JP7328422B2 - LENS DEVICE AND IMAGING DEVICE HAVING OPERATION RING - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lens device and an imaging device having an operation ring.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200001 discloses an imaging device that adjusts shutter speed and ISO sensitivity using an operation ring that can be rotated with respect to a lens barrel. Further, the imaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a click mechanism that generates a click feeling according to the rotation operation of the operation ring.

Japanese Patent No. 5586895

However, in the imaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the number of pulses for detecting the amount of rotation of the operation ring is as small as 4 pulses for each click position interval. In order to secure a large amount of rotation of the operation ring by increasing the number of pulses for each click position interval, for example, an opening to be detected by a photoreflector in the annular member and an opening for generating a click feeling can be separated. Conceivable. However, separating these two openings increases the radial size of the lens barrel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lens device and an imaging device that can be made compact in the radial direction while ensuring a large amount of rotation of an operation ring provided with a click groove.

A lens device as one aspect of the present invention has a fixed member having one of a click feeling generating means and a click groove, and the other of the click feeling generating means and the click groove, and is rotatable with respect to the fixed member. an operation ring, a click detection means for detecting information corresponding to a contact position between the click feeling generating means and the click groove, and a rotation detection means for detecting rotation of the operation ring, wherein the click grooves alternately The click feeling generating means is urged to contact the click groove, and the click detecting means and the rotation detecting means are arranged along the optical axis direction. The click detection means has first light shields and first position detection elements that are periodically arranged, and the rotation detection means has second light shields that are periodically arranged. and a second position detecting element, wherein the pitch in the rotation direction of the second light shielding portion is smaller than the pitch in the rotation direction of the first light shielding portion.

An imaging apparatus as another aspect of the present invention includes the lens device, an imaging element that photoelectrically converts an optical image formed through the lens device, and a camera body that holds the imaging element .

Other objects and features of the invention are described in the following embodiments.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lens device and an imaging device that can be made compact in the radial direction while ensuring a large amount of rotation of an operation ring provided with a click groove.

3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of a click mechanism, a click detection means, and a rotation detection means in the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a click detection signal and a rotation detection signal in this embodiment; 1 is a block diagram of an imaging device according to this embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of rotation speed fluctuations of an operation ring due to click torque in the embodiment; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a control method of the imaging device according to the embodiment; 4 is a flow chart showing a control method of the imaging device according to the present embodiment;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, with reference to FIG. 3, an imaging device (optical device) in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an imaging device (lens-interchangeable single-lens reflex camera) 1. As shown in FIG. The imaging device 1 includes a camera body (imaging device body) 100 and an interchangeable lens (lens device) 200 detachable from the camera body 100 . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to an imaging device (lens-integrated camera) in which an imaging device body and a lens device are integrated.

In the interchangeable lens 200, 201 is a first lens unit, 202 is a zoom lens unit, 203 is a focus lens unit, and 204 is an aperture mechanism. Each of the first lens unit 201, the variable power lens unit 202, and the focus lens unit 203 is composed of a lens and a lens holding frame (not shown) that holds the lens. In this embodiment, the first lens unit 201, the variable magnification lens unit 202, the focus lens unit 203, and the diaphragm mechanism 204 constitute an imaging optical system.

The lens CPU 206 transmits and receives various types of information to and from the camera CPU 106 via the lens communication means 208 and the camera communication means 108 , and controls the entire operation of the interchangeable lens 200 together with the camera CPU 106 . Further, the lens CPU 206 controls the diaphragm driving means 205 . Specifically, the lens CPU 206 controls the drive direction of the aperture drive unit 205 by changing the polarity of the aperture drive signal applied to the aperture drive unit 205, and increases or decreases the number of pulses of the aperture drive signal to control the aperture drive unit. 205 is controlled. Thereby, the lens CPU 206 can control the amount of opening/closing operation of the plurality of diaphragm blades in the diaphragm mechanism 204 .

A photographing mode switching unit 210 is operated by the user to switch between a still image photographing mode and a moving image photographing mode. In this embodiment, the shooting mode switching means 210 is provided in the interchangeable lens 200, but it may be provided in the camera body 100 as well. The storage unit 211 is composed of a ROM or the like, and stores drive pulse data for the focus lens unit 203 and drive pulse data for the diaphragm mechanism 204 . The lens CPU 206 can read each data stored in the storage means 211 at any time.

