JPH1031259A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the loss of electric energy caused by a wiring resistance and also to attain the miniaturization of a camera while taking into consideration the relation with other members constituting the camera, as for a camera using a battery which can be repeatedly charged/discharged. SOLUTION: As for the camera constituted so that charging energy may be supplied from an auxiliary battery to a main chargeable/dischargeable battery 34 through a charging means and a current may be supplied from the main battery 34 to a stroboscopic device 18, a gear mechanism 32 for transmitting the power of a film carrying motor 30 is arranged under a spool chamber 16, and the main battery 34 is arranged above the spool chamber 16. In this case, especially, the main battery 34 is arranged near a strobe charging circuit so as to reduce the wiring resistance linking between the strobe charging circuit and the main battery 34.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly, to a camera provided with a power supply capable of supplying a large capacity and a large current to a circuit such as a strobe or a film winding means using a rechargeable battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional camera uses a manganese or lithium primary battery as a power source and a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery as a power source. Also, a power supply device for charging a secondary battery built in a camera using a solar cell has been proposed (JP-A-63-91641). However, a manganese primary battery has a low voltage, and therefore requires a plurality of batteries to obtain a high voltage, and it is difficult to obtain a large capacity current. However, there is a problem that it is not suitable for a camera which consumes a large current in recent years. on the other hand,
Lithium-based primary batteries have the advantage of being able to obtain high voltage and large capacity current, but the batteries themselves are expensive and environmental problems at the time of disposal have been pointed out. Furthermore,
Lithium-based primary batteries are sometimes more difficult to obtain in travel destinations or overseas than manganese or alkaline primary batteries. In such cases, use the camera when the batteries are exhausted. There is a problem that it is necessary to give up or to carry a spare battery in advance in order to prevent such a situation, which is complicated.

[0003] Although charging of a primary battery is generally prohibited, as described in detail in JP-A-7-130400 and JP-A-8-84619, a lithium-based primary battery is described. Even under a certain condition, the battery can be charged safely. The lithium batteries (especially metal lithium batteries) described in these publications are charged at a time rate current of about 2 μC to 5 mC when the remaining amount is within the range of 5 to 95% of the capacity C. By doing so, without impairing the properties of the primary battery,
Charge and discharge can be repeated. In each of the above publications,
There is disclosed a method in which the lithium battery and the solar battery are combined and applied to a camera, and the lithium battery is charged by electric power generated by the solar battery.

[0004] In the present specification, a battery having both characteristics of a primary battery and characteristics of a secondary battery is referred to as an "improved battery".
I will call it.

[0005]

However, in a power supply device having a solar cell, the solar cell itself is expensive, and the temperature of the camera increases due to the need to expose the camera to high illuminance during charging. There was a risk of failure. Furthermore, when the secondary battery (improved battery) is rapidly consumed, the problem that the camera cannot be used has not been solved because the amount of power generated by the solar battery is small and it takes time to charge.

From this viewpoint, the present applicant has already proposed a power supply device for charging the improved battery with an auxiliary battery such as an AA battery (see Japanese Patent Application No. 7-273050). When incorporating the improved battery into the camera, it is necessary to reduce the loss of electrical energy due to wiring resistance and to reduce the size of the camera by saving space while considering the relationship with other components that make up the camera. desirable.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a small camera using a battery (improved battery) that can be repeatedly discharged and charged.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a main battery which is substantially equal to the self-discharge rate of a primary battery and which can be repeatedly discharged and charged when the remaining amount is equal to or more than a predetermined capacity. In a camera configured to supply charging energy from an auxiliary battery via a charging unit and to supply current to the strobe device from the main battery, the strobe device is provided with a strobe provided at an upper front surface of the camera. Including a light emitting unit and a strobe charging circuit of the strobe light emitting unit,
The main battery is provided adjacent to the strobe charging circuit.

According to the present invention, since the main battery for supplying current to the strobe device is arranged adjacent to the strobe charging circuit, the length of the wiring connecting the main battery and the strobe charging circuit can be reduced, and the wiring resistance can be reduced. Can be reduced. Since the strobe charging current is larger than the charging current of the main battery, there is an advantage that energy loss can be reduced by reducing the wiring resistance connecting the strobe charging circuit and the main battery.

