JP4177976B2 - camera - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a camera having a lens barrier that protects an imaging lens.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Some cameras that are often carried in bags or pockets, such as compact cameras and digital cameras, are equipped with a lens barrier that protects the imaging lens so as not to be scratched. In many cameras having such a lens barrier, the lens barrier is slidably attached to the camera body and is moved between a closed position that covers the imaging lens and an open position that exposes the imaging lens. In a slide-movable lens barrier, protrusions are provided at the upper and lower ends, a guide rail groove is disposed at a position corresponding to the protrusion, and the protrusion of the lens barrier is engaged with the rail groove and attached. It is common.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in a camera having a slide-movable lens barrier as described above, rail grooves for guiding the lens barrier must be provided near the upper and lower ends of the camera body. As described above, the rail grooves provided in the vicinity of the upper and lower end portions of the camera body are in a very conspicuous position in appearance, which impairs the design of the camera. Furthermore, dust may accumulate in such a guide groove and hinder the movement of the lens barrier.
[0004]
In addition, the lens barrier has a circular or elliptical outline according to the shape of the lens barrel in which the imaging lens is incorporated, as viewed from the front. In order to move the lens barrier, the shape of the upper and lower edges of the lens barrier must be linear with the rail groove. In this case, it can be dealt with by making the shape of a circular shape or an elliptic shape with fins on the top and bottom, and making the upper and lower edges of this fin a linear shape. Since it becomes far from the outline, the design is still spoiled.
[0005]
The present invention is for solving the above-described problems, and provides a camera having a lens barrier in which a rail groove or the like for guiding the lens barrier is not so conspicuous and there are few portions protruding from a circular or elliptical outline. For the purpose.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the camera of the present invention includes a lens barrier that is slidably provided on the front surface of the camera body and moves between a closed position that covers the imaging lens and a closed position that exposes the imaging lens, The lens barrier includes a lens protection part having a circular or elliptical contour when viewed from the front, a protruding piece protruding from the lens protection part, a back surface of the lens protection part, and a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction. And an engaging portion located at substantially the center of the
The camera body is provided on a front surface of the camera body, and is engaged with the projecting piece when the lens barrier is moved to the closed position, and guide means for sliding the lens barrier by engagement with the engaging portion. And a notch for restricting the movement of the lens barrier in the optical axis direction .
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the lens barrier is configured to open and close a circular opening formed in the front cover of the camera body, and the guide means is a narrow rail groove having one end connected to the opening. The rail groove is covered from the inner surface side by a support plate fixed to the inner surface of the front cover.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 and 2 showing the appearance of an electronic still camera embodying the present invention, an electronic still camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera) 1 is a rectangular whose width is slightly larger than height when viewed from the front. A camera body 3 having a main body base (not shown) in which various photographing mechanisms are incorporated therein, and a front cover 5 and a rear cover 6 covering the front side and the rear side of the main body base; The lens barrier 7 is slidably attached to the front surface of the front cover 5.
[0010]
The lens barrier 7 is slidably mounted along a direction (horizontal direction) H orthogonal to the imaging optical axis L, and is in a closed position as shown in FIG. And the self-timer LED 9 are covered. When in use, the lens is slid from the right side to the left side in the drawing to be in the open position as shown in FIG. 1, and the lens barrel 8 and the self-timer LED 9 are exposed.
[0011]
The lens barrel 8 is disposed near the center of the camera body 3, and an objective finder 11, a strobe light emission window 12, and the like are provided above the lens barrel 8. The substantially cylindrical lens barrel 8 is a zoom lens barrel in which the imaging lens 13 constituting the zoom optical system and an electronic shutter are incorporated, and performs extension and retraction along the imaging optical axis L. The lens barrel 8 protrudes forward of the camera body 3 as shown in FIG. 1 when used, and is housed inside the camera body 3 as shown in FIG. 2 when carried, and the front surface thereof is covered by the lens barrier 7. It is. Further, a shutter button 14 and a power switch 15 are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 3, and an eyepiece finder 16 and an LCD panel (not shown) are provided on the rear surface.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lens barrier 7 includes a lens protection unit 20 that covers the lens barrel 8 when in the closed position, and protruding pieces 21 and 22 that protrude from the outline of the lens protection unit 20. The positioning piece 23 and a boss 24 disposed on the back side of the lens protection unit 20 are provided. The lens protection unit 20 is formed in an elliptical contour that matches the contour shape of the lens barrel 8 viewed from the front. In addition, a concave portion 20a is formed on the front surface of the lens protection unit 20 so that the user can put his / her finger when the lens barrier 7 is slid.
[0013]
The lens barrier 7 moves in the range of the concave portion 25 that is one step concave from the surroundings on the front surface of the front cover 5. The surface of the recess 25 is flat so as not to prevent the lens barrier 7 from sliding. The right end portion of the recess 25 in the drawing serves as a receiving portion 26 that abuts on the right side of the lens barrier 7 in the drawing when the lens barrier 7 is moved to the closed position and limits the range of sliding movement. The upper and lower ends of the recess 25 are surrounded by the recess upper wall 27 and the recess lower wall 28. The receiving portion 26 is formed in an elliptical arc shape that matches the right contour of the lens barrier 7 in the drawing. The concave upper wall 27 and the concave lower wall 28 are linearly formed so as to be parallel to the direction H according to the positions of the upper and lower ends of the lens barrier 7, and are smoothly continuous with the upper and lower ends of the receiving portion 26. is doing.
