JP2006171243A - Cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a situation that there is possibility that the surface of the cover glass of a solid-state image pickup element and the surface of an optical filter are scratched by the edge of a supporting part from which a cleaning part comes off because the cleaning part comes off in the midst of cleaning work when a soft member is changed to be a hard supporting part and made attachable. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device for removing a foreign matter adhering to the surface of an optical member exposed as seen from the aperture of a lens mount inside a lens interchangeable type digital single lens reflex camera has a bar-like supporting member 11 supported by a user, and a cleaning member 12 having an attaching/detaching part 12c attached to/detached from one end of the supporting member 11 and the cleaning part 12a including an adhesive surface 12b for removing the foreign matter on an opposite side to the attaching/detaching part 12c. At least the attaching/detaching part 12c and the cleaning part 12a are respectively formed of elastic materials having different hardnesses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

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

  If foreign matter such as dust is present in the vicinity of the focal plane of the photographing lens of the camera, the shadow of the foreign matter will be reflected on the solid-state imaging device. Such a foreign substance is actually a fine one of several tens of μm or less. When the lens is replaced, dust enters from the outside, or the operation of the shutter or mirror inside the camera causes the structural member such as a resin. The cause is thought to be the occurrence of fine wear powder. The dust generated due to such a cause is particularly between the cover glass for protecting the solid-state imaging device and an optical filter such as an infrared cut filter or an optical low-pass filter (hereinafter LPF) disposed on the front surface of the cover glass. If it got inside, the camera had to be disassembled to remove the dust. For this reason, it is 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 of the optical filter opposite to the side facing the solid-state imaging device, it is difficult to remove the dust because it is fine. In addition, when the position where the dust adheres is in the vicinity of the focal plane, there still remains a problem that the dust appears as a shadow and is clearly reflected in the solid-state imaging device.

  In particular, in recent years, the number of pixels in an interchangeable lens digital single-lens reflex camera has been increased. As the number of pixels increases and a clear image with high definition can be obtained, there is an increasing demand for enlarging and confirming the captured high-resolution image. When such an enlarged display is performed, the shadows of extraneous matter are more conspicuous, and the extraneous matter adhering to the vicinity of the focal plane of the photographic lens of the camera has been regarded as a problem.

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 dust-proof structure with a wiper (see Patent Document 1). With such a camera configuration, dust attached to the cover glass surface of the solid-state image sensor or the outermost surface (for example, the optical filter surface) of the dust-proof structure can be removed without removing the lens and without disassembling the camera.
JP 2003-018440 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 05-085361 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-220014

  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. Further, since a mechanism for disposing the wiper is necessary, there is a problem that the camera is increased in size.

  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 and 3). This can be done by placing an adhesive material on one end of the rod-shaped member via a cushioning material, so that a sticky cleaning stick with a cleaning part that has both cushioning and adhesive properties, and a rubber-based adhesive paste on one end as well. Dust adhering to the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor or the surface of the optical filter is removed by the applied adhesive cleaning rod. However, when cleaning with such an adhesive cleaning rod, it can be removed relatively easily if the amount of dust adhering to the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device or the surface of the optical filter is small. In order to remove a lot of scattered dust, it is necessary to make a sticky cleaning rod in contact with each dust, which requires many removal operations and is complicated.

  Further, Patent Document 3 describes cleaning by rotating a pressure-sensitive adhesive body having a substantially circular cross section. However, in the case of a substantially circular cross section, it cannot be brought into contact with foreign matters attached to the corners of the quadrilateral. Cannot be removed. Further, when the adhesive body is rotated, there is a risk of causing uneven wiping. In addition, since there are a plurality of fixed imaging elements (135 full size, APS-C size, etc.), in order to be applicable to any of them, a plurality of sizes of cleaning units are prepared, and from among them, It is desirable that the user can appropriately select and wear it for cleaning.

