Camera with flange back adjusting mechanism

• US 20040027458A1
• Filed: 03/21/2003
• Published: 02/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Security Video Camera Systems Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takada, Noboru
• Granted Patent: US 7,265,789 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.99
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to provide a camera with a flange back adjusting mechanism in which the operation of the flange back adjusting mechanism is not obstructed, and the flange back adjustment is easily performed.

In the invention, a flange back adjusting mechanism (70) which moves and adjusts a CCD (61) in the direction of the optical axis can be operated by an operation section (75) which protrudes to the outside of a case portion through an operation window (74) which is opened in a side wall face of a camera chassis (40) separating rearward from a lens mount portion (41) along the direction of the optical axis and on a peripheral wall of a case portion (42) of the camera chassis (40).

Claims

1. A camera with a flange back adjusting mechanism comprising:

a camera chassis having a lens mount portion;

a device holder which is supported by said camera chassis to be movable in a vicinity of an imaging position of a lens and in a direction of an optical axis;

a solid state imaging device which is held by said device holder; and

a flange back adjusting mechanism which moves and adjusts said device holder in the direction of the optical axis, wherein

said flange back adjusting mechanism comprises;

a cam ring which is supported to be rotatable about the optical axis in said camera chassis, and in which a cam surface is disposed in a peripheral edge portion, a projection length of said cam surface in the direction of the optical axis being gradually changed in a circumferential direction;

a positioning protrusion which protrudes from said device holder, a tip end of said protrusion butting against said cam surface;

a holder urging spring which urges said device holder toward said cam ring to maintain a state where said positioning protrusion butts against said cam surface;

an operation window which is opened in a side wall face of said camera chassis, said side wall face extending along the direction of the optical axis; and

a ring driving mechanism which rotates said cam ring by an operation section that protrudes to an outside through said operation window.

2. The camera with a flange back adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said ring driving mechanism is configured to rotate a driving gear which meshes with said cam ring by said operation section, and comprises an elastic member which applies to said driving gear a load that blocks rotation of said driving gear when a rotation operating force is equal to or smaller than a reference.