JP3306128B2 - Lens frame support mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lens frame support mechanism, and more particularly to a lens frame support mechanism that enables a lens barrel unit to rotate in an optical axis direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a lens frame supporting mechanism capable of rotating a lens barrel unit in the optical axis direction for performing camera shake correction and automatic tracking control of a camera or the like, a lens frame having a so-called gimbal structure has been known. A support mechanism was used. FIG. 33 is a perspective view of a conventional lens frame support mechanism using the gimbal structure. The lens barrel 101 is supported via a support pin 101a.
The first support 102 rotatably supports the first support 102. Furthermore,
The first support 102 is connected to the second support 102 via a support pin 102a.
The second support 103 is rotatably supported by a support 103, and is fixedly supported by a camera body (not shown). The lens barrel 10 in the holding mechanism thus configured
Reference numeral 1 denotes a vertical direction θy and a horizontal direction θ in a state where there is no rotation component around the optical axis O, that is, in a so-called rolling-restricted state.
x will be held so that it can be rotated.

[0003] When the conventional lens frame supporting mechanism constructed as described above is driven to rotate, usually, an actuator (not shown) attached to the first support 102 drives the lens frame in a vertical direction θy about a horizontal axis. And the second support 1
03 or an actuator (not shown) mounted on the camera body drives the camera to rotate in the horizontal direction θx about the vertical axis.

A lens frame support mechanism applied to the image blur correction mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-104666 uses the gimbal structure shown in FIG. The lens frame support mechanism is driven by making the lens frame rear end face 104 spherical, fixing two sets of magnets to the lens frame rear end face 104,
Bidirectional driving is performed by two moving coil type actuators formed on the main body side by two exciting coils corresponding to the magnets. Further, 105a and 105b shown in FIG.
This is a swing sensor that detects the swing of x, and is held by the lens barrel 101.

When the image blur correction is performed by the lens frame support mechanism, the two sets of moving coil actuators are driven to correct the image so that the outputs of the shake sensors 105a and 105b become 0, and the image blur is corrected. Correction is made.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned FIG.
According to the conventional lens frame support mechanism shown in FIG. 3, first, as described above, the first and second supports 102 and 103 are used as the support mechanism.
It was necessary to adopt a double structure, and the enlargement of the lens barrel was inevitable. Further, an actuator for rotating and driving in the vertical direction θy needs to be attached to the first support 102, and the first support 102 is rotatably held by the second support 103. Therefore, there is a problem that the load on the actuator for driving the second support 103 is increased, the power consumption is increased, and the lens frame structure is further enlarged.

A lens frame support mechanism used in the image blur correction mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-104666 is
By mounting the actuator outside the support, the point where the load of the actuator itself affects the load of the lens barrel as in the above-described conventional example can be solved. Since the second support members 102 and 103 have a double-layer support structure, an increase in the size of the lens barrel cannot be avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in a lens frame support mechanism that can be driven to rotate in the optical axis direction of the lens frame, the support mechanism itself is simplified, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a lens frame support mechanism that can be reduced in size and further reduce the load on a rotating actuator.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a lens barrel support mechanism having a spherical area having a width including a region corresponding to a movable range of the lens barrel unit at a predetermined position on an outer surface of the lens barrel unit. comprising a spherical portion for and the supporting driven, to support the respective spherical regions corresponding to self by each contact in relation to each contact substantially point and the spherical region of the spherical portion of each of the driving and the supporting , at least one thing, a drive member which also serves as a rolling contact to the support member adapted to drive so as to provide a displacement relative to the spherical surface area corresponding to the self, around the times of the optical axis of the lens barrel unit A movement restricting portion configured to restrict movement and allow movement in a direction other than the rotation between the predetermined portion of the barrel unit and the other member. It is characterized by.

[0010]

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lens frame support mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This mirror frame support mechanism is applied as a photographing optical system such as a camera-integrated VTR with a camera shake prevention function.

The main structure of the mechanism is a lens barrel having a driven / supported spherical portion 3 disposed on the outer surface of the lens barrel unit and having a center position G through which the lens optical axis O passes as a center of rotation. The unit 2 and a base 5 which is fixed to a lens frame main body or a camera main body (not shown), each of which is supported by the base 5 and comes into contact with the spherical portion 3 in a substantially point contact relationship, and is rolled to give a displacement. Two sets of supporting / driving members, each of which is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction, and a motion control for restricting the rotation of the lens barrel unit 2 around the lens optical axis O (hereinafter referred to as rolling restriction). Portion, two spherical receiving members 15a and 15b serving as receiving portions on the lower surface side of the spherical portion 3 for restricting movement in the optical axis direction, and a spherical receiving member 16 serving as a receiving portion on the side surface of the spherical portion 3 It consists of.

