JP2003315893A - Housing for imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably prevent dew condensation in an imaging device even when it is necessary to cool the imaging device because prolonged exposure is performed such as that in astrophotography. <P>SOLUTION: The housing for an imaging device has a bag-like case body constituted of soft sheet material 12 and having an aperture part, a sealing part 14 for sealing the aperture part in an airtight state when a digital camera 11 is housed inside the case body, a transparent member (glass plate) attached by a photographic lens attaching part 16 provided at a position corresponding to the photographic lens of the camera 11 housed inside the case body, and an exhaust valve 22 and a suction valve 24 for sucking and discharging gas inside the case body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus housing using an image pickup element such as a CCD, and particularly to an image pickup apparatus housing suitable for an image pickup apparatus having a cooling function of the image pickup element for long-time photographing. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image pickup device (digital still camera) using an image pickup device such as a CCD, it is necessary to perform long-time exposure in order to photograph an extremely low-luminance subject such as astronomical photographing. Reducing the dark current is the most important factor for long-time exposure, and the image sensor must be cooled for the purpose of reducing the dark current. As a technique for cooling an image sensor in an electronic camera, it is known to use an electronic cooling element such as a Peltier element (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-38).
No. 019).

However, this type of device has the following problems. That is, since an electronic cooling element such as a Peltier element is used, it is necessary to consume a relatively large amount of power and to dissipate heat generated by the cooling element.
For this reason, there is a problem that the device is totally dedicated, the device structure is enlarged, and the manufacturing cost is increased. Moreover, it is inconvenient to carry such an electronic camera on a daily basis.

As described above, in the conventional cooling photographing technique of the image pickup apparatus, since an electronic cooling element such as a Peltier element is generally used, it is necessary to consume electric power and radiate heat generated by the cooling element, resulting in a large apparatus configuration. However, there is a problem in that the cost and cost are increased.

To address this problem, the applicant first provided a pocket in the camera body and put or put a highly available coolant, typically dry ice, in the pocket for simple cooling photography. An image pickup device that enables the above has already been proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-77137).

[0006]

However, when such cooling is actually performed, the image pickup device or members in the vicinity thereof are locally cooled, so that dew condensation due to water vapor in the ambient atmosphere is induced, For example, the surface of an optical member such as a protective glass of an image sensor or a taking lens may be fogged and the image quality may be deteriorated. Alternatively, if dew condensation occurs extremely, it may damage electronic components.

Conventionally, as a measure for preventing dew condensation in a cooled image pickup device, a method of sealing a space in the vicinity of the image pickup element to keep a vacuum is considered. However, such a structure in which a vacuum sealed structure is provided in the image pickup device main body is Since the size of the device is increased, even if it can be adopted as a special special photographing device, the Japanese Patent Application 2
Assuming that the camera can be carried around as a general camera as disclosed in No. 000-77137 on a daily basis, it is practically difficult to apply it to an image pickup device capable of temporarily taking a cold image as needed.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and even if the image pickup apparatus needs to be cooled for long-time exposure such as astronomical photography, condensation of the image pickup apparatus can be prevented. An object of the present invention is to provide a housing for an image pickup device capable of reliably preventing the occurrence.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a bag-shaped housing body having an opening and formed of a soft sheet material, and the opening in a state where an imaging device is housed inside the housing body. Sealing means for hermetically sealing, a transparent member provided in the housing body corresponding to a taking lens of an imaging device housed in the housing body, and a gas for sucking and exhausting gas inside the housing body A housing for an imaging device, comprising an intake and exhaust valve.

In this image pickup device housing, when an image pickup device (digital camera) having a cooling function is used, the opening is sealed while the image pickup device is housed in the housing body, and the intake / exhaust valve is provided. By removing the moist air from the inside of the housing main body (including the inside of the housing of the imaging device) and filling it with dry air, the inside of the housing main body can be made to have a low humidity environment. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dew condensation even when using an imaging device having a cooling function. Since the housing body is made of a soft sheet material, it is possible to operate the imaging device through the seed material.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a flexible case 10 (a housing for an imaging device) according to this embodiment. The flexible case 10 is a case suitable for use with a digital camera having a cooling function for enabling astronomical photography that requires long-time exposure, and a case for preventing condensation of the digital camera due to cooling. It has the function of keeping the inside (including the inside of the digital camera housing) in a low humidity environment.

