Abstract:
A mounting device typically used for mounting line-of-site equipment, the mounting device including leg members that can fold into a trough like body of the mounting device, and further including a strap spool connected to an end portion of the mounting device. A strap on the strap spool can be unspooled and used to attach the mounting device to a surface.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/748,708, filed Jan. 3, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The present disclosure relates to mounting devices for use with equipment having line-of-sight requirements or other positioning requirements, such as, for example, optical and lighting equipment, and more particularly, for use with cameras, spotting scopes, camcorders, binoculars, or the like. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Mounting devices for cameras and other optical equipment (e.g., cameras, spotting scopes, camcorders, binoculars, lighting, or the like) allow the optical equipment to be adjusted and secured to various positions in order to hold the optical equipment steady for clear, line-of-sight photos, accurate measurements, or lighting. The support structures for the mounting devices take various forms, including, for example, tripod structures. Some commercially available tripods are small and highly portable. Small tripod structures can be particularly useful for lightweight mobility, and are sometimes supplied with additional mounting accessories, such as straps, to provide the mounting device with capabilities to be secured to irregular or narrow surfaces. However, the straps can be cumbersome when not in use, in part, because they large compared to the overall size of the small portable tripods and can thus be obstructive when not in use, or can be lost if removed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a mounting device of the present disclosure with a camera attached thereto and an adjustable tripod support structure. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a back side perspective view of the mounting device of  FIG. 1 , with legs of the tripod being folded inward within a trough of the mounting device. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a front side perspective view of the mounting device of  FIG. 1 , with the legs of the tripod being folded inward within the trough of the mounting device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a bottom side elevation view of the mounting device of  FIG. 1 , showing a close up view of a strap spool of the mounting device. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is perspective view of the mounting device of  FIG. 1 , showing the strap of the strap spool of the mounting device being at least partially unspooled and passed through a slot on the body portion of the mounting device, and used to wrap about an object or surface to secure the mounting device to the object or surface. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]    In the present description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure. However, upon reviewing this disclosure one skilled in the art will understand that the various embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without many of these details. In other instances, some well-known structures and materials associated with mounting devices and optical equipment have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptions of the embodiments of the disclosure. 
         [0012]    In the present description, to the extent the terms “about” and “approximately” are used, they mean ±20% of the indicated range, value, or structure, unless otherwise indicated. In the present description, the terms “a” and “an” as used herein refer to “one or more” of the enumerated components. The use of the alternative (e.g., “or”) should be understood to mean either one, both, or any combination thereof of the alternatives. As used herein, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used synonymously, and those terms, and variants thereof, are intended to be construed as non-limiting. 
         [0013]    Various embodiments in this disclosure are described in the context of use with cameras and tripods. However, as will be understood by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure, a variety of other optical equipment may be suitable for use with the disclosed mounting devices, and various other base mount structures, such as, for example, clamps, instead of tripods, may be substituted for the tripod structure in some circumstances, and may also contain the strap spool as described herein. 
         [0014]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , in some embodiments, a camera  7  can be connected to mounting device  2 , via a joint  12  of the mounting device  2 , which is, in turn, attached to a base, such as a tripod  6 . The joint  12  can include a threaded member for use in attaching the joint directly to the camera  7 , or to a connection adaptor, which in turn, can be connected to the camera or other optical equipment. The camera  7  can be positioned at various angles by positioning the tripod  6  and manipulating the joint  12 , with the joint  12  being rotatable and pivotable in various planes to accommodate a plurality of angles and positions for the camera  7  to adjust its line of sight, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art upon reviewing this disclosure. In some embodiments, a tightening knob  14  is provided for securing the joint  12  in a selected position. 
         [0015]    In some embodiments, the tripod structure  6  of the mounting device  2 , to which the joint  12  is attached near a top of the tripod structure  6 , can include a body portion  8 , and a pair of adjustable legs  10 . The body portion  8  may be formed as a trough-like structure with a longitudinal base wall  30 , and a pair of sidewalls, or outer, walls  16 , as best seen in  FIGS. 2 &amp; 3 . The outer walls  16  can be angled laterally outward, away from a longitudinal axis of the base wall  30 , as they extend from the base wall  30  toward the back side of the body portion  8 . 
