JPH028267Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a strobe light emitter built into a foldable camera that can be folded into a compact size, and more particularly to a strobe light emitter that can be folded thinly together with the camera body.

For example, in the case of instant cameras that use large film and require a relatively long distance between the lens and the film surface, it is possible to fold the lens so that the lens mounting part approaches the film surface. It is desirable to make it portable. Therefore, various folding structures have heretofore been adopted, particularly for instant cameras. Conventionally, as one type of foldable camera, a front cover that holds a photographic optical system and covers an opening on the front of the camera body is pivotally attached to the camera body so that the opening can be freely opened and closed. It has been proposed that when the front cover is closed, the space between the photographing optical system and the camera body is folded, and when the front cover is opened, the photographing optical system is ready for photographing. In a foldable camera having such a structure, when the front cover is closed, the front cover is overlapped with the camera body, so that the entire camera becomes thin and flat.

When a strobe light emitter is built into a folding camera like the one above, considering the compact design of the camera, a notch is provided near the base end of the swinging front cover, and the strobe light is inserted into this notch. Preferably, a light emitter is arranged. However, if the strobe light emitter is arranged in this way, when the front cover is closed and the camera is folded as described above, the strobe light emitter will protrude from the top of the front cover, so the camera body can be folded flat. The effect will be halved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a strobe light emitter that can be applied to a folding camera and housed within the camera body when the camera is folded.

The strobe light emitter of the foldable camera of this invention is
As mentioned above, a notch is provided in a part of the front cover that is pivotally attached to the camera body, and the strobe emitter body is placed within this notch. It is configured to be rotatable between a storage position where it is almost flush with the front cover and a use position where the light emitting surface protrudes from the front cover and faces almost the same direction as the photographing optical system, and one end is placed in front of the front cover. It is rotatably supported by the camera body around a rotation axis parallel to the pivot axis of the lid, and the other end moves along a guide groove provided in the front lid in conjunction with opening and closing of the front lid. A rotary lever is attached to slide, and the relative movement between the other end of the rotary lever and the guide groove of the front cover allows the strobe light emitter body to be moved when the front cover is opened. The device is characterized by being provided with a mechanism for rotating the device so as to take the above-mentioned use position when the front cover is closed and to take the above-mentioned storage position when the front cover is closed.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 to 4 show a foldable camera equipped with a strobe light emitter according to an embodiment of the present invention in order from the folded state to the ready state for photographing, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the camera in a state where it can take pictures. The following description will be made mainly with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. This foldable camera is, for example, a so-called instant camera that uses self-processing photographic film.
As shown in FIG. 4, the front side 2 of the camera body 1
is provided with an opening 3 through which exposure light passes, and this opening 3 is opened and closed by a front cover 5 which is swingable about a swing shaft (pivot) 4. That is, the front lid 5 is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section by a front plate 6 that can face the opening 3, and side plates 7 and 7' joined to the right and left side ends of the front plate 6, respectively. A swinging device configured such that one end of the side plates 7, 7' (upper end in this example) extends in the left-right direction of the camera body 1 parallel to the film support surface 57 of the camera body 1 (see FIG. 5). It is supported by a shaft 4 and is swingable in the direction of arrow A in the figure. An arcuate guide groove 8 that is convex toward the front plate 6 is carved on the inner surface of the side plate 7.
The end of the front lid 5 on the tip side is a guide portion 9 extending in the longitudinal direction of the side plate 7. Further, on the inner surface of the side plate 7 on the tip side of the front cover 5 with respect to the guide groove 8, a guide portion 10 is formed, which extends in the longitudinal direction of the side plate 7, and the end on the tip side of the front cover 5 is bent toward the front plate 6 side. A sliding guide groove 11 is carved therein.

