JP5328393B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a structure for changing the returning force to a neutral position, according to the operating volume of an operation member, using less space. <P>SOLUTION: When the operation member is operated toward a first direction from a first neutral position, and when the operation member is operated toward a second direction from a second neutral position, a first biasing member and a second biasing member are arranged at a retaining member, respectively, so that a displacement direction of the first biasing member and a displacement direction of the second biasing member are to be in the same direction, and at the same time, so that a part of a displacement orbit of the first biasing member, when the operation member is operated in the first direction, is overlapped with a part of a displacement orbit of the second biasing member, when the operation member is operated in the second direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device provided with an operation member whose required operating force changes depending on the operation amount.

  In recent years, technologies relating to design and manufacturing techniques of digital cameras have been developed, and miniaturization and high performance have been advanced. One factor in achieving higher performance is higher zoom magnification. By increasing the zoom ratio, it has become possible to shoot at various angles of view. The amount of movement from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end is increasing with the higher zoom magnification. It is possible to shorten the movement time from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end by increasing the zoom speed, but as a harmful effect of increasing the zoom speed, the user stops the zoom operation at the desired angle of view. It becomes difficult to do.

  As a known technique for solving this problem, there is a digital camera having a plurality of zoom speeds. By having a plurality of zoom speeds, the photographer first determines a rough angle of view on the high-speed zoom side when determining a desired angle of view. Thereafter, fine adjustment of the angle of view is performed on the low speed zoom side. In this way, it is possible to adjust to the desired angle of view more quickly than a digital camera having a constant zoom speed.

  Some digital cameras having a plurality of zoom speeds change the zoom speed by changing the force required to rotate the zoom lever in a substantially linear manner. Digital cameras with multiple zoom speeds are of a type that changes the zoom speed by changing the amount of force necessary to rotate the zoom lever at least one point during the rotation of the zoom lever. There is also. Since the former can take the same configuration as a digital camera with a constant zoom speed whose structure is known, it is possible to make the structure simple, but it is difficult for the photographer to grasp the switching point of the zoom speed, The zoom speed may change unintentionally during zooming. The latter is provided with a biasing member that changes the amount of force necessary to rotate the zoom lever in accordance with the point at which the zoom speed changes. Although the structure is more complicated than the former, the photographer can grasp the zoom speed switching point from the amount of power when the zoom lever is rotated, and can finely adjust the zoom speed.

Patent Document 1 has been proposed as a mechanism of a digital camera having a plurality of zoom speeds accompanied by changes in power. In this document, a lever-type electric switch having a urging member that is arranged at the center of rotation of the zoom lever and that returns to the center when no load is placed on the rear surface of the zoom lever is arranged at the center of rotation of the zoom lever. ing. Similarly, the second torsion coil spring is arranged on the back of the release button so that the zoom speed changes after the zoom lever is rotated by a certain angle. It is necessary to rotate with a force against the urging member.
JP 2006-304002 A

  However, in the prior art disclosed in the patent document, a continuous load is applied so that the zoom lever is returned to the neutral position by a torsion coil spring disposed inside the switch. Further, when the zoom lever exceeds a predetermined amount of movement, the load on the neutral position is discontinuously increased by a leaf spring provided outside the switch. For this reason, a large space has to be secured inside the zoom lever, which affects the miniaturization of the device.

  An object of this invention is to implement | achieve the structure in which the force which returns to a neutral position changes according to the operation amount of an operation member in a small space.

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device according to the present invention can be operated from a neutral position to a first end position in a first direction, and from the neutral position to a second direction opposite to the first direction. An operation member operable to the second end position in the direction and two arm portions, and the operation member is operated from the neutral position to the first end position in the first direction Alternatively, when the operation member is operated from the neutral position to the second end position in the second direction, a first torsion coil spring that biases the operation member in the neutral position direction; Two arm portions are provided, and the operation member is operated from a first intermediate position set between the neutral position and the first end position to the first end position in the first direction. Or when the operating member is between the neutral position and the second end position. When it is operated from the second intermediate position to be set to said second end position in the second direction, and a second torsion coil spring for biasing the neutral position direction with respect to the operating member, is operated in the first direction than the operating member, wherein the first torsion coil spring and the holding member for holding the second torsion coil spring, provided with an intermediate position wherein the operating member is the first , said first torsion and displacement direction of the one arm of the coil spring and the displacement direction of the one arm of the second torsion coil spring is in the same direction, the operating member and the second intermediate time when operated in the second direction than the position has a displacement direction of the other arm of said first other displacement direction of the arm portion of the torsion coil spring second torsion coil springs are the same direction Do Ri, who said operating member of said first A part of the displacement trajectory of the one arm portion of the first torsion coil spring when operated in the direction is a part of the second torsion coil spring when the operation member is operated in the second direction. so as to overlap with part of the displacement trajectory of the other arm, the holding member is characterized by holding the first torsion coil spring and the second torsion coil spring.

