JPH11352535A - Optical equipment provided with image blur correcting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain optical equipment provided with an image blur correcting function where the power consumption is restrained to the minimum. SOLUTION: In a pair of binoculars 1, a dial ring for focusing 4 is disposed between a pair of ocular lens barrels 2 and 3 respectively holding oculars. A vibration-proof switch 5 is disposed at a specified distance from the dial ring 4 on the outer surface of the binoculars 1. The switch 5 is panel switch whose pressing force required for operation is about 50 to 250 g and whose the switch stroke is about 0.1 to 0.5 mm and uses a membrane switch and a touch panel. The switch 5 is positioned in the vicinity of the center axis L of the dial ring between the center axis L and the lens barrel 3. Namely, the switch 5 is positioned at a position, where it is readily touched by a finger other than the finger for rotating the dial ring 4, while an operator holds the binoculars 1 from the side of the lens barrel 3 with the hand and has the dial ring 4 rotated by the finger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical apparatus having a function of correcting image blur caused by camera shake or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, optical apparatuses such as binoculars having an image stabilizing function for correcting image blur have been known. The correction optical system is driven so as to cancel the blur of the optical axis of the optical device, the image blur is corrected, and the image stabilization process is performed. A DC motor or an electromagnetic coil is used as a driving unit of the correction optical system. DC
When the power is turned off, the motor or the electromagnetic coil cannot maintain its stop position, and the correction optical system moves due to its own weight or an external force even when the image stabilizing function is turned off. For this reason, a locking mechanism of the correction optical system for when the anti-vibration processing is not performed is provided.

[0003] The image stabilization process is controlled by turning on and off an image stabilization switch provided on the outer surface of the optical apparatus. Pressing the anti-shake switch starts the anti-shake process. The anti-shake process is continued while the anti-shake switch is kept pressed, and the anti-shake process ends when the anti-shake switch is released. A push button switch having a stroke of at least 2 mm (millimeter) or more is used for such an anti-vibration switch. That is, when the anti-vibration switch is pressed, the stroke is transmitted to the locking mechanism, and the locking mechanism that locks and holds the correction optical system at a predetermined position by the force of a spring or the like is released. At the same time as the correction optical system is released from the locking mechanism and becomes free, a current flows through the driving means of the correction optical system, and the correction optical system is driven by the driving means to perform the vibration reduction processing. While the anti-vibration switch continues to be pressed, the free state from the locking mechanism of the correction optical system, in other words, the state in which the driving unit operates is maintained and the anti-vibration processing is continued, and when the anti-vibration switch is released, The locking mechanism moves to fix the correction optical system again at the predetermined position.

In order to turn on the push button switch, usually,
A pressing force of at least 500 g (gram) or more is required. Therefore, in order to perform the anti-vibration process, it is necessary to constantly apply a pressing force of 500 g or more.

[0005]

In general, an optical instrument such as binoculars is used to observe an object while holding a main body by hand. However, an unnatural force is applied to apply a pressing force of 500 g or more with a finger while holding the main body with a hand, thereby increasing hand shake. As a result, it is necessary to perform more vibration suppression processing than necessary. There is a problem that power is consumed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide an optical apparatus having an image blur correction function that minimizes power consumption.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an optical apparatus having an image blur correcting function, comprising: a correcting optical system for correcting an image blur, and a correcting optical system in a plane perpendicular to its optical axis. A linear motion actuator that is driven in two orthogonal directions, and an anti-vibration switch that controls ON / OFF of driving of the correction optical system by the linear motion actuator, and an input is detected by touching the surface of the anti-vibration switch. It is an input device.

Preferably, the anti-vibration switch is provided on the outer surface of the optical device at a position where the optical device can be touched by a finger while holding the optical device by hand. The anti-vibration switch is, for example, a panel switch.

The optical apparatus is, for example, binoculars, and an anti-vibration switch is provided at a predetermined distance from a dial ring for adjusting the focus of the binoculars. Preferably, the anti-vibration switch is touched while operating the dial ring. It is arranged at a position where it can be used.

Preferably, the anti-vibration switch is positioned near the center axis of the dial ring.

