Lens driving device

A camera zoom lens driving device comprising:

• a zoom lens;
• a moving unit for changing the focal length of said zoom lens;
• driving means for driving said moving unit;
• an operating member for specifying a direction in which said moving unit is to be driven;
• pressing force detecting means responsive to an operation of pressing said operating member for producing a variable output;
• and
• drive control means for outputting a drive control signal corresponding to an output of said pressing force detecting means to said driving means, said drive control means outputting to said driving means a drive control signal corresponding to an output of said pressing force detecting means when the output of said pressing force detecting means is in a range from a first predetermined value corresponding to a first pressing force to a second predetermined value corresponding to a second pressing force stronger than said first pressing force, and said drive control means controlling said driving means so as to cause said driving means to drive said moving unit at a constant speed regardless of a pressing force in the case where the output of said pressing force detecting means is outside the range from the first predetermined value to the second predetermined value.

A photo-taking lens driving device comprising:

• a photo-taking lens;
• driving means for driving said photo-taking lens;
• an operating member for specifying a direction in which said photo-taking lens is to be driven;
• detecting means responsive to an operation of said operating member for producing a continuously variable output;
• and
• drive control means for outputting a drive control signal corresponding to an output of said detecting means to said driving means, said drive control means outputting to said driving means a drive control signal corresponding to an output of said detecting means when the output of said detecting means is in a range from a first predetermined value to a second predetermined value larger than said first predetermined value, and said drive control means controlling said driving means so as to cause said driving means to drive said photo-taking lens at a constant speed regardless of a pressing force in the case where the output of said pressing force detecting means is outside the range from the first predetermined value to the second predetermined value.

A photo-taking lens driving device comprising:

• a photo-taking lens;
• driving means for driving said photo-taking lens;
• an operating member for specifying a direction in which said photo-taking lens is to be driven;
• detecting means responsive to an operation of said operating member for producing a variable output;
• and
• drive control means for outputting a drive control signal corresponding to an output of said detecting means to said driving means, said drive control means outputting to said driving means a drive control signal for driving said lens at a predetermined speed irrespective of outputs of said detecting means when the output of said detecting means exceeds a predetermined value, and said drive control means supplying to said driving means another drive control signal, by which said driving means is driven at a speed corresponding to an output of said operating member, in the case where the output of said operating member is not greater than the predetermined value.

A photo-taking lens driving device, comprising:

• a photo-taking lens;
• driving means for driving said photo-taking lens;
• an operating member for specifying a direction in which said photo-taking lens is to be driven;
• detecting means responsive to an operation of pressing said operating member for producing a variable output, said detecting means comprising an analog-to-digital conversion circuit for converting an output of said operating member to a digital value;
• and
• drive control means for outputting a drive control signal corresponding to an output of said detecting means to said driving means, wherein said drive control means outputs no drive control signal to said driving means until a predetermined value corresponding to a predetermined operating pressure applied to said operating member is reached, as determined by an output of said detecting means and wherein said drive control means applies to said driving means a drive control signal for driving said photo-taking lens at a constant speed irrespective of outputs of said detecting means when said predetermined value is exceeded by an output of said detecting means.

A camera driving device comprising:

• an actuator for driving a camera mechanism;
• an operating member for instructing said actuator to drive said camera mechanism;
• detecting means responsive to an operation of said operating member for producing a continuously variable output, said detecting means comprising an analog-to-digital conversion circuit for converting an output of said operating member to a digital value;
• and
• drive control means for outputting to said actuator:
• a drive control signal corresponding to an output of said detecting means when the output of said detecting means is within a predetermined range,
• no drive control signal until a first predetermined value is reached by an output of said detecting means,
• a predetermined drive control signal when the output of said detecting means is outside the predetermined range, and
• a drive control signal for driving said photo-taking lens at a constant speed irrespective of outputs of said detecting means when a second predetermined value is exceeded by an output of said detecting means.

