JPH09105982A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To move a strobe light emitting part between a light emitting position and a storing position with a small number of parts without preparing a dedicated driving source. SOLUTION: The camera is provided with a moving member 2 which is driven between a non-photographing position and a photographing position, for example, for moving a photographic lens from a collapsed barrel position to a photographing position, a strobe light emitting part 5 which is rotated by making a direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the photographic lens as a rotational axis between the light emitting position and the storing position, transmitting means 2b, 9, 12, 15 and 20 for moving the strobe light emitting part 5 between the light emitting position and the storing position cooperatively with the moving action of the moving member 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera with a built-in strobe, and more particularly to a camera in which a strobe light emitting unit can be moved between a retracted position and a light emitting position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various built-in flash cameras have been proposed or commercialized. In recent years, in particular, due to the downsizing of the camera and the high magnification of the shooting lens, the shooting lens optical axis and the strobe light are used. The distance from the optical axis tends to be short, and the shooting distance to the subject (person) tends to increase.

As a result, the strobe light is emitted from the subject (person).
The so-called red-eye phenomenon that is incident on the pupil and reflected by the retina is likely to occur, and it is important to suppress this red-eye phenomenon when commercializing a camera. As a means to suppress this red-eye phenomenon, when using a flash, keep the flash light emitting unit away from the optical axis of the shooting lens, pre-flash the flash immediately before shooting, or use a light source (lamp, etc.) other than the flash to shoot the subject. Two methods of constricting the (human) pupil are well known, and a combination of these two methods is also proposed.

Here, in a system in which the stroboscopic light emitting section is kept away from the photographing optical axis when the strobe is used, conventionally, this type of strobe slides the stroboscopic luminous section in a direction orthogonal to the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens of the camera. By doing so, the most general method is to project the stroboscopic light emitting part to the upper side or the lateral side of the camera body and avoid the stroboscopic light emitting part away from the photographing optical axis.

As a method of driving the stroboscopic light emitting part, the stroboscopic light emitting part is always used at a position (projection).
The spring is biased in the direction, and when not in use, it can be held in the storage position against the spring force by a well-known locking mechanism.
At the time of use, the camera user releases the locking mechanism by an operation member or the like, so that the strobe light emitting portion is projected and at the same time, an electric circuit for controlling strobe light emission is turned on. Further, as the automation of cameras has advanced, it is known that the locking mechanism is automatically released according to the subject brightness determination result of the camera.

As another method of avoiding the strobe light emitting unit from the photographing optical axis, as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-56427, in the width direction (left and right direction) of the camera body with respect to the photographing optical axis. There is a method of rotating the stroboscopic light emitting unit about an axis orthogonal to each other and moving the stroboscopic light emitting unit between the housed position and the light emitting position.

According to this method, it is possible to reduce the vertical height of the strobe light emitting portion at the storage position, and to prevent scratches by covering the optical member on the front surface of the light emitting portion at the storage position. Goes up. Further, it has been widely used in recent years because the drive mechanism can be downsized.

In the proposal of the rotation system for moving the stroboscopic light emitting unit between the storage position and the light emitting position about the axis in the width direction of the camera body as described above, the stroboscopic light emitting unit emits the stroboscopic light as in the system of sliding the stroboscopic light emitting unit. The section is always spring-biased toward the light emitting state, and is held by the locking mechanism at the storage position stored in the camera body. When using the flash, the camera user must release the locking mechanism with the operating member. It is a method that makes the strobe light emitting part stick out.

[0009]

However, in the above-described conventional rotary type strobe light emitting portion rotating mechanism, the user of the camera must manually operate the projection and the storage of the strobe light emitting portion, which results in poor operability. There was a problem that it was bad and lacked in quick-shooting property.

In order to solve this problem, it is proposed that the camera automatically performs the operation. In this automatic method, however, a dedicated drive source is used to drive the strobe light emitting section, or a clutch mechanism is used. In many cases, the power of the camera such as a mirror drive mechanism is divided and the strobe light emitting unit is driven via a gear train or the like. These generally have a large number of parts, and since the camera becomes large, there is a problem that the assemblability is deteriorated and the cost is increased.

The object of the invention according to the present application is to reduce the number of parts and maintain compactness without using a dedicated drive source, while the camera automatically projects and stores the stroboscopic light emitting portion. To provide a camera with a good strobe.

