JPH0846840A - Compact lens actuator and image fetching device using the lens actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a compact lens actuator which has a simple structure. CONSTITUTION:This lens actuator contains a CCD camera 6, a slider which holds a lens group 11, and the body 2 of an actuator body 2 which holds movably the slider 3 toward the optical axis of the camera 6 by the supplied compressed air. The slider 3 is statically held by the compressed air and also reciprocally moved in the body 2 by the supply of the compressed air.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a miniature lens actuator which realizes ultra-miniaturization and picks up an image of an observation target, and an image capturing device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A microminiature lens camera device has a lens arranged in front of an image pickup device, and the lens is positioned with respect to the image pickup device by a lens driving device including a DC motor having a pulse motor and an encoder. There is.

Among them, a pulse motor, an encoder, a DC motor and the like which compose the lens driving device are downsized and miniaturized by the technical trend of so-called micromachines, and are formed compactly.

In such a lens camera device, when the observation target is moved in the front-rear direction, the lens position is moved by the lens driving device so that the image of the observation target is formed on the image pickup device. . The image signal output from the lens camera device is image-processed, displayed on a monitor television, and recorded in an image memory or the like.

[0005]

However, in the above lens camera device, the lens driving device is a pulse motor,
Since it is composed of an encoder, a DC motor, etc., the structure of the coil, shaft, magnetic circuit, etc. for composing these pulse motors etc. is complicated and it is difficult to assemble, and as a result there is a limit to miniaturization. There is.

Along with this, it has become difficult to realize an image capturing device for recording image data of the lens camera device by using a microminiaturized lens device. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a small lens actuator that can be downsized with a simple structure. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image capturing device using a small lens actuator which has a simple structure and is miniaturized.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lens group for forming an image, a slider for holding the lens group, and an image pickup device for converting the image formed by the lens group into an image signal. An actuator body for holding the slider movably in the optical axis direction with respect to the image pickup device by supplying compressed air, and an air control means for controlling the compressed air supplied to the actuator body to control the movement of the slider. It is a small lens actuator that aims to achieve the above object.

According to the present invention, the actuator body supplies the compressed air into the actuator body to supply the compressed air into the actuator body, and the compressed air into the actuator body. A second compressed air supply port for moving the slider in one direction, and a third compressed air supply port for supplying compressed air into the actuator body to move the slider in the other direction within the actuator body,
It has.

According to the third aspect, the air control means causes the slider to reciprocate within the actuator body at a predetermined cycle. According to claim 4, the air control means constantly supplies the compressed air to the first compressed air supply port and periodically supplies the compressed air to the second and third compressed air supply ports. And stop.

According to the present invention, a lens group for forming an image, a slider for holding the lens group, an image pickup device for converting the image formed by the lens group into an image signal, and a slider for generating compressed air. An actuator body that is movably held in the optical axis direction with respect to the image pickup element by supply, air control means that controls the compressed air supplied to the actuator body to reciprocate the slider in the actuator body at a predetermined cycle, and image pickup And an image capturing means for sampling an image signal output from an element at a desired timing, and an image capturing device for achieving the above object.

According to the sixth aspect, the image capturing means outputs the image signal output from the image pickup device when the image forming position of the lens group coincides with the image pickup device position in synchronization with the reciprocating movement of the slider by the air control means. To sample.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the slider holding the lens group for forming an image is held in the actuator body so as to be movable in the optical axis direction with respect to the image pickup device by the supply of compressed air, and the compressed air is also used. To control the movement of the slider. In this state, the image formed by the lens group is converted into an image signal by the image sensor.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the actuator body, the slider is held at a static pressure by the compressed air supplied from the first compressed air supply port, and the slider is held by the compressed air supplied from the second compressed air supply port. The slider is moved in one direction, and the slider is moved in the other direction by the compressed air supplied from the third compressed air supply port.

According to the third aspect, the slider is reciprocated within the actuator body at a predetermined cycle by controlling the supply of compressed air. According to claim 4, compressed air is constantly supplied to the first compressed air supply port to maintain the slider at a static pressure, and compressed air is periodically supplied to the second and third compressed air supply ports. Then, the slider is reciprocated.

