JP2008258731A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve design property of electronic apparatus without sacrificing functionality and handleability. <P>SOLUTION: When power supply of a camera is off, voltage is not applied to a light control glass 22, and both of the light control glass 22 and electronic paper 24 are held in an opaque state. The light control glass 22 in the opaque state is observed similarly as it has almost the same color as the front cover 11, so that the light control glass 22 and the front cover 11 can not be distinguished at a glance. Namely, by making the light control glass 22 opaque, not only a photographing optical system 21 is hidden, but also presence of a lens window 11a itself is hidden. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device such as a digital camera and is intended to improve design.

  A digital camera images a subject light beam taken in via an imaging optical system with an imaging device, and obtains image data from the imaging signal. The image data can be displayed on a liquid crystal monitor or the like.

  In general, a person who wants to purchase a digital camera emphasizes not only functionality and usability but also good or bad appearance when selecting a model. For this reason, each manufacturer has devised the appearance design and color of the camera, but the diagram of “camera optical system on the front and liquid crystal monitor on the back” remains the same for all cameras. Even in electronic devices other than digital cameras, it can be said that the basic design is almost unified. Under such circumstances, a more innovative design is required in order to encourage purchasers to purchase, but functionality and usability tend to be sacrificed if they are too concerned with the design.

An electronic device according to the present invention includes an outer cover having a window for entering or emitting light,
It is provided with the concealment member which is arrange | positioned inside the said window or its inside, and can camouflage presence of a window.
As the concealing member, a transmittance variable member capable of changing the light transmittance may be used, and the window may be exposed / concealed by adjusting the transmittance of the transmittance variable member. At this time, the presence of the window may be concealed by making the variable transmittance member substantially the same color as the outer cover.
As the transmittance variable member, a member whose transmittance is changed by an electric signal can be used. In addition, a paper-like member having a bendability can be used as the transmittance changing member.
The window may be a light guide window for guiding outside light to a photographing optical system arranged in the outer cover, or an emission for irradiating light of a light emitting member arranged in the outer cover to the outside. It may be a window.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic device with a novel design without sacrificing functionality or usability.

An embodiment when the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 and 2 are a front view and a rear view of the digital camera according to this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. The front cover 11 and the back cover 12 constituting the outer cover of the camera are each configured by applying a white coating 13 on the back surface of a transparent resin. By doing so, the covers 11 and 12 appear white with gloss and transparency when viewed from the outside.

  The photographing optical system 21 disposed in the cover is a bending optical system, and the subject light beam taken in from the lens window 11a of the front cover 11 is bent downward and guided to an image sensor (not shown). By using such a bending optical system, the camera can be thinned.

  A light control glass 22 is fitted into the lens window 11a, and the surface thereof is flush with the surface of the front cover 11. As is well known, the light control glass 22 is a glass having a variable transmittance. For example, the light control glass 22 is configured by sandwiching a liquid crystal film between two glass plates. Transparent electrode films are provided on both the front and back surfaces of the liquid crystal film. When a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal film through the transparent electrode, the liquid crystal film becomes transparent, and when the voltage application is released, the liquid crystal film becomes opaque. In the transparent state, it is possible to guide the photographing optical system 21 with a sufficient amount of light for imaging. On the other hand, in the opaque state, the liquid crystal film is in a cloudy state, and thus the lens window 11a looks white with gloss and a transparent feeling like the front cover 11.

  A liquid crystal monitor 23 capable of displaying an image is provided inside the back cover 12, and an electronic paper 24 is disposed on the front surface of the screen. Of the back cover 12, only the rectangular portion 12a facing the electronic paper 24 is not painted white, and transparency is secured as a monitor viewing window. Since the electronic paper 24 is thin and curved as is well known, it can be placed in close contact with the back surface of the curved back cover 12.

  The electronic paper 24 is generally used to display characters and patterns by providing an absorption layer in the lower portion and partially changing the state of an element (for example, cholesteric liquid crystal). In the present embodiment, the electronic paper 24 is used as a member that eliminates the absorption layer and changes the light transmittance. That is, a transparent state is obtained by applying a voltage to the element, and a white opaque state is obtained by cutting off the voltage. In the transparent state, the display on the liquid crystal monitor 23 can be viewed through the monitor viewing window 12a and the electronic paper 24. On the other hand, in the opaque state, since the electronic paper 23 is viewed through the back cover 12, the monitor viewing window 12 a looks white with gloss and transparency like the back cover 12.

  The power button, release button, and other operation buttons for operating the camera may be provided on the top surface of the camera, or a touch switch is provided on the monitor display window so that each operation can be instructed by a touch operation. Good.

  FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the camera. An operation unit 32, a camera control unit 33, a monitor control unit 34, a light control glass control unit 35 and an electronic paper control unit 36 are connected to the CPU 31. The camera control unit 33 is a mechanism unit for realizing normal camera operations such as an image sensor, an image processing circuit, and an image recording circuit. The monitor control unit 34 controls the liquid crystal monitor 23 to perform image display, menu display, and the like. The light control glass control part 35 and the electronic paper control part 36 control the applied voltage to each element which comprises the light control glass 22 and the electronic paper 24, respectively.

