JPS607771B2 - Protective cover for camera lens - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a protective cover for a photographic lens of a camera, more specifically, a protective cover for a photographic lens of a camera, which is slidably attached to the camera body, and has a position that covers the photographic lens and a position that exposes the lens. This invention relates to a protective cover for a moving photographic lens.

As is well known, in order to protect the photographic lens from dust, fingerprints, and scratches, general cameras that use 35mm roll film do not attach the lens cap to the lens barrel except when taking pictures. It is designed to be recessed to cover the photographic lens.

However, this lens cap has the disadvantage that it is easily lost because it is removed when taking pictures. In addition, the finder lens of the finder optical system, which must be protected in the same way as the photographic lens, is attached to the camera body, such as in ultra-compact cameras with a fan-flat oblong shape that use special small cartridge-type film. On the other hand, with the exception of cameras that have a case that slides out and covers more than half of the camera body, it is left exposed (unprotected) in cameras that use general 35-side film.

In addition, for super 4-inch cameras that have the above-mentioned slide case type lens protection cover, if the case is slid to expose the shooting lens or finder lens during shooting,
Because the case moves laterally, the overall size of the camera is reduced by 2
Since it is nearly twice as large, it cannot be used in cameras that use general 35-side roll film.

Furthermore, some of the above-mentioned ultra-compact cameras have a photographing lens, a finder lens, etc. protected by a double-folding cover, but the mechanism is complicated and cannot be used in general cameras. In this way, while recognizing the need for general cameras that use roll film, the reason why there was no protective cover for the finder lens of rangefinders and other cameras was due to the complicated design. This was based on the preconceived notion that things that are expensive and have little practicality.

To solve the above problem, a protective cover is formed by bending a thin plate along the camera body, and the cover is placed at a position that covers the photographing lens and finder lens of the camera body.
It is advisable to attach it to a position where these parts are exposed so that it can slide in the longitudinal direction of the camera body within a range that does not protrude to the sides of the camera body.

However, if the upper part of the protective cover, which is bent into an inverted U-shape, is attached to the upper part of the camera body, there are several operating members arranged on the upper surface of the camera body. It must be ensured that the operating member does not become an obstacle to the sliding movement of the protective cover. In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to form a protective cover so as to cover the front, top and rear upper parts of the camera body,
This cover is attached to the upper front and upper back of the camera body, and the upper front and upper back of the camera body serve as sliding guide surfaces for the protective cover, and the operating member placed on the top of the camera body provides protection. The protective cover should not become an obstacle when sliding the cover, and when the protective cover slides to a position where the lens is exposed, the protective cover is securely retained by the stopper member, and at this time, The stopper member closes the power switch of the exposure meter circuit, etc., so that shooting can be started immediately, and when the protective cover is slid and closed,
To provide a protective cover for a photographic lens that automatically turns on the power switch.

According to the present invention, since the upper front and upper rear surfaces of the camera body are used as sliding guide surfaces for the protective cover, there is no need to provide a special guide member for the protective cover.

Further, since the top surface of the protective cover can be attached at a distance from the top surface of the camera body, the operating member disposed on the top surface of the camera does not become an obstacle when the cover is slid. Moreover, the mounting structure of the protective cover on the camera body is such that the upper part of the cover is bent into an inverted U shape.
Simply insert the guide hole into the top of the camera body and drill it into the lower twill part of the hanging part that covers the front photographic lens, and fit it into the countersunk head screw fixed to the camera body. Since the cover is simple, the cover can be attached after the camera body is assembled, which is very convenient.

In addition, the protective cover is securely held in a predetermined open position covering the film winding knob, etc. by the locking member, thereby preventing careless and erroneous operation of the back cover, film winding knob, etc. In addition, since the power switch is opened and closed in conjunction with the power switch, it is possible to start shooting immediately, and it is also possible to prevent battery consumption due to forgetting to turn off the camera. Hereinafter, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the present invention will be explained by an illustrated embodiment,
The camera body 1 has a camera body 5 that constitutes the main body of the camera, and the upper part of the camera body 5 is covered with a lid-shaped decorative top plate 6 with an open bottom surface, and the lower part is covered with a lid-shaped decorative bottom plate 7 with an open top surface. The overall external shape is a horizontally elongated rectangular parallelepiped.

The camera of this embodiment is an automatic exposure camera using a roll film of 35 mm, and the center part of the front wall 5a of the camera body 5 is raised further forward, and a hole is formed in the center part. A photographic lens 2 is disposed inside the entrance 5c (see Fig. 2), and a light receiving window 15 for side light (see Fig. 2) is disposed diagonally above the left side. has been done.

Further, the center portion of the upper wall 5b of the camera body 5 is also raised further upward, and the objective lens 3 of the finder optical system and the flea lens 3a (see FIG. 4) are disposed inside the center portion. On the right side of the upper surface of the upper plate 6, there is a film winding knob 10, and on the left side, there is a shutter release nail 11, a display window 13 for the film frame number counter, and an index 1.
4 are respectively disposed, and a film winding knob 12 is disposed on the back side of the left side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the film winding knob 10 is normally stored by being pushed into a storage hole 23 (see FIG. 3) formed on the upper surface of the upper plate 6. However, its upper part protrudes slightly from the storage hole 23.

In this pushed-in position, the knob 10 is inserted into the back cover 1.
6 is locked in the closed state, and is also retracted from the inside of the sliding passage of the protective cover 4. Also, this knob 1
As shown in FIG. 3, at the position where the back cover 16 is lifted up and floated up from inside the storage hole 23, the back cover 16 is unlocked and opened, and the protective cover 4 is slid. It is designed to enter the movement path. The back cover 16 is attached to the camera body 1 so as to be openable and closable by a hinge (not shown) attached to the left side of the camera body 5.

Furthermore, an abutment frame 20 is fixed to the left side of the center of the camera body 5, and the inner end surface of the protective cover 4 is abutted when the protective cover 4 moves to a position covering the photographic lens 2. . This abutment frame 20 has an inner end surface 2
0a (the right end surface in FIG. 2) is located to the left of the raised part of the front wall 5a, to the left of the raised part of the upper wall 5b, and to the outside of the eyepiece lens 3a at the upper back surface. It is formed of a thin plate that is bent along the front, top, and back tops of the central portion of the main body 1. The protective cover 4 covers the front wall 5a and the top wall 5 of the camera body 5.
It is formed of thin plates consisting of a front plate 4a, a top plate 4b, and a rear plate 4c (see FIG. 4) that are bent along the front, top, and upper back surfaces of the camera body 1, including the central raised portion of b. It is configured to cover the outer surfaces of the lenses 2, 3, 3a.

When the cover 4 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 2 exposing the lenses 2, 3, 3a and the light receiving window 15,
It is formed to have a lateral center that does not protrude laterally from the camera body 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the protective cover 4 configured in this way has an upper inner surface of the front plate 4a of the protective cover 4 and an inner surface of the rear plate 4c that are connected to the upper front surface 6d and the rear surface of the camera body 1. 5e in the longitudinal direction of the camera body 1.
The camera body 1 is attached to the camera body 1 by bringing the upper inner surface of the front plate 4a and the inner surface of the rear plate 4c into contact with the upper front surface 5d and rear surface 5e of the camera body 1, respectively.

Therefore, the cover 4 moves between the position where it covers the photographing lens 2 and the position where it exposes it, using the front surface 5d and rear surface 5e of the upper part of the camera body 1 as guide surfaces for movement.
In addition, the protective cover 4 has the same cover as the lenses 2, 3, and 3a.
When the film winding knob 10 is slid from the position covering the light receiving window 15 to the exposed position, the portion protruding from the top wall 5b of the camera is struck at the position where the film spooling knob 10 is stored in the storage hole 23. It is attached to the camera body in such a way that it searches for a height position from the top wall 5b that will not hit the camera body.

That is, the protective cover 4 is attached to the camera body 1 with its top plate 4b spaced apart from the top surface of the top wall 5b. Therefore, the winding chamber knob 10 is connected to the lenses 2, 3, 3a and the light receiving window 1.
It is designed so that it will not become an obstacle when revealing 5. A guide elongated hole 18 extending in the longitudinal direction of the camera body 1 provided on the lower side of the front plate 4a of the protective cover 4 has a dish-shaped head screwed into the lower end of the front wall 5a of the camera body 5. By engaging with the attached screw 19, the distance the protective cover 4 can move from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2 is restricted. Also, the cover 4 is secured by the dished head of the screw 19.
The lower part of the front plate 4a is prevented from being pushed forward and displaced. The protective cover 4, which is slidably attached to the camera body 1 in this manner, slides in the longitudinal direction of the camera body 1 using the upper front surface 5d and rear surface 5e of the camera body 1 as sliding guide surfaces. The above lenses 2 and 3 in Figure 1
, 3a and the light receiving window 15, and a position where the lenses 2, 3, 3a and the light receiving window 15 of FIG. 2 are completely exposed.

In the stop position shown in FIG. 2, as shown in the figure, the film spool does not protrude outward from the right end surface of the camera body 1, and the film spool provided on the top surface of the camera body 1 is Most of the knob 10 is covered. Therefore, in the camera of this embodiment in which the back cover 16 is opened by lifting the rewind knob 10 upward, the back cover 16 will not be opened inadvertently when the camera is in use with the cover 4 open. is prevented. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the lenses 2, 3, 3a and the light receiving window 15 are covered with the cover 4, and the winding knob 10 is lifted up from the camera body 1 and floated, the cover 4 is removed. Even if you try to slide it to the right, the winding knob 10 is located within the sliding path of the cover 4, so the right end surface of the cover 4
The lenses 2, 3, 3a and the light-receiving window 15 will not be exposed in case of a collision.