Preferably, when the power of the linear actuator is turned off, the position of the correction optical system is fixed by the linear actuator.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of binoculars to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In the binoculars 1, a dial ring 4 for focus adjustment is disposed between a pair of eyepiece lens barrels 2 and 3 each holding an eyepiece (not shown). By rotating the dial ring 4 in a predetermined direction, the focal length of the telephoto optical system inside the binoculars 1 is adjusted. An anti-vibration switch 5 is provided on the outer surface of the binoculars 1 at a predetermined distance from the dial ring 4. The anti-vibration switch 5 has a pressing force required for operation of about 50 to 250 g and a switch stroke of about 0.1.
A panel switch of about 0.5 mm, such as a membrane switch or a touch panel. The anti-vibration switch 5 is positioned near the center axis L between the center axis L of the dial ring 4 and the eyepiece lens barrel 3. That is, the anti-vibration switch 5 allows the operator to easily hold the binoculars 1 from the side of the eyepiece lens barrel 3 with the fingers other than the finger that rotates the dial ring 4 while rotating the dial ring 4 with the finger. It is positioned so that it can be touched.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship between the optical systems of the binoculars 1. In the first optical system 10, the light beam that has passed through the first objective lens 21 passes through the first correction lens 31, is guided to the first eyepiece lens 51 via the first erect prism 41, and In the optical system 11, the light beam that has passed through the second objective lens 22 passes through the second correction lens 32, and is guided to the second eyepiece lens 52 via the second erect prism. The first correction lens 31 and the second
Are integrally supported by the lens support frame 30. The optical axis OP1 of the first optical system 10 and the optical axis OP2 of the second optical system 11 are adjusted to be completely parallel. Incidentally, in this specification, the “lateral direction” refers to the optical axis OP.
1. Optical axes OP1, OP2 parallel to a plane including OP1, OP2
And the “vertical direction” refers to the optical axes OP1 and O
This is a direction perpendicular to the plane including P2.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the lens support frame 30 of the present embodiment viewed from the first and second objective lenses 21 and 22. In FIG. 3, some members are shown in perspective for convenience of explanation. The lens support frame 30 has a vertical drive frame 301 and a horizontal drive frame 302. The vertical drive frame 301 is a substantially rectangular flat plate and has a donut shape having an opening. The vertical drive frame 301 is slid in the vertical direction (y1, y2 directions) within the opening of the fixed frame 1b by the holding member 310 provided on the fixed frame 1b integrally provided on the inner wall surface 1a of the binocular body. Supported as possible. The opening of the fixed frame 1b is formed such that the inner wall surfaces 1L and 1R are parallel to the vertical direction. The horizontal drive frame 302 is a flat plate that integrally holds the first and second correction lenses 31 and 32, and is provided in an opening of the vertical drive frame 301. The horizontal drive frame 302 is slidably supported in the horizontal direction (x1, x2 directions) within the opening of the vertical drive frame 301 by a holding member 320 disposed on the vertical drive frame 301. The opening of the vertical drive frame 301 is formed such that the inner wall surfaces 301B and 301U are parallel to the horizontal direction. The vertical drive frame 301 and the horizontal drive frame 302 are each formed of a resin having a low coefficient of friction.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the holding member 320 provided at the upper end of the vertical driving frame 301 and the horizontal driving frame 302 in FIG. The holding member 320 is a screw 321,
It has a nut 322 and a washer 323. Screw 32
One shaft 321a passes through a hole 301a formed in the vertical drive frame 301. A thread is cut in the shaft 321a, and a nut 322 is fastened to an end of the screw 321 opposite to the head 321b. Washers 323 are provided between the head 321b and the vertical drive frame 301 and between the nut 322 and the vertical drive frame 301. The length of the radius of the washer 323 is larger than the length from the end face of the vertical drive frame 301 in contact with the end face of the horizontal drive frame 302 to the center axis of the shaft 321a. That is, the lateral drive frame 302 is clamped at a part of the periphery of the washer 323 at the end thereof, and the washer 3
23 holds the lateral drive frame 302 so as not to move in a direction parallel to the optical axes OP1 and OP2.

The holding member 310 has the same configuration as the holding member 320. The shaft of the screw 311 (see FIG. 3) is inserted through a hole formed in the fixed frame 1b, and a nut (not shown) is fastened to the end of the shaft of the screw 311 opposite to the head. Screw 311 head and fixed frame 1b
313 and between the nut and the fixed frame 1b.
(See FIG. 3), and the end of the vertical drive frame 301 is held by a part of the peripheral edge of the washer 313. That is, similarly to the horizontal drive frame 302, the washer 313 holds the vertical drive frame 301 so as not to move in a direction parallel to the optical axes OP1 and OP2.

