The present invention relates to the field of action photographing, and particularly to an action camera apparatus.
An action camera apparatus for action photographing can be fixed on the body of a user, or on a device used by the user, e.g., the handle of a bicycle, a ski stick, etc., through a fixture, to photograph the moving user, or an environment in which the moving user is located, including bicycling, skiing, bungee jumping, and other motion scenarios, and recording personal life, tour entertainment, and other scenarios. The existing action camera apparatus includes a fixing base, and a camera fixed on one face of the fixing base. Thus the camera is fixed in position relative to the fixing base so that a lens of the camera is uniquely oriented after the fixing base is fixed in position by the fixture, which means such a technical problem that the the lens of the camera may be singly oriented after the fixing base is fixed in position.
Embodiments of the invention provide an action camera so as to address the technical problem in the prior art that the lens of the camera may be singly oriented after the fixing base is fixed in position.
An embodiment of the invention provides an action camera apparatus including:
a fixing base including a fixing face; and
a rotation component including a camera and a rotation face, wherein there is an angle of 45 degrees between a plane where the rotation face lies, and a plane where a lens of the camera lies, wherein:
the rotation component is moveably connected with the fixing base, and the rotation face abuts the fixing face, wherein the rotation face can be rotated on the fixing face around a rotation axis which is a straight line perpendicular to the rotation face, and stop at a first preset position and a second preset position; and when the rotation face is rotated from the first preset position to the second preset position, the rotation face is rotated by 180 degrees bringing the lens of the camera into rotation by 90 degrees.
The action camera apparatus according to this embodiment includes the fixing base, and the rotation component moveably connected therewith, and the rotation component includes the camera and the rotation face, where there is an angle of 45 degrees between the plane where the rotation face lies, and the plane where the lens of the camera lies, and the rotation face being rotated along the fixing face around the rotation axis which is a straight line perpendicular to the rotation face can stop at the first preset position and the second preset position; and when the rotation face is rotated from the first preset position to the second preset position, the rotation face is rotated by 180 degrees bringing the lens of the camera into rotation by 90 degrees. When the fixing base is fixed in position, then the lens of the camera can be oriented rotatably, and rest in two stable states in which the rotation face stops respectively at the first preset position and the second preset position, that is, if the fixing base is fixed in position, then the lens of the camera will be oriented in the two stable states, and rotated by 90 degrees from one of the stable states to the other, thus addressing such a technical problem that the lens of the camera may be singly oriented after the fixing base is fixed in position.
In order to make the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the invention or in the prior art more apparent, the drawings to which a description of the embodiments or the prior art refers will be briefly introduced below, and apparently the drawings to be described below are merely illustrative of some of the embodiments of the invention, and those ordinarily skilled in the art can derive from these drawings other drawings without any inventive effort. In the drawings:
In the invention:
In order to make the objects, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the invention more apparent, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the invention will be described below clearly and fully with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the invention, and apparently the embodiments described below are only a part but not all of the embodiments of the invention. Based upon the embodiments here of the invention, all the other embodiments which can occur to those skilled in the art without any inventive effort shall fall into the scope of the invention.
As illustrated in
A fixing base 100 including a fixing face 110; and
A rotation component including a camera and a rotation face 220, where there is an angle of 45 degrees between a plane where the rotation face lies, and a plane where a lens 210 of the camera lies, where:
The rotation component is moveably connected with the fixing base, and the rotation face 220 abuts the fixing face 110, where the rotation face can be rotated on the fixing face around a rotation axis which is a straight line perpendicular to the rotation face, and stop at a first preset position and a second preset position; and when the rotation face is rotated from the first preset position to the second preset position, the rotation face is rotated by 180 degrees bringing that the lens of the camera is rotated by 90 degrees.
The action camera apparatus according to this embodiment includes the fixing base, and the rotation component moveably connected therewith, and the rotation component includes the camera and the rotation face, where there is an angle of 45 degrees between the plane where the rotation face lies, and the plane where the lens of the camera lies, and the rotation face being rotated on the fixing face around the rotation axis which is a straight line perpendicular to the rotation face can stop at the first preset position and the second preset position; and when the rotation face is rotated from the first preset position to the second preset position, the rotation face is rotated by 180 degrees so that the lens of the camera is rotated by 90 degrees. When the fixing base is fixed in position, then the lens of the camera can be oriented rotatably, and settle in two stable states in which the rotation face stops respectively at the first preset position and the second preset position, that is, when the fixing base is fixed in position, then the lens of the camera may be oriented in two stable states, and the orientation of the lens of the camera is rotated by 90 degrees from one of the stable states to the other, thus addressing such a technical problem that the lens of the camera may be singly oriented after the fixing base is fixed in position.
