JPH0279808A - Camera incorporating swing and tilt mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable focusing of plural object points having different distances by providing the title camera with a driving part for detecting the tilts of the objects based on the distance information of at least three points and inclining a photographing optical system based on the found tilting amount. CONSTITUTION:Three beams from an infrared(IR) LED 20 projects through a projection lens 18, the reflected infrared rays are received by a position detecting element 14 through a light receiving lens 12 and the distance information of the three points is fetched to a microcomputer 10. Since the microcomputer 10 computes the distance information of the three points and supplies control signals to a tilt driving circuit 34 and a lens driving circuit 28 in accordance with the computed results, an AF motor 27 is rotated and a photographing lens frame 24 is moved front and back from a rotation frame 26 to attain focusing. When a tilt motor 30 is rotated, the rotation frame 26 is rotated and tilted from a fixed frame 60. Consequently, the lens can be automatically tilted and plural objects can be focused.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a camera incorporating a tilting mechanism such as a tilting mechanism that can bring a plurality of objects into focus.

[Prior Art] As a camera capable of focusing on a plurality of subjects, there is a system in which a tilt mechanism is built into the interchangeable lens of a 35III11-eye reflex camera.

Many large cameras have been commercialized with tilting lenses and tilting films. All of these tilt mechanisms are based on manual operation and require the skill of the photographer.

Furthermore, there is an autofocus (A'F) camera that measures distances at multiple points in order to bring a plurality of objects into approximate focus without using a tilt mechanism. Examples of this include a camera that projects light onto multiple targets as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-20522, a camera that adopts the closest distance AF data as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 59-107332, and There is a camera that adjusts the focus so that a plurality of subjects fall within the depth of field, as described in Japanese Patent No. 62-52538. These cameras reduce the possibility of failure in focus by selecting one of the AF data of multiple subjects or taking the average, and actively focus on subjects with two or more points. It's not something you can focus on.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] With conventional cameras equipped with a tilt mechanism, the photographer has to manually tilt the lens, etc. while looking through the finder, which is troublesome. If the lens or the like is tilted, the focus will shift, so the lens must be moved further for focusing, and there is a risk of missing a photo opportunity. Furthermore, since the tilt mechanism must be operated while confirming its effect through the viewfinder, it has been impossible to employ the tilt mechanism in a viewfinder camera.

This invention was made to deal with the above-mentioned circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera with a built-in tilting mechanism that can automatically tilt a film surface or a lens so that a plurality of objects at different distances are brought into focus.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A camera with a built-in tilting mechanism according to the present invention includes a multi-point ranging sensor capable of measuring at least three points on a subject;
an arithmetic circuit that calculates the amount of tilt at which each of the at least three points is in focus by calculating the output of the multi-point ranging sensor; and a photographing optical system or film based on the amount of inclination determined by the arithmetic circuit. It is equipped with a drive unit that tilts the surface.

[Operation] According to the present invention, the inclination of the subject is detected based on distance information from at least three points, and if the subject is oblique, the photographic lens frame or film surface is tilted so that the entire screen is in focus. Then, by determining the lens extension amount from the distance information and the tilt amount information and extending the lens, it is possible to focus on a plurality of subjects.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of a camera with a built-in tilting mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As a first embodiment, a lens shutter type AF left camera will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the first embodiment.

A photographic lens 50 is provided at the center of the front surface of the main body, and on the right side of the photographic lens 50 there is a distance-measuring light receiving lens 12 and a light emitting lens 1.
8 are arranged one above the other. The distance measurement method uses the usual active triangulation method, but instead of single point distance measurement,
This is multi-point distance measurement. In this embodiment, the screen is divided horizontally into three equal parts, and the distance is measured from the center of each part. Note that a passive method may be adopted as the distance measurement method, and the number of distance measurement points may be three or more, or two.

On the left side of the photographic lens 50, there is a finder optical system 42.3.
A series of slide switches 52 are arranged.

