JP4584443B2 - Digital still camera - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital still camera, and particularly to a digital still camera excellent in portability and design.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, silver halide cameras (conventional cameras that use silver halide films) have been used to take pictures, but in recent years, digital still cameras (hereinafter simply referred to as “digital cameras”) are becoming increasingly popular. I'm following. Images taken with a digital camera can be easily imported to a personal computer directly or via storage media, satisfying demands such as printing out photos with a printer at home or creating documents and emails that combine photos can do. If anything, silver-salt cameras, especially high-grade silver-salt cameras such as single-lens reflex cameras, are used habitually by photography enthusiasts and photographers, while digital cameras, coupled with the spread of personal computers to ordinary households, As a camera that can be easily carried around, it has become popular with general users.
[0003]
A typical digital camera has a lens and strobe on the front side (subject side) of the camera body, various operation switches and buttons on the back side (photographer side), and a shutter button on the top side. Etc. are provided. As a feature of digital cameras, a liquid crystal viewfinder for monitoring captured images is usually provided on the back side of the camera body.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Digital cameras are actively improving the number of pixels with the aim of achieving high image quality comparable to that of silver halide cameras. On the other hand, in the case of a digital camera, factors such as good portability tend to be required due to the background described above. Therefore, such a digital camera is designed to be small, light, and compact. In the future, for example, a design that does not hinder the user from walking in a handbag or hanging around the neck by a user is expected.
[0005]
By the way, in a digital camera, it is necessary to protect the lens so that the lens portion is not easily damaged by scratches. Therefore, a digital camera is provided that includes a lens cap that can be attached and detached by a user's hand, or a lens cover that can be automatically opened and closed on the front surface of the lens. Furthermore, in the case of a digital camera, a liquid crystal viewfinder is disposed on the back side, and it is necessary to protect a liquid crystal viewfinder that is also vulnerable to scratches. However, the liquid crystal viewfinder has a relatively large area, and there is a liquid crystal viewfinder that has no cover and the screen is exposed. Some types have a cover, or some types protect the screen by making the LCD viewfinder foldable, as is often seen in digital video cameras.
[0006]
However, in a digital camera having a removable cover for protecting the lens and the liquid crystal viewfinder, the cover may come off while being put in a bag or carried around as it is, and there is always concern about scratches. In addition, it is troublesome in terms of operability that the cover must be removed every time shooting is performed and the cover must be attached after shooting. A device equipped with a foldable liquid crystal viewfinder has the same problem that the liquid crystal viewfinder has to be folded one by one.
[0007]
Furthermore, conventional digital cameras with various irregularities in the outer shape have drawbacks such as storage problems such as wanting to store the digital camera in a limited space in the bag, and design problems of appearance when carrying around. .
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has a structure that can reliably protect the lens and the liquid crystal viewfinder without impairing operability, and is excellent in portability and design. The purpose is to provide a digital camera.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the digital camera of the present invention, the first structure having a lens on one side and the second structure having a viewfinder on one side face each other. The first structure is combined in a direction in which the viewfinder is exposed or retracted, and the second structure is combined so as to be relatively movable in the direction in which the lens is exposed or retracted. And
[0010]
The present inventor decided not to provide a cover that covers only that part for the purpose of protecting the lens and viewfinder separately from the camera body, but to configure the digital camera with two structures, and install it on the opposite surface. I came up with a structure in which each structure covers the lens and viewfinder. That is, in the digital camera of the present invention, the first structure including the lens covers the viewfinder, and the second structure including the viewfinder covers the lens. If the first structure and the second structure are combined so as to be relatively movable, the first structure and the second structure can be moved relative to each other in a direction in which the entire camera is contracted or extended. The lens and viewfinder can be opened and closed freely.
[0011]
This configuration eliminates the need for a conventional cover, so there is no risk of the cover coming off even if it is put in a bag or carried around, and the lens and viewfinder can be reliably protected. Also, the cover is not attached or removed, and the operability is improved.
