JP2001290193A - Lens cover opening/closing mechanism of camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the lens cover opening/closing mechanism of a camera by which turning force from a power source switch to a lens cover is transmitted through a narrow interstice. SOLUTION: A switch 14 by which the changeover of a power source turn-off mode and a photographing mode is performed by turning and the lens cover 1 positioned at a closing position at which it covers a lens and an opening position at which the lens is exposed are connected though a linking shaft 8, and the turning force at the time of the mode changeover operation of the switch 14 is transmitted to the lens cover 1 by the turning operation of the linking shaft 8 and the lens cover 1 is turned, so that it is positioned at the opening position or the closing position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lens cover opening and closing mechanism for a camera which opens and closes a lens cover in conjunction with a turning operation of a power switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a lens cover of a video camera, a cap type which is attached to a lens from the outside is generally used in many cases. There is also a method in which an operation knob for opening and closing the lens cover is provided on the camera body separately from the power switch of the camera, and the lens cover is opened and closed by sliding the operation knob. In recent years, a power supply and a lens cover open / close switch have been integrated into the lens cover, and the power supply switch has been mechanically opened and closed in conjunction with the power switch. There is a system that opens and closes by operating an electric actuator such as a motor or a plunger in conjunction with a switch.

However, in the case of a cap-type lens cover, it is necessary to remove the lens cover at the time of photographing and attach it at the end of photographing, which is troublesome. In addition, it is conceivable that the user may forget to attach the lens cover and store the lens cover, so that the function of the lens cover is insufficient. In the case of an operation knob type lens cover provided separately from the power switch, it is necessary to turn on the power switch and then slide the operation knob to open the lens cover. Sometimes I missed a photo opportunity. For this reason, recently, there has been a demand for a lens cover linked to a power switch.However, many of these use an electric actuator, and the size and cost of the actuator are not negligible. And the cost is further increased.

[0004] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 8-289184 and 9-200951 disclose a method of transmitting a turning force by a turning operation of a power switch to a lens cover by using a mechanical mechanism. Is opened and closed in conjunction with the turning operation of the power switch.

[0005]

In power transmission by a mechanical mechanism, it is necessary to secure a space for allowing the operation of the mechanical mechanism during power transmission. Particularly in recent years, video cameras have been miniaturized. In such a small video camera, since units such as a lens, a solid-state imaging device, and a wiring board are densely mounted without gaps, the size of the lens cover is reduced. There is almost no gap for the mechanical mechanism to open and close the lens cover in conjunction with the power switch at a remote position. In addition, when a large space is required for the mechanical mechanism, the design is limited.

In the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-289184,
As the power transmission means, two link levers arranged at substantially right angles in the camera body are used, and when power is transmitted, each link lever rotates in a vertical plane, so a large space is required. . Further, the two link levers are connected to each other by engagement of a pin portion and a hole formed respectively, and have a complicated configuration, and there is a surface that lacks certainty in power transmission. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-115, a slide lever that reciprocates in one direction is used, which also requires a large space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a lens cover opening / closing mechanism for a camera which can transmit a rotational force from a power switch to a lens cover through a narrow gap.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, there is provided a switch capable of switching between a power-off mode and a photographing mode by rotating, a closed position for covering a lens, and an exposure of a lens. The lens cover, which can be set to the open position to be opened, is connected via a link shaft, and the turning operation of the link shaft transmits the rotating force at the time of the mode switching operation of the switch to the lens cover to rotate the lens cover to open. Position or closed position. Since the link shaft only extends in the shape of a shaft, the installation space is small, and furthermore, since its operation is only rotation of the shaft, no space is required for the operation.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a video camera 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A round hole 22 is formed on the front surface 21a of the camera body 21.
Is formed, a lens is built in the inside, and a lens cover 1 that can be opened and closed is built in between the lens and the round hole 22. The illustrated state is a state in which the lens cover 1 covers the lens and is in the closed position. Switches for switching between various modes are provided on the rear surface 21b. By turning the switch, the power-off mode and the photographing mode can be switched, and the lens cover 1 is opened and closed in conjunction with the switching between the power-off mode and the photographing mode, as described later.

