JPS61262727A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute an exposure control mechanism of the required minimum number of members by arranging one light control blade on the optical path of incident light and controlling the opening/closing of the light control blade and the adjustment of the opening by a rotating cam. CONSTITUTION:The exposure control mechanism 1 consists of an incident light control means 2 for opening/closing the optical path of incident light inputted through a photographing lens 21 or controlling the diameter of the optical path, the cam 43 for controlling the means 2, a stopper 52, driving means 41, 47-49 for rotating the cam 43, a stopper releasing means 70 for releasing the prescribed holding state by the stopper 52, a detecting means, etc. The incident light control means 2 consists of the light control blade 35 for opening/closing the optical path or changing the irradiation of the incident light to an image pickup element 40 in accordance with the opening, a blade driving lever 22 for driving the blade 35, a blade case 3 for holding the blade 35 pivotally within a fixed range, a spring means 38 for energizing the lever 22 with a prescribed torque, etc.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The electronic camera of the present invention will be explained according to the following items.

A. Industrial field of application B5 Overview of the invention C1 Background art 1 Problems to be solved by the invention E0 Means for solving the problems F. Example F-1, First example [Fig. 1 to 11] a. Incident light control means [FIGS. 1 to 4, FIGS. 7 to 10] a-1. Blade case [FIGS. 1 to 4, FIGS. 7 to 10] ] a-21 Blade drive lever [Figures 1 to 4, Figures 7 to 10] a-3, Light control blade [Figures 1 to 4, Figures 7 to 10] a-3. -4, Shutter spring [Figures 2 to 4] b, Image sensor [Figure 2] C, Cam gear [Figures 1 to 3, Figures 5 to 1O
Figures] c-1, Structure C-2, Control of blade drive lever by cam d, Drive means [Figures 1 and 2] e, Stopper [Figures 1 to 3].

Fig. f57 to Fig. 1θ] e-1, main lever e-2, sub lever f, magnet [Fig. 1, Fig. 7 to Fig. io] g, shutter charge, shutter release g-1, shutter charge g-2 , shutter release h, fully closed state detection means [Fig. 1, Fig. 7, Fig. 8 1 i, speed regulating means [Fig. 1] j, exposure control operation j-1, exposure control operation in shutter mode [Fig. Fig. 11] j-2, Exposure control operation in aperture adjustment mode [Fig. 9, Fig. 10 Fig. 1 F-2, Second embodiment [Fig. 12] a. Drive means 1 position detection means b-1 , Configuration-20 Position Detection G2 Effects of the Invention (A. Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a novel electronic camera. More specifically, the present invention relates to a camera that can electronically record an image of a subject on a predetermined recording medium, and in particular, to an electronic camera that has two photographing functions: a still photographing function and a video photographing function. An object of the present invention is to provide a new electronic camera in which the exposure amount for chill photography and video photography can be controlled by an exposure control mechanism having a single light control blade. It is something.

(B. Summary of the Invention) The present invention relates to a camera that can electronically record an image of a subject on a predetermined recording medium, and in particular, an electronic camera that has two photographing functions: a still photographing function and a video photographing function. In a camera, one light control blade is provided in the optical path of incident light that enters through the photographic lens and is irradiated to the image sensor, and a cam rotated by an appropriate driving means opens and closes the light control blade and adjusts the degree of opening. When performing still photography, the light control blades function as shutter blades that open and close the optical path, and when video photography is performed, the light control blades function as aperture blades that adjust the diameter of the optical path. Exposure control f when one electronic camera has two shooting functions, a still shooting function and a video shooting function.
The mechanism can be configured with the minimum number of members necessary.

(C. Background Art) Recently, the development of electronic still cameras, that is, cameras that can electronically record an image of a subject in the form of a still image on a predetermined recording medium, has been progressing.

This electronic still camera generally detects an image of a subject as an electrical signal using a solid-state imaging device such as a charge-coupled device (CCD), and transmits the electrical signal to a recording medium such as a magnetic disk. Photography is now performed by converting the video signal into a recordable video signal and recording it on a recording medium.

Therefore, such an electronic camera converts the video signal obtained by converting the image of the subject into a moving image, that is,
By using it as an input signal to a recording device that can record as a video image, it is also possible to make it function as a so-called video camera. That is, such an electronic camera has a single unit that functions as a camera for photographing a subject in the form of a still image, that is, as a still camera;
That is, it is possible to provide a camera for taking video, that is, a function as a video camera.

(D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, it is generally possible to use a single electronic camera as both a still camera and a video camera.

By the way, controlling the exposure amount when shooting video is
This is done by changing the so-called aperture amount, that is, the diameter of the optical path of the incident light that enters through the photographing lens, in response to changes in the brightness of the subject captured by the photographing lens, and
When performing still photography, the exposure amount is generally controlled by shutter speed and aperture amount.

Therefore, when trying to provide two shooting functions, a still shooting function and a video shooting function, in one electronic camera, there is a mechanism that controls the exposure amount when shooting still images, and a mechanism that controls the exposure amount when shooting videos. What kind of structure should the control mechanisms have, and how should the operations of these mechanisms be switched depending on the selected shooting mode, that is, still shooting or video shooting? becomes a problem.

In this case, first, the electronic camera is equipped with a light control blade for the shutter, that is, a shutter blade and a light control blade for adjusting the aperture.
That is, when shooting still images, the exposure amount is controlled by the opening and closing speed of the shutter blades, i.e., the shutter speed, and the degree of opening of the aperture blades, i.e., the aperture amount, and when performing video shooting. It is conceivable to control the exposure amount by adjusting the opening degree of the aperture blades while the shutter blades are open.

However, if the exposure amount in each shooting mode is controlled by the above-mentioned means, two mechanisms will be required: one for still photography and one for video photography. As a result, the structure of the camera becomes complicated, the weight increases, and the price becomes considerably high.

(E. Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems that occur when one electronic camera functions as a still camera and a video camera, the electronic camera of the present invention has the following features: an incident light control means having one light control blade that opens and closes and changes the amount of incident light irradiating the image sensor according to the degree of opening; an elastic means for biasing the optical path in a closing direction; a stopper for maintaining the light control blade in a state in which the optical path is fully opened at least during still photography; a cam surface that holds the optical path at a position where the optical path is opened; a cam surface that causes the optical control blade to move to a position where the optical path is fully opened; and a cam surface that causes the optical control blade to operate so as to adjust the diameter of the optical path. A drive means for rotating the cam, and a stopper release means for releasing the holding state by the strapper.

Therefore, according to the present invention, one light control blade can function as a shutter blade during still shooting and as an aperture blade during video shooting, so a single electronic camera can have a still shooting function. When the exposure control mechanism is provided with two video shooting functions, the exposure control mechanism can be constructed using the minimum necessary number of members.

(F. Embodiments) Details of an electronic camera according to the present invention will be described below according to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

(F-1, First Embodiment) [Figs. 1 to 11] Figs. 1 to 11 show a first embodiment of the electronic camera of the present invention. Note that in the drawings, the description of the entire electronic camera is omitted, and only the exposure control mechanism provided therein is shown.

That is, 1 in the figure is an exposure control mechanism provided in an electronic camera, and this exposure control mechanism 1 serves as an incident light control means for opening and closing the optical path of incident light that has entered through the photographic lens or adjusting the diameter of the optical path. , a cam and a stopper for controlling the incident light control means, a driving means for rotating the cam, a stopper release means for releasing the predetermined state held by the stopper, a detection means, and the like.

(a, Incident light control means) [Figs. 1 to 4.

Fig. 7 to Fig. 1θ] 2 is an incident light control means.

The incident light control means 2 includes a light control blade that opens and closes the optical path or changes the amount of incident light irradiating the image sensor according to the degree of opening of the optical path, a blade drive lever that drives the light control blade, and a blade drive lever that controls these blades at a constant rate. It consists of a blade case that is held so as to be rotatable within a range, and an elastic means that applies a predetermined rotational force to the blade drive lever.

