JP2005316391A - Accessory device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove contamination deposited on the surface of the cover glass of a solid-state image pickup element and the surface of an optical filter by easy operation. <P>SOLUTION: The accessory device for removing the contamination deposited on the surface of an optical member has a supporting part 11 supported by a user, a nearly V-shaped flexible part 12 integrally provided at the supporting part 11, an elastic part 13 attached to the flexible part 12, and a tacky adhesive part 14 laid on the elastic part 13. The tacky adhesive part is pushed in through the aperture of the mount 101 of a camera and brought into contact with the contamination, and the contamination deposited on the filter surface or the like in the camera is removed by its adhesive force. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an accessory device for an optical device such as a digital camera, and more particularly to an accessory device for removing foreign matter adhering to or near the surface of an optical member incorporated in the optical device.

  If there is a foreign object such as dust near the focal plane of the camera's taking lens, there is a problem that the shadow of the foreign object is reflected on the solid-state image sensor. Such foreign matter is thought to be caused by dust entering from the outside when the lens is replaced, or by fine abrasion powder such as resin, which is a structural member, due to the operation of the shutter and mirror inside the camera. ing. An optical filter such as an infrared cut filter or an optical low-pass filter (hereinafter abbreviated as LPF) in which dust generated due to such a cause is disposed on the entire surface of the cover glass for protecting the solid-state image sensor and the cover glass. If it got in between, the camera had to be disassembled to remove the dust. For this reason, it has been extremely effective to provide a sealed structure so that dust does not enter between the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device and the optical filter.

  However, when dust adheres to the surface opposite to the opposite side of the solid-state image sensor of the optical filter, if it is in the vicinity of the focal plane, the dust is reflected in the solid-state image sensor as a shadow. Still remains.

Therefore, in order to solve such problems, there is one that cleans the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device or the outermost surface of the dustproof structure with a wiper (see Patent Document 1). With such a camera configuration, dust attached to the cover glass surface of the solid-state imaging device or the outermost surface of the dust-proof structure (for example, the optical filter surface) can be removed without removing the lens and without disassembling the camera.
JP 2003-018440 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 06-063183

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor and the outermost surface of the dust-proof structure are rubbed with a wiper. Therefore, in the case of hard dust such as metal powder, the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor and the dust proof There is a possibility of scratching the outermost surface of the structure. In addition, a mechanism for disposing the wiper is required, and there is a problem that the camera becomes large.

  Then, there exists a thing which removes the adhering dust from a cleaning target object with the cleaning stick which has adhesiveness (patent documents 2). This is because an adhesive material is disposed on one end of a rod-like member via a cushioning material, and has a cleaning part having both cushioning properties and adhesiveness. It removes dust adhering to the surface. However, when cleaning with such an adhesive cleaning rod, it can be removed relatively easily if there is little dust adhering to the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device or the surface of the optical filter. If it adheres, multiple removal operations are required. Furthermore, in this patent document 2, since it does not mention the shape of the cleaning part optimal for removing dust, it is uneasy whether it can remove much dust reliably.

  The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the feature of the present invention is that a single or a plurality of foreign substances attached to the solid-state image sensor or its vicinity, such as the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor or the surface of the optical filter. An object of the present invention is to provide an accessory device that can be easily removed.

  Another feature of the present invention is to provide an accessory device that can reliably remove foreign substances adhering to the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device and the surface of the optical filter without being stained or damaged.

  Furthermore, the feature of the present invention is an accessory that can reliably remove a single or a plurality of foreign substances adhering to or in the vicinity of the solid-state imaging device such as the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device or the surface of the optical filter. To provide an apparatus.

  The above features are achieved by combinations of the features described in the independent claims, and the dependent claims merely define advantageous embodiments of the invention.

The accessory device for an optical apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An accessory device that removes foreign matter adhering to the inside of an optical device, a support portion supported by a user, a flexible portion having a substantially V shape toward the distal direction from the support portion, and the flexible portion And an adhesive portion provided on at least the tip end side of the elastic portion.

The accessory device for an optical apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An accessory device that removes foreign matter adhering to the inside of an optical device, the support device being supported by a user, an adhesive portion having an adhesive surface, and being flexible, the adhesive being attached to the support portion And a flexible part that expands and holds the surface so as to be substantially orthogonal.

The accessory device for an optical apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An accessory device for removing foreign matter by contacting the foreign matter attached to the inside of the optical device,
A support portion supported by the user;
A flexible part having a substantially V shape toward the distal direction from the support part;
An elastic member suspended on the flexible part;
An adhesive portion that is provided on at least the contact surface side of the elastic member and has changed the adhesive force;
It is characterized by having.

The accessory device for an optical apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An accessory device for removing foreign matter by contacting the foreign matter attached to the inside of the optical device,
A support portion supported by the user;
An adhesive part having an adhesive surface with changed adhesive force;
And a flexible portion that expands and holds the adhesive surface so as to be substantially orthogonal to the support portion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily remove one or a plurality of foreign matters attached to the solid-state imaging device or the vicinity thereof such as the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device or the surface of the optical filter.