The flexible case 10 is a sheet material 12 made of a soft resin such as polyethylene or polyester.
The main body (case main body) is configured by and is formed in a bag shape having an opening of a size capable of accommodating the digital camera 11 inside. The sheet material 12 is preferably transparent because the operation is easier when the digital camera 11 housed inside can be seen. The opening of the case main body is provided with a sealing portion 14 (often referred to as a chuck or a fastener) that can hermetically seal the opening while the digital camera 11 is housed inside. By pressing and fitting the portion of the sealing portion 14,
It becomes a sealed bag (soft case). Since the flexible case 10 is composed of the soft sheet material 12, the housing digital camera 11 housed inside
Can be held by hand through the sheet material. Also,
Similarly, the operation of camera operation members such as the power switch and the release button for the digital camera 11 or the operation of the cooling function provided in the digital camera 11 (operation such as setting a coolant (see FIG. 4)) is performed in the same manner. It can be done directly over.

For example, in the vicinity of the center of the wide area of the case body, the digital camera 11 housed inside the case body
Shooting lens mounting part 16 so that it can be used with other shooting lenses
Is provided. The photographing lens mounting portion 16 is a digital camera 11 housed inside the flexible case 10.
The flexible case 10 holds a transparent member for preventing the optical case from being an optical obstacle at the time of photographing by, and has a mechanism capable of mounting the transparent member on the image pickup lens of the digital camera 11.

FIG. 2 shows the construction of the photographing lens mounting portion 16 provided on the case body (sheet material 12) of the flexible case 10. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. Shooting lens mounting part 16
Then, the metal ring 16a is airtightly attached to the sheet material 12. A glass plate 16b as a transparent member is attached by adhesion or the like near the center of the metal ring 16a in the thickness direction. Further, on both sides of the position where the glass plate 16b of the metal ring 16a is attached, an attachment mechanism of an optical adapter, that is, standard filter threading 16c, 16 is provided.
d is provided. Standard filter threading 16c, 1
6d is a mechanism for connecting the image pickup lens of the digital camera 11 to a lens barrel of a telescope or the like. That is, the glass filter for protecting the lens has a form integrated with the case body. The standard filter screw thread 16c is provided inside the case body, and the digital camera 11 is mounted by screwing it into the filter screw of the digital camera 11. The standard filter screw thread 16d is provided outside the case body. The lens barrel of the telescope, etc. is attached via the.

Further, the sheet material 12 is made of a transparent member similar to the transparent member attached by the taking lens mounting portion 16, for example, a hard material such as a glass plate, corresponding to the viewfinder portion provided in the digital camera 11. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the optical member of (1) is mounted (not shown). In this case, the transparent member is provided at an appropriate position according to the position of the finder provided in the digital camera 11 used (position relative to the taking lens). However, since the finder can be used through the sheet material by making the sheet material 12 transparent, it is not always necessary to attach a transparent member.

Further, a tripod mounting seat 18 is attached to the case body of the flexible case 10 at a proper position in the lower portion (bottom surface) or in the vicinity thereof. The tripod mount 18 is for stably connecting the digital camera 11 housed in the case body and various equipment such as a tripod via the sheet material 12, and the digital camera housed inside the flexible case 10. While connecting with the tripod mounting part of 11,
It has a structure that can be connected to a tripod or the like outside the case. With the tripod mount 18, the flexible case 10 in which the digital camera 11 is housed can be stably attached to a tripod or the like.

3 (a) and 3 (b) show the structure of the tripod mounting seat 18 provided on the case body (sheet material 12). 3A is a side cross-sectional view of the tripod mounting seat 18 (upward is inside the case body), and FIG. 3B is a plan view of the tripod mounting seat 18 (inside the case body).

As shown in FIG. 3, the tripod mounting seat 18 is provided with two-tiered metal plates. Thick plate 18 provided with a non-penetrating type tripod female threading 18b
a, and the male screw holding member 18c as the upper plate is the thick plate 18
It is provided at a predetermined interval on top of a. At a suitable position of the male screw holding member 18c (upper plate), for example, at the coaxial position,
There is a stupid hole in which a tripod mounting male screw 1
It is arranged so that a screw shaft of 8d (tripod screw) penetrates. The tripod mounting male screw 18d has a columnar knob portion at the bottom thereof which has a thick plate 18a and a male screw holding member 18c.
It is held at a predetermined interval provided between and. Plank 18
The a is integrally bonded to the sheet material 12 so that the airtightness inside the case body is maintained. The tripod attachment male screw 18d can be locked in a tripod attachment female screw provided in the digital camera 11 by rotating the tripod attachment male screw 18d in a predetermined direction. With this, the digital camera 11 can be stably attached to the male screw holding member 18c (upper plate). The rotation operation of the male screw 18d for attaching the tripod may be performed directly by inserting a hand into the case body before sealing the flexible case 10 or may be performed from the outside through the sheet material.

