JPH05107446A - Telescope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a telescope that is capable of being fitted to a tripod and that does not tax the eyes when it is used in such a state that it has been fitted to the tripod. CONSTITUTION:A telescope comprises a judging means by which whether or not the lens is positioned in a prescribed focusing range is judged, a lens driving means for driving the lens so that it enters the focusing range if the position of the lens based on the output of the judging means is out of the prescribed focusing range, a tripod-fitting part, a tripod-fitting switch 900 that is driven by fitting the tripod-fitting part to the tripod, and a focusing-width varying means by which the focusing range is narrowed when the tripod-fitting switch 900 shows that the tripod-fitting part has been fitted to the tripod.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to telescopes such as monoculars and binoculars, and particularly AF (automatic focusing).
A telescope having a function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a large-sized telescope or a high-magnification telescope, there is a high possibility that camera shake will occur if observation is performed while holding it by hand. When camera shake occurs, the focused state is likely to collapse and a hunting phenomenon occurs. Therefore, the lens frequently moves back and forth, and the eye tries to follow it,
In order to prevent the eyes from being stressed and tired, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-3406, once the in-focus state is reached, the in-focus range is widened and the focus is slightly out of focus. However, it is only necessary not to distinguish it from the defocus.

[0003]

However, when the focusing width is wide as described above, the lens is more likely to stop at the position corresponding to the end of the focusing width, and therefore the eye itself adjusts the focus. , A relatively long time like a telescope,
In the case of staring at an observer, there is a problem that the eyes eventually get tired. Further, the AF operation is performed based on the operation of the AF switch, but it may be troublesome since it may be necessary to continue to operate the AF switch when looking at a moving observation object like binoculars.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a telescope which is attached to a tripod and prevents the eyes from being tired during use in a state where the tripod is attached. To do. Another object of the present invention is to attach the A switch to a tripod without operating the AF switch.
It is to provide a telescope that is adapted to perform F-motion.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the telescope of the present invention comprises a judging means for judging whether or not a lens is in a position within a predetermined focusing range, and based on the output of the judging means. If the lens is not within the predetermined focusing range, lens driving means for driving the lens so as to be within the focusing range, a tripod mounting part, and a tripod driven by mounting the tripod mounting part on a tripod A mounting switch and a focusing width varying means for narrowing the focusing range when the tripod mounting switch indicates that the tripod mounting portion is mounted on a tripod.

Further, the telescope of the present invention is driven by attaching an AF switch, an automatic focusing means which operates in response to the operation of the AF switch, a tripod mount, and the tripod mount to the tripod. A tripod mounting switch and, when the tripod mounting switch indicates that the tripod mounting portion is mounted on a tripod, continuously operates the automatic focusing means even if the AF switch is not operated. And a control means.

[0007]

According to the first configuration, the focusing width becomes narrow when the telescope is attached to the tripod, but since the telescope is attached to the tripod, there is no camera shake and no hunting phenomenon occurs. Further, since the focus width is narrow, the opportunity for the eye itself to perform focus adjustment is reduced. In addition, since the focus width is wide in a state where the pedestal is not attached to a tripod, hunting phenomenon due to camera shake can be prevented. Further, according to the second configuration, since the AF function works without operating the AF switch when the telescope is attached to the tripod, other operations such as moving the platform can be easily performed correspondingly. Can be done. However, the automatic focusing means does not work unless the AF switch is operated when the camera is not attached to the tripod.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the binoculars of this embodiment, FIG. 2 shows its front surface, FIG. 3 shows its back surface, FIG. 4 shows its back surface, and FIG. 5 shows its right side surface. Here, 2 is an upper cover of a cover that forms a housing of the binoculars 1, and 3 is a lower cover. These covers 2 and 3 are formed of synthetic resin moldings. On the upper cover 2, a slide type operation member 4 of a main switch for turning the power on and off, a push type operation member 5 of an AF switch, and a rotary filter switching operation member for switching filters provided in the left and right optical systems. 6 is provided on the other hand, on the other hand, the lower cover 3 is provided with a slide type operation member 7 for adjusting the interpupillary distance, a tripod screw hole 8 for attaching the binoculars 1 to a tripod, and an interpupillary lock release button 9. Has been.

Next, 10 is a front cover and 11 is a rear cover. The front cover 10 is provided with light receiving windows 12 and 13 for the left and right optical systems. In the present embodiment, since the TTL distance measuring method is adopted for AF as will be described later, a light receiving window dedicated to distance measuring for entering distance measuring light is not provided.

The optical system structure of the binoculars 1 having the above-described appearance structure is such that the lens barrels 23 and 24 of the first and second optical systems 21 and 22 are arranged on the left and right as shown schematically in FIG. Objective lenses 25 and 26 are forwardly attached to the lens barrels 23 and 24 of
The filters 27 and 28 are arranged in the middle, and the eyepieces 29 and 30 are arranged rearward. A prism or the like may be further provided at the intermediate position. As will be described later, the filters 27 and 28 are configured such that a plurality of types of filters are selectively switched and inserted on the optical axis, and some of the filters are used for adjusting the pupil distance and the like. Filters 27, 28
Is provided so as to be located near the focal planes of the objective lenses 25 and 26 when inserted on the optical axis.

