JPH0961161A - Inclination sensor and electronic camera using it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inclination sensor which can detect the inclination direction of a sensor body and which is small, light and low-cost. SOLUTION: A transmission-type photointerruptor 20 is provided with a holder 21 which is composed of a translucent resin and whose corss section is nearly U-shaped and with bearings 25, 26 which are installed at both end parts of the holder 21. A disk part 30 is provided with a disk 31 which is composed of a translucent resin and with a shaft 32 which passes the center of the disk 31. The shaft 32 at the disk part 30 is supported by the bearings 25, 26 at the transmission-type photointerruptor 20 so as to be freely rotatable. An arc-shaped slit 33 as a light passage part is formed in the peripheral part of the disk 31, and a cutout 34 as a light passage part is formed at the outer circumferential part of the disk 31, which is faced with the slit 33. A weight 35 is installed at the outer circumferential part between the slit 33 and the cutout 34 in the disk 31, and the disk 31 is kept in a standstill position by gravitation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tilt sensor for detecting a tilt angle of a sensor body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tilt sensor using a transmission type photo interrupter is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-56287. As shown in FIG. 15, in this tilt sensor, a light emitting element 84 and a light receiving element 85 are respectively arranged on columns 82 and 83 protruding in parallel on a substantially rectangular base 81 so as to face each other. Then, a rotating shaft 91 having both ends rotatably supported by the columns 82 and 83 is arranged, and an end of a rectangular plate 90 is fixed to the center of the rotating shaft 91.

In the tilt sensor having the above-described structure, the light emitting element 84 is constantly made to emit light, and when the sensor body is in the normal position, the plate 90 blocks the light from the light emitting element 84, while the sensor body is tilted to a certain tilt angle or more. Then, the light from the light emitting element 84 is not blocked by the plate 90 and the light receiving element 85
The light receiving element 85 outputs a detection signal indicating whether or not there is an inclination.

[0004]

By the way, recently, electronic still cameras for recording image data on a floppy disk have been commercialized. In the electronic still camera, the captured image data is displayed on a display device such as a personal computer, but the image captured by tilting the electronic camera left or right is displayed on the display device in a tilted state. Therefore, there is a problem that the image data must be rotated on the display device side so that the image is in an upright state. Therefore, there is a demand to detect the tilt direction at the time of shooting, and always display the shot image in an upright state based on the detected tilt direction. That is, when an image is taken by tilting the electronic camera so that the left side or the right side is facing down, it is necessary to detect whether the electronic camera is tilted to the left side or the right side and display an image of the vertical length in an upright state. There is a request.

However, the tilt sensor has a drawback that it can detect only whether or not there is a tilt, and cannot detect which of the left and right directions the tilt is tilted. Also,
The tilt sensor has a drawback in that the tilt angle cannot be detected because the light from the light emitting element 84 to the light receiving element 85 is simply blocked by the rectangular plate 90.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a tilt sensor which is capable of detecting the left and right tilt directions of the sensor body and the tilt angle, and which is small, lightweight and inexpensive.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera capable of obtaining, in addition to image information, information indicating the direction of inclination.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an inclination sensor according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a transmissive photointerrupter having a light emitting element and a light receiving element which are arranged to face each other with a predetermined gap, and the transmission sensor. A photo-interrupter that is rotatably provided in the mold photointerrupter, is held at a stationary position by gravity, and that transmits light from the light-emitting element to the light-receiving element, and a light-blocking section that blocks the light. And a disk formed so that the light passage portion can detect whether the transmissive photointerrupter rotates left or right relative to each other.

