JPH11160770A - Body structure for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide body structure for a camera having a strap attaching part excellent in outside appearance and realizing the reduction of the cost of a metallic mold for producing a front cover and a rear cover being plastic molding. SOLUTION: The body of the compact camera 10 is constituted of a main body member 12, the front cover 14 and the rear cover 16 engaged with each other and covering over the member 12, and a separate member 18 formed separately from them. Then, the strap attaching part 56 is formed at a binding part between the front cover and the rear cover and includes a slender groove 58 formed on the surface of the body. The groove has a pair of side wall parts 60a and 60b, a pair of end wall parts 62a and 62b, a bottom wall part 64 and a bridge part 66. A strap or a strap locking tool is inserted through between the bridge part and the bottom wall part. The respective parts of the groove are suitably formed of the front cover, the rear cover and the separate member, which are assembled by screws.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera body structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One type of photographic camera is a so-called compact camera. In general, compact cameras emphasize portability, operability, and appearance rather than high image quality.
Because products are planned for mass sales, low-cost manufacturing is also an important design consideration. In addition, since a compact camera is lightweight and small, in most cases, a short strap is provided to carry the camera with the camera hanging on the wrist.

The price of recent compact cameras has been remarkably reduced, and there is an extremely strong demand for cost reduction. Therefore, a recent compact camera body structure is configured by assembling a body member which is a chassis of the camera body, and a front cover and a rear cover of a plastic molded product which engage with each other and cover the body member. The body structure has been widely adopted. For the strap mounting part, there was no particular inconvenience even in the past when there was a structure in which the bracket for mounting the strap was screwed to the camera body, but the current high wage level and the strong demand for cost reduction If considered, such a costly construction is no longer an acceptable situation. Especially,
In a compact camera having a body structure using a front cover and a rear cover of a plastic molded product, as a method of providing a strap mounting portion on the body, it is costly to integrally form the strap mounting portion on the front cover or the rear cover. The advantages are clear.

[0004]

However, such a camera body structure has the following problems. That is, in consideration of the appearance and storage of the compact camera, it is necessary to avoid making the strap mounting portion protrude from the surface of the body, but the strap mounting portion is dug into the body. If the shape is used, the cost of a mold for manufacturing the front cover or the rear cover, which is a plastic molded product, is significantly increased. Therefore, for a compact camera, although both appearance and low cost are important, they have not been compatible in providing a strap mounting portion on the body of the camera. The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a front cover or a rear cover which is a plastic molded product and has a strap mounting portion excellent in appearance and storage. Another object of the present invention is to provide a camera body structure capable of simplifying the shape of a manufacturing die of the present invention and reducing costs.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a body member which is a chassis of a camera body, and a front cover and a rear cover of a plastic molded product which are engaged with each other and cover the body member. In the body structure of the camera, a strap mounting portion is formed at a joint between the front cover and the rear cover, and the strap mounting portion has an elongated groove formed on a surface of the body. The groove includes a pair of side wall portions facing each other extending in the longitudinal direction of the groove, a pair of end wall portions present at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the groove, and the pair of side wall portions. A bottom wall portion surrounded by the pair of end wall portions, and the strap mounting portion further includes a bridge portion that connects the pair of side wall portions of the groove to each other at an intermediate portion in a longitudinal direction of the groove. Have, before A gap is defined between the bridge portion and the bottom wall portion, through which a strap or a strap locking device can be inserted, a part of the pair of side wall portions of the groove, and the pair of end portions of the groove. The wall portion and the bridge portion are formed by the front cover and the rear cover, and a part of the pair of side wall portions of the groove and the bottom wall portion are the front cover and the rear cover. And the front cover, the rear cover, and the separate member are assembled to each other by screws near the groove. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the camera is a compact camera. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the groove is formed on one of the left and right side surfaces of the body and extends in the vertical direction. Further, in the present invention, the front cover, the rear cover, and the separate member are attached to each other by two screws in the vicinity of the groove, and the two screws are aligned on a longitudinal center line of the groove. It is located outside both ends of the groove, and at least one of the two screws is screwed to the main body member. Further, in the invention, it is preferable that the separate member defines at least a part of a battery accommodating chamber. Further, in the present invention, one of the front cover and the rear cover has a plate-like portion formed with a pair of openings separated from each other by a bar, and the pair of openings is formed by the groove. A part of the pair of side wall portions and the pair of end wall portions, the crosspiece portion forms the bridge portion, and the other of the front cover and the rear cover is the plate-shaped portion. It is configured to have a plate-shaped portion sandwiched between the portion and the separate member. The present invention also provides a camera body structure comprising: a body member which is a chassis of a camera body; and a front cover and a rear cover of a plastic molded product which are engaged with each other and cover the body member. A strap attachment portion is formed at a joint between the unit cover and the rear cover, and the strap attachment unit is formed separately from the front cover, the rear cover, the front cover, and the rear cover. And a separate member formed.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a camera body structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a compact camera employing a camera body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the compact camera of FIG. 1, and FIG.
B and C are front views, side views, top views, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is an exploded side view showing a state where the main body member and the separate member are separated, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 2, FIG. 8 is an exploded side view showing a state where a front cover and a rear cover are separated, FIG. 9A is a front view of a strap mounting portion, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of A.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a compact camera 1 employing a camera body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.
0 was shown overall. The body structure of the camera includes a body member 12 which is a chassis of the body of the compact camera 10.
And a plastic molded front cover 14 and a rear cover 16 that engage with each other to cover the body member 12. The body structure further includes a separate member 18 formed separately from the body member 12, the front cover 14, and the rear cover 16. 1 and 2, the main body member 12 and the separate member 18 are shown by solid lines, and the front cover 14 and the rear cover 16 are shown by imaginary lines so that the structure is easy to understand. In the present embodiment, the front cover 14
In addition to the rear cover 16 and the body member 12, the separate member 18 is also formed as a plastic molded product.

