JPH05313247A - Camera and attitude detecting device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an unnecessary releasing operation for a camera provided with plural release buttons which correspond to the attitude of the camera, and to hold the attitude of the camera by an attitude detecting means even in the case that the camera faces upward, or downward while keeping a set attitude. CONSTITUTION:When the camera main body 11 is held at a horizontal position, the contacts 14c and 14d of a mercury switch 14 are energized, and it is detected by a horizontal and vertical positions detecting device that the camera lies at the horizontal position, only the release button 12 for a horizontal position is actuated, and the release button 13 for the vertical position is not actuated, when the camera is held in the vertical direction, contacts 14e and 14f are energized so as to actuate only the release button 13. Also, by forming a narrow part on the middle part of the mercury switch for detecting the attitude, the state capable of discriminating the attitude of the camera where it is just before is maintained even in the case that the camera faces upward, or downward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a plurality of release buttons and a posture detecting device used for the camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a camera having a plurality of release buttons as shown in FIG. That is,
The camera body 1 has a release button 2 for horizontal position on its upper surface.
Each has a release button 3 for vertical position on its side surface, so that when the camera is held in the horizontal position and in the vertical position,
Both allowed the photographer to hold the camera in a natural position.

Further, there is a camera which detects the posture of the camera, that is, whether it is in the vertical position or in the horizontal position, and changes the position of imprinting the data such as the photographing date on the film surface according to the detection result. It is known from US Pat. No. 4,183,645 and the like. As a device for detecting the posture of the camera, as shown in FIG. 16, the taking lens 102, the release button 103, the finder 104, and the flash light emitting section 10 are used.
Mercury 107 is enclosed in an arc-shaped tube 106 provided in the up-down direction in the camera body 101 having 5 and the mercury 107 is indicated by arrows a and b depending on whether the camera is in the horizontal position or the vertical position.
The position of the mercury 107 in the tube 106 is set so as to move from one end to the other end in a direction, and a pair of electric contacts 108a, 108b, 109a, 10 provided at both ends thereof, respectively.
9b or the like to detect the posture of the camera itself, or as shown in FIG.
A pendulum 110 rotatably supported by 10a and having a weight 110b at one end is used, and its rotation direction is restricted by a stopper 112, so that the arm pieces 110c turn on the contact pieces 111a and 111b according to the posture of the pendulum 110. -A device is known that detects its own posture by turning it off.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional camera having a plurality of release buttons, the two release buttons are always operated when the power is turned on, and the camera is intended to be operated. If you accidentally press the release button of the other person with your finger, or if you hit it by hitting it somewhere, the release will be cut off, you will waste the film in vain, and you will miss the photo opportunity. Yes, this was a major drawback.

Further, in the camera having the attitude detecting device of the above-mentioned conventional example, mercury is taken when the camera is held and then turned upward or downward, for example, when the camera is turned downward as shown in FIG. 107 is a contact piece 108a, 108
b, 109a, and 109b do not touch any of the contact pieces,
It becomes impossible to determine whether it is the vertical position or the horizontal position, or the bottom side of the camera slightly tilts upward as shown in FIG. 19 so that the originally horizontal position seems to be the vertical position. May be determined by.
The same thing as described above also occurs in the case of using the pendulum.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a camera which eliminates the drawbacks of the camera having a plurality of release buttons of the conventional example and prevents unnecessary malfunction of the release button.

The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the camera having the above-described conventional attitude detecting device, and maintains the attitude determination state set before the camera regardless of whether the camera faces up or down. The second purpose is to provide

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the first invention is, in a camera having a plurality of release buttons, a posture detecting means for detecting the posture of the camera and the posture detecting means. And a control means for selectively deactivating the release button according to the detection result.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned second object, the second
Of the invention comprises a tube in which a liquid and a gas are enclosed, and a liquid detecting means for detecting at which end of the tube the liquid is, and detects its own posture based on the detection result of the liquid detecting means. In the posture detecting device thus configured, a constricted portion having a small diameter is provided in the middle of the tube. Further, the tube may have a spiral structure.

