Photography – Underwater – waterproof – or water-resistant camera – Handheld camera
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-14
2001-10-16
Gray, David M. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Underwater, waterproof, or water-resistant camera
Handheld camera
C277S644000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06304724
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera and, more particularly, to a camera featuring watertightness.
2. Related Art Statement
Cameras featuring a low-level watertightness, or daily-life level watertightness, are in widespread use. Most of the cameras featuring the daily-life level watertightness employ rubber formed in a ring gasket around the periphery of a film loading rear lid. The rubber gasket is pressed and then deformed by the rear lid when it is closed. With the rubber gasket in a tight engagement with the rear cover, water and light are blocked.
FIG. 12
is a cross-sectional view showing a profile of a peripheral edge of the rear lid and its associated components. The rear lid
20
has a U-shaped groove
20
a
into which a lid rubber gasket
21
to be described later is fastened with an adhesive. The rear lid
20
is seated onto a rear cover
22
with a clearance kept therebetween. A step
20
b
is formed on the rear lid
20
.
Formed on the rear cover
22
are an abutment face
22
a
which the edge of the lid rubber gasket
21
, when pressed, is deformed thereagainst to be put into tight engagement therewith, and a step
22
b
on which the rear lid
20
is supported with a gap kept therebetween. The lid rubber gasket
21
has an edge
21
a
which is deformed by and is put into tight engagement with the abutment face
22
a
of the rear cover.
The step
20
b
of the rear lid and the
22
b
of the rear cover conventionally reduces light rays that enter through the gap between the rear cover and the rear lid and reach the edge
21
a
of the lid rubber gasket.
To fully block water and light in the conventional camera, preferably the rubber is much deformed to increase the contact pressure with the rear lid, but the amount of deformation of the rubber is not so great so as to overpower the force required to close the rear lid. The use of the rubber may block water, but cannot fully block light. For this reason, outside the engagement portion of the rubber gasket, the rear lid and the rear cover which the rear lid is snapped into are matingly shaped in one form or another, such as with the step as described above.
The arrangement of the mating portion or a step presents difficulty in implementing a compact design. To realize a compact camera, watertightness and lighttightness must be assured using structure other than a matingly shaped portion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact camera which features good watertightness and lighttightness without forming a matingly shaped portion or a step.
The camera of the present invention includes an openable lid member, a cover having an opening in which the lid member is seated when the lid member is closed, an elastic member arranged on the lid member or on the cover for tight engagement with the edge portion of the opening of the cover or for tight engagement with the lid member when the lid member is closed, wherein the elastic member includes an engagement portion which is deformed in the direction in which said lid member is opened and closed under the pressure generated when the lid member is closed, and a fin portion that fills a gap that is created between the lid member and the cover when the lid member is closed.
In the above camera, the fin portion bridges the gap that is left between the lid member and the cover when the lid member is closed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3640424 (1972-02-01), Ando
patent: 4312580 (1982-01-01), Schwomma et al.
patent: 4803504 (1989-02-01), Maeno et al.
patent: 5445393 (1995-08-01), Ramberg
patent: 5507504 (1996-04-01), Neumann et al.
patent: 5597166 (1997-01-01), Grytz et al.
patent: 5713048 (1998-01-01), Hayakawa
Gray David M.
Olympus Optical Co,. Ltd.
Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen, LLP
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