JP4156895B2 - Barrier mechanism and imaging device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a barrier mechanism and an imaging apparatus, and more particularly, to a barrier mechanism in which a barrier member is moved to a protection position that protects a member to be protected by a driving force, and an imaging apparatus including the barrier mechanism.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in order to protect a member to be protected, various barrier mechanisms in which the barrier member automatically moves between a protection position and a protection release position by a driving force have been employed. For example, in a lens barrier mechanism in an imaging apparatus, a driving force from a drive motor is transmitted to a barrier member by a predetermined operation, and the barrier member moves between a lens protection position and a lens protection release position (for example, Patent Documents). 1).
[0003]
However, the barrier mechanism cannot move the barrier member when an abnormality occurs in the drive motor or the control system that controls the drive motor. In this case, the lens is protected if the barrier member is located at the lens protection position, but if it is located at the protection release position, the lens is not protected, and the lens is damaged during transportation for repair. End up.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-23043
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described facts, and an object thereof is to provide a barrier mechanism capable of reliably protecting a member to be protected, and an imaging apparatus including the barrier mechanism. To do.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the barrier mechanism of the present invention is coupled to a barrier member movable between a protection position for protecting a protected member and a protection release position for releasing the protection, A driving means for transmitting a driving force to the barrier member to move the barrier member between the protection position and the protection releasing position; and a driving force transmission capable of releasing the transmission of the driving force to the barrier member. and release means, a detection means for the barrier member to detect an abnormal closure does not move to the protecting position, when the closure abnormality is detected by said detection means, transmission to the barrier member of the driving force is released And a control means for controlling the driving force transmission releasing means .
[0007]
In the barrier mechanism, when the driving force is transmitted by the driving unit, the barrier member is moved between a protection position where the member to be protected is protected and a protection release position where the protection is released. In the present invention, the transmission of the driving force to the barrier member can be released by the driving force transmission releasing means. When the transmission of the driving force from the driving means to the barrier member is released, the barrier member can move between the protection position and the protection release position regardless of the driving means. Therefore, even when the barrier member cannot be moved using the driving force from the driving means, the barrier member can be manually moved between the protection position and the protection release position, and the member to be protected is reliably Protection can be performed.
[0008]
In the barrier mechanism of the present invention, as described in claim 2, the driving means is connected to the driving force supplying means for supplying the driving force, and the driving force supplying means is coupled to the driving force supplying means. Transmission means for transmitting force to the barrier member, and the driving force transmission releasing means releases the coupling of the driving force supply means and the transmission means to the barrier member by releasing the coupling. It can also be characterized by canceling the transmission.
[0009]
According to the configuration described above, the transmission of the driving force by the driving force transmission cancellation unit can be canceled by releasing the coupling between the driving force supply unit and the transmission unit.
[0010]
Barrier mechanism of the present invention, a detection means for detecting an abnormality of said drive means, when the abnormality of the driving means is detected by said detecting means, so that the transmission to the barrier member of the driving force is released And a control means for controlling the driving force transmission canceling means.
[0011]
Here, the abnormality of the driving means refers to a state where the barrier member cannot be moved to the protection position by the driving force of the driving means.
[0012]
According to the above configuration, when the detecting unit detects an abnormality of the driving unit, the driving force transmission releasing unit is controlled so that the transmission of the driving force to the barrier member is released by the control unit. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the driving means, the transmission of the driving force to the barrier member can be automatically canceled.
[0013]
Barrier mechanism of the present invention, the release of the transmission of the driving force to said barrier member by the driving force transmission releasing means may be characterized in that it is manually operated.
[0014]
According to the above configuration, since the transmission of the driving force to the barrier member can be canceled by a manual operation, the transmission of the driving force can be canceled more reliably manually.
[0015]
An imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes the barrier mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, and the protected member is an imaging lens.
