JP2919126B2 - Operation unit mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation section mechanism suitable for use in, for example, a camera apparatus having a pair of imaging lenses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art By using a video camera, it is possible to capture a still image in addition to a moving image. However, the resolution of the video camera is lower than the resolution of the photo camera,
Often, a photo camera (film camera) is used together with a video camera. Therefore, it is conceivable that a video camera and a photo camera are integrally formed, and a still image is captured by the photo camera unit while a moving image is captured by the video camera unit.

In such a case, it is necessary to dispose a total of two imaging lenses in the video camera section and the imaging lens in the photo camera section in the integrated camera device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an outline of an electric zoom mechanism of a video camera. The operating body 81 is of a seesaw type, and tilts clockwise or counterclockwise about the fulcrum P. Tact switches 82 and 83 are arranged at positions facing the lower surfaces at both ends of the operation body 81, respectively. Reference numeral 84 denotes a motor, and a zoom driver 85 is connected between the motor 84 and the tact switches 82 and 83. A gear 84a is attached to one end of the motor 84.

Reference numeral 86 denotes a zoom body having a substantially cylindrical shape. The zoom body 86 is provided with a gear 86a that meshes with the gear 84a of the motor 84. In the zoom body 86, an imaging lens 87 is fixed on the front side, and a zoom lens 88 that moves in the front-rear direction by rotation of the gear 86a is arranged on the rear side. When the operation body 81 is tilted and the tact switches 82 and 83 are pressed, the gear 84a of the motor 84 is driven to rotate. Thereby, the gear 86a of the zoom body 86 rotates to move the zoom lens 88 in the front-rear direction, so that the zoom operation is performed.

[0006]

As described above, a camera device in which a video camera and a photo camera are integrated,
When the above-described electric zoom function is applied to both imaging lenses, two operation bodies 81 are arranged on the cabinet.

In this case, when it is desired to perform a zoom operation on the zoom lenses of the video camera unit and the photo camera unit at the same time, the zoom operation of the photo camera unit must be performed after the zoom operation of the video camera unit. In this case, the operation is twice required, the smooth operation cannot be performed, and there is a possibility that a photo opportunity is missed.

When the operation body for performing the zoom operation of the video camera section and the photo camera section is arranged at a distance from the cabinet, when the operation is switched from the video camera section to the photo camera section or vice versa, It is necessary to move the finger to another operation body while checking the finger position while keeping an eye on the eyecup of the apparatus, and there is a possibility that a smooth operation cannot be performed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to smoothly operate an electronic device or the like.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided an operation section mechanism for pressing a plurality of operation objects arranged in parallel at predetermined positions in a cabinet from outside of the cabinet.
An operating body having a pressing piece for operation for pressing the operated body, and the operating body is engaged with the pivotable shaft so as to be tiltable and slidably engaged with the cabinet in the rotational axis direction. Operating member locks the locking member at a predetermined position in the cabinet, and has a mechanism for unlocking the locking member. is there.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the operating body 30 having the unlocking mechanism for the cabinet 1 shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 is engaged with the locking member 34 so as to be tiltable by a rotation shaft such as a support shaft 39d. At the same time, it is engaged with the locking member 34 so as to be slidable in the rotation axis direction with respect to the cabinet 1. Therefore, at a predetermined position where the locking member 34 is slid in the rotation axis direction, the plurality of operating members (tact switch 5
By tilting the operating body 30 back and forth with respect to 1a to 51f), the front and rear operated bodies can be pressed by the pressing pieces 31. Regarding the lock mechanism at this time,
For example, a release button 35 having a predetermined shape, which is slidably fitted in an open tubular portion (slide hole) 27 provided in the operation body 30, is engaged with a locking member 34 by a spring 41.
The holding member 39 is always urged toward the operating body, so that the locking member 34 is locked to the cabinet 1. Further, regarding the unlocking mechanism, the release button 35 is pressed so as to overcome the urging force of the spring 41.
Is pressed in the cabinet direction,
Since the stopper piece 36 is disengaged from the locking portions 28a to 28c, the movement in the rotation axis direction is free. Thereby, the locking member 34 can be slid right and left along the rotation axis direction. Therefore, not only is the operation body 30 securely locked to the cabinet 1 and there is no movement due to malfunction, but the difference between the pressing operation and the sliding operation is clear, so that the operation can be performed smoothly without confirming the finger position. . Moreover, as compared with the case where the locking member 34 is slid in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the rotation axis of the operation body 30, more operated bodies arranged side by side in the direction of the rotation axis can be operated. .

