Patent Abstract:
A camera or apparatus adapted to use an image recording medium cartridge having a cover for allowing an image recording medium to exit from or withdraw into the image recording medium cartridge, or a device adapted in the camera or apparatus, includes inhibition means for inhibiting the cartridge from being unloaded from the camera or apparatus when the cover of the cartridge loaded in the camera or apparatus is open, and disabling means for disabling an operation of the inhibition means when the cover of the cartridge loaded in the camera or apparatus is open.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an improvement in a camera adapted to use a film cartridge having a movable light shield door. 
     2. Related Background Art 
     Cameras each having a movable light shield door opening/closing device for opening/closing a movable light shield door formed on a film cartridge are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 1-191836 and 1-191837. In these prior arts, when a switch for detecting if a cartridge chamber cover is closed detects that the cartridge chamber cover is closed, a movable light shield door is opened, and a film is extracted via the movable light shield door to prevent film exposure. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed from the end of the rewind operation of a film, if the movable light shield door remains open, an alarm is generated. Furthermore, the prior art describes an embodiment which prevents inadvertent exposure of a film by inhibiting the cartridge chamber cover from being opened when the movable light shield door is open. 
     A movable light shield door is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,429. In this reference, a light shield door is opened/closed by pivoting a rotatable shaft. 
     In the above-mentioned prior arts, an operation member for opening/closing the cartridge chamber cover of a camera is locked while the movable light shield door is open. A lock member for locking the operation member is operated integrally with the movable light shield door by the driving force from a motor. In this arrangement, if the movable light shield door cannot be mechanically closed due to some accident (for example, the motor is locked or a film portion is extracted from a cartridge), the lock member cannot be operated even if the lock member can be forcibly externally operated. 
     Therefore, in the above-mentioned prior art, when the movable light shield door cannot be closed due to some accident, the cartridge chamber cover of the camera can never be opened, and the film cartridge cannot be unloaded. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the present invention is to provide a camera or apparatus adapted to use an image recording medium cartridge having a cover for allowing an image recording medium to exit from or withdraw into the image recording medium cartridge, or a device adapted in the camera or apparatus, which camera or apparatus comprises inhibition means for inhibiting the cartridge from being unloaded from the camera or apparatus cartridge loaded in the camera or apparatus is open, and disabling means for disabling an operation of the inhibition means when the cover of the cartridge loaded in the camera or apparatus is open, which camera or apparatus allows the cartridge to be unloaded from the camera or apparatus even when the cover of the cartridge loaded in the camera or apparatus is kept open and cannot be closed due to some accident. 
     Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing the mechanical arrangements of principal portions of the camera shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIGS. 3A and 3B are plan views showing a state wherein an operation member shown in FIG. 1 is operated; 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B are sectional views showing a state wherein the operation member shown in FIG. 1 is operated; and 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the mechanical arrangement of principal portions of a camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIGS. 1 to  4 B show the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the camera includes a camera main body  1 , a phototaking lens  2 , a shutter button  3 , a view finder  4 , a cartridge chamber cover  5  which opens/closes a cartridge chamber arranged in the camera main body  1  and allows loading/unloading of a film cartridge (to be described later), and a hinge shaft  6  which rotatably couples the cartridge chamber cover 5 to the camera main body  1 , and allows opening/closing of the cartridge chamber. The camera also includes an operation member  7  for opening/closing the cartridge chamber cover  5 , and a release button  8  for releasing a locked state of the operation member  7  in an emergency state. Furthermore, the camera includes a notch  5   a  for allowing the operation member  7  to be slidable, and a hole  5   b  for operating the release button  8 . 
     FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing the mechanical arrangements of principal portions of the camera. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the camera includes a film cartridge  101  which is loaded in the cartridge chamber in the camera main body  1  and stores a film, a shaft  102  used for feeding a film in the film cartridge  101 , and an engaging portion  103  for opening/closing a movable light shield door of the film cartridge  101 . The engaging portion  103  integrally has engaging grooves  103   a  and  103   b  at the two end portions of the film cartridge  101 . The camera also includes a movable light shield door  104  for opening/closing a film exit/entrance opening of the film cartridge  101 , a film  105  with perforations  106 , a spool  107  for taking up the film  105 , and a photoreflector  108  for detecting the perforations  106  of the film  105 . The camera further includes a power transmission fork  109  which is engaged with the film feed shaft  102  in the loaded film cartridge  101  to feed (push out) the film  105  from the film cartridge  101  or to rewind the film. Moreover, the camera includes a power transmission mechanism  110  for transmitting power to the fork  109  and the take-up spool  107 , a film feed motor  111 , and an output gear  112 , of the film feed motor  111 , for transmitting the output from the film feed motor  111  to the power transmission mechanism  110 . 
     The operation member  7 , which is partially shown in FIG. 1, is constituted by the following members  7   a  to  7   d  (the cartridge chamber cover  5  is not shown in FIGS.  2 A and  2 B). 
     That is, the operation member  7  is constituted by an operation portion  7   a , a pawl portion  7   b  which is engaged with an engaging portion (not shown) provided to the camera main body  1  to hold the cartridge chamber cover  5  in a closed state, a lock portion  7   c  for locking the operation member  7  in an inoperable state, and an electrical contact  7   d  on the operation member  7 . When the operation member  7  is operated by moving it in a direction to close the cartridge chamber cover  5 , the electrical contact  7   d  is electrically connected to a cartridge chamber cover opening/closing detection switch  17 , i.e., the cartridge chamber cover opening/closing detection switch  17  is turned on. 
     A lock member  9  is used for setting the operation member  7  in an inoperable state, and has a flat round hole  9   a  and a lock pawl  9   b  to be engaged with the lock portion  7   c  of the operation member  7 . A driven member  10  is engaged with the engaging portion  103  provided to the film cartridge  101 , and has a flat round engaging portion  10   a  which is engaged with the flat round hole  9   a  of the lock member  9 , and an engaging pawl  10   b  which is engaged with the engaging groove  103   a  of the engaging portion  103 . 
     A spring  11  is arranged between the lock member  9  and the driven member  10  to push up the lock member  9  from the lower side and to push down the driven member  10  from the upper side. When the release button  8  is depressed, the lock member  9  can be swung in the vertical direction upon operation of the spring  11 . Even when the engaging pawl  10   b  of the driven member  10  cannot be satisfactorily engaged with the engaging groove  103   a  of the engaging portion  103 , the discrepancy can be absorbed by the spring  11 , and later, the engaging pawl  10   b  can be satisfactorily engaged with the engaging groove  103   a  upon pivotal movement of the movable light shield door  104 . 
     A driving member  12  is engaged with the engaging portion  103 , and has an engaging pawl  12   a  to be engaged with the engaging groove  103   b  and an electrical contact  12   b  arranged on a circumference having the rotational shaft of the driving member  12  as the center. A movable light shield door opening/closing detection switch  13  is electrically connected to the electrical contact  12   b  of the driving member  12 , i.e., is turned on when the movable light shield door  104  is open while the film  105  is extracted from the film cartridge  101 , as shown in FIG. 2A (in FIG. 2B, the movable light shield door  104  is closed). 
     A power transmission mechanism  14  is used for driving the driving member  12 . A motor  15  opens/closes the movable light shield door via an output gear  16  for transmitting an output from the movable light shield door opening/closing motor  15  to the power transmission mechanism  14 . 
     FIGS. 3A and 3B are plan views showing a state wherein the operation member  7  is operated. 
     FIG. 3A shows a state wherein the cartridge chamber cover  5  can be opened. In this state, the operation member  7  is located at a position where the cartridge chamber cover  5  can be opened about the hinge shaft  6  shown in FIG. 1, and the lock member  9  is located at a position where the movable light shield door  104  is closed. 
     FIG. 3B shows a state wherein the cartridge chamber cover  5  is closed. When the operation portion  7   a  of the operation member  7  is slid in the direction of an arrow in FIG. 3B, the pawl portion  7   b  is engaged with the engaging portion (not shown) provided to the camera main body  1 , and the cartridge chamber cover  5  is held in a closed state. 
