JP7624359B2 - Camera equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a camera device, and in particular to a camera device to which an additional component that provides additional functions to the camera body can be attached.

Conventionally, cameras that use photographic film that is automatically developed after shooting, so-called instant cameras, have been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1), but in recent years, such instant cameras have become popular again, especially among young people. Some of these cameras allow users to attach decorative members to the camera body so that the appearance can be changed to suit the user's preferences. Such additionally attached members (additional members) are detachably attached to the camera body using, for example, double-sided tape so that they can be replaced as needed. However, if the additional members are attached to the camera body using double-sided tape, the adhesive strength of the double-sided tape decreases during use, and it is possible that the additional members will unintentionally fall off the camera body.

JP 2014-56009 A

The present invention was made in consideration of the problems with the conventional technology, and aims to provide a camera device that allows additional components that add additional functions to be easily attached to the camera body, and prevents the additional components attached to the camera body from falling off unintentionally.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a camera device is provided that allows an additional member that adds additional functions to be easily attached to a camera body and prevents the additional member attached to the camera body from unintentionally falling off. This camera device includes a camera body having a mounting base with an insertion opening formed therein, and an additional member having an insertion portion that can be inserted into the insertion opening of the mounting base of the camera body along a first direction. The insertion portion of the additional member includes a pair of elastic deformation portions that extend apart from each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The mounting base of the camera body includes a wedge portion that is inserted between the pair of elastic deformation portions of the insertion portion of the additional member inserted into the insertion opening and elastically deforms the pair of elastic deformation portions, and a first engagement portion that is disposed outside the wedge portion in the second direction and can engage with the pair of elastic deformation portions that have been elastically deformed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing the release button of the camera device shown in FIG. FIG. 3A is a plan view showing an additional member before it is attached to the button base of the release button shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3B is a left side view of the additional member shown in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C is a rear view of the additional member shown in FIG. 3A. 4A is a front view showing a button base of the release button shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4A. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the release button shown in FIG.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of a camera device according to the present invention with reference to Figs. 1 to 5. In Figs. 1 to 5, identical or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals and duplicated descriptions are omitted. In Figs. 1 to 5, the scale and dimensions of each component may be exaggerated or some components may be omitted. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish components from each other and do not indicate a specific order or sequence.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a camera device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The camera device 1 in this embodiment is a camera (instant camera) that uses photographic film that is automatically developed after shooting, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to devices other than instant cameras. For the sake of convenience, in this embodiment, the +X direction in Figure 1 will be referred to as "front" or "forward" and the -X direction will be referred to as "rear" or "backward".

As shown in FIG. 1, the camera device 1 comprises a front cover 2, a rear cover 3 attached to the rear of the front cover 2, a top cover 4 sandwiched between the front cover 2 and the rear cover 3, and a lens barrel 8 housed inside the cylindrical portion 2A of the front cover 2. A viewfinder window 5 is formed in the front cover 2, and a flash window 6 is disposed adjacent to this viewfinder window 5. A release button 7 is disposed on the -Z side of the viewfinder window 5. An ejection slit 4A extending in the Y direction is formed in the top cover 4, and photographic film developed after photography is ejected from this ejection slit 4A. In this embodiment, the lens barrel 8 is configured to be extendable in the X direction.

Figure 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing the release button 7 in an exploded view. In this embodiment, the release button 7 is a button for operating the shutter of the camera device 1, and includes a button base 10 (mounting base) and an additional member 20 that is attached to the button base 10. The additional member 20 in this embodiment is intended to decorate the button base 10 of the release button 7, and the user can select the additional member 20 of their choice from a number of additional members 20 with different colors, designs, etc., and attach it to the button base 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the button base 10 includes a cylindrical portion 12 with an insertion opening 11 formed in the center, and a base member 14 to which the cylindrical portion 12 is attached. The base member 14 is movable in the X direction relative to a frame (not shown) that is disposed in the space formed by the front cover 2 and the rear cover 3, and the electrical contacts can be turned on and off by moving the base member 14 in the X direction.

Figure 3A is a plan view showing the additional member 20 before it is attached to the button base 10 of the release button 7, Figure 3B is a left side view, and Figure 3C is a rear view. As shown in Figures 3A to 3C, the additional member 20 has a disk-shaped cover portion 21 that covers the button base 10 (Figure 2) exposed from the front cover 2, and an insertion portion 22 that can be inserted into the insertion opening 11 of the button base 10. As described below, the additional member 20 is fixed to the button base 10 by inserting the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 into the insertion opening 11 of the button base 10 and pushing the additional member 20 in the -X direction (first direction).

As shown in FIG. 3B, the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 includes a base portion 23 connected to the cover portion 21, and a pair of elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B that branch off and extend from the base portion 23 in the -X direction. These elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B are spaced apart from each other in the Z direction (second direction), and a groove 25 is formed between the two elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B.

