JP2000134526A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a compact, light, and inexpensive camera with high picture quality and low power consumption. SOLUTION: This camera is provided with a first lens, second lens, photoelectric conversion element 73 for receiving a subject made incident through the first lens and the second lens, and for converting it into an image signal, driving member 81 for moving the first lens and the second lens within an optical path, and guiding means for guiding the second lens moved by the driving member so that the distance with the photoelectric conversion element can be steppedly changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a digital camera having an optical zoom lens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the progress of digital cameras has been remarkable, and improvements are being made every day in the direction of increasing the number of pixels to megapixels, reducing the size and cost of a silver halide film camera. Digital cameras equipped with an optical zoom lens are also increasing.

In view of such a tendency, consideration has been given to realizing a low-cost digital camera with a simple configuration by performing simple zooming.
No. 218336. According to the imaging apparatus of this publication, the focal length of the zoom lens is switched in a stepwise manner, or the focal length is switched in two or three steps using a conversion lens to select a plurality of focal lengths in a stepwise manner. Although the configuration is simplified by making it possible, an intermediate focal length can be selected by performing electronic enlargement processing further, so that more focal lengths can be selected.

In the above publication, the focal length can be selected step by step, but does not have a focusing mechanism. Therefore, at the longest focal length, the subject light is CC
The focus is adjusted so as to focus on D, and the depth of field becomes deep at a short focal length, so that focusing is performed as it is.

[0005]

However, when a zoom lens having no focusing mechanism is used, when the zoom lens is set to a long focal length, the depth of field becomes shallow, and the depth of field is set up to infinity. When the pan focus is changed, the image quality of a subject at a short distance is reduced. Therefore,
A focusing mechanism is required to obtain high-quality images.However, if a focusing mechanism is provided separately from the zooming mechanism, a dedicated drive mechanism and control circuit including a motor are required, resulting in an increase in the number of parts. This results in a large and expensive imaging device.

Further, as the size of the device increases, the weight increases,
Power consumption during driving of the lens becomes remarkable, and the battery is quickly consumed, so that in the worst case, imaging cannot be performed.

On the other hand, in a silver halide film camera equipped with a zoom lens, a zoom system called a step zoom has recently been adopted for downsizing and cost reduction. As an example of this step zoom, (1) a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-94907 will be described below.

The step zoom is a method in which a portion between a longest focal length and a shortest focal length in a zooming region is divided into a predetermined number of steps, that is, a focal length of a step number. This step zoom will be described with reference to the zoom diagram of FIG. In the figure, the horizontal axis shows the change of the focal length,
W indicates a state in which the focal length is the shortest, M ₁ and M ₂ sequentially increase the focal length, and T indicates the longest focal length. Thus, in this zoom lens, the focal length can be switched to four steps. The vertical axis indicates the amount of movement of the front lens group and the rear lens group of the zoom lens in the optical axis direction. Since the front lens group is helicoidally screwed into the cam barrel which is rotated by motor driving, the front lens group moves linearly with the rotation of the lens frame. On the other hand, the rear group lens is driven by a cam engraved on the cam barrel, and repeatedly moves in a chevron shape between a focal position where the shooting distance U is ∞, ie, an infinity focal point, and N, ie, a focal distance at a close distance. The cam is formed in the.

For example, when the focal length is set at the position of W, if focusing is performed, only the front group lens moves with respect to W and the rear group lens does not move according to the photographing distance. Lens and the rear lens group before the position of the M ₁ via the zooming of one step to the telephoto side is moved.
Similarly, if you zoom in on the telephoto side in two steps,
, M ₁ to the position of M ₂ . As described above, since focusing and zooming are repeatedly performed by moving the front group lens and the rear group lens, the focusing mechanism and the zooming mechanism can be configured by the same mechanism, and the number of parts inevitably increases. And a simple configuration can be realized, so that a compact zoom lens barrel can be realized.

Also, (2) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-313831 discloses a zoom lens barrel of this step zoom system. This is a zoom lens barrel that drives the focal length switching operation and the focus adjustment operation by the same operating means such as a motor and a cam, and describes a configuration in which the focal length switching operation and the focus adjustment operation are selected in a stepwise manner. I have.

In the conventional zoom lens barrel, the switching operation of the focal length, that is, the zooming and the focus adjustment operation, that is, the focusing, are performed by separate mechanisms, respectively. However, according to this publication, the zooming and the focusing are the same. Because of the configuration described above, a very small zoom lens barrel is realized.

This publication is a so-called step zoom system in which a portion between a longest focal length and a shortest focal length is divided into a predetermined number of zooming regions, that is, a focal length of the number of steps.
This step zoom will be described with reference to the zoom diagram of FIG. In the figure, the vertical axis indicates the amount of movement of the front lens group and the rear group of the photographing lens in the optical axis direction. The horizontal axis shows the change in the focal length, and W
Indicates a state in which the focal length is the shortest, and the focal lengths are sequentially increased from M ₁ , M _{2 to} M _6, and the focal length is the longest at T.
Thus, the focal length can be switched to eight steps.

Further, a storage position is provided further forward from the W position, and a storage area for storing the zoom lens barrel in the camera body for miniaturization is provided. In this area, the miniaturization is usually considered as a priority, so that it is often difficult to optically focus on any subject distance, and therefore, the area is treated as an area where photographing is not possible.

Further, an extension section is provided ahead of the position T∞, and a reference distance (長 in this example) on the long focal length side is provided.
The stop position changes due to the lens focus adjustment at the position) and the variation of the stop due to the inertial force at the time of the motor operation to drive the taking lens, and the mechanical variation due to design reasons, and the movement of the taking lens is restricted. It is used to prevent that.

Since the front group is helicoidally screwed to the cam cylinder which rotates while being connected to the motor, it moves linearly. On the other hand, the rear group is driven by the cam engraved on the cam barrel, and the shooting distance is a focusing position at infinity (∞),
It repeatedly moves between the closest focus position (N) and the focus adjustment position.

For example, when the focal length is set to the position of W, the lens is in focus at infinity (∞). However, when the focus is adjusted, the distance between W and M ₁ changes depending on the shooting distance. The group and the rear group move. Therefore, the focal length changes with the focus adjustment, the focal length of M ₁ in the close range (N).
Next, when one-step zooming is performed on the telephoto side, M ₁
The front group and the rear group move to the position of, and the lens is a close distance (N)
Focus on The rear lens group are moved with a front group between M ₁ and M ₂ according to the shooting distance to perform focus adjustment in this state. Therefore,
The focal length changes with the focus adjustment. At infinity (∞), the focal length becomes M ₂ .

After the focusing is completed and the photographing is completed, the zoom lens returns to any one of the initial positions W to T. In other words, the lens returns to the position with the shortest focal length in each zooming area.

As described above, focusing and zooming are continuously and repeatedly performed by moving the front group and the rear group, so that the focusing mechanism and the zooming mechanism are combined by the same mechanism. And the rear group can be driven. As a result, the number of components is inevitably reduced and a simple configuration is achieved, so that a small and inexpensive zoom lens barrel can be realized.

However, when an attempt is made to realize a small zoom lens barrel, there is a limit to the diameter and rotation angle of the cam barrel for moving the rear group lens, and it is difficult to achieve a step zoom with a large number of steps. is there. Therefore, the focal length that can be selected by the user is very limited.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and realizes a step zoom having a large number of steps by using a unique configuration that cannot be realized by a camera using a silver halide film. It is an object of the present invention to propose a small, lightweight, low power consumption, and low price camera while maintaining high image quality.

[0021]

The above object is achieved by any of the following means.

A first lens, a second lens, a photoelectric conversion element that receives a subject image incident through the first lens and the second lens, and converts the image into an image signal; A driving member for moving the first lens and the second lens in the optical path, and the second lens moved by the driving member so that the distance between the photoelectric conversion element and the second lens changes stepwise. A camera, comprising: guide means for guiding.

By driving one driving member, the distance between the zoom lens for performing zooming to a plurality of predetermined zooming regions and adjusting the focus in each of the zooming regions, and the distance between the zoom lens and the subject are adjusted. A distance measuring means for measuring, and a calculating means for calculating an image magnification that changes before and after the focus adjustment, based on the variable magnification area information indicating the selected variable magnification area of the zoom lens and the distance measurement information of the distance measuring means, A photoelectric conversion element for receiving a subject image by the zoom lens and converting the received image into an image signal; and a first for processing the image signal before focus adjustment and outputting first image data.
And a second image processing means for scaling the first image data based on the calculation result of the calculation means and outputting second image data. .

