DE102004063563B4 - Camera trolley with steering gear - Google Patents

Abstract

Camera carriage with a chassis (10) comprising front (13) and rear (13') wheels, the front and rear wheels being connectable via a steering gear (17) to a steering device comprising a steering rod (19) in such a way that either only the front wheels (13), only the rear wheels (13') or all of them can be steered together, the steering gear (17) comprising drive elements (23, 26) which are operatively connected only to the front wheels (13) on the one hand and only to the rear wheels (13') on the other hand which can be moved back and forth via drive disks or wheels (30, 31) which can be coupled either together or with the steering device or its steering rod (19).The drive disks or wheels (30, 31) can rotate on the steering rod (19). mounted and can be coupled to the steering rod (19) either by means of a coupling (38) that can be actuated from the outside, the coupling (38) having a coupling rod (39) that can be moved back and forth axially inside the steering rod (19), the Coupling rod (39) protrudes axially over the steering rod (19) and is coupled via this protruding part to a carrier (50) which is mounted parallel to the steering rod (19) so that it can be moved back and forth, the carrier (50) being actuated by an actuating handle (53 ) can be moved back and forth.

Description

The invention relates to a camera carriage with a chassis comprising front and rear wheels, the front and rear wheels being connectable via a steering gear with a steering device comprising a longitudinal rod in such a way that either only the front wheels, only the rear wheels or all of them can be steered together.

• - nur Vorderräder konventionell, d.h. paarweise nach links oder rechts lenkbar;
• - nur Hinterräder konventionell, d.h. paarweise nach links oder rechts lenkbar;
• - alle Räder, d.h. die Vorder- und Hinterräder gemeinsam lenkbar entweder die Vorder- und Hinterräder jeweils nach links oder rechts (crab-Modus) oder die Vorder- und Hinterräder jeweils entgegengesetzt nach links oder rechts (round-Modus).

Camera carriage with the three aforementioned different steering modes are known, with a distinction between

• - Conventional front wheels only, ie pairs that can be steered to the left or right;
• - only rear wheels conventional, ie pairs can be steered to the left or right;
• - All wheels, ie the front and rear wheels can be steered together either the front and rear wheels to the left or right (crab mode) or the front and rear wheels in opposite directions to the left or right (round mode).

GB 11 55 469 A discloses a steering device to selectively steer the front, rear or all four wheels of a dolly. Each of the front and rear wheel pairs is steered via a chain wheel transmission, the front wheel transmission and the rear wheel transmission each comprising a drive sprocket, the drive sprockets being rotatably mounted on a shaft provided with a slot in which slides a coupling device comprising a lever , which can engage in slots of the two drive sprockets.

The present invention is based on the object of creating a camera carriage of the type mentioned at the outset, the steering gear of which is compact, simple in conception and therefore inexpensive to manufacture and, moreover, easy to operate and functionally reliable.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1, with advantageous design details and embodiments being described in the dependent claims.

An essential point of the present invention is that the steering gear only with the front wheels on the one hand and only with the rear wheels on the other hand operatively connected drive elements, in particular drive belts or chains, which can be coupled to the steering device or its handlebar either or together drive pulleys or - wheels, in particular sprockets, can be moved back and forth. In this way, the steering modes mentioned above can be set, whereby it is only necessary to engage or disengage two drive pulleys or wheels selectively or jointly.

The drive pulleys or wheels are rotatably mounted on the handlebar and can be coupled to the handlebar either jointly or by a clutch that can be actuated from the outside. In this connection it should also be mentioned that the handlebar is connected to a steering fork or a steering wheel at the upper end which is freely accessible to the user. The steering rod can thus be rotated to the left or to the right from a straight-ahead direction, depending on the desired direction of travel. Preferably, since it is particularly simple in terms of construction, the steering rod is rotatably mounted vertically in the chassis of the camera carriage.

The clutch includes a clutch rod that is reciprocable axially within the handlebar. The coupling rod preferably has two axially spaced constrictions, with coupling elements, in particular coupling balls, placed through a section of the coupling rod between the two mentioned constrictions within radial openings formed in the steering rod, radially outwards in driving openings of the drive pulleys or wheels rotatably mounted on the steering rod are bringable. This allows a rotary connection to be established between the steering rod and one of the two or both drive pulleys or wheels.

