JPH10271376A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera which is easily formed into a PC card when it is inserted into a card slot of a personal computer, etc., and which is convenient for carrying. SOLUTION: A lens unit 14, in which a photographic lens 20 is installed, is attachably/detachably attached to a camera main body unit 16 in which a CCD, etc., is installed, so that direction of thickness of a camera 10 coincides with an optical axis. Only the camera main body unit 16 is inserted into the card slot of the personal computer, etc., and the lens unit 14 is attached to the camera main body unit 16 when the camera 10 is used as a camera.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly to a digital camera configured to be a PC card when inserted into a card slot of a personal computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-313716, 7-322117 and 8-9215 disclose a digital camera that attempts to downsize the entire camera to the size of a PC card. Have been. For example, in a digital camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-327716, a camera section, an image input section, and an image memory section are attached to a PC card section, and the PC card section is inserted into a card slot of an external information processing apparatus. The device can be monitored in real time, and the external information processing device can access the image memory unit of the camera.

[0003]

However, in the conventional digital camera, a portion to be inserted into a card slot of an external information processing apparatus such as a notebook personal computer has a thickness of a PC card, but a photographing section including a photographing lens is still used. It has a bulge and does not fit in the size of the PC card.

Therefore, there is a disadvantage that it is inconvenient to carry when inserted into a card slot of an external information processing apparatus. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when inserted into a card slot of an external processing device such as a personal computer, the present invention easily becomes a PC card shape, is convenient to carry, and has a camera function. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital camera capable of improving performance.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, there is provided a lens unit having a photographing lens, wherein the lens unit is arranged so that the optical axis of the photographing lens coincides with the thickness direction of the camera. A camera body unit in which an element, an image processing circuit and the like are provided and formed in the same shape as the PC card, and the lens unit is detachably mounted. The image data can be transmitted to an external information processing apparatus by inserting the lens unit into a card slot of the processing apparatus, and photographing can be performed by attaching the lens unit to the camera body unit.

According to the present invention, a lens unit in which a photographing lens is arranged so that an optical axis coincides with a thickness direction is formed in the same shape as a PC card with an image pickup device, an image processing circuit and the like provided therein. Since it is detachably attached to the camera body unit, only the camera body unit is inserted into the card slot of the external information processing device when sending image data to the external information processing device, and the lens unit is used when shooting. When attached to the camera body unit, it functions as a camera. Further, at the time of photographing, since the lens unit is used by being superimposed on the surface of the camera body unit, a long optical path length at the time of photographing can be secured. In addition, since the lens unit and camera body unit are made removable,
It is convenient to carry.

Further, since the lens unit has the same shape as the camera body unit, the balance at the time of photographing by the camera is well-balanced, and the carrying becomes more convenient.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a digital camera according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram when the camera of FIG. 1 is separated into a lens unit and a PC card-shaped camera main unit. .

As shown in these figures, a digital camera 10 according to the present invention includes a lens unit 14 having a taking lens 20 therein, a camera having an image pickup device (CCD), an image processing circuit, a built-in memory and the like. The lens unit 14 is detachably attached to the camera body unit 16. The lens unit 14 is provided with the taking lens 20 and has a first opening 44 formed on the bottom surface corresponding to the taking lens 20 (see FIG. 2). The taking lens 20 is disposed such that its optical axis coincides with the thickness direction of the camera 10. The first opening 44 is provided with a door 46 that can be opened and closed. In addition, a strobe light emission window 48 is formed on the upper surface of the lens unit 14, and a strobe (not shown), a battery 50, a strobe condenser 51, and the like are provided therein. Further, the lens unit 14 is provided with an operation button 24 (see FIG. 3) including a shutter release button. The finder frame 54 shown in FIG. 1 is provided in the lens unit 14 so as to be able to be pulled out, and is used by a photographer by pulling it out of a slot (not shown) of the lens unit 14 at the time of photographing, and is stored when not in use.

The camera body unit 16 is formed in a well-known PC card shape, and has a thickness of, for example, a PC card standard Type 1 (3.3 mm) and a type 2 (5.0 m).
m), Type 3 (10.5 mm), Type 4 (1
6.0 mm). As shown in FIG. 2, the lens unit 1
A second opening 54 corresponding to the first opening 44 is provided, and a door 56 that can be opened and closed is provided in the second opening 54. The CCD 22 is located at a position facing the second opening 54.
Is installed internally. That is, similarly to the photographing lens 20, the CCD 22 is also arranged such that its optical axis coincides with the thickness direction of the camera 10. On one side of the side edge of the camera body unit 16, a camera-side connector 42 that can be connected to a card slot of an external information processing device such as a personal computer having a slot-side connector is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of contact protrusions 52 are provided on the bottom surface of the lens unit 14, while the lens unit 14 is provided on the top surface of the camera body unit 16. A plurality of contact concave portions 58, 58... Corresponding to the contact convex portions 52 are provided. Then, by contacting the contact convex portion 52 and the contact concave portion 58,
Power is supplied from a battery 50 to the CCD 22, a driving circuit, an image processing circuit, and the like provided in the camera body unit 16.

