JP2019164340A - Bonding structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a bonding structure capable of obtaining a high bonding strength in all directions with a simple structure.SOLUTION: A bonding structure has holes (27, 33) opening to facing surfaces (28, 31) faced by two members (12, 13). Liquid or powder filling body (U) is filled into both the holes in a state where the holes communicate with each other. The two members are relatively fixed by the filling body. Each of the hole of the two members has a position, which is more separated from an opening than the side of the opening, having a wider inner space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 32

Description

  The present invention relates to a joining structure for fixing a plurality of components.

  In order to satisfy predetermined optical performance, an imaging device is required to determine and attach a position of a member related to support of an optical element such as a lens with very high accuracy. For example, the fixing by screwing can be firmly fixed, but it is difficult to manage the amount of misalignment due to the torque at the time of fixing. Therefore, bonding with an adhesive is often used for fixing the components of the imaging device.

  The fixing with the adhesive includes close adhesion where the adherends are in contact with each other and filling adhesion where there is a gap in the adherend and the adhesive is filled in the gap. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which parts to be bonded are made into a comb-teeth shape with chamfering and filled between the comb teeth for the purpose of improving the adhesive strength in both the optical axis direction and the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction. Is described.

JP, 2015-097325, A

  The adhesive structure as in Patent Document 1 requires complicated shape processing on the parts to be bonded, which is costly and troublesome. In recent years, there has been a strong demand for downsizing of the imaging apparatus, and it is difficult to secure a sufficient amount of bonding portions and bonding areas, so there is a case where there is no room for complicated shape processing on parts. Such a problem is particularly noticeable in an imaging apparatus that requires both miniaturization and high component bonding strength, but there is a similar problem in precision equipment other than the imaging apparatus.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of the above awareness of the problem, and an object thereof is to provide a joint structure that can obtain high joint strength in all directions with a simple configuration.

  In the present invention, two members have holes opened on opposing surfaces, and a fluid or powder filler is filled in both holes in a state where the holes communicate with each other. In the joint structure in which the two are relatively fixed, the holes of the two members are characterized in that the inside is wider at a position away from the opening than at the opening side.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a joint structure that can obtain high joint strength in all directions with a simple configuration.

It is the figure which looked at the imaging system which constitutes the imaging device of this embodiment from the left. It is the figure which looked at the imaging system from back. It is the figure which looked at the imaging system from the upper part. It is a perspective view of the compound lens barrel containing an imaging system. It is the figure which looked at the compound lens barrel from the back. It is the figure which looked at the compound lens barrel from the left. It is the figure which looked at the compound lens barrel from the upper part. It is the figure which looked at the compound lens barrel from the lower part. It is a perspective view of the state which divided | segmented two lens barrels which comprise a compound lens barrel. It is the figure which looked at two divided | segmented lens-barrels from the left. It is the figure which looked at two divided | segmented lens-barrels from upper direction. It is the figure which looked at the divided | segmented two lens barrels from the downward direction. It is a front view of one of two divided lens barrels. It is a rear view of one of two divided lens barrels. It is a front view of the base frame which comprises a lens-barrel. It is a rear view of a base frame. It is the perspective view which looked at the base frame from the back side. It is a perspective view in the state where the base frame of two lens barrels was divided. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the positioning shaft member with the base frame of the front lens-barrel. It is sectional drawing which follows the XX-XX line of FIG.15 and FIG.16, (A) shows the mounting | wearing state of a shaft member, (B) shows the mounting state of a shaft member. It is sectional drawing which follows the XXI-XXI line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning mechanism by the side of a main reference | standard. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the front cover of the imaging device to the lens-barrel in the cross-sectional position of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the XXIV-XXIV line | wire of FIG.15 and FIG.16, (A) shows the non-attachment state of a shaft member, (B) shows the attachment state of a shaft member. It is sectional drawing which follows the XXV-XXV line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning mechanism by the side of a secondary reference. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the front cover of the imaging device to the lens-barrel in the cross-sectional position of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the error state which assembled | attached the shaft member in the reverse direction with the positioning mechanism by the side of a secondary reference | standard. It is the figure which looked at the base frame of the state which attached the front group frame from the back side. It is sectional drawing which follows the XXX-XXX line of FIG. FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the base frame and the front group frame viewed in section along the line XXX-XXX in FIG. 29. It is sectional drawing which expanded a part of FIG. 30, and showed the adhesion structure. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of adhesion structure. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of adhesion structure. It is sectional drawing of the imaging device of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the imaging device of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an optical system and an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. The imaging apparatus of the present embodiment includes a composite lens barrel 10 (FIGS. 4 to 7) configured by incorporating the imaging system 1 (FIGS. 1 to 3), and is configured by attaching an exterior member or the like to the composite lens barrel 10. The The compound barrel 10 is a symmetrical combination of a barrel 11A and a barrel 11B having the same structure. First, the outline of the imaging system 1 will be described, and then the composite lens barrel 10 will be described. In the following description, the front, back, top, bottom, left, and right directions are based on the arrow direction described in each figure.

  The imaging system 1 includes two wide-angle lens systems (imaging optical systems) A and B arranged symmetrically with each other, and two imaging sensors AI and BI on which images by the two wide-angle lens systems A and B are formed. Have. The two wide-angle lens systems A and B and the image sensors AI and BI have the same specifications. The wide-angle lens systems A and B have an angle of view wider than 180 degrees. The imaging system 1 can be an omnidirectional imaging system that obtains an image within a solid angle of 4π radians by combining two images formed by the imaging sensors AI and BI.

  The wide-angle lens systems A and B are, in order from the object side to the image side, the front groups AF and BF having negative power, the first prisms AP1 and BP1, the variable aperture stops AS and BS, and the second prism. AP2 and BP2, rear groups AR and BR having positive power, and third prisms AP3 and BP3 are included. The front groups AF and BF have a function of taking in light rays having a high angle of view larger than 180 °, and the rear groups AR and BR have a function of correcting aberrations in the formed image. The variable aperture stops AS and BS are conceptually shown in FIG.

  In the wide-angle lens system A, the front lens group AF emits the subject light beam incident from the front side while diverging. The first prism AP1 reflects the subject luminous flux incident from the front group AF 90 ° to the left. The variable aperture stop AS adjusts (amount of light adjustment) the transmission amount of the subject light beam reflected by the first prism AP1. The second prism AP2 reflects the subject luminous flux adjusted by the variable aperture stop AS by 90 ° downward. The rear group AR emits the subject light beam reflected by the second prism AP2 downward while converging. The third prism AP3 reflects the subject luminous flux incident from the rear group AR 90 ° to the right and forms an image on the imaging surface of the imaging sensor AI. The front group AF and the rear group AR are composed of a plurality of lenses.

  In the wide-angle lens system B, the front group BF emits the subject light beam incident from the rear side while diverging. The first prism BP1 reflects the subject luminous flux incident from the front group BF 90 ° to the right. The variable aperture stop BS adjusts (amount of light adjustment) the transmission amount of the subject light beam reflected by the first prism BP1. The second prism BP2 reflects the subject luminous flux adjusted by the variable aperture stop BS by 90 ° downward. The rear group BR emits the subject light beam reflected by the second prism BP2 downward while converging. The third prism BP3 reflects the subject luminous flux incident from the rear group BR 90 ° to the left, and forms an image on the imaging surface of the imaging sensor BI. The front group BF and the rear group BR are composed of a plurality of lenses.

  The first prism AP1 and the first prism BP1 are arranged such that their slopes are close to each other back to back. In addition, the imaging sensors AI and BI of the wide-angle lens systems A and B have the imaging surface of the imaging sensor AI facing left, the imaging surface of the imaging sensor BI facing right, and the back surfaces (imaging surfaces) of the imaging sensors AI and BI. The surface opposite to the back is supported back to back.

  In each of the wide-angle lens system A and the wide-angle lens system B, the optical axes of the front groups AF and BF are defined as an optical axis X1 (incident optical axis). The optical axis of the portion from the reflecting surface of the first prism AP1, BP1 to the reflecting surface of the second prism AP2, BP2 is defined as an optical axis X2. The optical axes of the rear groups AR and BR are set as an optical axis X3. The optical axis of the portion from the reflecting surfaces of the third prisms AP3 and BP3 to the imaging sensors AI and BI is defined as an optical axis X4. In the wide-angle lens system A and the wide-angle lens system B, a predetermined plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 (the opposite plane of the wide-angle lens systems A and B) is such that the optical axis X1 is positioned coaxially and faces the front and rear direction The front group AF and the front group BF are arranged so as to be symmetric in the longitudinal direction.

  In addition, the optical axes X2, X3, and X4 of the wide-angle lens system A and the optical axes X2, X3, and X4 of the wide-angle lens system B are located in the facing plane. More specifically, the optical axis X2 of the wide-angle lens system A and the optical axis X2 of the wide-angle lens system B are coaxially positioned and face in the left-right direction, and the optical axis X4 of the wide-angle lens system A and the optical axis X4 of the wide-angle lens system B Is located on the same axis and faces left and right. Further, the optical axis X3 on the rear group AR and the optical axis X3 on the rear group BR are spaced apart in the left-right direction and become parallel to each other.

  Thus, by bending the optical path in a different direction a plurality of times in the opposing planes of the wide-angle lens systems A and B, it is possible to ensure a long optical path length of the wide-angle lens systems A and B. Further, the maximum image with respect to the lens closest to the object side of the wide-angle lens system A (first lens L1 of the front group AF described later) and the lens closest to the object side of the wide-angle lens system B (first lens L1 of the front group BF described later). The distance between the incident positions of the angular rays (maximum inter-view angle distance) can be reduced (the maximum inter-view angle distance is shown in FIG. 1). As a result, it is possible to achieve both high-quality imaging sensors AI and BI and miniaturization (thinning) of the imaging system 1, and to reduce the parallax, which is the overlapping amount of two images to be bonded together by calibration, to achieve high quality. An image can be obtained.

  The compound lens barrel 10 is configured by combining a lens barrel 11A that supports the wide-angle lens system A and the imaging sensor AI, and a lens barrel 11B that supports the wide-angle lens system B and the imaging sensor BI. The lens barrel 11 </ b> A and the lens barrel 11 </ b> B have the same shape (structure), and can be combined by being arranged symmetrically in the front-rear direction. The details of each of the lens barrels 11A and 11B will be described with reference to FIG. Components common to the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are denoted by the same reference numerals. In each of the lens barrels 11A and 11B, of the front and rear directions along the optical axis X1, the subject side (object side) is referred to as “front”, and the opposite side to the subject side is referred to as “back”. In the lens barrel 11A, the front is the front side (subject side) and the rear is the back side, and in the lens barrel 11B, the rear is the front side (subject side) and the front is the back side.

  The lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in this embodiment include an imaging optical system (wide-angle lens systems A and B) and an image sensor (AI and BI), each of which can independently acquire a subject image. An imaging unit. Of each of the lens barrels 11A and 11B, an imaging optical system (wide-angle lens systems A and B) and members for holding the imaging optical system directly or indirectly (a base frame 12, a front group frame 13 and a rear group described later) A portion constituted by the frame 14, the third prism frame 15 and the like is an optical system.

