Abstract:
A novel adjustable camera mount is provided with both threaded and clamping attachment mechanisms, and joints providing 360° of rotation on either side of an articulated rod.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention pertains to an adjustable and variably attached mount, particularly adapted for mounting a camera to a fastener on the mount, and for attachment to a compound bow. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As cameras have become smaller and more portable and equipped with transmission capabilities, the practice of sharing photographs and videos has become much more common. Often images are shared in real time environment. Images are now recorded not only in formal settings, but also in the midst of sporting and recreational activities such as hunting and fishing. Two difficulties in taking photographs during recreational activities are the desirability of holding the camera steady so that the resulting images are not blurred, and the need to be able to take photographs and videos while the photographer&#39;s hands are occupied with other apparatus aside from the camera. 
     A particular endeavor of this type is the sport of archery which requires the archer to use one hand to grasp the bow and the second hand to draw the arrow. For a photographer, these constraints make it impractical hold a camera while drawing and releasing arrows. Therefore it is not practical to simultaneously shoot arrows and record photographs manually. In order to facilitate a wide variety of photographic apparatus, numerous attachments have been developed to permit mounting of cameras to bows, and most commonly to compound bows. In addition mounts have been designed for use with other hunting equipment such as firearms and on fishing boats. However, various limitations to these devices make them either awkward to attach, or inadequate to attach a diverse selection of cameras at appropriate positions on a bow. Prior art devices are either time consuming to attach or provide limited flexibility such as only one or two planes of rotation or no articulated joints or brackets to permit the camera to be offset or aligned with the direction of the arrow when mounted at different attachment points. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is designed to provide the photographer an easily attached camera mount that allows great versatility in attachment to both the camera and the sports/recreational device, most typically a compound bow. In a preferred embodiment, the camera mount includes a versatile and rotatable mounting connection that includes an optional first joint proving at least about 180° of rotation and an offset from the connection point. The device may also appropriately include a second articulated joint that provides for over 180° of motion. The mount may also include an extension from the articulated joint to a clamping joint that allows for a full 360° of rotation in a clamping plane normal to the axial extension from the articulated joint. the clamping joint may also advantageously include a mounting connection for the camera itself that allows the direction of the camera relative to the clamping joint to rotate through 360° in a mounting plane normal to the clamping plane. The combinations of variability in direction, connection points, and offsets enable the camera to be positioned in virtually any orientation desired by the photographer or archer. In this fashion, photographs can be taken from a desired angle and by attachment to the compound bow in a fashion that least interferes with the balance and action of the bow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiment, but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an assembled camera mount according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of an exemplary compound bow; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of a camera mounted by offset to a compound bow stabilizer; 
         FIG. 3   b  is a reverse side angle perspective view of the camera mounted in  FIG. 3   a;    
         FIG. 3   c  is a front perspective view of the camera mounted in  3   a;    
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the exemplary camera mount of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5   a  is a bottom plan view of the rotatable mount; 
         FIG. 5   b  is a side plan view of the rotatable mount of  FIG. 5   a;    
         FIG. 5   c  is a top plan view of the rotatable mount of  FIG. 5   a;    
         FIG. 6   a  is a side plan view of the turret member portion of the articulating joint of the camera mount of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6   b  is a side view of the cover member. 
         FIG. 7   a  is a top plan view of the offset bracket of the camera mount of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7   b  is a side plan view of the offset bracket of  FIG. 7   a ; and 
         FIG. 8  is a side plan view of the rod of the articulating joint of the camera mount of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9   a  is a side view of a camera mounted on an exemplary camera mount attached in the position of the stabilizer on a bow. 
         FIG. 9   b  is a side view of a camera mounted on an exemplary camera mount attached with a bracket to the stabilizer on a bow to offset the camera position. 
         FIG. 9   c  is a side view of a camera mounted on an exemplary camera mount attached in an opening in the upper riser of a bow. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning first to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary camera mount assembly  20 , configured for attachment in a threaded aperture using threaded shaft  28  is illustrated. The attachment portion of assembly  20  also comprises positioning and tightening bolts  29 , and cover member  13 . The body of the assembly  20  comprises turret  11  secured to hub  16  with recessed bolt  15 , and shaft  49  extending axially from hub  16 . The mounting portion of assembly  20  includes clamping member  18  which is positioned about shaft  49  with clamping wing nut  19 . Additional pieces utilized for other attachment options include bracket  12 , and shorter bolt  27   a  and longer bolt  27   b . It can be seen that turret  11  has a plane of rotation through 360° relative to cover  13 , and bolts  29  can be tightened to hold the turret and cover in position. In one embodiment, the interfacing surfaces of turret  11  and cover  13  can be serrated with matching grooves and ridges to provide a secure interlock. In an alternative embodiment, the surfaces can be smooth to allow rotation with the application of force, even when tightened together. 