     When the cartridge chamber cover  5  is closed, as described above, the cartridge chamber cover opening/closing detection switch  17  shown in FIGS. 2A and  2 B is turned on, and the movable light shield door opening/closing motor  15  is started by a motor control circuit (not shown), thereby opening the movable light shield door  104  via the driving member  12 . At this time, the engaging pawl  10   b  of the driven member  10 , which is engaged with the engaging groove  103   a  of the engaging portion  103  is pivoted counterclockwise to follow the movement of the movable light shield door  104 . Then, the pivot force is transmitted to the flat round hole  9   a  coaxially engaged with the flat round engaging protion  10   a , and the lock member  9  is pivoted counterclockwise. With this operation, the lock pawl  9   b  is engaged with the lock portion  7   c , and locks the operation member  7  at a position for inhibiting the cartridge chamber cover  5  from being opened, so that the film  105  in the loaded film cartridge  101  can be prevented from being inadvertently exposed by opening the cartridge chamber cover  5  (see FIG.  3 B). 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B are sectional views showing a state wherein the operation member  7  is operated. 
     FIG. 4A corresponds to the state shown in FIG. 3A, and shows a state wherein the cartridge chamber cover  5  is openable. In this state, the release button  8  is not depressed, and the lock member  9  is pushed upward by the spring  11 . Note that the release button  8  is preferably arranged at a level equal to or lower than that of the surface of the cartridge chamber cover  5  so as not to be inadvertently operated (depressed) in a state other than an emergency state, thus preventing inadvertent exposure. 
     When the operation member  7  is slid in the direction to hold the closed state of the cartridge chamber cover  5  from the state shown in FIG. 4A, the movable light shield door  104  is opened, and the driven member  10  and the lock member  9  are pivoted to follow the movement of the door. The lock pawl  9   b  is engaged with the lock portion  7   c  to lock the operation member  7  at a position for inhibiting the cartridge chamber cover  5  from being opened, as described above. In this state, as shown in FIG. 4B, when an emergency has occurred such that the movable light shield door will not be closed due to some accident and the film cartridge  101  cannot be extracted, the release button  8  is depressed in the direction of an arrow in FIG. 4B, so that the lock member  9  is pushed down integrally with the release button  8  against the biasing force of the spring  11 , the lock pawl  9   b  is moved in the thickness direction of the lock portion  7   c , and the engagement between the lock pawl  9   b  and the lock portion  7   c  is released. 
     In this state, the operation member  7  becomes operable, and the cartridge chamber cover  5  can be opened to extract the film cartridge  101  by sliding the operation member  7  in a direction to open the cartridge chamber cover  5 . 
     In the first embodiment, the release button  8  and the lock member  9  are separately arranged but may be integrally arranged. If the lock member  9  or the driven member  10  is provided with a weak spring for biasing in the clockwise direction, the engaging pawl  10   b  can be reliably engaged with the engaging groove  103   a  of the engaging portion  103  when the movable light shield door  104  is closed. 
     The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the mechanical arrangement of principal portions of a camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and the same reference numerals in FIG. 5 denote the same parts as in FIGS. 2A and 2B. 
     In the first embodiment, the locked state is released by depressing the lock release mechanism (the release button  8  and the lock member  9 ) in the thickness direction. However, in the second embodiment, the locked state is released by rotating the lock release mechanism clockwise. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, a driven member  50  of the engaging portion  103  has an engaging hole  50   a  to be pivotally engaged with a lock member (to be described later), an engaging pawl portion  50   b  to be engaged with the engaging groove  103   a  of the engaging portion  103 , and a friction surface  50   c  to which a friction spring (to be described later) is attached. A lock member  60  is used for locking the operation member  7  in an inoperable state. The lock member  60  has an engaging shaft  60   a  to be pivotally engaged with the engaging hole  50   a  of the driven member  50 , a locking hole  60   b  for locking one end of a friction spring (to be described later), a lock pawl  60 c to be engaged with the lock portion  7   c  of the operation member  7 , and a groove  60   d  capable of receiving a “plus” (Phillips head) screwdriver to allow, e.g., the plus screwdriver to pivot the lock member  60  in only an emergency state. A clockwise friction spring  70  has an engaging portion  70   a  at which the friction spring  70  is locked. 
     The operation of the lock release mechanism with the above arrangement will be described below. 
