JP2005116862A - Electronic device, wireless communication unit, and electronic device wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic apparatus is provided that reliably connects a wireless communication unit to be mounted and an antenna.
A chip antenna is disposed inside a viewfinder eyepiece cover of an electronic camera. The chip antenna and the antenna terminal 711 of the wireless communication unit 71 mounted in the battery / card cover 23 are electrically connected. In the wireless communication unit 71, an antenna terminal 711 is formed on the side opposite to the insertion end. Two concave portions 811 a and 811 b are formed on both sides of the antenna terminal 711. On the other hand, the battery / card cover 23 is provided with a contact piece 234 that is electrically connected to the chip antenna, and a contact piece protection rib 233 is provided so as to cover the contact piece 234. The contact piece protection rib 233 is formed in a thin plate shape avoiding the antenna terminal 711. When the battery / card lid 23 is closed, the contact piece protection rib 233 is fitted into the recess 811a (or 811b), and the antenna terminal 711 and the contact piece 234 come into contact with each other.
[Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device that performs wireless communication using a wireless communication unit.

  A card-shaped electronic circuit unit to be mounted on an electronic device is known. In the card-shaped electronic circuit unit, circuits having the same card shape and different functions such as a memory circuit and a wireless communication circuit are prepared. Patent Document 1 describes an electronic device that performs wireless communication with a headset using a card-shaped wireless communication unit. An electronic device equipped with a wireless communication unit performs wireless communication with a headset having a wireless communication function.

Japanese National Patent Publication No. 11-506592

  In FIG. 19 and the like of Patent Document 1, a coaxial connector for connecting an antenna to a lid (flap) of an opening for inserting the wireless communication unit into an electronic device as a form for connecting the antenna to a card-shaped wireless communication unit. The method of providing a pin is described. In general, the coaxial pin is easily bent and may be insufficiently connected to the antenna.

The electronic device according to the first aspect of the present invention is arranged on a unit insertion port for inserting a wireless communication unit that can be inserted into and removed from the electronic device, a lid member that closes the unit insertion port, and an inner surface of the lid member on the inner side of the device. A contact member that contacts a terminal member that is formed at an end different from the insertion end of the wireless communication unit, and a protective member that is disposed further inside the device than the contact member and avoids the terminal member It is characterized by providing.
The invention according to claim 2 is applied to a wireless communication unit that can be inserted into and removed from an electronic device, and has a terminal member for antenna connection formed at an end different from an insertion end for the electronic device, and a terminal at a different end. And a recess formed close to the member.
An electronic device wireless communication system according to a third aspect of the invention includes the electronic device according to the first aspect and the wireless communication unit according to the second aspect, wherein the protection member of the electronic device is a recess of the wireless communication unit. And the terminal member of the wireless communication unit is in contact with the contact member of the electronic device.
In the electronic device wireless communication system according to claim 3, the length from the bottom of the recess of the wireless communication unit to the contact end of the terminal member may be longer than the distance between the contact member and the protection member of the electronic device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic device, a wireless communication unit, and an electronic device wireless communication system in which a terminal member for connecting an antenna or the like is protected and the wireless communication unit and the terminal member are reliably connected. .

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a photographing lens 11, a finder objective window 12, an AF (autofocus) auxiliary light window 13, and a flash light window 14 are provided in front of the electronic camera. The exterior of the front of the electronic camera is composed of a metal front cover 41, and openings are provided at the positions of the photographing lens 11, the finder objective window 12, the AF auxiliary light window 13, and the flash light window 14, respectively.

  The AF auxiliary light window 13 is a window that emits detection light when the photographing lens 11 detects a focus adjustment state. The flash light window 14 is a window that emits illumination light that illuminates the main subject during flash photography.

  FIG. 2 is a rear view of the electronic camera. In FIG. 2, an LCD monitor 21, a transfer button 22, a battery / card cover 23, a mode switch 24, a zoom switch 25, and a viewfinder eyepiece cover 26 are provided on the back of the electronic camera. Yes. The exterior of the back of the electronic camera is composed of a metal rear cover 42, and is located at the positions of the LCD monitor 21, transfer button 22, battery / card cover 23, mode switch 24, zoom switch 25, and viewfinder eyepiece cover 26. Each has an opening.

  The LCD monitor 21 displays captured images and the like. The transfer button 22 is an operation button for transmitting photographed image data or the like to an external device. The battery / card cover 23 is an opening cover for mounting a battery, a memory card, and the like. The mode switch 24 is an operation switch for switching between the shooting mode and the playback mode of the electronic camera. The shooting mode is an operation mode in which the electronic camera performs shooting and image recording, and the playback mode is an operation mode in which a shot image is played back and displayed on the LCD monitor 21.

