JP2008233575A - Lens barrel, camera, personal digital assistant, and image input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a lens barrel more compact by reducing variance in rotation-directional position of a female screw member moving on a lead screw, suppressing variance in retraction position of a retracting lens holding frame, and making a retraction space for the retracting lens holding frame narrow. <P>SOLUTION: A press plate 81 has a rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 whose position can be adjusted to the right and left, and the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 has a through hole, into which one end of a third-group female screw member rotational positioning guide 39 is inserted for support fixation. A rotation stop recessed portion 35c formed in a slit shape in a third-group female screw member 35 engages the third-group female screw member rotational positioning guide 39 to function as a rotation stopper for the third-group female screw member 35, thereby determining the rotation-directional position of the third-group female screw member 35. The storage position of a third lens holding frame 31 is changed by changing the setting of the support position of one end of the third-group female screw member rotational positioning guide 39 by the adjustment setting of the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate 83. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention retracts the lens group while retracting a part of the lens group from the imaging optical axis in one form, and arranges all the lens groups on the imaging optical axis and extends to a predetermined position in the other form. In particular, a lens barrel suitable for a zoom lens capable of changing a focal length by relatively moving a plurality of lens groups, as well as a camera and a mobile phone using such a lens barrel The present invention relates to a type information terminal device and an image input device.

Conventionally, in an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera, a movable lens barrel is provided inside the camera body except during shooting due to progress in performance of a shooting lens such as a zoom lens and downsizing according to a request from a user. There is a need for a lens having a photographic lens that is retractable. Further, due to the demand for thinning the camera (imaging device) body, it is important to reduce the dimension of the movable lens barrel in the retracted storage state in the photographing optical axis direction to the limit.
In order to meet the demand for a thinner camera body, a technique has been proposed in which at least a part of the lens group is retracted from the photographing optical axis when the movable barrel is retracted into the camera body. In such a technique, when the movable lens barrel is stored, a part of the lens group is retracted from the imaging optical axis, so that the size of the movable lens barrel in the imaging optical axis direction can be reduced, and the camera body (imaging device) It is possible to make the main body part thinner. For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-315861), in a zoom lens barrel having a plurality of optical elements involved in zooming constituting a zoom lens system, in the shooting state, the plurality of optical elements are In the lens barrel member that houses the plurality of optical elements, it is positioned on the same photographing optical axis, and in the retracted state, a part of the plurality of optical elements is placed in the lens barrel member that is parallel to the photographing optical axis. It is disclosed that the retracted optical element is retracted on the retracted optical axis, and the retracted optical element and at least a part of the optical element that is not retracted are independently retracted to make the photographing impossible.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-149723), in a camera having a photographing optical system in which a photographing lens, an optical filter, and an image sensor are arranged in order, at least a part of the photographing lens is moved in the optical axis direction. First moving means, second moving means for moving at least one part of the remaining portion of the photographing lens and at least one of the optical filters in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis, and the photographing by the second moving means. Second detection means for detecting that at least one part of the remaining part of the lens and at least one of the optical filters have been retracted to a predetermined position, and wherein the second detection means is at least part of the remaining part of the photographing lens and the After detecting at least one retraction of the optical filter, the at least part of the photographing lens is replaced with at least part of the remaining part of the photographing lens. Preliminary the optical camera at least one of the filter and control means for controlling so as to retract to the position on the optical axis are arranged is disclosed.
In the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, the retracted position of the lens group retracted from the photographing optical axis is substantially inside the maximum outer diameter of the fixed cylinder in the lens barrel of the camera body. It has become. For this reason, in the configurations of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the dimension in the photographing optical axis direction when the movable lens barrel is housed can be reduced, but the outer diameter of the fixed cylinder is increased, so that the camera (imaging device) When the main body is viewed from the front object side, the size tends to increase.
In order to deal with such a problem, the present applicant has proposed an invention according to Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-330657) described later.

JP 2003-315861 A JP 2003-149723 A JP 2006-330657 A

In contrast to the configurations such as Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, at least a part of the plurality of lens groups is retracted, and at least a part of the lens groups is moved to the objective side from the retracted state in which the lens group is housed. A plurality of lens holding frames that hold the plurality of lens groups for each lens group, a movable lens barrel that holds the lens holding frame inside, and the movable lens barrel. Provided with a lens holding frame driving means for driving the lens holding frame via the lens holding frame, the lens holding frame positions all the lens groups on the same shooting optical axis in the shooting state and at least one in the retracted state. In order to retract one lens group at a position different from the photographing optical axis and outside the maximum outer diameter of the movable lens barrel that holds the other lens group, the at least one lens group is held. Lens barrel including a lens-retracting frame which moved has been proposed by Patent Document 3 and the like.
In this configuration, the retractable lens holding frame retracts outside the maximum outer diameter of the movable lens barrel that holds the other lens group, but if the retracting space of the retractable lens holding frame is too large, the entire camera Therefore, the retracting space of the retractable lens holding frame needs to be configured as small as possible. However, if the retracting space of the retractable lens holding frame is too small, variations in the retracted position of the retractable lens retaining frame cannot be absorbed, causing interference with other members, resulting in malfunction. It will end up. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a certain evacuation space.

  Thus, the retractable lens holding frame is formed with a cam, and the cam drives the retractable lens to the photographing position and the retracted position using the cam follower projection provided on the female screw member that moves on the lead screw. Further, the rotation restriction of the female screw member, so-called rotation prevention, is achieved by engaging a protrusion with a slit of a resin member that is integrally formed with a fixed lens barrel of the lens. Was. However, since the slit is formed integrally with the fixed lens barrel, the relative positional accuracy of the slit with respect to the lead screw cannot be easily increased, and the retractable lens is caused by molding errors or assembly errors of each part. Variations in the rotational position of the cam follower protrusion that drives the holding frame could not be suppressed. Therefore, the retracting space of the retractable lens holding frame cannot be reduced, the lens barrel is downsized, and further, a smaller camera, a portable information terminal, and an image input device are configured using the lens barrel. I couldn't.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and by retracting at least a part of a plurality of lens groups and moving at least a part of the lens groups from the retracted state in which the lens group is housed to the object side. In order to obtain a shooting state, a plurality of lens holding frames that hold the plurality of lens groups for each lens group, a movable lens barrel that holds the lens holding frame inside, and the movable lens barrel through the movable lens barrel. Lens holding frame driving means for driving the lens holding frame, and the lens holding frame positions all the lens groups on the same photographing optical axis in the photographing state, and at least one lens group in the retracted state. Retractable lens holder for holding and moving the at least one lens group in order to retreat outside the maximum outer diameter of the movable lens barrel that holds the other lens group at a position different from the optical axis The retractable lens holding frame includes a cam for driving the retractable lens to the photographing position and the storage position by engaging with a cam follower protrusion formed on a side portion of the female screw member that moves on the lead screw. In the formed lens barrel, the variation in the rotational direction position of the female screw member moving on the lead screw is reduced, the variation in the retraction position of the retraction lens holding frame is suppressed, and the retraction space of the retraction lens holding frame is reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lens barrel that can be made more compact and a camera, a portable information terminal device, and an image input device using the lens barrel.

The object of claim 1 of the present invention is to reduce the variation in the rotational position of the female screw member moving on the lead screw, to suppress the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens retaining frame, and to retract the retractable lens retaining frame. An object of the present invention is to provide a lens barrel that can be made smaller by narrowing the space.
The object of the second aspect of the present invention is to reduce the variation of each component related to the retracted lens holding frame storage position, which has been reduced by the design change of the shape of the cam of the retractable lens holding frame and the mold correction. An object of the present invention is to provide a lens barrel that can be easily absorbed, can improve the adjustment accuracy of the storage position at a low cost, and can further reduce a retreat space to be secured.
The object of claim 3 of the present invention is to improve the accuracy of the storage position of the retractable lens holding frame, and to further reduce the retreat space to be secured to absorb the variation of each component related to the storage position. To provide a lens barrel.
The object of claim 4 of the present invention is to reduce the variation in the rotational position of the female screw member moving on the lead screw in the lens barrel of the imaging optical system, and to reduce the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame. An object of the present invention is to provide a camera that can be configured to be smaller by suppressing the retraction space of the retraction lens holding frame.

The object of claim 5 of the present invention is to reduce the variation in the rotational direction position of the female screw member that moves on the lead screw in the lens barrel of the imaging optical system of the camera function unit, and to retract the retractable lens holding frame. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information terminal device that can suppress a variation in position and can further reduce the size of the retracting space of the retractable lens holding frame.
The object of claim 6 of the present invention is to reduce the variation in the rotational direction position of the female screw member that moves on the lead screw in the lens barrel of the imaging optical system, and to reduce the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame. An object of the present invention is to provide an image input device that can be configured to be smaller by suppressing the retracting space of the retracting lens holding frame.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a lens barrel according to the present invention described in claim 1 is provided.
A lens barrel that is in a photographing state by moving at least a part of the lens group from the retracted state in which at least a part of the plurality of lens groups is retracted to house the lens group to the objective side,
A plurality of lens holding frames that respectively hold the plurality of lens groups, a movable lens barrel that holds the lens holding frame inside, and a lens holding frame drive that drives the lens holding frame via the movable lens barrel Means and
The lens holding frame is configured so that all lens groups are positioned on the same optical axis in a photographing state, and a retracting lens including at least one lens is retracted outside the inner diameter of the movable lens barrel in a retracted state. In a lens barrel including a retractable lens holding frame for holding and moving the retractable lens,
A cam is formed on the retractable lens holding frame, and the cam engages with a cam follower protrusion formed on a side portion of a female screw member that moves on a lead screw, so that the retractable lens is in a photographing position and a retracted position. And a guide member for determining the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame by restricting the rotational direction position of the female screw member.