The operation ring 212 is rotatably supported in the circumferential direction with respect to the lens barrel (fixed member) 215 of the interchangeable lens 200, and has a click mechanism to be described later. A mode change dial means 115 is arranged in the camera body 100 and can change (switch) modes such as an aperture value (F number), shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, exposure value, and manual focus mode. When the operation ring 212 is rotated after the mode is changed, the aperture value, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, exposure value, or focus position in manual focus mode are set based on the click detection signal detected by the click detection means 213. It is possible to change the value. The rotation detection means 214 detects rotation detection information (rotation information such as rotation amount, rotation direction, or rotation speed) of the operation ring 212 .

Here, the click mechanism of the operation ring 212, the click detection means 213, the rotation detection means 214, the click detection signal, and the rotation detection signal will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the click mechanism, the click detection means 213, and the rotation detection means 214. FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the click detection signal and the rotation detection signal.

First, the click mechanism will be explained. The upper part of FIG. 1 shows a planar development of the click grooves 12 arranged on the operation ring 212 and arranged at regular intervals on an annular member (not shown). The click groove 12 has planar portions 12a and groove portions 12b that are arranged alternately at regular intervals in the circumferential direction in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis OA (in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis). The groove portion 12b is used as a click groove. In FIG. 1, Wf is the circumferential width of the plane portion 12a, and Wg is the circumferential width of the groove portion 12b. In this embodiment, the click groove 12 may have a through portion without a bottom instead of the groove portion 12b.

The click feeling generating means 18 has a shaft member 10 and a spring (biasing member) 11 . The shaft member 10 is provided in the lens barrel (fixed member) 215 of the interchangeable lens 200 so as to face the click groove 12 in parallel with the optical axis OA (in the optical axis direction). The tip of the shaft member 10 has a curved shape such as an R shape. The spring 11 biases the shaft member 10 in the direction (optical axis direction) toward the click groove 12 . The shaft member 10 is arranged while being biased in a direction toward the click groove 12 by a spring 11 . In this manner, the click feeling generating means 18 is configured to generate a click feeling according to the rotation of the operation ring 212 while being biased in the optical axis direction and in contact with the click groove 12 . That is, by rotating the operation ring 212 while the spring 11 biases the shaft member 10 toward the click groove 12, a click feeling is generated.

When the operation ring 212 is rotated, an annular member (not shown) rotates integrally with the operation ring 212, and the shaft member 10 of the click feeling generating means 18 slides on the surface of the flat portion 12a. is engaged with the groove portion 12b, a click feeling is generated. In this embodiment, a desired click feeling can be obtained by adjusting the shape of the groove portion 12b or adjusting the biasing force of the spring 11. FIG. In this embodiment, the shaft member 10 is an integrated shaft member having an R-shaped tip, but is not limited to this. If the tip has a curved shape such as an R shape, the same effect can be obtained even if it is composed of two parts, for example, a ball member and a shaft member.

Now, the reason why the click mechanism is necessary will be explained. The click mechanism is used, as described above, to change the settings of the photographing conditions in each mode selected by the mode change dial means 115 each time it is clicked. For example, in the case of an operation ring that does not give a click feeling, there is no mechanism for holding the operation ring at a predetermined position. As a result, although the operation ring can be easily rotated, it is difficult to align the operation ring with the intended position because it is likely to rotate carelessly. For this reason, a mechanism such as a click mechanism that does not rotate the operation ring inadvertently is preferable as a means for aligning the operation ring with the intended set value when changing the setting of the shooting conditions in each of the modes described above. Become.

Next, the click detection means 213 will be explained. The middle part of FIG. 1 shows a linear development of the light shielding plate 13 arranged on the operation ring 212, arranged on an annular member (not shown), and projecting radially inward for click detection. The click detection means 213 has a light shielding plate (first light shielding plate) 13 and a photointerrupter (first position detection element) 15 mounted on a flexible printed circuit board (first flexible printed circuit board) 31. . The light shielding plate 13 is provided on the operation ring 212 , and the photointerrupter 15 is provided on the lens barrel (fixing member) 215 .

