JP2007219404A - Mount structure of camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mount structure of a digital camera capable of arranging many connecting terminals in a distributed state. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera 2 comprises a lens unit 3 and the camera main body 4. The lens-side mount part 5 of the lens unit 3 is formed to an equilateral hexagonal columnar shape. Among the side surfaces of the lens-side mount part 5, three side surfaces that are selected as non-adjacent surfaces are used as chucking surfaces, and three side surfaces other than the chucking surfaces are used as terminal surfaces. The main body side mount part 6 includes a recessed part 40 to which the lens-side mount part 5 is fitted, and a chucking mechanism of chucking the lens-side mount part fitted to the recessed part 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera mount structure including a lens side mount portion provided in a lens unit in which a photographing lens is incorporated, and a camera body side mount portion provided in a camera body.

  2. Description of the Related Art Digital cameras that convert a captured image captured using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD into digital image data and record it on a recording medium such as a built-in memory or a memory card are widely used. Among digital cameras, there are interchangeable lens types in which various lens units are exchanged to perform photographing according to preference.

Interchangeable-lens digital cameras are composed of a lens unit with a built-in photographic lens and a camera body to which this lens unit is detachably mounted. It was common to do (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). However, if the solid-state image sensor is placed on the camera body side, the lens unit and camera body must be optically connected when the lens unit is mounted, so the manufacturing accuracy of the mount is required at a very high level. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the mount portion was high. Therefore, the present applicant has proposed an interchangeable lens type digital camera in which a solid-state imaging device is arranged on the lens unit side. In this digital camera, it is only necessary to electrically connect the lens unit and the camera body when the lens unit is mounted. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the mount portion can be reduced, and it is easy for an amateur to handle.
JP-A-8-227096 JP 2002-341423 A JP 2003-156790 A

  However, in the interchangeable lens digital camera in which the solid-state image sensor is arranged on the lens unit side, in order to transmit and receive an electrical signal such as an image signal of a captured image acquired by the solid-state image sensor between the lens unit and the camera body, It is necessary to arrange a large number of connection terminals on the mount portion.

  As a conventional mount portion, a bayonet structure in which a bayonet claw is formed on the lens unit side and a bayonet groove is formed on the camera body side and these are engaged when the lens unit is mounted is known. However, in this structure, the bayonet claws and the bayonet groove are in sliding contact with each other relatively strongly. Therefore, considering the provision of a large number of connection terminals on these, there is a difficulty in durability. Moreover, since the shape of the bayonet claw is special, there is a problem that it is difficult to arrange a large number of connection terminals.

  Patent Document 2 describes a technique for forming a mount portion on the lens unit side into a convex shape having a rectangular cross section and forming a mount portion on the camera body side in a concave shape. The convex mount portion has four side surfaces parallel to the optical axis, and two of the side surfaces are clamped. However, with this structure, when a strong force in the vertical direction is applied to the mounted lens unit, the lens unit may move slightly with respect to the camera body. If the connection terminals are arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the convexly formed mount portion, these connection terminals may be deformed or damaged by applying an excessive force.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera mount structure that is highly durable and that can reliably hold a lens unit while arranging a large number of connection terminals.

  The present invention comprises a lens side mount portion provided in a lens unit in which a photographing lens is incorporated, and a main body side mount portion provided in a camera body to which the lens side mount portion is detachably attached. In connection with the mount structure of the camera to which these are electrically connected, the lens side mount portion is formed in an N prism shape (N: an even number of 6 or more) so as to protrude from the rear surface of the lens unit, and the protruding direction A plurality of side surfaces that are not adjacent to each other among the concave portion in which the lens side mount portion is fitted and the side surface of the fitted lens side mount portion. A chuck mechanism that holds the lens side mount portion by chucking these chuck surfaces, and a chuck mechanism other than the chuck surface of the lens side mount portion. Characterized by comprising a body-side connection terminal to be connected in contact with the lens-side connection terminal provided on the pass electrically. The present invention is preferably used when the lens unit includes a solid-state imaging device that captures a subject image formed by the photographing lens.

