JP2011076005A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An imaging apparatus including a light emitting unit that can change an illumination light irradiation direction and can be easily stored.
A light emitting unit that generates illumination light, a support unit that rotatably supports the light emitting unit, a main body that rotatably supports the support unit, and a support unit that rotates and approaches the main body And a retracting portion for rotating the light emitting portion toward the housing posture accommodated in the main body. In the imaging apparatus, the retracting unit may rotate the light emitting unit to the accommodation posture before the support unit rotates to the position closest to the main body. Further, in the imaging apparatus, the pull-in portion emits light against the urging force of the urging portion by engaging the illuminating portion that urges the light emitting portion to rotate toward the housing posture and the light emitting portion. There may be provided a locking part for maintaining the posture of the part, and an opening part for releasing the engagement of the locking part with respect to the light emitting part when the support part rotates and approaches the main body.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus.

  There is an imaging device that uses a built-in lighting device by protruding from a housing. There is also an imaging device that can change the illumination light irradiation direction of the projected illumination device (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-061899

  The illumination device stored in the imaging device tends to have a narrow variable range in the illumination light irradiation direction mainly due to size restrictions. For this reason, a sufficient effect may not be obtained in bounce imaging in which an imaging target is illuminated with indirect light.

  In order to solve the above problems, as one aspect of the present invention, a light emitting unit (220) that generates illumination light, a support unit (210) that rotatably supports the light emitting unit, and a support unit that can be rotated. An imaging device (110) including a main body (110) to be rotated and a retracting section (250, 260) for rotating the light emitting section toward the accommodation posture accommodated in the main body when the support section rotates and approaches the main body. 100).

  The above summary of the present invention does not enumerate all necessary features of the present invention. Further, a sub-combination of these feature groups can be an invention.

1 is a front view of a digital camera 100. FIG. 1 is a side view of a digital camera 100. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the illumination part 200. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the other cross section of the illumination part. It is sectional drawing which shows the other state of the illumination part. It is sectional drawing which shows the other state of the illumination part.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. In addition, not all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solving means of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of the digital camera 100. The digital camera 100 includes a housing 110, an imaging lens 120 disposed on the front surface of the housing 110, and a shutter release button 130 and an illumination unit 200 disposed on the top surface of the housing 110.

  The casing 110 forms a grip portion 112 by increasing the thickness in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface at the left end portion in the drawing. The shutter release button 130 is disposed on the top surface of the grip portion 112. The imaging lens 120 is disposed substantially at the center of the housing 110 excluding the grip portion 112, and is supported on the front surface of the housing 110 via the lens barrel 122.

  The illumination unit 200 is disposed on the upper surface of the housing 110 above the imaging lens 120. In the illustrated state, the illumination unit 200 is stored behind the storage unit front wall 114 of the housing 110. The rear surface (upper surface in the illustrated state) of the stored illumination unit 200 forms a surface continuous with the upper surface of the housing 110. Thereby, the illumination part 200 when not in use is stored inside the housing 110 and cannot be seen from the outside.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the digital camera 100. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the digital camera 100 is viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. Elements that are the same as those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and redundant inventions are omitted.

  In the state shown in the figure, the illumination unit 200 stands and protrudes upward from the upper surface of the housing 110. The illumination unit 200 includes a light emitting unit 220 that generates illumination light and a support column 210 that supports the light emitting unit 220. For this reason, the storage part 111 is exposed on the upper surface of the housing 110.

  The standing light emitting unit 220 is held at a position away from the housing 110 by the support column 210. Accordingly, the light emitting unit 220 irradiates illumination light at a position away from the lens barrel 122. Therefore, it is difficult for the illumination light to be kicked by the lens barrel 122.

  In FIG. 2, the display unit 140 and the viewfinder 150 arranged on the back surface of the housing 110 can be seen. The finder 150 incorporates a liquid crystal display panel and is used for confirming a light image captured by the image sensor of the digital camera 100. The display unit 140 is used for reproduction of captured images, a setting interface of the digital camera 100, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the illumination unit 200. The illumination unit 200 includes a support column 210, a light emitting unit 220, and a latch member 270. FIG. 3 shows a state where the illumination unit 200 is stored in the storage unit 111 of the housing 110.

