JP2005055682A - Manufacturing method for light quantity adjusting member, light quantity adjusting member, light quantity adjusting device and photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method for a light quantity adjusting member by which the light quantity adjusting member is economically manufactured by easy operation at a low manufacture cost with high yield, and further by which the light quantity adjusting member excellent in reliability, especially, moisture resistant performance is manufactured. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method for the light quantity adjusting member includes a stage for forming a colored layer consisting of hydrophilic resin and color material for attenuating light having specified optical path length and having a specified wavelength band on transparent base material, a stage for performing water-proof treatment to at least the end of the colored part in order to prevent the partial change of the optical path length caused by the moisture absorption of the colored layer, and a stage for forming a transparent layer protecting and flattening the colored layer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a light amount adjusting member used in an optical apparatus such as a digital camera or a video camera, an electrophotographic recording apparatus, or the like, a light amount adjusting member, a light amount adjusting device including the light amount adjusting member, and photographing. Relates to the device.

  An imaging (photographing) optical system used for an optical device such as a camera generally includes a so-called diaphragm device that adjusts the amount of incident light. In such a diaphragm device, a plurality of diaphragm blades form an opening of a predetermined area, and the amount of the light beam passing through the opening is adjusted by adjusting the opening diameter of the opening with an actuator. However, as the aperture diameter of the aperture is reduced, the influence of diffraction generated at the end of the aperture blade increases, and the imaging performance of the imaging optical system decreases. On the other hand, in order to avoid this drawback, a filter as a light amount adjusting member is provided on a part of the diaphragm blade, and instead of reducing the aperture diameter, the amount of the light beam (light amount) passing through the opening with an optical filter is reduced. ) Is known. An optical 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 this light amount adjusting member, a type of colored film is generally used by mixing a light-transmitting film forming material with a coloring material such as a pigment or dye that absorbs light and kneading. ing. However, the light amount adjusting member manufactured by this method is very expensive, and cannot sufficiently meet the cost reduction required for the expanding demand. In addition, a method of kneading a color material into a light-transmitting film material to form a colored film produces a light amount adjusting member having a density distribution continuously or stepwise (hereinafter referred to as “multi-density”). It is extremely difficult to do.

  As another manufacturing method, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of manufacturing a multi-concentration light amount adjusting member using a silver salt film. In this case, however, silver contained in the filter is disclosed. Use a silver salt film in which the linearity of the light beam that has passed through the filter is impaired due to the reflection of the light beam at the particle surface or the diffraction of the light beam that passes through the edge of the silver particle, thereby reducing the imaging performance of the optical system. This creates a unique problem.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a method of manufacturing a light-control member having a high concentration by a vapor deposition method, but this method is expensive and expensive to manufacture, and in addition, the film of the member depends on the concentration. Since the thickness changes, a difference in film thickness occurs between a high density and a low density, resulting in a problem that the optical path difference occurs and the resolution decreases. In this method, it is difficult to manufacture a product having a continuous concentration distribution, and even if manufactured, the concentration distribution changes stepwise.

  In Patent Document 3, an organic dye that fades with light is first kneaded into a film material, and the resulting film is partially irradiated with high-energy light to decompose the organic dye in the irradiated portion, thereby reducing the concentration. A method of manufacturing a light amount adjusting member having a distribution is disclosed. However, in this method, since usable color materials are limited to those that fade with light, it is very difficult to obtain a product having sufficient optical characteristics. Furthermore, it can be easily estimated from the complicated manufacturing method that the resulting product will be very expensive.

  Further, in Patent Document 4, a light intensity adjusting member that changes the transmittance steplessly by forming a single-concentration film in a halftone dot pattern by a printing process such as vapor deposition or photoengraving, and changing the halftone dot pattern depending on the location. A filter manufacturing method is disclosed. However, this method forms a film having a predetermined concentration by photoengraving or vapor deposition. Regardless of which step is adopted, the apparatus becomes large and expensive, and the manufacturing cost of the filter increases. There are challenges.