The front cover 14 has a lens barrel 20, and a photometric window 22 for automatic exposure is provided above the front cover 14.
A pair of distance measurement windows 24 and 26 for auto focus,
A finder window 28 and a strobe light emission window 30 are formed. The rear cover 16 has a back cover that opens and closes when loading and unloading the film, but this back cover is not shown. The main body member 12 supports an automatic exposure mechanism, an autofocus mechanism, a finder optical system, a strobe light emitter, and a control circuit for controlling them. The main body member 12 also has a patrone chamber 3 for accommodating the patrone.
2. Spool room 3 equipped with film take-up spool
4. An aperture 3 for defining the exposed area of the film
6, and further supports a shutter mechanism and a motor-driven film winding mechanism (both not shown). As described above, the main body member 12, which is the chassis of the camera body, supports and defines many of the main components of the compact camera 10, and the name of the main body member is derived from it.

As shown in FIGS. 3A (front view), B (side view), and C (top view), the separate member 18 has a round hole 38 for inserting a screw at a lower portion of the front surface thereof. Also, a round hole 40 for inserting a screw in the upper part of the side surface,
A screw hole 42 for screwing a screw is formed below the round hole 40. On the other hand, in the body member 12,
A screw hole 44 is provided at a position corresponding to the round hole 38 of the separate member 18 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, and a screw hole is provided at a position corresponding to the round hole 40 of the separate member 18 as shown in FIGS. A hole 46 is formed, and these two screw holes 44 and 46 are formed.
The main body member 12 and the separate member 18 are connected to each other by screwing the respective screws. And the main body member 12
And the separate member 18 are joined,
As shown in FIGS. 5-7, a battery compartment 50 for accommodating a cylindrical battery 48 is defined, and thus a separate member 18 is provided.
Is a member that defines at least a part of the battery housing chamber 50 in the present embodiment. 5 to 7.
In the first embodiment, a capacitor accommodating chamber 54 for accommodating a cylindrical capacitor 52 for strobe light emission is provided between the main body member 12 and the rear cover 16 adjacent to the battery accommodating chamber 50. .

