JPH1039405A - Instant camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure the flatness of a film unit by energizing a film pressing member with a sufficient force level and to suppress the manufacturing costs of an instant camera low. SOLUTION: The same number of film pressing devices 33 is fastened with screws in positions corresponding to the oblong holes 28 of a bottom plate 22b, on the inwall of a rear cover 13. In the film pressing device 33, the film pressing member 35 is freely movably provided in the thickness direction of the rear cover 13, in a frame 34 and one coil spring 36 at a high force level is incorporated between the film pressing member 35 and the rear cover 13. The torsion coil spring 36 has a pair of arm parts extended from a coil part and the respective top ends of the arm parts uniformly press both end parts of the long and narrow film pressing member 35. When a film pack 16 is loaded into a film pack loading chamber 14 and the rear cover 13 is closed, the film pressing member 35 enters into the film pack 16 from the oblong hole 28, to press a light shielding sheet 30 and peel a stuck peripheral part. The sheet 30 is stiff so that pressing force by the film pressing member 35 is exerted up to the ends and almost the entire image display surface of the film unit 15 is pressed on the side of an exposure aperture 23, to impart the flatness.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instant camera, and more particularly, to an instant camera having a back cover provided with a means for urging a film unit toward an exposure opening.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An instant camera is well known as a camera that allows a user to immediately view a photograph on the spot. In the film loading chamber of such an instant camera, a film unit containing a developer is stacked and stored in a plastic case, and a metal leaf spring that pushes the film unit from the back side to the inner wall on the back side in the case. The film pack incorporating the pressure plate is loaded. This film pack is taken out of the film loading chamber after the entire built-in film unit is photographed and discharged, and is discarded.

However, since the case of the film pack is made of plastic and the pressure plate is made of metal, it is not preferable in terms of environmental protection if the film pack is discarded as it is. It is good to disassemble the film pack, take out the pressure plate from the case, and recycle the case and the pressure plate separately, but this is very expensive. Therefore, the present applicant has provided a film holding device inside the back cover of the instant camera, whereby the film unit stacked in the case of the film pack is connected to the film pack through a hole formed on the back side of the case. There has been proposed an instant camera in which a pressure plate is omitted from a film pack by pressing toward an exposure opening (for example, JP-A-7-244336).

[0004] The hole of the case is shielded from the inside of the case by a light shielding sheet. The light-shielding sheet is adhered to the bottom plate of the case with a weak edge at the peripheral portion, and when the back cover is closed after loading the film pack into the film pack loading chamber, the light-shielding sheet is peeled off from the bottom plate by the pressing of the film holding device. It has become. Further, in the film holding device, the film holding member is movably housed in the thickness direction of the back cover in the frame, and is urged in a direction away from the back cover by a leaf spring incorporated in the frame. A plurality of these are attached inside the back cover. The leaf spring is formed by bending both sides of an elongated elastic metal plate in the same direction, and biases a film holding member at both ends.

[0005]

The above-mentioned leaf spring urges the film holding member to peel off the adhesive of the light-shielding sheet, and further presses around ten film units to maintain the flatness in good condition. It turned out that his ability was not enough. Therefore, in actual commercialization, 3 leaf springs are required.
They are used in piles. However, since it is extremely troublesome to attach a frame by placing a film holding member on top of three leaf springs and attaching the frame to the back cover,
There is a disadvantage that the manufacturing cost is high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an instant camera in which the film holding member is urged with a sufficient amount of force to secure the flatness of the film unit while maintaining a high working efficiency and a low production cost.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an instant camera according to the present invention has an exposure opening on the front side and a plurality of holes formed on the back side. A case covered with a weak light-shielding sheet,
A film pack loading chamber for loading a film pack comprising a self-processing type film unit stacked and housed in this case is provided, and a back lid for opening and closing the film pack loading chamber is provided. An instant camera provided with a film pressing member for pressing the film unit toward the exposure opening through the light-shielding sheet through the light-shielding sheet.
The torsion coil springs are urged away from the back cover.

The film holding member has an elongated shape, and the torsion coil spring has a pair of arms extending to the same length from a central portion wound in a coil shape. The ends of the film pressing member are evenly biased at the leading end of the film pressing member. Further, the light-shielding sheet is formed of a material having strong stiffness.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG.
When the back cover 13 is opened, the film pack loading chamber 14 is exposed. Film pack loading room 1
4, a film unit 15 provided with an exposure surface 15a, a developer pod 15b containing a developer, and a trap portion 15c for absorbing an excess developer during development is laminated. The stored film pack 16 is loaded.

