JP2022046746A - Imaging apparatus and movable body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus which can be miniaturized.

SOLUTION: A camera 100 comprises: a tilt unit 40 which has a lens unit 50; a base unit 20; a pan unit 30 which is erected from the base unit 20 and rotationally supports the tilt unit 40; and a tilt drive unit 350 which rotationally drives the tilt unit 40. The tilt drive unit 350 has a drive unit 351 which transmits the driving force. The tilt drive unit 350 is arranged on a pan chassis 311 of the pan unit 30 such that the drive unit 351 is brought into pressure-contact with the lens unit 50.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic device, an image pickup device and a moving body including a driven body driven by an actuator.

In recent years, small cameras called action cams and wearable cameras have become widespread (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a camera is not only attached to the body of the photographer, but also attached to a moving body such as a bicycle or a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle), and shoots a moving image when the moving body moves.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing how a conventional small camera is attached to the drone. FIG. 12A is an exploded view for explaining the mounting configuration of the camera, and FIG. 12B is a perspective view of the drone on which the camera is mounted. In FIGS. 12A and 12B, the drone 1 is composed of a plurality of quadcopters, for example, a quadcopter equipped with four propellers, and by aligning the rotation speeds of all the propellers, the aircraft is stably held in the air (hovering). Let me. Further, the drone 1 can change the posture by changing the balance of the airframe by making the rotation speed of the propeller unbalanced. The small camera 2 mounted on the drone 1 consists of an action cam. The camera 2 is equipped with an optical lens unit capable of shooting at a relatively wide angle. The camera 2 is held by a gimbal 3 which is a holding member. The gimbal 3 is fixed to the drone 1 with a screw 4, and the camera 2 is fixed to the gimbal 3 by a fixing component (not shown). As the fixing component, for example, an adhesive double-sided tape or a binding band is applied. The gimbal 3 has a built-in posture maintaining mechanism (not shown) that maintains a constant posture of the fixed camera 2. The posture maintaining mechanism controls the movement of the camera 2 in the pan (horizontal / left / right) direction / tilt (vertical / up / down) direction / roll (rotation) direction, and eliminates the influence of the shaking of the drone 1 on the captured image of the camera.

In order to change the direction in which the camera 2 of the drone 1 in FIG. 12 captures an image (hereinafter referred to as "imaging direction"), it is necessary to change the orientation of the main body of the drone 1 together with the gimbal 3, and the drone 1 is operated. Inconvenience to those. Further, when the camera 2 is attached to the handlebar of the bicycle, it is necessary to change the direction of the handlebar in order to change the image pickup direction, which causes inconvenience to the bicycle driver. Further, when the camera 2 is attached to the body of the photographer, it is necessary to change the direction of the body in order to change the imaging direction, which also causes inconvenience to the photographer.

Therefore, it is proposed to attach a rotation drive mechanism that can move the camera relatively large in the pan direction and tilt direction to the drone or handle and change the imaging direction without changing the direction of the drone body or the direction of the handle. (See, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-82463 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-58870

However, in the rotation drive mechanism of Patent Document 2, a tilt drive mechanism is used in which a pulley is attached to the rotation shaft of the lens barrel of the camera, and a timing belt is wound around the pulley to transmit the driving force of the motor to the pulley. In particular, in order to finely control the rotation in the tilt direction, it is necessary to greatly reduce the rotation of the motor, so that a plurality of pulleys and timing belts are required, and the tilt drive mechanism becomes large. As a result, the image pickup device consisting of the camera and the rotation drive mechanism also becomes large, and the degree of freedom of mounting on the handlebar of the drone or bicycle may be reduced, and in particular, the weight of the image pickup device may exceed the maximum load capacity in the drone. ..

An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, an image pickup device, and a mobile body that can be miniaturized.

In order to achieve the above object, the electronic device of the present invention is an electronic device including a driven body, a base portion, and a support portion which is erected from the base portion and rotationally supports the driven body. The driver is provided with an actuator for driving the driven body, and the actuator is arranged on the support portion.

According to the present invention, the actuator that drives the driven body is arranged on the support portion that is erected from the base portion and supports the driven body portion. As a result, the space volume occupied by the components of the electronic device can be reduced as compared with the case where the actuator is arranged separately from the support portion, and thus the electronic device can be miniaturized.

It is a figure which shows schematic the structure of the drone which mounts the camera as the image pickup apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the camera in FIG. 1. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the structure of the panning unit which the camera of FIG. 2 has. It is a vertical sectional view schematically showing the structure of the camera of FIG. It is a top view for demonstrating the mounting form of a tilt drive unit and a tilt position detection unit to a pan chassis of a pan unit. It is an exploded perspective view which shows roughly the structure of the drive part of a tilt drive unit. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the optical sensor for tilt of a tilt position detection unit. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the internal configuration of the base unit in FIG. 2. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the structure of the drive part of a pan drive unit schematicly. It is a figure which shows roughly the structure of the optical sensor for pan of a pan position detection unit. It is a vertical sectional view schematically showing the structure of the camera as the image pickup apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows how the conventional small camera is attached to the drone.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a camera as an image pickup device mounted on a drone (moving body) as an unmanned aerial vehicle will be described, but the application destination of the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to all electronic devices including a driven body driven by an actuator. Further, the camera to which the present invention is applied can be attached not only to the drone but also to other moving objects (cars and bicycles), and can also be attached to the body of the photographer. First, an image pickup device (electronic device) according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a drone equipped with a camera as an imaging device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 (A) shows a drone in an accretion state, and FIG. 1 (B) shows a drone in a flying state.

