Abstract:
A system whose most common use is that of inspecting conduits such as sewers, drainage pipes, water, gas and oil conduits. Contrary to camera systems currently on the market, the system has individual components that are easily disconnected and reconnected so that a failed component can be determined and replaced in the field, yet it maintains its integrity against damage from the type of effluent in which it is required to operate. The system&#39;s control unit is easily disconnected and replaced, and is mounted on a carrier. The system includes a push rod assembly that has male or female plugs providing quick disconnects at each end so that it can readily be disconnected from opposite gender plugs on a rotary contact assembly at one end and a video camera assembly at its other end. The rotary contact assembly is mounted on the carrier and is similarly connected to and from the control unit, which is physically separate and is also mounted on the carrier. The carrier also has a reel on which the push rod assembly is stored. Electrical power is provided from a power source for the camera and the video equipment that receives video signals from the camera. The power source may or may not be mounted upon the carrier. The novel splices between the wires of various units and either a male or a female plug by which units are connected are a major contribution to the success of the invention. Similar splices can also be used for field repairs to damaged push rod assemblies or for increasing the overall length of the push rod assembly.

Description:
[0001]     Priority is claimed based on the U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/815,366, inventor Frederick M. Lange, Attorney File No. LJ-305, having the title of “Camera System and Units Thereof” and filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Jun. 21, 2006. That application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Cameras are currently being used in a unitary manner with a video receiver, a cable connecting a video receiver and the camera, and a control system for controlling the camera. Such systems are often used by plumbers and other related occupations for inspecting a conduit and often for finding the exact location and nature of a fault in a conduit or pipe system, whether it be a supply of water, fuel or waste matter. At the time of making this invention there were no camera systems on the market that did not require return to the manufacturer or a special repair station for even the simplest repair or replacement. This is also true at the time of filing this patent application. This has caused, and continues to cause, lengthy down time to return, have the repair made, and receive the repaired part, and expense for the customers using such equipment.  
         [0003]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0004]     The invention relates to remote camera systems wherein there are currently only systems units that are currently usable and replaceable only by highly qualified technical personnel, and are not adapted to having each unit of the system replaceable in the field. The expression “in the field” means at the site that they are being used or at a local shop in the area where they are being used that does not have the highly qualified technical personnel that the manufacturers of the current systems employ. The units of these systems include cameras, controls, and video equipment with a specialized cable connecting the units. The invention changes this, making each unit of the system being readily replaceable in the field without requiring the services of highly qualified technical personnel. Each unit has been especially modified to be simply removed and replaced.  
         [0005]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0006]     In the current practice wherein a small video camera is introduced into a conduit such as a sewer in order to either inspect it to determine its present condition, or to locate a damaged area precisely which may then be patched or otherwise repaired. Such a device is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,398, for example, finding where the damage that needs repair is located. Camera systems of this type have become very specialized, so that each part of the system that may have failed is shipped back to the maker or distributor who maintains a repair facility to correct the failure. This requires that the system be away from its place of usage for an inordinately long period of time each time that there is a parts failure, and has become quite expensive, not only for the direct cost in shipping as well as the danger inherent it the items shipped can be damaged during shipment both to and from the repair center, and upon occasion even be lost for a period of time. There are also relatively high costs being charged for labor and materials and another high cost of lost time where the system cannot be used. When there is something wrong with a sewer or other conduits, there are usually high costs due to the loss of the contents causing damage to the area as well as having that particular system even temporarily out of commission. Also currently, the various components of the systems that have been available are so designed and configured that they can only be connected with and operate fully with other special components such as a particular video monitor and particular cameras and electronic controls, as well as a particular cable push rod. For example, the electronics for the control of the camera are housed in their video monitors have been integrated with those monitors to the extent that they are not readily removable and replaceable, particularly in the field, but require the servicing to be done in a repair center by higher qualified technical personnel, nor are the other parts of the system are usable with virtually any readily available video equipment that has a standard video input receptacle. Yet, the idea of having all of this in one piece of equipment has been said to be an economic cost savings, neglecting to consider the very high costs of returning all such items for repair as well as the costs relating to down time that the equipment cannot be used.