The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and an image pickup apparatus including the electronic apparatus, and more particularly to an electronic apparatus provided with a battery chamber for accommodating a battery.
There have been conventionally known electronic apparatuses each provided with a battery chamber for accommodating a battery that supplies electric power for driving the electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatuses of this type include one which has reduced the size of the battery chamber to thereby achieve size reduction of the electronic apparatus itself.
For example, there has been proposed one that has achieved size reduction of the electronic apparatus itself by cutting part of a battery chamber provided in a chassis member of the electronic apparatus and forming the part of the battery chamber by using an exterior cover (see e.g. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2013-120198).
However, in the above-mentioned electronic apparatus described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2013-120198, the chassis member and the exterior cover overlap each other on part of the battery chamber other than the cut part, and hence the battery chamber is increased in thickness, which makes it difficult to reduce the size of the whole battery chamber.
Further, for example, let it assume a case where a component which is brought into contact with and is electrically connected to a contact portion of the battery is used as a chassis member, and a component which regulates the position of the battery in a direction of inserting the battery is attached to the exterior cover. In this case, there is a fear that it is impossible to stably supply electric power when an external force, such as an impact, is applied to the battery chamber.
The present invention provides an electronic apparatus that is reduced in a space surrounding a battery chamber and is capable of stably supplying electric power and an image pickup apparatus including the electronic apparatus.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising a battery chamber into and from which a battery for supplying electric power is inserted and removed, the battery chamber being defined by an exterior cover forming part of the appearance of the electronic apparatus, and the exterior cover being provided with a battery holding member that defines, when the battery is inserted into the battery chamber, a position of the battery in a direction of insertion thereof, and a battery contact member that is brought into contact with a terminal provided on the battery to thereby supply electric power from the battery to the electronic apparatus.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus including an electronic apparatus, and an image pickup device, wherein the electronic apparatus comprises a battery chamber into and from which a battery for supplying electric power is inserted and removed, the battery chamber being defined by an exterior cover forming part of the appearance of the electronic apparatus, and the exterior cover being provided with a battery holding member that defines, when the battery is inserted into the battery chamber, a position of the battery in a direction of insertion thereof, and a battery contact member that is brought into contact with a terminal provided on the battery to thereby supply electric power from the battery to the electronic apparatus.
According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the space surrounding the battery chamber and stably supply electric power.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings).
The present invention will now be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments thereof.
The illustrated image pickup apparatus is e.g. a digital camera (hereinafter simply referred to as the camera) 100, and is shown in
The camera 100 is provided with the image pickup device 22, and the image pickup device 22 outputs electric signals (analog signals) corresponding to an optical image formed through the lens unit. Note that the image pickup device 22 includes e.g. a CCD or CMOS image sensor.
The camera 100 has an eyepiece finder 16 arranged on a rear side thereof. The eyepiece finder 16 enables a user to check a focusing state of an object and a composition of a photograph by viewing a display section within the finder.
The camera 100 is provided with a grip part 4, and the user holds the camera 100 by grasping the grip part 4 with his/her right hand when performing photographing. This grip part 4 is molded into a shape which can be easily grasped by the user with his/her right hand when the user holds the camera 100.
Note that the grip part 4 is formed by a grip member 120 which defines a battery chamber 110, described hereinafter. That is, the grip member 120 (see
Further,
Referring to
A space for accommodating a recording medium 91 is defined in the battery chamber 110, and data of an image obtained through photographing, is recorded in the recording medium 91. As the recording medium 91, a memory card, for example, is used.
When inserting or removing the battery 90 or the recording medium 91 into or from the battery chamber 110, the battery lid (lid member) 80 is opened and closed. As shown in
As shown in
To regulate the position of the battery 90 in the same direction as that of fastening the grip member-fastening screw 121, the rails 111 are disposed on the wall surfaces of the battery chamber 110 as mentioned above. Further, the grip member-fastening screw 121 is fastened substantially at the center in width of the battery chamber 110 in the X direction. With this, the screw fastening portion and the rails 111 are caused to co-exist in a narrow space defined by the width of the battery chamber 110 in the X direction.
In the battery chamber 110, a battery lock lever (battery holding member) 112 is jointly fastened and fixed to the wall surface (inner wall), located on an object side, of the battery chamber 110 with the grip member-fastening screw 121. In a state of the battery chamber 110 in which the battery 90 is inserted, as shown in
Note that the battery discharge spring 113 and the battery contact member 114 are disposed on an abutment surface 110a of the battery chamber 110, which is located in the direction of inserting the battery 90.
The battery discharge spring 113 is held by being sandwiched between the front cover 30 and a holding metal plate 115, and the battery contact member 114 is directly attached to the front cover 30 with screws using the holding metal plate 115. The battery contact member 114 is provided with a contact spring 114a which can be elastically deformed (has flexibility) in the Y direction. When the battery 90 is inserted into the battery chamber 110, the contact spring 114a is brought into contact with a terminal portion (not shown) of the battery 90, whereby electric power for driving the camera 100 is supplied from the battery 90.
In the illustrated example, the front cover 30 and the battery chamber 110 are integrally formed, and the battery chamber 110 is not surrounded by any other exterior cover, and hence it is possible to not only reduce the size of the battery chamber 110, but also reduce the number of components.
