Lighting Device Head Rotation Angle Storage Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing lighting devices with automatic bounce functions struggle to accurately reflect the user's intended rotation angle of the head unit, often resulting in unintended changes due to external forces, making it difficult to ensure proper irradiation during flash shooting.

Innovation Solution

A lighting device with a storage button mechanism that allows users to intentionally set and store the rotation angles of the head unit, using potentiometers for angle detection and a CPU-controlled bounce angle control process to differentiate between user-intended and unintended rotations, automatically returning the head unit to the stored position when necessary.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the head unit is made manually rotatable for user convenience, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates because the head unit can be rotated by unexpected external forces to unintended angles

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemanual rotation capabilityVSAvoidrotation angle stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs a rotation angle detection mechanism that continuously monitors the head unit's angular position and provides feedback to the control unit. This feedback system enables the device to detect unintended rotations caused by external forces and automatically correct them by returning the head unit to its originally stored angle, thus maintaining reliability while preserving manual rotatability for user convenience

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The control unit automatically detects when the head unit has been rotated to an unintended angle and self-corrects by rotating it back to the stored position without requiring user intervention. This self-service mechanism ensures the head unit maintains its intended orientation despite external disturbances

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Productivity

If the rotation angle is stored automatically after any change, then productivity is improved by reducing manual reconfiguration, but measurement precision deteriorates because it cannot accurately distinguish between user-intended and unintended rotations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereconfiguration timeVSAvoidrotation intent detection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by storing the head unit's rotation angle only after detecting a user-operated rotation event. This preliminary detection and storage mechanism ensures that only intentionally set angles are recorded, preventing automatic storage of unintended rotations while still enabling quick recovery to stored positions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The rotation angle detection mechanism provides feedback to distinguish between user-intended rotations and unintended movements. This feedback enables the control unit to make intelligent decisions about when to store angles, ensuring measurement precision while maintaining productivity through automatic recovery

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Ensures that the user's intended rotation angles are accurately stored and maintained, preventing unintended changes during shooting and ensuring consistent irradiation directions.

Implementation Method 1

a bounce angle detection circuit (61) for detecting a rotation angle of the head unit (2)

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPotentiometer effect:

Data Source

PatentEP3312669B1Lighting device that stores rotation angle of head
Publication Date: 2021.09.29 CANON KK
  • EP3312669B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1D
  • EP3312669B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP3312669B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A lighting device that stores a rotation angle of a head unit, on which a user's intention is properly reflected. The lighting device includes a main unit, a head unit that includes a light emission section and is rotatable with respect to the main unit, a bounce angle storage circuit that stores a rotation angle of the head unit with respect to the main unit, a bounce angle detection circuit that detects whether or not the head unit is rotated with respect to the main unit, and a rotation angle of the head unit, and a storage button. When rotation of the head unit is detected, rotation angles detected by the bounce angle detection circuit last time are stored in the bounce angle storage circuit in response to a predetermined operation for releasing the storage button from a depressed state.