JPS62245230A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically turn off a power source when it is judged that turning-off of the power source is forgotten, by providing a timer which turns off the power source after a prescribed time, a means which detects oscillation of a camera body to generate an oscillation detection signal, and a means which resets the timer with this oscillation detection signal. CONSTITUTION:If a camera is put horizontally with a main switch 10 turned on, an oscillation detecting switch 18 is turned off because mercury 20 is placed in the center of a closed vessel 19. If the camera is left inclined with the switch 10 turned on, one pair of contacts, for example, 21a and 21b are turned on as they are because mercury 20 is moved to the end part of the closed vessel 19. In both cases, a counter 26 is not reset to continue the counting operation because a pulse is outputted from a one shot multivibrator 23. When the counter 26 counts a prescribed number of pulses, its output terminal D goes to the high level, and an unuse signal is inputted to a control circuit 30 through an OR circuit 42.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a camera that automatically turns off the power when the camera is not in use.

[Conventional technology]

Modern cameras have automatic winding mechanisms, automatic focus adjustment mechanisms,
Equipped with an automatic exposure control mechanism, low-brightness automatic flash flash, etc., the automation of camera operation has progressed considerably.

For this reason, batteries are indispensable in cameras, and when the main switch is turned on, power is supplied to each of the above-mentioned mechanisms. This main switch is
It is necessary to turn off the camera when shooting is finished, but many people forget to do this. In this case, since each mechanism remains powered, the battery is wasted. In particular, in low-brightness automatic flash flashes, the capacitor is always recharged to keep it at a constant voltage, so if the main switch is left on, the battery will consume a lot of power.

To prevent forgetting to turn off the main switch mentioned above,
The main switch is linked to the lens barrier, and the main switch is turned off when the lens barrier is closed after shooting.
There are cameras known for this purpose.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Even if the main switch mentioned above is linked to the lens barrier, if you forget to close the lens barrier after taking a picture, the main switch will remain on, which wastes battery power, and furthermore, the lens barrier will open. This may cause damage to the optical system, such as the lens.

The present invention is a camera that determines whether the camera is ready for shooting (use schedule B) or has forgotten to turn off the power, and automatically turns off the power if it is determined that the camera has forgotten to turn off the power. The purpose is to provide the following.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a timer for turning off the power after a predetermined time, a means for detecting vibration of the camera body and generating a vibration detection signal, and a means for resetting the timer using the vibration detection signal. This means that there is a means to do so.

When the camera is ready for shooting, the photographer is holding the camera in most cases, so the camera vibrates due to the photographer's body movements and hand movements. This vibration of the camera is detected by the vibration detection means, and the timer is thereby reset. Therefore, each time the camera vibrates, the timer is reset and the power is kept on. On the other hand, if the camera is left alone with the main switch turned on, the camera is separated from the photographer and remains stationary. In this state, no vibration detection signal is output from the vibration detection means, so when this state continues for a predetermined period of time, a timer is activated to turn off the power.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

〔Example〕

The main switch 10 includes an ON contact 10a, an OFF contact 10b, and a movable contact piece 10c, and is attached to the camera body so as to be operable from the outside. This movable contact piece 1
A timer circuit composed of a resistor 11 and a capacitor 12 is connected to 0c, and the main switch 10 is turned off.
Even when the F contact 10b is switched to the OFF state, the transistor 13 is kept in the ON state for a predetermined period of time. When the main switch 10 is turned OFF, the strobe 36 is lowered to the retracted position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the lens barrier 45
．． This is to keep the power on for a sufficient period of time to close the lens barrel 46 and store the lens barrel 47 inside the camera body 57.

When the capacitor 12 is charged to a predetermined potential, the transistor 13 connected in series with the battery 14 is turned on, so that the switching circuit 15 is supplied with power. This switching circuit 15 is composed of transistors, etc., and is normally in an ON state and supplies electricity from the battery 14 to the power supply line L, but while a non-use signal is input from the delay circuit 16. is in the OFF state and does not supply electricity to the power line L.