  Each of the lens barrels 11A and 11B has a base frame 12, a front group frame 13, a rear group frame 14, a third prism frame 15, and an image sensor unit 16. The base frame 12, the front group frame 13, the rear group frame 14, and the third prism frame 15 are each formed as a molded product such as plastic.

  In the lens barrel 11A, the base frame 12 supports the first prism AP1, the variable aperture stop AS, and the second prism AP2. The front group frame 13 supports the front group AF. The rear group frame 14 supports the rear group AR. The third prism frame 15 supports the third prism AP3. The imaging sensor unit 16 is a unit in which the imaging sensor AI, the substrate 17 and the like are unitized.

  In the lens barrel 11B, the base frame 12 supports the first prism BP1, the variable aperture stop BS, and the second prism BP2. The front group frame 13 supports the front group BF. The rear group frame 14 supports the rear group BR. The third prism frame 15 supports the third prism BP3. The imaging sensor unit 16 is a unit in which the imaging sensor BI and the substrate 17 are unitized.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 to 19, the base frame 12 includes a front wall portion 20, an upper wall portion 21 located at the top of the front wall portion 20, and side wall portions located at the left and right edges of the front wall portion 20. 22 and the side wall part 23. Further, a corner wall portion 24 is provided near the boundary between the upper wall portion 21 and the side wall portion 22, and a corner wall portion 25 is provided near the boundary between the upper wall portion 21 and the side wall portion 23.

  The front wall portion 20 is generally a wall portion facing the subject and has a front opening 20a penetrating in the front-rear direction. The optical axis X1 passes near the center of the front opening 20a. As shown in FIG. 15, on the front side of the front wall portion 20, a plurality (three in the present embodiment) of front group frame contact portions 26 located around the front opening 20a are formed. Each front group frame contact portion 26 is provided with a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 on a convex portion protruding to the front side.

  Further, a plurality of (four in this embodiment) bonding holes 27 are formed around the front opening 20a in the front wall portion 20. Each of the bonding holes 27 is an arc-shaped long hole whose longitudinal direction is generally in the circumferential direction about the optical axis X1, and penetrates the front wall portion 20 in the front-rear direction. Around each bonding hole 27, a bonding facing surface 28 facing the front side is formed. A plurality of bonding recesses 29 are formed in the inner edge portion of the front opening 20a.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the front group AF and the front group BF are each composed of a first lens L1, a second lens L2, and a third lens L3. As shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, the front group frame 13 includes an annular first holding portion 13a that holds the first lens L1, and a second lens L2 (not shown in FIGS. 30 and 31). An annular second holding portion 13b for holding the third lens L3, and an annular third holding portion 13c for holding the third lens L3.

  As shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, the first lens L1 held by the first holding portion 13a of the front group frame 13 is a negative meniscus lens having a convex surface directed toward the object side, and around the concave surface that is the exit surface. In addition, an annular plane L1a perpendicular to the optical axis X1 is formed. The 1st holding | maintenance part 13a has the cyclic | annular lens support surface 30 which supports the plane L1a in the front side. On the back side of the lens support surface 30, there are a joint facing surface 31 that faces the front surface (including the joint facing surface 28) of the front wall portion 20 of the base frame 12, and a plurality of (books) positioned at the peripheral edge of the joint facing surface 31. 3) in the embodiment. The abutting portion 32 is provided with a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 on a convex portion protruding from the joint facing surface 31 to the back side, and a position facing the front group frame abutting portion 26 of the base frame 12. There is a relationship.

  A plurality (four in this embodiment) of bonding holes 33 are further formed in the first holding portion 13a of the front group frame 13. Each bonding hole 33 is an arc-shaped long hole whose longitudinal direction is generally in the circumferential direction centered on the optical axis X1, and penetrates the first holding portion 13a in the front-rear direction. In the bonding hole 33, the lens support surface 30 side is covered with the plane L1a of the first lens L1, and the bonding facing surface 31 side is open.

  As shown in FIGS. 30 to 32, the abutment portion 32 of the front group frame 13 comes into contact (abuts) with the front group frame abutment portion 26 of the base frame 12, whereby the front group frame 13 with respect to the base frame 12. A relative position in the front-rear direction is determined. The second holding portion 13b and the third holding portion 13c have a smaller diameter than the first holding portion 13a and enter the front opening 20a. In this state, there is a radial gap centered on the optical axis X1 between the second holding portion 13b and the third holding portion 13c and the front opening 20a, and the front group frame 13 is located with respect to the base frame 12. Thus, position adjustment (optical adjustment) in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis X1 is possible. After the position adjustment, the front group frame 13 is fixed to the base frame 12 by adhesion. This adhesion structure will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 29, when viewed from the back side in a state where the abutting portion 32 of the front group frame 13 is in contact with the front group frame abutting portion 26 of the base frame 12, the four bonding holes 27 and the bonding holes The holes 33 communicate with each other. Further, the back surface of the third holding portion 13 c of the front group frame 13 is exposed through the bonding recess 29. The front group frame 13 is fixed to the base frame 12 by filling the bonding holes 27 and the bonding holes 33 and the bonding concave portions 29 with adhesives and curing the adhesives. For example, at the stage where the position of the front group frame 13 is adjusted, the adhesive concave portion 29 is filled with an ultraviolet curable adhesive and irradiated with ultraviolet rays to temporarily fix the front group frame 13. Subsequently, the adhesive hole 27 and the adhesive hole 33 are filled with an adhesive having a strong adhesive force, and finally fixed.

  FIG. 32 shows an enlarged cross-sectional structure in the vicinity of the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33. The bonding hole 27 includes a narrow portion 27a that opens to the front side (the bonding facing surface 28 side), a wide portion 27b that opens to the back side, and a gradual change in width located between the narrow portion 27a and the wide portion 27b. Part 27c. The wide portion 27b is larger in the radial width and the circumferential length around the optical axis X1 (the cross-sectional area is larger) than the narrow portion 27a. The gradually changing width portion 27c gradually increases in width in the radial direction and length in the circumferential direction from the narrow portion 27a to the wide portion 27b (the cross-sectional area increases). Therefore, when the bonding hole 27 is viewed in a cross-section in the direction along the optical axis X1 as shown in FIG. 32, the inner surfaces of the narrow portion 27a and the wide portion 27b are parallel to the optical axis X1, whereas the width gradually changing portion 27c. The inner surface is a taper-shaped adhesive retaining surface 27d that widens toward the back side.

  The bonding hole 33 includes a narrow portion 33a that opens to the back side (bonding facing surface 31 side), a wide portion 33b that opens to the front side (lens support surface 30 side), a narrow portion 33a, and a wide portion 33b. And a gradually changing width portion 33c located between the two. The wide portion 33b is larger in the radial width and the circumferential length around the optical axis X1 (the cross-sectional area is larger) than the narrow portion 33a. The gradually changing width portion 33c gradually increases in radial width and circumferential length (cross-sectional area increases) from the narrow portion 33a to the wide portion 33b. Therefore, when the bonding hole 33 is viewed in a cross-section in the direction along the optical axis X1 as shown in FIG. 32, the inner surfaces of the narrow portion 33a and the wide portion 33b are parallel to the optical axis X1, whereas the width gradually changing portion 33c. The inner surface is a taper-shaped adhesive retaining surface 33d that widens toward the front side.

  Each bonding hole 27 is larger than the corresponding bonding hole 33 (communicating in the front-rear direction). When the bonding hole 27 is viewed from the back side, the front group frame 13 is opposed to the periphery of the bonding hole 33. The surface 31 is visually recognized (see FIG. 29). More specifically, in the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33, the width in the radial direction around the optical axis X1 (the width in the vertical direction in FIG. 32) is the same for the narrow portion 27a as the wide portion 33b. The narrow portion 33a is the smallest and the wide portion 27b is the largest. Each bonding hole 27 is longer than the corresponding bonding hole 33 in the circumferential direction around the optical axis X1 (see FIG. 29). When the position of the front group frame 13 is adjusted with respect to the base frame 12 due to the difference in size between the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33, if the adjustment is within a predetermined range, the front group frame 13 is bonded. The working hole 33 communicates with the bonding hole 27 of the base frame 12 without being blocked. Therefore, the adhesive can be smoothly injected from the bonding hole 27 side to the bonding hole 33 side. Further, according to the configuration in which the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33 are used as objects to be bonded, even if the adjustment amount exceeds a predetermined value and a part of the narrow part 33a exceeds the range of the narrow part 27a. It is possible to fill the bonding hole 27 with the adhesive from the bonding hole 27. As a result, the amount of adjustment that can be accommodated is larger than a structure in which a protrusion is inserted into and bonded to the hole. Note that, as shown in FIG. 32, there is a slight gap in the front-rear direction between the joint facing surface 28 and the joint facing surface 31 in a state where the contact portion 32 is in contact with the front group frame contact portion 26. The hole 27 and the bonding hole 33 communicate with the gap.

  As indicated by an arrow T in FIG. 32, the adhesive injected from the wide portion 27b side of the bonding hole 27 flows into the bonding hole 33 through the width gradually changing portion 27c and the narrow portion 27a. A thin sheet (not shown) is sandwiched between the lens support surface 30 and the plane L1b of the first lens L1, and the outflow of the adhesive from the bonding hole 33 is blocked by this sheet. The adhesive hole 27 is filled with an adhesive. Depending on the viscosity of the adhesive, a part of the adhesive spreads in the gap between the bonding facing surface 28 and the bonding facing surface 31. The adhesive filled in the bonding hole 33 and the bonding hole 27 is cured from a fluid state (becomes solid) with the passage of time or application of energy (for example, heating), so that the base frame 12 and the front group frame 13 are separated. Secure. The adhesive U in a state of being filled and cured inside the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33 is virtually shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  A strong fixing force is obtained by filling the adhesive U across the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33, and a load is applied in the radial direction around the optical axis X1 and in the circumferential direction around the optical axis X1. When this works, the relative movement of the base frame 12 and the front group frame 13 can be reliably prevented.

  Further, when a load in the front-rear direction is applied to the base frame 12 and the front group frame 13 that are bonded and fixed as described above, such that the joint facing surface 28 and the joint facing surface 31 are separated from each other, the cured state The adhesive U functions so as to abut against (fitting) both the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33 to prevent separation. More specifically, the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33 have two small opening widths on the bonding facing surface 28 side and the bonding facing surface 31 side (the narrow portion 27a and the narrow portion 33a) facing each other, and the two facing forward and reverse. The cross-sectional shape is such that the tip of the wedge is joined. Accordingly, the adhesive U filled in the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33 also has the same schematic cross-sectional shape.

