JP2003337371A - Camera housing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure excellent operability and optical performance even in photography using a housing. <P>SOLUTION: The camera housing of claim 1 is equipped with a photographic optical system having a harmetically sealed structure, and a housing part having a hermetically sealed structure for housing a camera body to which the photographic optical system is attached. The photographic optical system and the housing part are integrated to a single structured. The camera housing of claim 2 is equipped with the photographic optical system having the hermetically sealed structure, and the housing part combined with the photographic optical system and having the hermetically sealed structure for housing the camera body to which the photographic optical system is attached, and the inner part of the housing part enters upon a hermetically sealed state when the photographic optical system and the housing part are combined. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera housing suitable for underwater cameras and dustproof cameras.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional housing used for underwater photography is constructed as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6 are sectional views showing a state in which a single-lens reflex camera is put in a conventional housing.

The conventional housing 21 has been designed to house and use the camera 22 for land use. Therefore, the operability and the optical performance of the taking lens 22a tend to be reduced by the amount of the optical member 21a of the housing.

In order to solve these problems, it is proposed to provide a manipulating member in the housing 21 and to make the front surface of the taking lens 22a concentric with the optical member 21a to improve the operability and the deterioration of the optical performance. Has been done.

Since the housing 21 has a closed structure, once the camera 22 is housed, the operating member of the camera 22 is divided by the housing, and the operability of the camera 22 is lost. When a member for operating the internal camera 22 is added through a sealed structure to supplement them, the housing 21
There were problems such as complication of itself, deterioration of hermeticity, and cost increase due to increase in the number of parts. Furthermore, the photographing lens 22a
Also, since the housing 21 covers, the optical member 21a is added to the photographing optical system. By forming the front surface of the taking lens 22a with a flat surface, it is possible to maintain a certain level of optical performance even in an environment such as underwater where the refractive index outside the housing 21 is different while maintaining the optical performance on land. However, variations in the angle of view due to the external refractive index and deterioration of peripheral optical performance when using a wide-angle lens are inevitable problems.

[0006]

As described above, the addition of the operating member in the housing has brought about new problems such as a complicated structure of the housing and an increase in cost. Also, by making the front of the housing concentric, it was possible to reduce the deterioration of the optical performance of the specific lens, but when using a shooting lens with other focal length, the deterioration of the optical performance due to the housing was improved. I couldn't.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to secure good operability and optical performance even in photographing using a housing.

[0008]

To achieve this object, a camera housing according to the invention of claim 1 has a hermetically sealed housing for accommodating a photographing optical system having a hermetically sealed structure and a camera body to which the photographing optical system is mounted. And a housing part are integrated with each other.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera housing including a photographic optical system having a hermetically sealed structure, and a housing part having a hermetically sealed structure which is combined with the photographic optical system and accommodates a camera body for mounting the photographic optical system. When the optical system and the housing part are combined, the inside of the housing part is sealed.

A camera housing according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, the photographing optical system includes a mount portion, and the camera body is attached to the mount portion.

A camera housing according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the camera housing according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein an operating member for operating the camera body is provided in the photographing optical system or the housing portion, and the operating state of the operating member is the camera body. It is characterized by being transmitted.

A camera housing according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the camera housing according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a display member for displaying the operating state of the camera body is provided in the photographing optical system or the housing portion, and information displayed on the display member is Is transmitted to the photographing optical system or the housing.

A camera housing according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the camera housing according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the photographing optical system or the housing portion is provided with a flash device.

A camera housing according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the camera housing according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein an attachment for correcting a difference in refractive index between water and air can be attached to the taking optical system. To do.

The camera housing according to the invention of claim 8 is characterized in that, in claim 1 or 2, the hermetically sealed structure is a waterproof and / or dustproof structure.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of a camera housing according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the camera housing according to the present invention comprises a housing 1 and a taking lens 2. The housing 1 is made of resin, metal or the like and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A cylindrical taking lens 2 is attached to the fitting portion 1b of the housing 1. Both the housing 1 and the taking lens 2 have a sealed structure for waterproofing and / or dustproofing.

A camera mounting seat 1a for mounting the camera body 3 (FIG. 2) is formed on the lower portion of the housing 1 (FIG. 1). A mount portion 2a for connecting to the camera body 3 is provided at the rear end (right side in FIG. 1) of the taking lens 2.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which the camera body 3 is attached to the camera housing according to the present invention.
The camera body 3 may be a camera body commercially available for land use. The camera body 3 is the housing 1
Camera mount 1a and the mount 2a of the taking lens 2
In the state where it is attached to and, it is fixed by a tripod screw 3a. At this time, the fitting portion 1b of the housing 1 and the taking lens 2 are also fitted together, so that the camera body 3 is sealed in the housing 1. Housing 1 is also taking lens 2
Also, since the camera body 3 is waterproof and / or dustproof, the camera body 3 is protected from being immersed in water and dust.

With this structure, the housing 21 (optical member 21a) is not used for the taking lens 22a, which is a drawback of the conventional camera housing, so that deterioration of optical performance can be avoided.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the camera housing according to the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the zooming and focusing of the taking lens 2 are controlled by the operation ring 2b provided on the taking lens 2 and the camera control section 1c provided on the housing 1. Has been done. Operation ring 2b
Signals are exchanged between the camera control unit 1c and the camera body 3 via the mount unit 2a. The communication cable may be extended to the mount portion 2a so as to contact the contact point of the camera body 3, or the signal may be transmitted to the camera body 3 by wireless communication without passing through the mount portion 2a.

