Base for a tethered digital camera

A base assembly for supporting a digital camera includes a weighted plate having a frictional surface for contacting a supporting surface and constraining the camera relative to a horizontal orientation; a pivoting member having an extension for connecting to the camera and a pivot axis about which the camera can swivel relative to the base assembly; and a frictional pad molded upon a sheet metal spring positioned between the weighted plate and the pivoting member. The base assembly includes means for urging the pivoting member against the frictional pad so as to provide sufficient friction between the frictional pad and the pivoting member to constrain rotational motion of the camera in a vertical orientation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATON(S) 
Reference is made to commonly assigned copending applications Ser. No. 
08/712,692, entitled "Tethered Digital Motion/Still Camera Using Dual Mode 
Software Processing", filed Sep. 12, 1996 in the names of Wayne E. 
Prentice, Thomas N. Berarducci, and Kenneth A. Parulski; Ser. No. 
08/712,704, entitled "Multi-Mode Digital Camera with Computer Interface 
Using Data Packets Combining Image and Mode Data", filed Sep. 12, 1996 in 
the names of Jay A. Endsley, Thomas N. Berarducci, and Wayne Prentice; 
Ser. No. 29/059,534, entitled "Stand for an Electronic Camera", filed Sep. 
12, 1996 in the names of Samuel F. Swayze, David G. Cooper, and Kevin R. 
Young; and Ser. No. 29/059,517, entitled "Electronic Camera", and filed 
Sep. 12, 1996 in the names of Samuel F. Swayze, David G. Cooper, and Kevin 
R. Young; each of which is assigned to the assignee of this application. 
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates generally to the field of electronic photography, and 
in particular to a stand for a digital camera. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A digital camera that is tethered by a cable to a computer (i.e., the 
camera functions only when it is connected to the computer) is typically 
located on a user's computer monitor or desktop. Usually the camera is 
pointed at the user--especially for video conferencing applications. The 
Color QuickCam.TM. camera sold by the Connectix Corporation is typical of 
this type of camera. The QuickCam.TM. camera is spherical in shape and 
comes with a rubber base that loosely cradles the camera. One problem with 
this arrangement is that it is difficult to position the camera on its 
base such that it has good horizontal alignment with the scene. Another 
problem is that the cable on the camera sometimes exerts sufficient force 
so as to move the camera relative to its base. Some camera bases 
incorporate a pivot on them to restrict one rotational degree of freedom 
so as to help the horizontal misalignment problem. Other cameras are 
permanently attached to the base which makes them bulkier and more 
difficult to manipulate. The need is for a relatively small base that 
allows easy manipulation of the camera while firmly holding the camera in 
place with regard to a chosen vertical and horizontal alignment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems 
set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the 
present invention, a base assembly for supporting a digital camera 
includes a weighted base having a frictional surface for contacting the 
supporting surface and constraining the camera relative to a horizontal 
orientation; a pivoting member having an extension for connecting to the 
camera and a pivot axis about which the camera can swivel relative to the 
base assembly; and a frictional pad assembly positioned between the 
weighted base and the pivoting member. In particular, the frictional pad 
assembly includes a frictional pad formed upon a section of a spring 
element. The base assembly includes means for urging the pivoting member 
against the frictional pad assembly so as to provide sufficient friction 
between the frictional pad and the pivoting member to constrain rotational 
motion of the camera in a vertical orientation. 
The invention involves a combination of features that result in a superior 
base design which prevents the assembly from slipping on a table top or 
monitor. A low center of gravity also makes the base assembly heavy 
despite its small size. Together, these features prevent a cable, which 
attaches the camera to a computer, from pushing or pulling the base 
assembly out of place. A frictional force that is applied to the pivoting 
part of the base helps establish good vertical alignment with the scene 
and makes it easy to swivel the camera for pointing, but hard enough so 
that the camera stays where a user puts it (the weight of the cable will 
not overcome the pivot frictional force). 
These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present 
invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of 
the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and 
appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Because imaging systems and devices are well known, the present description 
will be directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating 
more directly with, apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
Elements not specifically shown or described herein may be selected from 
those known in the art. While the invention is described in relation to a 
digital camera, it should be appreciated that it may be applied to any 
type of camera. 
A perspective view of a base assembly 10 according to the invention is 
shown in FIG. 1, and the attachment of the base assembly 10 to a digital 
camera 12 is shown in FIG. 4. Referring first to FIG. 4, the camera 12 
includes a lens 14 that is directed toward a subject (not shown) and a 
shutter button 16 on the topside for initiating an image capture sequence. 
