CN102547085B - Imaging device and leaf spring - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to imaging device and leaf spring.A kind of imaging device, including: lens body, described lens body is installed camera lens, and described lens body can rotate along the panning direction with horizontal direction parallel；Support member, supports described lens body；Leaf spring, is fixed to described support member, and is pressed towards described support member side by described lens body by elastic force.

Description

Image forming apparatus and plate spring

Technical Field

The invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a plate spring.

Background

Imaging devices, such as security cameras, are used to capture images of the surrounding environment, but have a fixed mounting location. Therefore, the lens of the imaging device desirably moves horizontally and vertically according to the relationship between the range that can be photographed by the lens installed in the security camera and the place where the user photographs by the security camera. Meanwhile, the horizontal movement of the lens is referred to as a movement in a pan (pan) direction, and the vertical movement of the lens is referred to as a movement in a tilt direction.

Security cameras are generally constituted by a lens body (or a member containing a lens) and a support member for supporting the lens body and fixing the body to a ceiling or the like in a house. In this case, the lens body may be movable in the pan direction and the tilt direction with respect to the support.

Disclosure of Invention

The lens body is currently positioned in the pan direction and the tilt direction, for example, by a ball joint, a universal joint, or the like. However, such a mechanism has a complicated structure and requires a large space for mounting component parts. In addition, such a structure requires a large number of screws for mounting the component parts. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve size and cost reduction in the processing of the image forming apparatus.

It is desirable to provide a high-grade and improved imaging device and plate spring that can achieve a reduction in the overall size and change the direction of a lens and fix the position of the lens with a simple structure.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including: a lens body on which a lens is mounted and which is rotatable in a panning direction parallel to a horizontal direction; a support supporting the lens body; and a plate spring fixed to the support member and pressing the lens body toward the support member side by an elastic force.

The lens body may further include: a lens housing on which the lens is mounted; and a base supporting the lens housing so that the lens housing can rotate in a panning direction. Further, the plate spring presses the base toward the side of the support by an elastic force.

The base may have a cylindrical outer peripheral portion pressed by the plate spring. The support may have a plurality of protruding portions supporting the outer circumferential portion of the substrate. The plate spring may have a spring portion located at an inner periphery of the circular portion and pressing the outer peripheral portion of the base by an elastic force, and an annular circular portion.

The plate spring may further include a holding portion bent from an outer circumference of the circular portion to hold the protruding portion.

The circular portion of the leaf spring may be formed with an opening portion that specifies a position of the leaf spring with respect to the support.

The support member may specify rotation of the lens body in the panning direction and have a shape corresponding to a circumferential surface of the outer peripheral portion.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a plate spring including: an annular circular portion; and a spring portion which is located on an inner periphery of the circular portion and presses a cylindrical base toward a support member supporting a lens body by an elastic force, the cylindrical base supporting a lens housing so that the lens housing can be rotated in a panning direction parallel to a horizontal direction, the lens housing having a lens mounted thereon.

The present invention described above can achieve the overall size reduction and change the direction of the lens and fix the position of the lens with a simple structure.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a security camera according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a side view of a security camera according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a security camera according to an embodiment with the outer cover removed;

fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the security camera shown in fig. 3;

fig. 5 is an exploded side view of the security camera shown in fig. 3;

fig. 6 is an exploded side view of the security camera shown in fig. 3;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a security camera according to an embodiment with the outer cover removed;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the lens body;

fig. 9 is a plan view of a pan leaf spring;

figure 10 is a side view of a pan leaf spring;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a pitch leaf spring;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a pitch leaf spring;

FIG. 13 is a side view of a pitch leaf spring;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the outer lid;

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of the outer cover; and is

Fig. 16 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 6, showing a state where the tilt leaf spring holds the protruding portion of the lens housing.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Meanwhile, in the present specification and the drawings, constituent elements having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by like reference numerals, and repeated explanation thereof is omitted.

The description is made in the following order

1. Structure of the embodiment

2. Assembling method in the examples

3. Adjustment method in the examples

(1. Structure in example)

A security camera 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described first.