Next, the lens cover opening / closing mechanism will be described. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lens cover opening / closing mechanism 23.

The switch 14 provided on the rear surface 21b of the camera body 21 is integrally formed with a shaft portion 13 protruding inside the camera body, and the shaft portion 13 is an arm portion of the half-moon gear 11. The switch 14 and the half-moon gear 11 are connected to each other through a hole 11a formed in the hole 11b. The half-moon gear 11 is rotatably supported on a shaft 12 fixed to a camera body 21, and includes a switch 1.
4 is also rotatable about an axis coaxial with the axis 12 (indicated by a dashed line in the figure).

The semi-lunar gear 11 has a tooth portion of a perfect circular gear 10.
, And the perfect circular gear 10 is rotatably supported by a shaft 15 fixed to the camera body 21. The perfect circular gear 10 is engaged with a perfect circular gear 9 fixed to one end of the link shaft 8. A switch-side gear mechanism 24 is constituted by the semicircular gear 11, the perfect circular gear 10, and the perfect circular gear 9, and the switch 14 is connected via the switch-side gear mechanism 24.
Is connected to the link shaft 8.

The link shaft 8 is in the shape of a round bar, and extends between the rear surface 21b and the front surface 21a in FIG. In FIG. 2, a gear 7 is fixed to an end of the link shaft 8 on the lens cover 1 side, and the gear 7 has a push-moving rotatably supported by a shaft 16 fixed to a camera body 21. Partial gear 6 is engaged. Gear 6 with pusher
A push-moving portion 6a formed in a rod shape parallel to the shaft 16 is formed at the tip of an arm portion 6b formed to extend radially outward. The gear 7 and the gear 6 with the pusher constitute a lens cover-side gear mechanism 25.

The operating lever 3 is opposed to the gear 6 with the pushing portion.
The operation lever 3 is rotatably supported by a shaft 4 fixed to the camera body 21. The operating lever 3 has two arms (a first arm 3a and a second arm 3a).
An arm 3b) is formed, and the pushing portion 6a of the gear 6 with the pushing portion is located between the arms 3a and 3b.

FIG. 5 is a view of the lens cover 1 viewed from the inside of the camera body, FIG. 3 is a view of the lens cover side cabinet 28 of the camera body cut away and viewed from the outside, and FIG. It is the figure which looked at the inside by breaking the upper surface side of 28. The following configuration will be described with reference to these drawings and FIG. 3 and 4, reference numeral 27 denotes a lens unit including a lens 27a and a solid-state imaging device.

The surface of the operating lever 3 facing the second arm 3b of the first arm 3a is flat, and the surface of the second arm 3b facing the first arm 3a is formed in a curved shape. I have.

The lens cover 1 is formed integrally with a circular cover portion 1a having substantially the same size as the lens and a substantially rectangular flange portion 1b projecting radially outward from the peripheral edge portion. The lens cover 1 is rotatably supported around a shaft 2 fixed to the camera body, and has a circular cover portion 1.
a is rotatable between a closed position where the lens a faces the lens (as viewed from the outside of the camera body) and covers the lens, and an open position where the lens deviates from this position and exposes the lens.

As shown in FIG. 5, a boss (hollow cylindrical projection) 17 is formed on the inner surface of the flange 1b on the inner side of the camera body, and a substantially triangular engagement formed on the operation lever 3 is formed. It is engaged with the hole 3c.

One end 5a of the toggle spring 5 bent at a substantially right angle is inserted and attached to the hollow portion of the boss portion 17. The large circle portion 5b on the other end side of the toggle spring 5 is attached to a spring locking portion 26 provided in the cabinet 28. In FIG. 5, the solid line shows the state when the lens cover 1 covers the lens and is in the closed position. The lens spring 1 is positioned at the closed position by the above-described toggle spring 5, and the state is maintained. The chain line shows the state when the lens cover 1 is out of the position covering the lens and is in the open position for exposing the lens. In this case, the lens cover 1 is also positioned at the open position by the toggle spring 5 and the state is maintained. Have been.

