1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a superimpose-plate for indicating a focused point, for example, in a view finder of a single-lens reflex camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a single-lens reflex camera provided with a function, in which a plurality of distance-measurement points are set for an image to be photographed, and a point, which is in-focus and included in the distance-measurement points, is indicated and superimposed on a subject image-in a view finder, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-268128. Namely, a focusing glass and a superimpose-plate are superposed on each other, and disposed under a hollow pentagonal mirror, and if the number of the distance-measurement-points is seven, seven small focusing marks are formed on the superimpose-plate. A light-projecting optical system is provided in a rear portion or an emergent opening of the hollow pentagonal mirror and above an ocular optical system. In a photographing operation, when any point of the distance-measurement points is in-focus, an illumination light beam is radiated from the light-projecting optical system onto the corresponding focusing mark, so that the photographer can recognize the in-focus point.
Each of the focusing marks formed on the superimpose-plate is formed by lots of micro-prisms, which are inclined relative-to a surface of the superimpose-plate at an inclination angle that depends upon the position of the focusing mark. Namely, an illumination light beam is obliquely radiated from a light source, of the light-projecting optical system provided at a side of the emergent opening of the hollow pentagonal mirror. The radiation angle of the illumination light beam differs depending upon the position of the focusing mark, and the micro-prisms are inclined at an angle such that the illumination-light beam is effectively received.
Thus, since the inclination angles of the micro-prisms are different from each other, the manufacturing process of the superimpose-plate is complicated, which in turn makes controlling the manufacturing process difficult, resulting in increased manufacturing cost.
Further, for indicating a focusing mark by using lots of micro-prisms, it is preferable that the micro-prisms are gathered as closely together as possible.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a superimpose-plate for a view finder in which the number of different kinds of inclination angles of the micro-prisms is reduced, so that the manufacturing process of the micro-prisms is simplified.
According to the present invention, there is provided a superimpose-plate for a view finder. The superimpose-plate is put on a focusing glass, on which a subject image obtained through the photographing optical system is formed. The superimpose-plate and the focusing glass are provided in an incident opening of a hollow pentagonal mirror. Further, the superimpose-plate comprises a plurality of micro-prisms.
The plurality of micro-prisms are formed on the superimpose-plate. Each of the micro-prisms shows a triangle in a cross-section. The vertical angle of the triangle is identical in each of the micro-prisms. A ridgeline of each of the micro-prisms is parallel to the right-left direction of the picture plane of the view finder.
Further, another object of-the present invention is to provide a superimpose-plate for a view finder, in which the micro-prisms are gathered as closely together as possible.
According to the present invention, there is provided a superimpose-plate for a view finder. The superimpose-plate is put on a focusing glass, on which a subject image obtained through the photographing optical system is formed. The superimpose-plate and the focusing glass are provided in an incident opening of a hollow pentagonal mirror. The superimpose-plate comprises a micro-prism group.
The micro-prism group is composed of a plurality of micro-prisms formed on a surface of the superimpose-plate. The micro-prism group has a first prism row, composed of a plurality of first micro-prisms which are arranged adjacent to each other, and in a horizontal direction in a picture plane of the view finder. Further, the micro-prism group has a second prism row, composed of a plurality of second micro-prisms which are located at a position corresponding to a place between two adjacent first micro-prisms. The first prism row and the second prism row are arranged alternately in a vertical direction in the picture plane of the view finder.
The objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.
A mirror box 11 has an opening 12 at the front portion thereof (i.e., left side in
A focusing glass 31, on which a subject image obtained through the photographing optical system is formed, and a superimpose-plate (i.e., SI-plate) 32, on which micro-prisms are formed, are provided in an incident opening formed at a lower-portion-of the hollow pentagonal mirror 21, which is disposed in the upper end portion of the mirror box 11. The SI-plate 32 is put on the focusing glass 31. A focusing mark, indicated in a picture plane of the view finder, is formed on the SI-plate 32. The focusing glass 31 and the SI-plate 32 are inclined by a few degrees (e.g., about 5 degrees) in such a manner that the front edges, close to the photographing optical system, of the focusing glass 31 and the SI-plate 32, are lowered. On the other hand, the ocular optical system 23 faces an emergent opening 22 of the hollow pentagonal opening 21. The emergent opening 22 is roughly triangular, and a photometry optical system 24 is provided at a portion close to an upper end of the emergent opening 22. Note that the photometry optical system 24 is omitted in
The hollow pentagonal mirror-21 has a roof reflecting plane 41, formed at an upper portion, and a third reflecting plane 42, formed at a front portion. A light beam B1, passing through the photographing optical system and reflected on the quick return mirror 13, passes through the focusing plate 31 and the SI-plate 32, is reflected on the roof reflecting plane 41, and reaches the third reflecting plane 42. The light beam B2 reflected on the third reflecting plane 42 passes through the emergent opening 22, and enters the ocular optical system 23.
