JP2013061463A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a conventional problem in an imaging apparatus caused by outside exposure of a groove arranged outside a main body being a slide part, that adherence of dust or a foreign substance in the groove is likely to hinder sliding of a barrier, if the slide part is long in such a case as mounting a large-aperture lens.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus comprises: a cover member; a barrier member arranged in a front face of a main body of the apparatus and configured to move between a first position for covering a whole area of a photographic optical system and a second position retreated from the front face of the photographic optical system; a coupling part for coupling the cover member with the barrier member such that, when moving from the first position to the second position, the barrier member first rotationally moves in cross direction of the apparatus and slides to the second position while overlapping the cover member in the cross direction of the apparatus; and an energization member for energizing the barrier member at sliding movement. The energization member does not overlap the photographic optical system in optical axis direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus including a slide type barrier unit that moves between a use state and a storage state.

  Conventionally, in an imaging apparatus equipped with this type of barrier unit, the barrier that covers the outer surface of the device is closed when imaging is impossible, such as when the power is turned off, and the cover that covers the outer surface of the device is opened when imaging is possible such as when the power is turned on. In some cases, the optical system is exposed on the outer surface.

  Patent Document 1 is an example of a system in which a barrier slides in a groove disposed on the outer side of a main body, and a barrier that can be slid laterally is disposed at a position that covers the optical system on the outer surface of the camera and is slid. The optical system is exposed on the outer surface.

JP 2000-111989

  In the electronic device of Patent Document 1, since the groove disposed on the outer side of the main body, which is a sliding part, is always exposed to the outside, if the sliding part is long as in the case where a large-diameter lens is mounted, the groove When dirt or foreign matter adheres to the surface, it is easy to prevent the barrier from sliding. In addition, when a spring is used for sliding the barrier, the thickness of the camera increases depending on the arrangement.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides an imaging apparatus including a barrier unit in which a sliding groove is not exposed to the outside and does not hinder sliding of the barrier due to dust or foreign matter. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging device that does not become thick even when using.

  In order to solve the above problems, a cover member, a barrier member that is disposed on the front surface of the apparatus main body and moves between a first position that covers the photographing optical system and a second position that is retracted from the front surface of the photographing optical system, When the barrier member moves from the first position to the second position, the barrier member and the cover member move in the front-rear direction of the device after the barrier member rotates in the front-rear direction of the device. A connecting portion that connects the cover member and the barrier member so as to overlap and slide to the second position; and a biasing member that biases the barrier member during the sliding movement. The biasing member does not overlap with the photographing optical system in the optical axis direction.

  An imaging device having a barrier unit in which the sliding groove is not exposed to the outside and does not hinder the sliding of the barrier by dust or foreign matter, and does not become thick even if a spring is used for sliding the barrier can do.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the two states of the digital camera of a present Example. It is a figure when the digital camera of a present Example is seen from the right side seeing from the front. It is a disassembled perspective view of the barrier 4 of the digital camera of a present Example. 1 is an external perspective view of a link member 10. FIG. It is the figure which looked at the link member 10 from the side. (A) It is an external view of the barrier 4 of the digital camera of a present Example. (B) It is a figure of the back surface of the barrier 4. FIG. It is a detailed figure of toggle springs 21 and 22. It is explanatory drawing explaining the two states of the digital camera of a present Example. It is the figure which showed the mode of the movement during the rotational movement of the link member. It is the figure which showed the mode of the movement during the rotational movement of the link member. It is a figure showing a series of movements until the barrier 4 shifts from a photographing impossible state to a photographing possible state. It is a figure showing the movement state of the toggle springs 21 and 22 until the barrier 4 transfers to a photography possible state from a photography impossible state.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a digital camera provided with a barrier unit embodying the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram for explaining two states of the digital camera of this embodiment.

  The exterior part 2 covers the camera body 1 (equipment body), and constitutes five faces of the camera body 1 that is a substantially hexahedron: an upper surface 2a, a lower surface 2b, a left surface 2c, a right surface 2d, and a back surface 2e as viewed from the front. ing. Both the cover member 3 and the barrier 4 (barrier member) are disposed on the front surface of the apparatus main body. The cover member 3 covers the left half as viewed from the front of the camera body 1 while being sandwiched between the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b.

  The barrier 4 is also sandwiched between the upper surface 2 a and the lower surface 2 b and covers the remaining right half of the outer surface of the camera body 1. Further, there is an L-shaped portion 4d so as to be perpendicular to the moving direction of the barrier 4, and the right surface 2d and the L-shaped portion 4d exist on the same plane in a state where photographing is not possible. Further, in the photographing enabled state, the L-shaped portion 4d can also play a role of preventing the internal exposure of the rotation mechanism portion described later. It is also possible to form a finger operation unit 4g for operating the movement of the barrier 4. A lens unit 5 and a strobe 6 are housed inside the barrier 4 as a photographing optical system.

