1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for mounting a motor to a housing having a driven element which is driven by the motor, and more specifically, relates to a motor damping and mounting structure in which the amount of vibration of the motor transmitted to the housing can be minimized and the mounting position of the motor to the housing can be precisely determined.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a known optical device or electronic device having a motor incorporated therein, vibration produced when the motor is driven causes various problems. For instance, in a digital camera having a motion picture photographing function or a sound recording function, in which a drive motor is provided in a camera body to carry out the zooming or focusing operation, the precision of the motion picture photographing operation is affected or unwanted noise is recorded due to motor vibration. Furthermore, electronic circuitry provided in the digital camera can be damaged due to the motor vibration.
In order to prevent vibration of the motor from being transmitted to the housing or casing of the device as much as possible, in a known motor damping and mounting structure, a plurality of through-holes are formed in a bracket to which the motor is mounted, and damper bushes made of an elastic material are fitted in the through-holes so that set screws are inserted from the bracket surface in the damper bushes and are screwed in threaded holes formed in the housing of the device.
However, in such a known motor damping and mounting structure, the set screws and the damper bushes (i.e., the bracket and the housing) are relatively movable within the range of the elastic deformation of the damper bushes. Therefore, it is difficult to precisely determine the position of the bracket to which the motor is secured (and hence, it is difficult to precisely determine the position of the motor) and to secure the motor to the housing at a correct position. In other words, the known damping and mounting structure cannot be used for an arrangement in which the motor on the bracket and the elements driven by the motor must be precisely positioned and secured.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds