Detecting apparatus

• US 5,732,289 A
• Filed: 01/17/1997
• Issued: 03/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kaji, Hidenobu, Imura, Yoshio, Tsukahara, Daiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Metjahic, Safet
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mahoney, Christopher E.
• Application Number:
  US08/786,098
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: 73/514.33, 73/514.36, 73/514.37, 73/514.34, 73/514.18, 73/714, 73/729.1, 73/756, 33/366, 354/289.11, 354/289.12, 396/50, 396/52, 396/53, 396/55, 310/338, 310/339, 310/329
• US Class Current: 396/50
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 9/00 Measuring inclination, e.g. by clinometers, by levels
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/12 by alteration of electrical resistance G01P15/0897, G01P15/105 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2205/0007 Movement of one or more optical elements for control of motion blur imaging systems in general using optical elements for stabilisation of the position of the image G02B27/64
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2217/005 Blur detection
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 5/00 Adjustment of optical system relative to image or object surface other than for focusing

Abstract

A detecting apparatus which includes a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis; and a pressure sensing sheet which contacts at one or more contact points with the balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a force acting on the contact point and depends on the moment of rotation. An attitude detecting apparatus and a detecting apparatus for difference of attitude each of which includes, the detecting apparatus; and an arithmetic circuit which receives a pressure signal at predefined time intervals in order and processes a calculation.

Claims

1. A detecting apparatus, comprising:

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer; and

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer acting on said contact point and depending on said moment of rotation.

2. A detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

3. A detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

4. An attitude detecting apparatus, comprising:

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer which acts on said contact point and depends on said moment of rotation; and

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal and calculates an attitude angle to a reference attitude.

5. A detecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

6. A detecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

7. A detecting apparatus for difference of attitude, comprising:

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer which acts on said contact point and depends on said moment of rotation; and

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal at predefined time intervals in order and calculates a difference of attitude.

8. A detecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

9. A detecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

10. An acceleration detecting apparatus, comprising:

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer which acts on said contact point and depends on said moment of rotation; and

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal and calculates an acceleration which acts on said balancer based on the received pressure signal.

11. A detecting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

12. A detecting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

13. A camera capable of detecting an attitude, comprising:

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer which acts on said contact point and depends on said moment of rotation; and

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal, calculates an attitude angle to a reference attitude, and determines whether said camera is held in a horizontal position or in a vertical position.

14. A camera according to claim 13, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said camera further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

15. A camera according to claim 13, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said camera further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

16. An image vibration-proof camera, comprising:

a photographic lens through which light from a subject forms an image;

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer which acts on said contact point and depends on said moment of rotation;

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal at predefined time intervals in order, calculates a difference of attitude, and calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a pitching vibration based on at least said difference of attitude; and

a compensation optical system which compensates said light from a subject based on said amount of image vibration in order to prevent said image vibration from occurring.

17. A camera according to claim 16, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said camera further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

18. A camera according to claim 16, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said camera further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

19. An image vibration-proof camera, comprising:

a photographic lens through which light from a subject forms an image;

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer which acts on said contact point and depends on said moment of rotation;

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal, calculates an acceleration acting on said balancer based on the received pressure signal, and calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a yawing vibration; and

a compensation optical system which compensates said light from a subject based on said amount of image vibration in order to prevent said image vibration from occurring.

20. A camera according to claim 19, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said camera further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

21. A camera according to claim 19, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said camera further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

22. An image vibration-proof camera, comprising:

a photographic lens through which light from a subject forms an image;

a first detecting apparatus and a second dectecting apparatus each of which comprises a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis, a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer and a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer acting on said contact point and depending on said moment of rotation, respectively;

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal from said first detecting apparatus at predefined time intervals in order, calculates a difference of attitude and calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a pitching vibration based on said difference of attitude, and also receives said pressure signal from said second detecting apparatus, calculates an acceleration acting on said balancer based on the received pressure signal and calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a yawing vibration; and

a compensation optical system which compensates said light from a subject based on said amounts of image vibration caused by said pitching vibration and said yawing vibration in order to prevent said image vibration from occurring.

