JP2006345060A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus improved in maintenance performance while upsizing and increased power consumption are avoided. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus includes: a camera unit; a drive means for driving the camera unit in a tilt direction; a cleaning member for cleaning lenses in the camera unit; and a means for carrying out the cleaning of the lenses while they are activated in the tilt direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that drives a camera unit in a panning or tilting direction and that can clean a lens of the camera unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an imaging apparatus that performs a pan / tilt operation, when a lens is cleaned, the user wipes it with a cleaning member on his / her own. Further, Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration in which, when installed outdoors, a lens is cleaned by attaching an outdoor waterproof cap with a wiper attached to the camera unit and operating the wiper.

  The conventional imaging device will be described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the imaging device 1 with the lens cover 15 removed in the G direction (shown). With the lens cover 15 removed, the state shifts to the state described in FIG. FIG. 9 is a state diagram illustrating a state in which the lens cover having the wiper driving unit is attached to the imaging apparatus. The lens cover 16 is provided with a wiper 17 and a motor 18 for driving the wiper, and the lens cover 16 having the wiper driving unit shown in FIG. . The wiper 17 reciprocates in the E direction (illustrated) with the motor 18 as a driving source around the rotating shaft portion 17a, and the wiper blade portion 17b of the wiper 17 cleans the window portion 16a of the lens cover 16. Here, the motor 18 is supplied with electric power from the lens unit 10 by the harness 18a. By mounting the lens cover 16 in this way, cleaning is performed by the wiper 17 mounted on the lens cover 16.

Japanese Patent No. 2743436

  However, in the conventional imaging apparatus as described above, it is necessary for the user to bother with a cleaning member in order to remove the dirt on the lens, especially when it is installed outdoors or on the ceiling. There was a problem that the maintenance was poor.

  In addition, even when a cap member with a wiper attached is attached, another drive source is required to operate the wiper unit, which increases the size of the imaging device, increases power consumption, and increases costs. There was a point.

The imaging device of the present invention is an imaging device having a camera unit and a driving unit for driving the camera unit in the tilt direction, and a cleaning member for cleaning a lens in the camera unit; And a means for cleaning the lens while performing the operation.
Another image pickup apparatus of the present invention is an image pickup apparatus having a camera unit and a driving unit for driving the camera unit in a pan or tilt direction, wherein the cleaning member does not rotate the pan and tilt of the image pickup apparatus. It is fixed and reciprocates in the pan direction or tilt direction.

  According to the present invention, the cleaning member is provided outside the imaging range, and the lens is cleaned by a reciprocating operation in the tilt direction or the pan direction, so that a new drive source for cleaning is not required, and the apparatus is There is no increase in size or cost.

  In addition, since the cleaning member has a shutter, there is no fear that the cleaning member is contaminated by dust from the outside, and it is possible to realize good lens cleaning that does not cause stain reattachment to the lens during cleaning.

  Further, by performing the cleaning operation when the power is turned on, it is possible to always keep the lens in a good state before imaging, and it is possible to realize an imaging apparatus that can always obtain a comfortable image.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an imaging apparatus having a wiper mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging device 1 includes a camera unit 10 having a lens 11, a tilt support axis R 20, a tilt support axis L 21, a pan base 30, and a base 40.

  The camera unit 10 is mounted so as to be rotatable in the T1 and T2 directions (shown) about a tilt rotation axis (shown) by a tilt support shaft R20 and a tilt support shaft L21. Further, the tilt support shaft R20 and the tilt support shaft L21 are formed integrally with the pan base 30, and are attached to the base 40 so as to be rotatable about the pan rotation shaft (illustrated) in the P1 and P2 directions (illustrated). . The tilt rotation and pan rotation each have a drive unit (not shown) independently, and are configured to be able to rotate independently.

  The wiper 50 is attached to the pan base 30 while being biased in the K direction by a spring member (not shown) mounted inside the pan base.

  The wiper 50 has a wiper blade portion 50 a that is an elastic body capable of cleaning the lens 11. When the wiper blade portion 50a is in contact with the lens 11, the wiper is configured to maintain an appropriate biasing force by the above-described spring member.