     Another range of movement is proved by the articulating joint between the turret  11  and hub  16 . In the illustrated embodiment, the shaft  49  extending from hub  16  is able to move through an arc of approximately 300° from its contact with the base of turret  11  in one direction to the other. The size of the base of the turret  11  and thickness of shaft  49  will affect the size of the arc that rod  17  can move through, but in the most preferred constructions, there will be at least 270° degrees of possible motion. Clamping member  18  has a wing nut  51  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) with threaded end  52  extending out to connect with a camera or camera mount as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 9 . The clamping member also has two legs  81 , 82  separated by gap  80 , and defining an opening  70  to receive shaft  49 . Wing nut  19  can be operated to tighten legs  81 , 82  about shaft  49 , and this clamping mechanism allows the clamping member to rotate about shaft  49  a full 360° in a plane normal to the axial length of the shaft, referred to as the clamping plane. 
     The camera securing fastener  51  is retained in its position with a washer  44  that sits in recess  55  as shown in  FIG. 5   b . The camera can be attached in any orientation to the clamping member  18 , thereby proving a further 360° choice of orientation in a mounting plane normal to the clamping plane. Two additional principal configurations of the illustrated attachment portion of the mount are possible. The first utilizes a bolt  27  in place of threaded post  28  and nuts  29  to clamp the base of turret  11  and cover  13  about an opening through which the threaded portion of bolt  27  is passed. The second alternative utilizes a bolt  27  to clamp one end of bracket  12  between the turret  11  and cover  13 , while the opposite end of bracket  12  is secured with another fastener. Again, the surfaces of bracket  12  may be either relatively smooth or serrated, depending upon whether it is desired to allow the application of force to move the orientation of the bracket, or whether it is desired to lock the orientation. 
     A preferred base for attaching the adjustable mount  20  is a bow, and particularly a compound bow such as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The threaded post  28  may be received in bow  100  in the very opening where stabilizer  101  is customarily positioned. Alternatively, bracket  12  can have one end mounted between the stabilizer  101  and bow  100  on the threaded attachment post of the stabilizer  101 , with the opposite bracket end between turret  11  and cover  13  to offset the mount  20  laterally from the vertical plane of the bow. In addition, if there are openings or cutouts in the frame of bow  100 , the cover  13  and turret  11  can be clamped about those openings with bolt  27  serving as a fastener. These variations are illustrated and described in more detail in connection with  FIGS. 3 and 9 . 
     In  FIG. 3   a , a rear perspective of the grip region of a compound bow is illustrated with stabilizer  101  extending forward from beneath the grip  102 . Bracket  12  is used to offset the turret  11  from the attachment point of the stabilizer and camera  110  is attached to the mount. In this  FIG. 3   a , it is also possible to see openings or cutouts  105  in the frame of the bow. Appropriately sized frame openings provide another mounting option for the adjustable mount.  FIG. 3   b  is a reverse side view of the grip region of the compound bow, showing the smaller end of bracket  12  attached to the bow on the post of stabilizer  101 . The bolt head  14  of bolt  27  attaching cover  13  about bracket  12  to turret  11  is illustrated. The clamping member  18  is held in position on rod  17  by wing nut  19 , and camera  110  is attached to the clamping member.  FIG. 3   c  is a front view of the same camera  110  and mount assembly. 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the components of an exemplary camera mount, from which it can be seen how the threaded nut  27   a  can pass through cover  12 , and bracket  12  to be received in turret  11 , and turret  11 , allows rod  17  to move in an articulated fashion. The clamping member is also disassembled with fastener  19  removed, but mounting nut  51  in its operative position.  FIGS. 5   a - 5   c  show the clamping member  18  in isolation.  FIG. 5   a  illustrates clamping member  18  with first end  56  having a camera mounting surface  54  recess  55  and aperture  53  to receive the camera fastener  51  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The first end  56  is connected to second end  58  by neck  57  which in  FIG. 5   a  is the bottom leg  81 . Second end  58  has an unthreaded opening  59 . It can be seen in  FIG. 5   b  that the bridge  57  is actually comprised of lower leg  81  and upper leg  82  defining between them opening  70  which is adapted to receive shaft  49  of rod  17 . The first end  56  is relatively thinner than second end  58  and the additional width is spanned by ramp  71 . Ramp  71  is relatively thin so that upon the application of force to legs  81  and  82 , ramp  71  will bend and the size of opening  70  can be adjusted. In fact, as can be seen in  FIG. 1 , fastener  19  has a threaded shaft which extends through unthreaded opening  59  of lower leg  81  into threaded opening  79  of upper leg  82  and by tightening the fastener, the legs  81  and  82  are pulled together and the size of opening  70  is reduced until it clamps firmly about shaft  49 .  FIG. 5   c  shows a top plan view of clamping member  18  with upper surface  60  and first end  56  and upper surface  78  of upper leg  82 . 
