JPH04326872A - Battery charger for video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve portability by giving a battery charger an additional function related to a video camera. CONSTITUTION:This battery charger 1 is constituted of a main body part 2 and a video light part 3 as the additional function related to the video camera 23. The battery charger 1 is provided with a function to charge a battery pack 5 by fitting it to the battery fitting part 12 of the main body part 2, and simultaneously, it is provided collectively with the function as a video light by fitting the main body part 2 to the video camera 23 and the function as a flashlight by using the battery charger 1 alone.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is a novel battery charging device that has not only a battery charging function but also additional functions related to a video camera (such as a video light) and can be used in combination with a video camera. The present invention aims to provide a battery charging device for a video camera.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Most electronic devices such as video cameras that emphasize portability are of battery-powered type, and use a battery pack containing a secondary battery inside.

[0003] When using this battery pack, the presence of a battery charger is essential.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, conventional battery chargers only have the function of charging the battery pack, so devices that are additional to the video camera, such as a video light, are treated as separate devices for each function. There is a problem in that the camera must be carried separately from the battery charger, which often impairs the portability of the video camera.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the video camera battery charging device of the present invention has the following features: In addition to its original charging function, it has additional functions related to video cameras.

That is, when charging a battery body including a secondary battery, power is supplied from the charging circuit to the battery body based on the voltage received at the plug provided on the mounting surface of the video camera, and additional functions (video light etc.), a switching means is provided so that power is supplied from the battery body to the additional function circuit section and the video camera.

[0007]

[Operation] According to the present invention, in addition to the charging function as a battery charger, additional functions related to a video camera can be used in one device, thereby eliminating the trouble of having to carry a separate device for each function. be freed from the

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The battery charging device for a video camera according to the present invention will be explained according to the illustrated embodiments.

The video camera battery charging device of the present invention has a plurality of functions including a battery pack charging function by combining the additional functions of the video camera with a battery charger.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of a battery charger equipped with a video light function.

[0011] The battery charger 1 has a main body part 2.
It has a structure in which a video light section 3 is attached to the upper end.

[0012] On both sides of the main body 2 in the thickness direction of the outer casing 4, a battery attachment part for attaching the battery pack 5 shown in FIG. 1 and an attachment part to a video camera are provided, respectively.

The battery pack 5 has a rectangular outer shell 6, one of its flat surfaces in the thickness direction is a mounting surface 7, and has a secondary battery inside.

A pair of elongated holes 8, 8 are formed in this mounting surface 7, and power supply terminals 9, 9 are exposed to the outside through these elongated holes 8, 8. In addition, the power supply terminals 9 and 9 are connected to the internal 2
Each terminal is connected to the next battery terminal separately.

[0015] Engagement grooves 10, 10, . . . are formed at the corners of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the mounting surface 7, and these are approximately L-shaped when viewed from above and below.

Note that a lock hole 11 is formed in the mounting surface 7, and this lock hole 11 constitutes a part of the locking means when the battery pack 5 is attached to the battery charger 1.

In the main body portion 2 of the battery charger 1, one side of the outer casing 4 serves as a battery attachment portion 12 to which the battery pack 5 described above is detachably attached.

That is, the battery mounting portion 12 has protruding support portions 13, 13 extending along both upper and lower ends thereof;
Two power receiving terminals 14, 14 are provided approximately in the middle between the middle part and the lower end in the vertical direction so as to be aligned with each other in the left-right direction, and are elastically biased with a moving force in the projecting direction. There is. Engagement protrusions 13a, 13a, . . . each having a substantially L-shape when viewed from the top and bottom are formed at both left and right end portions of the opposing surfaces of the support portions 13, 13.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a lock element, which is engaged with the lock hole 11 of the battery pack 5 when the battery pack 5 is attached to the main body part 2. This lock element 15 is biased with a moving force in the protruding direction by an elastic means (not shown), and is slid by an operator 16 provided on one side 4a of the outer casing 4.

[0020] The battery pack 5 is attached to the battery mounting part 1.
2, attach the battery pack 5 to the mounting surface 7.
of the battery mounting portion 12 while aligning the opening portions of the engaging grooves 10, 10, . . . to match the engagement protrusions 13a, 13a, .
, slide the battery pack 5 sideways until the lock element 15 engages with the lock hole 11, and then insert the engaging protrusions 13a, 13a, . . . into the engaging grooves 10, 10, .
... are engaged separately. As a result, the battery pack 5 is attached to the battery attachment part 12, and the power receiving terminals 14, 14 are connected to the power feeding terminals 9, 9 of the battery pack 5.
is bombarded with.

Reference numeral 17 denotes an operation switch provided on one side 4a of the main body 2. For example, a slide type switch is used, and as shown in FIG. “O” turns off the light section 3 and puts the battery pack 5 into a state where it can be charged.
FF/CHARGE" position can be selected.

[0022] Battery mounting portion 12 on the side surface of the outer casing 4
The side surface 18 on the opposite side serves as a connection surface with a video camera when using the video light unit 3, and at the same time serves as a connection surface with a video camera when the battery pack 5 is charged.
It has a role as a connection surface with tlet).

