JP3849419B2 - camera - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, a camera includes a strobe light emitting unit in order to give a sufficient amount of light to a subject.
FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are diagrams showing an example thereof. The camera includes a camera body 1. A photographing lens 2 that forms an image of a subject, a finder 3 that visually recognizes a photographing range of the subject, and a distance to the subject are measured on the front surface of the camera body 1. A distance measuring sensor 4 is provided. Further, a shutter button 5 for opening the shutter of the photographing lens 2 and a pop-up strobe light emitting unit 6 are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 1. The pop-up strobe light emitting unit 6 includes a light source and a reflector, is provided so as to be able to appear and retract in a storage recess 7 provided on the upper surface of the camera body 1, and protrudes upward from the storage recess 7 of the camera body 1. Thus, the light source emits light, and the light is reflected by the reflector, thereby condensing the stroboscopic light and irradiating the subject.
[0003]
In such a camera, when the subject is photographed, the strobe light emitting unit 6 is previously projected upward from the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1, and when the shutter button 5 is pressed halfway in this state, the distance measuring sensor 4 reaches the subject. When the shutter button 5 is fully pressed in this state, the strobe light emitting unit 6 emits light and collects strobe light on the subject. While irradiating with light, the shutter opens and an image of the subject is formed on the photosensitive film by the photographing lens 2, thereby photographing the subject.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a camera, the strobe light from the strobe light emitting unit 6 is condensed and irradiated on the subject during normal shooting when the subject is at a long distance. Therefore, the strobe light emitting unit as the camera body 1 approaches the subject. The strobe light from 6 is less diffused and the subject cannot be illuminated uniformly. That is, when the subject is photographed at a short distance, the strobe light from the strobe light emitting unit 6 strikes a part of the subject strongly, resulting in a whiteout image or depending on the positional relationship between the photographing lens 2 and the strobe light emitting unit 6. Problems such as the shadow of the taking lens 2 entering the subject occur.
[0005]
In order to solve such a problem, conventionally, it has been considered to switch the light irradiation state between normal long-distance shooting and short-distance shooting. However, since such a switching means has a structure for changing the direction of the strobe light emitting part or a structure for moving the dimming diffuser to the front surface of the strobe light emitting part, the pop-up type strobe light emitting part 6 is provided. It is difficult to incorporate into existing cameras. For this reason, a camera using such a switching means requires a significant design change, which causes problems such as an increase in the size of the entire camera, an increase in the number of parts, and an increase in manufacturing costs.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily switch a light irradiation state between normal long-distance photographing and short-distance photographing with a simple structure without requiring a significant design change.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a camera main body, a photographing lens provided on the camera main body for forming an image of a subject, a strobe light emitting unit that can be projected and retracted in the camera main body and emits light during photographing, and the strobe light emitting unit. Diffusing means for diffusing strobe light emitted in a state of being housed in the camera body toward a subject, the diffusing means being provided near the outer periphery of the photographing lens, and the camera body And a light guide unit that guides the strobe light from the strobe light emitting unit housed in the strobe light to the diffusing member. The strobe light emitting unit has a strobe light when housed in the camera body and emits light. A light-shielding protrusion extended to cover the front side of the camera body of the light guide means is provided to prevent light from leaking outside the camera body. To. According to the present invention, since the strobe light emitting part is provided in the camera body so that it can be projected and retracted, by projecting the strobe light emitting part from the camera body, normal long-distance flash photography can be performed. If the strobe flash unit emits light while it is housed in the camera, the strobe light can be diffused by the diffusing means to illuminate the subject, so that the subject can be illuminated almost evenly even when the camera body is close to the subject. Accordingly, it is possible to perform strobe shooting at a short distance in which the light irradiation state is different from that for long distance shooting, and it is possible to easily switch the light irradiation state between normal long distance shooting and short distance shooting.