  Accordingly, when a load is applied to the front group frame 13 in a direction away from the base frame 12 (front side), a load in the same direction acts on the cured adhesive U via the adhesion retaining surface 33d. Then, the adhesive U acts like a wedge on the adhesion retaining surface 27d that is the surface facing the adhesion retaining surface 33d (the back side), and the front group frame 13 is separated from the base frame 12. It can withstand the load to be tried. The reverse is also true. When a load in the direction away from the front group frame 13 (back side) is applied to the base frame 12, a load in the same direction acts on the cured adhesive U via the adhesive retaining surface 27d. To do. Then, the adhesive U acts like a wedge on the adhesive retaining surface 33d that is the surface facing the adhesive retaining surface 27d (front side), and the base frame 12 is separated from the front group frame 13. It can withstand the load to be tried.

  Thus, in the bonding structure of the present embodiment, of the bonding hole 27 and the bonding hole 33, the adhesive retaining surface 27d and the adhesive retaining surface 33d that are inclined in the forward and backward directions with respect to the front-rear direction and the adhesive U The wedge effect obtained between the two is used. In other words, the bonding hole 27 has a narrow inside on the side facing the joint 28 (the front side of the lens barrels 11A and 11B) across the retaining surface 27d, and the side away from the joint facing surface 28 (the lens barrel 11A, 11B (back side) has a wide shape. Similarly, the bonding hole 33 has a narrow inside on the bonding facing surface 31 side (the back side of the lens barrels 11A and 11B) across the retaining surface 33d and a side away from the bonding facing surface 31 (the lens barrel 11A, 11B (front side) has a wide shape. Then, when a load is applied to separate the front group frame 13 and the base frame 12, the adhesive is directed toward the side (the retaining surfaces 27d, 33d) where the insides of the bonding holes 27, 33 are narrowed. When U is applied, a strong retaining effect can be obtained. Thereby, the adhesive strength between the base frame 12 and the front group frame 13 is compared with the case where only the adhesive U is fixed to the narrow portions 27a and 33a and the wide portions 27b and 33b whose inner surfaces extend in the front-rear direction. Can be improved. Since the bonding strength in each bonding hole 27 and each bonding hole 33 is excellent, fixation with a small number of bonding locations and bonding areas can be realized, and effects such as improvement in space efficiency and freedom in designing a lens barrel can be obtained. In particular, in the compound barrel 10 of the present embodiment, the first prism AP1, BP1, the second prism AP2, BP2, etc. are arranged at high density on the back side of the base frame 12, as will be described later. The effect that the frame 13 can be firmly fixed in a space-saving manner is high.

  The adhesive structure used for fixing the base frame 12 and the front group frame 13 is not limited to the above configuration. 33 and 34 show a modification of the adhesive structure. FIG. 33 shows a taper-like adhesive omission where the entire inner surfaces of the bonding hole 127 of the base frame 12 and the bonding hole 133 of the front group frame 13 become narrower as they approach the bonding facing surface 28 and the bonding facing surface 31, respectively. The form which consists of the stop surfaces 27e and 33e is shown. In FIG. 34, the bonding hole 227 of the base frame 12 and the bonding hole 233 of the front group frame 13 are replaced with the above-mentioned bonding retaining surfaces 27d and 33d, respectively, and are planar adhesive retaining members perpendicular to the optical axis X1. The form provided with the surfaces 27f and 33f is shown. Also in these configurations, the adhesive retaining surface 27e and the adhesive retaining surface 33e, and the adhesive retaining surface 27f and the adhesive retaining surface 33f are the retaining surfaces that make a pair that face each other and are in contact with the adhesive U. Therefore, the same effect as the above configuration can be obtained.

  Further, an adhesion hole 27 (FIG. 32), an adhesion hole 127 (FIG. 33), an adhesion hole 227 (FIG. 34) provided on the base frame 12 side, and an adhesion hole 33 (FIG. 32) provided on the front group frame 13 side. ), The bonding hole 133 (FIG. 33), and the bonding hole 233 (FIG. 34) may be appropriately combined to have a pair of retaining surfaces having an asymmetric shape in the front-rear direction.

  The bonding holes 27, 127, and 227 of the base frame 12 and the bonding holes 33, 133, and 233 of the front group frame 13 have shapes that can be easily manufactured by a mold that is released in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the base frame 12 and the front group frame 13 can be easily obtained without increasing the manufacturing cost.

  Next, the structure of the base frame 12 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 16 to 19, the upper wall portion 21 is a wall portion that extends from the upper edge of the front wall portion 20 to the rear surface side, and an upper surface portion 21 a that is an upper surface portion of each of the lens barrels 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B, It has a pair of side surface parts 21b and 21c extended toward the downward direction from the left and right end parts of the part 21a. The upper wall portion 21 has a U-shape that is closed upward and laterally by the upper surface portion 21a, the side surface portion 21b, and the side surface portion 21c, and opened downward.

  Each of the side wall part 22 and the side wall part 23 is a wall part located below the upper wall part 21 and extending from the side edge in the left-right direction of the front wall part 20 to the back side. The part from the front wall part 20 to the side wall part 22 and the part from the front wall part 20 to the side wall part 23 are respectively curved shapes along the outer surface shape of the rear group frame 14 described later.

  Each of the square wall portion 24 and the square wall portion 25 is a wall portion that faces the front-rear direction in general, and is shifted from the front wall portion 20 toward the back side. The square wall portion 24 protrudes laterally from the side surface portion 21 b of the upper wall portion 21, and the lower end is connected to the upper portion of the side wall portion 22. The square wall portion 25 protrudes laterally from the side surface portion 21 c of the upper wall portion 21, and the lower end is connected to the upper portion of the side wall portion 23. The corner wall portion 24 and the corner wall portion 25 are connected to a plurality of wall portions having different extending directions, whereby the support strength is high and the deformation is difficult.

  The base frame 12 further includes a first prism holding portion 35 and a second prism holding portion 36 on the back surface portion of the front wall portion 20. The first prism holding part 35 is a part for holding the first prism AP1 or the first prism BP1 behind the front opening 20a. The second prism holding part 36 is a part for holding the second prism AP2 or the second prism BP2.

  The first prism holding portion 35 has an upper wall 35a located on the upper edge side of the front opening 20a and a lower wall 35b located on the lower edge side of the front opening 20a. A vertical wall 35c protruding downward is formed at one end in the left-right direction of the upper wall 35a, and a vertical wall 35d protruding upward is formed at one end in the left-right direction of the lower wall 35b.

  The first prisms AP1 and BP1 are inserted between the upper wall 35a, the lower wall 35b, the vertical wall 35c, and the vertical wall 35d. There is a clearance between each of the walls 35a, 35b, 35c, and 35d and the first prism AP1 and BP1, and the first prism AP1 and BP1 are positioned using an assembly jig and then held by the first prism. It is fixed to the portion 35 by adhesion.

  As described above, in the completed state of the compound barrel 10, the first prism AP1 and the first prism BP1 are arranged close to each other with their slopes back to back. Therefore, the first prism holding part 35 has a shape that exposes the back sides of the slopes of the first prism AP1 and the first prism BP1 without covering them.

  The second prism holding portion 36 is positioned below the side surface portion 21b and the square wall portion 24 of the upper wall portion 21, and has a support seat 36a facing the back side and a support projecting to the back side with respect to the support seat 36a. Wall 36b. The side surfaces of the second prisms AP2 and BP2 are in contact with the support seat 36a. The slopes of the second prisms AP2 and BP2 are in contact with the support wall 36b. The second prisms AP2 and BP2 are positioned in a direction along the slope using an assembly jig. Then, the positioned second prisms AP2 and BP2 are fixed to the second prism holding part 36 by adhesion.

  FIG. 13 shows the rear group frame 14 in a single state not attached to the base frame 12. As shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 13, FIG. 14, etc., the rear group frame 14 has a substantially cylindrical tubular portion 14a centering on the optical axis X3 extending in the vertical direction, and the rear group AR or the rear group frame 14a. A plurality of lenses constituting the group BR are fixedly supported inside the cylindrical portion 14a. The rear group frame 14 further has a prism cover 14b on the upper portion of the cylindrical portion 14a. A support tab 14c protrudes laterally from the cylindrical portion 14a, and a support tab 14d protrudes upward from the prism cover 14b. A joining flange 14e is formed at the lower end of the cylindrical portion 14a.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 19, a rear group frame holding portion 37 is formed below the square wall portion 24 and the second prism holding portion 36 on the back side of the base frame 12. The rear group frame holding part 37 is a concave part surrounded by the front wall part 20 and the side wall part 22, and has a shape in which a substantially half part located on the front side of the cylindrical part 14a of the rear group frame 14 is accommodated. Yes. The prism cover 14b covers a part of the second prisms AP2 and BP2 supported by the second prism holding part 36 of the base frame 12 from the back side in a state where the cylindrical part 14a is accommodated in the rear group frame holding part 37. .

  A support seat 38 is formed on the side of the rear group frame holding portion 37 (below the lower wall 35 b of the first prism holding portion 35), and a support seat 39 is formed above the second prism holding portion 36. Each of the support seat 38 and the support seat 39 has an annular plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1, and a screw hole is formed at the center of the annular plane. In a state where the cylindrical portion 14 a of the rear group frame 14 is housed in the rear group frame holding portion 37, the support tab 14 c comes into contact with the support seat 38 and the support tab 14 d comes into contact with the support seat 39. A through hole (not shown) is formed in each of the support tab 14c and the support tab 14d, and the fixing screw 40 is screwed into the screw hole of the support seat 38 through the through hole of the support tab 14c. Then, the fixing screw 41 is screwed into the screw hole of the support seat 39. By tightening the fixing screw 40 and the fixing screw 41, the rear group frame 14 is fixed in a state of being positioned with respect to the base frame 12 (see FIG. 14).

  Further, a rear group frame housing portion 42 is formed below the square wall portion 25 on the back side of the base frame 12. The rear group frame housing part 42 is a recess surrounded by the front wall part 20 and the side wall part 23, and has a shape in which a substantially half part located on the back side of the cylindrical part 14 a of the rear group frame 14 is accommodated. Yes. In a state before the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined, the rear group frame housing portion 42 is an empty space (see FIGS. 9 and 14). When the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined, the rear group frame holding portion 37 in one base frame 12 and the rear group frame housing portion 42 in the other base frame 12 face each other in the front-rear direction. A space for accommodating the cylindrical portion 14a of the group frame 14 is formed.

  The third prism frame 15 has a prism support wall 15a that supports both side surfaces and inclined surfaces of the third prisms AP3 and BP3. The third prisms AP3 and BP3 are fixed to the third prism frame 15 by bonding. Is done. A joint flange 15 b is provided on the upper portion of the third prism frame 15. The joining flange 15b can be fitted to the joining flange 14e of the rear group frame 14 from below. Positioning is performed in the fitted state, and the third prism frame 15 is fixed to the rear group frame 14 by adhesion.

  The imaging sensor unit 16 is provided with a pair of fitting pieces 43 at the edges in the front-rear direction. The pair of fitting pieces 43 are fitted into recesses formed in the prism support wall 15a of the third prism frame 15, and the position of the image sensor unit 16 with respect to the third prism frame 15 is determined by the fitting. The image sensor unit 16 is fixed to the third prism frame 15 by adhesion. In this fixed state, the imaging surfaces of the imaging sensors AI and BI are oriented perpendicular to the optical axis X4, the imaging surface of the imaging sensor AI faces the exit surface of the third prism AP3, and the imaging surface of the imaging sensor BI is the first. It faces the exit surface of the three prism BP3.