Near the lower end of the opening 3, the camera body 1 has a rotating lever (1) whose one end (lower end) is pivotally supported by a rotating shaft 12 parallel to the swinging shaft 4, and which is rotatable in the direction of arrow B in the figure. A stay) 13 is attached. Near the other end (upper end) of this rotary lever 13, an engaging protrusion 14 whose both ends protrude inwardly and outwardly from the lever 13 is fixedly provided. The rotating lever 13 is disposed inside the side plate 7, and the outwardly projecting portion of the engagement projection 14 is engaged with the guide groove 8 of the side plate 7. Therefore, the rotating lever 1
3, when the front cover 5 is swung to open the opening 3, the engagement protrusion 14 moves within the guide groove 8 and rotates so that the upper end moves away from the opening 3.

A slide member 15 formed in a plate shape, for example, is disposed inside the side plate 7, and a rotation shaft 16 fixed perpendicularly to the side plate 7 is provided on the surface of the slide member 15 on the side plate 7 side. A lock lever 17 is attached so as to be rotatable around (see Fig. 6).
The lock lever 17 has a pin 18 that protrudes outward (to the side plate 7 side) and inward at the end on the tip side of the slide member 15, and the outwardly protruding portion of the pin 18 serves as a guide protrusion 19. The inwardly projecting portion extends to the inside of the slide member 15 through an opening 20 provided in the slide member 15. The guide protrusion 19 is connected to the sliding guide groove 11 of the side plate 7.
The sliding member 15 is engaged with this sliding guide groove 1.
1 and is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the side plate 7 (in the direction of arrow C). The lock lever 17 has a torsion spring 2 disposed around the rotation shaft 16.
1 biases the guide protrusion 10 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a long hole 22 is provided near the rear end of the slide member 15 and extends approximately perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the slide member 15. The inner end of the engagement protrusion 14 of the movable lever 13 is engaged. Therefore, as described above, when the front lid 5 is swung and the rotating lever 13 is rotated in the direction of the arrow B, the slide member 15 reciprocates in the direction of the arrow C.

As shown in FIG. 5, one end of a coil spring 23 is hooked to the slide member 15, and the other end of a coil spring 23 is hooked to the front cover 5. It is biased toward the proximal end. The upper end of the rotating lever 13 is biased in a direction away from the opening 3 by a torsion spring 24 disposed around the rotating shaft 12 .

A shutter board 26 is supported inside the tip of the slide member 15, and is rotatable around a rotating shaft 25 parallel to the swing shaft 4, and is biased counterclockwise in FIG. 5 by a torsion spring 39. A photographic lens 27 is supported at the center of the shutter board 26. The rotating shaft 25
is the shutter board 2 as shown in FIG.
6 is in the storage position parallel to the front lid 5,
The front surface 29, in which the opening 28 of the lens 27 is partially provided, is set to be located inside the front plate 6 (that is, on the side closer to the opening 3).

Further, the sliding range of the slide member 15 in the direction of arrow C is such that the front cover 5 is opened to the maximum swing position (that is, the photographing position) and the shutter board 26 is in the above-mentioned storage position, as shown in FIG. , the upper end 26a of the shutter board 26 is slightly away from the front edge 6a of the front plate 6,
As shown in the figure, when the shutter board 26 is set in the storage position and the front cover 5 is in the swing position (folding position) where the opening 3 is closed, the front
9 is hidden inside the front plate 6 and the lens 2 is inside the opening 28.
7 is positioned closer to the proximal end of the front lid 5 than the tip edge 6a of the front plate 6.

