U.S. patent application number 13/344113 was filed with the patent office on 2013-05-30 for lens barrier device and image pickup apparatus thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to ALTEK CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is Yi-Yuan Tsai. Invention is credited to Yi-Yuan Tsai.
Application Number | 20130136444 13/344113 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48365274 |
Filed Date | 2013-05-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130136444 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai; Yi-Yuan |
May 30, 2013 |
Lens Barrier Device and Image Pickup Apparatus Thereof
Abstract
A lens barrier device and an image pickup apparatus, comprising
a moving barrel, a fixed barrel, a base plate, two vanes and a
rotating plate. The base plate has a central window. Two vanes are
inserted into the base plate and have a pivot and a control
protrusion respectively. The rotating plate has a hollow part and
two first grooves. A linking-up body is axially extended from the
rotating plate, and has a first guiding protrusion. The moving
barrel has a second guiding convex dot. The fixed barrel has a
second groove and a third groove. The first guiding protrusion, the
second guiding protrusion and the control convex dot are inserted
into the first groove, the second groove and the third groove
respectively. After the first guiding protrusion is driven, the
rotating plate is linked to rotate to open or close the two
vanes.
Inventors: |
Tsai; Yi-Yuan; (Hemei
Township, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Tsai; Yi-Yuan |
Hemei Township |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
ALTEK CORPORATION
Hsinchu
TW
|
Family ID: |
48365274 |
Appl. No.: |
13/344113 |
Filed: |
January 5, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
396/501 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03B 11/043
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
396/501 |
International
Class: |
G03B 9/14 20060101
G03B009/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 25, 2011 |
TW |
100143221 |
Claims
1. A lens barrier device, comprising: a barrier body, comprising: a
base plate, having a central window; two vanes, each having a pivot
and a control protrusion respectively, and the two vanes being
pivotally embedded to the base plate; and a rotating plate, having
a hollow part corresponding to the central window, two first
grooves formed at positions opposite to the two control
protrusions, and a linking-up body extended axially from the
rotating plate and including a first guiding convex dot formed
thereon; wherein the two control protrusions are passed and
installed in the two first grooves respectively, and when the
rotating plate is rotated, the two first grooves are provided for
driving the two vanes to open through the two control protrusions,
so as to open or cover the central window; a moving barrel, being
hollow in structure, and having a second guiding convex dot formed
at the periphery of the moving barrel, and the barrier body being
disposed on a side of the moving barrel; and a fixed barrel, being
hollow in structure, sheathed on the periphery of the moving
barrel, and having a second groove and a third groove formed on a
wall of the fixed barrel, and the second groove being sheathed on
the first guiding convex dot, and the third groove being sheathed
on the second guiding convex dot, and the second groove being
provided for guiding the first guiding convex dot to move when the
moving barrel slides with respect to the fixed barrel, so as to
link the linking-up body and rotate the rotating plate, and the
third groove being in a shape capable of driving the moving barrel
to move through the second guiding convex dot.
2. The lens barrier device of claim 1, wherein the linking-up body
is in a shape of a long plate, and the first guiding convex dot is
disposed at a rear end of the linking-up body.
3. The lens barrier device of claim 1, wherein an end of the two
vanes with the pivot is pivotally coupled to the base plate, such
that the control protrusion at the other end of the two vanes is
guided by the shape of the two first grooves to move.
4. The lens barrier device of claim 1, wherein the second groove is
in a shape of a linear groove coupled to an oblique groove and then
coupled to a linear groove, and the third groove is in a shape of a
linear groove.
5. The lens barrier device of claim 4, wherein when the first
guiding convex dot is driven, the first guiding convex dot is
guided by the second groove to move, and the oblique groove being
provided for the first guiding convex dot to move obliquely and
link with and rotate the linking-up body and the rotating plate,
such that the two first grooves are rotated by the rotating plate
to push the control protrusion, so as to control the two vanes to
be opened or closed.
6. The lens barrier device of claim 1, wherein the first guiding
convex dot is moved axially and obliquely along the second
groove.
7. The lens barrier device of claim 1, wherein the moving barrel
has a notch disposed at a position corresponding to the first
guiding convex dot.
