JP3882177B2 - camera - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a camera provided with electronic imaging means such as a digital camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A digital camera receives light from a subject with an imaging element via a photographing lens, converts it into an image signal and records it on a recording medium, so that external light or unnecessary light other than light from the subject is not received. It is necessary to shield the light from being received by the image sensor. There are also digital cameras equipped with an automatic light control strobe that detects the strobe light that hits the subject with a strobe light sensor and adjusts the amount of strobe light emitted. It is necessary to prevent the incident light from being incident. Therefore, a conventional digital camera uses a material that does not transmit light at all for the exterior body (camera housing, cabinet, case, cover, etc.).
[0003]
On the other hand, a silver salt camera is proposed in which the exterior body is made of a transparent material and the inside can be seen through (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-45708). In this silver salt camera, the camera body having a film chamber and the photographing function parts such as a shutter member and a film feeding member which are directly assembled to the camera body have a light shielding property and are arranged outside the photographing function parts. A structural member such as a film base plate for feeding a film, a gear retainer, and a battery block is made of a transparent material, and a transparent exterior body is provided outside the structural member. In addition, the light shielding to the film is made complete and the inside of the camera can be seen through as much as possible.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional silver halide camera is configured so that the camera body having the film chamber and the photographing functional parts are light-shielding, so even if the exterior body such as the front cover is made of a transparent material, it is almost the same as the camera exterior. Only the appearance can be seen, and by constructing a structural member such as a gear base plate arranged outside the imaging function component with a transparent material, the inside of the camera is first seen through the structural portion configured with the transparent material. It's just something you can do.
[0005]
On the other hand, the exterior body of the digital camera is made of a material that does not transmit light at all, and there is no digital camera through which the inside of the camera can be seen. Therefore, the image of the digital camera is exclusively solid, and it is difficult to photograph a natural expression and a soothing atmosphere when the subject is a person. In the case of an opaque exterior body, openings are provided in portions facing the optical system in the camera, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a light emitting element, and a protective transparent cover, a light guide, etc. are provided in these openings. There is a problem that the number of parts and assembly man-hours increase. In addition, batteries and recording media are indispensable for digital cameras, but if the exterior is opaque, you may not notice that the batteries or recording media are not installed until you take a picture, and you may miss a photo opportunity. There was also.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is that unnecessary light does not enter the optical system and the photoelectric conversion element of the camera, and the inside of the camera can be seen through, a hard image of the camera is eliminated, and a battery and a recording medium mounted in the camera It is in providing the camera which can confirm this through an exterior body.
Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to confirm light emitted from a light emitting element provided in a camera through an exterior body, thereby omitting a light guide and the like, and by emitting light from a plurality of light emitting elements. To provide a camera capable of displaying a camera state.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a camera equipped with an electronic imaging means, wherein an exterior body of the camera is formed of a light-transmitting resin so that the inside of the camera can be seen through, and through the exterior body. A lens barrel configured to have a light shielding property so that incident unnecessary light does not enter the optical system and photoelectric conversion element of the camera;
A light emitting display element constituting light emitting means of the camera, and a light guide for guiding light from the light emitting display element to the outside of the exterior body, and is fitted into a hole formed in a part of the exterior body A light guide,
A light blocking means is provided between the light guide and the exterior body so that light incident on the light guide from the light emitting display element does not enter the optical system and the photoelectric conversion element of the camera through the exterior body. It is a feature. As a result, even if the exterior body is transparent, unnecessary light from the outside of the camera and unnecessary light from the light emitting display element inside the camera do not enter the optical system and the photoelectric conversion element of the camera, and the function as a camera is maintained. On the other hand, the inside of the camera can be seen through, a hard image of the camera can be eliminated, and a natural expression of a person can be photographed. In addition, a recording medium, a battery, and the like mounted in the camera can be confirmed through the exterior body.
[0008]
According to another aspect of the present invention, in a camera provided with an electronic imaging means, the exterior body of the camera is formed of a light transmissive resin so that the inside of the camera can be seen through, and is incident through the exterior body. A lens barrel having light shielding properties so that unnecessary light does not enter the optical system and photoelectric conversion element of the camera, and the thickness of the exterior body facing the light emitting display element provided in the camera is different. It is characterized by being formed thinner than the thickness of the part. Accordingly, the light emitted from the light emitting display element can be confirmed through the exterior body without providing a light guide or the like on the exterior body, and in particular, the thickness of the exterior body at the portion facing the light emitting display element can be changed. Therefore, the transmitted light amount can be secured without reducing the strength of the exterior body, and the display portion can be identified from the surface of the exterior body.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a camera according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the camera according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views showing the internal configuration of the camera shown in FIG.