In a lens driving device comprising a photo-taking lens, an actuator for driving said photo-taking lens, an operating member for specifying a direction in which said photo-taking lens is to be driven, pressing force detecting means for detecting pressing force applied to said operating member to produce a corresponding output, and drive control means responsive to said pressing force detecting means for outputting a drive signal to said actuator,

• said drive control means comprises:
• first comparator means for comparing an output of said pressing force detecting means with a first predetermined value, said first comparator means producing a first output when said first predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said detecting means;
• second comparator means for comparing an output of said pressing force detecting means with a second predetermined value, said second comparator means producing a second output when said second predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said detecting means;
• and
• drive signal outputting means responsive to said first and second comparator means for outputting no drive signal to said actuator until said first output is produced from said first comparator means and outputting a drive signal for driving said actuator at a constant speed irrespective to outputs of said pressing force detecting means from when said first output is produced from said first comparator means until said second output is produced from said second comparator means.

In a lens driving device comprising a photo-taking lens, a motor for driving said photo-taking lens, an operating member for specifying a direction in which said photo-taking lens is to be driven, a pressure sensitive element whose resistance value varies with pressing force applied to said operating member, analog-to-digital conversion means for converting an output of said pressure sensitive element to a digital value, and drive control means responsive to said analog-to-digital conversion means for outputting a drive voltage to said motor,

• said drive control means comprises:
• first comparator means for comparing an output of said analog-to-digital conversion means with a first predetermined value, said first comparator means producing a first output when said first predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said analog-to-digital conversion means;
• second comparator means for comparing an output of said analog-to-digital conversion means with a second predetermined value, said second comparator means producing a second output when said second predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said analog-to-digital conversion means;
• and
• drive voltage outputting means responsive to said first and second comparator means for outputting no drive voltage to said motor until said first output is produced from said first comparator means and driving said motor with a predetermined voltage irrespective of outputs of said pressing force detecting means from when said first output is produced from said first comparator means until said second output is produced from said second comparator means.

In a driving device comprising an actuator, an operating member, a motor for driving said photo-taking lens, pressing force detecting means for detecting pressing force applied to said operating member to produce a variable output, and drive control means responsive to an output of said pressing force detecting means for outputting a drive signal to said actuator,

• said drive control means comprises:
• first comparator means for comparing an output of said pressing force detecting means with a first predetermined value, said first comparator means producing a first output when said first predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said pressing force detecting means;
• second comparator means for comparing an output of said pressing force detecting means with a second predetermined value, said second comparator means producing a second output when said second predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said pressing force detecting means;
• and
• drive signal outputting means responsive to said first and second comparator means for outputting no drive signal to said actuator until said first output is produced from said first comparator means and a drive signal for driving said actuator at a predetermined speed irrespective to outputs of said pressing force detecting means from when said first output is produced from said first comparator means until said second output is produced from said second comparator means.

In a driving device comprising a motor, an operating member, a pressure sensitive element whose resistance value varies with pressing force applied to said operating member, analog-to-digital conversion means for converting an output of said pressure sensitive element to a digital value, and drive control means responsive to said analog-to-digital conversion means for outputting a drive voltage to said motor,

• said drive control means comprises:
• first comparator means for comparing an output of said analog-to-digital conversion means with a first predetermined value, said first comparator means producing a first output when said first predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said analog-to-digital conversion means;
• second comparator means for comparing an output of said analog-to-digital conversion means with a second predetermined value, said second comparator means producing a second output when said second predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said analog-to-digital conversion means;
• and
• drive voltage outputting means responsive to said first and second comparator means for outputting no drive voltage to said motor until said first output is produced from said first comparator means and driving said motor with a predetermined voltage irrespective of outputs of said analog-to-digital conversion means from when said first output is produced from said first comparator means until said second output is produced from said second comparator means.

A lens driving device comprising:

• a photo-taking lens;
• an actuator for driving said photo-taking lens;
• movement detecting means for detecting movement of said photo-taking lens;
• an operating member for specifying a direction in which said photo-taking lens is to be driven;
• pressing force detecting means for detecting pressing force applied to said operating member to produce a variable output;
• drive control means responsive to said pressing force detecting means for outputting a drive signal to said actuator;
• and
• drive signal outputting means for comparing an output of said pressing force detecting means with a predetermined value to output a drive signal for driving said actuator when said predetermined value is exceeded by the output of said pressing force detecting means, said drive signal outputting means, when any movement of said photo-taking lens is not detected by said movement detecting means while said drive signal outputting means is outputting a drive signal, outputting a drive signal higher that said drive signal in driving power.

