Accessory device

The present invention relates to an accessory device for an optical device such as a digital camera, and more particularly to an accessory device for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface or the vicinity of an optical member incorporated in the optical device.

If foreign matter such as dust is present near the focal plane of the photographing lens of the camera, there is a problem that the shadow of the foreign matter is reflected on the solid-state image sensor. It is considered that such foreign matter is caused by dust invading from the outside when the lens is replaced, or by the operation of the shutter and the mirror inside the camera, and the generation of fine abrasion powder such as resin, which is a structural member thereof. ing. The dust generated due to such a cause is particularly the cover glass for protecting the solid-state image sensor and the optical filter such as an infrared cut filter or an optical low-pass filter (hereinafter abbreviated as LPF) arranged on the entire surface of the cover glass. If it got in between, the camera had to be disassembled to remove the dust. Therefore, it is extremely effective to have a closed structure so that dust does not enter between the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor and the optical filter.

However, when dust adheres to the surface of the solid-state image sensor of the optical filter opposite to the opposite side, if it is near the focal plane, the dust becomes a shadow and is reflected on the solid-state image sensor. Still remains.

Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, there is a method of cleaning the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor or the outermost surface of the dustproof structure with a wiper (see Patent Document 1). With such a camera configuration, it is possible to remove dust adhering to the cover glass surface of the solid-state image sensor or the outermost surface of the dustproof structure (for example, the surface of an optical filter) without removing the lens and disassembling the camera.<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-018440</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>Jikkenhei 06-063183 Gazette</text></patcit>

<p> However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor and the outermost surface of the dust-proof structure are rubbed with a wiper, in the case of hard dust such as metal powder, the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor and dust-proof There is a possibility of scratching the outermost surface of the structure. Further, a mechanism for arranging the wiper is required, which causes a problem that the camera becomes large.</p><p> Therefore, there is a cleaning rod having an adhesive property that removes the adhering dust from the object to be cleaned (Patent Document 2). This is an adhesive cleaning rod that has an adhesive material arranged at one end of a rod-shaped member via a cushioning material and has a cleaning portion that has both cushioning and adhesiveness. It removes dust adhering to the surface. However, when cleaning with such an adhesive cleaning stick, if the amount of dust adhering to the surface of the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor or the surface of the optical filter is small, it can be removed relatively easily, but a large amount of dust is generated. If it adheres, it requires multiple removal operations.</p><p> Further, in such a configuration, the adhesive cleaning rod is brought into contact with a part other than the cleaning target part in the camera to contaminate the inside of the camera, or the inside of the camera is mistakenly inserted and repaired by a specialist. May be required.</p><p> The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a feature of the present invention is to provide an accessory device that eliminates the risk of contact with a surface other than the surface to be cleaned of an optical device.</p>

<p> The accessory device for the optical device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, it is an accessory device that is attached to an optical device and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface and / or the vicinity of the optical member of the optical device, and is an operation unit supported and operated by the user, and the operation unit. A flexible portion formed integrally with the flexible portion and having a substantially V shape, an elastic portion suspended from the flexible portion, an adhesive portion provided at least on the tip end side of the elastic portion, and a mount of the optical instrument. It has an attachment mechanism for attaching the accessory device to the optical device by engaging with the mechanism, and the operation unit is operated with the accessory device attached to the optical device by the attachment mechanism. The adhesive portion enters the optical device and removes foreign matter.</p><p> Further, the accessory device for the optical device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, it is an accessory device that is attached to an optical device and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface and / or its vicinity of the optical member of the optical device, and is an operation provided at the end of the shaft and operated by the user. A flexible portion provided at the end of the shaft portion on the opposite side of the operating portion and having a substantially V shape, an elastic portion suspended from the flexible portion, and at least the tip end side of the elastic portion. It has an adhesive portion provided in the optical device and a mounting mechanism for mounting the accessory device on the optical device by engaging with a mounting mechanism of the optical device, and the accessory device is mounted on the optical device by the mounting mechanism. When the operation unit is operated in this state, the adhesive portion enters the optical device and removes foreign matter.</p><p> Further, the accessory device for the optical device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, it is an accessory device that is attached to an optical device and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface and / or its vicinity of the optical member of the optical device, and has an operation unit supported and operated by the user and an adhesive surface. The adhesive portion to be provided, the flexible portion having flexibility and deploying and holding the adhesive surface so as to be substantially orthogonal to the operation portion, and the flexible portion engaged with the mounting mechanism of the optical instrument. It has an attachment mechanism for attaching the accessory device to the optical device, and the adhesive portion is inside the optical device by operating the operation unit with the accessory device attached to the optical device by the attachment mechanism. It is characterized by entering into and removing foreign matter.</p><p> Further, the accessory device for the optical device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, it is an accessory device that is attached to an optical device and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface and / or its vicinity of the optical member of the optical device, and is an operation provided at the end of the shaft and operated by the user. A flexible portion having a flexible portion, a flexible portion having an adhesive surface, and a flexible portion that connects and holds the shaft portion and the adhesive surface so as to be substantially orthogonal to each other, and a mounting mechanism of the optical instrument. In addition, it has an attachment mechanism for attaching the accessory device to the optical device, and the adhesive portion is operated by operating the operation unit with the accessory device attached to the optical device by the attachment mechanism. It is characterized in that it enters the optical device and removes foreign matter.</p>

<p> According to the present invention, when removing the adhering foreign matter, there is no risk of contact with a surface other than the surface to be cleaned of the optical device, and there is an effect that the foreign matter can be easily removed.</p>

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overview perspective view showing the configuration of the accessory device 10 which is a reference example of the present invention.