By driving one driving member, the distance between a zoom lens for performing zooming to a plurality of predetermined zooming areas and adjusting the focus in each of the zooming areas, and the distance between the zoom lens and the subject are set. A distance measuring means for measuring, and a calculating means for calculating an image magnification that changes before and after the focus adjustment, based on the variable magnification area information indicating the selected variable magnification area of the zoom lens and the distance measurement information of the distance measuring means, A photoelectric conversion element for receiving a subject image by the zoom lens and converting the received image into an image signal; and a first for processing the image signal before focus adjustment and outputting first image data.
And processing the peripheral area of the first image data based on the calculation result of the calculation means.
And a second image processing means for outputting the image data.

A zoom lens driven by one driving member to switch both a focal length and a focus and to be driven into a first area where no image processing is performed and a second area where image processing is performed, and the zoom lens A determination unit that determines whether the object has moved to the first area or the second area; a photoelectric conversion element that receives a subject image input and output through the zoom lens and converts the image into an image signal; When it is determined that the zoom lens has moved to the first area, first image data is output based on the image signal, and when it is determined that the zoom lens has moved to the second area, A camera configured to output second image data obtained by performing scaling processing on the image signal based on a preset zoom magnification.

By driving one driving member, both the focal length switching and the focus adjustment are performed, and the zoom is driven into a first area where no image processing is performed and a second area where image processing is performed when performing the focus adjustment. A lens, a determination unit that determines whether the zoom lens has moved to the first area or the second area, and a photoelectric conversion element that receives a subject image input and output through the zoom lens and converts the image into an image signal. When it is determined by the determination unit that the zoom lens has moved to the first area, the first lens outputs first image data based on the image signal, and the zoom lens has moved to the second area. An image processing unit that outputs second image data obtained by performing scaling processing on the image signal based on a preset zoom magnification when determined.

The above-mentioned one driving member is a member commonly used when driving a zoom lens for switching the focal length and adjusting the focal length, and corresponds to, for example, a common cam cylinder.

In addition, the above-mentioned division processing means that a peripheral area of the first image corresponding to the outside of the image area after the focus adjustment is outside the area to be imaged, and image processing is appropriately performed.

Further, the stepwise change in the distance between the lens and the photoelectric conversion element moved by the driving member means not only in the case of the zoom diagrams shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 but also in FIGS. This includes the case of such a zoom diagram.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a camera according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, an example of a digital camera will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the digital camera, and FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the digital camera.

In FIG. 3, a zoom lens barrel 102 holding a photographing lens 101, which is a zoom lens, is disposed at the center of the front of the digital camera. A flash light emitting unit 103, an infrared light projecting window 104, a finder incident window 105, and an infrared light incident window 106 are arranged above the photographing lens 101 from the right. Is arranged.

3 and 4, a release button 111 is disposed on the upper surface of the digital camera, and a data display liquid crystal 112 and a flash mode switch 11 are provided behind the release button 111.
3. A self-timer / close-up shooting setting switch 114 and an image quality mode switch 115 are provided.

In FIG. 4, a liquid crystal monitor 121 is arranged at the center of the back of the digital camera, and a main switch button 122 is arranged at the upper right corner. LCD monitor 121
A finder emission window 123 is disposed above the monitor, and a monitor switch button 124 is disposed below. On the left side of the LCD monitor 121, a menu button 125, a set button 12
6. A zoom button 127 is provided.

FIG. 3 shows the zoom lens barrel 102 housed in the camera body.
When the user presses 22, the lens is moved to the position with the shortest focal length (W position in FIGS. 1 and 2). And the taking lens 1
The subject light incident from 01 is photoelectrically converted by the internal CCD and image-processed, and then displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 121 in color. By pressing the zoom button 127, the photographing lens 101 is zoomed by a predetermined number of steps.
By operating the flash mode switch 113, the self-timer / close-up shooting setting switch 114, and the menu button 125, various shooting modes can be selected and displayed on the data display liquid crystal 112.

In order to suppress battery consumption, a monitor switch button 124 is provided so as to display or not display the liquid crystal monitor 121. A finder entrance window 105 and a finder exit window 123 which are optical finder are arranged.

When the release button 111 is half-pressed (first-step pressing), infrared light is emitted from the infrared light projecting window 104 and reflected by the subject, and then the infrared light incident window 1 is pressed.
06 and the distance is measured according to the principle of triangulation as is well known. Therefore, the distance measuring method in this digital camera is a so-called active method, and is adopted in a normal digital camera. However, as long as a distance measurement signal can be obtained, the present invention is not limited to the active method, and may be a so-called passive method in which subject light is received by a predetermined distance measuring element.

Next, the photographing lens 10 which is a zoom lens
FIGS. 5 and 6 show the zoom lens barrel for operating the zoom lens 1
It will be described based on. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the zoom lens barrel. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the zoom lens barrel. The upper half of the zoom lens barrel has a short focal length, and the lower half has a long focal length lens. FIG.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a fixed body integrally fixed to the camera body, and a female helicoid 1a is screwed on an inner periphery thereof.
On the left and right sides of the female helicoid 1a, a guide groove 1b for a rectilinear guide 21 described later is provided across the female helicoid 1a. Reference numeral 2 denotes a cam cylinder having a male helicoid 2a screwed with the female helicoid 1a and a large gear 2 on the outer periphery.
b are formed integrally, a female helicoid 2c and a cam groove 2d as an inner cam are formed on the inner periphery, and a rib 2e is provided inward at the rear end. Further, the addendum circle of the large gear 2b is formed smaller than the root diameter of the male helicoid 2a, which contributes to downsizing of the lens barrel.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a front group sliding frame, to which a front group mirror frame 4 for holding a front group lens 5 having a positive combined focal length is attached by a screw from the front. The manufacturing dimensional error of lens system parts is
Change the mounting position of this screw part. A male helicoid 3a screwed with the female helicoid 2c and a guide groove 3b for a rectilinear guide 21 to be described later are provided on the outer periphery of the front group sliding frame 3, and a hole 3c for a guide shaft 11 to be described later is formed. ing. Reference numeral 6 denotes a rear group sliding frame, which holds the rear group lens 7 having a negative combined focal length on the inner periphery, provides a guide groove 6a for a rectilinear guide 21 described later on the outer periphery, and engages with the cam groove 2d. The rear group cam pin 8 is buried, and a guide shaft 11 protrudes forward. Reference numeral 12 denotes a shaft spring inserted into the guide shaft 11, and reference numeral 13 denotes an E-shaped retaining ring for preventing the shaft spring 12 from coming off.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a straight guide, and the right and left protrusions 2
1a, it slides on the guide groove 1b of the fixed body 1, the other protruding portion 21b rotatably supports a driving gear 44 described later, and the guide groove 3b on the arm portion 21c bent forward.
And the guide groove 6a. Reference numeral 22 denotes a guide fixing plate for connecting the cam cylinder 2 to the linear guide 21, reference numeral 23 denotes a connection between the linear guide 21 and the guide fixing plate 22, and the cam cylinder 2
Reference numeral 24 denotes a guide fixed shaft held by e, and set screws 24 hold the linear guide 21 to the guide fixed shaft 23.

A motor 31 has a shaft 32 on which a propeller 33 is mounted.
4 generates a continuous pulse indicating the operating positions of the front group lens 5 and the rear group lens 7. Reference numeral 35 denotes a pinion directly connected to the motor. The rotation of the motor 31 is controlled by a first gear 36, a second gear 37, a third gear 38, and a fourth gear 42 to a fifth gear 43 provided with a long gear in the optical axis direction. And transmitted to the drive gear 44. The drive gear 44 meshes with the large gear 2b of the cam cylinder 2. Shaft 3 of third gear 38
A propeller 40 is attached to 9, and an intermittent pulse indicating a zooming position is generated by a photo interrupter 41.