According to the tilt sensor of the first aspect, when the transmissive photo interrupter is tilted, the disk is rotated relative to the transmissive photo interrupter due to gravity to maintain the stationary position. That is, even if the transmissive photo interrupter rotates, the disc remains stationary so that its center of gravity is at the lowest position. Then, according to the relative rotation of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter, the light from the light emitting element passes through the light passing portion of the disc, while the light from the light emitting element is blocked by the light blocking portion of the disc. When the disk is rotated counterclockwise relative to the transmissive photo interrupter and when it is rotated clockwise, the shape of the light passing part that passes the light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is different, and the light reaching element reaches the light receiving element. There is a change in the emitted light. Therefore, the relative rotation direction of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter can be obtained according to the light receiving state of the light receiving element. From the relative rotation direction of the disc, the left and right tilt directions of the main body of the tilt sensor can be obtained. Can be obtained. Moreover, since the tilt sensor can be configured by the transmissive photointerrupter and the disk, a tilt sensor that is small, lightweight and inexpensive can be realized.

A tilt sensor according to a second aspect of the present invention is the tilt sensor according to the first aspect, characterized in that the light passage portion of the disk comprises at least one of a slit and a notch.

According to the tilt sensor of the second aspect, the light passage portion can be easily formed by slits or cuts. Further, the angle of inclination of the sensor body can be detected by changing the length, width and position of the slits or cuts.

The tilt sensor according to a third aspect is the tilt sensor according to the first aspect, wherein the light receiving element of the transmissive photointerrupter has a plurality of light receiving portions, and the disc relative to the transmissive photointerrupter. It is characterized in that the light receiving states of the plurality of light receiving portions are changed in accordance with various rotation angles.

According to the tilt sensor of the third aspect, the shape of the light passage portion of the disc changes with the relative rotation of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter.
Light from the light emitting element passes according to the shape of the light passing portion. Then, the light passing through the light passing portion of the disc is
Reaching a predetermined light receiving portion of the plurality of light receiving portions of the light receiving element, each light receiving portion detects the presence or absence of light reception. For example, by arranging a plurality of light receiving portions of the above light receiving element along the radial direction of the disc and forming slits or notches so that light reaches each light receiving portion according to the rotation angle of the disc, the light is transmitted. The relative rotation direction and angle of the disc with respect to the mold photo interrupter can be determined by the light receiving state of each of the light receiving units.

The tilt sensor according to a fourth aspect is the tilt sensor according to the first aspect, wherein the light passage portion of the disc is the light emitting element according to a rotation angle of the disc relative to the transmissive photointerrupter. The light receiving element is characterized in that the light receiving element detects the light passing amount of the light passing through the light passing portion of the disk.

According to the tilt sensor of the fourth aspect, when the disk rotates relative to the transmissive photo interrupter, the amount of light passing through the light passing portion of the disk changes, and the light receiving element receives light. The unit detects the passing amount of the light. Therefore, the relative rotation angle of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter can be obtained in accordance with the change in the light passage amount. From the rotation angle of the disk, it is possible to obtain the angle of inclination of the transmissive photointerrupter, that is, the inclination sensor main body, and the left and right inclination directions.

The tilt sensor according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the tilt sensor according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a weight is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the disc in order to hold the disc at a stationary position. It has a feature.

According to the tilt sensor of the fifth aspect, even if the transmissive photo interrupter is tilted by the weight provided on the outer peripheral portion of the disk, the disk can be stably maintained in the stationary position. The left and right tilt directions of can be detected quickly and accurately.

The tilt sensor of claim 6 is the tilt sensor of claim 5, wherein the weight is made of the same material as the disk.

According to the tilt sensor of the sixth aspect, when the weight provided on the disc is the same member as the disc, the disc and the weight can be integrally molded, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The tilt sensor of claim 7 is the tilt sensor of claim 5, wherein the weight is made of a material different from that of the disk.

According to the tilt sensor of the seventh aspect, by using a material having a larger specific gravity than the material of the disc for the weight, a disc having a small volume is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the disc to reduce the disc and the weight. The tilt sensor can be further miniaturized.