The lens barrel unit 2 has a photographic lens 1, a lens barrel 2a supporting the photographic lens 1, a zoom drive unit 21, an AF
A (autofocus) drive unit 22, an iris drive unit 23, a CCD unit 24 holding a CCD 24a of an image sensor, and an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) 25 for transmitting and receiving signals of the CCD 24a are mounted. . The lens barrel unit 2 is in a state where the rotation about the lens optical axis O is restricted by a guide pin 14 which is a movement restricting portion as described later, that is, in a state where the optical axis O is rolled, It can be driven around the rotation center point G of the passing spherical portion 3.

The position of the center of rotation G is set at or near the center of gravity of the lens barrel unit 2 containing each component, and furthermore, the position of the center of gravity does not fluctuate as much as possible due to zoom operation and the like. A lens barrel unit having a small moment of inertia around the point G is preferable as the rotation load. Further, in the FPC 25, since the CCD 24 rotates with respect to the base 5 together with the lens barrel unit 2, it is necessary to consider that the FPC 25 is provided with a twist.

One of the supporting / driving members is for driving the spherical portion 3 of the lens barrel unit 2 to rotate in the horizontal rotational direction θx, and for regulating the position of the spherical portion 3 in the horizontal X-axis direction. And a rotational drive motor 6, a reduction gear unit 7, a drive shaft 8, and a spherical rotating body 9 which is in contact with the spherical portion 3 and whose surface is formed of a friction member. ing. Further, the other one of the supporting / driving members is a member for controlling the rotational driving of the spherical portion 3 in the vertical rotational direction θy and for regulating the position of the spherical portion 3 in the vertical Y-axis direction. ,
A rotation drive motor 10, a reduction gear unit 11,
It comprises a drive shaft 12 and a spherical rotating body 13 which comes into contact with the spherical portion 3 and has a surface formed of a friction member.

The movement restricting portion is provided on the lower surface of the spherical portion 3 and extends in the guide groove 3 a (see FIG. 9) extending parallel to the direction of the lens optical axis O of the unit 2 and the base 5. It comprises a cylindrical guide pin 14 which is fixed and slidably fits in the guide groove 3a.

An outline of the operation of performing the camera shake correction by the main support mechanism configured as described above will be described. A camera shake sensor described later detects the camera shake generation directions in the horizontal and vertical directions and the magnitude thereof. Then, the lens barrel unit 2 is rotated in the direction of correcting camera shake via the spherical portion 3 by the support / drive member, and photographing is performed without camera shake.

Next, regarding the lens frame support mechanism of the present embodiment,
Further details will be described. FIG. 2 shows the spherical rotating bodies 9 and 1.
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a state in which the spherical portion 3 of the lens barrel unit 2 is driven to rotate. When the spherical rotating bodies 9 and 13 rotate in a state in which the spherical portion 3 is in contact with the spherical portion 3, the spherical portion 3 generates frictional force + F. , Or -F, and the unit 2 is rotated.
Here, when one of the spherical rotating bodies 9 functions as a driving member, the other spherical rotating body 13 functions as a supporting member, and the same applies to the case where these are reversed.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing the arrangement of the spherical rotating bodies 9, 13 and their driving shafts 8, 12 and the spherical receiving members 15a, 15b, 16 with respect to the spherical portion 3. FIG.
Now, let P be a plane that passes through the rotation center point G on the lens optical axis O and is orthogonal to the direction of the reference optical axis O1 for rotation in camera shake rotation described below. A guide groove 3a for controlling rolling described later is formed so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the lens optical axis O, and normal camera shake correction is performed by using the lens unit O with the lens optical axis O. The state in the direction of the axis O1 is set as a reference state at the time of the correction operation, and the rotation control of the horizontal rotation angle θx and the vertical rotation angle θy within a predetermined range from the direction of the reference optical axis O1 is performed.

Therefore, the contact point of the spherical rotator 9 or 13 with the spherical portion 3 is required to reduce the slip component of the contact portion of the lens barrel unit 2 and increase the transmission efficiency of the driving force. , Must be located on the P plane perpendicular to the optical axis O1. However, the spherical rotator 9 or 1
3 is preferably in a substantially point contact state with the spherical portion 3 in terms of driving force transmission.

Further, in consideration of an increase in drive transmission efficiency and a simplification of a calculation of a rotational position for camera shake correction, a contact point of the spherical rotating body 9 or 13 with the spherical portion 3 and It is desirable that the drive shafts 8 and 12 of the spherical rotating body be disposed in the following directions. That is, an axis that passes through the P plane at the rotation position and is parallel to the horizontal axis is Xg,
Assuming that an axis parallel to the vertical axis is Yg, the spherical rotator 9,
The thirteen contact points are located on the axes Xg and Yg, respectively. Further, as shown in FIG.
Are disposed in directions orthogonal to the axis Xg or the axis Yg, respectively.