The objective lenses 25 and 26 are composed of inner cylinders 31 and 3, respectively.
2 and the inner barrels 31 and 32, respectively, and are movable in the lens barrels 23 and 24 simultaneously for AF, while the eyepieces 29 and 30 are independent of each other for diopter adjustment. Inside the lens barrels 23 and 24, the inner barrels 33 and 3
It can move with 4. The objective lens 2
Reference numerals 5 and 26 may include a plurality of lens components such as a zoom lens component and a focusing lens component. In that case, only the focusing lens component moves for AF.

As for the filters 27 and 28, a plurality of types of filters can be switched by a filter switching mechanism as described later. A light extraction member 35 including a half mirror is arranged in the lens barrel 24 of the right optical system 24 at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the optical axis as shown in the drawing, and a part of the light passing through the objective lens 26 is within a right angle. Bypass towards. This light exits the lens barrel 24, is reflected by the reflection mirror 36, and is guided to the AF distance measuring module 37 at the rear.

Although the lens barrels 23 and 24 are shown as one lens barrel from the front portion to the rear portion, the rear portion having the eyepieces 33 and 34 is actually a separate body from the front portion. And they are joined with screws or the like. Of course, as shown in FIG. 6, it is also possible to form one lens barrel from the front side to the rear side.

Although the AF distance measuring module 37 is not limited to this, it employs a phase difference detecting method as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the field mask SM and the condenser lens LC are arranged at positions close to the image forming position of the objective lens 26. Re-imaging lenses L1 and L2 are arranged behind the condenser lens LC with the optical axis Z as a symmetry axis, and a mask plate 38 having openings A1 and A2 is provided in front of these re-imaging lenses L1 and L2. Has been.
A CCD line sensor 39 is arranged on the image plane of each of the re-imaging lenses L1 and L2. The condenser lens LC has a power for forming the images of the openings A1 and A2 of the mask plate 38 at a predetermined position of the objective lens 26, and the openings A1 and A2.
The size of 2 is set so that only the light that passes through the aperture corresponding to a specific aperture value, for example, F5.6, of the observation light that passes through the objective lens 26 is passed.

Images If, Io, and Ib on the optical axis represent images of the observation objects Of, Oo, and Ob in front of the objective lens 26, respectively. The re-imaging images of these images If, Io, Ib by the re-imaging lenses L1, L2 are I1f,
It is indicated by I1o, I1b and I2f, I2o, I2b. That is, the re-formed images I1o and I2o of the reference image Io of the observation object Oo at the intermediate distance are formed at a position slightly before the line sensor 39, and the re-formed image I1f of the image If of the observation object Of at a long distance I1f. , I2f are formed at positions in front of the re-formed images I1o, I2o and close to the optical axis Z, and the re-formed images I1b, I2b of the image Ib of the observation object Ob at a short distance are re-formed images I1.
o, I2o, and a position apart from the optical axis Z.

Here, the position of the image formed by the objective lens 26 corresponds to the distance between the two re-formed images, and the line sensor 39 determines that the image distance between the two re-formed images is 2 of the reference image Io.
The short distance and the long distance are discriminated depending on whether they are longer or shorter than the image interval of the two re-formed images, and the image shift amount is detected depending on the difference in the image intervals. That is, the line sensor 39
Consists of a large number of pixels arranged along the moving direction of the re-formed image, and these pixels are divided into two areas, a standard portion and a reference portion. Based on the signals of the standard portion and the reference portion, the image interval between the two re-formed images is detected by the microcomputer which constitutes the system controller 140 shown in FIG. The micro computer performs focus detection based on the detected image interval, determines whether or not it is in the AF state, and calculates the defocus amount. The motor 44 is driven based on this defocus amount, and the focusing lens moves toward the focal point.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a rough layout mainly including the parallax correction mechanism 40 and the filter switching mechanism 41 in this embodiment. In the figure, 42a,
Reference numeral 42b is a battery for a power source, which is arranged parallel to the optical axes of the objective and the eyepiece lens in the ∞ state. Further, FIG. 9 is a layout diagram of a cross section taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. However,
In FIG. 9, the interpupillary distance adjustment mechanism 43 is also shown. In these figures, 23 'and 24' are the lens barrel 23 and
24 shows the state of moving outward. 44 is an AF motor, 45 is a transmission unit for transmitting the driving force of the AF motor 44 to the objective lenses 25 and 26, and 46 is a lens drive lever thereof.

In the present embodiment, the parallax correction is such that the focusing lens (objective lens in this embodiment) is located rearward when looking at an object at infinity, and is moved forward when looking at a near object. Since the lens barrels 23 and 24 are decentered from the parallel state to a predetermined angle by utilizing the movement of the focusing lens, the focusing lens as the driving source of the parallax correction mechanism. The drive mechanism will be described first with reference to FIG. 10, and then with reference to FIGS.
The parallax correction mechanism shown in FIG. 3 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 10, the focusing lens driving mechanism includes a motor 44 and a reduction gear portion 47 composed of four gears G1 to G4 for reducing the rotation of the motor 44.
And a cam shaft 48 directly connected to the output gear G4 of the reduction gear unit 47, a lens drive lever 46 driven by the cam shaft 48, and the like. A cam groove 49 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the cam shaft 48, and a pin 50 of the lens drive lever 46 is engaged with the cam groove 49. Therefore, when the cam shaft 48 rotates, the lens drive lever 46 moves in the C or D direction.