A lens barrel according to a second aspect of the present invention is the lens barrel according to the first aspect,
The guide member that regulates the rotational position of the female screw member and determines the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame can be adjusted at least at the end of the retracted position determining portion. Yes.
A lens barrel according to a third aspect of the present invention is the lens barrel according to the first or second aspect,
The guide member that restricts the rotational direction position of the female screw member and determines the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame is composed of a metal shaft disposed along the moving direction of the female screw member.
A camera according to the present invention described in claim 4
As an imaging optical system, the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is included.
A portable information terminal device according to the present invention described in claim 5 is:
The image pickup optical system of the camera function unit includes the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
An image input device according to the present invention described in claim 6 is provided.
As an imaging optical system, the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is included.

  According to the present invention, in order to change the at least part of the plurality of lens groups into the photographing state by moving at least part of the lens groups to the objective side from the retracted state in which the lens group is accommodated, the plurality A plurality of lens holding frames for holding each lens group, a movable barrel holding the lens holding frame therein, and a lens holding frame for driving the lens holding frame via the movable barrel Driving means, and the lens holding frame positions all the lens groups on the same photographing optical axis in the photographing state, and at least one lens group in a position different from the photographing optical axis in the retracted state and the other. A retractable lens holding frame for holding and moving the at least one lens group in order to retract outside the maximum outer diameter of the movable lens barrel that holds the lens group. Is a lens barrel in which a cam for driving the retractable lens to a photographing position and a storage position is formed by engaging with a cam follower protrusion formed on a side portion of a female screw member that moves on a lead screw. It is possible to reduce the variation in the rotational direction position of the female screw member moving on the lead screw, suppress the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame, narrow the retracting space of the retractable lens retaining frame, and further reduce the size. And a camera, a portable information terminal device, and an image input device using the lens barrel.

  That is, according to the lens barrel of the first aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the plurality of lens groups is retracted, and at least a part of the lens group is moved to the objective side from the retracted state in which the lens group is accommodated. A lens barrel that is in a photographing state, a plurality of lens holding frames that respectively hold the plurality of lens groups, a movable lens barrel that holds the lens holding frame therein, and the movable lens barrel A lens holding frame driving means for driving the lens holding frame, wherein the lens holding frame positions all the lens groups on the same optical axis in the photographing state and includes at least one lens in the retracted state. A retractable lens holding frame for holding and moving the retractable lens so that the retractable lens is retracted outside the inner diameter of the movable lens barrel. A cam is formed on the holding frame, and the cam engages with a cam follower protrusion formed on a side portion of the female screw member that moves on the lead screw to drive the retractable lens to the photographing position and the storage position. And a rotational position of the female screw member that moves on the lead screw by providing a guide member that regulates the rotational position of the female screw member and determines the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame. It is possible to reduce the variation in the retraction position, suppress the variation in the retraction position of the retraction lens holding frame, narrow the retraction space of the retraction lens holding frame, and further reduce the size.

According to the lens barrel of claim 2 of the present invention, in the lens barrel of claim 1, the guide member for restricting the rotational direction position of the female screw member and determining the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame is In addition, by making it possible to adjust the holding arrangement position at least at the end of the retracted position determination site side, the retracting that has been reduced by changing the design of the cam of the retractable lens holding frame, etc. It is possible to easily absorb the variation of each component related to the storage position of the lens holding frame, improve the adjustment accuracy of the storage position at a low cost, and further reduce the retreat space to be secured. .
According to a lens barrel of a third aspect of the present invention, in the lens barrel of the first or second aspect, a guide for restricting a rotational direction position of the female screw member and determining a retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame. The member is made of a metal shaft disposed along the moving direction of the female screw member, and in particular, improves the accuracy of the storage position of the retractable lens holding frame, and varies the parts related to the storage position. It is possible to further reduce the retreat space to be absorbed.

And according to the camera of Claim 4 of this invention, by including the lens barrel of any one of Claims 1-3 as an imaging optical system, especially of an imaging optical system. Reduces the variation in the rotational position of the female screw member that moves on the lead screw in the lens barrel, suppresses the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame, and narrows the retracting space of the retractable lens retaining frame to further reduce the size It can be configured.
According to the portable information terminal device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, especially by including the lens barrel according to any one of the first to third aspects as an imaging optical system of the camera function unit, , The variation in the rotational direction position of the female screw member moving on the lead screw in the lens barrel of the imaging optical system of the camera function unit is reduced, and the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens retaining frame is suppressed, and the retractable lens retaining frame It is possible to reduce the retreat space and further reduce the size.
According to the image input device of claim 6 of the present invention, by including the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 as the imaging optical system, in particular, the imaging optical system. Reduces the variation in the rotational position of the female screw member that moves on the lead screw in the lens barrel, suppresses the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame, and narrows the retracting space of the retractable lens retaining frame to further reduce the size It can be configured.

Hereinafter, based on an embodiment of the present invention, a lens barrel according to the present invention, a camera including the lens barrel, a portable information terminal device, and an image input device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, an embodiment of a lens barrel according to the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the matters described in the following embodiments and drawings are merely examples used for the description, and the descriptions and drawings according to the embodiments themselves are within the technical scope of the present invention. It is not limited.
1 to 22 show the configuration and various operating states of the main part of an optical system apparatus including a lens barrel according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the optical system apparatus including the lens barrel is configured to be used as an imaging optical system of a camera such as a digital camera.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the configuration of the lens barrel portion in the retracted storage state in which the lens group is retracted and stored, viewed from the object side, and FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the main part in the state of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the configuration of the optical system apparatus including the lens barrel and the lens barrier in the retracted state where the lens barrier is closed, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the configuration of the lens unit viewed from the image plane side, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main part of the lens barrel part and the lens barrier part in a state where the lens barrier opened in the photographing state in which the lens group is projected is being closed. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the configuration viewed from the imaging plane side, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the configuration of the main part of the lens barrel portion in the shooting state in which the lens group is projected. Third lens holding frame for holding three lens groups and collision FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the arrangement configuration of the third lens holding frame, the collision prevention piece, and the fourth lens holding frame portion in the retracted state of the lens group as viewed from the object side, and FIG. In order to explain the operation of the third lens holding frame and the collision prevention piece for holding the three lens groups, the arrangement configuration of the third lens holding frame, the collision prevention piece, and the fourth lens holding frame portion in the shooting state in which the lens group is projected. It is the perspective view seen from the object side.

  9A shows a lens group, a lens holding frame, and various lenses in a lens barrel in which the lens group is in a telephoto position in which the lens group protrudes and in a retracted state in which the lens group is retracted, and in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of a lens-barrel, respectively. FIG. 10 is a developed view schematically showing the shape of the cam groove formed in the second rotating cylinder, and FIG. 11 is a developed view schematically showing the shape of the cam groove formed in the cam cylinder. FIG. 12 is a development view, FIG. 12 is a development view schematically showing the shape of the cam groove and the key groove formed in the first liner and omitting the helicoid, and FIG. 13 is the cam groove formed in the fixed frame. And FIG. 14 is a detailed view including the helicoid, FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the first rotating lens barrel fitted into the helicoid, 16 is a side view showing the configuration of the third lens holding frame and its driving operation system, FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the third lens holding frame and its driving operation system in FIG. 16, and FIG. FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the three-lens holding frame and its drive system. To explain the operation of the lens holding frame, a front view seen third frame portion from the object side, and FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the shutter portion.

Further, FIG. 21 is a perspective view specifically showing the configuration of the main part of the fourth lens holding frame and its driving operation system, and FIG. 22 is a part of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the principal part of the drive operation system from the angle different from FIG.
1 to 22, an optical system apparatus including a lens barrel includes a first lens group 11, a second lens group 12, a third lens group 13, a fourth lens group 14, a shutter / aperture unit 15, a solid-state image sensor. 16, first lens holding frame 17, cover glass 18, low pass filter 19, fixed frame 21, first rotating cylinder 22, first liner 23, second rotating cylinder 24, second liner 25, cam cylinder 26 , Rectilinear cylinder 27, third lens holding frame 31, third group main guide shaft 32, third group sub guide shaft 33, third group lead screw 34, third group female screw member 35, impact prevention piece 36, compression torsion spring 37, a third group photo interrupter 38 (FIGS. 17 and 19), a fourth lens holding frame 41, a fourth group auxiliary guide shaft 42, a fourth group spring 43 (FIGS. 7 and 8), a fourth group main guide shaft. 44, 4th group Lee Screw 45, fourth group female screw member 46, fourth group photo interrupter 47, zoom motor 51 (FIG. 1), third group motor 52, fourth group motor 53, barrier control piece 61, lens barrier 62, barrier drive system 63 , Gears 71, 72, 73, 74, a pressing plate 81, and a lens barrel base 82.