With such a configuration, the click detection means 213 detects contact position information between the click feeling generation means 18 and the click groove 12 . Further, the click detecting means 213 rotates integrally with the operation ring 212 with respect to the photointerrupter 15 attached to the lens barrel 215. When the light shielding portions 13a, which are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, pass through the photointerrupter 15, A click detection signal 25 is output.

In FIG. 1, Wp is the circumferential width of the light shielding portion (first light shielding portion) 13a of the light shielding plate 13, Wq is the circumferential width (opening width) where there is no light shielding portion 13a, and Pr is the width Wp of the light shielding portion 13a. and the width (aperture width) Wq. The light shielding plate 13 is used to detect whether the shaft member 10 is positioned on the plane portion 12a or the groove portion 12b. When the light shielding plate 13 is provided on the operation ring 212, it is assembled so that the circumferential center of the groove portion 12b of the click groove 12 and the circumferential center of the width Wp of the light shielding portion 13a substantially coincide with each other.

The photointerrupter 15 is a click detection element (first position detection element). The photointerrupters 15 are arranged on a pitch circle passing through the thickness direction center of the light shielding plate 13 in the annular member (not shown) when viewed in the optical axis direction. Photointerrupter 15 outputs click detection signal 25 shown in the upper part of FIG. The photointerrupter 15 outputs a Lo signal when the light shielding plate 13 passes through the slit of the photointerrupter 15 and is shielded. Output a Hi signal.

In the present embodiment, it is preferable that the width Wg of the groove 12b and the width Wp of the light shielding plate 13 are set to be different from each other (Wg≠Wp, that is, Wg>Wp or Wg<Wp). . With such a configuration, it is possible to match the click sensation generation timing based on the operation of the operation ring 212 and the detection timing by the click detection means 213 . In addition, when the interchangeable lens 200 is replaced with another interchangeable lens, it is possible to match the deviation tendency between the click sensation generation timing and the detection timing due to the tolerance (which is earlier between the click sensation generation timing and the detection timing). . In this embodiment, the width Wg is set to be larger than the width Wp (Wg<Wp).

As a result, when the operating ring 212 is rotated, the annular member (not shown) rotates integrally with the operating ring 212, and the click detection signal 25 is always Lo when the shaft member 10 is engaged with the groove 12b. The circuit is designed so that In this embodiment, when the click detection signal 25 is Lo, it is recognized that the shaft member 10 is engaged with the groove portion 12b, and a setting change start command for each mode selected by the mode change dial means 115 is issued. It's becoming Although the photointerrupter 15 is used as the click detection element in this embodiment, a photoreflector or a magnetic detection element may also be used in place of the same since the same effect can be obtained.

Next, the rotation detection means 214 will be explained. The lower part of FIG. 1 shows a diagram in which the light shielding plate 14 arranged on the operation ring 212, arranged on an annular member (not shown), and projecting radially inward is developed linearly. The rotation detection means 214 includes a light shielding plate (second light shielding plate) 14, a photointerrupter (second position detection element) 16 mounted on a flexible printed circuit board (second flexible printed circuit board) 32, and a photointerrupter. (Third position detection element) 17 . The light shielding plate 14 is provided on the operation ring 212 , and the photointerrupters 16 and 17 are provided on the lens barrel (fixed member) 215 . The rotation detection means 214 rotates integrally with the operation ring 212 with respect to the photointerrupters 16 and 17 attached to the lens barrel 215, and has light shielding portions (second light shielding portions) arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. ) 14a, rotation detection signals 26 and 27 are output.

In FIG. 1, Ws is the circumferential width of the light shielding portion 14a of the light shielding plate 14, Wt is the circumferential width without the light shielding portion 14a (opening width), and Pu is the width Ws and the width (opening width) Wt of the light shielding portion 14a. It is the width (pitch) combined with Light shielding plate 14 is used to detect the amount and direction of rotation of operation ring 212 . The photointerrupters 16 and 17 are rotation detection elements (second position detection element, third position detection element). The photointerrupters 16 and 17 are arranged on a pitch circle passing through the thickness direction center of the light shielding plate 14 in the annular member (not shown) in the optical axis direction.