         [0016]    The adjustable legs  10  can each be pivotably attached to one of the respective outer walls  16  of the body portion  8 , such as by respective rivets  18  (e.g., one rivet for each one of the pair of adjustable legs  10 , but only one rivet is shown in  FIGS. 2 &amp; 3 ). In particular, a top end portion of each adjustable leg  10  can be pivotably attached to an inner surface of a respective outer wall  16 , near a top portion of the body portion  8  (e.g., near the joint  12 ). From an expanded position, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the legs  10  can be pivoted inward, in directions generally illustrated by arrows “A,” toward the back side of the body portion, to rest within a trough  32  of the body portion  8 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 &amp; 3 , along a length of the body portion  8 , in a folded position, against inner surfaces of the outer walls  16 , with longitudinal axes of the legs  10  being substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the body portion  8 . 
         [0017]    In addition, when the legs  10  are moved out of the folded position, by manually pivoting them outward about the rivets  18 , in opposite directions to those generally illustrated by arrows “A,” such as shown in  FIG. 1 , the pair of legs  10  can be angled laterally outward away from the body portion  8 , to be used as a tripod  6 , with a bottom of the body portion  8  and a bottom of each of the pair of legs  10  providing a point of contact for a surface. 
         [0018]    In some embodiments, the walls  16  of the trough like body portion  8  are flared laterally outward as they extend away from the base wall  30 , to form the orientation of the tripod when the legs  10  are expanded. That is, for example, since the legs  10  are aligned and attached to the surface of the flared walls  16 , when they are unfolded/expanded, they can each assume an angle directed away from each other so that the end portions of the legs  10  are spread apart, such that the bottom portion  10 ′ of the legs  10  are further apart from each other than they are at the points at which they join the body portion  8 , as best seen in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0019]    In some embodiments, the body portion  8  can be shaped for manual gripping, such as when the legs  10  are folded into the trough  32  of the body portion  8 , out of the way, and a user desires to grip the body portion  8  to position a camera connected to the mounting device, without resting the mounting device against another surface (other than within the user&#39;s hand in a grip). For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the longitudinal base wall  30  can be shaped near a top portion thereof with an outwardly forwardly curved rise  28 , followed by in inwardly curved dip  34  (upward of the rise  28 ), upon which can be disposed grip ribs  34 ′, which can be elastomeric for comfort and conformity to a user&#39;s fingers or hand. 
         [0020]    Also, as best seen in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 , a bottom portion of the body portion  8  can include an open chamber  22  for housing a strap spool  4 . The body portion  8  can have a bottom outward curvature  26 , curving outwardly forwardly at the open chamber  22 . Thus, a user can manually grip the body portion  8  with the user&#39;s fingers wrapped about the longitudinal base wall  30 , with the trough  32  facing a base of the palm of the user&#39;s hand, and can place an index finger wrapped about the inwardly curved dip  34  touching the grip ribs  34 ′, to comfortably grip the mounting device  2 , when in use with a camera mounted thereto. In such case, the mounting device  2  can serve as a handle, as will be appreciate by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure. The bottom curvature  26  can be disposed just below the users little finger to prevent slipping upward into the palm, and an index finger of the user can be placed on the grip ribs  34 ′ at the front of the body portion  8 , in the dip  34 , to help prevent the body portion  8  from slipping from the user&#39;s grip. The overall contour of the body portion  8  generally provides a comfortable form fit to a hand for gripping, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure. 
         [0021]    In some embodiments, the strap spool  4  can be removably attached in the open chamber  22  via a shaft  24 , as best seen in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4 . The strap spool  4  can comprise a flexible hook and loop strap  5  wrapped about the shaft  24 , and the shaft  24  can be inserted within the chamber  22  by placing end portions of the shaft  24  within indented tracks  36  formed on an interior surface of the chamber  22 . The chamber  22 , and a front facing wall of the chamber  22 , can be wider than the base wall  30  at any location above the chamber  22 , in order to accommodate a width of the strap spool  4  or length of the shaft  24 . The tracks  36  can be angled upward and extend backward from an opening of the chamber  22 , into the chamber  22 , and the end portions of the shaft  24  can be pressed into the indented tracks  36  so that ends of the shaft  24  abut against surface walls within the tracks  36 , snugly enough to produce sufficient friction between the shaft  24  and tracks  36  to hold the shaft  24  unless it is manually pulled away, but loose enough to allow the shaft  24  to be pressed into the track  36  until the strap spool  4  snugly rests at least partially within the open chamber  22 . The strap spool  4  can be selectively removed by pulling it out of the chamber  22  in the direction generally illustrated by arrows “B” in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4  for use. Alternatively, the strap spool  4  can remain attached within the chamber  22  when in use, as described further below. 