  The column part 210 has a fixed cam 260, a push rod 250, a claw member 240, and a rotating gear 230 in a hollow interior. Further, the support column 210 is pivotally supported from a support shaft 262 fixed to the storage unit back surface 116. The fixed cam 260 has a cam surface 264 fixed to the support shaft 262. Therefore, when the support column 210 rotates around the support shaft 262, the cam surface 264 rotates relative to the support column 210.

  The push rod 250 is supported so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction from a pair of ribs 212 and 214 arranged inside the support column 210. One end (the left end in the figure) of the push rod 250 forms a cam follower 258 that is smoothly finished and abuts against the cam surface 264. A flange 256 is provided in the middle of the push rod 250.

  A compressed coil spring 254 is disposed between the flange portion 256 and the rib 212 far from the fixed cam 260. As a result, the push rod 250 is urged toward the fixed cam 260 in the direction indicated by the arrow S in the drawing, and the cam follower 258 is pressed against the cam surface 264.

  The other end (right end in the drawing) of the push rod 250 holds the claw member 240 as an action end. The claw member 240 has a fixed portion 242 fixed to the working end 252 of the push rod 250 and a ratchet claw 244 extending from the fixed portion 242 toward a rotation gear 230 described later. However, in the illustrated state, the ratchet pawl 244 is not meshed with the rotating gear 230.

  The rotation gear 230 has a rotation shaft 232 and ratchet teeth 234. The rotation shaft 232 rotates with respect to the column part 210. The ratchet teeth 234 rotate with respect to the support column 210 together with the rotation shaft 232.

  Furthermore, the support column part 210 has a hook part 216 depending on the lower surface. The hook portion 216 engages with the latch surface 274 of the latch member 270. The latch member 270 has a button portion 272 at the end opposite to the latch surface 274. The button unit 272 is exposed to the outside of the housing 110 from the storage unit rear surface 116.

  The light emitting unit 220 includes a housing 224, a discharge tube 228, a reflection plate 226, and a diffusion plate 222. The housing 224 accommodates the discharge tube 228, the reflection plate 226, and the diffusion plate 222 and is supported from the rotation shaft 232. Accordingly, the light emitting unit 220 rotates around the rotation shaft 232 with respect to the support column 210.

  The discharge tube 228 is housed inside the housing 224 and insulated from the outside. Further, inside the housing 224, the discharge tube 228 is surrounded by a reflection plate 226 having one end opened. The reflector 226 has a cross-sectional shape that draws a parabola.

  On the side where the reflection plate 226 is opened, a transparent diffusion plate 222 is disposed in the housing 224. As a result, the flash generated by the discharge tube 228 is irradiated from the diffusion plate 222 to the outside of the housing 224. In the illustrated state, the storage unit front wall 114 is closed immediately before the diffusion plate 222. When viewed from the outside of the housing 110 of the digital camera 100, the back surface of the illumination unit 200 forms a continuous surface with the housing 110.

  In the state in which the light emitting unit 220 is stored, the storage unit front wall 114 is positioned immediately before the light emitting unit 220, and thus the light emitting unit 220 cannot be rotated with respect to the support column 210. In other words, the light emitting unit 220 cannot be stored in the storage unit 111 in a state where the light emitting unit 220 is rotated with respect to the support column 210. Therefore, when the light emitting unit 220 that has stood up once is stored in the storage unit 111, it is required that the column unit 210 be tilted after the relative position of the light emitting unit 220 with respect to the column unit 210 is set to the storage position as illustrated.

  FIG. 4 is another cross-sectional view of the illumination unit 200. FIG. 4 shows a cross section at a position that is parallel to the cross section shown in FIG. 3 but is shifted in the extending direction of the support shaft 262. Elements that are the same as those in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

  The support column 210 includes a torsion spring 280 attached to the rotation shaft 232 of the rotation gear 230 and a torsion spring 290 attached to the support shaft 262. The torsion springs 280 and 290 include a pair of straight portions 282, 286, 292, and 296 and coil portions 284 and 294 that couple the straight portions 282, 286, 292, and 296, respectively.

