Detachable Camera Mount Impact Decoupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing camera mounts fail to effectively detach from mounting surfaces during impacts, potentially causing damage to the camera, mount, and the object they are secured to, which can lead to equipment failure and injury.
Innovation Solution
The development of camera mounts that utilize flexible materials like polycarbonate for reusable designs that temporarily deform upon impact, allowing detachment, and brittle materials like acrylic for one-time use that fracture to release the camera, ensuring safe disengagement from mounting surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the camera mount uses strong bonding to secure the camera firmly, then the camera is securely held during normal use, but the mount cannot detach during impact causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The camera mount is divided into separate components: a camera holder portion and a base portion, connected by detachable engagement structures (protrusions and recesses). This segmentation allows the mount to maintain strong bonding during normal use while enabling controlled detachment during impact, resolving the contradiction between secure holding and safe release.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement structures are designed with specific geometric parameters (protrusion shape, recess configuration) that allow the mount to transition from a high-strength engaged state during normal use to a detachable state during impact. The parameter design enables the bonding strength to be sufficiently strong for secure holding yet capable of controlled detachment when force thresholds are exceeded.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the camera mount is designed for reusable detachment, then the mount can be used multiple times, but it requires flexible materials that may compromise structural integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The reusable mount is segmented into a camera holder portion and base portion with reusable engagement structures. This segmentation allows the mount to be designed with flexible materials that can temporarily deform during impact and then return to their original state, enabling multiple reuse cycles while maintaining structural integrity through the modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The reusable camera mount utilizes flexible materials (such as flexible plastics or elastomers) for the engagement structures. These flexible components can temporarily deform during impact events, allowing controlled detachment, and then return to their original configuration for subsequent reuse, thus achieving both reusability and maintained structural integrity.
3Reliability
If the camera mount uses brittle materials for one-time use, then the mount fractures to release the camera during impact, but it cannot be reused afterward
Solution Approach 1:
The one-time use camera mount is designed with brittle engagement structures (such as brittle plastic or ceramic protrusions) that are intended to fracture during impact events. This disposable design ensures reliable safe detachment when the brittle component breaks, releasing the camera from the mount. The mount is designed to be replaced after a single use, making it suitable for applications where maximum reliability for one-time events is prioritized over reusability.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the camera mount is designed to detach during impact, then damage is prevented, but the detachment mechanism increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The detachment mechanism is segmented into simple geometric engagement structures (protrusions and recesses) rather than complex mechanical systems. This segmentation allows the mount to achieve automatic detachment during impact through the inherent geometry of the components, preventing impact damage without requiring complex sensors, actuators, or control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera mount employs a self-service detachment mechanism where the engagement structures automatically disengage during impact based on the applied forces, without requiring external control systems. The geometric design of the protrusions and recesses enables the mount to sense and respond to impact conditions autonomously, reducing device complexity while still providing protective detachment functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables the camera to safely detach from mounting surfaces during impacts, protecting the camera, mount, and the object, while allowing for reusable or one-time use configurations, thereby preventing damage and ensuring continued functionality.
Implementation Method 1
each of the flexible retaining wall portions (820a, 820b) can flex outward, away from the mount (800), in response to a force applied to the camera (200) by an object
Data Source
AI summary
Various camera mounts used to attach a camera to a helmet, vehicle, user, or other object are described. In one embodiment, a flexible camera mount deforms under impact, allowing an attached camera to detach without fracturing the mount. In a second embodiment, a non-flexible camera mount fractures under impact, allowing an attached camera to detach. In a third embodiment, a camera mount comprising a ring base and a floating base separates under impact, allowing a camera attached to the floating base to detach. In a fourth embodiment, a non-flexible camera mount including two rigid sections joined in a “V” shape fractures under impact, allowing the camera to detach. In a fifth embodiment, a flexible camera mount comprising two sections connected in a “V” shape separate under impact, allowing the camera to detach.