Patent ID: 7672579

Claim:
A lens barrel including a plurality of standard optical elements used in a standard photographing operation and at least one insertable optical element which is selectively inserted into and removed from a photographing optical path, a photographic effect being produced by said insertable optical element when said insertable optical element is positioned in said photographic optical path, said lens barrel comprising: an accommodating driving device which moves said standard optical element and said insertable optical element rearward in an optical axis direction to change said lens barrel from a ready-to-photograph state to a retracted state; an insertable-optical-element drive mechanism which moves said insertable optical element between an inserted position, in which said insertable optical element is positioned on said optical axis on which said standard optical element is positioned, and a removed position, in which said insertable optical element is positioned off said optical axis, in accordance with an insertion signal and a remove signal for said insertable optical element, respectively, in said ready-to-photograph state of said lens barrel; a forced removing device which forces said insertable optical element to move from said inserted position to said removed position independently of said insertable-optical-element drive mechanism when said lens barrel moves from said ready-to-photograph state to said retracted state by said accommodating driving device; and a removable optical element holding frame which holds a removable part of said plurality of standard optical elements, wherein said removable optical element holding frame is movable in a plane orthogonal to said optical axis between a photographing position, in which said removable part of said plurality of standard optical elements is positioned on said optical axis, and a retracted position, in which said removable part of said plurality of standard optical elements is positioned off said optical axis; a removing device which moves said removable optical element holding frame to said photographing position when said lens barrel is in said ready-to-photograph state, and moves said removable optical element holding frame to said retracted position when lens barrel moves from said ready-to-photograph state to said retracted state; and an insertable optical element holding frame which holds said insertable optical element and is movable in a plane orthogonal to said optical axis, wherein: said forced removing device includes a holding-frame linkage portion comprising two contacting portions provided on one and the other of said removable optical element holding frame and said insertable optical element holding frame, and said one contacting portion applies a force to said other contacting portion in direction to move said insertable optical element from said inserted position to said removed position when said removable optical element holding frame moves from said photographing position to said retracted position.