The lens drive lever 46 has cylindrical portions 54 and 55 which are loosely engaged with a pair of guide shafts 52 and 53 provided on the motor base plate 51, and the guide shafts are provided via the cylindrical portions 54 and 55. It is supported and guided by 52 and 53, and moves stably. Holes 56 are formed in the left and right ends of the lens drive lever 46,
57 are provided, and the pins 58 and 59 of the objective lens inner cylinders 31 and 32 are engaged with the holes 56 and 57, respectively. Therefore, the rotational force of the motor 44 is ultimately the lens driving lever-4.
When the movement is transmitted in the C or D direction of 6, the objective lens inner cylinders 31 and 32 move together with the lens driving lever 46 via the pins 58 and 59. The holes 56 and 57 are long in the direction at right angles to the moving direction of the lens drive lever 46, but this allows the lens barrels 23 and 24 to be displaced in the E direction by the interpupillary adjustment and parallax correction. This is because

The motor base plate 51 is rearwardly provided with the guide shaft 5
It has three support parts 60, 61 and 62 extending upward for supporting the rear ends of the cam shafts 2, 53 and the cam shaft 48, and the motor 44, the reduction gear part 47 and the cam in the front. It has a support portion 63 for supporting the front end of the shaft 48. The bottom 64 of the motor base plate 51 is provided with a pair of spring contact pieces 65, 66.
Reference numerals 5 and 66 form a switch piece of an infinite switch for detecting the end (infinity end) in the D direction. When the convex piece 67 of the lens drive lever 46 comes into contact with one of the contact pieces 65. The contact pieces 65 and 66 contact each other.

As described above, the pins 58 and 59 of the objective lens inner cylinders 31 and 32 move due to the AF operation, and a parallax correction mechanism utilizing the movement of the pins 58 and 59 will be described below. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the parallax correction mechanism when the binoculars are turned upside down, and only the right optical system 22 is shown. The optical system 2 on the left side
Although not shown for 1, the same thing as FIG. 11 exists symmetrically.

Now, in FIG. 11, reference numeral 70 designates the projecting pieces 71 to 71.
The lens barrel base plate is supported by the base base plate (not shown) of the binoculars 1 through the loose engagement of the support rod 74 and the support rods 75 and 76, and is movable in the directions of arrows E1 and E2. This movement is performed by the interpupillary distance adjustment mechanism 43 described later.
A lens barrel bearing 78 is fitted and fixed in a mounting hole 77 provided at a rear portion of the lens barrel base plate 70, and a fixing pin 79 of the lens barrel 24 is loosely fitted inside the lens barrel bearing 78. Therefore, the lens barrel 24 is rotatable in the horizontal direction about the lens barrel bearing 78.

A long hole 80 is formed in the front-rear direction in the lens barrel base plate 70.
The small diameter portion 81a of the cam plate shaft 81 is fitted to the rear end 80a of the elongated hole 80. The cam plate shaft 81, including the small diameter portion 81a, is opened in one direction from the center as a whole, and the opening faces the long hole 80 side. The width W of the long hole 80 is E1 only in the range where the pin 59 can correct the parallax
The size is selected so that it can move in the E2 direction.

A cam plate 8 is provided between the lens barrel base plate 70 and the lens barrel 24.
2, the first cam hole 83 has a central hole 83a into which the small diameter portion 81a of the cam plate shaft 81 is loosely fitted. The pin 59 provided on the objective lens inner cylinder 32 of the lens barrel 24 is provided with a first cam hole 83 of the cam plate 82 and an elongated hole 80 of the lens barrel base plate 70.
Penetrate through. A rib 85 protruding from the base plate of the binoculars fits into the second cam hole 84 of the cam plate 82. When the pin 59 provided on the inner cylinder 32 of the objective lens is AF-driven by the lens drive lever 46 described with reference to FIG. 10, the pin 59 moves along the optical axis of the lens barrel 24, but at the same time, it is cammed. The plate 82 slides in the first cam hole 83. Now, when trying to observe a nearby object, the pin 59 moves forward from the position (infinity position) shown in FIG. 11 due to the AF operation, and the lens barrel 24 moves around the pin 79 at the rear part as E.
It rotates in one direction (direction in which the distance between the lens barrels 23 and 24 is narrowed). During this time, the cam plate 82 is stationary by the cam plate shaft 81 and the ribs 85.