  In order to solve the above problems, a filter manufacturing method as a light amount adjusting member by a liquid jet recording method has recently attracted attention. In this method, a layer (hereinafter referred to as “ink receiving layer”) made of a material capable of absorbing a colored liquid (hereinafter referred to as “colored ink”) is provided on a transparent substrate, and the layer is subjected to a liquid jet recording method. A colored ink containing a coloring material is applied to form a colored layer, and a planarizing layer is provided on the colored layer. According to this method, it is possible to easily manufacture a light amount adjusting member having excellent performance. However, since the ink receiving layer is directly exposed to the outside air, it can be stored for a long time or in a high humidity environment. Absorbing moisture causes the ink receiving layer to swell, resulting in an increase in the film thickness around the light amount adjusting member, resulting in a problem that the optical path difference occurs and the resolving power decreases. .

JP-A-5-173004 JP-A-10-133254 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-96971 JP 2000-352736 A

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, to manufacture the light amount adjusting member economically by a simple operation with low manufacturing cost, high yield, and further reliability, In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a light amount adjusting member having excellent moisture resistance.
In addition to the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a light amount adjusting member that can easily obtain a light amount adjusting member having a concentration distribution continuously or stepwise.
Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a light amount adjusting device and a photographing device which are manufactured by the above-described simple manufacturing method and have an inexpensive and excellent characteristic and a highly reliable light amount adjusting member. is there.

  The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention includes a step of forming a colored layer made of a hydrophilic resin and a color material, which has a predetermined optical path length and attenuates light in a predetermined wavelength band, on the transparent substrate; In order to prevent a partial change in the optical path length caused by moisture absorption, at least an end portion of the colored portion is subjected to water resistance treatment, and a transparent layer that protects and flattens the colored layer is formed. The manufacturing method of the light quantity adjustment member characterized by these is provided. The “optical path length” means the total thickness of the transparent substrate, the colored layer, and the planarizing layer.

  In the present invention, the colored layer is formed by applying a colored ink to an ink receiving layer made of a hydrophilic resin; the water resistance treatment is performed by crosslinking the resin constituting the ink receiving layer. And it is preferable to apply the colored ink so that the colored layer has a density distribution continuously or stepwise.

  The present invention also provides a light amount adjusting member manufactured by the method of the present invention; a light amount adjusting device including the light amount adjusting member; and the light amount adjusting device and a subject. A photographing optical system for forming an image; an imaging means for photoelectrically converting the formed subject image; and a recording means for recording the photoelectrically converted signal; and the light amount adjusting device is disposed in the photographing optical system. An imaging device is provided.

  According to the present invention, a light amount adjusting member, a light amount adjusting device including the light amount adjusting member, and a photographing device are provided with a simple operation and at a low yield with a high yield. In addition, according to the present invention, a light amount adjusting member having a continuous or stepwise concentration distribution, which is extremely difficult in other manufacturing methods, and having excellent long-term reliability, particularly moisture resistance, and the light amount adjusting member are provided. A light amount adjusting device and a photographing device are provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments. First, the manufacturing method of the light quantity adjustment member concerning this invention is demonstrated.
In the method for producing a light amount adjusting member according to the present invention, first, an ink receiving layer is provided on a transparent substrate, and then colored ink is applied to the ink receiving layer by a liquid jet recording method to be received by the ink receiving layer. To form a colored layer. Hereinafter, a transparent substrate, a coating method used when an ink receiving layer is formed on the transparent substrate, and materials used for the coating method will be described.

  The transparent substrate that can be 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 amount adjusting member. For example, a transparent film substrate made of polyethylene terephthalate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellophane, celluloid, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyacrylate, polyethylene, polypropylene and the like can be mentioned. In addition, a transparent glass substrate can be used as long as it satisfies the above required characteristics.

  In order to form an ink-receiving layer on a transparent substrate, first, the materials described below are dissolved or dispersed in water or alcohol, polyhydric alcohols, or other suitable organic solvents, together with other additives as necessary. A coating solution is prepared. Next, the obtained coating liquid is applied to the surface of the transparent substrate. The coating method is not particularly limited, and for example, a die coater method, a spray coat method, a gravure coater method, or the like can be used. Thereafter, for example, drying is performed using a hot air drying furnace, a thermal drum, a hot plate, or the like to form an ink receiving layer.

  Moreover, as a coating liquid material in the case of forming the ink receiving layer provided on the transparent substrate as described above, the colored ink is absorbed in the ink receiving layer formed by the material, and the coloring material in the colored ink is used. However, water-soluble resins and water-dispersible resins such as those listed below are preferred.

