JPH11133494A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize high range-finding accuracy, to surely maintain the specified range-finding accuracy and to realize miniaturization by using a holding member holding a light projecting lens and a light receiving lens also as an armor member constituting the armor of a camera main body. SOLUTION: The camera main body 10 constituted by integrally disposing a component member is supported to be covered with a front armor member 5 and a back armor member 6 from a back-and-forth direction. The member 5 is formed of the holding member 5a and the armor member 5c holding the light projecting lens and the light receiving lens, and functions as a front cover with which the front side of the main body 10 is covered. Then, cylindrical supporting parts 5d and 5e whose both ends are opened are integrally formed at both ends of the member 5a. A light projecting part consisting of an infrared light emitting diode 1 and the light projecting lens 2 is disposed in the supporting part 5d and a light receiving part consisting of a light position detecting element 4 and the light receiving lens 3 is disposed in the supporting part 5e respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to an arrangement of components inside a camera having an active autofocus (AF) mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in cameras and the like for taking photographs, automation such as AE, AF, and automatic film feeding has been realized, and various functions such as various photographing modes have been realized. A high-performance and multi-functionalization has been realized by being equipped. On the other hand, there is always a demand to reduce the size of the camera itself in order to improve the portability of the camera and make it easy to carry around at any time.

[0003] A used in a conventional general camera
As the F mechanism, for example, a distance measuring light beam such as an infrared ray is projected toward a subject, the distance measuring light beam (reflected light) reflected by the object is received, and a distance between the camera and the object is measured. In general, a so-called active AF mechanism, which automatically measures the focus of the photographing optical system by moving the photographing optical system by a driving means such as a motor based on the distance measurement result, is generally used. It is a target.

In this active type AF mechanism, a light projecting section including a light projecting element and a light projecting lens for projecting a light beam for distance measurement, and a light receiving element and a light receiving lens for receiving reflected light from a subject are used. The positional relationship (interval, etc.) with the light receiving section is an element that determines the distance measurement accuracy. Therefore, in order to further increase the accuracy of the distance measurement, it is desirable to ensure the interval between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit as wide as possible.

However, in order to reduce the size of the camera, there is a case where restrictions are imposed on the arrangement of each component disposed inside the camera, and the above-mentioned light projecting unit and light receiving unit are ideally arranged. There are restrictions on what you can do.

Therefore, as means for realizing miniaturization of a camera while securing predetermined distance measurement accuracy, for example, FIG.
0, various cameras such as those shown in FIG. 21 have been proposed.

FIG. 20 shows an example of an arrangement of an AF mechanism in a conventional camera, in which the light emitting and receiving units are arranged close to each other to realize miniaturization. That is, in this example of the camera, the light projecting unit including the light projecting lens 102 and the like and the light receiving unit including the light receiving lens 103 and the like are arranged close to each other, and the finder 107 is disposed near these light projecting and receiving units.
Finder unit 1 which is configured by integrally disposing
17 is a camera body 10 having a photographing optical system 111 and the like.
After assembling to a part of 5a, this camera body 105a
Are arranged so as to cover the exterior member 105 from the front side.

FIG. 21 shows an AF in a conventional camera.
This is another example of the structure of the mechanism, etc., in which the distance between the light emitting and receiving units is made as large as possible, and the light emitting and receiving unit is arranged at a distant position inside the camera body to achieve higher distance measurement accuracy. Things. In other words, this camera constitutes a finder unit 117a by a light projecting unit such as a light projecting lens 102 and a finder unit 107 and the like, and a front surface of a camera body 105Aa formed separately from the camera and having a photographing optical system 111 and the like. A light receiving unit such as a light receiving lens 103 is disposed on the side of the camera body 105Aa, and the finder unit 117a is assembled to a part of the camera main body 105Aa. It is composed.

Further, the distance measuring device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-126754 discloses a distance measuring device in which a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit are arranged close to each other in order to reduce the size of a camera. A predetermined distance measurement accuracy is ensured by devising so that the projection light projected from the light unit does not directly reach the light receiving unit.

Further, in the camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 8-313982, the light projecting unit and the light receiving unit are located at completely different positions inside the camera, for example, near the upper end and the lower end of the front surface of the camera. Arrange the light emitting and receiving parts in each
By ensuring an interval between the light emitting and receiving sections on the front side of the camera, a predetermined distance measurement accuracy is ensured even in a small camera.