  However, as described above, the cleaning part that contacts the optical member must be formed of a flexible member so as not to damage the optical member. Therefore, the flexible member is replaced with a hard support part and mounted. If it is possible, the cleaning unit may be removed during the cleaning operation, and the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device or the surface of the optical filter may be damaged at the tip of the support unit from which the cleaning unit has been removed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the feature of the present invention is that it can reliably remove the foreign matter adhering to the camera with a simple operation, and the adhesive part falls off during the cleaning operation and becomes an optical member. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that does not cause damage.

A cleaning device according to an aspect of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A cleaning device for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of an optical member exposed from an opening of a lens mount inside a lens interchangeable digital single lens reflex camera,
A rod-like support member supported by the user;
A detachable part detachably attached to one end of the support member, and a cleaning member having a cleaning part including an adhesive surface for removing foreign matters on the opposite side of the detachable part,
At least the attaching / detaching portion and the cleaning portion are integrally formed of elastic materials having different hardnesses.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that foreign matters in the camera can be surely removed by a simple operation, and the risk that the cleaning unit is dropped during the cleaning operation and damages the optical member can be eliminated.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
1A and 1B are schematic perspective views showing the configuration of a cleaning device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1A, a cleaning device 10 mainly includes a rod-shaped support member 11 that supports a cleaning device 10 by a user when dust is mainly removed, and a cleaning member 12 provided at the tip of the support member 11. I have.

  The rod-like support member 11 is formed of a relatively hard material such as metal or resin, and a male screw portion 11a is formed at one end as shown in FIG. The cleaning member 12 is made of rubber such as silicon or EPDM, and has portions indicated by 12a to 12c. A portion indicated by 12a is a relatively soft elastic portion having a rubber hardness of 1 ° to 50 °. The cleaning unit 12b is a part for removing dust (foreign matter) on the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state imaging device in the camera and the surface of the optical filter by using a substantially rectangular and highly adhesive property. The stickiness of this soft rubber is realized by oozing out oil and fat contained in the rubber material by so-called bleed, and this oil and fat is effective for adsorbing dust. The portion 12c is a connecting portion (detachable portion) in which a female screw 12d to which the male screw portion 11a at the tip of the support member 11 is screwed is formed. The rubber hardness is 40 ° or more, and the cleaning portion 12a. It is formed with a hardness harder than the rubber hardness. The cleaning member 12 according to the present embodiment is integrally formed by two-color molding of two different rubber hardnesses, a cleaning portion 12a having a soft rubber hardness and a connection portion 12c having a high rubber hardness. In this embodiment, it is assumed that it is formed integrally by two-color molding, but in addition to this, it may be integrally formed using a plurality of types of molding materials, for example, an ultraviolet curable material, You may integrally form so that the rubber hardness of 12a and the rubber hardness of 12c may be changed using a thermosetting material. In addition, since it is a well-known technique about the specific molding method itself of these molding materials, it abbreviate | omits here.

  Therefore, the cleaning member 12 can be attached to and detached from the support member 1 so that the flexible and low rubber hardness cleaning portion 12a, which is convenient for adsorbing dust, and the female screw portion are not inadvertently detached. The connecting portion 12c having hard elasticity and high rubber hardness is formed at the same time.

  The surface 12b to be cleaned of the cleaning portion 12a of the cleaning member 12 forms a substantially cylindrical surface having a slightly convex R at the center with respect to the periphery. This curvature varies depending on the elasticity of the cleaning portion 12a, that is, the rubber hardness, but is preferably R200 to R1000.

  This is because the smaller the rubber hardness of the cleaning portion 12a, the more force is required to peel it after contacting the surface of the portion to be cleaned. That is, when the shape of the surface 12b that is in contact with the surface of the object to be cleaned is flat or concave when cleaning, the suction cup is brought into close contact with the surface of the object to be cleaned, and then the suction part 12a is peeled off. This is because the effect as described above occurs, and it is difficult to peel off the contacted state.

