JPS63237045A - Electric packaging unit for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the reliability of connection of units to decrease man-hours for assembly by using a connecting member to connect electrical contacts to each other at the time of connecting the units. CONSTITUTION:A connector 40 is used to connect the upper plate unit 20 and the main body unit 30 in the assembly stage of a camera. The connector 40 is used to hold a movable end part 18A of a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) 17 and an end 32A of an FPC 32 in place therebetween and to connect the connecting parts 24, 39 thereof electrically and mechanically to each other. Said connector consists of a pedestal 41, an elastic member 42, a keep plate 43 and a screw 44. The improved reliability of the unit connection, the reduced cost of production by the reduced man-hours for assembly and the improve repair characteristic are thereby obtd.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an electrical mounting unit of a camera, and more specifically, to an electrical mounting unit of a camera.
The present invention relates to an electrical mounting unit for a camera, which is constructed by assembling and electrically coupling an upper plate unit and a main body unit of the camera.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, when assembling a camera, as shown in FIG.
The top plate 1 of the camera is equipped with many electrical parts, such as electric contacts 2 for the strobe and a mode switch (not shown), so the top plate 1 with these electrical parts is connected to the camera body 8. During most of the winter, the conductive part on the board 3 on the top plate 1 side and the conductive part on the board 6 with the electrical components 7 on the camera body 8 side are connected by soldering the lead wires 5. was. The main reason for this is that the scale of the electrical components installed on the top plate 1 of the camera was not so large in the past, so it was possible to configure connections using lead wires; This is probably due to the fact that there was no valid connection method.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in order to enhance the functions of cameras and improve manufacturing characteristics such as ease of assembly, for example, liquid crystal display panels, touch input devices, and multi-contact points with increased information content have been developed. If strobe terminals, etc. are assembled into a unit on the top plate in advance, and then attempted to be assembled into the main unit near the final process of camera assembly, according to the prior art, there are too many signals to be sent and received. Therefore, a very large amount of lead wire soldering is required. This leads to: - Decreased reliability due to incorrect soldering, etc., - Increased costs due to increased assembly man-hours, and -
In practice, it has been difficult to realize such a configuration of the upper plate unit because it leads to a decrease in repairability.

The present invention solves the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional technology, has high functionality, is easy to assemble, 1) improves the reliability of unit connections, 2)
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electrical mounting unit for a camera that reduces manufacturing costs by reducing assembly man-hours, and improves repairability.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The electrical mounting unit of the camera of the present invention has an input/output device or an information display device disposed on the top surface of the camera, and a device for supplying power and transmitting electrical signals to these devices. A camera main body unit having a camera upper plate unit having a board-side flexible printed circuit board, a control circuit for supplying power and signal transmission to the device, and a main body-side flexible printed circuit board connected to the control circuit; The flexible printed circuit board is provided with electrical contacts that are electrically connected to each other, and a connecting member that is provided on both of the units and connects the electrical contacts when the two units are combined.

[Operation] By simply connecting the electrical contacts of both flexible printed circuit boards with the connecting member, the upper plate unit and the main unit are electrically connected, and many electrical signals can be reliably exchanged between the two units. It is done.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is an assembled front view of a camera to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter abbreviated as FPC) 17 is fixed to the inner surface of the upper plate 11 with fixing screws 10 via reinforcing plates 15 and the like. Touch-type switch for information human power 19. Liquid crystal display panel 12. The anisotropic conductive rubber 13 and the like are attached to the FPC 17 by being crimped with a conductive plating copper foil portion using mechanical compression force. Electrical contacts for strobes (hereinafter referred to as
A strobe contact (abbreviated as "strobe contact") 16 is passed through a hole provided in the FPC 17 and soldered to a copper foil portion provided around the hole.

Also, on this FPC17 is a liquid crystal driver IC.