The principle of triangulation applied to the above-described conventional camera active AF mechanism will be described below with reference to FIG. A general active AF mechanism includes a light projecting unit including an infrared light emitting diode (hereinafter, referred to as IRED) 101 and a light projecting lens 102, a light receiving lens 103, and a light position detecting element (hereinafter, referred to as an IRED).
And a light receiving unit such as a PSD (104). The light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged such that both the light emitting surface and the light receiving surface are spaced from each other toward the subject 116 by a distance S. Here, the distance S indicates a distance between principal points of the light projecting lens 102 and the light receiving lens 103, and is referred to as a base line length.

A description will be given of a case where a distance measurement operation is performed in the AF mechanism having such a configuration. First, a light beam (projection light) for distance measurement from the IRED 101 is projected onto the subject 116 through the light projection lens 102. Then, the projection light reflected by the subject 116 (hereinafter, referred to as subject reflected light) forms an image on the light receiving surface of the PSD 104 via the light receiving lens 103. The position X of the image forming point on the PSD 104 changes with the change in the distance L (hereinafter, referred to as a subject distance) from the light emitting / receiving lenses 102 and 103 to the subject.
The light 104 moves on the light receiving surface. Therefore,
The subject distance can be calculated based on the position X of the image forming point of the subject reflected light formed on the light receiving surface of the PSD 104.

Here, the PSD 104 outputs two photocurrents ia and ib based on the position X of the imaging point of the subject reflected light imaged on the light receiving surface. At this time, PSD10
When the length on the light receiving surface of No. 4 is indicated by a symbol t, the following relationship is established. That is, ia / (ia + ib) = X / t (1) On the other hand, PSD via subject distance L and light receiving lens 103
When the focal length of the light receiving lens 103 is indicated by the symbol f, the relationship between the focal point of the subject reflected light imaged on the image 104 and the position X is X = (S · f) / L by the principle of triangulation. ... The relationship of (2) holds.

Therefore, the subject distance L is equal to PSD1.
L = (S · f) / X = {(S · f) / t} × {(ia + ib) / ia} due to two photocurrents ia and ib based on the position X of the imaging point 04. Becomes As described above, the subject distance L can be measured by a calculation based on the position X of the imaging point.

Here, it is assumed that the base line length S and the focal length f of the light receiving lens 103 are fixed to predetermined values. Therefore, if these values change depending on the situation, it is impossible to realize an accurate distance measuring operation. That is, in order to secure a predetermined distance measurement accuracy, it is necessary to reliably maintain predetermined values such as the base line length S and the focal length f of the light receiving lens 103.

When the base line length S and the focal length f of the light receiving lens 103 are set to be small, the difference in the amount of movement of the position X of the imaging point that fluctuates when the subject distance L changes is sufficiently identified. Would be difficult to do. Therefore, in order to secure a high accuracy of distance measurement, it is desirable to sufficiently secure the base line length S and the focal length f of the light receiving lens 103. In an active AF mechanism using the principle of triangulation, a positional shift of a micron unit has a great effect on a distance measurement characteristic.

[0017]

However, the above-mentioned FIG.
In a conventional camera configured as shown in FIG. 0, the base line length S is reduced (narrowed) due to the arrangement of the light emitting and receiving lenses 102 and 103 close to each other, and high precision ranging accuracy is ensured. There is a problem that is difficult. FIG.
In the camera configured as shown in FIG.
2 on the finder unit 117a side and the light receiving lens 1
03 are arranged on the camera body 105Aa, respectively.
The finder unit 117a and the camera body 105A
Since a and a are formed separately from each other, it is conceivable that the relative position of the light emitting and receiving unit changes as described above. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure a predetermined distance measurement accuracy. That is, the light emitting / receiving lens 1
Even if a longer base line length S is secured by arranging the two lenses 102 and 103 at separate positions, it is difficult to hold the two lenses 102 and 103 at their respective predetermined positions.
It is difficult to secure and maintain a predetermined distance measurement accuracy.

According to the means disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-126754, it is possible to contribute to the miniaturization of the camera by arranging the light projecting and receiving lenses close to each other. Is small (at a narrow interval), which makes it difficult to secure high-accuracy distance measurement accuracy.

According to the means disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-313982, a long base line length S can be ensured by disposing the light projecting / receiving lens at a remote position, but the light projecting / receiving lens is Are supported by completely separate support members, so that when photographing or the like is performed, there may be a case where a positional shift or the like occurs between the light emitting and receiving lenses. Therefore, there are cases where accurate distance measurement cannot be performed.

