Patent ID: 7751697

Claim:
A housing for underwater imaging comprising: a first section for housing an optical instrument, said first section being an open-ended container sized to removably receive and retain said optical instrument therein and being fabricated of a rigid material suited to handle underwater pressures in a deep-sea application; a second section adapted to be secured to said first section and to house a window, said second section providing a lid for watertight closure of said first section and also being fabricated of a rigid material adapted to handle underwater pressures in a deep-sea application; a window disposed within said second sections, said window having a yield strength given by; σ = 3 ⁢ ( 3 + μ ) 8 · R 2 t 2 ⁢ P [ 1 ] where: μ is the coefficient of Puasson (for glass equal 0.2), R is the radius of glass window, t is the thickness of glass window, and P is the pressure outside of camera housing at 6000 meter underwater; and a buffer ring disposed between said window and said second section, said ring being a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion approximately equal to that of said window.