  The lens side mount portion is preferably formed in a regular polygonal column shape, and when the lens side mount portion is held by the chuck mechanism, one of the chuck surfaces is preferably a horizontal plane. . Thereby, the lens unit is less likely to be displaced with respect to the force in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

  A groove portion is formed on the chuck surface, and the chuck mechanism enters a groove portion of the chuck surface of the lens side mount portion fitted into the recess, and a chuck position for gripping the lens side mount portion; It is preferable to have a gripper that retreats from the groove portion of the chuck surface and moves between a retraction position away from the lens side mount portion. When the lens unit is held by the chuck mechanism, the lens unit cannot be pulled out, so that the chuck mechanism has a lock function.

  The lens side connection terminal is provided on a surface of the side surface excluding the chuck surface, and when the lens side mount portion is fitted, the surface on which the lens side connection terminal is provided and the body side connection of the concave portion The body-side connection terminal is spring-biased so as to come into contact with the lens-side connection terminal when the lens-side mount portion is fitted. It is preferable. By separating the surface on which the lens-side connection terminal is provided from the surface on which the body-side connection terminal is provided, these surfaces are prevented from sliding with a strong force when the lens-side mount is fitted. it can.

  According to the camera mount structure of the present invention, a large number of connection terminals can be efficiently arranged, durability can be increased, and the lens unit can be securely held. For example, when the lens side mount portion is formed in a regular hexagonal prism shape, three non-adjacent surfaces of the six side surfaces are used as chuck surfaces, so that the lens side mount portion is chucked from three directions and is stable. Held. In addition, since the connection terminals are arranged on three surfaces other than these chuck surfaces, the connection terminals can be distributed in three directions, and the wiring inside the lens side mount portion is prevented from becoming complicated. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 2 includes a lens unit 3 and a camera body 4. The lens side mount unit 5 and the main body side mount unit 6 are electrically connected by detachably mounting the lens side mount unit 5 provided on the lens unit 3 on the main body side mount unit 6 provided on the camera body 4. Connected to. The lens side mount portion 5 and the main body side mount portion 6 constitute a mount structure for the digital camera 2.

  The lens unit 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The lens unit 3 includes a photographic lens 10 and a CCD image sensor 11 that captures a subject image formed by the photographic lens 10. Since the inside of the lens unit 3 is sealed and dust and the like do not enter from the outside, the dust does not adhere to the light receiving area 18 of the CCD image sensor 11 and the image quality of the photographed image is kept good.

  On the upper surface of the camera body 4, there are provided a release button 12 that is pressed at the time of shooting, and a mode operation unit 13 that is operated when the shooting / playback mode is switched. A strobe light emitting portion 14 a is provided at the upper front of the camera body 4. The rear surface of the camera body 4 is provided with an LCD 15 for displaying captured images and various setting conditions, a power switch 16, and a zoom operation unit 17 (see FIG. 6).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lens side mount portion 5 is formed in a regular hexagonal prism shape so as to protrude from the rear surface 3 a of the lens unit 3. The lens side mount portion 5 has six side surfaces 21 to 26 parallel to the protruding direction (parallel to the optical axis direction).

  Of these side surfaces 21 to 26, three side surfaces 22, 24, and 26 selected so as not to be adjacent to each other are used as chuck surfaces, and side surfaces 21, 23, and 25 other than the chuck surfaces are used as terminal surfaces. Rectangular grooves 22a, 24a, and 26a are formed on the side surfaces 22, 24, and 26, respectively. When the lens side mount 5 is mounted, grippers (grip members) 62, 64, and 66, which will be described later, enter the grooves 22a, 24a, and 26a, respectively. The side surface 21 and the side surface 24 are parallel to the upper side 18 a of the rectangular light receiving region 18 of the CCD image sensor 11. A plurality of lens side connection terminals 27, 28, and 29 are provided on the side surfaces 21, 23, and 25, respectively. Since the lens side connection terminals 27, 28, and 29 are respectively distributed on the three surfaces, it is possible to prevent the wiring inside the lens side mount unit 5 from becoming complicated. In particular, in this embodiment, the CCD image sensor 11 is built in the lens unit 3, and the amount of data transmitted and received between the lens unit 3 and the camera body 4 becomes large, and a large number of connection terminals must be arranged. The above configuration is effective.