Reference numeral 52 denotes an aperture, and 53 an aperture driving motor, which is mounted on the front group sliding frame 3. Reference numeral 51 denotes an FPC board, which connects an aperture driving motor 53 and a printed board 54 on which electric components on the main body side are mounted. After being connected to the aperture driving motor 53, the FPC board 51 passes through the gap between the arm portion 21c of the rectilinear guide 21 and the inner periphery of the cam barrel 2 behind the camera, turns back at the rear end of the cam barrel 2, and returns to the front of the camera. Passes through the gap between the outer periphery of the cam barrel 2 and the fixed barrel 1. A hole 1c is provided in front of the camera from the rear end of the cam barrel 2 when the cam barrel 2 is most extended to the fixed barrel 1, and the FPC board 51 is pulled out to the outer periphery of the fixed barrel 1 through the hole 1c. And connected to the printed circuit board 54 on the main body side. In addition, 5
1a is the FPC board 5 at the position where the lens barrel is most stored.
1 is shown. Reference numeral 61 denotes a camera external shape, and a decorative ring 62 is attached to the cam cylinder 2 and a front cylinder 63 is attached to the front group sliding frame 3.

Next, the basic operation of the zoom lens barrel will be described.

[First Embodiment] The zoom lens barrel according to the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of variable magnification areas for performing zooming and a focusing area for performing focusing alternately and continuously. The front group lens 5 and the rear group lens 7 are driven by the same driving member up to the cylinder 2 to perform zooming and focusing. Therefore, when performing zooming or focusing, when the motor 31 is rotationally driven by a signal (not shown), the driving force is transmitted to the gear train 3.
The gears are transmitted to the fifth gear 43 through 5, 36, 37, 38 and 42, and the fifth gear 43 transmits the driving force to the driving gear 44 attached to the straight guide 21. Drive gear 4
Reference numeral 4 meshes with the large gear 2b, rotates the cam cylinder 2, and moves the cam cylinder 2, which is helicoidally screwed with the fixed barrel 1, in the optical axis direction. At this time, depending on the rotation direction of the motor 31, the cam barrel 2 moves forward or backward in the optical axis direction.

The guide fixing plate 2 is provided on the rib 2 e of the cam cylinder 2.
2. The linear guide 21 is integrally attached by the guide fixing shaft 23 and the set screw 24.
1 is prevented from rotating by the left and right protrusions 21a and the guide groove 1b of the fixed body 1, and moves only in the optical axis direction. Similarly, the front group sliding frame 3 is prevented from rotating in the guide groove 3b by the arm 21c of the rectilinear guide 21. Since the guide shaft 11 projecting from the rear group sliding frame 6 penetrates the front group sliding frame 3, the rear group sliding frame 6 is also prevented from rotating together with the front group sliding frame 3. Accordingly, when the cam barrel 2 rotates, the front group sliding frame 3 helicoidally coupled to the cam cylinder 2 and the rear group sliding frame 6 cam-coupled to the cam cylinder 2 advance or move only in the optical axis direction. Perform a retreat.

Further, the rear group sliding frame 6 is provided with the cam groove 2 of the cam cylinder 2.
d, and is guided based on the trajectory of the cam groove 2d.

The cam groove 2d of the cam cylinder 2 is formed by alternately repeating an inclination angle smaller than a lead angle of the female helicoid 2c and a larger inclination angle, and the front group sliding frame 3 is linearly formed by the helicoid. In contrast to the movement, the rear group sliding frame 6 performs a discontinuous movement of the chevron. This is the same as the above-described zoom diagram in FIG. 1, and a plurality of zooming regions by zooming and a focusing region for focusing are provided alternately and continuously, so that the focusing drive and the zooming drive have the same mechanism. Can be done with

The meshing position of the fifth gear 43 and the driving gear 44 changes in the optical axis direction with the movement of the cam cylinder 2, but the fifth gear 43 is a gear provided with long teeth in the optical axis direction. Therefore, this engagement is always maintained regardless of the movement of the cam cylinder 2. Further, the rib 2e of the cam cylinder 2 has a bearing surface for receiving rotation of the cam cylinder 2 in addition to preventing the thrust of the rectilinear guide 21 from coming off, thereby preventing the deformation of the cam cylinder 2 during transmission of driving force. I have.

Although the above-described zoom lens has a two-group structure, the present invention is not limited to this, and a zoom lens having three or more groups may be used.

Next, a method of performing zooming by performing image processing on a captured subject image will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the image processing circuit, and FIG. 8 is a zoom diagram in the present embodiment.

[0052] When you turn on the main switch S _M in FIG. 7 by pressing the main switch button 122 in FIG. 3,
Power is supplied to the control unit 71, and the digital camera is activated. However, at this time, the zoom lens 72 is still in the retracted position and is not in focus on any subject, so that even if the subject image enters the CCD 73, photoelectric conversion is not performed. Therefore, power is not supplied to an image processing unit 74 and the like, which will be described later, thereby preventing battery consumption.

When the digital camera is activated, the motor 81 starts rotating by the operation of the driver 82, and the zoom lens 72 is extended from the main body. Then, the encoder 83 stops the zoom lens 72 at the W position in FIG. When the zoom lens 72 stops, power is supplied to all the circuits for the first time, and the respective circuits together with the control unit 71 are turned on.

The motor 81 is the motor 3 shown in FIG.
1 and the encoder 83 is the photointerrupter 3
4,41.

Then, the subject image is formed on the CCD 73 by the zoom lens 72 and photoelectrically converted. The photoelectrically converted image signal is converted to a digital signal by the image processing unit 74 and output as first image data. The first image data is stored in an image memory 76 such as a RAM or a RAM card, or converted into an analog signal and output to a liquid crystal monitor 77 corresponding to the liquid crystal monitor 121 in FIG.

Further, the liquid crystal monitor 7 in the present embodiment
7 displays the subject image switched every 30 msec to 300 msec. The image output timing to the liquid crystal monitor 77 is not limited to the above-mentioned time interval, and is preferably such an interval that when the user observes the subject image on the liquid crystal monitor 77, the user does not feel uncomfortable with the switching of the image.

The liquid crystal monitor 121 is essentially the same even if a plasma display or the like other than the liquid crystal is used.

[0058] Further, when the state of turn on only the main switch S _M is a zoom lens 72 so the distance measuring circuit 79 is not operating without focusing, the zoom lens 72 in FIG. 8 is in the position of W In some cases, even if the subject is located at a short distance (N), the subject is focused on an infinite (∞) initial position.

Here, the zoom diagram of FIG. 8 will be described in detail.

This zoom diagram is similar to the zoom diagram shown in FIG. 1, in which the horizontal axis indicates a change in the focal length, W indicates the state where the focal length is shortest, and M ₁ and M ₂ will be successively shown. The focal length becomes longer, and the focal length becomes the longest at T. The vertical axis indicates the extension amount of the front lens unit and the rear lens unit of the zoom lens. Here, four reference positions W, M ₁ , M ₂ , and T are set when focusing is performed after zooming. In the present embodiment, the focal length at each reference position is twice as large as M ₁ and M ₂ with respect to the W position.
Is set to change three times at, and four times at T. The focusing area is W to W _N , M ₁
ＭM _1N , M ₂ ＭM _2N , and T〜T _N.

In the zoom diagram shown in FIG.
The region where focusing is performed is set so as to be substantially orthogonal to the optical axis. In such a case, the rear group lens is configured not to move in the optical axis direction with respect to the cam barrel. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the following methods do not depart from the gist of the present invention. .

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the inclination of the focusing area is set so as to cancel the inclination of the male helicoid 2a provided on the outer periphery of the cam cylinder 2 (the direction opposite to the object direction). Alternatively, the rear group lens may be configured not to move with respect to the fixed barrel 1 even when the cam barrel rotates.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the inclination of the focusing area is set in the direction of inclination in the optical axis direction (subject direction), and when the cam barrel is rotated, the rear lens group moves to the fixed barrel 1. Alternatively, the moving speed may be increased.

Further, a configuration shown in a zoom diagram as in FIGS. 11 and 12 may be adopted.

The above five inclinations may be used for each focusing area.

In the present embodiment, the front lens group moves linearly by helicoid, while the rear lens group moves discontinuously in a chevron shape. You can also.

Further, both the front lens unit and the rear lens unit may be moved discontinuously by a chevron.

The area where focusing is performed is divided into two areas, and the areas where W _{N to} M ₁ , M _{1N to} M ₂ , and M _{2N to} T are non-focusing areas are approximately 1 /
A determination area based on three stages of zoom magnification change is set. That is, as the determination area, the zoom magnification is 1 to
1.3 times the W _M area, 1.3 times to 1.7 times the W _E area,
1.7 to 2.3 times the M _1M region, 2.3 to 2.7 times the M _1E region, 2.7 to 3.3 times the M _2M region, and the following 4.3 to 4 times until .7 times T _E region, it is set determining area of 8 steps.