         [0022]    For example, the strap spool  4  can be rotatable about an axis of the shaft  24 , without detaching the shaft  24  from the open chamber  22 , by rotating the shaft  24  (or in some embodiments, if the strap is not fixedly attached to the shaft itself, the shaft  24  can be stationary, and the strap  5  can simply be wrapped or unwrapped about the shaft). 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 &amp; 5 , in some embodiments, when a user desires to employ the strap  5 , the user can unspool a portion of the strap  5  while the shaft remains attached within the chamber  22 , then thread the strap  5  from within the trough  32 , out through a slot  20  formed on the body portion  8  of the mounting device  2  (the slot  20  is best seen in is  FIGS. 1 &amp; 3 ). In some embodiments, the slot  20  can be disposed at about a longitudinally middle section of the body portion  8 . The user can then continue to pull the strap through the slot  20  while, or before, wrapping the strap about a surface  40 , such as shown in  FIG. 5 . In some embodiments, the user can remove the strap spool  4  from the chamber  22 , and place the strap spool  4  within the trough  32  proximate the slot  20 , before, after or while, threading the strap  5  through the slot  20 . This can provide more available strap  5  length, and an inner end of the strap  5  can be prevented from being pulled through the slot  5  by being fixedly attached to the shaft  24 , the shaft length being greater than the slot length, and/or the shaft width being greater than the slot width. Also, in other embodiments, a user may use the strap  5  without threading it through the slot  20  at all, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure. 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, the strap can be formed of hook-and-loop self-fastening material (e.g., VELCRO™), so that the one side, or face, of the strap  5  comprises wire-like miniature hooks, and the other side, or face, comprises flexible miniature loops. This can allow the user to secure the strap  5  against itself, face to face, after wrapping the strap about a surface, to secure the entire mounting device  2  (including a camera or other line-of-sight device) to the surface. 
         [0025]    Thus, a user can either use the tripod structure to rest the mounting device  2  during use, or to secure the mounting device  2  (e.g., with connected camera) to a surface using the strap  5 . In some embodiments, with the legs  10  folded inward, the mounting device can be secured to a surface using the strap  5 , such as, for example, a branch of tree, wherein a user is using the mounting device  2  to hold a camera  7  in taking timed photographs. Also, the surface to which the mounting device  2  can be secured by the strap  5  can be a moving surface, such as, for example, the frame of a bike, wherein the user is capturing videos while the bike is moving. 
         [0026]    In other embodiments, the tripod structure can be used simultaneously with the strap  5 , such as by, for example, straddling the tripod legs and body portion about a thin object/surface, then connecting the body portion  8  to the surface or another surface using the strap  5 , or even resting the legs and body of the tripod structure on a surface, and using the strap  5  to secure the mounting device  2  to another surface. Also, the mounting device  2  can be used as a handle as described previously, where the user can grip it in the palm of the user&#39;s hand to position line of sight equipment. 
         [0027]    When it is desired to detach the strap from a surface, a user can manually detach the hook-and-loop connected portions, then spin or rotate the strap spool  4  to retract the strap  5  about the shaft  24 . In the case the strap spool  4  has been removed from the open chamber  22 , it can be conveniently re-attached to the chamber  22  by placing the shaft within the tracks  36 , as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art after reviewing this disclosure. 
         [0028]    Although specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described supra for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, as will be recognized by those skilled in the relevant art after reviewing the present disclosure. The various embodiments described can be combined to provide further embodiments. The described structures and methods can omit some elements or acts, can add other elements or acts, or can combine the elements or execute the acts in a different order than that illustrated, to achieve various advantages of the disclosure. These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of the above detailed description. 
         [0029]    In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is determined entirely by the following claims.