[0012]

The structure for realizing the object of the invention according to the present application is a moving member driven between a non-shooting position and a shooting position, and a shooting lens between a light emitting position and a storage position. Between the light emitting position and the retracted position in association with the moving operation of the moving member. And a transmission means for moving the camera.

In the above structure, the transmission means is in a first state in which the transmission mechanism is engaged with the lever mechanism for moving the strobe light emitting portion between the light emitting position and the storage position by lever driving and the lever member of the lever mechanism. And an engaging portion provided on the moving member that is displaced to a second state of non-engagement.

In each of the above constructions, the moving member is an annular member which is rotatable about the optical axis to move the taking lens along the optical axis.

Further, in the first state, the strobe light emitting portion is in the storage position, and in the second state, the strobe light emitting portion is in the light emitting position.

Further, in the first state, the strobe light emitting portion is in the light emitting position, and in the second state, the strobe light emitting portion is in the storage position.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 5 are views showing a first embodiment according to the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show a strobe storage state. In the figure, 1 is a camera body, and 2 is a drive ring for interlocking a photographing lens (not shown) in the front-rear direction, which is attached to the camera body 1 so as to be rotatable around an optical axis of the photographing lens.

The mechanism for the taking lens to move back and forth is constituted by a well-known cam groove and cam follower so that the taking lens barrel moves back and forth in conjunction with the rotation direction of the drive ring 2. Reference numeral 3 denotes a motor for rotating the drive ring 2, which transmits power by the last stage gear 4a of the reduction gear train 4 meshing with the outer peripheral gear 2a of the drive ring 2.

Reference numeral 5 is a stroboscopic light emitting part, which houses a discharge tube 5a and a reflecting shade 5b therein, and has a transparent window 5 on the front surface.
Covered with c. The discharge tube 5a and the reflector 5b are electrically connected to a circuit board for controlling strobe light emission by a lead wire (not shown). The flash unit 5 is the camera body 1
It is rotatably held from the left and right sides by a shaft 7 as a support shaft and a crank 8 as a drive shaft coaxial with the shaft on a pedestal 6 as a bearing member mounted in the width direction (left and right direction).

Reference numeral 9 is a first lever for transmitting the power of the drive ring 2 to the strobe light emitting section 5, and a pair of levers extending from the left and right sides of the pedestal 6 as a bearing member provided in the front portion of the camera body 1. The shaft 9a is rotatably held by the shaft 9a (front side of paper surface and back side of paper surface not shown).

Reference numerals 11 and 12 denote second and third levers, respectively, and the third lever 12 is the shaft 11 of the second lever 11.
It is fitted in a and is in a rotatable state. Second in this state
The lever 11 is rotatably held on the main body by a pedestal 13 at two shafts 11b (front side of the paper surface and back side of the paper surface (not shown)). Reference numeral 14 is a torsion spring, one end of which is the shaft 11c of the second lever 11 and the other end of which is the third lever 1
Multiplied by two. The third lever 12 has a protrusion 12a.
Is in contact with the shaft 11c, it does not rotate any further in the counterclockwise direction in this state. 15 is a connecting rod,
One end is rotatably held by the shaft 12b of the third lever and the other end is rotatably held by the shaft 8a of the crank 8, whereby a crank mechanism is formed between the third lever 12 and the stroboscopic light emitting section 5. . Reference numeral 20 is a spring 20 for urging the strobe light emitting section 5 in the housing direction, one end of which is hung on the main body and the other end of which is hung on the tip of the third lever.

Next, the operation will be described.

In the figure, the power of the camera is OFF, and the taking lens barrel is also in the retracted state. When the camera power switch is turned on from this state, the motor 3 is energized to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the rotation is transmitted to the drive ring 2 through the reduction gear train 4, and the drive ring 2 is rotated. Starts rotating clockwise. Then, the rib-shaped convex portion 2b provided on the outer periphery of the drive ring 2 gradually approaches from the state where the rib-shaped convex portion 2b is located away from the first lever 9 (first state) to the contact position, and further. When rotated, it tries to ride on the slope 9b of the first lever 9. At this time, since the drive ring 2 is rotatably regulated in the front-rear direction, the first lever 9 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 9a in FIG. Pressed. At the same time, the shaft 9c pushes down the tip portion 11d of the second lever 11. Since the third lever 12 is pressed against the second lever 11 in the counterclockwise direction by the torsion spring 14, the third lever 12 tends to rotate counterclockwise integrally with the second lever 11. At this time, the other end of the third lever 12 is provided with a spring 2 in a direction in which the strobe light emitting portion is housed.
Although a biasing force of 0 is applied, the torsion spring 14 is set to have a sufficient load so that the spring 20 is extended and the strobe light emitting section 5 is projected.

