JPS6141076Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a strobe with variable irradiation direction, and more particularly to a strobe whose light emitter section can be rotated toward a desired irradiation direction.

When attempting to take close-up shots using a strobe, due to the parallax between the optical axis of the photographic lens and the flash center of the strobe, the strobe light does not reach the subject located at the bottom of the shooting screen, resulting in uneven exposure. There is a risk. In order to eliminate such problems, methods such as using a ring light for close-up photography to eliminate the parallax between the optical axis of the photographing lens and the center of light emission, or rotating the light emitting part of the strobe downwards are adopted. ing.

The method of using a ring light for close-up photography is inconvenient because it uses a special light emitting means different from the normal light emitting means, whereas the method of rotating the light emitting part is such that the light emitting part can be rotated. Since it is only necessary to make improvements to the strobe, manufacturing costs are low and it has been widely adopted.

A conventional variable irradiation direction strobe having a rotatable light emitter section is constructed as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. This strobe 1 has a strobe body 2.
A light emitter part 4 is disposed in a recess 3 formed in the front part of the light emitting window 6. It is now possible to change the orientation of Above strobe body 2
A mounting foot 7 is provided at the lower end of the camera to be attached to the hot shoe of the camera.

The light emitter section 4 includes a flash discharge tube 8 that emits strobe light, a reflecting mirror 9 that is a curved surface that reflects the light emitted from the discharge tube 8 forward, and direct light from the discharge tube 8 and The light emitting window 6 is formed of a rectangular diffuser plate that transmits the reflected light from the reflecting mirror 9 forward as diffused light, and the upper frame part 11 and the lower frame part 12 form a casing in which these are housed. It consists of

In the reference state in which the light emitting window 6 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is in a non-rotating state facing the front, the light emitting unit 4 is configured such that the upper surface of the upper frame portion 11 exposed from the recess 3 of the strobe body 2 is It is a flat surface whose height is approximately the same as the upper surface of the strobe body 2. Further, the front surface of the light emitting window 6 is retracted further back than the front end surfaces of the protrusions 2a and 2b on both sides forming the left and right walls of the recess 3 of the strobe body 2.

Further, an engagement step portion 12a is provided on the bottom wall of the lower frame portion 12, and when the step portion 12a abuts against a stopper step portion 2c provided on the main body 2, light is emitted. The amount of downward rotation of the vessel part 4 as indicated by arrow a is regulated. In addition,
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11a indicates a fitting hole for a click stop, and by fitting a click stop protrusion (not shown) provided on the main body 2 into the hole, The light emitting unit 4 is click-stopped at an upward rotation position in the direction opposite to arrow a and a downward rotation position in the direction of arrow a.

The strobe 1 configured in this manner is attached to a camera by inserting the foot part 7 into a hot shoe, and the light emitter part 4 is in the standard state shown in FIGS. It is used in each of the downward rotating state of the vessel section 4 and the upward rotating state of the light emitting section 4 (not shown).

However, in this conventional strobe 1, if the light emitter part 4 is pressed carelessly, the light emitter part 4 will rotate downward as shown in FIG. There is a risk that the user may continue photographing without realizing it, thinking that the light emitting unit 4 is in the standard state facing forward. If you perform non-close-distance photography with the light emitter unit 4 turned downward, the strobe light will only illuminate part of the subject within the photographic image frame, and the strobe light will not illuminate other parts of the subject. Since there is no irradiation, uneven exposure will occur. This is especially noticeable when the photographic lens is a wide-angle lens.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a variable irradiation direction strobe that is provided with a movable stopper member to selectively prevent rotation of the light emitter section in a specific direction.

According to the present invention, even if the light emitting part is pressed carelessly, the stopper member prevents the light emitting part from rotating in a specific direction, so it is possible to take photographs with uneven exposure without realizing it. There is no need to worry about it being put away. Further, when performing short-distance flash photography, the light emitter section can be rotated downward simply by retracting the stopper member and pressing the light emitter section.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on the illustrated embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the variable irradiation direction strobe of the present invention, an engagement protrusion 12b is formed on the lower surface of the lower frame portion 12, and a stopper member 13 is disposed within the movement path of the engagement protrusion 12b. It is provided so that it can slide freely. The stopper member 13 is a horizontally long prismatic body with a dovetail 13a formed in a part of its lower part.
is fitted into a dovetail groove 2d formed in the main body 2, so that the stopper member 13 can slide in the left-right direction, which is the longitudinal direction. When the stopper member 13 is in the leftward sliding position shown in FIG.
The front surface of the notch 2e into which the engaging protrusion 12b is fitted is closed, and when the stopper member 13 is in the rightward sliding position as shown in FIG. 6, the front surface of the notch 2e is opened. There is. Furthermore, a knurl 13b for sliding operation is carved on the front and upper surface of the right half of the stopper member 13. In addition, the dovetail 13a and the dovetail groove 2d
is formed to the minimum necessary length so as not to be exposed to the outside.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the upper frame portion 11,
At the ridge of the step facing the notch on the upper surface of the strobe body 2, an indicator 14 is formed, which is a horizontally long groove filled with paint. This indicator 14 is exposed to the outside when the light emitter section 4 is rotated downward, and indicates that the light emitter section 4 is in the downward rotation state.

The other constituent members are the same as those of the conventional strobe shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 above, so corresponding constituent members are given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted.