The finder is a viewfinder. As shown in FIG. 3, the slide switch 52 can be switched to three modes: normal mode, auto tilt mode, and manual tilt mode.

Two operation buttons 56 for manual tilt are provided on the top surface of the camera. When either operation button 56 is pressed in manual tilt mode, the photographing lens 50 is rotated clockwise around the vertical axis of the camera. , or counterclockwise, that is, swung left and right, and when the button 56 is released, the rotation stops. 54 is a release button.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment.

A microcomputer 10 is provided for controlling the entire system, and infrared light (IR) is emitted from the microcomputer 10.
When the IR selection signal is sent to the D lighting IC22, the IR
Three infrared light beams are emitted from the LED 20 and projected onto the subject via the projection lens 18. The reflected light is incident on a position detection element (PSD) 14 via a light receiving lens 12.

The beam incident position on the PSD 14 is detected by the APIC 16, and distance information of three points is input from the AFIC to the microcomputer 10.

The microcomputer 10 calculates distance information of three points,
Control signals are supplied to the tilt drive circuit 34 and lens drive circuit 28 according to the calculation results.

A rack 24a is provided on the side of a photographic lens frame 24 (each mechanism shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above) that houses a photographic lens and a shutter. The lock 24a meshes with a gear of the AF motor 27. The AF motor 27 is driven by a lens drive circuit 28. Shooting lens frame 24
As shown in FIG. 4, the structure seen from the groove, the rotating frame 26
It has a bearing part 24b that is fixed to and slides on a shaft 62 extending in the front-rear direction of the camera, and when the AF motor 27 rotates,
It moves back and forth with respect to the rotating frame 26 to bring it into focus.

An internal gear 26a is provided at the rear end of the rotating frame 26. The internal gear 26a is connected to the tilt motor 3 via the idler 32.
It meshes with gear 0. Furthermore, pins 26c and 26b are protruded from the upper and lower sides of the rotating frame 26, as shown in FIG. Pin 26c.

26b fits into two circular cam portions 60a provided at corresponding positions on the fixed frame 60. Therefore, when the tilt motor 30 rotates, the rotating frame 26 rotates, and the fixed frame 60 rotates.
lean against. Here, if the center of rotation of the rotation frame 26 is set near the position of the front principal point of the photographic lens, it is possible to prevent the actual screen from moving even if the photographic lens rotates.

FIG. 5 shows the circular cam portion 60a and the pin 26c.

26b is shown in a fitted state.

A contact piece 36 is attached to the rotating frame 26, and the contact piece 36 slides on a tilt encoder 38 as the rotating frame 26 tilts, so that the amount of tilt can be determined.

A display LED 40 disposed in a finder optical system 42 is also connected to the microcomputer 10 .

FIG. 6 shows a display example of the finder of this embodiment. Three distance measuring frames 42b are arranged horizontally within the finder light frame 42a. Further, on the top of the finder light frame 42b, there are three focusing LEDs 40 corresponding to each distance measuring frame 42b.
A are lined up horizontally.

Further, on the left side of the finder light frame 42a, there are five tilt amount display segments 40b that indicate the amount of tilt of the photographic lens. Here, the upper segment 42b corresponds to the right side in the tilt direction. As a result, the tilt direction of the photographic lens and which part of the subject is in focus can be determined not from the subject image in the finder. Therefore, even if the camera has a viewfinder instead of an eye reflex finder, it is possible to manually perform a tilt operation while looking at the finder display.

Before explaining the operation of this embodiment, Scheinbruch's law will be explained.

Generally, if the photographic lens and film are parallel or if the subject is oblique, the entire area of the subject will not be in focus. In order to bring the whole area into focus, the intersection point Q between the film plane and the subject plane should intersect with the extension line of the lens inclination.

