Miniaturized video cassette camera including a rotatable grip member
A video camera having a camera body unit including a lens, a view finder, and a group of operation buttons. Also included is a battery housing unit that can function as a grip unit and that is provided to be rotatable in a vertical direction to one side of the camera body unit through a rotational axis and that is equipped with a lock mechanism so as to be maintained in a lock state at a preset position. In this way the camera body unit can be miniaturized to be convenient for carrying, and further the battery housing unit can be used as the grip unit, so that it is possible to improve the operability without destroying the design.
1. A magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprising:
a main body including:
a lens,
a cassette setting mechanism,
a view finder, and
a group of operation buttons; and
a grip unit including a battery housing unit, wherein
said grip unit is rotatably mounted on said main body around a rotation axis perpendicular to one side surface of said main body, and has a lock mechanism to maintain a lock state at a preset position, and
said cassette setting mechanism is adapted to hold/eject a cassette tape in said main body and is provided on said one side surface of said main body, and
said grip unit is adapted to cover said cassette mechanism.
2. The magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
a battery is mounted to an external side of said battery housing unit.
3. The magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
said preset position is one of a housing position and an in-use position of said grip unit, and a position where said cassette tape is installed/ejected to/from the main body.
4. The magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
said lock mechanism comprises:
a slide ring including a locking pawl member; and
a lock disk having a plurality of cutout portions for engagement with said locking pawl member.
5. The magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 4 , further comprising
a lock operation button for releasing said lock state.