JP4177971B2 - Camera lens protector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lens protection device suitable for a photographic camera or a digital camera having a retractable photographic lens.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent cameras, regardless of whether it is a zoom lens or a single focus lens, in many cases, the photographing lens is retracted into the camera body when not in use in order to improve compactness when carried. Furthermore, in order to prevent the photographic lens from being damaged or dirty, it is also common to close the lens entrance opening with a lens barrier after the photographic lens is retracted.
[0003]
When the lens barrier is configured to open and close the aperture through which the photographic lens enters and exits, especially when the lens barrier is manually opened and closed, the lens barrier must be closed before the lens barrel is completely retracted. As a result, there arises a problem that the lens barrier collides with the lens barrel. In order to avoid this, it has been usual that the lens barrier is locked at the open position so that the lens barrier cannot be closed until the lens barrel is completely retracted.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of adopting the above configuration, a lock member for locking the lens barrier in the open position and an interlock for moving the lock member from the lock position to the release position in response to the lens barrel being completely retracted. A mechanism is essential. For this reason, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps are increased, and the structure around the lens barrier is complicated, which hinders cost reduction and compactness.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances. Even if the lens barrier is suddenly closed during the retracting operation of the lens barrel, the lens barrier and the lens barrel interfere with each other under a simple structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lens protection device for a camera that is prevented from doing so.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, when the lens barrier is closed during retraction, the lens barrel is pulled into the camera body by using the closing operation force so that they do not interfere with each other. It is devised. Therefore, in the present invention, the moving member that moves forward and backward in the optical axis direction by driving the motor is configured separately from the lens barrel. The lens barrel is urged in the protruding direction by the urging means, and a contact portion provided integrally with the lens barrel is brought into contact with the back side of the moving member. When the moving member moves forward by the drive of the motor, the lens barrel follows this, and moves in the protruding direction. When the moving member moves backward, the lens barrel moves backward against the urging force by the pressing of the moving member. Further, a lens barrel retracting means that is linked to the lens barrier closing operation is provided, and when the lens barrier is closed while the lens barrel is not yet retracted from the opening where the lens barrier is opened and closed, the biasing means The lens barrel is forcibly moved in the retracting direction against the bias.
[0007]
As the moving member, a top member that is screwed into a lead screw that is rotated by a motor and is advanced and retracted by the rotation of the motor is used, and the contact portion of the lens barrel is integrated with the lens barrel. It is advantageous in terms of space to use a contact piece provided on the outer periphery of an engaging member that is provided and engages with a guide bar extending in the optical axis direction to stabilize the movement of the lens barrel in the optical axis direction. It is. In addition, it is convenient to use a coil spring as the biasing means, and to fix one end to the top member and the other end to the support piece protruding from the engagement member behind the contact piece . Further, as the lens barrel retracting means, one end receives a pressure by the movement of the lens barrier in the closing direction and rotates, and the other end rotates a lever that pushes the pressing piece protruding from the outer periphery of the guide sleeve in the backward direction. It is preferable to simplify the structure and save space.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a digital camera embodying the present invention. A lens barrier 4 is provided on the front surface of the camera body 3 constituting the digital camera 2. The lens barrier 4 is located in either the open position or the closed position. One end of a spring (not shown) is attached to the lens barrier 4 and biased toward the left in the figure. For example, when moving the lens barrier 4 to the open position, the lens barrier 4 is moved from the closed position (see FIG. 2) to the lock switching position (rightward in the figure) to release the lock. When the lock is released, the lens barrier 4 receives the bias of the spring and slides leftward in the figure and is held in the open position. A rectangular parallelepiped protrusion 5 (see FIG. 3) is formed on the bottom surface of the lens barrier 4, and the lens barrel operation switch 6 (see FIG. 5) is turned on when the lens barrier 4 is slid to the open position. .
