JP2009071627A - Lens unit, and imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a freedom degree of manufacturing including thermal design after achieving high-efficiency thermal control by a simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: One face of a thermoelectric conversion element 21 is arranged by thermally coupling it to an imaging element 10 of an imaging element module 1. A heat-dissipating member 23 is thermally coupled to the other face of the thermoelectric conversion element 21. A temperature difference between both faces is increased so as to achieve efficient generation of an electromotive force by the thermoelectric conversion element 21. The configuration is to achieve stable drive of a cooling fan 73 by the generated electromotive force. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lens unit and an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup device, for example, and more particularly to a cooling structure thereof.

  In general, in an image pickup apparatus, when an image pickup element that is an electronic component or a CPU (central processing unit) that constitutes a control circuit is provided, it is required to take measures against heat while providing dust resistance. Yes. Among these measures, the heat countermeasure increases the temperature of electronic components and increases the temperature of the electronic components, and if the noise level increases, in the case of an electronic camera device, the image quality deteriorates. This has become one of the most important issues.

  As such an imaging device, a body-side mount that is incorporated in a main body structure in a camera body and supports a photographing lens, a shutter disposed along an optical axis in an opening of the main body structure, an imaging unit, and the like The thing which employ | adopted the air cooling system which consists of is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1).

  That is, the imaging unit is provided with an imaging element fixing plate fixed to the main body structure, an optical low-pass filter, protective glass, and a bare chip type imaging element, and the imaging element radiates heat to the non-imaging surface side surface. The imaging element fixing plate constituting the plate is bonded and fixed, and the distance in the optical axis direction from the surface of the body side mount to the imaging surface (photoelectric conversion surface) of the imaging element can be assembled with high accuracy. And as for the image pick-up element, the heat | fever generate | occur | produced by the drive is thermally radiated via an image pick-up element fixing plate, and the temperature rise is suppressed.

  However, in the imaging apparatus, since the heat radiation efficiency is determined by the heat radiation area of the heat radiating member to which heat from the image sensor is thermally transported, there is a problem that the device casing becomes large when the heat radiation amount is increased.

  In addition, since it is difficult to secure a heat radiation area sufficient for increasing the temperature of the image sensor that is driven at high speed, the temperature difference between the temperature in the vicinity of the image sensor and the temperature of the entire heat sink is eliminated. Therefore, the heat generation temperature in the vicinity of the so-called image sensor cannot be further lowered, and the heat resistance is large, and the heat resistance is large, so that efficient heat transport to the heat radiating member is difficult. Also have.

  Therefore, the propeller fan that constitutes the cooling device is housed in the housing of the digital camera, and external air is forcibly taken into the housing and exhausted using this propeller fan, so that high-precision thermal control of the heat-generating components is achieved. There has also been proposed one configured to perform (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

In this cooling configuration, a Seebeck effect element, which is a thermoelectric conversion element using the so-called Seebeck effect, which generates an electromotive force due to a temperature difference between different contacts known as a power source, is thermally transferred between the CPU mounted on the substrate and the housing. The propeller fan is driven and controlled by the electromotive force generated by the Seebeck effect element, and outside air is taken into the casing and exhausted to cool the heat generating components. In the case of a cooling configuration including such a Seebeck effect element, it is not necessary to provide a power supply circuit for driving a propeller fan serving as a heat source in the casing, so that the amount of heat generated in the casing can be reduced.
JP 2006-332894 A JP 2006-337531 A

  However, in the above imaging device, the contact point of the Seebeck effect element is arranged by being thermally coupled to the CPU and the housing mounted on the substrate, and the electromotive force is generated by the temperature difference. There is a problem that it is difficult to generate an electromotive force necessary for driving the propeller fan.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a lens unit that can achieve high-efficiency thermal control with a simple configuration, and can improve the degree of freedom in manufacturing including thermal design. And an imaging apparatus.

  The present invention provides a lens body on which an imaging lens is mounted, an imaging element that is disposed opposite to the imaging lens of the lens body and that generates a video signal based on an optical image captured by the imaging lens, and the lens body. A heat dissipating member that is disposed thermally separated from the image sensor, one of which is thermally coupled to the image sensor, and the other is thermally coupled to the heat dissipating member, and the image sensor And a thermoelectric conversion element that generates an electromotive force according to a temperature difference between the heat dissipation member and a heat that is driven using the generated electromotive force of the thermoelectric conversion element as a power source and that discharges heat generated by driving the imaging element The lens unit is configured with a control means.

  According to the above configuration, when the image pickup element is driven, one of the heat conversion elements is heated and the other is thermally coupled to the heat dissipation member, so that one of the heat conversion elements is at a high temperature and the other is at an initial temperature. By being maintained, the Seebeck effect is increased, and a sufficient electromotive force is generated to drive and control the thermal control means. As a result, it is possible to realize a highly efficient heat dissipation structure without separately providing a power supply circuit as a heat source for driving the heat control means, and to improve the degree of manufacturing freedom including the thermal design. be able to.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera body on which an imaging lens is mounted, an imaging device that is disposed opposite to the imaging lens of the camera body and that generates a video signal based on an optical image captured by the imaging lens, and the lens A heat dissipating member disposed on the main body and thermally disconnected from the image sensor; one is thermally coupled to the image sensor; the other is thermally coupled to the heat dissipating member; and A thermoelectric conversion element that generates an electromotive force according to a temperature difference between the imaging element and the heat radiating member, and is driven using the generated electromotive force of the thermoelectric conversion element as a power source. The image pickup apparatus is configured to include a heat control unit that exhausts heat accompanying driving of the image pickup element based on the generated electromotive force.