When the light shielding plate 14 passes through the slits of the photointerrupters 16 and 17 (between broken lines in FIG. 1), the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 shown in the middle and lower stages of FIG. 2 are output. The photointerrupters 16 and 17 output the Lo signal when the light shielding plate 14 passes through the slits of the photointerrupters 16 and 17 to block the light, and the light shielding plate 14 does not pass through the slits of the photointerrupters 16 and 17 to unlight the light. By doing so, a Hi signal is output. The photointerrupters 16 and 17 are arranged so that the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 are shifted from each other by 1/4 period when the Hi and Lo sections of the rotation detection signal 26 are combined into one period.

The shapes of the light shielding plates 13 and 14 are set so that the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 output more Hi/Lo signal changes (periods) than the click detection signal 25 does. That is, the cycles of the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 are shorter than the cycle of the click detection signal 25 (satisfying the relationship Pu<Pr). The lens CPU 206 receives the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 from the rotation detection means 214 and calculates the rotation amount and rotation direction of 4 pulses per cycle based on the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 . In this embodiment, a photointerrupter is used as the rotation detection element, but a photoreflector or a magnetic detection element may also be used in place of the same since the same effect can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the rotation amount of 12 pulses is output until the click detection signal 25 switches from Lo to Hi and then switches from Lo to Hi. As a result, when the operation ring 212 is rotated, it is possible to secure a large amount of rotation per interval of the location (groove portion 12b of the click groove 12) where a click feeling is obtained. By ensuring a large amount of rotation, the user can obtain an operational feeling closer to the operational intention of the operation ring 212 when changing the aperture value or acquiring the focus position in the manual focus mode.

Here, a method for more accurately detecting the state in which the shaft member 10 is engaged with the groove portion 12b of the click groove 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the shaft member 10 is engaged with the leftmost groove portion 12b of the click groove 12. FIG. At this time, if attention is paid to the signal switching of the click detection signal 25 from left to right in FIG. 2, there is engagement timing of the shaft member 10 after switching from Hi to Lo. Conversely, focusing on the signal switching of the click detection signal 25 from right to left in FIG. 2, there is engagement timing of the shaft member 10 after switching from Hi to Lo. In other words, the click detection signal 25 changes from Hi to Lo on both sides of the engagement timing of the shaft member 10 .

Therefore, the pulse calculated by the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 until the shaft member 10 engages with the groove portion 12b is measured starting from the signal switching for each rotation direction. Then, the measured pulses are stored in the storage means 211 of the interchangeable lens 200, and the positions at which the pulses calculated based on the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 after the signal switching are counted are associated with the engagement timing of the shaft member 10. FIG. That is, the storage means 211 stores information on the amount of rotation from when the click detection signal is switched to when the click feeling generating means 18 enters the groove portion 12b of the click groove 12 for each rotation direction. Then, the lens CPU 206 outputs click detection information at the timing when the click sensation generating means 18 enters the groove portion 12b based on the rotation amount information. As a result, it becomes possible to issue a command to start changing the setting in each mode selected by the mode change dial means 115 at the same time when the shaft member 10 engages with the groove portion 12b of the click groove 12, thereby improving the operability. can.

Next, rotation speed fluctuation of the operation ring 212 due to click torque will be described. Here, in the case of the operation ring 212 provided with the click mechanism in this embodiment, when changing the exposure value by driving the aperture or changing the focus position by driving the focus, the lens is moved to the intended position by a rotation operation. think of a scene. In the shooting scene at this time, the click torque of the click mechanism is affected by the rotation speed fluctuation of the operation ring 212 . This effect will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of rotation speed fluctuations of the operation ring 212 caused by click torque. There are two points of difference from FIG. The first point is the behavior of the operation ring 212 when the shaft member 10 slides on the surface of the flat portion 12a with respect to the click groove 12 or engages with the groove portion 12b, and the time t on the horizontal axis and the time t on the vertical axis. The point is that a graph indicating the rotation speed v of the operation ring 212 is added to the axis. It can be seen from the graph in FIG. 4 that the rotational speed v of the operating ring 212 fluctuates greatly before and after the shaft member 10 engages with the click groove 12 . This behavior occurs with an operating ring 212 with a common click mechanism.