  In addition, it is possible to reliably remove one or a plurality of foreign matters adhering to or near the solid-state image pickup device such as the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image pickup device or the surface of the optical filter.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims of the present application, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiment are essential to the solution means of the invention. Not necessarily.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is an overview perspective view showing a configuration of an accessory device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In the figure, the accessory device 10 is provided integrally with a support portion 11 and a support portion 11 that support the accessory device 10 by a user when removing dust (foreign matter), and is substantially V-shaped and flexible. A flexible portion 12, an elastic portion 13 that is integrally suspended in the flexible portion 12, has a substantially “U” shape, and an adhesive portion 14 provided at the tip of the elastic portion 13. Yes.

  In addition, the front-end | tip part side of the elastic part 13 in which the adhesion part 14 is provided forms the substantially circular arc shape which expanded a little outside. As a result, when the adhesive portion 14 comes into contact with an optical member having a substantially flat surface shape, such as a cover glass or an optical filter of a solid-state imaging device in the camera, the adhesive portion 14 is pressed as will be described later. Accordingly, the adhesive portion 14 gradually comes into contact from the center of the optical member toward the peripheral portion thereof. The pressure-sensitive adhesive portion 14 may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape (for example, a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive tape “9313” manufactured by Sumitomo 3M), or a material obtained by directly applying an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive to the surface of the elastic portion 13.

  Further, the accessory device 10 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration as shown in FIG. 1, and is configured by a flexible member having flexibility integrally with the tip of the support portion 11 or the support portion 11, for example. A rubber-like member may be provided, and the rubber-like member may be held in a state where the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (adhesive tape) as the pressure-sensitive adhesive portion 14 is spread (expanded). As in the configuration of FIG. 1, foreign substances such as dust can be removed by the adhesive sheet, and since the rubber-like member functions as a cushioning material, dust can be removed without damaging the inside of the optical device. .

  FIG. 2 is a digital diagram illustrating an example of an optical device that is a target device that uses the accessory device 10 according to the first embodiment to remove foreign matter adhering to the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device or the surface of the optical filter. 1 is a side sectional view for explaining a configuration of a color camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera) 100. FIG.

  This camera 100 is a single-plate camera (single-lens reflex camera) using a solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD or a CMOS sensor. The solid-state image pickup device is continuously or once driven to generate a moving image or a still image. Is obtained. Here, the solid-state imaging device is an area sensor of a type that converts exposed light into an electrical signal for each pixel, accumulates charges corresponding to the light amount, and reads the charges.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes a camera body, and 101 denotes a mount mechanism. A photographing lens (not shown) (which can be removed with an aperture and an imaging optical system inside) is attached to the camera 100 body via the mount mechanism 101. Electrically and mechanically connected. In such a digital single lens reflex camera, it is possible to obtain shooting screens with various angles of view by exchanging the shooting lens used for shooting with a lens having a different focal length. The solid-state image sensor 106 is housed in a package 124, and the package 124 holds the solid-state image sensor 106 in a sealed state with a cover glass 125. Then, in the optical path from the imaging optical system in the imaging lens (not shown) to the solid-state image sensor 106, the image-forming optical system prevents the spatial frequency component higher than necessary from being transmitted on the solid-state image sensor 106. There is provided an optical low-pass filter 156 (hereinafter abbreviated as LPF 156) for limiting the cut-off frequency. An infrared cut filter is also formed in this imaging optical system. Further, since the cover glass 125 and the LPF 156 are sealed with a sealing member 157 such as a double-sided tape, foreign matter generated outside the camera 100 or inside the camera 100 is caused between the LPF 156 and the cover glass 125. It is designed not to get in between.

  The object image captured by the solid-state image sensor 106 is displayed on the display 107. The display 107 is attached to the rear surface of the camera 100, and the user can directly observe the image to be photographed with the display 107 during photographing. If the display 107 is composed of an organic EL spatial modulation element, a liquid crystal spatial modulation element, a spatial modulation element using fine particle electrophoresis, etc., it is convenient because it consumes less power and is thin. The solid-state image sensor 106 is a CMOS process compatible sensor (hereinafter abbreviated as a CMOS sensor), which is one of amplification type solid-state image sensors. One of the features of this CMOS sensor is that peripheral circuits (see FIG. 3) such as a MOS transistor in the area sensor section and an image sensor driving circuit, an A / D conversion circuit, and an image processing circuit can be formed in the same process. With this feature, the number of masks and process steps can be greatly reduced as compared with the CCD. In addition, it has a feature that random access to an arbitrary pixel is possible, and readout by thinning out pixels for display is easy, and real-time display can be performed at a high display rate. The solid-state imaging element 106 performs such an image output operation and a high-definition image output operation of the display 107 using such features.