At the tip of the taking lens 2 (subject side),
A flash device 4 is provided. In particular, in the case of the taking lens 2 capable of macro photography, it is possible to effectively perform the macro photography, and even if the flash device 4 is equipped, the taking lens 2 can be configured with the minimum configuration, which improves operability and It can also improve portability.

Further, according to the second embodiment, the operation member and the like of the taking lens 22a provided in the conventional housing 21 are not required, so that the operability is improved and the structure of the housing 1 is prevented from becoming complicated. You can also Further, the lens barrel forming the taking lens 2 can be made to have the airtightness, which is the function of the housing 1, with the minimum required size, and the housing 1 itself can be downsized. Even if the operation ring 2b of the taking lens 2 is provided, the members can be efficiently arranged, so that the operability is improved and the housing 1 is easily downsized.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the camera housing according to the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description will be omitted.

In the third embodiment, the attachment lens 5 is detachably attached to the front end (subject side) of the taking lens 2. The attachment lens 5 is used to cope with a difference in refractive index that differs between underwater photography and land photography, for example.

According to the third embodiment, the positional accuracy of the optical system can be sufficiently ensured by integrally forming the optical system, so that the attachment lens 5 and the like can be easily attached and the optical performance at the time of attachment can be improved. This can be easily secured, and the selectivity of the shooting angle of view can be further expanded.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can also be obtained.

Generally, when the photographic lens 2 is made larger in diameter or zoomed, the lens tends to be larger. For this reason, the housing itself for housing these lenses tends to be large. Therefore, by optimizing the lens barrel structure by integrating the housing and the optical system as in the present invention, it becomes possible to suppress the tendency of the housing to become large.

Further, by configuring the taking lens 2 to be connected to the camera body 3 via the mount portion 2a, the camera body 3 to be housed can be exchanged and the storage medium can be changed to film or CCD. It is possible to provide the photographer with the selection of the storage medium.

Further, by configuring the taking lens 2 and the camera body 3 to communicate with each other via the mount portion 2a, the taking lens 2 can be controlled from the camera body 3 and the lens information can be provided to the camera body 3. This allows the camera body 3 to set the optimum shooting conditions.

Further, it becomes possible to control the camera body 3 from the housing 1 through the mount portion 2a, and by providing the housing 1 with the minimum necessary camera control portion 1c, the taking lens 2 and the camera body 3 are included. It is possible to perform shooting operations, which improves operability and housing 1.
It is possible to achieve both miniaturization.

Further, by constructing the taking lens 2 with a variable power optical system, it becomes possible to provide the photographer with more selectivity of the taking field angle. By forming the optical system integrally with the housing 1, the positional accuracy of the optical system can be sufficiently ensured, so that the attachment lens 5 and the like can be easily attached and the optical performance at the time of attachment can be easily ensured. The selectivity of the angle of view can be further expanded.

Further, in addition to the taking lens 2, the housing 1 can be integrally provided with a photometric optical system and a flash device optical system, so that more photographing conditions can be provided to the photographer. Particularly in the case of the photographing lens 2 capable of macro photography, by disposing a flash device at the tip of the lens barrel, macro photography can be effectively performed, and even if the flash device is equipped, the housing has a minimum configuration. Can be configured, and operability and portability can be improved.

[0036]

As described above, according to the camera housing of the present invention, since the photographing optical system and the housing portion are integrally structured, good operability and optical performance are ensured even when photographing using the housing. It becomes possible to do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a camera housing according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of a camera housing according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the camera housing according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the camera housing according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional camera housing.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional camera housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 housing 1a Camera mounting seat 1b Fitting part 1c Camera control section 2 Shooting lens 2a Mount section 2b Operation ring 3 camera body 3a tripod screw 4 Flash device 5 Attachment lens

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup optical system having a hermetically sealed structure, and a housing part having a hermetically sealed structure for accommodating a camera body to which the image pickup optical system is mounted, wherein the image pickup optical system and the housing part have an integrated structure. A camera housing featuring. 2. A photographic optical system having a hermetically sealed structure, and a housing part having a hermetically sealed structure which is combined with the photographic optical system and accommodates a camera body in which the photographic optical system is mounted. A camera housing, wherein the inside of the housing portion is in a hermetically sealed state when combined with a portion. 3. The camera housing according to claim 1, wherein the photographing optical system includes a mount portion, and the camera body is attached to the mount portion. 4. An operation member for operating the camera body is provided in the photographing optical system or the housing portion, and an operation state of the operation member is transmitted to the camera body. The camera housing according to claim 3. 5. A display member for displaying an operating state of the camera body is provided on the photographing optical system or the housing portion, and information displayed on the display member is transmitted to the photographing optical system or the housing portion. Claim 1 characterized by the above.
The camera housing according to claim 3. 6. The camera housing according to claim 1, wherein the photographing optical system or the housing portion is provided with a flash device. 7. The camera housing according to claim 1, wherein an attachment for correcting a difference in refractive index between water and air can be attached to the photographing optical system. 8. The camera housing according to claim 1, wherein the closed structure is a waterproof and / or dustproof structure.