Abstract:
A viewfinder to be used with a photographing apparatus or a camcorder to monitor an image being photographed. The viewfinder has a viewfinder body disposed to be drawn inside of the photographing apparatus body and to be drawn out of the photographing apparatus body, a compressing spring to press the viewfinder body to draw the viewfinder body outside of the photographing apparatus body, a locking unit to secure the viewfinder body within the photographing apparatus body, and an unlocking member to unlock the locking unit. Therefore, if the locking unit is unlocked, the viewfinder body is drawn out from a camcorder body by a restoration force of the compressing spring. On the other hand, when a user presses the viewfinder body against the photographing apparatus body, the viewfinder body is drawn into the photographing apparatus body. Thus, the appearance of the photographing apparatus is more appealing to the eye, and storage and handling of the photographing apparatus is easier.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2001-27554 filed on May 21, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a viewfinder of a photographing apparatus, and more particularly to a viewfinder of a photographing apparatus that allows a user to monitor a photographing image or a reproducing image when photographing an object or reproducing the photographed image using a photographing apparatus.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    A photographing apparatus is a device to photograph an object. As the example of the photographing apparatus, there is an apparatus that can only take photographs, like a manual or an automatic camera, and an apparatus that can record and reproduce images such as a camcorder or a digital camera.  
           [0006]    A camcorder (also called a video camera) photographs the object and records it as image data on a videotape, and it is used generally to record and/or reproduce the image. Generally, the camcorder includes a viewfinder to monitor the status of the recording image or the reproducing image, when a user records an image or reproduces the image.  
           [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a viewfinder of a conventional camcorder.  
           [0008]    As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional camcorder  10  includes a camcorder body  11  having a photographing unit (not shown) to photograph an image and a reproducing unit (not shown) to reproduce the photographed image, and a view finder  12  formed on an outer part of the camcorder body  11  to allow the user to monitor the photographing or the reproducing image. The viewfinder  12  can be separated from the camcorder body  11 , and is protruded from the camcorder body  11 . In addition, the viewfinder  12  can be manually rotated 70°˜90° to an upper part of the camcorder body  11  as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1.  
           [0009]    However, since the viewfinder of the conventional camcorder with the above construction is mounted on the camcorder body as being protruded, there is a problem that the handling and the storing of the product are inconvenient. In addition, when the camcorder is designed, it is difficult to design the appearance of the camcorder as simple and appealing, because the construction of the viewfinder should be considered.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention has been made to overcome the above and other problems of the related art.  
           [0011]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a viewfinder of a photographing apparatus that is easy to handle and store, and a camcorder having the same.  
           [0012]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a viewfinder of a photographing apparatus having a design that is simple and appealing to the eye, and a camcorder having the same.  
           [0013]    Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.  
           [0014]    The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a viewfinder of a photographing apparatus comprising a viewfinder body disposed to be drawn into a photographing apparatus body and to be drawn outside of the photographing apparatus body, a compressing spring to draw the viewfinder body outside of the photographing apparatus body, a locking unit to contain the viewfinder body within the photographing apparatus body, and an unlocking member to unlock the locking unit.  
           [0015]    According to the present invention, the viewfinder body is drawn out of the photographing apparatus body by an unlocking action of the locking unit, thus providing a photographing apparatus that is easy to handle and store.  
           [0016]    The foregoing and other objects of the present invention may also be achieved by providing a viewfinder of a photographing apparatus comprising a viewfinder body disposed to be drawn within a photographing apparatus body and to be drawn outside of (in an extending fashion) the photographing apparatus body, a compressing spring to compress within and to draw out (extend) the viewfinder body with respect to the photographing apparatus body, a locking unit to lock the viewfinder body within the photographing apparatus body, an unlocking member to unlock the locking unit, a damper to reduce the drawing out speed of the viewfinder body with respect to the photographing apparatus body by a restoration force of the compressing spring, and a guide formed at the photographing apparatus body to guide the drawing in and out of the viewfinder body.  
           [0017]    The foregoing and other objects of the present invention may also be achieved by providing a camcorder comprising a camcorder body, a viewfinder body disposed to be drawn into the camcorder body and to be drawn out of the camcorder body, a compressing spring to force the viewfinder body outside of the camcorder body, a locking unit to lock the viewfinder body within the camcorder body, and an unlocking member to unlock the locking unit.  