The front cover 14 and the rear cover 16 are members formed by dividing the housing of the compact camera 10 back and forth, so that when the covers 14 and 16 are assembled to the main body member 12, the camera 10 In the upper surface, the lower surface, and the left and right side surfaces, the edge portions are engaged with each other, that is, are joined. The camera body structure according to the present invention is such that a strap mounting portion 56 is formed at a joint between the front cover 14 and the rear cover 16, and the strap mounting portion 56 is formed on the surface of the body. And includes an elongated groove 58. The strap mounting portion 56 can be formed at any of the upper surface, the lower surface, the left side surface, and the right side surface of the body of the camera 10, and can be formed at a corner of the body. In the present embodiment, As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a strap mounting portion 56 is formed on the right side of the body. In the case of a horizontally long camera as shown in the illustrated example, the strap mounting portion 56
Is preferably formed on one of the left and right sides of the body in terms of portability. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the elongated groove 58 of the strap mounting portion 56 is formed on the right side of the body of the camera 10 and extends in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIGS. 9A (a front view of the strap mounting portion 56) and B (a cross-sectional view along the line CC of A), the groove 58 extends in the longitudinal direction of the groove 58. A pair of side wall portions 60a, 60b facing each other
A pair of end wall portions 62a, 6
2b, and a bottom wall 64 surrounded by the pair of side walls 60a, 60b and the pair of end walls 62a, 62b. The strap mounting portion 56 further has a bridge portion 66 connecting the pair of side wall portions 60a, 60b of the groove 58 to each other at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the groove 58. And
A gap S is defined between the bridge portion 66 and the bottom wall portion 64, through which the strap itself or a strap stopper such as an eggplant attached to the strap can be inserted. The strap is inserted into the gap S and its both ends are joined to form a loop, so that the strap is connected to the camera 10.
Can be attached to In the case of a strap equipped with a strap locking device, the strap locking device is locked to the bridge portion 66 so that the strap is attached to the camera 1.
0 can be easily mounted.

Since the strap mounting portion 56 having the above configuration does not protrude from the body of the camera, the compact camera 10 has excellent appearance and storage. In addition, the configuration of the strap mounting portion 56 is such that the front cover 14 and the rear cover 16 which are plastic molded products are used.
By making the shape of the manufacturing die relatively simple, the cost can be reduced. That is, in this configuration, as is apparent from FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, a part of the pair of side wall portions 60a and 60b of the groove 58 and the pair of end wall portions 62a of the groove 58 , 62b and the bridge portion 66 of the strap mounting portion 56 are attached to the front cover 1.
4 and a rear cover 16. The groove 58
A part of the pair of side wall portions 60a, 60b and the bottom wall portion 64 of the groove 58 are formed by a separate member 18 formed separately from the front cover 14 and the rear cover 16. In the vicinity of the groove 58, the front cover 14,
The rear cover 16 and the separate member 18 are assembled together by screws. As described above, the strap mounting portion 56 is formed by skillfully combining the three members of the front cover 14, the rear cover 16, and the separate member 18, so that any of the three members is relatively simple. That is, it can be formed with a mold having a simple shape.

More specifically, the front cover 14,
The method of assembling the rear cover 16 and the separate member 18 is as follows. First, the front cover 14, the rear cover 16,
And the separate member 18 is assembled to each other by two screws 68a, 68b near the groove 58, and the two screws 68a, 68b are positioned on the longitudinal center line of the groove 58 outside the both ends of the groove 58. It is located in. One of the two screws 68a is the main body member 1.
2 and the other 68b is screwed to the separate member 18 (however, FIG. 9B shows a state where the screws 68a and 68b are removed). Two screws 66
Since a and 66b are close to each other, if one of them is screwed to the main body member 12, the camera 10 will only withstand the force applied to the strap mounting portion 56 when the camera 10 is hung by the strap. Sufficient strength can be obtained, however, it is optional that both screws are screwed to the main body member 12.

The rear cover 16, the front cover 14,
The shape of the separate member 18 will be described in more detail as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 8, the rear cover 16 has a pair of openings 70a, 70
b having a plate-like portion 72 formed thereon.
From the front, the engagement groove 74 of the front cover 14 (see FIG. 5).
An engaging projection 76 that engages with the projection is projected. The surfaces of the edges of the pair of openings 70a and 70b are connected to the pair of side walls 6 of the groove 58.
0a, 60b and a pair of end wall portions 62a, 62b.
And the openings 70a, 70b
Is formed as a bridge portion 66 of the strap mounting portion 56. The plate-shaped portion 72 has round holes 73a, 73b into which screws 68a, 68b are inserted, respectively.
Are formed. Further, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, over the length from the upper edge of the upper opening 70a to the lower edge of the lower opening 70b,
A thick portion 71 bulging inward of the rear cover 16 is formed, and the right edge surface of the thick portion 71 in FIG. 8 is the opening portions 70a and 70b in FIG. It is continuous with the surface of the left side edge (see FIG. 7).