That is, considering a case in which the light projecting portion and the light receiving portion formed separately from each other are fixed to each support member or the like by means of, for example, an adhesive or the like, when the camera is used or carried, Due to external factors such as external vibration or dropping of the camera itself, the respective positions of the light emitting / receiving sections are likely to be shifted. Further, even when the support member of the light emitting and receiving unit and the like are irregularly deformed due to environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, the light emitting and receiving unit is shifted from a predetermined position. Then, when the above-described deformation or the like occurs in the support member of the light emitting and receiving unit, it is difficult to return to the original shape.

In the case where the above various problems occur, it is difficult to secure a predetermined distance measuring accuracy, and not only the accuracy deteriorates, but also in the worst case, the distance cannot be measured. It can be lost. Therefore, it has been very difficult to realize the miniaturization of the camera while securing a predetermined high precision ranging accuracy.

Therefore, even when the light emitting and receiving unit of the AF mechanism is separately provided as in the other example shown in FIG. 21 and the means disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-313982. In order to secure the distance measurement accuracy, for example, it is conceivable to form a material such as a camera body and a support member such as the finder unit 117a that respectively support the light emitting and receiving units using a material that is not easily deformed. However, such a support member made of a robust material that is not easily deformed may require a large occupied space inside the camera, which may be a factor that hinders downsizing of the camera.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to realize a more accurate ranging accuracy in a camera having an AF mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera which can surely maintain the camera size and realizes downsizing.

[0024]

In order to achieve the above object, a camera according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a light projecting lens for projecting light for distance measurement to an object, and the light for distance measurement from the object. A distance measuring device having a light receiving lens for receiving the reflected light of the light, and a holding member for holding the light projecting lens and the light receiving lens, wherein the holding member constitutes an exterior of a camera body; It is characterized by being shared.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to the first aspect, the camera further comprises a connecting member for connecting the holding member to a finder optical system provided in the camera.

The camera according to the third invention is characterized in that the camera further comprises an adjusting member for adjusting the positions of the light projecting element and the light receiving element in the distance measuring device.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged main structural part of the camera of this embodiment in an exploded state.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the camera as viewed from the front side.

The camera of this embodiment comprises, for example, a shutter unit (not shown), an electric circuit board 8 and the like.
Further, a camera body 10 in which constituent members such as a photographing optical system 11, a film feeding mechanism 9, and a finder unit 7 serving as a finder optical system are integrally arranged is formed by a front exterior member 5 and a rear exterior member 6, It has a configuration in which it is covered from the front-back direction and sandwiched.

The electric circuit board 8 includes a transistor for driving the infrared light emitting diode (IRED) 1 as a light emitting element and the light position detecting element (P) as a light receiving element.
A circuit for processing the output current from the SD) 4, a one-chip microcomputer for controlling the operation of the camera, and the like are mounted.

The front exterior member 5 is formed by a holding member 5a for holding a light emitting and receiving lens described later and an exterior member 5c, and serves as a front cover for covering the front side of the camera body 10. The holding member 5a and the exterior member 5
c may be integrally formed, and this may be used as the front exterior member 5.

Then, at both ends of the holding member 5a,
Cylindrical support portions 5d and 5e having both ends opened are integrally formed. A light projecting portion including an IREAD 1 and a light projecting lens 2 and the like are arranged in the supporting portion 5d, and a light receiving portion including a PSD 4 and a light receiving lens 3 and the like are arranged in the supporting portion 5e. . That is, as shown in FIG. 2, when the holding member 5a is disposed on the front side of the camera,
The light projecting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged near the upper end and the lower end of the front surface of the camera, respectively.

The leads 12 and 13 extending from the electric circuit board 8 are connected to the IREAD 1 and the PSD 4 by connecting means such as soldering. The distance measuring apparatus is configured as described above, and the distance measuring operation using the principle of the triangulation described with reference to FIG. 19 described above is performed by the operation of IREAD1 and PSD4 of the distance measuring apparatus.

On the other hand, on the exterior member 5c forming a part of the front exterior member 5 of the camera, a finder objective lens 7b constituting a part of the finder unit 7 and a built-in flash device incorporated in the camera body. An illumination opening window 15 and the like are provided, and a photographing optical system 11
The aperture of the photographing lens which constitutes is formed. Various operation members such as a release button 14 for instructing start of an AF / AE operation, a photographing operation, and the like are provided on an upper surface portion of the camera.

On the inner wall surface side of the holding member 5a which is a part of the exterior member 5, a rib for integrally connecting between the supporting portions 5d and 5e on which the light projecting portion and the light receiving portion are respectively disposed. Is formed at a substantially central portion of the holding member 5a, whereby a predetermined strength is secured. Therefore, for example, when a user holds the camera when taking a picture or mounts the camera on a tripod, a partial load is applied due to an external force applied to a part of the front exterior member 5 or the like of the camera. However, the predetermined distance measurement accuracy is maintained.

