Dial switching device for camera

The present invention relates to a dial switching device used for switching settings such as a shooting mode of a camera, and more particularly to a dial switching device that enables direct and indirect switching of dials.

The camera is provided with a mode setting dial for switching various modes (hereinafter referred to as shooting mode) such as auto shooting, aperture priority shooting, shutter speed priority shooting, etc., but this mode setting dial is usually used. It is provided on the upper surface of the camera so that the dial position can be confirmed by looking into it from the upper side of the camera. For example, in the camera of Patent Document 1, a mode setting dial is arranged on the upper surface of the so-called warship portion of the camera. Therefore, it is difficult to confirm the dial position when the camera cannot be removed from the upper side as in the case where the camera is lifted above the height of the photographer's eyes and a handheld or tripod is used for shooting. Therefore, the release operation may be performed in an unintended shooting mode with the mode setting dial set incorrectly, and proper shooting may not be possible. In particular, recent digital cameras are provided with a monitor on the back of the camera, and when shooting while checking the subject image displayed on this monitor screen, it is less likely to look into the camera from above. , Such a problem is likely to occur.

Also, in recent years, for the purpose of downsizing the camera, various modes that need to be set in the camera before shooting such as WB (white balance), ISO, image quality, etc. as well as switching the shooting mode with one mode setting dial (hereinafter, here) A digital camera that switches the setting mode) has been proposed, but in such a case, after switching the setting mode with the mode setting dial, forget to switch the dial to the shooting mode position. In this case, even if the release operation is performed, shooting is not performed, and there is a risk that a photo opportunity may be missed. As a dial for mode setting in a camera, a dial having the configuration described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-45292</text></patcit>

<p> For such a problem, for example, in the case of a digital camera, it is conceivable to call attention to the photographer by displaying the setting mode and the shooting mode set by the mode setting dial on the monitor screen. In this case, it is also possible to display the dial position of the current mode setting dial as a part of the display. This makes it possible to solve at least the above-mentioned problems such as performing the release operation while making a mistake in setting the mode setting dial or forgetting to set the mode setting dial to the shooting mode.</p><p> However, even in this case, if you notice an error in the mode setting dial setting on the monitor screen, you need to reach to the top of the camera to operate the mode setting dial, which may be difficult to operate. On the other hand, there are cases where the camera cannot be operated without being able to reach it, and in the end, the operability of the camera becomes poor. It is also conceivable to dispose a mode setting dial or a dial having the same function as the mode setting dial on the back side of the camera, but the structure of the camera becomes complicated and a circuit structure for electrically connecting a plurality of mode setting dials. Will be complicated, and there will be problems with camera design.</p><p> An object of the present invention is to provide a dial switching device capable of dial switching such as mode switching by operating a dial such as a mode setting dial provided in the camera by an operation means different from the dial provided in the camera. Is.</p>

<p> The dial switching device of the present invention is a dial body provided on the camera body and rotatable by hand.<u style="single">A rotation driving means for rotating the dial body, an operating means for driving the rotation driving means when operated by being provided on the camera body, a detector for detecting the rotation position of the dial body, and the above. It is provided with a display means for displaying information on the dial position detected by the detector, and is configured to rotate the dial body by operating the operation means while checking the information displayed on the display means.</u>It is characterized by that. Further, in the present invention<u style="single">Is times</u>It is preferable to provide a clutch means capable of transmitting and shutting off the rotational force of the rolling drive means to the dial body. Here, the dial body is configured as a mode setting dial for switching between a plurality of modes set in the shooting mode and the setting mode of the camera. Further, the dial body is arranged on the upper part of the camera body, and the operation buttons and the display means are arranged on the back surface of the camera body.</p>

<p> According to the present invention, it is possible to rotate the dial body by operating the operating means to realize dial switching such as mode switching. As a result, even when the dial body is arranged on the upper part of the camera, the dial can be switched by the operating means arranged on the back surface of the camera, and the operability of the camera can be improved. Further, the rotation position of the dial body can be detected by a detector, the rotation position can be displayed by the display means, and the operation means can be operated while checking the display to set the dial body to a desired rotation position. It will be possible.</p>