On the side surface 30 of the shutter board 26, an L-shaped engagement lever 3, for example, is rotatable about an engagement lever rotation shaft 31 parallel to the pivot shaft 4.
2 is installed. An engagement protrusion 33 that protrudes outward, that is, toward the slide member 15, is fixed to one end of the engagement lever 32, and the engagement protrusion 33 is inserted into a guide groove 34 provided on the inner surface of the slide member 15. engaged. The guide groove 34 is formed in an arc shape so as to guide the shutter board 26 rotating around the rotation shaft 25, and a guide portion 35 is formed at the end on the front plate 6 side. The engagement lever 32 is biased by a torsion spring 36 disposed around the rotation shaft 31 in a direction in which the engagement protrusion 33 enters the guide portion 35, and the other end of the engagement lever 32 is The push-in portion 37 is provided with notches. A lock release contact portion 3 supporting one end of the torsion spring 36 is provided on the side surface 30 of the shutter board 26.
8 is provided protrudingly. This contact portion 38 is set at a position where it moves to the side of the aforementioned guiding portion 10 when the shutter board 26 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 5 about the rotating shaft 25.

Each of the elements explained above is similarly provided on the side plate 7' side opposite to the side plate 7, and for the elements on the side plate 7' side, the numbers attached to the elements explained above are indicated by "'" as appropriate in the figure. (Dasshu) is attached and the explanation is omitted.

A notch 40 is provided at the base end of the front plate 6 of the front lid 5, and a strobe light emitter 41 is disposed within the notch 40. Figures 8 and 9 show the mechanisms around this light emitter 41 in the camera's photographable state and in its folded state, respectively.
The strobe light emitter 41 and its related mechanisms will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in FIGS. 8 and 9, for convenience of illustration, the side plates 7, 7' of the front lid 5 are shown.
is shown in a position outside the actual location. As shown in detail in FIG. 10, the strobe light emitter 41 is constructed by making a pair of parallel notches in each of the side plates 42 of the body so that one end is a free end, and providing a gap 43 inside the side plates 42. . And the front lid 5 is on both side plates 42.
A cylindrical fitting shaft 44 is formed to serve as a support portion for the side plate 42 , and a pin 45 is provided protruding from one side plate 42 . As shown in FIG. 10, the front cover 5 supporting the strobe light emitter 41 has a
A pair of support plates 46 are fixedly provided at intervals, and a receiving shaft 47 is protruded from the support plates 46 so as to face each other. The body portion of the light emitting device 41 surrounding the side plate 42 is, for example, integrally molded from plastic, and the side plate 42 can be elastically bent toward the gap 43 side. Therefore, when attaching the light emitter 41 to the front lid 5, use two fingers to press and bend the side plates 42 toward the gap 43, and place the light emitter 41 in a position where the fitting shaft 44 faces the receiving shaft 47. When the side plate 42 is set and released, the side plate 42 returns to the outside due to its own elasticity.
The fitting shaft 44 fits into the receiving shaft 47, and the light emitter 41
is attached to the front lid 5 so as to be rotatable about a receiving shaft 47.

Furthermore, a torsion spring 48 is attached to one fitting shaft 44.
The torsion spring 48 has one end hooked to the pin 45 and the other end hooked to the front cover 5 to move the light emitter 41 in the direction of arrow E in the figure, that is, the light emitter 41 is moved forward from the notch 40. The plate 6 is biased in the direction of protruding outward.

Both ends of a protection plate 49 are connected to the end faces of the pair of slide members 15, 15' on the front plate 6 side, respectively, and when the slide members 15, 15' slide, this protection plate 49 closes the front plate. It slides along the inner surface of 6. In the center of the protective plate 49,
A cam plate 50 extending inwardly of the front lid 5 is fixed. This cam plate 50 is fixed at a position where it can come into contact with a pin 45 of a light emitter 41 attached to the front cover 5, and the end surface in contact with the pin 45 moves toward the tip of the front cover 5 as it moves away from the front plate 6. The cam surface 50a is formed obliquely so as to approach each other.

