JP4852556B2 - Lens barrel display device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device that displays lens information of a large lens barrel.

  Display of lens information such as aperture value, focal length, zoom distance, etc. in a conventional lens barrel is a numerical value directly stamped on the surface circumference of the lens barrel's operating ring or fixed ring, and an index that moves relatively by operating rotation. Many have adopted a method of reading matching values. For this reason, depending on the type of lens, various lens information cannot be concentrated nearby due to the structure of the lens barrel, and each display position is generally far away.

  Systemized interchangeable lenses have been provided with lenses that have a lens barrel that is longer in the optical axis direction along with the expansion to the telephoto side, and the lens diameter increases with the brightness of the lens. With this lens information display method, it has become increasingly difficult for photographers to read. In particular, it is difficult to visually recognize information in a shooting posture in which a lens is fixed to a tripod or the like.

In view of the problem of conventional lens information display, as shown in Patent Document 1, an electronic display unit is provided on the outer periphery of the interchangeable lens barrel as shown in Patent Document 1, and the display unit is displayed by lens information generating means obtained from a lens operation ring It proposes a intensive display means to display on the screen.
JP 2007-72407 A

For a large lens that cannot be held unless it is fixed by a fixing means such as a tripod at the time of shooting, it is difficult to view in a shooting posture with a camera attached to the lens with the conventional lens information display type, and the posture is changed for information confirmation. I had to.

The lens operation ring can be changed while keeping the shooting posture with a large lens fixed.
This variable information can be viewed without changing the shooting posture, and provides lens information display means that does not hinder visibility even in vertical position shooting or horizontal position shooting by a revolving operation of the camera.

  In a lens barrel of an internal focus type large zoom lens in which a plurality of lens groups having a large aperture are arranged in the optical axis direction, the outer cylinder is a fixed cylinder, and a camera-coupled mount is provided at the rear of the fixed cylinder. A liquid crystal display panel for displaying lens information on an approximately vertical annular plane generated by a step between a fixed barrel outer diameter and a rear barrel outer diameter of a lens barrel provided continuously with a rear barrel rotatable around an axis; The solution was achieved by a method in which the liquid crystal display panel was in a position facing the photographer in the shooting posture of the camera mounted on the rear barrel.

  In addition, the zooming operation ring and the focusing operation ring have an endless rotation structure, and are arranged in the rear barrel close to the mounted camera, thereby improving the operability regardless of the camera posture and the visibility of the information.

  Even with a large lens barrel mounted on a tripod and mounted on a tripod, this lens information can be used while maintaining the shooting position of looking at the viewfinder of the camera, with easy zooming and focusing operations, and without significantly changing the body position or line of sight. The display can be visually recognized.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a large lens barrel of the present invention with a camera mounted thereon, FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a rear portion of a fixed portion where a liquid crystal display panel is installed, and FIG. 3 is a liquid crystal display when the camera is mounted. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of a camera finder. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a rear lens barrel in which a zooming operation ring and a focusing operation ring are arranged, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view thereof. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an operation circuit for displaying lens information. In the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The large lens barrel shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of lens frames arranged along the optical axis L and stacked with a plurality of lens frames that are respectively held. It is connected to the rear part and is divided into two parts, a rear barrel 2 having a small outer diameter. As shown in the structural model diagram of the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6, a fixed lens unit L1 is placed at the head of the fixed barrel 1, and then the zooming moving lens unit L2 and the focusing moving lens unit L3 are moved together with a movable mechanism. And a fixed lens group L4, which is a part of the rear fixed lens, is fixed, and the rear lens barrel 2 is provided with the remaining fixed lens groups L5 and L6 of the rear fixed lens group. It is configured to be secured and held at regular intervals.

  The movement mechanism between the zooming moving lens unit L2 and the focusing moving lens unit L3 will be briefly described. In order to move the zooming moving lens unit L2 and the focusing moving lens unit L3 along the optical axis L, they are respectively moved to the optical axis L. A zooming lead screw 32 and a focusing lead screw 42 are installed in parallel, and the end of the zooming lead screw 32 has a pulley fixed to the shaft of the zooming rotary encoder 31 and the focusing lead screw 42. Is connected to the shaft of a focusing rotary encoder 41 to which a pulley is fixed.

A zooming motor 30 and a focusing motor 40 are installed in close proximity for rotational driving of the zooming lead screw 32 and the focusing lead screw 42, and the rotational power of the zooming lead screw 32 is the zooming motor. The rotation of the other focusing lead screw 42 is transmitted through a belt 34 which is fixed between the pulley fixed to the shaft 30 and the pulley of the zooming rotary encoder 31, and the pulley fixed to the shaft of the focusing motor 40 The information is transmitted through a belt 44 that extends between the focusing rotary encoder 41 and the pulley.