  A circumferential operation member is arranged on the upper surface 2a. As an example, a power button 7 having a power ON / OFF function, a release button 8 for instructing a shooting preparation operation by half-pressing and a shooting operation start by a full-press, a zoom lever for changing the angle of view and determining the composition 9 is arranged. The concave-shaped portions 23 and 24 will be described later.

  FIG. 1A is an example of a state in which photographing is not possible, and shows a power-off state. In this state, the barrier 4 is in a closed state (first state), and the lens unit 5 is in a retracted state by the barrier 4. FIG. 1B is an example of a photographing enabled state and shows a power-on state. In this state, the barrier 4 is slid and retracted from the closed state to be in the open state (second state), and the lens unit 5 and the strobe 6 are exposed to allow photographing. In addition, the lens unit 5 may be a type that protrudes or retracts, or a type that does not.

  The digital camera of the present embodiment can be changed from the state of FIG. 1A to the state of FIG. 1B by manual operation. If the lens unit 5 is a type that retracts when the power is turned off in the state of FIG. 1B, the photographer manually changes the state of FIG. 1B to the state of FIG. 1A. When you turn off the power. Note that an arrow A in FIG. 1A indicates the moving direction of the barrier 4.

  FIG. 2 is a view of the camera body 1 as viewed from the right surface 2d direction, and is a view when the barrier 4 transitions between the closed state and the open state along the moving direction A. FIG. In this case, the inner wall portions of the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b and the end portions 4a and 4b of the L-shaped portion 4d of the barrier 4 move while in contact with each other, so that the movement due to the force to rotate is restricted. Can do.

  As a result, the backlash in the vertical direction of the device body is suppressed. The L-shaped part 4d forms a finger-hanging operation part 4g for operating the movement of the barrier 4.

<Configuration of rotating mechanism>
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the barrier 4. The guide member 18 and the barrier 4 slidably hold the link member 10, and the guide member 18 and the barrier 4 are fixed by screws or the like.

  FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the link member 10 constituting the connecting member of the rotation mechanism portion. The link member 10 includes a fixed portion 13 that is a member fixed to the camera body 1 by screwing or the like, and a first link portion 11 and a second link portion that rotatably hold the fixed portion 13 and the connecting portion 14. 12 in pairs. Moreover, the connection part 14 which the link member 10 has is arrange | positioned so that the 1st link part 11, the 2nd link part 12, and the fixing | fixed part 13 which are this pair may be connected. In addition, what is arrange | positioned at 4a which is the edge part of the barrier 4 is made into the 1st link part 11a, the 2nd link part 12a, and the fixing | fixed part 13a, and what is arrange | positioned at 4b side is the 1st link part. Subscripts are added so as to be 11b, the second link portion 12b, and the fixing portion 13b.

  FIG. 5 is a view of the link member 10 as viewed from the side surface on the lower surface 2b side. Reference numeral 11-1 denotes an attachment portion where the first link portion 11 is attached to the connecting portion 14, and is a first rotation center of the first link portion 11. Reference numeral 12-1 denotes an attachment portion to which the second link portion 12 is attached to the connecting portion 14, and a rotation center of the second link portion 12. Reference numeral 11-2 denotes an attachment part to which the first link part 11 is attached to the fixed part 13, and a rotation center of the first link part 11.

  Reference numeral 12-2 denotes an attachment part to which the second link part 12 is attached to the fixing part 13, and 12-2 is held rotatably with respect to the fixing part 13. 5 is a side view from the lower surface 2b side, the suffix “b” is attached, but the structure is the same when viewed from the upper surface 2a side.

First, the length (line segment) 15c from the first rotation center 11-1 to the second rotation center 11-2, which is between the rotation centers of the first link portion 11b, is set. The length (line segment) 15d from the first rotation center 12-1 to the second rotation center 12-2 between the rotation centers of the second link portion 12 is set. These 15c and 15d are configured to have the same length (= q). And if the line segment 15a which connects 11-2 and 12-2 and the line segment 15b which connects 11-1 and 11-2 are comprised by the same length (= p), the following formula | equation will be materialized.
15a = 15b = p (Formula 1)
15c = 15d = q (Formula 2)
As a result, 15a and 15b are always parallel, and 15c and 15d are always parallel. Therefore, the link member 10 rotates in the direction of the arrow B while the four line segments 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d always form a parallelogram.

  FIG. 6A is an external view of the barrier 4, and FIG. 6B is a view showing the back surface of the barrier 4 (a surface not exposed when attached to the camera body 1).

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the link member 10 is assembled so that a part of the link member 10 (the link portion 12 and the fixing portion 13) protrudes toward the back side of the barrier 4. The protruding link portion 12 and the fixed portion 13 can be rotated by a mechanism described later.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram viewed from the back surface of the barrier 4. A convex portion 14 a is provided on the back surface of the connecting portion 14, and the movement direction is regulated by fitting the convex portion 14 a to the movement regulating portion 18 a of the guide member 18. As a result, the link member 10 can slide for opening and closing the barrier without rotating. Note that the movement restricting portion 18 a may be disposed on either the guide member 18 or the back surface of the barrier 4.

<Toggle spring>
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of toggle springs 21 and 22 as urging members. The toggle springs 21 and 22 have toggle portions 21a and 22a, respectively. The thicknesses 21 b and 22 b of the toggle portions 21 a and 22 a tend to be long in order to maintain the operability of the sliding movement of the barrier 4. The toggle springs 21 and 22 are housed in the recessed portions 23 and 24 of FIG. The concave portions 23 and 24 are arranged with the lens unit 5 interposed therebetween, and are arranged at positions that do not overlap in the projection of the lens unit 5 in the optical axis direction.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view when the digital camera is cut along a line passing through the concave portions 23 and 24. Further, FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of the toggle spring portion C in FIG. Optical axis direction thickness W _L and thickness 21b of the toggle spring 21 when collapsed lens unit 5 is prevented from overlapping the optical axis direction. Therefore, without thickness 21b of the thickness W _L and the toggle spring 21 of the lens unit 5 overlap in the optical axis direction, is not the thickness W of the digital camera itself becomes thicker.

  This makes it possible to attach the slide barrier without increasing the thickness of the digital camera. Note that a plurality of toggle springs 21 and 22 may be arranged with a photographing lens interposed therebetween.

<Motion of rotating mechanism>
FIG. 9 shows a state of movement of the link member 10 during rotational movement, and the rotational movement is performed from FIG. 9 (A) to (C). FIG. 9C illustrates the rotational movement of the link member 10 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B superimposed for explanation. The amount of movement x of the connecting portion 14 in the slide barrier moving direction A increases as the rotation angle θ of the link portions 11b and 12b approaches 180 degrees. Note that the link portions 11a and 12a paired with the link portions 11b and 12b also perform the same rotational movement.

  Further, the tension spring 16 (having 16a and 16b on both sides of the link member 10) as an elastic member switches the direction in which the rotational load is applied at a certain position while the link member 10 is rotating. In addition, the toggle springs 21 and 22 switch the direction in which the load in the moving direction A of the barrier 4 is applied at a certain position while the barrier 4 is slidingly moved. By doing so, the barrier 4 is urged against the moving direction when moving in one direction (for example, from the closed to the opening direction), and the urging direction is switched to the moving direction at a certain position.

  Therefore, when moving in the reverse direction (for example, from the opening direction to the closing direction), the barrier 4 is urged against the moving direction, and the urging direction is switched to the moving direction at a certain position. By disposing the tension spring 16 and the torsion toggle springs 21 and 22, the operability when opening and closing the barrier 4 is improved, and a slide barrier having a good feel can be configured. The guide member 18 is provided with a movement restricting portion 18a, and the moving direction of the connecting portion 14 is restricted by the convex portion 14a of the connecting portion 14 as described above.

  FIG. 10 shows the rotational movement of the link member 10, which is rotated from the state of FIG. 10 (A) to the permanent position of (C). The tension spring 16b is hooked and held on the two shafts of the rotation tip portion 25b of the link 11b and the fixed shaft 26b of the fixing portion 13b that rotatably holds the first link portion 11b.

  In (A), since the connecting portion 14 in the drawing is always pulled in the Ra direction, it is biased in the Ra direction. From the position (A), the tension spring 16b rotates in a direction opposite to the urging direction, and as shown in (B), the tension spring 26b and the rotating portion 25b of the link 11b are at the maximum length. The urging direction of 16b is reversed. And since the energizing direction is always pulled in the Rb direction at the position (C), the connecting portion 14 is energized in the Rb direction. Since the connecting portion 14 is slidably sandwiched between the barrier 4 and the guide member 18, the urging force also acts on the barrier 4 in the same manner. Also, the tension springs 16a arranged in pairs perform the switching of the same urging direction almost simultaneously.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the movements of the first link unit 11, the second link unit 12, and the fixing unit 13 in a series of movements from the barrier 4 incapable of shooting to the shooting enabled state. FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional perspective view in a plane parallel to the lower surface 2 b of the exterior part 2, and FIG. 11B is an enlarged view of a portion centering on the link member 10. The link member 10 at the position of FIG. 11A-1 is shown correspondingly as shown in FIG. 11B-1.