According to another aspect of the electronic camera of the present invention, there is provided a transmissive photo interrupter having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, which are arranged to face each other with a predetermined space therebetween, and the transmissive photo interrupter is rotatable relative to the transmissive photo interrupter. Is held at a stationary position by gravity, and has a light passing portion through which light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element passes and a light blocking portion that blocks the light, wherein the light passing portion is A tilt sensor having a disc formed so as to detect whether the transmissive photo interrupter has rotated relative to the left or the right, and obtains information indicating the tilt and the tilt direction in addition to the image information. It is characterized by that.

According to the electronic camera of the eighth aspect, in addition to obtaining the image information, the tilt sensor can obtain information representing the tilt and tilt direction of the electronic camera. Therefore, when the electronic camera is tilted and photographed, the information indicating the tilt and the tilt direction can be used to perform the processing of the image information for erecting the image.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The tilt sensor of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic still camera using a tilt sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 indicates the tilt and tilt direction of the body of the electronic still camera 10. A tilt sensor 2, a tilt direction signal processing unit that receives an output signal from the tilt sensor 1 and outputs a signal representing the tilt and tilt direction of the electronic still camera 10 main body, 3 is a lens, 4 is the lens 3
Image / signal conversion unit having a CCD (charge coupled device) for converting an image from the image into an image signal, 5
Is an image signal processing unit that receives an image signal from the image / signal conversion unit 4 and outputs a signal representing image data, and 6 is a signal representing the tilt and tilt direction from the tilt signal processing unit 2 and the image signal. A recording unit for receiving a signal representing the image data from the processing unit 5 and recording a signal representing the tilt and the tilt direction and a signal representing the image data on a floppy disk, and 7 is a tilt read from the floppy disk of the recording unit 6. And an output unit for outputting a signal indicating the tilt direction and a signal indicating image data to a personal computer or the like. Although a floppy disk is used as the recording medium in the recording unit 6, an IC (integrated circuit) memory card or the like may be used.

2, 3, and 4 are a perspective view, a top view, and a side view of the tilt sensor 1, respectively. In FIG. 2, the tilt sensor 1 has a transmissive photo interrupter 20 and a disk unit 30. The transmissive photo interrupter 20 includes a holder 21 made of a light-shielding resin and having a substantially U-shaped cross section, a bearing 25 provided on the light emitting side end 21a of the holder 21, and a light receiving side end 21b of the holder 21. And a bearing 26 provided in the. The disk unit 30 includes a disk 31, a rotary shaft 32 that penetrates the center of the disk 31, and is rotatably supported by bearings 25 and 26 of the transmissive photointerrupter 20, and the periphery of the disk 31. It has an arcuate slit 33 as a light passage portion provided in the portion, and a notch 34 as a light passage portion provided in the outer peripheral portion facing the slit 33. The disk 31 is provided with a weight 35 on the outer peripheral portion between the slit 33 and the notch 34. The disk 31 rotates so that the weight 35 of the disk 31 is at the lowest position due to gravity, and the disk 31 is held at the stationary position by gravity. It should be noted that the weight 35 is attached to the disc
1 and the rotary shaft 32 are integrally molded with a light-shielding resin.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, even if the disc 31 rotates,
The weight 35 passes between the light emitting side end 21 a and the light receiving side end 21 b of the holder 21 so that the weight 35 does not contact the holder 21. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the infrared light emitting diode 41 is arranged in the light emitting side end 21a of the holder 21, and the light receiving side end 21b of the holder 21 is arranged.
A two-phase output phototransistor 42 is arranged inside.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the tilt sensor 1 seen from the light receiving side end 21b side of the holder 21, and FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b).
Is a side view and a front view of the disk portion 30 of the tilt sensor 1, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), small-diameter portions 32a, 32a are provided at both ends of the rotary shaft 32.
32a is fitted into the circular hole 26b from the bearing hole 26a of the bearing 26 shown in FIG.
By fitting in the circular hole (shown in FIG. 2),
As shown in, the transmission type photo interrupter 20 rotatably supports the disk unit 30. The rotary shaft 32
When the small diameter parts 32a, 32a of are fitted to the bearings 25, 26,
The bearing holes 25a and 26a of the bearings 25 and 26 are expanded by elastic deformation to facilitate the work and to rotate the rotary shaft 32.
The bearing holes 25a, 25a, 26
The opening amount of 26a is regulated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a substantially rectangular hole 45 is formed on the side of the light receiving side end 21b facing the light emitting side end 21a (shown in FIG. 4), and the light emitting side end is formed. 21a
A substantially rectangular hole (not shown) is formed on the side facing the light receiving side end portion 21b (shown in FIG. 4) so that light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 (shown in FIG. 4) can be emitted from the light emitting side end 21b. The two-phase output phototransistor 42 (shown in FIG. 4) is passed through the hole of the portion 21a and the hole 45 of the light-receiving side end portion 21b.

