JP2009165020A - Electronics - Google Patents

Abstract

A lid member provided in advance in an electronic device can be used as a stand.
A battery lid is rotatably connected to a tripod seat, and normally opens and closes a battery chamber on a bottom surface of a camera body. When performing projection by the projector, the battery cover 13 is rotated to the open state, and then rotated together with the tripod seat 20 about an axis orthogonal to the rotation axis. Next, when the battery cover 13 is rotated in the opposite direction (closed direction) to the above, the battery cover 13 projects to the rear of the camera body. The battery lid 13 and the tripod base 20 in this state can be changed in posture so as to form a predetermined angle (for example, 30 degrees) with respect to the bottom surface 12, and can support the camera body 10 with the front surface 11 of the camera body facing obliquely. . Therefore, the projection optical axis X can be obliquely above the mounting surface.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device such as a projector or a small TV.

A projector built-in camera that has an imaging function and a projection function and can project captured image data to the outside is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
On the other hand, there is known a camera in which a tripod can be stored on the bottom surface of the camera body (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-369050 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-127602

In a camera with a built-in projector that projects from the front of the camera, when the camera is placed on a horizontal plane in a normal posture, the projection optical axis is almost horizontal, and the projected image is easily vignetted on the placement surface. To prevent vignetting, the camera may be tilted so that the projection optical axis is obliquely upward, but it is difficult to install the camera on the mounting surface in the tilted state. Similarly, in a small TV apparatus or the like, it is easy to see the display by turning the optical axis of the display screen obliquely upward, but it is difficult to install the device obliquely.
Note that the built-in tripod of Patent Document 2 does not support the camera in an oblique state, and it is necessary to add at least three legs to the camera, which increases the number of parts.

An electronic device according to the present invention is provided on a device main body in which a light irradiation unit and / or a light incident unit are provided on a first surface, and on a second surface intersecting with the first surface of the device main body. When the device main body is placed on the placement surface, the lid member functions as a stand and supports the lid member so that the lid member can be opened and closed. And a support mechanism that protrudes to the opposite side of the first surface at a predetermined angle.
The predetermined angle may be determined such that the first surface faces obliquely upward with respect to the placement surface.
The support mechanism is supported by the device main body so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis orthogonal to the second surface, and supports the lid member so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the second surface. The mechanism may rotate around a rotation axis that is orthogonal to the second surface, so that the lid member protrudes on the opposite side of the first surface. In this case, when the lid member protrudes on the opposite side to the first surface, a predetermined posture change of the support mechanism is allowed, and the lid member makes a predetermined angle with the second surface by this posture change. May be.
When the first surface and the second surface are substantially orthogonal to each other and the lid member is in a closed state, the externally exposed surfaces of the lid member and the support mechanism may be substantially flush with the second surface. .
The lid member may be a battery lid that opens and closes a battery chamber that houses the power battery.
The support mechanism may further include a mounting portion on which a separate support device (for example, a tripod) for supporting the device is mounted.
The electronic apparatus may include a projector device that projects an image from a light irradiation unit, or may include an imaging unit that captures a subject light beam incident from a light incident unit, or display light from the light irradiation unit. The display part which irradiates may be provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to install the device on the mounting surface in a state where the surface provided with the light irradiation unit and the light incident unit is obliquely upward, such as image projection, photographing, visual display, etc. Convenient. In addition, since a lid member provided in advance in the electronic device can be used as a stand, an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost can be minimized.

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a projector built-in digital camera will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 to 3 showing the projector built-in digital camera, the front face 11 of the camera body 10 is provided with a photographing window W1, a flash light emission window W2, and a projector projection window W3. The subject luminous flux incident from the photographing window W1 is guided to an image sensor (not shown) via the photographing optical system, and image data is generated by performing various processes on the photoelectric conversion output of the image sensor. . The image data is recorded on a recording medium as an image file of a predetermined format.

