Patent Application
20190212635
The present invention relates to a digital camera including a printer.
A digital camera including a printer, which records an image on a sheet-like recording medium, for example, a mono-sheet instant film, is known. An imaging unit that includes an imaging optical system, a solid-state imaging element, and the like and a printer unit that includes an exposure head, spreading rollers, and the like are built in a digital camera including a printer disclosed in JP2002-296659A (corresponding to US2002/0039488A1). In a case where an imaging operation is performed, a subject image formed on the solid-state imaging element is photoelectrically converted and digital image data obtained through digital conversion is written in a memory. Then, the exposure head and the spreading rollers are driven on the basis of image data read from the memory, and exposure is performed while the instant film is discharged. Accordingly, an image is recorded. After the instant film is discharged from a film discharge port and predetermined time has passed, the image appears on one surface of the instant film.
Further, the digital camera including a printer disclosed in JP2002-296659A includes a horizontally long rectangular camera body, and a grip portion is provided on the left side surface of the camera body. Furthermore, as an electronic camera not having a printer function, there is an electronic camera where grip portions are provided on both sides of a camera body, for example, as in an electronic camera disclosed in JP2002-040534A (corresponding to US2002/0015593A1).
Since the grip portion is provided on only the left side surface of the camera body in the digital camera including a printer disclosed in JP2002-296659A, there is a case where it is difficult to hold the camera body and a holding feeling is bad in the case of a certain orientation of the camera body during imaging. Particularly, in a case where imaging is to be performed in a state where the orientation of the camera body is changed by an angle of 90°, the grip portion is positioned on the upper side or the lower side of the camera body. For this reason, it is very difficult to hold the camera body and the holding of the camera body is unstable. Further, even in a case where imaging is to be performed in a state where the orientation of the camera body, which includes the grip portions on both sides as in the electronic camera disclosed in JP2002-040534A, is changed by an angle of 90°, the grip portions are positioned on the upper side or the lower side of the camera body. For this reason, it is difficult to hold the camera body.
Accordingly, the applicant has considered making a digital camera including a printer of which a camera body is easily held and a holding feeling is improved even in any case of vertical imaging that is performed in a state where the camera body is oriented vertically or horizontal imaging that is performed in a state where the camera body is oriented horizontally.
An object of the invention is to provide a digital camera including a printer that is easily held and a holding feeling is improved in any case of vertical imaging and horizontal imaging.
A digital camera including a printer of the invention comprises an imaging unit, a printer unit, and a camera body. The imaging unit includes an imaging optical system and takes a subject image to output image data. The printer unit records an image on a recording medium on the basis of the image data output from the imaging unit. The imaging optical system is disposed at a center of a front surface of the camera body, and a grip portion is formed on the camera body at positions symmetric with respect to a first axis crossing an optical axis of the imaging optical system in a first direction and symmetric with respect to a second axis crossing the optical axis in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.
It is preferable that a shape of the camera body viewed from the front surface is a square shape where a vertical length in the first direction and a horizontal length in the second direction are equal to each other.
It is preferable that the grip portion has a concave or convex ring shape and the imaging optical system is positioned at a center of the ring shape.
It is preferable that the grip portion has a plurality of concave areas or convex areas formed around the imaging optical system.
It is preferable that the camera body includes a release switch used to take a subject image by the imaging unit and at least a part of the release switch is positioned within the concave area or the convex area.
It is preferable that the camera body includes a release switch used to take a subject image by the imaging unit and the entire release switch is positioned within the concave area or the convex area.
It is preferable that the camera body is provided with two release switches and the two release switches are disposed at positions symmetric with respect to the first axis.
It is preferable that the camera body is provided with two release switches and the two release switches are disposed at positions rotationally symmetric with respect to the imaging optical system as a center by an angle of 180°.
It is preferable that the digital camera including a printer further comprises a flash irradiating a subject with illumination light and the flash is disposed at a position corresponding to the imaging optical system in the first direction or the second direction.
It is preferable that the recording medium is a mono-sheet instant film, the printer unit includes an exposure head exposing the instant film on the basis of the image data to record an image, and the exposure head is positioned between the flash and the imaging unit. Further, it is preferable that the instant film is loaded in the camera body in a state where the instant film is stored in a film pack, and the camera body includes a loading lid that is provided on a back side thereof and loads the film pack. Furthermore, it is preferable that the digital camera including a printer further comprises a transport roller transporting the instant film and an exposure position where the exposure head exposes the film is positioned between the film pack and the transport roller.
It is preferable that the camera body includes a discharge port for the film at one end of the camera body in the first direction or the second direction. It is preferable that the camera body includes a display unit provided on a back thereof and displaying an image and a transport path along which the film is discharged from the discharge port is positioned between the imaging unit and the display unit.