A camera lens driving device comprising:

• a zoom lens with a variable focal length;
• a motor for driving said zoom lens;
• an operating switch for instructing said motor to drive said zoom lens toward long or short focal length side;
• a pressure sensitive element responsive to pressing force by an operator to said operating member for producing a variable output;
• comparator means for comparing an output of said pressure sensitive element with first and second predetermined values;
• and
• motor drive control means responsive to said comparator means for driving said motor with a first predetermined voltage when the output of said pressure sensitive element is less than said first predetermined value, driving said motor with a voltage corresponding to the output of said pressure sensitive element when the output of said pressure sensitive element is greater than said first predetermined value but less than said second predetermined value, and driving said motor with a second predetermined voltage when the output of said pressure sensitive element is greater than said second predetermined value, and wherein said motor drive control means sets a motor drive voltage on the basis of a product of an input value VAD from said pressure sensitive element and a constant "a" when the input value is greater than said first predetermined value but smaller than said second predetermined value.

A camera lens driving device comprising:

• a motor for driving a photo-taking lens;
• an operating switch for instructing said motor to drive said lens in a specific direction, said operating switch including a pressure sensitive element for producing a variable output according to pressing force applied thereto by a camera operator;
• comparator means for comparing an output value of said pressure sensitive element with first and second predetermined values;
• and
• motor drive control means responsive to said comparator means for driving said motor at a first constant speed when said output value is smaller than said first predetermined value, driving said motor at a speed corresponding to said output value when said output value is larger than said first predetermined value but smaller than said second predetermined value, and driving said motor at a second constant speed when said output value is larger than said second predetermined value, and wherein said motor drive control means sets a motor drive voltage on the basis of a product of an output value VAD from said pressure sensitive element and a constant "a" when the output value is greater than said first predetermined value but smaller than said second predetermined value.

A camera driving device comprising:

• a motor for driving a camera element;
• an operating switch for instructing said motor to drive said camera element in a specific direction, said operating switch including a pressure sensitive element for producing a variable output according to pressing force applied thereto by a camera operator;
• first comparator means for comparing an output value of said pressure sensitive element with a first predetermined value;
• motor drive control means responsive to said comparator means for driving said motor at a first constant speed when said output value is smaller than said first predetermined value, and driving said motor at a speed corresponding to said output value when said output value is larger than said first predetermined value but smaller than said second predetermined value;
• and
• second comparator means for comparing said output value with a second predetermined value;
• wherein said drive control means drives said motor at a second constant speed when said output value is larger than said second predetermined value.

A camera driving device comprising:

• a motor for driving a camera element;
• an operating switch for instructing said motor to drive said camera element in a specific direction, said operating switch including a pressure sensitive element for producing a variable output according to pressing force applied thereto by a camera operator;
• comparator means for comparing an output value of said pressure sensitive element with a predetermined value;
• and
• motor drive control means responsive to said comparator means for driving said motor at a speed corresponding to said output value when said output value is smaller than said predetermined value and driving said motor at a second constant speed when said output value is larger than said predetermined value.

A camera driving device comprising:

• a motor for driving a camera element;
• an operating switch for instructing said motor to drive said camera element in a specific direction, said operating switch including a pressure sensitive element which produces a variable output responsive to a pressing force of an operator;
• a comparator for comparing the output from said pressure sensitive element with first, second and third predetermined values, respectively;
• and
• drive control means responsive to said comparator, for causing said motor to remain stopped when the output of said pressure sensitive element is smaller than said first predetermined value, for driving said motor at a first constant speed irrespectively of the output of said pressure sensitive element when the output of said pressure sensitive element is larger than said first predetermined value and is smaller than said second predetermined value, for driving said motor at a speed responsive to the output of said pressure sensitive element when the output of said pressure sensitive element is larger than said second predetermined value and is smaller than said third predetermined value, and for driving said motor at a second constant speed when the output of said pressure sensitive element is larger than said third predetermined value.