JP2021096382A - Optical device, lens device, and imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an optical device which is small and is resistant to impact.SOLUTION: An optical device 120 includes: a movable unit 103a for holding an optical element 103, the movable unit being movable in a first direction along an optical axis to a fixing unit and a second direction including a component perpendicular to the first direction; and a lock member 112 for restricting movement of the movable unit in the first direction and in the second direction when the movable unit is located in a specific position in the first direction. The amount of movement of the movable unit in the second direction when the movable unit is located in the specific position is smaller than that when the movable unit is in a position which is not the specific position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an optical device that drives an optical element in a lens device or an imaging device.

Some lens devices and imaging devices have an anti-vibration mechanism (optical device) that moves a movable lens in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis or the like in order to reduce (correct) image shake caused by user's camera shake or the like. Patent Document 1 discloses an optical device having a movable lens that can move in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis or a direction parallel to the optical axis.

Japanese Patent No. 5895204

However, when a large vibration or shock is applied to the lens device or imaging device from the outside, the movable lens moves greatly and collides with the mechanical movable end, which may cause abnormal noise or damage to the movable lens. There is. On the other hand, although it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the above-mentioned collision by providing a lock mechanism that restricts the movement of the movable lens, it is necessary to avoid an increase in the size of the vibration isolation mechanism due to the provision of the lock mechanism.

The present invention provides a compact, shock-resistant optical device.

The optical device as one aspect of the present invention holds an optical element in each of a first direction along the optical axis with respect to the fixed portion and a second direction including a component orthogonal to the first direction. It has a movable movable portion and a lock member that restricts the movement of the movable portion in the first and second directions when the movable portion is located at a specific position in the first direction. The amount of movement of the movable portion in the second direction is characterized in that the amount of movement of the movable portion changes so as to be smaller when the movable portion is located at a specific position than when the movable portion is located at a position different from the specific position. A lens device or an imaging device having the above optical device also constitutes another aspect of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a compact and shock-resistant optical device.

The figure which shows the structure of the camera system including the interchangeable lens which is the Example of this invention. The front view which shows the structure of the focus / vibration isolation mechanism in the interchangeable lens of an Example. The cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the focus / vibration isolation mechanism. The flowchart which shows the control performed in an Example.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a camera system including an interchangeable lens 101 as a lens device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a camera 201 to which the interchangeable lens 101 can be attached and detached. Although the interchangeable lens camera system will be described in this embodiment, a camera (imaging device) in which a lens is integrally provided may be used, and the camera may be provided in an electronic device such as a mobile phone or a tablet terminal. ..

The interchangeable lens 101 has an imaging optical system including a variable magnification lens 102, a focus / shift lens (optical element) 103, and an aperture unit 104. The variable magnification lens 102 is referred to as a direction along the optical axis (x-axis direction: hereinafter, referred to as an optical axis direction) in response to a user operating an operation member such as a zoom operation ring (not shown) provided on the interchangeable lens 101. ) To change the focal length of the imaging optical system (that is, to change the magnification).

The focus / shift lens 103 is movably held in the focus / vibration isolation mechanism 120 as an optical device in the optical axis direction and the direction orthogonal to the optical axis (y-axis direction and z-axis direction). The focus / vibration isolation mechanism 120 performs focusing by moving the focus / shift lens 103 in the optical axis direction by driving the focus actuator (first actuator) 108, and also performs vibration isolation (IS) actuator (second actuator). ) 107 drives the focus / shift lens 103 to move (shift) in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis to reduce (correct) image shake due to camera shake.

The diaphragm unit 104 adjusts the amount of light by changing the diameter of the diaphragm aperture formed by the plurality of diaphragm blades by moving the plurality of diaphragm blades in the opening / closing direction by driving the diaphragm actuator 110.

The interchangeable lens 101 is provided with a gyro sensor 105 as a shake detecting means and a lens CPU 106 that performs various controls and processes related to the interchangeable lens 101. The gyro sensor 105 detects the angular velocity of the camera shake and outputs an angular velocity signal. The lens CPU 106 controls the drive of the IS actuator 107 in response to the angular velocity signal. The lens CPU 106 also controls the drive of the lock actuator 109, which will be described later, provided in the focus / vibration isolation mechanism 120.

Further, the lens CPU 106 controls the drive of the focus actuator 108 and the aperture actuator 110 in response to the focus drive command and the aperture drive command from the camera CPU 203, which will be described later. Further, the lens CPU 106 drives the focus actuator 108 in response to the movement (zooming) of the variable magnification lens 102 to move the focus / shift lens 103 in the optical axis direction, so that the subject is in focus regardless of zooming. maintain.

The interchangeable lens 101 configured in this way is attached to the camera 201 via the mount 300. The imaging optical system forms an image of light from a subject (not shown) and forms a subject image on the image sensor 202 in the camera 201.

The camera 201 includes the image sensor 202, a camera CPU 203, a release button 204, a main power supply 205, an image recording medium 206, a liquid crystal display unit 207, an operation dial 208, an operation switch 209, and a finder 210. The image sensor 202 is composed of a CCD sensor and a CMOS sensor, captures a subject image (photoelectric conversion), and outputs an electric signal.

