Underwater housing and an underwater taking camera

• US 5,239,324 A
• Filed: 02/04/1992
• Issued: 08/24/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohmura, Hiroshi, Muramatsu, Katsuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Gellner, Michael L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NOH, JAE
• Application Number:
  US07/830,878
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• Field of Search: 354/64
• US Class Current: 396/27
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/08 Waterproof bodies or housings

Abstract

An underwater housing has a housing body of which a bottom is open and a lid is fitted to the bottom opening in watertight fashion. A manually operable dial is rotatably mounted on an upper side of the housing body in such a manner that a portion of the manually operable dial projects from a rear side of the housing body. A driving gear is formed on a lower side of the manually operable dial, and is in mesh with a driven gear. Within the housing body, a coupling gear is formed coaxially on the driven gear. When the manually operable dial is rotated in a first direction, the coupling gear is rotated in a second direction, and causes a wind-up dial of a camera to rotate in turn in the first direction, that is, in the same direction as the manually operable dial. The manually operable dial is prevented from rotating in the second direction by a reverse-rotation-preventing member.

Claims

1. An underwater housing for containing in a housing body in watertight fashion a camera having a wind-up dial of which one portion protrudes from a camera body, said wind-up dial causing a photographic film to advance by one frame when said wind-up dial is rotated in a first direction, said underwater housing comprising:

a manually operable dial so disposed on said housing body as to be rotatable from outside said housing body;

a rotary member for rotating said wind-up dial in said first direction, said rotary member being adapted to be coupled with said protruding portion of said wind-up dial within said housing body; and

transmitting means for transmitting rotation of said manually operable dial to said rotary member, said transmitting means causing said rotary member to rotate in a second direction opposite to said first direction when said manually operable dial is rotated in said first direction.

2. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein a periphery of said wind-up dial is provided with teeth formed in a regular arrangement.

3. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein said rotary member is a first gear adapted to be engaged with said teeth of said wind-up dial.

4. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 3, wherein said housing body is in a shape of a box of which a bottom side is open so as to insert said camera therein, said housing body including transparent portions overlying at least a taking lens and a viewfinder of said camera;

and

said underwater housing further comprising bottom closing means for closing said bottom side of said housing body in watertight fashion.

5. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising reverse-rotation-preventing means for preventing said manually operable dial from being rotated in said second direction.

6. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a cover for covering a portion of a periphery of said manually operable dial, said cover preventing said manually operable dial from being grasped between the fingers of a user so as to ensure application of a torque of no greater than a predetermined value to said manually operable dial.

7. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said manually operable dial is mounted on an upper side of said housing body such that a portion of said manually operable dial protrudes rearwardly from a rear side of said housing body.

8. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 7, wherein a rotary center of said manually operable dial is positioned forwardly of a rotary center of said first gear and close to a lateral side of said housing body.

9. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 7, wherein said transmitting means includes:

a second gear formed on a lower surface of said manually operable dial integrally therewith;

a third gear meshing with said second gear;

a rotary shaft carrying said first and third gears; and

a watertight structure by which said rotary shaft passes through a wall of said housing body in a rotatable and watertight manner.

10. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein said rear side of said housing body has a protruding portion in which a lower end of said rotary shaft and said first gear are contained.

11. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first gear decreases downwardly in diameter so as to engage well with said first gear when said camera is inserted in said housing body.

12. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first gear is formed integrally with said rotary shaft, and said third gear is fixed on an upper end of said rotary shaft.

13. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 10, wherein said watertight structure comprises a hole formed in said upper side of said housing body in association with said protruding portion;

a support disposed to close said hole;

a plate fixed on said housing body for fixing said support;

said support being provided with a bearing hole for supporting rotatably a portion defined between said first and third gears along said rotary shaft, an annular groove formed to surrounding said bearing hole, and an O-ring fitted in said annular groove and pressed by said plate.

14. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 4, wherein said closing means includes a watertight sheet for sealing said bottom side of said housing body in watertight fashion, and a bottom lid fitted on an outer periphery of a bottom edge of said housing body to cover said watertight sheet.

15. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a frame member fitted on an inside of said bottom edge of said housing body for keeping said camera immovable within said housing body, and a spacer sheet disposed between said bottom lid and said watertight sheet for pressing said frame member against said housing body via said watertight sheet.

16. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 3, further comprising biasing means for biasing a said camera within said housing body in order to bring said wind-up dial into firm contact with said first gear.

17. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 16, wherein said biasing means is a leaf spring.

18. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 17, wherein said camera is encased in a carton, and said leaf spring is partially inserted into a slit formed in said carton for fitting said leaf spring on said carton.

19. An underwater housing for containing in watertight fashion a camera having a shutter button and a wind-up dial which one portion protrudes from a camera body and of which dial a periphery is provided with teeth formed in a regular arrangement, said wind-up dial causing a photographic film to advance by one frame when rotated in a first direction, said underwater housing comprising:

a housing body in a shape of a box of which one side is open so as to insert said camera therein, said housing body being wholly transparent;

closing means for closing said open side in watertight fashion;

a manually operable dial rotatably mounted on an upper side of said housing body such that a portion of said dial protrudes rearwardly from said housing body;

reverse-rotation-preventing means for preventing said dial from being rotated in a second direction opposite to said first direction;

a first gear for rotating said wind-up dial in said first direction, said first gear being coupled with said protruding portion of said wind-up dial within said housing body;

transmitting means for transmitting rotation of said manually operable dial to said first gear, said transmitting means causing said first gear to rotate in said second direction when said manually operable dial is rotated in said first direction; and

shutter button actuating means provided on said housing body for actuating said shutter button.

20. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 19, wherein said open side is a bottom side of said housing body.

21. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 19, wherein said camera is a single-use camera in which said photographic film is preloaded.

22. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 21, wherein said transmitting means includes:

a second gear formed on a lower surface of said manually operable dial integrally therewith;

a third gear meshing with said second gear;

a rotary shaft provided with said first and third gears; and

a watertight structure for fitting said rotary shaft in said housing body in a rotatable and watertight manner.

23. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 22, wherein said preventing means is a torsion coil spring of which a distal end is engaged with a tooth on the periphery of said third gear.

24. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 22, wherein said preventing means is a leaf spring of which a distal end is engaged with a tooth on the periphery of said second gear.

25. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 22, wherein said preventing means includes a pawl member for being engaged with a tooth on the periphery of said second gear, and a torsion coil spring for biasing said pawl member toward said second gear.

26. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a cover for covering a portion of the periphery of said manually operable dial, said cover preventing said manually operable dial from being grasped between the fingers of a user so as to ensure application of a torque of no greater than a predetermined value to said manually operable dial.

27. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 26, wherein said cover projects from said housing body to a height substantially equal to the height of said manually operable dial so as to lie alongside a front portion of said periphery of said manually operable dial.

28. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 26, wherein said cover includes a portion lying alongside a front portion of said periphery of said manually operable dial and a portion covering partially an upper surface of said manually operable dial.

29. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 26, wherein a following condition is satisfied:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">110°

≦

θ

≦

180°

wherein θ

is a central angle of said portion covered by said cover around said manually operable dial.

30. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 19, wherein said closing means includes a watertight sheet for sealing an open bottom of said housing body in watertight fashion, and a bottom lid fitted on an outer periphery of a bottom edge of said housing body, and arrested on said housing body by engaging hooks.

31. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 30, further comprising a frame member fitted on an inside of said bottom edge of said housing body for keeping said camera immovable within said housing body, and a spacer sheet disposed between said bottom lid and said watertight sheet for pressing said frame member against said housing body via said watertight sheet.

32. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 19, wherein said shutter button actuating means includes:

a manually operable lever provided on a front side of said housing body, said manually operable lever being movable between a home position and a shutter release position;

a transmitting member for transmitting movement of said manually operable lever to said shutter button, said transmitting member comprising a rod fixed on said manually operable lever at a front end thereof and rotatably inserted through said housing body, and a push lever provided on a rear end of said rod, a free end of said push lever being positioned close to said shutter button so as to depress said shutter button.

33. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 32, further comprising a watertight structure provided with an O-ring for watertightly sealing around said rod.

34. An underwater housing as claimed in claim 32, further comprising a spring biasing said manually operable lever toward said home position.

35. An underwater taking camera comprising a camera and an underwater housing in combination;

said camera including;

A) a camera body preloaded with photographic film;

B) a wind-up dial for causing said photographic film to advance by one frame when rotated in a first direction after exposure, of which wind-up dial a periphery is provided with teeth formed in a regular arrangement, and one portion protrudes from said camera body; and

C) a shutter button on said camera body;

said underwater housing including;

a) a housing body in a shape of a box of which one side is open so as to insert said camera therein, said housing body being wholly transparent;

b) closing means for closing said open side in watertight fashion and for keeping said camera in a watertight state in cooperation with said housing body;

c) a manually operable dial rotatably mounted on an upper side of said housing body with a portion of said manually operable dial protruding rearward from said housing body;

d) a first gear for rotating said wind-up dial in said first direction, said first gear being coupled with said protruding portion of said wind-up dial within said underwater housing;

e) transmitting means for transmitting rotation of said manually operable dial to said first gear, said transmitting means causing said first gear to rotate in a second direction opposite to said first direction when said manually operable dial is rotated in said first direction; and

f) means for actuating said shutter button.

36. An underwater taking camera as claimed in claim 35, wherein said open side is a bottom side of said housing body, and said closing means includes a watertight sheet for sealing said open side in watertight fashion and a bottom lid attached to said housing body to cover said watertight sheet.

37. An underwater taking camera as claimed in claim 35, wherein said transmitting means includes:

a second gear formed on a lower surface of said manually operable dial integrally therewith;

a third gear in mesh with said second gear;

a rotary shaft provided with said first and third gears; and

a watertight structure for fitting said rotary shaft in said housing body in rotatable and watertight manner.

38. An underwater taking camera as claimed in claim 35, further comprising reverse-rotation-preventing means for preventing said manually operable dial from being rotated in said second direction.

39. An underwater taking camera as claimed in claim 35, further comprising a cover for covering a portion of the periphery of said manually operable dial, said cover preventing said manually operable dial from being grasped between the fingers of the user so as to ensure application of a torque of no greater than a predetermined value to said manually operable dial.

40. An underwater taking camera as claimed in claim 35, further comprising a frame member fitted on an inside of a bottom edge of said housing body for keeping said camera immovable within said housing body, and a spacer sheet disposed between said bottom lid and said watertight sheet for pressing said frame member against said housing body via said watertight sheet.

41. An underwater taking camera as claimed in claim 35, further comprising biasing means for biasing said camera within said housing body in order to bring said wind-up dial into firm contact with said first gear.

42. An underwater taking camera as claimed in claim 35, wherein said shutter button actuating means comprises:

a manually operable lever provided on a front side of said housing body, said manually operable lever being movable between a home position and a shutter release position;

a spring biasing said manually operable lever toward said home position;

a transmitting member for transmitting movement of said manually operable lever to said shutter button, said transmitting member including a rod fixed on said manually operable lever at a front end thereof and rotatably inserted through said housing body, and a push lever provided on a rear end of said rod, a free end of said push lever being positioned close to said shutter button so as to depress said shutter button; and

a watertight structure provided with an O-ring for watertightly sealing around said rod.