A light source 25 and a light-projecting prism 26, which form a light-projecting optical system, are provided outside the emergent opening 22. The light source 25 is disposed beside the photometry optical system 24, and close to an upper end of the emergent opening 22. The light-projecting prism 26 is disposed below the light source 25 and beside the ocular optical system 23, and directly fixed on an attaching portion 43 integrally formed on a frame-of the hollow pentagonal mirror 21. The optical axis A extending between the light source 25 and the light-projecting prism 26 is approximately parallel to the plane of the emergent opening 22, and does not interfere with the optical path of the photometry optical system 24.
A light-projecting plane 26a, or an emergent plane of the light-projecting prism 26, faces a corner of a lower portion of the emergent opening 22, and is positioned below the optical axis of the ocular optical system 23. An illumination light beam C1, output from the light source 25 to the light-projecting prism 26, is reflected on the light-projecting prism 26, and is projected from the light-projecting plane 26a toward the emergent opening 22. The illumination light beam C1 is directed-slightly upward with respect to the horizontal plane, and is led to approximately the center portion of the third reflecting plane 42 through the emergent opening 22. The illumination light beam C2 reflected on the third reflecting plane 42 is reflected on the roof reflecting plane 41, and is approximately perpendicularly radiated onto the SI-plate 32.
The light source 25 is provided with eleven radiating units or light emitting diodes (LEDs) 27 corresponding to the focusing marks M. Each of the LEDs 27 corresponds to one focusing mark M. Namely, illumination-light beams output from the LEDs 27 are radiated on different portions of the SI-plate 32. As shown in
Lots of micro-prisms 52a, 52b are formed to project from the lower surface of the SI-plate 32. An outline of a micro-prism is a slender trapezoid, when viewing the SI-plate 32 from an upper or lower side. The micro-prism shows a triangle in a cross-section, as described later, and a ridgeline of each of the micro-prisms 51c, 52c, and 53c is parallel to the right-left (or horizontal) direction of the picture plane of the view finder. In other words, the longitudinal direction of each of the micro-prisms is coincident with the horizontal direction in the picture plane of the view finder. The micro-prisms form eleven groups, and each of the micro-prism groups 51–61 corresponds to the focusing mark M (see
In a picture plane of the view finder, the first micro-prism group 51 is located at the leftmost side. The second, third, and fourth micro-prism groups 52, 53, and 54 are positioned at the right side of the first micro-prism group 51. The fifth, sixth, and seventh micro-prism groups 55, 56, and 57 are located at the center of all the micro-prism groups. The eighth, ninth, and tenth micro-prism groups 58, 59, and 60 are positioned at the right side of the fifth, sixth, and seventh micro-prism groups 55, 56, and 57, and the eleventh micro-prism group 61 is at the rightmost side.
Taking the second micro-prism group 52 as a typical example, the structures of the micro-prism groups 51 through 61 are described below. The second micro-prism group 52 is composed of a plurality of micro-prisms, and has relatively large first micro-prisms 52a and relatively small second micro-prisms 52b.
The first micro-prisms 52a are aligned horizontally in
There are four first prism rows R1. In the space formed between the first prism rows R1, a second prism row R2 composed of a second micro-prisms 52b is provided. The second micro-prism rows R2 are constructed by arranging the second micro-prisms 52b horizontally in
The second micro-prism 52b is located at a position corresponding to a place between the two first micro-prisms 52a, adjacent to the first prism row R1. An oblique side of the trapezoid of the second micro-prism 52b is in contact with an end point of the lower side of the trapezoid of the first micro-prism 52a. Similarly, an end point of the lower side of the trapezoid of the second micro-prism 52b is in contact with an oblique side of the trapezoid of the first micro-prism 52a. Thus, the micro-prisms 52a and 52b are arranged in a zigzag manner.
The ridgeline 52c of the reflecting plane of the first micro-prism 52a is at a slant relative to the lower surface 32a of the SI-plate 32, as understood from
Thus, regarding the inclination angle α of the ridgeline of each of the-micro-prism groups, the first-micro-prism group 51 is the largest. The inclination angles α of the second, third, and fourth micro-prism groups 52, 53, and 54 are equal to each other, and are smaller than that of the first micro-prism group 51. The inclination angles α of the fifth, sixth, and seventh micro-prism groups 55, 56, and 57 are equal to each other, and are smaller than those of the second, third, and fourth micro-prism groups 52, 53, and 54. The inclination angles α of the eighth, ninth, and tenth micro-prism groups 58, 59, and 60 are equal to each other, and are smaller than those of the fifth, sixth, and seventh micro-prism groups 55, 56, and 57.