In the tilt sensor 1, as shown in FIG. 8A, the disk unit 30 is in a stationary position, and the transmissive photointerrupter 20 is in a position facing the weight 35 of the disk unit 30 as an initial state. And The two-phase output phototransistor 42 of the transmissive photointerrupter 20 has two light receiving portions A,
In the initial state, the light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 is completely blocked by the disk 31. Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the sensor body, that is, the transmissive photo interrupter 20 is rotated about 55 degrees in the CW (clockwise) direction, the light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 passes through the slit 33 of the disc 31. And that light 2
The light receiving portion B of the phase output phototransistor 42 receives the light.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, when the sensor body is rotated in the CW direction by approximately 145 degrees, the infrared light emitting diode 41
All the light from is blocked by the disc 31.

That is, the light receiving portion B of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 receives light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 only within a range of approximately 55 to 145 degrees when the sensor body rotates in the CW direction, and outputs an output signal. Turn on.

On the other hand, in the tilt sensor 1, as shown in FIG. 9A, the disk unit 30 is in a stationary position, and the transmissive photo interrupter 20 is in a position facing the weight 35 of the disk unit 30. Initial state.
The two-phase output phototransistor 42 of the transmissive photointerrupter 20 has two light receiving portions A and B in the radial direction of the disc 31, and in the initial state, all the light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 is blocked by the disc 31. To do. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the sensor body, that is, the transmissive photo interrupter 20 is rotated in the CCW (counterclockwise) direction by approximately 55 degrees, the light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 passes through the slit 33 of the disc 31. Then, the light is received by the light receiving portion A of the two-phase output phototransistor 42. Further, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the sensor body is rotated in the CCW direction by approximately 145 degrees, all the light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 is blocked by the disc 31.

That is, when the sensor body rotates in the CCW direction, the light receiving portion A of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 receives the light from the infrared light emitting diode 41 only within the range of approximately 55 to 145 degrees and outputs an output signal. Turn on.

As described above, the tilt sensor 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in 0 (a) and (b), as the sensor body, that is, the transmissive photo interrupter 20 rotates in the CW direction,
It has the relative photocurrent characteristics of the light receiving portions A and B of the phase output phototransistor 42. That is, the light receiving portion A of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 has a rotation angle of approximately 215 to 30.
The relative photocurrent is about 100% up to 5 degrees, and the relative photocurrent is about 0% at other rotation angles. On the other hand, the light receiving portion B of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 has a relative photocurrent of about 100 at a rotation angle of about 55 to 145 degrees.
%, The relative photocurrent becomes 0% at other rotation angles.

