JPS6346417A - Lens interchangeable type autofocusing camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the number of parts and to improve the reliability of a device by arranging a clutch part separately from a coupling detecting part and connecting both the parts through an interlocking member. CONSTITUTION:Clutch mechanisms 107, 113 are formed on the leading end parts of a rotation transmitting shaft 101 on the camera body side and a coupling member 103. When a lens mount 10 is inserted into a body mount 11, a locking pin (mounting completion detecting member) 105 is abutted upon the mount 11 and pressed into a through hole 10b against the elasticity of a spring 111, a releasing lever 104 to be a clutch driving member is also moved to the left, a coupling member 103 is also moved to the left against the elasticity of a spring 110, and a coupling member 103 is also separated from a coupling part 112. When the amount 10 is turned under the mounted state, the pin 105 is turned in an arrow direction from the position shown by a dotted line, reached the position of a locking hole 106, protruded by the elasticity of a spring 111 and entered as shown in the drawing to fix a lens barrel on a camera body. The lever 104 also is simultaneously moved to the right, the member 103 is also moved to the right by the elasticity of the spring 100 and the coupling part 103c is abutted upon the coupling part 112.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application ffE This invention is a method for transmitting rotational driving force from a drive device on the camera body side to the lens barrel side in an interchangeable lens autofocus camera, specifically an autofocus camera. This relates to a connection mechanism for

[Prior Art] Autofocus cameras with interchangeable lenses, such as single-lens reflex cameras with interchangeable lenses that perform autofocus, usually have a drive device for an alignment bar built into the camera body, and a drive device for an alignment bar on the lens barrel. A built-in wave driving device is operated by the rotational driving force transmitted from the driving device to focus the lens. The camera body and the lens barrel are connected by their mounts, and through this connection, the drive force transmission mechanism (coupler) of both is connected via a clutch, and the rotation for driving the lens is transmitted from the drive device inside the camera body. The driving force is transmitted to the lens barrel side. Also, whether or not the two are combined and the driving force is transmitted normally is unknown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-177.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 108, this is checked using a coupling detection pin or the like.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional coupling mechanism disclosed in JP-A-57-177108, etc., since the clutch and the coupling detection pin are coaxial, the overall height is very high. This results in a complicated configuration, a large number of parts, and high costs.
Reliability also decreases due to the 2fil & match between the clutch and the detection pin. Moreover, due to the double structure of the clutch and coupling pin, the transmission shaft inevitably becomes thicker, and the width of the mount becomes larger for mounting. This also causes the problem that the inner diameter of the mount becomes smaller, which places restrictions on the design of large-diameter lenses, and conversely, the outer diameter of the mount becomes larger, resulting in a corresponding increase in the outer diameter of the camera. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of the above two problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an interchangeable lens type autofocus camera in which the above-mentioned problems are solved by arranging a clutch part and a connection detection part a predetermined distance apart and connecting the two with an interlocking member.

c.Means and effects for solving the problems] The present invention has the following features:
In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the camera body is made up of a camera body with a built-in driving device, and a lens barrel that can be detachably attached to the camera body and has a built-in driven device. In the lens-interchangeable autofocus camera, a rotation transmission shaft on the camera body side is connected to the driving device and arranged parallel to the photographing optical axis, and a rotation transmission shaft is connected to the driven device and arranged in the 11ξ row with the photographing optical axis. a rotation transmission shaft on the lens barrel side disposed in the lens barrel; a clutch mechanism provided between the two transmission shafts so as to engage with each other when the lens barrel is mounted on the camera body; The lens barrel is provided on one of the camera body and the lens barrel at a position separated by a predetermined distance, and when both are in the normal mounting position, the mounting is completed by fitting into the fitting recess provided on the other. A detection member is connected to the clutch mechanism, and according to the movement of the detection member, at least one of the rotation transmission shaft on the camera body side and the rotation transmission shaft on the lens barrel side is connected to the photographing optical axis. The present invention is characterized by comprising a clutch drive member that is moved in parallel and connects and disconnects the clutch mechanism.

