JP2009069380A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily remove batteries from an apparatus bottom with the imaging apparatus mounted on a tripod from the apparatus bottom. <P>SOLUTION: A tripod seat 6 having a mounting hole 5 to which the set screw of a tripod or a pan head can be threadedly connected, and a battery lid 9 which can be opened and closed with respect to a housing 2 while covering the batteries 51 housed in the housing 2 are provided on the bottom part of the housing 2 of the imaging apparatus 1. The tripod seat 6 is slidably disposed onto the housing 2 in the horizontal direction almost parallel to the bottom face of the housing 2. The tripod seat 6 is slid on the housing 2 with the tripod seat 6 mounted to the pan head 61, Thereby, the battery lid 9 can be brought into an open state with respect to the housing 2 without being hampered by the pan head 61, and the batteries 51 can be removed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus in which a mounting hole capable of screwing a set screw such as a tripod or its pan head is provided on the bottom surface of the apparatus.

  For example, as an imaging device such as a still camera or a small video camera, a battery that is a power source of the device or a recording card for data storage is housed inside the housing so that it can be inserted and removed from the bottom of the housing. is there. In such an imaging device, by providing a battery lid that is opened and closed when replacing a battery or the like on a bottom surface that is relatively inconspicuous in appearance, the appearance of the device can be improved, Various operation buttons and the like can be arranged on the top and side surfaces so that the user can easily operate them. In addition, there are some buttons on the bottom surface that are provided with operation buttons that are not frequently used, input / output terminals that are used for input / output of data and the like.

  By the way, in general, a mounting hole through which a set screw such as a tripod or its pan head can be screwed is provided on the bottom surface of the housing of the imaging device so that the imaging device can be attached to the pan head. FIG. 7 shows an example of a mounting structure for a tripod seat 84 of a conventional imaging apparatus. The tripod seat 84 has an attachment hole 83 and is screwed to the bottom surface of the housing 82, and the attachment hole 83 is fixed to the housing 82. The imaging device is attached to a tripod or the like by, for example, mounting the imaging device on a camera platform and screwing a set screw of the camera platform into the attachment hole 83.

  Here, when the imaging device that can be inserted and removed from the bottom side as described above is attached to a tripod or the like, if the imaging device is relatively small or the pan head is large, The pan / tilt head may prevent the battery lid from being opened or closed. In this case, for example, when it is necessary to replace the battery, the imaging device is once removed from the tripod, the battery lid and the like can be opened and closed, the battery is replaced, and then the imaging device is attached to the tripod again. There is a problem that it is troublesome and time consuming to replace the battery and the recording card, and it is not easy. In addition, in an imaging apparatus in which an operation button or the like is provided on the bottom surface, there is a problem that the operation button or the like cannot be used when the imaging apparatus is attached to a tripod or the like.

  Regarding the above problem, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a camera tripod formed so that a tripod main body does not cover a region such as a battery lid for inserting and removing a camera battery provided on the bottom surface of the camera. . When this tripod is used, the battery can be replaced with the camera attached to the tripod. However, when a general-purpose tripod or the like other than this is attached to the imaging apparatus and used, the opening and closing of the battery lid or the like may be hindered, and the above problem cannot be solved.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a camera mounting structure on a tripod in which a cradle on which a camera can be mounted can be fixed to a tripod and the camera can be mounted on the tripod via the cradle. In this case, the camera can be easily attached to and detached from the tripod. Patent Document 3 discloses that the four movable walls of a cradle on which a camera can be mounted are tilted outward to function as support legs. The cradle is formed so that the recording card can be attached to and detached from the camera with the camera attached. However, in these Patent Documents 2 and 3, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated cradle in addition to the camera body, which requires more costs.

Patent Document 4 discloses a camera auxiliary power supply that is configured to be attachable to a camera mounting hole and can supply power to the camera body. Patent Document 5 discloses that a battery storage case is attached to the bottom of a video camera using an attachment screw. However, Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5 do not disclose an effective solution to the above problem.
JP-A-9-127602 JP 2003-304431 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-32528 Noto 3095039 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-30434

