Patent ID: 7976229

Claim:
A lens barrier device comprising: a plurality of barrier blades disposed in an oscillatible manner in front of an imaging lens positioned in closest proximity to a subject side in an imaging optical system; and an oscillating mechanism that allows the plurality of barrier blades to oscillate so as to form a fully closed state in which an optical path of the imaging optical system is fully closed and a fully opened state in which the optical path is fully opened by the barrier blades, wherein the oscillating mechanism includes a drive ring that is provided in an inversely rotatable manner within a predetermined angular range about an optical axis of the imaging optical system and allows the plurality of barrier blades to oscillate back and forth to form the fully closed state and the fully opened state by rotating forward and backward, and the drive ring includes a main body portion that extends in a ring shape around the optical axis, and a plurality of coupling portions that are provided to the main body portion and coupled to the respective barrier blades so as to allow the respective barrier blades to oscillate back and forth between a close position at which the fully closed state is formed and an open position at which the fully opened state is formed in association with forward and backward rotations of the main body portion and undergo elastic deformation when the respective barrier blades are directly forced to oscillate from the close position to the open position, wherein each barrier blade is provided with a drive pin that protrudes rearward; the drive ring is disposed in rear of the plurality of barrier blades; and each of the plurality of coupling portions has an arm portion extending in an arc shape about the optical axis and coupled to the main body portion at both ends and an engagement portion provided to the arm portion at an intermediate portion in an extending direction and engaging with the drive pin of the corresponding barrier blade, and wherein the engagement portion is formed of a V-shaped piece opening in a direction of the optical axis, with which the drive pin is engaged; and each coupling portion undergoes elastic deformation due to both of the arm portion and the V-shaped piece.