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the clutch means comprises a click groove arranged in one of the rotary drive means or the dial body in the circumferential direction, and a click ball provided on the other side and fitted to the click groove with elastic force. It is composed. Further, the rotary drive means is a DC motor or a step motor, and the dial body is rotationally driven via a gear mechanism. Alternatively, the rotation driving means is an ultrasonic motor, which is arranged coaxially with the dial body to directly rotate and drive the dial body. Further, the detector for detecting the rotation position is a sliding brush provided in a part of the dial body in the circumferential direction and a sliding brush arranged in a region along the circumference of the dial body so that the sliding brush slides. It is composed of a circuit board having a conductive pattern in which the electrically conductive state can be switched. Further, the display means is configured by an LCD monitor that displays an image of the subject to be imaged.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a digital camera in which the present invention is configured as a single-lens reflex camera as viewed from the rear side. In this digital camera, a shooting lens (not shown in the figure) is detachably attached to the front of the camera body 1. Further, a finder window 2, an LCD display unit 3, a shutter button 4, and a mode setting dial 5 are arranged on the upper decoration 10 on the upper part of the camera body 1. Further, an LCD monitor 6 capable of displaying an image of the subject to be imaged and displaying various data such as a shooting mode and a setting mode is arranged on the back surface of the camera body 1, and a mode setting button is arranged adjacent to the LCD monitor 6. 7 is arranged. In this digital camera, the shooting mode and setting mode can be set by manually rotating the mode setting dial 5, and the same shooting mode and setting mode can be set by pressing the mode setting button 7. It is configured so that it can be set.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the mode setting dial 5 by breaking a part of the camera body 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a 1/4 circumference cut along the AA line, and FIG. Is a vertical sectional view. A circular opening 10a is opened in the upper decoration 10 constituting the warship portion of the camera body 1, and a plate-shaped internal body 101 of the camera body 1 is faced in the opening 10a. A spindle 102 is fixedly supported in the internal body 101 substantially vertically at the center position of the opening 10a, and a thick disk-shaped dial body 103 is loosely inserted into the spindle 102, and the dial body 103 is manually operated. It can rotate around the spindle 102. The dial body 103 is prevented from coming off from the spindle 102 by a screw 104 screwed onto the spindle 102, and a disk-shaped decorative cover 105 is adhered to the dial body 103 with an adhesive or the like. While covering the screw 104, the surface is an index showing the shooting mode and setting mode. Here, the shooting modes are "P: program shooting", "Av: aperture priority shooting", "Tv: shutter priority shooting", "B". ": Valve" is displayed, and "ISO", "Image quality", and "WB" are displayed as the setting modes, and the configuration is such that it can be switched to a total of seven, that is, seven rotation positions (see Fig. 1).

The lower portion of the dial body 103 is configured as a sleeve portion 103a formed to have a slightly smaller diameter, and is interpolated into the opening 10a of the upper decoration 10. A schematic perspective view of a part is shown in FIG. 5 (a). As shown, a sliding brush 106 formed of an elastic conductive plate is fixedly supported on a part of the peripheral surface of the lower portion of the dial body 103. Further, a part of the flexible circuit board 107 supported along the upper surface of the internal main body 101 has a cylindrical shape on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 10a so as to face the peripheral surface of the sleeve portion 103a of the dial main body 103. It is arranged in a bent state. A conductive pattern 108 is formed on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 107a of the flexible circuit board 107 with which the sliding brush 106 is in sliding contact when the dial body 103 is rotated, and corresponds to different rotation positions of the dial body 103. Then, the conductive state of the conductive pattern is switched, whereby the seven rotation positions of the mode setting dial 5 are detected. These sliding brushes 106 and the conductive pattern 108 form the mode position detector 211, which will be described later in FIG. 7. The conductive pattern 108 formed on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 107a of the flexible circuit board 107 is formed by a through hole 108a penetrating in the plate thickness direction as shown in a partially enlarged front view in FIG. 5 (b). It is led out to the outer surface side, and is electrically connected to a camera circuit to be described later, which is constructed in the camera body 1 by a wiring pattern 109 provided on the outer surface.