[0009]
On the other hand, when the lens barrier 4 is moved from the open position to the closed position, the lens barrier 4 is moved from the open position to the lock switching position against the bias of the spring. When the lock switching position is reached, the lens barrier 4 is locked and the lens barrier 4 is held in the closed position against the bias of the spring. Reference numeral 7 denotes a guide hole for the protrusion 5.
[0010]
A photographing lens 10, a lens barrel 11, and a strobe light emitting unit 12 are provided on the front surface of the digital camera 2, and are covered with the lens barrier 4 when the lens barrier 4 is held in the closed position. The lens barrel 11 protrudes from an opening 13 provided on the front surface of the camera body 3 by sliding the lens barrier 4 to the open position. An objective finder window 14 is provided at the upper right of the digital camera 2. Further, on the upper surface of the digital camera 2, a power switch 15 and a release button 16 which are main power sources of the digital camera 2 are provided.
[0011]
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the lens barrel 11 and the lens protection device 17 incorporated in the digital camera. The lens protection device 17 includes a guide portion 18 of the lens barrel 11, a barrel drive mechanism 19, a retractable lever (rotating lever) 20, and a cam 21. A guide hole 18 a is formed in the guide portion 18 so that the optical axis direction of the photographing lens 10 is the axial direction. By inserting the guide hole 18 a through a guide bar 22 provided in the vicinity of the lens barrel 11, The lens barrel 11 is slidable in the optical axis direction. Although not shown, two or three guide portions of the lens barrel 11 are provided on the side surface of the lens barrel 11.
[0012]
The lens barrel drive mechanism 19 includes a focus motor 25, a top member 26, and the like. For example, a stepping motor is used as the focus motor 25, and the number of driving steps when the lens barrel 11 is retracted and projected is determined in advance. A lead screw 27 is attached to the rotation shaft of the focus motor 25, and the lead screw 27 is screwed to the top member 26. The lead screw 27 is rotatably attached to a metal piece 28 formed in a U shape. A guide bar 29 is attached to the metal piece 28 at a certain distance from the lead screw 27 and parallel to the lead screw 27.
[0013]
The piece member 26 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The frame member 26 is movable between a first position where the lens barrel 11 is housed in the camera body 3 and a second position where a part of the lens barrel protrudes from the opening 13 of the camera body 3. Is provided. The top member 26 moves between the first position and the second position by the rotation of the lead screw 27. A guide piece 32 having a U-shaped notch is formed in the piece member 26, and a guide bar 29 held by a metal piece 28 is inserted into the notch of the guide piece 32. This prevents the top member 26 from rotating in synchronization with the rotation of the lead screw 27 and guides the top member 26 in the optical axis direction.
[0014]
An L-shaped contact piece 33 is formed on the piece member 26, and one end of a coil spring 34 is attached to the contact piece 33. Further, the upper surface of the contact piece 18 b formed on the guide portion 18 of the lens barrel 11 contacts the lower surface of the contact piece 33. The other end of the coil spring 34 is attached to a support piece 18 c formed on the guide portion 18 of the lens barrel 11. As a result, when the top member 26 moves from the first position to the second position, the lens barrel 11 protrudes from the front surface of the camera body 3 due to the bias of the coil spring 34, and the guide piece is brought into contact with the contact piece 33. The lens barrel 11 is held at a predetermined position by the 18 abutting pieces 18b abutting.
[0015]
In the vicinity of the lens barrel 11, a retractable lever 20 is provided as a lens barrel retracting means. The retractable lever 20 is formed in a substantially L shape, and pressing pieces 20a and 20b are formed at both ends thereof. The retractable lever 20 is attached to a pin 36 inside the camera body 3 via a screw 37. One end of a spring 38 is attached to the retractable lever 20 and is biased counterclockwise in the figure. Thereby, the pressing piece 20 a of the retractable lever 20 always abuts against the side surface of the cam 21. Further, when the lens barrier 4 is moved to the closed position, the lens 21 receives the pressure of the cam 21 and rotates in the clockwise direction in the figure, and the pressing piece 18d of the guide portion 18 resists the bias of the coil spring 34. Push down in the middle.
