JP2921896B2 - Drip-proof camera - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a drip-proof waterproof camera, and more particularly to a drip-proof waterproof camera having a photographic lens barrel that can advance and retreat in the optical axis direction.

"Prior art and its problems" In recent years, even if it is wet with rain, splashing water, or a lot of water, the water droplet does not enter the inside, or it is a drip-proof waterproof camera that can shoot in shallow water such as the sea or pool Are commercially available.

When this drip-proof and waterproof camera is to be a smooth camera, for example, a photographic lens barrel is slidably supported in an opening formed in the front wall of the camera body, and an O lens is provided between the photographic lens barrel and the opening. It is conceivable to make the watertight by interposing a ring.

However, according to this structure, the photographing lens barrel moves forward and backward while being pressed against the O-ring, so that the sliding resistance increases, and in a severe case, the photographing lens barrel may not operate smoothly. is there. Further, if the O-ring is loosened to solve this problem, the sliding resistance at the time of moving the lens barrel forward and backward is reduced, but the watertightness between the lens barrel and the opening is impaired.

"Object of the invention" The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a drip-proof and waterproof camera capable of surely making watertight between a photographic lens barrel and an opening and smoothly moving the photographic lens barrel forward and backward.

[Summary of the Invention] A drip-proof waterproof camera according to the present invention includes an opening provided in a front wall of a camera body that is watertight; an annular inner waterproof surface formed around the inside of the opening; fixed,
A fixed ring having a smaller diameter than the inner peripheral waterproof surface and an outer peripheral support surface located behind the inner peripheral waterproof surface; a photographic lens barrel supported inside the fixed ring so as to be able to advance and retreat in the optical axis direction;
And a closely-contacting outer peripheral surface that is in water-tight contact with the inner-peripheral waterproof surface in the camera body, and elastically deforms such that the distal-end portion protrudes forward in the optical axis direction from the closely-appearing outer peripheral surface and the distal end portion spreads radially outward from the free state. A lip portion that is in water-tight contact with the photographic lens barrel, and protrudes rearward in the optical axis direction from the closely-closed outer peripheral surface to engage with the outer peripheral support surface of the fixed ring, and is caused by elastic deformation of the lip portion. An annular waterproof member provided with an engagement support portion for preventing a decrease in the adhesion between the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral waterproof surface; and the annular waterproof member is provided between the front wall of the camera body and the front end surface of the fixed ring. It is characterized in that it is sandwiched and its position in the optical axis direction is fixed.

The drip-proof waterproof camera according to the present invention also includes an opening provided in a front wall of a camera body formed in a water-tight manner; an annular inner peripheral waterproof surface formed inward of the opening; An annular fitting projection extending toward the inside of the body; a taking lens barrel supported in the opening so as to be able to advance and retreat in the optical axis direction; and a water-tight close contact with an inner peripheral waterproof surface in the camera body. And the outer peripheral surface thereof projects forward in the photographing optical axis direction from the close outer peripheral surface, and its distal end portion is elastically deformed so as to expand radially outward from the free state, and comes into close contact with the photographing lens barrel in a watertight manner. An annular waterproof member comprising: a lip portion; and a fitting concave portion that fits with the fitting convex portion to prevent a reduction in adhesion between the close outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral waterproof surface caused by elastic deformation of the lip portion. This ring-shaped waterproof member is Sandwiched has been in the optical axis direction position between the fixed member of the front wall and the camera body is characterized in that it is fixed.

"Examples of the Invention" The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated examples. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the drip-proof and waterproof camera 10 to which the present invention is applied.

The camera body 12 of the drip-proof and waterproof camera 10 is formed in a water-tight manner, and its photographing lens barrel 14 is provided in a water-tight manner. This taking lens barrel 14 is
By a pair of zoom switches 30 and 32 installed on the upper surface of the camera, zooming is performed by moving back and forth in the optical axis direction. At the front end of the taking lens barrel 14, a protective glass 15 for protecting the lens is fitted in a watertight manner.