(a-1, blade case) [Figures 1 to 4.

7 to 1θ] Reference numeral 3 denotes a blade case, and the blade case 3 consists of a base 4 and a lid 5 integrally connected to the base.

The base 4 of the blade case 3 is formed into an approximately disk shape as a whole with a certain thickness, and the base 4 is formed in the center of the blade case 3.
A light passage hole 6 is formed through the plate in the thickness direction.

7 is the front surface of the base 4, that is, the upper side of the base 4 in FIG. 2 (the direction facing upward in FIG. is defined as the left side, and the direction facing the right side is defined as the right side.In the following explanation, directions will be referred to in this direction. It is an annular protrusion formed along the section.

Further, reference numerals 8 and 9 are stepped portions formed at a portion along the outer peripheral edge of the front surface of the base 4, with an interval of approximately 30' at the central angle between both ends of each other. 9 is formed to have a generally circular belt shape as a whole. That is,
One long step 8 extends clockwise from a position along the outer peripheral edge of the front surface of the base 4 corresponding to approximately the right side of the light passage hole 6, and corresponds to the upper side of the light passage hole 6. The other short stepped portion 9 is formed over the area from the position to the position slightly in front of the base 4, that is, approximately 2,300 degrees. It is formed over a portion from a position corresponding to the road side of the passage hole 6 to a position a certain distance in the clockwise direction, that is, over a range of approximately 50°. Note that these stepped portions 8 and 9 have a certain width, and their height is approximately equal to the height of the protrusion 7 formed along the opening edge of the light passage hole 6.

A portion of the outer circumferential surface of the base portion 4 corresponding to both ends of the longer step portion 8 and a substantially intermediate portion thereof is formed to protrude outward, and a front surface of the step portion 8 is formed so as to protrude outward. There are screw holes 1O210, 10 in these outwardly protruding parts.
is formed.

11.11.11.11 is a blade support pin provided so as to protrude forward from the front surface of the step portions 8 and 9, and these blade support pins 11.11.11.11 are at a center angle of approximately 90° to each other. They are spaced apart by an arc distance of minutes.

On the other hand, the lid 5 of the blade case 3 is formed into a substantially disk shape with an outer diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the base 4, and a light passage hole 12 is formed in the center thereof in the thickness direction. At the same time, an annular protrusion 13 extending along the opening edge of the light passage hole 12 is integrally formed on the front surface thereof. The diameter of the light passage hole 12 is made approximately equal to the diameter of the light passage hole 6 formed in the base portion 4. Screw insertion holes 14.14.14 are formed in the portion along the outer periphery of the lid 5 at positions corresponding to the screw holes 10.10.10 formed in the base 4. the blade support pin 11 provided;
11, 11. At the position corresponding to 11 there is a bottle insertion hole 15.
15.15.15 is formed.

16.16.16.16 is the above-mentioned bottle insertion hole 1 in the lid 5
5.15.15.15 This is a guide elongated hole formed in a part slightly inward from the circle passing through, and these guide elongated holes 16
．． 16. 16. 16 are arranged at positions spaced apart from each other by approximately 90 degrees at a central angle on the circumference centered on the center point of the lid 5, and each has a certain length along the circumferential direction. It is formed in an arc shape.

Therefore, the above-mentioned base 4 and M5 are connected to the screw 17.1 which is inserted through the screw insertion hole 14.14.14 formed in M5.
7.17 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) are screwed into the screw holes 1O110 and 10 formed in the base 4, so that they are integrally connected to each other.

As a result, the blade support pin 11 provided on the base 4.
11.11.11 is inserted into the bottle insertion hole 15.15.15.15 formed in the lid 5, and the base 4
The light passage hole 6 on the side and the light passage hole 12 on the lid 5 side are positioned coaxially with each other. A generally circular band-shaped space 18 is defined inside the blade case 3 by the front surface of the base 4, the outer circumferential surface of the protrusion 7, the inner circumferential surfaces of the steps 8 and 9, and the rear surface of the lid 5. That will happen. Furthermore, on the outer periphery of the one-blade case 3, the front surface of the base 4, the rear surface of the lid 5, and the stepped portions 8 and 9 are provided.
Openings 19 and 20 are formed surrounded by both end faces of the space 18, and the space 18 is opened to the outside at these openings 19 and 20.

Although not shown, the rear surface of M5, that is, the base 4
A portion of the surface facing the screw insertion hole 14.14.14 around the screw insertion hole 14.14.14 is formed to be slightly thicker than the other portion so as to protrude rearward.

Therefore, when the base 4 and the lid 5 are connected to each other, there is a gap between the front surface of the stepped portion 8.9 of the base 4 and the rear surface of the lid 5 equal to the thickness of the thicker portion of the rear surface of the lid 5. A small gap will be formed. Note that the base end portion of the light control blade, which will be described later, is positioned in the gap thus formed.

When the base 4 and the lid 5 are combined, the front end of the light passage hole 6 on the base 4 side and the rear end of the light passage hole 12 on the lid 5 side are slightly different from each other, as shown in FIG. They are located close to each other with a certain gap between them.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the blade case 3 formed in this manner is placed behind the photographic lens 21 with the axes of the light passing holes 6 and 12 located on the optical axis of the photographic lens 21. It is located in

Therefore, the light passing hole 6 formed on the base 4 side of the blade case 3 and the light passing hole 12 formed on the lid 5 side are connected to the photographing lens 2.
1, and the gap between the two light passing holes 6 and 12 is located in the middle of the optical path. and,
This gap is opened and closed by a light control vane, which will be described later. Therefore, the portion of the optical path that is the gap is hereinafter referred to as the "optical path opening/closing section."

(a-2, blade drive lever) [Figures 1 to 4, 7
10] 22 is a blade drive lever.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a base portion of the blade drive lever 22, and the base portion 23 is formed in a size such that it can fit approximately snugly into the space 18 formed inside the blade case 3. That is, the thickness of the base 23 is approximately the same as the thickness of the step 8.9 formed on the side of the base 4 of the blade case 3, and the outer diameter thereof is approximately the same as the inner diameter of the step 8.9. A hole 24 is formed in the center thereof, and the diameter of the chain hole 24 is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the annular protrusion 7 formed on the base 4 of the blade case 3.

Two arms 25 and 26 extend radially from the center of the base 23 and project from positions spaced apart from each other by approximately 90'' on the outer peripheral surface of the base 23. One of the two extends diagonally upward to the right in the state shown in FIG.
5 is a controlled arm, and the other one 26 is a pressed arm.

The controlled arm 25 has its tip 25a bent downward at a substantially right angle in the state shown in FIG.
A roller support pin 27 is provided to protrude forward from the lower end of the distal end portion 25a, and a roller 28 is rotatably supported by the roller support pin 27. A portion near the upper end of the side edge of the tip 25a of the controlled arm 25 facing approximately to the right is cut out in a substantially crank shape when viewed from the front. An engagement edge 29 facing the road side is formed on the edge.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a spring-hung pin that projects forward from a portion slightly closer to the tip side of the center portion of the pressed arm 26 in the longitudinal direction.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a speed-adjusted piece that is formed to span between the controlled arm 25 and the pressed arm 26, and the speed-adjusted piece 31 is spaced a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral surface of the base 23; It extends parallel to the outer circumferential surface, and both ends thereof are continuous with the base end portions of the controlled arm 25 and the pressed arm 26, and gear teeth 32. 3
2, . . . (shown only in FIG. 1) are formed. The distance between the speed controlled piece 31 and the base 23 is approximately the same as the width of the stepped portion 9 formed on the base 4 of the blade case 3. Thus, a long hole 33 extending in a substantially arc shape is formed, which is surrounded by the outer circumferential surface of the base 23, the inner circumferential surface of the speed controlled piece 31, and the base end portions of the controlled arm 25 and the pressed arm 26.