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this example, a handy type camera device in which a video camera and a photo camera are integrally formed.

First, the overall configuration of the camera device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the camera device. In the figure, 1 is a flat cabinet,
Its planar shape is a substantially rounded square. Although not shown, the cabinet 1 contains a video camera unit including an image sensor, a signal processing circuit, and the like, and a photo camera unit including a film loading mechanism, a film driving mechanism, and the like.
An imaging lens 2 of the video camera unit and an imaging lens 3 of the photo camera unit are arranged on the front surface of the cabinet 1 (the surface facing the subject) in a horizontal direction on the same surface.

The optical systems of the video camera section and the photo camera section are configured separately. As the imaging lens 2, a 6 × zoom lens having a focal length of 7 mm to 42 mm is used. On the other hand, the focal length of the imaging lens 3 is 35 mm to 105 m.
A 3x zoom lens of m is used. On the imaging lens 2 side (right side) on the front side of the cabinet 1, a substantially cylindrical lens projecting portion 4 that protrudes from the surface on the imaging lens 3 side (left side) is formed. The lens projection 4 is provided with a zoom adjustment mechanism of a video camera unit (not shown), and the cabinet 1 corresponding to the imaging lens 3 is provided with a zoom adjustment mechanism of a photo camera unit (not shown). Note that, in addition to the imaging lenses 2 and 3, a lens 6 of a strobe light emitting unit and a lens 7 for guiding external light to a sensor to determine the amount of strobe light emission are arranged on the front surface of the cabinet 1.

Hand grips 10 and 11 are formed near the left and right side surfaces of the cabinet 1. On the upper surface of the right hand grip 10, a valley 1 for hooking the fingertip on a portion corresponding to the fingertip while holding the handgrip 10 is provided.
2 are formed. A recording button 15 of the video camera unit is arranged behind the valley 12. In addition, the hand grip 10 includes
The microphone 9 of the video camera unit and the film rewind operation button 17 of the photo camera unit are arranged. On the upper surface of the left hand grip 11, a shutter button 19 of the photo camera unit is provided.
Is arranged.

At the rear of the cabinet 1, an eye cup 2
0 is attached. An electronic viewfinder (not shown) made of a small CRT is arranged in the cabinet 1 so as to face the eyecup 20. Since the electronic viewfinder displays an image captured by the video camera unit, the user can view the image through the eyecup 20. Small CR for electronic viewfinder
On the screen of T, an image frame of the photo camera is displayed based on an imaging screen of a certain size. Imaging lens 2 or 3
The image frame of the photo camera is displayed even if the zoom magnification changes (see Japanese Patent Application No. 3-139181).

An operating body 30 is arranged on the upper surface of the cabinet 1 near the left hand grip 11. The operating body 30 is for operating zoom lenses 45 and 49 described later in the front-rear direction. Hereinafter, the configuration related to the operation tool 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. Cabinet 1 has
A recess 1a as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is formed. The operation body 30 is disposed in the recess 1a. The operation body 30 includes
A pressing piece 31 and a locking member 34 are provided. The operation body 30
In the state where the hand grip 11 is gripped by the left hand, the forefinger is arranged at the rear side of the operation body 30 and the middle finger is arranged at the position corresponding to the front side of the operation body 30, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the operating body 30 has a substantially box shape with its lower part opened. Operation body 30
Has a rectangular planar shape as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the pressing piece 31 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the front and rear ends of the operating body 30. Then, as shown in FIG.
Elongated holes 29 are formed in portions facing the pressing pieces 31, respectively. The elongated hole 29 is formed in a range where the operating body 30 slides.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the operating body 30 has a tubular portion 32 formed at the center thereof. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the operation body has a hole 32 a formed by the cylindrical portion 32. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a curved surface portion 32 b having a curved surface is formed above the hole 32 a so that a fingertip can be easily engaged. Operation body 30
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, support members 33 are protruded from the center of the left and right sides, respectively, downward. As shown in FIG. 5, the support 33 has a substantially semicircular support 33a formed at the end thereof.

