JPH1138499A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a camera more compact and lightweight by reducing the capacity occupied by a tripod screw hole of the camera. SOLUTION: A compact camera 10 is provided with a strap 24 and the tripod screw hole 44. The strap 24 has a tail latch 28. This latch 28 is in the shape of a nearly ring. The C-shaped body part of the tail latch 28 is of molded goods made of a rigid synthetic rubber plastic material. The tail latch 28 is formed to be in use as a spacer interposed between the camera and the universal head 12 of the tripod, in fitting the camera 10 to the tripod. The tail latch 28 is used as the spacer, to reduce depth required for the tripod screw hole 44 of the camera 10, so that the capacity occupied by the screw hole 44 is reduced to make the camera small in size and light in weight.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Most cameras on the market today have a female screw portion for attaching the camera to a tripod. The female screw portion is called a tripod screw hole, and its screw groove is a ４ inch female screw according to JIS. The tripod head has a male screw member for mounting a camera or other optical equipment. This male screw member is called a camera mounting screw, and its screw groove is a ４ inch male screw according to JIS. In a normal tripod head, when the camera mounting screw is tightened and an optical device such as a camera is mounted on the head, the tip of the camera mounting screw projects about 4.5 mm from the camera mounting surface of the head. Designed for On the other hand, the tripod screw hole of the conventional camera is adjusted so that the depth from the camera head contact surface (usually, the bottom surface of the camera) to the tip of the effective screw portion of the tripod screw hole is about 5.5 mm. It is designed and has this dimension so that when the camera is mounted on the camera platform, the tip of the camera mounting screw on the camera platform does not hit the bottom of the tripod screw hole of the camera.

[0003]

The reason why a large screw of 1/4 inch is used for the camera mounting screw and the screw groove of the tripod screw hole, and the screw length of these screws is as long as 4.5 mm is that This is to ensure that even a large camera can be securely attached to the camera platform. In the case of a small and lightweight compact camera, it is not necessary to increase the size and screw length of the screws so much. However, when designing the tripod screw hole of the camera, the screw size and screw length If the size is set to any size, the standard will not be compatible with the existing tripod, and it will not be possible to attach it. However, in recent compact cameras that thoroughly pursued miniaturization and weight reduction, the proportion of the volume occupied by the tripod screw holes in the total camera volume is so large that it cannot be ignored. However, the compactness of the camera has been greatly impaired. The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the volume occupied by a tripod screw hole of a camera, thereby further reducing the size and weight of the camera. .