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The system and units thereof embodying the invention include a conduit inspection video camera, a cable push rod, the electronic controls for the camera, and a carrier for the cable push rod and the electronic controls. The camera and the electronic controls are such that they are compatible with any video equipment or recorder that has an input video jack. The camera is quickly and easily connected to and removed from an end of the control push rod, since the control push rod or cable also contains the necessary wiring and connections to connect with the camera at one end and to connect with the electronic controls for the camera at the opposite end. These connections are all the plug-in type, which have not been successfully accomplished and marketed before this invention. The cable and control push rod assembly has plugs on each end so that the camera may have one end of the cable plugged into it, and the electronic controls may also have the other end of the cable plugged into it. A sturdy rotary contact assembly provides the requisite connection from the control panel to the cable push rod assembly that is on the rotatable reel of a carrier. The control box assembly contains the control panel and the control system. The control box assembly and the cable push rod are also supported by the carrier. Even when the cable push rod assembly is fully unreeled for use, one end of it is still operatively connected to the control box assembly through a rotary contact assembly. The other end is connected to the camera assembly. The electronic controls have an output cable which can be connected to any video equipment having a standard video input. This includes video recorders, DVD recorders, VHS recorders, even ipods and MP3s, as well as various video viewing screens such as television screens and computer screens. All of this, other than the video equipment, is compactly supported by a carrier that includes the reel for holding the cable (which is also called the control, the cable push rod, or the push rod assembly). The video equipment, or a combination of more than one piece of such equipment, may be located a short distance away from the carrier and the system parts that are supported on the carrier. They can even be also located at other sites such as an office, with the signals to them being transmitted in any of several manners. While the system shows the video equipment connected to the control box assembly by wiring, it is to be understood that this may alternatively be a wireless connection such as is now well known and is in common use in many computer installations. Since the electronic controls are no longer in the video equipment, any video equipment having a standard video input receptacle may be used. With the advent of the inventive system and units of that system as disclosed herein, each of these units can be replaced by the customer that is using the system, making the ability to return the system quickly into operation. The customer/user only has to either stock some spare units or to have them available to him within hours, commonly overnight, instead of days. Spare video equipment is now sufficiently inexpensive to easily have some spares when needed. They have virtually become throwaway products because of their low purchase costs. That cannot be said of the combined controls and monitors in other systems. Then, the defective unit or units may be taken out of service for repair if that is absolutely necessary, but not without causing any down time and all the other costly consequences of that. Experience has already shown that even a camera lens, for example, can be easily replaced by someone with no particular skills. This is never even an option with the other currently produced systems. Different ones of the systems that have been available for some years have so customized their combined monitors and controls that at many times no one system can even use such parts of another system. This also adds to costs for the user that were and still are unavoidable with those systems. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a simplified illustration of the entire system where a camera is used and the desired video equipment is connected that can give the operator a view of the interior of the conduit as the control push rod of the cable pushes the camera into the conduit being inspected, a recording of the video information being sent by the camera to the appropriate video equipment, for example. A control box assembly provides the electrical and video signal connections to the other units of the system. Connections between any two of the units noted is by a male/female plug arrangement.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is an elevation view of the carrier having on it the push rod assembly with the camera on one end, the bulk of the push rod assembly being wound on the reel part of the carrier, and the electronic controls being mounted on the carrier as well. Also shown are the power cord and the video cable for respectively connecting the electronics to electric power and to the desired video equipment. Connections between any two of the units noted is by a male/female plug arrangement.  
         [0010]      FIG. 3A  is similar to  FIG. 2 , but shows the push rod assembly having been unwound from the reel of the carrier because it has now moved the camera on one end of it well into the conduit being checked.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3B  is similar to  FIG. 3A , but shows the reel when there is no push rod assembly currently installed, whether that is because the unit is being built or the push rod assembly is being replaced.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4A  shows the push rod assembly, coiled with its two connections respectively on its opposite ends, with those connections being easily connected and disconnected from the camera at one end and the electronic controls at the other end since they also are a male/female plug arrangement. It also shows the locking sleeve that locks the push rod cable into the spring housing where it plugs into the camera unit.  
