JP2006162789A - Camera system and waterproof housing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera system which does not deteriorate operability on a waterproof housing side at the time of underwater photography without making the structure of the waterproof housing complicated and large, and also to provide the waterproof housing used in the camera system. <P>SOLUTION: A camera side communication connection part 8 is provided in a camera main body 1 and also a housing side communication connection part 16 is provided in the waterproof housing 11. When a housing side operation member provided on the outer surface of the waterproof housing 11 is operated, information is transmitted to the housing side communication connection part 16 and the camera side communication connection part 8. By receiving the information, various kinds of controls are made in a camera. The position and the size of the housing side operation member are different from those of a camera side operation member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera system capable of underwater photography and a waterproof housing used in such a camera system.

In underwater photography, it is common to shoot with the camera housed in a case called a waterproof housing. In this type of waterproof housing, as shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, operation members such as waterproof operation levers and buttons are provided so that various operation members on the camera can be operated while maintaining waterproofness. And a connecting mechanism for transmitting the operation force of these operation members to the operation members on the camera.
JP 2003-15207 A JP 2004-163632 A

  However, providing an operation member or a force transmission mechanism for operating the operation member on the camera as in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 described above complicates the structure of the waterproof housing or increases the size of the waterproof housing itself. Is more likely. In addition, when a plurality of operation members are densely arranged on the back surface of the camera or the like, if the operation members on the waterproof housing are also arranged densely, it is necessary to wear a glove for shooting. It becomes very difficult to use in water with a lot of water.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and does not complicate or enlarge the structure of the waterproof housing, and does not reduce the operability on the waterproof housing side during underwater photography. It is an object to provide a system and a waterproof housing used in such a camera system.

  In order to achieve the above object, a camera system according to a first aspect of the present invention is a camera system comprising a camera and a waterproof housing configured to be able to store the camera, on the outer surface of the camera. A plurality of camera operation members disposed; a plurality of housing operation members disposed on an outer surface of the waterproof housing and having a function corresponding to the plurality of camera operation members; and the plurality of camera operation members disposed in the camera. Control means for detecting an operation state of the operation member or the plurality of housing operation members and controlling a camera operation corresponding to the detected operation state, the plurality of camera operation members and the plurality of camera operation members The plurality of housing operation members each having a function corresponding to the above are characterized in that at least one of size and shape is different.

  In order to achieve the above object, the waterproof housing according to the second aspect of the present invention is a waterproof housing configured to accommodate a camera therein, and functions as a plurality of camera operation members provided in the camera. Correspondingly, a plurality of housing operation members disposed on the outer surface of the waterproof housing, a plurality of switches that are turned on and off in conjunction with respective operations of the plurality of housing operation members, and the states of the plurality of switches Transmission means for transmitting to the camera, wherein the housing operation member is different from the camera operation member in at least one of size and shape.

  According to these 1st and 2nd aspects, the operation state of the housing operation member provided in the waterproof housing side can be detected, and control on the camera side can be performed according to the operation state. The camera operation member and the housing operation member can be different in at least one of size and shape.

  According to the present invention, a camera system that does not complicate or enlarge the structure of the waterproof housing and does not deteriorate the operability on the waterproof housing side during underwater photography, and such a camera system are used. Waterproof housing can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a camera used in a camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the camera will be described. In FIG. 1, a release operation member 2 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 1. The release operation member 2 is a camera operation member for an operator to instruct the camera to start photographing.

  In FIG. 1, a selection operation member 3, a determination operation member 4, a liquid crystal monitor 5, and a viewfinder eyepiece window 6 are provided on the back surface of the camera body 1. The selection operation member 3 is a camera operation member for an operator to perform various camera selection settings. The determination operation member 4 is a camera operation member for determining the selection set by the selection operation member 3. The liquid crystal monitor 5 is a monitor for displaying various images such as a photographing result and a menu screen. The viewfinder eyepiece window 6 is a window for observing the subject during photographing.

  Here, the camera operation members are not limited to the release operation member 2, the selection operation member 3, and the determination operation member 4.

  Further, a photographing lens 7 is provided on the front surface (the back side of the drawing) of the camera body 1 shown in FIG. The photographing lens 7 is a lens system for causing a light beam from a subject (not shown) to enter an imaging unit inside the camera.

  A camera-side communication connection unit 8 is provided on the side surface of the camera body 1 shown in FIG. The camera-side communication connection unit 8 is configured to be communicably connected to a housing-side communication connection unit 16 provided on the waterproof housing side. By connecting the housing-side communication connection unit 16 to the camera-side communication connection unit 8, Information communication between the camera and the waterproof housing becomes possible. Here, the camera side communication connection unit 8 is protected by the camera side communication connection unit lid 9 when not in use.