[0069] Then, it is set zoom magnification corresponding to each determination area, W _M region 1x, W _E region 1.5
2 times, M _1M region is 2 times, M _1E region is 2.5 times, M _2M region is 3 times, M _2E region is 3.5 times, T _M region is 4 times, and _TE region is 4.5 times. Is set.

The M _1M area, the M _2M area, and the T _M area have a zoom magnification change of approximately 2/3 steps.

In these discrimination areas, a first area for performing normal optical focusing and a second area for performing enlarged image processing after optical focusing are alternately set adjacent to each other. and, first area W _M region, a M _1M region, M _2M region, and T _M region and the second region W _E region, M _1E region, M _2E region, and a T _E region.

Next, a case will be described in which the zoom lens 72 is extended from the stowed state, and an image of a subject is taken with the zoom lens 72 stopped at the W reference position. Release button 111 in FIG.
The is pressed halfway, the release switch S ₁ is turned on.
Then, the distance measuring circuit 79 operates to emit infrared light from the infrared light projecting window 104 and reflect off the subject. Then, the infrared light enters the infrared light entering window 106 and is measured according to the principle of triangulation as is well known. Distance is performed. In this way, the distance measuring circuit 79 detects the subject distance, calculates the extension amount (distance measurement data) necessary for focus adjustment from the subject distance and the reference position of W, and outputs the calculated amount to the control unit 71.

[0073] Furthermore, the release button 111 is depressed, the release switch S ₂ is turned on, to a predetermined position unwound imaging the lines between the zoom lens 72 is W～W _N according to the calculated movement amount Will be Since the image signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD 73 is output as first image data from the image processing unit 74, the first image data is stored in the image memory 76, and the liquid crystal corresponding to the liquid crystal monitor 121 in FIG. It is displayed on the monitor 77.

Next, when performing zooming, the zoom button 1 is used.
Turning on the zoom switch S _T Press 27, motor 81 rotates forward by the operation of the driver 82, but zoom lens 72 is fed to an arbitrary position between the W～T _N,
Release the zoom button 127 zoom switch S _T is turned off, the zoom lens 72 is stopped.

During zooming, the liquid crystal monitor 77
The subject image switched every 0 msec to 300 msec is displayed. For example, when the zoom lens 72 is located at the step position W, M ₁ , M ₂ or T, the first image data is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77 as a subject image.
When the zoom lens 72 is located at a position other than the step position, the first image data is enlarged by the image processing unit 74 based on the position information of the zoom lens 72 detected by the determination unit 78. , And outputs the image data after the image processing to the liquid crystal monitor 77. At this time, as in a fourth embodiment to be described later, a display frame corresponding to the enlargement magnification is displayed without performing the enlargement process, or a region of the subject image outside the image frame is displayed by performing a color conversion process. Or you may.

[0076] During a zoom switch S _T is on, not counting pulses by the encoder 83, which determines the area zoom lens _{72 (W M, W E ···} T E) or is moving in, the determination unit 78 Is determined by

First, a case will be described in which it is determined that the stopped determination area is the first area. For example, it is assumed that the area has stopped in the area _M1M . Then, the zoom lens 72 is automatically moved to the reference position M by the forward or reverse rotation of the motor 81.
To move to _1. In the case of region W _M to the reference position W, and those areas M _2M to the reference position M _2, in the case of regions T _M moved to the reference position T. When turning on the release switch S ₁ by pressing the release button 111 halfway, the distance measuring circuit 79 in the same manner as described above is to calculate the movement amount by the object distance and the reference position M _1, further pressing the release button 111 When turning on the release switch S _2, the zoom lens 72 is imaged is carried out is fed to a predetermined position between the M ₁ ~M _1N based on the feed amount calculated.

Next, a case where it is determined that the stopped area is the second area will be described. For example, it is assumed that the area has stopped in the area M _1E . Then, the zoom lens 72 automatically moves to the reference position M ₁ by the reverse rotation of the motor 81.
The reference position W in the case of region W _E, in the case of region M _2E to the reference position M _2, in the case of region T _E moves to the reference position T. Further, since the zoom magnification of the area M _1E is set to 2.5 times, the magnification from the reference position M ₁ which is 2.0 times becomes 1.25 times, and the discriminating unit 78 obtains the magnification from the internal memory. 1.25 times is selected and sent to the control unit 71, and the control unit 71 sends the data to the image processing unit 74.

The magnification of each area from the reference value is shown in Table 1. The discriminator 78 stores these in the internal memory.

[0080]

[Table 1]

[0081] Then, turning on the release switch S ₁ by pressing the release button 111 halfway, the distance measuring circuit 79 in the same manner as described above is to calculate the movement amount by the object distance and the reference position M _1, further release button Turning on the release switch S ₂ press 111, zoom lens 72 is imaged is carried out is fed to a predetermined position between the M ₁ ~M _1N based on the feed amount calculated. At this time, the CCD 73
The image signal subjected to the photoelectric conversion in (1) is output from the image processing unit 74 as first image data and sent to the electronic zoom processing unit 75, and the electronic zoom processing unit 75 Performs enlargement processing of the first image data to form second image data, and outputs the second image data to the image processing unit 74. Thereafter, similarly, the second image data is stored in the image memory 7.
6 and display on the liquid crystal monitor 77 corresponding to the liquid crystal monitor 121 in FIG.

Since the first area and the second area are alternately arranged as described above, the conventional area is limited in a limited area where zooming is performed.
The number of steps is doubled, and the user can select a larger focal length during imaging.

The zoom lens 72 is zoomed.
Turning on the zoom switch S _W Press zoom button 127 in a state in which the fed out, the zoom lens 72 motor 81 is reversed renormalized, turning off the zoom switch S _W, stops any region Therefore, after the determination unit 78 stores the area, it moves to the reference position as appropriate and stops.

It is preferable to use an optical zoom finder for the finder. Information on which discrimination area the zoom lens 72 has moved out is obtained from the discrimination section 78, and the zoom finder is driven by a motor or the like so that the magnification of the position is obtained. May be used for driving.

According to this operation mode, the zoom lens is extended while the zoom button is being pressed, so that the operator can be operated continuously as if the focal length of the zoom lens is changing stepwise. Because the focal length seems to have changed, the camera is easy to use without discomfort.

Further, regardless of the camera design circumstances, which is called step zoom, an image close to the subject image taken at an arbitrary focal length desired by the user (for example, even between step positions) is in a state of high image quality. It is possible to get at.

[Second Embodiment] Next, another embodiment of the digital camera will be described.

In this digital camera, the desired zoom magnification is set to, for example, 1, 1.5, 2,
2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 are selected from the stepwise discrimination areas and are displayed on the data display liquid crystal 112 in advance. Then, the zoom lens 72 is extended to a reference position corresponding to the selected determination area. At this time, if the selected discrimination area is the first area, focusing is performed and the image is captured and the first image data is output. If the selected discrimination area is the second area, focusing is performed and the imaging is performed and the first image data is output. After forming one image data, the second image data is formed and output based on the magnification from the reference position stored in the determination unit 78 in the same manner as described above.

According to this embodiment, after the magnification is set, the zoom lens 72 moves to the reference position without moving back and forth.
Further, power consumption can be reduced.

[Third Embodiment] In the above-described first embodiment and second embodiment, the zoom diagram of FIG. 8 has been described as an example. The present invention can be applied to a camera having a zoom diagram. In this case, similarly, the first region and the second region may be provided as shown in FIG.

In the above-described first to third embodiments, the four-step zoom is used. However, the present invention is not limited to the four-step zoom, and is formed in accordance with the diameter and the rotation angle of the cam cylinder 2. The number of steps may be appropriately set according to the size of the cam to be used.

Also, the entire zooming area is not set to the step zoom, but is set to a fixed focus where no focusing is performed at a short focal length where the depth of field is deep, and is set only at a long focal length where the depth of field is shallow. It may be configured to be a zoom.

According to the first to third embodiments, step zoom having a large number of steps is realized by performing variable-magnification image processing in addition to optical image formation, and further provided with a focusing mechanism. A camera with high image quality, small size, light weight, low power consumption, and low price can be achieved without any problem.

[Fourth Embodiment] Here, if a zoom lens barrel having a step zoom mechanism is directly employed in a digital camera, the following problems occur.