Although the disk 33 is provided with the slit 33 and the notch 34, the notch may be provided on the outer peripheral portion of the disk 31 facing the weight 35. In this case, the above-mentioned notch is provided in the light receiving portion A of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 for the light from the infrared light emitting diode 41,
By reaching B, it is possible to detect an upside-down state and an upside-down state other than the upright state and the state in which the upright state is tilted to the left and right. That is, there are four detection directions, that is, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

In the electronic still camera 10 having the above structure, when the electronic still camera 10 is tilted to the right at the time of photographing, as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (c), the transmissive photo interrupter 20 of the tilt sensor 1 causes the disk portion to move. Rotate in the CW direction with respect to 30. Then, when the tilt angle of the electronic still camera 10 to the right is between approximately 55 degrees and 145 degrees, the output signal of the light receiving portion A of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 is off and the output signal of the light receiving portion B is on. .

On the other hand, when the electronic still camera 10 is tilted to the left at the time of photographing, the transmissive photo interrupter 20 of the tilt sensor 1 rotates in the CCW direction with respect to the disk unit 30, as shown in FIGS. To do. Then, when the tilt angle of the electronic still camera 10 to the right is between approximately 55 degrees and 145 degrees, the output signal of the light receiving portion A of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 is on and the output signal of the light receiving portion B is off. . Other than these two states, both output signals of the light receiving parts A and B of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 are turned off.

Then, in response to the output signals of the light receiving sections A and B of the two-phase output phototransistor 42, the tilt direction signal processing section 2 outputs a signal representing the tilt and the tilt direction of the electronic still camera 10 main body. The tilt signal processing unit 2
In response to the signal representing the tilt and the tilt direction from the image signal and the signal representing the image data from the image signal processing unit 5, the recording unit 6 receives the signal representing the tilt and the tilt direction and the signal representing the image data for each photographing. To record. Thus, when the recorded image data is reproduced, a signal indicating the image data and a signal indicating the tilt and the tilt direction are output from the output unit 7 to a personal computer (not shown),
An upright image is displayed on the display of the personal computer based on the signal indicating the tilt and the tilt direction. That is, when the signal representing the tilt and the tilt direction indicates that the signal is tilted to the right by approximately 55 to 145 degrees, the image data is displayed by being rotated in the CCW direction by 90 degrees, while the signal representing the tilt and the tilt direction is displayed. Is about 55 on the left
In the case of representing a state in which the image data is tilted by ˜145 degrees, the image data is rotated by 90 degrees in the CW direction and displayed.
Therefore, when the captured image is reproduced, an upright image can be displayed regardless of the tilt of the electronic still camera 10.

As described above, according to the tilt sensor 1, the relative rotation direction of the disk 31 with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter 20 is determined according to the light receiving state of the two-phase output phototransistor 42 of the transmissive photointerrupter 20. It can be obtained and the left and right tilt directions of the sensor body can be detected. Also, the tilt sensor 1
Since it can be easily configured with the transmissive photo interrupter 20 and the disk unit 30, it is possible to realize a small, lightweight, and low-priced tilt sensor.

The light passage portion of the disc 31 can be easily formed by the slit 33 and the notch 34. Further, the angle of inclination of the sensor body can be detected by changing the length, width and position of the slit 33 and the notch 34.

The tilt sensor 1 is composed of the disk 3
By the slit 33 and the notch 34 provided in 1,
In accordance with the relative rotation of the disk 31 and the transmissive photo interrupter 20, light respectively reaches the light receiving portions A and B of the two-phase output phototransistor 42, and the light receiving states of both the light receiving portions A and B cause the disc 31 to move. Transmission type photo interrupter 2
A rotation direction and an angle relative to 0 can be easily obtained.

The disk 31 of the tilt sensor 1 is also provided.
Even if the transmission photo interrupter 20 is tilted, the weight 35 provided on the outer peripheral part of the disk can keep the disk 31 stable at the stationary position, and the tilt direction of the sensor body can be detected quickly and accurately.

Further, since the weight of the tilt sensor is made of the same material as the disk 31, the disk 31 and the weight 35 can be integrally molded, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, regardless of the tilt of the electronic still camera 10 at the time of photographing, it is possible to automatically display an upright image based on the signal representing the tilt and the tilt direction obtained by the tilt sensor 1. .