[0010] In particular, the strobe light emitting section, the strobe charging circuit, and the main battery are provided side by side in the upper space of the film cartridge chamber, and an axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the main battery is arranged parallel to the film transport direction. By doing
It can be stored compactly in a limited space,
The height dimension of the camera can be reduced. Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an auxiliary battery through a charging means to a main battery which is substantially equal to the self-discharge rate of the primary battery and which can be repeatedly discharged and charged when the remaining amount is more than a predetermined capacity. In a camera configured to supply charging energy from a battery and to supply current from the main battery to a power consuming unit that performs an operation required for photographing, a film transporting device is provided to one of an upper portion and a lower portion of a spool chamber. A gear for transmitting the power of the motor to the take-up spool of the spool chamber is disposed, and the main battery is disposed on the other side.

In other words, it is noted that the height of the spool chamber can be made smaller than the height (dimension in the longitudinal direction) of the film cartridge chamber. The transmission gear and the main battery are arranged separately. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a gear and a main battery can be arrange | positioned efficiently in a limited space, and a miniaturization of a camera can be achieved.

Specifically, in consideration of the relationship with the film cartridge loading / unloading mechanism, it is desirable to dispose a gear below the spool chamber and dispose the main battery above the spool chamber. At this time, for example, the axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the main battery and the axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the take-up spool are arranged on the same axis, or the axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the main battery is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the film surface. Alternatively, a mode in which an axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the main battery is arranged in parallel with the film transport direction may be considered. According to each of these aspects, the gears and the main battery can be more efficiently arranged.

Further, a strobe light emitting portion and a strobe charging circuit of a strobe device which emits light by receiving a current supplied from a main battery are provided above the spool chamber, and the main battery is arranged adjacent to the strobe charging circuit. For example, it is possible to reduce the wiring resistance connecting the strobe charging circuit and the main battery,
There is also an advantage that energy loss can be reduced.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the camera according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.
4 to 4 are internal perspective views of the camera showing the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a top view, and FIG.
Is a right side view, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view. As shown in FIG.
A lens barrel 12 holding a photographing lens 11 is provided at the center of the camera 10, and a film cartridge chamber 14 for storing a film cartridge (not shown in FIG. 1) is formed on the right side of the lens barrel 12. The spool chamber 16 is formed on the left side. Film cartridge room 1
A flash device 18 is provided at the upper part of the camera 4, that is, at the upper right corner of the front of the camera.

The strobe device 18 includes a strobe light emitting section including a light emitting tube 18A and a reflector 18B, a strobe charging circuit 18C, and the like. Also, a strobe device 18
On the left side of the figure, an AF light projecting unit 20, an AF light receiving unit 22, and a finder unit 24 are sequentially provided. The film cartridge chamber 14 is provided with a spool drive shaft 26 which engages with a spool of a film cartridge loaded in the chamber, and a detection switch (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the film cartridge. On the other hand, the spool chamber 16 is provided with a take-up spool 28 for taking up the film sent from the film cartridge. The take-up spool 28 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and has a film transport motor 30 incorporated therein. The rotational force of the film transport motor 30 is transmitted to the take-up spool 28 and
32A, 32B,..., 32I, 32J shown in FIG.
Through the spool drive shaft 26.

When the film transport motor 30 rotates forward, the film is fed out of the film cartridge loaded in the film cartridge chamber 14 and wound up on the take-up spool 28. When the film transport motor 30 is reversed, the spool drive shaft 26 of the film cartridge chamber 14 is reversed, and the film wound on the take-up spool 28 is rewound into the film cartridge.

The rotation of the film transport motor 30 is controlled by a camera control device, and the film is automatically fed one frame (winding up) after photographing. When the photographing of all frames of the film is completed and the end of the film is detected, the film transport motor 30 is driven in reverse, and the film wound on the take-up spool 28 is automatically rewound into the film cartridge. It is configured as follows.
A film rewind lever (not shown) is provided on the back of the camera 10. By operating the film rewind lever, the film can be rewound to the film cartridge halfway before the completion of all frame shooting. It has become.

A main battery 34 for supplying electric power to various circuits in the camera is disposed laterally behind the strobe light emitting section (see FIG. 3). The main battery 34 is a rechargeable battery dedicated to a camera that has a small amount of self-discharge, and is an improved battery having both characteristics of a primary battery and a secondary battery. Although the configuration of the main battery 34 will be described in detail later, for example, a battery having a self-discharge rate of 5% / year or less is used, and its voltage is 3.2 V when properly charged. Also,
The shape of the main battery 34 is not particularly limited and can be any shape. However, the main battery 34 is generally formed in a columnar shape, for example, formed in the same shape as a current CR2 type battery. ing. The main battery 34 has an axis indicating its longitudinal direction (an axis connecting the top surface and the bottom surface of the cylindrical main battery) arranged parallel to the film transport direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, in a space formed between the film cartridge chamber 14 and the spool chamber 16 at the bottom of the camera, a main condenser 36 for accumulating electric charge for strobe light emission is provided. An auxiliary battery 40 that supplies charging energy to the battery 34 is adjacent to each other, and their respective longitudinal axes are arranged in parallel and in parallel with the film transport direction.

In the camera, when the film cartridge is loaded, the camera back cover 10A is half-opened, and the film cartridge outer cylinder and the film leader are guided by the camera body back surface and the back cover 10A to a predetermined position. A drop-in method of dropping the film to a position is adopted, and the bottom surface of the camera 10 is indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure by a back cover 10A provided on a shaft 10B formed at the end of the camera body so as to be openable and closable. It is configured to be divided along a dividing line and a slit is formed.

Due to the shape limitation of the drop-in type camera, the auxiliary battery storage chamber for storing the auxiliary battery 40 is provided on the camera body side so as not to interfere with the dividing line. The auxiliary battery 40 can be replaced by opening and closing the battery cover 42 independently of the battery. The auxiliary battery storage chamber is formed so as to store, for example, one AA battery, and a manganese AA battery is stored as the auxiliary battery 40. Auxiliary battery 4
0 is not limited to AA batteries, but may be other forms of primary batteries, but manganese AA batteries are widely used.
It has the advantage that it can be obtained cheaply and easily anywhere in the world.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 43 shown by a two-dot chain line indicates a control circuit of the camera, and reference numeral 44 indicates each mounting space of a boosting circuit for charging. The power supply of the camera 10 includes the main battery 34, the auxiliary battery 40, the booster circuit 44, and the like.
Reference numeral 0 is electrically connected to the booster circuit, the strobe charging circuit, the control circuit, and the like via the contact members 47A, 47B, 48A, and 48B. Then, power is supplied from the main battery 34 to the strobe device 18, the film transport motor 30, the zoom motor 49, and the like.

Next, the main battery will be described. Main battery 3
4, the improved battery is used as described above. As the positive electrode active material of the improved battery, manganese dioxide is preferable, and particularly, manganese dioxide synthesized by electrolysis and manganese dioxide chemically synthesized are preferable. As a material that can be used as the negative electrode active material, lithium metal and lithium alloy (any metal that forms an alloy with lithium may be used, but Al, Mn, Sn, Mg, Cd, and In are particularly preferable, and an alloy containing Al is particularly preferable). Preferably, it is used.

A conductive agent, a binder, a filler, and the like can be added to the electrode mixture. The conductive agent may be any electronic conductive material that does not cause a chemical change in the configured battery. The addition amount is not particularly limited,
It is preferably from 1 to 50% by weight, particularly preferably from 2 to 30% by weight. As the binder, a polysaccharide, a thermoplastic resin, a polymer having rubber elasticity, or a mixture thereof can be used. The amount of the binder added is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 to 50% by weight, and particularly preferably 2 to 30% by weight.

As the filler, any fibrous material that does not cause a chemical change in the constructed battery can be used. Usually, fibers such as olefin-based polymers such as polypropylene and polyethylene, glass, and carbon are used. Although the amount of the filler is not particularly limited,
~ 30% by weight is preferred. The non-aqueous electrolyte is generally composed of a solvent and a lithium salt (anion and lithium cation) dissolved in the solvent, and comprises propylene carbonate and / or butylene carbonate and 1,2-dimethoxyethane and / or diethyl carbonate. An electrolyte containing LiCF ₃ SO ₃ , LiClO ₄ , LiBF ₄ and / or LiPF ₆ in the mixed solution of the carbonate is preferable. The amount of these electrolytes to be added to the battery is not particularly limited, but may be used in a required amount depending on the amounts of the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material and the size of the battery.

