JP4628328B2 - Cleaning device for imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning tool for an image pickup apparatus, and more particularly to a cleaning tool that removes foreign matters adhering to an image pickup unit or the like of an interchangeable lens digital camera.

  In recent years, interchangeable lens digital cameras are becoming popular. In the interchangeable lens digital camera, foreign matter such as dust mixed by lens replacement may adhere to the surface of the built-in image sensor. An apparatus that removes foreign matter from the surface of the image sensor is known in order to prevent deterioration in image quality due to foreign matter adhering to the image sensor.

Among such devices, one that is attached to a camera mount and sucks foreign matter using a blower such as a fan is known (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In addition, a sticky planar member is brought into full contact with the surface of the image sensor or the surface of an infrared cut filter or optical low-pass filter disposed in front of the image sensor, and foreign matter adheres to the planar member. A device that is removed from the surface of the imaging device (for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4), and an elongated cylindrical cleaning tool provided with an adhesive at the tip are also known (for example, Patent Document 5).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-326095 (see paragraphs [0034] to [0042], FIGS. 1 to 4 etc.) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-24905 (see paragraphs [0012] to [0015], FIGS. 1 and 2) JP-A-2005-292404 (see paragraphs [0037] to [0064], FIGS. 4 to 12) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-316391 (see paragraphs [0042] to [0076], FIGS. 4 to 16) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-220014 (see paragraphs [0018] to [0026], FIGS. 1 to 6 etc.)

  In the case of sucking foreign matter with a fan, it is necessary to introduce a complicated device, which causes an increase in cost. Furthermore, in this case, it is difficult to remove fine foreign substances adhering to the surface to be cleaned due to static electricity or the like.

  Moreover, when removing a foreign material using an adhesive member, the adhesiveness of an adhesive member falls with the removed foreign material. For this reason, in order to use an adhesive member continuously, operation which removes a foreign material from an adhesive member is needed, and operativity will fall. Furthermore, since the image pickup device or the like is provided inside the camera, it is often particularly difficult to make the adhesive flat member come into full contact with the surface of the image pickup device or the like from the gap inside the camera.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning tool for an imaging device that has excellent operability and can reliably remove foreign matter.

  The cleaning tool of the present invention is a cleaning tool for an imaging device that removes foreign matter on the light receiving surface of an imaging unit provided in the imaging device, and a rotatable adhesive member having an adhesive surface that adheres foreign matter; A foreign substance removal sheet for removing foreign substances from the adhesive surface, and a movement control means for controlling the movement of the foreign substance removal sheet so that the foreign substance removal sheet moves while adhering to the adhesive surface while removing the foreign substances as the adhesive member rotates. And a rotation control unit for reversing the sheet take-up member so that the foreign matter removal sheet moves only in one direction. And a reverse rotation preventing mechanism for preventing the reverse rotation.

  The adhesive surface and the foreign material removal sheet are preferably in surface contact. More preferably, the movement control means further includes a guide member that guides the foreign substance removal sheet so as to come into surface contact with the adhesive surface.

  For example, the adhesive member further includes an elastic belt that can rotate on the surface of the adhesive member, and the adhesive surface is provided on the outer surface of the elastic belt. In this case, the adhesive member further includes a main body portion covered with an elastic belt, and the main body portion includes a pair of rollers for rotation of the elastic belt provided at both ends of the main body portion, and a pair of rollers. It is desirable to have a belt holding member between the rollers for preventing the elastic belt from being recessed. The adhesive member is preferably oval on a cut surface perpendicular to the roller.

  It is preferable that the movement control means further includes a rotatable sheet holding member that holds the foreign substance removal sheet before coming into contact with the adhesive surface in a wound state. In this case, the movement control means further includes a winding member side rotating body that rotates together with the sheet winding member, and a holding member side rotating body that rotates together with the sheet holding portion, and the winding member side rotating body and the holding member side It is more preferable that the rotating body interlocks with each other.