The shooting state will be described mainly with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the first lens group 11, the second lens group 12, the third lens group 13, and the fourth lens group 14 are sequentially arranged from the object side, and the second lens group 12 and the third lens are arranged. A shutter / aperture unit 15 is inserted between the groups 13, and a solid-state imaging device 16 configured using a CCD (charge coupled device) or the like is disposed on the image plane side of the fourth lens group 14. . The first lens group 11 to the fourth lens group 14 constitute a zoom lens having a variable focal length. The first lens group 11 is composed of one or more lenses, and is fixedly held on the rectilinear cylinder 27 via a first lens holding frame 17 that integrally holds the first lens group 11.
The second lens group 12 is composed of one or more lenses, and a cam follower formed on a second lens holding frame (not clearly shown) that integrally holds the second lens group 12 is shown in FIG. The cam cylinder 26 is inserted into a cam groove for the second lens group and is engaged with a rectilinear groove 25 a of the second liner 25, and is supported by the cam cylinder 26 and the second liner 25. The shutter / aperture unit 15 includes a shutter and an aperture stop. A cam follower formed integrally with the shutter / aperture unit 15 is inserted into the shutter / aperture cam groove of the cam cylinder 26 shown in FIG. The liner 25 is engaged with the rectilinear groove 25 a and is supported by the cam cylinder 26 and the second liner 25.

As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, a straight advance groove and a cam groove along the axial direction are formed on the inner surface of the fixed cylinder of the fixed frame 21, and the helicoid cam groove has a shape as shown in FIG. 15. A helicoid cam follower formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base end portion of the first rotating cylinder 22 is engaged, and the rectilinear groove of the fixed cylinder of the fixed frame 21 is provided on the outer periphery of the base end portion of the first liner 23. The protruding key part is engaged. A guide groove is formed along the surface perpendicular to the optical axis on the inner surface of the first rotating cylinder 22, and a follower that is a linear guide member protruding from the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the base end portion of the first liner 23. (Or key) is engaged. A linear groove and a helicoid are formed along the optical axis direction on the inner surface of the first liner 23, and the first liner 23 is projected on the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the base end portion of the second rotating cylinder 24. An escape groove for inserting the cam follower is formed.
A helicoid is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base end portion of the second rotating cylinder 24, and is screwed into the helicoid provided on the inner periphery of the first liner 23, and the base end portion of the second rotating cylinder 24 A cam follower projecting on the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity is engaged with a linear groove provided on the inner periphery of the first rotating cylinder 22 through the liner (linear groove) of the first liner 23. A key portion protruding from the outer periphery of the base end portion of the second liner 25 is engaged with the linear groove provided on the inner periphery of the first liner 23. A guide groove is formed along the surface perpendicular to the optical axis on the inner surface of the second rotating cylinder 24, and a follower (or key) that is a linear guide member protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the second liner 25. Is engaged. With such a configuration, the second liner 25 moves integrally with the second rotating cylinder 24 with respect to the movement in the optical axis direction, but the second rotating cylinder relatively moves with respect to the second liner 25. Reference numeral 24 denotes a rotational movement.

The cam cylinder 26 fitted to the inner periphery of the second liner 25 has a locking projection projected on the outer periphery of the base end part fitted and locked to the base end part of the second rotary cylinder 24, so that the second It is designed to rotate integrally with the rotary cylinder 24. A guide groove is formed on the inner surface of the second liner 25 along a surface perpendicular to the optical axis, and a follower (or key) that is a linear guide member protruding from the outer peripheral surface (front side) of the cam cylinder 26 is provided. Is engaged. With such a configuration, the cam cylinder 26 moves integrally with the second liner 25 with respect to the movement in the optical axis direction, but the cam cylinder 26 can relatively rotate with respect to the second liner 25. It is like that.
The rectilinear cylinder 27 is inserted between the second rotary cylinder 24 and the second liner 25 on the base end side, and a cam follower is provided on the outer peripheral surface near the base end of the rectilinear cylinder 27. The cam follower engages with a cam groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the second rotating cylinder 24, and a rectilinear groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rectilinear cylinder 27 along the axial direction. The key part of the outer peripheral surface of the liner 25 is engaged. A gear portion is formed on the outer periphery of the base end portion of the first rotating cylinder 22, and the driving force of the zoom motor 51 is appropriately transmitted through the gear and rotated, whereby the first lens group 11, The two lens group 12 and the shutter / aperture unit 15 perform a zooming operation in a predetermined manner.

  Note that the cam groove of the second rotating cylinder 24 that engages with the cam follower of the rectilinear cylinder 27 is shown in FIG. The cam groove of the cam cylinder 26 that engages with the cam follower of the lens holding frame of the second lens group 12 and the cam groove of the cam cylinder 26 that engages with the cam follower of the shutter / aperture unit 15 are shown in FIG. The cam groove of the first liner 23 that engages with the cam follower of the second rotating cylinder 24 and the linear groove of the first liner 23 that engages with the key part of the second liner 25 are shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show the rectilinear groove of the fixed frame 21 that engages with the key portion of the first liner 23 of the fixed cylinder portion and the cam groove of the fixed frame 21 that engages with the cam follower of the first rotating cylinder 22, respectively. It is shown.

  That is, generally, the rotating cylinder closest to the outermost fixed cylinder is screwed into the fixed cylinder by the helicoid, and the helicoid moves at a constant speed from the shape. For this reason, in the wide-angle position during which it is gradually driven from the retracted retracted state to the telephoto position via the wide-angle position, it is common that the rotary cylinder is drawn out about halfway. On the other hand, in the above-described configuration, the first rotating cylinder 22 is engaged with the fixed cylinder portion of the fixed frame 21 by a helicoid cam groove instead of simply being screwed into the helicoid, so that the first rotating cylinder 22 can be By driving to the wide-angle position, the first rotary cylinder 22 is fully extended to the maximum extension position, and thereafter, the object side end of the cam groove is parallel to the end face of the fixed cylinder as shown in FIGS. In the driving from the wide-angle position to the telephoto position, the first rotating cylinder 22 rotates at a fixed position without moving the rotating cylinder in the optical axis direction.

When the first rotating cylinder 22 moves from the retracted state to the wide-angle position, the first rotating cylinder 22 is initially rotated to the object side and reaches the maximum extending position. When the first rotating cylinder 22 reaches the maximum extending position, for example, a photo reflector, a photo interrupter installed on the fixed frame 21. Alternatively, a zoom position reference signal is generated by a zoom position detector composed of a leaf switch or the like. Therefore, when this zoom position reference signal is generated, it can be considered that the first rotating cylinder 22 has reached the maximum extended position, so that the retractable lens holding frame, that is, the third lens holding frame 31 in this example, is lighted. An approaching operation can be started in the axial direction.
Accordingly, the first rotating cylinder 22 and the first liner 23, which are the lens barrels close to the fixed cylinder portion at an early stage of the extending operation, are fully extended, so that the third lens holding frame 31 (to be described later) A space for insertion on the shaft is secured in advance.
As will be described later, the zoom position reference signal is generated as soon as the first rotating cylinder 22 reaches the maximum extension position, and the third lens holding frame 31 is inserted as soon as a space for insertion is secured. Thus, it is possible to minimize the time required for shifting from the retracted state to the wide-angle state such as when the power is turned on.

