Accessory Shoe Terminal Geometry for Stable Angled Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing accessory shoe devices for electronic apparatuses, such as cameras, face malfunctions due to variations in electric potential affecting terminal connections when the shoe device is inclined during attachment, leading to communication errors and malfunctions, and existing solutions either increase the device size or fail to address the issue effectively.
Innovation Solution
The electronic apparatus incorporates a controller with terminals arranged in a line intersecting perpendicularly to the attachment direction, where at least one terminal differs in length in a second direction, allowing for a controlled contact order and reducing malfunctions without enlarging the device by using standing walls of varying heights to adjust terminal contact timing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If connection terminals are arranged in a line at predetermined intervals perpendicular to the attaching direction, then the number of signal lines can be increased without enlarging the device, but variation in electric potential easily affects adjacent terminals causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
GND terminals are introduced as intermediary elements between signal terminals to provide a reference potential and reduce noise. These intermediary GND terminals act as mediators that isolate the electric potential variations between adjacent signal terminals, preventing malfunction while maintaining the compact linear arrangement of multiple signal lines.
2Ease of operation
If the shoe device is attached at an angle to the accessory shoe device, then attachment flexibility is improved, but the connection order of terminals becomes disordered causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal arrangement utilizes the depth dimension (attaching direction) in addition to the lateral dimension. By arranging terminals at different positions along the attaching direction and using standing walls of varying heights, the patent creates a three-dimensional terminal contact sequence that maintains proper connection order even when the shoe device is attached at an angle, thus preserving reliability while improving attachment flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Standing walls of different heights are pre-configured to determine the contact sequence of terminals before attachment occurs. This preliminary arrangement ensures that terminals contact in the correct order regardless of attachment angle, preventing malfunction due to disordered connection sequences.
3Reliability
If connection terminals are shifted in the attaching direction to maintain connection order, then connection reliability is improved, but the device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of solely shifting terminals laterally which increases device width, the patent utilizes the depth dimension by varying the heights of standing walls. This allows terminals to be effectively positioned at different depths along the attaching direction, maintaining proper connection order while keeping the lateral footprint compact and avoiding significant increases in overall device size.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic apparatus that is capable of reducing occurrence of malfunction when an accessory is attached without enlarging an accessory shoe device. The electronic apparatus includes an accessory shoe device and a controller. The accessory shoe device is electrically connectable with an accessory and has terminals that are arranged in a line in a first direction that intersects perpendicularly with an attaching direction of the accessory. The controller is electrically connected to the terminals. At least one of the terminals differs from the other terminals in a length of an externally exposed part in a second direction that intersects perpendicularly with both the attaching direction and the first direction.