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a tripod screw hole formed in a camera body,
A camera having a strap attached to the body and equipped with a buckle, wherein the buckle is used when a camera mounting screw is screwed into the tripod screw hole and the camera is mounted on a tripod. Is formed as a spacer interposed therebetween. Also, the present invention
The buckle makes the distance between the camera and the tripod head about 3m
It is characterized in that it is formed as a spacer having a dimension to maintain m. In addition, the present invention provides the buckle, wherein the first abutment surface that comes into contact with the camera when attaching the camera to a tripod,
A second contact surface which is parallel to the first contact surface and which comes into contact with the tripod head when the camera is mounted on the tripod. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the buckle includes a hard synthetic rubber-based plastic member having the first contact surface and the second contact surface. Also,
The present invention is characterized in that the buckle is substantially ring-shaped, and a camera mounting screw extends inside the ring-shaped opening when the camera is mounted on a tripod. The present invention is also characterized in that a lens barrel projects from the front of the body of the camera, and the tripod screw hole is formed on a bottom surface of the body located substantially below the lens barrel. Also,
The present invention is characterized in that the strap includes a string portion forming a loop, and the buckle adjusts the size of the loop. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the buckle is provided with a metal piece for operating various parts and members of the camera. Also, in the present invention, the strap includes a string portion forming a loop, and the buckle is formed in a ring shape from a substantially C-shaped main body portion and a first metal piece connecting both ends of the main body portion. A first hole penetrating in the radial direction of the main body portion is formed in one of the opposing portions of the portion, and a second hole penetrating in the radial direction of the main body portion in the other portion.
Two holes are formed at an interval in the circumferential direction of the main body, and the first hole is formed to have a size that is slightly closed and adjusted when two strings constituting the string are inserted. The two second holes are formed to have a size through which one string constituting the string portion is inserted, and an opening formed by the inside of the main body and the first metal piece is formed by: In a state where the two strings are positioned inside the opening, the two strings are formed such that a camera mounting screw is inserted between the two strings. Further, the invention is characterized in that the first metal piece is formed so as to be engageable with an opening / closing groove of a battery cover of a camera. Further, in the present invention, the strap includes a string portion forming a ring, the buckle includes a substantially ring-shaped body portion, and an opening at the center of the body portion has a size through which a camera mounting screw is inserted. A first hole is formed in one of the opposing portions of the main body, and two second holes are formed in the other portion at intervals in the circumferential direction of the main body. The first hole and the two second holes are connected by two communication holes extending inside the main body,
The first hole is formed to have a size that is slightly closed and adjusted when two strings constituting the string portion are inserted, and the two second holes and the two communication holes are respectively formed by the strings. It is characterized in that it is formed in such a size that one string constituting the part is inserted. Further, the present invention provides a camera having a tripod screw hole formed in a camera body and a strap attached to the body, wherein the camera is attached to a tripod head via the tripod screw hole. A spacer is provided between the camera and the camera platform, and the spacer is attached to the strap. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the strap includes a string portion forming a loop, and the spacer is formed as a buckle for adjusting the size of the loop.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a front view of a camera mounted on a tripod head, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the camera taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a buckle of a camera strap. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a camera configured as a compact camera. The camera 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped body 14, and a lens barrel 16 projects forward from the body 14. Above the lens barrel 16, there is formed a combination window 18 combining a finder window, an auto-focus distance measuring window, and an automatic exposure metering window, and a strobe light emission window 20 beside the combination window. A strap attachment portion 22 is formed on one side of the body 14, and a strap 24 is connected to the strap attachment portion 22.

[0006] The strap 24 includes a strap attaching portion 22.
And a user-side cord portion 24b that is entangled with a finger or hung on the wrist when the camera is carried around. A thin, easy-to-bend, and strong string is used for the camera-side string portion 24a.
For the user-side cord portion 24b, a thick, soft-touch, and durable cord is used so that the user does not hurt his finger or wrist. Both end portions of the camera-side cord portion 24a and both end portions of the user-side cord portion 24b are joined together, and the knot is covered with a plastic cover 26.
By linking in this manner, the camera-side cord 2
Each of 4a and the user side cord part 24b forms a ring.
If the size of the loop of the user side cord portion 24b is too small, fingers and wrists are cramped when carrying the camera, and if too large, the camera is easily dropped. Therefore, the user side cord part 24b
Is equipped with a buckle 28 that functions as an adjuster for adjusting the size of the loop of the user side cord portion 24b according to the size of the user's hand.

As shown in FIG. 3, the buckle 28 has a substantially ring shape as a whole. The buckle 28 includes a C-shaped main body 30 which is a plastic molded product, and first and second metal pieces 32 and 34 implanted as inserts when the main body 30 is molded. . The first metal piece 32 connecting both ends of the C-shape of the main body 30 can be used instead of a coin when opening and closing the battery lid of a camera configured to be opened and closed using a coin. It is formed of a plate having a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the coin, that is, the width of the opening / closing groove of the battery cover, and its outer edge is arc-shaped, and its radius is the radius of the coin. It is almost equal to the radius. First
The second metal piece 34 provided on the side opposite to the metal piece 32 can be used when pressing the unlock button of a camera which is configured to be unlocked by being pushed in with a tip of a nail or a pen of a ballpoint pen or the like. The tip of the ball-point pen is formed to have substantially the same dimensions as the tip of a normal ball-point pen, and has a spherical tip.

