US 7,511,900 B2
Lens barrel
Hiroaki Imagawa, Tokyo (Japan); and Keita Takahashi, Sagamihara (Japan)
Assigned to Olympus Imaging Corp., Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Aug. 15, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/893,317.
Claims priority of application No. 2006-223580 (JP), filed on Aug. 18, 2006; and application No. 2006-223581 (JP), filed on Aug. 18, 2006.
Prior Publication US 2008/0043348 A1, Feb. 21, 2008
Int. Cl. G02B 7/02 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 359—813  [359/811; 359/819] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A lens barrel to be switched between a photographing state and a stored state in which the lens barrel is reduced in an optical axis direction as compared with the photographing state, comprising:
a retreating frame which is disposed at an advanced position where the retreating frame advances into an optical path at a time when the lens barrel is in the photographing state and which is disposed at a retreated position where the retreating frame retreats from the optical path at a time when the lens barrel is in the reduced state;
a support frame which supports the retreating frame at the advanced position and the retreated position;
a first translational frame which is supported by the support frame and which is relatively displaced in the optical axis direction;
an urging spring which biases the support frame to come away from the first translational frame in the optical axis direction;
a second translational frame which moves during the switching of the lens barrel;
a retreating frame driving cam which engages with the retreating frame while the lens barrel is switched from a projected state to the stored state so as to position the retreating frame at the retreated position; and
a frame driving mechanism which drives at least the support frame and the second translational frame in the optical axis direction and which displaces the first translational frame in the optical axis direction toward the support frame against an urging force of the urging spring, after the retreating frame is displaced from the advanced position to the retreated position, in a case where the lens barrel is switched from the projected state to the stored state.