           [0018]    The foregoing and other objects of the present invention may also be achieved by providing a camcorder comprising a camcorder body, a viewfinder body disposed to be drawn within the camcorder body and to be drawn outside of (in an extending fashion) the camcorder body, a compressing spring to force the viewfinder body outside of the camcorder body, a locking unit to lock the viewfinder body within the camcorder body, an unlocking member to unlock the locking unit, a damper to reduce the drawing out speed of the viewfinder body with respect to the camcorder body by a restoration force of the compressing spring, and a guide formed at the camcorder body to guide the drawing in and out of the viewfinder body with respect thereto. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a viewfinder of a conventional camcorder;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a camcorder having a viewfinder according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of the viewfinder shown in FIG. 2;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4A is a side view illustrating the viewfinder of FIG. 3 being drawn in to a camcorder body; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 4B is a side view illustrating the viewfinder of FIG. 3 being drawn out from the camcorder body. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0026]    A camcorder  100  having a viewfinder  120  of a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described by referring to FIGS. 2 through 4B.  
         [0027]    The camcorder  100  includes a camcorder body  110  and the viewfinder  120 . The camcorder body  110  is a casing that includes therein a photographing unit (not shown) to photograph an object or image and a recording unit (not shown) to record the photographed object or image onto a magnetic recording medium.  
         [0028]    As shown in FIG. 2, a viewfinder  120  is disposed to be drawn into and out of the camcorder body  110 . In FIG. 2, the part indicated by the dotted line illustrates the status of the viewfinder  120  being drawn into the camcorder body  110 . In addition, in FIG. 2, the part indicated by the solid line illustrates the status of the viewfinder  120  fully extended out of the camcorder body  110 .  
         [0029]    The viewfinder  120 , as shown in FIG. 3, includes a LCD unit  20 , a viewfinder body  30 , a lens assembly  40 , a guide  50 , a controlling unit  70 , and a driving unit  80 .  
         [0030]    The LCD unit  20  to display an image that is to be photographed or reproduced includes a viewfinder LCD  22 , a LCD holder  24 , and a LCD cap  26 . The viewfinder LCD  22  to display the image of an object is inserted into the LCD holder  24  and is secured at the LCD holder  24  by the LCD cap  26 .  
         [0031]    The lens assembly  40  includes an eyepiece  41 , a visibility-adjusting lens  42 , a first lens holder  43 , an eyepiece holder  44 , a magnification lens  45 , and a second lens holder  46 . The visibility-adjusting lens  42  is disposed at the first lens holder  43 , and adjusts a focal point of a user to thereby allow the user to see the image formed on the viewfinder LCD  22  more clearly. The first lens holder  43  is disposed at the eyepiece holder  44  and is secured at the eyepiece holder  44  by the eyepiece  41 . The magnification lens  45  is mounted on the second lens holder  46  and adjusts a ratio between the size of the object and the size of the image formed on the viewfinder LCD  22 .  
         [0032]    The viewfinder body  30  has a cylindrical shape and the lens assembly  40  is formed therein.  
         [0033]    The guide  50  includes a guide housing  52 , a guide groove  53 , a guide plate  54 , a plate spring  56 , and a restricting protrusion  58 . The guide housing  52  is formed at an outer side of the viewfinder body  30  to correspond to the viewfinder body  30 , which has a cylindrical shape. The guide housing  52  is disposed at the camcorder body  110  and connected with the viewfinder body  30  to guide the sliding of the viewfinder body  30 . As shown in FIG. 4B, the guide plate  54  is secured at an inner side of the guide housing  52 . A first guide hole  54   a  and a second guide hole  54   b  are formed at the guide plate  54 . The first guide hole  54   a  and the second guide hole  54   b  are separated from each other by a distance in which the viewfinder body  30  is permitted to be moved. The plate spring  56  is disposed at an outer wall of the viewfinder body  30  to correspond to the location of the guide plate  54 . The plate spring  56  includes a guide protrusion  56   a  that connects with the first and the second guide holes  54   a  and  54   b . The guide housing  52  comprises a guide groove  53  formed therein at an opposite side of which the guide plate  54  is formed. A restricting protrusion  58  is formed at an outer wall of the viewfinder body  30  opposite to the side at which the plate spring  56  is disposed and has a predetermined length. When the viewfinder body  30  is drawn out of the camcorder body  110  in an extending fashion, the restricting protrusion  58  restricts the drawing-out distance of the viewfinder body  30  together with the restriction provided by the guide plate  54  and the plate spring  56  combination.  
         [0034]    When the viewfinder body  30  is drawn into the camcorder body  110 , the guide protrusion  56   a  restricts the drawing-in distance of the viewfinder body  30  as the guide protrusion  56   a  connects with the second guide hole  54   b  by sliding from the first guide hole  54   a  to the second guide hole  54   b . On the other hand, when the viewfinder body  30  is drawn out of the camcorder body  110 , the guide protrusion  56   a  restricts the drawing-out distance of the viewfinder body  30  as the guide protrusion  54   a  connects with the first guide hole  54   a  by sliding from the second guide hole  54   b  to the first guide hole  54   a . The restricting protrusion  58  also restricts the drawing-out distance of the viewfinder body  30  with the aid of a stopping unit (not shown) formed at the end of the drawing-out direction of the viewfinder body  30  and inside the corresponding guide housing  52 . The viewfinder body  30  has a locking hole  58   a  and a drawing-out hole  58   b  at a lower side thereof, as illustrated in FIG. 4B.  
