Patent Publication Number: US-6902294-B2

Title: Light stand

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to photographic accessory equipment, and more specifically to a light stand for supporting photographic lighting equipment. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Portable light stands and tripods are well known and widely used for a variety of purposes, and in particular for photographic purposes. Most photographers have used a tripod to support a camera for added stability, and many use tripods as lighting stands, mounting strobes and other lighting accessories atop the tripod. Professional photographers rely on durable and heavy-duty equipment to do their jobs. 
   Video and cinema photographers in particular require powerful lighting that, unlike the strobe lights used for still photography, must light a scene continuously during filming. Lamps for video and cinematic lighting are generally relatively heavy and require substantial electrical power for continuous operation. Outside of a studio, the availability of lighting can become a limiting factor in successfully filming a scene. 
   Television news video crews exemplify the need for a portable lighting source, and especially for a portable source of power for the lighting. Television news video crews often rely on a truck to carry video equipment, including lighting, to the site of a remote news story or live interview. While the truck can be outfitted with a generator or other power source to power lights, the video crew is often limited by the length of power cords in their ability to reach a remote site. 
   Portable battery packs can be employed, but become additional and separate pieces of equipment to be carried. Additionally, lighting equipment must be adapted for use with such batteries. Most battery packs used in the video and cinematographic industry are intended for use with video cameras, adapted for use with quick-mount battery adapters found on cameras and not for the connectors used by most lighting accessories. 
   Various portable photographic lighting stands and fixtures have been attempted and employed, but none heretofore have provided an adequate solution for remote video and cinematographic situations. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,228, issued on Sep. 24, 2002 to F. Bosnakovic, discloses a portable vertical support having a self-contained battery. Used for supporting photographic equipment, and in particular a photographic light, the portable vertical support has batteries contained within a hollow center of a center, upright post. This arrangement limits the ability to quickly change batteries once the batteries in use lose their charge. Additionally, the arrangement lacks the convenience of compatibility with rechargeable battery packs that are already in common use in the video and cinematography industry. Finally, no provision is made for an indication of the remaining battery life or charge. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,170, issued on Jun. 1, 1965 to L. Kille, discloses an electronic flash apparatus. The apparatus includes a housing containing batteries and other electronics, and a telescoping mast supporting a photographic flash or strobe type light source. Wiring connecting the batteries to the light source is coiled around the mast. The electronic flash apparatus, however, has no provision for a quick-mount battery pack. Additionally, the arrangement lacks the convenience of compatibility with rechargeable battery packs that are already in common use in the video and cinematography industry. Finally, no provision is made for an indication of the remaining battery life or charge. 
   None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a light stand solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The light stand of the present invention is a tripod for supporting photographic lighting accessories, the light stand being adapted for receiving a replaceable battery power source. 
   The light stand has a telescoping vertical support post, and a plurality of extendable, downwardly extending collapsible legs. At the bottom end of the center post is a battery-mounting fixture for receiving a conventional rechargeable battery power source. Because the battery power supply is located at the bottom of the center post, it provides a stabilizing ballast, reducing the tendency of the light stand to be tipped or knocked over. 
   At the top of the light stand is an accessory-mounting fixture for receiving a photographic lighting accessory, camera, or other device. The light stand includes a wiring harness extending from the battery-mounting fixture at the bottom to the accessory-mounting fixture at the top. A voltmeter is included in the wiring harness to indicate the voltage of a battery that is attached, or to indicate the state of charge of the battery. Connectors on each end of the wiring harness allow for quick and easy replacement of a battery power supply, and of a photographic lighting accessory, camera, or other device. 
   The battery-mounting fixture itself may be removed entirely from the lighting stand, and includes an accessory-mounting fixture. This allows the battery-mounting fixture to be used as an accessory support and power supply, which is useful, for example, to place a video lighting accessory on a shelf or in another location where a tripod is not suitable. 
   Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a lighting stand with a self-contained, removable battery power supply. 
   It is another object of the invention to provide a lighting stand with a self-contained, removable battery power supply that is resistant to tipping or being knocked over. 
   It is a further object of the invention to provide a lighting stand with a self-contained, removable battery power supply that is easily interchangeable. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide a lighting stand with a self-contained, removable battery power supply that can be used separately from the lighting stand to support a lighting or other accessory. 
   It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
   These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a light stand according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of the top of a light stand according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a battery-mounting fixture of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4A  is a top view of the lower bracket member of the light stand according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 4B  is a front view of the lower bracket member of the light stand according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 5A  is a bottom view of the upper bracket member of the light stand according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 5B  is a front view of the upper bracket member of the light stand according to the present invention, shown upside-down. 
       FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of the lower bracket member of the light stand according to the present invention having a collapsible accessory adapter. 
       FIG. 6B  is a perspective view of the lower bracket member of the light stand according to the present invention having a collapsible accessory adapter, shown in the extended position. 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram showing connection of a battery pack to the wiring harness of the light stand according to the present invention. 
   

   Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The present invention is a light stand, designated generally as  10  in the drawings. 
   The light stand  10  is generally a conventional tripod structure having a telescoping vertical support post  12  with a plurality of collapsible legs  14  that can be extended and retracted. The collapsible legs  14 , and leg supports  16 , are disposed on the telescoping vertical support post  12  in a well-known configuration. A handle  70  is disposed along the telescoping vertical support post  12 , and may be fixed or slidable in position for good balance when carrying the light stand  10 . An accessory-mounting fixture  77 , such as a post or “spud” commonly used for mounting photographic lighting accessories, is disposed on the top end of the telescoping vertical support post  12  as seen in FIG.  2 . 
   Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a battery-mounting fixture  30  is disposed on the bottom end of the telescoping vertical support post  12 . The battery-mounting fixture  30  is comprised generally of a bracket assembly having an upper bracket member  36  and a lower bracket member  38 . The upper bracket member  36  is attached to the bottom of the telescoping vertical support post  12 . A stabilizing plate  32  is disposed between the upper bracket member  36  and the telescoping vertical support post  12 , and an insulating piece  34  of plastic, rubber, or another insulating material, is disposed between the stabilizing plate  32  and the upper bracket member  36 . 
   The lower bracket member  38 , seen in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , comprises a generally flat, rectangular plate  44 . A hinge body  50 , having a hinge pin  52  extending therefrom, is disposed on the top surface  45  of the rectangular plate  44 , along an edge of the rectangular plate  44 . A vertical edge  46  is disposed on an edge of the rectangular plate  44  opposite the hinge body  50 , extending perpendicularly from the top surface  45  of the rectangular plate  44 . 
   The upper bracket member  36 , seen in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , comprises a generally flat, rectangular plate  40 . A hinge body  54 , having a hinge bore  56  formed therein for receiving hinge pin  52 , is disposed on the bottom surface  41  of the rectangular plate  40 , along an edge of the rectangular plate  40 . A vertical edge  42  is disposed on an edge of the rectangular plate  40  opposite the hinge body  54 , extending perpendicularly from the bottom surface  41  of the rectangular plate  40 . An aperture  58  is formed generally in the center of the rectangular plate  40  to facilitate mounting the upper bracket member  36  to the bottom end of the telescoping vertical support post  12 . 
   The upper bracket member  36  and the lower bracket member  38  are hingeably joined together, with the hinge pin  52  engaged within the hinge bore  56 , having the top surface  45  of the lower bracket member  38  facing the bottom surface  41  of the upper bracket member. In a closed position, as seen in  FIG. 3 , the vertical edge  42  of the upper bracket member  36  comes into alignment with the vertical edge  46  of the lower bracket member  38 . A fastener  74 , disposed through apertures  43  and  47 , holds the bracket members  36 ,  38  closed. 
   It can now be seen that, by removing the fastener  74  and disengaging the hinge pin  52  from the hinge bore  56 , the lower bracket member  38  can be readily removed from the upper bracket member  36 , disengaging the lower bracket member  38  entirely from the light stand  10 . 
   As seen in  FIG. 3 , a battery adapter  39  is mounted on a bottom surface of the lower bracket member  44 . The battery adapter  39  is any commercially available battery adapter or mounting plate suitable for mating with a matching commercially available rechargeable battery pack. Such conventional battery adapters are typically adapted both for quickly releasable mechanical connection and electrical connection, allowing a battery pack to be quickly installed or removed. The “QR-GOLD” Gold Mount Battery Plate Universal Mounting Plate, manufactured by Anton/Bauer, is exemplary. Also see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,218,107 and 4,550,968, incorporated herein by reference. A battery wire  28  is connected to the battery adapter  39 . 
   It can now be appreciated that, because the lower bracket member  38  with the attached battery adapter  39  can be readily removed from the light stand  10  and replaced with another lower bracket member  38  bearing a battery adapter  39  of a different kind, standard, brand, or style, the light stand  10  can be quickly adapted to receive a battery pack of a different “universal” mounting standard. 
   The lower bracket member  38  is additionally fitted with a collapsible accessory mounting fixture  60 , seen in FIGS.  6 A and  6 B. The collapsible accessory mounting fixture  60  is extendable to receive a photographic lighting or other accessory directly on the lower bracket member  38 , apart from the light stand  10 . Thus, lower bracket member  38  may be removed from the light stand along with the battery adapter  39  and any battery pack attached thereto, and used along with a photographic lighting accessory, mounted on the collapsible accessory mounting fixture  60 , as a remote or separate lighting source. 
   The collapsible accessory mounting fixture  60  illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  comprises an outer sleeve  62  and an “U” shaped post or “spud” adapter  64  having one end slidably disposed in the outer sleeve  62 . A slot  66  is formed in the outer sleeve  62  that allows the “L” shaped post  64  to be laid flat, or stood upright. When the “L” shaped post  64  is stood upright in a vertical position, the “L” shaped post  64  is slidable within the outer sleeve  62  to a position where an upright portion of the “L” shaped post  64  is engaged with the slot  66  so that the slot  66  holds the “L” shaped post  64  in the upright position. A spring  68  biases the “L” shaped post  64  to retain the “L” shaped post  64  once put into the upright position. 
   As shown in  FIG. 7 , the light stand  10  includes a wiring harness  20  that connects from the battery wire  28  to the lighting or other accessory atop the light stand  10 . A battery connector  22  is provided for connection to the battery wiring  28 . An accessory connector  24  is provided for connection to any lighting or other accessory mounted atop the light stand  10 . The wiring harness  20  includes a voltmeter  26 . The voltmeter  26  provides an indication of the charge state of the battery pack. The wiring harness is disposed in a coiled fashion around the telescoping vertical support post  12 . 
   It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.