Stand apparatus, electronic equipment using the same and its accessory apparatus

• US 7,437,067 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2005
• Issued: 10/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Naito, Yoshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Perkey; W. B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Suthar; Rishi S
• Application Number:
  US11/122,188
• Publication Number:
  US 20050253962A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 396/419, 396/248, 396/544, 396/374, 396/383, 396/428, 348/372, 348/333.06, 348/373, 248/187.1
• US Class Current: 396/383
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/561 Support related camera accessories

Abstract

A stand apparatus having the connector so as to correspond to a position of an electronic equipment being housed and comprises a connection inhibiter member to inhibit the connection if the position of the electronic equipment being housed and a turned state of the connector do not match with each other. Furthermore, electronic equipment, e.g., a camera, can be connected with the stand apparatus electrically either in the state of the equipment body facing up with the display apparatus of the camera being folded thereon, or in the state of the display apparatus being folded onto the back side of the equipment body with the display surface facing up.

Claims

1. A stand apparatus, being the stand apparatus for housing electronic equipment in electrical connection with the stand apparatus, comprising:

a housing unit for housing the electronic equipment in at least two different orientations;

a stand body comprising a stand connection unit for connecting with a connection unit of the electronic equipment; and

a shifter unit for shifting a position of the stand connection unit in response to an orientation of the electronic equipment being housed in the housing unit,

wherein the shifter unit is installed in the stand body and includes a turning unit for shifting a position of the stand connection unit,

wherein the stand connection unit is installed at a position displaced from the turning center axis of turning face of the turning unit in a radial direction and places itself in two positions by the turning unit turning in response to a corresponding connection unit of the electronic equipment, whose position in the housing unit changes according to an orientation of the electronic equipment being housed therein, and

wherein the stand connection unit shifts the two positions from one position to the other by the turning unit turning approximately 180 degrees.

2. The stand apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing unit houses the electronic equipment in either a front facing up orientation, or a front facing down orientation.

3. The stand apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the turning unit feeds the electronic equipment housed in the housing unit from the stand connection unit by way of the connection unit of the electronic equipment.

4. The stand apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electronic equipment is a camera.

5. A stand apparatus, being the stand apparatus for housing electronic equipment in electrical connection with the stand apparatus, comprising:

a housing unit for housing the electronic equipment in at least two different orientations;

a stand body comprising a stand connection unit for connecting with a connection unit of the electronic equipment;

a shifter unit for shifting a position of the stand connection unit in response to an orientation of the electronic equipment being housed in the housing unit, wherein the shifter unit is installed in the stand body and includes a turning unit for shifting a position of the stand connection unit, and wherein the stand connection unit is installed at a position displaced from the turning center axis of turning face of the turning unit in a radial direction and places itself in two positions by the turning unit turning in response to a corresponding connection unit of the electronic equipment, whose position in the housing unit changes according to an orientation of the electronic equipment being housed therein; and

a connection inhibiter member, being installed nearby the stand connection unit in the turning face, for inhibiting a connection between the stand connection unit and the connection unit of the electronic equipment when a position of the stand connection unit is not corresponding to that of the connection unit of the electronic equipment.

6. A stand apparatus, being the stand apparatus for housing electronic equipment in electrical connection with the stand apparatus, comprising:

a housing unit for housing the electronic equipment in at least two different orientations;

a stand body comprising a stand connection unit for connecting with a connection unit of the electronic equipment; and

a shifter unit for shifting a position of the stand connection unit in response to an orientation of the electronic equipment being housed in the housing unit,

wherein the shifter unit is installed in the stand body and includes a turning unit for shifting a position of the stand connection unit,

wherein the stand connection unit is installed at a position displaced from the turning center axis of turning face of the turning unit in a radial direction and places itself in two positions by the turning unit turning in response to a corresponding connection unit of the electronic, whose position in the housing unit changes according to an orientation of the electronic equipment being housed therein,

wherein the housing unit comprises a mounting surface for mounting the electronic equipment and side walls vertically structured from the opposing two ends of the mounting surface for protectively positioning two sides of the electronic equipment,

wherein the stand body comprises a flat part which forms a rear wall of the housing unit, and

wherein the turning unit is of a cylindrical shape whose end surface is featured as the turning face which forms a surface approximately flush with the flat part of the stand body, is positioned for corresponding to a connection unit of the electronic equipment when it is mounted onto the housing unit, and is positioned so as to expose a part of its circumferential surface of the cylindrical shape above the stand body as operation part.

7. The stand apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the housing unit and the stand body are detachably attached with each other.

8. A camera system, being the camera system comprising a camera and a stand apparatus housing the camera in electrical connection with the stand apparatus, wherein

the camera comprises a connection unit on one side thereof for connecting with the stand apparatus electrically and a moving unit for moving a display apparatus for displaying a photographed image to the front and rear positions of the camera, and when housing the camera in the housing of the stand apparatus, the moving unit places the display surface of the display apparatus facing the front of the camera in the case of housing the camera facing up, while moves the display apparatus to the rear position of the camera and places the display surface exposed to the outside in the case of housing the camera facing down, and

the stand apparatus comprises a housing unit for housing the camera in either a front facing up orientation or a front facing down orientation thereof, a stand connection unit for connecting with the connection unit of the camera electrically, and a shifter unit for shifting a position of the stand connection unit in response to an orientation of the camera being housed.

9. The camera system according to claim 8, wherein the connection unit of the camera is installed so as to be positioned at the center of the height of the camera.

10. The camera system according to claim 8 wherein the connection unit of the camera is for connecting electrically with the connection unit of the stand apparatus when the stand apparatus houses the camera in either a front facing up orientation, or a front facing down orientation.