In a digital camera, subject light is imaged on a CCD by a photographing lens, and an image signal obtained by photoelectric conversion processing by the CCD is appropriately image-processed and then displayed on a monitor composed of a liquid crystal plate or the like. . Therefore, since the image visually recognized by the liquid crystal monitor is an image captured by the CCD through the photographing lens, the zooming state by zooming can be directly visually recognized as in the case of the single-lens reflex camera.

On the other hand, in the zoom lens barrel of the above-described step zoom system, both the front and rear groups move during focusing, and the focal length changes. Therefore, the photographing magnification changes before and after focusing. In a normal digital camera, the first release switch is turned on by pressing the first step of the release button, and a distance measurement as a measurement of a subject distance and a photometry as a measurement of a subject luminance are performed. Is pressed, the second release switch is turned on, the zoom lens barrel is driven based on the distance measurement result, focusing is performed, and then imaging is performed on the CCD.

Therefore, the image visually recognized by the liquid crystal monitor before the second release switch is turned on is not
The image after the release switch is turned on has a different magnification. As a result, not only is there a sense of incongruity when viewing the LCD monitor, but also because the image that was actually captured is enlarged relative to the image that was initially viewed, the peripheral image can be viewed on the LCD monitor. Regardless, there is a problem that an image is not taken.

Further, in a multifunction machine in which a silver halide film can be loaded into this digital camera, an unsuccessfully failed photograph is taken because the actually printed image is different.

In order to solve this problem, when the first release switch is turned on, the photographing lens is driven based on the result of distance measurement so that the image taken at that time can be visually recognized through the monitor. In the first place, since a digital camera drives an imaging circuit and a monitor, which consume a large amount of power, with a small-capacity battery, such driving consumes the battery, and the second camera is used during actual shooting.
There is a danger that even if the release switch is turned on, the image cannot be captured.

The fourth embodiment has been made in view of such a problem. When a zoom lens barrel of a step zoom system is used in a digital camera or the like, the first release is performed by pressing the first step of a release button. A digital camera is proposed in which, when a switch is turned on, a screen of a liquid crystal monitor can be displayed in the same state as an imaging state in which the zoom lens barrel has moved without moving the zoom lens barrel.

In a silver halide film camera using a step zoom type zoom lens barrel, a finder optical system is arranged independently of an optical system of a photographing lens, so that it is not affected by the above-described zooming. The finder optical system is devised in this way.

In the zoom lens barrel according to the present embodiment, an area for performing focusing is provided in a plurality of variable magnification areas for performing zooming, and the front and rear group lenses 5 and 7 are driven by the same mechanism to perform zooming and focusing. Do. Therefore, when zooming or focusing is performed as shown in FIG.
Is driven to rotate, the driving force is transmitted to the gear trains 35, 36, 3
The fifth gear 43 transmits the driving force to a driving gear 44 mounted on the straight guide 21 through 7, 38, and 42. The driving gear 44 is the large gear 2
b, the cam barrel 2 is rotated, and the cam barrel 2 helicoidally screwed with the fixed barrel 1 is moved in the optical axis direction. At this time, depending on the rotation direction of the motor 31, the cam barrel 2 moves forward or backward in the optical axis direction. The straight guide 21 is integrally attached to the rib 2e of the cam cylinder 2 by a guide fixing plate 22, a guide fixing shaft 23, and a set screw 24.
The straight guide 21 is prevented from rotating by the left and right protrusions 21a and the guide groove 1b of the fixed barrel 1, and moves only in the optical axis direction. Similarly, the front group sliding frame 3 is prevented from rotating in the guide groove 3b by the arm 21c of the rectilinear guide 21. Further, a guide shaft 11 protruding from the rear group sliding frame 6 is provided.
Penetrates through the front group sliding frame 3, so that the rear group sliding frame 6 is also prevented from rotating together with the front group sliding frame 3. Therefore, when the cam barrel 2 rotates, the front group sliding frame 3 helicoidally coupled to the cam cylinder 2 and the rear group sliding frame 6 cam-coupled to the cam cylinder 2 advance or retreat in the optical axis direction. Only do.

The cam groove 2d of the cam cylinder 2 is formed by alternately repeating an inclination angle smaller than the lead angle of the female helicoid 2c and a larger inclination angle, and the front group sliding frame 3 is linearly formed by the helicoid. In contrast to the movement, the rear group sliding frame 6 performs a discontinuous movement of the chevron. This is the same as the above-described zoom diagram in FIG. 1, and since a focusing area is provided in a plurality of zooming areas by zooming,
Focusing drive and zooming drive can be performed by the same mechanism.

Further, with the movement of the cam cylinder 2, the meshing position between the fifth gear 43 and the driving gear 44 changes in the optical axis direction, but the fifth gear 43 has a gear provided with long teeth in the optical axis direction. Therefore, this engagement is always maintained regardless of the movement of the cam cylinder 2. Further, the rib 2e of the cam cylinder 2 has a bearing surface for receiving rotation of the cam cylinder 2 in addition to preventing the thrust of the rectilinear guide 21 from coming off, thereby preventing the deformation of the cam cylinder 2 during transmission of driving force. I have.

Although the above-described zoom lens has a two-group structure, the present invention is not limited to this, and a zoom lens having three or more groups may be used.

Next, image processing of a subject image picked up by using the above-described zoom lens barrel will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an image processing circuit, and FIG. 15 is a diagram of an image displayed on a liquid crystal monitor.

[0107] When you turn on the main switch S _M press the main switch button 122 in FIG. 4, the power feeding is performed to the control unit 91, the digital camera becomes activated state. However, at this point, the zoom lens barrel is still in the stowed position, and no subject is in focus.
Even if an image is formed on the CCD 93, photoelectric conversion is not performed. Therefore,
Power is not supplied to a signal processing circuit 96, an image processing unit 98, a liquid crystal monitor 77, and the like, which will be described later, thereby preventing battery consumption.

When the digital camera is started, the motor 81 starts rotating by the operation of the driver 82, and the zoom lens barrel is extended from the main body. Then, the zoom lens barrel is stopped at the W position by the encoder 83. When the zoom lens barrel stops, power is supplied to all circuits for the first time, and each circuit is brought into a conductive state together with the control unit 91.

A subject image is captured by a CCD by a zoom lens 92.
An image is formed on 93 and photoelectric conversion is started. The photoelectrically converted image signal is correlated double-sampled by the CDS 94 and is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 95.
Subsequently, the digital signal is subjected to gamma processing by, for example, a color signal and a luminance signal in a signal processing circuit 96 and output as first image data. In this case, the first image data is R
After passing through the image memory 97 which is an AM or RAM card,
The D / A converter 9 without passing through an image processing unit 98 described in detail later.
At 9, the signal is converted into an analog signal, output to the liquid crystal monitor 77 corresponding to the liquid crystal monitor 121 in FIG. 4 and displayed as an image.

The liquid crystal monitor 77 is essentially the same even if a plasma display or the like other than the liquid crystal is used, and is called a display section in the claims.

In the present embodiment, CDS9
4. The A / D converter 95 and the signal processing circuit 96 correspond to the first image processing means of the present invention.

[0112] Further, when the state of turn on only the main switch S _M is a zoom lens 92 so the distance measuring circuit 79 is not operating without focusing, a zoom lens 92 for example in FIG. 2 to the position of the W At some point, the lens is in focus at an infinite (∞) initial position even if the subject is at a short distance (N). Further, when the zoom lens 92 is in the position of M _1, the lens may be in the position of the subject is infinite (∞) is focused on the initial position of the short-range (N).

Next, when capturing an image of a subject, the user operates the zoom button 127 in FIG. 4 to operate the zoom switches S _T and S _W.
Is turned on as appropriate, the motor 81 rotates by the operation of the driver 82, and the zoom lens 92 stops at an arbitrary step position between W and T in FIG. . Note that the encoder 83 is the photointerrupter 34, 41 in FIG.
, And the motor 81 corresponds to the motor 31.

[0114] Further, a zoom switch S _T, the S _W is turned on, it is subject image formed by as described above CCD93, each 30Msec～300msec, LCD monitor 7
7 is output. That is, a subject image corresponding to the movement of the zoom lens 92 can be confirmed on the liquid crystal monitor 77. The image output timing to the liquid crystal monitor 77 is not limited to the above-mentioned time interval, and is preferably such an interval that when the user observes the subject image on the liquid crystal monitor 77, the user does not feel uncomfortable with the switching of the image.