The reinforcing member 5b for preventing the holding member 5a from being deformed when a load such as an external force is applied thereto is shown in FIGS. Various forms as shown in FIG.

That is, FIGS. 3 and 4 show the same holding by providing a rib as a reinforcing portion between two supporting portions formed at both ends of a holding member provided with a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion. The strength of the member is ensured. Of these, the holding member 5A in the form shown in FIG.
A rib 5Ab is formed on one side edge between 5Ae. In the holding member 5A of this embodiment, since the reinforcing portion 5Ab is formed close to one side edge, a space for arranging the members in the camera body can be secured as compared with the holding member 5a shown in the above-described embodiment. It will be easier.

The holding member 5B of the form shown in FIG.
The rib 5Bb is formed so as to be stretched between the support portions 5Bd and 5Be. When the holding member 5B of this embodiment is used, a space can be further secured between the reinforcing portion 5Bb and the holding member 5B, so that a wider space for disposing members inside the camera can be secured.

Further, a holding member 5C of the form shown in FIG.
Is formed using a high-strength plate-like member such as a metal. Support members 5Cd and 5Ce formed by molding or the like are attached to both ends of the holding member 5C by connecting means such as screws. Things.

The holding member 5C constructed as described above is connected to the holding member 5C shown in FIG.
As shown in (2), the camera body 10 is fastened using screws 22, and the inner surfaces of both ends are fixed by connecting members 30 and 31 such as an elastic adhesive or a resin member.
In such a configuration, when an external force in the direction of arrow 32 shown in FIG. 6 is applied to the support portion 5Cd at one end of the holding member 5C by, for example, vibration or dropping, the external force is reduced by the holding member. At the support 5Ce side of the other end of 5C, FIG.
And acts in the direction of releasing the external force. Therefore, the distance measurement accuracy is not degraded while securing the predetermined strength.

Further, even when the camera is left in a high-temperature environment during the day or a low-temperature environment at night due to, for example, being left in a car, the positional relationship between the light emitting and receiving sections may change. Since this does not occur, there is no effect on the ranging accuracy.

When the holding members 5a, 5A, 5B, 5C of the above-described embodiments are used, it is desirable to dispose the electric circuit board 8 in the vicinity thereof. Therefore, in place of the electric circuit board 8 shown in FIG. 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the IREAD 1 and a transistor (not shown) for driving the IREAD 1 and the PSD 4 and a circuit for processing the output current from the PSD 4 ( IC) 8
a (hereinafter referred to as FP)
8A) may be arranged along the inner wall surface of the holding member 5a. By arranging the electric circuit board 8A in this manner, there is an advantage that the members can be efficiently arranged even in a narrow space inside the camera. Therefore, according to this, it is easy to contribute to downsizing of the camera.

Since the holding member 5a is formed with sufficient strength as described above, FP
It can also be a protection means for protecting C8A. However, when a member formed of a metal member or the like as described with reference to FIG. 5 is used as the holding member, there is a possibility that a member such as the IC 8a disposed on the FPC 8A or a circuit or the like may be broken due to static electricity or the like. Can be considered. Therefore,
In such a case, means for grounding the potential of the holding member 5a is also required.

On the other hand, when a rigid board is used as the electric circuit board on which the IC 8a and the like are arranged, a holding member having a form as shown in FIG. 8 is used instead of the reinforcing portion 5b of the holding member 5a shown in FIG. Is also conceivable.

That is, in the holding member 5E of this embodiment, a single continuous groove 32 corresponding to the thickness of the electric circuit board 8B is provided substantially at the center of the inner wall surface of the holding member 5E. It is a position to be continuously provided, and the support portions 5Ed, 5Ee
The groove 3 having the same thickness as the groove 32 is provided at a position facing each other.
2d. 32e. The electric circuit board 8B is inserted into the slit formed by the concave grooves 32, 32d, and 32e by inserting the electric circuit board 8B in the vertical direction with respect to the holding member 5E. In this state, the lead wires 12 from the IRED 1 and the lead wires 13 from the PSD 4 provided on the support portion 5Ed may be connected to predetermined positions on the electric circuit board 8B by connection means such as soldering.

With such a configuration, the electric circuit board 8B made of a hard board can be used as a reinforcing part instead of the rib (5b) shown in each of the above embodiments. Therefore, the configuration of the holding member 5E itself can be simplified.

