JP2012083605A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging device in which thinning is achieved while a bent system imaging lens system is included.SOLUTION: A holding plate 42 includes rectangular apertures 42a to 42c that avoid interference with at least one member disposed in an optical path between a first lens group L1 at the most object side in an imaging lens system and an image pickup device CCD or around the optical path. Therefore, by performing assembling so that the member is embedded in the rectangular apertures, the thickness of the imaging device 10 can be thinned further than when the holding plate 42 does not include the rectangular apertures 42a to 42c.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as a video camera, a digital still camera, or a mobile device having an imaging function, which includes a so-called flex system imaging lens.

  In recent years, as an imaging optical system from the subject light entrance window to the imaging device, imaging such as a camera employing a bending imaging lens in which a prism having one reflecting surface is inserted in the optical path and the optical path is bent at a substantially right angle Equipment is widespread. By adopting a flexible imaging lens, a thin lens barrel in the thickness direction can be manufactured without being retracted by bending the optical axis perpendicular to the subject direction. ). This also has the advantage of ensuring impact resistance and being housed in a waterproof case for use as a waterproof camera.

  By the way, when an image display panel is provided on the rear surface of a housing in an imaging apparatus employing a bending imaging lens, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a cover, a lens barrel, and an LCD are held in the camera thickness direction. Boards, LCDs, LCD protective plates, etc. are often laid out.

JP 2010-32614 A

  In other words, since the parts to be arranged in the thickness direction of the camera are determined, it is important to make the cross section of the lens barrel as small as possible in order to make the camera thinner, but it is necessary to ensure optical performance and ease of manufacture. There is a problem in optical design such as aiming to lower the optical sensitivity, and there is a situation that it is not easy to reduce the size (diameter) of the lens itself. In general, in an optical system, the effective diameter tends to decrease at the stop, and the effective diameter tends to increase as the distance from the stop increases toward the subject or the image surface. Often it is decided. Further, since the thickness of the LCD and the LCD protective plate is determined by the specification of the LCD, it is difficult to reduce the thickness. Further, since the LCD holding plate is for holding the LCD, if its rigidity is weakened, it will cause deformation of the LCD, so it is not preferable to make it thin uniformly. On the other hand, in an imaging lens capable of zooming, there are a moving lens group and a fixed lens group, each of which requires different sizes, but the moving lens group avoids interference in the entire moving stroke area. Space is required.

    The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides an imaging device that is thin but has a bending imaging lens system.

The imaging apparatus of the present invention
A housing,
An imaging lens system in which a part of the optical path is bent by a reflecting member;
A lens barrel attached to the housing and holding the imaging lens system;
An image sensor attached to the lens barrel and receiving subject light incident through the imaging lens system;
A display unit for displaying a subject image based on an image signal from the image sensor;
A plate-like holding plate for attaching the display unit to the housing;
The holding plate has a recess or a notch that avoids interference between an optical element closest to the object in the imaging lens system and at least one member disposed around the optical path between the imaging element and the optical element. It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, the holding plate interferes with at least one of the members disposed in or around the optical path between the optical element closest to the object in the imaging lens system and the imaging element. Since there is a recess or notch to be avoided, the thickness of the imaging device can be reduced by assembling the one member into the recess or notch as compared with a case where the holding plate does not have a recess or notch. The thickness can be made thinner.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the first aspect, the one member is a lens group that is disposed closest to the object side in the imaging lens system. In a bending imaging lens system, the lens group located closest to the object side often includes a reflecting member that bends the optical axis, for example, a prism, but the diameter of incident light that has passed through the prism depends on the aperture portion on the image side. Therefore, the prism and the lens disposed on the image side of the prism tend to have a larger diameter. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the holding plate with a recess or notch that avoids interference with the lens group.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, the one member is a shutter mechanism. Since the shutter mechanism is disposed around the optical path and has an actuator for driving a diaphragm, a shutter blade, and the like, the size is likely to increase. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the holding plate with a recess or a notch that avoids interference with the shutter mechanism. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the one member is a lens group arranged closest to the image side in the imaging lens system. And Since the diameter of the incident light incident on the image sensor is thicker than that of the aperture portion on the object side, the lens group arranged closest to the image side tends to have a larger diameter. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the holding plate with a recess or notch that avoids interference with the lens group.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the one member is a camera shake correction mechanism. The camera shake correction mechanism is arranged around the optical path, has an actuator that drives the correction optical element, and requires a space for the correction optical element system to move. It is preferable to provide the holding plate with a recess or notch that avoids interference with the mechanism.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any of the first to fifth aspects, the imaging lens system includes a movable lens group that is movable in the optical axis direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a thin imaging device while having a bending imaging lens system.

