Aerial Camera System Stabilized Head Cable Reel Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aerial camera systems face challenges with platform stability, ease of control, transportability, high-speed operation, on-camera graphics, and are prone to failure, particularly during events like sports games, due to inadequate stabilization and control mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
The aerial camera system incorporates a computer-controlled, powered camera interface/safety reel with a stabilized camera head, featuring a plurality of main reels, a camera interface/safety reel, and a main computer system for controlling cable feeding and reeling, along with a stabilized camera head with three-axis control, servo-controlled lens settings, and a level wind assembly for maintaining cable tension, ensuring accurate positioning and emergency support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional aerial camera systems use multiple supporting ropes and pulleys for three-dimensional movement, then the camera platform can be moved in X, Y, and Z axes, but the system lacks platform stability and is prone to failure and disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical rope-and-pulley system with an electrically-driven cable reel system. Motors mounted on the camera platform directly drive cables that connect to fixed anchor points, eliminating the need for multiple supporting ropes and pulleys. This substitution provides more reliable motor control, better platform stability, and reduced mechanical failure points while maintaining three-dimensional movement capability through coordinated motor control of multiple cables.
2Speed
If aerial camera systems use flexible members with motor driven reels for expanding and retracting, then the camera can be positioned in three-dimensional space, but the system fails to provide adequate platform stability and high speed operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces flexible member expansion/contraction mechanisms with direct motor-driven cable reels. Motors on the camera platform directly wind and unwind cables to control position, enabling high-speed response through electronic control while maintaining platform stability through precise motor control algorithms and direct mechanical coupling that eliminates slack and flexibility issues.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional aerial camera systems are designed for broadcast sporting events and film productions, then they can capture events, but they lack transportability and are complex to set up and operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the aerial camera system into modular components: a camera platform module with integrated motors and cables, separate anchor point modules at fixed locations, and a control system module. This segmentation allows the camera platform to be independently transported and quickly deployed by attaching cables to pre-installed anchor points, significantly improving transportability while reducing setup complexity compared to traditional systems requiring assembly of multiple rope and pulley components.
Data Source
AI summary
An aerial camera system including a plurality of main reels, a camera interface/safety reel and a stabilized camera head. The camera head is supported from main cables from the main reels with a safety reel cable providing power, data and video communication between the camera head and a main computer system. Each of the main reels, the camera interface/safety reel and the camera head are in communication with the main computer system, which controls the feeding and reeling in of the main cables. Further, the computer system controls the feeding and reeling in of the safety reel cable, which typically only follows the camera head as it moves in three-dimensional space, but may in emergency mode support the weight of the camera head and be used to slowly pull the camera head up and out of the way so that it does not interfere with any activity below the flight area.