When the third lever 12 rotates, the strobe light emitting portion 5 starts to rotate in the projecting direction by connecting the connecting rod 15 and the crank 8, and when the drive ring 2 further rotates, the strobe light emitting portion 5 is formed. The projected portion 5d comes into contact with the stopper portion 6a of the pedestal 6 and becomes a position where strobe light can be emitted. Further, when the drive ring 2 rotates, the first lever 9 is pushed down until the rib-shaped convex portion 2b reaches the top portion 9d of the first lever, but at this time, the strobe light emitting portion 5 has a stopper, Since it is immovable, the third lever 12 also does not rotate, and only the second lever 11 moves to the first
It is rotated by the lever 9.

Therefore, the third lever protrusion 12a, which was initially in contact, is separated from the shaft 11c.
It can be pressed with a stable load. Further, the drive ring 2 stops at a position where it has rotated to a predetermined position, and the photographing state shown in FIG. 3 is obtained.

If the camera is a zoom camera, this state is the wide state.

If the drive ring 2 is further rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the taking lens barrel is further extended to enter the telephoto state. Even in the telescopic state, since the rib-shaped convex portion 2b is provided on the outer periphery of the drive ring 2, the first lever 9 is always pressed and the strobe light emitting portion 5 is stably pressed to the light emitting position. Becomes As described above, in the camera according to the present embodiment, the stroboscopic light emitting portion is always protruding in the image-capable state and is in the light-emitting state, so that the quick-shooting property is not impaired in any shooting scene and the operability is good. It's a camera.

Since the strobe is always protruding, when some external force is applied to the strobe light emitting portion 5 in a protruding state or a state in which it is about to protrude and the movement thereof is blocked, as shown in FIG. Is charged only by the third lever 12, and the first and second levers 9 and 11 do not reach their movements, and their associated parts including the drive ring 2 are not destroyed.

Next, the operation of storing the strobe light emitting section 5 after the photographing is completed will be described. In contrast to the projecting operation described above, the storing operation may be performed by rotating the drive ring 2 in the reverse direction, the motor 3 is energized in the reverse direction, and the drive ring 2 is moved through the gear train 4 in FIG. Rotate in the direction. The taking lens barrel (not shown) moves in the retracting direction in association with the rotation of the drive ring 2 by the configuration of the cam groove and the cam follower. As the taking lens barrel retracts further from the wide position shown in FIG. 3, the tip end of the rib-shaped convex portion 2b passes over the sloped top portion 9d of the first lever 9 and hangs on the sloped portion 9c. Since the lever 9 is rotationally biased counterclockwise by the torsion spring 14 in FIG. 3 via the second lever 11, the rib-shaped convex portion 2b is formed.
Follows and rotates counterclockwise. The shaft 11c of the second lever 11 and the protrusion 12a of the third lever 12 come into contact with each other at a position rotated by a certain angle. At this time, the torsion spring 14 releases the load that is pressing the strobe light emitting section 5 to the light emitting position, so that the strobe light emitting section 5 is interlocked with the first lever 9 by the spring 20 in the counterclockwise rotation and The lever 11 and the third lever 12 rotate together in the storage position direction. When the drive ring 2 is further rotated, the strobe light emitting unit 5 is stopped at the retracted position, and the second and third levers 11 and 12 are also stopped accordingly.