Therefore, as described above, the image of the subject can be confirmed on the liquid crystal monitor 77, and a variable-magnification area having an appropriate size can be selected. Further, the variable power area of the zoom lens 92 is input to the control unit 91 as variable power area information.

[0116] The release button 111 in FIG. 3 is pressed halfway, the release switch S ₁ is turned on. Then, the distance measuring circuit 79 operates to emit infrared light from the infrared light projecting window 104 and reflect off the subject. Then, the infrared light enters the infrared light entering window 106 and is measured according to the principle of triangulation as is well known. Distance is performed.
In this way, the object distance is detected and calculated, and the distance measurement information is output to the control unit 91. However, at this time, the zoom lens 92 has not yet been operated for focus adjustment, and the zoom lens 92 has been stopped at each initial position in the variable magnification area. However, the control section 91 outputs the input distance measurement information to the image processing section 98 and also outputs the first distance measurement information from the image memory 97.
Stop outputting image data.

[0117] As explained mainly to FIG. 2, since in step zoom method of this embodiment magnification with focusing takes place, when you turn on the release switch S _1, the zoom lens 92 is adjusted focus Even if the image does not move, the image viewed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 needs to be subjected to scaling processing according to the focus adjustment. Therefore, the image processing unit 98 changes the image magnification that changes from the initial position before the focus adjustment to the image magnification that changes after the focus adjustment based on the scaling area information indicating the zooming area selected by the zooming from the control unit 91 and the distance measurement information. Is calculated, and the following image processing is performed.

In this embodiment, the image processing section 98 corresponds to the second image processing means of the present invention.

[0119] In FIG. 15, FIG. 15 (A) is an example of an image displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 before turning on the release switch S _1. Release by the image processing unit 98 is an image magnification of about focusing obtained based on the switch S ₁ selected zooming range information and ranging information by zooming When on, scaling of the first image data line Will be In the present embodiment, since the focus adjustment is always performed in the direction from the short focal length to the long focal length, the scaling process is an enlarging process.

Then, peripheral images that do not fall within the predetermined image frame are cut out, and the remaining images are enlarged to obtain the image shown in FIG.
The image is as shown in FIG. The enlarged image is further depressed by pressing the release button 111 (pressing the second step) to turn on the release switch S ₂ , and the control unit 91 controls the driver 82 and the encoder 8 based on the distance measurement information from the distance measurement circuit 79.
3 is operated, and the zoom lens 92 is
It is the same size as the image displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 when it is moved to the position where the CD 93 is focused. Accordingly, since the image of the imaging time of the same magnification the release button 111 just pressed halfway is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77, not cause problems such magnification is changed in the on-off release switch S _2, also When the release button is half-pressed, there is no need to drive the zoom lens, so that power consumption can be minimized.

Also, as shown in FIG. 15C, the peripheral area to be cut out without entering a predetermined image frame in accordance with the enlargement magnification obtained by the image processing section 98 without performing the enlargement processing of the first image data. The image processing unit 98 may obtain the position of the display frame on the image so that the display frame is provided at the boundary of the image. As a result, the image similar to the image at the time of imaging turn the release switch S ₂ is the image of the display frame.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15D, the enlargement processing of the first image data is not similarly performed, and the surrounding images to be cut out without entering a predetermined image frame in accordance with the enlargement magnification are set as image data. The color conversion processing may be performed by the processing unit 98 and a predetermined color may be overlapped to clarify that the area is outside the image frame, that is, outside the captured image. Further, instead of the color conversion processing, the image processing section 98 may perform image processing by superimposing a hatched pattern or the like. As a result, the image in the image frame is an image substantially similar images in imaging you turn the release switch S _2.

It should be noted that FIGS. 15B, 15C,
The image data subjected to the image processing as in (D) is referred to as second image data, which is not only displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 but also stored in the image memory 97 so that it can be appropriately reproduced and displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 after imaging. Good.

[0124] Next, further pushing the release button 111, the release switch S ₂ is turned on, the control unit 91 actuates the driver 82 and the encoder 83 based on the distance measurement information, CCD imaging the zoom lens 92 by the motor 81 It is moved to a position where the element 73 is focused. As a result, the image signal that is truly captured and photoelectrically converted is converted to a CD as described above.
After being processed in S94, the A / D converter 95, and the signal processing circuit 96, the analog signal is stored in the image memory 97 as the third image data, and the analog signal is output by the D / A converter 99 without passing through the image processing unit 98. And displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77.

In the enlargement processing as shown in FIG. 15B, the second image data and the third image data are the same unless the subject or the digital camera is moved. May be displayed based on the image data. However, in the image processing as shown in FIGS. 15C and 15D, the image before the focus adjustment displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 is the image shown in FIG.
FIG. 15D is an image shown in FIG.
Since the image is similar to (B) and different from the image shown in FIG.
After the focus adjustment, displaying the image based on the second image data without displaying the image based on the third image data does not confuse the user.

[Fifth Embodiment] In the fourth embodiment, the output timing of the subject image to the liquid crystal monitor 77 is set to three times.
The interval is set to 0 msec to 300 msec. Next, another embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, only the configuration different from the fourth embodiment will be described, and the other configuration will be described as using the configuration of the fourth embodiment.

For example, it is assumed that the zoom button 127 in FIG. 3 is operated to move the zoom lens 92 located at the step position W in the zoom diagram of FIG. At this time, assuming that the output timing of the subject image to the liquid crystal monitor 77 is an arbitrary timing such as every 30 msec to 300 msec, the focus position of the subject image output to the liquid crystal monitor 77 differs at each output timing. An image may be displayed.

[0128] In detail, in the zoom diagram of FIG. 2, is to M ₁ from step position W, the focus position is changed to N from ∞, from M ₁ to M _2, focus position N Changes from ∞ to ∞. Therefore, for example, when the output timing is faster than the moving time of the zoom lens 92 between adjacent step positions, the subject images output to the liquid crystal monitor are focused on ∞ in the order of output. The subject image (the subject image captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is located at the step position W), the subject image focused between ∞ and N (the zoom lens 92 is located between the step positions W and M _1). object image is focused on the image pickup subject image), N at the timing located (subject image captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is positioned at the step position M _1),
The subject image (zoom lens 9) focused between N and ∞
2 is a subject image captured at a timing between step positions M ₁ and M ₂ ), and a subject image focused on ∞ (photographed at a timing when the zoom lens 92 is located at the step position M ₂ ). (Subject image). That is, the in-focus position of the subject image output to the liquid crystal monitor changes from ∞ → N → ∞
→ ・ ・ ・ → ∞

During zooming (focal length switching), it is desirable to display the subject image on the liquid crystal monitor 77 while reflecting the change in the angle of view accompanying the change in the focal length.
At this time, if the focus position changes as described above according to the focal length, the user may feel uncomfortable, feel uncomfortable, or be confused.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the subject image captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is positioned in the predetermined focusing area is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77.

First, the zoom lens 92 is moved to the step position W.
, The zoom button 127 is pressed and the zoom button 127 is released when the zoom lens 72 reaches the step position T.

When the zoom lens 92 is located at the step position W, the subject image formed on the CCD 93 is
Is in focus. Then, as described in the fourth embodiment, the subject image at the step position W is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77. Further, the zoom lens 92 moves to the step position M ₁ , but the subject image captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is located at M ₁ is in focus on N. in the timing located M _1, does not output the object image on the LCD monitor 77. Further, at the timing when the zoom lens 92 reaches the step position M ₂ , the subject image formed on the CCD 93 is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77. Similarly, at the timing when the zoom lens 92 reaches the step positions M ₄ and M ₆ , the subject image formed on the CCD 93 is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77.

At such a timing, the liquid crystal monitor 77
Are the subject images captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is located at the step positions W, M ₂ , M ₄ , and M ₆ , and are all focused on the predetermined focusing area ∞. I have. Therefore, the user can observe the subject image focused on the same position on the liquid crystal monitor during the switching of the focal length, and does not feel discomfort, discomfort, or confusion.

Next, the zoom lens 92 is moved to the step position M.
_The case where the zoom button 127 is pressed while the zoom lens 92 reaches the step position T in a state where the zoom button 92 is located at 1 is released will be described as an example.