In FIG. 1, the drone 10 includes four propellers 11a to 11d (hereinafter collectively referred to as “propeller 11”) (flying mechanism). The number of propellers varies depending on the size, weight, use, and the like of the drone 10. The drone 10 of FIG. 1 consists of a quadcopter equipped with four propellers, and flies by the lift generated by each rotating propeller 11. Further, by making the rotation speeds of all the propellers 11 uniform, the airframe can be hovered in the air, and by making the rotation speeds of each propeller 11 unbalanced, the balance of the airframe can be changed and the attitude can be changed.

A camera 100 is attached to the drone 10. The camera 100 is attached to the drone 10 by using, for example, an adhesive double-sided tape or a binding band, but the camera 100 may be attached to the drone 10 by using an attachment or the like. The mounting position of the camera 100 in the drone 10 is not particularly limited, but it is mounted near the center of the aircraft and below from the viewpoint of ease of imaging and weight balance. Further, the drone 10 further includes skids 12a and 12b, which are a pair of accretion legs. The skids 12a and 12b are foldable and protrude downward from the drone 10 during landing (FIG. 1 (A)) and are pulled up toward the drone 10's aircraft during flight (FIG. 1 (B)). This prevents the camera 100 mounted below the aircraft from coming into contact with the ground or the like during landing, and also prevents the camera 100 from taking pictures of the skids 12a and 12b during flight.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the camera in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the panning unit included in the camera of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the camera of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a mounting mode of the tilt drive unit and the tilt position detection unit on the pan chassis of the pan unit. In particular, FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B) show the configuration of the panning unit viewed from different directions. Further, FIG. 5A shows a tilt drive unit in a disassembled state, and FIG. 5B shows a state in which the tilt drive unit and the tilt position detection unit are attached to the pan chassis. In FIG. 4, for convenience of explanation, the direction parallel to the axis T described later is defined as the X direction, the direction parallel to the axis P described later is defined as the Y direction, and further described later in FIG. The optical axis direction of the lens unit 50 is defined as the Z direction.

In FIGS. 2 to 5, the camera 100 is a tilting unit (which holds a base unit 20 (base portion), a panning unit (hereinafter referred to as “pan unit”) 30, and a lens unit 50 (imaging unit). Hereinafter, it is referred to as a “tilt unit”) 40. The pan unit 30 is placed on the base unit 20 so as to be horizontally rotatable (panning), and the tilt unit 40 is mounted on the pan unit 30 so as to be vertically rotatable (tilting). Here, the axis P in FIG. 2 indicates the central axis of horizontal rotation of the pan unit 30 (another rotation axis), and the coaxial T indicates the central axis of vertical rotation of the tilt unit 40 (rotation axis of the imaging unit). The axis P and the axis T are orthogonal to each other. The lens unit 50 has an image pickup optical system and photographs a subject. Even if the flight posture is kept constant during the flight of the drone 10, the camera 100 captures the subject from various directions and angles by rotating the lens unit 50 horizontally or vertically by the pan unit 30 and the tilt unit 40. can do. The camera 100 further includes a wireless communication unit (not shown). The camera 100 receives an operation from an external device via the wireless communication unit. For example, the camera 100 accepts operations such as remote shooting and transfer of shot images from a terminal device such as a smartphone.

The base unit 20 has a base cover 210, a control board 220, and a bottom cover 230. The control board 220 is equipped with a CPU and a memory for performing image processing, and is also equipped with a driver IC for driving and controlling the pan unit 30 and the tilt unit 40. The bottom cover 230 mounts a recording unit 231 and a flexible printed board (hereinafter referred to as “FPC”) 232. The recording unit 231 is, for example, a printed circuit board on which a connector capable of accommodating a card-type non-volatile memory is mounted, and is electrically connected to the control board 220 by the FPC 232. The camera 100 records a captured image by writing image data generated through image processing to the non-volatile memory mounted on the recording unit 231.

The pan unit 30 has a pan base 310, a pan cover 320, and a pan rotating plate 330. The pan base 310 includes a pan chassis 311 (holding portion) formed by bending a plate-shaped metal into a U shape by press working, and a resin disk-shaped pan base 312 processed by a method such as injection molding. And have. The pan chassis 311 is fixed to the pan base 312 by screws. The tilt unit 40 is composed of a cylindrical member arranged along the horizontal direction. A pair of tilt rotation support portions 311a as shaft support members including through holes are fastened to the vicinity of the upper end of the pan chassis 311 by screws. The tilt rotation support portion 311a is formed by injection molding a resin having low friction and excellent slidability (for example, polyacetal (POM) or the like). A rolling bearing such as a ball bearing or a roller bearing may be adopted as the tilt rotation support portion 311a. A tilt shaft portion 40a projecting from each side surface of the tilt unit 40 along the shaft T is fitted to each tilt rotation support portion 311a. As a result, the tilt unit 40 is held by the pan chassis 311 and supported by the pan unit 30 in a state where it can rotate (vertically rotate) with the axis T as the central axis. The pan base 312 has a pan shaft portion 312a protruding downward, and the pan shaft portion 312a is fitted into the pan rotation support portion 210a as a shaft support member including a through hole formed in the base cover 210 along the shaft P. Will be combined. Further, by fastening the pan rotating plate 330 made of an annular member to the pan base 312 inside the base cover 210, the pan unit 30 can rotate (horizontally rotate) about the axis P as the central axis of the base cover 210. It is placed in. The lens unit 50 is electrically connected to the control board 220 by the wiring 51. The wiring 51 is composed of, for example, a plurality of electric wires in which the core wire of the conductor is covered with an insulator, connectors connected to both ends of each electric wire, and an adhesive tape for bundling the electric wires over a certain length. The electric wire used for the wiring 51 may be, for example, a coaxial cable composed of an inner conductor, an insulator, an outer conductor, and a protective coating.