  According to the above configuration, when the image pickup element is driven, one of the heat conversion elements is heated and the other is thermally coupled to the heat dissipation member, so that one of the heat conversion elements is at a high temperature and the other is at an initial temperature. By being maintained, the Seebeck effect is increased, a sufficient electromotive force is generated, and the heat control means is driven and controlled when the finder mode is other than the live view mode. As a result, it is possible to realize a highly efficient heat dissipation structure without separately providing a power supply circuit as a heat source for driving the heat control means, and to improve the degree of manufacturing freedom including the thermal design. be able to.

  Moreover, the imaging device which filled the gel agent on the side wall and insulating sheet of the said thermoelectric conversion element was comprised. According to the above configuration, the thermoelectric conversion element can be prevented from being broken by external vibration.

  Furthermore, if an intake port for sucking outside air is provided on the side wall of the thermoelectric conversion element, element destruction due to the rising temperature of the image pickup element can be prevented.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a lens unit and an image pickup apparatus that can realize high-efficiency thermal control with a simple configuration and can improve the degree of freedom of manufacturing including thermal design. Can be provided.

  Hereinafter, a lens unit and an imaging apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an image sensor module 1 applied in a lens unit and an image pickup apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A so-called bare chip type image sensor 10 has a back surface side insulation having a predetermined shape on the back surface side. A sheet 101 is attached by adhesion or the like.

  The imaging element 10 has a back-side insulating sheet 101 facing the FPC board 11 facing a heat radiation opening 111 provided in a flexible printed wiring board (hereinafter referred to as an FPC board) 11 that can be elastically deformed, for example. It is mounted and electrically connected to the FPC board 11 via the lead terminal 102.

  An optical low-pass filter 13 assembled in a rubber frame 12 is coaxially disposed on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 10. The rubber frame 12 of the optical low-pass filter 13 is made of a material having excellent thermal conductivity, such as a molding material filled with granular graphite and carbon or glass fiber constituting the lens frame, and a polyphenylene sulfide resin (hereinafter referred to as PPS resin). It is supported by a holding portion 15 provided in the frame member 14. A shutter 16 is assembled at the front end of the frame member 14 so as to face the optical low-pass filter 13.

  Further, a transparent glass substrate 17 constituting a dust-proof mechanism is disposed on the holding portion 15 of the frame member 14 between the optical low-pass filter 13 and the shutter 16 on the optical low-pass filter 13, for example, with a piezoelectric element. With the vibration member 18 interposed, the upper surface side of the vibration member 18 is pressed by the pressing member 19 so as to be freely vibrated, and is arranged in an airtight manner. The transparent glass substrate 17 vibrates in an airtight state against the elastic force of the pressing member 19 when the vibration member 18 is driven and vibrated via a drive control unit (not shown). Dust and the like adhering to the upper surface and the like are removed to prevent entry into the optical low-pass filter 13.

  Further, on the back side of the imaging element 10, an element support member 20 constituting a heat radiating member formed of a material having excellent thermal conductivity such as aluminum, stainless steel, or a PPS resin molding material is disposed ( (See FIG. 2). For the element support member 20, when aluminum or stainless steel is used for the back side of the FPC board 11, the FPC board 11 is used when the technique such as the adhesive 112 having high thermal conductivity or the PPS resin is used. They are joined and assembled by a direct support insert molding (without using the adhesive 112).

  The element support member 20 is provided with openings 201 corresponding to the back-side insulating sheet 101 of the image pickup element 10. When a temperature difference is given to both ends of the opening 201, A thermoelectric conversion element 21 having a Seebeck effect for generating electric power is accommodated and one surface thereof is thermally coupled to the back insulating sheet 101.

  Further, on the upper surface of the element support member 20, heat radiation fins 20 a made up of a plurality of projections and depressions are formed in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the FPC board 11 extends. The air permeability is improved by invading the outside air into the FPC board 11 by the rotation of the fan which will be described later. Therefore, the temperature rise due to the heat conduction of the image sensor 10 to the FPC board 11 can be suppressed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the thermoelectric conversion element 21 includes a P-type semiconductor 211 of Bi2Te3 [Pb] whose operating temperature range is a low temperature range (about room temperature) and Bi2Te3 [CuI] whose operating temperature range is a low temperature range (about room temperature). A plurality of N-type semiconductors 212 are arranged side by side, and the other ends have heat radiation fins 23a through insulating sheets 22 (for example, silicon rubber sheets) having excellent thermal conductivity and insulating properties and elasticity. It is thermally coupled to the heat dissipation member 23 and generates an electromotive force according to the temperature difference between the P-type semiconductor 211 and the N-type semiconductor element 212. The heat dissipating member 23 is, for example, a resin material having excellent thermal conductivity mixed with fillers such as aluminum, metal oxide, and ceramic (for example, PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) resin in which spherical graphite is filled with glass fiber, carbon resin, or the like). And is disposed opposite to the element support member 20 with a heat insulating member 24 such as a porous synthetic resin material having an intake hole interposed therebetween, and is combined and disposed in a state of being thermally disconnected from the element support member 20. ing.

