JPH10196886A - Universal support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a universal support device with improved operability despite its smaller number of component parts. SOLUTION: A ball 12 constituting a ball joint 11 is press titled into a ball bearing part 17 formed in a support base 16. The outside end 17a of the ball bearing part 17, whose inner diameter is set in tapered, tightly attaches at its inner surface of the top edge along the outer surface of the ball 12 to hold it inside the ball bearing part 17. The holding function and frictional force of the outside end 17a thus securely holds and fixes the ball joint 11 in the ball bearing part 17. That ball joint 11 never turns inside the ball bearing part 17 even upon receiving at its threaded portion 13 the screw force of a camera being mounted thereon to establish reliable attachment of the camera thereto. The camera thus mounted can be turned in an arbitrary direction by the simple application of operating physical force exceeding the frictional force to the ball joint 11. The support base 16 is fitted on its bottom with a stabilizer plate 19, which increases the rigidity and lowers the center of gravity to stabilize the support base 16 such that it hardly overturns with the camera mounted thereon.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a universal supporting device for supporting and fixing a supported body in an arbitrary direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as a means for fixing a supported body such as a CCD camera in an arbitrary direction, a ball joint in which a screw body is integrally attached to the outside of a sphere is used. This ball joint can direct the supported body in any direction, but since the direction is not fixed as it is, it is necessary to fix the ball joint after directing the supported body in any direction.

Conventionally, as a means for fixing a ball joint, an elastic force by a spring or a pressing force of a screw has been used.

[0004] As a fixing device using a spring, for example, a configuration described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-129680 is known. In the configuration disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-129680, the outer surface of a sphere of a ball joint is pressed using a spring in a ball receiving portion for accommodating the sphere, and the direction of a supported body attached to a screw body is not correct. The ball joint is fixed to the ball receiving portion so as not to change easily.

[0005] Further, as a fixing means using a screw,
For example, a configuration described in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 30144483 is known. This utility model registration No. 301448
In the configuration described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3 (2003), the outer surface of the sphere of the ball joint is pressed by a holding screw provided in a ball receiving portion for storing the sphere, so that the direction of the supported body does not change carelessly.
The ball joint is fixed to the spherical body.

[0006]

However, in these conventional examples, a separate support stand for supporting the ball bearing is required in addition to the ball bearing for holding the ball joint. Further, a spring and a holding screw are required in addition to the ball receiving portion for fixing the ball joint.

As described above, the ball joint requires a separate ball receiving portion, a support base, a spring, a presser screw, and the like, which requires a large number of parts and increases the number of manufacturing steps. Have a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a universal support device with a reduced number of components and improved operability.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a universal support device comprising a ball joint having a sphere provided with a mounted portion;
The ball joint has a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the sphere and has an inner diameter into which the sphere can be fitted, and is formed into a cylindrical shape having a thin outer end portion, and at least half or more of the outer surface of the sphere is fitted and supported. And a support base made of an elastic material having a ball receiving portion. Since at least half or more of the outer surface of the sphere of the ball joint is fitted in the ball receiving portion of the support base, the ball joint is securely held in the ball receiving portion due to frictional resistance due to the elastic force of the support base and the like. The direction can be freely changed by a simple operation of applying an operating force greater than the frictional resistance, and the ball receiving part can be integrally formed as a support base, so the number of parts is reduced,
The number of manufacturing steps is reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a universal supporting device.
The above-mentioned universal support device is provided with a concave portion formed on the bottom surface of the support base, and a plate-like rigid stabilizer fitted into the concave portion. Since the rigid plate is fitted to the bottom surface of the support base, the rigidity of the bottom surface is increased and the center of gravity is lowered.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a universal support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a ball joint. The ball joint 11 has a sphere 12 made of a hard plastic material such as polypropylene, and serves as a part to be mounted along the radial direction outside the sphere 12. The screw body 13 is integrally implanted. In addition, a washer 14 is attached to this screw body 13,
Although not shown, a supported body such as a camera is attached by screw connection. The washer 14 is for preventing loosening when a camera or the like is attached to the screw body 13.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a support, which is formed in a shallow conical shape so as to obtain a wide bottom surface.
At the center of the upper surface of the cone, a cylindrical ball receiving portion 17 is provided along the axial direction. As a material of the support 16, an elastic material such as silicon rubber, which generates an appropriate frictional force by contact with the surface of the sphere 12, is used.

The ball receiving portion 17 holds and fixes the ball joint 11, and has an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the sphere 12 constituting the ball joint 11. In addition, since the support base 16 is made of an elastic material as described above, even if the inner diameter of the ball receiving portion 17 is smaller than the outer diameter of the sphere 12, the elastic force allows the sphere 12 to be inserted within a certain range. . Therefore, the ball receiver
The inner diameter of 17 may be set in a range where the spherical body 12 can be fitted.

The outer end 17a of the ball receiving portion 17 is formed in a thin collar shape as shown in FIG.
Is set to have a tapered shape. Then, the depth of the ball receiving portion 17 is set such that at least half or more of the outer surface of the sphere 12 is fitted into the ball receiving portion 17. In this case, it is preferable to set the depth of the ball receiving portion 17 such that the tapered inner peripheral surface of the collar-shaped outer end portion 17a is in close contact with the upper side of a half of the spherical body 12.

An example of the dimensional relationship of each part is shown below in correspondence with FIG.

The outer diameter a of the sphere 12 is 20 mm, the depth b of the ball receiving portion 17 is 14 mm, the height c of the outer end portion 17a is 5.3 mm, the lower inner diameter of the ball receiving portion 17 is 19.2 mm, and the upper inner diameter of the ball receiving portion 17 is 19.2 mm. : 18.2 mm Thickness d of the support 16: 22 mm Diameter e of the support 16: 70 mm On the bottom of the support 16, a stabilizer 19 made of a rigid body such as an iron plate is substantially parallel to the bottom. It is fitted integrally. That is, a recess 20 having an area substantially equal to that of the stabilizer 19 and deeper than the thickness of the stabilizer 19 is formed in the bottom surface of the support base 16, and the stabilizer 19 is fitted into the recess 20. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of, for example, four locking portions 21 protruding inward are integrally formed on the lower inner periphery of the concave portion 20. The locking portion 21 engages with the lower edge of the stabilizer 19 to lock the stabilizer 19 from dropping out of the recess 20.

When assembling as a universal support device, the ball 12 of the ball joint 11 is pressed into a ball receiving portion 17 formed on a support base 16. Here, the inner diameter of the ball receiver 17 is a ball joint
Although it is set slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the sphere 12 constituting 11, the support base 16 on which the ball receiving portion 17 is formed is made of an elastic material, and the outer end portion 17a in the form of a collar is thin. Therefore, the sphere 12 can be relatively easily pushed into the ball receiving portion 17. At this time, the sphere 12 is fitted into the ball receiving portion 17 while slightly expanding the inner peripheral surface of the ball receiving portion 17. For this reason, a considerably strong frictional force is generated between the inner surface of the ball receiving portion 17 and the outer surface of the ball 12, and the ball joint 11 including the ball 12 is
It is held and fixed in 17.

In particular, since the inner diameter of the outer end portion 17a of the ball receiving portion 17 is set to be tapered, the inner surface of the tip portion closely adheres along the outer surface of the sphere 12, and this sphere 12 is inserted into the ball receiving portion 17. Hold wrapped around. Therefore, the ball joint 11 including the sphere 12 has a ball receiving portion due to the holding function and frictional force of the outer end portion 17a.
It is securely held and fixed in 17.

A supported object such as a camera (not shown) is attached to the threaded body 13 of the ball joint 11 by screwing. In this screwing, the outer end 17a is pressed so as to be sandwiched from both sides of the outside. As a result, the sphere 12 can be securely fixed. Therefore, the ball joint 11 does not rotate in the ball receiving portion 17 due to the force of screwing the supported body into the screw body 13, and the supported body can be securely attached to the ball joint 11.

Thereafter, the ball joint 11 is connected to the inner surface of the ball receiving portion 17 and the sphere.
Since the sphere 12 is fixed by a strong frictional force with the outer surface of the sphere 12, the sphere 12 does not inadvertently rotate and change the direction of the supported body, and the supported body is fixed in an arbitrary direction. be able to. Further, since no spring or presser screw is required for fixing the ball joint 11, the number of parts can be reduced. Further, the supported member can be oriented in an arbitrary direction by an operation of merely applying an operation force equal to or more than the friction force to the ball joint 11. That is, it is not necessary to loosen the holding screw, and the direction of the supported body can be easily and quickly changed with one hand.

Further, by fitting the stabilizer 19 into the bottom of the support 16, the rigidity of the bottom is increased and the center of gravity of the universal support device is lowered, so that it is difficult to fall down even when the supported member is attached. And a stable supporting state can be obtained.
In particular, since the shape of the support base 16 is a shallow conical shape,
As 19, a thin plate having a large area can be used, and the center of gravity can be further lowered.

It should be noted that the stabilizer plate 19 is provided in the bottom recess 20 of the support base 16.
When mounting the stabilizing plate 19, it is possible to easily fit the stabilizing plate 19 into the recess 20 by simply twisting the locking portion 21 made of an elastic material provided on the inner periphery of the recess 20. That is, the stabilizer 19 can be easily mounted in the recess 20 without using mounting screws or the like. In addition, since the bottom surface of the locking portion 21 comes into contact with the surface on which the support base 16 is installed, an anti-slip effect is generated, so that a stable installation state can be obtained without separately preparing an anti-slip mechanism.

[0024]

According to the universal support device of the first aspect,
Since at least half or more of the outer surface of the ball of the ball joint is fitted in the ball receiving portion of the support base, the ball joint is securely held in the ball receiving portion due to frictional resistance due to the elastic force of the support base and can be moved in any direction. And the direction can be freely changed by a simple operation that only applies an operating force greater than the frictional resistance, and since the ball receiving portion can be integrally formed as a support base, the number of parts is reduced and the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced. .

According to the universal support device of the second aspect, in addition to the universal support device of the first aspect, the rigidity of the bottom portion is increased by fitting a rigid stabilizer to the bottom surface of the support base, and the center of gravity is increased. Can be stabilized without falling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a universal support device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Ball joint 12 Spherical body 13 Screw body as mounting part 16 Support base 17 Ball receiving part 17a Outer end part 19 Stabilizing plate 20 Concave part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A ball joint having a sphere provided with a mounted portion, a cylinder having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the sphere of the ball joint, having an inner diameter into which the sphere can be fitted, and having a thin outer end. And a support base formed of an elastic material having a ball receiving portion for fitting and supporting at least half or more of the outer surface of the spherical body. 2. The universal support device according to claim 1, further comprising: a concave portion formed in a bottom portion of the support base; and a plate-shaped rigid stabilizer fitted into the concave portion.