the carrying case of the present invention is generally designated 10 in the drawings where it is shown in its preferred embodiment as providing a novel construction for housing and carrying of a camera of the general type disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 810 , 211 which includes a plurality of housing sections 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 pivotally coupled to one another for relative movement between a compact folded or collapsed inoperative position , as shown in fig2 and 3 , and an extended or erected operative position , as shown in fig1 wherein sections 12 and 16 define an acute angle therebetween . extending forwardly of housing section 12 is a spread roller housing 20 . housing 20 is pivotally coupled to an inner frame of the camera at hinge 22 for pivotal movement in a counterclockwise manner to a position wherein a film cassette may be inserted into a cassette receiving chamber located within housing section 12 , as is well known in the art . the case 10 may be made of various materials customarily used in the art of camera carrying cases , such as natural leather , artificial leather , and even plastic material , all of which are particularly well suited to carry out the intended function of the case . case 10 , preferably formed of leather , comprises a top portion 22 which is integrally hinged at 24 to a bottom portion 26 at the right hand side of the case , as viewed in the drawings . both top and bottom portions 22 and 26 of the case are provided with relatively rigid side walls 28 and 30 which are secured by stitching , or the like , to the flexible leather portions of the top and bottom portions , with the edges of side walls 28 of the top portion adapted to abut the edges of side walls 30 of the bottom portion 26 when the case is closed , as seen in fig2 . additionally , the bottom portion 26 of the case is provided with upstanding end walls 32 at the front end of the case and 34 at the rear of the case , which are rigidly supported in position by upstanding rigid portions 36 and 38 of the side walls on each side of the case , said rigid portions 36 and 38 extending upwardly about twice the height of the side walls 30 of the bottom portion to thereby abut the ends of side walls 28 and provide end walls that completely close off both ends of the case when the top portion 22 is in the position shown in fig2 . at the front end of the case , a flexible cover flap 40 is provided which forms an integral extension of the upper portion of the end wall 32 and is adapted to cover a major portion of the top portion 22 of the case and be securely held in place by suitable means , such as snap fastener elements 42 and 44 carried by the flap and top portion , respectively . an adjustable neck strap 46 is secured to the rear end of the case with each end of the strap being secured to a ring 48 securely held by a strap loop 50 riveted or otherwise fastened to the side wall portions 38 . in the preferred form of the invention as shown , the flap 40 , the end walls 32 and 34 and the top and bottom wall portions 22 and 26 are formed of a flexible leather and preferably this may be a single , integral piece of flexible leather . this is important since as will be explained hereinafter , wherever the rigid side wall support for the top or bottom portions is omitted or cut - away , on both sides of the case , a flexible integral hinge connection is formed and these hinges become very important in the specific functioning of the carrying case . both the top and bottom portions 22 and 26 have cut - out sections in their respective rigid side walls 28 and 30 on each side of the case to divide each portion into hinged sections . for example , the side walls 28 of top portion 22 are cut - away at 52 to form a hinged connection at 54 between forward and rear sections 56 and 58 of the top portion 22 so that the sections 56 and 58 may move from the common plane which they occupy in the folded position to the position shown in fig1 to accommodate housing sections 14 and 16 of the erected camera . the side walls 30 of the bottom portion 26 are cut - away at 60 to divide this portion into forward and rear sections 62 and 64 connected by an integral flexible hinge 66 . this will permit the section 62 of the bottom portion 26 carrying end wall 32 and cover flap 40 to swing downwardly about the hinge 66 to open up the front end of the case for the removal and insertion of film cassettes into housing section 12 . additionally , forward each of the side walls 30 at the end of section 64 in the vicinity of the cut - out 60 are provided with upstanding ears or flanges 68 to which the pivotally mounted one end of links 70 , the other end of said links being pivotally mounted on the side walls 28 of top section 56 near the forward end thereof . by virtue of the particular construction and arrangement of elements , the parts of the carrying case may be completely collapsed to the position shown in fig2 with the sectional top and bottom case portions 22 and 26 completely encasing the collapsed camera and with the links 70 so positioned as to permit this movement with the links 70 nearly parallel to the case body . in effect the case comprises a four section enclosure for the camera embodying the two upper sections 56 and 58 and the two lower sections 62 and 64 . additionally , the case defines a four bar linkage consisting of the side walls 28 of sections 56 and 58 , the side walls 30 of section 64 and the links 70 . this four bar linkage prevents the camera from falling out of the case when the sections of the case are in the positions shown in fig1 and the camera is hanging from the user &# 39 ; s neck . the top portion 22 is also provided with a relatively large cut - out portion 72 extending from the forward portion of section 56 , which lies close to the end wall 32 when the case is closed , across the hinge 54 and well into section 58 . this cut - out portion is generally rectangular in configuration and of sufficient size and dimensions to accommodate an extension of housing section 16 , namely , the outer cover or cap 74 of the wiewfinder of the self - developing camera , which cap protrudes through the opening . cut - out portion 72 is preferably provided with a pair of outwardly extending recesses 76 and 78 which facilitate the grasping of cap 74 at portions 82 prior to erecting the camera and case 10 . the camera in folded and collapsed form is readily inserted through the front end of the case . the flap 40 is then pulled over the