Electrical components 14 such as a clock and a strobe control circuit are mounted. Furthermore, the FPC 17 has a movable part 18 that can move freely from the upper plate 11, and a board connecting part 24, which will be described in detail later, is provided at an end (hereinafter referred to as a movable end) 18A of the movable part 18. It is provided.

On the other hand, in contrast to the upper plate unit 20 as described above, a main body unit 3 in which an FPC 32 is disposed on a camera main body 31 is used.
There is 0. A CPU (central processing unit) 34 is installed on the FPC 32. Electrical components such as IC35 are mounted. The FPC 32 of the main body unit 30 is also provided with a board connecting portion 39, which will be described later, at one end 32A. A control circuit for transmitting and receiving signals from the upper plate unit 20 and performing power supply and control on the main unit 30 side is connected to the camera main body 31.
It is located inside. This control circuit consists of a power supply device (not shown), a DC-DC converter, a control IC, an E2FROM, etc., and a signal line for exchanging control signals with the upper plate unit 20 is connected to the end 32 of the FPC 32.
They are connected at the board connection part 39 of A.

A connecting device 40 is used to connect the upper plate unit 20 and the main unit 30 during the camera assembly process. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the connection device 40 sandwiches the movable end portion 18A of the FPC 17 and the end portion 32A of the FPC 32, and connects these board connection portions 24 and 39.
It electrically and mechanically connects the pedestal 41
1 elastic member 42. It consists of a holding plate 43 and screws 44.

The pedestal 41 is fixed to the camera body 31 with screws 45 (see FIG. 1). A disk-shaped protrusion 41a is formed on the upper surface of the pedestal 41, and a boss 41b having a screw hole 41bo is formed in the center of the protrusion 41a. A positioning boss 41c is formed near the protrusion 41a. Further, the elastic member 42 is connected to the boss 41 of the pedestal 41.
Further, the holding plate 43 has a hole 43a that fits into a boss 41b similar to the elastic member 42, and a hole 43b that fits into the positioning boss 41c.

As shown in FIG. 2, the structure of each board connecting portion 24, 39 of the end portions 18A, 32A of the FPCs 17, 32 is as shown in FIG.
A hole 21 into which the boss 41b fits and a hole 22 into which the positioning boss 41c fits are formed in the movable end 18A, and similar holes 36 and 37 are formed in the end 32A. . In order to electrically connect the FPCs 17 and 32, an insulating film is previously peeled off in a circular shape around the holes 21 and 36 on the mutually opposing surfaces of the end portions 18A and 32A, and a copper foil is applied. The exposed copper foil portion (shaded portion) is plated with gold to form electrical contact patterns 23 and 38.

Therefore, the FPCs 17 and 32 are connected to the ends 18A, 3
2A, the electrical contact patterns 23 and 38 are brought into contact with each other, and the ends 18A and 32A are overlapped, and in this state, the boss 41b is inserted into the hole 21° 36, and the boss 41b is inserted into the hole 22.37. 41c respectively to connect the ends 18.
A and 32A are positioned on the pedestal 41. Thereafter, the boss 41b protruding from the hole 21 is fitted into the hole 43a of the presser plate 43 via the elastic member 42, and the boss 41c protruding from the hole 22 is fitted into the hole 43b of the presser plate 43. Finally, the screw 44 is screwed into the screw hole 41bo at the upper end of the boss 41b, which is positioned by fitting into the hole 43a of the holding plate 43, and is fixed. The head of screw 44 is boss 41b
By being fixed to the upper end surface of the end portions 18A, 32A,
Elastic member 42. With the press plate 43 being prevented from being removed from the boss 41b, they are in close contact with each other, and the electrical contact patterns 23 and 38 are electrically connected reliably. By interposing the elastic member 42, a uniform pressing force can be obtained between the both ends 1111A and 32A, so that the electrical contact pattern 23.3
8, an extremely stable conduction state can be obtained.

