Economical two-blade stepping aperture with photoelectric sensor

Abstract

The utility model relates to an economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor, comprising a housing, the housing is longitudinally provided with a housing through hole, an inner cavity of the housing is provided with an upper blade and a lower blade which are in vertical sliding fit with the housing, the upper blade is provided with a light through hole corresponding to the housing through hole, and the lower blade is provided with a light through hole corresponding to the housing through hole. The upper portion of the lower blade is provided with a semicircular light through groove matched with the light through hole, the shell is internally provided with a driving mechanism which drives the lower blade and the upper blade to move up and down so as to adjust the size of the aperture, and the shell is internally provided with a photoelectric sensor which is matched with the side portion of the lower blade and used for detecting the reference zero position of the aperture. The two-blade stepping aperture is small in structure, and is beneficial for ensuring consistent precision when the aperture is reset, and optical curve distortion caused by zero offset is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to an economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor. Background Technology

[0002] In the optics industry, both stepper apertures and automatic apertures are important mechanical structures in aperture solutions. Automatic apertures use electromagnetic drives combined with current variations to control the opening and closing of the aperture blades, requiring a continuous current supply. Stepper apertures, on the other hand, consist of a stepper motor and a reduction gear system. After adjusting the aperture, power is immediately cut off, and the aperture diameter remains unchanged. Its light-gathering diameter is entirely determined by the number of steps taken by the stepper motor, making its applications broader than those of automatic apertures.

[0003] However, in the use of stepped apertures, such as existing multi-blade iris apertures, the number of blades is usually greater than or equal to five. The blades are stacked to form a near-circular shape, and the blades move along the groove direction by rotating a turntable. Strict control over the curvature, thickness, and surface roughness of each blade is required, posing significant challenges in terms of manufacturing processes and costs. Because of its complex multi-blade stacking mechanism and circular shape, its size cannot be simplified, often making it difficult to integrate into lens designs and failing to meet the current design goals of miniaturization and lightweighting, thus deviating from the user's original intentions. Therefore, a two-blade stepped aperture is needed.

[0004] For traditional two-blade stepping apertures, the zero position is achieved by mechanically hitting a wall. However, the plastic structure of the two-blade stepping aperture is small and the supporting blades are light, which cannot guarantee the accurate stopping position, resulting in instability of the zero position. The actual test results show poor reset consistency, which cannot meet the requirements of precise control.

[0005] Therefore, an economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor is needed. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor. This two-blade stepping aperture has a small structure and helps to ensure consistent accuracy when the aperture is reset, avoiding optical curve distortion caused by zero-position offset.

[0007] The technical solution of this utility model is as follows: an economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor, comprising a housing, a housing through hole longitudinally opened on the housing, an upper blade and a lower blade arranged in the inner cavity of the housing for vertical sliding cooperation with the housing, a light-transmitting hole corresponding to the housing through hole on the upper blade, a semi-circular light-transmitting groove cooperating with the light-transmitting hole on the upper part of the lower blade, a driving mechanism for driving the lower blade and the upper blade to move up and down to adjust the aperture size is provided in the housing, and a photoelectric sensor for detecting the aperture reference zero position is provided in the housing for cooperating with the side of the lower blade.

[0008] Furthermore, upper channels are vertically formed on both sides of the upper blade and both sides of the upper blade, and lower channels are vertically formed on one side of the lower blade and the other side of the lower blade. Upper guide protrusions for passing through the upper channels are longitudinally fixed on both sides of the upper cavity of the housing, and lower guide protrusions for passing through the lower channels are longitudinally fixed on both sides of the upper cavity of the housing.

[0009] Furthermore, the lower blade is disposed on the rear or front side of the upper blade, and the lower side of the lower blade has a first extension that protrudes downward and is used to open a lower channel, and the other side of the lower part of the upper blade has a second extension that protrudes downward and is used to open a lower channel.

[0010] Furthermore, the driving mechanism includes a stepper motor installed at the lower part of the housing, and a rocker arm driven to rotate by the stepper motor through a gear pair mechanism is rotatably connected to the lower part of the inner cavity of the housing. One end of the rocker arm is movably connected to the lower side of the lower blade, and the other end of the rocker arm is movably connected to the lower other side of the upper blade.

[0011] Furthermore, a first transverse groove is provided on one side of the lower blade, and a second transverse groove is provided on the other side of the lower blade. The middle part of the crank is rotatably connected to the housing, and the two ends of the crank are respectively provided with shafts for passing through the first transverse groove and the second transverse groove.