     When the movable light shield door  104  is opened, the driven member  50 , which is engaged with the engaging portion  103 , is pivoted counterclockwise. At this time, since the friction spring  70  has a clockwise turn, which corresponds to a loosening direction with respect to the driven member  50 , the driven member  50  and the friction member  70  are rotated idle. However, since the driven member  50  and the friction spring  70  generate, therebetween, a friction large enough to pivot the lock member  60 , the lock member  60  is rotated counterclockwise as is the driven member  50 . In this state, the lock pawl  60   c  of the lock member  60  is engaged with the lock portion  7   c  to lock the operation member  7  at a position for inhibiting the cartridge chamber cover  5  from being opened. 
     When the movable light shield door  104  is closed, the driven member  50  is pivoted clockwise. At this time, the friction spring has a fastening direction with respect to the driven member  50 , and the lock member  60  is integrally pivoted clockwise, thus setting the operation member  7  in an operable state. 
     When the movable light shield door  104  cannot be closed from an open state due to some accident, a plus screwdriver may be inserted in the groove  60   d  of the lock member  60  and pivoted clockwise. Since the movable light shield door  104  is not closed due to the interference of the film  105  present at the film port, the driven member  50  and the friction spring  70  slip, and only the lock member  60  is pivoted clockwise, thus allowing the operation member  7  to be operable. As a result, the cartridge chamber cover  5  can be opened. In this case, since the friction spring  70  is pivoted in a direction to release spring bias or tension, the movable light shield door  104  will not strongly push the film  105  even if it bites the film  105 , thus preventing the film  105  from being damaged. 
     Note that the groove  60   d  is a groove capable of receiving a plus screwdriver. However, the groove  60   d  may be any other grooves such as a “minus” (flat head) groove, an L-groove, and the like as long as the lock member  60  can be externally pivoted. Alternately, in place of a groove, a projection may be formed. That is, the groove  60   d  need only have a shape which prevents inadvertent operation, and thereby prevents inadvertent exposure in a state other than an emergency state. 
     According to each of the above embodiments, upon loading the film cartridge  101 , a driving system for driving the engaging groove  103   b  is arranged at an engaging groove  103   b  side of the engaging grooves  103   a  and  103   b  at the two end portions of the film cartridge  101 , and the lock members  9  and  60  driven by the engaging groove  103   a  are arranged at the engaging groove  103   a  side. For this reason, a mechanism having a relationship between the driving and driven sides properly utilizing the engaging grooves  103   a  and  103   b  at the two end portions of the film cartridge  101  can be arranged with a high space efficiency and a high degree of design freedom. Note that an arrangement mechanism other than lock members  9  and  60  may be arranged at the driven side to perform a predetermined operation. 
     Even when the movable light shield door  104  cannot be closed, the operation member  7  for opening/closing the cartridge chamber cover  5  can be operated by the lock release means (the release button  8  or the groove  60   d  capable of receiving a plus screwdriver) of the lock member  9  or  60 . For this reason, if this operation is performed in, e.g., a dark room, the film cartridge  101  can be unloaded from the camera main body  1  without exposing the film  105 . 
     In the present invention, operations to be manually performed in each of the above embodiments may be realized electrically. 
     In the present invention, the above embodiments or their technical elements may be combined as needed. 
     The present invention can be applied to a device which uses a cartridge having a movable light shield door or the like, which has a shape other than that described in the above specification. 
     The present invention can be applied to image recording media other than a film. 
     The present invention can be applied to a device which uses a cartridge of a type other than that described in the above specification, a cartridge having an image recording medium other than a film, various other cartridges, and a member to be loaded other than a cartridge. 
     In the present invention, all or some of the constituent elements of the claims or embodiments may constitute a single device, a device to be combined with another device, or an element constituting a device. 
     The present invention can be applied to various types of cameras such as a single-lens reflex camera, a lens shutter camera, a video camera, and the like, optical equipment or apparatuses other than a camera, a device adopted in these cameras, optical equipment, or apparatuses, or an element constituting these. 
     The individual components shown in schematic or block form in the drawings are all well-known in the camera arts and their specific construction and operation are not critical to the operation or best mode carrying out the invention. 
     While the present invention has been described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6