Patent Application
20140071341
The present disclosure relates to a grip member that is suitable for use in an image pickup device, such as a small-sized camera and the like, as well as to an image pickup device that includes such a grip member.
For some image pickup devices, such as a small-sized camera and the like, a spatular accessory with a front edge thereof curved is mounted on a body to improve the easiness of grasping in a manner of holding a thumb on this accessory (for example, see the nonpatent document 1: “Item for Improving Hold Feeling of Digital Camera with Thumb”, [online], Oct. 17, 2011, “excite news”, [searched on Aug. 21, 2012], Internet URL: http://www.excite.co.jp/News/bit/E1318411438584.html).
For such an accessory, however, a portion for putting a thumb on is fixed, which has often caused operation of a body to be disturbed.
It is desirable to provide a grip member capable of improving the easiness to grasp a body without disturbing operation of the body, and an image pickup device that includes such a grip member.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a grip member including: an attachment section to be attached to a body; an extension section configured to be displaceable with respect to the body; and a linkage section linking the attachment section with the extension section.
In the grip member according to the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, a thumb may be held on the extension section with a palm laid on a side face of the body, which makes it easy to grasp the body. The extension section is displaced as appropriate, thereby reducing a possibility that the extension section will disturb operation of the body.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an image pickup device including: a body; and a grip member configured to be mounted on a top face of the body and including an extension section, the extension section being configured to be displaceable with respect to the body.
In the image pickup device according to the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, grasping of the body is aided by the grip member according to the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, and intended operation, such as image pickup and the like is carried out by the body.
In the grip member and the image pickup device according to the above-described respective embodiments of the present disclosure, the extension section is capable of being displaced with respect to the body, which makes it possible to improve the easiness to grasp the body without disturbing operation of the body.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the technology as claimed.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present technology.
Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure are described in details with reference to the drawings.
In the descriptions and drawings to be given hereinafter, an anteroposterior direction (Z), a vertical direction (Y), and a horizontal direction (X) are shown in a direction being viewed by a photographer at the time of shooting by the use of the image pickup device 1. Therefore, a photographic subject side is a front side, and a photographer side is a rear side. It is to be noted that the anteroposterior direction (Z), the vertical direction (Y), and the horizontal direction (X) are meant only for descriptive purpose, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to these directions.
The body 2 takes a plate-like shape with a grip portion (right side portion) having no or slight bulge. A front face 2A and a rear face 2B of the body 2 are both flat or substantially flat. At each corner in longitudinal sides of a side face 2C on the body 2, there is provided a curved face 2D. It is to be noted that the curved face 2D may not be necessarily provided.
At the front face 2A of the body 2, there is attached a lens barrel 3. Within the lens barrel 3, there are arranged along an optical axis a photographic lens (not shown in the figure) for performing subject imaging, a lens or a lens group that is served as an image pickup optical system (not shown in the figure), and an image pickup element (not shown in the figure). The image pickup element may be configured of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor.
At the rear face 2B of the body 2, there is arranged a display section 4. The display section 4 may be a display unit of, for example, a liquid crystal or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) type.
At a top face 2E of the body 2, there are provided, for example, an accessory shoe 5 and a shutter button 6. The accessory shoe 5 is arranged at a slightly leftward position in the center of the top face 2E on the body 2. The shutter button 6 is arranged at a slightly rightward position at the front side of the top face 2E on the body 2. At an outer circumference of the shutter button 6, there is provided a power knob 7.
The accessory shoe 5, which may be, for example, a hot shoe capable of electric conduction that has terminals (not shown in the figure), enables connection of external members involving electric conduction, such as an external flash device and an EVF (electronic viewfinder). However, the accessory shoe 5 may be alternatively a non-electric-conduction cold shoe having no terminals.
Further, the accessory shoe 5 is provided with a grip member 10 that is attached thereto. The grip member 10, which is an accessory that is attached to the body 2 of the image pickup device 1 to aid grasping of the body 2 (or a so-called “thumb grip”), has an extension section 40 as a portion for holding a thumb on at the rear face 2B side of the body 2. The extension section 40 is capable of being displaced with respect to the body 2. In the grip member 10, this makes it possible to improve the easiness to grasp the body 2 without disturbing operation of the body 2.
As shown in an example in
Each of
In concrete terms, as shown in
The first position P1 is a position for making it easy to grasp the body 2 by helping to hold a thumb on a finger-holding section 41 at the front edge of a movable side of the extension section 40. Preferably, the finger-holding section 41 may have a curved form protruding backward in Z direction to make it easy to hold a thumb.
On the other hand, the second position P2 is a position that throws open operation buttons and the like on the body 2 that have been hidden by the extension section 40 located at the first position P1 to make those operation component parts easily operable. Further, as described later, the extension section 40, when located at the second position P2, is allowed to have a curved form that fits in with an outline (that is, curved face 2D) of the body 2, and to ensure that the image pickup device 1 with the grip member 10 attached is put in a case (not shown in the figure) and the like, which reduces the possibility that the detached grip member 10 will be missing. Moreover, when a viewfinder (not shown in the figure) is attached to a later-described accessory shoe 23 on the attachment section 20, and a user with spectacles on takes a look inside the viewfinder, it is possible to ensure that the curved finger-holding section 41 does not cumber the image pickup by retracting the extension section 40 to the second position P2.