  The half mirror 111 is a movable mirror that divides an optical path from an imaging optical system (not shown) in the optical viewfinder. The focusing screen 105 is disposed on the planned image plane of the object image. Reference numeral 112 denotes a pentaprism. The lens 109 is a lens for the user to observe the optical viewfinder image at the time of shooting, and actually includes three lenses. The focusing screen 105, the pentaprism 112, and the lens 109 constitute a finder optical system. Here, the half mirror 111 has a refractive index of about 1.5 and a thickness of 0.5 mm. A movable sub-mirror 122 is provided behind the half mirror 111, and deflects a light beam close to the optical axis among the light beams transmitted through the half mirror 111 to the focus detection unit 121. The sub mirror 122 rotates around a rotation axis provided on a holding member (not shown) of the half mirror 111 and moves in conjunction with the movement of the half mirror 111. The focus detection unit 121 performs focus detection by a phase difference detection method.

  The optical path splitting system including the half mirror 111 and the sub mirror 122 is a first optical path splitting state for guiding light to the above-described finder optical system, and directly guides a light beam from an imaging lens (not shown) to the solid-state image sensor 106. The second optical path split state (positions indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2: 111a and 122a) retracted from the photographing optical path can be taken.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes a movable flash light emitting unit (strobe), 113 a focal plane shutter, 119 a main switch, and 120 a release button. The mode changeover switch 123 is a switch for setting the camera 100 to the cleaning mode in order to remove foreign matters attached to the surface of the LPF 156 of the camera 100 using the accessory device 10. Reference numeral 180 denotes a display unit in the optical viewfinder.

  When the mode changeover switch 123 is operated to set the cleaning mode, the half mirror 111 and the sub mirror 122 move to the positions 111a and 122a that are in the second optical path division state, and the focal plane shutter 113 is in the open state. Become. This state is called a cleaning mode. As a result, the user can directly see the surface of the LPF 156 through the opening of the mount mechanism 101. Accordingly, in this state, the accessory device 10 can be used to remove foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the camera 100 according to the first embodiment.

  First, a description will be given of the part relating to imaging and recording of an object image. Functions (mechanisms) of the camera 100 include an imaging mechanism, an image processing mechanism, a recording / reproducing mechanism, and an overall operation control mechanism. The imaging mechanism includes an imaging optical lens (not shown), a solid-state imaging device 106, and the like, and the image processing mechanism includes an A / D converter 130, an RGB image processing circuit 131, and a YC processing circuit 132. The recording / reproducing mechanism includes a recording processing circuit 133 and a reproduction processing circuit 144. The control mechanism further includes a camera system control circuit 135, an operation detection circuit 136, and an image sensor driving circuit 137. The connection terminal 138 is a standardized terminal for transmitting and receiving data by connecting to an external computer or the like. These electric circuits are driven by a small fuel cell (not shown).

  The imaging mechanism includes an optical processing mechanism that forms an image of light from an object on an imaging surface of the solid-state imaging device 106 via an imaging optical system, and includes a diaphragm of a photographing lens (not shown), and further a mechanical shutter 113 as necessary. And the solid-state image sensor 106 is exposed to an appropriate amount of object light. In the solid-state imaging device 106, 3700 square pixels are arranged in the long side direction and 2800 are arranged in the short side direction, and an imaging device having a total number of about 10 million pixels is applied, and R (red), G is applied to each pixel. (Green) and B (blue) color filters are alternately arranged to form a so-called Bayer array in which four pixels form a set. In this Bayer arrangement, the overall image performance is improved by arranging more G pixels that are easily felt when an observer sees the image than R and B pixels. In general, in an image processing circuit using this type of solid-state imaging device 106, a luminance signal is generated mainly from G, and a color signal is generated from R, G, and B.

  The image signal read from the solid-state image sensor 106 is converted into a digital image signal by the A / D converter 130 and then supplied to the image processing circuit. The A / D converter 130 is a signal conversion circuit that converts and outputs, for example, a 10-bit digital signal corresponding to the amplitude of the image signal from each exposed pixel, and the subsequent image signal processing is digital processing. Executed. This image processing circuit is a signal processing circuit that obtains an image signal of a desired format from R, G, B digital signals. The R, G, B color signals are converted into a luminance signal Y and a color difference signal (RY). , (B−Y), and the like. The configuration of this image processing circuit will be described below. The RGB image processing circuit 131 is a signal processing circuit that processes an image signal of 3700 × 2800 pixels input from the solid-state imaging device 106 via the A / D converter 130, and is based on a white balance circuit, a gamma correction circuit, and an interpolation calculation. It has an interpolation operation circuit for increasing the resolution. The YC processing circuit 132 is a signal processing circuit that generates a luminance signal Y and color difference signals RY and BY. The YC processing circuit 132 includes a high-frequency luminance signal generation circuit that generates a high-frequency luminance signal YH, a low-frequency luminance signal generation circuit that generates a low-frequency luminance signal YL, and color difference signals RY and BY. The color difference signal generating circuit for generating The luminance signal Y is formed by combining the high frequency luminance signal YH and the low frequency luminance signal YL.

  The recording / reproducing mechanism includes a processing circuit that stores the image signal in the memory and outputs the image signal to the display 107. The recording processing circuit 133 executes a writing process and a reading process of the image signal in the memory, The reproduction processing circuit 144 reproduces the image signal read from the memory and displays it on the display 107.

