JP2001074994A - Lens barrel control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make perfomable stable manual operation without moving a lens against user's will at the time of performing the manual operation in a device where operation for changing over the manual operation and automatic operation is not required. SOLUTION: The gear movable plate 32 of a clutch mechanism is connected to the external tooth of a zoom operation ring, and the gear fixed plate 33 of the clutch mechanism is coupled with a zoom motor 40, then the movable plate 32 is actuated by a clutch actuation motor 42 through a coil spring and a moving gear so as to couple and disconnect the fixed plate 33. Therefore, when a zoom switch 18 is not operated, the operation is automatically changed over to the manual operation. A CPU 50 changes over an automatic manual/ motor-driving changeover mode and a manual mode in which only the manual operation is made effective according to the signal of a changeover switch 26, and controls so that motor-driven operation is not performed even when the switch 18 is touched in the manual mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lens barrel control device, and more particularly, to a lens barrel control device configured so that both manual and electric operations can be performed without switching in zooming and focusing driving operations of a lens unit. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a lens barrel used for a camera, a television camera or the like is provided with a focus lens for focusing and a zoom lens for zooming, and these lenses are operated by a switching operation. Switching between manual (manual) and electric (automatic) is possible by a knob or the like.

[0003] For example, in the zoom function, external teeth are provided on the outer periphery of a zoom operation ring, and a switching gear is arranged so as to be able to mesh with and separate from the external teeth, and rotation of the electric motor is performed via the switching gear. In addition to the transmission configuration, the switching gear is moved by the switching operation knob. According to this, if the switching gear is meshed with the external teeth of the zoom operation ring by operating the switching operation knob, the zoom ring can be automatically driven by moving the operation ring electrically, and If the switching gear is removed from the external teeth, the zoom operation ring can be manually operated, and the desired magnification can be set.

[0004]

In the conventional lens barrel capable of switching between manual and automatic, a switching operation for rotating a switching operation knob is required, and this operation is complicated. Due to the switching operation, for example, focusing on the subject is not performed quickly, and there is an inconvenience that a shooting opportunity is missed.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 11-54.
No. 295 proposes a manual and motorized device for a lens barrel that does not require a switching operation using a clutch mechanism. That is, when an electric operation switch (zoom seesaw) of the zoom (same for focus) is pressed, the rotation of the electric motor is transmitted to the lens operation ring by the coupling operation of the clutch mechanism, and the electric drive of the zoom lens is performed. When the electric operation switch is released (press release), the clutch mechanism is disengaged, so that the lens operation ring can be manually operated.

[0006] However, such a manual and electric device of the lens barrel has a disadvantage that if the operator accidentally touches the electric operation switch (zoom seesaw) at the time of manual operation, the zoom lens moves unexpectedly. In photographing with a camera, only manual operation may be performed depending on the situation, and electric operation may not be necessary, and in such a case, usability is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which does not require manual and automatic switching operations. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lens barrel control device capable of performing a manual operation.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a lens barrel which movably holds a lens, and is rotatably disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the lens barrel. A lens operation ring for manually moving the lens, an electric motor for automatically moving the lens, and a clutch mechanism (the clutch mechanism is operated by a clutch operation motor) with the electric motor and the lens operation ring Manual / electric automatic switching means for connecting and disconnecting the clutch mechanism in conjunction with the operation of the electric operation switch, a manual / electric automatic switching mode for operating the manual / electric automatic switching means, and the clutch mechanism And a changeover switch for switching between a manual (single) mode in which only a manual operation is made effective by setting a disconnection state. The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that an operating torque varying means for adjusting the pressing force of the friction surface of the clutch mechanism and changing the manual operating torque of the lens operating ring is provided.

According to the above configuration, when the zoom or focus electric operation switch is pressed in the setting of the manual / electric automatic switching mode, the clutch mechanism is connected by the clutch operation motor, so that the rotation by the electric motor causes the gear train to rotate. Through the lens operating ring, thereby driving a predetermined lens. Thereafter, when the electric operation switch is released, the connection of the clutch mechanism is disconnected, and a state in which manual operation is possible becomes possible.

