Digital Camera Patent Abstract
A shading hood member for a digital camera, which can easily be
attached to a liquid crystal monitor of a digital camera of the
existing type, and which has a simple structure and is compact in
size, and which can be manufactured at low cost, is disclosed. The
shading hood member is detachably attached to the liquid crystal
monitor in such a manner as to cover the periphery of the liquid
crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor that is openably provided
on the outside surface of a camera body. Digital Camera Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen, said shading hood for a liquid crystal monitor, which is
adapted to cover a periphery of the liquid crystal screen of said
liquid crystal openably provided on an outside surface of a camera
body, comprising: a shading wall portion formed nearly like a rectangular
cylinder having a transverse section, whose contour corresponds
to and matches a contour of said liquid crystal screen, which is
shaped like a rectangle, of said liquid crystal monitor; a lens
provided in said shading wall portion in such a way as to be able
to retreat in a collapsed manner; and fixing means including a holding/abutting
surface portion for hanging across a rear surface of said liquid
crystal monitor, which is formed at an opening end side of said
shading wall portion in such a way as to allow said liquid crystal
monitor to hold said shading wall portion itself, wherein said shading
wall portion is detachably attached to said liquid crystal monitor
through said fixing means.
2. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen according to claim 1, wherein said holding/abutting surface
portion of said fixing means is formed by connecting an upper holding/abutting
surface portion, which is extended from an upper wall surface, and
a lower holding/abutting surface portion, which is extended from
a lower wall surface, at the opening end of said shading wall portion
through a connecting means having a fixedly attaching structure
that is annexed to an end edge of each of upper and lower holding/abutting
surface portions and that is one of a surface fastener, a snap fastener,
a zipper slide fastener, and a hook member.
3. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen according to claim 2, wherein said fixing means includes
one of a hook like string member hanging portion and a surface-fastener-like
string-member pinch-pressing/holding portion formed on a side surface
of said shading wall portion in such a manner as to be latched and
held by a string member stretched and wound around said camera body.
4. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen according to claim 3, wherein said string member is formed
from an elastic member made of silicone rubber.
5. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen according to claim 1, wherein the lens is a Fresnel lens.
6. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen, said shading hood for a liquid crystal monitor, which is
adapted to cover a periphery of the liquid crystal screen of said
liquid crystal openably provided on an outside surface of a camera
body, comprising: a shading wall portion formed nearly like a rectangular
cylinder having a transverse section, whose contour corresponds
to and matches a contour of said liquid crystal screen, which is
shaped like a rectangle, of said liquid crystal monitor; a lens
provided in said shading wall portion in such a way as to be able
to retreat in a collapsed manner; and fixing means, formed on a
side surface of said shading wall portion, in such a way as to cause
said shading wall surface itself to abut against a periphery of
said liquid crystal monitor through a string member stretched and
wound around said shading wall portion and to be held thereon, wherein
said shading wall portion is detachably attached to said liquid
crystal monitor through said string member stretched and wound around
said camera body.
7. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen according to claim 6, wherein said string member is formed
from an elastic member made of silicone rubber.
8. A shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen according to claim 6, wherein the lens is a Fresnel lens.
Digital Camera Patent Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shading hood for a digital camera
having a liquid crystal monitor openably provided on an outside
surface of a camera body or a digital camera having a liquid crystal
monitor provided mainly on a back surface portion of a camera body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, there has been provided such a kind of a shading hood
according to techniques of respectively providing side-face hoods
and a front-face hood in a collapsible manner onto three sides of
a liquid crystal monitor, which is openably mounted on a rotating
seat provided on an outside surface of a camera body, through hinges
so that these hoods are adapted to be opened by being interlocked
with an opening operation of the liquid crystal monitor, as disclosed
in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 5-83608.
Further, there have been provided techniques of providing an optical
viewfinder hood on a video camera in such a manner as to have a
size and a shape that enable the hood to closely be fitted along
the outer periphery of a liquid crystal monitor enabled to serve
as an electronic viewfinder, and as to also have a rear portion,
in which an eyepieces hood is formed, so that a user sees an image,
which is displayed on the liquid crystal panel, through the eyepiece
hood, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication
No. 10-322575.