  Examples of the water-soluble resin include polyvinyl alcohol and modified products of polyvinyl alcohol such as anion-modified polyvinyl alcohol, cation-modified polyvinyl alcohol, and acetal-modified polyvinyl alcohol; water-based polyurethane; polyvinyl pyrrolidone; and vinyl pyrrolidone / vinyl acetate copolymer, Modification of polyvinylpyrrolidone such as vinylpyrrolidone and dimethylaminoethyl / methacrylic acid copolymer, quaternized vinylpyrrolidone / dimethylaminoethyl / methacrylic acid copolymer, vinylpyrrolidone and methacrylamidepropyltrimethylammonium chloride copolymer Products: Cellulose water-soluble resins such as carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, and cationized hydroxyethyl cell Modified products of cellulose such as cellulose; polyesters, polyacrylic acid (esters), melamine resins, or modified products thereof, synthetic resins such as graft copolymers containing at least polyester and polyurethane, albumin, gelatin, casein And natural resins such as starch, cationized starch, gum arabic and sodium alginate.

  Examples of the water dispersible resin include polyvinyl acetate, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polystyrene, styrene- (meth) acrylate copolymer, (meth) acrylate polymer, vinyl acetate- (Meth) acrylic acid (ester) copolymer, poly (meth) acrylamide, (meth) acrylamide copolymer, styrene-isoprene copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-propylene copolymer, polyvinyl ether , Silicon-acrylic copolymers and the like can be listed, but of course the present invention is not limited to these.

  In addition, a gap absorption type in which the above water-soluble resin or water-dispersible resin is used as a binder and pigments such as alumina hydrate, silica, calcium carbonate, etc. are mixed with these materials has optical characteristics. It can be used within the range to satisfy.

  Furthermore, in addition to the above materials in the coating liquid, various surfactants, antifoaming agents, and the like, as required, for coating properties, control of colored ink absorption performance, improvement of mechanical properties, etc. You may contain antioxidant, a viscosity modifier, a pH adjuster, a fungicide, a plasticizer, etc.

  In the present invention, an ink receiving layer is formed by applying a coating liquid containing the above materials on the surface of a transparent substrate, and colored ink containing a coloring material is applied to the ink receiving layer by a liquid jet recording method. The colored ink is absorbed and received in the ink receiving layer to form the colored layer to form the light quantity adjusting member. The colored ink used at this time is one that can be discharged by a micro droplet discharge device. If it does not specifically limit.

  In the present invention, both colored and oil-based inks can be used as the colored ink, but it is preferable to use an aqueous colored ink from the viewpoint of ejection reliability. Various dyes and pigments can be used as the color material in the colored ink, but various metals, inorganic, organic fine particles, and the like can also be used. In the present invention, the color material constituting the colored ink refers to a material that controls the transmittance of light in a predetermined wavelength band including visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared light. That is, in the manufacture of the light amount adjusting member exemplified in the present specification, a colorant that gives uniform transmission characteristics over the entire visible light band is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. Absent. For example, when forming a light amount adjusting member used in a light amount adjusting device for an infrared camera, it is necessary to use a material that transmits only a specific wavelength in the infrared region, and this is also included in the color material. Furthermore, light absorption when controlling the amount of transmitted light is included in the color material used in the present invention, such as light generated inside the material and material generated on the surface of the material.

  As the solvent that is a material for forming the colored ink used in the present invention, an aqueous medium is preferably used. As the aqueous medium, various water-soluble organic solvents listed below can be used. Specifically, for example, C 1-5 such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, n-pentanol and the like. Alkyl alcohols; amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide; ketones or ketoalcohols such as acetone and diacetone alcohol; ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane; diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, Oxyethylene or oxypropylene copolymers such as tripropylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol; ethylene glycol, propylene Alkylene glycols containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms, such as ethylene glycol, trimethylene glycol, triethylene glycol and 1,2,6-hexanetriol; glycerin; ethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl Lower alkyl ethers such as (or ethyl) ether and triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether; lower dialkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as triethylene glycol dimethyl (or ethyl) ether and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl (or ethyl) ether Alkanolamines such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine; sulfolane, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 2-pyrrolidone, 1,3- Methyl-2-imidazolidinone. The above water-soluble organic solvents can be used alone or as a mixture.

  In addition to the above-mentioned components, the colored ink used in the present invention further includes various surfactants, antifoaming agents, preservatives, etc., in order to obtain colored inks having desired physical properties as required. be able to.