[0016]
According to the present invention, the transmission of the driving force to the barrier member can be released by the driving force transmission releasing means, so even if the barrier member cannot be moved by the driving force due to an abnormality of the driving means or the like. The barrier member can be manually moved between the protection position and the protection release position, and the imaging lens can be reliably protected.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, an example in which the barrier mechanism of the present invention is applied to an imaging apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 10 of this embodiment includes a housing 12, a lens opening 14 and a viewfinder opening 16 on the front surface of the housing 12, and a shutter button 18 on the upper side surface of the housing 12. Prepare. Further, the camera 10 includes a lens 15 therein, and as shown in FIG. 2, a lens barrier 20 for protecting the lens 15, a barrier motor 30 for supplying a driving force to the lens barrier 20, and gears 32A, 32B, 32C. (Hereinafter referred to as “gear 32”), a coupling member 34, an opening / closing arm 40 that transmits a driving force to the lens barrier 20, and a solenoid 50.
[0019]
The barrier motor 30 includes an output shaft gear portion 30A, and the coupling member 34 includes a gear portion 34A. The gear portion 30 </ b> A, the gear 32 </ b> A, the gear 32 </ b> B, the gear 32 </ b> C, and the gear portion 34 </ b> A mesh with each other, and the driving force of the barrier motor 30 is transmitted to the coupling member 34. The coupling member 34 is rotatable about the central axis C of the gear portion 34.
[0020]
The coupling member 34 includes a coupling pin 36 on the side opposite to the gear portion 34A. The open / close arm 40 includes a long plate-like slide plate 42 and a support plate 44 that is shorter and wider and thicker than the slide plate 42. A coupling hole 48 and a shaft hole 50 are formed in the support plate 44. As shown in FIG. 3, a fixed shaft 52 fixed to the housing 12 is inserted into the shaft hole 50 of the opening / closing arm 40, and a coupling pin 36 is inserted into the coupling hole 48. Thereby, the opening / closing arm 40 is rotated about the fixed shaft 52 by the rotation of the coupling member 34.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2, a solenoid 50 is disposed on the side opposite to the opening / closing arm 40 of the coupling member 34. The solenoid 50 is energized in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 60 described later, and moves the coupling member 34 in a direction in which the coupling between the coupling pin 36 and the coupling hole 48 is released.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 2, the lens barrier 20 has a disk shape capable of closing the lens opening 14, and includes a pin 22 on the surface on the opening / closing arm 40 side. As shown in FIG. 3, an engagement groove 46 is formed in the slide plate 42 of the open / close arm 40 in the longitudinal direction, and the pin 22 of the lens barrier 20 is engaged with the engagement groove 42. A slide groove 24 is formed inside the housing 12, and the pin 22 can move along the slide groove 24.
[0023]
By rotating the opening / closing arm 40, the pin 22 moves along the slide groove 24, and the lens barrier 20 closes the lens opening 14 and the opening position 20B opens the lens opening 14. Move between.
[0024]
FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the operation control of the lens barrier 20.
[0025]
The control unit 60 is connected to the barrier motor 30, the solenoid 50, the power switch 64, and the abnormality detection sensor 62. The user can input power on / off of the camera 10 from the power switch 64. The abnormality detection sensor 62 can detect an abnormality that the lens barrier 20 does not move to the closing position 20A (hereinafter referred to as “closing abnormality”). In response to an on / off instruction from the power switch 64, the control unit 60 outputs a drive signal to the barrier motor 30, thereby driving the drive motor 30, and the driving force is transmitted via the gear 32, the coupling member 34, and the opening / closing arm 40. Thus, transmission to the lens barrier 20 is possible. In addition, when a signal indicating that a closing abnormality is detected is input from the abnormality detection sensor 62, the control unit 60 outputs an operation signal to the solenoid 50, which drives the solenoid 50 to open and close the coupling member 34. The coupling with the arm 40 can be released.