In FIG. 12 (a), 24A shows the position of the lens barrel 24 when observing an object at infinity, and 2A
4B shows the position of the lens barrel 24 when observing a near-end object. This FIG. 12 is a view seen from above in FIG. 11 (therefore, a view seen from below the binoculars 1). The interpupillary distance is adjusted in advance at the infinite distance position, and when a near object is seen at that interpupillary distance, two images seen by the left and right optical systems appear, but the lens barrels 23 and 24 are the same as in the present embodiment. The images are seen as one by pointing inward of each other (thus the two optical axes are no longer parallel), so they are blind. Moreover, since this is in response to the AF operation, appropriate parallax correction is automatically performed according to the distance of the object. However, this parallax correction mechanism does not have to respond to the AF operation. That is, even with binoculars of the type in which the focus lens is manually moved to focus, parallax correction is performed according to the distance of the observation object as long as it responds to the movement of the focusing lens.

It is desirable that the parallax correction amount be large when the eye width is wide and small when the eye width is narrow. In this embodiment, the parallax correction amount is thus changed according to the pupil distance. This point will be described with reference to FIG.

First, a rib 85 fixed to the base plate is loosely fitted in the second cam hole 84 of the cam plate 82.
When the eye width is narrowed from the state of FIG. 12B, the cam plate 82 moves in the E1 direction, and the cam plate 82 rotates in the K direction by the action of the second cam hole 84 and the rib 85. Therefore, the first cam hole 83 on the same cam plate 82 moves from the solid line position to the dotted line position.

That is, the angle from the position where the cam hole 83 is straight in the front-rear direction is reduced from α1 to α2 (α1> α2). This means that the amount of eccentricity of the lens barrel 24 (and hence the amount of parallax correction) due to the pin 59 that slides through the first cam hole 83 decreases as the eye width decreases, even if the observation object distance is the same. On the contrary, when the eye width is widened in FIG. 12B, the cam plate 82 moves in the E2 direction,
Since the second cam hole 84 moves in the direction opposite to the K direction, the angle of the first cam hole 83 becomes large. Therefore, the amount of eccentricity of the lens barrel 24 becomes large.

The above-described driving of the cam plate 82 in the E1 and E2 directions by the interpupillary distance adjustment is performed in accordance with the movement of the lens barrel base plate 70 by the interpupillary distance adjusting mechanism 43. In FIG.
Reference numeral 68 denotes a pin for transmitting the operation of the interpupillary distance adjusting mechanism to the lens barrel base plate 70, and the small diameter portion thereof is fitted into the hole 69 of the lens barrel base plate 70. Here, the interpupillary adjustment mechanism shown in FIG. 25 will be described.

In FIG. 25, 166 and 167 are first and second eye width adjustment plates, and the first eye width adjustment plate 166 is a pin 68 ′ (a pin of the right optical system) that is set up on the lens barrel base plate 70. 1st part 1 which is fitted to the pin of the left side optical system corresponding to 68 through the hole 171
Has 72. The first portion 172 extends along the axial direction of the lens barrel 23, and the hole 1 is formed in the L-shaped portion 173 at the rear end thereof.
71 are provided. The first interpupillary adjustment plate 166 is further provided with a second portion 174 extending outward from substantially the center of the first portion 172.
And has a third portion 175 at the front end which also extends outward. The second portion 174 is formed with a long hole 176 with which the interpupillary distance adjustment guide pin 168 is engaged, and the tip L of the third portion 175 is formed.
The character-shaped portion 177 is provided with a hole 178 for coupling with the link plate 180.

A fourth portion 181 extending toward the lens barrel 24 is provided on the opposite side of the first pupil distance adjusting plate 166, and an eye distance adjusting guide pin 169 is provided at an end 182 of the fourth portion 181. A long hole 183 which is engaged with is formed. Further, the fourth portion 181 is provided with a long hole 184 having a long diameter in a direction parallel to the axes of the lens barrels 23 and 24, and the long hole 184 has a pin 185 of the operation member 7 for adjusting the pupil distance. Engage.

Next, the second interpupillary distance adjusting plate 167 has a first portion 186 for fixing the pin 68, a second portion 187 having an elongated hole 188 for engaging with the interpupillary distance adjusting guide pin 169, and a lens barrel. It has a third portion 189 extending to the 23 side, and an L-shaped portion 190 having a hole 191 that engages with the link plate 180 is provided in an extension portion of the third portion 189. The third portion 189 has an elongated hole 192 through which the pin 185 of the operation member 7 for adjusting the pupil distance passes. The long hole 192 is the long hole 184 of the fourth portion 181 of the first interpupillary distance adjusting plate 166.
And at right angles to each other. The link plate 180 is U-shaped having L-shaped portions 192 and 193 at both ends, and has a hole 196 into which the link shaft 197 is fitted, at the center thereof. The L-shaped portions 192 and 193 have long holes 194 and 195 into which the link shafts 198 and 199 are fitted, respectively.

The operation of the interpupillary distance adjusting mechanism 43 having the above components will be described. First of all, in order to widen the width of the eye
When the space between 23 and 24 is widened, the operation member 7 for adjusting the interpupillary distance is moved in the arrow F direction. Thereby, the operating member 7
The first interpupillary distance adjusting plate 166 engaged with the pin 185 of the same moves in the direction of arrow F in the same manner. At this time, the long hole 1 of the first width adjustment plate 166
Eye width adjustment guide pin 16 with 76 and 183 fixed to the base plate
By sliding 8 and 169, the first adjustment plate 166 stably moves linearly with the interpupillary adjustment guide pins 168 and 169 as guide axes.

In this way, when the first eye width adjusting plate 166 moves in the direction of arrow F, the link plate 180 rotates in the direction of arrow H about the link shaft 197. Therefore, the second interpupillary adjustment plate
167 moves in a direction opposite to the first eye width adjusting plate 166. At this time, the second interpupillary adjustment plate 167 has the long holes 200 and 188.
It is guided by the interpupillary distance adjustment guide pins 168 and 169 to make a stable linear movement. In this way, the first and second interpupillary adjustment plates
When 166 and 167 move in opposite directions, pins 68 'and 68
The lens barrels 23 and 24 move in a direction away from each other through a pair of lens barrel base plates to which the binoculars 1 are widened.

Next, when narrowing the interpupillary distance, the operating member 7 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow F, and the first interpupillary adjustment plate is moved.
Since the 166, the link plate 180, and the second pupil distance adjusting plate 167 move in the opposite directions to the above, the lens barrels 23 and 24 approach each other, and as a result, the pupil distance of the binoculars 1 is narrowed.

26 to 28 show an interpupillary lock mechanism for locking the interpupillary condition adjusted by the above-mentioned interpupillary adjustment mechanism. In the figure, the pin 185 of the operation member 7 is provided with the first eye width adjustment plate 166 and the second eye width adjustment plate 16 as described above.
8 penetrates through the first eye width adjusting plate 1 in FIGS.
Only 66 is shown. A semi-columnar vertical groove 301 is provided in the thick portion 300 existing inside the operating member 7, and the semi-columnar rib 303 of the first lock body 302 is provided in the vertical groove 301.
Fit together. The first lock body 302 has a first uneven surface 304.

Reference numeral 305 is a second lock body, which is integrated with the lock release button 9. The second lock body 305 has a second uneven surface 306 that meshes with the first uneven surface 304 of the first lock body 302. The inner portion 9a of the release button 9 partially penetrates the notch 308 of the leaf spring 307 as shown in FIG. 28, and is held by the leaf spring 307. The leaf spring 307 is screwed to the base plate of the binoculars through the screw holes 309 and 310. With this leaf spring 307, the second lock body 3
05 is pressed, whereby the first and second lock bodies 30 are
2, 305 mesh with each other, and the locked state of the operation member 7 (therefore, the interpupillary distance locked state) is realized.

When it is desired to adjust the interpupillary distance by releasing the locked state, the operation member 7 may be slid while the lock release button 9 is pushed in from the back surface of the binoculars shown in FIG. That is, when the lock release button 9 is pushed in, the second lock body 305 is displaced in the direction away from the first lock body 302, the first and second uneven surfaces 304 and 306 are disengaged, and the operation member 7 is moved to the first position. It is in a slidable state together with the lock body 302. In this embodiment, since the interpupillary distance locking mechanism as described above is provided, it is possible to prevent a problem that the interpupillary distance once set is inadvertently changed by the operation member 7.

Next, FIGS. 14 and 15 show the diopter adjustment mechanism and the diopter lock (memory) mechanism in the binoculars of this embodiment. Here, a pin 89 is provided on the outer surface of the eyepiece inner cylinder 34 to which the eyepiece 30 is attached. This pin 89 penetrates the long hole 94 of the eyepiece outer tube 90,
The inside of this long hole 94 can move. Unlike the case shown in FIG. 6, the eyepiece outer tube 90 is provided as a lens barrel for the eyepiece lens portion, independently of the other lens barrels. The pin 89 penetrating through the long hole 94 and projecting outward is fitted into the cam groove 101 formed on the inner surface of the diopter ring 100 provided on the outer periphery of the eyepiece outer tube 90.
By rotating, it moves along the optical axis. As a result, the eyepiece inner tube 90 moves along the optical axis direction, and the diopter is adjusted.

The adjusted diopter is mechanically stored and held by the lock ring 96 and the memory ring 98, which are always held integrally. The lock ring 96 has a plurality of lock grooves 97 on the outer circumference.
As shown in the figure, a pin 93 protruding forward is engaged with the collar portion 91 of the eyepiece outer tube 90. A screw groove 95 is formed at one end of the small diameter portion 92 of the eyepiece outer tube 90, and the screw groove 104 of the eyepiece retainer 103 is screwed into the screw groove 95 to form a small diameter portion 92.
The movement of each component (96, 98, 100) provided above is restricted in the optical axis direction and held in the rotational direction. At this time, a washer 102 is interposed between the eyepiece retainer 104 and the front end of the diopter ring 100, and a spring 99 is interposed between the rear end of the diopter ring 100 and the front end of the memory ring 98.

When it is desired to change the diopter from the diopter lock / memory state as shown in FIG. 14, first, the lock ring 96 is manually moved forward (in the direction of arrow C). As a result, the engagement between the pin 93 and the lock groove 97 is released, and when the diopter adjustment ring 100 is rotated in that state and the hand is released from the lock ring 96 at the predetermined lock groove corresponding position, the biasing force of the spring 99 causes The lock ring 96 and the memory ring 98 move rearward, and the pin 93 and the selected lock groove 97 are engaged with each other, whereby the adjusted diopter is stored and held.

With the diopter of a specific person stored and held,
When another person adjusts the diopter to use the binoculars, the diopter ring 100 is rotated without operating the lock ring 96, and the eyepiece inner tube 34 is moved in the optical axis direction. At this time, the click 98a of the memory ring 98 and the diopter ring 10
Since the click locking state with the 0 click groove 100a is released, the diopter ring 100 rotates, but the memory ring 9
8 does not rotate, so that the diopter of a specific person can be kept stored. Then, when it is used again by a specific person, by rotating the diopter ring 100 to the click locking position, the diopter ring 100 can be quickly adjusted to the diopter. In FIG. 14, 11 is a rear cover of the binoculars.
Although FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 have been described with respect to the diopter adjustment for the right optical system and the lock / memorization, the same configuration is provided for the left optical system.

Next, the filter switching mechanism 41 will be described with reference to FIGS. The upper cover 2 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 16, the rotary type filter switching operation member 6 which is partially exposed from the first gear 201 has a cylindrical shape.
Have in one. This first gear 201 is the second gear 2
02, and the second gear 202 is the third gear 203.
The third gear 203 meshes with the fourth gear 204. The third and fourth gears 203 and 204 mesh with the gear portions formed on the outer circumferences of the rotary plate 205 for the lens barrel 23 of the left optical system 21 and the rotary plate 206 for the lens barrel 24 of the right optical system 22, respectively. There is.

Therefore, when the operating member 6 is rotated, its rotational force is changed from the first gear 201 to the second gear 202 to the third gear 20.
3 → Transmitted to the rotary plate 205 and the first gear 201
→ second gear 202 → third gear 203 → fourth gear 204 →
It is transmitted to the rotary plate 206. 4 on the left rotary plate 205
Two filters 27A to 27D are provided, and one filter is inserted on the optical axis of the lens barrel 23 as the rotary plate 205 rotates. The right rotary plate 206 has the same structure.

Since the distance between the lens barrels 23 and 24 is changed for the purpose of adjusting the interpupillary distance, the filter switching mechanism 41 is also configured to cope with the change in the interpupillary distance. That is, the first and second couplings, one end of which is rotatably supported by the centers of the left and right rotary plates 205 and 206, and the other end of which is rotatably supported by the centers of the third and fourth gears 203 and 204, respectively. Lever 20
9, 210 are provided, and the second to fourth gears 2 are provided.
A restriction plate 207 is provided for vertically restricting the movement of 02 to 204. The regulation plate 207 is formed with a long hole 211 extending in the vertical direction.
A pin 208 formed on the shaft of the third gear 203 penetrates through the first gear and is slidable. The regulation plate 207 is fixed to the base plate.

Besides, the shaft of the first gear 201 and the second gear 2
The shaft of 02 is rotatably connected by a lever 212, and the shaft of the second gear 202 is also rotatably connected by a lever 213 to the shaft of the third gear 203.

FIG. 17 shows a state in which the eye width is narrow, and FIG. 18 shows a state in which the eye width is wide. As described above, the rotational force transmission of the first gear 201 by the operation member 6 is surely transmitted to the left and right rotating plates 205 and 206 to switch the filter regardless of the pupil distance. The rotating plates 205 and 206 are provided with click ribs 214 and 215 corresponding to the respective switching positions of the filter, so that they can be fitted with click recess means (not shown). This provides positioning at the switching position and provides the operator with a sense of the performance of the switching.

FIG. 19 shows the types of the four filters 27A to 27D. 27A is an ND filter that uniformly reduces the amount of light in the visible light range, and 27B is a polarization filter. Further, 27C is an ultraviolet cut filter, which is colorless and transparent. The ultraviolet cut filter 27C has a function of removing harmful rays. Reference numeral 27D is a pattern filter as an adjustment target used when adjusting the interpupillary distance. In FIG. 19, 216 indicates the central axis of the rotary plate 205. Each filter is located near the focal plane of the objective lenses 25 and 26 when inserted on the optical axis.

Next, FIGS. 20 and 21 show an example in which the interpupillary distance is adjusted using the adjustment filter 27D. In FIG. 20, a filter having a cross pattern (target pattern) 218 is provided as the adjustment filter 27D of the rotary plate 205 for the left optical system 21 as shown at 217 in FIG. 20, and the rotary plate 206 for the right optical system 22 is provided. If a filter having a square pattern (target pattern) 220 as shown in 219 of FIG. 20 is provided as the adjustment filter 27D of FIG. 20, when the interpupillary distance does not match, as shown in FIG. The pattern centers of can be seen apart,
When the interpupillary distance is matched, the pattern centers of the two appear to coincide with each other as shown in FIG. As a matter of course, the respective patterns 218 and 220 move in the left-right opposite directions due to the interpupillary adjustment operation.

On the other hand, in the embodiment of FIG. 21, the left side is a donut-shaped pattern and the right side is a black dot-shaped pattern. When the black dot pattern is included in the donut-shaped pattern, the interpupillary distance becomes the best. It is also possible to adjust the diopter by using the eye distance adjusting filter. In this case, the diopter may be adjusted according to the sharpness of the pattern.

22 to 24 show different embodiments of the tripod mounting switch 900 for detecting that the binoculars are mounted on the tripod. In FIG. 22, the switch 900 having the contact pieces 903 and 904 is mounted on the substrate 902 that closes the recess 901 formed on the inner surface of the lower cover 3, while the spring 905 biases the switch 900 downward in the recess 901. Moving plate 90 located on the bottom surface of the recess 901
6 are arranged. The recess 901 communicates with the triangular screw hole 8. When the tripod mounting screw 907 is screwed into the screw hole, the tip of the screw 907 displaces the moving plate 906 upward, and the switch pieces 905 and 903 come into contact with each other. Put in a state. This allows the tripod mount switch 900
Turns on.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 23 is an example in which one of the switch pieces is provided on the moving plate 906, and when the switch piece 910 contacts the other switch piece 911, it is turned on. 912,
Reference numeral 913 indicates a lead wire. FIG. 24 shows an example in which the moving plate 906 is not provided and the switch piece 914 is directly driven by the screw 907. Further, the embodiment of FIG. 32 shows a drive configuration of a tripod mounting switch when the binoculars 1 are mounted on a tripod via a tripod mounting adapter 950. In the figure, 960 is a pan head, and the pan head is the pan head. Adapter 950 on tripod 960
It is screwed by 7. Reference numeral 951 denotes a tripod mounting screw hole provided in the adapter 950. The binoculars 1 are pressed by the pressing plate 952 by tightening the adapter nut 954 screwed with the adapter bolt 953, and are thereby clamped by the adapter. Corresponding to such a mounting form on a tripod, the binoculars 1 is provided with a tripod mounting switch 900 on the back side as shown in FIG. 31, and this switch 900 is mounted by a tripod screw 907 as shown in FIG. Pressed upward (direction of arrow). It is driven (turned on) by a pin provided at the center of the tripod attachment button 920. This pin and button 920 is a tripod screw 90
When 7 is not applied, the spring is biased so as to close the hole of the lower cover-3.

Next, FIG. 29 shows a circuit system of the binoculars 1 of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 140 is a system controller including a microcomputer. The output voltage (DC voltage) VDD0 of the power supply battery 42 is the motor 44
DC / DC converter
Given to unit 141. The DC / DC converter unit 141 responds to the power control PWC signal provided from the system controller 140, and provides a predetermined output voltage (DC voltage) VDD1 to the system controller, and also supplies VCC1 and VCC2 to the AF distance measuring module 37. give. Where VDD1 and VCC1
Is regulated to 5V and VCC2 is regulated to 12V.
The system controller 140 controls the DC / DC converter unit 141 to deactivate the VCC1 and the VCC2 in order to save the consumption of the battery 42 when the AF distance measuring module 37 is not operated.

The motor drive circuit 142 operates by a control signal from the system controller 140 and drives the motor 44. 145 is a slide type main switch, 146 is a push type AF switch, 14
Reference numeral 7 denotes an infinite switch formed by the contact pieces 55 and 56 shown in FIG. 900 is a tripod mounting switch.

Next, the control operation by the macro computer constituting the system controller 140 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. Figure 30
Shows the general operation flow, and in the figure,
First, when the battery 42 is attached, the reset operation is performed in each part of the microcomputer and the initial setting is performed (step # 5). This initial setting is to initialize the input / output port of the microcomputer and the data. ON of the main switch 145
Will have meaning after this initialization.

At step # 10, the main switch 145
Is ON, and if it is OFF, the process proceeds to step # 25 and the DC / DC converter unit 141
After the above operation is stopped, a wait (standby) state is set in step # 30. That is, the power is on, but the microcomputer does not work. If it is determined in step # 10 that the main switch 145 is ON, in the next step # 15, the DC / DC converter unit 1
The operation of 41 is started, and the lens is moved to the infinite position in the next step # 20. This is because it is necessary to know the lens position for at least one point, and the infinity position as that one point is brought into contact with the switch piece 55 of FIG. Furthermore, it is obtained by moving from there to a mechanical contact, and subsequent lens drive is performed with this point as a reference.

After the lens is reset to the infinity position in step # 20, it is determined in step # 35 whether or not the AF switch 146 is ON. If it is OFF, the process proceeds to step # 40 to mount the tripod. It is determined whether the switch 900 is ON. Here, the tripod mounting switch 9
If 00 is OFF, the process proceeds to step # 90 and it is determined whether or not the main switch 145 is ON. If the main switch 145 is also OFF, the DC / DC converter unit 141 is turned OFF (step # 100), and then the standby state is set (step # 105). If the main switch 145 is ON, the process returns to step # 35. If the AF switch 146 is ON in step # 35, or if the tripod mounting switch 900 is ON in step # 40, CCD driving (C for distance measurement is performed in step # 45).
Activate the CD), then step # 50
To calculate the distance.

Next, in step # 55, determination of low contrast is performed. The low contrast determination here is to determine whether or not the contrast of the observation object is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and is performed based on the data of the CCD. Then, when it is determined that the low contrast is determined, the process proceeds to step # 90, and when it is determined that the low contrast is determined, the process proceeds to step # 65.

In step # 65, it is determined whether or not the tripod mounting switch 900 is ON. If the switch 900 is ON, it is determined whether or not the deviation amount is larger than the minimum focusing width (step # 70), and the switch 900 is determined. If is OFF, it is determined whether or not the shift amount is larger than the maximum focus width (step # 75). When the shift amounts are smaller than the minimum and maximum focus widths in steps # 70 and # 75, it is not necessary to move the AF lens, and therefore the process proceeds to step # 90 without driving the motor. If the shift amount is larger than the focusing width, the shift amount is converted into the number of drive pulses of the motor 44 in step # 80, and the motor is driven in step # 85 to focus. Then, the process proceeds to step # 90. As can be seen from the above flow, in this embodiment, when the binoculars are attached to the tripod, the AF switch 146 is turned on.
The AF operation will be performed even if it is not set. Moreover, it is continuously performed as long as the main switch 145 is ON.

When the binoculars are attached to a tripod,
The reason why the focus width to be compared with the shift amount is set to a small value as shown in step # 70 is that the shake amount is small when the camera is mounted on a tripod and observed.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the telescope is attached to a tripod, the focusing width is narrowed and the chances for the eye itself to adjust the focus are reduced, so that the eye is not tired. Further, in the present invention, when the telescope is attached to the tripod, the automatic focusing operation is continuously performed without operating the AF switch, so that the hand is not tired and the hand becomes free accordingly, and other operations are possible. Can be done easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of binoculars embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a right side view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of the optical system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an optical system of the AF distance measuring module.

FIG. 8 is a rough plan layout view showing a parallax correction mechanism in the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a rough layout diagram taken along the line AA ′.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the AF mechanism in this embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the parallax correction mechanism only with respect to the right optical system.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the action.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view thereof.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a diopter adjustment mechanism and a lock (memory) mechanism thereof.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view thereof.

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of a filter switching mechanism according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a view showing a filter switching mechanism in a state where the eye width is widened.

FIG. 18 is a view showing a filter switching mechanism in a state where the eye width is narrowed.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing types of filters.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a method of performing interpupillary adjustment using left and right filters.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a method of similarly adjusting the pupil distance using the left and right filters.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a drive mechanism of a tripod mounting switch according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing another configuration of the tripod mounting switch.

FIG. 24 is a view showing still another configuration of the tripod mounting switch.

FIG. 25 is an exploded perspective view showing a pupil distance adjusting mechanism in the present embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of an eye width locking mechanism in the present embodiment.

FIG. 27 is an exploded perspective view of the eye width locking mechanism in the present embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view of the interpupillary distance locking mechanism in the present embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a block circuit diagram showing the circuit system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a main operation flow in this embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a drive configuration of a tripod attachment switch in a state where the tripod attachment switch is attached to the tripod.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Binoculars 2 Upper cover 3 Lower cover 4 Main switch operating member 5 AF switch operating member 6 Filter cutting and operating member 7 Interpupillary adjustment operating member 8 Tripod screw hole 9 Interpupillary lock release button 21 Left optical system 22 right side optical system 23, 24 lens barrel 25, 26 objective lens 27, 28 filter 29, 30 eye lens 31, 32 objective lens inner cylinder 33, 34 eyepiece inner cylinder 37 AF distance measuring module 40 parallax correction mechanism 41 Filter switching mechanism 42, 42a, 42b Battery 43 Eye width adjustment mechanism 44 AF motor 59 Pin 80 Long hole 81 Cam plate shaft 82 Cam plate 83 First cam hole 84 Second cam hole 85 Rib 90 Eyepiece outer cylinder 91 Tsuba Part 92 Small diameter part 93 Pin 94 Long hole 95 Screw hole 96 Lock ring 97 Lock groove 98 Memory ring 99 Spring 100 Degrees ring 101 cam groove 102 a washer 103 eyepiece presser 104 thread groove 302 first locking member 305 second locking member 307 leaf spring 900 Tripod switch 950 tripod mounting adapter.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yasushi Tanijiri 2-3-3 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A judging means for judging whether or not a lens is in a position within a predetermined focusing range, and the focusing range if the lens is not within the predetermined focusing range based on an output of the judging means. A lens driving means for driving the lens so as to enter the inside, a tripod mounting part, a tripod mounting switch driven by mounting the tripod mounting part on a tripod, and the tripod mounting part mounted on a tripod. A focusing range varying means for narrowing the focusing range when the tripod mounting switch is shown, and a telescope. 2. An AF switch, an automatic focusing means which operates in response to an operation of the AF switch, a tripod mounting portion, a tripod mounting switch driven by mounting the tripod mounting portion on a tripod, Control means for continuously operating the automatic focusing means even when the AF switch is not operated when the tripod mounting switch indicates that the tripod mounting portion is mounted on the tripod. telescope.