8. The lens barrier device of claim 7, wherein the linking-up body
is disposed in the moving barrel, and the first guiding convex dot
is passed through the notch and set in the second groove.
9. The lens barrier device of claim 7, wherein when the first
guiding convex dot is driven, the first guiding convex dot is
guided by the second groove to move, and the first guiding convex
dot is moved to push the notch and drive the moving barrel to
move.
10. The lens barrier device of claim 1, wherein when the moving
barrel is moved in a direction away from the fixed barrel, the two
vanes are disposed apart from each other to open the central
window; and when the moving barrel is moved in a direction towards
the fixed barrel, the two vanes are disposed close to each other to
cover the central window.
11. An image pickup apparatus, comprising: a barrier body,
including: a base plate, having a central window; two vanes, each
having a pivot and a control protrusion respectively, and the two
vanes being embedded into the base plate; and a rotating plate,
having a hollow part corresponding to the central window, and two
first grooves opposite to the two control protrusions respectively,
and the two control protrusions being set in the two first grooves
respectively, such that when the rotating plate is rotated, the two
first grooves drive the two vanes to open or close through the two
control protrusions to open or cover the central window, and a
linking-up body being extended axially out from the rotating plate,
and a first guiding convex dot being formed on the linking-up body;
a lens barrel, including: a moving barrel, being hollow in
structure, and having a second guiding convex dot formed on a
periphery wall of the moving barrel, and the barrier body being
disposed on a side of the moving barrel; and a fixed barrel, being
hollow in structure, sheathed on the periphery of the moving
barrel, and having a second groove and a third groove formed on a
periphery wall of the fixed barrel, and the second groove being
sheathed on the first guiding convex dot, and the third groove
being sheathed on the second guiding convex dot, and the second
groove having a shape capable of guiding the first guiding convex
dot to move to link the linking-up body and rotate the rotating
plate when the moving barrel is slidably moved with respect to the
fixed barrel, and the third groove having a shape capable of
driving the moving barrel to move axially through the second
guiding convex dot.
12. The image pickup apparatus of claim 11, wherein the image
pickup apparatus is integrated with opening or shutting the central
window and extending or contracting the lens barrel, such that when
the lens barrel is extended, the two vanes open the central window,
and when the lens barrel is contracted, the two vanes shut the
central window.
13. The image pickup apparatus of claim 11, wherein the linking-up
body is in a shape of a long plate, and the first guiding convex
dot is disposed at a rear end of the linking-up body.
14. The image pickup apparatus of claim 11, wherein the base plate
is pivotally installed to a side of the two vanes having the pivot,
such that the control protrusion on the other side of the two vanes
is guided by the shape of the two first grooves to move.
15. The image pickup apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second
groove is in a shape of a linear groove coupled to an oblique
groove and then coupled to a linear groove, and the third groove is
in a shape of a linear groove, and the first guiding convex dot is
moved axially and obliquely along the second groove, and the second
guiding convex dot is moved axially along the third groove.
16. The image pickup apparatus of claim 15, wherein when the first
guiding convex dot is driven, the first guiding convex dot is
guided by the second groove to move, and the oblique groove makes
the first guiding convex dot to move obliquely and link the
linking-up body and rotate the rotating plate, and the rotating
plate is rotated to rotate the two first grooves to push the
control protrusion, so as to control the two vanes to be opened and
closed.
17. The image pickup apparatus of claim 11, wherein the moving
barrel has a notch formed at a position corresponding to the first
guiding convex dot.
18. The image pickup apparatus of claim 17, wherein the linking-up
body is disposed in the moving barrel, and the first guiding convex
dot is passed through the notch and set in the second groove.
19. The image pickup apparatus of claim 17, wherein when the first
guiding convex dot is driven, the first guiding convex dot is
guided by the second groove to move, and the first guiding convex
dot is moved to push the notch and drive the moving barrel to
move.
