JP2003241252A - Method of manufacturing light quantity control member, light quantity control member, light quantity controller, and photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing a light quantity control member which is reduced in manufacturing cost, high in product yield and simple, and in addition, by which the light quantity control member which has an area having continuously or stepwise changing distribution of the optical density can be easily obtained and to provide an inexpensive light quantity control member which is manufactured by this method and has excellent characteristics, and a light quantity controller provided with the light quantity control member, and a photographing device. <P>SOLUTION: The method of manufacturing the light quantity control member which is characterized in that a material in which the absorption quantity of a dyeing solution containing colorants is reduced by irradiation of active energy rays is irradiated with active energy rays after the material is coated on a transparent base material, and thereafter, a color layer is formed by dyeing with the dyeing solution containing colorants, and the light control member obtained by this method, and the light quantity controller provided with the light quantity control member and the photographing device, are provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a light amount adjusting member used in optical devices such as cameras and video cameras, and electrophotographic recording devices, a light amount adjusting member, a light amount adjusting device and photographing. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming (photographing) optical system used in an optical device such as a camera has a built-in light amount adjusting device for adjusting the light amount of an incident light beam, that is, a so-called diaphragm device. In such a diaphragm device, a plurality of diaphragm blades form an opening having a predetermined area, and the actuator adjusts the opening diameter of the opening to adjust the amount of light flux passing through the opening. However, as the aperture diameter of the aperture is reduced, the influence of diffraction generated at the ends of the diaphragm blades increases,
The imaging performance of the imaging optical system deteriorates. On the other hand, in order to avoid this drawback, an optical filter as a light amount adjusting member is provided in a part of the diaphragm blade, and instead of reducing the aperture diameter, the amount of light flux passing through the aperture portion by the optical filter ( Techniques for attenuating the amount of light are known. The neutral density filter used for such a purpose is required to have few optical defects such as light scattering, refractive error, and spectral transmittance deviation.

Conventionally, as the light quantity adjusting member, a type in which a color material such as a pigment or a dye absorbing light is mixed and kneaded in a light-transmitting film-like material is generally used. There is. However, the light amount adjusting member manufactured by this method is very expensive, and it has not been possible to sufficiently meet the cost reduction required for the expanding demand. Further, in the method in which the coloring material is kneaded into the light-transmissive film-like material, the optical density distribution is continuously or stepwise changed (hereinafter referred to as "multi-concentration").
It is extremely difficult to manufacture a light quantity adjusting member.

As another manufacturing method, for example, in JP-A-5-173004, a silver salt film is used.
A method for producing a multi-concentration light amount adjusting member is disclosed, but in this case, the reflection of the light beam on the surface of the silver particles existing in the filter or the diffraction of the light beam passing through the end of the silver particle is used to filter the filter. There is a peculiar problem due to the use of a silver salt film, in which the straightness of a light beam that has passed through is impaired and the imaging performance of the optical system is degraded.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-133254 discloses a method for producing a multi-concentration light amount adjusting member by a vapor deposition method. However, the manufacturing cost is high, and in addition, the density is high. As a result, the film thickness changes, so that a film thickness difference occurs between a high density area and a low density area, and as a result, an optical path difference occurs and the resolution decreases. Also, with this method, it is difficult to manufacture a product whose concentration distribution changes continuously.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-96971, first, an organic dye which is faded by light is kneaded into a film material, and the obtained film is partially irradiated with high-energy light, whereby A method of decomposing a dye and thereby producing a light amount adjusting member having a density distribution is disclosed. However, in this method, the usable coloring materials are limited to those that are faded by light, and it is very difficult to obtain a product having sufficient optical characteristics. Furthermore, it can be easily inferred from the manufacturing method that the obtained product will be very expensive.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-352736, a film having a single concentration is formed in a halftone dot pattern by a printing process such as vapor deposition or photoengraving, and the halftone dot pattern is changed depending on the place, so that there is no transmittance. A method of manufacturing a filter as a light amount adjusting member that changes in stages is disclosed. However, the above method forms a film having a predetermined concentration by photolithography or vapor deposition, and whichever process is adopted, the apparatus becomes large and expensive, and the manufacturing cost of the filter increases. There is a problem.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a simple method for manufacturing a light quantity adjusting member which has a low manufacturing cost and a high product yield. is there. Further, in addition to the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a light amount adjusting member, which can easily obtain a light amount adjusting member having a region having a distribution in which the optical density changes continuously or stepwise. is there. Further, an object of the present invention is to manufacture a light amount adjusting member manufactured by the above-mentioned simple manufacturing method, which is inexpensive and has excellent characteristics,
An object of the present invention is to provide a light amount adjusting device and a photographing device including the light amount adjusting member.