It is a front side perspective view of imaging device 10 of this embodiment. It is a back side perspective view of imaging device 10 of this embodiment. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a housing 12 is removed from the imaging device 10. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the display 32, the protection plate 42, and the lens barrel 50 are further removed from the state of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which assembled | attached the protection board and the lens barrel. It is a perspective view which shows the lens barrel 50 as a single unit. It is the figure which cut | disconnected the structure of FIG. 3 by the surface containing a VII-VII line, and looked at the arrow direction. 4 is a perspective view of a shutter device 60. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a camera shake correction mechanism 70. FIG. It is the figure which cut | disconnected the structure of FIG.

  An imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the imaging apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the imaging apparatus 10 of the present embodiment.

  An imaging apparatus 10 that is a digital still camera has a housing 12 that forms an exterior. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 12 is a flat, thin rectangle having a thickness in the front-rear direction, a height in the vertical direction larger than the thickness, and a width in the left-right direction larger than the height. It is formed in a plate shape.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 12a is provided at a location near the right side of the front upper portion of the housing 12, and a first lens group of an imaging lens system, which will be described later, is provided facing the front through the opening 12a. ing. A cover member 14 capable of shielding the opening 12a is provided on the front surface.

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the back surface of the housing 12, a captured image (image data) is displayed, and a display 32 that displays an operation screen or a menu screen for performing various setting operations related to imaging and reproduction. Is provided. A display unit is constituted by the display 32. As the display 32, a conventionally known display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device can be adopted.

  A release button 34 and a power switch 36 are provided on the top surface of the housing 12. On the left side of the rear surface of the housing 12, a zoom operation switch 38 for adjusting the zoom ratio of the imaging lens system to the telephoto side (tele side) or the wide angle side (wide side), and switching of the imaging mode and playback mode, etc. A plurality of operation switches 40 are provided for performing various operations, a selection operation of a selection item on a menu screen displayed on the display 32, a setting item setting operation, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state where the housing 12 is detached from the imaging device 10. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the display 32, the protective plate 42, and the lens barrel 50 are further removed from the state of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the protection plate 42 and the lens barrel 50 are assembled. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the lens barrel 50 alone. FIG. 7 is a view of the configuration of FIG. 3 cut along a plane including the line VII-VII and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the protective plate 42 attached to the housing 12 has a shape in which the periphery of a metal rectangular thin plate is bent by a press. The display 32 is bonded with a double-sided tape or the like (a snap fit may be used), and a lens barrel 50 is attached to the back side. The protective plate 42 has three rectangular openings 42a to 42c arranged vertically on the side to which the lens barrel 50 is attached. In addition, since the total area of the rectangular openings 42a to 42c as the recesses is relatively small, there is little risk of reducing the rigidity of the protection plate 42.

  A cuboid lens barrel 50 accommodates a bending imaging lens system. The imaging lens system is fixed to a first lens unit L1 disposed on the most object side, a second lens unit L2 that is movable in the optical axis direction by a driving mechanism (not shown), and a shutter mechanism 60 that forms a diaphragm unit. The third lens group L3, a fourth lens group L4 movable in the optical axis direction by a drive mechanism (not shown), a fifth lens group L5 fixed in the optical axis direction, and an IR cut filter F. An imaging element CCD is attached to the end of the lens barrel 50 via a base plate BS.

  The first lens unit L1 includes a concave lens L1a attached to the lens barrel 50, a prism PZ that bends the optical axis of the imaging lens system, and a convex lens L1b. The prism PZ and the convex lens L1b pass through the same holder HLD. It is attached to the lens barrel 50.

  Here, since the first lens unit L1 takes in the subject light, the light beam diameter is thicker than that of the stop portion, and thus it is necessary to secure a large cross section in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the prism PZ and the convex lens L1b. In particular, when the focal length is short and the angle is widened according to the specifications of the imaging device 10, such a tendency becomes remarkable. On the other hand, if the outer shape of the lens barrel 50 is increased accordingly, the imaging device 10 becomes thicker.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, while suppressing the outer diameter thickness of the lens barrel 50, a part A of the holder HLD that holds the prism PZ and the convex lens L1b is protruded outward from the lens barrel 50, and further the holding plate The thickness of the imaging device 10 is suppressed by being fitted into the rectangular opening 42 a of 42.

  The second lens group L2 is a lens group for zooming, and the concave lens L2a, the concave lens L2b, and the convex lens L2c are integrally moved in the optical axis direction.