However, in such conventionally proposed shading hoods, for instance,
according to the techniques disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent
Application Publication No. 5-83608, the camera body and the shading
hood member are integrally formed in such a way as to be interlocked
with each other. Moreover, even in the case that the shading hood
is unnecessary, for example, in the case that the camera is used
in dim light, such a shading hood member is always opened when the
liquid crystal monitor is opened. Therefore, the conventional shading
hood member has drawbacks in that the shading hood member is a hindrance
to the photographing and monitoring of images, and that the mechanism
of the shading hood member is complex, and that the cost of the
camera increases.
Moreover, according to the techniques disclosed in Japanese Unexamined
Patent Application Publication No. 10-322575, the optical viewfinder
itself is formed in such a manner as to have a size and a shape
that cause the hood to closely be fitted along the outer periphery
of a liquid crystal monitor. Thus, the optical viewfinder to be
fitted along the outer periphery of the monitor should be preliminarily
formed in such a manner as to have accurate dimensions. Therefore,
when the camera is manufactured, sufficient fitting accuracy is
required. Additionally, the constitution of the camera becomes complex.
Consequently, the cost thereof increases. Furthermore, only a single
user looks at an image by one of his eyes through the eyepiece hood
formed in the rear portion of the optical viewfinder. Thus, although
the shading hood completely shuts out strong light, such as sunlight,
a plurality of persons cannot simultaneously see an image displayed
on a liquid crystal panel. Moreover, details of an object are out
of focus, so that an image formed on a liquid crystal screen is
very indistinct.
In recent years, digital cameras each including a liquid crystal
monitor, which has a liquid crystal screen provided on a rear portion
of a camera body and can be used as an electronic viewfinder, have
come into wide use.
Hitherto, a method of closely fitting and attaching shading hood
members along the outer periphery of the liquid crystal monitor
has been employed so as to enable a plurality of persons to simultaneously
see a sharp image displayed on a liquid crystal screen by reliably
shading incident external light in a camera of such a kind.
However, such a conventionally proposed digital camera has the
following drawbacks. That is, attaching portions, such as a to-be-fitted
groove portion mating with the outside shape of the shading hood
member itself, for allowing the shading hood member to closely be
fitted therearound should be formed along the outer periphery of
the liquid crystal monitor. Moreover, at that time, unless the dimensions
of the to-be-fitted groove to be formed along the outer circumference
of the liquid crystal monitor should be preliminarily and accurately
set, there is a fear that the shading hood member is incompletely
attached thereto and becomes easy to come off. Furthermore, when
a digital camera is manufactured, a redundant step of forming a
to-be-fitted groove portion in a camera body itself is added to
a manufacturing process thereof. Additionally, because the shading
hood member requires the fitting accuracy, the cost of the camera
increases.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,419, entitled "Collapsible Glare Reduction
Device For A Video Monitor" discloses that the device has a
top panel, first and second panels. The top panel, first and second
panels are openable to define a hood. Therefore, the user must constructs
the hood while attaching it to a monitor. The hood is secured by
securing means to a monitor. The securing means must have been attached
around the monitor beforehand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is created in view of the aforementioned circumstances
of the conventional shading hood. Accordingly, an object of the
invention is to provide a shading hood for a digital camera having
a liquid crystal screen, which can easily be attached to a liquid
crystal monitor of a digital camera of the existing type, if necessary,
and which thus can be provided for all models of digital cameras
and which has a simple structure and is compact in size, as compared
with the conventional integral hood structure, and which can be
manufactured at low cost and reliably shade external incident light,
and which enables a plurality of persons to simultaneously see a
clear and sharp image displayed on the liquid crystal screen.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent from the following description of preferred
embodiments with reference to the drawings in which like reference
characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout several
views, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a digital camera to which
a shading hood member according to a first embodiment of the invention
is attached;
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the shading hood member put into
a state, in which the hood member is not attached thereto yet, for
illustrating a method of using the shading hood member according
to the first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2B is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the
shading hood member according to the first embodiment of the invention
is attached to the liquid crystal monitor;
FIG. 3A is a sectional view of a shading hood member according
to a second embodiment of the invention in a state in which a Fresnel
lens is not used;
FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the shading hood member according
to the second embodiment of the invention in a state in which a
Fresnel lens is used;
FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a digital camera, to which a shading
hood member is attached, according to a third embodiment of the
invention, which is viewed obliquely from the front thereof;
FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the digital camera, to which a
shading hood member is attached, according to the third embodiment
of the invention, which is viewed obliquely from the back thereof;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a method of attaching
the shading hood member according to the third embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a fixing means for fixing the shading
hood member according to the third embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another fixing means of the shading
hood member;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a connecting means;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the invention;
and
FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a method of attaching
a shading hood member according to the fourth embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention
will be described in detail by referring to the accompanying drawings.