[0009]

The above object can be achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention is to coat a transparent substrate with a material whose absorption of a dyeing liquid containing a coloring material is reduced by irradiation with active energy rays, and then irradiate the material with active energy rays, and then to A method of manufacturing a light quantity adjusting member, comprising providing a colored layer by dyeing with a dyeing solution containing a material. Further, a more preferred embodiment is a method for producing a light amount adjusting member in which the colored layer has a distribution in which the optical density changes continuously or stepwise in the above structure, and further flattening on the colored layer. It is a method of manufacturing a light amount adjusting member provided with a layer.

Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a light quantity adjusting member characterized by being manufactured by a method of manufacturing a light quantity adjusting member having any of the above-mentioned constitutions, and further, this light quantity adjusting member. A light amount adjusting device characterized by being provided, further, this light amount adjusting device, a photographing optical system for forming a subject image, an imaging means for photoelectrically converting the subject image, and a photoelectrically converted signal. And a recording means for recording the image pickup device, wherein the light amount adjustment device is arranged in the image pickup optical system.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to preferred embodiments. First, a method of manufacturing the light amount adjusting member according to the present invention will be described.
The method for producing a light amount adjusting member of the present invention is a method in which a transparent substrate is coated with a material whose absorption of a dyeing solution containing a coloring material is reduced by irradiation with active energy rays, and then the material is irradiated with active energy rays. After that, the colored layer is provided by dyeing with a dyeing solution containing a coloring material. First, the coating liquid material used in the present invention for coating on a transparent substrate will be described.

As the material used in the present invention, which absorbs a dyeing solution containing a colorant by irradiation with active energy rays, at least, it is possible to absorb the dyeing solution and fix the colorant in the dyeing solution. It is necessary to use a material having

In the present invention, from the materials having the above-mentioned characteristics, a material whose absorption amount of the dyeing liquid containing the coloring material is reduced by irradiation with active energy rays is selected and used. As such a material, a material that undergoes a crosslinking reaction, a polymerization reaction or the like by irradiation with an active energy ray is generally used, and any of these materials can be used in the present invention.

For example, when a water-based dyeing solution is used as a material that utilizes a crosslinking reaction caused by irradiation with active energy rays, for example, hydroxyethyl (meth) acrylate and hydroxymethyl (meth) acrylate are used. , N-methylol acrylamide,
A polymer or oligomer containing a hydroxyl group such as (meth) acrylic acid or a carboxyl group, if necessary,
Dichromate, bisazide compound, radical initiator,
A material in which various photoinitiators such as a cationic initiator and an anionic initiator are mixed can be used.