  Next, the operation for cleaning the lens will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an operation diagram illustrating a lens cleaning operation. In the initial operation after the power is turned on, the imaging device 1 rotates the lens unit 10 to a position where the lens 11 contacts the wiper 50 (state shown in FIG. 2) by a tilt operation.

  Here, when the camera unit is reciprocally rotated in the T1 direction and the T2 direction, the lens 11 is reciprocated relative to the wiper blade portion 50a, so that dirt on the lens 11 can be cleaned.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the shape of the wiper blade portion 50a. The wiper blade portion 50a of the wiper 50 has a concave shape 50b similar to the curvature of the lens 11 so that the blade tip can follow the convex shape of the lens 11. By adopting such a shape, the wiper blade curved portion 50b can be brought into uniform contact with the surface of the lens 11, and good cleaning performance can be realized.

(Second Embodiment)
An imaging apparatus having a roller-shaped cleaning member according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a side view of the imaging apparatus having the roller-shaped cleaning member according to the second embodiment.

  The roller cleaner 60 is attached to the pan base 30 so as to be rotatable in the A direction or the B direction (illustrated) around the rotation shaft 60a of the roller cleaner. Here, when the camera unit is reciprocally rotated in the T1 direction and the T2 direction, the roller cleaner 60 in contact with the lens 11 is rotated by the lens 11.

  When the camera unit 10 rotates in the T1 direction, the roller cleaner 60 rotates in the B direction, and when it rotates in the T2 direction, it rotates in the A direction. When the camera unit 10 rotates in this way, the roller cleaner 60 also rotates, so that the cleaning surface of the roller cleaner 60 is always a new surface with respect to the lens 11, and dirt on the lens 11 does not adhere to the lens 11 again. Good cleaning can be realized.

(Third embodiment)
An imaging apparatus in which a cleaning member according to a third embodiment is provided on a main body will be described. FIG. 5 is an operation diagram illustrating a state of the cleaning operation in the imaging apparatus having the cleaning unit according to the third embodiment.

  The cleaner 70 is mounted on the cleaner support portion 71, and the cleaner support portion 71 is fixed to the base 40. Here, the camera unit 10 is rotated to a position where the lens 11 contacts the cleaner 70 (state shown in FIG. 5). The difference from the first embodiment described above is that the cleaner 70 is arranged on the base 40 of the image pickup apparatus 1, so that not only the tilt operation (the first embodiment is a cleaning configuration only with the tilt operation), but also the panning. Operation is also available.

  Accordingly, in addition to the rotation operations P1 and P2 in the pan direction (illustrated) and the rotation operations T1 and T2 in the tilt direction (illustrated), the rotation operations R1 and R2 in the oblique direction (illustrated) combined with pan rotation and tilt rotation, and S1 and S2 directions (illustrated) can be realized. As described above, by cleaning the camera unit 10 with respect to the cleaner 70 in various directions, it is possible to improve the ability to remove dirt on the lens 11.

(Fourth embodiment)
An image pickup apparatus capable of opening and closing a shutter in conjunction with a wiper mechanism according to a fourth embodiment will be described. 6 and 7 are operation diagrams for explaining the operation of causing the wiper portion and the operation of housing in the main body.

  First, the operation for causing the wiper portion will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the tilt support axis R20 is not shown for explanation. The wiper 80 is in contact with the lens 11 and wiper blade part 80a for cleaning the lens, and a wiper lever part 80b configured to be in contact with a protrusion 10a integrally formed on the surface opposite to the lens of the camera unit 10. The wiper gear 80c for driving and connecting with the gear portion 85a of the shutter 85 for shielding the wiper 80 from the dust from the outside is integrated with the pan base 30 so as to be rotatable around the rotary shaft portion 80d. Installed.

  Further, the shutter 85 integrally includes a shutter gear portion 85a for drivingly connecting to the wiper gear portion 80c, and is attached to the pan base 30 so as to be rotatable around the rotation shaft portion 85b. Further, the shutter 85 is arranged so as to cover the upper surface of the wiper blade portion 80a when the wiper 80 is housed in the main body (the state before the wiper is raised in FIG. 6).

  When the camera unit 10 is rotated in the T2 direction in the state configured as described above, the projection 10a of the camera unit comes into contact with the wiper lever 80b (FIG. 6 <Before Wiper Raising>).

