Electronic camera

• US 6,459,857 B2
• Filed: 02/10/1999
• Issued: 10/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Tsukahara, Daiki, Ota, Hidefumi, Kawamura, Tomoaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Gray, David M.
• Application Number:
  US09/243,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20020015592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,329 Days
• Field of Search: 348/64, 348/207, 348/341, 348/373, 348/376, 348/333.01, 348/333.06, 348/333.08, 348/333.09, 348/333.13, 396/374, 396/373, 396/378, 396/379, 396/535, 396/543, 358/906, 358/909.1
• US Class Current: 396/374
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/531 being rotatable or detachable

Abstract

An electronic camera includes: a substantially rectangular parallelepiped image-capturing unit main body provided with an image-capturing device for generating an image signal by capturing an optical image formed by a photographic lens unit; a substantially rectangular parallelepiped display unit main body provided with an external display device for displaying an image based upon the image signal generated by the image-capturing device; and a linking portion that links the image-capturing unit main body and the display unit main body in a manner that the image-capturing unit main body and the display unit main body can rotate relative to each other. And, at the display unit main body, a shutter release button is provided and a grip portion is provided near an end surface furthest away from the image-capturing unit main body; and at the image-capturing unit main body, an optical viewfinder unit is provided beside the photographic lens unit.

Claims

1. An electronic camera comprising:

a substantially rectangular parallelepiped image-capturing unit main body provided with an image-capturing device for generating an image signal by capturing an optical image formed by a photographic lens unit;

a substantially rectangular parallelepiped display unit main body provided with an external display device for displaying an image based upon the image signal generated by said image-capturing device; and

a linking portion that links said image-capturing unit main body and said display unit main body in a manner that said image-capturing unit main body and said display unit main body can rotate relative to each other, wherein;

at said display unit main body, a shutter release button is provided and a grip portion is provided near an end surface furthest away from said image-capturing unit main body; and

at said image-capturing unit main body, an optical viewfinder unit is provided beside said photographic lens unit so that optical axes of said optical viewfinder unit and said photographic lens unit are aligned in one direction.

2. An electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein:

said linking portion links said image-capturing unit main body and said display unit main body so that one surface of said substantially rectangular parallelepiped image-capturing unit main body and one surface of said substantially rectangular parallelepiped display unit main body face opposite each other; and

said optical viewfinder unit and said photographic lens unit are provided at said image-capturing unit main body so that the optical axes of said optical viewfinder unit and said photographic lens unit are aligned in a longitudinal direction of said one surface of said image-capturing unit main body.

3. An electronic camera according to claim 2, wherein:

a distance from a first surface of said image-capturing unit main body at which an objective window of said optical viewfinder unit is provided to a central axis of rotation and a distance from a second surface of said image-capturing unit main body at which an eyepiece window of said optical viewfinder unit is provided to said central axis are set equal to each other.

4. An electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein:

individual components constituting said image-capturing unit main body and said display unit main body are positioned to ensure that a center of gravity of said electronic camera is located in said display unit main body.

5. An electronic camera according to claim 4, wherein:

a battery chamber for housing a battery is provided at said display unit main body toward said end surface; and

said photographic lens unit is provided at said image-capturing unit main body further toward a linking surface of said image-capturing unit relative to said optical viewfinder unit, said linking surface being connected with said linking portion.

6. An electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein:

one or more connector terminals for connection with external apparatuses are provided at said display unit main body.

7. An electronic camera according to claim 6, wherein:

one of said connector terminals for connection with external apparatuses is an external power source terminal.

8. An electronic camera according to claim 6, wherein:

among said connector terminals for connection with external apparatuses, a digital input/output terminal is provided at said end surface of said display unit main body.

9. An electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein:

said image-capturing unit main body is further provided with a flash unit.

10. An electronic camera according to claim 9, wherein:

said flash unit is provided with said optical viewfinder unit positioned between said photographic lens unit and said flash unit.

11. An electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein:

said grip portion is formed in an elongated shape and is provided near said end surface along a longitudinal direction of said end surface.

12. An electronic camera comprising:

a substantially rectangular parallelepiped image-capturing unit main body provided with a photographic lens unit, a photographic lens unit drive device for driving back and forth at least a portion of said photographic lens unit and an image-capturing device for generating an image signal by capturing an optical image formed by said photographic lens unit;

a substantially rectangular parallelepiped display unit main body provided with an external display device for displaying an image based upon the image signal generated by said image-capturing device; and

a linking portion that links said image-capturing unit main body and said display unit main body in a manner that said image-capturing unit main body and said display unit main body can rotate relative to each other, wherein;

said photographic lens unit drive device is provided at said image-capturing unit main body on a side that is distanced across said photographic lens unit from a linking surface linking said image-capturing unit main body with said display unit main body so that said linking surface, said photographic lens unit and said photographic lens unit drive device are arranged in order of said linking surface, said photographic lens unit and said photographic lens unit drive device.

13. An electronic camera according to claim 12, wherein:

an optical viewfinder unit is provided at said image-capturing unit main body on the side distanced from said linking surface, beside said photographic lens unit; and

said photographic lens unit drive device is provided in a space formed between said photographic lens unit and said optical viewfinder unit.

14. An electronic camera according to claim 13, wherein:

said photographic lens unit is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and said space is formed along an external circumference of the cylindrical shape.