JP2000275513A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce AF parallax by arranging a light projecting window for autofocusing(AF) above or below the objective window of a finder. SOLUTION: A strobe light emitting part 13 is provided at the obliquely upper part of a shutter button 12. A strobe light receiving window 14 for monitoring the quantity of strobe light reflected and returned from a subject at the time of emitting strobe light is arranged on the right side of a front cover 20. The objective window 15 of the finder is arranged at a position adjacent to the window 14. The light projecting window for AF 16 is arranged just above the window 15, and a light receiving window for AF 17 is arranged at a position adjacent to a lens barrel 30 separately from the window 16 in a lateral direction. Positional deviation between the windows 15 and 16 in a horizontal direction is prevented, so that the AF parallax in a right-and-left direction is avoided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera for taking a picture by guiding light passing through a taking lens to a photoreceptor (for example, a photographic film or a CCD sensor).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a large number of lens shutter type cameras incorporating an automatic focusing (AF) device generally called an active type have been commercialized.
An active-type autofocus device arranges an AF light emitting unit and an AF light receiving unit at a predetermined base line distance, and emits light from the AF light emitting unit toward a subject.
In this method, the light reflected from the subject and returned is received by the AF light receiving unit to triangulate the distance to the subject.

[0003] In a lens shutter type camera, since the position of the finder and the photographing lens are necessarily different,
A so-called finder parallax occurs in which the composition of the subject viewed through the finder is different from the composition of the subject to be photographed.

[0004]

The parallax is:
This also applies between the finder and the above-mentioned active type autofocus device. Since the AF projection window for emitting light from the AF projection unit to the front of the camera is necessarily at a different position from the objective window of the viewfinder, looking into the viewfinder usually reduces the angle of view when looking through the viewfinder. Even when the center AF target mark is superimposed on the subject, a so-called AF parallax occurs in which the position where the AF light emitting unit is actually projected toward the subject is different.

[0005] If the AF parallax is large to some extent, even if the AF target mark overlaps with the subject, the AF target emitted from the AF light projecting unit deviates from the subject, causing the AF target to go out of focus. There is a risk of becoming.

The existence of this AF parallax has been known in the past, and although the conventional camera has been devised to reduce the AF parallax to some extent, it is still insufficient, and the AF parallax is a cause. The current situation is that the out-of-focus blurred photos do not disappear.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a camera in which AF parallax is further reduced.

[0008]

A camera according to the present invention which achieves the above object has a finder having an objective window at the front of the camera and having an image forming optical system independent of a taking lens, and the objective window at the front of the camera. Above or below, a light emitting section having a light emitting window arranged at a position adjacent to the objective window and emitting light for autofocus from the light emitting window toward the front of the camera; and The light-emitting window has a light-receiving window disposed at a predetermined distance away from the light-emitting window. And a light receiving unit for determining a distance to the light source.

In the camera of the present invention, the finder is a real image finder, and the light projecting window is located above or below the objective lens of the real image finder adjacent to the objective lens. It may be arranged, or the finder is a finder with a lighting type bright frame, and the light projecting window is above or below a light diffusing plate of the finder with a lighting type bright frame, It may be arranged at a position adjacent to the daylighting diffusion plate.

According to the camera of the present invention, there is no parallax in the left-right direction since the finder objective window and the auto-focusing light projecting window are arranged vertically. In addition, since the finder objective window and the autofocus projection window are arranged at different positions in the vertical direction, the AF
Although parallax remains, in the camera of the present invention, since the objective window and the light projecting window are arranged adjacent to each other, there is little AF parallax in the vertical direction, and the subject generally extends in the vertical direction. In many cases, the AF parallax slightly remaining in the vertical direction causes A
The possibility of deviating from the F target is extremely small,
Virtually the AF parallax has reached a non-existent level,
The accuracy of F can be kept high.

If the finder is constituted by a real image finder, the objective lens may be extremely small in the case of a real image finder, and a gap is formed before reaching the prism on the back, and the AF unit is provided in the gap. Can be arranged. This eliminates useless space in the camera and contributes to downsizing of the camera.

In the present invention, the vertical direction when the finder objective window and the AF projecting window are vertically arranged is determined by the position of the shutter button of the camera, various display modes, and the like. Refers to the up and down of the posture of the camera during general shooting.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed obliquely from the front. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the front cover of the camera partially cut away.

The camera 10 is of a type in which the lens barrel 30 is retracted and extended, and is shown in FIGS.
Shows the appearance of the camera when the lens barrel 30 is in the retracted state and the extended state, respectively. This camera 10
Can shoot only when the lens barrel 30 is in the extended state.

On the right side (left side in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the camera 10, there is provided a grip portion 11 with a built-in battery, and a shutter button 12 is disposed above the grip portion 11. . Further, a flash light emitting unit 13 is provided diagonally above the shutter button 12. The strobe mounted on the camera 10 is an auto strobe. On the left side of the camera 10 (the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2), the amount of the strobe light reflected by the subject and returned when the strobe light is emitted is monitored. A flash light receiving window 14 is provided. Behind this strobe light receiving window, FIG.
Condensing lens 14 for condensing strobe reflected light shown in FIG.
1 is provided. A finder objective window 15 is arranged at a position adjacent to the strobe light receiving window 14. The camera 10 has a real image finder mounted thereon, and an objective lens 52 is provided behind the finder objective window 15 as shown in FIG.