  The imaging sensor unit 16 includes a substrate 17 having imaging sensors AI and BI on one side. The substrate 17 is substantially rectangular, and in a state where the imaging sensor unit 16 is fixed to the third prism frame 15, the longitudinal direction of the substrate 17 is directed in the vertical direction, and the lateral direction of the substrate 17 is directed in the front-rear direction. Further, the thickness direction of the substrate 17 is directed in the left-right direction. Near the lower end of the substrate 17, a connector 17a for connecting to a control circuit (not shown) of the imaging device is provided. The connector 17a is disposed on the same surface of the substrate 17 as the imaging sensors AI and BI are provided.

  By combining the above components, the individual lens barrels 11A and 11B are completed. 9 to 12 show a state in which the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are divided, and FIGS. 13 and 14 show the single lens barrels 11A and 11B. As can be seen from these drawings, the individual lens barrels 11A and 11B have the same structure.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are within the width of the substrate 17 in the short direction except for the front group AF, BF, and a part where the front group frame 13 protrudes to the front side. It is the size of the front and rear to fit in. By configuring the wide-angle lens systems A and B as bending optical systems that use a plurality of prisms to bend the optical path in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 (in the plane opposite to the wide-angle lens systems A and B), Thinning of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in the front-rear direction is realized.

  The lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B having the same structure are opposed to each other so as to be symmetrical in the front-rear direction (FIGS. 9 to 12), and the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are brought close to each other in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the lens barrel 11 </ b> A and the lens barrel 11 </ b> B have a structure in which the concavo-convex portions are combined by approaching in the front-rear direction, and can be combined with high efficiency.

  Here, a virtual plane Q1 (FIG. 5) including the optical axis X1 and extending vertically is set, and a virtual plane Q2 (FIG. 5) passing through the vicinity of the lower end of the base frame 12 perpendicular to the virtual plane Q1 is set. In the lens barrel 11A, the optical path from the second prism AP2 to the image sensor AI after being bent by the first prism AP1 is concentrated in the left region of the virtual plane Q1. In the lens barrel 11B, the optical path from the second prism BP2 to the image sensor BI after being bent by the first prism BP1 is concentrated in the right region of the virtual plane Q1. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, on the left side of the virtual plane Q1, the constituent elements of the lens barrel 11A protrude rearward from the base frame 12, while the constituent elements of the lens barrel 11B protrude frontward from the base frame 12. do not do. Similarly, on the right side of the virtual plane Q1, the components of the lens barrel 11B protrude forward from the base frame 12, while the components of the lens barrel 11A do not protrude rearward from the base frame 12. Therefore, when the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined, the rear group frame 14, the third prism frame 15 and the imaging sensor unit 16 on the lens barrel 11A side, the rear group frame 14 and the third prism frame 15 on the lens barrel 11B side are combined. And the imaging sensor unit 16 are arranged in parallel symmetrically across the virtual plane Q1 without interfering with each other.

  Further, in the wide-angle lens systems A and B, the subject light beams distributed to the left and right by the first prisms AP1 and BP1 advance toward the virtual plane Q1 with reflection by the third prisms AP3 and BP3, respectively, and are image sensors. Incident to AI. As a result, the distance between the imaging sensor unit 16 on the lens barrel 11A side and the imaging sensor unit 16 on the lens barrel 11B side in the left-right direction is closer, and in particular, the mutual substrates 17 are in close proximity with the virtual plane Q1 interposed therebetween. In each of the lens barrels 11A and 11B, the first prisms AP1 and BP1 are disposed above the virtual plane Q2 in the region of the central portion in the left-right direction, and the two image sensor units 16 are back to back below the virtual plane Q2. Arranged in relation to The substrate 17 on the side of the lens barrel 11A and the substrate 17 on the side of the lens barrel 11B each have a flat plate shape substantially parallel to the virtual plane Q1, and a clearance in the left-right direction is secured between them. When the 11A and the lens barrel 11B are brought close to each other in the front-rear direction, the interference between the substrates 17 does not occur.

  Since the first prism AP1 and the first prism BP1 are arranged so that the slopes of the first prism AP1 and the first prism BP1 are close to each other, the thickness in the front-rear direction substantially occupied by the two prisms is aligned in the front-rear direction. Approximately one prism is sufficient (see FIG. 3). In addition, the imaging sensor unit 16 of the lens barrel 11A and the imaging sensor unit 16 of the lens barrel 11B are in substantially the same position in the front-rear direction and are aligned in the left-right direction. If there is enough space for the width of the two, the two image sensor units 16 can be accommodated below the first prisms AP1 and BP1. Therefore, not only the vicinity of both edges in the left-right direction in which the respective constituent elements (the rear group frame 14 and the third prism frame 15) of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are independently arranged, but also the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B. The thickness in the front-rear direction can be kept small even in the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction where the respective constituent elements (first prisms AP1, BP1, image sensor unit 16) are arranged to overlap.

  As described above, the composite lens barrel 10 includes the two lens barrels 11A and 11B in which the constituent elements of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are arranged in a space-efficient manner in the front-rear, left-right, and upper-lower directions. However, a compact configuration is realized.

  As described above, the lens barrel 11 </ b> A and the lens barrel 11 </ b> B are combined by being arranged symmetrically in the front-rear direction and approaching in the front-rear direction. Here, it is necessary to combine the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in a stable positional relationship by making the directions of the optical systems (wide-angle lens systems A and B) appropriate. Specifically, positioning in the front-rear direction along the optical axis X1 and positioning in the direction along the plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 (up / down / left / right direction) are necessary. Further, in order to make the imaging system 1 including two optical systems (wide-angle lens systems A and B) function, after combining the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B (more specifically, including the wide-angle lens systems A and B). After calibration as the imaging system 1, a high coupling strength is required so that the relative positional relationship between the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B is not changed by an external force or the like.

  First, the structure that determines the positions of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in the front-rear direction will be described. The base frame 12 is provided with an abutment surface 50 on the back side of the corner wall portion 24 and an abutment surface 51 on the back side of the corner wall portion 25. An abutting surface 50 is formed as an end surface of a cylindrical boss 52 projecting forward and backward from the corner wall portion 24, and an abutting surface 51 is formed as an end surface of a cylindrical boss 53 projecting forward and backward from the corner wall portion 25. . The abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 are both annular planes perpendicular to the optical axis X1 and have shapes that are symmetrical to each other.

  Inside the boss 52, there is formed a screw hole 54 whose axis is directed in the front-rear direction. The screw hole 54 has an end on the back side opened on the abutting surface 50, and an end on the opposite front side is closed. Inside the boss 53, a screw insertion hole 55 penetrating in the front-rear direction is formed.

  9 to 12 show a state in which the abutment surface 50 and the abutment surface 51 on the side of the lens barrel 11A face the abutment surface 51 and the abutment surface 50 on the side of the lens barrel 11B, respectively. When the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are brought close to each other in this positional relationship, the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 come into contact (contact) with each other, and the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in the front / rear direction are brought into contact with each other. The relative position of is determined. The abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 are flat surfaces that are parallel to each other in this contact state, and are symmetrical to each other in the contact state. By fixing the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in a contact state between the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51, the composite lens barrel 10 in which the positional accuracy in the front-rear direction of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B is managed is obtained.

  As means for fixing the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B, screwing is used. As for screwing, a fixing screw (not shown) is inserted from the front into the screw insertion hole 55 of the lens barrel 11A and screwed into the screw hole 54 of the lens barrel 11B. Then, a fixing screw (not shown) is inserted from behind and screwed into the screw hole 54 of the lens barrel 11B. Then, by tightening each fixing screw, the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are fixed to each other.

  The base frame 12 in each of the lens barrels 11A and 11B holds a plurality of prisms (first prism AP1, BP1, second prism AP2, BP2), and is also an assembly target of the front group frame 13 and the rear group frame 14. Yes, it is also a member that serves as a support reference for all optical elements. Therefore, since the assembly accuracy of the base frame 12 has a great influence on the optical performance, the base frame 12 is provided with the abutment surfaces 50 and 51 serving as relative position references in the front-rear direction of the lens barrels 11A and 11B. Yes.

  The abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 are provided in the vicinity of both edges in the left-right direction of the base frame 12, and the distance between the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 is ensured to the maximum with the dimensional constraints of the base frame 12. Yes. In this way, by increasing the distance between the two abutment surfaces 50 and 51 serving as the position reference, the tilt between the two base frames 12 is effectively prevented, and the positioning accuracy of the lens barrels 11A and 11B is improved. be able to. As shown in FIG. 14, the abutment surface 50 is arranged using the space behind the slopes of the second prisms AP2 and BP2, and is excellent in space efficiency. The abutting surface 50 is provided above the rear group frame holding portion 37 that holds the rear group frame 14, and the abutting surface 51 is located above the rear group frame housing portion 42 that covers the rear group frame 14 from the back side. Is provided. Therefore, the abutting surfaces 50 and 51 are not overlapped with the holding positions of the rear groups AR and BR, the first prisms AP1 and BP1 and the second prisms AP2 and BP2 held on the back side of both the base frames 12. Further, it is possible to arrange the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 wide.

  The square wall portion 24 having the abutting surface 50 and the square wall portion 25 having the abutting surface 51 are both connected to a plurality of wall portions having different orientations in the vicinity of the upper wall portion 21 and the side wall portions 22 and 23. Although it has a flat plate shape, it has high rigidity. Therefore, the surface accuracy of the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 is high, and the square wall portions 24 and 25 are not distorted when the abutting surfaces 50 and 51 are in contact with each other, so that highly accurate positioning can be performed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the boss 52 having the abutting surface 50 and the boss 53 having the abutting surface 51 are arranged at positions that are substantially symmetrical in the left-right direction with respect to the optical axis X1. This facilitates uniform positioning accuracy in the front-rear direction on both the left and right sides of the optical axis X1, and is particularly advantageous for securing the positional accuracy of the front groups AF and BF and the first prisms AP1 and BP1 arranged on the optical axis X1. Become. Further, since the positioning accuracy and positioning stability by the abutting surfaces 50 and 51 are high, the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B can be combined without interfering with each other.