         [0013]      FIGS. 4B, 4C ,  4 D,  4 E,  4 F,  4 G and  4 H respectively illustrate the making of the splice for the push rod connector for the push rod assembly of  FIG. 4A  and the elements of such splice, and a splice-like connector that is also used to connect each unit of the system to a simple male or female plug as appropriate for the installation of that unit or for its removal and replacement of a similar unit.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5A  is a somewhat exploded view of the locking sleeve and the plug end of the cable that is connected to the camera, also shown. The locking sleeve is inserted into the spring housing, and it has set screws on each end of it to lock those ends to the cable end at one end and to the camera at the other end. This spring housing provides the lead flexibility to allow the camera to maneuver around bends in various types of conduits.  
         [0015]      FIGS. 5B, 5C ,  5 D and  5 E show the spring assembly in greater detail. This assembly eases the cable around conduit bends and provides the arrangement to lock the camera head assembly to the cable assembly.  
         [0016]      FIGS. 6A, 6C  and  6 D show a breakdown of the camera housing, with  FIG. 6D  showing parts in an exploded view. They include the water seals for the cable and the main camera body.  FIG. 6B  is an end view of the camera assembly, taken in the direction of arrows  6 B- 6 B of  FIG. 6A , showing the end thereof which contains the camera lens and the light ring for lighting the area that the camera lens is viewing.  
         [0017]      FIGS. 7A, 7B ,  7 C and  7 D are various views of the rotary contact assembly which provides a solid means of transferring signals and power to the cable frame as it rotates.  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a schematic drawing of the electrical components that control the functioning of the camera. These components include a rotary contact assembly that provides constant power and a constant video signal to the cable from a stationary point inside the electronic controls box. The locations of the splices used to splice the plugs together are also shown.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a cross section view of the cable push rod which is also a part of the invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  is an elevation view of a finished splice with portions broken away and in section. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0021]     The system  10  embodying the invention is shown in  FIG. 1  as including a carrier  12  having support legs  14  and  16  supporting a stationary hub  18 , a carrying handle  20 , a reel  22  which is rotatable on hub  18 , a control box assembly  24 , a push rod assembly  26  wound on the reel  22 , a receptacle  28  for holding a small video camera assembly  30  when the system is not in use and has the push rod assembly  26  coiled up on the reel  22 , a power cord  32  and a video cable  34  having a standard video input plug  38  on its end. The system also has video equipment  36  which may include a video recorder or some other type of video equipment. The video cable  34  is connected by its standard input plug  35  to the standard video signal input connection  38  of the video equipment  36 , as well as being operatively connected to the camera assembly  30  through the control box assembly  24  and a rotary contact assembly connector  80 , better seen in  FIGS. 7A, 7B ,  7 C and  7 D, and the push rod assembly  26 .  FIG. 2  also shows much of the system except for the video equipment  36 . That Figure better illustrates the camera  30  in its storage position on the carrier  12 .  FIG. 3A  shows the carrier with the push rod assembly  26 , together with its camera assembly  30 , having been reeled out from the reel  22  of the carrier  12 . This is typical when the camera and the push rod assembly are within a pipe connection such as a sewer pipe that is being inspected by using system  10 .  FIG. 3B  is similar to  FIG. 3A , but shows the control box assembly  24  in somewhat greater detail, with its cover  25  off. All of the controls within the control box assembly  24  may be removed when the box assembly cover  25  is off.  FIG. 3B  also shows the push rod assembly  26  having been removed or not yet installed on reel  22 .  