As described above, the spherical rotator 9 or 13,
By disposing the drive shafts 8 and 12, the lens barrel unit 2 is moved from the reference optical axis direction O1 to the optical axis direction O2 or the optical axis direction O3 or the directions O2 and O3 by camera shake correction. In the case where the spherical member 3 is driven to rotate in the optical axis direction or the like, the movable direction of the spherical portion 3 and the spherical rotators 9 and 13
Since the driving urging directions F1 and F2 at the contact position are substantially the same, the driving is performed in the state with the least amount of slip, and hence with the least loss. In addition, the contact position of the spherical rotating body 9 or 13 with respect to the spherical portion 3 is not necessarily limited to the above-described position, and the rotation of the lens barrel unit 3 is possible even at other positions. This is preferable from the viewpoints of drive power transmission efficiency, motor load, and the like.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG.
The spherical rotator 13 includes two spherical receiving members 15a, 1
5b, and the spherical rotating body 9 is further opposed to the spherical receiving member 16. Therefore, the spherical rotator 13 acts as a support member for the spherical portion 3 and pinches the spherical portion 3 around the rotation center point G with high precision and with low resistance. The receiving member 15
The positions a, 15b, and 16 are not limited to the positions facing the spherical rotating bodies 9 and 13, but may be any positions that can hold the lens barrel at a predetermined position.

FIG. 6 shows the spherical receiving members 15a and 15a.
It is the figure which showed the support state with b and 16 with the base 5, (A) is a front view of a mounted state, (B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a mounted state. As shown in these figures, the spherical receiving members 15a, 15b, and 16 are held in a conical groove 5a or 5b provided in the base 5 in a rotatable state.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a state in which the lens barrel unit 2 is movably supported by a guide pin 14 serving as a movement restricting portion. FIG. 7A is a perspective view and FIG. 7B is a plan view. The guide pin 14 is disposed below the spherical portion 3 and is fitted in a guide groove 3a whose longitudinal direction is parallel to the lens optical axis O direction. It is preferable that the play of the fitting portion be small, and a play removing mechanism may be additionally provided. The axial direction of the guide pin 14 coincides with the axis Yg parallel to the vertical axis.
Rotation driving in the horizontal direction (θx) around g is performed. If the contact portion is in a point contact state, no slip component at the contact portion of the spherical rotator 9 or slip at the drive contact portion of the spherical rotator 13 during driving by the spherical rotator 9 occurs. .
Therefore, efficient driving is performed.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are side views of the lens barrel unit 2 in a rotating state. FIG. 8A shows a state in which the lens barrel unit 2 is in a reference state in the direction of the optical axis O1.
(B) shows the sliding state of the guide groove 3a of the guide pin 14 when the lens barrel unit 2 is rotated to the position of the optical axis O2 in the vertical direction (θy). Assuming that there is no horizontal rotation of the lens barrel unit 2 in this driving state, if the spherical rotating body 13 is driven, the sliding component at the drive contact portion of the spherical rotating body 13 and the spherical rotating body 9 abuts. No slippage occurs in the part. Therefore, similarly efficient driving is performed.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the sliding state between the guide groove 3a and the guide pin 14 when the lens barrel unit 2 is rotated. FIG. 9A corresponds to the reference state of FIG. 8A, and FIG. 9B corresponds to the vertical rotation state of FIG. 8B. FIG. 9C shows that the lens barrel unit 2 is rotated not only vertically (θy) but also horizontally (θy).
x) also shows the state at the time of rotation. In this state, since the guide groove direction is deviated from the reference axis direction O1, the spherical rotating body 13 is driven when the spherical rotating body 13 is driven.
A sliding component is generated at the drive contact portion of the spherical rotating body 9.
Slip at the contact part also occurs. However, since the rotation range at the time of camera shake correction is narrow, the driving efficiency is not deteriorated.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view when a magnetic sensor for detecting the rotation angles (θx, θy) of the lens barrel unit 2 during the camera shake correction drive is provided. The magnets 26a and 26b are fixed to the tip of the lens barrel 2a. Further, the hall element 27a for detecting the rotation angle θx and the hall element 27b for detecting the rotation angle θy are held by the base 5 (see FIG. 1) so as to face the magnets 26a and 26b. The rotation angle of the lens barrel unit 2 is detected from the outputs of the Hall elements 27a and 27b, and accurate camera shake correction is performed.