In addition, when the end of another FPC is superimposed on the movable end 18A of the FPC 17 to electrically connect each other, electrical contact patterns are formed on both sides of the movable end 18A. do it. In this way, even when connecting a plurality of FPCs, mutual electrical connection can be stably performed, and the number of contacts of the electrical contact pattern formed on one surface can be reduced, for example, to the electrical contact pattern with a diameter of 6 mm. In this case, about 12 contacts are possible (electrical contact patterns 23 and 38 shown in Figure 3 are for 6 contacts), so when three FPCs are stacked, one connection will result in 24 electrical contacts. Connection becomes possible. Therefore, in such a case, conventionally, 24 lead wires would be connected by soldering at 48 locations on both ends, but such soldering is not necessary in this embodiment, so the electrical signal line It is clear that the larger the number, the greater the effect. Also in this example,
In reality, as will be described later, another electrical contact pattern is formed on the back side of the surface of the end portion 32A on which the electrical contact pattern 38 is formed, and is connected to the electrical contact pattern of another FPC. , it has a configuration in which three FPCs are stacked and connected at one location.

The ends 18A and 32A electrically and mechanically connected by the connection device 40 are arranged at a predetermined position of the camera body 31 to which the pedestal 41 is fixed, as shown in FIG. An opening 26 is provided in the upper plate 11 at a portion facing this position, and a removable lid member 27 is attached to the opening 26, which covers and closes the opening 26 under normal conditions. Therefore, by removing the lid member 27, the portion of the connection device 40 where all the signal lines are concentrated becomes the opening 26.
Therefore, even after the assembly of the camera is completed, the connecting device 40 can be repaired or inspected by simply removing the cover member 27 without removing the top plate 11.

In FIG. 1 above, the FPC 32 of the main unit 30 is connected at the end 32A to the movable end 18A of the FPC 17 of the upper plate unit 20 by the connecting device 40. By further disassembling and dividing into several modules, the functions of input/output devices and power supply devices are made more efficient. This will be explained next with reference to FIG. 3 and subsequent figures.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main unit 30 includes the CPU
A central processing module 51 . AF control module 52. Aperture control module 53. Shutter control module 54. It is disassembled into each module: a power supply module 55 and a DX code reading module 56. The central processing module 51 includes a control circuit including the CPU 34 described above, an FP032, and the like. and,
Central processing module 51 and each module 52, 53゜5
4.55 and 56 are connected by connecting devices 57 to 61 having the same configuration as the connecting device 40, which are indicated by Q in FIG. The outputs of the input/output devices, arithmetic storage devices, information display devices, etc. configured in the upper plate unit 20 are sent as control input data to the main unit 30 through the connection device 62 and processed by the modules 51 to 56. The control output data of each module is stored in the upper plate unit 20.
through the connection device 63. Connection device 62゜63
In this embodiment, the connecting device 40 is composed of one connecting device 40 as explained in FIG. 1.2, but it may of course be two connecting devices. Further, the main unit 30 and the upper plate unit 20 are connected to external systems 66 and 67, respectively.
However, it is also possible to use the above-mentioned connection device when connecting to these external systems.

Since the camera to which the present invention is applied is configured in this manner, it goes without saying that it is desirable that each of the modules described above be independent as an electrically mounted component.

Therefore, a more specific configuration of the main body unit 30 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

4 and 5 are views of the mirror box section and the front plate section of the camera body 31 as seen from the rear and the front, respectively, and FIG. 6 is a view of the shutter unit of the camera body 31. FIG. 3 is a front view of a portion including a film feeding section and a film feeding section. That is, the main unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 is different from the first unit part 30 shown in FIG. 4.5.
A and a second unit part 30B shown in FIG. 6.