         [0022]     The system  10  has all of its other parts completely separate from the video equipment  36 , other than being connected to receive power through cord  32  and video signals through cable  34 . Conversely, in current systems of the type produced for many years, the video monitor that they use also includes the various electronic controls such as at least some of those in control box assembly  24 . Such controls are in an integrated unitary arrangement with their systems&#39; own special video monitor that does not work with at least most if not all other long-standing competitive systems. That is one of the reasons for the immediate success of this invention—no part of the inventive system, including the video equipment and the control box assembly, has to be shipped to a factory repair facility. In the other current systems being sold, the equivalent of the entire push rod assembly  26  and the camera  30  are treated as a single unit, being absolutely integrated by design. This results in having to ship that entire assembly to a specialty repair shop or the manufacturer&#39;s repair facility whether or not both of them have problems that require repair. At the same time, owners or users of those systems still have a monitor and controls that can usually be used only with the parts shipped out for repairs. The system embodying the invention herein shown and claimed has no part that has to be removed and shipped to the manufacturer or a specialty repair shop with the result that the entire system inoperable until it is shipped, repaired, and shipped back to the user. Users seldom keep separate systems for their system, such as the combination push rod assembly and the camera. By keeping the controls in the control box assembly  24  separate from the video equipment  36 , if all or any part of the video equipment being used fails, the bad one is disconnected, another one plugged in in its place—and the replacement can be any available video equipment such as one used with desktop computers, the video monitor of a laptop computer, or any piece of video equipment such as ordinary television sets, and even video recorders, MP3s, iPods and the like. It does not have to be shipped anywhere. This is unique in the current market, and, together with the plug connections between the controls in the control box assembly  24 , the cable push rod  26  and the camera assembly  30 , with their connectors, the system embodying the invention is much easier to maintain. If one cannot readily determine which part has been damaged or has failed, it is relatively simple to find which part has failed when a failure occurs, because spare parts less expensive to keep on hand, and even unusual ones, such as a camera lens, for example, are available to most areas by overnight shipment; and they can be easily installed by the typical user with the immediate on-site replacement or repair being made. This minimizes cost of down time and eliminates the added expense of shipping parts, or the entire system, to an often distant repair facility, as well as the currently high cost for accomplishing the repair, even if it is in fact a very minor part that needed replacement or repair that needed no special skills to replace or repair such parts. Users of other such systems have commonly been charged more than $1,000 for the replacement of a $10 part, with the cost of about a week&#39;s down time as well. The system embodying the invention eliminates that $1,000 charge and that long down time. The $10 part can be shipped overnight for a few dollars, making the total material and shipping costs being less than $50 in the usual case. While this type of system may seem obvious once the system is demonstrated, the industry has been functioning for many years under the return-it-to-the-supplier or a repair facility, with all of the high costs inherent in that arrangement, because no such system as is now disclosed and claimed has been made available. It is one of the cornerstones of invention that when there has been a long-enduring need of a product, such as the actual uses of the other camera systems, and that need is finally met, it is very strong evidence of invention in conceiving and making the device or system that met that need. Without the invention having been made, it is reasonable to believe the invention still would not be made available by any of the current manufacturers and sellers, and therefore the invention that met the need has de facto been unobvious heretofore. This is certainly the case in this instance. In a very few months after the filing of the cited priority application, products practicing the invention were placed on the market in very limited quantities, and have begun to meet those long-felt needs. These products were not publicly known or available until some time after the filing of the priority application, and they have already received many accolades and testimonials from users who have already saved thousands of dollars in repair and down times as compared to other such systems.  
         [0023]      FIG. 4A  shows the push rod assembly  26 , coiled and secured so that the opposite ends thereof are exposed. One end terminates in a connector plug  42  and the other end terminates in a connector plug  44 . The length of the push rod assembly  26  is not as critical with this system as it is with other systems on the market. It has been found that most push rod assemblies being used are about 150 feet to 200 feet long, and so those lengths are usually stocked. However, there are times that a push rod assembly may be needed which is as much as 300 feet to 400 feet, and they are not readily stocked in such lengths. The push rod assembly being provided as a part of the invention herein disclosed, has connector plugs at each end so that two or more shorter cables may be readily connected to form a longer push rod assembly, and the outer end still simply plugs into the camera assembly  30 . In current push rod assemblies available on the market, the customer must solder the cable at one end to the carrier and the other end to the camera. That makes it very difficult to add an extension to the push rod assembly. The connector plugs used in practicing the invention herein disclosed require no such soldering. Splices  300  and  300 ′ that are required to be made from time to time are shown in  FIGS. 4B through 4H , and will be described below. These splices  300 ′ are important parts of the entire system. They contribute to the system being able to achieve a repair or replacement of parts in the field, with minimal down time.  