  A configuration in which the force for returning to the neutral position changes according to the operation amount of the operation member can be realized in a small space.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As an example that best represents the characteristics of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a periphery of a zoom lever mechanism in which a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is cut along a cross-section A shown in FIG. The zoom lever 3 that can be operated by a photographer is rotatably attached to the base 2 from the front surface side of the base 2, and the plate 4 is attached to the base 2 so as to be rotatable from the back surface side of the base 2. The zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are integrated by screwing. That is, the base 2 is sandwiched between the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4. Here, the one in which the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are integrated functions as an operation member of the present invention, and the base 2 functions as a holding member.

  The plate 4 is formed with a cut and bent portion 4a (first contact portion) and a cut and bent portion 4b (second contact portion), and a brush 5 is attached thereto. The base 2 is formed with a standing wall 2a and a standing wall 2b. The first torsion coil spring 6 that is the first urging member is attached to the base 2 in a state where the coil portion of the spring is charged in advance in the winding and closing direction.

  When the zoom lever 3 is in the neutral position, the urging force of the first torsion coil spring 6 acts so that the arm portion of the first torsion coil spring 6 presses the standing wall portion 2a. The second torsion coil spring 7 as the second urging member is attached to the base 2 in a state in which the coil portion of the spring is charged in advance in the winding and closing direction. When the zoom lever 3 is in the neutral position, the urging force of the second torsion coil spring 7 acts so that the arms of the second torsion coil spring 7 push the standing wall 2b.

  In this embodiment, the torsion coil spring is used as the biasing member, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when rubber or the like is used as the urging member, the strength of the rubber changes depending on the ambient temperature environment, so that the amount of force required to rotate the zoom lever may change.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the digital camera 1 viewed from the front side. There is a zoom lens barrel 8 capable of adjusting a shooting angle of view at a plurality of moving speeds on the front surface portion, and a zoom lever 3 attached to the upper surface portion so as to be rotatable with respect to the base 2.

  3 is a cross-sectional view taken along a cross-section B passing through the rotation center of the zoom lever of the digital camera 1 in FIG. The tip portion 5 a of the brush 5 is in contact with a contact portion provided on the substrate 9. As the zoom lever 3 rotates, the brush 5 also rotates, and the tip portion 5a of the brush comes into contact with and non-contact with various contact portions on the substrate 9. A means for controlling a change in the shooting angle of view (not shown) reads the contact state between the base 6 and the brush 5 to adjust the change in the angle of view of the zoom lens barrel 8.

  4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a cross-section A shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows that the photographer rotates the zoom lever 3 in the first direction in order to make the angle of view more telephoto, and only returns the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 from the first torsion coil spring 6 toward the neutral position. The state which is receiving the urging force to be shown. As the zoom lever 3 is rotated, the plate 4 is also rotated, and the two arms of the first torsion coil spring 6 are widened by the standing wall 2a and the bent portion 4a of the base 2. At this time, since the first torsion coil spring 6 is charged more than when the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are in the neutral position, the first torsion coil spring 6 tries to return the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 toward the neutral position. On the other hand, the two arms of the second torsion coil spring 7 rest on the standing wall 2b of the base 2 in the same manner as when the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are in the neutral position. Accordingly, the biasing force of the second torsion coil spring 7 is not applied to the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4.

  5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a cross-section A shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state where the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are further rotated to the telephoto side than the state of FIG. 4 and the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are at the telephoto end position which is the first end position. In this state, the two arm portions of the first torsion coil spring 6 are spread by the standing wall portion 2a and the cut and bent portion 4a of the base 2, and the two arm portions of the second torsion coil spring 7 are the base 2 It is widened by the standing wall 2b and the cut and bent portion 4b. At this time, the first torsion coil spring 6 is further charged than in the state of FIG. 4, and the second torsion coil spring 7 is also charged more than when the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are in the neutral position. Become. In other words, in addition to the first torsion coil spring 6, the second torsion coil spring 7 also receives a biasing force for returning the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 toward the neutral position. Therefore, in this state, the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are returned to the neutral position by the biasing force of the first torsion coil spring 6 and the biasing force of the second torsion coil spring 7. The position where the arm portion of the second torsion coil spring 7 comes into contact with the cut and bent portion 4b and starts to charge the second torsion coil spring 7 is the first intermediate position of the present invention. That is, the first intermediate position is set between the neutral position and the telephoto end that is the first end position.