In the figure, the accessory device 10 is provided integrally with the support portion 11 and the support portion 11 that support the accessory device 10 by the user when removing dust, and is a flexible portion that is substantially V-shaped and has flexibility. 12. It is integrally suspended from the flexible portion 12, and includes an elastic portion 13 having a substantially U shape and an adhesive portion 14 provided at the tip of the elastic portion 13.

The tip end side of the elastic portion 13 provided with the adhesive portion 14 forms a substantially arc shape slightly bulging outward. As a result, when the adhesive portion 14 comes into contact with an optical member having a substantially flat surface shape, such as a cover glass or an optical filter of a solid-state image sensor in a camera, the adhesive portion 14 is pressed as described later. The adhesive portion 14 gradually comes into contact with the optical member from the center of the optical member toward the peripheral portion thereof. Further, the adhesive portion 14 may be an adhesive tape (for example, Sumitomo 3M double-sided adhesive tape "9313") or a surface of the elastic portion 13 directly coated with an adhesive such as acrylic.

Further, the accessory device 10 of the present invention is not limited to the configuration as shown in FIG. 1, for example, the tip of the support portion 11 or a rubber-like structure made of a flexible member integrally with the support portion 11. The adhesive sheet (adhesive tape), which is the adhesive portion 14, may be held in a spread (expanded) state by the rubber-like member. As a result, foreign matter such as dust can be removed by the adhesive sheet as in the configuration of FIG. 1, and since the rubber-like member functions as a cushioning material, dust can be removed without damaging the inside of the optical device. ..

FIG. 2 shows an example of an optical device that is a target device for removing dust adhering to the surface of the cover glass of a solid-state image sensor or the surface of an optical filter by using the accessory device 10 according to this reference example. It is a side view sectional view for demonstrating the structure of 100 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a camera).

This camera 100 is a single-lens reflex camera (single-lens reflex camera) that uses a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS sensor, and continuously or sporadically drives the solid-state image sensor to move or still images. To obtain an image signal representing. Here, the solid-state image sensor is a type of area sensor that converts exposed light into an electric signal for each pixel, accumulates electric charges according to the amount of light, and reads out the electric charges.

In FIG. 2, 100 is the camera body, 101 is the mount mechanism, and an imaging lens (not shown) (which has an aperture and an imaging optical system inside and is removable) is attached to the camera 100 body via the mount mechanism 101. It is electrically and mechanically connected. In such a digital single-lens reflex camera, it is possible to obtain shooting screens with various angles of view by replacing the shooting lens used for shooting with a lens having a different focal length. The solid-state image sensor 106 is housed in a package 124, and the package 124 holds the solid-state image sensor 106 in a sealed state by a cover glass 125. Then, in the optical path from the imaging optical system in the imaging lens (not shown) to the solid-state imaging device 106, the imaging optical system is used so that an unnecessarily high spatial frequency component of the object image is not transmitted on the solid-state imaging device 106. An optical low-pass filter 156 (hereinafter abbreviated as LPF156) that limits the cutoff frequency of the lens is provided. An infrared cut filter is also formed in this imaging optical system. Further, since the cover glass 125 and the LPF 156 have a sealing structure with a sealing member 157 such as double-sided tape, dust generated outside the camera 100 or inside the camera 100 can be collected between the LPF 156 and the cover glass 125. It is designed not to get in between.

The object image captured by the solid-state image sensor 106 is displayed on the display 107. The display 107 is attached to the back surface of the camera 100, and the user can directly observe the image to be photographed by the display 107 at the time of shooting or the like. When the display 107 is composed of an organic EL space modulation element, a liquid crystal space modulation element, a space modulation element using electrophoresis of fine particles, or the like, power consumption is small, and it is thin and convenient. Further, the solid-state image sensor 106 is a CMOS process compatible sensor (hereinafter, abbreviated as CMOS sensor) which is one of the amplification type solid-state image sensors. One of the features of this CMOS sensor is that peripheral circuits (see Fig. 3) such as the MOS transistor of the area sensor, the drive circuit of the image sensor, the A / D conversion circuit, and the image processing circuit can be formed in the same process. Due to this feature, the number of masks and the process process can be significantly reduced compared to CCD. It also has the feature that random access to arbitrary pixels is possible, and it is easy to read out the pixels thinned out for display, and real-time display can be performed at a high display rate. The solid-state image sensor 106 utilizes such a feature to perform an image output operation and a high-definition image output operation of the display 107.

