US2326207A - Supporting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Aug. l0, 1943. w, c EDDY SUPPORTING APPARATUS 1 941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 3

Filed Jan. 3, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR. WILL/AM C. EDDY ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 10, 1943 surnomme ArPnArn-s 4 William o. Eday, Kenilworthging assigner e) RadiOorpcration of America, -fa-eorperationlcf n Delaware nppncaocnaanuaryrs, iscnseriai marasma "6'-}laims.

",My invention relates, in gernsrahy to :movable :supporting members, and :more particularly to :Suola members asgare fcorrnnonliy7 'called mike booms orimicrophone booms.

sound or Ialfnal .-broadcasting, vand for -such purposes as the recordingof the soundtrack on talking moving pictures, it often-times'becomes .necessary or .desirable .to providea pick-up microphone arrangement` zwhich :may be Ifeasily moved `from point -to point inforder to best cover the program or material which is sought :to `be .broadcast or recorded. Elaborate arrangements have :been provided :heretofore for fullling this purpose, and :thesezarrangementsfhave hadunde- :sirable ffeatures. Accordingly, .it lis -one of the objects of my invention -to provide 1a microphone boom `or support `by fmean'siof :which it is possible `to 1cover.substantially .all of the individual `sections making up .a complete .predetermined area.

Again, the 4microphones `have had Vto haveH eitheran `operator very close to the-microphone, or elaboratelarrangements had ,to be provided-for operating .the microphonercma distance. .Accordingly, it is another of the fobjectsoi my in-V vention to providefa .microphone 4boom lor support which `may be eaSll-y operated fand -op'erated.re.

motely-therefrom. 4 .j i v .Among the severe fdisadyantages that the somewhat elaborate arrangements.. heretofore known have sunered is that the support for the microphone was necessarily held lbyasomewhat :bulky movab1e1pedestaL -and in the :case of ltransmission of such :progr-.ams suchlas television programs, the microphone .boom had to :be prohibitively flong, or if .notpthefsupporting pedestal `for the boom was constantly inthe Wayfof the tele- .vision cameras, particularly iin obtaining closeup -yievvsl The arrangement, contemplated .in this invention is :such that it may be nsediinfa television -or sound broadcasting studio fand 'may be attachedto the ,ceiling thereof, thus preventingfconflict between the other apparatusrnecessary to the program land :the boom itself. .Accordingly, it is another of the -obijeots yof my invention to vprovide a microphone boomer-support Which may be Vattached to the ceiling or :an elevated vsupport and may be .desirably operated therefrom, although `.it `will loe riappreciated that this apparatus could beworkedsuccessiully,either 1 from a mounting .on :the floor-or the side wall.

In .View of the fact -that .television-studios at Athe 4present :time `must loe-especially adaptable to .television needs, and further, since =most`of these .studios at the present time .are comparatively small, anything that .contributes -to independence ,of operation of the various. units associated inv a television `broadcast has adstinctadvantage. It

has been -pointedfout hereinbeiore that television Y cameras must move into various positions incr- `der to.obtain .the most :desirable fshots and un- (Cl. 24S-325) less- .the .microphone-.boom was entirely :unwieldy fandftoo long, the. pedestal for the boornvvas `constantly -i-n `conflict .with the Atelevision `cameras. Accordingly, it .is another ,ofthe .objects .of my invention to `provide a .microphone support -or lboom arrangement which is .particnlarlyiadapt- Y able to the -useszoi television. 1

Again, due to the fact that the-.studios rat the 4present 4time` .are sornevvl'iat small and `iurther,

since a iconsiderable amountof material .is necessary in order .to lightland pick` up. ia ztelevision program and further, since a `very 1rapid change trom .characterto-character may be necessitated, it is highly desirable .that the microphone -arrangement ,be -such that not onlymay .,thedevice be brought near the character, lbut must bekable to move -to lconsiderably`spaced apart distances Vvery 4rapidly and very accurately. The sliding type of boom which has 5beenylrnovvn heretofore cannot satisfactorily f ulnlltheseeconditions. Accorolingly, .it r.is :another `of the objects of .myinvention -toiprovidea .microphoneboorn cil-:support arrangement Vwhichmaybe-changed trom char- `actor to character eXtrem-ely quickly with .fa speed nand accuracy not contemplated hy, nor possible* With the sliding vtype `of .microphone boom,