20. The image pickup apparatus of claim 11, wherein when the moving
barrel is moved in a direction away from the fixed barrel, the two
vanes are disposed apart from each other to open the central
window; and when the moving barrel is moved in a direction towards
the fixed barrel, the two vanes are disposed close to each other to
cover the central window.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to Taiwan
Patent Application No. 100143221, filed on Nov. 25, 2011, in the
Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a lens barrier device and
an image pickup apparatus thereof, in particular to the lens
barrier device and the image pickup apparatus using a slide groove
to achieve the effect of driving and linking a plurality of vanes
to open or close.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] As the optical technology advances and the related market
has been promoted aggressively by major camera manufacturers in
recent years, people record details of their daily life by using
digital still cameras instead of the conventional recording method
of writing dairy in the past. For the huge demand of this consumer
market, it is an important subject for the major camera
manufacturers to find a way of lowering the production cost and
simplifying the production process of the camera.
[0006] In prior art, most lens barrier comprise a spring which
drives vanes elastically to open or close the vanes. However, the
spring may become elastically fatigued after a long time of use,
and the assembling process for the barrier with spring not only
requires more time and labor, but also incurs a higher production
cost. In addition, for extendable and contractible part, the lens
is generally designed as an independent mechanism, so that the
vanes of the lens cannot be correspondingly opened or closed while
a lens barrel is extended or contracted, and needs an additional
driving module for driving the lens to be extended or contracted.
Obviously, the conventional method has the drawbacks of involving a
complicated assembling procedure of the camera and increasing the
production cost.
[0007] In view of the drawbacks of the conventional method,
manufacturers try to design and develop an ideal lens barrier
device that can be integrated with the operations of opening or
closing the lens barrier as well as extending or contracting the
lens, so as to overcome the high production cost and the waste of
manufacturing time caused by the complicated lens barrier structure
and independent lens extending and contracting structure of a
conventional camera. The inventor of the present invention designed
a zooming lens mechanism and an image pickup device to overcome the
drawbacks of the prior art and to improve the industrial
applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present
invention to provide a lens barrier device and an image pickup
apparatus thereof to solve the aforementioned problems of the
conventional lens requiring separate structures for the effects of
opening or closing the vanes by a spring and extending or
contracting the lens independently, and resulting in the waste of
production cost and manufacturing time.
[0009] To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present
invention further provides a lens barrier device, comprising: a
barrier body, a moving barrel, and a fixed barrel. The barrier body
further includes a base plate, two vanes, and a rotating plate. The
base plate has a central window. The two vanes have a pivot and a
control protrusion respectively, and the two vanes are pivotally
embedded into the base plate. The rotating plate includes a hollow
part disposed at a position corresponding to the central window,
and two first grooves formed at positions opposite to the two
control protrusions respectively, wherein the two control
protrusions are passed and set in the two first grooves
respectively, and when the rotating plate is rotated, a side of
each first groove pushes each control protrusion to drive the two
vanes to open or close the central window. A linking-up body is
extended from the rotating plate axially and includes a first
guiding convex dot formed thereon. The moving barrel is a hollow
barrel structure having a second guiding convex dot formed on a
periphery wall. The barrier body is disposed on a side of the
moving barrel. The fixed barrel is also a hollow barrel structure
sheathed on the periphery of the moving barrel and having a second
groove and a third groove formed on the periphery wall of the fixed
barrel. The second groove is sheathed on the first guiding convex
dot, and the third groove is sheathed on the second guiding convex
dot. The second groove is in a shape capable of guiding the first
guiding convex dot to move to link the linking-up body and rotate
the rotating plate when the moving barrel is slidably moved with
respect to the fixed barrel, and the third groove is in a shape
capable of driving the moving barrel to move axially through the
second guiding convex dot.
[0010] Wherein, the linking-up body is in a shape of a long plate,
and the first guiding convex dot is disposed at a rear end of the
linking-up body.
[0011] Wherein, an end of the two vanes with the pivot is pivotally
coupled to the base plate, such that the control protrusion at the
other end of the two vanes is guided by the shape of the two first
grooves to move.
[0012] Wherein, the second groove is in a shape of a linear groove
coupled to an oblique groove and then coupled to a linear groove,
and the third groove is in a shape of a linear groove.
[0013] Wherein, the first guiding convex dot is moved axially and
obliquely along the second groove.
[0014] Wherein, the moving barrel has a notch formed at a position
corresponding to the first guiding convex dot.
[0015] Wherein, the linking-up body is disposed in the moving
barrel, and the first guiding convex dot is passed through the
notch and set in the second groove.
