JP2002090854A - Waterproof case for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof case for a camera, of which deterioration of a water-proofing performance is suppressed, while securing a function of positioning the camera inside the case. SOLUTION: 1st and 2nd support members 41 and 42 for elastically supporting the front and the back of the camera 10 are respectively arranged on the internal surfaces of a front case body 2 and a back case body 3, the hardness of the 1st support member 41 is made higher than that of the 2nd support member 42. The 1st support member 41 is provided with a function of positioning the camera 10 and a function of controlling the forward movement of the camera 10 by an operation of depressing a switch arranged on the back side of the camera 10, and a pinchingly holding force for the camera 10 in the case 1 is generated by the 2nd supporting member 42, and also, the deterioration of the waterproofing performance due to the repulsive force is suppressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof case for a camera which accommodates, for example, a still camera, a video camera, and the like therein and enables photographing underwater. The present invention relates to a camera waterproof case that achieves both reliability and reliability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of completely sealed waterproof cases for cameras that can be used underwater have been developed.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-80623, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 5-96843, and Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 5-94836 have a pedestal for positioning and holding a camera in a waterproof case. Is described with a screw member, but there is a problem not only in the operability of housing the camera, but also in the case itself, which is significantly larger than the camera body, and there is a problem in portability and operability.

On the other hand, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 7-1445, there are two case bodies, a front case body covering the front part of the camera and a rear case body covering the rear part of the camera. There is also known a camera case in which the case is brought into contact with the inner surface side of each case body to position the camera case, thereby dramatically improving the accommodation workability and reducing the size of the case itself.

As described above, the camera case is composed of the front case body and the rear case body, and the waterproof camera case is completed by interposing the seal member between these case bodies. There's a problem.

[0006]

That is, when the camera is housed inside and the front case body and the rear case body are combined, in order to prevent the camera from rattling in the case, a certain pressure is applied to the camera. However, due to the reaction, the sealing force between the front case body and the rear case body is weakened, and there is a possibility that the waterproof performance may be deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a waterproof case for a camera that can suppress a decrease in waterproofness while securing a positioning operation of the camera inside the case.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a waterproof case for a camera according to the present invention comprises a front case and a rear case, each of which has a front surface and a rear surface elastically attached to an inner wall surface thereof. The first and second support members for supporting the first and second support members are provided, and the hardness of the first support member is higher than the hardness of the second support member.

That is, in the present invention, the elastic deformation of the second support member causes a narrow pressure on the camera between the front case body and the rear case body, and at the same time, the rear case body with respect to the front case body. The reaction of the narrow pressure acting in the opening direction is reduced, and a reduction in the sealing function between the front case body and the rear case body is suppressed.

The reason why the hardness of the first support member is higher than the hardness of the second support member is as follows.

That is, for example, a digital still camera or the like is provided with a camera case (particularly a rear case body) because push-button switches for selecting various functions, zoom operation, and the like are arranged on the back of the camera. Is provided with a mechanism capable of operating each of these switches from outside the case. At this time, it is necessary to prevent the camera from moving forward in the case and impairing the operability of the switches as the switches are pressed by these mechanisms. Therefore, in the present invention, the first support member is set to have a higher hardness than the second support member, and the forward movement of the camera is restricted when the switch is pressed, thereby preventing a decrease in operability. Like that.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1A to 1C, 2 and 3 show the entirety of a waterproof case for a camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a waterproof case) according to an embodiment of the present invention. Waterproof case 1
In the present embodiment, a front case body 2 that covers the front part of a digital still camera (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a camera) 10 and a rear case body 3 that covers the back part of the camera 10 are provided. And a transparent synthetic resin material, for example, polycarbonate.

The front case body 2 and the rear case body 3 are respectively formed with internal recesses 21 and 31 of the minimum size required for accommodating the front part and the back part of the camera 10. The front case body 2 and the rear case body 3 are connected to each other via a hinge portion 5 at one side, and an annular sealing member 4 is provided on a combination surface of an outer peripheral edge of the rear case body 3.
Is installed. Then, these case bodies 2 and 3 are combined on the surfaces where the internal recesses 21 and 31 face each other,
Further, by fixing the two case bodies 2 and 3 with the buckle 6, an internal space for accommodating the camera 10 is hermetically formed.