  A bottom surface 12 of the camera body 10 is a surface orthogonal to the front surface 11, and a battery chamber lid (hereinafter referred to as a battery lid) 13 is provided on the left side when viewed from the front of the bottom surface 12. 1 to 3 show a state in which the battery cover 13 is closed, and the battery cover 13 is prevented from being opened by a lock mechanism (not shown). When the lock is released, the battery lid 13 can be opened downward with the pin 14 as a pivot axis, and the power supply battery can be inserted into and removed from the battery chamber from the bottom of the camera. Reference numeral 20 denotes a tripod base connected to the battery cover 13. The tripod base 20 and the battery cover 13 will be described in more detail later.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the projector module 30 provided in the camera body 10. The projector module 30 includes a light source 31 such as a high-intensity LED, a condenser lens 32, a polarizing beam splitter (hereinafter referred to as PBS) 33, a reflective liquid crystal panel 34 such as LCOS, a projection lens 35, a mirror 36, It has a case 37 for housing them and a metal (for example, aluminum) heat dissipation block 38 integrated with the light source 31.

  Using such a projector module 30, desired image data recorded on a recording medium can be projected to the outside. A control circuit (not shown) of the camera sends the image data to the liquid crystal panel 34 via the flexible printed board 39 and displays it. When the light source 31 is turned on in this state, the light source light passes through the condensing lens 32 and the PBS 33 and enters the reflective liquid crystal panel 34, and the reflected light image is bent upward 90 degrees by the PBS 33. The bent light passes through the projection lens 35, is reflected by the mirror 36, and is projected to the front of the camera through the projection window W3. The projection optical axis X is in a direction substantially orthogonal to the front surface 11 of the main body.

  Here, in order to stabilize the projected image, it is desirable to perform the projection by fixing the camera to a tripod or, if there is no tripod, placing the camera on the desk surface or the floor surface. However, when placed on the surface, there is a concern about the vignetting of the projected image on the placement surface, so it is desirable to project the image obliquely upward rather than horizontally. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the battery lid 13 is used as a camera stand during projection so that the camera body 10 can be stably held on the mounting surface in an oblique state. With this projection posture, the front surface 11 of the main body on which the projection window W3 is provided can be directed largely obliquely upward, and the projection optical axis X becomes an obliquely upward direction, thereby preventing vignetting of the projected image.

A configuration for realizing the projection posture will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 shows a connected state of the battery lid 13 and the tripod base 20, and FIGS. 7 to 9 show a detailed structure of the tripod base 20. The tripod mount 20 has a flat plate portion 21 and a substantially cylindrical protrusion 22 protruding from the flat plate portion 21, and a pin hole 21 b into which the pin 14 is inserted is formed in a connecting portion 21 a provided on the flat plate portion 21. Has been. On the other hand, a bifurcated connecting portion 13 a is formed on one end side of the battery lid 13, and the connecting portion 13 a is rotatably connected to the connecting portion 21 a of the tripod seat 20 by a pin 14. Note that the width and thickness of the flat plate portion 21 and the battery lid 13 are substantially the same.

  A tripod screw hole 23 is formed in the protrusion 22 of the tripod seat 20 from the outer surface side of the flat plate portion 21, and a male screw on the tripod side is screwed into this. Further, a pair of guide grooves 22 a as shown in the development view of FIG. 9 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 22.

  10 and 11 are enlarged views of portions C and D in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. The protrusion 22 of the tripod seat 20 is inserted into a recess 40 formed on the bottom surface 12 of the camera body 10, and at this time, a pair of bosses 41 formed on the inner surface of the recess 40 are paired with a pair of grooves 22 a of the protrusion 22. Is slidably engaged. Accordingly, the tripod seat 20 is held rotatably with respect to the camera body 10 about the axis of the screw hole 23 within the range of the formation angle of the groove 22a. In this state, the battery lid 13 opens and closes the battery chamber by rotating around the pin 14, and can rotate integrally with the tripod seat 20 around the axis of the screw hole 23. The axis of the screw hole 23 is an axis in the vertical direction of the camera, and the pin 14 is an axis in the camera thickness direction, and both axis directions are orthogonal to each other. As shown in FIG. 10, the recess 40 reaches the back surface of the camera body 10 and has a shape that allows the posture change of the tripod seat 20 (see FIG. 16).