[0012] Furthermore, each of the shaft portions has a waist-shaped anti-detachment protrusion fixed to its front end.

[0013] Furthermore, the gear pair mechanism is a three-stage reduction gear pair.

[0014] Furthermore, the gear pair mechanism includes a first gear fixed to the output shaft of the stepper motor, the first gear meshing with a second gear rotatably connected to the housing, a third gear coaxially fixed to the second gear, the third gear meshing with a fourth gear rotatably connected to the housing, a fifth gear coaxially fixed to the fourth gear, the fifth gear meshing with a sixth gear, the sixth gear being fixed to the middle of the crank arm, and the sixth gear being coaxially rotatably mounted inside the housing with the second gear.

[0015] Furthermore, a lateral protrusion is provided on one side of the lower blade, and a vertical groove is provided on the lower part of the housing for the protrusion to pass through, and the photoelectric sensor is disposed in the vertical groove.

[0016] Furthermore, the housing is composed of a front housing and a rear housing. Both sides of the front housing and the rear housing are provided with several matching snap-fit ​​structures, and both sides of the lower part of the rear housing are provided with outwardly protruding mounting bosses.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0018] 1. This ultra-thin two-blade stepping aperture design features a compact structure, with the overall aperture thickness reduced to 1-2mm, allowing for better adaptation to various mechanisms and minimizing size. Simultaneously, the number of parts is reduced by over 60% (requiring only 2 blades + 3 stages of gears), lowering the overall weight of the optical module.

[0019] 2. The two-blade stepping aperture incorporates a photoelectric sensor, which is placed on the side of the blade. During the driving process, the current position can be determined by the level change of the photoelectric sensor, effectively ensuring consistent accuracy when the aperture is reset, achieving precise reset, and avoiding the problem of optical curve distortion caused by zero position offset in products without photoelectric sensors. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this utility model;

[0021] Figure 2 For the breakdown of this utility model Figure 1 ;

[0022] Figure 3 For the breakdown of this utility model Figure 2 ;

[0023] Figure 4 For the breakdown of this utility model Figure 3 ;

[0024] Figure 5 This is an enlarged view of the gear pair mechanism of this utility model;

[0025] Figure 6 This is an exploded view of the gear pair mechanism of this utility model;

[0026] In the diagram: 10-Housing; 10a-Front Housing; 10b-Rear Housing; 11-Housing Through Hole; 12-Upper Guide Protrusion; 13-Lower Guide Protrusion; 14-First Shaft; 15-Second Shaft; 16-Vertical Groove; 17-Snap-on; 18-Mounting Boss; 20-Upper Blade; 21-Light Transmission Hole; 22-Upper Channel; 23-Lower Channel; 24-Second Extension; 25-Second Horizontal Groove; 30-Lower Blade; 31-Semi-circular Light Transmission Groove; 32-Upper Channel; 33-Lower Channel; 34-First Extension; 35-First Horizontal Groove; 36-Protrusion; 40-Photoelectric Sensor; 50-Drive Mechanism; 51-Stepper Motor; 511-Output Shaft; 52-Gear Pair Mechanism; 521-First Gear; 522-Second Gear; 523-Third Gear; 524-Fourth Gear; 525-Fifth Gear; 526-Sixth Gear; 53-Handle; 531-Shaft; 532-Anti-detachment Protrusion. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the above-mentioned features and advantages of this utility model more easily understood, specific embodiments are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but this utility model is not limited thereto.

[0028] refer to Figures 1 to 6

[0029] An economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor includes a housing 10. A through-hole 11 is longitudinally formed on the housing. An upper blade 20 and a lower blade 30 are disposed within the housing cavity, slidingly engaging with the housing vertically. The upper blade has a light-transmitting hole 21 corresponding to the through-hole. The upper part of the lower blade has a semi-circular light-transmitting groove 31 that engages with the light-transmitting hole, the radius of which is equal to the radius of the light-transmitting hole. A drive mechanism 50 is disposed within the housing to drive the lower and upper blades to move up and down to adjust the aperture size. A photoelectric sensor 40, engaging with the side of the lower blade, is disposed within the housing for detecting the aperture's reference zero position.