According to the present invention, the slider holding the lens group for forming an image is held in the actuator body so as to be movable in the optical axis direction with respect to the image pickup device by the supply of compressed air. To control the movement of the slider. In this state, the image formed by the lens group is converted into an image signal by the image pickup element, and this image signal is sampled at a desired timing.

According to the sixth aspect, the image signal output from the image pickup device is sampled in synchronization with the reciprocating movement of the slider when the image forming position of the lens group matches the image pickup device position.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image capturing device using a small lens actuator. The small lens actuator 1 has a structure in which a slider 3 is hydrostatically supported in an actuator body 2.

The size of the small lens actuator 1 is 6 to 7 mm on a side. The actuator body 2 is provided with a cylindrical hollow portion 4 therein, an imaging window 5 is formed on one side, and a holding plate 7 for fixedly holding a CCD camera 6 as an imaging element is provided on the other side. ing. A cylindrical guide body 4a is inserted and fixed in the actuator body hollow portion 4.

The actuator body 2 has first to third compressed air supply ports 8 to 10 for supplying compressed air. Of these, the first compressed air supply port 8 is
It is provided in the central portion of the actuator body 2 and communicates with the actuator body hollow portion 4 through the first air supply hole 8a.

The second compressed air supply port 9 is provided on the image pickup window 5 side of the actuator body 2, and
Through the air supply hole 9a of the actuator body hollow portion 4
It communicates with.

The outlet of the second air supply hole 9a is
It is formed so that compressed air is ejected toward the slider 3. The third compressed air supply port 10 is provided in the actuator body 2 on the CCD camera 6 side and communicates with the actuator body hollow portion 4 through the third air supply hole 10a.

The ejection port of the third air supply hole 10a is formed so that compressed air is ejected toward the taper portion of the slider 3. The slider 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a lens group 11 for forming an image of an object such as a foreign substance in a thin tube at its focal position is provided inside the slider 3. The lens diameter of this lens group 11 is 2
It is about 3 mm.

The outer diameter of the slider 3 is formed to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the hollow portion 4 of the actuator body so that a small gap is formed when the slider 3 is inserted into the hollow portion 4. .

The outer periphery of the end of the slider 3 on the CCD camera 6 side is formed in a tapered shape. On the other hand, the air control means 20 has a function of controlling the supply of compressed air to the actuator body 1 to control the movement of the slider 3 within the actuator body 1.

Specifically, a compressed air source 21 is provided,
The compressed air supply pipes 22 and 23 are connected to this. Of these, the compressed air supply pipe 22 is connected to the first compressed air supply port 8
And a first regulator 24 is provided.

A second regulator 25 and a switching element 26 are connected to the compressed air supply pipe 23, and the switching device 26 branches into two systems, one of which is the second compressed air supply pipe 23a. The compressed air supply port 9 is connected, and the other compressed air supply pipe 23 b is connected to the third compressed air supply port 10.

The switching element 26 is composed of, for example, an electromagnetic valve, and has a function of switching the supply of compressed air to either the compressed air supply pipe 23a or the compressed air supply pipe 23b.

The control device 27 sends a switching signal for switching the supply of compressed air to the compressed air supply pipe 23a or the compressed air supply pipe 23b at a constant cycle, for example, a frequency of 8 Hz, to the switching element 26, and performs this switching. It has a function of sending a synchronized timing signal to the sampling device 30.

The image signal output from the CCD camera 6 is input to the sampling device 30. The sampling device 30 has a function of receiving a timing signal from the control device 27 and sampling the image signal from the CCD camera 6 at a timing synchronized with the reciprocating movement of the slider 3. That is, the slider 13
When the image position formed by the lens group 11 reaches the light receiving position of the CCD camera 6 due to the reciprocating movement of
It is set to sample the image signal output from the D camera 6.

A monitor television device 31 and a memory device 32 are connected to the output terminal of the sampling device 30. The monitor television device 31 has a function of inputting each image signal sampled and output from the sampling device 30, image-processing each intermittent image signal, and outputting the image on the monitor screen.

The memory device 32 is the sampling device 30.
It has a function of recording the image signal sampled and output from the device on a video tape or the like. Next, the operation of the small lens actuator and the image capturing device configured as described above will be described.