The camera 10 is equipped with an active AF (autofocus) device which emits light, receives reflected light from the object, and measures the distance to the object based on a triangular distance.

The viewfinder objective window 15 of the camera 10
An AF light emitting window 16 is disposed directly above the light emitting window 1.
An AF light-receiving window 17 is disposed at a position adjacent to the lens barrel 20 at a distance from the base line 6 by a horizontal base line length L1 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG.
AF projection lens 42 is provided behind
Behind the F light receiving window 17, an AF light receiving lens 171 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a strobe light receiving window 14, a finder objective window 15, and an AF light projecting window 16 are provided.
Is covered by a single transparent window cover 18 as a whole.

The camera 10 of this embodiment is a camera for an instant photograph in which a film sheet for an instant photograph in which development is performed immediately after photographing and a photograph appears is loaded and photographing is performed on the film sheet. A film sheet discharge port 19 for discharging the photographed film sheet out of the camera is provided at an upper part of the camera.
Is provided. The front surface of the camera 10 is covered with a front cover 20.

The lens barrel 30 of the camera 10
Is a two-stage extended, retractable lens barrel, and mainly includes a fixed barrel covered with a barrel cover 31, a rotary moving barrel 32,
A rectilinear moving cylinder 33 in which a photographing lens unit 34 is incorporated.
It is composed of

When the lens barrel 30 shifts from the retracted state shown in FIG. 1 to the extended state shown in FIG. 2, the rotating movable barrel 32 is extended while rotating while the fixed barrel is left, and at the same time, the rotation is performed. The straight moving cylinder 33 is extended in the moving cylinder 32 without rotation. As shown in FIG. 1, on the front surface of the photographing lens unit 34 (see FIG. 2), a vertically separated lens barrier 35 is provided. The lens barrier 35 is moved from the collapsed state shown in FIG. Is opened vertically when shifting to the unfolding state shown in FIG. 2, and is closed when shifting to the retracted state shown in FIG. 1 from the unfolding state shown in FIG. Further, a decorative nameplate 3 is provided on the front surface of the linear moving barrel 33 of the lens barrel 30.
An AE light receiving window 37 for measuring the brightness of the object scene is provided on the decorative nameplate 36.

As apparent from FIGS. 1 to 3, in the camera of the present embodiment, the AF projection window 16 is arranged adjacent to the finder objective window 15 and at a position immediately above the finder objective window 15. . Although the AF parallax is mainly caused by the difference between the arrangement position of the finder and the arrangement position of the AF projection unit, in the present embodiment, there is no displacement between the finder objective window and the AF projection window in the horizontal direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, there is no AF parallax in the left-right direction. Although the AF parallax slightly remains in the vertical direction, the subject generally extends in the vertical direction, and it is extremely unlikely that a slight AF parallax in the vertical direction will cause the AF target to deviate.
In the camera of the present embodiment, it can be said that AF parallax does not exist practically, and high AF accuracy can be maintained.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the arrow AA shown in FIG.

Here, an AF light emitting unit 40 and a real image type finder unit 50 mounted on the camera of the present embodiment are shown.

The AF projecting unit 40 includes a projecting unit housing 41, an AF projecting lens 42, and a projecting light source (I
(RED) 43 is provided, and the infrared light for AF emitted from the IRED 43 passes through the AF light projecting lens 42, and is further emitted to the front of the camera through the window cover 18.

The real image type finder unit 50 includes a finder unit housing 51, an objective lens 52, a prism unit 53, and an eyepiece 54. Through the lens 52, through the prism unit 53, further through the eyepiece 54, an image of the field is provided to the eye approaching the eyepiece 54.

In the case of a real image type finder, the objective lens may be extremely small, and a gap is formed between the objective lens and a prism unit located behind the objective lens. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the AF projection unit 40 is disposed in a gap formed above the objective lens 52. By doing so, it is possible to effectively use a wasteful space in the camera, thereby minimizing the AF parallax and miniaturizing the camera.

It should be noted that it is naturally possible to arrange the AF projection unit 40 below the objective lens 52 in relation to other required members.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a part of a front surface of a camera according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a front cover of the camera is partially cut away. The difference of this embodiment from the above-described embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 3) lies mainly in the finder, and only the arrangement position of the AF projection unit is different accordingly. Illustration and description of the entire camera are omitted.

The camera of this embodiment is provided with a finder unit with a lighting type bright frame.
2 shows a finder objective window 62 which constitutes the finder unit with a lighting type bright frame. In the finder objective window 62, a transparent finder cover 62a is disposed in an upper half, and a light diffusing plate 62b is disposed in a lower half. An AF projection window 42 is disposed below the finder objective 62 at a position adjacent to the finder objective window 62. The AF projection window 42 and the AF light receiving window (the AF light receiving lens 171 is shown in FIG. 5) are separated from each other by a horizontal base line length L2.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the arrow BB shown in FIG.