The security camera 100 is fixed to a horizontal plane such as a ceiling of a house. The security camera 100 photographs the surrounding environment as a moving image or a still image. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the lens 108c of the security camera 100 may be manually moved in a horizontal or vertical direction. Meanwhile, the horizontal movement of the lens 108c is referred to as movement in the panning direction, and the vertical movement of the lens 108c is referred to as movement in the tilting direction. Adjusting the position of the lens 108c installed in the security camera 100 can take a picture of a place where a user is to take through the security camera 100 regardless of a range that can be taken through the lens 108 c.

The security camera 100 includes a lens body 101 covered by an outer cover 107, a lower housing 103 covered by an outer cover 109, and a circuit board 104, and electronic components such as circuits required to operate the security camera 100 are mounted on the circuit board 104.

Referring to fig. 7, the lens body 101 is composed of a base 105 and a lens housing 108. First, the lens body 101 will be described.

The substrate 105 is formed of, for example, synthetic resin. Referring to fig. 8, the lens housing supporting portion 105b supports the lens housing 108 to be rotatable in the pitch direction. The lens housing supporting portion 105b has a circumferential surface corresponding to a circumferential surface of the sliding portion 108a of the lens housing 108. In this way, the lens housing 108 can smoothly travel in the pitch direction. The base 105 is placed on the three protrusion portions 103a and rotated thereon in the panning direction. Further, the base 105 supports the lens housing 108 so as to be rotatable in the panning direction. Further, the substrate 105 has an outer peripheral portion 105a formed in a cylindrical shape. The outer peripheral portion 105a is pressed toward the housing 103 side by a pan plate spring 102.

The lens housing 108 is made of, for example, synthetic resin. Further, a lens 108c is mounted on the lens housing 108. A CCD (charge coupled device) imaging element or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) imaging element or other electrical components are mounted within the lens housing 108; however, the representation thereof is omitted in the drawings. The CCD imaging element or the CMOS imaging element is adapted to focus light passing through the lens 108c into an image and photoelectrically convert the image to generate a signal. The lens housing 108 is formed with a protruding portion 108b on a side surface. The protruding portion 108b is an example of a cylindrical member and has a central axis that coincides with the rotational axis in the pitch direction of the lens housing 108. The lens housing 108 can rotate on the base 105 in the pitch direction.

The pitch leaf spring 106 is made of, for example, metal. The pitch leaf spring 106 is fixed to the base 105 and presses the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion 108b of the lens housing 108 toward the base 105 by an elastic force. The pitch leaf spring 106 fixes the outer cover 107 to the base 105 by an elastic force.

The pitch leaf spring 106 includes curved portions 106a, 106b and an insertion portion 106 c. The curved portion 106a is an example of a first curved portion, and the circumferential surface of the protruding portion 108b is pressed toward the base 105 by the elastic force of the leaf spring. The curved portion 106b is an example of a second curved portion. Further, the bent portions 106b are inserted into the corresponding fixing holes of the outer cover 107 to fix the outer cover 107 to the base 105 by the elastic force of the plate spring. The insertion portion 106c is formed in a plate shape. Further, the insertion portion 106c is formed with an insertion-side end portion on the bent portion 106a side, and is inserted into the insertion hole 105c of the base 105. Thus, the pitch leaf spring 106 is fixed to the base 105.

The pan leaf spring 102 is made of metal, for example. Further, the plate spring 102 presses the base 105 toward the lower case 103 by an elastic force. The pan spring 102 includes a spring portion 102c, a circular portion 102d, and a holding portion 102 e. The circular portion 102d is a thin plate and has a ring shape. The base 105 is inserted into the inner periphery of the circular portion 102 d. Since the circular portion 102d is formed with the cutout portion 102f at the inner periphery, the spring portion 102c has an appropriate elastic force, and presses the outer peripheral portion 105a of the base 105 by the elastic force. The holding portion 102e is formed by bending from the outer periphery of the circular portion 102d, and holds the corresponding protrusion portion 103 a.

In a state where the security camera 100 is assembled, the lens body 101 is pressed toward a protruding portion 103a (which serves as a chassis of the security camera 100) of the lower case 103 by the pan spring 102. The outer peripheral portion 105a of the substrate 105 of the lens body 101 is placed on each cutout portion 103aA of the projection portion 103a formed on the lower case 103, thereby positioning the substrate 105. Meanwhile, the protruding portion 103a has a cylindrical rib 103aB on the upper surface and a square rib 103aC on the side surface thereof.

The pan spring 102 is provided with a positioning hole 102a and a square hole 102 b. The positioning hole 102a determines the position of the pan spring 102. The square hole 102b is adapted to fix the pan leaf spring 102. Further, each spring portion 102c has the above-described shape to press the lens body 101, and each spring portion 102c is formed inside the pan leaf spring 102 through the corresponding cutout portion 102 f.

The cover 107 covers the lens body 101. The outer cover 107 is formed with a lens opening portion 107 b. The lens opening portion 107b is opened in the cover 107 within the tilt direction movement range of the lens 108c so that the lens 108c can be exposed. As shown in fig. 14 and 15, a lens housing supporting portion 107c is formed inside the outer cover 107. The lens housing supporting portion 107c has a circumferential surface corresponding to a circumferential surface of the sliding portion 108a of the lens housing 108. In this way, the lens housing 108 can be smoothly moved in the pitch direction.

Further, a guide portion 107e and a restriction portion 107d are provided in the outer cover 107. When the outer cover 107 is fixed to the base 105, the guide portion 107e comes into contact with the corresponding curved portion 106b of the pitch leaf spring 106. While making contact with the guide portion 107e, the bent portions 106b are guided to the corresponding fixing holes 107a of the outer cover 107. When the outer cover 107 is fixed to the base 105, the restriction portions 107d come into contact with the respective sides of the curved portions 106b of the pitch leaf springs 106. The restricting portion 107d restricts the flare of the curved portion 106 b. Thus, the guide portion 107e and the restriction portion 107d smoothly guide the curved portion 106b of the pitch leaf spring 106 into the corresponding fixing hole 107a of the outer cover 107.

(2. method of assembly in the example)

Next, a method of assembling the security camera 100 in the present embodiment is described.

The circuit board 104 is mounted on the lower case 103. The circuit board 104 is fixed by a single screw, not shown, and a hook 103b formed on the lower case 103 as shown in fig. 4.

The base 105 of the lens body 101 is placed on the cutout portion 103aA formed on the protrusion portion 103a of the lower case 103.

The pan leaf spring 102 is next covered to hold the base 105. Further, the positioning holes 102a are aligned with the respective cylindrical ribs 103aB, as shown in fig. 7. Thereby, the position of the pan spring 102 is determined. Further, the pan leaf spring 102 is pressed so that the square holes 102b are fitted to the respective ribs 103aC, as shown in fig. 7. In this state, the pan leaf spring 102 holds the base 105 by means of three spring portions 102c formed inside the pan leaf spring 102. The spring portion 102c has the function of a cantilever thin plate spring. Therefore, the base 105 is pressed toward the cutout portion 103aA of the lower case 103 by means of the three spring portions 102 c.

There are various methods to increase or decrease the elastic force of the pan leaf spring 102 in the present embodiment. The method has the advantage that the magnitude of the elastic force is easily adjusted. Examples of the method of increasing or decreasing the elastic force include a method of increasing or decreasing the thickness of the pan spring 102, a method of increasing or decreasing the hardness of the plate spring material, a method of increasing or decreasing the size of the spring portion 102c, and a method of increasing or decreasing the thickness of the outer peripheral portion 105a of the base 105.

With the shape of the pan spring 102 in the present embodiment, three holding portions 102e arranged at approximately equal intervals on the outer periphery of the circular portion 102d are engaged with the corresponding ribs 103aC of the lower case 103. Thereby, the elastic force of the spring portion 102c is applied to the square holes 102b of the three holding portions 102 e. Therefore, the square holes 102b are respectively subjected to a force in a direction of disengaging the pan leaf spring 102 from the lower housing 103 by an elastic force caused by bringing the spring portions 102c close to the corresponding square holes 102 b. However, since the three holding portions 102e are connected to each other by the circular portion 102d, these forces are restrained from each other. Therefore, the pan spring 102 will not be detached from the lower housing 103. Therefore, it is not necessary to fix the pan leaf spring 102 to the lower housing 103 by screws or the like.

Further, with the pan leaf spring 102 according to the above-described structure and shape, the mechanism for rotating the lens body 101 in the pan direction (arrow direction in fig. 1) has only the base 105 and the pan leaf spring 102, the shape of the base 105 being such that the lens housing 108 does not slide on the base 105 in the pan direction. Therefore, unlike the conventional manner, a complicated mechanism is not required, and screws or the like are not required to fix the pan leaf spring 102. Thus, the security camera 100 can achieve space saving.

The lens housing 108 is placed on the base 105. The lens housing 108 is formed with sliding portions 108a on both side surfaces. The sliding portion 108a rotates the lens housing 108 in the pitch direction. The base 105 is formed with lens housing support portions 105b, the lens housing support portions 105b being shaped to receive corresponding slide portions 108 a.

The tilt leaf spring 106 is next inserted into the insertion hole 105c of the base 105 shown in fig. 8 in a state where the curved portion 106b holds the protruding portion 108b of the lens housing 108. Meanwhile, the pitch leaf spring 106 is similarly inserted into the base 105 on the opposite surface side, not shown in fig. 8.

In this state, the lens housing 108 and the base 105 are coupled to each other by the tilt leaf spring 106. Since the curved portion 106a holds the protruding portion 108b of the lens housing 108, the thin plate portion supporting the curved portion 106a functions as a cantilever thin plate spring. When the lens housing 108 is rotated based on the sliding portion 108a, the elastic force of the thin plate spring acts as a load. Thereby, the elastic force of the pitch leaf spring 106 acts as a force for holding the lens 108c in position in the pitch direction.

Meanwhile, if the sliding portion 108a and the protruding portion 108b are formed independently of each other, there are the following advantages. The contact with the pitch leaf spring 106 may damage the protruding portion 108b of the lens housing 108. Even in such a case, the sliding surface in the pitch direction is a surface of the sliding portion 108a, and the sliding portion 108a is different from the protruding portion 108b which comes into contact with the pitch leaf spring 106. Thus, the movement in the pitch direction can be maintained. The sliding portion 108a having a larger diameter can stabilize the movement in the sliding direction. The protrusion portion 108b having a smaller diameter can miniaturize the pitch leaf spring 106.

There are various methods to increase or decrease the elastic force of the pitch leaf spring 106 in the present embodiment. The advantage of this method is that the magnitude of the elastic force can be easily adjusted. Examples of the method of increasing or decreasing the elastic force include a method of increasing or decreasing the thickness of the pitch leaf spring 106, a method of increasing or decreasing the hardness of the leaf spring material, a method of increasing or decreasing the bending angle of the bent portion 106a, and a method of increasing or decreasing the diameter of the protruding portion 108b of the lens housing 108.

The pitch leaf spring 106 is inserted in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction during installation. The tilt leaf spring 106 presses the lens housing 108 toward the base 105 side. Therefore, the pitch leaf spring 106 will not fall off in the vertical direction during installation. On the other hand, the pitch leaf spring 106 can be easily removed in the insertion direction.

Also the other bent portion 106b of the pitch leaf spring 106 causes the thin plate portion supporting the bent portion 106b to function as a leaf spring. The bent portion 106b is inserted into the fixing hole 107a of the outer cover 107. Thus, the cover 107 is bonded to the substrate 105. Also, the direction in which the pitch leaf spring 106 is inserted into the fixing hole 107a is perpendicular to the vertical direction during installation.

According to the above structure, the pitch leaf spring 106 is fixed by being held between the base 105 and the outer cover 107. Therefore, it is not necessary to fix the pitch plate spring 106 by a screw or the like.

As described above, the security camera 100 can be easily assembled only by sequentially overlapping the lower case 103, the circuit board 104, the lens body 101, and the pan spring 102.