A plurality of ribs 25 for reinforcing and supporting the periphery of the camera 10 housed therein are formed in the internal recess 21 of the front case body 2 and are movable in the direction of arrow a in FIG. Collapsible lens barrel 1 of a simple camera 10
A cylindrical portion 22 for accommodating 10 is integrally formed. The end face of the cylindrical portion 22 is formed of a transparent body 23 such as glass. A side peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 22 and a peripheral portion of the transparent body 23 are covered with a cover 8 made of an elastic material such as rubber.

On the upper surface of the front case 2, various switches of the camera 10 to be accommodated, that is, a power switch,
An external power switch 11, an external shutter button 12, and an external rotary switch 13 are provided so that the shutter button and the function switching rotary switch can be operated from outside the case. Further, on each side of the front case body 2, the above-mentioned buckle 6 for fixing the rear case body 3 to the front case body 2 and the grip part 7 for holding the waterproof case 1 are provided. ing.

The camera 1 to be housed in the rear case body 3
0, ie, close-up buttons, flash buttons, zoom-in / out buttons 103 and 104, and control buttons 105 of setting items displayed on the liquid crystal screen 102 can be operated from outside the case. An external close-up button 14, an external flash button 15, an external zoom-in / out button 16, 1
7 and an external control button group 18 are provided.

Next, the first and second support members according to the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the inner wall surface of each of the front case body 2 and the rear case body 3, first and second elastic members respectively support the front surface and the rear surface of the camera 10 housed therein. Two support members 41 and 42 are provided. The first and second support members 41 and 42 have boss portions 51 and 52 formed at a plurality of locations (four locations in this embodiment) on the inner wall surface of each of the front case body 2 and the rear case body 3. Are fitted in the inner holes 61 and 62. In the present embodiment, two boss portions 51 on the front case body 2 side are formed on the periphery of the opening of the cylindrical portion 22, and one boss portion 52 on the rear case body 3 side is formed on the rib 32. ing.

The first and second support members 41 and 42 are made of rubber materials such as NBR having different hardnesses. In this embodiment, the first support member 41 has a rubber hardness of, for example, 90.
(Measured with a durometer rubber hardness meter, the same applies hereinafter.),
The rubber hardness of the second support member 42 is set to, for example, 50, and the first support member 41 is set harder than the second support member 42.

FIGS. 5A to 5C show the first and second support members 4.
2 shows a process of attaching the first and second bosses to the boss portions 51 and 52. Each of the first and second support members 41 and 42 includes a large-diameter portion 401 and a small-diameter portion 402, and the pin portion 45a of the jig 45 is drilled from the large-diameter portion 401 to the middle of the small-diameter portion 402 during mounting. (FIG. 5A). The inner diameters of the inner holes 61, 62 of the boss portions 51, 52 are formed smaller than the shaft diameter of the small diameter portion 402.
5, the small diameter portion 402 is elastically deformed into the inner holes 61 and 62 and press-fitted (FIGS. 5B and 5C). Then, jig 45
Is pulled out from the insertion hole 403, and the small diameter portion 402 is fitted to the inner wall surfaces of the inner holes 61 and 62 by the restoring force (FIG. 5C).
As described above, the first and second support members 41, 42
Are mounted in the inner holes 61, 62 of the boss portions 51, 52.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the buckle 6 is released and the front case body 2 and the rear case body 3 are opened. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the camera 10 is inserted into the internal recess 21 of the opened front case body 2 from the front side. At this time, the front surface of the camera 10 abuts and is supported by the above-described first support member 41, and the other peripheral surface except the rear surface of the camera 10 is supported by the rib 25. Then, the rear case body 3
Is combined with the front case body 2 and fixed with the buckle 6.

As described above, the camera 10 is accommodated in the waterproof case 1 in the form shown in FIG. At this time, the front part and the rear part (indicated by reference numerals 10A and 10B in FIG. 4) of the camera 10 are respectively connected to the first and second support members 41 and 41 provided on the front case body 2 and the rear case body 3, respectively. 42 elastically supported by the camera 10
Is positioned in the waterproof case 1.

In this embodiment, the rubber hardness of the first support member 41 is higher than the rubber hardness of the second support member 42. Therefore, when the camera 10 is stored in the waterproof case 1, The narrow pressure acting on the camera 10 from the side mainly appears from the elastic force of the second support member 42. Thereby, the reaction of the narrow pressure acting on the front case body 2 in the opening direction of the rear case body 3 is reduced, and a reduction in the sealing function between the front case body 2 and the rear case body 3 is suppressed.

The second support member 42 also prevents the rear case body 3 from warping inward in the case due to water pressure in the deep water.
This can prevent the camera body and the case body from being damaged, and can increase the waterproof reliability.

