JPH0792537A - Waterproof camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a waterproof camera capable of obtaining a waterproof function without making the size of the camera large, even if a converter is mounted. CONSTITUTION:The waterproof camera is equipped with the camera main body 1 of waterproof structure so as to withstand underwater photographing, an outer lens barrel 14 integrally attached to the main body 1, a zooming frame 10 freely moved forwards and backwards in an optical axial direction with respect to the outer lens barrel 14, a wide converter 12 provided on the top end part of the outer lens barrel 14 so as to waterproof the sliding part of the outer lens barrel 14 and the zooming frame 10, a switch for detecting the mounting of the converter provided with first and second contacts 18 and 19 detecting that the zooming frame 10 is attached to the outer lens barrel 14 and a driving control means driving the zooming frame 10 to a fixed position set in advance based on the output of the converter mount detecting switch and simultaneously, inhibiting the drive of the zooming frame 10 after being driven to the fixed position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof camera, and more particularly to a waterproof camera provided with a converter mounted on the tip of a lens barrel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of cameras having a waterproof function have been proposed, and in JP-A-2-111127, a waterproof lens cover made of a transparent material can be attached to and detached from a camera body. The information provided in the above is disclosed.

By the way, the focal length of the photographic lens which is easy to use is different between land and water. On land, for example, a wide-angle of about 28 mm to a telephoto of about 200 mm is considered to be a convenient focal length, but when using the camera underwater, the telephoto is almost unnecessary, and in general, a wide-angle wide-angle lens is used. It is desirable that an image be obtained. It is not limited to the above wide of about 28 mm, but 20 mm,
Wider focal lengths such as 15 mm are generally desired.

[0004]

However, in the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-11127, the waterproof cover becomes large when the converter lens is provided at the tip of the lens barrel, and particularly in the wide-angle converter lens. This tendency to increase the size becomes remarkable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a waterproof camera capable of achieving a waterproof function without increasing the size even when a converter is mounted.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a waterproof camera according to the present invention comprises a camera body having a waterproof structure capable of withstanding underwater photography, and a first camera integrally attached to the camera body. Lens barrel, a second lens barrel that is movable back and forth in the optical axis direction with respect to the first lens barrel, and sliding between the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel. A converter provided at the tip of the first lens barrel so that the portion is waterproof.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a camera and a converter, FIG. 2 is a front view of the camera, and FIG. 3 is an optical axis of the camera and converter. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line, and FIG.

The camera of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
In the single-lens reflex camera, a finder portion 6 is provided substantially in the center of the upper surface side of the camera body 1, and a flash mounting portion 7 and the like are disposed above the finder portion 6. On the left and right of the viewfinder section 6 on the upper surface of the camera body 1, a release button for shooting 2, a plurality of operation buttons for switching various modes 4, various shooting information such as aperture value and shutter speed are displayed. Display LC for
The D panel 3 and the like are provided.

A back cover 5 is provided on the back side of the camera body 1.
Is openable and closable for attaching and detaching the film.

From the center of the front side of the camera body 1,
A lens barrel 8 for holding a photographic lens 11, which will be described later, is provided in a protruding manner. A zoom operation button 9 is provided on the side of the peripheral surface of the lens barrel 8 that is on the side of the camera, and the photographing lens 11 is zoomed to the telephoto side and the wide side with a hand holding the lens barrel 8. It can be operated.

The lens barrel 8 has a lens barrel outer cylinder 14 as a first lens barrel at the outermost periphery, and a converter fixing screw 14a is threaded on the inner peripheral surface of the end portion on the front side of the optical axis. A waterproof O-ring 15 for waterproofing is fixed to a portion of the inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel outer cylinder 14 where a rear end surface 12c of the wide converter 12 described later abuts. Inside the lens barrel outer cylinder 14 so as to contact the inner diameter of the waterproof O-ring 15, there is provided a zoom moving frame 10 as a second lens barrel that moves forward and backward in the photographing optical axis direction by zooming. , Barrel 14
Water and the like do not enter between the zoom movement frame 10 and the zoom movement frame 10.

On the optical axis front side of the zoom moving frame 10, a part of a photographing lens 11 composed of a plurality of lenses and the like is fixed and supported, and a predetermined surface of the zoom moving frame 10 is provided. A converter index 10b is provided at the position.

Inside the zoom movement frame 10, there is provided a lens frame 10a for supporting a part of a photographing lens 11 composed of a plurality of lenses.

Further, a switch portion covered with a cover 20 is provided on a portion of the lens barrel outer cylinder 14 which is on the lower side of the camera.