[0008] In the opposing portions of the main body 30, 1
Two large slots 36 (corresponding to a first hole in the claims) and two smaller slots 38, 40 (corresponding to a second hole in the claims) are formed. Each of the three long holes extends in the radial direction of the main body 30 and penetrates the main body 30. The large elongated hole 36 is formed to have such a size that when the two strings of the user side cord portion 24b of the strap are inserted side by side, the strings are somewhat tightened and adjusted by the elongated holes 36. The small elongated holes 38 to 40 are used to connect the string of the user side cord portion 24b of the strap to one.
When only a book is inserted, the string is
It is formed in such a size that it is slightly tightened by 0. As shown in FIG. 2, the buckle 28 is provided on the user side cord portion 24 b of the strap 24. When the buckle 28 is mounted on the user-side cord portion 24b, for example, one end of the user-side cord portion 24b is passed from the outside to the inside of the long hole 36, then is passed from the inside to the outside of the long hole 38, and then After passing through the long hole 40 from the outside to the inside and further from the inside of the long hole 36 from the inside to the outside, the both ends of the user-side cord portion 24b may be aligned and combined with both ends of the camera-side cord portion 24a.
The user shifts and changes the position of the buckle 28 with respect to the user-side cord portion 24b, so that the user-side
It is possible to adjust the size of the part of the buckle 28 that protrudes outward from the slots 38 and 40.
The size may be adjusted so that the fingertip can be easily entangled when the camera is carried, or the size can be easily worn on the wrist.

As shown in FIG. 1, a tripod screw hole 44 is formed at the bottom of the camera 10 at a position substantially below the lens barrel 16. The camera 10 can be mounted on the tripod head 12 by screwing a camera mounting screw 46 rotatably mounted on the head 12 into the tripod screw hole 44. In the drawing, reference numeral 48 denotes a rotary knob fixed to the lower end of the camera mounting screw 46. In particular, in the present invention, the above-mentioned buckle 28 provided on the strap 24 is attached to the camera 10.
Is formed so that it can be used as a spacer interposed between the camera 10 and the camera platform 12 of the tripod when the camera is mounted on a tripod. That is, the main body 30 of the buckle 28 is
0a (only one side is visible in FIG. 3) are formed on planes parallel to each other, and when the camera 10 is mounted on the tripod head 12, as shown in FIG. One is in contact with the bottom surface 50 of the camera 10, and the other is in contact with the camera mounting surface 52 of the camera platform 12. The buckle 28 has a substantially ring shape as described above.
When attached to a tripod, as shown in FIG. 2, in a state where two strings of the user-side cord section 24 b passing through the long hole 36 and the holes 38 and 40 are positioned inside the opening 2802, Between these two strings, the camera mounting screw 46 of the tripod head 12
Extend through the ring-shaped opening 2802.

The material of the main body 30 of the buckle 28 is as follows.
It is preferable to use a material having a relatively large friction so that the position of the member is not easily shifted and the attached state is not easily loosened. Therefore, in this embodiment, a hard synthetic rubber-based plastic material is used as the material of the main body 30. Also,
On both sides 30a of the main body 30, a bottom 50 of the camera 10 is provided.
In order to further increase the friction between the camera head 12 and the camera mounting surface 52 of the camera platform 12, fine irregularities may be formed. The metal pieces 32 to 34 of the buckle 28 described above
In order to use the metal pieces 28 to 30, the buckle 26 can be easily gripped by forming fine irregularities on both side surfaces 30a in order to pinch both side surfaces 30a of the main body 30 with a fingertip when using the metal pieces. Benefits are also obtained.