[0016]
The cam 21 is in contact with the side surface of the projection 5 provided on the lens barrier 4 and is rotated by a predetermined amount in accordance with the slide of the lens barrier 4. The cam 21 contacts the side surface 5a of the protrusion 5 when the lens barrier 4 is in the open position. When the lens barrier 4 is slid to the closed position, the lens barrier 4 is pressed by the protrusion 5 and rotates clockwise in the drawing so as to come into contact with the side surface 5 b of the protrusion 5. When the cam 21 rotates, the pressing piece 20a of the retracting lever 20 is pressed, and the retracting lever 20 is rotated in the clockwise direction in the drawing.
[0017]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the digital camera 2 is used, the power switch 13 is turned on, and the lens barrier 4 is first slid from the closed position to the open position. At this time, the lens barrier 4 is once slid to the lock switching position (rightward in the figure) and then slid to the open position using the bias of the spring. When the lens barrier 4 is moved to the open position, the lens barrel operation switch 6 is turned on by the protrusion 5 formed on the back surface of the lens barrier 4. At this time, the cam 21 is in contact with the side surface 5b of the projection 5, but when the projection 5 is slid by a predetermined amount, the cam 21 rotates counterclockwise in the figure and contacts the side surface 5a of the projection 5. Touch. The retractable lever 20 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure by the bias of the spring 38. Even during this rotation, the side surface of the cam 21 and the pressing piece 20a of the retractable lever 20 are in contact with each other.
[0018]
When the lens barrel operation switch 6 is turned on, the focus motor 25 is driven and the lead screw 27 starts to rotate. In accordance with this rotation, the top member 26 starts moving from the first position to the second position (upward in the figure) against the bias of the coil spring 34 by the guide of the guide bar 29. When the return force of the coil spring 34 is increased by the movement of the top member 26 to the second position, the support piece 18c of the guide portion 18 is pulled in the optical axis direction, and the lens barrel 11 is guided by the guide bar 22 in the optical axis direction. Start moving towards. When the piece member 26 reaches the second position, the contact piece 18b of the guide portion 18 comes into contact with the contact piece 33 of the piece member 26 due to the bias of the coil spring 34 and stops. At this time, the lens barrel 11 protrudes from the opening 13 of the camera body 3 by a predetermined amount. The driving of the focus motor 25 is stopped when a predetermined number of steps is reached.
[0019]
At the time of shooting with the digital camera 2, focus adjustment is performed by operating the release button 16. That is, the focus motor 25 is driven, and the top member 26 is finely moved up and down in the drawing. For example, when the photographing lens 10 is finely moved to the subject side, the frame member 26 moves upward in the drawing by driving the focus motor 25, and the lens barrel 11 protrudes by the bias of the coil spring 34. Further, when the photographing lens 10 is finely moved toward the camera body 3, the focus motor 25 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the coma member 26 is moved downward in the drawing. At this time, the contact piece 33 of the frame member 26 presses the contact piece 18 b of the guide portion 18, and the lens barrel 11 is stored on the camera body 3 side.
[0020]
When the power switch 15 is turned off after shooting, the focus motor 25 rotates in the reverse direction, and the frame member 26 slides from the second position toward the first position. At this time, the contact piece 33 of the top member 26 presses the contact piece 18 b of the guide portion 18, and the lens barrel 11 is retracted into the camera body 3. Thereafter, the lens barrier 4 is slid to the closed position.
[0021]
On the other hand, when the power switch 15 is not turned off, when the lens barrier 4 is slid to the closed position, the cam 21 is pressed by the protrusion 5, and the pressing piece 20 a of the retractable lever 20 is pressed by the rotation of the cam 21. . As a result, the retractable lever 20 rotates clockwise in the figure against the bias of the spring 38. When the retractable lever 20 rotates, the pressing piece 20 b presses the pressing piece 18 d formed on the guide portion 18 of the lens barrel 11. In response to the pressing by the pressing piece 20 b, the lens barrel 11 moves downward in the figure, and the lens barrel 11 is housed inside the camera body 3.