In a first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGS.
1, 2A, and 2B, reference numeral 1 designates a portable shading
hood member 1 formed in such a way as to be compact in size so as
to be enabled to be used mainly on a camera body P of a digital
camera of the existing type having a liquid crystal monitor Q. This
shading hood member 1 is used by being detachably attached to the
liquid crystal monitor Q so as to cover the periphery of the liquid
crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor Q that is openably
supported on the left side surface of the camera body P through
a universal joint, as viewed in these figures.
The shading hood member 1 has a shading wall portion 2 made of
a flexible synthetic resin, and also has a fixing means 3 made of
a flexible synthetic resin for causing the liquid crystal monitor
to hold the shading wall portion 2 itself. That is, the shading
wall portion 2 is formed by respectively connecting the lateral
edge portions of a nearly square like upper wall portion 2a to the
lateral edge portions of a nearly transversely elongated lower wall
portion 2b through nearly inverse trapezoid like left and right
side wall portions 2c and 2d, so that the entire shading wall portion
2 formed in this manner is shaped nearly like a rectangular cylinder.
Thus, a rear-end opening surface of the shading hood member 1 is
formed like a rectangle in such a way as to be parallel to the rectangular
liquid crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor and as to have
a transverse section, whose contour corresponds to and matches the
contour of the liquid crystal screen. Further, the shading hood
member 1 is formed so that the front-end opening surface side, through
which a user looks at an image, thereof is inclined slightly downwardly.
Incidentally, a black cotton cloth material is stuck to the inner
surface of the shading wall portion 2 to thereby prevent diffused
reflection of luminant light rays that are radiated from the liquid
crystal screen.
Moreover, the fixing means 3 is implemented by holding/abutting
surface portions 31 and 32 adapted to hang across the rear surface
of the liquid crystal monitor 2, which are formed in such a way
as to respectively hang in a direction from an upper wall portion
to a lower wall portion and in a opposite direction at the rear-end
opening surface side of the shading wall portion 2 so that the shading
wall portion 2 can be inserted from a lateral direction into the
liquid crystal monitor Q opened outwardly from the camera body P.
That is, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the fixing means 3 comprises
the upper holding/abutting surface portion 31 extended from the
band-plate-like upper wall portion, and the lower holding/abutting
surface portion 32 extended from the band-plate-like lower wall
portion, and a connecting means 41 annexed to the edge sides of
these band-plate-like portions, which are provided at the rear-end
opening surface side of the shading wall portion 2 so as to cause
the liquid crystal monitor Q to hold the shading wall portion 2
itself. A space, into which the shading wall portion 2 can be inserted
from a lateral side of the liquid crystal monitor Q, is formed among
the holding/abutting surface portions 31 and 32 and the rear-end
opening surface of the shading wall portion 2 by connecting the
upper holding/abutting surface portion 31 and the lower holding/abutting
surface portion 32 to each other at the rear-end opening surface
side of the shading wall portion 2 through the connecting means
41.