The third lens group 13 is held by the third lens holding frame 31. The third lens holding frame 31 holds the third lens group 13 at one end, and the other end can be rotated by a third group main guide shaft 32 substantially parallel to the optical axis of the third lens group 13. The third group main guide shaft 32 is supported so as to be slidable. The third lens holding frame 31 has a position on the optical axis where the third lens group 13 is inserted on the optical axis in the photographing state as shown in FIG. 8, and the third lens group 13 in the retracted state as shown in FIG. Is rotated around the third group main guide shaft 32 between the storage position retracted to the outside from the fixed cylinder portion of the fixed frame 21. In the vicinity of the third lens group 13 on the rotation end side of the third lens holding frame 31, the position in the direction parallel to the main guide shaft on the rotation axis side and the support portion side of the third lens group 13 in this case. Different crank-shaped bent portions are formed, and a stopper 31a (FIG. 18) and a light-shielding piece 31b project from the bent portion substantially in the direction of the rotation end.
In order to increase the focal length on the telephoto side in terms of optical performance, the position of the third lens group 13 at the time of telephoto is a position extended to the subject side. However, the movable amount of the third lens holding frame 31 is determined by the restriction of the length in the optical axis direction of the lens barrel in the retracted state. The telephoto side focal length can be made as large as possible by setting the lens holding position of the third lens holding frame 31 closest to the subject.
However, if the position of the stopper 31a in the optical axis direction is set at substantially the same position as that of the third lens group 13, the third group sub-guide shaft 33 becomes longer and the retracted lens barrel becomes larger. End up. Accordingly, the stopper 31a needs to be installed on the in-focus position side as much as possible. Therefore, the third lens holding frame 31 is formed in a shape having a crank-shaped bent portion. The third lens holding frame 31 may be composed of two parts. In this case, one is a member provided with the crank-shaped bent portion, and the other holds the third lens group 13. It is a member for doing. These two parts are fixed to each other and operate as if they were integrated.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, when the third lens holding frame 31 is in the retracted position, the female screw member 35 screwed into the third group lead screw 34 is positioned closest to the image plane side. Further, in this state, with the compression torsion spring 37 being most charged, a moment in the clockwise direction (direction of entering the optical axis) as viewed from the front of the lens barrel is always applied to the third lens holding frame. On the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the third lens holding frame 31 supported by the main guide shaft 32, a cam sloped cam portion 31e is formed on the inner surface of the base end side of the step portion 31c as shown in FIG. Has been. When the third group motor 52 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 17 from this state, the lead screw 34 is rotated in the clockwise direction via the gear mechanism including the gears 71 to 74, and the female screw member 35 is moved along the optical axis direction. Move to the subject side. At this time, due to the moment force from the compression torsion spring 37, the third lens holding frame 31 rotates in the clockwise direction, and its cam portion 31e comes into contact engagement with the cam follower protrusion 35a which is the contact portion of the female screw member 35. is doing. Thereafter, when the female screw member 35 moves to the most object side, the light shielding piece 31b of the third lens holding frame 31 moves until it is disengaged from the photo interrupter 38 as the third group position detecting device. ) To H (high level). The position of the third lens group 13 is controlled by pulse counting with reference to the reference signal from the photo interrupter 38.

  When the female screw member 35 is moved to the position B in FIG. 16 from this state, the third lens holding frame 31 further rotates in the clockwise direction, and the stopper 31a is moved to the third group sub-portion as shown in FIGS. By contacting the guide shaft 33, the position of the third lens holding frame 31 on the optical axis is defined. This completes the approaching operation in the optical axis direction. In addition, the light shielding piece 31b can detect and confirm that it is in the storage position by shielding the photo interrupter 38 shown in FIG. When the female screw member 35 moves to the position B in FIG. 16, the cam follower projection 35 a of the female screw member 35 comes into contact with and engages with the front side engaging portion 31 d of the step portion 31 c of the third lens holding frame 31. That is, the step portion 31c of the third lens holding frame 31 has a cam portion 31e having a cam slope shape on the base end side, and forms a plane that intersects the third group main guide shaft 32 substantially perpendicularly on the front end side. The front engaging portion 31d has a concave shape with respect to the cylindrical peripheral surface. The third lens holding frame 31 is always urged in the rotational direction from the storage position toward the position on the optical axis by a compression torsion spring 37 disposed around the third group main guide shaft 32 and is On the third group main guide shaft 32, it is always urged in the direction from the object side toward the holding plate 81 on the image plane side.

As shown in FIG. 17, the portion of the fixed frame 21 that is pressed by the compression torsion spring 37 is formed with a step 37a in the vicinity of the portion where the compression torsion spring 37 abuts as shown in the figure. The position of the compression torsion spring 37 is regulated. That is, the center position of the compression torsion spring 37 does not deviate greatly from the center of the third group main guide shaft 32.
Next, when the female screw member 35 moves to the wide-angle position (W position in FIG. 16), the cam follower projection 35a of the female screw member 35 presses the front engaging portion 31d, so that the third lens holding frame 31 is in the wide-angle position. It is possible to move to the subject side along the optical axis direction.
Further, while the female screw member 35 is located between the position B in FIG. 16 and the telephoto position (position T in FIG. 16), the compression torsion spring 37 moves toward the image plane side along the optical axis direction. Since it is always pressed, the gap generated between the third group lead screw 34 or the female screw member 35 and the holding plate 81 is all moved toward the image plane side, so that the third group lens holding frame 31 has an optical axis. Position accuracy in the direction can be secured.

The female screw member 35 is screwed into the third group lead screw 34 disposed substantially parallel to the optical axis, and the front engagement portion 31d or the cam in the step portion 31c of the third lens holding frame 31 described above. In addition to the cam follower projection 35a that comes into contact with the portion 31e, it is formed on the fixed cylinder portion of the fixed frame 21 as a rotation stop for preventing the female screw member 35 from rotating as the third group lead screw 34 rotates. An anti-rotation protrusion 35b that fits and slides in a guide groove parallel to the optical axis direction is formed (FIG. 18). That is, the female screw member 35 moves forward and backward along the optical axis by the rotation of the third group lead screw 34 because the rotation stop projection 35b is fitted in the guide groove of the fixed frame 21 and is prevented from rotating. It is.
As shown in detail in FIG. 16, when the female screw member 35 moves further to the image plane side (the left side in the drawing) than the position B in FIG. 16, the female screw member 35 abuts against the cam portion 31 e of the step portion 31 c of the third lens holding frame 31. The third lens holding frame 31 is in contact with the holding plate 81 by the urging of the compression torsion spring 37 in the optical axis direction, and resists the urging force of the compression torsion spring 37 in the clockwise direction. Since the three-lens holding frame 31 is rotated counterclockwise, the retracting operation can be performed.

On the other hand, during the reverse rotation (counterclockwise rotation) of the third group lead screw 34, the cam follower protrusion 35a of the female screw member 35 moves while the female screw member 35 moves from the telephoto position T to the retreat start position B through the wide angle position W. Since the engagement contact surface is in contact with the front engagement portion 31d of the step portion 31c of the third lens holding frame 31, the urging force of the compression torsion spring 37 to the position on the optical axis and the application to the image surface side are applied. The third lens holding frame 31 gradually moves from the object side to the image plane side while maintaining the position on the optical axis restricted by the third group sub-guide shaft 33 by the force. When the female screw member 35 reaches the retraction start position B, the base end surface 31f of the third lens holding frame 31 comes into contact with the pressing plate 81, the female screw member 35 is separated from the front engaging portion 31d, and the cam of the step portion 31c. It abuts on the part 31e.
While the female screw member 35 moves from the retraction start position B to the storage position S, the cam follower protrusion 35a of the female screw member 35 is in sliding contact with the cam portion 31e of the step portion 31c of the third lens holding frame 31, and the third lens holding frame. The third lens holding frame 31 is rotated from the position on the optical axis to the storage position by rotating the frame 31 against the rotation urging force of the compression torsion spring 37. The storage position S of the third lens holding frame 31 is a position moved to the image plane side by a predetermined pulse count from the generation of the storage reference signal by the photo interrupter 38 that changes from H to L. After the third lens holding frame 31 has moved to the storage position S, the first lens group 11, the second lens group 12, and the shutter / aperture unit 15 are allowed to move to the retracted storage position.

In this example, in the storing operation, the fourth lens holding frame 41 first moves to the storing position before the third lens holding frame 31 moves to the storing position. The first storage position of the fourth lens holding frame 41 is a predetermined pulse from the generation of the storage reference signal of the fourth lens holding frame 41 that changes from H to L generated by a fourth group reference detector (not shown). This is the position moved to the image plane side by the count number. After the storage operation of the fourth group lens holding frame 41 is completed, the storage operation of the third lens holding frame 31 is permitted.
That is, the storage operation of the third lens holding frame 31 is completed by moving to the image plane side by a predetermined pulse count from the generation of the storage reference signal that changes from H to L by the photo interrupter 38 (FIG. 19). After completion of the storage, the first rotary cylinder 22 is retracted, or the components located inward of the first rotary cylinder 22 and the first liner 23, that is, in front of their base end surfaces, There is no interference with the third lens holding frame 31 by retracting from the position immediately before contacting the third lens holding frame 31 after completion of the storing operation of the third lens holding frame 31 described above. It is possible to safely retract the first rotary cylinder 22 and the like. In the zoom motor 51 configured using a general DC (direct current) motor, the positions of the first rotary cylinder 22 and the like are close to the pinion gear having an encoder shape directly fixed to the output shaft of the zoom motor 51. It is possible to set by the count of drive pulses generated by a zoom count detector comprising, for example, a photo interrupter 51a. Here, the drive source for moving the first rotary cylinder 22 is a DC motor, and detection of the drive position is achieved by a detector using an encoder and a photo interrupter. It is clear that a similar function can be achieved even if it is replaced with.

