JPH11218807A - Stroboscopic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure of stroboscopic device, the assembling aptitude of which is improved without making the device large. SOLUTION: The lead terminals 15a and 15b of a discharge tube 15, positive and negative pole terminals 13a and 13b on a stroboscopic base 11, a reflector 16 and the secondary electrode 14a of a transformer for trigger 14 are respectively connected by positive and negative pole contact segments 21 and 22 made of a metallic thin plate and a rigger electrode plate 23. By using the metallic plate as a connection member, such a fine work that they are soldered in a state that they are positioned at connecting positions and held just as the case that a lead wire is used is eliminated, and the assembling aptitude is improved. The segments 21 and 22 and the electrode plate 23 are integrally covered with sheets 24a and 24b having insulating property in a state that only the 1st terminals 21a, 22a and 23a and the 2nd terminals 21b, 22b and 23b thereof are exposed. Thus, electric leakage from a metallic part is restrained, the fault of parts caused by leakage current is prevented even through arrangement interval other electric parts is not made wider particularly, and the entire stroboscopic device is restrained from getting larger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a structure of a strobe device incorporated in a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a strobe device incorporated in a camera includes a strobe substrate on which a strobe circuit for controlling charge and discharge is formed, and a light emitting unit for emitting strobe light. On the stroboscope substrate, components constituting a strobe circuit, such as a main capacitor for storing charges for strobe light emission and a trigger transformer, are attached. Further, the strobe substrate is provided with through holes connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the main capacitor.

[0003] The light emitting unit is basically provided with a rod-shaped discharge tube that emits light when receiving a trigger signal, and is arranged in contact with the peripheral surface of the discharge tube to emit light emitted from the discharge tube. It is composed of a reflector that reflects forward, and a diffuser that diffuses the light emitted forward. A trigger electrode plate for applying a trigger signal to the discharge tube is attached to the reflector. Projecting lead terminals are provided at both ends of the discharge tube. In this light emitting unit, the lead terminals of the discharge tube are connected to through holes provided in a strobe substrate, and one end of a trigger electrode plate is connected to a secondary electrode of a trigger transformer, and are incorporated in a strobe circuit.

[0004]

The lead terminals and the through holes, and the trigger electrode plate and the trigger transformer are generally connected by soldering the lead wires. However, the connection between the lead terminal and the through hole is performed by inserting one end of the lead wire into the through hole and soldering, then positioning the lead wire at a predetermined position between the components, and then connecting the other end to the lead terminal. Since it is a detailed work of soldering, it must be performed manually for each location. For this reason, the conventional strobe device has poor productivity, and the manufacturing cost is likely to increase.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-165083 discloses a method in which a contact piece made of a thin metal plate having elasticity is attached to a through hole provided in a strobe substrate, and the contact piece and a discharge tube are provided. A strobe device in which a lead terminal is brought into elastic contact with the lead terminal is described. According to this strobe device, the mounting of the contact pieces can be performed by the automatic mounting machine, so that the efficiency of the assembling process can be improved. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-20541 discloses a strobe device in which one contact piece is insert-molded into a diffusion plate, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-258305 discloses that a part of a flash circuit is provided inside a cover member which covers a camera body. Each of the strobe devices formed on the surface is described. According to these strobe devices, the number of components can be reduced, and the number of assembly steps can be reduced.

However, in each of the above-mentioned strobe devices, the metal contact pieces are left exposed, so that leakage current from these high-voltage parts may cause failure of other metal parts and electric parts. I am worried. For this reason, it is essential to increase the mutual distance between these contact pieces and other metal parts or electric parts and to prevent the adverse effect of leakage current, and the overall size of the strobe device is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a structure of a strobe device with improved suitability for assembly without increasing the size.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a strobe device according to the present invention is characterized in that two connecting members attached to the lead terminals of a discharge tube are made of thin metal plates, respectively, and are provided at both ends. In this state, only the provided first and second terminal portions are exposed and covered with an insulating sheet material. Further, the two connecting members may be integrally covered with a sheet material.
Further, a transmission member attached to the discharge tube and transmitting a trigger signal to the discharge tube is made of a thin metal plate, and only the first and second terminal portions provided at both ends are exposed,
The two connection members may be integrally covered with a sheet material.

