Abstract:
An accessory for use on a camera crane has a first plate attachable to an end of the camera crane arm. A second plate is pivotally attached to the first plate and moveable into a first position and into a second position perpendicular to the first position. First and second latches secure the second plate into the first and second positions, respectively. The accessory allows a camera head on a camera crane arm to be quickly and easily reoriented.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/477,117, filed Apr. 19, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Camera cranes are often used in motion picture and television production. The motion picture or television camera is typically mounted on a camera head on a telescoping crane arm supported on a mobile base, dolly, or truck. The camera head may be remotely controlled to aim the camera lens at the desired subject. The camera head typically is “under slung” with the top end of the head attached to the outer end of the crane arm. A pivoting attachment may be used, to allow the camera head to self-align via gravity with a pendulum-like movement. 
     Camera heads tend to be relatively bulky, in comparison to the camera itself. This results because the camera head must be structurally rigid, to provide fast and precise camera movements. The camera head must also be large enough to accommodate a range of camera sizes. For certain film sequences that require the camera to move through a narrow space, such as through a window or doorway, it is often necessary to re-orient the camera head. Depending on the type of camera head and crane used, this can be a relatively time consuming process. In view of high production costs, time saving equipment is advantageous. Although existing camera head designs may be re-oriented in varying amounts of time and difficulty, engineering challenges remain in providing equipment allowing for quick and easy reorientation of a camera head. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect, an accessory for use on a camera crane has a first plate attachable to an end of the camera crane arm. A second plate is pivotally attached to the first plate and moveable into a first position and into a second position perpendicular to the first position. First and second latches secure the second plate into the first and second positions, respectively. 
    
    
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the same element in each of the views: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a prior art telescoping crane, mounted on a mobile base or vehicle, with the crane in the retracted position. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the crane shown in  FIG. 1 , with the arm now fully extended. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged side view, in part section, of the nose bracket of the crane arm shown in  FIG. 2 , but with a prior art nose plate attached to the crane arm, instead of the riser shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of the nose bracket and the prior art nose plate shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a side section view of a new accessory for use with a camera crane. 
         FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  8  are side, top and end views of the accessory shown in an up position. 
         FIG. 9  shows side and end views of the latch bolts shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
         FIGS. 10 ,  11  and  12  are side, top and end views of the accessory shown in a down position. 
         FIG. 13  is an end view of the hinge plate shown in  FIGS. 5-7 . 
         FIG. 14  is a side view of the hinge plate. 
         FIG. 15  is a front view of the back plate shown in  FIGS. 5-7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Turning now in detail to the drawings, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a telescoping crane  30  is mounted onto a mobile base  32 . The mobile base  32  may be a truck or road vehicle or a motorized special purpose camera crane base or dolly. Typically, the mobile base  32  will have wheels  34  which drive and steer the mobile base. Four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering may be provided. For smaller scale cranes  30 , e.g., up to about 15 feet, the mobile base  32  may be un-motorized, and may be moved or pushed by hand. For larger versions of the telescoping crane  30 , or when required due to ground conditions or other use requirements, the mobile base  32  can have electric motors, or internal combustion engines, for driving the wheels  34 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the crane  30  has a telescoping crane arm  35  pivotally mounted on an axle  70  on a U-shaped center post  46  which is retractably mounted on the column  36  supported on the mobile base  32 . The crane arm can therefore pivot in elevation and rotate in azimuth or panning direction. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-4  a nose bracket  65  is attached to split nose axles  96  pivotally attached at the front end of the front or inner section of the telescoping crane arm  35 . A riser, drop-down plate or extension  60  can be attached to the nose bracket  65 . A camera head  62 , such as a remote control or gyro-stabilized camera head is attached to the extension  60 . A camera  64  is supported on the camera head  62 . The extension  60  supporting the camera head  62  can be rotated to different angular positions about the roll axis by loosening a nut  78  on a nose stud  80  extending forwardly out of the nose bracket  65 , and by pulling out a quick release pin  82 . The extension  60  can then be quickly indexed about the roll axis in increments of e.g., 30 degrees. The roll axis is the axis passing through the centerline of the nose stud  80 . However, with the nose bracket  65  and extension  60 , there is no way to quickly change the orientation of the head in the pitch or elevation axis. The pitch axis is an axis parallel to the centerline of the split nose axles  96 . The camera crane shown in  FIGS. 1-4  is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 7,854,555, incorporated herein by reference. 