  FIG. 11A-1 illustrates a state in which the barrier 4 is in a shooting-impossible state, that is, a position where the imaging lens is housed and protected (first position). The barrier 4 is provided with an inclined surface as a notch portion 4 f so as to come into contact with the notch portion 2 f of the exterior portion 2 for restricting the rotation of the link member 10. When the slide barrier is in the closed state as in (A-1), the barrier 4 and the cover member 3 are configured to be substantially in the same plane.

  When the photographer performs an operation to move the barrier 4 in the moving direction A while lifting the barrier 4 from the state of FIG. 11A-1, first, the first link portion 11 and the second link of the link member 10. The part 12 and the fixed part 13 perform rotational movement. From the state of FIG. 11 (A-2) to the state of FIG. 11 (A-4), as described above, the first link portion 11, the second link portion 12 of the link member 10, and 15 a, 15 b, 15 c of the fixing portion 13. , 15d are rotated while always forming a parallelogram.

  Then, the connecting portion 14 of the first link portion 11 and the second link portion 12 rotates and moves in the moving direction of the barrier 4 while lifting the barrier 4 and the guide member 18 fixed to the barrier 4 in the front-rear direction. After that, in the state of FIG. 11A-4, the rotational movement of the first link portion 11 and the barrier 4 is restricted by the side surface 11f of the first link portion 11 coming into contact with the notch portion 2f.

  From (A-4) to (A-6) in FIG. 11, the barrier 4 is moved in the moving direction A, so that the position where the photographing lens is exposed (A-6, second position) is obtained. At this time, as described with reference to FIG. 9, since the barrier 4 is slidable with respect to the link member 10, the movement of the link member 10 is restricted, whereas the barrier 4 is in the direction in which the barrier opens and closes ( (A direction in FIG. 1a) can be slid. After that, the photographing lens is brought out and ready for photographing.

  That is, the rotational movement is performed from (A-1) to (A-4), the sliding movement is performed from (A-4) to (A-6), and the movement amount of the barrier 4 in the sliding movement direction A Is the sum of the amount of movement of the aforementioned rotational movement and the amount of movement of the slide movement, and the movement amount can be lengthened.

  FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the moving state of the toggle springs 21 and 22 when the slide barrier according to the present invention is in a series of moving states (from an unphotographable state to an imageable state). In the position (C-1) where the barrier 4 is in the closed state, the toggle springs 21 and 22 are disposed in the concave portions 23 and 24. Then, from (C-2) to (C-4) in which the link member 10 is rotationally moved, the toggle springs 21 and 22 are disengaged from the concave shaped portions 23 and 24 and rotate in the same manner as the link member 10.

  Thereafter, in (C-5) to (C-6), the toggle springs 21 and 22 slide and move as the barrier 4 slides. At (C-6), the barrier 4 is in the open position. The toggle springs 21 and 22 are always located in the region Z (the region in which the barrier 4 and the camera body 1 always overlap during the sliding movement) from the time when the barrier 4 is slid (C-5) to (C-6). That is, the lens unit 5 is disposed at a position where it does not interfere.

  In the present invention, a digital camera provided with a barrier unit is taken as an example. However, as long as the electronic device has the barrier unit of this embodiment, an electronic device with a camera such as a mobile phone or a portable game machine may be used.

3 Cover member 4 Barrier member 10 Link member 11, 12 Link part 14 Connection part

Claims (5)

A cover member;
A barrier member disposed on the front surface of the apparatus main body and moving between a first position covering the photographing optical system and a second position retracted from the front surface of the photographing optical system;
When the barrier member moves from the first position to the second position, the barrier member and the cover member overlap in the front-rear direction of the device after the barrier member rotates in the front-rear direction of the device. A connecting portion for connecting the cover member and the barrier member so as to slide to the second position.
A biasing member that biases the barrier member during the sliding movement;
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the biasing member does not overlap the imaging optical system in the optical axis direction.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the barrier member is in the first position, a plurality of the urging members are arranged with the photographing optical system interposed therebetween.   2. The device according to claim 1, wherein when the barrier member is in the second position, the biasing member is located in a region that always overlaps the device main body during the sliding movement. Imaging device. An elastic member that urges the barrier member during the rotational movement;
The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elastic member changes an urging direction at a point where the elastic member is predetermined by the rotational movement. .   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the barrier member is in the first position, the barrier member and the cover member are located on the same plane.

Images