[0008]
In this case, as described in claim 2, the light guide means includes a light guide member that guides strobe light to the diffusion member, and a total reflection surface or a reflection plate is provided on at least a part of the light guide member. Then, the strobe light can be reliably and satisfactorily guided to the diffusing member. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, if the diffusing unit is a diffusing member provided from the strobe light emitting unit housed in the camera body to the vicinity of the outer periphery of the photographing lens, Since it is only necessary to provide a diffusing member, the number of parts is small and the structure becomes very simple.
[0009]
Further, as described in claim 3, if a light reducing member is interposed between the strobe light emitting unit housed in the camera body and the diffusing means, the light reducing member removes the light from the strobe light emitting unit. The strobe light can be dimmed, so that the amount of light can be switched between normal long-distance shooting and short-distance shooting. In addition, as described in claim 6, if the strobe light emitting unit is provided at a location above the photographing lens in the camera body, the strobe light emitting unit can be brought close to the photographing lens, thereby Since the diffusing means can be configured compactly, it is possible to prevent an increase in the size of the camera body.
[0010]
Further, as described in claim 6, when it is determined that the distance measuring means for measuring the distance from the camera body to the subject and the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring means is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. And a control unit that stores the strobe light emitting unit in the camera body, so that the control unit stores the strobe light emitting unit in the camera body if the distance to the subject is less than a predetermined distance during shooting. Can be automatically taken at close range. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the control means automatically makes a normal operation by causing the strobe light emitting unit to protrude outside the camera body when it is determined that the distance to the subject is not less than a predetermined distance. Long-distance photography.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a camera according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those in the conventional example shown in FIG. 9 and FIG.
This camera has a structure including a diffusing unit 10 that diffuses strobe light from the strobe light emitting unit 6 housed in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1 from the vicinity of the outer periphery of the photographic lens 2. It has almost the same structure.
That is, the diffusing unit 10 transmits the stroboscopic light from the ring-shaped diffusing plate 11 provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the photographing lens 2 and the strobe light emitting unit 6 accommodated in the accommodating recess 7 of the camera body 1 to the diffusing plate 11. It is comprised from the light guide member 12 led to.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the diffusion plate 11 is provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion on the front surface side of the photographing lens 2, and the strobe light guided by the light guide member 12 is transmitted from the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the photographing lens 2 to the subject. It diffuses towards
The light guide member 12 is made of a transparent synthetic resin such as acrylic or polycarbonate, and has an inclined portion 13 that is inclined from the strobe light emitting portion 6 housed in the housing recessed portion 7 of the camera body 1 toward the upper outer periphery of the photographing lens 2. The ring portion 14 corresponding to the back surface of the diffusion plate 11 is integrally formed. In this case, the upper end portion 13 a of the inclined portion 13 is formed in a shape that closely contacts the front surface (lower surface in FIG. 2) that is the light emitting surface of the strobe light emitting unit 6 housed in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1. Has been. Further, on the outer surface of the light guide member 12, an upper end surface 13a of the inclined portion 13 that is a light incident surface and a front surface (left side surface in FIG. 2) facing the diffusion plate 11 of the ring portion 14 that is a light emitting surface. Except for this, a reflector 15 is provided.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 3, the strobe light emitting unit 6 is attached to a support shaft 16 that is rotatably provided in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1, and is vertically moved around the support shaft 16 by a drive mechanism 17. By rotating, it is configured to be housed in the housing recess 7 so as to appear and retract. In this case, the drive mechanism 17 includes a strobe motor 20, a drive gear 21 provided on the output shaft 20 a of the strobe motor 20, a driven gear 22 provided on the support shaft 16, and rotation of the drive gear 21 as a driven gear. When the strobe motor 20 rotates in the forward direction, the strobe light emitting unit 6 is rotated upward about the support shaft 16 to project upward from the housing recess 7, and the strobe motor When the 20 rotates in the reverse direction, the strobe light emitting unit 6 is rotated downward about the support shaft 16 and stored in the storage recess 7.
[0014]
Next, the circuit configuration of this camera will be described with reference to FIG.
