JPH0289036A - Electronic strobe device built-in camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a strobe device built-in camera provided with each function of both strobe popuping and strobe autozooming without complicating a constitution by providing a driving means for driving a popuping means and a zooming means by an operation in the same direction. CONSTITUTION:The title camera is provided with popuping means 3, 10, 13, 19, 21 and 22 for operating the strobe device from a housing state to a using state, zooming means 13, 15, 21, 22, 25 and 27 for varying automatically an irradiation range of the strobe device, and driving means 13, 16, 21 and 22 for driving the popuping means and the zooming means by an operation in the same direction. Also, the inside of the driving means is provided with a converting means 21 for converting popuping force by the popuping means to force for changing a strobe irradiation range. In this state, the popuping means and the zooming means are operated by one driving means, and also, by this fact, the constituting members for forming each means are shared, respectively. In such a manner, the strobe device built-in camera provided with each function of both strobe popuping and strobe autozooming is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Application of the Invention) The present invention provides a strobe device equipped with a pop-up means for operating the strobe device from a storage state to a use state and a zoom means for automatically setting the irradiation range of the strobe device. This relates to improvements to the built-in camera.

(Background of the Invention) In this type of camera, countermeasures against the red-eye phenomenon caused by the trend toward smaller cameras and the approach of the photographing optical axis and the optical axis of the strobe device are contradictory, and therefore, there are conflicting measures compared to the conventional methods. Techniques have been developed to pop up and down strobe devices.

Additionally, zoom strobe devices have been developed in order to efficiently use small strobe devices due to the trend toward zooming and multifocal camera lenses.

In the trend toward full auto, it is desirable to incorporate the above two technologies into cameras, but when an auto zoom mechanism is installed in a flash device that pops up and down, the driving force from the camera body to the mechanism increases. There was a problem in that transmission was very difficult and the structure required to incorporate the mechanism was complicated.

(Object of the Invention) An object of the present invention is to provide a camera with a built-in strobe device that has both the functions of strobe pop-up and strobe auto-zoom without having a complicated configuration.

(Features of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pop-up means for operating a strobe device from a storage state to a use state, a zoom means for automatically changing the irradiation range of the strobe device, and a pop-up means for automatically changing the irradiation range of the strobe device. and a driving means for driving the zooming means in the same direction, and further comprising a conversion means within the driving means for converting the pop-up force by the pop-up means into a force for changing the strobe irradiation range, The present invention is characterized in that the pop-up means and the zoom means are operated by one driving means, and the constituent members constituting each means are thereby shared by each means.

(Embodiments of the Invention) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

Figures 1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention, and in the figures, 1 is a gear that is linked to an electric motor, a gear portion 1a that meshes with gears 2 and 3, which will be described later, and a notch that does not mesh with each other. It has a section 1b. Reference numeral 2 designates a mirror drive gear, which includes a gear portion 2a that meshes with the aforementioned gear 1, a notch portion 2b that does not mesh, a notch portion 2c into which a latch 8 (described later) falls deeper than the notch portion 2b, and a lever 4 (described later). It has an engaging dowel 2d. 3 is a gear for driving a strobe device, which includes a gear portion 3a that meshes with the gear 1 mentioned above;
It has a notch 3b that does not engage, and a notch 3C deeper than the notch 3b into which a latch 11 (described later) falls. Reference numeral 4 denotes a mirror drive lever, which has a drive center shaft 4a, a slide groove 4b into which the dowel 2d of the gear 2 described above is inserted, and a dowel 4C that engages with a mirror support plate 5, which will be described later. Reference numeral 5 denotes a mirror support plate, which has a rotation center axis 5a, a slide groove 5b into which the dowel 4G of the mirror drive lever 4 described above is inserted, and a lever 5c. 6 is a mirror integrated with the mirror support plate 5, and 7 is a stopper for stopping the mirror support plate 5 from rising.

8 is a latch that restricts the rotation of the gear 2, and 9 is a spring that biases the latch. 10 is a spring that biases the mirror drive lever 4 mentioned above. 11 is the gear 3 mentioned above.
12 is a spring that biases the latch 11. A latch lever 13 is integrated with the gear 3, and has several notches 13a into which a latch 15, which will be described later, falls. 14 is a spring that biases the latch lever 13 and the gear 3. 15 is a latch that falls into the notch 13a of the latch lever 13 and restricts the rotation of the latch lever 13 and the gear 3; 16 is a latch that falls into the notch 13a of the latch lever 13;
17 is an electromagnet that attracts the latch 15.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a strobe device, which can freely rotate relative to the camera body around a central rotation axis 18a. 19 is a spring that urges the strobe device 18 mentioned above, and 20 is a stopper that similarly restricts rotation of the strobe device 18 in one direction. 21
is the lever for driving the strobe device, which is the lever for driving the strobe device 1 mentioned above.
It has the same rotation center as the rotation center axis 18a of No. 8. 22 is a spring that biases the lever mentioned above; 23 is a strobe device 1;
8 is a stopper that is integrated with the main body and restricts rotation of the lever 21 in one direction. 24 is a light emitter, 25 is a light emitter support plate that supports the light emitter 24, and a dowel 2 to be described later.
Slide groove 2 that 6 engages with and can slide along it
5a and a dowel 25b that engages with a lever 27, which will be described later. Reference numeral 26 denotes a dowel that is integrated with the main body of the strobe device 18 and regulates the sliding direction of the light emitter support plate 25 described above.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a zoom lever, which is rotatably supported by the strobe device 18 about a rotation center axis 27a, and has a long groove 27b that engages with the dowel 25b of the light emitter support plate 25 described above. 28 is a spring that biases the zoom lever 27 mentioned above. 29 is a lens that condenses the light from the light emitting body 24 mentioned above.

