JP2002250955A - Optical image pickup system controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small and inexpensive device, etc., for controlling an optical imaging system by structuring the power source required for lens driving into a single system. SOLUTION: The voltage of a power source 1 which supplies power to drive circuits 21 to 23 which drive an iris motor 3, a zoom motor 4 and a focusing motor 5, respectively, is changed with the operation mode of the lens. When only the iris functions, the voltage which the power source 1 supplies is increased to operate the iris as a high-speed shutter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical system having a lens driving means for driving a zoom lens and a focus lens, and a diaphragm driving means for driving a diaphragm and an exposure means used for a digital still camera or the like. The present invention relates to an optical imaging system control device that controls an imaging system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a lens unit of a digital still camera or the like generally comprises three motors which independently perform aperture (hereinafter referred to as "iris"), zoom and focus operations.

In particular, in an iris of a digital still camera, an inner magnet type motor is used for the iris, and the iris is sometimes used for both aperture control in a camera monitor mode and exposure (hereinafter referred to as a shutter) control during image capturing. is there.
That is, in the normal camera monitor mode, the light amount is controlled by the aperture based on the luminance information obtained from the image pickup device such as the CCD, and the light is blocked when the image is captured, as in a general video camera or the like. The time during which the image sensor is exposed as a shutter is controlled. At the time of shutter control, a voltage having a reverse polarity is applied to the iris motor to control the iris in the closing direction.

In general, a digital still camera requires a shutter speed of 1/1000 second or more in order to photograph a fast-moving subject. Therefore, in order to increase the shutter speed, a method of increasing the driving torque of the iris motor by increasing the number of turns of the iris coil or supplying a high voltage to the coil has been used.

[0005] In particular, when the driving voltage is increased as in the latter case, it is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of power saving that it is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of power saving to increase the driving power supply for other motors up to the voltage of the iris driving power supply. The power supply to the drive circuit is provided separately from the zoom and focus drive power supplies.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional lens drive control device. In FIG. 5, the power supply 11 is a drive circuit 2
1 to drive the iris motor 3. Power supply 1
2 supplies power to the drive circuit 22 and the drive circuit 23 to drive the zoom motor 4 and the focus motor 5, respectively. The lens unit 6 includes the iris motor 3, the zoom motor 4, and the focus motor 5.

[0007]

However, in the conventional lens drive control device, a power supply dedicated to iris drive is separately required, and thus there are problems such as an increase in a power supply circuit scale and an increase in circuit cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a small and inexpensive optical imaging system control device or the like in which a single power supply is required for driving a lens. .

[0009]

To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 1) is a lens driving means for driving a lens which receives power supply from the same power supply circuit. And an optical imaging system having an aperture driving unit that drives an aperture and an aperture unit that performs exposure, and based on an operation mode set in the optical imaging system, the power supply circuit is provided to the lens driving unit and the aperture driving unit. Supply voltage control means for controlling a supply voltage; optical imaging system operation control means for controlling the operation of the lens driving means and / or the operation of the aperture driving means based on an operation mode set in the optical imaging system; Wherein the supply voltage control unit sets a supply voltage when the aperture driving unit performs the exposure operation, and a supply voltage when at least the aperture driving unit performs the aperture operation. Ri is a higher optical imaging system control apparatus for setting.

Further, the second invention (corresponding to claim 2)
In the present invention, the optical imaging system operation control means sets the lens driving means not to be driven when the aperture means performs the exposure operation.

Further, a third aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 3)
When the operation mode set in the optical imaging system does not drive the lens driving unit and the aperture driving unit, the supply voltage control unit supplies power to the lens driving unit and the aperture driving unit. The present invention is the above-described present invention in which the voltage to be applied is set to a predetermined value or less.