  For example, when the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined, the cylindrical shape of the rear group frame 14 constituting the opposite lens barrels 11A and 11B with respect to the rear group frame housing portion 42 on the back side of each base frame 12 The cylindrical part 14a (rear group AR, BR) is located between each rear group frame holding part 37 and each rear group frame accommodating part 42 which are in the opposite relationship. At this time, the rear group frame 14 holding the rear group AR (the rear group frame 14 on the side of the lens barrel 11A) is covered from the back side (rear) by the rear group frame housing portion 42 provided on the base frame 12 of the lens barrel 11B. However, the rear group frame housing portion 42 on the side of the lens barrel 11B does not contact the rear group frame 14 on the side of the lens barrel 11A (there is a clearance in the front-rear direction). The state of being properly positioned in the rear group frame holding portion 37 on the base frame 12 of the lens barrel 11A is maintained. Similarly, the rear group frame 14 that holds the rear group BR (the rear group frame 14 on the lens barrel 11B side) is covered from the back side (front) by the rear group frame housing portion 42 provided on the base frame 12 of the lens barrel 11A. However, since the rear group frame housing portion 42 on the lens barrel 11A side does not contact the rear group frame 14 on the lens barrel 11B side (there is a clearance in the front-rear direction), the rear group frame 14 on the lens barrel 11B side is The state of being properly positioned in the rear group frame holding portion 37 on the base frame 12 of the lens barrel 11B is maintained. In this way, each base frame 12 is stably and highly accurately positioned by the abutting surfaces 50 and 51, so that each rear group frame 14 interferes with the rear group frame housing portion 42 of each base frame 12. It can be accommodated in an appropriate position without causing it.

  Each of the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 is a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 and is symmetric in the front-rear direction. Therefore, when the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are moved close to each other along the optical axis X1 and the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 come into contact with each other, an extra component force is not generated, and the accuracy is ensured. Positioning in the front-rear direction can be performed.

  Both of the boss 52 having the abutting surface 50 and the boss 53 having the abutting surface 51 have shapes that can be easily manufactured by a mold that is released in the front-rear direction. Therefore, it can be easily obtained without increasing the manufacturing cost of the base frame 12.

  When the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are fixed in a state where the contact surfaces 50 and 51 are in contact with each other, the upper wall portion 21, the side wall portion 22 and the side wall portion 23 of the base frame 12 are combined to be continuous in the front-rear direction. The outer wall portion of the composite lens barrel 10 is formed. More specifically, on the upper surface of the compound barrel 10, the edges of the upper wall portion 21 (upper surface portion 21a) of the barrel 11A and the barrel 11B are in contact with each other. On the left side surface of the compound barrel 10, the edge of the side wall 22 of the lens barrel 11A and the edge of the side wall 23 of the lens barrel 11B are in contact. On the right side surface of the composite lens barrel 10, the edge of the side wall 23 of the lens barrel 11A and the edge of the side wall 22 of the lens barrel 11B are in contact. Each of these edges is slightly in the front-rear direction with the abutment surface 50 and the abutment surface 51 in contact with each other so as not to affect the positioning accuracy in the front-rear direction due to the contact between the abutment surface 50 and the abutment surface 51. Opposing with a clear clearance. Further, each edge of the upper wall portion 21, the side wall portion 22, and the side wall portion 23 is provided with a light shielding structure that prevents harmful light from the outside from entering the compound lens barrel 10 even if there is a clearance. It has been.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, ribs 21d and 21e are provided on the edge of the upper surface portion 21a so as to overlap each other in the vertical direction when the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined. It has been. Ribs 22a and 23a are provided at the edge portions of the side wall portion 22 and the side wall portion 23 so as to overlap each other in the left-right direction when the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined. Light from the outside can be blocked by the overlapping of the ribs 21d and 21e and the ribs 22a and 23a. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7, 11, 17, etc., a rib 21f is provided continuously to the side surface portion 21c and protrudes to the back side from the upper surface portion 21a. When the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined, the rib 21f overlaps with a part of the side surface portion 21b on the other side in the left-right direction (see FIG. 7). Light from the outside can be blocked by the overlap of the rib 21f and the side surface portion 21b.

  As described above, the relative positions of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in the front-rear direction are determined by the contact between the abutment surface 50 and the abutment surface 51, and there are front and rear portions other than the abutment surface 50 and the abutment surface 51. A predetermined clearance is ensured in the direction.

  Each of the upper wall 35a and the lower wall 35b of the first prism holding part 35 has a stepped shape in which the edge facing the back side is continuous with a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 and a plane parallel to the optical axis X1. It has a shape. When the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined, the stepped edges of one upper wall 35a and the other lower wall 35b face each other in the front-rear direction with a slight clearance. When an excessive load in the front-rear direction is applied to the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B (an excessive load in a direction in which the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B approach each other), the upper wall 35a and the lower wall 35b of each other The edges of the can contact and receive a load. That is, using the opposing portion of the upper wall 35a and the lower wall 35b as an auxiliary abutment surface, the load is distributed between the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B to ensure the strength of the composite lens barrel 10 as a whole. Can do. Since the edges of the upper wall 35a and the lower wall 35b face each other a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1, when the planes come into contact with each other, the load is reliably received without generating unnecessary component force. be able to. In particular, the place where the first prism holding portion 35 is provided is in the vicinity of the middle between the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51 that are greatly separated in the left-right direction and has a great influence on the optical performance. It is also a holding position. For this reason, the load can be supplementarily received by the front and rear first prism holding portions 35 at this position, which contributes to improving the overall strength of the compound barrel 10 and ensuring optical performance.

  As described above, when the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are combined, the cylindrical portion 14a of the rear group frame 14 is formed in the space between the rear group frame holding portion 37 and the rear group frame housing portion 42 facing each other in the front-rear direction. Will fit. A rear group frame facing portion 56 is formed in the rear group frame holding portion 37 on the back side of the base frame 12 (see FIGS. 16 to 19). The rear group frame facing portion 56 is a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1. As shown in FIG. 13, the rear group frame 14 has a facing convex portion 14 f on the front side facing the rear group frame holding portion 37 of the base frame 12. The facing convex portion 14 f is provided at a position facing the rear group frame facing portion 56 of the base frame 12 in a state where the rear group frame 14 is assembled to the base frame 12. By design, the opposing convex portion 14f and the rear group frame opposing portion 56 are set to contact each other. If there is an accuracy error such that the facing convex portion 14f and the rear group frame facing portion 56 are separated from each other, a flexible member is inserted between the base frame 12 and the rear group frame 14 and attached to the rear group frame 14. A force can be applied to stabilize the opposing convex portion 14 f so as to contact the rear group frame opposing portion 56. Specifically, when the facing convex portion 14f of the rear group frame 14 is separated from the rear group frame facing portion 56 on the lens barrel 11A side, the inner surface of the rear group frame housing portion 42 of the base frame 12 on the lens barrel 11B side. If a flexible member is provided, the rear group frame 14 of the lens barrel 11A can be urged forward, and the opposing convex portion 14f can be brought into contact with the rear group frame opposing portion 56. In this manner, the position of the rear group frame 14 can be managed with high accuracy by the lens barrels 11A and 11B. The positioning of the rear group frame 14 does not hinder the positioning of the entire lens barrel 11A, 11B by the abutting surface 50 and the abutting surface 51.

  Next, a structure for determining the positions of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis X1 will be described. A first hole 60 and a second hole 61 are formed in the base frames 12 of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B. A first hole 60 is formed inside a cylindrical boss 62 that protrudes forward and backward from the square wall portion 24, and a second hole 61 is formed inside the cylindrical boss 63 that protrudes forward and backward from the square wall portion 25. . The boss 62 is located above the boss 52 having the abutting surface 50, and the boss 63 is located above the boss 53 having the abutting surface 51. Both the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 are through holes that penetrate the base frame 12 in the front-rear direction. The first hole 60 and the second hole 61 are provided at positions that are substantially symmetrical with respect to a virtual plane Q1 (FIG. 5) that includes the optical axis X1 and extends in the up-down direction (generally equidistant from the virtual plane Q1 in the left-right direction). ing.

  The first hole 60 has a circular hole portion 60a and a long hole portion 60b communicating with each other in the front-rear direction. The circular hole 60 a is located on the back side of the base frame 12, and the long hole 60 b is located on the front side of the base frame 12. The circular hole portion 60a is a circular hole having a cylindrical inner peripheral surface centering on an axis line facing the front-rear direction. The long hole portion 60b is a long hole whose longitudinal direction is directed in the left-right direction (the radial direction of the circular hole portion 60a), and has a pair of parallel flat surfaces 60c facing each other in the vertical direction. Each plane 60c is a plane parallel to the optical axes X1, X2, and X4 and perpendicular to the optical axis X3. The pair of flat surfaces 60c are formed at positions that are vertically symmetrical with respect to the axis of the circular hole 60a. As shown in FIG. 22 and FIG. 26, the vertical width (interval between the pair of flat surfaces 60c) K2 of the long hole portion 60b is smaller than the inner diameter K1 of the circular hole portion 60a. Further, the length M2 of the long hole portion 60b in the front-rear direction is larger than the length M1 of the circular hole portion 60a in the front-rear direction.

  The second hole 61 has a circular hole 61a and a small-diameter hole 61b communicating with each other in the front-rear direction. The circular hole 61 a is located on the back side of the base frame 12, and the long hole 60 b is located on the front side of the base frame 12. Each of the circular hole 61a and the small diameter hole 61b is a circular hole having a cylindrical inner peripheral surface centering on the same axis line facing the front-rear direction, and the inner diameters thereof are different. As shown in FIGS. 22 and 26, the inner diameter K4 of the small-diameter hole 61b is smaller than the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole 61a. In addition, the length M3 of the circular hole 61a in the front-rear direction is larger than the length M4 of the long hole 60b in the front-rear direction.

  In the relationship between the first hole 60 and the second hole 61, the inner diameter K1 of the circular hole portion 60a and the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole portion 61a are substantially equal, the vertical width K2 of the long hole portion 60b and the inner diameter K4 of the small diameter hole portion 61b are Almost equal. The length in the front-rear direction is, in order from the largest, the length M3 of the circular hole 61a, the length M2 of the long hole 60b, the length M1 of the circular hole 60a, and the length M4 of the small diameter hole 61b. Become.

  The length of the entire first hole 60 in the front-rear direction and the length of the entire second hole 61 are substantially the same. The first hole 60 has a tapered portion between the circular hole portion 60a and the elongated hole portion 60b that gradually decreases the inner diameter as it proceeds from the circular hole portion 60a side to the elongated hole portion 60b side. The entire length of the first hole 60 includes the length of the tapered portion.

  The shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are inserted into the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 of the base frame 12 of each of the lens barrels 11A and 11B. The shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are made of metal. 22 and 26 show the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 in an enlarged manner.

  The shaft member 65 has a shaft portion 65a and a shaft portion 65b arranged in the front-rear direction, and a flange 65c positioned between the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b. The shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b have a cylindrical outer peripheral surface centering on the same axis line facing the front-rear direction, and the outer diameters thereof are substantially equal. The flange 65c is an annular portion having a larger diameter than the outer diameters of the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b and protruding from the outer peripheral surfaces of the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b.

  The lengths of the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b in the front-rear direction are equal to each other and slightly shorter than the length M1 of the circular hole portion 60a in the first hole 60. Since the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b are symmetrical in the axial direction with the flange 65c in between (the outer diameter and the length are both equal), the shaft member 65 shown in FIG. The same structure is obtained even if the shaft portion 65b is arranged so as to face forward.

  The outer diameters of the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b are substantially equal to the inner diameter K1 of the circular hole portion 60a and the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole portion 61a. More specifically, the outer diameters of the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b are set to be slightly larger than the inner diameters K1 and K3, and both the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b are the circular hole portion 60a and the circular hole portion 61a. Can be inserted in a light press-fit state.