[0010]

In the camera having a plurality of release buttons having the above structure, when the attitude detecting means detects the attitude of the camera, the control means disables the unnecessary release button to prevent malfunction of the release button. it can.

In the posture detecting device having the above structure, even if the camera is turned up or down, the movement of the liquid in the tube from one end to the other end is restricted by the constricted portion or the spiral structure. The posture state (horizontal position or vertical position) held by can be maintained.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the first invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a partially broken camera, where 11 is a camera body and 12 is a camera body 1.
1 is a horizontal position release button provided on the upper part of 1, 1 is a vertical position release button also provided on the lower part, and 14 is a mercury switch embedded in the other side of the camera body 11 for detecting the vertical and horizontal position of the camera. , And a mercury 14b enclosed in a tube 14a and electrical contacts 14c to 14f. In this mercury switch 14, the mercury 14b always tries to move toward the ground due to gravity, so when the camera is held sideways with respect to the optical axis, the electrical contacts 14c and 14d.
Is conducted and the electrical contacts 14e and 14f are conducted when held vertically, and by detecting which electrical contact is conducted, what direction is the camera tilted with respect to the optical axis? To get to know. Further, as shown in FIG.
The electric contacts 14g and 14h that go around the center of a are provided.
When this is conductive, both of the two release buttons 12 and 13 can be operated. As a result, when the camera is tilted intentionally or when the camera is turned up and down, the two electrical contacts 14g and 14h are electrically connected so that the release lock is not inadvertently applied.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a control circuit using a mercury switch. That is, the electrical contacts 14c, 14d and 14e, 14f of the mercury switch 14 are connected to a vertical / horizontal detector 21 for detecting the vertical / horizontal direction of the camera by turning them on and off, and the output side of the vertical / horizontal detector 21 is connected to a CPU 22 for operating the camera. The control signals from the CPU 22 are connected and the horizontal position release button 12 and the vertical position release button 13 are respectively connected.
Is designed to control the operation of. Therefore, by turning on / off the mercury switch 14, the vertical / horizontal detector 21 obtains information as to whether the camera is currently in the vertical position or in the horizontal position, and this information is used by the CPU 22 for the horizontal position when the camera is in the horizontal position. When only the release button 12 is in the vertical position, only the vertical position release button 13 can be operated. In the horizontal position, the release button 13 is disabled, and in the vertical position, the release button 12 is disabled.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. First, a CPU that controls the operation of the camera by turning on a main switch (not shown)
22 starts to work. Then, in # 3, it is confirmed whether or not there is sw1 that the release button 12 or 13 is turned on at the first stroke position. When sw1 is not entered, the process proceeds to step # 1 to check whether the main switch (not shown) is turned off. When the main switch is off, the process proceeds to step # 2 to end all operations. If the main switch is not turned off, proceed to # 3 again.