Furthermore as illustrated in
A rotation barrel 710 including a first barrel opening at an angle of 45 degrees from the lengthwise direction of the rotation barrel, where the rotation component is fixed in the rotation barrel, and the rotation face coincides with the first barrel opening of the rotation barrel; and the camera films from a second barrel opening of the rotation barrel; and
A fixing barrel 720 including a first barrel opening at an angle of 45 degrees from the lengthwise direction of the fixing barrel, where the fixing component is fixed in the fixing barrel, and the fixing face coincides with the first barrel opening of the fixing barrel;
Where the first preset position is a position where the lengthwise direction of the rotation barrel agrees with the lengthwise direction of the fixing barrel.
In this way, the lens of the camera is oriented in two stable states including the position where the lengthwise direction of the rotation barrel agrees with the lengthwise direction of the fixing barrel, and a position where the lengthwise direction of the rotation barrel is perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the fixing barrel.
Furthermore as illustrated in
The first barrel opening of the rotation barrel is parallel to the major axis of the ellipse of the first cross section of the rotation barrel, and the first barrel opening of the fixing barrel is parallel to the major axis of the ellipse of the first cross section of the fixing barrel, so that the first barrel opening of the rotation barrel, and the first barrel opening of the fixing barrel are exact rounds with their centers coinciding with each other, and their diameters identical to each other; and the rotation axis passes the center of the first barrel opening of the rotation barrel;
Where the first barrel opening of the rotation barrel, and the first barrel opening of the fixing barrel interface with each other at the first preset position into a barrel shape.
In this way, there is such a state of action camera apparatus that the rotation barrel and the fixing barrel are connected to form into an elliptic barrel, where the rotation face of the rotation component, and the fixing face of the fixing base coincide with each other all the time while the rotation component is not rotating or is rotating, thus resulting in a good appearance design of the action camera apparatus.
In order to achieve such an effect that the rotation face can be rotated on the fixing face around the rotation axis which is a straight line perpendicular to the rotation face while the rotation component is moveably connected with the fixing base, they can be structured as illustrated in
The rotation face 220 is provided with a shaft 230 perpendicular to the rotation face, and an annular concave groove 240 surrounding the shaft;
The fixing base 100 further includes a through-hole 120 perpendicular to the fixing face and penetrating the fixing base;
The action camera apparatus further includes a wearproof barrel 300 and an axial stop component 400;
There is an interference fit between the wearproof barrel 300 and the through hole 120, the shaft 230 is conjugated axially with a hollow part of the wearproof barrel, the axial stop component is fixed to one end of the shaft which passes through the hollow part of the wearproof barrel, and the axial stop component is clamped on the side of the wearproof barrel away from the rotation face, that is, the rotation component is moveably connected with the fixing base, and also the shaft is axially limited in position; and
The shaft 230 can be rotated on the inner wall of the wearproof barrel 300 under the action of an external force, and also one end of the wearproof barrel 300, oriented to the rotation component, is located in the annular concave groove 240, and the annular concave groove 240 can be rotated relative to the wearproof barrel 300 toward one end of the rotation component, that is, both of them are conjugated with each other so that the rotation face is rotated around the shaft which is used as a rotation axis to thereby bring the orientation the lens of the camera into rotation.
An assembling process is as follows:
Firstly the wearproof barrel is conjugated with the through-hole in an interference fit manner;
Thereafter the shaft passes through the end of the wearproof barrel proximate to the fixing face so that one end of the wearproof barrel, oriented to one end of the rotation component, is located in the annular concave groove, and the rotation face abuts the fixing face; and
Next at the side of the fixing base away from the fixing face, the axial stop component is fixed to one end of the shaft which passes through the hollow part of the wearproof barrel, and the axial stop component is clamped on the side of the wearproof barrel away from the rotation face, so that the axial stop component and the shaft are fixed to have the wearproof barrel clamped between the annular concave groove and the rotation face.
In this way, with the simple structure above, the rotation component is moveably connected with the fixing base, and the rotation face is rotated around the shaft which is used as a rotation axis.
Particularly on one hand, the wearproof barrel shall be made of a wearproof material to thereby improve the service lifetime of the action camera apparatus; and on the other hand, the wearproof barrel shall be made of such a material that facilitate rotation thereof, e.g., a wearproof barrel made of a copper material.
It shall be noted that the structure above has been described only by way of an example, but the invention will not be limited thereto, as long as the rotation component is moveably connected with the fixing base, and the rotation face is rotated along the fixing face around the rotation axis which is a straight line perpendicular to the rotation face, for example:
The annular concave groove may not be arranged on the rotation face, but the wearproof barrel can be clamped directly between the axial stop component and the rotation face; or
The wearproof barrel may not be included, but the shaft can be conjugated axially with the through-hole, the axial stop component can be fixed to one end of the shaft, which passes through the through-hole, the axial stop component can be clamped on the side of the fixing base away from the rotation face, and the shaft can be rotated along the hole wall of the through-hole under the action of an external force.