[0022]
Then, after the lens barrier 4 is slid to the closed position, when the reset switch (not shown) detects that the lens barrel 11 is housed in the camera body 3, the focus motor 25 is driven by a predetermined number of steps, The lead screw 27 is driven in the reverse direction. Thereby, the piece member 26 moves from the second position to the first position. Thereby, when the lens barrier 4 is slid to the closed position, the lens barrel 11 is mechanically accommodated in the camera body 3 to prevent interference between the lens barrier and the lens barrel.
[0023]
If the lens barrier 4 is slid from the closed position to the open position when the power switch 13 is not turned on, the lens barrel 11 protrudes by turning on the power switch 13 after sliding. The operations of the focus motor 25, the top member 26, and the lens barrel 11 at this time are the same as described above.
[0024]
Alternatively, a power switch may be provided inside the lens barrier so that the lens barrel can be automatically extended only by opening and closing the lens barrier.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the lens holding device of the camera of the present invention, the moving member that moves forward and backward in the optical axis direction by driving the motor and the lens barrel are urged in the direction protruding from the opening, and are integrated with the lens barrel. The abutting part provided on the back side of the moving member is brought into contact with the biasing means for projecting the lens barrel following the advance of the moving member, and interlocked with the movement of the lens barrier in the closing direction, Since the lens barrel is provided with a lens barrel retracting means for retracting the lens barrel so as to be retracted from the opening against the bias of the biasing means when the lens barrel protrudes from the opening, the lens is closed together with the lens barrier closing operation. The lens barrel can be housed in the camera body without mechanically interfering between the lens barrier and the lens barrel. In addition, since the lens protection device is configured with a small number of parts, the structure around the lens barrier can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced and the size can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a digital camera embodying the present invention with a lens barrier in an open position.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance in a state where a lens barrier is in a closed position.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing configurations of a lens barrel and a lens holding device.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a lens holding device when a lens barrier is in a closed position.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a lens holding device when a lens barrier is in an open position.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Digital camera 3 Camera body 4 Lens barrier 5 Protrusion 6 Lens barrel operation switch 11 Lens barrel 17 Lens holding device 18 Guide portion 18b, 33 Contact piece 18c Support piece 18d Press piece 19 Lens barrel drive mechanism 20 Retractable lever 21 Cam 22, 29 Guide bar 25 Focus motor 26 Top member 27 Lead screw 28 Metal piece 32 Guide piece 34 Coil spring 38 Spring

Claims (3)

By driving the motor, the lens barrel through an opening formed in the camera body, forward and backward along a guide bar extending in the optical axis direction, the lens barrier is moved in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis by a manual operation by the In the camera lens protection device that opens and closes the opening,
A moving member that advances and retracts in the direction of the optical axis by driving the motor;
Biasing the lens barrel in the direction to protrude from the opening, to follow the abutting portion provided integrally with the lens barrel is brought into contact with the rear side of the moving member to the advancement of the moving member and biasing means for protruding the lens barrel,
When the lens barrier is moved in the closing direction, one end receives a pressure and rotates, and when the lens barrel protrudes from the opening, the lens barrier is provided integrally with the lens barrel to be engaged with the guide bar. A rotating lever that pushes a pressing piece projecting on the outer periphery of the engaging member in the backward direction at the other end and retracts the lens barrel so as to be retracted from the opening against the urging force of the urging means; A lens protection device for a camera. The moving member is a frame member that is rotation stop with screwed to the lead screw that is rotated by the motor,
2. The lens protection device for a camera according to claim 1 , wherein the abutting portion is an abutting piece projecting on the outer periphery of the engaging member so as to be orthogonal to the optical axis. Said biasing means, said the one end said stopped by frame member, the other end the a contact coil spring which is fastened to the support piece is protruded from the outer periphery of the engaging member at the rear than pieces The lens protection device for a camera according to claim 2.

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