34.34.34.34 passes through a portion of the front surface of the base 23 near the outer periphery edge and protrudes forward from positions approximately 90" apart from each other on the circumference centered on the center of the base 23. This is the retaining pin.

Therefore, the blade drive lever 22 formed in this manner is held in the blade case 3 in a state where it can freely rotate within a certain range.

That is, the blade drive lever 22 has its base 23 located within the space 18 formed in the blade case 3, and
The proximal end of the controlled arm 25 is located in one of the openings 19, 20 formed in the blade case 3, which is opened substantially to the right, and the proximal end of the pressed arm 26 are located in the other opening 20, and the long hole 33 is positioned so as to be fitted onto the short step 9 formed in the base 4 of the blade case 3. established in The hole 24 of the blade drive lever 22 is rotatably fitted onto the annular protrusion 7 formed on the base 4 of the blade case 3.

The positions of the respective base ends of the controlled arm 25 and the pressed arm 26 and the openings 19 and 20 formed in the blade case 3 in a state in which the single blade drive lever 22 is thus provided in the blade case 3 The relationship is as follows. For example, as shown in FIG.
5 is located at the end of one opening 19 of the blade case 3 closer to the step 9, the pressed arm 26
The base end of the blade drive lever 22 is located at the end of the other opening 20 of the blade case 3 closer to the step 8 (hereinafter, the position of the blade drive lever 22 in this state will be referred to as the "first position". )
As shown in FIG. Arm 2
6 is located at the end of the other opening 20 closer to the step 9.

Therefore, the blade drive lever 22 is rotatable within the range in which the base ends of the controlled arm 25 and the pressed arm 26 can move in the openings 19 and 20 formed in the blade case 3. It will be held in the blade case 3.

The base portion 4 and the lid 5 constituting the blade case 3 are coupled to each other with the blade drive lever 22 positioned on the base portion 4 as described above, and with the light control blades described later provided thereon. It turns out.

Then, when the base 4 of the blade case 3 and the lid 5 are coupled to each other, the blade pressing pins 34, 34.3 protruding from the blade drive lever 22, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.
The upper end of 4.34 is slidably engaged with the guide elongated hole 16, 16.16.16 formed in the lid 5 of the blade case 3.

(a-3, light control vane) [FIGS. 1 to 4, FIGS. 7 to 10] 35.35.35.35 is a light control vane.

These light control vanes 35, 35, 35, 35 are formed to have a substantially crank shape when viewed from the front, and have insertion holes 36, 36, 36, 36 formed at their base ends. An engagement hole 37.37.37.37 is formed in a portion adjacent to the insertion hole 36.36.36.36 and extends in a direction substantially along the longitudinal direction of the light control blade 35.35.35.35.

The light control blade 35.35.35.35 has a blade support pin 11.11.1 protruding from the step 8.9 of the base 4 of the blade case 3 in its insertion hole 36.36.36.36.
1.11 are inserted separately, and the engagement elongated holes 37
．． 37.37.37 the base 2 of the blade drive lever 22
Of the engagement pins 34, 34, 34, 34 protruding from the light control blade 35, the one located close to the blade support bin 11 inserted into the insertion hole 36 of the light control blade 35 is slidably engaged. They are provided inside the blade case 3 in the assembled state.

As a result, the four light control blades 35.35°35.3
Light control vanes 35.35.3 are located approximately 90 m apart from each other, and each tip thereof is adjacent to the light control vane 35.35.35.35 in the clockwise direction.
5.35 so that they overlap from the front and rear directions.

The positions of these light control vanes 35, 35, 35, 35 are determined by the position of the vane drive lever 22, and the optical path opening/closing section is opened/closed or its opening degree is adjusted accordingly. That will happen.

That is, when the blade drive lever 22 is in the first position, as shown in FIG. Blade support pin 11, 11.11.11 protruding from 4
The engagement pin 34 is located at a position that is closer to the counterclockwise direction than the position on the corresponding straight line between the blade case 3 and the axis of the blade case 3. Therefore, the light control vane 35.35.35.35 has its engagement elongated hole 37.
It will be held in the position shown in FIG. 1 by the vane support pins 34.34, 34.34 of the vane drive lever 22 engaged with 37.37.37. In this state,
The light control blades 35, 35, 35, 35 are positioned so that their tips completely block the optical path opening/closing part (hereinafter referred to as
(referred to as the "fully open position"). That is, in this state, the optical path opening/closing section is in a completely closed state, that is, a "fully closed" state.

In addition, the one-blade drive lever 22, as shown in Figure 1g8,
A position where the base of the controlled arm 25 is located approximately in the center of the opening 19 formed in the blade case 3, and the base of the suppressed arm 26 is located approximately in the center of the other opening 20. (hereinafter referred to as the "second position"), the engagement pin 3 provided on the blade drive lever 22
4.34.34.34 is slightly clockwise from the position on the above-mentioned straight line connecting the blade support pin 11.11.11.11 provided on the base 4 of the blade case 3 and the axis of the blade case 3. It will be located at a position closer to the direction. That is,
When the blade drive lever 22 moves from its first position to its second position, the blade drive lever 22 is rotated in a clockwise direction so that the engagement pins 34, 34 provided thereon are rotated clockwise.
．． 34.34 will also be rotated clockwise,
At this time, the engagement pin 34.34.34.34 is connected to the engagement slot 37.37, 3 of the light control blade 35.35.35.35.
7. Press one side edge of 37 in the clockwise direction. This allows the light control vane 35.35.35.3
5, these insertion holes 36, 36, 36, 36 are rotated counterclockwise around the portions supported by the blade support pins 11, 11, 11, 11, respectively.

When the blade drive lever 22 is in the second position, the light control blades 35, 35, 35, 35 are positioned so as to slightly block the optical path opening/closing section (hereinafter referred to as the "shutter mode fully open position"). ”) will be held. Therefore, in this state, the optical path opening/closing section is in a "substantially fully open" state.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the blade drive lever 22
A position closer to the cumulative clockwise direction than the second position described above (
(hereinafter referred to as the "third position"), the light control blades 35, 35, 35, 35 are positioned so that the side edges facing the respective optical path opening/closing parts circumscribe the optical path opening/closing part. position (
(hereinafter referred to as the "aperture mode fully open position"). In this state, the optical path opening/closing section is in a completely open state, that is, in a "fully open" state.

Note that when the exposure control mechanism 1 is made to function as a shutter mechanism for still photography (hereinafter referred to as "shutter mode"), the blade drive lever 22 is switched from the second position to the second position all at once. This allows the light control blade 35 to be rotated to position 1.
．． 35.35.35 will be rotated from the shutter mode fully open position to the fully closed position all at once. Therefore.

When the shutter is released in the shutter mode, the optical path opening/closing section is switched from a "substantially fully open" state to a "fully open" state all at once.

Further, when the exposure control mechanism 1 is made to function as an aperture adjustment Wf1 mechanism for video shooting (hereinafter referred to as "aperture adjustment mode"), the blade drive lever 22 is
For example, depending on the brightness of the light incident through the photographic lens 21, the light control blades 35. 35.35.35 will be moved between the fully closed position and the aperture mode fully open position.

Therefore, in the aperture mode, the diameter of the optical path opening/closing section is adjusted between the "fully closed" state and the "fully open" state at any time.