The second point is that the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 are affected by fluctuations in the rotation speed v of the operating ring 212, and the state in which temporal increases or decreases are reproduced (rotation detection signals 26' and 27' ). As the rotational speed v of the operating ring 212 in the graph increases, the temporal switching cycle of the rotation detection signals 26' and 27' shortens. On the other hand, as the rotational speed v of the operating ring 212 decreases, the temporal switching cycle of the rotation detection signals 26' and 27' becomes longer. In addition, while the shaft member 10 is sliding on the surface of the plane portion 12a, the rotational speed v of the operation ring 212 is substantially constant, so the temporal switching cycle of the rotation detection signals 26' and 27' is also substantially constant. It is constant. As described above, it is difficult to realize the rotation operation while maintaining the rotation speed v of the operation ring 212 provided with the click mechanism constant. Therefore, driving the lens and the diaphragm based on the rotation detection signals 26' and 27' causes driving unevenness (stable lens driving and diaphragm driving cannot be performed).

Therefore, in the present embodiment, lens drive and aperture drive with reduced drive unevenness are realized even when the operation ring 212 having a click mechanism is used for rotational operation. Next, a specific method will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a control method (driving method) of the imaging apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 5(a) shows the behavior of the rotation speed v of the operating ring 212 with respect to time t from FIG. 4, and the rotation detection signals 26' and 27' at that time, which are extracted and show the relationship with the predetermined time. In this embodiment, times T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 are set as the predetermined times. All predetermined times are set to the same time (fixed time), for example, 1 second, 1/30 second, 1/60 second, etc., but are not limited to these. In this embodiment, the camera CPU 106 requests click detection information and rotation detection information of the interchangeable lens 200 from the lens CPU 206 when each mode is selected by the mode change dial means 115 of the camera body 100 for the predetermined time. time interval. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a control method (driving method) of the imaging apparatus 1. When the operation ring 212 having a click mechanism is used to rotate, lens driving and aperture driving are realized to reduce driving unevenness. It is a flow chart for doing. Each step in FIG. 6 is executed mainly based on commands from the camera CPU 106 or lens CPU 206 .

First, in step S<b>101 , the user starts operating the camera body 100 . Subsequently, in step S102, the user selects each mode with the mode change dial means 115 of the camera body 100. FIG. In this embodiment, a case where the manual focus mode or the exposure value mode is selected by the mode change dial means 115 will be described.

Subsequently, in step S103, the camera CPU 106 sets a predetermined time (predetermined time interval) Tn (n is an integer). The camera CPU 106 requests click detection information and rotation detection information of the interchangeable lens 200 from the lens CPU 206 at intervals of a predetermined time Tn. The rotation detection information is information regarding the amount and direction of rotation of the operation ring 212 . In this embodiment, the predetermined time Tn is set to 1 second. Subsequently, in step S<b>104 , the lens CPU 206 reads the click detection information and rotation detection information of the interchangeable lens 200 requested by the camera CPU 106 . Lens CPU 206 then transmits click detection information and rotation detection information to camera CPU 106 via lens communication means 208 and camera communication means 108 .

Subsequently, in step S105, the camera CPU 106, based on the rotation detection information (rotation amount information obtained from the rotation detection signals 26 and 27) received from the lens CPU 206, determines the average drive speed per predetermined time (average rotation of the operation ring 212). speed). In this embodiment, the amount of rotation per predetermined time T1 to T5 in FIG. 5(a) is 8 pulses. In this embodiment, since the predetermined time Tn is set to 1 second, a drive speed of 8 pulses per second is obtained. The camera CPU 106 stores speed information corresponding to one pulse of the amount of rotation, and determines this calculated speed (average drive speed) as the drive speed for lens drive or diaphragm drive.

Subsequently, in step S106, the camera CPU 106 transmits the drive speed (average drive speed) determined in step S105 and rotation detection information (rotation amount and rotation direction) to the lens CPU 206. FIG. Subsequently, in step S<b>107 , the lens CPU 206 updates the drive information for driving the focus lens unit 203 or the aperture mechanism 204 as information to be sent to the focus driving means 209 or the aperture driving means 205 . The lens CPU 206 then transmits the updated driving information to the focus driving means 209 or the diaphragm driving means 205 . Subsequently, in step S<b>108 , the focus driving means 209 or the diaphragm driving means 205 drives the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204 based on the driving information received from the lens CPU 206 .