  The shutter mechanism 60 will be described. 8 is a perspective view of the shutter device 60. When the shutter device 60 is attached to the lens barrel 50, the longitudinal direction of the shutter mechanism 60 (left-right direction in FIG. 8) is changed to the longitudinal direction of the imaging device 10 (left-right direction in FIG. 1). ) To match. In FIG. 8, the shutter mechanism 60 has a base 602 in which an optical path opening 601 disposed in the optical path of the imaging lens is formed, and a motor (actuator) 603 and an arm that is rotationally driven by the motor 603 on the base 602. 604, a combination blade 605 that is slid by the arm 604, a return spring 606 that urges the arm 604 to an initial position (position where the combination blade closes the optical path opening), and the like. The combination blade 605 is driven to slide by the arm 604, and narrows or opens / closes the optical path opening 601.

  On the surface side of the base 602, a flat and smooth slide surface 606 on which the combination blade 605 slides and a recess 607 to which the arm 604 is attached are provided. An optical path opening 601 is opened near the center of the slide surface 606. In addition, two guide pins 608 that are separated in the sliding direction are provided on both sides of the slide surface 606. At the tip of the guide pin 608, a blade pressing portion 608a protruding in a substantially right angle direction of the pin is formed.

  The motor 603 is attached to the back surface of the recess 607, and the rotation shaft projects through the base 602 to the front side. The rotation shaft is fitted and fixed to a boss portion of an arm 604 described later. Around the boss portion, a plurality of (three in this example) spring end engaging portions 609 are erected side by side in the circumferential direction.

  The combination blade 605 is composed of two blade members 605a and 605b that are vertically overlapped. The upper blade member 605a has a substantially circular aperture formation hole 605c near the center, and the lower blade member 605b has an approximately arc-shaped aperture formation edge (not shown). Both the blade members 605a and 605b are slid in the opposite direction by the arm 604, and an aperture centering on the optical axis of the optical path aperture 601 is formed by the aperture forming hole 605c and the aperture forming edge. Engagement long holes 605d and 605e are formed in the end portions of the blade members 605a and 605b, respectively. In addition, one or two cam holes 605f and 605g extending in the sliding direction are formed on both sides side by side in the sliding direction. Guide pins 608 erected on the base 602 are engaged with the cam holes 605f and 605g.

  The blade members 605a and 605b are thin members, and are made of, for example, a resin film (for example, a polyester film) that has been coated with a light shielding ability.

  The operation of the shutter mechanism 60 will be described. When the optical path opening is fully closed, the upper blade member 605a slides to the slide closed end, the lower blade member 605b slides to the slide closed end, and the optical path opening 601 is completely blocked. It is. When the arm 604 rotates counterclockwise by being driven by the motor 603, the upper blade member 605a is pushed by the arm 604 and slides leftward on the slide surface 606 while being guided by the guide pin 608 in FIG. On the other hand, the lower blade member 605b is pulled by the arm 604 and slides rightward on the slide surface 606 while being guided by the guide pin 608 in FIG. As a result, an aperture centered on the center of the optical path aperture 601 is formed by the aperture forming hole 605c and the aperture forming edge of each blade member 605a, 605b. When the upper blade member 605a slides to the slide open end and the lower blade member 605b slides to the slide open end, the optical path opening 601 is fully opened. The shutter mechanism 60 is not limited to the above configuration.

  In FIG. 7, the third lens unit L3 is composed of one convex lens. The fourth lens group L4 is a lens group for zooming and focusing, and the concave lens L4a and the convex lens L4b are integrally moved in the optical axis direction.

  The fifth lens unit L5 includes a concave lens L5a, a convex lens L5b, and a concave lens L5c. The fifth lens group L5 is close to the image pickup device CCD and increases in diameter as the beam diameter increases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a part C of the lens barrel 50 that holds the fifth lens unit L5a protrudes outward and is further fitted into the rectangular opening 42c of the holding plate 42, thereby suppressing the thickness of the imaging device 10. ing.

  The camera shake correction mechanism 70 will be described. 9 is a perspective view of the camera shake correction mechanism 70, and FIG. 10 is a view of the configuration of FIG. 9 cut along a plane including the XX line and viewed in the direction of the arrow. In FIG. 10, a lens frame 701 is slidably supported by guide shafts 702 and 703 that protrude from the lens barrel 50 in the horizontal direction (perpendicular to the paper surface), and is a rotation shaft that extends from the lens barrel 50 in the vertical direction. It fits to 704 through a long hole 701a and is supported so as to be pivotable. A convex lens L5b is attached to the right end side of the lens frame 701 in FIG. 10, and a rotation direction driving magnet 705 is fixed to an upper portion on the left end side across the rotation shaft 704. A magnet 706 for driving in the straight direction is fixed to the lower part of the head. A yoke 707 is disposed between the magnets 705 and 706.

  Further, a rotation direction driving coil 708 is disposed in the vicinity of the upper portion of the rotation direction driving magnet 705 in the lens barrel 50, and a straight direction driving in the vicinity of the lower portion of the straight direction driving magnet 706 in the lens barrel 50. A coil 709 is disposed. A hall element 710 for detecting the rotational direction position is provided facing the magnet 705, and a magnet 711 for driving in the straight direction is provided facing the magnet 706.

By energizing the rotation direction driving coil 708 in order to realize known camera shake correction, a magnetic force is applied to the magnet 705, and the convex lens L5b rotates around the rotation axis 704 together with the lens frame 701, and the position is It is detected by the Hall element 710. Further, by energizing the coil 709 for driving in the straight direction, a magnetic force is applied to the magnet 706, and the convex lens L5b is moved in the left-right direction together with the lens frame 701, and its position is detected by the Hall element 711.
Yes.

  Here, since the camera shake correction mechanism 70 protrudes in the direction of the optical axis by pivoting the lens frame 701, the imaging apparatus 10 becomes thick if a movement space is secured for the stroke. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rectangular opening 42c of the holding plate 42 is provided in order to avoid interference with a part D (FIG. 7) of the camera shake correction mechanism 70 while suppressing the outer diameter of the lens barrel 50. Thus, the thickness of the imaging device 10 is suppressed.

  In FIG. 7, the concave lens L5c becomes closer to the image sensor CCD and becomes larger in diameter as the beam diameter becomes thicker. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rectangular opening of the holding plate 42 is used to avoid interference with the concave lens L5c and the part E of the lens frame L7a that holds the IR cut filter F while suppressing the outer diameter of the lens barrel 50. The thickness of the imaging device 10 is suppressed by enlarging 42c downward. In place of the rectangular opening of the holding plate 42, a notch may be provided.

  1 and 2, by operating the zoom operation switch 38 with the power switch 36 turned on, the second lens unit L2 and the fourth lens unit L4 move in the optical axis direction in a predetermined relationship. Therefore, the zooming is realized. Further, the fourth lens unit L4 is moved in the optical axis direction by a known image plane AF function to achieve focusing.

  When the release button 34 is further depressed, the subject light incident through the imaging lens system enters the imaging surface of the imaging device CCD for a predetermined exposure time defined by the shutter mechanism 60 and is converted into an image signal. After performing predetermined image processing, a subject image based on the image signal is displayed on the display 32. At this time, camera shake correction can be realized by the camera shake correction mechanism 70 moving the sixth lens unit L6 together with the lens frame 701 in accordance with the camera shake of the imaging device 10.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Imaging device 12 Case 12a Opening 14 Cover member 32 Display 34 Release button 36 Power switch 38 Zoom operation switch 40 Operation switch 42 Holding plate 42a Rectangular opening 42b Rectangular opening 42c Rectangular opening 50 Lens barrel 60 Shutter mechanism 70 Camera shake correction mechanism 601 Optical path opening 602 Base 603 Motor 604 Arm 605 Blade 605a Upper blade member 605b Lower blade member 605c Formation hole 605d Engagement long hole 605f Cam hole 606 Slide surface 607 Recess 608 Guide pin 608a Blade pressing portion 609 Spring end engagement portion 701 Mirror Frames 702 and 703 Guide shaft 704 Rotating shaft 705 Rotational direction driving magnet 706 Straight direction driving magnet 707 Yoke 708 Rotational direction driving coil 709 Straight direction driving coil 71 Hall element 711 Hall element CCD Image sensor F IR cut filter HLD Holder L1 First lens group L1a Concave lens L1b Convex lens L2 Second lens group L2a Concave lens L2b Concave lens L2c Convex lens L3 Third lens group L4 Fourth lens group L4a Convex lens L5 Convex lens L5 5 lens unit L5a concave lens L5b convex lens L5c concave lens L7a lens frame PZ prism

Claims (6)

A housing,
An imaging lens system in which a part of the optical path is bent by a reflecting member;
A lens barrel attached to the housing and holding the imaging lens system;
An image sensor attached to the lens barrel and receiving subject light incident through the imaging lens system;
A display unit for displaying a subject image based on an image signal from the image sensor;
A plate-like holding plate for attaching the display unit to the housing;
The holding plate has a recess or a notch that avoids interference between an optical element closest to the object in the imaging lens system and at least one member disposed around the optical path between the imaging element and the optical element. An imaging apparatus comprising:   The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one member is a lens group arranged closest to the object side in the image pickup lens system.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one member is a shutter mechanism.   The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one member is a lens group arranged closest to the image side in the image pickup lens system.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one member is a camera shake correction mechanism.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging lens system includes a movable lens group that is movable in an optical axis direction.

Images