[0012]
In particular, the entire viewfinder is covered with the first structure when the entire camera is contracted, and at the same time the entire lens is covered with the second structure. When the entire camera is extended, the entire viewfinder is covered with the first structure. It is desirable that the entire surface of the lens is exposed from the second structure at the same time as it is exposed from the first structure.
[0013]
According to this configuration, the lens and the viewfinder can be exposed and stored at the same time by a single operation of shrinking or extending the whole of the first structure and the second structure. The operability is greatly improved.
[0014]
Further, a contact point of the power switch is provided in each of the first structure body and the second structure body so that the power switch is turned off when the whole camera is contracted, and the power switch is turned on when the whole camera is extended. It is desirable that
[0015]
According to this configuration, the power switch is automatically turned on when the user extends the entire camera during exposure to expose the lens and viewfinder, and retracts the entire camera and stores the lens and viewfinder when shooting ends. When the camera is turned off, the power switch is automatically turned off, that is, since the exposure and storage of the lens and the viewfinder are linked with the power switch, the operation of the power switch becomes unnecessary and the operability is further improved. Further, since the power switch is turned on only after the user extends the entire camera, and the power switch is turned off only after the camera is shrunk, an unnecessary malfunction of the power switch can be prevented.
[0016]
In a state where the entire camera is contracted, it is further preferable to adopt a configuration having an overall shape surrounded by a plane or a curved surface.
[0017]
When this configuration is used, the entire camera does not have irregularities in the unused state, so it is not bulky when you want to place the digital camera in a small gap in the bag, for example, and it is compact and extremely easy to store become. In addition, since the camera's external shape becomes very simple, the texture of the camera body material, the beauty of marks and characters drawn on the surface, etc., will also stand out, and the design will be excellent.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 is a perspective view of a digital camera according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view at the time of shooting, FIG. 3 is the same rear view, FIG. 4 is the same top view, FIG. 5 is the same right side view, FIG. Is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3 (when not photographed), FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3 (when photographed), and FIG. Figure.
[0019]
The digital camera 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first structure 2 that forms the back side of the camera and a second structure 3 that forms the front side. As shown in FIG. In a contracted state, the shape is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped surrounded by six planes. The cases forming the first structure 2 and the second structure 3 are made of metal such as aluminum, plastic, or the like.
[0020]
As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the first structure 2 has a thick central portion and a thin portion along the upper and lower sides. A lens 4 is incorporated at the center of the right end as viewed, and a strobe 5 is incorporated above it.
[0021]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the second structure 3 is provided with a convex portion 3a along the rightmost vertical side when viewed from the back side (photographer side), and a liquid crystal view on the side thereof. A viewfinder 6 is incorporated. For example, a jog switch 7 used when performing an operation such as switching of a photographing mode is provided at the upper center of the convex portion 3a, and various operation buttons 8 are provided above the liquid crystal viewfinder 6. A shutter button 9 is provided on the upper surface of the second structure 3.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, for example, terminals for connecting a cable are provided on the end surface of the first structure 2, and the terminals are covered with a terminal cover 10.
[0023]
The first structure 2 having the lens 4 on the front side and the second structure 3 having the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 on the back side are the front side of the first structure 2 and the second structure 3. The rear surfaces are arranged in opposite directions and are combined so as to be relatively movable. When the camera is not photographed, the entire camera has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. 1, the lens 4 is covered with the second structure 3, and the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 is covered with the first structure 2. . At the time of shooting, the first structure 2 and the second structure 3 are slid in the direction of extending the entire camera, so that the lens 4 is exposed from the second structure 3 as shown in FIGS. The liquid crystal viewfinder 6 is exposed from the first structure 2. In this state, a power switch, which will be described later, is turned on, and photographing is possible.
[0024]
As for the mechanism of the portion for sliding the first structure 2 and the second structure 3, as shown in FIG. 3, slide rails 11 are provided above and below the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 on the back surface of the second structure 3. Is provided. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the slide rail 11 is fitted with a claw portion 12 protruding forward from the front side of the first structure 2, and along the slide rail 11. The first structure 2 and the second structure 3 are configured to slide.