  The recording processing circuit 133 includes a compression / expansion circuit that compresses YC signals representing still images and moving images in a predetermined compression format and expands the compressed data when it is read out. The compression / decompression circuit includes a frame memory for signal processing and the like. The YC signal from the image processing circuit is accumulated in the frame memory for each frame, and is read and compressed and encoded for each of a plurality of blocks. This compression coding is performed, for example, by performing two-dimensional orthogonal transformation, normalization, and Huffman coding on the image signal for each block. The reproduction processing circuit 144 is a circuit that performs matrix conversion on the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY and BY, for example, into RGB signals. The signal converted by the reproduction processing circuit 144 is displayed on the display 107 and displayed and reproduced as a visible image. The reproduction processing circuit 144 and the display 107 may be connected via a wireless communication unit such as Bluetooth. With this configuration, an image captured by the camera 100 can be monitored from a distance.

  On the other hand, the control mechanism controls the operation detection circuit 136 that detects the operation of the release button 120, the mode changeover switch 123, and the like, and controls each part including the half mirror 111 and the sub mirror 122 in response to the operation detection signal. A camera system control circuit 135 that generates and outputs a timing signal of the image sensor, a solid-state image sensor drive circuit 137 that generates a drive signal for driving the solid-state image sensor 106 under the control of the camera system control circuit 135, and an optical finder. And an information display circuit 142 for controlling the display unit 180 (FIG. 2). This control mechanism drives and controls the imaging mechanism, the image processing mechanism, and the recording / reproducing mechanism in response to an external operation. For example, the depression of the release button 120 is detected to control the driving of the solid-state imaging device 106, the operation of the RGB image processing circuit 131, the compression processing of the recording processing circuit 133, and the like, and further the information in the optical viewfinder by the information display circuit 142. The state of each segment of the display unit 180 that displays “” is controlled.

  Next, the part regarding the focus adjustment in the camera 100 will be described.

  A shutter control circuit 140 is further connected to the camera system control circuit 135. These communicate with each other data necessary for each processing, centering on the camera system control circuit 135. The shutter control circuit 140 obtains a signal output of the focus detection sensor 167 in the focus detection field of view set at a predetermined position on the photographing screen, generates a focus detection signal based on this signal output, and is not shown. The imaging state of the imaging optical system of the photographic lens is detected. When defocus is detected here, this is converted into a driving amount of a focusing lens which is a part of the imaging optical system, and is transmitted to the camera system control circuit 135. For a moving object, the camera system control circuit 135 takes into account the time lag from when the release button 120 is pressed until the actual imaging control is started, and drives a focusing lens based on a result of predicting an appropriate lens position. Tell the amount. When it is determined that the brightness of the object is low and sufficient focus detection accuracy cannot be obtained, the object is illuminated by the flash light emitting device 104 or a white LED or fluorescent tube (not shown). Upon receiving the driving amount of the focusing lens, the shutter control circuit 140 performs an operation such as moving the focusing lens in the direction of the optical axis L1 (FIG. 2) by a driving mechanism (not shown) in the photographing lens to focus on the object. . When the shutter control circuit 140 detects that the object is in focus, this information is transmitted to the camera system control circuit 135. At this time, if the release button 120 is pressed, the imaging control by the imaging system, the image processing system, and the recording / reproducing system is performed as described above.

  The operation of removing the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156 of the camera configured as described above using the accessory device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a case where the accessory device 10 is used to remove foreign matters attached to the surface of the LPF 156 in a state where the mode changeover switch 123 is operated and the camera 100 is in the cleaning mode. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the user inserts the accessory device 10 through the opening 113a formed by opening the focal plane shutter from the opening of the mount mechanism 101 of the camera 100, and performs a foreign substance removal operation.

  5A is a top view of the main part when the center of the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 according to the first embodiment contacts the LPF 156, and FIG. 5B is the state of FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the horizontal direction of the elastic portion 13 of the accessory device 10 in the state where the substantially central portion of the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 is in contact with the surface of the LPF 156 (on the imaging screen of the camera 10). A) is the same as the horizontal direction. Here, when the user further pushes the accessory device 10 in the LPF 156 direction from the state of FIG. 5A, the radius of curvature of the elastic portion 13 in the arc state gradually increases in accordance with the operation. Along with this, the area where the adhesive portion 14 and the LPF 156 abut is enlarged. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, the surface of the adhesive portion 14 becomes flat and is enlarged to a dimension B (B> A), and substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 14 is brought into contact with the LPF 156.

  6A is a top view of the main part showing a state in which the accessory device 10 is further pushed in the LPF 156 direction from the state of FIG. 5A and the substantially entire area of the adhesive portion 14 is in contact with the surface of the LPF 156. Then, the adhesive portion 14 is substantially flat following the surface shape of the LPF 156. FIG. 6B is a perspective view of a main part at that time.

  As shown in FIGS. 5B and 6B, in the accessory device 10, the adhesive portion 14 can come into contact with the LPF 156 through an opening 113a formed when the focal plane shutter 113 is opened. ing.