On the other hand, when the mode is switched to the manual mode by the mode changeover switch, the clutch mechanism is always set to the disconnected state, and the lens operation ring does not move even if the electric operation switch is pressed. Therefore, stable control of zoom and focus can be performed only by manual operation.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the pressing force on the friction surface of the clutch mechanism at the time of disconnection is set to an arbitrary value specified by an adjustment volume or the like, and the pressing force by the friction surface pressing is set. The load is given as the operation torque (weight at the time of operation) of the lens operation ring, and the operator can perform the manual operation with the freely set operation torque.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 to 5 show the structure of a manual and motorized device for a lens barrel according to an embodiment. First, FIGS. 3 to 5 show the overall structure of the lens barrel. explain. In the illustrated lens barrel 10, the front end hood is omitted, but is connected to the camera body at a connecting portion 12 at the rear end. A focus ring 13 and a zoom operation ring (both lens operation rings) 14 are attached to the outer periphery of the lens barrel 10 so as to be manually rotatable. The outer periphery of the zoom operation ring 14 is electrically driven. Is formed.

Further, a grip switch 17 for a zoom operation is provided on a grip 17 disposed on the outer periphery of the lens barrel 10.
An adjustment volume (or preset switch) 19 for variably setting the operation torque, a return switch 20, and the like are attached. The above-mentioned zoom switch 18 is a seesaw switch in which both ends set in the tele (enlargement) direction and the wide (reduction) direction move up and down to perform a seesaw operation. It is set as follows. The adjustment volume 19 adjusts the pressing force of the friction surface of the clutch mechanism using a variable resistor, as described later.

Further, as shown in FIG.
On the lower side, a zoom control connector 22, a focus control connector 23, and a serial interface connector 24 for connecting a cable for remote operation are provided. A mode switch 26 for switching between an automatic switching mode and a manual (single) mode is provided.
It should be noted that instead of the mode changeover switch 26, FIG.
, A mode changeover switch 26F including a slide switch or the like may be arranged on the front surface of the grip portion 17. A mechanism for electric operation as shown in FIG. 2, a clutch mechanism for switching between electric operation and manual operation, and the like are arranged in the grip portion 17.

In FIG. 2, a clutch mechanism is mounted on a body ring 28 of the lens barrel 10 via a support member 30. That is, a main shaft 31 is fixed to the upper portion of the support member 30, and a disk-shaped movable plate (a gear movable plate that moves in the axial direction) 32 and a fixed plate so that the outer periphery of the main shaft 31 is rotatable 33 (a gear fixing plate which is fixed in the axial direction) is attached. External teeth 32 </ b> G and 33 </ b> G are formed on the outer periphery of the movable plate 32 and the fixed plate 33, and have both a function as a clutch plate and a function as a gear. The external teeth 15 of the zoom operation ring 14 mesh with the external teeth 32G of the movable plate 32.

The movable plate 32 functions as a clutch plate.
As shown, the movable plate 32 is formed with a circular groove (friction surface) H having a tapered side surface, and the fixed plate 33 is fitted into the circular groove H, and is similarly fitted with a tapered surface. A protrusion (friction surface) I is formed on the fixed plate 33. This movable plate 3
2 is provided with a first thrust bearing 35 via a coil spring 34, and the movable plate 32 is urged toward the fixed plate 33 by the coil spring 34. Accordingly, the contact (friction) between the circular groove H and the fitting projection I and the coil spring 34
, The clutch connection is achieved.

The first thrust bearing 35
The disk 35A on the coil spring contact side (rear side) of the main shaft 31
Is rotatable around the outside, but the other front disk 35B
Is fixed to the moving gear 36, and the disk 35B and the gear 3
6 is screwed and connected to a screw portion 31A formed on the front side of the main shaft 31. Therefore, the disk 35A, the coil spring 34, and the movable plate 32 rotate separately from the moving gear 36 side, and the movable plate 32 is fixed to the fixed plate 3 during manual operation.
It functions as a rotation mechanism at the time of cutting which is separated from and rotated.

On the other hand, a second thrust bearing 38 is also disposed on the fixed plate 33 side. In this bearing 38, a rear disk 38A is fixed to the main shaft 31 and the front disk 3
8B rotates together with the fixed plate 33. The shaft gear 41 of the zoom motor 40 meshes with the external teeth 33G of the fixed plate 33. Therefore, in a state where the movable plate 32 is connected to the fixed plate 33, the rotational driving force of the zoom motor 40 is the shaft gear 41, the fixed plate external teeth 33G, the movable plate external teeth 32G, and the external teeth 1
5 is provided to the zoom operation ring 14.