As the material utilizing the polymerization reaction caused by irradiation with active energy rays, for example, a compound having at least one ethylenically unsaturated double bond can be used. Examples of such substances include prepolymers such as epoxy (meth) acrylate, polyurethane (meth) acrylate, polyethylene (meth) acrylate, polyether (meth) acrylate, silicone (meth) acrylate, and polyamide (meth) acrylate. Alternatively, vinyl monomers such as styrene, vinyl acetate, N-vinylpyrrolidone, butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, n-
Hexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate,
Monofunctional monomers such as phenoxyethyl acrylate,
1,4-butanediol diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, polyethylene glycol diacrylate, bisphenol A diethoxydiacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate. Examples of such polyfunctional monomers include:

If necessary, various photoinitiators such as a dichromate, a bisazide compound, a radical type initiator, a cationic type initiator and an anionic type initiator are mixed with these prepolymers and monomers. The made material can be used conveniently. These photoinitiators are preferably used when ultraviolet rays are used as the active energy rays, and therefore, for example, when electron rays are used as the active energy rays, they do not have to be mixed.

In the present invention, a component containing materials selected from the above-listed compounds and the like, and optionally other additives, is added to water, alcohol, polyhydric alcohols, or other suitable components. A coating solution prepared by dissolving or dispersing in any of the organic solvents or a mixed solution thereof is used.
In the method for manufacturing a light amount adjusting member of the present invention, first, the coating liquid thus obtained is applied onto a transparent substrate. The coating amount is preferably such that the dry film thickness is about 0.1 to 5 μm.

The transparent base material used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has necessary characteristics such as mechanical strength and optical characteristics as a light quantity adjusting member. For example,
A transparent film such as polyethylene terephthalate, diacetate, triacetate, cellophane, celluloid, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyacrylate, polyethylene or polypropylene can be used as a substrate. However, the material is not limited to this, and a glass substrate can be used as long as it satisfies the above-mentioned required characteristics.

The method for applying the coating solution onto the transparent substrate as described above is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include a roll coater method, a blade coater method, an air knife coater method, a gate roll coater method and a bar. A method such as a coater method, a size press method, a spray coating method, a gravure coater method, a curtain coater method, and a spin coating method can be used. Furthermore, after applying the coating liquid on the surface of the transparent substrate as described above, it may be dried using, for example, a hot air drying furnace, a heating drum, a hot plate, or the like.

In the method of manufacturing the light quantity adjusting member of the present invention, next, the coated surface side formed as described above is irradiated with active energy rays. By doing so, a dyeing liquid receiving layer in which the absorption amount of the dyeing liquid is controlled to a desired condition is formed on the transparent substrate. That is, the material whose absorption amount of the dyeing liquid containing the coloring material is reduced by the active energy ray as exemplified above is that the irradiation proceeds with the activation energy ray, so that a crosslinking reaction, a polymerization reaction or the like occurs and the reaction proceeds. By appropriately controlling the amount of irradiation with energy rays, the degree of progress of these reactions can be varied. Therefore, for example, in the part of the receiving layer where the reaction is advanced by increasing the irradiation amount of the active energy ray,
The absorption amount of the dyeing solution is reduced, and conversely, the absorption amount of the dyeing solution is larger in the part of the receptor layer where the irradiation amount is small and the reaction is not progressing, as compared with the part where the reaction is progressing.

The active energy ray used in the present invention is not particularly limited to ultraviolet rays, electron rays and the like, but from the viewpoint of ease of production which is one of the objects of the present invention, ultraviolet rays (UV light) are used. Alternatively, Deep-UV light) is preferably used.

In the present invention, when the active energy ray is irradiated as described above, the irradiation amount of the active energy ray is increased in a portion where the transmittance of the light amount adjusting member is desired to be increased,
Further, by reducing the irradiation amount of the active energy ray in the portion of the light amount adjusting member where the transmittance is desired to be reduced, the light amount adjusting member having a desired optical density distribution can be easily obtained. That is, by irradiating while controlling the irradiation amount of the active energy rays appropriately, it becomes possible to easily manufacture a light amount adjusting member whose optical density changes stepwise or continuously. Further, when a light amount adjusting member having a uniform density on the entire surface is manufactured, the irradiation amount on the entire surface may be the same. For example, since the crosslinking reaction and the polymerization reaction are more advanced in the part where the irradiation amount of the active energy ray is large, the dyeing liquid absorbs more than the part where the irradiation amount of the active energy ray is smaller when absorbing the dyeing liquid described later. As a result, the amount of coloring material existing in that portion can be reduced, and the transmittance of that portion becomes large.