At the bottom corner of the lens unit 14, projections 60, 60... For mounting the lens unit 14 on the camera body unit 16 are provided. Are formed corresponding to. When the lens unit 14 is mounted on the camera body unit 16, the mounting / separating device 100 described later is operated by a mounting / dismounting operation unit 64 provided on the side surface of the lens unit 14, and the projection 6
0 is engaged with the engagement hole 62.

FIG. 3 shows the digital camera 10 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the device. In the figure, a subject image formed on a light receiving surface of a CCD (image pickup device) 22 via a photographing lens 20 is photoelectrically converted here and sequentially read as a CCD output signal by a driving pulse applied from a CCD driving circuit 34. Is done. This CCD output signal is
The analog signal is added to an analog processing circuit 26 having a CDS circuit, a gain adjustment circuit, a color balance adjustment circuit, and the like. The analog signal is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter 28 and output to a digital image processing circuit 30. Is done. The drive pulse is output from the CCD drive circuit 34 based on the timing signal output from the timing generator 36, and the analog processing circuit 26
The A / D converter 28 and the like are synchronized.

The digital processing circuit 30 includes a luminance signal generation circuit, a color difference signal generation circuit, a gamma correction circuit, a compression circuit and the like, and stores image data processed by these circuits in a built-in memory (for example, a built-in flash memory) 32. Output. This image data is recorded in the built-in memory 32 under the control of the memory control circuit 40. The built-in memory 32 has a capacity capable of recording a plurality of (for example, about ten to several tens) image data.

The system control circuit 38 controls and controls the respective circuits of the camera. The system control circuit 38 controls the photographing based on an input signal from the operation button 24 including the shutter release button, and the memory control circuit 40. Control of writing image data to the built-in memory 32, control of transfer of image data to an external device such as a personal computer or printer via the connector 42, control of erasure of image data, and the like are performed.

At the time of photographing, the lens unit 14
Is attached to the camera body unit 16 and the lens unit 1
The fourth contact projection 52 is brought into contact with the contact recess 58 of the camera body unit 16. As a result, as described above, C
Each measure of the camera body unit 16 such as the CD 22 is energized, and furthermore, the opening and closing device 66 of the doors 46 and 56 is also energized to form the door of the first opening 44 formed in the lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 16. Second opening 54
Is opened, and a light path for photographing from the photographing lens 20 to the CCD 22 is formed.

FIG. 4A shows a state in which the doors 46 and 56 are closed, and FIG. 4B shows a state in which the doors 46 and 56 are open. Two doors, a movable door 68 and a fixed door 70, are provided. It is a case where it consists of. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of slide grooves 72, 72 parallel to the opening and closing direction are formed in the fixed door 70,
A pair of pins 74 formed on the upper surface of the movable door 68 is engaged with the slide groove 72 of the fixed door 70. Thereby, when the doors 46 and 56 open as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4B, the movable door 68 slides along the lower surface of the fixed door 70.

FIG. 5 shows a door opening / closing mechanism 66, and the fixed door 70 is shown by imaginary lines so that the door opening / closing mechanism 66 can be easily understood. The opening / closing mechanism 66 includes the lens unit 14
It is provided in both the camera body unit 16 and the camera body unit 16 and has the following configuration. One end of a first arm 78 is pivotally supported at one corner of the movable door 68 via a pin 76,
One end of a second arm 82 and one end of a third arm 84 are supported at the other end of the first arm 78 via pins 80, respectively. The other end of the second arm 82 is rotatably supported via a fixing pin 86, and a permanent magnet 88 is provided at the other end of the third arm 84. Then, the third arm 84
Is guided in the left-right direction in FIG. 5 by a pair of guide members 90. Thus, a link mechanism having the fixing pin 86 as a fixed end is formed.

Further, an electromagnet 92 is arranged on a straight line of the third arm 84 so as to face the permanent magnet 88 of the third arm 84. The opposite poles of the permanent magnet 88 and the electromagnet 92 of the third arm 84 are set to be the same (N and N or S and S). Thereby, the electromagnet 92
, A repulsive force (in the direction of arrow A) of the permanent magnet 88 and the electromagnet 92 acts on the third arm 84. Further, one end of a spring 96 is connected to the movable door 68, and the other end is supported by a pin 98 fixed to the camera body unit 16 body. The movable door 68 is biased by the spring 96 in the upper direction of FIG. 5, that is, in the direction of closing the movable door 68 (the direction of arrow C). When the electromagnet 92 is energized, the repulsive force between the magnets 88 and 92 is set to be larger than the urging force of the spring 96.

