JPH06186626A - Interchangeable lens - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an interchangeable lens in which the driving of a diaphragm can be operated from a lens side by providing a simple changeover switch as a substitute for a diaphragm ring or using another existing changeover switch also as an operating member. CONSTITUTION:A motor-driven diaphragm device main body 20 incorporated with a step motor 21 for driving the diaphragm is connected to a diaphragm driving circuit 22, and connected to a lens side microcomputer 3. In the case a MODE switch SW4 is turned off, a diaphragm driving feasible mode is set, and the microcomputer 3 transmits information about the turn-on of an FP reproducing switch SW3 to a camera side microcomputer 1 through a communication line DLC in response to the turn-on of the switch SW3. The microcomputer 1 receiving data calculates light quantity obtained by a photometry circuit in the camera considering elements such as film sensitivity, shutter speed and a diaphragm value and decides the number of steps of the diaphragm and transmits a diaphragm driving instruction to the microcomputer 3 through a communication line DCL.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interchangeable lens to be mounted on an interchangeable lens type camera, and more particularly to an interchangeable lens constructed so that a diaphragm operation can be performed more quickly and easily than conventional products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an interchangeable lens and a camera which are diaphragm driven by a motor such as a stepping motor, the set value of the diaphragm value can be changed only from the camera side regardless of the automatic exposure state and the manual exposure state. The diaphragm is driven by the release.

Further, in the diaphragm drive for confirming the depth,
It is configured to check the depth by pressing the aperture button set on the camera body and also using the aperture value setting operation member.

[0004]

However, the conventional camera described above has the following problems.

When driving the aperture for checking the depth, especially in the case of a super-telephoto lens, it is necessary to operate the aperture button provided on the camera body side with the left hand supporting the lens during handheld photography, and only with the right hand. However, it had the drawback of having to support the weight of the entire camera and super telephoto lens.

Further, when changing the aperture value during aperture stop, the aperture value change operation member must be operated with the right hand while pressing the aperture stop button with the left hand, which is a troublesome point.

Further, even when the tripod is fixed, the left hand is usually the manual focus ring of the super telephoto lens and A
It is provided near the area where the / M switching switch is provided, and when checking the depth, the left hand has to be bothered to bring it into the camera body, which lacks speed.

In view of the above situation, an object of the present invention is to replace the diaphragm ring provided on the lens barrel side in the related art with a simple switching switch or to use another existing switching switch as a diaphragm operating member. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved interchangeable lens in which diaphragm driving can be operated from the lens side by being configured to be used together.

[0009]

According to the present invention, drive switching means for switching between the focus mode and the diaphragm drive mode is provided on the interchangeable lens side, and when the drive switching means is in the diaphragm drive mode, the output signal of the diaphragm operating member is output. Is transmitted to the camera, and the diaphragm drive command is transmitted to the lens side by the output signal to drive the diaphragm.

[0010]

In the interchangeable lens of the present invention, instead of providing a dedicated operating member (aperture ring) as a replacement for the aperture ring conventionally provided on the lens barrel side, the existing operating member (in this embodiment, By using the (focus preset ring) together, the aperture drive can be operated from the lens side, and especially in the case of super telephoto lenses where the left hand is attached to the lens, the aperture must be operated on the camera side when checking the depth of field. This has the effect of eliminating the hassle.

[0011]

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the electrical construction of an interchangeable lens and the camera body according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes an electric diaphragm device body having a diaphragm driving step motor 21 built therein, which is connected to a diaphragm driving circuit 22 and is also connected to a lens side microcomputer 3 (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer). ing.

The terminal S-MO of the lens side microcomputer 3 is at a high level (hereinafter referred to as H level), and the diaphragm drive circuit 22
Shows an electric throttle device start / stop terminal for activating and stopping at low level (hereinafter referred to as L level).
The R terminal is a diaphragm rotation direction control terminal and outputs a signal for rotating the diaphragm in the diaphragm direction at H level and in the opening direction at L level.
Reference numeral 23 is a known aperture open detection switch.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a camera side microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer), one of which is a grounded SW1.
Is a distance-measuring switch that is turned on when the first stroke of the release button is pressed, and R ₁ is a pull-up resistor. When the distance measuring switch SW1 is turned on, the camera-side microcomputer 1 is activated, and a known distance measuring device for measuring the position of the object from this image shift produces data corresponding to the position of the measured object. On the basis of this, the correlation calculation is executed by the camera-side microcomputer 1, and the defocus amount (that is, the deviation between the surface on which the object is imaged by the photographing lens (not shown) and the film surface (not shown)) is calculated.