Note that the light emitting device 41 and the receiving shaft 47 serving as the rotation shaft
is the pivot shaft 4 of the front cover 5, as shown in FIG.
It is provided at a position farther from the optical axis of the photographing lens 27 than in the case of FIG.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a finder 51 is provided on the camera body 1 at the upper side of the front cover 5, and above and below this finder 51 are distance measuring windows 52 of an autofocus mechanism, 53 are provided. By arranging the finder 51 between the distance measurement windows 52 and 53 in this way, the baseline length between the distance measurement windows 52 and 53 is set to be sufficiently long, and
These three can be summarized in a compact manner. As shown in FIG. 3, a motor 55 that drives a developing roller (not shown) that spreads the processing liquid of the self-processing photographic film onto the image forming area and discharges the film from the discharge port 54 is connected to the strobe. It is arranged on the side of the light emitter 41, making effective use of the space inside the front cover 5. In this camera that discharges the film upward, the developing roller is provided at the top of the camera body 1, so by arranging the motor 55 in the above position, the driving force transmission mechanism between the motor 55 and the developing roller can be shortened. It will be easy. Note that a light shielding member 56 such as a bellows or a light shielding curtain is provided between the shutter board 26 and the camera body 1 to shield the photographing optical system from light.

The functions and effects of the foldable camera having the above configuration will be explained below. As shown in FIG. 1, when the front cover 5 is set to the swinging position (folding position) that closes the opening 3, the engagement protrusion 14 of the rotating lever 13 is located near the upper end of the guide groove 8 of the side plate 7. located,
The rotating lever 13 assumes a rotating position substantially parallel to the side plate 7 (the mechanisms on the other rotating lever 13' side also operate in the same manner as the mechanisms on this rotating lever 13 side, so the following will be explained below) Only the mechanism on the rotating lever 13 side will be explained). At this time, as will be described later, the slide member 15 enters into the front cover 5, the shutter board 26 becomes approximately parallel to the front cover 5, the front surface 29 is located inside the front plate 6, and the strobe light emitter 41 is The light emitting surface 41a takes a hidden storage position within the front cover 5, and the outer surface of the light emitter 41 is substantially aligned with the front plate 6.

From the state shown in FIG. 1 above, if you hold the side plates 7, 7' with your fingers from both the left and right sides and swing the front cover 5 so that the tip side separates from the camera body 1, an engaging protrusion will appear as shown in FIG. 14 moves in the guide groove 8 toward the tip of the front cover 5, and the rotation lever 13 rotates in a direction in which the upper end part moves away from the camera body 1. At the same time, the slide member 15, which is engaged with the engagement protrusion 14 through the long hole 22, is pushed by this rotating lever 13,
The guide protrusion 19 of the lock lever 17 is in the sliding guide groove 1.
1 and move to the tip side of the front lid 5. Therefore, the shutter board 26 supported by this slide member 15 comes out from inside the front cover 5 toward the tip side of the front cover 5. Further, as described above, the strobe light emitter 41 is biased in the direction of the arrow E by the torsion spring 48, and the cam plate 50 pressing the pin 45 moves away together with the slide member 15, as shown in FIG. For this purpose, cutout 4
It rotates in the direction of arrow E above so as to protrude from 0. When the front cover 5 is in the vicinity of the folded position, the biasing force of the torsion spring 24 is relatively large and the biasing force of the coil spring 23 is relatively small, so that the front cover 5 cannot be opened from the folded position as described above. This can be easily carried out with the strong support of the torsion spring 24.