The release button 204 has a switch SW1 that is turned on by a first stroke (half-pressed) operation by the user, and a switch SW2 that is turned on by a second stroke (full-pressed) operation. When the switch SW1 is turned on, the camera CPU 203 starts an imaging preparation operation such as vibration isolation operation, autofocus, and automatic exposure. When the switch SW2 is turned on, the camera CPU 203 causes the image sensor 202 to perform an image pickup operation for recording, generates image data using the output signal from the image sensor 202, and causes the image recording medium 206 to record the image data. ..

The main power supply 205 supplies power to each part in the camera 201. The mount 300 is provided with a contact block (not shown), through which the main power supply 205 of the camera 201 supplies power to the interchangeable lens 101, and the camera CPU 203 and the lens CPU 106 communicate with each other. To do.

The operation dial 208 and the operation switch 209 are operated by the user to make various settings and input various instructions in the camera 201. The liquid crystal display unit 207 and the finder 210 display the image data generated by the camera CPU 203 as a live view image or a finder image by using the output signal from the image sensor 202 before the image pickup operation for recording, and various types related to image pickup. Display information.

2 (a) and 2 (b) show the focus / vibration isolation mechanism 120 seen from the optical axis direction. The focus / shift lens 103 is held by the movable holding frame 103a, and the movable holding frame 103a is held in the optical axis direction (x-axis direction) and the direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction (y-axis and z-axis directions) with respect to the fixed portion 111. It is held movable. The movable portion is composed of the focus / shift lens 103 and the movable holding frame 103a.

The fixing portion 111 is fixed to a base lens barrel (not shown) of the interchangeable lens 101. The IS actuator 107 described above includes an IS actuator that drives the movable portion in the y-axis direction and an IS actuator that drives the movable portion in the z-axis direction. Each IS actuator is composed of a coil 107a fixed to the movable holding frame 103a and a magnet 107b fixed to the fixing portion 111 so as to face the coil 107a. An electromagnetic force is generated by energizing the coil 107a within the magnetic flux (magnetic field) from the magnet 107b, and the electromagnetic force causes the movable portion to be orthogonal to the fixed portion 111 in the optical axis direction (hereinafter referred to as a shift direction). Driven by.

Further, the above-mentioned focus actuator 108 is provided in two phases different from the IS actuator 107 in the fixed portion 111 when viewed from the optical axis direction. Each focus actuator is composed of a coil 108a fixed to the movable holding frame 103a and a magnet 108b fixed to the fixing portion 111 so as to face the coil 108a. An electromagnetic force is generated by energizing the coil 108a within the magnetic flux (magnetic field) from the magnet 108b, and the moving portion is driven in the optical axis direction with respect to the fixed portion 111 by the electromagnetic force.

The movable holding frame 103a is provided with a three-dimensional position sensor (not shown), and the position sensor detects the position of the movable portion in the optical axis direction and the shift direction. The lens CPU 106 controls energization of each coil via a flexible circuit board (not shown) so that the position of the movable portion detected by the position sensor approaches the target position.

The lock actuator 109 is composed of a stepping motor. The driving force generated by the lock actuator 109 is transmitted to the lock member 112 via the gear portion 109a rotatably held by the fixing portion 111 and the gear portion 112a that meshes with the gear portion 109a.

The lock member 112 has a lock portion 112b integrated with the gear portion 112a, and is held by a fixing portion 111 so as to be movable in the z-axis direction.

When the lock actuator 109 rotates from the unlocked state shown in FIG. 2A, the lock member 112 moves in the direction approaching the optical axis in the z-axis direction by the driving force transmitted via the gear portions 109a and 112a. As shown in FIG. 2B, the lock portion 112b of the moved lock member 112 engages with (fits into) the concave engaging portion 103b provided on the movable holding frame 103a, so that the movable portion can be fitted. It becomes a locked state in which movement in the optical axis direction and the shift direction is restricted (blocked). A locking mechanism is configured by the locking member 112 and the engaging portion 103b.

By locking the movable part, even if a large vibration or impact is applied to the interchangeable lens 101 from the outside, the movable part is prevented from moving in the shift direction, so that the movable part is the mechanical movable end (fixed part 111). By colliding with (etc.), it is possible to avoid the generation of abnormal noise and damage to moving parts.

FIG. 3 is an xz cross section showing the positional relationship between the lock member 112 and the movable portion (103, 103a) in the optical axis direction in the focus / vibration isolation mechanism 120. As described above, the movable part is moved in the optical axis direction (x-axis direction) by the focus actuator 108 to perform focusing, and is moved in the shift direction (z-axis and y-axis directions) by the IS actuator 107 to perform vibration isolation operation. Do.

