JP2005227713A - Lens barrel and image pickup unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lens barrel and an image pickup unit which can contribute to cost reduction and downsizing. <P>SOLUTION: The lens barrel 30 of the image pickup unit 16 is composed of a single lens motor 31; a single screw shaft 32 rotated by the lens motor 31; focus lenses 33a, 33b, and a zoom lens 33c; 1st and 2nd holding frames 34a, 34b for holding the focus lenses 33a, 33b, and the zoom lens 33c; and 1st and 2nd power transmission mechanisms 36a, 36b for moving these 1st and 2nd holding frames 34a, 34b back and forth in the optical axis direction 35 of the lenses. The 1st power transmission mechanism 36a is provided with a cam groove 39 grooved to go around the circumferential surface of a pillar 38 fixed to the root of the screw shaft 32, and a cam pin 40 which is extended from the 1st holding frame 34a, is engaged with the cam groove 39, is linked with the rotation of the screw shaft 32, and moves along the cam groove 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention includes a zoom lens for zooming a subject image and a focus lens for focusing a subject image with a single drive source and a single drive shaft rotated by the drive source. The present invention relates to a lens barrel that moves at least two types of lenses in the direction of the optical axis, and an imaging apparatus including the lens barrel.

  Digital cameras and camera-equipped mobile phones that convert subject light captured by a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD image sensor (CCD) into digital image data and record it on a recording medium such as a built-in memory or memory card are widely used as imaging devices. doing.

  Such an imaging apparatus incorporates a zoom lens for zooming the subject image and a lens barrel that holds a focus lens for focusing the subject image. Conventional lens barrels are equipped with at least two drive motors for a zoom lens and a focus lens. For this reason, there has been a problem that it becomes an obstacle to cost reduction and downsizing.

  In order to solve the above problem, there has been proposed a lens barrel that uses a single drive motor and mechanically switches transmission of the drive force of the drive motor to the zoom lens and the focus lens (see Patent Document 1). In addition, a lens barrel having a release mechanism for rotating a plurality of screw shafts with a single drive motor to release the interlocking between the holding frame for holding the lens and the screw shaft has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-6-242362 JP 2002-162555 A

  Along with the recent trend of lower prices and downsizing of electronic devices, further cost reduction and downsizing are required for imaging devices mounted on mobile phones with cameras. However, the lens barrels described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a mechanism for switching transmission of the driving force of the drive motor, a plurality of screw shafts, and a release mechanism for releasing the interlocking between the holding frame and the screw shaft. Therefore, there is a possibility that the above request cannot be satisfied.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a lens barrel and an imaging apparatus that can contribute to further cost reduction and downsizing.

  In order to achieve the above object, a lens barrel according to the present invention includes a single drive source, a single drive shaft rotated by the drive source, a zoom lens for zooming the subject image, and a subject image. The zoom lens in conjunction with the rotation of the drive shaft, a plurality of lenses for focusing the subject image on the imaging plane, a plurality of holding frames for holding the lenses, The lens and at least two holding frames that hold the focus lens are provided with at least two power transmission mechanisms that reciprocate in the optical axis direction of the lens.

  The power transmission mechanism includes a cam groove provided on the drive shaft and a cam pin provided on the holding frame, which engages with the cam groove and moves along the cam groove, or the drive shaft. And at least one of a displacement member that is provided on the holding frame, abuts on the pin, and moves along the pin. Here, it is preferable that the cam groove or the displacement member is formed so as to periodically repeat the reciprocating movement a plurality of times for one rotation of the drive shaft.

  An image pickup apparatus according to the present invention includes the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

  After the holding frame that holds the zoom lens is moved to a desired zoom position, the holding frame that holds the focus lens is moved within a focus adjustment range restricted by the power transmission mechanism, and the subject It is preferable to include a control unit that calculates a focus evaluation value indicating an in-focus state of the image and searches for a focus position of the subject image based on the calculated focus evaluation value.

  In addition, the cam groove or the displacement member is connected to the forward path in which the holding frame for holding the focus lens moves from one end on the imaging plane side to one end on the subject image side, and from one end on the subject image side. The rate of change of the moving amount of the holding frame that holds the focus lens is increased in the forward path in the return path that moves to one end on the image plane side. In the forward path, the holding that holds the focus lens is formed. A holding frame that calculates the focus evaluation value by continuously moving the frame, predicts the in-focus position from the calculated focus evaluation value, and holds the focus lens near the in-focus position in the return path It is preferable that a control means for searching for the in-focus position is provided.