(a-4, shutter spring) [Figures 2 to 4] 38 is a shutter spring. The shutter spring 38 is formed into a substantially scissor-shaped spring shape, and an intermediate coiled portion 38a is fitted onto an annular protrusion 13 formed to protrude forward from the lid 5 of the blade case 3. At the same time, the tip of one arm 38b extending toward the road is connected to the pressed arms 2, 6 of the blade drive lever 22.
It abuts from approximately the right side a spring-loaded pin 30 protruding from the top. A spring hook 39 is formed so as to protrude downward from the lower end of the outer peripheral surface of the lid 5 of the blade case 3, and the tip thereof is bent forward at a substantially right angle. The tip of the other arm 38c extending downward is in contact with the tip of the spring hook 39 from approximately the right side.

Therefore, the vane drive lever 22 has its suppressed arm 26
The spring hook 30 provided in the shutter spring 3
8, the light control vane 35.35.35.35 is pressed from approximately the right side by the arm 38b of the light control vane 35. A rotating force is applied in a direction that causes the object to move toward the object.

As mentioned above, in the shutter mode, the blade drive lever 22 is moved from the second position to the first position all at once; The movement is performed by the elastic rotational force urged by the shutter spring 38.

(b, image sensor) [Fig. 2] Reference numeral 40 denotes a light passage hole 6 formed in the base 4 of the blade case 3.
This image sensor 40 is located behind the image sensor 40.
For example, a solid-state imaging device such as a charge-coupled device (COD) is used. The light from the object that has entered through the photographic lens 21, that is, the incident light, passes through the vane case 3 when the light control vanes 35, 35, 35, 35 are in a position other than the fully closed position. holes 6 and 1
The amount of light irradiated onto the image sensor 40 is changed depending on the diameter of the optical path opening/closing part. Note that the image sensor does not have to be a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD.

(C, cam gear) [Figures 1 to 3, Figures 5 to 1
Reference numeral 41 denotes a cam gear, and the cam gear 41 is rotated by a predetermined amount by a drive means, which will be described later, to move the blade drive lever 22 to a predetermined position.

(c-1, structure) 42 is a support shaft (only a portion is shown in the drawing) provided with its axial direction extending in the front-rear direction, and the cam gear 41 is attached to the rear end of this support shaft 42. It is rotatably supported.

Reference numeral 43 denotes a cam integrally formed on the rear surface of the cam gear 41. The cam 43 has a certain thickness, and most of its outer peripheral surface, that is, the surface perpendicular to the rear surface of the cam gear 41, is formed by the blade. Cam surface 44 for controlling drive lever 22
It has become.

The cam gear 41 is positioned to face the tip 25a of the controlled arm 25 of the blade drive lever 22 from the front side, and the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 is provided with the tip of the controlled arm 25 of the blade drive lever 22. The front half of the roller 28 protruding forward from the portion 25a is a device that is configured from substantially below. Note that the state in which the roller 2B is in contact with the cam surface of the cam 43 is maintained by the rotational force urged on the blade drive lever 22 by the shutter spring 38. Also, cam gear 41
The direction of rotation is counterclockwise in shutter mode.

Therefore, the detailed shape of the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 will be explained with reference to FIG. Note that point 0 shown in FIG. 5 is the rotation center of the cam gear 41, that is, the rotation center of the cam 43.

44a is a fully closed position defining portion of the cam surface 44.

The fully closed position defining portion 44a is formed into a curved surface having the same distance from the rotation center 0, that is, a circular arc surface centered on the rotation center 0. The distance from the rotation center 0 of the fully closed position defining portion 44a is such that when the roller 28 provided on the blade drive lever 22 is brought into contact with the blade drive lever 22 from substantially below, the one blade drive lever 22 is This is the distance that can be maintained at position 1.

The fully open position defining portion 44a is formed over an angular range of approximately 901 degrees around the rotation center O.

Reference numeral 44b represents an aperture adjustment portion of the cam surface 44 that continues in the clockwise direction from one end of the fully open position defining portion 44a. The diaphragm adjustment portion 44b is formed such that the distance from each position of its curved surface to the rotation center O gradually becomes longer toward the distal end on the side of the closed position defining portion 44a, and the distal end is connected to the cam gear 41. located in the vicinity of the gear teeth. Note that this diaphragm adjustment portion 44b is formed over an angular range of approximately 120° centered on the rotation center 0.

44c is a fully open position defining portion of the cam surface 44 that is continuous with the aperture g1 joint portion 44b. The fully open position defining portion 44c
is formed in an arcuate surface centered on the rotation center O, similar to the fully closed position defining portion 44a. The distance from the fully open position defining portion 44c to the rotation center 0 is such that the blade drive lever 22 is held at the third position when the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22 is in contact with this from substantially below. It has been said that it can be done at a distance. In addition, this fully open position defining portion 44c is located at approximately 45 degrees centering on the rotation center O.
It is formed over an angular range of ``''.

44d is a shutter charge portion of the cam surface that is continuous with the fully open position defining portion 44C. The shutter charge portion 44d is formed such that the distance from each position of its curved surface to the center of rotation 0 gradually increases toward the tip on the side opposite to the fully open position defining portion 44c. and,
This charging portion 44d is approximately 10mm centered around the rotation center 0.
It is formed over an angular range of 5'.

Note that the distal end of the shutter charge section 44d and the end of the fully open position defining section 44a on the side opposite to the aperture adjustment section 44b, that is, the base end, are connected by a non-control surface 45 located on a straight line extending approximately radially from the center of two rotations 0. It is continuous.

Therefore, the distance from the rotation center 0 of the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 is determined as shown in FIG. This results in a change as shown by a curve 46 shown in FIG. That is, the distance from the rotation center O of the cam surface 44 is equal to the distance from the fully closed position defining portion 44a.
is the shortest and this part is constant, but as it enters the subsequent aperture adjustment section 44b, it gradually becomes longer, and as it enters the fully open position defining section 44c, the distance from the tip of the aperture adjustment section 44b increases. will be kept constant. and,
From the fully open position defining section 44c to the shutter charging section 44d
When the rotation center 0 is entered, the distance to the rotation center 0 becomes gradually longer again, and finally returns to the fully open position defining portion 44a.

(c-2, control of blade drive lever by cam) Therefore,
The position of the blade drive lever 22 is the same as the cam 43 described above.
will be controlled as follows.

That is, the blade drive lever 22 has a roller 28 that is connected to the cam 4.
While in contact with the fully closed position defining portion 44a of the cam surface 44 of No. 3, as shown in FIG. It will be held in the fully closed position. Therefore, in this state, the optical path opening/closing section is kept fully open.

While the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22 is in contact with the fully open position defining portion 4.40 of the cam surface 44 of the cam 43, as shown in FIG.
, that is, a position where the light control blades 35, 35, 35, 35 are held at the fully open aperture mode position. Therefore, in this state, the optical path opening/closing section is "fully open".
It will be maintained in this state.

Further, the blade drive lever 22 has a roller 28 that is connected to the cam 4.
While it is in contact with the aperture adjustment part 44b of the cam surface 44 of No. 3, it is held at any position between the first position and the third position, and as the cam 43 rotates. Its position will be changed. Therefore, in this state, the light control blades 35, 35, 35, 35 are held at any position between the fully open position and the aperture mode fully open position, and as the cam 43 rotates,
Its position will be changed. In this way, the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22 touches the cam surface 44 of the cam 43.
While in contact with the aperture adjustment section 44b,
The optical path opening/closing portion is held at a diameter between fully closed and fully open, and its diameter is changed as the cam 43 rotates.

Note that in the aperture mode, the rotation direction of the cam gear 41 is not uniquely defined, but may be clockwise depending on the direction of movement when moving the blade drive lever 22 from its current position to the position to which it should be moved. direction or counterclockwise.

Further, the blade drive lever 22 has a roller 28 that is connected to the cam 4.
When the cam 43 is rotated counterclockwise while in contact with the shutter charge portion 44d of the cam surface 44 of No. 3, it is moved to the position shown in FIG. 44, the resilient force of the shutter spring 38 causes the shutter spring 38 to move toward the first position.