Next, the front cover 14 is
And three plate-like portions 78a, 78b and 79 sandwiched between the plate-like portion 72 and the separate member 18 of which the upper and lower two plate-like portions 78a and 78b have screws 68a respectively. , 68b are formed in the holes 80a, 80b. When the front cover 14 and the rear cover 16 are assembled with each other, the end face of the middle plate-like portion 79 on the left side edge (indicated by 81 in FIG. 8) as viewed in FIG. The side surface 70b of the groove 58 is formed so as to be continuous with the surface of the right side edge as seen in FIG. 8 (see FIG. 7).

The separate member 18 has a pair of protrusions 82a and 82b having inclined surfaces facing each other at both ends of a portion forming the bottom wall 64 of the groove 58. From the upper edge of the upper protrusion 82a to the lower protrusion 82b
The length to the lower edge of the rear cover 16 is
0a and the lower edge of the lower opening 70b, and when assembling the separate member 18 and the rear cover 16, the upper edge of the upper projection 82a is connected to the upper opening 70a. And the lower edge of the lower projection 82b is engaged with the lower edge of the lower opening 70b, so that the separate member 18 is formed.
The vertical positioning between the front cover 16 and the rear cover 16 is accurately performed.

Further, the front cover 14, the rear cover 16,
When assembling the three members of the separate member 18, the protrusions 82 a and 82 b of the separate member 18 are provided on the right side surface in FIG. 3B with the edge 81 of the plate portion 79 of the front cover 14. The surfaces are in close contact and the projections 82a, 82b
(B), the end surface of the thick portion 71 of the rear cover 16a is in close contact with the left side surface, so that the front cover 1
4. Positioning between the rear cover 16 and the separate member 18 in the front-rear direction of the camera is accurately performed. The separate member 18 further includes a vertically extending ridge 85 formed to contact the left side surface of the protrusions 82a and 82b as viewed in FIG.
(See FIG. 3). As shown in FIGS.
The ridge portion 85 has a surface facing the camera side close to the inner surface of the thick portion 71 of the rear cover 16, and a surface facing the front of the camera facing the camera front of the thick portion 71. And so on. Therefore, one side wall 60a of the groove 58 is formed as a continuous surface having no gap or step by the surface of the protrusion 85 facing the camera front and the surface of the thick portion 71 facing the camera. I have.

On the other hand, as described above, the other side wall portion 60b of the groove 58 has the end surface of the edge 81 of the plate-like portion 79 of the front cover 14 and the openings 70a, 70a of the rear cover 16 as described above.
8B, and is formed by the surface of the right side edge in FIG. 8, and as shown in FIG. 7, the plate portion 79 of the front cover 14 and the plate portion 72 of the rear cover 16 are in close contact with each other. And the side surfaces are continuous,
b is also formed as a continuous surface having no gap or step.

According to the above configuration, the strap groove 58 formed by the front cover 14, the rear cover 16, and the separate member 18 has no gap anywhere in the side wall, the end wall, and the bottom wall. Since the strap is defined as a space, the strap can be smoothly inserted without being caught anywhere. Also, the protrusion 8
The fact that both ends of the strap groove 58 are shallow by 2a and 82b also facilitates insertion of the strap. With respect to the configuration of the strap mounting portion 56, the shape of the front cover 14 and the shape of the rear cover 16 may be reversed, that is, the plate-shaped portion 72 of the rear cover 16 described above is , And the three plate-like portions 78a, 78b, 79 of the front cover 14 may be provided on the rear cover 16. In this case, it is necessary to make a slight change to the shape of the separate member 18, but the change is self-evident and will not be described.