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is easy to insert / remove batteries, etc. from the bottom of the device, or to use operation buttons on the bottom of the device while being attached to a tripod from the bottom of the device. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an imaging apparatus in which a tripod seat having a mounting hole into which a tripod or a pan head set screw can be screwed is provided at the bottom, wherein the tripod seat includes the tripod seat. It is attached to the housing of the imaging apparatus so as to be slidable in a substantially horizontal direction from a predetermined storage position to a predetermined slide position.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a battery housed inside the housing in a portion of the bottom of the housing that is near the mounting hole when the tripod seat is in the housing position, and And / or an openable / closable lid that covers the recording card so as to cover the recording card, and the tripod mount is mounted from the storage position to the slide position in a state where a tripod or a pan head is attached to the tripod mount. , The open / close lid can be opened without being obstructed by the tripod or pan head.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the bottom of the housing is formed to protrude toward the tripod seat so that the sliding direction of the tripod seat is a longitudinal direction. The tripod seat has a slidable contact portion that slidably contacts the rail portion, and the tripod seat slidably contacts the rail portion with the slidable contact portion. It is configured to be slidable along the rail portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, when the tripod seat is in the slide position, the tripod seat protrudes so as to abut against the inner surface of the housing facing the slide direction of the tripod seat. It has a stopper provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the inner surface of the casing in the sliding direction is formed to have a predetermined uneven shape toward the tripod seat. The position lock portion is provided, and a lock projection that slides on the position lock portion is formed on the side surface of the tripod seat in the sliding direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the tripod seat is located at the storage position when the tripod is attached to the tripod or the like from the bottom surface of the device, the tripod or the like can be used to insert or remove the battery from the bottom surface of the device, or Even if it interferes with the operation of the operation buttons on the bottom, the above operations and operations can be easily performed by sliding the tripod seat to the sliding position so that the tripod is not obstructed. it can. The imaging device can be conveniently used together with a tripod or the like without using a part other than the imaging device such as a cradle.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the tripod base can be opened without being obstructed by the tripod or the pan head while the tripod seat is attached to the tripod or the pan head. Battery insertion / removal work and recording card insertion / removal work can be easily performed.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the tripod seat slides while the sliding contact portion is in sliding contact with the rail portion, the tripod seat can be reliably and smoothly slid.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when the tripod seat is slid to the slide position, the stopper comes into contact with the inner surface of the housing, so that the tripod seat does not slide beyond the slide position. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tripod seat from sliding off the housing by sliding the tripod seat too much.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the lock projection is in sliding contact with the position lock portion, when the user slides the tripod seat, a click feeling is transmitted to the user at a predetermined position, and the tripod seat is positioned at that position. Is done. Therefore, the tripod seat can be slid so that the tripod seat is surely positioned at a predetermined position, and the operation feeling when the tripod seat is slid can be further improved.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment. The imaging device 1 is, for example, a small video camera having a function of recording video captured by a solid-state imaging device as digital data on a recording card 52. The imaging apparatus 1 is disposed on the bottom side of the casing 2 and the casing 2 composed of two members of the front panel 3 and the back panel 4 that are divided from each other in the thickness direction of the imaging apparatus 1. As shown, the tripod seat 6 having the mounting hole 5 into which a set screw such as a tripod or its pan head can be screwed and the bottom side of the housing 2 opposite to the side where the tripod seat 6 is arranged are arranged. The battery lid (opening / closing lid) 9 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the tripod seat 6 is configured to be slidable with respect to the housing 2 in a horizontal direction substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the housing 2. The battery lid 9 is a portion on the center side of the bottom surface of the casing 2, and is rotatable with respect to the casing 2 around a rotation axis (not shown) orthogonal to the front of the imaging device 1. 2 is pivotally supported in the vicinity of the two mounting holes 5. The battery lid 9 is attached to the housing 2 so as to cover the battery 51 and the recording card 52 housed inside the housing 2. When the battery lid 9 is rotated with respect to the housing 2 and is opened, the battery 51 and the recording card 52 are exposed to the outside of the housing 2 as shown in the figure. The user can replace the battery 51 and the recording card 52 by opening the battery lid 9 and inserting and removing the battery 51 and the recording card 52 from the bottom surface of the housing 2.

  FIG. 3 shows a structure for attaching the tripod seat 6 to the housing 2. The tripod seat 6 is formed of a resin member in a substantially flat plate shape substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the housing 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the tripod seat 6 does not protrude outward from the housing 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and forms a substantially rectangular parallelepiped together with the housing 2 from the predetermined storage position as shown in FIG. It is slidably attached to the housing 2 up to a predetermined slide position which is a position shifted by a predetermined amount. As shown in FIG. 3, on both sides of the upper surface of the tripod seat 6 in the sliding direction, a saddle-shaped cross section in which the sliding direction is the longitudinal direction and the front end portion is bent toward the front panel 3 or the back panel 4 adjacent thereto. Is formed integrally with the tripod seat 6. On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the sliding direction of the tripod seat 6 is the longitudinal direction at the edge in the sliding direction of the portion where the tripod seat 6 is provided in the bottom of each of the front panel 3 and the back panel 4. The rail part 8 which protrudes toward the sliding contact part 7 is formed integrally with the front panel 3 or the back panel 4, respectively. The tripod seat 6 is disposed in the housing 2 so as to be sandwiched between the front panel 3 and the back panel 4 so that the sliding contact portion 7 contacts the upper surface of the rail portion 8. The tripod seat 6 can slide in a substantially horizontal direction reliably and smoothly along the rail portion 8 while sliding the sliding contact portion 7 on the rail portion 8.