The electric circuit boards 8 and 8B (FPC)
8A) is configured, for example, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. That is, on this electric circuit board 8,
A driver circuit 8b composed of a circuit for supplying a drive current to the IRED1, and an integrated circuit for AF that calculates output currents ia and ib output by applying a bias to the PSD4 using the above equation (3). A certain AF-IC8
a, a filter circuit 8c for stabilizing a power supply current supplied to the AF-IC 8a and the like are mounted, and a power supply battery 36 of the camera is electrically connected to these components.

Incidentally, a configuration is also conceivable in which a circuit board for AF is newly provided separately from the electric circuit board 8B. As the AF circuit board in this case, FIG.
And an external perspective view of the main part of FIG.

That is, the AF circuit board 37 is, for example, an FP
C and the like. On this substrate 37, the IRED1 and PSD4, which are the above-mentioned light emitting and receiving elements,
It is mounted via holders 40 and 41 having Oa and 41a. These holders 40, 41
It is provided to adjust the position of the PSD 1 and the PSD 4, and details thereof will be described later.

Then, the electrode portion 39b serving as a connection portion of the AF circuit board 37 thus configured is brought into close contact with the electrode portion 39a serving as a connection portion on the electric circuit board 8 side.
It is crimped and fixed to a fixing portion (not shown) in the camera body by a screw 38 or the like. As a result, both substrates 8B and 37 are electrically connected. At this time, between the fixing portion and the connection surface of the electrode portions (39a, 39b), an insulating member 35 is interposed as shown in FIG. The substrates 8B and 37 are insulated.

IR mounted on the AF circuit board 37
The ED 1 is assembled to the holding member 5a as shown in an exploded perspective view of a main part in FIG. Although not shown in FIG. 12, the PSD 4 is assembled to the holding member 5a by exactly the same means.

With this configuration, the lead wires 12 and 13 used in the first embodiment (see FIG. 8) are used.
Can be omitted, and accordingly, there is no need to perform a soldering operation. Therefore, the assembling work can be executed efficiently, and it is possible to contribute to the improvement of the assembling workability.

Here, a specific configuration of the above IRED 1 will be described. The IRED 1 has a semiconductor chip 1b mounted on a metal lead portion 1a, and is sealed and packaged with a transparent resin or the like in this state. Such a configuration is such that an automatic adjuster or the like used when manufacturing a camera has a shape that can easily handle these members, and has a small and simple shape. This is because it is desirable.

The holder 40 has a projection 40a on one side and is formed in a thin box shape so as to cover the entire IRED1. And
With the same holder 40 assembled to the IRED1,
One of the surfaces along the optical axis of the light projecting portion of the IRED 1 is entirely open, and the surface opposed to this opening surface is substantially circular so that the light projecting element portion 1c of the IRED 1 can be exposed. An opening having a shape is provided.

When the IRED 1 is incorporated in the holding member 5a, first, the AF circuit board 37 is used.
The holder 40 is attached to the IRED 1 mounted on the device (see FIG. 11). In this state, the mounting surface of the holder 40 and the supporting portion 5 of the holding member 5a are
The mounting surface of the holding member 5a is opposed to the mounting surface of the holding member 5a, and is fixed to a predetermined position of each side surface portion (portion indicated by reference numeral 42) of the support portion 5d of the holding member 5a by using a predetermined joining means such as an adhesive. To join. Note that the positional relationship of the holder 40 with respect to the holding member 5a is determined after a position adjustment step described later. Therefore, the final joining of the holding member 5a and the holder 40 is performed after the positional adjustment of both is determined.

The IRED1 thus assembled
The positions of the respective elements in the base line length direction do not change even when the adhesive is cured between the AF circuit board 37 on which the PSD 4 is mounted and the holding member 5a. Therefore, the irradiation direction of the IRED 1 can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the subject by using the projection 40a of the holder 40.

In a camera having an AF mechanism, a distance measuring frame indicating a position (range) to which projection light from a light projection unit (IRED) is irradiated is provided in a viewfinder for observing a subject during photographing. Have been. Then, the photographer matches the subject (main subject) to be focused at the time of photographing within the distance measurement frame, performs an autofocus operation at this position, and thereby performs a desired photographing. Is common.

Therefore, in a camera having an AF mechanism, the positional relationship between the finder and the light projecting unit can be an important factor. Therefore, in order to obtain a better photographing result, it is necessary to not only improve the ranging accuracy of the AF mechanism itself, but also
It is necessary to accurately project the light for distance measurement into the distance measurement frame of the finder.