  A mark 50 is marked on the outer peripheral surface of the lens unit 3. This mark 50 is an area corresponding to the upper side 18a of the light receiving area 18 of the CCD image sensor 11 on the outer peripheral surface of the lens unit 3, in other words, an area corresponding to the side surface 21 of the lens side mount portion 5 (an area close to the side surface 21). ) Is marked. A mark 51 is marked on the upper front of the camera body 4. This mark 51 is marked on the front surface of the camera body 4 in an area corresponding to the wall surface 41 of the recess 40 (an area close to the wall surface 41). When the lens side mount unit 5 is attached to the main body side mount unit 6, the mark 50 of the lens unit 3 and the mark 51 of the camera body 4 are made to correspond to each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the main body side mount portion 6 is provided on the front surface of the camera main body 4 and has a recess 40 having a depth in the front-rear direction (the insertion and removal direction of the lens side mount portion 5). is doing. The concave portion 40 is formed in a hexagonal shape in accordance with the shape of the lens side mount portion 5, and is defined by six wall surfaces 41 to 46 parallel to the front-rear direction. Of these wall surfaces 41 to 46, retreat grooves 42a, 44a, and 46a are respectively formed on three wall surfaces 42, 44, and 46 selected so as not to be adjacent to each other. The grippers 62, 64, 66 of the chuck mechanism 60 are retracted in the retracting grooves 42a, 44a, 46a, respectively. Wall surfaces 41, 43, and 45 are used as terminal surfaces. The wall surfaces 41, 43, 45 are provided with a plurality of main body side connection terminals 47, 48, 49, respectively. The wall surface 44 is parallel to the bottom surface 4 a (see FIG. 1) of the camera body 4 and becomes a horizontal plane when the photographer holds the camera body 4. As a result, the mounted lens unit 3 can be supported from below, and the lens unit 3 is less likely to be displaced in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

  When the lens side mount portion 5 is inserted into the recess 40, the side surfaces 21 to 26 face the wall surfaces 41 to 46, respectively. At this time, the side surface 21 and the wall surface 41 are slightly separated. Similarly, the side surface 23 and the wall surface 43 and the side surface 25 and the wall surface 45 are slightly separated from each other. Thereby, it can prevent that surfaces mentioned above slide with a strong force at the time of insertion of the lens side mount part 5, and durability improves.

  As shown in FIG. 4, which is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the camera body 4 cut in the front-rear direction, the body-side connection terminal 47 is formed in a leaf spring shape, and the tip end portion 47a is perpendicular to the front-rear direction (lens side). The mounting portion 5 is urged inward in the insertion / removal direction). The main body side connection terminals 48 and 49 are also formed in the same manner as the main body side connection terminal 47.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main body side mount portion 6 includes a chuck mechanism 60. The chuck mechanism 60 includes grippers 62, 64, 66, a gripper moving mechanism 67 that moves the grippers 62, 64, 66, and an operation member 68 that operates the gripper moving mechanism 67.

  The gripping portions 62a, 64a, and 66a of the grippers 62, 64, and 66 are made of rubber, and the gripping surface has a gentle uneven shape. The gripper moving mechanism 67 moves each gripper 62, 64, 66 between the retracted position shown in FIG. 3 and the chuck position shown in FIG. The grippers 62, 64, and 66 enter the retracting grooves 42a, 44a, and 46a, respectively, at the retracted position, and project from the wall surfaces 42, 44, and 46 at the chuck position.

  The operation member 68 (see FIG. 1) moves between an on position located at the lower end portion of the slide groove 69 provided on the front surface of the camera body 4 and an off position located at the upper end portion of the slide groove 69. Manually operated. When the operating member 68 is moved from the off position to the on position, this operating force is transmitted to the grippers 62, 64, 66 via the gripper moving mechanism 67, and the grippers 62, 64, 66 are moved from the retracted position to the chuck position. Moving. When the operating member 68 is manually moved from the on position to the off position, this operating force is transmitted to the grippers 62, 64, 66 via the gripper moving mechanism 67, and the grippers 62, 64, 66 are moved to the chuck position. To the retracted position. For example, a link mechanism is used as the gripper moving mechanism.

