JP2009015187A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly incorporate an imaging unit originally having a size larger than that of a side surface opening in an integral structural exterior member having the side surface opening, without enlarging the exterior member. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus has the imaging unit 30 which includes a lens barrel 1 and the image sensor 39 and whose lens barrel is projected on a front surface side and the integral structural exterior member 9 which has a front face part 9a in which a lens projection opening 34 is formed, a rear face part 9b, a top surface part 9c and a bottom surface part 9d and in which the side surface opening 9g for incorporating the imaging unit is formed. The imaging unit can be set into a first state where the imaging unit is incorporated in the exterior member and the lens barrel is projected to the outside of the exterior member through the lens projection opening and into a second state where the projection amount of the lens barrel is smaller than that in the first state. The imaging unit in the first state has such a size that it can not be inserted into the exterior member through the side surface opening and the imaging unit in the second state has such a size C that it can be inserted into the exterior member through the side surface opening. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera configured by incorporating an imaging unit including a lens barrel and an imaging element into an exterior member formed by deep drawing or the like.

  In a conventional digital camera, an exterior member (housing) is divided into front and rear, and the imaging unit is covered by sandwiching the imaging unit between the front and rear exterior members. However, in such a configuration, the dividing line (joint) of the exterior member is conspicuous, and the quality of the camera is lowered.

  For this reason, an exterior member having a front surface portion, a back surface portion, an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, and one side surface portion and having an opening (side surface opening) formed on the other side surface is integrally formed by deep drawing, and imaging is performed from the side surface opening. By incorporating the unit, it is possible to realize a high-quality camera in which the dividing line of the exterior member is not conspicuous.

As an electronic device in which an internal unit is accommodated in an exterior member formed by deep drawing, for example, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1. This publication discloses a portable audio player in which an internal unit for reproducing and recording information such as music is incorporated in an exterior member formed by deep drawing.
JP 2004-241091 A

  On the other hand, in a digital camera, an imaging unit including a lens barrel, an imaging element, an electric circuit board, and the like is incorporated in an exterior member. In many cases, the imaging unit has a configuration in which the lens barrel protrudes from other portions. Therefore, in order to insert the imaging unit through the side opening into the exterior member formed by deep drawing, the side opening (that is, the exterior member) is enlarged and the entire imaging unit including the protruding lens barrel is inserted. Need to be possible.

  However, this is not preferable because the camera becomes large.

  In addition, there is a problem of how to fix the imaging unit to the exterior member after it is inserted into the exterior member formed by deep drawing. Simply fixing the imaging unit using screws from the outside of the exterior member will cause the screws to appear on the exterior, and the meaning of forming the exterior member by deep drawing will be diminished.

  The present invention provides an imaging apparatus that can smoothly incorporate an imaging unit having a size larger than that of a side opening, without increasing the size of an integrally structured exterior member having a side opening.

  The present invention also provides an imaging apparatus that can fix the imaging unit with respect to the exterior member with high positional accuracy without degrading the quality of the imaging apparatus using the integrally structured exterior member having a side opening.

  An imaging apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a lens barrel and an imaging element, an imaging unit in which the lens barrel protrudes on the front side, a front surface portion, a back surface portion, an upper surface portion in which a lens protruding opening is formed, and And a monolithic exterior member having a bottom surface and a side opening for incorporating the imaging unit. The imaging unit includes a first state in which the lens barrel is incorporated in the exterior member and protrudes outside the exterior member through the lens projection opening, and a second projection in which the lens barrel is smaller than the first state. Can be set to The imaging unit in the first state has a size that cannot be inserted into the exterior member through the side opening, and the imaging unit in the second state has a size that can be inserted into the exterior member through the side opening. Features.

  An imaging device according to another aspect of the present invention includes a lens barrel and an imaging element, an imaging unit in which the lens barrel protrudes on the front side, a front surface portion, a back surface portion, and an upper surface in which a lens protruding opening is formed. And an outer member of an integral structure in which an imaging unit is incorporated inside through a side opening, and an outer periphery of a lens barrel that protrudes outside the outer member through a lens protruding opening. And a ring member for fixing the lens barrel to the front surface portion of the exterior member.