The locking member 34 includes a release button 35, a holding body 39, and a spring 41, as shown in FIG. The locking member 34 is for locking the operation body 30 to the cabinet 1. The operating body 30 and the locking member 34 are integrated by constantly engaging the cylindrical portion 32 of the operating body 30 with a pressing piece 37 of a release button 35 described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, the release button 35 has a substantially elliptical cross section. The release button 35
A stopper piece 36 is formed upward from the front and rear edges. As shown in FIG. 6, the cabinet 1 is provided with a locking hole 28 serving as a locking portion at a position facing the stopper piece 36. This locking hole 28
They are formed at appropriate portions (three in this example) when the operating body 30 is slid. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the first locking hole 28a is provided on the left side of the concave portion 1a of the cabinet 1, the third locking hole 28c is provided on the right side, and the second locking hole 28b is provided at the center of these. ing. Therefore, the locking hole 2
The range of 8a to 28c is a range in which the operating body 30 is slid.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the release button 35 is formed with a cylindrical pressing piece 37 extending upward from the center. The pressing piece 37 has a curved surface portion 37 a having a curved end. Pressing piece 37
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the vicinity of the tip is inserted into the cylindrical portion 32 of the operating body 30. The curved surface portion 37a of the pressing piece 37 is always arranged at a position corresponding to the curved surface portion 32b of the operating body 30. In the cabinet 1, as shown in FIG. 6, an elongated slide hole 27 is formed at a portion facing the pressing piece 37. The slide hole 27 is formed in a range where the operation body 30 slides. Pressing piece 37
As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. The pressing piece 37 has a connecting shaft 38 extending downward from the lower surface of the curved surface portion 37a.
Is protruding.

The holding body 39 is for holding the release button 35. As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the holding body 39 has a substantially box shape with an open top. The holding body 39 is formed by a bottom plate 39a and a side wall 39b. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a hole 39c is formed in the center of the holding body 39, that is, at a position corresponding to the connecting shaft 38 of the release button 35. This hole 39
The connecting shaft 38 is inserted into c.

The front and rear side walls 39b of the holding body 39 are
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 6, hook portions 40 project upward from the left and right centers, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, the cabinet 1 is formed with a long hole-shaped engagement hole 26 at a portion facing the hook portion 40. The engagement hole 26 is formed in a range where the operating body 30 slides, similarly to the elongated hole 29 and the slide hole 27. The engagement hole 26 and the hook 40 of the holder 39 are
They are engaged as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.

The left and right side walls 39b of the holder 39 are provided with
As shown in FIG. 6, a support shaft 39d is provided to protrude outward. The support shaft 39d and the support 33a of the holder 30
Are fitted. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the operating body 30 tilts clockwise and counterclockwise about the support shaft 39d. That is, the operation body 30 is arranged so as to perform a seesaw.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the spring 41 is elastically mounted in the hollow portion 37b while being inserted through the connecting shaft 38. In other words, the spring 41 is
7 is provided with a constant urging force between the lower surface of the curved surface portion 37a and the upper surface of the bottom plate 39a of the holder 39. Therefore, since the holding body 39 is urged downward, the hook portion 40 is always engaged with the engaging hole 26 of the cabinet 1 as shown in FIG. Since the release button 35 is urged upward, the stopper piece 36
Are locked in the lock holes 28a to 28c, the upper surface of the release button 35 and the lower surface of the cabinet 1 are in contact with each other. Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the operating body 30 is provided with a stopper piece 36 of the release button 35.
By disengaging the locking between the locking holes 28 a to 28 c of the cabinet 1, the cabinet 1 is slidable with respect to the cabinet 1. Therefore, the operating body 30 is
As shown in the figure, the holding body 39, the release button 35, and the operating body 3
By connecting 0 to the cabinet 1, it is arranged to be tiltable and slidable with respect to the cabinet 1.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a printed circuit board 50 fixed to a base (not shown) is arranged in the cabinet 1 close to the cabinet 1. As shown by imaginary lines in FIGS. 3 and 6, the printed circuit board 50 has tact switches 51a to 51d, which are operated bodies, on its upper surface.
Sixty five 51f are arranged. Tact switches 51a-5
1f indicates that the operating body 30 has the locking holes 28a to 28
At each position locked to 28b, it is arranged at a position facing the pressing piece 31.