If # 3 is on, proceed to # 4. In # 4, it is determined whether or not the electrical contacts 14g and 14h are in conduction. When they are in conduction, the process proceeds to # 9, and when they are not in conduction, the process proceeds to # 5. # 5 detects whether or not there is electrical connection between the electrical contacts 14c and 14d, and proceeds to # 11 when conducting and to # 6 when not conducting. # 6 is electrical contact 14e,
It is confirmed whether or not there is conduction between 14f, and when it is conducted, the process proceeds to # 13, and when it is not conducted, the process proceeds to # 7.
3 sets of electrical contacts 14g and 14h, 14c and 14d, 14
Although e arrives at # 7 when neither e nor 14f is conducting, either electrical contact pair is configured to conduct when the posture detecting means operates normally.
Reaching # 7 means that the posture detecting means is abnormal. Therefore, in # 7, a failure warning of the posture detection means is given by, for example, a viewfinder display or sound, and the process proceeds to # 8. In # 8, release buttons 12 and 13
The state of sw2 that is turned on at the second stroke position is detected from both. At this time, if sw2 is turned on, # 1
5. If sw2 is off, proceed to # 3. In # 9, the sw2 of both release buttons 12 and 13 is confirmed similarly to # 8. If either is turned on, the process proceeds to # 15, and if both are off, the process proceeds to # 10. In # 10, electrical contact 1 again
It is confirmed whether 4g and 14h are conducting. If they are not conducting, the process returns to # 3, and if they are conducting, the process returns to # 9. # 11
Then, it is checked whether or not sw2 is pressed on the release button 12. If sw2 is included, proceed to # 15,
If not, proceed to # 12. In # 12, check again whether the electrical contacts 14c and 14d are electrically connected,
If it is conducting, the process returns to # 11, and if not, the process returns to # 3. In # 13, it is confirmed whether or not sw2 is turned on by the release button 13. If it is on, # 1
If it is off, the process returns to # 3. In # 15, a release signal is generated, AF and AE operations are started by this signal, a series of photographing sequences such as shutter and feeding are executed, and the process proceeds to # 3. The angle of the camera that controls the release button can be adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the tube 14a and the amount of mercury 14.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the first invention. In order to simplify the description, the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, a pendulum is used as the attitude detecting means of the camera in place of the mercury switch of the first embodiment, and 31 is a pendulum, which is rotatable on a main plate (not shown) of the camera body at a shaft portion 31a. A weight portion 31b is provided at one end of the arm portion 31c supported by the. 32 is a pendulum regulation stopper when the camera is in the horizontal position, 33 is a pendulum regulation stopper when the camera is in the vertical position, and 34 is a pair of contact pieces 34a, 3
The switch 4b is provided so as to project from the vertical / horizontal detector 21 and to face the arm portion 31c of the pendulum 31 when the camera is in the horizontal position. The other structure is similar to that of the first embodiment. In this embodiment having the above-described structure, when the camera is held horizontally, the pendulum 3 is moved as shown in FIG.
1 becomes vertical due to the weight of the weight portion 31b, and the arm portion 31c
Pushes the contact piece 34b of the switch 34 into contact with the contact piece 34a and turns on. When the camera is held vertically,
As shown in FIG. 5, the pendulum 31 becomes parallel to the switch 34 due to the weight of the weight portion 31b, and the switch 34 is not pushed, so that it is in an off state. In this way, the attitude of the camera is detected by the vertical / horizontal detector 21 and the release is controlled. Further, the stoppers 32 and 33 can prevent the pendulum 31 from swinging more than necessary.

7 to 9 show a third embodiment of the first invention. In this embodiment, a lateral position sensor 41 and a vertical position sensor 42 are provided on the side and bottom of the camera body 11, respectively.
For example, regarding the structure of the lateral position sensor 41, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a push button formed of an elastic material such as rubber is attached to the camera body 11, and an electric contact 41a is provided on the inner surface side thereof. When it is attached and pressed, it comes into contact with the printed circuit board 43 provided facing the electric contact 41a. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, patterns 43a and 43b which are respectively connected to the vertical and horizontal detectors 21 are printed on the printed circuit board 43, and the patterns 43a and 43b are made conductive by pressing the electrical contacts 41a. There is. On the other hand, the vertical position sensor 4
2 has the same structure as the lateral position sensor 41. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, when the camera is held in the horizontal position, the fingertip of the right hand naturally touches and is pressed by the horizontal position sensor 41, and the electrical contact 41a becomes the patterns 43a, 43.
Conduct b. When the camera is held vertically, the vertical position sensor 42 is touched and the switch is turned on as in the above. The vertical and horizontal detectors 21 receive the signals from both the sensors 41 and 42, and control the release.

10 and 11 show a fourth embodiment of the first invention. In this embodiment, a lateral position release lever 51 is slidably attached in the vertical direction in the drawing by dowels 52a and 52b provided in the camera body which are fitted in the elongated holes 51a and 51b, respectively, and holds one end thereof. The other end is biased in the direction of arrow a by a spring 53 attached to a ground plate (not shown), a contact piece 54 is fixed to the arm 51c, and a long arm 51d is provided at the lower end. Further, a printed circuit board 55 is provided in the movement path of the contact piece 54 of the release lever 51, and conducting portions 55a to 55c and non-conducting portion 55d are formed on the surface thereof, and the contact piece 54 causes the conducting portions 55a, 55b or. 55a, 5
5c is configured to be conductive, and the conductive portion 55a
55c are respectively connected to the CPU 22 so that a release operation is performed. As for the vertical position release lever 56, the dowels 57a and 5 provided on the camera body that fit into the elongated holes 56a and 56b, respectively.
7b is slidably attached to the right in the drawing, and is urged in the direction of arrow b by a spring 58 having one end held and the other end attached to a ground plate (not shown). It is fixed and further has a long arm portion 56d at its lower end. Further, a printed circuit board 60 is provided in the moving path of the contact piece 59 of the release lever 56, and conductive portions 60a to 60c and a non-conductive portion 60d are formed on the surface thereof, and the contact piece 59 allows the conductive portions 60a, 60b or 60b. 60a and 60c are configured to be conductive, and the conductive portions 60a to 60c are respectively connected to the CPU 22 so that a release operation is performed. On the other hand, the horizontal release lever 51 and the vertical release lever 56
A pendulum 61 is rotatably supported by a shaft 61a in the lower part of the pendulum 61, and the pendulum 61 has a weight 61b at one end.
The release lever 5 is attached to the portion 1a in a direction orthogonal to the weight 61b.
It has a pair of stoppers 61c and 61d for 1,56.

In the present embodiment having the above-mentioned structure, when the camera can be held with the direction a being up, that is, in the horizontal position,
Although the operation of the release lever 51 for the horizontal position is not hindered, the release lever 56 for the vertical position does not interfere with the arm portion 56 of the release position.
The stopper 61d of the pendulum 61 comes into contact with the lower surface of d, and a release lock is established, which renders it inoperative. Further, when the camera is held in the b direction upward, that is, in the vertical position, the pendulum 61 swings to the broken line position and the stopper 61c moves to the broken line position 6.
1c 'and the arm 51 of the lateral position release lever 51
Although it comes into contact with the lower surface of d to form a release lock, the stopper 61d moves to the broken line position 61d 'and the vertical position release lever 56 becomes operable.

12 and 13 show a first embodiment of the second invention. Note that 101 to 105 are the same as those in FIG. 16 of the above-mentioned conventional example. Reference numeral 121 denotes a tube, in which mercury 122 and air are enclosed, and reservoirs 121a and 121b are provided at both ends thereof, and a constricted portion 121c is provided at the center.
Are formed respectively, and are vertically arranged in the camera body 101. In addition, a pair of contact pieces 123a, 123b and 124a, 124b are respectively provided on the reservoirs 121a and 121b so that the mercury 122 is present in the reservoir 121a when the camera is in the horizontal position.
b is made conductive, and in the case of the vertical position, the contact pieces 124a, 124b in the reservoir 121b are made conductive. The mercury 122 is movable between the reservoir 121a and the reservoir 121b through the constricted portion 121c when the posture of the camera changes between the horizontal position and the vertical position.

In the present embodiment having the above-mentioned structure, when the camera is held in the horizontal position and then directed downward as shown in FIG. 13, the mercury 122 cannot get over the constricted portion 121c and the pool portion 121a. Staying at the contact piece 12
3a and 123b are kept in a conductive state. Similarly, when the mercury 122 is directed upward, the mercury 122 remains in the reservoir 121a. Similarly, after holding the camera in the vertical position, the mercury 122 that has once entered the reservoir 121b facing downward or upward cannot pass over the constricted portion 121c, and stays in the reservoir 121b as it is, and the contact piece 124b.
It is possible to determine the posture (vertical position or horizontal position) of the camera by keeping a and 124b conductive.
Further, in FIG. 13, even if the camera is slightly tilted in the direction of the arrow b, the mercury 122 cannot get over the constricted portion 121c, and erroneous determination is prevented. In this embodiment, the mercury 122 is enclosed in the tube 121, but other conductive liquid may be enclosed. Further, although the contact pieces 123a, 123b and 124a, 124b are used as the mercury position detecting means in this embodiment, the presence or absence of mercury may be detected by a photo sensor or the like.

