Patent Application
20210172563
The present invention relates to a hollow ball mount for articulating an article about a centroid.
Two of the most important characteristics of tripod equipment are weight and stiffness. Photographers often travel or hike and low-weight gear is essential for remaining agile, reducing fatigue, and preventing injuries. However, the end goal is to create clear, sharp images and weight savings cannot compromise the rigidity of the tripod system. The gear must stay strong and dampen vibration to retain the clarity of photos especially in adverse condition with long exposures.
Consequently, there is a need for a lightweight ball mounting system without compromising rigidity or stabilization of the camera article.
The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a hollow ball mount system and method for reducing weight while not compromising structural integrity. Secondly, the hollow ball mount system allows for cost saving at the time of manufacturing with reductions in material costs.
Another object of the present invention is to allow the user the ability to carry multiple hollow ball mounts configured to interface with different articles for mounting, while not incurring large amounts of extra weight.
In order to do so, a hollow ball mount system is provided having a hollow spherical structure. The hollow spherical structure further having an internal volume, an external surface, and an outer wall. A stem is adjoined to the hollow spherical structure, the stem having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the stem extends outward and substantially normal to the external surface. An interfacing surface is positioned upon the distal end of the stem. The interfacing surface is configured for mounting and securing articles, such as camera equipment, sporting equipment, and lighting. In further embodiments, the interfacing surface includes an attachment member and/or an adapter to substantially match the size and shape of the articles to be adjoined to the hollow ball mount.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present disclosure so that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood and so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the disclosed specific methods and structures may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
The detailed description of some embodiments of the invention is made below with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals represent corresponding parts of the figures.
The novel features of the disclosure are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present disclosure will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the disclosure are utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:
While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the disclosure. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the disclosure described herein may be employed in practicing the disclosure.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In some embodiments, the top interfacing surface 130 of the hollow ball mount system 100 further comprises an attachment member 132 and/or an adapter 125. The attachment member 132 aiding in adjoining the hollow ball mount system 100 to the mount 105 and/or the camera article 110. In embodiments having one or more adapters 125 positioned upon the top interfacing surface 130, the one or more adapters 125 aid in the correct orientation during assembly. In embodiments of the hollow ball mount system 100 having the attachment member 132, the attachment member 132 may be chosen from at least one member of an attachment set consisting of: a magnet, a clip, a heat-shrink material flange, a press-fit, a chemical weld, a slide-fit, a clamp, a spring, a fastener, an elastic member, a threaded opening, and an adhesive.
As shown in
As further illustrated in
Advantageously, the arrangement and construction of materials described above allow for weight reduction in the hollow ball mount system 100 without compromising the rigidity of the tripod member 115. During use, in the art of photography, the system must stay rigid and dampen vibration to retain clarity during photography shoots, especially in adverse environmental conditions when long exposures are required. Also, as traveling and carrying equipment is necessary, light weight components are ideal.
Common mounting plates typically comprise a square or rectangular member with biasing member adjoined to the perimeter edge of the mounting plate 106, such as an angled edge or dovetail mount. Exemplary mounting plates may further comprise quick-releases, fasteners, threaded ports, slots, linear guide systems, textured surfaced, clamps, and other assessor members. In some embodiments, the top interfacing surface 130 may further comprise the attachment member 132 embodied as a threaded aperture designed to receive a fastener that is first passed through the mount 105 and/or the mounting plate 106. Next the fastener is tightened to temporarily secure the mount 105 and/or the mounting plate 106 to the stem 120 of the hollow ball mount system 100.
In some embodiments, the top interfacing surface 130 may further comprise biasing members being at least one a member of a connection set consisting of: a slot, a rail, a joint, a magnet, an elastic member, a snap-fit, a clamp, a clip, and a fastener. In other embodiments, the rail and the joint of the connection set are chosen from, by way of non-limiting example, a rail set consisting of: a dovetail rail, a tongue and groove joint, a linear guide rail, a dado joint, and a dovetail joint.