Although the volume ratio of the solvent is not particularly limited,
In the case of a mixture of propylene carbonate and / or butylene carbonate to 1,2-dimethoxyethane,
0.4 / 0.6 to 0.6 / 0.4 is preferred. The concentration of the supporting electrolyte is not particularly limited, but may be 0.1 to 1 liter of the electrolytic solution.
2-3 moles are preferred. The metal lithium-based battery having such a configuration has a self-discharge rate as small as that of a primary battery, and when discharged from a fully charged state to below a specified energy value, the function as a storage battery thereafter rapidly increases. It has the property of decreasing to With the capacity in a fully charged state as 100 as a reference, the amount of discharged energy is represented by the usage rate with respect to the total energy,
I will call it.

According to the experiment, when the discharge and the charge are repeated within a range where the depth of discharge does not exceed 5%, the deterioration of the main battery is small, the cycle life is large, and photographing of 3000 shots or more is sufficiently possible. . On the other hand, when used at a depth of discharge of 30%, the performance of the main battery as a storage battery is reduced, and the cycle life is shortened. In this case, only about 1000 shots can be repeatedly shot. The deeper the depth of discharge, the shorter the cycle life becomes.The deeper the depth of discharge, the lower the performance as a storage battery, and the smaller the electrical capacity that can be stored in the main battery by recharging. Cycle life is also reduced.

That is, it is desirable that the main battery is used so as to repeatedly discharge and charge within a shallow depth of discharge range. Therefore, when this improved battery is actually used, a proper depth of discharge is set in accordance with the setting of the limit of use as a camera, and management is performed so that discharge and charge are repeated so as not to exceed the range of the depth of discharge. There is a need to. FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of a charging circuit for charging main battery 34 with auxiliary battery 40. The charging circuit 50 includes a charging control circuit 52 and a boosting circuit 54 as shown in FIG.
The charging control circuit 52, respectively detects a voltage V _CR and the voltage V _E of the auxiliary battery 40 of the main battery 34, for example, a main battery 34
The voltage V _CR, becomes smaller than the voltage value 3.2 V of the full charge state (V _CR <3.2V), and voltage V _E of the auxiliary battery 40
When V _E ≧ 0.9 V (the end voltage of the auxiliary battery 40), the booster circuit 54 is operated to charge the main battery 34.

On the other hand, the charge control circuit 52 determines that the main battery 34 is
When fully charged (voltage V_CR= 3.2V)
 Or when the auxiliary battery 40 is exhausted and the voltage V of the auxiliary battery 40 is
_EIs V _EStops booster circuit 54 when <0.9V
Let it. Further, the charge control circuit 52 controls the remaining of the auxiliary battery 40.
In order to display the amount and the like on the liquid crystal panel 60, the auxiliary battery 4
A signal indicating a voltage of 0 is output to the display control circuit 62.

As described above, the display control circuit 62 receives the signal indicating the voltage of the auxiliary battery 40 from the charge control circuit 52, a signal from the film counter indicating the remaining amount of the film, a strobe switch, a shutter button, and a self-timer. The signal from the switch etc. is added,
The required display is performed on the liquid crystal panel 60 based on these input signals. The charging control circuit 52 is supplied with driving power from the main battery 34.

Next, the boosting circuit 54 will be described. FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the booster circuit. As shown in the figure, the booster circuit 54 is of a push-pull type, and the power source of the auxiliary battery 40 is
2, the current is converted into alternating current by the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 which are alternately turned on by the transistor T 2, and the voltage is boosted via the transformer T.
By rectifying by 5, the DC voltage is converted to a DC voltage necessary for charging the main battery 34.

Here _, assuming that the number of turns on the primary side and the secondary side of the transformer T is n _1, n ₂ , the voltage V on the primary side of the transformer T is
₁ and the voltage V ₂ on the secondary side are expressed by the following equation (1):

[0033]

## EQU1 ## There is a relationship of V ₁ / V ₂ = n ₁ / n ₂ (1). On the other hand, the voltages V ₁ and V ₂ required on the primary side and the secondary side of the transformer T are:

[0034]

## EQU2 ## V ₁ = 0.9−V _DS = 0.7 [V] (Min) (2)

[0035]

V ₂ = 3.2 + 0.7 × 2 + 0.5 = 5.1 [V] (3) (where 0.9: final voltage of auxiliary battery 40 V _DS : saturation voltage between drain and source of transistors Q1 and Q2 3.2: The maximum voltage of the main battery 34 is 0.7 × 2: the voltage drop in the rectifier circuit 55). Therefore, the turns ratio n ₂ / n ₁ of the transformer T is

[0036]

## EQU4 ## n ₂ / n ₁ = V ₂ / V ₁と 7.3 (4) As described above, the charging circuit 50 shown in FIG. 5 transfers the charging energy of the auxiliary battery 40 to the main battery 34 every time the voltage V _CR of the main battery 34 becomes V _CR <3.2 V, and Charge. Then, when the main battery 34 is fully charged (when the voltage V _CR becomes 3.2 V), the charging operation is stopped.