However, since the finder optical system constituting the finder unit is composed of a plurality of lenses and a group of prisms, the finder optical system and the AF
In some cases, the positioning accuracy of the mechanism differs depending on the working accuracy at the time of manufacturing the camera. Therefore, in the camera of the present embodiment, a more accurate distance measuring device can be provided by performing an adjustment process described below in the manufacturing process.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged block diagram simply showing the positional relationship among the finder, the light projecting section and the holder in the camera of this embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a concept of an adjustment process of the camera.

With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, an adjustment process for adjusting the position of the finder optical system and the light projecting portion constituting the AF mechanism, which is performed during the manufacture of the camera, will be described below.

The adjusting mechanism for adjusting the position of the finder optical system and the light projecting unit includes an adjusting fixing member 74 for fixing the unit to be adjusted including the finder unit 7 and the AF mechanism to be adjusted, and a light projecting unit. An electric circuit unit 50 for driving the camera and the like, a video camera 71 for observing the subject image of the finder unit 7, an adjustment execution unit 72 for executing the adjustment operation, and control for controlling the entire adjustment mechanism. It comprises a computer 70 as a means, a screen plate 75 as a subject, and the like.

The computer 70 includes the adjustment electric circuit section 50, the video camera 71, and the adjustment execution section 72.
Are electrically connected using a cable or the like. As the video camera 71, one having sensitivity to infrared light is applied.
Infrared light which is the projection light from 1) can be observed. Further, the adjustment executing section 72 is formed of an arm 73 and the like that hold the projection 40a of the holder 40 of the unit to be adjusted and move the same. The screen plate 75 is disposed at a position separated by a predetermined distance in the optical axis direction of the finder unit 7 of the unit to be adjusted and the light projecting lens 2.

When adjusting the position of the finder unit 7 and the AF mechanism using the adjusting device having such a configuration, the unit to be adjusted is first installed on the fixing member 74 for adjustment. In the unit to be adjusted, the finder unit 7 and the holding member 5a manufactured by the means described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 and having the AF mechanism attached thereto are integrally formed by a coupling member 53 such as a screw. Point in units. Note that FIG. 13 shows a state in which the imaging optical system 11 is further assembled to the unit.

Next, the electrode portion 3 of the FPC 37 of the AF mechanism of the unit to be adjusted fixed to the adjustment fixing member 74 is described.
9b and the connector 51 of the adjusting electric circuit unit 50 of the adjusting device are connected by using the same means as the means described with reference to FIG. Here, a light emitting unit (IRE) is used for position adjustment.
D1) an electric circuit for adjustment as an electric circuit for driving
Is used because there are various restrictions on handling when an actual electric circuit board 8 or the like built in a camera as a product is used.

The position adjustment operation is performed by operating the computer 70. First, the adjusting electric circuit 50 is controlled by the computer 70, and the light emitting section (I
RED1) is driven, and the projected light is
Irradiate toward The irradiation position of the projection light is adjusted to some extent so as to be on the screen plate 75 in advance, for example, when assembling the unit to be adjusted. At this time, on the display screen of the computer 70, the screen plate 75 formed on the finder unit 7 via the video camera 71 is observed. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an observation image of the finder unit 7. As shown in the figure, a distance measurement frame 7a is observed at a substantially central portion of the screen within the screen frame, and a projection light spot 60 of the IRED 1 is observed so as to be superimposed thereon.

The position adjustment operation is performed by operating the computer 70 while observing the observation image on the display screen.
Adjustment is made so that the projection light point 60 of the RED 1 overlaps the distance measurement frame 7a.

The light emitting section (IRED1) of the unit to be adjusted
The projection light 53 from the projection lens 2) is
Is moved in the direction of the arrow X1 shown in FIG. 13 by moving the projection 40a provided in the direction of the arrow X1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the computer 70 controls the adjustment execution section 72 and operates the arm 73 of the execution section 72 to remotely control the holder 40. The arm 73 of the execution unit 72 is configured to move in the direction of arrow X3 in FIG. 14 and to move in the direction of arrow X1 in FIG.

As described above, the direction of observing the subject from the finder unit 7 (the direction indicated by reference numeral 54 in FIG. 13) and the direction of irradiating the projection light from the IRED 1 of the light projecting unit (denoted by reference numeral 53 in FIG. 13). (Direction) is adjusted. Then, when the position of the light projecting portion with respect to the finder optical system is determined, the holding member 5a and the holder 40 are joined by the adhesive as described above.
Further, the position adjustment is similarly performed on the light receiving unit (PSD4) side, and a series of position adjustment steps is completed.