Here, a projection type finder unit 60 is provided.
And the AF light emitting unit 40 are shown. The AF light emitting unit 40 is disposed directly below the light emitting type finder unit 60, and the finder objective window 62 and the AF light emitting window 16 are provided.
Are covered by a single transparent window cover 18. The structure of the AF light projecting unit 40 is the same as that of the AF light projecting unit of the above-described embodiment (see FIG. 4), and the description is omitted here.

The projection type finder unit 60 shown in FIG. 6 comprises a finder unit housing 61, a finder objective window 62 composed of the finder cover 62a and the light diffusing plate 62b, an objective lens 63, a half mirror 64, an eyepiece. 65, a reticle 66, a reflection mirror 67, and a focus adjustment lens 68. The window cover 18, the finder cover 62a, the objective lens 63, the half mirror 64,
And an image of an object scene provided through the path of the eyepiece 65, and a figure such as an AF target frame or a bright frame drawn on a reticle 66 illuminated by external light surrounded by the light diffusion plate 62b. Is provided to be superimposed on the image of the object field via the reflection mirror 67, the focus adjusting lens 68, the half mirror 64, and the eyepiece lens 65.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the projection type bright frame finder requires a larger space than the above-described real image type finder, but does not require the use of a prism unit having a high cost and is low in cost. It has a feature that the bright frame can be viewed brighter than the other type of Albada type bright frame finder.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the AF light projecting unit 40 is disposed directly below the light-emitting finder unit 60 on the optical axis.

Since the bright frame and the AF target frame are formed on the reticle 66 disposed behind the light-diffusing plate 62b, the light-diffusing plate is used in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 62b is the shortest. It is advantageous to dispose the AF projection unit 40 directly below the light diffusion plate 62b. Also in this embodiment, similarly to the above-described embodiment, there is no AF parallax in the left-right direction, and it can be said that AF parallax does not exist practically, and high AF accuracy can be maintained.

In the above two embodiments, the AF light projecting window and the AF light receiving window are arranged substantially along the lateral direction of the camera. However, in some cases, it may be appropriate to dispose the AF light-emitting window and the AF light-receiving window in a direction other than the horizontal direction, for example, in a vertical direction or an oblique direction, in relation to required devices incorporated in the camera. Also in these cases, the AF parallax can be practically eliminated by disposing the AF projection window directly above or below the finder objective window.

Although the instant photographing camera has been described here, the present invention is not limited to an instant photographing camera, but is of a type that photographs on a normal roll film. The present invention can be widely applied to a camera and an electronic camera of a type that performs photographing on a CCD sensor.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The AF parallax can be practically eliminated, and the AF accuracy can be maintained at high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a camera as one embodiment of the present invention when viewed obliquely from the front.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the camera as one embodiment of the present invention when viewed obliquely from the front.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway view of a front cover of the camera shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow AA shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a part of a front surface of a camera according to another embodiment of the present invention, with a front cover of the camera partially cut away.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow BB shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Camera 11 Grip 12 Shutter button 13 Strobe light emitting part 14 Strobe light receiving window 15 Viewfinder objective window 16 AF light emitting window 17 AF light receiving window 18 Window cover 19 Film sheet outlet 20 Front cover 30 Lens barrel 31 Lens barrel cover 32 Rotating moving barrel 33 Straight moving barrel 34 Photographic lens unit 35 Lens barrier 36 Decorative nameplate 40 AF light emitting unit 41 Light emitting unit housing 42 AF light emitting lens 43 Light emitting light source (IRED) 50 Real image type finder unit 52 Objective lens 53 Prism unit 54 Eyepiece 60 Projection finder unit 61 Finder unit housing 62 Finder objective window 62a Finder cover 62b Light diffusion plate 63 Objective lens 64 Half mirror 65 Eyepiece 66 Reticle 67 Reflector Over 68 focusing lens 141 converging lens 171 AF receiving lens

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Omura 3-11-46 Izumi, Asaka-shi, Saitama F-term in Fujisha Shin Film Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2H011 AA01 BA14 BB00 2H018 AA03 AA04 AA06 BE01 2H051 AA02 BB20 CA04 CA06 CD25 2H100 AA01 BB09

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A finder having an objective window in front of a camera and having an image forming optical system independent of a taking lens, and disposed at a position on the front of the camera above or below the objective window, adjacent to the objective window. A light projecting unit having a projected light window and emitting light for autofocus from the light projecting window toward the front of the camera; and a light receiving unit disposed at a predetermined distance from the light projecting window on the front of the camera. A light-receiving unit that has a window and receives the light emitted from the light-emitting window toward the front of the camera and reflected by the object and returned from the light-receiving window to receive the light and obtain the distance to the object. Camera. 2. The finder according to claim 1, wherein the finder is a real image finder, and the light projecting window is disposed above or below an objective lens of the real image finder and adjacent to the objective lens. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein 3. The finder with a daylighting bright frame, wherein the light projecting window is adjacent to the daylighting diffusion plate above or below the daylighting diffusion plate of the daylighting type brightframe finder. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera is arranged at a position.