  Note that an actuator that is driven by power supply may be used as the gripper moving mechanism. In this case, a switch is used in place of the operation member, and when the switch is turned on, the actuator is driven to move the gripper to the chuck position. On the other hand, when the switch is turned off, the actuator is The gripper moves to the retracted position by driving. The number of actuators corresponding to the grippers may be provided in a one-to-one relationship, or only one actuator may be provided, and the driving force of this one actuator may be transmitted to each gripper.

  As shown in FIG. 6, which is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the digital camera 2, the lens drive motor 80 is connected to a motor driver 81, and a lens unit system control unit 82 (hereinafter, referred to as “motor unit 81”). The drive is controlled by the system control unit 82).

  The CCD image sensor 11 is connected to a CCD driver 83, and the drive is controlled by the system control unit 82 via the CCD driver 83. The CCD image sensor 11 converts an optical subject image into an electrical imaging signal and outputs it. The imaging signal is amplified to an appropriate level by the amplifier 84, and then digitally converted by the A / D conversion circuit 85 to become image data. This image data is transmitted to the camera body side through the lens side connection terminals 27, 28, 29 and the body side connection terminals 47, 48, 49. The system control unit 82 controls the photographing process on the lens unit side based on a command from a camera body system control unit 86 (hereinafter, system control unit 86).

  Image data from the lens unit 3 is written in the memory 87. The signal processing unit 88 reads image data from the memory 87 and performs various image processing such as gradation conversion, white balance correction, and γ correction. The image data subjected to the image processing is input to the LCD driver 89 and displayed on the LCD 15 as an image.

  When the release button 12 is pressed, image data subjected to image processing is recorded on the recording medium 91 under the control of the media controller 90. When the release button 12 is pressed, the strobe 14 is driven according to the amount of light from the shooting environment. The system control unit 86 sends a command to the system control unit 82 and controls shooting processing, image display processing, recording processing, and the like on the camera body side. A release button 12, a mode operation unit 13, a power switch 16, and a zoom operation unit 17 are connected to the system control unit 86.

  A battery 92 is disposed inside the camera body 4 and supplies power to each part of the camera body 4. The battery 92 also supplies power to the lens unit side via the main body side connection terminals 47, 48 and 49 and the lens side connection terminals 27, 28 and 29.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the above configuration will be described. The postures of the lens unit 3 and the camera body 4 are determined by making the marks 50 and 51 correspond to each other, and the lens side mount portion 5 is inserted into the recess 40 of the body side mount portion 6 (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 7A, the side surfaces 21 to 26 of the lens side mount portion 5 face the wall surfaces 41 to 46 of the recess 40, respectively. The lens side connection terminals 27, 28 and 29 are in contact with the main body side connection terminals 47, 48 and 49, respectively, and these terminals are electrically connected. The groove portions 22a, 24a, and 26a face the grippers 62, 64, and 66, respectively.

  When the operating member 68 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) is moved from the off position to the on position, this operating force is transmitted to the grippers 62, 64, and 66 via the gripper moving mechanism 67 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 7B, each gripper 62, 64, 66 moves from the retracted position to the chuck position. The grippers 62, 64, and 66 enter the groove portions 22a, 24a, and 26a, respectively, and press the bottom surfaces of the groove portions. As a result, the lens-side mount portion 5 is chucked with a uniform force from three directions and is reliably held. Since the grippers 62, 64, and 66 enter the groove portions 22a, 24a, and 26a, respectively, the lens side mount portion 5 cannot be pulled out, and this plays a role of a lock function.

  When the power switch 16 is turned on and the mode operation unit 13 is operated to set the shooting mode, a through image is displayed on the LCD 15 and a shooting is possible. When the release button 12 is pressed, image data obtained at that time is sent to the camera body via the lens side connection terminals 27, 28, 29 and the body side connection terminals 47, 48, 49, and is sent to the recording medium 91. To be recorded. When the mode operation unit 13 is operated to set the playback mode, the image recorded on the recording medium 91 can be displayed on the LCD 15.