Further, the outline of the electric zoom mechanism of the camera device will be described with reference to FIG. Tact switch 5
Reference numerals 1a and 51b are used to operate the zoom lens 45 of the video camera unit. Tact switches 51a, 51
A zoom driver 43 is connected between b and the motor 42. The gear 42a of the motor 42 and the gear 44a of the zoom body 44 mesh with each other. Inside the zoom body 44, the imaging lens 2 is fixed on the front side, and the zoom lens 4 that moves in the front-rear direction by rotating the gear 44a on the rear side.
5 are arranged.

The tact switches 51c and 51d are for operating the zoom lens 49 of the photo camera unit. A zoom driver 47 is connected between the tact switches 51c and 51d and the motor 46. Motor 46
Gear 46a of the zoom body 48 meshes with the gear 46a. In the zoom body 48, the imaging lens 3 is fixed on the front side, and a zoom lens 49 that moves in the front-rear direction by rotation of the gear 48a is disposed on the rear side.

The tact switches 51e and 51f are used to operate both the zoom lenses 45 and 49 of the video camera and the photo camera. Therefore, the tact switches 51e and 51f are connected to the motors 42 and 46 of the video camera unit and the photo camera unit, respectively. In addition,
Of the tact switches 51a to 51f, as shown by the imaginary lines in FIG. 6, the tact switches 51a, 51c, which operate the zoom lenses 45, 49 of the video camera unit and the photo camera unit in the TELE direction (forward) on the front side. 51e are arranged. On the other hand, on the rear side, zoom lenses 45 and 49 are provided.
Switch 5 for operating the switch in the WIDE direction (rearward direction)
1b, 51d, and 51f are arranged. Tact switches 51a, 51c and 51e for operating the zoom lenses 45 and 49 in the TELE direction are arranged on the front side, and tact switches 51b, 51d and 51f for operating the zoom lenses 45 and 49 in the WIDE direction are arranged on the rear side. , Operation body 3
The operation of 0 has directionality.

In this embodiment, at the time of imaging, the handgrips 10 and 11 are held with both hands to support the camera device in a horizontal state. First, in this state, for example, in order to zoom only the zoom lens 45 of the video camera unit in the TELE direction, the operating body 30 located in the second locking hole 28b, which is the local point, is moved to the first locking hole 28a. Need to be moved to Then, the user presses the curved surface portion 37 a of the release button 35 downward with the fingertip against the elastic force of the spring 41. At the time of this pressing, as shown in FIG. 8, the locking between the stopper piece 36 of the release button 35 and the second locking hole 28b is released. In this released state, the operating body 30 is slid leftward. At this time, the hook portion 40 of the holding body 39
Is slid while engaged with the engagement hole 26. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the operating body 30 is moved to a position where the stopper piece 36 and the first locking piece 28a face each other to lock the stopper piece 36 and the first locking hole 28a. At this time, the release button 35 is moved upward by the urging force of the spring 41. That is, the operating tool 30 is brought into a state as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, when the operating body 30 is tilted counterclockwise, the tactile switch 51a is turned on.
Is operated. The signal from the tact switch 51a is supplied to the control system of the motor 42 as shown in FIG. As a result, the gear 42a of the motor 42 is driven to rotate, and the gear 44a of the zoom body 44 is driven. With this drive, the zoom lens 45 linearly moves forward along its axis. In this case, the operating body 30 is tilted until an arbitrary zoom magnification is reached.

The zoom operation of the zoom lens 45 in the WIDE direction is performed by tilting the operating body 30 clockwise. Also, when performing a zoom operation on the zoom lens 49 of the photo camera unit, a slide operation (in this case, a slide in the right direction) and a tilt operation of the operation body 30 are performed as described above. And
An image is taken by pressing the recording button 15.

When zoom operation is performed on both the zoom lenses 45 and 49 of the video camera unit and the photo camera unit,
After the operation body 30 is locked in the second locking hole 28b, the operation body 30 is tilted. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the tact switches 51e and 51f are operated. The signals from the tact switches 51e and 51f are shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is supplied to the control system of the motors 42 and 46 of the video camera section and the photo camera section. Then, the gears 42a and 46a of the motors 42 and 46 are driven together. With this drive, the pair of zoom lenses 45 and 49 both move linearly in the front-rear direction along their axis. Then, an image is taken by pressing the recording button 15 and the shutter button 19. In this case, the small CRT of the electronic viewfinder
The image pickup screen is fixedly displayed on the screen and the image frame of the photo camera is displayed.