On the upper wall of the film pack loading chamber 14, a film unit 15 discharged from the film pack 16 is placed.
An opening 18 for sending the fluid to the outlet 17 is formed,
A developing roller pair 19 is provided on the upper part. The developing roller pair 19 sandwiches the exposed film unit 15 by rotating in the direction of the arrow, respectively.
This is for pressing the developer pod 15b of the film unit 15 to tear the film, and for spreading the developer on the exposure surface 15a. Further, a discharge passage 2 is provided above the developing roller pair 19.
0 is formed, and the film unit 15 is discharged from the discharge port 17 through the discharge passage 20.

A film pack 16 is provided with a plurality of film units 15 in a case 22 made of plastic.
Are stacked and stored. The case 22 includes a case body 22a and a bottom plate 22b.
After laminating the film unit 15 in 2a, the bottom plate 22b is joined to the opening of the case body 22a by, for example, ultrasonic welding. Although the number of the film units 15 loaded in the case 22 is usually about ten, the number is reduced to avoid complication of the drawing.

An exposure opening 23 for defining an exposure range to the film unit 15 is formed on the front side of the case body 22a. The exposure opening 23 is shielded from light by a light-shielding cover 24 which is superimposed on the uppermost film unit 15 when not in use. The exposure opening 23 has a notch (not shown) into which a well-known claw member enters. Is attached. Further, a slit-shaped outlet 2 through which the film unit 15 after photographing is discharged is provided at an upper portion of the case body 22a.
5 are formed. From the discharge port 25, the light shielding cover 24 as well as the film unit 15 is discharged.

As shown in FIG. 2, two long holes 28 are formed in the bottom plate 22b as entrances for a film holding member to be described later to enter the film pack 16. A light-shielding sheet 30 that covers the long hole 28 and shields light is adhered to the inner wall of the bottom plate 22b. The light-shielding sheet 30 is made of a light-tight light-shielding material, and the edge on the center side of the bottom plate is fixed to the bottom plate 22b by a pressing piece 29, and the other peripheral edge is adhered with relatively weak adhesive force.

The same number (two in this embodiment) of film holding devices 33 are screwed to the inner wall of the back cover 13 at positions corresponding to the long holes 28. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the film holding device 33 includes a film holding member 35 that is elongated in the width direction of the film unit 15 and is movably provided in the frame 34 in the thickness direction of the back cover 13. One torsion coil spring 36 having a large force is incorporated between the back cover 13 and the back cover 13. The torsion coil spring 36 has a pair of arms 36b extending the same length around the coil 36a.
Both ends of the film holding member 35 are evenly urged by the leading end 36c of 6b. As a result, the film pressing member 35 is urged strongly in a direction away from the back cover 13 and without bias.

At the lower center of each of the opposing inner walls of the frame 34,
Recesses 34a for receiving and positioning the side portions of the coil portion 36a of the torsion coil spring 36 are provided. The lower part of the center of the film holding member 35 receives a part of the coil portion 36a,
A notch 35a is formed to secure a larger movement amount of No. 5. At both ends of the film holding member 35, stoppers 35b and 35c that regulate the movement range of each tip 36c of the torsion coil spring 36 are formed integrally with the film holding member 35. As shown in FIG. 1, the film holding device 33 near the hinge 11 is obliquely attached so as to press the film unit 15 toward the trap portion 15c. Thereby, the film unit 1
The end of 5 and the claw member are easily engaged.

A pair of leaf springs 38 are attached to the inner wall of the back cover 13 in addition to the film holding device 33. When the back cover 13 is closed, the leaf spring 38 presses the film pack 16 against the surface of the film pack loading chamber 14 on the photographic lens 39 side from behind to position the film pack 16. A viewing window 40 for confirming the presence or absence of the film pack 16 is formed at one corner of the back cover 13. Installed. Reference numeral 43
Is an attachment frame for the back cover 13 which constitutes a part of the main body 3. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 45 denotes a shutter unit.

In order to use the instant camera 2 configured as described above, first, after confirming that the film pack 16 has not been loaded through the viewing window 40, the back cover 13 of the instant camera 2 is opened and the film pack 16 is opened. Loading room 14
Is exposed. Then, the film pack 16 is loaded into the film pack loading chamber 14. Thereafter, when the back cover 13 is closed, the film holding member 3 of the film holding device 33 is closed.
5 is the bottom plate 22 due to the strong urging force of the torsion coil spring 36.
b enters the film pack 16 through the long hole 28, and presses the light shielding sheet 30 that has blocked the long hole 28, thereby peeling off the adhesive at the peripheral edge. The light-shielding sheet 30 is pushed up by the film pressing member 35 while the other side is locked at the center of the bottom plate 22b. Also, Film Pack 1
6 is positioned by being pressed against the surface of the film pack loading chamber 14 on the photographic lens 39 side by the leaf spring 38.