When the front cover 5 is further opened, the rotating lever 13 rotates until the engaging protrusion 14 enters the guide portion 9 at the end of the guide groove 8, as shown in FIG. When this happens, the front cover 5 is blocked by the engagement protrusion 14 and cannot rotate any further, and is fixedly supported at a predetermined swinging position (photographing position). At the same time, as shown in FIG. 6, the guide protrusion 19 of the lock lever 17, which is biased by the torsion spring 21, enters the guide portion 10 at the end of the slide guide groove 11, and the slide member 15 is also brought to a predetermined sliding position. Fixed. At this time, as described above, the upper end 26a of the shutter board 26 comes off the front edge 6a of the front plate 6, so the shutter board 26, which is biased by the torsion spring 39, is not engaged with the engagement lever 32. The mating protrusion 33 slides within the guide groove 34 and rotates so that the upper end 26a is positioned directly above. When the shutter board 26 is upright and the engagement protrusion 33 of the engagement lever 32 advances to the upper end of the guide groove 34, the engagement lever 32, which is biased by the torsion spring 36, Guide groove 34
It rotates so as to enter the guide portion 35 at the end. Therefore, the shutter board 26 cannot rotate, and the photographing lens 27 is fixed in an upright position parallel to the film support surface 57 of the camera body 1 (this is the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 described above). . At this time, the strobe light emitter 41 protrudes from the front lid 5 to a use position in which the light emitting surface 41a faces in the same direction as the photographing lens 27, that is, toward the front (see FIG. 8). As shown in FIG. 5, the rotating shaft (receiving shaft 47) of the light emitter 41 is set at a higher position than the swinging shaft 4, so that the light emitting surface 41a is exposed to the light of the photographing lens 27. Be far enough away from the axis to avoid the so-called red-eye phenomenon. Note that the notch 40 in the front plate 6
The lower part of the front plate 6 is formed diagonally so that it becomes thinner as it approaches the notch 40, and the front plate 6 prevents the light emission from being eclipsed.

As explained above, this foldable camera can be set from the folded state to the shooting ready state by one operation. When folding the camera next time from this shooting ready (ready) state, the push-in part 37 of the engagement lever 32
is pushed into the front plate 6 side against the torsion spring 36. Then, the engagement lever 32 rotates clockwise in FIG. When the push-in part 37 is pushed in as it is, the engagement lever 32 comes into contact with the lock release contact part 38, so that the shutter board 26 is pressed against the torsion spring 39.
It rotates around the rotating shaft 25 while resisting. At this time, the engagement protrusion 33 of the engagement lever 32 is inserted into the guide groove 3.
Move 4. In this way, the shutter board 26
Just before the shutter board 26 rotates and becomes parallel to the front plate 6, the lock release contact portion 38 contacts the pin 18 of the lock lever 17 and pushes down the pin 18, and when the shutter board 26 becomes parallel to the front plate 6, the pin 18 separates from the inviting section 10. Then, the slide member 15 biased by the coil spring 23 slides along with the shutter board 26 inside the front cover 5 toward the base end of the front cover while the guide protrusion 19 of the lock lever 17 is guided by the slide guide groove 11. . Then, the rotating lever 13, whose engagement protrusion 14 is engaged with the elongated hole 22 of the slide member 15, is pushed by the slide member 15 and rotates clockwise in FIG. 5. Therefore, the engaging protrusion 14 of the rotating lever 13 is connected to the side plate 7.
The front cover 5 is disengaged from the guide portion 9 and moves upward within the guide groove 8, thereby swinging the front cover 5 in the direction of closing the opening 3. In other words, in the photographing ready condition shown in FIG. Due to the force of the coil spring 23, it can be swung to a certain extent towards the folding position.

Then, by lightly pushing the front cover 5 toward the camera body 1, the front cover 5 is set to the folded position where the opening 3 is completely closed.

When the shutter board 26 moves to the base end side of the front cover 5 together with the slide member 15 as described above,
Since the front surface 29 of the shutter board 26 is hidden inside the front plate 5, the photographing lens 27 supported by the front surface 29 is covered and protected by the front plate 5.

