JP2002072291A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera which can be easily used by a user, with which the user is able to enjoy self-photographing without failure, whose design is excellent and with which a problem with respect to production is solved. SOLUTION: This camera possesses a barrier 11 freely opened and closed at the front face of a photographing lens 14 and a mirror holder 12 that is located at a housing position on the back side of the barrier 11 when the barrier 11 is in a closed state and is freely movable from the housing position to an exposing position when the barrier 11 is in an opened state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera suitable for easily performing self-photographing by, for example, a photographer himself.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, with the personal use of cameras, there is a demand for the provision of unique cameras that satisfy various senses of play. In response to such needs, a camera has been already proposed that responds to the situation where the photographer himself captures his or her own posture.

That is, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 7-20553 and Hei 11-338027 disclose a technology related to a camera in which a mirror is provided on the front of the camera so that a photographer can check his / her facial expression or the like at the time of shooting. Is disclosed.

[0004]

However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-20553 does not
It was inconvenient to carry a separate adapter at all times.

Further, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-338027 requires a complicated mechanism, resulting in an increase in cost.

Further, in a production system on the premise of cost amortization due to mass production, if it is attempted to produce the above-mentioned individual products that need to aim at only a limited user group, parts management and process setting are required in the production. And other various problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to be easy for a user to use, to enjoy self-photographing without failure, to be excellent in design, and to have a problem in production. An object of the present invention is to provide a camera that solves the above problem.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a barrier member which can be opened and closed on the front surface of a taking lens, and the barrier member which is open when the barrier member is in a closed state. A reflection member which is located at a storage position on the back side of the camera and which is movable from the storage position to the exposure position when the barrier member is in the open state.

In a second aspect, there is provided the camera according to the first aspect, wherein the reflection member can be arranged in front of an objective lens of a finder.

In a third aspect, there is provided the camera according to the first aspect, wherein the reflection member is a dichroic mirror that reflects visible light and transmits infrared light.

[0011] In a fourth aspect, in the first aspect, the reflection member is provided with a holding portion having a light beam control function for controlling the amount of light incident on the photometric sensor. Is provided.

According to the above-described first to fourth aspects, the following operations are provided.

That is, in the first aspect of the present invention, the barrier member is openable and closable on the front surface of the photographing lens, and the reflection member is provided on the back side of the barrier member when the barrier member is in the closed state. And when the barrier member is in the open state, it is movable from the storage position to the exposure position.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the reflecting member can be arranged in front of the objective lens of the finder.

In a third aspect, in the first aspect, a dichroic mirror which reflects visible light and transmits infrared light is employed as the reflecting member.

In a fourth aspect, in the first aspect, the reflection member is provided with a holder having a light beam control function for controlling the amount of light incident on the photometric sensor.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, an outline of a camera according to the present invention will be described. The present invention relates to a camera with a mirror which can project a photographing direction from the front of the camera so that a photographer can photograph himself. It is. In the camera of the present invention, a mirror is provided on a lens protection barrier or a battery compartment lid portion that is assembled immediately before the camera is completed at a factory, and can be retracted and stored on the back surface of the barrier or the battery cover during normal use, so that it has a design. There is no problem with the configuration. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1A shows a state where the barrier 11 of the camera is closed.

In FIG. 1A, the camera body 10
An openable and closable barrier 11 for covering and protecting a region where the lens barrel 14 is provided and a strobe light emitting unit 13 are provided on the front surface of the camera. A release switch 19 and a display liquid crystal window 15 are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 10. A battery chamber into which the battery 17 is inserted is provided on a side surface of the camera body 10. An openable / closable lid 10a is provided at the entrance of the battery chamber so that the battery 17 loaded in the battery chamber does not come off.

FIG. 1B shows a state where the lens frame 14 is extended from the collapsed state and set up when the battery 17 is inserted into the battery chamber and the barrier 11 is opened.

The barrier 11 protects the lens frame 14, the photometric sensor window 6, the AF lenses 4 and 5, and the finder objective lens 16.

In the state shown in FIG. 1B, the LCD panel 15 displays various information such as the number of film frames.