In the illustrated embodiment, the distance between both side surfaces 30a of the main body 30, that is, the thickness of the main body 30 is about 3 mm. Therefore, when the camera 10 is attached to the camera platform 12 with the buckle 28 interposed, the distance between the camera 10 and the camera platform 12 is maintained at about 3 mm. As described above, the camera mounting screw 46 provided on the camera platform 12 is usually
Since the buckle 28 is designed to protrude from the camera mounting surface 52 of the camera head 12 by about 4.5 mm, when the buckle 28 is interposed as a spacer, the tip of the camera mounting screw 46 is inserted into the tripod screw hole 44 of the camera 10. The depth of penetration is about 1.5m
m. Therefore, in this embodiment, the depth of the effective screw portion of the tripod screw hole 44 is set to about 2.5 mm, but a sufficient margin is still obtained. In a conventional camera, the depth of the effective screw portion is about 5.5 mm, which indicates that the present invention greatly contributes to reduction in size and weight of the camera. The tripod screw hole 44 is often provided below the lens barrel 16 as shown in FIG. 1, in which case the height of the camera must be increased to avoid interference between the two. However, according to the present invention, since the depth of the tripod screw hole 44 can be kept small, the height of the camera can be kept small. In this case, when the lens barrel 16 is provided at the center of the body 14 in the left-right direction, the size of the tripod screw hole 4 is reduced while reducing the size of the camera.
4 can be provided at the center of the bottom surface of the camera body 14 in the left-right direction, which is advantageous in supporting the camera in a well-balanced manner.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, when the camera 10 is mounted on a tripod, the buckle 28 can be interposed as a spacer between the camera 10 and the tripod head 12. The required depth of the tripod screw holes 44 of the ten can be shortened, and the tripod screw holes 44 can be formed compactly, so that the camera 10 can be further reduced in size and weight. Also, since the buckle 28 is originally attached to the strap 24, no new parts are required for attaching the spacer, and the buckle 28 is always carried by the camera, which is extremely convenient. When the buckle 28 is used as a spacer, the distance between the camera 10 and the tripod head 12 is maintained at about 3 mm. Therefore, when using an existing tripod, the tripod screw hole of the camera 10 is used. The screwing length between the camera mounting screw 44 and the camera mounting screw 46 of the camera platform may be about 1.5 mm, and a sufficient compactness can be achieved.
In addition, the buckle 28 has a body portion 30 made of a hard synthetic rubber-based plastic member, so that friction between the buckle 28 and the camera platform 12 and the head 12 are large.
Can be securely attached to the camera platform 12. The buckle 28 has a substantially ring shape, and when the camera 10 is mounted on a tripod, the camera mounting screw 46 of the camera platform 12 is used.
Extend inside the ring-shaped opening 2802, so that the camera 10 can be stably attached to the camera platform 12.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The buckle 128 has an annular plate-shaped main body 130 which is a plastic molded product, and first and second metals similar to those in the first embodiment, which are implanted as inserts when the main body 130 is molded. The main body 130 has a hole-shaped opening 128A formed at the center thereof. Opposite to each other in the main body 130, one large elongated hole 136 (corresponding to the first hole in the claims) and two small elongated holes 138, 140 (in the claims) Is formed, and a long hole 1 is formed.
36 and two smaller elongated holes 138 and 140 are connected to each other by a communication hole 160 extending inside the main body 130. The large elongated hole 136 is formed to have such a size that when the two strings of the user side cord portion 24b of the strap are inserted side by side, the strings are somewhat tightened and adjusted by the elongated holes 136. The small elongated holes 138 to 140 are used when the cord of the user side cord portion 24b of the strap is inserted through only one of the elongated holes 138 to 140.
The dimensions are such that they are somewhat tighter and smaller due to 40. When the buckle 28 is mounted on the user-side cord portion 24b, for example, one end of the user-side cord portion 24b is inserted into the long hole 136.
Through the communication hole 160 and the long hole 138, and then the long hole 14
After passing from 0 to the communication hole 160 and the elongated hole 136, both ends of the user-side cord portion 24b may be aligned and connected to both ends of the camera-side cord portion 24a. The user shifts the position of the buckle 128 with respect to the user-side cord portion 24b to change the position of the buckle 128 in the user-side cord portion 24b.
You can adjust the size of the ring that protrudes outward from 8 and 140, and adjust the size of this ring to a size that is easy to entangle your fingertip when carrying the camera, or a size that is easy to hang on your wrist do it. The opening 128A is formed with a diameter through which the camera mounting screw 46 is inserted. The camera mounting screw 4 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 128A.
6 may be formed with a female screw. According to the second embodiment, in addition to the operation and effect of the first embodiment, since the string of the user-side cord section 24b is not located in the opening 128A, the camera mounting screw 46 is attached to the opening 128A.
This makes it possible to easily insert the camera into a tripod, thereby making it easier to mount the camera on a tripod.