Accordingly, when the lens unit 14 is attached to the camera body unit 16 and power is supplied to the electromagnet 92 of the opening / closing mechanism 66 during photographing, the door 56 is opened via the link mechanism as shown in FIG. 4B. That is, the third arm 84 moves in the direction B in FIG. 5 against the urging force of the spring 96 due to the repulsive force of the magnets 88 and 92, and the movable door 68 slides in the direction D in FIG. , The door 56 opens. On the other hand, when the photographing is completed and the lens unit 14 is separated from the camera body unit 16 and the electromagnet 92 of the opening / closing mechanism 66 is not energized, as shown in FIGS.
8 is pulled by the spring 96 and slides in the direction C in FIG. 5, so that the door 56 closes.

Although the link mechanism of the door opening / closing mechanism 66 is operated by using the magnetism of the electromagnet 92 as described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the relative position of the permanent magnet 88 attached to the distal end of the third arm 84 of the link mechanism provided between the camera body unit 16 and the lens unit 14 is shifted to attach the lens unit 14 to the camera body unit 16. At this time, a repulsive force may be generated between the magnets 88. Further, a permanent magnet (not shown) is attached to the tip of the projection 60 so that when the projection 60 is mounted in the engagement groove 62, the permanent magnet comes to the position of the electromagnet 92 in FIG. The permanent magnet 60 and the permanent magnet 88 of the third arm 84 may be repelled.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view for explaining the mounting / separating device 100 when the lens unit 14 is mounted on or separated from the camera body unit 16. As shown in FIG. 6, the above-described protrusions 60 are formed at four corners on the bottom surface of the lens unit 14, respectively, and one of the protrusions 60 is provided with the above-mentioned attachment / detachment operation portion 64. The attachment / detachment operation unit 64 can be operated from outside the lens unit 14 body. On the other hand, the engagement hole 62 described above is formed in the camera body unit 16 at a position corresponding to the protrusion 60. As shown in FIG. 6, each of the protrusions 60 has a hook-shaped portion 60 </ b> A formed at the tip and a side groove 62 </ b> A corresponding to the hook-shaped portion 60 </ b> A at the back of the engagement hole 62. Further, a tapered portion 62B is formed at the entrance of the engagement hole 62 so that the projection 60 can be smoothly inserted.

Each of the projections 60 is connected by four interlocking arms 106, and of the connecting arms 106, the connecting arm 10 in the EF direction in FIG.
6 is provided with a guide member 108 provided on the lens unit 14 body. Thereby, the lens unit 14
When the attachment / detachment operation unit 64 is slid along the direction of EF in FIG. 6, all the projections 60 slide in conjunction with each other. Further, one end of a spring 110 is connected to the projection 60 provided with the attaching / detaching operation portion 64, and the other end is supported by a pin 111 fixed to the PC card 16 main body. Thereby, each projection 60 is urged in the direction of F in FIG. 6, that is, in the direction of the side groove 62A of the engagement hole 62.

Therefore, when mounting the lens unit 14 on the camera body unit 16, the photographer slides the detachable operation unit 64 in the direction E in FIG. When the projections 60 are inserted into the 16 engagement holes 62 and the detachment operation section 64 is released, the respective projections 60 slide in the direction F in FIG. As a result, the hook-shaped portions 6 formed on the respective projections 60 are formed.
The lens unit 14 is mounted on the camera body unit 16 because 0A engages with the side groove 62A formed in each engagement hole 62. At this time, the tapered portion 62B
Is formed, the projections 60 can be smoothly inserted into the engagement holes 62, and the hook-shaped portions 60A of the projections 60 engage with the side grooves 62A of the engagement holes 62, so that the projections 60 are securely and firmly mounted. be able to.

Next, the operation of the card-size digital camera of the present invention configured as described above will be described. The lens unit 1 can be carried around or inserted into a card slot of an external information processing device such as a notebook computer.
4 is inserted into the card slot with the camera body unit 4 separated.

When the lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 16 are separated from each other, the CCD 22 and the photographing lens 2
Since no optical path for photographing is formed between 0 and 0, photographing cannot be performed. When photographing, the photographer operates the attachment / detachment operation section 64 of the mounting / separating device 100 to engage the projection 60 of the lens unit 14 with the engagement hole 62 of the camera body unit 16, and Is mounted on the camera body unit 16. By this mounting, the contact projection 52 of the lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 16
The contact recess 58 electrically contacts the electromagnet 92 of the opening / closing mechanism 66 so that the door 46 of the first opening 44 formed in the lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 1
The door 56 of the second opening 54 formed in 6 is opened to form an optical path for photographing. Further, the taking lens 20 and the CCD 22
Are lined up in a straight line, and shooting is possible.

