JPS62246027A - Waterproof camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate telephoto/wide-angle switching and to compact the constitution of a camera by providing an external cover which covers a lens barrel to a camera body in a forward/backward movable state and holding the inside of the camera body watertight at the foremost position where the external cover is drawn out. CONSTITUTION:When the waterproof camera is used, the external cover 3 is drawn out to the front in non-watertight contact with a support part 2 while the camera is not in water. The projection 3b of the external cover 3 contacts packing 8 at the step part of the support part 2 when positioned at the foremost part, and then comes into watertight contact with the support part 2. The waterproof camera whose lens barrel 5 is held watertight as mentioned above can take pictures underwater. When the lens barrel 5 enters a wide-angle state at the rearmost position and is switched to a telephoto state with a switch,the lens barrel 5 is extended to the foremost position to enter the telephoto state. Thus, the wide-angle/telephoto switching is facilitated. When the camera is stored, the external cover 3 is drawn and then the camera becomes compact.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a waterproof camera, and more particularly to a waterproof camera whose lens barrel can be moved back and forth for switching between telephoto and wide-angle settings.

(Prior art) Waterproof cameras have a liquid-tight camera body, so when the lens barrel is made to move back and forth in order to switch between telephoto and wide-angle settings or perform zoom operations, the entire camera including the lens barrel As the volume of the lens changes, the air pressure inside the camera changes, which is difficult to achieve in reality and is necessary.2 Therefore, as mentioned above, the air pressure inside the camera changes by pushing the front of the lens barrel. Strictly speaking, waterproof cameras cannot be made liquid-tight, and in order to perform underwater image transport with these non-liquid-tight cameras, the camera must be housed in a liquid-tight transparent case, and the case must be sealed. It is necessary to operate the camera inside from the outside, which is extremely inconvenient in practical terms.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to easily handle the lens without storing it in a transparent case, etc., and moreover, the lens barrel can be moved underwater. The purpose of this invention is to provide a waterproof camera that can be used as a camera.

(Structure of the Invention) The waterproof camera of the present invention includes a camera body, a lens barrel that holds a lens and is movable back and forth with respect to the camera body, and a lens barrel that is connected to the camera body and covers the lens barrel, and that is positioned at the frontmost position. an outer cover that is movable back and forth relative to the camera body so as to take a first position close to a certain lens barrel and a second position close to the lens barrel at the last position; It is characterized in that it is liquid-tightly connected to the camera body when it is in the first position, and is non-liquidtightly connected to the camera body when moving back and forth.

The waterproof camera of the present invention has an outer cover that can be moved back and forth as described above, and this outer cover is non-liquidtightly connected to the camera body when moving back and forth, so when the camera is not underwater If so, you can freely move it back and forth without changing the air pressure inside the camera body. In addition, since the outer cover is liquid-tightly connected to the camera body when in the first position, if the outer cover is pulled out to the first position before use underwater, the outer cover will be in the first position. It can be used underwater in a floating state. Roughly speaking, in this first position, the outer cover is placed in a position close to the lens barrel in the frontmost position, that is, in a position where the lens barrel does not collide even if the lens barrel moves. With the lens barrel placed in the first position, the lens barrel can freely move back and forth without changing the air pressure inside the camera body. Roughly speaking, when storing the camera, after taking the camera out of the water, the lens barrel is retracted to the final position and the outer cover is moved to the second position, so that the entire camera can be made compact when stored.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views showing an outline of a waterproof camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The illustrated waterproof camera includes a camera body 1 and a camera body 1.
The camera is equipped with an outer cover 3 connected to a cylindrical support part 2 that protrudes forward from the front of the camera, and this outer cover 3 slides on the support part 2 with respect to the camera body 1. It is movable back and forth with respect to the camera body 1, and also covers a lens barrel, which will be described later, which is also movable back and forth with respect to the camera body 1.

When the camera is not in use, such as when storing the outer cover 3, the outer cover 3 should be attached as shown in Figure 1 (
As shown in Fig. 1 (b), the camera is designed to be pulled back, and when not in use, the outer cover 3 prevents the camera from becoming larger. The movement of the outer cover 3 and the lens barrel will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2(a), (b), and (C).

Figures 2(a), (b), and (C) are horizontal sectional views of the front part of the waterproof camera, and Figure 2(a) is a horizontal sectional view of the front part of the waterproof camera.
) is required when the camera is in the stored state.

A lens barrel 5 holding an objective lens 6 is disposed inside the support portion 2 of the camera body 1, and the lens barrel 5 is guided by guide means 7 so as to be movable back and forth. The position shown in FIG. 1(a) is the final position of the lens barrel 5, and in this final position, the lens barrel 5 is in a wide-angle state. On the other hand, the aforementioned outer cover 3 is connected to the outside of the support portion 2 and covers the lens barrel 5, and a glass front plate 3a is attached to the front surface of the outer cover 3 with an O-ring 3a.
'Waterproofed and fixed.

When using this waterproof camera, the outer cover 3 is pulled out forward as shown in FIG. 2(b) when the camera is not underwater. The outer cover 3 is pulled out forward while the protrusion 3b provided at the rear end slides on the support part 2, and is connected to the support part 2 in a non-liquid-tight manner during this movement. Therefore, air enters into the camera by an amount corresponding to the increased volume when the outer cover 3 is pulled out, and the internal air pressure does not change. When the outer cover 3 is pulled out to the frontmost position in this manner, the outer cover 3 is fluid-tightly connected to the support portion 2 at the first position, which is the frontmost position.

That is, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3A, there is a stepped portion at the front end of the support portion 2. A is formed, and a ring-shaped backing 8 is fixed to the side surface of this step, and the protrusion 3b of the outer cover 3 is in contact with the step 2 at the first position, and the backing 8 makes it waterproof. and is connected to the support part 2 in a liquid-tight manner. Further, in order to lock the outer cover 3 in this first position, a groove 2b extending in the moving direction of the outer cover 3 is formed on the surface of the support part 2 as shown in FIG. 3B. The protrusion 3b has a protrusion 3 that engages with this groove 2b.
C is provided. That is, this groove 2b is formed so that its front and rear ends are bent laterally, and when the outer cover reaches the first position, the outer cover 3 is moved in the direction of arrow a relative to the support part 2. When rotated, the protrusion 3 of the outer cover 3
C fits into the bent part of the front end of the groove 2b, and the outer cover 3
It is stably held in this position. In this way, a waterproof camera in which the entire camera is in a liquid-tight state is capable of taking pictures underwater.

In the camera of this embodiment, the lens barrel 5 can be moved back and forth to switch between wide-angle and telephoto modes, and this switching is possible when the outer cover 3 is in the first position. The entire process is carried out in a liquid-tight state. As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), a switch 4 is provided on the top surface of the camera body 1, and switching between wide-angle and telephoto is performed by a switching mechanism (not shown) that is activated by switching this switch. . The lens barrel 5 is in the wide-angle state in its final position as shown in FIG. 2(b), and when the switch 4 is switched to telephoto,
As shown in C), the telephoto converter lens 9 is moved to the frontmost position, and at the same time, the telephoto converter lens 9 rotates around the axis 9a and is moved onto the optical axis of the objective lens 6, resulting in a telephoto state. Further, the outer cover 3 is predetermined as the first position, which is a position close to the lens barrel 5 when the lens barrel 5 is in the frontmost position (telephoto position). When pulled out to the first position, the lens barrel 5 can freely move back and forth to switch between wide-angle and telephoto modes. It should be noted that the lens barrel 5 can be switched between two stages of wide-angle and telephoto as described above, or can be moved continuously by zooming.

In this way, in the waterproof camera described above, the outer cover 3 in the first position allows the lens barrel 5 to move back and forth in a predetermined manner, and a liquid-tight space is formed.

Therefore, when switching between wide-angle and telephoto, the lens barrel 5
The camera can move back and forth within this space, and the air pressure inside the camera does not change due to the movement of the lens barrel, making it extremely easy to perform wide-angle and telephoto shots underwater while maintaining a liquid-tight condition. can be switched.

Furthermore, when storing the camera, first the lens barrel 5 is set to the wide-angle state and is retracted to the final position as shown in FIG. 2(b). Next, after taking the camera out of the water, rotate the outer cover 3 in the opposite direction to the direction in which it was locked to release the lock from the support part 2, and slide it on the support part 2 as shown in Figure 2 (a).
), return it to the second position close to the lens barrel 5 in the last position. When the outer cover 3 slides on the support part 2, it is connected to the support part 2 in a non-liquid-tight manner, so the volume of the outer cover 3 is pushed in and air is released outside the camera body to the extent that the volume is reduced. The atmospheric pressure does not change. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the groove 2b on the support surface 2 has a bent portion at its intrusive end.
When the outer cover 3 is returned to the second position, the outer cover 3 can be stably held in the second position by rotating it in the direction of arrow a' relative to the support part 2.

In this way, in the waterproof camera of this embodiment, the outer cover 3
When storing the camera, it is pulled into a position close to the lens barrel 5 in the last position, so the entire camera can be stored in a compact state without increasing the size of the camera due to the provision of the outer cover 3. .

Note that the specific structures of the lens barrel and outer cover and the mechanism for locking the outer cover 3 on the support portion 2 are not limited to those shown in the above embodiments. Further, the outer cover only needs to be connected to a part of the camera body, and it is not necessarily necessary to provide a support portion protruding forward from the camera body as a means for connecting to the outer cover.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the waterproof camera of the present invention, the outer cover that covers the lens barrel is provided on the camera body, and this outer cover can be moved back and forth, so that when the camera is in use, the outer cover It is now possible to move the lens barrel back and forth without changing the volume inside the camera by pulling out the camera, and it is now possible to switch between wide-angle and telephoto modes without having to store it in a transparent case or the like. Additionally, when storing the camera, the outer cover can be retracted to make the entire camera more compact.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(a) and (b) are perspective views showing an outline of a waterproof camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2(a), (b), and (c) are horizontal views of the main parts of the waterproof camera. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the outer cover and the support portion, and FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram showing a groove provided in the support portion. 1...Camera body 2...Support part 3
...Outer cover 5...Lens barrel 7.
...Objective lens 8...Engraving of the backing drawing (no changes to the contents) Figure 1 (Voluntary) Procedure NeFit device Commissioner of the Patent Office June 1986
Patent Application No. 61-9054.5 dated May 4, 2003, Title of Invention: Waterproof Camera 3, Person Who Makes Corrections. Relationship to the incident Patent applicant Address 210 Nakanuma, Minamiashigara City, Kanagawa Prefecture Name Name
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. 4, Agent 5-2-1-6 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Number of inventions increased by amendment None 7 Target of amendment Drawing 8 Contents of amendment Converting handwritten drawings to inked drawings I will correct it. (No change in content)

Claims (1)

[Claims] a camera body; a lens barrel that holds a lens and is movable back and forth with respect to the camera body; and a lens barrel that is connected to the camera body and covers the lens barrel and is adjacent to the lens barrel that is in the forefront position. an outer cover that is movable back and forth with respect to the camera body so as to take a first position and a second position close to the lens barrel in the last position; A waterproof camera characterized in that it is liquid-tightly connected to the camera body when the camera is in position, and non-liquidtightly connected to the camera body when moving back and forth.