[0135] In this case, similarly, when the zoom lens 92 is positioned at the step position M _1, the object image formed on CCD93 is focused on N. And the fourth
As described in the embodiment, the subject image at the step position N is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77. Furthermore, the zoom lens 92 is moved to a step position M _2, subject image captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is located at the M _2, since that would have focused on ∞, the zoom lens 92 is in the timing located M _2,
The subject image is not output to the liquid crystal monitor 77. Further, at the timing when the zoom lens 92 has reached the step position M _3, the object image formed on CCD93 is outputted to the LCD monitor 77. Similarly, at the timing when the zoom lens 92 reaches the step positions M ₅ and T, C
The subject image formed on the CD 93 is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77.

At such a timing, the liquid crystal monitor 77
Are the subject images captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is located at the step positions M ₁ , M ₃ , M ₅ , and T, and are all focused on the predetermined focusing area N. I have. Therefore, the user can observe the subject image focused on the same position on the liquid crystal monitor during the switching of the focal length, without feeling uncomfortable and without being confused.

In the above example, the CCD 93 is moved at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is positioned at a predetermined step position.
Was output to the LCD monitor 77,
The present invention is not limited to this. In addition to the above-described step positions, a subject image may be output to the liquid crystal monitor 77 between each step position, for example, each time the zoom lens 92 reaches a predetermined focusing area. For example, 3 m, which is a predetermined finite distance between N and ∞
And a CCD at each timing when the zoom lens 92 is positioned.
If the subject image formed on 93 is output to the liquid crystal monitor 77, it is compared with a case where the subject image is picked up and output each time it reaches N.
A double image can be displayed, and an image closer to a moving image can be displayed.

Further, the output timing between each step position may be further increased.

In the above, the zoom diagram of FIG. 2 has been described as an example. Similarly, a case where the present invention is applied to the zoom diagram of FIG. 1 will be described.

For example, it is assumed that the zoom button 127 in FIG. 4 is operated to move the zoom lens 92 located at the step position W in the zoom diagram of FIG. At this time, if the output timing of the subject image to the liquid crystal monitor 77 is an arbitrary timing such as every 30 msec to 300 msec, an image having a different focus position is set for each subject image output to the liquid crystal monitor 77. turn into.

More specifically, in the zoom diagram of FIG. 1, the focus position is ∞ from the step position W, the step position M ₁ , and the step position M _2.
From N to N, zooming is performed from M ₁ , M ₂ , and T.

Therefore, for example, if the output timing is during zooming,
An out-of-focus image will be output to the liquid crystal monitor.

When the output timing is set to the step position W
From Step position M _1, or faster than the movement time of the zoom lens 92 to the step position M ₂ is subject image is output to the liquid crystal monitor, in order to be output, it focused on ∞ Object image (zoom lens 9
2 is a subject image captured at the timing of being located at the step position W), and a subject image focused between ∞ and N (imaging is performed at a timing at which the zoom lens 92 is located between the step position W). Subject image), and the subject image focused on N (the subject image captured at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is located at the step position). This is from the step position M1 and from the step position M2.
The same is true for That is, the in-focus position of the subject image output to the liquid crystal monitor changes from ∞ → N → defocus → ぼ → N → defocus →... → N.

During zooming (switching the focal length), it is desirable to display the subject image on the liquid crystal monitor 77 while reflecting the change in the angle of view accompanying the change in the focal length.
At this time, if the focus position changes as described above according to the focal length, the user may feel uncomfortable or confused.

Therefore, as in the case of the zoom diagram of FIG. 1, only the subject image picked up at the timing when the zoom lens 92 is located in the predetermined focusing area is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77.
It is good to output to.

In the above embodiment, the subject image formed in the immediately preceding predetermined focusing area is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 except for the predetermined focusing area. According to the configuration described in (1), a subject image corresponding to the position of the zoom lens 92 can be displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 77 even in a region other than the predetermined focusing region.

For example, the position of the zoom lens 92 is detected by the encoder 83. Then, based on the detected position of the zoom lens 92, an enlargement ratio for the subject image captured in the immediately preceding predetermined in-focus area is obtained, and the image processing unit 98 captures an image in the immediately preceding predetermined in-focus area. Enlargement processing is performed on the subject image thus obtained.

By doing so, it is possible to always focus on the same position and to display a subject image having an angle of view corresponding to the movement of the zoom lens 92, so that an image close to a moving image can be obtained. Discomfort and confusion can be reduced.

As in the case of the fourth embodiment, a display frame corresponding to the enlargement magnification can be displayed without performing the enlargement processing.
A region of the subject image outside the image frame may be displayed by performing a color conversion process.

Sixth Embodiment The digital camera has been described above. A multifunction machine that can also use a silver halide film will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an optical system of a camera capable of capturing images on both a CCD and a silver halide film. The basic optical system for the CCD is the same as the optical system in the digital camera described above.

In FIG. 16, reference numeral 201 denotes a zoom lens similar to that described above, 202 denotes a fixed translucent mirror, and 203 denotes a shutter. One object light is transmitted through the translucent mirror 202 by the zoom lens 201 and is exposed on the film 204 when the shutter 203 is opened.

The other object light is transmitted through the zoom lens 201, reflected by the translucent mirror 202, and split into optical paths to the condenser lens 205, the reflection mirror 206, the ND filter 207, and the relay lens 208. Relay lens 2
The amount of light that has reached 08 is controlled by the relay stop 209, and forms an image on the CCD 212 through the optical low-pass filter 210 and the IR cut filter 211.

In such a multifunction machine in which a silver halide film is mounted on a digital camera, when the first release switch is turned on, the image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor at the angle of view actually taken. When the shutter is turned on, the shutter is opened and the film is exposed, so that shooting at an unintended angle of view can be prevented in advance.

According to the fourth and fifth embodiments, a camera with high image quality, small size, light weight, low power consumption and low price can be obtained. Furthermore, even if a step zoom type zoom lens barrel is used in a digital camera, the image displayed on the display unit such as a liquid crystal monitor is the same before and after the focus adjustment, so that there is no sense of incongruity. It is possible to obtain a camera that does not cause a problem that a peripheral image that was seen before adjustment cannot be actually captured.

Further, since the lens can be driven only at the time of imaging, the consumption of the battery can be further prevented.

According to the sixth embodiment, a silver halide film can be photographed by the same camera, and photographing at an unintended angle of view can be prevented in advance.

[0157]

According to the present invention, a zooming mechanism and a focusing mechanism can be constituted by the same mechanism, and a high-quality, compact, lightweight, low power consumption and low cost camera can be obtained. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a zoom diagram of a conventional step zoom.

FIG. 2 is a zoom diagram of a conventional step zoom.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the digital camera.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the digital camera.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a zoom lens barrel.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a zoom lens barrel.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an image processing circuit.

FIG. 8 is a zoom diagram of step zoom.

FIG. 9 is a zoom diagram of step zoom.

FIG. 10 is a zoom diagram of step zoom.

FIG. 11 is a zoom diagram of step zoom.

FIG. 12 is a zoom diagram of step zoom.

FIG. 13 is a zoom diagram of step zoom.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an image processing circuit.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an image displayed on a liquid crystal monitor.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of an optical system of a camera capable of capturing images on both a CCD and a silver halide film.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Cam cylinder 5 Front group lens 7 Rear group lens 31, 81 Motor 71, 91 Control unit 72, 92, 201 Zoom lens 73, 93 CCD 76, 97 Image memory 74, 98 Image processing unit 77, 121 Liquid crystal monitor 79 Distance measurement circuit 101 photographic lens 111 release button 122 main switch button 127 zoom button S _M main switch S _T, S _W zoom switch S _1, S ₂ release switch

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/262 G02B 7/04 D

Claims (38)

