Patent Application
20060109375
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to camera technology, and more particularly, to an all-directional camera viewfinder angle adjusting mechanism which is designed for use in conjunction with a photographic device, such as a Web camera, for the purpose of allowing the user to arbitrarily adjust the Web camera's viewfinder angle to any desired directions so as to aim the Web camera's viewfinder precisely at the target object that is to be photographed.
2. Description of Related Art
Web camera is a digital image capturing device that is capable of capturing still or motion images (i.e., video images) in digital form and is capable of being linked to a computer platform, such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a network workstation, or the like, for processing and transferring the captured images via a network system, such as an LAN (Local Area Network) system or the Internet, to a remote computer platform, for the user at the remote site to view the captured images. Web camera applications include, for example, online video conference, online chat, security monitoring, live broadcast, to name just a few.
In practical application, when a Web camera has been installed in position at a certain place, the user often needs to adjust the viewfinder angle of the Web camera so as to aim it directly at the target object that is to be photographed.
One drawback to present Web cameras on the market, however, is that they are typically capable of allowing the user to adjust the viewfinder angle horizontally in full-angle range (i.e., 360°), but only a limited angular range (typically only about 30°) in the vertical direction. This limitation restricts the user from arbitrarily adjusting the viewfinder angle of the Web camera to any desired directions, thus undesirably resulting in some dead spots in the scene that is to be photographed.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide an all-directional camera viewfinder angle adjusting mechanism for use with a Web camera or the like to allow the Web camera to be rotatable in full-angle 360° range both horizontally or vertically, so as to allow the user to aim the viewfinder angle of the Web camera arbitrarily at any desired directions.
The all-directional camera viewfinder angle adjusting mechanism according to the invention is designed for use in conjunction with a photographic device, such as a Web camera, for the purpose of allowing the user to arbitrarily adjust the viewfinder angle of the photographic device to any directions within 360° full-angle range both horizontally and vertically so as to aim the photographic device precisely at the target object that is to be photographed.
Compared to prior art, the all-directional camera viewfinder angle adjusting mechanism of the invention allows the user to precisely adjust the viewfinder angle of a Web camera to any desired directions so that there will be no dead spots in the scene that is to be photographed, and is therefore more advantageous to use than the prior art.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The all-directional camera viewfinder angle adjusting mechanism according to the invention is disclosed in full details by way of preferred embodiments in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
The supporting frame 110 is substantially a U-shaped member whose two free ends are respectively formed with at least one bearing hole 111 whose inner diameter is compatible with the outer diameter of the rotating shaft 130 so as to allow the rotating shaft 130 to be insertable into the bearing hole 111. In addition, the supporting frame 110 can be optionally linked to a rotatable base 112 so as to allow the supporting frame 110 to be rotatable on the rotatable base 112 in a full 360□angular range. In other embodiment, a non-rotatable base can be used in replace of the rotatable base 112.
The rotating-shaft washer 120 is made of a flexible material with a high surface resistance, such as rubber or silicone, and which is formed with a perforation 121 in the center thereof, with the inner diameter of the perforation 121 being compatible with the outer diameter of the rotating shaft 130 so as to allow the rotating shaft 130 to be penetrable through the perforation 121.
The rotating shaft 130 is an elongated bar having one end formed with a disk portion 132 and fixed to the photographic device 10, and the other end being a free end formed in the axial direction with a threaded hole 131. In size specification, the rotating shaft 130 should has its outer diameter compatible with the inner diameter of the perforation 121 in the rotating-shaft washer 120 so as to allow the rotating shaft 130 to be penetrable through the perforation 121 of the rotating-shaft washer 120 for insertion into the bearing hole 111; and the threaded hole 131 should has its inner diameter compatible with the outer diameter of the threaded bolt 150 so as to allow the threaded bolt 150 to be screwable into the threaded hole 131. Moreover, the disk portion 132 preferably has its diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the rotating-shaft washer 120.
The bolt washer 140 is made of a flexible material, such as rubber or silicone, and which is formed in the center thereof with a perforation 141 whose inner diameter is compatible with the outer diameter of the threaded bolt 150 so as to allow the threaded bolt 150 to be penetrable through the perforation 141.
The threaded bolt 150 has its outer diameter compatible with the inner diameter of the perforation 141 of the bolt washer 140 so as to allow the threaded bolt 150 to be penetrable through the perforation 141 of the bolt washer 140 for engagement with the threaded hole 131 in the free end of the rotating shaft 130.
Referring to
In conclusion, the invention provides an all-directional camera viewfinder angle adjusting mechanism which is designed for use in conjunction with a photographic device for the purpose of allowing the user to arbitrarily adjust the viewfinder angle of the photographic device to any directions within 360° full-angle range both horizontally and vertically so as to aim the photographic device precisely at the target object that is to be photographed. Compared to prior art, the invention allows the user to precisely adjust the viewfinder angle of a Web camera to any desired directions so that there will be no dead spots in the scene that is to be photographed. The invention is therefore more advantageous to use than the prior art.
The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