The adjusting operation of the light receiving section is substantially the same as the adjusting operation of the light projecting section, and will not be described in detail. However, in the case of the light receiving unit side, the position adjustment is performed so that the projection light from the light emitting unit is accurately received. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 14, after projecting light by driving the light projecting unit under the control of the electric circuit for adjustment 50, the holder 41 is moved so that the reflected light of the projected light beam is reliably received. It will be. That is, the output current ia, output from the light receiving unit (PSD4),
ib is monitored by a dedicated circuit and adjusted so as to have a predetermined relationship.

When the position adjustment of the light emitting and receiving unit is completed, the adjustment electric circuit 50 is removed from the unit to be adjusted, and the unit to be adjusted is removed from the fixing member 74. Next, the unit and the camera body 10 are connected by screws or the like (not shown), thereby forming the camera body unit 10A. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16, the exterior member 5c is attached to the camera body unit 10A, and the camera is completed. In this case, an opening 5f is opened at a position corresponding to the photographing optical system 11 and the holding member 5a substantially at the center of the front side of the exterior member 5c, and the front surface of each of the holding member 5a and the exterior member 5c is opened. Are substantially the same surface and are integrated.

Here, the only actual position adjustment operation is to move the holder 40 of the unit to be adjusted as described above so that the distance measurement frame 7a on the observation image of the finder unit 7 and the projection light point 60 coincide. Therefore, in addition to the automatic adjustment using the adjusting device as described above, manual adjustment by an adjustment operator may be performed.

In addition to the shape shown in FIG. 16, the shape of the opening 5f of the exterior member 5c is, for example, the shape shown in FIG. 1, that is, the opening where the holding member 5a is exposed, and the photographing optical system. It goes without saying that various examples are conceivable, such as a shape in which the aperture of the taking lens constituting the lens 11 is provided independently.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Since the holding member that supports the light emitting and receiving unit also serves as an exterior member of the camera, the number of components arranged inside the camera can be reduced, and the arrangement inside the camera can be simplified. Therefore, efficient member arrangement inside the camera can be performed.

Further, since the holding member is formed so as to secure a predetermined strength by integrally forming the reinforcing portion or devising the shape of the member, the holding member has a structure in which the light emitting / receiving portion is disposed at a remote position. Also, the displacement is hardly generated between the two. Therefore, even in a small-sized camera, it is possible to easily secure a long base line length by widening the interval between the light emitting and receiving sections. As a result, it is possible to easily secure higher distance measurement accuracy.

Further, since the holding member is integrally formed between the light emitting and receiving portions without any interposition of an adhesive or a connecting means or the like and has a predetermined strength, the holding member is caused by the conventional adhesive or connecting means or the like. Problems such as misalignment between the light emitting and receiving parts caused by the camera can be easily eliminated, and when an external force such as vibration or shock is applied to the camera or when environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity change. Also, no positional deviation occurs between the light emitting and receiving sections. Therefore, it is easy to ensure a predetermined distance measurement accuracy.

Since the position adjustment (adjustment of the projection direction) of the IRED 1 is performed in the state of the camera main unit 10A including the viewfinder unit 7 and the light projecting lens 2, etc., regardless of the working accuracy of the viewfinder optical system. A light beam for distance measurement can be projected onto a predetermined position of the distance measurement frame 7a in the finder screen. Therefore, it is possible to accurately perform focus adjustment on a desired subject observed by the finder unit 7.

Next, a camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. 17 and 18 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view of a camera according to the present embodiment. FIG. 18 shows an AF applied to the camera.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part, showing only a holding member that supports a component member of the mechanism and the like. In the present embodiment, the first
It basically has the same configuration as the embodiment,
Only the shape of the holding member is different. Therefore,
Constituent members similar to those of the above-described first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the camera of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, a front exterior member 5F covering the front side of the camera body
Is a holding member 5 disposed near the front of the upper surface of the camera.
Fa and an exterior member 5Fc that covers the camera front side portion other than the portion covered by the holding member 5Fa.

The holding member 5Fa has a long side in the width direction of the camera as shown in FIG. 17, and is formed in a substantially box shape having openings in two directions as shown in FIG. When the holding member 5Fa is attached to the camera body (see FIG. 17), the light projecting lens 2 and the light receiving lens 3 are located near both ends of a surface corresponding to the front side of the camera.
In the same manner as in the first embodiment, light emitting / receiving elements such as an IRED and a PSD, an electric circuit board for processing these electric signals and the like are provided. A finder objective lens 7 is provided near the substantially central portion of the same surface.
b and the like, and a finder unit is provided therein.

