Stabilized Mount for Image Capture Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handheld devices with image capture capabilities, such as ultra-lightweight cameras and smartphones, suffer from instability and vibration during use, leading to blurry images due to inadequate mounting solutions that fail to rigidly fix the image plane perpendicular to the support surface, and are not compatible with industry-standard camera equipment.
Innovation Solution
A stabilized mount with a holder and fixed base that securely grips the device with detachable arms and integrates with industry-standard mounting platforms, using a ¼ inch-20 threaded stud and anti-rotation index hole to maintain the device's orientation, ensuring stable image capture without obstructing the field of view or interfering with device functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If adjustable mechanisms (tripod mounts, gooseneck mounts, ball end swivel mounts) are used to position handheld devices, then the devices can be positioned along one or more axes for convenient operation, but the mechanisms introduce movement and vibration due to their flexible, multi-part construction that is detrimental to stable image capture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the positioning function from the mounting mechanism by providing pre-drilled holes at specific angles and locations on the device housing. This allows the device to be positioned correctly before mounting, and then fixed rigidly without any adjustable mechanism, eliminating the vibration problem while maintaining positioning convenience
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using an adjustable mechanism to achieve positioning, the patent inverts the approach by providing fixed positioning features (pre-drilled holes) on the device itself, and using a simple rigid mounting bracket that connects to these holes. The positioning is determined by the device geometry rather than by the mounting mechanism
2Ease of operation
If existing mounting mechanisms are used, then devices can be mounted on support surfaces, but the image plane cannot be fixed perpendicular to the mounting platform, requiring off-axis orientation that produces distorted or level-error-prone images
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses asymmetric positioning with pre-drilled holes at specific non-symmetric angles on the device housing. This asymmetric geometry ensures that when the device is mounted through these holes, the image plane is automatically positioned perpendicular to the mounting platform, achieving precise orientation without complex adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary positioning by providing pre-drilled holes at the correct angles and locations on the device housing before mounting. This preliminary action ensures that when the rigid bracket connects to these holes, the image plane is already correctly oriented perpendicular to the mounting platform, eliminating the need for post-mounting adjustment
Data Source
AI summary
A stabilized mount stably supports a motion-sensitive, image capture device, such as a cellular telephone or a personal digital assistant, on a support surface, such as a tripod or analogous camera equipment. The device is operative for capturing an image over a field of view along an optical axis perpendicular to an image plane. The mount includes a holder for holding the device during image capture, and a fixed base integral with the holder and lying in a base plane perpendicular to the image plane when the base is supported by the support surface in a supported orientation. The base is operative for steadily positioning the holder and the device on the support surface in the supported orientation during the image capture.