[0014]
A rail groove 30 is formed in the concave portion 25 as a guide means for slidingly guiding the lens barrier 7. A circular opening 31 through which the lens barrel 8 enters and exits is provided on one side portion of the rail groove. A locking member 32 and a self-timer LED 9 are provided above 30. The rail groove 30 has a narrow slot shape and is formed along the direction H. One end of the rail groove 30 is connected to the opening 31, and the lens barrier 7 that slides along the rail groove 30 includes the opening. It arrange | positions so that the front surface of 31 may be opened and closed.
[0015]
Notches 33 and 34 are formed on the upper and lower portions of the receiving portion 26 at positions corresponding to the protruding pieces 21 and 22 of the lens barrier 7. The protruding pieces 21 and 22 protrude from the vicinity of the upper and lower ends 20b and 20c of the lens protection portion 20 so as to extend toward the right side in the figure, and are positioned within the range from the upper end 20b to the lower end 20c of the lens protection portion 20 in the vertical direction. It is formed in a size that is not so noticeable when viewed from the front. When the lens barrier 7 is moved to the closed position, the protruding pieces 21 and 22 are engaged so as to be inserted into the notches 33 and 34 of the receiving portion 26. As a result, the lens barrier 7 is regulated so as not to move in the direction of the imaging optical axis L at the closed position, and is held in close contact with the front cover 5.
[0016]
When the lens barrier 7 is attached to the front cover 5, as shown in FIG. 5, the connecting member 35 is fixed from the back side of the front cover 5 through the rail groove 30 and is held so as to sandwich the front cover 5. The connecting member 35 has a screw hole 35a at the center, an engaging portion 35b on the front side, and a protruding portion 35c on the back side. The engaging portion 35b is formed in accordance with the width of the rail groove 30 and slidably engages with the rail groove 30. The protruding portion 35 c is formed so as to protrude from the contour of the engaging portion 35 b, and comes into contact with the inner surface of the front cover 5 when the engaging portion 35 b is engaged with the rail groove 30. Thereby, the connecting member 35 fixed to the lens barrier 7 is prevented from detaching to the front of the front cover 5. The lens barrier 7 and the connecting member 35 are fixed by inserting a screw 36 through the screw hole 35 a and screwing it into the boss 24.
[0017]
The boss 24 is disposed substantially at the center of the lens barrier 7 in the vertical direction perpendicular to the sliding direction, and the rail groove 30 is also disposed approximately at the center of the recess 25 in the vertical direction. Thereby, the lens barrier 7 is attached to the front cover 5 in a state where the vicinity of the center is supported by the connecting member 35 screwed to the boss 24 and can be slid in a stable state. Furthermore, since the rail groove 30 is aligned with the substantially central position of the lens barrier 7, the rail groove 30 is formed at the widest position within the range of the recess 25, so that the dimension X along the H direction is long. Yes. Thereby, the stroke of the lens barrier 7 can be made long.
[0018]
A positioning piece 23 is formed on the upper surface of the protruding piece 21 on the upper side of the lens barrier 7. A positioning groove 37 is formed in the concave upper wall 27 facing the protruding piece 21 and is slidably engaged with the positioning piece 23. The positioning groove 37 is formed in a long hole shape parallel to the rail groove 30. By engaging the positioning piece 23 with the positioning groove 37, the lens cover 7 is positioned with respect to the front cover 5, and the lens cover 7 is not displaced in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction, and the slide movement in the horizontal direction is performed. Is done smoothly.
[0019]
A support plate 40 is attached to the inner surface side of the front cover 5. The support plate 40 is provided with a decorative ring 41, a feed switch 42, a decorative plate 43, and the like. The support plate 40 is fixed to the front cover 5 by screws. The decorative ring 41 and the decorative plate 43 are painted with a paint having a texture similar to metal plating. When the support plate 40 is screwed to the inner surface of the front cover 5, the decorative plate 43 is fixed to a position that covers the rail groove 30 from the inner surface side. Thus, when the lens barrier 7 is in the open position, the rail groove 30 exposed to the outside is made inconspicuous.
[0020]
The payout switch 42 is rotatably attached to the support plate 40 via a rotation shaft 45 at the tip end on the open position side in the direction H of the support plate 40, and is urged clockwise in the figure by a spring (not shown). Has been. The distal end portion 42a of the payout switch 42 is located on a track on which the connecting member 35 slides, and is pressed by the connecting member 35 when the lens barrier 7 moves from the closed position to the open position. The payout switch 42, which is pressed by the connecting member 35, rotates counterclockwise in the drawing against the spring bias and is turned on. When the extension switch 42 is turned on, the motor for driving the lens barrel 8 rotates in conjunction with this, and the lens barrel 8 is extended forward. Then, when the lens barrier 7 is returned from the open position to the closed position, the feeding switch 42 is released from the pressure from the connecting member 35 and is rotated clockwise by the spring force to return to the original position and is turned off. It becomes. When the payout switch 42 is turned off, the motor that drives the lens barrel 8 rotates in reverse in conjunction with this, and the lens barrel 8 is retracted.