When the first regulator 24 is opened,
Compressed air is supplied from the compressed air source 21 to the first compressed air supply port 8 through the compressed air supply pipe 22, and is further ejected into the actuator body hollow portion 4 through the air supply hole 8a.

Here, since a slight gap is formed between the actuator body hollow portion 4 and the slider 3, compressed air is jetted into this gap, and the slider 3 is held at a static pressure.

Further, the second regulator 25 is opened,
When the switching signal is sent from the control device 27 to the switching element 26, the switching element 26 supplies the compressed air at a frequency of 8 Hz, for example, to the compressed air supply pipe 23.
a or the compressed air supply pipe 23b is switched.

By this switching operation of compressed air, compressed air is alternately supplied to the second compressed air supply port 9 and the third compressed air supply port 10 as shown in FIG. When the compressed air is supplied to the second compressed air supply port 9, the compressed air is ejected toward the slider 3, that is, in the direction of the arrow shown in the drawing, through the second air supply hole 9a.

The slider 3, which is held at a static pressure by receiving the jet of compressed air, moves to the CCD camera 6 side.
When compressed air is supplied to the third compressed air supply port 10, the compressed air passes through the third air supply hole 10a,
It is ejected toward the taper portion of the slider 3.

That is, at this time, since the slider 3 is located on the CCD camera 6 side, the compressed air is blown to the taper portion of the slider 3. Upon receiving this jet of compressed air, the slider 3 moves to the imaging window 5 side this time.

Therefore, the compressed air is alternately supplied to the second compressed air supply port 9 and the third compressed air supply port 10, so that the slider 3 moves to the actuator body 1 as shown in FIG. It reciprocates at a frequency of 8 Hz inside.

On the other hand, the control device 27 sends a timing signal synchronized with the switching of the compressed air to the sampling device 30. The sampling device 30 receives the timing signal from the control device 27 and samples the image signal from the CCD camera 6 at the timing synchronized with the reciprocating movement of the slider 3.

That is, since the slider 3 reciprocates at a constant cycle, the image signal is sampled at the timing synchronized with this reciprocal movement, that is, at each time t1, t3, t5, .... As a result, for each sampled image signal, the slider 3 has the same position x as shown in FIG.
It will be when there is. At this time, the position x is the lens group 11
The image position imaged by is set in advance as a light receiving position of the CCD camera 6.

Therefore, the sampling device 30 sends these sampled image signals to the monitor television device 31 and the memory device 32. The monitor television device 31 inputs each image signal sampled and output from the sampling device 30, image-processes each intermittent image signal, and outputs the image on a monitor screen.

In this case, although it is an intermittent image signal, since the sampling cycle is synchronized with the reciprocating frequency of 8 Hz of the slider 3, it appears as an apparent continuous screen on the monitor screen.

The memory device 32 also records the image signal sampled and output from the sampling device 30 on a video tape or the like. Thus, in the above-mentioned one embodiment,
Since the slider 3 for holding the lens group 11 is arranged in front of the CCD camera 6 and the slider 3 is moved by compressed air, the number of parts can be greatly reduced, the structure can be made extremely simple, and the low cost can be achieved. A compact lens actuator that can contribute to cost reduction can be realized.

In addition, the first and second regulators 24, 2
Since the air control means 20 is composed only of the switching element 26 composed of 5 and the solenoid valve, it is a very simple structure.
No complicated control is required.

When the slider 3 is moved by compressed air, the moving speed of the slider 3 can be controlled by controlling the compressed air. In addition, compressed air is supplied from the first compressed air supply port 8 to maintain the slider 3 at a static pressure, and in this state, compressed air is supplied to the second compressed air supply port 8 or the third compressed air supply port 10, respectively. Is supplied, the slider 3 can be moved smoothly. Particularly, by supplying compressed air alternately to the second compressed air supply port 8 and the third compressed air supply port 10, the slider 3 can be smoothly moved. It can be moved back and forth at a constant cycle.