  It is desirable that the rotation radius of the holding member side rotating body is larger than the rotation radius of the winding member side rotating body. Moreover, it is preferable that a reverse rotation prevention mechanism contains the latch provided in the sheet | seat winding member, and the engaging member engaged with a latch. And in a cleaning instrument, it is preferable that the foreign material removal unit containing a foreign material removal sheet and a movement control means is detachable. The cleaning tool further includes a support member provided with movement control means, and the width of the adhesive member is preferably equal to the width of the support member.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can implement | achieve providing the cleaning instrument for imaging devices which is excellent in operativity and can remove a foreign material reliably.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the cleaning tool in a state where the adhesive member is opened in the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the cleaning tool in a state where the adhesive member is accommodated. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the cleaning tool 10 in a used state.

  The cleaning tool 10 is used to remove foreign matters such as dust attached to the light receiving surface and the like of the imaging unit. The cleaning tool 10 includes an adhesive member 12 and a support member 14. The support member 14 rotatably supports the adhesive member 12 via the support portion 15. When the cleaning tool 10 is not used, the protective cover 16 is attached to the support portion 15 and the adhesive member 12 is protected in a sealed state (see FIG. 2). In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, the adhesive member 12 and the like that cannot be visually recognized from the outside by the protective cover 16 are also shown by broken lines.

  The adhesive member 12 is provided with a main body 18 and an elastic belt 20. The main body 18 is fixed by the support 15. The surface other than the side surface of the main body 18 is covered with an elastic belt 20, and the elastic belt 20 can rotate on the surface of the main body 18. The outer surface of the elastic belt 20 is made of adhesive butyl rubber, and is an adhesive surface 20S for adhering foreign matter.

  When the cleaning tool 10 is used, the protective cover 16 is removed. Then, the user holding the support member 14 moves the cleaning tool 10 along the surface to be cleaned as indicated by the arrow A (see FIG. 3). For example, when the cleaning tool 10 is used for cleaning a surface 32S of a low-pass filter (hereinafter referred to as LPF) 32, which is a light receiving surface of an imaging unit 50 provided in an interchangeable lens digital camera (not shown). The elastic belt 20 applied on the LPF surface 32S rotates as indicated by an arrow B. The foreign matter is adhered to the adhesive surface 20S and removed from the LPF surface 32S. In addition, in FIG. 3 and the following drawings, the support part 15 is abbreviate | omitted in principle.

  FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing the inside of the cleaning tool 10 in a state before use. FIG. 5 is a side view schematically showing the inside of the cleaning tool 10 in a state of being used for a long time.

  The cleaning tool 10 includes a transfer sheet 24 (foreign matter removal sheet) for removing foreign matter from the adhesive surface 20S. The surface of the transfer sheet 24 has adhesiveness, and the unused transfer sheet 24 is a rod-like member provided inside the support member 14 and is wound around a sheet holding member 26 that can rotate around its axis. It is held in the removed state.

  Inside the support member 14 is further provided a sheet take-up member 28 for taking up the transfer sheet 24 after use, that is, the transfer sheet 24 after removing the foreign matter on the adhesive surface 20S. The sheet winding member 28 is also rotatable in the same manner as the sheet holding member 26. As will be described later, the sheet holding member 26 and the sheet winding member 28 are interlocked with each other along with the rotation of the adhesive member 12, and are the same. Rotate in the direction.

  The main body 18 is between a pair of rollers 36 provided near both ends of the main body 18 and the pair of rollers 36 so that the elastic belt 20 can be rotated. And a belt holding member 38 for preventing indentation. The adhesive member 12 is long on the cut surface along the direction perpendicular to the roller 36 that is the rotational axis of the adhesive member 12, that is, the rotational direction of the adhesive member 12 and parallel to the paper surface of FIG. It is circular.

  A guide member 34 that is a pair of shaft members and adjusts the movement of the transfer sheet 24 is provided above the roller 36 inside the support member 14. The guide member 34 is disposed so as to provide a gap that allows the transfer sheet 24 to pass between the elastic body belt 20 and the elastic member 20 in order to bring the transfer sheet 24 into contact with the adhesive surface 20S.