[0021]
A plurality of locking holes (not shown) are formed on the back side of the lens protection unit 20, together with the locking member 32 and a spring (not shown) that urges the locking member 32 forward. This constitutes a locking mechanism. In this locking mechanism, when the lens barrier 7 is in the closed position and the open position, the locking member 32 protrudes forward by spring bias and enters the locking hole to lock the lens barrier 7. The lens barrier 7 in the open position is held at each position.
[0022]
The operation of the above configuration will be described below. As shown in FIG. 2, the rail groove 30 is exposed in the camera 1 when being carried, but the rail groove 30 is disposed in the approximate center of the recess 25 and is located away from the corner or edge, Because it is in an inconspicuous part, the design is not impaired. In order to put the camera 1 in a use state, first, the power switch 15 is turned on to turn on the power, and the lens barrier 7 is slid from the closed position to the open position. As described above, since the lens barrier 7 is guided by the rail groove 30 aligned with the substantially central position with respect to the vertical direction, smooth sliding movement can be performed. Furthermore, since the rail groove 30 is formed long, the lens barrier 7 can be moved with a long stroke, so that the touch when the slide is moved is easily transmitted to the user's hand.
[0023]
When the lens barrier 7 is moved to the open position, the payout switch 42 is turned on, and the lens barrel 7 is extended to enter the use state shown in FIG. In the camera 1 in the use state, the CCD driver operates and the CCD image sensor behind the imaging lens 13 is turned on. Thereby, the subject light incident from the imaging lens 13 forms an image on the CCD image sensor, and the subject image can be taken. When all the imaging is completed, the power switch 15 is turned off and the lens barrier 7 is returned to the closed position. Even when the lens barrier 7 is returned from the open position to the closed position, the lens barrier 7 is smoothly moved in a long stroke. When the lens barrier 7 is moved from the open position to the closed position, the payout switch 42 is turned off, the lens barrel 7 is housed inside the camera body 3, and the front surface of the lens barrel 7 is the lens barrier 7. Covered by the lens protector 20. Further, when the lens barrier 7 is in the closed position, the projecting pieces 21 and 22 are engaged with the notches 33 and 34 of the receiving portion 26 so as not to move in the direction of the optical axis L with respect to the front cover 5. As a result, the imaging lens 13 is isolated from the outside and reliably protected.
[0024]
In the above embodiment, as the guide means for guiding the lens barrier 7, the rail groove 30 is provided on the camera body 3 side, and the lens barrier 7 is attached so as to slide along the rail groove 30. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, a rail groove along the H direction is provided on the lens barrier 7 side, and a member slidably engaged with the rail groove is provided on the camera body 3 side. May be. Or you may make it provide the member which formed the rail piece along the H direction instead of the rail groove | channel, and formed the recessed part attached slidably with respect to this.
[0025]
In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an electronic still camera. However, the present invention is not limited to an electronic still camera, but a camera loaded with an IX240 type or 135 type photographic film cartridge, an instant camera, or the like. Applicable to any camera.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the camera of the present invention, the lens protector having a circular or oval contour when viewed from the front, the protruding piece protruding from the lens protector, the back surface of the lens protector, and the slide A lens barrier comprising an engaging portion located substantially in the center in a direction perpendicular to the direction, and a guide means for sliding the lens barrier by engagement with the engaging portion, and a closed position of the lens barrier Since the front surface of the camera body is provided with a notch that engages with the protruding piece and restricts the movement of the lens barrier in the optical axis direction when the lens is moved to the position, guide means such as a rail groove and a rail piece are provided. It is not very noticeable and does not impair the design.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state in use of a camera of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state when the camera of the present invention is not used;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration around a lens barrier.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are external views showing a use state (A) and a non-use state (B) when the periphery of the lens barrier is viewed from the front.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of the camera of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Camera 3 Camera body 7 Lens barrier 20 Lens protection part 21, 22 Protruding piece 24 Boss 30 Rail groove

Claims (2)

In a camera having a lens barrier that is slidably provided on the front surface of the camera body and moves between a closed position that covers the imaging lens and an open position that exposes the imaging lens,
The lens barrier includes a lens protection part having a circular or elliptical contour when viewed from the front, a protruding piece protruding from the lens protection part, a back surface of the lens protection part, and a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction. And an engaging portion located at substantially the center of the
The camera body is provided on a front surface of the camera body, and is engaged with the projecting piece when the lens barrier is moved to the closed position, and guide means for sliding the lens barrier by engagement with the engaging portion. And a notch that restricts movement of the lens barrier in the optical axis direction . The lens barrier is configured to open and close a circular opening formed in a front cover of a camera body, and the guide means is a narrow rail groove having one end connected to the opening. groove according to claim 1, wherein the camera which is characterized in that it is covered from the inner surface side by a support plate fixed to the inner surface of the front cover.

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