  As a result, the thermoelectric conversion element 21 has one surface, for example, the P-type semiconductor 211, which is directly heat-transferred by the imaging element 10 to be heated, and the other surface, for example, the N-type semiconductor 212, is a heat dissipation member. It is thermally coupled to 23 and efficiently dissipated to lower the temperature, and the temperature difference is thermally controlled so that, for example, the generated electromotive force is maximized.

  Further, there is an intake port 22b for taking in outside air between the side wall of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 and the opening 201 facing the side wall. Outside air is allowed to pass through the intake port 22b by fan driving described later. Since the outside air appropriately cools the back side of the image sensor 10, it is possible to prevent element destruction due to a temperature rise of the image sensor 10. Further, in order to maintain the temperature difference, the silicon gel agent 22a is embedded in the side wall of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 positioned above and below the intake port 22b, the periphery on the insulating sheet 101, or the four corners, and the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is externally connected. It has a structure that is prevented from being broken by internal vibrations generated from the vibration from the vibration member that drives the shock and the dustproof filter.

  Here, the element support member 20 is thermally coupled to the frame member 14. One end of the frame member 14 is embedded with a heat storage material 141 to which the heat storage microcapsule is bonded to the silicon sheet by insert molding or the like, and a rib 142 is provided around the embedded portion of the heat storage material 141. Yes. Thereby, the element support member 20 is maintained at a substantially constant temperature by storing heat from the image sensor 10 in the heat storage material 141 of the frame member 14.

  The thermoelectric conversion element 21 is connected to a connector 26 of a printed wiring board 25 disposed on the camera body side, which will be described later, via leads 213 (see FIG. 3), and is connected to the printed wiring board 25 via the connector 26. It is connected to a drive circuit which is a DC-DC converter (not shown) constituting the mounted heat control means.

  The printed wiring board 25 is mounted with an AFE (Analogue Front End) IC element 28, a temperature sensor 29, and the like. The temperature sensor 29 detects the ambient temperature and outputs it to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 27. For example, the CPU 27 does not illustrate a cooling fan 73 (see FIG. 4) that constitutes a heat control unit that will be described in detail based on temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 29 and a finder mode (optical finder mode or live view mode). Drive control is selectively performed via a DC-DC converter.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the cooling fan 73 is housed and disposed in an exhaust hole 61 provided in a side wall of a camera body 60 of a single-lens reflex camera, for example, and is an electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 21. Is driven and controlled. The camera body 60 is provided with intake holes 61 that are separately disposed on other wall surfaces such as a bottom surface and a rear surface, corresponding to the exhaust holes 62, and when the cooling fan 73 is driven, External air is taken in from the hole 61 and exhausted from the exhaust hole 62, and thermal control in the camera body 60 is executed.

  A filter member (not shown) is attached to the intake hole 61 and the exhaust hole 62 so that dust and the like are prevented from entering the camera body 60 through the filter member (not shown). ing.

  The camera body 60 is provided with a ring-shaped body-side mount 63 at a substantially central portion on the front side. The mount 63 is provided with a lens attaching / detaching button 64, and a lens unit such as a lens unit described later is attached / detached by selecting the lens attaching / detaching button 64. A grip portion 65 serving as a grip-shaped holding region is provided at an end portion of the camera body 60 that is off to the left from a vertical plane including the optical axis when viewed from the front side, and the photographer holds the grip portion 65. Then shooting is done. The grip portion 65 is provided with a release button 66 and an exposure correction button 67.

  Further, the camera body 60 is provided with a mode dial 68 including a power switch (SW) and a control dial 69 on the left side when viewed from the front side, and various modes and the like can be selected by selecting the mode dial 68 and the control dial 69. The setting is switched.

  Further, the camera body 60 is provided with an AF (Auto focus) frame selection button, a one-touch white balance button, an adjustment button such as white balance and AF, an OK button, and the like (not shown) on the back side of the grip portion 65.

  On the back side of the camera body 60, a liquid crystal monitor 70 is provided on the optical axis adjacent to the grip portion 65. The liquid crystal monitor 70 is a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) type monitor that displays various settings and adjustment items in addition to the photographed image, and is a large rectangular display panel that occupies about half of the rear side area. .

  On the back side of the camera body 60, an optical finder 71 and a hot shoe 72 for attaching an external flash are provided on the upper part of the liquid crystal monitor 70, and a playback button, an erase button, an information display button, etc. (not shown) are provided. Yes.

  With reference to FIG. 5, a control procedure when the above configuration is applied to a single-lens reflex camera will be described.