The half mirror 111 is a movable mirror that divides an optical path from an imaging optical system (not shown) in an optical finder. The focusing screen 105 is arranged on the planned image plane of the object image. 112 is a pentaprism. The lens 109 is a lens for the user to observe the optical finder image at the time of shooting, and is actually composed of three lenses. The focusing screen 105, the pentaprism 112, and the lens 109 constitute the finder optical system. Here, the refractive index of the half mirror 111 is about 1.5, and the thickness is 0.5 mm. A movable sub-mirror 122 is provided behind the half mirror 111, and among the light flux transmitted through the half mirror 111, a light flux close to the optical axis is deflected to the focus detection unit 121. The sub-mirror 122 rotates about a rotation axis provided on a holding member (not shown) of the half mirror 111, and moves in conjunction with the movement of the half mirror 111. The focus detection unit 121 performs focus detection by a phase difference detection method.

The optical path division system composed of the half mirror 111 and the sub mirror 122 is a first optical path division state for guiding light to the above-mentioned finder optical system, in order to directly guide the luminous flux from an imaging lens (not shown) to the solid-state image sensor 106. It is possible to take a second optical path division state (positions shown by the broken line in FIG. 2: 111a and 122a) retracted from the photographing optical path.

104 is a movable flash light emitting part (strobe), 113 is a focal plane shutter, 119 is a main switch, and 120 is a release button. The mode changeover switch 123 is a switch for setting the camera 100 to the cleaning mode in order to remove dust adhering to the surface of the LPF156 of the camera 100 by using the accessory device 10. Reference numeral 180 is a display unit in the optical finder.

When the mode changeover switch 123 is operated to set the cleaning mode, the half mirror 111 and the sub mirror 122 move to the positions 111a and 122a in the second optical path division state, and the focal plane shutter 113 is in the open state. Become. This state is called a cleaning mode. As a result, the user can directly see the surface of the LPF156 through the opening of the mounting mechanism 101. Therefore, in this state, the accessory device 10 can be used to remove the dust adhering to the surface of the LPF156.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the camera 100 according to the present embodiment.

First, the part related to the imaging and recording of the object image will be described. The functions (mechanisms) of the camera 100 include an image pickup mechanism, an image processing mechanism, a recording / playback mechanism, and an overall operation control mechanism. The image pickup mechanism includes an imaging optical lens of an imaging lens (not shown), a solid-state image pickup element 106, and the like, and the image processing mechanism includes an A / D converter 130, an RGB image processing circuit 131, and a YC processing circuit 132. The recording / reproducing mechanism includes a recording processing circuit 133 and a reproduction processing circuit 134. Further, the control mechanism includes a camera system control circuit 135, an operation detection circuit 136, and an image sensor drive circuit 137. The connection terminal 138 is a standardized terminal for connecting to an external computer or the like to send and receive data. These electric circuits are driven by a small fuel cell (not shown).

The image pickup mechanism includes an optical processing mechanism that forms an image of light from an object on the image pickup surface of the solid-state image sensor 106 via an imaging optical system, and includes an aperture of an imaging lens (not shown) and, if necessary, a mechanical shutter 113. Is adjusted to expose an appropriate amount of object light to the solid-state image sensor 106. In the solid-state image sensor 106, 3700 square pixels are arranged in the long side direction and 2800 in the short side direction, and an image sensor having a total of about 10 million pixels is applied, and R (red) and G are applied to each pixel. (Green) and B (blue) color filters are arranged alternately to form a so-called Bayer array in which four pixels form a set. In this Bayer arrangement, the overall image performance is improved by arranging more G pixels than R and B pixels, which are easily felt by the observer when the image is viewed. Generally, in an image processing circuit using this type of solid-state image sensor 106, the luminance signal is mainly generated from G, and the color signal is generated from R, G, and B.

The image signal read from the solid-state image sensor 106 is converted into a digital image signal by the A / D converter 130 and then supplied to the image processing circuit. The A / D converter 130 is a signal conversion circuit that converts and outputs, for example, a 10-bit digital signal according to the amplitude of the image signal from each exposed pixel, and the subsequent image signal processing is digital processing. Is executed. This image processing circuit is a signal processing circuit that obtains an image signal of a desired format from R, G, B digital signals, and obtains R, G, B color signals as a luminance signal Y and a color difference signal (RY), ( Convert to YC signal represented by BY). The configuration of this image processing circuit will be described below. The RGB image processing circuit 131 is a signal processing circuit that processes an image signal of 3700 × 2800 pixels input from the solid-state image sensor 106 via the A / D converter 130, and is based on a white balance circuit, a gamma correction circuit, and an interpolation calculation. It has an interpolation calculation circuit that increases the resolution. The YC processing circuit 132 is a signal processing circuit that generates a luminance signal Y and color difference signals RY and BY. Further, the YC processing circuit 132 includes a high-frequency luminance signal generation circuit that generates a high-frequency luminance signal YH, a low-frequency luminance signal generation circuit that generates a low-frequency luminance signal YL, and a color difference that generates color difference signals RY and BY. It consists of a signal generation circuit. The luminance signal Y is formed by synthesizing the high-frequency luminance signal YH and the low-frequency luminance signal YL.

The recording / playback mechanism includes a processing circuit that stores the image signal in the memory and outputs the image signal to the display 107, and the recording processing circuit 133 executes the processing of writing the image signal to the memory and the processing of reading the image signal. The reproduction processing circuit 134 reproduces the image signal read from the memory and displays it on the display 107.