Therefore, photography cannot be performed in this state. The protective cover 4 also covers each lens 2, 3, 3a in FIG.
And when the light receiving window 15 is moved to the exposed position,
As shown in FIG. 5, its inner end surface abuts against a stopper member 17 that protrudes upward from the upper wall 5b of the camera body 5, thereby preventing the cover 4 from moving back. The cover 4 can be stopped at a position exposing each lens (the position shown in FIG. 2).

The stopper member 17 is formed of a rotating member whose fulcrum is rotatably attached to the upper wall 5b by a fixed shaft 21, and is rotated onto the upper wall 5b by a torsion spring 22 wrapped around the fixed shaft. When the cover 4 is opened, it rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 21 and protrudes onto the top wall 5b, and when the cover 4 is opened, the cover 4
It abuts against the inner end surface of. Further, at this time, the stepped portion 17a comes into contact with the back surface of the upper wall 5b, thereby limiting its rotational position. Furthermore, this stopper member 17 is used as a power switch S for an electric circuit such as an exposure meter circuit in the camera.
The switch S is opened and closed, and when it protrudes above the upper wall 5b, the switch S is closed.

Also, in order to close the cover 4, this stopper member 17
The cover 4 may be pushed into the camera body 1 from above the top wall 5b and evacuated from the sliding path of the cover 4. At this time, the power switch S is also opened. Note that when the protective cover 4 is moved to a position that covers the photographic lens 2, the cover 4
A formation hole (not shown) provided on the back side of the top plate 4b engages with the stopper member 17 to close the cover 4.
is temporarily stopped at a position covering the photographing lens 2.

According to the protective cover 4 of the present invention configured in this way,
When the stopper member 17 is pressed down and the cover is slid to a position that covers the photographic lens 2, the photographic lens 2, the finder objective lens 3, the bushing lens 3a, and the side light receiving window 15 are completely covered. Covering protects these and prevents dust from entering from the outside.

When the protective cover 4 is slid in the longitudinal direction of the camera body 1 to a position where the photographic lens 2 is exposed, a part of the inner end surface engages with the stopper member 17 and the protective cover 4 is opened. Since the camera is stopped at this position, the film spooling knob 10 is covered, and the photographing lens 2, objective lens 3, eyepiece lens 3a, and light receiving window 15 are completely exposed, thereby putting the camera in the photographing state. As described above, according to the present invention, the sliding type protective cover that covers the front, top, and part of the top of the back of the camera body is brought into contact with the top of the front and the top of the back of the camera body. Since the upper part of the back surface is used as a guide surface during sliding, a special guide member is not required, and the sliding movement can be performed very smoothly.

Furthermore, the camera operation member disposed on the top surface of the camera body does not become an obstacle when the protective cover slides, making it possible to provide a photographic lens protective cover that is extremely convenient to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a protective cover for a photographic lens of a camera showing an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the protective cover covers the photographic lens; is a perspective view showing the camera shown in Figure 1 above with the protective cover moved to a position exposing the photographing lens, and Figure 3 is a rear view of the camera shown in Figure 1 above with the protective cover covering the photographing lens. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the protective cover shown in FIG. 1 above, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the stopper member of the protective cover of the camera shown in FIG. 1 above. 1...camera body, 2...taking lens, 3, 3a...finder lens, 4...
・Protective cover, 4a...Front plate, 4c...
・・Back plate, 5・・Camera body, 5a・・・
・Front wall, 5d...Top front (guide surface), 5e
...... Upper back (guide surface), 6... Decorative top plate,
10... Film winding knob, 18... Guide slot, 19... Screw, 23... Storage hole. /Rouken l Diagram 2 Diagram Rare 3 Diagram Oni 4 Diagram No Rare'5 Diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A photographic lens is disposed approximately in the center of the front of the camera body, and a protective cover formed of a bent thin plate along the front, top, and top of the rear of the central portion of the camera body is placed at a position that covers the photographic lens. A protective cover for a photographing lens of a camera, which is arranged so as to be able to slide in the longitudinal direction of the camera body within a range that does not protrude to the side of the camera body, at a position where the lens is exposed; The upper inner surface of the front plate and the inner surface of the rear plate of the camera body are provided with a stopper member for locking the cover in the open position so that the upper inner surface of the front plate and the inner surface of the rear plate can contact and slide on the upper front surface and the upper surface of the rear surface of the camera body, respectively. A photographing lens protective cover for a camera, further comprising a power switch that is opened and closed by the stopper member.