  That is, when the power switch of the mode dial 68 is turned on, the CPU 27 starts the main process of the control system, starts the control operation, and first proceeds to step S100. In step S100, the control system (each control unit) is initialized, and various controls relating to photographing are executed.

  In step S101, it is determined whether a live view switch (SW) (not shown) has been operated. If YES is determined in step S101, the process proceeds to step S102 to determine the mode of the finder mode that is selectively switched according to, for example, the number of operations of the live view SW (not shown). Is called. If it is determined in step S102 that the live view mode is set, the process proceeds to step S103, the finder mode is set to the live view mode, and the process proceeds to step S104.

  In step S104, the mirror is set to the up (Up) position, the live view operation is started, the live view imaging device is driven to acquire a subject image and convert it into an electrical signal, which is an external image display device. The image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 70. Then, it returns to said step S101 and continues the same process again.

  If the optical finder mode is determined in step S102, the process proceeds to step S105, the finder mode is set to the optical finder mode, and the process proceeds to step S106. In step S106, the mirror is set to the down position, the live view operation is stopped, and the optical finder mode state is set. Then, it returns to said step S101 and continues the same process again.

  If it is determined in step S101 that the live view SW (not shown) is not operated, the process proceeds to step S107, and the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 29 is stored in advance. It is determined whether or not a predetermined value that has been set is exceeded. If the temperature information of the temperature sensor 29 determines Yes in step S107, the process proceeds to step S108, where it is determined whether the viewfinder mode is set to the live view mode. Done.

  If it is determined that the live view mode is Yes in step S108, the process proceeds to step S109, the finder mode is switched to the optical finder mode, and the process proceeds to step S110. In step S110, the live view operation is stopped by moving the mirror to the Down position, the process proceeds to step S111, and the cooling fan 73 is driven and controlled based on the electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 21. The cooling fan 73 takes in the outside air from the intake hole 61 of the camera body 60 in conjunction with the driving of the cooling fan 73 and exhausts the outside air to the outside from the exhaust hole 62, so that the heating element including the imaging element 10 in the camera body 60. So-called forced cooling is performed to exhaust the heat of the heat.

  If it is determined in step S108 that the live view mode is not No, the process proceeds to step S111, and the cooling fan 73 is driven and controlled based on the electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 21. Next, forced air cooling of the heating element including the image sensor 10 in the camera body 60 is executed.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S112, where it is determined whether or not the temperature information of the temperature sensor 29 is higher than the predetermined value −Δt, and if it is determined that the temperature is not high (low), cooling is performed. As a result, the process proceeds to step S113, and the driving of the cooling fan 73 is stopped. Then, it returns to said step S101 and continues the same process again. Here, Δt is a system for preventing the operation of the cooling fan 73 from being turned on / off near the predetermined value and becoming unstable.

  If it is determined in step S112 that the temperature is high, the operation for determining whether or not the temperature is higher than the predetermined value −Δt based on the temperature information of the temperature sensor 29 again is not high ( The temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 29 is repeatedly determined until No is determined. Further, in order to make the temperature to be equal to or lower than the predetermined value −Δt, if the auxiliary driving is performed using the secondary battery in the device, the temperature can be lowered in a short time.

  If it is determined in step S107 that the temperature is not higher than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S114 to determine whether or not the release button 66 has been operated. If it is determined in step S114 that the release button 66 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S115, and after performing the shooting preparation operation (AE / AF), the process proceeds to step S116 and the shooting operation is performed. Is called. Then, it returns to said step S101 and continues the same process again.

  If it is determined in step S114 that the release button 66 is not operated, the process proceeds to step S117 to determine whether or not the power switch (SW) of the mode dial 68 is turned off. . If it is determined in step S117 that the power SW is not turned off, the process returns to step S101 and the same process is continued again.

  If it is determined in step S117 that the power SW is OFF, the process proceeds to step S118, the control system is stopped, and the control operation is terminated.

  The image sensor module 1 is used as a lens unit as shown in FIG. 6, for example. However, in FIG. 6, for convenience of illustration, the optical low-pass filter 13 shown in FIG. 1, the transparent glass substrate 17 and the shutter 16 constituting the dust prevention mechanism, the adhesive 112 that bonds the FPC substrate 11 and the element support member 20. Is omitted, and other identical parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  That is, in the imaging element module 1, for example, the element support member 20 and the frame member 14 sandwich the compression coil spring 8 with the frame member 14 positioned on the unit substrate 6 constituting the lens unit via the positioning pins 9. The screw member 7 is used to screw and assemble to the unit substrate 6.

  A lens optical system 50 is assembled on the unit substrate 6, and an imaging lens system is accommodated in the lens optical system 50. The imaging lens system includes, for example, four lenses in three groups of a first lens 55a in the first group, second and third lenses 55b and 55c in the second group, and a fourth lens 25d in the third group. Focus adjustment is performed by moving the second and third lenses 55b and 55c of the second group in the direction of the optical axis O.