[0011]
As shown in these drawings, the camera mainly includes an exterior body (front cavity 10 and rear cavity 20), a lens / finder unit 30, a strobe unit 40, a recording media substrate 50, a main substrate 52, and a liquid crystal unit. 60.
The front cabinet 10 and the rear cabinet 20 are each formed of light transmissive resin with transparency. The light-transmitting resin is not limited to being colorless and transparent, but may be translucent or lightly colored. In short, any resin can be used as long as the inside of the camera can be seen through.
[0012]
4 to 7 are a front view, a rear view, a right side view, and a bottom view of the front cabinet 10, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a lens protective cover 11 and a grip rubber 12 are attached to the front surface of the front cabinet 10.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a finder hood 14 is welded to the inside of the front cabinet 10 via a finder cover 13, and an iris switching lever 15 is dropped into the front cabinet 10. 16 is welded, and a light guide 17 and a battery holder 18 are welded.
[0013]
The light guide 17 guides light from the subject to a strobe light control sensor, and a cylindrical protrusion 17A is fitted into the hole of the front cavity 10.
The battery holder 18 constitutes a battery housing with the front cabinet 10. A part of the front cabinet 10 constituting the battery housing is formed with a rib 10A for guiding the battery and reinforcing the housing as shown in FIG. 7, but the rib 10A or the front cabinet 10 Other ribs and bosses formed can be seen through the front cabinet 10 and also function as an internal design of the camera. Further, a battery cover 19 is disposed on the bottom surface of the front cabinet 10 so as to be freely opened and closed by a support shaft 19A. The battery cover 19 is also formed of the same light-transmitting resin as the front cabinet 10.
[0014]
8 to 12 are a front view, a rear view, a right side view, a left side view, and a plan view of the rear cabinet 20, respectively. As shown in these drawings, one end of a cantilever-like key top 21 of a shutter release button is welded to the rear cabinet 20 and light from a light emitting diode (not shown) for displaying the state in the camera. A light guide 22 is welded, and a power switch knob 23 is slidably disposed. This camera uses a memory card (smart media (SSFDC)) as a recording medium, but the rear cabinet 20 is provided with a card cover 24 that opens and closes a card insertion slot of the memory card. The card cover 24 is made of the same light transmissive resin as the rear cabinet 20.
[0015]
Reference numeral 25 denotes a display window facing the display unit of the liquid crystal display (LCD) 61 with backlight of the liquid crystal unit 60 (FIG. 3), and 26A to 26D denote an erase button, a mode button, a strobe button, and an execution button, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8, corresponding characters and marks are printed on the upper portions of these openings 26A to 26D, respectively. Since these letters and marks are printed on the portion of the LCD 61 where light from the backlight leaks, they are illuminated from the inside of the rear cabinet 20 and can be read in the dark.
[0016]
The lens / finder unit 30 includes a lens barrel 33 provided with a lens 31, a diaphragm mechanism, and an image pickup device 32, and a finder 34 including an objective lens 34A and an eyepiece lens 34B provided above the lens barrel 33. ing. Reference numeral 32A denotes a lever for switching between two large and small apertures (not shown). The lever 32A is connected to an iris switching lever 15 provided in the front cabinet 10. Further, the lens barrel 33 is configured to have a light shielding property so that light incident through the front cabinet 10 and the rear cabinet 20 does not enter from the side of the lens barrel 33.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, the strobe unit 40 includes a strobe substrate 52, a strobe main body 44 having a discharge tube, a storage portion 46 for holding the strobe main body 44 in a retractable manner, and the like. The top surface of the strobe body 44 (the surface that is flush with the top surface of the front cabinet 10 when housed) is formed of the same light-transmitting resin as the front cabinet 10. The storage part 46 is formed of a light shielding member.
[0018]
2, the lens / finder unit 30, the strobe unit 40, the recording media substrate 50, the main substrate 52, and the like are fixed to the front cabinet 10. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, 53 is a buzzer, 54 is a contact piece connected to a battery, 55 is a shutter release switch, and 56 is a card connector to which a memory card is attached.
[0019]
On the other hand, a liquid crystal unit 60 and the like are fixed to the rear cabinet 20 as shown in FIG. On the substrate of the liquid crystal unit 60, the LCD 61 with a backlight is provided as described above, and a power switch, an erasing button, a mode button, and a strobe that are turned on / off based on the slide operation of the power switch knob 23 are provided. A button and an execution button are provided. Further, the flash body 44 of the flash unit 40 pops up in conjunction with the slide operation of the power switch knob 23.
