Modular Camera Attachment With Ball-And-Socket Joint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional video camera systems face challenges with battery life limitations and alignment issues during recharging, leading to inefficiencies and inconveniences, as removal and reinstallation can cause inadvertent adjustments to camera orientation.
Innovation Solution
A modular video camera system with a ball-and-socket joint and a tongue mechanism that secures the battery pack to the base support, allowing for adjustable orientation and preventing inadvertent movement during recharging, along with a notched mounting apparatus for secure electrical contact, enabling easy rotation without breaking contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the video camera is battery powered and removable for recharging, then wireless operation and portability are improved, but battery life is limited and alignment/orientation is adversely affected during reinstallation
Solution Approach 1:
The camera housing is pre-configured with a ball-and-socket joint mechanism that maintains alignment memory. When the battery pack is removed and reinstalled, the joint's mechanical design ensures the camera returns to its original orientation without requiring manual realignment, thus preserving alignment stability while enabling wireless operation
Solution Approach 2:
The ball-and-socket joint provides dynamic adjustment capability during installation, allowing the camera to be positioned at various angles initially, but then locks into a stable position that maintains alignment. This dynamic feature enables both wireless portability and reliable alignment retention
2Reliability
If the battery pack is securely attached to the base support, then connection reliability is improved, but removal and reinstallation becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into separate functional elements: a secure attachment mechanism for reliable connection, and a release mechanism for easy removal. The battery pack interface separates the holding function (secured attachment) from the release function (easy removal), allowing both contradictory requirements to be satisfied independently
Solution Approach 2:
The connection mechanism operates in periodic cycles of secure attachment and easy release. During normal operation, the connection maintains stable attachment for reliability, while during maintenance periods, the release mechanism enables quick removal and reinstallation without difficulty, creating alternating states of secure connection and easy separation
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 modular design enhances battery pack reinstallation without affecting camera alignment, ensures continuous electrical contact, and provides versatile mounting options for various applications, improving the overall efficiency and usability of the video camera system.
Implementation Method 1
The shaft can include a spring-loaded pin providing a force to secure the tongue inside the slot
Implementation Method 2
The tongue may be held within the slot according to a first friction, where a motion of the ball-and-socket joint rotates according to a second friction, and where the second friction is greater than the first friction
Data Source
AI summary
In certain embodiments, a video camera system includes a modular attachment to couple to a video camera housing, the modular attachment including a slot extending into the modular attachment and a base support including a ball-and-socket joint providing a range of motion for the base support and a tongue fixed to the ball-and-socket joint and extending therefrom, where the slot is configured to receive the tongue such that the modular attachment couples and secures to the base support according to a first friction, and where an orientation of the battery pack with respect to the base support is adjustable according to the range of motion of the ball-and-socket joint according to a second friction. The second friction can be greater than the first friction such that coupling or decoupling the battery pack from the base support does not cause the ball-and-socket joint to rotate.