  The zoom switch 25 is an operation switch for performing a zoom operation of the photographing lens 11. The finder eyepiece cover 26 is disposed so as to cover the finder eyepiece window 27, the red LED 28, and the green LED 29. The red LED 28 is configured to light up when ready to emit illumination light during flash photography (when charging is completed) and to blink during preparation (when charging). The green LED 29 is configured to light up in a focused state with respect to the main subject and blink in an out-of-focus state.

  FIG. 3 is a right side view of the electronic camera. The battery / card cover 23 is made of the same metal material as the front cover 41 and the rear cover 42. The finder eyepiece cover 26 is made of plastic and has a shape that bulges from the back surface of the rear cover 42.

  FIG. 4 is a top view of the electronic camera. A power switch 43 and a shutter button 15 are provided on the upper surface of the electronic camera. The power switch 43 is an operation switch for switching the power of the electronic camera on / off. The shutter button 15 is an operation button that instructs the electronic camera to start photographing.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of a cross section taken along one-dot chain line A-A ′ in FIG. 3. In FIG. 5, a rechargeable battery 51 is mounted on an electronic camera with the battery / card cover 23 closed. When the user opens the battery / card cover 23, the user pulls the battery / card cover 23 in the rear direction (the direction of the arrow P). As a result, the locking claw 231 locked by a click mechanism (not shown) is released, and the hinge 232 hits the rotation axis O. In this state, when the user pulls the battery / card cover 23 in the direction of arrow Q, as shown in FIG. 6, the battery / card cover 23 rotates about the rotation axis O, and the rechargeable battery 51 and the insertion slot are connected. Exposed. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a part of the cross section taken along the alternate long and short dash line A-A ′ when the battery / card cover 23 of the electronic camera is open.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a part of a cross section taken along one-dot chain line C-C ′ in FIG. 3. In FIG. 7, a card-shaped wireless communication unit 71 is mounted on an electronic camera with the battery / card lid 23 closed. A contact protection rib 233 is provided inside the battery / card cover 23 (on the wireless communication unit 71 side), and a contact piece 234 is provided between the contact protection rib 233 and the battery / card cover 23. The contact piece 234 is made of a conductive elastic material such as a metal plate, and is electrically connected to an antenna connection line (not shown) on the flexible substrate 75. The antenna connection line is electrically connected to a chip antenna mounted on another flexible substrate described later. An antenna terminal 711 is formed in the wireless communication unit 71. The antenna terminal 711 is configured to come into contact with the contact piece 234 when the battery / card cover 23 is closed. The positional relationship between the antenna terminal 711 and the contact protection rib 233 will be described later.

  When the above-described transfer button 22 is operated in a state where the wireless communication unit 71 is mounted, the electronic camera transfers captured image data and the like to an external device prepared in advance via the wireless communication unit 71 and the chip antenna. It is configured to transmit wirelessly. At this time, the image data can also be recorded in a memory in the camera or a memory in the wireless communication unit 71.

  FIG. 8 is a three-view diagram illustrating the wireless communication unit 71. In FIG. 8, the wireless communication unit 71 is inserted into the electronic camera in the direction of the arrow. A connection terminal 82 is provided at the insertion end of the wireless communication unit 71 to be fitted with a terminal (not shown) on the electronic camera side. The wireless communication unit 71 is connected to the power line and each signal line on the electronic camera side via the connection terminal 82. The wireless communication unit 71 has a length from the insertion end of (L + X). Notch-shaped recesses 811a and 811b are provided on the portion of length X, that is, on the side opposite to the connection terminal 82, and an antenna terminal 711 is formed between the recesses 811a and 811b. That is, the recesses 811a and 811b are formed close to the antenna terminal 711.

  The electronic camera is configured so that another electronic circuit unit can be mounted instead of the wireless communication unit 71. FIG. 9 is a three-view diagram illustrating the memory unit 91 mounted on the electronic camera. In FIG. 9, the memory unit 91 is inserted into the electronic camera in the direction of the arrow. A connection terminal 92 is provided at the insertion end of the memory unit 91 to be fitted with a terminal (not shown) on the electronic camera side. The memory unit 91 is connected to the power line and each signal line on the electronic camera side via the connection terminal 92. The memory unit 91 has a length L from the insertion end.

  FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a part of a cross section taken along the alternate long and short dash line C-C ′ in the electronic camera in which the memory unit 91 is mounted and the battery / card cover 23 is closed. Since the length L of the memory unit 91 is shorter than the length (L + X) of the wireless communication unit 71 by X, the memory unit 91 does not reach the contact protection rib 233. Therefore, the contact piece 234 is protected between the contact piece protection rib 233 and the battery / card cover 23 without contacting the memory unit 91.

