Sony patent app hints at future thin camera design

I am all for thin electronics to a point. If you go too thin some gear can be hard to grip and that can be bad news if you drop the device. A patent app has surfaced from Sony that shows a novel way to create a grip for a thin camera when the lens cap is open.

The line art with the app shows a very thin digital camera with the lens on the left edge of the screen. The lens is covered by a sliding section on the front for protection, which is a very common design today. The cool part about the Sony design is that it uses a strategically placed hinge to do something that is so simple I am surprised we haven't seen this before.

When the user slides the cover back to take pics, the hinge creates a triangular shaped grip on the right side of the camera that makes the camera easier to hold. Ingenious isn't it. I hope we see this design soon.

Via Gizmodo