     To overcome this issue, an apparatus or crane nose accessory  100  that allows a camera head to be quickly re-positioned between first and second positions relative to a pitch axis. The apparatus  100  in a basic form supports the camera head  62  on the end of the crane arm, via a hinge connection that allows the camera head  62  to pivot about a pitch axis. The hinge connection may be provided in various alternative ways. The apparatus  100  is may be used in place of the prior art riser  60  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or in place of the prior art nose plate  72  shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5-8 , one example of the present apparatus  100  may include a back plate  102 , a hinge plate  104  and a head plate  106 . In this design, the back plate  102  and the hinge plate  104  are bolted together via bolts  118 . Each plate  102  and  104  has a through mounting bore  110 . The nose stud  80  passes through the bores  110  and the plates  102  and  104  are bolted onto the nose stud  80  via the nut  78 . A needle bearing  76  or other friction reducing device may be positioned between the nut  78  and the hinge plate  104 . The back plate  102  is typically clamped against a front end surface of the nose bracket  65 . A spring biased quick release pin  116  extends through both plates  102  and  104  and into one of several angularly spaced apart roll axis indexing holes, similar to the pin  82  used in the design shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . The apparatus  100  may be indexed about the roll axis in the same way as described in  FIGS. 1-4 . A bushing  112  may be provided in the bore  110  to better provide smooth and quiet roll axis repositioning movement. 
     The head plate  106  is pivotally attached to the hinge plate  104  so that it can be fixed into a up or horizontal position, as shown in  FIGS. 5 -8 , or into a down or vertical position as shown in  FIGS. 10-12 . This may be achieved via a hinge pin  132  extending through holes in a hinge arm  132  on the hinge plate  104 , and through the back end of the head plate  106 . The hinge pin  132  may be secured via nuts  134  on each end. 
     The head plate  106  typically has a head mounting fitting  136 , such as a standard Mitchell mount at the front end. As shown in  FIG. 5 , this fitting typically has a shoulder  152 , a through hole  154  and an annular land area for a top nut. The camera head  62  generally has a large mounting stud which passed though a hole in the mounting fitting  136  and which is secured via a nut. The mounting stud may be hollow to allow cables to pass through. As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 , a quarter-turn recess  138  is provided in the head plate  106 , in front and behind the hinge pin  132 . A corresponding quarter-turn bolt  124  is threaded into the hinge plate  104 , with one bolt  124  oriented vertically and one bolt  24  oriented horizontally in  FIG. 6 . As shown in  FIGS. 9-10 , the bolt  124  has a rectangular head  126  and a hex socket  128 .  FIGS. 13-14  show the hinge plate  104  alone and  FIG. 15  shows the back plate  102  alone. 
     In  FIG. 5 , the head  126  of the bolt  124  is engaged with the recess  138 . The head plate  106  accordingly is secured into the up position shown in  FIG. 5 . To reposition the head plate  106 , the vertical bolt  124  in  FIG. 5  is turned counter clockwise until the head  126  of the bolt  124  aligns with a clearance slot  148  in the recess  138 . This may be performed using a hex tool inserted into the hex fitting  128  in the head  126  of the bolt  124 . With the head  126  aligned with the slot  148 , the head plate  106  is freed and pivot about the hinge pin  132 , from the position shown in  FIGS. 5-8 , to the down or vertical position shown in  FIGS. 10-12 . After the head plate  106  is pivoted into the down or vertical position, the head plate  106  is again secured in place via the horizontal bolt  124 , as described above. The quarter turn recess  138  may have a ramp or sloped land area which the bottom of the head  126  bears on, to provide a clamping or cam-like action. As shown in  FIGS. 6-8 , slots  144  or other openings may be provided in the plates  102 ,  104 , and/or  106  to reduce weight. A cutout  142  on the bottom of the head plate  106  provides clearance around the bolt  124  when the head plate  106  is in the down position. Bubble levels  140  may be provided in the head plate  106  to assist in leveling. 
     With the apparatus  100  in the up position as shown in  FIGS. 5-7 , the camera head  62  is positioned in the conventional position, supported from above, similar to the configuration shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . With the apparatus  100  in the down position as shown in  FIGS. 10-12 , the head  62  is rotated 90 degrees. In this position, the head  62  is moved more generally into alignment with the telescoping extension axis of the crane arm, as opposed to being more generally perpendicular to the extension axis of the crane arm, as in  FIGS. 1-3 . Consequently, with the apparatus  100  in the down position, the head  62  can more readily fit through confined openings. For example, if a filming sequence requires that the camera move through a doorway or a window, repositioning the camera head  62  using the apparatus  100  may allow the sequence to be quickly achieved. 
     Many camera heads  62  are electronically stabilized, such as the camera head described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,441, incorporated herein by reference. These types of camera heads generally stabilize the camera platform via motors acting in three perpendicular directions, i.e. in the pan, tilt and roll axes. However, if the camera head is re-oriented in a way that causes any two of these axes to coincide with each other, then stabilization is reduced to two axes instead of three axes. The apparatus  100  can be used to avoid this condition and to retain three axis stabilization, depending on the camera orientation used, by realigning the head. 
     Although elements  102 ,  104  and  106  are described as plates, they are not necessarily flat conventional plates, but rather have varying dimensions and features, as shown in the drawings. 
     Thus, a novel apparatus for a camera crane has been shown and described. Various modifications may of course be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited except by the following claims and their equivalents.