In this figure, a CPU 25 is a central processing unit that controls the operation of the entire camera in accordance with an operation program stored in storage means (not shown). The CPU 25 is connected to a shutter switch 26, a shutter drive unit 27, a distance measuring sensor 4, a strobe light emission drive unit 28, and a strobe motor drive unit 29, which are input / output peripheral devices. , Control their behavior. In this case, the shutter switch 26 is operated in accordance with a two-step pressing operation of the shutter button 5, that is, a half-pressed state where the shutter button 5 is pressed about half and a full-pressed state where the shutter button 5 is fully pressed. Each outputs a switch signal. The shutter drive unit 27 provides a drive signal to a shutter drive motor 30 that drives a shutter (not shown). The strobe light emission drive unit 28 gives a drive signal to the strobe light emission unit 6 to cause the strobe light emission unit 6 to emit light. The strobe motor drive unit 29 gives a drive signal to the strobe motor 20 to rotate the strobe motor 20 forward or backward.
[0015]
Next, an operation flow in the shooting mode of such a camera will be described with reference to FIG.
First, when photographing a subject, the camera body 1 is pointed toward the subject, and it is determined whether or not the shutter button 5 has been half-pressed in this state (step S1). At this time, if the shutter button 5 is not pressed, it waits until it is half-pressed, and when the shutter button 5 is half-pressed, the shutter switch 26 outputs the first stage switch signal, and the measurement is performed based on this. The distance sensor 4 measures the distance to the subject (step S2). Then, the focus of the photographing lens 2 is automatically adjusted based on the measurement value measured by the distance measuring sensor 4, and it is determined whether the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring sensor 4 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. (Step S3).
[0016]
When it is determined that the short-distance shooting is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, a drive command is given to the strobe motor driving unit 29, and the strobe motor driving unit 29 drives the strobe motor 20 to rotate in reverse. The strobe light emitting unit 6 is stored in the storage recess 7 (step S4). At this time, if the strobe light emitting unit 6 is already stored in the storage recess 7, the strobe motor driving unit 29 does not drive the strobe motor 20.
[0017]
In this state, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 5 is fully pressed (step S5). If the shutter button 5 is not fully pressed, the process waits until the shutter button 5 is fully pressed. Outputs a switch signal at the second stage, and based on this, the strobe light emission drive unit 28 gives a drive signal to the strobe light emission unit 6 to cause the strobe light emission unit 6 to emit light (step S6). At this time, since the strobe light emitting section 6 emits light while being housed in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1, the emitted strobe light is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light guide member 12 of the diffusing means 10. Is guided to the diffusion plate 11 and diffused from the diffusion plate 11 toward the subject. When the strobe light emitting unit 6 emits light, the shutter drive unit 27 gives a drive signal to the shutter driving motor 30, opens the shutter, and performs short-distance flash photography (step S7).
[0018]
By the way, when it is determined in step S3 that the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring sensor 4 is not equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the strobe motor driving unit 29 drives the strobe motor 20 to perform normal rotation. The strobe light emitting unit 6 is projected above the housing recess 7 (step S8). At this time, if the strobe light emitting unit 6 has already protruded above the housing recess 7, the strobe motor driving unit 29 does not drive the strobe motor 20. After this, the process returns to step S5 to determine whether or not the shutter button 5 has been fully pressed, and when the shutter button 5 is fully pressed, the strobe light emitting unit 6 protruding above the housing recess 7 is caused to emit light to the subject. The strobe light is irradiated (step S6). Then, the shutter drive unit 27 gives a drive signal to the motor 30 for driving the shutter, opens the shutter, performs normal long-distance flash photography (step S7), and ends this operation flow.