Subsequently, in step S109, while the focus driving means 209 or the diaphragm driving means 205 is driving the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204, the lens CPU 206 determines whether or not new driving information has been received from the camera CPU 106. do. That is, the lens CPU 206 determines whether or not a new click detection signal is output from the click detection means 213 while the focus lens unit 203 or the aperture mechanism 204 is being driven. When the lens CPU 206 receives new driving information, the process returns to step S107. In step S<b>107 , the lens CPU 206 updates drive information for driving the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204 and transmits it to the focus drive means 209 or the diaphragm drive means 205 .

For example, when the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204 is currently being driven at a low speed, the operation ring 212 is quickly rotated so that a higher driving speed is calculated. In such a case, by driving the focus lens unit 203 or the aperture mechanism 204 with the latest drive information as needed, the operational feeling of rotating the operation ring 212 can be improved.

On the other hand, if the lens CPU 206 does not receive new driving information from the camera CPU 106 while the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204 is being driven by the focus driving means 209 or the diaphragm driving means 205 in step S109, the process proceeds to step S110. At step S110, the drive of the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204 ends.

As described above, in this embodiment, the lens CPU (control unit) 206 controls the driven body (focus lens unit 203 or diaphragm mechanism 204) by rotating the operation ring 212. FIG. More specifically, the lens CPU 206, based on the average rotation speed of the operation ring 212 (average driving speed of the driven body) calculated using the rotation speed of the operation ring 212 detected by the rotation detection means 214, Control the driven body. In this embodiment, the driven body is the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204, but the present invention is not limited to these, and can be applied to other members.

During the predetermined time T1 in FIG. 5(a), the rotational speed of the operating ring 212 fluctuates, causing a difference in temporal switching between the rotation detection signals 26' and 27'. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, driving unevenness can be reduced by calculating the average driving speed per predetermined time and driving the focus lens unit 203 or the diaphragm mechanism 204 . FIG. 5(b) is a diagram showing a state in which the rotation speed fluctuation of the operation ring 212 due to the click torque is reduced during the predetermined time T1 to T5, and the difference in temporal switching between the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 is reduced. . The upper part of FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram reproducing the behavior of the operation ring 212 based on the temporal switching of the rotation detection signals 26 and 27 . A solid line indicates the behavior of the operating ring 212 based on the rotation detection signals 26 and 27, and a dashed line indicates the behavior of the operating ring 212 based on the rotation detection signals 26' and 27'.

In the present embodiment, the amount of rotation of 12 pulses is set to be output when the click detection signal 25 is switched. Depending on the configuration, more detection pulses can be output. In this embodiment, the click detection means 213 transmits the click detection signal 25 to the lens CPU 206 when the click detection signal 25 switches from Hi to Lo. The timing of transmitting the click detection signal 25 from the click detection means 213 to the lens CPU 206 may be the time when the click detection signal 25 switches from Lo to Hi by changing the circuit design.

The rotation detection means 214 transmits rotation detection signals 26 and 27 to the lens CPU 206 when the operation ring 212 is rotated. At the timing of receiving the click detection signal 25 from the click detection means 213, the lens CPU 206 detects the amount of rotation and Calculate the direction of rotation.

In FIG. 3, when the operation ring 212 is rotated, the lens CPU 206 transmits click detection information (click detection signal) and rotation detection information (rotation amount and direction of rotation). For example, when changing the aperture value or acquiring the focus position in manual focus mode, the camera CPU 106 supplies the lens CPU 206 with click detection information of the operation ring 212 and operation information such as rotation pulse amount and rotation direction (operation of the operation ring 212 information). The camera CPU 106 calculates driving information for the diaphragm driving means 205 and the focus driving means 209 of the interchangeable lens 200 based on the operation information from the lens CPU 206 . After that, the camera CPU 106 transmits driving information for the diaphragm driving means 205 and the focus driving means 209 to the lens CPU 206 based on the mode information set by the mode change dial means 115 . The lens CPU 206 drives the diaphragm mechanism 204 and the focus lens unit 203 by controlling the diaphragm driving means 205 and the focus driving means 209 based on the drive information. The camera CPU 106 then updates the set value information displayed on the display means 112 .