The additional member 20 is formed, for example, from resin, and its elastic deformation portion 24A can be elastically deformed in the +Z direction, and the elastic deformation portion 24B can be elastically deformed in the -Z direction. A recess 26A recessed in the -Z direction is formed on the +Z side near the tip of the elastic deformation portion 24A, and a recess 26B recessed in the +Z direction is formed on the -Z side near the tip of the elastic deformation portion 24B. This recess 26A forms a protrusion 28A protruding in the +Z direction at the tip of the elastic deformation portion 24A, and the recess 26B forms a protrusion 28B protruding in the -Z direction at the tip of the elastic deformation portion 24B. In addition, the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 has a protrusion 27 protruding outward from each of the elastic deformation portions 24A and 24B in the Y direction.

Figure 4A is a front view showing the button base 10 of the release button 7, and Figure 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 4A. As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, the base member 14 of the button base 10 has a wedge portion 15 that protrudes in the +X direction. This wedge portion 15 has a shape that widens toward the end, with its width in the Z direction gradually increasing toward the -X direction, and has an inclined surface 16 around its entire periphery. The width of this wedge portion 15 in the Z direction is greater than the width in the Z direction of the groove 25 (see Figure 3B) of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20. Also, in the front view of Figure 4A, the wedge portion 15 is located approximately in the center of the insertion opening 11.

The cylindrical portion 12 of the button base 10 has an inner peripheral wall 17 that defines the insertion opening 11, and this inner peripheral wall 17 includes a thin portion 18 located at the end on the -X direction side and a thick portion 19 located on the +X direction side of the thin portion 18, and the space formed between the thick portion 19 and the wedge portion 15 is narrower than the space formed between the thin portion 18 and the wedge portion 15.

The additional member 20 described above can be attached to the button base 10 having such a configuration as follows. First, the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 is inserted into the insertion opening 11 of the button base 10. Here, since the width of the wedge portion 15 of the button base 10 in the Z direction is greater than the width of the groove 25 of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 in the Z direction, when the additional member 20 is pushed in the -X direction, as shown in FIG. 5, the elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 are pushed outward by the wedge portion 15 of the button base 10 and elastically deformed. At this time, the protrusions 28A, 28B of the elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B are deformed so as to be crushed by the thick portion 19 of the inner circumferential wall 17 that defines the insertion opening 11 of the button base 10. When the additional member 20 is further pressed in the -X direction, the protrusions 28A, 28B overcome the step between the thick portion 19 and the thin portion 18 of the inner circumferential wall 17, and the protrusions 28A, 28B return to their original shape. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the protrusions 28A, 28B of the elastically deforming portions 24A, 24B of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 engage with the thick portion 19 of the inner circumferential wall 17 of the button base 10, and the additional member 20 is fixed to the button base 10. In this embodiment, the thick portion 19 of the inner circumferential wall 17 that defines the insertion opening 11 of the button base 10 functions as a first engagement portion that can engage with the protrusions 28A, 28B of the elastically deformed elastic portions 24A, 24B of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20.

In this manner, in this embodiment, the elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 are deformed outward by the wedge portion 15 of the button base 10 to engage with the thick portion 19 of the inner peripheral wall 17 of the button base 10, so that the additional member 20 can be easily attached to the button base 10. At this time, the elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B of the additional member 20 are held engaged with the thick portion 19 of the inner peripheral wall 17 of the button base 10, so that once the additional member 20 is attached to the button base 10, the additional member 20 is unlikely to fall off the button base 10.

In this embodiment, the wedge portion 15 of the button base 10 has an inclined surface 16 whose width in the Z direction gradually increases along the -X direction. Therefore, when the additional member 20 is inserted in the -X direction, the elastic deformation portions 24A, 24B of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 elastically deform in accordance with the inclined surface 16 of the wedge portion 15, allowing the additional member 20 to be inserted smoothly with little resistance.

In addition, in this embodiment, the recesses 26A, 26B are formed in the elastically deforming portions 24A, 24B of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20, so that the tip portions of the elastically deforming portions 24A, 24B are more likely to elastically deform than the recesses 26A, 26B, and the protrusions 28A, 28B formed by the recesses 26A, 26B can be adapted to the shape of the step between the thick portion 19 and the thin portion 18 of the inner wall 17 of the button base 10, so that the protrusions 28A, 28B of the elastically deforming portions 24A, 24B can be securely engaged with the thick portion 19 of the inner wall 17.

In addition, since the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 in this embodiment has a protrusion 27 that protrudes in the Y direction, when the additional member 20 is attached to the button base 10, this protrusion 27 engages with the inner wall 17 of the button base 10, increasing the attachment strength of the additional member 20 to the button base 10. In this embodiment, the thin portion 18 and the thick portion 19 of the inner wall 17 of the button base 10 are formed around the entire circumference of the insertion opening 11, so that the protrusion 27 of the insertion portion 22 of the additional member 20 engages with the thick portion 19 of the inner wall 17, and the additional member 20 can be more securely held in the button base 10. Thus, in this embodiment, the thick portion 19 of the inner wall 17 of the button base 10 also functions as a second engagement portion that can engage with the protrusion 27 of the additional member 20.