[0030] In this embodiment, to achieve vertical sliding and guiding of the upper and lower blades within the housing, upper channels 22 and 32 are vertically formed on both upper sides of the upper blade and both upper sides of the lower blade. Lower channels 23 and 33 are vertically formed on one lower side of the lower blade and the other lower side of the upper blade, respectively. Upper guide protrusions 12 for passing through the upper channels 22 and 32 are longitudinally fixed on both upper sides of the housing cavity, and lower guide protrusions 13 for passing through the lower channels 23 and 33 are longitudinally fixed on both upper sides of the housing cavity. The upper and lower channels are of equal length. The upper channel engages with the upper guide protrusion, and the lower channel engages with the lower guide protrusion, thus achieving the lifting, guiding, and limiting of the upper and lower blades.

[0031] In this embodiment, the lower blade is disposed behind or in front of the upper blade and is close to it. In order to save materials and avoid interference during lifting and lowering movements, the lower blade has a first extension 34 protruding downward on one side for opening a lower channel, and the upper blade has a second extension 24 protruding downward on the other side for opening a lower channel.

[0032] In this embodiment, to simultaneously drive the upper and lower blades, the driving mechanism includes a stepper motor 51 mounted on the lower part of the housing. A rocker arm 53, driven to rotate by the stepper motor via a gear pair mechanism 52, is rotatably connected to the lower part of the housing's inner cavity. The middle part of the rocker arm is rotatably connected to the housing, one end of the rocker arm is movably connected to one side of the lower blade, and the other end of the rocker arm is movably connected to the other side of the lower part of the upper blade. Thus, the stepper motor drives the gear pair mechanism to rotate the rocker arm, which in turn drives the upper and lower blades to move.

[0033] Specifically, a first transverse groove 35 is provided on one side of the lower part of the lower blade, and a second transverse groove 25 is provided on the other side of the lower part of the upper blade. The middle part of the crank is rotatably connected to the housing, and the two ends of the crank are respectively provided with shafts 531 for passing through the first transverse groove and the second transverse groove. Thus, by rotating the crank, the shafts drive the upper blade and the lower blade to move.

[0034] In this embodiment, the front end of each shaft is fixed with a waist-shaped anti-detachment protrusion 532, which helps to prevent the shaft from detaching from the first transverse groove and the second transverse groove.

[0035] In this embodiment, the gear pair mechanism is a three-stage reduction gear pair, so that the crank component can be driven to rotate after three-stage reduction.

[0036] Specifically, the gear pair mechanism includes a first gear 521 fixed to the output shaft 511 of the stepper motor, the first gear meshing with a second gear 522, the second gear being rotatably connected to a first shaft 14 inside the housing, a third gear 523 coaxially fixed to the second gear, the third gear meshing with a fourth gear 524, the fourth gear being rotatably connected to a second shaft 15 inside the housing, a fifth gear 525 coaxially fixed to the fourth gear, the fifth gear meshing with a sixth gear 526, the sixth gear being fixed to the middle of the crank arm, and the sixth gear being coaxially rotatably mounted on the first shaft inside the housing along with the second gear.

[0037] In this embodiment, a lateral protrusion 36 is provided on one side of the lower blade, and a vertical groove 16 for the protrusion to pass through is provided on the lower part of the housing. The photoelectric sensor is disposed in the vertical groove so that when the protrusion enters the vertical groove, the photoelectric sensor will undergo a level change to determine the current position (aperture reference zero position).

[0038] In this embodiment, the housing consists of a front housing 10a and a rear housing 10b. Both sides of the front and rear housings are provided with several cooperating snap-fit ​​structures 17, allowing the front and rear housings to be connected as a single unit after being snapped together. The lower sides of the rear housing are provided with outwardly protruding mounting bosses 18, enabling the aperture to be mounted within the lens.

[0039] The maximum light-transmitting area of ​​this two-blade stepping aperture is achieved when the housing through-hole and the light-transmitting hole coincide, i.e., the upper blade is at its highest position and the lower blade is at its lowest position, with the protrusion of the lower blade located within the vertical groove, at the aperture's reference zero position. When the drive mechanism rotates forward, driving the lower blade to rise and the upper blade to fall, the area of ​​the effective light-transmitting region formed by the cooperation of the light-transmitting hole and the semi-circular light-transmitting groove is reduced. Through the cooperation of the upper groove and the upper guide protrusion, and the lower groove and the lower guide protrusion, the lowest position limit of the upper blade and the highest position limit of the lower blade are achieved, at which point the light-transmitting area is completely blocked. Simultaneously, the drive mechanism can also rotate in the reverse direction to gradually increase the light-transmitting area.

