Claims
- 1. A camera-attachable device for attaching to a camera, said camera-attachable device, comprising:
a retractor assembly; and a connector connecting said retractor assembly to the camera
- 2. The camera-attachable device of claim 1, wherein said means for attaching said retractor assembly to the camera couples to a tripod socket.
- 3. The camera-attachable device of claim 2, wherein said means for attaching said retractor assembly to said tripod socket comprises a screw.
- 4. The camera-attachable device of claim 1, further comprising a storage compartment.
- 5. The camera-attachable device of claim 1, wherein said retractor assembly comprises a retractable tether, and a retractor coupled to a first end of said tether.
- 6. The camera-attachable device of claim 5, further comprising a securing means for securing said retractable tether to an anchor structure.
- 7. The camera-attachable device of claim 5, further comprising an apparatus for controlling a rate of retraction of said retractable tether.
- 8. The camera-attachable device of claim 7, wherein said apparatus for controlling said rate of retraction of said retractable tether comprises a lock.
- 9. The camera-attachable device of claim 7, wherein said apparatus for controlling said rate of retraction of said retractable tether comprises a brake.
- 10. A camera and retractor in combination comprising:
a camera, a retractor, and a connector connecting said retractor to a camera, and a retractable tether having a first end and a second end, said first end of said tether attached to said retractor.
- 11. The camera retractor of claim 10, wherein said means for attaching said retractor to said camera couples to a tripod socket on said camera.
- 12. The camera retractor of claim 12, wherein said means for attaching said retractor assembly to said tripod socket of said camera comprises a screw.
- 13. The camera retractor of claim 11, further comprising a storage compartment.
- 14. The camera retractor of claim 11, further comprising a coupling device for securing said retractable tether to an anchor structure.
- 15. The camera retractor of claim 10, further comprising an apparatus for controlling a rate of retraction of said retractable tether.
- 16. The camera retractor of claim 15, wherein said apparatus for controlling said rate of retraction of said retractable tether comprises a lock.
- 17. The camera retractor of claim 15, wherein said apparatus for controlling said rate of retraction of said retractable tether comprises a brake.
- 18. The method of using the camera retractor of claim 15, comprising the steps:
attaching said coupling device to said anchor structure; moving said camera away from a retracted position into a use position, thereby extending said tether; using said camera; and allowing said retractor to retract said tether to move said camera from said use position to said retracted position.
- 19. The method of claim 19 wherein said step of moving said camera, away from a retracted position into a use position, thereby extending said tether, further includes the step of:
activating a retraction control mechanism to prevent unwanted retraction of said tether.
- 20. The method of claim 19 wherein said step of allowing said retractor to move said camera from said use position to said retracted position further includes the step of:
releasing said retraction control mechanism to allow retraction of said tether.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Serial No. 60/393,344 filed Jul. 1, 2002. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/262,323 filed Oct. 1, 2002. The specification and drawings of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60393344 |
Jul 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10262323 |
Oct 2002 |
US |
Child |
10427562 |
Apr 2003 |
US |