In order to limit the angle by which the rotation face is rotated, as illustrated in
If the rotation face stops at the first preset position and the second preset position, then the protrusion is located respectively on two ends of the stop groove.
The rotation face is rotated around a rotation axis which is the shaft under the action of an external force; and since the center of the arc of the stop groove is located on the extension line of the axis of the through hole, the protrusion located in the stop groove moves along the arc-shaped stop groove until it reaches either of the ends of the stop groove, that is, the rotation face is rotated by an angle limited to the central angle of the arc of the stop groove. The protrusion and the stop groove can be structured simply and arranged conveniently to thereby limit conveniently the angle by which the rotation face is rotated.
Optionally the protrusion can alternatively be arranged on the fixing face of the fixing base, and the stop groove can be arranged on the rotation face of the rotation component.
The largest angle range by which the rotation face can be rotated is limited by the central angle of the arc of the stop groove. In this largest angle range, in order to control the angle by which the rotation face is rotated, so that the rotation face can stop at the first preset position and the second preset position, the action camera apparatus can further include a rotation control structure configured to control the angle by which the rotation face is rotated, and thus the position of the rotation component relative to the fixing base.
Particularly as illustrated in
The shaft 230 is a hollow shaft; and the spring is pressed by a second end face of the first cylindrical cam into the hollow shaft, and the first cylindrical cam is fixed circumferentially on the shaft;
The second cylindrical cam is fixed to the fixing base, and conjugated and linked with the first cylindrical cam, so that the second cylindrical cam is fixed to the fixing base such that the first cylindrical cam and the spring are constrained between the second cylindrical cam and the hollow shaft in the axial direction; and
When the rotation face stops at the first preset position and the second preset position, the first end face of the first cylindrical cam is engaged with the first end face of the second cylindrical cam.
When the first end face of the first cylindrical cam is engaged with the first end face of the second cylindrical cam, then the rotation face may stop at the first preset position and the second preset position, and if an external force is applied to the rotation component, the rotation face can be rotated only if a frictional force between the first end face of the first cylindrical cam, and the first end face of the second cylindrical cam is overcome. In this way, the rotation component is stably positioned relative to the fixing base to thereby avoid the rotation face of the action camera apparatus from being rotated by shaking or another minor external force after the rotation face stops at the first preset position and the second preset position, so as to control the rotation component to be positioned relative to the fixing base.
When the first end face of the first cylindrical cam is engaged with the first end face of the second cylindrical cam, then the gap between the rotation face or the annular concave groove and the fixing face is the smallest; and while the rotation component is being rotated by an external force so that the rotation face is rotated until first end face of the first cylindrical cam is engaged with the first end face of the second cylindrical cam again, the first cylindrical cam moves along the first end face of the second cylindrical cam, and is pushed by the second cylindrical cam to move axially so that the first cylindrical cam applies an axial force to the rotation component through the spring; and the gap between the rotation face or the annular concave groove and the fixing face becomes larger so that the rotation face is rotated more smoothly.
Particularly the length of the uncompressed spring is less than the height of the shaft.
In order to enable the first cylindrical cam to be fixed circumferentially on the shaft, as illustrated in
In this way, with the simple structure, the first cylindrical cam is fixed circumferentially on the shaft.
Furthermore the action camera apparatus can further include a sealing ring 800, and a sealing groove is arranged on the outside of the fixing base, where the sealing ring 800 is fit within the sealing groove so that there is no air between the fixing base and the first fixing barrel.
Optionally a switch button of the camera of the action camera apparatus is arranged on the rotation component and exposed through a switch button hole on the fixing barrel so that the user can operate to switch on and off the camera conveniently.
Lastly it shall be noted that the respective embodiments above are merely intended to illustrate but not to limit the technical solution of the invention; and although the invention has been described above in details with reference to the embodiments above, those ordinarily skilled in the art shall appreciate that they can modify the technical solution recited in the respective embodiments above or make equivalent substitutions to a part of the technical features thereof; and these modifications or substitutions to the corresponding technical solution shall also fall into the scope of the invention as claimed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201510671820.8 | Oct 2015 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2016/081909, filed on May 12, 2016, which is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201510671820.8, filed with the Chinese Patent Office on Oct. 13, 2015 and entitled “Action camera apparatus”, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2016/081909 | May 2016 | US |
Child | 15228171 | US |