[0016] Wherein, when the moving barrel is moved in a direction away
from the fixed barrel, the two vanes are moved apart from each
other to open the central window; and when the moving barrel is
moved in a direction towards the fixed barrel, the two vanes are
moved close to each other to cover the central window
[0017] Wherein, when the driving module drives the first guiding
convex dot to move along the shape of the second groove, the
movement of the first guiding convex dot pushes the notch to drive
the moving barrel to move.
[0018] Wherein, when the first guiding convex dot is moved along
the shape of the second groove and into the oblique groove of the
second groove, the first guiding convex dot is moved obliquely to
link the linking-up body and rotate the rotating plate, and the
rotation of the rotating plate makes a side of the two first
grooves to push the control protrusion, so as to control the two
vanes to open or close the central window.
[0019] To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention
further provides an image pickup apparatus comprising a barrier
body and a lens barrel. The barrier body further comprises a base
plate, two vanes, and a rotating plate. The lens barrel further
comprises a moving barrel and a fixed barrel. The base plate has a
central window. The two vanes have a pivot and a control protrusion
respectively, and the two vanes are embedded into the base plate.
The rotating plate has a hollow part corresponding to the central
window and two first grooves opposite to the two control
protrusions respectively. The two control protrusions are set in
the two first grooves respectively, such that when the rotating
plate is rotated, the two first grooves drive the two vanes to open
or close through the two control protrusions to open or close the
central window, and a linking-up body is extended axially from the
rotating plate, and a first guiding convex dot is formed on the
linking-up body. The moving barrel is a hollow barrel structure
having a second guiding convex dot formed on a periphery wall of
the moving barrel, and the barrier body is disposed on a side of
the moving barrel. The fixed barrel is a hollow barrel structure
sheathed on the periphery of the moving barrel and having a second
groove and a third groove formed on a periphery wall of the fixed
barrel, and the second groove is sheathed on the first guiding
convex dot, and the third groove is sheathed on the second guiding
convex dot, and the second groove is in a shape capable of guiding
the first guiding convex dot to move to link the linking-up body
and rotate the rotating plate when the moving barrel is slidably
moved with respect to the fixed barrel, and the third groove has a
shape capable of driving the moving barrel to move axially through
the second guiding convex dot.
[0020] Wherein, when the lens barrel is extended, the two vanes
open the central window, and when the lens barrel is contracted,
the two vanes shut the central window.
[0021] Wherein, the linking-up body is in a shape of a long plate,
and the first guiding convex dot is disposed at a rear end of the
linking-up body.
[0022] Wherein, a side of the two vanes having the pivot is
pivotally installed to the base plate, such that the two control
protrusions of the two vanes can be moved along the two first
grooves by using the pivot as the axis.
[0023] Wherein, the second groove is in a shape of a linear groove
coupled to an oblique groove and then coupled to a linear groove,
and the third groove is in a shape of a linear groove.
[0024] Wherein, the first guiding convex dot is moved obliquely
along the second groove.
[0025] Wherein, the moving barrel has a notch formed at a position
corresponding to the first guiding convex dot.
[0026] Wherein, the linking-up body is disposed in the moving
barrel, and the first guiding convex dot is passed through the
notch and set in the second groove.
[0027] Wherein, when the moving barrel is moved in a direction away
from the fixed barrel, the two vanes are disposed apart from each
other to open the central window; and when the moving barrel is
moved in a direction towards the fixed barrel, the two vanes are
disposed close to each other to cover the central window.
[0028] Wherein, the driving module is used for driving the first
guiding convex dot, such that the first guiding convex dot is moved
along the shape of the second groove, and the movement of the first
guiding convex dot pushes the notch to drive the moving barrel to
move.
[0029] Wherein, when the first guiding convex dot is moved along
the shape of the second groove to the oblique groove of the second
groove, the first guiding convex dot is moved obliquely to link the
linking-up body and rotate the rotating plate, and the rotation of
the rotating plate makes a side of the two first grooves to push
the control protrusion, so as to control the two vanes to be opened
or closed.