  According to the lens barrel of the present invention, a single drive source, a single drive shaft rotated by the drive source, a zoom lens for zooming the subject image, and focusing of the subject image are performed. A plurality of lenses that form a subject image on an imaging surface, a plurality of holding frames that hold the lenses, and at least a zoom lens and a focus lens that are linked to the rotation of the drive shaft. Since at least two power transmission mechanisms for reciprocating the two holding frames in the optical axis direction of the lens are provided, the parts cost and the installation space for the parts can be saved, which can contribute to further cost reduction and downsizing. .

  In addition, according to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, since the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided, further cost reduction and downsizing of the apparatus are promoted, and recent low price and downsizing trend. It is possible to provide a device adapted to the above.

  1 and 2, a camera-equipped mobile phone 2 to which the present invention is applied is composed of an upper body 10, a lower body 11, and a hinge portion 12 that rotatably connects these bodies 10 and 11. Yes. The hinge portion 12 is provided with a click mechanism (not shown) so that the upper body 10 and the lower body 11 are locked at a predetermined angle when the camera-equipped mobile phone 2 is used. The upper main body 10 and the lower main body 11 can be expanded and folded by the hinge portion 12, and when the camera-equipped mobile phone 2 is not used, the front surface 10a of the upper main body 10 and the front surface 11a of the lower main body 11 face each other. It is folded to do.

  The upper body 10 is provided with a liquid crystal display (LCD) 13 and a reception speaker 14 on the front surface 10a thereof, and the tip of the antenna 15 protrudes from the upper surface. An imaging device 16 is mounted on the back surface 10 b of the upper main body 10.

  The lower body 11 is provided with an operation unit 17 and a microphone 18 on the front surface 11a, and a socket 19 and a memory card 20 for connecting a cable to an external device such as a personal computer on the lower surface 11b. A memory card slot 21 detachably loaded is provided.

  The LCD 13 displays a menu screen, the telephone number of the called party, a through image of the subject obtained from the imaging device 16, an image recorded on the memory card 20, and the like. The receiving speaker 14 outputs the voice or ringtone of the communication partner. The antenna 15 receives a radio signal from another mobile phone or an Internet server and transmits a radio signal transmitted from the camera-equipped mobile phone 2 to the outside when using a telephone call, an e-mail service, or an Internet connection service. To do.

  The operation unit 17 includes a cross key 17a, a release button 17b, an enter / select button 17c, a call start button 17d, a call stop button 17e, and a dial key 17f. The cross key 17a is operated when the cursor is moved in various menu screens or when the zoom operation of the imaging device 16 is performed. The determination / selection button 17c is operated when a menu screen is displayed on the LCD 13 or when a selection content is determined. The dial key 17f is operated when inputting a telephone number, e-mail text, or the like. The transmission microphone 18 collects the voice of the speaker. The memory card 20 records the image data acquired by the imaging device 16.

  The release button 17b is a two-stage push switch. After the framing of the subject by the LCD 13, when the release button 17b is lightly pressed (half-pressed), various shooting preparation processes such as automatic exposure adjustment and automatic focus adjustment are performed. In this state, when the release button 17b is pressed once more (fully pressed), the imaging signal for one screen subjected to the imaging preparation processing is converted into image data, and thereafter image processing and compression processing described later are performed. Recorded on the memory card 20.

  3, a lens barrel 30 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a single lens motor 31, a single screw shaft 32 rotated by the lens motor 31, focus lenses 33a, 33b, and The zoom lens 33c, the focus lenses 33a and 33b, and the first and second holding frames 34a and 34b that hold the zoom lens 33c, and the first and second holding frames 34a and 34b are arranged in the direction of the optical axis 35 of the lens. The first and second power transmission mechanisms 36a and 36b are moved back and forth.

  The lens motor 31 is a stepping motor, and is controlled in operation by a drive pulse transmitted from a motor driver 54 (see FIG. 5). When performing a shooting preparation process when the release button 17b is half-pressed or a zoom operation using the cross key 17a Driven by. The screw shaft 32 is formed by directly forming a screw thread 37 on the rotation shaft of the lens motor 31 extending in parallel with the optical axis 35.