Further, in the electronic still camera 10, the disk 31 only rotates when the electronic still camera 10 is shaken, as compared with the tilt sensor using a sphere having a high degree of freedom as the object to be detected. The vibration noise of can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
The principal part of the tilt sensor of the embodiment is shown, and this tilt sensor includes a disk unit 60 and a transmissive photo interrupter 50 which is the same as the transmissive photo interrupter 20 of the first embodiment except for a one-phase output phototransistor 52. Is equipped with. The disk portion 60 of the tilt sensor has a disk 61, and the disk 61 has a
Slit 62 whose radial width gradually increases from point b to point b
Is provided. When the main body of the tilt sensor, that is, the transmissive photo interrupter 50 is rotated in the CW direction from the point a to the point b, as shown in FIG.
Thus, the amount of light passing from the infrared light emitting diode (not shown) to the one-phase output phototransistor 52 gradually increases, and the output current of the one-phase output phototransistor 52 gradually increases.

As described above, in the tilt sensor, the one-phase output phototransistor 5 is selected according to the relative rotation angle of the disk 61 with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter 50.
Since the output current of No. 2 increases, the angle of inclination of the sensor body can be obtained from the output current. Further, by setting an approximately initial position between the points a and b of the disk 61 as an initial state, the left and right tilt directions can be obtained.

(Third Embodiment) FIGS. 13A to 13C show a state in which the tilt sensor of the third embodiment of the present invention is rotated in the CW direction and the CCW direction. This tilt sensor includes the same disk unit 30 as in the first embodiment and a transmissive photo interrupter 70 having a one-phase output phototransistor 72.

As shown in FIG. 13A, the initial state is when the disc 31 is in a stationary state and the transmissive photo interrupter 70 is in a position facing the weight 35. At this time, all the light from the infrared light emitting diode (not shown) to the one-phase output phototransistor 73 is blocked by the disk 31. Then, as shown in FIG. 13B, when the sensor body, that is, the transmissive photo interrupter 70 is rotated in the CW direction and the rotation angle is between approximately 55 and 145 degrees, the slit 32 causes the infrared light emitting diode (not shown) to move from the infrared light emitting diode (not shown). About half of the light to the one-phase output phototransistor 73 is transmitted. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13 (c), the sensor body is rotated in the CCW direction so that the rotation angle is about 55 to 1
During 45 degrees, the notch 33 causes the infrared light emitting diode (not shown) to output the one-phase output phototransistor 7
All the light to 3 passes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the relative photocurrent of the one-phase output phototransistor 73 is about 50% at a rotation angle of about 55 to 145 degrees, about 100% at a rotation angle of about 215 to 305 degrees, and at other rotation angles. It will be about 0%.

In this way, by detecting the amount of light passing through the one-phase output phototransistor 73, the slit 33 and the notch 34 are used according to the relative rotation angle of the disk 30 with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter 70. The angle of inclination of the sensor body and the left and right inclination directions can be detected by changing the amount of light passing through.

Not only the tilt sensor according to the first, second and third embodiments, but also the position and the number of slits and notches of the disk are changed to change the tilt angle and the resolution (the number of detection directions) of the sensor body. Of course, you can change it.

Although the tilt sensor 1 is used in the electronic still camera 10 in the first embodiment, the tilt sensor of the present invention is used in a film type camera or the like for recording the date and time at the corners of the film. Good. In this case, even if the film-type camera is tilted to the left or right by about 90 degrees and a vertical length photograph is taken, the date and time are recorded based on the signal indicating the tilt and the tilt direction detected by the tilt sensor. The position can always be recorded in, for example, the lower right corner of the image in which the subject is upright.

Further, in the first embodiment, the weight 35 of the tilt sensor 31 is made of the same material as the disk 31, but may be made of a material different from the disk. In this case, by using a material having a larger specific gravity than the material of the disc, a weight having a small volume can be provided on the outer peripheral portion of the disc, and the center of gravity of the disc can be largely shifted. Therefore, since the disc and the weight can be reduced, the tilt sensor can be further downsized.

In the first embodiment, the transmission type photo interrupter 20 of the tilt sensor 1 uses the two-phase output phototransistor 42 as a light receiving element having two light receiving portions A and B. However, the light receiving element receives light. Not limited to this, the light receiving element having three or more light receiving portions is used so that the light receiving states of the plurality of light receiving portions are changed according to the relative rotation angle of the disc with respect to the transmissive photo interrupter, and the resolution (detection The number of directions may be improved.

[0054]

As is apparent from the above, in the tilt sensor according to the first aspect of the invention, when the transmissive photointerruptor is tilted, the disk is rotated relative to the transmissive photointerrupter due to gravity so that the disk is at the stationary position. According to the relative rotation of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter, the light from the light emitting element passes through the light passing part of the disc, while the light from the light emitting element is blocked by the light blocking part of the disc. The photo interrupter detects whether the photo interrupter rotates left or right relative to the disc. Therefore, the relative rotation direction of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter can be obtained according to the light receiving state of the light receiving element, and the left and right tilt directions of the main body of the tilt sensor can be obtained. Further, since the tilt sensor can be easily constructed by the transmissive photo interrupter and the disk, a tilt sensor which is small in size, light in weight and low in cost can be realized.

The tilt sensor according to the second aspect of the invention is
In the tilt sensor according to the first aspect, since the light passage portion of the disc comprises at least one of a slit and a notch, the light passage portion can be easily formed by slits or notches. Further, the angle of inclination of the sensor body can be detected by changing the length, width, and position of the slits or cuts.

The tilt sensor according to the third aspect of the invention is
The tilt sensor according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving element of the transmissive photointerrupter has a plurality of light receiving portions, and the light receiving states of the plurality of light receiving portions are different according to a relative rotation angle of the disk with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter. Since it is changed, by changing the shape of the light passage portion with the relative rotation of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter, the light from the light emitting element passes according to the shape of the light passage portion, Each light receiving portion of the light receiving element detects the presence or absence of light reception. Therefore, the relative rotation direction and angle of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter can be obtained from the light receiving states of the respective light receiving portions.

The tilt sensor according to the invention of claim 4 is
2. The tilt sensor according to claim 1, wherein the light passing portion of the disc changes the amount of light passing from the light emitting element according to a rotation angle of the disc relative to the transmissive photointerrupter, and the light receiving element is Since the amount of light passing through the light passing portion of the disc is detected, the relative rotation angle of the disc with respect to the transmissive photointerrupter can be calculated based on the change in the amount of light passing through the transmissive photo interrupter. It is possible to easily obtain the angle of inclination of the interrupter, that is, the inclination sensor main body and the left and right inclination directions.

According to the tilt sensor of the invention of claim 5,
The tilt sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a weight is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the disk in order to hold the disk in a stationary position, so that the disk is placed in a stationary position even when the transmissive photointerrupter is tilted. Since it is kept stable, the left and right tilt directions of the tilt sensor can be detected quickly and accurately.

According to the tilt sensor of the invention of claim 6,
In the tilt sensor of the fifth aspect, since the weight is made of the same material as the disk, the disk and the weight can be integrally molded, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The tilt sensor according to the seventh aspect of the invention is
6. The tilt sensor according to claim 5, wherein the weight is made of a material different from that of the disc, so that a material having a larger specific gravity than the material of the disc is used for the weight to provide a weight having a small volume on the outer peripheral portion of the disc. The weight and the weight can be reduced, and the tilt sensor can be further downsized.

In addition to the image information obtained by the electronic camera of the present invention, the tilt sensor can obtain information indicating the tilt and tilt direction of the electronic camera. By using the information indicating the inclination and the inclination direction, it is possible to perform the processing of the image information for making the image upright.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic still camera using a tilt sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tilt sensor.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the tilt sensor.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the tilt sensor.