  When the cleaning tool 10 is used and the elastic belt 20 is rotated, the transfer sheet 24 is in surface contact with the adhesive surface 20S in the planar region 20F of the elastic belt 20 above the belt holding member 38, and is indicated by an arrow C. As shown, the sheet is moved from the sheet holding member 26 side to the sheet winding member 28 side. As described above, when the transfer sheet 24 comes into contact with the adhesive surface 20S containing foreign substances in a wide range, the foreign substances are moved from the adhesive surface 20S to the surface 24S of the transfer sheet 24, and the adhesiveness of the adhesive surface 20S is good. Will be kept.

  Since the adhesive surface 20S can come into surface contact with the transfer sheet 24 and the LPF surface 32S as the surface to be cleaned, the width 12W of the adhesive member 12 is longer than the height 12H of the adhesive member 12, and is supported here. It is substantially equal to the width 14W of the member 14 (see FIG. 5). Thus, since the width 12W of the adhesive member 12 and the width 14W of the support member 14 are substantially equal, even if the cleaning tool 10 is used in a state where the adhesive member 12 cannot be directly visually recognized by the support member 14, the user can The surface contact area on the adhesive surface 20S can be easily grasped, and an efficient cleaning operation is possible.

  When the cleaning tool 10 is used over a long period of time, all of the transfer sheet 24 that has been wound around the sheet holding member 26 moves to the sheet winding member 28 side and is wound up. Since it is held by the sheet holding member 26 (see FIG. 5), the elastic belt 20 can no longer rotate. When the transfer sheet 24 cannot move in the direction indicated by the arrow C as described above, the movement of the adhesive surface 20S that is in close contact with the transfer sheet 24 due to the mutual adhesiveness, that is, the rotation of the elastic belt 20 indicated by the arrow B is impossible. In this state, the cleaning tool 10 cannot be used.

  The support member 14 is provided with a foreign matter removal unit 40 including all members necessary for controlling the movement of the transfer sheet 24 such as the sheet holding member 26 and the sheet winding member 28. The foreign matter removing unit 40 is detachable from the support member 14 and can be removed and attached when the lid 42 at the upper end of the support member 14 is removed. Accordingly, when the cleaning tool 10 cannot be used as described above, the foreign matter removing unit 40 is replaced with a new one, and the cleaning tool 10 can be used again.

  As described above, since the foreign material is adhered to the adhesive surface 20S by the rotation of the elastic belt 20, in order to reduce the remaining of the foreign material at the end portion of the LPF surface 32S, which is the surface to be cleaned, at both ends of the adhesive member 12. The radius of curvature of the semicircular portion is preferably small. For this reason, in this embodiment, although the height 12H of the adhesive member 12 is adjusted based on the thickness, strength, etc. of the elastic belt 20, it is about 4 mm.

  4 and 5 and the following drawings, the thickness of the transfer sheet 24 is exaggerated, and only a part of the transfer sheet 24 is wound around the sheet holding member 26 or the sheet winding member 28. It is shown.

  FIG. 6 is a front view showing the inside of the cleaning tool 10. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning tool 10 taken along line VII-VII in FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning tool 10 along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a side view schematically showing only the shaft member of the cleaning tool 10.

  A pair of holding portion side friction wheels (holding portion side rotating bodies) 46 are provided at both ends of the sheet holding member 26. Since the holding portion side friction wheels 46 are attached to both ends of the sheet holding member 26, the holding portion side friction wheel 46 rotates together with the sheet holding member 26 in conjunction with the sheet holding member 26. Further, like the sheet holding member 26, a pair of winding unit side friction wheels (winding unit side rotating bodies) 48 are provided at both ends of the sheet winding member 28, and are attached to the sheet winding member 28. The winding portion side friction wheel 48 rotates in conjunction with the sheet winding member 28. In FIG. 6, the transfer sheet 24 is omitted.

  Between the holding portion side friction wheel 46 and the winding portion side friction wheel 48, a pair of rotation adjusting friction wheels 52 that are in contact with and interlock with these friction wheels are provided. The rotation adjusting friction wheel 52 is provided for adjusting the rotation direction so that the sheet holding member 26 and the sheet winding member 28 rotate in the same direction.