[0030] In summation of the description above, the lens barrier
device and the image pickup apparatus in accordance with the
present invention have one or more of the following advantages:
[0031] (1) The lens barrier device and the image pickup apparatus
adopt the design of a slide slot, so that only one driving module
is required for driving a lens and opening or closing vanes and
extending or contracting a lens barrel to simplify the design of
the lens module, so as to achieve the effect of lowering the
production cost by reducing the number of components used.
[0032] (2) The lens barrier device and the image pickup apparatus
adopt the design of a slide slot to substitute the traditional
spring structure, so as to save the material cost and the
assembling time of the spring, while minimizing the problem caused
by the elastic fatigue and enhancing the production efficiency and
capacity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a lens barrier device of the
present invention;
[0034] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a lens barrier device of the
present invention viewed from another angle;
[0035] FIG. 3 is a first schematic view of operating a lens barrier
device of the present invention;
[0036] FIG. 4 is a second schematic view of operating a lens
barrier device of the present invention;
[0037] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of operating a vane of a lens
barrier device of the present invention; and
[0038] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a lens barrier device in
accordance with a first referred embodiment of the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0039] The technical characteristics of the present invention will
become apparent with the detailed description of the preferred
embodiments accompanied with the illustration of related drawings
as follows. It is noteworthy to point out that the drawings are
provided for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, but
they are not necessarily drawn according to the actual scale, or
are intended for limiting the scope of the invention.
[0040] The lens barrier device of the present invention primarily
uses a single driving module (such as a motor) to open or close
vanes of a lens and extend or contract the lens barrel, and the
lens barrier device can be applied to an image pickup device such
as a digital camera, a Smart phone, and a digital single-lens
reflex camera, but the invention is not limited to such
arrangements only.
[0041] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 for schematic views of a
lens barrier device in accordance with the present invention
respectively, the lens barrier device comprises a barrier body 10
and a lens barrel 20. The barrier body 10 further comprises a base
plate 11, two vanes 12 and a rotating plate 13. The lens barrel 20
further comprises a moving barrel 21 and a fixed barrel 22.
Wherein, the base plate 11 has a central window 110 formed at the
center of the base plate 11 and two pivot holes 111 formed at the
periphery of the base plate 11, and the two vanes 12 are installed
on a side of the base plate 11, and a pivot 120 is installed on the
vane 12 and proximate to a side of the base plate 11, and a control
protrusion 121 is disposed on the other side of the base plate 11.
Each pivot 120 is pivotally and separately embedded into the pivot
hole 111, such that one side of the two vanes 12 is fixed onto the
base plate 11. The rotating plate 13 has a hollow part 130 disposed
at a position corresponding to the central window 110, and the two
control protrusions 121 have two first grooves 131 respectively,
wherein the two control protrusions 121 are passed and set into the
two first grooves 131 respectively. A linking-up body 132 is
extended axially from a lateral side of the rotating plate 13, and
a first guiding convex dot 1321 is formed at a rear end of the
linking-up body 132.
[0042] Wherein, the rotating plate 13 can have a plurality of
linking-up bodies 132 extended from the rotating plate 13, as
needed, to improve the stability when the barrier body 10 is
driven. Similarly, the second guiding convex dot 211, second groove
220 and third groove 221 can come with a plural quantity according
to the actual requirements. In this preferred embodiment, one of
each of the above is used, but the invention is not limited to such
arrangement only.
[0043] The moving barrel 21 has a notch 210 formed on a periphery
wall of the moving barrel 21, and a second guiding convex dot 211
formed on an external periphery wall, and the barrier body 10 is
disposed on a side of the moving barrel 21. The fixed barrel 22 has
a second groove 220 and a third groove 221 formed on a periphery
wall of the fixed barrel 22, wherein the second groove 220 is
sheathed on the first guiding convex dot 1321, and the third groove
221 is sheathed on the second guiding convex dot 211. The fixed
barrel 22 is sheathed on the periphery of the moving barrel 21.
Wherein, the second groove 220 is in a shape of a first linear
groove 2200 coupled to an oblique groove 2201, and then coupled to
a second linear groove 2202. Wherein, the first guiding convex dot
1321 can be an independent component or a component integrally
formed with the linking-up body 132. This preferred embodiment
adopts the integrated component, but the scope of the invention is
not limited to such arrangement only.
