Patent Publication Number: US-2019185112-A1

Title: Camera Buoy for Underwater Photography

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This Application claims priority as a non-provisional perfection of prior filed U.S. Application 62/598,469, filed Dec. 14, 2017, and incorporates the same by reference in its entirety herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of photography and more particularly relates to a floatable buoy on which to secure a camera for use in underwater photography. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Fishing is one of our oldest activities. For many, the tradition still holds a fascination and it is practiced for both the practice of obtaining food and for leisure. One particular aspect of fishing that is enjoyed by fishermen is the battle between the person and the fish, not only in the landing, reeling and capture of the fish, but also in the luring of the fish to take the bait. With the advent of underwater photography, this experience may be enhanced. 
     Many devices have been developed for the purpose of taking underwater photographs, with particular interest in use while fishing. Until recently, cameras have not been waterproof, so such devices tended to be chambers which would hold the camera in a dry, contained environment. These devices tended to be cumbersome and required precision in their operation, lest water seep inside and ruin the camera. 
     Many cameras, or even phones with cameras, are water resistant and can be submerged in water of a given depth for a particular amount of time before they are damaged. As such, many containers have adapted and are not quite waterproof anymore. However, there is still a danger that if the container is not buoyant enough, and a securement line breaks, the camera may be lost to the depths of a body of water and never found again. Unfortunately, lighter containers tend to lack stability and can be frustrating to operate as the operator may not get a decent, stable, shot. 
     There are also other uses of such underwater cameras, such as archeological, geological, environmental, or forensic investigations, in which a stable underwater camera support may be of invaluable use. 
     The present invention is a buoy which may hold a camera facing a lure on a fishing line. The shape of the buoy gives it unexpected stability while being a true buoy, if the attachment line is broken, the camera will tend to float in the water. The buoy may provide a stable platform on which to mount a camera and acquire excellent pictures and video of any activity at the lure, even when moving in water. Being a buoy, the device is simple to operate and manufacture. The present invention represents a departure from the prior art in that the buoy of the present invention allows for a stable attachment to a camera for underwater photography. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of containers for underwater photography, an improved buoy may provide a stable interface for a camera that meets the following objectives: it is easy to manufacture and use, it will prevent the camera from entirely sinking to the bottom of a body of water in the event a line is broken, it is stable, directing the camera towards a lure even when the line is motion (excepting thrashing by the prey). As such, a new and improved buoy may comprise a pentahedral body with a rearward leader and lower camera mount attached thereto in order to accomplish these objectives. 
     The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow. 
     Many objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views. 
     Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation of the camera buoy, assembled with a camera, floating in water. 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevation of the camera buoy and camera assembly of  FIG. 1 , lying on its back surface. 
         FIG. 3  is a partial breakaway view of the camera buoy and camera assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the camera buoy and camera assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the camera support of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom elevation of the camera support of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is a slight front perspective view of the camera support of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 8  is a rear plan view of the camera support of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 9  is a side elevation of the camera support and camera assembly of  FIG. 1 , diving. 
         FIG. 10  is a side elevation of the camera support and camera assembly of  FIG. 1 , while either trolling or reeling. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the buoy is herein described. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a fully assembled buoy and camera  100  are floating on the surface of a body of water W. The assembly  100  is connected to a line  13  and supports a leader line  15  that supports a lure  17 . In an unweighted state, the assembly  100  is designed to float. It should be noted that relative terms such as “bottom,” “top,” “front,” and “back” are defined based on this figure, with the camera mount  130  on the bottom and the leader  140  attached to the back. 