On the other hand, a dial drive mechanism 212 is arranged below the dial body 103 as will be described later in FIG. The dial drive mechanism 212 includes a DC motor 110 as a drive source, and is fixedly supported by a fixed pillar 113 or the like on a motor mounting plate 112 fixedly supported by a screw 111 under the main shaft 102 on the lower side of the internal main body 101. Has been done. The rotating shaft 110a of the DC motor 110 is arranged above the motor mounting plate 112, and the pinion 114 is fixedly supported. The DC motor 110 includes a rotor 110b and a stator 110c, but detailed description thereof will be omitted. A shaft 115 is erected on the upper side of the motor mounting plate 112, and a reduction gear 116 meshed with the pinion 114 is rotatably loosely inserted into the shaft 115 and is prevented from coming off by a retaining ring 117. The reduction gear 116 is a large-diameter gear 116a and a small-diameter gear 116b integrally formed coaxially. The large-diameter gear 116a is meshed with the pinion 114, and the small-diameter gear 116b is located below the dial body 103. It is meshed with a rotating member loosely inserted in the spindle 102, that is, a clutch gear 118 in this embodiment.

The clutch gear 118 can rotate around the main shaft 102 independently of the dial main body 103, and is connected to the dial main body 103 by a clutch mechanism. As the clutch mechanism, as shown in a schematic perspective view in FIG. 6, here, a click groove 119 formed of a conical recess is formed on the upper surface of the clutch gear 118 at a position divided into seven equal parts in the circumferential direction. Further, the click ball 122 elastically urged downward by the coil spring 121 installed in the blind hole 120 provided on the lower surface of the dial body 103 is elastically contacted with the click groove 119. It has become like. A part of the lower surface side of the click ball 122 is fitted into the click groove 119 by the elastic force of the coil spring 121, and the dial body 103 and the clutch gear are below the force required to bend the coil spring 121. A configuration in which the 118 and the clutch are integrally connected in the circumferential direction, and when a force larger than that is applied, the dial body 103 is in a clutch disengaged state in which the dial body 103 can rotate independently of the clutch gear 118. It is said that.

FIG. 7 is a block circuit diagram of the camera circuit. The imaging signal of the CCD imaging element 202, which forms an image with the photographing lens 11 and captures the subject image through the optical low-pass filter 201, is amplified by the amplifier (AMP) 203 and converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 204. The signal is obtained as a required signal by the signal processing circuit 205, and is recorded in the image memory 207 in a compressed or uncompressed state by the compressed or uncompressed circuit 206. Further, the captured image signal is taken into the CPU 200, and the captured image is displayed on the LDC monitor 6.

The CPU 200 is manually set by the switch signal of the photometric switch / release switch 210 operated by pressing the shutter button 4, the mode setting dial 5, or is driven by the operation of the mode setting button 7 as described later. The dial position signal detected by the mode position detector 211 and the button status signal output when the mode setting button 7 is pressed are input to the rotation position set by the dial drive mechanism 212. Further, the exposure data of the photometric element 213 and the image pickup signal of the CCD image sensor 202 that measure the subject image imaged by the image pickup lens 11 that has passed through the aperture 12, the movable half mirror 13, the focus plate 14, the pentaprism 15, and the like. The exposure signal from the exposure control circuit 214 that controls the exposure based on the above and the signal from the AF sensor 226 are also input. Then, the CPU 200 controls the shutter drive circuit 220, the mirror drive mechanism 221, the aperture drive mechanism 222, and the AF (autofocus) drive mechanism 223 based on these input signals, and takes an image under the set conditions. To execute. At this time, the CPU 200 may control the strobe control circuit 224 based on the exposure information to cause the strobe 225 to emit light. Further, the CPU 200 controls the clock generator 230 to supply an imaging clock to the CCD driver 231 for driving the CCD imaging element 202. The figure shows a battery 232 and a DC / DC converter 233 that serve as a power source for the camera circuit. An example of the display of the LCD monitor 6 is also shown.