14 and 15 show a second embodiment of the second invention. In order to simplify the description, the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals. In the present embodiment, the tube 121 'is formed in a spiral shape, and the mercury 122 and air are enclosed inside the tube 121'.
123b and 124a, 124b are respectively provided so as to project. The other structure is similar to that of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the mercury 122 does not come into the tube 12 when the camera is turned downward or upward as shown in FIG. 15 from the lateral position / posture state shown in FIG.
The spiral piece 1'cannot be overcome and the other contact piece 124
There is no conduction between a and 124b. Further, although some of the mercury 122a is divided, the remaining mercury 122b can keep the contact pieces 123a and 123b that had been conducting first in a conducting state. Or lateral position) can be determined.

[0022]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, by detecting the attitude detecting means of the camera and the unnecessary release button according to the detection result of the attitude detecting means, and deactivating it. Thus, it is possible to prevent the release action contrary to the user's intention, which is likely to occur in a camera having a plurality of release buttons.

A second aspect of the present invention is a posture detecting device in which a liquid and a gas are enclosed in a tube as described above, and the posture of the liquid body is detected by detecting the position of the liquid. By providing it or making the tube spiral, even if the camera is turned up or down, the previously set posture (horizontal position or vertical position) determination state can be maintained as it is, and there is no inconvenience in operation. It never happens.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a camera of a first embodiment according to the first invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the mercury switch.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric circuit for its operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation.

FIG. 5 is a lateral position configuration diagram of essential parts of a camera of a second embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical position configuration diagram of the main part of the same.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a camera of a third embodiment of the first invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the lateral position sensor portion.

FIG. 10 is a main part configuration diagram of a camera of a fourth embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a conventional camera having a plurality of release buttons.

FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway configuration diagram of a camera including the attitude detection device of the first embodiment according to the second invention.

FIG. 13 is a state diagram in which the camera is directed downward from a horizontal position.

FIG. 14 is a partially broken configuration diagram of a camera equipped with a posture detection device according to a second embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 15 is a state diagram in which the camera is directed downward from a horizontal position.

FIG. 16 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a camera having a conventional attitude detection device.

FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway front view of a camera having another attitude detection device.

18 is a state diagram showing the camera shown in FIG. 16 facing downward.

FIG. 19 is a state diagram when the same is slightly tilted downward.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Camera body, 12 ... Horizontal release button, 1
3 ... Vertical release button, 14 ... Mercury switch, 1
4a..tube, 14b..mercury, 14c to 14f ..
・ Electric contacts, 21 ・ ・ Vertical and horizontal detectors, 22 ・ ・ CPU, 3
1 ... Pendulum, 41 .. Horizontal position sensor, 42 .. Vertical position sensor, 43 .. Printed circuit board, 51 .. Horizontal position release lever, 55, 59 .. Printed circuit board, 56.
・ Vertical position release lever, 61 ・ ・ Pendulum, 101 ・
・ Camera body, 102 ・ ・ Lens barrel, 103 ・ ・ Release button, 104 ・ ・ Finder window, 105 ・ ・ Flash emission part, 121 ・ ・ Tube, 121 '・ ・ Spiral tube, 121c ・ ・ Necked part, 122 ... Mercury, 123
a, 123b, 124a, 124b ...

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A camera having a plurality of release buttons, comprising attitude detecting means for detecting the attitude of the camera, and control means for selectively deactivating the release button according to a detection result of the attitude detecting means. A camera characterized by having it. 2. A tube in which a liquid and a gas are enclosed,
In a posture detection device, which is provided with a liquid detection means for detecting which end of the tube the liquid is, and which detects the posture of the liquid on the basis of the detection result of the liquid detection means. An attitude detecting device having a constricted portion with a small diameter. 3. A tube in which a liquid and a gas are enclosed,
A liquid detecting means for detecting at which end of the tube the liquid is, and the attitude detecting device configured to detect the attitude of the liquid on the basis of the detection result of the liquid detecting means, An attitude detection device having a structure.