As is clear from the fact that the battery mounting part on the back of the video camera shown in FIG. is provided.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the side surface 18 has two elongated holes 1 that are long in the left-right direction and arranged in the same direction.
9 and 19 are formed, and the side surface 18 and both the upper and lower end surfaces of the outer casing 4 are connected to each other at a position near the left end and at the right end of the two corners, which have a substantially L-shape when viewed from the top and bottom. groove 20,
20, . . . are formed.

Reference numerals 21 and 21 are power supply terminals, which are connected to the elongated hole 1.
It is facing the outside world through 9th and 19th.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a lock hole, which is used when connecting the main body 2 to the video camera 23 shown in FIG.

The battery mounting portion 24 provided on the back of the video camera 23 is provided with protruding support portions 25, 25 extending in the left-right direction near both upper and lower ends thereof. L-shaped engagement protrusions 25a, 25a, . . . are formed on the surface when viewed from above and below.

Reference numerals 26 and 26 denote a pair of power receiving terminals, which are projected rearward and are biased with a moving force in the projecting direction by an elastic means (not shown).

A lock element 27 is provided in the battery attachment part 24 to be engaged with the lock hole 22 of the main body part 2 when the battery charger 1 is attached to the video camera 23. This lock element 27 is given a force to move in the protruding direction by an elastic means (not shown), and is slid by operating an operator 28 provided on the rear side of the video camera 23.

Therefore, the procedure for attaching the main body part 2 of the battery charger 1 to the battery attaching part 24 of the video camera 23 may be carried out in exactly the same manner as the procedure for attaching the battery pack 5 to the battery attaching part 12 of the main body part 2.

That is, while aligning the side surface 18 of the main body part 2 so that the openings of the engaging grooves 20, 20 are aligned with the engaging protrusions 25a, 25a, . . . of the battery mounting part 24, After pressing the lock element 27 against the back surface of the lock hole 22, slide it sideways until the lock element 27 engages with the lock hole 22, and then slide the engaging protrusions 25a, 25a, . . . into the engaging grooves 20, 20, .
・Engage each separately.

[0032] Thereby, the power feeding terminals 21, 21 and the power receiving terminals 26, 26 whose polarities correspond to each other are connected.

To briefly explain the video camera 23, as shown in FIG. 2, a cassette mounting portion 29 and a side grip 30 are provided on one side of the outer casing 23a, and a side grip 30 is provided on the other side. As shown in FIG. 1, a viewfinder 31 and a photographic lens section 32 are provided.
A microphone 33 is provided protruding from the upper front surface of the outer casing 23a. Various operation buttons 34, 34, . . . are arranged on the upper surface of the outer casing 23a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the side surface 18 of the main body 2 of the battery charger 1 is provided with a power receiving plug 35 that can be housed in a recess 36 to be connected to an outlet in order to receive the supply of commercial AC voltage. It is provided.

That is, by rotating the plug 35 to project it as shown in FIG. 4 and inserting it into an outlet, the battery pack 5 attached to the battery mounting part 12 can be charged or the video light part 3 can be turned on. It is now possible to do so.

Of course, when the battery charger 1 is attached to the battery attachment part 24 of the video camera 23, the plug 35 may be housed in the recess 36 so as not to get in the way.

Note that when the plug 35 is used, the power supply terminals 21, 21 are unnecessary, so these power supply terminals 21, 2
A shielding mechanism may be provided that opens and closes the elongated holes 19 in conjunction with the rotation of the plug 35 so that the long holes 19 do not remain exposed.

The video light section 3 is connected to the upper end of the main body section 2 by a hinge section 37. The hinge portion 37 is provided with an appropriate braking force by means not shown, so that the angle with respect to the main body portion 2 can be freely adjusted. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the video light section 3 is positioned at a position where its irradiation direction substantially coincides with the protruding direction of the plug 35, and at a position where its irradiation direction is in the longitudinal direction of the main body section 2, as shown in FIG. It can be maintained at any position between approximately the same position.

Reference numeral 38 denotes an outer casing of the video light unit 3, inside which a light bulb 39 and a reflecting mirror 40 are provided as shown in FIG. 3, and light is irradiated through a lens 41.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram mainly showing the battery charger 1. As shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the battery voltage supplied by the secondary battery 42 provided in the battery pack 5 is connected in parallel to the light bulb 39 of the video light section 3 and the video camera 23 via a changeover switch 43. Supplied.

The changeover switch 43 is switched according to the binary state of the operation switch 17, and is configured to connect a power supply path from the battery pack 5 to the light bulb 39 and the video camera 23, and a charging path from the charging circuit 44 to the battery pack 5. It is provided to switch between.

An AC/DC converter is provided in the charging circuit 44, and after converting the AC voltage received by the plug 35 to DC, the charging voltage is transferred to the secondary battery 42 of the battery pack 5 via the changeover switch 43. supply.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, when the battery charger 1 is attached to the video camera 23,
Attach the battery pack 5 to the battery mounting part 12 of the main body part 2.
is installed, set the operation switch 17 to the "ON" position.
” side, the changeover switch 43 becomes the state shown by the solid line in FIG.
3.