Also, a protection plate 49 coupled to the slide member 15
The cam surface 50a of the cam plate 50 fixed to the cam plate 50 gradually pushes down the pin 45 as the slide member 15 slides toward the base end of the front lid 5 as described above.
The strobe light emitter 41 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 5 about the receiving shaft 47, and when the front cover 5 is completely folded, the light emitting surface 41a is completely hidden inside the front plate 6. The outer surface of the light emitter is flush with the front plate 6. Therefore, there is no longer anything protruding outward from the front cover 5, and the camera can be folded into a substantially flat state. Further, when the slide member 15 slides as described above, the protection plate 49
, and closes the notch 40 in which the light emitter 41 is disposed. Therefore, the light emitting surface 41a of the light emitter 41 is hidden inside this protective plate 49 and protected (see FIG. 9). Next, when the front lid 5 is opened, the protection plate 49 is removed from the slide member 1.
As the cover 5 slides, it moves to the tip side of the front cover 5,
Open the notch 40. And the light emitter 41 is the cam plate 5
0 moves away, it is urged by the torsion spring 48 and protrudes from the notch 40. As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, there is a mechanism for rotating the strobe light emitter 41 between the use position and the storage position by the relative movement between the rotation lever 13 and the guide groove 8. , a slide member 15, a pin 45, a torsion spring 48, a protection plate 49, and a cam plate 50. In the above example, the cam plate 50 is connected to the two slide members 15, 1.
Although it is fixed to a protection plate 49 that connects 5',
A cam plate is fixed to the inner surface of the slide member 15, or
Alternatively, the cam surface may be formed directly on the inner surface of the slide member 15. Furthermore, the side plate 42 of the strobe light emitter 41 is integrally molded with the body of the light emitter 41, but is formed of an elastic plate material separately from the body of the light emitter 41, and is fixed to the body with screws or the like. You may also do so. Further, the rotating lever 13 and the sliding member 15 are arranged so that the engaging protrusion 14 of the rotating lever 13 and the elongated hole 2 of the sliding member 15 are connected to each other.
2, the slide member 15
An engagement protrusion may be provided on the rotary lever 13, and an engagement hole may be provided on the rotary lever 13 for engagement.

As explained above in detail, the strobe light emitter of the present invention is a foldable camera having a swingable front cover. It is configured to be flush with the outer surface, and therefore does not protrude from the camera body when the camera is folded, increasing the practical value of the folding camera.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 are perspective views showing a foldable camera equipped with a strobe light emitter according to an embodiment of the present invention from the folded state to the ready state, and Figure 5 shows the camera in the ready state. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing a part of the camera, and 8 and 9 show the peripheral mechanism of a strobe light emitter according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state where the camera is ready to take pictures. , a perspective view showing each folded state, and FIG. 10 an enlarged perspective view showing the strobe light emitter. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Camera body, 2...Front surface of camera body, 3...Opening, 4...Front cover swing axis, 5...Front cover, 6...Front plate of front cover, 8...Guide groove, 11 ……
Sliding guide groove, 12... Rotating shaft of rotating lever, 13
... Rotation lever, 14 ... Engagement protrusion, 15 ... Slide member, 25 ... Shutter board rotation shaft,
26...Shutter board, 27...Photographing lens, 40...Notch, 41...Strobe light emitter,
41a... Light emitting surface, 47... Receiving shaft (light emitter rotation axis).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A front cover that holds a photographic optical system and covers an opening in the front of the camera body is pivotally attached to the camera body so that the opening can be freely opened and closed, and when the front cover is closed, the photographic optical system is In a folding camera in which the space between the front cover and the camera body is folded up and the photographing optical system is ready for shooting when the front cover is opened, a strobe emitter body is located in a notch provided in a part of the front cover. , is rotatable between a storage position where its outer surface is substantially flush with the outer surface of the front cover, and a use position where the light emitting surface protrudes from the front cover and faces substantially the same direction as the photographing optical system. and one end is rotatably supported on the camera body about a rotation axis parallel to the pivot axis of the front cover,
a rotary lever whose other end is attached so as to slide along a guide groove provided in the front cover in conjunction with the opening and closing of the front cover; A mechanism for rotating the strobe light emitter main body by relative movement with the guide groove so that it takes the use position when the front cover is opened and takes the storage position when the front cover is closed. A strobe light emitter for a folding camera characterized by being provided with a strobe light emitter.