In the area of the coupling rods that can be moved back and forth, the steering rod is cylindrical. The radial openings mentioned are then located in the mentioned cylinder section of the handlebar. These radial openings have an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the diameter of the coupling elements, in particular coupling balls. In the radially outwardly pushed position of the coupling balls, about half of them protrude into the driving openings formed in the hub area of the drive disks or drive wheels on the one hand and into the aforementioned radial openings in the cylinder section of the steering rod on the other hand, so that the steering rod and associated drive pulley or associated drive wheel are rotationally connected to one another are.

If the coupling rod is moved axially within the steering rod to such an extent that a constriction occurs in the area of the coupling balls, the coupling balls are pushed out of the driving openings of the associated drive disk or the associated drive wheel and into the area of the constriction in the steering rod when a torque is exerted on the steering rod Coupling rod pushed. The constriction is so deep sen that the coupling balls no longer protrude beyond the outer circumference of the handlebar with the result that the associated drive wheel is then freely rotatable on the handlebar.

The constrictions in the coupling rod are preferably formed approximately waist-like. In particular, they each have a smaller-diameter central section formed between two frustoconical sections.

The axial extent of the section formed between the two constrictions in the coupling rod is somewhat larger than the distance between the center planes of the coupling elements or coupling balls respectively assigned to the drive disks or drive wheels. It can thus be achieved that both drive pulleys or drive wheels arranged one above the other can be connected to the steering rod in a rotationally fixed manner.

Regarding further structural details for the coupling rod on the one hand and the connection between this and an actuating handle on the other hand are described in claims 7 et seq., to which separate reference is once again made here.

• 1 einen Kamerawagen mit erfindungsgemäßem Lenkgetriebe in Draufsicht, wobei Teile des Lenkgetriebes sichtbar gemacht sind;
• 2 einen Längsschnitt durch den Kamerawagen gemäß 1 längs Linie A-A in 1;
• 3 einen Längsschnitt durch den Kamerawagen gemäß 1 längs Linie B-B in 1;
• 4 eine Ansicht eines Teils des Kamerawagens in Richtung „Y“ in 3;
• 5 einen Teil des Lenkgetriebes des vorstehend dargestellten Kamerawagens im Längsschnitt und in vergrößertem Maßstab;
• 6 einen Schnitt durch das Lenkgetriebe gemäß 5 längs Linie B-B in 5;
• 7 eine Ansicht des Lenkgetriebes gemäß 5 in Richtung des Pfeiles „X“ in 5;
• 8 einen Schnitt durch den Betätigungsmechanismus für das Lenkgetriebe gemäß 5 längs Linie D-D in 5;
• 9 eine Stellung des Lenkgetriebes, bei der nur die hinteren Räder mit der Lenkstange gekoppelt sind, in einer Darstellung entsprechend 5; und
• 10 eine Stellung des Lenkgetriebes, bei der nur die vorderen Räder mit der Lenkstange gekoppelt sind, in einer Darstellung entsprechend 5.

A preferred embodiment of a camera carriage with a steering gear according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawing. Show it:

• 1 a camera carriage with steering gear according to the invention in plan view, with parts of the steering gear being made visible;
• 2 according to a longitudinal section through the camera carriage 1 along line AA in 1 ;
• 3 according to a longitudinal section through the camera carriage 1 along line BB in 1 ;
• 4 a view of part of the camera carriage in direction "Y" in 3 ;
• 5 a part of the steering gear of the camera carriage shown above in longitudinal section and on an enlarged scale;
• 6 according to a section through the steering gear 5 along line BB in 5 ;
• 7 a view of the steering gear according to FIG 5 in the direction of the arrow "X" in 5 ;
• 8th according to a section through the actuating mechanism for the steering gear 5 along line DD in 5 ;
• 9 a position of the steering gear in which only the rear wheels are coupled to the steering rod, in a representation accordingly 5 ; and
• 10 a position of the steering gear in which only the front wheels are coupled to the steering rod, in a representation accordingly 5 .

Like the one in particular 1 and 2 can be removed, the camera carriage shown there comprises a chassis 10 with four wheel arms 11, the position of which is adjustable in relation to the chassis in a manner not illustrated in detail by pivoting about vertical axes 12. A support wheel arrangement is provided on each wheel arm 11, each of which comprises two coaxial running wheels 13 or 13', between which two rail wheels 14 are mounted one behind the other. On the chassis 10 there is an extendable two-part or three-part lifting column which can be rotatably mounted on the chassis about a vertical axis 15 . The central column part can be provided with a swivel head. A two-armed rotary arm can be fixed to this, at both ends of which seat arms for the cameraman or assistant can be fixed in the case of conventional camera carriage use. Since this is a known construction, there is no need to describe it in more detail here. In this regard, reference is only made to the DE 38 04 463 A1 or DE 38 15 852 C2 .