After the main battery 34 is fully charged,
When the electric capacity of the main battery 34 decreases due to the use of the camera, the charging energy is transferred from the auxiliary battery 40. The electric capacity of the main battery 34 increases with the charging time, and the electric capacity of the auxiliary battery 40 decreases. Thus, the main battery 34
The energy of the auxiliary battery 40 is transferred to the main battery 34 in accordance with the energy consumption of the main battery 34, so that the main battery 34 is always kept in a state close to full charge.

By doing so, there is an advantage that the main battery 34 can be easily handled without fear of deterioration due to overdischarge. Further, since the main battery 34 is a lithium-based battery,
As compared with the auxiliary battery 40, a high voltage and a large current can be supplied to the camera, so that a camera requiring a large current can be supported, and the charging time of the strobe can be shortened.

Now, when the charging energy of the auxiliary battery 40 is transferred to the main battery 34 and the capacity of the auxiliary battery 40 reaches almost 0 (when the voltage of the auxiliary battery 40 reaches its final voltage 0.9V), thereafter, Unless you replace the auxiliary battery 40,
The charging energy is not supplied from the auxiliary battery 40 to the main battery 34. However, the main battery 34 has its voltage V
_{Since the CR} is maintained in a state of charge close to full charge, there is a certain amount of electricity that can be consumed (for example, an amount of electricity capable of taking 100 shots) until the voltage V _CR reaches a predetermined battery check level. doing. Therefore, the camera can be continuously used without immediately replacing the auxiliary battery 40 with a new one.

Also, when the auxiliary battery 40 is replaced, the auxiliary battery 40 may be an AA type battery, so that there is an advantage that it can be easily obtained at low cost anywhere in the world.
Further, since the charging circuit 50 has the boosting circuit 54,
AA batteries that have been used in other devices can be used to some extent. In this embodiment, when the voltage V _CR of the main battery 34 falls below 3.2 V, the auxiliary battery 4
Although the zero charging energy is transferred to the main battery 34, the present invention is not limited to this, and charging may be started after the voltage of the main battery 34 reaches a predetermined voltage value (for example, 3.0 V). Alternatively, the number of shots after the state of full charge may be counted, and when the number of shots reaches a predetermined value (for example, 100 shots), the charging energy of the auxiliary battery 40 may be transferred to the main battery 34. However, in this case, the charge control circuit 52 needs to receive a signal indicating the number of shots from the camera.

According to the camera configured as described above, the main battery 34, which is the power source of the strobe charging circuit 18C, is arranged adjacent to the strobe light emitting portion, so that the wiring connecting the main battery 34 and the strobe charging circuit 18C is provided. The length can be reduced, and the wiring resistance can be reduced. Since the strobe charging current is larger than the driving current of the film transport motor 30 and the charging current of the main battery 34, the energy loss is reduced by reducing the wiring resistance between the main battery 34 and the strobe charging circuit 18C. There is an advantage that can be.

As shown in FIG. 3, a strobe light-emitting portion including a light-emitting tube 18A and a strobe charging circuit 1 are arranged in order from the front side of the camera on the film cartridge chamber 14.
8C, the main battery 34 is arranged, and the axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the main battery 34 is arranged in a direction parallel to the film transport direction, so that the main battery 34 can be compactly stored, and the height direction of the camera can be reduced. Can be reduced in size. Furthermore, a battery cover that can be opened and closed can be provided on the upper part of the rear surface of the camera 10, and the main battery 34 can be configured to be replaceable.

In the above embodiment, a drop-in type camera using 135 patrones has been described as an example, but another type of film loading type may be adopted. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to a camera of a new standard film called an advanced photo system (APS). Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

7 to 9 are internal perspective views of a camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a front view, FIG. 8 is a top view, and FIG. 9 is a side view. Note that the first
The same reference numerals are given to the same or similar members as those of the camera according to the embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. 7 to 9 show:
An APS-compatible camera using the new standard film is shown. New standard film cartridge 7
A data disk is provided on the upper end face of 0,
A light-shielding door is provided at the film outlet, and the film cartridge chamber 1 is located on the left side of the lens barrel 12 due to restrictions such as a mounting structure of a reading member for reading data of the data disk and a mounting structure of an opening / closing member of the light-shielding door.
4 is formed, and a spool chamber 16 is provided on the right side of the lens barrel 12.
Are formed.

