Camera flash bracket

A camera grip is disclosed which comprises a bracket for supporting at least one camera, a handle for supporting accessories, and means for mounting the bracket to the handle such that the camera supporting bracket may be quickly secured to and released from the handle in a plurality of configurations and orientations. In the preferred embodiment, the handle includes a relatively thin, U-shaped strut provided with keyholes and a latch, and the camera support bracket comprises an L-shaped portion provided with capped studs on the outside of each arm which mate with the strut keyholes. The bracket may support a camera in the crook of the L-shaped portion. The capped studs interlock with the strut and are secured by a latch when the capped studs engage the keyholes. The bracket may be quickly removed from the strut by release of the latch, which is operable by a simple motion of the grip-supporting hand. The handle also includes a telescopic shaft which may be used as a tripod or for the support of a flash attachment or the like.

FIELD OF INVENTION 
This invention relates to hand grips for cameras, and in particular 
describes a quick-release hand grip for mounting a rectangular format 
camera which permits support of one or more cameras in selected 
orientation with respect to an established lighting configuration, and 
further permits the mounting of one or more cameras on a monopod. 
With a hand-held camera, it is difficult to maintain uniformity of control 
over lighting, support a camera rigidly and retain freedom of movement. 
For example, where the photographer need not concern himself with lighting 
level or direction, both horizontal and vertical format photographs can be 
quickly composed and taken at a suitably fast shutter speed. Conditions 
are seldom ideal, so a tripod or flash bar is generally employed. However, 
a tripod severely limits a photographer's freedom to move quickly from one 
place to another. Where a flash bar is securely attached to a camera or to 
its mount, vertical and horizontal format photographs cannot be taken in 
rapid succession without changing the lighting arrangement relative to the 
subject. Precious time may be lost while re-orienting the camera to a 
pre-selected lighting configuration established by camera flash mounting 
brackets of conventional design. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
Pistol grips and other hand grips are well-known for aiding the 
photographer in the support of a hand-held camera. Flash attachments 
mounted to the camera are likewise well-known. Conventional flash 
attachments, tripods, and hand grips are generally mounted to the camera 
body. Most rectangular format 35 mm cameras, for example, are provided 
with a thread mount in the bottom wall of the camera body which mates with 
a standardized threaded screw. It is also well-known to provide a bracket 
for supporting a flash unit which permits the flash unit to pivot on a 
frictionally-securable joint between selected positions. 
Conventional tripod design provides a head with a frictionally securable 
universal joint. Conventional frictionally secured mounts slip very 
easily, particularly under heavy loads. This can become very annoying to 
the photographer. Moreover, with the conventional tripod head 
construction, several seconds are required to loosen, release, reorient 
and firmly re-secure the camera or its accessories in each desired 
orientation or configuration. As a result, several seconds of valuable 
shooting time may be lost. 
Efforts have been undertaken to satisfy some of the shortcomings of 
conventional designs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,855,602, to Hoos 
describes one camera flash bracket having an arm which enables rapid 
positioning of a relatively small camera flash bracket between horizontal 
and vertical positions relative to the camera orientation. The invention 
described, however, appears to be limited to relatively small flash 
attachments mounted relatively close to the lens of a camera. A frictional 
pivot joint in the bracket arm which supports the flash attachment is 
ill-adapted to carry a substantial load. As a result, such a bracket is 
unlikely to enjoy general usage. 
Efforts have also been made to provide quick attachment and detachment of a 
camera to a mounting platform such as a tripod. Sanderson U.S. Pat. No. 