In the method for producing a light quantity adjusting member of the present invention, next, the base material that has been subjected to the irradiation treatment with the active energy rays is dyed with a dyeing solution containing a colorant to form a colored layer. . Specifically, a desired colored layer is easily formed by immersing the above-mentioned base material in a dyeing solution. That is, by the method described above, since the dyeing liquid receiving layer whose absorption amount is controlled to be the desired condition is formed on the transparent substrate, the substrate is immersed in the dyeing liquid. By doing so, the dyeing solution is absorbed in the receiving layer according to the designed degree, and as a result, a colored layer having a desired coloring material concentration is formed. When immersing the substrate in the dyeing solution, a means such as heating may be used together if necessary.

In the present invention, the dyeing liquid used in forming the colored layer is not particularly limited, and both water-based and oil-based dyes can be used. But environmental issues,
From the viewpoint of easy handling, it is preferable to use an aqueous dyeing solution.

The dyeing solution used in the present invention contains at least a coloring material. As the coloring material, various dyes and pigments can be used, but various metals, inorganic or organic fine particles and the like can also be used. is there. However, the coloring material in the present invention is not limited to this, and refers to a material that controls the transmittance of light in a predetermined wavelength band including visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared light. The method for manufacturing a light amount adjusting member of the present invention can be used, for example, for manufacturing an optical filter that gives uniform specific transmission characteristics over the entire visible light band, but the present invention is not limited thereto. . For example, when used in a light amount adjusting device for an infrared camera, a material that transmits only a specific wavelength in the infrared region is used, and this is also included in the color material referred to in the present invention. Further, the absorption of light when controlling the amount of transmitted light is included in the coloring material referred to in the present invention, whether it occurs inside the material or occurs on the surface of the material.

A solvent for dissolving or dispersing the coloring material as described above is used in the dyeing solution used in the present invention. As the solvent, in the case of an aqueous system, water alone may be used, or water and various water-soluble materials. You may use the mixture with a basic organic solvent. Furthermore, in addition to these ingredients, if necessary,
Various kinds of surfactants, defoaming agents, preservatives and the like can also be added.

In the method for producing a light quantity adjusting member of the present invention, after the dyeing treatment with the dyeing solution as described above, washing and drying are performed as required, and further, tannic acid, tartar stone or the like is used as a coloring material. It is also a preferable mode to carry out the fixing treatment.

In the method for manufacturing a light quantity adjusting member of the present invention, a flattening layer may be provided on the colored layer formed as described above, if necessary. As the forming material used for the planarizing layer, a transparent material or the like can be preferably used,
It is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies necessary performances such as adhesion to the colored layer, mechanical strength of the flattening layer, and optical characteristics. Specifically, for example, an acrylic or epoxy thermosetting resin or a photocurable resin is used, and a coating liquid made of these resin forming materials is applied onto a transparent substrate on which a colored layer is formed. To form a coating film, then baking the substrate using an oven, a hot plate, etc. to form a cured coating, or curing the substrate by irradiating it with an electron beam or ultraviolet ray. A method of forming a film can be used. The thickness of the flattening layer formed at this time is, for example, 0.1 to 10 μm, although it depends on the required performance.
It is appropriate to set the degree.

The optical superiority in the case where the optical density of the light quantity adjusting member is changed stepwise or continuously is described in, for example, JP-A-6-95208 and JP-A-11-15042. There is. On the other hand, according to the study by the present inventors, the light amount adjusting member obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention described above, in which the optical density changes stepwise or continuously, was applied to the diaphragm device. In this case, although it is obtained by a simple manufacturing method, an effect equivalent to that of the above-described conventionally known technique can be obtained.