The zooming lead screw 32 is screwed with a zooming nut 33 for converting from rotation to linear motion, and is integrated with the holding frame 35 of the zooming moving lens unit L2. Therefore, the rotational driving force of the zooming motor 30 is decelerated and transmitted to the zooming lead screw 32, and the zooming moving lens group L2 can be moved in parallel along the optical axis L by this rotation. The other focusing screw 42 is screwed with a focusing nut 43 for converting from rotation to linear motion, and is integrated with the holding frame 45 of the focusing moving lens unit L3. Therefore, the rotational driving force of the focusing motor 40 is decelerated and transmitted to the focusing lead screw 42, and the focusing moving lens group L3 can be moved in parallel along the optical axis L by this rotation.

As described above, the movement of the zooming moving lens unit L2 and the focusing moving lens unit L3 is based on the rotational driving force of the zooming motor 30 and the focusing motor 40 that are actuated by a signal command, and the rotational speed and linear movement of each motor. Since the amount is a function, the amount of movement of the zooming moving lens unit L2 can be accurately measured by the pulse signal of the zooming rotary encoder 31, and the other focusing moving lens unit L3 also has a pulse of the focusing rotary encoder 41. Precise measurement is possible with signals.

Since a movement command between the zooming moving lens group L2 and the focusing moving lens group L3 is given by the photographer, the zoom command is a rotation operation of the zooming operation ring 23 as a means for sending the movement command, and the focus command is As shown in FIG. 1, these are obtained by rotating the focusing operation ring 24, and are installed in the rear barrel 2 connected to the rear portion of the fixed barrel 1, and thus have an endless structure that can freely rotate left and right and has no stop position. ing. The zooming operation ring 23 and the focusing operation ring 24 are juxtaposed in a position close to the camera 20 attached to the end of the rear barrel 2, and the tripod is fixed to the tripod seat 1 a at the lower part of the fixed barrel 1. In this shooting posture, the zooming operation and the focusing operation in a state where the camera 20 is viewed through the viewfinder are easy.

As shown in the model diagram of FIG. 6, the zooming operation ring 23 and the focusing operation ring 24 have a slit disk 23a fixed on the inner periphery of the operation part of the zooming operation ring 23. Since the zooming photointerrupter 25 is attached to the fixed portion (not shown) of the rear barrel 2 so as to sandwich the 23a, the rotation of the zooming operation ring 23 can be accurately measured by a pulse signal. Yes. Similarly, a slit disk 24a is fixed to the inner peripheral portion of the focusing operation ring 24, and the focusing photo interrupter 26 is inserted into the slit disk 24a to fix the rear barrel 2 (not shown). Therefore, the rotation of the focusing operation ring 24 can be accurately measured by a pulse signal.

The operations of the zooming operation and the focusing operation will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 6 of the circuit block diagram. When the photographer intends to change the photographing magnification when the circuit is energized, the zooming operation ring 23 is rotated. The direction and amount of movement are read by the zooming photo interrupter 25 by the movement of the slit disk 23a and sent to the CPU 50 as a pulse signal. The operation signal and the rotation amount are sent to the driver 51 as an output signal, converted into a motor drive signal, and the zooming motor 30 is rotated. In conjunction with this rotation, the zooming lead screw 32 is rotated to move the zooming nut 33 and the zooming lens L2 in a straight line. However, the zooming nut 33 and the zooming lens L2 are moved in the direction approaching the fixed lens L1 on the telephoto side and away in the wide angle side. A measurement signal of the amount of movement of the zooming lens L2 is returned to the CPU 50 by the zooming rotary encoder 31 that rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the zooming lead screw 32, and the amount of movement according to the amount of rotation of the zooming operation ring 23 by the photographer. To be controlled.

Next, when the photographer wants to adjust the focus, when the focusing operation ring 24 is rotated, the direction and amount of movement are read by the focusing photo interrupter 26 by the movement of the slit disk 24a and sent to the CPU 50 as a pulse signal. From this pulse signal, an output signal for which the operation direction and the rotation amount are determined is sent to the driver 52, converted into a motor drive signal, and the focusing motor 40 is rotated. In conjunction with this rotation, the focusing lead screw 42 is rotated to move the focusing nut 43 and the focusing moving lens L3 in a straight line. If the direction is infinite, the focusing nut 43 and the focusing moving lens L3 are moved in a direction approaching the fixed lens L4. . A measurement signal of the amount of movement of the focusing moving lens L3 is returned to the CPU 50 by the focusing rotary encoder 41 that rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the focusing lead screw 42, and movement according to the amount of rotation of the focusing operation ring 24 by the photographer. Controlled by quantity.