At one, namely in the 1 until 3 A housing 16 for accommodating a front-wheel and/or rear-wheel steering gear 17 is flanged to the right end face of the chassis 10 (flange 18). This steering gear 17 is operatively connected via a steering rod 19 to a steering device, here a steering fork 20 . The steering rod 19 is rotatably mounted in the housing 16 of the steering gear 17 (ball bearing 21 on the top of the steering housing 16 and ball bearing 22 on the underside of the steering housing 16).

In the 1 and 2 the coaxial wheels are identified by the reference numerals 13, 13', it being immaterial which wheels are designated as front or rear wheels due to the symmetrical structure.

The in the 1 and 2 left or front wheels 13 can be coupled to the steering gear 17 via a central drive chain 23 to steer the same about a vertical steering axis 24, while the rear wheels 13' can be coupled to the steering gear 17 about a vertical steering axis 25 with the steering gear 17 being arranged above the drive chain 23 Drive chain 26 can be coupled.

The aforesaid drive chains 23, 26 are pivoted within a central bogie body 27 about four corners thereof Sprockets 28 and 29 deflected, the latter two deflection sprockets serving to deflect the drive chains 23, 26 into the steering gear housing 16 and out of it. Inside the steering gear housing 16, the drive chains 23, 26 are respectively 3 arranged one above the other and guided around two sprockets 30, 31, arranged correspondingly one above the other, which are rotatably mounted on the steering rod 19 inside the steering gear housing 16 (see 3 as well as in particular 5 , 9 and 10 ). The sprockets 28 rotatably mounted in the chassis housing 27 and assigned to the rear wheels 13' are double sprockets, with the respective upper sprocket being assigned to the upper drive chain 26 for steering the rear wheels 13', while the lower sprocket is used for deflection the drive chain 23 for the steering of the front wheels 13 is used. The deflection wheels 29 acting between the chassis housing 27 and the steering gear housing 16 are each double chain wheels for deflecting both the upper drive chain 26 and the lower drive chain 23.

The deflection chain wheels 28 in the chassis housing 27 are each located on the same axis of rotation 12 about which the wheel arms 11 can be pivoted and on each of which another chain wheel 32 is attached. Around these further sprockets 32, steering chains 33 are guided, which correspond to sprockets 34 which are non-rotatably connected to the steering axles 24, 25 of the front and rear wheels. The chain wheels 32, 34 and the steering chains 33 are each arranged within a wheel arm housing 35.

Of the 1 can also be seen that the drive chain 23 is associated with a tensioning chain wheel 36 within the chassis housing 27 . The drive chain 26 used to steer the rear wheels 13' is also assigned a tensioning sprocket, namely the tensioning sprocket 37 in 1 .

In the concept shown, the steering gear 17 is operatively connected either only to the front wheels 13 on the one hand or only to the rear wheels 13' on the other hand via the chains 23 and 26, respectively. Alternatively, it is also possible to control all wheels together via the steering gear. For this purpose, the chain wheels 31, 30 associated with the drive chains 23, 26 can be coupled to the steering rod 19 either selectively or together with the steering rod 19. As already mentioned, the sprockets 30, 31 are rotatably mounted on the steering rod 19 and can be coupled to the steering rod 19 either jointly or by means of a clutch 38 that can be actuated from the outside. The clutch 38 comprises a clutch rod 39 reciprocable axially within the handlebar 19, within a cylinder portion thereof, and having two constrictions 40,41 spaced axially from one another. Through a section 42 of the coupling rod 39 between the two constrictions 40, 41, coupling elements, namely coupling balls 44, are placed inside radial openings 43 formed in the steering rod 19, radially outwards into driving openings, namely longitudinal notches 45 in the hub area of the drive wheels rotatably mounted on the steering rod 19 or sprockets 30, 31 can be pushed, so that then a rotary connection between the steering rod 19 and one of the two or both sprockets 30, 31 is produced.

In 5 the coupling rod 39 is in a position in which the section 42 between the two constrictions 40, 41 urges both the upper sprocket 30 and the lower sprocket 31 associated coupling balls 44 into the sprocket driving position. In this position, turning the handlebar 19 steers both the front and rear wheels.

With the position of the coupling rod 39 in 9 only the lower sprocket 31 is in the sprocket driving position, with the result that when the steering rod 19 rotates, only the lower sprocket 31 and the drive chain 23 coupled thereto are moved. The upper sprocket 30 associated coupling balls 44 are in their radially inner position and within the upper constriction 40 such that they no longer protrude beyond the outer circumference of the handlebar 19. This means that the upper chain wheel 30 or the drive chain 26 operatively connected thereto does not move when the steering rod 19 rotates.

In 10 the situation is exactly the opposite. The coupling rod 39 is moved upwards so far that the lower sprocket 31 is uncoupled and the upper sprocket 30 is coupled to the handlebar 19. In this position, only the drive chain 26 is reciprocated as the handlebar 19 rotates. Since the drive chain 23 is assigned to the front wheels 13 and the drive chain 26 only to the rear wheels 13', a steering mode can be set in this way in which either only the front wheels or only the rear wheels can be steered. Ie according to the position of the coupling rod 39 9 can only the front wheels and the position of the coupling rod 39 according to 10 only steer the rear wheels. In the intermediate position according to 5 both the front wheels and the rear wheels are steered together when the handlebar 19 is rotated.

The 5 , 9 and 10 can therefore be seen very well that in the Einschnü stanchions 40, 41 of the coupling rod 39, the coupling balls 44 can be pushed back radially inward in such a way that the associated chain wheel 30 or 31 can rotate freely on the handlebar 19 and is decoupled from it.

The constrictions 40, 41 in the coupling rod 39 are each formed in the manner of a waist, specifically they each have a central section 47 of smaller diameter formed between two sections 46 in the shape of a truncated cone. The axial extension of the section 42 formed between the two constrictions 40, 41 in the coupling rod 19 is corresponding 5 slightly larger than the distance between the center planes 48, 49 of the chain wheels 30, 31 respectively assigned coupling balls 44. Only then can a position of the coupling rod 39 according to FIG 5 set, in which both sprockets 30, 31 are coupled to the handlebar 19.

• - vorn
• - hinten
• - vorn und hinten (entsprechend 7).

The coupling rod 39 is according to the 5 , 9 and 10 axially over the handlebar 19, namely there in each case down. The coupling rod 39 is coupled via this protruding part to a driver 50 which is mounted parallel to the steering rod 19 and can be moved back and forth. This driver 50 is guided up and down along two vertical rods 51 arranged within the steering gear housing 16 . The driver 50 is coupled to the lower end of the coupling rod 39 via a driving pin 52 which extends transversely through the lower end of the coupling rod 39 . The driver 50 can be moved back and forth by an actuating handle in the form of a rotary switch 53, and in particular can be fixed in three different positions, namely in the positions shown here

• - front
• - rear
• - front and rear (according to 7 ).

• - nur Vorderräder paarweise bzw. konventionell lenkbar;
• - nur Hinterräder paarweise bzw. konventionell lenkbar;
• - sowohl Vorder- als auch Hinterräder jeweils paarweise nach links oder rechts oder entgegengesetzt lenkbar.

These positions correspond to the following steering modes:

• - Only front wheels can be steered in pairs or conventionally;
• - Only rear wheels can be steered in pairs or conventionally;
• - Both front and rear wheels can be steered in pairs to the left or right or in the opposite direction.

The rotary switch 53 is mounted asymmetrically about an axis 54 . It also has a slot-like receptacle 55 for a pin 56 connected to the driver 50, so that the pin 56 together with the driver 50 can be moved back and forth when the rotary switch 53 is turned, namely up and down here.

Furthermore, the rotary switch 53 has an elastically prestressed latching element, here in the form of a latching pin 57 which corresponds to complementary latching receptacles 58 on the outer end face of the steering gear housing 16 . A reverse arrangement of the locking pin and locking receptacles is also conceivable. The locking receptacles 58 are located on an imaginary arc 59 around the asymmetrically arranged pivot bearing 54 of the rotary switch 53. Specifically, three locking receptacles are provided for the three positions mentioned above (see 4 , 7 and 8th ).

Instead of the rotary switch 53 described, it is of course also possible to provide an adjustment device and handle which can be moved up and down in a translatory manner and which can be latched in three different vertical positions.

Furthermore, the structural details shown in the drawings are also claimed to be essential to the invention, insofar as they are new compared to the prior art, either individually or in combination.

Reference List

10

chassis

11

wheel arm

12

vertical axis

13

Wheel

14

track wheel

15

vertical lifting column axis

16

steering gear housing

17

steering gear

18

flange

19

handlebar

20

steering fork

21

ball-bearing

22

ball-bearing

23

Drive chain for front wheels

24

steering axle

25

steering axle

26

Drive chain for rear wheels

27

chassis housing

28

Sprocket

29

Sprocket

30

Sprocket

31

Sprocket

32

Sprocket

33

steering chain

34

Sprocket

35

wheel arm housing

36

idler sprocket

37

idler sprocket

38

coupling

39

clutch rod

40

constriction

41

constriction

42

intermediate section

43

radial opening

44

clutch balls

45

entrainment openings or notches

46

frustoconical section

47

central section of smaller diameter

48

midplane

49

midplane

50

driver

51

vertical bar

52

driving pin

53

rotary switch

54

axis

55

Long hole

56

Pen

57

detent pin

58

snap-in mount

59

circular arc

Claims (11)

Camera carriage with a chassis (10) comprising front (13) and rear (13') wheels, the front and rear wheels being connectable via a steering gear (17) to a steering device comprising a steering rod (19) in such a way that either only the front wheels (13), only the rear wheels (13') or all of them can be steered, whereby the steering gear (17) only with the front wheels (13) on the one hand and only with the rear wheels (13') on the other hand operatively connected drive elements (23, 26) which can be moved back and forth via drive disks or wheels (30, 31) which can be coupled either together or with the steering device or its steering rod (19). wherein the drive pulleys or wheels (30, 31) are rotatably mounted on the steering rod (19) and can be coupled to the steering rod (19) either individually or together by means of a clutch (38) that can be actuated from the outside, the coupling (38) having a coupling rod (39) which can be moved back and forth axially within the steering rod (19), the coupling rod (39) protrudes axially over the steering rod (19) and is coupled via this protruding part to a driver (50) mounted so that it can move back and forth parallel to the steering rod (19), the driver (50) being actuated by an actuating handle (53) can be moved back and forth. camera car after claim 1 , characterized in that the coupling rod (39) has two constrictions (40, 41) which are spaced apart axially, a section (42) of the coupling rod (39) between the two constrictions (40, 41) inside the steering rod (19 ) formed radial openings (43) placed coupling elements, namely coupling balls (44) can be pushed radially outwards into driving openings (45) of the drive disks or wheels (30, 31) rotatably mounted on the steering rod (19), so that a rotary connection between the steering rod (19) and one of the two or both drive pulleys or wheels (30, 31). camera car after claim 2 , characterized in that in the region of the constrictions (40, 41) of the coupling rod (39), the coupling balls (44) can be pushed back radially inwards in such a way that the respective associated drive wheel (30, 31) can rotate freely on the steering rod (19) and is decoupled from this. camera car after claim 2 or 3 , characterized in that the constrictions (40, 41) in the coupling rod (39) are each formed in the manner of a waist, namely in each case have a central section (47) of smaller diameter formed between two frustoconical sections (46). camera car after one of the claims 2 until 4 , characterized in that the axial extent of the section (42) formed between the two constrictions (40, 41) in the coupling rod (19) is somewhat greater than the distance between the center planes (48, 49) of the drive pulleys or wheels (30, 31) respectively associated coupling elements or balls (44). Camera carriage according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier (50) can be fixed in three different positions which correspond to the following steering modes: - only front wheels can be steered in pairs or conventionally; - Only rear wheels can be steered in pairs or conventionally; or - both front and rear wheels can be steered in pairs to the left or right (= crab mode) or in the opposite direction (= round mode). Camera carriage according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating handle is a rotary switch (53) which is mounted asymmetrically and has a slot-like receptacle (55) for a pin (56) connected to the driver (50), so that this, together with the driver (50), is moved back and forth when the rotary switch (53) is turned. camera car after claim 7 , characterized in that the rotary switch (53) has an elastically prestressed locking element, namely in the form of a locking pin (57), which corresponds to complementary locking receptacles (58) on a housing (16) of the steering gear (17), or vice versa, the locking receptacles (58) lying on an imaginary arc (59) around the asymmetrically arranged pivot bearing (54) of the rotary switch (53). Camera carriage according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the driver (50) can be actuated by a pivoting lever or a handle lever which can be moved up and down translationally. Camera trolley according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handle is arranged on/on the steering gear housing (16). Camera carriage according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handle is arranged at the level of the driver (50).

Images