The eleventh micro-prism group 61 is located at the opposite side of the ninth micro-prism 59 with respect to the light source corresponding point C3. Accordingly, the inclination angle α of the eleventh micro-prism group 61 is opposite to that of the eighth, ninth, and tenth micro-prism groups 58, 59, and 60, but is approximately the sane amount as that for the eighth, ninth, and tenth micro-prism groups 58, 59, and 60.
As described above, the number of different inclination angles α of the ridgelines of the first through eleventh micro-prism groups 51 through 61, is five. The inclination angles α differ in accordance with the horizontal positions in a picture plane of the view finder, and the inclination angles α of the ridgelines of the micro-prism groups aligned in a vertical direction in the picture plane (for example, the micro-prism groups 52, 53, and 54) are the same.
Thus, on a lower surface 32a of the SI-plate 32, the micro-prism groups 51 through 61 are formed at the positions where illumination light beams output from the light source 25 are radiated, and correspond to the focusing marks M. In a photographing operation, when the photographing optical system focuses on any point on the subject, the LED 27 (
Note that, in
A metal mold for forming a plastic material is used for manufacturing the SI-plate 32 having lots of micro-prisms. Namely, a tip of an edged tool is pressed on the metal mold to form the surface, by which the micro-prisms are formed. The tip of the edged tool has a triangle section, and the surface of the tip is mirror-polished. For example, a portion corresponding to the second micro-prism 52 is formed by pressing an edged tool, which has a tip having the same shape as that of the first micro-prism 52a, on a metal mold. Namely, the corresponding-portion of the first micro-prism 52a is pressed by the edged tool to a predetermined depth, and the corresponding portion of the first micro-prism 52b is pressed by the edged tool to a shallower depth than the first micro-prism 52a.
As described above, there are five different kinds of inclination angle α of the micro-prisms. Therefore, five kinds of edged tools are sufficient for forming the micro-prisms. For example, regarding the second, third, and fourth micro-prisms 52, 53, and 54, since the inclination angle α is common, the same edged tool is used.
In the embodiment described above, the light source 25 is provided at an upper portion of the emergent opening 22 of the hollow pentagonal mirror 21, and the light-projecting prism 26 is provided at a lower portion of the emergent opening 22, so that the illumination light beam radiated from the light source 25 is reflected on the light-projecting prism 26, and is projected into the hollow pentagonal mirror 21 through the emergent opening 22. Therefore, in a photographing operation, when an in-focus sensor senses that any point on the subject is in-focus, and the LED 27 corresponding to the focusing point is turned ON, the illumination light beam is reflected on the third reflecting plane 42 and the roof reflecting plane 41, and is led to the SI-plate 32, so that the corresponding micro-prism group is illuminated.
In the embodiment, the number of different kinds of inclination angles α of the micro-prisms is five, and therefore, it is not necessary to change the inclination angle for each of the micro-prism groups. Accordingly, the manufacturing process of the SI-plate 32 is simplified, so that controlling the manufacturing process becomes simple, and the manufacturing cost is suppressed.
Further, in the embodiment, the micro-prism group has first prism rows R1 and R3, each of which is composed of three first micro-prisms which are arranged adjacent to each other and in a horizontal direction in a picture plane of the view finder, and second-prism rows R2 and R4, each of which is composed of two second micro-prisms which are located at a position corresponding to a place between two adjacent first micro-prisms. The first-prism rows R1 and R3 and the second prism rows R2 and R4 are arranged alternately in a vertical direction in the picture plane of the view finder. Thus, the first micro-prism and the second micro-prism are arranged in a zigzag manner. Accordingly, in the micro-prism group, the micro-prisms are gathered closely together, so that the micro-prism group is recognized as a single point by the photographer.
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, obviously many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in this art without departing from the scope of the invention.
The present disclosure relates to subject matters contained in Japanese Patent Applications No. 2003-009594 (filed on Jan. 17, 2003) and No. 2003-009663 (filed on Jan. 17, 2003), which are expressly incorporated herein, by reference, in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2003-009594 | Jan 2003 | JP | national |
2003-009663 | Jan 2003 | JP | national |
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Number | Date | Country |
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2002-268128 | Sep 2002 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20040156128 A1 | Aug 2004 | US |