Further, in the illustrated example, the battery lock lever 112 and the battery contact member 114 are directly attached to the front cover 30, and hence the contact between the contact portion of the battery 90 and the contact spring 114a is hardly influenced by variation in the dimensions and assembly of the components. Further, in case an impact, such as a drop impact, is received, although the battery 90 is moved in the Y direction, the contact spring 114a is also deformed in the same direction while maintaining contact with the contact portion of the battery 90, which prevents the contact portion of the battery 90 and the contact spring 114a from being separated, and hence instantaneous interruption of power hardly occurs. As a result, it is possible to stably supply electric power when the camera 100 is in use.
An end of the battery lock lever 112 opposite to an end thereof fastened by the grip member-fastening screw 121 can be elastically deformed in the Z direction. As a result, when the battery 90 is inserted or removed, the battery lock lever 112 can be elastically deformed, whereby it is possible to smoothly insert or remove the battery 90.
The chassis member 140 is molded of metal (conductive member), such as magnesium, and is fastened to the front cover 30. Further, the chassis member 140 is electrically connected to a minus terminal of the battery 90 via a main circuit board 130, described hereinafter, and provides a reference potential.
In the illustrated example, the front cover 30 is molded of an electrically non-conductive material, such as electrically non-conductive resin. Further, the grip member (battery chamber cover member: holding portion) 120 is a two-color molded component which is molded of a conductive resin having conductivity (conductive resin portion: conductive material) as a primary material and an elastomer resin having elasticity (elastic material) as a secondary material, and the chassis member 140 and the conductive resin portion of the grip member 120 are electrically connected to each other by fastening screws. The grip member 120 has the primary material disposed at a location toward the battery chamber 110 and the secondary material disposed at a location outside the primary material.
By forming the outer appearance of the grip member 120 using the elastomer resin, grip feeling when gripping the camera 100 is improved. In a positional relationship between the chassis member 140 and the grip member 120, part where the chassis member 140 and the grip member 120 overlap each other in imaginary projections thereof from a front side of the camera 100 extends in the X direction, as indicated by a hollow arrow in
In the illustrated example, the front cover 30 is molded of resin which is an electrically non-conductive material, and this makes it possible to properly block electromagnetic waves generated e.g. from the recording medium 91.
As shown in
When the camera 100 is in use, heat generated from the display section within the finder, the main circuit board 130, and so forth, is transferred to the chassis member 140, which increases the temperature of the chassis member 140. At this time, the heat of the chassis member 140 is transferred to the grip member 120 via an air layer from the heat dissipation portions 140a each having a protruding shape, and is efficiently dissipated to the outside of the camera 100.
Further,
Referring to
The battery contact member 114 is connected to the main circuit board 130 via a flexible printed circuit board, not shown. Further, the main circuit board 130 has one end thereof fixed to the front cover 30 and the other end thereof fixed to the chassis member 140.
As shown in
Further, the battery lid 80 is provided with a battery lock lever-holding surface 81, a recording medium-holding surface 82, and a battery lid detection switch contact portion 83. As shown in
When the battery lid 80 is closed, the battery lid detection switch contact portion 83 pushes in the battery lid detection switch 93, whereby closure of the battery lid 80 is detected.
As mentioned hereinabove, the Y direction of the battery lid 80 is defined by the battery lid-retaining portion 31 of the front cover 30, and the main circuit board 130 provided with the battery lock lever 112 and the recording medium slot 92 is directly attached to the front cover 30.
As a result, the clearances “a” and “b” are hardly influenced by variation in the dimensions and assembly of the components, and the design values of them can be further reduced. Therefore, if an impact is applied to the camera 100 when the camera 100 is in use, the battery 90 is moved in the −Y direction in accordance with deformation of the battery lock lever 112 in the −Y direction. This makes it possible to avoid instantaneous interruption of power, caused by separation of the contact portion of the battery 90 and the contact spring 114a.
Further, when an impact that might cause the recording medium 91 to be discharged from the recording medium slot 92 is received, the recording medium 91 is supported by the recording medium-holding surface 82, and hence the recording medium 91 is held within the recording medium slot 92, and it is possible to prevent occurrence of a phenomenon, such as disabled communication with the recording medium 91.
Note that if the battery lock lever 112 is disposed outside the battery chamber 110, there is a fear that the shape of the battery lock lever 112 becomes complicated and is liable to be deformed in the Y direction. For this reason, it is desirable that the battery lock lever 112 is disposed inside the battery chamber 110.
As shown in
Part of the rear side of the battery chamber 110 is defined by the sheet metal member 116 and the sheet metal member 116 is arranged such that it covers the cutout shape portion 33. If all the surrounding walls of the battery chamber 110 are formed by resin without forming part thereof as the cutout shape portion 33 of the front cover 30, the thickness of the part is increased by a thickness t (see
On the other hand, the sheet metal member 116 can ensure rigidity even in a case where the sheet metal member 116 is smaller in thickness than the resin, and hence it is possible to make the positions of the battery chamber 110 and the recording medium slot 92 closer to each other in the Z direction while securing the shape for regulating the position of the battery 90. As a result, it is possible to reduce the space surrounding the battery chamber 110.
Further, the sheet metal member 116 as an electrically conductive material is electrically connected to the minus terminal of the battery 90 via the chassis member 140, and provides the reference potential. Therefore, it is possible to properly block electromagnetic waves generated from the recording medium 91 by covering the recording medium slot 92 with the sheet metal member 116.
An end face of the sheet metal member 116 in the Y direction has been bent by hemming, which prevents the battery 90 and the recording medium 91 from being scratched when the battery 90 and the recording medium 91 are inserted and removed
As shown in
As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the space surrounding the battery chamber and stably supply electric power.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-122198 filed Jun. 27, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-122198 | Jun 2018 | JP | national |