Further, the flexible case 10 is provided with a desiccant pocket 20 at an appropriate position inside the case.
The desiccant pocket 20 is loaded with a humidity indicator such as cobalt chloride and a desiccant such as silica gel in a vented state. This is a flexible case 1
It is provided for the purpose of maintaining a low humidity inside the body of 0 (or for the purpose of knowing the humidity by an indicator), and is used to assist the prevention of dew condensation (to enhance the effect). The desiccant pocket 20 may be formed in a bag shape, or only this portion may be made of a hard material.

Further, the flexible case 10 has an exhaust valve 22 having a function of a check valve capable of exhausting gas inside the case body, and an intake valve 24 capable of sucking gas inside the case body. It is provided. In addition,
In FIG. 1, the exhaust valve 22 and the intake valve 24 are provided independently, but an intake / exhaust valve that serves as both intake and exhaust may be provided so that both are integrated. However, in order to improve the usability in the procedure (8) of the method of using the flexible case 10 (in the case of repetitive work) described later, it is preferable to provide the exhaust valve 22 and the intake valve 24 independently.

The intake valve 24 can be opened and closed by a switch (cock). Any type (structure) of the valve for opening and closing can be used. For example, a sluice valve, a butterfly valve, a ball valve, a globe valve, a diaphragm valve, a pinch valve, etc. can be used. The valve end has a pipe shape and can be connected to a dry gas cylinder described later.

The exhaust valve 22 has a structure of a check valve (backflow prevention valve). Therefore, although the exhaust valve 22 can exhaust gas, the inflow of gas from the outside is automatically shut off.
Any type of valve can be used. For example, an English-style bicycle valve type using insect rubber can be used. The valve end has a pipe shape, and the joint adapter 26 can be attached thereto. The joint adapter 26 is a pipe whose both ends have different diameters so that two pipes having different diameters can be connected to each other. One end of the joint adapter 26 is attached to the valve end of the exhaust valve 22, and the other end is formed so that a gas inlet of a device provided with a function of sucking gas can be attached. A vacuum cleaner for home use, for example, is specifically used as the device (pressure reducing pump) provided with a function of sucking gas. Therefore, the joint adapter 26 can be connected to the pipe of the vacuum cleaner. By providing the joint adapter 26, the case body can be downsized as compared with the structure in which the pipe of the cleaner is directly connected to the valve end of the exhaust valve 22.

Next, an example of the digital camera 11 having a cooling function suitable for using the flexible case 10 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view seen from above for explaining the basic configuration of the digital camera 11.

In the camera housing of the digital camera 11,
The lens 29, the image pickup device 32, the circuit board 33, and various parts not shown are housed. The lens 29 is the outermost lens, and one surface thereof is exposed to the outside.
Further, a focusing lens, a zoom lens, etc., which are not shown, are arranged between the lens 29 and the image pickup element 22. The image pickup device 32 is composed of, for example, a CCD image pickup device, and is mounted on the circuit board 33.

Further, on the back side of the camera housing (the side on which the lens 29 is not arranged), a coolant injection pocket 30 for introducing a coolant is provided. The coolant injection pocket 30 is located on the back surface side of the image sensor 32, and the lid portion 3 is provided.
1 has a room-like structure. The lid portion 31 is configured to continuously form the exterior surface of the camera housing. A part of the inner wall surface of the coolant injection pocket 30 is in direct contact with the circuit board 33. The image sensor 3
A cover glass 34 is provided on the light-receiving surface side of 2, and the image pickup device 32 and the circuit board 33 are connected via lead wires 35.

The digital camera 11 having the structure shown in FIG. 4 has a small device structure and can usually be used as a general camera on a daily basis, and is exposed for a long time as in astronomical photography. When it is necessary to cool the image pickup device 32, cooling image can be easily taken by putting the cooling agent into the cooling agent charging pocket 30.