The pan chassis 311 made of a U-shaped member includes a base portion 311b having a flat surface fastened to the pan base 312 by a screw, and a pair of arm portions 311c standing substantially perpendicular to the base portion 311b. Consists of. A tilt rotating plate 41 is fixed to one side surface of the tilt unit 40 by screws. Further, the tilt reflection scale 42 is attached to the other side surface of the tilt unit 40 by the double-sided tape 40b. When the tilt unit 40 is supported by the pan unit 30, the tilt rotation plate 41 and the tilt reflection scale 42 face each arm portion 311c. An opening 311d is formed in the base portion 311b, and an opening 311e (defective portion) and an opening 311f are formed in the arm portion 311c. The opening 311e and the opening 311f may be formed by holes formed in the arm 311c, or may be formed by cutting out a part of the arm 311c. The wiring 51 extending from the tilt unit 40 is connected to the control board 220 through the opening 311d. In the pan chassis 311, the tilt drive unit 350 (actuator) described later is arranged so as to enter the opening 311e, and the tilt position detection unit 360 (position detection unit) described later is arranged so as to enter the opening 311f. ..

In the camera 100, the control board 220 is fixed to the base cover 210 after the pan unit 30 and the tilt unit 40 are attached to the base cover 210. A plurality of connectors are mounted on the control board 220, and not only the wiring 51 but also the FPC extending from the tilt drive unit 350 and the tilt position detection unit 360 are connected. A recording unit 231 is assembled in advance on the bottom cover 230. A connector for connecting an FPC is mounted on the recording unit 231. One end of the FPC 232 is connected to the connector, and the other end of the FPC 232 is connected to the connector arranged on the control board 220 before assembling the bottom cover 230 to the base cover 210. The bottom cover 230 is fixed to the base cover 210 with screws. A battery contact 231a is mounted on the lower portion of the recording unit 231. An opening is formed in the bottom cover 230 so as to face the battery contact 231a, and the tip portion of the battery contact 231a is exposed. In the camera 100, an external power supply (not shown) is attached to the bottom cover 230. The external power source corresponds to, for example, a battery pack equipped with an alkaline secondary battery or a lithium ion secondary battery. An external power supply mounting portion 230a is formed on the bottom cover 230, and when the external power supply is fixed to the mounting portion 230a, the electronic contact on the external power supply side comes into contact with the battery contact 231a, and power is supplied to the camera 100. The external power supply may be mounted on the main body of the drone 10. In this case, when the camera 100 is attached to the drone 10, the battery contact 231a comes into contact with an electronic contact (not shown) formed in the lower part of the drone 10, and power is supplied from the drone 10 to the camera 100.

The tilt drive unit 350 is an actuator including a so-called ultrasonic motor that drives a driven body by using ultrasonic vibration. When using an ultrasonic motor, it is necessary to bring the ultrasonic motor into pressure contact with the driven body in order to transmit the driving force to the driven body. Also in this embodiment, as will be described later, the tilt drive unit 350 is in pressure contact with the tilt unit 40. The tilt drive unit 350 has a drive unit 351 (transmission unit), a felt 352, a presser 353, a spring 354, and a case 355.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the drive unit of the tilt drive unit. In FIG. 6, the drive unit 351 includes an oscillator 351a, a piezoelectric element 351b, an FPC 351c as a wiring member, and a base member 351d. The piezoelectric element 351b applies ultrasonic vibration to the transducer 351a, and the FPC351c is adhesively fixed to the piezoelectric element 351b and applies a high frequency voltage to the piezoelectric element 351b. The base member 351d holds the oscillator 351a, the piezoelectric element 351b, and the FPC 351c, and when the tilt drive unit 350 is attached to the arm portion 311c of the pan chassis 311, the oscillator 351a is brought into pressure contact with the tilt unit 40. The FPC351c is directly connected to the control board 220, and an arbitrary high frequency voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 351b according to a control signal from the driver IC. The oscillator 351a has a contact point 351e (projection portion) composed of a plurality of protrusions. When a high-frequency voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 351b, vibration of an arbitrary frequency is excited in the vibrator 351a, and a driving force for driving the driven body in the arrangement direction of each contact point 351e is generated. Since the oscillator 351a is in pressure contact with the tilt unit 40, the driving force is transmitted to the tilt unit 40 to move the tilt unit 40 relative to the tilt drive unit 350.