In some embodiments, it may be desirable that the hollow ball mount system 100 includes at least one member of an identification set consisting of: an alphanumeric identification, the user's name, a symbolic shape, a company brand, a numeric identification number, a QR code, a barcode, an RFID tag, or any combination thereof. For example, the first external surface 155 may include a numeric identification number that conveys the diameter of the hollow spherical structure 101. In some embodiments, the first external surface 155 of the hollow spherical structure 101, the internal surface 142 of the first protrusion, and/or the second external surface 141 of the stem 120 further comprises an external texture. The external texture further includes at least one member of a texture set consisting of: indentations, extrusions, knurling, a rough surface, and bumps.
A method for the production of the hollow ball mount system 100 is also described herein. In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a hollow ball mount system 100 comprises steps as follows. First, creating a first half spherical structure and creating a second half spherical structure by at least one process of the production set. Next, adjoining the first half spherical structure to the second half spherical structure to create a hollow spherical structure 101 by at least one joining process of a joining set, without limitation, consisting of: welding, brazing, soldering, sintering, adhesive bonding, fastening, and press fitting. Next, during manufacturing, adjoining of the stem 120 to the hollow spherical structure 101 at an angle substantially normal to the hollow spherical structure 101. This is carried out through at least one process of the joining set to form the hollow ball mount system 100. In some embodiments, the method may also include the step of configuring a shape of the stem 120 to interface with a predetermined shape of a commercially available adapter, article, or camera article 110.
Smooth and consistent movement of a camera article adjoined to the tripod member 115 is critical in capturing the desired image or carrying out a desired function of an article upon the tripod member 115. In this case, the method may further comprise a step of finishing an external surface of the hollow ball mount system 100 to a desired state by at least one process of a finishing set. The finishing set, without limitation, consisting of electroplating, anodizing, buffing, powder coating, painting, immersion plating, cladding, hardening, electropolishing, electroless plating galvanizing, vapor deposition, blasting, sanding, tumbling, peening, knurling, grinding, glazing, blanching, or any combination thereof.
In other embodiments, the hollow ball mount system 100 may further comprise a structural member 145 within the internal volume 140. The structural member being at least one member of a structure set, without limitation, consisting of: a lattice structure, a first material, a patterned structure, a liquid or any combination thereof. For example, the structural member may be a solid rubber core within the hollow spherical structure 101. In other embodiments, during manufacturing, the internal volume 140 may be interconnected by a lattice structure to provide further rigidity. No limitation is placed on the patterned structure or the lattice structure that may be constructed within the internal volume 140.
In reference to
As used in this application, the term “a” or “an” means “at least one” or “one or more.”
As used in this application, the term “about” or “approximately” refers to a range of values within plus or minus 10% of the specified number.
As used in this application, the term “substantially” means that the actual value is within about 10% of the actual desired value, particularly within about 5% of the actual desired value and especially within about 1% of the actual desired value of any variable, element or limit set forth herein.
All references throughout this application, for example patent documents including issued or granted patents or equivalents, patent application publications, and non-patent literature documents or other source material, are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, as though individually incorporated by reference, to the extent each reference is at least partially not inconsistent with the disclosure in the present application (for example, a reference that is partially inconsistent is incorporated by reference except for the partially inconsistent portion of the reference).
Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Any reference to “or” herein is intended to encompass “and/or” unless otherwise stated.
As used herein, the term “about” refers to an amount that is near the stated amount by about 0%, 5%, or 10%, including increments therein.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specified function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶6. In particular, any use of “step of” in the claims is not intended to invoke the provision of 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶6.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that numerous design configurations may be possible to enjoy the functional benefits of the inventive systems. Thus, given the wide variety of configurations and arrangements of embodiments of the present invention the scope of the invention is reflected by the breadth of the claims below rather than narrowed by the embodiments described above.