[0020]
Then, the assembly of the camera is completed by assembling and fixing the front cabinet 10 and the rear cabinet 20. As shown in FIG. 1, a slit (card insertion slot) 27 is formed between the front cabinet 10 and the rear cabinet 20, and by inserting a memory card from the card insertion slot 27, the memory card is connected to the card connector. 56 can be attached.
[0021]
Next, a description will be given of a light shielding means for shielding light from the strobe so that it does not enter the strobe light control sensor in the camera, its light guide 17 or the lens 31 and the image sensor 32 through the front cavity 10.
FIG. 13 is a side view including a partial cross section in the vicinity of the flash unit, and shows a state in which the flash main body 44 is popped up.
[0022]
As shown in the figure, a part of the flash from the strobe body 44 includes an end surface 10B of the front cavity 10 located in front of the strobe body 44 and a back surface 10C of the front cavity 10 located in front of the strobe body 44 (see FIG. 5). In the present invention, the end face 10B and the back face 10C of the front cavity 10 are subjected to a light shielding process.
[0023]
In addition to the method of shading by masking coating, the shading treatment includes a method of shading by adding another light-shielding member (resin, paper, metal), a method of shading by silk printing, and a light-shielding material. A method of light shielding by multiple molding, a method of light shielding by insert molding of a light shielding material, a method of shielding light by making the surface a diffusive shape (texture or curve), a method of shielding light by thickening, and the like are conceivable.
[0024]
Since the storage portion 46 for storing the strobe body 44 is formed by the light shielding member as described with reference to FIG. 2, the flash does not leak into the camera from here. In this way, a part of the front cabinet 10 (the end surface 10B and the back surface 10C) is subjected to a light shielding process, and a part of the front cabinet 10 is made substantially equivalent to an opaque cabinet, so The strobe light control sensor, the light guide 17 thereof, the lens 31, and the image sensor 32 are prevented from entering. The strobe is not limited to the movable type as described above, but may be a fixed type.
[0025]
The light emitting means is not limited to the strobe, but also includes light emitting display elements such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), display tubes, and lamps arranged in the vicinity of the light receiving elements. In this case as well, light from the light emitting display elements is received. The light is shielded so as not to enter the element.
That is, as shown in FIG. 14, the light guide 72 is inserted into a hole formed in a part of the transparent mold 70, and the light of the LED 76 attached to the substrate 74 is guided to the outside of the transparent mold 70 through the light guide 72. In this case, a light blocking means 78 is provided between the transparent cabinet 70 and the light guide 72 so that the light from the LED 76 does not enter the light receiving element through the transparent cabinet 70.
[0026]
Although the light from the LED 74 can be seen without attaching the light guide 72 to the transparent mold 70, the light shielding means 78 can be provided by attaching the light guide 72, and the transparent mold 70 is semi-transparent. Or even if it is colored, the amount of transmitted light can be secured.
In this embodiment, since the front mold 10 and the rear mold 20 are formed by using a light transmitting resin using an existing mold, the light of the lens protective cover 11, the finder cover 13, and the light emitting diode is guided. Although the light guide 22 and the display window 25 of the LCD 61 are separately provided in the front cabinet 10 and the rear cabinet 20, the present invention is not limited to this, and a transparent member provided in the exterior body can be provided by using a mold exclusively for the transparent exterior body. They can be integrally formed, and the number of parts and assembly man-hours can be reduced.
[0027]
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the light of the LED 88 attached to the substrate 86 through the transparent molds 80, 82, and 84 can be seen from the outside. However, the transparent mold 80, 82, and 84 of this embodiment uses the light of the LED 88. The thickness of the part to be permeated is formed thinner than the thickness of the other part. Thereby, a sufficient amount of transmitted light can be secured without reducing the overall strength of the transparent mold. Further, the thin part can be identified from other parts (identified as a display part).
[0028]
The transparent mold 80 shown in FIG. 15 (A) is formed into a plano-concave shape when viewed from the outside of the transparent mold 80 to reduce the wall thickness. The transparent mold 82 shown in FIG. The thickness of the transparent cabinet 84 shown in FIG. 4C is reduced by forming it to be concave when viewed from the outside of the transparent cabinet 84. Yes.