It is preferable that the digital camera including a printer further comprises an operation unit positioned between the grip portion and the imaging optical system. Further, it is preferable that a finger rest portion protruding from the back and having a convex shape is formed on the camera body.
According to the invention, a digital camera including a printer is easily held even in any case of vertical imaging and horizontal imaging and a holding feeling can be improved.
In
As shown in
The imaging window 15 is disposed at the center of the front surface of the camera body 11. The imaging window 15 allows an imaging optical system 19 (see
The imaging unit 12 includes the imaging optical system 19 and a solid-state imaging element 20 (see
Further, the solid-state imaging element 20 comprises signal processing circuits, such as a noise removal circuit, an automatic gain controller, and an A/D conversion circuit, (all of them are not shown). The noise removal circuit performs noise removal processing on an imaging signal. The automatic gain controller amplifies the level of an imaging signal to an optimum value. The A/D conversion circuit converts an imaging signal into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to an internal memory (not shown) from the solid-state imaging element 20. An output signal of the solid-state imaging element 20 is image data (so-called RAW data) that has one color signal for each pixel.
An axis crossing the optical axis L in the vertical direction V is referred to as a vertical axis AV (first axis), and an axis crossing the optical axis L in the horizontal direction H is referred to as a horizontal axis AH (second axis). A grip portion 21 is formed on the camera body 11 at positions that are symmetric with respect to the vertical axis AV and are symmetric with respect to the horizontal axis AH. Specifically, the grip portion 21 has an annular shape (the shape of a ring) and a concave shape that is concave from the surface around the grip portion 21. The imaging optical system 19 is positioned at the center of the annular grip portion 21 in a case where the digital camera 10 including a printer is viewed from the front surface of the camera body 11. Further, the grip portion 21 is formed so that the shape of the cross section of the grip portion 21 taken along the optical axis L has the shape of an arc (see
The release switches 16A and 16B are disposed at positions that are symmetric with respect to the vertical axis AV. Specifically, the release switches 16A and 16B are disposed at positions that are equidistant from the vertical axis AV. In a case where at least one of the release switch 16A or 16B is operated to be pressed, the solid-state imaging element 20 to be described later is driven and a subject image is taken.
A part of the release switches 16A and 16B are disposed in the grip portion 21. Portions of the release switches 16A and 16B, which are disposed in the grip portion 21, are formed in the shape of a curved surface that is concave along the concave shape.
The flash 17 is disposed at a position that corresponds to the imaging optical system 19 in the horizontal direction H, that is, on the vertical axis AV. Corresponding, which is mentioned here, includes a case where the flash 17 is disposed at a position substantially corresponding to the imaging optical system. For example, in a case where an exposure value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value when the imaging unit 12 images a subject, the flash 17 automatically irradiates the subject with illumination light.
The operation ring 18 is a ring-shaped operation member that is positioned between the grip portion 21 and the imaging optical system 19, and is mounted so as to be movable rotationally about the optical axis L. The operation ring 18 is an operation member that is operated to turn on or off the power supply of the digital camera 10 including a printer.
A film discharge port 22 is provided on one end of the camera body 11 in the vertical direction V, that is, the upper surface of the camera body 11. Although described in detail, a film unit 23 on which an image has been printed is discharged from the film discharge port 22.
As shown in
The film pack 26 includes a box-shaped case 26a and a lid 26b that covers the opening of the case 26a. A plurality of film units 23 are superimposed and stored in the case 26a so that exposure surfaces 23a of the plurality of film units 23 face the left side in
A pair of openings 28a and 28b is formed in the lid 26b with a predetermined interval therebetween. Further, a support piece 29, film unit-pressing plates 30, and the like are provided on the inner surface of the lid 26b. The openings 28a and 28b are inlets where pressing members 32a and 32b provided on the inner surface of the loading lid 24 enter in a case where the loading lid 24 is closed. The support piece 29 supports the middle portion of the film unit 23 from behind.
In a case where the loading lid 24 is closed, the film unit-pressing plates 30 are pressed by the pressing members 32a and 32b and are bent to be convex toward the bottom of the case 26a. Accordingly, the lowermost film unit 23 is pushed against the bottom of the case 26a.
The film unit 23 as a recording medium is a so-called mono-sheet film. As shown in
The developer pod 36 is formed substantially in the shape of a bag, and is filled with a developer 38. The developer pod 36 is bonded to an end portion of the photosensitive sheet 34 facing the film sending port 27, and is wrapped with an end portion of the mask sheet 33. The trap portion 37 is bonded to an end portion of the photosensitive sheet 34 opposite to the film sending port 27, and is wrapped with an end portion of the mask sheet 33 likewise.