  6 is a cross-sectional view taken along a cross-section A shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows that the photographer rotates the zoom lever 3 in the second direction opposite to the first direction in order to make the angle of view wider, and only from the first torsion coil spring 6. The state which is receiving the urging | biasing force which tries to return 4 to a neutral position is shown. As the zoom lever 3 is rotated, the plate 4 is also rotated, and the two arms of the first torsion coil spring 6 are widened by the standing wall 2a and the bent portion 4a of the base 2. At this time, since the first torsion coil spring 6 is charged more than when the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are in the neutral position, the first torsion coil spring 6 tries to return the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 toward the neutral position. On the other hand, the two arms of the second torsion coil spring 7 rest on the standing wall 2b of the base 2 in the same manner as when the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are in the neutral position. Accordingly, the biasing force of the second torsion coil spring 7 is not applied to the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4.

  7 is a cross-sectional view taken along a cross-section A shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a state where the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are further rotated to the telephoto side than the state of FIG. 6 and the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are at the wide-angle end position which is the second end position. In this state, the two arm portions of the first torsion coil spring 6 are spread by the standing wall portion 2a and the cut and bent portion 4a of the base 2, and the two arm portions of the second torsion coil spring 7 are the base 2 It is widened by the standing wall 2b and the cut and bent portion 4b. At this time, the first torsion coil spring 6 is further charged than in the state of FIG. 6, and the second torsion coil spring 7 is also charged more than when the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are in the neutral position. Become. In other words, in addition to the first torsion coil spring 6, the second torsion coil spring 7 also receives a biasing force for returning the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 toward the neutral position. Therefore, in this state, the zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 are returned to the neutral position by the biasing force of the first torsion coil spring 6 and the biasing force of the second torsion coil spring 7. The position where the arm portion of the second torsion coil spring 7 comes into contact with the cut and bent portion 4b and starts to charge the second torsion coil spring 7 is the second intermediate position of the present invention. That is, the second intermediate position is set between the neutral position and the wide-angle end that is the second end position.

  FIG. 8 shows displacement trajectories of the first torsion coil spring 6 and the second torsion coil spring 7 when the zoom lever 3 is operated to the telephoto end or the wide angle end. A displacement locus 10a represents a displacement locus of the arm portion of the first torsion coil spring 6 when the zoom lever 3 is operated to the telephoto end. A displacement locus 10b indicates a displacement locus of the arm portion of the second torsion coil spring 7 when the zoom lever 3 is operated to the wide angle end. The overlapping region 10c is indicated by hatching where the displacement locus 10a and the displacement locus 10b overlap.

  FIG. 9 shows the amount of rotation of the zoom lever 3 on the horizontal axis and the operating force necessary to rotate the zoom lever 3 on the vertical axis.

  When the photographer rotates the zoom lever 3 to the telephoto side, the plate 4 rotates integrally with the zoom lever 3, and the arm of the first torsion coil spring 6 is formed at the cut and bent portion 4 a of the plate 4. One end of the part is moved in a direction in which the urging force increases. The zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 receive a force to return to the neutral position only by the first torsion coil spring 6 until the cut and bent portion 4b touches one end of the arm of the second torsion coil spring 7.

  When the photographer rotates the zoom lever 3 further to the telephoto side, the plate 4 further rotates, and the cut and bent portion 4 b comes into contact with the arm portion of the second torsion coil spring 7. The zoom lever 3 and the plate 4 receive a biasing force from the second torsion coil spring 7 in addition to the biasing force from the first torsion coil spring 6. This is the same when the photographer rotates the zoom lever 3 to the wide angle side.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the force necessary to rotate the zoom lever greatly changes before and after receiving the urging force of the second torsion coil spring 7. By performing control so as to change the zoom speed immediately after passing through the change point, the photographer can check the change point of the zoom speed from the amount of force when the zoom lever 3 is rotated. Therefore, the photographer can easily adjust the zoom speed.