As described above, the vertical drive frame 301 disposed in the fixed frame 1b is provided with the washer 31 of the holding member 310.
3 and the horizontal drive frame 302 disposed in the opening of the vertical drive frame 301 is provided with the washer 3 of the holding member 320.
23. That is, the optical axis O of the fixed frame 1b
The thickness of the vertical drive frame 301 along the optical axes OP1 and OP2 is greater than the thickness of the vertical drive frame 301 along the optical axes OP1 and OP2. The fixed frame 1b, the vertical drive frame 301, and the horizontal drive frame 302 are formed so as to be larger than the thickness along the axes OP1 and OP2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
The actuator according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The vertical actuator 330 is located on the first and second erect prisms 41 and 42 sides (see FIG. 2).
, And is positioned at the center of the vertical drive frame 301 and the horizontal drive frame 302 in the vertical direction. The vertical actuator 330 includes a stepping motor 331 and a shaft 332. Stepping motor 331
Is composed of a motor case 331a and a motor 331b provided in the motor case 331a, and the motor 331b is capable of rotating forward and reverse around an axis extending in the vertical direction. The shaft 332 is connected to the motor 3 in the rotation direction of the motor 331b.
31b to rotate integrally with the motor 331 in the axial direction.
b so as to be movable with respect to b. A lead screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 332, and is screwed into a female screw (not shown) formed on a bearing of the motor case 331a. That is, the shaft 332 advances and retreats along its axial direction while rotating with respect to the forward / reverse rotation of the motor 331b. A ball is embedded at the tip of the shaft 332, and the ball presses a target. The tip of the shaft 332 is in contact with a pressed member 334 fixed to the lower end of the vertical drive frame 301 by screws 334a and 334b.

On the side where the first and second objective lenses 21 and 22 are disposed, a first coil spring 391 is disposed near the side end of the vertical drive frame 301. First
Both ends of the coil spring 391 have a hook shape. In FIG. 3, screws 392 fitted near the upper end of the fixed frame 1b and fitted near the lower end of the vertical drive frame 301, respectively. Screw 393 is engaged. That is, the first coil spring 391 is attached to the vertical drive frame 301 by y.
The biasing force is applied in one direction. Therefore, the shaft 332
Is always in contact with the pressed member 334.

The vertical drive frame 301 and the horizontal drive frame 3
A horizontal actuator 340 is disposed near the first and second objective lenses 21 and 22 (see FIG. 2) in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the vertical drive frame 301 and the vertical drive frame 301 and the horizontal drive frame 302. The first correction lens 31 is provided on the side where the first correction lens 31 is provided with respect to the center in the direction. The lateral actuator 340 includes a stepping motor 341 and a shaft 342. The stepping motor 341 includes a motor case 341a and a motor 341b provided in the motor case 341a, and the motor 341b can rotate forward and backward around an axis along a lateral direction. Shaft 34
2 is the motor 341b in the rotation direction of the motor 341b.
And is supported so as to be movable integrally with the motor 341b in the axial direction. Shaft 342
A lead screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the motor case 341a, and is screwed into a female screw (not shown) formed on a bearing of the motor case 341a. In other words, the shaft 342 advances and retreats along its axial direction while rotating with respect to the forward / reverse rotation of the motor 341b. A ball is embedded at the tip of the shaft 342, and the ball presses a target. The tip of the shaft 342 is in contact with the pressed member 344 fixed to the lower end of the lateral drive frame 302 with screws 344a and 344b.

On the side where the first and second objective lenses 21 and 22 are provided, a second coil spring 396 is provided at the upper end of the vertical drive frame 301. Both ends of the second coil spring 396 have a hook shape.
One end of the second coil spring 396 is engaged with a screw 397 fitted near the upper end of the vertical drive frame 301 on the side where the first correction lens 31 is provided. I have. The other end is engaged with a hole 398c formed in a flange 398 fixed to a substantially central portion at the upper end of the lateral drive frame 302. That is, the second coil spring 396 applies an urging force to the lateral drive frame 302 in the x1 direction. Therefore, the tip of the shaft 342 is always
It is in contact with the pressed member 344.

At one end of the motor case 341a of the stepping motor 341, a substantially rhombic flange 341c is integrally formed. The flange 341c is attached to a fixing member 345 fixed to the vertical drive frame 301 by a screw 34.
5a and a screw 345 across the motor case 341a.
It is held by a screw 345b positioned on the side opposite to the side a. That is, the motor case 341a is connected to the vertical drive frame 301 via the flange 341c and the fixing member 345.
It is fixed to. Similarly, the stepping motor 331
A substantially rhombic flange 331c is integrally formed at one end of the motor case 331a.
1c, a screw 333a and a screw 333 with a motor case 331a sandwiched between fixing members 333 fixed to the fixing frame 1b.
It is held by a screw (not shown) positioned on the side opposite to a. That is, the motor case 331a is fixed to the fixed frame 1b via the flange 331c and the fixed member 333.

When the motor 331b rotates forward, the shaft 3
32 projects in the y2 direction (downward) while rotating. The movement of the shaft 332 in the y2 direction is transmitted to the vertical drive frame 301 via the pressed member 334. As described above, since the vertical drive frame 301 is slidably supported by the fixed frame 1b, the vertical drive frame 301 attaches the first coil spring 391 to the y1 direction in accordance with the forward rotation of the motor 331b. It is driven in the y2 direction against the power. On the other hand, the motor 33
When 1b rotates in the reverse direction, the shaft 332 is pulled in the y1 direction (upward) while rotating, and the vertical drive frame 301 is driven in the y1 direction by the urging force of the first coil spring 391 in the y1 direction. The drive of the vertical drive frame 301 in the y1 direction and the y2 direction is guided to the linear portion of the fixed frame 1b, that is, the inner wall surfaces 1L and 1R.

When the motor 341b rotates forward, the shaft 3
Reference numeral 42 projects in the x2 direction (left direction in FIG. 3) while rotating. The movement of the shaft 342 in the x2 direction is transmitted to the lateral drive frame 302 via the pressed member 344.
As described above, the horizontal drive frame 302 is
Slidably supported by the lateral drive frame 302
Is the second coil spring 3 according to the forward rotation of the motor 341b.
It is driven in the x2 direction against the urging force of 96 in the x1 direction. On the other hand, when the motor 341b rotates in the reverse direction, the shaft 34
2 is drawn in the x1 direction (rightward in FIG. 3) while rotating, and the lateral drive frame 302 is driven in the x1 direction by the urging force of the second coil spring 396 in the x1 direction. The driving of the horizontal driving frame 302 in the x1 direction and the x2 direction is guided by the linear portion of the opening of the vertical driving frame 301, that is, the inner wall surfaces 301U and 301B.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the present embodiment. The control means 100 is a microcomputer, and the binoculars 1
Performs overall control. The control means 100 includes an anti-vibration switch 5
Is connected, and a signal corresponding to the on / off operation of the anti-vibration switch 5 by the operator is input. The vertical angular velocity sensor 110 detects the direction of vibration and the angular velocity in the vertical direction when the binoculars 1 are held, and detects the horizontal angular velocity sensor 1.
20 detects the direction and angular velocity of the shake in the lateral direction. A vertical sensor amplifier 111 is connected to the vertical angular velocity sensor 110, and the vertical angular velocity signal output from the vertical angular velocity sensor 110 is amplified.
Output to 00. Similarly, the lateral angular velocity sensor 120
Is connected to a lateral direction sensor amplifier 121, and the lateral direction angular velocity signal output from the lateral direction angular velocity sensor 120 is amplified and output to the control means 100.

In the control means 100, the vertical angular velocity signal and the horizontal angular velocity signal are converted into digital values based on a predetermined synchronizing signal, and the respective digital values are integrated, and the digital values are integrated to obtain the angle information of the camera shake (corresponding to the camera shake amount). Certain longitudinal and lateral angular displacement signals are calculated. Based on the vertical angular displacement signal, the amount of movement of the lens support frame 30 on the plane orthogonal to the optical axis by a predetermined algorithm, that is, the stepping motor 331 of the vertical actuator 330
Of the motor 331b (the number of pulses applied to the motor) is calculated. Similarly, the number of driving steps of the motor 341b of the stepping motor 341 of the lateral actuator 340 is calculated based on the lateral angular displacement signal.

The rotational movement of the motor 331b based on the number of pulses output from the control means 100 is transmitted to the lens support frame 30 via the shaft 332, and the lens support frame 30 is driven in the vertical direction. Similarly, the rotational movement of the motor 341b based on the number of pulses output from the control means 100 is transmitted to the lens support frame 30 via the shaft 342, and the lens support frame 30 is driven in the lateral direction.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the image stabilization processing in this embodiment. Anti-vibration switch 5 in step S400
It is checked whether or not is pressed, and if it is pressed, the process proceeds to step S405. If it is not pressed, the image stabilization process is not performed. In step S405, a camera shake signal is input to the control unit 100 (see FIG. 6). That is, the telephoto optical systems 10 and 1 in the vertical and horizontal directions
The angular velocity signals of the shake of the first optical axes OP1 and OP2 (see FIG. 2) are input to the control means 100.

