Modular Camera Coupling with Concentric Traces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional video camera systems face challenges with battery life and alignment issues due to the need for temporary removal for recharging, leading to inadvertent adjustments in mounting applications.
Innovation Solution
A modular video camera system with a camera housing featuring concentric electrical traces and a notched mounting apparatus that allows for mechanical and rotatable coupling with a modular attachment, including a battery pack and wall mounting options, ensuring continuous power and secure mounting without alignment issues during battery replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If conventional battery powered video cameras are temporarily removed for recharging, then battery life is extended, but camera alignment and mounting stability are compromised due to inadvertent adjustments during removal and reinstallation
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system is divided into separable modules: a camera housing and a removable base unit. The base unit contains the battery pack and mounting apparatus, while the camera housing contains the imaging components. This segmentation allows the battery to be recharged by simply detaching and reattaching the base unit, which maintains camera alignment through the notched coupling mechanism that prevents inadvertent adjustments during the charging process.
Solution Approach 2:
The notched mounting apparatus acts as an intermediary mechanism between the camera housing and base unit. The notches provide precise mechanical guidance and alignment, ensuring that when the base unit is reattached for recharging, the camera housing returns to its exact original position and orientation, thereby maintaining alignment stability throughout the battery recharging cycle.
2Device complexity
If conventional video cameras use fixed mounting designs, then structural simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to different mounting applications is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is segmented into a camera housing and a separate base unit with interchangeable mounting apparatus. The base unit can be detached and replaced with different mounting configurations (wall mounting, surface mounting, tripod mounting) while keeping the camera housing intact. This segmentation provides versatility in mounting applications without requiring complex integrated designs in the camera housing itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The base unit is designed as a universal mounting interface that can accommodate multiple mounting methods. The notched mounting apparatus provides a standardized coupling mechanism that works with various base unit configurations, allowing the same camera housing to be adapted to different mounting scenarios (walls, surfaces, tripods) through simple base unit interchangeability, thereby achieving multi-functionality without increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In certain embodiments, a video camera system includes a camera housing including a back side, a plurality of concentric electrical traces disposed on the back side of the camera housing, and a notched mounting apparatus disposed on the back side of the camera housing, where the notched mounting apparatus can be operable to receive and secure a modular attachment to the camera housing such that the modular attachment is mechanically and rotatably coupled to the camera housing. In some implementations, the one or more of the concentric electrical traces can be configured to contact one or more electrical contacts of the modular attachment and remain in contact with the one or more electrical contacts as the camera housing is rotated with respect to the modular attachment.