         [0024]     The splices  300 ′ shown are those that are at times used when connector plugs such as the plugs  42  and  44  are to be attached to the push rod assembly at each end. See  FIG. 4A , for example. Likewise, the same type of splices  300 ′ are used to attach the plug for the camera, as well as being used for every unit that can be easily removed and replaced. In those instances where the splice is used to attach either a male or female plug to a unit, the splice is identified by reference number  300 ′. That applies to the camera itself, as well as the spring unit  200  of  FIGS. 5A through 5E . This is shown as a part of  FIG. 4G . At other times, a damaged part of a push rod assembly  26  has to be removed and reconnected in the field. Both the wires  320 ,  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328  in the cable push rod assembly and the push rod  330  itself have to be spliced so that they will perform satisfactorily after the connector plug is attached or the repair is made. See  FIGS. 4A through 4H  for these wires and the push rod.  
         [0025]      FIGS. 4B and 4C  show a hard plastic, and preferably a fiberglass, splice fitting or core  300  that is used to keep the spliced wires  320 ,  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328  in alignment so that each wire from one end of the assembly  26  still matches the same wire from the other assembly end. In appearance, the splice core  300  looks much the same as if it were a short length of the fitting  502 , shown in  FIG. 9 . The splice core  300  is of sufficient length to accommodate the splices of all of the wires and of the push rod. This may require only a short length, usually about ½ or slightly more of an inch or 2.54 centimeters. Its ends  302  and  304  are preferably beveled, and it has a center opening  306  extending longitudinally throughout its length which receives both ends of the push rod part of the assembly  26  where the splice is to be made. The outside surface  308  of the splice core  300  is fluted with recesses  310 ,  312 ,  314 ,  316  and  318  which will respectively receive one end of the bare wires at the splice scene where the splice is to be made. In this description, it is considered that five wires, and thus five recesses in the fitting  300 , are used. It is within the purview of the invention that more or less wires may be used, to accommodate modified push rod assemblies. While there can also be less than five recesses in some splice cores  300 , the five-recessed cores may be used with a lesser number of wires with no problem. They would just be filled with epoxy resin as will become apparent later.  
         [0026]     The first steps in making the splice to eliminate a damaged section of a push rod assembly  26  include the preparatory steps of (a) removing the damaged portion of the push rod assembly  26  by completely severing the push rod assembly on each side of the damaged portion of the push rod assembly, (b) removing the outer casing  514  covering from each of the newly created temporary push rod ends  330  and  332  for a distance that is about ¾ of the length of the splice core to be used to allow for access to the wires  320 ,  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328  to be splayed as seen in  FIGS. 4D and 4F , (c) splaying the five wires  320 ,  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328  from each splice end as seen in  FIGS. 4D and 4F , ((d) after which the lengthwise portion of the push rod assembly fitting  502  is removed, that portion having been uncovered by removing the outer casing  514  portion and splaying the wires, and (e) removing all insulation from the each of the wire ends for a distance that is over half the length, and preferably no more that the full length, of the recesses  310  through  318  of the splice core  300 . In performing the preparatory steps (a) through (d) the newly created temporary push rod ends  330  and  332  are bared, as shown in  FIGS. 4D and 4F . The steps of making the splice and returning the push rod assembly  26  to its usable condition are then taken. In step (f), coating the ends and exposed surfaces of the temporary fiberglass rod cores ends  330  and  332  at each splice end with epoxy rein over their exposed surfaces, and immediately (g) inserting these two ends  330  and  332  into the bore  306  of the splice core  300  with each push rod splice end  330  and  332  preferably extending about half way through bore  306  so that these ends abut each other at or near the middle of that bore. The epoxy will set and form a bond between the wall of core bore  306  and the outer surfaces of the two rod core ends  330  and  332 . At this time, the splice will appear as seen in  FIG. 4G .  
