Power lens and camera system

• US 5,396,306 A
• Filed: 02/07/1994
• Issued: 03/07/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: PENTAX RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
• Original Assignee: Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Takahashi, Hiroyuki, Kawasaki, Masahiro, Tanimura, Yoshinari
• Primary Examiner(s): ADAMS JR, RUSSELL E
• Application Number:
  US08/193,669
• Time in Patent Office: 393 Days
• Field of Search: 354/195.1, 354/195.12, 354/, 318/467
• US Class Current: 396/86
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/102 controlled by a microcomputer cameras with interchangeable lenses G03B17/14
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 3/10 Power-operated focusing

Abstract

A lens driving apparatus in an optical system including a movable lens unit and a lens moving mechanism which supports the movable lens unit to move in an optical axis direction. The lens driving apparatus further includes a motor for driving the lens moving mechanism to move the movable lens unit, a power supply for continuously or discontinuously supplying the motor with electrical power, a detecting device for generating detection signals in association with the operation of the motor at a predetermined interval corresponding to a predetermined displacement thereof, a speed setting device for setting the operational speed of the motor at a time interval corresponding to the output of the detection signals of the detecting device, and a supply control device for shortening the discontinuous supply time by a predetermined time unit when the detection signals are outputted within the time interval, and for lengthening the discontinuous supply time by a predetermined time unit when no detection signal is outputted within the time interval, respectively.

Claims

1. A lens driving apparatus in an optical system that includes a movable lens unit and a lens moving mechanism which supports said movable lens unit to move in an optical axis direction, comprising:

a motor for driving said lens moving mechanism to move said movable lens unit;

a power supply for at least one of continuously or discontinuously supplying electrical power to said motor, wherein said power supply comprises means for controlling a duty ratio of a discontinuous electrical power supply time and a discontinuous electrical power non-supply time so that said power supply discontinuously supplies electrical power to said motor with a fixed frequency;

detecting means for generating detection signals in association with an operation of said motor at a predetermined time interval that corresponds to a predetermined displacement of said motor;

means for setting an operational speed of said motor to a time interval corresponding to an output of said detection signals by said detecting means; and

supply control means for shortening said discontinuous electrical power supply time by a predetermined time unit, determined by said fixed frequency, by changing said duty ratio when said detection signals are outputted by said detecting means within said predetermined time interval, and for lengthening said discontinuous electrical power supply time by said predetermined time unit when no detection signal is outputted by said detecting means within said predetermined time interval, said supply control means setting said discontinuous electrical power supply time to a predetermined minimum discontinuous electrical power supply time when said motor is actuated from a predetermined state.

2. A lens driving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said supply control means has an intermittent supply time setting function, so that said discontinous power supply is effected for a shortest intermittent supply time at the commencement of power supply.

3. A lens driving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a sum of discontinuous electrical power supply time and discontinuous electrical power non-supply time supplied by said discontinuous power supply remains constant as said duty ratio is changed.

4. A lens driving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising switching means for selecting the time interval of the output of said detection signals of said detecting means, so that said speed setting means sets the time interval of the output of said detection signals selected by said switching means.

5. A lens driving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said motor comprises an electrically driven motor.

6. A lens driving apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said detecting means comprises a pulser which generates pulses every time a predetermined angular displacement of said electrically driven motor takes place.

7. A lens driving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said speed setting means and said supply control means are included within a single microcomputer.

8. A lens driving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said supply control means controls the intermittent supply time by a pulse width modulation control.

9. A power zoom lens having a zooming lens unit and a zoom mechanism which supports the zooming lens unit to move in an optical axis direction, comprising:

a motor for driving said zoom mechanism to move said zooming lens unit in said optical axis direction;

detecting means for generating detection signals in association with an operation of said motor at a predetermined time interval corresponding to a predetermined displacement of said motor;

speed setting means for setting an operational speed of said motor to a time interval corresponding to an output of said detection signals by said detecting means;

power supply means for at least one of continuously and discontinuously supplying electrical power to said motor, wherein said power supply means comprises means for controlling a duty ratio of a discontinuous electrical power supply time and a discontinuous electrical power non-supply time so that said power supply means discontinuously supplies electrical power to said motor with a fixed frequency; and

supply control means for shortening said discontinuous electrical power supply time by a predetermined time unit, determined by said fixed frequency, by changing said duty ratio when said detection signals are outputted by said detection means within said predetermined time interval, and for lengthening said discontinuous electrical power supply time by said predetermined time unit when no detection signal is outputted by said detecting means within said predetermined time interval, said supply control means setting said discontinuous electrical power supply time to a predetermined minimum discontinuous electrical power supply time when said motor is actuated from a predetermined state.

