JPS6050506A - Manual operating device in automatic focusing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute a regular manual control, too, by turning on one of two switches which are provided, shifting immediately to a manual state from an auto focus state, moving a focus of a focus ring to a long/short direction, and stopping it at a desired position. CONSTITUTION:At a time t0, a regular auto focus processing is executed, and when the first switch 10 is turned on at a time t1, the auto focus processing is cancelled, and a focus of a focus ring 6 is moved to a long direction. When the first switch 10 is turned off at a time t2, a focus ring driving motor 7 stops temporarily, and the auto focus processing is restarted again. When the second switch 11 is turned on at a time t3, the auto focus processing is cancelled, the focus of the focus ring 6 is moved to a short direction, and when the second switch 11 is turned off at a time t4, the motor 7 stops, and the auto focus processing is restarted again. When the first switch 10 is turned on at a time t5, the focus of the focus ring 6 is moved to the long direction again.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a manual operation device for an automatic focus adjustment device.

In recent years, automatic focus adjustment devices (hereinafter referred to as autofocus devices) that detect the distance to a subject and automatically set the focus have been put into practical use. This autofocus device is very convenient because it allows you to take pictures very easily without any special knowledge or skills. However, in such an auto7 orcus device, there is almost no room for the photographer's will to intervene, so there are the following problems.

In other words, ultrasonic waves and light are used as media to measure the distance to the subject, but with these methods, the subject may be difficult to reflect, the amount of light from the subject may be small, or the contrast may not be clear. If the lens has a striped pattern in the same direction as the sensor, there is a problem in that the level of the signal from the sensor is insufficient, resulting in inability to adjust the focus or malfunction.

Furthermore, when performing panning photography, the focal position moves rapidly depending on the distance from the subject, which makes the screen difficult to see.

Furthermore, there is a problem in that an autofocus machine is completely incapable of responding to situations where the photographer wants to set the focus according to his or her will in order to achieve a special photographic effect.

Moreover, since an autofocus device always has a motor drive circuit and a control circuit for focus adjustment, the power supply to the motor is simply cut off and focus adjustment is performed manually (Utility Application No. 52-101712). There was a strong need for an extremely easy-to-operate manual control device that utilized a motor drive circuit rather than an easy method.

Therefore, in view of the above, the present invention provides a system that allows easy switching between autofocus and manual control and has extremely good operability for the focus point W in manual control.
The object of the present invention is to provide a manual operation device for an automatic focus adjustment device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first . A second switch is provided, and this first switch is provided. The present invention is characterized in that, by a combination of operations of the second switch, control can be transferred between autofocus processing and manual control, and M-section of the focus position in manual control can be performed.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, a schematic diagram of the main mechanical parts of the automatic focus adjustment device is shown in FIG. In the figure, 1 indicates a sensor circuit, which is mainly composed of a light emitting diode 2, a PSD sensor 6, a lens 4 for focusing the emitted light beam, and a lens 5 for focusing the received light beam. This sensor circuit 1 is configured as a normal infrared distance measuring circuit, and determines the position of incidence on the sensor 3 when the light emitted from the light emitting diode 2 is reflected by the object OB and is incident on the sensor 3. The distance ras is determined by However, 1. Although this example uses an infrared method, this does not limit the infrared method.
It goes without saying that other methods such as ultrasonic waves may also be used.

Next, 6 is a focus ring, which has a structure in which a lens is provided inside a main body 6a formed in a cylindrical shape, and a gear 6b is provided on the outer periphery. On the other hand, a drive gear 7a of a focus ring drive motor 7 is meshed with the gear 6b.
By rotating the focus ring drive motor 7, the focus of the focus ring 6 can be adjusted.

Next, 8 is a processing circuit, which controls the rotation of the focus ring 60, that is, focusing, based on the signal from the sensor circuit 1.

In this example, the processing circuit 8 is composed of a one-chip microcomputer, and includes a CPU, ROM, and RAM inside.

It has built-in Ilo. The ROM contains a well-known program for autofocus processing and a program for manual control in this example.

10 and 11 are automatic return type 1st cylinders for manual operation.
A second switch is connected to Ilo of the processing circuit 8. Although the sixth switch 12 is shown in FIG. 1, this is necessary for a sixth embodiment to be described later, and the description will be made assuming that this first embodiment does not include the 1g3 switch 12. .

Next, the action and effect will be explained. Note that the following explanation will be based on FIG. 6. In Figure 3, (a) shows the behavior of the first switch 10, (b) shows the behavior of the second switch 11, and (c) shows the behavior of the focus ring drive motor 7. The upward protrusion indicates that the focus is being moved in the far direction, the downward protrusion indicates that the focus is being moved in the near direction, and the straight line indicates the focus R drive motor. 7 is stopped and the focus is fixed).

First, from time to in FIG. 3, normal autofocus processing is performed. (This corresponds to the process of step 1 in FIG. 2.) Then, at time t1, the first switch 10
When turned on, the autofocus process is canceled and the focus of the focus ring moves in the far direction while the switch 10 is turned on. (This is the step 2 → step 6 → in the manual control process in Figure 2).
This corresponds to a loop process of step 8→step 9→step 10→■→step 2... ) Then, at time t2, when the first power switch 10 is turned off, the focus ring drive motor 7 (hereinafter referred to as motor) is temporarily stopped, and the autofocus process is restarted again. (This is the step 2 → step 11 → in Figure 2)
This corresponds to the processing in step 15→step 16'→step 17→■→step 1. ) Next, when the second switch 11 is turned on at time t3, the autofocus process is canceled and the focal point of the focus ring moves toward the near side while the second switch 11 is turned on. (This is step 2 → in Figure 2.
This corresponds to a loop process of step 11→step 12→step 16→step 14→■→step 2... ) Then, when the second switch 11 is turned off at time t4, the motor 7 is temporarily stopped and the autofocus process is restarted again. (This is the above-mentioned time t2~
(This is the same as the process during t6).

Next, when the first switch 10 is turned on at time t5, the focal point of the focus ring 6 moves in the far direction, as described above. When the second switch 11 is turned on at time t6 while the first switch 10 is in the ON state, the motor 7 is stopped and the focus of the focus ring 6 is fixed at the current position. (This is the same as Step 2 → Step 6 → Step 4 → Step 5 → Step 7 → ■ - Step 2...
This corresponds to loop processing. ) And just like this! 1
゜If both the second switches 10 and 11 are kept ON, the focus remains fixed, but the focus remains ON. The second switch 10.11 is both OF as shown at 11flt7.
When F is applied, autofocus processing is restarted again.

(This corresponds to the process of step 2 → step 11 → step 15 → step 16 → ■ → step 1 in FIG. 2.) At this time, either the first switch 10 or the second switch 11 If only the focus ring is turned OFF, the focus of the focus ring moves toward the far direction or toward the near direction, similar to the manual operation described above.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, by simply turning on the first switch 10 or the second switch 11, the auto 7 focus state is immediately shifted to the manual state, and the focus of the focus ring 6 is adjusted. It can be moved far or near and stopped at a desired position.

Therefore, it is very easy to deal with cases where it is difficult to focus in the auto 7 orcus state, or where the photographer wants to set the focus himself to achieve a desired photographic effect.

Next, a second example will be described. The second embodiment is characterized in that an autofocus processing cancel/maintenance function is newly added to the above-described first embodiment. Therefore, since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the explanation thereof will be omitted.

First, in FIG. 5, the same control as in the first embodiment described above is performed until time t7. (Therefore, the explanation is omitted here.) Also, in FIG. 4 showing the 70-chart of manual control in this second embodiment, the portions surrounded by broken lines 9 are similar to those in the first embodiment. Therefore, we will briefly explain the overlapping parts.

Therefore, proceeding with the explanation from time t8 in FIG. 5, time t
When the first switch 10 is turned on at step 8, the focal point of the orcus ring 6 moves in the far direction, similarly to the first embodiment. Then, when the second switch 11 is turned on at time t9 while the first switch 10 is turned on, the motor 7 is stopped and the focus of the focus ring 6 is fixed at the current position, as in the first embodiment. be done. And this first one. In this example, when the second switch 10.11 is turned on for more than 2 seconds, even if both switches 10.11 are turned off (time t10), the first and second switches 1
Manual control is maintained until both 0.11 and 0.11 are turned ON (time t11).

(The maintenance state of this manual operation is as follows in Fig. 4: Step 2 → Step 3 → Step 4 → Step 5 → Step 7 → Step 18 → Step 19 → Step 18...
(Loop of steps 18 and 19 for 2 seconds)...Step 18→Step 20→Step 21→Step 26→Step 28→0→Step 21→Step 26...(
Thereafter, this corresponds to the process of step 21, step 26, and step 28 (loop), and the first. Second switch 10.
11 are turned ON, the autofocus process is restored by the steps 21, 26, and 2 described above.
This corresponds to step 21→step 22→step 26→■→step 1 in the loop of No.8. ) Note that in the above-mentioned manual control maintenance state, the first. The autofocus process will not be restored if only one of the second switches 1o and ii is operated. To explain this, time t1. When the tJ2 switch 11 is turned on at time ls and the first switch 10 is turned on at time t14, the first switch 11 is turned on at time t15. Second switch 10.11
Since the ON time of 1. is 2 seconds or more, 1. Manual control is maintained even if the second switch 10°11 is turned off. That is, for example, at time t16, the second switch 11 is turned to O.
When N is selected, the focal point of the focus ring moves toward the near direction. Even if the second switch 11 is turned off at time t17, the autofocus process is not returned to, and the motor 7
stops, and the focus of the focus ring 6 is fixed at the current position. Therefore, in this state, the photographer or the like can adjust the focal length in the same way as with a normal manual control camera. (This is step 1 in Figure 4.
8→Step 20→Step 21→Step 26→Step 27→0→Step 21) After this, the first
．． When both the second switches 10 and 11 are turned on (time t18), the automatic 7 order input process is restored.