  By the way, the collision preventing piece 36 is rotatably supported by the fixed frame 21 in the vicinity of the third group main guide shaft 32, and the rotation preventing projection 36a in the vicinity of the rotating end protrudes to the photographing optical axis position side. It is always urged by a spring or the like in the moving direction. When the third lens holding frame 31 is located at the storage position, the collision preventing piece 36 is pushed out by the third lens holding frame 31 having a rotational force equal to or greater than its own urging force, and from the third lens holding frame 31. Is also biased outward (see in particular FIGS. 2 and 7). When the third lens holding frame 31 rotates and moves to the position on the optical axis, the collision preventing piece 36 is disengaged from the third lens holding frame 31, and the locking projection 36a is photographed by the urging force. The locking protrusion 36a is protruded from the inner surface of the fixed cylinder of the fixed frame 21 by rotating in the direction of protruding toward the optical axis. At this time, the second rotating cylinder 24, the second liner 25, the cam cylinder 26, and the rectilinear cylinder 27, including the first rotating cylinder 22 and the first liner 23, all come from the protruding position of the locking protrusion 36a. Is also located on the object side, the locking projection 36a protrudes inwardly from the outer peripheral edges of the proximal ends of the first rotating cylinder 22 and the first liner 23 (particularly FIGS. 5, 6 and 8). reference).

By doing so, even if the first rotating cylinder is forcibly rotated manually and moved to the storage position side, the collision preventing piece first comes into contact with the first rotating cylinder. Since the base end portion of the tube 22 cannot be moved to the image plane side with respect to the position of the collision prevention piece 36 in the optical axis direction, it is possible to avoid contact with the third lens holding frame 31. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the third lens holding frame 31 from being destroyed or damaged by a strong external force. The first rotating cylinder 22 can move to the storage position only after the third lens holding frame 31 has been normally moved to the storage position.
Therefore, when a large pressure is applied to the front end side of the lens barrel due to dropping or the like in a shooting state in which the lens barrel protrudes, the collision preventing piece 36 is locked to the first rotating cylinder 22 and the first liner 23. The projection 36a is engaged, and the third lens group beyond the first rotating cylinder 22 and the first liner 23 (and the second rotating cylinder 24, the second liner 25, the cam cylinder 26, and the rectilinear cylinder 27). The backward movement toward the side 13 is prevented, and the third lens holding frame 31 and the third lens group 13 are prevented from being damaged.
The third group lead screw 34 is rotationally driven in both forward and reverse directions by the third group motor 52. The rotation of the third group motor 52 is transmitted to the third group lead screw 34 through the gear 71, the gear 72, the gear 73, and the gear 74 in order.

Next, the drive configuration of the fourth lens group 14 will be described. In addition to FIGS. 7 and 8, the description will be given mainly with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, which are perspective views showing the fourth group drive system.
In this case, the fourth lens group 14 used as a focus lens for focusing, that is, focusing, is held by a fourth lens holding frame 41 as shown in FIGS. The fourth lens holding frame 41 is fixed to the lens barrel base 82 and is fitted to the fourth group main guide shaft 44 arranged in parallel to the optical axis. The fourth lens holding frame 41 is parallel to the optical axis and parallel to the optical axis. And a sub-rotation portion 41b that regulates the rotation of the fourth lens holding frame 41. With such a configuration, the fourth lens holding frame 41 can freely move along the fourth group main guide shaft 44, that is, along the optical axis direction. As a drive source for driving the fourth lens holding frame 41, a fourth group motor 53 consisting of a stepping motor is provided in this case, and a fourth group lead screw 45 is provided on the output shaft of the fourth group motor 53. Is formed. The fourth group lead screw 45 is screwed with a fourth group female screw member 46 in which a female screw is formed.

The fourth lens holding frame 41 is provided with a space for inserting the fourth group female screw member 46. This space is formed on the image side with an engaging portion 41c that engages with the fourth group female screw member 46 on a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, and the fourth lens holding frame 41 is subject to the subject by the fourth group spring 43. By urging to the side, the fourth lens holding frame 41 is always in contact with and engaged with the fourth group female screw member 46. The fourth group female screw member 46 has a protruding portion 46a that protrudes in the radial direction, and this protruding portion 46a is provided on one side of the space in which the fourth group female screw member 46 of the fourth lens holding frame 41 is inserted. By engaging with the hole 41d, the fourth group female screw member 46 functions as a rotation stopper.
In this way, when the fourth group motor 53, which is a stepping motor, is driven to rotate, the fourth group lead screw 45 rotates, and the fourth group female screw member 46 moves in the direction of the fourth group lead screw 45, that is, the light. It moves forward and backward along the axial direction. Since the fourth lens holding frame 41 is engaged with the fourth group female screw member 46, the fourth lens holding frame 41 moves along the optical axis following the movement of the fourth group female screw member 46. . At this time, the fourth group lead screw 45 is formed on the output shaft of the fourth group motor 53. However, the fourth group motor 53 and the fourth group lead screw 45 are separately configured and connected by a gear or the like. By doing so, the fourth group lead screw 45 may be rotated so as to transmit the rotation.

The fourth lens holding frame 41 is formed with a light shielding piece 41e that blocks the optical path of the fourth group photo interrupter 47 provided on the lens barrel base 82, and the fourth group lens holding frame 41 is moved to a predetermined position. Thus, the fourth group photo interrupter 47 can be shielded / transmitted to block the optical path or to form the optical path. In this case, the moment when the fourth lens holding frame 41 is moved to the light-transmitting state due to the movement of the fourth lens holding frame 41 is recognized as the reference position, and the pulse waveform is energized by an arbitrary number of pulses from that position. The fourth lens holding frame 41 can be moved to a desired position by rotating the group motor 53.
The outer periphery of the fourth lens holding frame 41 is formed with a recess 41f for avoiding interference by escaping the light interrupting piece 31b for the photo interrupter of the third lens holding frame 31 in the optical axis direction. The amount of movement of the fourth lens holding frame 41 can be increased, and the photographing distance range that can be focused can be widened. As described above, the engagement structure between the fourth lens holding frame 41 and the fourth group female screw member 46 has play in the optical axis direction, but the fourth lens holding frame 41 is moved by the fourth group spring 43. By always urging the subject side, the fourth lens holding frame 41 can control the position in the optical axis direction with high accuracy.

  The storage position of the first rotating cylinder 22, the first liner 23, the first lens group 11, the second lens group 12, and the shutter / aperture unit 15 is a zoom made of a photo reflector or the like installed on the fixed frame 21. Control is performed based on a zoom position reference signal generated by the position detector. That is, after the zoom position storage reference signal changes from H to L, the image signal moves to the image plane side by a predetermined number of drive pulses generated by a pinion gear functioning as an encoder and a zoom count detector installed in the vicinity thereof. It is possible to complete the storing operation. At the time of storage, the fourth lens holding frame 41 is located at the first storage position as described above. However, when the first rotary cylinder 22 moves to the storage position, the first rotary cylinder 22 is moved. Alternatively, the most proximal end surface of the first liner 23 comes into contact with and presses the fourth lens holding frame 41 and is finally moved to the second storage position of the fourth lens holding frame 41. By such an operation, the fourth lens holding frame 41 is accurately moved to the storage position without requiring complicated adjustment even if the mounting position of the fourth group photointerrupter 47 in the optical axis direction varies. It becomes possible. Such an effect can be achieved because the length of the engagement space provided in the fourth lens holding frame 41 in the optical axis direction is larger than the thickness of the fourth group female screw member 46.

In this case, the zoom motor 51 for moving the first lens group 11, the second lens group 12 and the shutter / aperture unit 15 is configured by using a DC motor, and a second motor for driving the third lens group 13. The fourth group motor 53 for driving the third group motor 52 and the fourth lens group 14 is generally configured using a pulse motor, and is driven in cooperation with each other in terms of software, for example. A proper zooming operation by the third lens group 11 to 13 and a proper focusing operation mainly by the fourth lens group 14 are achieved.
Here, drive control of each lens group constituting the lens barrel will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the drive control system. The drive control system of FIG. 23 includes a central processing unit 501, a motor driver 502, first and second group DC motors 503, a first aperture motor 504, a second aperture motor 505, a shutter motor 506, and a third group pulse. Motor 507, fourth group pulse motor 508, first to second group photo interrupters 509, first to second group photo reflectors 510, third group photo interrupters 511, fourth group photo interrupters 512, first to second groups It has a photo interrupter driving circuit 513, first to second group photo reflector driving circuits 514, a third group photo interrupter driving circuit 515, and a fourth group photo interrupter driving circuit 516.
The central processing unit 501 gives instructions to the motor driver 502 such as initial setting of the motor driver 502, selection of a driving motor, setting of driving voltage, and driving direction. In accordance with a command from the central processing unit 501, the motor driver 502 includes first to second group DC motors 503, a first aperture motor 504, a second aperture motor 505, a shutter motor 506, a third group pulse motor 507, and The motor system such as the fourth group pulse motor 508 is controlled. The first to second group DC motors 503 drive the first group lens system 11 and the second group lens system 12. In a normal case, the first group lens system 11 and the second group lens system 12 are independently driven via a cam mechanism that responds to the driving force of the first to second group DC motors 503. The first aperture motor 504 and the second aperture motor 505 drive the aperture of the shutter / aperture unit 15. The shutter motor 506 drives the shutter of the shutter / aperture unit 15. The third group pulse motor 507 drives the third group lens system 13. The fourth group pulse motor 508 drives the fourth group lens system 14.