  Here, when the camera unit 10 is further rotated in the T2 direction, the camera unit 10a pushes the wiper lever 80b, and the wiper 80 rotates in the C direction (illustrated) around the rotation shaft 80d. When the wiper 80 rotates in the direction C, the integrally formed wiper blade portion 80a is raised (FIG. 6 <after wiper is raised>).

  In this state, the rotation of the wiper 80 is fixed (the fixing member is not shown). Further, when the wiper 80 rotates in the C direction, the wiper gear portion 80c and the shutter gear portion 85a are drivingly connected. Therefore, the shutter 85 rotates around the rotation shaft 85b in the D direction (shown) and covers the wiper blade 80a. The state is released.

  Next, the operation | movement which accommodates a wiper part is demonstrated using FIG. When the camera unit 10 is rotated in the T1 direction, the protrusion 10a of the camera unit comes into contact with the wiper lever 80b (FIG. 7 <before wiper storage>).

  Here, when the camera unit 10 is further rotated in the T1 direction, the camera unit 10a pushes the wiper lever 80b, and the wiper 80 rotates in the E direction (illustrated) around the rotation shaft 80d. When the wiper 80 rotates in the E direction, the integrally formed wiper blade portion 80a is stored in the pan base 30 (FIG. 7 <after wiper storage>).

  Further, when the wiper 80 rotates in the E direction, the wiper gear portion 80c and the shutter gear portion 85a are drivingly connected, so the shutter 85 rotates in the F direction (shown) around the rotation shaft 85b and covers the wiper blade 80a. In this state, it is possible to block adhesion of dust from the outside to the wiper blade.

  With the configuration described above, the wiper is caused only when the lens is cleaned, and when stored, the shutter 85 blocks dust from the outside, so that a good lens that does not reattach to the lens 11 due to dirt on the wiper. Cleaning can be realized.

1 is an external perspective view of an imaging apparatus having a wiper mechanism according to a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an operation diagram illustrating a state of a lens cleaning operation in the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing about the shape of the wiper blade part in 1st Embodiment. It is a side view of the imaging device which has the roller-shaped cleaning member of 2nd Embodiment. It is an operation | movement figure which shows the state of the cleaning operation | movement in the imaging device which has the cleaning part of 3rd Embodiment. It is an operation | movement figure which is performing the operation | movement which causes the wiper part in 4th Embodiment. It is an operation | movement figure which is performing the operation | movement which accommodates the wiper part in 4th Embodiment in a main body. It is a figure which shows the state which removed the lens cover in the conventional imaging device. It is a figure which shows the state which replaced the cover with a wiper drive part with the lens cover in the conventional imaging device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Imaging device 10 Camera unit 10a Camera unit back surface protrusion part 11 Lens 20 Tilt support axis | shaft R
21 Tilt support shaft L
30 Pan base 40 Base 50 Wiper 50a Wiper blade section 50b Wiper blade curved section 60 Roller cleaner 60a Roller cleaner rotation shaft section 70 Cleaner 71 Cleaner holding section 80 Wiper 80a Wiper blade section 80b Wiper lever section 80c Wiper gear section 80d Wiper rotation shaft 85 Shutter 85a Shutter gear 85b Shutter shaft

Claims (8)

An imaging apparatus having a camera unit and a driving unit for driving the camera unit in a tilt direction,
A cleaning member for cleaning the lens in the camera unit;
An image pickup apparatus comprising: means for cleaning the lens while operating in the tilt direction.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is an absorber and has a roller shape.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is an elastic body and has a blade shape, and has a concave shape so as to follow the convex shape of the lens. An imaging apparatus having a camera unit and driving means for driving the camera unit in a pan or tilt direction,
An image pickup apparatus, wherein a cleaning member is fixed to a portion of the image pickup apparatus that does not rotate pan and tilt, and performs a reciprocating operation in a pan direction or a tilt direction.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an operation that combines the tilt operation and the pan operation is performed at the cleaning position.   6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for displacing the cleaning member into two states: a housed state and a usable protruding state.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a shutter member that covers the cleaning member in order to prevent dust and dirt from being attached in the housed state, and that operates in conjunction with the cleaning member.   The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning operation at the cleaning member position is performed during an initial operation when the image pickup apparatus is powered on.

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