As shown in FIG. 3, if the battery charger 1 to which the battery pack 5 is attached is used alone without being connected to the video camera 23, it can be used as a flashlight.

Next, when charging the battery pack 5, raise the plug 35, insert it into the outlet, and set the operation switch 17 to the "OFF/CHARG" position.
Set it to the "E" side.

[0047] As a result, the changeover switch 43 enters the state shown by the broken line in FIG. 5, and the battery pack 5 is charged.

[0048] If the operation switch 17 is changed to the "ON" side while the battery pack 5 is being charged, the light bulb 39 will be lit by the battery voltage, which is convenient when you need instant light during a power outage. .

FIG. 6 shows F as an additional function of the video camera.
A second embodiment 1A is shown in which an M tuner function is provided, and FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment 1B in which a remote control signal reception function is provided.

In these embodiments, only the parts related to additional functions are different, and the battery mounting part, the mounting surface for the video camera, etc. are the same as those in the first embodiment described above. We will focus on explaining these differences, and omit the explanation by assigning the same reference numerals to the same parts in the first embodiment to the parts whose functions are not different from each part in the first embodiment. .

As shown in FIG. 6, the battery charger 1A has a rod antenna 46 on one side of its outer casing 45.
is attached, and the upper surface of the outer casing 45 includes operation switches including channel selection buttons 47, 47, and a channel selection display section 48.
is provided.

When using the battery pack 5, battery charger 1A, and video camera 23 in combination, when a desired channel is selected using the channel selection buttons 47, 47 on the battery charger 1A, a video/audio signal (not shown) is displayed. Since a video/audio signal related to the selected channel is obtained from the output terminal, by sending it to the video camera 23 via the connection cord, it can be recorded or viewed through the viewfinder 31.

[0053] If a connection contact for a video signal is provided on the connection surface between the battery charger 1A and the video camera 23, the connection cord will be unnecessary.

Next, in the third embodiment 1B, FIG.
As shown in the figure, a recommon receiver 49 is rotatably attached to the upper surface of the main body of the battery charger 1B, and the operation button 5 on the remote controller 50
A command signal corresponding to the press 1 is received.

The received signal is sent as a command signal to the video camera 23 via a connection means (not shown) (connection cord or contact).

[0056] This makes it possible to operate the video camera 23 from a remote location.

[0057] In Examples 1A and 1B described above, when these are made to function as a battery charger,
As in the case of the first embodiment, it is sufficient to connect the plugs provided on these sides to an outlet and set the operation switch 17 to the charging side.

As described above, each of the embodiments has various additional functions (video light, FM tuner, remote control reception) in addition to the charging function of the battery pack 5, so each of the embodiments has a separate device for each function. It is convenient to carry as there is no need to carry it.

[0059]

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the video camera battery charging device of the present invention not only has the function of charging the battery body, but also the charging function of the video light, etc.
The battery charging device can be provided with various additional functions related to the video camera, and can be used interposed between the video camera and the battery body, thereby improving usability and portability.

It should be noted that the specific shapes and structures shown in the above embodiments are merely examples of embodiments of the video camera battery charging device of the present invention. The technical scope shall not be construed to be limited.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a video camera battery charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention separated from a video camera and a battery pack.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the video camera battery charging device according to the first embodiment is attached to the video camera.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the video camera battery charging device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a situation in which the video camera battery charging device according to the first embodiment is connected to an outlet.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram mainly showing a battery charging device for a video camera according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a video camera battery charging device according to a second embodiment together with a video camera and a battery pack.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a video camera battery charging device according to a third embodiment together with a video camera, a battery pack, and a remote controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Battery charging device 3 Illumination light section 5 Battery body 12 Battery attachment part 23 Video camera 24 Battery mounting part 35 Plug 39 Additional function circuit section 42 Secondary battery 43 Switching means 44 Charging circuit 1A battery charging device 1B Battery charging device 49 Remote control receiver 50 Remote controller

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim 1: A battery charging device for a video camera, which is used by being attached to the battery mounting part of a video camera, which is provided with a battery mounting part on the back of an outer casing for removably mounting a battery body containing a secondary battery. And,
It has a charging circuit for charging the battery body and an additional function circuit section related to the video camera, and a battery mounting part for removably attaching the battery body, and a mounting surface side for the battery mounting part of the video camera. A plug for receiving power provided in a freely retractable state, a charging circuit that supplies power from the charging circuit to the battery body attached to the battery mounting part based on the voltage received by the plug, and the above-mentioned additional function circuit from the battery body. 1. A battery charging device for a video camera, comprising: a switching means for switching between a power source and a path for supplying power to the video camera. 2. A battery charging device for a video camera, wherein the additional function circuit section according to claim 1 is an illumination light section for photographing. 3. A battery charging device for a video camera, wherein the additional function circuit section according to claim 1 is a tuner circuit section. 4. A battery charging device for a video camera, wherein the additional function circuit section according to claim 1 is a remote control receiving section that receives a command signal from a remote controller and controls the operation of the video camera.