  The displacement locus drawn by the rotation of the zoom lever 3 by the first torsion coil spring 6 and the second torsion coil spring 7 disposed in the vicinity of the first torsion coil spring 6 partially overlaps as shown in FIG. To do.

  When the zoom lever 3 is operated to the telephoto side from the first intermediate position and when the zoom lever 3 is operated to the wide-angle side from the second intermediate position, the arm portion of the first torsion coil spring 6 is displaced. The direction and the displacement direction of the arm portion of the second torsion coil spring 7 are the same direction. Therefore, when the zoom lever 3 is rotated, when the cut and bent portion 4a is rotated and the arm portion of one torsion coil spring reaches the overlapping region 10c, the arm portion of the other torsion coil spring is the standing wall portion. 2a, and does not enter the overlapping region 10c. For this reason, the rotation of the zoom lever 3 is not hindered by the contact of the arms of the two torsion coil springs. By doing in this way, two torsion coil springs can be arranged in a smaller space. That is, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the force for returning to the neutral position changes in accordance with the operation amount of the operation member in a small space, and there is an effect that the electronic apparatus can be downsized.

Sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the digital camera 1 of embodiment by the cross section A shown in FIG. The perspective view which looked at the digital camera 1 from the front side Sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the state which has received the reaction force from the 1st torsion coil spring 6 in the cross section B shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the zoom lever 3 is rotated to the telephoto side and is receiving a reaction force from the first torsion coil spring 6 at a cross section A shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the zoom lever 3 is rotated to the telephoto side and the reaction force is received from the first torsion coil spring 6 and the second torsion coil spring 7 at a section A shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the state which has rotated the zoom lever 3 to the wide angle side, and received the reaction force from the 1st torsion coil spring 6 in the cross section A shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the zoom lever 3 is turned to the wide-angle side and is receiving a reaction force from the first torsion coil spring 6 and the second torsion coil spring 7 at a section A shown in FIG. The figure which showed the movement locus | trajectory of the 1st torsion coil spring and the 2nd torsion coil spring in rotation of the zoom lever 3 A graph showing the relationship between the amount of rotation of the zoom lever 3 and the operating force required for rotation

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Imaging measure 2 Base 2a Standing wall part 2b Standing wall part 3 Zoom lever 4 Plate 4a Cutting and bending part 4b Cutting and bending part 5 Brush 5a Brush front-end | tip part 6 1st torsion coil spring 7 2nd torsion coil spring 8 Zoom lens mirror Tube 9 Substrate 10a Moving area 10b Moving area 10c Overlapping area

Claims (2)

An operation member operable from the neutral position to the first end position in the first direction and operable from the neutral position to the second end position in the second direction opposite to the first direction; ,
Two arm portions, and when the operation member is operated from the neutral position to the first end position in the first direction or when the operation member is moved from the neutral position to the second direction A first torsion coil spring that urges the operation member in the neutral position direction when operated to a second end position;
Two arm portions are provided, and the operation member is operated from a first intermediate position set between the neutral position and the first end position to the first end position in the first direction. Or when the operation member is operated from a second intermediate position set between the neutral position and the second end position to the second end position in the second direction, A second torsion coil spring that urges the operation member in the neutral position direction;
The operating member, and a holding member for holding the first torsion coil spring and the second torsion coil spring,
When the operation member is operated in the first direction relative to the first intermediate position , the displacement direction of one arm portion of the first torsion coil spring and one of the second torsion coil springs of the displacement direction of the arm portion is in the same direction, when the operating member is operated in the second direction than the second intermediate position, the other arm of the first torsion coil spring the displacement direction of the other arm of the displacement direction the second torsion coil spring Ri is Do the same direction, the one of the first torsion coil spring when operating the operation member in the first direction some of the displacement trajectory of the arm portion of, so as to overlap with part of the displacement trajectory of the other arm of the second torsion coil spring when operating the operation member in the second direction, the holding member ne of the first torsion coil spring and the second Electronic apparatus, characterized in that to hold the coil spring Ri. The operating member One said first torsion coil spring or the other of the first abutment to the arm portion abuts, said one of the second torsion coil spring or other arm in contact with the second When the operating member is operated between the neutral position and the first intermediate position or between the neutral position and the second intermediate position, the abutment so as not to contact with the one or the other arm of the second torsion coil spring, said retaining member to claim 1, characterized in that for holding the second torsion coil spring The electronic device described.