Next, steps (1) to (10) of the method of using the flexible case 10 will be described. (1) First, for example, a suction pipe of a vacuum cleaner is connected to the exhaust valve 22 via the joint adapter 26. At this time, the intake valve 24 is closed.

(2) The digital camera 11 is put in the main body of the flexible case 10, and the taking lens mounting portion 16 (standard filter thread 16c) is attached to the taking lens. Further, the tripod mounting seat 18 (male screw 18d for mounting tripod) is fixed to a female screw for mounting a tripod provided on the bottom thereof.

(3) Coolant for charging the coolant charging pocket 30 of the digital camera 11 is put in the case body. Here, the digital camera 11 is placed away from the digital camera 11 so that the digital camera 11 does not condense with the cooling by the coolant. In this state, the sealing portion 14
To close the flexible case 10.

(4) Switch on the vacuum cleaner, and exhaust valve 2
The air inside the case is exhausted through 2.

(5) Stop the vacuum cleaner. The pipes of the vacuum cleaner can now be disconnected. Even if the exhaust of the vacuum cleaner is stopped, the inside of the case is kept in a vacuum (reduced pressure) state by the action of the check valve provided in the exhaust valve 22. Figure 5
FIG. 1 shows a side sectional view including the digital camera 11 housed in the flexible case 10 in a vacuum (decompressed) state (a view including a portion where the photographing lens mounting portion 16 is mounted on the digital camera 11). (A cross section in a direction perpendicular to the line AA in 1). In this state, the digital camera 11
The air inside the housing is also exhausted.

(6) A dry gas cylinder is connected to the intake valve 24, the valve of the cylinder and the intake valve 24 are opened, and the dry gas is sucked into the case. The dry gas here is most preferably air from the viewpoint of avoiding the influence of the refractive index. However, any harmless gas such as oxygen, nitrogen, helium, or carbon dioxide can be used.

(7) Close the valve of the dry gas cylinder and the intake valve 24.

(8) Repeat (4) to (7) if necessary.

(9) The intake valve 24 is once opened, the flexible case 10 is pushed by hand to adjust the state suitable for the operation, and then the valve is quickly closed. This is because in the step (8), the inside of the case is pressurized and inflated according to the pressure of the cylinder, so that excess air is discharged and adjusted so that the camera can be operated through the case. belongs to. (Note that since the exhaust valve is a check valve as described above, if the operating pressure is appropriate, the pressure adjustment operation of this section can be performed even with the intake valve 24 closed.) (10) Case body Coolant inside pocket 3 of the digital camera 11 can be operated by operating the sheet material over the sheet material.
The lid 31 is locked by throwing in 0.

The digital camera 11 is housed in the flexible case 10 in this procedure, and the flexible case 1
Inside 0 (including inside the case of digital camera 11)
It is possible to set the coolant in the coolant injection pocket 30 of the digital camera 11 in a low humidity environment.

Then, after the cooling agent is charged, a predetermined time is required until the image pickup device 32 is sufficiently cooled, and then the photographing is performed. At that time, if necessary, the standard filter screw thread 16d of the taking lens mounting portion 16 may be used to connect to the lens barrel of the telescope, for example.

To prevent dew condensation, the atmosphere (environmental) humidity of the digital camera 11 can be lowered, so it may be possible to enclose a desiccant in a conventional waterproof case, or to enclose dry air at the same time when the camera is loaded. , This alone is not enough to prevent condensation. That is, even though the inside of the flexible case 10 can be made low in humidity,
This is because the moist air inside the housing of the digital camera 11 is not immediately replaced (usually it takes several hours or more), and during this time, the situation regarding dew condensation is not improved in the vicinity of the image pickup element, that is, inside the camera.

Flexible case 1 in this embodiment
At 0, the air inside the case is once discharged to reduce the pressure, so that the moist air inside the digital camera 11 is also immediately discharged at this time. Then, since the dry gas is injected into the flexible case 10, the inside of the housing of the digital camera 11 is filled with the dry air, so that a low humidity state in which no dew condensation occurs immediately can be obtained. If the degree of vacuum at this time is sufficiently high, the step of step (8) is not necessary. If the atmospheric humidity is M% and the atmospheric pressure during depressurization in step (4) is P atmospheric pressure (P <1), the humidity will decrease to MPn% by n exhaust operations, so it can be used as a decompression pump for household use. Even if a vacuum cleaner is used, a sufficient effect is usually obtained by operating once or twice. In this embodiment, the inside and outside of the case of the digital camera 11 are
Since the humidity is almost the same, the effect can be judged by the color of the humidity indicator by the desiccant in the desiccant pocket 20.