Subsequently, the drive ring 2 is rotated by a predetermined angle as the convex rib 2a is separated from the inclined surface portion 9b of the first lever 9,
Detects that the taking lens barrel is in the retracted position and stops. With that, the storing operation is completed. When some external force is applied to the stroboscopic light emitting unit 5 so as to prevent the operation, the shaft 11c of the second lever 11 is stored.
After the protrusion 12a of the third lever 12 abuts, the rib-shaped protrusion 2b of the drive ring 2 only moves away from the first lever 9, and the third lever 12, the connecting rod 15, There is no effect on the strobe light emitting part 5 and it is not destroyed. This is also the same when the strobe light emitting part 5 is pushed up when the strobe is stored, and the strobe light emitting part 5 and the connecting rod 15 are interlocked. The second and third lever 1
Since only 1 and 12 rotate, the related parts are not destroyed.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment.
An embodiment will be described. 6 and 7, the same members as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, unlike the above-described example,
The connecting rod connecting shaft 8a of the crank 8 is the stroboscopic light emitting section 5.
Is located above the center of rotation of. As a result, the urging force of the spring 20 to the strobe light emitting portion 5 acts to rotationally urge it toward the light emitting position, which is in a phase opposite to that of the above-described embodiment. Therefore, when the rib-shaped protrusion 2b of the drive ring 2 is riding on the sloped top 9d of the first lever 9, the strobe light emitting unit 5 is in the stored state shown in FIG. Is ready to emit light.

The operation of the drive ring 2 is different from that of the above-mentioned embodiment, and is rotated clockwise from the retracted position of the strobe to the light emitting position in FIG. → Configured to move to tele position. Since the rib-shaped convex portion 2b only has to press the first lever 9 only at the retracted position, in the above-described embodiment,
While the outer surface of the drive ring 2 is required only for the rotatable range, this embodiment can function with a small convex portion as shown in the drawing.

Although these embodiments have been described using the zoom camera, there is an annular member for moving the photographing lens back and forth, and depending on the rotational position, the retracted position (non-photographing position) and the photographing position are selected. Needless to say, a single focus camera or a double focus camera can be applied as long as the photographing lens is switched.

That is, a specific operation is performed while the camera is in operation so that the camera is ready for shooting, and it is irrelevant to the shooting operation, and when the camera is ready for shooting, it returns to its original position. The strobe light emitting unit may be rotationally driven using the member.

[0035]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the strobe light emitting unit is moved between the light emitting position and the storage position by utilizing the driving force of the moving member that drives between the photographing position and the non-photographing position. Therefore, it is possible to move the built-in strobe light emitting section of the camera to the light emitting position by turning on the main power source without providing a dedicated drive source, and when the moving member returns to the original position by turning off the main power source. , The strobe light emitting part is also automatically stored in the storage position.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the strobe light emitting portion is driven by using the lever mechanism to move between the retracted position and the light emitting position, so that the structure can be simplified.

According to the third aspect of the invention, as the moving member, for example, an annular member for driving the taking lens from the retracted position to the position where the photographing can be performed can be used, and the focusing operation and the zooming operation are performed. However, during this time, since the annular member does not move at all, the stroboscopic light emitting portion does not return to the storage position by mistake.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the first state and the second state can be set to the light emitting position or the storage position as needed without fixing the first state and the second state. The configuration of can also be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the camera shown in FIG. 1, showing a storage position of a strobe light emitting unit.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the camera shown in FIG. 1, showing a light emitting position of a strobe light emitting section.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the strobe light emitting unit is pressed by an external force in the state of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the strobe light emitting unit is fixed by an external force in the state of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the camera of the second embodiment, showing a storage position of a strobe light emitting unit.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the camera of the second embodiment, showing a light emitting position of a strobe light emitting section.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Camera body 2 ... Drive ring 3 ... Motor 4 ... Reduction gear train 5 ... Strobe light emitting part 8 ... Crank 9 ... First lever 11 ... Second lever 12 ... Third lever 14 ... Torsion spring 15 ... Connecting rod

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A camera body that rotates between a non-photographing position and a photographing position and a light emitting position and a storage position with a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the photographing lens as a rotation axis. And a transmission unit that moves the strobe light emitting unit between the light emitting position and the storage position in association with the movement operation of the moving member. 2. The lever mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the transmission means engages with a lever mechanism for moving the strobe light emitting portion between a light emitting position and a storage position by lever driving, and a lever member of the lever mechanism. And an engaging portion provided on the moving member for displacing the state between the state and the second state of non-engagement. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the moving member is an annular member that is rotatable about the optical axis to move the taking lens along the optical axis. 4. The camera according to claim 2, wherein the first state is that the stroboscopic light emitting unit is in the storage position, and the second state is that the stroboscopic light emitting unit is in the light emitting position. 5. The camera according to claim 2, wherein in the first state, the strobe light emitting unit is located at the light emitting position, and in the second state, the strobe light emitting unit is located at the storage position.