As shown in FIG. 1, click detection means 213 having light blocking plate 13 and photointerrupter 15, and rotation detecting means 214 having light blocking plate 14 and photointerrupters 16 and 17 are arranged along the optical axis direction. there is With such an arrangement, the size of the interchangeable lens 200 in the radial direction can be reduced. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to secure a large amount of rotation while suppressing the size of the interchangeable lens 200 in the radial direction.

Also, if the photointerrupters 15, 16, and 17 are arranged so as to overlap each other in the optical axis direction, the flexible printed circuit boards 31 and 32 interfere with each other, which may make it difficult to reduce the size of the interchangeable lens 200 in the optical axis direction. have a nature. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the photointerrupter 15 of the click detection means 213 and the photointerrupters 16 and 17 of the rotation detection means 214 are arranged so as not to overlap each other in the optical axis direction. That is, the photointerrupters 15, 16, and 17 are arranged at different positions (phases) in the circumferential direction. Preferably, the flexible printed circuit boards 31 and 32 are arranged so as not to overlap each other in the optical axis direction. As a result, the photointerrupters 15, 16, and 17 can be arranged without interfering with the mounting space on the flexible printed circuit boards 31 and 32 and the space required for attaching to the parts constituting the interchangeable lens 200. FIG. Therefore, the size of the interchangeable lens 200 in the overall length direction (optical axis direction) can be made smaller.

As shown in FIG. 3 , light from a subject 300 passes through the imaging optical system in the interchangeable lens 200 and enters the camera body 100 . When the quick return mirror 101 of the camera body 100 is retracted from the optical path, the light from the subject 300 reaches the imaging surface of the imaging means 102 . The imaging unit 102 has a photoelectric conversion element (image pickup element) such as a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor, and photoelectrically converts a subject image (optical image) formed via an imaging optical system. On the other hand, when the quick return mirror 101 is arranged in the optical path, light from the subject 300 is reflected by the quick return mirror 101 and guided to the pentaprism 103 . The light reflected by the pentaprism 103 passes through the finder optical system 104 and is guided to the user's eyes. This allows the user to visually recognize the subject image.

A quick return mirror control means (QR mirror control means) 105 controls the up/down operation of the quick return mirror 101 based on a control signal from the camera CPU 106 . The photometric detection means 107 calculates subject brightness from the output signal of the imaging means 102 or a video signal generated by an image processing circuit (not shown) described later, and outputs it to the camera CPU 106 as photometric information. The focus detection means 109 detects the focus state of the imaging optical system by a phase difference detection method using light reflected by a sub-mirror (not shown) provided behind the quick return mirror 101 in the still image shooting mode. The focus detection means 109 then outputs focus information indicating the focus state to the camera CPU 106 . Based on the focus information, the camera CPU 106 controls the position of the focus lens unit 203 via the focus driving means 209 to obtain an in-focus state.

Further, in the moving image shooting mode, the camera CPU 106 generates contrast information indicating the contrast state of the image from the image signal generated by the image processing circuit, which will be described later. The camera CPU 106 then controls the position of the focus lens unit 203 based on the contrast information to obtain an in-focus state. Further, the camera CPU 106 controls the aperture value to be set in the diaphragm mechanism 204 and the exposure amount of the imaging means 102 in the still image shooting mode by means of exposure control means (not shown) based on the photometric information. Calculate the operating speed.

The release switch means 110 outputs an SW1 signal when the user half-presses (SW1_ON), and outputs an SW2 signal when the user fully presses (SW2_ON). The camera CPU 106 starts still image shooting preparation operations such as photometry and focus detection in response to the input of the SW1 signal, and starts shooting still images for recording in response to the input of the SW2 signal. The moving picture shooting switch means 111 alternately outputs a moving picture shooting start signal and a moving picture shooting stop signal each time it is operated by the user. The camera CPU 106 starts shooting a moving image for recording in response to input of a moving image shooting start signal, and stops shooting operation in response to input of a moving image shooting stop signal. In this embodiment, the moving image shooting switch means 111 is provided separately from the release switch means 110 , but the release switch means 110 may also serve as the moving image shooting switch means 111 .

The image processing circuit generates a digital video signal by performing amplification and various image processing on the imaging signal output from the imaging means 102 . The camera CPU 106 uses this digital video signal to generate a still image for recording, a moving image for display and a moving image for recording. A moving image for display is displayed as an electronic viewfinder image on display means 112 including a display element such as an LCD panel. The recording device 113 records still images for recording and moving images for recording in a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory. A power supply 114 supplies power to each part of the camera body 100 .