Further, the recording processing circuit 133 internally has a compression / decompression circuit that compresses a YC signal representing a still image and a moving image in a predetermined compression format and decompresses the compressed data when it is read out. This compression / decompression circuit includes a frame memory for signal processing and the like, stores YC signals from the image processing circuit in this frame memory for each frame, reads out each of a plurality of blocks, and compresses and encodes the YC signal. This compression coding is performed, for example, by performing two-dimensional orthogonal conversion, normalization, and Huffman coding of the image signal for each block. The reproduction processing circuit 134 is a circuit that matrix-converts the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY and BY to, for example, an RGB signal. The signal converted by the reproduction processing circuit 134 is displayed on the display 107 and displayed and reproduced as a visible image. The reproduction processing circuit 134 and the display 107 may be connected via a wireless communication means such as Bluetooth. With this configuration, the image captured by the camera 100 can be monitored even from a distance.

On the other hand, the control mechanism controls each part including the operation detection circuit 136 that detects the operation of the release button 120 and the mode changeover switch 123, and the half mirror 111 and the sub mirror 122 in response to the operation detection signal, and at the time of imaging. The camera system control circuit 135 that generates and outputs the timing signal of the above, the solid-state image sensor drive circuit 137 that generates the drive signal that drives the solid-state image sensor 106 under the control of the camera system control circuit 135, and the optical finder. It includes an information display circuit 142 that controls the display unit 180 (FIG. 2). This control mechanism drives and controls the imaging mechanism, the image processing mechanism, and the recording / reproducing mechanism in response to an external operation. For example, the press of the release button 120 is detected to control the drive of the solid-state image sensor 106, the operation of the RGB image processing circuit 131, the compression processing of the recording processing circuit 133, and the like, and the information display circuit 142 provides information in the optical finder. Controls the state of each segment of the display unit 180.

Next, the part related to the focus adjustment in the camera 100 will be described.

An AF control circuit 140 and a lens system control circuit 141 are further connected to the camera system control circuit 135. These communicate data required for each process with each other centering on the camera system control circuit 135. The AF control circuit 140 obtains the signal output of the focus detection sensor 167 in the focus detection field set at a predetermined position on the photographing screen, generates a focus detection signal based on this signal output, and generates a focus detection signal (not shown). The imaging state of the imaging optical system of the photographing lens is detected. When defocus is detected here, it is converted into the driving amount of the focusing lens, which is a part of the imaging optical system, and transmitted to the lens system control circuit 141 via the camera system control circuit 135. Further, for a moving object, the focusing lens drive amount is instructed based on the result of predicting an appropriate lens position in consideration of the time lag from the pressing of the release button 120 to the start of the actual imaging control. When it is determined that the brightness of the object is low and sufficient focus detection accuracy cannot be obtained, the object is illuminated by the flash light emitting device 104, or a white LED or fluorescent tube (not shown). When the lens system control circuit 141 receives the drive amount of the focusing lens, the lens system control circuit 141 performs operations such as moving the focusing lens in the direction of the optical axis L1 (Fig. 2) by a drive mechanism (not shown) in the photographing lens to focus on the object. match. When the AF control circuit 140 detects that the object is in focus, this information is transmitted to the camera system control circuit 135. At this time, if the release button 120 is pressed, the image pickup control by the image pickup system, the image processing system, and the recording / playback system is performed as described above.

The operation of removing the dust adhering to the surface of the LPF156 of the camera configured as described above by using the accessory device 10 according to this reference example will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a case where the above-mentioned mode changeover switch 123 is operated and the camera 100 is in the cleaning mode, and the accessory device 10 is used to remove dust adhering to the surface of the LPF156. It is a figure.

As shown in FIG. 4, the user inserts the accessory device 10 from the opening of the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera 100 through the opening 113a formed by opening the focal plane shutter to remove dust.

FIG. 5 (A) is a top view of the main part when the center of the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 according to this reference example abuts on the LPF156, and FIG. 5 (B) is the main part in the state of FIG. 5 (A). It is a part perspective view.

As shown in FIG. 5 (A), in a state where the substantially central portion of the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 is in contact with the surface of the LPF 156, the elastic portion 13 of the accessory device 10 is in the lateral direction of the paper surface (the image pickup screen of the camera 10). Let A be the dimension (same as in the horizontal direction). Here, when the user further pushes the accessory device 10 in the LPF156 direction from the state of FIG. 5A, the radius of curvature of the elastic portion 13 in the arc state gradually increases according to the operation. Along with this, the area where the adhesive portion 14 and the LPF156 come into contact with each other is expanded. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), the surface of the adhesive portion 14 is flattened and expanded to the dimension B (B&gt; A), and substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 14 is brought into contact with the LPF156.

FIG. 6A is a top view of a main part showing a state in which the accessory device 10 is further pushed in the direction of LPF156 from the state of FIG. 5A and substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 14 is in contact with the surface of LPF156. Then, the adhesive portion 14 is almost flat according to the surface shape of LPF156. FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the main part at that time.

As shown in FIGS. 5B and 6B, in the accessory device 10, the adhesive portion 14 can come into contact with the LPF156 through the opening 113a formed by the focal plane shutter 113 being opened. ing.