10. A power zoom lens according to claim 9, further comprising a zoom switch which selects the operational speed set by said speed setting means.

11. A power zoom lens according to claim 9, wherein said zoom switch selects one of three zoom speeds.

12. A camera system comprising:

a camera body;

a power zoom lens detachably mountable to said camera body, said power zoom lens having a zooming lens unit and a zoom mechanism which supports said zooming lens unit to move in an optical axis direction;

a motor for driving said zoom mechanism to move said zooming lens unit in said optical axis direction;

detecting means for generating detection signals in association with an operation of said motor at a predetermined interval corresponding to a predetermined displacement of said motor;

speed setting means for setting an operational speed of said motor to a time interval corresponding to an output of said detection signals by said detecting means;

power supply means for at least one of continuously and discontinuously supplying electrical power to said motor, wherein said power supply means comprises means for controlling a duty ratio of a discontinuous electrical power supply time and a discontinuous electrical power non-supply time so that said power supply means discontinuously supplies electrical power to said motor with a fixed frequency; and

supply control means for shortening said discontinuous electrical power supply time by a predetermined time unit, determined by said fixed frequency, by changing said duty ratio when said detection signals are outputted by said detecting means within said time interval, and for lengthening said discontinuous electrical power supply time by said predetermined time unit when no detection signal is outputted by said detecting means within said time interval, said supply control means setting said discontinuous electrical power supply time to a predetermined minimum discontinuous electrical power supply time when said motor is actuated from a predetermined state.

13. A camera system according to claim 12, wherein said camera body comprises a battery which supplies the power zoom lens with power through said motor.

14. A camera system according to claim 12, wherein said power zoom lens comprises a power zoom operation switch which selects the direction and zooming speed of the power zoom.

15. A camera system according to claim 12, wherein said camera body and said power zoom lens comprise data communication means for transmitting power zoom data therebetween.

16. A camera system according to claim 15, wherein said camera body comprises speed setting means for setting the zoom speed.

17. A camera system according to claim 16, wherein said power zoom lens and said camera body comprise a lens controller and a body controller which transmits the zoom speed data set by said speed setting means of said camera body to said lens controller through said data communication means, respectively.

18. A lens driving apparatus in an optical system that includes a movable lens unit and a lens moving mechanism which supports said movable lens unit to move in an optical axis direction, comprising:

a motor for driving said lens moving mechanism to move said movable lens unit;

a power supply for at least one of continuously and discontinuously supplying electrical power to said motor, said power supply operating with a fixed frequency and comprising means for controlling a duty ratio of a discontinuous electrical power supply time and a discontinuous electrical power non-supply time;

a detector that generates detection signals in association with an operation of said motor at a predetermined interval corresponding to a predetermined displacement of said motor;

means for setting an operational speed of said motor to a time interval corresponding to an output of said detection signals by said detecting means; and

means for changing said duty ratio of said power supply to shorten said discontinuous electrical power supply, by a time determined by said fixed frequency, by changing said duty ratio when said detection signals are outputted by said detecting means within said predetermined interval, and for lengthening said discontinuous electrical power supply time by said time determined by said fixed frequency by changing said duty ratio when no detection signal is outputted by said detecting means within said predetermined interval, wherein said changing means sets said discontinuous electrical power supply time to a predetermined minimum discontinuous electrical power supply time when said motor is actuated from a predetermined state.

19. The lens driving apparatus of claim 18, wherein a sum of said discontinuous electrical power supply time and said discontinuous electrical non-power supply time remains constant as said duty ratio is changed.

20. The lens driving apparatus of claim 18, wherein said predetermined state comprises a stopped state.

21. The lens driving apparatus of claim 18, wherein said predetermined state comprises a brake state.

22. An apparatus for driving a movable lens in an optical axis direction, comprising:

means for driving said movable lens unit;

a power supply for at least one of continuously or discontinuously supplying electrical power to said driving means, a duty ratio being defined by a discontinuous electrical power supply time and a discontinuous electrical power non-supply time when said power supply discontinuously supplies electrical power to said driving means;

means for generating detection signals in association with an operation of said driving means at a predetermined time interval corresponding to a predetermined displacement of said driving means; and

means for changing said discontinuous electrical power supply time by a predetermined time unit in response to said detection signals outputted by said detecting means to control an operational speed of said driving means, wherein a sum of said discontinuous electrical power supply time and said discontinuous electrical power non-supply time remains constant as said duty ratio is changed, said changing means setting said discontinuous electrical power supply time to a predetermined minimum discontinuous electrical power supply time when said driving means is actuated from a predetermined state.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said changing means sets a minimum discontinuous electrical power supply time when said driving means is actuated in a predetermined operational state.