  The first lens 55a and the fourth lens 55d are accommodated in holders 56a and 56d, respectively, and are positioned and fixed on the optical axis via the holders 56a and 56d. The second and third lenses 55b and 55c are accommodated in a holder 56b. The holder 56b is movable in the directions of arrows A and B corresponding to the optical axis, for example, in a guide mechanism 57 having a backlash prevention structure. It is supported.

  The holder 56b is connected to the linear screw mechanism 58 so as to be linearly movable in the directions of arrows A and B in the optical axis direction. The linear screw mechanism 58 is connected to, for example, a stepping motor 59 so as to be freely driven, and is rotationally driven in conjunction with the driving of the stepping motor 59 to linearly move the holder 56a in the directions of arrows A and B. At this time, the holder 56b is guided by the guide mechanism 57 and moved in the directions of the arrows A and B, and the focus is adjusted by moving the second and third lenses 55b and 55c in the optical axis direction. Then, a desired optical image is captured and formed on the image sensor 10.

  As described above, the lens unit is provided with the thermoelectric conversion element 21 with the one surface thermally coupled to the image pickup element 10 of the image pickup element module 1, and the other of the thermoelectric conversion elements 21. A heat radiating member 23 is thermally coupled to the surface, and a cooling structure using the electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 21 as a power source is provided. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of heat generated by reducing the cooling power supply circuit serving as a heat source, and to improve the manufacturing flexibility including the thermal design.

  In addition, the lens unit structure may be configured to be assembled to the unit substrate 6 using a lens side mount member 80 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, for example. Is done.

  That is, the printed wiring board 81 is disposed on the lens side mount member 80, and the package type imaging device 10 a is mounted on the printed wiring board 81. A protective glass 82 is attached to the light receiving surface of the image sensor 10a.

  The printed wiring board 81 is provided with an opening 811, and the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is disposed on the back side of the opening 811, and one surface of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is thermally conductive. It is thermally coupled to the imaging element 10a via an insulating sheet 101a (for example, a silicon rubber sheet) having excellent insulating properties and elasticity. The other surface of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is made of the same material as that of the element support member 20 shown in FIG. 1 via an insulating sheet 101b (for example, a silicon rubber sheet) having excellent thermal conductivity and insulation and elasticity. The element support member 83 is thermally coupled.

  The element support member 83 is assembled on the back side of the printed wiring board 81 with a heat insulating spacer member 84, which is a heat insulating material, using a screw member 85 so as to be adjustable in height. A leaf spring member 86 is thermally coupled between the element support member 83 and the lens side mount member 80 using, for example, an ultraviolet curable adhesive. Between the thermoelectric conversion element 21 and the element support member 83, the side wall of the electrode of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 and the periphery or four corners on the insulating sheet 101b are embedded with the silicon gel agent 101c, and the thermoelectric conversion element 21 receives an impact from the outside. And a structure in which destruction is prevented by internal vibration generated from a vibrating member that drives the dustproof filter.

  Here, one of the thermoelectric conversion elements 21 is thermally controlled by conducting heat from the imaging element 10a, and the other is thermally coupled to an element support member 83 that is thermally separated from the printed wiring board 81. ing. Thereby, in the thermoelectric conversion element 21, the heat on the other side is efficiently transferred from the element support member 83 to the mount member 80 to be dissipated and the temperature difference between the two becomes large, and the electromotive force is efficiently generated. It becomes possible to do.

  The lens side mount member 80 is provided with an attachment hole 801, and a screw member or the like (not shown) is inserted into the attachment hole 801 and screwed to the unit substrate 15 to be attached. Further, the lens side mount member 80 is provided with a contact terminal board 87 on the base end side, and the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is electrically connected to the camera body side through the contact terminal board 87.

  Further, the image pickup device module 1 is used as an image pickup apparatus, for example, in a camera main body 60 which is a camera casing of a single-lens reflex electronic camera shown in FIG. However, in FIG. 9, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the detailed description thereof is omitted.

  That is, in the single-lens reflex electronic camera, an imaging optical system, a finder optical system, and a focus detection optical system are arranged in the camera body 60. Among these, the imaging optical system includes a photographing lens group 92a, a half mirror 92b, a reflection mirror 92c, and the imaging element module 1 in the order of the optical path.

  The photographing lens group 92a is detachably assembled to the camera body 60 via a mount. The half mirror 92b is configured to divide the optical path from the photographing lens group 92a into the direction of the image sensor module 1 and the viewfinder optical system. The half mirror 92b is composed of a quick return mirror that lifts in conjunction with the shutter 88.

  The reflection mirror 92c is configured to guide the light from the photographing lens group 92a to the focus detection optical system. The reflection mirror 92c is configured to be lifted in conjunction with the half mirror 92b. When the reflection mirror 92c is lifted, the reflection mirror 92c is removed from the optical path, and the light from the photographing lens group 92a is guided to the imaging element module 1, and the photographing lens group 92a. Is switched to the image sensor module direction and the focus detection optical system.

  The focus detection optical system is compact in the camera body 60 by bending a condenser lens 93a disposed in the vicinity of a planned imaging plane 92d equivalent to the imaging plane of the photographing lens group 92a, and bending the light from the condenser lens 93a. A reflecting mirror 93b for storage, an aperture stop group 93c having a pair of aperture stops in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a re-imaging optical system 93e in which a re-imaging lens 93d is integrally formed corresponding to the aperture stop group 93c. It is comprised by the combination and the photoelectric conversion element row | line | column 93f.

  Further, in the combination of the pair of aperture stop groups 93c and the corresponding pair of re-imaging lenses 93d, the center of each aperture stop group 93c and the corresponding re-imaging lens 93d are separated from the optical axis of the photographing lens group 92a. Eccentric. The finder optical system includes a screen 94a, a penta roof prism 94b, and an eyepiece lens 94c that are arranged on a planned imaging surface equivalent to the imaging surface of the photographing lens group 92a on the optical path in the direction reflected by the half mirror 92b. It is configured.

  As described above, in the single-lens reflex camera, the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is arranged with the one surface thermally coupled to the image sensor 10 of the image sensor module 1, and the other one of the thermoelectric conversion elements 21 is arranged. The heat radiation member 23 is thermally coupled to the surface, and the cooling structure using the electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 21 as a power source is provided in the camera body 60, thereby reducing the power supply circuit for cooling serving as the heat source. By being able to do so, the amount of heat generation can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in manufacturing including the thermal design can be improved.

  In addition, although the case where it comprised using the elastically deformable FPC board | substrate 11 was demonstrated in the said embodiment, it is not restricted to this, In addition, it is also possible to comprise using a hard type printed wiring board, Similarly, an effective effect is expected.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the cooling fan 73 distribute | arranged to the camera main body 60 is driven using the electromotive force generated of the thermoelectric conversion element 21, and the heat control of the heat generating body containing the image pick-up element 10 (10a) is performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is thermally coupled to the imaging element 10 and the heat radiating member 96 independently. Furthermore, the other side can be configured to be cooled using a heat pipe 95 that is a phase change flow path. According to this embodiment, it is possible to further increase the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion element 21, and a more effective effect is expected. However, in FIG. 10, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts in FIG. 1, and the detailed description thereof is omitted.

  That is, one of the thermoelectric conversion elements 21 is arranged to be thermally coupled to the back side insulating sheet 101 of the imaging element 10. The heat pipe 95 is thermally coupled to the other thermoelectric conversion element 21 with an insulating sheet 951 and a heat absorbing material 952 interposed therebetween. The heat pipe 95 is disposed by thermally connecting a heat radiating member 96 having excellent thermal conductivity. The heat pipe 95 is thermally disconnected from the element support member 20 via a heat insulating member (not shown).

  Further, for example, a piezoelectric pump 97 which is a working fluid forced circulation means is connected to the heat pipe 95. This piezoelectric pump 97 is assembled by being thermally disconnected from the heat radiating member 96 via a pump connecting member 971, and forcibly supplying a working fluid into the heat pipe 95 to perform a so-called refrigeration cycle. It is composed.

  The piezoelectric pump 97 is driven and controlled using the generated electromotive force of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 as a power source, and the working fluid hermetically accommodated in the heat pipe 95 is forcedly circulated by the drive to generate heat from the other thermoelectric conversion element 21. The heat transferred through the absorbent 952 is cooled.

  At the same time, the heat transferred from the other thermoelectric conversion element 21 to the heat absorbing material 952 is radiated through the heat radiating member 96. Thereby, the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is set to have a large temperature difference between the one surface and the other surface, and can generate a large amount of electromotive force according to the temperature difference.

  The electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is used not only for driving the piezoelectric pump 97 for forcibly circulating the working fluid but also for driving the cooling fan 73 for forcibly circulating the external air in the camera body 60 described above. .

  Note that the heat pipe 95 is not limited to the method in which the piezoelectric pump 97 is disposed and forcedly circulated. In addition, the working fluid is used between the heat absorption side and the heat dissipation side using the phase change. You may comprise the refrigerating cycle which performs a circulation.

  In addition, the heat dissipation structure using the heat pipe 95 may be configured as shown in FIG. 11, for example, and the same effective effect can be expected. However, in FIG. 11, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts in FIGS. 1 to 10, and the detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The heat dissipation structure shown in FIG. 11 is mounted on and electrically connected to the FPC board 11 so that the back side insulating sheet 101 of the bare chip type image pickup device 10 is accommodated in the opening 111 provided in the FPC board 11. ing. The thermoelectric conversion element 21 is disposed in the opening 111 of the FPC board 11 with one surface thereof thermally coupled to the insulating sheet 101.

  On the other surface of the thermoelectric conversion element 21, a loop-shaped flat heat pipe 95a constituting a phase change flow path (for example, the outer shape is a loop shape, the pipe width is smaller than the dimensions of the image sensor 10, and the rear side insulation is provided). A part (heat absorption part) of the sheet 101 (which is substantially the same as the width of the sheet 101) is thermally coupled via an insulating sheet (not shown). Then, a part of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 (heat absorption part) is subjected to black alumite treatment or the like to form a heat absorption surface 951a.

  On the back side of the FPC board 11, a cylindrical element support member 30 insert-molded with a metal material such as an aluminum material or PPS resin filled with granular graphite with alumina powder, glass fiber, or carbon fiber is disposed. The one end is thermally coupled. The element support member 30 is provided with an opening 301, and the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is accommodated in the opening 301 so that thermal coupling with the heat absorption surface 951 a of the heat pipe 95 a is cut off. Yes. The peripheral portion of the heat absorption surface 951a of the heat pipe 95a is joined and supported to the peripheral portion of the opening 301 of the element support member 30 via an adhesive 334, and is thermally coupled.

  Further, the element support member 30 is provided with a fin guide groove 302 on the inner wall portion thereof, and the fin guide groove 302 is disposed so as to be opposed to the heat conduction material 31 such as a silicon gel material constituting the heat dissipation member. The first and second heat radiation members 32 and 33 are movably accommodated. The first and second heat radiating members 32 and 33 are provided with a plurality of fins 321 and 331 facing each other, and the plurality of fins 321 and 331 are arranged to face each other with the heat conducting material 31 therebetween. Thermally coupled.

  Among these, the second heat radiating member 33 is provided with a mounting portion 332 having a through hole 333 at one end thereof, and the through hole 333 of the mounting portion 332 is a screw hole (not shown) provided in the element support member 30. Is placed on the element support member 30.

  A spacer member 34 having a through hole 341 is stacked on the attachment portion 332, and a part of the FPC board 11 folded back so as to wrap the element support member 30 is placed on the spacer member 34. Is placed. On the FPC board 11, for example, press members 35 made of stainless steel or aluminum are stacked and arranged.

  The FPC board 11 and the pressing member 35 are provided with through holes 112, 351 corresponding to the through holes 341 of the spacer member 34, and screw members 36 are provided in the through holes 351, 112, 341, 333. The element support member 30 is inserted and screwed into screw holes (not shown) drilled on both sides of the heat pipe 95a, and is thermally coupled to the element support member 30 and positioned.

  With the above configuration, the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is configured such that one surface of the thermoelectric conversion element 21 is heat-transferred by the imaging element 10 and the other surface is cooled by the heat pipe 95a so that the temperature difference between the surfaces on both sides is set large. It is possible to generate a large number of electromotive forces according to the temperature difference.

  Here, the temperature sensor 29 is mounted on the FPC board 11, and the temperature in the first and second heat radiating members 32 and 33 is detected by the temperature sensor 29. The temperature sensor 29 detects the ambient temperature in the first and second heat radiating members 32 and 33 and outputs it to the CPU 27. The CPU 27 drives and controls the cooling fan 73 (see FIG. 4) by the electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 21 based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 29 to control the imaging element 10 in the camera body 60. Perform thermal control of the heating element including.

  Further, on the light receiving surface side of the image sensor 10, for example, granular graphite constituting the camera shake prevention mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-2229 by the applicant of the present application, for example, around the image sensing surface. The holding member 39 supported by the moving frame 38 that is insert-molded with PPS resin filled with glass fiber or carbon fiber is engaged, and the surface direction is maintained constant. It is configured to be capable of so-called camera shake correction by being moved two-dimensionally. The moving frame 38 is thermally coupled to the pressing member 39 via a coupling means (not shown), for example, and the heat accompanying the driving is exhausted through the coupling means.

  Also in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, as a working fluid forced circulation means, a piezoelectric pump or the like is arranged in the heat pipe 95a so that the working fluid is forcibly circulated and supplied into the heat pipe 95a. It is also possible to do.

  Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention at the stage of implementation. Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements.

  For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect described in the effect of the invention can be obtained. In such a case, a configuration in which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