     The entire assembly  100  comprises a camera  150  and a leader  140  connected to buoy  120  ( FIG. 2 ) with an elastic band  160  optionally used to help secure the camera  150  to the buoy  120 . The individual components of the assembly  100  are better seen in the exploded view of  FIG. 3 . Of note, leader  140 , which is preferred to be made of metal wire, has two ends  142 ,  146  terminating in eyelets for the attachment of line. There is also a support loop  144  in the middle of the leader  140 . The buoy  120  has a connection interface  130  which matches a corresponding interface  152  of the camera  150 , both of which may have corresponding holes  134 ,  154 . A bolt  132  generally secures the buoy and camera  150  together at their respective interfaces  130 ,  152 . This leaves the camera  150  exposed to the environment outside of the buoy body  120 . Support loop  144  may be fitted about the bolt  132  (shown generally in  FIG. 4 , with the bolt  132  removed for clarity) in the proximity of the holes  134 ,  154 . A buoy loop  136  is presented on the bottom surface  129  of the buoy and serves as an additional connection point for the leader  140  as it is threaded through said buoy loop  136 . This then provides the leader  140  with two points of attachment to the buoy  120 , both being along a center line of the same, and this enhances the stability of the buoy  120 . Elastic band  160  may be fitted about a top portion of the camera  150  and about the buoy loop  136  to provide a second point of contact for the camera  150 . 
     The buoy  120  body itself is shown in  FIGS. 5-8 . The buoy body  120  is generally a pentahedron, with a triangular back  129  and a generally square bottom  127  surface which are at right angles to each other, thereby making the buoy body  120  a “right pentahedron.” The front and back surfaces are similarly shaped triangles with the front surface  121  angling backwards to form a tip with the back surface  129  at the top of the buoy. Side surfaces  123 ,  125  complete the pentahedron and enclose a sealed volume which provides buoyant force when the buoy  120  is in water. Many different camera mounts exist. The depicted camera mount  130  extends from the joint of the back  129  and bottom surfaces  127  and extends outwards. A chamfer  128  may or may not be present to aid in the positioning of the camera mount  130 . 
     In use, shown in  FIGS. 1, 9 and 10 , the buoy assembly  100  is attached to a line  13  at the rear leader eyelet  146  while a lure  17  at the end of a lure line  15  is attached to front leader eyelet  142 . With no added sinker, the buoy assembly  100  may serve as a bobber and the camera  150  should point straight downwards. Also, if the properly weighted, the camera  150  may be only partially submerged, which allows wireless communication between the camera  150  and any other of the user&#39;s equipment. 
     A sinker  19  may be added to the lure line  15  in order to provide additional ballast and at least partially submerge the assembly  100  by balancing its buoyancy ( FIG. 9 ). In the event of the line breaking, the lure line  15 , where the optional sinker  19  is attached, should be the line to break, thereby releasing the sinker from the buoy and allowing the camera  150  to be retrieved. Camera  150  points towards lure  17  and can then capture any activity in its field of view, even when the line is being reeled in or towed in a trolling operation ( FIG. 10 ). 
     The pentahedron shape of the buoy is unique and provides an unexpected amount of stability when traveling through the water. The angled top cuts through the water while providing enough equal forces on the sides, top and back surfaces to maintain a relatively stable positioning of the camera  150  to keep lure  17  in view even while moving. This angular shape is unexpected based on the known laws of fluid dynamics and contravenes accepted understanding of these laws. 
     The camera support may be of any type known or later developed in the art. The depicted support is preferred as this allows the leader  140  to have a point of attachment at its middle loop  144 . It should be readily understood that equivalent structures may be developed and utilized, should alternate camera supports be utilized, and such equivalent structures should be deemed to be a part of the invention. The buoy&#39;s dimensions may be adjusted to provide more or less buoyant force, as determined by the size of the camera it is designed to hold. The buoy may also be designed to hold a light source in order to illuminate the area in front of the camera. Such light source may be integrated into the shape of the buoy body  120  or the buoy body may be adapted to fit an external source. At least one small hole  138  may be added to allow water to seep into the buoy body  120  (dashed lines,  FIG. 5 ) which would provide a slow sinking action to the buoy. A second vent hole may be required for this action and one or more plugs may be provided to make this action optional. However, such an addition, without adding at least one non-floodable sealed chamber within the buoy body, would contravene the goal of keeping the buoy, and associated camera, from sinking to the bottom of the body of water and being lost. Fins may also be added to the buoy body  120 , however, the shape of the buoy seems to provide sufficient stability without such additional structures. It should be readily understood that for operations where the need to catch or view fish are absent, the lure  117  and possibly lure line  115  may also be absent. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.