Incidentally, the connecting means 41 is composed of, for example,
male and female surface fasteners. However, the connecting means
41 may be constituted by another fixedly attaching that is one of
a surface fastener, a snap fastener, a zipper slide fastener, and
a hook member.
Next, an example of the use of the embodiment constructed as described
above is described hereinbelow. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the upper
holding/abutting surface portion 31 and the lower holding/abutting
surface portion 32 are connected to each other through the connecting
means 41 at the rear-end opening surface side of the shading wall
portion 2 of the shading hood member 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2B,
the shading hood member 1 is attached to the liquid crystal monitor
Q by inserting the liquid crystal monitor Q into the space formed
among the holding/abutting portions 31 and 32 and the rear-end opening
surface of the shading wall portion 2. Further, when the shading
hood member 1 is not used, the connecting means 41 is disconnected
therefrom. Then, the left and right side wall portions 2c and 2d
of the shading wall portion 2 are folded compactly. Subsequently,
the shading hood member 1 is accommodated into a storage case (not
shown) dedicated to storage of a digital camera.
Further, FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a second embodiment of the
invention. Incidentally, constituent parts, which are the same as
those of the first embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS.
1 and 2, are designated by reference characters used in these figures.
Thus, the description of such constituent parts is omitted herein.
In the second embodiment, a Fresnel lens 51, which has a size being
equal to the area of the opening of the shading wall portion 2 and
is enabled to retreat in a collapsed manner, is provided in the
shading wall portion 2 of the shading hood member 1, which is the
same as the shading wall portion of the first embodiment. This Fresnel
lens 51 is of the known configuration in which fine circular grooves
are formed in a surface portion of a plastic plate so that the entire
plate serves as a lens.
That is, in the shading wall portion 2, the top end portion of
the rectangular Fresnel lens 51 is rotatably and pivotably mounted
in the rear-end opening surface part of the upper wall portion 2a
through a hinge portion 52. A frontwardly foldable fixing piece
53 is formed at the bottom end portion of the Fresnel lens 51. Moreover,
one of the male and female surface fastener portions F is formed
on each of the top and bottom surfaces of the fixing piece 53. When
the fixing piece 53 of the Fresnel lens 51 is turned toward the
lower wall portion 2b through the hinge portion 52 so that the surface
of the Fresnel lens 51 faces the inside of the rear-end opening
surface part of the shading wall portion 2, the surface fastener
portion F of the fixing piece 53 is fixedly attached to one of the
male and female surface fasteners F, which is provided on the inner
surface of the lower wall portion 2b (see FIG. 3B). Meanwhile, when
the Fresnel lens 51 is folded toward the upper wall portion 2a through
the hinge portion 52, the fixing piece 53 is folded back still more,
so that the surface fastener portion F of the fixing piece 53 is
fixedly attached to one of the male and female surface fastener
parts F, which is provided on the top surface of the upper wall
portion 2a (see FIG. 3A).
Thus, the Fresnel lens 51 provided in the shading hood member 1
serves to sharpen an image displayed on the liquid crystal screen
by turning the fixing piece 53 toward the lower wall portion 2b
through the hinge portion 52. Further, when the Fresnel lens 51
is not used, the Fresnel lens 51 itself is upwardly folded and retreated
through the hinge portion 52 in the shading wall portion 2. Subsequently,
the fixing piece 53 of the Fresnel lens 51 is folded toward the
top surface side of the upper wall portion 2a and then fixedly attached
to the surface fastener portion F. Thus, the liquid crystal screen
can be directly seen over the shading hood member 1. Incidentally,
instead of forming the surface fastener part F, a fixedly attaching
portion, such as a snap fastener, a zipper slide fastener, or a
hook member, may be provided.
As described above, according to the invention, there is provided
a shading hood for a digital camera having a liquid crystal screen,
which can easily be attached to a liquid crystal monitor of a digital
camera of the existing type, if necessary, and which has a simple
structure and is compact in size, as compared with the conventional
integral hood structure, and which can be manufactured at low cost
and reliably shade external incident light, and which enables a
plurality of persons to simultaneously see a sharp image displayed
on the liquid crystal screen.
