The present disclosure relates to a display apparatus in which the angle of a display section can be varied.
There has been proposed use of a hinge mechanism to allow a monitor device or display section incorporated in a video camera apparatus to rotate in upward and downward directions, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 8-98068, for example.
However, with such configuration, it is difficult to move the display section in all directions over 360 degrees. In this regard, the configuration still has a room for improvement.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a display apparatus including a display section whose angle can be varied freely.
One embodiment of the present technology is a display apparatus including the following two constituent elements (A) and (B):
(A) Display section;
(B) Arms connecting the display section with an attachment target to which the display section is to be attached in such a manner that inclination angles of the arms with respect to the display section or the attachment target can be changed independently of each other, the number of arms being a multiple of four.
In the display apparatus, the display section and the attachment target of the display section are connected by a multiple of four arms in such a manner that the inclination angles of the arms with respect to the display section or the attachment target can be changed independently of each other. Therefore, the angle of the display section can be changed freely.
The above and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description, accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
In the following, an embodiment of the disclosed technology is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The main body section 2 has an image pickup lens not shown on the front face thereof, and at an upper position on the rear face, a viewfinder 11, an eye sensor 12, and an eye hood 13 surrounding the viewfinder 11 and the eye sensor 12. The eye hood 13 may be removable. An accessory shoe 14 for attaching an accessory such as a flash light emitting device is provided on the upper face of the main body section 2. The main body section 2 records an image picked up through the image pickup lens not shown into or on a recording medium such as, for example, a built-in memory or hard disk, or a memory or hard disk inserted in a slot for an external device.
The back face of the main body section 2 is covered with a rear exterior member or rear cover 15 (refer to
The display apparatus 3 displays an image picked up by the image pickup lens not shown, and it has the rectangular display section 20 formed, for example, from a liquid crystal display panel. The display section 20 can be accommodated into the accommodating section 16 in such a state that it forms part of the rear face of the main body section 2 as seen in
The arms 30 are made of, for example, a metal or a resin. As the resin, an ABS resin, i.e., an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin, or a PC resin, i.e., a polycarbonate resin, and so forth are applicable. Specifically, an ABS resin having a high sliding performance is used preferably.
The first movable joining portions 32 are attached to the display section 20 such that they can rotate with respect to the display section 20. In particular, at the first specific position P1 of the back side covering member 23 of the display section 20, an arm holder 40 is fixed with a screw not shown with a rubber washer 41 disposed therebetween. The arm holder 40 has holders 42 for accommodating the first movable joining portions 32 in a rotatable manner. The number of such holders 42 is equal to the number of the arms 30, for example, four holders 42 are provided for four arms 30, so that one first movable joining portion 32 is held by one holder 42 in a manner that it can rotate 360 degrees. The rubber washer 41 is provided to adjust the sandwiching force, which in turn allows fine adjustment of the sliding force of the first movable joining portion 32.
The plate 51, which is the one positioned on the outer side between the plates 51 and 52, serves as the bottom face of the accommodating section 16 of the rear exterior member 15, and it also functions as a reinforcing plate for the accommodating section 16. The inner side plate 52 functions as a holding plate for supporting the second movable joining portions 33 from the inner side of the main body section 2. The guide slots 53 may be provided in both of the plates 51 and 52 or only on the outer side plate 51.
The plates 51 and 52 are fixed by screws 55 not shown in
In the image pickup apparatus 1 including the display apparatus 3 described above, the inclination angle of the display section 20, that is, the orientation of the screen of the display section 20, can be varied freely by individually varying the inclination angle of the four arms 30 with respect to the main body section 2.
In particular, it is possible to arbitrarily change the inclination angle of each arm 30 with respect to the main body section 2 from substantially 0 degrees, i.e., a parallel state, to substantially 90 degrees, i.e., a perpendicular state, by moving the second movable joining portion 33 of the arm 30 within the corresponding guide slot 53. To be more specific, as seen in
For example, in a state in which the display section 20 is accommodated in the accommodating section 16 as in
Here, if it is desired to shoot a picture at a high angle in a horizontal position, that is, by such a photographing method that the image pickup apparatus 1 is held at a high position, for example, above the head with the longitudinal side thereof extending in the horizontal direction, the main body section 2 is held horizontally and the upper side of the display section 20 is leaned towards the user's side, as seen in
On the other hand, if it is desired to take a picture at a low angle in a horizontal position, that is, by such a photographing method that the image pickup apparatus 1 is held at a low position, for example, around the belly with the longitudinal side thereof extending in the horizontal direction, the lower side of the display section 20 is pulled toward the user's side while the upper side thereof is pressed toward the main body section 2 side, as seen in
It is not to mention that the display section 20 can be tilted to an arbitrary angle between the horizontal position-high angle illustrated in
If it is desired to take a picture at a low angle with the image pickup apparatus 1 in a vertical position, that is, by such a shooting method that the image pickup apparatus 1 is held at a low position, for example, around the belly with the longitudinal side thereof extending vertically, the main body section 2 is held vertically and the left side of the display section 20 is pulled toward the user's side while the right side thereof is pressed toward the main body section 2 side, as seen in
On the other hand, if it is desired to take a picture at a high angle with the image pickup apparatus 1 in a vertical position, that is, by such a shooting method that the image pickup apparatus 1 is held at a high position, for example, above the head with the longitudinal side thereof extending vertically, the main body section 2 is held vertically and the right side of the display section 20 is pulled toward the user's side while the left side thereof is pressed toward the main body section 2 side, as seen in
It is to be noted that naturally the display section 20 can be tilted to an arbitrary angle between the vertical position-low angle illustrated in
Further, either in the vertical position or horizontal position, it is possible to take a picture setting the display section 20 obliquely as seen in
Since the range of movement of the display section 20 is restricted by the four arms 30 as seen in
When it is desired to change the direction of the display section 20, it can be shifted immediately to the desired state without passing through a different state. For example, if it is desired to change the direction of the display section 20 from the horizontal position-high angle to the vertical position-high angle, it is only necessary to put the thumb and forefinger on the lower side and the upper side of the display section 20 as shown in
In contrast, in related arts, as illustrated in
Further, with the present embodiment, the inclination angle of the display section 20 can be changed freely even when a vertical position control grip 60 is attached, and particularly the convenience of when a picture is taken in the vertical position is improved. In this regard, in the related arts as the one described hereinabove, when the display section 120 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow R2 with the rotating hinge mechanism 132 as illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the display section 20 and the main body section 2, to which the display section 20 is attached, are connected to each other by the four arms 30. The arms 30 are configured such that the inclination angles thereof with respect to the main body section 2 can be changed independently from one another. Therefore, the inclination angle of the display section 20 can be changed freely.