In the camera having such a configuration, the mirror portion 12a of the mirror holder 12, which is a characteristic portion of the present invention, is housed on the back surface of the barrier 11 in a normal state (FIGS. 1A and 1B).
Reference), and the mirror portion 12a is devised so as not to be scratched or fingerprinted.

When the user 20 directs the camera toward himself (see FIG. 2) and pulls out the mirror holder 12 with his nail (see FIG. 1 (d)), the user 20 moves forward of the finder objective section of the camera. The mirror section 12a is located (FIG. 1).
(C)).

With this arrangement, as shown in FIG. 2, the user can operate the release switch 19 while properly grasping his or her position and expression when holding the camera body 10, so that there is no failure. You will be able to take photos.

The camera according to this embodiment has, for example,
This is suitable for taking a picture of yourself when there is no suitable person nearby when you are on a journey, or when you want to take a picture with two people together. Further, similarly to the conventional self-timer, the camera having the mirror 12a according to the first embodiment can be effectively used for checking the composition when the camera is mounted on a tripod or the like. .

FIG. 3 is a view showing the camera body 10 viewed from the side for explaining the arrangement of the mirror holder 12 on the back surface of the barrier 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mirror holder 12
Are held along the guide portion 11 a on the back surface of the barrier 11. If the mirror holder 12 is a convex mirror, a range equivalent to the angle of view of the camera can be displayed on a small area.

When the mirror holder 12 is pulled out, the finder cannot be seen, so that the user does not fail in normal photographing.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, an autofocus (hereinafter, referred to as AF) function using lenses 4 and 5 provided on the front surface of the camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Will be described in detail with respect to a camera having.

As shown in FIG. 4A, behind the lenses 4 and 5 (in the camera), an infrared light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as IRED) 4a as a light projecting element, and a light position detecting element ( Hereinafter, referred to as PSD) 5a.

When a pulse current is supplied to the IRED 4a by the driver 4b, the light of the IRED 4a is projected onto the subject 20 at the center of the screen via the light projecting lens 4, and the reflected signal light is incident on the PSD 5a via the light receiving lens 5. I do.

Now, the distance between the light projecting and receiving lenses is called the base line length and is expressed by S, and the focal length of the light receiving lens 5 is f. The reflected light from the subject distance L enters the position of x on the PSD 5a. For this x, the relationship x = (S · f) / L is established.

Accordingly, if this x is detected, the object distance L is obtained because S and f are fixed values, and the focusing of the photographing lens by AF can be controlled.

The PSD 5a is a semiconductor sensor that outputs a signal based on the incident position and intensity of the light,
3 converts this signal into an electric signal dependent on x.
C. The CPU 1 controls the sequence of the entire camera and performs arithmetic control.
At timing 9, the AFIC 3 is controlled to emit light, the IRED 4a emits light, the focus position is calculated from the output of the AFIC 3, and the focusing unit 2 is controlled, thereby controlling the autofocus of the camera.

The output of the photometric sensor 6a is subjected to A / D conversion to detect the amount of light incident from the photometric lens 6, and exposure control including control of the strobe 13 is performed.

Also, the number of frames of the film taken is CP
The count value is counted by U1, and the count value is displayed on the LCD panel 15 in segment display.

In such a configuration, the mirror holder 12 is located on the front surface of the lenses 4 and 5 so that the mirror holder 12 shown in FIG.
The state is as shown in FIG.

That is, since the amount of light incident on the photometric lens 6 is reduced by the small holes 6b of the mirror holder 12, the strobe light is easily emitted, and the light of the light projecting lens 4 is transmitted to the edge of the back surface of the mirror holder 12. The light reflected by the portion 12b enters the end of the PSD 5a via the light receiving lens 5. By such a device, there is an effect that the focus position is fixed to the subject distance L0 when the light beam represented by the dotted line in the figure passes.

Thus, when the user takes a picture of himself / herself as shown in FIG.
Moreover, it becomes a fixed focus of a predetermined distance.

With this effect, it is possible to take a photograph in which the face of the user is not backlit or the face is not darkened with the correct focus even if the face is not correctly positioned at the center of the screen.

