Camera

Abstract

To provide a camera that can perform a removal operation for particles adherent to a surface upon which light is incident, of a pickup device and a transmitting member disposed on an optical path of the pickup device in such a condition that the particles are properly removed. According to the present invention, a camera comprises a driving mechanism section to drop and remove particles on a cleaning target that is a surface of an image pickup device and/or a surface of a low-pass filter provided closer to a side of a subject in an optical path than the image pickup device, the subject light passing through the low-pass filter, which is provided with: a tilt sensor to detect an orientation of the camera; and a control section to judge whether a removal operation for the particles by the driving mechanism section should be carried out or not in accordance with the detected value from the tilt sensor.

1 . A camera having a cleaning section to drop and remove particles on a cleaning target that is a surface of an image pickup device and/or a surface of a transmitting member provided closer to a side of a subject in an optical path than the image pickup device, the subject light passing through the transmitting member, comprising:
 a detecting section to detect an orientation of the camera; and   a judgment section to determine whether the cleaning section performs a removal operation for the particles in accordance with a value detected by the detecting section   wherein the cleaning target is oriented such that a surface normal to the cleaning target agrees with a vertically upward direction when the camera is in a normal position.   
     
     
         2 . The camera according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the judgment section determines that the cleaning section does not perform the removal operation for the particles when the surface normal to the cleaning target is oriented vertically upwards.   
     
     
         3 . The camera according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an ejecting section to eject the particles dropped by the cleaning section; and   a particle holding section to collect and hold the particles,   wherein the judgment section determines that the cleaning section does not perform the removal operation for the particles when the ejecting section and the particle holding section are not situated in a direction in which the particles are dropped by the cleaning section.   
     
     
         4 . The camera according to  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a mirror section upon which light from the subject is incident, the mirror section reflecting the light to the cleaning target; and   a rotary mechanism section to rotate the mirror section,   wherein when the judgment section determines that the cleaning section performs the removal operation for the particles, the judgment section causes the rotary mechanism section to rotate the mirror section so as to ensure a path that allows the particles between the cleaning target and the ejecting section to drop.   
     
     
         5 . The camera according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the cleaning section comprises a vibrating member to vibrate the cleaning target.   
     
     
         6 . A camera comprising:
 a cleaning section to drop and remove particles on a cleaning target, the cleaning section comprising a vibrating member to vibrate the cleaning target;   a detecting section to detect an orientation of the camera;   a judgment section to determine whether the cleaning section performs a removal operation for the particles in accordance with a value detected by the detecting section; and   a control section to allow the vibrating member to generate one standing wave after another standing wave selected from among a plurality of standing waves for the cleaning target in a selected sequence.   
     
     
         7 . The camera according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein the control section allows the vibrating member to generate a first standing wave for the cleaning target, and subsequently to generate a second standing wave that causes a node appearing in the first standing wave to vibrate.   
     
     
         8 . The camera according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the control section allows the vibrating member to sequentially generate standing waves in decreasing order of amplitude for a portion of the cleaning target on which particles are present.   
     
     
         9 . The camera according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein the control section can select at least one of:   a first control to allow the vibrating member to generate a first standing wave for the cleaning target, and thereafter to generate a second standing wave that causes a node appearing in the first standing wave to vibrate; and   a second control to allow the vibrating member to sequentially generate standing waves in decreasing order of amplitude for a portion of the cleaning target on which particles are present.   
     
     
         10 . The camera according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the vibrating member comprises at least one pair of vibrating elements arranged across a cleaning area of the cleaning target, and   the control section controls the pair of vibrating elements if the detecting section detects an orientation of the camera indicating that the pair of vibrating elements vertically lies at upper and lower positions mutually.   
     
     
         11 . The camera according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the vibrating member comprises at least one pair of vibrating elements arranged across a cleaning area of the cleaning target, and   the control section controls the pair of vibrating elements if the detecting section detects an orientation of the camera indicating that the pair of vibrating elements mutually lies at left and right positions with respect to a vertical direction.   
     
     
         12 . The camera according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the vibrating member comprises two pairs of vibrating elements, and   if the detecting section detects an orientation of the camera indicating that one pair of vibrating elements vertically lies at upper and lower positions mutually and another pair of vibrating elements mutually lies at left and right positions with respect to a vertical direction, the control section selectably allows one of the one pair and the other pair to vibrate.   
     
     
         13 . The camera according to  claim 9 , wherein:
 the control section selects one of the first control and the second control in accordance with the orientation of the camera acquired by the detecting section.   
     
     
         14 . The camera according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one of an ejecting section to eject the particles dropped by the cleaning section and a particle holding section to collect and hold the particles;   wherein the judgment section determines that the cleaning section does not perform the removal operation for the particles when one of the ejecting section and the particle holding section is not situated in a direction in which the particles are dropped by the cleaning section.   
     
     
         15 . The camera according to  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a mirror section upon which light from the subject is incident, the mirror section reflecting the light to the cleaning target; and   a rotary mechanism section to rotate the mirror section,   wherein when the judgment section determines that the cleaning section performs the removal operation for the particles, the judgment section causes the rotary mechanism section to rotate the mirror section so as to ensure a path that allows the particles between the cleaning target and the ejecting section to drop.   
     
     
         16 . A camera comprising:
 a cleaning section to remove particles on a low-pass filter that eliminates a high-frequency component of a light, the cleaning section comprising a vibrating member that is fixed to the low-pass filter; and   a control section to control the vibrating member to generate a standing wave selected from among a plurality of standing waves in the low-pass filter in a selected sequence.   
     
     
         17 . The camera according to  claim 16 , wherein the control section allows the vibrating member to generate a first standing wave that comprises a first loop and a first node, and subsequently to generate a second standing wave that comprises a second loop that is arranged at a position corresponding to the first node. 
     
     
         18 . The camera according to  claim 16 , wherein the low-pass filter has a rectangular shape.