A bottom cover (not shown) is provided on the bottom surface of the camera 10 so as to be openable and closable, and the film cartridge 70 can be loaded or discharged by opening the bottom cover. ing. On the left side of the film cartridge chamber 14, a main condenser 36 is vertically arranged. Behind the main condenser 36, an auxiliary battery 40 is vertically arranged in parallel with the arrangement direction of the main condensers 36. (See FIG. 8). At the rear corner of the camera 10, a battery cover 42 is provided on a shaft 42A so as to be freely opened and closed, and an auxiliary battery 40 is stored in an auxiliary battery storage chamber formed inside the battery cover 42. By opening the battery cover 42, the auxiliary battery 40 stored in the auxiliary battery storage chamber can be taken out and replaced.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The main battery 34 is disposed in parallel with the optical axis of the lens barrel 12 via a support member 76. That is, the main battery 34 is arranged such that the axis indicating the longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the film surface (see FIGS. 8 and 9). Main battery 34
Contact members 47A and 4A that respectively contact the positive and negative electrodes of
7B is connected to a printed board 78 on which a strobe charging circuit 18C is formed.

At the lower part of the spool chamber 16, there is provided a gear mechanism 32 connected to a shaft of a film transport motor 30 disposed in a take-up spool 28. The power of the transport motor 30 is transmitted to the spool drive shaft 26 provided above the cartridge chamber 14 via the gear mechanism 32.

Next, the operation of the camera configured as described above will be described. In the film cartridge chamber 14,
Since the support mechanism for supporting the film cartridge 70 from above and below, the spool drive shaft 26, and the like are provided, the dimension in the height direction of the film cartridge chamber 14 is relatively larger than the film width. On the other hand, since the spool chamber 16 is formed such that the length of the take-up spool 28 matches the film width, the vertical width of the spool chamber 16 is smaller than that of the film cartridge chamber 14.

By utilizing the space above and below the spool chamber 16, a gear mechanism 32 for transmitting the power of the film transport motor 30 and the main battery 34 are separately disposed above and below the spool chamber, respectively. 32 and the main battery 34 can be efficiently arranged. As a result, the height dimension of the camera can be reduced,
The size of the camera can be reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the main battery 34 is arranged near the strobe charging circuit 18C of the strobe device which emits light by receiving a current from the main battery. Also, there is an advantage that the wiring resistance connecting to the S.34 can be reduced, and the energy loss can be reduced. The new standard film known as the Advanced Photo System (APS) has a smaller film width than the conventional 135 film, and
In a PS-compatible camera, the spool chamber can be formed relatively small in accordance with the film width, so that it is preferable to use the space above and below the spool chamber 16.

In the second embodiment, the case where the main battery 34 is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the film surface has been described. However, the arrangement of the main battery 34 is not limited to this, and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0, the take-up spool 28 may be disposed on the same axis as the take-up spool 28 in the upper part of the spool chamber 16. By arranging the cylindrical main battery 34 and the take-up spool 28 up and down with their longitudinal axes aligned in this manner, the main battery 34 can be efficiently stored, and space can be saved. Can be achieved. Further, as shown in FIG.
By bringing the positive electrode of No. 4 into direct contact with the printed board 70, it is possible to omit a contact piece member, and there is an advantage that wiring can be simplified and the number of components can be reduced.

Also, in the camera according to the second embodiment, the axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the main battery 34 is parallel to the film transport direction, as in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. It is also possible to arrange in. In the second embodiment, the case where the main battery 34 is provided in the upper part of the spool chamber 16 and the gear mechanism 32 is provided in the lower part of the spool chamber 16 has been described. It is also possible to provide a main battery in the lower part of the chamber 16. However, the main battery 3 is usually smaller than the space in the height direction required for disposing the gear mechanism 32.
Since it is considered that the dimension in the height direction of the space required for disposing the film cartridge 4 is larger, when a configuration in which the film cartridge is loaded from the bottom of the camera is adopted, there is no waste in the lower part of the cartridge chamber. In order not to make space, a main battery 34 is provided at the upper part of the spool chamber 16,
It is desirable to provide a gear mechanism 32 below the spool chamber 16.