While the present disclosure is described above in connection with one particular embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment. Various modifications, combinations and alterations may occur insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. For example, the first movable joining portions 32 and the second movable joining portions 33 are formed in a spherical shape in the embodiment described above. However, they may be made from an elastic material such as rubber.
Further, although four arms 30 are provided in the embodiment described above, the number of the arms 30 may be equal to a multiple of four, such as four, eight or twelve. For example, when eight arms 30 are provided, it is possible to provide eight guide slots 53 radially, two slots in each of the four directions as seen in
Further, in the embodiment described above, the first movable joining portions 32 are attached to the display section 20 while the second movable joining portions 33 are attached to the main body section 2 so as to allow changing of the inclination angle of the arms 30 with respect to the main body section 2. It is also possible to attach the first movable joining portions 32 to the main body section 2 and attach the second movable joining portions 33 to the display section 20 so as to allow changing of the inclination angle of the arms 30 with respect to the display section 20. However, the former configuration is advantageous in that the display section 20 can have a reduced thickness and weight, which allows the user to more easily hold and move the display section 20 with his or her hand.
As another example, in the embodiment described above, the display section 20 and the accommodating section 16 have a rectangular shape and the arms 30 are provided radially on the diagonal lines of the display section 20 and the accommodating section 16. However, the display section 20 and the accommodating section 16 may not have a rectangular shape but a polygonal shape such as a hexagonal shape or a circular shape. As another example, in the figures, quadrangular cut-off portions are provided at the corners at the opposite ends of the lower side of the display section 20, but those cut-off portions may not be provided.
As another example, in the embodiment described above, the first specific position P1 of the display section 20 is at the center of the display section 20 and the second specific positions P2 of the accommodating section 16 are at the four corners of the accommodating section 16. However, the first specific position P1 and the second specific positions P2 may be placed at positions different from those described above. For example, it is possible to place the first specific position P1 of the display section 20 at the four corners of the display section 20 and place the second specific positions P2 of the accommodating section 16 at the center of the accommodating section 16. In this case, the first movable joining portions 32 may be distributed to the four corners of the display section 20, so that the second movable joining portions 33 can radially move in the xy plane along the diagonal lines of the accommodating section 16 from the second specific position P2 at the center of the accommodating section 16 of the main body section 2 to the four corners of the accommodating section 16.
As another example, in the embodiment described above, a digital single lens reflex camera is described as an example of the image pickup apparatus 1. However, the present disclosure can also be applied to other image pickup apparatus such as a compact camera and a video camera.
As another example, in the embodiment described above, the display section 20 is configured from a liquid crystal display element. However, the display section 20 may be one that does not use a liquid crystal display element but other display element such as a display element of plasma, organic EL (Electroluminescence), inorganic EL, electro deposition or electro chromic.
Further, an application of the display apparatus 3 of the present disclosure is not limited to a liquid crystal monitor of the image pickup apparatus 1. It may also be applied to other display apparatus such as a wall-mounted television apparatus, wall-mounted monitor apparatus, portable telephone, telephone set, facsimile apparatus, car navigation apparatus, digital photo frame or electric bulletin board.
The present technology may also take the following configurations.
(1)
A display apparatus, including: a display section; and arms connecting the display section with an attachment target to which the display section is to be attached in such a manner that inclination angles of the arms with respect to the display section or the attachment target can be changed independently of each other, the number of the arms being a multiple of four.
(2)
The display apparatus according to (1), wherein each of the arms has a stem portion, and a first movable joining portion and a second movable joining portion at the opposite ends of the stem portion, and the first movable joining portion is attached to one of the display section and the attachment target in a rotatable manner, while the second movable joining portion is attached to the other one of the display section and the attachment target such that it can move in-plane.
(3)
The display apparatus according to (2), wherein the first movable joining portion and the second movable joining portion have a spherical shape.
(4)
The display apparatus according to (2) or (3), wherein the first movable joining portion is disposed at a first specific position on the one of the display section and the attachment target, and the second movable joining portion can move in-plane in a radial direction from a second specific position on the other one of the display second and the attachment target.
(5)
The display apparatus according to (4), wherein the second movable joining portion is sandwiched between a pair of plates fixed to the other one of the display section and the attachment target, and the second movable joining portion can move in-plane along a guide slot formed in the plates.
(6)
The display apparatus according to (5), wherein the pair of plates are fixed to each other by a screw with a spacer interposed therebetween, and a rubber washer is provided between a seat of the screw and one of the pair of plates.
(7)
The display apparatus according to any one of (2) to (6), further including an arm holder fixed to the one of the display section and the attachment target, the arm holder having a holder configured to accommodate the first movable joining portions in a rotatable manner.
The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2011-229170 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Oct. 18, 2011, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-229170 | Oct 2011 | JP | national |