Again, since all Aof .the -characters :in -a broadcast are V:not .of fthe same height, and .since sound must .be picked -upirom a-character whether in afsittingorstanding-position, it is necessary that the microphone beadapted to bechangedin vertical position. rapidly-land accurately. ft. fwill- 'be :seen from the hereinafter ycontained :description how `this is made 4feasible with the arrangement hereinafter to 4be described.` Accordingly, it :is another ofl theobj ects ,of my'inventionmo provide a microphone `boom or support arrangement which `may be vertically :adjusted rapidlyiand fac- .curately. v. i

VMy invention, in fgeneral, comprises providing a plurality tof 'sinterrelattedgtamn 'members `vvlfiich Yare pivotally engaged Withfeachcother, .and these `anni members are contrcl'ledliremotely "by means of power `transmission apparatus such as cables,

ropes, orfiihe like, .and ithese :cables are arranged `so .that the relative :movement of the cables -de `termines lthe `relative movementfofeachiof the plurality of pivotally supportedmembers with Vreference lto the support meniber for sthe Ientire apparatus. Thus, 1liryigoverni'ng 'this angular relationship, any portion of -apredetermined area may be Lcovered lby'amicrophone supported at or near the extremity' 'of one of 'the members, Athe member 'being preferaby `that whichis .farthest from .the 7support of the entire apparatus.

My invention Will.- best belunderstood Aby 4reference to theguresin which:

Eig.. .l .is a `partially `gint-away drawing lof the .entireapparatus 2 is somewhat simplified showing of the entire apparatus, and Y Fig. 3 is a particular showing ofthe remote control features of the apparatus.Y

Referring to Fig.` 1, there is shown a partially broken away embodimentof the apparatus. plate IU may. be fastened to the ceiling or an appropriate supporting means, and joined Vto IIJ is an apertured support member II whose function will be more fully explained hereinafter. Two arm members I2 are joined to the plate IIJ by bolt and vnut members I3, the arm members extending downwardly and beingV bent under at their lower extremity I4 where they are joined to member II. Also connected to plate I is a fshaft I5 which is connected through an abutment or flange I6 to 'the' member vIl) by bolt and TheVr nutrnembers I'I and I8. The opposite lower endof this shaft ends in an abutment plate I3 whose function will be explained more fully hereinafter. VThe shaft I5 passes through the aperture in the member II and is abutted on either side thereof 'fitted into vthe cylindrical housingr 22 andthe cone 26 whichis'held in fixed relationship with the portion I9 of the shaft I5. These two vmembers are broughtinto co-operative relationship with each other'by means of yball bearings 2. It will be obvious Yfrom the particular shape of the ' elements 25 and 25 forming this bearing Vthat both a lateral and a thrust support is obtained.

Connected to the lower extremity ofthe cylindrical member 22, and shown'parti'ally broken away at its point of joining is a rod or beam member 28 whose function will be explained more fully hereinafter.y At the upper extremity of the Ycylindrical member 22 there is positioned a pulley around which iswound a cable SI. Y A thrust plate 32 is fastened to the pulley 39,and is adapted to rest upon ballfbearings 34, the ball'be'arings r being positioned in av thrust plate 3B. Thrust plate 36 is mounted on top of the cylindrical member 22. VAlso fastened 'to the upper section of the cylindrical member 22 is a rod or beam member 38 which' is'shown partially in section l Where it joins the cylindrical memben The rod 284 is similarly shown. Q Y v An inner ring bearing d is mounted on `the shaft I5 and has aAv ball racefor ballv bearings 42 which are housed-byan outer ring bearing 44.l The ball bearing assembly 4i), 42, 44 enables the cylindrical housing 22 to turn freely on the stationary shaft I5. y Y