[0009]

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a strobe device embodying the present invention. The strobe device 10
A strobe substrate 11 on which a strobe circuit for controlling charging and discharging is formed; a light emitting unit 12 for emitting strobe light; a contact unit 20 for connecting the strobe substrate 11 and the light emitting unit 12; Consists of The contact piece unit 20 is sandwiched between the substrate surface of the strobe substrate 11 and the back surface of the light emitting unit 12.

The light emitting unit 12 includes a rod-shaped discharge tube 15.
A reflector 16 covering the back side of the discharge tube 15; and a housing 17 accommodating the discharge tube 15 and the reflector 16 integrally.
And a diffusion plate 18 attached to the open front surface of the housing 17. The discharge tube 15 has xenon gas sealed in the tube, and emits light when receiving a trigger signal. Lead terminals 15a and 15b project from both ends in the length direction of the discharge tube 15, and are connected to a positive terminal 13a and a negative terminal 13b provided on the strobe substrate 11 by a contact piece unit 20 described later. The positive terminal 13a and the negative terminal 13b are connected to positive and negative electrodes of a main capacitor (not shown) mounted on the strobe substrate 11.

The reflecting umbrella 16 has a reflecting surface formed on the inner wall surface, and reflects the light emitted from the discharge tube 15 toward the front. The reflector 16 has openings 16a and 16b through which the rod-shaped discharge tube 15 is inserted.
The inner peripheral surfaces of 6a and 16b and the outer peripheral surface of discharge tube 15 are in contact. The reflecting umbrella 16 is a trigger transformer 1 mounted on the strobe substrate 11 by the contact piece unit 20.
4 is connected to the secondary electrode 14a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the contact piece unit 20
The positive electrode contact piece 21, the negative electrode contact piece 22, and the trigger electrode plate 23 are made of two sheets 2 having insulation and flexibility.
4a and 24b integrally cover from the front and back. The positive electrode contact piece 21, the negative electrode contact piece 22, and the trigger electrode plate 23 are each made of a thin metal plate, and have first terminals 21a, 22a, 23a and second terminals 21b, 22b, 23b provided at both ends thereof. Is sandwiched between the sheets 24a and 24b in a state in which the sheet is exposed.

In FIG. 1, the contact piece unit 20 includes first and second terminals 21a, 21a of a positive contact piece 21 and a negative contact piece 22.
The portion 2a is bent and raised perpendicular to the sheet surface, and the opening 2a is opened.
5a and 25b are inserted into the housing 17. Then, the first terminal 21 a of the positive electrode contact piece 21 is connected to one lead terminal 15 a of the discharge tube 15, and the first terminal 2
2a is in contact with the other lead terminal 15b.
Also, the entire trigger electrode plate 23 is bent upright and inserted into the housing 17 through the opening 25b. The trigger electrode plate 23 has a structure in which the first terminal 23 a
Of the housing 17 and the inner wall of the housing 17, and the second terminal 23 b protrudes out of the housing 17 from the cut 26. When the second terminal 23 b of the trigger electrode plate 23 projects outside the housing 17, the contact piece unit 20 is held on the back surface of the light emitting unit 12.

When the light emitting unit 12 holding the contact piece unit 20 is attached to the strobe board 11, the second terminals 21b and 22b of the positive contact piece 21 and the negative contact piece 22 are connected to the positive terminal 13a provided on the strobe board 11. And the negative electrode terminal 13b. The second terminal 23b of the trigger electrode plate 23 protruding from the housing 17 contacts the secondary electrode 14a of the trigger transformer 14. In addition,
The light emitting unit 12 is fixed on the flash substrate 11 by, for example, screwing or claw engagement.

