Patent ID: 6932305

Claim:
A camera elevating, support and control apparatus comprising; an extensible mast having telescoping sections and having a top end and a bottom end and an operating location in a region above the bottom end convenient for an operator to reach; a camera mounting and control response assembly proximate the top end of the mast said assembly comprising; a mounting element having a pivot mount attached to the mast proximate its top end the pivot mount defining a horizontal pivot axis; a tilt plate pivotably mounted to said mounting element pivot mount for pivoting around said horizontal axis said tilt plate having a camera support element for attaching a camera to the tilt plate to allow a camera to be mounted on the tilt plate so that the center of gravity is below the horizontal pivot axis so that the tilt plate will tend to a rest position; and an integral rotator member, located only on one side of a vertical axis running through the middle of the mast, attached to said tilt plate for controlled pivoting of the tilt plate the rotator member having first and second line pulling points on opposite sides of a vertical line through the horizontal pivot axis; a control assembly mounted on the mast at the operating location comprising first and second spools rotatable together about a horizontal axis; and first and second lines extending from opposite side of the rotator member, the first line extending from the first line pulling point to the first spool for take-up by clockwise rotation of the first spool and the second line extending from the second line pulling point to the second spool for take-up by counter clockwise rotation of the second spool; whereby the tilt plate can be tilted about the horizontal pivot axis by rotating the spools in either direction to wind the line on one spool while the line on the other spool unwinds to tilt the tilt plate to a selected tilt angle about the horizontal pivot axis and a camera mounted on the tilt plate will be similarly tilted.