       FIG. 6   a  illustrates the turret member  11  which has a bottom surface  61  of its base  64  through which a vertical threaded opening  65  extends upward through at least a portion of the neck  62 . Above the neck is rounded head  63  including a lateral threaded opening  66  which has an axial orientation normal to the axial orientation of vertical threaded opening  65 .  FIG. 6   b  illustrates the cover  13  with a bottom surface  41 , a top sloped surface  40  and base thickness  43 . Unthreaded opening  42  extends between the top and bottom surface and a threaded post  28  or bolt  29  can be passed through opening  42  and used to tighten the cover  13  against the base surface  61  of turret member  11 . The bottom surface  41  of cover  13  defines the attachment plane of the mount, and the body of the mount, comprising turret  11  and rod  17  can be rotated through 360° in the attachment plane. 
       FIGS. 7   a ,  7   b  illustrate the bracket member  12  that can be used to provide an offset for the camera mount. Bracket member  12  has first side  36  and second opposed side  35  and thickness  37 . A first larger end  32  has an opening  33  therein extending from the first side  36  to second side  35 . A neck  34  connects first end  32  to second smaller end  30  which has similar opening  31  extending from first side  36  to second side  35 .  FIG. 8  illustrates rod  17  with hub portion  16  and shaft  49 . At first hub end  16 , a cylindrical portion  46  has a recess  47  and unthreaded aperture  48 . A threaded fastener such as bolt  15  (shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 4 ) can pass through opening  48  into the lateral threaded opening  66  of turret  11 . The bolt  15  is tightened to provide the desired amount of resistance when rod  17  is rotated threaded thru an arc of motion of at least 270° to its desired position. Thus, turret  11  and rod  17  form an articulating joint. Cylindrical portion  46  of rod  17  is attached to sleeve  45  which may be integrally formed with shaft  49  or may be manufactured separately to receive the shaft  49  as a separate component. Shaft  49  proceeds to distal end  50  over which the opening  70  of clamping member  18  can be easily received. In the illustrated embodiment, shaft  49  is cylindrical to permit rotation of clamping member  18  about its circumference to a desired position. The clamping member  18  can be positioned at any location along shaft  49  between sleeve  45  and distal end  50  so that the distance of clamping member  18  forms the articulating joint is variable to best position the camera with an appropriate offset from the attachment point. 
       FIGS. 9   a  through  9   c  show three typical mounting configurations for an adjustable camera mount according to the present invention. In  FIG. 9   a , threaded post  28  has been inserted in the opening of the bow frame that usually receives a stabilizer and nuts  29  adjusted to tighten the mount in place. Cover  13  is securely pressed against the base of turret member  11  with their interfacing surfaces  41 , 61  defining the attachment plane. The cylindrical portion  16  of rod  17  can move in an articulated fashion with respect to turret  63  through an arc normal to the attachment plane. Clamping member  18  is mounted on rod  17  and tightened in position by use of fastener  19  to clamp legs  81 , 82  about the shaft  49 . Fastener  51  is used to attach the camera  110  to the clamping member.  FIG. 9   b  illustrates the use of bracket  12  to offset the cover  13  and turret member  11  from the attachment point on the stabilizer  101  of the bow. The large end  32  of bracket  12  is shown clamped between cover  13  and turret member  11  to hold the camera mount and rod  17  in place. Camera  110  is again mounted to the clamping member  18  on rod  17 . In  FIG. 9   c , the mount has been attached on the upper riser or limb of bow  100 . The turret member  11  is on the visible side of bow  100  and the cover  13  is on the opposite side and the bow frame is clamped between. This positions the camera  110  at location above the arrow. It will be understood that the mount can be attached in other openings in the frame of the bow  100 . The camera mount provides a great deal of versatility both with the attachment location and with the orientation of the camera mounted to a clamping member  18 . Not only does the mount allow for numerous possible attachment points, but the mount provides an offset both through the elective use of a bracket member and through the operation of the articulating arm or rod  17  and the ability to position the clamping member at any distance along that rod and to orient the camera with 360° of rotation both about the axial orientation of rod  17  and about the direction normal to the axial orientation of rod  17 . The ease of attachment and orientation of a camera utilizing a mount according to the invention provides substantial benefit to the sportsman or hunter who is photographing his activities. 
     Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.