2,966,107 is an example thereof. In the Sanderson device, a pair of 
oppositely facing keyhole slots are provided in the base of a camera body, 
the larger ends of the slots being proximate. Each of the keyhole slots is 
adapted to receive a capped stud, each of which is riveted to an axially 
translatable bar. The studs are biased into the narrower or shank portions 
of the keyhole slots by a coil spring under compression. To remove the 
camera from its adaptor, it is first necessary that the mount be resting 
upon a tripod, thereby one hand is freed to press upon the depending 
portions for urging the studed heads to a release position in the two 
keyhole slots, while the other hand is used to remove the camera from the 
mount. This procedure is cumbersome. As a result, this type of mounting is 
ill-adapted to rapid change where mobility is important. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A camera grip according to the present invention comprises a bracket for 
supporting at least one camera, a handle for supporting accessories, and 
means for mounting the bracket to the handle such that the camera 
supporting bracket may be quickly secured to and released from the handle, 
and mounted in a plurality of configurations and orientations while fully 
supporting the camera and the grip in two hands. In the preferred 
embodiment the bracket-to-handle mounting means comprises a U-shaped strut 
having a relatively thin base plate and arm segments at each end of the 
base plate, for attachment at each of the opposing ends of the handle. The 
base plate is provided with a pair of longitudinal keyhole slots or 
apertures, each having an enlarged head aperture and a narrow shank. The 
top of the head aperture is either offset or the rim along the top edge is 
beveled. A latch is also provided for locking the base plate to the camera 
supporting bracket. 
The camera supporting bracket comprises a pair of flat right-angle arm 
segments forming an L-shaped portion. Each segment is provided with a pair 
of capped studs on the outwardly disposed face. A camera may be secured on 
the opposite side in the crook of the elbow of the arm segments. The 
capped studs are spaced to mate and interlock in the keyhole slots. By 
means of the studs, the camera supporting bracket may be mounted to the 
base plate of the grip in at least two orientations, preferably at right 
angles to each other. 
The grip may be employed in a number of configurations. For example, the 
grip may include a telescopic shaft for supporting flash bars or other 
attachments at any selected height above the grip. Alternatively, the grip 
is adapted to be supported upon a telescopic shaft operative as a monopod. 
In the preferred embodiment, the handle portion of the grip includes a 
relatively thin, U-shaped base plate provided with keyholes and a latch, 
which is a hooked-end leaf spring attached to the inside of the strut with 
the hook biased to protrude through the head aperture of the keyhole. The 
latch also includes a finger tab accessible by the grip-supporting hand. 
The camera supporting bracket is generally an L-shaped member provided 
with the spaced studs on the outer face of each arm and includes 
depressions or apertures axially aligned adjacent the studs. Each is 
sufficiently large to accommodate the tongue of the biased latch. The 
L-shaped bracket is operative to slide readily into the keyhole slots and 
to be locked automatically by the bias latch as it confronts the 
depressions adjacent the studs. The L-shaped bracket is further operative 
to be quickly released by a simple motion of one finger of the 
grip-supporting hand, for releasing the latch to free the L-shaped bracket 
for sliding in the keyway slot. Further, as the capped studs slide toward 
the head of the keyhole slots, the cap is operative to encounter the bevel 
on the head, which urges the cap outwardly away form the U-shaped base 
plate, thereby freeing the camera from the hand grip. 
These and other features of the invention will be more readily understood 
by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the 
accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown in FIG. 1 a camera hand 
grip 10 comprising a handle 12, a strut 14 and a bracket 16 for supporting 
at least one camera 18 (shown in phantom) on the strut 14, which is bolted 
or otherwise permanently mounted to the handle 12. The strut 14 is adapted 
to releasably mount the bracket 16 and to support the bracket 16 in at 
least two positions: a first position with camera 18 oriented generally 
horizontally (as shown in FIG. 1) and in a second position wherein the 
camera 18 is oriented generally vertically (as shown in FIG. 2). 
The handle 12 may comprise a hollow shaft with an outer covering 20 which 
may be ribbed with annular rings to provide for better grip. A telescopic 
shaft 22 may be mounted through the hollow shaft of handle 12 and retained 
in place by a threaded locking nut 24 coupling the end of telescopic shaft 
22 to the end of handle 12. The telescopic shaft 22 may be used for 
supporting a flash attachment 26 (shown in phantom in FIG. 1) at any 
desired height above the handle. Alternatively, the telescopic shaft may 
be used as a monopod with an appropriate foot attachment (shown in phantom 
in FIG. 3). In addition, the telescopic shaft 22 may also include an 
auxiliary handle 30 therearound, which provides the user an alternative 
grip. 