The various numerical values used in the description of the above embodiment are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these numerical values. Further, the shape of the buckle is not limited to the shape described in the above embodiment, and may be applied to various shapes such as a U-shape and an H-shape.

[0015]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention relates to a camera provided with a tripod screw hole and a strap, wherein a buckle provided on the strap is attached to the camera when the camera is mounted on a tripod. As a spacer interposed therebetween. Further, according to the present invention, in a camera having a tripod screw hole and a strap, a spacer is provided between the camera and the tripod head when the camera is attached to the tripod, and the spacer is attached to the strap. The configuration was adopted. Therefore, an effect that the tripod screw hole of the camera can be formed compactly and the camera itself can be reduced in size and weight can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a camera mounted on a tripod head using a buckle according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the camera taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a buckle according to the first embodiment of the camera strap.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a buckle according to a second embodiment of the camera strap.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Camera 12 Head 24 Strap 28, 128 Buckle 44 Tripod screw hole 46 Camera mounting screw

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A camera comprising: a tripod screw hole formed in a body of a camera; and a strap attached to the body and equipped with a buckle, wherein the buckle screw a camera mounting screw into the tripod screw hole. A camera which is formed as a spacer interposed between the camera and a tripod head when the camera is attached to a tripod. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the buckle is formed as a spacer sized to maintain a distance between the camera and the tripod head at about 3 mm. 3. The buckle includes a first contact surface that comes into contact with the camera when the camera is attached to a tripod, and a tripod head that is parallel to the first contact surface and attaches the camera to the tripod. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a second contact surface that abuts. 4. The buckle includes a first contact surface and a second contact surface.
4. The camera according to claim 3, comprising a hard synthetic rubber-based plastic member having a contact surface. 5. The buckle according to claim 1, wherein the buckle is substantially ring-shaped, and a camera mounting screw extends through the ring-shaped opening when the camera is mounted on a tripod.
Camera according to the item. 6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a lens barrel projects from the front of the body of the camera, and the tripod screw hole is formed in a bottom surface of the body located substantially below the lens barrel. The camera according to claim 1. 7. The strap has a string portion forming a loop,
The camera according to claim 1, wherein the buckle adjusts the size of the ring. 8. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the buckle is provided with a metal piece for operating various parts and members of the camera. 9. The strap comprises a string forming a loop,
The buckle is formed in a ring shape from a substantially C-shaped main body portion and a first metal piece connecting both ends of the main body portion, and has a radius of the main body portion at one of the opposing portions of the main body portion. A first hole penetrating in the direction is formed,
Two second holes penetrating in the radial direction of the main body portion are formed at the other location at an interval in the circumferential direction of the main body portion, and the first hole is provided with two strings constituting the string portion. It is formed in such a size that it closes somewhat when inserted, and the two second
The hole of each is formed in a size through which one string constituting the string portion is inserted, and an opening formed by the inside of the main body and the first metal piece is formed inside the opening by the inside of the opening. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera mounting screw is inserted between the two strings while the two strings are positioned.
9. The camera according to any one of items 1 to 8. 10. The camera according to claim 9, wherein the first metal piece is formed so as to be engageable with an opening / closing groove of a battery cover of the camera. 11. The strap includes a loop-shaped string portion, the buckle includes a substantially ring-shaped body portion, and a center opening of the body portion is formed to have a size through which a camera mounting screw is inserted. A first hole is formed in one of the opposing portions of the main body, and two second holes are formed in the other of the main body at intervals in a circumferential direction of the main body. The first hole and the two second holes are connected by two communication holes extending inside the main body, and the first hole is formed when two strings constituting the string are inserted. 2. The two second holes and the two communication holes are formed in a size that can be closed and adjusted, and each of the two second holes and the two communication holes is formed in a size into which one string constituting the string part is inserted. 9. The camera according to any one of items 1 to 8. 12. A camera having a tripod screw hole formed in a body of the camera and a strap attached to the body, wherein the camera is mounted on a tripod head via the tripod screw hole. A spacer interposed between the camera and the camera platform, and the spacer is attached to the strap. 13. The camera according to claim 12, wherein the strap includes a string portion forming a loop, and the spacer is formed as a buckle for adjusting the size of the loop.