[0029]
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the light of the plurality of LEDs 94A to 94E attached to the substrate 92 can be viewed from the outside through the transparent cabinet 90, and in particular, the camera state can be displayed by the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs 94A to 94E. I have to.
For example, during recording, the plurality of LEDs 94A to 94E are blinked in a constant pattern, or the plurality of LEDs 94A to 94E are sequentially lit or blinked from the start to the end of recording. Not only the recording operation of the camera but also the strobe charging state, the remaining battery level and the charging state can be displayed. Further, the number of the plurality of light emitting elements is not limited to this embodiment, and the arrangement of the plurality of light emitting elements is not limited to a straight line, and may be arranged in a circle, for example.
[0030]
In addition, according to the transparent mold, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom of the mounting position of the light emitting element on the substrate is increased. That is, in the case of an opaque mold, it is necessary to make a hole in a part of the opaque mold so that the light emitting element can be seen from the outside, insert a transparent member (light guide) in that part, and further align with the substrate. However, if it is a transparent mold, it can be emitted from almost anywhere.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the camera of the present invention, the exterior body is formed of a light transmissive resin, and the light shielding means is provided between the light emitting means of the camera and the exterior body on which light from the light emitting means is incident. As a result, the inside of the camera can be seen through while maintaining the function as a camera, the hard image of the camera can be eliminated, and the battery and recording medium mounted in the camera can be confirmed through the exterior body. . Furthermore, the transparent member conventionally provided in the opaque exterior body can be integrally formed with the exterior body, and the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be reduced.
[0032]
In addition, according to the present invention, since only the thickness of the exterior body of the part facing the light emitting means provided in the camera is formed thinner than the thickness of the other part, the amount of transmitted light can be reduced without reducing the strength of the exterior body. It can be secured, and the display portion can be identified from the surface of the exterior body. Further, since the exterior body is transparent, it is suitable for providing a plurality of display elements in the camera, and the camera state can be displayed by light emission of the plurality of light emitting elements.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an internal configuration of a camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an internal configuration of a camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front view of a front cavity of a camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a rear view of the front cavity of the camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a right side view of the front cabinet of the camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the front cavity of the camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a front view of a rear cabinet according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a rear view of a rear cabinet according to the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a right side view of a rear cabinet according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a left side view of a rear cabinet according to the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of a rear cabinet according to the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a side view including a partial cross section near the strobe unit.
FIG. 14 is a diagram used for explaining a light shielding unit between a transparent mold and a light guide for guiding light to an LED.
FIG. 15 is a diagram used for explaining the shape of a transparent mold facing an LED;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged facing a transparent mold.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Front cabinet 17, 22, 72 ... Light guide 19 ... Battery cover 20 ... Rear cabinet 24 ... Card cover 25 ... Display window 27 ... Slit (card insertion slot)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Lens / finder unit 31 ... Lens 32 ... Imaging device 33 ... Lens barrel 40 ... Strobe unit 44 ... Strobe body 46 ... Storage part 50 ... Recording media board 52 ... Main board 70, 80, 82, 84, 90 ... Transparent mold 76, 88, 94A-94E ... LED
78. Shading means

Claims (6)

In a camera equipped with electronic imaging means,
The exterior body of the camera is formed of a light transmissive resin so that the inside of the camera can be seen through,
A lens barrel configured to have a light shielding property so that unnecessary light incident through the exterior body does not enter the optical system and the photoelectric conversion element of the camera;
A light emitting display element constituting light emitting means of the camera, and a light guide for guiding light from the light emitting display element to the outside of the exterior body, and is fitted into a hole formed in a part of the exterior body A light guide,
A light blocking means is provided between the light guide and the exterior body so that light incident on the light guide from the light emitting display element does not enter the optical system and the photoelectric conversion element of the camera through the exterior body. Features a camera.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the optical system is a lens, and the photoelectric conversion element is an imaging element.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding means is masking paint, light shielding paper, or a light shielding member. In a camera equipped with electronic imaging means,
The exterior body of the camera is formed of a light transmissive resin so that the inside of the camera can be seen through,
A lens barrel configured to have a light shielding property so that unnecessary light incident through the exterior body does not enter the optical system and the photoelectric conversion element of the camera;
A camera characterized in that a thickness of the exterior body facing a light emitting display element provided in the camera is thinner than a thickness of other portions. The camera according to claim 1 or 4 , wherein a recording medium mounted in the camera can be confirmed through the exterior body. Wherein a portion of the outer body as part of the battery housing, according to claim 1 or 4 of the camera is characterized in that to be able to verify in said housing through said outer body.

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