Next, a third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment is characterized in that the manual control in the second embodiment described above is canceled by the third switch 11 shown in FIG. Therefore, since the rest of the configuration is the same as that of the second embodiment, the explanation will mainly be given to the cylinder stations (13 and 14 in FIG. 6) which are controlled differently.

First, at time t13 in FIG. When the second switches 10 and 11 are both turned on, the motor 7 stops. Then, when the duration of this ON state becomes 2 seconds or more, manual control is continued from then on. Therefore, in this state, the first. No matter how the second switch 10.11 is operated, the focus of the 7-orcus ring is set in the same way as in normal 7-unit control.

Next, if it is desired to cancel this manual control, the sixth switch 12 is turned on (time t18).

Then, the old autofocus process will be restarted.

(This is step 18 → step 20 → step in Figure 6.
Step 21 → Step 26 → Step 27 → 0 → Step 4 (corresponding to step 1) According to this sixth embodiment, the sixth switch 12 is turned ONt,
Manual control will not be canceled unless otherwise specified. This prevents a problem in which manual control is canceled against one's will due to an operation error of the @2 switch 10.11.

Thus, according to this example, the first. Second switch 10.
By simply pressing 11, you can instantly switch from autofocus mode to manual control and adjust the focus, so even though it is an autofocus device, it has excellent operability as if it were a manual control device. That's why.

Although this example has been explained using a camera as an example, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to other cameras, medical optical machines, and the like. Further, in the second embodiment, the first and second switches io
, 1i are turned ON, the manual control may be canceled after a predetermined period of time elapses during which both are turned ON.

That is, according to the present invention, by operating the first or second switch, the present invention can immediately switch to manual control and adjust the focal length, even though it is an autofocus machine. It has the excellent feature of being able to have the same functions as a normal manual control machine. Furthermore, the focal length during manual control can be adjusted not by hand but by a 7-orcus ring drive motor, which has the desirable feature of providing a manual operation device for an automatic focus adjustment device that is extremely easy to operate. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a 7-page chart showing the control procedure in the first embodiment. Figure 6 is the first. Second
A diagram showing the behavior of the focus ring drive motor according to the operation of the switch, FIG. 4 is a 7-page chart showing the control procedure in the second embodiment, and FIG. Diagram showing the behavior of the focus ring drive motor according to the operation of the second switch, No. 6
The figure is a flowchart showing the control procedure in the third embodiment,
Figure 7 is 1. Second. FIG. 7 is a miniature diagram showing the behavior of the focus ring drive motor according to the operation of the sixth switch. 6... Focus ring 7... 7 Orcus ring drive motor 8... Processing circuit 10... First switch 11...
2nd switch 12... 6th switch applicant Kowa Co., Ltd. agent Patent attorney Hidehiko Okada 11th! l Third! ! ! 2nd Ila

Claims (1)

[Claims] (Li) A focus ring that has a lens inside and a gear on its outer periphery, a sensor that detects the distance to the subject, and a processing circuit that performs autofocus processing based on the signal from the sensor. , an automatic focus adjustment device having a focus ring drive motor controlled by a signal from the processing circuit, and two switches, a first and a second switch for manual operation, provided in the processing circuit, the processing circuit comprising: means for manually controlling the focus ring drive motor so that when the first switch is operated to the ON side, the autofocus processing is canceled and the focus of the focus ring is set at a long distance; means for manually controlling the focus ring drive motor so that when operated to the ON side, the auto 7 orcus process is canceled and the focus of the 7 orcus rings is set at a short distance; means for restoring the canceled autofocus processing when the switch is returned from the ON state, and canceling both the manual control and the autofocus processing when the first and second switches are both operated to the ON side. and means for fixing the focus ring at the current position.(2) A manual operation device having a means for fixing the focus ring at the current position. a detection sensor, a processing circuit that performs auto-7 orcus processing based on a signal from the sensor, a focus ring drive motor that is controlled by a signal from the processing circuit, and a first motor for manual operation provided in the processing circuit. and a second two switches, the processing circuit cancels the autofocus processing when the #11 switch is operated to the ON side, and sets the focus of the focus ring to a long distance. means for manually controlling the focus ring drive motor so that the second switch is turned on; and means for canceling the autofocus process so that the focus of the seven orcus rings is set at a short distance when the second switch is operated to the ON side. means for manually controlling the focus ring drive motor; means for restoring the canceled autofocus process when the first or second switch is returned from the ON state by the operation; and the eleventh second switch. means for canceling both the manual control and the autofocus processing to fix the focus ring at the current position when operated to the ON side; When both the second switches are turned ON and this operation exceeds the predetermined time, the first switch is turned on again. A manual operation device (i) characterized by comprising means for maintaining cancellation of autofocus processing until both second switches are operated and for permitting only the manual control. (3) The manual operation device for an automatic focus adjustment device according to claim 2, wherein the operation of turning on both the first and second switches is performed using a third switch.