The dimension expansion from A to B in the lateral direction of the paper surface in FIG. 6 (A) is the flexible portion of the accessory device 10 according to the action of the user pushing the accessory device 10 further from the state of FIG. 5 (A). 12 is absorbed by bending and spreading in the direction of arrow C shown in FIG. 6 (A). By the above-mentioned series of operations, the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 first abuts on the LPF156 from its substantially central portion, and the abutting range gradually expands to the peripheral portion of the LPF156 according to the pushing operation. Therefore, it finally adheres to the surface of LPF156 almost uniformly.

On the contrary, when the user pulls the accessory device 10 away from the state of FIG. 6A, the amount of bending gradually decreases from the bent state of the flexible portion 14 of the accessory device 10. Along with this, the elastic portion 13 also returns from the substantially flat shape shown in FIG. 6 (A) to the arc shape shown in FIG. 5 (A). As a result, the adhesive portion 14 is separated from the peripheral portion of the surface of the LPF156, and finally, the substantially central portion of the adhesive portion 14 is separated from the central portion of the LPF156 to release the contact state with the LPF156. As a result, the dust adhering to the surface of the LPF156 is attracted to the adhesive portion 14 and removed from the surface of the LPF156. Then, when the accessory device 10 is taken out from the inside of the camera 10 through the opening of the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera 10, the dust adhering to the inside is completely discharged to the outside of the camera 10.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a method of peeling the dust that has been attached to the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 and discharged to the outside of the camera 10 from the adhesive portion 14 as described above.

In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a sheet-shaped transfer material having a higher adhesive strength than the adhesive portion 14 (for example, "Tacky" manufactured by Odaka Rubber Industries). The shape and structure of the transfer material 20 are not limited to this, and the same effect can be obtained even if the transfer material 20 has a roller shape, for example. Further, in FIG. 7, 30 indicates dust adhering to the surface of LPF156.

When the adhesive portion 14 of the accessory device 10 is pressed against the transfer material 20 from the state shown in FIG. 7, the transfer material 20 has a higher adhesive strength than the adhesive portion 14, and therefore adheres to the adhesive portion 14. The dust 30 that has been formed adheres to the surface of the transfer material 20. As a result, the dust adhering to the surface of the adhesive portion 14 is removed, the adhesive portion 14 is cleaned, and the original state is returned to the original state in which no dust or the like is attached.

Further, in order to remove the dust 30 adhering to the surface of the transfer material 20, the surface thereof is washed with an alcohol solvent or water.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of an accessory device 20 according to a modified example of the reference example of the present invention, in which the adhesive portion 14 is made of an adhesive rubber 24 (for example, Carbolless MIMOZA-ST manufactured by Kakuda Brush). Since the other configurations of the accessory device 20 (support portion 11, flexible portion 12, elastic portion 13) are the same as the accessory device 10 of the above-mentioned reference example, they are numbered the same and the description thereof will be omitted. ..

9 and 10 show the surface of the LPF 156 as the accessory device 20 according to the modification of the reference example of the present invention penetrates into the camera through the opening 113a of the focal plane shutter 113 through the opening of the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera 10. It is the top view of the main part at the time of removing the dust adhering to.

Similar to that described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 above, FIG. 9 shows a top view of a main part when the substantially center of the adhesive rubber 24 of the accessory device 20 abuts on the LPF156. Further, in FIG. 10, from the state of FIG. 9, the accessory device 20 is further pushed in the direction of LPF156, and substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 14 comes into contact with the surface of LPF156, and the adhesive rubber 24 becomes almost flat following the surface shape of LPF156. It is the top view of the main part which shows the state.

As shown in FIG. 9, the dimensions of the elastic portion 13 of the accessory device 20 in the lateral direction (same as the lateral direction of the image pickup screen of the camera 10) with the central portion of the adhesive rubber 24 of the accessory device 20 in contact with each other. Let A ́. Here, when the user further pushes the accessory device 20 in the LPF156 direction from the state of FIG. 9, the radius of curvature of the elastic portion 13 in the arc state gradually increases according to the operation. Along with this, the area where the adhesive rubber 24 and the LPF156 come into contact with each other increases. As a result, the dimension A'shown in FIG. 9 gradually becomes longer, and finally, as shown in FIG. 10, the dimension when almost the entire area of the adhesive rubber 24 comes into contact with the LPF156 and the adhesive rubber 24 becomes almost flat. It is extended to B'(B'&gt; A').

This lateral dimension expansion on the paper surface is absorbed by the flexible portion 12 bending and expanding in the arrow C'direction shown in FIG. 10 in response to the action of the user pushing the accessory device 20 from FIG. By the series of operations described above, the adhesive rubber 24 of the accessory device 20 first comes into contact with the LPF156 at its substantially central portion, and gradually comes into contact with the peripheral portion of the LPF156 as it is pushed in. Finally, it adheres to the surface of LPF156 almost uniformly.

