JP2862006B2 - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic still camera, and more particularly, to an electronic still camera capable of recording a video signal on a card-shaped recording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic still camera, there is a socket type as one of electric contacts of a card-shaped recording medium such as a detachable IC card. This is provided with a small electric socket on the end face of the card-shaped recording medium, a plug having a corresponding pin on the camera side, and moving the card-shaped recording medium in parallel to the electric socket. A pin is inserted to make electrical connection. In this case, since the contact force between the electric socket and the pin is large, this is also a force for holding the card-shaped recording medium in a state of being inserted into the camera.

Further, there is a connection means using a press-connecting type connector which is different from the socket type. For example, JP-A-59-1608
In No. 75, an electrical connection pattern is arranged in parallel with the short piece of the card-shaped recording medium at a position facing the short piece side of one main surface of the card-shaped recording medium, and the side with the connection pattern is provided. There is an example in which the short portion on the opposite short side is rotated about the rotation center (rotation side) to make electrical contact by making press contact with a press contact of a press connector provided on the main body corresponding to the connection pattern. Are listed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in the socket type, a large number of contacts are required for recording and reproducing image data of a camera;
Since the insertion / extraction force per contact unit must be increased to some extent in order to secure the reliability by sufficiently reducing the contact resistance, a considerably large insertion / extraction force is required for the entire card-shaped recording medium. In order to be able to withstand a large insertion / extraction force between this camera and the card-shaped recording medium,
The housing structure of the camera and the storage space for the card-shaped recording medium are required to have sufficient rigidity, and a large ejection force is required, so that the eject mechanism is also increased in size. As a result, the entire camera becomes heavy and large.

In the connection means using the press-connecting type connector, the problem of the insertion / extraction force can be solved, but extra space is required for the rotation of the card-shaped recording medium, and the elasticity of the press-connecting type connector on the camera body side is increased. Since a member for pressing and holding the card-shaped recording medium against the force is required, it is also unsuitable for a camera that needs to be miniaturized. In this type, the electrical connection pattern is formed on the surface of the card, so that dust easily adheres to the card. The contact portions are not cleaned because they do not slide with each other. In order to ensure electrical reliability, separate measures such as providing a dustproof case on the card are required, which leads to complication of the device and an increase in cost.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an electronic still camera that is easy to use without applying excessive force when inserting and removing a card-shaped recording medium, and that has a high dust-proof effect of electrical contacts of the card-shaped recording medium. Aim.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems] An electronic still camera according to the present invention forms an object image on an image sensor through an optical system, converts the image into an electric signal, and records the electric signal on a removable card-shaped recording medium. In the electronic still camera, an insertion slot for the card-shaped recording medium provided on the grip portion side of the camera body, and a card-shaped recording medium provided along a direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction of the camera body and inserted from the insertion slot. A card storage chamber for holding the medium in the camera body, and the card-shaped recording medium is provided so as to be displaceable between its own open position and a closed position so as to open and close the insertion opening of the card-shaped recording medium. A lid that can be arranged so as not to contact the trailing edge of the card-shaped recording medium when displaced to the closed position after being inserted into the card storage chamber,
When the card-shaped recording medium is disposed in the card storage chamber and is disposed on the contact substrate and the card-shaped recording medium is stored in the card storage chamber, the card-shaped recording medium elastically contacts the contact group provided on the surface of the card-shaped recording medium. And a contact spring for transmitting and receiving an electric signal between the card-shaped recording medium and the camera body through the group.

In the electronic still camera according to the present invention, the card-shaped recording medium is inserted into the card storage chamber through the insertion opening of the card-shaped recording medium, and the lid is arranged so as not to contact the trailing edge of the card-shaped recording medium. Further, the contact spring elastically contacts the contact group provided on the surface of the card-shaped recording medium, and electric signals are transmitted and received between the card-shaped recording medium and the camera body through the contact group.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
The IC card 50 is a thin card-shaped recording medium, the shape of which is substantially rectangular, and a contact group 51 made of conductive foil is provided at a tip portion along one short side on one surface, and the other is provided. Notch on the opposite side of the two long sides near the short side
50a is formed.