[0026]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
[0027]
Normally, when the power switch 64 is instructed to turn on the power of the camera 10, an on signal is output to the control unit 60, and the control unit 60 outputs a drive signal to the barrier motor 30 by the input of the on signal. . Thereby, the barrier motor 30 is rotationally driven, and the driving force is transmitted to the opening / closing arm 40 via the gear 32 and the coupling member 34. The open / close arm 40 rotates around a fixed shaft 52 inserted through the shaft hole 50. Thereby, the lens barrier 20 moves along the slide groove 24, and the lens barrier 20 is moved to the open position 20B (see FIG. 5). When the power switch 64 is instructed to turn off the power of the camera 10, an off signal is output to the control unit 60, and the control unit 60 outputs a drive signal to the barrier motor 30 by the input of the off signal. As a result, the barrier motor 30 rotates in the reverse direction to the ON signal, and the driving force is transmitted to the open / close arm 40 via the gear 32 and the coupling member 34. The open / close arm 40 rotates around the fixed shaft 52 inserted through the shaft hole 50 in the opposite direction to the ON signal. Thereby, the lens barrier 20 moves along the slide groove 24, and the lens barrier 20 is moved to the closed position 20A (see FIG. 3).
[0028]
When the abnormality detection sensor 62 detects a closing abnormality in a state where the lens barrier 20 is located at a position other than the protection position 20 </ b> A, an abnormality notification signal is output from the abnormality detection sensor 62 to the control unit 60. When the abnormality notification signal is input, the control unit 60 outputs a release instruction to the solenoid 50. In response to the release instruction, the solenoid 50 is energized, and the coupling member 34 is moved to the solenoid 50 side. Thereby, the coupling between the coupling pin 36 of the coupling member 34 and the coupling hole 48 of the opening / closing arm 40 is released. In this state, the opening / closing arm 40 is separated from the barrier motor 30 and can freely rotate. Therefore, the user can move the lens barrier 20 from the open position 20B to the closed position 20A using gravity by tilting the camera 10 so that the closed position 20A is below the open position 20B. .
[0029]
In the present embodiment, the solenoid 50 is used as the driving force transmission canceling unit, but other devices such as a plunger can also be used.
[0030]
In the present embodiment, the coupling between the coupling pin 36 and the coupling hole 50 is released and the movement of the lens barrier 40 by the barrier motor 30 is released. However, the gear portion 30A and the gear 32A that are sequentially meshed with each other are released. , 32B, 32C, and the gear portion 34A can be released to prevent the movement of the lens barrier 40 by the barrier motor 30.
[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 6, the open / close arm 80 of the present embodiment is formed with a substantially T-shaped coupling groove 84 that can engage the coupling pin 36. The coupling groove 84 includes a release groove portion 84A formed along an arc centered on the fixed shaft 52, and a coupling groove portion 84B formed from a substantially central portion of the release groove portion 84 toward the shaft hole 86 described later. Has been. The coupling pin 36 is normally engaged with the coupling groove 84B.
[0032]
The opening / closing arm 80 is formed with a shaft hole 86 through which the fixed shaft 52 can be inserted and the fixed shaft 52 can be relatively moved in the longitudinal direction of the opening / closing arm 80. The fixed shaft 52 is normally engaged with the side away from the coupling groove portion 84B of the shaft hole 86.
[0033]
An extension member 88 is provided below the opening / closing arm 80. The extension member 88 can move the opening / closing arm 80 in the X direction by applying a force in a direction toward the opening / closing arm operation opening 82 (hereinafter referred to as “X direction”).
[0034]
On the lower side of the housing 12 of the camera 70 where the open / close arm 80 is disposed, an open / close arm operating opening 82 is formed. The housing 12 is provided with a lid 90 that can open and close the opening / closing arm operation opening 82. The user can operate the extension member 88 by opening the lid 90.
[0035]
Note that the camera 70 of the present embodiment does not include the abnormality detection sensor 62 and the solenoid 50.
[0036]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
[0037]
The operation of the lens barrier 20 at the normal time is the same as in the first embodiment.
