Photography – Camera detail – With mechanical switch detail
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-26
2002-10-15
Gray, David M. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Camera detail
With mechanical switch detail
C200S294000, C200S329000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06466747
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various manual operation buttons, such as a release button, are used in a camera. A holding member is provided inside the camera body, and the manual operation button is assembled into the holding member such that the button can be operated from one state to another by pressing on it. An opening is formed in a camera body exterior cover, hereinafter shortened to cover. The cover may be formed in one or more pieces, and the manual operation button is exposed to the outside through the opening.
Generally, when the cover is made of plastic, the holding member is integrally formed with the cover, as in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H9-185110.
FIG. 4
shows one prior art example where the holding member is integrally molded with a plastic cover
50
. An opening
51
is provided in the cover
50
, and a holding member
52
is integrally formed with the cover
50
in a portion of the opening
51
. A shaft
53
b
is formed on the lower surface of a disc
53
a,
an aperture
52
a
is established on the inner surface of the holding member
52
, and a shaft
53
b
is inserted into the aperture
52
a.
A nail clasp
54
is integrally molded along the rim of the disc
53
a
, an aperture
55
is established between the bottom surface of the cover
50
and an outer surface of the holding member
52
, and the nail clasp
54
is inserted into the aperture
55
. This results in the assembly of a release button
53
as a manual operation button within the holding member
52
, with the release button
53
being movable up and down with an appropriate stroke.
A spring
56
is arranged between the disc
53
a
and the holding member
52
. The release button
53
is assembled as mentioned above and is biased upward by the spring
56
. The release button
53
is set so as to not separate or be dislodged due to a rim
54
a
of the nail clasp
54
engaging with the underside of the cover
50
at the perimeter of the opening
51
. By pushing the release button
53
downward against the bias force of the spring
56
, a release switch
57
on the under side of the shaft
53
b
is operated.
Alternatively, in the case of utilizing a cover that is made of metal, it is difficult to mold an integral holding member having such a complicated shape. Therefore, when utilizing a cover that is made of metal, a holding member that is made of plastic is mounted on the cover as a separate component, and the release button is assembled into this plastic holding member. Further, in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application H7-43810, it is proposed that a molded cover be formed having almost the same shape as a metal cover, and this molded cover is installed on the inside of the metal cover by using a double-faced tape or an adhesive bonding. This allows the holding member for the manual operation button to be integrally formed with this molded cover. Further, in order to prevent the release button from being unintentionally activated, and in order to cover a rim portion of the opening, a camera can have a decorative frame arranged around the periphery of the manual operation button.
FIG. 5
shows another prior art example where a ring-shaped member
63
is integrally molded with a holding member that is made of plastic, and this holding member is mounted to the cover. A disc-shaped bottom surface
61
has an aperture
52
a
that guides a release button
53
. A cylinder-shaped sleeve
62
is formed along the rim of this bottom surface
61
, and the ring-shaped member
63
is established on the upper end of the sleeve
62
. The holding member
60
is formed of the disc-shaped bottom surface
61
, the sleeve
62
and the ring-shaped member
63
. The sleeve
62
is fitted into the opening
51
in the cover
50
. The ring-shaped member
63
is arranged on the surface of the cover
50
. A nail clasp
62
a
is mounted at the outer surface of the sleeve
62
so that it abuts against the internal surface of the cover
50
when the holding member
60
is mounted to the cover
50
. The holding member
60
is supported by the cover
50
and is held in place by the ring-shaped member
63
above and the nail clasp
62
a
below. This results in an assembly of the holding member
60
so as to not separate or be dislodged from the cover
50
. The other components in
FIG. 5
function practically the same as similarly numbered components in
FIG. 4
, and thus they will not be separately discussed.
In order to make a camera's appearance look expensive and elegant, it is preferable that, in addition to the cover being made of metal, the ring-shaped member also be made of metal. It is more preferable to use a material that has been processed by a cutting operation using a lathe, so as to form a component that is termed a ‘turned’ component, in order to make a camera's appearance look expensive and elegant. However, when using a cutting process it is difficult to create an object with a complicated shape such as, for example, the object shown in
FIG. 5
wherein a ring-shaped member and a holding member are formed as an integral unit.
Further, in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application H7-43810, a holding member holds a manual operation button, and the holding member is integrally formed with a molded cover, which is adhered to the internal surface of a metal cover. An installation member, for the purpose of installing a ring-shaped member to the molded cover, is integrally formed with the molded cover. Then, a metal ring-shaped member is secured to this molded cover. The molded cover is adhered to the internal surface of the metal cover by using a double-faced tape or an adhesive bonding material. It is unavoidable that a gap between the molded cover and the metal cover can change due to the application thickness of the adhesive bonding material. Thus, the positioning accuracy for the holding member and the installation member may become less than the positioning accuracy established for the opening in the cover. Therefore, problems may occur such as the ring-shaped member becoming dislodged from the surface of the cover, or the ring-shaped member not being able to be properly installed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the structure of a manual operation button, such as a release button. The object of the invention is to provide a structure of a manual operation button wherein a decorative frame that, preferably, is made of metal can be appropriately installed within an opening in a metal cover so as to surround the manual operation button. The decorative frame has an exterior portion that will not fit within the opening and an interior portion that will fit within the opening.
In order to accomplish this, a holding member holds the manual operation button so that it can be moved along an axis, and the manual operation button is mounted within a decorative frame. According to the present invention the decorative frame and the holding member are assembled as a unit which is held in place by the cover.
A first sleeve is arranged within an opening of the cover and is integrally formed with the decorative frame. A second sleeve is fitted into the first sleeve, with the second sleeve being integrally formed with a holding member. An L-shaped flange is formed on the external peripheral surface of the second sleeve and the top surface of the flange abuts against the inside surface of the cover. The inner peripheral surface of the first sleeve faces the outer peripheral surface of the second sleeve. Engagement means, such as protrusions/indentations, etc., are formed on the peripheral surface of the first sleeve at spaced positions which engage with indentations/protrusions at corresponding spaced positions on the outer peripheral surface of the second sleeve so that the two sleeves can be fixedly attached to one another. The engagement means can be any known mechanism for attaching the two together. This results in the assembly of the decorative frame and the holding member as a unit, with a portion of the decorative frame abutting the outer surface of the cover at the rim of
Arnold Bruce Y.
Arnold International
Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd.
Gray David M.
LandOfFree
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