(3. adjustment method in example)

A method of adjusting the lens 108c of the security camera 100 in the present embodiment will be described.

[ pan Direction ]

If the lens body 101 is manually rotated in the panning direction indicated by an arrow in fig. 1, the spring portion 102c of the pan spring 102 acts as a load. If the lens body 101 is rotated by a force equal to or greater than the load and the hand is released from the lens body 101 when the lens 108c faces the desired direction, the lens 108c stops at that position. The holding force of the lens body 101 in this state corresponds to the elastic force of the spring portion 102c of the pan spring 102.

The elastic force is increased or decreased by a variety of simple methods as described above. In the present embodiment, the elastic force is studied as a torque of the lens body 101, and is set at 50 to 100 Nmm. This value is determined according to the weight, size, etc. of the lens body 101. Therefore, various methods of increasing or decreasing the elastic force are very effective for commercialization of products.

[ Pitch direction ]

If the lens body 101 is manually rotated in the pitch direction indicated by the arrow in fig. 2, the elastic force of the curved portion 106a of the pitch leaf spring 106 acts as a load. If the lens body 101 is rotated by a force equal to or greater than the load and the hand is released from the lens body 101 when the lens 108c faces the ideal direction, the lens 108c stops at that position. The force for holding the lens body 101 in this state corresponds to the elastic force of the curved portion 106a of the tilt leaf spring 106.

It is simple to increase or decrease the elastic force by the various methods described above. In the present embodiment, the elastic force is studied as the torque of the lens body 101, and is set at 10 to 40 Nmm. This value is determined according to the weight, size, etc. of the lens body 101. Therefore, the fact that there are various methods of increasing or decreasing the elastic force is very effective for commercialization of products.

According to the above-described embodiment, the security camera 100 is such that the mechanism for moving the lens 108c in the tilt and pan directions does not have large component parts and can be realized with a small number of component parts compared to a conventional security camera. Further, the security camera 100 does not require fastening screws, and is assembled only by overlapping component parts from one direction, which is easier to assemble than before. Thus, the present embodiment can reduce the cost and size of the security camera.

This application contains subject matter related to the subject matter disclosed in japanese prior patent application JP2010-241256, filed on the sun to the office at 27/10/2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and substitutions are possible in light of other factors, such as design requirements, within the scope of the appended claims or equivalents thereof.

Claims (6)

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a lens body on which a lens is mounted and which is rotatable in a panning direction parallel to a horizontal direction;

a support supporting the lens body; and

a plate spring fixed to the support and pressing the lens body toward the support side by an elastic force,

wherein,

the lens body still includes:

a lens housing on which the lens is mounted; and

a base supporting the lens housing so that the lens housing can rotate in a panning direction; and is

The plate spring presses the base toward the side of the support by an elastic force,

wherein the base has a cylindrical outer peripheral portion pressed by the plate spring.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

the support has a plurality of protruding portions that support the outer peripheral portion of the substrate; and the plate spring has a spring portion and an annular circular portion, the spring portion being located at an inner periphery of the circular portion and having an elastic force adapted to press the outer peripheral portion of the base.

3. The image forming apparatus as set forth in claim 2,

wherein the plate spring further includes a holding portion bent from an outer circumference of the circular portion to hold the protruding portion.

4. The image forming apparatus as set forth in claim 2,

wherein the circular portion of the leaf spring is formed with an opening portion that specifies a position of the leaf spring relative to the support.

5. The image forming apparatus as set forth in claim 2,

wherein the support member specifies rotation of the lens body in a panning direction and has a shape corresponding to a circumferential surface of the outer peripheral portion.

6. A leaf spring comprising:

an annular circular portion; and

a spring portion located at an inner periphery of the circular portion and pressing a cylindrical base by an elastic force toward a support supporting a lens body, the cylindrical base supporting a lens housing so that the lens housing can rotate in a panning direction parallel to a horizontal direction, the lens housing having a lens mounted thereon, wherein the lens body includes the base having a cylindrical outer peripheral portion pressed by the plate spring and the lens housing.