JPH0698216A - Open/close mechanism for camera lens cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an open/close mechanism for a camera lens cover which can automatically open/close the lens cover when a camera is set in a photographing stand-by state and a non-photographing state respectively with the operation of a control knob. CONSTITUTION:A lens cover open/close mechanism consists of a control knob 17 which can switch a camera an OFF position, a camera mode position, and a VTR mode position, a lens cover 41 which opens the lens front face in the camera mode position of the knob 17, and a power changeover switch 31 which is actuated in the photographing stand-by state in response to the camera mode position. When the switch 31 is operated in the camera mode, the cover 41 is opened in response to the photographing stand-by state where a power supply is applied to the camera. Meanwhile the cover 41 is closed interlocking to a non-photographing state where the power supply of the camera is turned off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lens cover opening / closing mechanism of a camera applied to a camera-integrated VTR or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera-integrated VTR has been developed. By mounting this camera-integrated VTR on a dedicated connection device called a station, it is possible to play back on a TV or dubbing to another VTR, what is captured and recorded with a cassette tape housed in the camera-integrated VTR. You can

The camera-integrated VTR as described above is provided with a lens cover for protecting the front surface of the lens. As a conventional lens cover of this type, one in which the front surface of the lens is protected by a cap-type lens cover is generally used. Recently, there is a lens cover that is built into the camera and that can open and close the front surface of the lens.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned built-in lens cover, the front surface of the lens is opened and closed by a dedicated operating lever provided on the surface of the camera. For this reason, there is a problem in that the user forgets to open the lens cover prior to shooting, and misses a chance to take a picture. In addition, there is a problem that the lens surface is forgotten to be closed after the shooting, and the lens surface is scratched.

Further, in such a built-in type lens cover, if the lens cover is forcibly opened by mischief, the operation lever is rotated in conjunction with this, and therefore an erroneous operation is performed during camera operation. There was a problem that it would end up.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and automatically opens the lens cover when in the shooting standby state and automatically when the shooting state is in the non-shooting state. The objective is to obtain a lens cover opening / closing mechanism for a camera that can be closed.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a lens cover opening / closing mechanism of a camera according to the present invention comprises:
A power switch operating member that can be switched between an off position and a camera mode position; a lens cover that opens the front surface of the lens at the camera mode position of the power switch operating member;
It is composed of a power switch mechanism which is operated in a shooting standby state in conjunction with the camera mode position.

[0008]

In the lens cover opening / closing mechanism of the present invention configured as described above, when the power switch operating member is operated from the off position to the camera mode position side, the lens cover is opened from the front surface of the lens and interlocked with this. The power switch mechanism is turned on to enter the shooting standby state, that is, the power is turned on.

Further, when the power switch operating member is operated from the camera mode position to the off position side, the lens cover closes the front surface of the lens, and the power switch mechanism is turned off in conjunction with this, the non-photographing state, that is, the power off state. Becomes

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a lens cover opening / closing mechanism of a camera according to the present invention will be described below by taking an 8 mm camera-integrated VTR as an example. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an 8 mm camera-integrated VTR, which is generally designated by reference numeral 1. This camera integrated V
Explaining the main configuration of the TR1, a VTR main body 2 is provided with a video signal, a video terminal for inputting and outputting a video signal, an audio input terminal, an audio output terminal, and an S video terminal, which are not shown, on the front surface. These terminals can be reproduced or dubbed by connecting to other electric equipment such as a television receiver or a VTR via a cable (not shown).

A viewfinder 9 is provided on the VTR main body 2. Further, a microphone 10 is arranged on the upper rear surface of the VTR main body 2, and a lens barrel 11 is projectingly provided on a lower side portion of the microphone 10.

The lens barrel 11 described above is provided with a lens cover opening / closing mechanism 16 which will be described in detail below.
The lens cover opening / closing mechanism 16 is provided with an operating knob 17 which serves as a power switch operating member for switching between the photographing mode and the video mode with the off position as a neutral point.
By switching the operation knob 17 to the shooting mode side, a lens cover, which will be described later, arranged on the front surface of the lens barrel 11 is opened, and the shooting standby state, that is, the power-on state is linked with the opening of the lens cover 17. it can. On the other hand, when the operation knob 17 is on the video mode side, the lens cover remains closed.

The VTR body 2 below the viewfinder 9 is provided with a battery pack housing 18. Battery pack is a camera integrated VT
It serves as a power supply for supplying power to R1.

Here, the lens cover opening / closing mechanism 1 described above is used.
6 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Operation knob 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a recess 2 formed by the disc portion 18 of the camera body 2.
a protruding portion 18 supported by a and formed on the back surface of the disk portion 18
a and 18a are engaged with slit holes 19 and 19 formed in the bottom surface of the concave portion 2a of the camera body 2 so that the operation knob 17 can be rotated within a predetermined angle range. The turning range of the operation knob 17 is a range of turning from the off position as a base point to the camera mode side in one direction and the VTR mode side in the opposite direction.

Then, the projections 18a, 1 of the operating knob 17
8a projects from the slit holes 19, 19 of the camera body 2 to the back surface side, and the rotary operation member 20 is attached to the projections 18a, 18a.
The grooves 20a, 20a formed in the above are fitted, and the rotary operation member 20 and the operation knob 17 are fixed by the screw 21. Further, the rotation operation member 20 is provided with an operation pin 22 and a plurality of engagement recesses 23. The engagement recess 23 engages with the spring member 24 fixed to the camera body 2 side, and the rotation operation member 20 is in the above-mentioned off position, camera mode position, and VT.
The click operation is performed at the R mode position.

In the vicinity of the rotating operation member 20, an operating lever 25 is rotatably supported by a shaft pin 27 formed in the camera body 2 with a bearing portion 26 formed at the base end thereof.
The operation lever 25 is provided with an opening 28 into which the above-mentioned operation pin 22 is inserted and an operation claw 29 at the tip.
Further, the operation lever 25 is provided with a protrusion 25a which is rotated by the cam surface 20b of the above-described rotation operation member 20.

The operation pin 22 described above is engaged with a groove portion 32 provided in a power source changeover switch 31 which is a switch mechanism rotatably supported on the printed circuit board 30. The power supply switch 31 is a switch for electrically switching between a camera mode (shooting standby state) and a VTR mode.

On the other hand, a lens window 36 facing the so-called lens front lens 35 of the lens barrel 11 is formed in a support member 33 provided on a front plate (not shown) of the camera body 2. The lens window 36 has an outer periphery on the back side. The drive ring 37 is rotatably supported. The drive ring 37 has an operating pawl 38 and a drive pin 39 corresponding to the operating pawl 29 of the operating lever 25 described above.
The drive pin 39 is engaged with the elongated guide hole 40 formed in the support member 33, and the drive ring 37 is rotatable within the guide hole 40.

On the front surface of the support member 33, a lens cover 41 made of one disc member is rotatably supported by the support member 33 with a rotation shaft 42 as a fulcrum. A drive pin 39 protruding from the guide hole 40 of the support member 33 is brought into contact with a frame 41a near the axis of the lens cover 41, and the lens cover 41 is opened by the drive pin 39.

Further, one end 43a of the return spring 43 is supported by the lens cover 41, and the other end 43b of the return spring 43 is fixed to the support 33a of the support member 33. As a result, the lens cover 41 normally closes the lens window 36 of the support member by the spring biasing force of the return spring 43. Also, the lens window 36
When the lens cover 41 is opened, the lens cover 41 is housed in a position decentered from the lens window 36.

Next, a series of operations of the lens cover opening / closing mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 show the turning operation member 20 and the operation lever 25 at the off position of the operation knob 17, the camera mode position, and the VTR mode position.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between Less than,
The camera mode operation and the VTR mode operation will be described.

Camera Mode Operation In the OFF position of the operation knob 17 shown in FIG. 3, the operation pin 22 of the rotary operation member 20 is located substantially in the center of the opening 28 of the operation lever 25. When the operation knob 17 is rotated to the camera mode position shown in FIG. 4 from this state, the protrusion 25a of the operation lever 25 is pushed back by the cam surface 20b of the rotation operation member 20 which rotates integrally with the operation knob 17. As a result, the operating lever 25 rotates about the shaft pin 27 as a fulcrum by a predetermined angle. At this time, the operation pin 2 of the rotation operation member 20
2 is located at the end of the opening 28 of the operating lever 25.

The rotation of the operation lever 25 causes the operation claw 29 to rotate the drive ring 37 through the operation claw 38 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. Therefore, the moving pin 39 provided on the drive ring 37 causes the lens cover 4 to move.
Therefore, the lens cover 41 rotates against the urging force of the return spring 43 to the imaginary line position in FIG. 2 about the rotation shaft 42 as a fulcrum. As a result, the lens window 36 is opened.

Here, the power-on operation of the camera is performed in conjunction with the opening operation of the lens cover 41 described above.

That is, the operation pin 2 of the rotary operation member 20.
Since 2 is engaged with the groove portion 32 of the power source changeover switch 31, the power source changeover switch 31 is operated by the operation pin 22 by rotating the operation knob 17 to the camera mode side.
Is rotated and the circuit of the printed circuit board 30 can be brought into a photographing standby state, that is, a power-on state (power-on state).

When the operation knob 17 is rotated from the camera mode to the off position, the operation claw 2 of the rotation operation member 20 is operated.
Since 9 is separated from the operating claw 38 of the drive ring 37 and opened, the lens cover 41 is rotated in the closing direction by the urging force of the return spring 43 to close the lens window 36. Along with this, the power supply switch 31 is rotated by the operation pin 22 of the rotation operation member 20, and the circuit of the printed circuit board 30 can be brought into a non-photographing state, that is, a power-off state (power-off state) of the power source.

When the VTR mode operation operation lever 17 is rotated from the off position to the VTR mode position shown in FIG. 5, the operation pin 22 of the rotation operation member 20 opens the opening 2 of the operation lever 25.
Since only the inside of the lens cover 8 can be rotated, and therefore the operation lever 25 does not rotate at all, the above-described opening mechanism of the lens cover 41 does not operate, and the lens cover 41 does not move to the lens window 36.
Remains closed.

However, since the rotary operation member 20 rotates as described above, the power source change-over switch 31 is rotated by the operation pin 22, and the circuit of the printed circuit board 30 is changed to V.
It is possible to switch to TR mode.

As described above, the lens cover opening / closing mechanism of the camera according to the present invention operates the operation knob 17 to the camera mode to open the lens cover 41 in synchronism with the photographing standby state in which the camera is powered on. In addition, since the closing operation of the lens cover 41 is performed in conjunction with the non-shooting state in which the power is cut off, there is no need to worry about forgetting to open or close the lens cover. You can

Further, since the lens cover 41 is interlocked with the operation knob 17 for switching the power source, it is not necessary to confirm each time the lens cover is opened and closed.

Further, even if the lens cover 41 in the closed state is opened with a finger, the lens cover 41 will still drive the drive ring 3.
Since the operation knob 17 does not rotate at all by only opening the lens cover 41 away from the drive pin 39 of 7, the malfunction of the power source changeover switch 31 does not occur and the operation knob 17 can be rotated. The lens cover can only be opened and closed.

Further, since the lens cover 41 is composed of one disc member, the lens cover opening / closing mechanism is simplified and can be manufactured at a low cost.

Further, since the lens cover 41 is of a rotary type with the fulcrum shaft 42 as a fulcrum, there is an advantage that a small space required for opening and closing is small.

Further, since the lens cover 41 is accommodated in the dead space which is eccentric from the lens surface in the opened state, the camera body does not need an extra space for opening the lens cover.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the embodiment, the case where the invention is applied to the camera-integrated VTR has been described, but the invention is widely applicable to all cameras.

[0037]

As described above, the lens cover opening / closing mechanism of the camera according to the present invention has the power switch operating member that can be switched between the off position and the camera mode position, and the lens front surface at the camera mode position of the power switch operating member. It consists of a lens cover that opens and a power switch mechanism that operates in the shooting standby state in conjunction with the camera mode position. The camera is powered on by operating the power switch operating member to the camera mode. The lens cover opening operation is performed in conjunction with the, and the lens cover closing operation is performed in conjunction with the non-shooting state when the power is cut off.Therefore, you may forget to open or close the lens cover. Can be resolved in advance.

Since the lens cover is interlocked with the power switch operating member for switching the power, it is unnecessary to detect only whether the lens cover is open or closed.

Even if the lens cover in the closed state is opened with a finger, only the lens cover is opened and the operation knob does not rotate at all, so that the power switch mechanism does not malfunction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a camera-integrated VTR including a lens cover opening / closing mechanism of the present example.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a lens cover opening / closing mechanism of this example.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an operation knob in an off position.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a camera mode position of an operation knob.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the VTR mode position of the operation knob.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Camera-integrated VTR 2 Camera body 11 Lens barrel 16 Lens cover opening / closing mechanism 17 Operating knob 20 Rotating operating member 22 Operating pin 25 Operating lever 28 Opening part 29 Operating claw 30 Printed circuit board 31 Power supply switch 33 Supporting member 35 Lens front lens 36 Lens Window 37 Drive Ring 38 Actuating Claw 39 Drive Pin 41 Lens Cover 42 Rotating Shaft 43 Return Spring

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A power switch operating member that can be switched between an off position and a camera mode position, a lens cover that opens the front surface of the lens when the power switch operating member is in the camera mode position, and an image taking function in conjunction with the camera mode position. A lens cover opening / closing mechanism for a camera, comprising a power switch mechanism operated in a standby state. 2. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the lens cover is composed of one cover member. 3. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the lens cover is rotatable about a fulcrum shaft as a fulcrum. 4. The lens cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lens cover is housed at a position decentered from the lens surface in an open state.