  Note that the dimension expansion from A to B in the horizontal direction of the paper surface in FIG. 6A is performed by the flexible portion of the accessory device 10 in accordance with the operation of the user further pushing the accessory device 10 from the state of FIG. 12 is absorbed by bending and spreading in the direction of arrow C shown in FIG. Through the series of operations described above, the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 first contacts the LPF 156 from its substantially central portion, and the contact range gradually expands to the peripheral portion of the LPF 156 according to the pushing operation. Therefore, it finally adheres to the surface of the LPF 156 substantially uniformly.

  On the contrary, when the user pulls away the accessory device 10 from the state of FIG. 6A, the amount of bending gradually decreases from the bent state of the flexible portion 14 of the accessory device 10. Accordingly, the elastic portion 13 also returns from the substantially flat shape in FIG. 6A to the arc shape shown in FIG. As a result, the adhesive portion 14 moves away from the peripheral portion of the LPF 156 surface, and finally, the substantially central portion of the adhesive portion 14 moves away from the central portion of the LPF 156 and the contact state with the LPF 156 is released. Thereby, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156 is adsorbed by the adhesive portion 14 and removed from the surface of the LPF 156. Then, when the accessory device 10 is taken out from the inside of the camera 10 through the opening of the mount mechanism 101 of the camera 10, the foreign matter adhering to the inside is completely discharged to the outside of the camera 10.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a method for separating the foreign matter attached to the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 and discharged to the outside of the camera 10 from the adhesive portion 14 as described above.

  In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes a sheet-like transfer material (for example, “Tacky” manufactured by Odaka Rubber Industry) having an adhesive strength higher than that of the adhesive portion 14. Note that the shape and configuration of the transfer material 15 are not limited to this, and the same effect can be obtained even in a roller shape, for example. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 30 denotes foreign matter (dust) adhering to the surface of the LPF 156.

  When the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 is pressed against the transfer material 15 from the state shown in FIG. 7, the transfer material 15 has a higher adhesive force than the adhesive portion 14, and therefore adheres to the adhesive portion 14. The foreign matter 1 that has been attached is attached to the surface of the transfer material 15. Thereby, the foreign material adhering to the surface of the adhesion part 14 is removed, the adhesion part 14 is cleaned, and it returns to the original state where dust etc. have not adhered.

  Further, in order to remove the foreign matter 1 adhering to the surface of the transfer material 15, the surface is washed with an alcohol solvent or water.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of the accessory device 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention in which the adhesive portion 14 is configured with an adhesive rubber 24 (for example, “Carboless MIMOZA-ST” manufactured by Kakuda Brush). In addition, since the other structure (the support part 11, the flexible part 12, and the elastic part 13) of this accessory apparatus 20 is the same as the accessory apparatus 10 of above-mentioned Embodiment 1, it attaches | subjects the same number and demonstrates the description. Omitted.

  9 and 10 show that the accessory device 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention enters the camera through the opening 113a of the focal plane shutter 113 from the opening of the mount mechanism 101 of the camera 10 and enters the surface of the LPF 156. It is a principal part top view when removing the adhering foreign material.

  Similarly to the description with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 described above, FIG. 9 shows a top view of the main part when the approximate center of the adhesive rubber 24 of the accessory device 20 contacts the LPF 156. Further, in FIG. 10, the accessory device 20 is further pushed in the direction of the LPF 156 from the state of FIG. It is a principal part top view which shows the state.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the dimensions of the elastic part 13 of the accessory device 20 in the horizontal direction on the paper surface (same as the horizontal direction of the imaging screen of the camera 10) with the central portion of the adhesive rubber 24 of the accessory device 20 in contact. Is A ′. Here, when the user further pushes the accessory device 20 in the LPF 156 direction from the state of FIG. 9, the radius of curvature of the elastic portion 13 in the circular arc state gradually increases according to the operation. Along with this, the area where the adhesive rubber 24 and the LPF 156 contact each other increases. As a result, the dimension A ′ shown in FIG. 9 gradually increases, and finally, as shown in FIG. 10, the entire area of the adhesive rubber 24 comes into contact with the LPF 156, and the dimension when the adhesive rubber 24 becomes substantially flat. It is long until B ′ (B ′> A ′).

  This size expansion in the horizontal direction of the paper surface is absorbed by the flexible portion 12 being bent and expanded in the direction of the arrow C ′ shown in FIG. 10 according to the operation of the user pushing the accessory device 20 from FIG. Through the series of operations described above, the adhesive rubber 24 of the accessory device 20 first comes into contact with the LPF 156 at its substantially central portion, and gradually comes into contact with the peripheral portion of the LPF 156 as it is pushed. Finally, it adheres to the surface of the LPF 156 substantially uniformly.

  On the contrary, when the user pulls away the accessory device 20 from the state of FIG. 10, the amount of bending gradually decreases from the bent state of the flexible portion 12 of the accessory device 20. Accordingly, the elastic portion 13 also returns from the substantially flat shape of FIG. 10 to the arc shape of FIG. Thus, the adhesive rubber 24 moves away from the peripheral portion of the surface of the LPF 156, and finally leaves the substantially central portion of the LPF 156 to release the contact state with the LPF 156.