On the contrary, when the user pulls the accessory device 20 away from the state shown in FIG. 10, the amount of bending gradually decreases from the bent state of the flexible portion 12 of the accessory device 20. Along with this, the elastic portion 13 also returns from the slightly flat shape of FIG. 10 to the arc shape of FIG. In this way, the adhesive rubber 24 is separated from the peripheral portion of the surface of the LPF156, and finally separated from the substantially central portion of the LPF156, and the contact state with the LPF156 is released.

As a result, the dust adhering to the surface of the LPF156 is adsorbed by the adhesive rubber 24 and removed from the surface of the LPF156. Then, when the accessory device 20 is taken out from the inside of the camera 10, the dust adhering to the LPF156 and its vicinity is completely discharged to the outside of the camera 10.

The method for removing the dust adhering to the adhesive rubber 24 may be the same as the method described with reference to FIG. 7, or may be washed with an alcohol-based solvent.

In the above-described embodiment, the LPF156 and the cover glass 125 are arranged in this order along the imaging optical axis from the focal plane shutter 113 to the solid-state image sensor 106 using FIG. 2, and the dust adhering to the LPF156. However, depending on the arrangement of the optical members, it is not always limited to removing the dust on the LPF156, and in order to remove the dust that essentially affects the image pickup, such dust is used. The adhesive portion is brought into contact with the attached optical member on the image pickup optical axis.

As described above, according to this reference example, it is possible to provide an accessory device capable of reliably removing one or more dusts adhering to the surface of an optical filter, a protective lens, or the like constituting an imaging unit of a camera in a single operation. ..

Further, since the dust adhering to the accessory device according to this reference example can be easily and surely removed, there is an effect that the accessory device can be used repeatedly.

In the above-mentioned reference example, a method of removing dust adhering to the LPF156 by using the accessory device 10 while visually observing the inside of the camera has been described, but in the present embodiment, it is attached to the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera. The case of an accessory device for removing dust adhering to the LPF156 in the state will be described.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the accessory device 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which the accessory device 50 is attached to the camera 100 in the cleaning mode.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state in which the user pushes the support portion 55 of the accessory device 50 and the adhesive portion 54 projects toward the inside of the camera in order to remove the dust adhering to the LPF 156. As will be described later, the state of FIG. 12 is when substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 54 abuts on the LPF156 and the front surface of the adhesive portion 54 becomes almost flat (corresponding to the state described above in FIG. 6 (A)). It is a thing.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, the shaft portion 51 is a shaft for moving the adhesive portion 54 forward in order to bring the adhesive portion 54 into close contact with the LPF 156 in the camera 100 and retreating the adhesive portion 54 for peeling the adhesive portion 54 from the LPF 156. A plurality of rotation stoppers 51a are provided on the outer periphery so that the adhesive portion 54 does not rotate with respect to the mount mechanism 101 when advancing and retreating. It should be noted that at least one rotation stop portion 51a is sufficient as long as it can prevent rotation. The flexible portion 52, the elastic portion 53, and the adhesive portion 54 all have the same operations and functions as those of the flexible portion 12, the elastic portion 13, and the adhesive portion 14 according to the above-described embodiment. The explanation is omitted.

The support portion 55 is used for the user to operate the accessory device 50 when the user operates the accessory device 50. The attachment portion 56 is a mechanism portion for attaching the accessory device 50 to the mount mechanism 101 of the camera 100. The mounting portion 56 includes a plurality of locking portions 56a that are positioned and locked to the mount mechanism 101, and a fitting portion 56c that is slidable with a rotation stop portion 51a provided on the shaft portion 51, as will be described later. (Figs. 17 and 18) are provided.

In addition, the mounting portion 56 is all transparent so that it can be confirmed whether or not the camera 100 is in the cleaning mode before the accessory device 50 is operated while being mounted on the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera 100. As shown in 13, it is desirable that a window 56d is provided in a part thereof so that the inside of the camera 100 can be observed from the outside. As a result, the user can confirm whether or not the half mirror 111 of the camera 100 is arranged at the position 111a in the second optical path split state shown by the broken line in FIG. 2 before operating the accessory device 50. Even if the half mirror 111 is not arranged at the position 111a in the second optical path division state even though the camera 100 is set to the cleaning mode due to a malfunction such as a failure, the accessory device 50 can be operated. Since it is possible to easily stop the operation, it is possible to safely remove the dust adhering to the LPF156 using the accessory device 50.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane parallel to the length direction of the shaft portion 51 as shown by X in FIG. 11, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane parallel to the length direction of the shaft portion 51, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft portion 51 as shown by Y in FIG. It is sectional drawing which cut in the plane parallel to the direction.

In FIG. 14, the flat portion 52a provided on the substantially V-shaped flexible portion 52 is locked by the elastically deformable locking portion 56b provided on the mounting portion 56. As a result, immediately after the accessory device 50 is attached to the camera 100, the accessory device 50 is locked so as not to move toward the inside of the camera. After the accessory device 50 is attached to the camera 100, when the user pushes the support portion 55 to push the shaft portion 51 into the camera from the state of FIG. 11 as shown in FIG. 12, the flat portion 52a is locked. You can get over part 56b. At that time, as shown in FIG. 15, the locking portion 56b is elastically deformed upward.