[Embodiments] The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. First, before describing the embodiments, an example of an autofocus camera to which the present invention is applied will be explained with reference to Fig. 3.4. This autofocus camera 1 is constructed as shown in FIG. In Fig. 3, reference numeral 2 denotes a lens frame that holds the photographing lens L, 3 denotes a helicoid screw provided on the rear outer peripheral surface of the lens frame 2, and 4 screws into the helicoid screw 3 of the lens frame 2 on the inner surface. 6 is an outer helicoid frame provided with a helicoid screw 7 screwed into the helicoid screw 4a provided on the rear outer peripheral surface of the rotating frame 4 on the inner surface; A gear is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating frame 4 near the middle of the rotating frame 4, 9 is a protruding piece forming a pair of keys protruding vertically near the front end of the rotating frame 4, and 10 is a recoil on the outside of the rotating frame 4. A lens mount frame 11 is attached to the rear end surface of the frame 6 by a set screw lOa, and a camera body mount frame 11 is fitted with the lens barrel side I/frame 10 by known means.
12 has a sliding soil rubber band 13 fitted on the outer peripheral surface,
A gear 14 that meshes with the gear 8 of the rotating frame 4 is provided on the inner peripheral surface.
A short cylindrical manual distance adjustment member 15 is formed at the rear of the manual distance adjustment member 12 and is located on the front inner surface of the lens mount frame 1o. A ring-shaped distance display member 17 is rotatably fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the rear part of the filter mounting frame 16, which has a smaller diameter. A narrow collar 17a is formed on the outer periphery of the narrow diameter portion at the rear of the distance display member 17, and a circumferential groove 12 bored in the front inner surface of the distance adjustment member 12 is formed.
It is rotatably fitted to a. In addition, the same distance display member 1
Key grooves 18 in the optical axis direction are bored in the upper and lower inner surfaces of the rotary frame 7, and the protruding pieces 9 of the rotating frame 4 are respectively fitted into the key grooves 18. That is, the distance display member 17 moves together with the distance adjustment member 12 in the front-rear direction, and rotates together with the rotation frame 4 in the rotational direction.

In addition, on the outer peripheral surface of the filter mounting frame 16 in the middle,
A distance display indicator 19 is provided that extends to the part with a smaller diameter, so that the manual button # and the 71st section member 12 can be seen without any trouble even when they are moved backwards, as shown in Fig. 2. It has become.

At the bottom of the lens barrel configured in this way, a focusing drive mechanism on the lens barrel side that is connected to a focusing drive mechanism arranged on the camera body side is arranged as shown below. There is. That is, in the M through hole 10b bored in the lower part of the outer recoid frame 6 parallel to the optical axis, there is a focusing drive shaft 2 on the lens barrel lens side.
0. is rotatably supported, the rear part of the coaxial 20 protrudes into the lens mount 10, and the rear end is integrated with the tip of the focusing drive shaft 30 on the camera body side that protrudes from the body mount 11 on the camera body side. A gear 32 that meshes with a drive transmission gear 31 that is attached to the main body is integrally attached. A gear 21 that meshes with the gear 8 of the rotating frame 4 is integrally attached to the front end of the drive shaft 20.

An elastic coil spring 24 is interposed between the gear 21 and the outward recoid frame 6, and although the drive shaft 20 is given the habit of moving forward, the front surface of the gear 21 is The distance adjusting member 12 comes into contact with a ring-shaped protrusion 25 formed to protrude from the rear surface of the distance adjusting member 12, and is restrained to the position shown in FIG. It has become.

On the other hand, as is well known, there is a photographic lens L inside the camera body.
A movable reflector 26 is provided which is inclined by 45' with respect to the optical axis of the camera. The formed lens image is observed through an eyepiece lens through a pentagonal Datsuha prism (not shown). A part of the subject light image passes through a semi-transparent part provided at the center of the movable reflecting mirror 26, and an auxiliary reflecting mirror 27 is rotatably disposed perpendicularly to the rear surface of the reflecting mirror 26. The light is reflected downward, and an image is formed on the upper surface of the focus detection probe 28, which is disposed at a position conjugate with the film surface below. and,
The output signal detected by the focus detection cable 28 controls the rotation of a motor 33 which is a drive source disposed below the focus detection cable 28 via an electric circuit (not shown). The rotation of the drive shaft of the motor 33 is decelerated and transmitted to the focusing drive shaft 30 on the camera body side through the deceleration intermediate gear train 34, and the rotation of the same axis by 3 degrees is meshed with the rotary drive transmission gear 31. The rotational drive wave is transmitted to the focusing drive shaft 20 on the lens barrel lens side via the rotational drive wave transmission gear 32. The rotation of the focusing drive shaft 20 is controlled by a gear 21 integrated with the same shaft 20 and a gear 8 of the rotating frame 4 that meshes with the gear 21.
The rotating frame 4 is rotated through the. When this rotating frame 4 rotates, the lens frame 2 moves back and forth via the helicoid screw 5 of the peripheral frame 4 and the helicoid screw 3 of the lens frame 2 screwed thereto, and the photographing lens L is rotated. It is designed to be controlled by focus. At this time, in the state shown in FIG. 3, the gear 14 of the manual distance adjustment member 12 is not engaged with the gear 8 of the rotating frame 4, so the armature 12 does not rotate, but the distance display member Since the projecting piece 9 of the rotation frame 4 is fitted into the keyway 18 of the rotation frame 17, the rotation frame 4 rotates and the distance can be displayed on the distance display indicator 19. In this case, since the screw lead between the helicoid screw 7 of the outer helicoid frame 6 and the helicoid screw 4a of the rotation frame 4 is small, the gear 8 of the rotation frame 4 and the drive shaft 2
0 gear 21, and neither the manual distance adjusting member 12 nor the distance display member 17 moves back and forth.

Further, the lens frame 2 is installed outwardly at the bottom of the recoid frame 6 in a hole 35 parallel to the optical axis, which is bored in a part of its rear part, and is folded forward at a right angle. Since the bent guide pin 36 is fitted, it is possible to move only in the front-back direction without rotating.

Next, the operation of the autofocus camera 1 configured as above will be explained. As is well known, the focus detecting element 28 detects the point where the amount of subject light incident from the photographing lens L is at its maximum as the in-focus point, and uses its output signal to control the motor 3 Rotate. The rotation of this motor 33 is controlled by the speed reduction intermediate gear train 3.
4 to the focusing drive shaft 30 on the camera body 23 side, and the rotation of the drive shaft 30 is transmitted through the rotational drive transmission gear 311 and the rotational drive wave transmission gear 32.
The signal is transmitted to the focusing drive shaft 20 on the lens barrel side. When this focusing drive shaft 20 rotates, a gear 21 integrated with the same shaft 20 also rotates, and the rotation frame 4 is rotated via a gear 8 meshing with the same gear 21.

When this rotating frame 4 rotates, the vericoid screw 5 of the opening frame 4
Since the lens barrel 2 having the helicoid screw 3 screwed into the lens is restrained by the pin 36 in the rotational direction, it automatically moves in the front and back direction until it reaches the in-focus position, and the photographic lens L reaches the in-focus position. At this time, the bipedal motor 33 stops rotating and stops at the interval position.

Further, the autofocus camera 1 has a bipedal manual distance adjustment member 12, so that focusing can also be performed manually. That is, when the manual distance adjusting member 12 is pushed in the direction of the arrow from the state shown in FIG. is pushed in the same direction against the elasticity of the coil spring 24 to release the meshing between the gear 21 and the gear 8 of the rotating frame 4, and the gear 14 of the manual distance adjustment member 12 is moved in the same direction as the gear 8 of the rotating frame 4. Since they mesh with each other, the rotating frame 4 can be freely rotated by rotating the same part 12 by hand via the gear 14.8. That is, it is possible to manually focus and adjust the lens barrel.

At this time, the distance display section 17 operates integrally with the distance adjusting member 12 in the front-rear direction and with the rotating frame 4 in the rotation direction, as if in a double series. Further, the manual distance adjusting member 12 is appropriately locked at the positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 by a click stop mechanism (not shown).

Next, an embodiment of the present invention applied to the autofocus camera configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 1.2.

The coupler (1η is
It is provided at the lower part of the lens mount 1o and the body mount 11, and its main parts are a rotation transmission shaft 101 which is a focus drive shaft on the camera body side and a rotation transmission shaft 102 which is a focus drive shaft on the lens barrel side. A connecting member 10 that connects
3, -1- a release lever 104 which is a clutch drive member for releasing the connection of the connection member 103;
A release lever locking pin 105 is a mounting completion detection member that protrudes from the rear surface of the lens mount 10 through a through hole 10b (see FIG. 3) drilled in the lower part of the lens mount 10, and this locking pin 105 connects the camera body and the lens. Locking round hole 1 drilled in the front of the lower part of the body mount, which is inserted when connecting to the lens barrel.
06.

The connecting member 103 has a large diameter cylindrical portion 103a at the left end (in the figure) and a small diameter shaft portion 103b at the center.

The right end part is a rod-shaped part consisting of a large-diameter connecting part 103c with a connecting groove 107 provided on its end face, and is rotatably supported by a bearing member (not shown). The rotation transmission shaft 102 on the lens barrel side is fitted into the lens barrel so that it can move forward and backward. A key groove 108 in the tube axis direction is provided at the tip of the cylindrical portion 103a.
A pair of pin-shaped keys 109 implanted on the outer circumferential surface of the first rotation transmission shaft 102 are fitted into the key it°4108. Furthermore, an elastic coil spring 1]0 is interposed between the inner bottom surface of the cylindrical portion 103a and the right end surface of the rotation transmission shaft 102, and the connecting member 103 has a tendency to move rightward. However, the movement due to this habit is caused by the right end surface of the cylindrical portion 103a coming into contact with the release lever 104.
Further movement is prohibited. The release lever 104, which is the clutch drive unit, has a tendency to move to the right by an elastic coil spring 111 disposed between its base and the immovable H material. is inhibited by the lever 104 coming into contact with the inner surface of the lens mount 10. In addition, the detection member (4. main bin 105 moves to the left against the elasticity of the coil spring 111 together with the release lever 104 in conjunction with a known lens barrel attachment/detachment button (not shown). , the tip thereof is retracted into the mounting surface of the lens mount 10.