The light quantity adjusting device using the light quantity adjusting member obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described below. The present invention is not limited to the configurations described below. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a diaphragm blade provided with the light amount adjusting member of the present invention, and FIG.
It is a side view when it cut | disconnects by AA 'of (a), and it saw in the arrow direction. It should be noted that here, a diaphragm device used in a video camera or the like will be described as an example of the light amount adjusting device. Reference numeral 101 in FIG. 1A denotes the entire diaphragm blade, which includes a light amount adjusting member 101P (gradation portion in FIG. 1) having a specific optical density distribution and a light blocking member 101Q (a portion other than the gradation) that blocks light. It is configured. Figure 1
Reference numeral 111 in (b) indicates a transparent substrate, and reference numeral 112 is a colored layer formed as described above. 1 and 2
Regarding the light blocking member 101Q, the light amount adjusting member 10
Although it is not colored to clarify the boundary with 1P and the like, it is originally formed of black or the like because it is a member that blocks light.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a light quantity adjusting device using the diaphragm blade of FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes the entire light amount adjusting device (diaphragm device). Reference numeral 101 is the first diaphragm blade shown in FIG. 1, and 102 is the second diaphragm blade. The second diaphragm blade 102 is manufactured by a method similar to that of the first diaphragm blade, and includes the light amount adjusting member 102P and the light blocking member 1.
02Q and. Reference numeral 103 denotes a diaphragm blade drive lever which is fitted in a shaft of a motor (not shown) in a hole 103a and is rotated around the hole 103a. First
Of the diaphragm blade 101 and the second diaphragm blade 102 of FIG.
3c in the respective slots 101a and 102a. Reference numeral 105 denotes the first and second diaphragm blades 101.
And 102 on the side edges of grooves 101b and 102, respectively.
b is a guide pin of a base plate (not shown) engaged with the base plate so as to be relatively slidable. Reference numeral 106 is an optical path hole penetrating the base plate.
01c and 102c are diaphragm aperture edges of the first and second diaphragm blades 101 and 102, respectively.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the diaphragm is fully opened. When the diaphragm is gradually narrowed from the state where the diaphragm is fully opened, the optical path hole 106, which is the opening of the diaphragm, becomes the first and second apertures.
Light amount adjusting member 101P and light blocking member 1 of the diaphragm blade
Since it is covered with 02P, the transmittance of the light flux passing through the optical path hole 106 gradually decreases.

FIG. 3 is a schematic layout diagram when the light quantity adjusting device shown in FIG. 2 is placed in an optical device. In the present embodiment, a video camera will be described as an example in which the optical device photoelectrically converts a moving image or a still image into an electric signal by an image pickup unit and records the electric signal as digital data. 400
Is a photographing optical system including a plurality of lens groups, and includes a first lens group 401, a second lens group 402, a third lens group 403,
In addition, the diaphragm device 100 shown in FIG. 40
Reference numeral 1 is a fixed front lens group, 402 is a variator lens group, and 403 is a focusing lens group. Reference numeral 404 is an optical low-pass filter. Further, the image pickup means 411 is arranged at the focal position (planned image forming plane) of the photographing optical system 400. This includes a photoelectric conversion unit such as a two-dimensional CCD including a plurality of photoelectric conversion units that convert the irradiated light energy into electric charges, a charge storage unit that stores the electric charges, and a charge transfer unit that transfers the electric charges and sends the electric charges to the outside. A conversion means is used.

Reference numeral 421 denotes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, which displays the subject image acquired by the image pickup means 411 and the operating condition of the optical device. An operation switch group 422 includes a zoom switch, a shooting preparation switch, a shooting start switch, and a shooting condition switch for setting a shutter speed. An actuator 423 performs focus drive by this, adjusts the focus state of the photographing optical system 400, and drives other members.