[0019]
As described above, according to this camera, the strobe light emitting unit 6 protrudes upward from the housing recess 7 of the camera main body 1 to perform normal long-distance strobe photography. When the strobe light emitting unit 6 emits light while being housed in the housing recess 7, the strobe light is guided to the diffusion plate 11 by the light guide member 12 of the diffusing means 10, diffused by the diffusion plate 11, and irradiated to the subject. Therefore, even when the camera body 1 is brought close to the subject, the subject can be illuminated almost uniformly, so that short-distance flash photography with a different light irradiation state with respect to long-distance photography can be performed. In this case, the distance to the subject is measured by the distance measuring sensor 4, and it is determined whether the measured distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Based on the determination, the strobe light emitting unit 6 is placed in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1. By appearing and disappearing, it is possible to automatically switch between normal long-distance shooting and short-distance shooting, thereby obtaining a user-friendly one.
[0020]
Further, in this camera, it is only necessary to provide the camera body 1 with the diffusing plate 11 and the light guide member 12 as the diffusing means 10, so that no significant design change is required and the pop-up strobe light emitting unit 6 is provided. It is only necessary to incorporate the diffusion means 10 into the existing camera body 1, and the structure is simple. In this case, since the diffusing plate 11 is provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion on the front surface of the photographing lens 2, the strobe light guided from the strobe light emitting unit 6 can be diffused from the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the photographing lens 2, For this reason, even when the camera body 1 is brought close to the subject, the subject can be evenly illuminated, so that the strobe light strikes a part of the subject and becomes a whiteout image, or the subject takes the photographing lens 2. The subject can be photographed satisfactorily without shadows.
[0021]
Further, in this camera, since the strobe light from the strobe light emitting unit 6 is guided to the diffusion plate 11 by the light guide member 12, the strobe light emitting unit 6 can be installed at any position of the camera body 1 and guided. Since the reflector 15 is provided on the outer surface of the optical member 12 except for the upper end surface 13a of the inclined portion 13 that is the light incident surface and the front surface of the ring portion 14 that is the light emitting surface, the strobe light is diffused. It can be reliably and efficiently guided to the plate 11. Furthermore, since the strobe light emitting unit 6 is provided at a position above the photographing lens 2 in the camera body 1, the strobe light emitting unit 6 can be brought close to the photographing lens 2, and thus the inclined portion of the light guide member 12. Since 13 can be formed to a minimum size, the light guide member 12 and the diffusion plate 11 can be configured in a compact manner, thereby preventing an increase in the size of the camera body 1.
[0022]
In the above embodiment, the reflecting plate 15 is provided on the outer surface of the light guide member 12 except for the upper end surface 13a of the inclined portion 13 that is the light incident surface and the front surface of the ring portion 14 that is the light emitting surface. However, it is not always necessary to provide the reflecting plate 15, except for the upper end surface 13 a of the inclined portion 13 that is the light incident surface of the light guide member 12 and the front surface of the ring portion 14 that is the light emitting surface. The outer peripheral surface may be formed as a total reflection surface. In addition, the light guide member 12 may be a bundle of optical fibers that are not easily limited in shape, or may be a simple cavity.
[0023]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, it comprises so that the upper end surface 13a of the inclination part 13 of the light guide member 12 may closely_contact | adhere directly to the front surface which is the light emission surface of the strobe light emission part 6 accommodated in the storage recessed part 7 of the camera main body 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a part of the strobe light from the strobe light emitting part 6 is transmitted to the upper end surface 13 a of the inclined part 13 of the light guide member 12 and the rest is cut off. The structure provided with the optical member 35 may be sufficient. If comprised in this way, the strobe light from strobe light emission part 6 can be reduced by the light reduction member 35, and, thereby, light quantity can also be switched by normal long distance photography and short distance photography.
[0024]
In the above embodiment, the upper end surface 13 a of the inclined portion 13 of the light guide member 12 is simply in close contact with the front surface that is the light emitting surface of the strobe light emitting unit 6 housed in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the strobe light emitting unit 6 is provided with a light-shielding projection 36 and the strobe light emitting unit 6 is housed in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1. When the light is emitted, the light blocking projection 36 may prevent the strobe light from leaking outside the camera body 1. According to this configuration, since the strobe light does not leak to the outside during the close-up shooting due to the light shielding projection 36, the close-up flash shooting can be performed satisfactorily.
