Television – Special applications – Underwater
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-15
2004-09-21
Garber, Wendy R. (Department: 2712)
Television
Special applications
Underwater
C348S164000, C348S373000, C348S374000, C396S025000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06795110
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally concerns digital electronic cameras, and waterproof housings for cameras including digital electronic cameras.
The present invention particularly concerns the communication of (i) information, (ii) control and (iii) power across a watertight barrier, particularly such as may serve to protect an electronic instrument, most commonly a digital electronic camera, including when the instrument is immersed in water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Relevant Previous Patents
A significant body of prior art concerning waterproof housings for conventional film cameras is substantially irrelevant to the present invention for several reasons. First, the housing or case for a conventional, non-electronic, camera must open for retrieval and replacement of the film—as will prove to be unnecessary with a digital electronic camera. Second, since the camera's case or housing will open, and required replacement of batteries is readily accomplished by physical substitution, no battery recharging need transpire through the case or housing.
The case and its waterproof seals can be, and often are, quite sophisticated in supporting the transmission of mechanical forces and adjustments as may attend, inter alia, adjustment of the camera's focus and/or the actuation of its shutter. However, and although a digital electronic camera may have a focus adjustment and will have a shutter, these mechanisms can be electrically, as opposed to mechanically, actuated.
Accordingly, the present invention will prove more analogous to certain prior art underwater electronic devices—including electronic imaging devices such as, inter alia, a video tape recorder—than to underwater film cameras. (Of course, even with a video tape recorder, a watertight enclosure will open for access to the videotape.)
In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,190 to Perkins for an UNDERWATER STROBE FLASH UNIT concerns a method of waterproofing a strobe flash unit for use in underwater photography. A mold is formed and a strobe flash unit is mounted within the mold. Epoxy resin is poured into the mold to surround the strobe flash unit with the resin. The resin is then cured until it hardens, at which time the mold is removed from the epoxy resin and strobe flash unit. The resultant product is a strobe flash unit encapsulated in a transparent waterproof casing. Such encapsulation will be seen to be suitably employed in the present invention.
As regards the communication of power to a hand held underwater electronic imaging device, U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,419 to Ligman for a SAFETY CIRCUIT FOR VIDEO DIVER concerns an underwater diver who is provided with a video camera, light, and communications all of which is supplied with electrical current from the surface by a shipboard electrical circuit. The diver is protected from accidental excessive voltages and current by magnetically isolating the diver's current from the shipboard current and by employing optical feedback to control the voltages for the diver. Additionally, a standby battery is employed to energize this equipment when the shipboard power fails. The entire shipboard power supply is contained in a waterproof box upon which is also mounted a video monitor and a video recorder, both secured in watertight fashion to the box. The present invention will be seen to involve the transmission of power into a waterproof enclosure, but not while the enclosure is immersed, and normally not while an electronic digital camera within the enclosure is in use.
The present invention will be seen to involve optical data transmission. U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,753 to Gabello, et al., for a CAMERA SYSTEM FOR SCANNING A MOVING SURFACE concerns a camera system utilizing a line scan (linear array) camera designed to scan a moving surface and subsequently to generate and to transmit a high quality digitized video signal over a long a distance by an optical fiber. The primary function of the system is: to scan a moving surface using a 2048 or a 1024 linear array; to condition and digitize the array analog video signal; and subsequently to transmit to a computer processing unit, without a noticeable loss in fidelity, the digitized video data over a long distance by means of an optical fiber connected to the camera and the computer processing unit. The system also functions to transmit both video signals and non-video information signals over a fiber optic link from the camera to the computer processing unit.
An Exemplary Modification of an Existing Digital Camera
The present invention will be seen to employ but very, very slight—substantially inconsequential—physical and electrical modifications to an existing digital electronic camera. No modifications at all are required by the present invention in the personal computer, nor in the operating software, that are commonly used to recover digital images from the digital electronic camera. However, all these things are readily susceptible of modification, if required.
It is thus useful to consider the susceptibility of a digital electronic camera to electrical and/or physical modification. An example of modifications—much more extensive than are required by the present invention—to an existing digital camera to support of its use in a non-standard, space borne, environment is shown in a Stanford University student project.
An Exemplary Existing Digital Electronic Camera
The Logitech Fotoman Plus digital electronic camera is a 8-bit grayscale digital camera, capable of storing 32 JPEG compressed pictures in memory. Its specifications, according to Logitech, are as follows:
The camera dimensions are 16.8 centimeters (6.7 inches) by 8.1 cm (3.2 in) by 3 cm (1.2 in). The camera weight is 284 grams (10 ounces).
Camera image quality is 256 gray levels over 496×360 pixels, for an equivalent resolution of 120 dots per inch (120 dpi) over a photo approximately 4 in (12.7 cm) wide×3 in (8.9 cm) high.
The lens is fixed focus with a 8.5 millimeters (mm) focal length, f/4.5. The 35 mm camera equivalent focal length is 64 mm. Shooting range is 3 feet (1 meter) to infinity.
The camera's equivalent film sensitivity is approximately ASA 200 without the neutral density filter, and approximately ASA 25 with the filter.
The camera's electronic shutter speed is 40 milliseconds (~{fraction (1/30)}) with the flash, and 0.5 to 50 msec ({fraction (1/2000)} to {fraction (1/20)}) without the flash.
The flash guide number equivalent is 27 at ASA 200. The flash shooting range 3 ft (1 m) to 8 ft (2.5 m). The life of the flash is 10,000 flashes.
The image capacity of camera is 32 pictures in an image storage medium: namely, solid state (dram) memory with battery backup.
The image sensor type is a CCD (charge-coupled device). The raw image size is 179 kb (8 bits per pixel). Compressed image size varies with the image. Average compressed image size is 23 kb with 8:1 compression using the JPEG image compression method.
The adapter rings have a small end of 27 mm threaded outer diameter, and a large end of 37 mm threaded inner diameter.
The camera cable length is 6 ft. (2 m) of cable suitable for the camera's RS423 serial interface (which is simply +/− 5v version of the more famous RS232 serial interface, which will be seen to be the type used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention).
The baud rate of the interface is 9.6 K baud receive, and 9.6K, 19.2K, 38.4K, 57.6K, of 115k baud transmit.
The main power source of the camera is two rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, AA size, 600 ma, 1.2 V. The time needed to charge these Ni-Cad batteries is 6 hours minimum. In estimating loss of charge in the Ni-Cad batteries assume that, at room temperature, the batteries lose about 20% of a full charge every time the camera takes one full load of photos (32 photos). The batteries lose about 15% of a full charge every time the camera goes 24 hours without recharging.
The battery charger has an output 12 vdc +4 v, −2 v, 500 mah minimum. The polarity-positive
Belasco Jacobs & Townsley LLP
Garber Wendy R.
Misleh Justin
Townsley Norton R.
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