Abstract:
A camera platform assembly is disclosed and claimed to include a control base adapted to receive control signal, a rotary table horizontally rotatably supported on the control base and controlled to rotate horizontally on the control base by control signal received by the control base, and movable rack pivoted to the rotary table and adapted to carry a camera and to adjust the angle of inclination of the camera.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a camera platform and, more particularly, to a camera platform assembly, which can be controlled to adjust the direction and the angle of inclination of the loaded camera conveniently and remotely.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Following fast development of information technology, the use of photographing and video recording systems becomes popular. Regular photographing and video recording systems include digital still cameras, digital video cameras, and surveillance systems. When using a digital still camera or digital video camera to pick up images, it is difficult to hold the camera with the hands firmly in position. In order to prevent a vibration, a tripod or the like may be used to hold the camera firmly in the desired position. After loading of a camera on the camera platform of a tripod, the user may have to adjust the direction and the angle of inclination of the camera. When changing the direction of the camera, the user has to shift the tripod. After the tripod is set to point the camera in the desired direction, the user has to loosen the lock screw, and then fasten the lock screw again after adjusting the angle of inclination of the camera. It is inconvenient to adjust the direction and the angle of inclination of the camera in this way. Further, the user cannot adjust the shooting direction of the camera when photographing.  
           [0005]    Therefore, it is desirable to provide a camera platform assembly for a tripod or the like, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a camera platform assembly, which can be conveniently controlled to adjust the direction and the angle of inclination of the loaded camera. It is another object of the present invention to provide a camera platform assembly, which enables the user to control the direction of the loaded camera from a remote place. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a camera platform assembly, which is easy to install.  
           [0007]    To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the camera platform assembly is adapted to carry a camera and to control the angular position of the camera, comprising: a control base adapted to receive control signal for controlling the position of a camera carried on the camera platform assembly; a rotary table coupled to the control base for free rotation to adjust the position of a camera carried on the camera platform assembly, the rotary table comprising a barrel fixedly located on a top side thereof, and a plurality of locating grooves axially formed in the barrel of the rotary table and arranged in parallel; and a movable rack coupled to the rotary table and adapted to hold a camera and to adjust the angle of inclination of the camera carried thereon, the movable rack comprising a base frame, the base frame comprising two barrels axially aligned in a line at two sides of the barrel of the rotary table and a plurality of locating grooves axially formed in one barrel of the movable rack and arranged in parallel corresponding to the locating grooves of the rotary table, a control shaft inserted into the barrels of the movable rack and the barrel of the rotary table to pivotally secure the base frame to the barrel of the rotary table and axially movable relative to the barrels of the base frame and the barrel of the rotary table between a first position to lock the base frame and a second position to unlock the base frame for enabling the base frame to be turned relative to the rotary table, the control shaft having a plurality of longitudinal teeth arranged in parallel around the periphery thereof and adapted to engage the locating grooves of the base frame and the locating grooves of the rotary table, a holder frame mounted on the base frame and adapted to accommodate a camera, and a locking member pivoted to the base frame and adapted to lock the holder frame.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1A is a front elevational view of a camera platform assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1B is a rear elevational view of the camera platform assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1C is a front plan view of the camera platform assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1D is a side plan view of the camera platform assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1E is a sectional plan view of the camera platform assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1F is a rear plan view of the camera platform assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the camera platform assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing the movable rack adjusted to a specific angle of inclination.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1A.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 illustrates the use of the camera platform assembly with a receiver and a remote controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a camera platform assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]    As illustrated in FIGS.  1 A˜ 1 F, the camera platform assembly  100  comprises a control base  102 , a rotary table  104 , and a movable rack  106 . The control base  102  is adapted to receive control signal for controlling the positioning status of the camera. The rotary table  104  is coupled to the control base  102 , for enabling the camera to be rotated horizontally through 360° relative to the control base  102 . The movable rack  106  is fastened pivotally with the rotary table  104 , and adapted to carry the camera, for enabling the camera to be adjusted to the desired angle of inclination (i.e., for enabling the camera to be turned in a direction perpendicular to the rotary table  104 ).  