The IC card 50 is used by being loaded into the electronic still camera shown in FIG.

This electronic still camera is of a single-lens reflex type or a compact camera type. A photographing lens barrel 61 is provided on the front side of a camera body 60, and a card holding portion 62 on the back side of which a central portion of the body protrudes backward. Is provided,
A cover 63 is provided on the right side of the card holding portion 62, and the hinge 64 can be opened as a branch to a position 63A shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. A card storage chamber 65 is formed in the card holder 62. Card storage room 65
Between the regulating plate 65a and the regulating portion 63a at the tip of the lid 63,
The plurality of IC cards 50 are arranged and mounted in a state where a plurality of the IC cards 50 are superimposed on each other so that the surface direction of the cards 50 is parallel to the direction orthogonal to the lens optical axis. Each of these stacked loading states
The IC card 50 is arranged with the contact group 51 facing the left rear surface in FIG.

Therefore, the notch 50a is located at the upper and lower positions on the right side of the card storage chamber 65. A slide plate 67 urged rearward by a feed spring 66 is provided in the entire card storage chamber 65, and the slide plate 67 allows a plurality of IC cards 50 to be moved.
Are urged rearward as shown by arrow b in a state where they are in close contact with each other without any gap. The portion of the slide plate 67 on the side of the lid 63 is shaped so as to be easily guided when the IC card 50 is inserted. A receiving portion 68 protruding forward from an inner wall of a rear plate of the card holding portion 62 on the left side is provided at a rear position of the card storage chamber 65.
On the right side, protruding from the upper and lower inner walls of the card holding portion 62 are formed, and the receiving portion 68 and the plurality of IC cards 50 urged rearward by the locking portion 69 are moved to the loading position. Regulating.

As shown in FIG. 3, the receiving portion 68 is formed continuously in the vertical direction, and the locking portions 69 are formed separately in the upper and lower directions. That is, the tip of each locking portion 69 is located at the rearmost position.
The rear surface of the card 50 is in contact with the upper and lower ends of the right side of the notch 50a. The locking portion 69 is located at the right position of the receiving portion 68,
As will be described later, it exists between a space where the recorded IC card 50 is to be arranged. And this locking part
69 is to fit into the notch 50a of the IC card 50 after the recording of the IC card 50, so that its cross-sectional shape is formed slightly smaller than the area of the notch 50a.

On the left side of the receiving part 68, a contact board 70 is provided.
A contact spring group 71 is provided on 70. This contact spring group
Reference numeral 71 elastically contacts the contact group 51 of the IC card 50 at the rearmost position. Therefore, only the IC card 50 located at the rearmost position is connected to the electric circuit in the camera body 60, and signals and power are exchanged between them. In the vicinity of the contact spring group 71, a lever 73 that rotates around a support shaft 72 is provided. This lever 73
The upper end is provided by an operating member (not shown) provided outside the camera body 60, or one IC card 50 as described later.
The solenoid member (not shown), which is excited when it detects that all the recording has been completed, is pushed in the direction shown by the arrow d, and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. Since the lower end of the lever 73 comes into contact with the left end surface of the last IC card 50, the lever 73
When turned in the counterclockwise direction, the rearmost IC card 50 is pushed and moved in the direction of arrow c.