         [0027]     The next steps are to (h) place each of the two sets of wires  320 ,  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328  from each splice end respectively into the five longitudinally extending recesses  310 ,  312 ,  314 ,  316  and  318 , so that they are connected, and (I) soldering each of their connections of one wire  310  of one wire set to the other wire  310 , etc., of the other wire set as they remain in the recesses, as seen in  FIG. 4G  so that the wires  310  of each wire set are soldered together, the wires  312  of each wire set are soldered together, etc, until the same-numbered wires of each wire set are soldered to the same-numbered wires of the other wire set. Step (j) is the covering with these wires, their recesses, and the splice core with epoxy resin so that they are not exposed to the atmosphere at all. Even before the epoxy resin has set and is hard, step (k) is performed. In this step, the entire splice is then covered by wrapping a heavy duty shrink-fit material which will extend longitudinally to the end of the spliced area identified as the ends of the original covering of the push rod assembly  26 , and that material is then heated to shrink it and finish the splice. It is preferable that it be wrapped so that after shrinking it is at about the same diameter as the diameter of the original covering&#39;s outer surface. Alternatively, instead of using heat shrink material, it is most practical to use a cloth material soaked in epoxy resin by wrapping it about the splice so that the entire splice is covered with it, until its outer diameter reaches substantially the same outer diameter as that of the push rod assembly cover, and allowing the epoxy resin to harden. One of the materials so used is a cotton twine. Other materials that can be saturated with epoxy resin and wrapped in a similar manner are considered to be within the purview of the invention. This last step and the material used is considered very desirable when the assembly is to be used in unclean places such as sewers. It effectively replaces the removed push rod assembly cover  26  material that was removed in preparation for creating the splice, and seals the splice against water intrusion.  
         [0028]      FIGS. 5A through 5E  show the spring assembly or unit  200 . This assembly is provided to ease the cable around bends in the conduit being checked. The spring  202  is a tightly coiled spring having a ball stop  204  on one end and another ball stop  206  on the other spring end. These ball stops are connected by two stainless steel cables  208  and  210  extending through them and secured to the ball stops. Ball stops  204  and  206  fit into the stainless steel fittings  212  and  214  that are welded on either end of spring  202 . Ball stop  204  and fitting  212  provide a lock unit  211  and Ball stop  206  and fitting  214  provide a lock unit  213 . Lock unit  211  operatively locks the camera head assembly  30  to the outer end of the cable push rod assembly  26  via the spring assembly  200 , that has the push rod core  500  in it. One stainless steel fitting  212  accepts the camera housing assembly??? and locks it in using set screws  216 . The fitting  214  accepts the locking sleeve  215  that is on the cable push rod assembly and locks it in with other set screws  216 . In this manner, the unit, including the camera  30  assembly and the spring assembly  200 , becomes integral with, yet disconnectable from, the cable push rod assembly  26 , and the camera assembly  30  becomes integral with, yet disconnectable from, the spring assembly  200 . The inner end of the push rod assembly  26  is similarly connected to the rotary contact assembly  80  through a similar lock unit  211 ′. Thus, while forming a strong locked connection, each of the components  26 ,  30  and  200  can be individually replaced in the field when needed.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 6A, 6C  and  6 D are exploded views showing details of the camera assembly  30 . Because this is also a separate unit that may be removed and replaced, several different cameras may be used as desired. At times, for instance, a camera has to be smaller than the standard camera that was provided with the system. It is simply a matter of unplugging one camera and plugging in another camera having the needed feature of size. Of course, other cameras having some desired feature for some particular job can be similarly substituted as needed.  FIG. 6B  is an end view of the assembly  30 , looking into the open end of the camera lens cover and holder  66 . Assembly  30  includes the camera body  46 , O-rings  48 ,  50 , and  52 , the camera  54 , O-ring  56 , a rubber washer  58 , the LED light ring  60  which has within it the glass lens cover  62  and its O-ring  64 , and the lens cover and holder  66 . Nut  68  is a nut that is threaded over the end  70  of the camera body  46 . It has an O-ring, not shown, under it which provides a water seal for the cable control rod. Wires  72  and  74  schematically illustrate the connections to the cable push rod assembly  26 , which is in turn connected to the control box assembly  24 . Through these wire connections power is provided to the camera  54  and the video signal from the camera is sent back to the control box assembly  24 .  