For example, when the scenery is in the background, if the strobe does not emit light, the person is likely to be underexposed due to the backlight. However, if the subject is not under backlight, the person's face will be slightly overexposed by the strobe light. However, light is weaker than sunlight or the like, so that a large exposure error does not occur and the exposure can be corrected to a level that can be corrected by controlling printing. Also, flash photography makes the subject's eyes shine,
The effect of the catchlight appears and the picture becomes good.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the camera according to the first embodiment will be described. The barrier 11 is opened (step S1), and the release switch 1
When the button 4 is depressed (step S2), the CPU 1 performs photometry (step S3). When the subject is dark, after distance measurement and focusing (step S5), flash photography is performed with the flash 13 (step S6). If the subject is not dark, after distance measurement and focusing (step S7), non-flash photography is performed (step S8).

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to easily provide a camera that allows a photographer to photograph himself while confirming his own position and expression when photographing himself. In addition, since this camera can be converted into a normal camera by replacing only the barrier portion with a normal barrier, it is possible to easily make two types with and without a mirror at a camera factory. In a normal state, the mirror is housed on the back surface of the barrier, so that there is an effect that the mirror is hardly damaged. In addition, with this camera, AF and exposure can be further corrected to enjoy photographing without failure.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a camera according to the second embodiment.

That is, in detail, FIG.
6B shows a state in which the barrier 11 is opened, and FIG. 6C shows a state in which the mirror holder 12 is pulled out from the barrier 11, and FIG.
(D) and (e) show the positional relationship between the barrier 11, the mirror holder 12, and the camera body 10.

In the camera according to the second embodiment,
As shown in FIG. 6A, when the barrier 11 is in the closed state, the barrier 11 has a shape that wraps the entire camera 10 so as to cover the lens barrel 14 provided in the camera body 10.

When the camera is in use, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the barrier 11 is opened from the camera body 10 and the lens barrel 14 of the camera body 10 is opened.
Is used in a state where the arrangement area and the like are exposed.

Since the barrier 11 having such a shape is employed, the mirror holder 12 does not need to be a flat plate as in the first embodiment.
As a letter-shaped member, the strength can be improved.

FIG. 6D shows a state where the mirror holder 12 is housed in the barrier 11, and FIG. 6E shows a state where the barrier 11 is opened so that the photographer can photograph himself. Further, a state where the mirror holder 12 is pulled out from the barrier 11 is shown.

In the second embodiment, the mirror portion 12a of the mirror holder 12 has a concave shape as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B and is disposed on the front surface of the AF projection lens. A dichroic mirror capable of projecting visible light for observing a subject in a convex mirror shape and transmitting infrared light for distance measurement through a light projecting lens through a light projecting lens.

This is one in which a multilayer dielectric film is formed on the convex surface, and can be designed to reflect and transmit a specific wavelength. With such a design, the photographer himself can check himself from the front, and when projecting the light for distance measurement, the light beam for distance measurement can be expanded and projected by the concave shape. .

As described above, point 1 shown in FIGS.
The distance measuring light focused on 8a is shown in FIGS. 7 (b) and 7 (c).
Therefore, the distance measuring light is easily projected on the subject 20 even in the scene shown in FIG. Although the amount of reflected light decreases due to the light diffusion effect, there is no problem in the amount of reflected light because it is not necessary to measure the distance to a long distance in the situation shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the mirror section 12a of the mirror holder 12 is disposed in front of the finder objective lens, and the prism 12c is disposed in front of the AF light projecting lens. Further measures such as dividing the working light into two may be made.

Further, in the camera according to the second embodiment, when there are two persons in the shooting composition as in a scene as shown in FIG. When there is no person at the center of the projection, the distance measuring light is divided into two light beams 20a and 20b so that the light can be projected onto each subject, so that erroneous distance measurement is performed.

According to such a contrivance, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the distance measuring light is projected on the point 20 in FIGS. 8A and 8C and the background is focused.