The mode setting operation by the mode setting dial 5 in the digital camera having the above configuration will be described. When the photographer sets the mode, the mode setting dial 5 is manually rotated. That is, when the photographer picks up the dial body 103 and rotates it, the dial body 103 is rotated around the spindle 102, and the sliding brush 106 provided on the peripheral surface of the lower sleeve portion 103a of the dial body 103 is a flexible circuit board 107. It is moved while touching along the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 107a of the. As a result, the conductive state of the conductive pattern 108 provided on the flexible circuit board 107 is switched according to the rotation position of the dial body 103, the mode position is detected from the conductive state at that time, and the mode position detector shown in FIG. The mode position detected from 211 is input to the CPU 200. The CPU 200 controls each part of the camera circuit shown in FIG. 7 according to the detected mode position, sets the shooting mode or setting mode corresponding to the mode position, and enables proper shooting.

At this time, since the DC motor 110 as the drive source of the dial drive mechanism 212 is not rotationally driven, the rotation of the clutch gear 118 connected via the reduction gear 116 is locked. Therefore, as described above, when the dial body 103 is rotated, the click ball 122 is separated from the click groove 119 while bending the coil spring 121, or is fitted into the click groove by the elastic force of the coil spring and is fitted to the dial body 103. Only the rotation is possible, and the so-called clutch is disengaged. The photographer can set the mode setting dial 5 to the desired mode by using the index of the decorative cover 105 while obtaining the click feeling at this time. The set mode is displayed on the LCD monitor 6 by the CPU 200 in the form shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when shooting while checking the subject on the screen of the LCD monitor 6 and shooting with the camera set at a position higher than the height of the photographer's eyes, as described above. It becomes difficult to check the mode index by the mode setting dial 5. In this case, the mode is confirmed by visually recognizing the mode displayed on the LCD monitor 6. Then, when switching the mode in this state, the photographer presses the mode setting button 7. When the mode setting button 7 is pressed, that is, the mode setting signal is input, the CPU 200 starts driving the DC motor 110 of the dial drive mechanism 212. When the DC motor 110 is driven and the pinion 114 is rotated, the reduction gear 116 is rotated, and the clutch gear 118 meshing with the reduction gear 116 is rotated. As described above, since the dial body 103 is loosely inserted into the spindle 102, when the clutch gear 118 is rotated, the rotational force of the clutch gear 118 is dialed by the fitting force between the click groove 119 and the click ball 122. It will be transmitted to the main body 103, that is, the dial main body 103 will be integrally rotated with the clutch gear 118 in the clutch-engaged state. As a result, the sliding brush 106 of the dial body 103 slides on the conductive pattern 108 of the flexible circuit board 107, and the mode position is detected by the mode position detector 211. Therefore, the CPU 200 displays the corresponding mode on the LCD monitor 6 based on the detected mode position, as in the case of manually operating the mode setting dial 5 . Here, since the dial body 103 is continuously rotated while the mode setting button 7 is pressed, the mode displayed on the LCD monitor 6 is also sequentially switched. The photographer can set the mode by releasing the press of the mode setting button 7 when the desired mode is displayed.