Positioned near the'lower extremity of the'cylindrical member 22-is a pulley 45. The face of this pulley is arranged to receive a drive cable 45 which isY shown as having been looped completely around the pulleyftwice. Also joined to vpulley 45 isa thrust plate 48 which is recessed to providefa ball race for ball bearings 49 therein. Immediately above thrustjplate '48"is a similar thrust plate 5I! whichis joined to 'apulley 5|, which pulley haswound thereabout a cable stretches of the cable are shown'. It will be seen,

52. For the sake 'of simplicity,- only fragmentary therefore, that the pulley member 5I can rotate freely about the cylindrical member 22 on the bearing formed between the elements 48, 49 and 56. The cable 46has one portion thereof passing over idler pulley 54 and another portion thereof passing over idler pulley 55, and thence to a drum type of drive which is shown more clearly in Fig. Similarly, cable 52 passes on one portion thereof over idler pulley 56 and another portion thereof passes overV idler pulley 5l to a similar remote drive.

The support members 28 and 38 have been shown'as broken away, and the right hand extremities thereof are indicated at a more central fragmentary portion of Fig. l. A shaft 62 passes through holes in the members 28 and 38, which Yshaft has an abutment 63 at the upper end thereof, and another abutmenty 54 at the lower end thereof. Positioned about and co-axial with shaft E2 is a cylindrical member 65 having fastened at the upper end thereof a beam member 66, and'at the lower extremity thereof a beam member 6l. Joined to the outer face of the cylindrical Ymember 65 is a pulley or windlass 56,

and the cable 53 is wound about this pulley with preferably a double turn.

Similarly to the radial and thrust bearing assembly positioned at the bottom of shaft I5 is suoh'an assembly formed by the cone l, the balls l IV and the cup bearing '12. Near the top of the cylindrical member 65 and on the inner section Vthereof the member 55 is spaced apart from, and

is maintained freely rotatable about the member 62 bymeans of ring bearings 'I4 and 'I5 fastened one to cylindrical member 55, and the other to shaft member 52. Appropriate ball bearings 'I5 are positioned between the elements 'E5 and l5.

The beam members 55 and 5l' continue as shown in the fragmentary portion further to the right of Fig, l, these members being joined at .their extremities by a vertical cross-bar 52.

Cross-bar 82 supports a ballv bearing assembly -33 which'constitutes the fulcrum of afbell crank unit having arms 84 and 85. The microphone 85 is pivotally supported at the extremity of the member 85.

. Fastened to the upper end of shaft 62 is a swivel eye arrangement 92 through the eye of phone 86 dropping inposition due to-the effect -of' gravity. The cablev3l passes to the'left of -the swivel eye 92 around pulley 35 and thence Y over an idler pulley 95 vwhich is supported by the memberSI. A counter-weight (not shown) may be fastened to the end of the cableso as to substantially balance the weight of the microphone.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is shownV the arrangement of Fig. 1 in somewhat less detail. In this flguresimilar parts are referred to by the same numerals as in Fig. l, and in addition a Yfair lead arrangement around the pulleys is shown.r Positioned around the pulleys 45 Vand 5I is a cup arrangement-IE5 which is'fastened into place, and through which are adapted to pass the cable members going to the pulleys 55 and 5I. With this arrangement it is not necessary that the cable'be lwound about the pulleys in orderto pass entirely through 'themember to engage the pulley 6,8. The openings in this arrangement are identified as I 2li,v |21 and I28,`1"espectively. Also,

, as the case may be.

of cable 52 is moved or retracted the retracting relative to the other will cause'the cable to turn the pulley 45. In View of the fact that beam vmembers 28 and 38 are fastened to the cylinder` 22, and that pulley 45 also is fastened to the cylinder 22, the beam members will be turned about the axis of the pulley to a degree determined by the amount of cable wound and unwound therefrom. The degree to which this pulley turns will be dependent upon the amount of y C cable which is wound and unwound therefrom, and the direction in which it is turned` will de-Y pend upon which way the cable winds or unwinds Similarly,` when one section section will pull the pulley 5| which is freely rotatable about the cylinder 22, and in turn the roi tation of this pulley and the winding and unwinding of cable therefrom will cause a vwinding and unwinding of theV sameV cable which passes around the pulley de. Since thepulley 68 is fastened to the cylinder member 55, and further, since this cylindrical member is freely rotatable about the axis of the member 62, beams 65 and Eil will be turned in View of the fact that they are fastened to the cylindrical member 65, the latter in turn being fastened tothe pu1ley68. This means, then, that the microphone may be placed over any point in the entire area covered by 360 rotation of the pulley 45. Since it may be desired to either raise or lower the microphone as well as to place it over a denite point, the cable 3l may be retracted or let out as may be desired in order to either raise or lower the microphone, respectively. i

Referring to Fig. 3, there is shown an arrange-V ment by means of which ya desired pulley or pulleys may be turned. For purposes of illustration the cable 52 has been selected. One end, H30, of this cable may be fastened to a drummember lill, and wound thereabout and thence across pulley 5l around pulley 5|, and thence around pulley 68, and then returned around pulley 5| across idler pulley 55 to the drum lill, where the' other end may be fastened. The drum IGI is driven through shaft means |22 which may be appropriately related thereto, either directly or through means of gears, the latter being driven by a motor. It will be appreciated that the eny ergizing leads to the motor may be led some conof the pulley 68 dueto the'cable being wound and unwound upon the pulley 5|. This illustrates the control of the section of the device from the cylinder 65 to the microphone, illustrated here as being comprised of beam members A similar arrangement may be used to drive the pulley 45,

It will be appreciated that there may be departures from the exact showing illustrated in these drawings as, for instance, in actual practice 'it is quite likely that truss members may be fastened between the beam members so as to strengthen the device. Accordingly, I claim all structure which may fall fairly within the spirit Y and scope of this invention as dened in the hereinafter appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A support apparatus including a first arm member rotatable about a fixed axis, a second arm member pivotally supported by said first member on an axis parallel to the first said axis, and separate cable-and-pulley means for independently rotating each one of said members `about its axis of rotation.

2. A microphone boom including a rst arm memberfrotatable about a xed axis, a second arm member pivotally supported by said first member and adapted to be rotated about said pivot, separate cable-and-pulley means for independently rotating each one of said members about its axis of rotation, a third arm member pivotally supported by said second member, means for supporting a microphone on the outer end of said third member, a counter-weight, and cable means interconnecting said counter-weight and said microphone for sustaining the latter at a desired elevation.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein at least one of said cable-and-pulley means includes at least one pulley member hav- -ing its axis substantially coincident with the axis of said first arm member.

Apparatus according to claim'l and including a third arm member pivotally supported by saidsecond arm member on an axis which gives freedom of rotation of said third arm member in the plane of the pivotal axis of said second arm member, a useful load supported at the outer end of said third arm member, and cable-and-pulley means for rotating said third arm member on its axis.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said cable-,and-pulley means includes a driven pulley mounted coaxially with respect to the pivotal axis of the second said arm member and operable to rotate the same.

6. A microphone boom comprising a support shaft, said support shaft having means for attaching said boom to the interior of a studio, a first cylindrical 'member arranged to rotate around said support shaft, an arm secured to said cylinder, a cable drum secured to said cylinder, a second shaft secured to said arm at the end opposite said support shaft, a second cylindrical member surrounding said second shaft, a second arm secured to said second cylinder, a third f arm pivoted at right angles to the axis of said first and second support shafts, and separate means for independently moving each one of said arms.

WILLIAM C. EDDY.

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