  Here, the range in which the tripod seat 6 can slide with respect to the housing 2 is regulated by a part of the tripod seat 6 coming into contact with the housing 2. For example, the sliding contact portion 7 is configured such that the end portion in the longitudinal direction contacts the inner side surface of the housing 2 when the tripod seat 6 is in the sliding position as shown in FIG. That is, when the tripod seat 6 slides to the side of the housing 2 toward the slide position, when the tripod seat 6 is slid to the slide position, the end of the sliding contact portion 7 is brought to the inner surface of the housing 2. Abut. Thus, the sliding contact portion 7 functions as a stopper at the time of sliding so that the tripod seat 6 does not slide too much with respect to the housing 2 and falls off from the housing 2. On the other hand, when the tripod seat 6 slides toward the storage position in the opposite direction to the above, the direction end face of the tripod seat 6 is the edge of the housing 2 in a state where the tripod seat 6 is positioned at the storage position. It is comprised so that it may contact | abut. Therefore, the slidable range of the tripod seat 6 is restricted to a range between the storage position and the slide position.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B show the imaging device 1 attached to a tripod 60. FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the imaging device 1 can be fixed on the pan 61 of the tripod 60 by screwing a set screw 62 of the pan 61 into the mounting hole 5. In the state where the tripod seat 6 is in the storage position, as shown in the figure, the tripod seat 6 is hindered by the pan head 61 located below the battery lid 9, so that the battery lid 9 cannot be opened as described above. However, in the first embodiment, when the battery cover 9 is opened, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tripod seat 6 is slid with respect to the housing 2 from the storage position to the slide position. It is possible to make a state where there is no pan head 61 below. By sliding the tripod seat 6 in this manner, the battery lid 9 can be rotated with respect to the housing 2 without being blocked by the camera platform 61 while the image pickup apparatus 1 is attached to the tripod 60. The battery 51 and the recording card 52 can be easily inserted into and removed from the housing 2. After the work is finished and the battery cover 9 is closed, the tripod seat 6 is slid in the direction opposite to the above to the storage position, so that the normal use state as shown in FIG. Then, the imaging device 1 can be used with the tripod 60.

  5A and 5B show an imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, with respect to the imaging device 31 according to the second embodiment, the same members as those in the imaging device 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described. The imaging device 31 mainly includes a point where a stopper 36a is formed on the tripod base 36, and a position lock unit (shown in FIG. 6) 10 provided on the housing 2, and positions the tripod base 36. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it can be configured. As in the first embodiment, the imaging device 31 is configured from a state in which the tripod seat 36 is in the storage position as shown in FIG. 5A during normal use, as shown in FIG. 5B. By sliding the tripod seat 36 with respect to the housing 32 so that the 36 is located at the slide position, the battery cover 9 is opened with the tripod 60 attached, and the battery 51 and the recording card 52 are inserted into and removed from the housing 32. It is configured to be able to.

  FIG. 6 shows a structure for attaching the tripod seat 36 to the housing 32. In the second embodiment, on both side surfaces of the tripod seat 36 in the sliding direction, groove-shaped sliding contact portions 37 are formed so that the sliding direction is the longitudinal direction. Further, the front panel 33 and the back panel 34 constituting the housing 32 are formed so as to protrude toward the tripod seat 36 so as to be fitted into the sliding contact portion 37 so that the sliding direction is the longitudinal direction. A rail portion 38 is provided. That is, the tripod seat 36 is attached to the housing 32 so as to be slidable in a substantially horizontal direction along the rail portion 38 while sliding the sliding contact portion 37 on the rail portion 38. As shown in the figure, on the upper surface of the tripod seat 36, for example, when the tripod seat 36 is in the sliding position, for example, a substantially flat plate-like shape is brought into contact with the inner surface of the housing 32 facing the sliding direction of the tripod seat 36. A stopper 36a is formed. By providing the stopper 36a, when the tripod seat 36 is slid to the slide position, the stopper 36a abuts against the inner surface of the housing 32, and the tripod seat 36 does not slide beyond the slide position. . Accordingly, the tripod seat 36 is prevented from sliding off the housing 32 by sliding the tripod seat 36 too much.

