Compact Electronic Viewfinder Guide Bar Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic viewfinders become larger due to the need to secure engagement length between the guide bar and the hole, compromising their compactness and optical performance.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a guide bar held by a fixed member that penetrates a guide hole portion in a movable barrel, with a projection portion orthogonal to the optical axis direction, allowing the barrel to move between retracted and protruded positions while overlapping with the image display unit, thus maintaining compactness and improving optical performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the guide bar is disposed outside the display unit to secure engagement length, then the engagement length between guide bar and hole is improved, but the overall size of the electronic viewfinder increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide bar is positioned to pass through the projection portion of the movable barrel, which is nested within or adjacent to the display unit structure. This nesting arrangement allows the guide bar to be integrated into the existing structure rather than extending externally, thereby maintaining sufficient engagement length while reducing the overall footprint of the electronic viewfinder.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide bar is configured to extend in the optical axis direction (depth dimension) rather than solely in the lateral direction. By utilizing the depth dimension provided by the projection portion, the engagement length is achieved through axial positioning rather than lateral extension, thus maintaining compactness in the lateral dimensions while ensuring reliable guidance.
2Volume of moving object
If the movable barrel is made compact to reduce overall size, then the miniaturization is improved, but the optical performance may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The projection portion is designed with specific local geometric characteristics that optimize both the guidance function and the optical path. The projection portion's shape and position are locally optimized to provide sufficient engagement length for the guide bar while maintaining the necessary optical clearance and alignment, thus achieving compactness without compromising optical performance.
3Reliability
If the guide bar engagement length is increased to improve guidance reliability, then the guidance stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The projection portion serves multiple functions: it provides the engagement structure for the guide bar, maintains the optical path alignment, and contributes to the overall structural integrity of the movable barrel. By making the projection portion multi-functional, the design achieves reliable guidance without adding separate dedicated components, thus avoiding increased device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An image observation apparatus includes a first member for fixing an image display unit, a second member for holding an observation optical system and for moving between a retracted position retracted in the first member and a protruded position protruding from the first member in an optical axis direction of the observation optical system, and a guide bar held by the first member and penetrating a guide hole portion provided in the second member in the optical axis direction. The second member has a barrel portion housing the observation optical system, and a projection portion projecting orthogonal to the optical axis direction from the barrel portion, and the projection portion has the guide hole. When the second member is at the retracted position, the projection portion and part of the image display unit overlap each other in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction.