CS207713B2 - Body carrying device for the camera - Google Patents

Abstract

The camera carrying device for a cinematic or television camera which is to be carried on the body of the operator contains a supporting tube (12) which is to be held essentially vertically and on the upper end of which there are present holding and adjustment means (22, 23) for the camera (10). The supporting tube (12) is rotatably mounted at the top in a ring (34) which surrounds it and which is in its turn connected to a cardanic device (14) which is resiliently supported by means of a body harness (17) on the body of the operator. A battery support (13) for the camera power supply is mounted at the lower end of the supporting tube. The holding and adjustment means (22, 23) permit forward, backward and lateral adjustment of the camera in a horizontal direction. A camera carrying device of this type permits the operator to point the camera without agitation, without special skill and without exerting a large amount of energy. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a support device for professional cinematographic or television cameras, and in particular to a support device. Camera equipment which may be carried by a cameraman or camera operator or by another operator.

In the current film practice, camera mobility was achieved by placing it on a trolley, possibly with a swivel arm, or similar moving structures. However, even these measures did not fully meet the high mobility requirements of the camera. Handheld cameras are used with great success; however, it depends on the individual dexterity and readiness of the cameraman.

The above-mentioned drawbacks are overcome by a camera support device according to the invention which comprises a vertical tube having a camera attachment means at its upper end, which means comprise means for longitudinally adjusting the camera relative to the tube, surrounding the tube and supporting it for rotational movement, the ring is supported by a suspension device, a battery carrier is attached to the tube under the ring, and in addition a flexible flexible device is provided for attaching the suspension device to the cameraman's body.

The camera body support device prevents the transmission of unwanted camera movements. A cinematographic camera carried in this way often makes unnecessary images taken by a rotating-arm camera cart and allows them to achieve unusual photographic effects such as obtained when running up stairs or along a moving vehicle, or allows the camera to be stabilized on a moving surface such as a land vehicle, a ship or an aircraft.

An embodiment of the invention relieves the operator of the camera of carrying the entire weight of the cinematographic camera system in his hands and, instead, allows the weight of the entire device to be carried by a body harness carried by the camera operator. This operator can move while the cinematographic camera is "floating" in space, with the worker using one hand to aim the camera in the desired direction. The camera assembly is mounted at the upper end of the vertical support tube and at the lower end of this. The battery and electronic components are stored in the tube while safeguarding against unwanted pendulum movements. The support tube is in turn supported on the suspension device. The articulated arm assemblies with pneumatic support devices are connected in series with one another in order to support the suspension device on the body harness.

At the upper end of the support tube there are adjustment devices for horizontal adjustment in two axes. The longitudinal adjustments allow the position of the camera to be changed when different objects are used for the camera to maintain the center of gravity of the supported system on or near the axis of the support tube. The support tube itself consists of two telescopic parts so that the height of the center of gravity can be adjusted relative to the position of the suspension support. By lifting the lower end of the support tube carrying the battery and the electronic components, the camera operator can tilt with less effort than hitherto to tilt the camera for ¹ image up or down as well as for lateral pivoting about the axis of rotation. However, when maximum stability is required, the lower end of the support tube is lowered so that the weight of the battery and electronic components is placed at the maximum distance below the suspension.

Articulated boom systems may be classified either for · right-handed use or for left-handed use for use by cameramen who are either right-handed or · left-handed.

A small image camera, which acts as a viewfinder, can be mounted on the cinematographic camera, and an observation monitor is attached to the ring that forms part of the suspension and pivotally supports the camera support tube. The visual indicators on the viewing monitor alert the cameraman of excessive camera movement in any direction around the axis of rotation. The cameraman can look at the monitor to determine the scene to be shot, although the camera can be swung on the ring in any direction for panning in a complete circle. The electronic switching circuit is further provided, so that when the cameraman moves forward while photographing the scene in succession, the image on the monitor screen can be turned from right to left to allow the operator to maintain the camera lens in the desired direction. .

The invention will be explained by way of example with reference to the drawings. ’

Giant. 1 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Giant. 2 is a side elevational view showing telescopic portions of a camera support tube for supporting a cinematographic camera.

Giant. 3 is a top view showing how the articulated arm assemblies support the suspension device on the central portion of the waistband of the tether.

Giant. 4 is a detailed cross-sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

Giant. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the articulated arm assemblies.

Giant. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view of a portion of the device shown in FIG. 5, with the top lid removed.

Giant. 7 illustrates schematically an electrical switching device for switching a signaling circuit whenever the camera is inclined about its rotational axis by more than a predetermined value.

Giant. 8 schematically shows a monitor viewing screen and a signal lamp showing excessive camera tilt.

Giant. 9 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the attachment to the harness.

According to the drawings, the cinematographic camera, as a whole denoted by 10, is mounted on a loosely mounted support mechanism 11 which includes a camera support tube 12, a battery carrier 13, a suspension device 14, a pair of articulated boom assemblies 15 and 16 as well. The waistband 17 and waistband 18 are sized to be carried by a person, such as a cameraman or camera operator.

As shown in FIG. 2, the camera base 21 is attached to the upper end of the camera support tube 12 for biaxial alignment in a horizontal plane. The adjusting screw 22 serves to move the camera 10 longitudinally and the adjusting screw 23 serves to move the camera side to side;

The weight of the camera and its internal motor, together with the weight of the camera lens 24, the cartridges 25 and the video camera 26, may be centered over the axis of the camera support tube 12.

The camera support tube 12 is formed of two telescopic parts. The lower portion 28 is telescopically inserted into the upper portion 27 of the tube by means of a groove connection 29 using antifriction rollers 30. The battery carrier 13 is mounted at the lower end of the lower portion 28 of the tube and the same carrier 13 also contains electronic components (not shown) used with the camera. The multiple guide cable 31 inside the camera support tube 12 creates the necessary circuitry between the battery, the camera motor, and the electronic components.

The hanger 14 comprises a ring 34 mounted on the clamp sleeve 35. The sleeve 35 may be clamped in any desired position on the top 27 of the camera support tube 12. The ring 34 comprises a pair of diametrically extending studs 36 which are rotatably mounted in the legs of the yokes 38 integrally formed with the shaft 39 extending perpendicular to the axis of the diametrical studs 36, lying in a single line. The stem 39 is in turn supported in a bottom 40 fixed at the upper end of the vertical bar 41. On the vertical bar 41 is mounted a bracket 42 which can be fixed in any desired position by a clamping screw 43.

The arm assembly 15 comprises an end member 44 pivotally connected to the console 42 at location 45, two parallel couplings 46 and 47 are each pivotally connected to the end members 44 and 48. The spoke 46 is pivotally connected to the end member 44 at location 50 and is pivotally coupled to end member 48 at location 51. Similarly, coupler 47 is pivotally attached to end member 44 at location 52 and is pivotally attached to end member 48 at location 53. The design of the arm assembly 16 is similar to that described for the arm assembly 15. The end members 54 and 55 are each pivotally connected by a pair of parallel couplings 56 and 57. Coupling 56 is pivotally connected to end member 54 at location 58 and is further coupled to end member 55 at location 59. Coupling 57 is pivotally connected to end member 54 at location 61 and further rotatably connected to the end member 55 at location 62. The dimensions of the components forming the arm assembly 15 and the arm assembly 1 6 are such that the couplings and their pivotal connections with their respective end members form parallelograms.

The end member 48 of the arm assembly 15 is connected to the end member 54 of the arm assembly 16 by a pin body 63 having spaced apart pins 64 and spaced apart pins 65. The pin body 63 may be attached to either the end member 48 or the end member 54 using a threaded fastener 68 for the purpose described below.

The end member 55 is connected to the adjustable support member 68 by means of a pivoting pin 69 on a fixed pedestal 71 by means of vertical studs 67, which are rotatable in one line. The adjusting screw 72, rotatable on the pedestal 71, engages part of the supporting member. 68 so that it can be pivoted in an arc in both directions about the axis of the pivot 69. The pedestal 71 is provided with a U-shaped end 73 at one end, which can be fixed to the mating block portion 74 by a latching mechanism 75. The latch mechanism 75 is actuated by a lever 76 rotatably mounted on the portion 74 and engaged so as to engage the latch pins 77 laterally into the recesses formed in the U-shaped end 73. The block portion 74 is connected to the base plate 79 by the pivot pins 78. attached to the belt 18 directly in front of the cameraman. An adjusting screw 81 engages with the base plate 79 which engages part 82 of the block portion 74 so that the rotational movement of the screw 81 serves to pivot the block portion 74 about the axis of the pivot pin 78. As will be seen above, be angularly adjusted about the horizontal axis of the pins 78 by means of the adjusting screw 81, thereby adjusting the position of the camera support tube 12 in the space generally towards and away from the cameraman. The support member 68 can be adjusted around another axis by means of the adjusting screw 72, and thus the position of the camera support tube 12 can be adjusted in the lateral direction.

The resilient aids are adapted to support and support the weight of the parts carried on the suspension assembly 14 and, as shown in the drawings, include a pneumatic piston assembly and a cylinder when each of the arm assemblies 15 and 16 is engaged. 84 carrying a head 85 that engages a ball 86 mounted to the ends of the couplings 46. The pneumatic assembly 83 also includes a cylinder 87 provided with a head 88 that engages the ball 89 · carried on the coupling 47. When the arm assembly 15 moves counterclockwise 5, the piston 84 moves back into the cylinder 87. Furthermore, the spring assembly, indicated by the assembly 91, may be used in conjunction with the arm assembly 15. As best shown in FIG. , the spring assembly 81 comprises a helical compression spring 92 that surrounds the tube 9 3 and engages at one end with a shoulder 94. This shoulder is formed at one end of the spring sleeve 95 that abuts the washer 96 on the bar 97. The bar 97 carries an end extension 98 that forms a ball joint with a component Ш1 attached to the connector 47. The tube 93 is attached to the threaded sleeve 192 so that the axial position of the foot bearing 194 can be adjusted relative to the tube 93. One end of the spring 92 engages the foot bearing 194 so that the spring force 92 can be adjusted by the nut 103.

It will be apparent from the above description that the pneumatic cylindrical assembly 83 delivers a portion of the force that supports the weight of the components supported on the hinge 14. This force may be supplemented by the force of the helical compression spring 92, which force may be adjusted by the nut 103.

The construction of the arm assembly 16 may be substantially the same as. Has been described in conjunction with the arm assembly 15. If desired, a protective bellows 105 can be provided that surrounds the arm assemblies 15 and 16 for safety and to prevent access of air and other foreign materials.

The drawings show a camera carrier device for a camera in a right-handed cameraman position. In the case that the cameraman is left-handed, certain components may be engaged in the other possible way, so that the pawl 71 points to the right side of the cameraman instead of to his left side. As shown in dot-dash at the top of Figure 3, the upright 71 may be positioned on the mating block portion 74 in a top-down position relative to the position shown in solid lines. The pawl 71 then points to the left, as shown in Fig. 3, and can be locked in position by a latch lever 76. Also, the pin block 63 connecting the arm assemblies 15 and 16 may also be attached by fasteners 66 to the end member 74 instead to the end member 48, as shown in dashed lines on the lower right hand side at o <br. 3. The tangential connection between the end members 48 and 54 is then made around the pins 65 lying in one line. The arm assemblies 15 and 16 then point from right to left across the body of the cameraman and in front of him instead of from left to right, as shown in solid lines in the drawing.

The machine shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 energizes the signal bulbs 109, 110 in the monitor 32 when the camera 10 has tilted too much about its axis of rotation. The U-shaped tube 112 containing the mercury body 113 is mounted on the camera assembly. Excessive clockwise rotation causes mercury 113 to come in contact with switch 114 and thereby energize signal lamp 110. Excessive rotation counterclockwise causes mercury body-113 to come in contact with switch · 115 and excite signal The central contact 116 completes the circuit through a mercury pool.

In use, the waistband 17 with its waistband 18 is fastened in place to the cameraman or operator. The pawl 71 engages the belt 18 and the height of the camera 10 relative to the rod 41 is adjusted by the bracket 42 and the clamping screw 43. The adjusting screw 22 (FIG. 2) is rotated to align the center of gravity of the camera 10 and the associated components This longitudinal adjustment is used to compensate for different camera lenses 24 having different weights Any desired lateral adjustment is made with the adjusting screw 23. The cam-raman puts his hand on the retaining collar 100 mounted on the carrier. The weight of the cinematographic camera 10, the film cartridge 25, the battery and the battery carrier 13 and their associated components is resiliently supported on the arm systems 15 and 16 and the pneumatic piston and cylinder systems with the aid of adjustable springs 92. 71. This relieves the cameraman's hands from bearing that weight is attached to a portion of the cinematographic camera assembly 10 while the monitor 32 is adjustable by a rod 107 connected to the ring 34 by the bracket 108 and electrically controlled by the cable 33. A one-handed cameraman on the collar 1011 controls the camera direction and rotates it freely in any direction. Its movements while walking or running transmit very slight undesirable movement to the camera system 10, which tends to "float" in space as the cameraman moves. The cameraman may kneel for imaging from below, in which case the battery carrier 13 may be moved upwards to not touch the ground by sliding the lower portion 28 upward into the upper portion 27 of the camera support tube 12.

The movement of the battery carrier 13 relative to the suspension device 14 has the effect of lifting the center of gravity of all the components carried on the ring 34. This in turn reduces the force required by the cameraman to tilt the camera assembly up or down about the transverse horizontal axis or tilted side to side around the camera's horizontal axis of rotation, or for any combination of these movements. For maximum stability, the battery carrier 13 may be clamped in its lowest position.