Returning to FIGS. 2 to 5, in the tilt drive unit 350, the case 355 is fixed to the arm portion 311c by a screw, and the spring 354 supported by the case 355 presses the drive portion 351 via the felt 352 and the presser 353. The presser 353 is arranged inside the base member 351d of the drive unit 351 and slides in a direction parallel to the axis T to transmit the local pressing force of the spring 354 over a wide range. As a result, in the tilt drive unit 350, the vibrator 351a is pressed without tilting, and the plurality of contact points 351e of the drive unit 351 are uniformly pressed against the tilt unit 40. Further, the felt 352 is arranged between the presser 353 and the drive unit 351 to attenuate the vibration generated by the vibrator 351a and suppress the vibration from being transmitted to the presser 353 and the spring 354. The tilt drive unit 350 is attached to the arm portion 311c so that at least each contact point 351e enters the opening portion 311e of the arm portion 311c.

As described above, the tilt rotating plate 41 is fixed to one side surface of the tilt unit 40, and each contact point 351e is in pressure contact with the friction sliding surface 41a (transmitted plane) of the tilt rotating plate 41. The friction sliding surface 41a is subjected to surface treatment such as wrapping to form a smooth flat surface having high flatness. Further, a stainless steel material or the like that has been subjected to a hardening treatment such as a nitriding treatment is used for the tilt rotating plate 41. As a result, the tilt rotary plate 41 achieves both stable contact at each contact point 351e and a low wear amount. As the curing treatment of the tilt rotating plate 41, for example, a carburizing method may be used in which carbon is added to the surface of the friction sliding surface 41a to cure it.

Further, the tilt position detection unit 360 has a spacer 361 and an FPC 362, and the tilt optical sensor 363 is mounted on the FPC 362. The FPC 362 is fixed to the arm 311c by a screw so that a part of the tilt optical sensor 363 enters the opening 311f of the arm 311c via the spacer 361. As described above, the tilt reflection scale 42 is provided on the other side surface of the tilt unit 40. In the tilt position detection unit 360, the tilt optical sensor 363 and the tilt reflection scale 42 are spaced apart from each other. It is attached to the arm portion 311c so as to face each other. Further, the FPC 362 is connected to the control board 220 via wiring (not shown), and outputs the detection result of the tilt optical sensor 363 to the CPU. The tilt reflection scale 42 has an optical grid 42a (reflection portion) composed of a plurality of light and dark patterns arranged in the circumferential direction around the tilt shaft portion 40a at regular intervals. As the base material of the tilt reflection scale 42, for example, a resin such as acrylic (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) is used. Further, in the tilt reflection scale 42, for example, an optical grid 42a made of an aluminum film is formed as a reflection film on the surface of the base material. The base material of the tilt reflection scale 42 is not limited to the above-mentioned base material, and for example, quartz glass, blue plate glass, or a silicon wafer may be used. Further, for example, a chromium film may be used as the optical grid 42a.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the tilt optical sensor of the tilt position detection unit. FIG. 7A is a view of the tilt optical sensor viewed from the tilt unit side, and FIG. 7B is a view of the tilt optical sensor viewed from the front side of the camera. The tilt optical sensor 363 includes a substrate 363a, a light emitting unit 363b mounted on the substrate 363a, and a light receiving unit array 363c. The light emitting unit 363b irradiates the tilt reflection scale 42 with light, and the light receiving unit array 363c receives the reflected light from the tilt reflection scale 42. As the light emitting unit 363b, for example, a light emitting diode is used, and as the light receiving unit array 363c, for example, a phototransistor is used. Specifically, the light receiving unit array 363c is composed of a plurality of phototransistors arranged in a range in which the reflected light from the light / dark pattern of the optical grid 42a caused by the irradiation light of the light emitting unit 363b is incident. The tilt optical sensor 363 receives the reflected light from the light / dark pattern of the optical grid 42a by the light receiving unit array 363c, and converts the received reflected light into an electric signal. The reflected light from the light-dark pattern of the optical grid 42a forms an image of the reflection pattern, a so-called reflectance distribution image. The light receiving unit array 363c photoelectrically converts the reflectance distribution image and outputs an electric signal having a sinusoidal waveform according to the light amount distribution of the reflectance distribution image. In the camera 100, when the tilt reflection scale 42 and the tilt optical sensor 363 move relatively, the reflectance distribution image formed by the reflected light from the light-dark pattern of the optical grid 42a changes. The camera 100 detects the rotational position of the tilt unit 40 by reading a sinusoidal electric signal corresponding to this change. Then, the rotation direction of the tilt unit 40 can be detected by reading the fluctuation direction of the reflected light incident on the light receiving unit array 363c from the optical grid 42a.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the internal configuration of the base unit in FIG. 2. FIG. 8 shows how the pan unit 30 to which the tilt unit 40 is attached is held in advance on the base cover 210 in a state where it can rotate in the horizontal rotation (panning) direction. At this time, the pan shaft portion 312a is fitted to the pan rotation support portion 210a, and the pan rotation support portion 210a is a resin having low friction and excellent slidability (for example, polyacetal (for example, polyacetal), like the tilt rotation support portion 311a. It is formed by injection molding POM) etc.). A rolling bearing such as a ball bearing or a roller bearing may be adopted as the pan rotation support portion 210a. As a result, the pan unit 30 is supported by the base unit 20 in a state where it can smoothly rotate (horizontally rotate) around the axis P. A pan rotating plate 330 is fastened to the pan shaft portion 312a of the pan unit 30 from the bottom surface side of the camera 100 with screws. Further, a pan reflective scale 331 is attached to the pan rotating plate 330 by a double-sided tape (not shown). After incorporating the pan rotating plate 330 and the pan reflection scale 331 into the base cover 210, the main chassis 240 is incorporated from the bottom surface side of the camera 100, and the main chassis 240 is fixed to the base cover 210 by screws. The main chassis 240 is formed with an opening 240a and an opening 240b in addition to the screw holes. The opening 240b consists of a circular opening and a rectangular opening arranged adjacent to each other. The wiring 51 extending from the tilt unit 40 is inserted into the circular opening of the opening 240b and connected to the control board 220. A pan drive unit 250 for driving the pan unit 30 and a pan position detection unit 260 for detecting the rotation of the pan unit 30 are attached to the main chassis 240. Specifically, the pan drive unit 250 is arranged so as to enter the rectangular opening of the opening 240b, and the pan position detection unit 260 is arranged so as to enter the opening 240a. The pan drive unit 250 is an actuator including an ultrasonic motor having the same configuration as the tilt drive unit 350 described above. Therefore, in order to transmit the driving force, in the present embodiment, as will be described later, the pan drive unit 250 pressurizes and contacts the pan rotary plate 330 fastened to the pan unit 30. The pan drive unit 250 includes a drive unit 251, a felt 252, a presser 253, a spring 254, and a case 255.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the drive unit of the pan drive unit. In FIG. 9, the drive unit 251 includes an oscillator 251a, a piezoelectric element 251b, an FPC 251c as a wiring member, and a base member 251d. The piezoelectric element 251b applies ultrasonic vibration to the transducer 251a, and the FPC251c is adhesively fixed to the piezoelectric element 251b and applies a high frequency voltage to the piezoelectric element 251b. The base member 251d holds the oscillator 251a, the piezoelectric element 251b, and the FPC 251c, and when the pan drive unit 250 is attached to the main chassis 240, the oscillator 251a is brought into pressure contact with the pan rotating plate 330. The FPC251c is directly connected to the control board 220, and an arbitrary high frequency voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 251b according to a control signal from the driver IC. The oscillator 251a has a contact point 251e composed of a plurality of protrusions. When a high-frequency voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 251b, vibration of an arbitrary frequency is excited in the vibrator 251a, and a driving force for driving the driven body in the arrangement direction of each contact point 251e is generated. Since the oscillator 251a is in pressure contact with the pan rotary plate 330, the driving force is transmitted to the pan rotary plate 330 to move the pan unit 30 relative to the pan drive unit 250.