According to the present embodiment, the operating body 30 which is arranged to be slidable and tiltable is provided with the pressing piece 31, and the operating body 3
Since the tact switches 51a to 51f are respectively disposed at positions opposing the pressing pieces 31 at the respective positions where 0 is locked to the first to third locking pieces 28a to 28c, the video camera is operated by one operating body 30. In addition to being able to independently operate the zoom lenses 45 and 49 of the unit and the photo camera unit, both the zoom lenses 45 and 49 can be operated together. Therefore, since the zoom of the video camera unit is confirmed and the photo camera unit side is also adjusted in the same direction by following the zoom operation, the zoom operation on the photo camera side can be omitted.

Further, according to the present embodiment, by sliding and tilting one operating body 30, the zoom lenses 45 and 49 of the video camera unit and the photo camera unit can be individually operated, and also the zoom lens 45 can be operated. , And 49 can be operated together, so that the zoom operation of the operation body 30 can be performed more smoothly than when the operation body for performing the zoom operation is separated, and the pair of zoom lenses 45 and
Even when the 49 is not operated at the same time, each zoom operation can be switched smoothly without checking the finger position. In particular, in the present example, the tact switches 51a to 51f are provided so that the operation of the operation body 30 has a direction.
, It is possible to reduce erroneous operations.

Further, according to this embodiment, one operation button 30
Can also be used as a video camera section, a photo camera section, and an operating body for operating both the video camera section and the photo camera section. The number of operating bodies arranged in the cabinet 1 can be reduced, and the number of parts can be reduced, so that the manufacturing cost is reduced. In addition, the appearance can be improved by eliminating the complexity of the operation buttons. In this example, since the image frame of the photo camera is displayed on the screen of the small CRT of the electronic viewfinder based on the imaging screen of a fixed size, the field of view of the photo camera can be accurately displayed even if the zoom magnification changes. Can be recognized. Therefore, it is possible to accurately capture a still image at an arbitrary zoom magnification while watching the screen of the small CRT.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a camera device. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other electronic devices and the like.

[0039]

According to the present invention, the operating body having the lock release mechanism for the cabinet is engaged with the cabinet so as to be tiltable by the rotation shaft, and is slidably engaged with the cabinet in the direction of the rotation shaft. And a locking member. With this configuration, the operating body is tilted back and forth with respect to the operated body provided in advance in a state where the locking member is locked to the cabinet at a predetermined position where the locking member is slid in the rotation axis direction. Accordingly, the front and rear operated objects can be pressed by the pressing pieces. Therefore,
Not only is the operation body securely locked to the cabinet and there is no movement due to malfunction, but the difference between the pressing operation and the sliding operation becomes clear, so that the operation can be performed smoothly without confirming the finger position. Moreover, as compared with the case where the locking member is slid in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis direction of the operation body, more operated bodies arranged in parallel in the rotation axis direction can be operated. The present invention is very suitable when applied to an operation switch of an electric zoom mechanism such as a camera device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the operation body of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a use state of a release button according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a sliding state of the operation body according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a tilted state of the operating body of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an outline of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cabinet 26 Engagement hole 27 Slide hole 28a-27c Locking hole 30 Operating body 31 Pressing piece 33a Supporting part 34 Locking member 35 Release button 36 Stopper piece 38 Connecting shaft 39 Holder 39d Supporting shaft 40 Hook 41 Spring 42, 46 Motors 43, 47 Zoom drivers 44, 48 Zoom bodies 45, 49 Zoom lenses 50 Printed circuit boards 51a to 51f Tact switches

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An operating section mechanism for operating a plurality of operated objects, which are arranged in parallel at predetermined positions in a cabinet in advance, from the outside of the cabinet, comprising: an operating pressing piece for pressing the operated objects. An operating body having: a locking member engaged with the operating body in such a manner that the operating body is tiltable by a rotation axis, and slidably engaged with the cabinet in a rotation axis direction. The operation unit mechanism further comprising a mechanism for locking the locking member at a predetermined position in the cabinet and releasing the locking of the locking member.