JPH07159936A - Mechanism for switching visulal field of finder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a simply-constituted, space-saving and inexpensive mechanism for switching the visual field of a finder. CONSTITUTION:An objective window 37 whose visual field range is provided with an aspect ratio same as that of a full-size is formed on a front cover 34. The mechanism for switching the visual field of the finder 35 is attached to the front side of the objective window 37. When an operation knob 3 lies at a left end, crank arms 40 and 41 are nearly vertical and piano wires 38 and 39 are retreated outwards from the objective window 37. When the operation knob 3 is moved to right, a projecting part 40a is pushed by a cam plate 48 and the crank arms 40 and 41 are rotated clockwise. The bar-shaped members 38 and 39 enter into the front side of the objective window 37 while keeping the parallel state. In the case of viewing the finder through an eyepiece window, indexes by the bar-shaped members 38 and 39 are displayed within the visual field, then, a photographing range by a panoramic photographing mode is comfirmed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a finder visual field switching mechanism for displaying an index, which serves as a guide for the exposure range of a film, in the finder visual field in association with an operation for switching the exposure range of the film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in addition to full size (aspect ratio of 1.5) such as "Cardia Mini Elite" (trade name) provided by the present applicant, panoramic size (aspect ratio of about 2.8). ) A camera is known that is capable of obtaining a print photograph. This is such that when the mode changeover switch is operated, the light-shielding plate is inserted into the aperture from above and below, the exposure range is changed to the aspect ratio of the panoramic size, and the viewfinder field is changed to the aspect ratio of the panoramic size.

On the other hand, the present applicant manufactures and sells a lens-fitted film unit in which a photographic film is built in advance in a unit body in which a photographing mechanism such as a photographing lens and a shutter device is incorporated. This lens-fitted film unit has a very simple structure so that it can be manufactured at a low cost, as is known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 32-32615, so that anyone can easily enjoy shooting. In addition, the advantage is that it can be provided at a low price.

In such a film unit with a lens as well, it is proposed that the exposure screen switching mechanism is built in so that the exposure screen can be switched between the full size and the panorama size during the shooting of one film so that the shooting can be performed. Has been done. There is also proposed a finder field that can be switched in association with switching of the exposure screen. For example, in the lens-fitted film unit described in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-267587, an operation plate having an opening corresponding to a panoramic field of view is inserted into and removed from an optical path of a finder in conjunction with switching of an exposure screen.

[0005]

By the way, recently,
In the lens-fitted photo film unit as described above, further miniaturization is desired so that the photo film unit can fit in a breast pocket of a shirt, for example. However, in the finder visual field switching mechanism as described above, it is difficult to achieve further miniaturization without increasing the cost because a space for sliding the operation plate is required.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and has a simpler structure and saves space.
It is an object to provide a low-cost viewfinder field switching mechanism.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the finder visual field switching mechanism according to claim 1 interlocks with the operation of switching the exposure range of the film, and sets an index as an index of the exposure range of the film. In the finder visual field switching mechanism for displaying in the finder visual field, the index is a pair of parallel parallel rigid members having at least opposite edges, and the pair of rigid members has a finder visual field at both ends thereof. The rotating members are attached to the rotating peripheral end portions of a pair of rotating members arranged on both outer sides, respectively, and by rotating one rotating member, the other rotating member is also rotated in the same manner. The rigid members of (1) and (2) are placed in and out of the field of view of the finder while keeping parallel to each other. Therefore, the mounting space of the viewfinder visual field switching mechanism is only the pivotal regions of the pivoting members provided on both sides outside the viewfinder visual field, so that the lens-fitted film unit can be made more compact. Further, the structure is simple and the number of parts is small, which can contribute to the cost reduction of the lens-fitted film unit.

A viewfinder field switching mechanism according to a second aspect of the present invention interlocks with an operation of switching an exposure range of a film,
In a viewfinder visual field switching mechanism for displaying an index, which is a measure of the exposure range of the film, in the finder visual field, the indexes are a pair of parallel rod-shaped members, and the pair of rod-shaped members are made of a flexible material. At the same time, one end on the same side is fixed at a predetermined position outside the viewfinder field, and when a force is applied from the other end toward each fixed side end, a pair of rods The members are bent away from each other and retracted from the viewfinder field,
When a force is applied to each of the other ends in a direction away from the fixed-side ends, the pair of rod-shaped members are inserted into the viewfinder field in a straight line parallel to each other. Therefore, it is sufficient that there is a space for the rod-shaped member to be deformed, so that the lens-fitted film unit can be made more compact. Further, the structure is simple and the number of parts is small, which can contribute to the cost reduction of the film unit with a lens.