When the doors 46 and 56 are closed after the photographing is completed, the photographer only has to operate the detachable operation unit 64 to separate the lens unit 14 from the camera body unit 16. As a result, the electromagnet 92 of the opening / closing mechanism 66 does not function, and the door 46 of the first opening 44 and the door 56 of the second opening 54 are closed. As described above, the digital camera of the present invention easily becomes a PC card when inserted into a card slot of an external processing device such as a personal computer.
At the time of shooting, an optical system functioning as a camera can be formed.

Also, since the lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 16 can be easily separated, it is convenient for carrying. For example, even if the personal computer is carried around while the camera main unit 16 is inserted into the card slot of the personal computer, the camera main unit 16 does not interfere. Further, at the time of shooting, the lens unit 14 is used by being superimposed on the camera body unit 16, so that the optical path length at the time of shooting can be ensured. As a result, the optical path length can be increased, so that the photographing lens 20 can be made large and the CCD 22 having a large number of pixels can be employed. Therefore, the quality of a captured image can be improved as compared with a conventional digital camera.

Further, since the doors 46 and 56 are provided in the openings 44 and 54 of the lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 16, dust and dirt can be prevented from entering the optical system. Can be protected. 7 and 8 are explanatory views showing a second embodiment of the card-size digital camera of the present invention. still,
Members and devices similar to those described in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, as in the first embodiment, the camera 10 includes a lens unit 14 having a photographic lens 20 provided therein and a camera body unit 16 having a CCD 22 and the like provided therein. And a lens unit 1
4 is detachably attached to the camera body unit 16.
FIG. 7 shows the lens unit 14 connected to the camera body unit 16.
FIG. 8 is a view in which the lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 16 are separated.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the lens unit 14 has the same shape as the PC card, and the lens unit 14 is
The lens unit 14 and the camera body unit 16 when mounted on each other are overlapped in the same vertical and horizontal sizes. According to the second embodiment of the digital camera of the present invention, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the shape of the camera 10 itself is the same as that of the card. The lens unit does not swell as in. Therefore, the balance at the time of shooting is good, and it is convenient when the camera body is carried as it is.

In the second embodiment, the sum of the thickness of the lens unit 14 and the thickness of the camera body unit 16 is Type 3 (10.5 mm) or Type 4 (16.
(0 mm).
For example, the thickness of the camera body unit is formed to be the thinnest type 1 (3.3 mm) of the 4 types, the thickness of the lens unit is set to 7 mm, and the thickness of the camera body is set to Typ.
Make it fit in e3. As described above, when the lens unit 14 is made thinner, the battery 50,
It is preferable to arrange the battery capacitors 51 in the horizontal direction.

[0033]

As described above, according to the digital camera of the present invention, when the digital camera is inserted into a card slot of an external processing device such as a personal computer, the digital camera easily becomes a PC card and functions as a camera at the time of photographing. Also, since the lens unit and the camera body unit are easily separated, it is convenient when carrying.

In taking a picture, the lens unit having the photographing lens is used by being superposed on the camera body unit having the image pickup device and the like, so that the optical axis of the photographing lens is in the thickness direction of the camera body. However, the optical path length at the time of photographing can be ensured even if the optical path length is set to match.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view illustrating a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in which a lens unit and a camera body unit of FIG. 1 are separated.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the digital camera of the present invention.

4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams illustrating the structure of the door, wherein FIG. 4A is a diagram when the door is closed, and FIG. 4B is a diagram when the door is opened.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating a door opening / closing mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view illustrating a mounting / separating mechanism of the mounting / separating device.

FIG. 7 is an external view illustrating a digital camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view in which the lens unit and the camera body unit of FIG. 7 are separated.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital camera 14 ... Lens unit 16 ... Camera body unit 20 ... Shooting lens 22 ... CCD 24 ... Operation button 44 ... First opening 46,56 ... Door 52 ... Contact convex part 54 ... Second opening 58 ... Contact Recess for use 60 ... projection 62 ... engagement hole 64 ... removal operation part 66 ... door opening / closing mechanism 68 ... movable door 70 ... fixed door 78 ... first arm 82 ... second arm 84 ... third arm 88 ... permanent Magnet 92: electromagnet

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A lens unit having a photographic lens and arranged so that an optical axis of the photographic lens coincides with a thickness direction of a camera; and a PC card in which an image sensor, an image processing circuit, and the like are internally provided. A camera body unit formed in the same shape and to which the lens unit is detachably mounted, and wherein the camera body unit is inserted into a card slot of an external information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, so that A digital camera capable of transmitting image data, and enabling photographing by mounting the lens unit on the camera body unit. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein said lens unit is formed in the same shape as said camera body unit.
Digital camera. 3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said lens unit is provided with a strobe and a power supply for photographing.