[Claims] A first lens, a second lens, a photoelectric conversion element that receives a subject image incident through the first lens and the second lens, and converts the subject image into an image signal; A driving member for moving the first lens and the second lens in an optical path; and a distance between the second lens moved by the driving member and the photoelectric conversion element changes stepwise. And a guide means for guiding the camera. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein both the focal length switching and the focus adjustment are performed by the driving member. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein said driving member selectively moves said second lens to a plurality of predetermined positions of said guide means when a focal length is switched. 4. The camera according to claim 3, wherein said guide means is a cam groove. 5. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying an image based on the image signal. 6. The first guiding means for guiding the second lens to draw a predetermined trajectory in the optical path with respect to the first lens and switching the focal length, and the guiding means, The second lens guides the first lens with respect to the first lens so as to draw a predetermined trajectory different from the trajectory in the optical path and performs focus adjustment. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second guide unit provided alternately with respect to the first guide unit.
The camera according to. 7. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the driving member moves the second lens on a guide unit when switching a focal length and adjusting a focal length. 8. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the driving member is one unit, and the driving member drives both the first lens and the second lens. 9. The camera according to claim 4, wherein the driving member is a cam cylinder, and the cam groove is formed in a step shape on an inner periphery of the cam cylinder. 10. A distance measuring means for measuring a distance between the camera and a subject and outputting a distance measurement signal, when the second lens is at any one of the plurality of predetermined positions. First image processing means for performing processing on an image signal based on a subject image received by the photoelectric conversion element to obtain first image data; and processing the first image data based on the distance measurement signal. The camera according to claim 3, further comprising a second image processing unit that performs processing and obtains second image data. 11. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein
The camera according to claim 10, wherein the image data is subjected to a scaling process. 12. An image processing apparatus comprising: an arithmetic unit configured to calculate an image magnification that changes before and after the focus adjustment based on the information indicating any one of the positions and the distance measurement signal, wherein the second image processing unit includes: 11. The camera according to claim 10, wherein a scaling process is performed on the first image data based on the image magnification. 13. An image magnification storage unit for storing a plurality of image magnifications corresponding to the plurality of predetermined positions and the distance measurement signal, wherein the second image processing unit is an image magnification storage unit. From the plurality of image magnifications stored in the image information, the information indicating any one of the positions and the image magnification corresponding to the distance measurement signal are selected, and based on the selected image magnification, the first image data is 12. A zooming process is performed.
The camera according to. 14. An image display unit capable of displaying an image based on an image signal converted by the photoelectric conversion element, and after an image based on the second image data is displayed on the image display unit, focuses on the image. The camera of claim 10, wherein adjustments are made and imaging is performed. 15. The image processing device according to claim 15, wherein
11. The camera according to claim 10, wherein a process of extracting at least a part of the image data is performed to obtain the second image data. 16. An arithmetic unit for calculating an image magnification that changes before and after the focus adjustment based on the information indicating any one of the positions and the distance measurement signal, wherein the second image processing unit is 16. The camera according to claim 15, wherein a peripheral area of the first image data is divided based on the image magnification to obtain the second image data. 17. When adjusting the focus, the driving member is moved to the second position.
11. The lens according to claim 10, wherein said lens is moved from a plurality of predetermined positions of said guide means in a direction in which the angle of view becomes smaller.
Alternatively, the camera according to claim 15. 18. The camera according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined position is a position where the angle of view is maximum in a predetermined zooming area. 19. The driving member is capable of moving the second lens to a storage area further in a direction of the photoelectric conversion element than a position having a shortest focal length among the predetermined positions. The camera according to claim 1, wherein photographing is not performed. 20. The camera according to claim 16, wherein the dividing process in the second image processing means is a process of superimposing a predetermined display frame around the first image data. 21. The camera according to claim 16, wherein the division processing in the second image processing means superimposes a predetermined color or pattern on a peripheral area of the first image data. 22. A display unit for appropriately displaying the first image data, the second image data, and the third image data output from the first image processing unit after focus adjustment. The camera according to claim 14, wherein: 23. The camera according to claim 22, further comprising image data storage means for storing at least said third image data. 24. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an exposure section for exposing the silver halide film, wherein the subject light from a zoom lens is separately guided to the exposure section and the photoelectric conversion element. camera. 25. A discriminating means for discriminating whether the second lens has been moved to a first area of the guide means by the driving member or has been moved to a second area of the guide means. When it is determined by the determining means that the second lens has been moved to the first area, first image data is output based on the image signal, and the second lens is moved by the determining means. An image processing unit that outputs second image data obtained by scaling the image signal based on a preset zoom magnification when it is determined that the image signal has been moved to the second area. Claim 3
The camera according to. 26. A magnification storage device for storing the zoom magnification, wherein the magnification storage device stores a plurality of zoom magnifications in accordance with a position where the second lens is moved. Item 29. The camera according to item 25. 27. A display device for displaying an image, wherein the display device displays an image based on the first image data or the second image data when the focal length is switched. The camera according to. 28. The camera according to claim 25, wherein the first area is an area where image processing is not performed, and the second area is an area where image processing is performed. 29. The determination means determines whether the second lens has been moved to the first area or the second area of the guide means by the driving member when the focal length is switched. 26. The camera according to claim 25, wherein the image processing unit outputs the first image data or the second image data based on an image signal obtained after the focus adjustment. 30. A discriminating means for discriminating whether the second lens has been moved to a first area of the guide means by the driving member or has been moved to a second area of the guide means. When it is determined by the means that the second lens has been moved to the first area, first image data is output based on the image signal before focus adjustment, and the second image is output by the determination means. If it is determined that the lens has been moved to the second area, image processing for outputting second image data obtained by scaling the image signal based on a preset zoom magnification before focusing is performed. The camera according to claim 3, further comprising a unit. 31. A magnification storage means for storing the zoom magnification, wherein the magnification storage means stores a plurality of zoom magnifications according to a position where the second lens is moved. 30. The camera according to 30. 32. Display means for displaying an image based on the image signal, wherein the display means displays an image based on the first image data or the second image data before focus adjustment. The camera according to claim 30, characterized in that: 33. A distance measuring means for measuring a distance to a subject and outputting distance data, and when the discriminating means determines that the zoom lens has moved to the first area, the distance from a predetermined reference position is determined. Outputting first image data based on the image signal obtained after performing the focus adjustment based on the distance data, and when the determination unit determines that the zoom lens has moved to the second area. An image processing unit that outputs second image data obtained by subjecting the image signal obtained after performing the focus adjustment based on the distance data from a predetermined reference position to variable magnification processing based on a preset zoom magnification. 31. The camera according to claim 25, further comprising: 34. The guide means, wherein the guide means guides the second lens moved by the driving member such that the distance between the second lens and the imaging surface of the photoelectric conversion element changes stepwise. Item 2. The camera according to Item 1. 35. A zoom lens that performs zooming to a plurality of predetermined zooming regions and focus adjustment in each of the zooming regions by driving one driving member, and Distance measuring means for measuring a distance; and calculating means for calculating an image magnification that changes before and after focus adjustment, based on magnification area information indicating a selected magnification area of the zoom lens and distance measurement information of the distance measuring means. A photoelectric conversion element that receives a subject image by the zoom lens and converts the image signal into an image signal; a first image processing unit that processes the image signal before focus adjustment and outputs first image data; And a second image processing means for subjecting the first image data to a scaling process based on a calculation result of the means and outputting second image data. 36. A zoom lens for performing zooming to a plurality of predetermined zooming regions and adjusting the focus in each of the zooming regions by driving one driving member, and Distance measuring means for measuring a distance; and calculating means for calculating an image magnification that changes before and after focus adjustment, based on zooming area information indicating a selected zooming area of the zoom lens and distance measuring information of the distance measuring means. A photoelectric conversion element that receives a subject image by the zoom lens and converts the image signal into an image signal; a first image processing unit that processes the image signal before focus adjustment and outputs first image data; And a second image processing means for dividing the peripheral area of the first image data based on a calculation result of the means and outputting second image data. 37. A zoom lens driven by one drive member to perform both focal length switching and focus adjustment, and driven into a first area not performing image processing and a second area performing image processing. Determining means for determining whether a zoom lens has moved to the first area or the second area; a photoelectric conversion element for receiving a subject image input / output via the zoom lens and converting the image into an image signal; When it is determined that the zoom lens has moved to the first area, the first image data is output based on the image signal, and when it is determined that the zoom lens has moved to the second area. Is a second variable-magnification processing of the image signal based on a preset zoom magnification.
And an image processing unit for outputting the image data. 38. A single driving member drives both a focal length switch and a focus adjustment, and is driven into a first area where image processing is not performed and a second area where image processing is performed when performing focus adjustment. Zoom lens; determining means for determining whether the zoom lens has moved to the first area or the second area; and photoelectric conversion for receiving a subject image input and output via the zoom lens and converting the image into an image signal An element, when the determination unit determines that the zoom lens has moved to the first area, outputs first image data based on the image signal, and moves the zoom lens to the second area. If it is determined that the image signal has been zoomed, a second magnification process is performed on the image signal based on a preset zoom magnification.
And an image processing unit for outputting the image data.