         [0030]     When the camera assembly  30  is fully assembled, it is watertight. The camera  54  is received partially within the camera body  46  and partly in the lens cover and holder  66 . The lens cover and holder  66  fits over the light ring O-ring  64 , the camera  54 , the O-rings  52 ,  50  and  48  of the camera body  46 , effectively sealing the camera  54 . Its glass lens cover  62  which also covers the LED light ring  60 , protecting those parts and the camera lens  76  that extends through the rubber washer  58  as is seen in  FIG. 6B .  
         [0031]      FIGS. 7A, 7B ,  7 C and  7 D illustrate several views of the rotary contact assembly  80  that transfers power and video signals between the control box assembly  24  and the cable push rod assembly  26 , which is mounted on the rotatable reel  22  and thus rotates with the reel, to camera assembly  30 . This rotary contact assembly  80  has been developed to provide a good, solid means for transferring signals and electrical power to the rotating cable reel  24  and therefore to one end of the cable push rod assembly  26  which rotates with that reel as the cable push rod assembly is paid out as the camera assembly  30  is inserted into a conduit and pushed through that conduit while the camera looks for any damage to the conduit. It performs that function in an outstanding manner, and is considerably more sturdy than many other commercially available rotary contact assemblies.  
         [0032]     Assembly  80  has a center spindle  82  that has copper rings  84 ,  86 ,  88 ,  90  and  92  thereon, separated by insulated dividers  94  from each other and from the stationary hub  18 , which is effectively a part of the assembly  80 . The spindle  82  rotates within a bearing  96  that is made of an insulated type of material that has an extremely long wear life so that its use in this system is for all practical purposes good for the life of the system. Assembly  80  is designed to simply screw into the control box assembly  24  that is a part of the system  10 , and can be easily removed and replaced by the customer in the field when needed. There are five such copper rings shown because in the system there are five wires to be connected between the control box assembly  24  and the cable push rod assembly  26 . There are therefore five wiper contacts  100 ,  102 ,  104   106  and  108 , respectively being in engagement with the copper rings  84 ,  86 , 88 ,  90  and  92 . Wires  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116  and  118  are respectively connected to the contacts  100 ,  102 ,  104 , 106  and  108 , and are insulated from each other. They are in turn operatively connected to the control box assembly  24 . Each of the copper rings  84 ,  86 ,  88 ,  90  and  92  is operatively connected to one of the wires  120 , 122 ,  124 , 126  and  128  leading to the wires in the cable push rod assembly  26  having those same reference numbers as those wires have.  