In the pan drive unit 250, the case 255 is fixed to the main chassis 240 by screws, and the spring 254 supported by the case 255 presses the drive unit 251 via the felt 252 and the presser 253. The presser 253 is arranged inside the base member 251d of the drive unit 251 and slides in a direction parallel to the axis P to transmit the local pressing force of the spring 254 over a wide range. As a result, in the pan drive unit 250, the vibrator 251a is pressed without tilting, and the plurality of contact points 251e of the drive unit 251 are uniformly pressed against the pan rotating plate 330. Further, the felt 252 is arranged between the presser 253 and the drive unit 251 to attenuate the vibration generated by the vibrator 251a and suppress the vibration from being transmitted to the presser 253 and the spring 254. The pan drive unit 250 is attached to the main chassis 240 so that at least each contact point 251e enters the rectangular opening of the opening 240b of the main chassis 240.

A friction sliding surface 330a is formed on the lower surface of the pan rotating plate 330, and each contact point 251e is in pressure contact with the friction sliding surface 330a. The friction sliding surface 330a is subjected to surface treatment such as wrapping to form a smooth flat surface having high flatness. Further, a stainless steel material or the like that has been subjected to a hardening treatment such as a nitriding treatment is used for the pan rotating plate 330. As a result, the pan rotary plate 330 achieves both stable contact at each contact point 251e and a low wear amount. As the curing treatment of the pan rotary plate 330, for example, a carburizing method may be used in which carbon is added to the surface of the friction sliding surface 330a to cure it.

