Abstract:
Disclosed is a hood-cover combination for a lens of a camera. The hood-cover combination includes a hood, two covers and at least one button. The hood includes at least one canopy formed thereon. The covers are pivotally connected to the hood between an opening position and a closing position. The button is provided on the hood. The button is normally in a locking position for locking the covers in the opening position. The button is movable to a releasing position for allowing the pivoting of the cover to the opening position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a camera and, more particularly, to a combination of two covers with a hood for a lens of a camera. 
         [0003]    2. Related Prior Art 
         [0004]    A camera includes a lens. The lens must be clean and integral so that clear photographs can be taken with the camera. 
         [0005]    To retain the cleanness and integrity of the lens, a cover can be used to cover the lens of the camera equipped. Such a cover can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,775,671 for example. However, a photograph cannot be taken without removing the cover from the lens of the camera. This often causes a photographer to miss a good shot when he or she suddenly gets a fleeting glimpse of an object. 
         [0006]    To overcome the foregoing problem, there have been devised automatic covering units for covering lenses. Such an automatic covering unit can be found in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-258600. The cover consists of two or three covers. Each of the covers is connected to a specific bent leaf spring in contact with a telescopic lens. When the telescopic lens is extended, the covers are pushed open by the telescopic lens through the bent leaf springs. When the telescopic lens is shrunk, the covers are closed by the telescopic lens through the bent leaf springs. 
         [0007]    The camera is sometimes equipped with a hood for shielding the lens. Thus, the lens will not be wetted and contaminated by rain or splash of water. Moreover, clear photographs can be taken because undesirable light is blocked from the lens. 
         [0008]    Conventionally, the cover and the hood are two different elements. The cover cannot be used to protect the lens if the hood is attached to the camera. It is troublesome to replace the hood with the lens camera, and vice versa. 
         [0009]    The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0010]    It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a camera with a hood-cover combination. 
         [0011]    To achieve the foregoing objective, the hood-cover combination includes a hood, two covers and at least one button. The hood includes at least one canopy formed thereon. The covers are pivotally connected to the hood between an opening position and a closing position. The button is provided on the hood. The button is normally in a locking position for locking the covers in the opening position. The button is movable to a releasing position for allowing the pivoting of the cover to the opening position. 
         [0012]    Other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description referring to the attached drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The present invention will be described via detailed illustration of two embodiments referring to the drawings wherein: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a hood-cover combination in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged, cross-sectional of a connector assembly used in the hood-cover combination shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged, partial, cut-away view of the hood-cover combination shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged, partial, cross-sectional view of the hood-cover combination shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged, partial, cross-sectional view of the hood-cover combination in another position than shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a lens-used frame separated from a video camera and the hood-cover combination shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the lens-used frame engaged with the hood-cover combination shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a camera, the lens-used frame and the hood-cover combination shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged, partial, cross-sectional view of a button of the hood-cover combination shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged, partial, cross-sectional view of the button of the hood-cover combination in another position than shown in  FIG. 9 ; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is an enlarged, partial, cross-sectional view of a hood-cover combination in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 10 , there is shown a hood-cover combination in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The hood-cover combination includes a hood  10 , two covers  30  and  31 , two connector assemblies  40  and two button assemblies  20 . 
         [0026]    The hood  10  is an annular element with two opposite circular edges (or “ends”). The hood  10  includes two opposite canopies  11  extending from the first circular edge thereof, two opposite cavities  12  defined in an external side thereof, and two opposite slots  13  defined in an internal side thereof. Each of the cavities  12  is in communication with a related one of the slots  13 . Each of the slots  13  is located in the vicinity of a related one of the canopies  11 . 
         [0027]    The hood  10  further includes two opposite crescent plates  14  extending on the internal side thereof and two opposite boxes  15  formed on a related one of the crescent plates  14 . The boxes  15  are formed on the internal side of the hood  10 . Each of the boxes  15  includes a space  16  defined therein, a slot  17  defined in a side thereof, a non-circular aperture  18  defined in an end thereof, and a circular aperture  19  defined in an opposite end thereof. The space  16  is in communication with the slot  17 , the non-circular aperture  18  and the circular aperture  19 . The non-circular aperture  18  is preferably a slot. It should be noted that the non-circular aperture  18  of one of the boxes  15  is defined in an upper end thereof while the non-circular aperture  18  of the other box  15  is defined in a lower end thereof. 
         [0028]    The first cover  30  includes two lugs  32  formed on an edge. One of the lugs  32  includes a circular bore  33  defined therein while the other lug  32  includes a non-circular bore  34  defined therein. The non-circular bore  34  is preferably a groove or slot. The first cover  30  includes a reduced lip formed on an opposite edge near an external side thereof. The second cover  31  is identical to the first cover  30  except including a reduced lip formed near an internal side thereof. Therefore, the lip of the first cover  30  is located over the lip of the second cover  31  when they are closed as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , each of the connector units  40  includes an axle  41 , a bushing  43 , a washer  45 , a helical spring  50  and a cap  53 . The axle  41  is formed with an enlarged head  42 . 