The hand grip 10 is also easily adapted to support more that one flash 
attachment, for example, a flash foot 32 may be riveted to a suitable 
location on base plate 14. Moreover, the hand grip according to the 
invention is readily adapted to support more than one camera (as by 
example shown in the illustrative configuration of FIG. 3). In all cases, 
the camera and the handle are readily attachable and detachable. 
FIG. 4 illustrates in greater detail the particular features of the means 
for mounting the bracket 16 to base plate 14. The strut 14 is seen to 
comprise a relatively thin U-shaped member, the ends of which are mounted 
at the top and bottom of handle 12. The center section, or base plate 34, 
is disposed generally parallel to handle 12. Base plate 34 includes 
therein first and second keyhole slots 36 and 38, respectively. At one end 
of the keyholes are head apertures 40 and 42, respectively and narrower 
shank portion 44 and 46, respectively, (The shank 44 is shown to be longer 
than shank 46 for the purpose of accommodating a camera mounting screw 48 
or the like on the confronting mounting bracket 16. If a mounting screw is 
not used or if such mounting screw is countersunk in the brackets, the 
length of shank 44 may be appropriately modified). 
As shown in FIG. 5, the top 41 of head aperture 40 is shown to lie across 
the bend of base plate 34 in the end section of strut 14. As a result, the 
top of head 40 is offset. The top of head aperture 42 is beveled or 
countersunk to present a tapered surface 50 toward the outwardly facing 
side of base plate 14. Adjacent the second keyhole slot 38 is a latch 52 
which comprises a relatively thin band of spring steel having adjacent one 
end a finger tab 54 and a hooked lip 56 which is disposed to protrude 
through the head aperture 42 with hooked lip 56 directed toward the 
keyhole shank 46. 
The camera mounting bracket 16 is generally an L-shaped member having arms 
60 and 62 which meet at an elbow 64. The bracket 16 is adapted to carry a 
camera in the crook of elbow 64 as shown in FIG. 1. A mounting screw 48 
(FIG. 4) or the like firmly secures a camera to arm 60. A rubber pad 66 
may be provided along the inside of arm 60 for the purpose of supporting 
the mounted camera. 
The bracket 16 of the preferred embodiment includes a pair of capped studs 
68 having domed caps 70 and necks 72 on the outer side of arm 60 and a 
pair of capped studs 74 on the outwardly facing side of arm 62. The 
distance between studs 68 is the same as the distance between studs 74. 
The distance is selected to match the distance between keyhole head 
apertures 40 and 42. Furthermore, the diameter of the caps 70 is selected 
to be smaller than the minimum diameter of both head apertures 40 and 42. 
However, the keyhole shanks 46 and 48 are chosen to be narrower than the 
stud caps 70 although broader than the stud necks 72. Thus, the studs 68 
and 74 can engage keyhole slots 36 and 38 such that the keyhole shanks 44 
and 46 slidably interlock therewith. 
The bracket 16 is further provided with depressions or apertures 76 
adjacent the studs 68 and 74 along the axis of arms 60 and 62. Each of the 
apertures 76 is spaced the same distance from the adjacent stud 68 or 74, 
and each is of sufficient size to accommodate the hooked lip 56 of latch 
52. The distance between the studs and the aperture 76 is determined by 
the length of the mating shank, for example, shank 46. In practice, the 
lower stud 68 should rest at the base of shank 46 as the adjacent aperture 
76 mates with latch lip 56, so that the strut 14 is firmly secured to the 
bracket 16. 