Immediately after the blade drive lever 22 is moved toward the first position in this manner, it is held at the second position by a stopper, which will be described later. When the single blade drive lever 22 is held in the second position, the light control blades 35, 35, 35
．． 35 will be held at the shutter mode fully open position, and thereby the optical path opening/closing unit will be held in the "substantially fully open" state.

(d. Driving means) [Figures 1 and 2] 47 is a stepping motor, and an output gear 48 is fixed to its output shaft 47a.

Reference numeral 49 denotes a reduction gear rotatably supported by a gear support shaft 50 located diagonally above and to the right of the output gear 48, and a small gear 51 is integrally formed on the rear surface of the reduction gear 49. . Then, the reduction gear 49 is connected to the output gear 48.
The small gear 51 is meshed with the cam gear 41.

Thus, the rotation of the stepping motor 47 is transmitted to the cam gear 41 through a transmission path such as its output shaft 47a - output gear 48 - reduction gear 49 - small gear 51 of the reduction gear - cam gear 41, and during this time, a predetermined The rotation speed is reduced to a predetermined speed, thereby causing the cam gear 41 to rotate at a predetermined speed.

(e, Stopper) [Figures 1 to 3, Figures 7 to 1O] Reference numeral 52 is a stopper for holding the blade drive lever 22 in its second position, and the stopper 52 is the main lever. It consists of two levers: and a sub-lever.

(e-1, main lever) 53 is a main lever. The main lever 53 as a whole is formed into a plate shape that is elongated in the left-right direction, and the upper part of the main lever 53 is formed in a substantially semicircular shape at the substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction, and an insertion hole 54 is formed therein. The left end of the main lever 53 is bent upward at a substantially right angle, and a roller support pin 55 is provided so as to protrude forward from the upper end. A roller 56 is rotatably supported.

Further, on the upper edge of the main lever 53, a projecting piece 57.
The iron piece mounting piece 5 is formed so as to be bent toward the front at a substantially right angle, and the iron piece mounting piece 5
8 is formed to protrude toward the L direction.

Reference numeral 59 denotes an iron piece support bin that projects forward from the tip of the iron piece attachment piece 58, and the iron piece 60 is rotatably supported by the iron piece support bin 59. And 60 pieces of iron
is rotatably supported by the iron piece support bin 59, but since both ends of its lower surface are located close to the protruding pieces 57 and 57 from above, its rotation range is relatively limited. limited to a small area.

Reference numeral 61 denotes a barring pin protruding rearward from the right end of the rear surface of the main lever 53, and the regulating pin 61 is for regulating the position of a sub-lever to be described later.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a chassis (shown only in FIG. 2) located at a certain distance rearward from the controlled blade drive lever 25 of the blade drive lever 22, and the cam gear of the chassis 62 A lever support shaft 63 protrudes forward from a position corresponding to a position diagonally downward to the right from the center of the chassis 6.
A stopper pin 64 is provided to protrude forward from a position slightly diagonally downward and away from the lever support shaft 63 of No. 2.

The main lever 53 is rotatably supported by the lever support shaft 63 by inserting the lever support shaft 63 into the insertion hole 54 thereof.

Reference numeral 65 denotes a torsion spring for applying a predetermined rotational force to the main lever 53, and the coiled portion 65a of the torsion spring 65 is fitted onto the front part of the lever support shaft 63, and one of the coiled parts 65a of the torsion spring 65 is The distal end of the arm 65b is brought into contact with the proximal portion of the roller support pin 55 protruding from the left end of the main lever 53 from approximately diagonally downward to the left, and the distal end of the other arm 65c is brought into contact with the chassis. The front end portion of a stopper pin 64 protruding from the stopper pin 62 is abutted from approximately the left side.

Therefore, the main lever 53 has its roller support pin 5
5 is pressed from approximately diagonally downward to the left by one arm 65b of the torsion spring 65, a rotational force that tends to rotate clockwise at all times is applied, and this also causes rotation force to rotate counterclockwise. (slightly to the right of the center of the lower edge) while no pressure is applied to cause it to move.
When the shifted portion contacts the stopper bin 64 from substantially below, it is held in the position shown in FIGS. 1, 9, and 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "non-control position").

Note that when the main lever 53 is in the non-control position, the roller 56 is positioned close to the movement locus of the fully open position defining portion 44c of the cam surface of the cam 43, or It has come to a position slightly closer to the center of the cam gear 41 than the trajectory. Therefore, in this state, the roller 56 is not in contact with most of the fully closed position defining portion 44a and the aperture W joint portion 44b of the cam surface of the cam 43, and the roller 56 is not in contact with most of the aperture adjusting portion 44b. The end on the side of the fully open position defining part 44c or the fully open position defining part 44c
When the shutter charge portion 44d of the cam surface comes into contact with the shutter charge portion 44d, the shutter charge portion 44d does not receive any particular pressing force from those surfaces. That will happen.

Note that the roller 56 of the main lever 53 is located to the left of the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22.

(e-2, sub-lever) 66 is a sub-lever. The sub-lever 66 is formed with one arm 66a extending along the downward direction of the road and the other arm 66b extending substantially along the left-right direction, so that it has an abbreviated shape when viewed from the front, and its L An insertion hole 67 is formed approximately at the bending point of the letter. Further, an engagement piece 68 is inserted from the left side edge of the upper end of one arm 66a of the sub-lever 66.
is formed to protrude forward, and a claw portion 68a bent toward the left at a substantially right angle is formed at the upper end of the engagement piece 68.

The sub-lever 66 is located behind the main lever 53, and the chassis 6 is inserted into the insertion hole 67 of the sub-lever 66.
By inserting the lever support shaft 63 protruding from the main lever 53, the main lever 53 is rotatably supported by the lever support shaft 63, and the right end of the other arm 66b protrudes from the rear surface of the main lever 53. The stopper bin 64 is provided between the regulation bin 61 and the stopper bin 64 protruding from the chassis 62.

69 is a torsion spring. The torsion spring 69 includes the torsion spring 6 associated with the main lever 53.
The coiled portion 69a is fitted onto the portion of the support shaft 63 between the main lever 53 and the sub-lever 66. ing. The tip of one arm 69b of the torsion spring 69 is in contact with the lower end of the engagement piece 68 formed on the sub-lever 66 from approximately the right side, and the tip of the other arm 69c is in contact with the stopper bin 64 on the road. Being hit by a force.

As a result, the engaging piece 68 of the sub-lever 66 is pressed from approximately the right side by one arm 69b of the toshie thumb spring 69, so that the rotational force that tends to rotate the sub-lever 66 in the counterclockwise direction is always applied. At the same time, the tip of the other arm 66b contacts the regulation bin 61 protruding from the main lever 53 from approximately below while no force is applied to rotate it clockwise. As a result, the state in which the main lever 53 operates integrally with the main lever 53 is maintained.

Therefore, when the main lever 53 is in the above-mentioned non-control position, the sub-lever 66 is operated by the main lever 53 as shown in FIG. Figure 9 and 1
It will be held at the position shown in Figure O (hereinafter referred to as the "disengaged position").

Note that when the sub-lever 66 is in the non-engaging position, the claw portion 68a of the engaging piece 68 engages the controlled arm 2 of the blade drive lever 22, for example, as shown in FIG.
It is located further to the right than the rotation locus of the right edge of the distal end 25a of No. 5.

(f, magnet) [Figures 1, 7 to 10] 70 is a control magnet, and the control magnet 70 has an attraction force on the attraction end 71, 71 at the lower end when no shutter release signal is input. is activated, and the attraction force is released when a shutter release signal is input.

This control magnet 70 is connected to the magnet 71//
<-53 When the roller 56 of 44 on the cam surface of the cam 43 is pressed most downwardly by the shutter charge portion 44d, the iron piece 60 provided on the main lever 53 is pressed against the suction end 71. of the control magnet 70. 71.