  The torsion spring 280 is inserted through the rotating shaft 232 into the coil portion 284. One linear portion 286 of the torsion spring 280 is sandwiched between the inner wall of the support column 210 and the ribs 212 and 214 and fixed to the support column 210. The other straight line portion 282 is inserted into a through hole 221 provided in the housing 224 of the light emitting unit 220 through a slit 218 provided in the support column 210. Thereby, the linear part 282 rotates with the rotation of the light emitting part 220.

  The torsion spring 280 biases the light emitting unit 220 in a direction in which the light emitting unit 220 takes the storage position with respect to the support column 210. Accordingly, the light emitting unit 220 autonomously returns to the storage position with respect to the support column 210 unless locked to another member. However, since the contact surface 213 of the support column 210 and the contact surface 223 of the light emitting unit 220 are in contact with each other, the light emitting unit 220 does not rotate clockwise beyond the illustrated state.

  The torsion spring 290 is inserted through the support shaft 262 into the coil portion 294. One linear portion 292 of the torsion spring 290 is sandwiched between the inner wall of the support column 210 and the one rib 214 and fixed to the support column 210. The other straight line portion 296 comes into contact with the inside of the storage portion back surface 116 through a slit 215 provided in the support column portion 210. As a result, the straight portion 296 is fixed while being in contact with the storage portion back surface 116 even when the light emitting portion 220 is rotated.

  The torsion spring 290 biases the support column 210 in a direction in which the support column 210 rotates counterclockwise about the support shaft 262. Therefore, when the button portion 272 of the latch member 270 is pushed and the engagement between the hook portion 213 and the latch surface 274 is released, the support column portion 210 stands up from the storage portion 111 and protrudes above the digital camera 100. .

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing another state of the illumination unit 200. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the illumination unit 200 stands up from the storage unit 111 and lifts the light emitting unit 220. In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as those in FIG.

  The support column 210 is urged by a torsion spring 290 in a direction indicated by an arrow B in the drawing. Thereby, when the button part 272 of the latch member 270 is pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow P in the figure, the latch surface 274 is detached from the hook part 216 and rotates around the support shaft 262. Thereby, the support | pillar part 210 stands up from the storage part 111, and raises the light emission part 220 upwards.

  When the column 210 rotates, the cam follower 258 of the push rod 250 moves along the cam surface 264 fixed together with the support shaft 262 and moves away from the support shaft 262. Therefore, the push rod 250 moves in the longitudinal direction against the bias of the coil spring 254.

  As a result, the claw member 240 held by the action end 252 also moves, and the ratchet claw 244 meshes with the ratchet teeth 234 of the rotating gear 230. Thus, the claw member 240 and the rotation gear 230 form a ratchet around the rotation shaft 232.

  In the illustrated state, the light emitting unit 220 maintains the storage position with respect to the support column 210. For this reason, the diffuser plate 222 stands vertically, and the illumination light generated by the discharge tube 228 is irradiated forward as indicated by an arrow L in the drawing. Therefore, the illumination light illuminates the imaging target of the digital camera 100 with direct light.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another state of the illumination unit 200. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the illuminating unit 200 is further rotated with respect to the support column 210 while the support column 210 is standing with respect to the storage unit 111. In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are assigned to elements common to FIGS.

  In the column 210, the ratchet teeth 234 of the rotating gear 230 are inclined clockwise. Accordingly, when the light emitting unit 220 is rotated counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow C in the drawing against the bias of the torsion spring 280, the rotating gear 230 also rotates smoothly together with the light emitting unit 220. To do. As a result, the position of the light emitting unit 220 moves to a position further away from the storage unit 111.

  The position of the rotated light emitting unit 220 is held against the urging force of the torsion spring 280 by the ratchet on which the rotating gear 230 and the claw member 240 are formed. Therefore, the position and light emission direction of the light emitting unit 220 are maintained until an operation described later is performed.