The CPU 431 calculates whether or not the size of the average density taken in is in agreement with the numerical value corresponding to the proper exposure stored in itself, and if there is a difference, the absolute value of the difference is obtained. The diaphragm aperture is changed according to the absolute value of the sign or the charge accumulation time in the image pickup unit 411 is changed. When moving the diaphragm, the diaphragm drive circuit 432 causes the diaphragm blade drive lever 1 to move.
When 03 rotates around 103a as a rotation center, the diaphragm blades 101 and 102 slide up and down. As a result, the size of the optical path hole 106, which is the opening, changes. In this way, optimum exposure can be obtained by changing the aperture area of the diaphragm or the charge storage time.

After the optimum exposure, the image of the subject formed on the image pickup means 411 is converted into an electric signal as an electric charge amount for each pixel according to the intensity of the brightness, and after being amplified by the amplifier circuit 441. The camera signal processing circuit 442 performs predetermined γ correction and other processing. Note that this processing may be performed by digital signal processing after A / D conversion. The video signal thus created is recorded by the recorder 443.

[0037]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples. In the text, “%” is based on mass unless otherwise specified. First, when judging the quality of the light amount adjusting member, (1) when used alone, the deterioration of the optical performance caused by the scattering or refraction of the light flux by the coloring material, (2)
Diffraction prevention effect when used in a diaphragm device,
(3) It is necessary to evaluate the above three items of spectral transmittance.

In (3), the characteristics of the filter can be freely adjusted depending on the type of coloring material used, and the measurement can be easily performed using a commercially available spectral transmittance meter, and therefore description thereof is omitted. On the other hand, the evaluation item (2) is suitable for evaluating the optical characteristics of the light amount adjusting member alone, because factors such as the shape of the diaphragm blades and the diaphragm value (F number) at the time of evaluation greatly affect the evaluation result. Absent. The method (1) is suitable for evaluating the optical characteristics of the light amount adjusting member alone. Therefore, in each of the examples described below, the optical characteristics of the light amount adjusting member having a uniform density produced by the manufacturing method of each example were evaluated. (Example 1) First, CFR-633D manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.
A coating liquid containing HP (a mixture of a prepolymer having an ethylenically unsaturated double bond and a photopolymerization initiator) was coated on a transparent base material glass substrate having a thickness of 0.7 mm by a spin coating method. Then, it was dried on a hot plate under conditions of 100 ° C. and 2 minutes. The thickness of the coating layer made of the material, which was produced in this manner and whose absorption amount of the dyeing liquid containing the coloring material is reduced by the active energy ray, was 1 μm.

Next, the coating layer on the glass substrate was uniformly irradiated with ultraviolet rays under a condition of 500 mJ with a high pressure mercury lamp to form a receiving layer in which the absorption amount of the dyeing solution was controlled. Then, as a dyeing solution, water-dispersible carbon black (IJX-102 manufactured by Cabot Corporation) which is a black pigment
B) Prepare a 0.2 wt% aqueous solution, and put the substrate that has been subjected to the above-mentioned ultraviolet irradiation treatment in this dyeing solution,
Dyeing treatment was performed by immersing under conditions of 70 ° C. and 10 minutes.

Next, the substrate is taken out of the dyeing solution,
After washing with water and drying by air blowing, the colored layer was completely cured by heating with a hot plate at 180 ° C. for 5 minutes.

Further, a flattening layer was provided on the formed colored layer as follows. A two-component thermosetting resin material (manufactured by Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd., trade name: Optomer SS6688) was spin-coated on the colored layer, and then heat-treated at 230 ° C. for 30 minutes in a hot air drying oven to be thermoset. It was
The thickness of the flattening layer thus formed was 2 μm.

The light amount adjusting member of the present embodiment manufactured as described above is used for the digital camera Power manufactured by Canon Inc.
It was placed in front of the shooting lens of Shot G1 and the resolution chart for ISO standard electronic still camera was shot. The exposure control mode uses the aperture priority AE by opening the aperture so that proper exposure can be obtained regardless of the presence or absence of the light amount adjusting member. A black-and-white bar chart (spatial frequency 14.5 line pairs / mm on the image plane) was cut out from this photographed image, the difference between the level of the white part and the level of the black part of the image was determined, and this was used as the evaluation contrast. Next, the light amount adjusting member was removed and the same photographing was performed to obtain the difference between the level of the white part and the level of the black part of the image, which was used as the reference contrast.