Since the holding member 5Fa has a substantially box shape as described above, a predetermined strength can be more easily ensured without providing a reinforcing member such as a rib, and at the same time, the camera can be used. A wider space can be secured inside. Furthermore, since the shape of the holding member 5Fa can be simplified, it is possible to contribute to a reduction in manufacturing cost.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
It is possible to obtain exactly the same effects as in the first embodiment. In the camera of the present embodiment, a high-precision distance measuring device can be obtained by performing a position adjusting operation using the same position adjusting device as that described in the first embodiment in the manufacturing process. Can be.

[Supplementary Note] According to the embodiment of the invention described above, an invention having the following configuration can be obtained. That is, (1) a distance measuring device having a light projecting lens for projecting light for distance measurement to a subject, a light receiving lens for receiving reflected light of the distance measuring light from the object, and the light projecting device A camera comprising a lens and a holding member for holding the light receiving lens, wherein the holding member is also used as an exterior member constituting an exterior of the camera body.

(2) The camera according to (1), further comprising a connecting member for connecting the holding member to a finder optical system provided in the camera.

(3) The camera according to (2) further comprises an adjusting member for adjusting the positions of the light projecting element and the light receiving element in the distance measuring device.

(4) In the camera described in Appendix (1), the holding member includes a reinforcing portion on an inner surface of a portion that is also used as the exterior member.

(5) In the camera described in the supplementary note (4), the reinforcing portion is constituted by a rib.

(6) In the camera described in the supplementary note (4), the reinforcing portion is formed of a material having strength different from a material forming the exterior member.

(7) In the camera described in the supplementary note (6), the material of the reinforcing portion has higher strength than the material constituting the exterior member.

[0089]

As described above, according to the present invention, AF
In a camera having a mechanism, it is possible to provide a camera capable of realizing higher accuracy of distance measurement, reliably maintaining a predetermined distance measurement accuracy, and realizing miniaturization.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded center longitudinal sectional view showing main components of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the camera of FIG. 1 as viewed from the front.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of another embodiment of the holding member of the camera shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of another embodiment of the holding member of the camera in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of still another embodiment of the holding member of the camera in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view when the holding member of FIG. 5 is incorporated into a camera body.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an example in which an electric circuit board is provided on the holding member of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of still another embodiment of the holding member of the camera of FIG. 1, and an example in which an electric circuit board is provided near the holding member.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the electric circuit board of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is an AF provided separately from the electric circuit board of FIG. 9;
Circuit diagram showing a circuit board.

11 is an external perspective view of a main part showing the AF substrate of FIG. 10;

12 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a main part of a holding member on which the AF substrate of FIG. 11 is disposed.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged block diagram simply showing the positional relationship among a finder, a light projecting unit and a holder in the camera of FIG. 1;

14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an adjustment process of the camera in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a view showing an observation image in the finder unit of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the camera of FIG. 13, which is a conceptual diagram showing a final assembling step.

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view of a camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part, showing only a holding member that supports an AF mechanism and the like applied to the camera in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining the principle of triangulation applied to an active AF mechanism of a conventional camera.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of an arrangement of an AF mechanism in a conventional camera.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing another example of the arrangement of the AF mechanism in the conventional camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 101 IRED 2, 102 Projecting lens 3, 103 Receiving lens 4, 104 PSD 5, 5F Front exterior member 5a, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5E, 5Fa Holding member 5b, 5Ab, 5Bb ... reinforcing part (rib) 5c, 5Fc ... exterior member 6 ... rear exterior member 7, 117a ... finder unit 7b ... finder objective lens 8, 8B ... electric circuit board 8A ... electric Circuit board (FPC) 10, 105Aa Camera body 10A Camera body unit 11 Imaging optical system 37 AF circuit board (FPC) 39a, 39b Electrode section 40, 41 Holder 40a, 41a ... Projecting portion 50... Adjustment electric circuit portion (position adjusting device) 70... Computer (position adjusting device) 71... Video camera (position adjusting device) 72. Adjustment execution section (positioning device) 74 ...... adjustment fixing member (positioning device) 75 ...... screen plate (positioning device)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A distance measuring device having a light projecting lens for projecting light for distance measurement to a subject, a light receiving lens for receiving reflected light of the distance measuring light from the object, and the light projecting device. A camera, comprising: a lens and a holding member for holding the light receiving lens, wherein the holding member is also used as an exterior member constituting an exterior of the camera body. 2. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a connection member for connecting the holding member to a finder optical system provided in the camera. 3. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising an adjusting member for adjusting the positions of the light projecting element and the light receiving element in the distance measuring device.