  The first power transmission mechanism 36 a is extended from the first holding frame 34 a so as to go around the circumferential surface of the cylinder 38 fixed to the base of the screw shaft 32, and is engaged with the cam groove 39. It comprises a cam pin 40 to be mated, a guide member 41 attached to the first holding frame 34a, and a first guide bar 42a fixed to the upper body 10 so as to be parallel to the optical axis 35. The cam pin 40 moves along the cam groove 39 in conjunction with the rotation of the screw shaft 32. The guide member 41 is provided with an insertion hole 43, and the first guide bar 42 a is inserted into the insertion hole 43.

  The second power transmission mechanism 36b is fixed to the lens motor 31 so as to be parallel to the optical axis 35 and the screw hole 44 formed in the above-described screw thread 37 and the second holding frame 34b. The second guide bar 42b. The second holding frame 34 b is provided with an insertion hole 45, and the second guide bar 42 b is inserted into the insertion hole 45. Thereby, the rotation of the second holding frame 34b in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is limited.

  When the lens motor 31 is driven to rotate the screw shaft 32, the focus lenses 33a and 33b held by the first holding frame 34a and the zoom lens 33c held by the second holding frame 34b are respectively shown in FIG. It moves in the direction of the optical axis 35 while drawing various trajectories La to Lc. That is, the focus lenses 33 a and 33 b start from the imaging surface 47 side of the CCD 46 disposed behind the lens barrel 30, go to the end on the subject image side, stop at the end on the subject image side, The reciprocating movement from the end on the image side toward the start end on the imaging surface 47 side is performed while the screw shaft 32 makes one rotation, and this is periodically repeated. The zoom lens 33c moves within a range starting from the image plane 47 side and ending at the subject image side, and stops at a plurality of zoom positions Z stepwise in accordance with the operation amount of the cross key 17a.

  In FIG. 5 showing the electrical configuration of the camera-equipped mobile phone 2, the subject light transmitted through each lens arranged in the lens barrel 30 and the diaphragm 50 (not shown in FIG. 3) is output as an imaging signal by the CCD 46. The The signal processing circuit 51 performs sampling, amplification, and A / D conversion on the imaging signal output from the CCD 46, and outputs digital image data. The frame memory 52 temporarily stores the digital image data output from the signal processing circuit 51.

  The CPU 53 comprehensively controls the overall operation of the camera-equipped mobile phone 2. The CPU 53 performs various image processing such as gradation conversion, white balance correction, γ correction processing, YC conversion processing, and compression processing on the image data stored in the frame memory 52. In addition to the operation unit 17 described above, the CPU 53 performs various processes such as noise removal on the sound input / output by the motor driver 54 that controls the driving of the lens motor 31, the reception speaker 14, and the transmission microphone 18. An audio processing circuit 55 that performs display control, an LCD driver 56 that performs display control of the LCD 13, a media controller 57 that performs input / output control of data to / from the memory card 20, a wireless communication I / F 58 that transmits and receives radio signals via the antenna 15, An external communication I / F 59 that transmits / receives data to / from an external device is connected via the socket 19.

  In actual subject shooting, the CPU 53 drives the lens motor 31 via the motor driver 54 in accordance with the operation of the cross key 17a, moves the second holding frame 34b that holds the zoom lens 33c, and moves the zoom lens 33c. After stopping at the desired zoom position Z, the lens motor 31 is driven again via the motor driver 54 within the focus adjustment range Ef shown in FIG. 4 regulated by the first power transmission mechanism 36a, and the focus lens 33a, The first holding frame 34a that holds 33b is continuously moved from one end to the other end of the focus adjustment range Ef to calculate a focus evaluation value f that indicates the focused state of the subject image.

  The focus evaluation value f is calculated using a known technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-72073. That is, high-frequency components are extracted from the image pickup signal output from the CCD 47 from the image pickup signal representing the evaluation target area such as the center portion of the subject image, and the absolute values thereof are integrated. As shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 53 calculates the focus evaluation value f at each point in the focus adjustment range Ef, and if it has increased compared to the previous calculation result, the second in the same direction as the previous time. If the holding frame 34b continues to move and decreases in the opposite direction, the second holding frame 34b is moved in the direction opposite to the previous time, and the focus position P of the subject image is searched.