In the assembling process of the strobe device 10, first,
Discharge tube 1 is inserted into openings 16a and 16b formed in reflector 16
5, the discharge umbrella 16 is held by the reflector 16. Thereby, the outer peripheral surface of the discharge tube 15 and the opening 1 of the reflector 16
The inner peripheral surfaces of 6a and 16b are in contact with each other.

On the other hand, the positive electrode contact piece 2 of the contact piece unit 20
1 and the first terminals 21a, 22a of the negative electrode contact piece 22,
Then, the trigger electrode plate 23 is inserted into the housing 17 through the openings 25a and 25b. Thereafter, when the second terminal 23 b of the trigger electrode plate 23 is projected out of the housing 17 from the cut 26, the contact piece unit 20 is held on the rear surface of the housing 17.

At this time, since the positive / negative electrode contact pieces 21 and 22 and the trigger electrode plate 23 are sandwiched between the two sheets 24a and 24b to form an integrated part, they are assembled into the housing 17 at one time. Can be. Moreover,
This assembling work is performed by opening one end of the contact piece unit 20 with the opening 2.
Since it is only inserted into the housing 17 from 5a, 25b, it can be easily performed without requiring any special technique.

Next, the reflector 16 holding the discharge tube 15 is housed in the housing 17. Thereby, the discharge tube 15
Lead terminals 15a, 15b of the positive and negative contact pieces 21, 22 projecting into the housing 17
a, 22a. In addition, the first terminal 23a of the trigger electrode plate 23 is sandwiched between the outer wall of the reflector 16 and the inner wall of the housing 17, and the first terminal 23a and the reflector 16 are in close contact with each other.

Since the positive / negative contact pieces 21, 22 and the trigger electrode plate 23 are made of metal, the housing 1
The first terminals 21 a, 22 a, and 23 a protruding into the inside 7 are not bent and deformed, and their shapes are maintained. In addition, the first terminals 21a, 22a, and 23a are restricted by the opening edges of the openings 25a and 25b from moving in the direction in which the angle of bending is changed.
7 is reliably positioned at a predetermined position. This allows
The integrated discharge tube 15 and reflecting umbrella 16
7, the first terminals 21a, 22a, 2
3a is connected to the lead terminals 15a, 15b and the reflector 16; Therefore, the number of assembling steps can be significantly reduced as compared with a conventional strobe device in which the contact piece and the trigger electrode plate are individually assembled while repeating positioning and soldering.

Thereafter, when the diffusion plate 18 is attached to the open front surface of the housing 17, the light emitting unit 12 holding the contact piece unit 20 is completed. The light emitting unit 12 is supplied to a mounting process on the strobe substrate 11.

Electrical components such as a trigger transformer 14 and a main capacitor are mounted on the strobe board 11, and then a light emitting unit 12 is mounted. The light emitting unit 12 is arranged so that the contact piece unit 20 is sandwiched between the light emitting unit 12 and the substrate surface of the flash substrate 11.
Attached to.

When the light emitting unit 12 is attached to the strobe substrate 11, the second terminal 2
1b and 22b contact the positive terminal 13a and the negative terminal 13b provided on the strobe substrate 11. As a result, the lead terminals 15a, 15b of the discharge tube 15 are connected to the positive and negative electrode terminals 13a, 13b. The second terminal 23b of the trigger electrode plate 23 protruding from the housing 17
Contacts the secondary electrode 14 a of the trigger transformer 14, and the peripheral surface of the discharge tube 15 and the secondary electrode 14 a of the trigger transformer 14 are connected via the reflector 16.

Here, metal positive / negative contact pieces 21 and 22 and a trigger electrode plate 23 are held on the back surface of the light emitting section unit 12, and these metal parts come into contact with other electric parts and are short-circuited. It may cause an accident.
However, these are the first terminals 21a, 22a, 23
a and only the second terminals 21b, 22b, 23b are exposed and covered with the sheets 24a, 24b having an insulating property.
Even if it touches the pattern formed on 1, no short circuit accident will occur. Therefore, this light emitting unit 12
Is easier to handle than a conventional one in which the metal contact piece and the trigger electrode plate are assembled in an exposed state. Further, since leakage from the positive / negative electrode contact pieces 21 and 22 is also prevented, there is no danger of causing a component failure even if the interval between these and other electrical components is not particularly widened, and the entire flash device 10 is eliminated. Can be prevented from becoming larger.