Here, FIG. 8B shows that the reflected signal light is PS
The light intensity distribution when incident on D5a is shown. When an object is present at the point 20, reflected light is incident as indicated by a distribution 21, and the light projected to the points 20a and 20b is:
Distributions 21a and 21 that are weakened because they are divided into two
The light enters the PSD 5a at b.

When these two signals enter the PSD, P
The signals interfere with each other on the SD 5a, and output the same signal as when 21 lights are incident. Therefore, even when the light projection is divided into two, the distance measurement result is substantially the same as the result when the light projection is not divided into two.

As described above, with the above-described device of the second embodiment, correct focus can be achieved even in a special scene where the subject not only observes himself but also photographs himself. And a camera capable of shooting with the camera.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the above-described embodiment, the mirror portion is configured to be freely housed in the barrier. However, in the third embodiment, the mirror portion shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a mirror holder 12 that can be slidably stored is provided on the lid 10a of the battery chamber for inserting the battery described above with reference to FIG.

Here, FIG. 9B shows the battery cover 10.
FIG. 5A is a view showing a state in which the mirror holder 12 is disposed so as to be able to be stored therein, and is pressed against the back of a pocket portion 31 of the lid 10 a by the urging force of a spring 30 so that a protrusion is formed on the front surface of the pocket portion 31 of the lid 10 a It will penetrate and be fixed.
Since two holes are provided, the mirror holder 12 can take two states, that is, a state where the mirror holder 12 is pulled out and a state where the mirror holder 12 is stored.

According to the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained with a simpler configuration.

According to the above-described device of the first to third embodiments, a camera having another function can be manufactured by replacing only a part of the exterior.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a process P1 for assembling a unit constituting a film storage and winding portion of a camera, a process P2 for assembling a photographic lens, and a process P3 for assembling a finder and electric parts.
After that, the camera body condition before applying the exterior is assembled in P4, the basic functions of the camera are completed, and as in the present invention, the exterior that can add new functions only by devising the exterior part is assembled. , P5 to P7, a camera having various features can be produced by changing only the final step. P1 to P4 may be assembled based on the concept of mass production, and P5 to P7 are based on the concept of small-quantity multi-product production. For example, it is possible to provide an optimal camera for each user corresponding to, for example, consuming area production.

Here, the barrier member described in the claims corresponds to the barrier 11, and the reflection member described in the claims corresponds to the mirror portion 12 a of the mirror barrier 12.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a unique camera can be provided at a low cost while maximizing the cost reduction effect of mass production. Also, with this camera, the user can easily take a picture of himself / herself with ease.

[0071]

According to the present invention, it is easy for the user to use and enjoy self-photographing without failure, and the design is excellent.
Further, it is possible to provide a camera that solves a problem in production.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which a photographer photographs himself using the camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the camera according to the first embodiment is viewed from a lateral direction.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing in detail a camera having an AF function using lenses 4 and 5 provided on the front surface of the camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera according to a second embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing a state of a mirror portion 12a of the mirror holder 12, and FIGS. 7C and 7C are light beams for distance measurement 18a and 18b.
FIG.

8A is a diagram showing a state in which the arrangement of the mirror portion 12a of the mirror holder 12 is devised, FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a light intensity distribution of the PSD 5a, and FIG. 8C is a diagram showing the projection light 20a; 20b
FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a process of manufacturing a camera having another function by replacing only a part of the exterior.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 Focusing part 3 AFIC 4 AF lens 5 AF lens 6 Photometry sensor window 10 Camera main body 11 Barrier 12 Mirror holder 13 Strobe light emission part 14 Lens barrel 15 Display liquid crystal window 16 Objective lens 17 Battery

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A barrier member which can be opened and closed on the front surface of a taking lens; and a storage position behind the barrier member when the barrier member is in a closed state; and a storage position when the barrier member is in an open state. A reflecting member movable from the camera to an exposure position. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the reflection member can be arranged in front of an objective lens of a finder. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the reflection member is a dichroic mirror that reflects visible light and transmits infrared light. 4. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a holder having a light beam control function for controlling the amount of light incident on the photometric sensor is provided on the reflection member.