(g, Shutter Charge, Shutter Release) Shutter charge and shutter release in shutter mode are performed as follows. Note that, as described above, in the shutter mode, the cam 43 is always rotated counterclockwise.

(g-1, shutter charge) Therefore, when the cam 43 is rotated from the state where the blade drive lever 22 is in the first position, the blade drive lever 22 causes the roller 28 of the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 to rotate. Fully closed position defining section 44a, diaphragm adjusting section 44b, fully open position defining section 4
4C, the shutter charge part 44d is contacted one after another in this order, and is gradually moved downward, thereby increasing the elastic force of the shutter spring 38 and rotating it in the clockwise direction. You will be moved.

On the other hand, when the shutter charge portion 44d of the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 comes into contact with the roller 56 provided on the main lever 53 of the stopper 52,
As the roller 56 is pressed downward by the shutter charge section 44d, the torsion spring 65
, and is rotated counterclockwise about the portion supported by the lever support shaft 63 as the rotation center. Along with this, when the main lever 53 is rotated counterclockwise, the regulation bin 61 protruding from this is moved toward the road force, so that the sub-lever 66 is activated by a torsion spring. The resilient force of the lever 69 causes it to rotate counterclockwise around the portion supported by the lever support shaft 63 as the rotation center. That is, the main lever 53 and the sub-lever 66 are rotated counterclockwise as one unit.

Note that the roller 56 of the stall/par 52 is connected to the blade drive lever 2.
The cam 43 is located on the left side of the second roller 28, and the cam 43 rotates counterclockwise.
The roller 56 of No. 2 is connected to the shutter charge portion 4 of the cam surface 44.
Roller 28 of blade drive lever 22 before leaving part 4d.
does not leave the shutter charge portion 44d.

As described above, the roller 56 provided on the main lever 53 moves the shutter charge portion 44 of the cam surface 44
d, the part with the longest distance from the rotation center O, that is,
When the tip of this comes into contact with the main lever 53
The iron piece 60 provided at the right end of the control magnet 7
The main lever 53 is moved to the position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 (hereinafter referred to as the "control position").
) will be held. Therefore, the sub-lever 66 is also held in the position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 (hereinafter referred to as the "engaging position"), and in this state, the engaging piece 68 formed on the sub-lever 66 is Claw part 6
As is clear from Figure ff17, 8a is positioned so as to cross the locus of movement of the engagement edge 29 formed on the tip end 25a of the controlled arm 25 of the blade drive lever 22.

Note that at the time when the sub-lever 66 begins to move toward the engagement position, the controlled arm 25 of the one-blade drive lever 22
As shown in FIG. 10, the tip portion 25a of the sub-lever 66 is already below the claw portion 68a of the engaging piece 68 formed on the sub-lever 66, so that the sub-lever 66 is moved to the engaging position. At this time, the engagement piece 68 will not collide with the blade drive lever 22.

Immediately after the main lever 53 is moved to the control position, the shutter charge portion 44 of the cam surface 44 of the cam 43
d separates from the roller 56 of the main lever 53, and subsequently, the shutter charge portion 44d also separates from the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22 through the state shown in FIG.

Then, since the downward pressing force on the roller 28 is released, the blade drive lever 22 is moved to the first position by the elastic force of the shutter spring 38 that has been charged up to that point.
Try to move all at once towards the position. However, in this state, the claw portion 68a of the engagement piece 68 formed on the sub-lever 66 is positioned so as to cross the movement locus of the engagement edge 29 formed on the controlled arm 25 of the blade drive lever 22. Therefore, immediately after the blade drive lever 22 starts to be moved toward the first position, its engagement edge 29 is engaged with the claw portion 68a of the sub-lever 66 from below. This prevents the blade drive lever 22 from moving toward the first position. The position of the blade drive lever 22 at this time is the second position described above.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the blade drive lever 22 is held at the second position, and in this state, the optical path opening/closing section is connected to the light control blade 35.35.35.35.
is held in the fully open position in shutter mode, resulting in a "substantially fully open" state.

This state is the "shutter charge complete" state.

In this state, the rotation of the cam 43 is stopped, and the cam 43 is positioned in such a position that the fully closed position defining portion 44a of its cam surface 44 faces downward, that is, the blade drive lever 22
The roller 28 is in a position that crosses the moving trajectory.

(g-2, Shutter Release) Shutter release is performed by energizing the control magnet 70 based on a shutter release signal.

That is, when the control magnet 70 is energized from the state where the shutter charging is completed, the control magnet 70
Since the adsorption force is released, the main lever 53 of the stopper 52 is rotated clockwise by the elastic force of the torsion spring 65 and moved to the non-control position. Therefore, the sub lever 66 is
Since the upper edge of the right end is pressed downward by the regulation pin 61 provided on the main lever 53, it is rotated clockwise and moved from the engaged position to the disengaged position. become.

As a result, the claw portion 68a of the engagement piece 68 of the sub-lever 66
is the engagement edge 29 of the controlled arm 25 of the blade drive lever 22.
Therefore, the blade drive lever 22, which had been prevented from moving in the second position, is moved all at once toward the Ml position by the 15111 force of the shutter spring 38. That will happen. When the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22 comes into contact with the fully open position defining portion 44a of the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 from substantially below, further rotation of the blade drive lever 22 is prevented.

That is, it will be held at the first position.

Thus, the light control vanes 35.35, 35.35 are moved all at once from the shutter mode fully open position to the fully closed position,
As a result, the optical path opening/closing section changes from the "substantially fully open" state to the "fully closed" state all at once.

This is the shutter release. That is, the shutter release in the present invention closes the optical path of the incident light that enters through the photographing lens 21 and irradiates the image sensor 40 from an open state. That is, this is done only by the closing operation.

(h, Fully Closed State Detection Means) [Figs. 1, 7, and 8] 72 is a so-called photo interrupter. Reference numeral 73 denotes a light projecting section of the photointerrupter 72, and a light receiving section (not shown) is provided at a position facing the light projecting section 73. The light projecting section 73 and the light receiving section are arranged at a first position. The blade drive lever 22 is positioned so as to sandwich the tip of the pressed arm 26 of the blade drive lever 22 from the front and rear directions.

Therefore, the suppressed arm 26 is placed between the light projecting section 73 and the light receiving section.
When the tip of the blade is not located, the light directed from the light emitter 73 toward the light receiver will be irradiated onto the light receiver, so that a predetermined signal is output and the blade drive lever 22 is moved to the first position. It is detected that it has not come. That is, it is detected that the optical path opening/closing section is not in a fully closed state.

Furthermore, when the tip of the suppressed arm 26 is positioned between the light projecting section 73 and the light receiving section, the light directed from the light projecting section 73 toward the light receiving section is blocked by the distal end, so that the light is not irradiated to the light receiving section. It disappears. As a result, a signal different from the above-mentioned signal is detected, so that it is detected that the blade drive lever 22 has come to the first position. That is, it is detected that the optical path opening/closing section is fully open.

Incidentally, the signal detected by this photoinkrater becomes, for example, a trigger signal for charging the shutter after the shutter release is completed.

(i. Speed governor) [Fig. 1 3 74 is a governor, that is, a speed governor. 75 is a gear tooth 32 formed on the speed controlled piece 31 of the blade drive lever 22
．． 32 is a gear meshed with φΦ·, and 76 is a controller that controls the rotational speed of the gear 75 to be constant.

This speed governor 74 is used to keep the rotating speed of the blade drive lever 22 constant when the blade drive lever 22 is moved from the $2 position to the first position, that is, when the shutter release is performed. It is also.