  On the other hand, according to the cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment, the cleaning portion 12a is formed on an optical member having a substantially flat surface shape, such as a cleaning target portion such as a cover glass or an optical filter of a solid-state imaging device in the camera. When the support member 11 is lightly pressed against the surface 12b, the cylindrical surface of the soft elastic cleaning portion 12a is slightly crushed and brought into contact. Furthermore, by slightly shaking the support member 11 in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical surface in the pressed state, the cylindrical surface of the surface 12b of the cleaning portion 12a and the plane of the cleaning target portion (optical member) are sufficient. Therefore, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the cleaning target portion can be completely removed.

  Moreover, since the cleaning part 12a is formed with the rubber material of comparatively flexible rubber hardness, it functions as a shock absorbing material, and has a structure where the pressure from the support member 11 is not applied to the surface of a cleaning object part as it is. Thus, the foreign matter attached to the cover glass or the optical filter can be removed without damaging the inside of the optical device or the surface of the optical member by this cleaning operation.

  FIG. 2 is an example of an optical device that is a target device that uses the cleaning device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention to remove dust 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 the configuration of a digital 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 L 1 from the imaging optical system in the photographing lens (not shown) to the solid-state image sensor 106, the image-forming optics is applied so that a spatial frequency component higher than necessary of the object image is not transmitted onto the solid-state image sensor 106. An optical low-pass filter 156 (hereinafter abbreviated as LPF 156) for limiting the cutoff frequency of the system is provided. An infrared cut filter is also formed in this imaging optical system. Further, the cover glass 125 and the LPF 156 have a sealing structure with a sealing member 157 such as a double-sided tape. As a result, dust generated outside the camera 100 or inside the camera 100 is prevented from entering between the LPF 156 and the cover glass 125.

  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, this feature enables random access to an arbitrary pixel, readout by thinning out pixels for display on the display 107, and display of an image in real time at a high display rate. The solid-state imaging device 106 according to the present embodiment can perform an image output operation to the display 107 and a high-definition image output operation using such features.

  The half mirror 111 is a movable mirror for dividing the optical path L1 from the imaging optical system and supplying it to 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 of the optical path L 1 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. Note that 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 L1 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 the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156 of the camera 100 using the cleaning 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. Therefore, in this state, the user can remove the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156 using the cleaning device 10 described above.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the 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 a control mechanism for controlling the overall operation. 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 134. 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 connecting to an external device such as a computer device and transmitting / receiving data to / from the external device. 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 an image signal processing circuit that performs various processes on the digital image signal. 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. The image signal processing circuit is a signal processing circuit that obtains an image signal in a desired format from R, G, and B digital signals. The R, G, and B color signals are converted into a luminance signal Y and a color difference signal (R−Y). , (B−Y), and the like. The configuration of this image signal processing circuit will be described below.

  The RGB image processing circuit 131 is a signal processing circuit that processes a digital image signal of 3700 × 2800 pixels input from the solid-state imaging device 106 via the A / D converter 130, and includes a white balance circuit, a gamma correction circuit, and an interpolation calculation. 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 from RGB signals. 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.

  Next, 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, and the recording processing circuit 133 executes a writing process and a reading process of the image signal in the memory. Then, the reproduction processing circuit 134 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 YC processing circuit 132 is stored in the frame memory for each frame, and is read and compressed 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 134 is a circuit that performs matrix conversion of 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 134 is displayed on the display 107 and displayed and reproduced as a visible image. The reproduction processing circuit 134 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 includes an operation detection circuit 136 that detects an operation of the release button 120, the mode changeover switch 123, and the like, and a half mirror 111 and a sub mirror 122 in response to an operation detection signal output from the operation detection circuit 136. A camera system control circuit 135 that controls each unit and generates and outputs a timing signal at the time of imaging, and a solid-state imaging that generates a drive signal for driving the solid-state imaging device 106 under the control of the camera system control circuit 135 An element driving circuit 137 and an information display circuit 142 for controlling the display unit 180 (FIG. 2) in the optical viewfinder are included. 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.

