Dome-Top Tripod Hub Layout for Ergonomic Leveling Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tripod designs, such as Center-Tube, Flat-Top, and Bowl-Top tripods, face issues with large pack diameter, weight, and inconvenient user access to control handles, which limit their stability, compactness, and ergonomic usability, especially in outdoor applications.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a 'Dome-Top' tripod design, which features a tension control handle positioned above the hub, allowing for two-handed ergonomic control and eliminating the need for additional access clearance, resulting in a smaller pack diameter, reduced weight, and improved stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a Bowl-Top tripod design is used to provide easy leveling functionality, then stability and load capacity are improved, but the control handle position becomes awkward and access is inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional Bowl-Top design by moving the control mechanism from below the hub to above the hub. This inversion allows the control handle to be positioned in an easily accessible location while maintaining the stable bowl-top structural foundation, resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent repositions the control handle from a vertical position below the hub to a horizontal position above the hub, changing the spatial dimension of control access. This dimensional change allows operators to access controls without bending or reaching between legs, improving ergonomics while preserving structural stability.
2Ease of operation
If a Bowl-Top tripod design is used with wide leg spacing for hand clearance, then control access is enabled, but the pack diameter becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the control mechanism position from below to above the hub, the patent eliminates the need for wide leg spacing to accommodate hand clearance. This allows the legs to be positioned closer together, reducing the overall pack diameter while maintaining full control accessibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a Center-Tube tripod design is used to provide adjustable central column, then vertical adjustment is enabled, but the central column interferes with leg collapse and increases pack diameter
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the control functionality from the central column assembly and relocates it to the hub area above. This separation allows the central column to be positioned optimally for structural reasons without requiring additional clearance space, enabling full leg collapse while maintaining column adjustability.
4Volume of moving object
If a Flat-Top tripod design is used to reduce weight and pack diameter, then compactness is improved, but separate camera head is required adding weight and size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the leveling base functionality and the tripod head controls into a single integrated hub assembly. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate camera heads while maintaining compact dimensions, as the integrated design shares common structural components and control mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Two embodiments of a Dome-Top tripod system adjust reactive force between a domed base and a concave top in two separate methods. Both embodiments feature two interfacing discs, one with a convex interface surface and the other with a mating convex interface surface, which friction lock to hold a payload in place. One features a translatable nut and shaft which then loosens or tightens the friction lock. The other version features a translatable drive nut which interacts with the top disk and loosens and releases the friction lock.