The switch portion has a switch moving piece 16 which is supported by a spring 17 so as to be movable back and forth while being biased forward. The switch moving piece 16 receives the urging force of the spring 17 by a spring receiving portion 16c, has a contact engaging portion 16b protruding from a side portion in the longitudinal direction, and has a tip portion 16a from the outer cylinder 14 to the front side. Overhangs. The contact engaging portion 16b is provided at a position facing the first contact 18 and the second contact 19 fixed to the outer cylinder 14.

Since the tip portion 16a of the switch moving piece 16 projects as described above, it looks as shown in FIG. 2 when viewed from the front side of the camera body 1.

In the wide converter 12, a converter lens 13 composed of a plurality of lenses and the like is inserted from the front side of the wide converter 12 via a spacer and the like, and a waterproof O-ring 21 is further inserted from the front side to fix the screws. The ring 22 is configured to be screwed and fixed to the lens fixing screw 12a threaded on the inner peripheral surface of the front end portion of the wide converter 12 (see FIGS. 3 and 5). Also,
A converter fixing screw 12b made of a male screw is threaded on the outer peripheral surface of the rear end portion of the wide converter 12, and the rear end of the wide converter 12 is a rear end surface 12c of the wide converter 12. The tip portion 16a of the switch moving piece 16
Touches the rear end surface 12c of the wide converter 12.

The wide converter 12 is attached by screwing the converter fixing screw 12b into a fixing screw 14a formed of a female screw threaded on the front inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel 8. . Then, by mounting the wide converter 12, it is possible to configure a photographing optical system having a wide focal length suitable for underwater photographing.

Next, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a main circuit of the camera. A control CPU 31, which is a drive control unit that controls various controls of the camera, includes a converter mounting detection switch 32 (abbreviated as SW3 in the drawing) that is a detection unit configured by the first contact 18, the second contact 19, and the like. A switch that is opened / closed by the zoom drive operation button 9 of the photographing lens 11 and that electrically drives a zoom switch 36 (abbreviated as SW1 and SW2 in the drawing) that drives the zoom motor 34 by the zoom drive circuit 33 via the control CPU 31. Connected to each other. Further, in the control CPU 31,
A zoom encoder 35 for detecting the zoom state (focal length) is electrically connected.

In addition to the control CPU 31, various control circuit blocks (not shown) such as a battery, an autofocus device, an automatic exposure mechanism, a film feeding mechanism, and a display are electrically connected.

Next, in such an embodiment, the state before mounting the wide converter 12 will be described first. The camera body 1 includes a release button 2, a plurality of operation buttons 4, a zoom operation button 9, a movable portion of the back cover 5, and the like, and has a waterproof structure that can be used underwater.

The zoom moving frame 10 which moves forward and backward by the zoom operation has a watertight structure by a waterproof O-ring 15 with respect to the outer cylinder 14, but is completely waterproof when the zoom moving frame 10 slides forward and backward. Difficult to achieve, the so-called "waterproofing" function makes it impossible to use in water.

Focusing at the time of shooting is an inner focus system in which the lens frame 10a arranged inside is moved back and forth. Then, by pressing the zoom operation button 9 to operate, the zoom movement frame 1
0 moves and the focal length of the taking lens 11 changes.

In the present embodiment, the state shown in FIG. 3 is the short focus position (wide), and the zoom movement frame is at the position where the entire lens barrel 8 is made the shortest.

First, when the wide converter 12 is not attached to the camera body 1, the first contact 18 and the second contact 19 which are switches for detecting attachment are separated from each other and are not electrically connected.

That is, when the wide converter 12 is not mounted on the camera body 1, the spring 17 contacts the spring receiving portion 16c of the switch moving piece 16 and is biased forward as shown in FIG. , Switch moving piece 16
The contact engaging portion 16 b of the above is located in front of the first contact 18 and is separated from the first contact 18. Therefore, the first contact 18 and the second contact 19 are in the open state, and it is detected that the wide converter 12 is not mounted.

Next, a case where the wide converter 12 is attached to the camera body 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, when the wide converter 12 is mounted, the zoom moving frame 10 is retracted to the wide state or near the wide side.

The wide converter 12 is mounted by screwing a converter fixing screw 12b provided on the rear end portion thereof into a fixing screw 14a provided on the outer cylinder 14 on the camera body 1 side.

At this time, the rear end surface 12c of the wide converter 12 presses the waterproof O-ring 15 fixed to the outer cylinder 14. As a result, the waterproof O-ring 15 is compressed, and the contact portion between the wide converter 12 and the outer cylinder 14 is made sufficiently watertight.

When the wide converter 12 is attached to the camera body 1, the sliding portion of the zoom moving frame 10, which was insufficient in watertightness only by the camera body 1, is completely covered, so that it can be used sufficiently in water. The waterproof state becomes possible (see FIGS. 5 and 6). Next, the operation sequence of the camera when the wide converter 12 is attached or not attached will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in order to mount the wide converter 12, the zoom operation button 9 is used to zoom to the wide side, and the zoom moving frame 10 is moved to a position where it does not contact the wide converter 12. At this time, the converter index 10b shown in FIG. 1 may be adjusted to the tip of the lens barrel outer cylinder 14, or may be further zoomed to the wide side and moved to the wide end.

The sequence starts (step S
1), it is determined whether the converter mounting detection switch 32 is on or off (step S2). When the result of this determination is ON (that is, when the converter is attached), it is determined whether or not it is the wide end of the zoom (step S3). On the other hand, when it is determined in step S2 that the converter is not attached In step S6, which will be described later.
Proceed to.

In step S3, the zoom encoder 35 checks whether the zoom is at the wide end. When the zoom is not at the wide end, the optical positions of the wide converter 12 and the taking lens 11 serving as the master lens are incorrect, and the performance of the taking optical system is not satisfied, so that the positions are appropriate by automatic control. Zoom drive to the wide end (step S4). If the zoom is already at the wide end, this step S4 is omitted and the process proceeds to the next step.

When the zoom drive is performed to the wide end, the subsequent zoom drive is prohibited (step S5). Then, one sequence ends (step S11).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the converter is not mounted, zoom drive is permitted (step S6). Next, the zoom operation switch 36
It is determined whether or not (SW1 and SW2 in FIGS. 7 and 8) are on (step S7), and only when both are on, the zoom motor 34 is driven to perform zoom driving (step S8).

Then, the zoom operation switch 36 (SW
1, SW2) is turned off (step S9), and the zoom motor 34 is turned on only when both are turned off.
Is stopped (step S10), the zoom drive is stopped, and the predetermined zoom operation is finished (step S11). In addition,
The zoom drive or stop is performed each time the zoom operation switch 36 is operated.

According to the above sequence, when the wide converter 12 is mounted, the positions of the wide converter 12 and the photographing lens 11 are automatically controlled in an appropriate relationship. Further, when the wide converter 12 is not attached, a normal zoom operation can be performed.

According to such an embodiment, since the waterproof cover is not required when the converter is used, it is possible to realize the downsizing and the cost reduction as compared with the case where the waterproof cover is mounted on the converter.

When the converter is not installed, the camera has a focal length and size suitable for land use,
When the converter is installed, the focal length on the wide side is suitable for underwater use, and the waterproof structure is achieved, so that the camera can be easily used both on land and underwater.

Further, when used on land, the lens frame portion moves back and forth due to zooming or the like. However, if an O-ring with a large squeezing allowance is used as a waterproof mechanism, the operation resistance at the time of this forward and backward movement increases and driving becomes difficult, Further, if a mechanism such as a bellows type waterproof seal is used, it is difficult to increase the size of the mechanism, but if the camera of this embodiment is used as an amphibious camera, such a difficulty can be avoided.

In addition, when the wide converter is attached, the master lens position is automatically controlled so that it is possible to prevent shooting in a wrong state and fail.

[0042]

As described above, according to the waterproof camera of the present invention, the waterproof function can be achieved without increasing the size even when the converter is mounted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a camera and a converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the camera of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the camera and the converter of the above embodiment are partially cut along the optical axis.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing a switch section provided on the lower surface side of the lens barrel of the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the camera equipped with the converter of the above embodiment is partially cut along the optical axis.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing a switch part in a state in which the converter of the above-described embodiment is mounted.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a main circuit of the camera of the above embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of the camera when the wide converter 12 according to the above-described embodiment is mounted or not mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera main body 10 ... Zoom moving frame (2nd lens barrel) 12 ... Wide converter 14 ... Lens barrel outer cylinder (1st lens barrel) 15 ... Waterproof O-ring 16 ... Switch moving piece 18 ... 1st contact 19 ... 2nd contact point 31 ... CPU (drive control means) 32 ... Converter mounting detection switch (detection means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A camera body having a waterproof structure capable of withstanding underwater photography, a first lens barrel integrally attached to the camera body, and moving back and forth in the optical axis direction with respect to the first lens barrel. A freely movable second lens barrel, and a sliding portion between the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel is provided at the tip of the first lens barrel so as to be waterproof. A waterproof camera, comprising: 2. A detection unit that detects that the second lens barrel is attached to the first lens barrel, and the second lens barrel is previously set based on the output of the detection unit. The waterproof camera according to claim 1, further comprising: a drive control unit that drives the camera to a predetermined position. 3. The drive control means, after driving the second lens barrel to the predetermined position, prohibits driving of the second lens barrel. Waterproof camera.