[0025]
Further, in the case of the present embodiment, the end of the slide rail 11 (the right end of the slide rail 11 in FIG. 6) of the second structure 3 and the claw 12 of the first structure 2 constituting the slide mechanism. The contacts 13a and 13b of the power switch 13 are installed at both ends (the right end of the claw portion 12 in FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 6, the power switch 13 having these two contacts is in a power-off state because the contacts 13 a and 13 b are separated in a state where the lens 4 and the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 are stored. As shown, when the first structure 2 and the second structure 3 are slid at the time of shooting and the lens 4 and the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 are exposed, the contacts 13a and 13b come into contact with each other and the power is turned on. . That is, the power switch 13 is automatically turned on and off in conjunction with the operation of exposing and storing the lens 4 and the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 by the user.
[0026]
According to the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, the first structure 2 including the lens 4 functions as a cover of the liquid crystal viewfinder 6, and the second structure 3 including the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 is the lens 4. Functions as a cover. This configuration eliminates the need for a conventional lens cover, a liquid crystal viewfinder cover, and the like, so there is no need to worry about removing the cover even if the digital camera 1 is put in a bag or carried around. Can be reliably protected.
[0027]
Also, the cover is not attached or removed, and the operability is improved. In particular, the lens 4 and the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 can be exposed and stored simultaneously by a single operation of shrinking or extending the entire camera composed of the first structure 2 and the second structure 3. Therefore, the operability is extremely high. Further, since the exposure and storage of the lens 4 and the liquid crystal viewfinder 6 and the power switch 13 are linked, the operation of the power switch becomes unnecessary, the operability is further improved, and unnecessary malfunction of the power switch can be prevented. it can.
[0028]
In the case of the present embodiment, the entire camera has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box-like shape with no external irregularities, particularly in an unused state. For example, it is desired to place the digital camera in a slight gap in the bag. Sometimes it is not bulky, compact and very easy to store. In addition, since the camera's external shape becomes very simple, the texture of the camera body material, the beauty of marks and characters drawn on the surface, etc., will also stand out, and the design will be excellent.
[0029]
The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the specific shapes of the first structure body and the second structure body in this embodiment, the installation positions of lenses, a liquid crystal viewfinder, other operation switches, buttons, and the like are not limited to this embodiment. The design can be changed as appropriate.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since a lens cover, a viewfinder cover, etc. in a conventional camera are not necessary, the lens and the viewfinder can be securely connected without impairing operability during use. Can be protected. Further, in addition to good portability and storage property, a digital camera excellent in design can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the digital camera at the time of shooting.
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the same.
FIG. 4 is a top view of the same.
FIG. 5 is a right side view of the same.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3 (when not photographing).
7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3 (at the time of photographing).
8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 1st structure 3 2nd structure 4 Lens 6 Liquid crystal view finder 11 Slide rail 12 Claw part 13 Power switch 13a, 13b Contact

Claims (3)

A first structure having a lens on one surface side and a second structure having a viewfinder on one surface side are arranged in a direction in which the one surface faces each other, and the first structure body is the viewfinder. The second structure is slidably combined in the direction in which the lens is exposed or retracted , and is relatively slidable in the direction in which the lens is exposed or retracted , and the first structure and the second structure Each structure is provided with a power switch contact, and the power switch is turned off when the entire camera is contracted by sliding the first structure and the second structure relative to each other. next, a digital still turtle to the by the first structure and thereby relatively sliding said second structure, wherein the power switch be turned on when stretched the entire camera . By relatively sliding the first structure and the second structure, the entire surface of the viewfinder is covered with the first structure with the entire camera contracted, and the lens The entire surface of the viewfinder is covered with the second structure, and the entire surface of the viewfinder is expanded in a state where the entire camera is extended by relatively sliding the first structure and the second structure. 2. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital still camera is exposed from the first structure and the entire surface of the lens is exposed from the second structure. The whole structure surrounded by a plane or a curved surface in a state where the entire camera is contracted by sliding the first structure and the second structure relative to each other. The digital still camera according to any one of claims 1 to 2 .

Images