Spherical Camera Mount With Displaceable Pivot for Impact Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Camera devices face challenges in withstanding impacts, vibrations, and varying weather conditions, often suffering damage due to lack of adequate durability and orientation maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A camera device with a spherical outer shell and equatorial groove, featuring a conical pivot and lug arrangement that allows for controlled tilting and rotation, absorbing external forces to prevent damage and maintain orientation, while a dome window and biasing arrangement enhance durability and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the camera unit is rigidly fixed to maintain orientation, then orientation stability is improved, but the device cannot withstand impacts without serious damage
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot is made laterally displaceable through a slit in the lug, allowing the system to dynamically adjust during impact events. The pivot can move laterally within the equatorial groove when subjected to force, enabling the camera unit to absorb impact forces while maintaining operational reliability, thus resolving the contradiction between impact resistance and orientation stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The slit in the lug acts as an intermediary element between the pivot and the cover. This slit allows controlled lateral displacement of the pivot, serving as a mediator that enables impact absorption while preserving the overall structural integrity and orientation stability of the camera unit during normal operation.
2Reliability
If the pivot is rigidly connected to the cover, then structural strength is improved, but the device cannot absorb impact forces without serious damage
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral displaceability of the pivot through the slit transforms the rigid connection into a dynamic system. During impact, the pivot can move laterally within the groove, allowing the structure to absorb impact energy through controlled displacement rather than rigid resistance, thereby improving impact absorption while maintaining sufficient structural strength through the conical pivot design.
Solution Approach 2:
The slit in the lug provides a pre-designed displacement path that acts as a cushioning mechanism before impact occurs. This allows the pivot to move laterally as a controlled safety feature, absorbing impact forces and preventing serious damage to the structural components, thus resolving the contradiction between impact absorption and structural strength.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the equatorial groove extends fully around the camera unit, then rotation freedom is improved, but cable twisting and damage occur
Solution Approach 1:
The equatorial groove is segmented with a defined start and end position rather than forming a complete circle. This segmentation limits the rotation range of the camera unit, preventing excessive cable twisting while still providing sufficient rotation freedom for the camera to adjust its field of view in practical applications, thus resolving the contradiction between rotation freedom and cable protection.
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 camera device effectively withstands impacts and vibrations, maintains orientation, and prevents serious damage by absorbing forces through the pivot and lug mechanism, ensuring continued functionality and a broader field of view.
Implementation Method 1
By adjusting the pressing forces between the cover and the seating, it may be ensured that the camera unit is maintained in set orientation when exposed to vibrations while adjustment of the camera orientation may be enabled by overcoming the frictional forces formed between the camera unit and the seating
Implementation Method 2
a biasing arrangement configured to press the cover towards the base member
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
The invention relates to a camera device comprising a camera unit comprising an outer shell having a spherical shape and being provided with an equatorial groove having a start and an end, a base member provided with a seating, and a cover provided with a pivot defining a tilting axis and an aperture for providing a free line of sight for the camera unit. The camera unit is arranged between the seating and the cover such that the pivot is received by the equatorial groove and such that the cover and the seating of the base member are pressed against the outer shell of the camera unit from opposing sides thereof. The pivot is arranged on a lug adjoining the cover via a lug transition and defined by a slit such that the lug is laterally displaceable in a direction parallel with the tilting axis in response to the pivot being subjected to a force having a component in said direction.