  Thereby, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156 is adsorbed by the adhesive rubber 24 and removed from the surface of the LPF 156. When the accessory device 20 is taken out from the inside of the camera 10, the foreign matter adhering to the LPF 156 and its vicinity is completely discharged to the outside of the camera 10.

  The method for removing the foreign matter adhering to the adhesive rubber 24 may be the same as the method described with reference to FIG. 7, or may be washed with an alcohol solvent.

  In the above-described embodiment, with reference to FIG. 2, the LPF 156 and the cover glass 125 are sequentially arranged along the imaging optical axis from the focal plane shutter 113 to the solid-state imaging device 106, and the foreign matter attached on the LPF 156. However, depending on the arrangement of the optical member, it is not necessarily limited to removing foreign matter on the LPF 156. Essentially, such foreign matter is removed in order to remove foreign matter that affects imaging. The adhesive portion is brought into contact with the optical member on the imaging optical axis that adheres.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, an accessory device is provided that can reliably remove one or more foreign substances adhering to the surface of an optical filter, a protective lens, or the like constituting an imaging unit of a camera in one operation. it can.

  Moreover, since the foreign material adhering to the accessory apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment can be removed easily and reliably, there exists an effect that the accessory apparatus can be used repeatedly.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 11 is an overview perspective view showing the configuration of the accessory device 30 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, the accessory device 30 includes a support portion 31 for the user to support the accessory device 30 when removing foreign matter, and three members that form a surface substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support portion 31. The base portion 32, the elastic portion 33 suspended from the base portion 32, the adhesive portion (not shown) provided at the tip of the elastic portion 33, and the base portion 32 are substantially perpendicular to the support portion 31. And a shaft portion 34 connecting the portions 32.

  In addition, the front-end | tip part (to-be-adhered object (foreign matter)) side of the elastic part 33 in which the adhesion part is provided forms the substantially circular arc shape which swelled a little outside. As a result, when the adhesive portion of the elastic portion 33 comes into contact with an optical member having a substantially flat surface shape, such as a cover glass or an optical filter of a solid-state imaging device in the camera, the adhesive portion is According to the pressing, the contact area with the adhesive portion gradually increases from the center of the optical member toward the peripheral portion thereof, but comes into contact. Further, the shaft portion 34 and the base 32b are fixed, but the shaft portion 34 and the base 32a and the base 32c are respectively in the bearing portions of the base 32a and the base 32c, and a spring 35 described later (FIGS. 12 and 13). ) To be slidable through.

  FIG. 12 is a top view of the main part when the approximate center of the adhesive portion of the accessory device 30 according to the third embodiment contacts the LPF 156, and FIG. 13 shows the accessory device 30 according to the third embodiment of the LPF 156. FIG. 6 is a top view of the main part showing a state where the entire area of the adhesive portion of the elastic portion 33 is in contact with the surface of the LPF 156 by further pushing in the direction. However, in FIG.12 and FIG.13, only the base 32c side is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 12, before the accessory device 30 is pushed into the LPF 156, the spring 35 is pushed by the shaft portion 34 and contracted. From this state, when the accessory device 30 is further pressed against the LPF 156 as shown in FIG. 13, the adhesive portion is deformed so as to abut over substantially the entire surface of the LPF 156. For this reason, the elastic part 33 extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the support part 31 and in the left-right direction in FIG. 11, and the two base parts 32 are moved away from each other. Thereby, the pressing force by the shaft portion 34 against the spring 35 is reduced, and the spring 35 is in an extended state. At this time, the base 32 a, the base 32 b, and the base 32 c are substantially perpendicular to the support portion 31 by the shaft portion 34, and the substantially entire area of the adhesive portion comes into contact with the surface of the LPF 156.

  Even in the case of the accessory device 30 configured as described above, as with the accessory device 10 described in the first embodiment, the single device attached to the surface of an optical filter, a protective lens, or the like that constitutes the imaging unit of the camera. Alternatively, a plurality of foreign matters can be reliably removed by a single operation.

[Embodiment 4]
FIG. 14 is an external perspective view of the accessory device 40 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. In addition, since the other structure (the support part 11, the flexible part 12, and the elastic part 13) of this accessory apparatus 40 is the same as the accessory apparatus 10 of above-mentioned Embodiment 1, it attaches | subjects the same number and the description is given. Omitted. The adhesive members 44a, 44b, and 44c constituting the adhesive part 44 will be described in detail later.

  15 and 16 show that the accessory device 40 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is caused to enter the camera through the opening 113a of the focal plane shutter 113 from the opening of the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera 10 and is placed on the surface of the LPF 156. It is a principal part top view when removing the adhering foreign material.

  Similarly to the description with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 described above, FIG. 15 shows a top view of the main part when the approximate center of the adhesive portion 44 of the accessory device 40 abuts against the LPF 156.