On the other hand, at the tip of the rotation transmission shaft 101 on the camera body side,
The above connecting member] Connecting portion 103 of 03 Sliding groove 107 of c
A connecting portion 112 having a protrusion 113 that fits into the confocus drive shaft 101 is formed integrally with the confocus drive shaft 101. Furthermore, when the lens barrel is attached to the camera body, a locking hole 106 is provided on the surface of the body mount 11 corresponding to the point where the locking pin 105 is located. There is.

Note that, as is clear from its structure, the bipedal connecting member 103 allows the rotation transmission shaft 102 to move forward and backward. The rotation is transmitted integrally with the N-eye o2.

Next, the coupling machine 41 configured as described above. The effect of % will be explained. FIG. 1 shows the lens barrel attached to the camera body, but when the lens mount 10 is inserted into the body mount 11 during attachment, the locking pin 105 is attached to the surface of the body mount 11. By making contact, the pin is pushed into the shell hole lob of the lens mount 10 against the elasticity of the coil spring 111, and the release lever 104 also moves to the left accordingly.
The lever 104 also moves the connecting member 103 to the left against the elasticity of the coil spring 110, and the connecting portion 103c also moves. They are spaced apart by /17. and,
From the state where the lens mount 10 is inserted into the body mount 11, the device 1. When the locking pin 105 is rotated to the position indicated by the solid line, as shown in FIG. reach. Then, the locking bottle 10
5 protrudes from the lens mount surface due to the elasticity of the coil spring 111, and fits into the locking hole 106 of the body mount 11 as shown in FIG. 1, thereby fixing the lens barrel to the camera body. , the release lever 104 also moves to the right in the state shown in the figure, and as a result, the connection member 103
is also moved to the right by the elasticity of the coil spring 110, and the connected part 103c comes into contact with the connecting part 112 of the bipedal rotation transmission shaft 101, which has reached the axis '2' of the same member 103 at that time. At this time, the sliding grooves 10 of both connecting portions 103c and 112
7 and the protrusion 113 do not necessarily have the same opposing angles,
By the initial rotation of the transmission shaft 101 by fJ, the opposing angles of the two match and fit together. In this way, when removing the lens barrel from the state where the lens barrel is attached to the camera body 44, by pressing the release button 111 of the lens barrel (not shown), the above-mentioned Since the locking pin 105 is pulled out from the locking hole 106, it can be removed after rotating the lens barrel.

In this way, the main coupling device 17.7 also connects the lens barrel to the camera body with the rotation transmission shafts 101, 10 of the two.
2 are connected in a self-exciting manner.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an autofocus camera that has the following significant effects compared to conventional autofocus cameras of this type. That is, since the connection detection pin of the interchangeable lens and the autofocus clutch are arranged on different axes, (1) the number of parts is reduced and reliability is increased.

■The clutch and connection detection bin are double layered (because they are not made of 1111, each can be installed in a smaller size due to free layout, and the width of the mount can also be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts of the coupler II■ in an autofocus camera showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the mount on the camera body side of the coupler f14 shown in FIG. 1 above. , FIG. 3 is a main part Ifr side view showing an example of an autofocus camera to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 is an operational diagram of the autofocus camera shown in FIG. 3 above.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A lens-interchangeable autofocus comprising a camera body with a built-in drive device, and a lens barrel that is detachably attached to the camera body and has a built-in driven device. In the camera, a rotation transmission shaft on the camera body side connected to the driving device and arranged parallel to the photographing optical axis, and a lens connected to the driven device and arranged parallel to the photographing optical axis. A rotation transmission shaft on the lens barrel side, a clutch mechanism provided between the two transmission shafts so as to engage with each other when the lens barrel is attached to the camera body, and a position separated from the clutch mechanism by a predetermined distance. In,
an attachment completion detection member that is provided on one of the camera body and the lens barrel and that fits into a fitting recess provided on the other when both are in a normal attachment position; The clutch mechanism is connected to the clutch mechanism, and at least one of the rotation transmission shaft on the camera body side and the rotation transmission shaft on the lens barrel side is moved parallel to the photographing optical axis according to the movement of the detection member, and the clutch mechanism 1. A lens-interchangeable autofocus camera characterized by comprising: a clutch drive member that continuously connects and disconnects the lens.