  As described above, since the holding unit side friction wheel 46 and the winding unit side friction wheel 48 are interlocked with each other via the rotation adjusting friction wheel 52, the transfer sheet 24 is moved to the arrow C along with the rotation of the elastic belt 20. , The sheet winding member 28 and the winding portion side friction wheel 48 are in the direction indicated by the arrow D, the rotation adjusting friction wheel 52 is in the direction indicated by the arrow E, and the sheet holding member 26 The holding portion side friction wheel 46 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow F (see FIG. 7).

In order to prevent the transfer sheet 24 fed from the sheet holding member 26 and wound on the sheet winding member 28 from sagging, the rotation radius R ₁ of the holding unit side friction wheel 46 is set to the winding unit side friction wheel 48. greater than the rotation radius _{R 2.} In this way, by making the rotation radius R ₁ of the holding portion side friction wheel 46 larger than the rotation radius R ₂ of the winding portion side friction wheel 48, the sheet winding member 28 is rotated more than the rotation speed of the sheet holding member 26. Although the winding rotation speed increases and the winding amount may be larger than the feeding amount of the transfer sheet 24, this excessive slip is caused by appropriate sliding of the holding unit side friction wheel 46 and the winding unit side friction wheel 48. Winding can be prevented.

  The foreign matter removing unit 40 is provided with a reverse rotation prevention mechanism for preventing the sheet winding member 28 from rotating in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow D. That is, the engaging member 56 that engages with the surface of the sheet winding member 28 is provided, and the region where the tip 56T of the engaging member 56 engages is not smooth on the surface of the sheet winding member 28. A plurality of latches 28R are provided (see FIG. 8).

  Further, not only the rotation shaft 26A of the sheet holding member 26 and the holding portion side friction wheel 46, the rotation shaft 28A of the sheet winding member 28 and the winding portion side friction wheel 48, the rotation shaft 52A of the rotation adjusting friction wheel 52, The rotating shaft 34A of the guide member 34, the rotating shaft 36A of the roller 36, and the rotating shaft 54A of the auxiliary guide member 54 are all parallel to each other, perpendicular to the direction in which the support member 14 extends, and in contact with the transfer sheet 24 It is parallel to the plane region 20F of the belt 20 (see FIG. 9).

  The rotation adjusting shaft member 52 is not provided by reversing the winding direction of the unused transfer sheet 24 in the sheet holding member 26 and the rotation direction indicated by the arrow F in the holding portion side friction wheel 46. Is also possible. In this case, although the structure of the foreign matter removing unit 40 can be simplified, the transfer sheet 24 is sent out from the right side of the sheet holding member 26 in FIG. 7, and the surface of the auxiliary guide member 54 for controlling the movement of the transfer sheet 24. The transfer sheet 24 may be difficult to move because the friction between the transfer sheet 24 and the transfer sheet 24 increases.

  The roller 36 includes a rotation shaft 36A and a rotation ring 36R provided around the rotation shaft 36A (see FIGS. 7 and 8). The elastic belt 20 can smoothly rotate by the rotation of the rotating ring 36R. A belt base 20B made of a material that does not elastically deform is provided inside the elastic belt 20, that is, on the main body 18 side. When the elastic belt 20 is composed only of the adhesive rubber layer 20R that forms the adhesive surface 20S and the planar region 20F, the adhesive rubber layer 20R extends during rotation and cannot be smoothly rotated. The elastic belt 20 having a two-layer structure provided with the base 20B can rotate smoothly.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the foreign matter removed from the surface to be cleaned by the adhesive member 12 is transferred to the transfer sheet 24 without any special operation, in order to prevent a decrease in the adhesive strength of the adhesive surface 20S. Is unnecessary, and the cleaning tool 10 is excellent in operability. Even when all of the transfer sheet 24 is used, the use of the cleaning tool 10 can be immediately resumed by a simple operation of replacing the foreign matter removing unit 40 with a new one. Furthermore, since the foreign matter adhered to the adhesive surface 20S is immediately moved to the transfer sheet 24, the adhesive surface 20S is prevented from being deteriorated due to the foreign matter adhering to the adhesive surface 20S, and the foreign matter is reliably removed. Can do.