The camera-side microcomputer 1 transmits the defocus amount to the lens-side microcomputer 3 via the communication line DCL in synchronization with the clock pulse sent on the clock signal line CLK.

The lens side microcomputer 3 performs a predetermined calculation to calculate the amount of extension of the photographic lens (not shown), and also calculates the amount of rotation of the motor 4 connected to the lens distance setting member (not shown) as the number of pulses. , Are stored in the counter memory 31. 5 is an encoder having a known photo coupler,
It is directly connected to the motor 4, and a pulse is generated by the rotation of the motor 4. Reference numeral 6 is a drive circuit for the motor 4, and 7 is a counter, which counts the number of pulses generated by the encoder 5.

The terminal I ₁ of the lens side microcomputer 3 is a data input terminal for receiving data from the camera side microcomputer 1 via the communication line DCL, and the terminal I ₂ is a clock pulse from the camera side microcomputer 1 via the communication line CLK. It is a clock input terminal for receiving, and the terminal O ₁ is a data output terminal for transmitting data from the lens side microcomputer 3 to the camera side microcomputer 1 via the communication line DLC. The MO terminal indicates a motor start / stop terminal for starting the motor drive circuit 6 at the H level and stopping it at the L level, the DIR terminal is a motor rotation direction control terminal, and at the H level in the CL direction (clockwise direction),
At the L level, a signal for rotating in the CCL direction (counterclockwise rotation direction) is output. The ROT terminal is a terminal for designating the rotation speed or rotation speed of the motor 4 according to the calculated rotation amount of the motor 4. The COUNT terminal is a terminal for receiving the number of pulses of the counter 7 that counts the pulses generated by the encoder 5 by the rotation of the motor 4, and as described above, from the encoder 5 input via the COUNT terminal in the normal AF mode. The number of pulses of the lens side microcomputer 3
When it matches the data of the counter memory 31, the MO terminal is set to L level and the motor 4 is stopped. The RESET terminal is a terminal for resetting the contents of the counter 7, and is used when resetting the contents of the counter 7 when the power is turned on.
When the motor 4 is stopped, the distance measuring device 2 on the camera side measures the distance. When the in-focus state is determined and the in-focus state is determined, the motor 4 is not restarted, and when the in-focus state is determined during the determination. The motor driving operation is repeatedly executed from the distance measurement described above.

The FP terminal is a focus preset terminal,
When the focus preset switch SW2 (hereinafter, FP switch) is turned on and the FP terminal becomes L level, the count value of the counter 7 representing the current position of the lens distance ring as the lens distance setting member is stored in the memory 32.

The RB terminal is a terminal which becomes L level when the FP reproduction switch SW3 is turned on, and serves as a photographing lens distance setting member to the above-mentioned lens position stored in the FP switch SW2 in response to the turning on of the FP reproduction switch SW3. The shooting lens's range ring rotates. That is, by turning on the FP reproduction switch SW3, the data in the FP counter memory 32 is transferred to the counter memory 31, and in response to the turning on of the switch SW3, the RB terminal is set to the L level to rotate the motor 4 and the encoder 5 generates it. The number of pulses to be performed is counted by the counter 7, and the motor 4 is rotated until the data of the number of pulses stored in the counter memory 31 and the contents of the counter 7 match. The MODE terminal is a terminal that becomes L level when the mode switch SW4 is turned on.
In response to the ON of the DE switch SW4, the FP switch SW
In 2, the current position of the lens distance ring as the lens distance setting member can be stored. When the MODE switch SW4 is off, the diaphragm drive mode is set and the FP reproduction switch S
In response to the turning on of W3, the lens side microcomputer 3 transmits the ON information of the switch SW3 to the camera side microcomputer 1 via the communication line DLC. Upon receiving the data, the camera-side microcomputer 1 calculates the amount of light measured by a photometry circuit (not shown) of the camera in a known manner in consideration of factors such as film sensitivity, shutter speed, and aperture value, and determines the number of aperture steps. A diaphragm drive command is transmitted to the lens side microcomputer 3 via the communication line DCL. Lens side microcomputer 3 which received the diaphragm drive command
Converts the number of aperture steps from the camera side into a step motor drive step, sets the S-MO terminal to H level, activates the aperture drive circuit 22, and designates the aperture rotation direction with the S-DIR terminal. The motor 21 is rotated by an arbitrary amount. In other words, it is possible to set the specified aperture.

The operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[Step # 1] When the power is turned on, the motor 4
Or, the other drive units are reset to the stopped state. The contents of the counter 7 are set to zero by a reset signal from the Reset terminal of the lens side microcomputer 3, and the contents memory and various flags of the lens side microcomputer 3 are initialized.

[Step # 2] Shooting lens side microcomputer 3
Checks the presence or absence of the FP reproduction flag indicating whether or not the FP operation is being executed. If FP reproduction is not in progress, the process proceeds to step # 3, and if FP reproduction is already in progress, the process proceeds to step # 19. In this case, it is assumed that the FP is not in operation (FP is being reproduced).

[Step # 3] The mode SW4 is checked. When ON is the focus preset mode, the process proceeds to # 4. When SW4 is OFF, the diaphragm drive mode is entered and # 6
Go to.

[Step # 4] The presence or absence of the aperture flag is checked. The aperture flag is a flag that is generated when a request to drive the aperture is issued from the lens side to the camera side. When the aperture is narrowing down (open SW ON), either the lens side or the camera side This is a flag for determining whether or not. When there is no aperture flag, step # 1
If there is any, go to Step # 5. For the aperture flag check here, SW4 is OFF, SW3 is ON
This is a check for preventing the aperture flag from being generated in response to, and then SW4 being turned on and leaving the aperture untouched.

[Step # 5] The aperture flag is cleared, and when the aperture is being narrowed down, an aperture open drive request is transmitted to the camera side. Open S to determine whether narrowing
This is performed by detecting the W, ON / OFF state. (The state of the open SW detection is not shown here.) After the above processing is completed, the process proceeds to step # 12.

[Step # 6] Switch SW4 is OFF
In this case, the aperture drive mode is entered as described above, and first, the open SW is detected to check whether the aperture is open. Open SW ON is narrowing down, step #
Proceed to 9. Open SW OFF is open, step #
Proceed to 7.

[Step # 7] FP reproduction switch SW3
Check the on / off status of. The switch SW3 is S
W4 is ON, that is, the focus preset mode serves as an FP reproduction switch, and SW4 is OFF, that is, the aperture drive mode serves as a diaphragm switch. Further, the switch SW3 is a known ring in which the photographer operates the focus preset ring to switch it on and to return to the initial position when the hand is released. That is, the switch SW3 is turned off when the hand is in operation and is turned off when the hand is released. Therefore, the aperture open drive will be described later.

When switch SW3 is OFF, step # 19
Go to step # 8 with switch SW3 ON.

[Step # 8] Since the switch SW3 ON means that the photographer wants to narrow down, the diaphragm flag is generated, the lens side microcomputer 3 transmits a diaphragm drive request to the camera side, and proceeds to step # 19. .
After that, it waits for a diaphragm drive command from the camera. Actually, it is processed in step # 25.

[Step # 9] If the open SW is ON and the aperture is being narrowed down, the on / off state of the switch SW3 is checked. When the switch SW3 is on, the narrowing is continued and the process proceeds to step # 19. Switch SW3
When it is off, the process proceeds to step # 10.

[Step # 10] The aperture flag is checked. When there is no aperture flag, the aperture drive request is not issued from the lens side and the aperture is narrowed down. Therefore, the aperture is continuously narrowed down and the process proceeds to step # 19.

[Step # 11] If there is an aperture flag, the aperture flag is cleared and an aperture open drive request is sent to the camera side, and the flow advances to step # 19.

[Step # 12] After that, it is checked whether or not the driving of the taking lens is prohibited by communication with the microcomputer 1 on the camera side. If it is not prohibited, proceed to step # 13. If it is prohibited, step # 1.
Proceed to 7. The operation of step # 12 has a function of preventing the lens side from inadvertently operating when the camera side is locked.

[Step # 13] FP reproduction switch SW
Check the on / off state of 3. To execute the FP operation, if the switch SW3 is already on, the process proceeds to step # 14 to start the FP operation, and if it is off, F
Go to step # 15 to prepare for P operation.

[Step # 14] The FP reproducing operation is started. The FP reproducing flag is set and the data in the FP counter memory 32 is transferred to the counter memory 31. The motor drive circuit 6 is controlled so that the value of the counter 7 matches the data of the counter memory 31 inside the lens side microcomputer 3.

[Step # 15] The FP switch SW2 is checked. If the switch SW2 is on, the process proceeds to step # 16, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step # 17.

[Step # 16] In this step # 16, the position of the distance ring (not shown) of the taking lens is shown. The value of the counter 7 is read and stored in the FP counter memory 32 of the lens side microcomputer 3.

[Step # 17] By communication between the microcomputer 1 on the camera side and the microcomputer 3 on the lens side, it is checked whether or not there is an instruction to drive the motor 4. If there is a motor drive instruction, the process proceeds to step # 18, and if not, the process proceeds to step # 19.

[Step # 18] Lens side microcomputer 3
Stores in the counter memory 31 an added value of the motor drive amount corresponding to the defocus amount transmitted from the camera side microcomputer 1 and the count value of the counter 7 at that time, and the value of the counter 7 is stored in the counter memory 31. The motor drive circuit 6 is controlled so as to match the data.

[Step # 19] It is checked whether there is a stop instruction by communication. If there is a stop instruction, the process proceeds to step # 22, and if not, the process proceeds to step # 20. This is used, for example, to stop the driving of the motor 4 when the shutter is actuated by release or the like.

[Step # 20] It is checked whether the motor 4 is being driven. If it is driving, the process proceeds to step # 21, and if it is stopped, the process proceeds to step # 24.

[Step # 21] The completion of driving the motor 4 is checked. If the value of the counter 7 matches the data of the counter memory 31, the driving is completed and the process proceeds to step # 22. If they are not the same, the process proceeds to step # 23.

[0043]

As described above, in the interchangeable lens of the present invention, an existing operating member (aperture ring) is provided instead of the conventional aperture ring provided on the lens barrel side. By using the operation member (focus preset ring in this embodiment) together, the diaphragm drive can be operated from the lens side. Especially, in the case of a super-telephoto lens with the left hand attached to the lens, the camera side can be used when checking the depth of field. This has the effect of eliminating the hassle of having to squeeze.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of an interchangeable lens of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart of operations performed by a lens-side microcomputer and a camera-side microcomputer in the electrical configuration shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Camera side microcomputer 2 ... Distance measuring device 3 ... Lens side microcomputer 4 ... Motor 5 ... Encoder SW2 ... Focus preset switch SW3 ... FP playback switch SW4 ... Mode switch 20 ... Electric diaphragm device 22 ... Aperture drive circuit 23 ... Aperture Open detection switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electric diaphragm apparatus, an diaphragm operating member for generating a signal for instructing an amount of diaphragm operation by the electric diaphragm apparatus, a function of communicating with a microcomputer in a camera body, and the electric diaphragm apparatus. An interchangeable lens having a microcomputer in the lens to be controlled, has switching means on the outer surface of the lens barrel under conditions capable of focusing, and when the switching means is switched to a state capable of focusing, the aperture is stopped. An interchangeable lens characterized in that an output signal of an operation member is transmitted to a microcomputer in the camera body by the microcomputer in the lens, and a diaphragm drive command is transmitted from the microcomputer in the camera body to the microcomputer in the lens. .