         [0030]    The bushing  43  includes an aperture  44  axially defined therein and an annular rib  46  formed thereon. The annular rib  46  is located near an end of the bushing  43 . 
         [0031]    The helical spring  50  extends around an axis. The helical spring  50  is formed with two ends  51  and  52 . The first end  51  of the helical spring  50  extends perpendicular to the axis around which the helical spring  50  extends. The second end  52  of the helical spring  50  extends parallel to the axis around which the helical spring  50  extends. 
         [0032]    The cap  53  includes a bore  54  axially defined in an end thereof, a flat tip  55  formed at an opposite end thereof, and a rectilinear rib  56  formed thereon. The diameter of the bore  54  is marginally smaller than the diameter of the axle  41  for a reason to be given. 
         [0033]    The enlarged head  42  of the axle  41  is located in the aperture  44  of the bushing  43 . The washer  45  and the helical spring  50  are provided around the axle  41 . The other end of the axle  41  is fit in the bore  54  of the cap  53 . The second end  52  of the helical spring  50  is located against the rectilinear rib  56  of the cap  53 . 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the assembly of the hood-cover combination except the button assemblies  20  will be described. For the briefness of the specification, only the connection of the first cover  30  to a related one of the boxes  15  via a related one of the connector assemblies  40  will be described in detail. It should however be noted that the connection of the second cover  31  to the other box  15  through the other connector assembly  40  is the same. 
         [0035]    The connector  40  is moved in the box  15  via the slot  17 . The bushing  43  is inserted in the circular bore  33  of the first cover  30  through the circular aperture  19  of the box  15 . The flat tip  55  of the cap  53  is inserted in the non-circular bore  34  of the first cover  30  through the circular aperture  18  of the box  15 . Thus, the first cover  30  is pivotally connected to the box  15  through the connector assembly  40 . The first end  51  of the helical spring  50  is located against a portion of the box  15  while the second end of the helical spring  50  is located against the rectilinear rib  56 . Thus, the helical spring  50  tends to turn the first cover  30  from the hood  10 , i.e., open the hood  10 . 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , each of the button assemblies  20  includes a seesaw-type button  21  and a bent leaf spring  23 . The button  21  includes a barb  22  formed at an end. The button  21  is pivotally connected to the hood  10  within a related one of the cavities  12  while the hook  22  thereof is inserted through a related one of the slots  13 . The button  21  can be pivoted between a locking position and a releasing position. The bent leaf spring  23  is provided between the button  21  and the hood  10 . The bent leaf spring  23  tends to pivot the button  21  to the locking position. 
         [0037]    Referring to  FIGS. 6 to 8 , the hood-cover combination further includes a ring  60  secured to the second annular edge of the hood  10  by the high frequency technology for example. A switch  61  is movably provided on the ring  60  between a locking position and a releasing position. Normally, the switch  61  is in the locking position. The ring  60  can be attached to a frame of a lens  62  of a camera. By moving the switch  61  to the releasing from the locking position, the ring  60  can be detached from the frame of the lens  62 . 
         [0038]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the helical spring  50  tends to turn the first cover  30  from the hood  10 , i.e., open the hood  10 . Thus, the camera can be used to take photographs. 
         [0039]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , the lip of the first cover  30  is located over the lip of the second cover  31  and hooked by the barbs  22  of the buttons  21  kept in the locking position by the bent leaf springs  23 . That is, the hood  10  is opened. Thus, the lens  62  of the camera is covered and hence protected by the hood-cover combination. 
         [0040]    By pivoting the buttons  21  to the releasing position from the locking position, the barbs  22  of the buttons  21  are removed from first cover  30  and hence the second cover  31 . Therefore, the helical springs  50  snap open the covers  30  and  31 . 
         [0041]    Referring to  FIG. 11 , there is shown a hood-cover combination in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is like the first embodiment except including two button assemblies  70  instead of the button assemblies  20 . Each of the button assemblies  70  includes a button  71 , a pin  75  and a helical spring  76 . The button  71  includes a barb  72  formed at an end, two lugs  74  formed thereon, and a space  73  defined between the lugs  74 . The helical spring  76  is formed with two ends  77 . The pin  75  is inserted through the helical spring  76  and driven in two portions of the hood  10  near a related one of the cavities  12 . One of the ends  77  is located against an opposite end of the button  71  and the other end  77  of the helical spring  76  is located against the hood  10  in the related cavity  12 . 
         [0042]    The present invention has been described via the detailed illustration of the embodiments. Those skilled in the art can derive variations from the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments shall not limit the scope of the present invention defined in the claims.