The image chamber 26 moves with the camera assembly 10, but the image monitor 32 is mounted at a location 108 on the ring 34 that does not rotate. While the camera assembly 10 can rotate in panoramic motion in any direction from the depicted position by more than 180 degrees, the video monitor 32 remains in front of the cameraman. In this way, the cameraman can observe the monitor 32 regardless of the position of the camera 10. In case the cameraman moves forward while the camera 10 is shooting the scene directly behind it, the switch 37 on the monitor 32 can be actuated to flip the image. from right to left. This is achieved by a conventional electronic circuit. This gives the advantage that the cameraman is watching the monitor and seeing the scene in its right and left dimensions without seeing it as a mirror image.

The latch device 75 operated by the latch lever 76 allows the cameraman to get rid of the entire device in the event of an accident, for example if it has fallen into water. Without this immediate-disconnect feature, the cameraman or camera operator could be pulled underwater by the weight of the system and drown.

In another embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 9, the upright 71 is not used and instead a carrier 120 is attached to the U-shaped end 73a. The support 68a is rotatably supported on the support 120 in the same manner as the support 68 is rotatably mounted 69 on the pedestal 71 as described above. A screw 72a is mounted on the carrier 120 and serves to tilt the carrier 68a in both directions relative to the carrier 120. The inclination angle of the carrier 68a is thus adjustable in the same manner as the inclination angle of the carrier 68 relative to the web 71 as described above. The pins 67 lying in one line and the end pin 55 are the same as described above. It will be appreciated that in this embodiment, the arm assembly 16 is rotatably mounted on the harness belt 18 directly in front of the cameraman and not shifted to one side. The camera assembly may then be guided by either the right hand or the left hand of the cameraman and the lateral position of the arms may be adjusted by attaching the pin block 63 to the end member 48 or to the end member 54 as mentioned above.

However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated.

Claims (14)

SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION A body support device for a camera, characterized in that it comprises a vertical tube (12), at the upper end of which there are provided means (11) for supporting the camera (10) comprising means for longitudinally adjusting the camera (10) relative to the tube (12), further a ring (34) which surrounds the pipe (12) and supports it for rotational movement on the ring (34), which in turn is supported by the suspension device (14); (13) a battery positioned on the tube (12) in front of the ring (34), and a flexible flexible member for supporting the suspension device (14) on the cameraman's body. Body support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the camera support device (10) comprises means for horizontally adjusting the camera laterally relative to the tube (12). Body support device according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tube (12) consists of two coaxial tubes telescopically connected to each other, provided with means for securing the tubes in a plurality of positions in order to change the center of gravity of all components carried. on the ring. Body support device according to Claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the flexible compliant device comprises serially connected articulated arms extending between the cameraman and the suspension device (14). A body support device according to claim 4, comprising a body harness, characterized in that the articulated arms consist of a pair of articulated arm assemblies (15, 16), the first of which is attached to the body harness (17) and the second supporting the suspension device (14). ), each arm assembly (15, 16) comprising two spaced end members (44, 48, 54, 55), each of which is rotatably connected by a pair of rotatable couplings (46, 47, 56, 57) between the arm members a means for providing any of the rotary joints inoperative. Body support device according to claim 5, characterized in that the flexible device comprises pneumatic support members associated with each arm assembly (15, 16) for supporting the weight of all components supported by the suspension device, further springs (91) for supporting the operation of pneumatic components. and pneumatic support members and springs (91) serve to damp unwanted vibration movements of the camera. Body support device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that it comprises a yoke (38) which is rotatably connected to the ring (34) and is provided with a shaft (39) which is rotatably supported by the bottom (40), further a vertical rod (41) which carries a bottom (40) at its upper end and which is slidably mounted in the console (42), as well as a means for adjustably clamping the bracket (42) on the vertical rod (41); The system (15, 16) is adapted to support the console (42). Body support device according to Claims 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that it comprises a releasable pawl (75) for rotatably supporting the first leg assembly (16) on the body harness (17). Body support device according to Claims 5, 6 or 8, characterized in that the body harness (17) comprises a web (18) of the post (71) and means for releasably attaching the post to the web (18) in a central forward position. the opposite end of the upright (71) can be located near any side of the cameraman, the first arm assembly (16) being rotatably mounted on the opposite end of the upright (71). Body support device according to Claim 9, characterized in that aids are provided for adjusting the angular position of the upright with respect to the belt. 11. A body support device according to claim 1 or 10, characterized in that aids are provided for adjusting the angular position of the first leg assembly relative to the upright. Body support device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a camera (10) mounted on the tube (12), an image camera (26) is attached to the camera and an image monitor (32) is mounted on the ring (34). ), electrically connected to the video camera (26). A body support device according to claim 12, characterized in that it comprises a circuit operated by a switch (37) for reversing the image on the monitor (32) from right to left. A body support device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means for visually indicating a predetermined inclination of the camera about its axis of rotation.