Figure 1 shows the mirror 6 and strobe device 1 in the charging state.
8 is down, FIG. 2 shows the mirror up and strobe pop-up completed, and FIG. 3 shows the strobe zoom.

Next, the operation will be explained.

In the photographing preparation state, gear 1 is always set to a phase that does not mesh with gear 2.3.

When the release operation is then performed, the electromagnet 17 starts to be energized and the latch 15 is attracted to it, and forces are applied to the latch 8 in the six directions shown in FIG. 1, causing the latch 8 to disengage from the gear 2. As a result, the mirror drive lever 4 is rotated clockwise about the rotation center axis 4a by the bias of the spring 10, and the gear 2 is accordingly rotated in a certain phase via the dowel 2d. Further, the mirror support plate 5 also rotates clockwise about the central axis of rotation 5a, raises the mirror 6, and is stopped by the stopper 7.

On the other hand, as the mirror support plate 5 rotates, the lever 5C rotates, kicks the latch 11, and the latch 11 is disengaged from the gear 3. As a result, first, the strobe device 18 is rotated clockwise about the rotation center axis f8a by the bias of the spring 19 until it hits the stopper 2o. Accordingly, the strobe drive lever 21 initially rotates together with the strobe device 18, and even after the strobe device 18 is stopped by the stopper 20, it continues to rotate clockwise due to the bias of the spring 22. The zoom lever 27 is always urged by the spring 28 so as to be in contact with the strobe drive lever 21, but since the spring 28 is extremely weak compared to the spring 22, it is pushed by the strobe drive lever 21 and the zoom lever 27 is rotated counterclockwise around a rotation center axis 27a. As a result, the light emitter support plate 25 and the light emitter 24 integrated therewith are moved forward in a direction approaching the lens 29, and the strobe irradiation range is changed.

Further, as the strobe driving lever 21 rotates, the lever 13 and the gear 3 integrated therewith are rotated counterclockwise. Note that the spring 14 is sufficiently weaker than the springs 19 and 22. The amount of rotation of gear 3 is not shown.
is detected by an encoder linked to This detected amount of rotation is processed by a CPU in the camera body (not shown).
It is compared with a preset zoom signal of a strobe device. Then, when a predetermined amount of rotation is reached, the power supply to the electromagnet 17 is stopped under the control of the CPU, and the latch 15 jumps into the notch 13a of one of the latch levers 13 to stop the rotation of the latch lever 13. At the same time,
The rotation of the strobe drive lever 21 is regulated, and the light emitter 24
The forward movement of is stopped. In other words, this sets the strobe irradiation range to a predetermined state, and the auto zoom ends.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the above state.

Next, the charging operation will be explained.

Driven by a motor (not shown), gear 1 rotates counterclockwise, thereby meshing with gear 2 and rotating gear 2 clockwise, so that the mirror drive lever 4 resists the spring 10 and rotates toward the rotation center shaft 4a. The mirror support plate 5 is rotated counterclockwise around , and the mirror support plate 5 is moved back downward. Then, as the gear portion 2a of gear 2 moves towards its end, the latch 8 shifts to gear 2 just before the gear 1 and gear 2 are disengaged.
The mirror 6 jumps into the notch 2C, and charging of the mirror 6 is completed (see FIG. 1).

On the other hand, gear 3 also meshes with gear l, and latch lever 13
and rotated clockwise. The flash drive lever 21 is rotated counterclockwise by the latch lever 13, and the light emitter support plate 25 is moved back relative to the lens 29 via the zoom lever 27. Furthermore, the lever 21
By pushing the stopper 23, the main body of the strobe device 18 is moved downward. Then, as the gear portion 3a of the gear 3 reaches its end, the latch 11 jumps into the notch portion 3c of the gear 3 just before the gear 1 and the gear 3 are disengaged, and the charging on the strobe device 18 side is completed. Thereafter, the gear l continues to rotate counterclockwise until it reaches the phase shown in FIG. 1, and the drive of the motor is stopped.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, and in this figure, 101 is a gear that is interlocked with an electric motor (not shown), and 102 is a gear that meshes with and interlocks with the gear 101.