In particular, if the narrow pressure exerted on the camera 10 immediately after being housed in the waterproof case 1 is obtained only by the elastic force of the second support member 42, the above effect can be further enhanced. For this purpose, the amount of protrusion of the second support member 42 from the boss 52 is determined by the first support member 41.
The shape may be different between the two support members 41 and 42 so as to be larger than the protrusion amount from the boss portion 51. In this case, an effect of preventing erroneous assembling of these support members 41 and 42 to the respective case bodies 2 and 3 also occurs.

On the other hand, the first support member 41 pushes the external switches 14 to 18 when operating switches arranged on the rear side of the camera 10 via various external switches 14 to 18 of the waterproof case 1. Camera 10 by pressure
The forward movement of the switch is regulated, and a high positioning function is exhibited to ensure reliable operability of these switches.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the camera 10 in the waterproof case 1 can be provided without lowering the waterproof reliability between the front case 2 and the rear case 3.
Can be reliably performed, and good operability of the camera 10 from the outside of the case 1 can be ensured.

Particularly, in the present embodiment, a plurality of the first and second support members 41 and 42 are respectively disposed to support the front and back of the camera 10 at points, so that the camera 10 can be stably and uniformly provided. Can be supported.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is, of course, not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made based on the technical concept of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the first and second
Although the supporting members 41 and 42 are made of rubber materials having different hardnesses, coil springs having different spring constants may be used as the first and second supporting members instead.

In the above embodiment, the first and second
The four support members 41 and 42 are arranged at four places, respectively, but the number of arrangements is not limited to this. That is, in the first support member, if it is arranged at least at four places, the front surface of the camera 10 can be reliably supported.
In the second support member, for example, it may be arranged only at three places.

Further, the first and second support members 41, 42
Are formed on the inner wall surface of each of the case bodies 2 and 3,
52, the mounting holes for the support members are directly provided on the inner wall surfaces of the case body depending on the location or when the case body is formed to have a predetermined thickness or more. You may make it pierce.

In the above embodiment, the digital still camera 10 has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a film camera or a video camera. In addition, the waterproof case 1 according to the present invention is not limited to use in water, but is suitable for use in rainy weather, use in a ski resort, and the like.
It is also suitable as a dustproof case.

[0036]

As described above, according to the waterproof case for a camera of the present invention, the positioning of the camera in the waterproof case can be performed without deteriorating the waterproof reliability between the front case body and the rear case body. This can be performed reliably, and good operability of the camera from outside the case can be ensured.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a stable positioning action of the camera in the waterproof case can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the reliability of waterproofing can be further improved while ensuring the positioning of the camera in the waterproof case.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an entire waterproof case according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein A is a perspective view seen from the front side, B is a perspective view seen from the back side, and C is an interior seen from the back side. It is a perspective view of.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the inside of the waterproof case according to the embodiment of the present invention is opened to accommodate the camera.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a waterproof case according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a front case body and a rear case body are developed and the inside is opened.

FIG. 4 is a partially broken side view showing a main part of the case main body when the waterproof case according to the embodiment of the present invention is accommodated in the camera.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view showing a process of attaching the first and second support members to the case body according to the present invention, wherein A is a jig attaching process, and B is a press-fitting process into a boss inner hole. , And C indicates the jig drawing process.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Waterproof case, 2 ... Front case body, 3 ... Rear case body, 4 ... Seal member, 10 ... Camera, 41 ... First support member, 42 ... Second support member, 51, 52 ... Boss part, 6
1,62 ... inner hole.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yukio Yamada 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Tetsuro Fukumoto 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation F term (reference) 2H101 CC01

Claims (3)

[Claims] An internal space for accommodating a camera therein is provided, and a front case body supporting a front side of the camera and a rear case body supporting a rear side of the camera are each provided with a sealing material interposed therebetween. In a waterproof case for a camera in combination, first and second support members for elastically supporting a front surface and a rear surface of the camera are provided on inner wall surfaces of the front case body and the rear case body, respectively. A waterproof case for a camera, wherein the hardness of the first support member is higher than the hardness of the second support member. 2. A rubber in which the first and second support members are fitted into inner holes of bosses formed at a plurality of locations on inner wall surfaces of the front case body and the rear case body, respectively. The waterproof case for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the case is made of a material. 3. When the front case body and the rear case body are combined after housing the camera, at least only the second support member is located between the rear surface of the camera and the inner wall surface of the rear case body. The waterproof case for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the case is compressed and deformed.