  In the present invention, the light amount adjusting member is formed on the ink receiving layer by applying a colored ink made of the above-described material using a micro droplet discharge device. There are no particular restrictions on the method of applying colored ink by the microdroplet ejection device used at that time, for example, a bubble jet (registered trademark) type using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element, or a piezo using a piezoelectric element. A jet type or the like can be used. A commercially available general-purpose printer can be used as the micro droplet discharge device as the printing device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a printing device specially manufactured for the present invention may be used.

  The pattern for applying the colored ink is not particularly limited, and may be applied to the entire surface with a uniform density depending on the purpose, or may be a gradation pattern with a stepwise density gradient as shown in FIG. Further, it may be a gradation pattern in which the gradation level with continuous density gradient is unclear. In particular, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, a light amount adjusting member having a continuous or stepwise concentration gradient can be easily produced. In addition, since the degree of freedom of the method of forming the density gradient pattern is high, there is an advantage that optical optimization is easy.

  FIG. 1 shows a diaphragm blade which is an example of a light amount adjusting member obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention. Hereinafter, colored ink is applied to an ink receiving layer provided on a transparent substrate by a liquid jet recording method. A specific method for forming the colored layer will be described. The aperture blade illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a colored layer 101P (a gradation portion in FIG. 1) provided with a predetermined transmittance, and a light blocking portion 101Q (a portion other than the gradation) that blocks light. First, a transparent substrate is prepared, and an ink receiving layer is provided on at least one surface of the transparent substrate by the method described above. Next, a colored layer having a gradation pattern by applying a colored ink in a stepwise gradient to the ink receiving layer on the transparent substrate in an ink jet printing apparatus, for example, as a micro droplet ejection apparatus Form.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2, a liquid containing a material capable of reacting with the resin constituting the ink receiving layer described above is applied to at least the end portion of the colored layer. This application may be applied not only to the end of the colored layer but also to the entire surface of the colored layer, for example. A material capable of reacting with the resin constituting the ink receiving layer is not particularly limited, but a material that undergoes a crosslinking reaction is preferable. There are many compounds capable of crosslinking reaction with the materials mentioned as the resin constituting the ink receiving layer described above. For example, an acrylic resin or a melamine resin containing a monomer having a carboxyl group as a structural unit such as acrylic acid or maleic acid. , Methylolated urea, glyoxal, isocyanate, epoxy resin and the like, but are not limited thereto. A material capable of reacting with the resin constituting such an ink receiving layer is preferably used in an aqueous system for the reasons described above. Also, various water-soluble organic solvents and various additives as described above can be mixed and used.

  In the method of the present invention, after applying a colored ink to the ink receiving layer as described above, and further applying a liquid containing a material capable of reacting with the resin constituting the ink receiving layer, a hot air drying furnace is provided as necessary. Further, drying may be performed using a thermal drum, a hot plate, or the like. By this heating, the above-described crosslinking reaction proceeds, and as a result, a light amount adjusting member having a colored layer having high reliability, particularly moisture resistance, can be manufactured. With this configuration, the colored layer swells due to long-term storage or absorption of moisture in the air under high humidity conditions, resulting in an increase in the thickness of the peripheral portion of the light amount adjusting member. Therefore, the problem that the optical path difference occurs and the resolving power decreases is solved.

  Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable to provide a transparent planarization layer on the base-material whole surface containing a colored layer on the colored layer formed by the above methods. The material that can be used for forming the planarizing layer is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies the required performance such as adhesion to the colored layer, mechanical strength, and optical characteristics.

  Specifically, for example, an acrylic or epoxy thermosetting resin or 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. After forming the coating film, the substrate is baked using an oven or a hot plate to form a cured film, or the substrate is irradiated with an electron beam, ultraviolet light, or the like. For example, a method of forming a cured film can be used. The thickness of the flattening layer formed at this time is appropriately about 1 to 30 μm, for example, although it depends on the required performance.

  Further, an antireflection film may be formed on both surfaces of the light amount adjusting member thus obtained. This antireflection film is required to have excellent antireflection properties in the visible light band and excellent properties of blocking moisture and harmful gases. In order to satisfy this requirement, it is preferable to use a vapor-deposited multilayer film of an inorganic material. For example, by using the antireflection film described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-273601 by the present applicant, stray light is prevented from being generated due to the surface reflection of the light amount adjusting member, and moisture and harmful gas enter the colored layer. And the deterioration of the color material in the colored layer can be prevented. Next, a diaphragm blade, which is an example of a light amount adjusting member, is manufactured by combining both the light amount adjusting unit 101P and the light blocking unit 101Q formed by the method described above.