103 is a lever integrated with the gear 102 described above. 104 is a strobe device, which can freely rotate relative to the camera body around a central axis of rotation 104a. 105 is a spring that biases the above-mentioned strobe device 104, and 106 is a stopper that restricts rotation of the above-mentioned strobe device 104 in one direction. 10
Reference numeral 7 denotes a strobe drive lever, which is connected to the strobe device 10 described above.
10 having the same rotation center as the rotation center axis 104a of No. 4
8 is a spring that biases the lever 107 mentioned above, and 109 is a stopper that is integrated with the strobe device 104 and restricts rotation of the lever 107 in one direction. 110 is a light emitter, 1
Reference numeral 11 denotes a light emitter support plate that supports the light emitter 110, and has a slide groove 111a that engages with a dowel 112 (described later) and can slide along the slide groove 111a, and a dowel 11lb that engages with a lever l13 (described later). Reference numeral 112 denotes a dowel that is integrated with the strobe body and regulates the sliding direction of the light emitter support plate 111 described above. Reference numeral 113 denotes a zoom lever, which can be freely rotated with respect to the strobe body 104 around the central rotation axis 113a, and which is attached to the dowel 11 of the light emitter support plate 111 described above.
It has a long groove 113b that engages with 1b. 114 is a spring that biases the zoom lever 113 mentioned above. 115 is a lens that condenses the light from the light emitting body 110 described above.

Next, the operation will be explained.

An electric motor (not shown) is phase-controlled and rotated in phase to match the zoom amount of the strobe device. This rotation is transmitted to gear 102 via gear 101. When the gear 102 is rotated counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG.
Rotate clockwise to follow. Accordingly, the main body of the strobe device 104 also rotates in the same direction about the rotation center axis 104a until it hits the stopper 106. Even after such pop-up operation of the strobe device 104 is stopped, the strobe drive lever 107 continues to rotate. The zoom lever 113 is always urged by a spring 114 so as to be in contact with the strobe drive lever 107, but since the spring 114 is extremely weak compared to the spring 108, the zoom lever 113 is pushed by the strobe drive lever 107 and The lever 113 is rotated counterclockwise around the rotation center axis 113a. As a result, the light emitter support plate 111
The light emitter 110 integrated therewith is moved forward in a direction approaching the lens 115 (thereby changing the strobe irradiation range).

Then, by stopping the rotation of the motor, the strobe drive lever 107 is also stopped, and the auto zoom of the strobe device 18 is stopped.

Next, when the main body of the strobe device 104 is to be lowered from this state, it is moved back by rotating the gear 102 clockwise.

While in the first embodiment the strobe device is driven in conjunction with the photographing operation, in the second embodiment it can be driven independently of other operations.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to make the camera compact and incorporate both auto pop-up and down technology, which does not cause red-eye, and auto zoom, which improves the efficiency of the strobe, with a simple configuration (most parts are removed). In addition to being able to drive pop-up zooms in the same direction (because they can be used in common), and because they can be driven by the same drive member, it has become possible to easily link them with photographic preparation operations such as mirror drive.

(Correspondence between invention and embodiment) In this embodiment, gear 3. Spring 10. Latch lever 1
3. Spring 19. The strobe driving lever 21 and the spring 22 serve as the pop-up means of the present invention, and the latch lever 13. Latch 15. Strobe drive lever 21. Spring 221 Light emitter support plate 25. The zoom lever 27 serves as the zoom means, the latch lever 13, the spring 16. Strobe drive lever 21.
The springs 22 correspond to driving means. Further, the strobe drive lever 21 is used as a conversion means, and the mirror support plate 5.
The latches 11 respectively correspond to driving force transmission means.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a pop-up means for operating a strobe device from a storage state to a use state, a zoom means for automatically changing the irradiation range of the strobe device, and a pop-up means for automatically changing the irradiation range of the strobe device. and a driving means for driving the zooming means in the same direction, and further comprising a conversion means within the driving means for converting the pop-up force by the pop-up means into a force for changing the strobe irradiation range, Since the pop-up means and the zoom means are operated by one driving means, and the constituent members of each means are shared, the strobe pop-up means can be operated without a complicated structure. This makes it possible to provide a camera with a built-in strobe device that combines the functions of zoom-up and strobe auto-zoom.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 3 show charging states of an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a mechanical diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A pop-up means that operates the strobe device from a stored state to a used state, a zoom means that automatically changes the irradiation range of the strobe device, and the pop-up means and the zoom means are driven in the same direction. A camera with a built-in strobe device and a driving means. (2) The camera with a built-in strobe device according to claim 1, characterized in that the driving means includes conversion means for converting the pop-up force by the pop-up means into force for changing the strobe irradiation range. (3) The camera with a built-in strobe device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a driving force transmitting means for transmitting a driving force other than strobe driving at a photographing preparation stage to the driving means.