  In the camera configured as described above, when the power is off, no voltage is applied to either the light control glass 22 or the electronic paper 24, and both are kept in an opaque state (FIGS. 1 and 2). By making them opaque, the presence of the lens window 11a and the monitor viewing window 12a can be camouflaged. That is, since the light control glass 22 in the opaque state looks almost the same color and the same as the front cover 11 as described above, the two cannot be distinguished at first glance. That is, by making the light control glass 22 opaque, not only the photographing optical system 21 is concealed but also the existence of the lens window 11a itself is concealed. Similarly, the electronic paper 24 in the opaque state looks almost the same color as the back cover 12, and in this case as well, the two cannot be distinguished from each other at first glance. That is, by making the electronic paper 24 opaque, not only the liquid crystal monitor 23 is concealed, but also the presence of the monitor viewing window 12a itself is concealed.

  In this way, the camera when the power is turned off is unified in the same color on the front and back sides, and has no irregularities, so that it has a refreshing and preferable appearance. Since neither the photographing optical system 21 nor the liquid crystal monitor 23 can be seen, it does not give an impression of a precision instrument, and even those who are not good at the machine do not feel heavy pressure.

  When the camera is turned on, the CPU 31 applies a voltage to the light control glass 22 and the electronic paper 24 to make them both transparent (FIGS. 4 and 5). Thereby, it seems that the photographing optical system 21 and the liquid crystal monitor 23 suddenly appear in a place where there is nothing, and a visual effect that is not found in a normal camera can be enjoyed. The CPU 31 starts imaging when the power is turned on, and sequentially updates and displays the generated image on the liquid crystal monitor 23 (through image display). If a voltage is applied to the electronic paper 24 after the through image display is started, a visual effect of causing an image to appear where there is no screen can be realized. At this time, instead of making the plurality of pixels of the electronic paper 24 transparent at the same time, it is possible to produce an effect that the image gradually emerges by making it transparent with a time difference.

  In addition, electronic paper may be arrange | positioned to the lens window 11a, and light control glass may be arrange | positioned to the monitor visual recognition window 12a. Further, the portion to which the transmittance variable member such as light control glass or electronic paper is applied is not limited to the lens window 11a or the monitor visual recognition window 12a. For example, in FIGS. 7 and 8, in addition to the lens window 11a, the transmittance variable member is applied to the light emission window 11b of the electronic flash device and the light emission window 11c of the AF auxiliary light so that the windows 11a to 11c can be hidden. An example is shown. In this case, a transmittance variable member may be disposed in each window, or one large transmittance variable member may be disposed so as to straddle the three windows 11a to 11c. When a variable transmittance member is arranged in each window, for example, the lens window 11a appears when the power is turned on, the light emitting window 11b appears when flashing is instructed, and the light emitting window when AF auxiliary light is required Individual control such as causing 11c to appear is possible.

  Instead of the transmittance variable member, a concealable member that can be inserted and removed may be provided inside the window. For example, in the illustrated camera, a lens window is formed by not applying white paint to a part of the back surface of the front cover 11, and a concealing member (for example, a plate-like shape) of the same color as the front cover 11 is formed on the back surface of the lens window. It is conceivable to arrange the member) so that it can be inserted and removed. By inserting the concealing member into the back surface of the lens window, the presence of the lens window is concealed, and the lens window (imaging optical system) is exposed by retracting from the lens window.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a digital camera, and can be applied to any electronic device having a light irradiation window or a light guide window.

It is a front view of the camera in one Embodiment, and shows the state at the time of power-off. The rear view of the camera of FIG. III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The front view of the said camera shows the state at the time of power-on. The rear view of the camera of FIG. The control block diagram of a camera. It is a front view of the camera in other embodiments, and shows a state at the time of power-off. It is the same front view as FIG. 7, and shows the state at the time of power-on.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Front cover 11a Lens window 11b Light emission window of electronic flash device 11c Light emission window of AF auxiliary light 12 Back cover 21 Imaging optical system 22 Light control glass 23 Liquid crystal monitor 24 Electronic paper

Claims (7)

An outer cover having a window for entering or emitting light;
An electronic apparatus comprising: the window or a concealing member disposed inside the window and capable of camouflaging the presence of the window.   The electronic device is characterized in that the concealing member is a transmissivity variable member capable of changing light transmissivity, and the window is exposed / hidden by adjusting the transmissivity of the transmissivity variable member.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmittance variable member for concealing the presence of the window is substantially the same color as the outer cover.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmittance variable member is a member whose transmittance is changed by an electric signal.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmittance changing member is a paper-like member having a curvature.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the window is a light guide window for guiding outside light to a photographing optical system disposed in the outer cover.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the window is an emission window for irradiating light of a light emitting member disposed in the outer cover to the outside.

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