Camera

Details Camera Camera

2002-12-03

2004-11-16

Gray, David (Department: 2851)

Photography

Having camera indicator

Having display in viewfinder

C396S374000, C396S375000, C396S384000, C396S386000, C396S540000, C348S333060, C348S333090

Reexamination Certificate

active

06819868

ABSTRACT:

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Applications No. 2001-371736 filed in Japan on Dec. 5, 2001, and No. 2001-401829 filed in Japan on Dec. 28, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera having a so-called electronic viewfinder in which a liquid crystal display element is incorporated, or a camera having a liquid crystal display. More particularly, the present invention relates to the location and structure of the electronic viewfinder in the camera, and the structure for bearing the liquid crystal display and the location of the liquid crystal display.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a demand for a so-called digital camera that records and reproduces an object image that is converged by an imaging optical system and then formed by a CCD (charge-transfer imaging device) has increased along with the prevalence of electronic equipment including a personal computer.
In this type of digital camera, the CCD forms an object image converged by the imaging optical system so as to produce a video signal. Based on the image signal, the object image is displayed on a display such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) so that a photographic scene can be verified. In the past, there has been a great demand for a compact and power-saving camera.
A digital camera has been requested to have the capability of a viewfinder, in order to check an image during photography. Moreover, inclusion of a large-sized display is preferred in order to view a recorded photographic image.
Moreover, the capability of a viewfinder can be, as already known, realized with an optical viewfinder or an electronic viewfinder.
However, when the capability of a viewfinder is realized by using an optical viewfinder, if a photographic lens is a zoom lens, a mechanism for interlocking the viewfinder with the photographic lens is complex. This makes it hard to realize a compact and thin camera. Moreover, a viewfinder of a single-lens reflex type may be constructed. In this case, the position of the viewfinder relative to a photographic lens is restricted. The restriction leads to a critical condition that must be satisfied for the pursuit of a compact camera.
FIG. 20
is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional camera in which the capability of a viewfinder is realized with inclusion of an electronic viewfinder.
As shown in
FIG. 20
, a camera
100
of this type has a photographic lens
102
, a control circuit board
103
, a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, a TFT panel)
104
, an electronic viewfinder unit
105
, and a power circuit board
107
included inside a camera armor
101
forming a camera housing.
In general, the photographic lens
102
is located in the lower part of the inside of the camera armor
101
. The photographic lens
102
picks up an object image using the optical system and converges the image light on an imaging device such as a CCD mounted on the control circuit board
103
. The control circuit board
103
is located near the back of the camera armor
101
. Optical members including the CCD, various electronic parts, and a signal processing circuit for converting the imaging light into a video signal are mounted on the control circuit board
103
.
Behind the control circuit board
103
is a first TFT panel
104
, on which a formed image is displayed, so that the display surface thereof will be bared on the back of the camera armor
101
.
On the other hand, the electronic viewfinder unit
105
has the capability of a viewfinder to permit viewing of an object image during photography. The electronic viewfinder unit
105
includes at least a second TFT panel
106
on which a formed image or an object image is displayed, and an eyepiece
105
a
through which the image displayed on the second panel TFT is viewed. The electronic viewfinder unit
105
is located in the upper part of the inside of the camera armor
101
. The power circuit board
107
for strobe lighting or the like is interposed between the electronic viewfinder unit
105
and the photographic lens
102
.
The first TFT panel
104
and control circuit board
103
are electrically connected to each other via a connector
108
b
formed on the control circuit board
103
and a flexible circuit board
104
a
. Moreover, the second TFT panel
106
and control circuit board
103
are electrically connected to each other via a flexible circuit board
106
a
routed from below the electronic viewfinder unit
105
and a connector
108
a
mounted on the back of the control circuit board
103
.
As mentioned above, in the structure attempting to realize the capability of a viewfinder with inclusion of an electronic viewfinder, unlike a camera structured to have an optical viewfinder and a zoom lens, the position of the electronic viewfinder within the camera is not restricted and a complex interlocking mechanism such as a zooming mechanism is not included. However, in the camera
100
shown in
FIG. 20
, a predetermined optical length must be ensured for light traveling between the second TFT panel
106
and eyepiece
105
a
included in the electronic viewfinder unit
105
. The illustrated space is occupied, causing a critical obstacle to realization of a thin camera.
When the capability of a viewfinder is realized with inclusion of an optical viewfinder, if a zoom lens is included, it is hard to realize a compact and thin design for conventional cameras because of a complex mechanism for interlocking the viewfinder with a photographic lens. A single-lens reflex type viewfinder may be constructed. However, in this case, the position of the viewfinder relative to the photographic lens is restricted, and this restriction becomes a critical condition that must be satisfied in pursuit of a compact camera. It is therefore hard to realize a compact and thin camera. Otherwise, the capability of a viewfinder may be realized with inclusion of an electronic viewfinder. In this case, a complex interlocking mechanism such as a zooming mechanism is not included and the position of the viewfinder in a camera housing is not restricted. Nevertheless, an electronic viewfinder unit cannot be, like the one included in the aforesaid conventional camera, made small in size. It is therefore hard to realize a compact and thin camera.
A viewfinder unit in accordance with a similar related art has been proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-243499. According to the related art, the viewfinder unit can be made smaller in size and incorporated in a compact video camera or the like.
The proposed viewfinder unit has a plurality of electronic circuit boards locked in a lens holder that is a space created behind a mirror which bends the ray axis of video light traveling from a liquid crystal display panel. The circuit boards are realized with flexible circuit boards, and can therefore be efficiently stored in a narrow space though the circuit boards require a large area. This contributes to realization of a compact camera. However, the above proposal refers to the structure for bending image light coming from the liquid crystal display panel at right angles. Mere adoption of the structure does not lead to realization of a compact and thin camera. A comprehensive idea taking a large-sized display to be located on the back of a camera into consideration realizes a satisfactorily compact and thin design. In a current situation, when the capability of a viewfinder is realized with inclusion of an electronic viewfinder, a camera cannot be designed compactly and thinly.
On the other hand, many conventional digital cameras have a liquid crystal display, which has the capability of a viewfinder, located on the back of a camera. While an object image displayed on the liquid crystal display is viewed, photography can be achieved. However, as far as high-angle or low-angle photography is concerned, an optimal angle of visibility at which an image displayed on the liquid cryst

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