JPH0743810A - External structure of camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an external structure of a camera which is made of metal, has appearance with a high-grade feel and is produced at a relatively low cost while the external structure of the camera fully made of the metal is pleasing to camera favorers but the man-hour for production and the cost of production are extremely higher than those of an external structure made of a synthetic resin molding and makes the camera extremely costly. CONSTITUTION:This external structure has a metallic cover 1 as an external cover constituting the camera surface and is provided with an inner cover 1 made of the resin molding adhered to the cover 1 on the inner side of the metallic cover 1. An AF light projecting and receiving window 4, stroboscopic window 5, etc., are inserted and adhered between the covers 1 and 2. The large projecting parts and intricate shape parts of the camera surface are integrally moldable with the inner cover 2 made of the resin molding and, therefore, the cost of production is much lower than the cost of the camera made of the metal. Since the cover is made into a laminated two-layered structure, the cover has high strength.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera exterior structure using a metal (for example, aluminum) as a material for external parts of a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, appearance parts of cameras are molded (synthetic resin injection-molded products; hereinafter abbreviated as mold).
It has contributed to the weight reduction of the camera and the increase in design freedom. The molded outer cover can be configured as an integrally molded product with complicated shapes such as the protruding part of the lens barrel, the strap passing part, and the guide part of push buttons, etc. Since the hanging claw can also be integrally molded, it is easy to match the covers.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the external component 101 such as the AF light emitting / receiving window or the strobe window can be attached to the cover 100 by adhesion.

[0003]

However, while the outer cover consisting only of the mold has the above-mentioned advantages, it is weak against impacts and scratches, and its robustness such as strength and surface hardness reaches that of the metal cover. is not. In addition, although many patterns have been created as the surface treatment pattern of the mold, it is difficult to achieve a high-quality surface treatment peculiar to metal. For example, the glitter after the diamond cutting (cutting) process of aluminum is not achieved by the mold. It's something I can't get.

Further, a camera body with a metal exterior such as aluminum conveys "coldness" to the hand when touched, which creates satisfaction for persons handling high-grade equipment, but this is not the case with a mold exterior.

Further, in the structure shown in FIG. 6 in which the window component 101 is attached to the mold cover with an adhesive, the adhesive force is left to the work management of the location and amount of the adhesive, and the adhesion of the window component. When the force is weak, if a large static pressure is applied to the window portion from the outside, the window component may come off.

On the other hand, in the conventional exterior cover using aluminum, it is difficult to integrally deep-draw the protruding portion of the lens barrel due to the fact that it is formed by drawing.
Further, since it is difficult to integrally form a complicated shape such as a strap passing portion and a holding portion for an external operation member such as a release button, the cost is considerably higher than that of a molded cover.

An object of the present invention is to provide a camera exterior structure which has the advantages of a mold cover made of a synthetic resin molding and the advantages of an all-metal cover, and eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art camera exterior. Is to provide the structure.

[0008]

In the camera exterior structure according to the present invention, a metal cover is used as an exterior cover of the camera, and a mold cover having substantially the same shape is provided inside the metal cover. It is characterized in that an external appearance portion that covers the protruding portion of the lens barrel, a strap passing portion, and a holding portion for an external operation member such as a release button are integrally provided. Further, it is characterized in that the window component, which is an external component, is held between the metal cover and the inner mold cover.

In the camera exterior structure according to the present invention,
Since the surface is a metal cover and a mold cover, which is an injection-molded product of synthetic resin, is provided inside the cover, it is possible to realize a camera that has both a high-class appearance and a rational and low-cost structure.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing main exterior parts of a camera having an exterior structure according to the present invention. Figure 2
FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the camera showing a hooking portion for combining the front cover and the rear cover, and FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the camera showing a mating spigot of the front cover and the rear cover.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an assembled state of the release button and the zoom button arranged on the upper portion of the camera having the exterior structure of the present invention.

In these figures, 1 is an aluminum cover made of aluminum, and 2 is an inner front cover made of a mold. The inner front cover 2 has an exterior portion 2a that covers the protruding portion of the lens barrel and a bottom surface cover portion 2b that also serves as an exterior portion.
And a strap passing portion 2c are integrally formed, the lens barrel projecting portion 2a projects from the hole 1a of the aluminum cover 1, and the strap passing portion 2c is exposed from the notch 1b of the aluminum cover 1.

The aluminum cover 1 is adhered to and integrated with the inner front cover 2 with a double-sided tape (not shown) or an adhesive.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a rear cover made of a mold, which integrally has a hooking claw 3a which engages with an end of a square hole 2f provided in the inner front cover 2 as shown in FIGS. Further, a spigot 3b that fits into the cutout recess 2g of the inner front cover 2 is also integrally provided. On the other hand, FIG.
As shown in, the convex portion 2h of the inner front cover 2 is
The structure is such that it fits into the concave portion 3c of the above, and the action of the hooking claw 3a described above facilitates simple and reliable coupling of the front and rear covers, and at the same time can resist the static pressure from the appearance. Of course, these front and rear covers cover the camera main body (not shown) that incorporates the mechanical section.