Further, a clutch operating motor 42 for operating the clutch mechanism is provided, and a shaft gear 43 of the motor 42 is meshed and connected to the moving gear 36 on the first thrust bearing 35 side. Therefore, by rotating the clutch operation motor 42 in a predetermined direction, the moving gear 36 can be rotated and advanced to the rear side, and the movable plate 32 can be pressed against the fixed plate 33, while the motor 42 is rotated in reverse. By rotating the movable plate 32 in the direction, the movable plate 32 can be separated from the fixed plate 33. The shaft gear 43 of the clutch operation motor 42 is connected to a potentiometer 46 via a gear 45.
The potentiometer 46 detects the rotation state (clutch position) of the moving gear 36 on the first thrust bearing 35 side, that is, the pressed state of the movable plate 32.

According to the structure shown in FIG. 2, the moving gear 36 screwed to the main shaft 31 is moved rearward by the clutch operating motor 42, whereby the movable plate 32 is fixed via the coil spring 34. Strongly pressed against the plate 33,
The clutch mechanism is connected. Thus, the rotation of the zoom motor 40 is transmitted to the zoom operation ring 14 via the gear 41, the fixed plate external teeth 33G, and the movable plate external teeth 32G. On the other hand, the moving gear 36 is
Moves forward, the urging force of the coil spring 34 is weakened, and the pressing force of the movable plate 32 against the fixed plate 33 decreases,
As a result, the clutch mechanism enters the disconnected state.

In this example, the rotational position (clutch position) of the moving gear 36 is changed using the clutch operating motor 42, and the pressing force (frictional force) of the movable plate 32 against the fixed plate 33 via the coil spring 34 is changed. By adjusting (), the manual operation torque of the zoom operation ring 14 can be changed. That is, even when the clutch mechanism is disconnected, the movable plate 3
When the urging force of the coil spring 34 is changed in such a state that the 2 and the fixing plate 33 are in contact with each other with a small pressing force without being completely separated, the manual operation torque can be arbitrarily set.

FIG. 1 shows the electrical configuration of the apparatus. The zoom switch 18 on the left side of the figure is connected to a CPU 50 via an A / D converter 49. This CPU 50
The signal of the mode changeover switch 26 (26F) and the set voltage Va of the variable resistor of the adjustment volume 19 (which may be digitally processed by an electronic volume or the like) are A
The ROM 52, which is input via the / D converter 51 and also inputs data necessary for the control operation, is connected. On the other hand, the output control signal of the CPU 50 is supplied to the D / A converter 5.
4. The power is supplied to the zoom motor 40 via the power amplifier 55, and the zoom motor 40 drives the zoom operation ring 14 via the fixed plate 33 and the movable plate 32 described above.

The output control signal of the CPU 50 is D /
The clutch operation motor 42 is supplied to the clutch operation motor 42 via the A converter 56 and the power amplifier 57. The clutch operation motor 42 operates the clutch mechanism based on the operation of the zoom switch 18, and operates the manual (manual) and electric (auto). Will be switched. Further, the output of the potentiometer 46 for detecting the clutch position (pressed state) of the movable plate 32 of the clutch mechanism is transmitted via the A / D converter 58 to the CP.
Input to U50.

According to such a configuration, the mode changeover switch 26 switches between the manual / motorized automatic switching mode and the manual mode. When the manual / motorized automatic switching mode is selected, the zoom switch 18 is turned off. The CPU 50, which has received the operation signal, controls the clutch operation motor 4
2, the movable plate 32 is pressed against the fixed plate 33 to connect the clutch. At the same time, the zoom motor 40 moves the zoom operation ring 14 via the fixed plate 33, the movable plate 32, and the external teeth 15, and moves the zoom lens at a speed corresponding to the amount of depression of the zoom switch 18. On the other hand, when the manual mode is selected, the CPU 50 sets the movable plate 32 to the manual clutch position and controls the zoom to stop even when an operation signal is output from the zoom switch 18.

Further, the clutch position of the movable plate 32 in the manual mode can be changed by the voltage Va set by the adjustment volume 19, and the operation torque of the zoom operation ring 14 can be freely adjusted by the volume 19. Can be set.

The embodiment has the above configuration, and the CPU 50 of FIG. 1 executes the operation of FIG. In FIG. 6, initialization is performed in Step 101, and electric and manual clutch position data, that is, electric ON position data and electric O
FF position data and the like are read from the ROM 52. next
In Step 102, the mode changeover switch 26 (26F)
Is ON (manual / electric automatic switching mode) or OFF (manual mode). If "ON", it is determined in step 103 whether the zoom switch 18 has been operated.

If "YES" in this step 103, since the automatic operation is being performed, the process proceeds to step 104, where the drive clutch position is set to the electric ON position data, and the next step 10
At 6, the zoom control data corresponding to the amount of depression of the zoom switch 18 is output to the D / A converter 54, and Step 1
At 07, the clutch control data is output to the D / A converter 56. Then, the clutch operation motor 42 operates, and the movable plate 32 and the fixed plate 33 of the clutch mechanism are connected by pressing force, and the zoom lens is automatically driven according to the operation direction and the pressing amount of the zoom switch 18. You.

If "NO" in the above-mentioned Step 103, the process is shifted to Step 105 because the manual operation is on standby, and the clutch position is set to the electric OFF position data. At this time, the pressing force of the movable plate 32 against the fixed plate 33 is reduced by the clutch operating motor 42 to be in a disconnected state, and a state in which manual operation is possible.

On the other hand, if it is detected in step 102 that the mode changeover switch 26 is "OFF", the manual mode has been selected, so in step 108 the clutch position is set to the electric OFF position data.
In step 9, the zoom control data is set to stop. Accordingly, in this case, the clutch mechanism is disengaged in Step 107 to enable manual operation, and even when the zoom switch 18 is operated, stop data is set in Step 106 as zoom control data. And the zoom motor 40 does not operate.

In the disconnected state of the clutch mechanism set in the manual mode or the like, the movable plate 32 is not completely separated from the fixed plate 33, and is pressed by a spring 34 with a weak force. In the embodiment, the manual operation torque can be changed by adjusting the friction surface pressing force. That is, the clutch position, which is the amount of rotation of the clutch operation motor 42, can be adjusted by the position control voltage Va set by the adjustment volume 19, so that the pressing force of the movable plate 32 against the fixed plate 33 becomes smaller than the standard value. As a result, the operating torque becomes lighter, and conversely, if this pressing force is made larger than the standard value, the operating torque becomes heavy.

In the above embodiment, the zoom operation ring 1
4, the above configuration can be similarly applied to the focus operation ring 13.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A lens operation ring for moving the lens and an electric motor are connected by a clutch mechanism, and manual / electric automatic switching means for connecting and disconnecting the clutch mechanism in conjunction with operation of an electric operation switch is provided. A switch that switches between the switching mode and the manual mode in which only manual operation is enabled.This eliminates the need for manual and automatic switching operations, preventing the lens from being moved unintentionally during manual operation. Thus, a stable manual operation can be performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating torque varying means for adjusting the pressing force of the friction surface of the clutch mechanism and changing the manual operating torque of the lens operating ring. There is an advantage that the torque can be freely changed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an electrical configuration of a lens barrel control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a mechanical configuration related to switching between manual operation and electric operation of the lens barrel control device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a top view showing the overall configuration of the lens barrel of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view of the lens barrel of FIG. 3 as viewed from the front side.

5 is a view of the lens barrel in FIG. 3 as viewed from below.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control operation executed in the CPU of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference numeral 10: lens barrel, 14: zoom operation ring, 15, 32G, 33G: external teeth, 18: zoom switch, 19: adjustment volume, 26: mode changeover switch, 32: movable plate (gear movable plate), 33: fixed plate (Gear fixing plate), 36: moving gear, 40: zoom motor, 42: clutch operating motor, 46: potentiometer, 50: CPU.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A lens barrel that movably holds a lens, a lens operation ring that is rotatably arranged on an outer peripheral portion of the lens barrel, and that manually moves the lens, and that automatically moves the lens. An electric motor for connecting the electric motor and the lens operating ring by a clutch mechanism, and a manual / electric automatic switching means for connecting and disconnecting the clutch mechanism in conjunction with the operation of the electric operation switch; A lens barrel control device provided with a changeover switch for switching between a manual / electrical automatic switching mode for operating automatic electric switching means and a manual mode for disabling the clutch mechanism and enabling only manual operation. 2. The lens according to claim 1, further comprising an operation torque varying unit for adjusting a pressing force of a friction surface of the clutch mechanism and changing a manual operation torque of the lens operation ring. Lens barrel control device.