  According to the present invention, when the imaging unit is inserted into the exterior member through the side opening, the imaging unit can be reduced by reducing the protruding amount of the lens barrel compared to a state where the imaging unit is assembled into the exterior member. Can be reduced. For this reason, the imaging unit can be smoothly incorporated into the exterior member without increasing the exterior member.

  According to the present invention, the lens barrel, that is, the imaging unit is fixed to the front surface portion of the exterior member using the ring member surrounding the outer periphery of the lens barrel. Such a ring member also has a design element surrounding the outer periphery of the lens barrel. For this reason, it is possible to fix the imaging unit to the exterior member without degrading the quality of the imaging device as in the case of using screws.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a six-sided view showing the appearance of a digital still camera (imaging device: hereinafter simply referred to as a camera) that is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the camera. Further, FIG. 3 shows a state when the camera is assembled (when an imaging unit described later is incorporated into an exterior member).

  In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a lens barrel, and an external thread 1b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel as shown in FIG. In addition, a protrusion 1 a as a rotation stopper is formed on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel 1. Furthermore, the lens barrel 1 incorporates an actuator (not shown) that moves an internal lens for zooming and focusing.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a built-in flash unit disposed at the top of the camera.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a display, and an LCD or the like is used.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes a transparent display cover (cover member) that covers the display surface of the display 3 and a display opening described later. An elastic frame 31 is attached to the display side of the display cover 4 as an elastic member for preventing foreign matter from entering the camera by abutting against the rear surface of the chassis of the imaging unit (to be described later). It has been.

  Reference numeral 5 denotes an operation panel for selecting, changing, and determining an imaging mode, and 6 is a release button.

  Reference numeral 8 denotes a lens ring (ring member) for fixing the lens barrel 1, and an internal thread 8a is formed on the inner periphery thereof.

  Reference numeral 9 denotes an exterior member (having an integral structure) integrally formed by deep drawing. The exterior member 9 has a front surface portion 9a, a back surface portion 9b, an upper surface portion 9c, a lower surface portion 9d, and a side surface portion 9e. The front surface portion 9 a is formed with a lens projection opening 34 that projects the lens barrel 1 to the outside of the exterior member 9 and also functions as a positioning hole for the lens barrel 1. A rotation stop notch (engagement portion) 34a is formed in a part of the direction. Further, a flash light emission opening 35 for exposing the light emission window of the flash unit 2 is also formed in the front surface portion 9a.

  Further, a side opening 9g for incorporating (inserting) an imaging unit described later into the exterior member is formed on the side surface of the exterior member 9 opposite to the side surface portion 9e. Further, a display opening 9h for allowing the display 3 to be observed from the outside and an operation panel opening 38 for connecting the operation panel 5 to the electric circuit board of the imaging unit are formed on the back surface portion 9b. Further, a release opening 36 for connecting the release button 6 to the electric circuit board of the imaging unit is formed in the upper surface portion 9c.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a fixed lid that covers the side opening 9g of the exterior member 9 after the imaging unit is incorporated into the exterior member 9, and is one of the exterior members.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes an imaging unit. The imaging unit 30 includes a lens barrel 1, an imaging element 39 that photoelectrically converts a subject image formed by the lens barrel 1, a built-in battery 32, a flash unit 2, a flash emission capacitor 42, and an electric circuit board 41. It is configured to be fixed to the front. The flash light emitting capacitor 42 and the electric circuit board 41 are shown in FIG. 4A and the like. The electric circuit board 41 is supplied with electric power from the built-in battery 32 and supplies predetermined operating power to the actuator in the lens barrel 1, the image pickup device 39, the flash light emitting capacitor 42, and a circuit (not shown) for controlling or driving them. Supply.

