Balanced Mounting Arrangement for Image Capture Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mounting mechanisms for handheld image capture devices, such as cameras and smartphones, fail to provide stable and rigid support, leading to blurry images due to inherent instability and lack of integration with industry-standard camera equipment.
Innovation Solution
A balanced mounting arrangement with a holder and fixed base that allows for perpendicular orientation of the image plane, combined with a counterweight system and arcuate arm for adjustable balance, enabling secure attachment to tripods and other camera equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If adjustable mechanisms (tripod mounts, gooseneck mounts, ball end swivel mounts) are used to hold handheld devices, then the devices can be positioned and oriented for convenient operation, but the mechanisms introduce movement and vibration that degrade image stability
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into two distinct functional segments: a rigid fixed mount structure that provides stable image capture, and a separate adjustable positioning mechanism that sets the initial orientation. This segmentation allows the positioning function to be established without introducing movable parts during the actual image capture process, thereby eliminating vibration while maintaining operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is positioned and oriented to the desired angle and direction before being secured in the fixed mount. All adjustments and positioning actions are performed in advance (preliminarily), allowing the device to be locked in a fixed position during image capture. This eliminates movement during the critical capture moment while preserving the ability to reposition when needed.
2Weight of moving object
If ultra-lightweight cameras and handheld devices are used for portability, then device weight and size are reduced, but the devices become inherently unstable and produce blurred images
Solution Approach 1:
The fixed mount structure incorporates counterweight elements and balancing mechanisms that offset the lightweight nature of handheld devices. By introducing opposing gravitational forces through strategically placed counterweights, the system achieves stable equilibrium that prevents the lightweight device from being susceptible to movement and vibration during image capture.
Solution Approach 2:
A rigid fixed mount structure serves as an intermediary between the handheld device and the support surface. This intermediary provides the mechanical stability and vibration isolation that lightweight devices lack inherently, transferring the stability requirement from the device itself to the mounting system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multi-jointed or adjustable mechanisms are used to mount handheld devices, then the devices can be oriented for user convenience, but the flexible construction causes movement and vibration detrimental to stable image capture
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system separates the adaptation function (orientation adjustment) from the stability function (vibration-free capture). Adjustable components enable initial positioning and orientation adaptation, while the fixed rigid mount structure eliminates movement during image capture, thus resolving the conflict between adaptability and vibration reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
All orientation adjustments and adaptations are performed in advance before securing the device in the fixed mount. The preliminary positioning actions establish the desired orientation, after which the device is locked in place to eliminate vibration during the actual image capture process.
Data Source
AI summary
A balanced mounting arrangement stably supports a motion-sensitive, image capture device, and includes a mount for holding the device during image capture, and a handheld equipoising structure having a support platform on which the mount and the held device are mounted during image capture, a bottom counterweight below the platform, and a curved arm extending along an arcuate path between the platform and the counterweight. A weight component is mounted on, and is movable relative to and along, the curved arm to adjust a vertical balance position of the arrangement.