  The light amount adjusting member according to the present invention is manufactured as described above. Next, optical characteristics of the light amount adjusting member of the present invention will be described. First, when determining the quality of the light quantity adjusting member, (1) when used alone, the color material in the colored layer is deteriorated in optical performance caused by scattering or refracting the light beam; It is necessary to evaluate three items: a diffraction prevention effect when incorporated and used, and (3) spectral transmittance.

  Here, in (3), the characteristics of the light amount adjusting member can be freely adjusted according to the type of the color material to be used, and can be easily measured using a commercially available spectral transmittance meter, so that the description thereof is omitted. On the other hand, the evaluation item (2) is suitable for evaluating the optical characteristics of the light quantity adjusting member alone because factors such as the shape of the aperture blade and the aperture 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 quantity adjusting member alone. Therefore, in each example described later, the measurement results of the optical characteristic evaluation method of the light quantity adjusting member alone and the uniform concentration light quantity adjusting member prepared by the manufacturing method of each example are described.

  The optical superiority when the optical density of the light amount adjusting member is changed stepwise or continuously is described, for example, in JP-A-6-95208 and JP-A-11-15042. On the other hand, according to the study by the present inventors, if a light amount adjusting member whose optical density changes stepwise or continuously, which is simply manufactured by the method of the present invention, is applied to the diaphragm device, the above-mentioned It turned out that the same effect as a well-known technique can be acquired.

  Below, the light quantity adjustment apparatus provided with the light quantity adjustment member obtained by the manufacturing method of this invention is demonstrated. In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure described below. FIG. 1 shows a diaphragm blade provided with a light quantity adjusting member of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a diaphragm blade device provided with such a light quantity adjusting member. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a diaphragm blade, and FIG. 1B is a side view taken along the line A-A ′ of FIG. 1A and viewed in the direction of the arrow. Here, a diaphragm device used in a video camera or the like will be described as an example of the light amount adjusting device. In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 101 denotes the entire diaphragm blade. As shown in the drawing, the light amount adjusting member 101P (gradation portion in FIG. 1) to which a predetermined transmittance is given and the light blocking function to block light. It is comprised by the member 101Q (parts other than gradation). In FIG. 1B, reference numeral 111 denotes a transparent substrate, and reference numeral 112 denotes a colored layer formed as described above. In FIGS. 1 and 3, the light blocking member 101Q is not colored in order to clarify the boundary with the light amount adjusting member 101P. It is formed with. In the illustrated example, a transparent flattening layer 113 is provided on the colored portion, and an antireflection film 114 is provided on each outermost surface.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram of a light amount adjusting device using the diaphragm blades of FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 100 denotes the entire light amount adjusting device. 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 the same method as the first diaphragm blade, and includes a light amount adjusting member 102P and a light blocking member 102Q. Reference numeral 103 denotes a diaphragm blade drive lever that is fitted to a shaft of a motor (not shown) in a hole 103a and rotated around the hole 103a. The first diaphragm blade 101 and the second diaphragm blade 102 are engaged with the projecting pins 103b and 103c at both ends of the diaphragm blade driving lever 103 in the respective groove holes 101a and 102a. Reference numeral 105 denotes a guide pin of a ground plate (not shown) that is slidably engaged with the grooves 101b and 102b on the side edges of the first and second diaphragm blades 101 and 102, and 106 denotes a ground plate. The optical path holes 101c and 102c that are provided are the aperture opening edges of the first and second diaphragm blades 101 and 102, respectively.