That is, according to the invention, the shading hood member 1
is detachably attached to the liquid crystal monitor Q in such a
manner as to cover the periphery of the liquid crystal screen of
the liquid crystal monitor Q openably provided on the outside surface
of the camera body P. Consequently, for example, external strong
incident light, such as sunlight, can reliably be shut out. Moreover,
a plurality of persons simultaneously can see a sharp image displayed
on the liquid crystal screen.
The shading hood member 1 comprises the shading wall portion 2,
which is formed nearly like a rectangular cylinder having a transverse
section, whose contour corresponds to and matches the contour of
the rectangular liquid crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor
Q, and also comprises the fixing means 3 formed at an opening end
side of the shading wall portion 2 in such a way as to cause the
liquid crystal monitor Q to hold the shading wall portion 2 itself.
Thus, as compared with the conventional integral hood structure,
the shading hood member 1 of the invention has a simple structure
and is manufactured in such a manner as to be compact in size. Moreover,
the low-cost shading hood member 1 can easily be provided.
The fixing means 3 is implemented by forming the holding/abutting
surface portions 31 and 32, which are adapted to respectively hang
in a direction from the upper wall portion to the lower wall portion
and in an opposite direction, at an opening end side of the shading
wall portion 2 so that the shading wall portion 2 can be inserted
from a lateral side of the liquid crystal monitor Q opened outwardly
from the camera body P. Consequently, the invention provides the
shading hood member 1 that can easily be attached to and detached
from the liquid crystal monitor Q opened outwardly from the camera
body P, and that can easily be attached to a liquid crystal monitor
of a digital camera of the existing type.
The holding/abutting surface portions 31 and 32 each have the upper
holding/abutting surface portion 31, which is extended from the
upper wall portion, and the lower holding/abutting surface portion
32, which is extended from the lower wall portion, and the connecting
means 41 annexed to the edge parts of the portions 31 and 32. Consequently,
the attachment of the shading wall portion 2 itself to the liquid
crystal monitor Q and the detachment of the portion 2 itself from
the monitor Q are facilitated.
Each of the connecting means 41 of the existing type are constituted
by a fixedly attaching structure, such as a surface fastener, a
snap fastener, a zipper slide fastener, or a hook member. Consequently,
the holding/abutting surface portions 31 and 32 for facilitating
the attachment of the shading wall portion 2 itself to the liquid
crystal monitor Q and the detachment of the portion 2 itself from
the monitor Q can be easily formed.
The shading hood member 1 is of the configuration including the
Fresnel lens 51 that can be retreated in a collapsed manner in the
shading wall portion 2. Thus, the use of the Fresnel lens enables
users to see a clear image displayed on the liquid crystal screen.
When the Fresnel lens 51 is not used, the liquid crystal screen
can be directly viewed over the shading hood member 1 by retreating
the Fresnel lens 51 in a collapsed manner in the shading wall portion
2.
FIGS. 4A to 5 illustrate a third embodiment of the invention. Reference
numeral 101 designates a portable shading hood member 101 formed
in such a way as to be compact in size so as to be able to be used
in a digital camera of the existing type having the liquid crystal
monitor Q provided on the rear surface of the camera P. This shading
hood member 101 is used by preliminarily stretching and winding
a pair of string members 104 around the camera body P, as illustrated
in FIGS. 4A and 4B, in such a way as to cover the periphery of the
liquid crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor Q provided on
the rear surface portion of the camera body P, and by subsequently
and detachably being attached to the liquid crystal monitor Q through
both the string members 104. Incidentally, the shading hood member
101 itself is enabled to be attached to a strap 161, which is attached
to the camera body P, through a hook member 162 annexed to a corner
portion of this member 101.