  The central processing unit 501 also includes a first-second group photointerrupter drive circuit 513, a first-second group photoreflector drive circuit 514, a third group photointerrupter drive circuit 515, and a fourth group photointerrupter drive circuit 516. The first to second group photo interrupters 509, the first to second group photo reflectors 510, the third group photo interrupter 511, and the fourth group photo interrupter 512 as position detecting devices are supplied via The position information signals detected by the first to second group photo interrupters 509, the first to second group photo reflectors 510, the third group photo interrupter 511, and the fourth group photo interrupter 512 are acquired. The first to second group photo interrupter driving circuits 513, the first to second group photo reflector driving circuits 514, the third group photo interrupter driving circuit 515, and the fourth group photo interrupter driving circuit 516 are further divided into the first to second groups. The photointerrupter 509, the first to second group photoreflectors 510, the third group photointerrupter 511, and the fourth group photointerrupter 512 have a function of appropriately controlling the light emission currents and the output signal levels. The motor driver 502 receives a command from the central processing unit 501 and executes the command, and the first to second group DC motors 503, the first aperture motor 504, the second aperture motor 505, and the shutter motor. A designated voltage is set for a selected motor among the motor 506, the third group pulse motor 507, and the fourth group pulse motor 508, and drive control is performed according to the drive command timing.

  In this example, in the zooming operation between the wide angle and the telephoto, the driving voltage of the first to second group DC motors 503 during the wide angle direction operation is higher than the drive voltage of the first to second group DC motors 503 during the telephoto direction operation. The drive voltage is set high. Also in the third group pulse motor 507, the pulse rate is set to be faster in the wide-angle direction operation than in the telephoto direction operation. Further, in order to keep the first and second lens groups 11 to 12 and the third group, the third lens group 13 is intermittently determined from the positional relationship between the first and second lens groups 11 to 12 and the third lens group 13. Realized by control. Therefore, at the time of driving in the telephoto direction, the driving speed of the third lens group 13 is set to be equal to or faster than the driving speed of the first to second lens groups 11 to 12. Similarly, in the wide-angle direction driving, the driving speed of the third lens group 13 is set to be equal to or faster than the driving speed of the first to second lens groups 11 to 12. By doing so, the third lens group 13 is not separated from the first to second lens groups 11 to 12 during the telephoto operation, and the third lens group 13 is used for the first to first operation during the wide-angle operation. The second lens groups 11 to 12 are driven without being caught up.

As shown in FIG. 9, a solid-state image pickup device 16 such as a CCD (charge coupled device) solid-state image pickup device is disposed behind the fourth lens group 14, that is, on the side far from the object. The subject image is formed on the input surface. Various optical filters such as a low-pass filter, a cover glass, and other optical elements are appropriately provided on the input surface side of the solid-state imaging device 16 as necessary.
The lens barrier 62 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 covers the object side of the first lens group 11 in the housed state, and protects the lens group from contamination or damage. The lens barrier 62 is driven back and forth in a direction orthogonal to the photographing optical axis by a barrier driving system 63. 3 and 4 show a state in which the lens barrier 62 is closed, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which the lens barrier 62 is almost opened. The barrier drive system 63 operates the barrier operation unit (see the barrier operation unit 301 in FIG. 17A) to move the lens barrier 62 to the closed position (FIGS. 3 and 4) and the open position (from the position in FIG. 5). Further, it is driven between a position away from the photographing optical axis). The barrier drive system 63 has a function of biasing the lens barrier 62 in the closing direction at the closing position and in the opening direction at the opening position.

Therefore, if the lens barrier 62 is operated in the opening direction with the lens barrier 62 closed, the lens barrier 62 shifts to the open state semi-automatically from where the lens barrier 62 has passed a predetermined position. Further, when the lens barrier 62 is closed from the opened state, the lens barrier 62 is not necessarily the same as the predetermined position when the lens barrier 62 is opened, but a smooth operation can be expected if it has a certain degree of hysteresis characteristics. ) After that, semi-automatically moves to the closed state.
The barrier control piece 61 is provided on the side of the fixed frame 21 in the opening direction so as to be slidable in the direction along the photographing optical axis, and is appropriately urged toward the object side by a spring or the like. In the retracted state, the engagement portion formed by bending the barrier control piece 61 is engaged with the base end surfaces of the first rotating cylinder 22 and the first liner 23, and is biased toward the image surface side against the urging force. The lens barrier 62 is not touched. In the photographing state, the lens barrier 62 is completely separated from the lens groups and their holding frames. In this state, the barrier control piece 61 is disengaged from the engaging portion, biased toward the object side by the biasing force, and the barrier blocking portion at the tip projects into the forward / backward path of the lens barrier 62.

In this state, when the lens barrier 62 is rapidly operated when trying to shift to the retracted state, the lens barrier 62 may hit the lens barrel. However, the barrier blocking portion at the tip of the barrier control piece 61 is used as the lens barrier. The lens barrier 62 is prevented from entering the lens barrel portion. When each lens group is housed and in the housed state, the proximal end surfaces of the first rotating cylinder 22 and the first liner 23 are engaged with the bent engagement portions of the barrier control piece 61, and the urging force is applied. Therefore, the lens barrier 62 can be moved to the front portion of the lens barrel, and the lens barrier 62 is correctly set at the closed position. In this way, interference between the lens barrier 62 and the lens barrel portion of the lens group can be effectively prevented.
In the above description, the case where the third lens group 13 is configured to be retracted out of the optical axis has been described. In the case of the configuration of the present invention, the lens group projection size when retracted can be effectively reduced by making the lens group having the smallest outer diameter a retractable lens group that retracts out of the optical axis. The retractable lens group is a lens group that is as far as possible from the image plane when extended, so that the drive mechanism (at least one of the length of the main shaft and the length of the lead screw) of the retractable lens group can be shortened. The thickness of the barrel can be reduced, that is, the dimension in the optical axis direction can be reduced. Since the lens group located behind the shutter having the aperture function and closest to the shutter is the retractable lens group, the lens group having the smallest outer diameter and not leaving the image plane can be used as the retractable lens group. It is easy to evacuate without having to consider interference with a shutter that covers a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, or avoiding the position of the shutter.

  In this case, the lens configuration includes four groups of a first lens group having a positive power, a second lens group having a negative power, a third lens group having a positive power, and a fourth lens group having a positive power. The zooming is performed by changing at least the distance between the first lens group and the second lens group, the distance between the second lens group and the third lens group, and the distance between the third lens group and the fourth lens group, Focusing is performed by correcting the position of the image plane on the imaging plane by moving the fourth lens group. A shutter having a diaphragm function is positioned in front of the third lens group. By making the lens structure into a four-group structure and the third lens group as a retractable lens group, the lens group having the smallest outer diameter that is as far as possible from the image plane can be used as the retractable lens group, and the lens barrel projection size is small and the thickness is small. The lens barrel can be made thin. In addition, the third lens group having a zoom ratio of 4 times or more and a four-group lens configuration is a retractable lens group, so that a lens barrel size (projection size and thickness) is reduced while realizing a high zoom ratio. A torso can be provided. The lens configuration is a three-group lens configuration of a first lens group having a positive power, a second lens group having a negative power, and a third lens group having a positive power, and the third lens group can be used as a retracting lens group. Good. Each lens group may be composed of one or more lenses, and the lens group here refers to one or more lenses that move together. Therefore, all the lens groups may be constituted by one lens.

  Next, characteristic portions in this embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25 are a front view and a perspective view showing a storage state of the third lens holding frame in this embodiment. 26 and 27 are a rear view and a rear perspective view showing the storage state of the third lens holding frame in this embodiment. FIG. 28A is a front view and FIG. 28B is a rear view showing a state in which the position of the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the pressing plate is arranged at the design median value in this embodiment. FIGS. 29A and 29B show a state in which the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the presser plate is adjusted in the storage direction in the embodiment, in which the third lens holding frame is adjusted in the retracted direction. FIG. FIGS. 30A and 30B show a state in which the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the pressing plate is adjusted in the extending direction of the third lens holding frame in this embodiment. FIG. 30A is a front view and FIG. FIG. FIG. 31, FIG. 34 and FIG. 37 show the position of the third lens holding frame in a state where the position of the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the pressing plate is arranged at the design median value in this embodiment. It is the front view, the perspective view seen from one direction, and the perspective view seen from the other direction. 32, 35, and 38, respectively, in this embodiment, the third lens in a state in which the position of the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the pressing plate is adjusted in the storage direction of the third lens holding frame. It is the front view which shows the position of a holding frame, the perspective view seen from one direction, and the perspective view seen from the other direction. FIG. 33, FIG. 36, and FIG. 39 show the third lens in the state in which the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the pressing plate is adjusted in the extending direction of the third lens holding frame in this embodiment. It is the front view which shows the position of a holding frame, the perspective view seen from one direction, and the perspective view seen from the other direction.