  In the camera configured as described above, FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIG. 6A show a state in which the battery cover 13 is closed, and the power supply battery in the battery chamber is concealed by the battery cover 13. At this time, the flat plate portion 21 of the tripod base 20 and the outer surfaces 21c and 13b (FIG. 6A) of the battery lid 13 are substantially flush with the bottom surface 12 of the camera body 10, and the camera bottom has a shape with no unevenness. It has become. Therefore, the camera can be stably placed on a horizontal plane in the normal posture of FIG. Further, at this time, the boss 41 formed in the concave portion 40 of the bottom surface 12 is located at a position indicated by P1 in FIG. 9 with respect to the groove 22a of the tripod seat 20.

  When performing projection by the projector, first, the battery cover 13 is unlocked, and the battery cover 13 is rotated around the pin 14 to be opened. FIG. 6B shows a state where it is opened about 90 degrees. Next, the battery cover 13 is rotated about 90 degrees around the axis of the screw hole 23 together with the tripod seat 20 while keeping the open state. FIG. 6C shows a state after rotation, and the inner surface 13c of the battery lid 13 faces the rear of the camera. At this time, the boss 41 reaches the position indicated by P2 in FIG. 9, that is, the end of the horizontal portion of the groove 22a, and prevents further rotation of the tripod seat 20. When the boss 41 comes to this position, the posture change of the tripod seat 20 is allowed using the vertical portion of the groove 22a.

Next, the battery lid 13 is rotated around the pin 14 in the opposite direction (closed direction) to the above, and the battery lid 13 and the flat plate portion 21 of the tripod seat 20 are in a straight line, that is, the outer surfaces 13b and 21c of both the two. To be in the same state. And if the attitude | position of the tripod seat 20 is changed maintaining this state, it will be in the state shown in FIG.6 (d) and FIGS. 12-17. As can be seen from FIG. 16, the movement of the inner surface of the connecting portion 21a of the tripod seat 20 and the inner surface of the connecting portion 13a of the battery lid 13 is restricted by surface contact with the inclined surface 42 formed in the recess 40, and at this time The boss 41 of the camera body 10 reaches the position indicated by P3 in FIG. In the present embodiment, the angle of the inclined surface 42 with respect to the bottom surface 12 is 30 degrees, and therefore the battery cover 13 protrudes from the bottom surface 12 to the rear of the camera at an angle of 30 degrees. In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, when the corner on the back side of the camera body 10 and the tip of the battery lid 13 are placed in contact with the placement surface, the camera body 10 is attached to the battery lid via the slope 42. 13, the camera posture of FIG. 5 can be stably maintained.
In order to return the battery cover 13 to the original closed state, a procedure reverse to the above may be performed.

  In the posture of FIG. 5, the battery chamber remains open, but the battery inside is not dropped undesirably because the drop prevention measures are taken.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the battery lid 13 originally provided in the camera is used, and the camera can be supported on the mounting surface with the front surface 11 of the camera body 10 facing obliquely upward. The vignetting of the projected image can be prevented without adding a leg or the like. In particular, since a support mechanism for causing the battery lid 13 to perform the above-described operation also uses an existing member (tripod base 20), it is not necessary to provide a dedicated support mechanism. Further, when the projection is not performed, both the battery cover 13 and the tripod base 20 maintain the normal state (the same state as the bottom surface 12 of the camera main body 10), which may cause any trouble in photographing. Absent.

  In the above, the groove provided on the tripod seat side and the protrusion (boss) provided on the camera body side guide the rotation and posture change of the tripod seat, but conversely the protrusion on the tripod seat side A groove may be provided on the main body side. Moreover, the structure for changing the shape of the battery lid or tripod seat and the attitude of the battery lid is not limited to the above.

  Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied when the battery cover is on the side of the camera. In this case, the camera is placed so that the side with the battery cover is facing down, and the tripod mount cannot be used, but a member that replaces the tripod mount (however, screw holes are not required) is placed on the side of the camera. What is necessary is just to provide. Even when the battery cover is on the bottom surface as in the above embodiment, a member other than a tripod seat may be used. Further, a lid member other than the battery lid (for example, a lid for concealing the terminal portion) may be used. Further, the light source 31 of the projector module 30 may be used as a flash light source or an AF auxiliary light source. In this case, the flash light emission window W2 becomes unnecessary.

  In the above description, the projector built-in digital camera has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a digital camera having no projector function. In this case, the camera can be stabilized such that the optical axis of the photographing optical system faces obliquely upward, and blurring when photographing a subject located obliquely upward can be prevented. Further, by applying the present invention to a display device having a display screen (for example, a small TV apparatus), the device can be stabilized in a state where the optical axis of the screen is obliquely upward, and the display can be easily viewed. When applied to any electronic device, if the first surface on which the projection window, the photographing window, the display screen, and the like are provided and the second surface on which the lid member is provided intersect, the first and first The surface of 2 may be any surface.

The camera with a built-in projector in one embodiment of the present invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right side view, and (c) is a view taken along line A1 in (a). The AA sectional view taken on the line of Fig.1 (a). BB sectional drawing of FIG.1 (b). Sectional drawing which looked at the projector module from the camera front. The side view which shows the attitude | position at the time of the projection of a camera. The figure explaining a structure and operation | movement of a battery cover and a tripod seat. The figure which looked at the tripod mount from four directions. The perspective view of a tripod seat. The figure which expand | deploys and shows the protrusion surface of a tripod seat. The C section enlarged view of FIG. The D section enlarged view of FIG. The camera when using a battery cover as a stand is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right side view. AA line sectional view of Drawing 12 (a). BB sectional drawing of FIG.12 (b). CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG.12 (b). The D section enlarged view of FIG. The E section enlarged view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Camera body 11 Front surface 12 Bottom surface 13 Battery cover 14 Pin 20 Tripod seat 22 Groove a
23 Tripod screw hole 30 Projector module 40 Recessed part of camera body 41 Boss 42 Slope W3 Projection window

Claims (10)

A device main body provided with a light irradiation part and / or a light incident part on the first surface;
Provided on a second surface that intersects the first surface of the device main body, and functions as a stand when the device main body is mounted on a mounting surface in a state of protruding to the opposite side of the first surface. A lid member;
The lid member is supported so as to be openable and closable, and the lid member has a support mechanism that protrudes to the opposite side of the first surface at a predetermined angle with respect to the second surface. Electronic equipment characterized by The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle is determined such that the first surface is obliquely upward with respect to the placement surface. The support mechanism is supported by the device main body so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis orthogonal to the second surface, and is capable of rotating the lid member around a rotation axis parallel to the second surface. 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid member is protruded to the opposite side to the first surface by supporting and rotating about a rotation axis orthogonal to the second surface. When the lid member protrudes on the opposite side to the first surface, a predetermined posture change of the support mechanism is allowed, and by this posture change, the lid member makes the predetermined angle with the second surface. The electronic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the electronic apparatus is configured. The first surface and the second surface are substantially orthogonal to each other, and when the lid member is in a closed state, the externally exposed surfaces of the lid member and the support mechanism are substantially flush with the second surface. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the lid member is a battery lid that opens and closes a battery chamber that houses a power battery. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the support mechanism further includes a mounting portion on which a separate support device for supporting the device is mounted. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a projector device that projects an image from the light irradiation unit. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an imaging unit that images a subject light beam incident from the light incident unit. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that emits display light from the light irradiation unit.

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