Since the soft sheet material 12 is formed into a bag shape, as shown in the above-mentioned usage, the cooling material to be put into the digital camera 11 is mounted inside the flexible case 10 (digital camera 11). This can be extremely facilitated after the dry and sealed state (including the inside of the housing), and the occurrence of dew condensation can be completely avoided. Therefore, the surface of optical members such as the cover glass 34 and the lens 29 of the image sensor 32 of the digital camera 11 is not fogged and the image quality is not deteriorated, and the image sensor 32 and electronic components on the circuit board 33 are adversely affected. Absent.

In the above description, the household cleaner is used to exhaust the gas in the flexible case 10. However, the vacuum cleaner is not limited to this, and any decompression pump including a manually operated device is used. It is possible. However, by adopting a configuration in which a household vacuum cleaner that is close to 100% in popularity can be used, the flexible case 1 for users
We try not to incur a substantial increase in costs associated with the use of 0.

Further, in the above description, the dry air cylinder is used when the dry gas is sucked into the flexible case 10. However, instead of this, an air drying unit (a sufficient amount of the desiccant is taken in by the outside air is used). It is also possible to use a device configured such that it is delivered while being dried by way of). Further, although the optical system connection mount provided on the taking lens mounting portion 16 is a standard filter screw, any mount can be used.

Further, even if the mechanism of the photographing lens mounting portion 16 excluding the transparent member (glass plate 16b) (pollution-type connection mount), the desiccant pocket 20, and the tripod mount 18 is not provided, dew condensation prevention cooling photographing is possible. You can get the basic effect that you can do.

The invention of the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified at the stage of implementation without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment and the effect is obtained, the structure in which the constituent elements are deleted can be extracted as the invention.

[0045]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, even if the image pickup device needs to be cooled for long-time exposure such as astronomical photography, the occurrence of dew condensation in the image pickup device can be ensured. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flexible case 10 according to the present embodiment.
The figure which shows the external appearance structure of (housing for imaging devices).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a taking lens mounting portion 16 provided on a case body (sheet material 12) of a flexible case 10.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a tripod mounting seat 18 provided on a case body (sheet material 12).

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view seen from above for explaining the basic configuration of the digital camera 11.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view including the digital camera 11 housed in the flexible case 10 in a vacuum (decompressed) state.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Flexible case 11 ... Camera body 12 ... Sheet material 14 ... Sealing part 16 ... Photographic lens mounting part 16a ... Metal ring 16b ... glass plate 16c ... Standard filter thread cutting 16d ... Standard filter thread cutting 18 ... Tripod mount 18a ... thick plate 18b ... Tripod female thread cutting 18c ... Male screw holding member 18d ... Male screw for tripod mounting 20 ... Desiccant pocket 22 ... Exhaust valve 24 ... Intake valve 26 ... Joint adapter

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A bag-shaped housing body having an opening, which is made of a soft sheet material, and sealing means for hermetically sealing the opening in a state where an imaging device is housed inside the housing body. And a transparent member provided in the housing body corresponding to a taking lens of an imaging device housed inside the housing body, and an intake / exhaust valve for intake / exhaust gas inside the housing body. A housing for an image pickup device, comprising: 2. The housing for an image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intake and exhaust valves are provided with an intake valve and an exhaust valve separately. 3. The housing for an image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the exhaust valve has a check valve mechanism. 4. The housing for an image pickup device according to claim 3, wherein the exhaust valve can be attached to a gas suction port of a device provided with a function of sucking gas. 5. The housing for an image pickup device according to claim 1, further comprising a desiccant storage means capable of storing a desiccant inside the housing body. 6. The housing for an image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transparent member is provided with a mounting mechanism for an optical adapter. 7. The housing for an image pickup apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the attachment mechanism of the optical adapter is a standard filter screw. 8. A coupling mechanism, which is mounted on the housing body and is coupled to an imaging device housed inside the housing body, and coupled to equipment outside the housing body. The housing for an imaging device according to 1.