After arranging the light emitting unit 12 on the strobe board 11, the second terminals 21b and 22b of the positive and negative contact pieces 21 and 22 and the positive and negative terminals 13a and 13b on the strobe board 12 are connected. The contact portions may be soldered. In this case, a soldering step is provided, but the second terminals 21b and 22b and the positive and negative terminals 13a,
Since it is positioned at a predetermined position in a state where it is already in contact with 13b, soldering can be easily performed, and the efficiency of assembly is not reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the three connecting parts of the positive electrode contact piece, the negative electrode contact piece, and the trigger electrode plate are integrated has been described. However, even if they are integrated, the suitability for assembly is sufficiently improved. Further, even if the three components are left as individual components, since they are formed of a thin metal plate, soldering becomes unnecessary, and the number of assembly steps can be reduced.
In any case, at least the positive / negative contact pieces should be covered with an insulating sheet in a state where only the first and second terminal portions are exposed, thereby preventing leakage from these and strobe light. It is necessary to suppress the increase in the size of the entire device.

The present invention is not limited to the above-structured strobe device. For example, a strobe device in which a trigger transformer is arranged outside the strobe substrate, or a semiconductor switching device for cutting off a discharge at one lead terminal of a discharge tube. Of course, the present invention can be applied to a strobe device in which elements are connected in series.

[0027]

As described above, according to the strobe device of the present invention, two lead terminals are attached to each of the lead terminals protruding from both ends of the discharge tube and connect the discharge tube to the supply path of the power for light emission. Since the connection member is made of a thin metal plate, it is not necessary to wire or solder the wire as in a conventional strobe device using a lead wire, thereby improving the suitability for assembly. Also, by covering the connecting member made of a thin metal plate with an insulating sheet material in a state where only the first and second terminal portions provided at both ends are exposed,
Electric leakage from this metal component is prevented. Accordingly, it is not necessary to particularly widen the arrangement interval between the connection member and the other electric components, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the entire flash device.

Further, by integrally covering the two connecting members with the sheet material, the number of steps for assembling these parts is reduced, and the suitability for assembly is further improved. Furthermore, if the transmitting member for transmitting the trigger signal to the discharge tube is made of a thin metal plate and is integrally coated with the two connecting members by a sheet material, the transmitting member can be assembled simultaneously with the two connecting members. , Making the strobe device easier to assemble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a strobe device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a contact piece unit shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Strobe device 11 Strobe board 12 Light emitting part unit 13a Positive electrode terminal 13b Negative electrode terminal 14 Trigger transformer 14a Secondary electrode 15 Discharge tube 15a, 15b Lead terminal 16 Reflector 17 Housing 18 Diffusion plate 20 Contact piece unit 21 Positive contact piece 21a, 22a, 23a First terminal 21b, 22b, 23b Second terminal 22 Negative electrode contact piece 23 Trigger electrode plate 24a, 24b Sheet

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A conductive tube attached to a rod-shaped discharge tube that emits light when a trigger signal is received and lead terminals protruding from both ends of the discharge tube and connecting the discharge tube to a supply path of power for light emission. In a strobe device having two connecting members having a characteristic, the two connecting members are each made of a thin metal plate, and only the first and second terminal portions provided at both ends are exposed. A strobe device characterized by being covered with an insulating sheet material. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the two connecting members are integrally covered with the sheet material.
A strobe device as described. 3. A transmission member attached to the discharge tube and transmitting a trigger signal to the discharge tube is made of a thin metal plate, and only the first and second terminal portions provided at both ends are exposed. 2. The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein the two connecting members are integrally covered with a sheet material.