top and fastened in position . the flap is of sufficient length and width to fully cover and protect the viewfinder cap 74 . the case and camera may then be carried by the neck strap in an inoperative and collapsed condition . when the camera is to be used and while the case and camera are still supported by the neck strap , the flap 40 is unfastened and allowed to hang down from the front end of the case . the front end wall 32 at this point will still snugly fit the camera and together with a section 80 of portion 56 which engages the left end of the cap 74 will prevent the camera from sliding forward and falling out of the case . the cap 74 of the viewfinder which protrudes through the rectangular opening 72 is then grasped at each side at 82 and pulled upwardly and to the rear while the camera and case is firmly held with the other hand . this movement of the viewfinder will erect the camera to its operative position and the upper portions 56 and 58 of the case will follow the camera &# 39 ; s movement until the parts reach the position shown in fig1 . in this opened position , the camera is securely held by the parts of the case and the same may still be safely hung from the neck . when the camera is erected and the parts of the case moved to the position of fig1 the front end section 62 of the bottom portion of the case will be allowed to pivot downwardly about the hinge 66 which will permit the user to have access to the spread roller housing 20 which is pivotally connected to the front end of the camera about hinge 22 . the integral hinge 66 between the bottom sections 62 and 64 is located at a point approximately 1 / 4 inch to the right of the hinge 22 of the roller housing 20 , so as to permit the roller housing 20 to be pivoted downwardly through approximately a 90 ° angle in a counterclockwise direction , as viewed in fig1 to enable a film cassette to be inserted into or removed from the main housing section 12 of the camera . if the hinge 66 is too close to the pivot point 22 , or forward of it , the user will not be able to pivot the spread roller housing 20 properly to remove or insert film cassettes . furthermore , if the hinge 66 is spaced too far to the right of pivot point 22 , the center of gravity of the camera may be forward or to the left of the point at which the user &# 39 ; s hand grasps bottom section 64 , thereby making it uncomfortable for the user to handle . furthermore , the hinge 54 between top sections 56 and 58 and the links 70 should be so designed and placed as to accommodate the pivoted parts of the camera body , including the erected bellows section 84 and the camera lens front included in housing section 18 . after one or more scenes have been photographed , the camera and carrying case 10 may be moved into their collapsed positions and carried by the strip 46 in a vertical orientation , as shown in fig3 . it will be noted that in this orientation closure flap 40 is not secured and lower section 62 and end wall 32 are spaced from the camera thereby leaving section 80 , which extends across the front of the viewfinder cap 74 , as the main supporting member for preventing the camera from falling out of the carrying case . should the sections of the carrying case move toward their erected positions while the camera is still in a folded condition , section 80 may move to a position wherein it is out of supporting relationship with the leading end of cap 74 in which case the camera will drop out of the carrying case . in order to preclude the foregoing , a u - shaped rigid plate - like member 90 is secured by any suitable means , e . g ., an adhesive and / or stitching , to the inner surface of section 58 . plate 90 includes a pair of legs 92 and 94 , the inwardly facing edges of which are adapted to slide under and engage the downwardly facing edges of sections 82 of cap 74 during insertion of the camera into the carrying case 10 . the engagement between plate 90 and sections 82 of cap 74 prevents relative movement between sections 56 and 58 of the carrying case when the camera stays in its folded position . stated another way , relative movement between sections 56 and 58 is possible only when housing section 16 and its viewfinder and cap 74 move toward the extended position . referring back to fig3 it can be seen that if the sections of the carrying case inadvertently moved to the extended position , plate 90 would simultaneously apply an erecting force to cap 74 thereby moving the sections of the camera toward the extended position . as the sections of the camera and the carrying case simultaneously move out of the collapsed position , section 80 will move with the leading edge of the cap 74 thereby maintaining its supporting relationship therewith . although a plate - like member 90 has been described as the preferred means for preventing premature erection of the carrying case when the camera is still in a folded condition , it should be understood that the instant invention is not limited thereto . for example , it is within the scope of the invention to provide the flanges 28 of section 58 with means , e . g ., clips that would engage the lateral downwardly flanges of housing section 14 thereby insuring simultaneous movement of sections 58 and 14 . since certain changes may be made in the above - described carrying case without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description , or shown in the accompanying drawings , shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .
a carrying case is disclosed for photographic cameras of the compact collapsible type which may be extended or erected to an operative position without removal of the camera from the case . the case is constructed to safely contain the camera and securely support the same in all positions of camera movement from a compact folded position to a fully erected position and to permit complete operation of the camera during all normal photographic procedures , including the removal and insertion of film cassettes into a film magazine receiving chamber of the camera without the necessity of removing the camera from the case . the case is formed of specially constructed top and bottom case members that are provided with hinged sections and cooperating linkage which are movable with the camera &# 39 ; s housing sections during the erection of the camera to its operative position . the top case member is provided with structure for preventing movement of the carrying case toward its operative position when the camera is still in its folded position .