  Next, the operation of the camera-equipped mobile phone 2 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the subject can be photographed by the imaging device 16 by operating the operation unit 17, the subject light transmitted through the lenses 33 a to 33 c of the lens barrel 30 and the diaphragm 50 is formed on the imaging surface 47 of the CCD 46. And is converted into an imaging signal by the CCD 46.

  The image pickup signal output from the CCD 46 is converted into digital image data by the signal processing circuit 51 and temporarily stored in the frame memory 52. The image data stored in the frame memory 52 is subjected to various image processing by the CPU 53 and stored again in the frame memory 52.

  The image data after the image processing is displayed as a through image on the LCD 13 via the LCD driver 56. The photographer performs framing of the subject while viewing the through image, and operates the cross key 17a as necessary to zoom the subject.

  When the cross key 17a is operated, the lens motor 31 is driven via the motor driver 54, and the screw shaft 32 is rotated. When the screw shaft 32 is rotated, the second power transmission mechanism 36b moves the second holding frame 34b that holds the zoom lens 33c in the direction of the optical axis 35, and the zoom position Z according to the operation amount of the cross key 17a. To be stopped.

  When the release button 17b is half-pressed after framing of the subject, the CPU 53 drives the lens motor 31 again via the motor driver 54 and rotates the screw shaft 32. When the screw shaft 32 is rotated, the first power transmission mechanism 36a continuously moves the first holding frame 34a that holds the focus lenses 33a and 33b from one end to the other end of the focus adjustment range Ef. A focus evaluation value f indicating the focus state of the subject image is calculated at each point. Then, based on the calculated focus evaluation value f, the focus position P of the subject image is searched.

  When the focus position P of the subject image is searched by the CPU 53, the first holding frame 34a holding the focus lenses 33a and 33b is stopped at the focus position P, and the image data stored in the frame memory 52 at this time is stored. Data is locked. In this state, when the release button 17b is fully pressed and shooting is performed, the image data that has been data-locked is subjected to YC conversion, compression processing, etc. by the CPU 53, and is transferred to the memory card 20 via the media controller 57. To be recorded.

  With the above-described configuration, it is possible to focus and zoom the subject image with a simple configuration with a small number of parts, such as a single lens motor 31 and a single screw shaft 32. Further, since the subject image is focused and zoomed by controlling a single drive system, the control sequence associated with the shooting preparation process can be simplified.

  In FIG. 8, a lens barrel 60 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a third power transmission mechanism 36c instead of the first power transmission mechanism 36a of the lens barrel 30 shown in FIG. . A spring 61 is attached to the first holding frame 34a to urge it toward the image plane 48.

  The third power transmission mechanism 36 c includes a pin 62 projecting in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the screw shaft 32, and a displacement member 63 attached to the first holding frame 34 a and contacting the pin 62. Yes. The displacement member 63 moves along the pin 62 in conjunction with the rotation of the screw shaft 32. The displacement member 63 is provided with first and second insertion holes 64a and 64b. The screw shaft 32 is inserted into the first insertion hole 64a, and the first guide bar 42a is inserted into the second insertion hole 64b. ing.

  When the lens motor 31 is driven and the screw shaft 32 is rotated, the focus lenses 33a and 33b start from the imaging surface 47 side of the CCD 46 toward the end of the subject image side, as in the first embodiment. After stopping at the end on the image side, a reciprocating movement from the end on the subject image side toward the start end on the imaging surface 47 side is performed while the screw shaft 32 makes one rotation, and this is periodically repeated.

  In the above embodiment, the lens barrels 30 and 60 provided with the first and third power transmission mechanisms 36a and 36c, respectively, have been described as an example. However, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, the first power transmission mechanism A plurality of first and third power transmission mechanisms 36a and 36c may be provided in combination, such as two fourth and fifth power transmission mechanisms 36d and 36e having substantially the same configuration as 36a. In this way, complicated movement of the lens can be realized easily, and application to a wide variety of lens optical systems becomes possible.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the first holding frame 34a that holds the focus lens 33c moves from one end on the imaging surface 47 side to one end on the subject image side, and forms an image from one end on the subject image side. The cam groove 39 or the displacement member 63 may be formed so that the rate of change (inclination) of the movement amount of the first holding frame 34a is increased in the forward path G with the return path R that moves to one end on the surface 47 side. In this case, in the forward path G, the CPU 53 continuously moves the first holding frame 34a to calculate the focus evaluation value f at each point of the focus adjustment range Efg, and the focus position P from the calculated focus evaluation value f. In the return path R, as shown in FIG. 11, in the focus adjustment range Efr, the first holding frame 34a is moved in the vicinity of the predicted focus position P to search for the focus position P. As described above, since the in-focus position P is searched relatively coarsely on the forward path G and the detailed in-focus position P is searched on the return path R, the previous focus evaluation value f is calculated as in the above embodiment. Compared with the result, the in-focus position P can be searched faster than the so-called hill-climbing servo method in which the in-focus position P is searched.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, even if the cam groove 39 or the displacement member 63 is formed so that the reciprocation of the first holding frame 34a is periodically repeated a plurality of times with respect to one rotation of the screw shaft 32. Good. In this way, the number of zoom positions Z can be relatively increased, and the zoom magnification can be set more finely.