FIG. 11 shows an arrangement of a lock mechanism for operating the lens barrel unit 2 to fix and hold the optical axis direction O accurately in the direction of the reference axis O1 when the camera shake correction operation is turned off. It is a perspective view of a state. In the lock mechanism 36, the conical projection 3b is formed on the spherical portion 3 of the lens barrel unit 2.
And a lock member 28 having an insertion hole 28a that can be inserted into the projection 3b is disposed in a state of being supported by the base 5 (see FIG. 1). The lock member 28 is urged by a spring 28b in a direction away from the protrusion 3b. Then, in order to lock the lens barrel unit 2, the lock member 2 is locked by a lock cam 29 supported by the base 5 (see FIG. 1).
8 is rotated against the spring 28b, and the fitting hole 28a of the lock member 28 is fitted into the projection 3b. The lock cam 29 is driven by a lock motor (not shown).

FIG. 12A is a sectional view of the lock mechanism, in which the lock member 28 is located at a position separated from the projection 3b, and the lens barrel unit 2 is rotatable due to camera shake arrangement. It shows the state where it has become. In addition, FIG.
Shows a state in which the lock member 28 is rotated by the lock cam 29, and the fitting hole 28a is fitted in the projection 3b. In this state, the lens barrel unit 2 is fixed and held in the reference rotation position direction O1. .

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a camera shake correction control apparatus to which the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment is applied. The present apparatus includes a camera shake correction control circuit 30 that performs rotation drive control of a lens barrel unit based on a camera shake detection signal, a camera shake correction setting unit, a camera shake detection unit, and a lens barrel unit. You.

The camera shake correction setting section includes a camera shake correction on / off switch 33 for setting whether or not to perform camera shake correction.
A mode control circuit 34 that outputs a lock signal to a lock mechanism driver 35 described later based on the output of the switch 33 and outputs a camera shake correction execution signal to the camera shake correction control circuit 30; And a lock mechanism driver 35 for driving the lock motor of the lock mechanism 36 by the output, and the lock mechanism 36 including the lock motor and capable of locking the lens barrel unit 2.

The camera shake detection unit includes an X-direction shake sensor 37 and a Y-direction shake sensor 40, which are rotation speed detection sensors, and an LPF (LOW PASS FILTER) 38, which is suitable for removing high-frequency components of the output of the sensors. 41,
Amplifiers 39 and 42 and an A / D converter for A / D converting the amplified output.
A digital-to-analog converter 43 and a camera shake determination circuit 45 that determines whether or not the shake generated based on the A / D conversion output is due to camera shake, and outputs the signal to the camera shake correction control circuit 30
And the A / D conversion output to obtain the camera shake displacement amount,
And an integration circuit 44 for outputting to the camera shake correction control circuit 30. Note that acceleration sensors may be used as the shake sensors 37 and 40.

The lens barrel unit comprises a unit including the lens barrel driving mechanism described with reference to FIG. 1 and the like, and drivers 31 and 32 for driving the rotation driving motors 6 and 10 of the mechanism.
It is composed of

The control operation of the camera shake correction control device having the above-described configuration will be described. First, whether or not camera shake correction is to be performed is determined by the output of the camera shake correction on / off switch 33, and camera shake correction is not performed. If you decide
The lock cam 29 of the lock mechanism 36 is rotated. Then, the fitting hole 28a of the lock member 28 is fitted into the projection 3b of the spherical portion 3 of the lens barrel unit 2, and the lens barrel unit 2 is locked.

On the other hand, if it is determined that camera shake correction should be performed,
The X and Y direction blur detection signals are fetched, and a determination circuit 45 determines whether or not the camera motion is a camera shake. if,
If it is determined that camera shake has occurred, the integration circuit 44 integrates the X and Y direction shake detection signals to determine the amount of camera shake. Furthermore,
The camera shake correction control circuit 30 drives the rotation drive motors 6 and 10 of the lens frame drive mechanism via the drivers 31 and 32 by the correction amount, and calculates the correction amount for the shake amount. Is driven to rotate horizontally and / or vertically. The rotation position signal of the lens barrel unit 2 at that time is transmitted to the camera shake correction control circuit 3 via the Hall elements 27a and 27b.
It is taken into 0. Then, correction driving of the lens barrel unit 2 corresponding to the correction amount is performed.