Further, the fourth invention (corresponding to claim 4)
Is a lens drive unit for driving a lens, which is supplied with power from the same power supply circuit, and an aperture drive unit for driving an aperture and an aperture unit for performing exposure, in the optical imaging system control device of the first invention. Supply voltage control means for controlling a voltage supplied to the lens driving means and the aperture driving means by the power supply circuit based on an operation mode set in the optical imaging system, and an operation mode set in the optical imaging system. The program is for causing a computer to function as all or a part of an optical imaging system operation control unit that controls the operation of the lens driving unit and / or the operation of the aperture driving unit.

As an example of the present invention as described above,
As a lens drive control device, provided in an electronic device,
A drive control device for driving a motor such as a zoom, a focus, and an iris of a lens unit, a drive circuit for driving the motor group, a unit for detecting an operation mode of the lens, and the drive according to the operation mode. It has a configuration provided with a power supply circuit that varies the voltage supplied to the circuit.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lens drive control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the power supply 1 is connected to a drive circuit 21 for driving the iris motor 3, a drive circuit 22 for driving the zoom motor 4, and a drive circuit 23 for driving the focus motor 5. Voltage controller 7
“a” controls the output voltage of the power supply 1 so as to be an optimal voltage for the operation of the lens and the iris detected by the operation mode detection unit 8 and supplies the voltage to each drive circuit. Further, the drive control circuit unit 7b independently controls the operation of each of the drive circuits 21 to 23 according to the operation of the lens and the iris detected by the operation mode detection unit 8. Thereafter, each of the drive circuits 21 to 23 drives each of the iris motor 3, the zoom motor 4, and the focus motor 5 constituting the lens unit 6, and causes the lens and the iris to perform a predetermined operation.

FIG. 2 shows the timing at which the power supply controller 7a changes the supply voltage of the power supply 1, and the supply voltage at that time.
In FIG. 2, periods A, B, and C indicate operation modes of the lens unit 6, respectively.

During period A, the camera monitor mode is set as
A period in which the zoom motor 4 and the focus motor 5 are driven to adjust the angle of view to be photographed and perform a focus operation is shown. During this period, the iris controls the amount of light so as to obtain an optimal exposure based on luminance information obtained from an image sensor such as a CCD. Since a large drive torque is not required for controlling the iris motor 3 during the period A, the voltage control unit 7a supplies the same drive voltage V1 to the iris motor 3, the zoom motor 4 and the focus motor 5, and also controls the drive circuit control unit. 7b is drive circuits 21 to 23
Are respectively controlled.

A period B is an exposure period for capturing an image to be photographed. After exposing an image pickup device such as a CCD for a certain period, a voltage having a reverse polarity is supplied to the iris motor 3 to rapidly close the iris. Drive. During this period, the iris motor 3 requires a large driving torque to drive the iris at high speed. Therefore, the voltage control unit 7a supplies the iris motor 3 with a voltage V higher than the voltage V1 in the period A.
2 is supplied. In addition, since the zoom motor 4 and the focus motor 5 are stopped during the exposure period for capturing an image, the drive circuits 21 and 23 for these motors are stopped.
Is stopped so that the voltage from the power supply 1 is not supplied to the zoom motor 4 and the focus motor 5.

The period C is a period in which the zoom motor 4 and the focus motor 5 are not driven in another mode of the camera monitor mode, and the voltage control unit 7a determines that the zoom motor 4 and the focus motor 5 are in their positions (stepping motors). , The rotation phase) is maintained, and the iris motor 3
Sets a voltage V3 corresponding to a predetermined value of the present invention, which can control the amount of light, to the power supply 1 and supplies it to the iris motor 3, the zoom motor 4, and the focus motor 5, respectively. Here, by setting the value of the voltage V3 as low as possible, it is possible to suppress the power consumption of the entire lens drive control device.

Next, the iris control will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, the iris motor 31 comprises a rotor 34 composed of a permanent magnet, a drive coil 32 for rotating the rotor 34, and a braking coil 33 for detecting the rotation speed of the rotor. Is rotated by one rotation or less, and aperture control is performed by opening and closing aperture blades 35 connected to the rotor 34.