         [0033]     The schematic presentation of the system shown in  FIG. 8  has as its main components the basic units of the system embodying the invention. These include the control box assembly  24 , the rotary contact assembly  80 , the cable push rod assembly  26 , and the camera assembly  30 . It also includes the power supply  400 . The power supply may be a 12 volt system such as that commonly found on most vehicles, including those that would bring the system to the location where it is to be used. It is therefore represented in the schematic by the 12 volt outlet of a transformer  402 . The transformer may be connected to an alternating current supply if there is one available, as shown by the plug  404  and the wiring that is connected to the transformer via an off-on switch  406 . The alternating current ground wire  408  is also shown as being connected to the transformer so that its housing is also grounded. The wires  408  and  410  from the battery or the transformer  402  are connected to the positive and negative connections on a circuit board  412  which is a part of the control box assembly  24 . There are three connections of positive and negative wires leading from the circuit board  412 . The first pair of such wires  414  and  416  are connected to a potentiometer  418  which will control the dimming of lights. The second pair of such wires are the wires  110  and  112 , also shown in  FIGS. 7C and 7D , which are connected to the first two wiper contacts  100  and  102  of the rotary connector assembly  80 . The third pair of wires are the wires  114  and  116  of  FIGS. 7C and 7D , which are connected to the second two wiper contacts  104  and  106  of the rotary connector assembly  80 . The wire  118  of  FIGS. 7C and 7D  is connected to the fifth wiper contacts  108  of the rotary connector assembly  80  and is also connected to the video plug  38 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 9  shows a cross section of the cable push rod  26 . The push rod core  500  is made of fiberglass, and is the part of the push rod assembly  26  that carries the pushing force exerted on the push rod assembly  26  from the reel area to move the camera assembly  30  into the conduit to be inspected or repaired. It is surrounded by another fiberglass or very hard plastic fitting  502  which is similar in cross section to the fittings  300  and  300 ′ noted above. Like those fittings, it has a circumferentially spaced series of recesses in which the copper wires  504 ,  506 ,  508 ,  510  and  512  are located. These wires are also identified herein as wires  320 ,  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328  when describing the making of splices, and then are particularly referring to the parts of the copper wires that are part of the splicing operation. The outer casing  514  of the push rod assembly  26  covers the above-described interior parts of the push rod assembly  26 . Casing  514  is made of a very hard but still slightly flexible plastic which may be a polymer by way of example. It fits very tightly around the wires and the fitting  502  so that, in the manufacture of the cable push rod  26 , the interior of the push rod assembly  26  is tightly sealed and has no voids.  
         [0035]      FIG. 10  illustrates a splice such as the one shown in  FIG. 4H  after the epoxy resin has been applied to the two push rod temporary ends  330  and  332  of the push rod  500 , and those ends have been inserted into the centerbore  306  of the splice fitting  300 , the wires  320  through  328 , only some of them being visible in  FIG. 10 , have been respectively placed in the splice fitting recesses  310  through  318 , as shown in  FIGS. 4D through 4G , soldered as shown at  329  in  FIGS. 4G and 4H , and then covered with epoxy resin. The splice cover  334  has then been applied to the splice so that it covers and seals the splice, with its outer surface  336  having a diameter that is substantially the same as the diameter of the outer surface  338  of the outer cover  514  of the push rod assembly  26 , and the edges  340  and  342  thereof sealing the edges  344  and  346  of the outer cover  514 .  
         [0036]     As earlier described, the splice cover  334  can be a heat-shrink plastic that has been wrapped around the splice until its diameter, when heated and having shrunk, is approximately the same as the diameter of the outer surface  338  of the outer cover  514  of the push rod assembly  26 . Alternatively, the splice cover  334  may be a cloth material, such as cotton twine or an appropriate other cloth material that has been soaked with epoxy resin and then wrapped around the splice until its outer diameter is substantially the same as the diameter of the outer cover  514  of the push rod assembly  26 . In either instance of the choice of the material of the splice cover  334 , after the epoxy resin has hardened, the outer surface  336  of the splice has sealed the splice and with the ends  346  and  348  of that outer cover  514  so that the splice is impervious to water intrusion.  
         [0037]     The splice can also be similarly made as shown in  FIG. 4G , where the ends of the wires of the push rod assembly are connected to a plug such as plug  42 . This same type of splice can be used to attach similar plugs to other parts such as the camera assembly  30 , the rotary contact assembly  80 , and the control box assembly  24 , and the video equipment  36 , so that they can be easily plugged in to be connected or unplugged to be disconnected and then can be quickly and easily removed and replaced or repaired as necessary. With this provision of the common design of connector plugs always being attached by use of a splice fitting and the epoxy resin to form a splice, none of these parts should ever be the cause of long periods of down time and the cost of shipping them to special repair centers as has been the case for so many years for such equivalent parts. The only times that a splice need be constructed in the field is when the push rod assembly  26  has been damaged and the damaged section must be removed and a splice put in its place in the push rod assembly in order to be able to use the push rod assembly, or when an added length of push rod assembly must be inserted between the rotary contact assembly  80  and the camera  30  to increase the distance that the camera may be pushed into the sewer or other conduit.