This is called Scheinbruch's law, and there are cases where the film surface 74 is tilted as shown in FIG. 7, and cases where the lens 72 is tilted as shown in FIG. Although the lens is tilted in this embodiment, it goes without saying that the film surface may also be tilted.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained. The tilt mode can be selected between auto tilt mode and manual tilt mode by switching the slide switch 52. In normal mode, the lens is not tilted at all and the lens and film plane are parallel.

First, the auto tilt mode will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step 10, it is determined whether the release button 54 has been pressed to the first step. The release button 54 is a two-step release, and when it is pressed to the first step, AFΔp1 distance (3 points 71F+distance) is performed in step 12. here,
Three beams are emitted from the IRLED 20 via a light projecting lens 18, and the reflected infrared light is received by the PSD 14 through a light receiving lens 12, and the microcomputer 10 takes in the distance information of the three points.

Based on the distance information of these three points, the microcomputer 10 calculates the lens tilt amount (tilt ff1) and the lens extension amount for AF using a weight algorithm in step 14.

This algorithm will be explained below. Here, the screen is divided horizontally into three equal parts, and if it is determined that the subject in the center is the closest object, the lens 72 is not tilted and the lens is extended. The amount is determined according to the distance to the central subject.

When the object at the edge is detected to be the closest, it can be further divided into the following two cases.

First, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, if it is determined that the center object is the next closest object, the intersection point Q of the straight line connecting the edge objects and the center object and the line on the film surface 74 is calculated. The amount of inclination of the lens 72 is determined so that the line of inclination of the lens 72 passes through it. In this case as well, the AF advance amount is determined in accordance with the distance to the central subject. In other words, the focus is
In the case of Fig. 12, it matches the subjects at the left end and center, and in the case of Fig. 13, it matches all the subjects at the left end, center, and right end.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, if it is determined that the object at the other end is the next closest, the intersection Q of the straight line connecting the objects at both ends and the line on the film surface 74 is set on the lens 72. The amount of inclination of the lens 72 is determined so that the line of inclination passes through it. Then, the AF extension amount is determined by taking into account the extension amount corresponding to the closest object and the correction amount according to the tilt amount of the lens.

That is, in the case of FIG. 14, only the objects at both ends are in focus, and in the case of FIG. 15, all the objects at the left end, center, and right end are in focus.

When the microcomputer 1o calculates the lens tilt amount and extension amount using the above-described algorithm, it transmits a control signal to the tilt drive circuit 34 in step 16,
Start tilt operation.

When the tilt motor 30 starts rotating, its rotational force is transmitted to the rotation frame 26 via the idler 32, and the rotation frame 26
starts rotating along the circular cam portion 60a of the fixed frame 60. At the same time, the contact piece 36 slides on the tilt encoder 38, and the amount of tilt is detected (step 18).

When the detected tilt amount matches the tilt amount determined in step 14, a stop signal is sent to the tilt motor 3o in step 20, and the rotation of the rotation frame 26 is stopped.

In step 22, the micro combinator 10 transmits a control signal to the lens drive circuit 28 to start the AF operation. When the AF motor 27 starts rotating, its rotational force is transmitted to the rack 24a of the photographic lens frame 24, and the rotational force is transmitted to the rack 24a of the photographic lens frame 24.
4 begins to move back and forth. A detection element (not shown) counts pulses generated every time the photographing lens frame 24 moves by a predetermined amount, and the amount of lens extension is detected (step 24).

When the detected extension amount matches the extension amount determined in step 14, a stop signal is sent to the AF motor 271 in step 26, and the movement of the photographing lens frame 24 is stopped.

In step 28, the black and white portion and the tilt amount are displayed in the finder. That is, one of the tilt amount display segments 40b is lit according to the amount of tilt determined in step 14. Further, one of the focus display LEDs 40a corresponding to the focused position is turned on. As shown in Fig. 13, if all the points are in focus, all three will light up. Whether or not to turn on the light is determined based on the distance information of each point and the amount of lens extension in consideration of the depth of field.