  The imaging unit 30 includes a display 3 attached to the rear side of the chassis 33.

  Next, a method for incorporating the imaging unit 30 into the exterior member 9 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, before assembling the imaging unit 30 into the exterior member 9, the lens barrel 1 is set in the assembled state (second state). This assembled state is a state in which the imaging unit 30 has been assembled into the exterior member 9 (first state: the state shown in FIG. 5), that is, the lens barrel 1 is in front of the other components of the imaging unit 30. This is a state in which the protruding amount of the lens barrel 1 is small compared to the state of protruding to the side.

  The first state is the state of the imaging unit 30 before the power is turned on in the completed camera. When the lens barrel 1 is a collapsible lens barrel that can be expanded and contracted for zooming or the like, the lens barrel 1 is retracted by turning off the power of the camera. The second state is a state that can be set only when taking out from the exterior member 9 at the time of incorporation into the exterior member 9 (when the camera is assembled) or at the time of disassembly (repair), and is a state that cannot be set by a completed camera It is.

  In addition, the lens barrel 1 has a configuration in which a front portion 1d having the above-described male screw 1b formed on the outer periphery thereof can move forward with respect to a base portion 1c fixed to the chassis 33. This movement is performed by operating an actuator in the lens barrel 1 in response to an operation of a switch (not shown) provided on the electric circuit board 41 or energization of a terminal.

  When the lens barrel 1 is a retractable lens barrel, a movable barrel (not shown) configured inside the front portion 1d moved forward with respect to the base portion 1c is expanded and contracted in a state where the camera is turned on. To do.

  The imaging unit 30 in the first state has a size that cannot be inserted into the exterior member 9 through the side opening 9g of the exterior member 9, that is, the front-rear width (maximum thickness) from the front end of the lens barrel 1 to the rear end of the display 3. A). On the other hand, the imaging unit 30 in the second state has a front-rear width C that can be inserted into the exterior member 9 through the side opening 9g, as shown in FIG. 4A.

  The imaging unit 30 set in the second state is inserted into the exterior member 9 through the side surface opening 9g of the exterior member 9 by sliding in the direction A shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A. As shown in FIG. 4B, the imaging unit 30 inserted into the exterior member 9 is arranged at a predetermined position in the exterior member 9 by sliding forward (B direction). At this time, the position and angle of the imaging unit 30 are adjusted so that the protrusion 1a formed on the base 1c of the lens barrel 1 engages with the rotation stop notch 34a formed on the front surface 9a of the exterior member 9. The When the protrusion 1a engages with the rotation stop notch 34a, rotation of the lens barrel 1, that is, the imaging unit 30, within the exterior member 9 is prevented.

  Then, the front portion 1d of the lens barrel 1 is moved forward with respect to the base portion 1c by the method described above. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4C, the front portion 1 d of the lens barrel 1 protrudes outside the front surface portion 9 a of the exterior member 9 through the lens protruding opening 34.

  Next, the lens ring 8 is disposed on the outer periphery of the lens barrel 1 and rotated, and the female screw portion 8 a is engaged with the male screw portion 1 b formed on the front portion 1 d of the lens barrel 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the lens barrel 1, that is, the imaging unit 30 is fixed to the exterior member 9 by the lens ring 8 coming into contact with the front surface portion 9 a of the exterior member 9. The imaging unit 30 is positioned and fixed with respect to the exterior member 9 with high accuracy by fitting with the lens protruding opening 34 of the front portion 1d of the lens barrel 1 and fixing with the lens ring 8.

  At this time, the lens ring 8 covers the outer surfaces of the protrusion 1a and the rotation stop notch 34a. For this reason, it can prevent that these are exposed to the external appearance of a camera and the quality of a camera falls.