[0009]

EXAMPLE A lens-fitted film unit 2 shown in FIG.
By sliding the operation knob 3 for switching the screen size (hereinafter referred to as a film unit), the exposure screen size of the film can be selected to be either full size or panoramic size for shooting. The film unit 2 has a structure in which the unit body is wrapped in an outer case 4, and the outer case 4 includes an operation knob 3, a photographing lens 5, a shutter button 6, a flash switch 7, a winding knob 8, a viewfinder 9, An opening for exposing the charging completion lamp confirmation window 10, the number of shots display window 11, the stroboscopic light emission window 12 and the like to the outside is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the unit main body has a rear cover 15 attached to the rear surface of the main body base 14, and a strobe unit 16 and a mechanical unit 17 detachably attached to the front surface. , And the front cover unit 18 is detachably attached so as to cover both side surfaces.
The mechanical unit 17 includes an exposure screen switching mechanism 19 and an exposure applying mechanism 20 including the taking lens 5.

An exposure frame 21 is integrally formed on the photographing optical axis 5a of the main body base 14, and a cartridge chamber 22 and a film roll chamber 23 are integrally formed on both sides of the exposure frame 21. Inside the cartridge chamber 22 and the film roll chamber 23, the international standard (ISO: 1007-
A 135-type film 24 with a cartridge defined by the 1979 edition) is loaded, and is housed in a light-tight manner together with the rear cover 15.

The exposure frame 21 is formed in the same size as the 35 mm full size, and defines the shooting range in the full size shooting mode. The exposure frame 21 and the film supporting surface 25 provided on the back surface are curved so as to be convex toward the back surface side in the film feeding direction. In addition, the rear cover 15 facing the film supporting surface 25
A film regulating surface 26, which is curved similarly to the film supporting surface 25, is formed on the. Then, in the exposure frame 21,
The mechanical unit 17 is detachably attached to the front surface by a claw coupling or the like.

The strobe unit 16 is provided with a strobe light emitting section 27, a battery 28, an X contact 29, etc.,
The circuit of the strobe board 16a is closed via the contact plate 30 by pressing the elastic strobe switch 7 formed integrally with the front cover 34, which will be described later in detail.
Charging of the main capacitor 31 is started. When the charging of the main capacitor 31 is completed, the charging completion lamp 32 blinks and the X contact 29 is turned on in association with the operation of the shutter blades.
Then, the trigger signal is transmitted. When this trigger signal is obtained, strobe light is emitted from the strobe light emission unit 27 through the strobe light emission window 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, the front cover unit 18 comprises a front cover 34, a finder visual field switching mechanism 35 and a cover plate 36. In addition to the stroboscopic light emission window 12 and the viewfinder objective window 37, the shutter button 6 and the like are integrally formed on the front cover 34. The aspect ratio of the finder objective window 37 is 1.5, which is the same as that of the 35 mm full size camera, which defines the viewfinder field in the full size shooting mode. Further, an elongated hole 34a through which the operation knob 3 projects and slides is formed on the upper portion of the front cover 34, and the operation knob 3 is click-stopped at both ends of the elongated hole 34a by a click stop mechanism described later. .

The finder visual field switching mechanism 35 moves an index into and out of the field of view of the finder 9 for confirming the photographing range in the panoramic photographing mode. As a pair of rigid members serving as the index, for example, a piano wire 38, 39 is used. The piano wires 38 and 39 are rotatably attached to the rotating peripheral end portions of a pair of crank arms 40 and 41 so as to be parallel to each other. The crank arms 40 and 41 are attached to the viewfinder objective window 37.
Is rotatably attached to the front surface of the pin via pins 43 and 44. Further, the cover plate 36 has a finder optical axis 4
A viewfinder frame 4 similar to the viewfinder objective window 37 on the screen 5
6 is integrally formed. In addition, this finder frame 4
The edge of 6 has a cross-sectional shape notched so as not to block the viewfinder field.

In FIG. 1 showing a state in which the finder visual field switching mechanism 35 is attached to the front surface of the finder objective window 37, a protrusion 40 is provided above the crank arm 40.
The protrusion 40a is engaged with the notch 48a of the cam plate 48 which is integral with the operation knob 3. By operating the operation knob 3, the crank arm 40 is rotated via the cam plate 48 and the protrusion 40a,
The crank arm 41 is also rotated like the crank arm 40 via the piano wires 38 and 39. As a result, the piano wires 38, 39 are put in and taken out of the viewfinder objective window 37 while always keeping parallel. In addition, the protrusion 40a
Are planted obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the crank arm 40, and the crank arm 40 can be largely rotated even if the length of the protrusion 40a is short.

In FIG. 6, a click stop mechanism 49 is provided between the cam plate 48 and the upper end surface of the finder objective window 37. At the bottom of the cam plate 48, the protrusion 4
8b is formed, and grooves 49a and 49b into which the grooves 8b enter are formed in the upper end surface of the finder objective window 37. When the operation knob 3 is moved to the left end of the long hole 34a, the protrusion 48b engages with the groove 49a and the operation knob 3 is click-stopped to the set position "L" in the normal photographing mode as shown in (A). . At this time, the crank arms 40 and 41 are upright, the piano wires 38 and 39 are outside the viewfinder objective window 37, and the viewfinder field has the same aspect ratio as the 35 mm full size of the viewfinder objective window 37. If you move the operation knob 3 to the right end,
As shown in (B), the protrusion 48b engages with the groove 49b,
The operation knob 3 is click-stopped at the set position "P" in the panoramic shooting mode. At this time, the crank arm 4
0 and 41 are rotated clockwise, and the piano wires 38, 3
9 are kept parallel to each other and are closely spaced from each other and enter in front of the finder objective window 37 from above and below, which serve as an index indicating the photographing range in the panoramic photographing mode.

FIG. 7 shows a main part of the exposure screen switching mechanism 19. The exposure screen switching mechanism 19 is roughly classified into the intermediate lever 5
0, a torsion spring 51, a crank lever 52, a spring 53, and upper and lower light shielding plates 54 and 55. When the operation knob 3 is operated and slid from “L” to “P”, the cam plate 48 presses the intermediate lever 50 provided on the upper portion of the mechanical unit 17. By this pressing, the intermediate lever 50 is rotated counterclockwise against the bias of the spring 51, and the rotatable crank lever 52 inserted inside from the side surface of the exposure chamber 57 is rotated clockwise. .

A rotatable upper light-shielding plate 54 and a lower light-shielding plate 55 are attached to the exposure chamber 57 via shafts. The upper light-shielding plate 54 has an arm 62 having a pin 61 formed at its tip, and the lower light-shielding plate 55 has the pin 6 formed thereon.
Arms 63 that engage with 1 are provided respectively. Further, a spring 53 that biases the upper light-shielding plate 54 and the lower light-shielding plate 55 in the opening direction is hooked on the arms 62 and 63. Like the torsion spring 51, the spring 53 also urges the finder visual field switching mechanism 35 in the direction of returning to the normal photographing position via the crank lever 52 and the cam plate 48. Reference numerals 58 and 59 denote the objective lens and the eyepiece lens of the finder 9.

The crank lever 52 is attached to the shaft of the upper light shielding plate 54. When the crank lever 52 is rotated clockwise against the bias of the spring 53, the upper light shielding plate 54 is rotated.
Moves from the full size position shown in FIG. 9 toward the panoramic position shown in FIG. At the same time, the lower light shielding plate 55 is moved from the full size position to the panoramic position via the pin 61.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the upper light-shielding plate 54 has a plurality of sawtooth-shaped cross sections along the film feeding direction so that the light passing through the taking lens 5 and the shutter opening does not undergo internal reflection. The light shielding groove 54a is integrally formed.
Further, the lower light-shielding plate 55 has a curved shape along the bottom surface of the exposure chamber 57 in order to reliably prevent flare due to internal reflection, and has a cross-sectional shape in which an edge 65 is bent upward in an L shape. Has become. The edge 65 and the edge 66 of the upper light-shielding plate 54 have the same curved shape as the film supporting surface 26 of the rear cover 15. Inside the exposure chamber 57, a light-shielding frame 68 for preventing flare during normal shooting is attached.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The film unit 2 is provided in the form of being housed in a moisture-proof bag, and when the film unit 2 is taken out from the moisture-proof bag, the operation knob 3 is set at the set position "P" in the panoramic photography mode, as shown in FIG. In addition, since the upper and lower light-shielding plates 54 and 55 are in the panoramic position, the size of the screen exposed on the film 24a is the panoramic size. Also, eyepiece window 75
Looking through it, the piano wires 38 and 39 are visible in the viewfinder.
Is inserted, and by using this index, a shooting range similar to a panorama size with an aspect ratio of about 2.8 can be confirmed. It should be noted that the reason why the panorama shooting mode is set in advance in this way is that when the film unit 2 is shipped in the normal shooting state, the last frame is displayed without the user using the panorama shooting function of the film unit 2 at all. This is to prevent even shooting.

When taking a picture, first, the film winding operation is performed by rotating the winding knob 8. Shutter charging is performed in conjunction with the film winding operation.
After that, the user presses the strobe switch 7 if necessary while peeking and framing through the eyepiece window 75. By this pressing operation, the power of the battery 28 is supplied to the circuit of the strobe unit 16, and the high voltage is charged in the main capacitor 31. When the charging of the main capacitor 31 is completed, the charging lamp 32 blinks. After confirming this blinking, shooting is performed. When the release button 6 is pressed down in this state, strobe light is emitted from the strobe light emitting portion 27 toward the subject, and the subject light is transmitted through the taking lens 5 and is shielded by the upper and lower light shielding plates 54 and 55, so that the film 24a. It is exposed on a panoramic screen.

When shooting with a full size exposure screen, the operation knob 3 is slid and set to the set position "L" in the full size shooting mode. At this time, the torsion spring 51 urges the intermediate lever 50 in the clockwise direction shown in FIG. 7, and the cam plate 48 is pressed by the intermediate lever 50.
The crank arms 40 and 41 are smoothly rotated counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 6 (B). As a result, the piano wires 38, 39 are retracted from the front of the viewfinder objective window 37, and the viewfinder field displays the exposure range in the full-size shooting mode with the viewfinder objective window 37 as it is.

At the same time, the intermediate lever 50 is rotated in the clockwise direction shown in FIG. 7 by the bias of the torsion spring 51, and the crank lever 52 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by the bias of the spring 53. As a result, the upper light-shielding plate 54 rotates counterclockwise, the lower light-shielding plate 55 rotates clockwise, and both the upper and lower light-shielding plates 54, 55 are retracted from the photographing optical axis 5a. 21 defines a full size exposure range.

Then, after the film winding operation is performed in the same manner as described above, the film is looked through the eyepiece window 75, and the framing is performed by the finder field showing the full size exposure range. Then, by pressing the shutter button 6, exposure is performed in the same manner as described above. Similarly, shooting is performed while the operation knob 3 is selectively operated to either the set position "L" indicating the full-size shooting mode or the set position "P" indicating the panoramic shooting mode.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Finder objective window 7 on front cover 70
A finder visual field switching mechanism 72 is provided on the front surface of 1. The finder visual field switching mechanism 72 includes a flexible frame 73 and a click stop mechanism 74. The flexible frame 73 is made of a flexible resin material or the like,
The left end is fixedly attached to the front surface of the finder objective window 71. The flexible frame 73 includes a pair of thin rod-shaped portions 7
A rectangular opening 77 is formed in the center, leaving 5,76
A lever portion 78 that engages with the intermediate lever 50 is formed at the right end. Further, an operation knob 80 for deforming the flexible frame 73 is integrally formed with the flexible frame 73 at the base portion of the lever portion 78.

The click stop mechanism 74 includes the lever portion 7
The projection 79 provided at the lower end of the finder
It is configured to be engaged with the grooves 82 and 83 formed in the upper portion of the base portion 81 integrally formed with the front surface of 1. The operation plate 80 is attached to the cover plate 85 attached to the front cover 70.
A long hole 86 through which the is inserted and a finder frame 87 similar in shape to the finder objective window 71 and slightly larger than this are formed.

When the operation knob 80 is set at the left end, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0 and FIG.
2, the lever portion 78 is clicked and stopped, the rod-shaped portions 75 and 76 of the flexible frame 73 bend outward and retract from the front of the viewfinder objective window 71, and the viewfinder field shows the full-size shooting mode. . Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the operation knob 80 is set at the right end, the projection 79 is engaged with the groove 83, and the rod-shaped portions 75 and 76 are in a straightly extended state, so that the rod-shaped portion is formed. The parts 75 and 76 are inserted in front of the finder objective window 71. This rod-shaped part 75,76
Can be used as an index to confirm the panoramic shooting area.

In the first embodiment described above, the piano wire is used as an index for confirming the shooting range in the panoramic shooting mode, but a high-rigidity resin rod may be used, for example. Also, as shown in FIG. 12, instead of the piano wire,
Alternatively, rectangular shield plates 91 and 92 may be used. In this case, the outside of the panoramic field of view is covered by being inserted into the viewfinder objective window 37. The shielding plates 91 and 92 may be metal or black resin that completely blocks light, or may be colored semitransparent resin, for example. Reference numerals 93 and 94 denote the crank arm 4
It is a crank arm similar to 1, 42. Although the material forming the flexible frame of the second embodiment is a flexible resin, other materials may be used as long as they are flexible. Further, the shape of the flexible frame is not limited to that of this embodiment, for example, the rod-shaped portions are separate members, each end of the same side is fixed, and a force is applied to the other end to form the rod-shaped portion. It may be deformed.

[0031]

As described above in detail, according to the viewfinder visual field switching mechanism of the present invention, by rotating the rotary members arranged on both sides outside the viewfinder,
Since the pair of rod-shaped members are moved in and out of the field of view of the finder and used as the index for confirming the photographing range, the structure is simplified, and the film unit with lens can be made compact and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since a pair of rod-shaped members is formed of a flexible material and is deformed to be taken in and out of the viewfinder field, which is used as an index for confirming the photographing range, the structure of the viewfinder switching mechanism is also the same. This can contribute to downsizing and cost reduction of the lens-fitted film unit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a front cover, a viewfinder switching mechanism, and a cover plate.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a lens-fitted film unit.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a lens-fitted film unit.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a lens-fitted film unit.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a front cover unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of a finder visual field switching mechanism.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing an exposure screen switching mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a panoramic position of upper and lower light shielding plates.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the upper and lower light shielding plates are in a full size position.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a main part of a front cover, a viewfinder field switching mechanism, and a cover plate in another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the finder visual field switching mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another finder visual field switching mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3,80 Operation knob 9 Finder 21 Exposure frame 34 Front cover 35,72 Finder field-of-view switching mechanism 37,70 Finder objective window 38,39 Piano wire 40,41,93,94 Crank arm 40a Projection 48 Cam plate 49,74 Click Stop mechanism 50 Intermediate lever 54 Upper light-shielding plate 55 Lower light-shielding plate 73 Flexible frame 75,76 Rod portion 91,92 Shielding plate

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A viewfinder field switching mechanism for displaying an index, which is a guideline of the film exposure range, in a viewfinder field in association with an operation for switching the film exposure range, wherein the indexes are at least opposed to each other in a pair. The edges are linear rigid members, and the pair of rigid members are attached to the rotary peripheral end portions of the pair of rotary members arranged at both ends of the rigid members outside the viewfinder. The finder is characterized in that, by rotating one of the rotating members, the other rotating member is also rotated in the same manner, and the pair of rigid members are moved in and out of the finder field while keeping parallel to each other. View switching mechanism. 2. A finder visual field switching mechanism for displaying an index, which serves as a guide for the film exposure range, in the finder visual field in association with an operation for switching the film exposure range, wherein the indices are a pair of parallel rod-shaped members. Yes, this pair of rod-shaped members is made of a flexible material,
One end on the same side is fixed at a predetermined position outside the viewfinder field, and when a force is applied from each other end toward each fixed side end, a pair of rod-shaped members When they are bent away from each other and retracted from the viewfinder field, and when a force is applied to each of the other ends in a direction away from the fixed-side ends, the pair of rod-shaped members become linear parallel to each other. A viewfinder field switching mechanism that is inserted into the viewfinder field.