In this embodiment, the additional member 20 is provided to the camera device 1 with an additional function of decorating the camera body (button base 10), but the present invention can be applied not only to such decorative additional members, but also to any additional member that provides some additional function to the camera device 1. Also, in this embodiment, an example is described in which the part of the camera body to which the additional member 20 is attached (mounting base) is the button base 10 of the release button 7, but the mounting base of the camera body to which the additional member is attached does not have to be the button base 10 of the release button 7. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a case in which a flashlight is attached as an additional member to a mounting base provided on the front cover 2.

As described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, a camera device is provided that allows an additional member that adds additional functions to be easily attached to a camera body and prevents the additional member attached to the camera body from unintentionally falling off. This camera device includes a camera body having a mounting base with an insertion opening formed therein, and an additional member having an insertion portion that can be inserted along a first direction into the insertion opening of the mounting base of the camera body. The insertion portion of the additional member includes a pair of elastic deformation portions that extend apart from each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The mounting base of the camera body includes a wedge portion that is inserted between the pair of elastic deformation portions of the insertion portion of the additional member inserted into the insertion opening and elastically deforms the pair of elastic deformation portions, and a first engagement portion that is disposed outside the wedge portion in the second direction and can engage with the pair of elastic deformation portions that have been elastically deformed. The mounting base may form a part of a button for operating a shutter.

According to this configuration, when the insertion portion of the additional member is inserted and pushed into the insertion opening of the mounting base, the elastic deformation portions of the insertion portion of the additional member are pushed outward by the wedge portions of the mounting base and elastically deform. As a result, the elastic deformation portions of the insertion portion of the additional member engage with the first engagement portion of the mounting base, so the additional member can be easily attached to the mounting base. At this time, the elastic deformation portions of the additional member are held engaged with the first engagement portion of the mounting base, so once the additional member has been attached to the mounting base, it is difficult for the additional member to fall off the mounting base.

The wedge portion of the mounting base preferably has an inclined surface whose width in the second direction gradually increases toward the first direction. By forming such an inclined surface on the wedge portion, when the additional member is inserted in the first direction, the elastic deformation portion of the insertion portion of the additional member elastically deforms in accordance with the inclined surface of the wedge portion, so that the additional member can be inserted smoothly with little resistance. This makes it even easier to attach the additional member to the mounting base.

It is preferable that each of the pair of elastically deforming portions of the insertion portion of the additional member has a recess formed on the side facing the first engagement portion of the mounting base. By forming such a recess in the elastically deforming portion, the portion at the tip of the recess of the elastically deforming portion becomes more likely to elastically deform, and the shape of the portion at the tip of the recess of the elastically deforming portion can be adapted to the shape of the first engagement portion, so that the portion at the tip of the recess of the elastically deforming portion can be reliably engaged with the first engagement portion.

It is preferable that the insertion portion of the additional member further includes a protrusion protruding outward from each of the pair of elastic deformation portions in a third direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction. By forming such a protrusion on the insertion portion of the additional member, when the additional member is attached to the mounting base, the protrusion can be engaged with the inner peripheral wall that defines the insertion opening of the mounting base, thereby increasing the mounting strength of the additional member to the mounting base. In order to reliably engage the protrusion with the inner peripheral wall of the mounting base, it is preferable that the mounting base further includes a second engagement portion that is disposed outside the wedge portion in the third direction and is capable of engaging with the protrusion of the insertion portion of the additional member.

Though we have described preferred embodiments of the present invention, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and may be embodied in various different forms within the scope of its technical concept.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 camera device 2 front cover 3 rear cover 4 top cover 5 viewfinder window 6 flash window 7 release button 8 lens barrel 10 button base (mounting base)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 Insertion port 12 Cylindrical portion 14 Base member 15 Wedge portion 16 Inclined surface 17 Inner peripheral wall 18 Thin portion 19 Thick portion (first engagement portion and second engagement portion)
20 Additional member 21 Cover portion 22 Insertion portion 23 Base portion 24A, 24B Elastic deformation portion 25 Groove 26A, 26B Recess 27 Protrusion 28A, 28B Protrusion portion

Claims (6)

a camera body having a mounting base with an insertion opening;
an additional member having an insertion portion that can be inserted into the insertion opening of the mounting base of the camera body along a first direction,
the insertion portion of the additional member includes a pair of elastic deformation portions extending apart from each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction,
The mounting base of the camera body is
a wedge portion that is inserted between the pair of elastic deformation portions of the insertion portion of the additional member that is inserted into the insertion opening and elastically deforms the pair of elastic deformation portions;
a first engaging portion disposed outside the wedge portion in the second direction and capable of engaging with the pair of elastically deformed portions;
Camera equipment. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the wedge portion of the mounting base has an inclined surface whose width along the second direction gradually increases toward the first direction. The camera device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the pair of elastically deforming portions of the insertion portion of the additional member has a recess formed on the side facing the first engagement portion of the mounting base. The camera device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the insertion portion of the additional member further includes a protrusion that protrudes outward from each of the pair of elastic deformation portions in a third direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction. The camera device according to claim 4, wherein the mounting base is disposed outside the wedge portion in the third direction and further includes a second engagement portion that can engage with the protrusion of the insertion portion of the additional member. A camera device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mounting base forms part of a button for operating the shutter.

Images