A displacement range (pivotal movement range) of the extension section 40 may preferably lie above the display section 4 at the rear face 2B of the body 2, including the first position P1 and the second position P2, as shown in
Preferably, on the body 2, the operation buttons and the like may be arranged in association with a pivotal movement position of the extension section 40. More specifically, as shown in
In concrete terms, the first operation section 8 may include, for example, a flash operation button 8A. The flash operation button 8A pops up a flash device (not shown in the figure) that is built in the body 2 from the top face 2E of the body 2.
The second operation section 9 may include, for example, a playback button 9A and an electronic dial 9B. The playback button 9A displays on the display section 4 subject images that are imaged with an image pickup lens (not shown in the figure) of the lens barrel 3, or images that are taken by the image pickup element (not shown in the figure). The electronic dial 9B has a variety of functions, including a function that enables a user to specify and select a shutter speed or an exposure compensation (EV value).
Hereinafter, the descriptions are provided on more detailed configuration of the attachment section 20, the linkage section 30, and the extension section 40 of the grip member 10.
The attachment section 20 may preferably be mounted on the top face 2E of the body 2 as shown in
Preferably, the attachment section 20 may be detachable from the body 2, although it may be fixed to, or integrated with the body 2, and may be undetachable alternatively.
As shown in an example in
The linkage section 30 is provided vertically on the lower side from one end 21A of the side 21 on the attachment section 20 at the rear face 2B side of the body 2, and passes through a first end (a front edge of an axis side, i.e., a pivotable end) of the extension section 40 in the vertical direction (Y direction), having a functionality as the axis A1 for a pivotal movement of the extension section 40. A second end (a front edge of a movable side, i.e., a free end) of the extension section 40 is served as the above-described finger-holding section 41.
Preferably, a length of the extension section 40 (position P4 of the finger-holding section 41) may satisfy, for example, the following requirements.
First, when the extension section 40 is located at the first position P1, the finger-holding section 41 may preferably be located at a position closer to the linkage section 30 than a specific position P3 (for example, shutter button 6) on the face (that is, top face 2E) where the attachment section 20 of the body 2 is mounted (see an arrow A2 in
Secondly, the finger-holding section 41 may preferably be located at a position where a thumb is not put on the display section 4 at the time of holding the thumb thereon. This is because a thumb is put on the display section 4 (or a thumb shadow is reflected on the display section 4) to make the display section 4 less visible, which will possibly cause trouble to shooting. However, it does not pose a significant trouble to put a thumb on a black region of a frame on the display section 4. Preferably, a thumb may be not put on an inner region (display region) from the black region on the display section 4.
Thirdly, when the extension section 40 is located at the second position P2, the finger-holding section 41 may preferably have a curved form that fits in with an outline (that is, curved face 2D) of the body 2 as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
It is to be noted that
Preferably, the attachment section 20 may have a lock mechanism to prevent any drop-off from the accessory shoe 5. As shown in an example in
Two protrusions 61 are capable of reciprocating in the vertical direction (Y direction) between a working position P5 (see
Hereinafter, with reference to
First, the attachment section 20 of the grip member 10 is mounted on the accessory shoe 5 on the top face 2E of the body 2. On this occasion, with the protrusions 61 of the lock mechanism 60 placed at the release position P6 as shown in
At the time of the image pickup, as shown in an example in
When the grip member 10 is attached to the body 2, a part of the operation buttons and the like on the body 2 (first operation section 8 or second operation section 9) is hidden by the extension section 40. In concrete terms, as shown in
The extension section 40 is capable of being displaced with respect to the body 2 (linkage section 30), and thus the operation buttons and the like on the body 2 that are hidden by the extension section 40 are left open to be easily operable by displacing the extension section 40 as appropriate. In concrete terms, as shown in an example in
Further, as shown in an example in
After the end of shooting, by making the extension section 40 move pivotally to the second position P2, it is possible to fit the extension section 40 in line with an outline (that is, curved face 2D) of the body 2, and to put the image pickup device 1 in a case (not shown in the figure) and the like with the grip member 10 attached. As a result, in putting the image pickup device 1 in a case, this removes any trouble of detaching the grip member 10 and reduces the possibility that the detached grip member 10 will be missing.
As described above, in the grip member 10 according to this embodiment of the present disclosure, the extension section 40 is capable of being displaced with respect to the body 2, and thus it is possible to improve the easiness to grasp the body 2 without disturbing operation of the body 2. Therefore, configuration of the image pickup device 1 with the grip member 10 attached to the body 2 makes it possible to satisfy the grasping performance, the portability, and the operability simultaneously for improvement of the convenience for a user.