These moving lens groups L2 and L3 have an initial position (origin), and these two movement amounts are measured and calculated by the CPU 50 based on the number of pulses from the origin of the zooming rotary encoder 31 and the focusing rotary encoder 41. Has been recorded. Since the moving distance of each moving lens group is known in this way, it is automatically set to the initial position (for example, the zoom wide-angle position of the lens and the infinite focal position of the lens) by a shooting end signal (such as a camera or lens power switch OFF signal). The habit of returning is given. On the other hand, the circuit is activated at the start of photographing, and the movement command of the moving lens obtained by the operation of the zooming operation ring 23 and the focusing operation ring 24 is measured by the CPU 50 as the movement amount from the initial position (origin). It is sent to the liquid crystal display unit 54 as a display signal through the driver 53, and zoom focal length information can be displayed on 54a and focus distance information can be displayed on 54b.

Next, the configuration of the liquid crystal display 54 for displaying lens information will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rear end portion of the fixed cylinder 1 is configured to cover the paragraph portion 1b with a cover ring 58. FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing an internal state before the cover ring 58 is put on the paragraph 1b. The cover ring 58 is provided with a window 58b on an annular plane 58a approximately perpendicular to the optical axis L, and the liquid crystal display panel 54 is fixed to the inside of the window 58b so that it can appear. The liquid crystal display panel 54 is attached to a substrate 54a and connected to a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 54b.

Inside the vicinity of the paragraph 1b of the fixed cylinder 1 is a fixed base 56, a display circuit board 57 is fixed, and a connector 57b attached to the display circuit board is coupled to the FPC 54b of the liquid crystal display board 54. A liquid crystal display circuit can be connected, and lens information can be displayed. For this reason, after connecting the FPC 54b to the connector 57b, the cover ring 58a is put on the paragraph portion 1b of the fixed cylinder 1 and fixed with screws. When the cover ring 58a is fixed to the fixed cylinder 1, the liquid crystal display panel 54 appearing in the window 58b is vertically above the tripod seat 1a, and the camera 20 is mounted on the coupling mount 12 of the rear barrel 2. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal display panel 54 comes to the front facing position in the horizontal position shooting of the camera.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the rear barrel 2 on which the zooming operation ring 23 and the focusing operation ring 24 are installed is connected to the rear part of the fixed cylinder 1, and the vertical position shooting and the horizontal position shooting of the camera 20 to be mounted. A revolving mechanism that can be freely adjusted is provided. This mechanism will be described below. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rear portion of the large lens barrel in which a plurality of lens groups are arranged along the optical axis L. The shaded portion is the portion of the rear barrel 2, and the camera is located at the rear end. The coupling mount 12 is fixed and the camera 20 can be mounted. FIG. 4 shows a structure in which the rear lens barrel 2 is connected to the fixed cylinder 1, and will be described together with FIG. 5 which is an exploded view of this part. There is an end tube 6, and the rotating tube 7 can be inserted into the rotation receiving portion 6 a disposed inside the rear end tube 6, and is in a loosely fitted state that can rotate around the optical axis L.

The rotating cylinder 7 is inserted between the rotation receiving part 6a and the step part 6c inside the rear end cylinder 6 of the fixed cylinder 1, and the annular surface 6b of the rear end cylinder 6 is covered by the pressing ring 8 and is held by the annular surface 6b. If the screw 8 is fixed with screws through a plurality of holes 8d around the vertical surface 8a of the optical axis L of the ring 8, the rotary cylinder 7 is sealed inside the rear end cylinder 6 of the fixed cylinder 1 and can be rotated without play. Can be constructed.

  The rotating cylinder 7 installed inside the rear end cylinder 6 of the fixed cylinder 1 has a surface 7a perpendicular to the optical axis L and a step surface 7b, and 7a is pressed against the back surface of the pressing ring 8, and 7b Is slightly protruded from the inner opening of the holding ring 8 toward the rear. The vertical surface 7a of the rotary cylinder 7 has one deep hole 7c. When the coil spring 9 and the steel ball 10 are embedded in the hole 7c, the steel ball 10 presses the back surface of the holding ring 8 by the coil spring 9. It will be. Since the pressure contact surface of the holding ring 8 has holes 8b and 8c at intervals of 90 °, when the rotating cylinder 7 is rotated, the steel ball 10 jumps into the holes at each 90 ° interval and clicks. This is a stop effect.

Next, the rear barrel 2 is assembled so as to cover the rear end barrel 6 of the fixed barrel 1. The screw hole 7d on the stepped surface 7b on the inner side of the rotary barrel 7 is screwed from the inner hole 2a on the inner side of the rear barrel. The rear barrel 2 can be coupled to the rotary barrel 7. This is a form in which the rear barrel 2 is connected to the rear portion of the fixed barrel 1, and is rotatable with respect to the fixed barrel 1 through the rotary barrel 7.