Although described in detail later, the photosensitive layer of the film unit 23 is irradiated with printing light and is exposed during printing. Then, the developer pod 36 is torn and opened at the time of development, and the developer 38 flows into a gap 39 between the photosensitive sheet 34 and the cover sheet 35 and is spread. Accordingly, a latent image is photochemically formed on the photosensitive layer, is reversed by the diffusive-reflective layer, and is transferred to the image-receiving layer. In this way, a positive image appears on a positive image observation surface 40 of the photosensitive sheet 34 that is exposed through the screen opening 33a.
In a case where printing processing is started, the lowermost film unit 23 is sent to the outside of the film pack 26 through the film sending port 27 by a claw (not shown) that is inserted into a claw opening (not shown) of the bottom of the case 26a. The film unit 23, which is sent to the outside of the film pack 26, (a position shown by a two-dot chain line) is subjected to exposure processing and development processing by the printer unit 13 that is provided between the film sending port 27 and the film discharge port 22.
The printer unit 13 includes an exposure head 41 and a developer spreading unit 42 that are arranged in this order toward the film discharge port 22 from the film sending port 27. For example, the exposure head 41 includes a light source, a liquid crystal shutter, a lens, and the like, and is disposed at a position facing a film unit-transport path. Specifically, the exposure head 41 is positioned between the flash 17 and the imaging unit 12 in the vertical direction V. Accordingly, the camera body 11 can be reduced in thickness. Further, the film unit-transport path along which the film unit 23 is transported by the developer spreading unit 42 is positioned between the imaging unit 12 and a back display unit 51 to be described later. Accordingly, the camera body 11 can be reduced in size.
The exposure head 41 irradiates the exposure surface 23a of the film unit 23 with linear printing light that is parallel to a main scanning direction (a width direction of the film unit). Accordingly, a line image, which has a gradation according to image data, is exposed to the photosensitive layer of the film unit 23.
As shown in
The transport rollers 43 and 44 pinch both side portions of the film unit 23, which is sent from the film pack 26, and transport the film unit 23 toward the spreading rollers 45 and 46. An exposure position P where the exposure head 41 exposes the film unit 23 to printing light is positioned between the film sending port 27 of the film pack 26 and the transport rollers 43 and 44. Accordingly, the camera body 11 can be reduced in thickness.
The spreading rollers 45 and 46 pinch the film unit 23, which is delivered from the transport rollers 43 and 44, over the entire width of the film unit 23 and allow the developer pod 36 to be torn and opened and allow the developer 38 to be spread into the gap 39 while transporting the film unit 23 toward the film discharge port 22. The film unit 23, which has been subjected to development processing by the spreading rollers 45 and 46, is transported to the film discharge port 22 and is discharged to the outside of the camera body 11.
As shown in
In a case where at least one of the release switch 16A or 16B is operated to be pressed by a user, image data output from the solid-state imaging element 20 is subjected to compression processing after being subjected to publicly known image processing, such as matrix calculation, demosaicing processing, γ correction, brightness conversion, color difference conversion, and resizing, by an image processing unit (not shown). Then, the image data, which has been subjected to the image processing and compression, is recorded in the internal memory (not shown), such as a flash memory, provided in the camera body 11.
In a case where a menu switch 52A of the operation unit 52 is operated to be pressed, an image is played back and displayed on the back display unit 51 on the basis of the image data recorded in the internal memory. Then, in a case where an image to be wanted to be printed is displayed on the back display unit 51 and the user presses a printing switch 52B of the operation unit 52, printing processing to be performed by the printer unit 13 is started.
Further, a pair of finger rest portions 53A and 53B, which protrudes from the back of the camera body 11, is provided on the outer surface of the loading lid 24. The finger rest portions 53A and 53B continue from both side surfaces of the camera body 11 and are formed in the shape of a triangular protrusion that protrudes toward the rear side of the camera body 11.
The operation unit 52 includes a plurality of switches, which are used to perform various operations of the digital camera 10 including a printer, in addition to the menu switch 52A and the printing switch 52B having been described above. The display unit 51 and the operation unit 52 are positioned between the finger rest portions 53A and 53B in the horizontal direction H. More specifically, the operation unit 52 is disposed at a position where a distance L3 between the center of the operation unit 52 and the apex of the finger rest portion 53A is equal to a distance L4 between the center of the operation unit 52 and the apex of the finger rest portion 53B.