During preparation for photographing, the camera is often held in the hand or hung on the shoulder via a strap and moved together with the photographer, and in this state the camera vibrates from side to side or back and forth. Therefore, a vibration detection switch 18 is provided within the camera body in order to indirectly detect whether the camera is left unused based on the presence or absence of vibrations of the camera. The vibration detection switch 18 is constructed by storing a conductive liquid, such as water, in a sealed container 19 made of an insulating material, such as a glass pipe, into a V-shape. 2
0 is slightly inserted. A pair of contacts 212.21b are provided near one end of the sealed container 19 with an appropriate distance therebetween. If the camera body vibrates while the camera is in use and the sealed container 19 tilts to the left or right, water leaks! 20 moves to contact point 21a.

21b at the same time. Contact 21a via mercury 20
, 21b are electrically coupled, the vibration detection switch 1
8 is in the ON state. Similarly, a pair of contacts 22a and 22b are attached near the other end of the sealed container 19 with their tips slightly protruding into the sealed container 19.

The oscillator 24 generates a pulse with a constant period, and inputs this pulse to the clock terminal C of the counter 26 via the AND circuit 25. The oscillator 24 and counter 26 constitute a timer circuit, which detects when a certain number of pulses have been counted, that is, when a certain period of time has passed since the last reset, and at this time the main switch 10 is turned off.
It is determined that it has been left in the N position.゛I sometimes use a tripod to take pictures or hold the camera in place to get a good photo opportunity. “In this case, the vibration detection switch 18 does not turn ON and OFF repeatedly. Taking these things into consideration, the output terminal of the counter 26 reaches rHJ when about 10 minutes have passed after the camera vibrations stopped. It is preferable to decide the count number of the counter 26 or set the pulse period so that

When the counter 26 counts a predetermined number of pulses, its output terminal becomes rHJ.

This output signal is sent to the delay circuit 16, and after a predetermined time, the switching circuit 15 is turned off, and the power supply line L
Stops power supply. Further, an inverter 27 is provided to close the AND circuit 25 and stop the counting operation of the counter 26.

When the camera vibrates, the vibration detection switch 18 is turned on, so the one-shot multi-vibration break 23 generates a pulse and inputs it to the reset terminal R of the counter 26. Therefore, while the camera is preparing to shoot, the counter 2
6 is reset appropriately, the power line L is turned off.
It will never become.

When the switching circuit 15 is in the ON state, electricity from the battery 14 is sent to the control circuit 30 and the like via the power line L. This control circuit 3o is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and sequentially controls each part according to a predetermined program.

The control circuit 30 also includes a shutter 31. Motor 32~
35. A strobe 36 is connected. The motor 32 is
For example, it is housed in a winding Lisbourg, and drives the film feeding mechanism 37 to wind and rewind the film. As is well known, this film feeding mechanism 37 charges the shutter 31 when winding the film. The motor 33 drives a strobe pop-amp mechanism 38 to displace the strobe 36 between a pop-up position where it protrudes from the camera body and a retracted position where it is stored in the camera body. The motor 34 drives the collapsing mechanism 39 to displace the lens barrel between a position where it protrudes from the camera body and a position where it is housed within the camera body. A motor 35 controls opening and closing of the lens barrier. The strobe 36 is of a low-intensity automatic light emission type, and automatically emits light when the subject is dark. It also detects the capacitor voltage and automatically recharges the capacitor if it drops to a predetermined voltage.

When the main switch 10 is placed in the ON position,
That is, when the movable contact piece 10c is connected to the ON contact 10a side, a pulse is output from the one-shot multi-by-break 41. When this pulse is input to the control circuit 30, the motor 33
~ 35 to displace the strobe 36 to the pop-up position and protrude the lens barrel from the camera body.
Additionally, the lens barrier is moved to the open position and automatically set to a shooting ready state. Furthermore, when the power is turned off by the main switch 10 or automatically turned off by the vibration detection switch 16, a signal is input to the control circuit 30 via the OR circuit 42, so the motors 33 to 35 are automatically reversed and the lens While retracting the lens barrel, strobe 3
6 to the retracted position and the lens barrier to the closed position. Note that electromagnets may be used instead of the motors 33 to 35. In this case, each mechanism is manually set in the operating state, and when the power is turned off, the electromagnet is temporarily energized to release the lock, and the stored force of the spring is used to flash the strobe 33.
Return the lens barrel and lens barrier to the non-use position.

When the release button 43 is operated, the shutter 31 is activated to take a picture, and then the motor 32 is rotated to wind the film and charge the shutter.

