Abstract:
A camera having a display device with a transparent window member at the top surface of the camera body. The camera body has a cover with an outer wall rising from the cover top surface, so that a direct impact on the window member is difficult, and the cracking of window member or its dislodgment from the cover, is difficult. The cover outer wall surrounds the periphery of the window member. In one embodiment, the cover outer wall is made up of a plurality of wall portions which do not surround the entire periphery of the window member and have cutout portions so that water drops and dust can be easily removed from the window member.

Description:
This application is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 08/456,007, filed May 30, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/208,852, filed Mar. 11, 1994, now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a camera having a display device which possesses a large-sized display member such as a liquid crystal panel and, in particular, to a camera having a display device with a protector which protects the window member covering the opening of the display part from shock, rain water, dust, etc. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In recent years, cameras with information setting members, which control various settings for the camera, have been manufactured which do not use lever members or dial members such as shutter dials, but which instead use dial members of a rotary encoder format which generate pulses and conduct digital inputs. The configuration of a conventional example of this type of camera is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. For example, the setting of the status of a certain camera function is performed by rotating a dial 52 while pushing a button 50. In this camera, the setting state and the camera control state are externally displayed on a display element 53 by a liquid crystal panel. 
     With regard to a camera with this type of information setting system, since a plurality of functions can be combined on one dial member, and since there is a large degree of freedom as to the place where the dial member may be arranged, it does not take up much space. In a camera such as this, due to an increase in the contents to be displayed and in order to make the display easier to see, the display member provided on the top surface of the camera cover has come to occupy a considerably large area. The camera cover has an opening through which the display element can be seen and a transparent acrylic resin window member occupies the opening, such that it covers the display element. 
     With a camera possessing this type of system, since the operational members of the dial are few and the display device can be made thin, there is the advantage that the top surface of the camera has a form which is free of irregularities and which offers a streamlined design. On the other hand, a major drawback of such a display device is that it is susceptible to numerous external impacts. 
     That is, since the display element adopts a design which affixes a transparent acrylic resin window member to the cover which is ordinarily provided at the opening of the cover, there is the problem that the display element having a large area with a cover free of irregularities is easily susceptible to an impact with an object, such as with another camera, and the window member is easily damaged. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional camera. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a camera having a display device which can prevent damage caused by an external impact to a display element having a large area. 
     Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     The above objects are achieved by a camera having a display device provided with a display portion, facing the top surface of the camera, which displays information relating to photography, a cover which is provided with an opening corresponding to the display portion and has an outer wall of the display device, and a window member which covers the opening in such a way that it is possible to view the display portion to read the information settings. The cover outer wall is divided into a plurality of wall parts with spaces provided in between the wall parts. The wall parts are arranged near the periphery of the display portion and extend higher than the surface of the display portion to protect the display portion from an external impact. The wall parts may be integrally formed with the cover. 
     In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cover and window member are inclined relative to the camera bottom, and the wall parts are intermittently provided on at least a part of the inclined side. 
     Because the wall parts have been provided at the periphery of the display portion, it is possible to reduce the risk of damage to the window member by direct infliction of an external impact on the window member. 
     Since the wall parts intermittently surround the opening corresponding to the display portion and the window member, it is possible to prevent the collection of rain water, etc., inside the opening. 
     By having the cover and the window member inclined to one side of the camera relative to the camera bottom and by providing cutout parts in the wall part which is the lower than the other wall parts, rain water is easily discharged and dust is easily removed from the area of the display device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
     FIG. 1 is a top view which shows the configuration of a camera having a display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the camera of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is a rear view of the camera of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the camera of FIG. 1, taken along line IV--IV in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 5 is a frontal view which shows the configuration of the wall parts of a camera having a display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the camera of FIG. 5, taken along line VI--VI in FIG. 5. 
     FIG. 7 is a top view which shows the configuration of a camera having a display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a top view which shows the configuration of a camera provided with a conventional display device. 
     FIG. 9 is a frontal view of the camera of FIG. 8. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is described with reference to the drawings which were briefly described above and which are now referred to in order to provide a detailed description of the preferred embodiments. Like parts will be identified with like reference numerals. 
     FIGS. 1 through 4 show the configuration of a first embodiment of a camera having a display device according to the present invention. As shown in the drawings, a camera 1 includes a release button 4, a setting button 5, a setting button 6, and a setting dial 7 which are provided on one side of a camera cover 3 on the top face of the camera 1. The camera further includes a view finder 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a portion of the setting dial 7, located near the top of the camera, projects outward from the rear surface of the camera. 
     A transparent window member 8 is affixed to an opening 3a of the cover 3 (see FIG. 1). A display device 9 (mentioned below and shown in FIG. 4) which uses a liquid crystal display panel is arranged below the window member 8 and inside the camera, and its display of information can be observed through the window member 8. 