[0044] With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 for first and second
schematic views of operating a lens barrier device of the present
invention and a schematic view of operating a vane of a lens
barrier device of the present invention respectively, if an
external force is applied to push the first guiding convex dot 1321
in a direction away from the fixed barrel 22 (as indicated by the
arrow in FIG. 3), the first guiding convex dot 1321 will move along
the shape of the second groove 220. More specifically, the first
guiding convex dot 1321 will be moved axially along the first
linear groove 2200, and then moved obliquely along the oblique
groove 2201, and finally moved axially with the second linear
groove 2202. When the first guiding convex dot 1321 is moved
obliquely along the oblique groove 2201, the first guiding convex
dot 1321 will link and rotate the rotating plate 13. When the
rotating plate 13 is rotated, a side of the two first grooves 131
will push and move the control protrusion 121, such that the two
vanes 12 can be moved and rotated clockwise by using the two pivots
120 as an axis to open the central window 110. The first guiding
convex dot 1321 is passed through the notch 210 and set into the
second groove 220. Therefore, when the first guiding convex dot
1321 is moved along the second groove 220, a side of the notch 210
is pushed to drive the moving barrel 21 to move. In addition, the
moving barrel 21 has a second guiding convex dot 211 formed on a
periphery wall of the moving barrel 21. The second guiding convex
dot 211 is passed and set in the third groove 221, such that when
the moving barrel 21 is pushed by the first guiding convex dot
1321, the moving barrel 21 is restricted by the shape of the third
groove 221 and can be moved axially only. Wherein, the shape of the
two first grooves 131 is designed to achieve the effect of
controlling the openness of the central window 110 by the two vanes
12, so as to control the amount of light entering into the lens
barrier device, or this design is applied to a structure of an
aperture or a shutter. In this preferred embodiment, only the lens
barrier device is adopted for illustrating the present invention,
but the practical applications are not limited to such arrangement
only.
[0045] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, if a user wants to close
the central window 110, the user can move the first guiding convex
dot 1321 along the shape of the second groove 220. In other words,
the first guiding convex dot 1321 will be moved axially along the
second linear groove 2202, and then moved obliquely along the
oblique groove 2201, and finally moved axially along the first
linear groove 2200. Wherein, when the first guiding convex dot 1321
is moved obliquely in the oblique groove 2201, the rotating plate
13 is linked to move axially and rotate counterclockwise. While the
rotating plate 13 is rotating, the other side of the two first
grooves 131 pushes the two control protrusions 121, such that the
two vanes 12 can be moved and rotated counterclockwise by using the
two pivots 120 as an axis to close the central window 110. Since
the rotating plate 13 is disposed on a side of the moving barrel
21, therefore when the first guiding convex dot 1321 links the
rotating plate 13 to move, the rotating plate 13 drives the moving
barrel 21 to move synchronously. Further, the second guiding convex
dot 211 is passed and set in the third groove 221, and the movement
of the second guiding convex dot 211 is restricted by the shape of
the linear groove of the third groove 221, so that the moving
barrel 21 can be moved axially in a stable manner. Wherein, the
inclination of the oblique groove 2201 can be designed or adjusted
according to the actual requirements. Different inclinations of the
oblique groove 2201 can be used for controlling the extent of
rotation of the rotating plate 13, or controlling the rotating
speed of the rotating plate 13. The relative positions of the
second groove 220 and the third groove 221 can be designed to
adjust the level of extension and contraction of the lens barrel 20
and the openness of the two vanes 12 of the lens, but the invention
is not limited to such arrangements only.
[0046] With reference to FIG. 6 for a schematic view of a lens
barrier device in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of
the present invention, the lens barrier device can be applied in an
image pickup apparatus 30, and the image pickup apparatus 30 can be
a digital camera, a camera phone, a Smart phone, a digital video
camera, or any portable electronic device with a photographic
function. To make it easier to understand the technical
characteristics of the present invention, a digital camera is used
below for illustrating the present invention, but the invention is
not limited to such arrangement only.