On the other hand, it is possible to realize an image capturing device using the lens actuator 1 having such a simple structure and being miniaturized. That is, the image signal output from the CCD camera 6 can be sampled at desired timing to output and record the image while the slider 3 is reciprocating at a constant cycle.

In this case, the shorter the reciprocating period of the slider 3 is, the more continuous the image can be displayed from the intermittent image signal. Further, by changing the timing of sampling the image signal (giving an offset), that is, by changing the position x of the slider 3 for sampling the image signal shown in FIG. 3, for example, even when the observation target moves in the front-back direction, the CCD camera The object to be observed can be imaged on 6.

In this case, no special control operation is performed on the small lens actuator 1. The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned one embodiment and may be modified as follows.

For example, the slider 3 in the small lens actuator 1 may be reciprocated in a constant cycle by making the total stroke of reciprocating movement twice as long as the stroke of the above-described embodiment.

For the sampling of the image signal, the CCD camera 6 is provided with an aperture mechanism, and the aperture mechanism is apertured to provide a dark field state. In this state, the strobe is turned on at a timing synchronized with the reciprocating movement of the slider 3. By doing so, intermittent image signals may be sampled.

Further, in order to achieve a highly accurate synchronization timing, a micro-miniature Hall element or the like is embedded in the micro-lens actuator 1 and a position signal of the slider 3 shown in FIG. You may get it.

Therefore, by sampling the image signal output from the CCD camera 6 based on the position signal from the microminiature Hall element, the position of the slider 3 which intermittently takes in each image signal can be detected with high accuracy.

Further, although the sampling timing of the image signal is set to be twice in one cycle of the reciprocation of the slider 3 in the above-mentioned embodiment, it may be always sampled once in one cycle. The round trip frequency of the slider 3 is not limited to 8 Hz.

[0054]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small lens actuator which can be downsized with a simple structure. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image capturing device using a small lens actuator which has a simple structure and is miniaturized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image capturing device using a small lens actuator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the timing of compressed air supplied to a small lens actuator.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a reciprocating movement of a slider in a small lens actuator.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a position signal when an ultra-small Hall element is embedded in a small lens actuator.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Small lens actuator, 2 ... Actuator main body, 3 ... Slider, 4 ... Hollow part, 5 ... Imaging window, 6 ... CC
D camera, 8 ... 1st compressed air supply port, 9 ... 2nd compressed air supply port, 10 ... 3rd compressed air supply port, 20 ... Air control means, 21 ... Compressed air source, 22, 23 ... Compression Air supply pipe, 26 ... Switching element, 27 ... Control device, 30
... Sampling device, 31 ... Monitor television device,
32 ... Memory device.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A lens group for forming an image, a slider for holding the lens group, an image sensor for converting the image formed by the lens group into an image signal, and the slider for supplying compressed air to the image sensor. A small size characterized by comprising an actuator main body which is movably held in the optical axis direction with respect to the image pickup element, and air control means for controlling the movement of the slider by controlling compressed air supplied to the actuator main body. Lens actuator. 2. The actuator body includes a first compressed air supply port for supplying compressed air into the actuator body to maintain the slider at a static pressure; A second compressed air supply port for moving the slider in one direction, and a third compressed air supply port for supplying compressed air into the actuator body to move the slider in the other direction within the actuator body. The small lens actuator according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The small lens actuator according to claim 1, wherein the air control means reciprocates the slider within the actuator body at a predetermined cycle. 4. The air control means constantly supplies compressed air to the first compressed air supply port, and periodically supplies and stops compressed air to the second and third compressed air supply ports. The small lens actuator according to claim 1, wherein 5. A lens group for forming an image, a slider for holding the lens group, an image sensor for converting the image formed by the lens group into an image signal, and the slider for supplying compressed air to the image sensor. An actuator body that holds the image pickup element so as to be movable in the optical axis direction; and an air control unit that controls compressed air supplied to the actuator body to reciprocate the slider in the actuator body at a predetermined cycle. An image capturing device comprising: an image capturing unit that samples an image signal output from an image sensor at a desired timing. 6. The image capturing means samples the image signal output from the image sensor when the image forming position by the lens group matches the image sensor position in synchronization with the reciprocating movement of the slider by the air control means. The image capturing device according to claim 5, wherein