  On the other hand, in the battery / card cover 23 of the electronic camera, the contact piece protection rib 233 is formed away from the antenna terminal 711 so as not to contact the antenna terminal 711 formed in the wireless communication unit 71, and the concave portion It is configured in a thin plate shape so as to fit into 811a (or 811b). As shown in FIG. 7, when the battery / card cover 23 is closed with the wireless communication unit 71 mounted on the electronic camera, the contact piece protection rib 233 is inserted into the recess 811a (or 811b) (233A). The antenna terminal 711 and the contact piece 234 are electrically connected. The contact piece protection rib 233 may be at least one corresponding to one of the recesses 811a and 811b, but may be provided corresponding to both the recesses 811a and 811b.

  Here, the length Y from the bottom of the recesses 811a and 811b to the contact end of the antenna terminal 711 is based on the distance Z (FIG. 11) between the contact piece protection rib 233 and the contact piece 234 when the battery / card cover 23 is open. Configured to be long. As a result, the antenna terminal 711 contacts the contact piece 234 with sufficient pressure.

  FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a part of the cross section taken along the alternate long and short dash line C-C ′ in the electronic camera with the battery / card cover 23 open. The user pulls the battery / card cover 23 in the direction of the arrow Q after the battery / card cover 23 is pulled in the rear direction (the direction of the arrow P), whereby as shown in FIG. The unit 71 and these insertion openings are exposed. The flexible substrate 75 is slackened so that an unnecessary force is not applied to the flexible substrate 75 when the battery / card cover 23 is opened and closed, and is fastened to the casing in the electronic camera by the clip 76.

  The mounting position of the above-described chip antenna will be described. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a part of a cross section taken along one-dot chain line B-B ′ in FIG. 1. In FIG. 12, a viewfinder unit 125 is disposed between the viewfinder eyepiece window 27 and the viewfinder objective window 12. An AF auxiliary light lamp 126 is disposed inside the AF auxiliary light window 13. On the flexible substrate 122, a green LED 29, a red LED 28 (not shown), and a chip antenna 121 are mounted. Since the flexible substrate 122 is disposed along the shape of the finder eyepiece cover 26 bulging outward from the rear surface of the rear cover 42 (upper side in FIG. 12), the chip antenna 121 is disposed from the rear surface of the rear cover 42. It protrudes outward. In FIG. 2, the position of the chip antenna 121 corresponds to the back side of the function display “AF” or the like regarding the green LED 29 and the red LED 28.

The embodiment described above will be summarized.
(1) The chip antenna 121 is disposed inside the projecting space of the plastic finder eyepiece cover 26 bulging (projecting) from the back surface of the metal rear cover 42. The chip antenna 121 and the antenna terminal 711 of the wireless communication unit 71 mounted in the battery / card cover 23 are electrically connected. Since the viewfinder eyepiece of the electronic camera is less touched by the user than the grip portion, the radiation characteristics of the chip antenna 121 disposed on the back side of the viewfinder eyepiece are less affected by the user's hand and conductivity. It is possible to obtain a favorable wireless communication state by improving the radiation efficiency of the antenna without damaging the metal cover 42 or the like.

(2) Since the chip antenna 121 is small, the bulging amount of the finder eyepiece cover 26 can be kept small. Furthermore, since the function display regarding the green LED 29 and the red LED 28 is provided at a position corresponding to the chip antenna 121 in the finder eyepiece cover 26, the user does not feel a sense of incongruity in the bulging part of the finder eyepiece cover 26. .

(3) Since the wireless communication unit 71 is mounted in the battery / card lid 23 common to the rechargeable battery 51, the number of lids of the electronic camera can be reduced.

(4) Since the wireless communication unit 71 and the memory unit 91 are configured to be fitted in common with terminals (not shown) on the electronic camera side, it is not necessary to provide terminals for each unit on the electronic camera side.

(5) The wireless communication unit 71 extends the length from the insertion end (connection terminal 82) by X from the length L of the memory unit 91, and an antenna is provided at a portion of this length X (on the opposite side to the insertion end). A terminal 711 is formed. On the other hand, the battery / card cover 23 is provided with a contact piece 234 that is electrically connected to the chip antenna 121. Therefore, the wireless communication unit 71 (antenna terminal 711) and the contact piece 234 can be brought into contact with each other only when the wireless communication unit 71 is attached and the battery / card cover 23 is closed. Furthermore, the connection between the wireless communication unit 71 and the line connected to the chip antenna 121 can be reliably performed.