[0040] Unless otherwise stated, if any of the technical solutions disclosed in this utility model discloses a numerical range, then the disclosed numerical range is a preferred numerical range. Any person skilled in the art should understand that the preferred numerical range is merely one among many feasible numerical values ​​that has a more obvious or representative technical effect. Because there are many numerical values, it is impossible to list them all. Therefore, this utility model discloses only some numerical values ​​to illustrate the technical solutions of this utility model. Furthermore, the numerical values ​​listed above should not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0041] If the terms "first" or "second" are used in this document to specify components, those skilled in the art should know that the use of "first" or "second" is merely for the purpose of distinguishing components in description, and unless otherwise stated, the above terms have no special meaning.

[0042] If this utility model discloses or relates to mutually fixedly connected parts or structural components, then unless otherwise stated, a fixed connection can be understood as: a detachable fixed connection (e.g., using bolts or screws) or a non-detachable fixed connection (e.g., riveting or welding). Of course, mutually fixed connections can also be replaced by an integral structure (e.g., manufactured using a casting process) (except where it is obviously impossible to use an integral forming process).

[0043] In addition, unless otherwise stated, the terms used to indicate positional relationships or shapes in any of the technical solutions disclosed in this utility model above include states or shapes that are similar to, close to, or approximate with them.

[0044] Any component provided by this utility model can be assembled from multiple individual components, or it can be a single component manufactured by a one-piece molding process.

[0045] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model. All equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the patent application of the present utility model shall be covered by the present utility model.

Claims

1. An economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor, comprising a housing, characterized in that, The housing has a longitudinal through hole, and the inner cavity of the housing is provided with an upper blade and a lower blade that slide vertically with the housing. The upper blade is provided with a light-transmitting hole corresponding to the through hole, and the upper part of the lower blade is provided with a semi-circular light-transmitting groove that cooperates with the light-transmitting hole. The housing is provided with a drive mechanism that drives the lower blade and the upper blade to move up and down to adjust the aperture size. The housing is also provided with a photoelectric sensor that cooperates with the side of the lower blade to detect the zero position of the aperture reference.

2. The economical two-blade stepping aperture with photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper blade has vertically formed upper channels on both sides of its upper part and the lower blade has vertically formed lower channels on one side of its lower part and the other side of its lower part. The upper guide protrusions for passing through the upper channels are longitudinally fixed on both sides of the upper part of the housing cavity, and the lower guide protrusions for passing through the lower channels are longitudinally fixed on both sides of the upper part of the housing cavity.

3. The economical two-blade stepping aperture with photoelectric sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lower blade is disposed on the rear or front side of the upper blade. The lower part of the lower blade has a first extension that protrudes downward and is used to open a lower channel on one side. The lower part of the upper blade has a second extension that protrudes downward and is used to open a lower channel on the other side.

4. The economical two-blade stepping aperture with photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism includes a stepper motor installed at the lower part of the housing. A rocker arm driven to rotate by the stepper motor through a gear pair mechanism is rotatably connected to the lower part of the inner cavity of the housing. One end of the rocker arm is movably connected to the lower side of the lower blade, and the other end of the rocker arm is movably connected to the lower side of the upper blade.

5. The economical two-blade stepping aperture with photoelectric sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, The lower blade has a first transverse groove on one side of its lower part, and the upper blade has a second transverse groove on the other side of its lower part. The middle part of the crank is rotatably connected to the housing, and the two ends of the crank are respectively provided with shafts for passing through the first transverse groove and the second transverse groove.

6. The economical two-blade stepping aperture with photoelectric sensor according to claim 5, characterized in that, The front end of each shaft is fixed with a waist-shaped anti-detachment protrusion.

7. The economical two-blade stepping aperture with photoelectric sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, The gear pair mechanism is a three-stage reduction gear pair.

8. An economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor according to claim 4, 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that, The gear pair mechanism includes a first gear fixed to the output shaft of the stepper motor, a second gear rotatably connected to the housing, a third gear coaxially fixed to the second gear, a fourth gear rotatably connected to the housing, a fifth gear coaxially fixed to the fourth gear, a sixth gear meshing with the fifth gear, the sixth gear being fixed to the middle of the crank arm and rotatably mounted coaxially with the second gear inside the housing.

9. An economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that, The lower blade has a lateral protrusion on one side, and the lower part of the housing has a vertical groove for the protrusion to pass through. The photoelectric sensor is disposed in the vertical groove.

10. An economical two-blade stepping aperture with a photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that, The housing consists of a front housing and a rear housing. Both sides of the front housing and the rear housing are provided with several matching snap-fit ​​structures. Both sides of the lower part of the rear housing are provided with outwardly protruding mounting bosses.

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