As described above, in the lens frame driving mechanism of the present embodiment, the spherical portion 3 of the unit can be directly supported and driven without using the conventional double gimbal structure. It is possible, the configuration is simplified, the drive system is simplified, and the unit can be downsized. Further, since the spherical rotating bodies 9 and 13 are not only a driving member but also function as a supporting member, the holding and driving mechanism of the unit is simplified. Further, the optical axis O of the lens barrel unit 2 is set as a center point of the rotational drive, and the groove extending direction of the guide groove 3a for rolling control of the unit 2 is set parallel to the optical axis O direction,
Further, since the contact points of the spherical rotating bodies 9 and 13 which are friction driving members are arranged on a plane orthogonal to the reference axis O1, slipping or the like during driving is extremely reduced, and a lens barrel unit having good driving efficiency. It becomes possible to provide a drive mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a mounting operation state of a modified example of the spherical rotating body which is a supporting / driving member of the lens frame supporting mechanism of the first embodiment. FIG. 14A shows a case where the supporting / driving member is formed of a spherically elastic supporting / driving body. In other words, the supporting and driving body 51 of this modified example has a surface portion formed of a material having a large friction coefficient and is elastically deformable.
Another modification shown in FIG. 14B shows a mounting operation state of a modification in which the supporting / driving member is a donut-shaped elastic supporting driving body. The support driving body 52 of this modification is also a resiliently deformable donut-shaped elastic support driving body having a large friction coefficient on the surface.

Further, another modification shown in FIG. 14C shows a mounting operation state of the modification in which the supporting / driving member is an annular elastic supporting driving body. The support driving body 53 of this modified example is also a resiliently deformable annular elastic driving body having a large friction coefficient on the surface. As described above, in each of the modified examples, the contact force with the spherical portion 3 is stable, and the driving efficiency is improved with less slippage during driving.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a mounting operation state of a receiving member 55a which is a modified example of the receiving member of the spherical portion 3 of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel supporting mechanism of the first embodiment. In this modification, a receiving member 55a formed of a solid lubricant having a curvature matching the spherical surface portion 3 is fixedly provided on the base 55. In this modification, the sliding resistance is small, and the rotation driving torque of the lens barrel unit can be reduced.

FIG. 16 is a view showing a mounting operation state of a receiving member 56a which is another modified example of the receiving member of the spherical portion 3 of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel supporting mechanism of the first embodiment. In this modified example, a magnet 57a is fixed to the spherical portion 3 along the spherical surface, and a magnet 56a fixed to the base 56 is disposed at a position facing the magnet 57a to form a receiving member. However, the opposite surfaces of the magnets 57a and 56a have the same polarity. The lens barrel unit 3 is reciprocated by the mutual repulsion.
Is to be held. Therefore, according to this modification, the frictional resistance of the receiving member is further reduced.

FIG. 17 is a view showing an operating state of a receiving member 58a which is still another modification of the spherical receiving member of the spherical portion 3 of the lens barrel support mechanism of the first embodiment.
In this modification, a receiving portion 58a formed integrally with the base 58 is provided, and the number of components is reduced, and the configuration is simplified.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of the lens barrel supporting mechanism of the first embodiment, which comprises a guide pin and a guide groove of the lens barrel unit.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a modification of a movement restricting unit that restricts rolling around the optical axis of the unit, the restricting unit including a fin and a fin guide being applied to a lens barrel unit. In this modified example, a fin 60 d is provided below the spherical portion 3 in parallel with the optical axis O of the lens barrel unit 2. And the fin 6
A fin guide 61 having an edge 61a into which 0d is slidably fitted is fixed to the base.

FIGS. 19A and 19B are side views showing an operation state of the movement restricting portion of the above-described modified example, and FIG.
(B) is a side view of a state in which the lens barrel unit 2 is rotated in the vertical direction when is located at the reference position for rotation. Also,
FIGS. 20A and 20B are horizontal cross-sectional views similarly showing an operation state of the movement restricting portion of the above-described modification. FIG. 20A shows a state where the lens barrel unit 2 is at a reference position for rotation, and FIG. When the fin 60d is turned to one side when it is turned in the direction (C)
Is a horizontal cross-sectional view when the fin 60d is tilted when the fin is rotated in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 21 shows another modification of the movement restricting portion of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel supporting mechanism of the first embodiment, which is a restricting portion composed of a V-shaped groove and a guide pin having a spherical tip. It is a figure, (A) is a side view, (B) is a front view. In this modification, the spherical portion 62 of the lens barrel unit is used.
A V-shaped groove 62a is arranged in the lower part of the lens barrel in parallel with the optical axis direction O of the lens barrel, and a guide pin 63 having a spherical tip is fixed to the base 64 side. The guide pin 6 is inserted into the V-shaped groove 62a.
3 is inserted and abutted to control the rolling of the spherical portion 62. In the present modification, the guide pin 63 has the V-shaped groove 6.
Since it is brought into contact with 2a, there is an effect that no backlash occurs in the movement restricting portion. In this modification, two spherical receiving members 65a and 65b are provided on the side surface of the spherical portion 62 in order to regulate the position of the lens barrel unit in the optical axis direction.
It is necessary to arrange.

By rotating the guide pins 14, 63 and the like of the movement restricting portion of the lens barrel unit in the embodiment or the modified example around the optical axis, the rotation component of the lens barrel unit around the optical axis is reduced. It is also possible to propose a modified mechanism for performing control such as camera shake correction or automatic tracking.

FIG. 22 shows still another modification of the movement restricting portion of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel supporting mechanism of the first embodiment. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a mechanism in which the movement restricting portion is also used as a supporting / driving member. FIG. FIG. 23 is a longitudinal sectional view of the spherical portion of the lens barrel unit in the above-described modification. In this modified example, a V-shaped groove 66b parallel to the optical axis O is disposed at a contact point of a spherical rotating body 13 which is a supporting / driving member for vertical rotation driving of a spherical portion 66 of a lens barrel unit. It is to establish. Incidentally, the spherical rotating body 9 which is a supporting / driving member for horizontal rotation drive may have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. The V-shaped groove 66b functions as a movement restricting portion that restricts rotation of the lens barrel unit around the optical axis. Therefore, the same effect as that of the modification of FIG. 21 can be obtained without providing a dedicated movement restricting portion, and furthermore, the size of the lens barrel can be reduced.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a lens barrel unit to which a modification of the rotation position detecting device of the lens barrel unit in the lens barrel support mechanism of the first embodiment is applied. This position detection device detects the rotation position of the lens barrel unit during camera shake correction driving, or detects the reference position of the lens barrel unit when camera shake correction is not performed. A marker 71a or 71b is provided at a predetermined position of a protective glass 71 disposed in front of the first. In addition,
It is assumed that the protective glass 71 is fixed to the lens barrel body or the camera body. The marker 71a is a marker disposed at an end of the image frame on the protective glass 71 and outside the shooting range. The sign 71b is a black sign provided at the center of the protective glass. Any one of these markers may be provided as the position detecting device.

When the turning position is detected by the marker 71a, an image pickup signal corresponding to the end position of the CCD 24a is fetched, and the current turning position of the lens barrel unit is detected from the detected position of the signal. it can. On the other hand, the sign 71
When the rotation position is detected by b, the imaging signal of the black level corresponding to the point of the center mark of the CCD 24a is taken in, and the current rotation position of the lens barrel unit can be detected from the scanning detection position of the signal. it can. However, the photographing information of the marker point is provided by interpolating the surrounding image signals. Further, only when the rotation position is detected, the focus position of the photographing lens may be set to a state of being focused on the protection glass 71 which is not normally used, and the position information of the marker 71b may be fetched there.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a lens barrel unit using another modification of the device for detecting the rotational position of the lens barrel unit in the lens barrel support mechanism of the first embodiment. In the rotation position detecting device of this modified example, spherical rotating bodies 75 and 76 as supporting / driving members are formed of conductive members, and the spherical rotating bodies
The sliding resistances 74a and 74b extending in the direction of the optical axis O are arranged at the contact portions of the lens barrel units 72 and 5, 76 with the spherical portion 73. Then, when the spherical rotator 75 or 76 rotates when the unit 72 rotates, and the spherical portion 73 rotates, the resistance value changes due to a change in the point of contact with the sliding resistors 74a and 74b. Unit 72 is determined by the resistance value.
Is detected. According to the present modification, the rotation / position detection device can be used in combination with the supporting / driving member and the abutting portion of the spherical portion in space, and the size of the unit can be further reduced. In addition, the position can be reliably detected.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view of a modification of the lock mechanism for locking the lens barrel unit when the camera shake correction operation in the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment is off.
(A) is a sectional view in a lock released state, and (B) is a sectional view in a locked state. In the lock mechanism of this modified example, a conical concave portion 78a is provided in the spherical portion 78, and a lock pin 79 that can be fitted and abutted on the concave portion 78a is disposed in a state of being urged by a spring 81 and protruding. You. The lock pin 7
9 is retracted against the spring 81 by the rotation of the lock cam 80. Then, when releasing the lens barrel unit, the lock pin 79 is retracted by the lock cam 80 (FIG. 2).
6 (A)). When locking the lens barrel unit, the lock cam 80 is rotated to protrude the lock pin 79, and the tip of the lock pin 79 is fitted into the concave portion 78a of the spherical portion to be in a locked state (see FIG. 26B).

FIG. 27 is a view showing a state where the attachment lens is attached to a lens barrel unit to which the attachment lens to which the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment is applied can be attached. 27A is a front view of a protective glass frame disposed on the front surface of the lens barrel, FIG. 27B is a side sectional view of the protective glass frame, and FIG. 27C is a side view of the protective glass frame. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which an attachment lens is mounted by a filter mounting screw of a part.

In a lens barrel unit capable of correcting camera shake, as shown in the sectional view of the protective glass frame of the lens barrel unit in FIG. 28, the light when the lens barrel is rotated from the optical axis O1 at the reference position to the maximum position. The effective photographing range of the protective glass 84 on the protective glass frame 83 is ensured corresponding to the range L1 to L2 in which the edge of the image frame is not kicked even if the end is rotated by a predetermined range in the direction of the axis O4 or O5. Have been.

However, when an attachment lens is mounted on the protective glass frame 83 of the lens barrel unit capable of correcting camera shake, the effective photographing range is reduced by the attachment lens, and it is necessary to limit the correction range of camera shake. . Therefore, in the lens barrel unit to which the attachment lens can be attached, a lens attachment state detection switch 83a is provided on the attachment lens frame 83 as shown in FIGS. Then, when the lens frame 86 of the attachment lens 85 is attached as shown in FIG. 27C, the output of the detection switch 83a is turned on, and the rotation allowable angle of the camera shake correction range is kicked by the attachment lens 85. It is set to correspond to the range that cannot be set. When the attachment lens 85 is attached, the camera shake correction may be prohibited. As described above, in the lens barrel unit capable of correcting the camera shake, even when the attachment lens is attached, there is no problem that a part of the photographing frame is kicked by the rotation of the lens barrel for the camera shake correction.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the front portion of a lens barrel unit to which the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment is applied and which has a dustproof function. The lens barrel unit includes a dustproof curtain 86 formed of a stretchable sheet-like elastic member at a front portion of the lens barrel 85.
Are arranged. In this apparatus, even if the lens barrel unit is rotated for camera shake correction,
This prevents dust from entering the lens barrel unit or the camera.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a lens barrel unit to which a lens frame support mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied. The lens barrel unit 92 is characterized by the shape of the driven / supported spherical portion 93. FIG. 31A is a cross-sectional view of the spherical portion 93 in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis.
1B is a cross-sectional view of the spherical portion 93 in a direction parallel to the optical axis. Other configurations and operations are as follows.
It is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In the mechanism of this embodiment, FIGS.
As shown in (1), spherical shapes 93a, 93b, 93c, and 93d are provided only to the extent that the spherical rotating body, which is the supporting / driving member, can contact at least. However, the center of all the curvatures of the spherical surface is a rotation center position G passing through the optical axis of the lens barrel unit 92. The radii from the center G to the sphere surface are Ra, Rb, and R, respectively.
The values of the radii as c and Rd do not necessarily have to have the same value, and may be changed as necessary.

In the lens frame support mechanism of this embodiment having the above-described structure, the spherical portion 93 of the lens barrel unit 92 is provided in a minimum necessary range. The moment of inertia is also small, and the driving load is small, and at the same time the response operation is fast. Further, the occupied space is reduced, and the size of the lens barrel can be further reduced.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a state where the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment or the second embodiment is incorporated in a camera-integrated VTR with a camera shake correction function. As shown in this figure, the lens barrel unit 2 (see FIG. 1) supported by the lens barrel support mechanism or the lens barrel unit 92 (see FIG. 3)
0) are disposed on the right side of the camera body. A printed circuit board 97 for control is disposed on the left side. On the left side of the substrate 97, a cassette tape 98 is provided.
Can be loaded. A finder 96 and a detachable battery 99 are provided at the rear of the camera.

The lens frame support mechanism of the present invention is applicable not only for camera shake correction but also as a rotation mechanism of a lens barrel such as a tilt mechanism of a camera. Further, the CCD, which is an image sensor, does not necessarily need to be integrally mounted on the lens barrel unit, but can be applied to a camera separately mounted on the camera body side. You may apply as a dynamic drive mechanism. Further, the mechanism of the present invention
Not only a camera-integrated VTR, but also an electronic still camera,
Alternatively, the present invention can also be applied as a lens barrel unit rotating mechanism of a silver halide film camera.

[0061]

As described above, the lens frame support mechanism of the present invention is
A driven and supported spherical portion is provided at a predetermined position on the outer surface of the lens barrel unit. The spherical portion is supported by a supporting / driving member, and the lens frame unit is rotated and driven by rolling and driving. Therefore, the support mechanism itself is simplified, and the size of the lens frame is reduced. Further, the load on the rotating actuator can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lens frame support mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a spherical portion of a lens barrel unit is driven in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lens barrel unit is driven by a spherical rotating body in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state in which the lens barrel unit is driven by a spherical rotating body in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which a lens barrel unit is supported in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1;

6A and 6B are diagrams showing a state in which a lens barrel unit is supported in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1, wherein FIG.
(B) is a side view.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which the lens barrel unit is guided by the movement restricting portion in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1;
(A) is a perspective view, (B) is a plan view.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the lens barrel unit is guided by the movement restricting portion in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1;
(A) is a side view in a state where it is in a reference rotation position, and (B) is a side view in a state where it is rotated in a vertical direction.