  The communication interface between the camera and the waterproof housing is not particularly limited. For example, if a general-purpose interface such as USB is used, the camera side communication connection unit 8 is used for purposes other than information communication with the waterproof housing. Can also be used. In the case of a camera in which a USB receptor unit is provided in advance, it may be used as the camera side communication connection unit 8.

  FIG. 2 is an external view of a camera system according to the present embodiment configured by the camera of FIG. 1 and a waterproof housing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the waterproof housing 11 includes a waterproof housing rear housing portion 11a and a waterproof housing front housing portion 11b, and these waterproof housing rear housing portion 11a and the waterproof housing front housing. The camera body 1 can be accommodated by the portion 11b.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the waterproof housing rear housing part 11a is provided with a housing operation member provided corresponding to the camera operation member shown in FIG. 1 and having the same function as the camera operation member shown in FIG. Is provided. That is, a release operation member 12 corresponding to the release operation member 2 of the camera and a determination operation member 14 corresponding to the determination operation member 4 of the camera are provided on the upper surface of the rear housing portion 11a of the waterproof housing. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a selection operation member 13 corresponding to the selection operation member 3 of the camera is provided on the back surface of the waterproof housing rear housing portion 11a. It should be noted that the housing side operation member may be provided with more than three operation members as in the camera body 1.

  Further, on the inner wall surface of the waterproof housing rear side casing portion 11a, a housing side communication connection portion 16 is provided as a transmission means configured to be communicably connected to the camera side communication connection portion 8. The communication connection unit 16 is connected to a switch detection unit provided inside the waterproof housing 11. This switch detection unit is a circuit for detecting the operation state of the housing side operation member provided in the waterproof housing 11. That is, the operation state of the housing operation member provided on the outer surface of the waterproof housing 11 is communicated to the camera side via the housing side communication connection portion 16 and the camera side communication connection portion 8. The camera body 1 can execute various controls by detecting this operation state.

  Thus, in this embodiment, since it is not necessary to provide the waterproof housing 11 with an operation member or a force transmission mechanism for operating the camera operation member provided in the camera body 1, the housing operation member of the waterproof housing 11 is provided. May be different from the position and size of the camera operation member of the camera body 1. That is, the arrangement relationship of the housing operation members of the waterproof housing 11 can be freely determined in consideration of ease of use in water, as shown in FIGS. Also, the size of the housing operation member of the waterproof housing 11 can be made larger than that of the camera operation member of the camera body 1, for example, in consideration of ease of use in water.

  Here, the housing side communication connection portion 16 is provided with a USB socket portion when a USB receptor portion is provided as the camera side communication connection portion 8.

  FIG. 3 is an external view showing a state when the camera body 1 is housed in the waterproof housing 11.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a liquid crystal monitor window 15, which is a transparent panel for the liquid crystal monitor 5 of the camera, is provided on the back surface of the waterproof housing rear housing part 11 a. Further, a stopper 17 is provided on a side surface of the rear housing portion 11a of the waterproof housing, and the stopper 17 fixes the waterproof housing 11 so that it does not open when the camera body 1 is stored in the waterproof housing 11. The

  Here, the housing operation member will be further described. FIGS. 4A and 4B are views for explaining a waterproof switch mechanism for constituting a housing operation member provided in the waterproof housing 11.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the surface of the waterproof switch mechanism is protected by a flexible protection member 21. A switch pressing portion 21a for an operator to press the switch is formed on a part of the protective member 21, and a contact electrode 22a is provided on the back side of the switch pressing portion 21a. A contact electrode 22 b is provided on the circuit board inside the waterproof housing 11, and the contact electrode 22 b is connected to a wiring pattern 24 on the circuit board 23 provided inside the waterproof housing 11. A circuit in the waterproof housing 11 will be described later.

  In the configuration as shown in FIG. 4A, when the switch pressing portion 21a is pressed by the operator, the contact electrode 22a comes into contact with the contact electrode 22b as shown in FIG. Thereby, in the circuit in the waterproof housing 11, the pressing of the switch pressing portion 21a by the operator is detected.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an internal electric circuit configuration of the camera system according to the present embodiment including the camera body 1 and the waterproof housing 11.

  First, the circuit configuration inside the waterproof housing 11 will be described. This circuit is a circuit for detecting a pressing operation of a housing operation member provided on the outer surface of the waterproof housing 11, and includes a housing side operation switch 31 that turns on and off in response to the pressing operation of the housing operation member, and a housing side The switch detection unit 32 detects an on / off state of the operation switch 31.

  That is, when the housing operation member provided on the outer surface of the waterproof housing 11 is operated, the operation state is detected by the switch detection unit 32. The switch detection unit 32 generates an operation state signal corresponding to the turned-on operation switch, and the operation state signal is transmitted to the control unit 33 inside the camera body via the housing side communication connection unit 16 and the camera side communication connection unit 8. To communicate.