[0053]

As described above, according to the camera of the present invention, since the main battery for supplying current to the strobe device is arranged adjacent to the strobe charging circuit, the wiring resistance between the main battery and the strobe charging circuit is reduced. Can be reduced, and energy loss can be reduced. Furthermore, when the main battery is arranged adjacent to the strobe charging circuit, the axis indicating the longitudinal direction of the main battery is arranged parallel to the film transport direction, so that the size of the camera in the height direction can be reduced. There is an advantage that the camera can be downsized.
Then, for example, in order from the front side of the camera, by arranging the strobe light emitting unit, the strobe charging circuit, and the main battery in the upper space of the film cartridge chamber, the above members are further layered in a limited space. It can be stored compactly and space saving can be achieved.

Further, according to the camera of the present invention, since the gear for transmitting the power of the film transport motor and the main battery are separately arranged above and below the spool chamber, the gear and the main battery are limited. The camera can be efficiently arranged, and downsizing of the camera can be achieved. In particular, if a strobe light emitting portion of a strobe device and a strobe charging circuit of a strobe device that emits light by receiving a current supplied from a main battery are provided above the spool chamber and the main battery is disposed adjacent to the strobe charging circuit, This has the effect of reducing the resistance of the wiring connecting the charging circuit and the main battery and reducing the energy loss.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front internal perspective view of a camera showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top internal perspective view of the camera shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side internal perspective view of the camera shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the camera shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram including a charging circuit for charging a main battery with an auxiliary battery.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a booster circuit.

FIG. 7 is a front internal perspective view of a camera showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a top internal perspective view of the camera shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side internal perspective view of the camera shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a side internal perspective view of a camera showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Camera 12 ... Lens barrel 14 ... Film cartridge chamber 16 ... Spool chamber 18 ... Strobe device 18A ... Emitting tube 18B ... Reflector 18C ... Strobe charging circuit 28 ... Take-up spool 30 ... Film transport motor 32 ... Gear mechanism 34 ... Main battery 36 ... Main capacitor 40 ... Auxiliary battery

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Akio Omiya 1-324 Uetakecho, Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method for supplying charging energy from an auxiliary battery via a charging means to a main battery capable of repeatedly releasing and charging when the self-discharge rate of the primary battery is substantially equal to and the remaining amount is equal to or more than a predetermined capacity. A camera configured to supply current to the strobe device from the main battery, wherein the strobe device includes a strobe light emitting unit disposed on an upper front surface of the camera, and a strobe charging circuit of the strobe light emitting unit. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the main battery is disposed adjacent to the strobe charging circuit. 2. The strobe light emitting portion, the strobe charging circuit, and the main battery are arranged side by side in an upper portion of a film cartridge chamber, and the main battery has an axis indicating a longitudinal direction thereof in a film transport direction. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the cameras are arranged in parallel. 3. A method for supplying charging energy from an auxiliary battery to a main battery, which is substantially equal to the self-discharge rate of the primary battery and capable of repeatedly releasing and charging when the remaining amount is equal to or more than a predetermined capacity, via a charging means. A camera configured to supply current from the main battery to power consuming means for performing operations required for photographing, wherein the power of a film transport motor is supplied to one of an upper part and a lower part of the spool chamber. A camera, wherein a gear transmitting to a take-up spool is arranged, and the main battery is arranged on the other side. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gear is disposed at a lower portion of the spool chamber, and the main battery and the take-up spool are disposed such that axes indicating their longitudinal directions are coaxial. Item 3. The camera according to Item 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gear is disposed at a lower part of the spool chamber, and the main battery is disposed at an upper part of the spool chamber so that an axis indicating a longitudinal direction thereof is orthogonal to a film surface. The camera according to claim 3, wherein 6. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the gear is disposed at a lower portion of the spool chamber, and the main battery is disposed at an upper portion of the spool chamber with an axis indicating a longitudinal direction thereof being parallel to a film transport direction. The camera according to claim 3. 7. A strobe light emitting portion and a strobe charging circuit of a strobe device that emits light by receiving a current supplied from the main battery are provided at an upper portion of the spool chamber, and the main battery includes:
7. The camera according to claim 4, wherein the camera is arranged adjacent to the strobe charging circuit.