  In this embodiment, the presser plate 81 has a rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 and can be adjusted in position by sliding in the horizontal direction as shown in FIGS. 28, 29 and 30. Yes. The position of the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 is fixed by adhering it to the presser plate 81 using an appropriate adhesive after the position adjustment. The rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 is formed with a through hole. One end portion of a shaft-shaped third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 made of, for example, metal is inserted into and supported by the through hole. It is like that. The third group female screw member rotational direction positioning guide 39 engages with a third group female screw member 35 in a slit-shaped recess 35c, and restricts the movement of the third group female screw member 35 in the rotational direction. It functions as a rotation stopper and determines the position of the third group female screw member 35 in the rotational direction. That is, in this embodiment, the third group female screw member 35 is provided with a rotation stop recess 35c in place of the rotation stop protrusion 35b shown in FIG. In this case, a third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 capable of adjusting the position of one end portion is provided instead of the guide groove parallel to the optical axis direction, and the position of the third group female screw member 35 in the rotation direction is provided. Is stipulated.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 28, 29, and 30, the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 is moved to the left and right to adjust the position and bond and fix, so that the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide. It is possible to adjust the position by moving the support position of one end portion of 39 to the left and right. As shown in FIGS. 31, 32, and 33, by such a change setting of the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjustment plate 83, that is, a change setting of the support position of one end of the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39. The storage position of the third lens holding frame 31 can be changed. Specifically, as can be seen in FIGS. 34, 35 and 36, and FIGS. 37, 38 and 39, by changing and setting the position of one end of the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39, The position in the rotational direction of the third group female screw member 35 corresponding to this end is changed. As a result, the position of the cam follower projection 35a for driving the retractable lens holding frame of the third group female screw member 35 is changed, and the engaging position of the third lens holding frame 31 engaged therewith is changed. The storage position of the third lens holding frame 31 can be changed.
With such a structure, even if there is variation in the storage position of the third lens holding frame 31 from the design median value, the third lens holding frame can be fixed by adjusting and fixing the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate 83. The 31 storage positions can be adjusted and set to the design median value.

Here, one end of the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 is inserted and fixed in the through hole of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate 83, and only one end can be adjusted in position. That is, as seen in FIGS. 32 and 33, when the position of one end of the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 is changed by the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate 83, the other end is supported as a fulcrum. It is designed to be supported with a slight inclination. The third group female screw member 35 determines the storage position of the third lens holding frame 31 when the third group female screw member 35 is positioned at one end. Thus, the third group female screw member is positioned in the rotational direction. Although it is possible to adjust the position of only the corresponding one end portion of the guide 39, a sufficient effect can be obtained. However, the entire third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 is supported only by the one end portion whose position can be adjusted. Similarly, the position of the part may be adjustable, and the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 may be moved in parallel to adjust the position.
Further, the method of supporting and fixing one end portion of the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 with respect to the through hole of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 may be simply inserted and supported, or may be inserted and fixed. However, a rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate is obtained by cutting a male screw at one end of the third group female thread member rotational direction positioning guide 39 and fastening the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate 83 and the presser plate 81 together with a nut. The position setting 83 and the third group female screw member rotation direction positioning guide 39 may be supported and fixed simultaneously.

  Next, an example in which a digital camera is configured by employing the optical system apparatus including the lens barrel shown in the above-described embodiment as a photographing optical system will be described with reference to FIGS. 40A is a perspective view showing the appearance of an object, that is, the digital camera viewed from the front side that is the subject, and FIG. 41 is a digital camera that is viewed from the back side that is the photographer side. FIG. 42 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a part of the lens barrel in a state of protruding, and FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the camera. . Although a digital camera is described here, an optical system apparatus including the lens barrel according to the present invention can be incorporated in an analog camera in the same manner. In recent years, a portable information terminal device such as a so-called PDA (Personal Data Assistant) or a mobile phone has been incorporated with a camera function. Such a portable information terminal device has a slightly different appearance but is digital. Many of them have substantially the same functions and configurations as a camera, and an optical system device including the lens barrel according to the present invention may be employed in such a portable information terminal device.

As shown in FIGS. 40 and 41, the digital camera includes a photographing lens 101, a shutter button 102, a zoom lever 103, a finder 104, a strobe 105, a liquid crystal monitor 106, an operation button 107, a power switch 108, a memory card slot 109, communication. A card slot 110 and a barrier operation unit 301 are provided. 42, the digital camera also includes a light receiving element 201, a signal processing device 202, an image processing device 203, a central processing unit (CPU) 204, a semiconductor memory 205, a communication card 206, and the like. Further, although not clearly shown, each of these units is operated by being fed by a battery as a driving power source.
The digital camera includes a photographing lens 101 and a light receiving element 201 as an area sensor such as a CCD (charge coupled device) imaging element, and is an object to be photographed formed by the photographing lens 101 that is a photographing optical system, that is, An image of the subject is read by the light receiving element 201. As the photographing lens 101, an optical system apparatus including the lens barrel according to the present invention as described in the above embodiment is used. Specifically, the optical system apparatus is configured by using a lens or the like that is an optical element constituting the lens barrel. The lens barrel has a mechanism for holding each lens and the like so that the lens can be moved at least for each lens group. The photographing lens 101 incorporated in the digital camera is usually incorporated in the form of this optical system device.

  The output of the light receiving element 201 is processed by the signal processing device 202 controlled by the central processing unit 204 and converted into digital image information. The image information digitized by the signal processing device 202 is subjected to predetermined image processing in the image processing device 203 which is also controlled by the central processing unit 204 and then recorded in the semiconductor memory 205 such as a nonvolatile memory. In this case, the semiconductor memory 205 may be a memory card loaded in the memory card slot 109 or a semiconductor memory built in the digital camera body. The liquid crystal monitor 106 can display an image being photographed, or can display an image recorded in the semiconductor memory 205. The image recorded in the semiconductor memory 205 can also be transmitted to the outside via a communication card 206 or the like loaded in the communication card slot 110. Note that the central processing unit 501 shown in FIG. 23 for driving control of each lens described above may be included in the central processing unit 204, and is configured using another microprocessor linked thereto. May be.

When the camera is carried, the photographing lens 101 is in a retracted state and buried in the camera body as shown in FIG. 40A, and the lens barrier 62 is closed. When the user operates the barrier operation unit 301 to open the lens barrier 62, the power is turned on, and the lens barrel is extended as shown in FIG. To do. At this time, in the lens barrel of the photographing lens 101, the optical systems of the respective groups constituting the zoom lens are disposed at, for example, a wide-angle position. By operating the zoom lever 103, the optical systems of the respective groups are disposed. Is changed, and the zooming operation to the telephoto end can be performed.
Note that it is desirable that the optical system of the finder 104 is also scaled in conjunction with the change in the angle of view of the photographing lens 101.
In many cases, focusing is performed by half-pressing the shutter button 102. Focusing in the zoom lens according to the above-described embodiment can be performed mainly by moving the fourth lens group 14. When the shutter button 102 is further pushed down to the fully depressed state, photographing is performed, and then the processing as described above is performed.

When the image recorded in the semiconductor memory 205 is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 106 or transmitted to the outside via the communication card 206 or the like, the operation button 107 is operated in a predetermined manner. The semiconductor memory 205 and the communication card 206 are used by being loaded into dedicated or general-purpose slots such as the memory card slot 109 and the communication card slot 110, respectively.
When the photographic lens 101 is in the retracted state, the third lens group 13 is retracted from the optical axis and housed in parallel with the first lens group 11 and the second lens group 12, so that the camera Thinning can be realized.
As described above in detail, according to the lens barrel, the camera, the portable information terminal device, and the image input device according to the present invention, the main lens group including at least one lens of the plurality of lens groups is held and driven. A main lens group holding / driving unit that can be mounted, and at least one lens that is attached to the main lens group holding / driving unit and forms a photographing optical system together with the main lens group held by the main lens group holding / driving unit A lens barrel having a sub lens group holding and driving unit capable of holding and driving a sub lens group, wherein a cam is formed on the retractable lens holding frame, and the cam moves on a lead screw. The retractable lens can be driven to the photographing position and the storage position by using the cam follower protrusion of the female screw member for driving the holding frame. The positioning guide in the rotational direction of the female screw member having a shape and further having a cam follower projection for driving the retractable lens holding frame is a third group female screw member rotation made of a metal shaft, for example, instead of the resin molding member described above. By using the direction positioning guide, it is possible to easily improve the dimensional accuracy of the positioning guide, so that the variation in the rotational direction of the female screw member for driving the retractable lens holding frame can be reduced. Variations in the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame can be suppressed.
Accordingly, the retreat space can be further reduced, and a smaller lens barrel and a smaller camera, a portable information terminal, and an image input device using such a lens barrel can be provided.