Each of the string members 104 are constituted by an elastic member,
such as silicone rubber, having a length, which is slightly shorter
than the length of the entire periphery of the camera body P, and
also having heat resistance, water repellency, electrical nonconductivity,
chemical resistance, and aging resistance. Moreover, the third embodiment
of the invention has the connecting means 141 in which holding plate
members 142A and 142B are connected to both ends of the two silicone
rubber string members 104, and in which a male (or female) side
surface fastener portion 143A is provided on the top surface of
one of the holding plate members 142A, while a female (or male)
side surface fastener portion 143B is provided on the bottom surface
of the other holding plate member 142B. Furthermore, as illustrated
in FIG. 5, the string members 104 are wound around the camera body
P in such a way as to go around a camera operating member and a
viewfinder. Then, both end portions of each of the string members
104 are connected through the connecting means 141 to both end portions
of the other string member 104, respectively. Thus, the string members
104 are stretched and held at arbitrary tensile strength. Incidentally,
the connecting means 141 are constituted by the male and female
surface fasteners 143A and 143B. Instead, as illustrated in FIG.
5, the connecting means 141 may be constituted by what is called
a snap fastener structure in which a plurality of projections 144A
are disposed on the top surface of one 142A of the holding plate
members, and in which a plurality of hole portions 144B are formed
in the other holding plate member 142B correspondingly to the projections
144A, and in which the projections 144A are fitted into the hole
portions 144B. Additionally, the connecting means 141 may be constituted
by a fixedly attaching structure, such as a zipper slide fastener
or a hook member.
The shading hood member 101 comprises a shading wall portion 102
made of flexible synthetic resin, and a fixing means 103 for causing
the liquid crystal monitor Q to hold the string members 104 itself
through the string members 104 preliminarily stretched and wound
around the camera body P. That is, the shading wall portion 102
is formed so that the entire portion constructed by connecting the
upper wall portion 102, the lower wall portion 102b, the left side
wall portion 102c, and the right side wall portion 102d, which are
nearly laterally elongated, to one another is shaped like a nearly
rectangular cylinder. Thus, the rear end opening surface of the
shading wall portion 102 is shaped like a rectangle, which is parallel
to the rectangular liquid crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor
Q and which has a contour corresponding to and matching the contour
of the liquid crystal screen of the monitor Q. Incidentally, a black
cotton cloth material is stuck to the inner surface of the shading
wall portion 2 to thereby prevent diffused reflection of luminant
light rays that are radiated from the liquid crystal screen. Further,
as illustrated in FIG. 5, an L-shaped hook claw-like string member
hanging portion 131 is formed nearly at the center of each of the
left and right side wall portions 102c and 102d as the fixing means
103, so that the string members 104 stretched and wound around the
camera body P are latched and held by the string member hanging
portion 131.
Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the fixing means 103 may
be constituted by forming each of cap-piece-like string member pinch-pressing/holding
portions 132, to each of which the male and female surface fasteners
are annexed, nearly at the center of each of the left and right
side wall portions 102c and 102d and by then causing the string
member pinch-pressing/holding portions 132 to respectively pinch-press
and hold the string members 104 stretched and wound around the camera
body P.
An example of a usage mode of the embodiment configured in the
aforementioned manner is described hereinbelow. As illustrated in
FIG. 5, the string members 104 are wound around the camera body
P in such a way as to go around the operating member and the viewfinder.
Both end portions of each of the string members 104 are connected
through the connecting means 141 to both end portions of the other
string member 104, respectively. Thus, the string members 104 themselves
are stretched and held on the camera body P at given tensile strength.
Further, the shading hood member 101 is closely attached to the
liquid crystal monitor Q by causing the hook claw like string member
hanging portions 131 of the left and right side wall portions 102c
and 102d of the shading hood member 101 to latch and hold the left
and right string members 104, which are stretched and wound around
the camera body P. Furthermore, when the shading hood member 101
is not used, the connecting means 141 are disconnected therefrom.
Then, the left and right side wall portions 102c and 102d of the
shading wall portion are folded compactly. Subsequently, the shading
hood member 101 is accommodated into a storage case (not shown)
dedicated to storage of a digital camera. Alternatively, the shading
hood member 101 may remain held on the camera body P through the
strap 161.