  Next, the configuration inside the camera body 1 will be described. Here, as the internal configuration of the camera body 1 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a control unit 33, an image processing unit 36, an imaging unit 37, an image display unit 38, and an image storage unit 39 are provided inside the camera body 1.

  The control unit 33 as a control unit executes various control processes such as a photographing process based on the operation state signal input from the waterproof housing 11. The control unit 33 is connected to a switch detection unit 35 similar to the waterproof housing 11. The switch detection unit 35 detects an on state of the camera side operation switch 34 that is turned on in response to an operation of a camera operation member provided on the outer surface of the camera body 1, and sends an operation state signal corresponding thereto to the control unit. To 33. When an operation state signal is input from the switch detection unit 35, the control unit 33 executes various control processes such as a photographing process based on the input operation state signal.

  The image processing unit 36 performs drive control of the image capturing unit 37 and performs various image processing such as white balance correction processing and gradation correction processing on the image data acquired by the image capturing unit 37. The imaging unit 37 obtains image data by converting an image of a subject (not shown) into an electrical signal by photoelectric conversion. The image display unit 38 displays the image processed by the image processing unit 36 on the liquid crystal monitor 5. The image storage unit 39 stores the image processed by the image processing unit 36.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the operation state of the housing side operation member of the waterproof housing 11 can be transmitted to the camera side by communication, it is necessary to provide a complicated mechanism on the waterproof housing 11 side. Absent. Thereby, the waterproof housing 11 is not complicated or enlarged. Further, since the arrangement relationship and size of each housing-side operation member can be determined regardless of the position and size of the camera operation member, the operability during underwater shooting is not impaired.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are naturally possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

  Further, the above-described embodiments include various stages of the invention, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect described in the column of the effect of the invention Can be extracted as an invention.

1 is an external view of a camera used in a camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an external view of a camera system according to an embodiment. It is an external view which shows a mode when a camera is accommodated in a waterproof housing. It is a figure for demonstrating a waterproof type switch mechanism. It is a figure shown about the electric circuit structure inside the camera system which concerns on this one embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera body, 2,12 ... Release operation member, 3,13 ... Selection operation member, 4,14 ... Determination operation member, 5 ... Liquid crystal monitor, 6 ... Viewfinder eyepiece window, 7 ... Shooting lens, 8 ... Camera side communication Connection part, 9 ... Camera side communication connection part cover, 11 ... Waterproof housing, 11a ... Waterproof housing rear case part, 11b ... Waterproof housing front case part, 15 ... LCD monitor window, 16 ... Housing side communication connection part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 ... Stopper, 31 ... Housing side operation switch, 32, 35 ... Switch detection part, 33 ... Control part, 34 ... Camera side operation switch, 36 ... Image processing part, 37 ... Imaging part, 38 ... Image display part, 39 ... Image storage

Claims (7)

In a camera system comprising a camera and a waterproof housing configured to store the camera,
A plurality of camera operation members arranged on the outer surface of the camera;
A plurality of housing operation members disposed on an outer surface of the waterproof housing and having a function corresponding to the plurality of camera operation members;
A control unit disposed in the camera, detecting operation states of the plurality of camera operation members or the plurality of housing operation members, and controlling a camera operation corresponding to the detected operation state;
Comprising
The camera system, wherein the plurality of camera operation members and the plurality of housing operation members each having a function corresponding to each of the plurality of camera operation members are different in at least one of size and shape.   The camera system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of housing operation members are operation members larger than camera operation members corresponding to the plurality of housing operation members, respectively.   The camera system according to claim 1, wherein an arrangement relationship between the plurality of housing operation members is different from an arrangement relationship between the plurality of camera operation members. The waterproof housing is
A plurality of switches that are turned on and off in conjunction with the respective operations of the plurality of housing operation members;
Transmitting means for transmitting the states of the plurality of switches to the control means;
The camera system according to claim 1, further comprising:   5. The camera system according to claim 4, wherein the transmission means includes a socket portion connected to the plurality of switches and attachable to a receptor portion disposed in the camera. In a waterproof housing configured to be able to store the camera inside,
A plurality of housing operation members functionally corresponding to the plurality of camera operation members provided in the camera and disposed on an outer surface of the waterproof housing;
A plurality of switches that are turned on and off in conjunction with the respective operations of the plurality of housing operation members;
Transmitting means for transmitting the states of the plurality of switches to the camera;
Comprising
The waterproof housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing operating member is different from the camera operating member in at least one of size and shape.   The waterproof housing according to claim 6, wherein an arrangement relationship between the plurality of housing operation members is different from an arrangement relationship between the plurality of camera operation members.

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