In FIG. 15, the step screw 57 includes a screw portion 57a and a shaft portion 57b. The screw portion 57a is screwed to the female screw portion 51b provided on the shaft portion 51, whereby the shaft portion 51 and the support portion 55 are integrated. Further, the shaft portion 57b is slidably fitted with the fitting hole 55a provided in the support portion 55. The elastic member 58 is an elastic body such as rubber provided between the support portion 55 and the shaft portion 51. Its action will be described later. The cap 59 is provided on the support portion 55 so that the step screw 57 cannot be seen from the outside.

As shown in FIG. 15, even when substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 54 is in contact with the LPF156 (FIG. 6 (A)), a certain amount of gap L is provided between the support portion 55 and the attachment portion 56. Is formed.

Here, a case will be described in which the user continues to push the support portion 55 in the direction of the arrow Z in the figure from the state shown in FIG. At this time, if the support portion 55 and the shaft portion 51 are simply formed integrally, the force that the user pushes in the Z direction is directly applied to the LPF 156 via the adhesive portion 54. As a result, the position of LPF156 may move, causing a problem of out-of-focus.

However, in the case of the configuration according to the present embodiment, when the user further pushes the support portion 55 in the Z direction from the state of FIG. 15, the fitting hole 55a of the support portion 55 and the shaft portion 57b of the step screw 57 slide. Then, only the support portion 55 moves in the direction of arrow Z as shown in FIG. As a result, the elastic member 58 is compressed, and the gap L between the support portion 55 and the attachment portion 56 shown in FIG. 15 disappears and is absorbed. This gap L is set to a length that can be absorbed by the bending of the flexible member 52 (12) and the elastic body 53 (13) even if the shaft portion 51 is further pushed in from the state shown in FIG. 6 (A). There is. Since the repulsive force of the elastic member 58 in this state acts in the direction opposite to the force in the Z direction pushed by the user, the repulsive force cancels the pushing force of the user. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, in the state where the gap L is eliminated , the movement of the support portion 55 in the Z direction is regulated by the engagement surface 1500 with the mounting portion 56, so that the user forcibly pushes it further. Even so, the shaft portion 51 does not enter the camera any more. In this way, the force applied to the LPF156 is reduced and the LPF156 is protected. Therefore, even if the user tries to push the support portion 55 further from the state where substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 54 is in contact with the LPF156 (FIG. 15), the adhesive portion 54 is not pushed more than shown in the state of FIG. There is no risk that the part 54 will push the LPF156 and the position of the LPF156 will move, resulting in out-of-focus.

17 to 19 are perspective views illustrating a state in which the accessory device 50 according to the present embodiment is attached to the camera 100 in the cleaning mode and operated.

FIG. 17 is an overview perspective view showing a state immediately before the accessory device 50 is attached to the camera 100, and at this time, the adhesive portion 54 and the support portion 50 are in the state shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 shows a state in which the accessory device 50 is attached to the mount mechanism 101 of the camera 100 from the state of FIG. 17 and rotated in the direction of arrow T in the figure. As a result, the locking portion 56a of the accessory device 50 is positioned with respect to the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera 100 and is completely fixed. Even in this state, the accessory device 50 is in the state shown in FIG.

As described above, the shaft portion 51 is configured to be fitted with the fitting portion 56c so as not to rotate with respect to the mounting portion 56. As a result, the adhesive portion 54 is held at the same rotation angle as the accessory device 50 when the accessory device 50 is attached to the camera body. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18 above, with respect to the accessory device 50 so that the adhesive portion 54 is positioned exactly at the opening 113a of the focal plane shutter 113 with the accessory device 50 rotated in the direction of the arrow T. The mounting direction of the adhesive portion 54 is specified.

From this state, when the user pushes the support portion 55 toward the inside of the camera 100 in order to remove the dust adhering to the LPF 156, the rotation stop portion 51a provided on the shaft portion 51 and the fitting portion 56 provided on the mounting portion 56 are fitted. The adhesive portion 54 penetrates into the camera 100 by sliding in the axial direction of the shaft portion 51 while maintaining the fitted state with the portion 56c. As a result, when the adhesive portion 54 is pushed in, there is no risk that the adhesive portion 54 will rotate in the camera 100 or touch the internal structure thereof. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, the adhesive portion 54 accurately comes into contact with the LPF 156 through the opening 113a of the focal plane shutter 113.

FIG. 19 is an overview perspective view showing a state in which the user further pushes the support portion 55 in the direction of arrow 1800 from the state of FIG. 18 and substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion 54 is in contact with the LPF156.

As described with reference to FIG. 15, in the state of FIG. 19, a gap L is formed between the support portion 55 and the attachment portion 56 due to the reaction of the elastic member 58. Even if the support portion 55 is further pushed in the direction of the arrow 1800, the elastic member 58 absorbs the force to protect the LPF156. Further, even in the state as shown in FIG. 16, since the entry of the support portion 55 is defined by the engaging surface 1500 with the mounting portion 56, the pushing force acts on the LPF156 and the position of the LPF156 does not shift. Absent.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an accessory device capable of removing a single or a plurality of dusts adhering to the surface of an optical filter in the vicinity of an image pickup device in a single cleaning operation.

Further, it is possible to provide a cleaning means capable of easily and surely removing dust adhering to the adhesive portion of the accessory device.