A release button 28 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 12, and a rear lid 34 is provided on the rear surface so as to be freely opened and closed. On a wall surface 12a in front of the camera body 12, a light-emitting window 20 for projecting infrared light for distance measurement, a light-receiving window 22 for receiving infrared light reflected by a subject, an objective window 24 for a finder, and a strobe Light emitting window 26 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, a fixed ring 42 fixed to the camera body 12 is disposed inside the lens barrel support 40. The fixed ring 42 has a cam groove 43 formed on the side surface along the optical axis direction. A cam ring 44 is rotatably fitted into the fixed ring. This cam ring
A cam groove 45 that intersects with the cam groove 43 is formed on the side surface of the cam groove 43.

The taking lens barrel 14 is slidably fitted to a fixed ring 42, and has a roller 46 provided on the side thereof protruding from the intersection of the cam rings 43 and 45. Therefore, when the cam ring 44 is rotated by the driving of a zoom motor (not shown), the roller 46 moves along the cam grooves 45 and 43.
Is moved back and forth in the optical axis direction.

The distal end portion of the lens barrel support portion 40 is formed by bending toward the inner periphery, and the opening 40a is formed at the center thereof. A waterproof member (annular waterproof member) 41 is fitted in a watertight manner in a space surrounded by the back surface 47a of the bent surface 47 and the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b of the lens barrel support 40.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the waterproof member 41, and FIG. 3 is a front view thereof. The waterproof member 41 is made of hard urethane rubber,
It is formed in an annular shape in the center of which is formed a hole for fitting to the taking lens barrel.

If the left and right in FIG. 2 are the front and rear directions when the lens is mounted on the lens barrel support portion 40, the waterproof member 41 is
It has a fitting inner peripheral surface (engaging support portion) 48 to be fitted to the fixed ring 42. Further, the waterproof member 41 has a lip portion 52 in the front, and a step portion 49 is formed between the fitting inner peripheral surface 48 and the lip portion 52. When the waterproof member 41 is fitted to the stationary ring 42, the step portion 49 comes into contact with the front end of the stationary ring 42,
Restrict 41 backward movement. In addition, a communication inner peripheral surface 50 is formed between the step portion 49 and the lip portion 52.

On the outer periphery of the waterproof member 41, a close outer peripheral surface 51 which can be in water-tight contact with the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b is formed. When the outer peripheral surface 51 has an outer diameter of the waterproof member 41 in a free state,
The inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b is formed to be slightly larger than the inner diameter of the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b (for example, when the inner diameter of the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b is about φ46 mm, the diameter is increased by about 1 mm). Therefore, the waterproof member 41 is attached to the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b in the attached state shown in FIG.
The outer peripheral surface 51 and the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b are closely attached in a watertight manner due to the deformation force of the waterproof member 41. 1, the inner diameter of the fitting inner peripheral surface 48 is formed to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the fixed ring 42, and the inner peripheral surface of the communication inner peripheral surface 50 is Is formed to be larger than the outer diameter.

A contact front wall 53 is formed between the closely contact outer peripheral surface 51 and the lip portion 52 and is capable of contacting the back surface 47a, thereby restricting the waterproof member 41 from moving forward.

The lip portion 52 is formed so as to protrude forward in a thin shape, and has an inner diameter of the photographic lens barrel 14 in a state where the lip portion 52 is attached to the lens barrel support portion 40 and is not fitted to the photographic lens barrel 14. Slightly smaller than the outer diameter (for example,
14 is smaller by about 1 mm when the outer diameter is around 40 mm). Therefore, when the waterproof member 41 is mounted at a predetermined position, its close outer peripheral surface 51 is
And the lip portion 52 has an obtuse angle contact portion 52a.
Is watertightly contacted with the outer peripheral surface of the taking lens barrel to maintain watertightness between the taking lens mirror surface 14 and the opening 40a.