That is, when the shutter release is performed, the blade drive lever 22 is rotated by the elastic force of the shutter spring 38, but as is known, the elastic force by one elastic member draws a quadratic curve. Because it changes,
The rotation speed when the blade drive lever 22 is rotated by the shutter spring 38 is changed in a quadratic curve. Therefore, since the diameter of the optical path opening/closing portion is changed in a quadratic curve, the amount of incident light irradiated onto the photographing element 40 is also changed in a quadratic curve.

In this way, when the amount of incident light irradiating the image pickup element 40 changes in a quadratic curve, extremely complicated calculations are required to read the amount of charge generated on the image sensor 40, which is determined by the amount of irradiation light. Processing in a single circuit becomes extremely complicated.

Therefore, in order to avoid such complicated processing, a speed governor 74 is associated with the blade drive lever 22 so that the rotating speed of the blade drive lever 22 is kept constant when the shutter is released. It is something.

(j. Exposure Control Operation) Control of the exposure amount by the exposure control mechanism 1 configured as described above is performed as follows.

(j-1, exposure control operation in shutter mode) [
FIG. 11] The exposure control operation in the shutter mode will be explained with reference to FIG. 11.

Note that "rl/60 seconds" shown in FIG.
This is the transfer timing for transferring the charges accumulated up to that point, and the inverted triangle mark indicates the time point when the shutter button is pressed.

Therefore, when taking still pictures, select the shutter mode.

When the shutter mode is selected, the exposure control mechanism l
As described above, the shutter charging is completed as shown in FIG. 8. In this state, the light control blade 3
5.35.35.35 is held in the shutter mode fully open position.

When the shutter button is pressed, a "shutter button ON" signal is output to a control circuit (not shown), and at the next transfer timing of the image sensor 40 after that point, the Image sensor 40
All the charges accumulated in the image sensor 40 are released, and the image sensor 40
The light from the subject will now be illuminated.

In addition, a photometric sensor (not shown) detects the brightness of the incident light that has entered through the photographing lens 21 at the time the shutter button is pressed, and the control circuit adjusts the appropriate exposure according to the detected brightness. time is calculated.

Then, when the proper exposure time described above has elapsed from the point in time when the image pickup device 40 releases and outputs the electric charge, the control magnet 70 is energized, thereby performing the above-described shutter release. That is, the irradiation of the incident light onto the image sensor 40 is ended.

As a result, charges corresponding to the area of the shaded portion in FIG. 11 are accumulated in the image sensor 40. The size of this area is the time t, that is, the size of the image sensor 4
It is determined by the time from the start of irradiation of light from the subject to the subject until the shutter release is completed. That is, this time t becomes the so-called shutter speed.

Then, the signal processing circuit reads the charge accumulated in the image sensor 40 in synchronization with the transfer timing by the image sensor 40 that comes next after the shutter release is completed, and a video signal is generated from the read charge. An image signal based on the signal will be recorded on the recording medium.

On the other hand, when the shutter release is completed, a predetermined signal is detected by the photointerrupter 72, which causes the cam 43 to rotate and enter the shutter charging state. That is, the light control vanes 35.35.
35. 35 is again moved to the fully open shutter mode position, and the next shutter release is ready.

(j-2, Exposure Control Operation in Aperture Adjustment Mode) [FIGS. 9 and 10] Exposure control in the aperture adjustment mode will be explained according to FIGS. 9 and i10.

Select the aperture adjustment mode when shooting video.

When the aperture adjustment mode is selected, the cam 43 is moved to a position where the end of the cam surface of the aperture adjustment portion 44b on the fully closed position defining portion 44a side contacts the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22. That is, the exposure control mechanism 1 is in the state shown in FIG. 9. This state is the control start state in the aperture adjustment mode.

The position of the blade drive lever 22 in this control start state is approximately the same as the first position described above. That is, in this state, the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22 is
As described above, the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 also
Although the end portion of the cam surface 4b on the side of the fully open position defining portion 44a is contacted, the distance from the rotation center 0 at this portion of the cam surface 44 is almost the same as that at the fully closed position defining portion 44a. Therefore, the vane drive lever 22 is held at substantially the same position as the first position, thereby causing the light control vane 35
．． 35, 35, and 35 will be held at substantially the same position as in the fully closed position, the optical path opening/closing section will be in the "fully closed" state.

Therefore, exposure control in the aperture mode is performed from this control start state.

Therefore, the brightness of the incident light from the subject that has entered through the shadow lens 21 is detected by an optical sensor 411 (not shown), and the stepping motor 47 is moved in a predetermined rotational direction in accordance with the detected brightness. The light control vanes 35.35.35.35
By adjusting the degree of opening of the image sensor 40, the amount of light irradiated with the incident light that is irradiated onto the image sensor 40 is changed. That is, the rotation angle of the stepping motor 47 that corresponds to the brightness of the incident light is written in the memory of the control circuit, and the control circuit stores the rotation angle of the stepping motor 47 corresponding to the brightness of the incident light. The rotation angle of the stepping motor 47 is read and control is performed to move the stepping motor 47 to the position corresponding to the read rotation angle.

However, in the aperture adjustment mode, the so-called aperture value is set to 31 sections depending on the brightness of the incident light, and the adjustment is performed by "fully closed J".
The amount of exposure to the image sensor 40 is controlled by the size of the aperture.

(F-2, Second Embodiment) [Fig. 12 Fig. 12 shows the second embodiment of the electronic camera of the present invention, and in this Fig. 12, only the exposure control mechanism IA is shown. This is an indication.

The exposure control mechanism IA shown in this second embodiment differs from the exposure control mechanism IA in the first embodiment described above, in that the driving means for rotating the cam gear is a DC.
The only difference is that a motor is used and a position detection means for detecting the position of the cam gear is provided. Therefore, only a part of the exposure control mechanism IA is shown in FIG. 12, and only the points that are different from the first embodiment will be explained, and the parts that are not different from the first embodiment will be explained. The explanation will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals as used in .

(a, Driving Means) 77 is a DC motor, and a worm gear 78 is fixed to its output shaft 77a. 79 is the above worm gear 7
A reduction gear (not shown) is integrally formed on the lower surface of the worm wheel, and the small reduction gear is meshed with the cam gear 41.

Therefore, when the DC motor 77 is rotated, the rotation is caused by the rotation of the output shaft 77a, the worm gear 78, and the worm wheel 7.
9- Worm wheel reduction gear Since the signal is transmitted to the cam gear 41 through a transmission line such as the cam gear 41, the cam gear 41 is thereby rotated.

(b, Position Detection Means) (b-1, Configuration) 80a, 80b, 80c, and 80d are conductors for position detection formed on the front surface of the cam gear 41. These conductors 8
0a, 80b, 80c, and 80d are conductors for detecting the position of the cam gear 41 and, furthermore, the position of the cam 43 formed integrally therewith; of these conductors, 80a,
80b and 80c are located on a circumference centered on the rotation center of the cam gear 41 and passing through a portion close to the root circle of the gear teeth of the cam gear 41, and another conductor 80d is located inside the circumference. It is located on a circumference concentric with the circumference of the object.

The conductor 80a extends from a position on the cam surface 44 of the cam 43 corresponding to the substantially central part of the fully open position defining part 44a to a position corresponding to the end of the diaphragm adjusting part 44b on the side of the fully closed position defining part 44a. is formed between.

Further, the conductor 80b is formed between a position of the cam surface 44 corresponding to the approximate center of the aperture adjustment part 44b and a position corresponding to the end of the fully open position defining part 44c on the shutter charge part 44d side.

Furthermore, the conductor 80c is formed in a portion of the shutter charge portion 44d of the cam surface 44 corresponding to the portion from the approximate center to the end on the non-control surface 45 side.

Further, the conductor 80d is connected to the aperture mttn portion 44 of the cam surface 44.
It is formed in a portion corresponding to approximately half of the portion b closer to the fully closed position defining portion 44a.

81a and 81b are contacts for position detection.