The lens cover opening / closing mechanism 23 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation will be described next.

When the switch 14 is rotated to switch from the power-off mode to the camera mode (moving image shooting mode), the switch 14 rotates clockwise about an axis coaxial with the shaft 12 in FIG. . As a result, the semilunar gear 11 connected via the shaft 13 integrally provided to the switch 14 rotates clockwise around the shaft 12.

Due to the rotation of the semi-circular gear 11, the perfect circular gear 10 engaged with the semi-circular gear 11 rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 15, and the true circular gear 10 engaged with the perfect circular gear 10 is rotated. The circular gear 9 rotates clockwise. With the rotation of the perfect circular gear 9, the link shaft 8 fixed at the rotation center thereof also rotates clockwise. The turning angle of the switch 14 is amplified by the semi-lunar gear 11, the perfect circular gear 10 and the perfect circular gear 9 and transmitted to the link shaft 8.

The rotation of the link shaft 8 causes the link shaft 8 to rotate.
The gear 7 fixed to the end on the lens cover side rotates clockwise. By the rotation of the gear 7, the gear 6 with the pushing portion engaged with the gear 7 rotates in the counterclockwise direction.

As a result, when the lens cover 1 is in the closed position as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the pushing portion 6a located vertically below rotates in the direction shown by the arrow A, and It comes into contact with one arm 3a. Then, the first arm portion 3a is pushed as it is with the rotation of the pushing portion 6a, so that the operating lever 3 is turned around the shaft 4 in the direction of arrow A '.

The rotation of the operating lever 3 pushes the boss 17 of the lens cover 1 engaged with the inner wall of the engaging hole 3c, so that the lens cover 1
At this time, the boss portion 17 is pushed by the inner wall of the engagement hole 3c, so that both ends are attached to the boss portion 17 and the spring locking portion 26. The toggle spring 5 is compressed and the lens cover 1 indicated by a dashed line
When the lens cover 1 is turned to the vicinity of the open position, the lens cover 1 is turned to the open position indicated by the one-dot chain line not by the pushing force from the operating lever 3 but by the restoring force of the compressed toggle spring 5.

That is, when the inner wall of the engaging hole 3c of the operating lever 3 pushes the boss 17 in the direction of compressing the toggle spring 5, the lens cover 1 starts rotating from the closed position, but the lens cover 1 is opened. When approaching the position, the boss 17
The direction of the pressing force received from the engagement hole 3c and the direction of the restoring force of the compressed toggle spring 5 become the same direction.
The boss 17 is moved to the open position shown by the one-dot chain line in the drawing, and the lens cover 1 receives the positioning operation at this open position by the toggle spring 5. .

When the switch 14 is turned to reverse the above operation, that is, to switch from the camera mode to the power-off mode, each component of the lens cover opening / closing mechanism 23 is turned in the opposite direction. I do.

That is, the pushing portion 6a of the gear 6 with the pushing portion in the position shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. It comes into contact with the two-arm part 3b and pushes it. Therefore, the operating lever 3 rotates around the shaft 4 in the direction of arrow B ', the boss 17 is pushed by the inner wall of the engaging hole 3c, and the lens cover 1 moves toward the closed position shown by the solid line. B ”. At this time, the toggle spring 5
Is pressed, and the pressing force from the operating lever 3 does not act in a direction that hinders the restoring force of the toggle spring 5 near the closed position. Positioned.

FIG. 6 shows the position of the gear 6 with the pushing portion in FIG. 5 in each mode. Switch 1
When the gear 4 is rotated to the position corresponding to each mode, the gear 6 with the pushing portion is rotated in the direction of the arrow A or the arrow B via the link shaft 8 or the like as described above, and Take position. When the switch 14 is turned to a position corresponding to each mode, the power is also turned on / off by an electric contact provided separately in conjunction with the turning.