According to the above embodiment, since the strap mounting portion 56 does not protrude from the body and is formed into a shape dug into the body, it is possible to obtain a camera body excellent in appearance and storage. Can be Further, since the shapes of the front cover 14, the rear cover 16, and the separate member 18, which are plastic molded products, are shapes that can make the shape of a mold for manufacturing them relatively simple, the manufacturing cost should be reduced. Can be. In addition, the configuration in which the separate member 18 defines a part of the battery storage chamber 50 is preferable because the battery holdability is good. Further, the body structure of the camera described above is particularly suitable when used in a compact camera.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the main body member, which is the chassis of the camera body, and the front cover and the rear cover of the plastic molded article which engage with each other and cover the main body member. Wherein a strap mounting portion is formed at a joint between the front cover and the rear cover, and the strap mounting portion includes an elongated groove formed on a surface of the body. The groove has a pair of side wall portions facing each other extending in the longitudinal direction of the groove, a pair of end wall portions present at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the groove, the pair of side wall portions, and A bottom wall portion surrounded by a pair of end wall portions, and the strap mounting portion further includes a bridge portion connecting the pair of side wall portions of the groove to each other at an intermediate portion in a longitudinal direction of the groove. And the bridge A gap through which a strap or a strap locking device can be inserted is defined between the groove and the bottom wall, a part of the pair of side walls of the groove, the pair of end walls of the groove. Part, and the bridge portion are formed by the front cover and the rear cover, a part of the pair of side wall portions of the groove and the bottom wall portion, the front cover and the rear cover, Is formed by a separate member formed separately, and the front cover, the rear cover, and the separate member are assembled to each other by screws near the groove. Therefore, it has a strap mounting portion excellent in appearance and storability, and can further reduce the cost by simplifying the shape of the mold for manufacturing the front cover and the rear cover which are plastic molded products. A camera body structure is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a compact camera employing a camera body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the compact camera of FIG.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are front and side views of separate members, respectively.
It is a top view.

FIG. 4 is an exploded side view showing a state where a main body member and a separate member are separated.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is an exploded side view showing a state where a front cover and a rear cover are separated.

FIG. 9A is a front view of the strap mounting portion, and FIG.
It is sectional drawing which followed the C line.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Camera 12 Body member 14 Front cover 16 Rear cover 18 Separate member 56 Strap mounting part 58 Groove 60a, 60b Groove sidewall 62a, 62b Groove end wall 64 Groove bottom wall 66 Bridge 68a, 68b Screw

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A camera body structure comprising: a body member that is a chassis of a camera body; and a front cover and a rear cover of a plastic molded product that engage with each other and cover the body member. A strap mounting portion is formed at a joint between the cover and the rear cover, and the strap mounting portion includes an elongated groove formed on a surface of the body, and the groove extends in a longitudinal direction of the groove. A pair of side walls extending opposite to each other, a pair of end walls existing at both ends in a longitudinal direction of the groove, and a bottom wall surrounded by the pair of side walls and the pair of end walls The strap mounting portion further includes a bridge portion that connects the pair of side wall portions of the groove to each other at an intermediate portion in a longitudinal direction of the groove, between the bridge portion and the bottom wall portion. Has a strap Or a gap through which a strap locking device can be inserted, a part of the pair of side walls of the groove, the pair of end walls of the groove, and the bridge are formed by the front part. A part of the pair of side wall portions of the groove and the bottom wall portion are formed by a cover and the rear cover;
The front cover and the rear cover are formed by separate members formed separately, and the front cover, the rear cover, and the separate member are assembled to each other by screws near the groove. A camera body structure characterized by the following. 2. The camera body structure according to claim 1, wherein said camera is a compact camera. 3. The camera body structure according to claim 1, wherein said groove is formed on one of left and right side surfaces of said body and extends in a vertical direction. 4. The front cover in the vicinity of the groove,
The rear cover and the separate member are assembled to each other by two screws, and the two screws are located outside the both ends of the groove on the longitudinal center line of the groove. 2. The camera body structure according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said screws is screwed to said main body member. 5. The camera body structure according to claim 1, wherein said separate member defines at least a part of a battery accommodating chamber. 6. One of the front cover and the rear cover has a plate-shaped portion formed with a pair of openings separated from each other by a bar, and the pair of openings is formed of the groove. A part of the pair of side walls and the pair of end walls are formed, the crosspiece forms the bridge portion, and the other of the front cover and the rear cover is the plate-shaped portion. 2. The camera body structure according to claim 1, further comprising a plate-shaped portion sandwiched between the camera and the separate member. 3. 7. A camera body structure comprising: a body member which is a chassis of a camera body; and a front cover and a rear cover of a plastic molded product which are engaged with each other and cover the body member. A strap attachment portion is formed at a joint between the cover and the rear cover, and the strap attachment portion is formed separately from the front cover, the rear cover, the front cover, and the rear cover. And a separate member.