The camera 12 also includes a cable 18 for connecting (tethering) the 
camera 12 to a host computer (not shown). The host computer, which is not 
part of this invention, typically controls the camera picture-taking 
process by setting the electronic exposure time and other processing 
requirements. As shown in FIG. 5, the camera 12 is able to swivel on the 
base assembly 10 to assume different capture positions (shown in dotted 
lines) relative to a subject. 
FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the components of the base assembly 10, 
and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3--3 in FIG. 1 
showing how the components are mounted together in a complete assembly. A 
weight plate 20 provides the majority of the weight to the base assembly 
10. A rubber boot assembly 22 includes the weight plate 20 with a rubber 
ring 24 formed, e.g., by a conventional molding process, around the edges 
of the weight plate 20. The rubber boot assembly 22 provides sufficient 
frictional restraint to control the horizontal orientation of the camera 
12 when the base assembly 10 is placed on a surface. A friction pad 
assembly 26 includes a friction spring 28 with a rubber pad 30 formed, 
e.g., by a conventional molding process, about the center of the spring 
28. 
A base pivot 32 is mounted for pivoting relative to an axis 32' and 
includes two arcuate-edged side walls 33 that connect into slots 12a (see 
FIGS. 4 and 6) in a bottom cover 40 of the digital camera 12 for 
releasably attaching the camera 12 to the base assembly 10. A base 
enclosure 34 encloses the components of the base assembly 10, and 
constrains the rotational axis of the base pivot 32 while providing an 
aesthetic appearance. The base assembly 10 is fastened together with a 
pair of screws 36 which pass through the rubber boot assembly 22 and the 
friction pad assembly 26, and thread into the base enclosure 34. Each side 
wall 33 of the base pivot 32 includes a snap release feature 35 which 
snaps in place over a corresponding tab 12b (see FIG. 6) within each slot 
12a in the camera 12. In this manner, the camera 12 may be easily attached 
to, and released from, the base assembly 10. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the friction pad assembly 26 is mounted on a pair of 
raised surfaces 38 on the weight plate 20 such that there is clearance for 
the friction spring 28 to flex when the base pivot 32 is assembled against 
the friction pad assembly 26. The rubber pad 30 provides enough frictional 
force to the base pivot 32 to make it easy to swivel the camera by hand 
while allowing the camera to remain firmly in place after a position is 
selected. The friction spring 28 is made of sheet metal, which helps to 
make the frictional force more consistent through life and less 
susceptible to mechanical creep (caused by elevated temperature). 
In use, the base assembly 10 supports a digital camera 12 on a surface, 
such as a table top or the top of a monitor. The rubber boot assembly 22 
on the bottom of the base assembly 10 prevents the base assembly 10 from 
slipping on the table top or monitor. Furthermore, the weight plate 20 
makes the base assembly 10 heavy despite its small size. This weight in 
combination with the rubber boot assembly 22 helps prevent the cable 18 
from pushing or pulling the base assembly 10 out of place. The pivoting 
base pivot 32 helps establish good vertical alignment with the scene. The 
frictional force that is applied to the base pivot 32 by the friction pad 
assembly 26 makes it easy to swivel the camera 12 (for re-aiming the 
camera), but hard enough so that the camera 12 stays where a user puts it 
(the weight of the cable will not overcome the pivot frictional force). 
Snap release features 35 on the base pivot 32 and the bottom of the 
digital camera 12 allows for quick and easy attachment and detachment from 
the base assembly 10. This allows the user to comfortably hand hold the 
camera 12 without having a bulky and heavy base attached. 
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. 
However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be 
effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from 
the scope of the invention. For example, while the connection to the 
camera has been shown as side wall extensions 33 from the base pivot 32, 
the extensions may alternatively extend from the bottom cover 40 of the 
camera into slots in the base pivot 32 where the snap release features 
would then be located. 
TS LIST 
10 base assembly 
12 digital camera 
12a slot 
12b tab 
14 lens 
16 shutter button 
18 cable 
20 weight plate 
22 rubber boot assembly 
24 rubber ring 
26 friction pad assembly 
28 friction spring 
30 rubber pad 
32 base pivot 
34 base enclosure 
35 snap release feature 
36 screws 
38 raised surface 
40 bottom cover