FIG. 5 is a side view seen from the light receiving side end of the tilt sensor.

6 (a) and 6 (b) are a side view and a front view of a disk of the tilt sensor.

7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG.

8 (a) to 8 (c) are views showing a state in which the main body of the tilt sensor is rotated clockwise.

9 (a) to 9 (c) are views showing a state in which the main body of the tilt sensor is rotated counterclockwise.

10 (a) and 10 (b) are graphs showing the characteristics of the relative photocurrents of the light receiving parts A and B of the light receiving element with respect to the rotation angle when the tilt sensor is rotated counterclockwise by 360 degrees. is there.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a main part of a tilt sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a characteristic of an output current of a light receiving unit when the main body of the tilt sensor is rotated clockwise from point a to point b.

13 (a) to 13 (c) are views showing a state in which the tilt sensor of the third embodiment of the present invention is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a characteristic of a relative photocurrent of a light receiving unit with respect to a rotation angle when the tilt sensor body is rotated clockwise.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a conventional tilt sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Tilt sensor, 2 ... Tilt direction signal processing unit, 3 ... Lens, 4 ... Image / signal conversion unit, 5 ... Image signal processing unit, 6 ...
Recording unit, 7 ... Output unit, 10 ... Electronic still camera, 20 ...
Transmission type photo interrupter, 21 ... Holder, 21a ... Light emitting side end, 21b ... Light receiving side end, 22 ... Light emitting diode terminal, 23 ... Phototransistor terminal, 25, 26
... Bearing part, 30 ... Disc part, 31 ... Disc, 32 ...
Rotating shaft, 33 ... Slit, 34 ... Notch, 35 ... Weight, 41 ... Infrared light emitting diode, 42 ... Two-phase output phototransistor.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A transmissive photointerrupter having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, which are opposed to each other with a predetermined interval, and is provided rotatably relative to the transmissive photointerrupter and is at a stationary position due to gravity. The light-passing portion is held, and has a light-passing portion through which light from the light-emitting element to the light-receiving element passes and a light-blocking portion that blocks the light, wherein the light-passing portion is relatively transparent to the transmission photointerrupter. An inclination sensor, comprising: a disc formed so as to detect whether it has rotated left or right. 2. The tilt sensor according to claim 1, wherein the light passage portion of the disk comprises at least one of a slit and a cutout. 3. The tilt sensor according to claim 1, wherein the light-receiving element of the transmissive photointerrupter has a plurality of light-receiving parts, and the light-receiving element of the disc has a plurality of light-receiving parts depending on a rotation angle of the disc relative to the transmissive photointerrupter. An inclination sensor, wherein the light receiving states of the plurality of light receiving portions are changed. 4. The tilt sensor according to claim 1, wherein the light passage portion of the disc passes through the light emitting element according to a rotation angle of the disc relative to the transmissive photointerrupter. The tilt sensor is characterized in that the light receiving element detects the amount of light passing through the light passing portion of the disk. 5. The tilt sensor according to claim 1, wherein a weight is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the disk in order to hold the disk at a stationary position. . 6. The tilt sensor according to claim 5, wherein the weight is made of the same material as the disk. 7. The tilt sensor according to claim 5, wherein the weight is made of a material different from that of the disc. 8. A transmissive photointerrupter having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element, which are arranged to face each other with a predetermined space therebetween, and the transmissive photointerrupter is rotatably provided relative to the transmissive photointerrupter and is at a stationary position due to gravity. Retained,
And, it has a light passing portion through which the light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element passes and a light blocking portion for blocking the light, the light passing portion, the transmissive photointerrupter is relatively rotated left. An electronic camera, comprising: a tilt sensor having a disc formed so as to detect whether it is rotated rightward or rightward, and information indicating a tilt and a tilt direction is obtained in addition to image information.