  Further, in FIG. 16, the accessory device 40 is further pushed in the direction of the LPF 156 from the state of FIG. 15, and substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 44 comes into contact with the surface of the LPF 156. It is a principal part top view which shows the state.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the horizontal direction of the elastic portion 13 of the accessory device 40 in the state in which the substantially central portion of the adhesive portion 44 of the accessory device 40 is in contact (the same as the horizontal direction of the imaging screen of the camera 10). Let the dimension be A ″. Here, when the user further pushes the accessory device 40 toward the LPF 156 from the state of FIG. 15, the radius of curvature of the elastic portion 13 in the circular arc state gradually increases according to the operation. Along with this, the area where the adhesive portion 44 and the LPF 156 contact each other increases. As a result, the dimension A ″ shown in FIG. 15 gradually increases, and finally, as shown in FIG. 16, substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 44 contacts the LPF 156. Thus, when the adhesive part 44 becomes substantially flat, it becomes longer to the dimension B ″ (B ″> A ″).

  The size expansion in the horizontal direction of the paper surface is caused by the flexible portion 12 flexing and expanding in the direction of the arrow C ″ shown in FIG. 16 in response to the user further pushing the accessory device 40 from the state shown in FIG. Absorbed. Through the above-described series of operations, the adhesive portion 44 of the accessory device 40 first comes into contact with the LPF 156 at its substantially central portion, and gradually comes into contact with the peripheral portion of the LPF 156 as the accessory device 40 is pushed into the camera. To go. Finally, it adheres to the surface of the LPF 156 substantially uniformly.

  Here, the pressure applied to the LPF 156 is not uniform in a series of operations for pushing the accessory device 40. That is, in the state of FIG. 15, the pressure applied to the LPF 156 is only at the substantially central portion of the LPF 156. Next, in the state of FIG. 16, when the flexibility of the flexible portion 12 is greater than the ease of deformation of the elastic portion 13, the pressure applied to the LPF 156 is greater in the central portion than in the peripheral portion of the adhesive portion 44. Become. On the other hand, when the flexibility of the flexible part 12 is smaller than the ease of deformation of the elastic part 13, the pressure applied to the LPF 156 is greater in the peripheral part than in the substantially central part. The ability to remove foreign matter such as dust attached to the surface of the LPF 156 is determined by the time and pressure when the adhesive portion 44 is pressed against the LPF 156 and the adhesive force of the adhesive portion 44. For example, when the time pressed against the LPF 156 is constant, the adhesive force of the adhesive portion 44 may be smaller as the pressure is higher in order to remove foreign matter. Therefore, by controlling the adhesive force of the adhesive part 44 to an adhesive force that takes these factors into account, the accessory device 40 that can remove foreign matter uniformly over substantially the entire surface of the LPF 156 is obtained.

  Therefore, a configuration example of the adhesive portion 44 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  The adhesive members 44a, 44b, and 44c are adhesive members having an adhesive force a, an adhesive force b, and an adhesive force c, respectively. When the flexibility of the flexible part 12 is greater than the ease of deformation of the elastic part 13, the pressure applied to the LPF 156 is greater in the center than in the periphery. Therefore, the adhesive force of the adhesive member 44 is (adhesive force a, adhesive force c> adhesive force b). Conversely, when the flexibility of the flexible portion 12 is smaller than the ease of deformation of the elastic portion 13, the pressure applied to the LPF 156 is greater in the peripheral portion than in the central portion. The adhesive strength is (adhesive strength a, adhesive strength c <adhesive strength b).

  By adopting such a configuration, the accessory device 40 that can remove foreign matters uniformly over substantially the entire surface of the LPF 156 is obtained.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment 4, although the adhesion part was divided into three, this invention is not limited to this. Further, even if the adhesive portion 44 is not configured to combine different adhesive members, for example, an adhesive force is generated by irradiating ultraviolet rays, and the adhesive force can be controlled by the irradiation time of ultraviolet rays (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5- 136248), the amount of UV irradiation may be controlled so that a desired distribution of adhesive force can be obtained by using the adhesive material for the adhesive portion 44. Alternatively, for example, an adhesive member having a desired gradient in adhesive force may be created using the density difference between the adhesive component and the rubber component serving as a base material, and the adhesive member 44 may be used.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an accessory device that can remove one or a plurality of foreign matters adhering to the surface of the optical filter in the vicinity of the imaging device by a single cleaning operation.

  Moreover, the cleaning means which can remove easily and reliably the foreign material adhering to the adhesion part of an accessory apparatus can be provided.

  The accessory device can be similarly applied to an accessory device attached to the mount as in the second embodiment.

  Moreover, the said adhesion part is applicable similarly to the accessory apparatus 30 which concerns on the said Embodiment 3. FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the method for removing the foreign matter adhering to the optical filter surface has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. For example, the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor is provided through the opening of the focal plane shutter. In the case of a digital color camera whose surface can be visually observed, it goes without saying that foreign matter adhering to the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor can be removed by the accessory device according to the present embodiment.