In such an iris, during a period in which aperture control is performed during normal camera monitoring, a low-level signal is applied to the control terminal 42 and a high-level signal is applied to the control terminal 41, and the transistors 43 and 46 are applied.
Is turned on, the transistor 44 and the transistor 45 are turned off, and the control voltage Vc is supplied to the drive coil 32. At the same time, the speed detection signal generated from the braking coil 33 at the time of rotation of the rotor 34 is negatively fed back to the comparison operation circuit 38 via the amplifier circuit 37, and the diaphragm blade 35 is driven so as to be displaced slowly. Control to the determined aperture value. At this time, the control voltage Vc is supplied with the voltage V1 shown in FIG.

Next, a case where the iris is driven as a shutter will be described. At the time of shutter control, a HIGH level signal is supplied to the control terminal 42 and a LO signal is supplied to the control terminal 41.
A W-level signal is applied to turn off the transistors 43 and 46 and turn on the transistors 44 and 45 to supply a control voltage Vc having a polarity opposite to that of the aperture control to the drive coil 32 to control the aperture blades 35. Rotates the rotor 34 in the closing direction. The control voltage V at this time
The voltage c shown in FIG. 2 is supplied to c.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, the voltage control section 7a
The operation of varying the voltage supplied to each of the drive circuits 21 to 23 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a power supply for varying the power supply output and a voltage control section 7a. A normal power supply circuit feeds back a control voltage Vfb obtained by dividing the output voltage Vc by the resistors R1 and R2 to the control input terminal in order to stabilize the output voltage Vc, whereas the present embodiment shown in FIG. , A D / A converter 71 connected to the control input terminal 1a of the power supply circuit 1 via a resistor R3.
, The output voltage Vc can be varied. This D / A converter 71 corresponds to the voltage controller 7 shown in FIG.
a.

In the present embodiment, the voltage control is performed using a D / A converter. However, as another means for realizing the voltage control section 7a, a transistor is used instead of the D / A converter 71 for the resistor R3. Is connected and turned ON / OFF to control the control voltage Vfb to vary the output voltage Vc.

In the present embodiment, a digital still camera has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a so-called silver halide camera single-lens reflex camera and a 35 mm compact camera provided that the camera has a configuration that also uses an iris as a shutter. It can also be used for cameras, APS cameras, and the like. Further, it can be used for a digital video camera or a video camera having a still photography function.

In the above embodiment, the lens drive control device corresponds to the optical imaging system control device of the present invention, the power supply 1 corresponds to the power supply circuit of the present invention, and the zoom motor 4 and the drive circuit 22 The focus motor 5 and the drive circuit 23 correspond to a lens driving unit of the present invention. The voltage controller 7a corresponds to the supply voltage controller of the present invention, and the drive circuit controller 7b corresponds to the optical imaging system operation controller of the present invention. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the lens driving means of the present invention includes the zoom motor 4
And the drive circuit 22, the focus motor 5 and the drive circuit 23, but may be realized only by the focus motor 4 and the drive circuit 22. In this case, the present invention can be applied to a non-zoom compatible camera.

In the above description, the operation has been described assuming that the operation is performed in accordance with the three types of modes detected by the operation mode detecting section 8. However, the operation of the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the operation of each drive circuit and motor may be over a number of modes. At least, the supply voltage control means may set the supply voltage when the aperture driving means performs the exposure operation higher than at least the supply voltage when the aperture driving means performs the aperture operation.

The present invention also relates to all or a part of the optical imaging system control device of the present invention (or the device,
This is a program for causing a computer to execute the functions of elements, circuits, units, and the like), and is a program that operates in cooperation with the computer.

It should be noted that some of the means (or devices, elements, circuits, parts, etc.) of the present invention
Means several means, or within one means,
It means some functions or some operations.

The present invention also includes a computer-readable recording medium on which the program of the present invention is recorded.