The switch-off mode is a state where the power of the camera is turned off, and is a state shown by a solid line in FIG. 5, that is, a state where the lens cover 1 is in a closed position. The camera mode is a mode for shooting a moving image. At this time, as described above, the gear 6 with the pusher is rotated in the direction of arrow A from the switch-off mode so that the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. Is set to the open position.

The memory mode is a mode for photographing a still image or a mode for recording a moving image photographed in the camera mode as a still image on a memory card in the camera body. At this time, the gear 6 with the pusher is further rotated in the direction of arrow A from the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 5 (camera mode), but the operating lever 3 is moved to the position indicated by the dashed line, that is, the lens cover 1 is closed. A gap is formed between the pushing portion 6a and the first arm portion 3a of the operating lever 3 to allow the pushing portion 6a to rotate from the camera mode to the memory mode. Have been. Therefore, even if the pushing portion 6a rotates from the camera mode to the memory mode, it does not come into contact with the first arm portion 3a, so that the operating lever 3 and the lens cover 1 remain in the same position even in the memory mode. The keep open position.

The video mode is a mode in which a photographed image is reproduced on a liquid crystal screen provided in the camera or the like. At this time, the pusher 6a moves from the lens cover closed position shown by a solid line in FIG. Although being rotated, the second arm portion 3b of the operating lever 3 in the closed position and the pushing portion 6a are opposed to each other with a sufficient gap formed therebetween.
Even if a rotates to the video mode, the operating lever 3 does not rotate because it does not contact the second arm 3b. Therefore, the lens cover 1 remains at the closed position, and protects the lens when reproducing an image in the video mode.

When the lens cover 1 is in the closed position and the lens cover 1 is intentionally moved by a finger or the like to move the lens cover 1 to the open position, the boss portion of the lens cover 1 The actuating lever 3 engaged with the lever 17 rotates in the direction of arrow A 'around the shaft 4 as shown in FIG. 7, but at this time, the inner surface of the second arm 3b is in the closed position. It is formed so as to vertically contact the pushing portion 6a of the gear 6 with the pushing portion. Therefore, a force acts on the gear 6 with the pusher from the second arm 3b in the radial direction as shown by the arrow C, and no rotational power acts on the gear 6 with the pusher. Therefore, the lens cover-side gear mechanism 25, the link shaft 8, and the switch-side gear mechanism 24 described above are not damaged by excessive force. Further, since the operating lever 3 is made of a molding material (resin), the operating lever 3 has flexibility, so that when the second arm portion 3b comes into contact with the pushing portion 6a, it plays a role of a spring, and the lens cover 1 It is returned to the original closed position.

As described above, since the lens cover 1 is opened and closed in conjunction with the switching of the mode of the switch 14, the photographer manually attaches and detaches the lens cover 1 or separately provides a switch for opening the lens cover 1. This eliminates the need to move it, improving not only its operability, but also avoiding forgetting to remove or attach the lens cover, and enabling quick response to sudden shooting.

The rotation force generated by the rotation of the switch 14 is transmitted to the link shaft 8 via the switch-side gear mechanism 24, so that the rotation angle of the switch 14 can be accurately determined. The signal can be amplified and transmitted to the link shaft 8, so that the transmission of force with extremely small loss can be achieved. Similarly, the rotational power of the link shaft 8 is reliably transmitted to the lens cover 1 via the lens cover side gear mechanism 25.

In the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it seems that there is sufficient clearance inside the camera body. However, since the wiring board and other various components (not shown) are mounted at high density, the clearance is almost completely removed. Absent. However, the installation space of the link shaft 8 itself is small, and furthermore, when power is transmitted, only the pivoting operation of the shaft is performed, so that the space is extremely saved. Further, the lens cover 1 can be opened and closed by an operation from a switch 14 remote from the lens cover 1,
It is not necessary to mount a switch near the lens cover 1, and the gear mechanism other than the link shaft 8 has a small configuration, so that the degree of freedom in design increases.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is, of course, not limited to these, and various modifications can be made based on the technical concept of the present invention.

The present invention can also be applied to a so-called digital camera which has a switch for switching between a power-off mode and a photographing mode and records a photographed still image on a memory card, like the video camera.

Further, the pushing portion 6a can be used without using the operating lever 3.
May be directly coupled to the lens cover 1 to rotate the lens cover 1.

[0041]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the turning force of the switch can be transmitted to the lens cover in an extremely small space.

According to claim 2 or claim 3 of the present invention,
The turning power of the switch can be transmitted to the lens cover reliably and with improved transmission efficiency.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the lens cover can be reliably positioned to the open position and the closed position.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the lens cover opening / closing mechanism from being destroyed when the lens cover is intentionally moved to the open position with a finger or the like while the lens cover is in the closed position. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a lens cover opening / closing mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in which a camera body cabinet on the lens cover side in FIG. 1 is cut away.

FIG. 4 is a plan view in which the upper surface side of the camera body cabinet in FIG. 1 is cut away.

FIG. 5 is a view of the lens cover viewed from the inside of the camera body.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing positions of a gear with a pusher according to the present invention in each mode.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part in FIG.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... Lens cover, 3 ... Operation lever, 3a ... First
Arm part, 3b ... second arm part, 3c ... engagement hole, 5
... Toggle spring, 6 ... Gear with pusher, 6a ... Pusher, 7 ... Gear, 8 ... Link shaft, 9 ... Round gear, 1
0: perfect gear, 11: half-moon gear, 14: switch, 17: boss, 20: video camera, 21 ...
Camera body, 23 ... Lens cover opening / closing mechanism, 24 ...
Switch-side gear mechanism, 25: Lens cover-side gear mechanism, 27: Lens unit, 27a: Lens.

Claims (6)

[Claims] A switch capable of switching between a power-off mode and a shooting mode by rotating the lens; a lens cover capable of setting a closed position for covering a lens and an open position for exposing the lens; In a lens cover opening and closing mechanism for a camera that opens and closes the lens cover in response to a switching operation between an off mode and the shooting mode, the switch and the lens cover are connected via a link shaft, and the switch A lens for a camera, wherein a turning force at the time of a switching operation is transmitted to the lens cover by a rotation operation of the link shaft to rotate the lens cover to the open position or the closed position. Cover opening and closing mechanism. 2. The switch is connected to the link shaft via a switch-side gear mechanism, and when the switch is turned, the turning angle is amplified by the gear mechanism and transmitted to the link shaft. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism of the camera according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotational power of the link shaft is transmitted to the lens cover via a lens cover side gear mechanism. 4. An operating lever which is integrally rotated with the lens cover is provided between the lens cover side gear mechanism and the lens cover, and the lens cover side gear mechanism is fixed to an end of the link shaft. And a gear with a pushing portion having a pushing portion capable of pushing the operating lever by engaging with the gear, wherein the operating lever has two contactable portions with the pushing portion. An arm portion and an engagement hole with which a boss formed on the lens cover is engaged. When the gear with the pushing portion is rotated by the rotation of the link shaft, the pushing portion of the operating lever is The operating lever is rotated by abutting against and pressing one of the two arm portions, and the boss of the lens cover engaged with the engagement hole by rotating the operating lever. Part is pushed by the inner wall of the engagement hole and 4. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the lens cover is rotated. 5. The lens cover according to claim 1, wherein one end of the toggle spring is attached to the boss, and the other end is locked to a stationary portion with respect to the lens cover to position the lens cover to the open position or the closed position. When switching from the closed position or the closed position to the open position, the toggle spring is compressed as the boss is pushed by the inner wall of the engagement hole, and the restoring force causes the lens cover to move. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism for a camera according to claim 4, wherein the lens cover is positioned to the open position or the closed position. 6. When the lens cover in the closed position is rotated without rotating the switch, one of the arm portions of the operating lever is connected to the gear with the pushing portion. In order to apply a force in the radial direction, it comes into contact with the pushing part,
5. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism for a camera according to claim 4, wherein a turning power is not applied to the gear with the pushing portion.