Further, the pan position detection unit 260 has an FPC 261, and an optical sensor 262 for pan is mounted on the FPC 261. The FPC 261 is fixed to the main chassis 240 by screws so that a part of the pan optical sensor 262 enters the opening 240 a of the main chassis 240. As described above, the pan reflection scale 331 is provided on the lower surface of the pan rotation plate 330. In the pan position detection unit 260, the pan optical sensor 262 and the pan reflection scale 331 face each other with a predetermined interval. It is attached to the main chassis 240 as such. Further, the FPC 261 is connected to the control board 220 via wiring (not shown), and outputs the detection result of the pan optical sensor 262 to the CPU. The pan reflection scale 331 has an optical grid 331a composed of a plurality of light and dark patterns arranged in the circumferential direction at regular intervals around the axis P (pan axis portion 312a). As the base material of the reflective scale 331 for bread, for example, a resin such as acrylic (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) is used. Further, in the reflection scale 331 for bread, for example, an optical lattice 331a made of an aluminum film is formed as a reflection film on the surface of the base material. The base material of the reflective scale 331 for bread is not limited to the above-mentioned base material, and for example, quartz glass, blue plate glass, or a silicon wafer may be used. Further, for example, a chromium film may be used as the optical grid 331a.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the pan optical sensor of the pan position detection unit. FIG. 10A is a view of the pan optical sensor viewed from the pan unit side, and FIG. 10B is a view of the pan optical sensor viewed from the front side of the camera. The pan optical sensor 262 includes a substrate 262a, a light emitting unit 262b mounted on the substrate 262a, and a light receiving unit array 262c. The light emitting unit 262b irradiates the pan reflection scale 331 with light, and the light receiving unit array 262c receives the reflected light from the pan reflection scale 331. As the light emitting unit 262b, for example, a light emitting diode is used, and as the light receiving unit array 262c, for example, a phototransistor is used. Specifically, the light receiving unit array 262c is composed of a plurality of phototransistors arranged in a range in which the reflected light from the light / dark pattern of the optical grid 331a caused by the irradiation light of the light emitting unit 262b is incident. The pan optical sensor 262 receives the reflected light from the light / dark pattern of the optical grid 331a by the light receiving unit array 262c, and converts the received reflected light into an electric signal. The reflected light from the light-dark pattern of the optical grid 331a forms an image of the reflection pattern, a so-called reflectance distribution image. The light receiving unit array 262c photoelectrically converts the reflectance distribution image and outputs an electric signal having a sinusoidal waveform according to the light amount distribution of the reflectance distribution image. In the camera 100, when the pan reflection scale 331 and the pan optical sensor 262 move relatively, the reflectance distribution image formed by the reflected light from the light-dark pattern of the optical grid 331a changes. The camera 100 detects the rotation position of the pan rotating plate 330, that is, the pan unit 30 by reading the sinusoidal electric signal corresponding to this change. Then, the rotation direction of the pan unit 30 can be detected by reading the fluctuation direction of the reflected light incident on the light receiving unit array 262c from the optical grid 331a.

Returning to FIG. 5, in the camera 100, in the projection view from the upper surface (when viewed along the axis P), the midpoint M of the virtual straight line connecting the pair of contact points 351e is located on the axis T. The tilt drive unit 350 is assembled to the arm portion 311c. More specifically, the tilt drive unit 350 is arranged so that the midpoint M of the virtual straight line is located on the virtual plane defined by the axis T and the axis P. As a result, the driving force of the driving unit 351 can be transmitted to the tilt unit 40 without bias (in a well-balanced manner), so that the tilt unit 40 can be smoothly rotated.

Further, in the tilt drive unit 350, since the case 355, the spring 354, the felt 352, the presser 353, and the drive unit 351 are arranged in an overlapping manner, the tilt drive unit 350 has a certain thickness. However, as described above, the tilt drive unit 350 is arranged so that at least each contact point 351e of the drive unit 351 enters the opening 311e of the arm portion 311c, and the case 355 sandwiches another member in between. First, it is fixed to the arm portion 311c. Therefore, the amount of protrusion of the tilt drive unit 350 along the axis T from the arm portion 311c can be reduced. Specifically, when viewed along the axis P, the tilt drive unit 350 attached to the arm portion 311c fits within the region where the pan chassis 311 rotates. More specifically, when viewed along the axis P, the tilt drive unit 350 has a virtual straight line along the surface of the tilt rotating plate 41 and strings AB formed by points A and B where the outer edge of the pan cover 320 intersects. And within the region between the arcs AB at the outer edge of the pan cover 320. As a result, the space volume occupied by the components of the camera 100 can be reduced, and the camera 100 can be miniaturized.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the tilt drive unit 350 is arranged between the tilt shaft portion 40a (tilt rotation support portion 311a) and the pan base 312. As described above, the tilt unit 40 holds the lens unit 50, but when the lens unit 50 faces the front, the center of the optical axis of the lens unit 50 intersects the axis T. As a result, the amount of swing of the lens unit 50 (tilt unit 40) at the time of tilt rotation around the axis T can be reduced, and thus the camera 100 can be miniaturized.

In the camera 100, by arranging the tilt unit 40 so that the center of the optical axis of the lens unit 50 intersects the axis T, the entire tilt unit 40 can be positioned slightly above the base unit 20. As a result, a certain space can be secured between the tilt shaft portion 40a (tilt rotation support portion 311a) and the pan base 312. As a result, the tilt drive unit 350 can be arranged in the space. As a result, the space volume occupied by the components of the camera 100 can be reduced as compared with the case where the tilt drive unit 350 is arranged separately from the space, and the camera 100 can be miniaturized.

Further, in the camera 100, since the tilt drive unit 350 is pressurized and contacted with the tilt unit 40 to directly transmit the driving force, it is possible to eliminate the need to use a gear or a pulley to drive the tilt unit 40. As a result, the camera 100 can be further miniaturized. Further, in the camera 100, the tilt position detection unit 360 is attached to an arm portion 311c different from the arm portion 311c to which the tilt drive unit 350 is attached. As a result, the space between the tilt shaft portion 40a (tilt rotation support portion 311a) and the pan base 312 can be effectively utilized to further reduce the space volume occupied by the components of the camera 100.