  FIG. 3 shows a state when the aperture is fully open. When the diaphragm is narrowed from the fully open state, the optical path hole 106 that is the aperture of the diaphragm is shielded by the light quantity adjusting members 101P and 102P of the first and second diaphragm blades, and the aperture diameter becomes small. The transmittance (light quantity) of the light beam passing through the optical path hole 106 gradually decreases.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic layout diagram when the light quantity adjusting device shown in FIG. 3 is arranged in an optical device. In the present embodiment, an optical apparatus will be described by taking as an example a video camera that photoelectrically converts a moving image or a still image into an electrical signal by an imaging means and records this as digital data. An imaging optical system 400 includes a plurality of lens groups, and includes a first lens group 401, a second lens group 402, a third lens group 403, and the diaphragm apparatus 100 shown in FIG. Reference numeral 401 denotes a fixed front lens group, 402 denotes a variator lens group, and 403 denotes a focusing lens group. Reference numeral 404 denotes an optical low-pass filter. An imaging unit 411 is disposed at the focal position (scheduled imaging plane) of the photographing optical system 400. This is a photoelectric conversion means such as a two-dimensional CCD comprising a plurality of photoelectric conversion units for converting irradiated light energy into charges, a charge storage unit for storing the charges, and a charge transfer unit for transferring the charges and sending them to the outside. Is used.

  Reference numeral 421 denotes a display such as a liquid crystal display, which displays the subject image acquired by the imaging unit 411 and the operation status of the optical device. Reference numeral 422 denotes a group of operation switches including a zoom switch, a shooting preparation switch, a shooting start switch, and a shooting condition switch for setting a shutter speed. Reference numeral 423 denotes an actuator that performs focus driving to adjust the focus state of the photographing optical system 400 and to drive other members.

  The CPU 431 calculates whether the captured average density is equal to the numerical value corresponding to the appropriate exposure stored in itself, and if there is a difference, the absolute sign of the difference is calculated. Depending on the absolute value, the aperture opening is changed, or the charge accumulation time in the imaging means 411 is changed. When moving the diaphragm, the diaphragm blade driving lever 103 is rotated about the rotation center 103a by the diaphragm driving circuit 432, so that the diaphragm blades 101 and 102 slide up and down. As a result, the size of the optical path hole 106 that is the opening changes. Thus, the optimum exposure can be obtained by changing the aperture area or the charge accumulation time.

  The image of the subject imaged on the image pickup means 411 at the optimum exposure is converted into an electric signal as a charge amount for each pixel according to the intensity of the brightness, amplified by the amplifier circuit 441, and then the camera signal. The processing circuit 442 performs processing such as predetermined γ correction. 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.

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples and comparative examples. In the text, “%” is based on mass unless otherwise specified.
<Example 1>
An aqueous solution containing 10% polyvinyl alcohol (Nippon Synthetic Chemical Co., Ltd. Gohsenol GM-14L) in terms of solid content was prepared. The obtained coating solution was coated on a polyethylene terephthalate film as a transparent substrate using a die coater, and dried in a hot air drying oven at 100 ° C. for 5 minutes. The ink receiving layer thus prepared had a thickness of 7 μm. Next, an ink tank of BJ S600 manufactured by Canon Inc., which is a bubble jet (registered trademark) type ink jet printer using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element, is filled with a colored ink having the following composition, and an ink receiving layer Given above. At that time, ink was applied so that the optical density was a uniform density of 0.5 (transmittance 32%).

Black pigment: Water dispersible carbon black (CaboJet 200 manufactured by Cabot) 4%
・ Ethylene glycol 5%
・ Diethylene glycol 5%
・ Isopropyl alcohol 2%
・ Acetylenol EH (manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals)
1%
・ Ion exchange water 83%

Next, a methyl vinyl ether / maleic anhydride copolymer is used as a material capable of reacting (crosslinking) with the resin constituting the ink receiving layer, and a liquid having the following composition is applied to the colored layer in the same manner as the application of the colored ink. It gave to the part used as an edge part.
・ Methyl vinyl ether / maleic anhydride copolymer
5%
・ Ethylene glycol 5%
・ Diethylene glycol 5%
・ Isopropyl alcohol 2%
・ Ion exchange water 83%

  Next, drying was performed in a hot air drying oven at 140 ° C. for 10 minutes to allow the crosslinking reaction to proceed. Next, a transparent flattening layer was provided on the colored layer as follows. The flattened layer is formed by first using an epoxy-based UV curable material (KR-566, manufactured by Asahi Denka Co., Ltd.), and using this coating solution with a wire bar, the entire surface of the substrate including a patterned colored layer. It was coated on top and further 200 mW, 60 sec. It formed by performing light irradiation on the conditions of. The planarized layer thus prepared had a thickness of 15 μm. Further, an antireflection film made of a vapor-deposited multilayer film of an inorganic material was formed on both surfaces of the light quantity adjusting member thus obtained in the same manner as described in the example of JP-A-6-273601.

