performed.

It should be noted that the liquid crystal drive circuit for up / down / left / right reverse display may display only the upper and lower sides in reverse.

As described above, the display surface 5a of the viewfinder 5 can be viewed from the front of the electronic camera body 1, so that the composition, that is, its position on the photographing screen can be confirmed at the time of a shutter release operation using a so-called self-timer, which is convenient.

In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the display device 5 is rotatably attached to the electronic camera body 1 by a rotation shaft 6 near the side surface 1b of the electronic camera body 1 and parallel to the side surface 1b. I have.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the viewfinder 5 is housed in the electronic camera body 1.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the display surface 5a of the finder 5 is slightly leftward.

If the viewfinder 5 is attached to the electronic camera body 1 with a known structure (for example, a click stop mechanism) that is fixed at a plurality of rotation angles, the electronic camera is stable when the electronic camera is mounted in the state shown in FIG. This is convenient when shooting with the self-timer.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the viewfinder 5 is rotated about 180 ° from the stored state and its display surface 5a faces the front of the electronic camera body 1 (the surface on which the taking lens 2 is attached). As described above, the display surface 5a of the viewfinder 5 can be viewed from the front of the electronic camera body 1, so that it is convenient to check the composition, that is, the position of the camera itself on the photographing screen at the time of a shutter release operation using a so-called self-timer.

In order to view the display surface 5a from the front of the electronic camera body 1 as described above, two liquid crystal driving circuits are provided, one for normal display, the other for left and right inverted display,
When the rotation angle exceeds a predetermined value, the liquid crystal drive circuit may be switched for left-right reversed display by a limit switch or the like.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the display device 5 is rotatably attached to the electronic camera main body 1 at a position close to the upper surface 1a of the electronic camera main body 1 by a rotation axis parallel to the upper surface 1a. The side 5b of the viewfinder 5 is the side 1b of the electronic camera body 1.
And the same plane.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the display surface 5a of the finder 5 is slightly upward.

When taking a picture with the position of the electronic camera body 1 lowered, the photographer can easily visually recognize the display surface 5a by turning the display surface 5a of the viewfinder 5 upward as described above.

If the electronic camera is mounted on the electronic camera body 1 with a known structure (for example, a click stop mechanism) that fixes the finder 5 at a plurality of rotation angles, the electronic camera is stable when the electronic camera is mounted in the state shown in FIG. This is convenient when shooting with. Further, with the display surface 5a of the viewfinder 5 slightly upward as shown in FIG.
When the electronic camera is placed vertically, it is stable when the electronic camera is placed in the vertical position, and is convenient for self-timer shooting in the vertical position.

In all of the embodiments, the attachment of the electronic camera body 1 to the viewfinder 5 is a detachable number. For example, as shown in FIG. Can be used.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the rotation angle can be changed with the rotation axis near one side of the rectangular plate-shaped display device, the method of visually recognizing the finder can be easily changed.

Also, when the shutter is automatically pressed using a self-timer, the electronic camera body can be made independent.

Further, it is possible to eliminate the difficulty of seeing the viewfinder depending on the photographing position such as the eye level and the waist level.

In addition, if the electronic camera is attached to the electronic camera body 1 with a known structure (for example, a click stop mechanism) that fixes the finder at a plurality of rotation angles, the electronic camera is stable when the electronic camera is self-standing, and is convenient for shooting with a self-timer. It is.

Furthermore, when the viewfinder rotation angle is about 180 ° and the display screen is turned upside down, left and right, only up and down, or only left and right, it is possible to use the self-timer for self-timer shooting. In this case, it is possible to visually recognize the viewfinder from the front of the electronic camera and take a picture.

Further, according to the present invention, in the housed state (the rotation angle is 0 °), the electronic camera can be accommodated on the back surface of the electronic camera main body, which contributes to downsizing the electronic camera.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 are perspective views showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are perspective views showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. [Description of Signs of Main Parts] 1 ... Electronic camera body, 1a ... Top surface, 1b ... Side view, 5 ... Finder, 5a ... Display surface.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masaru Ota 1-6-3 Nishioi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Nikon Oi Works Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ryota Araki 1-6-3 Nishioi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Japan Inside Nikon Oi Works (72) Inventor Takao Ikuma 1-6-3 Nishioi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Nikon Oi Works Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-35329 (JP, A) JP-A-62-35329 36985 (JP, A) JP-A-63-153964 (JP, A) JP-A-1-106581 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/225

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A camera main body having an image pickup unit for picking up an image of a subject; a display surface for displaying a subject image picked up by the image pickup unit; and a display unit having a side surface substantially orthogonal to the display surface. In the electronic camera, the camera body includes a rotating unit having a rotating shaft that rotatably supports the display unit with respect to the camera body, and a storage unit that stores the display unit. The display unit forms a substantially continuous surface between the display surface and the outer surface of the camera body when stored in the storage unit, and forms the outermost part of the electronic camera together with the rotating unit. And at least the display surface and the side surface are exposed to the outside. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating shaft pivotally supports the display unit in a direction close to and parallel to the predetermined side surface of the display unit, and the display unit is stored in the storage unit. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein a side surface facing the predetermined side surface is exposed to the outside. 3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the storage section is provided on a maximum surface of the camera body. 4. A driving circuit for driving the display section, wherein the driving circuit displays a subject image to be displayed upside down or left and right in response to rotation of the display section. The electronic camera according to claim 1.