IO Cover: One-handed, Built-in Lens Caps for Micro Optics

[zero7one]

Check out this project that is making headway. It is still in the development and funding phase, but looks like it has a lot of promise.

Source: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...ps-for-micro-o

IO Cover built-in lens caps - always ready. Open, close & stow with one hand. Rain or sand, see when you need it most.

Why IO Cover?

Some people don’t get to pack it up and go home when the weather turns bad. Keep your lenses clear of rain, sand or mud; so you can use your micro optic in less than perfect conditions.





As well as protecting your lenses from the elements, IO Cover also lets you add color to your micro optic without having to mess with paint.

How did we come up with IO Cover?

Stuff gets smaller. The latest optics are so compact that there’s no way to attach lens caps. IO Cover builds the lens caps into a protective optic cover. The main body of the protective cover acts as a base to attach lens caps with flexible living hinges.



The front of a micro optic has a nice lip for the front lens cap to grab onto in the closed position. The rear lens cap is a different story. There’s literally nothing on the rear of the optic that can be used to keep the lens cap closed. We tried a number of approaches including latches, steps and detents, but none of them would keep the lens cap closed.



Finally we hit on it. We extended the rear of the protective cover just enough to form a ridged lip that the lens cap can snap onto. It took 2 years and 4 revisions to get the rear lens cap to hold as tightly as the front.





One thing that came about by accident is the “stowed” position. We didn’t like how the lens caps just hung out in the breeze when open. Ironically, we noticed that the micro optic was so small that the front lens cap could reach the rear lens cap, and they kind of nested inside each other. We added the same ridge from the rear lip to the outside of the front lens cap, and they snapped together perfectly.



Everything is designed to work with one hand (left or right) using gross movements, even when wearing gloves. There’s nothing small to fiddle with. Just press the lens caps on. Swipe them open using the big tabs (revision #3). Snap them together. Twist them apart.



Why the name, “IO Cover”?

The cover looks like the letters “IO” when the lens caps are stowed. The stowed lens caps form the “I”, and the main body of the optic cover form the “O”. The logo will also reflect this, and we can't wait to see how it turns out!



How we’ll make it:

We've already put 3 years into IO Cover. It’s gone through 5 revisions, 4 of which you’ve seen here. I’ll show you the latest when it comes back from prototyping next week. After we test and approve the changes, we’ll be ready for production! Tooling will take about 5 weeks and $12,000 for a urethane part like this. It should take another 5 weeks for our first production run, packaging and shipping. Santa should be dropping IO Covers down your chimney just in time for the holidays!

[Optimus Prime]

That's really cool. If I switch to a T-1 setup I'd be down for it.