23. A camera according to claim 22, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, each said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

24. A camera according to claim 22, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and each said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

25. An image vibration-proof camera, comprising:

a photographic lens through which light from a subject forms an image;

an attitude detecting apparatus which detects whether said camera is held in a horizontal position or in a vertical position;

a first detecting apparatus and a second detecting apparatus which each comprise a vertical balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis, a supporting member which is formed differently from said vertical balancer and a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said vertical balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said vertical balancer acting on said contact point and depending on said moment of rotation, respectively, said first and second detecting apparatuses being arranged in a vertical plane of said camera parallel to an optical axis of said photographic lens so that said moments of rotation are generated in said vertical plane;

a third detecting apparatus and a fourth detecting apparatus which each comprise a horizontal balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis, a supporting member which is formed differently from said horizontal balancer and a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said horizontal balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said horizontal balancer acting on said contact point and depending on said moment of rotation, respectively, said third and fourth detecting apparatuses being arranged in a horizontal plane of said camera so that said moments of rotation are generated in said horizontal plane;

an arithmetic circuit which, (a) when said attitude detecting apparatus judges that said camera is held in a horizontal position, receives said pressure signal from said first detecting apparatus at predefined time intervals in order and calculates a difference of attitude, and then calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a pitching vibration based on said difference of attitude, and also receives said pressure signal from said third and fourth detecting apparatuses and calculates an acceleration acting on said horizontal balancers based on the received pressure signal, and then calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a yawing vibration, and which, (b) when said attitude detecting apparatus judges that said camera is held in a vertical position, said arithmetic circuit receives said pressure signal from said third detecting apparatus at predefined time intervals in order and calculates a difference of attitude, and then calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a pitching vibration based on said difference of attitude, and also receives said pressure signal from said first and second detecting apparatuses and calculates an acceleration acting on said vertical balancers based on the received pressure signal, and then calculates an amount of image vibration caused by a yawing vibration; and

a compensation optical system which compensates said light from a subject based on said amounts of image vibration caused by said pitching vibration and said yawing-vibration in order to prevent said image vibration from occurring.

26. A camera according to claim 25, wherein:

said vertical and horizontal balancers each comprise a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, each said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

27. A camera according to claim 25, wherein:

said vertical and horizontal balancers each comprise a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and each said detecting apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

28. A horizontality and verticality display apparatus, comprising:

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer acting on said contact point and depending on said moment of rotation;

an arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal and calculates an attitude angle to a reference attitude; and

a display device which displays the calculated attitude angle.

29. A display apparatus according to claim 28, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said display apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

30. A display apparatus according to claim 28, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said display apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.

31. A height detecting and displaying apparatus, comprising:

a balancer which generates a moment of rotation around an axis;

a supporting member which is formed differently from said balancer;

a pressure sensing sheet which is supported by said supporting member, contacts at one or more contact points with said balancer and outputs a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure force by said balancer acting on said contact point and depending on said moment of rotation;

an attitude angle arithmetic circuit which receives said pressure signal and calculates an attitude angle to a reference attitude;

a range-finding device which measures a distance to an object;

an input device to which a reference height is inputted;

a height arithmetic circuit which calculates a height of said object based on the measured distance, the calculated attitude angle and an inputted height; and

a display device which displays a calculated height of said object.

32. A height detecting and displaying apparatus according to claim 31, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at one end of said balancer, a body which extends from said supporting section to the other end, and an acting member which is connected with said body, the tip of said acting member contacting at said contact point of said pressure sensing sheet, said height detecting and displaying apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet with a predefined force.

33. A height detecting and displaying apparatus according to claim 31, wherein:

said balancer comprises a supporting section rotatably supported by said axis at the center of said balancer, and a pair of right and left balancing members which are symmetric with respect to a line of action of the center of gravity of said balancer, said line passing said supporting section and said balancing members having said contact points respectively, and said height detecting and displaying apparatus further comprising;

an urging member which presses said balancer to said pressure sensing sheet so that pressures on said contact points of said pair of right and left balancing members have predefined values.