[0047] In this preferred embodiment, the connection and operation
of the lens barrier device are the same as described above, and
thus will not be described again. In the figure, the image pickup
apparatus 30 comprises a barrier body 10 (wherein only the base
plate 11 and the central window 110 are shown in the figure), a
lens barrel 20 and an image sensor 32. The lens barrel 20 comprises
a moving barrel 21 and a fixed barrel 22. If a user presses a power
button 31 among the plurality of control buttons, a driving module
(not shown in the figure) will push the first guiding convex dot
1321, such that the first guiding convex dot 1321 will be moved
along the shape of the second groove 220. In other words, the first
guiding convex dot 1321 will be moved along the first linear groove
2200, the oblique groove 2201 and the second linear groove 2202. If
the first guiding convex dot 1321 is moved along the oblique groove
2201, the rotating plate 13 will be rotated clockwise, and if the
two first grooves 131 are rotated clockwise accordingly, the two
control protrusions 121 will be pushed, and the two control
protrusions 121 pushed by the two first grooves 131 will make the
two vanes 12 to open the central window 110.
[0048] While the first guiding convex dot 1321 is moving along the
second groove 220, the first guiding convex dot 1321 pushes the
notch 210, such that the moving barrel 21 will be moved with the
first guiding convex dot 1321. Since the second guiding convex dot
211 is passed and set in the third groove 221 and the movement of
the moving barrel 21 is restricted by the shape of the third groove
221, therefore when the first guiding convex dot 1321 is moved
along the oblique groove 2201, the movement of the moving barrel 21
is restricted by the linear shape of the third groove 221, and the
linear groove is parallel to the axis, so that the moving barrel 21
can be moved axially only. After a series of the aforementioned
movements, the driving module drives the lens barrier device to
separate the two vanes 12 apart, so as to open the central window
110, and allow the light of an object to be photographed to enter
and project onto an image sensor 32 of the image pickup apparatus
30, and the driving module also drives the lens barrel 20 to extend
and facilitate capturing an image. Wherein, the image sensor 32 can
be a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide
semiconductor (CMOS).
[0049] If the user wants to turn off the camera, the aforementioned
procedure is conducted in a reverse order, and thus will not be
described. It is noteworthy to point out that when the first
guiding convex dot 1321 is moved along the oblique groove 2201, the
rotating plate 13 is moved and rotated counterclockwise, and the
other side of the two first grooves 131 will be rotated
counterclockwise accordingly to push the two control protrusions
121, so as to make the second control protrusion 121 to move by
using the two pivots 120 as an axis, and the two vanes 12 close the
central window 110. In addition, when the first guiding convex dot
1321 is moved axially and obliquely along the second groove 220, a
side of the rotating plate 13 pushes the moving barrel 21, so that
the moving barrel 21 will be moved accordingly, and the movement of
the second guiding convex dot 211 is restricted by the linear shape
of the third groove 221, and the linear groove is parallel to the
axis, therefore the moving barrel 21 can be moved axially only.
After a series of the aforementioned movements, the driving module
drives the lens barrier device to close the central window 110
while retracting the lens barrel 20.
[0050] In summation of the description above, the lens barrier
device and the image pickup apparatus of the present invention have
the control protrusion arranged separately on the two vanes, and
embedded into the first groove of the rotating plate, and the
rotating plate has the linking-up body with the first guiding
convex dot, and the first guiding convex dot is moved along the
first groove. When the first guiding convex dot is moved along the
oblique groove of the first groove, the rotating plate is driven to
rotate, so that a side of the first groove pushes the control
protrusion to close the two vanes. The foregoing method is used to
substitute the conventional way of using a spring, so as to
overcome the shortcomings of using the spring to control to open
and close the vanes of the lens barrier device. In addition, the
moving barrel has the notch formed at an end opening of the moving
barrel, and the first guiding convex dot is passed and set into the
notch. When the first guiding convex dot is driven to push the
notch, the moving barrel will be moved accordingly. With this
structural design, the vanes can be opened or closed while the lens
barrel is extended or contracted. Therefore, the invention can
improve another problem of the conventional lens barrel that
requires a driving module to extend or contract the lens barrel.
The present invention uses a multi-slide design to achieve the
effect of opening or closing the vanes of the lens while extending
or contracting the lens barrel by using a single driving
module.
* * * * *