  An AF control circuit 140 and a lens system control circuit 141 are 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 AF control circuit 140 obtains a signal from the focus detection sensor 167 in the focus detection field of view set at a predetermined position on the imaging screen, generates a focus detection signal based on this signal, and performs imaging (not shown). The imaging state of the lens imaging optical system is detected. When defocusing (detection of 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 the lens is relayed through the camera system control circuit 135. It transmits to the system control circuit 141. For a moving object, a focusing lens driving amount based on a result of predicting an appropriate lens position is instructed in consideration of a time lag from when the release button 120 is pressed until actual imaging control is started. When it is determined that the brightness of the object to be photographed is low and sufficient focus detection accuracy cannot be obtained, the object to be photographed is illuminated by the flash light emitting device 104 or a white LED or a fluorescent tube (not shown). When the lens system control circuit 141 receives the driving amount of the focusing lens, the lens system control circuit 141 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. Adjust the focus. When the AF control circuit 140 detects that the object to be photographed is in focus, this information is transmitted to the camera system control circuit 135. At this time, when the release button 120 is pressed, the imaging control by the imaging system, the image processing system, and the recording / reproducing system is executed as described above.

  Next, an operation for removing the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156 of the camera configured as described above by using the cleaning device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 4, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156 is removed using the cleaning device 10 according to the present embodiment in a state where the mode changeover switch 123 is operated and the camera 100 is in the cleaning mode. It is a schematic perspective view explaining a case.

  Here, the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 is formed of a relatively flexible member having a rubber hardness of 1 ° to 50 ° as described above. Breeding phenomenon such as exudation of oils and fats. Therefore, it is possible to remove excess oil and fat adhering to the surface 12b of the cleaning portion 12a by wiping off the oil and fat on the surface 12b with a commercially available “oil removing sheet (paper)” (not shown) or the like. it can.

  Therefore, first, when removing the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LPF 156, the dust, oil or the like on the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 is transferred in advance to a transfer material, “oil removal sheet (paper)”, or the like described later. It is desirable to work after removing it.

  In FIG. 4, the user cleans through the opening 113 a formed by opening the focal plane shutter 113 from the opening of the mount mechanism 101 of the camera 100 while holding or holding the support member 11 of the cleaning device 10. The device 10 is inserted in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

  FIG. 5 is a main part perspective view showing a state in which the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 is in contact with the surface of the LPF 156 through the shutter opening 113a.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the user brings the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 into contact with the surface of the LPF 156 using the four corners of the shutter opening 113a as a guide. In this state, the support member 11 is swung in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, following the circumferential direction of the surface 12b of the convex R-shaped cylindrical surface of the cleaning portion 12a. As a result, the surface of the LPF 156 and the surface 12b of the cleaning portion 12a are completely in contact with each other, and the surface 12b is formed on the cylindrical surface, so that it is adsorbed and peeled off by the surface of the LPF 156 like a suction cup. It won't be staggered.

  6A and 6B are plan views for explaining the cleaning area for the image frame format of the lens interchangeable digital single-lens reflex camera by the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 according to the present embodiment. .

  FIG. 6A shows the case of an image frame format of a digital single-lens reflex camera having a size of about 36 × 24 mm corresponding to the 135 format of silver salt film. In this format, the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 is set to a size slightly larger than four equal parts of the image frame of the LPF 156 in the drawing, and is about 19 × 13 mm in the present embodiment. Therefore, in the digital single-lens reflex camera of this format, as described above, the user swings the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 in contact with the surface of the LPF 156 using the four corners of the shutter opening 113a as a guide. By performing a total of four times for each corner, almost the entire LPF 156 can be cleaned. As described above, since the surface 12b has a substantially rectangular shape, positioning with the four corners of the shutter opening 113a or the LPF 156 can be easily performed.