         [0020]    The detailed structural features of the camera platform assembly  100  will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The movable rack  106  is comprised of a base frame  108 , a control shaft  110 , a holder frame  112 , and a locking member  114 . The holder frame  112  is coupled to the base frame  108  and adapted to accommodate a camera. The locking member  114  is pivoted to the base frame  108  and adapted to lock the bolder frame  112 . The rotary table  104  comprises a barrel  116   a  fixedly located on the top near the border. The barrel  116   a  has a plurality of locating grooves  118  in the inside wall. The base frame  108  comprises two barrels  116   b , a plurality of locating grooves  120  formed in the inside wall of one of the barrels  116   b  corresponding to the locating grooves  118  in the barrel  116   a  of the rotary table  104 , and a female retaining portion  122  formed in the inside wall of the other of the barrels  116   b . The control shaft  110  is axially movably inserted into the barrels  116   b  of the base frame  108  of the movable rack  106  to pivotally secure the movable rack  106  to the barrel  116   a  of the rotary table  104 , having a plurality of longitudinal teeth  124  arranged in parallel around the periphery of one end thereof and adapted to engage the locating grooves  118  and  120 . The control shaft  110  is moved axially between the locking position where the teeth  124  are engaged into the locating grooves  120  of the movable rack  106  and the locating grooves  118  of the rotary table  104  and the movable rack  106  is locked, and the unlocking position where the teeth  124  are engaged into the locating grooves  120  of the movable rack  106  and disengaged from the locating grooves  118  of the rotary table  104  and the movable rack  106  is unlocked for adjustment. Therefore, the user can rotate the rotary table  104  on the control base  102  and turn the movable rack  106  relative to the barrel  116   a  of the rotary table  104  to adjust the position of the camera at the holder frame  112  horizontally as well as vertically.  
         [0021]    The movable rack  106  further comprises a spring member, for example, a compression spring  126  supported between the control shaft  110  and one of the barrels  116   b  of the base frame  108  of the movable rack  106 . The compression spring  126  imparts a pressure to the control shaft  110 , holding the control shaft  110  in the locking position. Therefore, the compression spring  126  automatically returns the control shaft  110  to the locking position to lock the movable rack  106  after each position adjustment of the camera by the user.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1A. As illustrated, the control shaft  110  comprises a male retaining portion  128  adapted to engage the female retaining portion  122 . When the control shaft  110  is moved outwards from the unlocking position to the locking position, the male retaining portion  128  will be forced into engagement with the female retaining portion  122  to stop the control shaft  110  in the locking position, preventing falling of the control shaft  110  out of the movable rack  106  and the rotary table  104 .  
         [0023]    Referring to FIG. 4 again, the rotary table  104  further comprises a motor  130  and a transmission gear set  132 . The motor  130  receives electricity from a power adapter or battery (not shown) and a control signal to rotate the rotary table  104 . A power switch (not shown) is provided to control the operation of the motor  130 . The transmission gear set  132  is coupled between the output shaft of the motor  130  and the control base  102  for rotating the rotary table  104  relative to the control base  102  when the motor is started.  
         [0024]    Referring to FIG. 5, the control base  102  comprises a power jack  134  for power input, a signal connector  136  for the connection of the signal line  144  of a receiver  142  adapted to receive control signal from a remote controller  140 , and a port  138  for connection to a computer for signal output from the camera carried on the movable rack  106  to a linked computer. By means of the remote controller  140 , the user can control the rotation of the rotary table  104  of the camera platform assembly  100  from a remote place. Therefore, it is convenient to use a camera with the camera platform assembly  100  to observe wild animals in a specific place.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the second embodiment of the camera platform assembly  100  according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the camera platform assembly  100  is comprised of a control base  102 , a rotary table  104 , and a movable rack  106 . The control base  102  comprises a power jack  134  for power input, and a power switch  146  adapted to control the operation of the motor (not shown). Similar to the aforesaid first embodiment of the present invention, the movable rack  106  is pivoted to the rotary table  104  for enabling the user to adjust the angle of inclination of the loaded camera (not shown).  
         [0026]    A prototype of camera platform assembly has been constructed with the features of FIGS.  1 ˜ 6 . The camera platform assembly functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
         [0027]    Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.