(6) The notch-shaped two recesses 811a and 811b are provided in the part of the wireless communication unit 71 having the length X, and the antenna terminal 711 is formed between the recesses 811a and 811b. On the other hand, a thin plate-like contact piece protection rib 233 is provided inside the battery / card cover 23 so as to cover the contact piece 234, and the contact piece protection rib 233 does not contact the antenna terminal 711. To avoid. When the battery / card cover 23 is closed, when the contact piece protection rib 233 is fitted into the recess 811a (or 811b), the antenna terminal 711 and the contact piece 234 come into contact with each other. As a result, even if the battery / card cover 23 is closed in a state where the wireless communication unit 71 is not sufficiently inserted into the electronic camera, the contact piece protection rib 233 has the recess 811a (or 811b) before the contact piece 234. ), The contact piece 234 can be protected so that an excessive force is not applied to the contact piece 234. Thereby, connection with the line connected to the radio | wireless communication unit 71 and the chip antenna 121 can be performed reliably. Even when the battery / card cover 23 is closed when the memory unit 91 is not sufficiently inserted into the electronic camera, the contact piece protection rib 233 contacts the memory card before the contact piece 234. The piece 234 can be protected.

  The memory unit 91 and the wireless communication unit 71 described above are, for example, electronic circuit units having a compact flash (CF) (registered trademark) card shape. The present invention may be applied to other types of card shapes regardless of the above type.

  The antenna terminal 711 formed in the wireless communication unit 71 may be at an end different from the insertion end (connection terminal 82). You may form only in the front-end | tip of a card-like unit, and you may form from the unit front-end | tip to both surfaces (however, less than length X) like this embodiment (FIG. 8). Moreover, you may form (less than length X) from the unit front-end | tip to any one surface of a unit.

  In the above description, the electronic camera has been described as an example. However, any device capable of mounting the wireless communication unit 71 may be used in a film camera, movie camera, PDA, radio receiver, personal computer, audio device, and the like. The present invention can be applied.

  Although the case where information is transmitted by the wireless communication unit 71 has been described, the present invention can also be applied to the case where information transmitted from other external devices is received.

  The wireless communication performed by the wireless communication unit 71 may be in any format such as LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  Correspondence between each component in the claims and each component in the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described. The lid member is constituted by a battery / card lid 23, for example. The terminal member is constituted by an antenna terminal 711, for example. The abutting member is constituted by a contact piece 234, for example. The protection member is constituted by, for example, a contact piece protection rib 233. The length from the bottom of the recess to the contact end of the terminal member corresponds to Y, and the distance between the contact member and the protection member corresponds to Z. In addition, unless the characteristic function of this invention is impaired, each component is not limited to the said structure.

1 is a front view of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a rear view of an electronic camera. It is a right view of an electronic camera. It is a top view of an electronic camera. It is the figure which expanded a part of A-A 'cross section of the electronic camera which closed the lid | cover. It is the figure which expanded a part of A-A 'cross section of the electronic camera which opened the lid | cover. It is the figure which expanded a part of C-C 'cross section of the electronic camera which closed the lid | cover. It is a three-view figure explaining a wireless communication unit. It is a three-view figure explaining a memory unit. It is the figure which expanded a part of C-C 'cross section of the electronic camera which closed the lid | cover. It is the figure which expanded a part of C-C 'cross section of the electronic camera which opened the lid | cover. It is the figure which expanded a part of B-B 'cross section of an electronic camera.

Explanation of symbols

11 ... photographic lens 23 ... battery / card cover 26 ... finder eyepiece cover 27 ... finder eyepiece windows 28, 29 ... LED
41 ... front cover 42 ... rear cover 51 ... rechargeable battery 71 ... wireless communication unit 82, 92 ... connection terminal 91 ... memory unit 121 ... chip antenna 233 ... contact piece protection rib 234 ... contact piece 711 ... antenna terminal 811, 811b ... Recess

Claims (4)

A unit insertion slot for inserting a wireless communication unit that can be freely inserted into and removed from an electronic device;
A lid member for closing the unit insertion port;
A contact member disposed on an inner surface of the lid member and contacting a terminal member formed at an end different from the insertion end of the wireless communication unit;
An electronic device comprising: a protective member that is disposed further inside the device than the contact member and is formed to avoid the terminal member. In a wireless communication unit that can be inserted into and removed from an electronic device,
A terminal member for antenna connection formed at an end different from the insertion end for the electronic device;
A wireless communication unit, comprising: a concave portion formed in the vicinity of the terminal member at the different end. An electronic device according to claim 1;
A wireless communication unit according to claim 2;
An electronic device wireless communication system, wherein a protection member of the electronic device is fitted into a recess of the wireless communication unit, and a terminal member of the wireless communication unit is in contact with a contact member of the electronic device. The electronic device wireless communication system according to claim 3,
An electronic device wireless communication system, wherein a length from a bottom of the recess of the wireless communication unit to a contact end of the terminal member is longer than a distance between the contact member and the protection member of the electronic device.

Images