Abstract:
Apparatus for positioning a video teleconferencing camera including a base member having a flat metal base portion and a vertically depending metal arm, the base portion and arm being covered with an elastomeric material, the elastomeric material being shaped to form a socket on the arm which receives a ball member extending from in camera body to form a ball-and-socket connection.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to digital image processing, and more specifically pertains to miniature digital video teleconferencing imaging systems. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Video teleconferencing cameras for personal computers are becoming very common. However, prior art designs have failed to locate the camera lens close to the user&#39;s eye level. Typically, the camera is either too high and looking above the user&#39;s forehead, or too low and looking up the user&#39;s nose. 
     It is ergonomically correct for the user to look down at the computer monitor screen, so that the user&#39;s eyeballs are approximately level with the top of the monitor screen or at a slight distance, such as one inch, below the top. However, conventional teleconferencing cameras are generally designed to be seated on the top of a computer monitor, which means that they are placed too high. For that reason, the typical conventional cameras are designed with a very low height profile in order to place the camera lens as low as possible, for example, as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     Other conventional cameras have the lens mounted at the end of an elongated, flexible shaft, which gives them the appearance of an eye on a very long neck, as shown in FIG.  2 . This structure allows manual adjustment of the lens location with a high degree of freedom, but the design may obscure the computer monitor screen. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a digital video teleconferencing camera for desktop or portable computers which has a simple and aesthetically pleasing design. Moreover, there is a need for small, low cost, digital teleconferencing cameras for consumers, which are inexpensive, suitable for mass production, durable, ergonomically comfortable, and which provide ease of handling a wide range of uses, and a variety of mounting options. 
     OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve video cameras. 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings associated with the prior art; 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a small video camera for desktop or portable computers in which the camera lens is level with the user&#39;s eyes; 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide a small video camera which will rest securely on a computer monitor and which is suitable for mass production and use in a variety of consumer imaging applications. 
     These, as well as additional objects and advantages of the present invention, are achieved by a video teleconference camera apparatus comprising a base member and a camera body. The base member has a flat base portion and a vertically depending arm with a socket formed on the arm. The camera body has a rear surface with a ball member extending therefrom, the ball member being sized to form a ball-and-socket connection with the socket located on the arm. The base portion is adapted to rest on the top surface of a computer monitor and is of sufficient weight to maintain the camera body disposed in front of the monitor. The camera body is therefore positioned more closely to user eye level, while the ball and socket mechanism permits pointing the camera in a desired direction, for example, to maintain eye-to-eye contact. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objects and features of the present invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art video camera; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a prior art video camera; 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of a miniature video teleconferencing camera in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a view of the video camera of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the video camera of FIG. 3; and 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the video camera of FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the general principles of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to provide an inexpensive, readily manufactured and easily used video camera. 
     A video teleconferencing camera according to the preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 3-6. The two major components of the preferred embodiment are a camera  11  and a base  25 . The camera  11  includes a body  13  and a lens enclosure  15 . The camera  11  is preferably a plastic molded enclosure containing conventional camera components; e.g., lens, focus ring, microphone, and all the electronics. 
     The base  25  comprises a piece of steel sheet metal 0.125″ thick over-molded with a non-slip elastomeric material  126  (such as Stantoprene). The base  25  serves as a counter weight to the mass of the camera  11  hanging off the front edge of a monitor surface  127 , as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     As seen in FIG. 5, the base  25  includes a horizontal portion  35  having a semi-circular outer perimeter  29  joined by a gently curved rear perimeter  31 . An extension arm  33  depends vertically from the horizontal portion  35  of the base  25 . This extension arm  33  constitutes a sheet metal portion integrally formed with the sheet metal of the horizontal base portion  35 . 
     The extension arm  33  has a socket  21  formed at one end thereof. The socket member exhibits a circular outer rim  41  with an integrated slot to allow insertion of the cables  43 ,  45  shown in FIG. 6 (data and microphone cables). The socket  21  is formed in the elastomeric layer  126  surrounding the metal extension arm  33 . The socket  21  is created during application of the elastomeric layer  126 . 
     The camera  11  has a tapered horizontal extension  17  extending from the back surface  47  thereof. A hollow ball  19  is formed at the end of the tapered horizontal extension  17 . The ball  19  is shaped to insert in ball-and-socket fashion into the socket  21  of the base  25 . The ball  19  is preferably molded as part of the plastic body enclosure  13 . 
     The ball-and-socket mechanism  19 ,  21  thus permits pivotal motion of the camera  11  with respect to the base  25  so as to enable pointing the camera  11  in various desired directions. Tension in the positioning mechanism is controlled by the interference fit between the soft elastomeric base socket  21  and the rigid camera material forming the hollow camera ball  19 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 6, the undersurface of the horizontal portion of the base  25  includes a molded-in cable routing channel  27 . Cable  43 ,  45  including, for example, a USB data connection and microphone connection are routed through the channel  27  and then through the center of the ball-and-socket joint to the camera  11 . 
     As illustrated by the phantom portion of FIG. 5, the ball-and-socket connection permits a further adjustment feature. In particular, the base  25  may be rotated 180° so as to rest the camera  11  on a table top or other surface  51 . A threaded tripod mount insert  101  may further be provided in the sheet metal portion of the top surface of the horizontal portion  35  of the base  25 . 
     The preferred embodiment provides the advantage of permitting movement of the camera lens closer to the center of the monitor screen and the simplicity of the pivot adjustment mechanism. The ball-and-socket design requires no additional hardware for assembly, which minimizes part count and assembly time resulting in lower manufacturing costs. The camera lens is moved closer to the user&#39;s eye level thereby improving eye-to-eye contact, while a wide and easily controlled range of motion in the camera angle is provided, thereby permitting various viewing angles. Representative dimensions for the camera FIGS. 3-6 are: A=4.08 inches, B=4.000 inches, C=2.245 inches and D=4.452 inches. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.