FIG. 2 shows the lens barrier opening/closing mechanism and the strobe pop-up mechanism. The lens barrier opening/closing mechanism 40 is
Two lens barriers 45.4 moving in opposite directions
6 is provided within the lens barrel 47. Racks 45a and 46a are formed on the lens barriers 45 and 46, respectively, and these racks 45a and 46a mesh with both sides of the pinion 48. Lens barriers 45 and 46 have elongated holes 45b and 46b provided on the upper and lower sides, respectively, and are loosely fitted into fixing pins 49 and 50, so when pinion 48 is rotated by motor 35, it moves linearly and holds lens 51. Open and close.

The apron 53 of the strobe 36 is provided with a pair of elongated holes 53a and a rack 53b, and when the pinion 54 is rotated by the motor 33, it is guided by a fixed pin 55 that loosely fits into the pair of elongated holes 53a. Move up and down. In the photographing preparation state, the strobe 36 protrudes from the camera body 57, and is stored within the camera body 57 when the camera is not in use.

The camera body 57 has a built-in vibration detection switch 18, which is turned ON or OFF depending on the attitude of the camera body 57. A release button 43 is provided on the top surface of the camera body 57. Note that the reference numeral 58 is a finder.

Figure 3 shows the collapsing mechanism. A pair of pins 60 are implanted in the lens barrel 47, and these pins 6
0 are loosely fitted into the straight grooves 61, respectively. Further, a rack plate 62 is fixed to the lens barrel 47, and a pinion 63 meshes with a rack 62a formed on the rack plate 62. When the motor 34 rotates, the lens barrel 47 is guided by the linear groove 61 and moves between the retracted position shown by the solid line and the protruded position shown by the dotted line.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. When using the camera, first switch the main switch 10.
Set to ON position. When the movable contact piece 10c of the main switch 10 is connected to the ON contact 10a, charging of the capacitor 12 is started. Then, when the time T1 elapses, the capacitor 12 reaches a predetermined voltage, so
Transistor 13 is turned on. When this transistor 13 is turned on, the switching circuit 15 is turned on, so the control circuit 30° shifter 31 is connected via the power supply line L.
．． Motors 32-35. Strobe 36 is powered.

Furthermore, when the main switch 10 is set to the ON position, the one-shot multivibrator 41 is activated and outputs a pulse with a width longer than the time sufficient for the power supply voltage of the control circuit 30 to stabilize. When this pulse is input to the control circuit 30 as a use signal, the control circuit 30 controls the motor 33.
~35 is driven. When the motor 33 is driven, the pinion 54 rotates counterclockwise, so that the strobe 36 pops up from the camera body 57 as shown by the solid line in FIG. Also, when the motor 34 rotates, the pinion 6
3 rotates clockwise, the lens barrel 47 protrudes from the camera body 57 and is centered at the position shown by the dotted line in FIG. When the motor 35 rotates, the pinion 48 rotates counterclockwise, so that the pair of lens barriers 45.4
6 linearly move away from each other, the lens 51
is exposed. Furthermore, charging of the strobe 36 is automatically started.

When the user presses the release button 43 after pointing the camera at the subject, the control circuit 30 activates the shutter 31.

When the shutter 31 is activated and one frame of photography is completed,
The control circuit 30 rotates the motor 32 to operate the film feeding mechanism 37.

This film feeding mechanism 37 winds the film by one frame and charges the shutter 31. Note that when the subject has low brightness, the strobe 36 automatically emits light.

When the main switch 10 is set to the ON position, the oscillator 24 is activated, and the pulses output from the oscillator 24 are sent to the counter 26 via the AND circuit 25.
It is counted here. When the camera is ready for photographing, the camera body 57 is held by hand or hung on the shoulder via a strap, and moves together with the photographer.

As a result, the camera body 57 shakes from side to side and back and forth, causing the vibration detection switch 18 to repeatedly turn on and off.

That is, since the mercury 20 moves within the sealed container 19,
Mercury 20 electrically connects the contacts 21a and 21b, or electrically connects the contacts 22a and 22b.

The ON signal of the vibration detection switch 18 is sent to the one-shot multi-by-break 23, and one ON signal (one pulse is output for No. 3).

This pulse is input to the reset terminal R of the counter 26 and resets the contents of the counter 26 to zero. Therefore, since the counter 26 is reset as appropriate during preparation for photographing, it does not count up to a predetermined value.

If you leave the camera unattended with the main switch 10 turned on, check whether the camera is shaking to determine whether it is preparing to take a photo or if you have forgotten to turn off the power. automatically turns off. In other words, such cases include cases where the camera is placed horizontally on a desk, etc., and cases where the camera body 57 is left tilted with one end of the bottom surface resting on a book, etc. .

In the former case, since the mercury 20 is located at the center of the sealed container 19, the vibration detection switch 18 is in the OFF state. In the latter case, since the mercury 20 has moved to the end of the sealed container 19, one pair of contacts, e.g.
1a and 21b are ONL.

It will remain. In either case, since the one-shot multi-by-break 23 outputs a pulse, the counter 26 is not reset and continues counting. When the counter 26 counts a predetermined number of pulses, its output terminal becomes rHJ. When the output terminal becomes rHJ, the AND circuit 26 is closed and the counting operation ends.

When the output terminal of the counter 26 becomes rHJ, OR
An unused signal is input to the control circuit 30 via the circuit 42 . This control circuit 30 reverses the motors 33-35, strobes 36. Return the lens barrel 47 to the storage position,
Also, the lens barriers 45 and 46 are returned to shield the lens 51. As a result, each mechanism of the camera is set to an unused state.

The delay circuit 16 delays the non-use signal by the time T3 required to set the camera in the non-use state, and sends this to the switching circuit 15. This switching circuit 1
5 turns off, for example, a transistor (not shown) connected to the power supply line L by a signal from the delay circuit 16.

As a result, each electric circuit connected to the power line L is
Becomes FF.

After using the camera, when the main switch 10 is returned to the OFF position, the movable contact piece 10c comes into contact with the OFF contact 10b. As a result, the OR circuit 42 outputs a non-use signal, and as described above, the motors 33 to 35 rotate to return each mechanism to the non-use state. Also, the main switch lO
When the transistor 13 is turned off, the capacitor 12 starts discharging, and after each mechanism is set to a non-use state, the transistor 13 is turned off. This transistor 13 is OFF
Then, power supply to all circuits is stopped.

If you want to use the camera again after the power has been automatically turned off, turn off the main switch 10.
Return to position. When the main switch 10 is returned to the OFF position, the counter 26. Since the delay circuit 16 and the like are reset, the output terminal of the counter 26 becomes rLJ. Then, when the main switch IO is returned to the ON position, each circuit is energized and each mechanism is set to the operating state as described above.

In the above embodiment, a V-shaped sealed container containing mercury is used as the vibration detection switch, but instead, a lever with a weight fixed to the bottom is used, and when the lever swings according to the tilt of the camera, , a structure in which switches placed on the left and right sides of the lever are turned on and off may also be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, a vibration detection means is provided, and if the camera does not vibrate even once within a predetermined period of time, it is determined that the camera has forgotten to turn off the power, and automatically detects the vibration. Since the power is turned off immediately, it is possible to prevent forgetting to turn off the power, thereby eliminating wasteful battery consumption.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a lens barrier mechanism and a strobe pop-up mechanism. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the collapsing mechanism. FIG. 4 is a timing chart of FIG. 1, and shows a state in which the power is automatically turned off. 10... Main switch 14... Battery 18... Vibration detection switch 19... Sealed container 20... Mercury 21a, 21b, 22a, 22b... Contacts 32 to 35.
- Motor 36... Strobe 45.46... Lens barrier 47... Lens barrel 51... Lens L... Power line.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A timer for turning off the power after a predetermined period of time, a means for detecting vibrations of the camera body and generating a vibration detection signal, and a means for resetting the timer using the vibration detection signal are provided so that the camera body remains stationary. A camera characterized in that the camera is configured to automatically turn off the power when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the camera was placed in the same state. (2) The vibration detection means includes a conductive liquid sealed in an insulating V-shaped sealed container, and
Claim 1, characterized in that it consists of a vibration detection switch consisting of a pair of contacts arranged near the end of a sealed container, and a one-shot multivibrator that generates a pulse when the vibration detection switch is turned on. Camera listed. (3) The camera according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the timer comprises an oscillator that generates pulses with a constant period and a counter that counts the pulses.