  The elastic frame attached to the display cover 4 is provided between the display 3 and the back surface portion 9b of the exterior member 9 by sliding the imaging unit 30 from the position shown in FIG. 4B to the front position shown in FIG. 4C. A space in which 31 is arranged is formed. The display cover 4 is assembled together with the elastic frame 31 to the back surface portion 9b of the exterior member 9 from the back side. Accordingly, the elastic frame 31 can be disposed inside the exterior member 9 so that the elastic frame 31 is not exposed to the appearance of the camera and the quality of the camera is not deteriorated.

  Finally, the fixed lid 7 is assembled to the exterior member 9 so as to cover the side opening 9 g of the exterior member 9. This completes the assembly of the camera (incorporation of the imaging unit 30 into the exterior member 9).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the imaging unit 30 is inserted into the exterior member 9 through the side opening 9g, the lens barrel is compared with the state in which the imaging unit 30 is assembled into the exterior member 9. The imaging unit 30 can be made smaller by reducing the protrusion amount of 1. For this reason, the imaging unit 30 can be smoothly incorporated into the exterior member 9 without enlarging the exterior member 9. Moreover, the elastic frame 31 can be arrange | positioned in the space between the exterior member 9 and the display 3, and the space in the exterior member 9 can be used without waste.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the lens barrel 1, that is, the imaging unit 30 is fixed to the front surface portion 9 a of the exterior member 9 using the lens ring 8 surrounding the outer periphery of the lens barrel 1. The lens ring 8 also has a design function applied to the outer periphery of the lens barrel 1. For this reason, the imaging unit 30 can be fixed to the exterior member 9 with high positional accuracy without reducing the quality of the camera as in the case of using screws.

  The embodiments described above are merely representative examples, and various modifications and changes can be made to the embodiments when the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 6 is a six-side view of a digital camera that is an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view of the camera of an Example. The exploded perspective view of the camera of an Example. The figure which shows the assembly method of the camera of an Example. The figure which shows the assembly method of the camera of an Example. The figure which shows the assembly method of the camera of an Example. The figure which shows the assembly completion state of the camera of an Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lens barrel 1a Protrusion 2 Built-in flash unit 3 Display 4 Display cover 5 Operation panel 6 Release switch 7 Fixed lid 8 Lens ring 9 Exterior member 31 Elastic frame 32 Built-in battery 33 Chassis 34 Lens protrusion opening 34a Rotation stop notch 39 Imaging element 41 Electric circuit board 42 Flash light emitting capacitor

Claims (5)

An imaging unit including a lens barrel and an imaging device, and the lens barrel protruding on the front side;
A front surface portion, a back surface portion, an upper surface portion, and a lower surface portion in which a lens protruding opening is formed, and an integrally structured exterior member in which a side surface opening for incorporating the imaging unit is formed,
The imaging unit includes a first state in which the lens barrel is incorporated in the exterior member and the lens barrel projects outside the exterior member through the lens projection opening, and the lens barrel projects more than the first state. The amount can be set to a small second state,
The imaging unit in the first state has a size that cannot be inserted into the exterior member through the side opening, and the imaging unit in the second state can be inserted into the exterior member through the side opening. An imaging device having a size. The imaging unit has a display on its back surface,
A display opening for allowing the display to be observed is formed on the back surface of the exterior member, and a cover member for covering the display opening is attached,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an elastic member is disposed inside the exterior member and between the back surface of the imaging unit and the cover member.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lens barrel is fixed to a front surface portion of the exterior member by a ring member that engages with an outer periphery of the lens barrel in the first state. An imaging unit including a lens barrel and an imaging device, and the lens barrel protruding on the front side;
A monolithic exterior member having a front surface portion, a back surface portion, an upper surface portion, and a lower surface portion in which a lens protruding opening is formed, and in which the imaging unit is incorporated through a side surface opening;
A ring member that engages with an outer periphery of the lens barrel protruding outside the exterior member through the lens projecting opening and fixes the lens barrel to the front surface of the exterior member. An imaging device. An engaging portion is formed on the front surface of the exterior member to engage with a rotation stopper formed on the lens barrel.
The imaging device according to claim 4, wherein the ring member covers outer surfaces of the rotation stop portion and the engagement portion.