  In the state shown in the drawing, the light emitting unit 220 is rotated by approximately 90 °, and the diffusion plate 222 is approximately horizontal. Thereby, the illumination light generated by the discharge tube 228 is irradiated upward as indicated by an arrow L in the drawing. Therefore, the illumination light is not directly applied to the imaging target of the digital camera 100 as light.

  In FIG. 6, the light emitting unit 220 is rotated until the irradiation direction is upward. However, the ratchet formed by the rotation gear 230 and the claw member is any position as long as the ratchet tooth 234 is engaged with the ratchet claw 244. The position of the light emitting unit 220 can be held. Therefore, the user of the digital camera 100 can arbitrarily set the illumination light irradiation direction according to the imaging intention.

  Refer to FIG. 3 again. In the state shown in FIG. 5, when the support column 210 is pushed down toward the storage unit 111, the cam follower 258 of the push rod 250 biased by the coil spring 254 approaches the support shaft 262 along the cam surface 264. Moving. Accordingly, since the push rod 250 moves in the longitudinal direction, the claw member 240 held by the action end 252 also moves in a direction away from the rotation gear 230.

  When the ratchet pawl 244 and the ratchet teeth 234 are disengaged due to the movement of the pawl member 240, there is no object against the bias of the torsion spring 280, and the light emitting unit 220 returns to the retracted position. Therefore, by adjusting the profile of the cam surface 264, the light emitting unit 220 can be returned to the retracted position before the support column 210 is completely collapsed. Note that the function of returning the light emitting unit 220 to the retracted position when the support column 210 is tilted to some extent can also be used when the light emitting unit 220 is switched from bounce illumination to direct illumination.

  When the light emitting unit 220 returns to the storage position with respect to the support column 210, the light emitting unit 220 can be accommodated in the storage unit 111 along the storage unit front wall 114. Further, when the support column part 210 is brought down to the inside of the storage unit 111, the hook part 216 of the support column part 210 and the latch surface 274 of the latch member 270 lock the support column part 210. As a result, the entire illumination unit 200 is stored in the storage unit 111.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The order of execution of each process such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages in the apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, the description, and the drawings is particularly “before” or “prior to”. It should be noted that the output of the previous process may be realized in any order unless used in a subsequent process. Regarding the operation flow in the claims, the description, and the drawings, even if it is described using “first”, “next”, etc. for convenience, it means that it is essential to carry out in this order. It is not a thing.

100 digital camera, 110, 224 housing, 111 storage section, 112 grip section, 114 storage section front wall, 116 storage section rear surface, 120 imaging lens, 122 lens barrel, 130 shutter release button, 140 display section, 150 viewfinder, 200 Illumination part, 210 Post part, 212, 214 Rib, 213, 223 Contact surface, 215, 218 Slit, 216 Hook part, 220 Light emitting part, 221 Through hole, 222 Diffuser, 226 Reflector, 228 Discharge tube, 230 Rotating gear, 232 Rotating shaft, 234 Ratchet teeth, 240 Claw member, 242 Fixing part, 244 Ratchet claw, 250 Push rod, 252 Working end, 254 Coil spring, 256 Hook part, 258 Cam follower, 260 Fixed cam, 262 Support shaft 264 Cam surface, 2 0 latching member, 272 button portion 274 latching surface, 280 and 290 torsion spring, 282,286,292,296 straight portion, 284 a coil unit

Claims (3)

A light emitting unit for generating illumination light;
A support part for rotatably supporting the light emitting part;
A main body rotatably supporting the support portion;
An imaging device comprising: a pull-in portion that rotates the light emitting portion toward a housing posture accommodated in the main body when the support portion rotates and approaches the main body.   The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the retracting unit rotates the light emitting unit to the accommodation posture before the support unit rotates to a position closest to the main body. The lead-in part is
An urging unit that urges the light emitting unit to rotate toward the housing posture;
A locking portion that engages with the light emitting portion and maintains the posture of the light emitting portion against the biasing of the biasing portion;
The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising: an opening portion that releases the engagement of the locking portion with respect to the light emitting portion when the support portion rotates and approaches the main body.

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