The diaphragm mechanism and the circuit unit 11 are inserted and fixed from the rear of the rear barrel 2, and the rear frame 13 to which the mount 12 is fixed is attached to the mounting hole 13 a and the rear end vertical surface 2 b of the rear barrel 2 by screws (not shown). If it is fixed to the rear barrel 2 through the screw hole 2c, the assembly that is connected to the fixed barrel of the rear barrel 2 is completed. If the back cover 15 shown in FIG. 5 is further attached from the rear and the rear frame 13 is covered, the exterior is completed.

When a tripod is attached to the tripod seat 1 a of the fixed barrel 1 and the camera 20 is mounted on the mount 12 at the rear end of the rear barrel 2, the steel ball 10 of the rotating barrel 7 is placed in the hole 8 c of the holding ring 8. The click stop position to jump in is the horizontal position photographing posture of the camera shown in FIG. 1, and when the rear lens barrel 2 is rotated 90 ° to the left together with the camera, the steel ball 10 of the rotating cylinder 7 moves and the hole of the holding ring 8 is moved. The click stop position jumping into 8b becomes the vertical position photographing posture of the camera. As described above, the rear barrel 2 is structured to be rotatable with respect to the fixed barrel 1, so that the camera can be rotated at an arbitrary angle. However, since the click stop position can be recognized sensuously, It is possible to quickly and easily set shooting and lateral position shooting.

Further, a lock knob 14 is attached to the rear barrel 2, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the rear barrel 2 is connected to the fixed barrel 1, the outer peripheral band 8 e of the pressing ring 8 is directly below the lock knob 14. Come to come. The lock knob 14 has a screw shape. When the lock knob 14 is turned clockwise, the tip portion is lowered, and the outer peripheral band 8e of the holding ring 8 can be pressed down to lock the rotation of the rear barrel 2. By turning it, it can be unlocked. For this reason, the camera 20 can be photographed not only at the click stop position but also at an arbitrary rotation angle position.

Since the rear barrel 2 can be changed to an arbitrary angle in this way, it is possible to shoot with an arbitrary camera posture, but the zooming operation ring 23 and the focusing operation ring 24 are close to the camera 20 in any lens operation of the camera posture. Since the rotation is endless, the rotation operation can be performed from an arbitrary position, and the operability is very high.

As described above, in zooming and focusing adjustment, the shooting posture can be arbitrarily obtained and the operation ring is endless, so that even a large lens can realize high operability. Located in a face-to-face position, visibility is extremely high.

It is a rear external appearance perspective view of the large lens barrel of the present invention. It is an exploded view which shows the display mechanism of a lens-barrel rear part. It is a positional relationship figure of the liquid crystal display part at the time of camera mounting. It is a disassembled perspective view of the rear barrel which shows a revolving mechanism. It is a cross-sectional view of a rear barrel part. It is a block diagram of a zooming and focusing display circuit.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fixed cylinder 2 Rear lens barrel 6 Rear end cylinder 7 Rotating cylinder 8 Holding ring 9 Coil spring
10 Steel Ball 11 Drawing Mechanism and Circuit Unit 12 Mount 13 Rear Frame 14 Lock Knob 15 Back Cover
20 Camera 23 Zooming operation ring 24 Focusing operation ring 25 Zooming photointerrupter 26 Focusing photointerrupter 30 Zooming motor 31 Zooming rotary encoder 32 Zooming lead screw 33 Zooming nut 34 Belt 35 Holding frame 40 Focusing motor 41 Focusing rotary encoder 42 Focusing lead screw 43 Focusing nut 44 Belt 45 Holding frame 50 CPU
51 Driver 52 Driver 53 Driver 54 Liquid Crystal Display Board 56 Fixed Substrate 57 Display Circuit Board 58 Covering

Claims (4)

In a lens barrel having a plurality of lens groups, a fixed barrel, a rear barrel having an outer diameter smaller than that of the fixed barrel, and an information display member provided in the fixed barrel,
The fixed cylinder is an outer cylinder of the lens barrel;
The lens group is held on the front lens group fixed to the front end, a zooming lens group arranged to be movable in the middle, a focusing lens group arranged to be movable in the middle, and the fixed cylinder. A first rear lens group and a second rear lens group held by the rear barrel;
The rear barrel is fixed with a mount for coupling with the camera,
The rear barrel is connected to the fixed barrel so as to be rotatable about the optical axis,
The information display member is provided on an annular plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis caused by a difference in outer diameter between the fixed barrel and the rear barrel,
The lens barrel, wherein the information display member displays lens information of the lens barrel. 2. The lens barrel according to claim 1, wherein the information display member is on the same plane as the optical axis of the lens barrel and a tripod mount, and is provided at a position facing the photographer in a photographing posture. The lens barrel according to claim 1, wherein the information display member is a liquid crystal display panel. 4. The lens barrel according to claim 1, wherein the lens information is a focal length and / or a shooting distance of the lens barrel.

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