JPH11202382A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera capable of being made to be compact without requiring an operating member exclusive for mode selection to be provided. SOLUTION: As to the camera having a lens barrier 3 opening/closing the front surface of a photographing lens 8, and an operating member 2 opening/ closing and moving this lens barrier; the operating member can be operated in a direction different from a direction for opening/closing and moving the lens barrier, so that the mode selection of camera action can be performed by the operation to the different direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a lens barrier for opening and closing the front of a taking lens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some cameras have a lens barrier for opening and closing the front surface of a photographing lens.
The optical path of the photographing lens is opened and the lens is protected in conjunction with the operation of the operation member. Further, as a camera having such a lens barrier, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 62-1569
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 19-1992. This camera is
When the operation lever that opens and closes the lens barrier is operated,
The power switch of the camera is configured to be turned on / off.

[0003]

However, the camera disclosed in the above-mentioned publication merely opens and closes the lens barrier and switches on / off the power switch by operating the operation member. For this reason, in order to select an operation mode (for example, a photographing mode) of the camera, it is necessary to provide a dedicated operation member, which is a factor that hinders downsizing of the camera. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera which can be made compact even if it is not necessary to provide an operation member dedicated to mode selection.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a camera having a lens barrier for opening and closing the front surface of a taking lens and an operating member for opening and closing the lens barrier. Can be operated in a direction different from the direction to open and close the lens barrier,
The operation in the different directions allows the camera operation mode to be selected.

That is, by using the operation member for opening and closing the lens barrier also as the operation member for selecting the operation mode of the camera, the operation member dedicated to mode selection is unnecessary, and the camera is made compact.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 3 show a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 1A and 3A show a state in which the optical system is covered and a lens barrier 3 for switching between a photographing state and a non-photographing state is closed, and FIGS. 1B and 3B are shown. This shows a state where the lens barrier 3 is open. FIGS. 1C and 3C show a state in which the operation member 2 for opening and closing the lens barrier 3 has been operated to a position for selecting the photographing mode 4.

1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a front cover provided on the front of the camera, and a photographing lens 8 is provided at the center.
An opening for exposing the front surface of the light emitting element is formed. Inside the front cover 1, a lens barrier 3 that opens and closes the opening and opens and closes the front surface of the photographing lens 8 is slidably mounted in the left and right direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, a hole 3d is formed in the lower part of the lens barrier 3, and the protrusion 2a of the operation member 2 is formed.
Is fitted. The operation member 2 is slidable along a guide groove 5a formed in the front cover 1 so as to extend in the left-right direction. For this reason, the operating member 2 is connected to the guide groove 5a.
By sliding along the lens barrier 3
Can be integrally opened and closed.

The lens barrier 3 and the operating member 2 are used together.
When the is slid from the closed state to the open state, a switch (not shown) is turned on, and the camera switches from the non-shooting state (power off) to the shooting state (power on). Conversely, when the lens barrier 3 is slid from the open state to the closed state together with the operation member 2, a switch (not shown) is turned off, and the camera switches from the photographing state to the non-photographing state.

The front cover 1 is also provided with a vertically extending guide groove 5b which is connected to the left end of the guide groove 5a. For this reason, the operation member 2 is operated from the right end (the operation position for closing the lens barrier 3) of the guide groove 5a to the left end (the operation position for opening the lens barrier 3) to bring the camera into the shooting state. Thereafter, it is also possible to perform a sliding operation in the vertical direction along the guide groove 5b.

In the camera according to the present embodiment, the operation member 2 is slid up and down along the guide groove 5b, so that the operation member 2 is effective for a snap photograph which does not select a photograph to be taken according to the operation position. One photographing mode can be selected from three modes 4 of an AUTO mode, a SPOT mode effective for photographing a person in backlight or the like, and a macro photographing mode effective for photographing a familiar object.

As shown in FIG. 3, an elastic part 3a extending downward is provided at the left end of the lens barrier 3, and a circular click part 3b having a smooth surface is provided at the tip of the elastic part 3a. Are formed.

On the other hand, on the inner side of the front cover 1, mountain-shaped locking portions 7a, 7b, 7 through which the click portion 3b can get over are provided.
c is formed. A spring 6 is hung between the spring hook 3 c of the lens barrier 3 and the front cover 1, and the lens barrier 3 is urged upward by the spring 6.

When the operating member 2 is moved vertically along the guide groove 5b integrally with the lens barrier 3 while the operating member 2 is opposed to the urging force of the spring 6 or is receiving the urging force of the spring 6, One mode can be selected from three shooting modes.

For example, when the shooting mode is set to A shown in FIG.
To switch from the UTO mode to the SPOT mode shown in FIG. 3B, when the lens barrier 3 is moved downward together with the operating member 2 against the urging force of the spring 6, the elastic portion 3a is elastically deformed and the click portion 3b Is the locking part 7a
Get over.

The operation member 2 and the lens barrier 3 are locked at positions corresponding to the SPOT mode by the click portion 3b abutting on the locking portion 7b. Also, at this time, the electric connection piece (not shown) changes from the open state to the closed state, and a signal corresponding to the SPOT mode is sent to the control circuit of the camera. As a result, the camera performs shooting in the SPOT mode. Switching to another shooting mode is performed in the same manner.

In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which the selection of AUTO, SPOT, and macro photography modes can be performed by operating the operation member 2 in the vertical direction. However, camera operation modes other than the above-described photography modes (for example,
(A flash mode).

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The operation member can also be operated in a direction different from the direction in which the lens barrier is opened and closed, and the operation in the different direction enables selection of a camera operation mode. Can be used as an operation member for selecting the operation mode, and an operation member dedicated to mode selection is not required, and the camera can be made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a front part of the camera.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a mode selection mechanism of the camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front cover 2 Operation member 3 Lens barrier 4 Shooting mode 5 Opening 6 Spring 7a, 7b, 7c Locking part 8 Shooting lens

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera having a lens barrier for opening and closing the front surface of a taking lens and an operation member for opening and closing the lens barrier, wherein the operation member is moved in a direction different from a direction for opening and closing the lens barrier. A camera characterized by being operable. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mode selection unit configured to select a camera operation mode by operating the operation member in a direction different from a direction in which the lens barrier is opened and closed. Camera.