Next, the action of the digital camera 10 including a printer will be described with reference to
The user performs imaging by vertical imaging (see
Further, since the camera body 11 has a square shape, the user can hold the camera body 11 in the same holding way and with the same force even in any case of the vertical imaging and the horizontal imaging. Accordingly, the ease of holding and a holding feeling are further improved.
Furthermore, since the grip portion 21 is formed in the shape of a ring, the user can reliably hold the camera body 11 even though the camera body 11 is oriented obliquely as in the case of an intermediate position between the vertical imaging and the horizontal imaging.
In a case where framing is performed and at least one of the release switch 16A or 16B is operated to be pressed, image data output from the solid-state imaging element 20 is recorded in the internal memory at that time. As described above, an image is played back and displayed on the back display unit 51 on the basis of the image data recorded in the internal memory, and printing processing to be performed by the printer unit 13 is started in a case where an image to be wanted to be printed is displayed on the back display unit 51 and the user presses the printing switch 52B of the operation unit 52.
In a case where the printing processing to be performed by the printer unit 13 is started, the film unit 23, which is discharged to the outside of the film pack 26 through the film sending port 27, is pinched and transported by the transport rollers 43 and 44. Then, exposure to be performed by the exposure head 41 is performed during the transport of the film unit 23. The exposure head 41 exposes an image (latent image), which corresponds to one screen, to the photosensitive layer of the film unit 23 on the basis of the image data recorded in the internal memory. Subsequently, the film unit 23 is transported toward the spreading rollers 45 and 46, and is pinched and transported by the spreading rollers 45 and 46. Accordingly, the developer 38 is spread into the gap 39 (see
The film unit 23, which has been subjected to development processing, is transported to the film discharge port 22 and is discharged to the outside of the camera body 11. Then, after predetermined time has passed, a positive image appears on the positive image observation surface 40 of the discharged film unit 23.
Further, since a part of the release switches 16A and 16B are disposed in the grip portion 21 as described above, the user can recognize the positions of the release switches 16A and 16B through only the feeling of fingertips. As a result, operability is improved. Furthermore, since the release switches 16A and 16B are disposed at positions that are symmetric with respect to the vertical axis AV, it is easy for the user to press the release switches 16A and 16B even in any case of the vertical imaging and the horizontal imaging.
Further, since the camera body 11 is provided with the pair of finger rest portions 53A and 53B that protrudes from the back, it is easy for the user to hold the camera body 11 while putting the thumbs on the finger rest portions 53A and 53B as shown in
A part of the release switches 16A and 16B are disposed in the grip portion 21 in the first embodiment, but the entire release switches 16A and 16B are disposed in the grip portion 21 as shown in
The grip portion 21 has an annular shape and a concave shape in each of the embodiments, but a grip portion 21 has the shape of a rectangular frame and a concave shape as shown in
The grip portion 21 has the shape of one ring and a concave shape in each of the embodiments, but a grip portion 21 has a plurality of concave areas or convex areas as shown in
The release switches 16A and 16B are disposed at positions symmetric with respect to the vertical axis AV in each of the embodiments, but may be disposed at positions rotationally symmetric with respect to the imaging optical system 19 as a center by an angle of 180°, specifically, at positions rotationally symmetric with respect to the optical axis L as a center by an angle of 180° as shown in
The camera body 11 is provided with two release switches 16A and 16B in each of the embodiments, but the camera body 11 is provided with four release switches 16A to 16D as shown in
The grip portion 21 has a concave shape that is concave from the surface around the grip portion 21 in each of the embodiments, but is not limited thereto and may have a convex shape that is convex from the surface around the grip portion 21. In this case, it is preferable that the release switches are formed in the shape of a curved surface convex along the convex shape of the grip portion 21. Further, the first direction is set to the vertical direction V and the second direction is set to the horizontal direction H in each of the embodiments, but the first direction may be set to the horizontal direction H and the second direction may be set to the vertical direction V.
A mono-sheet instant film is used as a recording medium and a film pack in which instant films are stored is used as a recording medium pack in each of the embodiments having been described above, but the invention is not limited thereto. Thermosensitive recording paper in which thermosensitive coloring layers are laminated, plain paper, exclusive paper (paper of which the surfaces are coated, and the like), an OHP sheet can be used as the recording medium. In a case where thermosensitive recording paper is used as the recording medium, thermal recording using a thermal head is performed. Further, in a case where plain paper or the like is used as the recording medium, recording using inkjet, thermal fusion, thermal transfer, or the like is performed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-181503 | Sep 2016 | JP | national |
This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2017/033125 filed on 13 Sep. 2017, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-181503 filed on 16 Sep. 2016. The above application is hereby expressly incorporated by reference, in its entirety, into the present application.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2017/033125 | Sep 2017 | US |
| Child | 16354531 | US |