If the lens barrier 20 is not automatically moved to the closed position 20B due to some abnormality while the lens barrier 20 is in the open position 20B, the user opens the lid 90 and opens the opening / closing arm operation opening 82. Is opened, the extension member 88 is pulled in the X direction, the fixed shaft 52 is slid to the upper side of the shaft hole 80, and the coupling pin 36 is moved from the coupling groove 84B to the release groove 84A (see FIG. 7). In this state, the coupling pin 36 can move along the release groove portion 84 </ b> A regardless of the driving force from the motor 30. Therefore, the user can move the lens barrier 20 from the open position 20B to the closed position 20A using gravity by tilting the camera 10 so that the closed position 20A is below the open position 20B. (See FIG. 8).
[0038]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the transmission of the driving force from the barrier motor 30 is manually canceled, so that the driving force transmission releasing means (the solenoid 50 in the first embodiment) is electrically operated due to some abnormality. Even when it cannot be made, transmission of a driving force can be cancelled | released reliably.
[0039]
In the present embodiment, an example in which the camera 70 does not include the abnormality detection sensor 62 and the solenoid 50 has been described. However, a configuration including these may be employed. Thus, by providing the abnormality detection sensor 62 and the solenoid 50, as described in the first embodiment, the coupling between the coupling pin 36 of the coupling member 34 and the coupling hole 48 of the opening / closing arm 40 is automatically released. In addition, when it cannot be automatically canceled due to some abnormality, it can be manually canceled as described in the second embodiment.
[0040]
In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the barrier mechanism of the present invention is applied to a lens barrier of a still camera has been described. However, the barrier mechanism of the present invention can be applied to other cases. For example, it can be applied to a lens barrier of a video camera.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the barrier mechanism and the imaging apparatus of the present invention, when the transmission of the driving force from the driving unit to the barrier member is released by the driving force transmission releasing unit, the barrier member is the driving unit. It is possible to move between the protection position and the protection release position regardless. Therefore, even when the barrier member cannot be moved by the driving force due to an abnormality in the driving means, the barrier member is manually moved between the protection position and the protection release position, so that the protected member is reliably protected. Can be done.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a camera according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a lens barrier drive system according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state where the open / close arm and the lens barrier of the first embodiment are in a closed position.
FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram relating to control of a lens barrier according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state where the open / close arm and the lens barrier according to the first embodiment are in an open position.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an open / close arm and a lens barrier according to a second embodiment are in an open position.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a state after the open / close arm and the lens barrier of the second embodiment are pulled downward in the open position.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an open / close arm and a lens barrier according to a second embodiment are in a closed position.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Camera (imaging device)
20 Lens barrier (barrier member)
30 Barrier motor (drive means, drive force supply means)
32 gears (drive means, drive force supply means)
34 Coupling means (driving means, driving force supplying means)
40 Opening and closing arm (drive means, transmission means)
50 Solenoid (driving force release means)
60 Control part (control means)
62 Abnormality detection sensor (detection means)
84A Release groove (drive force release means)
88 Extension member (driving force release means)

Claims (3)

A barrier member movable between a protection position for protecting the protected member and a protection release position for releasing the protection;
A driving means coupled to the barrier member for transmitting a driving force to the barrier member to move the barrier member between the protection position and the protection release position;
Driving force transmission releasing means capable of releasing transmission of the driving force to the barrier member;
Detecting means for detecting a closing abnormality in which the barrier member does not move to the protection position;
Control means for controlling the driving force transmission releasing means so that the transmission of the driving force to the barrier member is released when the closing abnormality is detected by the detecting means;
With a barrier mechanism. The drive means includes a drive force supply means for supplying a drive force, and a transmission means coupled to the drive force supply means and transmitting the drive force from the drive force supply means to the barrier member,
2. The barrier according to claim 1, wherein the driving force transmission releasing unit releases transmission of the driving force to the barrier member by releasing the coupling between the driving force supply unit and the transmitting unit. mechanism. Comprising a barrier mechanism according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The image pickup apparatus, wherein the member to be protected is an image pickup lens.

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