  Here, in 2nd Embodiment, the position lock part 10 is formed in the inner surface of each of the front panel 33 and the back panel 34 so that it may be located in the side of the tripod seat 36. FIG. The position lock portion 10 is formed by bending a sheet metal, for example, and has a spring property in a direction toward the tripod seat 36, and is attached to the front panel 33 and the back panel 34 by, for example, adhesion. The position lock portion 10 has recesses at two locations on the surface facing the tripod seat 36, and is formed to have a predetermined uneven shape toward the tripod seat 36. As will be described later, these two concave portions are provided at positions corresponding to, for example, a tripod seat 36 when in the storage position and a tripod seat 36 when in the slider position. A lock protrusion 36 b is formed on the side surface of the tripod seat 36 so as to face the position lock portion 10. The lock protrusion 36b is formed so as to be in sliding contact with the surface of the position lock portion 10 facing the tripod seat 36 when the tripod seat 36 slides, and can be fitted into a recess formed in the position lock portion 10. It is formed in size.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the user slides the tripod seat 36 and the tripod seat 36 is located at the storage position or the slide position, the lock protrusion 36b is fitted into the recess of the position lock portion 10. Thus, a click feeling is transmitted to the user, and the tripod seat 36 is positioned at that position. Therefore, the tripod seat 36 can be slid until the tripod seat 36 is reliably positioned at the storage position or the slide position, and the tripod seat 36 can be held at that position. Further, when the tripod seat 36 is slid, the user can feel a click feeling at a predetermined position, so that the operation feeling when the tripod seat 36 is slid can be further improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible suitably in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, the battery lid does not have to be attached to the housing in a rotatable manner. In addition, the uneven shape of the position lock portion may be formed so as to generate a click feeling at a predetermined position that is set at regular intervals in the sliding direction of the tripod seat. Furthermore, the position lock portion may be formed integrally with the housing instead of the sheet metal. The imaging device may be a still camera that records an image on a film, for example, instead of a video camera.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the battery cover for storing the battery, but when an opening / closing cover provided for storing other parts is provided at the bottom of the apparatus, or when an operation button or external input is provided at the bottom of the apparatus. This is also effective when an input / output connector or the like that enables connection with an output device is provided. Even in those cases, by configuring the tripod seat so that it can slide with respect to the housing, the open / close lid can be easily opened and closed with the imaging device attached to the tripod, as described above. It becomes possible to operate or use operation buttons, input / output connectors, and the like.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the said apparatus of the state which slid the tripod seat. The perspective view which shows the attachment structure of the tripod seat of the said apparatus. (A) is a front view which shows the said apparatus and the tripod with which it was attached, (b) is a front view which shows the same apparatus of the state which slid the tripod seat attached to the tripod. (A) is a perspective view which shows an example of the imaging device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and a tripod with which it was attached, (b) shows the same device of the state which slid the tripod seat attached to the tripod. Front view. The perspective view which shows the attachment structure of the tripod seat of the said apparatus. The perspective view which shows an example of the attachment structure of the tripod seat of the conventional imaging device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,31 Image pick-up device 2,32 Case 5 Mounting hole 6,36 Tripod seat 7,37 Sliding part 8,38 Rail part 9 Battery cover (open / close cover)
10 Position lock part 36a Stopper 36b Lock projection part 51 Battery 52 Recording card 60 Tripod 61 Pan head 62 Set screw

Claims (5)

An imaging device in which a tripod seat having a mounting hole to which a tripod or a pan head set screw can be screwed is provided at the bottom,
The image pickup apparatus, wherein the tripod mount is attached to a housing of the image pickup apparatus so as to be slidable in a substantially horizontal direction from a predetermined storage position to a predetermined slide position. Of the bottom of the case, the tripod seat is attached to the part near the attachment hole when the tripod seat is in the storage position so as to cover the battery and / or the recording card stored inside the case. Open and close lid,
When the tripod mount is attached to the tripod base and the tripod mount is slid relative to the housing from the storage position to the slide position, the opening / closing lid is blocked by the tripod or pan head. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup apparatus is configured to be in an open state. At the bottom of the housing, a rail portion formed to protrude toward the tripod seat so that the sliding direction of the tripod seat is the longitudinal direction is provided,
The tripod seat is formed with a sliding contact portion slidably contacting the rail portion,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tripod seat is configured to be slidable along the rail portion while sliding the sliding portion on the rail portion.   The tripod seat has a stopper projecting so as to come into contact with the inner surface of the housing facing the slide direction of the tripod seat when the tripod seat is in the slide position. The imaging device according to claim 3. On the inner side surface of the housing in the sliding direction, a position lock portion formed to form a predetermined uneven shape toward the tripod seat is provided,
The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a lock protrusion that slides on the position lock portion is formed on a side surface of the tripod seat in a sliding direction.

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