         [0035]    The controlling unit  70  to control the LCD unit  20  is formed at the camcorder body  110 .  
         [0036]    Referring to FIG. 3, the driving unit  80  includes a drawing-out button  81 , a damper bracket  83 , a locking unit  84 , a compressing spring  85 , a pinion  86 , a damper  87 , and a gear rack  89 . The damper bracket  83  is disposed at the camcorder body  110 . The damper bracket  83  includes a drawing-out holder  83   a  to install the drawing-out button  81 , and a damper protrusion  83   b  to install the damper  87 . The drawing-out button  81  includes a pressing unit  81   a , a spring  81   b , and a button shaft  81   c . The spring  81   b  is disposed at the drawing-out button holder  83   a  and connected with the button shaft  81   c  of the drawing-out button  81 . The pressing unit  81  a forms an obtuse angle against the pressing direction of the drawing-out button  81 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the drawing-out button  81  is used as an unlocking member, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in place of the drawing-out button  81 , a sliding button can be used.  
         [0037]    The locking unit  84  includes a lever  84   a  and a hook  84   b . The lever  84   a  is formed to correspond to the pressing unit  81   a  and is operated in contact with the pressing unit  81   a . The compressing spring  85  is disposed at the guide groove  53  in a manner that one end is connected with the first protrusion  85   a  formed at a predetermined place of the viewfinder body  30 , and the other end is connected with a second protrusion  85   b  formed at the housing  52 . The damper  87  is disposed at the damper bracket  83 , and the pinion  86  is connected with the damper  87 . The pinion  86  includes gears on its outer circumference and is engaged with the gear rack  89  formed at a lower side of the viewfinder body  30 .  
         [0038]    Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, drawing-in and drawing-out action of the viewfinder  120  of a photographing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.  
         [0039]    As shown in FIG. 4A, the viewfinder body  30  is connected with the housing  52 . The hook  84   b  of the locking unit  84  is engaged with the locking hole  58   a  of the lower side of the viewfinder body  30  and the locking groove  58   c  (FIG. 4B) of a lower side of the housing  52 , and connects the viewfinder body  30  and the housing  52 . At this time, the compressing spring  85  is extended, and the guide protrusion  56   a  of the plate spring  56  is connected with the second connection protrusion  54   b.    
         [0040]    When the user wants to draw the viewfinder  120  out of the camcorder body  110  in an extending fashion, the user presses the drawing-out button  81 . When the drawing-out button  81  is pressed, the pressing unit  81   a  contacts with a sloping side of the lever  84   a , and then the hook  84   b  is moved downward. Accordingly, the hook  84   b  is separated from the locking hole  58   a  of the viewfinder body  30 . If the hook  84   b  is separated from the locking hole  58   a , the viewfinder body  30  is extended from the camcorder body  110  by a restoration force of the compressing spring  85  that has been extended. When the compressing spring  85  returns to its unextended position, the rack  89 , formed at a lower side of the viewfinder body  30 , is moved toward the drawing-out direction of the viewfinder  120  while being engaged with the pinion  86 . The rotation of the pinion  86  is maintained at a constant speed by the damper  87  in spite of the restoration force of the compressing spring  85 . The damper  87  has an effect of softening the drawing-in and drawing-out action of the viewfinder  120 . The drawing-out action of the viewfinder body  30  is stopped when the guide protrusion  56   a  of the plate spring  56  connects with the first guide hole  54   a  of the guide plate  54 . Further, the hook  84   b  engages with the drawing-out hole  58   b  to further support the viewfinder body in its extended position with respect to camcorder body  110 . The viewfinder body  30  to be drawn out from the housing  52  is illustrated in FIG. 4B.  
         [0041]    On the other hand, when the user wants to draw the viewfinder body  30  back into the camcorder body  110 , the user pushes the viewfinder body  30  in the direction of the camcorder body  110  until the hook  84   b  of the locking unit  84  is connected with the connection hole  58   c  of the housing  52  and the locking hole  58   a  of the viewfinder body  30 .  
         [0042]    According to the present invention, the viewfinder  120  is drawn out of the camcorder body  110  as the viewfinder body  30  is extended from the housing  52  by pressing the drawing-out button  81 . On the other hand, the handling and the keeping of the camcorder is easy and the appearance of the camcorder can be designed easier and more appealing to the eye by the viewfinder body  30  being drawn into the camcorder body  110 .  
         [0043]    Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.