The variable irradiation direction strobe of the present invention constructed in this manner is normally used with the stopper member 13 slid to the left rotation blocking position, as shown in FIG. In this state, the left half of the stopper member 13 is in front of the notch 2e, so the engagement protrusion 12b is prevented from entering the notch 2e. Therefore, even if the light emitting unit 4 is pushed inadvertently, it will not be rotated downward. Also, when moving the light emitter part 4 back from the upwardly rotated position to the standard position facing the front, the light emitter part 4 is pushed until the engaging protrusion 12b abuts against the stopper member 13. Just by turning it, the light emitter section 4 will return to its standard position.

Also, when performing close-range flash photography,
First, the light emitter part 4 may be rotated upward, and the stopper member 13 may be slid to the right by inserting a finger into the gap between the light emitter part 4 and the main body 2. In this way, as shown in FIG. 6, since the stopper member 13 is retracted from the front position of the notch 2e, the engagement protrusion 12b does not abut against the stopper member 13, and the light emitting part 4 is directed downward. rotation is now allowed. Therefore, when the light emitter section 4 is pressed, the engaging protrusion 12b will move as shown in FIG.
The light emitting unit 4 enters the notch 2e and is in a state where it is rotated downward. In this state, the indicator 14, which was not exposed from above the back surface in the reference state shown in FIG. 7, is exposed to the outside as shown in FIG. 8. Therefore, the photographer uses the above index 14.
, it can be known that the light emitter section 4 is in the downward rotation position. Therefore, there is less risk of taking a photograph with uneven exposure without noticing this. Note that after close-range strobe photography, the light emitter section 4 is rotated upward again and the stopper member 13 is returned to the rotation blocking position shown in FIG.
What is necessary is to return the light emitter section 4 to the standard state.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the invention. This variable irradiation direction strobe has an engaging protrusion 1 which is integrally provided at the center of the lower surface of the lower frame part 12.
2c, and a stopper member 15 that is slidably disposed in the vertical direction so as to be able to selectively engage with the engagement protrusion 12c. The stopper member 15 is formed in an inverted T shape, is biased upward by an extensible coil spring 16, and has a stopper portion 1 extending upward.
5a is attached to the main body 2 by passing through a guide hole 2f formed in the main body 2. The operating portion 1 extends forward of the stopper member 15.
5b is fitted into a guide hole 2g formed in a rectangular shape in the front wall of the main body 2, and a knurl is carved on the front surface thereof.

The other structural members are the same as those of the strobe according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, so the corresponding structural members are given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted.

The variable-direction strobe of this embodiment constructed as described above is normally used in the standard state shown in Fig. 10. In this state, the stopper member 15 is slid upward by the elastic force of the spring 16, and as shown in Fig. 11, the stopper portion 15a protrudes in front of the notch 2e into which the engaging protrusion 12c fits. Therefore, in this state, the engaging protrusion 12c cannot enter the notch 2e. Therefore, even if the light emitter portion 4 is inadvertently pushed, the portion 4 will not rotate downward, and the light emitter portion 4 can be positioned at the standard position simply by making the engaging protrusion 12c collide with the stopper member 15.

When performing close-range photography using the strobe of this example, as shown in FIG.
The stopper portion 15a is slid downward against the elastic force of the engagement protrusion 12c, thereby retracting the stopper portion 15a from the movement path of the engagement protrusion 12c. After that, when the light emitter part 4 is pressed,
The engagement protrusion 12c enters into the notch 2e, and the light emitter section 4 is in a downwardly rotated state. When the fingertip or the like is released from the operating part 15b in this state, the stopper member 15 moves upward by the elasticity of the spring 16, and the upper surface of the stopper part 15a moves against the engagement protrusion 12c as shown in FIG. It will collide with the bottom surface and stop. After photographing, in order to return the light emitter section 4 to the reference position, it is sufficient to simply rotate the light emitter section 4 upward. In this way, the upper surface of the stopper part 15a and the engagement protrusion 12c come out of contact, and the elasticity of the spring 16 causes the stopper member 1
5 moves back to the reference position shown in FIG. 10, and henceforth the downward rotation of the light emitter section 4 is prevented.

In each of the above embodiments, the engaging part is provided in the light emitter part and the stopper member is provided in the strobe body, but it is also possible to provide the stopper member in the light emitter part and the engaging part in the strobe body. Of course, it is also possible to do so.

Further, although the light emitting unit is made to be able to rotate in the vertical direction, it goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to strobes in which the light emitting unit can be rotated in other directions such as left and right. be.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional strobe with variable illumination direction, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the operating mode of the strobe shown in FIG. 1 above, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the strobe shown in FIG. 1 above. Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts of
FIGS. 5 and 6 are an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts of a variable irradiation direction strobe showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. Figures 7 and 8 are perspective views of essential parts of the strobe shown in Figure 4 showing the non-exposed and exposed states of the indicator, respectively;
The figure is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part showing the operating mode of the strobe shown in Fig. 4, FIG. , an enlarged perspective view of the main part showing the stopper member of the strobe shown in FIG. 10, 1st
2 and 13 are enlarged sectional views of essential parts showing the operating mode of the strobe shown in FIG. 10, respectively. 4...Light emitter part, 12b...Engaging protrusion (engaging part), 12c...Engaging protrusion (engaging part), 13, 15
...stopper member.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A variable irradiation direction in which the light emitter is attached to the strobe body so that the light emitter can be rotated in one direction and the other around a reference position where the irradiation direction of the light emitter faces the front. In the strobe, an engaging part provided on either one of the light emitter part and the strobe body is movable between a position where the engaging part enters into a movement path and a position where it retreats. and a stopper member provided on the other one of the above, and when the stopper member enters the moving path of the engaging part, the light emitting part is caused to come into partial contact with the engaging part. A variable irradiation direction strobe characterized in that it is allowed to rotate between a reference position and one direction, and is prevented from rotating in the other direction.