It is a general-view perspective view which shows the structure of the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is side sectional drawing for demonstrating the structure of the digital color camera which is an example of the optical apparatus which is an object apparatus which removes dust using the accessory apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the camera according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a schematic perspective view explaining the case where the dust adhering to the surface of LPF is removed using an accessory device in the state where the camera is in the cleaning mode. FIGS. 6A and 6B are a top view of the main part when the center of the adhesive part of the accessory device according to the first embodiment is in contact with the LPF and a perspective view of the main part in the state of FIG. The main part top view (A) and the main part perspective view (B) showing the state where the accessory device is further pushed in the LPF direction from the state of FIG. It is. It is the schematic which showed an example of the method of removing the dust adhering to the adhesion part of the accessory apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the state which the adhesion part and LPF contact | abutted when the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention removes the dust adhering to the surface of LPF. It is a principal part top view which shows the state by which the adhesion part was pressed on LPF when the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention removes the dust adhering to the surface of LPF. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the state which the adhesion part and LPF contact | abutted when the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention removes the foreign material adhering to the surface of LPF. It is a principal part top view which shows the state by which the adhesion part was pressed on LPF when the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention removes the foreign material adhering to the surface of LPF. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the state which the adhesion part and LPF contact | abutted when the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention removes the foreign material adhering to the surface of LPF. It is a principal part top view which shows the state by which the adhesion part was pressed on LPF when the accessory apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention removes the foreign material adhering to the surface of LPF.

Claims (22)

An accessory device that removes foreign matter adhering to the inside of an optical device,
A support portion supported by the user;
A flexible part having a substantially V shape toward the distal direction from the support part;
An elastic part suspended from the flexible part;
An adhesive portion provided on at least the tip side of the elastic portion;
An accessory device comprising:   The optical apparatus includes at least an optical member of any one of a solid-state imaging device, an optical filter, and a cover glass, and removes foreign matter by bringing the adhesive portion into contact with the surface of the optical member. The accessory device according to claim 1, wherein the accessory device is configured as follows.   The accessory device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic portion and the adhesive portion have an R shape toward a distal end direction.   When the adhesive part shifts from a contact state to a pressed state, the adhesive part is configured to contact the surface of an optical member of the optical device from a substantially central part to a peripheral part. Item 4. The accessory device according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   The accessory device according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive portion includes an adhesive tape.   The accessory device according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive portion includes an adhesive rubber.   The accessory device is inserted into the camera from the distal end side through the opening of the camera mounting mechanism, and removes foreign matter by bringing the adhesive portion into contact with the imaging unit of the camera and / or its vicinity. The accessory device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the accessory device is configured.   The accessory device according to claim 7, wherein the imaging unit of the camera includes any one of a solid-state imaging device, an optical filter, and a cover glass.   The adhesive part cleaning member which has the adhesive force stronger than the said adhesion part, and removes the foreign material adhering to the said adhesion part in contact with the said adhesion part is further included in Claim 1 or 7 characterized by the above-mentioned. The accessory device described. An accessory device that removes foreign matter adhering to the inside of an optical device,
A support portion supported by the user;
An adhesive part having an adhesive surface;
A flexible part that has flexibility and expands and holds the adhesive surface substantially orthogonal to the support part;
An accessory device comprising:   The optical apparatus includes at least an optical member of any one of a solid-state imaging device, an optical filter, and a cover glass, and removes foreign matter by bringing the adhesive portion into contact with the surface of the optical member. The accessory device according to claim 10, wherein the accessory device is configured as follows.   The accessory device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the adhesive portion includes an adhesive tape.   The accessory device according to claim 10, wherein the adhesive portion includes an adhesive rubber.   The adhesive member cleaning member according to claim 10, further comprising an adhesive portion cleaning member that has an adhesive force stronger than that of the adhesive portion, and that removes foreign matters attached to the adhesive portion in contact with the adhesive portion. Accessory device. An accessory device for removing foreign matter by contacting the foreign matter attached to the inside of the optical device,
A support portion supported by the user;
A flexible part having a substantially V shape toward the distal direction from the support part;
An elastic member suspended on the flexible part;
An adhesive portion that is provided on at least the contact surface side of the elastic member and has changed the adhesive force;
An accessory device comprising:   The accessory device according to claim 15, wherein at least the contact surface side of the adhesive portion is configured by two or more types of adhesive members having different adhesive forces.   The said contact surface side is comprised by the adhesive member which has the said 2 or more types of different adhesive force according to the time difference which contacts the said target object when making the said adhesive part contact the target object. 16. The accessory device according to 16.   The accessory device according to claim 15, wherein the adhesive portion has a lower adhesive force in a portion where the pressure applied between the adhesive portion and the object is larger. An accessory device for removing foreign matter by contacting the foreign matter attached to the inside of the optical device,
A support portion supported by the user;
An adhesive part having an adhesive surface with changed adhesive force;
A flexible part that has flexibility and expands and holds the adhesive surface substantially orthogonal to the support part;
An accessory device comprising:   The accessory device according to claim 19, wherein at least the contact surface side of the adhesive portion is configured by two or more types of adhesive members having different adhesive forces.   The said contact surface side is comprised by the adhesive member which has the said 2 or more types of different adhesive force according to the time difference which contacts the said target object when making the said adhesive part contact the target object. The accessory device according to 20.   The accessory device according to claim 19, wherein the adhesive portion has a lower adhesive force in a portion where the pressure applied between the adhesive portion and the object is larger.

Images