[0034] One embodiment of the program of the present invention may be a mode in which the program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and operates in cooperation with the computer.

[0035] One embodiment of the program of the present invention may be a mode in which the program is transmitted through a transmission medium, read by a computer, and operates in cooperation with the computer.

Also, the computer of the present invention described above
The software is not limited to pure hardware such as a CPU, but may include software such as an OS, firmware and a dynamic link library, and may further include peripheral devices.

The recording medium includes a ROM and the like, and the transmission medium includes a transmission medium such as the Internet, light, radio waves and sound waves.

Therefore, as described above, the configuration of the present invention may be realized by software or hardware.

The present invention as described above, as an example,
In the lens drive control device, provided in the electronic device, a drive control device for driving a motor such as a zoom, focus, and iris of a lens unit, wherein a drive circuit that drives the motor group and an operation mode of the lens The power supply circuit includes a detecting unit and a power supply circuit that varies a voltage supplied to the drive circuit in accordance with the operation mode, so that a small and inexpensive lens drive control device can be realized.

Further, as another example, the present invention is characterized in that the voltage supplied to the drive circuit is set low when the zoom, focus, iris and the like are not driven in the lens drive control device. In the lens drive control device of the above example, power saving can be realized.

As another example, the present invention is characterized in that the output of the zoom and focus drive circuits is stopped and the voltage is not supplied to the motor when the iris is driven in the lens drive control device. In the above-described lens drive control device, in the lens drive control device according to claim 1, when the iris is driven, a voltage higher than the rated voltage is not supplied to the motor for zoom and focus, thereby improving the reliability of the motor. It can be realized.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, the aperture can be operated as a shutter capable of high-speed exposure, and the aperture, zoom, and focus can be driven by a single power supply. Further, it is possible to provide a small and inexpensive optical imaging system control device without separately preparing a power supply for driving the aperture unlike the related art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lens drive control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing operation modes and control voltages of a lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing iris control in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an example of a block diagram of a power supply and a voltage control unit for varying an output voltage according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional lens drive control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 power supply 21, 22, 23 drive circuit 3 iris motor 4 zoom motor 5 focus motor 6 lens unit 7a voltage control unit 7b drive circuit control unit 8 operation mode detection unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G03B 9/10 G03B 9/10 D 9/24 9/24 19/02 19/02

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical imaging system having lens driving means for driving a lens, which is supplied with electric power from the same power supply circuit, and aperture driving means for driving a diaphragm means for performing aperture and exposure, and the optical imaging system Supply voltage control means for controlling a voltage supplied to the lens drive means and the aperture drive means by the power supply circuit based on an operation mode set in the lens; and the lens based on an operation mode set in the optical imaging system. Optical imaging system operation control means for controlling the operation of the driving means and / or the operation of the aperture driving means, wherein the supply voltage control means sets at least a supply voltage when the aperture driving means performs the exposure operation. An optical imaging system control device that sets a voltage higher than a supply voltage when the aperture driving unit performs the aperture operation. 2. The imaging system control device according to claim 1, wherein when the aperture unit performs the exposure operation, the optical imaging system operation control unit sets so that the lens driving unit is not driven. 3. When the operation mode set in the optical imaging system does not drive the lens driving unit and the aperture driving unit, the supply voltage control unit controls the lens driving unit and the aperture driving. 2. The imaging system control device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage supplied to the means is equal to or less than a predetermined value. 4. An optical imaging system control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lens drive means for driving a lens and an aperture drive for driving an aperture and an exposure means for receiving an electric power from the same power supply circuit. And a supply voltage control means for controlling a voltage supplied to the lens driving means and the aperture driving means by the power supply circuit based on an operation mode set in the optical imaging system having: A program for causing a computer to function as all or a part of an optical imaging system operation control unit that controls the operation of the lens driving unit and / or the operation of the aperture driving unit based on the operation mode.