Thus, in this embodiment, the control means (lens CPU 206 ) controls the driven body based on the average rotation speed of the operation ring 212 calculated using the rotation speed of the operation ring 212 . Preferably, the average rotation speed is an average rotation speed per predetermined time calculated based on the rotation speed of the operation ring acquired during the predetermined time. Preferably, the lens device is detachable from the camera body, and the control means transmits the rotation speed of the operation ring to the camera body in response to a request from the camera body, and calculates the average rotation speed calculated by the camera body. The speed is received and the driven body is controlled based on the average rotational speed.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by processing to It can also be implemented by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a lens device and an imaging device that can be made compact in the radial direction while ensuring a large amount of rotation of the operation ring provided with the click groove.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist.

In this embodiment, the click feeling generating means 18 is provided on the lens barrel (fixed member) 215 and the click groove 12 is provided on the operation ring 212. may be provided on the lens barrel (fixed member) 215 . That is, the lens barrel 215 has one of the click feeling generating means 18 and the click groove 12 , and the operation ring 212 has the other of the click feeling generating means and the click groove 12 . Also, in the present embodiment, an imaging device (lens device) having an operation ring that generates a click feeling has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to optical devices other than imaging devices. is.

12 click groove 12a plane portion 12b groove portion 18 click feeling generating means 200 interchangeable lens (lens device)
212 operation ring 213 click detection means 214 rotation detection means 215 lens barrel (fixed member)

Claims (13)

a fixing member having one of a click feeling generating means and a click groove;
an operation ring having the other of the click feeling generating means and the click groove, and rotatable with respect to the fixed member;
a click detection means for detecting information corresponding to a contact position between the click feeling generating means and the click groove;
rotation detection means for detecting rotation of the operation ring;
The click groove has flat portions and groove portions that are alternately provided,
the click feeling generating means is biased to contact the click groove,
The click detection means and the rotation detection means are arranged along the optical axis direction,
The click detection means has first light shields and first position detection elements that are periodically arranged,
The rotation detection means has a second light shielding portion and a second position detection element that are periodically arranged,
A lens device , wherein the pitch in the rotation direction of the second light shielding part is smaller than the pitch in the rotation direction of the first light shielding part . 2. The lens device according to claim 1, wherein the flat portion and the groove portion of the click groove are arranged periodically. The click feeling generating means includes a shaft member facing the click groove in the optical axis direction, and a biasing member biasing the shaft member toward the click groove in the optical axis direction. 3. The lens device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The lens device according to claim 3, wherein the tip of said shaft member has a curved shape. 3. The click feeling generating means generates the click feeling by rotating the operation ring while the biasing member biases the shaft member toward the click groove. 5. The lens device according to 4. 2. The click detection means outputs a click detection signal by shielding the first position detection element by rotating the first light shielding part by means of the operation ring. 6. The lens device according to any one of items 1 to 5 . 7. The lens device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the width of the first light shielding portion in the rotation direction is different from the width of the groove portion in the rotation direction. 8. The lens device according to claim 7 , wherein the width of the first light shielding portion in the rotation direction is larger than the width of the groove portion in the rotation direction. 8. The lens device according to claim 7 , wherein the width of the first light shielding portion in the rotation direction is smaller than the width of the groove portion in the rotation direction. The rotation detection means has a third position detection element,
The rotation detection means outputs a rotation detection signal by rotating the second light shielding portion by rotating the operation ring to shield the second position detection element and the third position detection element. 10. The lens device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , characterized in that: The rotation detection means has a third position detection element,
10. The first position detection element, the second position detection element, and the third position detection element are arranged so as not to overlap each other in the optical axis direction. The lens device according to any one of . The rotation detection means has a third position detection element,
a first flexible printed circuit board on which the first position detection element is arranged;
a second flexible printed circuit board on which the second position detection element and the third position detection element are arranged;
10. The first flexible printed board and the second flexible printed board are arranged so as not to overlap each other in the optical axis direction. lens device. a lens device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 ;
an imaging device that photoelectrically converts an optical image formed through the lens device;
and a camera body that holds the imaging element.