  In the above-described embodiment, the camera-equipped mobile phone 2 has been described as an example of the imaging device. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other imaging devices such as a digital camera and a video camera.

It is a front external perspective view of a camera-equipped mobile phone to which the present invention is applied. It is a back external appearance perspective view of a mobile phone with a camera. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the lens barrel which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the movement locus | trajectory of each lens with respect to the rotation speed of a screw shaft. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the mobile phone with a camera. It is a graph which shows the change of the focus evaluation value with respect to a focus adjustment range. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the mobile phone with a camera at the time of object photography. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the lens barrel which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the lens barrel which concerns on another embodiment. It is a graph which shows the movement locus | trajectory of each lens with respect to the rotation speed of the screw shaft which concerns on another embodiment. It is a graph which shows the change of the focus evaluation value with respect to the focus adjustment range which concerns on another embodiment. It is a graph which shows the movement locus | trajectory of each lens with respect to the rotation speed of the screw shaft which concerns on another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

2 Mobile phone with camera 13 Liquid crystal display (LCD)
16 imaging device 17 operation unit 17a cross key 17b release button 20 memory card 30, 60, 70 lens barrel 31 lens motor 32 screw shaft 33a, 33b focus lens 33c zoom lens 34a, 34b first and second holding frame 35 optical axis 36a-36e 1st-5th power transmission mechanism 39 Cam groove 40 Cam pin 46 CCD
47 Imaging surface 51 Signal processing circuit 53 CPU
54 Motor driver 62 Pin 63 Displacement member

Claims (6)

  A single drive source, a single drive shaft rotated by the drive source, a zoom lens for zooming the subject image, and a focus lens for focusing the subject image; A plurality of lenses that form an image on an imaging plane; a plurality of holding frames that hold the lenses; and at least two holding frames that hold the zoom lens and the focus lens in conjunction with rotation of the drive shaft, A lens barrel comprising: at least two power transmission mechanisms that reciprocate in the optical axis direction of the lens. The power transmission mechanism includes a cam groove provided on the drive shaft, and a cam pin provided on the holding frame, which engages with the cam groove and moves along the cam groove,
Or it consists of at least any one of the pin provided in the said drive shaft, and the displacement member provided in the said holding | maintenance frame, contact | abutted with the said pin, and moves along the said pin. The lens barrel according to Item 1.   3. The lens barrel according to claim 2, wherein the cam groove or the displacement member is formed so as to periodically repeat the reciprocation a plurality of times for one rotation of the drive shaft.   An imaging apparatus comprising the lens barrel according to claim 1.   After the holding frame that holds the zoom lens is moved to a desired zoom position, the holding frame that holds the focus lens is moved within the focus adjustment range restricted by the power transmission mechanism, and The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a control unit that calculates a focus evaluation value indicating an in-focus state and searches for a focus position of the subject image based on the calculated focus evaluation value. The cam groove or the displacement member includes an outward path in which a holding frame for holding the focus lens moves from one end on the imaging surface side to one end on the subject image side, and one end on the subject image side from the imaging surface. The rate of change of the moving amount of the holding frame that holds the focus lens is increased in the forward path with the return path that moves to one end on the side,
In the forward path, the focus evaluation value is calculated by continuously moving a holding frame that holds the focus lens, and the in-focus position is predicted from the calculated focus evaluation value.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a control unit that moves the holding frame that holds the focus lens in the vicinity of the predicted in-focus position and searches for the in-focus position in the return path.

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