  When the lens unit 3 is removed after shooting, the operation member 68 is moved to the off position. When the operating member 68 is moved to the OFF position, this operating force is transmitted to the grippers 62, 64, 66 through the gripper moving mechanism 67, and as shown in FIG. 7A, the grippers 62, 64, 66 are transmitted. Moves to the retracted position. Since the gripping force is not applied to the lens side mount portion 5, the lens side mount portion 5 can be easily pulled out from the recess 40.

  In the above embodiment, the shape of the lens side mount portion is a regular hexagonal prism shape, but may be a regular N prismatic shape (N: an even number of 6 or more), for example, a regular octagonal prism shape or a positive 10 shape. It may be prismatic. Further, the shape of the lens side mount portion may be an N prism shape (N: an even number of 6 or more) having different side lengths. However, in this case, it is preferable to configure the shape of the lens side mount portion and the chuck mechanism so that the force for chucking the lens side mount portion is balanced.

  In the above embodiment, the lens side connection terminal is disposed on the side surface of the lens side mount portion, but may be disposed on the bottom surface (rear surface) of the lens side mount portion. In the above embodiment, the main body side connection terminal is formed in a leaf spring shape, but a guide groove is provided so as to extend perpendicularly to the wall surface of the main body side mount portion, and the main body side connection terminal is slidable in this guide groove. The main body side connection terminal may be configured to be spring-biased by a coil spring or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the solid-state imaging device is disposed on the lens unit side, but may be disposed on the camera body side.

It is a perspective view of a lens unit and a camera body. It is a perspective view of a lens unit. It is a schematic block diagram of a main body side mount part. It is principal part sectional drawing of the main body side mount part when cut | disconnected in the front-back direction. It is a figure which shows the main body side mount part when a gripper moves to a chuck | zipper position. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of a lens unit and a camera main body. FIG. 7A is a diagram showing the lens side mount part and the main body side mount part before chucking the inserted lens side mount part, and FIG. 7B chucks the inserted lens side mount part. It is a figure which shows the lens side mount part and main body side mount part after having performed.

Explanation of symbols

2 Digital Camera 3 Lens Unit 4 Camera Body 5 Lens Side Mount 6 Body Side Mount 11 CCD Image Sensor 21-26 Side 22a, 24a, 26a Groove 27, 28, 29 Lens Side Connection Terminal 40 Recess 47, 48, 49 Body Side connection terminal 60 Chuck mechanism 67 Gripper moving mechanism 68 Operation member

Claims (5)

It consists of a lens-side mount provided on the lens unit with the photographic lens incorporated, and a body-side mount provided on the camera body to which the lens-side mount is detachably attached. In the camera mounting structure to be connected
The lens side mount portion is formed in an N prism shape (N: an even number of 6 or more) so as to protrude from the rear surface of the lens unit, and has a plurality of side surfaces parallel to the protruding direction.
The main body side mount portion includes a recess into which the lens side mount portion is fitted,
A chuck mechanism that holds three or more surfaces that are not adjacent to each other among the side surfaces of the lens-side mount portion that are fitted as chuck surfaces, and holds the lens-side mount portion by chucking these chuck surfaces;
A camera mounting structure comprising: a main body side connection terminal that is in contact with and electrically connected to a lens side connection terminal provided in a region other than the chuck surface of the lens side mount portion.   The lens side mount portion is formed in a regular polygonal column shape, and when the lens side mount portion is held by the chuck mechanism, one of the chuck surfaces is a horizontal plane. The camera mount structure according to claim 1. A groove is formed on the chuck surface,
The chuck mechanism enters a groove portion of the chuck surface of the lens-side mount portion that is fitted, a chuck position that grips the lens-side mount portion, and a retreat that leaves the groove portion of the chuck surface and leaves the lens-side mount portion. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, further comprising a gripping member that moves between positions.   The lens side connection terminal is provided on a surface of the side surface excluding the chuck surface, and when the lens side mount portion is fitted, the surface on which the lens side connection terminal is provided and the body side connection of the concave portion The surface on which the terminal is provided is configured to face slightly spaced from each other, and the main body side connection terminal is a spring so as to contact the lens side connection terminal when the lens side mount portion is fitted. 4. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the camera mounting structure is biased.   5. The camera mount structure according to claim 1, wherein the lens unit includes a solid-state imaging device that captures a subject image formed by the photographing lens. 6.

Images