In this way, the mode setting dial 5 is also rotated by the operation of the mode setting button 7 to switch the rotation position, that is, the mode position, and the mode of the camera is based on the mode position signal detected by the mode position detector 211. Can be switched. Therefore, even in the shooting state where it is difficult to look into the camera from above and rotate the mode setting dial 5, the mode can be set while checking the mode on the LCD monitor 6 on the back of the camera. It becomes possible to easily perform proper shooting, and it becomes possible to realize proper shooting quickly and easily.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the mode setting dial according to the present invention, FIG. 9 is a perspective view in which a 1/4 circumference along the BB line is cut off, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view. Since the configuration of the second embodiment is basically the same as the configuration of the first embodiment, the equivalent parts are designated by the same reference numerals. Moreover, the description of the common part will be omitted. In the second embodiment, as the drive source of the dial drive mechanism 212, an ultrasonic motor composed of a piezoelectric vibrating element 110A and a circular plate 118 that also serves as a rotor is used instead of the DC motor of the first embodiment. Further, as the rotating member, a circular plate 118A is used instead of the clutch gear of the first embodiment. Here, since the ultrasonic motor itself is a technique that is already known, its principle description will be omitted, but a circular piezoelectric vibrating element 110A is arranged directly under the circular plate 118A to form an internal main body 101. The lower surface of the circular plate 118A is pressed against the upper surface of the piezoelectric vibrating element.

Also in the second embodiment, when the dial body 103 of the mode setting dial 5 is manually rotated, the circular plate 118A is in a state where the rotation is locked with respect to the piezoelectric vibration element 110A, so that the click ball 122 is clicked. Only the dial body 103 can be rotated depending on the disengaged state of the clutch with respect to the groove 119, and the mode can be switched. Further, when the mode setting button 7 is pressed, the circular plate 118A is rotated by the vibration of the piezoelectric vibration element 110A, so that the dial body 103 is integrally rotated by the clutch engagement state due to the fitting force of the click ball 122, and the mode is set. Switching becomes possible.

In the second embodiment, the advantage of being thin, compact, and lightweight can be obtained by adopting the ultrasonic motor. In this embodiment, a rotary type ultrasonic motor is used, but a linear type can also be configured.

The rotating member in Examples 1 and 2, that is, the click mechanism as a clutch means for clutch-connecting the clutch gear of Example 1, the circular plate of Example 2, and the dial body is a kind of friction clutch mechanism. The friction clutch mechanism may be configured such that the rotating member and the dial body are brought into contact with each other by a friction surface formed by sticking a material having a large friction coefficient or the like. It is also possible to use an electromagnetic clutch mechanism that operates in conjunction with the pressing of the mode setting button.

In Examples 1 and 2, a sliding brush is provided on a part of the peripheral surface of the dial body, and the conductive pattern is provided on a flexible circuit board having a cylindrical shape. The moving brush may be provided on a part of the circumference of the lower surface of the dial main body, and the conductive pattern may be provided on the circuit board arranged in a plane on the upper surface of the inner main body.

The present invention is not limited to the mode setting dial illustrated in Examples 1 and 2, as long as the dial that is manually rotated is rotated by a motor by operating a button or a switch to enable setting by the dial. The present invention can also be applied to dials for other purposes.

<figref num="1">It is an external view of the back side of the digital camera of this invention.</figref><figref num="2">It is external perspective view of the mode setting dial of Example 1. FIG.</figref><figref num="3">It is the perspective view which cut the part along the AA line of FIG.</figref><figref num="4">It is sectional drawing of the mode setting dial of Example 1. FIG.</figref><figref num="5">It is a schematic perspective view of a mode position detector.</figref><figref num="6">It is a schematic perspective view of a clutch mechanism.</figref><figref num="7">It is a block circuit diagram of a camera circuit.</figref><figref num="8">It is external perspective view of the mode setting dial of Example 2. FIG.</figref><figref num="9">It is the perspective view which broke the part along the BB line of FIG.</figref><figref num="10">It is sectional drawing of the mode setting dial of Example 2. FIG.</figref>

Code description

1 Camera body 3 LCD display 4 Shutter button 5 Mode setting dial 6 LCD monitor 7 Mode setting button 10 Top decoration 101 internal body 103 Dial body 106 Sliding brush 107 Flexible circuit board 110 DC motor 110A Piezoelectric vibrating element 116 reduction gear 118 Clutch gear (rotating member) 118A Circular plate (rotating member) 119 Click groove (clutch mechanism) 122 Click ball (clutch mechanism) 200 CPU 211 Mode position detector 212 Dial drive mechanism