  The shape, material, and the like of the cleaning tool 10 are not limited to this embodiment. For example, for an efficient cleaning operation, in the adhesive member 12, the adhesive surface 20S is in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned, the width 12W is equal to the width 14W of the support member 14, and the cross-sectional shape is oval. Although preferred, a roller-like member having a general-purpose cross-sectional shape may be used. The elastic belt 20 may be formed of adhesive urethane-based resin, styrene rubber-based resin, or the like in addition to butyl rubber.

It is a front view which shows the cleaning implement of the state by which the adhesive member was open | released. It is a side view which shows the cleaning implement of the state in which the adhesive member was accommodated. It is a side view which shows the cleaning implement of the state used. It is a side view which shows roughly the inside of the cleaning instrument in the state before use. It is a side view which shows roughly the inside of the cleaning implement in the state used for a long period of time. It is a front view which shows the inside of a cleaning instrument. It is sectional drawing of the cleaning instrument along the VII-VII line in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the cleaning instrument along the VIII-VIII line in FIG. It is a side view which shows roughly only the shaft member of a cleaning instrument.

Explanation of symbols

10 Cleaning device (cleaning device for imaging device)
12 Adhesive Member 14 Support Member 18 Main Body
20 Elastic belt 20S Adhesive surface 24 Transfer sheet (foreign matter removal sheet)
26 Sheet holding member (movement control means)
28 Sheet winding member (movement control means)
32 LPF
32S LPF surface (surface to be cleaned)
34 Guide member (movement control means)
36 roller 38 belt holding member 40 foreign matter removing unit 46 holding unit side friction wheel (holding unit side rotating body / movement control means)
48 Winding unit side friction wheel (winding unit side rotating body / movement control means)
50 Imaging unit 54 Auxiliary guide member (guide member / movement control means)
56 Engagement member (reverse rotation prevention mechanism)

Claims (12)

An imaging device cleaning tool for removing foreign matter on a light receiving surface of an imaging unit provided in an imaging device,
A rotatable adhesive member having an adhesive surface for adhering the foreign matter;
A foreign matter removal sheet for removing the foreign matter from the adhesive surface;
A movement control means for controlling the movement of the foreign substance removal sheet so that the foreign substance removal sheet moves while adhering to the adhesive surface and removing the foreign substance with the rotation of the adhesive member;
The movement control means winds the foreign matter removal sheet adhered to the adhesive surface, and a rotatable sheet take-up member, and the reverse of the sheet take-up member so that the foreign matter removal sheet moves only in one direction. And a reverse rotation preventing mechanism for preventing the image pickup device.   The cleaning device for an imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive surface and the foreign matter removing sheet are in surface contact.   The imaging apparatus cleaning tool according to claim 2, wherein the movement control unit further includes a guide member that guides the foreign substance removal sheet so as to come into surface contact with the adhesive surface.   2. The adhesive member further comprising an elastic belt that is rotatable on a surface of the adhesive member, and the adhesive surface is provided on an outer surface of the elastic belt. The cleaning tool for imaging devices as described in 2.   The adhesive member further includes a main body portion covered with the elastic belt, and the main body portion includes a pair of rollers for rotation of the elastic belt provided at both ends of the main body portion, and a pair of rollers. 5. The cleaning device for an imaging apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a belt holding member that is between the rollers and prevents the elastic belt from being recessed.   6. The cleaning device for an imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the adhesive member has an oval shape in a cut surface perpendicular to the roller.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movement control unit further includes a rotatable sheet holding member that holds the foreign substance removal sheet before being in contact with the adhesive surface in a wound state. Cleaning equipment.   The movement control means further includes a winding member-side rotating body that rotates together with the sheet winding member, and a holding member-side rotating body that rotates together with the sheet holding portion, and the winding member-side rotating body and the holding The cleaning device for an imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the member-side rotating body is interlocked with each other.   The cleaning tool for an imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a rotation radius of the holding member side rotating body is larger than a rotation radius of the winding member side rotating body.   The cleaning device for an imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reverse rotation prevention mechanism includes a latch provided on the sheet winding member and an engaging member that engages with the latch.   The cleaning device for an imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a foreign matter removing unit including the foreign matter removing sheet and the movement control unit is detachable.   The imaging apparatus cleaning tool according to claim 1, further comprising a support member provided with the movement control unit, wherein a width of the adhesive member is equal to a width of the support member.

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