Patent Publication Number: US-6663299-B1

Title: Universal mounting for camera and flash attachment units

Description:
This application is based on provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/286,867, filed Apr. 26, 2001, entitled “Universal Mounting for Camera and Flash Attachment Units”. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a photographic mounting device and more particularly relates to a mounting for a camera and flash attachment which is compact, lightweight and universal and may be mounted on a tripod or may be hand-held. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The ideal camera mounting for securing camera and flash units when taking photographs should be compact, lightweight and versatile. The mounting should accommodate most 35 mm cameras and medium format cameras as well as shoe-mounted flashes. Such mounts should provide the capability of using the flash unit for wide area of lighting and support multiple flash units for variable ratio or flash fill lighting as well as for macro and portrait photography. An ideal camera mount should provide the ability to position the camera in either a vertical or horizontal format and maintaining the camera&#39;s lens in the same position regardless of orientation. 
     In the prior art there are numerous brackets for mounting cameras and flash units. Some allow the changing of formats with overhead wide-area lighting. Most are designed for specific camera models and do not provide the various desirable features mentioned above and are not universal allowing the user to mount various 35 mm medium format cameras. 
     The following patents show representative camera mounts: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,452: discloses a triaxial (dual biaxial) universal camera mount assembly which permits a camera secured thereto to be independently or simultaneously pivotable about three axes: a vertical axis, a horizontal axis, and a central lens axis. The universal camera mounting has a first yoke pivotally nested in a second yoke to form the horizontal axis. The second yoke is mountable to a tripod so that it may pivot about a vertical axis normal to, but offset behind, the horizontal axis. The second yoke has a pivotable universal camera mounting bracket, the pivot axis of which corresponds to the central lens axis and intersects both the vertical axis and the horizontal axis. The yokes are canted and the vertical and central axis pivots offset so that a camera is completely balanced in the mount. The pivots are specially constructed so that the balanced camera can be moved from one position to another, yet it will stay in the second position without need of a locking means. The mount replaces a conventional tripod pan head and permits angular movement of the camera to any position without changes in view or focus introduction of parallax errors as is the case with conventional tripod mounts. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,098 shows a flat normally horizontal, rectangular camera mounting base is supported manually by a single handle connected at its lower end to the outer end of a leftward extension of the base near the front end of the left edge of said base, said handle normally extending upright but being pivotally adjustable arm forwardly relative to said extension about a transverse horizontal axis. A flash unit supporting arm extends upwardly from the upper end of the handle at a slight inclination relative thereto to within a short distance of a vertical plane containing the optical axis of a camera mounted on said base. A short horizontal extension extends inwardly from the upper end of said arm, said extension being normal to said vertical plane and bisected thereby. A flash unit mounting screw is provided in said plane on said arm extension and secures to said extension a flasher unit support which is rockable about a horizontal axis normal to said plane. 
     A right-angled adapter bracket is optionally mountable on the base and pivotally supports an elevated right-angled auxiliary camera supporting platform whereby the latter with the camera fixed thereto may be rotated about the focal axis of the camera to any desired angle while taking a picture. To facilitate rapid assembly or disassembly on the camera mounting base of a camera or of the angular adapter bracket, an adapter slug is screwable onto each of the latter and is quickly engageable or disengageable by a novel spring biased clamp on the mounting base. 
     The base of the device has downwardly extending edge walls which, together with the lateral extension from the base for supporting the handle of the device, engage a flat surface on which the device is placed so as to support the device with the handle in upright position when placed on a table. 
     U. S. Pat. No. 4,241,988 describes a bracket for supporting cameras and electronic flash units in an arrangement for high quality photographic techniques. The bracket includes a member for supporting a camera, a pair of members for supporting electronic flash units, clamps for joining the several members together and appropriate threaded knobs and screw members for adjusting the bracket arrangement as well as mounting the electronic flash units and the camera thereon. 
     Despite the availability of camera mounts as described above there nevertheless exists a need for a versatile, compact and convenient mount. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly the present invention provides a camera mount which has a body which carries a vertically adjustable camera mounting plate. The body may be rotated between vertical and horizontal positions or formats as well as intermediate angular positions. A handle is connected to one end of the body at a quick-release connection. The camera is secured to the mounting plate by means of a camera screw engageable in threads in the body of the camera as is conventional. At opposite ends of the body a ball extends forwardly supported on studs. The upper end of the handle also carries a similar ball. This allows one or more flash unit arms to be attached at multiple locations by means of an adjustable clamp. The clamp allows full range of positioning of the flash-unit arm. The outer or distal end of the flash-unit arm carries a conventional flash shoe mount which rotates and swivels to various flash unit positions on the flash arm. 