By the way, in the camera 100, when the distance from the axis T (rotation center of the tilt unit 40) in the Y direction to the contact point 351e of the tilt drive unit 350 is D1, the distance D1 is preferably short. As a result, the moving angle (rotational movement amount) of the tilt unit 40 per vibration of the contact point 351e can be increased, and thus the rotational movement speed of the tilt unit 40 can be increased. At this time, the distance D1 can generate a friction load of the tilt rotation support portion 311a and the tilt shaft portion 40a, a weight of the tilt unit 40, a sliding friction load of the wiring 51 during rotation of the tilt unit 40, and a tilt drive unit 350. It is determined in consideration of the driving force. Further, when the distance from the axis T in the Y direction to the detection point where the tilt optical sensor 363 detects the reflected light from the optical grid 42a is D2, the distance D2 is preferably long. As a result, the amount of rotational movement of the tilt unit 40 per unit movement angle at the detection point can be increased, and thus the accuracy of the reflectance distribution image obtained by the tilt optical sensor 363 can be improved. At this time, the distance D2 is determined in consideration of the maximum diameter of the tilt reflection scale 42 that can be accommodated in the pan cover 320. In particular, in the camera 100, it is preferable to set the arrangement and size of each component so that the distance D1 is equal to or less than the distance D2. As a result, it is possible to achieve both high-speed tilt operation and improved tilt rotation detection accuracy.

After the assembly of the pan unit 30 and the tilt unit 40 to the base cover 210 is completed, the control board 220 and the bottom cover 230 are assembled to the base cover 210 to complete the assembly of the camera 100.

In the present embodiment, the tilt rotary plate 41 and the tilt reflection scale 42 as separate parts are attached to the tilt unit 40, but the friction sliding surfaces 41a and the optical grid 42a are formed directly on both side surfaces of the tilt unit 40, respectively. You may. As a result, the double-sided tape 40b can be omitted, the length of the tilt unit 40 along the axis T can be shortened, and the camera 100 can be further miniaturized. Further, the pan base 310 is composed of a pan chassis 311 made of plate metal and a pan base 312 made of resin, and the pan chassis 311 and the pan base 312 are integrally formed of a high-strength resin material. May be good.

Next, the image pickup apparatus (electronic device) according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the configuration and operation of the second embodiment are basically the same as those of the first embodiment described above, the description of the duplicated configuration and operation is omitted, and the different configurations and operations are described below. Give an explanation.

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a camera as an image pickup apparatus according to a second embodiment. In FIG. 11, as in FIG. 4, for convenience of explanation, the direction parallel to the axis T is defined as the X direction, and the direction parallel to the axis P is defined as the Y direction.

In the camera 200 as the image pickup apparatus according to the present embodiment, each arm portion 311c of the pan chassis 311 extends upward from each arm portion 311c of the camera 100. Further, the tilt drive unit 350 and the tilt position detection unit 360 are attached to each arm portion 311c above the axis T. As a result, other components can be arranged in a certain space between the tilt shaft portion 40a and the pan base 312, and in the camera 200, microphones (hereinafter, simply referred to as “microphones”) 500a and 500b are placed in the space. Is placed. As the microphones 500a and 500b, a condenser microphone, a MEMS (Micro Electro Electro Mechanical Systems) microphone, or the like is used. The microphone 500a is mounted on the FPC 351c extending downward from the tilt drive unit 350 and electrically connected to the control board 220. The microphone 500b is mounted on the FPC 362 extending downward from the tilt position detection unit 360 and electrically connected to the control board 220. Bush 510s and 520 are attached to the microphones 500a and 500b, respectively. As the material used for the bush 510 and 520, an elastic material is used, and for example, ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) or silicon rubber is used. Sound collecting holes 510a and 520a are formed in the bushes 510 and 520 corresponding to the sound collecting portions of the microphones 500a and 500b. Further, sound collecting holes 320a and 320b are formed in the pan cover 320 corresponding to the sound collecting holes 510a and 520a. Inside the pan cover 320, the microphones 500a, 500b and bushes 510, 520 are held so as to be sandwiched between the pan cover 320 and the pan chassis 311. The bushes 510 and 520 are in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the pan cover 320, and can capture the sound entering from the sound collecting holes 320a and 320b without leaking.

In the camera 200, by arranging the tilt drive unit 350 and the tilt position detection unit 360 above the axis T, the microphones 500a and 500b are arranged without being larger in the axis T direction than the camera 100. Can be done. Further, in the camera 200, by arranging the microphones 500a and 500b, the time difference of the sound recorded by the microphones 500a and 500b may be detected and the position of the sound source may be specified. Further, the lens unit 50 may be automatically oriented toward the position of the specified sound source.

Although each embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. For example, in the camera 200, the microphones 500a and 500b are arranged in the space between the tilt shaft portion 40a and the pan base 312 (hereinafter referred to as “accommodation space”), but other units, modules or devices are arranged in the accommodation space. You may. For example, a vocal unit such as a buzzer or a speaker may be arranged in the accommodation space. In this case, for example, it is possible to add a pronunciation function for producing an arbitrary sound when an image similar to the image data recorded in advance is confirmed in the image to be captured. Further, a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED) may be arranged in the accommodation space. This makes it possible to add an LED tag (visible light communication unit) to the drone 10 on which the camera 200 is mounted. In this case, when flying in an arbitrary flight space, light emission information that can be received only by a drone that has been approved for flight is received, and the LED tag is made to emit light in response to the reception. As a result, it is possible to inform the outside that the drone is a flight-approved drone. The position constituting the accommodation space is not limited to between the tilt shaft portion 40a and the pan base 312, and the accommodation space may be provided at any position as long as the camera 100 (200) is not enlarged.