A camera mount 78, comprising a straight rigid plate having indentations 80 
and thread mount 82 along the axis of the plate may be provided optionally 
for mounting a second camera to bracket 16. The indentations 80 are spaced 
from one another the distance equal to the distance between capped studs 
74. The indentations 80 are round apertures of sufficient diameter to 
receive the caps 70. The thread mount 82 mates with a mounting screw 84 
through the face of an opening 86. Mount 78 may be placed against arm 62 
such that the indentations 80 mate with studs 74 so that the arm 62 and 
the face of mount 78 substantially abut. Mounting screw 84 is inserted 
through aperture 86 and threaded through thread mount 82 into the base of 
a camera 19, as shown in FIG. 3 by way of example. 
FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrates the use of the 
camera grip 10 for supporting and quickly changing the mounting 
orientation of a rectangular format camera 18. In FIG. 1, the camera 18 is 
shown to be mounted having its base along the inner face of arm 60. Studs 
74 are locked into place on keyhole slots 36 and 38 (FIG. 4) and latch 52 
is hooked into an adjacent aperture 76. To detach the bracket 16 from base 
plate 34, for the purpose of changing the angle of the camera 18 with 
respect to the handle 12, a finger (not shown) of a hand which grips the 
handle 12, extends to draw the tab 54 from the aperture 76, thereby 
freeing the bracket 16 to slide along keyhole slots 36 and 38. 
As the bracket 16 slides up the keyhole slots 36 and 38, the cap 70 of the 
stud 68 in keyhole slot 38 encounters beveled surface 50 (as shown in FIG. 
5). The beveled surface 50 thereupon directs the stud and thereby the 
bracket 16, outwardly from base plate 34 as the bracket 16 is urged 
further upward. The hooked lip 56 urges the stud, and thereby the bracket 
16, outwardly away from the base plate 34 as the stud cap 70 attains the 
keyhole head 42. 
At substantially the same point, the stud 68 in slot 36 attains the top 41 
of head 40, which is offset away from the path of the studs. Further 
upward movement completely frees the arm 62 from base plate 34, permitting 
the camera user to rotate the camera 18 and its bracket 16 with one 
supporting hand to place the other arm 60 in facing relation to the base 
plate 34. The studs 68 are thereupon readily slid into keyhole slots 36 
and 38 through the head apertures 40 and 42. The bracket 16 is then slid 
along the shanks 44 and 46 past the hooked lip 56 at which point the 
hooked lip 56 engages the opposing bracket depressions 76, thereby to lock 
the bracket 16 against base plate 34. 
The strut 14 is typically subject to axial loading of up to several pounds. 
Therefore, strut 14 should be of an appropriately strong material such as 
a steel alloy. On the other hand, the bracket 16 and auxialiary camera 
mount 78, subject to less stress, might be constructed of other materials 
such as aluminum of the like. 
The bracket 16 may also be a generally U-shaped member with another arm 
extending from the end of arm 60 or arm 62. Such an arm segment may also 
include studs and depressions for mating with base plate 34. A U-shaped 
member permits the common mounting of an auxiliary camera, for example, on 
auxiliary bracket 78, while retaining flexibility to rapidly change camera 
orientation relative to the handle 12. 
Having described the structure and operation of the camera grip, many of 
the advantages wll be apparent. For example, the camera grip according to 
the invention allows quick reorientation of the format of a rectangular 
format camera. It also permits the mounting of multiple cameras in a fixed 
position relative to an established lighting configuration and fixed 
relative to one another. 
This invention permits versatile and highly portable lighting arrangements. 
For example, a variety of flash attachments might be mounted at the end of 
the arm 22 which are adjusted to aim lighting in selected directions from 
selected heights above the camera. 
Moreover, the camera grip according to this invention is readily adapted to 
a host of different configurations. For example several cameras can be 
mounted to the hand grip and held by one hand. The telescopic shaft 22 
might be used as a monopod, which is much more portable than a tripod, yet 
provides adequate stability in many shooting situations. 
In addition, still other advantages, uses and modifications will be obvious 
to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of this description. Therefore 
it is not intended that the invention be limited except as indicated by 
the appended claims.