     The camera mount of the present invention may be secured on a tripod or may be manually held by gripping the handle. The mount provides ease of changing from horizontal to vertical format and will maintain the center of the camera&#39;s lens in the same position relative to the mount regardless of camera orientation as a result of the ability to adjust of the camera-mounting plate. Flash units can be attached and oriented for various formats including overhead, flash-filled variable lighting for scenes, portraits as well as macro photography. The device accommodates most 35 mm media format cameras and multiple-shoot mounted flash units. The mount can be made of suitable material such as stainless steel or other materials that are impervious to environmental conditions such as weather and may be used even in underwater environments with appropriate underwater cameras and submersible strobes. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects at an advantage of the present invention will be more fully appreciated and understood from the following description, claims and drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the camera mount present invention used in connection with the tripod and showing the camera support plate in both the horizontal and vertical positions; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view similar to the perspective view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a detail of the handle receiving connector; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view showing a camera mounted on the mounting plate in a vertical orientation and with two flash units secured to opposite ends of the plate; 
     FIG. 5 is front view of the mount showing another operational mode in which a flash attachment is secured to the upper end of the handle; 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 show the mount supporting a camera and flash for overhead lighting; 
     FIG. 8 is a front view showing an embodiment of the mount adapted for use with underwater strobes and a submersible camera; and 
     FIGS. 9 and 9A illustrate another embodiment of the camera mount of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     Turning now to the drawings particularly FIGS. 1 through 3, the camera-mount of the present invention is generally designated by the numeral  10  and has a body  11 . The body  11  is fabricated from plate stock and may be plastic or metal and a preferred material is an environmentally resistant material such as steel or stainless steel. The body  11  is shown as being generally rectangular with an upwardly extending projection  14  at its approximate mid-point. The upper end of the projection defines a bore  16  for receipt of a screw  18  of which is securable to the camera body and may be tightened or loosened to secure camera mounting bracket extension  22  as will be explained hereafter. The body has a flange  24  extending from its bottom edge which also defines a bore  28  to allow the body to be secured by a suitable screw to a tripod “T” or other location. The tripod “T” forms no part of the invention. 
     The body defines one or more apertures  30  which are shown as a square being located adjacent the opposite vertical edges of the body. These apertures can be provided at other locations in the body and each may receive a ball joint component  32 . The ball joint components are shown as having a spherical or ball end  34  and a projecting stud  36  with a square end which is receivable within the apertures  30 . The ball joint components may be secured in place by a suitable fastener  33  extending into the stud from the rear of the body. 
     A camera mounting extension plate  22  is positioned at the center of the plate. The extension has a recess  42  extending in its front surface. A longitudinally extending slot  44  is provided in the bottom of the recess. An aperture  46  is provided in the upper end of the extension and is secured to the upper end of projection  14  on the body by means of threaded fastener  18 . This allows the extension plate  22  to be selectively oriented either vertical position as shown in FIG.  1 . The fastener  18  will secure the extension plate in the selected position. 
     The camera is positioned on a camera mounting bracket  50  which includes a generally planar base with a flange  52  extending from the rear edge of the base. The flange defines an aperture  54 . The flange is slidable receivable within the recess  42  in the front surface of the extension plate  22 . A fastener  56  adjustably attaches the camera mounting bracket  50  to the extension plate. One or more elongated slot  55  are provided in the camera mounting bracket to allow a camera mounting screw  60  to extend through a selected slot and into the internally threaded bore provided on most camera bodies. The multiple slots facilitate lateral adjustment of the camera body relative to the bracket  50 . 
     A detachable handle  70  may be secured to the base. The handle  70  has an elongated rod  72  with a grip  74  secured at an intermediate location along the rod. The grip is configured to be comfortably grasped within the hand of the user. The upper end of the rod extends beyond the grip and terminates at a ball  75 . The lower or distal end of the rod has a projecting pin  76  disposed at generally right angles with respect to the rod. The lower end of the rod is receivable within a handle connector  80  which is secured to the rear or back side of the body at a suitable location generally disposed toward one side. The connector is shown in detail in FIG.  3 . Multiple mounting holes  78  can be provided in the body so that the user may mount the handle bracket at a suitable location for the convenience of the user. A right-handed person may select a particular mounted position for the handle while a left-handed person may select another. 
     The handle bracket  80  connector has a plate  82  having holes  84  for receiving fasteners  85  for securing the handle connector to the mount body. A receiver tube  88  is secured to the plate generally of vertical orientation. The tube defines a vertically extending slot  90  in the side wall terminating at its lower end at a notch  92  defining generally overall J-shaped slot configuration. The lower end of the tube is threaded and receives a cap  94 . A small piston  93  is slidable in the tube and engages a stop within a tube to limit its upward trend. A spring  95  applies an upwardly biasing force against a piston  96 . Thus, it will be apparent that the lower end of the handle may be inserted into the tube with the pin  76  aligned with the slot  90  in the tube. A downward manual force applied to the handle will compress spring  95 . The handle is advanced until the pin on the lower end of the rod is aligned with notch  92  in the lower end of slot which will then allow the user to then twist the handle locking it in place as the pin engages the locking notch  92 . Reversing the procedure will allow the handle to be removed for storage or in the event the user does not require the use of one handle. 