In step 30, it is determined whether the release button 54 has been released. If the release button 54 is released, step 32
Use to reset AF and tilt. That is, the tilt amount of the lens is returned to 0, and the feeding position is returned to the initial position. Thereafter, the process returns to step 10, the step of determining the first release.

If it is determined in step 30 that the release button 54 has not been released, it is determined in step 34 whether or not the second release is to be performed. If it is not the second release, the process returns to step 30, which determines the first release.

If it is determined in step 34 that it is the second release, the shutter is operated and exposure is performed in step 36, and then the AF and tilt are reset in step 38. Thereafter, the process returns to step 10, the step of determining the first release.

In this way, in auto-tilt mode, multiple subjects can be brought into focus by automatically determining the optimal tilt amount from three-point distance information, tilting the lens, and then driving the AF motor. .

Next, the manual tilt mode will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 17.

When one of the manual tilt operation buttons 56 is pressed, the tilt motor 30 rotates forward or backward depending on the operation button in step 40 to start a tilt operation. Rotation of the tilt motor 30 continues until it is detected in step 42 that the operation button 56 is released. When it is detected that the operation button 56 has been released, the rotation of the tilt motor 30 is stopped in step 44.

In step 46, the tilt amount is detected by the tilt encoder 38. Then, in step 48, the detected tilt amount is displayed in the finder using the tilt amount display segment 40b.

In step 50, it is determined whether the release button 54 has been pressed to the first step. If it has not been pressed, the process returns to step 40, and the tilt amount can be corrected as many times as desired by pressing the operation button 15 again.

When the release button 54 is pressed to the first step, distance measurement information is acquired in step 52, the amount of lens extension is calculated in step 54, as in the first embodiment, and steps 56 to 60
The AF lens is advanced in step 62, and the in-focus area is displayed in the finder using the focus LED 40a.

In step 64, it is determined whether the release button 54 has been released. If the release button 54 is released, step 66
AF reset and tilt reset are performed with , and the process returns to step 40. If it is determined in step 64 that the release button 54 has not been released, it is determined in step 68 whether or not the second release is to be performed.

If it is not the second release, the process returns to step 64, which determines the first release.

If it is determined in step 68 that it is the second release, exposure is performed in step 70, AF reset and tilt reset are performed in step 72, and the process returns to step 40.

In the manual tilt mode, the amount of tilt is displayed in the viewfinder using the display segment 40b, so the amount of tilt can be adjusted manually while viewing the display segment 40b. After tilting the lens, the AF motor moves the lens out, allowing automatic focusing.

The manual tilt mode can also be applied to the reverse Scheimpflug case shown in FIG.

In other words, even if the person on the left edge of the screen is in focus, if you want to focus on other parts of the subject (landscape at infinity), you can tilt the lens 72 in the opposite direction to Scheinbruch's law. good. In this case as well, the user presses the manual tilt operation button 56 while looking at the display in the viewfinder to adjust the amount of lens tilt.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. Figure 19 shows the structure viewed from the side. The second embodiment is an example of a single-lens reflex finder camera using a mirror and a prism. The tilt mechanism, AF control section, photographic lens, shutter, etc. other than the finder are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the tilt operation, A
The F operation is the same as in the first embodiment, and the exposure operation is different from the first embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the exposure operation. If it is determined in step 32 that the release button 54 is in the second release position, the sector is closed in step 80. The sector is initially closed, and the light that passes through the lens passes through a mirror and prism and is guided to the finder, forming an image of the subject on the finder. The eyepiece shutter is closed in step 82 and the mirror begins to be raised in step 84. When the mirror is fully up, the shutter is actuated for exposure in step 86, the mirror is lowered in step 88, the eyepiece shutter is opened in step 90, and the sector is opened in step 92. Then, in step 38, the AF
Reset, tilt reset and return to initial state.

Since the first embodiment uses a viewfinder, the tilt effect is not reflected on the subject image itself in the finder, but the second embodiment uses a single-lens reflex finder, so the actual subject image is reflected in the finder. This has the advantage of being able to determine the amount of blur.