After loading the film pack, the shutter button is first depressed in preparation for photographing. Immediately after the shutter unit 45 is driven, the claw member enters the notch provided along with the exposure opening 23 of the film pack 16 and hooks the light-shielding cover 24 superimposed on the uppermost layer of the film unit 15, thereby causing the film pack 16 to move. Out of the discharge port 25. The light-shielding cover 24 that has been sent out passes through the opening 18 of the film pack loading chamber 14, and is discharged from the discharge port 17 provided in the upper part of the main body 3 through the discharge passage 20 by the developing roller pair 19.

When the light-shielding cover 24 is discharged, the film unit 15 is pressed by the film holding member 35 toward the exposure opening 23 and moved to the uppermost layer. Both ends of the film holding member 35 are strongly and evenly pressed by the torsion coil spring 36, and the film holding member 35 presses the light shielding sheet 30 widely and uniformly in the width direction of the film unit 15. The light shielding sheet 30 is a film holding member 35.
Is a part of the light shielding sheet 30,
Since the light shielding sheet 30 is strong, the film holding member 3
The pressing force by 5 extends to the tip of the light shielding sheet 30. Thus, although the number of the film pressing members 35 is two,
Almost the entire image display surface of the film unit 15 is uniformly pressed toward the exposure opening 23, and the flatness of the film unit 15 is ensured. In addition, since one end side toward the discharge port 17 and the other end side engaging with the claw member are pressed against the front surface of the case 22, the discharge of the exposed film unit 15 is stabilized.

The photographer confirms the subject with the viewfinder and presses down the shutter button. As a result, the shutter unit 45 is driven, and the subject light that has passed through the photographing lens 39 passes through the exposure opening 23 to expose the exposure surface 15a of the film unit 15 to light. Then, the claw member enters the notch provided alongside the exposure opening 23 of the film pack 16, catches the end of the exposed film unit 15, and sends it out from the discharge port 25 of the film pack 16.

The film unit 15 sent out from the discharge port 25 of the film pack 16 passes through the opening 18 of the film pack loading chamber 14 and is nipped by a pair of developing rollers 19, and the developing solution pod 15b is cut open to develop the developing medium. The liquid is spread on the exposure surface 15a, and the excess developer is
Is absorbed by Then, it is taken out from the discharge port 17 provided in the upper part of the main body 3 through the discharge passage 20.

In the embodiment described above, the number of the film pressing devices is two, but the number can be arbitrarily changed according to the size of the film unit and the like. Further, since the light-shielding sheet is formed from a material having a strong stiffness, the number of film holding devices can be reduced. However, if the light-shielding sheet is formed from a material having a weak stiffness, the number of the film holding devices is increased.

[0023]

As described above, according to the instant camera of the present invention, the film holding member is urged by one torsion coil spring, so that there is no need to stack three leaf springs. This can be unnecessary, and the film holding member can be urged with a sufficient force to secure the flatness of the film unit, and the production cost can be reduced with high working efficiency. In addition, since a torsion coil spring having a pair of arms extending the same length from the coiled central portion is used, both ends of the elongated film holding member can be evenly biased, making it extremely simple. Despite the simple configuration, the flatness of the film unit can be ensured. Further, since the light-shielding sheet is formed of a material having a strong stiffness, the film unit can be pressed almost uniformly with a small number of film holding members, and the flatness thereof can be secured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing a structure of an instant camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing each appearance of a film unit, a bottom plate of a film pack, and a back cover.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the film holding device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the film holding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Instant Camera 3 Camera Body 13 Back Cover 14 Film Pack Loading Chamber 15 Film Unit 16 Film Pack 22 Case 22b Bottom Plate 30 Light Shielding Sheet 33 Film Holder 34 Frame 35 Film Holder 36 Torsion Coil Spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A case in which an exposure opening is formed on the front side and a plurality of holes are formed on the back side, and a case covered with a light-shielding sheet from the inside so as to close the holes, and a self-processing type laminated and housed in the case. A film pack loading chamber into which a film pack comprising a film unit is loaded, and a back cover for opening and closing the film pack loading chamber, enters through the hole when the back cover is closed, and passes through the light shielding sheet. An instant camera provided with a film pressing member that presses the film unit toward the exposure opening, wherein the film pressing member is urged away from the back cover by a single torsion coil spring. Instant camera. 2. The film holding member has an elongated shape, and the torsion coil spring has a pair of arms extending the same length from a central portion wound in a coil shape. 2. The instant camera according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the film holding member are evenly urged by a tip of the camera. 3. The instant camera according to claim 1, wherein the light-shielding sheet is formed of a stiff material.