Claims
- 1. An underwater camera comprising:a frame assembly having a frame and front and rear covers mounted on said frame, said frame having a viewfinder tunnel; a pressure housing having an internal cavity holding said frame assembly, said pressure housing having opposed first and second viewports, said viewports each bearing directly on said viewfinder tunnel, said viewports being disposed in non-load-bearing relation to said covers.
- 2. The camera of claim 1 wherein said front and rear covers have front and rear viewport openings, respectively, aligned with said viewfinder tunnel.
- 3. The camera of claim 1 wherein one of said viewports extends through the respective said viewport opening.
- 4. The camera of claim 1 wherein said frame extends through one of said viewport openings.
- 5. The camera of claim 1 wherein said frame extends through one of said viewport openings and one of said viewports extends through another of viewport openings.
- 6. The camera of claim 1 wherein said covers are spaced from said viewports.
- 7. The camera of claim 1 further comprising a lens element disposed in said viewfinder tunnel in alignment with said viewports, said lens element being free of said covers and said housing.
- 8. The camera of claim 7 wherein said lens element is a section of a one-piece keeperplate joined to said frame.
- 9. The camera of claim 7 wherein said first viewport has no optical power and said second viewport has an optical power.
- 10. The camera of claim 7 wherein said lens element adjoins said first viewport.
- 11. The camera of claim 7 wherein said pressure housing has separable front and rear housing parts, said front housing part having said first viewport, said second housing part having said second viewport.
- 12. The camera of claim 11 wherein said rear cover has an openable film door.
- 13. The camera of claim 1 wherein said frame defines a film space and said rear cover is light-tightly joined to said frame.
- 14. An underwater camera comprising:a housing having an internal cavity sealed against a preselected maximum external pressure, said housing having opposed first and second viewports, said second viewport having an optical power; a lens element disposed between said viewports, said lens element adjoining said first viewport and being in optical alignment with said second viewport; and a frame supporting said lens element, said frame, at said maximum external pressure, directly buttressing said housing against compression of said first viewport toward said lens element.
- 15. The camera of claim 14 wherein said first viewport has no optical power.
- 16. The camera of claim 14 wherein said lens element is a section of a one-piece keeperplate joined to said frame.
- 17. The camera of claim 14 further comprising front and rear covers mounted on said frame, said covers each having a viewport opening, and wherein said viewports each have a structural rim, said structural rims being spaced from respective said covers, said structural rims bearing on said frame.
- 18. The camera of claim 14 further comprising front and rear covers mounted on said frame, said covers each having a viewport opening, and wherein said frame extends into at least one of said viewport openings.
- 19. The camera of claim 14 further comprising front and rear covers mounted on said frame, said covers each having a viewport opening, and wherein at least one of said viewports extends into at least one of said viewport openings.
- 20. An underwater photography method comprising the steps of:directly buttressing an opposed pair of viewports of a pressure housing against compression, with a frame of a camera frame assembly, said camera frame assembly having front and rear covers disposed over said frame; supporting said housing against compression with said covers, and said covers with said frame, said supporting being in spaced relation to said viewports.
- 21. The method of claim 20 further comprising maintaining said covers in spaced relation to said viewports.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 10/037,159, entitled: UNDERWATER ONE-TIME-USE CAMERA HAVING CAMERA FRAME ASSEMBLY RETAINED IN FRONT HOUSING PART AT UNLOADING, filed Dec. 21, 2001 in the names of Wayne E. Stiehler and Stephen J. Smith; Ser. No. 10/036,723, entitled: TWO-SHOT MOLDED SEAL INTEGRITY INDICATOR, UNDERWATER CAMERA, AND METHOD, filed Dec. 21, 2001 in the names of Stephen J. Smith, Craig A. Baker, and Wayne E. Stiehler; Ser. No. 10/027,291, entitled: DEPRESSURIZED UNDERWATER ONE-TIME USE CAMERA WITH SEAL INTEGRITY INDICATOR AND METHOD, filed Dec. 21, 2001 in the names of Stephen J. Smith, Craig A. Baker, and Wayne E. Stiehler; Ser. No. 10/027,287, entitled: CAMERA AND UNDERWATER HOUSING HAVING TWO-SHOT MOLDED KNOB SEAT, filed Dec. 21, 2001 in the names of Stephen J. Smith, Craig A. Baker, and Wayne E. Stiehler, Ser. No. 10/027,379, entitled: UNDERWATER CAMERA HOUSING HAVING SEALED PIVOTABLE SHUTTER ACTUATOR AND METHOD, filed Dec. 21, 2001 in the names of Stephen J. Smith, Wayne E. Stiehler, and Craig A. Baker; Ser. No. 10/027,294, entitled: DUAL ACTION SHUTTER RELEASE WITH THUMBWHEEL BRAKE AND METHODS, filed Dec. 21, 2001 in the names of Wayne E. Stiehler, Stephen J. Smith, and Craig A. Baker Ser. No. 29/153,013, entitled: UNDERWATER HOUSING ASSEMBLY, filed Dec. 21, 2001 in the names of Stephen J. Smith, Wayne E. Stiehler, Edwin J. Khang, and Jeffrey S. Eng.
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