Patent ID: 7050713

Claim:
A retracting mechanism for a retractable lens including an optical system having a plurality of optical elements, said optical element retracting mechanism comprising: a linearly movable ring configured to be guided along an optical axis of said optical system without rotating, said ring further configured to retract toward a plane along said optical axis when said retractable lens moves from an operational state to a fully-retracted state; a swingable holder pivoted on a pivot and swingable about said pivot, said swingable holder positioned inside and supported by said linearly movable ring, said swingable holder supporting a retractable optical element as one of said plurality of optical elements; a position-controller holding said swingable holder such that said retractable optical element remains on said optical axis when said retractable lens is in said ready-to-photograph state, said position-controller configured to rotate said swingable holder about said pivot such that said retractable optical element retracts to a position which deviates from said optical axis when said linearly movable ring, together with said swingable holder, retracts toward said plane; a pair of support plates attached to opposite ends of said linearly movable ring in said optical axis direction, and support opposite ends of said pivot, respectively; a support plate fixing device fixing said pair of support plates to said linearly movable ring, wherein said support plate fixing device is configured to allow said pair of support plates to move relative to said linearly movable ring in directions lying in a plane orthogonal to said optical axis when said support plate fixing device is in a released state; at least one rotatable shaft having a shaft axis substantially parallel to said optical axis, supported by said linearly movable ring to be rotatable about said shaft axis, said rotatable shaft having a pair of eccentric pins at opposite ends thereof, said pair of eccentric pins having a common axis eccentric to said shaft axis of said rotatable shaft; and at least one pair of elongated holes respectively on said pair of support plates, facing each other and elongated substantially parallel to each other, said pair of eccentric pins being engaged in said pair of elongated holes and configured to be movable therein; wherein said pair of support plates are configured to be moved relative to said linearly movable ring in said directions lying in said plane orthogonal to said optical axis via a rotation of said rotatable shaft, without substantially changing a relative position between said pair of support plates, when said support plate fixing device is in said released state.