In FIG. 4, an AF sensor 71 supporting an autofocus light receiving element (hereinafter referred to as AF sensor), not shown, is mounted on the bottom surface of a mirror box 70, with a hexagonal head and a cross-shaped recess in the center. The AF sensor is attached so as to be adjustable by an adjustment screw 72, and the tilt and position of the AF sensor in the optical axis direction can be adjusted by rotating the adjustment screw 72. An FPC 74 is attached from the lower surface of the mirror box 70 including one AF sensor 71 to one side of the mirror box 70 and the back surface of the front plate 73. This FPC 74 constitutes the above-mentioned A Fl+ control module 52 (see FIG. 2), and this FPC 74
AF CPU75 on top of 4. An analog IC 76, an adjustment semi-fixed resistor 77, etc. are provided. Further, at the end of the FPC 74 located on the side of the front plate 73, a large number of check patterns 78 made of copper foil parts are formed on the front and back sides thereof. Therefore, the first unit part 3 shown in FIG. 4.5
Even after 0A is assembled into the second unit part 30B shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to check using this check pattern 78. The electrical contact pattern 38 (23), the hole 36 (21) shown in FIG. 2, and the hole 36 (21) shown in FIG.
37 (22) with the same configuration as the board connection portion 39 (24). A substrate connection portion 82 consisting of holes 80, 81 is formed. Bosses 83.84 fixed to the front plate 73 fit into the holes 80.81, thereby positioning the board connecting portion 82. This board connecting portion 82 is formed by bending an end portion 32B adjacent to the end portion 32A of the FPC 32 toward the front side.
It is connected to the board connection part 85 of. This board connecting portion 85 also has a similar structure consisting of an electrical contact pattern 86 and holes 87.88. Therefore, the mutual board connecting portions 82.85 of the FPCs 74 and 32 overlap both electrical contact patterns 79° and 86. In this state, the elastic member 89 of the connecting device 57, the presser plate 90. The screws 91 are attached to the bosses 83 and 84 for connection.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an FPC 93 constituting the aperture control module 53 (see FIG. 3) is arranged on the side of the mount 73a on the front surface of the front plate 73. This FP
A board connection portion similar to the above is also formed at the upper end of C93, and an end portion 32 extending from a part of the FPC 32 to the front side
It is connected by a connecting device 58 to a similar board connecting portion formed in C by the connecting method shown in FIG. A lead wire 95 is soldered to the lower end of this FPC 93.
The lead wire 95 is connected to an aperture mechanism (not shown).

Further, there is another FPC 33 below the FPC 32, and one end of the FPC 33 extends along one side of the mirror box 70, as shown in FIG. It is connected to the lead terminal of the light receiving cable 96. Board connecting portions 97 and 98 similar to those shown in FIG. 2 are also formed at the bent end portion 33A bent toward the front side at the other end of this FPC 33. The board connection section 97 connects to the shutter control module 54 (see FIG. 3).
FPC99 in the second unit part 30B that constitutes
(See Figure 6) Board connection part 10 formed at the extending end of the
0, and the board connection part 98 is the part connected to the FPCIOI (
(See FIG. 6)
This is the part that connects with. The board connecting parts 100 and 102 are attached to the front surface of the winding part 103 of the second unit part 30B in parallel, and are connected to the board connecting parts 97 and 98 by the method shown in FIG. Third
(see figure).

Note that the FPC 99 is connected by soldering to a shutter control board 106 attached to a shutter control section 105 on the front side of the shutter unit 104. The FPC 101 is connected to a power supply device at a portion not shown in FIG.

Furthermore, in the second unit section 30B shown in FIG. T56, a DX
An FPC 109 constituting a code reading module 56 (see FIG. 3) is disposed, and its film feeding section 1
A substrate connecting portion 110 is formed in a portion disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 08. This board connection part 110 is connected to the first unit part 3
It is connected to the substrate connecting portion 1.11 (see FIG. 4) formed at the end portion 32A of the 0A FPC 32 by the method shown in FIG. 2 above. That is, as explained in FIGS. 1 and 2 above,
Board connection part 39 for connecting with the upper plate unit 20
is formed on the upper surface of the end portion 32A of the FPC 32, and a board connecting portion 111 for reading the DX code is formed on the lower surface of the same end portion 32A. therefore,
Electrical contact pattern 23.3 of the board connection part 24.39
The electrical contact pattern 113 of the board connecting portion 111 and the board connecting portion 11 are connected to each other at the lower surface position of the surface where the
0 electrical contact pattern 112 is connected. The connection device 40 (see FIG. 1.2) is used to connect these board connection parts. A pedestal 41 of the connecting device 40 is fixed on the upper surface of the film feeding section 108 of the camera body 31.

A plurality of gold-plated copper foil contact portions 1 are arranged on the front side of the film feeding portion 108 of the FPC 109.
15 are formed, and these copper foil contact portions 115 are
As shown in FIG. 7, each leaf spring member 116 is crimped and connected to one end of each leaf spring member 116. The other end of each leaf spring member 116 is drawn into a spherical shape to form a protrusion 116a.

The protrusion 116a is pressed into contact with the DX code conductive foil portion 107a provided on the surface of the film cartridge 107 by the spring force of the leaf spring member 116 to establish electrical continuity. The DX code signal read by the copper foil contact part 115 through the leaf spring member 116 is transmitted to the IC 117 on the FPC 109.
The signal is decoded by and sent to the electrical contact pattern 112 of the board connection section 110.

By disassembling the main unit 30 side into each electrical module as described above, it is possible to check when an abnormality occurs in the transmission and reception of signals between the upper plate unit 20 and the main unit 30, and to separate each module during the assembly process. Upper plate unit 20 inside
It is possible to perform checks on the package using signals exchanged with the package.

Furthermore, it is possible to realize an electrically mounted unit that has many advantages, such as functional guarantee for each module, repair/replacement, and a significant reduction in lead wire connections.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to solder as many lead wires as in the conventional method, so that: ■ Reliability of unit connection is significantly improved, and ■ Assembly man-hours are reduced. There are advantages such as: (1) ease of rework, ease of checking due to concentration of signal lines in connection parts, and greatly improved repairability;

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an assembled front view of a camera to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the connecting portion of the two FPCs shown in FIG. 1. FIG. A block diagram of the main unit in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is disassembled into one electrical module, and Figs. 4 and 5 are two blocks of the main unit shown in Fig. Figure 6 is a perspective view of one unit viewed from the rear side and a perspective view viewed from the front, respectively. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the second unit of the main unit shown in Figure 1 above, which is divided into two parts, viewed from the front side. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view of the film feeding section shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is an assembled front view of a conventional camera to which the present invention is not applied. 11...Top plate 12...Liquid crystal display panel (information display device) 16
...Strobe contact (input/output device) 17...
...FPC (upper board side flexible printed circuit board) 19...Touch type switch (input/output device) 20
. . . Upper plate unit 23 . . . Electrical contact pattern (electrical contact) 24.
39.82.85.97.9L100,102,110
, 111...Board connection part 26...Opening part 27...Lid member 30...Main unit 30A...First unit part 3 (IB...Second unit part 31...
・Camera body 32, 33, 74, 93, 99, 101, 109...
...FPC (Flexible printed circuit board on main body side)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) The upper board of the camera, which has an input/output device or information display device arranged on the top surface of the camera, and an upper board-side flexible printed circuit board that supplies power and transmits electrical signals to the input/output device or information display device. A main body unit of a camera having a control circuit for supplying power and transmitting electric signals to the input/output device or information display device, and a flexible printed circuit board on the main body side connected to the control circuit; An electric camera comprising: electrical contacts provided on a printed circuit board and electrically connected to each other; and a connecting member provided on both units and connecting the electrical contacts to each other when the two units are combined. implementation unit. (2) The electrical mounting unit for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the upper plate unit has an opening covered with a detachable member at a position corresponding to the connecting member.