Here, the IC card 50 at the rearmost position
When the recording for all the recording capacity of
The card 50 is moved in the direction of arrow c by rotating the lever 73 by the operation member or the solenoid member. When the IC card 50 moves in the direction of the arrow c, it initially slides and moves on the receiving portion 68 and the locking portion 69, but the end on the side having the contact group 51 passes through the position of the receiving portion 68. When the regulation by the receiving portion 68 is released, the position of the notch portion 50a reaches the locking portion 69, and the IC card 50 reaches the position 50A indicated by a two-dot chain line. Then, the locking portion 69 fits into the notch 50a, so that the IC
The card 50 is temporarily held by the locking portion 69, and moves out of the locking portion 69 to the space at the recorded position during this period. Then, when this one IC card 50 shifts to the recorded position, the next IC card 50 following the shifted IC card 50 is located at the rearmost position of the loaded state, and its contact group 51
Comes into contact with the contact spring group 71. Thus,
Each of the IC cards 50 at the loading position is sequentially shifted to the recorded position after the recording for all the recording capacities is completed.
After 50 has been recorded, the lid 63 can be opened and replaced with a new unrecorded IC card 50.

It should be noted that a photoelectric conversion means including a light emitting element and a light receiving element may be provided as a switch at the position of the contact group 51 of the IC card 50 instead of the contact group 51 electrically. Of course, in this case,
On the camera body 60 side as well, it is necessary to provide photoelectric conversion means as switch means in place of the contact spring group 71.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the insertion opening and the lid for the card-shaped recording medium are provided on the grip side of the camera body, so that the usability when inserting and removing the card-shaped recording medium is good.

Further, after the insertion of the card-shaped recording medium, a lid which can be arranged so as not to be in contact with the trailing edge of the card-shaped recording medium at a position where the lid is closed, so that the insertion opening of the card-shaped recording medium can be freely opened and closed. In order to prevent accidents such as damage to the card-shaped recording medium when the inside of the lid hits the card-shaped recording medium by accidentally closing the lid when the loading position of the card-shaped recording medium is insufficient. Can be.

Also, the card-shaped recording medium is disposed on the contact substrate in the card storage chamber, and elastically contacts a contact group provided on the surface of the card-shaped recording medium in a state where the card-shaped recording medium is stored in the card storage unit. In addition, since a contact spring for transmitting and receiving an electric signal between the card-shaped recording medium and the camera body through the contact group is provided, a corresponding general pin is inserted into a plurality of fitting recesses. Since the card-shaped recording medium can be inserted into and removed from the camera with a smaller insertion / removal force than a conventional connector, the insertion / extraction mechanism can be simplified, and the camera can be downsized. In addition, since the contact portion has a spring structure, and the contact portion and the contact spring on the surface of the card-shaped recording medium slide for a certain length during insertion / removal, self-cleaning of the contact portion on the surface of the card-shaped recording medium is performed every time. Dustproof measures can be taken without a mechanism, and the reliability of the card-shaped recording medium is increased. Further, since the card-shaped recording medium is held in the card storage chamber by the pressure of the contact spring, and the rattle of the card-shaped recording medium can be prevented, the transmission and reception of electric signals can be performed stably without a dedicated holding mechanism. There are effects such as being able to do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an IC card used in an electronic still camera. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the electronic still camera to which the present invention is applied, with essential parts broken away. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 50: Card-shaped recording medium 60: Camera body 63: Cover 65: Card storage room 71: Contact spring

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kenichi Oiue 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-1-204575 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04N 5/225

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electronic still camera which forms a subject image on an image sensor through an optical system, converts the image into an electric signal, and records the electric signal on a removable card-shaped recording medium. An insertion slot for the card-shaped recording medium provided, and provided along a direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the camera body, for holding the card-shaped recording medium inserted from the insertion slot in the camera body. A card storage chamber, provided so as to be displaceable between its own open position and a closed position so as to open and close the insertion opening of the card-shaped recording medium, after the card-shaped recording medium is inserted into the card storage chamber. When displaced to the closed position, a lid capable of being disposed so as not to contact the trailing edge of the card-shaped recording medium, and disposed in a contact substrate in the card storage chamber, wherein the card-shaped recording medium is car When the card-shaped recording medium is housed in the card storage chamber, the card-shaped recording medium elastically contacts a contact group provided on the surface of the card-shaped recording medium, and an electric signal is exchanged between the card-shaped recording medium and the camera body through the contact group. An electronic still camera, comprising: a contact spring;