  The shaft member 66 includes a large-diameter shaft portion 66a and a small-diameter shaft portion 66b arranged in the front-rear direction, and a flange 66c positioned between the large-diameter shaft portion 66a and the small-diameter shaft portion 66b. The large-diameter shaft portion 66a and the small-diameter shaft portion 66b have a cylindrical outer peripheral surface centered on the same axis line facing the front-rear direction, and the outer diameter of the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is the outer diameter of the small-diameter shaft portion 66b. Bigger than. The length in the front-rear direction is larger in the small-diameter shaft portion 66b than in the large-diameter shaft portion 66a.

  The large-diameter shaft portion 66a further has a base end portion 66d close to the flange 66c and a tip end portion 66e far from the flange 66c, and the base end portion 66d has a slightly larger outer diameter than the tip end portion 66e. The total length of the large-diameter shaft portion 66a including the base end portion 66d and the distal end portion 66e is longer than the length M1 of the circular hole portion 60a and the length M4 of the small-diameter hole portion 61b, and the long hole portion 60b. And the length M3 of the circular hole 61a. The proximal end portion 66d is longer in the front-rear direction than the distal end portion 66e.

  The small-diameter shaft portion 66b further has a base end portion 66f close to the flange 66c and a tip end portion 66g far from the flange 66c, and the base end portion 66f has a larger outer diameter than the tip end portion 66g. The length in the front-rear direction of the entire small-diameter shaft portion 66b including the base end portion 66f and the distal end portion 66g is slightly larger than the entire length of the circular hole portion 60a and the entire length of the circular hole portion 61a. Further, the base end portion 66f is longer in the front-rear direction than the distal end portion 66g. The length of the base end portion 66f is larger than the length M1 of the circular hole portion 60a, the length M2 of the long hole portion 60b, and the length M4 of the small diameter hole portion 61b, and slightly longer than the length M3 of the circular hole portion 61a. Small. The length of the tip 66g is slightly larger than the length M4 of the small diameter hole 61b and slightly smaller than the length M1 of the circular hole 60a.

  The outer diameter of the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is substantially equal to the inner diameter K1 of the circular hole portion 60a and the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole portion 61a. More specifically, the outer diameter of the base end portion 66d of the large diameter shaft portion 66a is set slightly larger than the inner diameters K1 and K3, and the outer diameter of the distal end portion 66e is slightly smaller than the inner diameters K1 and K3. It is set small. Therefore, the large-diameter shaft portion 66a can be inserted with the base end portion 66d in a light press-fit state into the circular hole portion 60a or the circular hole portion 61a.

  The outer diameter of the small diameter shaft portion 66b is substantially equal to the vertical width K2 of the long hole portion 60b and the inner diameter K4 of the small diameter hole portion 61b. More specifically, the outer diameter of the base end portion 66f of the small-diameter shaft portion 66b is set slightly larger than the vertical width K2 and the inner diameter K4, and the outer diameter of the distal end portion 66g is the vertical width K2 and the inner diameter. It is set slightly smaller than K4. Therefore, the small-diameter shaft portion 66b can insert the base end portion 66f into the long hole portion 60b or the small-diameter hole portion 61b in a light press-fit state. However, in practice, the insertion of the base end portion 66f into the small diameter hole portion 61b is limited by the flange 66c (see FIG. 28).

  In the drawings of the present embodiment, a case where the position of the lens barrel 11B is aligned with respect to the lens barrel 11A is shown. That is, the case where the lens barrel 11A is a reference supporting lens barrel and the lens barrel 11B is a supported lens barrel to be aligned is shown.

  First, as shown in FIG. 20, the shaft portion 65a of the shaft member 65 is inserted into the first hole 60 on the lens barrel 11A side from the back side. Insertion of the shaft member 65 is restricted at a position where the flange 65 c comes into contact with the end surface on the back surface side of the boss 62. Since the length of the shaft portion 65a is smaller than the length M1 of the circular hole portion 60a, the shaft portion 65a is inserted to the circular hole portion 60a without reaching the position of the long hole portion 60b (see FIG. 22). Since the outer diameter of the shaft portion 65a is slightly larger than the inner diameter K1 of the circular hole portion 60a, the shaft portion 65a is lightly press-fitted into the circular hole portion 60a, and the shaft member 65 is against the base frame 12 on the lens barrel 11A side. It becomes a stable wearing state without rattling.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 24, the large-diameter shaft portion 66a of the shaft member 66 is inserted into the second hole 61 on the lens barrel 11A side from the back side. Insertion of the shaft member 66 is restricted at a position where the flange 66 c comes into contact with the end face on the back surface side of the boss 63. Since the length of the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is smaller than the length M3 of the circular hole portion 61a, the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is inserted into the circular hole portion 61a without reaching the position of the small-diameter hole portion 61b (see FIG. 26). Since the outer diameter of the base end portion 66d of the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is slightly larger than the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole portion 61a, the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is lightly press-fitted into the circular hole portion 61a, and the base frame on the lens barrel 11A side 12, the shaft member 66 does not rattle and is in a stable mounting state.

  In addition, since the outer diameter of the tip portion 66e in the large diameter shaft portion 66a is slightly smaller than the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole portion 61a, it is not press-fitted in the initial stage of inserting the large diameter shaft portion 66a into the circular hole portion 61a. Can be inserted smoothly. In other words, the insertion workability is improved by configuring the large-diameter shaft portion 66a so as to be in a press-fitted state only at the final stage of insertion that requires stable support.

  FIG. 19 shows a state in which the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are assembled to the base frame 12 on the lens barrel 11A side as described above. As can be seen from the figure, the shaft portion 65b of the shaft member 65 and the small-diameter shaft portion 66b of the shaft member 66 protrude toward the rear (the back side of the lens barrel 11A).

  The timing at which the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are assembled to the lens barrel 11A can be arbitrarily selected. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are assembled in advance to the base frame 12 in a single state, and thereafter, various members (the rear group frame 14 and the third prism frame 15 for the base frame 12). , The image sensor unit 16 and the like) can be assembled. Alternatively, the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 can be assembled after various members are assembled to the base frame 12 to complete the lens barrel 11A. In either case, since the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are press-fitted into the base frame 12, there is no possibility that the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 will be accidentally dropped after assembly. The shaft member 65 and the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 to be inserted into the shaft member 66 are the first prism holding part 35, the second prism holding part 36, the rear group frame holding part 37, and the rear group frame housing. It is located on the upper edge side of the base frame 12 away from the part 42 and the like. Therefore, even after various members are assembled to the base frame 12, the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 can be easily accessed, and the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 can be easily assembled.

  Subsequently, the lens barrel 11B is assembled to the lens barrel 11A in a state where the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are assembled. The second hole 61 (circular hole 61a) on the lens barrel 11B side is opposed to the shaft portion 65b of the shaft member 65, and the first hole 60 (on the lens barrel 11B side is opposed to the small-diameter shaft portion 66b of the shaft member 66. The circular holes 60a) are opposed. Then, when the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B are moved closer to each other in the front-rear direction, the shaft portion 65b is inserted into the second hole 61 of the lens barrel 11B (FIG. 21), and the small-diameter shaft portion 66b is the first hole 60 of the lens barrel 11B. (FIG. 25).

  As described above, when the abutment surfaces 50 and 51 are in contact with each other, the lens barrels 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B are restricted from approaching further (the front and rear positions are determined). As shown in FIGS. 22 and 26, when the abutting surfaces 50 and 51 are in contact with each other, there is a front-rear direction gap between the bosses 62 and the bosses 63 of the base frames 12 of the lens barrels 11A and 11B. There is a gap N. The thickness of each of the flange 65c of the shaft member 65 and the flange 66c of the shaft member 66 is slightly smaller than the gap N. Therefore, the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 do not interfere with the positioning in the front-rear direction by the abutting surfaces 50 and 51.

  As shown in FIG. 22, since the length of the shaft portion 65b is smaller than the length M3 of the circular hole portion 61a, the shaft portion 65b is located at the position of the small diameter hole portion 61b with respect to the second hole 61 on the lens barrel 11B side. Without reaching up to, the circular hole 61a is inserted. Since the circular hole portion 61a of the cylindrical inner surface fits with the shaft portion 65b of the cylindrical outer surface, the base frame 12 on the lens barrel 11B side in the radial direction of the shaft portion 65b (all directions perpendicular to the optical axis X1). Movement is restricted. As a result, the relative positions of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 are determined.

  Since the outer diameter of the shaft portion 65b is slightly larger than the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole portion 61a, the shaft portion 65b is in a light press-fit state with respect to the circular hole portion 61a. As a result, there is no possibility that the shaft member 65 rattles in the combined state of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B and causes abnormal noise.

  As shown in FIG. 26, the small-diameter shaft portion 66b is inserted into the first hole 60 on the lens barrel 11B side from the circular hole portion 60a side toward the long hole portion 60b side. Since the outer diameters of the proximal end portion 66f and the distal end portion 66g are both smaller than the inner diameter K1 of the circular hole portion 60a, the small diameter shaft portion 66b does not contact the inner surface of the first hole 60 at the initial stage of insertion.

  When the insertion of the small diameter shaft portion 66b into the first hole 60 proceeds, the tip portion 66g enters the long hole portion 60b. Since the outer diameter of the tip 66g is smaller than the vertical width K2 of the elongated hole 60b, no load is generated between the shaft member 66 and the first hole 60 even at this stage. When the insertion of the small diameter shaft portion 66b further proceeds, the base end portion 66f enters the elongated hole portion 60b. Then, the pair of flat surfaces 60c in the elongated hole portion 60b is sandwiched from above and below the base end portion 66f, and the vertical movement of the base frame 12 on the lens barrel 11B side with respect to the small diameter shaft portion 66b is restricted. As a result, the relative rotation of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B around the shaft member 65 is restricted.

  On the other hand, since the length of the long hole portion 60b in the left-right direction is larger than the outer diameter of the base end portion 66f, the small-diameter shaft portion 66b does not regulate the position in the left-right direction on the lens barrel 11B side. That is, the long hole portion 60b of the lens barrel 11B can be moved relative to the small-diameter shaft portion 66b only in a specific direction (left-right direction) within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1. Thereby, the dispersion | variation in the assembly precision between the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B can be absorbed between the small diameter shaft portion 66b and the first hole 60.