4 is an AF containing a visible light cut filter material
Light emitting / receiving window, viewfinder window hole 4c and metering window hole 4d
And a transparent window member (not shown) is attached to each. The protruding rib 4b has a step from the outer surface 4a and is integrally provided in two places on the upper side and one place on the left and right sides.

Reference numeral 5 is a strobe window, and a Fresnel lens is integrally provided just on the rear surface of the exterior surface 5a, and the non-appearance portion 5b is provided around the entire periphery with a step from the exterior surface 5a.

Before the aluminum cover 1 and the inner front cover 2 are bonded to each other, the AF projection / reception window 4 is fitted into the hole 1c of the aluminum cover 1 so that the external appearance 4a of the AF projection / reception window 4 is exposed. At the same time, the strobe window 5 is also fitted into the hole 1d so that the appearance portion 5a of the strobe window 5 is exposed. After that, the protruding ribs 4b of the AF light emitting / receiving window 4 and the non-appearance portion 5b of the flash window 5 are sandwiched between the aluminum cover 1 and the inner front cover 2 as shown in FIG. The AF projecting / receiving window 4 and the strobe window 5 are held by being adhered to each other.

The strobe window 5 has walls on the upper surface 5c and the right side surface 5d, and a strobe leak countermeasure is taken by increasing the creepage distance between the strobe reflection shade (not shown) and the aluminum cover 1. .

In FIG. 4, 6 is a release button, 7 is a bamboo-like compression spring, and 8 is a release switch. The release button 6 and the compression spring 7 are held by hooking the claw portion 6a of the release button 6 with the compression spring 7 charged in the release button guide portion 2d of the inner front cover 2. Reference numeral 9 is a zoom button, and 10 is a rubber switch, both of which are inserted into the zoom button guide portion 2e of the inner front cover 2. The zoom button guide portion 2e is integrally formed with a retaining shape for the zoom button 9 and a guide shape for determining the position of the rubber switch 10. Reference numeral 11 denotes a printed wiring board, to which the release switch 8 is soldered, and a pattern to be conducted is exposed at a position where a conductive portion provided at the bottom of the rubber switch 10 contacts. The printed wiring board 11 is fixed to a camera body (not shown). By adopting the above-mentioned configuration, the window parts and buttons can be configured as a unit of the front cover, which simplifies the assembly work and the handling in the process.

<Embodiment 2> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

In the figure, 21 is an aluminum cover made of an aluminum material, and 21a is a lens barrel cover portion in which the vicinity of the lens barrel projects a small amount, and since this portion 21a has a small projection amount, it is integrated with the cover 21 by press working. It is molded. Reference numeral 22 denotes an inner cover made of a mold, which is arranged on a part of the upper and side surfaces of the camera, and has a strap passing portion 2
2c is integrally formed as an exterior part. The inner cover 22 is adhered to the inner side of the aluminum cover 21 to form an integrated structure, and also has the above-described locking structure (a square hole with which the hooking claw 23a engages) for ensuring the connection with the rear cover 23. 22f and 22g where recess 22b fits
And a convex portion 22h) that fits in the concave portion 23c. Further, like the first embodiment, the structure is such that the AF light emitting / receiving window 24 and the flash window 25 can be sandwiched, and the guide portions (22d and 22e) of the release button and the zoom button described in the first embodiment are also integrated. It is provided in.

[0023]

As described above, in the camera exterior structure of the present invention, aluminum is used for the exterior cover of the camera, a mold cover of substantially the same shape is provided inside the aluminum cover, and the lens barrel is attached to the mold cover. By integrally providing the exterior part that covers the protruding part, the strap passing part, and the holding part of the external operation member such as the release button, the rigidity and robustness of aluminum is enhanced, and a high-quality appearance finish is possible. Becomes Furthermore, a complicated shape can be integrally formed by integrally molding a shape that is difficult to process with aluminum alone into a mold cover provided inside. Also, by holding the window component, which is an external component, between the aluminum cover and the inner mold cover, a structure that can withstand a large static pressure from the outside and a large amount of bonding work are performed. It can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced as compared with the all-metal exterior structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a camera of a first embodiment having an exterior structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a camera showing a hooking portion that combines a front cover and a rear cover of the camera of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the camera showing a mating spigot of a front cover and a rear cover of the camera of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a release button and a zoom button of the camera of FIG. 1 are incorporated.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the camera of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional window component mounting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Aluminum cover 2 ... Inner front cover 3 ... Rear cover 4 ... AF light emitting / receiving window 5 ... Strobe window 6 ... Release button 7 ... Compression spring 8 ... Release switch 9 ... Zoom button 10 ... Zoom switch 11 ... Printed wiring board

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A metal cover is used as an exterior cover of a camera, a mold cover having substantially the same shape is provided on the inside of the metal cover, and an outer appearance part for covering a protruding part of a lens barrel is provided on the mold cover, and a strap passing part. And a holding portion for an external operation member such as a release button, which are integrally provided. 2. A metal cover is used as an exterior cover of a camera, a mold cover having substantially the same shape is provided inside the metal cover, and a window component, which is an external component of the camera, is provided with the metal cover and the mold cover. The exterior structure of the camera is characterized by being held in between.