In particular, in the small-sized body 2, a space between a bump of a gripping portion and the lens barrel 3 is narrow, which makes it difficult to insert a finger therein. Further, the plate-like body 2 is difficult to hold because a gripping portion is not bulgy. As described above, the image pickup device 1 having the small-sized or plate-like body 2 still has room for improvement in terms of the easiness of grasping, and thus the grip member 10 is applicable suitably. Also, from a viewpoint of an increase in the number of buttons (increase in the button placement density) that is commensurate with the complicated operation system in addition to miniaturization of the body 2 in line with advances in the device technology, the grip member 10 exhibits the high effectiveness.
Each of
The present technology is described thus far with reference to the example embodiment thereof, although the present technology is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but different variations are available. For example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the case where the extension section 40 is capable of moving pivotally around the linkage section 30 as the axis Al, although examples of a displacement method of the extension section 40 may include a stretching or reciprocating movement in the horizontal direction, a reciprocating movement in the vertical direction, and the like apart from a pivotal movement.
Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the case where the linkage section 30 is provided to extend from the left end 21A of the side 21 on the attachment section 20 when viewed from the backside of the insertion direction A3 into the accessory shoe 5 on the attachment section 20 as shown in
Moreover, for example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the case where given that a plane including the attachment section 20 is the X-Z plane, the linkage section 30 (axis A1) is provided in the vertical direction (Y direction), and the extension section 40 moves pivotally in the horizontal direction (X-Z in-plane direction). However, the linkage section 30 (axis Al) may be also provided in the horizontal direction (X direction) along the side 21 on the attachment section 20, and the extension section 40 may move pivotally in the vertical direction (Y-Z in-plane direction) alternatively.
Additionally, for example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the case where the finger-holding section 41 has a curved form, although the finger-holding section 41 may be flat to allow a thumb to be held mostly by the nonslip section 42.
Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the case where the specific position P3 corresponds with the shutter button 6, although any operation button other than the shutter button 6 may be provided at the specific position P3.
Furthermore, for example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the case where the grip member 10 is a component part that is separated from the body 2, and the attachment section 20 is mounted on the body 2 in a detachable manner. However, a configuration may be also permitted where the grip member 10 is fixed to, or integrated with the body 2 in an undetachable manner. Also in this case, the grip member 10 may be attached on the top face 2E of the body 2, and may have the extension section 40 capable of being displaced with respect to the body 2, which makes it possible to improve the easiness to grasp the body 2 without disturbing operation of the body 2. Further, the grip member 10 may have the attachment section 20 that is fixed to, or integrated with the body 2, as well as the linkage section 30 to link the attachment section 20 with the extension section 40.
Moreover, for example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the case where the display section 4 is configured of a liquid crystal or organic EL element, although the display section 4 may use any other alternative display element, such as plasma, inorganic EL, electrodeposition, or electrochromic element, apart from the liquid crystal or organic EL element.
Additionally, for example, in the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, the descriptions are provided on the compact digital camera (digital still camera) as an example of the image pickup device 1, although the present technology may be also applicable to any other image pickup device, such as a lens-exchange camera, a video camcorder, and the like.
Furthermore, the grip member 10 according to the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the attachment to the body 2 (camera) of the image pickup device 1, but may be attachable to any other camera-related and peripheral component parts that have an accessory shoe, such as a bracket, a slave unit, and the like.
Furthermore, the technology encompasses any possible combination of some or all of the various embodiments described herein and incorporated herein.
It is possible to achieve at least the following configurations from the above-described example embodiments of the disclosure.
an attachment section to be attached to a body;
an extension section configured to be displaceable with respect to the body; and
a linkage section linking the attachment section with the extension section.
the linkage section extends from one end of a side of the attachment section in a direction intersecting with the attachment section, and
the extension section is configured to pivot around the linkage section as the axis between a first position and a second position, the first position overlapping with the side of the attachment section, and the second position overlapping with an extension line of the side of the attachment section.
the body includes an accessory shoe on the top face of the body, and
the attachment section is configured to be inserted into the accessory shoe to be mounted on the top face of the body.
a first operation section that is left open when the extension section is located at the first position, and is hidden by the extension section when the extension section is located at the second position; and
a second operation section that is left open when the extension section is located at the second position, and is hidden by the extension section when the extension section is located at the first position.
the first operation section includes a flash operation button, and
the second operation section includes a playback button and an electronic dial.
the attachment section is configured to be mounted on a top face of the body, and
the specific position corresponds with a shutter button.
a body; and
a grip member configured to be mounted on a top face of the body and including an extension section, the extension section being configured to be displaceable with respect to the body.
the body includes a display section at a rear face of the body, and
a range of displacement of the extension section lies above the display section in the rear face of the body.
an attachment section configured to be attached to the body; and
a linkage section linking the attachment section with the extension section.
The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2012-198595 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Sep. 10, 2012, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-198595 | Sep 2012 | JP | national |