Further, FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the invention.
In these figures, each of constituent parts, which are the same
as those illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, is designated by reference
character, which is the same as the reference character used for
designating the same constituent part in FIGS. 1 to 5. Thus, the
detailed description of such constituent parts is omitted. In the
fourth embodiment, the shading hood member 101 is detachably attached
to the liquid crystal monitor Q through the string members 104,
which are constituted by elastic members made of a material, such
as silicone rubber, fixed and attached to the shading hood member
101 like a loop, in such a manner as to cover the periphery of the
liquid crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor Q disposed on
the rear surface of the camera body P. That is, the shading hood
member 101 and the string members 104 are integrally formed. Moreover,
the shading wall portion 102 is formed so that the entire portion
constructed by respectively connecting the lateral edge portions
of a nearly square like upper wall portion 102a to the lateral edge
portions of a nearly transversely elongated lower wall portion 102b
through nearly inverse trapezoid like left and right side wall portions
102c and 102d is shaped like a nearly rectangular cylinder. Thus,
a rear-end opening surface of the shading hood member 101 is formed
like a rectangle in such a way as to be parallel to the rectangular
liquid crystal screen of the liquid crystal monitor and as to have
a transverse section, whose contour corresponds to and matches the
contour of the liquid crystal screen. Further, the shading hood
member 101 is formed so that the front-end opening surface side,
through which a user looks at an image, thereof is inclined slightly
downwardly.
Further, a Fresnel lens 151, which has a size being equal to the
area of the opening of the shading wall portion 102 and is enabled
to retreat in a collapsed manner, is provided in the shading wall
portion 102 of the shading hood member 101. This Fresnel lens 151
is of the known configuration in which fine circular grooves are
formed in a surface portion of a plastic plate so that the entire
plate serves as a lens.
That is, as illustrated in FIG. 9, in the shading wall portion
102, the top end portion of the rectangular Fresnel lens 151 is
rotatably and pivotably mounted in the rear-end opening surface
part of the upper wall portion 102a through a hinge portion 152.
A frontwardly foldable fixing piece 153 is formed at the bottom
end portion of the Fresnel lens 151. Moreover, one of the male and
female surface fastener portions F is formed on each of the top
and bottom surfaces of the fixing piece 153. When the fixing piece
153 of the Fresnel lens 151 is turned toward the lower wall portion
102b through the hinge portion 152 so that the surface of the Fresnel
lens 51 faces the inside of the rear-end opening surface part of
the shading wall portion 102, the surface fastener portion F of
the fixing piece 153 is fixedly attached to one of the male and
female surface fasteners F, which is provided on the inner surface
of the lower wall portion 102b.
Meanwhile, when the Fresnel lens 151 is folded toward the upper
wall portion 102a through the hinge portion 152, the fixing piece
153 is folded back still more, so that the surface fastener portion
F of the fixing piece 153 is fixedly attached to one of the male
and female surface fastener parts F, which is provided on the top
surface of the upper wall portion 102a.
Thus, the Fresnel lens 151 provided in the shading hood member
101 serves to sharpen an image displayed on the liquid crystal screen
by turning the fixing piece 153 toward the lower wall portion 102b
through the hinge portion 152. Further, when the Fresnel lens 151
is not used, the Fresnel lens 151 itself is upwardly folded and
retreated through the hinge portion 152 in the shading wall portion
102. Subsequently, the fixing piece 153 of the Fresnel lens 151
is folded toward the top surface side of the upper wall portion
102a and then fixedly attached to the surface fastener portion F.
Thus, the liquid crystal screen can be directly seen over the shading
hood member 101. Incidentally, instead of forming the surface fastener
part F, a fixedly attaching portion, such as a snap fastener, a
zipper slide fastener, or a hook member, may be provided.