Here, in this embodiment, the required movement amount of the movable part for the vibration isolation operation in the shift direction is shown in the figure depending on the focal length (zoom state) of the imaging optical system and the position of the movable part in the optical axis direction. It changes as shown by the dotted line A. Regarding the zoom state, the required amount of movement of the movable part in the shift direction at the telephoto (TELE) end is the largest, and the required movement amount at the wide-angle (WIDE) end is the smallest. This is because the required amount of movement of the movable part for vibration isolation operation is determined according to the target vibration isolation angle, and zooming from the WIDE side to the TELE side reduces the eccentric sensitivity of the focus / shift lens 103. This is because the required movement amount on the TELE side is inevitably larger than the required movement amount on the WIDE side in order to achieve the same vibration isolation angle in the entire zoom range. Further, the eccentric sensitivity of the focus / shift lens 103 also changes depending on the position in the optical axis direction, and a larger required movement amount is required at the position on the subject side where the eccentric sensitivity is low.

From this, as shown in FIG. 3, the required movement amount of the movable portion for the vibration isolation operation is the smallest at the WIDE end, and as a result, between the movable portion located at the WIDE end and the fixed portion 111. The space A1 in the shift direction of is larger than the space A2 when the movable portion is located on the TELE side of the WIDE end. Therefore, in this embodiment, the lock member 112 is arranged in the large space A1 and held in the fixed portion 111 so as to engage only with the movable portion (engagement portion 103b) located at the WIDE end as a specific position. I'm letting you.

By adopting this configuration, the shift direction (interchangeable lens) of the focus / vibration isolation mechanism 120 is compared with the case where the lock member is arranged so as to be engaged with the movable portion in the entire movable region in the optical axis direction of the movable portion. It is possible to reduce the size in the radial direction of 101). Moreover, by arranging the lock member 112 in the space A1, the focus / vibration isolation mechanism 120 can be miniaturized in the optical axis direction.

When the power of the camera 201 is turned off by a user operation or when the camera 201 goes into a sleep state when the non-operation time for the camera 201 reaches a predetermined time, that is, the camera 201 is changed from the used state (energized state) to the non-used state (non-used state) When the movable portion is located at a position different from the specific position in the optical axis direction in the transition to the energized state), the lens CPU 106 performs control as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 according to a computer program.

First, the lens CPU 106 determines in step 101 (abbreviated as S in the figure) whether or not the camera 201 changes from the used state to the non-used state, and if the camera 201 changes to the non-used state, proceeds to step 2. The following processing is performed by the lens CPU 106 before the power supply from the camera 201 to the interchangeable lens 101 is completely stopped (before the non-energized state is reached).

In step 102, the lens CPU 106 determines whether or not the movable portion is located at the WIDE end, which is a specific position, proceeds to step 103 if it is not located at the WIDE end, and proceeds to step 104 if it is located at the WIDE end. ..

In step 103, the lens CPU 106 controls the focus actuator 108 to drive the movable portion to the WIDE end.

In step 104, the lens CPU 106 controls the lock actuator 109 to drive the lock member 112 to lock the movable portion.

By performing such control, it is possible to prevent the movable portion from colliding with surrounding parts such as the fixed portion 111 when the camera 201 is not in use, and it is possible to improve the impact resistance.

In this embodiment, a lens capable of zooming and focusing has been described, but a single focus lens capable of focusing only is also included in the embodiment of the present invention. Further, the IS actuator may be composed of a magnet fixed to the movable portion and a coil fixed to the fixed portion, and an actuator of another type may be used.
(Other Examples)
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Each of the above-described examples is only a representative example, and various modifications and changes can be made to each of the examples in carrying out the present invention.

101 Interchangeable lens 103 Focus / shift lens 103a Movable holding frame 103b Engagement part 107 Anti-vibration actuator 108 Focus actuator 111 Fixed part 112 Lock member

Claims (7)

A movable portion that holds the optical element and can move in each of a first direction along the optical axis with respect to the fixed portion and a second direction including a component orthogonal to the first direction.
It has a locking member that restricts the movement of the movable portion in the first and second directions when the movable portion is located at a specific position in the first direction.
The amount of movement of the movable portion in the second direction changes so as to be smaller when the movable portion is located at the specific position than when the movable portion is located at a position different from the specific position. A featured optical device. The first space in the second direction between the movable portion and the fixed portion located at the specific position is between the movable portion and the fixed portion located at a position different from the specific position. Larger than the second space in the second direction of
The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the lock member is arranged in the first space. The optical device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lock member restricts the movement of the movable portion by engaging with the movable portion. A first actuator that drives the movable portion in the first direction,
A lock actuator that drives the lock member and
The first actuator is controlled so as to move the movable portion from a position different from the specific position in the first direction to the specific position, and then the lock member is engaged with the movable portion. The optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a control means for controlling the lock actuator. When the optical device shifts from the energized state to the non-energized state, the control means identifies the movable portion from a position different from the specific position in the first direction before the non-energized state. The optical device according to claim 4, wherein the first actuator is controlled so as to move to a position, and then the lock actuator is controlled so that the lock member engages with the movable portion. A lens device having the optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is removable from and detachable from an imaging device. An image pickup apparatus comprising the optical apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and an image pickup element that receives light from the optical apparatus.

Images