9A and 9B are diagrams showing an operation state of a movement restricting unit in the lens frame support mechanism of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 9A is a reference state, and FIG.
Shows a state in which it is rotated in the vertical direction, and FIG. 4C shows a state in which it is also rotated in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an arrangement state of a rotation angle detecting magnetic sensor in the lens frame support mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an arrangement state of a lock mechanism of a lens barrel unit in the lens barrel support mechanism of FIG. 1;

12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating an operation state of the lock mechanism of FIG. 11, wherein FIG. 12A illustrates a lock release state, and FIG. 12B illustrates a lock state.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a camera shake correction control apparatus to which the lens frame support mechanism of FIG. 1 is applied.

14A and 14B are views showing modifications of the spherical rotating body of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 14A is a spherical rotating body made of an elastic member, and FIG. A donut-shaped spherical rotating body made of an elastic member, and (C) shows an annular rotating body made of an elastic member.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the receiving member of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1, wherein a solid lubricating material is used as the receiving member.

FIG. 16 is a view showing another modified example of the receiving member of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view of a case where a magnet is used as the receiving member.

FIG. 17 is a view showing still another modified example of the receiving member of the lens frame supporting mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view of the receiving member formed integrally with the base.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a modification of the movement restricting portion of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and using a fin and a fin guide.

FIG. 19 shows an operation state of the motion restricting unit of FIG. 18;
6A is a side view when the lens barrel unit is in a reference state, and FIG. 7B is a side view when the lens barrel unit is vertically rotated.

20A and 20B are plan views of the motion restricting unit shown in FIG. 18 in an operating state, wherein FIG. 20A shows a state in which the lens barrel unit is in a reference state, and FIG. (C) shows a state in which the lens barrel unit is rotated in the horizontal direction.

21A and 21B are diagrams showing another modification of the movement restricting portion of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 21A is a side view and FIG. 21B is a front view.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing still another modified example of the movement restricting portion of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 23 is a longitudinal sectional view of the movement restricting portion of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing a modification of the rotation position detecting device of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing another modification of the rotation position detecting device of the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 26 is a view showing a modification of the lock mechanism of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1;
(A) is a sectional view in a lock released state, and (B) is a sectional view in a locked state.

27A and 27B are diagrams showing an attachment lens mounting portion and a mounting state of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 27A is a front view of the attachment lens mounting portion, (B) is a side cross-sectional view of the attachment lens mounting part, and (C) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the attachment lens mounting state.

FIG. 28 is an optical path diagram showing a photographing view angle range during a camera shake correction operation of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing a main part of a lens barrel unit having a dustproof function of the lens barrel unit of the lens barrel support mechanism of the first embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a lens barrel unit to which a lens frame support mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied.

31A and 31B are cross-sectional views of a spherical portion of the lens barrel unit of FIG. 30, wherein FIG. 31A is a cross-sectional view of a cross section orthogonal to the optical axis, and FIG.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of a case where the lens frame support mechanism of the first embodiment or the second embodiment is incorporated in a camera-integrated VTR with a camera shake correction function.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of a conventional lens frame support mechanism to which a gimbal structure is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 72, 92 ... Barrel unit 3, 60, 62, 66, 73, 78, 93a, 93b,
93c, 93d ............ Spherical part (driven
Supported spherical portion) 3a Guide groove (movement regulating member) 9, 13, 51, 75, 76 spherical rotating body (supporting / driving member) 14 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………… Fins (movement regulating members) 61 ……………………… Fins Guide (movement regulating member) 62a, 66b… V-shaped guide groove (movement regulating member) 63 ………………………… Guide pin (movement regulating member)

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-104666 (JP, A) JP-A-1-296862 (JP, A) JP-A-4-38078 (JP, A) JP-A 64-52254 (JP) , U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B ⁷ /02-7/105 G03B 5/00 G03B 17/00 H04N 5/225 H04N 5/232

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] The outer surface a predetermined portion of claim 1. A lens barrel unit, and the spherical portion of and the supported for a driven comprising a spherical region having a breadth including a region corresponding to the movable range of the lens barrel unit, to support the respective spherical regions corresponding to self by each contact in relation of each driven for and each contact substantially point and the spherical region of the spherical portion for the supported, at least one of those, the spherical region corresponding to the self and rolling contact so as to provide the displaced with respect to the
A driving member also serving as a supporting member adapted to be driven, and restricting rotation of the lens barrel unit around the optical axis, and
A lens frame support comprising: a movement restricting portion formed between the predetermined portion of the lens barrel unit and the other member so as to allow the motion in a direction other than the rotation. mechanism.