The lip portion 52 is provided so that the waterproof member 41 is
2 and 3, the obtuse contact portion 52a spreads outward as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 to make the obtuse contact portion 52a closely contact the outer peripheral surface of the mirror surface. Can be freely set according to the rubber strength of the material, the thickness of the lip, and the size of the interference. The sliding resistance of the photographic lens mirror surface 14 during sliding is determined by the tightening force of the lip 52 and the coefficient of friction between the lip portion 52 and the surface of the photographic lens barrel. Although the length of the lip portion 52 does not affect the tightening force, if the length is increased, chatter generated during sliding can be reduced.

As in the case of the waterproof member 41, when the outer peripheral side (closer outer peripheral surface 51) closely contacting the camera body and the inner peripheral side (lip portion 52) close to the lens barrel are displaced in the front-rear direction, they are located at the front. When the lip portion 52 spreads outward in the radial direction, a force acts to displace the watertight portion on the rear side, that is, the vicinity of the close outer peripheral surface 51, inward in the radial direction. In the present embodiment, the fitting inner peripheral surface 48 is provided behind the close outer peripheral surface 51, and this is engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the fixed ring 42, so that the sliding resistance to the lens mirror surface is not increased, The vicinity of the surface 51 is prevented from being displaced inward in the radial direction. If the fitting inner peripheral surface 48 that engages with the fixed ring 42 is not provided, the force by which the lip portion 52 tends to spread radially outward and the vicinity of the close outer peripheral surface 51 will be displaced radially inward. There is a possibility that the waterproofness of both watertight portions may be reduced by the force, but in the waterproofing member 41, since the above displacement can be suppressed by the fitting inner peripheral surface 48, the lip portion is simply provided. The watertightness is less likely to decrease than in the case of only.

According to the drip-proof and waterproof camera 10 having the above configuration, the cam ring 44 is rotated by driving the zoom motor, and the photographing lens barrel 14 is rotated.
Moves back and forth in the optical axis direction. At this time, the waterproof member 41 abuts the contact front wall 53 against the back surface 47a, and closes the outer peripheral surface 51 to the inner peripheral waterproof surface 4a.
0b in a watertight manner, and the lip 52
14 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface in a watertight manner. Therefore, water tightness between the taking lens barrel 14 and the opening 40a is reliably maintained.

The lip portion 52 is an obtuse angled contact portion formed in an obtuse angle shape.
Since 52a is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the taking lens barrel 14, the watertightness between the taking lens barrel 14 is improved.For example, when frost is formed on the taking lens barrel 14 due to cold, this frost is removed. It can be effectively removed. The lip 52
Due to the lip shape, the force required for its deformation is relatively weak, and when assembled, it can be easily fitted to the photographic lens mount 14, and when the photographic lens barrel 14 is activated, its sliding resistance is reduced. And smooth operation can be provided. Further, the lip portion 52 is formed so as to protrude forward in the optical axis direction.
Is strongly pressed against the side surface of the taking lens barrel 14, and the watertightness is further improved.

 Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG.

The bent surface 47 of the lens barrel supporting portion 40 has an extended fitting portion (fitting convex portion) 47b extending rearward from the opening 40a, and the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b and the photographing lens barrel 14 are provided. A waterproof member 55 is fitted therebetween. The waterproof member 55 has a lip portion 56 at the front end similar to the waterproof member 41, and the inner diameter of the lip portion 56 is formed slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the taking lens barrel 14. On the outer periphery of the lip portion 56, a fitting recess 57 for fitting with the extension fitting portion 47b is formed. Further, the outer periphery of the large-diameter portion 58 is a close outer peripheral surface 59 that is in water-tight contact with the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b.

Therefore, when the fitting concave portion 57 is fitted to the extension fitting portion 47b and the waterproof member 55 is fitted in the lens barrel support portion 40,
The inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface 59 in a watertight manner. Be closely related. Then, the photographing lens barrel 14 is fitted into the waterproof member 55, and the waterproof member 55 is pressed from behind by the fixed ring 42, and the lip portion 56 is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photographing lens barrel.

Accordingly, the waterproof member 55 is in close contact with the inner peripheral waterproof surface 40b and the outer peripheral surface 59, the close contact surface 57a and the close contact surface 47c, and the close contact between the close contact surface 57b and the close contact surface 47d. Ensure that the water tightness between them is maintained. At the same time, the lip portion 56 and the outer peripheral surface of the photographing lens barrel are in close contact with each other in a watertight manner, so that the watertightness between the waterproof member 55 and the photographing lens barrel 14 is reliably maintained.

As described above, in the annular waterproof member having the lip portion extending forward, the waterproof member may be deformed when the lip portion spreads outward in the radial direction, so that the watertightness of the outer watertight portion may be impaired. There is. In this embodiment, the fitting of the extension fitting portion 47b and the fitting concave portion 57 can prevent excessive deformation of the waterproof member 55, particularly in the vicinity of the close outer peripheral surface 59. Therefore, a decrease in watertightness can be suppressed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the drip-proof and waterproof camera of the present invention, the lip portion is extended forward in the annular waterproof member fitted in a watertight manner with respect to the camera body opening, and the lip portion is photographed. Flexible and watertight elastic contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel makes it possible to reliably maintain watertightness between the camera body and the photographic lens mirror surface, and to reduce sliding resistance when the photographic lens barrel moves forward and backward. And the operation can be smoothed. In addition, since a portion that engages with the camera body is provided to prevent the annular waterproof member from being excessively deformed when the lip portion spreads outward, high watertightness can be maintained. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a drip-proof and waterproof camera that has low sliding resistance and hardly impairs watertightness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a main part of a drip-proof waterproof camera according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the structure of a waterproof member in detail, FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a main part of another embodiment, FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the structure of the waterproof member in FIG. 4 in detail, and FIG. 6 is an external view of a drip-proof waterproof camera to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 10… Drip-proof waterproof camera, 12 …… Camera body, 12a ……
Front wall, 14 ... Lens barrel, 40 ... Lens barrel support, 40a ... Opening, 41 ... Waterproof member (annular waterproof member), 4
0b: Inner waterproof surface, 51, 59: Close outer surface, 52, 56: Lip.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An opening provided in a front wall of a camera body formed in a water-tight manner; an annular inner peripheral waterproof surface formed inward of the opening; and an inner waterproof surface fixed to the inner side of the opening. A fixed ring having a small diameter and an outer peripheral support surface located behind the inner peripheral waterproof surface; a photographic lens barrel supported inside the fixed ring so as to be able to advance and retreat in the optical axis direction; and an inner peripheral waterproof surface in the camera body. The outer peripheral surface is in water-tight contact with the outer peripheral surface, and projects forward in the optical axis direction from the outer peripheral surface. A lip portion that comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fixed ring and protrudes rearward in the optical axis direction from the closely attached outer peripheral surface to engage with the outer peripheral support surface of the fixed ring, and the close contact between the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral waterproof surface caused by elastic deformation of the lip portion. Engagement support to prevent force drop An annular waterproof member having a portion; and an annular waterproof member that is sandwiched between the front wall of the camera body and the front end surface of the fixed ring and has a fixed position in the optical axis direction. A drip-proof and waterproof camera. 2. An opening provided in a front wall of a camera body formed in a watertight manner; an annular inner peripheral waterproof surface formed around the inside of the opening; An annular fitting projection extending out; an imaging lens barrel supported in the opening so as to be able to advance and retreat in the optical axis direction; and a close outer peripheral surface that is in water-tight contact with an inner peripheral waterproof surface in the camera body. A lip portion projecting forward from the close outer peripheral surface in the direction of the photographing optical axis and elastically deforming so that a distal end portion extends outward in the radial direction from the free state, and a lip portion which comes into water-tight contact with the photographing lens barrel; An annular waterproof member having a fitting concave portion that fits with the fitting convex portion and prevents a decrease in adhesion between the close outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral waterproof surface caused by elastic deformation of the lip portion; Front wall of camera body and inside camera body Drip waterproof camera comprising the; sandwiched has been in the optical axis direction position between the fixed member that is fixed.