As described above, according to the invention, there is provided
a shading hood for use in a digital camera having a liquid crystal
screen, which can easily be attached to a liquid crystal monitor
of a digital camera of the existing type, if necessary, and which
thus can be provided for all models of digital cameras and which
has a simple structure and is compact in sizes, as compared with
the conventional integral hood structure, and which can be manufactured
at low cost and reliably shade external incident light, and which
enables a plurality of persons to simultaneously see a clear image
displayed on the liquid crystal screen.
That is, according to the invention, the shading hood member 101
is detachably attached to the liquid crystal monitor Q through the
string members 104 stretched and wound around the camera body P
in such a manner as to cover the periphery of the liquid crystal
screen of the liquid crystal monitor Q openably disposed on the
rear surface side of the camera body P. Consequently, for example,
external strong incident light, such as sunlight, can reliably be
shut out. Moreover, a plurality of persons simultaneously can see
a sharp image displayed on the liquid crystal screen.
The shading hood member 101 comprises the shading wall portion
102, which is formed nearly like a rectangular cylinder having a
transverse section, whose contour corresponds to and matches the
contour of the rectangular liquid crystal screen of the liquid crystal
monitor Q, and also comprises the fixing means 103 formed on a side
surface of the shading wall portion 102 in such a way as to cause
the shading wall portion 102 to abut against the periphery of the
liquid crystal monitor Q and as to cause the monitor Q to hold the
shading wall portion 102 itself. Thus, as compared with the conventional
hood structure, the shading hood member 101 of the invention has
a simple structure and is manufactured in such a manner as to be
compact in size. Moreover, the low-cost shading hood member 101
can easily be provided.
The fixing means 103 is implemented by the hook claw like string
member hanging portion 131 formed on the side surface of the shading
wall portion 102 in such a way as to be latched and held by the
string members 4 stretched and wound around the camera body P or
by the surface fastener like string member pinch-pressing/holding
portion 132. Consequently, the invention provides the shading hood
member 101 that can easily be attached to and detached from the
liquid crystal monitor Q provided on the rear surface of the camera
body P, and that can easily be attached to the liquid crystal monitor
Q of a digital camera of the existing type.
The string members 104 are constituted by elastic members made
of silicone rubber. Thus, the deterioration of the string members
104 themselves due to water, heat or chemicals, which would deteriorate
conventional vulcanized rubber, and the pollution of the camera
body P itself due to transubstantiation of rubber can be prevented.
The string members 104 have the connecting means 141, each of which
is a fixedly attaching structure, such as surface fastener, a snap
fastener, a zipper slide fastener, or a hook member, in such a way
as to connect both end portions of one of the string members 104
to both end portions of the other string member 104, respectively,
by being stretched and wound around the camera body P. This facilitates
the attachment of the string members 104 to the liquid crystal monitor
Q and the detachment of the string members 4 from the monitor Q.
The shading hood member 101 is detachably attached to the liquid
crystal monitor Q disposed on the rear surface side of the camera
body P through the string members 104 attached and fixed to the
member 101 like a loop in such a way as to cover the periphery of
the liquid crystal screen of the monitor Q. Moreover, elastic members
made of silicone rubber constitute the string members 104. Thus,
the invention provides the shading hood member 101 that facilitates
the attachment of the shading wall portion 102 to the liquid crystal
monitor Q and the detachment of the portion 102 from the monitor
Q.
The shading hood member 101 has the Fresnel lens 151 enabled to
retreat in a collapsed manner. The use of the Fresnel lens 151 enables
users to see a sharp image displayed on the liquid crystal screen.
When the Fresnel lens 151 is not used, the liquid crystal screen
can be directly seen over the shading hood member 101 by retreating
the Fresnel lens itself in a collapsed manner in the shading wall
portion 102.
The shading hood member 101 is configured in such a manner as to
be able to be held in the camera body P through the strap 161. Thus,
the loss of the shading hood member 101 itself can be prevented.
Moreover, the shading hood member 101 is formed in such a way as
to be portable.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have
been described above, it should be understood that the present invention
is not limited thereto and that other modifications will be apparent
to those skilled in the art without departing from the sprint of
the invention.
The scope of the present invention, therefore, should be determined
solely by the appended claims. |