JP4478880B2 - Waterproof cover for imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof cover for an imaging apparatus.

In order to use an imaging device such as a digital video camera in an environment such as rain or water, there is a waterproof cover for the imaging device that houses the imaging device in a watertight manner.
As such a waterproof cover for an image pickup device, a single mirror that reflects backward the image displayed on the display surface of the display provided on the side surface of the image pickup device is provided, and a photographer behind it displays the image via the mirror. There has been proposed a technique in which an image of a surface can be visually recognized (Patent Document 1).
In this waterproof cover, an image that is a mirror image is displayed on the display surface of the display, and this image is reflected by a single mirror so that an image in a normal position can be visually recognized.
Japanese Patent No. 3393320

By the way, with the downsizing of the image pickup device, the display of the image pickup device is superposed on the side surface of the image pickup device in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the display surface is aligned with the vertical direction, that is, the display is vertically long. There is.
In such an imaging apparatus, the image displayed on the display surface is in a lying state rotated 90 degrees from the upright position. If an imaging device having such a display surface is housed in a conventional waterproof cover, the image displayed on the display surface will be viewed in a lying state rotated 90 degrees, and the image on the display surface cannot be displayed correctly. There's a problem.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to display an image on the display surface even when the image displayed on the display surface of the imaging apparatus is rotated 90 degrees from the upright position. An object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof cover for an image pickup apparatus that is advantageous in improving usability by displaying it at a regular position.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides a waterproof cover for an imaging apparatus that accommodates an imaging apparatus, and faces the subject when the imaging apparatus is accommodated and the optical system of the imaging apparatus is directed toward the subject. A cover body having a front surface, a rear surface located on the opposite side of the front surface, and a left and right side surface connecting the front surface and the back surface, wherein at least one side portion of the left and right side surfaces is transparent An image display unit that is formed of a material and has a side portion formed of the transparent material to display an image displayed on the side by 90 degrees and to be displayed backward is provided on the cover. A support member attached to a side surface of the main body, a first mirror and a second mirror held by the support member, wherein the first mirror is held by a first mirror cover, and one side of the first flap Is the first The mirror cover is pivotally attached to the front edge on the subject side of the mirror cover, and in use, the other side of the first flap is fitted into a groove on the side of the subject so that the first mirror and the first mirror The position of one mirror cover is held, and the second mirror is held by a second mirror cover having a movable member on the lower side, and the second mirror cover is slid vertically to the subject side via the movable member. It is possible and swingable about the movable member as a center of rotation, and one side of the second flap is pivotally attached to the outer side edge of the second mirror cover. Sometimes, by placing the other side of the second flap on the upper edge of the first mirror cover, the positions of the second mirror and the second mirror cover are maintained . the support member and the front Will use state of the first mirror second mirror is projected outward from the side, one mirror of said two mirrors are arranged to face the portion of the side surface formed by the transparent material The other mirror of the two mirrors faces the one mirror and faces the rear, and when the image display unit is not used, the support member and the two mirrors are arranged on the side surface. It is comprised so that it may be in the accommodation state folded up flatly.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the image displayed on the side portion formed of a transparent material can be viewed in an upright state by looking at the image display unit.
Therefore, even when the image displayed on the display surface of the imaging device is rotated 90 degrees from the normal position, the image can be displayed to the user in a state where the image is positioned at the normal position. This is advantageous in improving the usability of the waterproof cover for the camera.

  The object is achieved by providing an image display unit that rotates the image displayed on the side part of the cover body having left and right side surfaces by 90 degrees and displays the image on the rear side.

Next, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of the imaging device 100 accommodated in the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the image display unit 26, and FIGS. 6 to 9 are diagrams illustrating the image display unit 26.

First, the imaging device 100 accommodated in the waterproof cover 10 for imaging devices will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging apparatus 100 is a digital video camera, and includes a main body 102 that constitutes an exterior. The main body 102 has a width in the left-right direction, a length in the front-rear direction having a dimension larger than the width, The height in the vertical direction is larger than the length.
Note that in this specification, the left and right sides of the imaging device 100 and the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device are in a state in which the imaging device 100 and the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device are viewed from the rear (opposite the subject).
The main body 102 has a front wall 102A that faces the front, a rear wall 102B that faces the rear, an upper wall 102C that faces the upper side, a lower wall 102D that faces the lower side, and left and right side walls 102E and 102F that face the left and right sides.
A lens barrel 10 is incorporated in the upper part of the main body 102, and an image sensor (not shown) is incorporated in the rear part of the lens barrel 10, and an optical system 14 for guiding a subject image to the image sensor is incorporated in the lens barrel 10. It is.
The optical system 14 includes a plurality of optical members including a zoom lens, a focus lens, an objective lens, and the like, and the objective lens 14 </ b> A is disposed so as to face the front end of the lens barrel 10.
As shown in FIG. 4, a mounting plate 112 for attaching to the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device is detachably attached to the lower wall 102 </ b> D. Thus, the imaging device 100 is attached to the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device.

On the upper part of the rear wall 102B of the main body 102, a viewfinder 104 for visually recognizing an image being photographed is provided.
The front wall 10A, the rear wall 102B, and the left and right side walls 102E and 102F are provided with operation members such as a power switch (not shown) and a moving image shooting start / stop switch.

On the left wall 102E of the main body 102, a display 108 having a display surface 106 on which images such as still images and moving images taken by the image sensor and characters and symbols are displayed is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the left wall 102E. It has been.
The display 108 has a rectangular plate shape, and thus the display surface 106 also has a rectangular shape. The display 108 and the display surface 106 are vertically long in the storage state in which the display 108 is fitted to the left side wall 102E.
In the state where the display 108 is folded on the left side wall 102E, an image with the rear side of the display surface 106 on the bottom and the front side on the top is displayed on the display surface 106, as shown in FIG. However, when using the waterproof cover 10 for the image pickup apparatus of the present invention, by giving a predetermined operation command to the image pickup apparatus 100, as shown in FIG. The display is switched so that the image with the front side on the bottom is displayed.
The upper short side portion of the two short sides of the display 108 is slidably connected to the upper portion of the left side wall 102E via a biaxial hinge mechanism 110, whereby the display 108 is opened and closed with respect to the left side wall 102E. To do.
As shown in FIG. 1 (A), the hinge mechanism 110 includes a first member coupled to be swingable around a first axis A extending in the front-rear direction with respect to the upper portion of the left side wall 102E, The first member is configured to have a second member swingably coupled around a second axis B orthogonal to the first axis A, and the display 108 is coupled to the second member. ing.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1A, the display 108 is stored in such a manner that the long sides of the display 108 and the display surface 106 are aligned vertically and the display surface 106 faces the right side and is superimposed on the right side wall 102F. As shown in FIG. 1B, the posture can be freely changed to a use state where the display 108 protrudes rightward and the display surface 106 faces rearward.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device includes a cover body 12 that houses the imaging device 100, and an image display unit 26 is provided on the cover body 12.
The cover main body 12 includes a rear cover 14 that houses the rear part of the imaging device 100 and a front cover 16 that houses the front part of the imaging device 100.
The rear cover 14 has a rectangular rear surface 1402, an upper surface 1404 extending from four sides of the rear surface 1402, a lower surface 1406, and left and right side surfaces 1408 and 1410, and an opening 1412 is formed at the front end.
At the top of the back surface 1402, a window 1414 for viewfinder is provided which is formed of a transparent material at a position corresponding to the view finder 104 of the imaging apparatus 100.
On the upper surface 1404, an engaging convex portion 1416 with which the buckle 18 is engaged is projected.

The front cover 16 has a rectangular front surface 1602, an upper surface 1604, a lower surface 1606, and left and right side surfaces 1608 and 1610 extending forward from four sides of the front surface 1602, and an opening 1612 is formed at the front end. A buckle 18 is provided at 1604.
As shown in FIG. 4, the rear cover 14 and the front cover 16 have their openings 1412 and 1612 attached to each other and are detachably coupled via a packing (not shown) and a buckle 18. The imaging device 100 is configured to be watertight.
An objective lens window 1614 formed of a transparent material is provided at an upper portion of the front surface 1602 at a location corresponding to the objective lens 14A of the optical system 14 of the imaging apparatus 100.
Both ends of the strap 20 for facilitating gripping the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device are connected to an intermediate portion in the vertical direction near the rear side of the right side surface 1610 and a portion near the front side of the right side surface 1610 and closer to the lower side. Yes.
An operation unit 22 is provided on the upper side of the right side surface 1610. By operating the operation unit 22, the power supply for the imaging device 100 housed in the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device is turned on and off, and start and stop of shooting. In addition, an operation command such as a zoom operation can be given. Specifically, a connection cable (not shown) is provided in the operation unit 22, and the function of the operation unit 22 is made effective by attaching the connector of the connection cable to the connector of the imaging device 100. Has been.
Further, when the connector of the operation unit 22 of the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device is connected to the connector of the imaging device 100, the control device 100 is given the predetermined operation command described above to the imaging device 100, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the display screen 106 is automatically switched so that an image with the rear side on the top and the front side on the bottom is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 9, a portion of the cover body 12 corresponding to the display surface 106 of the imaging device 100 housed in the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device, in this embodiment, a portion of the left side wall 1608 of the front cover 16 is provided. A window 24 made of a transparent material is formed.
The window 24 has a rectangular shape, and the window 24 extends in the front-rear direction and includes four sides, an upper side 2402 and a lower side 2404 that are positioned vertically, and a front side 2406 and a rear side 2408 that extend in the vertical direction and are positioned in the front-rear direction. And an image of the display surface 106 of the display 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 is displayed on the window 24.
The image display unit 26 is provided on the left side wall 1608 so as to face the window 24.
The image display unit 26 rotates the image of the display surface 106 displayed on the window 24 by 90 degrees and displays it backward.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the image display unit 26 includes a support member 28 attached to the left side wall 1608, and first and second rectangular plate-like shapes held by the support member 28. The mirrors 30 and 32 are included.
The support member 28 includes first and second mirror covers 34 and 36 and first and second flaps 38 and 40 each having a right triangular plate shape.
The first mirror 30 is affixed to the inner surface of the first mirror cover 34, and the second mirror 32 is affixed to the inner surface of the second mirror cover 36.

The first mirror cover 34 has a rectangular plate shape, and its lower side swings around an axis X extending in the front-rear direction at the left side wall 1608 near the lower side 2404 of the window 24 as shown in FIGS. It is pivotally possible.
As shown in FIG. 9, the first mirror cover 34 has a first position where the upper side of the first mirror cover 34 is separated from the window 24 and the first mirror cover 34 is opened, and as shown in FIG. The upper side of the cover 34 approaches the upper side 2402 of the window 24 and swings between the second position where the first mirror cover 34 is closed.
The first flap 38 is pivotally attached to the front edge where the first mirror cover 34 faces forward.
As shown in FIG. 9, the first flap 38 swings between a third position opened at a right angle from the first mirror cover 34 and a fourth position folded on the first mirror 30.
As shown in FIG. 9, the first flap 38 has one side of the window 24 with the first mirror cover 34 positioned at the first position and the first flap 38 positioned at the third position. It fits in the groove | channel 2407 of the front side 2406, and is comprised so that the 1st position of the 1st mirror cover 34 and the 3rd position of the 1st flap 38 may be hold | maintained.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the first flap 38 is folded onto the first mirror 30 at the fourth position and is closed together with the first mirror cover 34.

The second mirror cover 36 has a rectangular plate shape. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the second mirror cover 38 is provided on the left side wall 1608 near the front side 2406 of the window 24 via the movable member 39. Yes.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the movable member 39 has a length corresponding to the lower side of the second mirror cover 36, and the end of the movable member 39 in the length direction is relative to the left side wall 1608. It is slidable along the axis Z direction extending in the vertical direction, and is swingably coupled around both the axis Z and the axis Y perpendicular to the axis Z.
The lower side of the second mirror cover 36 is attached to the movable member 39. Accordingly, the second mirror cover 36 is provided so as to be slidable along the axis Z direction extending in the vertical direction with respect to the left side wall 1608 and swingable about the axis Z and the axis Y. .
When the image display unit 26 is used, the movable member 39 is positioned at the uppermost position and is positioned near the upper end of the front side 2406 of the window 24, and the movable member 39 extends outward from the left side wall 1608 at a right angle. It becomes the position. And the 2nd mirror cover 36 becomes the 6th position arrange | positioned diagonally so that it may be located back gradually as it goes upwards from the movable member 39 used as the 5th position.
The second flap 40 is pivotally attached to a side edge located outside the second mirror cover 36 in a state where the second mirror cover 36 is located at the sixth position.
When the image display unit 26 is used, the second flap 40 becomes a seventh position extending downward from the second mirror cover 36 at a right angle with the second mirror cover 36 positioned at the sixth position. In the seventh position, one side of the second flap 40 is placed on the upper edge of the first mirror cover 34, and the sixth position of the second mirror cover 36 is held.

The image display unit 26 is in a state in which the first mirror cover 34, the first mirror 30, the second mirror cover 36, and the second mirror 32 protrude to the outside of the window 24 during use.
More specifically, the first mirror cover 34 is set to the first position, the first flap 38 is set to the third position, the movable member 39 is set to the fifth position, and the second mirror cover 36 is set to the sixth position. The second flap 40 is in a use state in which the second flap 40 is in the seventh position.
When the image G of the display surface 106 of the imaging device 100 is displayed on the window 24 in this use state, the image G displayed on the window 24 is reflected by the reflection surface of the first mirror 30. It becomes a mirror image G1. The image G1, which is reflected by the first mirror 30 and becomes a mirror image, is reflected by the reflecting surface of the second mirror 32, and is guided backward as an image G2 rotated by 90 degrees with respect to the image G.
Therefore, by looking at the reflection surface of the second mirror 32 from the rear of the image display unit 26, an image displayed on the display surface 106 of the imaging apparatus 100 with the rear side on the top and the front side on the bottom is displayed upright. In other words, the image can be viewed as an image in which the top is up and the bottom is down.