The ratio of the evaluation contrast to the reference contrast obtained in this way was obtained and defined as the filter contrast. In the case of this embodiment, this value is 0.
It was 93. The lower limit of filter contrast is
Although it varies depending on the use and price range of the image capturing device, it has been found that 0.9 or more is preferable for the popular class image capturing device and 0.92 or more for the high class device. Therefore, it was found that the filter contrast value of 0.93 of the light amount adjusting member of this example was sufficiently high performance.

Example 2 EM manufactured by Arakawa Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
A polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 75 μm as a transparent substrate, which is a coating liquid containing a mixture of −90 (self-emulsifying emulsion containing urethane acrylate as a main component) and Ciba Specialty Chemicals Irgacure 184 (photoinitiator). The wire bar was used for coating. Then, it was dried in a hot air drying oven at 80 ° C. for 2 minutes. The thickness of the coating layer made of the material whose absorption amount of the dyeing solution containing the coloring material is reduced by the active energy ray thus formed was 1.5 μm.

Then, the coating layer on the polyethylene terephthalate film substrate was coated with a high-pressure mercury lamp for 30 times.
The entire surface was uniformly irradiated with ultraviolet rays under the condition of 0 mJ to form a receiving layer in which the absorption amount of the dyeing solution was controlled. Then, a 0.3 wt% aqueous solution of black dye hood black 2 which is a black pigment is prepared as a dyeing solution, and the substrate which has been subjected to the above-mentioned irradiation treatment with ultraviolet rays is placed in this dyeing solution at room temperature,
It was immersed under the condition of 15 minutes for dyeing treatment.

Next, the substrate is taken out of the dyeing solution,
After washing with water and drying by air blow, the colored layer was completely cured by heating in a hot air drying oven at 100 ° C. for 10 minutes.

Further, a flattening layer was provided on the formed colored layer as follows. First, a styrene-butadiene copolymer [TR2000C, manufactured by JSR Corporation] was used to prepare a toluene / methyl ethyl ketone solution containing 10 parts of this copolymer in terms of solid content. The obtained coating liquid was applied onto the colored layer using a wire bar, and further dried in a hot air drying oven at 100 ° C. for 5 minutes. The thickness of the flattening layer thus formed was 5 μm.

When the light quantity adjusting member of this example produced as described above was evaluated by the same method as in Example 1,
The obtained contrast value was 0.92, which was high performance.

(Embodiment 3) Using the same material as in Embodiment 1, a light quantity adjusting member was prepared in substantially the same manner. However,
When irradiating with ultraviolet rays, as shown in FIG. 4, a movable light shielding plate is installed between the glass substrate provided with the coating film and the ultraviolet irradiation lamp, and this light shielding plate is gradually added. By moving the coating film, the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet rays applied to the coating film was changed stepwise. When the ultraviolet rays are irradiated in this way, the colored layer formed is as shown in FIG. When the light amount adjusting member of this example produced as described above was evaluated by the same method as in Example 1,
The obtained contrast value was 0.93, which was high performance.

(Embodiment 4) Using the same material as in Embodiment 1, a light quantity adjusting member was prepared in substantially the same manner. However,
When irradiating with ultraviolet rays, as shown in FIG. 4, a movable light shielding plate is installed between the glass substrate provided with the coating film and the ultraviolet irradiation lamp, and this light shielding plate is continuously connected. By moving the coating film at a constant speed, the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet rays applied to the coating film was continuously and continuously changed. When irradiated with ultraviolet rays in this manner, the colored layer formed is
The optical density distribution changes continuously. The light amount adjusting member of the present example manufactured as described above is used in Example 1
When evaluated in the same manner as in 1. above, the obtained contrast value was 0.93, which was high performance.

(Embodiment 5) Using the same material as in Embodiment 1, a light quantity adjusting member was manufactured in a substantially similar manner. However,
When irradiating with ultraviolet rays, as shown in FIG. 6, the diaphragm device as shown in FIG. 7 is installed between the glass substrate on which the coating film is provided and the ultraviolet irradiation lamp, and the ultraviolet irradiation is performed. At the start, the diaphragm was fully opened, and with the passage of time, the diaphragm was continuously narrowed to continuously change the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet rays with which the coating film was irradiated. In this case, the closer to the center, the larger the irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays and the lower the absorption amount of the dyeing solution. That is, the light amount adjusting member manufactured as described above is as shown in FIG. When the light amount adjusting member of this example produced as described above was evaluated by the same method as in Example 1, the obtained contrast value was 0.93, which was high performance.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a light quantity adjusting member which can very easily and inexpensively manufacture a light quantity adjusting member which can satisfy optical characteristics. To be done. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily manufacture a light quantity adjusting member having an optical density distribution that continuously or stepwise changes, which is extremely difficult to manufacture by other manufacturing methods. A method of manufacturing a member is provided. Further, according to the present invention, by performing the above-described simple manufacturing method, a light amount adjusting member that is inexpensive and has excellent optical characteristics, a light amount adjusting device including the light amount adjusting member, and an imaging device are provided. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view of diaphragm blades provided with a light amount adjusting member according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a light amount adjusting device using the diaphragm blade of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an image pickup apparatus in which the light amount adjustment device of FIG. 2 is incorporated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of irradiation with active energy rays used in Examples 3 and 4.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a colored layer of a light amount adjusting member having a stepwise concentration gradient.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of irradiation with active energy rays used in Example 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of diaphragming by a diaphragm device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a state of a colored layer of a light amount adjusting member obtained in Example 5.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: Light intensity control device 101 and 102: diaphragm blades 101a, 102a: slot 101b, 102b: groove 101c, 102c: Aperture opening edge 101P, 102P: Light amount adjusting member 101Q, 102Q: Light blocking member 103: Aperture blade drive lever 103a: hole 103b, 103c: protruding pin 105: Guide pin 106: Optical path hole 111: Transparent base material 112: Colored layer 400: Photographing optical system 401: First lens group 402: Second lens group 403: Third lens group 404: Optical low-pass filter 411: Imaging means 421: Display 422: Operation switch group 423: Actuator 431: CPU 432: Aperture drive circuit 433: CCD drive circuit 441: Amplifier circuit 442: Camera signal processing 443: Recorder

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/238 H04N 5/238 Z (72) Inventor Masataka Yashima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Ichiro Onuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inquiry Hideko Machiko 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. Inside F-term (reference) 2H042 AA08 AA22 2H080 AA20 AA31 AA64 DD01 2H083 AA01 AA20 AA41 2H100 BB00 CC07 5C022 AB12 AB14 AB17 AC03 AC33 AC42 AC74

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A transparent substrate is coated with a material whose absorption amount of a dyeing solution containing a coloring material is reduced by irradiation with active energy rays, and then the material is irradiated with active energy rays, and then the coloring material is applied. A method for manufacturing a light amount adjusting member, comprising providing a colored layer by dyeing with a dyeing solution containing 2. The method for producing a light amount adjusting member according to claim 1, wherein the colored layer has a distribution in which the optical density changes continuously or stepwise. 3. The method of manufacturing a light quantity adjusting member according to claim 1, further comprising a planarizing layer provided on the colored layer. 4. A light amount adjusting member manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1. 5. A light quantity adjusting device comprising the light quantity adjusting member according to claim 4. 6. A light quantity adjusting device according to claim 5, an image-taking optical system for forming a subject image, an image pickup means for photoelectrically converting the subject image, and a recording means for recording the photoelectrically converted signal. An image pickup apparatus having the light quantity adjusting device arranged in the image pickup optical system.