[0025]
Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the spreading | diffusion means 10 is comprised by the diffusion plate 11 and the light guide member 12, it is not restricted to this, For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a diffusion part and a light guide part are integrated. A structure in which the formed diffusing member 37 is provided from the strobe light emitting unit 6 housed in the housing recess 7 of the camera body 1 to the vicinity of the outer periphery of the photographing lens 2 may be employed. Also in this case, it is desirable that the reflection plate 15 or the total reflection surface is provided on the outer surface of the diffusion member 37 except for the light incident surface and the light diffusion surface. With such a structure, the number of parts can be further reduced, and only the diffusing member 37 needs to be provided in the camera body 1, so that the structure becomes extremely simple.
In the above-described embodiment, the film-type camera using the photosensitive film has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to an electronic camera or a video camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the strobe light emitting part is provided in the camera body so that it can be projected and retracted, by projecting the strobe light emitting part from the camera body, normal long-distance flash photography can be performed. If the flash unit emits light with the flash unit housed in the camera body, the strobe light can be diffused by the diffusing means to irradiate the subject. It can illuminate evenly, and this makes it possible to perform strobe shooting at short distances with different light irradiation conditions compared to long-distance shooting, and easily switch the light irradiation state between normal long-distance shooting and short-distance shooting. it can. In addition, a light-shielding protrusion is provided to prevent strobe light from leaking outside the camera body when it is stored in the camera body and emits light. This light-shielding protrusion prevents strobe light from leaking when shooting at close range. Therefore, it is possible to perform strobe photography at a close distance.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external front view showing an embodiment of a camera of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view in which a part of FIG. 1 is broken.
3 is an enlarged view showing a drive mechanism of a strobe light emitting unit in FIG. 2. FIG.
4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the camera in FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is a view showing an operation flow in a shooting mode of the camera of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a first modification of the camera of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a second modification of the camera of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a third modification of the camera of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an external front view of a conventional camera.
10 is a side view of FIG. 9. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera body 2 Shooting lens 4 Distance sensor 5 Shutter button 6 Strobe light emission part 10 Diffusion means 11 Diffusion plate 12 Light guide member 15 Reflection plate 17 Drive mechanism 20 Strobe motor 25 CPU
28 Strobe light emission drive unit 29 Strobe motor drive unit 35 Dimming member 36 Shading protrusion 37 Diffusion member

Claims (7)

The camera body,
A photographic lens for forming an image of a subject provided in the camera body, a strobe light emitting unit provided so as to be able to appear and disappear in the camera body, and emitting light at the time of photographing;
Diffusing means for diffusing strobe light emitted while the strobe light emitting unit is housed in the camera body toward the subject ,
The diffusing unit includes a diffusing member provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the photographing lens, and a light guiding unit that guides strobe light from the strobe light emitting unit housed in the camera body to the diffusing member. And
The strobe light emitting unit extends so as to cover the front side of the camera body of the light guide means for preventing strobe light from leaking outside the camera body when it is housed in the camera body and emits light. A light-shielding protrusion is provided . The light guiding means comprises guide members for guiding the strobe light to the diffusing member, according to claim 1, wherein the total reflection surface or a reflection plate is provided on at least a portion of the light guide member Camera. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the diffusing unit is a diffusing member provided from the strobe light emitting unit housed in the camera body to the vicinity of the outer periphery of the photographing lens. The camera according to claim 1 , wherein a dimming member is interposed between the strobe light emitting unit housed in the camera body and the diffusing unit. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the strobe light emitting unit is provided at a position of the camera body located above the photographing lens. Distance measuring means for measuring the distance from the camera body to the subject, and when the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring means is determined to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the strobe light emitting unit is placed in the camera body. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that stores the camera. The camera according to claim 6, wherein when the distance to the subject is determined to be not less than a predetermined distance, the control unit causes the strobe light emitting unit to protrude outside the camera body.

Images