     The setting buttons 5 and 6 are operated simultaneously with the setting dial 7. For example, the setting button 5 is the button used for exposure correction setting, and when the setting dial 7 is turned while setting button 5 is pushed, the state of exposure correction can be changed. Since the functioning of the setting buttons 5 and 6 in conjunction with the setting dial 7 concern a known operational process and a known control process, further explanation is omitted. 
     At the periphery of the opening 3a of the cover 3, cover wall parts 3b, 3c are molded so that they rise up from the cover surface and are above the surface of the window member 8. A cutout part 3d is provided between the wall parts 3b and 3c. As shown in FIG. 2, the top surface of the cover 3, including the window member 8, is inclined to the left side of the drawing so that the top of camera end or side part 1a is lower than the top of camera end or side part 1b. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, a cover wall part 3e which projects toward the release button 4 through the space between the setting buttons 5 and 6 is formed so that it adjoins the cover wall part 3b. With regard to the side of the window member 8 near the view finder 2, since the view finder 2 also fulfills the function of a wall, no wall is specially formed here. 
     FIG. 4 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the camera of FIG. 1, taken along line IV--IV in FIG. 1. The display device 9 is arranged underneath the window member 8. As mentioned above, cover 3, window member 8, and display device 9 are inclined on a downward slope toward the left side in FIG. 2 of the drawings and away from the view finder 2. In FIG. 3, the downward slope, of course, is toward the right side thereof. 
     FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show a second embodiment of a camera having a display device according to the present invention, with the wall parts corresponding to the wall parts of FIG. 1. The window member 8 and display device 9 are identical to those in the first embodiment, and have been given the same reference numerals. In this second embodiment, the part generally corresponding to cover wall part 3c shown in FIG. 4 has been divided into three parts by the cutout parts 3f and 3g. 
     FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of a camera having a display device according to the present invention with the wall parts corresponding to those for the camera in FIG. 1. The window member 8 and display device 9 are identical to those in the first embodiment, and have been given the same reference numerals. In this third embodiment, cover wall part 3e shown in FIG. 4 has not been provided, but instead, concave wall parts 3i and 3j half surround the setting buttons 5 and 6 and have been provided in wall part 3h which generally corresponds to wall part 3b of the camera of FIG. 1. 
     According to each of the above embodiments, since the wall parts 3b (or 3h) and 3c have been provided at the periphery of the window member 8, even in the case of a collision with a foreign object, such as another camera, etc., the danger of a direct impact on the window member 8 and of damage to it is reduced. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, even if cutout parts 3f and 3g are provided, if the form is substantially identical to the form shown by the dotted line with regard to the point of blocking the impact, it is possible to provide the cutout parts 3f and 3g without reducing the protection for the window member. In particular, by providing the cutout parts 3f and 3g in wall part 3c which is near the camera rear side, it becomes easy to see the information when viewing the display from the rear side. 
     Moreover, as a result of providing the cutout parts 3f and 3g, because foreign materials, such as rain water, can be removed as soon as they collect, there is no impediment to viewing the display. In addition, since the cutout part 3d has been provided on the lower side of the inclined display portion (window member 8 on top surface of the camera), water drainage becomes easier. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, since the cover wall part 3b is arranged in proximity to the setting buttons 5 and 6, there is the effect that it becomes difficult to inadvertently push setting button 5 or 6. Because the cover wall part 3e extends through the space between the setting buttons 5 and 6, it is easy to distinguish between the two buttons in the case where a user manipulates setting button 5 or 6 by groping with the hand while peering through the view finder, and this prevents an improper setting being made. In FIG. 7, there is no wall part 3e, but since a part of wall part 3h half encircles the periphery of the setting buttons 5 and 6, there is the same effect that it is easy to distinguish between the two buttons, and thus prevent a wrong operation. 
     In the above embodiments, the wall parts 3b and 3c of FIGS. 1-6 (or wall parts 3h and 3c of FIG. 7) are integrally molded with the cover 3 and rise up from it. Of course, the embodiments can be modified to have a design where the wall parts of the cover are formed by a separate member. 
     As explained above, since the camera cover wall parts are provided in the vicinity of the periphery of the display window member, even in the case of a collision with another object, for example, another camera, there is no direct impact to the window member and, as a result, the risk of damage to the window member is reduced. 
     Moreover, since the camera cover wall parts intermittently surround the periphery of the camera display portion (i.e., the window member 8 and the like), the collection of rain water, dust, etc., due to the wall parts can be prevented. 
     Furthermore, because the camera display portion is inclined, part of the wall part of the inclined side (lower side) is cut out, allowing water and dust to be more easily removed. 
     Although a few preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.