  FIG. 6B shows a case of an image frame format of a digital single-lens reflex camera of about 24 × 16 mm size corresponding to the APS-C format. In this format, the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 is set to a size slightly smaller than the image frame of the LPF 156 in the drawing, and is about 19 × 13 mm in the present embodiment. Therefore, in the digital single-lens reflex camera of the format shown in FIG. 6B, as described above, the user places the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 on the surface of the LPF 156 using the four corners of the shutter opening 113a as a guide. The entire area of the LPF 156 can be cleaned by performing contact and swinging a total of four times for each corner. Even in this case, as described above, since the surface 12b has a substantially rectangular shape, it is possible to easily position the shutter opening 113a or the four corners of the LPF 156.

  As described above, in the embodiment, the shape of the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 is substantially rectangular, the size is slightly larger than four equal parts of an image frame corresponding to 135 format, and the APS-C format. By setting the size slightly smaller than the corresponding image frame, the common cleaning unit 12 is used, and the lens interchangeable digital single-lens reflex camera of the image frame corresponding to the 135 format to the lens interchangeable digital of the image frame corresponding to the APS-C format is used. The surface of the single-lens reflex camera LPF 156 can be cleaned with a minimum of four times.

  In recent years, a lens interchangeable digital single-lens reflex camera having a format other than an image frame corresponding to the APS-C format from an image frame corresponding to the 135 format, for example, a Four Thirds standard camera has been released. For this standard size of about 18 × 13.5 mm, a cleaning member 12 having a cleaning portion 12 a of a smaller size, for example, 12 × 9 mm, is prepared and attached to the support member 11 by the male screw portion 12 d of the connection portion 12 c. can do.

  It is also possible to prepare a plurality of types of cleaning units 12a having different rubber hardnesses, and select and replace the cleaning unit 12a as appropriate according to the use environment, for example, temperature, humidity, and the like.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a method for peeling the foreign matter from the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a in a state where the foreign matter is adhered to the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 as described above.

  In the figure, the foreign material 30 removed from the surface of the LPF 156 attached to the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a is a sheet-like transfer material (for example, manufactured by Odaka Rubber Industries, Ltd.) having higher adhesive force than the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a. It is removed from the surface 12b of the cleaning portion 12a by being transferred to “tacky”) or the like.

  That is, the surface 12b of the cleaning unit 12a of the cleaning device 10 is pressed against a transfer material (not shown) from the state shown in FIG. Here, since this transfer material has a higher adhesive force than the surface 12b of the cleaning portion 12a, the foreign material 30 attached to the surface 12b is attached to the surface of the transfer material. As a result, the foreign matter adhering to the surface 12b of the cleaning portion 12a is removed and the cleaning portion 12a is cleaned, and the surface 12b is returned to the original state where no foreign matter such as dust is attached.

It is a general | schematic perspective view which shows the structure of the cleaning apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view sectional view for demonstrating the structure of the digital color camera which is an example of the optical apparatus which is an object apparatus which removes a foreign material using the cleaning apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the camera which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view explaining the state which removes the foreign material adhering to the surface of LPF using a cleaning device in the state where a camera is in cleaning mode. It is a principal part perspective view explaining the state which made the cleaning apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment contact the surface of LPF through shutter opening. It is a top view explaining the cleaning area of the surface of the cleaning part of the cleaning device concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic explaining the removal of the foreign material adhering to the cleaning part of the cleaning apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment.

Claims (6)

A cleaning device for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of an optical member exposed from an opening of a lens mount inside a lens interchangeable digital single lens reflex camera,
A rod-like support member supported by the user;
A detachable part detachably attached to one end of the support member, and a cleaning member having a cleaning part including an adhesive surface for removing foreign matters on the opposite side of the detachable part,
At least the detachable portion and the cleaning portion are integrally formed of elastic materials having different hardnesses.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is made of EPDM or silicon.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a rubber hardness of the detachable portion is harder than a rubber hardness of the cleaning portion.   The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cleaning portion has a rubber hardness of 1 to 50 degrees and is formed of an adhesive rubber material.   The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a rubber hardness of the attaching / detaching portion is 40 degrees or more.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the detachable portion and the cleaning portion are formed of the same kind of rubber material having different hardnesses.

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