Of these contacts 81a, 81b, the one 81a (hereinafter referred to as the "r&51 contact") which is a cam and is farthest from the center of the gear 41 has its tip located at the front surface of the cam gear 41 where the conductors 80a, 80b and 80c are located. is placed in contact with the part through which the circumference passes, and the other part 8
1b (hereinafter referred to as "second contact") is disposed such that its tip is in contact with a portion of the front surface of the cam gear 41 through which the circumference on which the conductor 80d is located passes. The tips of these contacts 81a and 81b are connected to the cam gear 41.
The roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22 contacts the cam surface of the cam 43 at a position that substantially corresponds in the front-rear direction on the rear side of the front surface of the blade drive lever 22 .

The conductors 80a, 80b, 80c and 80d are grounded by grounding means such as a common conductor (not shown) provided on the front surface of the cam gear 41. Moreover, a predetermined voltage is applied to each of the contacts 81a and 81b.

Therefore, regarding the first contact 81a, this is the conductor 8.
A signal of "0" is detected when the conductor is in contact with any one of conductors 80a, 80b, and 80c, and a signal of "1" is detected when it is not in contact with any of these conductors 80a, 80b, and 80c. That will happen. Regarding the second contact 81b, a signal of "0" is detected when it is in contact with the conductor 80d, and rlJ is detected when it is not in contact with the conductor 80d.
signals will be detected.

(b-2, Position Detection) Therefore, depending on the position of the cam 43, a predetermined code signal is detected by the combination of the signal detected regarding the first contact 81a and the signal detected regarding the first contact 81b. It turns out. Note that these signals are combined by arranging the signal related to the first contact 81a and the signal related to the second contact 81b in this order.

First, when the cam 43 reaches a position where the substantially central portion of the fully open position defining portion 44a of the cam surface 44 contacts the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22, the first contact 81a contacts the conductor 80.
The second contact 81b is brought into contact with one end of the conductor 80d, and the second contact 81b is not contacted with the conductor 80d.
A code sequence of "0.1" will be detected. That is,
It is detected that the cam 43 has reached a position that holds the vane drive lever 22 in the first position.

Then, the cam 43 is rotated counterclockwise from the above-mentioned position, and the end of the cam surface 44 on the fully closed position defining part 44a side of the aperture adjustment part 44b contacts the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22. When the first contact 81a comes into contact with the conductor 80a, the second contact 81b comes into contact with the conductor 80d. As a result, “0.
0'' code signal will be detected. That is, the cam 43 or its force 11 surface 44 has a first joint 44b.
It is detected that one end of the blade has come into contact with the roller 28 of the blade drive lever 22.

In this way, while the cam 43 is further rotated counterclockwise, a code signal of "l, 0" is detected next to the code signal of "0.0", and then a code signal of "l,0" is detected. teeth"
0.1'' and furthermore, code signals of ``l, 1'' are detected. The cam 43 has a cam surface 44 whose approximately central portion of the shutter charge portion 44d is connected to the roller 28.
When it reaches the position where it touches, a signal of "0.1" will be detected.

Therefore, depending on the difference in the code signals detected in this way and the order in which they are detected, it is possible to determine what control position the cam 43 is currently in, i.e., whether it is at a position where the shutter release can be performed or where the aperture adjustment can be performed. or 1δ when shutter charging is performed.

Based on the position of the cam 43 detected in this way, the DC motor 77 is rotated in a predetermined rotational direction, and the member moved thereby, such as the blade drive lever 22 or the light control blade 35, 35, 35, is rotated. .35
When the position of the DC motor 77 reaches the predetermined position to be currently controlled, the rotation of the DC motor 77 is stopped.

In addition, in the above-described first embodiment, such position detection means does not only detect the rotation angle of the stepping motor 47 in order to detect the control position of the cam gear 41, but also detects the rotation angle of the stepping motor 47. It can also be applied as a means or as a primary means.

(G. Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the electronic camera of the present invention opens and closes the optical path of the incident light that enters through the photographic lens and is irradiated to the image sensor, and changes the degree of opening of the optical path to the incident light. an incident light control means having a light control blade that changes the amount of light irradiated onto the image sensor; a resilient means that always urges the incident light control means in a direction in which the light control blade is closed; and at least the light control means. a first cam surface that holds the vane in a first position where it fully closes the optical path; and a second cam surface that moves the light control vane to a second position where it fully opens the optical path. a cam having a third cam surface that allows the incident light control means to adjust the opening degree of the light control blade depending on the brightness of the light; a drive means that rotates the cam; Second against force
a stopper for holding the light control blade in the second position; and a stopper release means for releasing the light control blade from being held in the second position by the stopper when the shutter release is performed;
The light control blade can function as a shutter blade when photographing a subject as a still image, and the light control blade can function as an exposure amount control blade when photographing a subject as a video image. do.

That is, the present invention allows one light control blade to function as a shutter blade during still photography and as an aperture blade during video photography.

Other members constituting the present invention, such as a cam and a driving means for rotating the cam, etc.

This is a member that is originally necessary for adjusting the aperture.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when one electronic camera is provided with two photographing functions, a still photographing function and a video photographing function, an exposure control mechanism can be constructed using the minimum necessary number of members.

In addition, when the light control blade of the present invention functions as a shutter during methyl photography, the release operation is similar to the shutter in a conventional camera, from a closed exposure state to an open state and then a closed state again. return to,
It is not an IBJ, but rather a movement that simply changes the optical path from an open state to a closed state, so unlike a conventional shutter that uses two shutter bases, the mechanism to control this is significantly required. Something simple will suffice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 11 show a first embodiment of the exposure control mechanism provided in the electronic camera of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a front view of the main part in a state in which the shutter release is completed in the shutter mode. , Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway bottom view, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main part, Fig. 4 is a front view of the incident light control means, Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cam, and Fig. 6 is a cam. Figure 7 is a front view of the main part in the state immediately before shutter charging is completed in shutter mode, and gir18 is a conceptual diagram showing the main part in the state in which shutter charging is completed in shutter mode. 9 is a front view of the main part in the state where the aperture adjustment is started in the aperture adjustment mode, FIG. 10 is a front view of the main part in the state where the light control blade fully opens the optical path in the aperture adjustment mode, FIG. 11 is a time chart showing the operation in the shutter mode, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a main part showing a second embodiment of the optical path control mechanism provided in the electronic camera of the present invention. Explanation of symbols 2... Incident light control means, 21... Photographing lens, 35... ψ light control blade, 38... Bullet means, 40... Image pickup element, 43...
...Cam, 44a, φψ first cam surface, 44b, φ3rd cam surface, 44d@--second cam surface, 41.47.4g, 49.51 fist, driving means, 52. ...stopper, 70...fist stopper release means Karumi t non (tko 4 (sadasen, wo) to IA Kazuma, Beni,
Vessel Kuo 6 diagram

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Incident light provided with a light control blade that opens and closes the optical path of incident light that enters through a photographic lens and is irradiated onto an image sensor, and changes the amount of light irradiated onto the image sensor by the degree of opening of the light path. a control means; a resilient means for always biasing the incident light control means in a direction in which the light control vane is closed; and a resilient means for holding at least the light control vane in a first position in which it fully closes the optical path. A second cam surface that moves the first cam surface and the light control vane to a second position where the optical path is fully opened, and the brightness of the incident light causes the incident light control means to control the degree of opening of the light control vane. a cam having a third cam surface for adjustment; a driving means for rotating the cam; a stopper for holding the light control blade in a second position against the resilient force of the resilient means; and a shutter release. and a stopper release means for releasing the light control blade from being held in the second position by the stopper when the stopper is in the second position, and when photographing a subject as a still image, the light control blade functions as a shutter blade, An electronic camera characterized in that a light control blade can function as an exposure amount control blade when photographing as a video image.