P, T Axis D1, D2 Distance 10 Drone 11 Propeller 20 Base Unit 30 Pan Unit 40 Tilt Unit 41 Tilt Rotating Plate 41a Friction Sliding Surface 42a Optical Grid 50 Lens Unit 100, 200 Camera 311 Pan Chassis 311a Tilt Rotation Support 311c Arm Units 311e, 311f Opening 350 Tilt drive unit 351 Drive unit 351a Oscillator 351b Piezoelectric element 351e Contact point 360 Tilt position detection unit 363 Tilt optical sensor 363b Light emitting unit 363c Light receiving unit array

The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and a moving body.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup device and a mobile body that can be miniaturized.

In order to achieve the above object, the image pickup apparatus of the present invention includes an image pickup unit, a base portion, and an arm portion that is erected from the base portion and rotationally supports the image pickup unit with the tilt axis as a central axis. The image pickup apparatus provided includes a tilt rotation plate located on one side surface of the image pickup unit and having a sliding surface, and a tilt drive unit for rotating the image pickup unit with the tilt axis as a central axis. The tilt drive unit is fixed to the arm portion and has a contact point that contacts the sliding surface and a pressurizing portion that presses the contact point against the sliding surface. The arm portion is provided with an opening that opens so as to face the imaging portion, and the contact point is arranged in the opening portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image pickup device and a moving body that can be miniaturized.

Claims (14)

In an electronic device including a driven body, a base portion, and a support portion that is erected from the base portion and rotationally supports the driven body.
An actuator for driving the driven body is provided.
An electronic device characterized in that the actuator is arranged on the support portion. The support portion consists of a pair of arms.
The driven body is supported so as to be sandwiched between the pair of arms.
At least one of the arms is provided with an opening that opens so as to face the driven body.
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is arranged in the opening. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the actuator has a transmission unit for transmitting a driving force, and the transmission unit is arranged on the support portion so as to make pressure contact with the driven body. .. A position detection unit is further provided on the support portion to detect the rotation position of the driven body, and the distance from the rotation center of the driven body to the transmission unit is the position from the rotation center of the driven body. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the rotation position is equal to or less than a distance to a detection point detected by the detection unit. In an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup unit, a base unit, and a support unit that is erected from the base unit and supports rotation of the image pickup unit.
An actuator for driving the image pickup unit is provided.
The actuator has a transmission unit that transmits a driving force, and the image pickup device is characterized in that the transmission unit is arranged on the support portion so as to make pressure contact with the image pickup unit. The support portion consists of a pair of arms.
The imaging unit is supported so as to be sandwiched between the pair of arms.
One of the arms is provided with an opening that opens so as to face the imaging unit.
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the actuator is arranged in the opening. A holding portion that holds the support portion and rotates about another rotation axis orthogonal to the rotation axis of the image pickup unit is further provided.
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the actuator is housed in a region where the holding portion rotates when viewed along the other rotation axis. The transmission portion is composed of a pair of protrusions.
The actuator is characterized in that the midpoint of a virtual straight line obtained by connecting the pair of protrusions is arranged so as to be located on a virtual plane defined by the rotation axis of the image pickup unit and the other rotation axes. 7. The imaging device according to claim 7. The image pickup unit has a plane to be transmitted with which the transmission unit is in pressure contact.
The actuator has a drive unit and has a drive unit.
The drive unit includes a vibrator included in the transmission unit, a piezoelectric element that excites vibration in the vibrator, and a wiring member that supplies electric power to the piezoelectric element.
The invention according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the transmitted plane, which the transmission portion is in pressure contact with, is relatively moved with respect to the oscillator by the vibration excited by the oscillator. Imaging device. A position detection unit for detecting the rotation position of the image pickup unit is further provided.
The position detection unit has a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and has a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit.
The other arm is provided with another opening,
The imaging unit has a reflecting unit arranged so as to face the other opening.
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the position detection unit is arranged in the other opening so as to face the reflection unit. The tenth aspect of the present invention, wherein the distance from the rotation center of the image pickup unit to the transmission unit is equal to or less than the distance from the rotation center of the image pickup unit to the detection point where the rotation position is detected by the position detection unit. Imaging device. In an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup unit, a base unit, and a support unit that is erected from the base unit and supports rotation of the image pickup unit.
The actuator that drives the image pickup unit and
A holding portion that holds the support portion and rotates about another rotation axis orthogonal to the rotation axis of the image pickup unit is provided.
The support portion has a defect portion formed by cutting out a part of the support portion, and the actuator is arranged in the defect portion and when viewed along the other rotation axis. An imaging device characterized in that the holding portion is housed in a rotating region. A mobile body comprising the image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 12. 13. The moving object according to claim 13, further comprising a flight mechanism, wherein the image pickup device captures images during flight by the flight mechanism.

Images