     Once significant advantage of the present invention is that it allows great versatility in the positioning of flash units. Flash units are each secured to the body by a flash unit arm.  100 . The flash unit arms each include a longitudinal rod  102  which terminates at a flattened section  104  which defines a through bore  106 . The opposite end of the arm carries a spherical ball  110 . A conventional flash shoe mount  120  may be secured to the outer distal end of the flash arms by a lock knob  122 . By loosening the knob, the flash mounts may be rotated. Similarly, conventional flash shoes  120  allow rotation of the mount and attached flash unit. 
     The flash arms  100  may be attached to any of the selected balls  32 ,  75  either on the mount body or on the handle. The flash arms are each attached by means of a clamp  130  which consists of a pair of plates  132 ,  134  each having a pair of spaced-apart semi-spherical indentations  135  on their inner surface which correspond to the curvature of the balls. The plates are connected by a threaded member  138  which has a knob  139  at its outer end. The ball  110  on the end of the flash arm may be positioned between opposed spherical indentations with the opposed semi-spherical indentations being positioned over one of the selected balls  30  on the body. The locking knob  139  is then tightened to lock the flash arm  100  and its attached shoe in the desired position. By loosening the adjustment knob the arms may be moved through a full range of motion. 
     The advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following description of operation. A photographer wishing to use the mount may position it on a tripod “T” as shown in FIG. 1 by attaching the flange  24  on the bottom side of the body to the tripod. A camera “C” is positioned on the camera mounting plate by means of screw  60  engaging its threaded bore in the camera body. The lateral position of the camera may be adjusted by selection of one of the slots  58 . The photographer may then position the camera desired vertical or horizontal position and adjust the camera relate to the body by sliding extension  22  within its receiving slot  41 . The desired number of flash arms  100  are attached to selected of the balls  34 ,  75 . The handle  76  is locked in place to the body. The flash units may be oriented as shown in FIG. 4 on opposite sides of the camera with the camera in a vertical position. If the photographer wishes to place the camera in a horizontal position, this can be accomplished by loosening the locking screw  56  and pivoting the camera to a horizontal position and then relocking the extension plate. The vertical adjustment provided by the camera plate  50  will allow the photographer to position the center of the lens at the same elevation as with the camera in the vertical position. 
     The flash unit may be directed upwardly or toward a reflector for portrait and similar shots as shown in FIG.  6 . The photographer may also use an angular position between the vertical (FIG. 7) and horizontal orientation (FIG.  6 ). Similarly, flash units can be disposed at a number of locations depending on the type of photographs to be taken. Multiple flash units may be used. Flashes may be used for fill lighting or macro or portrait photography. 
     In FIG. 8 an embodiment  200  of the camera mount is shown with the handle attached and with an underwater strobe and submersible camera SC secured to the bracket. The mount has a body  211  which has balls  234  for attachment of one or more flash arm  300  by brackets  230 . The mount components are all of a salt water resistance material such as stainless and may be provided with relief holes  280  for reduced weight. Thus, the underwater photographer can guide and orient the camera and flash by use of the handle  270 . In this use mode, the mounting is hand-held and not secured to stabilization units such as a tripod. 
     In FIGS. 9 and 9A, the mount is designated  10 A having a body  11 A having a flange  24 A for attachment to a tripod or other location. The body  11 A has multiple apertures  30 A to receive the shaft  36 A of a ball joint component  32 A. A ball joint component may be secured to the body at one or more selected apertures. 
     Body  11 A has an upwardly extending projection  14 A which defines a bore  16 A. A camera is positioned on L-shaped camera bracket  50 A having a flange  52 A with a threaded bore  54 A. A pivot knob  18 A with a threaded shaft extends through bore  16 A into bore  54 A. A quick release, spring-loaded detent pin  17  is mounted on the rear of flange  14 A engageable with selected bores  56  and  57 . Thus, the bracket  50 A can be positioned either vertically or horizontally by loosening knob  18 A, manually releasing detent pin  17  and selectively positioning the bracket. Once positioned, the detent pin seats in the selected bore and the knob tightened. The camera is secured to the bracket by camera mounting screw  60 A. 
     Thus, from foregoing seen that the present intervention provides a highly versatile bracket for mounting a camera and flash. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to make various changes, alterations and modifications to the invention described herein. To the extent such changes, alterations and modifications do not depart from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. They are intended to be encompassed therein.