Therefore, the second embodiment is more effective in manual tilt mode than the first embodiment.

This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified in various ways. For example, during the tilt operation, the film surface may be tilted on the lens lever, and the direction of tilt may include not only the horizontal direction but also the vertical direction. Furthermore, the tilting mechanism is not limited to the tilt mechanism, and a shift mechanism may also be used. Furthermore, the AF function may be omitted.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to this invention, when photographing multiple subjects at different distances, it is possible to automatically tilt the lens or film surface to focus on the multiple subjects. It is possible to provide a camera with a built-in tilting mechanism that can display the amount of tilt and the in-focus state in the finder.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of a camera with a built-in tilting mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a slide switch.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the tilt mechanism, FIG. 5 is a view showing a circular cam part, FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of display in the finder, FIGS. 7 and 8 are views explaining Scheinbruch's law,
Figures 9 to 11 are diagrams for explaining the operation when the lens is not tilted, Figures 12 to 15 are diagrams for explaining the operation when the lens is tilted, and Figure 16 is for explaining the operation in auto-tilt mode. Flowchart, FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of manual tilt mode, FIG. 18 is a diagram explaining the inverse Scheinbruch's law, and FIG.
FIG. 20, which is a diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment, is a flowchart showing the operation of the auto-tilt mode of the second embodiment. 10...Microcomputer, 14...PSD. 20...IRLED, 24...Photographing lens frame, 26
...Rotation frame, 27...AF motor, 30...Tilt motor, 36...Tilt encoder. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Atsushi Tsuboi 5 Figure 6 Figure 42b ooo. Figure 18 J (J Figure 19 O U Figure 12 Figure 14 Figure 13 Figure 15 Figure 20 Procedural amendment 63.11.2', ' Showa year, month, day, Japan Patent Office Commissioner Yoshi 1) Mr. Moon Takeshi 1. Indication of the case Japanese Patent Application No. 63-231752 2. Name of the invention Camera with built-in tilting mechanism 3. Person making the correction Relationship to the case Patent applicant (037) Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. 4, Agent Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Kasumigaseki 3-7-2 UBE Building 1
00 Telephone 03 (502) 3181 (main representative)
2°−τ− (6881) Patent attorney Jun Tsuboi
),・5, Spontaneous correction
7. Contents of amendment (1) The claims are amended as shown in the attached sheet. (2) “The description stated in page 4, line 3 to line 4 of page 4 of the specification.
, or remove the film surface. (3) Delete "or film surface" written on page 4, line 9 of the specification. (4) "Right side" written on page 4, line 20 of the specification is corrected to "left side." (5) "Left side" written on page 5, line 8 of the specification is corrected to "right side." (6) "Here, the upper segment 42b corresponds to the right side in the inclination direction" stated in page 8, line 17 to line 18 of the same page of the specification.
corresponds to clockwise rotation in the tilt direction.'' (7) "Patent" stated on page 10, line 15 of the specification is replaced with "
Unique,” he corrected. (8) "or film surface" written in page 19, line 14 of the specification is deleted. (9) Figure 4 of the drawings will be amended as shown in the attached sheet. 2. Scope of Claims Multi-point distance measuring means capable of measuring at least three or more points on a subject; and calculating the output of the multi-point distance measuring means to determine each of the at least three or more points. A camera with a built-in tilting mechanism, comprising: an arithmetic circuit that determines the amount of inclination to achieve a focused state; and a drive means that tilts a photographing optical system based on the amount of inclination determined by the arithmetic circuit. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Atsushi Tsuboi

Claims (1)

[Claims] A multi-point distance measuring means capable of measuring at least three or more points on a subject; and calculating an output of the multi-point distance measuring means to determine an amount of inclination that brings each of the at least three or more points into focus. 1. A camera with a built-in tilting mechanism, comprising a calculation circuit for determining the amount of tilt, and a driving means for tilting a photographing optical system or a film surface based on the amount of tilt determined by the calculation circuit.