  Since the outer diameter of the base end portion 66f is slightly larger than the vertical width K2 of the long hole portion 60b, the small diameter shaft portion 66b is lightly press-fitted into the long hole portion 60b. As a result, there is no possibility that the shaft member 66 rattles in the combined state of the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B and generates abnormal noise. As described above, since the distal end portion 66g is provided at the distal end of the small diameter shaft portion 66b, press-fitting does not occur until the insertion of the small diameter shaft portion 66b into the long hole portion 60b proceeds to some extent. With this configuration, the timing of press-fitting the small-diameter shaft portion 66 b (base end portion 66 f) of the shaft member 66 with respect to the long hole portion 60 b of the first hole 60 and the shaft portion of the shaft member 65 with respect to the circular hole portion 61 a of the second hole 61. It is possible to incorporate the lens barrel 11B without tilting by almost simultaneously with the press-fitting timing of 65b. Unlike the present embodiment, if the entire small-diameter shaft portion 66b has a diameter corresponding to the base end portion 66f without providing the distal end portion 66g, the elongated hole portion 60b of the first hole 60 is Thus, the timing at which the small-diameter shaft portion 66b is press-fitted is significantly earlier than the timing at which the shaft portion 65b is press-fitted into the circular hole portion 61a of the second hole 61. Then, the inclination of the lens barrel 11B with respect to the lens barrel 11A is likely to occur with the shaft member 66 and the first hole 60 as fulcrums.

  As shown in FIG. 26, since the length of the small diameter shaft portion 66b is slightly larger than the entire length of the first hole 60, the small diameter shaft portion 66b penetrates the first hole 60 on the lens barrel 11B side, 66 g slightly protrudes backward from the boss 63. Although the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B have the same shape symmetrical in the front-rear direction, it is easy to identify that the shaft member 66 protrudes from the back side of the lens barrel 11B, and the workability is improved.

  As described above, the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are press-fitted into the first hole 60 and the second hole 61, respectively. However, if the press-fitting load is too large, workability may be deteriorated, or distortion may occur on the base frame 12 side, which may affect positioning accuracy. Therefore, the relative diameters of the first hole 60, the second hole 61, and the shaft members 65, 66 are set so as to be light press-fitting without impairing the positioning accuracy.

  The position where the positioning by the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 is performed is close to the position where the positioning is performed in the front-rear direction by the abutting surfaces 50 and 51, and the virtual plane Q1 (FIG. 5) including the optical axis X1 and extending in the vertical direction. The shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are disposed substantially symmetrically. Accordingly, the positioning based on the fact that the distance between the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 in the left-right direction is large and the symmetry of the arrangement of the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 with respect to the front groups AF and BF and the first prisms AP1 and BP1. High accuracy can be achieved.

  Further, the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 into which the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66 are inserted are arranged to be distributed to the corner wall portion 24 and the corner wall portion 25 of the base frame 12, and the lens barrel 11A, The space can be provided efficiently without interfering with other members constituting 11B. In addition to the rigidity of the square wall portions 24 and 25 themselves, the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 are also reinforced by the thickness of the boss 62 having the first hole 60 and the thickness of the post 63 having the second hole 61. Is less likely to be distorted when positioning with the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66.

  The first hole 60 and the second hole 61 are further used for attaching an exterior member constituting the outer surface of the imaging apparatus. A front cover 70 shown in FIGS. 23 and 27 is an exterior member that covers the front side of the imaging apparatus. The front cover 70 has a support protrusion 71 (FIG. 23) and a support protrusion 72 (FIG. 27) that protrude rearward on the inner surface side. The support protrusion 71 and the support protrusion 72 are provided in a positional relationship corresponding to the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 in the base frame 12. The support protrusion 71 has a cylindrical outer surface portion having a constant outer diameter size near the tip, and the outer diameter of the cylindrical outer surface portion is substantially the same as the vertical width K2 of the elongated hole portion 60b in the first hole 60. . The support protrusion 72 has a cylindrical outer surface portion having a constant outer diameter size near the tip, and the outer diameter of the cylindrical outer surface portion is substantially the same as the inner diameter K 4 of the small diameter hole portion 61 b in the second hole 61.

  When the front cover 70 is assembled to the composite lens barrel 10, the tip end portion (cylindrical outer surface portion) of the support protrusion 71 is inserted from the front into the elongated hole portion 60b of the first hole 60 on the lens barrel 11A side. The Further, the distal end portion (cylindrical outer surface portion) of the support protrusion 72 is inserted from the front into the small diameter hole portion 61b of the second hole 61 on the lens barrel 11A side. On the side of the lens barrel 11A, the shaft portion 65a of the shaft member 65 does not enter the long hole portion 60b, and the large diameter shaft portion 66a of the shaft member 66 does not enter the small diameter hole portion 61b. In addition, the support protrusion 71 and the support protrusion 72 can be inserted without interfering with the shaft member 66.

  The position of the front cover 70 in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis X1 is determined by fitting the support protrusion 72 on the cylindrical outer surface into the small diameter hole 61b on the cylindrical inner surface. Further, the support protrusion 71 is sandwiched between the pair of flat surfaces 60c of the long hole portion 60b, whereby the rotation of the front cover 70 around the support protrusion 72 is restricted. The length of the long hole portion 60b in the left-right direction is larger than the outer diameter of the support protrusion 71, and the support protrusion 71 is not subjected to the position restriction in the left-right direction from the long hole portion 60b. Therefore, variations in the assembly accuracy of the front cover 70 with respect to the composite lens barrel 10 can be absorbed between the support protrusion 71 and the first hole 60. As described above, the first hole 60 and the second hole 61 are used for assembling and positioning the front cover 70 in addition to the positioning by the shaft member 65 and the shaft member 66.

  On the lens barrel 11B side, the small diameter shaft portion 66b of the shaft member 66 passes through the entire first hole 60 (see FIG. 26), but the shaft member 65 is inserted into the small diameter hole portion 61b of the second hole 61. It has not entered (see FIG. 22). Therefore, a projection of another member (for example, a rear cover that constitutes the exterior of the imaging device together with the front cover 70) is inserted from the rear into the small-diameter hole 61b of the lens barrel 11B to position the separate member. It is also possible.

  Since the shaft member 65 has a symmetrical shape in the axial direction, the directions of the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b can be reversed. On the other hand, since the shaft member 66 is asymmetric in the axial direction, if the large-diameter shaft portion 66a and the small-diameter shaft portion 66b are reversed, the assembly will be poor and will not function correctly. The imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a structure that prevents the shaft member 66 from being assembled in the reverse direction.

  FIG. 28 shows a case where the shaft member 66 is assembled in the reverse direction. A small-diameter shaft portion 66b is inserted into the second hole 61 on the lens barrel 11A side. Of the small diameter shaft portion 66b, the outer diameter of the base end portion 66f is smaller than the inner diameter K3 of the circular hole portion 61a, and the outer diameter of the distal end portion 66g is smaller than the inner diameter K4 of the small diameter hole portion 61b. Therefore, the small diameter shaft portion 66 b can be inserted into the second hole 61 until the flange 66 c comes into contact with the end surface on the back side of the boss 63.

  On the other hand, the length of the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is larger than the length M1 of the circular hole portion 60a of the first hole 60. Therefore, when the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is inserted into the first hole 60 on the lens barrel 11B side, the tip of the large-diameter shaft portion 66a is longer than the circular hole portion 60a before the contact surfaces 50 and 51 come into contact with each other. Further contact with the step at the boundary of the hole 60b restricts further insertion. In this state, since there is a large gap in the front-rear direction between the flange 66c and the boss 63, it can be recognized that the approach of the lens barrels 11A and 11B is hindered due to poor assembly of the shaft member 66.

  In addition, when the front cover 70 (FIGS. 23 and 26) is assembled in the state of FIG. 28, the support protrusion 72 comes into contact with the small diameter shaft portion 66b, and the support protrusion 72 is attached to the second hole 61 (small diameter hole portion 61b). ) Can not be inserted. That is, since the front cover 70 is lifted forward, it is possible to recognize an assembly failure of the shaft member 66 even at this stage.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the lens barrel 11B is positioned with reference to the lens barrel 11A side has been described. However, since the lens barrel 11A and the lens barrel 11B have the same shape, the lens barrel 11B side may be used as a reference. Is possible. That is, the supporting barrel serving as a positioning reference and the supported barrel positioned by the supporting barrel can be reversed. Specifically, the shaft member 65 (which can be either the shaft portion 65a or the shaft portion 65b) is inserted into the first hole 60 (circular hole portion 60a) on the lens barrel 11B side, and the second hole 61 on the lens barrel 11B side. The large-diameter shaft portion 66a of the shaft member 66 is inserted into the (circular hole portion 61a). Then, the shaft member 65 (the side of the shaft portion 65a and the shaft portion 65b that is not inserted into the first hole 60 of the lens barrel 11B) is inserted into the second hole 61 (circular hole portion 61a) on the lens barrel 11A side. Then, the small diameter shaft portion 66b of the shaft member 66 is inserted into the first hole 60 (long hole portion 60b) on the lens barrel 11A side.

  With reference to FIGS. 35 and 36, the overall configuration when the imaging system 1 and the composite lens barrel 10 according to the present embodiment are applied to an omnidirectional imaging device will be described. 35 and 36, there are some differences from the arrangement structure of each of the two wide-angle lens systems A and B and the imaging sensors AI and BI in the above-described compound lens barrel 10, but FIGS. Reference is made to the positioning for illustrating the general configuration of the omnidirectional imaging system. Characteristic configurations of the imaging optical system (optical system), the imaging system, and the imaging apparatus are disclosed in the above-described embodiments (FIGS. 1 to 34).

  As shown in FIG. 35, the imaging device 80 includes an imaging body 81, a housing 82 that holds the imaging body 81, components such as a controller and a battery, and a shutter button 83 provided on the outer surface of the housing 82. With. The casing 82 includes an exterior member corresponding to the front cover 70 and the like of the above-described embodiment. In FIG. 35, only the imaging optical systems 84A and 84B and the solid-state imaging elements 85 and 85B are shown in the housing 82 of the imaging device 80. In practice, however, the above-described embodiment (FIG. 1 to FIG. A configuration corresponding to the compound lens barrel 10 in 34) is mounted in the housing 82.

  An imaging body 81 shown in FIG. 35 corresponds to the imaging system 1 in the above-described composite lens barrel 10, and includes two imaging optical systems 84A and 84B, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide). Semiconductor) two solid-state image sensors 85A and 85B such as sensors. A combination of the imaging optical system 84 and the solid-state imaging element 85 one by one is referred to as an imaging system. Each of the imaging optical systems 84 can be configured as, for example, six groups of seven fisheye lenses. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 35, this fish-eye lens has a total angle of view larger than 180 degrees (= 360 degrees / n; n = 2), and preferably has an angle of view of 185 degrees or more. Has an angle of view of 190 degrees or more.

  The optical elements (lens, prism, filter, and aperture stop) of the two imaging optical systems 84A and 84B have a positional relationship with respect to the solid-state imaging elements 85A and 85B. The positioning is performed so that the optical axes of the optical elements of the imaging optical systems 84A and 84B are positioned perpendicular to the center of the light receiving area of the corresponding solid-state imaging element 85A and 85B, and the light receiving area corresponds to the corresponding fisheye lens. It is performed so that it may become the image formation plane. Each of the solid-state imaging devices 85A and 85B is a two-dimensional solid-state imaging device in which a light receiving region forms an area area, and converts the light collected by the combined imaging optical systems 84A and 84B into an image signal.