It is sectional drawing which showed an example of the image pick-up element module applied to the lens unit and imaging device which concern on one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state viewed from the light receiving surface side of the image sensor, omitting the optical low-pass filter, the dustproof mechanism, and the shutter from the image sensor module of FIG. 1. It is the enlarged view shown in order to demonstrate the detail of the thermoelectric conversion element used for the image pick-up element module of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the example of arrangement | positioning of the cooling fan driven using the electromotive force generated of the thermoelectric conversion element of FIG. It is the flowchart shown in order to demonstrate the cooling procedure which mounts the image pick-up element module of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a lens unit according to an embodiment of the present invention on which the image sensor module of FIG. 1 is mounted. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another example of a lens unit according to an embodiment of the present invention on which the image sensor module of FIG. 1 is mounted. It is the top view which showed the state which looked at the lens unit of FIG. 7 from the light-receiving surface side. It is the block diagram which showed the single-lens reflex electronic camera which is an imaging device which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing shown in order to demonstrate the structure of the lens unit which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the modification of the image pick-up element module of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Imaging device module, 6 ... Unit substrate, 7 ... Screw member, 8 ... Compression coil spring, 10, 10a ... Imaging device, 101, 101a, 101b ... Insulating sheet, 101c ... Silicon gel agent, 102 ... Lead terminal, 11 ... FPC board, 111 ... opening, 112 ... adhesive, 12 ... rubber frame, 13 ... optical low pass filter, 14 ... frame member, 141 ... heat storage material, 142 ... rib, 15 ... holding part, 16 ... shutter, 17 ... transparent Glass substrate, 18 ... vibrating member, 19 ... pressing member, 20 ... element support member, 201 ... opening, 20a ... radiating fin, 21 ... thermoelectric conversion element, 211 ... P-type semiconductor, 212 ... N-type semiconductor, 213 ... Lead, 22 ... insulating sheet, 22a ... silicon gel, 22b ... air inlet, 23 ... heat radiating member, 23a ... heat radiating fin, 24 ... heat insulating member, 25 ... printed wiring board 26 ... Connector, 27 ... CPU, 28 ... AFEIC element, 29 ... Temperature sensor, 30 ... Element support member, 301 ... Opening, 302 ... Fin guide groove, 31 ... Heat conduction material, 31, 32 ... First and second 321 ... 331 fins, 332 ... mounting portion, 333 ... through hole, 334 ... adhesive, 34 ... spacer member, 341 ... through hole, 35 ... pressing member, 36 ... screw member, 37 ... temperature sensor, 38 ... moving frame, 39 ... pressing member, 50 ... lens optical system, 55a, 55b, 55c ... first to third lenses, 56a, 56d ... holder, 57 ... guide mechanism, 58 ... linear screw mechanism, 59 ... stepping Motor 60 ... Camera body 61 ... Air intake hole 62 ... Exhaust hole 63 ... Body side mount 64 ... Lens attach / detach button 65 ... Grip part 66 ... Release button 67 ... Exposure compensation Button, 68 ... Mode dial, 69 ... Control dial, 70 ... Liquid crystal monitor, 71 ... Optical viewfinder, 72 ... Hot shoe, 73 ... Cooling fan, 80 ... Lens side mount member, 81 ... Printed wiring board, 811 ... Opening, 82 ... Protective glass, 83 ... Element support member, 84 ... Thermal insulation spacer member, 85 ... Screw member, 86 ... Leaf spring member, 87 ... Contact terminal board, 92a ... Imaging lens group, 92b ... Half mirror, 92c ... Reflection mirror, 92d ... Plane imaging plane, 93a ... Condenser lens, 93b ... Reflecting mirror, 93c ... Aperture stop group, 93d ... Re-imaging lens, 93e ... Re-imaging optical system, 93f ... Photoelectric conversion element array, 94a ... Screen, 94b ... pentaprism, 94c ... eyepiece, 95, 95a ... heat pipe, 951 ... insulating sheet, 951a ... heat absorption Convergence surface, 952... Heat absorbing material, 96... Heat radiating member, 97 .. piezoelectric pump, 971.

Claims (9)

A lens body to which the imaging lens is attached;
An imaging element that is disposed to face the imaging lens of the lens body and generates a video signal based on an optical image captured by the imaging lens;
A heat dissipating member that is disposed in the lens body and is thermally disconnected from the imaging device;
One is thermally coupled to the image sensor, and the other is thermally coupled to the heat dissipation member,
A thermoelectric conversion element that generates an electromotive force according to a temperature difference between the imaging element and the heat dissipation member;
Thermal control means that is driven by using the generated electromotive force of the thermoelectric conversion element as a power source, and that exhausts heat generated by driving the imaging element;
A lens unit comprising:   2. The lens unit according to claim 1, wherein a heat insulating member is interposed between the heat radiating member and the element supporting member that supports the thermoelectric conversion element, and the two are thermally disconnected from each other. The thermal control means includes
A phase change flow path that is disposed thermally coupled to the heat radiating member and contains a working fluid that transfers heat by phase change;
A working fluid that is driven by the electromotive force generated by the thermoelectric conversion element as a power source, forcibly circulates the working fluid in the phase change flow path to cool the heat radiating member, and exhausts heat generated by driving the imaging element The lens unit according to claim 1, further comprising a circulation unit.   4. The lens unit according to claim 1, wherein an insulating member is interposed between the imaging element and the heat radiating member of the thermoelectric conversion element. 5.   5. The lens unit according to claim 1, further comprising a camera shake prevention mechanism that prevents the camera shake by moving the image pickup device two-dimensionally.   The lens unit according to claim 1, wherein an optical filter and a dustproof mechanism are sequentially assembled on a light receiving surface of the image pickup device. A camera body equipped with an imaging lens;
An image sensor that is disposed opposite to the imaging lens of the camera body and generates a video signal based on an optical image captured by the imaging lens;
A heat dissipating member that is disposed in the lens body and is thermally disconnected from the imaging device;
A thermoelectric conversion element, one of which is thermally coupled to the imaging element and the other of which is thermally coupled to the heat dissipation member, and generates an electromotive force according to a temperature difference between the imaging element and the heat dissipation member; ,
Thermal control means that is driven using the generated electromotive force of the thermoelectric conversion element as a power source, and the finder mode is exhausted from the heat generated by driving the imaging element based on the generated electromotive force of the thermal conversion element other than the live view mode;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a gel agent is filled in a side wall of the thermoelectric conversion element.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an intake port for sucking outside air is provided on a side wall of the thermoelectric conversion element.

Images