Next, in step S410, the control unit 100 calculates the correction position, that is, the drive amount of the first and second correction lenses 31, 32. That is, the integral calculation of the angular velocity signals of the shake of the optical axes OP1 and OP2 is performed, and the angle information which is the amount of shake of the optical axes OP1 and OP2 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is calculated. Further, the driving directions and the driving amounts of the first and second correction lenses 31 and 32 for canceling the shake amounts of the optical axes OP1 and OP2 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction are calculated. First and second correction lenses 31,
The rotation direction and the number of rotation steps of the motors 331b and 341b are obtained based on the drive direction and the drive amount of the motor 32. Next, in step S415, the motors 331b and 341b
The pulse signals corresponding to the rotation direction and the rotation step of the stepping motor 331 and the stepping motor 341
And returns to step S400. As described above, the anti-vibration process is performed while the anti-vibration switch 5 is being touched,
When the finger is released from the image stabilization switch 5, the image stabilization process ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first
In addition, a direct-acting actuator combining a stepping motor and a feed screw mechanism is used as driving means for the second correction lenses 31 and 32. The stepping motor is
Because of the self-holding force, the power-off stop position is maintained, and even if an external force is applied to the shaft in the feed screw mechanism in the axial direction, the shaft does not rotate due to the frictional force at the fitting portion. Therefore, the locking mechanism of the lens support frame 30 when the anti-vibration processing is not performed is unnecessary, and the switch for starting and ending the anti-vibration processing only switches on a direct-acting actuator or a microcomputer. Is fine.
Therefore, the anti-vibration switch can be operated with a pressing force of about 50 g to 250 g, and the switch stroke is about 0.1 to
A 0.5 mm panel switch can be used.

By using the panel switch that can be turned on / off by a slight pressing force, the start and continuation of the image stabilization processing can be performed with a minimum force, so that while the operator holds the binoculars by hand, No unnecessary force is applied to the binoculars. Therefore, the optical axis of the telephoto optical system is shaken only by the camera shake generated by the operation of holding the binoculars, so that only the minimum image stabilization processing is performed. As a result, power consumption for driving the linear actuator is reduced.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the anti-vibration switch 5 is positioned near the rotation axis L of the dial ring 4 for focus adjustment. Therefore, the on / off control of the image stabilization processing can be easily performed while performing the focus adjustment, and the operability is good.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an optical apparatus having an image blur correction function that minimizes power consumption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of binoculars to which an embodiment according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a positional relationship between optical systems of the binoculars.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a lens support frame.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a holding member of the lens support frame.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a lens support frame.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a vibration isolator.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an image stabilization process.

[Description of Signs] 1 Binoculars 1a Inner wall surface 1b Fixed frame 4 Dial ring 5 Anti-vibration switch 21, 22 Objective lens 30 Lens support frame 31, 32 Correction lens 41, 42 Erect prism 51, 52 Eyepiece lens 301 Vertical drive frame 302 Lateral drive frame 310, 320 Holding member 311, 321 Screw 322 Nut 313, 323 Washer 330 Vertical actuator 340 Horizontal actuator 391, 396 Coil spring

Claims (7)

[Claims] A correction optical system for correcting image blur;
A direct-acting actuator that drives the correction optical system in two directions orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis thereof; and an anti-vibration switch that controls on / off of driving of the correction optical system by the direct-acting actuator. An optical device having an image blur correction function, wherein the input device detects an input by touching a surface of the anti-shake switch. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the anti-vibration switch is disposed on an outer surface of the optical device at a position where the optical device can be touched with a finger while holding the optical device with a hand. Optical equipment with image blur correction function. 3. The optical device according to claim 2, wherein the optical device is a pair of binoculars, and the anti-vibration switch is disposed at a predetermined distance from a dial ring for adjusting a focus of the pair of binoculars. Optical equipment with image blur correction function. 4. The optical apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the anti-shake switch is disposed at a position where the switch can be touched while operating the dial ring. 5. The optical apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the anti-vibration switch is positioned near a central axis of the dial ring. 6. The optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image stabilizing switch is a panel switch. 7. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein the position of the correction optical system is fixed by the linear actuator when the power of the linear actuator is turned off. machine.