Further, as described above, the position of the positioning guide is held so as to be adjustable, so that variations in all parts related to the storage position of the retractable lens holding frame can be absorbed. For this reason, the design of the cam shape of the retractable lens holding frame has been changed so far and the influence of the variation has been reduced by correcting the mold, but this is not necessary and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since the storage position can be adjusted with higher accuracy than in the case of mold correction, the retreat space to be secured can be further reduced, and a smaller lens barrel and the current situation using this lens barrel. A small camera, a portable information terminal, and an image input device can be provided at low cost.
Further, since the rotational direction positioning guide of the retractable lens holding frame driving pin is formed of a metal shaft, the dimensional accuracy of the positioning guide can be easily improved. The variation in the position of the direction can be reduced, and accordingly, the variation in the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame can be suppressed, so that the retracted space can be further reduced and a smaller lens barrel can be provided. .

1 schematically shows a configuration of a main part of an optical system apparatus including a lens barrel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a configuration of a lens barrel portion in a retracted storage state in which a lens group is retracted and stored. It is the perspective view seen from the object side. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the principal part in the state similar to FIG. 1 of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. 1 from the image plane side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a configuration of an optical system apparatus including a lens barrel and a lens barrier in a retracted retracted state in which the lens barrier of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the principal part in the state similar to FIG. 3 of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. 1 from the image plane side. 1 is an image plane side configuration of the lens barrel portion and the main portion of the lens barrier portion in a state where the lens barrier opened in the photographing state in which the lens group of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the principal part of the lens barrel part in the state similar to FIG. 5 of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. 1 from the image plane side. In order to explain the operation of the third lens holding frame and the collision prevention piece for holding the third lens group of the optical system in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the third lens holding frame in the retracted state of the lens group, the collision prevention It is the perspective view which looked at the arrangement configuration of a piece and the 4th lens holding frame part from the object side. In order to explain the operation of the third lens holding frame and the collision prevention piece for holding the third lens group of the optical system in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the third lens holding frame in the shooting state in which the lens group protrudes, the collision prevention It is the perspective view which looked at the arrangement configuration of a piece and the 4th lens holding frame part from the object side. 1A shows a lens group in a lens barrel in which the lens group is in a telephoto position in which the lens group protrudes, in a retracted state in which the lens group is retracted, and in a wide-angle position state in which the lens group protrudes. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing main parts of a lens holding frame and various lens barrels. FIG. 4 is a development view schematically showing a developed shape of a cam groove formed in a second rotating cylinder of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a development view schematically showing a developed shape of a cam groove formed in a cam cylinder of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a development view schematically showing the shape of cam grooves and key grooves formed in a first liner of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1 and omitting a helicoid. FIG. 2 is a development view schematically showing cam grooves and key grooves formed in the fixed frame of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1 and omitting the helicoid. It is detail drawing containing the helicoid of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a perspective view of the 1st rotation lens barrel fitted to the helicoid of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a side view which shows the structure of the 3rd lens holding frame and its drive operation system of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the 3rd lens holding frame of FIG. 16 and its drive operation system of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the 3rd lens holding frame and its drive system of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of a third lens holding frame portion viewed from the object side in order to explain the operation of the third lens holding frame of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the shutter part of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows concretely the structure of the principal part of the 4th lens holding frame of the optical system apparatus in FIG. 1, and its drive operation system. 21 is a perspective view of the configuration of the main part of the fourth lens holding frame and its driving operation system viewed from an angle different from that of FIG. is there. It is a block diagram which shows typically the structure of the drive control system of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a front view which shows the accommodation state of the 3rd lens holding frame of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the accommodation state of the 3rd lens holding frame of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a rear view which shows the accommodation state of the 3rd lens holding frame of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. It is a back perspective view which shows the accommodation state of the 3rd lens holding frame of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a rear view showing a state in which the position of a rotation positioning guide position adjustment plate is arranged at a design median value with respect to a pressing plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1. (A) Front view and (b) showing a state in which the position of the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate is adjusted in the storage direction with respect to the holding plate of the optical system device in the embodiment of FIG. It is a rear view. (A) Front view and (b) showing a state in which the position of the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate is adjusted in the extending direction of the third lens holding frame with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. It is a rear view. It is a front view which shows the position of the 3rd lens holding frame in the state which has arrange | positioned the position of a rotation positioning guide position adjustment plate with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. 1 in the design median value. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the position of the third lens holding frame in a state where the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate is adjusted in the storage direction with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the position of the third lens holding frame in a state in which the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate is adjusted in the extending direction with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. FIG. The perspective view seen from one direction showing the position of the third lens holding frame in the state where the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate is arranged at the design median value with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 1 shows the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the position of the third lens holding frame in a state where the third lens holding frame is adjusted in the storage direction. It is the perspective view seen from one direction. 1 shows the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the position of the third lens holding frame in a state where the third lens holding frame is further adjusted in the extending direction. It is the perspective view seen from one direction. The perspective view seen from the other direction showing the position of the third lens holding frame in the state where the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate is arranged at the design median value with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 1 shows the position of the third lens holding frame in a state in which the position of the rotation positioning guide position adjusting plate with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the direction. 1 shows the position of the third lens holding frame in a state where the position of the rotational positioning guide position adjusting plate is adjusted in the feeding direction with respect to the holding plate of the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the direction. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an object when a digital camera is configured using the optical system apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. Of these, (a) shows the entire configuration in the retracted state, and (b) shows a partial configuration in the protruding state of the lens barrel. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the digital camera seen from the back side which is a photographer side at the time of employ | adopting the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. 1 as a imaging | photography optical system, and comprising a digital camera. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a camera at the time of employ | adopting the optical system apparatus in embodiment of FIG. 1 as an imaging | photography optical system, and comprising a digital camera.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 1st lens group 12 2nd lens group 13 3rd lens group 14 4th lens group 15 Shutter / aperture unit 16 Solid-state image sensor 17 1st lens holding frame 18 Cover glass 19 Low pass filter 21 Fixed frame 22 1st rotation cylinder 23 1st liner 24 2nd rotary cylinder 25 2nd liner 26 cam cylinder 27 rectilinear cylinder 31 3rd lens holding frame 32 3rd group main guide shaft 33 3rd group sub guide shaft 34 3rd group lead screw 35 1st Third group internal thread member 35a Cam follower projection 35c Anti-rotation recess 36 Impact prevention piece 37 Compression torsion spring 38 Third group photo interrupter (position detection device)
39 Third Group Female Thread Member Rotation Direction Positioning Guide 41 Fourth Lens Holding Frame 42 Fourth Group Sub Guide Shaft 43 Fourth Group Spring 44 Fourth Group Main Guide Shaft 45 Fourth Group Lead Screw 46 Fourth Group Female Screw Member 47 Fourth Group photo interrupter 51 Zoom motor 52 Third group motor 53 Fourth group motor 61 Barrier control piece 62 Lens barrier 63 Barrier drive system 71, 72, 73, 74 Gear 81 Holding plate 82 Lens barrel base 83 Rotation positioning guide position adjustment plate 101 Photographic lens 102 shutter button 103 zoom lever 104 finder 105 strobe 106 liquid crystal monitor 107 operation button 108 power switch 109 memory card slot 110 communication card slot 201 light receiving element (area sensor)
202 Signal Processing Unit 203 Image Processing Unit 204 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
205 Semiconductor memory 206 Communication card 301 Barrier operation unit 501 Central processing unit 502 Motor driver 503 First to second group DC (direct current) motor 504 First aperture motor 505 Second aperture motor 506 Shutter motor 507 Third group Pulse motor 508 Fourth group pulse motor 509 First to second group photo interrupters 510 First to second group photo reflectors 511 Third group photo interrupters 512 Fourth group photo interrupters 513 First to second group photo interrupter drive circuits 514 First to second group photo reflector drive circuit 515 Third group photo interrupter drive circuit 516 Fourth group photo interrupter drive circuit

Claims (6)

A lens barrel that is in a photographing state by moving at least a part of the lens group from the retracted state in which at least a part of the plurality of lens groups is retracted to house the lens group to the objective side,
A plurality of lens holding frames that respectively hold the plurality of lens groups, a movable lens barrel that holds the lens holding frame inside, and a lens holding frame drive that drives the lens holding frame via the movable lens barrel Means and
The lens holding frame is configured so that all lens groups are positioned on the same optical axis in a photographing state, and a retracting lens including at least one lens is retracted outside the inner diameter of the movable lens barrel in a retracted state. In a lens barrel including a retractable lens holding frame for holding and moving the retractable lens,
A cam is formed on the retractable lens holding frame, and the cam engages with a cam follower protrusion formed on a side portion of a female screw member that moves on a lead screw, so that the retractable lens is in a photographing position and a retracted position. And a guide member for determining a retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame by regulating a rotational direction position of the female screw member.   The guide member for determining the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame by restricting the rotational direction position of the female screw member is capable of adjusting the holding and disposing position at least at the end on the retracted position determining portion side. The lens barrel according to claim 1.   The guide member for determining the retracted position of the retractable lens holding frame by restricting the rotational position of the internally threaded member comprises a metal shaft disposed along the moving direction of the internally threaded member. The lens barrel according to claim 1 or 2.   A camera comprising the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 as an imaging optical system.   A portable information terminal device comprising the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 as an imaging optical system of a camera function unit.   An image input apparatus comprising the lens barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 as an imaging optical system.

Images