JPH1027228A - PC card camera - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To improve reliability by preventing poor contact of a connector due to dust and to improve usability at the time of photographing. A video camera and a card-like connector are provided.
The sheath 3 is put on the connector 12 of the PC card camera 1 in which the camera 3 is integrated, and a battery 15 is arranged in the sheath. .

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video camera for inputting video signals to a portable computer for personal use, a so-called notebook computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A notebook personal computer is provided with a personal computer card (PC card) interface compliant with the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) standard, and can exchange signals with the outside via a PC card. is there. PC cards have been developed that support various functions such as a FAX modem function, a LAN function, a video capture function, and a video camera function, as well as a memory function. In particular, the video camera function outputs a shot image in a digital signal format, so that the shot image can be directly taken into a personal computer. A PC card camera in which a video camera and a PC card are integrated is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-505751.
You can shoot with the card alone.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] JP-T-Hei 7-50575
When the conventional PC card camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1 is used separately from a personal computer, the 68-pin connector of the PCMCIA standard is exposed, so that dust enters the connector portion and the contact is poor. Had a problem. The card-shaped connector is thin (P
(The thickness of the CMCIA type II is 5 mm), it is difficult to hold the connector part at the time of photographing, and the sharp end of the connector may damage other things that come into contact with the connector, making it difficult to carry. Tokiohei 7-505751
In the PC card camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-27139, it is described that the exposed connector is folded or separated from the camera, but the detailed structure is not disclosed, and the disclosure discloses that the camera and the connector are integrated. It is only a composed diagram,
No consideration has been given to the above-described contact failure countermeasures, or to holding or portability.

[0004]

According to the present invention, a sheath for covering the connector is provided on a card-shaped connector for supporting a video camera.

A power supply such as a battery or a regulator is stored in the sheath, a first terminal is provided on the video camera or the connector separately from the connector, and a second terminal connected to the power supply is provided in the sheath. When the connector is inserted into the sheath, the first terminal and the second terminal come into contact with each other, and power is supplied from the power supply in the sheath to the video camera.

Further, a power supply is built in the video camera body, and a sheath is provided in the connector.

[0007]

FIG. 1 to FIG. 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a PC card camera 1 is a camera 2
And a sheath 3. Camera 2 is in camera case 4
A video camera 5 and a finder 6 are provided, and a PC card 7 is integrally formed below the camera case 4. On the upper part of the camera case 4, a power switch 8, a shutter button 9 for recording, and a camera shoe 10 are arranged.
Is formed on the extension of the PC card 7 of the camera case 4, and the PC card 7 has a connector 12 at a lower end. A battery cover 13 and a lock release button 14 are arranged on the sheath 3.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lock between the camera 2 and the sheath 3 is released by pressing the lock release button 14 and the camera 2 is removed from the sheath 3. A battery 15 and a regulator 16 are built in the sheath 3. The battery 15 is covered with a battery cover 13 and has a PC card insertion hole 17 which is a bag-like long hole.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. Also,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG. PC card camera 1
Is composed of a camera 2 and a sheath 3. The camera 2 incorporates a video camera 5 inside a camera case 4, and a switch board 18, a power switch 8, and a shutter button 9 are arranged on the video camera 5. A liquid crystal display element 19 is arranged at the rear of the video camera 5, and displays the number of shots, the remaining battery power, the date, and the like. A PC card 7 is integrally formed below the video camera 5, and a first contact 20 is arranged on the PC card 7 near the camera case 4. The PC card 7 has a connector 12 at the lowermost end. The connector 12 is a 68-pin connector conforming to the PCMCIA standard. The entire PC card 7 is inserted into the sheath 3, and a battery 15 and a regulator 16 are further arranged in the sheath 3. The battery 15 can be replaced from the sheath 3 by removing the battery cover 13. A lock release button 14 is arranged on the upper part of the sheath 3. The structure of the lock release button 14 will be described later. A contact 21 is arranged on the back of the lock release button 14. Contact 21
Is connected to the battery 15 or the regulator 16. When the PC card 7 is inserted into the PC card insertion hole 17 and the camera 2 and the sheath 3 are integrated, the contact 20
And the power of the battery 15 is transferred to the contact 21 and the contact 2
0 is supplied to the video camera 5.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the PC video camera 1 is laid on its side to display a portion hidden in FIG.
The camera 2 has a video camera 5 and a finder 6 in a camera case 4, and the PC card 7 has a contact 20 and a PCMCI.
It has an A-standard connector 12. A lock release button 14 is disposed on the sheath 3, and connection arms 22 and 23 and lock arms 24 and 25 are provided below the lock release button 14.
Are formed integrally. The lock arms 24 and 25 have ends 26 and 27 fixed to the sheath 3, and the connecting arms 22 and 23.
Lock claws 28 and 29 are formed in the vicinity of the connection with. Under the connecting arms 22, 23, there are supporting edges 30, 3,
1 is formed in the sheath 3, and the connecting arms 22 and 23 are supported by supporting edges 30 and 31 at substantially central portions thereof so as to be capable of seesaw. Therefore, the lock arm 2
When the lock release button 14 is pressed against the elasticity of the lock claws 28 and 29, the lock claws 28 and 29 are lifted. When the lock release button 14 is released, the lock claws 28 and 29 are lowered by the elasticity of the lock arms 24 and 25. On the other hand, P
Lock grooves 32 and 33 are formed in the upper part of the C card 7,
When the C card 7 is attached to the sheath 3, the lock claws 28, 2
9 and each. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the lock claws 28 and 29 are engaged with the lock grooves 32 and 33. FIG. 6 shows B in FIG.
FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state between the sheath 3 and the PC card 7. The finder 6 is disposed in the camera case 4, and a liquid crystal display element 19 is disposed below the finder 6. The lock arms 24 and 25 have their ends 26 and 27 fixed in the sheath 3, and the lock claws 28 and 29 on the other end fall into lock grooves 32 and 33 formed in the PC card 7, and the sheath 3 is 7 is prevented from falling off.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the camera 2 of the PC card camera 1 is connected to a notebook personal computer 34. The video information in the camera 2 is transferred to the personal computer 34. The personal computer 34 includes a main body portion 35 and a display portion 36. The main body portion 35 includes a keyboard portion 37, a trackball portion 3
8, a floppy insertion slot 39 and a PC card insertion slot 40, and a liquid crystal display element 41 is fitted in the display section 36. To insert the camera 2 into the PC card insertion slot 40, the projection 11 is pushed and inserted. Convex part 11
Since is located on the extension of the PC card 7, the force applied to the projection 11 is directly transmitted to the PC card 7, and is reliably connected to a connector (not shown) arranged in the main body 35.
By providing the projection 11, the position where the force is applied when the PC card 7 is inserted is determined, and the camera case 4
Can be prevented from breaking at the base of the

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. In FIG. 8, a PC card camera 51 includes a camera 52 and a sheath 53. Camera 5
Reference numeral 2 denotes a camera case 54 in which a video camera 55, a finder 56, and a battery 57 are housed, and a battery cover 58 covers the outlet. The battery cover 58 is attached to the camera case 54 by a tripod mounting screw 59.
To be fixed. A PC card 60 is integrally formed below the camera case 54. A power switch 61, a shutter button 62 for recording,
And a camera shoe 63 are arranged, and a convex portion 64 is formed on an extension of the PC card 60 of the camera case 54,
The PC card 60 has a connector 65 at the lower end. Sheath 53
Has a PC card insertion hole 66 and an unlock button 67
Is arranged.

In FIG. 9, the PC card camera 51 is a camera 5
2 and a sheath 53. The camera 52 is a camera case 54
A video camera 55 is built in, and a switch board 68, a power switch 61, and a shutter button 62 are arranged on the video camera 55. A battery 57 is disposed below the video camera 55.
A liquid crystal display element 69 is arranged at the rear, and displays the number of images taken, the remaining battery power, the date, and the like. Battery 57
A PC card 60 is integrally formed at a lower portion, and has a connector 65 at the lowermost end of the PC card 60. The connector 65 is a 68-pin connector conforming to the PCMCIA standard. A lock release button 67 is arranged above the sheath 53. The lock structure between the camera 52 and the sheath 53 has been described in the first embodiment of FIGS.

[0014]

Since the sheath for covering the card-shaped connector portion of the PC card camera is provided, it is possible to prevent a danger that the connector may cause a contact failure due to dust, and to secure reliability indispensable for computer equipment.

Since the power supply section such as a battery and a regulator is arranged in the sheath, the power supply capacity can be increased, and when the video camera is pulled out of the sheath and inserted into the personal computer body,
The projection amount of the video camera part can be reduced.

Since the power supply is provided in the video camera, it is possible to shoot with only the video camera without the sheath, and there is no chance to miss a shutter chance by searching for the missing sheath.

Since a protrusion is provided at a position protruding from the video camera in the extension of the connector, when a PC card is inserted into a sheath or connected to a personal computer, external force is applied to the highest place, so that connector connection is ensured. In addition, it is possible to prevent the thick video camera unit from being pushed and bent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A ′ of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention viewed from another angle.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B-B 'of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the use state of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a sectional view taken along the line C-C 'of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,51: PC card camera, 2,52: Camera, 3,
53 sheath, 5, 55 video camera, 7, 60 PC card, 11, 64 projection, 12, 65 connector, 1
4,67 ... lock release button, 15,57 ... battery,
17, 66 ... PC card insertion hole, 20, 21 ... contact, 3
4: PC.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A PC card camera comprising a video camera, a card-shaped connector for supporting the video camera, and a sheath for covering the connector. 2. The PC card camera according to claim 1, wherein a battery and a power supply of a regulator are built in the sheath. 3. The video camera or the connector has a first contact, the first contact is connected to the video camera, the sheath has a second contact, and the second
3. The PC card camera according to claim 2, wherein the contacts are connected to the power supply, and the first contact makes contact with the second contact when the connector is inserted into the sheath. 4. The PC card camera according to claim 1, wherein a battery and a power supply for a regulator are built in said video camera.