Further, the image display unit 26 is folded on the left side wall 1608 when not in use, and has a flat rectangular plate shape that covers the window 24.
More specifically, in the use state, the first mirror cover 34 is set to the first position, the first flap 38 is set to the third position, the movable member 39 is set to the fifth position, and the second mirror cover 36 is set. Is the sixth position, and the second flap 40 is the seventh position. From this state, the second flap 40 is folded onto the second mirror 32 as shown in FIG. It is swung around the axis Z together with the cover 36 and is folded on the left side wall 1608 above the upper side 2402 of the window 24.
Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the first flap 38 is folded on the first mirror 30 and folded on the window 24 in a state where a gap is formed between the first mirror cover 34 and the window 24.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the second flap 40 and the second mirror cover 36 are slid downward along the axis Z direction together with the movable member 39, so that the second flap 40 and the second mirror cover 36 are The first flap 38 and the first mirror cover 34 and the window 24 are accommodated in the gap. As a result, the storage state of the image display unit 26 which is folded on the left side wall 1608 and has a flat rectangular plate shape covering the window 24 is formed.

According to the present embodiment, the image display unit 26 is put into a use state, and the image G of the display surface 106 displayed on the window 24 is erected by looking at the reflection surface of the second mirror 32 from the rear of the image display unit 26. Visible in a state.
Therefore, even when the image displayed on the display surface 106 of the imaging device 100 is rotated by 90 degrees from the normal position, the image on the display surface 106 can be displayed to the user in a state of being positioned at the normal position. This is advantageous in improving the usability of the waterproof cover 10 for the imaging device.
Further, the image display unit 26 is configured to be stored in a flat rectangular shape on the left side wall 1608 when not in use, so that the image display unit 26 can be reduced in size when carried and is portable. It will be convenient.

In the present embodiment, the case has been described in which the image display unit 26 is configured to be stored in a flat rectangular shape on the left side wall 1608. However, the image display unit 26 is configured not to be folded. It goes without saying that it is good.
In this embodiment, the image display unit 26 includes a first mirror cover 34 that holds the first mirror 30, a first flap 38, a second mirror cover 36 that holds the second mirror 32, and a second flap. Although the case of 40 is described, various conventionally known mechanisms and structures can be adopted as the configuration of the image display unit that rotates the image displayed on the window 24 by 90 degrees and displays it backward. The configuration is not limited to the example.

(A), (B) is a perspective view of the imaging device 100 accommodated in the waterproof cover 10 for imaging devices of Example 1. FIG. It is a perspective view of waterproof cover 10 for imaging devices. It is a perspective view of waterproof cover 10 for imaging devices. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of housing the imaging device 100 in the waterproof cover for imaging device 10. 2 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the image display unit 26. It is explanatory drawing of the image display part. It is explanatory drawing of the image display part. It is explanatory drawing of the image display part. It is explanatory drawing of the image display part.

Explanation of symbols

  10: Waterproof cover for image pickup device, 12: Cover body, 26: Image display unit.

Claims (2)

A waterproof cover for an imaging device that houses the imaging device,
A front surface that houses the imaging device and faces the subject when the optical system of the imaging device faces the subject;
A rear surface located on the rear side opposite to the front surface;
A cover body having left and right side surfaces connecting the front surface and the back surface;
A portion of at least one of the left and right side surfaces is formed of a transparent material,
An image display unit that rotates the image displayed on the side part by 90 degrees and displays the image on the rear side is provided on the side part formed of the transparent material,
The image display unit includes a support member attached to a side surface of the cover body, a first mirror and a second mirror held by the support member,
The first mirror is held by a first mirror cover, and one side of the first flap is pivotally attached to a front edge on the subject side of the first mirror cover so as to be swingable. By fitting the other side into the groove on the side of the subject, the positions of the first mirror and the first mirror cover are maintained,
The second mirror is held by a second mirror cover having a movable member on a lower side, and the second mirror cover is slidable in the vertical direction toward the subject side of the side surface through the movable member, and the movable member is It is provided so that it can swing as the center of rotation,
One side of the second flap is pivotally attached to the outer side edge of the second mirror cover, and when used, the other side of the second flap is used as the upper edge of the first mirror cover. By holding the position of the second mirror and the second mirror cover,
When the image display unit is in use, the support member, the first mirror, and the second mirror are in a use state in which they protrude outward from the side surface, and one of the two mirrors is the transparent member. It is arranged facing the side portion formed of material, and the other mirror of the two mirrors is arranged facing the one mirror and facing backward,
The waterproof cover for an imaging apparatus, wherein the image display unit is configured to be in a storage state in which the support member and the two mirrors are folded flat on the side surface when not in use. The support member includes a first mirror cover that holds one of the two mirrors and a second mirror cover that holds the other mirror of the two mirrors. The waterproof cover for an imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

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