  In the imaging device 80 shown in FIG. 35, the imaging optical systems 84A and 84B have the same specifications, and are combined in opposite directions so that their optical axes match. The solid-state imaging elements 85A and 85B convert the received light distribution into image signals and output them to image processing means on a controller (not shown). As will be described in detail later, the image processing means connects and synthesizes the partial images respectively input from the solid-state imaging devices 85A and 85B and combines them into an image with a solid angle of 4π radians (hereinafter referred to as “global sphere image”). Is generated. The omnidirectional image is an image of all directions that can be seen from the shooting point. Here, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 35, the omnidirectional image is generated, but a so-called panoramic image obtained by photographing 360 degrees only on the horizontal plane may be used.

  In addition, here, by making the scanning directions of the solid-state imaging devices 85A and 85B coincide with each other, the captured images can be easily joined together. That is, by matching the scanning direction and the order of the solid-state imaging devices 85A and 85B at the portions where they are connected to each other, it is possible to obtain an effect in connecting objects at the boundary of each camera, in particular, moving objects. For example, when the upper left part of the captured image captured by the solid-state image sensor 85A and the lower left part of the captured image captured by the solid-state image sensor 85B coincide with each other as a part where the images are joined, the solid-state image sensor 85A The scanning is performed from right to left from the top to the bottom of the solid-state imaging device. On the other hand, the solid-state image sensor 85B scans from the right to the left from the bottom to the top of the solid-state image sensor. As described above, by controlling so that the scanning directions of the respective solid-state imaging devices 85 coincide with each other based on the stitched portions of the images, an effect that the stitching is easily performed is obtained.

  As described above, since the fisheye lens has a total angle of view exceeding 180 degrees, when composing an omnidirectional image, overlapping image portions are taken as reference data representing the same image in the captured images by the respective imaging systems. It is used as a reference for connecting images. The generated omnidirectional image is, for example, an external storage such as a display device, a printing device, an SD (registered trademark) card, or a compact flash (registered trademark) provided in the imaging body 81 or connected to the imaging body 81. It is output to the medium.

  FIG. 36 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the imaging device 80. The imaging device 80 includes a digital still camera processor (hereinafter simply referred to as a processor) 500, a lens barrel unit 502 (corresponding to the above-described composite lens barrel 10), and various components connected to the processor 500. Consists of The lens barrel unit 502 includes the above-described two sets of the imaging optical systems 84A and 84B and the solid-state imaging elements 85A and 85B. The solid-state imaging elements 85A and 85B are controlled by a control command from a CPU 530 described later in the processor 500.

  The processor 500 includes ISPs (Image Signal Processors) 508A and 508B, a DMAC (Direct Memory Access Controller) 510, an arbiter (ARBMEMC) 512 for arbitrating memory access, and a MEMC (Memory Controller) 514 for controlling memory access. And a distortion correction / image synthesis block 518. The ISPs 508A and 508B perform white balance setting and gamma setting for the image data input through the signal processing of the solid-state imaging devices 85A and 85B, respectively. An SDRAM 516 is connected to the MEMC 514. The SDRAM 516 temporarily stores data when processing is performed in the ISPs 508A and 508B and the distortion correction / image synthesis block 518. The distortion correction / image composition block 518 performs distortion correction and top-and-bottom correction on the two partial images obtained from the two imaging systems using the information from the three-axis acceleration sensor 520 to synthesize an image.

  The processor 500 further includes a DMAC 522, an image processing block 524, a CPU 530, an image data transfer unit 526, an SDRAM C 528, a memory card control block 540, a USB block 546, a peripheral block 550, an audio unit 552, Serial block 558, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) driver 562, and bridge 568.

  The CPU 530 controls the operation of each unit of the imaging device 80. The image processing block 524 includes a resize block 532, a JPEG block 534, H.264, and H.264. Various image processing is performed on the image data using a H.264 block 536 or the like. The resize block 532 is a block for enlarging or reducing the size of the image data by interpolation processing. The JPEG block 534 is a codec block that performs JPEG compression and expansion. H. H.264 block 536 includes H.264 blocks. It is a codec block that performs video compression and decompression such as H.264. The image data transfer unit 526 transfers the image processed by the image processing block 524. The SDRAM C 528 controls the SDRAM 538 connected to the processor 500, and temporarily stores the image data in the SDRAM 538 when various processes are performed on the image data in the processor 500.

  The memory card control block 540 controls reading and writing with respect to the memory card inserted into the memory card slot 542 and the flash ROM 544. The memory card slot 542 is a slot for detachably attaching a memory card to the imaging device 80. The USB block 546 controls USB communication with an external device such as a personal computer connected via the USB connector 548. A power switch 566 is connected to the peripheral block 550. The audio unit 552 is connected to a microphone 556 to which a user inputs an audio signal and a speaker 554 to output a recorded audio signal, and controls audio input / output. The serial block 558 controls serial communication with an external device such as a personal computer, and is connected to a wireless NIC (Network Interface Card) 560. The LCD driver 562 is a drive circuit that drives the LCD monitor 564 and converts it into signals for displaying various states on the LCD monitor 564.

  The flash ROM 544 stores a control program and various parameters described by codes that can be read by the CPU 530. When the power is turned on by operating the power switch 566, the control program is loaded into the main memory. The CPU 530 controls the operation of each part of the apparatus according to the program read into the main memory, and temporarily stores data necessary for control in the SDRAM 538 and a local SRAM (not shown).

  As described above, in the imaging apparatus of the present embodiment, the bonding holes 27 (127, 227) used for filling bonding are used as a structure in which the front group frame 13 is bonded to the base frame 12 constituting each of the lens barrels 11A, 11B. ) And the bonding holes 33 (133, 233) are provided with an adhesive retaining surface 27d (27e, 27f) and an adhesive retaining surface 33d (33e, 33f). The adhesive retaining surface 27d (27e, 27f) and the adhesive retaining surface 33d (33e, 33f) both have an undercut structure with respect to the filled adhesive U (each of which is a joint opposing surface 28, 31). The shape is facing the other side. As a result, in addition to the direction perpendicular to the optical axis X1, in addition to being firmly fixed in the direction parallel to the optical axis X1, it is possible to obtain high adhesive strength in all directions while having a simple and space-saving structure. it can.

  In particular, in the imaging system 1 of the above-described embodiment, the sensitivity of the front group AF and BF supported by the front group frame 13 is high. It needs to be fixed. The above-mentioned adhesion structure can obtain an extremely excellent effect in securing the fixing strength of the front group frame 13 in a restricted space.

  As described above, the present invention is particularly useful for precision equipment that requires high-precision joining, such as a lens barrel of an imaging apparatus, but can also be applied to a joining structure of equipment other than the imaging apparatus. is there. Moreover, in an imaging device, it is also possible to use for joining other than the member which supports a lens.

  The imaging device of the above-described embodiment is a type in which the same shape of the lens barrels 11A and 11B is combined. However, the imaging device can also be applied to other types of imaging devices and optical devices.

  Moreover, it is also possible to select the filler used for joining other than an adhesive. As an example, it is also possible to fill a hole provided in two members satisfying the requirements of the present invention with a resin in a molten state or a powder state and join the resin by solidifying the resin.

  Although the variation of the cross-sectional shape of the bonding hole is shown in FIGS. 32 to 34, the shape of the bonding hole in the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each of the bonding holes 27 (127, 227) of the above embodiment has a cross-sectional shape in which the opening area on the side where the adhesive is injected is large and the opening area on the back side opening in the bonding facing surface 28 is small. This makes it easier for the adhesive to flow into the bonding holes 27 (127, 227). However, the opening area on the injection side is partially small as long as it satisfies the condition that at least the inner surface has a surface that prevents contact with the adhesive, such as the adhesive retaining surface 27d (27e, 27f). Even a hole like this can be applied.

1: Imaging system 10: Compound lens barrel 11A: Lens barrel 11B: Lens barrel 12: Base frame 13: Front group frame 14: Rear group frame 15: Third prism frame 16: Image sensor unit 17: Substrate 20: Front wall 21: Upper wall part 22: Side wall part 23: Side wall part 24: Square wall part 25: Square wall part 26: Front group frame contact part 27: Bonding hole 27a: Narrow part 27b: Wide part 27c: Gradual change in width Portion 27d: Adhesion retaining surface 27e: Adhesion retaining surface 27f: Adhesion retaining surface 28: Bonding facing surface 29: Adhesion recess 30: Lens support surface 31: Bonding facing surface 32: Abutting portion 33: Adhesion hole 33a : Narrow portion 33b: wide portion 33c: width gradually changing portion 33d: adhesive retaining surface 33e: adhesive retaining surface 33f: adhesive retaining surface 35: first prism retaining portion 36: second prism retaining portion 37: rear group Frame holding part 42: rear group Frame housing portion 50: abutting surface 51: abutting surface 56: rear group frame facing portion 60: first hole 61: second hole 65: shaft member 66: shaft member 70: front cover 80: imaging device 84A: imaging Optical system 84B: Imaging optical system 85A: Solid-state imaging device 85B: Solid-state imaging device 127: Bonding hole 133: Bonding hole 227: Bonding hole 233: Bonding hole A: Wide-angle lens system AF: Front group AI: Imaging Sensor AP1: First prism AP2: Second prism AP3: Third prism AR: Rear group AS: Variable aperture stop B: Wide-angle lens system BF: Front group BI: Imaging sensor BP1: First prism BP2: Second prism BP3: Third prism BR: Rear group BS: Variable aperture stop U: Claim (filler)
X1: Optical axis (incident optical axis)
X2: Optical axis X3: Optical axis X4: Optical axis

Claims (10)

The two members have holes that are open on opposite surfaces, and a fluid or powder filler is filled in both the holes in a state where the holes communicate with each other, and the two members are relative to each other by the filler. In the joint structure fixed to
Each of the holes of the two members has a wider inside at a position away from the opening than at the opening side.   The joining structure according to claim 1, wherein the filler is an adhesive. The hole has a retaining surface facing away from the facing surface;
The joining structure according to claim 1, wherein the retaining surface has an inclined shape that widens the internal spacing of the holes as the distance from the facing surface increases. The hole has a retaining surface facing away from the facing surface;
The joining structure according to claim 1, wherein the retaining surface is a flat surface facing a direction opposite to the facing surface.   The joining structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the two members are provided in an imaging apparatus.   The joining structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the position of the two members can be adjusted in a direction along the facing surface in a state before joining by the filler.   The joining structure according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the two members supports an optical element constituting an imaging optical system, and the direction of the position adjustment is a direction perpendicular to an optical axis passing through the optical element.   The joint structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the holes of the two members have different sizes of openings on the facing surfaces.   The joint structure according to claim 1, wherein each of the holes of the two members is a long hole. The two members have holes that are open on opposite surfaces, and a fluid or powder filler is filled in both the holes in a state where the holes communicate with each other, and the two members are relative to each other by the filler. In the joint structure fixed to
Each of the holes of the two members has a retaining surface facing away from the opposing surface, and is solidified when a force in a direction to separate the opposing surfaces is applied between the two members. The joint structure is characterized in that relative movement of the two members is restricted by contact between the filler and the retaining surfaces.

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