  The light quantity adjusting member according to the present invention produced as described above was placed in front of the photographing lens of a digital camera Power Shot G1 manufactured by Canon Inc., and a resolution chart for an ISO standard electronic still camera was photographed. The exposure control mode uses 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 on the image plane: 14.5 line pairs / mm) was cut out from the photographed image, and the difference between the level of the white portion and the level of the black portion of the image was obtained and 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 white level and the black level of the image, and this 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 this example, this value was 0.93. The allowable lower limit value of the filter contrast varies depending on the usage and price range of the imaging apparatus, but it has been found that 0.9 or more is preferable for the wide-class imaging apparatus and 0.92 or more for the high-class class. Therefore, it can be seen that the filter contrast value 0.93 of the light quantity adjusting member of the present invention is sufficiently high performance.

  Furthermore, the wavefront aberration of the light quantity adjusting member according to the present invention produced as described above was measured with a laser interferometer. As a result, there is no change in the wavefront aberration measurement results before leaving at high temperature and high humidity and after leaving for 100 hours in an environment at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a relative humidity of 90%. It was found that did not occur.

<Example 2>
An aqueous solution containing 10% of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC SP400 manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was prepared. The obtained coating solution was coated on a polyethylene terephthalate film as a transparent substrate using a die coater, and dried in a hot air drying oven at 100 ° C. for 5 minutes. The ink receiving layer thus prepared had a thickness of 5 μm. Next, a bubble jet (registered trademark) type ink jet printer using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element: Canon Inc. BJ S600 ink tank is filled with a colored ink having the following composition, and the ink is used as an ink. Applied on the receiving layer. At that time, ink was applied so that the optical density was a uniform density of 0.5 (transmittance 32%).

・ Black dye: Food Black 2 5%
・ Ethylene glycol 5%
・ Diethylene glycol 5%
・ Isopropyl alcohol 2%
・ Acetylenol EH (manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals)
1%
・ Ion exchange water 82%

Next, a diisocyanate compound (Elastolone BN-08 manufactured by Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd.) is used as a material capable of reacting (crosslinking) with the resin constituting the ink receiving layer, and a liquid having the following composition is applied similarly to the application of colored ink. It applied to the part used as the edge part of a coloring layer.
・ Diisocyanate compound 5%
・ Ethylene glycol 5%
・ Diethylene glycol 5%
・ Isopropyl alcohol 2%
・ Ion exchange water 83%

  Subsequently, it dried by 130 degreeC and the conditions for 10 minutes with the hot air drying oven, and the said crosslinking reaction was advanced. Next, a transparent flattening layer was provided on the colored layer as follows. The flattened layer is formed by first using an epoxy-based UV curable material (KR-566, manufactured by Asahi Denka Co., Ltd.), and using this coating solution with a wire bar, the entire surface of the substrate including a patterned colored layer. It was coated on top and further 200 mW, 60 sec. It formed by performing light irradiation on the conditions of. The planarized layer thus prepared had a thickness of 15 μm. Further, an antireflection film made of a vapor-deposited multilayer film of an inorganic material was formed on both surfaces of the light quantity adjusting member thus obtained in the same manner as described in the example of JP-A-6-273601.

  The contrast value of the light amount adjusting member of this example produced as described above was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, it was found that the contrast value was 0.92, which was high performance as in Example 1. Furthermore, the wavefront aberration of the light quantity adjusting member according to the present invention produced as described above was measured with a laser interferometer. As a result, there is no change in the wavefront aberration measurement results before leaving at high temperature and high humidity and after leaving for 100 hours in an environment at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a relative humidity of 90%. It was found that did not occur.

<Example 3>
A light amount adjusting member was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. However, the application of the colored ink was not made uniform over the entire surface of the ink receiving layer, but a gradation pattern as shown in FIG. The light quantity adjusting member thus prepared was evaluated by obtaining the contrast value in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, the obtained contrast value was as high as 0.93.
Furthermore, the wavefront aberration of the light quantity adjusting member according to the present invention produced as described above was measured with a laser interferometer. As a result, there is no change in the wavefront aberration measurement results before leaving at high temperature and high humidity and after leaving for 100 hours in an environment at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a relative humidity of 90%. It was found that did not occur.

<Example 4>
A light amount adjusting member was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. However, the application of the colored ink was not made uniform over the entire surface of the ink receiving layer, but a gradation pattern was continuously formed to form a gradation pattern in which the gradation level was unclear. The light intensity adjusting member thus prepared was evaluated by obtaining the contrast value in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, the obtained contrast value was 0.93, which was high performance. Furthermore, the wavefront aberration of the light quantity adjusting member according to the present invention produced as described above was measured with a laser interferometer. As a result, there is no change in the wavefront aberration measurement results before leaving at high temperature and high humidity and after leaving for 100 hours in an environment at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a relative humidity of 90%. It was found that did not occur.

<Comparative Example 1>
A colored layer, a planarizing layer, and an antireflection coating are the same as in Example 1 except that the step of applying a liquid containing a material that can react (crosslink) with the resin constituting the ink receiving layer in Example 1 is omitted. A light amount adjusting member was prepared by providing a film. The contrast value of the light amount adjusting member produced as described above was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, it was found that the contrast value was 0.93, which was high performance as in Example 1.

  However, after the light quantity adjusting member manufactured as described above was left for 100 hours in an environment of a temperature of 60 ° C. and a relative humidity of 90%, the wavefront aberration was measured by a laser interferometer. As a result, it was found that the wavefront aberration increased over the entire circumference of the width of 1 mm from the end face, and the wavefront aberration increased by a maximum of about λ / 2 at the end face as compared to before leaving at high temperature and high humidity. This is because the ink receiving layer is made of a material system that is chemically inferior in moisture resistance, so that moisture in the air enters from the exposed portion, causing a swelling phenomenon and increasing the film thickness of the peripheral portion. Conceivable.

  According to the present invention, a light amount adjusting member, a light amount adjusting device including the light amount adjusting member, and a photographing device are provided with a simple operation and at a low yield with a high yield. In addition, according to the present invention, a light amount adjusting member having a continuous or stepwise concentration distribution, which is extremely difficult in other manufacturing methods, and having excellent long-term reliability, particularly moisture resistance, and the light amount adjusting member are provided. A light amount adjusting device and a photographing device are provided.

It is a figure of the aperture blade which comprised the light quantity adjustment member by this invention. It is the figure which showed the manufacturing method of the light quantity adjustment member by this invention. It is a figure of the light quantity adjustment apparatus using the aperture blade of FIG. It is a block diagram of the imaging device incorporating the light quantity adjustment apparatus of FIG. It is a figure of the light quantity adjustment member which has a concentration gradient in steps.

Explanation of symbols

100: Light quantity adjusting device (aperture device)
101, 102: Diaphragm blades 101P, 102P: Light quantity adjusting member 101Q, 102Q: Light blocking member 101a, 102a: Slot 101b, 102b: Groove 101c, 102c: Diaphragm opening edge 103: Diaphragm blade drive lever 103a: Hole 103b, 103c : Projecting pin 105: guide pin 106: optical path hole 111 of the base plate: transparent substrate 112: colored layer 113: antireflection film 114: flattening 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 driving circuit 441: Amplifier circuit 442: Camera signal processing circuit 443: Recorder

Claims (7)

  Forming a colored layer made of a hydrophilic resin and a color material that has a predetermined optical path length and attenuates light in a predetermined wavelength band on a transparent substrate, and an optical path length generated by moisture absorption of the colored layer In order to prevent the partial change of the light amount, the light amount adjustment includes a step of waterproofing at least an end portion of the colored portion and a step of forming a transparent layer that protects and flattens the colored layer. Manufacturing method of member.   The method for producing a light amount adjusting member according to claim 1, wherein the colored layer is formed by applying colored ink to an ink receiving layer made of a hydrophilic resin.   The method for manufacturing a light amount adjusting member according to claim 1, wherein the water resistance treatment is performed by crosslinking a resin constituting the ink receiving layer.   The manufacturing method of the light quantity adjustment member of any one of Claims 1-3 which provides a colored ink so that the said colored layer may have density distribution continuously or in steps.   A light amount adjusting member manufactured by the method according to claim 1.   A light amount adjusting device comprising the light amount adjusting member according to claim 5.   The light amount adjusting device according to claim 6, a photographing optical system for forming a subject image, an imaging means for photoelectrically converting the formed subject image, and a recording means for recording the photoelectrically converted signal, A photographing apparatus, wherein the light amount adjusting device is disposed in a photographing optical system.

Images