Further, since the adhesive part of the accessory device can be penetrated without touching the internal structure of the camera while being positioned with respect to the camera, the inside of the optical device can be removed when removing dust adhering to the surface of the optical filter. There is no risk of contamination or damage.

By the way, in the above-described first embodiment and 2, the device used for such cleaning has been described as an accessory device. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, the accessory device 50 functions as the body cap 70 of the camera 100. But it's okay.

The body cap 70 includes a known communication means (not shown) with the mounting mechanism 101 of the camera 100, and a switch 71 that can set the camera 100 to the cleaning mode by the communication means. When the switch 71 is off, it is used as a normal body cap, and when the switch 71 is on, the camera 100 is put into a cleaning mode via a known communication means. After that, the user manually operates the support portion 55 to remove the dust adhering to the LPF 156 as described in the above-described embodiment. Even in such a configuration, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, the body cap 70 is provided with a driving means such as a motor for moving the shaft portion 51 and the adhesive portion 54 forward and backward with respect to the camera 100, and by turning on the switch 71, the camera 100 is put into the cleaning mode. The adhesive portion 54 may be automatically moved into the camera 100 to remove dust adhering to the surface of the LPF156.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the portion corresponding to the support portion 11 of the embodiment is composed of the operation portion 555 and the shaft portion 51, but the attachment portion 56 shown in FIG. 11 is added to the configuration of FIG. The configuration may be used. However, in this case, a mechanism for preventing the accessory device from entering more than a predetermined amount is required instead of the gap L between the operating portion 55 and the mounting portion 56 and the elastic member 58 in the embodiment. For example, the flat portion 52a provided on the substantially V-shaped flexible portion 52 in a state where the adhesive portion 54 and the filter surface are in contact with each other in the state shown in FIG. 6 (A) (FIG. 12). A protrusion (not shown) of the mounting portion 56 that engages with the mounting portion 56 may be provided to prevent the adhesive portion 54 from invading further.

Although the method for removing dust adhering to the optical filter surface has been described in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cover of the solid-state image sensor is covered, for example, through the opening of the focal plane shutter. Needless to say, in the case of a digital color camera in which the glass surface can be visually recognized, dust adhering to the cover glass of the solid-state image sensor can be removed by the accessory device or body cap according to the present embodiment.

<figref num="1">It is an overview perspective view which shows the structure of the accessory device which concerns on a reference example of this invention.</figref><figref num="2">It is a side view sectional view for demonstrating the structure of the digital color camera which is an example of the optical device which is the target device which removes dust by using the accessory device which concerns on this Embodiment.</figref><figref num="3">It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the camera which concerns on this reference example.</figref><figref num="4">It is a schematic perspective view explaining the case where the accessory device is used to remove the dust adhering to the surface of an LPF in a state where a camera is in a cleaning mode.</figref><figref num="5">It is the top view (A) of the main part when the center of the adhesive part of the accessory device according to this reference example comes into contact with the LPF, and the perspective view (B) of the main part in the state of FIG. 5 (A).</figref><figref num="6">Top view (A) of the main part and a perspective view (B) of the main part showing a state in which substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion is in contact with the surface of the LPF by further pushing the accessory device in the LPF direction from the state of FIG. 5 (A). Is.</figref><figref num="7">It is the schematic which showed an example of the method of removing the dust adhering to the adhesive part of the accessory device in the reference example of this invention.</figref><figref num="8">It is external perspective view of the accessory device which concerns on the modification of the reference example of this invention.</figref><figref num="9">It is a top view of the main part which shows the state which the adhesive part and the LPF are in contact with each other when the accessory device which concerns on the modification of the reference example of this invention removes the dust adhering to the surface of an LPF.</figref><figref num="10">It is a top view of the main part which shows the state which the adhesive part was pressed against LPF when the accessory device which concerns on the modification of the reference example of this invention removes dust adhering to the surface of LPF.</figref><figref num="11">It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the accessory device which concerns on embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="12">It is a figure which shows the structure of the accessory device which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and is the perspective view which showed the state which pushed the support part of the accessory device in order to remove dust, and the adhesive part protruded in the inside direction of a camera.</figref><figref num="13">It is a figure which shows the structure of the accessory device which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and is the perspective view which showed the state when the window is provided in a part of the attachment part.</figref><figref num="14">It is sectional drawing which cut in the plane parallel to the length direction of the shaft part shown by X of FIG.</figref><figref num="15">It is sectional drawing which cut in the plane parallel to the length direction of the shaft part shown by Y of FIG.</figref><figref num="16">It is sectional drawing which shows the state which pushed the accessory device further from the state of FIG.</figref><figref num="17">It is an overview perspective view which shows the state just before attaching the accessory device which concerns on embodiment of this invention to a camera.</figref><figref num="18">It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the accessory device to the mount mechanism of a camera from the state of FIG. 16 and was attached by rotating in the direction of arrow T.</figref><figref num="19">FIG. 6 is an overview perspective view showing a state in which a user further pushes the support portion from the state of FIG. 17 and substantially the entire area of the adhesive portion is in contact with the LPF.</figref><figref num="20">It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the accessory device which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention to a camera.</figref>